680 
THE GARDENING WOULD 
June 23, 1888. 
FLORICULTURE. 
Notes oa Violas. 
The value of the Viola as a spring and summer deco¬ 
rative plant is, as yet, comparatively little known ; 
nevertheless, it is impossible to write too much in its 
favour. Whether planted in masses or used in com¬ 
bination with silver variegated Pelargoniums or other 
plants, Violas are truly beautiful objects, and they can 
be used so effectively with other coloured foliage or 
flowers, especially with Tulips, Hyacinths, &c. They 
are of very easy cultivation, and will grow almost any¬ 
where if planted at the proper time ; but so many drive 
off purchasing until hot weather sets in, that the plants 
get no chance. Planting should be done in the 
autumn, or from March to the beginning of May, so as 
to give the plants a chance of becoming established ; 
then a splendid bloom may be looked for. Old plants 
should be taken up in the autumn, have the old shoots 
cut away, and the stools parted and re-planted, or 
plenty of cuttings can be struck out of doors in a shady 
place during August and September. 
We have before us as we write a number of lovely 
blooms from the collection of some fifty or sixty leading 
kinds grown by Mr. William Dean, at the Mill Lane 
Nursery, Solihull, Warwickshire. Recognising good 
habit, good constitution, brightness, and early and con¬ 
tinuous flowering as essential characteristics in good 
Violas, Mr. Dean year by year discards many sorts in 
favour of distinct and improved varieties, especially in 
whites and yellows, free from any dark blotches or 
markings. In the different shades of colour we have :— 
Blue, and Shades of Blue : — True Blue (Dean’s), 
a dwarf compact-growing variety, and an early and con¬ 
tinuous bloomer; the best of all the blue varieties, being 
rich blue with a shade of violet. Queen of Lilacs, a great 
improvement on Blue Bell, and brighter in colour ; an 
excellent decorative variety. The three lower petals are 
shaded blue, and the upper are purple. Archie Grant, 
shaded blue-violet, a distinct fine variety in the way of 
Holyrood, but more tinted with purple. 
Mauve and Lilac.— Dawn of Day is white, clouded 
with delicate lilac ; very distinct and interesting. 
Elegans, silvery grey, a charming variety, and very 
delicate in hue. Duchess of Sutherland, soft shaded 
lilac, the upper petals being of a pale purple tint, and 
pretty. Marchioness of Stafford, rather deeper in colour 
than the Duchess of Sutherland, and with a large 
yellow centre. 
Dark Varieties. —Queen of Violets is shaded rosy 
purple, with a blue tint round the eye. Queen of 
Purples is an improved form of Cliveden Purple, and of 
closer habit, with large deep purple flowers. Topsy 
has rich dark purple and finely shaped flowers of good 
substance. Sir Joseph Terry is a black velvety purple, 
fine compact habit, and a profuse bloomer. In Bronze 
Queen a rich bronze colour prevails, with a fiery zone 
round the eye, and it is both distinct and good. 
Holyrood is an old and well-known favourite, in which 
there is a strong blue tint, and dark blotch. Balmoral 
is a seedling from Holyrood, and darker in colour, with 
a larger less distinctly defined blotch on the lower petal. 
Yellows. —Amongst the yellows sent Queen of the 
Spring is very fine, with an intermediate shade of 
yellow, and without any dark blotch, but furnished 
with a few slender brown lines. Golden Queen of 
Spring is a seedling from the last named, a little deeper 
in colour, and the flower more circular, while it is of 
close and compact habit. Bullion, deep yellow, is a 
very fine variety, and Ardwell Gem, a valuable 
primrose or canary-yellow coloured variety, is also very 
distinct. Golden Prince and Golden Prince Improved 
are both excellent varieties, with brown starry lines 
radiating from the centre. Goldfinder, a new variety 
from the West of Scotland, is distinct and curious, 
being yellow, margined with deep lilac ; but for 
effectiveness in a mass will not compare with those we 
have named. 
Whites. —Countess of Hopetoun must take the first 
place as the finest white ; it is a grand variety, free 
from any dark markings, and first-rate in habit and 
for profusion of bloom. Mrs. Smith is a purer white, 
with a larger yellow eye, resembling the Countess in 
habit, and is a first-rate variety. Mrs. Gray is a fine 
early kind without blotch or marking, and very free 
blooming ; but it has a strong tendency to flush in 
colour in hot weather, assuming a bright lilac tint in 
irregular blotches, in which state even it is very 
pretty. Skylark is white, with a sky-blue margin, 
resembling a Picotee, and very pretty. Blue Cloud is 
a new variety, being a seedling from Skylark, and 
should have a broader and denser blue margin, but in 
the forms sent we could see little or no difference. 
Either form is, however, very pleasing and attractive. 
Spotted and Clouded Vap.ieties. —We are getting 
a quantity of new varieties of the Countess of Kintore 
type, many of them very beautiful and rich in colour, 
and of greatly improved forms ; but Countess of Kintore 
still stands out as a distinct and splendid variety, rich 
blue-violet, clouded with French white. Duchess of 
Albany is of a charming purplish grey colour, clouded 
with French white, and very distinct from any other 
sent. Lady Amory, is rich violet-purple, the top petals 
only being clouded with light grey, and of fine form. 
The Mearns is rich, shaded rosy violet, with bright grey 
top petals, and very lovely. Mrs. Baxter, is a large 
handsome flower, shaded violet-purple, with French 
white top petals. Spotted Gem is shaded rosy purple, 
with light markings at the tips of the petals, and is a 
beautiful variety. Ethel Baxter is of a lovely shade of 
rose and puce, with purple and light markings, a beau¬ 
tiful variety ; and Rosebud, a new variety, is evidently 
a seedling from Ethel Baxter, with smaller flowers, a 
larger yellow eye, and very much like it. Pytho, one 
of Mr. Downie’s new ones, is truly a gem, rich violet, 
dark petals, with a strong blue-violet shade in the top 
petals, and of perfect form. Two grand new and 
distinct varieties are to be found in Mrs. Henry Child, 
shaded blue-violet, with light top petals, and light 
blotches in the under petals ; and in John Brown, a 
beautiful flower of a rich violet-purple, exquisitely 
marked with lilac and grey. York and Lancaster is a 
very distinct variety, white, heavily striped with rich 
dark purple and blue colours, making it a telling 
flower. 
A careful examination of all these varieties reveals 
an infinite amount of variety, even in those that are 
grouped together as being something akin in colour. 
The blue and lilac or lavender-tinted varieties are very 
distinct in general appearance from those that are 
described as Pansies, and, in fact, had a different 
parentage originally. They are best known as bedding 
Yiolas, and are longer-lived than Pansies, while they 
are generally propagated by division of the rootstock, 
although the largest blooms are obtained from plants 
that have been propagated from cuttings the previous 
season, generally in autumn. Most of them have a 
pleasing and agreeable though not very powerful odour. 
The blue varieties are great improvements on some of 
the older ones, such as Cornuta Perfection and En¬ 
chantress, which have harsh-looking colours, or Cliveden 
Blue, which is pale and washy, and never will become 
popular. Many of the above-mentioned and newer 
kinds possess a softness and richness of colour that is 
very charming. 
The dark velvety purple varieties are rich and good 
in their way, but there is a good deal of the Pansy 
look about them, and they are less effective at a 
distance for bedding purposes than the lighter, brighter 
and more conspicuous colours. The whites are being 
greatly improved, but at present a better variety does 
not seem to exist than Countess of Hopetoun, which 
flowers with the greatest freedom during moist weather, 
whereas the Countess of Kintore, amongst the clouded 
varieties gives the greatest amount of satisfaction during 
warm and dry weather, while Skylark and Blue Cloud 
might well form the nucleus of a new and distinct race, 
called the Picotee-edged group. Amongst yellows the 
tendency is to eliminate the blue, violet or brown 
blotches, generally difficult to get rid of from the three 
lower petals. The shape of the yellows described 
would lead us to infer that the old Viola lutea, in its 
improved form, had been used in the raising of them 
and not the Pansy. The greater number of the spotted 
and clouded varieties undoubtedly owe their origin to 
the Countess of Kintore, which will, no doubt, endure 
as a good and floriferous bedding variety for many 
years to come. Spotted Gem, Ethel Baxter, Pytho 
and John Burn, are undoubtedly pretty and distinct 
varieties for bedding purposes in this section. York 
and Lancaster exhibits a striking and singular looking 
mixture of colours. 
Carnations and. Picotees. 
The bright warm sunny days of the end of May and 
early part of June had their influence upon the plants, 
and they commenced to put forth a rapid growth. 
This spell of summer weather was followed by dull 
days, showers and a low temperature, it being cold, 
especially at night, and thereby a time of retardation 
has set in. On the whole, plants look very well, and 
there is promise of a good head of bloom. It is 
necessary to secure the flower-stalks to stakes as they 
advance in growth, but not too tightly. Some growers 
remove entirely the lateral shoots that are running for 
bloom, but Mr. Dodwell recommends merely to pinch 
out the shoots, and by doing so to secure increase. Top¬ 
dressing should be done without further loss of time, 
using equal parts of good loam, sweet leaf-soil and 
well-decomposed manure. The young beginner in 
Carnation culture—and, indeed, all growers—should 
have Mr. Dodwell’s excellent book on this flower for 
reference ; it is so copious in detail, and the directions 
so voluminous, as to be a complete text book. The 
aspirants for floricultural honours can hardly go wrong 
if the seasonable directions are closely followed. Green¬ 
fly is making an appearance, and they can be removed 
with a small brush ; but if the points of the shoots are 
much infested, the brush should be moistened with a 
little tobacco-water as needed. Frequent syringing 
will be found of great service, and liberal waterings 
when required. The free use of the syringe not only 
promotes a vigorous growth, but it greatly aids in 
keeping the plants free from thrips and green-fly, 
either of which, if allowed to get ahead, is certain 
destruction to a fine bloom. The showers of rain that 
have recently fallen have done much in the direction 
of keeping green-fly under. Any decaying foliage on 
the plant is best removed, they looking all the cleaner 
and neater for the attention. Disbudding must soon 
engage attention. I hope to give some directions in 
this matter in your next issue. — R. D. 
Tulips at Manchester. 
By way of aiding your praiseworthy effort to create an 
increasing interest in florists’ flowers, and especially so 
in one class far too much neglected in the south—I 
mean the Tulip—I venture to give you the names of 
the best flowers shown at Manchester in their respective 
classes. How far they are obtainable I cannot say ; 
but as Mr. Samuel Barlow and other noted Tulip 
growers are likely to give us papers upon the Tulip in 
The Gardening World, some information may be 
forthcoming as to where certain sorts may be had. The 
selection I made at the Manchester show is as fol¬ 
lows Bizarres, feathered: Sir Joseph Paxton, a 
constant and reliable variety, both in the feathered and 
flamed stages. Sir Sidney Smith, an old variety of 
considerable merit when a good strain of it can be had. 
One named Magnum ,Bonum is said to be the finest 
form of it ; it is somewhat in the way of George 
Hayward, but the feathering is much broader. Master¬ 
piece, a good and useful feathered flower; Lord 
Lilford, and William Wilson. Flamed bizarres: Sir 
J. Paxton, Dr. Hardy, very bright in colour; Master¬ 
piece, and Ajax. It seemed to be the general opinion 
at Manchester that the flamed bizarres were weak this 
year. Roses, feathered : These also were weak this 
year, and appeared to be limited in number. The best 
were Mabel, Heroine, and Modesty. Roses, flamed : 
Mabel, Madame St. Arnaud, a little long in the petals, 
but well coloured. Lady Catherine Gordon, a pretty 
flower, but it is so difficult to bleach the yellow out of 
the base, and one would suppose there is, in conse¬ 
quence, a taint of bizarre blood in its parentage ; Annie 
Macgregor, and Rose Celestial, a deep rose-coloured 
variety. Byblcemens, feathered : King of the Universe 
(Dymock), a fine addition to this class, awarded the 
premier prize as the best flower in the exhibition ; 
Friar Tuck, sulphur; and Pegg’s Seedling, a dark 
feathered flower, shown by Mr. Barlow. It was 
raised and “ rectified ” both, I believe, by Mr. Pegg, of 
Chellastere, and is a small but very pretty flower, 
very promising, but decidedly scarce. Byblcemens, 
flamed: Friar Tuck, Talisman, Chancellor, Lord 
Denman, and Adonis. Breeder Tulips: The best 
bizarre breeders were Excelsior, Horatio, Sir Joseph 
Paxton, Richard Yates, and Hepworth’s A 27, pale 
scarlet, very fine. The best rose breeders were Mabel, 
Annie Macgregor, Miss B. Coutts, and Mrs. Barlow. 
'The best byblcemen breeders were Glory of Stakehill, 
Talisman, No. 130/63, Hepworth, Martin’s 117, and 
George Hardwick. The premier breeder was Glory of 
Stakehill, a beautiful silvery mauve flower of fine 
character.— R. D. 
-- 
GIANT POPPIES. 
PapaVer orientale makes a grand show this year. I 
have huudreds of plants in various stages of growth, 
and only when seen in bulk can the fine effects of this 
superb and hardy flower be appreciated. Large masses 
of it 'grow here and there in remote places, where the 
rich colouring of the flowers would look, in the 
greenery around, as striking as the glow of a setting sun. 
Even apart from the flowers which have now in some 
cases become from 9-ins. to 10-ins. across, the foliage 
is very beautiful also ; indeed it deservedly ranks 
