7o 



GARDENERS' 



MAGAZINE. 



January 29, ^ 



humilis 



seedlings of curvifolia seem not to flower till they are eight or nine years 



° ld Vrom the robust habit, stout peduncles, and full umbels of large flowers 

 that Mr. Elwes' seedlings show, one judges that Nenne curvifolia or its 

 garden form, N. Fothergilli major, has been extensively used as a parent. 

 The colours, too, lead to this conclusion, for though there is a wide ditter- 

 ence between the colour limits of the plants yet exhibited there is a 

 preponderance of crimson and scarlet shades. At the R.H.S. meeting of 

 October 26 last, Mr. Elwes staged a charming exhibit ofnennes ^ flayer, 

 showing some beautiful new seedling varieties as well as some h y b ^ds. 

 Among the latter were N. amabilis, a cross between N. pudica and N. 



; N. excellens, a cross between N. flexuosa and N. humilis 

 major ; and N. roseo-crispa, a hybrid between N. undulata and N. 

 flexuosa. Species were represented by N. flexuosa, N. undulata, and N. 

 Fothergilli. The stamp of first-rate cultivation was seen on all alike, 

 species, hybrids and varieties, and the plants reflected much credit upon 

 Mr. Lane, Mr. Elwes 5 gardener. 



Eight of the new seedling varieties raised by Mr. Elwes were placed 

 before the Floral Committee, and it argues well for their beauty and dis- 

 tinctness that seven were granted awards of merit. These were : N. Lady 

 Lawrence, salmon-red, fine truss ; X. Lady Bromley, carmine, with a 

 rosy-purple stripe down the centre of each segment ; N. Lady Mary 

 Shelley, a lovely pale pink variety, very distinct and with broad reflexin^ 

 segments ; Lady Lucy Hicks Beach, a superb form, having a large, full 

 truss of bold flowers, that are of an intense and glowing crimson hue ; 

 Lady Llewellyn, very deep carmine, a lovely shade, flowers large, and 

 segments very broad. The two latter varieties are figured in the present 

 issue, and though in black and white it is possible to indicate the propor- 

 tions and shape of the flowers and trusses, it is not possible to give an 

 adequate idea of the living glowing colours ; an oil painting would scarcely 

 give them full value. The other varieties gaining awards were Lady 

 Dorrington, with broad, white segments, having a pink line along the 

 centre of each ; and Countess Bathurst, white, blush tinted, and with a 

 deep pink stripe at the base of each segment. We believe that Mr. Elwes 

 has still other seedlings with which to surprise us on some future occa- 

 sion, but whether this be so or not he has given nerine culture the fillip 

 it needed, and vastly improved the genus from a horticultural point 

 of view. 



Preparation of the Land for Exhibition 



Vegetables. 



Anyone wishing to excel in the cultivation of vegetables, either for 

 exhibition or for table, must lose no time at the commencement of the 

 new year in making suitable preparations. It is a good idea to make a 

 rough plan of the kitchen garden, and indicate on it the plots intended for 

 the production of certain vegetables. Each plot should be measured, 

 marked out, and labelled, taking care to change the ground for most 



crops as much as possible. The land that has been occupied with celery 

 should be trenched over, but not manured, and this site will be an ideal 

 spot for the production of most kinds of roots, such as : Beetroot, carrots, 

 parsnips, salsafy, scozonera, turnips, chicory, potatos, &c. Ground 

 intended for peas, beans of all kinds, cauliflowers, onions, and such like, 

 should be heavily manured and trenched. At this season one has to be 

 guided, to a great extent, by the condition of the weather and the nature 

 of the land. Thus, on light, well-drained soils, trenching should be 

 pushed forward with the least psssible delay. On the other hand, any- 

 one who has to deal with stiff, wet soil, should postpone digging and 

 trenching as long as possible, and the end of February, or early March, 

 will be quite early enough to make a commencement. Take advantage of 

 all dry frosty weather for wheeling out manures and other fertilisers, and 

 indeed all kinds of work that can be done to relieve the strain that will 

 have to be encountered later on ; such as pruning of bush and other fruit 

 trees, preparing pea and bean stakes, making labels of different lengths, 

 which should be tied up in bundles ready for use. 



The soil and manure yards should not escape attention at this season, 

 I have heard it remarked by an old man who had been a most successful 

 horticulturist, " Show me the compost yard of the gardener, and I will 

 tell you if he is a good man or not," and I believe there is a lot in this. 

 A good yard full of various soils, manures, &c, neatly stacked, clean, and 

 well arranged, is to my mind one of the most important departments 

 in the garden. Every particle of garden refuse should be kept burnt up, 

 as the ashes are of the utmost value in the kitchen garden. Boxes 

 should be examined and repaired, and new ones made if wanted. Old 

 hot-beds that have done service during the past year should be turned 

 over into a tidy heap, which will prove valuable for many purposes. 

 Fermenting material should be prepared for new ones in the way of long 

 stable litter and good sound leaves, such as oak, Spanish chestnut, and 

 beech. One part of stable litter to three of leaves is generally a safe 

 quantity to use, and these should be tutned two or three times before 

 building them together. Many early crops of potatos, asparagus, carrots, 

 &c, are spoilt by overheating. All brick pits intended for the production 

 of vegetables should be cleared out and thoroughly cleaned. 



Making out the seed order is a most important part in the pro- 

 gramme. The observant and painstaking gardener will have carefully 

 made notes during the past year of novelties that have come under his 

 notice But great care should be exercised in making way for new kinds 

 to replace reliable standard varieties. At the same time it is well to give a 

 fair trial to some of the new kinds offered each year by the seedsmen, usin* 



^SnS'SS ° f Se , edan i l ? iving P recisel y the same conditions as tft 



R.H.S. Committees, 1898. 



Scientific. 



Chairman : Sir J. D. Hooker, K.C.S.L, C.B., F.R.S., &c. 



Vice-chairmen : W. T. Thiselton Dyer, C.M.G., F.R.S., Profe^ 1, 

 Foster, Sec. R.S., Maxwell T. Masters, M.D., F.R.S. eSSOr M - 



Hon. Secretary : Rev. Professor G. Henslow, M.A., F.L.S. 

 Members : J. Allen, J. G. Baker, F.R.S. , Professor I. B. Balfour Fp 



Dr. E. Bonavia, F. W. Burbidge, M.A., F.L.S. , Professor A. H. Church* M *' 

 F.R.S., Francis Darwin, F.R.S., the Rev. C. Wolley Dod, H. J. Elwes F To 1 

 F.Z.S., the Rev. G. H. Engleheart, M.A., Professor J. B. Farmer, M a r 

 Frankland, F.R.S., F. DuCane Godman, F.R.S., R. Lindsay, Sir T T u 

 Llewelyn, Bart, F.L.S., R. Irwin Lynch, A.L.S., W. H. Maxwell p 

 McLachlan, F.R.S., A. D. Michael, F.L.S., D. Morris, C.M.G., M A T)\ 

 F.L.S., Hugo Midler, Ph.D., F.R.S., F. W. Oliver, D.Sc, F.L S ' C p 

 Plowright, F.L.S., W.J. Russell, F.R.S., Ph.D., D. H. Scott, M.A^Phn 



F. R.S., F.L.S., A. W. Sutton, F.L.S., H. J. Veitch, F.L.S., Professor Mar^'i! 

 Ward, F.R.S., George F. Wilson, F.R.S. arshaI1 



Fruit and Vegetable. 

 Chairman : Philip Crowley, F.L.S. 



Vice-chairmen : H. Balderson, Geo. Bunyard, T. Francis Rivers 



Secretary : Rev. W. Wilks. 



Members : A. F Barron, W. Bates, W. Bennett, Joseph Cheal, W. Crump 



G. W. Cummins, A. Dean, W. H. Divers, Malcolm Dunn, W. J. Empson \\ 

 Farr, Robert Fife, W. Gleeson, C. Herrin, W. Iggulden, J. Laing, jun., Fred! 

 Q. Lane, James Mclndoe, G. T. Miles, G. Norman, R. Parker, A II. Pearson 

 W. Pope, W. Poupart, G. Reynolds, G. H. Sage, T. J. Saltmarsh, James Smith 

 |. H. Veitch, P. C. M. Veitch, H. W. Ward, Jesse Willard, G. Woodward, John 

 Wright, G. Wythes. 



Floral. 



Chairman : William Marshall. 

 Vice-chairmen : John Fraser, George Paul. 

 Secretary: T. Humphreys. 



Members : W. Bain, N. F. Barnes, W. Barr, E. Beckett, Chas. Blick, H 

 Cannell, Cecil G. Cant, E. T. Cook, D. B. Crane, H. J. Cutbush, R. Dean, C. 

 T. Druery, F.L.S., J. H. Fitt, John Fraser, G. Gordon, H. Herbst, W. Howe, 

 C. Jefferies, J. Jennings, H. J. Jones, J. Laing, R. B. Lowe, J. McLeod, H. B. 

 May, E. Mawley, E. Molyneux, G. Nicholson, J. D. Pawle, C. E. Pearson, T. 

 Peed, C. J. Salter, T. W. Sanders, H. Selfe-Leonard, Geo. Stevens, Owen 

 Thomas, H. Turner, J. Walker. 



Orchid. 

 Chairman: H. J. Veitch, F.L.S. 



Vice-chairmen : Sydney Courtauld, Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., Baron 

 Schroder. 



Hon. Secretary : James O'Brien. 



Members : E. Ashworth, H. Ballantine, T. W. Bond, R. Brooman-White, 

 Joseph Broome, H. A. Burberry, II. Chapman, W. Cobb, Norman C. Cooksc 

 De Barri Crawshay, James Douglas, J. Gurney Fowler, J. T. Gabriel, Rev. 1 

 Handley, Fred Hardy, E. Hill, F. C. Jacomb, J. Jaques, W. B. Latham, G. V. 

 Law-Schofield, H. Little, Major Mason, Charles Pilcher, II. M. Pollett, W. II 

 Protheroe, F. Sander, A. H. Smee, W. Thompson, F. J. Thorne, A. Warlmrton, 

 W. Watson, W. II. White, H. Williams, C. Winn, W. H. Young. 



Narcissus. 

 Chairman : John T. Bennett-Poe. 



Vice-chairmen: J. G. Baker, F.R.S., Rev. C. Wolley Dod, Rev. Georp 

 H. Engleheart. 



Hon. Secretary : C. R. Scrase-Dickins. 



Members: R. Barr, Hon. J. Boscawen, Rev. S. S. Bourne, F. W. Rurbidgf, 

 M.A., G. Cammell, M. Cammell, C. W. Cowan, Professor M. Foster, S. A. 1>< 

 Graaff, W. Goldring, A. Kingsmill, Esq., J. H. Krelage, Max Leichtlin, Rev.' 

 MacMichael, Rev. T. II Marsh, R. Milne Readhead, F. W. Moore, Amos I 



Walker, Walter T. 



Perry, J. A. Dorien Smith, Henry L. De Vilmorin, Ja 

 Ware, Rev. W. Wilks, Miss Willmott. r< . 



The Narcissus Committee will meet in the Diill Hall, James Street, Yictora 

 Street, Westminster, on the following dates, at 12 o'clock, noon, viz., March: 

 April 12, and April 26, 1898. 



SCH 



COCCINEA. 



It is seldom that a season passes without the good qualities of this plant 

 being referred to, and, as an easily grown and free-flowering subject fa 

 the winter months, too much can scarcely be said in its favour. As ap« 

 plant it is very suitable when in bloom, either for placing in a vase fa 

 room decoration, or for arranging with other plants in the conservatory, 

 where the tall scarlet spikes rising above the deep green foliage give 1 

 touch of colour that is very pleasing. For this purpose the plants .art 

 best grown in the open through the summer, and if turned out of « 

 pots in April, and divided, selecting only the strongest bulbs, and pW* 

 ing them about fifteen inches apart in moderately rich soil, fully expos*, 

 to the sun, strong clumps will be formed by the autumn, when they may 

 lifted and potted before severe frost sets in ; subsequently they only requ^ 



appear. 



art 



attention of those who have not grown it, to Schiyostylis coccmea, 

 where a wall or building exists some of these plants planted at its M* 

 even under the trained branches of fruit trees, will often prove morC J^ 

 fitable than any other plant, and in mild winters like the present pm 

 quantities of bloom may be gathered, while the effect produced by 

 ever-expanding flowers, when all else is bare, is ample reward tor 

 little trouble required for their successful cultivation. Several ciu r 



puiiucw near me Dase Ol a west wau uere apiing, ^ 



weeks past these have given us a nice lot of flowers, and plenty more ^ 

 ready to open. To be successful with these it is necessary to divw 



pla* 



ire more easilyicultivated, as after planting or replanting but litue 



occasion 



..rill sofl* 



House Gardens, 



Edwin Beckett. 



watering in very dry weather. In the open border tne puuu ^ 

 times bloom very freely, but as very much depends uponthe *J j^e* 

 time, the flowers cannot be deoended uoon to attain their full develop 



cannot be depended upon to attain 

 House Gardens. N.B. 



James D aV * 



