696 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
May 16, 1896. 
as Sutton's new perpetual-flowering varieties for 
bedding and greenhouse decoration. The hand¬ 
somest is Crimsom Gem with |rich carmine-red 
flowers and crimson-bronze foliage. The flowers of 
Duchess of Edinburgh are large and white, 
suffused with pink. Other handsome varieties are 
Reading Snowflake, large, pure white ; Duchess of 
York, with carmine flowers, produced in great pro¬ 
fusion over a long period ; and Coral Gem, of a soft 
rosy or peach hue. All of these may be raised from 
seeds separately or they may be had in mixture. 
-- 
Hardening Miscellany. 
TULIP YELLOW ROSE. 
Several varieties of double Tulip are brought into 
prominence every spring by being grown for bedding 
purposes. Some of them are very inferior to the old 
variety known as Yellow Rose, and a few are positively 
ugly until they are fully developed when they 
improve somewhat. A bright, almost golden-yellow, 
double Tulip is very rare and none so decided as that 
just mentioned. A quantity of well-formed blooms 
was sent us last week by Mr. Robert Moffat, New 
Stead, Melrose, where they have been growing for 
over twenty years. He enquires as to whether it is 
rare, to which we reply that it is not rare, but un¬ 
common as a bedding plant. It is offered in many 
of the catalogues every year, and omitted from 
others. Why this should be we cannot say, for it is 
well worth growing on account of the flowers which 
are very double, yet not crowded with petals which 
are rich yellow, with the exception of a bright green 
stripe on the back of some of the outer ones. There 
can be no difficulty in cultivating it seeing that the 
flowers come so fine in the open border every year in 
a locality so far to the north of Britain. 
DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND. 
Very often do we find evidence of the remarkable 
power of penetration possessed by roots. Not only 
do they penetrate the tissues of dead roots and 
other substances, but they pierce one another when 
occasion offers. About the beginning of the year 
some roots of Chicory that had behaved in this way 
weresent usby Mr.A.Pentney, Worton Hall Gardens, 
Isleworth. Recently when digging up some young 
plants of Asparagus he came upon other cases of the 
same kind of work, and sent them on to our office. 
Two of the fleshy roots had crossed the path of two 
others and were completely pierced through as if by 
some sharp instrument. One of these pairs were at 
right angles to one another, and the other pair at an 
acute angle ; but all the same the obstructed roots 
bored their way completely through their fellows and 
thickened in situ. Doubtless this power is due as 
much to the acid contained in the growing tip of the 
root as to its power or twisting movements. 
RHODODENDRON DALHOUSIAE. 
Most gardeners are familiar with epiphytical 
Orchids, but the subject of this note is, perhaps, 
unique in its way in being epiphytical upon trees in 
the Sikkim Himalayas, particularly upon Oaks and 
Magnolias. It seems, however, to occasion no 
difficulty in its cultivation, judging from a healthy 
and floriferous specimen in the nursery of Messrs J. 
Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. The ’flowers are of great 
size, deeply bell-shaped and white with a pale 
yellow blotch at the base of the tube, which is raised 
into five large rounded ridges with corresponding 
furrows between. When they are just opening they 
are tinged with the faintest amber hue passing into 
pure white when fully developed. It may here be 
stated that some of the plants raised from seeds have 
their flowers more or less flushed with rose. This 
is absent, however, from the specimen at Chelsea. 
The elliptic-obovate, leathery leaves are dark green 
above and paler beneath. The flowers are lemon- 
scented and vary from 3J in. to 4J in. in length, 
having a noble appearance. 
NARCISSUS JUNCIFOLIUS. 
Those who fail to see beauty in any but the large 
flowering types of Daffodil, will find little to admire 
in this species; but those who can admire an 
interesting little plant for the rockery or similar 
positions, could do worse than add this species to his 
collection. The leaves are narrow, dark-green and 
rush-like-forming a dense tuft from amongst which 
the small yellow, and fragrant flowers arise. Some 
idea of their general appearance may be gleaned 
from the fact that they closely resemble the flowers 
of a Jonquil in miniature. A fine bed of it about 
8ft. or 10ft. long by 4ft. in width, may be seen in the 
nursery of Messrs. Barr & Sons, Long Ditton, Surrey. 
It is in the open air, but sheltered from the north 
and east winds by a wooden fence. The species is a 
native of Spain, Portugal and the South of France. 
Its flowering period would seem to be late, for on 
former occasions it has bloomed about the middle of 
April. 
PARROT TULIPS. 
At the present time nothing in our garden is more 
beautiful than these Tulips. We grow them in big 
patches, and when the sun is shining on them the 
sight is lovely. Some three years ago we bought 
several hundreds, planting them in various situations. 
The first year they bloomed but little, but this spring 
we are rewarded with a glorious mass of colour, and 
nothing could more correctly resemble the parrot in 
colour than this type of Tulips. As cut flowers they 
are splendid, and they continue fresh a long time in 
water when cut in the bud state. It is pleasant to 
see this class of Tulips coming into cultivation again. 
For years past we have lost many of these good old 
garden favourites owing to the bedding craze,— 
Chard. 
EPIPHYLLUM RUSSELLIANUM GAERTNERI. 
The branchlets or joints of this beautiful garden 
plant are oblong-cuneate, and furnished with long 
rusty bristles, like eyelashes at their apices from 
amongst which the graceful and showy flowers arise. 
The plant is naturally of drooping habit, and there¬ 
fore suitable for growing in the form of small 
standards, worked upon the Pereskia stock. With a 
small amount of attention the heads may be trained 
in pyramidal form just as easily as in globular shape ; 
in fact the former shape seems the most natural. 
The flowers are widely expanded, nearly regular, and 
consist of very numerous, lanceolate, pointed 
segments of a lively scarlet colour. They are, there¬ 
fore, very graceful and entirely different in general 
aspect from those of the better known garden 
varieties of E. truncatum. The plant is of easy 
cultivation, and flowers regularly and profusely when 
kept in an intermediate house. When in bloom, it 
may with great advantage be transferred to the 
conservatory or utilised in other ways for decorative 
purposes. 
RHODODENDRON LA BELLE.„ 
In this we have a very beautiful garden hybrid of 
which R. ciliatum is one of the parents. The 
leaves are even smaller than in that case, and strongly 
ciliate with hairs that at first are white but ultimately 
change to a rusty hue when fully developed. One of 
the most important features of the plant, however, 
is its dwarf habit, and the freedom with which it 
flowers in 48-sized pots. The large bell-shaped 
flowers are pure white with the exception of a few 
yellow spots at the very base. We noted a number 
of specimens of various sizes in the nursery of 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, recently, and the 
small specimens were flowering as freely as the large 
ones. Young plants will even flower in 60-sized pots 
though the most useful plants are developed in a 
slightly larger size. The intermediate house supplies 
the most suitable temperature. 
THE SNOWDROP-TREE. 
Considering the great beauty of this tree (botanically 
known as Halesia tetraptera) during the month of 
May it is surprising that it should be comparatively 
so rare in gardens. It is a native of the Eastern 
United States, and proves perfectly hardy in the 
southern and more favoured portions of Britain at 
least. A splendid specimen profusely flowered may 
be seen near the Temperate h .use in Kew Gardens. 
The flowers are produced in numerous small clusters 
all along the previous year’s wood, and all are 
suspended from the under side of the spreading 
branches. They are bell-shaped and creamy in the 
half-grown state, but as soon as they get perfectly 
developed, they become pure white, and resemble 
the flowers of a Snowdrop in no small degree, but to 
a greater extent those of the Snowflake The 
flowers in conjunction with the young and developing 
leaves are very attractive. 
TULIPA RETROFLEXA. 
No Tulips are more formal, as far as shape is con¬ 
cerned, than the English Florist’s varieties, and none 
are more informal than some of the garden forms 
grown for decorative purposes. The subject of this 
note is altogether a beautiful and exceedingly grace¬ 
ful Tulip without any attempt at being gaudy. The 
flowers are soft canary-yellow, and all the segments 
are reflexed or recurved above the middle, so that 
they are totally unlike the common run of Tulips. 
Owing also to the length of the segments, the flowers 
possess a light and graceful elegance. The scapes 
are 18 in. to 2 ft. high, making this Tulip well 
adapted for the centre of beds as may be seen at 
Kew, where a broad belt of a blush-flowered and 
dwarfer variety serves to show off the taller yellow 
one. 
KALMIA GLAUCA. 
A fine bed of this American plant belonging to the 
Heath family may be seen near the Palm house at 
Kew. The dense habited bushes are 1 ft. to ij ft. 
high, and are densely covered with a profusion of 
rosy-pink flowers of the well-known saucer-shape 
peculiar to this genus. The species takes its name 
from the deep glaucous or sea-green hue of the under 
side of the leaves, which are small, oblong and deep 
green above. In peaty soil or that of a character 
calculated to keep cool and retain a certain amount 
of moisture during the summer months, this plant 
thrives and flowers profusely with a minimum of 
attention. It is also perfectly hardy even in the 
most northern counties of Britain. 
-- 
NOTICES OF BOOKS. 
Cottage Gardening : a Practical Manual with 
Calendar of Gardening Operations. YV. and R. 
Chambers, Limited, London and Edinburgh. 
Price 6d. (Bound in Cloth limp, 8d.) 
This small manual deals with the three leading 
divisions of gardening, namely, vegetable, fruit, and 
flower culture, taken in the order named. Vege¬ 
tables are certainly the most important item in the 
cottager’s garden from a useful and economical point 
of view; yet when one examines the gardens 
generally it is evident that there is a great variation 
of opinion whether the garden is in front or behind 
the house. Some confine their cultures almost 
entirely to vegetables and others as decidedly to 
flowers, while fruits are comparatively neglected 
except in a few cases of well to do people with plenty 
of space. There is also a monthly calendar at the 
end of the book, which runs to seventy-nine pages, 
including a good index. This, we consider a matter 
of importance, seeing that no special plan of arrange¬ 
ment is adopted. 
The size of the book does not give much scope for 
novelty in this respect; but with the index and the 
fact that each chapter is summarised at the end of 
each, the cottager who seeks for information in its 
pages will have little difficulty in laying his fiDger, 
or placing his eye upon all the principal facts they 
contain. The second chapter deals with the Potato, 
Rhubarb and the Turnip, having little or no 
connection with one another. The groups in the 
third chapter (Peas, Beans and Kidney Beans), and 
in the fourth (the Carrot, Parsnip and Beet) are very 
natural, and their significance obvious to most 
cultivators. The cultural directions are clear, 
precise and generally quite orthodox, having been 
given by a man who is a cultivator ; but some things 
occur to which exception might be taken. For 
instance, in planting Apples, about 6 in. of soil 
are advised to be dug out, the tree planted, and after 
filling in the 6 in. of soil, another 6 in. is to be 
heaped above, making 12 in. of soil above the roots 
which we consider too much. The Plum on the 
contrary does not require to be planted at a small 
depth, and the soil heaped above it as advised for 
the Apple, because it likes a damp soil. The 
experience gained with the Apple must surely have 
been gained in a wet locality. The method of treat¬ 
ment in our opinion would entirely depend upon the 
nature of the soil, where planting is to be done. 
Fruit trees, bushes, and other small fruits are dealt 
with at some length; but the two chapters on 
flowers are short but readable. 
