JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 15, 1891. 
QO 0 
conditions in which it is grown here it proves too large for market 
purposes, and Mr. Marsh is on the look out for a variety as prolific, 
but which produces shorter fruits. 
The plants are growing in a border such as we usually find in 
Cucumber houses, being about 4 feet wide. They are planted on 
a ridge which slopes sharply the front of the house to the opposite 
side of the bed. The soil is mulched with short well decayed 
manure, and at intervals of two or three weeks nitrate of soda is 
thinly scattered around the outside of the bed, no portion of it 
being placed nearer than a foot to the stem of the plants. Wher¬ 
ever the nitrate has been given the roots soon find it out, and 
quickly cover the soil upon which it has been dissolved with a 
network of white roots ; and the heavy crop these plants have 
been bearing during the last three months show at present no sign 
of weakness. But little stopping is done, the shoots rambling 
about at will, so long as they do not become unduly crowded, then 
the oldest are cut out. Many of the old gardening friends 
of Mr. J. Marsh, who lived with him at Trentliam and Shrubland 
will doubtless be glad to know that although he is a flourishing 
hotel-keeper in Warwick, his old love of gardening is as strong as 
ever, and as life to him seems incomplete without a portion of his 
time being spent in horticultural pursuits, he has taken the old 
Priory Nursery, where he intends to make a speciality of growing 
Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, and Strawberries for market. 
—H. Dunkin. 
[Our correspondent sent us three remarkably fine Cucumber's, 
such as could only be produced by well fed plants.] 
HARDY FLOWER NOTES. 
If in summer Jupiter Pluvius regarded us with disdain and 
refused the favours we so urgently desired we cannot now com¬ 
plain of such conduct. Between wind and rain our autumnal 
flowers are having a sorrowful time. Drenched and battered, and 
with stakes loosened in the light soil by the furious gales, the taller 
plants have, in many cases, yielded to the fates, and assumed a 
humility foreign to their stature and dignity. While Sunflowers 
and Asters thus bow their heads dwarfer plants fare but little 
better. Some are bespattered and disfigured with spots of earth 
or of dampness, and others, such as the Colcliicums and autumnal 
flowering Crocuses, in addition to this find their stems all too tender 
to withstand the storms and fall over to the ground. Thus w T itli 
signs of sadness and destruction does the waning year bring warn¬ 
ings of the time when over all shall fall the power of the frost 
spirit, of which Whittier speaks in his graphic words :— 
“ lie comes—he comes—the frost spirit comes ! 
You may trace his footsteps now 7 
On the naked woods, and the blasted fields, 
And the broad hill’s withered brow. 
He has smitten the leaves of the grey old trees, 
Where their pleasant green came forth, 
And the winds -which follow where’er he goes, 
Have shaken them down to earth.” 
Still, while they are with us let us enjoy tho beauty of the 
flowers which linger in our gardens to cheer us and to narrow the 
gulf between summer aud the opening of the flowers of early 
spring. Here in a cosy little nook Crocus zonatus has pushed its 
blossoms through a carpet of Saxifrage, w'hich helps to support its 
flowers, and where it looks like some pale fairy beauty which some 
untoward fate has forced to face the storms and trials of earth, 
and which is fain to cling to something less fragile than herself. 
An exquisite little flower it is with its zone of orange and pale 
purple cup ; pale, as if, as is the case, the sun shone but little upon 
it to give some depth to its colour. In another spot the deeper 
coloured blooms of the fine C. speciosus still linger on, attracting 
attention and admiration by the exquisite pencilling of their 
petals. Others are coming on slowly but surely, and one can but 
wonder that they are so seldom met with. Chastely beautiful, too, 
is the tiny Leucojum grandiflorum, which, with its tiny Snowdrop¬ 
like white bells, seems to claim for itself that adjective which to 
the Scottish mind is so expressive “ bonnie no other word can so 
fitly characterise its charms. Unfortunately I cannot as yet speak 
with confidence as to the hardiness of this Snowflake here. Should 
I be successful in retaining it, then a few plants will not be the 
limit of my growth of this little beauty. L. grandiflorum grows 
only a few inches in height, the leaves appearing after the flowers, 
which are produced on reddish stems, are shaped somewhat like 
those of L. vernum, but much smaller, and shine inside with a 
beautiful pearl-like lustre which no Snowdrop can approach. 
Colcliicums, too, in many shades of purple or lilac or white 
adorn the borders. The splendid C. speciosum rubrum, which I 
mentioned a short time ago, finds no unworthy rivals in C. veratri- 
folium, C. latifolium (Sibthorpi of Baker), and C. autumnale 
album fl.-pl. It is a hard task to select one from the quartet and 
to say this is the best. So we must e’en admire them all, and 
fortunately we can do so without reproach, nay, even room is left 
for others with beauty all their own. C. Sibthorpi or latifolium 
is now being brought to the front, and it has much to recommend 
it. The fine form of its petals, its finely chequered flowers, and 
its tall stature being all in its favour, with the exception, perhaps, 
of the latter point, which is a doubtful one in a season such as this. 
We do not often meet with the true C. veratrifolium, the Vera- 
trum-leaved Meadow Saffron, for which C. byzantinum is some¬ 
times substituted. It is taller, of more substance, and much 
deeper in colour than byzantinum, and the stems are of a fine deep 
purple. It is quite distinct in foliage, and the specific name is 
extremely appropriate from the Veratrum-likc massive leaves. It 
ss a pity, too, that the double white form of C. autumnale remains 
so scarce and high in price. It is of a fine ivoi’y white, of good 
substance, and lasts much longer in flower than the single variety. 
Many a time I linger over this flower and admire it in one of the 
borders of my garden. 
I have lately flowered for the first time young plants of the 
new hybrid Scabious, named Scabiosa hybrida Victoria. It is said 
to be a hybrid between S. atropurpurea and S. columbaria, and to 
be quite perennial in its nature. I have not yet proved its hardi¬ 
ness or its perennial habit ; but should it prove satisfactory in 
these points, this variety of the “ Mourning Bride ” should be of 
great value in the garden. The flowers are considerably smaller 
than those of S. caucasica and vary in shade of colour, some being 
white, some purplish, some pink, and some deep crimson brown. 
The foliage is finely cut, and the plants, which are about a foot in 
height, with me are of neat habit. It is, I believe, of Italian 
origin, having been introduced to this country by Mr. W. Thomp¬ 
son of Ipswich. The better know r n S. caucasica is doing very well 
this autumn, and with fine weather would last a long time in 
flower. The fine lilac coloured flowers are very pleasing, and 
having long stems are well adapted for cutting. There are two 
varieties, the one known as S. caucasica amocna, being of better 
colour than the other, which is known as S. caucasica connata, 
from the stem leaves being connate. This Scabious is of easy 
culture in any soil, and blooms for a long stretch at a time. 
Specially beautiful just now is that grand plant Rudbeckia 
speciosa, or, as it is frequently called, R. Newmanni, although I 
believe the former is the correct name. The plant is so compact 
in habit, growing here about 18 inches in height, and so sturdy 
that it requires little support, and when a good sized plant is closely 
covered with its bright orange flowers with their black cone-like 
centres there are few who cannot admire the beauty of the “ Showy 
Cone Flower.” I have this year grown plants raised from seed of 
one named R. grandiflora. It is said to be a perennial, but I know 
nothing of its origin. It is, however, far inferior to R. speciosa, and 
is scarcely worthy of its specific name. The flowers are considerably 
smaller than those of R. speciosa, the petals much narrower and of 
a duller yellow, and the central cone flatter and more brownish in 
colour. The leaves are rough, and are oval in shape. I have con¬ 
siderable doubt as to the correctness of the name, but the plant is 
distinct from any I have seen in gardens or figured or described in 
various works. The seed was procured from a firm of considerable 
repute. 
The early flowering Chrysanthemums are, as usual, of immense 
value at the present time, and fine as many of these are Madame 
C. Desgranges has as yet no superior for garden effect. Treated 
as a hardy herbaceous plant it does quite well in my light soil, and 
the very poverty of the soil while dwarfing the plants and keeping 
the flowers of smaller size makes this Chrysanthemum of greater 
value in a season such as this. I have clumps which have stood 
unprotected in the open garden for five years or so, and at the 
present time the shade'of colour afforded by these is very acceptable. 
Pleasing, too, is the primrose yellow of G. Wermig, but after a trial 
I am forced to agree with the verdict that Mrs. Hawkins is 
destined to eclipse the earlier introduction and to form a better 
contrast to Madame C. Desgranges. Very pretty and very useful 
for cutting is the orange coloured Piercy’s Seedling, and equally 
useful but not so sturdy in its flower stalks is the bronze M. W. 
Piercy. I have this year grown the dwarf Nanum Tolosanum 
and Nam Perpetual. The former seems the brighter in colour, 
while the latter seems to remain longer in flower. Both varieties 
are acquisitions for a positions near the front of the flower border, 
their small pink flowers being very pretty. Flora or Late Flora, 
as it is also called, still remains one of the brightest, longest 
flowering, and most useful of the smaller yellow early flowering 
varieties. 
Chrysanthemum or Pyre thrum uliginosum has just begun to 
open its great yellow-eyed white flowers, and should the storms 
and frost spare it a little longer will soon have the upper part of 
