March 28th, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
471 
flowering gloriously ; then there is the common single 
blue; Barlowi, pale mauve-purple; purpurea, deep 
purple; and the charming sky-blue angulosa. H. pur¬ 
purea and Barlowi are quite distinct and pleasing, 
but for colour I like the old single blue ; it is charm¬ 
ing in tint, and very free. H. angulosa is a real beauty, 
so large, and of such a delicate shade. Of the red- 
flowered varieties I have the old double red, which, 
with the single blue, appears to be the commonest; 
the single red, bright and gold ; its variety splendens, 
large, and rich in colour ; and rosea, a variety I got 
from the Continent, of a distinct tint of pale red, and 
an admirable addition to this group. Then, of the 
white-flowered varieties, it is worthy of remark that 
there is no double form. I have what I regard 
as three distinct forms of the single white Hepatica. 
These are, a small-flowered -white, with a green 
calyx; a large-flowered white, with a brown calyx; 
and a pale-tinted variety, known on the Continent 
as Lilacina: this also has a green calyx. They 
may be simply seed variations, as it is known that the 
single white will seed somewhat freely when well 
established in a suitable spot. 
I think that more is to be done in the way of rais¬ 
ing seedlings from single Hepaticas than is generally 
supposed. When they are grown in pots, it is perhaps 
a little difficult to get seed, as it would have to be 
watched, so that it may be gathered at the right time. 
I shall plant out one or two each of the single 
varieties, so that I may be able to get a few self-sown 
seedlings. It was suggested, not long since, in one of 
your contemporaries, that it is a good plan to place a 
little fine soil about the plants as soon as they go out 
of flower, so that when such of the seeds as are 
matured have dropped into it they may be able to 
germinate. I have a few seedlings from the single 
blue, and shall look forward with interest to the time 
when they are strong enough to flower. 
Excepting in the case of plants that really need 
dividing, I do not care to re-pot my Hepaticas fre¬ 
quently. In re-potting, I use a good sandy, moist 
loam, some decayed cow-manure, and leaf-mould. I 
prefer rather deep pots, and not too wide. I place a 
piece of crock at the bottom, then over that a half¬ 
inch layer of cocoa-fibre, and pot firmly, placing the 
crowns as low in the soil as possible. The plants 
occupy a cold frame all the year round, and during 
the summer and autumn months invigorating showers 
are allowed to fall upon them frequently ; and at this 
time of the year these winsome, spring-flowering 
plants amply repay any trouble and attention. They 
are so early, free, and pretty, that they should find a 
place in every garden where it is possible to grow 
them. I hope the foregoing remarks will do some¬ 
thing in the way of calling attention to these beautiful 
subjects.— R.B. 
VITIS PTEROPHORA. 
This remarkable plant—which by the way has been 
hitherto cultivated under the erroneous name of V. 
gongylodes—is figured in the March number of The 
Botanical Magazine. In the Victoria House at Kew 
it has long been an object of interest, on account 
of its handsome appearance and singular habits. It 
is planted in a border and climbs up to the roof of 
the house, the handsome red and green winged- 
branches being trained from girder to girder. The 
1 long whipcord-like red roots are sent down in search 
of nutriment, and when they reach the Victoria tank, 
as some of them do, they branch out into a bunch of 
rootlets, like a brush. 
The plant has a remarkable method of self¬ 
propagation, which is perhaps unique in the vegetable 
kingdom. In the autumn, when growth ceases for 
the season, a number of elongated stem-tubers are 
produced, which when mature fall to the ground, and 
produce new plants in the following year. This 
elongated tuber is simply a portion of the end of the 
branch, some four to six inches long, which swells to 
the thickness of an inch, by the storage of starch 
and other nutritious matter. Sometimes one long 
internode only swells, but at other times two short 
ones, in which case there is a strong constriction at 
the node. When this thickening is completed, the 
portion of stem below it dies away, thus cutting off 
the supplies and causing the tuber to shift for itself. 
It however soon solves the problem, if it falls in a 
suitable place, by pushing out a shoot and thus 
becoming a new plant. 
The tendrils, too, have a singular economy. They 
are repeatedly forked, and when the tips reach a place 
of support the small adhesive disc enlarges greatly, 
clasps the support, and secretes a viscid substance, 
which glues it to its support. It is a native of Brazil, 
and flowers in the autumn months. A plant at 
Cambridge produced fruit sparingly, which, however, 
did not ripen. 
- g—" ■ r TD <>-S T a - ^—9 —■ 
NOTES FROM GARDENS. 
Stratton-Strawless is a parish seven and a half 
miles from Norwich, containing about 1,583 acres of 
land, including an open heath of 341 acres, and the 
whole of which belongs to different members of the 
Marsham family. The Hall, with very much of its 
surroundings, belongs to C. B. Marsham, Esq., and is 
a fine large white brick mansion standing in a well 
wooded park facing the high road from Norwich to 
Cromer. It is asserted that this manor has been in the 
Marsham family since the time of Edward the First, 
and during the 600 years that have elapsed since 
Longshanks was king there has been a continual 
succession of heirs in the male line to this fine and 
extensive estate. Several members of the family have 
been mayors of Norwich in bygone generations, and 
one represented that city in Parliament about the 
middle of the 16th century. In the ancient parish 
church there is a recumbent effigy in black marble of 
a man in armour, which is believed to represent the 
last Sir Ralph de Stratton, who died in or about 1250, 
■when the Marshams—most probably of Marsham— 
established themselves here. There are also some very 
fine white marble monuments to the memory of 
succeeding owners of Stratton-Strawless. But for 
the present we are more interested in the extensive 
surroundings of this ancient place, which is noted for 
its extensive plantations of noble trees. We had 
heard much of the fine Cedar of Lebanon, which is 
spoken of as the finest in this neighbourhood, and to 
see it, it was a pleasure indeed, to proceed through the 
miles—yes, miles—of woodland walks, skirted with 
Laurels and Rhododendrons 8 ft. high, and as dense 
as a good hedge, with Mr. Fiddy, the gardener, who 
has been here forty-two years. It is a noble specimen, 
standing alone, but screened all round with other 
trees of large dimensions. It has a straight bole 
about 45 ft. high before branching—a veritable 
standard—but it has not a large head considering the 
size of the bole. We ran a tape round the stem at 
1 ft. from the ground and found the measurement to 
be 18 ft. 3 ins., and at 3 ft. high the circumference was 
16 ft. There are also here hundreds of Silver Firs 
(Picea pectinata) with trunks about 60 ft. high before 
branching, and showing no marks of where the 
branches had been. One of them, at 3 ft. from the 
ground, measured 8 ft. 8 ins., and another was 10 ft. 
6 ins., and these were not picked trees, for there are 
plenty of them growing among Oaks, as well as 
Scotch Firs, showing the same clean free growth. 
An old oak that had decayed in the centre has had 
its top cut off at about 8 ft. from the ground, and 
thatched over. It is open on one side, and four 
persons can sit inside it, very comfortably sheltered 
from the weather. Its girth, 1 ft. high, was 18 ft. 
10 ins. There is a very fine Oak avenue on the south 
side of the mansion, which extends for a long distance 
through the park, and such Oaks as we seldom see. 
One of them measured 15 ft. in circumference at 3 ft. 
high, and was not a picked tree either. A piece of 
ornamental water, some 10 acres, extends in a 
serpentine line from near the hall to some distance 
through the ornamental grounds, and is crossed at 
various points by rustic bridges, and at one point is 
spanned by a very substantial bridge of three arches. 
Near to this water are some thousands of Rhododen¬ 
drons, in vigorus health, such as we had not seen 
anywhere else in the county of Norfolk. Many 
years ago a Swiss gardener was employed here, and he 
has left many traces of his art in different parts of 
this extensive place. 
There are many snug little summer-houses dotted 
about the plantations, and in one of them there is a 
painted board fixed high up over the seat, which has 
probably been there over eighty years, and which 
gives a clue to that particular occupier of the place 
who made it famous by planting all these Pine trees 
about 150 years ago. The following is a copy of the 
inscription :— 
ADDRESS 
To the Stratton Oalcs , planted Inj the late Robert Marsham, 
"Who died in 1797. 
Written at the request of his daughter-in-law, Sophia 
Marsham, 
By Richard Paul Jodbell. 
Blest be these hallowed haunts in Sylvan bower, 
For ever sacred to a Marsham’s name ; 
He, nature’s genuine son in vernal prime, 
First reared these tender plants with fostering hand; 
And many a year, by artificial skill 
Before unknown, increased their genial glow, 
Until iheir lofty heads have towered high. 
But now, alas! the venerable sire. 
Silvered by age and in his ninetieth year, 
Has paid that debt which short-liv’d man must pay. 
While you his Oaks, tho’ dropping annual tears 
To wail your parent’s loss, shall flourish still 
In pride immortal by the Muse’s hand. 
This, nor the human axe, nor nature’s storms, 
Nor time, that general conqueror, can destroy. 
Besides the trees we have mentioned, there are 
some splendid Beeches, one of which, at 3 ft. high, 
measures 17 ft. 6 ins. in circumference. It has huge 
branches, extending from its bole, all around it. We 
measured one of the arms, which was 55 ft. long, and 
at 45 ft. from the bole it measured 3 ft. 10 ins. in 
girth. Long may this venerable giant live and extend 
itself; it is still in perfect health. In the dressed grounds 
near the hall there is a flourishing Weymouth Pine 
20 ft. high, well furnished to the ground; also a 
Wellingtonia 50 ft. high, the healthiest and best- 
furnished tree of its kind I have seen anywhere, and 
my acquaintance with both these trees is not a very 
limited one. Both of these specimens were planted 
by Mr. Fiddy, when they were quite small, something 
over twenty years ago. I noted also a very healthy 
Araucaria imbricata, furnished to the ground, the 
Cork Tree (Quercus Suber), and many other noble 
trees of different kinds, too numerous to mention 
here. I shall long remember with pleasure my walk 
through the famous Stratton-Strawless plantations.— 
T. Wynne, March 17.— [We regret to add that since 
the above was written, Mr C. R. Marsham has joined 
the great majority.—Ed.] 
- c_ 0 - 
A WORD TO SUBURBAN 
AMATEURS. 
Do not expect that flowers will grow well year after 
year in the same beds and the same soil without fresh 
manure or other plant-food. Where the soil is old 
and sour try to change it if you can do so. A couple 
of cartloads of fresh turfy loam, or even a bushel or 
two of freshly slaked lime will make a wonderful 
difference, and well repay for the outlay by giving 
abundance of rich, healthy foliage and magnificent 
flowers, such as need never be looked for from beds of 
poor hungry soil. Where the soil is fairly rich a 
liberal dressing of good guano or of finely-ground 
bones will prove acceptable to the growing plants. 
The bones may be dug in before planting the beds, 
and their effects will be noticeable for several seasons. 
Never be afraid to dig the soil deeply, so long as you 
do not bring up a bad sub-soil. In planting out 
spring-flowering plants now—a thing that would have 
been better done last autumn—work the soil fine, 
press the roots firmly in, and give one watering, just 
enough to moisten all the soil. Do not water again 
till the soil is quite dry. If the plants flag cover 
them over with flower-pots or boxes for a day or two, 
unless the weather is mild and rainy. Do not buy or 
plant out summer-bedding plants until all fear of cold 
weather is past, unless you wish to lose them again in 
a few days. Never apply water to established plants, 
except in the middle of summer, till they fairly ask 
for it: there is more harm done by watering in early 
spring, when the weather is cold, than by any other 
process, and the April showers are sure to supply 
ample moisture. When you do water, always give 
abundance, do not just dribble it around the base of 
the plants, but soak the whole bed thoroughly, after 
that chip over all the surface-soil with the corner of a 
hoe or rake to let in the air. A good mulching of 
short dung all over the bed will save a lot of watering 
all the summer.— Authentes. 
Hop-poles. — It is stated that hop-poles are 
unusually dear this spring, and consequently more 
attention is being paid in the hop-producing counties 
to the combined wire and string system. This plan is 
very general in Mid and East Kent, and will be tried 
on an extensive scale in the ensuing season in the 
counties of Worcester and Hereford. 
