544 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 27, 1889. 
drawn from the head gardeners of any district 
where such a subject is taught; they, in his 
opinion, would be able to quickly pass the 
required examination, and could then them¬ 
selves act as Government teachers. 
A discussion ensued, in which it was evident 
that the matter had the sympathy and interest 
of the meeting, and a formal resolution was 
unanimously passed, “ That the Reading Gar¬ 
deners’ Association should get up a petition to 
the Education Department, praying the Depart¬ 
ment to add Horticulture to their list of 
Science and Art subjects.” 
Gardeners’ Holidays.—W ithout doubt many 
^ gardeners, and especially young ones, 
must look with some envy at the good fortune 
of fellow workers in other occupations, who 
are enabled freely to indulge in the ordinary 
holidays which are now so liberally provided. 
We have just passed through the Easter 
holidays—to very many persons signifying a 
week, to others three or four days, to others 
one or two only, but to the great mass certainly 
a holiday of some sort. Gardeners, on the 
other hand, find that Easter falls at an excep¬ 
tionally busy time of the year, and when work 
must be attended to. 
It is true, purely outdoor labour may stand 
still for a day or two, but house-work—and in 
most gardens that forms at this time of 
the year not only the most imperative, but 
also the most important garden labour—will 
bear no cessation. To leave that labour to the 
tender mercies of neglect for but one day may 
result in the entire ruin of a season’s prepara¬ 
tion, therefore holidays find scant respect in 
gardens. Young men who may be embarking 
upon gardening careers may well pause ere 
they do so, and take stock of the oppor¬ 
tunities their occupation will afford them to 
join in those cessations from labour which 
other trades offer. 
Gardening knows of no Saturday half¬ 
holiday ; it knows very little, relatively, even 
of Sabbath observance, for plants in pots, 
houses (hot or otherwise), frames, &c., must 
have as close attention on Sundays as any 
other day, whilst holidays for gardeners have 
to be made subservient to everything. Heedful 
and necessary seems always to dominate in 
gardening. Such being the case, we must 
make the best of what cannot well be helped 
in horticulture. 
-- 
Gardening Appointment.—Mr. Thomas Hobday, 
for the last seven years foreman in the Rangemore 
Gardens, Burton-on-Trent, as gardener to the Earl of 
Yarborough, Brocklesbury Park, Ulceby, Lincolnshire. 
Grass Seeds for the Metropolitan Parks.—Probably 
one of the first orders given out by the newly con¬ 
structed London County Council was for the Grass 
seeds annually required for the parks under its control. 
The order was placed in the hands of Messrs. James 
Carter & Co. for execution. 
The Gardens at Walton Lea, Warrington, by the 
kindness of Alderman John Crosfield, J.P., were thrown 
open to the public on Good Friday and Easter Sunday 
afternoon, and were visited by about 2,000 persons 
each day. The Camellia house, which is over 100 ft. 
long, with a path down the centre, and having pyra¬ 
midal trained trees on each side from 10 ft. to 12 ft. 
high, and now in full bloom, was very much admired. 
National Dahlia Society.—We understand that this 
society intends to celebrate the centenary of the intro¬ 
duction of the Dahlia into this country, by holding a 
special exhibition of the flower, and a conference of 
Dahlia growers at the Crystal Palace. As at present 
arranged there will also be an exhibition of books and 
pictures, illustrating the history of the flower, and that 
the conference will be opened with a paper on the 
History of the Dahlia, by Mr. Shirley Hibberd, and 
the papers to follow will be by 7 Mr. Hany Turner, on 
the Development of the Show Flower ; Mr. West, on 
the Cultivation ; and Mr. W. H. Cullingford, on 
Decorative Dahlias, more especially pompon and 
single flowers. 
Tnllpa Leitchlini.—The flower scapes are compara¬ 
tively dwarf, and are furnished at the base with several 
narrow, glaucous leaves. Externally, the three outer 
segments are of a deep red tint, while the interior is 
light yellow. The three inner segments are several 
shades paler, almost white, while the anthers are yellow 
and very short. A pot of bulbs was exhibited by 
Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, at the last meeting of 
the Royal Horticultural Society in the Drill Hall, 
Westminster, when it received a First Class Certificate. 
May Blossom.—Last year, owing to the cold spring, 
the Hawthorn was late in coming into bloom, and 
it was a common remark that it would be difficult to 
get May Blossom in May. May Blossom is the popu¬ 
lar name for the Hawthorn in the southern counties, 
and especially about London. Apparently there are 
early varieties of it, including the Glastonbury Thorn, 
which is reputed to flower at Christmas. A tree 
might have been seen in full bloom in the High 
Road, Chiswick, on the 21st of April. As far as could 
be seen it did not differ from the common white 
form, except that the flowers were fully expanded, 
while other trees alongside of it were only in bud. 
Has anyone seen it flowering previous to that date this 
year? 
Muscari botryoides alba.—The Grape Hyacinths 
do not seem, as a general rule, to take the fancy 
of plant growers to that extent which their merits 
deserve, for many of them are really pretty, extremely 
hardy, and easily cultivated. The white variety 
above mentioned is so distinct that it might be grown 
by way of contrast to the blue kinds, all of which 
are suitable for borders, rockeries, or in pots for 
the decoration of the hardy plant house. Some fine 
pots of it may be seen in the gardens of the Royal 
Horticultural Society, at Chiswick. 
Epiphyllum Makoyanum. —The stems of this garden 
hybrid are oblong, flattened, tapering somewhat to¬ 
wards each end, and jointed in the manner of E. 
truncatum, but quite distinct from that. The flowers 
are produced at the apex of the terminal shoots, 
and both the tube and the numerous narrow, acute 
segments are of a rich scarlet when in bud and after 
expansion ; when this has taken place, the interior 
of the segments is deeply tinted with orange. The 
radiating stigmas are white. A plant was exhibited by 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, at the Drill Hall, 
Westminster, on Tuesday last, when it received a First 
Class Certificate. 
Rhododendron, Her Majesty—The flowers of this 
new hybrid exhibit a bold and striking appearance, 
quite distinct from the usual run of this class of 
plants. A small plant, about 8 ins. high, bore a 
terminal truss of three large expanded flowers that 
were nearly flat, the tube having been almost ob¬ 
literated. Externally the blooms are more or less 
splashed or suffused with pale purple or pink, which 
shows itself slightly on the interior white face. The 
leaves are obovate, leathery, unusually small in pro¬ 
portion to the size of the flowers, and slightly hairy. 
It is the result of hybridising R. Fosterianum with 
R. arboreum. The plant was exhibited at the Drill 
Hall, Westminster, on Tuesday last, by Messrs. J. 
Yeitch & Sons, Chelsea, when a First Class Certificate 
was awarded it. 
Variations of Primula denticulata. — Imported 
seeds of this Himalayan species show a wonderful 
amount of variation, both in size and colour of 
the individual flowers, as well as in the size and 
density of the truss. This may be verified by an 
examination of a small group of plants in one of the 
north-aspect pits in the gardens of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society, at Chiswick. One plant has dense 
trusses of small lilac flowers, similar to a variety that 
used to be named P. d. pulcherrima. A second plant 
has large purple flowers, equal to those of the variety 
passing under the name of P. d. purpurea ; while a 
third kind has large flowers which expand of a violet- 
purple, and soon after change to a decided violet hue. 
If anything, this affords additional evidence that there 
is a large amount of blue in all or nearly all of the 
highly-coloured species and varieties of Primula. 
Wolverhampton Horticultural Show. — Wolver¬ 
hampton appears to be taking a new departure in 
regard to horticultural matters. For some reason or 
the other the exhibition formerly held there declined, 
which is matter for wonder, because it is in these great 
horticultural centres that popular exhibitions appear to 
flourish best. A new order of things is being estab¬ 
lished, and a schedule of prizes, to be offered at a great 
show to take place in the Public Park on July 16th, 
17tli, and 18th, has just been issued. Some classes — 
eleven in number, that are open to all—contain valu¬ 
able money prizes. £20 as a first, and £15 as a second 
prize for sixteen stove and greenhouse plants, flowering 
and foliage, are good ; a first prize of £8 offered for a 
group of plants arranged for effect; £6 for forty-eight 
blooms of Roses ; £4 for thirty-six blooms ; and with 
good prizes for smaller classes should bring a good 
display of the queen of flowers. One class is for twelve 
varieties of Moss Roses, which is always a very inter¬ 
esting one. Good prizes are also offered for gardeners 
and others in the district, and so a good exhibition 
should result. The Mayor offers a special prize of five 
guineas, to be awarded by the judges to the most 
meritorious exhibit in the show. The honorary secretary 
is Mr. W. A. Green, junr., of Corporation Street, 
Wolverhampton. 
Bilbergia nutans.—One of the most regular and 
free-flowering species of the genus is Bilbergia nutans. 
The nodding habit of the flowers is well expressed 
by the specific name. The narrowly lance-shaped 
leaves are bright green, arranged in dense tufts, and 
furnished with small distant spines on the margins. 
From the centre of these the flower stems rise to 
the height of 1 ft., more or less, and then arch 
over in a graceful manner. They are closely covered 
throughout with pink bracts, which become longer, 
broader, and looser towards the apex of the peduncle, 
and constitute in themselves an object of no mean 
ornamental value. The flowers are of large size com¬ 
pared with those of larger-growing kinds, and have 
short pinkish sepals tipped with blue. The long 
revolute petals are of a doep green, margined with deep 
blue ; so that taken altogether the plant presents a 
strange combination of colours. A small group of 
flowering plants may be seen in the gardens of the 
Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick. 
-- 
CONCERNING THE HOLLY¬ 
HOCK. 
Some years ago, just when it might have been said 
that a new and vigorous life was being infused into the 
profession of the florist, an old writer—one of the old 
school of narrow ideas and limited experiences—seeing 
in some of the flowers then being taken in hand by 
florists, subjects that had hitherto received but little 
attention in comparison with what had been paid to 
others, was led to give utterance to his prejudices in 
these words: “Some younger spirits, straining after 
new worlds of flowers to subjugate, or in which to 
mend nature, have obtruded Hollyhocks, Phloxes, 
Yerbenas, Snapdragons, &e., to the discomfort and 
surprise of the old school.” Since then these 
aggressive young spirits, as in many other matters 
relating to our every-day life, have made considerable 
headway in their especial tracks, despite many sorrow¬ 
ful protests similar in character to that just recorded. 
Since that was originally written, the Hollyhock 
reached to a great height as a florists’ flower, and then, 
through the ravages of an insidious fungus, became 
almost exterminated of late years. Evidences have 
appeared that the flower is again rising in popular 
estimation, and the work done in the past by Baron, 
Chater, Paul, Roake, Bircham, Parsons, Hawke and 
others is being carried on by enterprising ones among 
the younger spirits, who are giving to its improvement 
the high service of their newly awakened and vigorous 
enthusiasm. 
What is wanted in these days is that every lover of 
the Hollyhock should resolutely set himself to work to 
become a raiser—and a successful one too—of new 
varieties. I think the lat9 Mr. Chater's last catalogue 
was issued about 1875 ; since that date there occurred 
a terrible loss among the fine varieties he and Lord 
Hawke raised. I am afraid a very large number of 
them are hopelessly lost, leaving sad gaps in a list 
of first-class sorts. Therefore it is desirable that every 
lover of the Hollyhock should be both a cultivator and 
raiser. The Hollyhock is one of those stately 
border plants that gardens, and especially large ones, 
cannot dispense with, and seed of good varieties is 
always in demand. 
I have pleasant recollections of several times visiting 
the nursery of the late Mr. W. Chater, at Saffron Y alden, 
when his Hollyhocks were in bloom. They were 
planted out in rows 4 ft. apart, and the plants 3 ft. 
apart in the rows. The ground was rich, old market- 
garden soil, and preparatory to planting it was trenched 
over to a depth of 2 ft., and plent) r of thoroughly rotten 
manure worked into it. If the subsoil is of a character 
that is retentive of moisture, the plants will do remark¬ 
ably well during the summer, but if the plants are 
allowed to stand out all the winter in such a situation, 
they will undoubtedly suffer. 
