May 24, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
603 
naming than the thin or narrow gauge men who are 
splitters, and usually see more species than common 
sense can acknowledge. The broad gaugers have in¬ 
creased at a rapid rate since Darwin gave a new interest 
to the generalising faculty, and put it into the minds 
of men that all organic forms are transient and 
mutable. 
When new names are required, the structure and 
affinities should determine the boundaries of a genus ; 
and some distinctive characters of form or habit 
should determine the species. To name plants 
from their colours is bad practice. We have 
Digitalis purpurea alba, the white purple Fox¬ 
glove, which is not more rational than to say “the 
white black cat.” Nor is it consistent with the aims of 
science to adopt names that reflect injuriously or un¬ 
pleasantly upon persons. Linnaeus has himself con¬ 
demned commemorative names, not by words but by 
deeds ; for he managed to convey a sneer, or even an 
affront, by his freaks of terminology. Sir J. E. Smith, 
who was a purist in this matter, refers to the Linnean 
name Buffonia tenuifolia as “a satire on the slender 
botanical pretensions of the great French zoologist, as 
the Hillia parasitica of Jacquin, though perhaps not 
meant, is an equally just one on our pompous Sir John 
Hill.” But he does not approve of such satires; he 
says “ they stain the purity of our lovely science ; if a 
botanist does not deserve commemoration, let him sink 
peacefully into oblivion. It savours of malignity to 
make his crown a crown of thorns, and if the applica¬ 
tion be unjust it is truly diabolical.” Mr. Alcock has 
put the case reasonably, thus — “ Those names that 
point out a decided specific character are the best, 
as Arenaria trinervis, Chlora perfoliata, Epipactis 
ensifolia, and the like. ” 
The greatest sinners against propriety in naming 
plants are the orchidists, for they ignore all settled 
rules, they repudiate the requirements of common sense, 
they make a law for themselves which they do not 
define, and which, whenever they do define it, will 
convict them of frequent and flagrant violation. We 
must wait for the report of the committee that has 
taken the subject in hand, and has been toiling almost 
time out of mind, and meanwhile pray that they will 
not vex the shade of Linnaeus to the extent of compel¬ 
ling him to get out of his grave to terrify the evildoers, 
but if they follow the example of Reichenbach it will 
be impossible to predicate to what it may lead them. 
The great orchidist was a notorious splitter and species 
maker, but his followers in this country accepted all his 
decisions without question, and never wavered in faith 
until the man was dead ; then, finding that he had 
resolved we should not have his collection, his 
worshippers made the sad discovery that he was but a 
wooden god after all, but being dead and buried they 
were denied the gratification of knocking him to pieces. 
[The report of the Orchid Nomenclature Committee 
was issued simultaneously with the reading of this 
paper.] 
■- >:lx -- 
THE WOODRUFF. 
How sweet the pretty and fragrant Woodruff is in 
gardens ! As humble and unpretentious in appearance 
as a plant can well be, it is yet fully of service to man. 
It will beautify his garden in spots where many other 
things will not grow, and it is therefore a useful plant 
in shrubberies, increasing rapidly, and thriving under 
the shade of most trees, particularly of Beech. Dr. 
Prior gives the old English name as Wooderowffe, from 
the Anglo-Saxon vmdc-rofc, from the French roue, a 
wheel, and its diminutive, rouette, a little wheel or 
rowel, the leaves being set upon the stems in verticils 
that resemble the large rowels of ancient spurs. The 
flowers are produced in May and June in plenty, and 
brilliantly white ; they are sweet scented, but the 
plant mostly derives its name from the fragrance of its 
leaves. This is not perceptible while the herbage is 
fresh, but after being gathered a short time it gives 
out the perfume of new-mown hay, and it retains this 
property for years. Gerarde in his Historie of Plants 
tells us that “ Woodrooffe hath many square stalks full 
of joints, and at every knot or joint seven or eight long 
narrow leaves, set round about like a starre on the 
rowels of a spurre. The flowers grow at the top of the 
stemmes, of a white colour, and of a very sweet smell, 
as is the rest of the herbe, which being made up into 
garlands or bundles, and hanged up in houses in the 
heate of summer, doth very well attemper the aire, 
coole, and make fresh the place, to the delight and 
comfort of such as are therein.” There is a curious old 
tradition which makes the Woodruff one of the plants 
of the Virgin Mary, and asserts that her bed was 
composed of Woodruff, Thyme, Groundsel, and St. 
John’s Wort. The general method of propagation is by 
means of division of the roots ; the plants also yield 
seed, and seedlings can be raised in this way. In some 
country districts children spell the name in rhyme as 
follows :— 
Double U, double 0, double D, E, 
R, 0, double U, double F, E. 
~B. D. 
ARDENING ffflSCELLANY. 
--f—-- 
Carnation, Souvenir de la Malmaison. 
A fine batch of some 520 plants of this good old 
variety may now be seen in one of the greenhouses at 
Gunnersbury Park, Acton, where they are rapidly 
throwing up their flower-spikes. They are grown in 
32-size pots, and are, therefore, only of moderate size 
but well furnished with foliage. Behind them is a line 
of the beautiful yellow-flowered Germania, the leaves 
of which are of a different type, being much narrower 
and the stems taller. It appears to be of a mote 
vigorous constitution than Pride of Penshurst, and 
darker in colour. 
Utricularia montana. 
The cultural treatment which this plant requires makes 
it a fit associate for Orchids, and we generally see it 
there suspended from the roof in baskets. The flowers 
are of great size with cream-coloured sepals, and a pure 
white, curiously-formed, two-lipped corolla, the lower 
lip of which is elevated in the centre so as to form a 
palate, enclosing the mouth of the flower. On this 
palate is a large orange-yellow blotch, as so frequently 
occurs amongst Orchids, for one of which this species 
is frequently mistaken by the general public. Its 
association with that class of plants lends weight to the 
supposition, as might be expected. There are some 
finely flowered specimens in one of the Orchid houses 
at Gunnersbury.Park, Acton. 
The Double-flowered Wood Anemones. 
There are at least three different and distinct double 
forms of our native wilding A. nemorosa, of which the 
double white (A. n. flore pleno) is the best. The outer 
sepals are of the usual size, while the inner ones filling 
up the centre of the flower are only about half the 
length. All being, however, pure white, the flowers 
have a very chaste appearance, and last much longer 
in perfection than the single wild form. The smaller 
organs consist of metamorphosed stamens that assume 
the appearance of petals, as happens in several other 
species of Anemone, including A. coronaria and*A. 
Hepatica in their double states. The variety under 
notice is as vigorous and amenable to cultivation as any 
of the single varieties, and to give good effect should be 
planted in masses in slightly shaded places, such as 
outdoor ferneries, and the sides of shady and woodland 
paths. There is a double rose variety named A. n. 
rosea plena, but it is less perfect and not so effective. 
The same statements apply to A. n. bracteata flore 
pleno, which owes its varietal name to the fact that 
some of the outer sepals have become enlarged and 
green, resembling involucral leaves. 
The Double-Flowering' Currant. 
The double variety of Ribes sanguineum is less common 
than it ought to be. Although it has been grown in 
gardens for many years, its merits seem to have been 
altogether overlooked. The flowers are as perfectly 
double as those of Hepatica or Persian Ranunculus, of 
a deep crimson-red, produced in long drooping racemes, 
and come into bloom when the single varieties are past 
their best and on the wane. This is a character that 
applies to many widely different subjects, the double 
flowers of which are late in expanding. Seeing that 
this is the case, it may with propriety be admitted into 
collections with a view of prolonging the flowering 
season. By the time the flowers are expanded, the 
plants are in full leaf, and the one serves to set off the 
other. There is a fine bush of it in the shrubbery at 
Devonhurst, Chiswick. 
Muscari conicum. 
The Grape Hyacinths do not receive that attention 
which they might for spring bedding purposes. They 
would of course be rather out of place in large beds by 
themselves, but in beds planted with standard Roses 
or shrubs of any kind in the pleasure grounds they 
would prove very acceptable from the early days of spring 
onwards, or say from March to May, by the use of a few 
of the most strikingly distinct of the species. By a use 
of Hyacinthus azureus, a closely allied plant, and so 
strikingly like a Grape Hyacinth that it is often 
mistaken for one, the season would commence in 
February. For size, Muscari conicum is the exact 
counterpart of that tiny but true Hyacinth, but the 
short conical head or spike-like raceme of flowers is 
several shades darker, being in fact of a bright lilac 
blue with a white mouth. After a moderately open 
winter, it comes into bloom in March and continues 
through April or even into May according to the time 
of planting of the bulbs. We noted a large quantity of 
it in the grounds of Messrs. Barr & Son at Long Ditton 
some time ago, when the flowers were mainly past their 
best, but still very pretty. 
Vitis (Cissus) discolor. 
There are different ways in which this may be grown 
to serve different purposes ; but the finest leaves are 
obtained by planting out and training the stems thinly 
in a warm moist stove. It is so treated at Gunnersbury 
Park, Acton, and the leaves measure from 6 ins. to 
ins. in length by 3 ins. to 4 ins. or more in breadth. 
The upper surface is of a deep velvety green, while the 
under surface is of a deep reddish purple. The stems 
are thinly trained along the glass partition between 
one compartment and another, whereas if thickly 
crowded, as is too often the case, the leaves would be 
small and thin in texture. 
Tiarella cordifolia. 
Many of the prettiest hardy flowers have no special 
popular name, at least, in this country, but that under 
notice would, no doubt, have received one if it had 
been a native. It belongs to the same family as the 
Saxifrage, to which it is not distantly allied, but in 
general appearance and habit more resembles a Heu- 
chera than a Saxifrage. The heart-shaped leaves are 
light green with a bronzy band running along the 
principal veins. From amongst these the flower scapes 
rise to the height of 6 ins. or 8 ins., bearing a raceme 
of white flowers. Individually they are small, but the 
scapes are produced in great profusion from a small 
tuft of the plant, which is therefore rendered very 
conspicuous. It is well adapted as a dwarf, neat plant 
for the rockery, as it is grown in the gardens of the 
Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick. 
The Pale-flowered Lesser Celandine. 
The bright yellow and typical form of Ranunculus 
Ficaria is well known to everybody, as it crops up under 
hedges, in shady places and on river banks. As the 
petals fade they often give place to a distinctly white 
tint. R. F. pallida is naturally of this hue. The 
outer surface of the petals is tinted with violet, best 
seen while in the bud state ; but as the flowers expand 
the inner surface appears of a pale sulphur hue, soon to 
give place to white on the upper two-thirds of the petal, 
as if it had been painted on with a brush and var¬ 
nished ; below this the inner surface is of a pallid and 
almost watery tint. 
Trillium sessile californicum. 
To all appearance this plant is a very vigorous one, 
with large ovate-triangular leaves, marked with silvery 
veins and often with purple-brown blotches. Nestling 
close to the leaves are the flowers, with green sepals and 
long, oblong, white petals. As a whole the plant is not 
•so neat and refined as T. grandiflorum, but seems much 
more vigorous, and might receive a trial in places where 
other species of Trillium frequently fail. A naturally 
rather moist and cool soil is suitable for Trilliums 
generally ; but in the absence of these, a cool situation 
close to or under trees should be selected, and a good 
admixture of peat dug into the soil intended to be 
planted. If necessary the bed might also be mulched 
with coco-nut fibre. We noted a quantity of this 
plant in the grounds of Messrs. Barr & Son, Long 
Ditton, Surrey. 
Veitch’s Model Broccoli. 
The heads of this variety are of moderate or average 
size, compact, and very white. This latter character¬ 
istic is, no doubt, due to the perfect way in which the 
light, glaucous, green leaves incurve over the head, 
thus protecting it from light. Some heads of it were 
shown at a meeting of the Fruit Committee of the 
Royal Horticultural Society on the 13th inst. by Mr. 
W. C. Leach, Albury Park, Guildford, who received 
a First Class Certificate for it. 
Methven’s June Broccoli. 
Your correspondent, “T. W.,” writing (p. 5S8) on late 
Broccoli, remarks that Daniels’ King of the Broccolis is 
the latest of all the varieties he knows. It may interest 
him and others to know that we have to-day (May 
19th) commenced to cut some nice heads of the above, 
which I consider to be a grand late variety. The heads 
are pure white, in fact, just as white as an Autumn 
Giant Cauliflower. It is quite self-protecting, the heart 
being completely hidden with the leaves. It is certainly 
well worth growing for late use, and comes in as a nice 
change from Asparagus and Cabbage at this season.— 
Henry ilayne, Newton College Gardens, Newton Abbot , 
S. Devon. 
