July 10, 1886, 
715 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
fine bright crimson ; Glorie d’ltalie, rich, purplish car¬ 
mine ; Imperatrice Charlotte, white, shaded rosy lilac ; 
tief'es, flesh Very pleasing ; Mont Blanc, pure white ; 
J. hi. Tweedy, amaranth, tipped with golden yellow, a 
magnificent variety ; Madame ISTumier, blush rose ; 
SoHaterre, sulphur ; Voi Lactee, pure white, suffused 
with pink ; Progress, fine crimson ; Fulgens plenissi 
muni, fine rich glowing carmine ; Cleopatra, yellow ; 
Chamois, buff; Princess de Metternich, very pure white ; 
Beauty of Lacken, velvety red ; Panorama, blush, 
tipped with orange. 
Singles :—Coccinea, rich reddish purple ; Hamlet 
fine rich pink, good form ; Mathilda, pure white, fine 
substance ; Mrs. Bateman Brown, the largest-flowered 
kind, purplish pink ; Lumen, crimson, shaded purple ; 
Kunbloz, rich velvety crimson, fine flower ; Kleinboltz, 
rich crimson ; Vivid, brilliant amaranth ; Roseum, 
soft rosy lilac, very dwarf ; Duchess de Brabant, bright 
ros} r lilac ; Letrini, French-white, shaded lilac ; Al¬ 
moner, rich purplish crimson. These are some of the 
most distinct and pleasing in each section, and which 
cannot fail to give satisfaction. There are, however, a 
great many more, all equally valuable from a decorative 
standpoint, either in the borders or as cut flowers for 
vases. 
In conclusion, one cannot but feel how rapidly the 
single flowers have come to the front during the last 
few years ; flowers, too, which for years past have been 
so rigidly weeded out, and cast away as not worthy a 
place in our midst. Happily, however, we have out¬ 
lived that time, and in opposition, as it were, to our 
former bad taste, we now gladly welcome those plants 
which are so easily grown and increased, and which are 
so highly valuable in all gardens where beauty is of the 
first moment.—/. 
-->33<-- 
FRUITS, FLO WERS & V EGETABLES. 
"Yellow Roses. —The spring and summer hitherto 
has not been favourable to the majority of Tea and 
Noisette Roses. Marechal Niel, which last season 
made splendid growth, is now nearly leafless, but 
shows signs of commencing to make a stir. About a 
fortnight since I visited the gardens at Plassy, and 
leaving the broad walk which runs through the kitchen 
garden to the flower garden, the eye travelled in an 
oblique direction to the south-west corner, adjoining 
the conservatory, where I was surprised to see the 
beautiful double yellow Persian Rose in grand con¬ 
dition, its lovely clear yellow flowers and ample foliage 
would be sufficient to ensure the admiration of the 
most fastidious. The plant referred to covers a wall say 
16 ft. wide and about 8 ft. in height, and I should 
think by the stem cannot be much less than 20 years 
old. This is the best specimen of this Rose, which is 
well-known to be rather delicate, I ever remember 
seeing, and is doubtless a source of pleasure to the 
owners as well as to the gardener, Mr. Smith.— 
E. Dumper. 
Dianthus negiectus. —Much in the way of the, 
perhaps, better known D. alpinus, this lovely little 
pink deserves on its own merits to be more widely 
disseminated in British gardens, especially where 
attention is given to the cultivation of Alpines on 
rockwork. In the ordinary flat border it would not 
only be altogether out of place, but its individual 
character and beauty would be lost. Most species of 
Dianthus never seem more at home than when planted 
in the crevices of rocks, old walls, or where they can 
hang over a rocky ledge ; some little tufts so planted 
on a rockery have been extremely attractive for some 
time past, where it must be confessed they owe much 
of their conspicuousness to the surroundings. This by 
no means implies that the flowers are diminutive, but 
seeing that the flower stems do not exceed 2 ins. or 3 ins., 
they would be altogether dwarfed or overpowered if 
allowed to struggle for an existence amongst other 
kinds of vegetation. The individual flowers are large, 
and generally produced singly on the stem with deep 
rose-coloured petals, serrated at their edges, and 
crowned around the orifice of the flower with a ring 
of hairs, as in D. alpinus, growing in close proximity, 
together with D. negiectus Fischeri. The flowers are 
somewhat smaller, however, than those of D. alpinus, 
and have linear, slender, acute, green leaves, while 
those of the latter are very blunt. All three are devoid 
of that glaucous hue so common amongst the numerous 
species of pink.— J. F. 
Early Peas. —Our earliest gathering of Peas was 
made this season the first week in June, from that 
dwarf and prolific variety, American Wonder. The 
plants Were raised in pots as sturdily as possible, and 
were placed out at the end of March, at the foot of a 
south wall, in an exceptionally warm border. Protection 
was also afforded in the very severe weather, and the 
plants made good progress for the season. Since the 
first gathering there has been a good succession, and 
American Wonder was quickly followed by Day’s Early 
Sunrise, of which several rows are now bearing excellent 
crops. There has been some difference of opinion 
respecting the merits of the last named variety, in 
different districts, but here in a warm corner of Surrey 
we find it quite satisfactory, both in cropping quality 
and earliness.— J. Williams. 
Window, Table, and Indoor Plants.— It 
is not generally known that the common Solomon’s 
Seal is a very good plant for growing indoors, or for 
growing out-doors, or in cold frames, to bring in for 
table decoration, when in bud and bloom. In several 
houses I have seen it very fine this year, and very 
charming as a table plant, with four or five gracefully 
arched shoots, with their pendant blooms. Anyone 
can grow it, and fine plants with many shoots, in small 
pots, can be made by occasionally breaking up the old 
plants, discarding the long old rhizomes, and potting 
up several of the points, each about two inches, together. 
A very good set of such easily grown plants may be 
worked up by growing the many varieties, the Plain tain 
Lilies (Funkia), green and variegated, the Phakenopsis, 
and other hardy plants of similar nature. For indoor 
growing, in shady places, they are always to be de¬ 
pended on, and when grown into pretty plants are very 
serviceable as a change for table decoration.— M. A., 
Camb. 
The Vanilla.—I should be obliged if some of your 
readers would tell me how to keep Vanilla fruits soft 
and pulpy, as a good lot of mine became quite dry. 
1 treated them in the following manner :—When I saw 
the fruits splitting at the base, I took them off, plunged 
them in Olive oil, and wrapped them up in a cloth. 
They were then put in a warm, dry place, and a month 
afterwards were in good condition, that is to say, they 
were of a rich brown colour, and nicely scented. I 
thought they would remain in that state, but, as I said 
before, they became quite dry, and lost their odour. 
I should be thankful for information as to how they 
should be managed. — Ch. Maron, Jardinier Chef, 
Chateau de St. Germain, les Corteil, France. 
Humea elegans. —Yourcorrespondent “Hortus,” 
in his useful note on this plant accompanying the 
illustration at p. 677, speaks of his failure with the 
plant from some unaccountable cause one season. 
Having frequently seen whole batches of this plant, or 
in some cases two kinds of them go off as though struck 
by lightening in a mannei I never heard accounted for, 
I should be glad if any of your correspondents can tell 
me the reason of it. The plants seem to me to die at 
the root and stem, the leaves withering off completely 
when near flowering. However, the plumes are not 
affected, and I have used them for decorative purposes 
among foliage plants weeks after the plants themselves 
have been actually dead. Sometimes a few only will 
die out of a batch, and more or less every batch of 
Hurneas seem to be affected. To me they seem to go 
off in just the same manner as shrubby Calceolarias are 
apt to do, whatever the cause of that might be.— J. B. 
Viola G-reavei and Peat. —I believe that 
peat will prove a capital thing for Violas—aye, and 
Pansies too, no doubt. Having to plant in the winter 
of 1885 a row of Rhododendrons around a small circular 
island at one end of the fish-pond here on which the 
front part of the house overlooks, we gave the border a 
good dressing of moor-peat, commonly called black soil 
or bog. This was well incorporated with the soil, into 
which the Rhododendrons were planted. The plants 
being small, it of course left a space for about a yard 
between and the grass-edge for their future development. 
This space in April had another dressing of stable 
manure, which was again forked and mixed into the 
soil, both black and brown, into which was planted 
various herbaceous plants, and a ring of Viola Greavei 
next the grass. The floriferousness of the Violas was 
all that could be desired, and was especially admired, 
it being a perfect mass of gold. It is now following 
suit this summer ; but commencing earlier, I shall not 
expect it to bloom into September as last year, nor has 
the late severe winter inadc a break in it. It is a 
variety which one seldom see3 in the catalogues, nor 
yet seems to have a place in any of your correspondents’ 
notes when writing upon these now popular bedding 
plants. Whether this is because they have got a better, 
or have not tried it, I cannot say, but it will be a long 
time before it will be driven from here. The flowers 
are of a rich sulphur-yellow, and the habit is dwarf and 
running, a commendable quality in an exposed place. 
I may say that we have other borders of it in manure 
and the ordinary soil of the garden ; but they are 
nothing in comparison to the one that contains the 
peat. Wc shall adopt peat for Violas in the future. 
I may ask if any of your readers can recommend to me 
a good white Viola that has the habit of the old Per¬ 
fection Viola, an old variety I think well of. The best 
white we have is Pilrig Park, but it is more of a Pansy, 
and is liable to be blown about with the wind and their 
necks wrenched off by the collar unless well pegged 
down. We want a white with the habit of, and 
freeness of blooming, as good as any of these two. 
Has it come out, kind reader ? Say where and what 
is its name.— B. L. 
Cucumber Prince of Wales.—Amongst the 
many Cucumbers, I consider this a good white spined 
variety, both on account of its prolificness, shape, and 
the size it can be grown to for exhibition. For general 
use there is nothing yet to beat Eollisson’s Telegraph, 
if it can be got true ; but there are so many Telegraphs 
in the market that one scarcely knows what or when 
one has got, everyone having a Telegraph raised by 
himself. But the Prince of Wales has done me good 
service. I do not know who the raiser is ; suffice it to 
say that it is immaterial as long as you can get the 
desired result wdien wanted. — B. L. 
Campanula gdomerata dahurica.—The 
genus Campanula contains many very fine and highly 
decorative subjects, notably at the present time, C. 
glomerata dahurica, a fine form, attaining 18 ins. high, 
with terminal heads of rich purple flowers; the terminal 
clusters are, of course, much the largest, but it produces 
auxiliary clusters also. This is everybody’s plant, or at 
least it should be, it is one of the most desirable of 
perennials, and one of the very best of hardy plants 
grown, and cannot be too strongly recommended. It 
is readily increased by division, either early in spring 
or immediately after flowering ; a mass of it is most 
effective, and it is not only distinct from the other 
members of this genus, for it is quite alone in the 
border at the time of its flowering.— J. 
The Wilson Junior Blackberry.—The sub¬ 
joined few facts concerning the above will, we think, 
be of interest to many of your readers. In the spring 
of 1885 one of our foremen took it into his head to pot 
a few of the Wilson Junior Blackberries, which had 
just then arrived. As he left soon after, they were, it 
appears, put into an out of-the-way place outside, and 
up to a couple of months ago received no further atten¬ 
tion than an occasional watering. About the time just 
mentioned their vigorous action attracted our attention ; 
but even then the only thing done was to bring them 
out of their cramped position and allow them room in 
a cold house, simply seeing that they did not flag for 
want of water, our idea being to see how the variety 
would act as a “ pot plant.” The result has been as 
follows :—About the middle of June many of the fruits 
were not only very fine in size, but jet-black as well, 
and by the third week were ripe ! At the time of 
writing (July 5th) they are quite a sight, and we shall 
be pleased to show to any horticulturist who may 
happen to be in the neighbourhood what we think is 
not often seen in this country—viz., magnificent Black¬ 
berries early in July ! Or, if any lover of fruit will 
visit the Royal Horticultural Society’s Show T at South 
Kensington, on the 13th, they will, we trust, see a pot 
of this variety in fruit, as we hope to have a plant there 
on exhibition. This incident has given us a wrinkle 
which we think will be well worth the attention not 
only of those private growers who would delight in 
having this splendid fruit at dessert during the hot 
summer months ; but also of market growers, and 
that is, if this variety is grown in pots, and sent 
to market in June, July, and August (in fact, 
until the outside Wilson Junior is ready), such a 
course is sure to pay uncommonly well. The labour 
is of the very simplest, thus entailing scarcely any of 
the expense attached to pot fruit in general, and then 
the fruit is large, unusually handsome, produced in 
great abundance, and, as any Covent Garden or other 
