March 23, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
473 
better account by those “ that know.” But in these 
days of " the new woman,” " Amateurism,” and the 
twaddle anent the ‘‘Education of Gardeners,” it 
seems difficult indeed for those “ that know ” to find 
a suitable locale where they can carry out their ideas, 
they must be under the ban of being told by those 
that think they know. 
I have “taken to” boxes and pans galore of 
Lobelia, in fact, if they had all been pricked off there 
would have been sufficient to supply a dozen flower 
gardens. Stocks and Asters the same ; days had to 
be spent in pricking them out, when time was sorely 
needed for other pressing work ; then, at planting 
out time, they had to be poked in anywhere to make 
use of them, and a lot had to remain and flower in 
the bed in which they were pricked out. But I could 
easily infer that the sower, provided with a multi¬ 
plicity of seed, boxes, soil, and sand, had found many 
hours’ occupation in the operation of seed sowing. 
Then, again, I have seen the Brassica tribe sown 
far too thickly, and to make matters still worse 
under trees. I suppose the sower thought they 
would be so nicely sheltered, but the sequel was 
weak, drawn, and lanky plants at planting time, ten 
times as many as was really wanted, but then that 
did not signify, the overplus had to occupy the seed 
beds until winter, and then be carted into the woods 
for rabbits, after they had nicely drawn 
the ground. That kitchen garden was 
minus walls, so there was often a rabbit 
hunt, sometimes with the help of 
half-a-dozen spaniels, capital things 
among growing crops ! One thing, there 
was not much need to go over the 
Onion bed and knock the tops down 
to facilitate their ripening ! 
There was also an excellent supply of 
wild birds, thrushes and blackbirds 
galore, and bullfinches the same—how 
we did wish that garden was nearer 
Whitechapel! Those bullfinches nearly 
cleared the Raspberries when ripe, 
although we were at the trouble to net 
them right over; after that I smiled a 
cynical smile at those advertisements 
of netting dealers, “ protect your gar¬ 
dens from the ravages of birds.” But 
my employer was a humane man, he 
stoutly refused to have them shot, and 
pooh-poohed the idea that bullfinches 
did any barm in the garden, an erroneous 
idea altogether—most gardeners know 
what destructive little brutes they are 
to the buds. Those dear, fascinating, 
little squirrels cleared off most of the 
Apricots when they were the size of 
Walnuts. Then, again, we were " dead 
nuts” on cats; they are apt to get 
poaching in that part of the country, so 
rats and mice had a high old time, the 
latter " set at ” the Cucumbers and 
Melons in brick pits, so that we were un¬ 
able to get any the latter part of the season. --Pathfinder. 
-- I— - 
SPIRAEA CONFUSA. 
I send you a plasit of Spiraea confusa; I have found 
it one of the very best plants for early forcing that 
I have met with. I have had it in flower since 
Christmas. Another thing in its favour is that it 
lasts well when cut. Is it a new plant, or what ? I 
cannot find it in any list. I had a dozen sent me for 
trial, and am so pleased with it, that I shall grow it 
in quantity for cutting ; and what a lovely decorative 
plant it is !— J. R. Fetch, Saffron Walden, Essex. 
[The Spiraea mentioned by our correspondent is a 
native of Northern Asia, and its correct name, 
according to the acceptation of modern botanists, is 
S. media; and S. confusa and S. oblongifolia are 
said to be synonyms. The date of its introduction 
is not given, but it has every appearance of having 
been amongst us for many years, and its merits over¬ 
looked or neglected. It has got into some lists, 
however, under the name of S. confusa, which is 
now getting disseminated over the country and into 
private establishments, where it is highly esteemed 
for forcing and decorative purposes. It has even 
been figured as above in the catalogue of Messrs. Veitch 
& Sons, and the plant from which the illustration 
was prepared was closely similar to that sent by our 
correspondent, except that it was confined to one 
stem at the base. 
The plant sent us consisted of numerous stems, 
the habit of the plant being to throw up numerous 
suckers close to the base of the old ones. The 
strongest of the stems were only 2J ft. long, but the 
plant was much dwarfer owing to the arching and 
even recurving habit of the slender, twiggy branches 
The ovate and rhomboid leaves were more or less 
incised or cut above the middle, and of a beautiful 
glaucous hue, more decided above than below. The 
pure white flowers, like Hawthorn in miniature, are 
produced in umbels at the end of small shoots that 
spring from every bud along the wood of last year. 
A well-grown plant has a snowy appearance with 
the quantity of blossom. The shrub is well adapted 
for forcing on account of its dwarfness and the fact 
that it is only necessary to develop the buds of last 
year's wood into twigs of 2 in. to 4 in. long bearing 
the flowers. 
Many years ago, Loudon described both S media 
and S. longifolia as varieties of S. chamaedrifolia. 
He also gave S. chamaedrifolia vulgaris, S. c. sub- 
racemosa, and S. c. incisa as varieties of the same 
species, and although he described S. ulmifolia, S. 
flexuosa, S. crataegifolia, S. betulaefolia, and some 
others as species, yet he suspected them all to be 
merely forms of S. chamaedrifolia. Some more modern 
books do actually give two of the forms as varieties 
Spiraea confusa. 
of the latter, namely, S. c. ulmifolia and S. c. 
flexuosa, while S. media is regarded as a distinct 
species, with S. confusa and S. oblongifolia as 
synonyms. The specimen sent us as S. confusa 
does not agree exactly with S. chamaedrifolia media 
as described by Loudon, nor with S. media, as de¬ 
scribed in Nicholson's " Dictionary of Gardening,” 
but more nearly with S. chamaedrifolia itself. We 
have therefore strong reasons for believing that all 
of the above are merely forms of S. chamaedrifolia, 
which is a widely variable species recorded by Loudon 
from Siberia, Kamtschatka, Dahuria, the north¬ 
west coast of North America, China and Japan. 
It was originally introduced in 1789, and flowers 
naturally in June and July. S. c. media is said to be 
wild in Canada, and upon rocks in Dahuria, and 
should have narrower leaves than S. chamaedrifolia, 
and slightly hairy on both surfaces. Now, the 
leaves of the plant sent us were fairly broad and 
perfectly smooth. 
Then it is our opinion that any of the forms of S. 
chamaedrifolia may be forced with perfect freedom, 
and that there is really nothing new about S. con¬ 
fusa at all, but that it is an old friend and not the 
less beautiful nor less useful for that. On the con¬ 
trary, we should advise gardeners to hunt up their 
old shrubberies to see whether they have got any of 
the forms of S. chamaedrifolia in them, and if not, 
to procure it whether under the name of S. confusa 
or not. Those who are required to do a deal of 
forcing will find it a 'most welcome addition to the 
list of shrubs for forcing, and one that will add 
beauty and variety to the greenhouse, conservatory, 
or dwelling house, and prove most serviceable for 
cut flowers.—E d.] 
FOLIAGE PLANTS AND 
THEIR CULTURE. 
[Concluded from p. 459.) 
Alocasias. 
This genus is closely allied to the Caladium, and 
like it belongs to the Aroid family. A. Jenningsii is 
one of the small-leaved species and is best grown in 
shallow pans. Among the large foliage kinds may 
be found several handsome plants, such as A. Lowii, 
A. metallica, A. Thibautiana, and A. Zebrina. The 
best material for potting most of the Alocasias in is 
a mixture of light fibrous peat, chopped sphagnum 
moss, silver sand, and a few pieces of charcoal. The 
plants require a great quantity of water during the 
summer months, therefore plenty of crocks should 
be placed in the pots so that the water can percolate 
through the soil freely. Such plants as A. Macror- 
hiza variegata, however, require very rich fibrous 
loam, with which should be mixed a good quantity 
of dried and well decomposed cow manure, leaf 
mould, and silver sand. The Alocasia, like the 
Caladium, requires a warm stove tem¬ 
perature and shade from the direct rays 
of the sun. 
The Ornamental Foliaged 
Anthuriums. 
This genus fupplies some of the best of 
our decorative stove plants. The deep 
green colouring of the broad leaves of 
Anthurium crystallinum, with its con¬ 
spicuous net-work of white veins that 
look as if they were studded by a million 
crystals, is at once fascinating and dis¬ 
tinct. Whilst the extraordinary dimen¬ 
sions of the foliage of A. Veitchii, which 
has been known to produce leaves 3 ft 
10 in. in length by 14 in. inlwidth, the 
surface of the leaves being light green 
and wavy, may be justly considered to 
stamp the plant as one of the most 
remarkable in cultivation. A. magnifi- 
cum and A. Warocqueanum are choice 
subjects and worthy of a place in every 
collection of stove foliage plants. 
Culture. 
The compost for potting should be similar 
to that recommended for Alocasias, but 
great care should be taken that every 
particle of fine peat is removed, leaving 
nothing but the light fibre, with which one 
third chopped sphagnum moss and a few 
lumps of charcoal or broken potsherd 
must be mixed to ensure porosity. The 
pots should be half filled with drainage so 
that the plants maybe elevated on a mound 
well above the rim of the pot, and a broad 
surface thus provided for the long aerial roots,which 
are thrown out from the stems of the plants, forming 
so many canals through which the moisture con¬ 
tained in the atmosphere of the house passes, and is 
thus conveyed to various parts of the plant. Place 
the plants in a warm stove temperature and in a 
shady position having a moist atmosphere. 
During very hot days the temperature of the house 
should be regulated by shading heavily rather than 
by excessive ventilation. The plants require 
abundance of water during the growing season, but 
the supply should be gradually diminished on the 
approach of winter. 
The Maranta. 
Sometimes called the “ Arrowroot plant,” as a kind 
of Arrowroot is obtained from the fleshy root of 
some of the varieties. Propagated by divisions of 
the crowns, they succeed best in fibrous peat. 
Among the Marantas there are many species that 
are choice and pretty, M. roseo-lineata is one of the 
dwarf-growing kinds; the leaves are dark green, 
prettily striped with rose. M. regalis is a very 
compact grower, with dark green leaves, striped 
with bright crimson. M. Veitchii attains a large 
size, and its leaves are beautifully spotted and 
streaked with various shades of green and grey. 
M. zebrina is also a strong grower, with elegant 
foliage, striped and barred with shades of light and 
dark green. The plants require a shady position, 
and a warm stove temperature. 
