236 
THE GARDENING Yv 7 0RLD. 
December 13, 1890. 
mountains and rocky places ; and as they often spring 
from crevices in the hard rock it should indicate some 
of the conditions necessary to the successful cultivation 
of the plant in this country. Of course, there are 
always side issues that must be taken into account. 
That the plant requires a considerable amount of 
moisture at one time or other there can he little 
question, otherwise the annual increment of growth 
must of necessity be small. 11 is, no doubt, capable of 
retaining a considerable amount of reserve, probably 
for long periods. A flue sample of the species, brought 
directly from Mexico last summer, may be seen in the 
Palm house at Ivew. The single unbranched stem is 
about 8 ft. high, 16 ins. in diameter about the middle, and 
is fluted with numerous ribs, some of which run from 
top to bottom ; others fork into two ribs of about equal 
size, while here and there new ribs are inserted or 
intercalated between the others as the stem increases in 
length and thickness. The stem tapers a little towards 
either end. 
Planting out Salvias. 
Having read the remarks on Salvias in The Gardening 
World for December 6th, I should like to add that 
the best way to grow them, in my experience, is to 
plant them in light soil, and in a sunny position, 
lifting them in the autumn. With careful treatment 
the flowers will last twice as long as those on pot-grown 
plants. I have not known Salvia Pitcheri grow to the 
height mentioned under this method.— F. T. 
Picea pungens argentea. 
It is well known that seedlings of this Spruce vary 
considerably in their tints of colour. A specimen of 
the above variety, about 6 ft. high, was shown in the 
Drill Hall on Tuesday last by Mr. A. Waterer, Knap 
Hill, Woking. The shoots were thickly covered on all 
sides with deeply glaucous tetragonal leaves, having 
quite a silvery appearance. A First Class Certificate 
was awarded. 
A New Whit9 Grape: Lady Hutt. 
This is a cross-bred seedling obtained from Gros Colmar 
fertilised by the pollen of Alicante, and is remarkable 
as being a white sort obtained from two black ones. 
The colour is somewhat similar to that of Muscat of 
Alexandria when well finished, but the flavour is quite 
distinct, the pulp being firm, rich and sweet. Of 
course, like its parents, it belongs to the class known as 
vinous Grapes. The berries are white, and about the 
size of those of well-grown Black Hamburgh. A bunch 
of fruit was shown by Mr. Myles, gardener to Lady 
Hutt, Appley Towers, Ryde, at the last meeting of the 
Royal Horticultural Society, and was awarded a First 
Class Certificate. 
Mealy-Bug on Vines. 
I am sorry to say I am pestered with this—the worst of 
all our insect enemies—in our vineries. When taking 
O 
charge here some eighteen months ago, I found to my 
dismay that the Vines in every house had mealy-bug 
upon them. During last winter and spring we tried to 
clean them with various mixtures, and thought we had 
succeeded, but when the growing season came round, 
there was the enemyas troublesome as ever. Will some 
reader who has had the same experience but been more 
successful in getting rid of the bug, kindly tell me how 
he went to work ? I am very loth to use mineral oil, 
having seen several Vines killed through its use. Any 
information will oblige One in a Difficulty. 
-- 
HARDY CARNATIONS. 
I AM very glad “ R. D.” does not hesitate to deride the 
platitudinarian humbug so freely expressed just now 
about the hardiness of Carnations. It is all very well for 
those who cultivate Carnations in sheltered gardens, in 
high, dry soils, which are free working and porous, also 
well protected from the depredations of hares and 
rabbits, to allow their plants to remain out in the open 
ground all the winter and call them hardy. If they 
had to leave them to the tender mercies of a stiff clay 
soil, where the moisture laid on the surface instead of 
passing rapidly through after rain, and especially 
where heavy wet hoar frosts prevailed, they would 
find that Carnation culture in the open ground was 
subject to many failures and anxieties, and that the 
wisest course after all, even if old plants were left to 
take their chance, was to house in frames all rooted 
layers, until the end of March at least, and then to 
plant out into the open ground. 
Only those who have to deal with Carnations in the 
open in foggy areas can realise the harm which is, done 
to plants, even of the hardiest nature. When Violets, 
for instance, suffer so severely that all the leaves are 
destroyed, is it a matter of wonder that the points of 
Carnations and even of Pinks die off wholesale ? I 
agree that, rather than yield to a fad in favour of 
hardiness, it is better to make sure of the plants by 
housing in frames, so that the points of the plants be 
saved to produce bloom. Once the points are destroyed, 
the bloom stems go also. 
It may be something to boast of, that plants have 
wintered out of doors, but it is more to be proud of, 
that plants having had some trifling protection under 
glass are going to bloom well, whilst those left out¬ 
doors are looking badly. Some kinds may come out 
of the ordeal safely, but the risk is great, and common 
sense dictates that with our knowledge of the effect 
of bad weather on Carnations, we should do our best 
to furnish needful protection.— A. 
-->$■*-- 
CHRYSANTHEMUM GOSSIP. 
It is interesting to notice that during the first four 
years of the existence of the old National Floricultural 
Society, namely, 1851-52-53-54, only one Certificate of 
Merit was awarded to a Chrysanthemum—an incurved 
variety named Versailles Defiance, raised and exhibited 
by the late Mr. John Salter. In 1853, Mr. John 
Edwards gave in his Gardeners' Almanack a list of the 
new florists’ flowers of the year, but there is not a 
Chrysanthemum among them. In 1854, owing no 
doubt to the action of tho old Stoke Newington Society, 
and the introduction of fine new varieties by Mr. John 
Salter and others, a list of twenty-four varieties was 
given iu the Gardeners’ Almanack , under the general 
head of Chrysanthemums, and a list of twelve 
Pompons also. In this list of twenty-four varieties 
appears Annie Salter (which was sent out about 1847, 
just previous to Mr. Salter abandoning his nursery at 
Versailles, France, and settling himself at Hammer¬ 
smith), Queen of England, Beauty, and Phideas, all of 
which, with the exception of Annie Salter, were seen 
in stands at the recent Centenary Show at the Royal 
Aquarium. Up to 1885, Beauty and Queen of England 
were the only two respectable back row flowers, the 
yellows grown at that time being small and of a size 
suitable for the front row only. 
A list of the best varieties of Chrysanthemums grown 
in 1855 contained Annie Salter, Areguia, Beauty, 
Chevalier Domage, Gluck, Plutus, Queen of England, 
and Vista ; of Pompons, Aurore Boreale, Brilliant, 
Bob, Marabout, Modele, President Decaisne, and 
Scarlet Gem. There is no doubt that Pompons were 
preferred in those days for pot culture and general 
decorative purposes. In this year Mr. Edwards made 
a distinct section of the Anemone-flowered varieties, 
among them being Fleur de Marie, Gluck, and Madame 
Goodacre. In 1860—thirty years ago—Golden Queen 
of England and Jardin des Plantes were being grown, 
and the list of Pompon varieties had greatly increased. 
Going on to 1864 there had been put into commerce 
Beverley, Prince Alfred, Princess of Wales, and Venus; 
Smith had raised the first, Davis the second and third, 
and Salter the fourth. Then the latter raiser proved 
very successful, and assisted by others, the incurved 
varieties made rapid headway, and have continued to 
do so until this day. The Centenary edition of the 
National Chrysanthemum Society’s catalogue gives a 
list of no less than eighty-eight incurved varieties of 
the “ Golden Flower.”— R. D. 
- -- —oUl-c-—- 
THE ARRANGEMENT OP PLANTS 
IN CONSERVATORIES.* 
By Mr. A. Wright. 
So much depends on the conservatory itself as to 
whether it is adapted for keeping plants while in 
flower, that a description of a structure best suited for 
that purpose will not perhaps be out of place here. It 
will be well in the first place to understand what is 
meant by the term conservatory, as we often hear that 
word applied to all kinds of glasshouses, from the 
amateur’s small greenhouse in his back garden to the 
plant-stoves and greenhouses to be found in large 
gardens, as well as to large plant-houses, where the 
inmates are mostly planted out in specially prepared 
beds and borders. What is now generally understood 
by gardeners and those interested in gardens as a 
conservatory, is a plant-house_set apart for the purpose 
* A paper read before the Chiswick Gardeners’ Mutual Im- 
provement Association, Oetoter 31st 
of arranging flowering and foliage plants that may have 
been grown in other houses, generally known as feeders, 
and taken to the conservatory when in flower or just 
bursting forth into full beauty. 
Let us hope’our conservatory is not one of the kind 
that is far too often met with — attached to the 
dwelling-house as an ornament, or placed in some 
unsuitable position, often to cover a defect in the 
architecture of the house itself. Such houses I have 
seldom found toTulfil the requirements that a good con¬ 
servatory ought to do. They are generally too loft}', 
and the front of the house, from the eaves to the ground, 
too high, consequently soft-wooded plants soon become 
drawn by being so far from the light, or they are built 
too heavy, excluding too much light, and the same 
evil results follow. The house best suited to preserve 
the beauty of flowering plants the longest time in 
perfection is a span-roofed structure, running north 
and south for preference. The length and width 
would, of course, depend on the supply and demand. 
The height of the eaves from the ground should not 
exceed from 6 ft. to 8 ft., so that the plants on the side 
stages will be near the light, to enable them to continue 
growing, instead of, as in a lofty house, beginning to 
fade almost as soon as they are put into it. 
The internal arrangements of a span-roofed house 
would consist of a centre bed, but slightly raised above 
the level of the floor or paths, the bed to be filled with 
plunging material, such as coco-nut fibre refuse, in 
which to plunge all pots. This plan I consider 
preferable to having the plants placed out permanently 
in a suitably prepared bed, because, having other 
houses from which to draw plants for the decoration of 
the conservatory, more pleasing changes can be ob¬ 
tained by the different arrangements the plants lend 
themselves to. We thus do away to a large extent 
with the sameness to be met with in a permanently 
planted bed, for however effectively the plants may 
have been arranged in the first place, the same arrange¬ 
ment seen day after day throughout the year becomes 
monotonous, and its beauty overlooked. The only 
plants I would have placed out would be the climbers, 
for training up the rafters of the house. The training 
of climbers to the roof, and allowing them to hang 
down in festoons, gives a lightness to the house not 
otherwise to be obtained. Much, however, may be 
done in this way with] hanging baskets filled with 
plants of a drooping nature, such as Ferns, tuberous- 
rooted Begonias, Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, 
&c. This is a branch of .’gardening which I do not 
think gets the amount of attention it deserves. 
Round the sides of the house I would have stages 
about 2 ft. 3 ins. in height, and about 3J ft. in width. 
The best material for the stages would be slate, and 
this I would cover with shell shingle, or with ashes 
and soil, and plant with some green trailing plant, 
such as Selaginella Ivraussiana, Tradescantia, Kleinia 
repens or Ivy. This gives a good groundwork on 
which to arrange the plants. Under the side stages 
would be placed the hot-water pipes for warming the 
house, and it is advisable to have enough piping to 
heat the house easily without having to keep the pipes 
too hot, a very bad thing to have to do where plants 
are to be successfully grown. The space under the 
stages should be a prepared border for the climbers. A 
selection of plants for this purpose include Bignonia 
Cherere, Cobfea scandens var., Lapageria rosea and alba, 
Passiflora Imperatrice Eugenie, P. Comte Nesselrode, 
Tacsonia insignis, P. Van Volxemi, Swainsonia 
Osbornii, Mandevillea suaveolens, Clianthus magnifies, 
Kennedya monophylla, a few Fuchsias and varieties of 
the Tea Roses. Climbers will well repay the little 
labour besto wed upon them, though possibly one of the 
greatest drawbacks with these in a conservatory, is the 
liability of their becoming iufested with insects, more 
especially that plague to most gardens—mealy-bug. 
Here we ought to use every precaution to guard against 
its finding a footing in the house, or if in to get rid of 
it as soon as possible. The surface of the borders under 
the side stages can be covered with Selaginella, and 
Begonias of the Rex type do well in such a situation, as 
well as many more plants which can be selected to 
make it as beautiful as posssible. 
With a house such as I have described for a con¬ 
servatory, half the difficulties often met with in un¬ 
suitable houses are overcome. The conservatory may 
be attached to the dwelling house, or, what is prefer¬ 
able, have a corridor connecting it with the house. 
This would often allow the conservatory to be built in 
a more favourable position as regards light and air, 
and thus helping to prolong the flowering period of the 
plants. Ventilation is another important factor to be 
