October 16, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
101 
light Grasses. This surrounded the sheaf at its base. 
The centre of the sheaf was held by a band of Niphetos 
Roses fastened with a cluster of the same. 
The richest pall I have ever seen was made for the 
casket of a young lady. It was made entirely of Lilies—• 
longiflorum, and fringed with Lily of the Valley. It 
was very large, entirely shrouding the coffin excepting 
where it was lifted at one side, where a large cluster of 
Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora, that was showing 
superb colouring—pink, green and chocolate, setmed 
to hold up the cloth of flowers. 
A cradle of flowers was a lovely piece made for the 
receptacle of an infant who had died. The mother 
would not allow it to be placed in a coffin until after 
the funeral services, and until just before it was to be 
taken to the cemetery. So a cradle of blossoms was 
made. The outside of this was formed of Daisies, the 
head-covering of the cradle being composed of Lily of 
the Valley. The inside of the head-covering was made 
of pale pink Rose buds, and the pillow was of Polyan- 
the Roses, the pink Mignonette. The rockers of the 
cradle were -worked out in white Carnations. There 
was no foliage about the design. A mound of Roses 
was made for the cradle to stand on in the centre of 
the parlour. All- coloured Roses were used. It is quite 
the fashion now to have a frame of flowers for caskets 
to stand upon instead of the ordinary undertaker’s 
apparatus. For the most fashionable funerals coloured 
flowers are used to the exclusion of white ones. Several 
decorations have been made for elderly persons with 
purple flowers and foliage, purple Asters, Heliotrope 
and Cattleyas, with a mound of green for the casket 
to be placed upon. The effect is very fine, particularly 
where there is a pall of Heliotrope—the “ Noir ” 
variety. This has to be made with rapidity on account 
of its frailty. 
Dress garniture of natural flowers is all the rage. 
Gardenias on velvet robes are very stylish for dinners. 
These are laid down the sides of the open vest. Foliage 
sashes with tulle dresses are among the daintiest devices. 
Wedding gowns are trimmed elaborately with natural 
flowers—but these are always white ; white Orchids 
stand well for this purpose .—American Florist. 
- ->*<— - 
CLOSE WARDIAN CASES FOR 
FERNS. 
It is surprising the beauty which some of the Ferns 
assume when grown in perfectly air-tight cases. 
Recently we saw a magnificent specimen of Killarney 
Fern growing in a case which had not been opened for 
any purpose, not even to give water, for a considerable 
period ; in fact, after planting the case was sealed up. 
In another instance we saw in a friend’s house a plant 
of Asplenium bulbiferum planted in a case similar to 
that in our illustration, fig. 1., which had not had the 
glass removed for more than a year. The Fern had 
entirely filled the glass shade with elegant foliage, 
bearing large numbers of young plants throwing out 
their leaves and roots in all directions. The different 
varieties of Selaginella also grow well in air-tight cases, 
and some of the larger forms of our pretty Asplenium 
marinum assume such amplitude and elegance of 
growth as to be almost beyond recognition, as will 
be seen by reference to our illustration, fig. 2, which 
represents a plant of this fine British Spleenwort 
grown on the above-mentioned plan. 
-->V<-- 
AN ASPHALTE LAWN TENNIS 
COURT. 
Three years ago we made a court here from the 
following instructions, which were supplied to us by 
my employer’s brother, a gentleman who is now M. P. 
for a division of a Midland town. I prefer not to par¬ 
ticularise either people or place further. I superin¬ 
tended the carrying out of the instructions, and can 
bear witness that the court is now played upon almost 
daily, and that the most expert players select it many 
times in preference to the grass one which is side by 
side with it, in consequence of the trueness of its level, 
the slight convexity given to it by the fall from centre 
to sides and the liveliness with which the balls play on 
it. Except one top-dressing of tar brushed into it a 
year ago, nothing has been done to it since it was first 
made. 
When the site of the proposed court has been 
decided upon, measure it out (-32 yds. by 14), and put 
a peg at each corner, run a garden line from one peg to 
another, and remove the turf from the whole area, 
afterwards taking up the corner pegs. Then, the 
ground, doubtless, not being an exact level, find out a 
spot somewhere at the sides or ends of the court, which 
is about the average between the highest and lowest 
part of the site, drive a stout flat-topped peg in here 
till its top is flush with the turf alongside. The top of 
this peg is the basis of the levelling operations, which 
must be done with a spirit level, somewhat after the 
following manner. First, get the level of the side 
or end where the basis is, and start from thence. 
As the levelling proceeds, dig out the soil 7 ins. deep, 
and work away as seems best and easiest till the whole 
site is lowered or raised, as the case may be, to 7 ins. 
below the t ips of the pegs. This is best carried out 
by having a line fastened along the tops of the pegs, 
and using a 7-in. measuring stick for correction as the 
work proceeds. The floor of the court must be then 
made as solid as possible by rolling or ramming. Next 
lay on the drainage pipes (3-in.) all round the edge of 
the floor, and with a few inches fall, so as to converge 
at the corner where there is the best fall to carry oft' 
the water. At each corner small square pits, 6 ins. or 
2.—Air-tight Fern Case. 
8 ins. square, should be made, to have grates put 
upon them when the court is finished, to carry off the 
water into the drainage pipes. 
Next proceed to fill in, all over the clay floor, about 
4 ins. deep, with rubble or coarse gravel (we used 
clinkers and rubbish from the gas works), and get the 
surface of this as even as possible, by passing over it 
the heaviest roller available, that can be worked by 
men. Then there will only remain the top stratum of 
3 ins., to be composed of fine river gravel, free from 
dust or dirt, to be laid on, first mixed with tar, cold. 
We used half of small cinders and sand, and burnt it 
to clear it of dirt, and then riddled it and mixed it 
with tar. It must be put on at one end the whole 
width of the piece, and as each yard or two is put on it 
must be rolled with a light garden roller ; fine ashes 
and sand being sprinkled on to -prevent sticking. The 
workman who puts the stuff on must calculate what it 
will sink by rolling, and put it on fuller accordingly. 
The work must go on yard by yard until the other end 
is reached, and as the level pegs are passed they must 
be either driven in or drawn out. Nothing more will 
be required but to give it time to set, and the more it 
is rolled the better, with the heaviest roller that can be 
worked by men. A good time of the year for beginning 
is about now, and taking advantage of the frosts for 
carting the rubble, gravel, sand, &c. 
As to the quantity of stuff required, let us assume 
each cartload of gravel or rubble to contain 1 cubic yd., 
then there would be 9 square yds., 4 ins. thick, out of 
each load, and thus some fifty loads (at a rough esti¬ 
mate) of rough stuff for lower stratum of 4 ins., and 
about the same quantity, or thereabouts for the higher. 
Total, say, 100 cartloads. We used -14 gals, of tar to 
each square yard. 
If this should be useful to “W. D.” I shall be glad, 
and if anything is deficient as to explanation, I will 
write again more fully and in detail on the subject if 
he will let me know his specific wants.—F of G. IF., 
October 11th, 1886. 
-- 
NOTES ON LILIUMS— VIII. 
L. tigrinum (sinensis), the typical species of the Tiger 
Lily section, w r as introduced from China early in the 
present century. In its native home it is said to reach 
the height of 6 ft. ; but I have not seen it nearly so 
high under cultivation. It may, however, in the more 
genial climate of its native home, attain that height, 
and at such is certainly the fullest endorsement pos¬ 
sible of my previous observations. In English gardens, 
4 ft. high is more usual for it when established ; in¬ 
deed, the whole of them are of one uniform height. 
Tigrinum produces heads of fiery scarlet with crimson 
spots ; the variety Fortunei is quite distinct from the 
above in its densely-woolly stems, and later flowering, 
and also in the orange-scarlet of its flowers, which are 
also spotted with crimson ; then comes the double form, 
Tigrinum fl. ph, certainly a perfectly double Lily, 
though, in my humble opinion, far less effective than 
either of the single forms. 
Those among your many readers who are growers of 
Lilies, and who admire the stately grandeur of the 
auratums, and the bold massive flowers of the grand 
trumpeters (as I will call the longiflorums), or who 
prefer the vivid colouring to be found in the scarlet 
Turk’s Cap, or the beautiful and chaste shades only met 
with in Krameri, will not, I feel sure, find the height of 
their ambition in the mere duplication of the petals of 
this Tiger Lily, which, when fully expanded, bears a 
strong likeness to a star fish ; viewing it among the rest 
it has the effect of being unhappy, and not calculated 
to leave a good impression on the mind. The searcher 
after novelty will here meet something curious, for by 
no stretch of imagination dare I call it beautiful. I 
have not found any more durable than the single 
forms, for my experience is the reverse, as the single 
forms of the Tigers will invariably expand the half of 
their buds in water ; but the double refuses to do this, 
in short, this double Tiger Lily is rarely admired, 
especially when grown side by side, and where the 
singles show themselves to a great advantage. In colour 
it is very similar to Fortunei. 
The last of the Tigers, and certainly the grandest 
of them all, is the variety called Splendens, a well-named 
form which eclipses all the rest; it is a bold and effective 
plant, having a pyramidal head of fiery scarlet-crimson 
spotted flowers ; it grows fully 6 ft. high when 
established, and has blackish somewhat shining stems, 
by which it may be distinguished from all the 
rest ; it is a noble Lily, and should be possessed by all 
who prefer to have really good and noble, as well as 
useful flowers to adorn their gardens. The only other 
variety of the Tiger Lily is that known as pnecox erecta, 
said to be earlier in bloom, and having erect flowers ; 
this I only know by name. The whole of the Tiger 
section may be recognised by their bulbiferous, and, in 
most cases, woolly stems ; the flowers are either scarlet 
or orange, or a mixture of both, and spotted with crim¬ 
son ; they are also reflexed, with the exception of the 
double variety. 
The whole of this group are now in the finest pos¬ 
sible condition for removal, and anyone intending to 
make new plantations should do so without further 
delay. The growths are decaying, and the majority of 
this season’s roots likewise, and at no stage in their 
existence do they remove without feeling it less than 
at the present. It is therefore that I urge their being 
planted at the right time, and thus adopt the first 
grand step to ultimate success. They should be placed 
