260 
JO URN XL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 2, 18! 1. 
of which 900 plants were planted ont, and I have not lost 
anore than a dozen plants ; hut all the old stumps of last year’s 
growth are killed. I sow in August, and recommend planting out 
12 inches apart, cutting out every other one in the spring, leaving 
the remainder 2 feet apart each way for completing their growth. 
The varieties I prefer are Ellam’s Early Dwarf, for early spring, 
Heartwell Early Marrow, and Enfield Market. The Carrots I 
grow are French Forcing, Early Nantes, Sutton’s Gem, and 
Veitch’s Matcldess. 
Celery seed for very early use I sow in pots or boxes early in 
February, and prick oif and transplant when the weather is warm 
enough. Major Clarke’s Red, Wright’s White, and Sandringham 
Dwarf AVhite for late work are the kinds we grow. The varieties 
of Leeks I grow are The Lyons, Dobbie’s Selected, Sutton- Prize- 
taker, and AVebb’s Colossal. In Onions, James’s Keeping grown on- 
hard ground so as to get smaller bulbs keeps the best of all ; and 
I also grow The Reading and Banbury Improved. For exhi¬ 
bition purposes I suppose we should have Excelsior, the parent of 
most of our large exhibition Onions, and still an excellent variety, 
then there are Cocoa-nut, Ailsa Craig, and others. To those 
who grow Parsnips for exhibiting, I recommend Dobbie’s strain, 
as it is an excellent one. For general crop Hollow Crown or 
Student. 
With regard to Potatoes, my advice is grow varieties that best 
suit the soil of your gardens and are best for flavour and table use. 
With Turnips Early Milan and Snowball for earliest crops, and 
-Chirk Castle and Orange Jelly for the winter. We sow once a 
fortnight through the summer, and cool, shady ground suits them 
best in hot weather. 
Spinach.—I recommend the new A'ictoria Improved Round, as 
it does not run to seed so soon as the ordinary varieties ; the leaves 
are larger and more fleshy, and stand the winter well, and is an 
improvement on the old Prickly Spinach. I sowed the two varie¬ 
ties, the Ahctoria and Prickly, side by side, and from the Anctoria 
T have had a good supply through the winter. 
There are other vegetables I ought to briefly notice ; but the 
time you are allowed here will not admit of more than a cursory 
glance at all the varieties of vegetables I have even mentioned. 
My object has been, not to endeavour to instruct old practical 
gardeziers, but to help young gardeners if I can, and I hope my 
object may be accomplished. 
HARDY FLOWER NOTES. 
In such a season as the present the opening of the first flower 
of_ the year may Avell be received with a psean of pleasui’e, and 
this pleasure is greatly enhanced when this harbinger of the season 
is one which is new to its possessor, and whose opening blossoms 
have been waited for, and looked for, through dreary days of 
gloom and of frost; although to tell the truth we have but little 
to complain of in this nook of Scotia, hamng had much less snow 
and frost than has been experienced in the south of England. But 
we must not wander into a digression and dissertation upon the 
weather, but return to the first flower of the year, keeping out of 
.sight, of course, the bespattered and bedraggled Primroses and 
Polyanthuses which, with an ambition worthy of a better fate, 
ventured to show their blossoms, and in consequence experienced 
the wrath of winter. This first flower of the year was L'is Bakeri- 
ana, which flowered with me on January 24th, and charmed me 
with its delicate beauty—a beauty which it shares in common with 
many of its congeners. A fellow immigrant from other climes, 
I. Bornmiilleri or Danfordiie (and the latter name has the priority 
in point of date of title) should have been in flower also; but, 
alas ! some unkindly grub had devoured the bulb of our “ one ewe 
lamb ” of that species, and we are minus the bulb and the money 
it cost. Thus are the roses of hardy plant growing accompanied 
by the thorns of losses. I. Bakeriana has, however, recompensed 
me for any disappointment at the loss of the other, and proves to 
be_ one of the good things which are constantly being introduced to 
this “ sceptered isle.” 
My speeimen was planted on rockwork in September of last 
year, and stood the winter without any protection. It had been in 
bud from the beginning of the year, and opened on the disappear¬ 
ance of the frost; the flower being afterwards covered with a small 
Eandframe, which admitted an ample supply of ah’, but which 
protects it from heavy rains. This Iris is variable, and in a number 
of plants some variation of interest will likely be found. My 
solitary plant had its flower raised to only 3^ inches above the 
ground, while the cylindrical ribbed leaves were an inch longer, 
but will, like those of I. reticulata, probably extend. The flowers, 
like those of most of the Irises, are difficult to describe. AVhen in 
bud they are of a fawn colour, spotted with what may be called 
deep purple. After opening, the standards are of a fine violet. 
afterwards becoming lighter, the falls being creamy white, with 
deep blue, almost black blotches, one at the point being particularly 
large and fine. Taking the flower all in all, it is a great acquisition,, 
and although a pigmy in size, is worthy of bearing the name of 
that Titan among botanists, Mr. J. G. Baker. I understand 
I. Bakeriana was first sent from Asia Minor by Rev. S. F. Gates,, 
and has been largely introduced through Herr Max Leichtlin.^ 
AVith the exception of this exquisite Iris, and the few pitiful 
unfortunates I have alluded to, our record of plants in flower to 
the end of January was a blank, and presents a sad contrast to 
that of last year. In 1890, at that time we were comparing notes 
of early Snowdrops, and this year there was not one open in my 
garden. AVhatever maybe the case when Galanthns corcyrensis- 
finds its way into its precincts I know not, but it is at present afi 
a prohibitive price, and apparently G. Elwesi will be the first, 
closely followed by one I have as G. nivalis priecox, a name which 
Mr. Baker in his handbook of the Amaryllidze apparently considers- 
as synonymous with corcyrensis. I am afraid there is some con¬ 
fusion here, but what I have as piaacox is certainly considerably 
in advance of the common nivalis. One I received last year under 
the name of G. n. umbricus, and said to be very early, just showed’ 
through the ground at the end of January, but it has always to be- 
remembered that dried bulbs are very erratic, and sometimes- 
come earlier or later than their normal period. G. n. umbricus 
seems to have quite a distinct rosy colour when it is just above 
the soil. Has any other one who has grown this variety noted? 
this ? 
I was glad to see the cheery yellow flowers of the little Eranthis^ 
hyemalis once more. In the dry season of 1889 all my roots of 
this little AVinter Aconite were destroyed by the drought, which, 
was very severe on my light soil, w’hich has sand and gravel beneath. 
Crocuses are all very late this year, even such early species as- 
C. Imperati and C. Sieberi. 
Anemone blanda and its white variety are pushing through the- 
soil, and with favourable weather will not be long of flowering. 
The Poppy Anemones (A. coronaria), which were so fine and so- 
useful last winter, have not proved so valuable this one, as there 
was no sun to bring them forward even under a frame.— 
S. Aknott. 
Dendrobitjms. 
[.A paper read at .a recent inectiiig of the Lirerpool Horticultural Association by 
Jlr. Jxo. GLOVER, gardeucr to Sir Andrew Barclay Walker, Bart., Gateacre Grange,] 
Dendrobiums form an extensive and magnificent genus of 
Orchids, and include the most useful as well as the most orna¬ 
mental Orchids in cultivation ; they are also very accommodating, 
for they may be grown successfully under various conditions.. 
They vary much in character, partly consisting of plants with tail- 
jointed stems bearing lateral or terminal racemes of flowers and 
partly of pseudo-bulbous species, which have terminal racemes.. 
Some of the species produce large flowers of delicate colour and 
fragrant. Many flower freely ; some are evergreen, retaining their 
leaves all the year round ; others are deciduous, and flower on the- 
ripened leafless stems. As, however, the genus comprises 300 species, 
it includes many plants of but little interest to the amateur, 
though worth growing in a botanical collection. Thej' are found 
all over India, and in Australia, China, and Japan. Many last 
three or four weeks in flower, others only a few days. Some last, 
well in a cut state, and are valuable for decoration, and may be 
used either for glasses or to be made up in bouquets, wreaths,, 
crosses, or as coat flowers. They flower mostly in spring, but where 
numbers of plants and varieties are grown they may be hacl in 
succession from December to August by introducing them into 
heat from their resting quarters at intervals as required, and retard¬ 
ing some as long as possible in a cool temperature. Dendrobium 
no bile has been kept outside under a north wall, and was shown 
well in August at Sefton Park. Many thousands of Dendrobiums- 
have been imported successfully of late years, thanks to our 
enterprising nurserymen, and at such low prices that it is scarcely 
possible to find a garden of any pretensions without Dendrobiums. 
To flower these plants satisfactorily they must have a season of 
growth and of rest, and of the two I think the latter the more 
important for if they do not have sufficient rest they will not flower 
