226 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ March 20, 1884. 
the plants. These were carefully attended to till ready for trans¬ 
planting. Inserted in well-prepared ground, they grew quickly and 
strongly and afforded a good supply of Parsley when most of my friends 
had none. The roots were dipped in soot water before insertion.— 
J. Windsor. 
EAST LOTHIAN STOCKS—BEGONIA ROEZLII. 
I read with much pleasure in your number of the 6th inst. the 
article on the above subject because it gave me some hope of being able 
to recover a lost treasure. Some years ago I had some seed of East 
Lothian Stocks from a nurseryman in Scotland, whose name I have never 
been able to recall. I conclude that I applied to him in consequence of 
an advertisement I saw in the Journal. I sowed the seed in July, and 
when the plants were large enough to handle planted them three in a 
pot, and kept them during the winter in my orchard house. As soon as 
they showed the blooms I pulled out the single ones, gave them a shift, 
and placed them in alternate colours—white, purple, and scarlet, between 
my Peaches and Nectarines. They flowered magnificently, and anything 
more charming than the aspect of the orchard house with the Peaches and 
Nectarines in bloom, the Stocks occupying the intermediate spaces, and 
a few pots of Roses and Mignonette interspersed, can hardly be con¬ 
ceived. When the first bloom of the Stocks was over I had thought of 
removing them, but they had no intention of allowing their beauty to 
fade away so soon. They had rooted through into the border, and after 
being topped continued to yield an abundance of flowers for several 
months, so that the fragrance which had made the house so delightful 
when the trees were in bloom still pervaded it when I gathered the ripe 
fruit. I have sown East Lothian Stocks (so called) since, but with very 
different results. The reason of this has, I think, been satisfactorily 
explained by Mr. Campbell, and I hope I may once more obtain some 
true seeds. 
Begonia Roezlii. —Have any of your readers tried the Begonia 
Roezlii ? To my taste it is one of the most elegant winter-blooming 
flowers we have. In a house kept at about 60° it begins to bloom early 
in February, and continues for several months, sending out its branches 
with clusters of terminal flowers of the most brilliant kind. It is of 
easy culture, and comes in well as the Poinsettias are passing away. I 
have plants 2 feet high, with branches of bloom to the number of eight or 
nine thrown out from every joint.—C. J. 
We learn that the next Spring Show of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society, to be held on the 25th inst,, promises to be 
specially good. Hyacinths will be very strongly represented, and they 
are exceptionally good this year. Special prizes are also offered for 
Amaryllises. There will also be a fine display of Primroses and Cinerarias. 
As announced last week there will be a special exhibition of Daffodils on 
Tuesday, April 1st, and from the favourable season a most interesting 
exhibition is expected. A paper will be read by Mr. F. W. Burbidge at 
a meeting to be held at one o’clock, Professor Michael Foster, F.R.S., 
in the chair, when the principal English and continental cultivators of 
this charming flower are expected to be present. 
- It would appear that the qualities of Chionodoxa Lucili^i 
as a garden plant are by no means generally known at present; it has 
been highly praised by some and denounced by others as no better than 
a Scilla of ordinary merit, but under good cultivation some extremely 
satisfactory results may be expected. We are credibly informed that in 
Dublin spikes have been produced by plants a foot high bearing “ eleven 
flowers each, some of the bulbs being as large as a Hyacinth.” If liberal 
treatment can insure such success there can be no question as to the 
position the Chionodoxa will soon attain in public opinion. 
- The decorative value of Messrs. Yeitch’s new species of Dumb- 
Cane, Dieffenbachia Jenmani, will soon obtain a prominent place for 
it in all gardens where handsome variegated stove plants are appreciated, 
as it is one of the most distinct of all the numerous forms that have been 
introduced within recent years. The leaf is neat in shape, of a bright 
clear green colour, with oblong blotches or streaks of pure white parallel 
with the lateral veins, the contrast being most striking. It is of free 
growth, and will undoubtedly readily make large and imposing 
specimens. 
- After a singularly long and honoured service Mr. Mathison, 
gardener to His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, Bowhill, Selkirkshire, 
died on March 13th, aged ninety years. Until within the last few months 
Mr. Mathison attended regularly to his duties, and we believe him to 
have been the only gardener in Britain who, at the time of his death, 
remained in active service till his ninetieth year. He entered in the 
Duke’s service at Bowhill about sixty years since. He was a man of 
splendid physique, and the same may be said of his stainless character, 
which led to his having been very much respected by his noble 
employers and by all who knew him. All honour to his name and 
memory. 
- Mr. Justus Corderoy writes :—“ The very pretty early-flowering 
Saxifraga cymbalaria seems but little known. I received it some 
years ago from Messrs. Backhouse of York. It is a very free-flowering 
and most accommodating plant; it can accommodate itself to any place ; 
and when bearing its pretty little yellow flowers and shining foliage it is 
very attractive. It is dwarf or medium in growth ; if on a dry wall it is 
very dwarf, about an inch high, but near the water edge it grows stro nger 
or in the border ; it is at home in the greenhouse, where I have seen it 
on a waterfall incased in ice. I have it now in a border under glass, 
about foot from a flue, under a north wall. It is an annual, sowing 
itself, and requires little attention.” 
- Mr. C. Wolley Dod writes “ On page 206 ‘X.’ thinks that 
there is ‘ no basis at all’ for the variety Leucoium carpathicum. He 
may be right, and in support of his view I may say that a hundred 
bulbs bought two years ago as Leucoium vernum produce flowers, some 
with green spots, some with yellow, and scapes some two-flowered, some 
one-flowered. Herbert, however, who has been thought a good authority 
says (‘ Amaryllidacese,’ p. 331) :—‘ I see no reason for confounding 
L. carpathicum (‘ Bot. Mag.’ 45, 1993) (spathe, two-flowered ; spots on 
the perianth yellow) with the one-flowered green-spotted vernum. I 
believe that vernum does not ever produce a two-flowered scape.’—(See 
‘ Bot. Mag.’ 2, 46, for L. vernum).” 
- Special Societies.— Relative to the controversy on this 
subject which has recently appeared in our columns, we have received a 
communication from Mr. E. S. Dodwell, in which he complains that 
“ Fair Play ” “ has grossly libelled him by name.” We have authority 
from “ Fair Play ” to state that if Mr. Dodwell will point out wherein he 
considers himself aggrieved he will be happy to make the amende. We 
also feel ourselves aggrieved by the extraordinary letter signed “ E. S. 
Dodwell,” which appears in the Gardeners' Magazine of last week. 
- Messrs. J. Carter & Co., High Holborn, send us examples 
of their Empress Poppy Anemones, which are exceedingly fine, and 
merit the highest praise. The flowers are from 3 to 4 inches in diameter, 
of the richest and most varied colours—lilac-blue, violet-purple, intense 
crimson, bright carmine, red, blush, and white, most of the dark colours 
with a ring of white at the base, and all with a dense central tuft of 
black anthers. The sepals are of great substance, thick and lasting, 
and the plants are evidently very well and strongly grown. 
- Mr. R. P. Brotherston sends us a box OF FLOWERS bright 
and beautiful, comprising the following :—Phalaenopsis Schilleriana, a 
spike of eight flowers, much more richly coloured than is commonly seen, 
and of fine substance ; Tea Roses, fresh, fragrant, and lovely, especially 
Madame Willermoz; Carnations, scarlet, white, and salmon, from plants 
that have been in flower for several months ; Zonal Pelargoniums, scarlet, 
crimson, pink, and salmon, in trusses of twenty to twenty-four, some of 
the flowers exceeding 2 inches in diameter ; Wallflowers, extremely dark 
in colour, and most fragrant; a charming silky purple Sisyrinchium 
grandiflorum, a large-flowered and deep purple variety of Aubrietia, 
somewhat like a fine Hendersoni; Dog’s-tooth Violets, Pansies, with 
blue, white, and pink Hepaticas are all welcome indications of the 
advancing season, and arrived after their long journey as fresh as if 
but just cut. Mr. Brotherston considers nothing better as packing 
material than ordinary wadding, or “ cotton wool ” as it is termed, dry 
moss also being suitable ; but these flowers are far the best that we 
have ever received packed in that moisture-absorbing substance. 
-That superb Orchid Odontoglossum Pescatorei Veitchianum 
continues unsurpassed in colouring amongst all the beautiful forms of the 
O. Alexandra; and 0. Pescatorei type. Baron Schroder’s unique plant 
at South Kensington last week had one panicle, with twenty-seven 
flowers of quite as good form and as richly coloured as on previous 
occasions. When Messrs. Veitch & Sons first showed this plant at 
Kensington, March 28th, 1882, it caused quite a sensation, as the spots 
