JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. c August si, isss 
soil, and night soil, and we make the most of the mixture. This 
native guano is applied to all sorts of crops, both flowers and 
vegetables, it is even used for plants in pots ; and I mav state 
here that if a sufficient quantity of it could be had instead of 
being sent down sewers to the sea, both farming and gardening 
would be immensely the better for it.—P etek Ferguson, Monh 
11 ca rmouth. 
THE LONDON PARKS. 
Pilgrimages from distant parts of the country are made by many 
who are interested in summer garden decoration to the parks of the 
metropolis, where the different styles of bedding are so well repre- 
sented. But after all the visitors are in the minority, and the 
infinitely greater number of gardenei'3 and garden admirers have to 
content themselves with descriptive accounts of the beds and the 
plants that are employed, with the object of gaining information that 
may be usefully turned to account in furnishing their own gardens 
or those for which they are responsible. A few notes on the gardening 
m the London parks will, therefore, not be unacceptable at the present 
HYDE PARK. 
“ Hyde Park is very good this year ” is an expression that has been 
frequently heard this season, and not many who have examined the 
flow-er beds will dispute the accuracy of that verdict. For several 
weeks after the planting was done the weather was miserably cold, 
and the more tender plants, such as Iresines and some of the sub- 
tropicals, made slow progress ; but latterly the days have been bright 
if not not, the beds have filled well, and have been bright with both 
flowers and foliage. There are perhaps more flowers than usual— 
i elargomums—and a less number of carpet or tapestry beds, but 
what there are of the latter are highly finished examples. 
The best route for a gardener to traverse is to enter the Park at 
iv 5 a fv Ie Arch, pass along the margin to Hyde Park Corner near 
the Wellington Monument, and he will thus “ catch ” the tapestry 
and flower beds ; then turn to the right, still near the margin, and go 
on to the Albert Gate. Then turning to the right again he will see the 
subtropical examples, which culminate in the beautiful dell near the 
berpentme ; a walk from there “cuts” across diagonally back to 
iiyde Faik Corner and past some large beds filled with ornamental- 
foliaged plants. The route is not a long one, not much more than a 
mile, and a great deal more is to be seen than can be told about here : 
but it is to be feared all the beds cannot be seen now at their best, as 
the tempestuous wind of the 22nd and 23rd inst., driving with great 
foice from the west, can scarcely fail to have been very injurious to 
the foliage and flowers. 
From the Marble Arch onwards the ribbon border on tbe left has 
been gay, the front line of Lobelia Blue Stone very rich. This is an 
excellent.variety where a dark dense colour is wanted. Amongst the 
Pelargonium beds on the lawn Mrs. A. Miles, a fine pink bedder ; 
i nncess of Wales, pale cerise, very pleasing ; Pioneer, cherry crimson ; 
and Little Carr, bright scarlet, attract notice. We next come to a 
glowing bed of the fine old nosegay variety Fire King, edged with 
Uie vanegated Queen of Queens, and margined with Lobelia Blue 
King, the latter a pale bright blue, fine for large beds. A mass of 
Maui ice Bernardin, a salmon oculated Pelargonium, is evidently one 
t v < Ld e 1 st bedders °f its class, and contrasts well with the bright 
John Gibbons not far distant; but brighter still perhaps is the older 
—almost ancient for a Zonal Pelargonium—Triomphe de Stella. A 
bed now very different and very attractive, compels a pause ; it is a 
Jaige oblong, and is planted diagonally with Pelargonium Verona a 
dwarf variety with greenish-yellow foliage and pale rosy-lilac flowers, 
and lresine Lindeni in alternate rows. It is edged with a silver- 
leayed Peiargonium, banded with Alternanthera amoena and margined 
With Lchevenas set in Sedum glaucum : the combination is very 
striking. The terminal bed of this group is a round one, having 
several plants of Dracaena rubra growing from a carpet of Alter¬ 
nanthera. The edging is of Mentha, with Chamaepuce diacantha at 
intervals, and a margin of Echeverias. 
We are now at Grosvenor Gate, and find another series of very fine 
beds to Mount Street, all edged with Robert Fish Pelargonium, yellow, 
banded with Lobelia pumila magnifica margined with Antennaria 
tomentosa. The Lobelia is singularly rich and fine. There are several 
mixed beds here, which afford agreeable relief to the Pelargoniums, 
hoi instance, a mass of Solanum margaritaceum with a groundwork 
or pm pie Pansies, and the variegated Abutilon Thompsoni springin° r 
froma mass of dark Heliotrope, are both pleasing. Near is a very 
bright deep scarlet bed of Pelargonium Sir Henry S. Stanhope very 
good, and opposite a rich mass of the glowing crimson Rev. F. Atkin- 
son. Rose Bradvvardine has succumbed to the showers and is not a 
safe bedder, and the same may be said of William Thomson : but 
Linest, orange scarlet, is free and fine, and there are also grand beds 
, “F s * Holden and Fire King. More mixed beds follow—namely, 
Abutilon Boule de Niege in a groundwork of A. vexillarium ; Meli- 
anthus major with a carpet of Alternanthera magnifica, both of which 
are admired ; while Solanum Balbisi mixed with Perilla has a singular 
effect, the whitish Potato-like flowers contrasting effectively with 
the almost black foliage. A few more fine Pelargonium beds are 
U fechwind, rich glowing crimson, excellent; Sibylla, a fine pink ; 
D. Kawson, cherry crimson, perhaps the best of its colour ; but Capt. 
Holden is very fine j Gertrude, salmon, good ; and Lady Bailey, one 
of the finest pinks for pots or beds. Some mixtures of silver-varie¬ 
gated Pelargoniums Princess Alexandra and Miss Kingsbury—the 
two best—and Violas have a pretty effect. The end bed in this 
section is groundwork of Sedum arachnoideum, which has a curious 
effect dotted with large Agaves. 
We are now at South Street, and onward to Stanhope Gate the 
edgings are Lobelia Blue King, free and fine as associated with varie¬ 
gated Pelargonium Ariosto, of the Manglesii type, but more resembling 
Duke of Edinburgh. Passing a bed of Heliotrope Jean d’Amour, a 
fine dark sort, a glowing crimson mass of Calceolaria Bijou, and a 
mixture of Acacia lophantha and lresine, we ceme to some tapestry 
beds, which are certainly admirable examples of this style of deco¬ 
ration. In the first bed are central panels and circles of Alter¬ 
nanthera versicolor, surrounded with a scroll of A. magnifica. Then 
comes a band of Sedum brevifolium majus, between which and a 
string of Kleinia repens are angles of Alternanthera paronychyoides 
aurea, the bed being completed with marginal lines of Mesembryan- 
themum cordifolium variegatum, Alternanthera arncena, and Eche¬ 
verias. The next bed is totally dissimilar in design. It is principally 
an association of Alternantheras—bars and lines of A. amoena, panels 
of A. p. aurea, a star set in Golden Feather on a groundwork of 
A. p. major, and a margin of Antennaria tomentosa. The splendid 
colour of the Alternantheras is very noticeable, and the bed is rich 
yet chaste. The last bed to be noticed is possibly still more striking. 
Two heart-shaped designs of Alternanthera paronychyoides major 
and p. aurea point towards the centre. These are banded with a 
gracefully arranged scroll of Herniaria glabra, the deepest green, 
the dwarfest, and the most hardy of all green carpet plants. There 
are central panels of Pachyphyton bracteosum, and outer crescent¬ 
shaped masses of Alternanthera amoena in brilliant colour, and 
A. p. aurea in the finest possible condition ; the bed is margined 
with Echeverias. These beds are perhaps nearly faultless, and as 
regards designs, colour, and excellence of condition leave little or 
nothing to be desired. 
Little can be said about the subtropical department, further than 
that the Palms, Tree Ferns, Cordylines, and other ornamental-foliaged 
plants are disposed with great taste, and that the dell near the Ser¬ 
pentine has been furnished with a masterly hand. Both Mr. Brown 
and his experienced assistant, Mr. Chamberlain, are to be congra¬ 
tulated on making this great park so attractive to the vast crowds 
which have visited it during the present season. 
BLACK CHAMPION CURRANT. 
When this variety was exhibited before the Fruit Committee 
of the Royal Horticultural Society at South Kensington in August 
last, the wonderful size of the fruit and the profusion in which it 
was borne on the sprays commanded much attention. It appeared 
to be freely admitted that such a fine Currant had not previously 
been seen on the Committee table, which from time to time con¬ 
tains examples of the best fruits, new and old, that are produced 
in this country. It was exhibited by W. H. Dunnett, Esq., of 
Stour House, Dedham, Essex, and was unanimously awarded a 
first-class certificate. The great size of the fruit exhibited on 
that occasion may in a measure have been the result of generous 
soil, but if the variety were not of intrinsic excellence no kind of 
soil could have produced such remarkable results. We presume 
that soil equal to that in which Mr. Dunnett grew the Black 
Champion is to be found in thousands of gardens, and in the 
course of a year or two it will be reasonable to expect that many 
cultivators will have produced fruit equal to that first exhibited, 
and not unfaithfully represented in the annexed engraving. 
Plants of the Black Champion Currant will be distributed during 
the present autumn by Messrs. James Carter & Co. at prices that 
will be found in their autumn catalogue. 
STANDARD ROSES. 
I MUST confess that I rubbed my eyes when I came to the sig¬ 
nature of the short article on this subject in last week’s Journal, 
and found that it bore the name of so old a grower as Mr. W. 
1 aul ; but on reading it a second time the authorship was very 
apparent. May I, as old a rosarian as the writer, answer his 
question, “Whence this cry against standard Roses?” and refer 
to some other statements made in one of the most misleading 
articles on the Rose I have ever read. Why are they not more 
grown, then? 1, Because of their dearness. Standard Roses are 
generally quoted at about three times the price of dwarfs. If the 
advantages were three times as great this might be tolerated, 
but as that is not the case it must act as a deterrent. 2, Their 
ugliness. A mop of Roses at the top of a stick is not, in the 
minds of many, an ideal of beauty. 3, Their liability to injury 
from frost. The winters of 1880 and 1881 destroyed them in all 
directions by thousands, and in the neighbourho id of Brie Comte 
Robert by millions, and persons who have paid dearly for a thing 
that succumbs to a severe winter are not likely to repeat the ex¬ 
periment. It is for these reasons that standard Roses are not the 
