348 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
January 26, 1895. 
better ; so that we urge the necessity and desirability 
for working up the vegetable department in view of 
the importance of vegetables as human food, particu¬ 
larly in suburban districts. On the other hand, 
there are those whose taste lies entirely in the direc¬ 
tion of flowers, as well as those whose gardens are 
small and ill-adapted for vegetable culture, owing to 
unfavourable surroundings, so that to such people 
the second half of the book will prove invaluable. 
It will doubtless surprise many who have not 
hitherto studied the subject, to learn how closely 
connected with good cultivation is the freedom from 
insect pests and the fungoid diseases of plants. The 
methods pursued by successful market gardeners 
will amply substantiate this. Alluvial soils in the 
Thames valley, constantly cropped for the last 
thousand years, perhaps, have neither become 
deteriorated nor infertile, nor are they so liable to 
insect attacks as are many neglected private gardens. 
-- 
WINDOW GARDENING. 
(i Continued from p. 330.) 
Amongst those plants that are comparatively new 
to this class of service, I am anxious to call your 
attention to the tuberous rooted Begonias. It is not 
necessary that I should give you the history of the 
first introductions from S. America, and the many 
advances that have taken place in regard to their 
dwarf habit of growth and flowering capacity. The 
florist truly has been at work, and instead of tall 
plants producing flowers with long narrow petals, 
and blooms that scarcely seemed half expanded, we 
now have flowers of grand form and compactness, 
colours of many hues, stout and healthy foliage, with 
dwarf and sturdy habit of growth ; at the same time 
they are very easy of culture. A window, say, 
facing the west filled with Begonias would be a 
joy and sure to be much admired. Just one colour, 
say pink or crimson, might easily be obtained, or if 
preferred, a mixed collection would pleasantly 
harmonise. A packet of seed bought at any florist’s 
sown in a warm Cucumber frame early in the season, 
would without any difficulty quickly spring up and 
bring bulbs sufficient to fill several boxes. One great 
advantage of growing these Begonias is, that the 
tubers will last for several years ; and if at the close 
of one season they are taken out of the boxes and 
put in some sand or light soil and stood away in a 
cellar or hothouse where frost cannot touch them, 
they will be perfectly sound in the spring, and will 
soon start again into growth with increasing vigour, 
and blossom with even greater freeness. Of course, 
the bulbs must not be kept dust dry through the 
winter, if just a trifle moist so that they do not shrivel 
it is much better. 
Beside those already mentioned there are a large 
number of useful flowering plants, and foremost, as 
it is almost everybody’s flower, I place the Pelargo¬ 
nium, whose representative at the Fall River could 
develope no foliage, and certainly could not bring 
any blossom. Now, amongst Pelargoniums the 
sorts are so numerous that it would be impossible to 
interest you by an enumeration of them, the groups, 
sections, classes, and lists, into which they are 
divided would puzzle you. Still, as a free grower and 
abundant bloomer is what is most required, perhaps 
the most useful will be those termed Zonals, the old 
horse-shoe type, producing fine clusters of crimson, 
scarlet, and pink flowers most freely and with a com¬ 
pact habit of growth that causes these at all times to 
be most acceptable. Another class invaluable for over¬ 
hanging purposes is the Ivy-leaved varieties. I 
consider these some of the best things that can be 
used, they quickly assume a pendulous habit, the 
foliage is of a rich and shiny green, the clusters of 
flowers of large size and substance and produced in 
considerable quantities, combine to make this section 
one of the most desirable as well as most attractive. 
At the close of the season these may be taken from 
the box, cut back, so that the shoots are only left 3 
or 4 in. long, and then with very little protection they 
can be safely kept through the winter and used again 
in the following spring. 
I might also call your attention to such things as 
the dark-leaved Coleus and Iresine, the yellow or 
silver variegated Pelargonium, the Heliotrope, 
Ageratum, and the ever welcome Lobelia. By all 
means use some of this latter, as it produces a mass 
of bright blue that otherwise can scarcely ever be 
obtained. 
Another very useful plant, more especially for 
large windows, is the Marguerite Daisy, its bright 
eyed blooms with clean white florets are much 
prized, and generally the plant is easy to manage. 
If this is used it should be in conjunction with some 
other class of plant, as its blooming period is some¬ 
times late in the season, or it may have received 
some check which will cause it to cease flowering in 
the autumn sooner than would be desirable. Of our 
mutual friend the common Musk grow by all means 
if nothing else can be obtained ; probably more 
labour has been expended on this favourite of the 
cottager in days gone by than any other class of 
window plant. 
I have taken up considerable time in treating, 
chiefly on boxes, vases, etc., containing plants grown 
especially for summer display, and this phase is, 
perhaps, that which will mostly engage your atten¬ 
tion, but not only may windows be bright and cheer¬ 
ful during that period, as soon as this time is past 
the same boxes, etc., can be filled with neat and com¬ 
pact plants of Aucubas, Cupressus, various Coniferae, 
Rhododendrons, and many other dwarf growing 
evergreen shrubs ; if with these a few roots of Prim¬ 
rose or Polyanthus, or, my early pets, the Auriculas, 
and a few tufts of Forget-me-Nots, a most pleasing 
display can be secured in the early spring at very 
little cost. A few bulbs of Snowdrops or Crocus, 
Hyacinths or Tulips, would add considerably to the 
pleasure. 
Hyacinths, too, are very useful when grown in 
glasses and stood in prominent places in the window. 
For this purpose the bulbs should be obtained early 
in October, choosing sound and hard bulbs rather 
than large ones. The glass should be nearly filled 
with water, a piece of charcoal put in, and the 
bulb placed so that the base of it is just above the 
water, place them then in a dark cellar till some 
roots have pushed downwards into the water, gradu¬ 
ally bring them into the light, and by the time the 
leaves are well up they will bear all the light secured 
at a window.—IF. Swan. 
(To be Continued.) 
--f.- 
ISCELLANY. 
SCUTELLARIA FORMOSANA. 
Several species of Scutellaria have been introduced 
to cultivation and prove useful under glass or in the 
open, according to their degree of hardiness. That 
under notice is a native of the Island of Formosa, 
and has been obtained by Messrs. Veitch & Sons, 
Chelsea, from the Botanic Garden, Hong Kong. It 
is a bushy plant about a foot in height, and the 
branches terminate in racemes of large blue and white 
flowers, or, to be more exact, the latter are blue 
shaded with violet, and the tube and lower lip are 
white. The leaves are shortly stalked, oval, blunt, 
obscurely toothed, and the lower surface is often 
washed with purple. The plant should prove useful 
for conservatory and greenhouse decoration. 
THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE. 
The verse I quoted is correct, though, through a 
slip, I attributed it to St. Matthew instead of St. 
Mark. The verse in St. Matthew is almost identical, 
the translators substituting “her” for F'his," 
possibly under the mistaken idea that the Fig tree was 
dioecious, and “ nigh ” for “ near,” though the word 
in the original is the same. So “ Devoniensis ” is 
free to make his choice of seat. I should have men¬ 
tioned that Shakespeare too should always be 
correctly quoted. The Devil can “ cite ” Scripture 
for his purpose, | is what he says, though 
" Devoniensis ’’ is quite within his rights in para¬ 
phrasing Shakespeare. By the way, |the word 
“devil ” is bad throughout. Beheaded it is “ evil " ; 
again, “vil(e)”; take away the v—“ il(l) ”—and 
what is left? I thank “ Devoniensis ” for his kind 
appreciation of my letters of last year, and hope 
when “ the flowers appear on the earth, the time of 
the singing of birds is come,” then to take up my 
pen again.— J. C. Stogdon. 
PRIMULA VERTICILLATA. 
A batch of this pretty and distinct little Primula is 
at the present a very conspicuous feature in the 
greenhouse at Kew. The plants, which are sturdy 
little specimens of their class, have evidently been 
obtained by division of the roots. The flowers are 
yellow in colour, the corolla salver-shaped, and the 
GARDENING f 
tube remarkably long. They are produced upon 
erect growing scapes, bearing several whorls of 
flowers, the long leafy bracts with which these 
whorls are provided being very noticeable from their 
large size. Apart from the beauty of their flowers, 
the foliage possess a peculiar charm from its shining 
silvery appearance. The leaves are densely downy 
on both surfaces and a white mealy powder is pro¬ 
fusely sprinkled over the leaves when they are in a 
young state. This powder, however, disappears in 
a great measure as the leaves become mature. Such 
a plant as this is well worthy a place in every collec¬ 
tion of greenhouse subjects, no matter however 
limited, as besides being of distinctly ornamental 
character it offers no great difficulties in the way of 
culdvation. 
SENECIO MACROGLOSSUS. 
Although this beautiful climber is usually classed 
as a summer flowering subject, it seems to bloom 
away with a total disregard of what the outside 
weather is, a quality that is all too rare a commodity 
among so many of our floral favourites. From its 
peculiar ivy-like foliage, which contrasts so strikingly 
with the large yellow flowers, it has been called the 
Cape Ivy. Its fine trailing habit renders it very 
suitable for the covering of pillars or trellises in the 
greenhouse, and it forms an exceedingly pretty 
picture wheD hanging from the roof almost to the 
ground, as it will readily do. It should be planted 
out in a specially prepared border, plenty of good 
loam being used in the compost, whilst occasional 
stimulant in the way of liquid manure will help 
considerably the natural floriferousness of the plant. 
TALAUMA CANDOLLll. 
From its straggling habit it is very questionable 
whether this plant will ever attain anything like a 
widespread degree of popularity; still no one who 
has ever inhaled the delicious perfume of its flowers 
could fail to be favourably struck by it. These are 
large, of a light yellow colour, and singly produced 
upon rather long peduncles They last in condition 
for a wonderfully short period, however, opening in 
the morning, closing the same day before nightfall, 
and dropping from the plants a few hours after. 
The beautiful perfume they exhale is strongest when 
the flowers are first expanding, but gradually 
decreases in strength as the day wears on, until it is 
so faint as scarce to be detected. The plant may be 
grown in a compost of two-thirds of good loam and 
one-third leaf soil or peat with a little sharp sand. 
Propagation is, however, a somewhat more difficult 
matter, as it is rather a hard job to induce cuttings 
to strike, and thus layering or inarching upon some 
of the Magnolias, to which it is closely allied, is 
usually resorted to as the best means of obtaining 
the required stock. 
RIVINA HUMILIS. 
This certainly is one of the most beautiful berried 
plants we have, and when well grown, one of the 
most admired. In private places, where it has not 
to be carried very far, it is one of the most useful 
plants grown. The bright shining scarlet berries, 
borne on racemes of from 4 in. to 6 in. in length, 
make a useful and beautiful addition to light 
arrangements of cut flowers, and well grown plants 
are very attractive for either table or drawing-room 
decoration. Those having stove heat at command 
will find few things more useful than this old- 
fashioned plant, so easily grown and much admired 
whenever seen at its best. Seed may be sown in 
March, and the plants potted off and grown on into 
5 in. and 6 in. pots, using rich soil; stop several 
times during the summer, keep in a damp atmos¬ 
phere, and syringe well, or they soon get infested 
with thrips. A stock once obtained is easily kept up, 
for seedlings come up freely all over the house or pit 
in which it is grown.—IF. B. G. 
PEAR JULES DEMARET. 
On the 10th October last M. Jules Havaux,gardener 
at Hennuyeres, sent specimens of an unpublished 
Pear to be submitted to the committee of the Cercle 
d'Arboriculture, Belgium, for their opinion of it. 
The' committee found it of excellent flavour, and 
decided that it was worthy of propagation, and 
should be figured amongst their illustrations of 
pomology. A coloured plate is given in the Bulletin 
d A rboriculture for January. The fruit is pear-shaped, 
elongated, with a very shallow eye ; the skin is clear 
yellow, but pervaded throughout with small brownish 
