April 3, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
487 
Grandesse, Alba superbissima, Crown Princess, Madame 
Van der Hoop, pure whites ; Grandeur Ji Merveille, 
Baroness Van Tuyll, Mammoth, Seraphine, blush 
whites ; General Havelock, Baron Von Humboldt, 
Masterpiece, Mimosa, William I., black blues ; Baron 
Van Tuyll, Charles Dickens, King of the Blues, Bleu 
Mourant, dark blues; Blondin, Czar Peter, Grand 
Maitre, Leonidas, Grand Lilas, Lord Raglan, light 
blues ; L'Honnenr d’Overveen, Sir Henry Havelock, 
Charles Dickens, Haydn, violets ; Ida, King of the 
Vellows, La Citroniere, Obelisk, Anna Carolina, pure 
yellow ; Beauty of Waltham, Clio, Lamplighter, Lord 
Palmerston, Argus, flowers with striking eyes or 
centres. (To be continued. ) 
--- 
Scottis h Gar dening. 
Seed Sowing'.—The time has now arrived when 
special efforts must be put forth to bring up arrears, 
which are more than usually common at the present time, 
and which no one can wonder at. The unprecedented 
lateness of wintry weather, followed up by continuous 
rains and a total absence of March winds, has kept 
ground-work at a standstill, much of the seed sowing 
with ourselves, which should have done on the ground 
some time ago, has only been carried out with the 
agency of boxes and frames to meet the difficulty, if 
possible. Onions are in boxes, coming forward for 
planting, but on the 23rd of March, we managed to 
put a good breadth of Onions in, and covered the seed 
in the rows with finely sifted soil mixed with dry old 
Mushroom manure with a dash of soot in it, which will 
be followed up a little later to keep grubs in check ; 
we believe in repeating the dose of soot several times 
during the growing season, and immediately after 
showers of rain ; guano—a rare item—is also excellent 
for such purposes. 
A small portion of deep, well-broken ground, should 
he sown with a pinch of Beet to give an early supply. 
Beet is sown much earlier in northern districts than 
in the warm south ; between the beginning and middle 
of April is a suitable time to sow. We see in some cata¬ 
logues that May is the proper season, but Scotch 
gardeners know better than delay so long. In the 
south it is a good time to sow Beet at the end of April or 
early in May. Soils and situation have much to do 
with the culture of this much esteemed vegetable ; dry, 
sandy, and poor soil gives stringy, dry, and tough roots, 
cool deep soil, free from rank manure, but not poverty- 
stricken, gives clean, tender, finely flavoured roots. 
Carrots may be sown in small lots for drawing young, 
hut the main crop may be sown in well trenched land 
about the second week of the month ; sea sand, in 
quantity, is a good check to grubs. While the main 
crops of Celery are advancing, and being pricked out, 
preparatory for final planting, another late lot for 
giving supplies during this season of the year may be 
made under a hand-light. We have seen really good 
produce from seeds sown in the first 'week of April. Much 
promising Celery is ruined by dribblings of water given 
too often, instead of a good soaking and have done 
with it for a reasonable time. 
Broccoli of all kinds may be sown from this time 
throughout the month ; a good stock of autumn kinds 
to succeed the Cauliflowers should be on the way. 
Veitch’s Autumn Giant Cauliflower takes the place of 
many autumn Broceolis, and in favourable seasons can 
he had good till December. Beans and Peas should be 
sown every ten days or so. In damp or exposed 
localities Peas should have plenty of distance between 
the rows. Few kinds surpass Veitch’s Perfection as a 
cropper, and for good quality ; it is a good time to 
sow it during April. Kidney Beans should have a well- 
sheltered border, and portable protectors are of much 
service for very early sowings in northern parts ; a 
quantity established with plenty of roots ready to plant 
in the frame or pit when the earliest Potatos are lifted 
is of much value, coming in between those forced in pots 
and those in the open ground. He Plus Ultra is one 
of the best for all purposes. Herbs, Sea Kale, As¬ 
paragus, Chicory for early lifting, Chervil, Water and 
Land Cress, successions of Leeks (if wanted small and 
green), Lettuces, Parsley, Spinach, Turnips, Radishes, 
Rampion, and all the Brassica kinds of vegetables may 
be sown, watched and tended. Birds and all manner of 
vermin will now make a claim on the products of the 
garden. Potato planting may have early attention. 
— M. T. 
SPRING FLOWERS AT THE 
HOLLOWAY NURSERY. 
Mr. B. S. Williams’ annual exhibition at the 
Victoria and Paradise Nurseries is now at its best, and 
well worth a visit if only to see his superb house of 
Imantophyllums, than which we have never seen any¬ 
thing finer. In the large new span-roofed house, 
erected for the accommodation of Imantophyllums and 
Amaryllis, the first half is devoted to the former, and 
here may be seen large vigorously-grown examples of 
all the best varieties in cultivation, with flower-heads 
of quite gigantic proportions as compared with what 
one usually sees. The gem of the collection is, we 
think, the one named President Ambrose Versehaffelt, 
which took the first prize as the best variety in the 
Ghent show last year, and which is included in Mr. 
Williams’ list of novelties to be sent out this year. The 
flowers are of fine shape and substance, and in colour a 
bright shade of scarlet. I. aurantiacum, a fine pale 
salmon, is also to be distributed this season. I. Lindeni, 
orange-scarlet, bears an immense head of blooms ; and 
Marie Van Houttei, salmon-red, is also very con¬ 
spicuous. I. cruentum, which was sent out about three 
years ago, is remarkable for its neat compact truss and 
bright scarlet colour. I. Madame Marie Riemers well 
maintains its position as one of the finest introduced of 
late years, and I. Van Houtte is distinct, though not 
now one of the finest in form. Among the seedlings 
are two which are held in high estimation, and one of 
them is certainly novel, coming very near to a self 
white, the centre being pure white and the tips of the 
segments pale red slightly tinted with rose. 
We are pleased to see that these useful and highly 
ornamental plants are increasing in public favour, as 
they well deserve to do, for they will grow in a cottage 
window, in a greenhouse, a conservatory or a stove ; 
they stand forcing well, and their deep green foliage is 
at all times attractive and pleasing. The Amaryllises 
are later than usual, and will be at their best in 
another week or ten days, by which time quite a host 
of them will be in bloom. 
Hyacinths are also a leading feature just now in 
conjunction with other Dutch bulbs, such as Tulips, 
Narcissi, &c., and with these and other attractive 
flowering subjects the large conservatory is rendered 
unusually gay. The Orchid houses too are daily in¬ 
creasing in interest and beauty, and will soon form an 
exhibition in themselves. The new Cattleya Law- 
renceana is flowering in several instances, and it is 
worthy of remark, that the dark coloured is very 
sweet-scented. An Oncidium sarcodes with brightly 
coloured large flowers must be numbered among the 
best forms of it we have seen ; and among the Cypri- 
pediums is a beautiful form of punctatum violaceum. 
The rare Vanda Parishii Marriottianum is also in 
flower, so also is the somewhat seldom seen Dendrobium 
Dominyanum, and late though it is for Calanthes, C. 
Regnieri, aud C. Sanderiana are still in bloom, and in 
fresh condition. The cool Orchids too are also waking 
up into floral activity, and will be very gay for some 
time to come. 
-—- 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
THE GREENHOUSE. 
It is not difficult at this time of the year to provide 
a good display in this house, especially where there is 
a moderate stock of bulbs, and forcing has been resorted 
to. In addition to the Hyacinths, Tulips, and Crocuses, 
so commonly grown for decoration, there should be a 
good proportion of the Polyanthus Narcissi, which 
flower so freely, and are so fragrant; their flowers are 
also much better suited for arranging with other flowers 
than most of the bulbs are, as these are usually rather 
formal in character, and do not lend themselves 
readily to floral decoration. The charming Lachenalias 
must, however, be excepted, for they are very graceful, 
and a few pot-fulls have an excellent effect in a house, 
either on the shelves or suspended from the roof ; but 
for the latter purpose wire baskets are the best, and 
when the bulbs have been planted so that they flower 
through the meshes forming balls of foliage and flowers, 
they have a novel and pleasing appearance. Lachena¬ 
lias, tricolor, pendula, aurea, and Nelsoni, are the 
most showy, the last named being particularly hand¬ 
some owing to the size of the spikes and flowers. 
Some Roses should also be in bloom now, and very 
welcome they are thus early in the season. Spiraeas 
are abundant, and a few pots of the dwarf Solomon’s 
Seal are very useful, as they can be tastefully arranged 
with Azaleas, Acacias, Cinerarias, and the other 
occupants of the house. 
If the roof climbers have been duly pruned and 
trained the other plants must now be arranged to the 
best advantage, and the exercise of a little judgment in 
this matter will assist greatly in economising the 
material at command, and yet produce an agreeable dis¬ 
play. Plants should never be crowded ; this is of the 
utmost importance, for no effective and satisfactory 
arrangement can be produced when the plants are 
closely packed, their natural beauty is entirely de¬ 
stroyed, and their flowers do not last so long as when 
more space is allowed permitting the access of air and 
light. Avoid the rigid formality which was at one 
time so prevalent, and that even now is seen far too 
frequently in amateur’s conservatories and greenhouses. 
The princidal idea has seemed to be the formation of a 
bank, sloping as regularly as the roof of a house, with 
a mass of brilliantly coloured flowers and a few foliaged 
plants crammed together, so that what gracefulness 
they may possess is quite lost. Happily, however, 
there has been a considerable advancement in the 
methods of arranging plants for decorative purposes, 
and this progress is in a great measure due to the 
admirable examples of tasteful combination that some 
exhibitors have set at the leading metropolitan and 
provincial shows. Light freely-arranged groups now 
take precedence of the heavy, lumpish, haycock-like 
heaps of plants sometimes seen, and this, apparently, 
has taught the exhibitors better taste more quickly than 
anything else, and by a process of imitation has gradu¬ 
ally improved the general arrangement. A few have 
developed original styles, and these have assisted very 
greatly in the advance, serving as examples for others 
to modify or improve. 
The best plan in starting to arrange a group of 
plants, either on the floor of a conservatory or the 
shelves of a greenhouse, is to form a general idea of the 
style to be adopted, then dispose a few of those taller - 
foliage plants that are to constitute the background or 
foundation ; place these thinly, allowing, sufficient space 
between them for the dwarfer plants and those to form 
the substance of the group. Do not have an undue 
proportion of either flowering or foliage plants, as in 
one case the effect will be too gaudy, and in the other 
it will be too dull. At this time of year such plants as 
Spirrea japonica and Dielytra speetabilis are-very- useful 
for grouping, the latter having a very graceful effect, 
its arching spikes of flowers being free from all formality ; 
Lilies of the Yalley, Polygonatums, the fragrant Boronia 
megastigma, and many others being also very useful 
for the same purpose. The brighter colours will be 
supplied by the bulbs, and if there are a few zonal 
Pelargoniums they can be utilised in this way. A 
number of small 60-size pots, filled with Selaginella 
Kraussiana, will form a neat margin for the shelves, or 
if the plants are arranged on a central bed, an edging 
of Selaginella can be planted out.— Scolytus. 
-->X<-—- 
THE HIGHGATE NURSERIES. 
At these nurseries may be said to have commenced 
the practice of holding private exhibitions of Dutch 
bulbs and other spring flowering plants, which are 
now so popular and annually made a feature of in the 
leading London trade establishments. To the late Air. 
James Cutbusli is, we believe, the credit due for initi¬ 
ating this style of exhibition, and we were pleased to 
see, when visiting Highgate a few days ago, that his 
son and successor in the management of the business 
aims at keeping up the old traditions. AVe have, it is 
true, seen Hyacinths and Tulips here in greater num¬ 
bers than we found on the occasion of our visit, but for 
this the weather is responsible, and it is a fact worthy 
of remark, that Hyacinth growers on all hands are 
complaining of the quick time in which these flowers 
have “ gone off ” this season, as compared with their 
usual period of usefulness. 
Looking over the collection we noted a few of the 
sorts in each section, which almost invariably come 
good, and yet are not expensive—such sorts in fact as 
all growers should rely upon in the main ; while the 
sake of variety, a number of other sorts may be added 
by anyone who has the means to gratify such a refined 
and commendable taste. In single reds, Macaulay, 
