26 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 10, 1887. 
itself. A bunch of fruit has been produced on the 
young wood developed after the graft had taken and 
grown to some length, while the wood has ripened 
much earlier than in the case of other grafts effected at 
the same time. Altogether we were much interested 
in the experiments being carried on, and in the various 
cultural matters. Should anyone desire to see for 
themselves, we believe Mr. Roupell would be pleased 
to accommodate them by private arrangement.— F. 
-- 
Hardening SIiscellany. 
American Blackberries. — A few days ago, 
while visiting the gardens of George Hamilton, Esq., 
Brent Lodge, Finchley, I was much struck with the 
appearance of a fine hedge of American Blackberries 
trained to a wire fence. Every year the old bearing- 
wood is cut out, and the new tied in its place. During 
the summer months it becomes a thick impenetrable 
fence, having a very pretty effect whilst in flower and 
fruit, combining both beauty and usefulness. Tropseolum 
speciosum grows quite wild here in places on the borders, 
its roots being dug out every season, in the same manner 
as those of the Bindweed. It was fully in flower when 
I saw it, and looked beairtiful. Plumbago capensis, in 
the conservatory, was fine and flowering freely in a 
12-in. pot, its roots having penetrated into the border 
beneath, where it seemed quite at home. Dendrobium 
nobilis was standing outside in the full glare of the 
mid-day sun, looking very robust and full of promise. 
Gardenia florida, laden with flower-buds and looking 
very healthy, together with other stove and greenhouse 
plants, seemed perfectly at ease in their quarters on a 
north border. Mr. Griffin, who is an able and enthu¬ 
siastic gardener, states that he does not believe in 
coddling his plants, as many gardeners do, and his 
successful practice shows that he is not far wrong.— 
Alfred Gaut, The Gardens Hopped Rail, Totteridge. 
G-aillardia pulchella splendida. —Last week, 
on visiting Kew Gardens, I found a Gaillardia, bearing 
the above name, growing amongst the collection of 
herbaceous plants. I cannot find it mentioned in any 
catalogue, and last week I read your notice of the 
Gaillardias at Tottenham, hrq ug to hear of it being 
there, but was disappointed. It is a fine showy flower, 
and well worth growing.— Alfred Gaut, The Gardens, 
Copped Hall, Totteridge. 
The Want of Unity Am ong- Gardeners. 
—Mr. Alfred Gaut on p. 4 of your last number says, 
“ The British gardeners are scatteied abroad from one 
end of the land to the other without organisation or 
united action, and it is doubtful whether or not we are 
losing ground ?” How the first part of this sentence 
struck me as pointing to a most deplorable fact, and to 
the necessity of forming a society under the banner of 
which gardeners could unite in promoting the interests 
of its members individually or collectively. There are 
some among us, no doubt, who are trying to render 
assistance to the many, but who are necessarily crippled 
in their effort to do so. I would suggest the desirability 
of a general canvass being made amongst gardeners 
to ascertain how far they favour the idea of forming 
such a society. A gardeners’ club might be established 
in London where gardeners residing in or near London 
could meet for debates and discussions ; a library might 
be formed, and rooms provided for the use of committee 
meetings, &c. The various societies in which gardeners 
are mostly concerned might be induced to take rooms 
on the premises, and from this centre more good would 
result than is the case at present. Country societies 
could be affiliated by payment of a subscription, and 
from this central club could obtain books, papers, &c. 
Such are few of the advantages to be derived by com¬ 
bination, and I feel convinced were a good scheme 
placed before the gardeners of this country, it would 
receive their hearty support.— J. S. Trevor. 
Mignonette. —There are so many Mignonettes in 
the present day, white, red, yellow, that one may well 
ask, with something like concern, which are the best. 
Supposing that anyone is desirous of growing the best 
of each colour—it is a seasonable question—which are 
they ? Well, one requires to see a batch of Mignonette 
growing together in the open air, and the varieties that 
are best there are pretty certain to be good in pots. 
Such a trial I saw not long since in Messrs. Sutton’s 
Beading seed grounds, and the best red, good both in 
spike, colour and fragrance, was the Giant Red ; the 
best yellow was a fine well-coloured variety named 
Cloth of Gold ; the best white, Sutton’s Selected White 
or Parsons’ Giant White, for they appear to be identical. 
But Mignonettes are pretty much a question of selection, 
and any grower starting with good ones at the'com- 
mencement, can easily save seed from one or two of the 
very best plants of each, and so ensure something of 
the best value to cultivate.— Fi. D. 
A Fine Specimen of Plumbago capensis. 
—Regularly as the seasons come round they bring into 
prominence certain objects, the merits of which are 
duly recorded. Thus Plumbago capensis is now in 
season, and has duly claimed attention, in the columns 
of The Gardening World, as being worthy of culture 
in pots and the open border, likewise in baskets. 
Invited a few days ago to pay a visit to the small, but 
neatly kept garden of Frederick Eastwood, Esq., at 
Buekden House, Edgerton, I was most favourably 
impressed with the beauty of a grand specimen of this 
old-fashioned plant which was occupying the back wall 
of a small half-circular plant house at one end of a 
lean-to range. The third year after being placed in 
the border it covered the entire wall, 22 ft. wide by 
18 ft. high, and like many another subject planted 
out, would have covered much more if it had the 
chance. It is spurred back to the wall every winter. 
“See,” said Mr. Powney, the gardener, “I have cut a 
bushel of flowers this week, and you cannot tell where 
I have taken them from. For the last eight weeks it 
has been as you now behold it, a huge breastwork of 
laterals, which are continually throwing out flowers ; 
and it is quite as likely to continue for a similar period.” 
The entire wall was literally one mass of azure-blue, 
and certainly the finest piece of natural floral wall 
covering I have seen for many a long day.— B. L., 
Huddersfield. 
The Ne Plus Ultra Runner Bean.— It is 
now nearly twelve months since “A. D.” drew the 
attention of your readers to the decided merits of this 
Bean, as seen at London shows, and prophesied that 
its culture would become general. I always look with 
a dubious eye upon products which are the outcome of 
high culture ; but, in common with others, I have 
given it a trial and agree with “A. D.” that it is a 
real acquisition. In a short row I have growing it 
closely resembles Carter’s Champion, both in habit and 
general appearance, but the number and size of the 
pods, en masse, up the stems enables it to leave that 
variety in the rear as a cropper. It throws itsjflowers, 
many in pairs, from nearly every leaf joint, and these 
develop into fine massive fleshy pods. Undoubtedly, 
for exhibition and for the table, it is A 1.— B. L. 
Neottopteris australasica. — The finest 
specimen of the Bird’s Hest Fern we have seen is in 
the conservatory at Brookshill, Stanmore (S. J. 
Blackwell, Esq.). The fronds are perfect, and from 4 ft. 
to 5 ft. in length, their black mid-ribs showing very 
effectively on the bright green fronds. Looking from 
above the plant is a deep nest, very regularly shaped in 
the centre. 
Chrysanthemums in August. — With a 
view to having some flowers at the present time for a 
special purpose, Mr. J. Conuie, gardener to Samuel J. 
Blackwell, Esq., Brookshill, Stanmore, has succeeded 
in getting some very fine blooms of large-flowered and 
Japanese Chrysanthemums, some of which were open 
in August. The flowers of some are 5 ins. to 6 ins. 
across, and would grace any exhibition stand. Mr. 
Condie carefully selected prominent-budded plants, 
removing all but the largest terminal ones. On the 
buds becoming well formed the plants were removed to 
a cool house, where they steadily progressed, and now 
bear grand blooms, as before stated. The white, blue 
and lavender Campanula pyramidalis are also very fine 
in the conservatory of the same garden. 
The Evergreen Oak. — Mr. Webster pleads 
hard for Quercus Ilex, and wonders why it is not 
more seen iu our parks and pleasure grounds. A 
beautiful object it certainly is through the late autumn 
and early winter months, with its bright glossy leaves; 
but being of slow growth, it is not a fit subject to be 
planted with other trees, except as a nursling. It soon 
gets overtopped by trees of quicker and coarser growth, 
and is left behind in the battle of tree life. This is 
why its absence is so conspicuous in our plantations. 
If planted as single specimens on the margins of woods, 
and specially cared for, they have a better chance 
of growing into handsome trees, but its scarcity will 
always be apparent. Having Mr. Webster’s note in 
my mind, 1 felt curious this (Monday) morning to 
ascertain the condition of some of the trees in a small 
plantation close at hand, which is over twenty years 
old, and which is composed of about 220 forest trees, in¬ 
termingled with an undergrowth of evergreen and other 
deciduous shrubs. The number of evergreen Oaks, 
from 9 ft. to 12 ft. high, stunted and overtopped, were 
seventeen ; six from 12 ft. to 17 ft. high, which were 
enclosed and over-grown ; and there were five plants 
looking straight and healthy. It will thus be seen 
that out of the lot only five were promising. In the 
dressed grounds, in many northern districts, its worst 
feature is that, being only semi-evergreen, it retains 
its foliage until nearly Christmas, and then scatters its 
leaves over the ground after the borders have been 
dug and made tidy for the season-.— B. Lockveood, 
Sept. 5 th. 
Torenia Fournier!— One of the most floriferous 
and popular of the Torenias is this species ; to be 
accounted for, probably, from its intrinsic beauty, free- 
flowering qualities, and the certainty upon which it 
may be reckoned to produce a display in the conserva¬ 
tory during the summer months. The upright stems 
are quite unlike those of the pendent-habited T. 
asiatica, which loses in popularity more and more since 
such excellent species as T. flava, T. concolor and 
T. Fournieri have been introduced. The deep violet 
lobes of the lower lip form a striking contrast to the 
pale violet of the other parts of the flower, while the 
flowers are further greatly enlivened by the orange- 
yellow throat and the blotch at the base of the middle 
lobe of the lower lip. We noted it the other day at 
Sudbury House. The species may be perpetuated by 
cuttings or seeds ; the former are easily rooted in a 
close frame with a stove temperature, and seedlings 
rapidly grow into useful stuff. Loam, leaf-soil and 
sand form an excellent compost in which to grow the 
Torenias. 
The Cut-leaved Alder. —The two most orna¬ 
mental trees of the genus are Alnus cordifolia and the 
subject under notice, namely, Alnus glutinosa lacinata. 
There are several other smaller and more or less 
distinct, striking, or ornamental forms to be seen in 
villa gardens in the suburbs of London, but from habit, 
constitution and the dry situations in which they are 
generally planted, they have, more or less, a stunted 
appearance, although they may please the caprice of 
the planter or the fancy of the owner. The laciniated 
variety has a constitution equally good as the type, and 
in this country, at least, is a far more stately tree than 
the type, if planted in a suitable situation where its 
roots may dip into water. We have frequently seen 
the type no better than a large scraggy bush. There 
are records of several fine specimens of A. g. laciniata 
in this country ; and a tree about 60 ft. or more in 
height, at Fair Lawn House, Acton, might be added to 
the list. This form is wild in the north of France, and 
in the woods of Montmorency, near Paris. 
Stephanotis floribunda Fruiting.— Hot the 
least remarkable fact concerning the members of the 
Asclepiad family, to which th,e Stephanotis belongs, is 
the size the fruits attain when the flowers happen to be 
fertilised. The absence of the proper insects is, doubt¬ 
less, the reason why the plant under notice fruits so 
seldom in this country. We have now to record it 
from Hanger Hill House, Ealing, where the fruit on 
ripening turns a fine lemon-yellow as it reaches the 
stage of bursting. It is close on 3 ins. long and 14 ins 
in diameter, and splitting along one side shows a type 
of seeds that is frequent in the family, being very 
much flattened or almost winged, and furnished with a 
long tail of silky white shining hairs. It would be 
easy to guess at the economy of this coma or tail, pro¬ 
vided it had any great persistency or power to hang on 
to the seeds ; but mysteriously enough the whole drops 
off when the slightest strain is put upon it. That is 
our experience at least. The fruit is highly ornamental, 
and an object of much curiosity from the fact of its 
being of a very unfamiliar kind in this country. It is 
also very unusual for thick walled fruit to split at all 
when mature as this does. 
Clerodendron fragrans flora pleno.— 
Both the single and the double-flowered forms of this 
Clerodendron are highly fragrant, and on that account 
is very useful in a conservatory amongst a mixed 
collection of plants. The double-flowered form has 
pinkish white flowers arranged in dense capitate 
umbels, or rather cymes, and the flowers are much 
more durable than those of the single state. Another 
fact to be noted is that when the oldest series of flowers 
have performed their part and faded, they should be 
carefully picked off, when another set will take their 
place and continue the flowering period for a consider¬ 
able time. This is due to the central flowers of each 
group in the cyme being the oldest and open first, 
while a succession is kept up by the lateral ones. The 
species is a very vigorous grower, especially when 
