232 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 10,1887. 
LAPAG-ERIAS AT FOREST HILL. 
A large number of seedlings in pots at tbe nurseries 
of Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill, has recently 
come into flower, exhibiting great variety of colouring 
and degree of spotting. On examination of the various 
forms that we see here and elsewhere in cultivation, 
we find that the flowers also vary in their relative 
lengths and the degree of expansion. Mere size may 
be a matter of good cultivation ; but some forms, such 
as the Nash Court variety, have a tendency to grow 
greatly in length in proportion to the relative expansion 
of the segments, and the greater the vigour attained 
by the plants as a result of liberal treatment and 
suitable conditions, the longer the flowers become. 
A few weeks ago, we described the flowers of the Nash 
Court variety as attaining a length of 4 ins.; but under 
good treatment, 5 ins. is found to be nearer the average 
length at Forest Hill. The shape of this variety is 
decidedly tubular ; but owing to their dark colour, the 
great substance of the segments, and the floriferous 
nature of the branches bearing them, a large number 
of flowers are produced iu close contiguity, presenting 
the appearance of a single truss, and the whole has a 
massive and imposing effect. 
The flowers of the seedlings above mentioned nearly 
all belong to the widely-expanded type, making them 
bell-shaped rather than tubular ; but it is merely a 
matter of taste or choice which of the two is to be con¬ 
sidered the more ornamental. The darker the colour, 
however, the better, as this seems to be generally the 
accepted indication of greater value. All grades or 
tints of variation are, however, exhibited by these 
seedlings, some being exceptionally fine. The stems 
being yet slender, no real estimate can be formed of the 
size the flowers will attain ; but as the rootstocks 
acquire strength, so must the succeeding shoots and 
flowers improve. 
Lapagerias succeed best when planted out, so as to 
allow the roots greater play. They should, however, 
be restricted within a certain limited area, in order 
to prevent the underground shoots from spreading too 
widely. A compost of two-thirds good fibrous peat 
and one-third loam, with sand and nodules of charcoal 
to ensure porosity and perfect drainage, are the requisites 
for free growth. 
b -~>X<~- 
DAPHNE ODORA RUBRA. 
In this we have a plant well known to nearly everyone 
who has a greenhouse, the highly delicious perfume 
that one truss of flowers will diffuse through the whole 
of such a structure being the cause of its popularity. 
Amongst the many, how seldom it is that a good, 
clean, healthy, and well-flowered plant is to be seen ! 
The reason of this may be traced to several causes. 
Nothing is more injurious to this plant than green¬ 
fly, which will attack the young foliage in the spring 
months, so completely crippling and disfiguring it that 
the leaves cannot perform their proper functions ; and 
this, we all know, will have a tendency to prevent that 
healthy root action which is evidence of good culti¬ 
vation, either under glass or in the open ground. 
When the pest in question makes its appearance, it 
should be at once destroyed, either by fumigation with 
tobacco-paper or by washing the plants with one of the 
many insecticides that are in the market. 
Another cause to which the unhealthy appearance of 
the plants may be attributed is a too free use of the 
knife when they are in bloom. The less they are cut 
about when in flower the better, although the centrally- 
placed shoots may be cut away or removed without 
harm. Being a winter-flowering subject, D. odora 
rubra generally gets too severely handled for cut-flower 
purposes, and also receives more moisture than it can 
absorb. Over-watering, in nine cases out of ten, is the 
principal cause of failure in cultivating this plant 
successfully. Yery young subjects will flower at the 
points of the current year’s growth, provided the wood 
has been properly ripened ; but a few trusses only may 
be cut when we possess specimen plants 3 ft. to 4 ft. 
high, and as far through, bearing 150 trusses of flowers, 
or thereabouts, that will keep up a succession all 
through the winter, and constantly pervade the atmo¬ 
sphere of the house with their perfume. At no time 
should the plant be pruned hard back. My advice is 
do not cut more than is necessary if you wish your 
plant to do well, nor coddle it; but give plenty of 
ventilation at all times to keep the growths firm and 
strong. 
In potting, give good drainage, and plant firmly in a 
compost of good loam and peat, mixing with it plenty 
of gritty sand, and be careful not to give too large a 
shift at any time. At some places I have seen it 
planted out and trained to back walls ; but where this 
is done extra precaution must be taken to see that the 
border is well drained ; otherwise, it had better be kept 
in a pot, where it will be more under control. 
It may be propagated by grafting on seedlings of 
D. Mezereon that have been established a season in 
60-sized pots, or it may be rooted by cuttings inserted 
during autumn, after the wood has become firm. 
Grafting, being the quickest and best way to obtain a 
stock of it, is to be preferred, for the simple reason 
that they make stronger plants in the shortest time. 
Good plants may soon be ruined if either the fly gets 
the upper hand, or the knife and water are too freely 
applied, against all of which evils we must be on our 
guard. Well-grown specimens are rarely met with, 
and those who possess them know their worth, both 
for the fragrance of their flowers and the great length 
of time they keep in good condition ; while in an 
unhealthy and neglected state they are an eyesore to 
the beholder. — IV. G. 
-»>x<—- 
OAKFIELD, SOUTH DULWICH. 
Sir William Ogg’s collection of Chrysanthemums 
presents a remarkably handsome and brilliant ap¬ 
pearance, owing to the effective staging of about 150 
pots, comprising upwards of sixty varieties. The plants 
are all in a very healthy condition and well studded 
with blooms, the great variety of colours being judici¬ 
ously blended by Mr. Ryder, the gardener. 
In the Japanese class some of the most notable are 
Fair Maid of Guernsey, with very large, well-developed, 
pure white flowers ; Dr. Macary, pale rose ; Ville de 
Heysens, a bright crimson with very effective gold 
centre, the flowers being in well-formed clusters ; Boule 
d’Or, Gloire de Toulouse and many others. In the 
reflexed section are Chevalier Domage, with well-formed, 
bright golden yellow flowers, well contrasted with the 
bright crimson of Cullingfordi, Dr. Sharp, &e., &c. A 
notable feature is the even and compact form of the 
incurved varieties, of which General Bainbridge and 
Barbara have very fine bronze colours, contrasting well 
with Empress of India, large pure white, and many of 
the crimson and magenta colours. 
As Sir William Ogg does not publicly exhibit his 
plants, Mr. Ryder’s careful productions are, to a certain 
extent, left to blush and bloom unseen, but certainly 
present a very charming collection for decorative 
purposes. Although he has cut about 800 blooms this 
season, the plants are well covered, and, judging from 
the numerous buds on them, will make a continuous 
show for some time to come.— J. B., Dec. hth. 
-->X<-- 
THE STRAWBERRY - FRUITED 
CYPRESS. 
It is to be regretted that this Conifer is not so hardy 
as the Strawberry tree, which is a member of the Heath 
family, perfectly hardy, and a great ornament of 
British gardens, especially where it produces its orna¬ 
mental and curious-berried fruit, which is highly 
coloured, and roughened on the exterior so as to 
resemble a Strawberry. The cones of the Strawberry- 
fruited Cypress are also similarly and, when in 
perfection, most delicately coloured, and show the 
great pliability of plant organs ; and that whereas the 
cones with which we are most familiar are of a dry 
woody nature, in this case they are soft and fleshy. 
The outline of the individual scales is preserved, and 
from this fact, coupled with their fleshy character and 
bright red colour, the popular name has been applied. 
The botanical name is Microcaehrys tetragona, the 
generic name being derived from Milcros, small, and 
Cachrys, a Fir cone. The specific name is taken from 
the leaves, which are arranged in four rows upon the 
stems and twiggy branches. 
Provided it had been able to endure the severity of 
our climate, what a useful subject it would have been 
for the rock garden, where, if planted among stones in 
an elevated position, the long slender prostrate branches 
would have constituted admirable drapery, such as is 
desirable in that kind of gardening. In its native 
country it forms a prostrate shrub, and is very 
abundant on the mountains in the western parts of 
Tasmania and also on the hills of Port Cypress. A 
greenhouse temperature is, however, necessary for its 
preservation in this country, where, however, it might 
be utilised with good effect on rockeries in greenhouses 
and conservatories. This would be a more natural and 
effective arrangement than the custom pursued at 
present of growing it in pots and staking up the shoots. 
Even under this treatment vigorous and healthy plants 
are very effective, from the great quantity of small 
bright red fruits produced at the tip of every slender 
twig. At the Glasgow Botanic Gardens it is cultivated 
in pots.— Taxus. 
THE TWEED VINEYARD. 
Though many times described by writers in the 
various gardening periodicals, it is impossible for any¬ 
one who has not visited Messrs. W. Thomson & Sons’ 
famous Vineyard at Clovenfords to realise either the 
extent to which Grapes are there grown, the enormous 
crops annually brought to perfection, or their wonderful 
all-round good quality. No description would do the 
place justice, and we shall certainly not attempt it. 
For the benefit, however, of those who cannot make a 
pilgrimage to the district in which the Vineyard is 
situated, and which is immortalised in the works of 
Sir W alter Scott, we give an illustration of one of the 
vineries, prepared from a photograph taken by Mr. 
William Craig, foreman of the Messrs. Thomson’s 
Orchid department. It represents the Gros Colmar 
house, bearing the current season’s crop, which is an 
astounding one for weight and finish, considering the 
age of the Vines. 
The house is the centre one of three—each 200 ft. 
long, 24 ft. wide, and 16 ft. high—which are connected 
by a corridor 150 ft. long, 25 ft. wide, and 16 ft. high. 
It was planted in the summer of 1870 with Vines 
struck from eyes the same year, grown on turf and 
root-pruned, so that when lifted for planting each Vine 
had a mass of short fibrous roots ready to take hold of 
the soil in which they were planted. The Vines made 
splendid growths, running up to the top of the house 
before the end of the season. The supernumeraries 
were heavily cropped the following year, while the 
permanent Vines were allowed to have another year’s 
growth before being cropped ; but since then enormous 
crops have been taken off them year after year. 
This season there are about 2,300 bunches in this 
house, the weight of which is estimated at 4,500 lbs. 
The house is started about the end of February, and 
the crop is mostly cut and marketed in December and 
January. When the house is started, the border 
inside gets a heavy top-dressing of “Thomson’s Vine 
Manure,” which is then watered into the border. 
Another dressing of the manure is given after the 
Grapes are thinned, and again when the berries are 
half swelled. The outside border also receives a good 
top-dressing in the summer time. 
The border has been in part renewed of late years, 
good turf and Thomson’s Manure being substituted 
for the old soil, which, in a great measure, was of in¬ 
ferior quality, as it was impossible to get enough good 
turf to make all the borders when the houses were put 
up. By means of keeping the roots near the surface, 
and feeding them heavily with the Vine Manure, the 
Vines are kept in such a state of vigour and fruitfulness, 
that a light crop is unknown ; every year enormous 
crops being produced, the berries and bunches both 
being alike of great size. All through the late autumn, 
until quite recently when cutting was commenced, the 
house was a wonderful sight, and such as few who saw 
it are likely soon to forget. , 
On p. 229 we also give an illustration of one of the 
Muscats at Clovenlords, and which, better than any 
words of ours, tells its own story to practical men. 
- — - 
NEW PLANTS CERTIFICATED 
By the Floral Committee of the National 
Chrysanthemum Society. —December 7th. 
Chrysanthemum, J. Collins. 
This is a name given to a new Japanese variety of 
American origin. It is somewhat above the middle 
size judging from the specimens exhibited, and may be 
described as a late sort, but that may be a matter of 
cultivation. The florets are broad and somewhat 
ascending, or more generally spreading, being more or 
less twisted in the upper part, and consequently the 
bloom belongs to the spreading and flattened type. A 
great number of the outer florets are of a rosy pink 
colour, whilst all the central part of the head is of 
a deep golden colour. Exhibited by Messrs. W. & G. 
Drover, Fareham. 
Zonal Pelargoniums. 
Sivanley Gem Improved. —Two out of a mag¬ 
nificent stand of twelve new varieties were certificated, 
the whole showing what improvements are still being 
made in this popular flower ; and the colouring, size, 
and substance were simply superb. In this case, owing 
to the notoriously bad light under which we made our 
notes, we must describe the colour of this variety as a 
deep rosy scarlet, with darker veins, and a white eye, 
from which two or three crimson lines radiated for a 
short way on the upper petals. The whole flower was 
of great size and substance, perfectly round, while the 
petals, owing to their particular growth, were somewhat 
recurved. 
Bridesmaid. —The flowers in this case were also 
large and well formed from the florists’ point of view, 
and white tinted with a delicate rose or rosy salmon on 
the lower part of each petal, thus making them 
distinctly bi-coloured. Exhibited by Messrs. Cannell 
& Sons, Swanley, Kent. 
