THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 30, 1894. 
690 
and alongside of it is a creamy white variety of N. 
Ortgiesiana, supposed to be a spoil The under 
surface of the large leaves is of a reddish purple. 
The hybrid N. Daubenyana is interesting from 
the fact that it produces a small plant at the base of 
the lamina of every leaf—the leaves are, in fact, 
proliferous, and Mr. Baker, the superintendent, tells 
us that miniature flowers like Daisies are sometimes 
developed by the plantlets on the leaves. Another 
strange fact is that some plants produce flowers as 
large as those of N. stellata, while the flowers of 
others are only the size of a florin. A pretty 
garden form is N. tuberosa flavescens, with pale 
yellow flowers and golden anthers. N. odorata var., 
from Mr. Dixon at Cherkly Court, has deeper 
yellow flowers. N. o. rosea has soft pink flowers. 
Those of N. tuberosa carnea are rosy pink when 
they first expand, but the inner petals change to 
white after a time. The half grown leaver of N. 
Devoniana are red, and the huge flowers pale rose ; 
the Oxford variety of this has large flowers of an 
intense rose and very beautiful. N. pygmea is a 
pigmy, but has pretty white flowers. The hybrid 
N. Lotus Eugenie has pale pink flowers of large size 
N. L. monstrosa has nearly always imperfect flowers 
but there are some perfect flowers upon the plant 
here. A paper on this Lily was read some time ago at 
the Linnean Society by Mr. C. Barber, of India. Here 
also, may be seen the beautiful dark blue N. 
zanzibarensis, N. z. rosea, N. cyanea, N. versicolor, 
N. stellata, N. flava, and others, Euryale ferox 
has been in bloom for some time. 
On the sides of the tank are many beautiful or 
interesting plants, including Jussiaea angustifolia 
with yellow flowers, the creeping Herpestis Monieri 
with pink flowers, the intense blue and uncommon 
Hydrolea spinosa, Sagittaria monte-vidensis with 
large white flowers and brown blotches, and the 
yellow Hydrocleis Humboldtii growing like a weed 
with leaves 6in. above the water. Salvinia natans 
is raised from spores every year, notwithstanding 
the fact that many cultivators fail with it. A wire 
cage prevents it from straying all over the tank. 
On the side benches we noted richly coloured 
specimens of Acalypha tricolor and a flowering 
specimen of Gloriosa Plantii. The stove comes 
next and contains a great variety of subjects. 
Feronia jaborensis is an uncommon plant with large 
lanceolate leaves and a couple of spines at the base. 
It belongs to the Orange family, but is very distinct 
from F. elephantum. The curator received some 
bulbs of Eucharis grandiflora badly infested with 
Eucharis mite, and after treating them with a strong 
mixture of parafiin and hot water, potted them and 
they are now healthy and flowering. A beautiful 
decorative subject is Acalypha Hamiltoniana, with 
narrow, linear or lanceolate leaves edged with yellow 
and forming a graceful and elegant drooping mass. 
The plants are in excellent condition. Other sub¬ 
jects grown solely for their leaves are Strobilanthes 
Dyerianus, Pelionia pulchra and Xanthosoma 
atrovirens versicolor. A fine piece of Dicorisandra 
discolor is in full bloom, and so are Begonia undu- 
lata with pendulous cymes of white flowers, and 
Jacobinia magnifica, while Rivina laevis is already 
in fruit. 
On the other side of a gateway in the garden wall is 
the'other half of the principal range. Here, again, 
the houses are connected by a corridor. The Palm 
House is a high roofed structure, with a wing or hip 
on either side beneath which are the low side 
benches for dwarf plants. In the centre, many tall 
Palms are grown, including Areca Baueri. Other 
tall subjects amongst the Palms are Phyllanthus 
juglandifolia, 12ft. high with leaves resembling those 
of a species of Walnut, and Theophrasta imperialis 
12ft. high. The flowers of Pancratium speciosum 
are of great size, while the leaves of Caladium 
distillatorium have a length of 3 ft. and a width of 
2 ft. Killingia monocephala is a curious sedge with 
globular heads of white flowers. 
A warm house partly used as a stove and partly, 
filled v/ith a collection of Orchids which is con¬ 
tinually being augmented, comes next the Palm 
house. So far the Cypripediums are the most 
numerous, and we noted fine varieties of C. super- 
biens, C. Lawrencianum, C. Stonei, and C. barba- 
tum in bloom. The huge flowered Cycnoches 
chlorochilum, the beautiful Phaius Humblotii, the 
fragrant Odontoglossum citrinum, the richly 
blotched Stanhopea Wardii and the beautiful 
Ornithocephalus grandiflorum are all flowering, and 
with exception of the Phaius are suspended from the 
roof. On the central stage of this house are various 
stove plants amongst which we noted Sanchesia 
nobilis, Alocasia Sanderiana, Caladiums, Begonias, 
Dracaenas and the purple leaved Bromeliad 
named Karatas excellens. 
The succulent house contains a rich collection of 
the odd or curious things from all the ends of the 
earth. It is a high roofed house with a hip on each 
side as in the case of the Palm house, and as high. 
Its height is absolutely necessary for several plants 
including Cereus hexagonus 20ft. to 23ft. high and 
the Old Man Cactus, equally tall, are almost touching 
the ridge of the roof. A spgcies of Xanthorhoer has 
leaves about 7ft. long and ^in. wide. A fine plant of 
Dasylirion robustum flowered in 1889 with a flower 
stem 18J ft. high. The specimen of D. latifolium is 
as fine as it is rare. There are also large plants o^ 
U. acrotrichum and D. glaucophyllum. Beaucarnea 
glauca is 12ft. to 13ft. high, and B. recurvata 8ft. 
Amongst the strange forms of plant life are specimens 
of Mamillaria cossa, the Bishop's Mitre (Echino- 
cactus myriostigma), also E. Wisliseni with horny 
hooked spines, and Platycereus ringens having zigzag 
purple, bands round it. 
The propagating pit stands at right angles jto the rest 
of the houses and is occupied with seedlings, cuttings, 
and plants' in various stages of progress. It is a low 
span-roofed structure in two compartments and in 
every way fitted for the work of plant increase. The 
old succulent house at present contains a great variety 
of subjects and must have proved very useful as a 
store house or receptacle for all sorts of plants during 
the process of building the new range. The conserva¬ 
tory is isolated, and stands on the left when entering 
the gardens by the main gate; it is new, bold, and 
well built. At present it contains some tall Palms, 
Canna iridiflora Ehemanni, Fuchsia cordifolia, F. 
fulgens, Houttuynia cordata, Saxifraga cuscutiformis. 
Begonia Froebelli, and other flowering subjects. 
One excellent provision of all these new houses is 
that two tanks have been constructed under each, 
capable of holding 400 to 600 gallons, one tank for 
rain water and the other to be filled from the Cherwell 
by means of an Otto gas engine. The building of 
these houses has been the greatest improvement 
effected in the gardens for many years, and the 
authorities are to be congratulated upon this sign of 
progress. Great credit is due to Mr. Baker, the 
superintendent, for the order and neatness which 
already prevails everywhere so soon after the com¬ 
pletion of the houses. 
-- 
Late French Beans. 
Owing to the long spell of ungenial weather the early 
sowings of these have made but slow progress, in 
fact, growth has almost been at a standstill for the 
last month, and unless a change for the better takes 
place soon, the first sowings will give a supply of 
young pods till the plants are cut down by the frosts. 
We may, however, after such an unfavourable time 
for so long, get it hot and dry till late in the autumn, 
in which case the forward lots particularly in the 
south would have become exhausted, so that unless 
a late sowing be made the supply would run short. 
It is well, therefore, to be prepared, for the weather 
sometimes keeps open till the latter end of October, 
and if we should again have a favourable autumn, as 
we did last year, sowings made now would be found 
very serviceable. 
We have sown runner Beans as late as the second 
week in July, from which an abundance of fine pods 
have been gathered in October and November. 
These late sowings should be made in a sheltered 
position where they can be screened from the cold 
north and east winds. When the runner kinds are 
sown for a late supply, the rows should run north 
and south so that the sun may shine on both sides. 
There are also other advantages gained by adopting 
this plan, for as the wind blows more frequently from 
the south and south-west during the autumn months,it 
has not such a direct force on the sides of the rows. 
We have seen them stripped of their foliage by the 
force of the wind just as they were coming into 
bearing, and all the labour that had been spent on 
them thus wasted. 
In exposed situations the tops ought to be pinched 
off the plants when they are 4 ft. or 5 ft. high ; in this 
way there is less risk of them being blown about 
should there be a severe storm. Protection could 
also be more readily given in case of frost. When 
dwarf kinds are grown these may be sown as late as 
the middle of August, especially if spare lights can 
be afforded for their protection, as there is then a 
greater chance of success should the autumn be 
unfavourable, for if the plants can be protected, good 
pods may often be gathered as late as the middle of 
November from p’ants that were sown in the open 
and as they remain fresh at that time of the year for 
several days after being gathered, they will be very 
serviceable. Should the pi ants happen to be cut 
down by the frost there would not be so much loss. 
Much may be said for varieties, there are but few 
of the dwarf kinds, however, for the open ground than 
Canadian Wonder. Last season we grew a variety 
named Sutton’s Triumph, and this we considered by 
far the best dwarf kind we had ever tried. The plants 
were dwarf and compact, well covered with pods 
that were thick and fleshy, more after the stamp of a 
runner Bean than a dwarf. Unfortunately the seed 
of this variety is scarce, and could not be procured 
this season or we should have given it another 
trial. 
When sowing do not try to grow too many plants, 
be content rather to have a few and do them well, as 
there is far more profit in so doing. If they are 
intended to be covered with lights sow in rows from 
a foot to fifteen inches apart according to the variety, 
and when the plants are well up, thin to a distance 
of 9 ins. in the rows ; it is far better to err on 
the side of having the plants too thin than too thick, 
for if the latter be adopted and the autumn be wet, 
there is but a poor chance of the flowers getting dry, 
the consequence being plenty of foliage with but few 
pods. 
Colewopts. 
Nice crisps hearts of these are very acceptable when 
other green crops have either got cut down or are 
running short. If a sowing be made now the plants 
will be large enough to transplant in August. A 
piece of ground from which Potatos have been lifted 
will suit them well. If put a foot apart each way it 
is astonishing what a quantity of food may be had 
from a small space. They well repay for the trouble 
bestowed on them, for, being so hardy, they do not 
suffer should there be a severe winter, neither do they 
soon become tough if over grown. 
Oni n ; The Queen. 
This variety is often recommended to be sown for 
pickling purposes on account of its small size. For 
years we have adopted the plan of sowing a breadth 
in the autumn or rather at the end of the summer 
and transplanting them in September on a piece of 
well-prepared ground for spring use. Last season, 
owing to the weather being so dry, they formed bulBs 
about the size of marbles before being transplanted. 
We, however, put them out in the usual way and 
have been well repaid this spring by a useful crop of 
fine bulbs. They were ready for use before those 
in the store room were finished, and, by the end of 
May, some of them had attained a large size, being 
five inches in diameter and weighing over a pound 
each. The bulbs are very flat, otherwise if grown 
to that size they ought to weigh considerably more. 
We plant about three inches apart in the row, 
allowing a space of 15 ins. between the rows, and 
when ready for use draw each other plant; in this 
way those left have more room to grow, and thus 
attain a larger size .—Kitchen Gardener. 
Radis : Veitch’s Ever Tender. 
The fault with a great many of the rapidly growing 
Radishes is that they get spongy and more or less 
hollow in the centre after they attain slightly over a 
certain size. It is claimed for this variety that it 
keeps solid, whatever its size; but of course no one 
would wish to use it or even keep it after attaining a 
bulky size. When gathered about the size of 
marbles or a medium-sized Gooseberry, the tubers 
make very tender and delicate eating, without the pun¬ 
gency that becomes disagreeable when too strong. 
The tuber is perfectly globular with a small tap root, 
and is deep red fading to white or nearly so at the 
base, close to the tap root. J. C. Stogdon, Esq., 
Inglenook, Bellaggio, has tried a great many varieties 
of Radishes, but has found none to equal the qualities 
of that under notice. As far as we know, it is only 
mentioned in one English catalogue, namely that of 
Messrs. Robert 'Veitch & Son, of Exeter, from whom 
Mr. Stogdon obtained the seed. 
