262 



FLORA AND SYLVA. 



Rose and Salmon-shaded Flowers. — To 

 this class the foregoing remark also applies, for 

 good clear pinks are rare in Dahlias, though in 

 blending shades there are flowers in which sal- 

 mon-pink or rose predominate. Of this class 

 is Clara G. Stredwick, a dwarf plant of good 

 growth, and free in its salmon-coloured blooms 

 shading to yellow at the base of the petals ; P. 

 W. Tulloch is a flower of complex shading, with 

 a blend of salmon-red and rosy purple, which 

 is uncommon. Mr. Spencer Castle is almost as 

 difficult todescribe in its blending tones of pink 

 and orange, coming freely on a dwarf plant 

 witherectstems; itis quaint and bright for the 

 border but the centres are often faulty. Mrs. 

 John Barker comes nearer pink,, though the 

 middle of the flower shows salmon shading; its 

 habit is good and the flowers well displayed. 

 Britannia is another uncommon blend of sal- 

 mon-pink and brownish-yellow, not bright 

 enough for the border. 



Scarlet and Crimson Flowers. — Of reds 

 there is a large choice, but amongst them all 

 Amos Perry is first, being tall but of good habit, 

 of fine colour, the best form, large, and free ; as 

 a border flower it is first-class. Mrs. Winstanley 

 from the Farnham nurseries is also good in its 

 dwarf habit, dark foliage, and tones of bright 

 soft scarlet. Spitfire, a clear scarlet, is good in 

 everything save in the flower-centres, which 

 seem uncertain, a fault shared with Florrie 

 Tranter, which is in other respects just as good. 

 The weak point of Hetty Dean is its faulty habit ; 

 its flowers are of good form and reddish-orange 

 in colour. Sailor Prince is a deep red with long 

 petals and of medium size ; in its vigourit runs 

 up rather too high. Mabel Needs shows a large 

 flower of crimson-scarlet, but from their weigh t 

 the flowers are too pendant for borders. Of the 

 showy red and white flowers R. Dean is better 

 in habit than either Columbia or Gabriel, which 

 are too tall and weak in the stem, their blos- 

 soms often pointing downwards. 



Purple and Purplish-crimson Flowers. 

 — Of light purple, Sea Queen is a good variety, 

 with pleasing colour, not too large, and the 

 blooms well carried ; it is of the broad-petalled 

 class. Ruby-red shades are plentiful, Imperator 

 being a large flower of intense colour ; Meteor & 

 plant of good habit but not in bloom, described 

 as a distinct ruby-red with purple shading and 



* With coloured plate from 



fine form ; Mrs. yames Bailey, with flowers of 

 the same colour but yellow-shaded towards the 

 base, hangs its head too much for the border ; 

 but in Mrs. H. A. Needs we have the right 

 model, good in habit, free in flowers which are 

 well carried, and of a fine crimson purple- 

 shaded. Two or three striped fancies, including 

 Alpha and Due d* Orleans are not at all good. 



Dark Flowers. — There are three of the 

 new black flowers grown at Chiswick but un- 

 less in rare contrast these are of no value for 

 gardens. AuntChloe is a narrow-petalled bloom 

 of medium size and fairly free ; jf. H. yack- 

 son, with rather more of crimson in it, has its 

 blooms well displayed ; while Mr s.Cuthbertson, 

 for which first place is claimed amongst ma- 

 roons, might be good were its colours less 

 sombre. For variety on a stand these shades 

 have their place, but in the border they are 

 melancholy. 



ASA GRAY'S LILY (Lilium Grayi)* 

 This pretty and very hardy Lily from the 

 Alleghanies of Virginia and Northern 

 Carolina was first collected and de- 

 scribed by Dr. Asa Gray in 1840, but 

 it has only recently found its way to this 

 country in quantity. It is closely allied 

 to the Canadian Lily, some botanists 

 considering it to be a variety of Lilium 

 canadense. Its bulbs are of annual du- 

 ration, white and rounded, the scales 

 closely compressed, the new bulbs being 

 thrust 3 to 4 inches away from the old 

 by stout wiry white connectives, event- 

 ually forming a long series of old bulbs 

 that have flowered,with branches of new 

 bulbs on both sides and at one end. The 

 leaves resemble those of the Canadian 

 Lily in their arrangement, each whorl 

 containing five to ten leaves about 4 

 inches long. The stems are slender, 3 to 

 4 feet high, bearing nodding umbels 

 of bell-shaped reddish-crimson flowers 

 sometimes arranged, as in our plate, in 



a drawing by H. G. Moon. 



