116 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August P, 1883. 
enumerate many now. A few of particular merit may, however, be 
mentioned. Amongst the single Zonals were :— 
Kleber. —A pretty and distinctly coloured variety, violet scarlet, if 
such a term is admissible, for the tint is so peculiar that it can be 
scarcely described in any other way, there being an admixture of the 
two colours that has a singular effect in bright sunshine. 
Constance deserves notice for its merits as a pink variety—a shade 
that is much prized amongst these plants when really clear and bright, 
as it is in the case of the one named, which is also of compact vigorous 
habit, with fine neat trusses of blooms. 
Mrs. Hetley. —A profuse-flowering variety, with fine trusses and well- 
formed bright orange scarlet blooms. 
Hettie. —Remarkable both for the size of the truss and flowers, the 
latter being of a scarlet-cerise shade, very clear and pleasing. 
Two double varieties only specially attracted my attention—namely, 
the following :— 
Sylvia. —A handsome pink form with large trusses, and 
Edouard Andre. —Rich scarlet, with a magnificent truss of large 
flowers. 
TUBEROUS BEGONIAS. 
The collections of these plants at Chiswick have long since obtained 
a high degree of fame, and most deservedly too, for they have been 
grown in the best possible manner, and by careful nursing and selection 
many 6uperb varieties have been raised that have from time to time been 
honoured with certificates at South Kensington. By this means the 
whole strain has been so greatly improved that it is found scarcely 
necessary to name varieties, and many fine unnamed seedlings are notice¬ 
able there now that a few years ago would have been thought most 
valuable acquisitions. Single and double scarlet, crimson, pink, yellow, 
and white are represented by numbers of fine forms, the single varieties 
being by far the best in a decorative point of view, as the colours seem 
to be much richer, brighter, and clearer, and the flowers have not the 
heaviness, or, indeed, the deformity, that distinguishes the others much 
too frequently in all collections. Amongst so many that are good it is 
not easy to select a few that are pre-eminently worthy of notice, but the 
following four may be taken as possessing characters of sterling merit:— 
Nellie May. —A lovely variety with beautifully formed pink flowers ; 
large, but by no means coarse, and produced'very freely. 
Qucenie. —Also a charming bright pink variety, but possessing a little 
history that renders it noteworthy. It bears the pet name of a little 
lady in the neighbourhood, who has been also immortalised by Mr. Mus- 
grave in his charming musical production bearing that name. 
Souvenir de Cldswich is now known to many growers, being dis¬ 
tinguished by its exceedingly brilliant scarlet colour of the finely formed 
and large flowers. 
GLOXINIAS AND FERNS. 
The small stove near the long vinery is now very bright and pleasing 
with a drapery of Gloxinias arranged with small plants of Adiantum 
cuneatum, the stage being margined with a long fringe of Panicum 
variegatum. The real value of Gloxinias can be at once perceived when 
arranged in this manner, and the groups that have been occasionally 
staged from these gardens at the Kensington meetings and shows are 
invariably greatly admired for the taste manifested in this style of 
arrangement. The Gloxinias are of a good strain ; the flowers" large, 
mostly erect, rich and varied in colour. The habit, too, is good, the 
large handsome leaves recurving round the pots and quite concealing 
them. 
ALNWICK SEEDLING GRAPE. 
In the long house devoted to Gros Colman and Alicantes in almost 
equal numbers a few Vines of Alicante Seedling are also grown, two being 
particularly notable, both having good crops of fair-sized bunches. One 
has had all the flowers set with pollen from Alicante, and the other has 
had half the bunches so treated, and the others at the upper portion of 
the Vine have been fertilised with their own pollen. The bunches are 
equally good, the berries swelling as freely and regularly in both cases ; 
and it is only regretable that a few had not been left unfertilised for the 
purpose of comparison. 
Quitting the houses, the beds in the walk leading to large vinery are 
the first which call for notice, amongst them being a fine collection of 
DOUBLE POTENTILLAS. 
Most of these have been received from Mr. Parker of Tooting for trial, 
and the results are greatly in their favour. The flowers in all cases are 
large, full, and richly coloured, and their value as hardy plants cannot be 
over-estimated, though probably the most ardent advocates for “ single ” 
flowers would expel them with great exclamations of dissatisfaction. 
Four especially worthy of notice are those mentioned below. 
Escarbouch. —Flowers large and full, extremely dark red, and very 
fieely produced. 
William.Rollisson. —A showy variety with dark orange-scarlet flowers ; 
large, full, and neat. 
California. —Very bright yellow ; one of the best of its colour. 
Velours Pourpre— Colour extremely dark maroon, of velvety texture 
and handsome. 
LOBELIAS. 
Several good varieties of these have been tried this season, and 
though Lobelias are now numerous the following two are worthy of note. 
Mrs. Tom Corbett. —Very free, dwarf and compact; the flowers large, 
extremely bright clear blue with a white eye. This is an admirable 
variety, the plants appearing quite balls of the brightest blue, and would 
be most useful for bedding purposes. 
Blue Beard. —This is somewhat similar to the preceding, sharing all 
its good qualities, but it is rather taller in growth, with darker blue 
flowers. 
HARDY FLOWERS. 
The rockery and beds of hardy plants are exceedingly attractive- 
The former has now become well clothed with Sedums, Saxifrages,. 
Campanulas, and similar plants, amidst which the choicer and taller 
species and varieties arise in a free natural manner, having quite a 
different appearance from that they possess in formal arrangements 
where the material employed is bare and unpleasantly conspicuous. 
This rockery, though modest in its pretensions and almost diminutives 
its extent, is yet one of the most natural and pretty, and might furnish 
a lesson for many a more elaborate production. Very notable is 
Campanula Hendersoni alba, which forms dwarf clumps bearing a 
great number of pure white large bells, an agreeable contrast to the- 
blue-flowered C. carpatica and C. turbinata. 
Coreopsis tenuifolia is another thoroughly useful plant, its bright 
yellow flower-heads being borne very freely, and the whole plant, owing^ 
to its slender stems, has a very graceful aspect. 
Lychnis chalcedonica alba plena. —The old scarlet form of thi& 
Lychnis is widely known and much appreciated in gardens still. This 
variety is, however, comparatively rarely seen, and yet is well worth 
notice, as the flowers are very double and white, thus forming a good 
companb n for its older relative. 
Nicotiana affinis. —A bed of this plant near the rockery has been- 
quite a feature for some time past, and on the occasion of the Evening 
Fete recently held there it was greatly admired. The large white flowers 
are abundantly produced in succession, and in the evening they are in 
their best condition, diffusing a powerful fragrance that is perceptible for 
a great distance. For beds near a house this plant is most valuable, and 
its use for culture in pots was specially referred to when an engraving, 
of it was given in this Journal, page 295, last volume. 
VERBENAS. 
The beds of Verbenas will shortly be very handsome, as a large number 
of varieties, chiefly from Messrs. Cannell & Son of Swanley, are being 
grown for trial. Already some of the most forward are flowering well, 
producing a very pretty effect by the mixture of bright colours. A few of 
these may be noted now, but the general collection will deserve further 
attention later on. 
Lustrous is a fine scarlet variety, the centre of the flower white, free. 
Stars and Stripes. —Mauve and white in alternate stripes, radiating: 
from the centre of the flower. 
Blue Beauty. —Very fine blue-purple variety, profuse and vigorous. 
Statgartner Swartz. —Bright rosy pink, very effective, and useful for- 
bedding purposes; the truss large and compact. 
Madame Anna. —An effective purple variety with a white eye ; truss 
large. 
Melandris spectabilis. —An old variety, but still unsurpassed in 
brilliancy of the scarlet flowers, though they are somewhat small. 
Mahomet. —A most distinct dwarf creeping form with divided leave® 
and small flowers, deep rosy pink with white lines radiating from the- 
centre, and somewhat suggestive in form of the Saponaria calabrica. 
In addition to the above a fine collection of Tomatoes is being grown 
for trial in pots, and some notes upon these may be useful later in the- 
season. Some bedding Pelargoniums are also being tried, and these too 
will be worth attention.—L. C. 
The Rev. F. D. Horner informs us that the Northern Show of 
the National Carnation and Picotee Society will be held on 
Tuesday, August 14th, at the Botanical Gardens, Manchester. The 
Botanical Council kindly grant £10 to the prize fund, and free passes 
to the exhibitors in the Society. 
- The Meeting of the Fruit and Floral Committees of the Royal 
Horticultural Society at South Kensington, on Tuesday, the 
14th inst., will be held in the Conservatory, on which occasion Messrs. 
F. Smith & Co., West Dulwich, Surrey, state it is their intention to 
exhibit a collection of Balsams. 
- The Rev. H. H. D’Ombrain writes :—“ I see in last week’® 
Journal that I am credited with having made ‘a pleasing and amusing 
speech ’ at the Newcastle Show. I must deny the soft impeachment,, 
for I was 200 miles away, and 1 did not, even if I had the power,, 
communicate it by telephone !” 
