828 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



October 26, 1912. 



Beckenham Horticultural 



Society. 



Tile first lecture of the winter .session of 

 the above society was given by Mr. E. H. 

 Jenkins, on "Cross Breeding and Hybridis- 

 ing." A subject always of absorbing interest 

 was made more so by the clear enunciation 

 of the many points so necessary to success- 

 ful hybridising. The importance of select- 

 ing, by the aid of the microscope, only the 

 finest pollen which is so potent in action, and 

 the wonderful process which takes place 

 when active pollen falls on a receptive stio-nia 

 were emphasised. Hermeticallv sealed pollen 

 will keep from three to six weeks, said Mr. 

 Jenkins, a point of interest where operations 

 are among both early and late-fiowering 

 plants. The lecturer spoke of cross-breeding 

 not being all profit, and said that carnation 

 growers were perfectly satisfied if they could 

 obtain ten or twelve'^good varieties from a 

 thousand seedlings. 



ANSWERS TO 



CORRESPONDENTS. 



Editorial Oommunioations should be addr<>ssed to the 

 Editor of the Gakdeners' Magazine, 148 and 149, 

 Alder^gate Street, E.G. 



Secr^jtaries of horticultural societies are invited to 

 send early notification of forthcoming exhibitions 

 ajid meetings, and are requested to advise us con. 

 ceming changes of dates. 



Specimens of plants, flowers, and fruits for naming 

 or opinion should be sent to the Editor of the 

 Gakdeners' Magazine, " Endaleigh," Priory Park, 

 Kew, Surrey, and as early in the week as possible. 

 All parcels must be sufftciently prepaid. 



The Editor will be glad to receive photographs of 

 gardens , p Ian ts , flo wer s , t roes , fruits, etc., for 

 reproduction in the Gardeners' Magazine. He will 

 also he greatly obliged, by correspondents sending 

 early intimation of interebting local events relating 

 to horticulture. In sending newspapers containing 

 matter to which they wLsih to draw attention, cor- 

 respondents are requested to distinctly mark the 

 paragraph. 



OBITUARY 



G. 0., Bristol: 

 insectivorous 



MRS. D'OMBRAIN. 



AVe regret to record the death of Mrs. 

 D'Ombrain, the widow of the Rev. H. H, 

 lyOm brain, w hich occurred a short tim-e 

 since, on her 87th birthday. From its earliest 

 days Mrs. D'Ombrain evinced the warmest 

 interest in the National Rose Society, and 

 this int.n-est was maintained until her death. 



MR. JAMES KERR. 



We have to record the death of Mr. James 

 Kerr, who for t,everal years carried on busi- 

 ness as nurseryman, florist, and seedsman in 

 association with his brother^ Mr. Oeoro-e W. 

 Kerr, in Dumfries, under the name of'' Kerr 

 Brothers. The firm did a considerable busi. 

 nes8, but on its discontinuance Mr. James 

 Kerr emigrated to Xew Zealand and settled 

 at Gisborne, where he established the floral 

 farm at Kaiti, This he had to leave on ac- 

 count of his wife's health. He was at that 

 time in a serious condition of health and 

 the death of Mrs. Kerr so prostrated him 

 that he could not recover, and he died in 

 the hospital at Napier. Mr! Kerr wa.s a good 

 judge of florists' flowers, and was keenly in- 

 terested in horticulture generally. " His 

 early death, leaving three youno- children is 

 regretted by many friends in this countrv. 



m Dictam 



T ^ , . - ^^^^ fil'St 



time I met with this pretty little plant grown 

 in a pot, was many years ago, in the window 

 of a Surrey cottage. The good wife spoke of 

 It as pmk hops, which was certainly not an 

 inappropriate title. Since then I have used 

 it, and other allied kinds, for greenhouse 

 decoration during the summer months and 

 find that they are much appreciated, possess, 

 mg as they do a quiet beauty of their own. 

 The drooping heads of pink flowers are dis- 

 posed much as in those of the hop. It is a 

 native of Crete, was introduced in 1551, and 

 IS none too hardy in our winters, so that it 

 IS best protected by a frame. — K. 



Hardy Flowering: Shrubs. 



Tliere are many hardy shrubs wiiich are 

 grown in large quantities in pots bv many of 

 our leading nurserymen, and can be uti- 

 listed during the winter and spring months 

 Kalmia latifolia is a beautiful subiect, and is 

 very easy to manage, needing practically the 

 same compost as the azaleas; it is necessary 

 to select tho&e which are well set with flower 

 spikes, otherwise they will fail to bloom this 

 vear. Andromeda floribuuda, Spirsea arguta 

 lilacs, Staphelia colchica, Prunus sinensis 

 Prunus triloba fl. pi., Choiseya ternata, Yi- 

 burnum opulus, double white and rose ch-r- 

 nes, laurestinus, rhododendrons and Wis- 

 taria sinensis, are all most valuable subfects 



^ V^V^ht into bloom whenever re^ 

 quired by placing them in heat. Many of 



.V-"'r "!t"^VT-^^ procured as .7tan- 



HARDY PINGLICULAS. 



I am interesting myself in 



plants, and should be glad if you will kindly 

 tell me which specici^ oi pinguicula are likely 

 to prove hardy in a sheltered, boggy posi- 

 tion in a Bristol garden. — There are seven 

 species that may be grown satisfactorily out 

 of doors, especially in sheltered positions 

 where the. 'boggy nature of the soil is suit- 

 able. It is a good plan to make little colo- 

 nies of each species, as in that way the plants 

 are most interesting and attractive. Pin- 

 guicula alpina has white, yellow-throated 

 flowers, and does well facing north; P. gran- 

 diflora is generally regarded as the finest of 

 hardy species, and its violet-blue flowers, an 

 inch long, are very attractive; P. hirtiflora 

 hails from the uplands of Greece and Italy, 

 and it has violet, yellow-eyed flowers; P. 

 lusitanica is a native summer-flowering 

 species, but is widely distributed through 

 South-Western Europe, the lilac flowers have 

 a yellow throat; P. hitea has yellow flowers 

 that are not so flat as those of other kinds; 

 P. vallisneriaefolia comes from Spain and 

 has hlac or soft-purple flowers, with 'paler 

 centre; P. vulgaris, the common Boo- Violet 

 closes the list, and its violet-coloured flowers 

 are very charming from May to October 



SPRING-FLOWERING LAURUSTINUS 

 A. H., Alresford: Can you tell me if there 

 IS an early spring-flowering species or 

 vanety^ oi the useful laurustinusP — The 

 laurustinus .s a species of Viburnum— V 

 iirus. It has numerous varieties, and most 

 ol the;^3 commence to flower in the late 

 autumn, continuing to bloom through the 



manures.— The food of plants consists of 

 oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur 

 phosphorus, potash, iron, lime, soda m^^' 

 n^sia, and chlorine. With the exception of 

 nitrogen, potash, and phosphorous, most of 

 these foods are obtainable by the plant from 

 air, soil, and water. Sometimes a ^oil lacks 

 a sufficiency of some material, such as lime 

 fov certain crops, and so the natural siimh 

 mv.st be supplemented. The chief sources 

 of nitrogen are nitrate of soda, sulphate of 

 ammonia, guano, soot, dried blood, and ^a^. 

 iquor. The leading sources of potash are 

 kamat, sulphate of potash, muriate of potash 

 seaweed, and the ashes from all kinds ofve^e' 

 table matter. Lime is useful in liberating, 

 potash locked up in the soil, and so rendei^- 

 ing it available for plant food. Phosphatic 

 n anures are superphosphate of lime, bones 

 and bone merJ, bone superphosphate, and 

 basic slag. ' 



FUNGUS ON GOOSEBERRY STEMS - 

 L R. A., Lincoln: I am sending a piece of 

 td gooseberry stem with a peculiar fungus- 



c up apparently of 

 several individuals growing one above the 

 other. Kindly tell me what the growth is 

 and how to deal with it.— The curious woody 

 fungus on the piece of old gooseberrv stem 

 indicates decreptitude. Evidentlv the bush 

 IS old and enfeebled 



T 



o 



up and buri?ed. 



and it should be dug 

 , The fungus is Pomes ribis" 



a perennial species that appears to confine its 

 attention entirely to old and useless currant 

 and gooseberry bushes. Get rid of vour 

 anc:ent bushes, and secure new and sturdv 

 young stock. 



x^T.^R?^^^^^ -^^ DANGEROUS PLANTS 

 ^EAR ORCHARDS — E. N. V., Romford : Can 

 you tell me whether there is any truth in 

 the statement that junipers are dangerous 

 plants to grow near orchards, or indeed near 



} ^^u^^ ^'^^ ^ g-ardening friend 



made the statement, but was not at all clear 



• ■ ■ 



■ t « 



• ■ ■ 



■ t # 



« • * 



« t ff 



* ■ * 



* ■ t 



■ • t 



wir.l-r and often on until Easter, according 

 to weataer and situation. Viburnum Tmu^^ 



■ * • 



* « t 



as 



Newbury: Beinp- 



*^ O 



val^'for^^lJ*^^' ''^'^ gi^atly enhnnces 

 vaiue toi all purposes.— L. Smith 



their 



autumn and winter flowerino- and V T 

 lucidum is the best for .priu^'flow-erin- 

 It IS later than the rest of the varieti-s ° 



NUPIIARS.— J. M. D., 

 under the impression that NuphaV luteum 

 was the only ,K.e,„her of its genus. I re 

 cently challouoed a statement to the con 



rf,- h""'^ ^"'^d enough to 



are will you -kindly name them, and s'.v 

 whether tliey are as meritorious as N 

 luteum lor water gardening ?-There aie two 



fi'u^ 1^ i • however, so much 



ahke that qmte often the one i. mistaken or 

 the other. N. pumilum has .shorter anthers 

 and rather smaller, more rounded p'Sis 

 than luteum ; the stigma is also different 

 rare y having more than ten rays to theTen 

 to thirty rays of N. luteum. ^ B^th thS 

 species flower from June to August and are 



a i.^otul ^nrth American species with erect 



lis above the water surface Tlv 



anthers are red, and the .sepals purpfe-.reen 



If you wou d b<' good enough tr, state v Int 

 are the chief sources of pTant fond, un 1 ^ 

 their re.„ec.t,vc hondinq., I shall be gie ! 

 obliged becuMM., as a i.eginner, I feel some 

 difficulty in properly grouping the varTou^ 



Each. Per doz. 



6d. 



5/- 



9cl. 



7/8 



1/- 



10/. 



6d. 



5/- 



9d. 



7/6 



1/6 



15/- 



9d. 



7/6 



9d. 



7/6 



1/- 



10/- 



6d. 



5/- 



6d. 



6/- 



1/- 



10/. 



1/- 



10/- 



9d. 



7/6 



6d. 



5/- 



6d. 



5/- 



9d. 



7/6 



is 



at 

 The 



WARGRAVE PLANTS 



A FEW CHOICE ALPINES. 



grandifiorum 

 Arabis Androsace (new) 

 Arenaria Rosani (new) 

 Artemesia pedemontana 

 Aspejuia suberosa 

 Campanula Raddeana (new) 



Draba pyrenaica 



Erodium Reichardii 

 Gypsophila dubia (new) 

 Leontopodium alp:num (Edelweiss) 



Linaria cymbaiaria rosea 



Linnea canadensis (very choice) 

 Lithospermum, Heavenly Blue 

 Oxahs enneaphylla 

 Polygonum vaccinifoiium 

 Primula capitata 

 Viola Rothomagensis (new) ' 



Ihe above and thousands of others fully described ir 



our Catalogue ot Hardy Plants Post Free, 



WARGRAVE BULBS. 



Interesting subjects for the Rock Garden. 



PerlOO. Per doz. 



Anemone nemorosa Robinsoniana 18/- 2/6 

 Anemon- Pulsatilla (Pasque Flower) 26/- 3/6 



Cyclamen Europaeum 21/- 3/- 



oyciamen Neapolitanum 21/- 3/- 



Lrocus. choice named varieties ... 2/- 4d. 



He' c'/"? Tartarlcum 7/6 1/- 



e ^*^u°*^ 36/. 4/6 



M-n ^V?^""^®^ (Snake's-head Iris) ... 6/. 9d. 

 Milla Unlflora (Spring Star Flower) 1/9 3d. 

 Muscari. Heavenly Brue 4/6 8d. 



Narcissus Bulbccodium Hoop Petticoat 10/6 1/6 



Narcissus Moschatus of Haworth 7/- 1/- 



Tulipa Clusiana (Ladv Tulip) 15/- 2/- 



Tulipa Creigii 30/. 4/- 



We can supply everything for the Garden at 



reasonable prices. Enquiries Solicited. 



LANDSCAPE GARDENINO. 



COLOUR SCHEMES. 



Plans prepared and work efficiently carried out 



by thoroughly experienced men. 

 We shall be pleased to assist you if in doubt on 



any subject concerning: your Garden. 



issue the following Catalogues, and will gladly send 

 - you conies free — 



1. HARDY PLANTS, describing one of the most representa- 

 tive and extensive collections of Herbaceous and Rock 



4 i^^Pi"^' Piants in e.vis'ence. 



2. BULBS, FRUIT TREES, ROSES, CLIMBING PLANTS. 



etc., an up-to-date descriptive list comprising all the 

 nest varieties. 



^' BOG AND WATER PLANTS, a list of 



those varieties and kinds really worth growin.u- 



10, THE ARCADE, Liverpool Street, 



^ LONDON, EC. 



Wursenes-TWYFORD, BERKS. Visitors Invited. 



