May 24, 1894. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
411 
May, and then came a bitterly cold wave with nipping frost, 
upsetting all previous calculations on the earliness or otherwise of 
the flowering season. 
It will be desirable to keep a good look out still for the Rose 
maggot, but for the present I think aphides are likely to give us 
but little trouble, for they do not like the heavy rains which we 
have lately experienced. As the month advances disbudding will 
have to be attended to, and it is much better to do this before the 
buds attain any size. The process is a simple one, and a child may 
be initiated into it, and will get through the work speedily. As 
the shoots increase in length the stronger ones must be fastened to 
neat stakes, and the tying out of these shoots will be an advantage 
to the plant as admitting more light and air. Liquid manure may 
now be given advantageously once or twice a week, and the hoe 
should be frequently used when the weather is at all dry. The 
hot summer of last year has supplied us with a plentiful crop of 
weeds, which will thus be kept under, while the stirring of the soil 
is very useful to the plants. 
Tulips. 
Although I have some of the best of the florists’ Tulips, and 
my bed of them has been gay enough, I do not profess to be a 
Tulip grower, and consequently am no mentor on this subject. 
My flowers were small this year owing to last summer, but in this 
I am inclined to think from what I saw in the Drill Hall on the 
8th inst. is the case with others also. Like other spring flowers they 
are early this year, and will probably be fit for lifting before the 
end of the month, when they should be carefully stored away in a 
dry place free from frost.—D., Deal. 
LINARIAS. 
It is not to be wondered at that there seems a revival of interest 
in the Linarias or Toadflaxes. Some of the species are very hand¬ 
some with their tall spikes of Antirrhinum-like flowers, while 
others are extremely neat and pretty, creeping or trailing along the 
ground or on old walls. Presenting thus considerable variety of 
habit there will be found among their number plants suited to the 
requirements of almost any garden containing hardy flowers. As 
is generally known the Toadflaxes belong to the natural order of 
Scrophularinese, an order which includes a large number of rather 
attractive plants. The name Linaria is said to be derived from 
Linon, Flax, on account of the resemblance of the leaves to those 
of the Flax. There are said to be about 150 species or supposed 
species in the genus. Many of these are, however, of little or no 
value for garden purposes. The main object of this article is to 
draw attention to some of the perennial species which are of 
especial merit, and also to allude briefly to a few of the biennial or 
annual varieties worthy of a place. 
What appears to be a charming and desirable little plant is one 
which is figured in Maund’s “Botanic Garden,” 1878 edition, 
vol. V., plate clxxx. This is L. alba, which I should like to meet 
with, although I fear it may not be a true hardy perennial. It is 
said to be a native of Europe, of perennial habit, and to grow 
9 inches in height. From the illustration the flowers appear to be 
whita with a yellow palate. It is doubtful if this species is still in 
cultivation in this country, and I cannot find it quoted in any con¬ 
tinental catalogue of alpine or herbaceous plants. L. alpina has 
delightful little blue flowers with golden yellow palates, and the 
plant only grows about 6 inches in height. It is generally described 
as a herbaceous perennial, a character which may be applicable to 
it in some gardens, but is certainly not appropriate in many others. 
In most gardens it succeeds only if treated as a hardy annual, 
sowing itself freely in some places. It is rather tantalising to the 
writer who admires this little gem to have to confess that it will 
not perpetuate itself in this way in his garden. This is all the 
more a disappointment since many far less beautiful plants sow 
themselves so freely as to become very troublesome. This alpine 
Toadflax is a useful plant for the rock garden. L. anticaria, 
another charming, if less effective plant for the rockery or front 
of the border is a particular favourite of mine. It is also spoken 
of as a hardy perennial, and for the first two or three years in 
which I grew it I should have considered it to be this. More severe 
winters have, however, succeeded, and I am now disposed to rely 
upon self-sown plants which come very freely here. 
The generally accepted description of L. anticaria is “ white 
tinged lilac, delicately veined.” This, however, fails to give an 
idea of the pleasing varieties which may be produced. The first 
year I grew this Toadflax I took a note of eight varieties. Some 
of these were not very distinct, but all had noticeable differences. 
Some were white with the lines hardly observable, others had these 
very distinctly marked, and some flowers were lilac purple with 
deeper lines. This year the first flowers opened on the last days of 
April. L. cvmbalaria, known as the “Mother of Thousands.” or 
as an Exeter writer in a Scottish contemporary calls it, “ Mother 
o’ Millions,” is very well known. It is understood to be a native 
plant, and its creeping, climbing, or trailing habit renders it suitable 
for many positions where its lobed and rather kidney-shaped leaves 
and pretty lilac flowers will be much appreciated. A variety with 
variegated leaves and one with white flowers may occasionally be 
met with. It is quite at home on walls, and it is interesting to see 
how its seed vessels seem to turn into a crevice suitable for deposit¬ 
ing the seeds if such is at hand. L. dalmatica is one of the tall 
growing species again coming into favour. It is said to have been 
introduced in 1731, but according to Maund was believed to have 
been lost until 1832, when seeds which had been collected in Persia, 
were presented by Sir H. Willock to the London Horticultural 
Society. It is rather a fine perennial with yellow flowers, and 
growing from 3 to 4 feet in height. L. genistsefolia is not so 
bright in colour and does not generally grow so tall as L. dalmatica. 
It is, however, a desirable border plant. It is a native of Europe 
and Asia Minor, and was introduced so far back as 1704. 
L. hepaticaefolia is a very pretty little plant of creeping habit— 
creeping, indeed, in some soils too rapidly. It is figured in 
Wooster’s “Alpine Plants,” second series, plate 3, but the 
colouring is defective and the drawing does not show the habit of 
this little species very successfully. It grows from 1 to 2 inches in 
height, and has pretty little five-lobed leaves of the form known to 
botanists as cordate reniform, and small, neat lilac purple flowers 
with white palates. It is very suitable for carpeting the surface of 
the ground occupied by taller plants, L. macedonica, which now 
seems to be obtainable from nurserymen, is a Toadflax which will 
soon find its way into the best collections. I first saw it in the 
Edinburgh Botanic Garden several years ago, and considered it the 
best of the tall Linarias. The long spike of yellow and orange 
flowers was very handsome, and the broad leaves made the whole 
plant more than usually distinct. I sought for this Toadflax in vain, 
but in 1892 obtained a packet of seed from the Continent which, 
much to my disappointment, produced a worthless little Linaria with 
narrow foliage and ineffective purple flowers. I do not know its 
name, but judging from the difficulty experienced in getting quit 
of it, I shall be only too pleased if I never see it again. The true 
L. macedonica should grow from 2 to 3 feet high, L. purpurea, 
introduced from South Europe in 1648, but now naturalised in 
England, seems to be held in comparatively little estimation. It 
is not to be judged by its appearance on old w'alls, and if well 
grown is by no means to be despised in the flower border. It 
comes into bloom comparatively early in the summer, and flowers into 
late autumn. Its spikes of purple flowers are a welcome change 
from the prevailing form of the composites which are so abundant 
in the autumn. It is also a good bee plant. L. purpurea seems a 
somewhat variable plant, and a form I procured from a friend in 
Dumbartonshire as L. lupinioides is much brighter than most of 
those ordinarily met with. One merit it has is that it does not 
send out underground runners so freely as some of the species. 
In looking through the hardy flowers in the Liverpool Botanic 
Garden in 1892 I saw a Toadflax of rather trailing habit and of 
pleasing appearance, with white and purple flowers. It was labelled 
“ Linaria repens. H. K. England.” I find this is in the “ London 
Catalogue of British Plants,” and, although a native, might be in¬ 
troduced into good sized collections. L. triornithophora, from 
Spain and Portugal, and introduced in 1710, is a pretty species, but 
unless in very favoured localities in the south cannot be considered 
hardy. The flowers are three or four in a whorl, and are purple 
with bright yellow palate. The experience of all I have heard 
from on the subject of this Toadflax corresponds with my own, and 
thus I cannot recommend it. L. vulgaris, the common Toadflax, 
is an exceedingly pretty species, and worthy of all admiration. It 
is most at home in a rather dry position, and is very pretty rambling 
among the stones of an embankment on the coast of the Solway near 
my home. The curious variety known as L. vulgaris Peloria, which 
has five spurs instead of one, is a very desirable flower. The 
flowers of the species and its variety are pale yellow with a deep 
yellow palate. The great objection to L. vulgaris and the pelorial 
variety is the way in which they will ramble all over the garden 
unless confined to a spot. A very neat Linaria which has been 
omitted from its proper position in alphabetical order is L. pallida, 
with pale purple flowers and rather kidney-shaped leaves. It is of 
creeping habit and requires to be kept within bounds. L. pallida 
grows here to about 3 inches in height. One of apparently tall 
growth was shown by a nurseryman at the South of Scotland 
Horticultural Society’s Show at Dumfries last year. It was named 
L. aurea, and had good yellow flowers with deeper coloured palates. 
I am doubtful if this Linaria was properly named, but I hope to 
see it in growth this year, and may then be able to judge of its 
merits. 
Another very desirable species is L. saxatilis, w;hich is of 
trailing habit and too seldom seen. It is difficult to obtain, and I 
