280 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
t Maich 23, 1893. 
good condition by the majority of the members it cannot be denied 
that a cultural commendation, or at the most an award of merit, 
wonld be much more appropriate. Very great care indeed should be 
exercised in awarding a first-class certificate to either a variety of 
Grape or any other fruit. This award leads to the varieties being 
purchased at special prices, and after such Vines or trees have 
occupied valuable space for a long time keen disappointment is 
experienced if the crops are unsatisfactory, and the reputations of 
vendors, however genuine their action, are impaired. 
As is well known admirably furnished bunches of essentially 
bad setting varieties of Grapes are occasionally seen, and their 
condition is suggestive of a new or improved variety. When 
the Morocco Grape was grown well by the gardener at Horsforth 
Hall, Leeds, it was regarded as a new variety, and called Horsforth 
Seedling ; also, when the same Grape was similarly well grown by 
the gardener at Kempsey House, Worcester, it was again regarded 
as new, and extensively sold as Kempsey Alicante, to the grievous 
disappointment of numbers of persons when it proved to be the 
old Morocco, one of the worst setters known, and consequently 
this otherwise good Grape is rarely seen in vineries. But to return 
to the Chasselas Napoleon. It is necessary, both in the interests of 
vendors and purchasers, to say that this French Grape as a rule 
produces bunches less freely and sets its berries as sparsely as the 
Morocco ; and but for these constitutional drawbacks it would 
have been more extensively grown both in France and England 
long ago. Mr. William Thomson of Clovenfords has grown the 
Chasselas Napoleon, which he, presumably, obtained from a former 
pupil of his, Mr. H. Knight, who grew it at Pontchartrain, France, 
and who is now gardener to the King of the Belgians at Laeken. 
We do not know whether it is in the Clovenfords collection. It is 
not included by Mr. Barron as worthy of cultivation in his work 
on the Vine. 
We suspect there has been some mistake or misunderstanding 
in reference to the so-called “ new ” Chasselas Napoleon. This name 
cannot be properly given to an English seedling, and it cannot be 
otherwise than advantageous to Mr. Reynolds to exhibit any 
seedling Grape that he raises under an English name. If he has 
free cropping Vines of a variety with berries equal in size and 
quality to the old French Grape named, and at the same time the 
berries set as freely as Alicantes, without artificial fertilisation, such 
a variety wiU be an acquisition, but the true Chasselas Napoleon 
is not. In dwelling on this subject that has been brought to our 
notice we have in view the interests of both the public and vendors 
of Grapes. Any variety that is distinct and good we shall cordially 
welcome, but the confusion in nomenclature that we have pointed 
out cannot be otherwise than disadvantageous to all concerned, 
and it will be admitted that any mistake or accident that may have 
occurred cannot be rectified too soon to satisfy the Grape-growing 
community. 
HARDY FLOWER NOTES. 
The customary furious winds of March and its storms of 
falling snow and dashing rains seem to take delight in tossing and 
destroying the sweetest and purest of flowers, and in seeking to 
render as fieeting as possible the pleasures of the garden. But no 
storms, however wild—no cold, however intense—can hold for ever 
in check these flowers, which have now rebelled against their long 
season of rest, and are now mustering their forces to overcome the 
tyranny of the month. 
The Snowdrop, which was among the first to throw off the 
thraldom of winter, has now a goodly company of supporters. The 
Crocus, with its golden or white or purple or lavender cups, in 
sheltered spots proclaims the freedom of the flowers. The Winter 
Aconite has long preceded it, and well deserves the lines applied to 
it by the poet:— 
“ The Aconite that decks with gold 
Its little merry face.” 
The Chionodoxas, too, are throwing out their flowers from 
among their fresh green leaves, while their kindred among the 
Scillas begin to show their blossoms of purple-blue. 
Some of the Saxifrages are also making a brave show. S. luteo- 
purpurea is covered with its flowers of pure and lively yellow; 
S. Burseriana and the major form are still in beauty, and the 
varieties of S. oppositifolia are now forming carpets of colour, 
here of purple, with the typical species ; there of pure white, with 
S. o. alba; and there, again, of bright crimson purple, with 
S. o. splendens. Nor does the Pyrenean species or variety (which 
it is hard to say), S. pyrenaica, want its beauty, for S. p. superba 
is now showing its large, bright, deep-coloured flowers. 
Primroses, too, are hastening on, and even now some are in 
beauty, the yellow varieties harmonising well with the white of 
the Snowdrop and the blue of Anemone blanda, which has opened 
its blossoms also. Nestling under the shelter of a wall, but over¬ 
hanging a stone in a graceful way, is a good plant of a light, “ true 
flesh-coloured ” variety of Erica carnea, which is full of beauty, 
while the white variety previously spoken of is still in flower. 
The Leucoium, too, or Snowflake, has come to rival and succeed 
the Snowdrop, and its varieties, with their pure white flowers, 
spotted with green or with yellow, will give pleasure to those who 
own them. 
The Daffodils are dallying long, and as yet only the dainty 
little minimus, with me always the first to flower, has come into 
bloom ; others, however, are full of buds, and promise a rich 
season of beauty ere long. Sisyrinchium grandiflorum, growing 
near the base of a partially shaded rockery, is now most beautiful 
with its grassy leaves and its fine bells of purple, or of the white of 
the variety album. Why is it that such a name as “ Swine’s 
Snout ” has been attached to such an exquisite flower ? If we 
cannot thus agree that such a name should be a fitting one for the 
Sisyrinchium, whose Latin name is a puzzle to many, what more 
can we think of the name of “ Sow-bread,” as applied to the 
Cyclamen, now decorating the garden with its pretty leaves and 
beautiful flowers ? I fancy even the most zealous advocate of 
English names for flowers will admit that the choice has not been 
a happy one. Here we might well adopt the alternative of “ Bleed¬ 
ing Nun,” another name of the Cyclamen. It is at least as good as 
“ Sow-bread,” and more euphonious. Distinct in colour from 
anything else at present in flower is Bulbocodium vernum, with its 
bright purple flowers. Cheap as is this flower, its comparative 
absence from gardens is a matter of surprise. Those, too, who 
like variety in foliage as well as in flower would do well to 
consider the claims of the variegated leaved form, which, when 
the flowers are passed, will form an object of interest with its 
striped leaves. 
How hard seems the fate of that sturdy flower Primula 
cashmeriana, which from time to time throughout the winter has 
essayed to rear its globular heads of flowers only to have them 
blasted by some sharp frost. But it is still undaunted, and now a 
number of heads are covered with their bright purple flowers 
densely packed together. 
Here and there, too, are clumps and plants of Hepaticas of 
various colours and shades, and it was pleasant to read Mr. H. 
Dunkin’s appreciative notice of these plants in a recent number of 
the Journal. There are few flowers brighter or more beautiful at 
present ; and, severe as has been the season, some of my plants 
have rarely been without a flower. A writer has praised 
H. angulosa as an earlier bloomer than the others, but I cannot say 
that I agree with his remarks. The blooming of Hepaticas is very 
much a matter of position, and here (Dumfries) the varieties of 
H. triloba come into flower rather earlier than do either H. angulosa 
or H. angulosa major. The Hepaticas have not yet recovered from 
the many years of neglect they have received from the flower- 
loving public, and it is somewhat tantalising to read some of our 
old gardening works and have to lament that many varieties are not 
now to be had. In a few years, however, this will be largely 
altered ; and while on one hand we have lost some Hepaticas, it 
must always be remembered that others are in cultivation of which 
our ancestors knew nothing. I have at present several varieties 
under observation, and much interesting correspondence on 
the subject of some of these old flowers has brought to my 
knowledge other varieties of which I hope to speak at some future 
time. 
Another flower to which I may briefly refer as at present in 
flower is Soldanella alpina. Very beautiful this is, with its thick 
round green leaves and pendent bell-shaped purple flowers, beauti¬ 
fully fringed. No choicer plant for the rockery can well be 
conceived, so neat is it with its compact habit. It has, however, a 
fault, and that is it is difficult to flower in many gardens. 1 
have struggled with it for some years, and after many failures 
have at last succeeded by adopting a recommendation given, I 
think, by Rev. H. Ewbank in a contemporary. This was to cover 
it in winter with a sheet of glass fixed a few inches above the 
plant. I covered mine in October, and the glass will be removed 
at the end of this month. The result is a fine display of flower. 
