188 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 31, 1893 
Apples there always has been, and it is reasonable to suppose there 
always will be a ready sale. 
Returning to the varieties in Mr. Myers’ experiment the 
standard trees consist of 100 Worcester Pearmain, forty-six 
Ecklinville, thirty-six Cox’s Orange Pippin, and fifty Bramley’s 
Seedling. The dwarfs comprise 250 Warner’s King, a variety 
that would be increased in an extension of planting ; 220 Ecklin- 
villes, too many, as the fruits are soft and liable to be specked ; 
forty M^re de Menage, a satisfactory proportion ; twenty Worcester 
Pearmain, not nearly sufficient, as the fruit sells so well ; forty 
Irish Peach, not profitable, and would not be planted again for 
market purposes ; 120 Lady Sudeley, as coming in just when 
wanted, would be increased ; seventy-five Cox’s Orange Pippin, would 
be considerably increased ; thirty King of the Pippins, sufficient, 
crop good, and fruit fine, but not bright enough ; twenty-five 
Lady Henniker, too many, tree too large, and a sparse bearer ; 
550 Lord Grosvenor, one of the most profitable of all, and would 
be largely increased ; 100 Bramley’s Seedling, growing and 
bearing so well that it would be considerably increased both in the 
form of standards and dwarfs ; 125 Lane’s Prince Albert, of 
which many more would be planted ; 100 Stirling Castle, such an 
early and bountiful bearer that it would be planted more 
extensively. 
In respect to the bearing of the young trees in the plantation, 
Bramley’s Seedlings, as standards and dwarfs planted in 1890, are 
carrying from twenty to twenty-five fruits 10 inches in circum¬ 
ference, and are not blown off the trees. A maiden planted last 
autumn had three fruits 12 inches in diameter, heavier than itself, 
pointed to as not a “ slow ” bearer. Warner’s King and Lord 
Qrosvenor, bearing twenty-five fruits 13 inches in diameter* 
35 bushels being sold from the latter at 5s. a bushel; Stirling 
Castle, overladen, fruits good, but unduly taxing the trees ; Lane’s 
Prince] Albert, young trees, supporting twenty to thirty splendid 
Apples, ^and making satisfactory growth ; Cox’s Orange Pippin 
carrying fifty to sixty handsome fruits, several girthing 9 inches. 
Of the varieties grown in less numbers, the Queen and Cox’s 
Pomona were promising well, as were Bismarck, very fine 
Wealthy, Wiltshire Defiance, and Sandringham, very large ; Queen 
Caroline, beautiful ; Golden Spire, and Frogmore Prolific. Of 
table sorts, Devonshire Quarrenden has paid well, and Mr. Moly- 
neux wishes he had several hundred trees of Benoni and several 
hundred bushels of Worcester Pearmain. He finds a great dearth 
of table Apples between the first earlies—such as Red Astrachan, 
Mr. Gladstone, and others—and the autumn bearers, hence the 
special value of such as Lady Sudeley, Worcester Pearmain, and 
Benoni, and of these he would plant largely, in the full assurance 
of a ready sale. Upwards of 100 of the best varieties in cultiva¬ 
tion are on trial at Swanmore, including most of the new sorts, 
the object being to ascertain by comparison those most likely to 
give the best return if extensively planted for commercial 
purposes. This well conducted experiment in Apple culture will 
be of practical value to intending planters, and Mr. Myers and his 
gardener are to be congratulated on the progress already made, as 
well as on a promising future. 
HARDY FLOWER NOTES. 
Morina longifolia. 
Thebe are few hardy flowers which attract more attention 
than a good specimen of Morina longifolia when in full bloom. 
The long, glossy, somewhat spiny leaves are very pretty, and the 
handsome spike with its crowded whorls of white and crimson 
flowers add to the appearance of the plant. It seems to be a 
favourite wherever grown, and it is to be regretted that it does 
not prove a true perennial on all soils. It is so easily raised 
from seed, which it ripens abundantly, that it can be readily 
replaced ; and it may be noted that young plants transplant much 
more successfully than older ones, as the long tap roots are liable 
to injury. One of the pleasing features of this plant is the variety 
presented by the flowers in their various stages. The buds are 
white, and when open the flowers are of a pretty pink, which again 
passes ofE to a fine bright crimson. The flowers have rather long 
tubes in proportion to their breadth, these being about 1 inch, 
and the flower about three-quarters of an inch across. The blooms 
are produced in whorls in the axils of the flowering stems, which 
attain a height of 2 feet or more. The leaves are from 10 inches 
to upwards of a foot in length, and are pinnatifid. 
Morina longifolia will be found to thrive well in a rich but 
somewhat light soil, and prefers a little shade. The customary 
period for flowering here (Dumfries) is July, but occasionally a 
plant will fail to bloom in the ordinary season, and throws up a 
flower stem in late autumn. Even a plant which flowers in its 
usual course will sometimes throw up late stems. A fine spike 
on one of my plants was just beginning to open late last October, 
when a severe night’s frost destroyed it. It is a native of Nepaul, 
whence it was introduced by Wallich about 1839. Seeds may be 
sown in pots or boxes as soon as ripe, and placed in a frame, or they 
may be kept until spring, and sown in the open ground in 
March or April. With good treatment plants should flower the 
second season. Division of the plants is also practised, but this 
should not be attempted unless they are a fair size. 
The genus Morina was named in honour of Louis Morin, a 
French botanist, who existed in the end of the seventeenth and 
beginning of the eighteenth centuries. The fii'St species of the 
genus which was introduced was M. persica, discovered by Tourne- 
tort. Besides this, and the subject of this note, there are some 
half a dozen other species, all being natives of Asia. Few of these 
are in cultivation in this country. The Morinas belong to the 
natural order Dipsacese, and a synonym of the genus is Asaphes. 
An illustration of M. longifolia is given in the “ Botanical Maga¬ 
zine,” tab. 4092 ; in the “ Botanical Register,” vol. xxvi., plate 36 ; 
and one may also be found in Maund’s “ Botanic Garden,” vol. v., 
plate 197. The latter only shows part of the spike, and conse¬ 
quently does not do full justice to the symmetry of the plant. 
Morina longifolia is one of the flowers which can be recommended 
with every confidence. 
Coreopsis monstrosa. • 
The specific name of monstrosa has occasionally been applied 
in a most inappropriate manner to flowers, and it cannot, I think, 
be denied that here we have a case in point. Judging from the 
appearance of Coreopsis monstrosa from a garden or from a struc¬ 
tural point of view, there is nothing about the plant which would 
give warrant for according it a specific name far from appropriate 
to such a graceful flower, for this plant shares the grace of its 
congeners, which, as a whcle, are exceedingly beautiful in habit. 
It seems to be a plant of garden origin, and only a large-flowered 
and extremely fine form of one of our most beautiful garden 
flowers—C. lanceolata. The habit of the plant is more robust 
than is the typical C. lanceolata, and it may be recommended 
as a decided improvement upon the latter. I have seen this 
plant in various gardens and soils, and taken as a whole C. 
monstrosa will bear favourable comparison with the much-praised 
C. grandiflora, its bright clear yellow flowers being of good colour 
and form. There seems to be no special difficulty in its cultivation. 
Morisia hypog^a. 
Although I have recently written of this neat rockery plant, 
some additional information as to its propagation may be of 
interest, especially as I have failed to discover any reference to 
this system of propagation as applied to the Morisia. This is by 
means of root cuttings, a well known and useful method of 
propagating many flowers. In lifting a plant of M. hypogsea for 
the purpose of taking off cuttings and dividing the plant, an 
examination of the character of the roots caused me to be of 
opinion that it could be easily increased by means of cuttings 
of short pieces of the root. Several of the roots were taken 
off, cut into pieces about an inch in length, inserted in pots 
of light sandy soil, and placed in a cool greenhouse. The upper 
or thicker end of each root cutting was of course placed 
uppermost and so placed that it was just under the slight 
layer of sand with which the pot was surfaced. In about a 
fortnight leaves began to appear from the apex, and the plants 
produced in this way are nearly as large as those obtained by 
ordinary cuttings of the stems inserted the same day. The cuttings 
were taken off in the end of June. 
CiMICIFUGA SERPENTARIA. 
Whatever may be said for the literal accuracy of the name of 
Serpent-like Bugwort, all who have seen this flower will, I feel 
sure, agree in thinking it a most unpleasant one for such a pretty 
occupant of our garden borders. I fear even the Rose if burdened 
with the name of Bugwort would hardly “smell as sweet,” and one 
is tempted to wish for a revision of some of the names which, like 
the plants themselves, have come to us from the other side of the 
