566 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 5, 1888. 
London florists in the last exhibition of old masters at 
the Royal Academy for observing in a picture, by 
Van Huysum, the characters of the florist’s Auricula of 
his day. I have placed before you a rough sketch of 
a bunch of flowers as they appear in the centre of that 
picture. The selfsame flowers, or say, flowers of the 
same type, occur commonly in the groups of Jan Van 
Huysum ; they are usually in trusses of ten or twelve ; 
the pips are of the size and form of show Auriculas of 
the present day, with bold yellow eyes, a clear paste 
and a bold broad margin marked with stripes of colour 
radiating from the centre. You will observe in the 
diagram that Van Huysum’s Auriculas had distinct 
geometrical properties ; the edge is wanting, and the 
body-colour is broken into rays, but. the proportions 
are precisely such as modern canons would require, were 
such striped flowers now in demand. 
It will he observed, as the result of a comparison, 
that in the progress of time the rays have become con¬ 
solidated into a belt by the withdrawal of the colours 
inwards, thus leaving a margin of the green colour, 
which, as we have agreed in supposing, was the sole 
colour of the Auricula in the first instance before it 
became a yellow flower on the Alps. I do not insist on 
this view, for I am content to deal with facts, and the 
facts appear to demonstrate that the formation of the 
edge is a late process, and the facts do emphatically 
suggest that the edge is formed in accordance with a 
large plan of nature, much more than by any fancy or 
foible of man. To put the case in another way, I would 
say that the edged Auricula adds a chapter to the history 
of evolution much more directly than to the history of 
fashion in floriculture. We have apparently four 
colours in a show Auricula, but the paste is an extension 
and intensification of the meal, and white and grey 
edges are of the selfsame constitution. The ground 
colour of the paste is yellow, and the ground colour of 
the edge is green, and the body colour may be likened 
to the dark zone on the leaf of a zonal Pelargonium. 
Van Huysum’s flowers show an extension of the yellow 
to the margin, with heavy rays of red overlaid ; there 
is no green traceable : that in the Auricula is a late 
development, and it has a meaning of some sort 
apart altogether from our tastes and aspirations as 
florists. 
-- 
TOBACCO. 
As a lover of the fragrant weed, I was much interested 
to learn that Tobacco had been so successfully grown 
so far north as Aberdeenshire, as mentioned by your 
correspondent “Cor,”p. 455. Much has been written 
and advanced with a view to show that the cultivation 
of Tobacco in this country is practicable, and as from 
the present depressed state of agriculture the farmer 
finds that this, that, and the other does not pay, 
the question naturally arises with him what is most 
profitable to grow 1 The British farmer and market 
gardener is severely handicapped by foreign competi¬ 
tion, high rents, and dear freight. 
The cost of carriage sadly needs amending in favour 
of the British producer, for it seems both curious and 
ridiculous that produce can be brought from Prance to 
London cheaper than from fifty miles down in Kent to 
the same market. It has been said that the future of 
British farming will be gardening in the fields, but 
railway rates require revising before that becomes any 
tangible remedy for turning to profitable account the 
land that now-a-days goes begging for tenants, so that 
the home-grower may he placed at least on an equal 
footing with the foreign producer as regards carriage ; 
climate cannot he arranged co-equal. But I very 
much question whether Tobacco will prove “the boom” 
for the British cultivator, notwithstanding that a depu¬ 
tation recently waited on the Chancellor of the Ex¬ 
chequer, with the object of asking permission to make 
experiments during the next five years in the cultivation 
and manufacture of British grown Tobacco — the 
proposal being that for a nominal payment of £25 per 
annum, a hundred cultivators by entering into a bond 
to pay duty if the Tobacco was sold, should be allowed 
to make experiments. 
Tobacco has been grown for experiment in various 
parts of the country, and has, in some instances, been 
prepared for smoking, as, if I remember rightly, Messrs. 
Carter exhibited some at their stand at the Smithfield 
Club Cattle Show, prepared, I presume, from what 
they grew near Bromley, Kent. Some grown on 
another estate in the same county was recently des¬ 
troyed by order of the Inland Revenue officials, as being 
unfit for manufacture and to pay duty. The drying, 
curing, and preparing for smoking, so as to make it a 
remunerative crop, will prove too much, I am afraid, for 
the British grower. It is a question whether they will 
ever produce it equal to the “ Old Virginia.” 
I remember seeing some Tobacco plants growing in a 
garden in Kent during the hot summer of 1868, planted 
for the ornamentation of the kitchen garden herbaceous 
borders, produced from seed obtained from Messrs. 
Carter, and which was sown in spring, pricked off, and 
potted on into 48’s, hardened off, and planted out early 
in June in rich soil. They made rapid growth, and 
certainly looked very ornamental when in flower ; and 
one of the garden labourers who had been in the 
“States” said the leaves were finer than any he had 
seen there. Some of it was, I believe, dried and used 
for fumigating, but I do not think it answered very 
well for that purpose. Good Tobacco is a boon to all 
smokers, and the remark recently made by “ Somerset¬ 
shire Rector ” in reference to the price of Lethorion is 
also applicable to Tobacco. We only wish we could get 
it cheaper ; for when we take the retail price into 
consideration, what an expensive luxury it proves to 
life-long habitues ! The remark was made some years 
ago by an old man in the Midlands, when expostulating 
with some of his young friends on the habit of smoking, 
“I wish it wor a poun’ a ton.” He had, evidently, a 
very vague idea of figures, in thinking his price would 
be an effectual obstacle against the use of the weed.— 
George Potts, Junr. 
-- 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
Pruning Evergreens. 
Now that all danger to evergreen shrubs from frost is 
past for a season, is the time to do whatever is 
necessary in the way of pruning. We do not, how¬ 
ever, advocate a revival of the old topiary style of 
gardening, by which bushes and trees were closely 
clipped into the shape of some object or animal. By 
pruning we mean the cutting back of trees and shrubs 
that have exceeded their allotted limits, or which are 
overcrowding one another. This should be done with 
the knife, never using the shears, except in the case of 
hedges of such things as Box, Yew, or Privet, that 
require to be formally trimmed once or twice a year. 
All specimen shrubs, whether standing isolated by 
themselves or forming part of a mixed shrubbery, should 
have the long straggling shoots cut hack, so as to render 
the plants symmetrical without being formal. No 
overcrowding should be permitted. Unsightly and old 
straggling Cherry Laurel bushes may be renovated by 
cutting them hard down within 1 ft. or 18 ins. of the 
soil. They may appear rather ugly for a time, but the 
amount of growth that will be produced the second 
season after pruning is often astonishing. Hollies, 
tree Ivies, common and Portugal Laurels, green-leaved 
and variegated Euonymuses should also be pruned 
now, and the latter especially will stand hard cutting 
back with impunity. 
Sowing Seeds. 
There are few amateurs, we take it, who do not delight 
in Carnations, whether it be the old Clove or a hatch 
of seedlings that are just preparing to bloom. Seeds 
should be sown now or some time during this month, in 
pots, pans, or boxes of fresh well-pulverised loam 
mixed with a quantity of leaf-soil and sand. Cover 
lightly with the same compost, and place on a hot-bed 
or in a greenhouse. Water as soon as sown, and if 
germinated in a moist warm place, remove to a cooler 
one directly the seedlings are well through the soil. 
This will keep them stubby, and prevent drawing. 
Pansies may receive the same treatment till they 
have made one rough leaf, after which they should be 
potted off singly or pricked into fresh soil in boxes. 
Keep them growing in a well-ventilated greenhouse or 
frame till fit to plant out. 
Cinerarias to flower early next winter should now be 
sown in rich light soil consisting of sifted leaf-soil, to 
which an equal part of sifted loam and sand is added. 
Cover very lightly, as the seeds are more particular in 
this respect than either Carnations or Pansies. As soon 
as they are fit to handle, prick them off in soil of a 
firmer nature, either in pans or pot them up singly. 
As soon as they have germinated, however, they should 
be placed as near the glass as possible to prevent them 
drawing, and after being potted up and again established 
in the small pots, remove the whole to a cool frame, 
where they may be grown till autumn or till frosty 
weather renders it necessary to put them in safer 
quarters. > 
The Cucumber Frame. 
Most amateurs like to try their hand at Cucumber 
growing, and those who intend to raise their own 
plants should lose no time now in making up the bed. 
Stable dung mixed with as fresh leaves as possible 
makes a lasting hot-bed ; but in the absence of leaves 
get some rank littery material, mix and shake the 
whole up lightly together, and allow it to ferment for 
two or three days, then turn again, after which the 
bed may be made. As the season is now rather late, 
the best plan would be to buy or get plants as soon as 
the temperature of the bed is such as to favour a steady 
and free growth. During the prevalence of east winds 
much might be done to preserve the heat of the bed 
by covering it over at night with dry mats. Such a 
bed would be most useful to anyone now for raising the 
seeds mentioned above, and also for striking cuttings 
and propagating generally various subjects that like 
bottom-heat. 
The Herb Border. 
Those who grow Mint, Thyme, Marjoram, or Sage, 
should now renew their borders or do them up afresh 
for the summer. The best plan would be to lift 
the whole of the plants, and after giving the border 
a proper manuring dig it deeply. The herbs may then 
be planted afresh in lines at regular distances apart, 
using good strong healthy pieces. The Sage, if the 
plants are old and worn out, might be best renewed 
by sowing seeds afresh under glass, and putting out 
the young plants when established. Should dry 
weather intervene after planting, water till the plants 
are established, after which they will grow away 
vigorously. 
Primroses from Wantage. 
It is interesting to find that improvements are still 
being effected amongst these beautiful and sweet- 
scented old-fashioned flowers. A boxful of flowers of 
a good strain comes to us from Mr. William Caudwell, 
The Ivies, Wantage, in which great variety is 
exhibited, from pure white with a golden yellow eye, 
through rose, red, and purple to deep maroon, almost 
black shades. In one instance the corolla is distinctly 
and conspicuously variegated with white and purple, 
with the usual yellow eye so prevalent in the genus. 
The size and substance of the flowers are also note¬ 
worthy. Many of them exhibit a hold and distinct 
gold lacing. But a special feature to be noticed is 
that the calyx, in many cases, has a tendency to 
become enlarged and petaloid, so that the flowers are 
developed hose-in-hose fashion. More interesting 
botanically is the development of the calyx into green 
leaves, as in the variety spoken of as Jack-in-the-Green. 
The corolla nestles in a rosette of green leaves, which 
represent the teeth of the calyx, while the lower, 
tubular, and prismatic or five-angled portion attains 
unusual dimensions. This freak is exhibited by 
many different laced kinds, as well as by a white one. 
The margins of the corolla in the latter case are 
crenate, resembling the margins of the leafy calyx 
lobes or those of the true leaves themselves. The 
extreme hardiness of these beautiful garden flowers, 
and their easy culture, recommends them to amateurs 
especially, as well as other growers. 
-—>T<-- 
HARDY PLANTS IN FLOWER. 
The Gentianella. 
I had no idea of the beauty of some of the varieties of 
Gentiana acaulis (Gentianella) till they lately bloomed 
at Oakwood. The gorgeous blue of the type, especially 
when grown in full sunshine, might make it seem that 
any change in colour would be a step in the wrong 
direction ; but in this case, as the varieties are all of 
delicate tints of colour, no comparison is provoked. 
My son, Mr. Scott Wilson, while studying Swiss birds 
in 1885 and 1886, did not forget the Wisley garden, 
and when among the Gentianellas, collected those of 
abnormal colours and sent them home. They are now 
established, and though small plants, are blooming 
well. One is pale azure-blue, another white faintly 
tinted with pale blue, while the third is white tinted 
with pink-purple, the reverse of the throat being of 
a full pink-purple. An artist friend has taken their 
portraits .—George F. Wilson, HeatherbanJc, Weybridge 
Heath, April 30th. 
Iris caucasica. 
Possibly this hardy early spring-flowering Iris is 
better known under the name of I. orcliioides, as we 
noted it in the nursery of Mr. T. S. Ware, Halo Farm, 
Tottenham. Whether grown in pots or in a cool house 
out of doors, it is equally beautiful, and has been 
