, 618 
THE GARDENING WORLD. May 26,1888. 
The Amateurs’ Garden, 
Liliums in Pots. 
Even those who have conservatories often fail to flower 
these beautiful subjects satisfactorily, not on account 
of an insufficient amount of heat, as unless in the case 
of forced plants, sun-heat is always sufficient, and more 
than so to grow them to perfection after this period of 
the year, but from the evil results of insufficient venti¬ 
lation, crowding or injurious shading. Although 
strong and direct sunshine is unnecessary, yet to keep 
the plants reasonably dwarf and sturdy, they must be 
placed near the glass if constantly grown indoors. A 
better plan would be to grow them entirely out of doors 
after this time, plunging the pots in a bed of ashes or 
coco-nut fibre in some sheltered place where they will 
be fully exposed to light, yet not to direct sunshine. 
Keep the bulbs plentifully supplied with water after 
they are fairly started into growth. Stake the stems 
neatly, so that they do not get broken after attaining 
some length. Another cause of failure is green-fly, 
which is very liable to attack the plants when grown 
indoors. The young buds more often suffer irreparable 
injury when in bud than the foliage, and no amount of 
care will rectify this mishap when the pest is allowed to 
carry on its depredations till the buds are injured, which 
may not be detected till the fldwers attempt to expand, 
when they exhibit specks, rusty markings and other 
deformities. They are most liable to injury in this 
respect when grown indoors, especially in houses over¬ 
hung with Vines, Peach trees, or climbers. Fumigate 
on the first appearance of the pest, and then syringe 
well. Out of doors this is less liable to happen ; but 
in all cases keep a watchful eye upon them. They 
need not be taken indoors until on the point of ex¬ 
panding, when they may be used for conservatory or 
window decoration. Any of the Liliums almost may 
be used for this purpose, but the commonest and 
cheapest are as good as may be desired. 
Sedum Sieboldi and S. spectabile. 
Amongst the broad-leaved Stonecrops none are more 
easy to manage nor more satisfactory to the amateur 
than the subjects of this note. Both are well known, 
cheap, and easily procurable by those who do not 
already possess them. Both may also be considered as 
late summer or autumn-flowering species, but the 
present is a very good time to secure them, as growth 
has now commenced, and specimens may be treated 
exactly as the grower may fancy. 
Sedum Sieboldi constitutes a graceful and elegant 
plant for a basket, owing to the arching or drooping 
habit of the slender stems, which are furnished with 
two or three roundly wedge-shaped leaves from every 
joint. They are flat, fleshy, and of an exquisitely 
beautiful glaucous tint, and terminate in a flat-topped 
cyme of rosy purple flowers. The variegated form 
(S. S. variegatum) is even more pretty than the type, 
and should be secured if possible. Fibrous loam, 
rendered porous with a good quantity of silver or even 
sharp river sand, will constitute a simple but suitable 
compost. After basketing or even potting, hang up 
the plant in a window or in the greenhouse close to 
the glass, and fully exposed to the light. 
S. spectabile is an erect-growing species 10 ins. to 
12 ins. high, and bears a large terminal truss of flowers 
of a lively rose colour, and several inches in diameter. 
Pot small pieces with a few crowns in 5-in. pots, and 
attend well to watering, especially after the pots have 
become filled with roots. A good rich compost may be 
given, and as the trusses appear, frequently apply 
liquid manure. This will assist them greatly, and 
give increased size to the trusses of bloom. Stand 
the pots on a bed of ashes in the full sun till they come 
into flower. 
Richardia africana. 
The flowering season of the Trumpet Lilies or Arums, 
as they are popularly called, is now mostly over, and 
the plants may be put under treatment conducive to 
the formation of good rootstocks for next winter and 
spring flowering. Some grow them in pots all the 
year round, but the best cultivators now plant them 
out of doors to form growth during summer. Choose 
a rich piece of ground for this purpose, and if the soil 
is naturally dry it may be cut into trenches, forming 
ridges with that taken out of the trenches, which should 
not only be deeply dug in the bottom, but heavily 
manured with well-rotted dung. In this the roots of 
the Arums will revel, and escape the drought to which 
the southern parts of the country are so subject. 
During the prevalence of dry weather, give copious 
supplies of water, and as this subject is a gross feeder, 
occasional supplies of liquid manure will prove of great 
advantage. Failing this, some artificial manure may 
be applied to the soil before watering. In autumn, 
before any danger of frost arises, the plants should be 
lifted and re-potted singly in 6-in. pots, and placed in 
a cool structure out of the reach of frost. By this kind 
of treatment, strong plants are obtained, which by-and- 
bye throw up flower-stems, producing trumpets of truly 
surprising size. 
Aquilegia glandulosa. 
Amongst the dwarfer species of Columbine, none 
are prettier than a well-flowered specimen of this 
Tiberian one, which may be grown in the open ground, 
but certainly repays the trouble of growing it in pots, 
where it may be sheltered and brought out in its 
cleanest and most attractive form. A plant so grown 
by Mr. T. S. Ware, Hale Farm Nurseries, Tottenham, 
was covered with flower stems not exceeding 9 ins. or 
12 ins. in height. The foliage is finely divided, and 
when surmounted by large brightly-coloured flowers, 
the plant is very effective. The sepals are bright blue, 
while the shortly-spurred petals are white, forming one 
of the most beautiful contrasts in the floral world. A 
few flowers only are borne by each stem, but these are 
of large size, and amply repay for any deficiency in 
numbers. Owing to its dwarf size, and the refined 
character of the foliage, it is altogether a more desirable 
plant than any of the numerous varieties of A. vulgaris, 
beautiful though they be. Some seedlings of this plant 
seem to flower more readily than others, as the 
experience of different cultivators concerning its 
flowering qualities varies considerably. 
Cucumbers and Vegetable Marrows. 
Now is the time to plant if it has not been already 
done. Those intending to do so we should expect 
have been making preparations for it by raising seed¬ 
lings under glass. It is bad policy to retain them in 
pots till the roots become pot-bound, as growth is 
thereby greatly retarded, and the plants stunted. No 
time should be lost in getting the bed made up for 
Cucumbers, when the frame should be put on im¬ 
mediately, and a hill of soil in which to plant the 
seedlings. When the temperature has risen somewhat 
in the frame, and the soil warmed, insert the plants at 
once. Cover the frame at night with a mat to 
economise the heat raised by the fermentation of the 
dung. Should the latter ferment violently, producing 
steam, leave a chink of ventilation on even at night. 
The soil in which the plants are put should be rich, 
and also improved by mixing with it a good quantity 
of well-decayed manure. 
Marrows require less artificial heat than Cucumbers, 
and may be planted on shallow beds of dung covered 
with 4 ins. or 6 ins. of good soil. Cover the plants 
with bell-glasses or handlights for a time until they 
become established. Seeds may be sown which will 
germinate and prove very hardy, but much time is 
gained by the use of some such means of protection as 
that mentioned. A box or inverted pot placed over 
the plants at night in the absence of anything better 
will prove of immense advantage. 
Slugs. 
During the prevalence of warm moist weather cultiva¬ 
tors, both amateur and professional, are greatly plagued, 
and almost at their wits’ end to know how they can 
stay the ravages of slugs, which devour almost anything 
that is tender and eatable. This is especially so where 
there are box edgings or other means of harbouring the 
vermin which sally out at night and commit great 
havoc amongst garden produce, both flowers and 
vegetables. They are most particularly active at night, 
which makes the situation more difficult. 
Before the sun dispels the dew and moisture, advan¬ 
tage should be taken of the early morning to go the 
round of the garden where any newly planted subjects 
are the more liable to be attacked, and collect the slugs, 
putting them into a vessel where they may afterwards 
be destroyed with salt. Choice subjects may also 
be protected with a line or ridge of soot, quicklime 
or rough coal ashes. The two former require frequent 
renewal should the weather prove showery or moist. 
After the plants have grown a bit and become hardened, 
slugs are less troublesome. The ear-shelled slug 
(Testacella haliotidea) is carnivorous, feeding upon 
other slugs and worms and not vegetable matter. It 
is, therefore, a friend of the gardener and lovers of 
plants in general, and should not be destroyed. It is 
easily recognised by its bearing a small shell on its tail, 
and by its being of a deep yellow colour, 
NEW PLANTS CERTIFICATED 
By the Floral Committee of the R. H. S, 
May llnd. 
Abutilon vitieolium. 
The typical form of this plant has porcelain-blue 
flowers, but that shown has white flowers, which are 
also open and spreading, not campanulate and con¬ 
tracted to a narrow base as in Abutilons generally. 
The leaves are heart-shaped, and from five to seven- 
lobed, somewhat resembling those of a "\ ine, as the 
specific name implies. It was certificated as a half- 
hardy plant, and it proves hardy in the south of 
England, and in Ireland. Exhibited by Messrs. 
Kelway & Son, Langport, Somerset. 
Aerides Fieldingi alba. 
Many flowers are exhibited as white varieties that 
possess a considerable amount of some other colour, but 
in this case they were pure white, the only exception or 
deviation from this that might be mentioned being the 
small anther cap, which is creamy yellow, though very 
faintly so. In no other respect does this differ from 
the type, and the variety may be looked upon as a very 
fine one. Exhibited by Mr. Ballantine, gardener to 
Baron Schroder, The Dell, Egham. 
AlSINE VERNA FLORE PLENISSIMO. 
The close, compact, and tufted habit of this plant 
constitutes it a pretty object, even in its typical form ; 
but the pure white, fully double, miniature flowers, 
when produced in abundance, add considerably to its 
neat and attractive appearance. The leaves on the 
barren stems are linear, while those on the flowering 
shoots are subulate, with broad and slightly united 
bases. Being a native of the British as well as the 
Continental Alps, the plant is perfectly hardy, and, 
undoubtedly, a gem for the rockery. Exhibited by 
Messrs. Froebel & Co., The Nurseries, Neumunster, 
Zurich. 
Anguloa intermedia. 
The parentage of this new Sedenian hybrid is A. 
Clowesii crossed with A. Ruckeri, and the result is a 
flower intermediate in character, resembling to some 
extent A. uniflora ; but the flowers are larger in every 
respect than those of the latter. The ground colour of 
the sepals and petals may be described as a pale pinkish 
yellow, closely spotted all over internally with pale 
purple. The sepals are very broad, and the lateral 
ones drawn out to a channelled point as in A. uniflora. 
The trifid lip is heavily spotted with purple, and has a 
yellow tip and tongue or crest. The leaves are broad, 
plaited and obovate. Exhibited by Messrs. J. Yeitch 
& Sons, Chelsea. 
Arnebia echioides. 
The large pan of this plant exhibited presented an 
extremely handsome appearance. Its handsome golden 
yellow flowers, as is well known, are produced in a 
coiled or circinate raceme that uncoils as the flowers 
expand. The latter are furnished with a striking black 
spot or blotch in the sinus between each segment of 
the corolla ; these spots are very dark at first, but they 
gradually become paler and finally disappear as the 
flowers get old. The stems vary from '6 ins. to 9 ins. 
in height, and the plant constitutes a most excellent 
subject for rockwork. Exhibited by Messrs. Paul & 
Son, Cheshunt. 
Begonias. 
Baroness Rothschild.— The flowers of this tuberous- 
rooted variety are single and very attractive, being of 
the bicoloured class, and exhibiting very rich, striking, 
and attractive shades of colour. The centre is white, 
while the upper half of the petaloid sepals is scarlet, 
suffused with carmine. The flowers are of medium 
size, but the plants being very young and dwarf, we 
may reasonably expect the flowers to become larger as 
the plants increase in strength. 
Princess Maud. —Improvement continues to be 
wrought amongst the doubles, and this variety has 
large flowers, with white, closely imbricated, and un¬ 
dulated petals, considerably resembling a double white 
Camellia. The leaves are broad, one half cordate and 
hairy. Both exhibited by Messrs. John Laing & Sons, 
Forest Hill. 
Caladium Comte de Germiny. 
For description of this new variety, see p. 602. 
Exhibited by Messrs. John Laing & Sons, Forest Hill. 
Cypripedium bellatulum. 
The specimen shown was one of a batch lecently 
imported, and the flowers were half formed when taken 
out of the packing cases, otherwise they would have 
been larger, as dried specimens measured 4j ins. across. 
