May 1, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
K K I 
551 
nieally known as the Alpine. These very beautiful 
flowers possess as features of distinction from the 
edged classes and seifs, a perfectly unmealed centre or 
eye, and petals richly shaded from the deepest to the 
lightest tints of that one colour which the flower has 
adopted. That shading cannot he in tints too numerous 
or too softly blended. 
The tube of the alpine so closely follows in colour 
the centre of the flower that it should have an expres¬ 
sion in form all the more marked, because there is the 
less power of contrast with the centre by colour. It is 
a great point of beauty in all Auriculas that the mouth 
of the tube should be well defined, and rise fully to 
the level of the flowers’ face, otherwise there is the ap¬ 
pearance of a weak and sunken eye. 
The Alpine Auricula is divided into two sections, 
distinguished by the golden, and the paler, almost 
primrose-coloured centre. The golden centre is the 
higher type. In the Alpine, as in the edged flowers, 
it is again the flowers possessing violet or bluish 
colours that exhibit the palest yellows in the tube and 
eye. Flowers would, no doubt, be very highly valued 
in this class of violet shades if they could be obtained 
with the rich golden eye of those with crimson. 
The Polyanthus. 
I must not close this paper without including the 
florist Polyanthus, a lovely sister of the Auricula, and 
in sore need of reinforcement in sterling varieties. 
Some of the very best Polyanthuses, like Kingfisher in 
the red ground flowers, are lost to cultivation ; and 
among black grounds of high merit, Lord Lincoln 
seems all but gone. Many garden strains of Polyanthus 
are termed “ gold laced,” but they are a far remove 
from the florist flower with its cultured properties. 
The resemblance in most of them looks nearest when 
seen at the greatest distance. The decision, purity and 
refinement of our Polyanthus are not in them. 
Mr. Barlow’s success in raising both black and red 
ground flowers of a very high character, perhaps in red 
more especially, is a proof that though the flower may 
not be more ready than its radiant sister, the Auricula, 
to give the properties we should have, still it will 
repay all good care bestowed in judicious crossing. 
I do not think that any foreign blood of strains out¬ 
side the florist pale, however proudly spoken of, should 
be introduced under the plea of giving vigour, which 
the standard old sorts have, alas ! too often lived to 
lack. From such extraneous source of robustness will 
come much unruliness. A more safe return to sound¬ 
ness of constitution will be naturally obtained through 
seedlings, because seedlings naturally possess it, and 
happily young blue blood is no exception to the rule. 
For suggestions of improvement in the Polyanthus 
I can but briefly state the properties that require to be 
exemplified in as many living representations of their 
beauty as we can obtain. The two brilliant extremes of 
class colour will be a black ground, or a scarlet ground 
within the lacing of bright yellow, Whatever the body 
colour be, it must consist of one rich uniform shade ; 
and the yellow, which is best when a clear lemon-gold, 
must be free at the eye or centre from any other shade 
of yellow. The gold of the lacing must exactly match 
that of the eye, and the lacing itself must be of 
exquisitely smooth edge and even width. It must 
both completely edge the petal and strike down through 
the centre of it to meet the golden eye. The central 
line of lacing is frequently broader down the middle of 
the petal than round the edge, but the nearer it is of 
the same width the better. 
It is characteristic of the Polyanthus petal to be 
deeply notched in the centre, so that the circular edge 
of the Auricula petal is not looked for here. 
The centre or eye of the Polyanthus should occupy a 
wide circular space upon the flower. It can hardly be 
too wide, and is often not wide and circular enough. 
The mouth of the tube should be extremely well 
defined, and even most slightly raised above the level 
of the centre. As in the Auricula the tube should be 
filled with bold anthers up to the surface, with the 
stigma almost sessible below ; and all flowers should 
expand equally and well. 
These are the points to be attained and strengthened 
in the improvement of the florist Polyanthus ; and it 
will readily be seen how far these lines of beauty, 
which give such brilliance, purity, and refinement, 
lie beyond the comprehension of the common garden 
border strains, and how far too few are the beautiful 
florist Polyanthuses we have that fulfil this standard. 
—Francis D. Horner. 
Scottis h Gar dening. 
Seasonable Notes. —Violets will now be getting 
past their best, and a fresh stock for supplying cut 
flowers next season, whether to be grown for early 
supplies under glass or in the open ground, must now 
be propagated. Young runners formed into cuttings 
and grown liberally on a south border, well dug, and 
with a fair supply of manure, old turf, or leaf-soil turned 
in, will make fine plants. On heavy tenacious soils a 
dash of coarse sand intermixed is advantageous, but the 
starving system is attended with very meagre success. 
Some growers, for convenience, divide the old plants, 
and this practice answers better in the north than in 
southern parts ; but rarely is the result equal to the 
growing of Violets from cuttings. Some grand additions 
to this class of plants have been made of late years. A 
box of flowers sent us by Mr. Allan, of Gunton Park, 
were truly charming, and some plants, too, received 
from this successful grower were remarkably strong, 
compact, and healthy. If northern growers grow a 
part of their stock from divided plants, they should be 
planted deep enough to allow of the emission of roots from 
the young growing stems, and a little sand placed round 
them aids this, while a dusting of soot dislodges slugs 
and prevents others from taking up their abode among 
such favourite fond. 
Primulas, Polyanthuses, and plants of this 
class may now be divided. They form capital edgings 
for herbaceous borders and positions of similar cha¬ 
racter. In good soil their foliage is firm and erect and 
of a pleaaing green colour. They make useful coverings 
of earthy surfaces among shrubs where grass is not 
suitable. No one cares about looking on bare soil 
during any period of the season. The above and such 
plants as Antenanrias, Sedums (of sorts), Thymes, &c., 
answer well and give no labour. 
The Sowing of Annuals for summer and 
autumn flowering may soon have attention. On dry 
poor sandy soils annuals are barely worth the space 
they occupy, but on well prepared land, under deep 
tilth, enriched with good material (as recommended for 
Violets), a fine display may be made. Sweet Peas for 
succession, Mignonette ditto, Virginian Stock, &e., are 
generally favourites with the amateur class in the 
north, and always give satisfaction when liberally dealt 
with. Crowding such plants is often their ruin. 
Box Edgings will receive their annual dressing 
in many places during the next two or three weeks. 
Topping down by shears to the desired level, and a line 
stretched along the position which is intended to be the 
centre of the edging, is kept in position by means of 
pegs, and on each side of the line the box is clipped form¬ 
ing a wedge shape. For flower gardens (especially of 
the French forms) we prefer flat edgings, and wide 
enough to form a bold and telling outline, clothing the 
garden well with evergreen all the year round. "VVe 
have used Thymes of sorts, and Ivies (Caenwoodiana 
especially) with pleasing effect. For shrubbery borders 
the common Mahonia, kept dwarf and flat, is very orna¬ 
mental, and Avhen its crimson tints in autumn are at 
their best, it proves itself to be a most useful shrub ; 
among cut flowers and on tables as decorative material 
it is much valued. 
Walk turning and graveling are among the neces¬ 
sary items which give a dressy appearance to grounds, 
and as turning goes on, thorough treading (before the 
gravel gets dry) leveling with the back of a rake, then 
a sprinkling of new fine gravel over all gives a clean 
firm surface ; roll well after rain. This is very suitable 
for walks where smoke is troublesome. 
Celery. —The pricking out of Celery to the beds 
from whence the plants are to be removed to the ridges 
is now an important operation, and fine sturdy plants 
ready in succession (three successions we think enough), 
to be'planted out from the first week of May to the middle 
of July, ought to give a supply for general use from Sep¬ 
tember till the end of April or May the following year. 
For well-blanched supplies in July and August, the 
liberal use of glass must be at command in the earlier 
stages of raising and protecting the plants. White 
Plume earthed-up (it is tough when grown exposed to 
sun and air) we think would be useful in supplying an 
early demand for blanched Celery. It perished early 
from frost here, while Major Clarke’s, Turner’s Incom¬ 
parable Dwarf White, and some others remained in ex¬ 
cellent condition, with snow only as protection. We 
have a hundred or so left in the ridges yet, and having 
reduced our supply to about two dozen weekly, we 
hope to have useful Celery till about the end of May. 
Some of the evils attending the raising of Celery are 
badly fastening the roots at pricking-out time, exposing 
the young plants to cutting winds when they have 
lately been taken from warmth, neglect with water, 
frequent sprinklings of water in dry weather, cooling 
the soil and leaving the roots at the base in a parching 
state, and planting-out the roots after cramming them 
together into balls. Avoid such practices and save 
labour.— M. T. 
-—- 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
THE GREENHOUSE. 
In too many greenhouses and conservatories, especi¬ 
ally those possessed by amateurs, the collections of 
plants employed for their decoration consist of a few 
stereotyped kinds, which become quite monotonous in 
the frequency of their repetition, yet this paucity of 
variety is not caused by any lack of plants to select 
from. It is not desirable to advocate forming extensive 
collections consisting of a great number of species or 
varieties, such as we find in botanic gardens, unless 
the owner has an inclination for studying the cha¬ 
racters and relationship of many plants of little beauty ; 
but an effort should always be made to diversify a 
collection as much as possible within reasonable limits. 
The utility and beauty of Pelargoniums, Cinerarias, 
Cyclamens, Bulbs of the Hyacinth and Tulip kinds, 
and many other plants which are so largely employed 
in decoration, most people will be ready to acknow¬ 
ledge ; but there is no reason why the adornment of a 
greenhouse should be confined to them. It is true that 
hard-wooded plants, which include so many of beauty 
and interest, have been neglected of late years under 
the idea mainly that they are very difficult to grow 
successfully, and they certainly need more attention 
than the ordinary soft-wooded plants, but there is no 
difficulty in their culture that moderate care will not 
overcome. The Tetrathecas, the Eriostemons, the 
Genetyllises, the Boronias, the Croweas, and the 
Ericas, with many more, are all worthy of more ex¬ 
tended culture than they receive now. Those who see 
the plants in flower at the present time, either at nur¬ 
series, in private gardens, or at exhibitions, cannot fail 
to be attracted by them, and if they are induced to 
purchase a few, they will find that they can be grown 
as satisfactorily as other plants. 
The most important matter in connection with their 
culture is the supply of water, which must be regulated 
judiciously and not poured into the pots in the careless 
manner too often practised with Pelargoniums and 
similar plants, and more failures with the class of 
plants we are now recommending are due to want of 
attention in supplying wafer than to any other cause. 
Some of those mentioned above differ in the amount 
they require, but this can be generally determined by 
the habit of the plant, if it is a strong-growing and 
free-rooting species water can be more freely supplied 
than to the slow growers with fine hair-like roots, as the 
latter are soon killed either by too liberal or insufficient 
supplies. The soil should be kept as nearly as possible 
in a uniform state of moisture, but if the surface is 
loose it may appear dry when the ball of the plant 
where the roots are may contain sufficient water, and 
this must be determined by slightly removing the 
surface with the finger. If the plants have been well 
potted, the new soil employed being rendered as firm as 
the old ball, then a simple means of determining 
whether the plants need water or not is by tapping the 
side of the pot with the knuckle or piece of wood, if 
the pot gives a hollow sound water is needed, if it 
sounds dull the soil is moist, and with a little practice 
and close observation the different conditions can be 
readily recognised. The third mode of determining 
the same point is by lifting the pot in the hand, its 
weight deciding whether the soil is sufficiently moist or 
not, but this needs some experience and attention. 
By one or all of the methods named it is easy to regu¬ 
late the supply of water in the proper way, and when 
this is accomplished one of the greatest difficulties in 
the culture of hard-wooded plants is overcome. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
Take advantage of the first shower, now the soil is 
getting warmer. Sow the remainder of the flower seeds 
out of doors ; as they will germinate much more quickly 
