284 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
A.pril la, 1894. 
basket. Give a liberal supply of water during the summer, but less, 
and with great discretion, during the winter, never allowing the 
sphagnum to get dust dry, or the plant, having no pseudo-bulbs, will 
lose its foliage, which is prejudicial to future growth. It should be 
grown at the warmest part of the house and its leaves occasionally 
sponged to keep down insects, using tobacco powder if thrip appears. 
“ Phalaenopsis are at times injuriously affected by a watery spot 
forming on the leaves, and this should at once be cut away with a sharp 
knife or it will soon spread and eat away the leaf, and generally 
speaking when this disease occurs the idea of successfully growing the 
plant may be abandoned. The spot is often produced from some fault 
in management, such as from a very cold temperature, keeping the 
plants saturated in winter, or some other cause.” 
Apart from the slight defects pointed out, “ The Amateur 
Orchid Cultivators’ Guide Book ” can be recommended to all who 
take an interest in this phase of gardening. Lists of the most 
suitable Orchids for warm, intermediate, and cool structures are 
included, with hints as to the management of the species and 
varieties enumerated. The work comprises about 150 pages, is 
well printed, handsomely bound in cloth, and is published, as 
advertised, at 2s. 6d. by Messrs. Blake & Mackenzie, Liverpool. 
NOTES AT MESSRS. KER'S. 
At any season of the year something of interest may be seen at the 
well-kept nurseries of Messrs. R. P, Ker & Sons, Aigburth, near Liver¬ 
pool. The Cyclamens are nearly over now, there being hundreds of 
plants carrying substantial looking seed pods ; but the Amaryllises and 
Imantophyllums make a grand display. 
The house in which the Amaryllises are exhibited is a span-roofed 
structure 56 feet by 20 feet, arranged with outside stages and a central 
bed. The plants are mostly in 5-inch pots, and are in the main carrying 
two spikes each, many containing four and five flowers on a spike. Some 
of the flowers measure 8 inches in diameter, and the segments are 
stout in texture. About 1500 bulbs are in flower, with many more to 
succeed them, and maintain a display until the end of April. A few of 
the best varieties are as follows. In the dark kinds I noticed Chan¬ 
cellor, Sultan, Terentian, Black Prince, Crimson King, and Scarlet King, 
the three latter being superb both for size and colour. Of light reds. 
Mercury, The Warrior, Bndymion, and Momus were excellent. Red 
and white included Daphne, a splendid large bloom of great texture, 
certainly the best in its class ; Melpomene, Aspasia, and Eurydice ; 
while among the light shades there were Virgin Queen, Fairy Queen, and 
Albescens. 
The Imantophyllums are also models of what can be done by careful 
hybridisation. There are about 500 plants now flowering. They are of 
dwarf, robust habit, with stout spikes, carrying a large number of 
flowers of distinct shades and perfect form. Many other choice plants 
are to be seen, but with the mention of the two large houses of Kentias 
I must bring my account of the present visit to a close.—A VISITOE, 
ACRES OF WALLFLOWERS. 
To see a mass of Wallflowers covering a space of four acres is a sight 
to behold during the month of April when the plants are fully in bloom, 
the air being loaded with perfume. The effect of such a mass is so 
different to that created by a few beds in the flower garden. For the 
latter purpose the method of culture differs entirely, and for obvious 
reasons, that the beds are occupied during the summer, and are not 
ready for the reception of the “ Walls,” as they are termed by the 
market men, until the early part and very often the end of October, 
whereas in the other case directly the plants are large enough to handle 
easily they are planted where they are to flower, and thus escape the 
check experienced in flower-bed culture. Plants grown for market are 
thus enabled to be almost double the size of those cultivated for private 
use, and give a corresponding return. Sandy land that has been well dug 
and manured for a previous crop is preferable to that which is heavy in 
texture for Wallflower culture. Not only is it better for the plants 
themselves, but the labour in keeping down weeds is less than in heavy 
soil. 
A visit to a market garden disclosed the fact that early preparations 
had been made, for the next year’s supply of Wallflowers were already 
in a forward state. Two bed^, 4 feet wide, and fully 250 yards long, 
had been sown ; in fact, tbe plants were just showing above tbe soil, 
the seed having been sown tbe last week in March, as much as 12 lbs. of 
seed being required, which to the inexperienced in market garden culture, 
will appear an enormous amount, A warm shower coming now would 
incite the plants to a rapid growth. By this method of culture the first 
favourable chance can be seized after rain to plant out a large number 
of seedlings, thus much labour in watering the small plants is saved. 
The plants are dibbled thinly in rows where they are to flower; thus 
they grow bushy and produce a number of side branches, and con¬ 
sequently a greater number of flower spikes. The variety is of the 
ordinary Covent Garden strain, dark red. Where the seed is saved upon 
the ground it is necessary to exercise care in weeding out faulty plants, 
or the colour will soon deteriorate.—E. M. 
Rose Show Fixtures in 1894. 
June tSth (Wednesday).—Colchester.f 
„ 26th (Tuesday)—Westminster (R.H.S.). 
„ 27(h (Wednesday).—Windsor (N.R.S.). 
„ 28th (Thursday).—Canterbury, Eltham, and Sutton. 
,, 30th (.Saturday).—Sittingbourne. 
July 3rd (Tuesday).—Farningham and Bagshot. 
,, 3rd (Tuesday),—Diss. 
„ 4th (Wednesday).—Croydon and Reigate. 
„ 5th (Thursday).—Hereford and Norwich. 
„ 7th (S.iturday).—Crystal Palace (N.R.S.) 
„ 10th (Tuesday).—Gloucester and Wolverhampton.* 
„ 11th (Wednesday).—Hitchin. 
„ 11th (Wednesday).—King’s Lynn. 
„ 12ih (Thursday).—Bath, Harleston, Woodbridge, and Worksop. 
„ 17ch (Tuesday).—Helensburgh. 
„ 19th (Thursday).—Halifax (N.R S.)., Halesworth, and Trentham. 
„ 21st (Saturday).—Manchester. 
„ 26th (Thursday).—Southwell. 
* A Show lasting three days. f A Show lasting two days. 
Any date of Rose shows, or of other horticultural exhibitions where 
Roses form a leading feature, not named above, I shall be glad to receive 
as soon as fixed, for insertion in future lists. — EDWARD Mawlbt, 
Roselank, Berkhamsted, Herts. 
Our Future New Roses. 
“ D,, Deal's," remarks, page 264, on doubtful rew French productions, 
in tbe light of their being acquisitions, are thoroughly to the point. I 
only wish he had further accentuated his criticism by naming those 
few Roses which he says Mr. Prince approves, and I trust the latter 
gentleman will give “ D., Deal" the imprimatur to publish the names 
and descriptions of these desirable varieties. Tbe past winter I fear 
has done incalculable harm to the greatest of our British hybridisers, as 
Mr. Dickson of Newtownards in a recent note to me stated his losses 
of seedlings to have been very great from the effects of the frost on the 
5th January. This is much to be regretted, as I know that Mr. Dickson 
had several promising new Teas. There can be no question that the 
most valuable additions to our Rose collections in recent years have been 
Teas, and I hope that in the future we may have additions mostly to 
this beautiful class, and not, as I notice a prominent rosarian writing 
recently in a contemporary prognosticates will be tbe case, to that 
one which “ D., Deal" calls the “ mongrel race of Hybrid Teas.” A 
scathing term this, one which I thoroughly enjoyed, appreciated its 
correctness, and hope it may stick, till ridicule brings a remedy. 
We do not want ridiculous classification for beautiful varieties of the 
Rose, or superfluous classes to vex and irritate the uninitiated. I only 
wish I were privileged to send you the name and the actual words 
written by one of, if not the very greatest of our professionals on this 
unnecessary classification. He now regrets his assent to it, and no doubt 
others do too. But, as I once said in writing about the R H.S. and 
their guinea subscribers, are we irrevocably committed to every piece 
of |our committee’s work? la it with us in matters of common sense 
as with the R.H.S. in regard to guinea subscriptions, have we cut 
off all retreat ? Is it a case of vestigia nulla retrorsum ? I hope 
not.—C harles J. Grahams. 
Too-much-alike Roses, 
A PEW years ago I noticed some most interesting papers in the 
gardening Press upon the above subject. Since then the National Rose 
Society has very wisely bracketed several varieties as being synonymous 
when used for exhibition purposes. It is an indisputable fact that we 
have many Roses in cultivation under different names which are by no 
means so distinct as rosarians would like We must, however, bear in 
mind that not a few of them are more or less distinct in varying 
localities; so that it is not safe to be too positive respecting their 
synonymy. This fact is also recognised by the N.R.S., who note that 
their synonymous varieties as used for exhibition are not always so in 
growth and foliage. 
One might have thought that the fact of so many varieties having 
been already considered synonymous, we should not have further 
duplicates ; but more than one of the newer introductions are too much 
like the older varieties to deserve cultivation under a second name. One 
which occurs to me most forcibly at present is Ruby Gold. I have not 
the least hesitation in calling this Rose Jean Ducher re-introduced. 
La.st season, both under glass and in the open, it resembled this older 
variety so closely that I failed to discover the slightest distinction, and 
it is the same with blooms now open. In every particular of growth, 
bloom, and foliage, these two Roses are identical. It may be that I 
have them untrue, but I much doubt this, as they were procured from one 
of the most reliable sources in the kingdom. Last spring Mr. George 
Paul wrote me to the effect that he feared it was an undoubt^ 
