July 18, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
735 
The Cherry Crop. 
In this neighbourhood and for some few miles 
around there are a good many Cherry orchards of 
varying sizes, but the crop is very impartial. In 
places Cherries are plentiful but in others are very 
thin. These orchards are a great source of 
anxiety to those who hire them, for the birds employ 
one person’s time with gun in hand to keep them 
away. Starlings come in flocks, settle on the trees, 
and devour all before them. Then there are the 
blackbirds, thrushes, and wood-pigeons, all of which 
eat them ravenously. A wood-pigeon, shot in the 
act of flying away from a tree in the gardens here 
this morning, was picked up a short distance off, and, 
when the crop was cut open, nineteen Cherries, most 
of them whole and some with the stalks upon them, 
were turned out. Some of our people have to use 
the gun all day on Sunday as well as on other days, 
a work of necessity, though the sound of the firing 
rather jars on our nerves as we sit in our quiet rural 
churches, free from all other outside noise.— T. W., 
Yelverton, Norfolk, 13 July. 
Cucumber.—Daniel’s Masterpiece. 
A brace of fruits of this variety, measuring over 
two feet in length, was exhibited by Mr. Church 
of Braconash, at the recent Norfolk and Norwich 
Horticultural Show. They were 11 not for compe¬ 
tition,” but were very much admired. It is a dark 
green variety, and only slightly spined; gardeners 
present thought them Ai.— T. JV. 
Adiantum macrophyllum. 
I have had for three years a plant of Adiantum 
macrophyllum and have never been able to grow it 
fairly well—the young fronds come' up strongly but 
soon turn brown and go wrong. I have tried it both 
in the stove and in the fernery with the same results. 
I grow several other Adiantums well. Is this sort 
particularly difficult to grow ? Does it require 
special treatment ? Should it be grown in peat ?—- 
Plaistow. [Adiantum macrophyllum is more difficult 
to grow than most other species in general cultiva¬ 
tion. A. trapeziforme Sanctae Catharinae is, 
however, another kind which occasions considerable 
difficulty with some growers. Both require a moist, 
warm atmosphere while making their growth, and 
when the fronds are fully grown they should be 
inured to a cooler and more airy atmosphere in 
order to harden them. If subjected all at once to a 
draughty atmosphere the fronds will be short-lived, 
and resent the treatment by turning brown. They 
should be kept a little warmer in winter than the 
majority of kinds, otherwise the fronds will lose in 
condition before young ones are produced. A much 
better start will be made in spring if the old fronds 
are still green. Provided the drainage is good, 
fibrous loam and sand will impart more substance to 
the fronds than peat. A good plan with A. macro¬ 
phyllum is to raise a few plants every year from 
spores, as seedlings generally grow with more vigour 
than old plants broken up. Spores generally come 
up freely when sown in pots and -covered with a 
piece of glass in a close propagating frame.—E d.] 
Melon.—Daniel's Westley Hall. 
This was exhibited by the raiser, Mr. A. Bishop, 
the gardener at Westley Hall, Bury St. Edmunds, at 
the recent Norfolk and Norwich Show, and also by 
another grower. It is more oval than round in shape, 
and quite large enough for any table. It is said to 
be a cross between Reed's Scarlet Flesh and High 
Cross Hybrid, and fruits have weighed seven pounds. 
It was sent out last spring by the seedsmen whose 
name is attached to it.— T. W. 
Large White Spiderwort. 
The Virginian Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginica) 
is the most universally grown of any hardy member 
of the family. The reason for this is, no doubt, the 
ease with which it can be grown and propagated, and 
the little trouble it occasions in preserving it. No 
particular care or treatment .is necessary than to 
plant it with other subjects in the herbaceous border 
or on the rockery. The moister climate of Scotland 
is equally as favourable to its well-being as the 
relatively dry climate of London, which has a mean 
annual rainfall of 24 ins. For weeks or months on 
end, flowers continue to be developed from the large 
spathes or floral bracts, but fine weather is the most 
potent factor in bringing them out. Then the 
number of quite distinct varieties of this same 
species is considerable, and those who grow them all 
possess quite a little collection of Spiderworts. That 
under notice is named T. v, alb 1 grandiflora, and 
well merits the name, for the roun lly ovate and con¬ 
cave petals are of great size and pure white. In all 
other respects the variety agrees with the type which 
has blue flowers. We noted the large white variety 
on the rockery in the gardens of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society at Chiswick. 
A New Cauliflower. 
The varieties of Cauliflower are relatively few 
compared with the winter and spring-flowering kinds 
generally termed Broccoli. Yet so keen is the com¬ 
petition in raising new kinds that the difficulty is to 
obtain anything that is really distinct and good. A 
seedling which originated in the gardens at Tower 
House, Chiswick, has been several times tried, and is 
now believed to be a variety of great merit and 
distinctness. The leaves are of a rich dark green 
resembling that of Horseradish rather than anything 
else, and show not the slightest trace of the sea-green 
or glaucous hue so peculiar to and characteristic of 
the wild Cabbage and its cultivated varieties. Com¬ 
pared with Early London, the heads were of larger 
size in last week of June, notwithstanding the dis¬ 
parity in the time of sowing. The Early London was 
sown last autumn and was well advanced before winter. 
The new variety under notice was not sown till 
December, and was of course raised under glass. 
When boiled the leaves surrounding the head assume 
a bright green colour, and show off the pure white 
head to advantage. 
Houstonia senpyllifolia. 
The stems of this species are procumbent and matted 
like a mass of Chickweed. The small ovate leaves 
also resemble those of a Chickweed, or even the Bog 
Pimpernel (Anagallis tenella), to which, as a whole, 
the plant may very aptly be compared. The flowers 
are of large size for the genus, and usually white, but 
those of a plant on the rockery at Kew are of a clear, 
bright blue, with a yellow or orange eye, and produced 
on erect peduncles about 3 in. or 4 in. long. The 
colour of the flowers evidently varies, as in the better 
known H.. coer.ulea. The numerous procumbent 
shoots offer a ready means of propagation. 
The Peruvian Daffodil. 
Such is the name applied to a very handsome, but 
old-fashioned garden plant, which, like many other 
bulbs, is rather neglected at the present day. 
Botanically it is Hymenocallis Amancces, a native 
of Chili and Peru. Sometimes it is cultivated in the 
stoves of this country, although the greenhouse is 
the more suitable place for it. A plant is now 
flowering finely at Kew in a frame which was 
covered with lights in the winter time, but is now 
fully exposed to all weathers. The bright green, 
channelled leaves are 18 ins. to 24 ins. long, and from 
the centre of the rosette arises a scape to the height 
of 2^ ft., bearing five large flowers, which are pale, 
sulphur-yellow when they expand, but soon change 
to pure white. The large crown is of the same hue, 
and consists of six bifid pieces, giving the whole a 
very striking appearance. The stamens project into 
the throat of the crown in a very peculiar manner. 
_ 
NEW PLANTS 
CERTIFICATED BY THE R. H. S. 
Centaurea Cyanus nana compacta.— The typical 
wild form of our native Cornflower, or Bluebottle, 
has flower heads of the finest bright blue which the 
most fastidious could desire of that colour, and any 
departure from the original may be looked upon as 
degeneracy. There are now rosy pink, red and 
other varieties in gardens, but they are greatly 
inferior to the wild form, and may only be tolerated 
for the sake of variety. A basket of plants of a 
liliputian form, grown in pots, was exhibited by Mr. 
H. Herbst, Kew Road, Richmond, at the exhibition 
and conference on hardy perennials and small fruits, 
held by the Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick, 
on the 7th and 8th inst., when an Award of Merit 
was accorded the variety. The stems varied from 
3 ins. to 6 ins. in height, bearing good sized heads 
with bright blue rays and a violet-purple disc as in 
the type. The plants are branched close to the 
ground only, and are amply furnished there with 
small, lanceolate leaves, so that the whole presents 
a dwarf and compact appearance. At a short 
distance the plants remind one of the round-headed 
Rampion (Phyteuma orbiculare) For market pur¬ 
poses it will prove a decided acquisition over the 
long-stemmed common form, and will make nice 
specimens in 48 size pots. It produces seeds 
abundantly. 
Begonia Miss Faulkner. —This year has wit¬ 
nessed several fine additions to the yellow varieties 
of the tuberous Begonias, both single and double. 
That under notice belongs to the latter type, and the 
flower is of large size, very full, clear yellow, and 
consists of numerous small rosettes arranged in one. 
The sepals are usually broad and rounded. The. 
centre opens almost white, but, when fully expanded r 
becomes as bright a yellow as the rest. The leaves 
are ample, half heart-shaped, and of a rich, dark 
velvety green. A plant was shown, at the same time 
and place as the above, by Messrs. Id. Cannell & 
Sons, Swanley, who received an Award of Merit for 
the variety. 
Godetia White Pearl. —The flowers of this, 
new variety are pure white, whereas those of the 
Duchess of Albany are often tinted with pink. Both 
were shown together by Messrs. J. Carter & Co., 
High Holborn. They had been grown for the pur¬ 
pose of trial in pots, and were not. so dwarf.as they 
would otherwise have been if sown in the open 
ground. The flowers of Duchess of Albany were the 
larger, but this might not be the case if both were 
grown in good garden soil in the open. An Award 
of Merit was accorded the variety. 
Laced Pink, the Rector. —A stand of this 
variety was shown by Mr. C. Turner, Slough, who- 
received an Award of Merit for it. The flowers 
were quite full without any crowding of the petals,- 
which were white with a good purple lacing more or 
less stained with crimson especially on the lower 
part of the petal. The latter was entire or only 
obsoletely toothed round the apex. If the habit of 
the plant is good and flowers are freely produced,- 
The Rector should frequently appear on the exhibi¬ 
tion board. 
Escallonia exoniensis. —This is described as a 
hybrid, but the parentage was not given. The habit 
of the plant is similar to that of E. illimita, E. 
punctata and others of that class. The leaves are 
small, oblanceolate, leathery and of a deep shining 
green, closely investing the branches. The flowers 
are freely produced in racemes terminating the short 
lateral shoots. The flowers are salver-shaped, with 
a pink tube and a spreading white lamina. It will 
make a beautiful shrub for sheltered places in the 
shrubbery, and belongs to a class of plants which 
should be more widely grown. An Award of Merit' 
was granted it when shown by Messrs. J. Veitch & 
Sons, Chelsea. 
Mimulus cupreus Prince Bismarck.— The 
flowers of this, as shown by Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, 
Forest Hill, were of medium size for the species, and of 
a deep coppery-crimson, with two ridges covered with 
yellow hairs along the centre of the lower lip. The 
small ovate leaves are of a deep green. This dwarf 
Monkey Flower would make a useful plant for bed¬ 
ding out in damp spots in somewhat shady places of 
the garden, where the flowering period would be of 
much longer duration than if planted in dry soil in* 
fully exposed places. An Award of Merit was 
accorded it. 
Delphinium Robin Adair. —Improvement con*’ 
tinues to be made amongst the perennial Larkspurs;-’ 
and the choice varieties of twenty years ago had« 
puny flowers compared with those we now see in 
modern collections. The terminal spike of Robin 
Adair is of great length, with large closely-arranged 
flowers of a dark bright-blue, slightly tinted with 
purple towards the tips of the sepals. The latter 
spread widel} 7 , ; and the centre of the flower is 
occupied with small black petals covered with, 
yellow hairs. The variety was shown by Messrs.- 
Kelway & Sons, Langport, and was accorded an 
Award of Merit. 
Prunella Webbiana. — The affinities of this 
plant are with P. vulgaris, but the flowers are of great 
size, quite conspicuous and showy. The corolla is 
deep purple, and are rendered more noticeable by 
the bronzy-red calyx in which it is inserted. The 
leaves are oblong and toothed, and the whole plant 
about 6 ins. high. 
Veronica Anomala. —Like many other of the 
shrubby New Zealand Veronicas, this is alt but 
