May 10, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
571 
direction; in short, these may be termed “miffy” 
subjects. In the deciduous section Hawthorns are of 
all other things the most difficult to lift and transplant, 
and Beeches follow suit very closely, while Oaks are 
not far behind either of them. Limes, Chestnuts, 
Sycamores, Poplars, and Salix may be lifted at almost 
any season, and will plant most successfully. I have 
lifted large specimens of all these in full leaf, and 
planted them with the greatest success, although this 
should only be done when peculiar circumstances 
demand it, as the practice is not generally commend¬ 
able. The best season to plant all deciduous trees is 
when the foliage begins to assume the autumn tints. 
This, of course, cannot always be accomplished, and 
the best advice that can be given is to plant all deci¬ 
duous trees from the fall of the leaf onwards till they 
show signs of growing in spring, giving the preference 
to early autumn where practicable. Evergreen trees 
and shrubs are best planted when growth begins to 
move, say from early April to the end of June, pre¬ 
ferring the first appearance of growth as the signal for 
action. 
Trees and shrubs when received from nurseries or 
any place at a distance, should be immediately un¬ 
packed, carefully ‘ ‘ heeled ” in when it may be inconve¬ 
nient to plant, watered and syringed, thus refreshing 
them after their journey, and preventing shrivelling of 
the bark or drying of the roots, to the certain injury 
and perhaps death of the plants.— J. Proctor, Glen- 
finart. 
THE FLORISTS’ LAOED PINK. 
I ah surprised to find that Mr. Thurstan (p. 552) still 
refuses to look at matters in the right light concerning 
the Pink and the Carnation. He states that I quote 
Loudon “three times over in support of my case,” but 
afterwards condemn him “as an unreliable author.” 
When I quote him I do so when he is speaking the 
truth, but it is quite unnecessary to quote statements 
that have years ago been exploded. This is quite 
legitimate. It must be remembered that Loudon’s works 
from which I quoted were merely compiled by him 
from various sources, and in many cases it was no 
doubt difficult to discriminate between truth and error, 
and those works do undoubtedly contain many errors 
which botanical science can now easily detect and 
correct. Anyone who can discriminate between truth 
and error is perfectly justified in quoting the former 
and rejecting the latter. I neither reject all, nor accept 
all he says, or is made to say by the authors he quotes. 
I may have misinterpreted what Mr. Thurstan meant 
to say concerning “the plant mentioned by the Rev. 
G. E. Smith ” ; but his statement was worded in such 
a way as to be capable of different translations. The 
characters of the plant given were those of the Pink 
(Dianthus plumarius). The petals of that species 
are bearded, whereas those of the Carnation (D. 
Caryophyllus) are not. 
The Pink was derived from D. plumarius, and there 
is really no necessity to wrangle over its origin, because 
botanically it is not different from D. plumarius now. 
In a former letter I quoted a list of authors in support 
of my case, and which it is unnecessary to repeat here. 
Surely such a list of eminent authorities are not to be 
rejected in favour of authors who wrote when botanical 
science was merely in its infancy ! To do so would 
imply that we are retrograding instead of advancing in 
knowledge. 
I possess the seventh edition of The Gardeners' 
Dictionary of Plants, by Philip Miller, so it was quite 
unnecessary to quote from it for my benefit. That 
author does not, however, attempt to give a botanical 
name for the different races of Pinks then grown in 
gardens, nor did he quote “Dianthus plumarius 
(Linnaeus),” as stated by Mr. Thurstan. On the other 
hand, he quoted the Latin description of that author, 
and which evidently applies to D. plumarius. Further, 
Philip Miller, in describing the “ small single Pink of 
a pale red colour ” that was not cultivated, was merely 
referring to the unimproved and typical form of the 
species, which had even by that time become naturalised 
on old walls. Like the Carnation, it was merely an 
escape from culture, for both D. Caryophyllus and D. 
plumarius, in their unimproved state, were soon re¬ 
jected after they had given rise to more ornamental 
forms. He says further that “ all the varieties of fine 
flowers which are now cultivated in the gardens of the 
curious are only accidental variations which have been 
produced by culture.” Even in a wild state D. 
plumarius is very variable, both in the size and colour 
of its flowers, upon the Continent, and it is vastly 
more so under cultivation ; but botanically it is still 
D. plumarius.— Wild Pink. 
ARDENING 
ISCELLANY. 
-- 
Tricuspidaria hexapetala. 
The Fritillaria-like flowers of this subject would not 
lead one to suspect from external characters that the 
plant belonged to the Lime tree family, and yet such is 
the case. The five petals are three-lobed at the apex, 
infolded at the sides, of a deep red, and present a Lily¬ 
like appearance. They are produced singly in the 
axils of the oblong-lanceolate serrated leaves, and droop 
with the month downwards. AVe noted a specimen 
flowering at Ivew under the name of Crinodendron 
Hookerianum. 
Aotus gracillima. 
When planted out and allowed to assume its natural 
form and proportions, this forms a handsome, hoary- 
looking bush about 3 ft. high. When grown in a pot 
and annually cut down so as to keep it within 
dimensions suitable for greenhouse decoration according 
to modern requirements it produces a number of long, 
slender, Willow-like shoots. The flowers are bright 
golden yellow, beautifully marked with crimson lines 
at the base of the standard, and are produced in great 
profusion. It is a native of Australia. 
Echium callithyrsum. 
To get an idea of this plant one must imagine a tree 
about 12 ft. high, copiously branched, and bearing a 
raceme of blue flowers like those of the Viper’s Bugloss 
(Echium vulgare) at the extremity of every branch. 
The flowers are dark blue, with the colours modified to 
some extent by the long, exserted purple stamens. Of 
course, accommodation could not be given for such a 
huge specimen in every establishment, but with excep¬ 
tion of house room, the other requirements of this plant 
are very simple. Being a native of the Canary Islands, 
greenhouse temperature is not only suitable, but 
probably necessary, as in greater heat the plants would 
get spoiled. There is a specimen in the temperate 
house at Ivew of the height above given, and occupying 
a considerable area, owing to the great spread of the 
head. It is planted out, and has been flowering for 
weeks past. 
Cyrtanthus obliquus, 
Cape bulbs of this class receive comparatively little 
attention at the present day. It is true they require a 
little special treatment, but what is necessary is easily 
acquired. The large-bulbed kinds, like those under 
notice, require a considerable amount of space if 
grown in quantity ; they flower only once a year, 
but many kinds, including the subject of our note, 
have a noble appearance when in bloom. The leaves 
are strap-shaped, glaucous, and arranged in two ranks 
upon large dark brown scaly bulbs. The scape rises to 
a height of 15 ins. or 20 ins., and bears an umbel of 
long, tubular, drooping flowers. The lower portion of 
the tube is yellow, deepening to orange upwards, with a 
short, six-lobed, dull glaucous green lamina. The 
flowers are of great substance, which adds much to 
their unusual appearance. A pot of fine bulbs flowered 
recently in the Cape house at Kew. 
Achimenes Rosy Queen. 
There is no pedigree attached to this garden plant, 
which was a seedling selected from a batch of others. 
The flowers are of a pure bright rose with a white throat 
and of large size. There are several other varieties in 
cultivation having rose-coloured flowers, but they are 
mostly shaded, spotted or streaked with carmine, 
shaded with violet or have a yellow or orange-coloured 
throat. Admiration has a white throat, but it is spotted 
with carmine. The leaves of Rosy Queen are ovate, and 
the pan of plants shown by Messrs Sutton & Sons, 
Reading, at the Royal Aquarium on the 29th and 30th 
of April, were only 6 ins. to 8 ins. high. A First Class 
Certificate was awarded for the variety. 
Anemone trifolia. 
As a species this comes near A. nemorosa of our woods 
and river banks, but the flowers are smaller and white, 
and both for size and colour closely resemble those of 
the white Hepatica, A. triloba nivea. The anthers are 
white as in the latter case. The leaves are, however, 
abundantly distinct, and in the absence of flowers 
resemble those of the Goutweed in miniature. They 
are divided to the base into three ovate acute, serrated- 
stalked segments, those of the involucre being similar 
but narrower. It is a very old introduction, coming 
from France in 1597. A piece of it may be seen in the 
herbaceous border at Kew. 
Claytonia sibirica. 
"When grown in a light moderately rich soil this plant 
attains 1 ft. in height; but in a drier situation it is 
generally much dwarfer and more procumbent. It 
commences flowering in March, and keeps on for 
months, provided it has plenty of room to develop, 
and is not burnt up with drought, causing it to run to 
seed. The flowers are pink with purple veins, and the 
petals being deeply divided give them a star-liko 
appearance. There is also a white variety, and both 
are easily grown and flowered in the open. 
Evergreen Laburnum. 
In habit this Himalayan shrub resembles our Laburnums 
but the leaves are larger and evergreen or partly so, 
according as the winter is mild or the reverse. The 
stems or branches are fewer, stouter and the yellow pea¬ 
like flowers are much larger, but few in a raceme, and 
not being pendulous lack the grace of Laburnum 
alpinum or L. vulgare. The Evergreen Laburnum, so 
called, is Piptanthus nepalensis of the botanist. It is 
not quite hardy in this country, but requires a wall or 
some well sheltered position. A specimen was planted 
many years ago in the middle of a bed of shrubs, such 
as Holly, Cherry Laurel and Thuya gigantea, in the 
gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick. 
How the shrubs have attained some size, and the 
Piptanthus has grown to a height of 6 ft. or more, and 
is now flowering pretty freely. The lower part is 
sheltered by the shrubs, and other shelter is afforded by 
an evergreen Oak close by ; but the struggle it has with 
its shelter plants on the one hand and the elements on 
the other is a hard one, yet the plant continues to 
struggle bravely, notwithstanding occasional losses. 
Tulipa uniflora. 
This small but pretty species is a native of the Altai 
Mountains, from whence it was introduced to this 
country quite recently under the name of Orithya 
uniflora. As a genus, Orithya includes three species, 
and is characterised by having the ovary elongated at 
the apex into a distinct style ; but even considered 
botanically, the distinction is so slight as hardly to 
necessitate separation into a distinct genus. Anyone 
would recognise the three species as Tulips at a glance. 
Tulipa (Orithya) uniflora is a dwarf but pretty species 
for those who love this class of plants. Its stems do 
not exceed 6 ins. in height as a rule, are often not so 
tall, and bear a solitary flower of a bright yellow in¬ 
ternally. Externally, however, the outer segments are 
green, while a line of the same colour runs along the 
middle of the inner segments. Two lanceolate glaucous 
leaves spring from near the top of the soil. AVe noted 
it flowering in a pot in a cold frame at Chiswick, in the 
Gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society. 
Arctotis acaulis. 
The brilliant orange colour of the flower heads of this 
species have a very telling effect amongst spring flowers. 
Of course, to flower it thus early, it must be grown 
under glass, say a greenhouse or a structure especially 
devoted to the culture of hardy flowers, because in the 
open air it does not bloom till well into summer. 
The leaves are of two forms, one being broadly ovate 
and coarsely toothed, while the other is three lobed, 
with the terminal lobe the largest. The stem is 
procumbent, but of no great length, and bears a ter¬ 
minal flower head, with others proceeding from the 
axils of the small upper leaves. The terminal one is 
the first to expand, with long ray florets surrounding a 
reddish brown disc. It is a native of the Cape, and is 
more easy to preserve when grown in pots than in the 
open air. The scapes or flower stalks rise to a height 
of 9 ins. or 12 ins. A flowering specimen may be seen 
in the hardy plant house by the herbaceous ground at' 
Kew. 
Saxifraga media. 
In its native home in the Pyrenees this plant attains a 
much greater height than it does in this country. 
The stems in a wild state vary from 6 ins. to 8 ins. ; 
but whether in pots or on the rockery here, they often 
do not exceed 2 ins. or 3 ins. The short leaves are 
arranged in a dense rosette, and are dark green with a 
