August 13, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
795 
be spoken too highly of, are Stirling Castle and 
Bellegarde.— H. Markham, Mcreworth Castle, Kent, 
Aug. 3 rd. 
A Trimorphic Laburnum. —Barely do we 
find Cytisus Adami, a graft-hybrid, remaining true to 
its hybrid character after being planted for a few years. 
Shoots are produced on the tree identical with one or 
other of the parents from which the hybrid originated. 
Laburnum vulgare would seem to be by far the com¬ 
monest parent to dissolve the union ; and, accordingly, 
it is no rare sight to see a specimen ordinarily bearing 
pale purple, buff-tinted flowers throwing out more 
vigorous shoots furnished with larger yellow flowers. 
An instance of a rarer and more interesting kind may 
be seen on the side of the private approach to Wood- 
hatch, Reigate, and which never fails to arrest the 
attention of visitors when in flower. It is equally 
noteworthy at the present time when in fruit, although 
less conspicuous. In addition to the well-known cha¬ 
racter of the hybrid, which is perfectly sterile, fruiting 
branches of Laburnum vulgare and Cytisus purpureus 
may all be noticed on the same tree. The leaves are 
perfectly distinct in all three cases, the hybrid being 
intermediate, so that a great gap is noticeable between 
the two parents, both in the characters of the fruit and 
foliage.— J. F. 
Pansy, Countess of Kintore. —For bedding 
purposes this variety would be difficult to excel in dry 
seasons—a fact that can be noted in many gardens 
where a collection of this class of plants is grown. 
They all delight in moist, somewhat shaded positions 
and a rich soil, if good blooms are expected. For this 
reason the dry sunny climate of the south eastern 
counties generally are unsuited, naturally, for the 
cultivation of a class of plants universally esteemed for 
their beauty, rich and varied colours, and their hardy, 
accommodating character. The variety under notice is 
somewhat in the way of the old-fashioned Magpie ; but 
the colours are more confined to particular regions of 
the flower, the two upper petals being white, and the 
three lower ones plum-purple or violet, except at the 
margins, where they become paler. The profusion of 
bloom has been continuous from spring till now, and 
the flowers individually do not degenerate in size to 
the same extent as those of many other varieties in 
dry weather. 
Two Attractive Petunias.— At the trial 
grounds of Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons at Chiswick, in a 
bed of numerous varieties of Petunia, are two that 
make themselves conspicuous, not for size, but by their 
lively and novel colours. Countess of Ellesmere has 
small bright rose flowers with a white tube, that seem 
better adapted to rough or generally more variable 
summers than this has been. The large-flowered sorts 
are, probably, more esteemed by the million, and the 
warm dry summer they are enjoying suits their con¬ 
stitution admirably, but they seem altogether unfitted 
for wet or sunless seasons. We also noticed this form 
in the Royal Horticultural Society’s garden at Chiswick. 
The other form is rightly named Compacta elegantis- 
sima, from its low or procumbent compact habit, and 
very elegant medium-sized flowers, beautifully striped 
longitudinally with broad bands of rosy purple. 
Altogether we considered them very attractive. 
Clitoria ternatea. —Originally introduced in 1739, 
this is one of those things that come and go, as it were, 
by haphazard, as it does not belong to that class of 
plants termed popular. The beauty of the flowers 
individually, however, is unquestionable and singularly 
curious from a structural point of view. The standard 
usually uppermost is, in this instance, reversed, forming 
the landing stage for insect visitors; and it is, more¬ 
over, by far the largest and showiest organ of the 
flower. There are several varieties in cultivation, and 
two of them are now flowering in the Water Lily house 
at Pendell Court, one of which is pure white with paler 
foliage than the type, showing the correlation of 
homologous parts. The other form, named C. ccelestis, 
is nearer the type and has beautiful sky-blue wings 
and standard, the latter having darker radiating veins, 
with a white blotch near the base. 
The Cannibal’s Tomato. —It would be in¬ 
teresting to know whether this species is still in 
cultivation. Strictly speaking, it is not a Tomato 
botanically, but something closely allied—namely, 
Solanum anthropophagorum, which means “man- 
eating.” The cannibals of Fiji formerly ate it with 
human flesh, and if “ Sauce for the goose is also sauce 
for the gander,” then it might—forgetting or ignoring 
the terrors in connection with its former use—be utilised 
to advantage with English beef. It requires stove 
temperature to grow it properly ; but the common 
Tomato also gets that treatment as often as otherwise, 
and the only other questions that arise are whether it 
is prolific enough to pay for its cultivation, and whether 
it would prove acceptable to the English palate. This 
is a secondary matter, seeing how repugnant we were 
generally to the flavour of the Tomato when first eaten. 
If the plant is sufficiently prolific, the other objections 
would sink into matters of minor importance. The 
fruit is large, red, slightly two-lobed at the apex, and 
resembles the Tomato to a certain extent. 
The Lattice-leaf Plant. —A fine piece of this 
remarkable plant is now about to flower in one of the 
stoves at Burford Lodge, Dorking, where it is very 
successfully cultivated. It is simply submerged in a 
tub of clear water, a condition which is necessary to 
maintain the membraneous and skeleton-like leaves in 
healthy condition. A small but continuous supply of 
water by means of a siphon is all that is necessary to 
keep that in the tub pure, and the foliage should not 
be much below the level of the water. A moderately 
shaded position accords best with the likings of the 
plant. Increase is secured by dividing the old plant, 
or by sowing seeds, which it will do spontaneously if 
left alone. Curiously enough, the foliage of the 
seedlings has no perforations till the plant attains 
some size, when they gradually assume the characters 
of the parent. Ouvirandra fenestralis is the most 
generally recognised name, but the species are some¬ 
times classed under Aponogeton, from which they 
differ merely in the latticed or window-like leaves. 
CEnothera biennis. — This species is better 
known and more commonly grown under the designation 
of Evening Primrose, and, as the specific name implies, 
is of biennial duration only. Why the term “Primrose” 
should be so generally applied to it I am at a loss to 
understand, except, perhaps, in reference to the colour 
of the flowers, which are of the purest pale yellow. 
Otherwise the plant bears no relation to the genus 
of favourite spring bloomers. The special interest 
attaching to the subject under consideration lies in its 
propensity to expand its blooms at sunset, at which 
time most other garden flowers—not excepting double 
Marigolds, Carnations, Dahlias, &c.—have a tendency 
to close. It is of the easiest possible culture, and may 
be grown, even satisfactorily, under the most adverse 
conditions. A neighbour of mine possesses some plants 
which are, at the present time, giving, I may say, an 
almost undue amount of satisfaction. They are growing 
in sandy soil of the poorest description, and are fully 
exposed to the direct rays of the sun the whole day 
long. He states that he “ stuck them in ” last spriug, 
giving them little further thought until they forced a 
recognition from him on account of their luxuriant 
growth, which set in on the subsidence of the cold 
weather. Their proportions now average 3 ft., both in 
height and through, and all night long they are 
literally covered with large bright yellow blossoms, 
which are delicately scented, and range in size from 
2 ins. to 3 ins. in diameter. The stem is stout and 
much branched—hence their floriferousness. This 
species also admirably illustrates some of the latent 
forces of nature, for, on a close inspection, the sepals 
which form the floral envelope may be observed to 
gradually give way before the mysterious internal 
pressure of the expanding flowers, which last one night 
only, the beams of the morning sun destroying their 
beauty, to be succeeded, however, by a fresh host as 
Sol’s departing influence wanes.— C. B. <?., Acton, TV. 
Clematis for Arches and Beds. —Some fine 
examples of these are now in bloom in the neat little 
garden of Mr. Sargent Hutton, at Harrow-on-the-Hill, 
the flowers on the arches being as dense as they can 
well be. One of them has a brilliant display of the 
crimson C. viticella rubra grandiflora on one side, and 
the favourite purple C. Jackmanii on the other. C. 
Jackmanii grandiflora, and other good varieties, equally 
well furnish the other arches, while the centre has a 
tree stump with branches covered with C. Jackmanii, 
intermingled with the white C. Henryi and C. Otto 
Frcebel, and the pale blue C. Lady Caroline Neville, 
the whole having a charming effect. Every year the 
merits of the Clematis, generally and particularly the 
Jackmanii section, become more evident in our 
gardens, and they seem to luxuriate on a stiff clay soil 
where many other things refuse to grow kindly.— J. B. 
Catalpa syringaefolia. —There is a fine tree of 
this species in the gardens at Vintner’s Park, near 
Maidstone, under the care of Mr. McLean. The 
specimen in question is about 30 ft. in height, and 
36 ft. in the spread of the branches, which i3 a fair 
average of the best trees of the kind in this country, 
although in its native clime, the more favoured parts 
of N. America, a height of 40 ft. to 60 ft. is recorded. 
Growth is very rapid iu the earlier stages of the tree, 
which will attain a height of 20 ft. in ten years. After 
this, it develops a broad spreading head, conspicuous 
by its handsome foliage and Bignonia-like flowers, 
which are white, with two medium longitudinal orange 
bands, and numerous attractive purple spots and 
markings. These showy flowers are borne in large 
terminal panicles, which render the tree an object of 
great beauty at this season. The glands at the 
junction of the veins on the under sides of the leaves 
are very curious, but their object in the economy of 
nature is not very obvious. Some authorities prefer 
the other recognised name for this tree, namely, C. 
bignonioides, which is, doubtless, very appropriate. 
Martynias. —In one of the beds of the herbaceous 
ground at Kew may be seen three species of this curious 
genus, exemplifying a kind of vegetation not often seen 
in gardens. Martynia fragrans is, perhaps, the com¬ 
monest and most popular species, the fragrance of 
which, being decidedly agreeable, may account for its 
popularity. The flowers are deep rich purple, spotted 
in the throat, ou a paler ground, with a rich orange 
band along the lower side. Those of M. craniolaria 
are soft pink, with two purple blotches on the upper 
lip, amply spotted with red in the throat on a yellow 
ground, and having the customary orange band. The 
flowers of M. lutea being well borne above the foliage 
in a close raceme, are the most conspicuous, of a bright 
orange-yellow, richly spotted with orange-scarlet on 
the inside. It is certainly very handsome, but its 
odour, like that of the preceding, is by no means 
agreeable, as it is in M. fragrans. The foliage of all is 
densely covered with viscid glands, and catches flies in 
great numbers, but whether any direct advantage is 
secured thereby is questionable. That of M. lutea is 
by far the largest, giving the plant quite a tropical 
appearance, and the flowers may not inaptly be 
compared to those of a yellow and spotted Gloxinia. 
M. proboscidea, having a curiously beaked and curved 
fruit like an elephant’s proboscis or trunk, is also 
sometimes grown here. 
Trichinium Manglesi. —Although so strangely 
different from the Celosias and Cockscombs of our 
stoves and greenhouses, this Australian plant never¬ 
theless belongs to the same natural order. It, however, 
comes from a region where the soil is so dry, sandy 
and fine, that it could all be passed through an hour¬ 
glass. The oblong or linear leaves form a loose rosette, 
from which the flower-scapes proceed in an ascending 
direction, bearing at their apex a dense oblong spike 
of flowers. These are densely woolly, with spreading 
white hairs, giving the whole spike a curious appearance, 
while the lively pink tips of the protruding perianth 
form a pretty and striking combination. Mr. Baines 
grows it well at Burford Lodge, Dorking, in a compost 
consisting of sand, cow-manure and a little loam, 
standing them in a cool airy greenhouse. 
Smoke Plant. —In the beautiful grounds of Miss 
Chumley, Hurley House, Great Marlow, Berks, is a mag¬ 
nificent specimen of Rhus cotinus, variously known as 
the Smoke Plant, Wig Plant, and Venetian Sumach. 
It is about 9 ft. or 10 ft. high, and at the present time 
is covered with a mass of its elegant and singular¬ 
looking inflorescence that almost completely hides the 
foliage. The specimen in question is planted on the 
lawn, and being thus individualised, shows off its 
peculiar beauty to the best advantage. The general 
hue of the inflorescence for some time after flowering is 
a dusky grey, probably suggesting the name Smoke 
Plant; but it is now giving place to a reddish crimson 
hue that is particulurly charming. This effect is pro¬ 
duced by fine hairs that develop from and enshroud 
the slender barren pedicels of the inflorescence now so 
conspicuous and handsome. The shrub is perfectly 
hardy, and retains its foliage till severe frost causes 
the leaves to change to a reddish yellow and drop. 
A Monster Sunflower. — In a garden in 
Guernsey, I recently measured a Sunflower which was 
over 8 ft. high, and the flower-heads 20 ins. across.— 
T. C. TV. 
