May 9, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
575 
ARDENING fjjlSCELLANY. 
-* 5 -- 
Fruit Prospects. 
Never in my recollection have I seen a greater promise 
ot fruits generally on walls and standards, as well as 
bush fruits (Black Currants excepted, which are ruined 
by the mite). Plums and Cherries are from the tops of 
walls to the base a sheet of blossom, and adhering 
firmly to the wood. These blossoms are on trees which 
are curtailed at the roots by systematic root pruning. 
Morello Cherries, which are growing on various aspects, 
are literally matted with fruit blossom. Last year they 
were cut in all round their stems and underneath to 
make room to form a pathway, and soon recovered from 
their torture ; a mulching of decayed manure in which 
was mixed some soot and Thomson’s Manure gave them 
a start which enabled them to carry an extra crop of 
fruit, and the hard work imposed on them seems to 
have rendered the trees more fruitful than ever. The 
extra late season may be fraught with good by the fact 
that its being a month later than last year, frost may 
not do the usual mischief we are accustomed to witness. 
Small orchards of dwarf bush trees, and of thoroughly 
hardy selection, are always very serviceable from their 
productiveness and the superior quality of the fruit. 
The trees can be curtailed or extended at pleasure, 
while orchards proper are not so well under the control 
of the cultivator.— Stirling. 
National Chrysanthemum Society. 
In your kindly appreciative leader on the work of the 
above society,' there is one remark I wish to correct. 
It is your statement that considerable prizes are offered 
for blooms of Chrysanthemums at the Fruit Show to 
be held by the Royal Aquarium Society in October 
next. Unfortunately this i3 not so. It was done last 
year, and brought an extremely interesting display of 
October-flowering Chrysanthemums. This year, owing 
to the lack of means, the Committee of the National 
Chrysanthemum Society found themselves unable to 
continue the prizes, and they are therefore dropped for 
the present season, much to my own regret, and also 
that of many others.— R. Dean, Secretary. 
Prunus triloba. 
The flowers of this beautiful shrub, like everything 
else, have been much later in making their appearance 
than usual, owing to the ungenial nature of the weather. 
Nothing, however, is lacking in the amount of bloom, 
for the mass of twiggy growths is now laden with 
bloom, which appears quite dense, notwithstanding 
that not a leaf is yet to be seen. The flowers of the 
plant, as seen in this country, are double, and for that 
reason last much longer in beauty. They are rose- 
coloured in bud, fading to pink as they expand, and 
show a considerable amount of white in the centre. 
The plant may be grown in the open ground, or 
preferably against a wall, on account of the greater 
amount of growth made, its better ripening, and above 
all the amount of bloom which is developed as a conse¬ 
quence of the favourable conditions. The shoots on 
the upper part of the bush first commence to open, and 
proceed from thence downwards till the whole is aglow. 
Pruning must be deferred till flowering is over, for the 
reason that all the bloom buds are produced on the 
previous year’s wood. This Prunus is a native of 
China, from whence it was introduced in 1857. 
Cinerarias from Edinburgh. 
A cox of Cineraria blooms has reached us from Mr. 
John Downie, 111, Princes Street, Edinburgh. We 
have seen larger blooms, but those sent showed all the 
leading colours to be seen in cultivation, even to the 
white one with the violet centre. The heads in some 
cases lacked that regularity which we now expect to see 
in the Cineraria, but it seemed as if a little assistance 
would have overcome this difficulty, for the ray florets 
were generally of great breadth. In other cases a 
greater number of florets gave the head that regularity 
of contour which florists delight to see. The self- 
coloured varieties were in our opinion the best, although 
it cannot be denied that those with a bi-coloured ray 
add much to the attractiveness and brightness of a 
collection. The deep magenta-purple, deep purplish 
red, blue and violet-purple kinds were the finest of the 
self-coloured varieties. The bi-coloured kinds had 
white rays, with the tips or a greater part purple or 
blue, and in some cases the purple was continued 
around the greater part of the margin. A velvety 
violet-purple hue was also good. 
Wild Rosemary. 
The popular name is not inaptly applied to Andromeda 
polifolia, the only species now included in the genus 
by the leading authorities. What used to be classified 
under Andromeda is with this single exception ranged 
under several other genera, such as Pieris, Cassandra 
Leucothoe and others. The leathery evergreen leaves 
are very narrow in appearance owing to their margins 
being revolute. The flowers are borne in terminal 
umbellate clusters, and expand during the months of 
May and June. Cutiously enough they do not seem 
in the least behind their usual time, for the greater 
part of the blooms on some plants are already fully 
expanded. They are deep rose in bud, but after 
expansion pink, with a rose stripe along the nerves 
corresponding to the midrib of each segment. The plant 
is extremely hardy, and is-a native not only of this 
country, but of the temperate and arctic regions of the 
northern hemisphere. It can be used a9 a margin to 
large beds or planted by itself in peaty soil, and becomes 
very ornamental when in bloom. 
Dentaria pinnata. 
Although botanically very closely allied to Cardamine, 
of which C. prtetensis or Lady’s Smock is a familiar 
example, all the species of Dentaria may be recognised 
by their much coarser foliage. That under notice has 
pinnate leaves, somewhat resembling those of the Elder, 
but the leaflets are narrower, and more closely crowded 
together by the internodes remaining undeveloped. 
The height of the plant is about 12 ins., and the stems 
terminate in racemes of purple flowers, or in some 
individuals varying to lilac, blush or white. The 
flowering period is in April and May. The species is 
a native of Switzerland, originally introduced to this 
country in 1683, but by no means common at the 
present day. It delights in a somewhat shady position, 
where the roots can be kept in a moist condition, but 
at the same time in well-drained soil. Propagation can 
easily be effected either by means of seeds or by 
division of the fleshy rootstock. 
Bryanthus empetriformis. 
The plant above named is most often grown in gardens 
under the name of Menziesia empetrifolia. It is a 
member of the Heath family, hailing from north-west 
America, 'and like others of its kind, requires to be 
grown in a peaty soil. Being of dwarf habit, say from 
6 ins. to 12 ins. in height, it constitutes a suitable 
subject for planting on rockeries in cool nooks, and 
corners, where the soil may be kept cool by being 
shaded from direct sunshine for the greater part of the 
day. The slender twiggy stems are covered with small 
linear evergreen leaves, and develop clusters of red or 
rose and pink-coloured flowers at their extremities. At 
present the plants are quite gay, and like most others 
of this class they will continue so for some time. 
Propagation is effected by cuttings, by layers and by 
dividing the plant so that every piece removed may be 
furnished with a sufficient number of roots. The 
species may be considered as one of the choice subjects 
that find favour only with the few who make a specialty 
of hardy plants, and build rockeries for them as well as 
make up oeds especially adapted for their cultivation 
and preservation. It is, however, certainly both pretty 
and interesting. 
Nodding White Daffodils. 
"Would any of your readers inform me as to whether 
the Mrs. J. B. M. Camm Daffodil qualifies the descrip, 
tion given in catalogues prior to 1884? It used to be 
classed with the Lorifolius “Bicolor” (?) group. It is 
now with the Swan s-neck or nodding white trumpet 
section. It is truly of the latter class. Yet the broad 
Lorifolius foliage warrants the classification prior to 1884, 
when we were very ignorant of the outward world and 
its Daffodil productions. But what I want to get from 
your readers is whether they ever noticed a sport among 
their Mrs. Camm bulbs, in shape like Ilugilobus well 
grown, but pure white in colour ; the plant not having 
its face to the soil bashfully, but erect and upright in 
character like that of good men ; and what name can 
they give this very distinct flower ? I am sure Mr. 
eter Barr has noticed the flower I mean.— Tgnommus 
Anthurfum Scherzerianmn Austiniana. 
This variety is characterised by its large oval spathe of 
a rich reddish scarlet. The leaves are also propor¬ 
tionately good, and leathery in character, evidencing 
a robust constitution. A large plant of it was exhibited 
at the Royal Aquarium on the 29th ult. by Mr. Henry 
James, West Norwood, and was awarded a First Class 
Certificate. 
Rubbish Heaps. 
I have often listened to discussions on the utility of 
hoarding up rubbish in proximity to well-appointed 
gardens, and how much harm is done to land by the 
accumulation of stones, sticks, and weeds. It is, 
however, long since I put a very high value on this 
much abused adjunct to the garden, and have made its 
existence almost indispensable. We never suffer either 
from stones, sticks, or weeds. The first-named we 
never had any objection to, especially in fruit gardens, 
but they may be kept out of the heap. Sticks we 
always burn, and throw the ashes over the other 
matter, and by the addition of mowings from lawns 
and edgings of grass, fermentation takes place which 
destroys the vitality of all seeds and live roots. I 
have noticed of late years, as often before, that heavy 
dressings of the rubbish heap mixture has done far 
more to bring land into higher cultivation than any 
dressings of manure, and where one could not turn 
up a second spit of soil to the surface it can now be 
done with impunity. The tilth thus becomes deep, 
and the value of the land is greatly enhanced thereby. 
This is indicated by the excellence of crops grown on 
the space where the same kinds formerly struggled for 
an existence.— Stirling. 
Asparagus Ferns. 
The above name has a suspicious look about it, and is, 
indeed, a home-made medley. It shows also how 
names are manufactured, and indicates a relative 
poverty of expression in our language in the matter of 
plant names when a new one is required. Melon Pear 
is a name applied to a fruit belonging to the Solanum 
family, and conveys not the slightest hint as to that 
fact. Asparagus Ferns would imply that we had got 
some new kind of Ferns resembling Asparagus. On 
the contrary, they consist of Asparagus raised from 
seed and grown in small pots for decorative purposes, 
instead oi for the kitchen. The seeds are sown very 
thickly in 60-sized pots, germinated and grown to the 
height of 4 ins. to 6 ins., when the plants are ready for 
sale without further treatment of any kind. Seedling 
Asparagus would, of course, be too common a name, or 
have a utilitarian smack about it. 
The Almond. 
The common Almond must be considered the queen of 
ornamental flowering trees in spring, for no other 
exhibits at this time such a wealth of large rose-coloured 
flowers. In ordinary or mild seasons it generally 
commences to flower in March ; but owing to the 
severity of the past winter and the dry cold spring, it 
did not commence flowering in the southern counties 
till the 6th of April. Even then, and for some time 
after, the amount of bloom was very trifling, and by no 
means conspicuous. By the 1st of May, however, 
the trees became a mass of the warmest rose-pink, 
making themselves the most conspicuous objects in the 
shrubberies and villa gardens everywhere in and around 
London. The trees lose their individuality later on 
when in full leaf, but occasionally in warm summers 
they become somewhat noticeable on account of their 
fruit, which they develop in quantity. We, no 
doubt, owe their present gorgeous beauty to the fact 
that the buds were kept back by the cold until the 
advent of warm weather enabled them to come out in 
the mass. 
Astilbe japonica splendens. 
In gardens the ordinary form of this plant is spoken of 
under the name of Spirtea japonica, and is likely to be 
for many years hence. The distinguishing feature of 
the variety is its denser or more compact panicle, 
bearing a profusion of flowers of a purer white than in 
the type. The branches of the panicle are ascending, 
and the compactness of the whole is brought about by 
the shortening of the internodes. Some plants were 
shown at the Royal Aquarium, Westminster, on the 
29th ult. by Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, when a First 
Class Certificate was awarded. 
New Roses. 
Souvenir de Gonod.— The flowers of this Hybrid 
Perpetual are of large size and deep rose-red. The 
petals are broad, rounded, and strongly revolute at the 
edge. The rich dark green leaves consist of three to 
five leaflets, more rarely of seven. Duchesse de 
Dino.— This is also a Hybrid Perpetual, with much 
smaller flowers of a deep crimson-red. The petals are 
also revolute at the margins, as in the other case ; and 
the leaves consist of three to five ovate leaflets. Both 
received First Class Certificates when exhibited at the 
Royal Aquarium on the 29th ult. by Messrs. Paul & 
Son, Cheshunt. 
