774 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 3, 1889. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
-- 
Pentstemons and Phloxes. 
These come into flower much sooner in the southern 
counties than in the cooler and northern districts, 
where they are more strictly autumn than summer¬ 
flowering plants, because they frequently do not come 
into full bloom till towards the end of August, and 
continue from that time till cut down by frost. 
Phloxes, because they are surface-rooting plants, 
require a large amount of moisturo, and are very liable 
to suffer in this respect during July and August if the 
weather proves only moderately dry, while in seasons 
such as that of 1887 the whole plant flags, and the 
flowers are small, worthless, and perish early. It is, 
therefore, necessary to supply them liberally with 
water in dry weather, and more especially if the ground 
about them has not been mulched. Pentstemons, 
although they root more deeply, will also repay for the 
trouble of watering, and all the more if liquid manure 
is used. Cuttings of both Phloxes and Pentstemons if 
struck now, which they will readily do under a hand¬ 
glass, make fine plants for next year. 
Antirrhirums. 
It is not yet too late to sow seeds to obtain plants to 
flower well next year. A sufficient number to stock 
any garden may be raised in a box of moderate 
dimensions ; but after germination they should be 
pricked off in other boxes, or if convenience allows it, 
in cold frames. In order to encourage the plants to 
make sturdy short-jointed growth they should be 
planted 2 ins. or 3 ins. apart in the row, and 4 ins. 
between the lines. This will allow of a considerable 
amount of growth till spring, when they may be 
planted where they are intended to bloom, towards the 
end of March or in April according to the state of the 
W'eather. This will afford them a long season in order 
to make strong growth before flowering. A pinch of 
seed of a good strain will afford a large amount of 
variety, but the diligent grower, whether amateur or 
professional, can improve his plants year by year, by 
always selecting seed from the best varieties, which 
should be marked and their quality noted while in 
flower. Cuttings of the very best kinds may be taken 
a little later on, and rooted in pots under a hand-glass, 
to be kept in a cold frame till spring. 
Hardy Annuals in Flower. 
There is practically no limit to the number of showy 
annuals which the amateur may cultivate successfully 
if he is in any way fond of gardening. Some may 
object to the annual outlay in obtaining a large number 
of kinds ; but in such cases no difficulty will be 
experienced in ordinarily dry seasons in securing more 
than a sufficient quantity of seeds for home use, so 
that with a very small annual expenditure a large 
collection may be got together by those who have room 
to grow them. Many kinds are now very gay, in¬ 
cluding Convolvulus tricolor and its numerous beautiful 
varieties, Clarkia pulchella and its forms, C. elegans, 
Eucharidium grandiflorum, Shirley (Papaver Rhaeas) 
and French Poppies (P. somniferum) in no end of 
variety, and the beautiful P. umbrosum must not be 
overlooked. The dwarf Tropreolums, popularly known 
as Nasturtiums, are a blaze of colour, and contrast 
with the paler but pleasing colours of the Ten-week 
Stocks in endless variety. Then there are Candytufts, 
Catchflies, Gillias, Chrysanthemums, Lupins, Mallows, 
Eschscholtias, and no end of others. 
TnE Greenhouse. 
Besides the ordinary occupants of the greenhouse, such 
as Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, Petunias, Begonias, Roses, 
and others, a gay effect may be maintained with hardy 
plants, such as Canterbury Bells (Campanula Medium), 
with its numerous varieties, Hose-in-hose, Cup-in¬ 
saucer, also the Chimney Bell flower (C. pyramidalis), 
together with the smaller species, C. garganica and 
C. isophylla, which may be stood along the front of 
the stage, or hung up as basket plants. Balsams are a 
little more difficult to the beginner, but they are 
showy even when only fairly well done. Monthly and 
Fairy Roses are easily grown and showy. The blue- 
flowered Agapanthus umbellatus is a bold object just 
now, whether grown under glass or out of doors. 
Liliums of the leading and popular kinds must not be 
omitted. 
Ferns. 
Adiantums, Aspleniums, Davallias, and similar Ferns 
that may have been kept close and warm for the 
purpose of starting them into vigorous growth must be 
more freely ventilated after the fronds have attained 
full size, in order to harden and render them capable of 
lasting in good condition through the winter. This 
applies to Fern cases in windows that are usually kept 
very close. 
-- 
OXENFORD CASTLE. 
This beautiful country seat of the Earl of Stair is 
situated on the banks of a small river called the Tyne, 
four miles from Dalkeith, on the Kelso road, in the 
county of Midlothian. The mansion is a noble struc¬ 
ture, for the most part of recent origin, having been 
rebuilt about fifty years ago. Standing in front of the 
castle, and looking eastward over a trim lawn and two 
terraces, in front of which is the spring garden, 
what a charming place it is, being filled with Dutch 
bulbs and other choice flowering roots, whose lustre and 
beauty are passing for the present season ! On turning 
the eye southward, and looking over a regular decline 
towards the river, one cannot help feeling struck with 
the admirable arrangement and the exquisite blending 
of colours of the various trees—purple Beech, Sycamore, 
Ash, Thorn, &e., each tree having its position, and 
being a picture in itself. The combination produces a 
grand effect, and clearly shows to present-day gardeners 
that the laying-out of grounds and blending of colours 
were well understood by the gardeners of the last 
century. 
Looking westward, a long walk is presented to the 
view, known by the appellation of the Pinetum, or Pine 
walk, along the sides of which are some glorious speci¬ 
mens of Wellingtonia gigantea, towering to the height 
of 60 ft. Continuing the journey westward through 
the Pinetum, the kitchen garden is reached, and on the 
right, upon entering, is the pretty residence of the gar¬ 
dener, Mr. Smith. A few minutes were spent here in 
examination of some fine Cupressus and native Heaths. 
Small fruits are abundant crops, and the like has not 
been seen for many years, in fact there are many bushes 
absolutely weighed to the ground with their immense 
burden of fruit. Wall fruits are likewise specially fine, 
Plums, Cherries, and Apricots not having had such crops 
for years. Apples are a poor crop, excepting Lord 
Suffield, King of the Pippins, and Keswick Codlin, 
these sorts bearing full crops. Pears are a failure, not 
having been so poor for many years. 
Yegetables of all kinds look remarkably well, the 
hot dry summer we have experienced being suitable, as 
the subsoil is of a cold damp nature at Oxenford. The 
range of vineries is now reached, which occupy a 
prominent position in the kitchen garden, facing due 
south. Upon entering and looking roofwards one is 
struck once more with the quantity and quality of the 
Grapes, the fine-flavoured kinds being in greatest 
demand, viz., Madresfield Court, Mrs. Pince, Muscat 
of Alexandria, and Muscat Hamburgh. The last-named 
is not on its own roots, having been inarched on 
Black Alicante, and is considered by Mr. Smith to be a 
great improvement, in not being so liable to shank, and 
sets more freely. This Grape was recently on the 
exhibition table in Edinburgh ; it received the premier 
award, and created quite a commotion among Grape 
growers. Peach trees have excellent crops ; for flavour, 
size, and colour I have seldom seen finer. Royal George, 
Lady Falmouth, Dr. Hogg, and Stirling Castle are 
principally in demand. 
Orchids are not extensively grown, but I am pleased 
to say that a collection is in course of formation, and 
that considerable alterations are to be carried out in 
appropriating several houses for their accommodation 
during the coming winter. Stove and greenhouse 
plants receive due attention, the demand for plants 
and flowers for house decoration being great, as the 
family reside for the most part of the year at Oxenford. 
The entire establishment reflects great credit upon Mr. 
Smith for his able and energetic management.— J. 
McNab. 
-- 
MUSA CAVENDISHII. 
The Rev. George Turner, LL.D., has communicated 
the following interesting remarks on the distribution of 
this plant by missionaries among the Polynesians to 
The Buxton Advertiser of July 13th :—“ Before leaving 
England in 1838, John Williams, the martyr of Ero- 
manga, received many expressions of kindly interest 
in his mission work from his Grace the Duke of Devon¬ 
shire, and among these were some cases of plants, 
carefully selected and packed at Chatsworth, to be 
taken in the missionary ship to the islands of the 
Pacific. It is not generally known the large extent to 
which missionaries have introduced new plants, and 
additions to the food of native tribes in the Pacific and 
elsewhere. 
‘ 1 Before leaving the Samoan Islands, a week or two 
before he was killed on Eromanga, in 1839, Mr. 
Williams put on shore at the harbour of Apia one of 
the cases from Chatsworth, the contents of which were 
apparently dead from long exposure on board ship. 
When I reached Samoa in 1841, I saw that case, and 
close by it a fine Banana plant growing. This was 
from a root which was found at the bottom of the box, 
still containing the germ of life. 
“This plant was watched in the garden of Mr. Mills, 
the missionary, with no small interest by the natives, 
and soon their curiosity rose to amazement, when they 
saw that it commenced to bear while yet only about 
5 ft. high, and that the very first bunch weighed close 
upon 100 lbs. The Samoans had already upwards of 
thirty species of B mana, but this new one far excelled 
them all. The neighbouring chiefs begged Mr. Mills 
for some of the young shoots, and soon they spread 
from village to village. 
“On my second voyage to our out-stations in 
Western Polynesia in 1845, and in our missionary 
barque “John Williams,” I got a number of plants of 
this rare Banana packed in a large iron pot, and fastened 
up on the cross-trees away from the waves and spray. 
At each of the larger islands visited on our cruise I 
sent on shore one or more of the plants. When I 
visited these places again in 1848, the new Banana was 
greatly prized and fast spreading ; and again, when I 
was there in 1859, ’63, and ’82, there was hardly any 
other Banana brought on board ship, or to be seen on 
shore. When I was last in Sydney, I saw a cart passing 
along laden with great bunches of this very Banana 
from a Fiji steamer just arrived. They are now spread 
over Eastern, Central, and Western Polynesia, and all 
have come from that one root which went out from 
Chatsworth in 1838. It is called the Chinese Banana, 
and is known in botany as the Musa Cavendishii, 
having been introduced to Chatsworth from China by 
his Grace the Duke of Devonshire in 1829, and can be 
seen in the conservatory there now. 
“ The great value and rapid spread of this Banana in 
the Pacific has become quite proverbial. I have heard 
native orators, for instance, in speaking of the rapid 
spread of Christianity, comparing it to that wonderful 
plant, and well they may do so. In the early part of 
the century the Gospel first took root on Tahiti, and 
now it covers and gladdens Eastern, Central, and, to a 
large extent, Western Polynesia as well, with an aggre¬ 
gate of 600,000 converts from heathenism, and of these 
60,000 at least in full communion with the mission 
churches. It is destined still to spread through the 
Papuan and Malayan Archipelago, until, in the not 
distant future, the missionaries of Polynesia shall unite 
stations, and shake hands with their brethren in India, 
China, and Japan.” 
-- 
Gardening ITiscellany. 
Gardeners and Gardening—tire Pen and 
the Spade. 
The splendid achievement attained by the Gardeners’ 
Orphan Fund reads more like a romance than a reality, 
and amongst the sympathetic and good-humoured 
speeches spontaneously delivered at the annual meeting 
on the 19th inst., Mr. Fish somewhat mars his other¬ 
wise excellent address, in the allusion to the gardeners 
of the future, which needs some still further ex¬ 
planation from such a talented gardener. Mr. Fish is 
reported to have said that he feared the pen would drive 
the knife and the spade from the field. Such fear appears 
to me groundless, existing only on paper. If the 
wilderness is to be converted into a beautiful Garden of 
Eden, which I do not for a moment doubt, we cannot 
dispense with either knife or spade. We are all familiar 
with the words, “ Give me the spade, and the man that 
can use it. A fig,” &c. We all know the mind must 
co-exist with the material; whoever the workers may 
be, who use the practical tools, they are inseparably 
bound one -with the other. I am perfectly aware that 
the pen and the press are a mighty power—all honour 
to them ; but we may safely adopt the advice of Mrs. 
Glass, ‘ ‘ First catch your hare, then cook it. ” The pen, 
however well it may answer on paper, will perforce 
have to wait for the knife and the spade for practical 
development, and that where there is one paper gar¬ 
dener, there must necessarily be twenty gardeners to 
carry out the work practically. We may safely infer 
that the time for horticultural revolutions performed by 
the pen alone has not yet come.— B. L. [Mr. Fish’s 
remark was a humorous one, and must not be taken 
seriously.—E d.] 
