t 



382 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



tAY 11, 1912. 



there need ]>e no fear of slugs, which some- 

 times work havoc with sowings in the open. 



Sowing. 



Too early sowings of runner beans are 

 not recommended, since the plants, being 

 tender, are very easily injured by cold or 

 excessive moisture. A very good plan is 

 to prepare trenches in the same manner as 

 for celery, taking out, say, from 1 to 2ft. 

 of earth and 2ft. in width, forking over 

 the bottom very thoroughly as the work 

 procee<ls. Then, the trench should be 

 fiUecl in with well-decomposed farmyard 

 manure to a like depth, and left in this 

 condition for about a we<^k before planting, 

 the best soil obtainable being placed on 

 the manure to a depth of 4 or 

 Then, if the plants have been raistnl 

 under glasfi, two lines should be set out in 

 each trench at 12 or 15in. apart, each 

 plant l^eing plante<l very firmly and well 

 watered in. In ordinary l^ean cidture, 

 where it is not deemed advisable to give 



_ * V 



5in. 



liberal treatment, the 



be 



sowmgs may 

 made during the first week in May, other 

 sowings for later use l>eing made from the 

 end of May up to the third week in June. 

 Single or double rows in drills may be 

 sown, but clumps and eirclee are favoured 

 by some growers. The drills should be 

 al>out 4in. deep, and for a double row the 

 seerls placed Tin. apart. 



At Hackwood Park, I have seen the 

 plants 1ft. apart in single rows, growing 

 with the vigour of hops, and considerably 

 higher than the latter. Market gar- 

 deners sow the dwarfer beans in rows from 

 3 to 3^ft. apart, and from one to three 

 bushels of seeds are usually required to the 

 acre. Towards the end of April, they roll 

 ami harrow the area, and if staked or 

 climbing l>eans are to l>e raised, rows are 

 marked out 5ft. apart; dwarf plants re- 

 quire lines only 3^ft. apart. 



Staking;^ and After-Culture. 



As soon as the plants are through the 

 soil, the hoe should be set to work, and the 

 seedlings thinned out to the required dis- 

 tances apart, all weeds being kept under 

 avS far as possible. Down the centres 

 between the rows, the ground should be 

 well stirre<l whilst the plants are young, 

 and a slight earthing-up may be given early 

 in the season, so as to afford them some 

 amount of protection. Hazel sticks, about 

 10ft. long, and placed about 15in. apart, 

 with a horizontal stake fixed about 6 or 

 7ft. from the ground, midway between 

 the two rows, will be required for the 

 runners. The staking must be done at an 

 early stage, or the runners will become en- 

 tangled, and will not then attach them- 

 selves to the stakes. 



Many growers fail to give a sufficient 

 length of support to runner beans, usually 

 contenting themselves with the long brush 

 sticks that are used for staking peas. 

 These are not long enough, however, and 

 it will generally be observed that the 

 plants double over at the top and so ex- 

 clude air and sunlight from the middle, 

 which affects the l^aring of the plants 

 considerably. It is not too much to allow 

 a height of from 10 to 15ft. 



Runner beans will need plenty of water 

 during the cropping season, and consider- 

 able benefit will be derived from repeate<l^ 

 applications of weak manure water. Soot 

 water is an excellent fertilising mediumj 

 for this crop, especially in dry weather/ 

 and a small quantity of bonemeal mixed 

 with farmyard manure, and used as a 

 mulching between the plants as soon as 

 they commence to crop, will be useful in 

 stimulaling the plants to fresh energies. 



J C. Newsham. 



NOTES FROM KEW. 



Greenhouse Flowers. 



There is at the present time an excep- 

 tionally fine display of flowers in the green- 

 house at Kew, for not only are the usual 

 occupants of that structure m good condi- 

 tion, but there is quite a host of other sub- 

 jects less generally met with. 



Begonias, cinerarias, schizanthus, carna- 

 tions, cytisus, primulas, cannas, mignon- 

 ette, stocks, hippeastrums, etc., one looks 



for as a matter of course, but beside those n • j.i t 



out of a vast number of different flowering annually ni the greenhouse at Kew 



being thrown up from the base, which is 

 well furnished with foliage. The flowers 

 are yellowish, with a dark crimson blotch 

 on the interior of the upper segments 

 There appears, however, to be a certain 

 amount of individual variation in the tone 

 of the flower, but in all of them the crim- 

 son blotch forms a very notable feature. 

 The most vigorous specimens are about 

 three feet in height. 



Echium Wildpreti. 



Considering what a striking feature this 



plants, the following are especially note- 

 worthy : Coreopsis Granti, a beautiful 

 Composite, introduced about ten years ago 

 from Central Africa. It forms a bushy 

 plant from fifteen inches to eighteen inches 

 in height, and has golden-yellow flowers 

 a couple of inches or so in diameter. 

 Dimorphotheca Ecklonis, another Compo- 

 site, of loose growth, with large daisy-like 

 flowers borne on long stems, the ray florets 

 pure white, with a beautiful purplish-blue 

 disc. The Bottle Brush flower, Metrosi- 

 deros floribunda, or Callistemon salignus, 

 which seems to increase in popularity year 

 by year. Impatiens Oliveri, of which a 

 huge speciinen is always in bloom. 

 Strelitzia Reginte (Bird's Tongue Flower), 

 whose striking inflorescences are borne at 

 nearly all seasons. Rondeletia cordata, 

 a pretty evergreen shrub, with heads of 

 laurestinus-like pink blossoms. Lilium 

 candidura, which, since the retarding of 

 Lilium longifloruin has become so universal 

 is now seldom seen forced into bloom. 

 Dwarf polyantha roses, Calceolaria vio- 

 lacea, with small, curious, helmet-like 

 flowers, white, dotted with purple. The 

 bold-growing Celsia cretica, and the 

 smaller-growing Celsia arcturus, l>oth with 

 yellow flowers. Crinum Powelli album, 

 which is anticipating its usual season of 

 blooming by some time ; and Arctotis 

 aspera and A. aureola, two South African 

 Composites, with marigold-like flowers, in 

 aspera straw colour, and in aureola rich 

 orange-yellow. 



Climl)ers include among their number 

 the singular Abutilon insigne, its crimson 

 flowers are veined with black ; and the 

 bright yellow-flowered Golden Fleece, the 

 best of that colour. Another climber 

 worthy of special mention is the South 

 American Lathyrus pubescens, with lilac- 

 coloured flowers, which, a failure in many 

 gardens, flowers remarkably well at Kew. 

 As a basket plant Oxalis floribunda is just 

 now very beautiful, its rich rose-<?oloured 

 flowers being borne in great profusion. 



Azalea. Vuylstekeana. 



This is very effective grown as vsmall 

 bushy plants, on their own roots, in the 

 same way that we have been accustomed 

 for the last few years to see Azalea Hexe 

 treated. In A. Vuylstekeana the flowers, 

 which are of a medium size, are of an in- 

 tense bright crimson colour. Unlike A. 

 Hexe, which is also well representetl at 

 Kew, the flowers of A. Vuylstekeana are 

 single. Both, however, are of a dwarf 

 free-flowering habit. 



Rehmannia kewensis. 



Of this hybrid rehmannia, which was 

 raised at Kew, there is a group of several 

 plants, and, pretty as they are in them- 

 selves, they also suggest various possibili- 

 ties by crossing with the other kinds that 

 we have now in our gardens. A hybrid 

 between Rehmannia angulata and R. 

 Henryi is known as R. Briscoei. As a gar- 

 den plant, however, it is not the equal 

 of R. kewensis, whose parents are 'R. 

 Henryi and R. chinensis. In R. kewensis 

 the growth is free, several flower stems 



it is a matter for surprise that it is not 

 more generally grown in gardens. While 

 some of the echiums are of a shrubby char- 

 acter, this is of biennial duration, forming, 

 in the first year, a dense rosette of long 

 narrow silky leaves. From the centre of 

 these a spike is pushed up in the second 

 season to the height of a yard, or there- 

 abouts. This is for the greater part of 

 its length closely packed with blossoms, 

 which are of a peculiar shade of reddish- 

 pink, suffused with bhie. A shrubby 

 member of the same family, namely, 

 Echium fastuosum, with blue flowers, at- 

 tracted a good deal of attention at the 

 meeting of the Royal Horticultural So- 

 ciety on April 16. 



Scutellaria Mocinlana and 



S. violacea. 



These two species of Scutellaria are very 

 noticeable among the many beautiful 

 flowering plants in the intermediate por- 

 tion of the T range. The best known of 

 the two — S. Mociniana — is an upright- 

 growing plant, with crowded heads of 

 tubular-shaped flowers, in colour scarlet 

 and yellow; while S. violacea has nume- 

 rous weaker branches, and the spikes of 

 deep violet-purple flowers are very freely 

 borne. 



Clerodendron myrmeco- 



philum. 



It is now just eight years since this 

 clerodendron was given a First-class Cer- 

 tificate by the Royal Horticultural Society, 

 but it had flowered at Kew a year or two 

 previously to that date. In the interme- 

 diate portion of the T range it is just now 

 in good condition, and at once attracts 

 attention, not only by the arrangement 

 of the flowers ^ ^ ^ 



, but by their uncommoi 



colour, I^nlike those members of |he 

 genus that are quite vigorous-growmg 

 climbers, this species is of quite erect 

 growth, and flowers well when from eigh- 

 teen inches to two feet in height. ^ '-^^ 

 leaves are long and lanceolate in stiape? 

 while the upright flower panicle forms 

 nearly one-half of the upper part ot m 

 plant. The blooms are disposed in regular 

 whorLs. They are about one and a-^ia» 

 inches across, and of a bright .^^^^^ 

 amber colour. The stamens, "^l^i^"., ? ^ 

 long, and red in colour, form a strifemg 

 feature of the flower. This clerodendron 

 is a native of Singapore, and for its s"^ 

 c^ssful culture it needs ordmarj^ sto 

 treatment. Though some years 

 introduction, it is not very generally gr^^ 

 in gardens and nurseries. 



Ornithosralum arabicum. 



One sometimes hears complaints that 

 this ornithogalum refuses to flower 

 satisfactory manner, but at Kew i ^^^^ 

 not seem to present any difficulty 

 respect, as is shown by the numerous^.^^ 

 amples now in bloom in the cool P^, 

 of the T range. The tall spikes ot \ 

 white, wax-like flowers, each w***V.^.p^lj 

 centre, are very striking, and 

 valuable for various decorative P"''?^ 



