378 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 11, 1888. 
obtained. Should really distinct colours be wanted, I 
should not advise the growing of these striped kinds, 
but rather the cultivation of such sorts as are known to 
maintain the colour of their flowers intact.— JV. G. 
-- 
ARDENING fflSCELLANY. 
Rose Growing. 
Mr. Duncan Gilmour, Junr., of Sheffield, has very 
kindly sent me a copy of his little shilling book on 
Rose growing. Whilst I cannot too strongly express 
pleasure with regard to the chatty, yet practical nature 
of its contents, and the aid given to amateur rosarians 
by some admirable explanatory illustrations, I specially 
commend it because it presents the very beau ideal of 
what 1 have so long wished to see in the way of cheap 
gardening manuals. I admit that cheap gardening 
books are in the field, but, as a rule, they are worthless 
when obtained. Mr. Gilmour’s is, on the other hand, 
a really practical little book—one which even the most 
successful Rose grower might read with satisfaction ; 
and its value is accentuated because it is written by one 
who has wide experience of the culture of Roses in the 
cold, treacherous north. What a boon it would be 
to the great mass of the working-class gardening 
amateurs, had we similar cheap. t but not less practical 
books on Chrysanthemums, Dahlias and Gladioli ; 
Cai’nations, Picotees and Pinks ; Auriculas and Polyan¬ 
thuses ; Pelargoniums and Fuchsias ; Potatos and 
other garden roots ; window plants ; the amateur’s 
greenhouse, and many other things, all of which it is 
desired should be written for the particular class stated 
by writers void of wordy bunkum, and eminently 
practical, whilst pleasing in their style. Such a 
selection of gardening books might well form a standard 
library, and which could thus be recommended to those 
who are elementary seekers after garden knowledge. 
I have often been asked to recommend working men 
suitable gardening books, and have felt the absurdity 
of advising them to purchase books ranging from 
3s. 6d. to 7s. 6 d. each.— Alex. Deo,n. 
Anthurium splendidum Easily Grown. 
Hitherto this has been a most troublesome plant, 
which has puzzled the skill of the best horticulturist 
wherever we have seen it. That such a likely plant as 
an Anthurium should behave in this manner w'ould 
seem unaccountable when our stoves and other warm 
hot-houses are filled with various species of Anthurium 
together with a host of allied genera. It is quite true 
that A. splendidum presents structural peculiarities 
quite different from other species generally, but it 
seems strange that it should present any difficulty in 
cultivation notwithstanding. The leaf is heart-shaped, 
very uneven or rugose on the surface, and of a deep 
metallic green colour. Messrs. J. Yeitch & Sons, 
Chelsea, some time ago received a fresh consignment 
of plants from their native country, New Grenada, and 
having been propagated, are now growing away freely 
without any special care. Whether the plants have 
been brought from a different locality or not, the 
present batch seems to possess a considerable amount 
of vigour, and will soon make handsome decorative 
specimens at their present rate of progress. 
Phoenix hybrida. 
Under this name we noticed a Palm the other day in Mr. 
William Bull’s establishment at Chelsea. It is 
described as new, and appears to us as a useful subject 
something in the way of P. rupicola, which is well 
known, or is getting to be widely known in gardens as 
a useful decorative plant. The older and better known 
sorts, such as P. dactylifera and P. reclinata, are also 
worthy of all consideration for decorative work in 
private establishments, but they soon out-grow the 
limited space at command, and are useless for table and 
work of that nature. P. hybrida, on the other hand, is 
dwarf and compact, with dark green pinnated leaves, 
having an easy grace that prevents any idea of rigidity. 
The lower pinnre pass into short spiny processes some¬ 
what similar to those occuring in P. reclinata. 
Chinese Primula, Magenta Queen. 
From Mr. B. S. Williams, Victoria and Paradise 
Nurseries, Upper Holloway, comes a box of blooms of 
a new variety of the Chinese Primula under the above 
name. In size the flowers are equal to the best coming 
under our notice, and measure from If ins. to more 
than 2 ins. across the individual pips, which are quite 
flat, with much imbricated and fimbriated segments. 
They may be described as rich rose-magenta in colour, 
with a distinctly five-angled eye, and bright yellow' in 
the throat, surrounded with a beautiful band of velvety 
crimson when at their best. Like all other members of 
this variable species, the flowers vary in tint with age, 
being pale when young, intensifying to their richest, 
and finally becoming somewhat paler before they drop. 
Should the habit and constitution of the plant be 
vigorous, giving rise to a free production of flowers, it 
will certainly be a fine acquisition, and deserving of 
extended cultivation. 
Rhododendron balsamsefiorum album. 
Rapid strides continue to be made in the improvement 
of what are now popularly called hybrid greenhouse 
Rhododendrons, and before long we may have a series 
of double forms as brilliant, varied and gay as the 
single varieties are at present. The doubles were 
obtained by using pollen from a flower that showed a 
slight tendency to become double, by some of the 
stamens assuming a petaloid form. In examining a 
single pip of the variety under notice, there is so great 
a resemblance to the double Tuberose, that it would 
require a keen discriminating eye to detect the differ¬ 
ence. The segments of the double flower are very 
numerous, packed within one another, and extend to 
the very base of the corolla—so that they resemble a 
hose-in-liose kind of doubling. The flowers of such 
double varieties as these are much more durable than 
the single ones. It is now flowering at Messrs. J. 
Veitch & Sons’ Chelsea establishment, where a great 
number are even now very gay. 
Tillandsia Lindenii vera. 
The typical form is a handsome and ornamental plant 
in itself, and had we never known the variety under 
notice, it would have been more appreciated and valued 
as one of the finest flowering species in the large and 
varied genus to which it belongs. In the variety T. L. 
vera, the whole plant is much dwarfer and more com¬ 
pact, with finer leaves, while the size of the flowers is 
retained, and the bracts of the flower spike are of a 
charming shade of rosy pink when the blooms com¬ 
mence to expand. These bracts are more valuable from 
a decorative point of view than the flowers themselves, 
because infinitely more durable, and last for many 
weeks in presentable condition, finally becoming green 
as the last of the flowers expand. The latter are of a 
most intense and charming blue, such as we often see 
in the best blue varieties of Iris Xiphion or I. 
Xiphioides, while some individuals have a large white 
blotch at the base of the petals, adding further to the 
distinctness of flowers already very conspicuous. Both 
the type and the variety are grown in Mr. 'William 
Bull’s establishment at Chelsea, but the variety in the 
greatest quantity. 
Araucaria excelsa. 
It would augur well for the climate of this countrj 7 if 
this truly beautiful half-hardy Conifer, noticed by 
“A. 0.” at p. 347, and known as the Norfolk Island 
Pine, had been hardy. Unfortunately it will not stand 
the rigours of our winters ; otherwise, a specimen of 
the height your correspondent mentioned would be a 
charming object to behold on any lawn. It can only 
be grown to any size when planted out in a bed in some 
well-proportioned conservatory ; and as a pot or tub 
specimen it may be used with good effect in sub-tropical 
gardening, plunged out-doors during the summer, and 
housed in the autumn ere frosts occur. The finest 
Araucaria imbricata I have seen was in Mitchell’s 
Nursery, Piltdown, Sussex, some years ago—a beautiful 
specimen, its lower branches sweeping the ground, and 
the picture of health ! Some good ones at Elvaston 
are marred in effect by the loss of their lower branches. 
—George Potts, Junr. 
White Pandanus. 
The attempts to get a white variety of Pandanus 
Veitchii which we noticed the other day at Tower 
House, Chiswick, recalls to mind our early experiences 
with Pelargoniums, Sempervivum tortuosum, and 
others, with the view of obtaining a pure white-leaved 
variety. It is needless to say we failed in the attempt. 
Mr. Bones has succeeded in rooting a small shoot; but 
on close examination, a small amount of green could be 
detected towards the base of some of the leaves, hence 
the rooting of the branch in question is easily explained. 
A microscopical examination of a variegated leaf readily 
reveals the cause to which the phenomenon of the dis¬ 
tribution or direction of the white stripes and lines is 
due. The parts that first lose their chlorophyll are 
those immediately surrounding the fibro-vascular 
bundles or veins of the leaf, and these traversing the 
leaf longitudinally, give the same direction to the white 
or creamy white stripes. A section of a green portion 
showed the chlorophyll bodies arranged in cells, occu¬ 
pying two layers about equidistant from both surfaces, 
while the middle portion had no chlorophyll granules 
(in the specimen examined). The granules were com¬ 
paratively large, and showed their peculiar perforated 
structure with the green colouring pigment in the 
cavities of the grain only. The white portion of the 
leaf contained no chlorophyll whatever, but very active 
protoplasm, in which various globular, oblong, and 
other bodies were dancing about in a lively manner. 
Circulation was also active in the cells containing 
chlorophyll : but the smaller refractive bodies revealing 
the movements of the protoplasm were less numerous 
there. There are two kinds of stomata on the leaf—the 
ordinary oval and large square ones, which apparently 
remain always open. The latter are numerous on both 
surfaces of the leaf, while the former are almost confined 
to the lower surface. —J. F. 
A Show-house for Hardy Plants. 
This house, we have no doubt, when properly established 
and filled with the sweet flowers of spring, will be a 
popular resort for those visitors to the gardens at Kew 
who take a special interest in hardy plants. Such a 
house as the above has long been wanted, especially for 
spring flowers, as many of these begin to bloom at a 
time when there is great danger of their being destroyed 
by treacherous east winds, &c. Indeed, for all those 
Alpines that do not take kindly to our climate—and there 
are a great many such that do better in pots than on 
the open rockery—a place where the public can have 
free access at all times is certainly most desirable. Iris 
reticulata, the more tender of Snowdrops, Saxifraga 
Burseriana, Cyclamen coum, C. ibericum, &c., the early 
Daffodils, Primulas, Hellebores, &c., and a host of other 
things are hardy enough in the open, but unfortunately 
flower at a time when they are rarely seen to the 
best advantage, unless protected by some means, either 
with glass or other material. This structure is stocked 
with spring flowers, and is now open at the same time 
as the other houses. 
Soot Water and Cucumbers. 
I have read most of the instructive articles Lorn the 
pen of Mr. George Potts, Junr., during the past three 
months, and admit that they contain many useful hints, 
especially to young gardeners. But I am inclined to 
differ from him in regard to watering Cucumbers with 
soot water as he recommends at p. 361. Does he 
not think that soot would have a tendency to give a 
bitter taste to the Cucumber ? I have never used it as 
a stimulant for Cucumbers, having been given to 
understand, by practical gardeners of long standing, 
that it would spoil the flavour of the fruit, otherwise I 
have great faith in soot as a stimulant. Any infor¬ 
mation on the subject will greatly oblige.— J. L. F. 
Himantophyllum miniatum speciosum. 
From now onwards for some months greenhouses and 
conservatories will be rendered gay with the various 
species and varieties of Clivia, best known in gardens 
under the name of Himantophyllum, although that is 
not really the oldest name, if all the species are to be 
included in one genus. H. miniatum has given rise to 
the greatest number of varieties, although they even 
are few compared with what has been obtained amongst 
the Hippeastrums by cross-breeding and hybridisation. 
The variety of H. miniatum under notice we observed 
the other day in Mr. IV. Bull’s establishment at 
Chelsea, and is characterised by large trusses of well- 
expanded flowers, displaying the interior to advantage. 
The upper half of the segments is of a rich bright 
scarlet, while the lower half is as conspicuously white, 
with some yellow markings. The leathery evergreen 
foliage of this, as of its allies, is a great recommendation 
to the plant from a decorative point of view, as the 
flowers are always accompanied by leaves. 
The Nude-flowered Jessamine. 
This charming winter-flowering plant can now be seen 
in bloom on many a garden and cottage wall. I saw 
the other day a large specimen on a school-house that 
will be a mass of pure yellow in a few days. The 
peculiarity attaching to this plant is that it flowers in 
■winter, sometimes as early as November, at others 
about Christmas, and sometimes not until February. 
