148 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ February 21. 1884. 
decision of the Executive Council with regard to their applications. 
In response to a request made by His Royal Highness the Prince of 
Wales, President of the Exhibition, the eight Water Companies of 
London have resolved to exhibit, in a pavilion which is being erected 
for them, their appliances for the supply, filtration, &c., of water, 
together with diagrams showing the various processes and localities ; 
and a powerful Sub-Committee, under the active chairmanship of 
Colonel Sir Francis Bolton, has been formed to carry out this branch 
of the Exhibition. The Water Companies have also determined to put 
up in the grounds a large fountain, which will be illuminated at night 
by electricity. This fountain of light will, it is anticipated, materially 
add to the beauty of the illumination of the gardens. It is impossible 
as yet to give any definite information with regard to foreign countries ; 
but, so far as one can judge at present, Belgium, China, and India will 
be the best represented. A Royal Commission has been appointed in 
Belgium, and the Consul-General in London is their active repre¬ 
sentative here. To China has been allotted the space which it occupied 
last year at the Fisheries Exhibition, and a Chinese tea garden, restaurant 
and shop will not be the least interesting objects in the Exhibition. 
India is to be adjacent to China, and strenuous exertions are being 
made to secure the united action of many of the principal Tea-planters 
in India, so as to insure a good and representative show of the Indian 
Tea-growing industry. 
HAEDY PLANTS IN FLOWER. 
Snowdrops. —Nothing is more pleasurable than commencing 
these notes with these charming offspring of the early year, for 
I cannot boast of having varieties which in the late months of 
the dying year, although such there are. The late Rev. Harpur 
Crewe possessed many varieties of Galanthus nivalis, the earliest 
of which commenced to bloom in October, and others kept up 
the succession till March—five months of Snowdrops ! Happily 
the collection of the reverend enthusiast has passed into the 
kindly keeping of another ardent lover of hardy flowers, and we 
are sure they will be well cared for, and trust in due time will 
be distributed, but of course many years will elapse before many 
of us can hope to cultivate the entire series. G. nivalis, the 
common species, is very variable in size, form cf the perianth 
division, and leaf size; but as far as I have examined all are 
characterised by the green inside of the inner divisions and the 
green blotches at the back of the upper part of the same without 
the green at the base so characteristic of G. Elwesi; but as I have 
not examined all the varieties, but it will not do to designate 
this as a hard-and-fast characteristic. 
Galanthus Elwesi. — This is in my opinion as pretty as any 
Snowdrop in cultivation. Several years since, when first intro¬ 
duced by the enthusiastic bulbophile in whose honour it is named, 
I noticed two or three plants in flower at Kew, and was struck 
with its distinctness—the globular form of perianth with brown 
segments, the-distinct green blotches at the base of the inner 
divisions, and rather broad short glaucous leaves. Mr. Elwes 
is quite disappointed with what is now under cultivation when 
compared with what he saw when the species was discovered, 
and he thinks it degrades in our English gardens. It may, but 
I think not— i.e., the true form ; but dealers have collected 
thousands of bulbs regardless of character, the majority of which 
are very poor forms of it. I have lately seen a bed perhaps of 
two thousand bulbs, and noticed how few were really the typical 
G. Elwesi, which was distinguishable by its precocity, longer and 
more globular flowers with a stouter consistency, and these 
stood head and shoulders above the rest. 1 still have hopes 
that this beautiful Snowdrop will hold its own. 
G. plieatus— the Crimean species—is very fine, a strong 
grower, with flowers combining the characteristics of G. nivalis 
and G. Elwesi and longer than either, but most easily distin¬ 
guished by the broad plicated leaves. I am sure this as well as 
many other bulbs require to be planted deeply. I pulled up a 
peduncle the other day which measured 18 inches in length, 
equal distances above and below the surface of the ground, and 
the batch from which this was taken is very vigorous and 
healthy. 
G. Imperati. —Though generally regarded as a distinct species 
is certainly nothing more than a strong-growing variety of 
G, nivalis, but nevertheless most desirable, producing flowers as 
large as any 1 know, and a clump of it is an ornament of no 
mean value. 
G. Redoutii. —Superficially this is very distinct, chiefly in the 
foliage. The flowers appertain to G. nivalis, but the leaves are 
unique as far as I know, a Snowdrop looking more like a Leu- 
coium, long and broad, of a deep shining green colour, not at 
all glaucous; the flowers are comparatively small and thin in 
texture. It is well worth growing. 
Colchicdm montanum (syn. with C. bulbocodioides, Bieb.). 
—This is a desirable little species, as it flowers now instead of 
with the majority of its congeners in the autumn ; and another 
peculiarity is the leaves precede the flowers. The former are 
about 4 inches long, deep green, slightly glaucous, oblong-lance¬ 
olate in form ; perianth 3 to 4 inches high; the limb segments 
about an inch long, oblong, at first nearly white, changing to 
pale pink: when expanded the flowers are from I£ to 2 inches 
across. It came to me under the name of C. Bertoloni, a species 
I am unacquainted with. If some reader of the Journal could 
inform us whether this is also a synonym of C. montanum good 
service would be done. I like the plant very much, a good 
tuft has been in flower some time. 
Scilla bifolia. —This is, I think, one of the smallest of the 
Squills, flowering so early in the year, and when the bulbs get 
thoroughly established they send up dense tufts of the starchy 
blue flowers, any spike of which is good enough to arrange m a 
buttonhole or hair ornament. But the variety alba claims 
first rank for this purpose, its delicate small racemes of pure 
white flowers being very desirable. It is certainly a gem of the 
first water, but is rather later-flowering than the type. My 
bulbs will be quite three or four weeks later. There is a variety 
named grandiflora, also another named corymbosa, both of which 
are now in flower. The form has longer and more crowded 
spikes of flowers which are of a rather deeper shade of blue, 
while the latter has corymbose spikes of thickly set flowers of 
the same colour as grandiflora. Both these varieties are very 
desirable, but in my opinion do not equal alba. 
S. Amcena. —This is but a variety of S. sibirica, which it re¬ 
sembles very much, and is generally distributed with that species, 
but it flowers much earlier, and is a rather deeper blue than 
sibirica. It is now in full flower, whereas the latter is only just 
peeping above ground and will not be in flower for a month or 
so. In a larger batch I have, all of which were supposed to be 
S. sibirica, numbers of them are in full flower, dotted here and 
there all over the beds. It is desirable on account of its earliness, 
more particularly as it is not superior to S. sibirica. 
Eranthis hyemalis (the Winter Aconite).—Although com¬ 
mon this is a bright little gem, and should be very extensively 
planted in the wild garden, woodland, near the margins of lakes, 
and in shrubberies, as it lights up the suiface with its sheen of 
golden blossoms and bright greenery. Curtis in his time thought 
it worth a place in the pages of his “ Botanical Magazine,” a 
figure of it appearing in vol. i., fig. 3, under the name of Helle- 
borus hyemalis. 
Iris reticulata.— This is just opening its first flowers, 
while the variety Krelagei is nearly past. I had two large 
clumps of the latter, each with about a score or more flowers, 
and a charming picture they have been, but not so deep in colour 
as the type, which after all is my favourite. I have a clump 
which will have at least thirty flowers of that rich deep violet- 
purple colour with golden marks at the upper part of the divi¬ 
sions—a charming and very effective contrast, the flowers smell¬ 
ing strongly of Yiolets. If I grew but one Iris I think it would 
be this; it comes at a period of the year when the garden 
is usually far from enjoyable, which makes it all the more wel¬ 
come to some, and it is so lovely and distinct. It requires to 
be planted deeply—quite 8 inches, in rich light sandy loam, and 
to remain undisturbed for years. 
Leucojum yernum (the V'ernal Snowflake).— A very beau¬ 
tiful little plant, and when seen in broad masses is very attrac¬ 
tive. It grows about 6 inches high. The peduncles are one to 
three-flowered, most frequently with but one flower, drooping, 
about 1J inch aci'oss when expanded, with six nearly equal 
perianth divisions, white, with a dorsal yellowish green blotch, 
at the apex of each; very useful for cutting and forcing. Who 
has seen the double-flowered L. vernum ? If any of the readers 
of the Journal can give testimony as to its actual existence I 
shall be happy to make a note of it and hope on, for I have two 
bulbs which were bought on the continent as the double variety, 
which up to the present have refused to produce flowers, although 
treated liberally. 
Doronicum plantagineum excelsum.— Such is the name 
which I hope is generally received for this plant, resulting from 
the efforts of the Rev. C. Wolley Dod to establish for it a per¬ 
manent name. Last year it was freely circulated by a firm 
under the name of D. hybridum, but I fancy the same firm is 
offering it under the name of D. draytonense, favouring the 
place where it originated. I hope my surmise may be wrong, for 
nothing is more misleading than the multiplication of different 
