10 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 7, 1889. 
extremely well adapted for gardens of limited area. 
They are hardy enough to withstand our winters in all 
the southern counties, and even northern ones in warm 
maritime localities. Some of the finest of them are 
A. p. disseetum, with green leaves divided into nino 
or ten long, narrow segments; A. p. palmatifidum, 
light green, and finely divided to the very base ; A. p. 
ornatum, with deep red leaves and lighter midribs ; 
A. p. atropurpureum, a fine vigorous kind ■with dark 
purple foliage ; and A. p. sanguineum, with deeply 
five-lobed reddish crimson leaves. Besides these there 
are many other distinct and beautiful kinds. 
Purple-foliaged shrubs of quite a different colour are 
represented by Berberis vulgaris purpurea, the purple¬ 
leaved Hazel (Corylus Avellana purpurea), the purple 
Birch (Betula alba albo-purpurea), with leaves of a 
rich metallic purple above, and paler beneath ; the 
purple-leaved Plum (Prunus Pissardi), and the purple¬ 
leaved Peach (Prunus persica purpurea). All of these 
are of dwarf habit, choice and showy, and when 
judiciously arranged amongst other green, yellow, and 
variegated subjects, are very effective. By way of 
contrast to these, a number of golden-leaved shrubs or 
trees, hard cut back at the winter pruning, may be 
interspersed amongst them. The golden-leaved Catalpa 
(C. syringsefolia aurea) so called, has leaves of a uniform 
soft yellow, and on the young shoots of hard-pruned 
bushes they attain handsome dimensions. The golden 
Elder (Sambucus nigra aurea) is now well known and 
very effective ; it may be kept in small dimensions by 
hard cutting back. There is also a golden-leaved Hazel 
(Corylus Avellana aurea) equally amenable to the knife ; 
and Neillia opulifolia aurea is not to be despised. It is 
better known under the name of Spiraea. 
Then there is a whole host of shrubs with variegated 
leaves that may be called into requisition to relieve the 
monotony of green that but too frequently prevails in 
the shrubberies of the present day. The overdoing of 
a garden with variegated-leaved plants is, however, to 
be avoided, a sprinkling always being productive of 
the best results. A few of the variegated Hollies, both 
silver and golden, are always desirable and suitable 
alike for either town or country. Their smooth leaves 
are not liable to get coated with a sooty deposit, as 
many others are, hence their suitability for town 
atmospheres. Along with them'may be mentioned the 
Aucubas, beautiful alike in foliage and berry. The 
variegated kinds of Euonymus above mentioned are 
invaluable. Several species and forms of Dogwood 
(Cornus) are amongst the choicest of shrubs, such, 
for instance, as C. mas variegata, but more especially 
C. m. elegantissima, having its leaves conspicuously 
margined with white and edged with red. Then there 
are variegated forms of C. siberica, including C. s. 
Spathii, the most handsome of its kind. The silver¬ 
leaved Elder (Sambucus nigra foliis argenteis) and the 
yellow variegated (S. n. foliis luteis) may be introduced 
and kept in due bounds by the use of the knife in 
winter. 
A good proportion of green-leaved subjects should 
always be used ; in fact, they should constitute the 
groundwork into which the variegated, yellow and 
purple-leaved trees and shrubs should be introduced. 
Berry-bearing subjects are always worthy of the space 
they occupy, and may be largely used where they can 
be accommodated. Various species of Cotoneaster, 
including C. micropliylla, C. thymifolia, and C. 
Simonsii, and the Fiery Thorn (Cratiegus Pyracantha) 
may be planted against the walls of the dwelling house, 
where they will have a telling effect in autumn and 
winter. All of them may, however, be planted in the 
shrubbery, where they will assume a more natural 
habit. Rosa sericea also fruits freely, and is ex¬ 
ceedingly pretty in bloom, the flowers being white. 
Cotoneaster thymiflora is a very dwarf plant, and, 
together with the beautifully pinnate-leaved Edwardsia 
microphylla may be planted against low walls. 
Fixe-foliaged Teees. 
Many of the above mentioned, such as Rhus typhina, 
Catalpa syringtefolia, Sambucus nigra and others, if 
allowed to attain their natural dimensions, form trees 
of greater or less size. Somewhat similar in habit to 
Rhus typhina is the Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus glandu- 
losa), and like that can be kept dwarf by cutting down. 
Under this system the leaves attain handsome di¬ 
mensions, quite unlike anything amongst the trees of 
temperate countries generally. When left to grow 
into trees the leaves will vary from 15 ins. to 18 ins. or 
even more, but hard-pruned bushes, or even young and 
vigorously-growing trees will produce leaves a yard in 
length and beautifully pinnated. The tree is well 
adapted for town culture. Where six, eight or more 
square feet can be afforded, Paulownia imperialis should 
be planted for the sake of its enormous, roundly heart- 
shaped leaves, that attain a diameter of 18 ins. to 2 ft. 
To get them like this, however, the plant must be 
subjected to hard pruning in winter, and given a good 
position where it will enjoy full exposure to light. 
Spiraea Lindleyana, although not a tree, requires a 
large amount of space, for it forms a magnificent bush 
with large pinnated leaves and huge panicles of small 
white flowers. The Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo biloba), 
and the narrow-leaved Robinia (R. Pseud-Acacia 
angustifolia), together with other varieties of the latter, 
are handsome subjects that should never be overlooked. 
—F. 
-- 
ARDENING fflSCELLANY. 
--f-- 
Keeping Birds from Gooseberries and 
Raspberries. 
I am thinking of putting wire netting over flats of 
Gooseberries and Raspberries, to keep the birds from 
the fruits. The ordinary netting is very good for 
walls, but soon gets into bad condition when used over 
Gooseberry bushes. I think if the wire netting were 
stretched over the flats at the height of 6 ft., it might 
be put up permanently, leaving only the sides or some 
portion of them to be taken down when the crops are 
gathered, but should be glad of the experience of any¬ 
one who has tried the plan.— J. H., G. II. 
Carludovica palmsefolia. 
A good-sized specimen of this Cyclanthaceous plant, 
with leaves from 2 ft. to 3 ft. in length, was shown at 
the last meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society by 
Mr. B. S. Williams, when a First Class Certificate was 
awarded to it. The leaves are arranged in a large 
rosette or tuft round a single crown, and are deeply 
bifid or parted, deep green, and traversed longitudinally 
by strong parallel nerves. It will chiefly rank as a 
decorative plant for the same purposes as Palms, 
Pandanus, and similar subjects. 
Sarracenia decora. 
This hybrid is the result of a cross between S. variolaris 
and S. psittacina. The leaves or pitchers stand about 
6 ins. high, and are greenish at the base suffused with 
dull red, and much deeper coloured upwards, where 
they are also reticulated with dark veins. The 
back of the pitcher is also beautifully blotched 
with white, and the large, hooded, laterally-compressed 
operculum is much incurved or bent over, covering the 
mouth of the pitcher. A fine plant of it in a pan was 
shown by Mr. B. S. Williams at the last meeting of the 
Royal Horticultural Society, when a First Class Cer¬ 
tificate was awarded it. 
Watsonia rosea. 
This beautiful old Cape plant closely resembles a 
Gladiolus in habit, w’ith similar ensiform sub-erect 
leaves arising from the corm. The flower-stems arise 
to a height of 3 ft. or thereabouts, and bear a large 
number of blooms arranged in a two-ranked fashion. 
The tube of the flower is slender and bent at the top, 
from whence the limb of the perianth spreads out in 
campanulate form. This is nodding or bent to one 
side, with broad overlapping segments, the whole of 
which, together with the tube, are of a beautiful rose 
colour, the tube being the darker ; there is at the 
same time a pale, almost white band along the centre 
of the three outer segments. It was exhibited by Mr. 
T. S. Ware at the last meeting of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society, and received a First Class Certificate. 
Papaver nudicaule sulphureum. 
The habit, general appearance, utility, beauty, and 
cultural treatment required by this plant are so well 
known that description is hardly necessary. The 
flowers are of a pale sulphur colour, as indicated by 
the name, and in no other respect differ from the other 
varieties of the type. It is very floriferous and distinct, 
even to the untrained eye, and will no doubt be 
appreciated by those who love this class of plants. It 
was shown by Mr. T. S. Ware at the last meeting of 
the Royal Horticultural Society, and received an Award 
of Merit. 
Bouvardia Hogarth flore pleno. 
The flowers of this variety are of a bright scarlet-red, 
and semi-double, with fewer segments than such as 
Alfred Neuner, but not the less distinct and beautiful on 
that account. They are borne in large trusses, and may 
even be more durable than the single form. The 
leaves are ovate, and of a good and healthy appearance. 
Some trusses of it were shown by Mr. H. B. May at 
the meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on the 
27th ult., and received an Award of Merit. 
Rhododendron Ophelia. 
The leaves of this variety are broadly oval, leathery, 
deep green and more or less whorled. The flowers are 
large and campanulate, with a moderately short tube 
and a widely spreading limb of a beautiful rose-pink, 
suffused with salmon in the throat and along the centre 
of each segment. They are also borne in large trusses. 
Cut specimens were shown by Messrs. J. Yeitch & Sons 
at the meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on 
August 27th, and received an Award of Merit. 
Hollyhock delicata. 
This is a seedling of considerable merit, bearing large 
fully double flowers of a salmon-flesh colour. The 
petals are exceedingly numerous, and undulate or 
wavy, and so long as almost to conceal the guard 
petals, which are somewhat paler in colour, and not 
very prominent. An Award of Merit was granted for 
it by the Royal Horticultural Society on August 27th. 
It was shown by Messrs. Webb & Brand, Saffron 
Walden. 
Birds and the Celery Fly. 
As I was walking round the kitchen garden yesterday 
morning, I observed a number of birds—the titmouse 
or black-cap—very busy flying about the rows of Celery, 
and jumping up and down amongst the plants. 
Wondering what they were up to, I stood and watched 
their movements for some time. As I was very quiet, 
the impudent little fellows came quite close up to me, 
and I found that they were feeding off the larvse of the 
Celery fly, with which the plants are infested. These 
birds are generally considered so destructive, and are so 
frequently destroyed in consequence, that I am glad to 
be able to put in a word for them, that we may not 
begrudge them the harm they do when we consider it 
is fully compensated for by the enormous quantities of 
small caterpillar grubs and plant lice destroyed by these 
indefatigable foragers, Has no one else a word to say 
for them 1 — Alfred Glut, The Gardens, Berwick, 
Shrewsbury, September 2nd. 
The Power of Cucumbers when Growing. 
Ix a span-roofed pit in which Cucumbers are grown we 
have had several large squares of 21-oz. glass broken in 
the roof, which necessitated our attendance on the 
master’s carpet each time a pane went. At last we 
discovered that several laterals had been allowed to 
grow towards the side walls, and young Cucumbers 
forming in the angle between the glass and the wall 
plate, they grew at such an irresistible rate, as a result 
of the heat, moisture and good feeding, that the glass 
could not resist the pressure. — A Kitchen Gardener. 
The Mutable Colours of Gloriosa superba. 
Both the generic and specific names of this plant are 
well merited, for the plant in its finest form is truly a 
conspicuous object. On one and the same specimen 
may be seen a number of gradations in the change of 
colour from the expanding bud to the fading flower, all 
of which are of special interest, because although 
changes more or less extensive occur in all highly- 
coloured flowers during the course of their development, 
yet in Gloriosa they are particularly noticeable. The 
swelling bud is at first green, and as expansion proceeds 
it becomes more or less tinted with orange-red, until 
when fully expanded the lower half of the perianth 
segments is of a clear yellow, with the same hue 
running along the edges of the upper half which is 
otherwise bright scarlet, forming a distinct margin to 
it. The two colours have distinct lines of demarcation, 
and do not interblend at the points of junction. Add 
to this the spreading or horizontal segments and their 
spiral-looking undulations along the margin, together 
with the drooping habit of the flower, and we have char¬ 
acters of exceptional beauty and interest. It is true 
that the plant requires a stove temperature and some 
roof space against which to train it, but when in bloom 
the room it occupies is well repaid. There are flowering 
specimens in the nursery of Messrs. J. Laing & Sons at 
Forest Hill. 
