720 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



November 5, ^ 



Cytisus purgans. 



A bright- flowered broom of dwarf habit, and producing abundance of golden 

 blossoms during May. The species is plentiful in the southern half of France and 

 in the northern part of Spain/and found growing freely in rocky districts. It was 

 introduced to cultivation in this country as long ago as 1768, and was formerly 

 regarded as of economic value ; it has no place, however, in modern medicine, 

 and does not ever seem to have been much valued as a purgative. C. purgans is 

 a handsome and effective flowering shrub. Bot. Mag., t. 7,618. 



Amelanchier canadensis oblongifolia. 



The common June berry or Service berry is well known and appreciated as 

 one of the most beautiful of our hardy and early- flowering trees, but the variety 

 figured as Amelanchier canadensis oblongifolia in the Bot. Mag., t. 7,619, is not 

 so well known as the type. It differs from the species in its smaller size, shrubby 

 habit, and less sharply serrated leaves, the latter having a tomentose under surface. 

 The flowers are bolder, and the resulting fruit more juicy, than in the species. 

 This variety is known in New Brunswick as the Swamp Sugar Pear ; it is plentiful 

 near the River Saskatchewan, where the Cree Indians use the wood for pipe stems 



and arrows. 



Feijoa Sellowiana. 



This is an erect-growing shrub allied to Psidium ; it has opposite, oblong, 

 shining green leaves and handsome drooping flowers two inches across. The latter 

 has a whitish calyx with re flexed lobes ; the orbicular petals are white on the outer 

 and blood-red on the inner surface, save for a white margin. The stamens are 

 very numerous, spreading into a large, broad tuft, rich blood-red, tipped with tiny 

 yellow anthers. The fruit somewhat resembles a guava, and has a richly aromatic 

 odour and flavour. Feijoa Sellowiana is a native of Brazil and Uruguay, and it 

 commemorates Don J. da Silva Feijo, of San Sebastian Natural History Museum, 

 and M. Fr. Sellow, of Potsdam, the energetic collector who discovered it. Bot. 



Mag. j t. 7,620. 



Rhododendron rubiginosum. 



Yet another rhododendron from Yunnan, and also discovered by the Abbe 

 Delavay. It appears to be closely allied to R. punctatum, an American species, 

 and Sir J. D. Hooker, in the Bot. Mag., t 7,621, states : " It is difficult to say 

 how the two are to be distinguished, except by the much larger flowers of the 

 Chinese plant, which has disproportionately large, highly-coloured anthers and 

 much less hairy filaments." R. rubiginosum is quite hardy at Kew, where it pro- 

 duces its bright rose-coloured flowers in April and May. The specimen was 

 obtained from Messrs. J. Veitch and Sons, Chelsea. Bot. Mag., t. 7,621. 



Chrysanthemums. 



Waterlow Park. 



From an educational standpoint the show ot chrysanthemums at this popular 

 North London park bids fair to rival any other existing public display of the kind. 

 Very nearly 3,000 plants, in almost endless variety, are well represented, and on 

 the occasion of our visit were seen in their best and freshest condition. Good 

 culture characterised the great bulk of the plants, and we rarely, if ever, have 

 seen the chrysanthemums turned out better at this establishment. The collection 

 does not contain as many of the new introductions as one would expect to find, 

 and this is a pity, as North Londoners are so apt to make comparison with other 

 displays in the immediate neighbourhood. 



The most conspicuous of the newer Japanese varieties were Mrs. S. C. Probyn, 

 a good incurved Japanese of fine form and substance, of a pale pink colour ; 

 YdlOW Carnot (G. J. Warren), which looked very promising; Emily Silsbury, 

 one of the best white, and a veiy easy sort to grow ; Pride of Exmouth, a large pale 

 pink almost white on early flowers ; Lady Byron, a very grand white Modesto ; 

 Duchess of Wellington, a good yellow of spreading form ; and Mons. Edouard 

 Andre. Of the older Japanese varieties there were several notable examples of 

 cultural skill, and good colour in the majority of the flowers was a special feature 

 of the display. Phoebus, probably the most popular of all yellow, was in grand 

 form; Mrs. E. G. Hill, an undoubted semi- early flower of a pretty pale blush 

 pink colour ; Gloire du Rocher, brilliant crimson and golden ; Australian Gold, 

 straw yellow ; William Seward and J. Shrimpton, two distinct shades of crimson ; 



it u\ T'r Very P rett y J £ da Prass, a very lovely soft pink ; Avalanche, 

 the white of a few years since, still popular here, and the members of the Viviand 

 Morel family each call for special notice. This last lot of plants promised some 

 very large full flowers. 



Incurved varieties were rather sparsely represented, but what there were of 

 them answered well the purpose of illustration to the admiring throng of visitors. 

 use 1 u, has /arely been seen with blooms of such rich colouring, while the 

 beautiful blooms of the Rundle family are freely represented. Anemones, such as 

 uescartes, the rich coloured bright crimson red, are grown in a free manner, and 

 or decorative effect are most attractive and striking. Pompons are always an in- 

 teresting feature here, and a nice variety, including white and yellow Mdlle. 

 Marthe, the glorious William Westlake, President, Black Douglas, Mdlle. Elise 

 uordan, bmily Rowbottom, and several others contributed largely to a pretty 

 and effective arrangement of the fine range of glasshouses here. To Mr. Webb, 

 trie grower, praise is due for a notable advance in quality. The natural picturesque 

 cnaracter of the park shows the skilful handling of Mr. Pallett, under whose 

 superintendence the outdoor display has been improving each year. A wise selec- 

 tion or early flowering chrysanthemums has kept the beds and borders quite gay 

 ror some time past, and even so late as the last week in October there is plenty to 

 interest the visitors to the park from this source alone. 



rha 5 a i PUy the P i arks Commi ttee are not just a little more liberal in the pur- 

 m^nc f gC - number of fi 'st-rate novelties, as this is probably one of the best 

 Autumn creatm S an interest, and also keeping alive the interest, too, in the 



< l ueen * Visitor. 



Mrtm^nf^Pv 61 "! 111611 ^ 1 Farm ' rented and managed by the Agricultural De- 



Long M^ TheTrm I Wa,e8 ' Bang ° F ' WaS ° peDed Mr ' 



and herp" Jh* A fa ™ « 358 acres in extent, and is at Lledwigan, Anglesey 



iUustr ir,,1 tk °p eU r Inforn >ation given at the college will be experimentally 

 S t ,1* Pr ?£*?' of Agriculture at the University will reside at and 

 who will Jpt^Vv. . distance of a small committee of practical formers, 

 finanJ l flwi!&»^ and cropping of the farm, and control the 



finances T nu;ar J. .l 1 • ^*viug, anu crup^u:^ Ui mc .ami, anu <.uuiiui LUC 



a special aram^f A main , ten ance of this farm the Board of Agriculture make 

 of the grant vote! by ^^o^tS^Sd^ " 



WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



WARM ORCHIDS. 



Vanda Sanderiana, the king of the genus, seems to be more 

 than formerly, and certainly is the very finest of all the vandas and ? v now 

 grown more extensively. Though high priced it is deserving of a nlar- • 1 t0 be 

 collection. It is far the best plan to purchase a good strong specimen I T7 

 large enough to lead one to expect flowers, and, indeed, this should be the , r»«* 2$ 

 all this section of vandas ; for if small plants are purchased it means years TnS 

 years of culture before they attain a flowering stage. The species S j 

 thrives well if grown in the .cattleya house; it enjoy? dmnd^ ^ 

 growing freely, with a diminished supply when resting. It also eniovs fcS > 

 culture, and to be suspended from the roof. There are many opinions with «h» i 

 to the culture of Vanda teres ; some growers never allow it to be removed fm 

 the house where it is grown, and never allow any rest, keeping it in a hoth™ 

 all through the winter months ; others practise the extreme, and remove th/ir 

 plants annually to the coolest house. I advocate a medium method - we Pr I 



growing season (in the dendrobium 

 house), and when the growing season is over they are placed on a shelf close to 

 the glass, kept dry at the roots, only sufficient water being allowed to keep the 

 growths firm, and under such treatment they flower luxuriantly year afcer year. 



Dendrobium phatenopsis Schroderianum will in most collections be making a 

 fine display, and they are grand orchids at this season of the year. Less water at 

 the roots and also in the atmosphere must be provided now the flowers are open 

 but sufficient water is required to enable them to finish flowering prior to their 

 having a good rest. Particular attention at this season must be paid to a steadv 

 temperature, especially under the present conditions of the weather, as we have 

 occasional cold nights. The bottom ventilators must be kept open night and day 

 when convenient, but sufficient heat must be kept in the pipes to keep up a tern- 

 perature of, say, 65 degrees at night. Cattleya Bowringiana will now be brighten- 

 ing our cattleya houses, and is well worth cultivating ; the water supply must also 

 be checked for this species. # C. labiata autumnalis will also be flowering. This 

 has become so cheap that it is within reach of anyone who has a glasshouse ; it is 

 also of easy culture, and invaluable for cut flowers at this time of the year. ' The 

 plants, however, have a bad fault of rotting off at the top of the bulb when the 

 flowering season is over ; a good plan to stop this is to withhold water and cut 

 away the affected part as far as the rot penetrates, and rub the cut surface with 

 dry lime or flower of sulphur. Cockroaches and beetles will be troubling orchid 

 growers now in the warm houses, so must be trapped. 



The temperatures at night should be : East Indian house, 70 degrees ; cattleya 

 house, about 62 degrees ; and cypripedium house, 65 degrees, allowing a few 

 degrees rise by day in fine weather.— T. Stafford, Tyntesfield Gardens. 



STOVE PLANTS. 



A number of cuttings of each variety ofcoleus should be put in to afford stock 

 for propagating from in the spring, these wintering better and occupying less 

 space than the old plants. Continue to introduce batches of Poinsettia, Euphorbia 

 jacquinaflora, Plumbago rosea, justicias, &c, to the stove, so as to maintain a 

 regular succession of bloom ; see that each plant receives plenty of light, so that the 

 leaves may be retained, an accompaniment of plenty of clean, healthy foliage tending 

 to show off the flowers to the greatest advantage. Afford these, and all other plants 

 in active growth, stimulants regularly, but not so strong as they are usually applied 

 earlier in the season. When either flowers or bracts are fully expanded remove the 

 plants to a cooler and drier house, where they will retain their beauty much longer 

 than in a warm, moist stove. Attend carefully to the wants of succession plants of 

 Poinsettia, Eranthemum pulchellum, E. Andersonianum, Centropogon Lucyanus, 

 and Thyrsacanthus rutilans, and while giving them sufficient water for their require- 

 ments be careful that they are not overwatered. Examine them regularly to see that 

 no insect pests have gained a footing, and should any be found adopt means for 

 their destruction at once, as these troublesome disturbers of the peace of a 

 gardener's mind increase rapidly now that the syringe can be less liberally applied, 

 and that, owing to the rapidly decreasing light, the atmosphere has to be kept less 

 humid. Begonia Knowslyana, B. corallina, B. President Carnot, B. Ingrami, 

 are flowering freely in a house with a temperature of 5S degrees by night and 63 

 degrees by day, and their flowers are extremely useful at this season ; a sprinkling 

 of a good artificial fertilizer once a fortnight, with an intermediate watering with 

 soot water, suits them admirably. When watering care must be taken not to wet 

 the foliage or to spill water about. Saintpaulia ionantha is flowering in the same 

 house ; this is a lovely little subject, and should be grown in all gardens. 



Bougainvilleas must now be gradually dried off, and the leaves as they fall 

 should be gathered up daily, especially those which fall upon the foliage of other 

 plants beneath. Encourage allamandas to go to rest by gradually reducing the 

 supply of water ; when the leaves have fallen shorten the shoots, and, if of a 

 movable size, place the plants at the back of the stove, but do not stand them too 

 near the hot-water pipes. Clerodendrons may be treated similarly to allamandas, 

 only that no shortening of the shoots should take place until the plants are pruned 

 for starting again. Keep ixias moderately dry at the roots, and shorten back the 

 shoots if not already done. A few plants of gardenias set with buds may be 

 introduced at intervals from the intermediate house where they are resting, and 

 stood ID a light position at the warmest end of the stove ; afford them stimulants 

 regularly; see that they are free from insect pests before the flowers begin to 

 expand. Phrynium variegatum is apt to become infested with red spider at thi* 

 season, and mncf k~ — 1.1 Lj ~i i m .t A ~«,;ii r™~m in«*» rheir beauty. 



stood 



— uitse, ana have tne pots twistea rounu hcijuculaj *~ r\~'Z~* mtm 



plants rooting into the ashes, small gravel, or whatever the material they are 

 standing on may be. On very dull days one syringing will be sufficient ; in ieu 

 of a second syringing overhead damp freely amongst the pots and on the pains, 

 and keep the evaporating troughs regularly filled.— J- TuNNiNGTON, 

 Cast 14 Gardens. 



of 



THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



Where not already accomplished a general clearance of the remains 

 S^f^^.^ now take place. _ With the f^^^^,^ 



he beds 



necessary 



■ 



n . ■„, , ' «ua otners, 



previously dug over two spits i 



now, thus leaving the beds to be simply dug over when the summer 

 comes round again. I n large gardens, or where there are beds of good sue, 

 small conifers and flowerin* shrubs may be effectually employed for winter 



