466 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 23, 1889. 
Your subsequent remarks on “crowding in” I 
thoroughly endorse, and think with you that if there 
are no better opportunities open to the rising generation 
than gardening offers, it is a lamentable prospect, and 
I cannot but think that your correspondents who 
advocated the higher education of gardeners, either live 
in the land of Goshen and know nothing of the ups 
and downs of the ordinary gardener’s career, or else 
that there is a deal of irony in their remarks and their 
zeal is misplaced. We “mend ” ground to get some sub¬ 
stantial return from it; would the advocates of higher 
education “mend” the gardener’s knowledge with 
’ologies and ’isms to reap such a reward as that alluded to 
at p. 447? Yourremarks on market-growing are oppor¬ 
tune, for now it appears to be such a sine qud non to sell 
the surplus in private establishments that it behoves 
every young gardener to make himself acquainted with 
market work, whether his future is to be cast in one or 
the other. Market work may be hard, but if they 
make overtime it is paid for, whereas in some private 
places a gardener is expected to be working early and 
late ; and market-men usually have few subjects and 
every facility, while in a selling private establishment 
the gardener has a hundred and one things to look 
after, and numerous inconveniences. 
I look at the ups and downs of my own career and these 
of my gardening friends, and cannot say that either are 
encouraging. As a journeyman and foreman I had the 
good fortune to practise in good gardens, and fondly 
hoped that some day I should be able to say, “ Go thou 
and do likewise ” ; but through lack of opportunities 
I have not been able to emulate my chiefs. I know 
something of advertising and its consequent watching 
and waiting, and am still waiting for something to 
turn up ; for though a head man, I am remunerated at 
a lower rate than when a foreman !— Pathfinder. 
- <»&&** - 
EVERLASTING PEAS. 
To whom are we indebted for the discovery and 
introduction of the broad-leaved Everlasting Pea— 
Lathyrus latifolius ? It would appear that it is an 
English plant, and that it must have been in culti¬ 
vation in this country for many years. How did the 
white variety originate, and who first introduced it 
into cultivation ? Is it a sport from the red, or did 
it originate as a seedling? The term Everlasting is 
said to come from the French, pois eternel, and that 
it was so named because of it not being like the 
common edible and Sweet Peas—an annual. The 
forms of L. latifolius with which I am acquainted are 
the common red, or rosy purple, the white, and a 
charming variety named L. delicata, having pink lines 
upon a white ground. The former comes readily from 
seed, though the seedlings may vary, and it is a most 
useful subject for cutting purposes, only that the flowers 
burn somewhat under the hot sun and soon lose their 
beauty ; but then it is wonderfully free of bloom. The 
white variety makes a most useful plant for cutting 
from, and in the case of a well-established specimen, 
they are produced in abundance for weeks in succes¬ 
sion. But this form by no means comes true from 
seed ; the tendency is to revert to the red type, and 
thus it is, I take it to be, a sport. It is said that 
if a plant of the white Everlasting Pea be planted 
right away 'from any possible contact with the red, 
the seed saved from it will produce much larger per¬ 
centages of white-flowered plants than when the two 
are planted closer together. 
I have seen fine forms of the red Everlasting 
Pea, and some years ago Mr. Robert Parker, late of 
Tooting, received a First Class Certificate of Merit 
for one under the name of Major, or Grandis, or 
some such designation. But I think that any such 
variation in size of flower or richness of colour is due 
to the character of the soil in which the plant is 
grown, and my reason for coming to this conclusion is 
by knowing a part of Kent where the common Ever¬ 
lasting Pea takes a very fine form—far beyond what 
one sees elsewhere. In the flower garden of an old 
farm-house, where it is planted against an old Bigar- 
reau Cherry tree, which one would think would 
starve it out of existence, the plant produces truly 
magnificent flowers, and also in an old rectory garden 
a mile away. I have tried seeds and plants from both 
places only to find that in Middlesex it reverts to the 
old form as we know it in this part of the country. 
What a delightful thing L. grandiflora is ! Were it 
introduced now for the first time, how lovers of hardy 
flowers would rave about it, and yet, in how few 
gardens is it to be found ! When once established, it 
appears to defy all the rough usage to which it can be 
exposed. In Mr. Samuel Barlow’s garden, at Stakehill, 
there is a large patch of it, and it is always in glorious 
bloom about the same time as Tulips. It is earlier than 
the common Everlasting Pea, and it is so free that we 
can say with the poet, that it “heaps up its flowers in 
happy plenteousness.” They are very large and finely 
coloured. This came from southern Europe nearly 
three quarters of a century ago, and it seems to do 
best in a deep sandy loam, or in a good loam resting 
upon the gravel. L. latifolius will do in a stronger 
soil. Has anyone ever heard of L. grandiflorus seeding ? 
Then there is L. Drummondii. It is said by some 
authorities that this is identical with L. rotundifolius ; 
but this last is said to be of dwarf growth, while the 
former is quite tall, and when once established, grows 
to large size and flowers abundantly. The blooms are 
of a kind of salmon-carmine, and produced in dense 
clusters ; but it seeds sparingly, and in a dry state they 
differ from those of L. rotundifolius. 
Some persons who sow seeds of Everlasting Peas, com¬ 
plain that they are unable to get them to germinate. 
Adopting a method recommended by the late Mr. 0. 
Green, I soak the seeds for twelve hours in water before 
sowing, then take them out and lay them on a shelf for 
the same period ; I then sow, and as a general rule, very 
few failures occur, provided the seeds are young and 
plump.— R. D. 
--«£<-«- 
AMARYLLIS AT CHELSEA. 
The Amaryllis house of Messrs. J. Yeitch & Sons is 
now remarkably gay with an exceedingly varied 
assortment of flowers. These occupy the central bed 
of the house, and in a short time a greater number 
will be in full bloom. The whole of them were re-potted 
in January, not earlier, and some of them were brought 
into the house at different dates with the object of 
prolonging the flowering season. Ho fire-heat was 
employed for a long time after the bulbs were potted, 
and free ventilation was given owing to the mildness of 
the early part of the year. The two side benches are 
occupied with younger bulbs, which were brought into 
the house at a later date. These will flower later 
on, and will yield about 300 spikes of bloom on each 
bench. It is needless to dwell upon the perfection to 
which the strain has been brought, suffice it to say that 
it has been mainly derived from A. Leopoldii and 
Empress of India. The first-mentioned variety supplied 
the shape, and the latter the splendid colour for 
which the best types are notable. They are charac¬ 
terised by a short tube, a large and widely-expanded 
flower, and very broad segments of remarkable sub¬ 
stance. The breadth of the latter gives regularity to 
the flowers, which, in the original types, had narrow 
segments, presenting a star-like or rayed appearance, 
while the lower segment was generally very narrow. 
The widening of this in the newer types is certainly a 
marked improvement, and to this point Mr. J. Heal, 
the skilful hybridist, who keeps a strict record of all 
his operations, pays due regard. 
It may here be stated that the hot-water pipes are 
wholly enclosed by a casing continued down from the 
benches, so that dry heated air from the pipes cannot 
play upon the flowers. All the pots are plunged in 
spent tan, and recently a little bottom-heat has 
been employed. The house is quite cool, and even in 
the present sunless weather ventilation is given at the 
top. A double row of slender pipes (about 1| in. 
diameter) runs under the lower part of the roof of 
the house so as to keep the atmosphere dry if need be. 
The heat, however, was turned off on the occasion of 
our visit the other day. By their use any condensation 
of moisture during cold or wet weather is prevented. 
A great concourse of visitors always seek after this 
house while the Amaryllis are in bloom. 
Short-tubed, Open Flowers. 
The undermentioned are almost without exception 
seedlings flowering for the first time. John Ruskin 
may for convenience sake be taken as the type of this 
group, as it was the first of the finest kinds that 
appeared this spring, and received a First Class 
Certificate at the last meeting of the Royal Horticultural 
Society, by the unanimous voting of the Floral 
Committee. [See p. 455 for description.) Since then a 
finer variety has flowered, of a deep crimson-scarlet, 
measuring 9 ins. across the bloom. It is dwarf, as is 
John Ruskin, being only 18 ins. high to the top of the 
flowers. A third one named Optimus is the finest of the 
three, having brilliant crimson-scarlet flowers of great 
regularity with broad segments of great substance. 
It is also 18 ins. high, bearing two flowers on a scape. 
All three were raised from the same pod of seed, and 
they are the grandchildren of A. Leopoldii and Empress 
of India. Mirabella has scarcely any tube, but the 
segments are slightly less flattened out. The flowers 
are white, slightly striped with scarlet, especially on 
the upper segments. Felicia is of the same strain as 
the last, and white, with more of the scarlet markings. 
The flower scape is only 15 ins. high. Two is the 
commonest number of flowers on a scape, but occasion¬ 
ally there are three or four. The flowers, however, 
lose in size when they gain in number. The largest 
are the most popular with the public ; but we hope 
that the present limit will now satisfy the most fas¬ 
tidious in that respect. Some bulbs produce two scapes 
each, including the largest-flowered kinds, such as 
John Ruskin. Orphix may be included amongst the 
short-tubed kinds, but it bears four flowers on a scape, 
which are crimson, with a greenish star at the base and 
a pale midrib, and of moderate size. 
Other Types. 
The tendency of the hybridist is to get away from long- 
tubed flowers, the extreme of which we have in A. 
solandrteflora. "When the tube is long, the limb of the 
flower must be short, and vice versd. There are pro¬ 
bably no specimens in the entire collection resembling 
A. solandrseflora, and the undermentioned kinds are 
far removed from it, with tubes of moderate length, 
and the segments spreading widely above their middle, 
or even from below it. A dwarf sort is Admirable, 
with scapes about 15 ins. high ; and the specimen we 
noticed had two scapes from the bulb, bearing each two 
large flowers of a reddish crimson, with a six-rayed, 
greenish star at the base. A handsome variety named 
Conquest, with large, brilliant, crimson-scarlet flowers, 
bore the same number of blooms as the last, but 
the scapes were somewhat taller. The effect of well- 
grown specimens such as these in a greenhouse or con¬ 
servatory is very telling, and must be seen to be 
estimated at its proper value. The scapes of Harbinger 
were about ft. high, bearing four flowers each, 
which, notwithstanding their number, are of good size, 
and scarlet, striped with white along the centre and at 
the base. As yet there are no pure whitejkinds in bloom, 
although several beautiful ones show a close approach 
to it. Colour, it may be stated, is largely influenced 
by locality, and new varieties sent out from Chelsea 
often improve so sensibly as to appear a different thing 
altogether. Reto is a creamy white kind, variegated 
with a few red lines on the upper segments. Another 
light kind named Galicia is beautifully reticulated with 
rosy red lines. The scapes are 2 ft. high, and bear 
three flowers each. Virgilius also bears three flowers 
on a scape, all of good size, white, and slightly striped 
with scarlet. It is a fine bold type, and might easily 
be greatly improved, but unfortunately for the hybridist 
the finest kinds soon get sold and taken away. Finette 
is a pretty white kind of last year, with well-shaped 
flowers, slightly striped with red on the midrib towards 
the base. The above is but a short review of the finer 
kinds in flower a few days ago. 
-->££<—- 
INJURIES TO TREES BY HOAR 
FROST. 
At the last meeting of the Scientific Committee ad¬ 
ditional and corroborative information was received 
from Mr. Plowright, of Kings Lynn, of the remarkable 
occurrence described at the previous meeting, of boughs 
of various trees being broken off by the extraordinary 
growth of crystals of rime upon them. As no snow had 
fallen during the period, it was impossible to attribute 
the results to such a cause. There had been excessive 
fog previous to January 7th, 1889 ; the rime forming 
upon the telephone wires was so great that they were 
broken down. The ice was deposited unilaterally like 
flat sheets of glass, 1^ ins. to 2 ins. in width on the 
south side. On the 8th was a thaw. The result of 
the frost was that a Birch had a branch amounting to 
one-third of the tree broken off; the smaller branches 
particularly suffered. The Elms were most injured, 
branches of all sizes being broken off, even large arms, 
one measuring 5 ft. 6 ins. in circumference, and 1 ft. 
10 ins. in diameter. To such an extent was the road¬ 
way covered with dtbris that the market carts were 
greatly impeded. Oaks, Willows, and Poplars also 
suffered ; but Ashes and Scotch Firs escaped. Several 
photographs and broken branches were sent as illus¬ 
trations of the way in which the damage was effected, 
for Mr. Plowright noticed that fracture without falling 
was a distinct feature of rime-injuries to trees, excepting 
to Willows and Poplars, the vast majority of whose 
branches fell to the ground. It was a remarkable 
sight, for example, to observe the broken but still 
pendent branches of the Oaks upon the Hillington 
Road, hanging on them for some weeks afterwards, and 
all on the south side. 
