June 2, 1881. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
437 
its free-flowering qualities, and as a useful fruit-bearing shrub. 
At Messrs. Maule’s nurseries I saw some thousands of plants 
ranging from a few inches to several feet in height, were all 
covered with their beautiful golden fruit, the weight of which, 
unless supported, bore the branches to the ground. I was in¬ 
formed the fruit was all utilised in the making of jam, and some 
which I tasted was very agreeable to the palate.—G. S., Sandbeck 
Park. 
DOUBLE FLOWERS. 
Doubtless not a few of your readers were amused and inter¬ 
ested by “Single-handed’s” onslaught on double flowers (page 
391). I apprehend, however, that if he had been a little less sweep¬ 
ing in his anathemas he would certainly not be single-handed 
here. But he must allow that even as a variety of form a double 
flower has its charms; and as he is very strong on the score of 
variety perhaps he will kindly allow us a few in which it is ad¬ 
missible—nay, desirable. May I, as a worshipper of the Rose, 
crave for her at least that she reigns more as the “ Queen of 
Flowers ” since she has become double ? Indeed, lovely as she is 
in her native simplicity, I apprehend no one would bestow the 
title of “ Queen ” on the Rosa canina, for the Orchids which 
“Single-handed” well claims as wild would certainly disprove 
her. Again, could we have had all the different varieties of the 
Rose or Dahlia, for instance, had we been restricted to single 
flowers ? I should say, Most certainly not; it is the doubling of 
these flowers that has given us these varieties ; and in regard to 
these two flowers, the Rose and Dahlia, I cannot but think very 
few will be found to agree with “ Single-handed.” 
“ Double flowers in general possess neither simplicity nor 
elegance, they are mostly UDgainly monstrosities.” Thus writes 
“Single-handed,” and with the words “in general” very dis¬ 
tinctly marked. I confess I am almost disposed to agree with 
the sentence. Some flowers it is absolute cruelty to double, and 
I wonder rather that your correspondent had not specially men¬ 
tioned them, I mean all the tubular flowers. Take a Petunia, a 
Convolvulus, or any of that kind of flower, and the person who 
has achieved the triumph of doubling it has, in my humble 
opinion, always succeeded in another thing—that is, destroying 
the character, and with it all the loveliness of the original. If we 
lose the vista down the throat of the flower and all the delicate 
shading by which the colour is lost as we get to this portion, and 
with this loss of the shading all the exquisite colour of the throat 
itself (for though nominally white, it has a pearliness of appear¬ 
ance which is indescribable), then I agree most decidedly with 
your correspondent—we have lost one of the greatest charms of 
the flower. Some flowers will not bear doubling, and it is to be 
regretted that the early attempts were not at once “ put down.” 
Tubes and bells certainly are spoiled by it ; all flowers, like 
Pelargoniums, when once doubled will no longer “bear inspec¬ 
tion they may do at a distance for effect, just as a character of a 
servant may on paper appear all we could desire, but the close 
inspection, like the personal interview, dispels all the enchanting 
vision. 
I recollect a friend of mine, when the triumph (?) of doubling 
the Fuchsia had been discovered, saying, “ Indeed he had never 
seen a double Fuchsia.” “ Have you not?” said another friend ; 
“ well, I will tell you that when you do you will wish to throw' it 
away.” Here again I agree. I always want to throw them away ; 
they, like the Petunias, are “ monstrosities.” What more lovely 
than the Lily of the Valley ? and yet a Goth has doubled it. Well, 
what shall I say of the successful grower ? The least that he 
should be—well, not hung, but at least suspended from ever 
having a similar chance ! 
Poor Dandelion 1 a wild flower, too ; “ a wisp of petals ! ” 
Well, 1 own to having often thought, and sometimes remarked, if 
it had never been seen what a furore its introduction would have 
caused 1 Surely it does not deserve quite all that “ Single- 
handed” says of it. It is beautifully regular, and thus pos¬ 
sesses a great charm, and I have noticed that little children are 
attracted to it; indeed, for some years it was the favourite flower 
of one of my children. I cannot help thinking that one of the 
reasons why it is disliked by older children is the bitterness of 
the milky juice, which also stains the hands and gets the small 
people into trouble, and hence it becomes a “ hissing and a bye- 
word.” Perhaps, too, yellow is not the most favourite colour ; 
certainly when, as in Chicory, you get a somewhat similar flower, 
not yellow, it is welcomed by most lovers of flowers as very 
pretty. 
Whilst, then, agreeing very nearly with “ Single-handed,” 
and almost joining in his protest against doubling flowers, I must 
confess I cannot go with him in his remarks on form. To most 
of us I apprehend a round outline is the most beautiful in flowers, 
and—I confess it—I think with every reason. Setting aside the 
colour, surely the roundness of outline in the Pansy, Pelargonium, 
and Cineraria for instance is a great improvement on the stars and 
irregularities of outline, amounting to raggedness, of the flowers 
from which our present varieties were originally produced. I 
prefer the more perfect form to the greater diversity of form, and 
should be content with the diversities of colour to make my 
variety. We should still have other flowers to show us the 
diversities of form, as the Lilies, Cyclamen, Fuchsia, Snapdragon, 
and Salvias, whilst it must not be forgotten that in the foliage we 
have every possible variety of outline, and therefore may allow 
the flower to be mainly formed on the best model.—Y. B. A. Z. 
LEDUM PALUSTRE. 
Wild Rosemary is one of the popular names by which this 
pretty little North American shrub is known, a title which has 
probably been conferred upon it because the foliage possesses 
a powerful aromatic odour that is particularly notable when the 
leaves are crushed in the hand, or immediately after a shower on 
Fig. 97.—Ledum palustre. 
a warm day. In other respects it is widely separated from the 
true Rosemary, and is a close ally of the Kalmias and Rhododen¬ 
drons, which are so well known and appreciated in gardens. It 
is a compact shrub, rarely exceeding the height of 3 or 4 feet, and 
bears small, narrow, elliptical, dark green leaves, and close corym¬ 
bose racemes of white flowers, which are very freely produced 
and render the shrubs very attractive at this time of year. They 
are especially suited for planting in the front of shrubbery 
borders, and being evergreen their neat habit renders them at¬ 
tractive at all seasons. Moderately light soil is requisite to obtain 
them in their best condition ; but they are not very particular, and 
if the border is well drained little difficulty will be experienced 
with them. 
Both L. palustre and L. latifolium, also known as Labrador 
Tea, possess some medicinal and economic properties. The former 
is said to contain qualities which render a decoction of the leaves 
beneficial as an external application in cutaneous diseases, and in 
some parts of Germany a peculiar kind of beer is also prepared 
from the leaves. L. latifolium is considered to possess tonic 
qualities, the leaves having been employed to furnish a substitute 
for tea, and they are also infused in beer, which they “ render 
heady, and cause headache, nausea, and even delirium.” 
The woodcut (fig 97.) represents a spray from Messrs. Osborn and 
Son’s Nursery, Fulham, where these plants are well grown. 
New and Old Peach Tree Training.— Permit me to say 
that I regard Mr. Pettigrew’s Peaches that produced 112 dozen 
fruits in three years as a remarkably good example of extension 
training, seeing he does not lay in laterals ; but he does not give 
