824 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 24, 1889. 
which I shall test for hardiness during the coming 
winter, and have no doubt that they will do well. I 
would not say, do away with Carnations for flowering 
under glass, but let the house in which they are to bloom 
be kept as cool as possible. They enjoy sunshine, but 
not a close stuffy atmosphere. I intend this autumn 
to plant out a lot of good named varieties, which I have 
no doubt will stand the winter. When going through 
a nursery the other day I saw a lot of starved little 
plants in pots; I said to the man in charge, “Why 
don’t you plant them cut?” “Oh,” he said, “these 
fine named sorts will not do outside.” Carnations like 
a soil containing lime, and if it is not naturally there 
it should be added in some form or other, and anyone 
beginning their cultivation should make a note of that. 
I have seen some Carnations planted along the top of a 
low wall where they were rooted into the lime rubble, 
and hanging over the wall as they did, looked well and 
seemed to have grown and flowered on for several years 
in succession.— Dianlhus, Edinburgh, 
-o-K-- 
A NEW RACE OF LILAOS. 
There may still be found in some gardens a very old 
variety of the common Lilac under the name of Syringa 
azurea plena. I do not know the origin of this plant. 
It produces small panicles of clear-coloured flowers, in 
each of which there are a number of corollas arranged 
one within the other. It is a teratological curiosity, 
but as an ornamental plant quite destitute of value, as 
the rare flowers are quite hidden by the foliage. This 
variety, as the flowers have no stamens, and the pistils 
are either abortive, or so hidden among the numerous 
corolla-lobes as to be beyond the reach of insects, does 
not produce seeds naturally. But it will sometimes 
seed with the aid of artificial fertilisation ; and seeds 
secured in this way produced the first of the double- 
flowered Lilacs introduced during the last few years. 
It is eighteen years since this plant, artificially 
fertilised in my nursery with pollen of various Lilacs, 
bore a few seeds, which afterwards germinated. Some 
of the best varieties of Syringa vulgaris, such as Yille 
de Troyes, sanguinea, &c., were selected as the pollen 
parents in this experiment, and the pollen of Syringa 
oblata, a species remarkable for its early flowers and for 
the brilliant colouring of its foliage in autumn, was 
also used. The characters of this species, to which an 
article recently published in Garden a r nd Forest has 
called attention, were transmitted to one of the seedlings 
derived from this cross. This was the first sold under 
the name of Syringa hybrida hyacinthiflora plena. The 
term hybrida, which is still found in the catalogue of 
the Maison Lemoine, was used to show that this plant 
is a true hybrid between two species of Syringa. 
Syringa hybrida hyacinthiflora is already out of 
flower, although the flowers on most of our Lilacs are 
only just opening ; and in autumn it is exceedingly 
ornamental, with its brilliant red foliage. The panicles 
of flowers are large enough, although the corolla lobes 
of the double flowers are narrow and reflexed. But 
the production of this plant was a step in the right 
direction. 
The other seedlings from this first crop of seed 
showed no trace of the blood of S. oblata, but there 
were some of them which were handsomer than S. 
hyacinthiflora plena. The best plant of this set was 
sent out under the name of S. vulgaris Lemoinei. 
The thyrse of this plant is 8 ins. long, and covered 
with lilac-blue double flowers, with numerous imbricated 
corolla-lobes. A number of other good varieties were 
in the set, differing from S. vulgaris Lemoinei in the 
shape of the flowers, in their colour, in the colour of 
the flower buds, or in the shape and size of the thyrse. 
These varieties are Renoncule, Rubella plena, Mathieu 
de Dombasle, and Le Gaulois. An attempt was made 
as soon as these different varieties flowered to get seeds 
from them, and the old S. azurea plena was discarded 
as a seed bearer. The best single-flowered varieties 
with flowers of different shapes and colours were used to 
cross with the new double-flowered race, and pollen 
from the flowers of S. chinensis even was tried ; but 
this last experiment produced no results. A new set 
of seedlings was obtained trom the second cross, and 
among them were some very remarkable and beautiful 
plants. From this sowing came Alphonse Lavallee, 
Michel Buchner, President Grevy (pyramidal), M. 
Maxime Cornu, &c. Here we have, in addition to the 
form and the colour of the flower, remarkable variations. 
The corolla-lobes in one variety are round and flat, 
resembling a Ranunculus ; they form in another a 
globular head, with the lobes all incurved ; in another 
they are all reflexed ; and in another they are crumpled. 
I will not give now a detailed description of each of 
these varieties ; and it need be said only that we are 
constantly experimenting with double-flowered Lilacs, 
and that each spring-time sees a new set of flowers 
produced, with forms and colours entirely unknown 
before. Nearly all the shades of colour found in the 
flowers of single Lilacs have been produced already in 
this new race. Shades of blue are represented by 
A. Lavallee, Michel Buchner, President Grevy, and 
Leon Simon. The darkest reds appear in Comte 
Horace de Choiseul and La Tour d’Auvergne ; a delicate 
rose in Virginite ; and we have now obtained a variety 
with large, pure blue flowers. This has not been sent 
out yet, but it appeared at the Exposition in Paris.— 
V. Lemoine, Nancy, in Garden and Forest. 
-»> X< —- 
THE AIGBURTH NURSERY, 
LIVERPOOL. 
This nursery, of Croton fame, is situated at Grassen- 
dale, a pleasant thirty minutes drive from Liverpool, 
via Dingle, or a few minutes run by the Manchester, 
Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway. I went there 
lately specially to see the Crotons, and was much 
pleased that I had found time to do so. The dazzling 
brilliancy of the leaf-colouration displayed in the 
Croton-house proper it is impossible for pen to describe, 
there being charming combinations of crimson, red, 
orange, white, and gold, added to healthy foliage and 
well-feathered plants, specimens ranging from 5-in. 
to 12-in. or 14-in. pots, and some of them several feet 
in diameter. The individual characteristics of the 
different varieties also stood out most prominently, 
rendering the whole a most delightful and instructive 
exhibition in itself. 
The house in which these superb specimens are grown 
is span-roofed, about 50 ft. long, 12 ft. wide, and 8 ft. 
high in the centre. The sash bars are 22 ins. apart, 
thus allowing an abundance of light, and ample venti¬ 
lation is provided. Out of about fifty sorts grown, the 
following were noted as specially effective :—Aigburth- 
ensis, angustifolium, Baroness Rothschild, Disraeli, 
interruptum aureum, majesticum, Mortii, Prince of 
"Vales, Newmanii, Queen Victoria, aureum gracilis, 
Burkmanii, Warrenii, and Aigburth Gem. 
Another specialty here is the Cyclamen, of which 
several thousands are grown in three houses entirely 
devoted to them. They are a fine sturdy lot of 1888 
seedlings, from a cross between the C. magnificum and 
C. gigantcum strains, and certainly these Aigburth 
varieties, as they are termed, represent now the most 
even lot I have ever seen, and promise to be unusually 
attractive in their season. 
Other houses are replete with stocks of hard and soft- 
wooded plants, clean and healthy, whilst the nursery 
grounds are well stocked with all the plants incidental 
to a well-regulated nursery. The soil, apparently 
a deep sandy loam, resting on a red sandstone 
formation, suits some of the Conifers, such as Reti- 
nosporas and Cupressus, amazingly. Altogether I was 
highly pleased with what I saw in Messrs. Ker’s 
establishment.— B. L. 
- *»$<- - 
ROSES IN SCOTLAND. 
After some ten days or so of heavy rains, the 
display of Roses has become almost nil, and many 
plants heavily loaded with buds and opening flowers 
are now being relieved of a mass of decayed inflorescence. 
It is worthy of note that while many of the new 
favourites, and others which are valued as prize-takers, 
have succumbed to the wet weather, some of the good 
old kinds, so familiar to us in our youth, and which 
were among the first to open their flowers, are still very 
gay, standing up bravely against the rains and full of 
promise for an autumn display. Amongst the best are 
Gloire de Dijon, Jules Margottin, General Jacqueminot 
and Souvenir de Malmaison. 
It is often a mistake, which leads to bitter experience, 
to plant a collection of Roses, the qualities of which are 
learned from the exhibition table, or from plants grown 
in a favourable locality for special purposes only, as the 
same kinds planted in certain localities prove most 
disappointing. We have known proprietors of gardens 
make complaints regarding their non-success as com¬ 
pared with what they have seen so grand at shows, but 
they were unaware of course how the latter had been 
tended, flowers picked off, shoots reduced, liquid 
manure given ad lib., mulching removed and replaced 
regardless of appearance or smell, with a course of 
manipulation such as could not be practised in well- 
appointed private gardens except where ground is set 
apart for exhibition flowers, and especially where labour 
power is so reduced that making a specialty of one 
thing is ruining another. 
When a proper collection of Roses is made, the 
number of individual kinds can be increased, and in our 
opinion the grandest displays of the queen of flowers are 
where large beds of individual sorts are planted, and if 
grown strongly and the finest of the growths pegged 
down annually, a system which we have practised since 
our boyhood, Roses would not be the ragged, struggling 
plants one often sees them. W. Allan Richardson has 
grown well with us this season, but the flowers are very 
inferior in colour and form to what they were last year. 
— Stirling. 
-- 
NATIONAL CO-OPERATIVE 
FLOWER SHOW. 
The fourth annual show, held under the auspices of the 
Agricultural and Horticultural Association, Limited, 
took place in the Crystal Palace on Saturday last, and 
in many respects may be considered a greater success 
than that of last year. Some classes certainly showed 
an improvement, as in the case of Tomatos, Apples, 
and certain vegetables. Altogether there were about 
4,000 entries, representing many kinds of flowers, fruit, 
and vegetables. The latter were the most important 
feature of the exhibition, and very creditable to the 
industrial classes showing them. 
There were thirty-five entries for a collection of six 
varieties of vegetables, open to members of industrial 
and co-operative societies, and the coveted premier 
award was taken by Mr. Wm. Thayre, of the Crawley 
and Ilfield branch of the association. The eighth prize 
lot even was a very fair sample. Tomatos, Cauliflowers, 
Potatos, Onions, Carrots and Turnips were amongst 
the chief features of the exhibits ; Long-pod Beans 
brought twenty-six, and Broad Beans seventeen entries. 
There were seventy-four exhibits of Scarlet Runners, 
of which forty dishes were good samples, varying from 
6 ins. to 9 ins. in length. French Beans numbered 
fifty-one dishes, most of which were good samples of 
their kind. White kidney Potatos numbered some 
fifty-nine entries ; red kidneys, fifty-one dishes ; round 
white, fifty-eight dishes; and round red fifty-four dishes, 
and that, too, independently of those shown by the 
Agricultural and Horticultural section of the exhibi¬ 
tion. As might be expected, the samples varied 
enormously in size, and some were very rough. The 
prizes were taken by clean and even specimens of 
medium size. There were fifty lots of Carrots, fifty- 
nine dishes of Peas, sixty-four bunches of spring and 
thirty-six bunches of winter Onions. The first prize 
lot of the latter, shown by Mr. T. Nunn, of the Maldon 
and Heybridge Co-operative Society, was a very credit¬ 
able one. There were thirty-two lots of Turnips, a 
white variety taking the first prize ; of Beet there 
were fifty-seven samples, but many of them were too 
large, with branching roots. Vegetable Marrows 
supposed to be fit for table numbered seventy-one 
entries, and the specimens ranged from 6 ins. to 20 ins.; 
but as might be supposed, the prizes went to moderate¬ 
sized specimens. There were also about twenty-four 
entries of Cabbages ; twenty-one of Lettuces ; twenty 
of Leeks ; twelve collections of herbs ; thirty-five of 
Shallots ; thirty-four of Celery, the greater bulk of 
which was red ; eleven of Cauliflowers, the first prize 
sample being a good one ; twenty-one Tomatos, of 
which there were ten or twelve good samples ; forty of 
Parsnips ; a fair quantity of Radishes, and three entries 
for a collection of six dishes of Potatos. In all there 
would be 500, or thereby, dishes of Potatos. 
The first prize for a collection of fruit in this section 
went to Mr. W. H. Selby, New Swindon. The fruit 
consisted of Apples, Pears, Plums, Cherries, Goose¬ 
berries, and Currants. Grapes were represented by 
seven entries ; dessert Apples, by twenty-nine ; cook¬ 
ing Apples, by forty-seven ; Pears, by 104 ; and small 
fruits by a fair number of entries. Cut flowers 
included some twenty entries of Gladioli, fairly well 
flowered, with eight to twelve open blooms on a spike ; 
also sixty-three exhibits of Dahlias. Large quantities 
of Sweet Peas, Marigolds, Phlox Drummondi, Stocks, 
Asters, Zinnias, and Annuals were represented by some 
of the above, as well as by Candytufts, Mignonette, 
Centaurea Cyanus, Rhodanthe Manglesii, Chrysan¬ 
themum carinatum, and C. coronarium. Pot plants 
included many of the above subjects, particularly Phlox 
Drummondi, Marigolds, China Asters, as well as 
Godetias, Lobelias, F uchsias, Musk, Coreopsis 
Drummondi, and others. One pot of Musk stood a 
yard high. 
In the classes open to members of the Agricultural 
and Horticultural Association, or their gardeners, the 
display was of a higher order of merit in several 
respects, but the number of exhibitors was limited 
compared with that in the first section. The first prize 
