September 5, 1891. 
9 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
GARDEN RACES OF THE 
OPIUM POPPY. 
The flowers of Papaver somniferum are so variable 
in colour even in the single state that it would be 
difficult to say what was the original colour of the 
wild plant. It is a native of Continental Europe, 
the west of Africa, and extends over the whole of 
Asia, and has been introduced to Britain and North 
America, where it has established itself to some 
extent. The flowers of the plant, which has run 
wild in some parts of the south of England, are 
generally, bluish-white with a violet blotch at the 
base of the petals; but it varies both in the shape of 
the capsule, in the colour of the flowers, and seeds. 
Several of the single-flowered varieties have 
received special names, and are very distinct when 
they can be kept true to name, but like all plants 
which have been under cultivation for generations 
past they are very difficult to keep true to any type. 
Many of the seedlings from any one kind when 
grown for a time revert, or sport, or whatever name 
is given to the phenomenon, they often show rogues 
in a sowing which differ from the type. A double 
race, with very full flowers, is grown under the name 
of Paeoniaeflorum, from their Paeony-like flowers. 
Another type or strain, with fringed flowers, is grown 
under the name of Murselli; while a great many 
growers simply disregard that name and give 
separate ones to fringed flowers of different colours. 
A collection of numerous varieties grown on trial 
may be seen in the gardens of the Royal Horticul¬ 
tural Society at Chiswick. Danebrog is a shortly 
fringed, single-flowered form, with scarlet petals and 
a large white blotch at the base of each. From the 
face of the inner petals a few curious fringes arise 
giving one the impression that they consist of sta¬ 
mens adnate to the petals, and free at the apex, where 
they are dilated and petaloid. The Victoria Cross 
would appear to be a selection from Danebrog, and 
differs by having entire not fringed petals, which 
may be scarlet or rose-coloured with the large white 
blotch at the base of each. Seedlings are evidently 
very sportive, for we sometimes find white ones 
amongst them. Similar variation occurs amongst 
the seedlings of Danebrog, for the petals 
are sometimes without fringes and sometimes pure 
white. The white one has been selected and named 
White Danebrog, but any other name would be more 
appropriate, for when it loses the white blotches on 
a coloured ground it is no longer Danebrog. The 
types can, however, be kept tolerably pure by pulling 
out the rogues as they come into bloom. 
The so-called double Danebrog is a much-fringed 
and fully double flower, the petals of which are white 
with scarlet fringes. Rawson's Fringed and The 
Mikado are both very similar to the double Danebrog, 
and it would be difficult to define the differences. 
We have seen The Mikado with rose-coloured fringes 
or something very near it, so that the difficulty in 
keeping these variable flowers in distinct colours true 
to name is no doubt considerable. Probably it 
would be good practice to sow the different kinds at 
some distance apart in the garden or seed ground. 
These double, fringed forms would come under the 
name Murselli. 
The under-mentioned kinds would readily fall 
under the name Pseoniaeflorum ; but a number of 
them, probably from different growers, have other 
names. French Steinforth is a close-habited and 
floriferous variety about 18 ins. high, with very 
double flowers and shallowly-fringed petals with red 
or scarlet tips. A line of it has a close and massive 
appearance. Marseilles splendens has large flowers 
and rather broad, but not fringed petals ; the outer 
ones are scarlet, and the inner ones purple stained 
with red. The flowers on the whole bear a con¬ 
siderable resemblance to a double Hollyhock. 
Another very choice sort named Snowdrift has large, 
double, pure white flowers and shallowly-fringed 
petals. Like the French Steinforth it is a very 
dwarf and compact-habited sort. 
The Paeony-flowered white is a tall and vigorous 
sort, with moderately broad but not fringed petals. 
The Paeony-flowered scarlet and violet is also very 
full, and the claw only of the petals is violet. The 
Paeony-flowered brick red and white, Paeony-flowered 
black, and the Paeony-white with a scarlet 
edge, do not require description as the names are all 
fully descriptive. The Paeony-flowered pink is a 
fringed variety of pleasing and attractive form and 
colour. 
A dwarf variety named Chamoise Rose has fully- 
double flowers of a beautiful rose or salmon-pink hue. 
The Chinese double dwarf has cherry-red flowers, 
and, as the name expresses, it is notable for its low 
stature and compact habit. Another dwarf Chinese 
variety has pure white flowers, fully double, and very 
early, as most of the flowers had dropped and the 
seed vessels were of some considerable size by 
the 25th of July last. The above does not, by any 
means, exhaust the number of kinds in cultivation, 
or even all that are grown under distinct names ; 
but they constitute a very fair nucleus for anyone 
who likes to make a collection of the cultivated 
races of the Opium Poppy. The flowers, whether 
single or double, are now much used for indoor 
decoration in the cut state. They should be cut 
while yet very, very young, that is, soon after 
expansion. 
__ 
♦ 
PLUMS AT CHISWICK. 
Notwithstanding the large number of varieties of 
Plum now in cultivation, comparatively few of them 
are cultivated outside of general collections, and 
they are very few in this country. In private gar¬ 
dens they are mostly grown upon walls, where they 
perhaps bear a more regular but scantier crop. 
When grown in the form of standards the greater 
proportion of them bear only in certain years, and 
may be entirely fruitless for some years in succession. 
The crop is unusually plentiful, however, this season, 
and a goodly proportion of the trees in the gardens 
of the Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick are 
simply loaded, while other trees carry but a scanty 
crop. 
The Victoria Plum is almost an unfailing cropper, 
and is a favourite with many growers in various 
parts of the country, and fruits well as far north as 
Aberdeenshire when grown on a wall. The trees in 
the collection at Chiswick are grown as standards. 
Close by Denniston's Superb, a round yellowish- 
green fruit, is equally heavily loaded. Gisborne’s 
Early, Bradshaw, and Angelina Burdett are in a 
similar condition. Early Orleans and Monsieur 
Hatif are said to be synonymous, but two trees in the 
collection here are under the different names. Both 
are round purple fruits and heavily loaded in each 
case. Belgian Purple has a much larger and 
showier fruit than either, and the crop is heavy. 
It is evidently well suited for culture as a standard, 
for it forms a compact, round-headed tree of slightly 
drooping habit, and being dwarf in stature it is well 
sheltered from the effect of wind. The Nectarine 
Plum is another free-bearing sort something similar 
to the Prince of Wales, but is of a duller purple hue 
and less attractive although of fairly good quality. 
Large Black Imperial is considered the same as 
Bradshaw. 
So heavily-laden is the tree of Oullin's Golden 
Gage that the branches are weighted down like 
several others requiring support. Lawson’s Golden 
Gage is another golden-yellow Plum that does well 
in Scotland. Imperial Ottoman is also a yellow 
variety, with round fruits of excellent flavour and 
quality. Better known is that named Jefferson, an 
American raised variety that now finds favour with 
many growers especially for Orchard house culture. 
The fruit is oval, dark yellow, and speckled with 
purple or red next the sun. A tree grown here as a 
standard is simply borne down by the weight of the 
fruit, but another tree in a different part of the 
garden bears no fruit at all. The latter had formerly 
been grown in a pot and fruited well, but was 
planted out about eighteen years ago and has 
scarcely borne a dozen fruits since. The soil cannot 
differ widely from that in which the fruitful tree is 
planted, yet there must be a difference somewhere. 
Possibly the confined state of the roots in the early 
stage and the high feeding they received acted 
injuriously on their feeding capacity afterwards. 
Blue Gage is a bluish-purple Plum of good quality, 
but it requires a drier season to ripen properly. The 
great amount of wet has caused the fruit to split. It 
is carrying a fair crop, but nothing compared with 
most of the above-named sorts, nor with Bryanston 
Gage, Heale’s Hybrid and Standard of England, 
which are heavily loaded. The July Green Gage in 
ordinary seasons should be ripe by the end of July, 
but seems quite a month later this year. The fruit 
is of medium size, roundish and blotched with red 
on a yellow ground. The tree is but lightly cropped, 
The fruit possesses some merit for dessert purposes. 
Plums for culinary purposes enter largely into the 
market garden cultures, and amongst them is a large 
oval, dark purple fruited sort named Diamond. A 
tree here is very heavily laden, but the fruit, which 
has a brisk acidity, has not yet reached maturity. 
Hardening Kiscellany. 
ARISTOLOCHIA GRANDIFLORA. 
The huge flowers of this species are as wonderful as 
those of A. Goldieana, and produced in much larger 
numbers upon the plant. It appears also to be less 
difficult to cultivate, and may be trained to the 
rafters in the same way as A. ornithocephala, 
A. trilobata, and others of that class. It was intro¬ 
duced from South America in 1841, or from 
Guatemala in Central America according to others. 
Possibly it may occur at both places, for they are 
not widely distant. There is a figure of it in the 
Botanical Magazine, t. 4368 and 4369. It is the 
A. gigas of Lindley, and is figured under that name 
in the Botanical Register 1842, 60, and A. cordifolia is 
another synonym. The leaves are heart-shaped and 
acuminate. The flowers, however, constitute the 
great feature of this plant, and so large are they 
that the native children on the banks of the 
Magdalena river in Columbia amuse themselves by 
using them instead of a hat. The lamina of the 
flower is broadly cordate, ribbed outside and reticu¬ 
lated with blackish purple on a ground colour of 
creamy yellow. The tube is contracted in the 
middle, but opens out into a wide throat of a velvety 
blackish purple. The flower also ends in a tail 2 ft. 
to 3 ft. long, and which may well be compared to a 
Chinaman’s pigtail when worn by the children as 
above mentioned. The plant became lost to culti¬ 
vation soon after its introduction, but may now be 
seen flowering finely in the Victoria house at Kew. 
TRITONIA CROCOSMlFLORA. 
In this fine hybrid we get the large flowers of Cro^ 
cosmia aurea and the brilliant colour of Tritonia 
Pottsii. The two species named were the parents, 
and there can be no question that in the progeny 
we have a garden plant of exceptional value. The 
sword-shaped leaves are abundant, ascending, and of 
a bright green colour. They are considerably ex¬ 
ceeded in height by the flower scapes, which are 2 ft. 
or 3 ft. high, according as to whether they are 
grown in pots or planted out. The latter is the best 
way of dealing with the hybrid, as it is equally as 
hardy as the parents, and a bed of it is a grand 
sight during the late summer and autumn months, 
far excelling in grace and elegance a bed of the best 
zonal or other Pelargoniums. The scapes are 
slender, yet sufficiently rigid and strong to support 
themselves without staking of any kind, and are 
racemose or panicled in the upper portion. The 
tube and external face of the segments are orange- 
scarlet, or almost crimson, with the exception of the 
three inner segments, which are yellow. The inner 
face of all the segments is of a bright orange, and 
yellow at the base. A coating of cocoanut fibre 
placed over the bed in winter serves to afford the 
corms and young leaves protection, as well as to 
keep the soil cool and moist in dry summers. 
HELICHRYSUM ARGYROLEP1S. 
The general aspect of this species would lead one to 
suspect that it comes from the Cape, or some simi¬ 
larly dry country. The specific name refers to the 
silvery-white scales or bracts surrounding the head, 
and which, in fact, constitute the ornamental part of 
the plant. The disc is yellow, as is generally the 
case with other species of the genus. The whole 
plant is only 9 in. to 12 in. high andj well furnished 
with lanceolate or linear, hoary leaves. The flower- 
heads may be compared with those of Acrolinium 
roseum as to size, but differ from them in colour; 
the leaves also differ to a much greater extent. When 
grown out of doors, the rockery would, no doubt, be 
the best place for it, ensuring good drainage and the 
exposure necessary for this and other species of 
Helichrysum of like habit. As a pot subject for 
the greenhouse or hardy-plant house it would, no 
doubt, prove highly suitable. 
ACHIMENES TUBIFLORA. 
The adaptability of this plant to different conditions 
is somewhat remarkable. Some cultivators grow it 
in the close moist atmosphere of a stove along with 
Gloxinias, Palms, and other subjects that delight in 
plenty of heat and moisture. Others grow it in the 
greenhouse, while in other cases it is relegated to the 
hardy plant house with equally good results. It a is 
