COMMONPLACt: NOT'ES. 



448 



" In the selection of phmts I have had to consider the poverty and 

 shallowness of the soil, and in the most exposed situations the plants 

 are very crowded, but as water exists 8 to 10 feet from the surface, it 

 is only the top soil that becomes very dry; this is counteracted by 

 rotary sprinklers worked by a Dando mill which is driven by, perhaps, 

 our worst enemy, the wind, so that we may say with truth that ' It's an 

 ill wind that blows nobody some good. ' 



" Next year I hope to plant out Hickory, Madura auraniiaca, 

 Xanthoceras sorhifolia, and Decaisnea Fargesii, all raised here from 

 seeds. 



" Eucommia iihnoides seems to be quite hardy here. 

 " I don't stint fertilizers, but I use plenty of guano, nitrates, and 

 phosphates, by which I obtain rapid growth." 



LlLIUM MONADELPHUM VAE. SzOVITZIANUM ( = L. COLCHICUM). 



For general usefulness this. lily (figs. 126 and 127) has probably no 

 equal, and in beauty it is nearly, if not quite, equal to L. auratum. It 

 seems equally at home in sun or shade and in fairly damp and in dry 

 positions, growing from three to six feet high, with five to twenty blooms 

 on a graceful stem strong enough to support them without staking. The 

 colour of the flower is a bright straw yellow, some being almost a canary 

 yellow, others clear self colour, while still others are spotted with black, 

 the anthers being a deep chocolate. The individual flowers are large and 

 somewhat pendulous, giving a particularly pleasing effect. At Wisley 

 this is one of the earliest lilies to bloom, and thrives best in a cool 

 position where the soil contains a good deal of humus; at the same 

 time it should be added that, though smaller, it is perfectly happy on 

 dry banks, but flowers there a fortnight later and grows a little less 

 vigorously. In one position, under some large apple trees in a poor 

 soil, the stock increases rapidly, hundreds of seedlings coming up every 

 year. Another m.erit this lovely lily possesses is its healthy constitu- 

 tion, disease very rarely attacking it, and even then only very slightly. 

 For both large and small gardens it is one of the best and most reliable 

 of all lilies, and may be depended upon to produce plenty of flowers 

 in June. 



Alpine Steawbeeries (Quatee Saisons). 



Considering the extraordinary quantity of delicious fruit borne by 

 the Alpine Strawberries, and their easy cultivation, it is strange that 

 they are so seldom seen, even in the gardens of the very rich. Fruiting 

 as they do so continuously, and after the other large-fruited varieties 

 are done, they form a welcome and pleasant dish on the dessert-table, 

 and are dehcious in a fruit salad. Tastes fortunately differ, but in our 

 opinion the small White Alpine is the best flavoured of all, and the 

 largest we have seen is ' Millett,' a new variety raised, we believe, in 

 France, the fruit being of the usual shape of the alpine varieties and 

 about two inches long. Other good varieties are * Bergeri, ' ' Belle de 

 Meaux,' and the ' Pearl,' all of which may be propagated by runners, 



