r 598 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 18, 1889. 
is apt to be dashed upon them by the use of the 
syringe. 
I believe it is universally established as one of the 
elementary principles of vegetable physiology that 
leaves do not take in water but gaseous food, yet we 
must keep the atmosphere of our vineries and plant 
houses in such a state of humidity that too rapid tran¬ 
spiration does not take place, and here the syringe is 
very useful in “damping down ” the walls and floors, 
and the hotter and drier the day, no matter how much 
ventilation we have on, the more water will he required 
to effect this purpose .—Alfred Gaut. 
- »X< -- 
The Amateurs' Garden. 
Hardy Edgings to Beds. 
Where a large amount of planting has to be got through 
during the present and several succeeding weeks, the 
work may be lightened considerably by commencing 
with the hardiest subjects first. A large number of 
variegated or variously-coloured plants are used in 
some gardens to form edgings to beds of Pelargoniums, 
Fuchsias, Calceolarias, and so forth. Where this is 
the case, the planting of such things as Cerastium 
tomentosum (white), Lamium maeulatum aureum 
(yellow), Ajuga reptans rubra (red), Antennaria tomen- 
tosa (white), the variegated Polemonium eceruleum 
variegatum, Dactylis glomerata elegantissima, and 
Arabis albida variegata, may be proceeded with without 
further delay. A number of the smaller variegated 
Grasses,’including the Dactylis already mentioned, 
make very effective edgings, especially to large beds or 
flower borders. All of these things had better be 
planted without further delay where not already accom¬ 
plished, so that they may become established before 
drought sets in. Golden Feather can also be planted 
with perfect safety, provided the plants are large 
enough and have been well hardened off. Numerous 
other subjects are suitable for the purpose, and those 
that are hardy, or moderately so, should be planted at 
once to secure a long growing season. 
Bedding Violas. 
It is evident from the large quantity of these always 
grown by the market gardeners in spring that the 
culture of these beautiful hardy subjects is being 
earnestly taken up. Being thoroughly hardy, the only 
difficulty experienced in their cultivation in southern 
counties is the dryness of the climate, which causes the 
flowers to become smaller towards midsummer, when 
the drought is at its worst. There is all the more 
reason therefore, for early planting. The boxes of 
plants we frequently see a mass of bloom were pro¬ 
pagated from cuttings towards the end of the summer 
or autumn of last year, and if private growers and 
amateurs would adopt the same principle, their gardens 
could be rendered thoroughly gay, even at this early 
period, by Violas alone in various shades of colour. 
Good early kinds are Blue King, large bright blue ; 
Skylark, white, edged with sky-blue, and very effective ; 
Cornuta Perfecta, a purple blue ; Golden Gem, large, 
clear yellow ; Countess of Kintore, purple and white ; 
and Countess of Hopetoun, white. For the dry climate 
of the south, none will resist drought better nor keep 
up a better show of bloom than Countess of Kintore. 
Phloxes and Pentstemons. 
Plants of these that were struck from cuttings last 
summer or autumn will now have made some growth, 
even if they have been wintered in a cold frame. Shoots 
from the base of the plant or from under the soil should 
be encouraged, as they develop into strong flowering 
stems from which the best exhibition flowers even are 
obtained. They should now be planted out in beds or 
borders according to convenience, in well-tilled and 
moderately well-manured ground, as they give the best 
results when liberally treated. Phloxes are shallow¬ 
rooting subjects, and should, therefore, be mulched 
with a coating of well-rotted manure, or even coco-nut 
fibre refuse to retain the moisture and enable them to 
tide over a droughty summer, should that occur. They 
should be planted about 1 ft. apart each way. 
Plants in Flower in the Greenhouse. 
A good display can now easily be maintained in houses 
even where no artificial heat is employed. Amongst 
strictly greenhouse plants are Cytisus racemosus, 
Heaths, Hydrangeas, Pelargoniums, Abutilons, Tree 
Carnations, Fuchsias, and others. Hardy plants are 
represented by Spirieas, Lily of the Valley, Primroses, 
and Polyanthus, in great variety, together with the 
florists’ and Alpine Auriculas. The roof of the house 
may be kept gay with Abutilons, Hardenbergias, 
Kennedyas, and Roses. Mareehal Kiel, Niphetos and 
several others are capital subjects for cool houses. 
Roses in pots, as well as Calceolarias, Cinerarias, and 
many others require careful looking after for green-fly, 
and other insect pests. Fumigate lightly on successive 
nights rather than allow them to gain a footing. 
Ventilate freely night and day unless the weather be 
stormy. 
ARDENING MISCELLANY. 
The Gardeners' Royal Benevolent 
Institution. 
I trust you will allow me space for a few words anent 
this noble and deserving institution. I am in receipt 
of a circular headed, “A most special and important 
appeal,” in which it is stated that this year the institu¬ 
tion attains its fiftieth or Jubilee year, and that to 
mark such an event in a special manner, the committee 
are making strenuous efforts to raise the sum of £3,000, 
so as to allow them to place the whole (seventeen) of 
the unsuccessful candidates at the last election on the 
pension list, the £3,000 being required to meet the 
great extra annual expense, without trenching on 
the reserve fund. The circular states that £1,500 is 
promised, leaving a like sum to be secured by the day 
of the Festival (June 13th), otherwise nearly the whole 
amount will be lost, and the scheme will fall through. 
As a gardener, I would therefore appeal to your 
readers to raise a hand to avert such a disaster ; let us 
help to secure the noble end the committee have in 
view. I know that gardeners as a class are not rich 
men ; many are like the parson in Goldsmith’s “Deserted 
Village”—“ passing rich on forty pounds a year,” but 
with a unity of purpose amongst all the gardeners 
figuring in the Directories, a small donation from 
each individual would have the desired effect. I 
am a subscriber, but sincerely hope that I may never 
have to seek its aid ; no doubt those poor souls now 
anxiously awaiting the result had, in the hey-day of 
their prosperity, the same feelings ; but that treacherous 
wheel of fortune revolves in many remarkable ways ; 
that great leveller—death, and mercantile failures have 
caused the break-up of many good gardening establish¬ 
ments, and thrown the head gardener out of a situation, 
most likely after years of arduous service, and at a 
time of life when he will have a difficulty in obtaining 
another appointment—when he will be met with the 
damping words, “ Oh, I require a younger man !”—and 
what little savings he may have accumulated will be 
spent in waiting for something to turn up. The 
ultimatum of many a gardener’s career is analogous to 
the “Derby favourite” that finishes his days in a 
Hansom cab. So my readers, strain a nerve and favour 
that indefatigable secretary, Mr. Cutler, with a con¬ 
tribution. He works hard for the institution, but is 
unable to say in the words of Coriolanus, ‘ ‘ Alone I did 
it ! ” He must have your pecuniary assistance, and may 
you never miss it is the sincere wish of— Pathfinder. 
Gunonia capensis. 
The Saxifrage family includes some very strange and 
peculiar forms compared with the typical members of 
the order. Cunonia capensis is a greenhouse tree or 
shrub, with large, opposite, pinnate, deep green leaves, 
with oblong-lanceolate, serrated leaflets. The leaves 
are furnished with very curious, large, interpetiolar 
■stipules that soon fall away. Stipules are by no means 
common amongst the shrubby types. The flowers are 
small, white, and exceedingly numerous, produced in 
axillary, compound spike-like racemes or panicles, as 
the individual members are grouped in clusters in the 
axils of the bracts. Specimens were exhibited by 
Mr. ’W’ythes, Syon House Gardens, Brentford, at the 
last meeting of the Floral Committee of the Royal 
Horticultural Society, when a First Class Certificate 
was granted. 
bedding Violas have now, however, become largely 
mixed with the blood, so to speak, of the Pansy race. 
A few r of the finer and earlier flowering kinds we noted 
the other day at Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons’ nursery, 
Eynsford, Kent. Lutea grandiflora is a pretty yellow 
kind, but is now greatly surpassed by Eynsford Yellow 
Viola, with large yellow flowers marked at the base of 
the lower petals only with a few slender black lines. 
It is dwarf and floriferous. Other kinds that have 
been a mass of bloom for some time are Countess of 
Hopetoun, white ; Chieftain, a darker blue than Blue 
King, and of the same type ; and Skylark, white with 
blue edges. The latter is dwarf, comes into flower very 
early, blooms most profusely, and is certainly a beau¬ 
tiful kind for bedding purposes. 
Lockie's Perfection Cucumber. 
The fruits of this Cucumber shown at the Crystal 
Palace at the great summer exhibition on Saturday last 
by Mr. T. Lockie, Oakley Court, "Windsor, were of 
medium size, deep sub-glaucous green, and with the 
exception of a few insignificant and weakly prickles 
were quite smooth. Except at the ends there 
■was very little if any trace of ridges. A First Class 
Certificate was granted for it. 
A Hose-in-Hosc Gloxinia. 
We have been favoured with a flower of a Gloxinia 
from Messrs. Ireland & Thomson, of Edinburgh, and 
which was recently exhibited before the Horticultural 
Association of Scotland. Morphologically, it is an 
anomalous development, and although by no means new 
to us, seems to be improving from year to year in the 
hands of different cultivators. The second corolla is 
produced by enation from near the base of the true one, 
and on the outer face of the latter. The second corolla is 
not, however, nearly so perfect as we see it in Campanula 
Media, nor iu Mimulus luteus, nor the Polyanthus, 
where, in the two latter cases, it consists of the calyx, 
which has become enlarged and coloured like the 
corolla. By continual seed-sowing and selecting, 
something good may yet be obtained from this curious 
Gloxinia, as the specimen in question shows a con¬ 
siderable advance over one sent us the other week. 
The corolla in the case under notice was red, but both 
it and the out-growth from it were rather torn and 
undulated. 
Double Cinerarias. 
Notwithstanding the popularity of the Cineraria for 
decorative purposes, the double kinds, although 
tolerably numerous, do not seem to enjoy that favour 
amongst the public in general to which their 
merits, on account of their distinctness, entitle them. 
The ray florets, so conspicuous in single varieties, are 
here suppressed or remain short, giving the disk florets 
(which are elongated) more prominence. The result is 
that the plant presents a branched corymb of globular 
or semi-globular instead of flattened heads. In this 
respect a group of plants in the conservatory would 
form a striking contrast to the commoner single kinds. 
A considerable amount of spice is devoted to them in 
one of the houses in Messrs. H. Cannell k, Sons’ 
nursery at Swanley, Kent. They show great variation 
in colour from rose through red, purple, violet, and 
blue, just as we see in single kinds. A few of them 
also show two colours, the white floret being tipped 
with lilac or rose, and are very pretty. They are even 
more attractive than very dark or dull self-coloured 
kinds. 
Dracaena Doucetti. 
The leaves of this garden plant are long, slender, and 
narrow, similar to those of D. australis. Along the 
outer margin is a well-defined creamy white band or 
line, becoming whiter with age. There is occasionally 
a white line along the centre, and at times there are 
other slender lines. The variegation, on the whole, is 
very distinct, and the slender arching leaves are very 
graceful. A good-sized plant was exhibited by Messrs. 
J. Yeitch & Sons, Chelsea, at the last meeting of the 
Royal Horticultural Society, when the Floral Committee 
awarded it a First Class Certificate. 
Bedding’ Violas. 
As we have already pointed out on several occasions the 
bedding Yiolas, so called, and the Pansies were originally 
specifically distinct. The former were improvements 
upon Yiola cornuta and Y. lutea, and were extensively 
used for bedding purposes, especially in the north, and 
where the climate is tolerably moist and otherwise 
suitable. By hybridisation and inter-crossing the 
The Yulan. 
Amongst hardy trees and shrubs, the subject of this 
note is one of the most conspicuous features out of doors 
at present; and it is so hardy and easily managed that 
its comparative rarity in gardens is difficult to explain. 
The vernacular name given above is adopted from the 
Chinese, the plant being a native of China, from whence 
it was introduced in 17S9, exactly 100 years ago. 
This, therefore, is its centenary in this country ; but 
not being so popular as the Chrysanthemum from the 
same country, it is not likely to enjoy the same dis¬ 
tinguished recognition as its more favoured patrician, 
and can hardly expect ever to do so, though at the 
same time there is plenty of room on our lawns and in 
our shrubberies for its more extended cultivation. The 
botanical name is Magnolia conspicua, and there is a 
fine tree of it at Gunnersbury House, Acton, where it 
flowers regularly every season. Last year the whole 
tree was simply laden with bloom, but the cold and 
sunless summer was not favourable to a free develop¬ 
ment of flower-buds, and there is consequently a much 
inferior show of bloom this year. Most of the shoots 
have developed wood buds only, except on the higher 
and more favoured or exposed parts of the tree, which 
are now gay. 
