346 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 29, 1887. 
schools. In France and Germany, and even in Sweden, 
this is, to some extent, done already, with the best 
results ; and I can only hope the day is not far distant 
when the same may be said of our own public and 
national schools. 
“Ireland being so peculiarly dependent on land 
culture for her revenue, I am convinced that elementary 
horticulture should he more generally made use of as 
an educational subject of the highest practical or 
technical value (hear, hear). FTor is this love for cul¬ 
tivated plants and gardens confined to our own country 
alone ; for whoever visits Paris cannot fail to notice 
the rich profusion of Palms, Dracaenas, Cypresses, 
Ferns, and Daisy hushes or Marguerites with which 
the windows and apartments there are most tastefully 
decorated. In Germany, Russia, and also in America, 
the love for beautiful plants and fragrant window 
flowers is rapidly increasing. Indeed, the knowledge 
essential is so easily obtained by observation that we 
can only wonder why every window and balcony is not 
gay with ornamental plants and flowers for a consider¬ 
able portion of the year. Sweet-smelling things, such 
as Lavender, Wallflowers, Thyme, Carnations, Rose¬ 
mary and Mignonette, should be around every country 
house ; and it is possible that in years to come some 
part of every town dwelling will be constructed ex¬ 
pressly for the culture of plants and flowers within it. 
A small conservatory—or, at least, window cases, as 
fixtures—will be considered as essential as a good 
kitchen range or a bath-room. At the present time we 
have a few roof conservatories and gardens; and, 
doubtless, in time, these and other appliances will 
become universal, especially in towns where space is 
valuable. The best evergreen plant for a room is 
Aspidistra lurida, of which there are green and varie¬ 
gated varieties. A specimen here has been grown in a 
shady window in the Haddington Road for the last 
four years ; and when first brought into the house, it 
had six small leaves only, and it has never been re¬ 
potted or manured during that time. N"o other plant 
I know does better, and it is an especial favourite in 
France and Holland, where fresh and healthy evergreen 
room plants are highly appreciated. 
“ The Indiarubber (Ficus) is another good room plant, 
as is also the graceful Grevillea robusta. Several kinds 
of green-leaved Dracaenas are thoroughly reliable, as 
also are small plants of the Australian Blue Gum or 
Fever Tree. I have seen a fine plant of this in the 
window of a drawing-room in Clare Street for the past 
three or four years. Some small Palms grow well in 
warm rooms, and none better than the Corypha 
australis. Another favourite, especially at this season, 
is the Arum Lily, while the Scarborough Lily (Yallota) 
is very attractive when it throws up its cluster of 
scarlet Lily-like flowers in the autumn months, just 
before the Chrysanthemum comes into bloom. Tem¬ 
perance and good gardening generally go hand in hand. 
Some, at least, among the audience here to-night will 
have observed those cosy Fuchsia-clad cottages which 
nestle here and there on the Powerscourt domain, and 
from which the occupants get ample supplies of good 
vegetables and small fruits, as well as flowers. Such 
gardens must prove great counter-attractions to the 
public-house or shebeen. Another large landed pro¬ 
prietor told me quite recently that his own experience 
in the building of cottages had proved to him that the 
addition of a piece of garden ground had a most bene¬ 
ficial influence on the social, moral, and religious life 
and welfare of the inmates. Of all modem writers, it 
is Ruskin, as I believe, who sums up the whole sub¬ 
stance of our knowledge of plants with one dip of his 
pen. This is his estimate of them—‘ Timber for the 
builder’s yard, corn for the granary or the baker’s oven, 
flowers for the bride’s chamber and moss for the 
grave.’ In a word, food, shelter and beauty for all of 
us, living or dead, is really the sum total of the world’s 
vegetation.”_- 
SPARMANNIA APRICANA. 
In this greenhouse or conservatory plant we meet 
with an old friend that retains a place in many gardens, 
and is now neglected or again receives a little of that 
attention which its curious and ornamental flowers 
deserve, just as the tide of fashion and popularity 
sways one way or another. Being a woody plant it 
does not require to be renewed so frequently by cuttings 
as subjects of an herbaceous character, but will repay 
the trouble of being grown on and repotted from time 
to time in order to renew its vigour. 
The conspicuous and showy flowers are produced in 
umbels opposite the leaves, and when fully expanded 
are more noticeable on account of the stamens than the 
corolla. The latter, consisting of four petals, is white, 
and becomes reflexed as do the pale yellowish sepals. 
The innumerable stamens occupy the whole centre of 
the flower, forming a semi-globose mass of crimson and 
yellow. Their curiosity is intensified by many of the 
outer ones being barren and tuberculated, which gives 
them a bearded appearance. A couple of leaves and an 
inflorescence is given in the Botanical Magazine, t. 516, 
where it is stated that at that time (1801) it had only 
been known to flower at Kew and Messrs. Whitley & 
Co.’s nursery at Old Brompton. It is flowering freely 
in an intermediate temperature at Devonhurst, Chis¬ 
wick, where it is restricted within due bounds by 
pruning it back closely after the flowering period is 
over. It may be flowered satisfactorily at a size 
ranging from 2 ft. to 6 ft. in height. 
-—>x<-- 
GARDEN PLANTS ILLUSTRATED. 
Hedychittm Gardnerianum. 
Although introduced as early as 1823 from India, 
this species is not so common in gardens as its beauty 
and easy culture should warrant. The foliage con¬ 
stitutes a feature in itself, and the herbaceous and 
annual stems are terminated by a large and handsome 
inflorescence of pale yellow sweetly fragrant flowers. 
Fruits are freely produced whether the plant is grown 
in pots or planted out, and the tliree-valved capsules 
are orange internally when they burst, exhibiting 
intensely scarlet seeds furnished with a lacerated aril. 
The mass of seeds and their aril resemble a miniature 
crustacean with its legs folded together.— Botanical 
Magazine, t. 6913. 
SOLANTJM WeNDLAKDI. 
This is a climbing-habited species, said to be a native 
of the colder regions of Costa Rica, where it climbs 
over trees. The stems and petioles of the leaves are 
spiny, while the leaves themselves are oblong, three- 
lobed or divided into three leaflets. The flowers are 
produced in cymes 6 ins. in diameter, terminating in 
pendulous branches. They are individually about 
2i ins. in diameter, and of a pale lilac blue. It 
flowered at Kew in August|last, and is named after 
Herr Wendland, Director of the Royal Gardens, 
ILerrenhausen, Hanover. — Botanical Magazine, t. 6914. 
Amasonia calycina. 
This plant is now tolerably well known in gardens 
under the name of A. punicea. It is said to differ from 
the latter by its large calyx and different shaped 
bracts. The plant was introduced a few years ago by 
Messrs. Veitch <& Sons from British Guiana. The pale 
yellow corolla is pretty in its way, but is rendered more 
conspicuous by contrast with the large crimson deeply- 
lobed calyx. The large bracts are crimson, and render 
the plant a useful decorative subject for several weeks 
in midwinter. The fruit also contrasts well with the 
calyx. The genus contains some ten or twelve imper¬ 
fectly characterised species, all natives of South 
America.— Botanical Magazine, t. 6915. 
-—- 
Hardening §[iscellany. 
The Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Insti¬ 
tution. —This institution would, I feel sure, soon 
become more popular among gardeners if such applicants 
for the pension as T. M. Wall, of Cheshire, who 
subscribed for five years, could be put on the pension list. 
I see his age is eighty-six, and yet two others are put 
on the list who have never subscribed one penny to the 
funds of the institution, and who are only sixty-four 
and sixty-eight years old respectively. This is what 
discourages gardeners, as I have found when trying to 
persuade them to subscribe. It would save the ex¬ 
pense of an election if all those who had subscribed 
the longest were put on after those who are qualified 
for acceptance are provided for, and then, I think, 
more gardeners would contribute their guineas. It 
would he more of an inducement to men getting on in 
years ; for as it is now a man stands but a poor chance 
unless he joins it when young, as I wish all would do. 
I feel very sorry for this old gardener, and I think he 
must feel very much disappointed after having sub¬ 
scribed five guineas. — Subscriber. [The point raised by 
“Subscriber” is well worthy of the attention of the 
committee of management ; but it should not be for¬ 
gotten by our correspondent and others that this is a 
charitable institution, not a benefit society in the 
ordinary sense ; and it rests with the subscribers to 
say who shall and who shall not be put on the list. 
Some make it a rule always to vote for those who have 
been subscribers in preference to those who have not, 
and in a general way, it is a good rule to follow.— Ed.] 
The Effects of the late Snowstorm. —On 
looking round Oakwood Garden to see what damage had 
been done by the late snowstorm; I found that we had 
escaped more easily than could have been expected. 
Some time back I recommended a fence made of rabbit- 
wire, 6 ft. high, in one piece, we having a quantity of 
it ; this was sufficiently supported for any ordinary 
strain, but above 70 yds. was blown down, the snow 
having filled the meshes, and so given the wind purchase. 
Therefore, it seems desirable when this fence is used, 
to add to the supports by wires fastened to any trees 
in the line. Our large Camellias have only one or two 
small branches broken, bnt my man beat much of the 
snow off. A fine head of Andromeda japonica, covered 
with buds, was broken off, and a large Choisya ternata 
had some branches broken ; but a large Photinia 
serrulata, close by, was uninjured. Our big Rhodo¬ 
dendrons in the wood have hardly any branches broken. 
Meconopsis Wallieliii, unprotected, looks perfectly fresh 
and green ; seedlings of Sikkim Rhododendrons, not 
above 1 in. high, do not seem to have felt the cold ; 
Ilex latifolia is very little touched. The effects of the 
snow were shown along the road to the garden, by great 
numbers of branches on the ground at the edge of the 
Fir woods. A friend, with a beautiful garden at Chisle- 
hurst, gave a most saddening account of the breakages 
of a great number of his trees and shrubs. So far, our 
coops, with bracken interlaced, seem efficacious as 
protection for tender plants.— G. F. Wilson, Heather - 
bank, Wcyhridge Heath, January 2ith. [We should 
be greatly obliged if other readers would communicate 
their experience of the late severe weather.— Ed.] 
Rise and Fall in Hot-water Pipes. —I do 
not think I erred much in reading Mr. Methven’s letter 
on this subject, and the last sentence I quoted is con¬ 
firmed by the one made by him from the same letter, 
which is to the effect that he had to screw down the 
valves in the higher levels so as to allow the least 
possible openings, in order to force the water to the 
lower levels. This is tantamount to saying, that with¬ 
out this process the w’ater would not circulate iu the 
lower level. I knew, at the time I read your corre¬ 
spondent's letter, that he was wrong, from my own 
experience iu the heating of a number of houses, in two 
of which the pipes were below the floor, and the tem¬ 
perature in one had to be kept from 60° to 65° at night 
in winter. This was effected by means of a circulating 
box and feeding cistern combined, fixed a few feet 
above the highest pipe aiid iu one of the warm houses. 
With hard firing, more or less steam arose from the 
cistern, but, as it was close to a glass end, it seemed to 
hug the glass and condense there; it was rarely 
observed in the body of the house. Mr. Methven asks 
me if I “ mean to advance the theory, that water acts 
on the rule of contrariness.” I advanced nothing, hut 
stated a simple fact that was contrary to your corre¬ 
spondent’s experience. I did not make any enquiries 
about valves being nearly burned off, hut I think I 
may safely say that Mr. Troughton would not do that 
in all his other houses for the sake of the one to which 
he refers. I am blamed for not giving variations of 
levels. I considered that after stating that those in 
question were 18 ins. below the flow, and still lower 
than those in the adjacent houses, I had said enough 
to prove the fallacy of Mr. Methven’s conclusions. 
However, speaking from impressions, I should say that 
the majority would be from 2 ft. to 4 ft. above the 
lowest, and some of them 5 ft. or 6 ft., as Mr. Troughton 
goes in for a little roof heating. I am asked as to the 
level of pipes in the house alluded to iu relation to the 
boiler. Arranged as they are together, there is only a 
few inches difference in their level and it cannot affect 
the point at issue.— W. P. E. 
Asparagus Kale. —What is this ? The question 
is asked because I have recently received it from two seed 
houses in London of an entirely different character. I 
have heard it said that the purple-sprouting Broccoli is 
identical with Asparagus Kale. I know that some of the 
London houses supply what is known as the Buda or 
Prussian Borecole or Kale, while others send seed of the 
Couve Tronchuda or Portugal Cabbage. Messrs. 
