170 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 24, 1893. 
Varieties,” and I think it should also be mentioned by their raisers 
that they must be very carefully shaded from the sun. 
I am glad to find so eminent a rosarian as Mr. Benjamin R. Cant, of 
Colchester, vindicating the supreme merit of Ernest Metz, a Rose which 
has a great future before it, if I have not deceived myself regarding its 
claims. Souvenir de S. A. Prince is another exquisite variety which has 
not yet received adequate recognition. Why it should be regarded as 
inferior to The Bride, I cannot conceive ; for it is unquestionably a 
purer white Tea than its rival, and in other respects it is at least equally 
impressive. 
I have been informed by the correspondent to whom I have referred, 
that exhibitors as a rule do not attach any importance to the presence 
or absence of fragrance in a Rose. Such, however, is manifestly not the 
opinion of Mr. Cranston of Hereford, who was first with Alfred Colomb 
at the National Rose Show. “Every Rose” he aflfirms (in his book) 
“ should have fragrance ; ” and I think that his verdict should be 
regarded as decisive. Unquestionably there are many magnificent 
Roses, for the most part descended from Baroness Rothschild, which 
are inodorous; nevertheless I adhere to my original theory that the 
absence of this attribute is, even in such instances, a serious limitation. 
—David R. Williamson. 
HORTICULTURE IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
We extract the following, written by a visitor, from the catalogue of 
Messrs. W. & C. Gowie, as it indicates horticultural progress in our 
African empire:— 
This firm of seed and plant merchants, Grahamstown, has within the 
past few years secured a reputation throughout South Africa, and in the 
coming impetus to the fruit industry will take a great part. Mr. W. 
Gowie is a standing example of what may be accomplished by enterprise 
and unflagging industry out of small beginnings. He commenced his 
career as horticulturist by the purchase of an old garden of about two 
acres. This he completely trenched, converting it into rich ground for 
the growing of Roses and other flowers, all bis work being distinguished 
by complete thoroughness. Then as demands upon him grew he leased 
a part of Oatlands Park Estate, and last year he and his brother, who 
joined him as a business partner, became proprietors of that estate, 
which occupies a large portion of the western slope of the basin wherein 
Grahamstown is cradled. Long may they enjoy the fruits of their 
enterprise. Oatlands Park is 1200 acres in extent. It embraces the 
whole of a well-wooded valley, and contains a variety of fine natural 
and ornamental scenery. Each slope of the valley is thickly covered 
w'ith Mimosa trees and thick bushes, while the bed of the valley holds 
two or three large dams, overshadowed by large forest trees, and that 
portion of the stream not required for irrigation flows into a shallow 
basin, from the centre of which springs a cluster of tall Poplars. A 
long line of Gum Trees marks the boundary on the town side, and on the 
slope, opposite the house, a small space is reserved for the town. This 
is known as Prince Alfred’s Park, the Duke of Edinburgh when a lad 
having, on a visit to the town, planted an Oak on that spot. That was 
when Oatlands was the property of Sir Walter Currie, a great sportsman 
and warrior, who formed that fine corps the original F.A.M. Police. 
The foreground in the illustration was at that time wild land, and some 
years later Sir Walter introduced therein the first pair of ostriches ever 
kept in a domestic state in the colony. No one of the many hundreds 
who saw those birds, however, dreamt of the use to which they could be 
put, and no effort was made to breed them for their feathers. 
Now where the ostriches built their nests a garden glows in all the 
beauty of its Roses and budding fiuit trees. Messrs. Gowie Brothers 
have, however, only as yet worked one corner of their fine estate—that 
nearest the town—where they have some 30 acres completely trenched 
and well covered with flowers, ornamental trees and shrubs, and thou¬ 
sands of young fruit trees. 
In the foreground is a field of mixed Roses, thousands in number, 
from which, during the season, large numbers are despatched by rail 
and post to all parts of the country. The Rose thrives well in South 
Africa, and 1 saw many a small plain iron house in Kimberley and 
Johannesburg redeemed from ugliness by magnificent Roses. Beyond 
this glowing field of white and red there is on the right a smooth lawn 
interspersed with ornamental trees, and above that the glass houses for 
propagating, potting, including the Fern house, wherein is one of the 
finest and most beautiful collection of African and foreign Ferns I have 
seen, all flourishing splendidly, and most of them in demand for the 
adornment and beautifying of ladies’ boudoirs. Out in the open near 
the signpost were trees of the English Hawthorn in bloom and rare 
plants usually found in hothouses, but here thriving in the open, one 
of them covered with a mass of white and scarlet bloom. Beyond to the 
left is the fruit nursery, where are some 15,000 young fruit trees, 
comprising Orange, 30 varieties of Pear, 20 of Peach, 36 of Apple, 6 of 
Nectarine, 10 of Apricot, besides Almonds, Walnuts, and Medlars. Here 
were 1400 grafts of Orange trees three and four years old, raised from 
the pip, and then budded or grafted, Mr. W. Gowie having completely 
mastered this art. Of course he has noticed the gradual growth of the 
export trade in fruit, and is turning his attention to trees which will 
produce the best crops for the London market, and has made a start 
with 2000 Apples, the “ Late Bloomer,” which yields a beautiful dark 
red fruit of fine flavour. There is no blight about the trees, they were 
clean, healthy, and just bent upon doing their work in the world by 
producing fruit. 
There had been a great demand on Mr. Gowie for Orange trees, and 
he had almost sold out the whole of his stock of three and four year old 
trees, many of them going to Capetown, where a few years back the 
Australian bug had destroyed thousands of trees. I may remark that an 
enemy has been found to the Dorthesia in the ladybird insect, and at 
Uitenhage one gentleman has bred these insects with the laudable object 
of supplying them to owners of Orange groves threatened by the bug. 
In a few months the ladybirds will clear out the pest, lock, stock, and 
barrel, old and young, and then, having eaten the enemy, they settle the 
danger which might arise from a plague of ladybirds by eating each other. 
THE PLATYCODONS. 
My note on page 145 was written before I had seen Mr. E. Moly- 
neux’s article, or I would have referred to it at the time. ^ I have no 
doubt the plant referred to by your esteemed contributor is the white 
variety of P. grandiflorum, and not the new white form, which is a 
seedling from P. Mariesi and is said to be exactly like the parent except 
in colour. It was offered by Hillebrand and Bredemeier of Pallanza 
under the name of “ P. Mariesi album,” and in the catalogue is said to 
attain a height of “ 15 to 20 centimetres,” (equalling about 6 to 8 inches). 
For garden purposes the Platycodons may be divided into P. 
autumnalis, growing sometimes to nearly 3 feet in height, and flower¬ 
ing later than the others ; this is blue. P. grandiflorum, sometimes 
2 feet in height, although generally dwarfer. Of this there are the 
following forms—single blue, double blue, single whitO and double 
white. P. g. nobilis with large pale blue flowers, and P. g. striatum, 
with striped flowers, are named in some continental catalogues, but I 
have never met with them in cultivation. • , • i ^ 
P. Mariesi will generally be found growing about 9 inches in height, 
and the form exhibited by Messrs. Paul appears to be an extremely 
dwarf one for the plant as grown in this country. Mr. Paul is quite 
correct in saying that P. Mariesi is from Japan. In the “ Dictionary of 
Gardening,” P. autumnalis is considered synonymous with P. grandi¬ 
florum, which is given as growing from 6 to 12 inches in height (?) P. 
Mariesi is given as a form of P. grandiflorum. The Platycodons are 
still occasionally met with under Schroder’s name of Wahlenbergia. 
S. Aknott. 
Platycodon gkandifloeum Mariesi. 
In my notice of this plant on page 127 a mistake has crept in, which 
1 attribute to transcribing my notes. The white form of P. g. 
Mariesi is a scarce plant growing not more than 6 inches high. P. 
grandiflora alba is the variety to which I alluded as growing nearly 
2 feet high.—E. Molynedx. 
Platycodon Mariesi alba. 
I BEG to enclose a plant of the Platycodon Mariesi alba mentioned 
by Mr. Molyneux in his notes on page 127 of Journal, which was also 
referred to on page 146, as being very scarce in England. I happen to 
have a few dozen plants which flowered well with me this year. The 
plant I send was cut quite close to the ground.— B. Ladhams, Shirley. 
[The specimen was 6 inches in height and appeared to have been 
flowering freely.] 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Scientific Committee. —At the last meeting of the Scientiflc 
Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society, D. Morris, Esq., C.M.G., 
occupied the chair. 
Antliracnose {Sphaeeloma ampelinum ').—Specimens of Grapes from 
a garden near Dorking were exhibited suffering from this disease. Mr. 
G. Massee, of Kew, who determined the disease, stated that the Vines 
were affected by “a mild form of Anthracnose,” which is caused by a 
fungus called Sphaceloma ampelinum. Be Bary (“ Bot. Zeit,,” 1873). 
The fruit of the fungus is developed during the winter, hence before 
this period all diseased portions should be removed, and furthermore 
such portions should be cut well back, as the mycelium is perennial, 
and works backwards from the young shoots which it first attacks. 
The Chairman stated that no one knew until a few weeks ago that 
this terrible Vine disease was in England; but now it was reported 
from an Edinburgh garden as well as from Dorking. In America the 
disease was most deadly, and it was also the source of much trouble on 
the Continent. Notwithstanding the above statement, it is possible 
that the disease has been lingering for at least two or three years in this 
country, as Mr. R. D. Blackmore, of Teddington, called attention to it 
at the Grape Conference held at Chiswick in September, 1890. In the 
“Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society,” vol. xiii., p. 49, Mr. 
Blackmore said a disease which attacked his Vines, “resembled 
Anthracnose,” although the symptoms were not quite identical. The 
tip of the shoot is first attacked, and the crinkles of the unexpanded 
leaf, which becomes of a dirty wa.sh-leather colour, and loses its pellu- 
cidity ; then the leaves that are expanded further down the shoot 
become cupped and concave on the lower side, convex on the upper, 
and lose their grailing. All the shoot becomes dull, and its crispness is 
gone ; and if pinched it indents without breaking. The disease, unless 
checked at the outset, descends the stem very quickly, runs into the 
older wood, and destroys the Vine.” The specimen submitted to the 
Committee had the canes, fruitstalks, and berries affected with dark 
brownish blotehes and spots, while the leaves were of a dull greyish 
tint, shaded here and there with brown on the under surfaee. As a 
remedy it was suggested that Vines suspected of the disease should be 
dusted with sulphur in the spring time, and later on a mixture of 
sulphur and lime should be applied judiciously. In some places on the 
Continent a wash of sulphate of iron is used for the stems. Any 
Vines now suffering badly from “ anthracnose ” should be immediately 
