April 6, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
499 
AMARYLLIS. 
. JAS. VEITCH & 
BEG TO INVITE INSPECTION OF THEIR 
MAGNIFICENT COLLECTION, 
WHICH IS NOW IN FULL BLOOM. 
THE ROYAL EXOTIC NURSERY, 544, KING’S ROAD, CHELSEA, 
LONDON. S.W. 
ORCHIDS. 
Clean Healthy Plants at Low Prices. 
Always worth a visit of inspection. Kindly send for Catalogue. 
JAMES CYPHER, 
Exotic Nurseries, CHELTENHAM. 
NEW 
Tomato, 
“BROCKHAMPTON KING,” Per Packet, Is. 
Highly recommended for Early Forcing. Special Prizes will 
be given in 1895. For particulars apply— 
W. E. TIDY, 
Brockhampton Nurseries, Havant, Herts. 
SPECIAL LIST OF 
W. WELLS 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS 
Contains the best Novelties of the season. Also the best 12, 
24, 36, 48, and 60 Japs, and 12, 24, 36, and 48 Incurveds for Exhi¬ 
bition, up to date with their heignts. It also contains a lot of 
useful information to exhibitors, old and young, post free, id. 
My Catalogue, which gives more useful information to Amateurs 
than any other such book ever published, contains names and 
description of nearly 1,000 varieties. Post free, 4d. Single 
Chrysanthemums a great speciality. EARLSWOOD 
NURSERIES, Redhill, Surrey. 
FLORISTS’ FLOWERS 
AND 
HARDY BORDER PLANTS. 
FORBES’ ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE 
for 1893 is now ready, and will be posted to all intending 
Purchasers. 
The new Catalogue for 1895 is enlarged to about 150 pages 
and very materially improved, embracing everything new and 
old worth cultivating in the way of Florists’ Flowers and 
Hardy Plants with accurate description and prices, copious 
notes as to their origin, how, and where best to grow, a full 
index of the common or popular name? of Hardy Border 
Plants and a vast mass of other valuable information that 
cannot be had elsewhere, which renders this the best, most 
reliable, and complete catalogue ever issued on this popular 
class of plants. 
JOHN FORBES, Nurseryman, Hawick, Scotland. 
Tack frost 
has caused many losses that can be made good in 
an easy and cheap manner by purchasing the follow¬ 
ing bulbs and plants which I can recommend as being 
first class. 
BEGONIA, SINGLE. 
20,000 grand bulbs, mixed colours, finest ever offered 
at the price, 3s. per dozen. 
PELARGONIUMS, SHOW AND DECORATIVE. 
Fine plants in best kinds, 6s., 9s , and 12s. per dozen. 
ZONAL PELARGONIUMS. 
Best kinds only, 6 for 2s. 6d., 12 for 4s. 
IVY-LEAF PELARGONIUMS. 
A very choice lot, 6 for 2s. 6d., 12 for 4s. 
DOUBLE PETUNIAS. 
Extra fine new kinds, 6 for 3s. 6d., 12 for 6s. 
Send joy Catalogue, Free. 
H. J. JONES, 
Ryecroft Nursery, Hither Green, Lewisham. 
For Index to Contents see page £09. 
“ Gardening is the purest of Human pleasures, and the greater t 
refreshment to the spirit of man "—Bacon. 
Edited by BRIAN WYNNE. 
SATURDAY , APRIL 6 th, 1895 
NEXT WEEK'S ENGAGEMENTS. 
Monday, April 8th.—National Chrysanthemum Society, Meet¬ 
ing of Committee at 7 p.m. 
Sale of Hardy Plants at Protheroe& Morr's’ Rooms. 
Tuesday, April 9th.— Sale of Imported Orchids at Protheroe 
& Morris' Rooms. 
Royal Horticultural Society, Meeting of Committees at 12 
o'clock. 
Wednesday, April 10th.—Lily Sale, etc., at Protheroe & Morris’ 
Rooms. 
£he Princes of Spring Flowers.— As 
spring advances flowers of many kinds 
increase both in quantity and variety. 
Many of them are unnatural to the season, 
and are brought forward by forcing and 
other artificial means, while others natur¬ 
ally flower towards the end of spring, and 
are forwarded under glass, it may be with¬ 
out what would be regarded as forcing, yet 
with the shelter of glass houses and frames. 
On the contrary, there are several classes 
of flowers which come on naturally in early 
spring without any additional heat beyond 
what is necessary to their kind, and which 
is supplied by artificial means, supplemen¬ 
ted by what sunshine our northern skies 
can supply. Amongst these are several 
which stand out prominently and conspic¬ 
uously above the general run of spring 
flowers, and entitle themselves to the fullest 
consideration, both at the hands of cultiva¬ 
tors and admirers. Some of them are 
garden improvements, and practically the 
productions of man ; for their counterparts 
are not to be found in the wide domain of 
nature except in the primitive and unim¬ 
proved wild forms that get neglected in the 
presence of their modern representatives. 
Orchids easily take the first place amongst 
the princes of spring flowers, as they do 
indeed hold their own at almost any season 
of the year. This has been amply demon¬ 
strated at the meetings of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society during the meetings of the 
past winter ; at some of the meetings the" 
were the only dominant feature, even when 
frost was too severe to risk out anything of 
value except cut flowers. As winter gave 
place to spring they became more exten¬ 
sively reoresented by the same or other 
seasonable species. During March it was 
impossible to overlook or overrate the im¬ 
portance of the Cattleyas and Dendrobiums. 
The former were represented by C. Per- 
civaliana, occasionally in splendid form and 
colour, and by C. Trianaei, either contem¬ 
poraneously or slightly later. The Dendro¬ 
biums, both for quantity, quality, and orna¬ 
mental effect, could not he overlooked 
during the month of March. D. nobile and 
its multitudinous allies and D. Wardianum 
come in for a large share of popularity 
owing to the size, beauty, and abundance 
of their flowers. If any one species might 
be named as taking the precedence of all 
others it is D. nobile. It is evidently a 
sign of the times that all the best varieties 
of it are being assembled together in collec¬ 
tions ; and the fact of their being brought 
to the front is a question of utilitarianism, 
for all of them are capable of supplying an 
enormous quantity of cut flowers in a season. 
The specimen of D. nobile nobilius bearing 
some 389 fully expanded blossoms was an 
eye-opener to many; for, although the 
beauty of that variety is well known, few 
of those who saw it had any conception 
that there was such a large specimen of the 
variety in the country, the propagation or 
division to which it has been subjected for 
many years being very great. The 
numerous hybrids of D. nobile with other 
allied species cannot be exempted from this 
enumeration, both in consideration of the 
number of the older forms that have come 
before the public and the continually in¬ 
creasing improvements and hybrids that 
are constantly being raised and flowered. 
Other Orchids of no small importance at 
this season of the year are Cymbidiums, 
Coelogynes, Miltonias, Vandas, and Odon- 
toglossums, the latter in great variety and 
beauty. Cypripediums are never entirely 
out of season. 
The numerous and highly improved 
varieties of Hippeastrum, still popularly 
known as Amaryllis, come into bloom at 
various periods of the year, but they are in 
full force during March and April. 
Hardly any one will deny the proud 
place that they take in the decora¬ 
tion of various houses in spring, but 
only those who possess a collection, how¬ 
ever small, of the more modern improve¬ 
ments can have any conception of the size 
and gorgeous colouring of the flowers. 
Those cultivators who have been raising 
and improving new varieties for some years 
past have been aiming at greater size 
within limits, more regularity or symmetry 
of form, and richness as well as distinct¬ 
ness in the colours, whether light or dark. 
The flowers of many are large enough in 
all conscience. Tire enlargement is con¬ 
comitant with the shortening and flattening 
out of the tube, and to a great extent is 
doubtlessly merely an expression of that 
fact. Clivias, formerly better known under 
the name of Imantophyllums, may truly be 
reckoned amongst the princes of spring 
flowers, for their great, leathery, evergreen 
leaves surmounted as they are by huge 
trusses of orange or orange-scarlet flowers 
are sufficient to draw the attention of the 
least observant to their noble, massive, and 
brilliant appearance. The original and 
wild forms are being lost and neglected in 
presence of the great improvements that 
have been effected. 
All of the above are hothouse plants, but 
the cultivators who take delight in hardy 
plants are yearly increasing. Except in 
the case of those who have collections of 
