May 15, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
581 
I unhesitatingly say that I cannot advise any brother 
gardener to come to this colony in . the hope of im¬ 
proving his position in life. There are gardeners 
here now who are glad to turn their hand to anything, 
and I know one who after seeking employment for 
months, has just gone to take his place on a thrashing 
machine. I believe a certain well-known gentlemen is 
in England now, or shortly will be, whose mission it 
will be to try to induce small farmers to come here, but 
they had better stay where they are. Such men gener¬ 
ally have to take farms up country, and to lay out a lot 
of money at starting, with the probability of not getting 
land enough to make sheep-raising profitable, and the 
certainty of having a long w'ay to carry their produce 
to market. I am acquainted with one district, in 
which I have made enquires, and have been told by 
several that they were “All mortgaged up to their 
eyes.” I know another man who came out, and after 
trying hard to make both ends meet, has gone 
back to old England greatly disappointed, and con¬ 
siderably poorer than when he came out here. 
There are apparently few 
people who appear to 
have any clear idea about 
the colony. I can truth¬ 
fully say that I am not 
by nature a grumbler, 
and would freely en¬ 
courage anyone to follow 
me here if I could see any 
chance of their doing 
well when they get here, 
but I cannot so advise 
them. Men who have 
been here for years, and 
who have ‘ ‘ made their 
pile,” tell me plainly that 
the colony is no good 
now. Years ago work of 
any description could be 
got at good rates of pay, 
and land could be had 
cheap; then money could 
be made, but not now. 
I would strongly advise 
any gardener at home 
who thinks of coming 
here, to consider the 
matter well before 
making a start, for I can 
assure them that the 
work a professional gar¬ 
dener has to do here is 
quite different to what it 
is at home, I was at a 
place for two years, and 
took to the colonial life 
with a good heart; I 
made the work a con¬ 
tinual study, and, in 
fact, worked all the 
hours there was between sunrise and sunset, but 
with no advantage to myself. All the large estates 
here seem to be ruled by “managers,” the bulk 
of whom have great reputations for unscrupulous 
dealing. Now that there is so much surplus labour in 
the country, they cut down everything to the lowest 
possible figure, and stick at nothing to gain their ends. 
Some of them are “ managers ” in name only, for know¬ 
ledge of their business they have none, and as many of 
the employers know about as much of farming matters, 
the “ manager ” is able to hold his own. I have myself 
served under a “manager,” who pulled some of my 
Tomatos up to see if there were any Potatos at the roots. 
But I am digressing, and must conclude ; but before 
doing so must add a word about the Peach trees which 
have died wholesale during the last two years. It used 
to be the boast of the colonials that they could wheel 
barrow-loads of Peaches to the pigs ; but such is not 
the case now. —An English Gardener in New Zealand. 
-»>33<—■- 
CROWN IMPERIALS. 
In the early part of the seventh century, an act of 
homage, unique of its kind, was paid to a lady in 
France. It is set forth by Folkard in his book on 
Plant Lore, <L-c. He states that “the Duke of Mon- 
tausier, on obtaining the promise of the hand of Madlle. 
de Rambouillet, sent to her, according to custom, every 
morning till that fixed for the nuptials, a bouquet 
composed of the finest flowers of the season. But this 
was not all. On the morning of New Year’s Day, 
1634, the day appointed for the marriage, he laid upon 
her dressing-table a magnificently-bound folio volume, 
on the parchment leaves of which the most skilful 
artists of the day had painted from nature a series of 
the choicest flowers cultivated at that time in Europe. 
The first poets of Paris contributed the poetical illus¬ 
trations, which were written by the cleverest penmen 
under the different flowers. The most celebrated of 
these madrigals, composed by Chapelain on the Crown 
Imperial, represented that superb flower as having 
sprung from the blood of Gustavus Adolphus who fell 
in the battle of Lutzen, and thus paid, in the name of 
the Swedish hero, a delicate compliment to the bride, 
who was a professed admirer of his character.” 
As a matter of course, this idea of the origin of the 
flower is purely fabulous. It is a native of Persia, and 
was introduced to this country about 1596. The Crown 
Imperial is Fritillaria imperialis, a stately species 
John Gough. 
Gardener to G. Webster, Esq., Harefield Grove (see p. 584). 
growing 2\ ft. or so in height, and bearing a whorl of 
drooping flowers surmounted by a tuft or crown of 
leaves. The two commonest are' the yellow and red 
varieties. One occasionally meets with one or both in 
cottage and old-fashioned gardens, where they have 
established themselves and make a fine display when 
in bloom. Grand as it is, in the foremost rank of 
spring-flowering hardy plants,'the bulbs have a very 
foetid odour, like that of a fox, and they are powerfully 
acrid and poisonous. Even the honey that is distilled 
from the flowers is said to be emetic. 
I have alluded to the single red and single yellow 
Crown Imperials, and stated that they are the most 
common. Then there are the double red and double 
yellow, in which case the single varieties have developed 
into the double form. Then there is the Crown-upon- 
Crovn, which is something of a misnomer, because it 
means a variety—any variety that has produced a strong 
fasciated shoot, and when this happens, two instead of 
only one whorl of flowers are generally produced. All 
these are carefully marked and sold under the above 
name. But the chances are very likely that the double 
crown will not be produced the same season, so they 
who buy must take their chance of getting what they 
hope to have. There are also the Orange Crown, 
Orange Red, and Maxima Red, with large bronzy red 
flowers, both, to all appearance, selections from the 
single red. There are Sulphurine, Sulphur-colour, 
and Sword Stem, a variety I do not know, but I should 
think it has a fasciated stem. Then there Is a single 
yellow variety with gold-striped foliage—that is to say, 
the leaves are variegated with gold, and I think there 
is one with silver variegation also. 
Any good bulb catalogue contains a list of Crown 
Imperials. They are largely grown by the Dutch, and 
the bulbs come over with the Hyacinths, Tulips, &c., in 
the autumn. Generally, the Dutch-grown roots are fine. 
As to soil, what suits this fine plant best is a good 
deep yellow loam, not too stiff', and it should be 
enriched at the time of planting with plenty of good 
manure. The soil should be deeply dug and the manure 
mixed in with it. They should be planted 8 ins. 
deep, and left undisturbed for several years.— R. D. 
-- 
MAY FLOWERS FOR INDOORS. 
The merry month of May brings a plentiful supply 
of plants in flower, in the market and in the 
shops, and those who have not the convenience 
for growing their own, 
will have a good selec¬ 
tion among the Show 
and Zonal Pelargoniums, 
Marguerites, white 
and yellow, Deutzias, 
Dielytras, &e. But as 
such plants grown for 
market, on account of 
their having been highly 
fed, require more manage¬ 
ment to make them last, 
a hint or two on the sub¬ 
ject will probably be 
acceptable to many. In 
the first place, the matter 
of the greatest import¬ 
ance with bought plants 
used for room decoration 
is to make sure they do 
not get dry or even par¬ 
tially dry, as, if allowed 
to do so, the numerous 
delicate rootlets, which 
their high cultivation has 
induced them to make, 
instantly perish, never 
again to revive them; 
the immediate decay of 
the plant is the result. 
This applies to all market 
plants, but as it is easy 
to give a liberal supply 
of water, the difficulty 
can well be met. Another 
thing worth looking to, in 
connection with bought 
plants which shed their 
petals easily, such as Pe¬ 
largoniums, is to see that 
the flowers are gummed, and if not to gum them by 
the aid of a small bottle of floral gum, which should 
always be at hand with those wdio have indoor deco¬ 
rations, to do either with plants in pots or cut-flowers, 
as it ensures the proper duration of the blooms. Those 
who grow their own Pelargoniums, and other such 
plants, will also find it to their advantage to always gum 
the flowers before taking them into the dwelling house. 
From henceforth, the attentive watering of all the 
plants indoors, and their careful cleaning must be 
attended to, even more than during the dull weather, 
as the plants soon perish if allowed to get dry in 
summer.— M. A., Canib. 
MR. B. S. WILLIAMS’ ORCHID 
EXHIBITION. 
Adapting himself to the circumstances of the hour, 
Mr. B. S. Williams has repeated the experiment made 
last season of holding an exhibition, extending over 
two months, of the Orchids and other flowering and 
fine-foliaged plants, for which his nursery at Holloway 
has been for so many years celebrated, by opening a 
show, on Wednesday last, which is in every way 
superior to its predecessor. The show-house is the 
large three-quarter span, 100 ft. long and 23 ft. wide, 
which at other times contains the large stove Palms and 
other fine-foliaged plants, which make his groups so 
