420 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 5, lby^. 
PRIMULAS AT FOREST 
HILL. 
The Chinese Primulas in the nursery of Messrs. J. 
Carter & Co., at Forest Hill, were in full bloom when 
we saw them at the end of last week. They are 
arranged in several span-roofed houses, where of 
course they can get a maximum of light, and are 
seen to the best advantage. There are 6,ooo of them, 
all in 48-size pots, while the quantity of bloom 
and vigour of the plants are wonderful. There is a 
considerable variation in this respect amongst the 
sorts themselves, some being quite robust, while 
others are less vigorous, although none of the 
under-mentioned may be considered weak growers. 
On the contrary, when sown early and potted on into 
large sizes so as to keep them growing, they attain 
great size, producing pyramidal or flat-topped masses 
of bloom according to the kind. 
Palm-leaved types. 
The term palm-leaved is applied to varieties with 
foliage of the ordinary lobed type, in order to dis¬ 
tinguish them from the fern-leaved varieties. A 
grand new sort named Porcelain, and a cross from the 
Queen race, is certainly the best of the single blues, 
far excelling the old Holborn Blue, which has itself 
been more or less improved from time to time. The 
flowers are of great size, and of a light blue, with a 
deeper edge, and have a golden yellow eye surrounded 
by a paler blue tint. The segments are much 
imbricated, wavy and of great substance compared 
with Holborn Blue. The robust leaves have red 
petioles. It seems destined to take the place of the 
old variety, when it gets more plentiful and better 
known. The flowers of Magenta are of a rich 
magenta, with a deeper tint at the margin, and the 
five-lobed eye is greenish-yellow. There is a large 
batch of the variety named Rose, having pleasing 
rosy pink flowers and a greenish yellow eye 
surrounded by a white line changing to crimson 
when old. The flowers of the sort named Ver¬ 
million offer a strong contrast to either of the above 
and appear to better advantage even when viewed 
from a little distance, for they then seem to be of 
a warm vermillion red. No doubt they would show 
up well by artificial light, which would render the 
red more brilliant. The leaves of this variety are 
rather deeply divided and very distinct. 
The leaves of Carmine are broad, sharply toothed, 
and indicative of great vigour. The variety is very 
popular with the market growers on account of its 
floriferous character. The carmine-rose flowers are 
developed in bold trusses just above the foliage, so 
that even in 48-size pots it has quite an attractive 
appearance. One of the richest hues is met with in 
the sort named Salmon, the colour of which for 
want of a better definition we shall term deep rosy- 
salmon ; but that hardly defines its hue. The five- 
lobed yellow T eye is surrounded by a crimson line. 
There are two varieties named Elaine, differing in the 
form of the leaves, which are robust with deep red 
petioles and pure white flowers. A striking peculi¬ 
arity we note is that those varieties having light 
green leaves and petioles have coloured flowers. 
Holborn Blush was an instance of this. Notwith¬ 
standing the light hue of the foliage all parts of the 
plant are very robust, and the large flowers are of a 
beautiful soft pink. The variety, like Porcelain, is 
another of the Queen race. Those w'ho like a mottled 
flower will find it in Venus, the ground colour of 
which is white mottled with purple, and often flaked 
with that hue. 
Fern-leaved Varieties. 
The varieties with elongated and cut leaves are by no 
means so numerous as those above mentioned, but 
considering their ornamental character one would 
imagine that an endeavour would be made to get all 
the leading colours upon those having the so-called 
fern-leaved foliage. One of the finest of this group 
is Elaine, having dark red petioles to the leaves, and the 
lamina more or less tinted with the same hue. The 
flowers, like those of the palm-leaved variety of the 
same name, are pure w r hite. The golden-yellow eye is 
five-angled, contrary to that of those varieties having 
palm-leaved foliage, for in those cases the eye is five- 
lobed. Being a popular and highly ornamental 
variety a large batch of it is grown. Holborn Queen, 
on the contrary, has light green foliage, both blade 
and petiole, yet the flowers are not pure white as we 
should expect, but are tinted with blush, especially 
when the flowers attain their ultimate development. 
A curious sort is Ruby, as the large red flowers are 
marked by a white speck at the base of every two 
segments. The greenish-yellow angled eye is sur¬ 
rounded by a white line changing to crimson. 
Semi-double Varieties. 
A tuft of segments occupies the centre of each 
flower in the under-mentioned varieties, which differ 
from true doubles in producing good seeds by which 
they may be perpetuated with as much facility as 
the single kinds. Besides this recommendation, it 
may be stated that the flowers last longer both in 
the cut and uncut state, which is a very valuable 
property. The semi-double Blue Rosette has darker 
flowers than any of the other blue kinds. The 
flowers of Lilac Queen are deep lilac shaded with 
purple, and are borne well above the foliage in great 
profusion. Those of Prince of Wales are of a rich 
carmine tinted with salmon, and are very freely pro¬ 
duced. Carmine Empress is of dwarf habit with 
very rich carmine flowers. The leaves as well as 
the petioles of Snowflake are of a light green, while 
the flowers are white tinted with blush, thus 
furnishing another instance of contrast between 
foliage and flowers, although one w'ould naturally 
expect the contrary. The large trusses are borne 
well above the foliage. Princess of Wales in the 
semi-double group corresponds with Venus amongst 
the palm-leaved types by having white flowers 
mottled and sometimes flaked with purple, and 
differing only in being semi-double. The above are 
reckoned the standard types, but there are numerous 
others under experiment for improvement, while a 
few of the good kinds are not yet plentiful enough 
to be put into commerce. 
PRUNING ROSES. 
When shall I prune my Roses? is a question fre¬ 
quently put by those who are on the lowest form in 
the school of gardening—those who may be said to 
be only just mastering the alphabet of the practice ; 
and if this question is answered, there immediately 
follows another, How shall I do it ? And as the great 
army of amateur gardeners is constantly growing, 
and recruits joining hourly, there are of necessity 
some who desire to master the most rudimentary 
details as helpful in gaining knowledge and ex¬ 
perience. It is for these I pen the following remarks. 
In his chatty book on “ Practical Rose Growing ” 
—cheap, reliable, and pleasant to read—Mr. John 
Harkness, of Bedale, points out with much truth 
that the time for pruning varies a little according to 
locality and variety ; and he states as a general 
direction that for such growers as reside in the south 
and in localities where Roses bloom fairly early, “ the 
first fortnight in March will be found a suitable time 
forpruning hybridperpetuals,Bourbon, French Moss, 
Alba, Provence and Damask Roses, whilst the latter 
part of March will answer best for growers in the 
north, and in cold or late districts.” I may content 
myself with the hybrid perpetuals of all the fore¬ 
going sections as that which the amateur wishes to 
grow. As a matter of course they who commence to 
grow and prune Roses are at a disadvantage for lack 
of some knowledge of the variety, but that is gained 
only by experience, and experience is one of the 
best teachers in reference to gardening matters. In 
relation to the hybrid perpetuals great differences of 
habit exist : some are more excitable than others, 
and begin to push earlier into growth. As illustra¬ 
tions one can name such familiar varieties as A. K. 
Williams, Pierre Notting, Charles Darwin, and 
others. There may be then a little delay in pruning 
such, and those which are later in breaking into 
growth may be pruned first. 
It is generally recommended by experienced Rose 
growers that shy and moderate growers should be 
cut back to two or three eyes to each shoot, and the 
weak growths entirely cut away ; but in the case of 
the more vigorous growing varieties three to six 
eyes can be left to the shoots. We thus start with 
the general principle that weakly growing Roses can 
have their main shoots cut back pretty close, and 
vigorous growing varieties left with rather more buds. 
But the pruner should always take care to leave the 
extra plump buds because they invariably produce the 
finest flowers ; and he should always keep in view 
another important point, that of leaving buds that 
show a tendency to grow outwards rather than to¬ 
wards the centre of the plant, so as to avoid undue 
crowding within. But w hatever section of the above 
mentioned Roses he may prune let him carefully bear 
in mind both the foregoing recommendations. 
The valuable Tea-scented varieties, together with 
the Noisettes, and the useful and free autumn-flower¬ 
ing Chinas, can be pruned from ten to fourteen days 
later than the time recommended for the hybrid 
perpetuals, and in regard to these sections they may 
be cut pretty close back. It is well known to success¬ 
ful Rose cultivators that all Roses make, or shall I 
say have, two periods of grow-th in the year, first in 
the spring, and again in the autumn, soon after they 
have flowered ; and it becomes an important question 
which of these growths may be considered the better 
calculated to produce the choicest blooms. It is 
generally considered the wood made at the first 
period of growth, that of the summer, produces the 
finest flowers, and for the reason that the growth 
is more rapid and the shoots more matured, thereby 
less likely to be injured by frost; the buds are gener 
ally, moreover, well furnished with the juices re¬ 
quired to supply nourishment and promote growth. 
It is usually believed that the eyes near the base, es¬ 
pecially in the case of autumnal Roses of those 
kinds w'hich form short shoots, produce the best 
flowers, but in the more vigorous and robust growers 
those about the middle or near the top, if the wood 
be well ripened. Still, the latter statement may be 
open to question.— R. D. 
THE GARD ENERS’ 
ORPHAN FUND. 
The committee met on the 26th ult. for the first 
time since the annual meeting, and unanimously re¬ 
elected Mr. W. Marshall to the office of chairman. 
The following gentlemen were elected local secre¬ 
taries for the ensuing year, viz:—R. Bell, Esq., 
Tyrone, for Ulster ; Mr. George Cooper, Kirkstall, 
for Leeds and district; Mr. F. Collyer, for Ilkley, 
Yorks ; Mr. Malcolm Dunn and Mr. Matthew Todd, 
for Edinburgh ; Mr. Fairgrieve, for Dunkeld ; Mr. 
Goldsmith, High Trees, for Redhill, Surrey ; Mr. 
Hussey, Clive House, for Esher, Surrey ; Mr. J. B. 
Stevenson, for Bournemouth; Mr. J. Lyne, for 
Chislehurst, Kent; and Mr. Upjohn, Worsley Hall, 
for Manchester. The following gentlemen who 
retire were accorded a hearty vote of thanks for 
their past services:—Mr. Furze, Mr. Ellicott, Mr. 
Frankland, Mr. Lumsden, Mr. F. Ross, and Mr. L. 
Castle. The following special receipts were 
announced as having been received during the 
month Manchester Gardeners, Improvement 
Society, /y; Reading Gardeners’ Improvement 
Society, £2 2s. ; Mr. J. Thomson, Hawkhurst, 
£1 is.; and Mr. M. Dunn, £1 is. The sum of ^1,000 
was authorised to be invested; and guardians were 
appointed for the eleven children who were elected 
at the annual meeting. 
Mr. A. Dean writes :—I am pleased to be able to 
say that something is about to be done here in King¬ 
ston if possible to remove from the many gardeners of 
this prosperous district the stain of being so generally 
indifferent to the Orphan Fund. The last list of 
subscribers issued shows, first, that Kingston has no 
local secretary ; and, second, that only four bona fide 
gardeners over all this immense parish are sub¬ 
scribers. Mr. Jeal, Fircroft, Surbiton, recently wrote 
a letter to the Kingston Express inviting local gar¬ 
deners to try and organize a concert in aid of the 
Fund. I followed with a farther and somewhat 
pleading letter the following week, and since have 
seen Mr. Jeal and some other gardeners, with the 
result that a large number of circulars are being sent 
out by us this week, inviting the local gardeners to 
meet in the Albany Hall, Kingston, on Saturday 
evening next, March 5th, for the purpose of deter¬ 
mining what shall be done to assist the Orphan 
Fund. I hope some good will result. It is to be de¬ 
plored that relatively so many gardeners still abstain 
from subscribing. There are hundreds who could 
do so if they would, and that so much indifference 
should be shown in relation to so good an object as 
is the Orphan Fund, astonishes me. Let gardeners 
learn to feel that not to be a subscriber is a degra¬ 
dation. 
_ , ♦ m _ 
PLANT HUNTING ON 
RORAIMA. 
(Concluded from page 405.J 
After the first astonishment and a look around 
from our position, 8,600 ft. high, the next thing was 
to select, with the help of the men, a place where to 
spend the night, and soon we found one underneath 
a big, overhanging rock near the ledge. Then we 
began to gather a good quantity of a certain scarlet¬ 
flowering Utricularia, which grows in swamps and 
between the rocks all over the place. Our Indians 
