January 6, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD.^ 
293 
became quite a fairy scene, and the active mind 
could easily people the copse, the wood, or the fen 
with lavish life. As to the trees, each had a beauty 
of its own. All were tinted with the soft and silvery 
congelations of the moisture-laden air. The stately 
Elm, the spreading Oak, the tall Poplar, the grace¬ 
ful Birch, the dark Pine, or the lustrous Holly, each 
vied with the other, and each sparkled with a million 
diamonds born of the mystic morn. Each blade of 
grass, each barren twig, each beauteous leaf, was 
decorated with a glory all its own, while the Moss 
on the wall, and the plant in the hedge, became 
irridescent with a thousand hues. Thus the lover 
of Nature may see much, although it is wisely 
ordered that our visions have limitations and our 
senses are incomplete, else we might see— 
Myriads of insects, monstrous or minute. 
Roaming on every microscopic brute.” 
But why, asks Pope— 
“ Why has not man a microscopic eye ? 
For this plain reason ; Man is not a fly.” 
—C. B. G. 
MELON, SUTTON’S WINDSOR 
CASTLE. 
A CONSIDERABLE number of gardeners who have 
tried this Melon speak highly in its favour both as 
to its free setting, heavy cropping, fine flavour and 
robustness of growth. The fruit is oval, dark green, 
densely and finely netted with grey lines, and may 
be grown to great size if the cultivator feels so 
inclined, for it has been grown to a weight of 6 to 7 
pounds, which is large enough for all practical 
purposes in a private establishment. Those who do 
not care for large fruits can of course limit their size 
as much as they care to by heavy cropping. Seeing 
that it is a frde setter, this will be an easy matter to 
do, and one can never get too many fruits from a 
given area when number is preferred to size. The 
flesh is of great depth, and is of a deep green all 
through, while the flavour is rich and delicious. 
The variety also takes well on the exhibition table, 
whether looked at externally or internally, the 
appearance being catching in any case. It is equally 
vrell adapted for culture in frames as in a properly 
constructed house. Having so many good qualities 
to recommend it, the variety must find its way into 
many establishments, and meet with that favour 
which it well deserves. It is now being sent out for 
the first time, and is therefore one of the novelties of 
the season. We are indebted to Messrs. Sutton and 
Sons, Reading, for this opportunity of placing an 
illustration of it before our readers. 
-- 
TUBEROUS CHERVIL. 
Various names are given to this plant in this 
country, such as Turnip-rooted and Parsnip-rooted 
Chervil. Botanically it is Chaerophyllum bulbosum, 
a native of Europe and Asia Minor, and is therefore 
quite different from the garden Chervil, which is 
grown for the sake of its leaves, which are used for 
flavouring, or in the case of the curled-leaved 
variety for garnishing purposes. That is properly 
named Authriscus cerefolium. The Tuberous 
Chervil is rather more difficult to manage. The 
roots are similar to those of a Short Horn Carrot, 
but white like a Parsnip. The flesh is yellowish- 
white, farinaceous, and having the flavour of the 
Chervil. The roots contain more starch than a 
Potato, and 'must therefore be considered highly 
nutritious. The flavour is the chief drawback to 
those who taste them for the first time. 
Several times has the culture of it been taken up 
and abandoned, chiefly owing to the failure of induc¬ 
ing the seeds to germinate. If not sown immediately 
after being gathered the seeds generally lie in the 
ground till the second year, and may perish in the 
wet soil during winter. The secret of success is to 
stratify the seeds in moist soil or sand immediately 
after being gathered. The best way to do this is to 
get a flower pot and place a small quantity of soil 
in it; then a layer of seeds and another of soil 
alternately, till the pot is full. The pot or pots 
may then be placed in some out-of-the-way place, 
where they will be protected from frost, till the end 
of February or in March. The seeds may then be 
sown in the open ground in light but rich sandy soil, 
covering them very lightly and much in the same 
way as Carrots, 
The seedlings will come up pretty regularly the 
first spring, and should be thinned out to a proper 
distance apart. The fallen leaves will begin to turn 
yellow towards the end of July, which is a sign of 
the approaching maturity of the roots. They should 
be left till the leaves thoroughly die away, after 
which the roots may be lifted and stored away in a 
cellar or other dry place in the dark, just as Potatos 
are treated. In any case the roots should be kept 
dry, as the only thing they dread is the humidity of 
winter. They should, of course, be protected from 
frost, just as Potatos require the same protection. 
If eaten as soon as gathered the roots possess a 
taste of their own kind, and which is not particu¬ 
larly agreeable. After being kept for some time, 
however, the taste becomes considerably modified. 
Boiled in water the roots are starchy, sugary, and 
flavoured with the small remainder of that aromatic 
perfume which, to a certain extent, disappears after 
a time. 
- •i* - 
ORIGIN OF THE CHINESE 
PRIMULA. 
Beyond the fact of its having been introduced from 
China, nothing was known of the natural habitat of 
Primula sinensis. In China, however, it was merely 
known as a cultivated plant, and had in all 
probability been cultivated for many years until its 
origin was entirely forgotten. At all events it was 
already a highly variable plant before it came into 
the hands of the British cultivator, a fact which 
without other evidence would argue that it had long 
been subjected to the stimulating agency of cultiva¬ 
tion inducing variation from the original wild type. 
The original was discovered some years ago by Dr. 
Henry in the mountains of I-Chang, where it was 
growing in the crevjces of bare limestone rocks. As 
might naturally be expected, the flowers and leaves 
were small, presenting a stunted and starved appear¬ 
ance. When placed under cultivation in this 
country, all parts of the plant showed a great 
reduction in size, and also a great want of develop¬ 
ment in calyx and corolla. Already it has turned 
up in various parts of Britain, where cultivators have 
taken it up by way of curiosity. 
Plants have appeared in public, but more often at 
meetings of gardeners, where they receive most atten¬ 
tion. Small and inconspicuous flowers do not take 
the eye of an undiscerning public ; but gardeners 
being cognisant of the history of the plant to a 
certain extent are eager to learn more and give an 
appreciative welcome to the stranger. Hitherto it 
would appear that seeds of the plant have come 
direct from China or from France ; but some speci¬ 
mens in the Heath house at Kew are labelled as 
being the origin of the garden or cultivated plant. 
Japan is given as the habitat, but surely it must be 
the product of Japanese gardens and not a newly 
discovered geographical station for the plant in a 
wild state. The whole plant, including the leaves 
and flowers, is larger than those of the various 
specimens we have previously seen, and the more 
robust habit of the same would seem to indicate 
that it has been the object of cultivation for some 
years, although there is no difficulty in discerning 
that it is really very little removed from the original, 
or at all events from the Chinese wild form. The 
flowers are of a soft pale lilac with a creamy eye, 
and without the characteristic lobed or angled zone 
so prominent a feature of the modern improved 
types. They measure i in. to 1^*3^ in. across, and 
almost form a close circle, although the segments 
do not overlap one another in any way. The calyx 
is simple enough, with the usual number of segments 
characteristic of a Primula; it is inflated slightly at 
the base, but not like that of the cultivated plant, 
nor cut up in the same way. 
Hitherto, as far as we have been able to learn, no 
one has succeeded in crossing the wild type with 
garden specimens, so that we must conclude that 
the difference between the two is considerable. 
Amongst garden plants seedlings occasionally turn 
up which show reversion towards the wild form. 
They are usually discarded as worthless, but an 
enterprising hybridist might employ them to good 
purpose, by trying what effect could be obtained by 
the reciprocal crossing of them and the wild original. 
There is no telling what new life and variation might 
be introduced into modern strains through the 
intervention of the potentialities of the wild type, if 
a cross could be obtained with it by way of a com¬ 
mencement. 
--i-- 
Strange development of the ” Statist.”— Our 
weekly contemporary, the Statist, which usually 
deals in an able manner with financial questions, has 
recently undergone some peculiar developments for a 
professedly City paper. For its articles on art sales 
some reasons can perhaps be adduced ; but what is 
the meaning of the publication this week of an 
article of nearly two columns in length on 
" Conifers.” If this goes much further, we may ex¬ 
pect essays on Gooseberry culture, or the growth of 
early salad; but what will be the fate of The 
Gardening World, etc. ?—The Westminster Gazette. 
