74 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 24, 1884. 
the most of my time I elected to travel by night. I had consequently a 
rttle time on Saturday morning to devote to seeing a few of the interesting 
points of Ghent. I paid a visit to the Botanical Gardens. These, however, 
are not very large, and having been very much neglected were not of so 
much interest. I ought to mention that there is a bright prospect in store 
for these gardens now M. Chas. Van Eckhaute, a highly talented son of 
M. Van Eckhaute, the genial manager to IM. Louis Van Houtte, has been 
appointed to the curatorship, as he has already begun extensive alterations 
and improvements. The Palm house is somewhat similar in structure to 
that of the Brussels Botanic Gardens, but is not so large. I was enabled 
through M. Louis Van Houtte’s kindness to visit St. Joseph’s convent, well 
worth seeing, but a description of which would he out of place in this 
Journal ; also several other places of interest which occupied the remainder 
of my time, and thus bring to an end my first visit to Belgium. I left 
Ghent that evening by the 6.15 mail train, reaching Ostend by a few 
minutes to eight. I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance in the 
train of M. Berggiam, chief gardener to Professor Boddaert in Ghent, who 
was on his way to England. As he was a fluent English speaker it made 
my return journey an agreeable one. I, however, learnt that I had missed 
one treat—viz., seeing the grand collection of Orchids which the Professor 
possesses. I had a rough passage home, but on the whole had a more 
pleasant voyage than my previous one. We landed at Dover a little before 
and was introduced as early as 1787. A figure of it is given in Pallas’s 
Monograph of the genus. 
Senecio japonicus. —Known also under the name of Erythrochseta 
palmatifida, but I think the former is the correct name. It is a bold¬ 
looking plant, with a stately mien when not in flower, the large pal- 
mately divided laminm rising upon stout footstalks rendering it decidedly 
attractive ; but when these are crowned with the corymbs of orange- 
yellow flower heads it needs no stretch of imagination to pass a favour¬ 
able opinion upon it, neither is it necessary to point out interesting 
botanical minutim to gain the attention of a visiting friend. The merits- 
of the plant are apparent to all. It grows freely and is easily divided, 
and the stock can soon be augmented. As its specific name implies, it 
comes from Japan, and is one of the hardiest plants from that most pro¬ 
ductive region of plant life. It was introduced as early as 1774. 
Teop^olum polyphyllum. —A grand trailer is this. If I may be. 
godfather to a popular name I should suggest “ Golden Garland,” for 
how charming are the trailing shoots of silver and gold—the very pale 
silvery green foliage and golden flower cups. It trails over a ledge of 
the rockery, and there are a dozen shoots, so charming do they look with 
little patches of Campanula pusilla and C. Hosti surrounding them. I 
am not sure that a rockery is the best place—certainly it is a good one, to> 
plant them, as I recently saw a grand mass covering many feet which 
Fig. 16 .—The Botanic Gaedens, Beussels. 
two o’clock, and arrived at Cannon Street at 4 a.m. Sunday morning, 
thoroughly tired out and glad to reach home again. In concluding these 
notes I wish to express a hope that other gardeners will be induced to pay 
a visit to horticultural Belgium, and derive as much b enefit both profes¬ 
sionally and physically as I did.—T. W. Sandees. 
HARDY FLOWERS. 
AsteAGALUS ALOPEGUEOIDES. —This is in my opinion the flnest of 
the genus, however large it may be. This season it is between 3 and 
4 feet high., the stems clad with pale green pinnate rather downy foliage 
in the axils of which are the flower clusters ; the flowers themselves of a 
clear sulphur-yellow, the calyces and corollas more or less downy * and 
the time of blooming is somewhat extended, as the flowers expand at the 
base of the stems first, the upper ones following as growth developes. I 
think it wDl produce seeds this year, otherwise there will be no chance 
of increasing it, as to split up the large woody tap root would end in 
dis^ter ; at the same time such a desirable plant is well worth increasing 
and I hope seed will be ripened this season. It is a native of Siberia, 
has been established in a Rhododendron bed for years ; such a feast of 
the Many-leaved Nasturtiums I never had before. In my opinion none 
who fancy hardy flowers should be without this the most beautiful of all. 
It is a native of Chili, and was introduced in 1827 or thereabouts. When 
planting the tuber some gritty sand should be placed about it, and it 
revels in a rich, light, sandy soil. 
Beodi^a coccinea. —This is also known as Brevoortia coccinea. 
Once upon a time an American dealer sent the bulb out under the two 
names, but this was quite by mistake ; the latter name is often used by 
our cousins across the Atlantic. It is a beautiful species, producing tall 
slender scapes 2 to 3 feet high ; flowers umbellate at the top, from four 
to twenty-five in a single umbel, each about inch long, tubular, the 
tube deep scarlet, the limb segments green—a pretty and uncommon con¬ 
trast. It is one of those numerous bulbs which delight to remain undis¬ 
turbed for years, under which conditions, providing it is planted about 
6 inches deep, it is quite hardy. Rich sandy soil with a well-drained 
position suits it admirably, and under such favourable conditions it in¬ 
creases rapidly, the young offsets in two or three years forming flowering 
bulbs, and ultimately a very happy colony is formed. It is desirable 
to have a groundwork of seme other growth through which the slender 
