M»j S. 1867. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
351 
bright salmon, white centre, a remarkable variety; Mrs. Holfonl, 
salmon pink, free; Lady Chesterfield, large salmon, white eye ; Lord 
Chesterfield, large flower, crimson, free; Eurydice, pink, white eye, a 
useful variety, free, and cheerful tint; Mrs. James Douglas, very dark 
scarlet; Mr. H. Canncll, one of the largest flowers, the colour a"bright 
scarlet; Alcides, rich scarlet, white eye ; and Lord Rosebery, salmon, 
flower large, truss compact, and free. Of the double varieties there 
was not so great a display, as the flowers are in much demand for cutting, 
but the following were good :—Spade Guinea, orange-scarlet; Lord Mayor, 
purplish crimson ; La Cygnc, white; Gertrude, salmon ; Australian Gold, 
orange scarlet; Circe, crimson ; and Lakanal, purplish crimson. Ivy-leaf 
Some of the best named varieties were A. F. Barron, crimson ; Oxford 
Blue, dark blue ; F. Cox, purple ; F. Stanger, dark blue ; Blond in, pink, 
the florets white on the un lor surface ; Mrs. Scott, crimson and white ; 
and Kate, pink. They are very durable, the .c flours are good, especially 
the blue and purple sha les. and the plants are worth a place wherever a 
conservatory has to be kept bright. 
Mignonette is always in demand, and it is scarcely possible to obtain 
too much either of flowers or seel. Like all the popular plants, it is 
admirably grown at Swanley every year, but this season an exceedingly 
fine strain is represented by half a house full of plants bearing enormous 
spikes of powerfully fragrant (lowers. It is a very fine selection, and is 
named Caunell’s Perfection, one of the spikes being being shown in 
fig. 01, its natural size. Next to obtaining a good strain of seed, 
much depends upon the mode of culture adopted with Mignonette. It 
should be grown sturdily at all stages ; if allowed to become drawn or 
weak in a seedling state it never makes satisfactory plants, but when 
advancing for flowering it can be liberally encouraged with advantage. 
When the plants are strong they can be thinned freely, and in some 
48 or 32-pots in Messrs. Cannell’s house there are only two or three 
plants, in a few cases only one, beautiful vigorous specimens crowded 
with flowers. 
In other houses is a large stock of showy Calceolarias coming for¬ 
ward rapidly. Several are devoted to Primulas for seed of all the select 
Swanley varieties, Cyclamens in various stages, Tuberous Begonias by 
thousands, and a long house is full of Carnations, the excellent yellow 
Mrs. William Bright and Pride of Penshurst being iu strong force with 
other choice varieties. Innumerably attractions are provided in other 
houses, including miscellaneous, Ornamental, stove and greenhouse 
plants, Cactaceous plants, of which there is a selection of the best forms ; 
Trop'eolums, winter-flowering Begonias, line-foliage Begonias, Lan- 
tanas, &c. Lilium candidum has been forced early this season for 
its pure white fragrant flowers, which are much valued at Easter, and 
the principal points to insure success with it is to obtain early matured 
bulbs, and when potted to bring them on gradually, as any attempt at 
rapid forcing by placing them in strong heat is disastrous. In other 
respects they are easily managed if kept clear of green fly, which is 
partial to the young flower stems. Outside preparation is being made 
for the Dahlias, which constitute such an important feature in autumn. 
The scores of frames are filled with bedding plants, Auriculas and Chrys¬ 
anthemums, for which the demand this season has been very great. 
Daffodils, Pansies, and Violets are flowering in the open beds, and 
amongst the last named is a handsome single white variety, Mrs. Raw- 
son, that will become a great favourite for cutting purposes, as the 
flowers are large, pure white, fragrant, and on long stalks. It appears 
to be very strong in habit and free-flowering.—T. 
GLOBE ARTICHOKES. 
r > These plants pay for liberal treatment, they should, therefore, be 
planted in deeply trenche d and heavily manured ground. The best time 
for making new plantations is when the plants have started into growth, 
which in ordinary seasons they do towards the end of March or early in 
April ; but the present being an exceptionally late season the plants of 
Globe Artichokes are now (April 30th) only a few inches above ground. 
Having made good any blanks that may have occurred in the rows of 
existing plantations, proceed forthwith to make fresh ones, say two or 
more rows, according as they are long or otherwise, doing away with a 
like number of rows of the oldest plants annually. The rows should be 
from 3J to 4 feet asunder, and the plants should be given a like distance, 
planting them with a garden trowel in patches of three, and make the 
soil firm about the roots. In the absence of rain at the time the work 
is being done, give water to settle the soil, and then lay on a mulching 
of short dung to the thickness of 2 or 3 inches. These will yield a 
supply of “ Chokes” just as that previously obtained from the estab¬ 
lished plants are exhausted. Hence the advisability of making a 
planting of this much-esteemed vegetable annually. The green variety 
finds more favour than the purple one, but it is advisable to grow a 
few rows of the latter also, as tastes differ.—H. \V. Ward. 
Fig SL—Higuoaette Canncll’s Perfection. 
varieties, which are so well grown there, are quite at their best in April, but 
anew double form, Lang-Son, with fine scarlet flowers,of excellent shape 
and good size, was very notable. The decorative, regal, and French spotted 
varieties have considerable space devoted to them, and especially fine 
was Venus, an early flowering variety, white with purple spots in the 
two upper petals, and which was hail in capital condition some time 
before Easter. Volonth Nationale Album, pure white, is an excellent 
free flowering variety; Madame Charles Coninck, pure white, and 
Denise, double white, are also good, the hist named being a most 
valuable variety for cutting. 
The houses appropriated to Cinerarias contain specimens of the care¬ 
fully selected varieties and well proved strain grown at Swanley. The 
singles are most varied in colours, very rich, the flowers large but neatly 
formed. Of the named varieties the most notable were Miss Coope, white 
centre, dark blue margin ; Miss Fortescue, deep crimson ; Argus, rich 
crimson ; Pure White, white with purple centre ; Attractive, dark blue ; 
Marched Past, very deep crimson, white centre ; Victory, another fine 
crimson coloured variety., An extremely pretty effect is afforded by the 
double Cinerarias, useful plants fordecorativc purposes or cutting that 
ought to be more largely grown. They are readily obtained fiom seed, 
but the named varieties are kept true by propagating them from offsets. 
AURICULAS AT SOUTH KENSINGTON. 
Apbil 26th. 
No Auricula grower who had watched the character of the weather 
for the last two months could have anticipated a successful exhibition 
at the southern show of the National Auricula Society, and it will not 
be, therefore, a matter on which much difference of opinion is likely to 
be expressed when one designates it as much below the mark. Neither in 
quantity or quality was it equal to many preceding shows of the Society ; 
while one cannot but contrast the number of plants exhibited with 
what one used to see before the establishment of the Society, when 
perhaps a dozen or two of plants formed the sum total of the exhibit at 
the spring shows of the Royal Horticultural and Royal Botanic Societies. 
The addition of Primulas to the show has been doubtless a very great 
gain, and a great deal of interest was shown in the beautiful collections 
of the various species and garden varieties shown by Messrs. Paul and 
Son, Mr. Ware, the Royal Horticultural Society, and others, although 
Mr. Llewelyn’s collections were sadly missed. But although very inter¬ 
esting to myself 1 must not dwell upon them, but confine my observa¬ 
tions to the show Auriculas. I am such an “ old fogy ” that I cannot get 
up an enthusiasm for the Alpines, beautiful as they arc, and still hold 
to those rigid rules, the violation of which is considered nowadays to be 
