May 21, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
599 
Moutan P/EONIES. 
Rosea ODOEATA. —The regular serai-globular outline 
of this flower must he a telling feature for it in the 
eyes of the florist ; besides which, it was the most 
delicately-tinted variety in the exhibition. The outer 
petals are white, the middle ones pink, and the central 
ones rose. 
TRiohphe de Milan. —The flowers of this variety 
are very large and irregular in outline—a feature pro¬ 
duced by the jagged petals being of unequal lengths. 
This loose and irregular character would doubtless find 
acceptance with many on account of its being less 
formal. The central petals are pale rose, while those 
towards the margin of the flower are white. 
Odokata Maeia. —The flowers of this form are fully 
double, and more compact in outline than in the last 
case, with the shorter petals much less deeply cut. All 
are of a pale purple or flesh colour, and very effective 
when fully expanded. Floricultural Certificates. Ex¬ 
hibited by Mr. T. S. Ware, Hale Farm Nurseries, 
Tottenham. 
Tp.OLLIUS FoRTUNEI FLORE PLENO. 
This is a hardy herbaceous plant of great merit, with 
deep palmately-divided and cut leaves, bearing con¬ 
siderable resemblance to those of the Aconite. The 
numerous incurved sepals are of a deep orange colour, 
forming a fine contrast to those of the common or 
European form. The many small petals are similarly 
coloured. Floricultural Certificate. Exhibited by Mr. 
T. S. Ware, Hale Farm Nurseries, Tottenham. 
Pelargonium Magpie. 
For those who like light-coloured fancy Pelargoniums, 
the variety under notice would prove acceptable. The 
flowers are moderately large, nearly flat and white, 
with a deep purple, distinctly club-shaped blotch 
running down the centre of- each petal. Floricultural 
Certificate. Exhibited by Mr. Chas. Turner, the Royal 
Nurseries, Slough. 
Begonias. 
Princess of Wales.— The flowers of this variety, 
only a small plant of which was exhibited, were large, 
orbicular or nearly so, flat and of a rich rosy pink with 
a paler centre ; the foliage is ample and dark green. 
Prince of Wales. —The leaves in this case are 
evidently much smaller and narrower than in the 
previous variety, but the size and regularity of the 
flowers are maintained, while they are of an intense 
scarlet, and wavy at the margin. 
Queen Victoria. —Moderate-sized deep green hairy 
leaves were produced by the small or young specimen, 
but these might alter in character subsequently. The 
flowers, however, are large and fine, orbicular or nearly 
so, which might satisfy the florist; the sepals are 
scarlet, tinged with yellow at the base, and somewhat 
wavy or undulated at the margin. All three are flowers 
of no ordinary merit. Floricultural Certificates. 
Exhibited by Messrs. John Laing & Co., Forest Hill, 
London, S.E. 
Tea Rose Miss Edith Gifford. 
The flowers of this variety are compact and firm in 
bud, delicately flesh-coloured in the centre, often 
appearing tinted with yellow on the outer petals in the 
dim tent light where shown. The latter are, moreover, 
sometimes slightly marked with green, a character 
which may not be permanent. They are of good 
substance, and the outer ones closely revolute at the 
margin. Floricultural Certificate. Exhibited by Mr. 
Charles Turner, The Royal Nurseries, Slough. 
-- 
< 3 & 
Gardening ^otes from 
Scotland. 
A Cabbage Show at Kelso. —Last summer 
Messrs. Stuart & Mein, of Kelso, announced their 
intention of offering a premium of £5 for the best 
samples of their No. 1 early Cabbage, and the compe¬ 
tition came off last week. Fully 800 of the most 
prominent Cabbage growers intimated their intention 
of competing, but of that number only thirty-three 
came forward. These, however, represented a wide 
area, the counties from which the competitors came 
being Northumberland, Lincoln, Kent, Cornwall, 
Essex, Dorset, Somerset, Hereford, Norfolk, Sussex, 
Herts, Surrey, Notts, Cheshire, Aberdeen, Devon, 
Wilts, Roxburgh, Berwick and Stirling. Each com¬ 
petitor showed two Cabbages, and the winner was Mr. 
D. Inglis, gardener to Earl Grey, Howick, Lesbury, 
Northumberland, whose exhibits weighed over 8 lbs. ; 
the next best weight was 6 lbs., so that Mr. Inglis, 
who is well known as a skilful cultivator, had an easy 
victory. For shape and appearance, however, the best 
Cabbages were undoubtedly those shown by Mr. R. 
Gilbert, gardener to the Marquis of Exeter, Burghley, 
Stamford ; these were greatly admired. 
Orchids in Flower at Priorwood, Melrose. 
—Mr. Curie is to be congratulated on being the 
possessor of a really choice collection. The plants are 
in a high state of cultivation, and reflect great credit on 
the management of Mr. James Sharp, the gardener. 
In the cool house the following were amongst the most 
prominent in flower : Odontoglossum crispum, 0. 
Pescatorei, 0. Halli, 0. trinmphans, 0. Andersonianum, 
O. Ruckerianum, 0. nebulosum, 0. neevium, Masde- 
vallia Veitchiana, M. Harryana “Bull’s Blood,” two 
fine pieces with about sixty spikes on each; M. 
Dennisoniana (seventj’spikes), M. Lindenii, M. maerura, 
M. rosea, Colax jugosus, Cattleya citrina, Cymbidium 
eburneum, Cypripedium barbatum Warnerianum, C. 
villosum, C. Lowii, C. argus, C. Harrisianum, Den- 
drobium Jamesianum, D. infundibulum, Epidendrum 
vitellinum majus, and Oncidium Marshallianum. In 
a span-roofed house chiefly devoted to Cattleyas, 
Vandas, &c., the following were in bloom : Cattleya 
Mendelii, C. Trianre Scbroderii (nothing very startling 
for a novelty), C. Mossi® (seven spikes), C. Lawrenceana, 
C. Skinnerii, Aerides Fieldingii, Saccolabium guttatum, 
S. ampullaceum, Cypripedium Druryii, C. lrevigatum, 
C. Veitchii, C. hirsutissimum, Lselia elegans, L. 
elegans alba, Vanda suavis, Phalsenopsis amabilis, 
P. grandiflora, and P. Parishii (a choice example).—• 
D. P. L. 
Seasonable Notes. —It is often with much 
difficulty that one can purchase Globe Artichoke 
plants worth the trouble of growing. The reason is, 
they are so easily got from seed, and so seldom do 
they come true that we would advise growers of them 
to get good short suckers from a neighbouring garden, 
and such as have not been weakened by crowding, as 
is sometimes seen. Three times have we purchased 
stock as well as having raised seedlings during the last 
few years, and so poor were the kinds that we did 
not protect any of them last winter, and the result 
is they are dead, so we go to some friend to get 
suckers. 
'When these are properly cultivated by planting a few 
suckers every year on well-trenched ground, they are 
very different from the puny things one often sees, 
which have been grown for many years on the same 
ground, and allowed to take their chance—with neither 
thinning nor manuring allowed them. Good suckers 
planted now are likely to give a succession of heads 
during autumn, and the old plants may be freely 
reduced. Many have lost their plants this season, but 
we do not remember of any losses ever taking place 
where dry ashes were used as protection, and piled 
sharply round the collars of the plants. Damp is the 
worst enemy to deal with, and if the ground is badly 
drained, Globe Artichokes in such positions become 
tender plants. Jerusalem Artichokes are in much 
favour in the north. We suppose their perfect hardi¬ 
ness renders them a valuable vegetable during severe 
winters. — Caledonian. 
Mushrooms in the Open Air.—There are 
few places where these cannot be easily grown, and 
though some make a difficulty of cultivating them in 
any position with ordinary means, they can be had by 
a minimum of attention in great quantity. Good fresh 
spawn, not old exhausted inert cakes as hard as iron, 
must be had ; manure, mixed with litter and turf for 
outside use, should not be used dust dry as is often 
the case, but fairly moist, and if it is on the wet side, 
a little hay wrapped round each piece of spawn will save 
it from being destroyed by damp. For outdoor work, 
a ridge 3 ft. or more high, made quite firm, and of 
somewhat conical form, is a simple operation. The 
spawn placed under the surface of the manure, 6 ins. 
apart or so, and in pieces as large as hen’s eggs ; the 
whole surface made firm, and some loam laid over all, 
finishes the ridge. A good coating of dry litter, over 
which a mat is placed during boisterous weather, keeps 
all secure from drought.— Caledonian. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
Reaches. — These must not be neglected at this 
season, otherwise the owner or cultivator will have to 
suffer the evil effects accruing from bad management 
afterwards, when remedy is difficult or impossible. At 
the very least a season will be lost, which means much, 
whether we regard the well-being of the trees or the 
cultivator’s remuneration for trouble. It may not be 
the fortune of many amateurs to possess Peach trees in 
the open air, but there is no reason why they should not, 
and be able also to obtain a good return from trees 
grown on the open wall, in the southern part of the 
country at least. 
The flowering season is now over, and where trees 
have had the benefit of some kind of protection during 
the late severe frost, there is now great promise of a 
good fruit season. It is too early to attempt thinning 
the fruit, but disbudding must not be neglected ; good 
cultivators will have gone over their trees once or twice 
ere now, pinching off the superfluous shoots with 
the finger and thumb, removing all breast wood or 
those shoots that grow perpendicularly away from the 
wall. 
Such shoots can never be laid in neatly, and must not 
be tolerated, except where absolutely necessary to cover 
a bare part of the wall, or to hide some large and naked 
branch or some main stem of the tree. Besides this 
objectionable breast wood on wall specimens, healthy 
trees always produce a superfluity of shoots that can 
never be trained in without injuriously overcrowding 
the branches, thereby preventing proper ripening of 
the fruit and maturity of the wood which is to bear 
the crop next season. All these superfluous shoots 
should be removed immediately, before allowing them 
to rob the tree of its energy and substance, thereby 
inducing other resulting or concomitant evils. 
Next to these things, the trees must not be allowed 
to suffer from drought at the roots while making their 
growth. Disease is often encouraged, and the trees 
ruined, by this form of neglect. Insects seem par¬ 
ticularly numerous this season on the young leaves of 
various trees. Owing, probably, to the unusually low 
temperature, the early leaves of Peaches came somewhat 
curled ; but in some cases insects may be accountable 
for it, and the garden-engine should be brought to 
play upon the trees at the earliest possible date. 
Flower Garden. —Great activity will continue in 
this department from now onward till the end of our 
summer and autumn seasons. Not a week will pass 
without its duties, and these must be performed, if 
possible, in due season ; otherwise, when work lags 
behind, it is difficult to overtake and give it that 
justice which is necessary in every well-ordered garden. 
Mowing of grass lawns will now constitute a heavy 
item of work, especially where it has to be done by 
men, which is always the case in small gardens. It is 
of great importance that the grass should be cut as low 
as possible from the first; but the knife of the machine 
should never be allowed to bite or cut into the turf, 
otherwise the uniform green carpet will be destroyed, 
in all probability, for the season. This is most 
likely to happen on an old lawn where there are 
inequalities in its surface, or where the roots of trees, 
by their growth in thickness, have produced the same 
result. 
Where the surface is mossy, this is best remedied in 
winter. Should drought set in later on, a good watering 
should be given where the grass is not too extensive to 
render the operation impracticable. This will prevent 
it becoming unsightly. 
Flower Beds.— Many of these may now be planted 
without further delay, provided the material, where 
grown in heat, has been properly hardened off before 
subjecting it to full exposure. All danger of frost is 
not yet over ; accordingly, such things as Heliotropes, 
Dahlias, Pelargoniums and Lobelias need not yet be 
hurried into their summer quarters. The latter, how¬ 
ever, may be thoroughly exposed in the frames to 
harden them, excepting Dahlias that have not yet 
made much growth since they were struck. Calceo¬ 
larias, Pentstemons, and many annuals that have been 
raised under glass, may be planted out with safety, 
and by so doing they get established before drought sets 
in, when, having covered the ground, they will occasion 
less watering afterwards. Zinnias, Centaureas, Heli- 
chrysums, Waitzias and Chinese Pinks, if well forward, 
