December 7, 1882. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 527 
Begonia socotrana promises to be a good winter-flowering variety by 
its appearance at the present time in the Begonia house at Kew. 
PRIMULAS. 
The single and semi-double forms of Primula sinensis and Cine¬ 
rarias may be flowered in the autumn and winter by sowing the seeds 
sufficiently early in the season in March or April, and growing them 
when established in frames facing the north during the hottest 
weather. Primulas require a little heat in the autumn to assist them 
in opening their flowers, and to prevent their damping at the collar. 
The old double white variety, P. sinensis alba plena, still holds its 
own amongst the newer double kinds. It does not produce seed, and 
consequently has to be propagated by cuttings, which should be 
inserted in May or early in June. 
Cinerarias are best when kept in cold frames up till the time of 
flowering. If they are subjected to fire heat they so soon become 
infested wflth green fly. 
Salvias are useful for conservatory decoration in winter, but they 
are not of so much use for cutting, as their flowers so soon fall. The 
scarlet-flowered varieties may, however, be used with great effect as 
cut flowers by gaslight or for dinner-table decoration where they are 
only required for one evening. A very promising new decorative 
flowering plant for winter is Impatiens Sultani, as it is in flower 
nearly all the year round. If so it will be a valuable acquisition. 
Among other useful plants which I can only mention now are 
Plumbago rosea, Justicia speciosa, Linum trigynum, Euphorbia jac- 
quiniaeflora, Sericographis Ghiesbreghtiana, and Zonal Pelargoniums. 
(To be continued.) 
PRUNING- GOOSEBERRY BUSHES. 
Since reading “Lancastrian’s” remarks on the above (p. 477) 
I have carefully examined those bushes I have pruned and those 
I have not, and asked myself the question, Have I pruned too 
hard ? Doubtless few prune so hard as I do, and yet I have pruned 
closer than ever this year. Still, I do not think any bushes the 
same size could carry a greater crop or better-sized fruit than 
these have done. Many visitors have remarked the heavy crop 
and splendid fruit. 
It is an old saying, “ Old notions die hard.” This will apply 
here, for being taught that way of pruning the Gooseberry, and 
generally with the best results, why should we alter? I shall cer¬ 
tainly try the other practice with some bushes I have in a young 
state, and note the difference. In the latter method there would 
be a considerable saving in labour, which is a great consideration 
to the hard-worked gardener. I should be pleased to see others 
give their experience on this subject, for, unlike the Apple or 
Pear, we seldom fail to get a good crop if birds can be kept away. 
I am lucky in this respect, having my Gooseberry quarter covered 
in with wire netting, and am ever anxious to gain experience, so 
as to increase produce with the least amount of labour. 
While writing on this subject may I ask someone to explain 
why I lose one or two bushes most years when not more than 
from five to seven years old, while small branches on several wither 
and die from midsummer onwards? Last year I gave a heavy 
mulching of manure from the cowyard, but I am sorry to add that 
it has not had the desired effect. The soil is light, resting on a 
gravelly subsoil, and well drained.—S. J. A. 
TRILLIUMS (American Wood Lilies). 
These lovely flowers belong to the large, varied, and beautiful 
Liliacem, a family perhaps as attractive to the botanical and hor¬ 
ticultural student as any we are acquainted with. Nor is this sur¬ 
prising when the numerous floral gems which it includes are taken 
into consideration ; and there is no doubt the objects of these 
remarks are among the more interesting genera of the family. 
The character of the floral envelopes is particularly striking, the 
outer series of the perianth being green and foliaceous, while the 
inner one is coloured, representing the calyx and corolla in the 
dicotyledonous plants. They are extremely pretty, or at least 
the greatest number of them, some being curiously coloured and 
not very attractive. There is much written now by cultivators as 
to what hardy flowers should and should not be grown. But most 
of the Trilliums please everybody. Take for instance the lo7ely 
T. grandiflorum with its large white flowers and graceful habit. 
I have always known it to be admired, and rightly so, for it is one 
of our best hardy flowers. Not so useful as many other things for 
supplying cut flowers. Do not be misled. These are not the 
plants for that purpose. They are better adapted for border deco¬ 
ration in clumps sufficiently large to reveal what their decorative 
merits really are. They are grand for intermingling with hardy 
Ferns and Orchids, and with treatment such as is suited for 
these plants they will flourish. 
It is necessary, to grow Trilliums well, that they should be 
treated liberally. Granted that they will thrive fairly, especially 
T. grandiflorum, in ordinary border soil, yet they do far better if 
the soil is well prepared and a proper position selected in which to 
plant them. The common term applied to them is instructive— 
viz., “Wood Lilies.” They are all natives of North America, in¬ 
habiting woody and low-lying damp positions where there is an 
abundance of vegetable matter. Plant them in a partially shaded 
position where they are not exposed to the hottest sunshine, as the 
flowers will last much longer. The soil I have found most suitable 
for them is a mixture in equal parts of good yellow loam, peat, 
leaf soil, and sand of a good depth, with a cool and damp position. 
If they are liberally supplied with water during the growing season 
large rhizomes are made for the following season, and they readily 
establish themselves, fine clumps being soon formed. The present 
is a fitting time to plant or divide them, as they are now in a dor¬ 
mant condition. But the sooner it is accomplished the safer, as 
the roots would be quite established before winter arrives. If 
there is any doubt as to the effect of the winter upon the roots, the 
safer plan will be to protect the crowns by covering the soil with 
leaves, bracken, or ashes during the winter, removing the same 
early in the spring, as they start into growth early in the year. 
Some of the varieties I know are not quite hardy in the north, or 
it would be safer to say that from some cause they disappear 
during the winter. This may be from excessive moisture. In 
that case it would he advisable to protect them with a bellglass. 
I am not aware that T. grandiflorum suffers in any part of the 
kingdom. 
I have intimated above that they are all natives of the States of 
North America. One species, however, i> found in Eastern Siberia, 
and I think one in Japan, but they both also occur in North 
America. The species and varieties described below are all under 
cultivation, although some of them are uncommon. But they cm 
all be secured from good dealers in hardy flowers in this country, 
as well as from some North American dealers whose speciality is 
the collecting of the native plants. 1 have described the different 
kinds somewhat minutely, as there is much confusion among 
growers of them as to their proper nomenclature. 
T. cernnum. —Stem about 9 or 12 inches high. Leaves sessile, 
broadly ovate, 2 to 4 inches broad ; flower stalks short, recurved ; 
petals white, ovate-lanceolate, one-half to 1 inch long ; stamens 
shorter than the stigmas. This is well figured in “Curtis’s Botani¬ 
cal Magazine,” plate 954. It occurs from Newfoundland to 
Mackenzie River. It flowers with us in April and May, and has 
been known in this country ever since 1758. It is a very pretty 
and easily grown species—one of the earliest to bloom. 
T. erectum. —Stems 6 to 12 inches high ; leaves broadly or 
roundish ovate, sub-acuminate, from 3 to 6 inches wide ; flower 
stalk longer than the flower, more or less inclined ; petals ovate 
or ovate-lanceolate, three-quarters to 1^- inch long, very variable 
in colour—brownish-purple, white, or greenish, or tinged with 
pink. A very variable plant, known under the various aliases of 
T. rhomboideum, T. foetidum, T. pendulum, and T. purpureum. 
It occurs from Canada to North Carolina, Tennessee, and Missouri, 
and it flowers in this country during April and May, and was 
introduced about the same time as the last. There is a figure of 
the plant in the “Botanical Magazine,” plates 470, 1027, and 
3250. 
T. erythrocarpum. —Stems 9 to 12 inches high, or less ; leaves 
ovate, acute, or acuminate, 2 to 6 inches long ; flower stalk erect 
or slightly inclined, often longer than the flower ; petals ob- 
lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, wavy, three-quarters to 
lj inch long, white, reddish-purple at the base. Known also 
under the names of T. undulatum and T. pictum. It is well 
figured in the “ Botanical Magazine,” plate 3002. It occurs from 
New Brunswick to Wisconsin and Georgia, frequently on high 
mountains or cold damp woods. It flowers here in May and June, 
and does not appear to have been introduced until 1811, It is a 
very pretty species, and easily grown. 
T. grandiflorum. —Stem from 9 to 18 inches high ; leaves broadly 
rhombic-ovate, from 2 to 4 inches wide, blunt ; flower stalk 
usually erect, longer than the flower; petals oblanceolate, often 
very broad at the base, 1^ to 2^ inches long, white, or more or less 
tinged with green. Known also as T. rhomboideum var. grandi¬ 
florum. It is also figured in “ Curtis’s Botanical Magazine,” plate 
855, erroneously under the name of T. erythrocarpum. It occurs 
from Vermont to North Carolina, and west from Wisconsin to 
Kentucky. It is the most handsome species in cultivation, having 
been introduced about the beginning of the present century, 
flowering during June and July. 
T. nivale. —A much dwarfer plant, from 3 to 6 inches high ; 
leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate, blunt, 1 to 2 inches long ; flower 
stalk short, erect, or slightly inclined. Petals oblong or ovate- 
oblong, blunt or acute, half to l^inch long, white throughout. It 
