494 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
November 29,1894, 
perfectly beautiful ; they were fully an inch long, and not only jet 
black, but covered with such a gloss that they sparkled and glittered in 
the sun ; and how good they were to eat, being as nearly as possible 
like the best of south of England Mulberries when they fall of their 
own accord from sheer ripeness on the green sward below their 
branches. This was a great find to get a Bramble as big as three or 
four of our native ones, with no sour taste and no hard middle ; little 
wonder that they are popular in the New York and Boston markets. The 
“Wilson Junior” ripened about the end of July, and in October we 
had an excellent crop of Blackberries on the Cut-leaved or Hungarian 
Brambles, which were nearly twice the size of the native Scottish, and 
hung in such beautiful black clusters, like the Brambles one sees in the 
hedgerows of Normandy and Brittany ; but the Hungarians could not 
for a moment be compared to the Americans, which, had I been able to 
show them at a fruit exhibition, would have drawn a crowd round them 
from morning till night. I hope next year to be able to report on the 
Japanese Wineberry, having imported some young plants of it this 
summer. 
Before ceasing to give instances of the good effects of the hot summer 
of 1893 I will tell of a Lilium giganteum which had been in the garden 
for several years, and which did wonders in the way of blooming this 
last June. What a truly tropical plant it looked as it stood there, just 
as its forefathers had done in their native valleys of Nepaul. It was 
quite 8 feet high, with fifteen big flowers on its top, and with every one 
of its great glossy leaves as perfect as if grown under glass. And, 
lastly, I must not forget to mention the blooming of the Watsonias, 
which, though quite hardy here to stand our coldest winters, are shy about 
blooming, unless emboldened to do so by an extra long spell of 
sunshine the previous year. One of the Watsonia flowering stems was 
nearly 5 feet high, and the individual blooms, which hung loosely at 
intervals of about 4 inches all up the stalk, were reddish orange in colour, 
somewhat tubular, and unlike any of the Gladiolus tribe, which its leaves 
so resemble. Mixed up with the Watsonias is another kind of bulb, 
whose name I know not, neither can anyone tell it me. It is more like 
a coarse-growing Ixia, with flower stalks as stiff as wires, covered with a 
double row of closely set satiny mauve flowers, each bloom being about 
the size of a sixpence. This is a most attractive plant, and much 
more free-flowering than its neighbours the Watsonias. 
For some years I have rather despised annuals, but I trust I am 
gaining wisdom as I grow older, and now despise nothing that helps to 
make my garden bright and beautiful. I find that many plants that 
we used to grow as perennials, and that had to be wintered under glass, 
can now be grown as annuals at half the cost and trouble, as, for 
instance, the Dahlias already mentioned ; also Salvias, Lobelias, 
Alonsoas, and Carnations. Others, again, take the place of bedding 
plants, and far exceed them for beauty. We used to grow Gazania 
splendens with some trouble as to wintering, and with only very 
moderate success in the way of blooms, but a friend recommended to me 
an annual, Venedium calendulaceum, from South Africa, and I now get, 
at the cost of 3d., nearly as good a blaze of orange as delighted my eyes 
when looking at the edging of Gazania round the English chapel at 
Ajaccio in Corsica. When in Switzerland some years ago I was so struck 
with the beauty of the beds of single Dianthus sinensis that this year I 
had the seed of more than one variety of this plant. The seedlings 
grew admirably, and have been the greatest pleasure ; their dwarf habit 
and hardiness were so suitable to this country, and the immense size 
and the wonderful colours and shapes of their blooms quite fascinated 
us. Besides these, there are all the Scabiouses and Gaillardias, and the 
'hardy Verbena venosa, and the two handsome creepers, the Eccremo- 
carpus and the Loasa, all of which we have bloomed from seed sown in 
the spring. I have forgotten to mention the Salpiglossis, and those who 
do not already know them should certainly try them. The tints and 
mixtures of colour in these annuals are quite unique, and hardly to be 
matched in the flower world ; but they seem a little delicate, and want 
good soil and situation. 
Should any of my readers aspire to a little sub-tropical gardening, 
they can easily manage something in this line without either hothouse 
or greenhouse. My gardener, being encouraged by the success of his 
border of choice plants last year, arranged a large oval-shaped bed this 
spring. It was composed of partly hardy plants such as Yuccas, 
Eulalias, Fan Palms, Crinums, Eucalyptus, Callas, Bamboos, and 
Cannas, which will all stand our winter pretty well without, or with at 
most very slight, protection. To these be added in tbe spring or early 
summer Castor Oil Plants, Variegated Maize, Melianthus major, and 
Cosma bipinnata, which were all raised from seed in a frame in the 
spring. Early sowing in a little heat is all they seem to want. 
I was astonished lately by our Brugmansias, and I do not fancy that 
many in the North use them as bedding plants. The fault of them is 
that their long orange-scarlet blooms are so heavy as to weigh the plants 
down to the ground, but I hope to obviate this by planting them another 
year against my terrace. This year the Diplacus or Tree Mimuluses had 
a beautiful effect trained against the wall among flowering Myrtles and 
Ceanothus, and they caught the eye of every visitor to the garden, and 
were immensely admired. I would especially commend the dark 
mahogany-coloured one, both for indoors and out of doors, and its shade 
of colour is so peculiar as to be almost unknown among flowers. I may 
mention that they are very nearly hardy. The Abutilons suit also very 
well for wall covering, and do quite well out of doors here for six 
months of the year. I have been much interested in Stokesia cyanea. 
It is an American Starwort, very dwarf, with blue flowers like a large 
China Aster. It has an individuality about it which is sure to commend 
itself to all lovers of flowers. Hearing it was not hardy we wintered 
the young plants we obtained last year in a cold frame, and when 
planted out they bloomed profusely. 
As a finish to my long gossip, I may say a word or two about leaves 
and berries. How I now wish that when I bought this place I had 
invested more largely in the American Scarlet Oaks. Their leaves^ in 
autumn are equal to any flowers for brilliancy, and in October nothing 
can beat a big vase filled with sprays of Scarlet Oak and white Chrys¬ 
anthemums. The variegated Turkey Oak is equally telling all through 
the summer, especially with blue flowers, such as Agapanthus umbel- 
latus, which, by the way, is perfectly hardy here without any protection, 
and blooms regularly. A clump of American Dogwood bas been very 
brilliant here this autumn, and its bright crimson twigs are most 
beautiful all through the winter, after its rosy leaves are gone. And 
how is it that most people are satisfied to have all their berries red ? 
Bed seems certainly the favourite colour among the berries themselves, 
but I think a variety is desirable, and for yellow or ratber orange, 
nothing that I have ever seen in berries can match a really good mass of 
Sea Buckthorns, with its silvery foliage almost hidden by its fruit. I 
have a round bush of it now, which stands out boldly at the top of my 
lawn, like a globe of amber against its background of dark evergreens.— 
O. H. Mackenzie, Invcrcwe, Poolcwe (in the “Scotsman”^. 
OLEARIA HAASTI. 
There is one objection I have to this shrub. Certainly when in 
bloom it may be a huge ball-like mass of snowy whiteness, but after the 
bloom is over, then for a long time tbe decayed bloom remains, and 
presents a dirty brown appearance. That defect mitigates very inuch 
one’s admiration for so pretty a shrub when in bloom. What a pity it 
is that we cannot get some variety of the Laurustinus that will bloom 
fully early in the autumn, because then we should see this good old 
hardy shrub at its best, whereas through blooming so late in the year 
too often hardly have the blooms opened than bad weather or severe 
frosts destroy them. One of the most beautiful pure white hardy 
flowering shrubs we have is the giant Mock Orange, Philadelphus 
grandiflorus. It is a real gem.—D. 
My experience with this plant does not coincide with Mr. Bardney’a 
(see page 470). Four years ago we planted some here in the front 
of a belt of shrubs with an eastern aspect. They grew very fast for 
three seasons, and were handsome little bushes, and when thickly covered 
with their Daisy-like flowers were very much admired. Last winter, 
however, I am sorry to say they succumbed, I believe, to the sudden 
frost after a warm, moist autumn. Eurybia Gunni shared the same 
fate, being planted in the same position, but Escallonia Fhilippiana 
stood the sudden severity unharmed. What is the experience of others 
with these shrubs?—J. Easter, Kostell Priory Gardens. 
EUONYMUS ELEGANTISSIMA. 
This is a decided improvement on the old- Euonymus latifolia 
variegata, its foliage, although smaller, being whiter and more striking 
in appearance. Both varieties, however, are invaluable for many 
decorative purposes. It is surprising they are not more largely 
grown for conservatory decoration than is the case. These plants are 
in structures of this nature equally as effective as well-grown Crotons 
in the stove. They are infinitely superior to the Crotons grown in many 
gardens, because they never lose their colour whether exposed to the 
light or grown in the shade. In large houses where flowering plants 
fail to be satisfactory these Euonymus are most useful. 
Low standards are effective, or the plants may be grown as bushes or 
pyramidal in shape. I find they look best amongst other plants when 
almost naturally grown, removing only such shoots that take the lead, 
and thus preventing the plant becoming unshapely. Beautiful little 
specimens can be had in from 3 to 6-inch pots, large enough for the 
majority of purposes, for Euonymuses do not require much room at their 
roots, and can be kept for a long time in the same sized pot, provided 
they are top-dressed annually with rich material, or given a little 
chemical manure about twice a year. Another advantage, these plants 
are seldom attacked by insects. Sometimes aphides will attack the 
young shoots, but these are easily destroyed by fumigating or dipping 
the plants in a weak solution of tobacco water. Unlike Eurya latifolia 
variegata, a very handsome plant also for this purpose, it is rarely 
attacked by thrips. Euonymus will do well on a dry base where 
Eurya would fail. I have not found the latter half so useful for the 
conservatory as the former. 
The culture of Euonymus is very simple. Cuttings of half-ripened 
wood—that is wood after the new foliage has expanded and attained a 
fair amount of firmness—will root freely. The cuttings should be 
inserted about August in pans or pots in sandy soil, thickly together, 
and then placed in a shady cold frame. In this position they can 
remain until they are rooted in spring, when the young plants should be 
placed singly in 2-inch pots. They are perfectly hardy, but to gain 
time when severe frosts approach the pans should be removed to a shelf 
in the greenhouse. The plants by this means are ready for potting 
singly fully a month earlier. Although they can be grown under cool 
airy treatment, they make greater progress when a little warmth can be 
maintained ; in fact, treat them as greenhouse plants.—S axon. 
