824 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 27, 1887. 
GLEANINGS IN OLD GARDEN 
LITERATURE.* 
We have found this a very attractive little book, 
and can strongly recommend it to all “book-worms”— 
a happy race of people addicted to a very innocent 
amusement — and to all who are interested in the 
antiquities of gardens and gardening. The author 
commences his researches with the first English work 
on gardening, which appeared in 1577, when Holborn 
was a suburb. A few pages—for he is always brief 
and readable—bring on the great revival under the 
Tudors, with Bacon’s garden, where he forgot the 
cares of life and statesmanship, and the Sylva of 
Evelyn. Herbals, physic gardens, and bees follow, 
and then a gossip on the gardens at Sheen, Greenwich, 
Kew, and other gardens in and about London in 1691. 
Wine and the Vine, beer and mead are talked about in 
the same literary and discursive way, and we are told 
all about the “warden-Pear”—formerly an esteemed 
baking Pear—and “a warden-pie,” which was com¬ 
posed of meat as well as Pears, being named in 
Winter's Tale by the clown, who says, “ I must have 
Saffron to colour the warden-pies.” 
The chapters that follow relate to the introduction 
of various fruit trees and flowers, and to market 
gardens, nurseries and the private gardens of the 
eighteenth century, such as Sir William Temple’s and 
that of the Countess of Bedford at Moor Park, 
Rickmansworth, which has been famous through many 
centuries, but was never more so than it is now under 
the ownership of Lord Ebury, though our author does 
not say so, his object being to expound the literature 
of gardening only, and the gardens and gardening of 
the past, as described in the various works cited by 
him. His plan includes a very excellent bibliography 
of gardening literature from 1603 to 1800, with several 
pages on the subsequent works of the Lindleys and 
Loudons, which form not the least interesting and 
valuable portions of the book. Sir William Jackson 
Hooker is mentioned, but for a list of his works we are 
referred to Mr. Bohn’s edition of the Bibliographer's 
Manual of Lowndes. 
-- 
PAINTING AND GAS-TARRING 
HOT-WATER PIPES. 
Although not a grower of Orchids, I always read 
Mr. O’Brien’s calendar, and what others of your able 
contributors have to say upon this peculiar and in¬ 
teresting class of plants. I should very much like to 
grow them, though, figuratively speaking, I fear that 
I should want a bed in one corner of the house, and a 
table and chair in another ; but apart from Orchids, the 
advice given last week upon the painting of pipes is 
applicable to us all who have the management of a 
heating apparatus in any house where plants are 
grown. 
Particular stress—and rightly, too—is laid upon the 
injurious influence of painting with gas-tar. Surely, 
there are few who would recommend its use ? If so, 
its destructive influence upon plants is more than any¬ 
one could imagine ; and as Mr. O’Brien has struck the 
nail on the head, I can help him to drive it home by a 
case in point. 
In the year 1874, I had the charge of a place where 
a lean-to vinery was built in one range, with a division 
in the centre for early and late Grapes. My then 
employer had at his works a few unused 4-in. pipes, 
which were gas-tarred, being intended at one time to 
convey cold water, and which he wished to utilise. 
The idea seemed to him a capital one, as he thought of 
his pocket, iron being then dear. Remonstrance proved 
of no avail, and, under protest, they were accordingly 
fixed in one of these divisions, where, with exactly the 
same compost and arrangement of pipes as in the other, 
the young Vines made little progress whatever, whilst 
the other division was all that could be desired. The 
second year they were cut back to one eye, when they 
made similar, though somewhat better, progress (about 
4 ft. of puny growth). These were uprooted, and fresh 
canes inserted ; but the plants were as stubborn as 
ever. 
Ultimately, the pipes were replaced by new ones, 
painted, like the others, with lamp-black and oil. The 
effect the following year upon this second lot of rods 
cut down was as if by magic, they reached the full 
* Gleanings in Old Garden Literature, by W Care: 
Hazlitt. London : Elliot Stock, 18ST. 
length of the rafters. The house was sweet, although 
hitherto, on opening the door, the tarry smell was in¬ 
tolerable, and more fit for a fever hospital than a place 
for Vines. The more we fired, the more the tar melted 
and smelt ; whilst the plants, under its contaminating 
influence, were struggling hard for existence. So much 
for tarred hot-water pipes in greenhouses, and penny- 
wise-and-pound-foolish ideas ! Remembering the past 
for its lessons how to act in the future is a text of no 
mean significance, vividness of which has been portrayed 
to me by reading Mr. O’Brien’s remarks on this subject; 
and to those who do wish to use cheap paints or tar, 
I would recommend the adoption of his advice— 
“Don’t.”— B. L. 
-- 
A SAND VERBENA. 
Although so different in general appearance, this 
elegant trailing plant is a member of the same family 
as Bougainvilleas of our stoves and greenhouses. It is 
the Abronia umbellata of botanists, and has a synonym 
in Tricratus admirabilis. The generic name is derived 
from a Greek word abros, meaning delicate, in allusion 
to the delicate rose-coloured bracts at the base of the 
umbel of flowers, and morphologically the same organs 
that make the Bougainvillea such a favourite in 
gardens. The truss or umbel of flowers bears consider¬ 
able resemblance to that of a Verbena, and the word 
“ sand ” is applied from the fact that most of the species 
grow in sandy places in California. Those of our 
readers who have not seen it may form a very exact 
idea of what the flowers are like by comparing them to 
Abronia umbellata: Showing Habit of Growth. 
the Bird’s Eye Primrose (Primula farinosa), for the 
rose-purple, yellow-eyed flowers are very similar, and 
delicately scented. Ten species are known to science, 
of which four only have been introduced, and the 
present one, together with A. arenaria, are the most 
ornamental for garden purposes. A. umbellata, 
although not now the commonest, was the earliest 
introduction, having been imported originally in 1823. 
It is half hardy, and of annual duration when cultivated 
out of doors, but is perennial when transferred to the 
greenhouse during the winter. The stems are prostrate 
or trailing, and grow from 1 ft. to 5 ft. in length, 
according to the treatment it receives and the time it 
has been planted, producing erect umbels of elegant 
and attractive flowers with great freedom from the 
axils of the leaves. For the specimens from which our 
life-size illustration has been prepared we are indebted 
to Mr. F. Ross, gardener to Sir George Macleay, 
Pendell Court, Bletchingley. The reduced figure above 
shows the habit of the plant. 
-- 
ORCHIDS AT BIRDHILL, 
CLONMEL. 
There is a fascination in Orchid culture that I 
believe no other class of flowers possesses, more especially 
when the beginner commences in a limited way with 
what he is likely to succeed, and progresses from those 
requiring little skill to the rare and more difficult. 
This is the way in which the collection here has been 
got together — commencing with a dozen and now 
exceeding a thousand. Probably at no time of the 
year are flowering Orchids more limited than now, but, 
nevertheless, here something is always to be seen ; so 
as I walked through to-day with the veteran worthy 
proprietor, George Gough, Esq., and his gardener, Mr. 
Thomas Bulfin, I made a few notes for The Gardening 
World, which paper I am proud to find is becoming a 
favourite in Ireland as elsewhere. 
The Hew Cool House.—Double Stages. —In 
re-modelling this structure double stages have been 
introduced with the most satisfactory results. Plants 
that formerly declined and were difficult to manage, 
are now robust and, in many instances, yielding two 
pseudo-bulbs where one inferior specimen formerly was 
the rule. A circulation of air is secured, by spaces 
between, from underneath ; while the evaporation from 
the second stage maintains that cool equable atmos¬ 
pheric temperature in which cool-house Orchids so 
prosper. Formerly the stages were slaty flags with 
sand strewn thereon and kept moist—too cool in winter 
and too hot in summer, and without any spaces for air 
to circulate between the pots or blocks placed thereon. 
This method may be worth the notice of any of your 
readers having cool-house Orchids not giving satis¬ 
faction. The front of the stages consists of green 
muffed glass, which throws an agreeable shade around. 
Another peculiarity worth noting is that the supports 
of the top stage rest in pans of water, which act as 
traps for slugs, woodlice, earwigs, cockroaches, &c., if 
they should try to creep upwards. 
Blooming at present here are several varieties or 
sub-varieties of Odontoglossum crispum, one almost 
pure white, with a faint tint of lilac on the upper petals 
and labellum ; and another heavily shaded and spotted 
—all imported. Adjoining was a large specimen of 
0. Hallii in rude health, very promising, and some 
strong stems of 0. grande magnificum, then preparing 
to expand. We passed 0. vexillarium, that many, 
notwithstanding recent introductions, still think the 
premier ; then 0. triumphans, with the remains of two 
spikes that gave thirty blooms each, and so on. At 
present there are two other imported pieces blooming 
late ; Mr. Gough intends to have the opinion of an 
expert before he names them. There are 200 Odonto- 
glossums of different varieties and sub-varieties here 
alone. 
There are two varieties of Disa grandiflora here, both 
good, but neither having so many blooms on a single 
stem as Mr. F. W. Burbidge found on those grown by 
Mr. Bedford, at Staffane, near Dublin—viz., a dozen. 
One has the trowel-shaped labellum of the deepest 
shade of crimson-rose, suffused with a faint shade of 
blue, while the other is much lighter. They do best 
in pans, and, like all the Orchids in this house, 
they are surfaced with living sphagnum, which Mr. 
Gough considers a good test of healthy growth. 
Calanthe vestita has done much better this season in 
the cool house, and is here preferred to C. furcata. 
Shortly much more bloom will be here conspicuous, 
including Oncidium Rogersi and Phajus bicolor. 
The Warm House. —The gems here now are the 
Cattleyas, conspicuously large and fine being C. gigas 
Sanderiana. Ho word-painting could give an accurate 
idea of the rich crimson and rose-purple shading of the 
petals and labellum, which are curiously veined and 
crisped at the margins, with disks of yellow and 
magenta at the throat, the former being about 7 ins. 
across and the latter 3 ins. This will be immediately 
followed in blooming by C. gigas imperialis, which is 
said to be more superb. I was just too late to see 
C. Gaskelliana and C. Eldorado, but these even in 
their decline of life were worth seeing. Coming to the 
last-named, Mr. Gough reminded me that buyers of 
imported Orchids are sometimes fortunate. He got 
cheaply some specimens labelled C. Eldorado at Messrs. 
Protheroe k Morris’s sales, and they turned out to be 
C. E. splendens, being much finer than the type, and 
more valuable. By-and-bye there will be magnificent 
spikes of C. Mossiie, C. Triame, C. Mendelii, &e., 
which are all very promising now. The Yandas seem 
always in bloom, especially V. suavis and Y. tricolor, 
and, from their great, “fleshy” blooms, have great 
staying power when cut. The same may be said of 
the Aroids (Anthuriums), while if we look around for 
Orchids to cut from, Mr. Bulfin assured us he counted 
300 blooms on Ccelogyne cristata and C. ocellata. 
Just opening was Cymbidium Mastersi, here preferred 
to C. eburneum or C. tigrinum. It does very well 
with some as a cool-house subject, but gets an in¬ 
creased temperature to assist expansion of blooms here. 
Dendrobium chrysantha and Lielia elegans alone re¬ 
presented their species. Among the curiosities was a 
new Orchid from the Bahama Islands, with long 
stems—say, ft. high—having bright purple flowers, 
which are curiously shaped and comparatively small. 
I need not say this transient reference at this bad 
Orchid season gives no full account of Mr. Gough’s 
xtensive collection. — W. J. Murphy, Clonmel. 
