158 
[ August 20, 18S5. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Darned the stock plant has furnished me with five other good plants, 
which are now throwing up fine trusses. It is not often we get spring 
cuttings so free as these are. I intend having a good stock of this variety, 
and commend it to the notice of the public as a plant of first-class 
quality. 
Le Cygne. —This double white I obtained at same time from the same 
firm as Queen of the Belgians, and as soon as it came into flower there 
was no doubt as to its quality, both for size of truss, single pips, and pure 
white colour. I discarded all my older doubles. Madame Baltet and 
Candidissimum plenum had been my chief stock, but these are not to be 
mentioned with Le Cygne. I must say the spring-struck plants surprise 
me with such large trusses of flowers without any special attention. So 
far every cutting has struck and done well. I intend to propagate it 
largely, and am obliged to destroy the young trusses, as I want to get a 
stock.— Stephen Castle, West Lynn. 
Proposed Exhibition of Plums. —It has been suggested that, 
as a great variety of Plums are fruiting '“this season, it would prove ex¬ 
tremely interesting as well as instructive if examples of as many sorts as 
possible could be sent to the meetings of the Fruit Committee on the 25th 
of the present month, and on the 8th of September next. An excellent 
opportunity would thus be afforded of comparing the merits of the 
varieties of Plums in cultivation, and also in the correction of their nomen¬ 
clature. It is known that many inferior varieties of Plums are grown through¬ 
out the country, whilst many new and greatly improved sorts are 
comparatively unknown. Intending exhibitors who cannot be present 
should address their packages to the Secretary of the Fruit Committee, 
Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington. The carriage of the 
same will be paid by the Society. It is very desirable that young shoots 
with foliage should accompany the fruit, so as to facilitate identification. 
■ Bulbs for the Parks. —We understand that the Metropolitan 
Board of Works have this year accepted the tender of Mr. B. S. Williams, 
Victoria and Paradise Nurseries, Upper Holloway, to supply their London 
Parks with Hyacinths, Tulips, Narcissi, &c. 
- Messrs. Foster & Pearson, Beeston, Nottingham, request ns 
to state their plant house, frames, boiler, &c., at the Inventions Ex¬ 
hibition have received a silver medal, no gold medal being given in that 
section. 
- The Weather in Scotland. —Mr. D. Thomson, Drumlanrig ) 
Writes :—“ This has been the mo3t extraordinary summer here of which 
there is any record. Excepting a few days in the latter part of July we 
have not had what could be called a summer’s day. Twice in July the 
thermometer fell to 36°, and once to 34°. On August 14th it registered 
32°, and on the 15th, 31°, when Vegetable Marrows, French Beans, and 
Tropacolums were blackened. Everything is much later than I have any 
recollection of ; for instance, Red Currants are not yet (August 15th) 
ready to gather for preserving, and Scarlet Runners will not be of size suffi¬ 
cient to use this season.” We also learn that in Scotland about Callan¬ 
der there has been a considerable fall of snow. This is an extraordinary 
contrast to the hot dry weather we have been experiencing in England. 
- Dr. A, Paterson, Fernfield, Bridge of Allan, N.B., sends us 
two spikes of Cattleyas Warneri and Dowiana, the blooms being 
magnificent in size and colouring. C. Dowiana was a little past its best, 
but had been exceptionally fine, the lip nearly 3 inches in diameter and 
4 inches long. “ They have been in flower for about a month,” says our 
esteemed correspondent, “ and I did not like to cut them before, they 
were so beautiful.” 
- A Durham correspondent writes :—“ I have read with much 
interest the correspondence in your valuable paper on the Splitting of 
Fruit, and send the following note in reference to the subject. I have 
the temporary charge of a new vinery planted in June, 1884, and I have 
only allowed two bunches on each cane, but have had four pot Vines 
carrying a good crop, and for an experiment I closed the house one hour 
earlier and raised the temperature 7° by night, with the result that the 
berries began cracking very badly. I then lowered the temperature to 
65° by night, and I have not had a berry crack since. I have miscel¬ 
laneous greenhouse plants in the vinery and pot Tomatoes carrying good 
crops.” 
- Messrs. James Carter & Co., 237 and 238 High Holborn, 
have sent us some specimen blooms of their Challenge Frize Strain of 
Balsams, of which they now have a very pretty display at the Perry Hill 
Nursery. The blooms were extremely fine, full, and beautiful, the follow¬ 
ing shades of colours being represented :—Flesh, purple salmon, white, 
scarlet, crimson, pink, densely spotted purple, white marbled with violet, 
and white marbled with rose. The blooms were from 24 to 3 inches in 
diameter and very symmetrical in form. 
- A Lambeth amateur writes—“ Some of your readers may like 
to know that a new Chrysanthemum Society has just been started in the 
town of Halstead, Essex, called the Halstead and District Chrys¬ 
anthemum Society. The President is Colonel A. S. H. Lowe of 
Gosfield Hall, and the Vice-Presidents, Geo. Courtauld, Esq., M.P., and 
J. R. Vaizey, Esq. The first edition of the Society’s schedule, comprising 
eighteen classes, has now been circulated, and the Exhibition will be held 
on Tuesday the 17th November next in the Town Hall, Halstead. The 
Secretary is Mr. Edwin Bentall, Halstead.” 
- “S. C.” writes as follows: — “I question very much if there 
is a scarlet variety to equal double Zonal Pelargonium F. V. Raspail. 
The habit of the plant is good, it is readily propagated, and is very free 
flowering. I have called it double, but really it is semi-double, the outer 
row of petals being quite distinct from the centre florets ; the truss is 
large, and the single pips very fine. As a bedding Palargonium I find 
Vesta a good variety. I have a few planted out, and like it very much. 
My plants were very small, but they soon made themselves at home, and 
have flowered very freely. 
- “ Some seedlings of Lavatera arborea variegata were raised in 
the spring and potted with the intention of growing them in pots ; but I 
soon found that, however ornamental the plant might be, it was going to 
cost too much for tobacco paper to kill the green fly, so I decided to 
plant them out of doors. They are now in full beauty as regards foliage. 
This is a very conspicuous plant as a single specimen, and would do well 
in shrubberies, but I do not have it too near the flower garden, as it is 
such a favourite with the aphides, both black and green. The variegation 
is good, though at one time I thought it would be all green.” 
- Messrs. E. Webb & Sons have sent us from Stourbridge sample 
pods of their new Pea, The Chancellor. They are large, scimetar- 
shaped, and crowded with fine peas, but, unfortunately, they were too old 
for us to form an estimate of their quality. 
-A Kew correspondent sends the two following notes— “Primula 
cAlycinA is again coming into flower with us, having already given a 
good display about two months ago. It seems to have been one of the 
unfortunate (Primroses in the way of synonyms, as it has no less than 
three—P. glauscescens, P. laevigata, P. integritolia, besides being often 
confounded in gardens with P. Wulfeniana and some of the varied 
forms of P. spectabilis, from both of which the true P. calycina is 
abundantly distinct even in the cultivated state. It grows from 3 to 
6 inches high, forming dense rosettes of beautiful dark glossy leaves, the 
margins of which are finely serrated and undulated, a reliable distinction 
when out of flower; leathery in texture, ovate lanceolate, pointed, and 
tapering gradually to the base. Its large flowers, almost an inch in 
diameter, are of a clear lilac, and very handsome ; from four to eight in a 
head. It seems to thrive best in a mixture of loam and lime rubble, the 
latter predominating, on low shelves of the rockery, and having a west 
exposure. It requires plenty of water during the flowering and growing 
season. It is easily increased by division, which may be done in the 
autumn after the growths have been made. A native of the southern 
Alps, flowering May and June.” 
-“Though long known and cultivated in English gardens, the 
Bergamot, Monarda didyma, seems to have lost ground within the 
last few years, for what reason we know not, unless that in the 
ordinary border in the dry hot seasons it is inclined to dwindle, and 
a severe winter kills it outright. This state of things we believe is 
in a great measure due to want of water, there being no wide differ¬ 
ence between this and most North American plants as regards treatment. 
We have tried it in a bog bed along with Droseras, Pinguiculas, &c., 
with remarkable success, and it is just now throwing out runners a foot 
long, and so numerous as to form quite a network all round the plant. 
Under the latter conditions it grows between 3 and 4 feet in height, 
