222 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
Dec. 6th, 1884. 
Hew French Roses. —M. Jean Sisley has con¬ 
tributed the following list of new French Eoses, 
which will be put into commerce this autumn, to the 
American Gardeners’ Monthly :— 
Tea Annette Murat (Levet). Lemon yellow, free bloomer, 
fine. 
Tea Alexandrine Bruel (Levet). Very pure white, fine 
shape. 
Tea Charles Legrady (Pernet Fils). Very fine shape, nearly 
full, light crimson or dark pink. 
Tea Souvenir de Gabrielle Drevet (Guillot). Large, full, 
white, shaded light salmon, center rose. 
Bengale Madame Jean Sisley (Dubreuil). Medium size, 
full, fine shape, pure white, very free bloomer, fine for forcing, 
H. Bovu'bon Mile. Berger (Pernet). Medium size, full, light 
rose. 
Hybrid Perpetual Baronne Nathaniel de Rothschild (Pernet). 
Very large, globular, nearly full; fine tender rose. 
Hybrid Perpetual Admiral Courbet (Dubreuil). Fine shape, 
full, pinkish crimson, fine scent. 
Hybrid Perpetual Madame D. Wettstein (Levet). Cherry 
red, very free bloomer, good shape. 
Hybrid Perpetual DocteurDor (Liabaud). Very large, full, 
dark cherry red, shaded darker, scent of Teas. 
Hybrid Perpetual Etendard de Lyon (Gonod). Large, fine 
shape, purplish crimson. 
Hybrid Perpetual Madame Pitaval (Liabaud). Large, full, 
light cherry red. 
Hybrid Perpetual Madame Stingue (Liabaud). Large, 
purplish red, fine. 
Hybrid Perpetual Monsieur Hoste (Liabaud). Large, full 
velvety crimson. 
Hybrid Perpetual Souvenir de Labruyere (Gonod). Fine 
shape, vivid rdse, center darker, free/bloomer. 
Hybrid Perpetual Gloire Lyonnaise (Guillot). Large, full, 
fine shape, vivid creamy white, center yellowish, fine scent, 
very free bloomer. 
Best New Roses oe 1883.—Teas—Baronne de Sinety, 
Clothilde Soupert, Edouard Gautier, Madame de Watteville, 
Souvenir de Rambaux. 
Hybrid Perpetuals—Antoine Mermet, Alphonse Soupert, 
Eclair, Julie Gauloin, Joseph Metral, Louise CrCtien, Louise 
Aunier, Madame Dellevaux, Souvenir de Leon Gambetta. 
Dwarf Perpetuals—Polyantha Perle d’Or, Anna Benary. 
Best New Roses of 1882.—Teas—Honorable Edith Gifford, 
Jeanne Abel, l’Elegante, Madame Eugene Verdier, Souvenir 
de Therese Levet. 
Hybrid Perpetuals—Adelaide de Meynot, Alexandre Dupont. 
Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, Centenario de Camois, Fanny 
Giron, Marie Digat, Marie Lagrange, Madame Eugene 
Labruyere, Madame Roehat. 
Hybrid Bourbon Malmaison rouge. 
Best New Roses of 1SS1.—Teas—BeautC de l'Europe, 
Etoile de Lyon, Madame Cusin. 
Hybrid Bourbon Abbe Girardin. 
Hybrid Perpetuals—Ernest Prime, Fortunie Besson, Francois 
Olin, Helene Paul, Marie Chauvet, Marie Bianchi, Ulrich 
Brunner, Violette Bowyer. 
Dwarf Perpetual Polyanthus—Anne Marie de Montravel, 
Cecile Brunner, Mignonette, Paquerette. 
Noisette Caroline Schmitt. 
English Roses. —Hybrid Perpetuals—Lady Mary Fitz- 
william, Earl of Pembroke, Distinction, Heinrich Schultheis. 
Tea Princess of Wales. 
Hybrid Perpetuals—Michael Saunders, Beauty of Staple- 
ford, Viscountess Falmouth, Duchess of Bedford, Duke of 
Albany. 
SONERILA MARGARITACEA. 
Our gardens contain at the present time a number 
of pretty little plants of the genus Sonerila, with 
variegated leaves and rose-coloured flowers. They 
exist under various names, but are very similar in 
general appearance ; differing chiefly in the amount of 
variegation in the leaves. Cultivated, as they are, 
under a variety of names we are apt to lose sight of 
the fact that they are all varieties of the beautiful 
Sonerila margaritacea, a plant which created quite a 
sensation when exhibited before the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society, on November 7th, 1854, by Messrs. 
Veitch & Sons. It was first described by Dr. Lindley, 
in The Gardeners’ Chronicle., for 1854, p. 727, as a 
beautiful novelty, forming a compact branching 
tuft, 9 ins. to 12 ins. high, with polished crimson 
stems, deep rich green leaves with white oval spots, 
and bright rose-coloured flowers on crimson stalks; 
the leaves looking as if sown with pearls. It was 
introduced by Mr. Thomas Lobb, and said to be “ from 
some part of India.” It was also figured in The 
Botanical Magazine, t. 5104; in Flore des Serves, 
t. 1126 ; and in The Illustration Horticole, new series, 
t. 40; with the same habitat assigned. There seems, 
however, some doubt as to where it really came from, 
as it is not even mentioned in The Flora of British 
India; while in Triana’s Monograph of the Melas- 
tomacem, in The Transactions of the Linnean Society, 
vol. 28, p. 76, the habitat is given as “ Java ? ” Lobb 
collected in Java about this period, since which time 
we do not find that anyone has collected it, a very 
unlikely circumstance if it really grows in India. 
It is however in our stoves, and not in India or Java, 
that the jflant concerns us. It is easily propagated by 
cuttings, or by seeds, and grows freely in a light open 
compost. The habit is dwarf and compact, and the 
fine foliage is very happily combined with very pretty 
flowers. The latter are very freely produced, and the 
yellow anthers form a very pretty contrast to the gay 
rose-coloured petals. The leaves in the wild form are 
deep rich green, with oval-shaped white spots or 
blotches regularly distributed between the principal 
veins ; the name margaritacea being extremely well 
chosen and expressive. So much for the wild species, 
and we now come to 
“ The art which does mend nature.” 
Twenty years after its introduction evidence was 
forthcoming that horticulturists were at work upon 
this plant, for we find that at a meeting of the Royal 
Horticultural Society, in November, 1874, Messrs. 
E. G. Henderson & Son, of St. John’s Wood Nurseries, 
were awarded first-class certificates for Sonerila 
Hendersoni and S. Hendersoni argentea. These two 
plants were soon after figured at t. 230 of The Illus¬ 
tration Horticole. At t. 897 of Regel’s Gartenflora, 
Hendersoni was again figured and in its true position 
as a variety of S. margaritacea, from which it differs 
in the more numerous silvery blotches between the 
network of olive-green veins. The variety argentea 
is more freely though not entirely covered with silvery- 
grey. This was the beginning of a number of beautiful 
varieties, and w r e find the following figured in The 
Illustration Horticole :—S. Mamei (t. 254) : leaves 
very deep green, sparingly blotched with silvery-white. 
S. Madame Ed. Otlet (t. 256) : leaves suffused with 
silvery-grey, except the green veins. S. Madame 
Victor Alesch (t. 259): leaves irregularly and copiously 
blotched ■with grey. S. Alp. Van de Sande (t. 279) ; 
leaves copiously blotched with grey, the blotches often 
suffused. 
Finally, at t. 462 we find a large plate with the 
following six varieties :—No. 1. Comtesse de Flandre : 
leaves very dark green with few irregular blotches, 
very similar to Mamei. No. 2. Madame Alfred Marne : 
leaves evenly suffused with silvery-grey, except the 
narrow green veins. No. 3. Madame Charles Heine : 
similar to the last, but with a green margin and not 
quite evenly suffused with grey. No. 4. Madame 
Legrelle : leaves dark green, the blotches not nume¬ 
rous but somewhat suffused. No. 5. Madame Secretan : 
leaves very dark green, with crimson margins and few 
blotches. No. 6. Princesse Matliilde: leaves evenly 
suffused with a pale silvery-green, very similar to 
Hendersoni argentea. There are several other named 
varieties in cultivation, but the chief differences 
between the whole of them is in the arrangement of 
the leaf-colouration.— X. 
■ 'j~~ ■ I t —- u 
THE ROCK-GARDEN. 
In the forthcoming number of The Transactions of 
the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, Mr. Boyd, of Fal- 
donside, a Scottish veteran in rock-gardening, gives 
the result of many years’experience. The paper will 
be highly prized by workers in this special branch of 
horticulture. Meanwhile, here are some hints from it 
which may interest beginners :— 
In the rockery at Faldonside a series of beds are 
raised from 2 ft. to 3 ft. high, from 6 ft. to 12 ft. 
across ; and I have kept the soil in every division 
level, so that in watering the plant may get the full 
benefit and none run off—an essential precaution 
where rare Alpine plants are to be grown, otherwise, 
if planted on a slope, they soon die of drought. The 
natural soil in my garden is a damp, lieavyish clay, 
consequently quite unsuited for the cultivation of 
Alpine plants. But, as I have had large quantities of 
leaf-mould collected, I have used this along with a 
mixture of coarse, sharp sand, with a small quantity 
of loam, in the formation of my rockery beds. This I 
find answers well for most plants, but there are a 
considerable number which require special treatment; 
some want more drainage, others less; some require 
a mixture of lime rubbish, and others, again, a little 
peat and loam. There are also several classes of 
plants which, by their habit of growth are well suited 
for association with others in the Alpine garden, that 
require soil wholly of one kind, such as peat-loving 
plants and plants found growing on the chalk downs. 
These do not care for the same mixture, as previously 
described. The peat-loving plants, of which many of 
the dwarf American plants may be quoted as examples, 
require only fibrous peat, mixed with a little sharp 
sand, for their healthy growth, and the chalk plants 
require nothing but chalky soil, in which they luxu¬ 
riate, and neither of these classes will grow well or 
long in any other soil. Many of our rarest Orchises 
are ^confined to the chalky downs of England, and 
they are usually found to be difficult plants to manage 
in cultivation; but if they are carefully planted in 
soil suited to them they can be managed with con¬ 
siderable success. The excessive moisture during 
winter in this northern climate is the principal cause 
of failures in growing these plants. But a good depth 
of chalky soil, which is of a porous nature, with good 
drainage underneath will prevent this. 
The peat beds should always be placed at the lower 
part of the rock-garden, and be well drained. The 
chalk beds, on the contrary, should be placed on the 
higher portions, so that they may be kept as dry as 
possible during the ■winter: and during the summer, 
when the plants are growing, artificial watering can 
be applied when necessary. 
I have used leaf-mould largely in the making of my 
rock beds because the natural soil in my garden is 
clay, but where the natural soil is of a fighter nature 
it is not necessary to use such a large quantity of leaf- 
mould, as the natural loam from an old pasture, well 
rotted down, when mixed with a small proportion of 
leaf-mould and sand will answer well for the growth 
of most rock plants. 
It is well for an amateur, in commencing the 
culture of rock plants, to confine his attention for 
some time to those plants that will thrive in such a 
mixture as has been mentioned, and afterwards, when 
they have been thoroughly mastered, he can com¬ 
mence cautiously with those that require more special 
treatment. 
Management of the Rockery.— In the summer 
management of the rockery, the principal matter is 
watering in dry weather. Those plants which are 
accustomed on their native hills to a large amount of 
moisture, supplied principally from the melting snow, 
during all the summer months must be supplied by 
artificial means. Great care should be taken by the 
cultivator to see that this is done thoroughly. A 
slight sprinkling of water during summer does really 
more harm than good, as the roots during dry weather 
are always on the search for moisture, and if they 
cannot get this at the level of their roots they natur¬ 
ally turn upwards to get the benefit of the water 
applied near the surface, where they suffer more from 
drought, if water be not applied regularly, than they 
would do when their roots are in their natural posi¬ 
tion. Give always as much water as will saturate the 
soil quite down to the roots, and this does not require 
to be done so frequently. If watering is neglected in 
dry weather no real Alpine plants can be expected to 
thrive long. 
This matter of watering in dry weather, taken in 
connection with the proper making of the rockery, 
so as to secure good drainage, constitute essentially 
the whole matter in the growing of Alpine plants 
successfully. We now come to the best method of 
planting. One good rule—and it should be carefully 
attended to — is, never plant strong-growing and 
spreading plants in the same bed with small, rare, 
and delicate species, as the one is sure to outgrow 
and choke the others. Nothing kills an Alpine plant 
so soon as being shaded or overgrown by its next 
neighbour. I thus generally devote one section of 
the rock-work entirely to the cultivation of very small 
growing plants. The edges, however, of these beds 
may be planted with dense-growing or overhanging 
plants, such as Saxifraga oppositifolia, Silene acaufis, 
Hypericum reptans, or plants of a similar habit, so 
that they may hang down to the walks, and cover 
partially the stones supporting the outside edge of 
the bed, care being taken not to let them encroach 
into the divisions where the smaller plants are 
growing. Alpine plants on their native mountains 
are free from this danger, as no very strong-growing 
species occur at the great elevation where the true 
Alpine plants are found. 
Some particular plants like shade, such as the 
Cyclamens, Primulas, &c., and should be planted on 
the parts suitable for them; others, again, like to 
