September 7, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
5 
had always received from the late and the present Lord 
Shrewsbury. The cup was then “crowned with wine,’’ 
and Mr. Raboue’s health was heartily pledged by the 
company. 
Disappointed Exhibitors. — “ One of the bullied ” 
writes :—We want a muzzle for some of these, as for 
dogs in the dog days. I was at a show a few days 
ago where an exhibitor was disappointed in getting 
into a position he evidently anticipated, and he walked 
up and down the tent when the company were 
admitted, denouncing the judges by name, and assert¬ 
ing his determination never to show again at that 
place. He was an unmitigated nuisance for a time, 
and I am afraid secretaries and committees are apt to 
become frightened at such an exhibition, and instead 
of placing the offender in the care of the police, listen 
to his complaints, and encourage him to become even 
more disagreeable. The offender in this case is a 
gardener in one of the south-west counties, who makes 
a practice of going to every show he possibly can 
within a given district, and if by reason of staleness 
engendered by much carting about from place to place 
his plants are beaten by a local exhibitor on their 
merits, he forthwith accuses the judges of partiality, 
incompetency or antagonism. I have very little compas¬ 
sion for this class of exhibitor ; but so long as prizes are 
offered open to all comers, so long must the bumptious¬ 
ness of the species be borne with. I am sure that the 
tendency of the professional exhibitor is to discoun¬ 
tenance local growers from entering the competition, 
and something like harm is done ; but a protest of 
some sort is necessary against the bullying exhibitor, 
and I hasten to record mine. 
-->-X<-- 
BLUE HYDRANGEAS. 
“ Gamma,” concluding his paper on these plants at p. 
836 of your last issue, asks if it is known whether the 
blue form returns to the pink colour. I can answer so 
far that a few years ago, being at Glen Eyre, South¬ 
ampton, where the soil is of that black peaty nature 
so suitable for Rhododendrons, Azaleas, &c., I saw in 
bloom a big Hydrangea, the flowers of which were of 
the richest blue I have ever seen in this plant. I took 
cuttings and brought them home, rooted them, and 
potted them. The result was pink flowers without a 
shade of blue in them. Later planted out in the 
ordinary stiff soil here the same result followed, hence 
I came to the conclusion that soil ingredients alone 
produce blue Hydrangea flowers. 
It is very odd, so far as I am aware of, that the 
Hydrangea should be the only plant which thus 
possesses chameleon-like flowers, pink in one soil rich 
blue in another. It may be that blue is the primary 
colour of the Hydrangea in its native habitat, but has 
reverted to pink in our diverse soil. It has, however, 
yet to be shown that putting plants into a very limited 
quantity of soil of the essential blue-producing nature 
will suffice to create in the flowers the desired azure 
tint. The supposition that the blue tint is produced 
because the roots are in cold ungenial soil will not do 
at all. The plant to which I referred as producing such 
rich blue flowers at Glen Eyre was not only very 
healthy and robust, but was growing on a high bank 
in a warm corner. 
I feel assured that the real cause of the diverse 
colouration is to be found in diverse qualities of soil, but 
what these peculiar qualities are only chemists can 
discover for us. Would it not be possible to have blue- 
producing soil well analysed for the purpose of obtain¬ 
ing the needful information 1— A. D. 
-- 
ERYNGIUM PLANUM. 
Your description of the above Sea Holly, in the num¬ 
ber for August 24th, interested me very much. We 
find it the best of all Sea Hollies for cutting purposes. 
For tall narrow vases it is well adapted if cut about 2 
ft. long and a few sprays of any of the silvery grasses 
or bamboos used as a foil to it. This is a combination 
we frequently adopt, and it looks very elegant indeed. 
We have just now about fifty plants growing through 
a base of Coreopsis lanceolata on some rough rock 
mounds, and the effect is very good, the soft lemon 
of the Coreopsis flowers contrasting well with the steel- 
blue heads of the Sea Holly. 
I was equally interested in the description you gave 
of the Queen of the Prairie. It has solved a question 
which has long puzzled and vexed me. Some years 
ago we had a collection of hardy plants from Mr. 
Ware, and among them Spireea venusta, lobata, and 
palmata. The latter is, of course, very distinct from 
the others, but I have puzzled my brains very often in 
trying to find a distinction between S. venusta and 
S. lobata, they are so alike in every respect. It is, 
however, one of the most handsome of the Spirreas, 
and has this season been exceptionally fine. It does 
best grown in a moist shady spot. Both Eryngium 
planum and Spiraa lobata are worthy a place in the 
hardy border, and are amongst the best for cut flower 
decoration.— J. Kipling. 
--**<•- 
LOBELIA FULGENS. 
Tiie uninitiated would probably find difficulty in dis¬ 
tinguishing this species from L. splendens or some of 
its forms, to which, of course, it is closely allied. 
Both are natives of Mexico. The subject of this note, 
having been introduced in 1809, is the oldest, as 
L. splendens did not arrive in this country until five 
years afterwards. The stems of L. fulgens are leafy, 
deep red, and vary from 18 ins. to 24 ins. in height, 
according to the treatment it receives and the amount 
of moisture at its command. The flowers are of a 
glowing scarlet colour, and measure about 1 in. in 
diameter. The three lower segments are much the 
broader, the whole flower being as large as that of 
L. splendens, and certainly much larger and superior 
in every way to that of L. cardinalis, except in colour. 
The three are often confused together by cultivators, 
but are perfectly distinguishable. L. cardinalis has 
the broadest leaves, which are green, and the smallest 
flowers, or, at least, the narrowest segments. L. fulgens 
is distinguishable from both by the fine pubescence 
which covers the stems, flower-stalks, ovaries, and the 
outer surface of the corolla. The plant is readily in¬ 
creased by division of the crowns after growth has 
commenced in spring, and is so nearly hardy that it 
only requires the protection of a frame in winter, to 
which it should be transferred in autumn, when frost 
compels the lifting of the rootstock. It will thrive and 
flower well in any good garden soil, but likes a liberal 
supply of moisture, and may with advantage be planted 
in a bog bed. When mixed with the Night-scented 
Tobacco (Nicotiana affinis), it is very effective in beds. 
Our illustration shows the habit of the plant, which is 
erect and always neat. 
-- 
THE PERENNIAL PHLOX. 
I was very pleased to see the old perennial autumn 
Phlox, a very great favourite of mine, so prominently 
noticed in your issue of the 24th ult. Having 
cultivated Phloxes for over thirty years, I can, with 
every degree of confidence, recommend anyone who 
may have a garden large enough in which to grow 
them, to lose no time in obtaining a collection. I am 
growing a few now, but my garden space being so 
limited, I am unable to give them the room they 
require, and consequently the bloom is not perfection. 
Prior to my coming to reside in Cardiff, my bloom of 
Phloxes during August, September, and part of October, 
was the admiration of all who saw them. 
I consider a plant in perfection the third year of its 
blooming, and on some varieties of such plants I have 
had heads of bloom 3 ft. in diameter, and many single 
trusses have measured 9 ins. to 12 ins. in diameter, 
and in height 12 ins. to 18 ins., the pips being well 
formed, with ground colours and eyes varying from 
pure white to the darkest crimson. 
The following twelve varieties can be bought from 
many nurserymen for a few shillings, and although not 
new varieties, they will be found a grand selection, 
viz.—- 
Le Roi des Roses, salmon with crimson eye 
John Forbes, salmon-pink with crimson eye, extra 
fine. 
Delicatum, pure white, with small lilac eye and large 
truss. 
J. K. Lord, bright crimson, large truss, extra fine. 
A. F. Barron, lilac with large crimson eye. 
John Laing, deep purplish crimson with dark eye. 
Lothair, light scarlet shaded, with crimson eye. 
Madame Marie Laisson, white, crimson eye, small 
compact truss. 
Phillipa Penglase, reddish crimson, dark eye. 
Ada Louisa, pure white, rose-coloured eye. 
George Grieve, dark crimson, fine truss, extra fine. 
Bridesmaid, French-white, fine truss. 
As the article previously referred to states, the Phlox is 
a surface-feeding plant, and requires being regularly well 
watered during hot and dry weather, and will stand 
well mulching once or twice during the season. These 
plants grow from 3 ft. to 6 ft. high, and should be 
planted at the back part of the flower borders. They 
also have this advantage, that they bloom when other 
flowers are scarce, and can easily be increased by 
striking cuttings in the open borders in spring, many 
of which will bloom the following autumn.— J. 
Thurstan, Finsbury House, Richmond Road, Cardiff. 
-» >X< -- 
POPLARS FOR PLANTING IN 
TOWNS. 
The Black Italian Poplar. 
Next to the Plane, I consider the Black Italian Poplar 
(Populus monilifera) to be by far the most valuable 
tree that we possess for planting in smoky towns and 
cities. As a proof of this, we have only to think of the 
numerous fine specimens of the tree that exist in a 
most healthy and flourishing manner in several of our 
largest towns—to wit, London, Glasgow and Liverpool. 
The leaves, unlike those of the majority of our forest 
trees, do not become affected to any great extent by the 
smoke and other impurities which tell so markedly 
on town vegetation generally, for even late in the 
season, and after a hot and dry summer, the leaves of 
this Poplar wear a tinge of green that is quite remark¬ 
able, and appear almost as fresh as they did in the early 
days of spring. 
The Black Italian Poplar may be somewhat stiff in 
outline, but there is, nevertheless, an air of grace about 
it that is wanting in any other tree I can bring to 
mind. When slightly tossed by the wind the foliage 
presents a most pleasing appearance, quivering and 
dancing to the slightest breath, while the pleasing 
green shade that pervades its whole contour is of itself 
sufficient excuse for classing the tree amongst the 
ornamental. Then again, a well-grown Black Italian 
Poplar is unlike, so far as general appearance goes, 
any other of our forest trees, the great giant stem and 
limbs, covered with deeply furrowed greyish green 
bark, being distinct from any other of our generally 
cultivated trees. That it is a tree of the readiest 
culture everyone knows well who is interested at all in 
matters arboricultural, while as to its rate of growth a 
specimen of 100 ft. in height has attained to that size in 
less than sixty years. The wood, unless for a few special 
purposes, such as cart bottoms, brakes, &c., is not of 
great value ; but the tree is, nevertheless, a profitable 
timber-producer when grown in suitable soils. 
The Abele Poplar. 
This pretty indigenous tree, Populus alba, grows with 
great freedom where subjected to smoke and foul air. 
In the very heart of our largest towns it may be seen 
flourishing in a manner that is almost incredible, and 
where but a limited number of trees or shrubs could 
exist for any length of time. It is a pretty tree, the 
distinctly cut, ample leaves, with their cottony sur¬ 
facing on the under side, being at all times, but 
especially when agitated by the wind, most interesting 
and causing the tree to rank amongst the most orna¬ 
mental of its kind. It is readily propagated, transplants 
freely, grows rapidly, and is neither subject to disease 
nor particular as to the soil in which it is planted. 
The Lombardy Poplar. 
Populus fastigiata is another tree that has been planted 
with some success in and around London, but it cannot 
equal either of the foregoing for withstanding the 
baneful effects of a tainted atmosphere. In the out¬ 
skirts of towns, and where the air is purer than where 
stacks and chimneys are pouring forth their volumes of 
smoke the Lombardy succeeds fairly well ; while if 
suitably placed in such situations it imparts an air of 
grandeur that without its help could hardly otherwise 
be obtained. 
