December 20, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
245 
Golden Box, Elaeagnus, Euonymus varieties, Holly 
Golden Queen, Ivies, Biotas, Cupressus, Juniperus, 
Retinosporas and Golden Yews. In silvers, Euonymus 
were too tender generally, excepting E. radicans major, 
Osmanthus, Tree Ivies, Santolinas, Hollies, Cupressus 
Lawsoniana (silver forms;. Box, &c. Many green¬ 
leaved shrubs came under notice, there being so many 
which were available, also in Conifers. In flowering 
shrubs for permanent beds, Berberis, Cistus, Fabiana 
imbricata, Hypericum, Olearia, Veronica, Ceanothus 
Gloire de Versailles, and many other things were re¬ 
commended. In berried plants, Aucubas were the best 
and most reliable, but Pernettyas of sorts, Skimmia, 
and Pyracantha Lelandii were all suitable. 
Nepenthes O’Brieniana.—Borneo seems to be the 
head - quarters of most of the leading species of 
Nepenthes in cultivation. From that island also 
comes the species under the above name, and which 
has been introduced by L’Horticulture Internationale 
about the beginning of the present year, and named 
after Mr. James O’Brien as a souvenir of his visit to 
that establishment. There is a beautiful coloured 
plate of the Nepenthes in question in L'Illustration 
Eorticole, pi. 116. The most striking characteristic of 
the pitchers is their great length, those figured measur¬ 
ing 8£ ins. to ins. in length independently of the 
lid. They are also cylindrical, both in the lower and 
upper parts, but the two parts respectively are of 
different calibres. The lower and wider portion is 
green, lightly suffused, or marked with rose, while the 
upper part is of a deep rose. The annulus or collar is 
remarkably narrow and pale green, while the lid is 
obcordate and green, heavily suffused with rose. The 
wings are narrow and entire, and the foliage much of 
the usual type. The lively and somewhat transparent 
rose colour of the upper part is very striking. The plant 
will be put into commerce about the end of next year. 
-** 3 =*—- . 
FIGS AT CHRISTMAS. 
The Negro Largo Fig is considered by the highest 
authorities to be one of the best in cultivation. By 
different methods of treatment the fruit may be had in 
a ripe condition nearly all the year round, that is, by 
employing different batches of plants, some for early 
and some for late work. At Gunnersbury Park, Acton, 
the seat of Messrs, de Rothschild, a batch of old as 
well as young plants may now be seen in a fruiting stage. 
Mr. Reynolds, the gardener, gives them a somewhat 
different treatment to that which Figs generally receive 
in order to have them at this particular season. The 
plants are retarded as much as possible in spring after 
having been pruned, a practice not of course per¬ 
mitted in ordinary cultures. This of course is done 
with the object of getting strong young shoots, and it 
is upon these that the fruit is produced. The crop, there¬ 
fore corresponds to the second one of ordinary cultures, 
the first one being entirely dispensed with by pruning. 
The plants are re-potted in the early part of June, 
and placed in a gentle heat, and not a leaf is developed 
till some time after this. The plants are grown on in 
the usual way, ripen their wood, and then commence 
to push the young fruits. The first gathering of ripe 
fruit took place about the third week in October ; the 
plants were still in bearing when we saw them the 
other week, and from all appearances the supply would 
be continued till after Christmas, according to the rate 
of ripening. Some plants raised from cuttings were 
also carrying a crop, more or less according to their 
size. All were stood on a hot-bed during the latter 
part of October, and that is the treatment they are 
now receiving. 
The fruit is of large size, Pear-shaped, deep green in 
the young state, but ultimately jet-black when mature. 
The flesh is pale red, richly flavoured, and when ripe 
the skin is tender and melting. 
HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 
Following up the late discussion, I fail to see that the 
correct meaning of the word “Herbaceous” is so 
simple as Mr. James Thurstan says at p. 156 ; for on 
reference, the text books in the aggregate are somewhat 
ambiguous, Johnson’s definition is, “relating to herbs”; 
Nuttall’s “having the nature of an herb” ; whereas 
Professor Oliver says, “not woody; dying down in winter”; 
and in that recent excellent work, the Dictionary of 
Gardening, the word signifies, “ thin, green, and 
cellular, as the tissue of membraneous leaves ; also 
producing an annual stem from a perennial root.” 
Knowing the country as I do, I am satisfied there is 
much doubt everywhere, particularly among exhibitors 
of herbaceous plants, as to the kinds which will pass 
muster in this class—I mean without fear of dissension 
when exhibited in keen competition. At p. 140 is 
clearly shown what by courtesy and custom has been 
generally understood by the term, but this apparently 
does not thoroughly fix the matter. 
The taste for border perennials is most certainly 
growing apace, and I belong to that band of workers 
who have so strongly advocated the claims of these 
highly interesting plants, especially during the many 
years I was Messrs. Lucombe, Pince &■ Co’s, traveller. 
As an instance I shall not soon forget the trans¬ 
formation—or therelief to the gardenereither—when the 
extensive carpet bedding in the elaborate gardens of the 
late Mr. John Marshall, of Taunton, almost ceased in 
favour of this more wholesome and homely style. 
Besides, the gracefully serpentine beds and borders of 
fragrant herbage and flowers last longer, require less 
labour, and afford infinitely greater pleasure and variety 
than the rigid, meretricious, and withal extra¬ 
vagant daubs of mutilated foliage which for the most 
part constitute carpet gardening—a system as absurd 
as it is fantastic, and often leading out of nowhere into 
a labyrinth equally indefinite. This, however, is a 
digression. What Mr. Thurstan says concerning 
future classification in flower show schedules is all 
very well in its way, but why not drop the word 
“ herbaceous ” altogether, and substitue “hardy border 
plants,” drawing the line at annuals and shrubs 1 
~W. Napper, Chelsea. 
-- >X« - 
COPPIN’S PATENT TREE-PRUNER 
TREE-pruners of various forms have been in use for 
many years, but one of the simplest in construction, and 
most powerful that we have seen, is that noticed in our 
columns some time ago, and 
which last week received a 
Certificate of Commendation 
from the Floral Committee. 
It is made by Messrs. Coppin 
& Sons, Addington, Surrey, 
and is strong, yet light and 
portable, with poles varying 
in length from 2 ft. to 
12 ft., and, of course, longer 
ones can be made to order. 
The blade of the pruner is 
curved, and when in action 
has a circular movement 
round a pivot, commencing 
the cut on the upper side 
of the branch, and severs 
the shoot with a clean cut. 
A strong spring made to 
act on the back of the 
blade keeps the latter open, 
when the handle is released. 
Branches to the thickness 
of 1 in. are cut by the 
different forms, and thicker 
ones taken off by means of 
a saw, which can be fixed 
to the same or on a different 
pole. The accompanying 
illustration gives a general 
idea of what the machines 
are like. The hook at the 
apex of the part holding 
the blade is intended for catching and holding shoots 
of upright growth while being cut. In other forms of 
the invention this portion is straight, so as to admit 
shoots of horizontal growth readily. 
- »£«• - 
ROSE, DEVONIENSIS. 
Fifty remarkable years have rolled by since the 
Devoniensis Rose was distributed, yet its supremacy as 
the most elegant among the beautiful kinds of Tea- 
scented which now comprise that invaluable section is 
still acknowledged everywhere. But it seems to me 
that we must go to Devonshire to see this sweetly 
fragrant queen of queens in all her glory, for in that 
highly favoured county she is luxuriant, floriferous and 
happy, ranking among the first to blossom in spring, 
and the last to give up in winter. Against the road¬ 
side cottage, the farmhouse and barn, the mansion, as 
well as in the village churchyard, are often the chosen 
sites. The valley of the Exe is perhaps most favoured, 
the whole district being picturesque, undulating and 
romantic. Moreover, the climate is balmy and mild— 
in fact, everything there is congenial to such tender 
and delicate flowers; and the land, too, is peculiarly 
adapted, being rich, deep and loamy. 
We have two forms of Devoniensis Roses—one a 
moderate grower, the other a vigorous climber ; never¬ 
theless their flowers are the same. The latter, however, 
is a later introduction, for it was not till 1858 or there¬ 
abouts that the gentle art became aware of its existence. 
Climbing Devoniensis is an offspring, and was obtained 
not by sexual crossing, but by working a sport on 
Celine, a scion with a terminal wood bud, which was 
again worked on the same kind of stock, and in thi3 
way the climbing habit became fixed, thus securing not 
only the exquisite form, colour and sweetness of the 
parent, but a stouter constitution. 
The origin of the old variety is not quite so clear, 
and has been shrouded in mystery. Hard by Plymouth 
Hoe is its reputed birthplace, or at any rate, within 
easy distance of that famous and historical locality 
where it is recorded the bold Sir Francis Drake played 
skittles or bowls, with the Spanish fleet in sight, 
saying:—“There is time enough to finish our game, 
and to beat the Spaniards too.” There also, in still 
earlier times, the brave men of Devon gallantly drove 
the French invaders back to their ships, leaving behind 
500 of their dead. My task has not been an easy one, 
but the information I have gained is on pretty good 
authority, and there can be no doubt but that the 
old Devoniensis was a seedling Rose, raised by an 
amateur named Forster, a retired naval officer who 
amused himself during his old age in his own little 
garden plot, by hybridising flowers, and that the 
parents were the pretty monthly or China Roses. His 
batch of seedlings must have contained a lot of useless 
kinds, for I have been told that after much selection 
he had only twelve plants, and these he first offered 
to the late Mr. Ponkey, who at that time had extensive 
nurseries at Plymouth ; but he refused them. Shortly 
after this the lively and genial William Knott, the 
first traveller to Messrs. Lucombe, Pince & Co., was 
journeying that way, and he was shown these wonderful 
seedlings by that ancient mariner, who, no doubt, like 
Othello, “The story of their lives, he ran it through.” 
Be that as it may, I know that £20 were given for the 
lot, and that the Roses were transferred to the Exeter 
Nursery, where in course of time their virtues were 
noted and compared. One only was considered first 
class, and that, as all the gardening world now knows, 
has proved to be a paragon. 
It was named Devoniensis by my old master, the 
late Mr. Robert Pince, and in the first year of dis¬ 
tribution it was sold by him at £1 Is. per plant, the 
result for that year being about £2,000, and the next, 
£1,000 ; and for some years after Mr. Pince continued 
selling considerable quantities, for the art of gardening, 
in those days, was not so generally understood, hence 
his monopoly. 
Mr. Pince was a great enthusiast, possessing a good 
heart, and he gave the raiser the sum of £50 as a thank- 
offering.— W. Napper, Chelsea. 
-» >X<—- 
DISEASE-RESISTING POTATOS. 
It would be a nice question to decide on the rank of 
importance to be attached to the respective merits that 
good general crop Potatos should possess—whether 
freedom from disease, large cropping powers, quality, 
or economy in making use of them, should come first. 
I would say a Potato that has little or no tendency to 
disease would be preferable to one possessing any of the 
other desirable qualities but this. I daresay some of 
the readers of The Gardening World noticed, a 
fortnight ago, the remarks of Mr. Balfour in the House 
of Commons, when he introduced his Bill to provide 
for the supply of seed Potatos to occupiers and culti¬ 
vators of land in Ireland. 
In dealing with the failure of the Potato crop in 
Ireland—more particularly in the west of Ireland— 
Mr. Balfour mentioned that he had imported some 
£500 or £600 worth of Champions from Scotland and 
planted them in Donegal, and that they had completely 
failed. From this he thought the Government would 
assume a dangerous task if they undertook the re¬ 
sponsibility of selecting the kind of Potato to be grown. 
To a man of Mr. Balfour’s academic and logical turn of 
mind the old proverb, Ex uno disce omm.es, would 
readily come, but it would not apply with true force to 
the Potato question. My knowledge of the kinds which 
obtain in Ireland of recent years is second-hand, but I 
do know from personal knowledge that some years ago 
the Scotch Champion stood first as a disease-resister, 
and I do not think it has lost very much ground yet. 
About ten years ago a valuable series of experiments 
was undertaken with several kinds of Potatos obtained 
from different sources by the county Cork Agricultural 
Society, and in the excellently edited report of the 
results of these experiments were one or two solid facts. 
Among the kinds tried were six French, six German, 
