104 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
October 19, 1895. 
Amaryllis, Carnation, or Chrysanthemum, 
is creating a tumult amongst the votaries 
of the floral world. At last some lucky 
cultivator makes or thinks he has made the 
desirable find at last; but when he brings 
his acquisition under the public eye and 
the withering glance of carping criticism, 
his hopes and anticipations fade directly, 
for everybody is dissatisfied with his cher¬ 
ished blue variety, which is despised as a 
washy thing, or not blue at all, but some 
other colour to which different authorities 
give different names. The rewards offered 
for a blue Dahlia or Rose have never been 
awarded, if indeed, they have ever been 
claimed. The blue Chrysanthemum is 
regarded as mythical by the sceptical, 
because it has never been seen except on 
gaily painted Japanese vases. 
Amongst the many mauve, lilac, purple, 
and violet varieties of Pansies and Violas, 
the florist has been looking for blue, and at 
last labels it “ true blue ” in a half-doubting 
have-believing mood, simply because it is 
the nearest approach to the thing that is 
wanted. The richly coloured varieties of 
the blue Primroses have been compared 
with the Gentian and found wanting. But 
if neither of the Gentians possess a true 
blue colour, the comparison in this case is 
no criterion. There is, indeed, a number of 
colours amongst the Gentians, and often in 
the same flower ; varieties all tending in 
different directions may be found in Gen- 
tiana acaulis, and probably in others. The 
blue Carnation has been ridiculed as a 
washy thing only comparable to heliotrope. 
Strange to say, from the other side of the 
Atlantic comes the cheerful warning that a 
blue Carnation is in sight in England. 
Nevertheless from the same quarter comes 
the disappointing news that there is no 
such thing as true blue in Flora’s world. 
It is often seen, however, in the sky, and is 
a colour that is devoid of any admixture of 
yellow or red. 
This is the dictum of Mr. F. Schuyler 
Mathews as promulgated in the American 
Florist. He bases his assertion on personal 
experience, but that being necessarily 
limited, he admits that there is a possibility 
that the “ exception which makes the rule,” 
may not have been met with. Another 
writer mentions two flowers he has always 
believed to be true blue—namely, Ipomoea 
Nil and a species of Commelina. Mr. 
Mathews has not seen the Ipomoea in ques¬ 
tion, but is inclined to think that it must 
be a reddish blue, seeing that most of the 
other species tend that way, even the bluest 
of them. Here again the argument of the 
florist is reduced to nil. Many will doubt¬ 
less be surprised to learn that, in the estima¬ 
tion of Mr. Mathews, the nearest approach 
to true blue in the floral world is met with 
in the Forget-me not; yet he is not satisfied 
with it. We are not surprised at that, and 
would have looked in fifty or a hundred 
flowers for such a colour before falling back 
upon a flower which exhibits a pinkish hue 
when it expands, and at best is only of a light 
blue washed with white and having a yellow 
eye. 
“ Blue is as volatile as alcohol ” says 
the same writer, and if that is evidenco 
of the colour under discussion then 
he may find it in the Corn Blue¬ 
bottle, in the wild Chicory, in the best 
coloured forms of Vanda caerulea, in the 
the Harebell, Commelina coelestis, Ipomoea 
Fearii, several of the Tradescantias or 
Spider-worts, Farkspurs, and many others 
which lose their colours entirely, and that 
very rapidly when one attempts to dry the 
cut flowers. Another fact to be remem¬ 
bered is that albinos are found in a state of 
nature amongst nearly all flowers that are 
popularly termed blue. But this also 
applies to pink, rose, red, scarlet, violet and 
other flowers. If Mr. Mathews’ opinion of 
true blue is to be regarded as final, then 
the ideal which the florist has been panting 
to attain would be unattainable. 
-- 
Mr. Henry Mayne, for nearly ten years gardener at 
Newton College, South Devon, has been appointed 
gardener to H. B. Mildmay, Esq., Shoreham Place, 
Sevenoaks, Kent. 
Mr Jay, late gardener at Bracon-Ash Lodge, has 
been appointed to succeed Mr. T. Wynne, gardener 
to the Rev. C. R. Ferguson-Davie, of Yelverton 
Rectory, Norwich. The latter was obliged to resign 
through broken health. 
The Major Oak in Sherwood Forest has a girth of 
30 ft., and the branches overshadow a circle about 
240 ft. in diameter. A hollow in the trunk would 
accommodate twelve persons standing close to¬ 
gether. 
Of Sweet Peas there are at least seven white- 
flowered varieties in cultivation. Some have white 
and others black seeds, the latter being the stronger 
growers. Surely some of the poorest varieties 
could now be weeded out to the advantage of the 
rest. 
Cats and Pansies.—A correspondent of American 
Gardening says that one flower-loving old tabby used 
to sit upon the coarse meshes of the square screen 
used for protection, and, thrusting her paw through, 
turn the Pansy faces upward to admire them, but 
that was all the harm she ever did. 
Cornus Brachypoda is a most distinct species, and 
a fine tree of it, nearly 20 ft. high, stands in the 
Coombe Wood Nursery, of Messrs. J. Veitch & 
Sons, Chelsea. The branches, which spread out 
horizontally, are in tiers, more or less regular, one 
above the other, and so thickly clothed with leaves 
as to give the tree a distinctly solid aspect. The 
leaves are of a shining deep olive-green, and their 
venation is particularly prominent. 
Chippenham Horticultural Society.—On the 5th 
inst. a deputation of this society waited on the 
President, Mr. John Gladstone, of Bowden Park, and 
presented him with a Silver Medal in commemora¬ 
tion of the silver anniversary of the society. The 
medal, which was richly embossed and inscribed, 
was presented by Mr. A. Wright, the secretary, and 
suitably acknowledged by the recipient. 
Preservation of wild flowers.—In Switzerland a 
society has long been formed for the preservation of 
wild flowers and for preventing the wholesale 
destruction of wild plants by offering to supply plants 
and seeds to applicants. Many who noticed that in 
the neighbourhood of all our large towns, lanes, 
woods, and banks of streams are denuded of their 
natural ornaments by careless holiday folk who 
carry away plants at times when there is no chance 
of their bearing transplanting, have suggested that a 
society for the preservation of wild flowers should be 
formed in England. Perhaps the newly-formed 
parish councils will take some action in the matter 
by supplying small seedling plants and seeds to 
applicants. 
Sou rce of I nsect Powder.—The flowers of Chrysanthe¬ 
mum cinerariaefolium are cultivated in Dalmatia, for 
the sole purpose of making the powder which has 
such a reputation as an insect destroyer. The whole 
of the supply of these flowers has hitherto been 
derived from the Austrian province of Dalmatia and 
the neighbouring state, Montenegro. Trieste is the 
market to which these flowers are brought, and from 
thence they are distributed to the average annual 
value of from -£40,000 to £50,000. The plant is one 
that is easily cultivated in any kind of soil, and in 
any warm temperate climate. Within quite recent 
years it is said to have been introduced into Australia, 
California, and South Africa, in each of which its 
cultivation on an extended scale for commercial 
purposes is contemplated. In the neighbourhood of 
Berlin it is also stated that the plant is grown largely, 
but up to the present time Dalmatia is the principal 
source from whence Europe and America draw their 
supplies. 
Mrs. Tarr, of Ford, Wiveliscombe, picked several 
ripe Strawberries last week from her garden. 
When the Princess of Wales returns to her Norfolk 
home at Sandringham House, she will find a second 
crop of Strawberries. 
Cranberry picking has been a remunerative occupa¬ 
tion in the district of Tomintoul, Banffshire, N.B., 
this'season. 
The Orange Crop of Southern California has 
brought a return of £371,400 to the growers this 
year. 
While gathering Samphire in the estuary of the 
Dee at Holywell, a boy was surrounded by the in¬ 
coming tide, washed away and drowned. 
The cloud of smoke which sometimes obscures the 
London sky, especially in autumn and winter, is 
estimated to weigh about 300 tons, of which 250 tons 
are hydro-carbon, the rest solid carbon. A genius 
for figures estimates that the smoke of London for a 
year is worth £2,000,000. 
The oldest of the market women of Paris has just 
died at the age of 94. She supplied vegetables to the 
Tuileries in the days of Charles X. and Napoleon 
III., and for many years it was believed that the 
Emperor was in love with her. 
Weeds that might be useful.—There are two 
plants, says The Echo, regarded as weeds in America 
that might become useful vegetables under cultiva¬ 
tion. One is the wild Lettuce, common on the plains, 
which may be gathered in abundance in spring. It 
resists heat and dryness remarkably well. The other 
is the Astragalus crassicarpus, whose prolific seeds 
partake of the flavour of the Haricot, Asparagus, and 
Salsify. It is ready in the beginning of May. Most 
of our succulent vegetables have a humble origin. 
Out of the many thousands of wild plants only a 
hundred or two are used as food, but selection and 
cultivation would no doubt render many others 
edible. 
Widcombe Horticultural Club.—There was an 
interesting exhibition of fruit at the monthly 
gathering of the members of the Widcombe Horti- 
ticultural Club, held on the 8th inst. at the Church 
room, Widcombe Hill. Prizes were offered for eight 
and four dishes, 'and in the larger class there was 
some very keen competition. Mr. G. Hayes (Lord 
Weymouth's gardener) beat all his friendly rivals 
with a charming collection, comprising, besides 
Apples and Pears, dishes of Nuts, Grapes and Straw¬ 
berries. Mr. J. Hinton, the president of the club, 
ran him very close. In the smaller competition Mr. 
W. T. Dudley took the prize. Mr. F. Nash after¬ 
wards contributed an excellent paper on Rose 
Culture, basing his observations on the results of 
many years' experience of Rose growing. 
Scottish Horticultural Association.—A meeting of 
the Scottish Horticultural Association was held at 
5, St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, on the 1st inst,. 
Mr. R. W. E. Murray, Blackford House, the 
president, in the chair. Mr. Charles Comfort, 
Broomfield, Davidson’s Mains, contributed a paper 
on " Herbaceous plants as a source of cut-flower 
supply.” Mr. Comfort pointed out that at no time 
in the history of horticulture was there such a 
demand for cut flowers as at the present. This in¬ 
creased deman'd had naturally led to many marked 
changes in the character and the composition of our 
collections of plants, both indoors and out of doors. 
These changes were simply the result of the opera¬ 
tion of the law of supply and demand. Cut flowers 
were wanted in great quantities, and it was the 
business of horticulturists to give increased attention 
to the improvement of the class of plants for which 
the demand existed. 
Birkenhead Gardeners’ Association.—The opening 
meeting of the second session of the Birkenhead 
and District Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement 
Association was held on the 24th ult., in the large 
hall of the Y.M.C.A., Grange Road, when a 
lecture entitled “Holland and the Bulb Growers ” 
was delivered by Mr. Wilson Ker, of Liverpool, 
who, besides being an enthusiastic and pro¬ 
minent grower of bulbs, has been in the habit 
of paying visits to Holland since 1862, and 
