552 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
April 80. 1892. 
Narcissus, Violet, and Rose, as well as Ivy and 
sweet-smelling trees. When we come to the 
Romans we find that Lucullus had a colossal land¬ 
scape garden in which he raised hills, dug out lakes, 
built towers, and grew countless choice exotics. 
The Rose was the favourite Roman flower, and for 
the decoration with it of one of her suppers 
Cleopatra is said to have paid an Egyptian talent— 
more than ^200. The Roman gardeners forced the 
Roses by means of plates of talc warmed by hot 
water and placed over the trees. The gardeners’ 
craft declined with the Roman empire, but was re¬ 
vived by Charlemagne. 
Of early English gardens we have little infor¬ 
mation previous to Alexander Necham, Abbot of 
Cirencester, in the reigns of Henry II., Richard I., 
and John Speaking of the ideal garden he writes — 
" Here the garden should be adorned with Roses and 
Lilies, the Turnsole, Violets and Mandrake; there 
you should have Parsley, Cort, Fennel, Southern¬ 
wood, Coriander, Sage, Savory, Hyssop, Mint Rue. 
Dittany, Smallage, Pellitory, Lettuces, Garden Cress, 
and Peonies.” In early conveyances the Rose was 
frequently reserved as a quit-rent, its place being 
afterwards taken by the unpicturesque peppercorn, 
Coming to the 14th century we have a description- 
by King James I. of Scotland, of the garden of 
Windsor Castle, where he was imprisoned, as a 
place full of trees, with hawthorn walks and 
arbours ; 
And myddis every herbore might be sene 
The sharp, green, sweete jenepere. 
Lawns with groups of trees, and mounds having 
steps up them, seem to be among the charac¬ 
teristic features of the gardens of this date. The 
mound, indeed, appears to have been in favour a 
long time, as Leland, w T riting in 1540, describing a 
north country garden, says, 
And yn the orchardes were mounts writhen 
About with degrees, like the turnings in 
Cokil shelles, to come to the top without payne. 
Such a mound, crowned wdth a little summer house, 
I well remember seeing somewhere in the Midlands 
—I think at Boscobel, where the garden of the 
historic house is delightfully rigid, and as redolent of 
the antique world as the black oak beams of the 
building itself. In Elizabeth’s time the craft of 
gardening had become scientific, and to some extent 
artificial, yet with a delightful artificiality which 
does not seem to outrage nature. The charm of 
our old world gardens Diderot expresses admirably 
by saying that they " seem to be the sanctuary of a 
sweet and placid pleasure,” and compare most 
favourably with the elaborate gardens on the other 
side of the channel. 
-•*>- 
■Hardening §[iscellany. 
DAPHNE BLAGAYANA. 
The flowers of hardy evergreen Daphnes are 
generally poor in colour, small in size, and much 
hidden by the foliage. D. Blagayana differs in all 
these respects, for the flowers are large, white, and 
produced in dense clusters from the apex of the 
previous year's shoots. The leaves are dark green 
and leathery, and are most closely arranged around 
or near the top of the shoots. It is a native of the 
mountains of Eastern Europe, is of very slow growth, 
and therefore adapted for planting on rockwork 
amongst stones, not dry rubble, but with sufficient 
depth of soil below, so that the roots will be well 
supplied with moisture during the summer months 
when making fresh growth. 
SAX1FRAGA SCARELLICA. 
In this we have another addition to the yellow- 
flowered section of Saxifragas. The flowers are 
borne in clusters or cymes, on stems 2 in. to 4 in. high, 
and are large, pale primrose-yellow, and resemble to 
some extent those of Saxifraga arctioides primulina, 
but the leaves are larger and more resemble those of 
S. Rocheliana coriophylla. They are linear-lanceo¬ 
late, acute, and produced in small rosettes forming 
close tufts. The close and compact habit of the 
plant makes it suitable for pot work, so that when 
placed in a frame or hardy plant house it may be 
had in bloom some time previous to that planted out 
of doors 
REMOVING FLOWERS FROM POTAT03. 
Mr. W. B. Jeffries writes from Ipswich to the 
Morning Post :—“ I read the extract in your paper 
from the Journal du Jura as to the effect of removing 
the flowers from Potato plants. Your readers may 
like to kno>v of its beneficial results. My kitchen 
garden had not more than 6 in. of soil ere we were 
upon sand. When it came into my possession many 
years since my gardener w r as very dowm-hearted at 
the prospect of growing thereon good crops of vege¬ 
tables, but he succeeded in getting a better depth of 
soil by degrees by breaking up the sub-soil a few 
inches deeper each year and mixing clay from a 
brick-yard, spread on the surface before winter and 
made friable by the frost in addition to the 
usual manurings, but even then Potatos were very 
small. He tried various experiments, and at last drew 
out all small sapling growths when 4 in. or 5 in. long, 
and cut oft all flowers as they appeared. This 
answered so well that the practice has been continued 
for nearly forty years and well repaid the extra atten¬ 
tion. Producing and ripening seed is a tax upon the 
energies of any plant, especially so upon the Potato, 
which provides for its reproduction by its under¬ 
ground tubers. But if allowed to produce seed, and 
it begins to ripen, the tubers stop growing and 
the plants die off. I trust the above remarks may 
induce others to adopt the plan, and thereby increase 
the yield of so useful a vegetable.” 
PRIMULA FORBESI 
A flowering specimen of this species of Primula 
might have been seen for some time past in the hardy 
plant house at Kew. It was obtained from M. 
Vilmorin, of Paris, in October last, and has thriven 
very satisfactorily. The leaves are oblong or roun¬ 
dish, and toothed, and in general aspect and texture 
resemble those of P. cortusoides, but are much 
smaller. The flower stems are remarkably slender 
for those of a Primula which grows about i2-in. to 
16 in. high. The flowers are borne in whorls, tier 
above tier, in the same manner as those of P. 
japonica, but they are considerably smaller, pale 
rosy purple, with an orange eye, and obovate, 
toothed segments. The species is said to be only 
of annual duration,so that unless seeds are produced 
in quantity and germinate freely we cannot expect it 
to enjoy such a wide-spread popularity as P. obco- 
nica, P. japonica, or P. Sieboldi. It is, notwithstand¬ 
ing, very pretty and interesting on account of its dis¬ 
tinctness from the rest of the section to which it be¬ 
longs. 
A MINIATURE EVENING PRIMROSE. 
The habit of Morisia hypogaea is more like that of the 
common Primrose than that of the Evening Primrose, 
and it is even dwarfer with bright yellow flowers just 
peering above the foliage. The plant, however, 
belongs to the same natural order as the Evening 
Primrose (CEnothera) and the Fuchsia, and has erect 
flowers with four petals. Curiously enough the 
leaves resemble the Dandelion in the peculiar manner 
in which they are lobed, but they are altogether 
smaller, neater, and of a deep green, forming a 
compact little tuft, studded with golden yellow 
flowers. It may be seen upon the rockery at Kew, 
where it has been flowering for some time past under 
the shelter of a large evergreen Cistus, which 
doubtless has contributed largely to its safety during 
the winter months. Owing to the dwarf habit of the 
plant, the rockery is certainly the best place for it, 
as it would be altogether lost in the open border. 
LI LI U M ROSEUM. 
This Himalayan species is perhaps more often known 
under the name of L. Thomsonianum, but whatever 
it may be called there can be no question of its being 
both pretty and interesting, because so different from 
other species in cultivation. The most of the linear 
grassy leaves are crowded together at the base of 
the stems, precisely in a similar manner to that of 
Paradisia Liliastrum. The flowers are also droop¬ 
ing, and produced in a raceme, as in the last named, 
and they are of a soft rose or lilac, with long narrow 
segments becoming revolnte at the apex as they get 
fully expanded. The stems generally average about 
18 in. in height, so that taken altogether the plant is 
very amenable to pot culture, and being scarcely 
hardy the best place for it is a cool greenhouse, or 
one specially built for growing and showing off hardy 
plants to the best advantage. It has been flowering 
for some time past in the nursery of Mr. T. S. Ware, 
Tottenham. 
THE FIRE PINK. 
Several of the Silenes are very popular amongst 
lovers of hardy plants, but although this was origin¬ 
ally introduced in 1783, it cannot be said to have at¬ 
tained the popularity of the Old World kinds, in¬ 
cluding some of the British natives. Silene virgin- 
iana has probably been lost and re-introduced several 
times since its first appearance in this country, so 
that it is practically new to most growers. The leaves 
are linear, and of a rich green hue, while the flowers 
are of a rich crimson hue, as the popular name im¬ 
plies, and borne in a loose cyme at the top of the 
stems, which are 1 ft. to 2 ft. high. Small plants 
flower even when they are much dwarfer than that. 
It should be planted in a warm and sheltered position 
on the rockery, where the rich colour of its flowers 
will be appreciated. We noted some pieces of it in 
the nursery of Mr. T. S. Ware, at Tottenham, where 
they were pushing up for bloom some time ago. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS, 
Sobralia Macrantha. 
This fine terrestrial Orchid is just now making a 
beautiful display in one of the plant stoves at 
"Beechy Lees,” Otford, Sevenoaks, the charming 
residence of Barclay Field, Esq. The plant has 
numerous growths, twenty-five of which are putting 
forth their gorgeous blossoms. It produces about 
six blooms to each lead, only one of which is 
fully expanded at one time, and this lasts three days 
in perfection ; thus it will be seen there will be a 
succession of bloom for at least three weeks. 
Mr. R. Edwards, the able gardener, when potting 
uses good fibrous peat, a little loam which is of the 
best, with some silver sand and bits of broken pots 
added. The plant is potted rather low down with 
good drainage, and during growth an abundance of 
water is afforded, with an occasional dose of liquid 
manure.— S. C. 
Dendnobiums from Philiphaugh. 
A box of blooms of Dendrobium nobile, picked from 
imported plants, has reached us from Mr. Thomp¬ 
son, gardener to Wm. Steel, Esq., of Philiphaugh, 
Selkirk, N.B. The flowers were for the most part 
pale in hue, but of great size and peculiar colour in 
the throat. The dark-coloured flowers were smaller, 
but of good substance, shining and waxy. They 
were of the true D. nobile type, though comparable 
to those of D. Freemani. Some of the largest 
flowers were very handsome on account of the large 
size of all the parts, but particularly that of the lip, 
the dark blotch in the throat of which was similar 
to that seen in D. Ainsworthii. One of them had 
the flattened lip of the latter of great size, and in¬ 
folded at the sides near the base only. The edge of 
the blotch ran out into streaks, so that on the whole 
the resemblance was considerable. Some idea of its 
size may be gleaned from the fact that the lamina 
measured somewhat over iiin. across. Had the 
segments been of the same rich hue as those of 
D. nobile nobilius, the variety would have taken rank 
as one of the first water in the species. 
Cypripedium exul. 
This name has been given to a Cypripedium which 
appeared at the Drill Hall, on the 12th inst. under 
the name of C. insigne Imschootianum, and again on 
the 19th inst. as C. exul. It appears that Mr. 
Ridley, of Singapore, regards it as a variety of 
C. insigne, but other authorities regard it as a true 
species. The leaves are ligulate, channelled, of a 
bright green, and 6 in. to 12 in. long. The one- 
flowered scape is pubescent and about 12 in. long. 
The upper sepal is the prettiest and most conspicuous 
organ of the flower, being ovate, and green in the 
lower central part, copiously marked all over with 
black blotches and having a broad white edge. The 
lower sepal is very large, ovate and yellowish with 
green lines. The petals are spathulate, incurved, 
undulate, greenish-yellow, shaded with brown along 
the centre, with a few black spots at the base, where 
there is a patch of black hairs. The lip is short and 
yellowish shaded with pale brown. The flower as a 
whole is considerably smaller than that of an average 
specimen of C. insigne, and has somewhat the 
appearance of being intermediate between C. insigne 
and C. Druryi, although distinct from either. 
It was shown by R.J. Measures, Esq. (gardener, Mr. 
H. Simpkins), Cambridge Lodge, Camberwell, and 
received an Award of Merit, at the Drill Hall, on the 
19th inst. 
