August 23, 1888. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
165 
scarcely anticipate in respect to the structures, and he must conse¬ 
quently have worked under great disadvantages ; indeed, it seems little 
short of miraculous that so many plants should have been raised 
and prepared in such tumbledown buildings. They were a disgrace to 
the nation, and the present authorities have substantial cause for com¬ 
plaint in having to take them over in such a deplorable condition. So 
much has to be done that it seems difficult to see how the work can be 
completed for the reception of plants in the autumn, and it will be 
fortunate if grave inconveniences are averted, and in that respect the 
outlook is not cheering. 
Battersea Park, indeed all the parks and open spaces south of the 
Thames, are now in charge of Mr. F. I. Coppin as District Superinten¬ 
dent, Mr. Cochrane of Finsbury Park being similarly responsible for 
parks and gardens on the north side of the river, including those on 
the Thames Embankment, resident foremen working under the respec¬ 
tive superintendents, who, it will be perceived, occupy important and 
responsible positions. Mr. Coppin has upwards of 200 men under his 
charge, and only an active, quick-sighted, clear-headed business man 
could keep them and the work well in hand over such a large area. 
He was formerly the manager of Southwark Park, developing qualities 
that fitted him for his present position. Many changes have been made 
by the Board in the workmen, but the experienced foreman, Mr. J. Hart, 
remains at Battersea, and Mr. Coppin will find in him a valuable 
coadjutor. He has been employed in the Park nearly twenty years, 
is acquainted with every nook, plant, and tree in it, and apt in carrying 
out details of work. 
The superintendents and managers of the parks are fully impressed 
with the good influence they exert on the minds of visitors, and do their 
utmost to render them agreeable to all classes. They strive to make the 
'flower gardening worthy the inspection of persons of wealth and 
taste, and like to see the workers enjoy themselves in the open spaces, 
also take interest in the cultivation and tasteful arrangement of plants. 
As an example of the popularity of the London parks, the visitors to 
sub-tropical garden in the one under notice were counted on three con¬ 
secutive Sunday evenings two or three years ago, the numbers being 
roundly 67,000, 68,000, and 71,000. This represents a detachment only 
of the London public, and all the other parks would have their contin¬ 
gents, some more and some less, at the same time. What would become 
of the people of London if they had not such pleasant health-giving 
resorts is not a pleasant thought to dwell on ; and no money is better 
spent than that which is judiciously applied to the maintenance of the 
London parks and gardens, and it is hoped the time will never come 
when they will be neglected. 
As to the appearance of Battersea Park this year, it has been, like 
other parks and gardens, unusually green, but has brightened up 
astonishingly during the past week. The Zonal Pelargoniums are over¬ 
grown, and cannot be dazzling. An old soft scarlet variety, Montrouge, 
is ore of the most satisfactory. Begonias quite surpass them in effect, 
and of these there are good beds. It is a pity there were not many more 
Violas, for some long lines are masses of flowers, while large beds of 
them intermixed with the silver variegated Pelargonium Manglesi 
are amongst the most pleasing of all. It is surprising to see how 
good and well filled the beds of Coleus and Amaranthus melancholicus 
ruber are margined with white or yellow edgings. Iresines have been 
starved, and Petunias nearly washed out. Gazaniashave answered well, 
and groups of Fuchsias are attractive. Lobelias have passed through the 
rainy ordeal almost better than could have been expected. Sub-tropical 
plants are late, by far the finest, if they may be so described, being a 
colony of Brugmansias. Yuccas are throwing up their stately spikes, 
one fine old specimen having five of them laden with ivory white 
flowers. The Palm and Fern dell and vista are most tastefully furnished, 
visitors being compelled to linger over the groups of healthy and elegant 
plants. 
Carpet beds are well filled, Alternantheras assuming the rich glow 
that constitutes their charm. There is much less of Golden Feather than 
usual, the best yellow cushion plant in the panels being the Golden 
Spergula, while the Golden Chickweed is one of the worst. It is neither 
particularly good during a wet season or a dry one. It is unreliable, as 
is.'Sedum acre elegans, S. glaucum being far more constant and pleasing. 
The mixed beds are attractive, the large scarlet blooms of Hibiscus 
Ceoperi in one of them causing many an onlooker to wonder what it can 
be ; and for some time the most effective of the wilderness plants has 
been the double-flowered Bramble. Funkias have grown well and 
flowered freely, the wet season having evidently suited them. The 
diversified character of the park renders it enjoyable, and with a bright 
autumn it will remain attractive for a considerable time. 
A great work requiring to be done is the regulation and thinning of 
trees and shrubs. They are fast growing into a thicket in many places, 
spoiling each other, and must get worse year by year if relief is not 
afforded. Yet it is necessary to proceed cautiously in the work in 
public parks in which so many inexperienced persons are interested, for 
it is pretty well understood that those who know the least make the 
most noise in fault-finding. Of this no persons are more fully aware' 
than the managers of the enclosures, hence they strive to effect improve¬ 
ments gradually—it may be too cautiously in the interest of the trees— 
without provoking opposition. 
ABUTILON VITIFOLIUM. 
Last year a correspondent in Cornwall sent us a note upon tl is 
beautiful Abutilon, in which he remarked that he had “a specimen 
14 feet high and 32 feet in circumference at 6 feet from the ground, 
growing out of doors in a position sheltered from the north-east and 
west, where it flowered most abundantly every year.” Very rarely are 
such examples seen out of doors, and it is only in favoured climates like 
the west of England or some districts in Ireland where these results 
could be expected. In most cases where it is found in gardens it is an 
inmate of the greenhouse, and very seldom can an adequate idea be then 
formed of the beauty of the shrub when fully developed. The flowers 
are large, of a delicate purplish or bluish mauve, not unlike the stately 
Meconopsis Wallichi in tint and form. They are produced in great 
abundance, and in contrast with the large dark green lobed leaves 
they have a fine appearance. A small spray is represented in fig. 18, 
but our artist has not caught the characters of the plant with his usual 
facility, as his specimen suffered in transit. Messrs. Kelway & Son, 
FIG. 18.—ABUTILON VITIFOLIUM. 
Langport, recently showed some specimens at one of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society’s meetings, when a first-class certificate was awarded 
for it as a half-hardy shrub. 
DEGENERATION OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. 
[A. paper read before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society by Mr. O. B. Had wen 
Worcester, U.S.A..1 
{Continued from page 95.') 
Continuing the discussion on this subject, Mr. William H. Hills of 
Plaistow, N.IL, said that the topic was exceedingly interesting. He 
had made many observations in regard to it. Some think that the 
Rose Potato has degenerated, but we get them from Aroostook county, 
Maine, as fine as ever. When it was introduced he bought 2 lbs., and 
from that quantity he raised 240 lbs. He cultivated them like others, 
with a light dressing of manure over the surface, except that for 
the Rose he added a handful of superphosphate in each hill, and he 
