September 13, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
the Atlantic^ have to resort to extreme measures in 
order to check the ravages of the 3trawberry blight 
caused by a fungus named Spechrella fragariie. The 
foliage of the Strawberries is syringed with potassium- 
sulphide once every seven or ten days from the time 
that growth commences in spring till the fruit com¬ 
mences to ripen. The spraying mixture consists of 
one ounce of potassium-sulphide to eight gallons of 
water. After the crop is gathered, the foliage is mown 
down, as is practised by some gardeners of the old 
school even at the present day in this country. The 
old leaves are then burnt to destroy the fungus and 
spores that may exist. A more drastic remedy consists 
of spraying the foliage with sulphuric acid and water, 
at the rate of one pint of the former to six gallons of 
the latter. Fresh leaves are 
afterwards thrown up, as if 
the plants had suffered no 
injury. 
-- >S< -- 
PHLOX DRUM- 
mondi. 
Originally hailiDg from 
Texas, this beautiful half- 
hardy annual has varied im¬ 
mensely in the size, colour, 
and in some cases the shape 
of its flowers. Many of the 
kinds now in cultivation bear 
a remarkable resemblance 
to Verbenas in the distri¬ 
bution of the colours, and 
when the hues happen to 
be similar, the likeness is 
more striking. When well 
grown it keeps on flowering 
for the greater part of the 
summer, but does best on 
ground that is naturally 
moist, rather than dry and 
sandy. Grown in partial 
shade, such as that afforded 
by trees and high walls, it 
is later in coming into 
bloom, but the plant thrives 
better, and keeps up a 
display for a greater length 
of time. From the fact of 
its having to be raised 
under glass in spring, the 
seedlings get planted out 
at proper distances apart, 
whereas annuals sown in the 
open air are nearly always 
too crowded to allow of their 
full development. 
Varietal names have been 
given to many of the forms 
now under cultivation, and 
it is wonderful how true 
they come to name when 
raised from seed — a for¬ 
tunate circumstance con¬ 
sidering that this is the only 
means of propagating them. 
A floriferous and pure white 
kind is P. Drummondi 
alba, both the qualities 
named marking it as a dis¬ 
tinct and effective kind. As 
a contrast to the above 
P. D. atrococcinea may be 
named. The colours may 
be described as crimson- 
scarlet or brownish crimson around the eye. P. D. 
oculata alba has white flowers with a crimson eye, and 
five purple blotches, one on the base of each segment. 
A very choice and free-flowering kind is Queen 
Victoria, which has rosy purple flowers and a white 
eye. The size of the flowers and their decided hues 
give them a telling effect. 
A number of varieties classified under the name of 
P. D. hortensis is notable for the dwarf habit 
characteristic of that strain. For instance, P. D. h. 
coccinea forms dwarf, compact, and bushy plants about 
4 ins. to 6 ins. high, producing an abundance of 
scarlet flowers. Those of P. D. h. rosea are deep rosy 
purple, with a crimson eye, and is equally as dwarf 
and floriferous as the last. Another strain characterised 
by the large size of its flowers has its several colour 
varieties ranged under the name of P. D. grandiflora. 
The flowers of P. D. g. splendens are scarlet, with a 
white eye, and being produced in great abundance 
have a telling effect. Those of P. D. g. violacea are 
purple, with a white eye and a crimson blotch at the 
base of each segment. P. D. g. rosea has large rose- 
coloured flowers, with a crimson eye. 
The strain with fringed or rayed flowers contains 
some interesting as well as curious forms. Some 
of them are pretty withal, especially those in which the 
colours are so arranged as to . give the flowers a striped 
appearance. The manner in which the lamina of the 
corolla is fringed, rayed, indented or cut away, detracts 
much from the area of colour the corolla would other¬ 
wise present. Some of the sub-varieties of this strain, 
have, however,, large purple flowers with white edges to 
the star-like rays. Others have scarlet flowers with 
white edges ; and a third kind has white fiowors with 
pink stains radiating from near the centre. 
All of the above kinds may be sown separately or in 
mixture. A larger number of varieties than those 
named are now being grown on trial in the Chiswick 
nursery, by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. The 
best of the kinds when we recently inspected them 
were P. D. alba, P. D. atrococcinea, P. D. Queen 
Victoria, P. D. hortensis rosea, P. D. grandiflora splen¬ 
dens, and P. D. g. violacea. In other soils, however, 
many of the others would, no doubt, be equally 
effective in their way. 
-**"- 
Zaijschneria californica.—When planted in a 
suitable situation, this Californian perennial makes a 
beautiful display with its scarlet flowers well intermixed 
with the foliage. It belongs to the same family as the 
Fuchsia, to some species of which it bears no distant 
resemblance. 
POLTALLOOH, 
{Concluded from jj. 5.) 
Border plants are numerous, and would take several 
pages of The Gardening World to describe them. I 
will therefore only enumerate a few special favourites. 
It may as well be remarked in passing that the method 
adopted here in mixed borders is not quite orthodox, 
as the mixture partakes of selections of the choicest 
shrubs 'and Conifers, along with herbaceous plants, 
annuals and biennials. Being on a very large scale, 
those things which would be quite out of keeping in a 
smaller place fit in admirably in the different borders, 
and lend an interest quite unique. Among the former 
are Desfontainea spinosa (blooming in great profusion), 
Ledum latifolium, Gordonia pubescens, Bambusa 
metake (15 ft. high), 
Acer palmatum sanguineum, 
A. p. dissectum, A. Hooker- 
iana, &c. The Conifers 
consist chiefly of Thujas, 
Thujopsis and Retinosporas, 
while the Rosa rugosa family 
play an important part by 
their unpretentious yet dis¬ 
tinct colours, those we 
noted as specially fine being 
Madame George Bruant, 
Pisarta and Lucida, the 
former like white satin, with 
a clear yellow disc. Liliums 
are grown in great quantities, 
and among a host of others 
we noted L. eximium, 
L. cordifolium giganteum, 
L. superbum, L. tigrinum 
fl. pi., L. auratum, L. speci- 
osum, and L. folius varie- 
gatus, &c. The more com¬ 
mon plants are relegated to 
the woods, or given second¬ 
ary positions as new intro¬ 
ductions take place, and 
now the borders contain 
specimens not seen every- 
-where. It would be an end¬ 
less task, however pleasant, 
to describe these borders with 
their wealth of plants ; 
suffice it to say, the arrange¬ 
ment in each is admirable, 
and to keep such an extent 
of them in the condition in 
which they are, entails not 
only labour, but a deal of 
mental anxiety. The smallest 
and meanest subject in the 
borders is neatly and 
legibly marked with painted 
labels of all shapes and 
sizes. A special feature 
in these borders is their 
rugged outline, decrying all 
formality, while niches at 
intervals are furnished with 
some plant which has a 
pleasing effect a long way off. 
In many of these niches 
the Arundo donax con. 
spicua, with its waving 
plumes from 10 ft. to 15 ft. 
high, seems as if eagerly 
awaiting the gaze of some 
admiring eye as it gracefully 
recurves outwards. The 
Globe Thistle, too, is seen in 
quantity, and Hollyhocks (free of disease) have a majestic 
effect, while dottings of Gladioli, with spikes of various 
colours, contrast with the more loose-habited herbaceous 
and other plants. Seen as we had the pleasure of 
seeing them—with their well-kept verges, tidy raked 
surfaces, and plants well tended, each standing quite 
distinct—is a sight never to be forgotten. 
At the extreme end of one of these choice borders 
stands the chapel, where Church of England service is 
conducted twice each Sunday. Here in a mortuary 
chapel attached is the family vault, where several of 
the family’s remains are laid. This chapel is furnished 
with stained glass windows, and has all the appearance 
of being well attended. Its fittings and furnishings are 
simply replete, even to the organ supplied with 
hydraulic power. 
Leaving this we were conducted to the mansion 
_several hundred yards away—a mansion, indeed, 
Dahlia, Lady Kerrison. 
