May 4, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
665 
June. The recent rains have been to a great extent 
beneficial, giving the flowers great substance and 
durability, and only when very heavy do they be¬ 
come really injurious. Nowhere else in Britain can 
we find so extensive a collection as in the nursery of 
Messrs. Barr & Son, at Long Ditton, Surbiton, 
Surrey. The process of cross-fertilisation is just now 
being carried on for the purpose of obtaining new 
and improved varieties, for it is evident that Daffo¬ 
dils have not yet become played out nor lost their 
power to furnish surprises to the waiting and watch¬ 
ing enthusiast. 
Amongst the large varieties of Trumpet Daffodils 
that are still rare, Weardale Perfection, Glory of 
Leyden, Madame de Graaff, and Monarch, still take 
a leading place. The first-named has white 
segments and a better trumpet than Glory of 
Leyden, inasmuch as it is wide and plaited at the 
mouth. The delicate colouring of Madame de Graaff 
is very charming. Captain Nelson is also a large 
flower with a golden trum¬ 
pet and pale yellow seg¬ 
ments, while those of G. 
A. Dorrien Smith are 
sulphur-white. Mrs. Vin¬ 
cent is very like Madame 
deGraaff in its pale lemon 
trumpet, but it is smaller 
and dwarfer. Emperor, 
Empress, and Bicolor 
Horsfeldi are now well 
known and useful varieties 
that require no recom¬ 
mendation. Grandisisthe 
latest and dwarfest of the 
Empress type,and in point 
of size and colour of the 
flowers in no way inferior; 
it is useful as a succession, 
being about a fortnight 
later than Empress. 
Another strong grower is 
P. R. Barr which differs 
from Emperor in the 
beautifully twisted inner 
segments. John Nelson, 
which is notable for the 
great length of itstrumpet, 
would also come in this 
group and is equally as 
vigorous as Emperor. 
Golden Prince and M. J. 
Berkeley maybe placed to¬ 
gether on account of their 
rich yellow colour and 
large open trumpet, but 
that of the former is more 
lobed and waved. Many of 
the truly golden kinds 
are past their best, being 
early, but a few may still 
be seen, including Glad¬ 
stone, the bold and 
showy Maximus, Shirley 
Hibberd, dwarf, with a 
glorious trumpet, and 
Santa Marie, which is early and more uniformly rich 
golden-yellow than any of the rest. Her Majesty is 
very dwarf with sulphur segments and a wide 
crown, while Hudibras is similarly dwarf, but much 
darker in hue. The long trumpet, as well as the seg¬ 
ments of H. J Elwes, are dark lemon-yellow. The 
crown of St. Brigid is also of unusual length, while 
Sharman Crawford is a strong grower. 
Queen of Spain is still a charming little Daffodil 
with its reflexing segments, and all of a bright lemon- 
yellow. The tips of the segments of Dick Sartoris 
are white, all the rest bein g golden-yellow and 
remarkably distinct. Much larger are the flowers 
of Dean Herbert and Muriel Dobel with sulphur- 
white segments and rich lemon-yellow trumpets. 
Michael Foster, in the matter of colour, lies between 
Emperor and Empress, to which type it would 
belong. On the contrary, J. B. M. Camm belongc 
to the same group as Madame de Graaff, but the 
soft lemon tube is a shade darker, and more frilled 
at the mouth. A number of pale and beautiful 
Daffodils belong to the N. moschatus type, and a 
collection would be incomplete without some of 
them such as Cernuus.C.W.Cowan, Lady Grosvenor, 
William Goldring, Mrs. F. W. Burbidge, and 
Matson all differing in habit, in size, and shades of 
colour, but always having white segments and a soft 
lemon trumpet, often fading almost white. Here 
also may be placed Mrs. J. B. M Camm, but it is a 
large and beautiful flower of the M. de Graaff type. 
The Peerless or Nonsuch Daffodils, varieties of 
Narcissus incomparabilis, are strongly represented, 
but we noted only the very best. Sir Watkin is still 
unrivalled for size, and Gloria Mundi is one of the 
best with a rich orange crown. The bell-shaped 
crown of Magog is notable for its size, and that of 
Hogarth is very wide and much crumpled. Princess 
Mary is, indeed, very beautiful with its broad white 
segments and short, wide cup like the old-fashioned 
crinolines. The golden crown of George Nicholson 
is also very wide, and the plant is dwarf. The white 
segments of Goliath measure 4 in. to 4J in. across, 
and the golden-yellow crown is very long. The 
golden crown of Mabel Cowan is edged with orange, 
which adds considerably to its beauty. On the con¬ 
trary, Miltiades has a short, clear yellow crown, and 
Narcissus bicolor Madame De Graaf. 
the clear lemon-yellow segments with the golden 
crown are characteristic of Frank Miles. The 
flowers of Beauty have also good-sized and orange- 
edged crowns. 
Some of the varieties of Barrii are very choice 
either for bedding or in the cut state on account of 
their broad segments and massive looking flowers of 
pleasing colours. Chief amongst them we would 
place Barrii conspicuous with its broad, soft yellow 
segments and scarlet edge to the wide crown. B. 
General Murray is very dwarf with white segments. 
B. Maurice Vilmorin on the contrary is a larger 
flower with a long, bell-shaped crown. Very charm¬ 
ing is B. Sensation with its pure white segments and 
golden crown with a scarlet edge. The varieties of 
Leedsii are always notable for the pale and delicate 
hue of their flowers, the type being white. Duchess 
of Westminster is suitable for bedding on account 
of the size of its flowers. The crown of Grand 
Duchess is bell-shaped and creamy-white. The broad 
white segments of Catherine Spill recall those of 
Narcissus poeticus. Minnie Hume is bold and hand¬ 
some on account of its very long crown. M. 
Magdaline de Graaff also reminds one of the Poet's 
Narcissus in the purity of its broad segments, but 
the lemon-yellow crown is very wide. A dwarf one 
in this group is Palmerston, with a long, bell-shaped, 
deep lemon crown. 
Very distinct in its way is Backhousei with its 
golden trumpet and sulphur-white segments, differing 
in form from any of the types above mentioned. 
The nodding flowers of Hume’s Giant represent 
another type, with nodding flowers and a remarkably 
long tube at the base. The varieties of Nelsoni 
with their short and firm trumpets and white 
segments form a group of very choice Daffodils of 
chaste and pleasing appearance. Those of Nelsoni 
aurantiacus have a dark orange mouth to the corona, 
while that of Nelsoni Major is golden and of good 
substance. The white segments of Mrs. C. J. 
Backhouse are longer than the lemon-yellow tube. 
The varieties of N. Burbidgei are closely related to 
N. poeticus, and differ principally in having a slightly 
deeper cup or crown, with other minor distinctions. 
That named Lovely has a yellow cup with a gold 
edge, but Moder has purer white segments. The 
crown of Mary is lemon- 
yellow, but that of Falstaff 
is orange at the margin. 
Vanessa has a clear yellow 
crown and very pretty and 
compact round flowers. 
Amongst doubles there 
are several types, but not 
represented in anything 
like the same quantity as 
the single sorts. The 
double form of N. odorus 
is as pretty as any. There 
are several distinct forms 
of the double N. incom¬ 
parabilis, including Cod- 
lins and Cream or the 
Sulphur Phoenix. The 
numerous segments are 
white with a sulphur base, 
and are arranged round a 
single centre. Amongst 
the white segments of 
Orange Phoem'xare much 
shorter orange ones. The 
segments of Butter and 
Eggs are sulphur-coloured 
but the nectary segments 
are orange. The earlier 
forms of the Poet’s Nar¬ 
cissus have been flowering 
forsome time.includingN. 
poeticus ornatus, but N. 
p. grandiflorus is also in 
perfection with its large 
flowers and orange-scarlet 
edge to the cup. Some¬ 
what similar to the last is 
N. p. poetarum, but the 
scarlet edge to the cup 
is much broader and very 
effective. 
Besides the cultivation 
of any of the above upon 
grass, they are also becom¬ 
ing more and more utilised 
for bedding purposes in spring. Handsome and 
effective beds might also be made with Paeonies and 
Daffodils. A large number of the varieties of 
Paeonia albiflora have dark red stems and foliage, 
particularly at the time the Daffodils are in bloom, 
so that a bed of the above description would serve to 
show off the beauty of both classes of plants. The 
yellow or white flowers of Daffodils would make a 
pleasing and effective contrast with the dark red 
foliage of the Paeonies. This would constitute a 
permanent bed, requiring a minimum of attention, 
yet affording a bold and striking effect. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS, 
By John Fraser, F.L.S., Kew. 
The Orchids described hereunder were exhibited at 
the meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on 
the 23rd ult. and received awards according to merit, 
Laelio-cattleya Epicasta. Nov. hyb. bigen .—This 
bigeneric hybrid was obtained from Laelia pumila 
hybridised with Cattleya Warscewiczii. The plant is 
relatively dwarf in habit and in every respect inter¬ 
mediate between the parents. The oblong sepals are 
of a uniform rose purple. The petals are ovate- 
