October 3, 189i. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
73 
its general appearance would suggest that it comes 
from a drier and warmer climate than that of 
Britain. The upright stems are of slow growth, 
very much branched and densely covered with 
small, leathery dark green leaves, somewhat sug¬ 
gestive of the Olive, as the generic name would 
suggest. The shoots terminate in corymbs of white 
flowers, and so numerous are the flowering branches 
that the whole bush appears white for weeks 
together. The flowers are appreciably fragrant, but 
too closely resembling that of many other Com¬ 
posites to be appreciated for that quality. The 
smell is, however, agreeable, and quite devoid of 
that pungent odour characteristic of the Chamomile 
and other allied plants. 
Hardening 
Cj/j 
ANTIRRHINUM CRIMSON BEDDER. 
What a charming companion this makes to the 
well-known White Bedder. It is equally as dwarf 
and floriferous, whilst its rich glowing crimson 
colour at once attracts the eye when massed in a bed 
in the flower garden. I saw a very fine bed of it in 
the nurseries of Mr. John Forbes, at Hawick, grow¬ 
ing alongside of the White Bedder and that fine old 
Antirrhinum Hendersoni, which, by the way, is not 
so much known as it ought to be, as it is really one 
of those things which when once seen can never be 
forgotten. In fact, these three plants ought to be in 
every collection, as for all practical purposes they 
have no equal as bedding plants, especially so in such 
a season as we have experienced this year.— IV. S. 
MATRICARIA INODORA FLORE PLENO. 
The doubling of the flower heads of this plant has 
changed a useless weed into a useful garden plant. 
The wild form has a disc of tubular yellow florets 
and long white rays; but in the double form all the 
florets have become elongated, strap shaped, and 
white like the rays. In a wild state the plant may 
be annual or biennial, but when propagated from 
cuttings it practically becomes perennial. This is 
the best way of increasing it in view of its biennial 
nature, as unflowered shoots will develop roots and 
make a bushy, healthy plant in shorter time than by 
division. In any case it is necessary to get the young 
and unflowered shoots to emit roots, so as to renew 
the vigour that has been lost by flowering. Young 
plants will commence flowering early in summer and 
continue till autumn, provided the soil in which they 
are planted is fairly rich and moist. The stems 
branch very freely, and every shoot terminates in a 
flower head. Flowering branches may be used 
amongst cut flowers with good effect. 
THE LATTICE-LEAF PLANT 
The water in which this singular plant is grown 
should be 12 in. to 18 in. deep, and there should be a 
good body of it in order to get the best results. The 
depth at which the pots or pans containing the 
tuberous roots should be plunged in the water will 
depend upon the length of the leaves, for the latter 
should just be under the surface. If a constant 
ripple can be maintained so much the better, for it 
will then keep the water clean and prevent filth and 
mud from settling upon the leaves. The genus 
Ouvriranda has been united with Aponogeton, to 
which the well-known Cape Pond Weed belongs, and 
the proper name of the plant under notice is there¬ 
fore Aponogeton fenestralis. Usually the inflores¬ 
cence consists only of two branches, that is, the 
flower stem is once forked, but a plant in one of the 
houses at Kew bears three branches, which 
together with the bracts and flowers are white 
in the early stages but gradually become green as 
the fruit develops. When in perfection the flowers 
are strongly fragrant, as it may be remembered those 
of A. distachyon are, resembling Hawthorn. 
A HARDY SUBSTITUTE FOR 
MARGUERITES. 
Closely allied to the perennial Asters is a Siberian 
plant often grown under the name of Calimeris incisa. 
Some of the species of Calimeris are classed under 
Aster, while others come under Boltonia. The plant 
under notice is recognised by leading botanists as 
Boltonia incisa. The leaves are lanceolate, with the 
lower ones much the larger and deeply incise-serrate 
in the upper portion, while those on the upper part 
of the stems are small and entire. The stems are 
about 3 ft. high, and are exceedingly much branched 
upwards, so that a comparatively small plant bears 
a profusion of flowers about the size of those of the 
common Marguerite or Paris Daisy (Chrysanthemum 
frutescens), the rays are slightly reflexed and white, 
or faintly flushed with lilac in the young state. It 
flowers most profusely during September and Octo¬ 
ber, and the heads being thinly produced on long 
stalks, they could be largely used amongst cut flowers. 
The advantage of growing it for this purpose would 
be the large quantity of bloom to be obtained at a 
minimum cost in labour and trouble, for the plant 
may be grown along with perennial Asters or 
other herbaceous plants, and is easily propagated. 
ASTER NEMORALIS. 
This North American species differs so remarkably 
from other types from that country, that on casual 
observation one would hardly recognise it as an Aster 
at all. The stems, flowers and all donot exceed i2in. 
in height; and the former are of stiff, erect habit, 
branching freely about the middle, and densely 
clothed wtth lanceolate entire leaves. The whole 
bears the appearance of a miniature shrub. The 
flower heads are of good average size for an Aster, 
and pale lilac-blue. The species would evidently 
prove suitable as a pot subject for the hardy plant 
house, flowering during the months of September and 
October. Those who have not such a house at their 
command could find a place for it on the rockery, 
where its neat habit would recommend it. There 
would be no danger of neighbouring plants getting 
overgrown by this Starwort. Specimens may be seen 
in the herbaceous ground at Kew. 
SUTTON'S MINIATURE SUNFLOWER. 
In almost every garden I have gone into this autumn 
one of the most useful hardy plants I have me 
with for its decorative and free blooming qualities is 
the above. It is a hardy annual, easily raised from 
seed, it grows to a height of from 3 ft. to 4 ft., blooms 
abundantly ; the flower deep golden-yellow with a 
dark centre, single and not double flowered. A 
gardener who has to supply a large number of cut 
flowers to churches for harvest festivals, has in¬ 
formed me he finds few things so serviceable as this 
annual Sunflower. Its continuous and late blooming 
characteristics are two of several good features.— 
R. D. 
CAMPANULA ISOPHYLLA ALBA. 
This is a charming perennial variety for growing in 
pots on the shelf of a greenhouse to hang down and 
so display its free blooming shoots to the best advan¬ 
tage. It is an exact counterpart of what is known as 
C. Barallieri, only that the flowers are white instead 
of blue. It is very hardy and can be readily pro¬ 
pagated by dividing the plants in autumn or early 
spring. Small pieces if placed round the sides of a 
pot in sandy soil soon strike root.— R. D. 
LILIUM NEPALENSE. 
The rich dark colour of the more typical form of this 
Lily is very striking and distinct from any other in 
cultivation. Being a native of the Central Himalayas 
and similar places, it is unfortunately not quite 
hardy, but requires a greenhouse temperature for its 
preservation. In pots the stems grow 3 ft. to 4^ ft. 
in height, with lanceolate, dark shining green scat¬ 
tered leaves. From one to three large flowers are 
produced on a stem, but in a wild state there are 
six to eight blooms. They are slightly nodding, 
with oblong-elliptic, somewhat revolute segments of 
a blackish-purple, except at the very base and on 
the upper third of their length. Variations however 
occur amongst importations, as may be seen in the 
nursery of Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Clapton*, where 
a considerable number is grown. There is a ten¬ 
dency for the purple to disappear, giving place to a 
brown or some similar light hue. 
ARALIA MANDSHURICA. 
The large bipinnate leaves of this Manchurian 
Aralia have a subtropical appearance during the 
summer months ; but old plants become very 
interesting when late in September or October they 
throw up from the crown large pannicles of plumy 
white flowers. The season at which it does this is 
all the more striking from the fact that other 
deciduous trees and shrubs show signs of throwing 
off their summer garb and going to rest. The 
flowers endure for some time, so that the blustering 
winds of October often subject them to very rough 
treatment. The foliage of the species bears some 
resemblance to that of A. spinosa, but it does not 
bear spiny processes on the upper surface like the 
latter. The naked pole-like stems have a somewhat 
naked and curious appearance in winter, but that is 
not particularly noticeable when surrounded by 
more bushy subjects. In its naked and stumpy 
character it may be compared to the Kentucky 
Coffee-tree (Gymnocladus ^canadensis) which also 
has bipinnate leaves, but belongs to quite a different 
family. 
SECOND FLOWERING OF THE LABURNUM. 
One would have thought that after such a cold and 
unseasonable summer little of a second growth 
would have taken place, and no flowering at all. 
The Laburnum is, however, flowering in several 
places, and in some instances quite freely. This, of 
course, must mean a minor display in spring, be 
cause the buds which should have plumped up and 
remained dormant till then have completed their 
development long before the appointed time. Apple 
trees in some gardens have also been flowering more 
or less for some time, but their conduct can generally 
be accounted for by transplanting in spring while 
the ground was very dry; the heavy rains subse¬ 
quently must be held accountable for the rest. 
This, together with the comparative mildness of the 
autumn, must have urged some of the Laburnums 
into a second growth. 
BERBERIS VULGARIS. 
The common Barberry, although one of the most 
frequent occupants of our shrubbery borders, is 
more often than otherwise planted under the drip of 
trees, or crowded by other subjects, so that it must 
necessarily be pruned or hard cut back to keep it 
within due bounds. Under such conditions it can 
never give satisfaction, nor show how ornamental it 
is capable of becoming. In a cottage garden at 
Hayes End, Middlesex, is a large and spreading bush 
about 12 ft. high, simply loaded with coral-red 
berries, and so conspicuous that it may be be seen a 
great distance off. There is no reason why the Bar¬ 
berry in this form should not be a common object in 
every park or pleasure ground instead of a rare one, 
ROSA BEGG ERIANA. 
The habit and general appearance of this plant is 
very similar to that of R. Ecae, but the latter has 
golden-yellow flowers and curbed red prickles, 
whereas the flowers of R. Beggeriana are white, and 
the prickles white except on the basal portion. The 
small white flowers are fragrant, and produced in 
clusters terminating the shoots, to be followed later 
on by small, orange or red fruits, or properly speak¬ 
ing hips. The sepals fall away leaving the fruit 
naked. The leaves are small, and consist of five to 
seven elliptic, serrate, glaucous leaflets that are 
glandular beneath. In the eyes of the gardener the 
plant is practically a Briar, and is a fit subject to 
associate with the Sweet Briar, Austrian Briar, Scotch 
Rose, and others of that class. It is a native of Asia, 
and evidently extends over a wide tract of country. 
T ♦ — _ 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
The Heading of Cabbages. 
It has recently been stated, as the result of an 
experiment in one of the United States stations, that 
if Cabbages are slightly tilted over with the plough 
in the fall, it produces a tendency to make them have 
larger heads. We now learn, as an experiment by 
Prof. L. H. Bailey, of Cornell, that if the Cabbages 
are planted shallow and earthed up, the percentage 
of large and heavy heads is much greater. As a 
matter of physiological principles these two experi¬ 
ments in different directions both accord. It goes to 
show that whatever favours the nutritive power is 
against their disposition to produce hard heads. In 
Mr. Bailey’s experiment the plants got the benefit of 
abundant moisture and nutrition vdien headed up. 
When not headed, or when not earthed up, or 
slightly tilted, there is an obstruction to complete 
nutrition. Although these experiments seem of a 
somewhat unimportant character, they afford very 
interesting lessons to the study of plant life from a 
practical point of view We think the experi¬ 
ments ought to be repeated in view of these valuable 
and suggestive lessons. — Meehans' Monthly for 
September. 
ISCELLANY. 
