566 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 10, 1890. 
A Centenarian Gardener.—We understand that all 
being well, Mr. Adam Scott, of Chesterfield, will this 
month reach the hundredth year of his age. Mr. Scott’s 
father was gardener at Chatsworth (where he was 
succeeded by Mr. Grubb, who in turn was followed by 
Mr., afterwards Sir Joseph Paxton), and he himself was 
well known in his day as a good Pine, Grape, Strawberry 
and Peach grower under glass, and an excellent hand in 
the hardy fruit and vegetable garden. 
Gardening in New South Wales.—We are pleased 
to hear that that excellent young gardener, Mr. J. H. 
Horton, who was with Mr. Richard Chamberlain, M.P., 
at Oak Mount, Pdrmingham, and who on account of his 
wife’s health went to Sydney two years ago, has 
succeeded in obtaining an engagement there on terms 
which bear most favourable comparison with those 
obtainable in this country. His new employer is 
the Hon. James White, M.L.C., whose garden at 
Cranbrook on the shores of Port Jackson is one of the 
best, if not, the best private garden in the Colony. Mr. 
White’s name is familiar among sportsmen in England 
as the owner of the two Australian-bred race-horses 
“ Kirkham ” and “ Harellan, ” which are being trained 
at Hewmarket to run for the coming Derby. 
Royal National Tulip Society.—At a meeting of 
exhibitors held at Manchester on Saturday, the 3rd 
inst., it was resolved that the annual exhibition should 
take place in the Botanical Gardens, Manchester, on 
the last day of the great Whitsun show, Wednesday, 
the 28th of May. As a matter of course much depends 
upon the weather, but the rule is, a date having been 
fixed, to adhere to it. The growers meet together in 
council, and by comparing notes as to the promise of 
bloom, they are able to fix upon a date likely to be 
most acceptable all round. We hope all will be favour¬ 
able, and that there may be such an exhibition of this 
gorgeous and historic flower as will gladden the hearts 
of those who take so much interest in it. 
Treatment of Diseased Vines, in France, with 
Bouillie Bordelaise.—At the last meeting of the Scien¬ 
tific Committee the Rev. C. Wolley Dod read the 
following communication :—“ In the Medoc there are 
three applications of the treatment. (1) The first is 
towards the end of May, when the Vine has produced 
shoots about 30 centimetres long. At this period the 
flower of the Vine is not yet opened. (2) A second 
application is made at the end of June or the beginning 
of July. (3) A third, about the first half of August. 
The first application requires about 2 hectolitres of 
the Bouillie per hectare. The other two, 2£ to 3 hec¬ 
tolitres per hectare. With regard to the preparation of 
the Bouillie, the following is the method employed - 
For 100 kilos. In one tub is put 50 kilos, of water 
and 3 kilos, of sulphate of copper ; in another tub 50 
kilos of water and 2 kilos of lime. The sulphate of 
copper having been dissolved, and the lime well soaked, 
the two liquids are then mixed. Cold water is used 
and slaked lime. Formerly small brooms made of 
Heather or Butcher’s Broom were used to sprinkle the 
liquid on the Vines. Several varieties of syringe are 
now used. It was at first hoped that the Bouillie would 
destroy both the mildew and the Oidium. IJp to the 
present time such has not been the case ; and if the 
mildew is absolutely destroyed by this treatment, the 
use of sublimed sulphur has to be continued against the 
Oidium. 
The African Kola Nut, its History, Uses, and 
Cultivation, was the title of a paper read at the Balloon 
Society, on the I8th ult., by Mr. T. Christy, F.L.S.. 
M.S.C.I. The Kola Hut, said Mr. Christy, is held in 
great respect by the natives of the Western Coast of 
Africa, on account of its wonderful stimulating and 
sustaining powers. The nut is ground into a fine 
powder, and carried about the person during long 
journeys, when often the only sustenance consists of a 
“chew” of this Kola ; thanks to it many have been 
able to stave off thirst and hunger, while others declare 
that after a severe day’s work or marching, nothing so 
revives the system as a Kola Hut. As a basis for a 
beverage, the analyses published comparing the nitro¬ 
genous principles, chemically defined and crystallisable, 
Kola takes precedence over tea, coffee, and cocoa, 
while owing to the almost entire absence of tannin in 
it, it does not injure or impair the digestive organs. 
The stimulating tonic and sustaining powers of Tola 
are mostly due to the Caffeine, of which it contains 
over 2f per cent., and sufferers from indigestion, nervous 
or bilious headaches, will hail with satisfaction a 
beverage which they can drink as a substitute for tea, 
coffee, or cocoa. The lecturer pointed out the advantage 
of this nut to sportsmen, athletes, brainworkers, during 
the times when they are straining their powers of 
endurance. 
DWARF IRISES AT CHISWICK. 
A great number of the dwarf Irises, including, of course, 
the Xiphions or bulbous species, flower early in the 
season, and then perfect their foliage while the giants 
of their kind are coming into bloom. A large col¬ 
lection of the Flag-leaved Irises have been grown with 
great success for some years past in the gardens of the 
Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick, and the bulk 
of the early and dwarf kinds are now in bloom. They 
are grown in slightly sunk beds in light rich soil con¬ 
taining a considerable amount of humus, which has 
the effect of retaining the moisture better during 
the droughty weather than if the beds were elevated 
and the soil of a heavy nature, because such get baked, 
and the Irises die off in hot seasons. 
The earliest in the beds there is I. pumila ecerulea, 
the flowers of which had mostly gone out of bloom 
when we noted them the other day. The plant 
or the leaves grow to a height of 3 ins. to 5 ins. The 
flowers are of a beautiful sky-blue, with darker veins, 
and there is a purple blotch on the falls. The 
standards of I. p. atroviolacea are dark violet-purple, 
with that colour intensified on the disc of the falls. 
On the other hand, I. p. luteo-maculata is of a pale or 
soft yellow colour, with a large purple-brown blotch on 
the centre of the falls ; the claws are also distinctly 
reticulated with brown. 
Closely related to I. pumila is I. olbiensis, in both 
habit and stature. In fact I. o. atropurpurea bears 
a close resemblance to I. p. atroviolacea. The 
standards are of a dark bluish purple, with falls of a 
blackish purple, traversed longitudinally by a yellow 
beard. The flowers of I. o. sulphurea grandifiora are 
sulphur coloured, the falls being darker and tinted with 
a livid hue. As a variety I. o. virescens is very 
distinct, but for ornamental effect it is inferior to those 
above mentioned. The standards are almost white 
faintly tinted with a livid violet, while the falls are 
pale yellow with the central part purple. 
A third kind is I. biflorus, the leaves of which are of 
the same short and sword-shaped outline, and of a pale 
glaucous green, as the other Flag-leaved kinds. It has 
purple standards and violet-purple falls. The flowers 
of I. b. purpurea are similar but the colours are much 
more intensified. I. b. p. minor is distinct, and chiefly 
noted for its diminutive size, as the leaves seldom exceed 
3 ins. or 4 ins, in height, while those of the others are 
often twice that height. 
-- 
DAHLIA NOTES AND SELEC¬ 
TIONS. 
The 1st of May used to be the date for those who offer 
new Dahlias to commence sending them out. Thirty 
years ago it was the practice to clear plant orders hy 
April 30th, so that nothing should interfere with the 
despatch of Dahlia orders on the traditional 1st of May. 
I have known as many as twenty persons engaged for 
fourteen hours a day in sending out Dahlias, and that 
would go on for two or three weeks at full swing. 
But something had to be done in the way of preparation. 
There was the providing of new square or oblong willow 
hampers in many sizes ; the getting together of great 
quantities of moss, which was beaten fine, and all hard 
substances likely to inj ure the young plants taken out 
of it. Then stakes for supporting the plants were also 
provided ; bast and wadding also. In those days the 
ordinary tying material was the Russian mat, and the 
finer quality of mat was always utilised for the purpose. 
One other very important matter had to begot through 
—advantage was taken of a warm morning to get all 
the young plants taken out of the frames, sorted, and 
arranged in proper order, to facilitate the execution of 
orders. When the plants were re-arranged, a slight 
sprinkling was given overhead, the lights closed, shading 
placed on them, and in a few hours the plants were 
not a whit the worse for their exposure. Thirty years 
ago thousands of plants were sent away, laid down 
upon their sides on layers of moss, and in this way 
they would bear packing close, and a journey of nearly 
a week without taking much harm. All that was 
required was, when the plants reached their destination, 
to have them taken carefully from the hampers, 
placed in a frame, sprinked overhead, and kept close 
for two or three days, when they soon recovered from 
the effects of the journey. 
Supposing anyone who might be contemplating 
growing Dahlias for exhibition wished to know the best 
twenty-four varieties for an amateur, what varieties 
should be named ? Readers of The Gardening World 
may probably be willing to name selections ; but my 
twenty-four is as follows, arranging the flowers in the 
order of their quality Mrs. Gladstone, Willie Garratt, 
T. J. Saltmarsh, Lord Chelmsford, Mrs. LaDgtry, 
J. T. West, John Henshaw, Mis3 Cannell, R. T. 
Rawlings, John Standish, Hellie Cramond, Prince 
Bismarck, Ethel Britton, Harry Keith, Prince of 
Denmark, Mrs. Shirley Hibberd, William Rawlings, 
George Rawlings, Georgina, Mrs. W. Slack, Shirley 
Hibberd, Mrs. David Saunders, Harrison Weir, and 
J. W. Lord. 
The best twelve selected from the foregoing would 
he as follows :—Mrs. Gladstone, T. J. Saltmarsh, Miss 
Cannell, Shirley Hibberd, Prince Bismarck, J. W. 
Lord, Willie Garratt, John Henshaw, R. T. Rawlings, 
John Standish, Ethel Britton, and J. T. West. 
In order to have the best six out of the foregoing, 
regard being had to variety and quality, they should be 
the following :—Mrs. Gladstone, Shirley Hibberd, J. T. 
West, Willie Garratt, R. T. Rawlings, and Miss 
Cannell. 
As to the fancy varieties—a very fine twelve—I 
should say the best twelve that can be selected would 
consist of the following:—Dorothy, Frank Pearce, 
Mrs. H. Halls, Henry Eckford, Rev. J. B. M. Camm, 
Duchess of Albany, Matthew Campbell, Hugh Austin, 
George Barnes, Peacock, Gaiety, and Mrs. Saunders. 
The best six selected from the foregoing are:—Doroth}’, 
Mrs. Saunders, Gaiety, Frank Pearce, Mrs. H. Halls, 
and Hugh Austin. 
As the decorative varieties are being much more 
grown for exhibition by amateurs than they formerly 
were, my selection of twelve fine and distinct varieties 
will be Mrs. Hawkins, Henry Patrick, Honoria, 
Charming Bride, Annie Harvey, Mrs. M. Marsham, 
Panthea, Juarezii, Beauty of Brentwood, Empress of 
India, Asia, and Cochineal. My select six from the 
foregoing list of decorative varieties are as follows :— 
Mrs. Hawkins, Empress of India, Honoria, Panthea, 
Beauty of Brentwood, and Henry Patrick. 
Hext week I shall deal with the Pompon and single 
varieties. 
As it is scarcely safe to plant out Dahlias before the 
second week in June, I strongly recommend amateur 
cultivators to at once order such varieties as they may 
require, and as soon as they have recovered from the 
effects of the journey from the nursery, to re-pot them, 
using good rich soil. The plants should then be 
gradually hardened off to bear full exposure in,the 
open. But neither an early nor a large plant is 
absolutely necessary to produce good exhibition blooms ; 
indeed, on the contrary, a plant struck late from a 
cutting is preferable to one that has become stunted in 
its growth. This is one of the points in successful 
culture that an amateur, who intends to exhibit at the 
end of August or early in September, should always 
consider and guard against as far as possible. Let him 
keep his plants growing on freely, but avoid, on the 
one hand, having them drawn and spindly, and on the 
other, the stunted condition just referred to— A. D.. 
-- 
MIMULUSES. 
Visitors here have been surprised to see spotted 
Mimuluses planted out in the open ground in the 
month of April. If the plants are not got out early 
and strong in a hot district, it will not be easy to get 
anything like a good show of bloom from them. By 
sowing seed in pans in Hovember, the seed, in spite of 
its exceeding smallness, germinating then even in a 
cold house freely ; getting the seedlings dibbled out 
into a frame cr large flat boxes as soon as large enough 
to handle. Such plants will be strong and well rooted 
to lift for planting out into the open ground towards 
the end of April. 
I prefer planting where not exposed to the sweep 
of east winds, as these are often severely felt during 
April and May. Still, in most gardens some sort of 
shelter from these inflictions can always be provided. 
There is wonderful beauty in a mass of spotted 
Mimuluses, especially when the plants are put out 
strong, and side shoots encouraged to break up freely. 
To produce that result when plants are put out 
into the open ground, the centre stem should be 
pinched out. That may tend to check the early 
blooming, but it helps the side shoots to become strong 
and produce an abundance of flowers simultaneously. 
I very much doubt whether there is any bedding or 
massing plant which will produce such rich colouring, 
variety of markings, allied to much quaintness and 
beauty, as does a large piece of these half-hardy 
Mimuluses. If a large bed could be furnished in one 
of our public parks, it would prove to be for the time 
the floral sensation. 
There is no self variety which can match for depth 
and richness of colour the almost blood-red Grandis. 
