June 22, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
683 
or disappears from the leaves. The trees are not so 
much infested this year as I have seen them, but I 
dressed them one morning, and before the close of 
the day a thunder shower partly washed it away, 
and as far as I can see the insect also. 
It is as well to apply the dressing the first oppor¬ 
tunity after the berries are set if the Spider is 
present, for it is surprising how soon it spreads, and 
by dressing thus early there is a chance of the berries 
being freed of the mixture by rain. When delayed 
until the berries are ready to pick a few trees might 
be left undressed for present use. By washing they 
become quite clean.— W.P.R., Preston. 
-- 
(Hardening Miscellany. 
GARDENIAS. 
Seeing in your paper at various times remarks 
made as to young Gardenias doing better than old 
ones, I herewith send you an account of an old one 
given to me three years ago. I have this spring cut 
148 blooms off the one plant. At the present time it 
is thickly set with buds; this morning (June iotb) 
I have cut three blooms. I intend keeping an 
account of the quantity of blooms cut off the said 
plant. Should it be of any interest to the readers of 
the Gardening World I shall be pleased to send 
you an account later on.— Thos. Cochenll, The Gate 
House, Wirksworth. [Please do.— Ed.] 
THE OAK-LEAVED LABURNUM. 
One of the most distinct varieties of the common 
Laburnum that can be met with is the one named 
Cytisus Laburnum quercifolia. The flowers are 
not strikingly different from the ordinary ones, 
but as implied by the varietal name the foliage so 
nearly resembles in form that of the Oak as to strike 
the most ordinary observer with the suitably dis- 
criptive name accorded to it. As seen in the Oxford 
Botanic Garden amidst a wealth of lilac Syringa 
blossoms this old-fashioned flowering tree is a 
delightful object.— Jno. E. Jefferies. 
STOCK PRINCESS ALICE. 
We have seen stocks of various kinds and at various 
seasons of the year, and for different reasons and for 
divers decorative purposes appreciated them very 
much ; but a plant sent us by Mr. A. Pentney, gar¬ 
dener to A. J. Howard, Esq., Worton Hall, Isle- 
worth, gives us a fresh idea of the utility and 
ornamental value of this popular class of plants. 
The variety is of hybrid origin, and would be spoken 
of as an intermediate Stock belonging to one or other 
of the several strains in cultivation. We always 
reckoned that Stocks were scented, but never 
thought it possible for them to be so strongly 
scented as Princess Alice. The scent is identical 
with that of the old Clove Carnation, and equally 
strong. The flowers measure a good i£ in. in 
diameter, and are made up of broad, imbricated, pure 
white petals, or the latter may be tinted with the 
faintest trace of blush as they are getting old, and in 
all probability affected by the abnormally dry 
weather and the burning sunshine. The seeds were 
sown in August last, and the plants were forced for 
Easter. A good crop of flowers was cut on Easter 
Eve. The plants were then put in the open ground, 
and commenced to grow away again sending out side 
shoots, which are now in full bloom and fit for cut 
flowers. They must be very useful for cut flower 
purposes, as they diffuse a grateful fragrance of 
Cloves for a considerable distance around. Mr. 
Pentney considers it a most useful variety. 
LATHYRUS TINGITANUS. 
Occasionally we see this beautiful Pea plant in 
gardens and sometimes we see the name applied to 
Lathyrus tuberosus, a perennial species. The true 
Lathyrus tingitanus is an annual, but may be grown 
as a biennial, and thereby brought into bloom at a 
much earlier period than if sown in the open 
ground in March. It grows rapidly, and therefore 
should not be sown before the end of October or 
in November, for it comes up soon after, provided 
the weather is in any way mild, even when kept in an 
unheated frame. Under those conditions some 
cultivators might object to the term biennial, but 
we do not stick to the epithet at all, for it is truly 
an annual species. These facts, however, were 
brought to our mind on seeing plants in bloom in 
the first week of this month in the seed grounds of 
Mr. Richard Dean, Bedfont. His plants, or rather 
the seeds, were sown in pots in a cold frame in the 
beginning of March, and afterwards planted out. 
The leaflets are lanceolate and of a beautiful 
glaucous green, quite different from those of the 
Sweet Pea. The flowers are of large size and pro¬ 
duced in pairs from the axils of the leaves on long 
stalks that may be cut and used amongst cut flowers 
generally. The standard is of a deep rose-purple 
with a crimson base. The wings are of a different 
shade of rose, and quite conspicuous. The keel is 
red and small. The plant is a climber, and may 
be grown precisely in the same way as Sweet 
Peas, and the flowers are uncommon but certainly 
handsome. 
TREE CARNATION MADAME STEPMAN. 
The flowers of this beautiful Tree Carnation are of 
great size and of a charming rosy-salmon colour. 
The petals are very numerous, the outer ones being 
the broadest, and all are shallowly crenate or almost 
entire at the outer margins. The only fault we 
should place to its charge is that the calyx is rather 
short—a defect that applies to mostly all large 
flowers. The variety was obtained from seeds by 
M. Stepman de Messemaeker, of Brussels, who thinks 
it sufficiently perfect to dedicate to his wife. It has 
been cultivated and propagated for the past five 
years, and justifies the most flattering anticipations 
of the raiser. The better it is known the more is the 
plant sought after, especially by those who devote 
themselves to the sale of cut flowers. It form 
vigorous specimens and flowers freely, the form 
being fine even in winter. There is a coloured plate 
of it in the Bulletin d'Arboriculture of the 1st June, 
and which was prepared from a specimen which 
flowered in the greenhouses of M. Ed. Pynaert 
during the past winter. 
ROBINIA HISPIDA. 
A splendid subject this for planting in shrubberies 
or on lawns. Unlike many other of the Robinias, 
particularly R. Pseudacacia and its many varieties, it 
does not assume the proportions of a tree but rather 
that of a medium-sized shrub of from seven to ten 
feet in height. The flowers are rather large, of a 
bright rose colour, and are produced in compara¬ 
tively long many-flowered pendulous racemes. We 
noted it recently blooming in a shrubbery close to 
the main entrance in Kew Gardens. 
ROBINIA PSEUDACACIA VAR. DECAISNEANA. 
The Robinias or False Acacias, as they are com¬ 
monly called, are some of the showiest of our hardy 
trees, for which we are indebted to North America. 
R. Pseudacacia var. Decaisneana, like the type, 
assumes the proportions of a good-sized tree which 
when covered with a profusion of the drooping 
racemes of bloom looks really magnificent. While 
the type has white flowers, however, the variety 
under notice has blooms of a bright rosy-pink, which 
shade rather lighter with age. A fine specimen, in 
full bloom, may now be seen on the south-western 
side of the Wild Garden at Kew, where it forms a 
glorious picture. 
LAMIUM MACULATUM AUREA. 
As a rock plant this is both a distinct and a useful 
subject, and one which being easy of culture might 
well receive more attention than it has done up to 
the present. The plant only grows a few inches in 
height. The foliage, as the name would imply, is of 
a rich golden colour, a pale white stripe or blotch 
running down the centre of each leaf. It is in these 
beautifully coloured leaves that the chief beauty of 
the plant lies, for the flowers are comparatively 
inconspicuous, being small and of a light purple 
colour. 
GERANIUM ARMENUM. 
A native of the Orient, this is one of tha strongest 
growing hardy herbaceous Geraniums we have, 
attaining under fairly favourable conditions a height 
of between 3 ft. and 4 ft., and forming a bushy 
symmetrical specimen. The flowers are rather 
large, of regular outline, and are produced in quan¬ 
tities over a considerable part of the summer. In 
colour they are a rich glowing purple, a black 
velvety blotch being very conspicuous in the centre, 
the veins also being of the same colour. G. armenum 
will grow and thrive upon comparatively poor soils, 
and that it loves the bright sunshine, the more than 
usually brilliant hue which its blooms exhibit this 
season is sufficient proof. As it grows vigorously, 
however, it is necesary to see that it does not suffer 
from lack of water during such dry seasons as the 
present. G. armenum is sometimes met with under 
the name of G. Backhousianum. 
CAMPANULA G. F. WILSON. 
Amongst the Bell flowers there are many plants of 
value exhibiting among themselves an infinite variety 
of habit, different in their season of blooming, etc., 
but none are more beautiful or more worthy exten¬ 
sive culture than the above. The plant is exceed¬ 
ingly dwarf, being only some 3 in. or 4 in. in height. 
The leaves are of a beautiful golden hue, with the 
margins very prettily ciliated. But the surprising 
part is the flowers, which are so large that they seem 
out of all proportion to the size of the plant itself, 
besides being produced with almost extravagant 
profusion. The bells are rich blue in colour, paling 
somewhat towards the base of the corolla. This 
pretty little subject is well worthy a place amongst 
any collection of Alpines. It is now affording a 
pleasing picture in the rockery at Kew. 
CRAMBE CORDIFOLIA 
The knowledge which a large number of gardeners 
have of this genus is doubtless limited to their 
acquaintance with C. maritima, the Seakale. Some 
doubtless will be surprised to learn that not only 
does the genus Crambe furnish us with one of our 
best and most highly prized winter vegetables, but 
it also contains decorative plants of some value, as a 
visit to the Royal Gardens, Kew, at the present time 
will amply demonstrate. A circular bed, some seven 
feet in diameter, in front of the Palm House is filled 
with some fine specimens of C. cordifolia. The 
plants are fully six feet in height, and the huge 
panicles of white flowers look exceptionally brilliant 
and conspicuous in the glare of the June sun. The 
leaves, moreover, are rather ornamental, being large, 
light green in colour, the lower ones cordate, and 
the upper ones ovate in shape. A native of the 
Caucasus, C. cordifolia is a plant that might well 
find favour for planting in bold masses on our lawns 
or pleasure grounds, as it boasts not only of a con¬ 
siderable share of beauty, but also of perfect hardi¬ 
ness. 
IRIS MARMORATA. 
Amongst other Irises which have done exceptionally 
well with Messrs. Barr & Sons at their nurseries at 
Long Ditton this year is the above fine variety. The 
standard is of a curious sulphur-fawn shade, prettily 
tinged with rose, whilst the falls are of a rich crim¬ 
son-purple hue, suffused and margined with lavender 
in a charming manner. Like the other varieties of 
the squalens group, in which Messrs. Barr have 
placed it, it flowers usually about the middle of 
June, and is a great acquisition to the ranks of 
summer-flowering Irises. 
-- 
ORCHIDS AT CHARDWAR. 
When calling at Chardwar, Bourton-on the-Water 
Gloucestershire, to-day, I was pleased to find s 
many good Orchids in bloom. The Phalenopsis are 
specially fine, one spike of P. Stuartiana having 
twenty-five grand blooms expanded, and a grand 
spike of P. grandiflora has twenty blooms. There 
are several other fine spikes of the latter variety, 
and a good form of P. Sanderiana. In the same 
house were several fine Saccolabiums in bloom, one 
plant of S. praemorsum having six spikes, 24 in. 
long, and a plant of S. guttatum with eight fine 
large spikes. 
In the Cattleya house I noted a fine display, prin¬ 
cipally of Cattleya Mossiae and Laelia purpurata, 
and a grand variety of Laelia elegans, with a spike 
of six blooms. The Dendrobium house was gay 
with spikes of D. Phalenopsis Schroderianum, D. 
superbiens, several grand forms of D. formosum, D. 
Bensoniae, D. McCarthiae (six grand blooms), D, 
Parishii, and several good well-flowered plants of D. 
Pierardii. I also noted a fine variety of Angrae- 
cum sesquipedale, carrying three immense blooms 
The Odontoglossum house contained several good 
spikes of O. crispum and O. Pescatorei, also splendid 
spikes of Epidendrum vitellinum, and a good speci¬ 
men of Oncidium obryzatum, with three grand 
spikes of sweet-scented blooms, and a good spike o 
O. phymatochilum. 
