July 25th, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
743 
crenata flore-pleno is equally good. The drought is 
telling against us here very much ; the crops are 
drying up, shrubs flagging, and large trees begin to 
shed their foliage. There has been no rain to soak 
the earth here since the end of April. We are not 
quite so dried up at present as we were last year, but 
another week or two without a copious downfall will 
land us pretty much in the same place as we were 
last year.— W. B. G. 
FLOWERING PLANTS AT EXHI¬ 
BITIONS. 
I am pleased to see that you have drawn attention 
to the scarcity of specimen flowering plants at our 
various exhibitions, and to the practice of hawking 
plants round the country from show to show. It is 
palpable to all that huge, travel-stained Palms, Tree 
Ferns, and worn-out colourless Crotons, Ac., are 
seen a great deal too often, the same plants being 
patched up year after year, and sent the round to 
“ earn their keep,” with a regularity that has become 
most tiresome. I look back with pleasure to the days 
when Green, Cole, Baines, and others, used to show 
such grand and perfectly fresh specimens ; but now 
it is the same old thing over and over again, excepting 
in the case of Orchids. 
Would it not gladden the hearts of some of the old 
plant growers to see a few of their favourites again ? 
And would it not do the rising generation of gardeners 
good to have such things set before them as examples ? 
We do occasionally meet with good specimen Heaths, 
but many of them are sadly neglected. Where are 
the specimen plants of E. elegans, E. Massoni major, 
and other grand varieties? We do now and again 
see good specimen Ixoras, but seldom such sorts as 
alba, Colei, or salicifolia. Now and then also a good 
Dipladenia or a Statice is conspicuous, but these 
things are very scarce; such plants as AUamandas, 
Stephanotis, Anthuriums, Eucharis, Clerodendrons, 
Bongardias, seem the order of the day. 
It would be a “ joy for ever ” to see, if only in the 
form of half specimens, such good plants as Mussamda 
frondosa, Rondeletia speciosa major, Combretum 
puipureum, the curious Gloriosa and Hexacentris, 
and Stigmaphyllon ciliatum, among stove-flowering 
plants; Aphelexis, Phoenocoma, Pimeleas, Boronias, 
Eriostemons, Hedaromas, Dracophyllums, we see 
frequently, but where are the Boronias, serrulata and 
pinnata, Acrophyllum venosum, Chorozema Hench- 
mannii, Groweas, Hiboertias, Beidia, Leschenaultia 
Baxteri, formosa, intermedia, the lovely blue biloba 
splendens, one of the most showy of greenhouse plants, 
Pimelea spectabilis, Hendersoni, Neippergiana, and 
Pleroma elegans ? These lovely greenhouse-flowering 
plants are sadly neglected, and it is possible that half 
of our young gardeners have never had the pleasure of 
seeing them. 
There are many gardeners who have not the con¬ 
venience for growing large plants, but who could and 
doubtless would grow half and quarter specimens, if 
encouragement was offered them by more of the 
Horticultural Societies giving liberal prizes, say for 
six or twelve hard-wooded stove and greenhouse¬ 
flowering plants in 8-in. or 12-in. pots. More com¬ 
petitions of this character would be the means of 
reviving the culture of some of these much-neglected 
plants, and I feel certain they would be a welcome 
addition to many an exhibition which is now a flower 
show in name only, owing to the deficient supply of 
flowering plants. 
I was pleased the other day when in a town in Scot¬ 
land to meet with a few good Ericas, good examples 
of Cantua dependens, and the lovely Clianthus 
Dampieri; the latter were exceedingly fine, and 
showing quantities of flowers. They had been raised 
from seeds sown early. It is a lovely plant when in 
flower, its peculiar scarlet and black flowers being always 
pleasing and attractive. There is a fine chance just 
now for ambitious young gardeners desirous of winning 
their way to fame.— A. Outram, Victoria and Paradise 
Nurseries, Upper Holloway. 
Gloxinia Flambea. —Of the numerous fine, erect, 
flowering varieties which have been raised in and 
sent out from Messrs. Veitch’s Nursery, this has the 
credit of having been sold in the greatest numbers. 
It is only of medium size, but perfect in shape and 
substance, and in colour the brightest scarlet of all. 
SELECT HARDY PERENNIALS. 
(Continued from p. 727.) 
Doronicum caucasicum. —This is one of the most 
effective of spring-flowering perennials, and at the 
same time one of the most hardy. Its full height 
when in flower is from 1 ft. 6 ins. to 2 ft.; its blos¬ 
soms, which are about 3 ins. across, are of a bright 
golden-yellow, and borne in quick succession for some 
time. It is just the kind of plant which must meet 
with many admirers, especially those who have a 
preference for single flowers. It may be said to be 
one of the fashionable plants of the present day, for I 
am sure very few having once made its acquaintance 
would care to be without it. It forms a somewhat 
close carpet of leaves upon the ground, and while it is 
by no means rampant it increases rapidly. The root- 
stock assumes a creeping habit of growth, that is, 
it creeps on the surface of the soil, emitting fresh 
roots in its onward course; this makes it one of the 
simplest to increase by division, and as it is one of 
the most effective plants for the spring garden, it 
cannot be had in too great a quantity. There is still 
another use for it—its value in a cut state, besides 
which it is one of the most effective of plants for 
conservatory decoration ; indeed, in a cold house or 
even a frame, it may be had in perfection considerably 
earlier than if it has to battle with wind, rain, and 
frost in the early months of the year. Of its useful¬ 
ness as a pot plant for the conservatory or drawing¬ 
room I was forcibly reminded when calling on my 
friend, Mr. W. Spinks, of the Royal Exotic Nurseries, 
Edgbaston, Birmingham, some two or three years 
since. Mr. Spinks had estimated the full value of 
this Doronicum, which he remarked had caused quite 
a sensation in his district. There were quantities in 
large 32-sized pots in full flower, and those who wish 
to add to the beauty of the conservatory very early in 
the year when flowers are scarce should do likewise. 
The other cultivated kinds are austriaeum, Clusii, 
Pardalianches, plantagineum, and its variety, exeel- 
sium. By embracing the first two and the last named, 
flowers of this one genus may be had from April to 
September ; the popular name of these plants is 
“ Leopard’s Bane.” 
The Dracocephalums, or Dragon’s Head, form a 
handsome group of, for the most part, dwarf-growing 
perennials, which usually have blue or purplish-blue 
flowers ; these are produced from July onward into 
the later summer months. The best are argunense, 
1 ft. 6 ins. high, having linear leaves and racemes of 
deep blue flowers ; grandiflorum, 1 ft. high, with deep 
blue showy flowers, and Buyschianum japonicum, 
1 ft. 6 ins. high, erect habit, and whorls of light blue 
flowers. These are propagated by cuttings inserted in 
sandy soil under handlights, and also by seeds. 
Dracocephalum virginicum album seems to call for 
special mention; it is, I believe, the only white- 
flowered kind in commerce. It grows 2 ft. 6 ins. 
high, and is of erect habit; its flower-stems for 
about two-thirds of its height being studded with pure 
white flowers. It is in all respects a first-class peren¬ 
nial, increased in the same way as the preceding. 
Echinops. —This is a genus of plants which, while 
we cannot regard them as beautiful, are, from their 
peculiar form, most attractive in certain positions, 
such as the wild garden, isolated positions on the 
lawn, or on the higher positions of the rockery ; in 
either of these, their quaint and picturesque bearing, 
and their globular heads of flowers, make them con¬ 
spicuous ; they are strong growers, and usually 
attain 3 ft. or 4 ft. in height. 
Epimediums. —I will now pass on to the Barren 
Worts, all of which are singularly beautiful and 
interesting. The average height is about 1 ft., the 
colour of the flowers, roughly speaking, being con¬ 
fined to red, yellow, and white. Owing to their dwarf 
habit and free-flowering qualities, they are suited 
either as front-row plants in the border, or for the 
rockery in a partially shady spot preferably ; they 
delight in peaty or light loamy soils, and are also 
suited for culture in pots. From the compact tufts 
of somewhat hard, leathery leaves, issue the flower- 
stems, which are gracefully arched and furnished 
with their beautiful blossoms. The most worthy of 
culture are alpinum, red; macranthum,white; niveum, 
white; pinnatum, yellow ; and violaceum, purple—all 
of which are most readily increased by division, an 
operation best performed in early autumn. 
TnE Erigerons constitute a free-flowering and 
showy group of composite plants, which for the most 
part have flowers of a lavender or purple-blue shade ; 
but as there are exceptions to most rules, so it is with 
this, as by a recent introduction we have not only a 
new departure, in so far as the colour is concerned, 
but we have another gem added to the already long 
list of good hardy plants. This one—a conspicuous 
one too—is Erigeron aurantiacus, which grows about 
9 ins. high ; it forms a compact tuft of hairy leaves, 
and produces freely its rich orange-coloured flowers, 
which are as large as a crown piece. Need I say 
more than this of so charming a plant ? It is indeed 
a very fine perennial, suited for a very choice position 
on the rockery, or in the border. Then we have 
E. grandiflorum, and its white kind, of similar height 
to the first-named, with equally large flowers of blue 
and white respectively. E. macranthum grows about 
1 ft. high, and has large purple flowers; it is a neat 
and showy plant. E. speciosum, and the variety 
superbum, are taller; these grow 2 ft. and upwards 
in height, and produce in great profusion, throughout 
the summer and autumn months, their large, showy, 
purple-blue flowers, rendered more conspicuous by 
their yellow centres or disc. These are all readily 
increased by division and also by seeds, and in the 
case of the first-named, every seed should be secured, 
for it can never be had in too great a quantity.— J. 
■ -- 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY. 
I am desired by the Council of the Boyal Horti¬ 
cultural Society to ask you to allow them to make 
known, through the medium of your columns, that they 
are prepared, at the request of and in concert with the 
Boyal Commissioners of the Indian and Colonial 
Exhibition of 1886, to offer their co-operation and 
assistance to such of the colonies as may desire to 
avail themselves of it. 
Some of the colonies have already expressed 
a desire to have, as a feature of their courts, illustra¬ 
tions of the indigenous flora in vestibules or plant- 
houses. In addition to these, the Council believe 
that collections of ornamental and economic plants, 
in a growing state, and of fruits, would be of much 
interest and value. 
The Boyal Horticultural Society will be ready to 
give advice and practical assistance in preparing, 
arranging, and carrying out such illustrations to any 
of the colonies who may apply to them. But they 
desire to point out that it is essential, for even a very 
limited display of growing plants, that not a day 
should be lost. I shall be glad to answer any 
inquiries. The Assistant Secretary and the Superin¬ 
tendent of the Society’s Gardens will be ready to meet 
and consult with the Colonial Commissioners and to 
take forthwith the necessary steps in conjunction with 
them.— F. Mason, Secretary. 
A SUCCESSFUL VINE GROWER. 
An interesting story is told in connection with 
French vineyards of the successful struggle of 
M. Bastide, who has just received the first prize, the 
medal of honour, at the competition of cultivators in 
the Herault. M. Bastide purchased in 187S for 350,000 
francs, or about £14,000 English money, the estate 
of Agnac, which is situated near Montpellier. It 
contained 380 hectares of land, of which 106 were for 
cultivation, 274 woods, Ac. A fine vineyard of 80 
hectares, which had formerly yielded 10,000 hecto- 
hties of wine, was at the time of M. Bastide’s purchase 
almost totally destoroyed by phylloxera, and the soil 
was invaded by couch grass. His first care was to root 
out the dead and dying Vines, and to sow the ground 
partly with Lucerne grass and partly with Cereals, so 
as to clear the ground and prepare it for the re-con¬ 
struction of a new vineyard with strong Vines. This 
he has effected. His first Vines were planted in 1880, 
and at the moment of inspection the vineyard 
covered S4 hectares, 15 hectares having been re¬ 
claimed from worthless land on the borders of the 
estate. In the cultivation of his vineyard M. Bastide 
has spared neither labour nor expense. He has 
tended it incessantly, and has brought the ground 
into first-rate condition by the plentiful application 
of manure. In the first four years of his ownership 
the expenses greatly exceeded the receipts, but now 
the receipts are in excess of the expenses, with every 
prospect of large increase. M. Bastide’s father, an 
old agriculturist* 80 years of age, has been his 
principal adviser and assistant. 
