144 
THE FLORIST AND ROMOLOGIST. 
[Septbmbir, 
thuses in flower nearly all the year round, by sowing 
some seed early in spring, to bloom in July and 
August; sowing again in May, to flower on plants 
grown in the open ground, and grown on in pots ; 
and by sowing in July and August, to raise a batch 
of plants to stand in the open ground through the 
winter, and bloom in early summer. The Hedde- 
wigii type is decidedly the showiest, the flowers 
being larger, and showing so much variety in colour; 
but the chinensis type is well worthy of being grown 
also. 
— ©F the hardy perennial Delphiniums, 
which furnish some of our handsomest, hardy 
blue flowers, the following are desirable kinds : 
— Nobilissimum, rich pale blue, shot in the centre 
with a reddisli-puce; this has long, very symmetri¬ 
cal and handsome spikes of bloom; Exquisite, 
cobalt-blue, suffused with rosy-lilac; Imperialis, 
rosy-lilac, tipped with bright blue, the centre of the 
flowers white, very fine; Pulcherrimum, bronzy- 
blue, orange and white centre; and Victory, violet, 
striped with reddish-lilac, white centre. 
— &T the Crystal Palace Show, on July 3rd, 
the new roses were fairly represented. Mr. C. 
Turner showed Mrs. Harry Turner, a promis¬ 
ing flower, of a deep velvety crimson ; Hon. George 
Bancroft, large, of good form, and of a pleasing 
pink colour; Duchess of Connaught, a promising 
rose, similar in colour to La France ; A. K. Williams, 
one of the finest high-coloui'ed roses in commerce ; 
Madame Alex. Bernaix, a tine tea-scented variety, of 
a pleasing flesh-colour; Charles Darwin, maroon- 
crimson, small, but of good shape ; Penelope Mayo, a 
good rose of the Marie Baumann type ; Madame 
Emma All, pale pink; Mrs. Laxton, a fine dark 
flower; Madame Lombard, a beautiful tea-scented 
variety, the flowers of good form, rich creamy-yel¬ 
low, the petals margined with rose; and Richard 
Laxton, dark in colour and of excellent quality. 
Messrs. Paul and Son showed their splendid new 
hybrid perpetual, the Duke of Tech ; also a new rose, 
not in commerce, named R. W. G. Baker, a hybrid 
perpetual, the flowers of which are large, somewhat 
globular, the outer petals large and spreading, the 
colour bright red, changing with age to rosy-red. 
— ^he hardy hybrid Rhododendron 
Salvini, sent out by Mr. Maurice Young, of 
Milford, is highly spoken of. The flowers are 
of a rosy purplish-lake, intensely spotted all over 
with chocolate ; the foliage is smooth and ovate in 
shape, and the habit compact. Its chief character¬ 
istic is, however, the freedom -with which it sets its 
blooms. That it is perfectly hardy both in wood 
and bud is established by the fact that it has 
passed perfectly unharmed through the past severo 
winter. 
— &r the Brighton Show, Mr. Rutland 
exhibited some remarkably large Strawberries 
from Goodwood Gardens, which created quite 
a sensation. Eight of the berries weighed 1 lb. 1 oz.; 
one measured 3J in. aci’oss it. They were part of a 
very abundant crop, the result of deep cultivation. 
— ®he Peruvian Manettia micans is one 
of the most charming of stove climbers of 
slender habit which have been introduced of 
late years. It has neat light-green foliage, and 
leafy panicles of long-stalked scarlet tubular flowers. 
It was introduced by the Messrs. Veitcli, through- 
their collector, Mr. Pearce, who found it at 
Muna, at an elevation of between 3,000 ft. and 
4,000 ft. 
—• According to Dr. Ernst, the Vene¬ 
zuelan Box-wood is exported from Puerto 
Cabello to Hamburg. In Venezuela it is called 
Amarilla yema de huevo, i.e., yolk-coloured, because 
of its colour. It is the produce of an apocynaceons 
tree, Aspiclosperma Vargasii, and is similar in struc¬ 
ture, and in the fineness of its grain, to the wood of 
the true Box-tree. 
— ©ne of the good old border flowers is 
the Campanula persicifolia albo-plena. 
That it may also be grown in pots with success 
has been forcibly demonstrated in the Swanley 
Nurseries, the flowers being of immense value in a 
cut state for bouquets and decorative purposes. The 
flowers are about the size of a florin, perfectly 
double, of exquisite form, and pure white. When 
first expanded the centre is tinged w'ith green, but 
as they become fully developed they are of the 
purest white throughout, and then admissible in the 
choicest bouquet; they also possess the advantage 
of having stalks so long and slender as to render 
mounting quite unnecessary. 
— £t appears that Anthracite Coal is 
now extensively used by Mr. B. S. Williams, of 
Holloway, who prefers it t to coke, because it is 
more powerful, and, therefore, really more economi¬ 
cal. This fuel produces the best results when a 
small bright thin fire is kept in the furnace, dis¬ 
tributed fairly over the bars, the combustion being 
then more complete than when the furnace is choked 
up with a bulk of fuel—a mistake often made by 
inexperienced stokers. Of course, when making up 
the fires for the last time at night, it is requisite to 
add a considerable quantity of fuel. 
— 3The new Azalea Souvenir du Comte 
de Gomer is one of the most brilliantly-coloured 
kinds yet raised, and a very distinct and beau¬ 
tiful variety. The flowers are a bright Indian-red, 
that known as “cardinal” colour, and measure fully 
three inches across, being symmetrical in form, per¬ 
fectly single, and of good substance. This Azalea 
will make a capital decorative kind, and one especi¬ 
ally adapted for exhibition purposes. 
£u fftemortam* 
— $Hr. Abraham Stansfield. died of apo¬ 
plexy at his residence, Vale Cottage, Todmorden, 
on August 15th, at the age of 78 years. Mr. 
Stansfield was in early life a hand-loom weaver, and 
afterwards became gardener to Mr. Ramsbotham. 
About 1844 he commenced business as a nursery¬ 
man, in which, associated with his sons, he 
acquired reputation as a discoverer and cultivator 
of Ferns. Mr. Stansfield possessed many natural 
gifts, amongst them a taste for botany, which led to 
a close fellowship with the late Mr. Nowell, another 
self-taught man, who won for himself an honourable 
position as a bryologist. Mr. Stansfield had been 
President of tho Todmorden Botanical Society, from 
the time of its foundation in 1852. 
