388 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 17, 1894. 
FLiORICOliTURE. 
Ths Hardiness of the Carnation. 
Your appeal for information as to the winter treat¬ 
ment of this plant leads me to say this. At the 
Sparkhill Nurseries, Birmingham, an extensive col¬ 
lection is grown, both in large blooming pots and in 
the open ground, and the Carnation fungus is 
scarcely ever seen. At the present time many 
hundreds of strong layers are still in the large 
blooming pots, and with the exception of side shelter 
from the east and west winds, they are fully exposed 
to the weather, and had no further shelter during 
the late very severe frost. The pots stand close 
together on a dry, well-drained ash bottom, and are 
in the best of health. 
Out of doors some thousands of seedlings were 
planted out in the autumn for blooming next 
summer, as well as a quantity of named sorts for 
extra stock, and these are all in the open ground 
but planted rather deeply and firmly, and the only 
shelter they get is from a wall on the western and 
northern sides, and some shrubs on the east; still 
they are very much exposed to the south and south 
western winds, and the large space of ground they 
occupy is drained into a large pool at a lower level 
but close by. 
A large number of plants are wintered in cold 
frames, all potted into large 6o or small 48 pots, 
and these get very hardy treatment, standing close 
together on a good dry bottom of ashes, the plants 
kept as dry as possible, of course avoiding excessive 
drought, and giving them plenty of air in mild 
weather, but never covering the frames with mats, 
&c., even in the severest weather. 
When plants go wrong so much in frames is when 
they are stood upon a wet cold bottom and kept wet 
and neglected, and perhaps too much shut up and 
covered up in winter. When stock gets unhealthy it 
is best to throw it away and start with young strong 
healthy plants, and now and then during the 
winter keeping the surface of the soil clean and 
slightly stirred. When the ground is cold and wet 
in winter it is best to have the plants layered early 
in the season before the plants are quite out of 
flower, so as' to get early strong well-rooted layers, 
and keep the plants in frames planting them out in 
the spring. Old unlayered plants often die through 
the winter, the long shoots being swept about by 
the wind, and where a variety is worth retaining a 
portion of the plant at least should be layered so as 
to secure strong young plants for the following 
year. 
In the ^lidland districts and the North, especially 
in many parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire, there is 
greater difficulty with Carnations and Picotees than 
in the South and more favoured districts, still both 
flowers are very popular in the districts I have 
named, and find many earnest cultivators, and we are 
now in possession of so many grand self-coloured as 
well as other kinds, all strong growers, and do so 
well as border plants, many of them also delightfully 
fragrant, that no garden should be without Carna¬ 
tions and Picotees. 
With plants in pots in frames more water must be 
given from February onwards, a general look out 
must be kept for green fly, and an abundance of air 
be given.— W.D. 
-- 
PASSIFLORA RACEMOSA. 
THisgrand old stove climber, commonly known under 
the garden name of P. princeps, is just one of those 
plants which, owing to their requiring more ample 
space for their full development than many can well 
afford to give them, is seldom seen in perfection. It 
requires training under the roof of a fair sized 
structure, so that its long racemes of flowers can 
hang free of everything, and then and only then can 
the rare beauty of this plant be fairly judged. 
Although the individual flowers will not bear com¬ 
parison with those of P. Buonapartea, the hybrid 
between P. alata and P. quadiangularis, I should, if 
limited to one Passion Flower in a stove, certainly 
give this the preference. I once had a plant which 
covered some forty to fifty square feet, which when 
in flower was one of the best sights of the kind I 
have ever met with. The numerous racemes of 
scarlet flowers, varying in length from one to six 
feet according to the length of time they have been 
in bloom, always met with a large share of attention 
and admiration. It was planted in a mixture of 
yellow loam and peat in about equal parts with 
plenty of sand and some charcoal, and the border 
was under the side tables which were slate. 
There are some few climbers which a position of 
this kind does not suit very well, but this one grew 
most magnificently, and like other strong growing 
climbers had to be thinned out at times. This we 
did after the flowering season was over by taking 
out a portion of the older wood. I mgy say, how¬ 
ever, that with very short intervals it was mostly in 
flower, but during the winter months it flowered 
more freely than at other times .—W B.G. 
-- 
PRIMULAS AT FOREST HILL. 
The display of Chinese Primulas in the nursery of 
Messrs. J. Carter & Co., Forest Hill, is now at its 
best, but cannot long remain so seeing that they are 
solely grown for the production of seed. The camel- 
hair brush has been at work for some time amongst 
them, and the flowers soon drop after that. There 
are, howev'er, early, mid-season and late varieties 
amongst them, so that the display is prolonged over 
a considerable period. They were sown near the end 
of July, and as they are all grown in 48-size pots, 
they present a uniform appearance. Altogether, 
6,000 plants are grown, occupying two divisions of a 
house, each 60 ft. long, and two other houses. Each 
variety is grown by itself, the most choice and 
sought after in the greatest quantity, so that the 
effect is very striking, engaging, and attractive. 
Fourteen single varieties and five double varieties 
are grown in quantity, besides others, including 
new ones, of which there is not a sufficient 
stock to put in commerce. Old ones are weeded out 
and discarded as they are superceded by better and 
more attractive ones. 
Amongst blue kinds, the most attractive is 
Iris, on account of the great size of its flowers, 
which are lighter and of a clearer blue than the Old 
Holborn Blue, and of greater substance. The seg¬ 
ments are very broad and overlapping, with an 
orange eye, surrounded by a white line which dis¬ 
appears as the flowers attain full development. The 
flowers of Holborn Blue are smaller, darker, and 
possessed of a purple tint when getting old, but very 
decided even when quite young on those parts which 
are overlapped and covered by the lobes ab )ve 
them. The leaves are thinner and more erect than 
those of Iris. The variety is nevertheless 
well worth growing for its wealth of flowers and 
their distinctness. Two new varieties in one house 
attract attention by their robust habit and large 
flowers, namely, Hercules and Princess May, which 
are to be sent out next season. The flowers of the 
former measure about 2^ in. across, and are of a 
rich rose, deepening atmost to carmine. The sub¬ 
stance of flowers and foliage is great. The variety 
was obtained from Iris crossed with Magenta. 
Princess May was derived from the same seed parent, 
crossed with Holborn Queen. The latter has fern¬ 
leaved foliage, which has not been reproduced in 
Princess May. 
The flowers of Princess May open of a blush 
hue, and deepen to pink of the same hue as 
Lady Humes’ Blush Camellia. They measure 2J 
to 2^ in. across, and are both attractive and striking. 
The foliage of Carmine is upright, while the large 
trusses of bloom are well thrown above it. The 
vaiiety is a good market Primula, and is greatly in 
demand for that putpose. The name expresses the 
colour as does that named Rose, a variety with fern¬ 
like foliage. The eye is greenish-orange, but deepens 
to crimson as the flower gets old. Ruby also 
possesses fern-leaved foliage and rich ruby flowers, 
regularly marked with a white spot at the junction 
of every segment and lobe, giving them a very charac¬ 
teristic appearance. 
The flowers of Magenta are dark crimson-magenta, 
moderate in size, and borne in large trusses well 
above the foliage. There are two varieties named 
Elaine, with pure white flowers but differing in the 
foliage. The one is a sport from the other, one 
having the ordinary Palm leaf foliage and the other 
is fern-leaved. The latter has generally the larger 
flowers, but both are very robust, choice, and 
deserving of cultivation. The bold trusses of 
flowers are well thrown above the handsome foliage, 
and red petioles. A strong contrast is offered by 
another fine form named Holborn Queen, with 
wholly light green fern-like leaves and blush flowers 
which one would have expected to be white in view 
of the green leaves. A large quantity of Vermillion 
having intense purple-red flowers is grown. \ 
batch of this and several others which have not been 
touched with the camel-hair brush until recently 
looks much more intense in colour owing to the 
greater length of time the unfertilised flowers hang, 
at the same time darkening with age. A new variety 
named Vulcan would more properly have been 
named Vermillion, for the flowers are of brilliant 
Vermillion hue and very floriferous. It is very early, 
although sown at the same time as the rest. The 
foliage is dwarf or short, so that the numerous 
trusses of flowers show well above it. The latest of 
all is Salmon, as only a few flowers were open when 
we saw them last week ; another fortnight yet will 
be required before the variety is in its prime. The 
flowers are of a deep salmon or salmon-purple as 
they get age. 
The latest of all the semi-double varieties is 
Carmine Empress, with rich, dark carmine flowers. 
It is floriferous, very effective for decorative pur¬ 
poses, and useful for cut flowers, its utility being 
demonstrated by the large quantity of it grown. 
Lilac Queen has all the same qualities, but differs in 
colour, and is perhaps more floriferous, sending up 
several trusses besides the principal one from the 
same crown. The flowers are lilac and deepen to 
lilac-purple with age. The relatively long stalks of 
this variety render it well adapted for cut flower 
purposes. The semi-double nature of the flowers 
enables them to last longer ; but that also applies 
to all of this group. Prince of Wales is not quite so 
early as Lilac Queen, but it is equally prolific in the 
production of numerous trusses of flowers of a 
bright salmon hue. The flowers of Princess of 
Wales are pure white when they first expand, but 
as they get fully developed they become mottled, 
spotted, striped, and sometimes splashed with 
purple; but with exception of the purple splashes, 
the markings are so fine that they do not show 
themselves with great prominence. Here again we 
meet with a strange contrast in Snowflake, which 
has leaves wholly of a light green colour, yet the 
flowers are blush coloured. Strange as it may seem, 
pure white flowers are never apparently associated 
with light green foliage. There is always a red tint 
in the petioles, and in some cases the whole leaf is 
remarkably bronzed even when the flowers are pure 
white, always, of course, excepting the eye. Blue 
Rosette is the semi-double counterpart of Holborn 
Blue, with rather darker flowers. It is very pretty, 
but unfortunately does not produce seed so freely 
as the rest, so that it is liable to be scarce. All are 
grown in span-roofed houses, two of which are low% 
thereby bringing the plants close to the glass. This 
is the secret of healthy, dwarf plants of equal 
growth on all sides, and which gives so much satis¬ 
faction both to the grower and those who see them. 
--**- 
A GOOD JANUARY PEAR. 
I H.avE grown the variety Nouvelle P'ulviefor twelve 
years, and find it exceedingly good at this season of 
the year. It is a fine hardy tree, a free bearer, and 
the fruit is melting and of rich delicious flavour. It 
grows long and tapering, and I have grown it 6 in. 
in length, but the average is about 4J in., and its 
weight half a pound or more. It is rather rough in 
appearance, and it will do well on a north-east 
aspect, but comes finer in size and of better flavour 
on a south-western, but will not keep so long as on 
the opposite aspect. Being a strong grower it does 
best on the Quince stock. — F. Bridger, Penshurst. 
[The fruits we received were slighly under 4 in 
in length, pyriform, but widest near the top, and 
suddenly contracted below^ the middle, from whence 
it tapered to the stalk. The surface was rough and 
uneven, as well as irregularly elevated round the 
eye, which was small and half open. The skin was 
clear yellow with a few russety splashes, but on the 
sunny side it was brightened with numerous crimson 
specks, giving a w'arm flush to the whole of that 
side. The flesh is yellowish and firm, but tender, 
very juicy, sweet and excellent for this season. 
Although melting it has not the buttery character of 
November Pears and no grit.— Ed.] 
The Carnation, its H story, Propertiae and Management, 
with a descriptive list of the best varieties in cultivation. By 
E. S. Dodwell. Third edition, with supplementary chapter on 
the Yellow Ground. London. G.vrdesing World Office, i, 
Clement's Inn, Strand, W.C. is. 6d., post free, is. yd.—.4dvt.] 
