712 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 7, 1888. 
FLORICULTURE. 
New Alpine Auriculas. 
It will be remembered that Mr. Samuel Barlow, of 
Stake House, Castleton, Manchester, exhibited at 
the meeting of the National Auricula Society, at South 
Kensington, some very promising Alpine Auriculas 
of fine quality, and to one of them, viz., Sir Trevor 
Lawrence, a First Class Certificate of Merit was 
awarded. It was a large, smooth, and well-formed 
flower of the Unique type, with a bold and solid truss 
of handsome and symmetrical proportions. When at 
Manchester at Whitsuntide I had the pleasure of look¬ 
ing over Mr. Barlow’s collection of Alpiues, and 
though I missed them when at their best, I saw 
enough to impress me with the fact that he had 
obtained a very fine strain. In obtaining seed he 
used Unique, Susie Matthews, Mrs. Ball, John Ball, 
and other fine varieties ; and the good qualities of the 
parents were seen in their offspring. In addition to 
Sir Trevor Lawrence, Beauty of Stakehill, Bose Wynne, 
and Yioletta are very fine ; the last-named is a promis¬ 
ing white-centred variety. Charles Needham also 
promises to make a fine addition to the white-centred 
varieties; and then the following are also very good 
indeed : Mrs. Barlow, Minnie, and Velvet Pile—the 
latter a rich black self Alpine. Pink Pearl appears to 
give a new colour among Alpines ; the ground is velvety 
maroon, with a distinct shading of pink—indeed, it is 
a pink Alpine. Mr. Barlow must be congratulated 
upon this fine break in Alpines. Let us hope we shall 
have the pleasure of seeing them in good form in London 
next April.— R. D. 
Chrysanthemums. 
The multiplication of Chrysanthemum shows have 
done much to give an impetus to the culture of this fine 
autumn flower. Now in order to have good blooms up 
to exhibition form, the plants must be grown in pots, 
and at this season of the year they should be standing 
in the open ground. The plants should be in their 
blooming-pots, that is, the pots in which they are to 
flower. When the plants are stood out-of-doors, and 
hot drying weather sets in, they must be well looked 
after in the matter of watering, for if they are allowed 
to become dry at the roots they lose their leaves. 
Therefore it is a good plan to plunge the pots up to 
their rims in soil, or in cinder ashes or coco-fibre, or if a 
piece of ground cannot be spared for plunging, the pots 
can be arranged along the sides of a path, and mounds 
of soil raised up round them—anything that tends to 
keep 'the pots cool and moist is of great advantage. 
Some soot laid upon the surface of the soil occasionally 
makes a good fertiliser, and tends to keep the foliage 
vigorous, and of a good colour. In the long summer 
days, when the air is hot and dry because the sun is 
powerful, the plants should be watered at least three 
times daily. Good growers say : first, early in the 
morning, then about noon, and lastly when the sun has 
gone down, on which occasion they should have a 
plentiful supply, and the foliage be well syringed also. 
The grower should guard against the use of cold water 
from a tap or pump, but employ that which has stood 
in the open for a few hours with the sun shining upon 
it, so that it may approximate to the temperature of the 
soil about the roots of the plants.— R. D. 
-—>X<—- 
TWO FINE BEGONIAS. 
The public generally attach most value to the largest- 
sized flowers, but there are many garden subjects the 
blooms of which really get too large in proportion to 
the size of the plant, while their lasting power is con¬ 
siderably less than that of moderate-sized ones. In 
Begonia Camellia we have a double flower of refined 
appearance, sufficiently compact to be appreciated, and 
of reasonable size, as may be seen on reference to illus¬ 
tration on p. 713. It is of a bright scarlet colour, while 
the doubling consists of broad, flattened, petaloid 
stamens, which regularly overlap one another, giving 
the whole flower the appearance of a double Camellia, 
and rendering the name an appropriate one. There is a 
small rosette in the centre of the flower, and when the 
bloom is getting old and spent, small rosettes make 
their appearance at the base of the broad segments, 
but they are not conspicuous enough to damage the 
regularity of the flower. We should prefer moderate¬ 
sized blooms like those mentioned in preference to the 
unwieldy heads which the peduncles are unable to 
support. The single kind illustrated above—viz., Rose 
Celeste—shows an approach to the ideal of the florist 
whose object is to obtain flowers of regular and rounded 
outline. The two inner segments are certainly smaller 
than the outer; but they serve to complete the regu¬ 
larity of the flower, which is of a charming rich rose- 
pink colour. 
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STRAWBERRIES FOR FORCING. 
The production of this favourite fruit is indispensable 
in many large gardens throughout the kingdom, and 
where thousands of plants are annually grown for 
forcing purposes, it will be obvious that this branch of 
fruit culture is an important item to be considered, 
arranged for, and done. Thus, before they are yet out 
of the houses, it is time to commence operations for 
securing plants for forcing next season. The first work 
to be performed is the layering of the runners. These 
are now ready, and no time should be lost in getting 
them done. This point must not be overlooked—viz., 
that the earlier the better, so that the plants will have 
time to fill the pots with roots before the winter 
months come round, thus laying up a store of strength 
and vigour, which will tend to success in forcing. 
For layering, some use 32-sized pots, which saves the 
time taken up with potting ; but 60’s are far preferable, 
and the results give greater satisfaction. Soil composed 
of loam, with -some horse-droppings from an old 
Mushroom bed put through an inch riddle to eject the 
rough, will suit them. Let the pots be clean, with a 
few leaves at the bottom, and a little soot over them. 
Bring the runners together as much as possible, so as 
to make watering easier. Pinch out all other growths 
than the one required, and peg down or place a stone 
on it, to render it secure. In about three weeks time 
the runners will have made plenty of roots, when they 
should be put into 6-in. pots, which are large enough to 
fruit them in. Clean pots must be used, and let them 
be crocked, and covered with leaves and soot as before. 
It is important to keep the drainage clear and open, so 
that the water will leave the plant quickly, thus pre¬ 
venting the soilfrom becoming sour, as it certainly would 
do otherwise. Pot firm, and in such a manner that the 
crown is elevated a little, so that no water can lodge 
round the base to cause rot. Stand them on ashes in a 
position where they will have full exposure to the rays 
of the sun to thoroughly ripen them, as much of the 
after success depends on this point. 
From the time they are potted to the time for 
plunging, watering and keeping them free from weeds and 
runners is the only attention required, aud the former 
must on no account be neglected. When sharp frosts 
begin to come, plunge them to the rim of the pot in 
ashes as close as possible, or as some do, in trenches, 
where they can remain until the time for forcing comes 
round. 
There are many varieties of Strawberries adapted for 
forcing, but it is not advisable to grow many, four 
or five being ample, and those here enumerated can be 
recommended for all purposes, classing them in the 
order in which they come in. Vicomtesse Hericart de 
Thury, La Grosse Sueree, Keen’s Seedling, and Sir 
Joseph Paxton.— F. R. S. 
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GARDENING AT CHRISTCHURCH, 
NEW ZEALAND. 
It is constantly being remarked how much life in the 
colony alters a Britisher, and the same may be said of 
plants introduced into the colony. The first thing a 
gardener does when settling out here and seeing the 
rising love for gardening, is to get over the prime old 
favourites and new plants from the old country. The 
new comers often treat their newly-arrived treasures as 
they would in England, but the older hands know 
that great modification in that treatment is required in 
many cases to bring the plants to perfection out here. 
Some things, such as Pansies, want keeping right by 
careful seeding and selection, or the stock goes very 
rteedy, while others require a constant succession to be 
kept up by propagation, as the different climate has a 
contrary bearing on the plants in many ways. In all 
these matters we have to work our own sweet will, 
without the aid of a gardening paper, for there is not 
one of any description published in the colony; 
therefore you will not be surprised to hear that the 
cheap and practical Gardening World is greatly 
appreciated by gardeners out here, and its practical 
hints in many cases are of inestimable value to those 
who know how to convert them into what would be 
the best imitation in New Zealand, which is not 
difficult for a thinking man. I could give you many 
testimonials for good service, and notably with 
Lapageria alba and tuberous Begonias .—Oliver Rev ill, 
St. Albans Nursery, Christchurch, New Zealand. 
-->X<-- 
THE PLEASURE GROUNDS AT 
MONCREIFFE HOUSE, PERTH. 
Amongst the many interesting and beautiful spots 
which surround this fine old seat of the ancient family 
of the Moncreiffes’ perhaps none are better known or 
more admired than the pleasure grounds. They are of 
an extensive and varied character, and present to the 
lover of the natural and beautiful a most interesting 
study. Well-kept walks intersect them in every 
direction, here and there meandering into some shady 
sylvan nook, anon bursting forth on a wide expanse of 
close-shaven velvety grass. Nestling at the southern 
base of Moncreiffe Hill, well sheltered from the east, 
and for the most part possessing good rich loam, trees 
and shrubs in great variety seem admirably suited 
and thrive luxuriantly. Grand old trees, many of 
them of gigantic dimensions, and symmetrical shrubs 
in varied assortment present during the spring and 
Begonia, Rose Celeste. 
