468 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 12, 188-1. 
the blooms are, being slightly larger towards the back of the box, the 
better, provided they are sufficiently large. Madame Noman is so 
exquisitely beautiful, and withal so rarely seen, that I do not wonder at 
any judge giving a stand of Madame first prize if they were good, but 
such a decision should not upset the present generally received opinion 
that size coupled with quality must carry the day, “ J. A. W.’s” protest 
notwithstanding. 
I will go every inch of the way, too, with “ C. P. P.” in praise of the 
beauty of A. K. Williams. That splendid Rose merits all that can be 
said of it as to beauty, and he is a worthy partner for Marie Baumann 
at the head of the Rose poll; but—aye, there it is, that wretched but. 
Well, I cannot help it, I write the truth as I find it, and here I write 
also the experience of several other friends in this district—gladly, very 
gladly should we like to find in the gentleman a little of the constitution 
of the lady. We had no winter we might say ; we had some cold, very 
cold weather in May, but it seemed to me that the mischief had been 
done before. Anyway, plants not a few in this neighbourhood of 
A. K. W. are starting so feebly or not at all that one is forced to the 
conclusion that the constitution of the gentleman lacks very sadly the 
stamina to be found in the lady. I went into a friend’s garden last 
week. “ Look,” was his remark, “ look at the wretched exhibition A. K. 
Williams is making ; that’s all I can show out of a dozen plants. I fear 
he won’t do here.” And this is not a solitary verdict, and my own 
experience coincides with it. Very possibly this is only our “ mis¬ 
fortune.” I do not think it is our “ fault; ” but at any rate with us I 
believe we should all agree to doff our hats to the lady and give the 
highest place to her.—Y. B. A. Z. 
ALPINE AURICULAS FOR THE GREENHOUSE. 
There is a hazy undefined sentiment among gardeners as a 
class that florists’ flowers are not worth growing; a state of 
feeling which florists themselves have perhaps contributed to 
in no slight degree. A florist of the strictest type defined the 
position he himself occupied as a cultivator—and it is a position 
that many others occupy—in these words: “ I don’t care,” he 
said, “ for flowers which cannot be critically examined and 
admired. A good Auricula I can spend a quarter of an hour 
over, but the flowers in common cultivation do not attract my 
attention at all.” It must be conceded that it requires a period 
of educational effort to attain to the standard of our florist 
friend, and it is not perhaps desirable that all of us should be so 
critical in our floral requirements. 
To those who like a showy flower of a refined type, no better 
subject can be chosen than Alpine Auriculas. Mr. Turner has 
effected such an improvement on these during the last ten years 
as to bring them within the range of everyday gardening, at the 
same time that the standard of the florist is more nearly ap¬ 
proached. Fifty or a hundred well-grown specimens of the 
better varieties will make a feature in any garden well worth the 
little trouble attending their culture. I do not know any flower 
so easy to manage as these, or that attracts more attention. 
Plants in 5-inch pots are allowed to produce half a dozen large 
trusses, which, if not so showy as Cinerarias or Pelargoniums, 
are vastly more interesting and attractive. 
The present is a very good time to procure a stock of plants, 
and though it is not possible to make a great show the first year, 
they will bloom sufficiently to give an earnest of what may be 
expected in the future. The newer varieties have nearly sur¬ 
passed the older ones; but of the latter, Diadem, Sydney, 
Mercury, Bronze Queen, Colonel Scott, Mrs. Meiklejohn, are 
still worth growing ; and the newer sorts, such as A. F. Barron, 
Mrs. Dodwell, Mrs. Llewelyn, Sensation, Topaz, Slough Rival, 
Mrs. Thomson, Philip Frost, and John Ball must also be grown. 
The easiest way to grow these is to plant them out in good soil 
from the end of May until the beginning of the succeeding 
February, when they must be lifted and potted and brought on 
in frames, again planting out when the flowering period is past. 
W hen growing all the year round in pots, the plants are best 
repotted immediately after they have finished blooming, shaking 
the soil from the roots in much the same manner as with Pelar¬ 
goniums. Some of the older roots are removed along with the 
bottom portion of the so-called taproot. Any offsets ready are 
at once removed; though with a stock of established plants the 
easiest way to increase the number is to divide the larger plants 
into two portions and make each a separate plant. The soil 
suitable for Pelargoniums, Chrysanthemums, or Carnations will 
grow these equally well. Efficient drainage is a necessity, and 
firm potting is advantageous. After repotting, the plants 
require to be kept close and shaded for a fortnight or so; they 
only require the protection of a frame from extra abundant 
rainfalls. 
As regards seeding the plants and raising seedlings, it will be 
found best to cross-fertilise the flowers. A much lai’ger crop of 
seed is thus produced. It is simply managed by examining the 
plants set apart for the purpose with a camel-hair brush daily, 
fertilising the flowers. Sow directly the seeds are ripe in pans 
filled with light soil; place them in a moist cool house shaded 
from sunshine, and the seedlings will soon appear. With ordinary 
care the seedlings will flower the second spring after the date of 
sowing. If good for nothing else these will be extra fine for 
borders and beds out of doors.—B. 
LILIUM LONGIFLORUM YAR. HARRISI. 
This is a most lovely plant, and of great value for growing in pots 
for conservatory decoration and for cutting for vase decoration. It can 
be forced easily, and with a sufficient number of plants a supply of bloom 
can be obtained for a lengthened period without a break. I am not 
acquainted with its history, and have only grown it this year for the 
first time. Some of the plants were grown in a cool stove from the 
beginning of January. These flowered about the end of April ; others 
grown on in a cool house and taken into warmer quarters in March are 
flowering from the middle of May, with some to open at the end of the 
month. The compost which seems to suit them is fibrous loam, peat, and 
silver sand. In this they root very freely and take a large supply of 
water. The pots are standing among Ferns, so as to keep the roots as 
cool and damp as possible. I intend to have the plants in a cool house 
throughout the ripening period, and repot the bulbs after a good rest in 
October or November. Grown in 5-inch pots the strongest plant showed 
four flowers of the purest white.—B. 
There is no doubt as to the superior value of L. Harrisi. In the 
autumn of 1882 I secured two batches direct from America, the sender 
of each batch claiming to have the “ true variety,” and upon examina¬ 
tion of the bulbs I fancied there was a slight difference in one lot. The 
scales were very long and narrow, much longer at one end than the 
other, giving the bulbs an oblique form ; in the other they much re¬ 
sembled the ordinary bulbs of L. longiflorum eximium. Each batch 
was potted separately and marked with the initial letter of the sender, 
and small lots of typical L. longiflorum eximium and L. Takesima, all 
direct from Japan the previous season, were potted with them with the 
idea of giving them precisely the same treatment, and as far as possible 
this was carried out; the result being that L. Harrisi were the first to 
bloom, L. eximium and Takesima (which are identical) second, and the 
normal L. longiflorum last. 
I may mention that there were two distinct forms imported from 
America under the name of L. Harrisi, one proving, as far as my judg¬ 
ment could discern, nothing more than L. eximium both in flower, 
manner, and time of flowering ; while the others were what I regard as 
the true L. Harrisi. It has a very erect habit, with narrow nearly erect 
leaves, thus differing from L. eximium, which has broader and deflexed 
leaves; the flowers of L. Harrisi are also longer and narrower in the 
tube, and the perianth divisions more recurved. In these particulars it 
differs materially from typical L. longiflorum, which has a much shorter 
tube, much dilated at the top. The bulbs of L. Harrisi are remarkably 
free, for before the first stems had finished flowering others were coming 
from the base. The result was that in September and October another 
good crop of blooms was enjoyed. I am referring now to its behaviour 
under pot treatment outside. I am not aware that any other form of 
L. longiflorum does this. The same bulbs are now in pots outside, and 
showing flower buds with additional strength. I have had some with 
four and five flowers, but cannot yet say how many will be produced this 
season. In this particular they do not differ from L. longiflorum eximium ;. 
the main difference seems to be in the habit, length of tube, and the 
repetition of blooming in the same season without resorting to forcing. 
More than one American grower informed me that it may be kept con¬ 
stantly growing, and will continue to bloom if the bulbs are repotted 
after flowering. 
The history of this variety is obscure. It is said that it was intro¬ 
duced from Bermuda ; probably it may have been, but it is more than 
probable that it was first introduced into that country from Japan, and 
it may be that owing to the most genial climate that the variety has 
attained its floriferous characteristics. It will be necessary to watch it 
for a few years to know if that feature is permanent, and as far as I 
know no Lily should prove more useful for decorative purposes. Upon 
one point I feel confident—viz., that L. eximium has often been sub¬ 
stituted for the supposed true L. Harrisi.—J. T. R. 
Cosmopolitan Potato. —This is an excellent time, for the next few 
weeks, to compare the foliage and growth of different/varieties of Potatoes 
