June 15, 1882. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
483 
15th 
Tn 
Oxford Horticultural Show. 
16th 
P 
17th 
S 
18th 
SUN 
2nd Sunday after Trinity. 
19th 
M 
20th 
TU 
21st 
W 
Leeds and Burton-on-Trent Horticultural Shows. 
CLEMATISES. 
^OGRESS of a remarkable character has dis- 
tinguished the culture of Clematises in the 
past quarter of a century ; and even during the 
last decade, perhaps, scarcely any other genus 
of popular plants has received so much atten¬ 
tion with such astonishing results as that under 
consideration. The grand varieties now in culti¬ 
vation have not been obtained without prolonged 
judicious^ crossing and careful selection of distinct 
forms, yet the species seem to hybridise so freely that 
scarcely any cross has been made without yielding some useful 
or handsome addition to the list of those previously secured. 
There have beeif'many workers in this interesting field, 
several continental firms having contributed largely to the 
improvement of the [hybrid Clematises, especially MM. Le- 
moine, Simon-Louis, [Briolay-Goitfon, Ruiz, Carre, and Dau- 
vesse ; but England can justly lay claim to the most brilliant 
results, and k Messrs. Anderson-Henry of Edinburgh, G. Jack- 
man & Son of ^Woking, and C. Noble of Sunningdale have 
rendered most valuable services to horticulture by their suc¬ 
cessful efforts to add to the beauty of these plants. Indeed, 
so great has been the advance within recent years, that it has 
been frequently asked if much more remains to be done in 
perfecting them. We have the flowering season prolonged 
from early springTto late autumn ; flowers of wonderful size, 
excellent shape, and diversified shades in blue and purple ; 
single and double forms, some fragrant, and all extremely 
floriferous. Perhaps the chief scope for further improvement 
is in the colours, particularly in deepening or enriching the 
tints of red that some of the species and varieties possess, but 
at present not sufficiently bright or effective. In this direction 
it is probable that notable progress will be made in coming 
years. 
The uses of Clematises in a garden are numerous, for they 
must be considered as the most handsome hardy climbing plants 
we possess. For training over arches, bowers, on walls, as 
single specimens either with umbrella-shaped heads, in pyra¬ 
midal or globular [form, they are unrivalled, particularly those 
grand Jackmanni forms that have obtained such a well-deserved 
popularity. Where, too, that artistic irregularity'', a so-called 
rootery, is provided in a garden, there is no plant so admirably 
adapted for trailing and scrambling over it in a graceful wild¬ 
ness as the rich purple Clematises, and wherever they are so 
planted, provided the surroundings accord with them, a most 
telling effect can be produced. In some of the London parks 
examples of their usefulness and beauty in this respect can be 
seen during the [summer months, but in Battersea Park they 
have been employed to most excellent advantage in some of 
the more picturesque portions. 
Specimens of moderate size in pots are very much admired 
for conservatories and general decorative purposes early in the 
year, and there are several varieties which can be readily 
forced. Permanently planted out in greenhouses or conserva¬ 
tories they are very attractive, the only defect for this work 
being the fact that they are deciduous and have a somewhat 
bare appearance during winter. This may be partially rectified 
by employing them with evergreen climbers, especially if the 
latter are such as flower at a different period. For exhibition, 
when in really good condition, like they have been shown this 
year by Messrs. G. Jackman & Son, they are magnificent, and 
in effectiveness cannot be rivalled. At the Regent’s Park and 
South Kensington they were greatly admired, but at Man¬ 
chester, owing to the fine position assigned to them, they were 
grand in the extreme. Referring to these a correspondent 
writes as follows :— 
“ Few who have not seen the Clematises exhibited by Messrs. 
G. Jackman & Son at London and Manchester this year can 
form an adequate idea of the beauty and effect of such plants. 
At the northern town twenty specimens formed the collection, 
arranged tastefully on a sloping bank, and there was not a faulty 
specimen amongst them. The plants were trained on wire trel¬ 
lises about 4 feet in diameter, and were covered with blooms each 
7 to 8 inches in diameter. These Clematises were a feature alone, 
and if there had been nothing else of interest at Manchester they 
were worth a long journey to see. This was the first opportunity 
I have had of seeing Messrs. Jackman’s Clematises exhibited, and 
was really charmed with them. These plants fully made up for 
the absence of the giant Roses that used to be such a feature of 
interest, and on one or two occasions caused quite a sensation. I 
have long grown the early-flowering Clematises for forcing into 
bloom early in the season, and had I to keep a conservatory gay 
during the summer months I should start at once to grow a 
number of plants. No doubt many will be stimulated to com¬ 
mence their cultivation in pots after seeing the fine examples 
exhibited. I know no plants that could look more attractive in 
conservatories. It is surprising they have not been more gene¬ 
rally cultivated in pots.” 
In so large a genus as the Clematis, which comprises, accord¬ 
ing to some authorities, over two hundred species, there is, as 
might be expected, considerable diversity of character, but it 
is confined within much more restricted limits than in some 
other genera of even less extent. The majority are distinguished 
by their climbing habit, in this respect differing from their 
numerous relatives in the Ranunculus family. One peculiarity, 
too, that deserves the notice of young gardeners is the fact 
that the coloured portion of the flower is not the corolla, as it 
is often supposed to be from cursory examination ; it is really 
the calyx, the apparent petals being the sepals, and the former 
when present are usually small and gradually merge into the 
stamens. This last character is seen particularly in the section 
Atragene, which differs in little else from the Clematises, 
though it is by some considered a distinct genus. The leaves 
are generally more or less divided, though in a few instances 
they are entire, and some exceptions to the prevailing deci¬ 
duous character are also known, especially amongst those grown 
in greenhouses. 
Clematises are widely distributed over the globe. In the 
eastern and western continents, the north and south hemi¬ 
spheres, some representatives are found, though they are chiefly 
confined to the cool or warm temperate regions. In botanic 
gardens and a few establishments where large collections of 
plants are grown numerous species are included, but those to 
which we are indebted for the handsome varieties and hybrids 
No. 103,—' Von. IV., Third Series. 
No. 1759.— Vol. LXYII, Old Series. 
