August 25, 1892. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
163 
that straight lines are unpleasing to the eye, and on the same 
principle he disapproved of paths made with angular turns. All 
gardens of any size, he said, if their shape was regular, should be 
made to look irregular by having shrubs planted and beds arranged 
so as to give the idea of extent. 
A book entitled the “ Florist’s Manual,” published about 1800 
anonymously, but stated to be from the pen of a lady gardener, 
called attention to a fact which had been scarcely noticed or acted 
upon—the influence of sunshine upon flowers, and that in many 
species the date of flowering depends upon the aspect they have 
afforded them, also the time during which they will continue in 
bloom. She advised, therefore, that beds should be planned to 
give the plants a variety of aspects, while for some species it might 
be advisable to arrange that they should be exposed to the south 
and east, as being more beneficial than the north and west. This 
authoress devoted part of her space to the consideration of rock- 
work, then a novelty, and which had displaced the old-fashioned 
“knots,” which were contrived of earths variously coloured. Early 
attempts at rockwork were in the direction of piling up large stones 
in a clumsy fashion, and amongst these many plants were set 
which in Nature would not be found growing on rocks, but which 
throve best on a warm border. One of her suggestions was that 
bulbous species might be advantageously mixed in beds and 
borders, so that a succession of different sorts might succeed each 
other through the summer. Before that it was a usual practice to 
mass together for show a number of one species, the Tulip for 
instance, and when they were over the ground looked cheerless the 
rest of the season. Some gardeners followed for a time another 
suggestion of hers, that both borders and beds should be so limited 
in breadth that in working on them every part could be reached 
without the person having to step upon the mould. But early in 
this century people were beginning to make the beds larger and 
more or less rounded. At one time most were narrow, and the 
principal ones in a garden oblong, though small beds, of all sorts of 
shapes, were much favoured, especially upon lawns, where, from 
their being often crowded together, it was necessary to protect 
them by basket-work of wood or iron. Loudon says that to 
obtain new figures for beds a kaleidoscope was occasionally em¬ 
ployed. 
For edgings, Thrift and Box were now displacing the variety 
of plants that had been tried with more or less success, such as 
the Daisy, Yiolet, Periwinkle, Stonecrop, and also the Strawberry, 
with its runners cut in during summer. What was called the 
“ changeable flower garden,” originated by one who had studied 
the Chinese modes, gardeners found practically inconvenient. 
By this system the flowers in the beds were changed from time 
to time, plants being brought for the purpose from a reserve 
ground as they came into bloom. It was shown by Hogg and 
Neill that this was not necessary if a sufficiently large number of 
plants were intermingled in spring, and in arrangement height and 
colour were kept in mind. Thomas Hogg, who lived at Paddington, 
was a schoolmaster as well as a gardener, and a successful grower 
of Pinks, Carnations, Auriculas, and Tulips. The confused 
method of planting out which had arisen, partly out of a protest 
against the Dutch artificiality, partly from a natural wish to exhibit 
the many novelties of last century, gave way to the method of 
placing plants in rows or circles. 
Another great improvement arose when gardeners awoke to 
the fact that it was of importance to have a good subsoil. This 
had been deemed of little consequence in the flower garden, where 
it was not usual to break up the ground as in the kitchen garden. 
Nicol pointed out that both gravel and clay have disadvantages 
which do not attach to chalk or loam, and that in making up the 
beds the character of the subsoil must be considered. He advised 
that the beds should be occasionally trenched and allowed a period 
of rest.—J. R. S. C. 
CARNATION DR. HOGG. 
While the ranks of the Border and Fancy Carnations are 
annually strengthened by numerous additions, those of the florists’ 
varieties increase but slowly. It is quite natural that such should 
be the case, for with the latter crossing has been practised for so 
many years, and by so many skilled florists, that the point of per¬ 
fection has been very closely approached, and further progress can 
only be slow ; whereas with the former the field has been left 
comparatively open, and the limits are by no means so nearly 
reached. Recognising the force of this reflection, it will be readily 
admitted that in one sense the production of a really superior 
Bizarre or Flake marks a greater step than the production of a 
distinct and beautiful Self or Fancy. Hybridisers are, as it were, 
hemmed in by a circle of high-class varieties, through which it is 
extremely difficult to break. This may be emphasised in the 
important section of Scarlet Bizarres. Here we have a galaxy of 
brilliant gems, so remarkable for the possession of the many points 
which go to make up a high-class exhibition flower, that it is not 
easy to imagine a distinct advance on them, much less to produce 
it. What improvement is effected is gained at rare intervals. For 
many years Admiral Curzon ruled the waves of Bizarre-dom, and 
proved himself to be staunch and true in many a hard-fought 
struggle ; but his star set at the advent of Robert Houlgrave, and 
the latter may still be said to hold the field, although its position, 
is strongly assailed by two other grand varieties. The first of 
these, C. H. Herbert, appeared in 1890. It was raised by Messrs, 
Thomson & Son of Birmingham, and is a flower of great beauty 
and quality. The second was raised by Mr. Turner of Slough, and 
exhibited by him at a meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society 
last year, when it received a first-class certificate. It was named 
in honour of the head of this Journal. Dr. Hogg, which fig. 23 
represents, is a superb variety. It is a large, handsome, well- 
formed flower, and may be described as a highly coloured Scarlet 
FIG. 23.— CARNATION DR. HOGG. 
Bizarre, with perfect markings, and a beautifully smooth, shell¬ 
shaped petal, very smooth on the edge ; the white is'also very good. 
It has a perfect calyx, which has not the slightest tendency to 
split. It is a most constant flower, and remains fresh for a very 
long period. Dr. Hogg is a great acquisition to its section, and it 
may safely be said that in course of time, when more widely spread, 
it will rank with C. H. Herbert and Robert Houlgrave in genera! 
popularity as an exhibition flower.—W. P. W. 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Exhibition and Conference on Begonias, Ferns, Apricots, 
and Plums.—August 23rd and 24th. 
In one important respect this fixture of the Royal Horticultural 
Society was of special interest, for it gave an opportunity of becoming 
acquainted with species and varieties, both of Begonias and Ferns, 
which are very rarely to be met with at public exhibitions. Plants and 
flowers of the best varieties of Tuberous Begonias that the florists’ skiff 
