548 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 27, 1889 
Fi < of{idtJi < TiJ'f(i<. 
♦ 
♦ 
The Florists' Laced Pink. 
If any reward is merited by me for the endeavours I 
have made towards reviving a more general interest in 
favour of the florists’ laced Pink, I am fully recouped 
by the generous article of Mr. E. Ranger Johnson, 
which appeared in your last week’s issue. I have not 
the pleasure of Mr. Johnson’s acquaintance, but I 
venture to believe, from the general tenour of his 
remarks, coupled with his very liberal offers as to 
sharing the work of the secretaryship and becoming 
an annual subscriber, &c., that the long-hoped-for 
“National Pink Society” will, with his valuable 
assistance, now’ be established. 
I have written to Mr. Barlow, asking him to see 
Mr. Johnson and Mr. Harry Turner when he is in 
London this week and as Mr. Horner will be there 
too, with our friend “Ben” Simonite, a committee 
of management can be easily arranged, and steps taken 
for the issue, as soon as possible, of a small schedule 
of prizes, &c. 
With regard to the Pink “being strong enough to 
run alone,” I would suggest that the exhibitions of 
Pinks this year be held in connection with some general 
shows in London, Birmingham and Manchester. The 
Pink time would be rather late for Pansies, but, never¬ 
theless, a fair display of the latter might be produced. 
I exhibited Pansies with Pinks for many years in July, 
and invariably staged tolerably good specimens. —James 
Thurstan, Finsbury Rouse, Richmond Road, Cardiff, 
April '22nd, 1889. 
Gold-laced Polyanthuses. 
With reference to recent remarks in your columns on 
the raising of new varieties, I may say that Mr. Adam 
Oldham, of this town, has been very successful in 
raising good new varieties, as will be seen from the 
following lots exhibited at the last Manchester 
Auricula show. Black, pan of three—*Black Cap, 
*Black Knight, and Exile ; second pan of three—James 
Lees, and seedlings of same. Red, pan of three—-'‘Mrs. 
F. D. Horner, and seedlings of same ; second pan, two 
seedlings, viz., Regina and Ensign. Those marked 
with an asterisk all obtained First Class Certificates at 
the same show, and Exile was the only one shown of 
which Mr. Oldham is not the raiser. Mr. Brockbank, 
of Didsbury, near Manchester, now holds the stock of 
Black Cap, Black Knight, Regina, Ensign, and Mrs. F. 
D. Horner. In addition to the above, Mr. Oldham has 
some hundreds of seedlings, some of which will be 
shown at Manchester early in May.— J. L., Middle- 
ton, near Mo.nchester. 
-- 
OLIVIA MINIATA. 
The merits of this plant for general decorative and 
exhibition purposes have been well recognised for a 
number of years by those who have known its value, 
and wherever grown it has almost invariably become a 
favourite, being just one of those things which are 
aptly described as “ everybody’s plants.” It is suitable 
alike for the professional cultivator and the amateur, 
growing and flowering, with ordinary care, in either a 
greenhouse or window ; indeed, for the latter purpose, 
it stands on a par with the Indiarubber Plant, the 
Aspidistras, and some of the Palms, which are better 
suited than many softer-foliaged plants often grown for 
a similar use. The foliage of the Olivias—more 
familiarly known, perhaps, as Imantophyllums—can 
so easily be cleansed by washing with clear water and a 
sponge, and as they will thrive for a long time in the 
same pots, they give but little trouble beyond watering 
and keeping the foliage clean. 
When lookiug through a collection of improved 
varieties, it strikes one as being somewhat strange that 
this plant should have been under cultivation so long 
without any marked advance towards improvement 
being effected in it, seeing that in recent years it has 
proved itself amenable to improvement, both as regards 
habit of growth and size and form of the flowers. 
Although it will be urged by many that there is no 
decided departure in colour from the original type, there 
is a marked tendency towards the production of pure 
yellow seifs on the one hand, and scarlets on the other, 
so that in a few more generations of seedlings either of 
these results may, and most likely will, be attained. 
When this comes about they will be formidable rivals 
to the present race of florists’ Amaryllis, over which 
they have the advantage of being evergreen, and the 
broad massive recurved foliage of some varieties gives 
them no mean claim to the title of decorative foliage 
plants. 
The credit of making the first advances towards the 
improvement of this plant must be conceded to con¬ 
tinental nurserymen, although I well remember seeing 
in the Dulwich Nurseries somewhere about the year 
1874 a batch of seedlings of a very promising character, 
but have no knowledge as to what ultimately became 
of them ; still, for the present revived interest in the 
plant we have, no doubt, to thank our continental 
friends, who have been more keenly alive to the merits 
of the plant than we have ourselves. But if what can 
at present be seen at the nurseries of Messrs. J. Laing 
& Sons, of Forest Hill, is to be taken as a fair sample 
of what is being accomplished, there is much reason to 
hope for still further improvement. — IF. B. G. 
-- 
DOUBLE PRIMROSES IN POTS. 
So far my attempt to grow double Primroses in pots for 
exhibition purposes has not proved so successful as I 
had hoped. In September last I made up nine or ten 
pots of different varieties, putting two or three strong 
single plants in a 7-in. pot to make up a good stool. 
With only one exception they started into a free 
growth and have made excellent crowns, but they are 
not only late in flowering, but they do not promise to 
bloom so freely a3 I had hoped. The old double 
Crimson Velvet began to bloom in November and 
December, and I had to pick out the buds. It then 
had to put forth fresh crowns to make spring blooms, 
and the buds of the latter are only just discernible. 
I think I made the mistake of keeping the plants 
too long in a cold frame open to the north, and they 
should have been sheltered in a north house sooner, 
and kept out of the reach of cold winds. I think also, 
only autumn, winter and spring is necessary in order 
to get the plants well established in the pots, and this 
neutralised a good head of bloom. Now it is my 
intention not to disturb the plants for a year to come. 
They are in a good compost that can carry them 
through another season, and I shall presently top-dress 
the plants with some well-decomposed manure, and 
then plunge them in a bed of coco-nut fibre for the 
summer. I intend to do this in the hope that the 
plants will yield good heads of bloom next spring. 
That is my hope and desire. Whether the plants will 
continue to prosper and live through the summer 
remains to be seen ; if they do—and they will have all 
the attention I can give them—then I shall hope to 
score a success a twelvemonth hence. — R. D. 
-->T<-- 
USEFUL SHRUBS. 
Hibiscus syriacus, or Alth.ea frutex, as it is quite 
as often named, is not only one of our most valuable 
late autumn-flowering shrubs, but it is, likewise, one 
of the few that seem well able to do battle with the 
deleterious effects of an impure atmosphere. In many 
of the London gardens, and where the air seems to be 
constantly vitiated by emanations from shafts and 
chimneys, this pretty shrub may be seen in perfect 
health, with plentifully-produced foliage of the richest 
description, and quite a wealth of its showy flowers. 
Then the leaves are not only of an enticing shade of 
green, but they are beautifully shaped, somewhat after 
some of the finer Maples, being three-lobed and finely 
toothed. 
Fortunately it is not a difficult subject to deal with 
either, for it grows quite freely in soil of very ordinary 
description ; it may be trimmed in at pleasure, and 
suffers not thereby, and withstands frost in a very 
commendable manner. It is a shrub of which town 
residents should procure a lot—that is, if they have a 
bit of garden ground that they want to look rural and 
pretty. 
The Wayfaring Tree (Viburnum lantana) is 
another shrub of no small merit, but one that un¬ 
fortunately does not receive that amount of attention 
which its merits as a fruit and flower-bearing shrub 
entitle it to. 
For town planting it is a boon to have such a shrub, 
for it succeeds in some of the most filthy and smoky 
districts of our largest cities. Then it blooms with 
great freedom, the flowers being succeeded by an 
immense wealth of the brightest and showiest of 
berries, and is as readily propagated as is a Privet or 
a Willow. No soil comes amiss to it, and it will 
flourish quite as well when hemmed in by equally fast 
and tall-growing plants as when allowed plenty of 
room. 
In the Wig Tree or Venetian Sumach (Rhus 
eotinus) we have quite a neglected shrub, but one 
that for general usefulness is hardly surpassed. It is 
highly ornamental whether in flower or fiuit, the 
feathery inflorescence rendering it of quaint and curious 
appearance, particularly when a well-grown plant of 
large dimensions is brought under notice, and is 
peculiarly well suited for planting in our large streets 
and squares of our larger towns and cities. A good 
sound loam, not too damp nor yet too dry, suits its 
requirements to perfection, but that it is not at all 
particular in choice of soil a look at some of the well- 
developed specimens in our nurseries and botanic 
gardens clearly demonstrates. 
The Stag’s Horn Sumach (R. typhina) though 
almost equally rare as the latter, must on no account 
be omitted, for it is a plant of pretty and curious 
appearance, runs about with perfect freedom, and 
is as hardy a subject as could well be desired. For 
town or seaside planting it is a most valuable adjunct 
to our rather short list of suitable plants for such 
situations. 
Leycesteria Formosa is a noble hardy shrub with 
hollow stems, large ovate leaves, and rather inconspicu¬ 
ous white or purplish flowers in pendulous racemes. 
More conspicuous than the flowers are the deep purple 
foliaceous bracts, these imparting to the shrub a 
distinct and very ornamental appearance. It is a 
capital town plant, shooting out fresh and green after 
being subjected to a winter’s incessant fumes from the 
stacks and chimneys of the factories and dwelling 
houses of our great metropolis. Hardy it is as a 
Gorse or Birch, of unusually free growth, readily pro¬ 
pagated, and altogether a valuable shrub for general 
planting.— A. D. TV. 
-- 
FRUIT-GROWING STATISTICS. 
I should not be acting honestly in this matter if I 
were to withhold my opinion that most of the statistics 
lately put forward in favour of fruit growing in England 
are not worth the paper they are written on. They 
are ample enough on the score of returns, but meagre 
in the extreme when dealing with expenditure. But I 
would also distinctly say that I make no charge of 
wilful misrepresentation against the authors of them. 
I know from experience how carelessly such statistics 
are often made up, in answer to inquiries relating to 
the past, and how eagerly and inconsiderately they are 
received when they tend to strengthen the preconceived 
opinions of the inquirer. And beyond this, some men 
delight in making themselves appear cleverer than their 
neighbours, and to this end will give forth the results 
of one profitable year. But as one swallow does not 
make a summer, by the same rule of argument, one 
year’s crop cannot be taken as an estimate of the future 
yearly income. 
A heavy crop of one year is often succeeded by a 
light one in the next, and to place this estimate on a 
sound basis, the average of three, four, or five years 
should be taken. Statistics, to be of any value, should 
begin at the beginning. An account should be kept 
on both sides, from the first shilling spent up to the 
period when the trees give a marketable return. The 
sum total to this period may be treated as capital 
sunk. After this, the average of not less than four 
years should be taken as the probable yearly returns. 
Or the matter may be looked at in another way. The 
capital expended may be set down as money borrowed, 
on which a fixed interest is to be paid till it is returned. 
An orchard of the larger fruits may be estimated to 
last in a good condition from thirty to fifty years, ac¬ 
cording to the soil and management. Fruit trees come 
into bearing sooner, and die sooner, when planted on 
sandy and light soils than on soils of a heavier or 
stronger nature. 
What I have advanced, however, should not dis¬ 
courage the planting of fruit trees. On the contrary, 
if I have been understood as I wish to be, fruit culture 
in England may be judiciously extended to a very con¬ 
siderable degree ; but it should be guarded and guided 
by the appropriate selection of climate, soil, sorts, and, 
above all, a high system of cultivation directed by a 
knowledge of the business. With regard to the question 
of supply and demand, I believe that a much larger 
quantity of English fruit would meet with a ready sale 
if put before the public in a tempting state. I may 
also say that I am clearly and decidedly of the opinion 
that there are thousands upon thousands of acres of land 
in Great Britain, at present bringing little or no profit 
to owners or occupiers, which, if planted with fruit 
trees, might be made to return a good profit to both. 
Not that I think large fortunes are to be made by the 
enterprise, but that a fair remuneration will be secured 
for the outlay of capital, and the application of know¬ 
ledge, and skill. Fruit-growing as a recreation, 
or for one’s own use, is one of the most fascinating and 
diverting of occupations, and may be pursued with 
satisfaction by the uninitiated ; but fruit-growing for 
