July 20, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
743 ! 
assistance is given. By making a shallow ridge along 
each side of the rows, and then mulching with some 
material that will retain the moisture, a copious and 
unstinted supply of water can be given. Peas, Beans 
and Scarlet Runners will amply repay any trouble that 
may be incurred in this way by their continued growth 
and the production of fruit. As soon as the pods are 
quite fit for gathering they should be collected, and in 
this way a much longer succession of these excellent 
vegetables will be obtained. 
--K&e-- 
being very attractive. Being quite hardy, it is all the 
more valuable as a bedding plant, and should he more 
extensively utilised. — Rusticus. 
The Shirley Poppies. 
These, too, are also used extensively by Mr. Burn in 
the borders and flower beds, their bright-coloured 
flowers standing out most conspicuously. They make 
a welcome addition to the many novelties now in 
cultivation. — Rusticus. 
Hardening 
ISCELLANY. 
Glaucous Fescue Grass. 
A correspondent sends us a specimen of Festuca 
glauca, describing its suitability for decorative purposes 
when used in the same way as Scirpus riparius, which 
is better known under the garden name of Isolepis 
gracilis. Its deep glaucous blue colour certainly would 
make it contrast strongly with the grass-green of the 
other plant, now so well known and so widely dis¬ 
tributed in gardens. Our correspondent uses it with 
telling effect on the front of stages, hut it nevertheless 
lacks the graceful pendent character of the fruiting 
stems of the Scirpus. In mixture, however, we have 
no doubt it would be very effective, on account of the 
decided glaucous hue contrasting so markedly with the 
grass-green colour of the Scirpus in question. The 
flowering stems are in this instance erect, and produced 
with moderate freedom—at least, when the plant is 
grown out of doors. It is perfectly hardy, and might 
be more frequently utilised than it is at present for 
edgings, and for planting in the rock garden and 
elsewhere. 
Remarkable Begonia Leaves. 
Last week we received some leaves of the Begonia rex 
type from Messrs. William Thomson & Sons, Cloven¬ 
fords, Galashiels. The three sent appeared to be of 
the same variety and nearly of equal size. The largest 
one measured 22J ins. by 15^ ins., and was of a deep 
bronzy green with a broad pale grey zone of irregular 
outline passing through the middle of the leaf, while 
the under side was of a deep red or crimson. The 
whole possessed a healthy and fresh appearance, which 
was all the more singular from the fact that the plants 
had been grown under the stages of the Odontoglossum 
house, and subject to drip from the pots overhead. 
The plants were raised from leaves laid down about 
eighteen months ago, and at present are simply growing 
in coal ashes without other nourishment than that 
which drips from the pots overhead, and an occasional 
dose of Thomson’s Yine and Plant Manure. 
The Abbey Park, Leicester. 
The town of Leicester boasts of the possession of one of 
the most beautiful parks in the provinces. It is 
situated almost in the heart of the town, is of easy 
access from all points, and is a great boon to the toiling 
masses who daily visit it in thousands. Mr. Burn, 
the able superintendent, deserves high praise for the 
splendid condition in which he keeps it. The various 
styles of bedding are carried out in a most effective 
manner, all receiving great attention. The pretty 
garden around the pavilion is just now in perfection, 
and the same may be said of the carpet bedding, the 
recent rains having brightened everything ffp consider¬ 
ably. Some fine beds of succulent plants, so quaint in 
their growth, attract great attention. A new botanical 
garden of hardy herbaceous, Alpine plants, &c., is just 
being made, and will be a grand addition to the park. 
I noticed also some hundreds of well-grown Chrysan¬ 
themums, which will make a rich display in the houses 
during the winter months, giving additional attraction 
to the many visitors in the dull days of the winter. 
Anyone who visits Leicester should not fail to pay a 
visit to this park. It will amply repay them for their 
trouble. A grand flower show is to be held in the 
park on August 6th, when liberal prizes are offered for 
plants, fruit, vegetables, <xc., and is sure to be supported 
in a manner worthy of the encouragement offered.— 
Rusticus. 
Campanula earpatica turbinata. 
This plant is used extensively, and with telling effect 
in various ways, by Mr. Bum, in the Abbey Park, 
Leicester. If used individually, it is very showy ; but 
a long border edged with it is now a grand object, its 
beautiful blue flowers, which are borne most profusely, 
The Spurless Violet. 
Such is the vernacular name often applied to Viola 
hederacea, an Australian species having much the same 
habit as our native Wahlenbergia hederacea. The 
leaves are small, reniform or orbicular, and more or 
less toothed, and the slender stems creep along the 
ground, forming dense patches. The name Spurless 
Violet is peculiarly applicable to this species, as the 
spur so characteristic of our native species is here 
absent, nor are the sepals produced at the base, as 
usually happens, sometimes making a prominent feature 
of unopened buds. The plant is nearly hardy in this 
country, and whether grown out of doors or under 
glass, its beautiful little flowers are freely produced 
during the summer months. The petals are blue, with 
the upper portion white, reminding us of Magpie or 
Countess of Kintore in miniature among bedding Violas. 
The plant is therefore both interesting and pretty, and 
might be cultivated in the rock garden to great advan¬ 
tage in the more favoured parts of the country. 
Lilium Harrisii. 
This truly beautiful Lily is grown to perfection at the 
Victoria Nurseries, Reading, and in immense quantities. 
A span-roofed house, 60 ft. long, is filled to repletion, 
and presents at the time of writing (July 12th) a mag¬ 
nificent display, the flowers filling the air all around 
with a most delicious fragrance. The fame of this 
charming sight having spread far and wide in this 
neighbourhood, numerous have been the visitors to pay 
their devotions at the shrine of this Bermuda beauty. 
The plants are in the most robust health, with stout 
stems from 3 ft. to 3 ft. 6 ins. in length, and well 
covered with foliage down to the very rim of the pot. 
They carry from six to seven blooms each, which 
measure about 5 ins. across the trumpet. The plants 
are mostly in 8-in. pots, five bulbs being placed in 
each, and they have thrown up, on an average, seven 
stems ; one pot has thirty-five expanded flowers open. 
On the day of my visit, Mr. Phippen had cut twenty- 
four dozen blooms, and yet their loss was scarcely 
perceptible. Being anxious to learn a little of the 
system adopted to get the plants to such a high state of 
perfection, I inquired of Mr. Holder, Mr. Phippen’s 
able manager, who gladly gave me the information 
asked for. The bulbs were planted last September in 
fairly rich compost, the loam being fibrous and of the 
very best quality. After planting, the pots were 
placed on a brick floor in a cold frame, where they 
remained until about three weeks ago, when the plants 
were brought into the house, very little water being 
given them until they began to show for bloom. Not 
only Lilium Harrisii, but everything else in these 
rapidly-rising nurseries, show a master hand, and Mr. 
Phippen is to be congratulated upon having so skilful 
and able a manager as Mr. Holder.— T. E. Eemvood, 
Reading. 
Campanula macrostyla. 
Were the habit of this plant closer and less rigid 
it would soon be cultivated over a wide area, 
considering the large size of its flowers, the huge 
erect, club-shaped style projecting beyond the corolla, 
and the singular arrangement of the colours. The 
species is a native of Mount Taurus, and is occasionally 
seen in British gardens. At present a clump of it 
may be seen amongst the collection of annuals in the 
gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick. 
The great openly campanulate flowers are borne singly 
at the apices of the diverging rigid branches, and show 
some variation in colour. They are heavily reticulated 
with lilac-blue or deep violet on a white ground, but 
occasionally individuals appear having the reticulations 
of a soft rose colour. The leaves are ovate-oblong, or 
the upper ones lance-shaped and small for the plant, 
which attains a height of 12 ins. to 18 ins. or more. 
The club-shaped style ultimately divides into three 
stigmas. On the whole, however, it is a most re¬ 
markable Bellflower, 
Begonia Haageana. 
The nearest affinity to this plant is with Begonia 
metallica, of which it seems to be an enlarged form, 
differing chiefly in size, and slightly in colour. The 
flowers are borne in great dense cymes, and about the 
size of the first in the aggregate. They would of course 
be more conspicuous if the individual pedicels were 
longer, so as to avoid the crowding which at present 
exists. The two outer sepals are transversely very 
hroad and rounded for those of a wild unimproved 
species, and are pure white, but furnished on the back 
with numerous coarse, red or pink, bristly hairs—a 
combination which gives to the flowers more than half 
their charm. The leaves are one-half cordate, deep 
green above, and thinly hairy, while the under surface 
is wholly of a deep red. In all these characters it will 
be seen that B. metallica is similar, except that the 
leaves and flowers are smaller, while the hairs on the 
sepals are paler, or almost white. Fine plants of both 
are now flowering in the stoves at Kew. 
Linaria bipartita alba. 
The typical form of this plant has pale lilac or purple 
flowers, borne in long, rather loose racemes. They are 
not of great ’size, but when the plant is well grown, 
either on rockwork or in the ordinary border, a pleasing 
and pretty effect is produced. The variety under 
notice is not particularly conspicuous, on account of its 
small pure white flowers ; but the latter are certainly 
graceful and pretty. Already they have attained some 
value in the eyes of florists and bouquet makers, on 
account of their neatness and graceful chaste appear¬ 
ance when mixed with other more highly-coloured 
flowers. "White-flowered Linarias are as yet by no 
means too common. 
Laya elegans. 
About a dozen species of this genus are known to science, 
but few of them seem to have been introduced, while 
some of them are occasionally grown under a different 
generic name. L. elegans is certainly a pretty and 
attractive plant that ought to be more generally grown, 
if only for cut-flower purposes. The rays of the flower- 
heads are trifid, and bright yellow with white tips, 
reminding one of Limnanthes Houglasii at a little 
distance away. The head is as broad as that of a 
Marguerite, but it is more bulky, while the rays are 
much wider, and touch or even overlap one another 
quite closely all round. The stems grow from 12 ins. 
to 18 ins. in length, and are either erect or procumbent. 
A bed or mass of the plant produces a fine effect, owing 
to the great quantity of bloom produced, and the 
pleasing admixture of two leading colours. The 
lanceolate, entire or coarsely-toothed leaves are mostly 
hidden by the flowers, and are not very conspicuous. 
There is a fine patch of it in the gardens of the Royal 
Horticultural Society, Chiswick. 
Campanula pusilla. 
In habit this miniature Bellflower may be compared to 
C. pumila, but the stem leaves are few and linear or 
lance-shaped, whereas those of C. pumila are cordate 
or ovate, and clothe the stems almost to the pedicels 
of the flowers. The latter is the more common all over 
the country, and forms a beautiful object on rockeries. 
C. pusilla, on the other hand, is comparatively scarce, 
and to be found in a limited number of gardens only. 
The flowers are few on a stem, blue, and comparable to 
those of C. pumila or even C. rotundifolia, except that 
they are smaller. We more frequently see it in pots 
than out of doors, where it does not seem to be so 
hardy as C. pumila. The plant increases by forming 
underground runners, from which erect flowering stems 
arise. It may readily be propagated by means of 
these suckers. 
Brythr£ea diffusa. 
Of the perennial species of this genus seen in gardens 
none has been found more admirably adapted for culti¬ 
vation on the moist ledges of a rockery, or even on the 
level ground provided the soil is naturally humid 
during the summer months. As the specific name 
implies, the stems are slender, and spread diffusely on 
the ground, and are amply clothed with small, bright 
green shining leaves. The flower stems on the contrary, 
rise to a height of 3 ins. or 4 ins., bearing each a few 
flowers of a beautiful deep rose, and moderately large 
for the genus. Our native Erythrsea Centaurium has 
similar, brightly coloured flowers, but the species is an 
annual, with upright stems bearing corymbs or cymes of 
numerous flowers that render the grass very gay where 
