614 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
the plant extremely useful for growing for purposes 
of cut flower, for with the addition of a little floral 
cement the blooms stand well. Mr. Jones informed 
us that he expects great things from this variety. 
Mr. Jeffrey is a decided acquisition bearing heavy 
trusses of deep purple flowers, a shade far too un¬ 
common among Pelargoniums. The plant is, more¬ 
over, of dwarf, compact and sturdy habit. Another 
desirable sort, Mrs. W. Wright, has been awarded 
a First-class Certificate by the Royal Horticultural 
Society. In colour the blooms are an exquisite rosy 
blush paliDg somewhat as they age. The edges of 
the petals are also slightly crisped, a fact that adds 
not a little to the charm of the flower. 
Of varieties to be offered to the public next year 
there are no lack, and judging from the appearance 
of some of the plants now on vies some really good 
things will be then forthcoming. The undermen¬ 
tioned are a few of the most noteworthy. Duke of 
Portland, in which the flowers are of a soft rosy-red 
shade, the upper petals being heavily blotched; 
Multiflora, an exceedingly pretty plant, the lower 
petals soft blush, and the upper ones red with a dark 
maroon blotch ; Miss Alice Lowe, which has deep 
blush flowers, blotched dark maroon, the edges of 
the petals being beautifully crisped, and closely 
resembling Mrs. W. Wright; Ladas, with its deep 
pink blooms heavily blotched with maroon, is also 
not behind the rest in point of excellence. All these 
new varieties are possessed of the dwarf and sturdy 
habit, vigorous constitution, and free flowering 
qualities that go to make up an ideal plant. 
Regal Varieties. 
Although not quite so strongly represented with 
regard to numbers as the show and decorative sorts, 
Mr. Jones has a goodly collection of Pelargoniums of 
the regal section now in flower. They are considered 
as distinct from the show and decorative varieties in 
that they have the petals so crimped as to impart a 
semi-double appearance to the flowers that cannot 
fail to render them highly attractive as well as 
popular. The following are a few instances of 
especially valuable and noteworthy sorts :—Madame 
Thibaut, an old, but none the less splendid variety, 
carrying large trusses of the white flowers marbled 
with rose. Very charming is Madame Thibaut alba, 
a sport from this possessing the same fine habit, but 
producing pure white flowers. Duke of Fife has 
flowers a clear lake in colour, the white margin 
being both pretty and conspicuous. Bush Hill 
Beauty, a well-known variety of several years’ stand¬ 
ing, was quite up to its usual standard of merit. 
The blooms borne by this desirable sort are of extra 
large size, rich rose in colour, and beautifully 
mottled or marbled withal. With Prince of Wales, 
which carries huge trusses of bright vermilion- 
coloured blooms rather lighter in the centre, we 
must bring to a close a list that might be consider¬ 
ably extended. The varieties mentioned, however, 
are among the gems of the Ryecroft collection, and 
are without doubt thoroughly deserving of extensive 
cultivation by all growers who desire to keep their 
collections of show, decorative, and regal Pelar¬ 
goniums as representative and up-to-date as possible. 
--— » 1 - 
THE ROCKERY. 
Various flowers have been making themselves con¬ 
spicuous on the rockery at intervals more or less 
remote ever since the first Snowdrops pushed up 
their nodding and graceful blooms, exposing them to 
our wintry skies. During the month of May the 
number of hardy subjects suitable for cultivation on 
the rockwork gets greatly augmented by a host of 
subjects, natives of temperate and cool temperate 
climates, and such as may be expected to thrive 
unprotected in various parts of Britain. The actual 
time for the appearance of each respective species 
depends upon its habits or season of flowering in its 
native country ; secondly, upon latitude when culti¬ 
vated in Britain ; and thirdly, upon the state of the 
weather for some time previous to the expansion of 
the flowers. The degree of exposure and local 
environment would also affect many kinds to a small 
extent. 
Rare plants and those difficult to cultivate and 
flower in the open air are always of interest to the 
collector and the connoisseur of this class of hardy 
subjects, but the adornment of the rockery does not 
depend upon them. This is easily effected by those 
types of vegetation which are more common, easily 
cultivated, and easily propagated, so that losses 
from whatever cause are more readily made good 
when the rockery is overhauled in spring, and 
additions made to the collection. For general effect, 
the more showy subjects should be planted in masses 
or allowed to grow into such in the case of recently 
acquired sorts. At the present time the Aubrietias 
are making a brave show following on the heels of 
the common but not unattractive Arabis albida, and 
the yellow and white Drabas all belonging to the 
same family, which furnishes many of our spring 
flowers. Aubrietia deltoidea violacea with dark purple 
flowers tinted with violet in their early stages, and 
the variety Leichtlinii with rich rosy flowers, are two 
of the best. Both form large sheets of bloom at the 
present time, and none are more suitable for making 
a display when planted in broad masses where the 
soil is sufficiently deep and moist to prevent the 
plants getting dried up by the east winds which are 
so prevalent in spring. A skilful propagator of 
hardy plants knows that cuttings of Aubrietias root 
readily when taken after a period of moist weather 
has put them into vigorous growth. 
The dwarf Phloxes of North America are scarcely 
less important than the European Aubrietias. There 
are several of them, but some of the best are Phlox 
subulata, P. amoena, P. stolonifera (often called P. 
verna), and P. canadensis. The first-named furnishes 
many really beautiful varieties, including P. subulata 
Nelsoni, with five or ten violet spots round the eye 
of the white flower ; P. s. nivea, pure white ; P. s. 
Vivid, warm rose ; and sub-varieties of the more 
rampantly trailing form best known in gardens as 
P. setacea. The quantity of flowers produced by P. 
amoena is surprising when planted in fairly rich and 
moist soil in full exposure to sunshine. It is a 
mistake to plant these dwarf Phloxes in shady 
positions, and worse still to put them under the drip 
of trees where they cannot look otherwise than 
stunted, weakened, and miserable, with anything but 
a full complement of bloom. The dark slaty-blue 
flowers of P. canadensis are very distinct and 
pleasing by contrast with the others, but it grows 
taller than either, being about a foot high. They 
can all be readily propagated from cuttings in sandy 
soil under a handlight, which may itself be placed in 
a cold frame. The cuttings should be taken from 
the barren shoots when getting moderately firm to 
avoid damping during the rooting process. This 
can be done during June and July, but may be con¬ 
tinued till September. When the cuttings have 
made roots they will begin to grow, so that in a short 
time others may be taken from them ; the second 
batch will root more quickly than the first. All 
may be planted out in September or early in October 
if so desired. 
The snowy flowers of Dryas octopetala are very 
telling and interesting just now by contrast with the 
scolloped dark green leaves that cover the stems, 
slowly creeping over the ledges of the rockwork in 
positions and localities where it thrives. It is by no 
means difficult to grow iu soils that can readily be 
kept moist, and this can easily be done by the use 
of peat in the soil. Some lime rubble would also be 
advantageous, as the plant naturally grows in moun¬ 
tain districts where limestone abounds. Veronica 
saxatilis is a gem just now with its dark blue flowers 
and dwarf creeping stems. It is difficult to find a 
difference between this and V. Guthrieana, said to 
be of garden origin. Those who have difficulty in 
growing Gentiana verna would have no trouble 
with this Alpine Speedwell, which may be increased 
to any extent by cuttings in pots of sandy soil in a 
frame kept rather close till rooting takes place. 
That little gem Dianthus gelidus with dark rose 
flowers about the breadth of a sixpence is now 
flowering freely on stems about an inch high.— 
Propagator. 
-- 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
By John Fraser, F.L.S., Kew. 
Dendrobium Dalhousieanum. —Under ordinary 
circumstances the flowers of this species are very 
imposing. On well grown plants they measure 4 in. 
to 5 in. across, but we are in receipt of a flower 
from Mr. A. Wright,gardener to Thomas MacMeekin, 
Esq., Falkland Park, South Norwood Hill, which 
measures in. across, while another flower 
measured 6 in. The nankeen-yellow sepals and 
petals were tinted and veined with a soft rose. Each 
May 25, 1895. 
petal measured close upon 3 in. in length and if in. 
across. The two maroon-purple, eye-like blotches 
at the base of the lip constitute a most conspicuous 
and telling feature of the species, and in this case 
they were enlarged in proportion to the enhanced 
size of the bloom. The apical half of the lip pre¬ 
sents a curious appearance in being densely covered 
with creamy-white fringes and hairs. The species is 
widely distributed throughout Burmah, and fresh 
importations of it are frequently made from its 
native habitats. So distinct is this species that it is 
not likely to be confused with any other of this vast 
genus; and gardeners as well as other connoisseurs 
generally consider it as one of the noblest of the 
genus, and whether this is a distinct variety or its 
huge flowers are the result of good cultivation, the 
owner is to be congratulated on his possession. 
-«*■- 
THE PLANT MOUSES. 
The Stove. 
After the spell of almost tropical weather with 
which we have until a few days ago been favoured, 
the recent cold winds and low temperatures cannot fail 
to prove excessively trying. A little extra care will 
be needed in dealing with the occupants of the stove 
in order to see that they do not sustain a check, and 
as this would inevitably take place if the 
temperatures were allowed to fall too low, recourse 
must be had to a little more fire heat than'was used 
during the hot weather. 
Palms. —These, from their great value as decora¬ 
tive plants both for the furnishing of the stove and 
for standing in vases or stands in the house, are 
practically indispensable in all establishments of 
any size. In order to be of real service it is necessary 
that a number of them should be kept in as small 
pots as possible. Plants which were potted early in 
the spring will now have filled their pots with roots, 
and as, when in this condition, they soon exhaust 
the goodness from the soil, manurial stimulant of 
some kind wall be needed if they are to preserve the 
healthy dark green hue of their foliage. Of artificial 
manure nitrate of soda is one of the most efficacious, 
although the greatest care must be exercised in its 
use or harm instead of good will result. A pinch 
scattered over the surface of the soil every week or 
ten days will soon work wonders in improving the 
appearance of starved plants. In the application of 
nitrate of soda, as indeed when dealing with all 
other manures, it must be borne in mind that stimu¬ 
lants of this kind must only be given to plants 
which are in full vigour of growth and which as a 
natural result call for increased supplies of food. To 
apply manures to sickly, weakly-growing plants with 
a view to improving their condition is a gross 
mistake, as it is then nothing more nor less than 
poison to them. If due caution be exercised, how¬ 
ever, the judicious application of manures will 
materially assist in the attaining of the desirable end 
of healthy shapely plants with a good spread of foliage 
in small pots. 
Bertolonias.— Although this genus contains not 
a few wonderfully pretty foliage plants they are 
certainly not grown to the extent that they deserve 
to be. This may, perhaps, in a great measure, be 
accounted for by the fact that they will not stand any¬ 
thing like rough treatment ; indeed, we might well 
class them among the aristocrats of the stove. While 
a little care is needed in their culture, however, they 
are certainly not difficult to grow. A mixture of 
equal parts of peat and good turfy loam with a 
liberal addition of sharp sand will be necessary, and 
the plants will need to be covered, more especially 
in the earlier stages, with a bell-glass. Those who 
wish to grow something a little out of the usual run of 
stove plants will find the following varieties well 
worthy their attention: Van Houttei, Souvenir de 
Gand, Comte de Kerchove, and Madame Van Geert. 
Greenhouse and Cool Conservatory. 
The cold winds will be anything but a blessing in 
this department also, and great caution will be 
needed in the giving of air. Tempted by the 
tropical-like weather which prevailed up to within a 
week ago many plants will have been brought in 
that require a rather warmer temperature than that 
which at present obtains in an unheated house. For 
a while, therefore, the lights should be closed at 
nightfall, until these tender plants get somewhat 
acclimatized. 
