April 18th, 1885. 
517 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
and Japanese Orchids, such as the handsome old 
purple Bletia hyacinthina, of which there is a good 
stock. 
The heavy batches of Lilies, Narcissus, the stove 
plants, and all other things requiring room, and which 
cannot be accommodated at the nurseries in the Amyand 
Park Hoad, are grown at the Twickenham Green 
Nursery, and that arrangement is a great help to Mr. 
Tracy, the able manager, in keeping the home estab¬ 
lishment so neat and orderly as one always finds it. 
It may also be said that Mr. Gordon joins the making 
of cheap and good Orchid baskets, blocks, and rafts 
to his other specialities. 
DOUBLE PRIMROSES. 
Few plants have inhabited our gardens for a greater 
number of years than the Primrose, both single and 
double, and few spring plants possess greater charms. 
In the spring flower garden they must ever hold a 
leading place, being so dwarf, so floriferous, so per¬ 
fectly hardy, so easy of cultivation, and so well 
adapted for the purpose. Of the single varieties none 
are more beautiful than our common Primrose, 
Primula vulgaris ; for mossy banks in cooling shade 
it is almost unique, indeed these are the favourite 
haunts of the Primrose in a wild state. In my 
present note, however, I do not wish to speak of the 
single forms, which, though more beautiful, perhaps, 
and seeding freely, too, render them more easy of 
cultivation. But it is of the double forms that I wish 
to say a few words, and these, while not nearly as 
numerous as the single varieties, are among the most 
lovely and most useful of spring-flowering plants. 
The majority of these double varieties possess the 
same floriferous qualities which characterize the 
single varieties, and are equally hardy. 
The first variety to which I shall allude is the Double 
White,which when well grown will bear favourable com¬ 
parison with some of the choice named double Chinese 
kinds; indeed, I think the bouquetist has forgotten 
this, for, with the protection of a cold frame, its 
blossoms may be had without a blemish. It is of snowy 
whiteness, and where grown in quantity it is the most 
valuable in this respect. Its hardiness, too, enables 
it to withstand greater hardships in a cut state than 
similar flowers taken from a heated structure. The 
next is the Double Lilac, probably the most common 
among the doubles, a most useful free-flowering 
variety, specially adapted for edgings or lines in 
partially shaded situations. Then we have Double 
Purple and Double Bose, both good and distinct. These 
are not so well known, however, and are, in fact, 
among the rarities which, at the present time, are 
only met with here and there in small quantities. 
The Double Sulphur is an excellent free-flowering 
kind, and near akin comes the Double Yellow, a 
distinct variety both in foliage and flower; the former, 
however, is often sold for the latter, though it is 
readily distinguished by those who know them well, 
even when out of flower. Then comes a variety which 
I only know by name, i.e., Yiolacea plena, and which 
is said to be of a distinct and pleasing shade of blue. 
I was the fortunate possessor of a single plant of it 
some years ago, but it gradually became conspicuously 
less and died ere it flowered. 
Lastly comes the Double Crimson, the rarest of 
them all. To do this justice both skill and patience 
are requisite; still so well does a few of its large, hand¬ 
some, globular flowers, which are of the richest shade 
of crimson, repay us, that the extra care and labour 
bestowed are forgotten in the enjoyment of its lovely 
flowers. Barely is it cultivated in England unless 
protected by a handlight or cold frame, but in either 
of these it may be grown to perfection. Two of the 
primary points in connection with its culture are to 
never allow it to see the sun or feel the frost; in this 
lies the secret of success. Plant it in deep, well- 
drained, and rich loamy soil, with an abundance of 
leaf-soil and sharp sand intermixed. Keep the frame 
fairly close till growth is complete, when more air 
may be admitted to the plants. During the growing 
season the plants will be greatly benefited by being 
watered overhead with weak liquid manure or soot- 
water, the effect of which is truly remarkable. 
Under this treatment I have grown this lovely 
Primrose to perfection in smoky districts and near 
London too. The lights should be drawn back at 
night when heavy dews are expected; water should be 
given in hot weather, provided they are well shaded, 
twice a day at least. There are still other varieties, 
such as Platypetala plena, and all prefer a partially 
shaded and damp situation, but if the soil be stony 
or dry a good mulching of well-rotted cow-manure 
will be found highly beneficial.— E. J. 
THE FRITILLARIAS. 
At the present time, among the wealth of lovely 
things coming into flower in the herbaceous borders, 
there are few more curiously attractive flowers than 
those of the various forms of Fritillaria. In a short 
time the Crown Imperial, with its stout erect stems, 
surmounted with a head of pendulous flowers beneath 
a crown of leaves, will contribute its “ stately 
beautifulness,” as Parkinson puts it, to the adorn¬ 
ments of many an old-fashioned garden. At the 
present moment the indigenous Snakes-head Fritillary, 
F. Meleagris, is the largest of the family in bloom, and 
always attracts attention by reason of its solitary, 
drooping, bell-shaped blossoms, prettily marbled with 
purple-brown on a creamy-white ground. Much 
smaller, but still a pretty flower, is the subject of this 
note and of the accompanying illustration, Fritillaria 
lanceolata, which we received from Mr. Ware a few 
weeks ago, and which is still in bloom in his nursery. 
Our illustration, engraved natural size, shows the 
general character of the flowers, which are small 
in size as compared with the blooms of Meleagris, 
and in colour greenish-purple chequered with yellow. 
Mr. Ware grows a number of species and varieties 
of this attractive genus, some of which are not so 
well known as they deserve to be. F. armena is 
described as “a charming new species from Asia 
Minor, resembling our native species in time of 
flowering, but having soft yellow flowers. It grows 
freely in any ordinary soil, and as it is so easily 
cultivated must soon become a very popular plant.” 
F. Moggridgi is a lovely South European species, 
flowering in June, and “ having flowers equally as 
large as those of F. Meleagris, of a bright yellow 
colour, beautifully chequered with purple.” F. 
recurva, which has flowers as large as Meleagris, 
bright scarlet, chequered with yellow, is fittingly 
described as one of the most striking of the genus, 
and one of the most beautiful hardy plants of recent 
introduction. 
THE SIR WATKIN DAFFODIL. 
I gave an account last year of the origin of this 
grand Daffodil [see p. 489], which was brought 
out by our townsman, Mr. William Pickstone, after 
having been cultivated at his estate, Maesmynan, near 
Caerwys, for many years, until he became possessed of 
a very large stock of it. No Daffodil has ever before 
produced such a sensation amongst florists, and its 
early promise is now being amply fulfilled, as it 
stands pre-eminently the finest of all the Incompara- 
bilis section—a peerless Daffodil. 
In The City News, October 18th, 1884, a letter 
appeared, signed by William George, Brook Street, 
Chester, stating that it was an old type of the Giant 
or Mountain Daffodil, improved in colour and sub¬ 
stance under cultivation, and that the same type 
could be found in many old gardens throughout North 
Wales, and also in its wild state in at least two 
counties, and had been known to exist there over 
forty years, and that this Sir Watkin was an old 
foundling under a new name. 
Very soon after this letter appeared, two of our 
leading seedsmen offered me bulbs of this wild form, 
which were expected to turn out to be the real Sir 
Watkin, and they were prepared to supply these bulbs 
by the thousand at a very moderate price. Similar 
offers were abroad, so that the opportunity was pretty 
widely known, and no doubt many took the risk and 
ventured to order. A few bulbs were presented to me 
as samples, and for trial, but as I had a good stock of 
the true Sir Watkin, I found on comparing the bulbs 
that they were much smaller, and I therefore declined 
to purchase a quantity. The name of the person who 
was thus offering bulbs was then given to me, and I 
lost no time in communicating with him. He had 
the subject well mastered, and gave a very plausible 
account of the Daffodil as he knew it to occur wild in 
Wales, and he was quite ready to supply bulbs in any 
quantity. I took down his narrative, and made a 
bargain by which he undertook to accompany me to 
the spot this spring, and I undertook to respect his 
secret and to see that he benefited if he could really 
prove the truth of his statement. 
The time of blooming is here, Sir Watkin is in his 
glory, but his rivals prove to be mere common Pseudo 
Narcissus as it occurs wild in North Wales. The man 
himself is not to be found. It may be true for all this, 
but at present the whole affair looks like a cleverly 
laid scheme for trading profitably upon the fame of the 
grand new Daffodil, if buyers could be found willing 
to take the risk. 
There is, however, a very solid foundation for Mr. 
George’s statement that Sir Watkin was descended 
from the Great Mountain or Giant Daffodil, well 
known in Wales more than forty years ago. In that 
fine old and very rare book, Hale's Eden, published 
in 1757, is to be found an account of the Nonpariel 
Daffodil, and a full-sized engraving of it is given in 
plate 41. This is indisputably like the Sir Watkin 
Daffodil as figured by the Bev. C. Wolley Dod, of 
Malpas, in The Gardeners' Chronicle for April 26,1884, 
p. 558, and which is the best illustration we yet possess 
of Mr. Pickstone’s Daffodil. The Gardening World 
of April 4th contains an excellent plate of several 
of our best Daffodils, Sir Watkin being at the head; 
and this illustration is again exactly like the 
plate in Hale's Eden, if we make allowance for the 
difference (here but slight) between a wild flower and 
a cultivated garden flower; the latter, probably, grown 
under glass. 
