October 22, 1898. 



GARDENERS' 



MAGAZINE, 



689 



Sussex. — Plums have been a peculiar crop this season, as some varieties have 

 borne such crops that the trees were broken down with the weight of the fruit. Of 

 standards or bushes the following have been the most prolific : Early Rivers, 

 Washington, White Magnum Bonum, The Czar, Bush, Prince of Wales, Victoria, 

 Reine Claude Violette, Pond's Seedling, Cox's Emperor, Lawrence Gage, Stint, 

 Monarch, Wyedale, and Diamond. On walls green gages : Coe's Golden Drop, 

 Purple Gage, Kirke's, Blue Imperatrice, Imperial de Milan, Stint, and Transparent 

 are amongst the best, though many other varieties had a fair crop. Of damsons 

 Frogmore Prolific is the best with us this season, though in the neighbourhood 

 Prolific is not much grown, the Cluster being the favourite, and this has a fair 

 cro p.__H. C. Prinsep, Buxted Park Gardens. 



Sutherland. — Rivers' Early Prolific bore an excellent crop, small and 

 early ; Oullin's Golden Gage, moderate crop ; Lawson's Golden Gage, moderate 

 crop of good quality ; Victoria, heavy crop, lequired thinning. The plum crop 

 was much under average on the whole — D. Melville, Dunrobin Castle 

 Gardens. 



Wigtonshire. — Plums have turned out much better than was expected some 

 time ago, and very good crops of the following are now ripe or ripening : 

 Czar, Early Rivers, Jefferson, Kirke's, Lawson's Golden Gage, Denniston's 

 Superb, Transparent Gage, Victoria, Pond's Seedling, Magnum Bonum, and 

 Goliath; these are growing against walls. Very good crops of Victoiia and 

 Belle de Septembre are now being gathered from bush and standard trees. — J. 

 Day, Galloway House Gardens. 



Worcestershire. — Plum? with us have been an excellent crop, and the fruit 

 of good quality throughout. Although wall trees were in flower at the time of 

 the blizzard, I never saw fruit set more thickly, and, moreover, had to be heavily 

 thinned. The weather was dry, which must have made the difference, as a few 

 later varieties, which were in flower a little later, with the weather much milder 

 but moist, the set was poor. Jefferson has been grand, whether the trees were 

 on south, east, west, or north walls, or even in the open. Kirke's, Coe's 

 Golden Drop, Orleans, Rivers' Prolific, Victoria, Pond's Seedling, Pershore, the 

 latter, although a common plum, still the best for bottling. Oullin's Golden 

 Green Gage, Belle de Septembre, The Czar, Monarch (now carrying heavy crop). 

 For trees to bear freely, either on walls or the open, lay in young growth the 

 whole length, wherever there is room, when fruit buds will form the whole length. 

 —A. Young, Wit ley Court Gardens. 



Yorkshire.— Plums are a very thin crop indeed. As with apple trees there 

 was an abundant blossom on most kinds. The Green Gage family were the ex- 

 ception to this. Victoria, which in the North generally does so well, is this year 

 nearly fruitless ; they did not bear well last year either. The trees generally were 

 much pestered with green fly in the early part of the summer, both on walls and 

 in the open. Still, on the whole, they look fairly promising now, and probably 

 next year will be a plum year, and much lower prices for the fruits. Taking one 

 each of light and dark plums for this part and for dessert use, Jefferson and Kirke's 

 bear the palm. Coe's Golden Drop in this district is not fit for dessert one year in 



cl Ve k Winesours are grown to a great extent within a few miles of us. About 

 Sherburn there are large orchards of this plum, the fruits from which 

 are said to have a better flavour than usual. At any rate, the growers have 

 seldom or never any difficulty in disposing of their fruit at fairly good prices. 

 1 have known epicures give 15s. per stone of 18 lb. for them — H. J. Clayton, 



Grimston Park Gardens. 



r ~ " ^S 11118 have been under the average. The best crops are of Kirke's, 

 Loes Golden Drop, Pond's Seedling, Victoria, and Magnum Bonum. 



J. Allsop, Ballon Hall Gardens. 



^«?£! 5 pT ha !; a s $5'|ata.— This variety is grown in one of the open groves at 

 Sandhurst Lodge, Berks, but under the name of N. capensis. The plant I saw 



mor'e S y - W f S 5 0t S ? Str ? ng o as the one at Gunn ersbury House, having been 



Z fi fed °J U i Ced ' A -i Sa * dl ? urst Lod § e * is P^ted into a broad, deep 

 E w th f 8ood loamy soil and decayed manure ; then kept in a warm pit all 



Znth n^ the Warmest of the several g'oves in the 



Wher , J £ ^ 13 i lfted and returned to its winter quarters in October, 

 stood un frn J *l P . * Weeks , since h was bloomin g well, and, as the flowers 

 SSkrf ?v»i Q fu,] y ^elve inches, was very distinct from the general 

 Pa^s in tJT P ^^ S ? me beautiful tr °P ical forms are grown also plunged in 



E?Ui?r2S e a . S ° Uth Wa . U and heatCd b * P*P«- 1 like this species 



ord narvTnnf ^ Y ^ * carnc3 itS bl °° mS hi S h ' because not a few of the 

 the ^Tff£? W £* an ? OD g st water lilies produce such an excess of leaves that 



reguS 5I J °u n the S , UrfaCe ° f the Water > are rathe < hidd en. Some 



!« ^«emiS °J SeemS nee * fu1 ' as such rank Sowers need 



whih he weaker growers that are so much betfer near the 



^S£&^ lt i *?* 18 l ;- ue that the flowers of N - steiiata are ^ 



^ve less neeH If til ? -° ■ the ordlnar y nymphaeas, and for that reason they 

 above the iSw SUStamin g ^PP??' of the water - Still blooms well thrown 

 <* these SHlS 8 ^ mer - t - We ° an , n ? t too ™ m ly ^ank the introducer 

 beautiful charm rn I ? g a *° lnst ' umenta 'V^ng another and a singularly 



d ^£^ M7ig£^ A . N s. one in Engknd has done more in thi * 



^ ^ e hSd U vr^n« Pa , nlCUla 0 ta -~ A l thou S h J une an <* July is the proper period 



Arable SSsdUinW t0 ^x''- 1 Aft? t0 find a few da y s W a con- 



produced from Sna in X wSi 1 ^ ™ habltMrt of g^ens, having been 

 1 15 very ornamental 7 - 3 ' but M y ? J S by n ° n J eans common in cultivation, 

 fc'ms a *m™T ee £ JcS " ° r ou * ^ fower as its leaves are attractive. It 

 B'°wth i s irregular Th 7" exceedin g fifteen ™ height, while its style of 

 d «ply serrated I on th/ ™ * VeS are J d f clduous alternate, imparipinnate in shane, 

 ^ep y eiio w with * «? P™' ™ d deep grCen m CoIour ' Th « flowers, which 

 ""^eded later 'by arge h uS? CnmS °, n <* n ^» borne in terminal panicles, 

 a«u ran . Iuf ™L; t y ,K CapSUeS ' Whl - h renders U ver y conspicuous in 

 but flowers bener if i Ca f lest ' ** lt grows freel y in any good garden 



S tte Z^Tl m - " Shekered P K°t i0n - • P"P"B&« S effected 

 J^wwn in s P riL y S t n T m Sp " ng ' ° r by ^ ers in aut «mn as well as by 

 S***, combLd with it, . n appe u^f^ h ! n g row *ngand free- flowering 

 faction of hardy t S? ^J**? c « ,ture . should lead to it findinga place in every 



J"* th < mountam y rS 0 S ns ^fvuZt ^ e ' reuter f - bl P innata » » dhtinct species 

 £^ nes .and botank garden, ' l*™* 1 **?* "f scarcely ever seen outside 



SSfej** tbS^^^T^^^h 11 - of recent 



The leaves differ 



Snowflakes. 



kX°5i he T St u atisfactor y and interesting phases of modern gardening 

 ev In,^ k a thC natUral as distinct from formal. This is greatly 

 Snfh, tl % g T ln , g tendenc v to Plant hardy bulbs in grass amongst 

 shrubs, beside woodland walks, in the orchard and " wilderness," in fact 



,nrfn V ^ q f Uarte fu Where ^ mowm Z is not compulsory. The flowers 

 spnngmg lrom their verdant setting produce a charming effect, while such 

 culture adds considerably to the available breadths of flowers for cutting, 

 thl !f S ,t ^ y no L me J a ns least, it permits the maturing and ripening of 

 the bulbs undisturbed and the foliage unmutilated until its particular 

 work has been performed. Amongst the most suitable subjects for 

 naturalisation the leucojums, or snowflakes, stand " pre-eminent. 

 Considering the attributes of this genus it has hitherto been a somewhat 

 neglected one, though there is an inclinationjon the part of many to now 

 accord it a more prominent place. 



With the exception of some few of recent introduction the leucojums 

 are perfectly hardy and non-exacting in their requirements as regards 

 S °l \ &c > P rovided th .e situation be not too dry. Though, perhaps, some- 



two species are indigenous, their 

 habitat being moist meadows and shady places, as noted by Curtis in his 

 Flora Londinensis" (1798). The bulbs may be planted in clumps, 

 tnree or tour inches deep, in grass, or rather deeper in any ordinary 

 garden soil, from September to November, and will require no further 

 care except an occasional lifting and dividing when at rest. A few bulbs 

 should be potted annually in good soil for blooming in the cool house, for if 

 brought on gradually, and plentifully supplied with water during the most 

 active period of growth, all the snowflakes are excellent for pot culture. 



Ihe following are placed somewhat in the order of flowering: 

 Leucojum vernum (the Spring Snowflake), flowers white, tipped with 

 green ; very sweet-scented, and early, as the name implies; one of the 

 most beautiful and best known. L. v. carpathicum, a strong-growing 

 variety of the preceding ; white, yellow spotted ; very fine. These bloom 

 in * ebruary and onwards. L. roseum has most elegant, rose-coloured 

 flowers. L. aestivum is the well known Summer Snowflake, but the 

 specific appellation is somewhat a misnomer, as the flowers are produced 

 during April and May. They are pure white, and drooping. L. pulchel- 

 lum (Hernandezi), like the last named, is a strong grower, attaining a 

 height of eighteen inches, with flowers of a similar colour and form, 

 greatly prized for cutting ; May blooming. L. autumnale is the Ladies' 

 Snowflake ; a dwarf species, flowers white, pink-tipped and veined. It 

 flowers in August and September, and is very suitable for the rock- 

 garden. Mention may also be made of L trichophyllum, which resembles 

 the latter in its flowers, being pink and white, and sometimes pure white. 

 It is a spring-flowering species, and, along with the recent introductions 

 from Andalusia, should be grown in moist and very sandy soil. 



The leucojums possess another recommendation almost stronger than 

 their gracefulness and purity of flowers, and that is their fragrance, 

 which resembles the delicate odour of the violet, whence the generic 

 name—from two Greek words signifying " white violet "—though, as a 

 matter of fact, the Snowflakes remind us much more powerfully of the 

 snowdrops, differing from the latter only in the form of the perianth, the 

 segments being of equal size in the former, and alternately even in the 

 latter, besides a slight structural difference in the opening of the anthers. 



Rip on. F. Dixon. 



^i** it „ _ 



Woking, 



species. 



Stephanotis floribunda in Cool Houses. 



It is sometimes found that certain exotic plants which come from hot 

 countries, and are regarded here as stove subjects, will thrive in a tem- 

 perature considerably below that usually afforded to the occupants of 

 highly heated houses. 



One of these is the Stephanotis floribunda, a plant which, when in 

 bloom, is greatly admired by most persons, but one which is often passed 

 over owing to the fear that it will only succeed where plenty of heat and 

 moisture are at command, whereas, by a little careful treatment by way 

 of watering during the coldest part of the year, it may be successfully cul- 

 tivated in an ordinary plant house, where the temperature is not allowed 

 to fall below 40 degrees for any length of time during severe weather. 



At the recent show at Edinburgh, Mr. Lunt, Keir Gardens, gained 

 the premier award in the flowering plant class with a well-grown and 

 profusely flowered specimen of the above. This was trained upon a 

 balloon trellis, about thirty inches in diameter, and although larger 

 plants of the kind have occasionally been seen at this show, it is very 

 doubtful whether one with healthier foliage, finer trusses, or larger indi- 

 vidual flowers has been seen there. This plant has been grown for some 

 years in a house that contains a varied collection of plants, useful for 

 decoration or cutting, and at present consisting principally of gera- 

 niums, begonias, cannas, and a very fine plant trained upon the roof of 

 Lapageria rosea, which has several hundreds of blooms now open, this 

 showing that the temperature maintained must be very moderate. On men- 

 tioning this fact to Mr. Lunt, he stated that the house was ventilated at 

 all times to suit the requirements of whatever class of flowering plants 

 might be in season, with a view to prolong the flowering of the same as 

 long as possible, and that the thermometer had been known to fall as low 

 as 27 degrees, but no harm had ever resulted to the stephanotis. 



To accomplish the cultivation of this plant successfully in a cool 

 house water must be given very sparingly in >the winter season, or when 

 the plant is at rest, and a position should be provided where it may receive 

 a considerable amount of sunlight to ripen its growth, which, compared 

 with that made in much heat, will be stout and short-jointed, with large 

 and deeply coloured leaves. The flowers also will last much longer upon 

 the plant, which may be used for house or conservatory decoration if re- 

 quired, without the risk of damage, by being removed to a cooler 

 atmosphere than that in which it has grown. 



Galloway House Gardens, N.B. James Day. 



