JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
June 30, 1881. ] 
11 The Pelargonium tricolor, a species perfectly new in point of 
beauty, is thought to eclipse all that have hitherto been intro¬ 
duced to this country. Its blossoms are certainly showy, and in 
a collection of plants they are the first to attract attention. The 
two uppermost are dark red, nearly black; the three lowermost 
are white, hence the name of tricolor. This peculiarity of colour 
joined to their form has induced some to fancy a similarity 
betwixt its flowers and those of the Heartsease ; to the flowers 
of Lathyrus articulatus in form and colour they also bear a 
distant resemblance.” It deserves to be grown more extensively 
than is the case now. as the flowers are well suited for cutting, 
aud they can be employed in buttonholes with admirable results. 
Tube-rout Begonias .—A beautiful display of these popular plants 
is observable in one of the houses. Many fine seedlings are in¬ 
cluded that bid fair to take honours among the novelties of the 
year. Good substance, bright colours, and excellent form charac¬ 
terise the majority, the effects of good culture being also evident 
in the vigorous growth and healthy appearance of the plants. 
Large pots are eschewed, none exceeding 8 inches in diameter—a 
point of great importance too often neglected, for however fine a 
plant may be, if the pot be out of proportion to its size the effect 
is clumsy in the extreme. 
Gloxinia *.—These constitute another feature, and are similarly 
deserving of commendation. Among them, too, are several hand¬ 
some seedlings of the semi-erect-flowered section, which now ap¬ 
pear to be more generally liked than those with pendulous flowers. 
The advantage of the former is that a full view of the corolla is 
obtained, and consequently the colour, form, and marking are 
much more clearly observed. The flowers are generally large 
without being coarse, and several instances the colours are very 
delicate and bright. 
Hardy Plants .—Numerous attractive plants are flowering in 
the borders and on the rockery, not the least beautiful being the 
English and Spanish Irises, or Xiphions, as they are now termed. 
Among the former are several fine varieties, the flowers of which 
are rich blue or purple, of massive form and very imposing, 
while the latter are distinguished by the peculiar combinations of 
tints marking the flowers, some being characterised by hues that 
for peculiarity are only rivalled in the great Orchid family. 
Iberises, too, are fine, especially that useful form I. Garrexiana, 
which is a mass of its white blossoms. Around one bed is a 
band of a very humble but none the less pretty plant—viz., 
Thymus rotundifolia ; the small bright purplish blossoms being 
529 
produced so freely as to quite conceal the foliage. Other plants 
are noteworthy, but these remarks may be brought to a con¬ 
clusion by referring to— 
Gillenia trifoliata, of which the woodcut (fig. 121, page 535) re¬ 
presents a flowering spray. It is a North American plant included 
in the great Rose family, and usually attains a height of 2 feet, 
being compact in habit and flowering freely. The leaves are 
formed of three leaflets, as the name implies, each being pointed 
and serrated at the margin. The flowers have five white linear 
petals, and are borne in loose panicles at the upper part of 
the stem. It frequents damp and boggy places in its native 
habitats, but it is not particular under cultivation, almost any 
light well-drained soil suiting it. The plant cannot be described 
as one of the most showy, but the slenderness of the stems and 
flowers impart a degree of elegance to it that entitles it to some 
consideration.—L. C. 
TRADESCANTIA VIRGINICA. 
It may not be generally known that this is one of the finest 
hardy herbaceous plants for town gardens that can be growD, and 
the bright violet-blue flowers with yellow stamens are extremely 
beautiful. Its flowers are most suitable for cutting and placing 
in vases, as they continue fresh for weeks when the stalks are 
placed in water ; or rather fresh flowers expand the same as those 
of Gladioli do. The plants thrive in almost any kind of soil pro¬ 
vided they have plenty of water, and they will well repay for a 
liberal application of liquid manure twice a week if the soil is 
poor. I have a number of plants in my brick-enclosed garden, 
but none at the present moment is so satisfactory and useful as 
this Tradescantia. It is so hardy that no amount of frost injures 
it, while no insects attack it, no smoke appears to check the 
growth, and whether the whether is cold or hot it never fails to 
produce a long supply of its very bright and attractive flowers. 
In all gardens this old plant should be grown, but for town 
gardens especially it is admirably adapted, and flourishes as well 
in summer there as Chrysanthemums do in the autumn. It is 
readily increased by division ; and early spring, just as the young 
growths appear, is a good time for replanting.—A City Man. 
npip 
is 
fem»GLWNGs. ; 
To Oue Readers. —The preface, with the index to the present 
volume, will be published with our next issue, which will also 
contain a portrait of the founder of the Cottage Gardener, Mr. 
G. W. Johnson, who relinquished his editorial duties some time 
ago to seek the rest he has so well earned. 
- As usual the Evening Fete op the Royal Botanic 
Society, which was held on the 22nd inst., proved very success¬ 
ful, the floral decorations and groups producing a brilliant dis¬ 
play, and a large number of visitors assembled although the night 
was cold for the season. Nineteen classes were provided for dinner- 
table decorations, epergnes, bouquets, baskets of flowers, and 
groups of plants. In several the competition was keen, and in 
the majority very satisfactory exhibits were staged. The chief 
prizes were awarded to Messrs.W. P. Sc G. Phillips, Oxford Street; 
Mrs. Henderson, Hamilton Terrace ; Mr. W. Wood, Conduit 
Street ; Messrs. Dick Radclyffe Sc Co., Holborn ; Miss Gardener, 
St. John’s Wood Park ; Mr. Buster, St. Mary’s Cray ; Mr. J. 
Prewett, Hammersmith ; Miss A. Williams, Holloway; Mr. W. 
Brown, Richmond ; Messrs. Henry & Co.; and Mr. G. Wheeler, 
St. John’s Lodge, Regent’s Park. 
- An amateur cultivator submits the following important 
advice to purchasers of Pansies —“During the past May 
and the present month Scottish nurserymen have been flooded 
with orders for Pansies from the south. Of course they are glad 
to sell their stock, but they would be better satisfied were the 
orders to reach them in autumn or early spring, when the plants 
would give their customers that satisfaction which all respectable 
