818 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 24, 1889. 
of the framers of it ; and in offering good prizes in an 
open competition intended to bring to Exeter the 
leading growers of the day, it is obvious that they 
wanted forty-eight of the best show varieties. Fancy 
a single bloom of Gem, White Aster, or any other 
Pompon Dahlia being staged by the side of one of Mrs. 
Gladstone, H. W. Ward, or any other full-sized show 
variety ! 
I trust that in the future the Floral Committee of the 
Royal Horticultural Society will be careful how they 
are led into doubtful paths of this character. It is 
altogether foreign to their legitimate work to play the 
r6le of interpreter. The judges, and the judges alone, 
are the proper persons to which to refer doubtful 
phrases, and their decision, whether right or wrong, 
should be accepted as authoritative and final.— K. D. 
-- 
ALDERMINSTER LODGE. 
About five-and-a-half miles from Stratford-on-Avon is 
the residence of the Rev. J. A. Williams, so well-known 
as a rosarian. In the month of August each year, Mr. 
Williams has for his parishioners a cottagers’ exhibition 
of garden produce, which is supplemented by honorary 
exhibits from numerous friends, so that a very pretty 
exhibition is held, and that of a few days ago was well 
attended. Groups of plants were contributed by Mr. 
Haylock, gardener to Mrs. Shirley, Eatington Park, 
Stratford-on-Avon ; and Mr. Wilson, gardener to J. R. 
West, Esq., Alscot Park. Mr. Haylock also contributed 
a collection of vegetables of great merit, including 
monstrous Flat Red Italian Tripoli Onions, Yeitch’s 
New Scarlet Carrot, very fine indeed, Beet, Potatos, kc. 
The Rev. J. A. Williams set up a collection which 
included Pen-y-Byd Vegetable Marrow, Silver Ball 
Turnip, the best exhibition variety, as well as being so 
good for garden use, and Sutton’s Royal Jubilee Pea, an 
exhibition variety of excellent quality ; also a fine lot 
of Tea Roses and cut herbaceous flowers ; Ecklinville 
Seedling and ripe Irish Peach Apples, the former a very 
fine earty sort. In his stand of Teas, Jean Ducher, 
Catherine Mermet, Marie Van Houtte, Souvenir d’Elise, 
Innocente Pirola and Madame Hippolyte Jamain were 
very fine. 
Messrs. Dicksons, Limited, Chester, sent a collection 
of Roses, containing fine blooms of Earl of Pembroke, 
Duke of Edinburgh, Fisher Holmes, A. K. Williams, 
Duchess of Bedford, Xavia Olibo, and Francois 
Michelon. Mr. George Prince, of Oxford, personally 
attended with six boxes of splendid blooms, which were 
much admired. The following were very fine blooms : 
H. P’s. : Marie Verdier, Eclair, Edouard Morren, 
Louis Van Houtte, Marshal Wilder, Fisher Holmes, 
Annie Wood, Ulrich Brunner, Jean Soupert, Mrs. 
John Laing, Earl Dufferin, PaulNeron, Chas. Darwin, 
and Queen of Queens. Teas: Madame de Watteville, 
Beaute de l’Europe, Jean Ducher, Madame Hippolyte 
Jamain, Frangois Kruger, Souvenir d’Elise Vardon, 
Marie Van Houtte, Madame Lambard, Madame A. 
Jacquier, Perle des Jardins, The Bride, Catherine 
Mermet, Cornelia Koch, Madame Cusin, and twelve 
superb blooms of Comtesse de Nadaillac. 
Tea Rose, Claire Carnot, will make a good climber, 
somewhat in the style of Comtesse de Nadaillac, with a 
strong saffron tint in the bud. Mr. Dean, florist, 
Solihull, sent in a fine lot of blooms of Hollyhocks, 
Border Carnations, Pansies, and Violas. Tea Roses 
luxuriate in Mr. Williams’ garden, and all the best 
kinds find a home there, some of the plants being of 
great size, and bloom so freely. 
- *>$«■ - 
SEEDLING PALMS. 
The greatly increased use of Palms for house decoration, 
and also for filling conservatories, is being met by a 
corresponding increase in the number of seedling Palms 
raised from year to year in the establishments of many 
of the leading florists. That this branch, of the business 
may be overdone in the near future is an opinion freely 
expressed by some florists ; but as the public know¬ 
ledge of the great utility of these plants becomes more 
general, it may reasonably bo expected that the demand 
for well-grown plants will quite equal the supply for 
some years to come. 
It is not, however, to the commercial side of Palm¬ 
growing that I propose to call attention, but rather to 
give some general remarks in regard to their culture. 
The first requisite to success in the raising of seedling 
Palms is good fresh seed, and this, in the case of some 
species, is difficult to procure, on account of the long 
ocean voyage, during which the seeds invariably lose 
much of their vitality unless very carefully packed. It 
will be found that some species suffer much more than 
others from this cause. Kentia Belmoreana, for 
example, apparently decays much more rapidly than 
K. Forsteriana when packed in precisely the same 
manner and sent at the same time. 
The seed of that most useful Palm, Areca lutescens, 
though easy to germinate, does not keep well, and con¬ 
sequently it should be sown as soon as possible after its 
arrival, and if it is fresh it will germinate in three or 
four weeks, and may be potted off at the end of three 
months. 
Among the Palms in general use probably the easiest 
and quickest to germinate is Livistonia chinensis, or, 
as more generally known, Latania borbonica. Seeds of 
this species under favourable conditions germinate in 
about two weeks after planting, and are ready to pot 
off in two months’ time. 
Cocos Weddelliana is one of the easiest of its family 
to raise seed from, though not always making so good 
progress after the first potting, owing to the fact that 
the long, stiff tap-root, which is made during the first 
growth of the seedling, is very brittle, and is, in con¬ 
sequence, frequently broken or otherwise injured in 
potting. This gives the young plant a severe check ; 
and if accompanied with a slight excess of water, such 
an injury often causes the death of the seedling. 
The Kentias are rather slower in germinating, and 
sometimes take from six to eight months for the 
operation, and besides this it is seldom that more than 
fifty per cent, of the seeds prove good. This fact, 
coupled with that of the comparatively slow growth of 
the young plants, undoubtedly has much to do with the 
high prices at which good plants of this species are sold. 
The soil for Palm seeds should be rather lighter in 
composition than that in which established plants are 
grown, and may consist of equal portions of peat and 
light loam, with sand enough to make the mixture 
open and easy to drain, the latter point being worthy 
of attention, for when the soil is allowed to become too 
wet, many of the seeds are sure to rot. 
The seeds may be planted in either pots, pans, or 
wooden boxes, an objection to the latter being their 
liability to breed fungus. The earthenware vessels are 
therefore found the most satisfactory, and for con¬ 
venience 4-in. to 6-in. pots are preferable. As a steady 
bottom heat is essential for the rapid germination of 
Palm seeds, the pots containing them should be placed 
in the propagating house or some similar structure and 
plunged in coco-fibre or coal ashes, the coco-fibre being 
the better conductor of heat of the two, and also cleaner 
to handle. 
Care should be given to watering, to keep the soil 
damp without making it sodden until the seedlings 
have developed their first leaves, after which water may 
be given much more freely without injury to the plants. 
As to the time for potting off, it will be found best 
with most species to wait until the second leaf begins 
to push up, but with some of the free-growing sorts, 
such as Areca lutescens and Livistonia chinensis, it is 
not necessary to prolong the time to this extent, and 
plants may be potted as soon as the first leaf is fully 
expanded ; but they should in any case be kept in a 
warm house and shaded from the direct sunlight until 
well established. — TF. H. Taplin, in Garden and Forest. 
-- 
NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 
Certificated by the Floral Committee. 
August 13fA, 18S9. 
Gladioli of Lemoine’s Strain. 
Andr£ Chenier. —The flowers of this variety are 
closely arranged on a two-ranked spike, and are of a 
pale yellowish tinge suffused all overjwith pink. The 
lower segment of the outer series is crimson till near 
the tip, while the lateral ones are crimson with bright 
yellow tips. The blooms are of large size, and very 
distinct from the usual run of garden productions. 
Alsace. —Like the above mentioned, this takes after 
its parent G. purpureo-aui’atus in the form and some¬ 
what in the colouring of the flowers. The perianth 
segments are pale sulphur with a crimson blotch on the 
base of the lower inner segment, as well as in the 
throat. These two were shown by Messrs. J. Veitch 
& Sons at the last meeting, and were awarded a Certifi¬ 
cate of Merit. 
G. Nanceianus President Carnot.— Theindividu.il 
flowers measure about 5 ins. across, and all the seg¬ 
ments spread widely an! are recurved at the tips, with 
the exception of the upper one which is erect. They 
are of a dark rose-red, often flushed with scarlet in 
flakes, and the two lateral ones of the inner series are 
spotted with purple on a creamy yellow ground. The 
anthers are violet. In the form of the flowers the 
variety takes after G. Sandersii. About 4—8 flowers 
were open, and 10—12 buds in various stages of de¬ 
velopment were on each spike. Also exhibited by Messrs. 
J. Veitch & Sons, and received a First Class Certificate. 
Hippolyte.— This is also one of Lemoine’s strain, 
and takes after G. purpureo-auratus. The perianth is 
of a pale, soft yellow, tinted with blush, and marked 
with a large crimson blotch on the lower segment, and 
also in the throat. The flowers are large, open, and a 
great improvement upon the typical G. purpureo- 
auratus. Specimens were shown by Mr. J. S. Whall, 
Park Street, Worksop, and received an Award of Merit. 
N.lselia Achimene Pyramidal. 
Plants of this hybrid have quite the aspect of an 
Achimenes, having large, oblique, deep carmine flowers, 
fading to rose at the margin, with a conspicuous orange 
mottled throat. The blooms are borne in small or 
reduced cymes in the axils of the upper leaves, and 
these being in whork of three, the flowers also have 
a whorled appearance. The leaves are ovate, acute, 
serrate, and larger than those of Achimenes usually are. 
Specimens were exhibited by Messrs. H. Cannell & 
Sons, Swanley, Kent, when they were accorded an 
Award of Merit. 
Rhododendron, Duchess of Fife. 
The flowers of this variety are of a pale salmony blush, 
with a decided tint of yellow. The filaments and 
anthers are purple, and a faint median line of the same 
colour runs along the middle of each segment of the 
corolla. It belongs to the Javan type of what is known 
as hybrid greenhouse Rhododendrons, and has a com¬ 
paratively short tube and wide-spreading lamina. The 
leaves are elliptic, large, and shining. A truss of bloom 
was exhibited by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, and an 
Award of Merit was granted. 
Nepenthes Curtisii superba. 
The pitchers of this beautiful Nepenthes are cylindrical, 
somewhat widened upwards to the mouth, rich deep 
brown, and beautifully marked with oblong greenish 
yellow blotches. The annulus is very much broader 
than in the type, recurved, and finely corrugated or 
ridged transversely, deep brown, and shining. The lid 
or operculum is deep brown externally, paler internally, 
blotched with pale green, and heart-shaped. The 
leaves are oblong-elliptic and moderate in size. The 
plant is also dwarf in habit, a grand ornament of its 
kind, and much superior to the type. A plant was 
exhibited by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, and a First 
Class Certificate was awarded it. 
New Tuberous Begonias. 
Mrs. Cayzer. —A young plant of this new variety had 
flower-stems about 6 ins. high and well above the leaves, 
which were scarcely raised abovethe level of thepot. The 
blooms are double, and consist of many rosettes of an 
apricot colour. The leaves are half cordate, bronzy 
green and shining, and of medium size. 
Mrs. Litkie. —Equally dwarf as the last. This is 
very dwarf in stature, and bore a number of huge, and 
charmingly beautiful rosy pink flowers, consisting of 
many rosettes of broad and much-undulated petals, 
resembling a good double Hollyhock. 
A. Blanc. —The flowers of this sort are equally as 
double as the above, but not quite so large as those of 
Mrs. Litkie. They are of a Composite nature, and are 
made up of a large number of rosettes, the petals of 
which are flat, rouuded, overlapping, of considerable 
size, and rose coloured tinted with red. The leaves are 
moderately broad, half cordate, and of a deep green 
colour. All three varieties were exhibited by Messrs. 
H. Canuell & S ms, and received each an Award of 
Merit. 
Dahlia, W. C. Harvey. 
This is a new and rather distinctly-coloured variety, 
with very broad, much overlapping, and obovate or 
elliptic rays. The latter are of a clear not a dusky buff- 
yellow, with a dark crimson blotch at the base of each 
ray-floret, while the disc is clear pale yellow, thus 
forming a pleasing and rather uncommon combination 
of colours. It was exhibited by Mr. T. S. Ware, 
Hale Farm Nurseries, Tottenham, and received an 
Award of Merit. 
Dahlia, James Scobbie. 
Amongst single Dahlias this is to the single kinds what 
the striped fancies are amongst the double exhibition 
sorts. The ray-florets are broad, well imbricated, 
irregularly striped and mottled with scarlet on a yellow 
ground ; the disc is also yellow. The whole head is of 
good size, and the variety will no doubt find admirers 
amongst those who like variegated flowers. It was 
shown by Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons, and an Award of 
Merit was accorded the exhibit. 
