218 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
December 5 , 1885. 
months of Match aiul April: and last; but not least, 
Comes Mi llgulata, which, all tilings considered, is the 
hardiest and best of all ; thisistlie one Which, every 
spring, may be seen in such quantities at Belvoir, 
flowering in the greatest profusion for several weeks ; 
the flowers are of a reddish hue, the robust panicles 
generally growing from 1 ft. to 1 £ ft. high. 
The uses of these plants are not entirely confined to 
the spring garden, for they make a good display when 
grown in pots for conservatory decoration, while, as 
exhibition plants, among hardy spring flowers they 
must not be overlooked. For exhibition purposes, I used 
to grow these in large pans of about 8 in. deep and 
from 10 in. to 14 in. in diameter, well flowered ex¬ 
amples of this size form very imposing objects, All the 
group may easily be increased by division ; some of the 
rarer kinds, however, are slow growers and will require 
patience, they seed somewhat freely, and in this direc¬ 
tion there is ample scope for raising new kinds. 
Meiitensia virginica (Pulmonaria). —The Mer- 
tensias constitute an attractive little group of spring 
flowering plants. Delighting in leaf-mould and peat, 
and in damp half-shady positions the) r are a very dis¬ 
tinct race, at present very little known, but owing to 
their characteristic beauty they form pleasing groups, 
arranged either on the rockery, or on the margins of 
beds of low growing shrubs, American plants, and the 
like. The above-named species is, perhaps, the most 
showy and vigorous, it grows about 1 ft. or 18 ins. 
high when well established ; the leaves and stems as¬ 
sume a slightly glaucous hue ; the flowers are drooping 
and of a beautiful bluish purple, and nearly an inch in 
length ; it is easily increased by dividing the rootstock, 
an operation which should be performed when it is dor¬ 
mant. This plant has also been known under the 
generic name of Pulmonaria, which has rendered it 
somewhat confusing, seeing that the specific name here 
used is also applied to one of the Lung Worts, the two 
plants being in themselves of totally different aspect; 
There is also a Siberian species, M. siberica, a plant 
similar in growth to tbe above-named, rather larger 
perhaps, and differing from it in its drooping panicles 
of sky-blue flowers ; a white variety of the latter is also 
in cultivation, which makes a pleasing trio of those 
distinct and pretty plants. They all flower during April 
and May. 
Menyanthes teifoliata. —In this we have a 
striking example of the lost beauty of one of our native 
bog plants ; I say lost beauty, simply because it appears 
to have been almost overlooked by all lovers of flowers, 
and yet it is so beautiful and chaste in its flowers, that 
I know of no plant which might favourably compare 
with it, and to all this beauty I may add that it is one 
of the most common of our native bog plants. It is 
freely and abundantly distributed in many parts, and to 
this particular character may be laid the fact of its falling 
into neglect; no greater error than this can be possibly 
conceived, and it should at once be reversed. Though 
strictly a bog plant, it may be cultivated successfully in 
pots placed in shallow pans of water, and even without 
these if copious waterings be given it. I have always 
been an ardent admirer of this much neglected plant, 
but never did I realise its full value and beauty, till I 
saw it in one of the water tanks in the Messrs. Pollisson’s 
nursery at Tooting, some ten years ago. It was growing 
in a water tank in a warm stove, and was simply ex¬ 
quisite, and beautiful fringed flowers being of the purest 
white ; in a wild state its flowers are of a soft rose, and 
borne on pyramidal trusses, and seeing that by forcing 
they become white, they should be valuable in a cut 
state. It may also be employed in the artificial bog, or 
in any low lying position where abundant moisture may 
be guaranteed. 
Monarda didyma (Bergamot). —This old favourite 
still maintains a prominent positionamongold-fashioned 
perennials, and showy border flowers. There are few I 
suspect who are unacquainted with it under the familiar 
name of Bergamot; the pleasing fragrance of its leaves 
seems acceptable to all comers, who generally give it the 
wonted rub when passing it. It is perhaps the showiest 
of the group, growing 3 ft. or so high, and being 
furnished with whorls of flowers of the most brilliant 
scarlet ; it thrives in any ordinary vegetable soil, aud 
makes a good effective plant for the margins of shrub¬ 
beries, and similar places. Not that it must be omitted 
from the herbaceous border proper, for it is a telling bit 
of colour in summer time. It forms a compact root- 
stock which may be divided into any number annually. 
M. didyma alba bears whitish whorls of flowers, and 
is similar to the type in other respects. The refreshing 
odour emitted by its leaves is a characteristic of this 
genus, possessed by very few other hardy plants, at 
least to the extent which it here abounds. — j. 
-—=- 
FRUITS, FLOWERS & VEGETABLES. 
Chinese Primulas. —I noticed “ R. D’s” in¬ 
teresting notes in your last, anent the Primulas at 
Reading, and am induced to bear testimony to the 
merit of Gipsy Queen. It is a very great step forward, 
and as “ P. D.” truly remarks, “ the visitor contem¬ 
plates it with something akin to wonder.” It makes a 
charming table plant, and will he most useful in many 
other ways. No doubt the hybridiser will welcome it. 
— 11. Gilbert, Burghlcy. 
Chrysanthemums Princess of Wales and 
Mrs. Heale. —I imagine there has been more difference 
of opinion regarding these two varieties of Chrysan¬ 
themum than any other two kinds in existence, but 
when once known thoroughly, there is no difficulty in 
discriminating between them. Two blooms of quite a 
different character can sometimes be cut from one plant 
of Princess of “Wales, but not so from Mrs. Heale ; the 
difference in the two blooms on one plant being caused 
by the different times at which the buds are taken on 
the plant, and by tbe age of the blooms, caused by being 
kept too long after developing, when it loses its natural 
pink tinge of colour. “When the buds are taken too 
early, the colour is too light to represent it in its true 
character, hence the confusion caused sometimes, and 
the cry that they are both the same. Where I think the 
fault lays is with the exhibitor in staging a bloom which is 
not true to its proper character, and in consequence cannot 
carry so much weight as it would do were it staged in its 
true form. Airs. Heale being a sport from Princess 
of Wales, renders them exactly alike in habit of growth, 
colour of foliage, shape of bud, and form of the flower, 
as is always the ease in sports from all varieties that 
I am acquainted with, except perhaps that some varieties 
may have the petals more pointed or broader than in 
the parent. In the case of Airs. Heale, the petals are a 
trifle broader sometimes, owing probably to good culti¬ 
vation or difference in soils. Princess of AVales is a 
blush-white heavily veined with deep pink, and Airs. 
Heale is white, with a very pale creamy shade, certainly 
not pure white.— E. Molyneux. 
Pelargonium, La Cygne.—I am the fortunate 
possessor at the present time of a large number of 
these exquisite Pelargoniums; they are in 60-sized pots, 
occupying a shelf near the glass in our stove. The 
flowers are a clear white and perfectly double ; I can 
highly recommend it to all my friends as a real gem. — 
id Gilbert, Burghlcy. 
Stephanotis floribunda, Fruiting.— This 
plant produced fruit at AVorksop Alanor, Notts, several 
years ago, the size and form of the fruit being similar to 
those described at p. 202. In due course the fruit 
arrived at maturity and perfected its seeds, which were 
afterwards sown by Mr. Sutton in a light compost of 
peat, loam, and leaf-mould in equal parts, and kept on 
a shelf in the Alelon-house. The seeds germinated 
freely, were duly pricked off, and Air. Sutton very 
kindly gave me three of the number. These were potted 
into 4j in. pots, and when they were established I 
threw away the weakest plant and potted the others 
into 6 in. pots, and kept them growing in an inter¬ 
mediate temperature. During the past summer these 
were transferred into pots 11 ins. in diameter in a 
cbmpost containing more loam than previously, and 
placed in separate houses of an ordinary greenhouse 
temperature, where they will remain. I hope to see 
them flower about next summer, and it will be in¬ 
teresting to observe whether there is any variation in 
the inflorescence from that of the parent plant. At 
present the foliage is similar in form, hut slightly 
darker in colour, and the stems are distinctly purple. 
It is frequently stated that there are more varieties than 
one of the Stephanotis floribunda in cultivation, and 
the statement is as frequently scouted and ridiculed, 
and that by keen, clever, and experienced men ; but 
up to the present time I have seen no statement which 
proved the idea to be fallacious. —J. Udale, Shirecliffe 
Hall Gardens, Sheffield. [There are undoubtedly good 
and poor varieties of the Stephanotis, some flowering 
much more profusely than others—the Elvaston variety 
to wit.—E d.] 
Early Peas. —I have for two years past grown Air. 
Burbflry's two new Peas, Kenilworth Early and 
William the Conqueror. I find the former three days 
later than Laxton’s Number One, a superior cropper, and 
equal in flavour ; whilst William the Conqueror is one 
Week later than Early Kenilworth, hut the best 
cropper of any early Pea that I am acquainted with. — 
11. Gilbert, Burghlcy. , 
Judging Chrysanthemums. —AVith pleasure 
I give my opinion of the point raised by “ Exhibitor ” 
at p. 202 on judging Chrysanthemums at the late 
Bristol Show as stated by him ; I am of course quite 
ignorant as to who were the judges at the show in 
question. I consider that “Empress of India” and 
“Airs. Cunningham” are one and the same thing, and 
I should certainly not admit them in the same stand as 
distinct varieties. If judges were firm in such cases 
as are quite clear and disqualifj T , we should not hear so 
many complaints, as exhibitors would be chary of staging 
blooms of which there was the slightest doubt. I 
cannot see why the judges did not disqualify in the 
particular case stated by “Exhibitor,” as the facts 
appear to he quite plain. I do not think the argument 
of “Exhibitor ” carries much weight as to the awarding 
of the “National Chrysanthemum Society’s Certificate ” 
in this case, because, perhaps, the judges did not know 
what varieties that society considers synonymous. 
Everyone does not read the society’s catalogue, and if 
they did, that same catalogue is not binding on any 
person or society beyond the National Chrysanthemum 
Society itself. It was only on Friday last that I had a 
bloom of this very same kind submitted to me, to see if 
I could detect any difference in any way, but of course 
I could not; some argue that the petals are broader in 
this supposed kind than in Empress of India, but that 
is not the case, as Empress of India produces broader 
petals in some cases than in others, owing solely to 
cultivation.— E. Molyneux. 
Chrysanthemums at Worksop Manor, 
Notts. —At few private establishments are Chrysan¬ 
themums better grown for home use and decoration 
exclusively than at AVorksop Alanor, by Air. T. H. 
Sutton. AVlien competition is the object in view, then 
we naturally look for something above the average, 
but although that is not the object at AVorksop Alanor, 
yet there we find them grown much better than they 
are usually seen ; and were Air. Sutton to enter the 
lists of competitors, some of us would have to look to 
our laurels. In the large early Vinery at the present 
time are seen three or four hundred plants of the 
various classes of Chrysanthemums grouped in the 
form of a sloping bank, and presenting to the eye a 
long, broad, border of colours, ranging from the purest 
white to deep crimson-purple, and of size and form 
varying from huge snowballs of Empress of India, the 
fantastic Golden Dragon,and Fair Alaid of Guernsey, to 
the charming Pompone, Snowdrop. They are grown 
in pots, 7 ins., 8 ins., 9 ins., 10 ins., and 11 ins. in 
diameter, and carry from five to a dozen shoots on 
the incurved and Japanese, and more in the case of the 
reflexed and Pompones. The best varieties are :— 
Japanese: Elaine, Bend Or, James Salter, Comtesse de 
Beauregard, Comte de Germiuy, Peter the Great, Lady 
Selborne, L’lsle des Plaisirs, Ethel, Fair Alaid of 
Guernsey, Lord Beaconsfield, La Nymphe, Aleg Aler-. 
riles, Madame C. Audiguier, Soleil Levant, Tlnmberg, 
Golden Thread, and R. Ballantinc. Incurved: Beauty, 
Barbara, Beverley, Empress of India, Golden Empress, 
Lady Hardinge, Lord AVolseley, Airs. Bundle, Prince 
of AVales, Prince Alfred, Princess of AVales, Queen of 
England, Venus, and Air. Bunn. Peflexed: Chevalier 
Domage, Christine, Progne, Hcrmoine, and Julie 
Lagravere. Pompone : AVhite and Golden Cede Nulli, 
Bob, Adonis, Aladlle. Marthe. Quilled or Anemones: 
Fleur de Alarie, Madame Lowe, Queen Alargaret, Alodel 
of Perfection, and Orange Boven. — J. Udale, Sheffield. 
The Crop of Holly-berries. —It was remarked 
in June last in your columns, that in all probability we 
should have a good crop of Holly-berries this autumn, 
such a profusion of blooms were there on the Holly 
everywhere ; and so it has come to pass. The berry- 
hearing trees are literally laden with fruit, and the 
hedgerows are a sight to see and admire. I have a tall 
pyramidal tree of the yellow-berried Holly which fruits 
annually ; hut like the others, it is more heavily laden 
than I think I ever saw it before. AVe shall have plenty 
to cut for decorating purposes during the coming festive 
season, without mutilating any particular trees. It 
