440 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 13, 1686. 
varieties are pushed with the notion of making them 
open, it is sure to end in failure. The soil that seems 
to suit the Camellia best is a mixture of good sound 
loam and peat in equal parts, adding sufficient sand to 
keep the soil open. Where good charcoal can be ob¬ 
tained, some broken pieces added is very beneficial by 
helping to keep the whole sweet. The drainage should 
be also properly seen to, or the plants will not flourish, 
and the potting should at all times be made very 
firm. 
The Camellia may be grown in various ways, but the 
best is the bush form. Some of the loose growing varie¬ 
ties are useful for covering a wall, and being evergreen 
the foliage is always bright and the flowers useful when 
they open All the varieties of white Camellia are in 
demand, but none more so than the old varieties, alba 
plena and fimbriata alba, in fact, I do not think, taking 
quantity and quality combined, they have ever been 
surpassed. Several other sorts have larger and finer 
substance in the petals of the flower, but they are not 
so free, nor yet can they be made to bloom so early. 
For earlyfl owering kinds the quantity should be limited 
to about half-a-dozen varieties, leaving the others to 
flower at the proper season. Below, I give a list of 
two dozen varieties that will suit the most fastidious, 
and those marked with an asterisk I should specially 
recommend for early flowering. 
*Alba plena, pure white 
Eealii, deep scarlet, finely cup¬ 
ped 
Bicolordela Reine,rosy salmon, 
margined white 
Bonomiaua, white, spotted and 
handed with rosy carmine 
Brozzoni, cerise, fine 
Cup of Beauty, white, striped 
pink 
Comtessa Lavinia Maggi,white, 
rayed crimson, very large 
*Donckelaarii, red,' blotched 
white, semi-double 
Due de Bretagne, splendid rose, 
fine form 
*Fimbriata alba, pure white, 
petals fringed 
*Imbricata, carmine, occasion¬ 
ally mottled white 
Jenny Lind, white, flaked rose 
Jubilee, blush-white 
*Lady Hume’s Blush, creamy 
blush 
Mathotiana, bright crimson, 
very large 
Mathiotana albi, white 
Monsieur d'Offey, delicate pink 
Mrs. Dombrain, soft flesh colour 
Mrs. Abbey Wilder, white, 
striped with carmine 
Napoleon III., light rosy sal¬ 
mon, edged pure white, 
beautifully veined 
Princess Mary, bright reddish 
crimson, very fine 
Queen of Beauties, delicate 
shaded peach 
Reine des Fleurs, orange-scarlet 
Thomas Moore,carmine, shaded 
crimson 
Yaltevareda, clear rose, extra 
line. 
There are many other varieties to select from, but 
the above will make a capital selection for a person 
commencing their cultivation. At some future time I 
will give the readers of The Gardening World an 
article on the propagation of the Camellia. — TF. G. 
ANCIENT AND MODERN TULIPS. 
Your correspondent “R. D.” in his interesting 
paper at p. 376, on the almost fabulous prices given 
for the Tulip in the olden times, observes truly that 
“fashions in the matter of flowers change,” a remark 
of the correctness of which some of us can hear ample 
testimony. Forty or fifty years ago professional Tulip 
growers—men who devoted a very considerable amount 
of attention to their cultivation—were not so few and 
far between as is the case now ; even the amateur in 
those days made his name and fame known as a pro¬ 
fessional breeder of the brilliant and gorgeous flower 
almost throughout the country. All plants of a hardy 
character were of necessity more appreciated when glass 
structures scarcely had an existence ; the professional 
florist and the professional gardener were more distinctly 
classified, or perhaps, I should say, that their respective 
avocations were more clearly defined. At the present 
time nearly all are gardeners and florists in a combined 
form. 
The florists’ of the old school are now all but non¬ 
existent, the two professions having, as it were, an 
amalgamated tendency in the general cultivation of all 
kinds of plants for the decoration of the garden and 
conservatory. The amateur and cottage gardener in¬ 
clusive, are now more or less growers of miscellaneous 
collections of plants instead of devoting their attention 
solely to Pinks, Carnations, Picotees, Auriculas, Pansies, 
and Tulips ; so many rivals of late years having been 
introduced, which, as “R. D. ” remarks, causes the 
fashion in the matter of flowers to change. 
In bygone days the price paid for one plant would 
now be amply sufficient to purchase a large collection. 
I remember, about 1846 or 1847, visiting my old friend, 
Robert Plant, at the time when he was busily engaged 
in planting a bed of Tulips (he was editor of the Florist's 
Journal at that time), and as I approached him he, in 
his usually jocular way, said that I had arrived just in 
time to see him bury £50 in the earth, meaning that 
the Tulips he was then planting were commercially of 
that value. Your correspondent refers to the Tulips 
grown by Henry Groom, of Walworth, and many others, 
some of whom I knew ; and doubtless many of your 
readers may have seen the grand collections of Tulips 
that were grown by Mr. Groom from forty to fifty years 
ago, and those who were not fortunate enough to see 
his gorgeous heds when in full beauty, may be interested 
to learn something of their commercial value at the 
time referred to, viz., 1837. The prices were then as 
follows for some of the best sorts :—Ariadne (Groom’s), 
£10 10s.; Duchess of Sutherland (Groom’s), £10 IBs.; 
Emily, £10 10s. ; Grande Rose Imperiale, £10 10s. ; 
Vittoria Ottodecina, £105 ; Comorine, £16 10s.; King 
William IV (Groom’s), £20 ; Louis XVI, £10 10s. ; 
Pandora, £30 10s.; Queen Adelaide (Groom’s), £10 10s.; 
Thalia, £15 15s. ; Titania, £10 10s. ; Edmund Kean, 
£5 5s. ; Garrick, £5 5s. ; Malibran, £10 10s.; Pompe 
Fenubre, £7 7s. ; Nourri Effendi, £100 ; Warsaw, £10 
10s. ; Shakespeare, £5 5s. ; Michael Angelo, £8 8s. ; 
King George IY, £6 6s.; Lord Stanley, £5 5s. 
Mr. Groom’s collection, as grown by him, contained 
between 300 and 400 named varieties, and the aggregate 
amount, as per priced list, for the whole collection, one 
bulb each, was at the time mentioned about £550. My 
object in thus supplementing “ R. D.’s” paper is to 
show the estimated value of Mr. Groom’s Tulips, to 
which reference is made.— George Fry. 
-——- 
BEET. 
Though it is only in comparatively recent years 
that Beet has become such an important agricultural 
crop, it has held a prominent place amongst garden 
vegetables for centuries, and it is now highly esteemed 
as a salad. An old writer, Stephen Switzer, refers to 
it as “ the Beet herb, very easy to be raised, well 
deserving the care and cultivation of the laborious 
gardener, being, in my opinion, one of the usefulest and 
best sallets boil’d that we have in the spring, as not 
partaking of that toughness and bitterness that 
Cabbage, Colewort, and other boil’d sallets at that time of 
the year do.” To Gerard and Parkinson four varieties 
were known, three in the gardens, and one on the sea¬ 
shore, which are named respectively, Beta alha, Beta 
rubra vulgare, Beta rubra romana, and Beta marina, 
and to these is added the Chard Beet, Beta causta 
aurea, now known as a variety of Beta cicla, which 
is cultivated for the sake of the thick mid-ribs of the 
leaves. The Beta marina is now known as B. maritima; 
a native of Britain, and has given rise to most of the 
red garden Beet as well as the Mangel Wurzel. The 
others named are varieties of B. vulgaris, which is 
believed to have been in cultivation at least four 
centuries before the Christian era, but, though generally 
known to the Normans, does not seem to have made its 
appearance in England until the 17th century. Pliny 
states that the roots were eaten with wine and pepper, 
and the leaves were supposed to possess a property, 
which it is to he feared they have lost in this degenerate 
age, namely, the power of causing those who eat them 
to become more pious and devout. We are content to 
find the roots an agreeable addition to our salads, 
which may indirectly exercise some soothing influence 
upon us. 
One estimable quality Beet possesses, and that is its 
adaptability to cultivation, as it can be most readily 
obtained in good condition with ordinary care, and its 
satisfactory appearance at table often depends more 
upon the cook than the gardener. To produce good 
clean roots of moderate size and rich colour, which are 
much preferred to the huge samples sometimes seen on 
the exhibition table, it is necessary to have a deep well 
worked soil, fertile but not enriched by any recent ad¬ 
dition of manure, and on no account should manure be 
applied immediately before sowing the seeds. It is 
advantageous to prepare the soil some time in advance 
of the sowing, and as it will not be necessary to sow 
seed for the main crop of Beet until April, the present 
is a good time to get the land in order for its 
reception. 
Dig it deeply thoroughly pulverising it, and be especially 
careful in removing all large stones and heavy lumps 
of soil that can be readily broken. An open soil is 
absolutely necessary if clean handsome roots are 
required, and soil of the opposite character with much 
rankmanure will result in coarse ill flavoured roots,often 
much branched with secondary roots, that completely 
spoils the shape of the main root, and their removal 
commonly causes the colouring to escape in boiling, 
greatly lessening the value of the Beet for salad 
purposes. 
Make up the soil into beds 4 ft. wide, and when 
preparing for sowing draw drills 1 fc. apart for any of 
the small growing varieties, and about 2 ins. deep. 
Sow the seed thinly, but the plants will need thinning 
out subsequently to about 6 ins. apart or more for the 
large exhibition varieties. I rely exclusively upon 
Dell’s Crimson, which gives me perfect satisfaction, 
and to obtain an early supply I sow a row about the 
middle of March, but the principal supply is obtained 
from the sowing made a month later. As to the after 
treatment and preserving the roots, both very simple 
matters, I may have something to say on another 
occasion.— It. T. 
-- 
THE “ GLORY OF THE SNOW.” 
There is, perhaps, nothing more charming among 
the many dwarf bulbous flowering plants of very early 
spring than the beautiful and chaste Chionodoxa, or 
“Glory of the Snow,” of which, happily, we possess three 
very distinct kinds, each equally lovely, and all adapted 
in the most admirable manner possible for beautifying 
our gardens in the earliest months of the year; and 
owing to the complete hardihood of the members of this 
small genus, together with the excellent qualities of 
being free and abundant seeders as well as rapidly in¬ 
creasing annually by off-sets of the bulbs, they are suited 
to a very great variety of uses. It flowers with the 
Snowdrop; and will, in a few years, be quite as popular 
as that innocent flower of winter ; and what a charming 
companion for it, for just imagine for a moment the 
snowy white pendant bells of the Snowdrop with the 
delightful blue and white of the Chionodoxa mingling 
among them. 
No better idea of its beauty can be given, probably, 
than in the words of Mr. George Maw, to whom we are 
indebted for its re-introduction, and who, speaking of 
the circumstances under which he found it, says :— 
‘ 1 At the lower level it was out of flower, but near the 
summit of the mountain a mass was met with in full 
splendour, forming one of the most sumptuous displays 
of floral beauty I ever beheld—a mass of blue and 
white resembling Nemophila insignis in colour, but 
more intense and brilliant.” Here, then, in brief out¬ 
line, are the thoughts of Mr. Maw on beholding it in 
all its glory, flowering en masse with the melting snow ; 
and who could help being filled with delight at such a 
brilliant spectacle ? Nor is it impossible to imitate this 
in our English lowland gardens ; the facilities for in¬ 
creasing it are great, and if put to the best advantage 
may soon be had in galore. Self-sown seedlings come 
up and cover the ground as thickly as a bed of spring 
onions—not in ones or twos, but by hundreds. It is 
charmingly adapted for naturalising on banks or grassy 
slopes, and by planting a few near the summit of these, 
and allowing them to seed ad lib., the entire surface of 
the bank may soon be covered ; and by scattering the 
seeds here and there in selected spots, any garden may 
be rendered doubly gay at this season of the year by 
forming patches and colonies here and there. In the 
rock garden it is equally at home, and likewise on an 
even surface. Plant about 3 ins. deep in sandy loam, 
and when the seed has fallen from the capsules it will 
be benefited by being covered with 1 in. of fine soil to 
give the seedlings a fair start. Such, then, is Chion¬ 
odoxa Lucilife, one of the most striking and effective of 
spring bulbous plants. 
Happily, however, it is not alone in the world, for in 
C. nana and C. Sardensis we have two fitting com¬ 
panions for it, the former of dwarfer habit with pale 
blue and white flowers, and hardly so showy 7 , and the 
latter a new species equally 7 robust, and flowering at 
the same time as C. Lueilke, with flowers of an intense 
gentian blue, displayed to advantage by 7 a conspicuous 
white eye, the predominating colour being more that 
of Scilla siberica. Probably I have said enough of this 
little genus, but I am anxious to add another remark 
ere I close, and this time a word of caution. Many bulb 
catalogues in eulogistic terms speak of the adaptability 
of these plants for conservatory decoration, in this, 
however, I entirely disagree ; they 7 are very impatient 
of artificial heat, nor do they assume their wonted bril¬ 
liancy under glass. Those therefore who would grow it 
to perfection and see it in its true colour should plant it 
outside, and by watching it day by 7 day slowly bursting 
into flower, will find the amount of interest and enjoy¬ 
ment increased considerably.— J. 
