88 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[July CO, 1891. 
- Mrs. Sinicins Pink.— One more year proves the superiority of 
this Pink to other white varieties for cutting from. The flowers are 
so much more solid than any other variety; they also are borne on extra 
stout stalks, which enables them to be seen to the greatest advantage, 
t ose of the common type often draggling in the soil owing to the weak- 
n : r s of tlieir stems. There are three easy ways of raising a stock of 
plants. Layering may be done at any time after the flowers have faded. 
The old roots may be broken up, every piece with a root being dibbled 
into sandy soil on a border early in September, or stout cuttings may 
be inserted in a cold frame at the end of August. Whichever mode is 
adopted the plants when ready should be set out on a border for a year, 
cutting off the first flowers directly they show, the object being to 
enable the plants to make better growth for flowering the following year 
in pots on the open border. Planted in a mass as an edging by the side 
of a path this Pink shows to great advantage. Its perfume is exceed¬ 
ingly powerful at times according to the state of the weather.—S. 
- Fruit Crops in Yorkshire. —We had a splendid show 
of blossom on all fruit trees, tut the disastrous frost of May 17th 
made terrible havoc with Plums, Pears, and Currants. Gooseberries 
•were well into leaf, and gave protection. Black Currants are a failure. 
Strawberries were very much damaged, but are a fair crop, rather 
small. Apricots are very scarce on the walls outside, but the open 
Apricot shed contains a fine crop of Apricots and Plums. There are 
crops of some kinds of Apples and Pears on standards, the Ilessle Pears 
are loaded with fruit in this district. Early Potatoes are rather small 
from the effects of the frost in May ; late ones are looking well, better 
than I have seen them for several years. Peas, Beans, and other 
vegetables are very luxuriant and good.— Bailey Wadds, Birdsall, 
Yorlt. 
- The Prince op Wales’ Visit to Birmingham. —The very 
extensive floral display at the Council House was in the hands of 
Messrs. Hewitt & Co., Solihull Nurseries, and was on a very elaborate 
scale. The main entrance leading to the grand staircase was flanked 
with massive Palms and other plants, and the windows and grand stair¬ 
case were superbly decorated. The windows and recesses of the 
banqueting room were draped with pale salmon tinted curtains, and 
only white flowering plants and foliage were used in this room. The 
luncheon table w r as decorated with blue Cornflower and Grasses, and 
sprays of Smilax on the cloth. The drawing-room and boudoir for the 
Princess of Wales and the Prince’s rooms were exquisitely ornamented, 
as also were the corridors and other rooms. Messrs. Hewitt & Co. also 
supplied the floral decorations for the new Law Courts opened by Their 
Koyal Highnesses. 
- Crown Imperials are generally planted and left to take 
their chance w r hether the soil is suitable or not for giving the finest 
results. Heavy retentive soil, which must of necessity be cold during 
the winter, is not the best for Fritillarias ; they prefer that of a sandy 
nature. In the former case remove the soil to a depth of 18 inches, 
filling the spaces with peat, leaf mould, and old potting refuse. When 
the foliage and flower stems have died is a good time to replant bulbs 
which do not succeed under their present method of treatment. By 
removing the ol 1 and adding new soil, planting the bulbs on a layer of 
sand an inch thick, 6 inches below the surface, mulching during the 
winter with partly decayed leaves, success may be assured. A short 
time ago I saw a clump 10 feet square of Fritillaria imperialis growing 
in a cottage garden. The effect of such a mass in bloom can readily be 
imagined, and in this way Crown Imperials show to the greatest 
a Ivantage.—P. B. W. 
- Strawberry Trollope's Victoria. —In the list of Straw¬ 
berries recently offered for sale by one of our leading nurserymen this 
old variety is described as being of fine flavour and in other respects 
highly satisfactory, than which description nothing could well be more 
misleading. A more soft flavourless fruit could not well be named, and 
this I maintain after having tested it in at least eight different counties. 
1 would not recommend it under any circumstances, as it does not possess 
one single good quality, and the sooner it is blotted out of all lists the 
better. With so many superior forms to select from why cling to such 
worthless old favourites ? Not that all the varieties of recent introduc¬ 
tion arc so much superior to the older and well tried favouiites ; and in 
order to prove that I am not prejudiced against the latter it is only 
necessary to state that another out of the same batch of seedlings as 
gave Mr. Trollope his Victoria is very extensively grown in the gardens 
under my charge, this being none other than the good old Alice Maud, 
with or without the prefix of Princess, just as the “fancy takes us.”— 
W. I. 
- Black Currant Enemies. —Our entomologist writes :—“ The 
larvae or grubs taken from the Black Currant, and sent by your corre¬ 
spondent “ W. K.,” did not develope the fly in sufficient numbers to 
enable its name to be determined. Doubtless this insect is identical 
with the one referred to by Mr. Thomson, evidently a two-winged fly 
of the Phora group. The caterpillar of Incurvaria capitella, which bores 
into the shoots of the Black Currant, commences its attacks usually in 
the bud, where it may be found, but not till about this time, the moth 
depositing eggs in June. The caterpillar of a Tortrix, which visits Boses 
and various fruit trees, probably occurs sometimes in this shrub. There 
have been sensational paragraphs in some papers about a beetle 
that damages Currant 3 at night, hiding during the day in the soil. 
Otiorhynchus tenebricosus (red-legged weevil) lurks at the roots of 
Currants, sometimes doing a certain amount of mischief. Gardeners in 
Kent who have a short crop of Black Currants do not attribute this to 
mite, caterpillar, or any insect in particular, but regard it as the result 
of an extremely sharp frost one April night.” [No doubt the Kentish 
gardeners are right, but in some other districts not only crops of 
Currants, but hundreds of Currant bushes, have been ruined by the bud 
mite apart from other enemies.] 
- Buddlea GLOBOSA.— Those requiring a distinct and beau¬ 
tiful flowering shrub for sheltered positions would do well to give this 
a trial. The plant is hardy enough to withstand ordinary English 
winters ; and even after the last severe winter here, in Warwickshire, a 
plant growing against the walls of Warwick Castle escaped uninjured, 
though others in the open borders were killed after having withstood 
the frost of several previous years. If planted against south walls in 
the southern parts of England they will doubtless succeed well if the 
precaution is taken to plant in rather poor soil, and to provide good 
drainage. When trained to a wall the shoots should be allowed to 
ramble freely to secure plenty of their beautiful flowers, which are like 
little balls of a bright orange colour, and emit a peculiar yet pleasant 
perfume. 
-Another distinct and beautiful shrub is Jasminum floridum, 
and I feel sure that if it were more generally known many cultivators 
would grow a few plants and prize them highly. The flow'ers are of a 
very rich yellow colour, and are deliciously fragrant, and both the 
growth and leaves are much more vigorous than is the case with the 
majority of Jasminums. It succeeds well either when grown as a bush 
plant or trained against a wall. 
- The thoroughly hardy and showy Lilium elegans, which is 
synonymous with L. aurantiacum and L. Thunbergianum, should be 
grown by all w r ho require plenty of flowers for cutting purposes. As it 
is so well adapted, too, for many kinds of decorative work, single blooms 
placed in specimen glasses, wdth a little Fern or a few trailing shoots of 
Sweet Peas, have a charming effect on a dinner table. When the whole 
stem is cut with several fully expanded flowers they are excellent for 
arranging in large vases, their attractive looking scarlet flowers give 
warmth and brightness when associated with a few white flowers and 
plenty of greenery. Although not in the least particular in regard to 
soil, like most other Liliums, it repays well for liberal treatment, and is 
thoroughly suited to the wants of all classes of cultivators. A few 
clumps in the gardens of cottagers and amateurs are always telling, and 
large masses arranged in the front of shrubberies or disposed judiciously 
in mixed borders give a bright glow of colour to the grounds around 
many a stately English castle. 
- The recent rains have had a most beneficial effect on all kinds 
of Bedding Plants, which are now growing rapidly, and with con¬ 
tinued favourable weather will soon present an imposing appearance. 
Those who have to deal with light soils which are somewhat poor will 
find their plants derive great benefit from the practice of placing a 
layer of leaf soil over the surface of the beds after planting is completed 
as it not only prevents the soil drying rapidly, but is also a great root- 
producing medium, as the majority of plants have a special liking for 
good leaf soil, and during wet w T eather much nutritious plant food is 
washed downwards to enrich the natural soil and sustain the plants 
during periods of protracted drought.—D. 
-- Vines at Ampthill House. —The proprietor of the above 
house—G. Wingfield, Esq.—has of late years devoted much of his 
attention to horticulture, and has been rewarded with much success. 
The plants grown here under the direction of Mr. W. Empson, the 
head gardener, proclaim by their vigorous, healthy appearance the care 
I bestowed upon them. A vinery some 60 feet in length is worthy of 
