762 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 2, 1890. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
—«*- 
SEASONABLE WORK in the GARDEN. 
Repairing 1 the Hothouses.—The present time 
offers a very favourable opportunity for accomplishing 
the necessary repairs and re-painting the stoves and 
pits, which cannot conveniently be done when cold 
weather sets in. The occupants of those houses can be 
located for a time in cooler structures, so as to let the 
painters have full scope to go about the work. The 
glass and woodwork should be thoroughly washed while 
yet moist, and after that the top and bottom ventilators 
should be thrown wide open to allow a free current of 
air to dry the wood. For convenience sake, the sashes 
might be taken right off, and removed to a shed or 
other dry place, where they can be painted during wet 
weather. Everything should be perfectly dry before 
the paint is put on, otherwise it will afterwards come 
off in scales. 
Lach.enalias.—The bulbs should now be turned 
out of the old soil, and re-potted without further delay 
before they start into fresh growth. Sort the bulbs 
into sizes, so that the pots, pans, or baskets into which 
they are put may present an even appearance when 
they come into bloom. The smaller bulbs which are 
not expected to flower may be grown on by themselves 
till they attain a useful size. A compost consisting of 
two parts mellow loam, one of leaf-soil and well-decayed 
manure, with plenty of sand, will meet their require¬ 
ments very well. 
Hard-wooded Plants.— Subjects of this class 
stood in the open air will require frequent and close 
attention in the matter of watering, even in wet 
weather, for a great amount of evaporation is going on 
in pots so exposed to the influence of sun and air ; and 
should the soil be allowed to get dust dry, it is a 
difficult matter afterwards to saturate the soil. This 
danger could be partly avoided by plunging the pots in 
coco-nut fibre, straw or moss as may be most convenient 
or handv. Fluctuations of temperature and the sudden 
drying up of the roots next the exposed side would also 
be prevented. 
Calceolarias.— The sowings of these that are 
intended to be made should be effected at once, other¬ 
wise the plants will be inconveniently small when 
winter approaches. The soil or compost should be 
sifted to ensure an even bed for the seeds, which are 
so small that great care must be exercised not to bury 
them. Water down the soil a short time previous to 
sowing, and afterwards stand the pans in a shady place 
in a moist, warm pit or house. Place a square of glass 
over the top to prevent undue evaporation till the 
seedlings are up, after which they should receive the 
full benefit of light, without direct sunshine. 
Poinsettias. —Dwarf plants for table decoration 
may still be obtained by striking cuttings at the present 
time. Early-rooted plants, if they are now of some 
size and have filled their pots with roots, may receive a 
shift. This would also apply more particularly to old 
plants that have been headed down and grown on 
again. The shift will give the roots fresh impulse, and 
enable a better growth to be made. Shoots that gain 
too much headway for the others should be pinched to 
preserve the symmetry of the plant. 
Primulas and Cinerarias.—Both the stock of 
old plants and the seedlings of these subjects should be 
kept as cool as possible, and shaded from bright sun¬ 
shine, particularly in the case of seedling Cinerarias, 
which are liable to die off when fully exposed, owing to 
the fluctuations of heat and. moisture to which they are 
subject in small pots. 
Vineries.—The borders in which Vines heavily 
loaded with ripe fruit are placed should receive copious 
supplies of water, or, at least, prevented from getting 
dry, otherwise the berries will be liable to shrivel. 
This applies more particularly to indoor borders at the 
present time. A little fire-heat should be applied to 
houses in which Grapes are colouring, in order that 
ample ventilation may be given to assist in developing 
the flavour of the berries. This is more particularly 
necessary in dull damp weather. 
Peaches.—Trees in late houses should receive ample 
supplies of water, both at the roots and overhead, to 
keep them in a healthy vigorous condition, and 
encourage the swelling of the fruit. If the desire is to 
retard growth in order to ensure a late crop, this can 
readily be done by the maintenance of a low night 
temperature with plenty of ventilation. Insects, such 
as red-spider, may be kept in check by a free use of the 
syringe, applying it first in one direction and then in 
the other, to wet every part of the foliage. 
Melons.—Stopping and tying will frequently have 
to be attended to in order to maintain a due balance of 
growth. Fire heat will prove of great advantage on 
cold nights, which arenowlengthening. The atmospheric 
conditions with regard to moisture will depend upon 
the state of the weather, and the stage of ripening of 
the fruit. The ventilators will now have to be closed 
earlier in the afternoon where rapid growth is being 
made, say about three or half-past three o’clock. 
Cucumbers.—One or two sowings of Rollisson s 
Telegraph Cucumber may be made towards the end of 
this month for winter work. It is one of the most 
suitable for the purpose, and may be depended upon to 
turn out well. Sow the seeds singly in 60-size pots, using 
light soil. Shift into larger sizes as the pots become 
filled with roots, and finally put them into large pots 
or boxes for fruiting, using a compost of three parts 
good loam, one part peat, and some charcoal to render 
it porous. 
-- 
A LEG-END OF THE LILY. 
One of the prettiest of the many legends clustering 
round the white Lily (Lilium candidum) is that which 
explains the origin of the custom which made the old 
masters place a vase with Lilies—each of three stalks 
having three blossoms—on their pictures of the Virgin. 
According to this legend a celebrated Dominican Abbot 
had long entertained doubts as to the truth of the 
“ conception by the Holy Ghost.” Iu order to disperse 
these doubts he decided to put them before another 
monk, Egydius, famed for his holiness and spiritual 
enlightenment. Brother Egydius, knowing the Abbot’s 
troubles by inspiration, went to meet the Dominican, 
struck the ground with his staff and called out “Oh, 
Master Preacher ! Virgo ante partum !” and straight¬ 
way a single white Lily shot up from the ground where 
the staff had touched it. And again Brother Egydius 
smote the ground and called out “Oh doubting 
Master ! Virgo in partu !” and another Lily came 
forth ; and for the third time he smote the ground, 
with the words “ Oh, my brother ! Virgo post 
partum !” and a third “Lily rose from the ground, and 
the miracle strengthened the Master’s faith. The Jews 
considered the Lily to be a talisman against sorcery 
and evil spirits, for which reason Judith plaited Lilies 
into her hair before she went into the tent of Holofernes, 
after divesting herself of her widow’s garb, and putting 
on the holy garments she had worn on festive occasions 
during the lifetime of Manasseh, her husband.— Dr. 
Junlcer, in the Deutsche Rundschau. 
--xw-- 
BEDDING VIOLAS AT 
CHISWICK. 
A fine collection of bedding Violas may now be seen 
at their best in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural 
Society at Chiswick. Hitherto the rainy nature of the 
season has been very favourable to this class of plants, 
which, as a rule, suffer material injury during periods 
of drought in the southern counties. The border in 
which they are grown is shaded from the sun at mid¬ 
day, or partly so, by a line of Cordon Pears running 
east and west. The soil is naturally moist and contains 
a considerable amount of humic matters owing to many 
years of cultivation, so that all these things may be 
taken into consideration in speaking of the robust 
nature of the plants and the amount of bloom. A 
noticeable fact concerning Violas as bedding plants is 
that they look fresh and healthy after rain, while 
Pelargoniums, with few exceptions, look discomfited 
and miserable, with scarcely a fresh flower. After the 
ground gets well covered by the shoots and foliage of 
the Violas, the cleanness and purity of the flowers is 
preserved, should it rain ever so hard. Being grown 
by way of trial in order to compare the respective 
merits of different varieties, the plants are arranged in 
beds running across the border. There is generally one 
line of each kind, but had there been a mass of each 
the quality of the variety for bedding purposes would 
have been more amply demonstrated, according to the 
resultant effect. 
Bicolors. 
The term bicolor may here be used as a matter of 
convenience to distinguish those varieties which have 
the two upper petals of some light colour, while the 
three lower ones are deep blue, purple or some other 
dark shade. The well-known variety, Countess of 
Kintore, may serve to typify the group. The lower 
petals are of deep purple-blue, and the upper ones 
almost white. Keptune is a handsome and floriferous 
variety of this type, with the lower petals plum-purple 
and the upper ones white. A number of varieties 
have a similar arrangement of colours as the latter, 
including Harlequin, Charmer and The Mearns, all of 
which differ chiefly in shade of colour, size of bloom, 
and in habit. The lower petals of Lady Gertrude are 
reddish purple, fading almost to lavender on the upper 
ones. Queen of Scots, although not so floriferous as 
mo3t of the above, is a distinct and light-coloured 
variety, with a bluish purple centre, fading to lavender 
at the margins. A choice and distinct variety is 
Evelyn, with the lower three segments bluish purple 
and the upper ones sky-blue. It flowers very freely. 
A curious but inconstant variety is Sunrise, with the 
two upper petals of a pale purple-red and the lower 
ones dark purple. Some flowers are uniformly flaked 
all over with those two shades of colour. The flowers 
of Hugh Ainslie are blackish purple, fading to lavender 
or white on the upper petals. The old Magpie, with 
its plum-purple and white-blotched flowers, is quite put 
in the shade by the larger and more modern kinds. The 
most floriferous of the above-named kinds were Neptune, 
Harlequin, Countess of Kintore, Charmer, and Evelyn. 
Striped Yarieties. 
Without being so perfect in their way as some of the 
more finely striped Carnations, some of the Violas, 
nevertheless, show something very remarkable in their 
way. York and Lancaster is white in the centre, and 
elsewhere striped alternately with pale and dark purple, 
and when seen in the mass is very pretty. Picturata 
has much paler stripes, and the lower petals are 
lavender, and but slightly spotted. Both are very 
floriferous, and therefore suitable for bedding purposes. 
That named Gipsy Queen has large flowers shaded with 
lavender on a white ground, and irregularly striped or 
splashed with a deeper shade. Illuminator is irregu¬ 
larly banded with light and dark purple-red with a few 
bluish lines, and is highly fragrant. A pretty and 
remarkably distinct kind is Dawn of Day, curiously 
reticulated with lavender or light blue on a white 
ground ; it is very free. 
Edged Flowers. 
The varieties ranging themselves under this head might , 
almost be described as Picotee-edged. Skylark, one of 
the earliest brought prominently under the notice of 
the public, is a good type of an edged Yiola ; the 
creamy white petals have a narrow deep blue margin. 
Blue Cloud is a great improvement, inasmuch as the 
deep blue margin is much broader, especially on the 
upper petals. The Bride is closely similar. Duchess 
of Fife is a light yellow flower, with a sky-blue margin, 
sometimes running down upon the petals in blotches. 
It seems an improvement upon Goldfinch, which is also 
light yellow, but margined with slaty blue, sometimes 
fading to grey ; it is both pretty and remarkably 
curious. One would like to see both the yellow and 
the blue colours more intensified, a thing which might 
be accomplished by seed sowing and selection. 
More after the style of a Pansy is Lucy Ashton, with 
a broad mauve-purple border surrounding tbe white 
centre ; it is, however, very choice in its way, and the 
same may be said of Columbine, with a much paler 
mauve margin. Joy is white, shaded with light blue 
and blotched with deep blue on the upper edges. Like 
the last-named, Ariel is not strictly an edged flower, 
but is extremely variable, the lower petals being white 
and the upper ones sky-blue or lavender, sometimes 
nearly all are white, or they are irregularly blotched 
with sky-blue, and pretty. The most floriferous of this 
type are Blue Cloud, Skylark, Duchess of Fife, Ariel, 
Columbine, and Joy. 
Selfs. 
The best white variety and the purest is Countess ot 
Hopetoun, with a small yellow eye, but, as a rule, it 
displays no other shade than white. Crofthouse is 
dwarfer, with more of the true Viola habit, but there 
are a few blue lines on the base of the three lower 
petals. Champion has similar flowers to the last, but 
they are larger, and the plant has the upright habit of 
a Pansy. Marchioness of Tweeddale covers a great space 
of ground, and is floriferous ; but the upper petals are 
sometimes shaded with lavender. Yirginalis is also 
white, sometimes shaded with lavender. The darkest 
blue variety is that named Archibald Grant, with large 
flowers and a black blotch on each of the three lower 
petals. Holyrood has larger blotches and smaller 
flowers, but is more floriferous. Ebor is dark purple, 
and shaded, but is not so floriferous as Crimson King, 
another of the same type. The blooms of Duchess of 
