October 8, 1898. 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



657 



none 



suits 

 but on 



HERBACEOUS PLANTS IN DROUGHT. 



THE whole of the south-eastern part of England has been under the spell 

 of an anti-cyclone for several weeks past. Here we had a month ago a 

 fine fall of rain amounting to one and a-quarter inches, but we have had 



since, and it is melancholy to see how some things suffer by it. It JerseVj Tlw«p^^^ 



cannas to perfection where they have been previously taken care of, Hacon's Incomparable, and Knight's Monarch.— J. Teg<;, 

 the other hand, it has acted very banefully on the gandavensis 

 section of gladiolus ; fine spikes are formed, but no time is given to them 

 to develope ; as soon as two or three blooms open they frizzle up with 

 the intense heat, and so it is almost impossible to obtain a good spike. 

 At such times then any plant that blooms satisfactorily is deserving of 

 care and attention. Amongst these I would mention : — 



Senecio pulcher.—l have a good plant of this now displaying its 

 striking flowers ; it is perfectly hardy, and easily propagated by cutting 

 its large flesy roots into pieces about two inches long ; the flowers are 

 what I should call a magenta hue, but in some catalogues they are said 

 to be purplish crimson ; the flowers are five inches across, and altogether 

 it forms one of the most striking of our early autumn perennials. 



Crinum Powellu — This very fine bulbous-rooted plant was raised by 

 Mr. Powell, of Southborough, near Tunbridge Wells, and is remarkably 

 vigorous and striking in appearance ; it has thriven well with me in ordi- 

 nary garden soil in a position somewhat sheltered, and I suppose, from the 

 size of its roots and the depth to which they go, it has not suffered from 

 the excessive drought we have now had to endure for some weeks ; the 

 flower stem is perhaps not so high as it would have been if we had had 

 some rain ; I have also the white variety, Crinum Powelli album, which, 

 however, has not flowered this year. 



Zauschneria californica. — I see that some writers complain of this 

 beautiful autumn perennial not being hardy, and, indeed, suggesting 

 means for its protection in winter ; with me the great difficulty, in this 

 south-eastern part of England, is to keep it within bounds. It is planted 

 on a dry part of my rockery, and by means of its underground stolons it 

 has run about in all directions, and I have to uproot a large quantity every 

 year. It requires a hot, dry time in order to enable it to flower well and 

 truly, consequently this season has been peculiarly favourable to it, and 

 my plant is covered with its bright vermilion-coloured flowers. 



Linitm /lavum. — This is another plant about which some people have 

 doubts as to its hardiness, but may it not be that there is another plant 

 which is sometimes confounded with it, viz., Linum arboreum, which I am 

 told some people have not found perfectly hardy. 



Heleniuni grandiccphalutn striatum. — This a grand autumn flowering 

 plant. I received mine from Mr. C. J. Grahame, in whose garden I saw 

 it flowering ; it grows to the height of about four feet, and is covered with 

 branching heads of flowers of bright orange, irregularly striped and 

 blotched with crimson, giving it a very striking appearance amongst 

 the autumnal blooms. 



Lilies.— \ do not think there is any tribe of plants which excels in 

 beauty of colouring, elegance of form and sweet perfume, the lilies. 

 1; rom early spring to late autumn some of the many species are con- 

 tinually with us, and so now in this second week of September I am 

 rejoicing in two clumps amongst others which are a daily source of pleasure 

 to me. One is a fine clump of Lilium auratum, which has sixteen 

 expanded blooms at the same time, and appears to be in rare health, 

 yet my experience of many years leads me to look upon it very doubt- 

 iully. I have had as fine clumps of it before, but the next year hardly 

 anything of them appeared ; the bulb has a bad habit of breaking up, 

 and when it does this, all hope of retaining good blooming stems vanishes, 

 and yet it cannot be so with every one, or else how could it be possible 

 to be able to purchase enormous bulbs the size of double-closed fists, and 

 these are not always imported. There are many varieties of it, such as 

 Kubro-vittatum, Virginale and Wittei, which all seem to share the same 

 unpleasant way of acting, hence it is that the immense quantities which 

 are every year imported are necessary, for those who wish to grow the 

 species and its varieties. Another clump that I have gives me greater 

 satisfaction, not only because of its great beauty, but because I know it 

 means to stay ; it is that beautiful variety of L. speciosum called Mel- 

 pomene, the most richly coloured of all the crimson spotted varieties, and 

 v ery vigorous in growth ; there are many varieties of speciosum, but I 

 uo not think that any of them can compare with this. We owe its intro- 

 uuction to an American horticulturist, the late Mr. Hovey, of Boston, 

 now hi a S row ers have successfully cultivated it, and bulbs can 



uw oe had at a comparatively trifling cost. Other varieties of speciosum 



c aiso in flower, but none are comparable to this. 



Dai ^ r ^ ///W — Oh : how I have battled with this, and what 



Jet it t ta • Smce 1 first saw il man y y ears a &° in Wigtonshire, to 

 cottiVl 0 a WUh me * 1 there saw [i in ever y Possible situation, in 

 everv rn g en u ° n church y ard walls > climbing up apple trees, and in 

 I wal t ,^ lvable position ; nor was it particular as to aspect, although 

 inlitht 'a rec l uired a northern position, yet I saw it in the full blaze of 

 it a tf 1 ai 7 ever ywhere a marvel of beauty. I have once more given 

 roots fm u er dlfferent circumstances. I obtained last autumn some 

 Planting gardens of ^enninghame Castle, Wigtonshire ; instead of 

 basket 1™ i C j S . had P revi ously done, I procured a tolerably deep 



a „H°S*J the bottom out of 5t > P lun ged it in the ground to its 

 shrubs th ? J V With weI1 -P re pared light soil, just in front of some 



' i i a *™. made very vl g° rous growth, climbed up the shrubs, 

 r * I am told bv some I 



and I am therefore 



"■us: exrinicif- 1 - v J — ' * «-th flower ; it is a 



1 should 11 ? nt ' and 1 sha11 be del 'g hte d to overcome its difficulties, 

 travellino- tt y at my reason in planting it thus was that I found it 



Cl »ng about in all rlir^t,™* k,,f ctin n 



H. H. D. 



The Pear Crop. 



Anglesey. — Pears are quite a failure owing to the cold, wet spring. — W. 



Hunter, Baron Hill Gardens. 



Berks. — Pears are very unsatisfactory this season, and our best varieties are 

 T* eurre 2 l iferd ' J a Jg°nelle, Beurre d'Amanlis, Beurre Mortilett. Louise Bonne of 



Duchess, Beurre Superfin, 



^ m , . . . Bearwood Gardens. 



Berwickshire.— Wc have a very fair crop of many varieties. Trees on 

 walls good crop and fruit a fair size, some trees are bearing a very heavy crop. 

 Ilessle pears scarcely up to last year, but a fair crop. Wall trees with shelter 

 from east winds are the best with me this year. Suffered very much with frost and 

 winds in the spring, and as my garden is close upon the Tweed, frosts are severe 

 with us.— J. Foster, Paxton House Gardens. 



Bucks. — Pears are small owing to the dry weather, Beurre d'Amanlis, 

 Beurre Clairgeau, Beurre Hardy, Williams' Bon Chretien, Doyenne du Cornice, 

 Duchesse d'Augouleme, Glout Morceau, Madame Treyve, Pitmaston Duchess, 

 Citron des Carmes, Fertility, and Louise Bonne of Jersey are the best.— J. Smith, 

 Mentmore Gardens. 



Cardiganshire. — Pears are an average crop, and in some instances trees are 

 loaded. We have nearly twice as many pears as apples in these gardens. Williams' 

 Bon Chretien rarely misses a crop, and this year is very heavy and good. Jargon- 

 elle is most disappointing ; very few pears are to be had from it at any time. 

 Amongst the best crops are Doyenne Boussoch (heavy), Duchesse d'Angouleme, 

 Beurre Diel, Beurre Bachelier, Doyenne du Cornice, Pitmaston Duchess, Easter 

 Beurre, Knight's Monarch, Bergamotte d'Esperen, and Clapp's Favourite, whilst 

 fairly good are Josephine de Malines, Marie Louise, Winter Nelis, and General 

 Todtleben. That fine-flavoured variety, Louise Bonne of Jersey, has a good crop, 

 but, as usual in this district, is cracked and scrubby. — R. C. Williams, Crosswood 

 Park Gardens. 



Cheshire. — Pears as a crop are about the same as apples ; if anything, rather 

 better. The kinds bearing best are the following : Williams' Bon Chretien, Marie 

 Louise, Emile d'Heyst, Doyenne du Cornice, Doyenne Boussoch, Louise Bonne, 

 Durondeau, Nouvelle Fulvie, Easter Beurre, Beurre d'Amanlis, Marie Louise 

 d'Uccle, Beurre Diel, Autumn Colmar, Red Doyenne, Thompson's, Easter Beurre, 

 Winter Nelis, Glout Morceau, and Beurre Ranee. — W. Whitaker, Crewe Hall 

 Gardens. 



Denbighshire.— Pears are good. Williams' Bon Chretien, Clapp's Favourite, 

 and Souvenir du Congrcs exceedingly fine ; Beurre Diel, Beurre Clairgeau, Pit- 

 maston Duchess, Beurre Superfin, Beurre Batchelier, and Marie Louise are also 

 good. — H. Forder, Ruthin Castle Gardens. 



Derbyshire.— Pears are more general than apples, both on walls and pyra- 

 mids. Citron des Carmes, Doyenne d'Ete, Jargonelle, Beurre d'Amanlis, Williams' 

 Bon Chretien, and Althorpe Crassane are the heaviest cropped pyramids ; Louise 

 Bonne of Jersey, Beurre Hardy, Beurre Diel, Pitmaston Duchess, Fondante 

 d'Automne, Beurre Superiin, and Doyenne du Cornice are the best on walls. The 

 freest-bearing new varieties on walls are Clapp's Favourite, Triomphe de Vienne, 

 Beurre Fouqueray, President d'Osmanville, Magnate, and Marguerite Marillat. — 

 J. H. Goodacre, Elvaston Castle Gardens. 



Devonshire.— Pears are a medium crop. Beurre d'Amanlis, medium ; 

 Beurre Brown, good ; Beurre Easter, fair ; Beurre Superfin, fair ; Bon Chretien, 

 heavy ; Doyenne du Cornice, slight ; General Todtleben, good ; Glout Morceau, 

 fair; Josephine de Malines, fair ; Louise Bonne of Jersey, heavy ; Marie Louise, 

 fair ; Pitmaston Duchess, fair ; Winter Nelis, fair ; and Catillac, good. The pear 

 crop was partly spoiled by the heavy hailstorm in the spring. The fruits are 

 showing the marks now where the hail struck them ; some of them have as many 

 as four pits in them, which would spoil their sale.— S. J. Richards, Mount 

 Edgcumbe Gardens. 



County Down.— Pears are a good average crop on wall trees. Marie Louise, 

 Williams' Bon Chretien, Jargonelle, (ilout Morceau, Emile d'Heyst, Beurre 

 d'Amanlis, and Beurre Diel are carrying heavy crops of fine f>uit. No fruit on 

 bush trees ; in fact, pears will not bear rruit worth picking in this district except 

 those grown against walls.— J. Leicester, Seaforde Gardens. 



Pears are almost a failure, and especially so on unprotected walls. 



....... _ . The 



cold winds during the early part of June completely destroyed the crop, which up 



to then was very promising. A few important varieties that were afforded slight 

 protection are very fine, though scarce, Souvenir du Congrcs, Clapp's Favourite, 

 Pitmaston Duchess, (ilout Morceau, Beurre Diel, and Williams' Bon Chretien 

 being the best. Some of the late varieties on standards, such as Ne Plus Meuris, 

 Beurre Capiaumont, Prince Consort, Winter Nelis, and the Bergamots are fairly 

 productive.-— T. Bradshaw, llillsbord' Castle Gardens. 



Dublin.— Pears are a good crop here, and good quality, especially on walls. 

 The following sorts have done well on pyramids : Beurre Diel, Beurre d'Amanlis, 

 Citron des Carmes, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Williams' Bon Chretien, Marie 

 Louise, Glout Morceau, Doyenne d'Ete, Beurre Bosc, and Beurre Hardy. — G. 

 Smith, Vice-Regal Gardens. 



Dumbartonshire.— Pears are rather a poor crop.— W. McHutciieon, 



Auchendennan Gardens. 



Dumfriesshire.— Pears are only slightly cultivated, and this year but partly 

 successful. All are trained as espaliers, Comte de Lamy, Hazel, Louise Bonne of 

 Jersey Williams' Bon Chretien, Flemish Beauty, and Autumn Bergamot. Hazel is 

 by far the most prolific, but none this season.— J. UrquHart, Hoddon Castle 



Gardens. 



Durham.— The varieties that generally do well here are Jargonelle, I )uchesse 



d 



liams 



ng 



J 



Flemish Beauty, and Beurre Superfin. - 



East Lothian.— There has bten a very good crop of Louise Bonne of 

 Tersev Clapp's Favourite, Bergamotte d'Esperen, Beurre d'Amanlis, Jargonelle, 

 Beurre Bachelier, Pitmaston Duchess, Souvenir du Congrcs, and Marie Louise. 

 — G. Taylor, Broxmouth Park Gardens. 



Essex. Pears are a very bad crop in these gardens, and I believe it to be 



almost such throughout the district with an occasional exception. The most pro- 

 ductive varieties here are Knight's Monarch, Vicar of Winktieid, Duchesse 

 d'AnL'oulcme, Beacon, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Magnate, Beurre Bosc, Beurre 

 d'Amanlis Princess, Durondeau, Chaumontel, Marie Louise d'Uccle, Beurre 

 Hardy, and Doyenne Boussoch. — A. Kimber, Gor/ield Hall Gardens. 



Fifesh ire— Jargonelle, Marie Louise, and Williams' Bon Chretien are the 

 rnlv varieties that have given favourable returns this season, but we do not grow 

 many sort*. -J- Clark, Wemyss Castle Gardens. 



