526 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 25, 1886, 
Should be satisfied, and so would hundreds of growers, if the per-centage 
°f failure with imported roots could be reduced to such a limited number. 
If the experience of the majority of growers was recorded I am afraid it 
would tell materially against your correspondent, and considerably reduce 
the large psr-centage of those that do well, while the number of those 
that form no roots would be increased. I have invariably found that the 
bulbs that start freely from the base and display every sign of activity 
below generally do well, while the quantity of stem roots are very few in 
comparison to those that are sluggish below. 
Your correspondent is evidently hasty in his conclusions, and does not 
even attempt to confute by arguments of fact that which he terms “ mere 
fiction.” Instead of proving that the surface roots are natural and not 
the result of sluggish root-activity below, he tries to draw an analogy 
between Liliums and Primulas. What similarity is there existing between 
these two plants ? It is a wonder I was not directed to the Yine, for 
there is a greater analogy between the Yine and the stem of L. auratum. 
Annually roots are produced from the stems of thousands of Vines, and 
what would be thought of the men who encouraged and supplied these 
roots with suitable food for the purpose of supporting the Yine or crop ? 
Would this not be practised at the expense of the basal roots ? If this 
is a fact in the case of the Vine why does it not apply with equal force 
to L. auratum ? if not, it is for your correspondent to prove the reverse 
before concluding that statements are “fiction.”— Scientia. 
THE RED ROSE BOILER. 
In a recent visit to the vineries at Chester-le-Street I was forcibly 
struck with the efficiency of the new boiler, named “ The Red Rose,” 
invented and now being sent out by the proprietor, Mr. Joseph Wither¬ 
spoon. Without a doubt it possesses, what the inventor justly claims for 
it, great heating power. Being a very bright day the fire had not been 
started, and to prove the rapidity with which the heat could be raised I 
tried the flow pipe close to the boiler in the vinery, which was then scarcely 
warm. We then watched the fire started, taking particular note of the 
time, and in ten minutes the pipe was too hot to comfortably keep my 
hand upon it, and this with an ordinary sample of small coal. Not the 
least pleasing feature was the Gros Colman and Madresfield Court Vines 
immediately over the boiler carrying a beautiful crop, and with foliage 
as clean and fresh as could be desired.—W. J. 
CHOICE RHODODENDRONS. 
The following selection of varieties, grouped under their prevailing 
colours, has been made with great care from Mr. McIntosh’s collection at 
Duneevan, and we publish it for the information of those of our readers 
who may contemplate planting a good assortment of these handsome 
evergreen shrubs. 
White, with shades of blush and cream. —Album elegans, white* free 
good habit ; Album grandiflorum, large and good; Album triumphans, 
fine; Chianoides, white, pale yellow spot; Exquisite, good white, large 
yellow spot; Empress Eugenie, white, carmine spot ; Gloriosum, white, 
bold flower ; Ingrami, pale blush, yellow spot; Lady Annette de Traf- 
ford, cream, chocolate blotch ; Lady Grenville, blush, with bluish purple 
margin ; Mrs. John Clutton, white, good shape ; Mad. Carvalho, white, 
greenish spot; Minnie, blush, orange spot; Mrs. Russell Sturgis, white, 
chocolate spot; Perfection (Standish’s), pale blush, ochre spot; Pictura- 
tum, delicate blush, maroon spot; Purity, good white, orange spot; 
Sappho, white, conspicuous maroon spot; The Queen (Noble), white, fine 
and large. 
Purple, with shades of lavender, lilac, plum, and puce .—Cyaneum, 
purplish lilac ; Fastuosum, fl.-pl., lavender ; Hamlet, purple; James Na¬ 
smyth, rosy lilac, with maroon ; King of the Purples, bluish purple ; Mrs. 
G. H. W. Heneage, rose-purple, white centre, fringed edge ; Ne plu3 ultra, 
rose-purple; Nero, dark rosy purple ; Old Port, purple plum ; Purpureum 
elegans, fine purple; Purpureum grandiflorum, good ; Sir Thos. Sebright, 
purple, bronze blotch ; Schiller, bluish purple; Silvio, purple, yellow 
centre ; Surprise, lilac, chocolate blotch ; William Downing, dark puce. 
Rose, with shades. —Alexander Dancer, bright rose, fine truss ; Elfrida, 
bright rose; Giganteum, rose, chocolate spot; John Spencer, rose, late, 
one of the best; Lady Armstrong, rose, much spotted ; Lady Emily Peel, 
rose, dark spot; Lady Falmouth, beautiful rose, with a very dark spot; 
Lord John Russell, pale violet rose, intensely spotted; Marchioness of 
Landsdowne, rose, heavily spotted, very effective ; Mrs. Thos. Wain, pale 
rose, brown blotch, very good; Mrs. Thos. Agnew, light rose, brighter 
edges, yellow centre, very telling ; Stella, pale rose, chocolate spot; 
Towardi, rose, finely spotted ; Velasquez, cherry rose (early) ; W. E. 
Gladstone, deep rose, beautiful, very fine truss. 
Shades of pink and salmon. —Concessum, rose pink (late); Everes- 
tianum, lilac pink, good fringed; Garibaldi, salmon pink, fine habit; 
Lady Eleanor Cathcart, deep rose pink, large dark blotch, telling; Lady 
Frances Crossley, rosy salmon, very beautiful ; Mrs. Frederick Hankey, 
salmon, richly spotted ; Mrs. R. S. Holford, rosy salmon, distinct and 
fine ; Notabile, rosy pink, fine ; Sylph, bright rosy pink ; Vivian Grey, 
rosy pink, distinct and beautiful. 
Shades of crimson, scarlet, red, and magenta. —Admiration, rosy 
crimson, dark spot; Alexander Adie, rosy scarlet (late); Atrosanguineum, 
fiery crimson ; Achievement, rich crimson ; Brayanum, bright crimsou ; 
Broughtoni, rosy carmine crimson (early) ; Caractacus, purplish crimson ; 
Charles Bagley, cherry red, very good ; Charles Dickens, crimson scarlet, 
fine habit and foliage; Countess of Clancarty, rosy crimson ; Cynthia, 
good rosy crimson, large truss ; Decorator, clear bright scarlet, dark spot; 
Doncaster, scarlet crimson, lighter centre, very good; Edward S. Rand, 
scarlet crimson; Earl of Shannon, dark crimson, prettily spotted; Frede¬ 
rick Waterer, intense fiery crimson ; Francis Dickson, scarlet crimson, fine : 
Hermit, rich crimson scarlet; H. W. Sargent, rich crimson, splendid 
variety ; James Bateman, rosy scarlet; James Mashall Brookes, deep 
crimson ; James Mason, bright red ; John Walter, brilliant crimson; John 
Waterer, very rich crimson ; Kate Waterer, rosy crimson, yellow marking, 
distinct; Lady Clermont, crimson, black spot; Louisa, Countess Ashbur¬ 
ton, scarlet crimson, good habit ; Lord Eversley, intense crimson, black 
spot, very fine and free ; Michael Waterer, brilliant crimson; Mrs. Fitz¬ 
gerald, crimson spotted, prefers a shady situation; Mrs. John Waterer, 
rosy crimson ; Mrs. Shuttleworth, scarlet, lighter centre, distinct; Mons. 
Doifoy, rosy crimson; Mrs. Wm. Bovill, rosy scarlet crimson; Othello, 
crimson, tinged maroon; Pelopidas, very fine crimson, large truss; 
Raphael, rosy crimson, intensely spotted; Ralph Sanders, rich purplish 
crimson ; Sunray, rosy red, good colour ; Sunshine, fiery crimson; Sigis- 
mund Rucker, magenta, much spotted, distinct and good; Sir R. Peel, 
spotted rose crimson; Sir Wm. Armstrong, pale crimson (late); The 
Moor, dark crimson ; The Grand Arab, showy crimson ; The Cardinal, 
scarlet crimson (early); The Warrior, scarlet crimson ; Titian, rosy crim¬ 
son ; Vandyke, rosy crimson ; Victoria, claret crimson. 
Lake, and very dark shades. —Sir Joseph Whitworth, lake, with clus¬ 
ters of very dark spots, free and bold flowers ; Nigrescens, very free and 
dark. 
Margined varieties. —Baroness Lionel Rothschild, pale centre, with 
intense crimson margin; Duchess of Sutherland, white, with broad margin 
of rosy lilac ; Lady Ilchester, pale centre, crimson edge. 
GRAPES CRACKING. 
I think that the action of endosmose on vegetation generally is 
admitted by most gardeners, but not so its action on fruits such as Grapes, 
Cherries, Plums, &c., as described by “ A Thinker,” and am doubtful if 
all eminent scientific men are agreed on the subject in question—viz., 
endosmose and exosmose taking place through the skins of fruit such as 
the above-mentioned. Before this controversy ends I would like to 
remind “ A Thinker ” that Dutrochet proved by a variety of experiments 
that the two processes of endosmose and exosmose were always reciprocal 
to a certain degree. He found that while a portion of one fluid passed 
inwards, a certain portion of the interior fluid also passed outwards ; but 
that the power predominated which transferred the lighter to the denser 
fluid. Now this being so, it necessarily follows that some traces the 
sugary juices escaping from the Grapes would be found on the skins of 
the berries, which I have never observed myself, nor have I heard of any¬ 
thing of the sort eoming under thejobservation of anyone else ; besides, if 
the precious juices of Grapes were to escape by the reciprocal action of 
exosmose it would, in my opinion, be contrary to the general economy of 
Nature. 
In reply to Mr. Mclndoe’s remarks on page 47S I would tell him that 
his quotation from Dr. Lindley does not prove that the Doctor thought 
that fruit absorbed vapour through the skin. He distinctly says “ That 
it is by endosmose that vapour is absorbed from the atmosphere and water 
from the earth. The sap is attracted into fruits by virtue of their greater 
density.” I take this to mean that in the case of fruits the sap is attracted 
to them by the action of endosmose through the roots and branches. If 
this is not what Dr. Lindley had in view I do not understand the latter 
clause of the quotation—namely, “ that it is by endosmose that water is 
absorbed from the earth.”— Hugh Henderson. 
CHISWICK. 
A FUCHSIA TRIAL-FRUIT—CAULIFLOWERS. 
“Old Chiswick” is looking well now and is full of promise. Under 
glass the Fuohsia trial has just been concluded and the honours awarded by 
experts—the following members of the Floral Committee, who assombled 
in the Gardens on Monday last:—Messrs. Shirley Hibberd (Chairman), 
Fraser, Hudson, Pollett, Dominy, and Barron, Secretary. The Fuchsias, 
which were supplied by Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons of Swanley, have been 
grown in the Gardens and flowered chiefly in 5-inch pots, the plants ran Ring 
from 1 to 2 feet and upwards in height, according to their habits. They 
were in the best of health when scrutinised, bearing stout clean foliage and 
clothed with beautiful flowers. They can be best described as handy decora¬ 
tive plants, such as are soli in Covent Garden, and extremely attractive 
such plants are, though they are not seen equally sturdy and floriferous in all 
gardens where these graceful plants are cultivated. 
The Chiswiok collection is a large one, about 150 varieties having been 
submitted to the Committee. All the sections were represented from the 
oldest to the new varieties, from the smallest in cultivation to the 
largest. In granting certificates on this occasion no regard whatever has 
been paid to the time the varieties were placed in commerce, merit alone 
having been the test. Old varieties were as readily honoured as the new— 
that is to say, varieties of 1884 or 1885 had no favour shown to them because 
of being new. This, in a trial of this kind, is as it ought to be, and some 
good old varieties have thus received high official approval for their 
distinctness, freedom, or beauty. 
CERTIFICATED VARIETIES. 
Single Light-sepalled Varieties .—Lady Heytesbury: Purplish corolla, 
well known as one of the most floriferous and effective, and is grown by 
thousands for market purposes ; has been previously certificated. Prince 
Alfred, very sturdy and floriferous, evidently closely allied to the good old 
Rose of Castille, but with a darker corolla. Both these are varieties of great 
