April 30, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
545 
American Florists’ Directory. — The American 
Florist Company’s Directory of Florists, Nursery¬ 
men, and Seedsmen of the United States and 
Canada for the present year is to hand, and appears 
to have been corrected up to date with as much 
completeness as can reasonably be expected in a 
work involving attention to such an immense mass 
of detail. The publishers (The American Florist 
Co., Chicago) have arranged the lists geographically 
and alphabetically, and have also added, for the 
first time, a list of the leading cemetery and public 
park superintendents, which will doubtless be found 
useful to the distributors of trade literature. The 
list of trade organisations is of the useful order too ; 
and a special feature of the new edition will be found 
in the complete alphabetical lists of the Roses, 
Chrysanthemums, and Carnations grown in America, 
which differ very materially from what in each class 
finds most favour in this country. The list of 
Chrysanthemums is exceedingly interesting and 
useful from the fact that it includes all the varieties 
introduced into commerce in America from what¬ 
ever source, and the bulk of which may be said to 
consist of American seedlings. The directory is 
well printed and substantially bound, and has a 
good index, rendered all the more necessary from 
the provoking manner in which much of the subject 
matter is mixed up with advertisements. 
Microbes and the Naturalisation of Plants. —As re¬ 
corded by L'Illustration Horticole, M. Ch. Naudin, of 
the Institute, and who lives at the villa Thuret, near 
Antibes, communicates to the Revue des Sciences 
naturelles a notice in which he states that if one does not 
succeed in the culture of certain plants, made some¬ 
where to prosper in a given climate, it is that there 
is wanting to those plants an indispensable element 
represented by fertilising ferments or microbes which 
they find in their native country. The hypothesis set 
down by M. Naudin is not altogether chimerical ; he 
well cites facts concerning divers species which it is 
impossible to make live, whatever may be the com¬ 
position of the soil that one gives. He mentions 
severel unsuccessful attempts of seed sowing at the 
villa Thuret, and he asks himself whether the in¬ 
fluence of micro-organisms of the soil is not indis¬ 
pensable here. We already know that arable soil 
swarms with microbes of which the species are 
numerous. It is permitted to admit that certain 
species of plants are accompanied by a special 
hereditary microbe, and, as M. Naudin says, “ trans¬ 
mitted from one generation to another, and which, 
hidden in the depths of the organism, work invisibly 
to fix the term of development in space and the 
duration of time.” 
The Ownership of Hedges. —A curious county court 
action was recently tried at Falmouth, the point in 
dispute being the ownership of a hedge. 1 he 
plaintiff stated that he purchased his land in 1869. 
He then heightened the hedge in question 2 ft., and 
planted it; he had also always repaired it and 
trimmed it, and no one had ever disputed his title to 
it until the defendant, who is tenant of the adjoining 
field, did so in January, by cutting off all the bushes 
growing upon it. The bushes were a protection from 
the north and east winds, and plaintiff’s crops had 
suffered in consequence. The defendant, who disputed 
plaintiff's ownership, relied upon an ancient custom 
recognized in the parish (St. Gluvias) that every 
tenement owned its western hedge, and that the hedge 
in question was his western hedge, and that he had 
several witnesses to prove the custom. The plaintiff's 
solicitor objected to the admission of any evidence 
as to the alleged custom upon the ground that such 
evidence was only admissible to prove public or 
general rights, and could not be accepted where 
private rights or title came into question ; also that 
such a custom, if proved, would clearly be contrary 
to law, as a custom to be good in law must be 
binding or compulsory upon all persons affected by 
it, and if it were left to the option of any man to say 
whether or not he would be bound by the custom* 
the custom would be bad upon the face of it. His 
Honor Judge Granger ruled that the plaintiff had 
proved his title to the hedge, but as to the damages 
it did not appear that he had sustained any material 
pecuniary loss. The plaintiff said he liked to see 
the bushes on the hedge, and he was therefore entitled 
to some damages for their removal. His Honor 
accordingly awarded him £7 damages and costs. 
--*■- 
DAFFODILS AT LONG 
DITTON. 
The season has been a trying one for Daffodils as 
well as all other outdoor subjects. In the early part 
of April the weather was dry and warm, and later on 
it was cold and dry, so that relatively very little 
Narcissus triandrus. 
growth was made notwithstanding the advanced 
period of the year. The dwarfing effect upon the 
Daffodils was most marked until the occurrence of 
some heavy showers of rain, so that the leaves and 
flower stems have now attained something like their 
normal length. Unless very warm weather succeeds 
presently, we may however calculate upon having a 
long Daffodil season. The early ones came straggling 
on, while now we have quite a plethora of all kinds 
excepting the very latest, iucluding those of the N. 
poeticus section. 
The Daffodil fields of Messrs. Barr & Son, at Long 
Ditton, are now very attractive and interesting, and 
as one walks amongst them the agreeable odour of 
several, but particularly the white kinds, is very per¬ 
ceptible. Here and there one comes upon beds and 
patches of other spring flowering subjects, including 
numerous long beds of Anemone fulgens, also Tu¬ 
lips, Hyacinths, Aubrietias, Glory of the Snow 
(Chionodoxa), Hepaticas in various shades of colour, 
and Primulas of various kinds. All are planted in 
long beds about 4 ft. wide, and the different species 
and varieties are planted about in various parts of 
the ground so as to present a mixed appearance. 
The newer and rarer kinds are planted by them¬ 
selves in a cold frame, where a sash can be put over 
them so as to protect them from heavy dashing 
rains. Weardale is one of the finest, owing to the 
great size of the flowers, which have ovate, sulphur- 
yellow segments, and a huge funnel-shaped, golden- 
yellow corona, with a spreading mouth. Glory of 
Leyden has similarly large flowers, with oval seg¬ 
ments of a sulphur-yellow overshaded with a darker 
hue, and having a peculiarly shaped trumpet gradu¬ 
ally widening to the mouth, which is not revolute, as 
is ordinarily the case in this section of Daffodils. 
Madame de Graaff might well be contrasted with 
the last named, as the large trumpet is of a soft, pale. 
lemon-yellow, and remarkably rolled back at the 
mouth. The segments are oblong-oval, and creamy 
white. Another grand sort is Monarch, something in 
the way of Emperor, but larger and several shades 
darker in colour. Lulworth is quite of a different 
type, with a shorter crown of a bright orange on the 
upper half, and creamy- white segments. 
In the open ground are long beds of Bicolor 
Horsefieldi, Empress, and Emperor, now well known 
standard kinds either for pot culture or for bedding 
out. Princeps is an early kind, the flowers of which 
were cut at Easter. The Irish form of it has deeply 
glaucous leaves, while the Dutch form is readily dis¬ 
tinguishable, even to the line of division, by the green¬ 
ness of the foliage. Another of the long trumpet 
Daffodils now very fine is N, maximus, the corona of 
which is deeply lobed (see illustration), and of a 
rich golden yellow. Few, if any, surpass the quiet 
Narcissus Leedsii. 
beauty of N. Johnstoni Queen of Spain, with its 
pretty lemon flowers and revolute segments. The 
beds of it in various parts of the grounds are numer¬ 
ous, and densely covered with a floriferous mass of 
dwarf plants. It is highly effective in beds and 
masses. Amongst the pigmy and interesting pets of 
this section are N. cyclamineus and N. nanus, still in 
full bloom, although they have been in that condition 
for some time past. Near by is the wild N. mos- 
chatus, chaste and pretty. The Swan's Neck, other¬ 
wise known as Wm. Goldring, is a great improve¬ 
ment as far as size is concerned, and the flower 
scapes are remarkably curved, as the first name im¬ 
plies. 
The varieties of N. incomparabilis are still very 
numerous, and some of them are bold and very ser¬ 
viceable for bedding. Sir Watkin still remains the 
champion in this class for size and bold, handsome 
appearance. Ranking near this are Queen Sophia 
and Princess Mary, the large, spreading coronas of 
which are very attractive. The crown of the first 
Narcissus Pseudo-Narcissus maximus. 
named is orange, while that of the other is deep yel¬ 
low and perfectly distinct. The orange and bell¬ 
shaped crown of C. J. Backhouse renders this variety 
an object of great attraction in a collection when the 
flowers are in perfect condition. The corona of 
Beauty is orange at the edge only, but is all the same 
very charming. A strong contrast to either is fur¬ 
nished by Mrs. Langtry, which has white segments 
and a pale yellow crown, ultimately pure white except 
at the edge. Catherine Spurrel has also white seg¬ 
ments, and a pale yellow, bell-shaped crown, and-is 
very pretty in the mass. 
In the N. Barrii section, Conspicua still holds its 
own as one of the largest, most useful, and charm¬ 
ingly coloured. The pale yellow crown is furnished 
with an orange rim. Burbidgei Falstaff is a close 
imitation of the N. poeticus section, but has a longer 
crown of a bright orange-scarlet, and flowers rather 
earlier even than the early varieties of the last named. 
It is charming whether in beds or in the cut state. The 
