800 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 20, 1887. 
bution in a truly surprising way. That rare and 
interesting Lilywort, Paris quadrifolia, hides in the 
thickets close by ; and though it flowers early in 
spring, its inconspicuous and erratic (number of parts) 
flowers still persist. When the underwood is allowed 
to become dense, it seems to disappear altogether ; but 
when the bush is cut down, it reappears as plentiful as 
ever. Such is the habit of many of nature’s proteges, 
which she perpetuates from generation to generation 
for a long series of years. In such places, and where 
they can scramble up to catch a glimpse of the sun’s 
kindly rays, the red and the black Bryonies, together 
with Eosa repens, compete with each other for a share 
of the earth’s surface. 
On the lower slopes, where the conditions are more 
suitable to their welfare, the Wild Carrot, the yellow- 
flowered Parsnip, the Fleabane, Inula dysenterica, the 
large purple-headed Centaurea Scabiosa, and C. nigra 
monopolise the once-cultivated fields in a manner that 
is disgraceful to modern civilisation, showing the 
present neglected condition of agriculture, which 
compels us to pay the foreigner for bread, while 
thousands in the British Islands have to starve. None 
can deny the beauty of Scabiosa arvensis, the field 
Poppies in their brilliant soldier-like garb, with here 
and there pale and pink varieties, from which the big, 
frail and beautiful garden forms of Papaver Ehseas have 
sprung—a sure sign that the husbandman, instead 
of being up and doing battle with them, has simply 
been napping while they‘-quietly entrench themselves 
from year to year. Orobanche minor in more than one 
form is another insidious enemy of the Clover fields at 
the foot of the Downs, grasping more than a proper 
share of its neighbours’ nutritive stores. The typical 
form of the species is by far the most predominant, and 
lives on the roots of Trifolium pratense, giving the after- 
math of a Clover field a sickly hue from its undesirable 
prevalence. 
It is late in the season to dwell upon the numerous 
terrestrial Orchids for which the North Downs are 
noted, as most or all of the species have now gone to 
seed ; but the Bee and the Fly (Ophrys apifera and 
0. muscifera) sometimes show themselves in abundance, 
together with Orchis maculata, Habenaria chlorantha, 
Gymnadenia conopsea, Cephalanthera grandiflora, and 
Listera ovata. Orchis maculata and the Gymnadenia 
mentioned sometimes give to suitable fields or spots 
their own particular hue, so abundant are they ; but a 
stray specimen of Orchis purpurea on the Surrey Downs 
is a rare bird, and gives a keen relish to the finds of 
Botanist. __ 
CARNATIONS AND HOLLY¬ 
HOCKS AT TOTTENHAM. 
The glory of the Carnation-beds is almost gone for 
another season, and enthusiastic lovers of this class of 
plants may reluctantly write “Ichabod,” and patiently 
wait till another year ; for the period during which 
they last in perfection and gladden the eyes of culti¬ 
vators is, at best, a short one in any season, but the 
summer of 1887 will long be remembered as a dry 
burning one. Those who have been fairly successful 
at the various exhibitions, and who lay the greatest 
stress upon that point, will have little cause to regret 
the short-lived nature of their flowers ; but those who 
grow for decorative purposes, and merely desire a 
long-continued display of their favourite flower, will 
have little to remember of a pleasant or satisfactory 
nature. 
On a recent visit to the Hale Farm Nurseries, 
Tottenham, where Mr. T. S. Ware annually grows some 
44,000 plants, we were just in time to see the last 
flowers of a few of the kinds cultivated and grown in 
quantity. The florists’ flower pure and simple finds 
little favour here, from the fact that the demand is 
greatest for free-growing floriferous varieties that 
produce the largest amount of bloom with the least 
possible attention ; in short, decorative plants suitable 
for the million, and those of the best quality procurable 
for such purposes, is the primary desideratum at this 
or any other establishment of the kind. 
The dry condition of the atmosphere and the soil 
has been extremely unfavourable for the insertion of 
pipings in the open air, and propagation by that 
method has mostly been done in frames, where a 
genial atmosphere could be maintained till rooting 
had taken place. This applies mostly to Pinks, of 
which we saw a considerable quantity of that deservedly 
popular, double white, deliciously-scented variety, 
Mrs. Sinkins. Its large flowers, dwarf vigorous habit, 
and floriferous character, recommend it to all who are 
fond of flowers generally. The process of layering the 
Carnations was being executed with diligence, and in 
spite of the tediousness of the operation, and the extra 
labour in watering necessitated by the dry weather, 
the work was approaching completion. 
The undermentioned varieties, which we noted, were 
still in a condition to show their character and suit¬ 
ability for cut-flower purposes and border decoration. 
Self-coloured flowers of distinct hue always find their 
admirers, and among these, Guiding Star, a bright 
scarlet, holds its own as a free-flowering sort; but none 
of the dark-coloured flowers are able to displace the 
deep crimson Old Clove, firmly rooted in the estimation 
of all concerned for its delicious fragrance, simulating 
that of the Clove. There are, however, others of great 
merit, such as L. H. Pomeroy, whose large crimson 
flowers exhibit a shading of scarlet ; and Meade’s 
Scarlet, a great favourite in some northern gardens for 
its reddish scarlet, deliciously scented flowers of great 
size. Fashion at present, however, seems to be more 
decidedly in favour of softer hues, and those of that 
opinion will find something to their taste in Rhyl, a 
large pink and pleasing flower ; together with the rosy 
pink Feodora and the salmon-hued variety George 
Nivens. A sweet-scented white variety of great purity 
is Gloire de Nancy, with large fully double flowers, 
distinctly toothed at the margin of the petals. As far 
as colour is concerned, Golden Fleece is superior 
in the depth of its yellow hue to that of Pride of 
Penshurst, but the petals are strongly inclined to be 
incurved at the margins. This might be remedied, 
however, by the selection of seedlings having the 
desired flatness and regularity. 
Parti-coloured flowers are numerously represented, 
and claim attention in various ways. The recently 
certificated Alice Ayres, with white flowers slightly 
flaked with red, still showed its superiority as a 
floriferous useful border Carnation ; Corney Grain is 
similar in general appearance, but flaked with pink ; 
Annie Benaryhas large flowers, finely flaked with rose; 
and Sailor Gordon is a carmine-flaked and very 
floriferous variety. "W. H. Gilbert is one of those fancy 
forms whose colours are difficult to define, and for 
want of a better term we say suffused orange-scarlet 
flaked with crimson. Several of the varieties are in¬ 
constant and sportive, giving rise to altogether different 
colours. Lady Armstrong, a yellow-ground Picotee 
edged with short scarlet lines, is one of these ; and 
Nellie Crombie, a white Carnation flaked with violet, 
is another. Three or four distinctly coloured flowers 
are sometimes produced by the same plant. Red Bnes, 
a heavy purple-edged Picotee and deliciously scented, 
is also a fine thing. 
Hollyhocks. 
Fresh zeal is again being infused into'the culture of 
these fine things by the practice of growing them 
from seed. The Hollyhock'disease had formerly nearly 
stamped them out by its ravages—a state of matters 
brought about, or, at all events, greatly assisted by 
the weakening process of continued propagation by 
cuttings, and especially in the employment of heat in 
striking them. To lovers of this class of plants, a 
journey to the Hale Farm Nurseries just now would 
well repay the time and trouble incurred. A large 
piece of ground, planted with seedlings in rows, shows 
what can be done in the space of fourteen months, 
that being the length of time which has elapsed since 
they were sown. The stems now vary from 6 ft. to 
10 ft. in height, and, with the foliage, form stately 
objects, which are narrowly pyramidal, and densely 
clothed in the upper part with fully double, large, 
rosette-like masses of bloom in all possible shades for 
the genus. White, orange, pink, blush, red, crimson, 
purple, and a shade which is almost black, show that 
there is no lack of variety in that respect, and one 
might almost say it would be difficult to find fresh 
shades ; but such is the pliability of nature, that her 
resources when urged on by the aid of the hybridist 
seem exhaustless. 
The different sorts are all unnamed, being grown 
solely for the purpose of seed. To an outsider it would 
seem almost impossible for such double flowers to 
produce seed ; but on closer inspection, both styles 
and bundles of stamens may be found concealed 
amongst the petals, only requiring the aid of insects to 
distribute the pollen. The weather being fine at the 
time of our visit, bees in large numbers—chiefly wild 
ones—were diligently working their way in amongst 
the petals, not only satisfying their own needs, but 
doing much useful work. The petals in the natural 
family to which the Hollyhock belongs being united at 
the base with the staminal tube, the whole comes away 
in one piece at the shedding of the bloom. The flowers 
in these double sorts are much more persistent, and fall 
away with some difficulty, especially in wet seasons, 
often causing the whole fruit to rot through the 
moisture retained by the petals. It is necessary, in 
that case, to go over the plants occasionally, and remove 
the decaying flowers ; but this summer they have dried 
up and fallen away mostly of their own accord, and 
already there is promise of an abundant harvest of seed 
from the earlier-opened flowers. 
-- 
HONEY LOCUSTS AT 
DEVONHURST. 
In the days of Loudon, when arboriculture (for 
ornamental purposes at least) had reached its climax, 
the Honey Locusts, or species of Gleditschia, received a 
much greater amount of attention than they do at 
present, notwithstanding the handsome character of 
their finely divided leaves. After describing a half- 
dozen forms, which were then reckoned species, Loudon 
says :—“Every modification of the species of this genus 
is so interesting, both in point of the elegance of its 
foliage and the singularity of its prickles, that new 
varieties have been eagerly sought after by cultivators, 
and the genus seems particularly favourable to this 
desire, from the tendency of seedling plants to sport.” 
Not only has this tendency to sport been exhibited by 
plants grown in this country, but both native and wild 
specimens, from various foreign countries, show the 
same peculiarity, and from the days of Loudon till now 
the genus has been in a state of great confusion. 
Seeing that this is so, it would be undesirable that any 
specialist should take them in hand to multiply the 
species ; but at the same time it would be a great boon 
to the student, or even to cultivators who desired to get 
a true knowledge of the existing species of Gleditschia. 
It would seem an easy matter to unravel the 
mysteries of some half-a-dozen species or so that are 
known at present to science, but the amount of varia¬ 
tion in the same species under different conditions or 
from seed, makes the task of classifying the forms, 
under their respective types, difficult to accomplish. 
An extensive set of specimens, collected from purely 
wild trees, would t furnish the most satisfactory evidence 
of the desired knowledge, and furnish a basis for 
classifying all cultivated specimens. 
The Gleditschias represent a very ancient type of 
vegetation, as fossil forms Have been found in Pliocene 
strata, and at the present day they are distributed in 
various parts of temperate and subtropical Asia (chiefly 
China and Japan), North America, and some of the 
mountains of tropical Africa. The commonest species in 
British gardens are G. triacanthos from North America, 
and G. sinensis from China ; but of these there are 
several distinct forms in cultivation, and if the genus 
were to be thoroughly overhauled, it might be found 
expedient to arrange others, generally considered 
distinct species, under one or other of the above, either 
as varieties or sub-species. 
There are three trees at Devonhurst forming part of 
the remnant of the once famous collection of the Royal 
Horticultural Society at Chiswick, before that part of 
the garden devoted to their cultivation was sold. They 
are planted in close proximity, and form a group, as 
several other trees do, evidently for the purpose of 
comparison—an excellent idea, and one that might 
more often be practised for educational purposes than 
is the rule in this country. They range from 25 ft. to 
50 ft. in height, the tallest one being, apparently, a 
distinct form of G. triacanthos. I cannot regard it as 
the type, seeing that the leaflets are shorter and 
broader than those of trees generally enjoying this 
distinction in gardens, and because they do not agree 
with the descriptions repeated in several publications, 
nor with dried specimens in herbaria. Even the figures 
given b}’’ Loudon do not bear out the description he 
gives of this species. Moreover, owing to the dimorphic 
or polymorphic condition of the leaves on the same 
tree, it is the more necessary that original descriptions 
should be drawn up from fresh specimens. There can 
