August 20, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
807 
treated are now a perfect mass of flowers of the most 
brilliant colours. 
The very best are then selected and labels put to 
them denoting the various colours and qualities of 
each for growing in pots next year. Mr. Ford also 
uses a great quantity for bedding purposes in the 
flower garden, several beds of which are looking very 
gay. They seem adapted for this purpose far more 
than Pelargoniums, especially in wet seasons, fcr in¬ 
stead of the rain spoiling the flowers as is the case 
with Pelargoniums and many other kinds of bedding 
plants, it seems to brighten them up and make them 
look even more beautiful. 
To give your readers a faint idea of the quality of 
these plants, Mr. Ford exhibited on the nth inst. 
seven plants at the Maidenhead Flower Show, each 
one of which was awarded a First-class Certificate, 
and I am quite confident he might have shown dozens 
equally as good. With the stock of plants Mr. Ford 
has in hand to work upon next year, we shall expect 
to see some extraordinary good specimens, for it 
seems he has found out the secret of growing this 
beautiful class of plants to the highest perfection.— 
J.c. 
[A boxful of blooms taken from the above plants 
and accompanying this article amply bore out the 
statement of our correspondent as to the size and 
quality of the flowers, which were really wonderful 
considering the small size of the pots in which they 
had been grown. Although Mr. Ford has only re¬ 
cently undertaken the culture of tuberous Begonias, 
he has already given good evidence of his ability as a 
grower. The variety of colour was very extensive, 
including scarlet, crimson, rose-pink, blush, white, 
and yellow in numerous tints and combinations. 
Some of the varieties were not all that could be de¬ 
sired as to shape, but others were as round or cir¬ 
cular as could be desired. Of course all the flowers 
sent us were single, with the sepals in many cases of 
good substance. The conditions of culture must 
have been excellent.— Ed.] 
•-•*»- 
CHICAGO EXHIBITION. 
Horticultural Department. 
Work in this department has been greatly retarded 
by the unusually heavy rainfalls of the last two 
months, and the cyclonic conditions frequently ac¬ 
companying. The rustic columns which form a 
colonnade round the Forestry Building are now be¬ 
ing placed. They are natural tree trunks contributed 
from the various States. The work on this is nearly 
finished. 
A carved panel for the Women's Building from 
Omaha has attracted much attention. It is a con¬ 
ventional design on oak of oak leaves and acorns. 
One of the best has come from Alabama. It is a 
bold design of Magnolia leaves and blossoms, 
natural size. Many others are being received, all 
from lady carvers in the different States. 
A notable thing being done in various localities is 
the sending of circulars throughout the State asking 
for contributions of specimens of pressed native 
flowers, to make as complete an exhibit as 
possible. This cannot fail to be interesting and 
instructive. 
Goods marked " for exhibition purposes only ” will 
not be allowed to be sold till after the close of the 
season. This will be rigidly enforced by inspectors. 
All the merchandise will have to pay the Customs 
duties assessed when taken out of the bonded ware¬ 
houses on the grounds (in which they will be stored 
on arrival) for sale purposes. Should any extra 
portion of those be required for exhibition they can 
be used duty free by so marking them. 
The Illinois State Horticultural Association has 
decided to make a continuous exhibit of all the hor¬ 
ticultural products of the State throughout the 
exhibition. Twenty thousand square feet of space 
has been set aside in the department for this 
purpose. A proposal is being mooted at present 
which will place this department, along with several 
others, under one head—that of the present chief of 
the Agricultural Department, in order to effect a 
large saving in salaries. As yet, however, it is 
impossible to say whether this will be carried out or 
not. 
France has come to the front in great style by 
offering to take charge, at its own expense, of the 
whole decoration, with gardens, of the spaces sur¬ 
rounding the Horticultural and Women’s Buildings. 
France evidently intends to transcend its reputation 
as a country of landscape artists, as the expense of 
transportation and labour alone involved in this 
great offer will be enormous. Six months ago 
French horticulturists declined to make any exhibit, 
and now they ask for an allotment of at least 60,000 
square feet on the outside. The interest so rapidly 
developing is extremely gratifying to the manage¬ 
ment; and it is to be hoped that British horticul¬ 
turists will not be found wanting, but will make at 
least an equally fine display. Such a display will 
pay well here, as prices are very much higher than 
in Britain for all kinds of nursery stock 
The State of Missouri is storing at its head¬ 
quarters, St. Louis, forestry and horticultural speci¬ 
mens from all parts of the State. There are 200 
varieties of trees grown, and specimens will be sent 
to Chicago. A large forestry exhibit is expected 
from Minnesota. 
In the landscape department 235 men and fifty 
teams are hard at work spreading black loam for 
flower-beds, grading and seeding the wooded island, 
distributing spare sod where required, and grading 
permanent roads. Over 4,000 square yards of 
gravel have already been spread and rolled on road¬ 
ways. The New York World, in an article lately on 
Chicago, criticises the arrangements of floral designs 
at a South Side Park as follows :— 
“ Chicago has fine parks, and it would be wrong 
to hang the man in charge of the flowers in the park 
that visitors will see on their road to the Exposition. 
To hang such a man as that would be to drag 
murderers down to his level. He has disfigured 
that fine park with the following horrible things : 
Two facsimiles (life-size) of a man rowing in a boat, 
built up of Cacti, or something of that sort ; a huge 
‘ gates ajar ’ on top of a grassy slope, and on either 
side of the gate—O, dreadful deed!—a correct 
imitation, made in beautiful flowers, of a roll of 
carpet half unrolled. 
He has also a calendar made of flowers, in which 
he changes the date each day ; a flower sun-dial, an 
imitation of the earth's surface in flowers, etc. But 
all the items in his horticultural chamber of horrors 
fade beside the imitation of rolls of carpet. A man 
who would be guilty of such a crime as that would 
try to make individual roses look like kidneys. It is 
sincerely to be hoped that Chicago will do away 
with these horrors, and avoid being ridiculous in the 
eyes of all the civilised gardeners who may visit the 
Fair." 
I confess to a certain sneaking sympathy with the 
man whose handiwork is thus ruthlessly assailed. 
No doubt he was pluming himself for a wider 
flight next year, and now New York has spoken, and 
he is doubtless mourning in sackcloth and ashes. 
All the same, the country cousins, who will make up 
a large portion of the visitors, would be hugely 
delighted with such a display, and especially with 
the pattern of the carpet. We cannot all be artistic, 
and it is to be feared that many of us cannot even 
appreciate high Art—with a capital A—when we see 
it, in floral designs or otherwise.— C. Macquarie, 
Chicago. 
-- 
Hardening Miscellany. 
SCYTHE MOWING. 
I was much pleased to read "D's” remarks at p. 
769 on this subject, for I had often thought about 
the same thing. It rests with the head gardeners of 
to-day to see that it does not become a lost art. I 
well remember, when foreman at a place near 
London, in 1876, how the break-down of the large 
lawn-mower caused us to fall back upon the scythe. 
The chief took the opportunity to remind the young 
men that they then had a good chance of trying 
their hand with the ancient implement, and would 
find a knowledge of how to use it of great benefit, if 
ever they came to have charge of a place. I availed 
myself of the opportunity, and commenced at 5 a m. 
and continued until breakfast-time. I was placed 
between two old hands, and found it more difficult 
than I had thought, especially the sharpening, which 
one or the other of the old men did for me the first 
few mornings. It is one of those things that practice 
makes perfect in. My shoulders felt anything but 
comfortable after the first lessen or two, but I have 
found the benefit of the chief's advice many times 
since. Tnere is also another matter which the same 
gardener used strongly to urge upon the young men 
under him, which was always to " look well after the 
pot," meaning thereby the kitchen garden depart¬ 
ment. I find that many young men now developing 
into gardeners know very little about this branch of 
our profession, and they will surely find themselves 
in an awkward plight when they have to overlook 
others, if they lack a sound knowledge of kitchen 
garden management. A few years back when in 
Essex, being in want of a journeyman, I applied to a 
well-known nursery firm for a young man who could 
use a scythe and had a fair knowledge of kitchen 
garden work. They replied, " We are unable to send 
you a young man suitable for the work you name ” 
When at Chiswick, just 20 years ago, one of the old 
men (“ Shaddy ") used to say with pride, that Mr. 
A. F. Barron when he first started with R. H. S 
was one of the best short grass cutters in the 
gardens, and that would, I think, be in the time of the 
late Mr. Robert Thompson. The work can in no 
sense be degrading, judging from the high position 
which Mr. Barron has since taken in the horticultu¬ 
ral world.— B., Manchester. 
ERIGERON SALUGINOSUS. 
The flowers of this species are about ij in. in 
diameter with very numerous white rays and a pale 
yellow centre. The leafy stems are 18 in. high, and 
very floriferous, so that a mass of the plant is very 
effective. A large quantity of it is grown in the 
nursery of Mr. T. S. Ware, Hale Farm, Tottenham. 
Botanists include it amongst the Asters, but the 
numerous rays of the head seem against this classifi¬ 
cation. The quantity of flowers it produces when 
grown under very ordinary conditions is sufficient to 
recommend it to all lovers of hardy plants. Being 
a native of North America it is perfectly hardy, but 
by no means common, although introduced as long 
ago as 1827. There is a taller form, with larger 
flowers, in cultivation. 
LINUM FLAVUM. 
In the southern part of Britain this proves perfectly 
hardy, requiring no protection in the open ground 
and is a more effective plant even than L. arborenm, 
because it grows taller and produces a greater 
quantity of bloom of a clear golden yellow. The 
flowering stems are very short in L. arboreum, but 
those of L. flavum rise to a height of 12 in. or 18 in. 
bearing a loose panicle of bloom. The glaucous 
leaves are oblanceolate or spathulate, not unlike 
those of its ally, but less numerous and not crowded. 
A large batch of it has been flowering freely for 
many weeks past in the nursery of Mr. T. S. Ware, 
Tottenham. 
CHINESE PINKS AS BEDDING PLANTS. 
Many yeats ago, Chinese Pinks, but particularly the 
strain known as Dianthus chinensis Heddewigi, were 
grown to some extent as summer bedding plants. 
Again there seems to be some reaction in their 
favour, as we have seen several instances of it lately. 
The large flowers and their warm colours possess 
much to recommend them. In some instances the 
finer varieties are selected and grown separately; but 
in most cases they are grown in mixture, as at Falk¬ 
land Park, South Norwood Hill, the residence of 
J. McMeekin, Esq., where we noted a great variety 
of colours. The plants are only about 6 in. high, 
with single flowers as a rule measuring 2 in to 2§ in. 
across. Some of them are crimson with a rose 
edge, others white with crimson centre, white with a 
five-rayed blotch, crimson with a pink eye, carmine 
and flaked with rose at the edge, carmine and white 
with a pinkish purple centre. There are a number of 
double ones amongst them, but they are neither so 
conspicuous nor showy as the single ones, which are 
mostly brighter in colour with larger flowers. 
GLADIOLUS COOPERI. 
A considerable number of species of Gladioli have 
been introduced from time to time, but only a few'of 
them have been taken in hand by the florist. There 
are several wild types with relatively large flowers, 
and G. Cooperi, which was introduced in 1862, is one 
of them, It has stems about 18 in. high, and widely 
spreading flowers with recurved segments, of a soft 
salmon red, and an elliptic, richly coloured blotch on 
each of the three lower segments. The leaves are 
ensiform, and of moderate width. The above is des¬ 
criptive of the flowers of some plants at Kew, but the 
colours do not correspond with recorded descrip¬ 
tions. 
