August 17, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
809 
We now leave the common and enter a wood, 
which not only giveth grateful shade, but a different 
class of plants. Hence we note Orchis maculata, 
Malva sylvestris, Silene inflata, Sanicula europaea, 
Circea lutetiana (or the Enchanter’s Nightshade), 
Asperula odorata, Melampyrum sylvaticum, etc., 
etc. The latter is commonly called Cow Wheat, 
and the species may be “ pratense,” although my 
friend writes me that " it has every appearance of 
sylvaticum.” 
On leaving the wood we were gratified by a sight 
of some fine plants of Cichorium intybus, which 
Dr. Hooker says is the origin of the cultivated 
Chicory. The flowers are large, showy, and bright 
blue, the strap-shaped petals somewhat resembling 
those of the Dandelion, except, of course, in point 
of colour. Along this road we remarked many other 
pretty things, such as Convolvulus arvensis, 
and the silvery Thames all lie before us. What a 
rich and pastoral scene ! Then, in the distance, 
hills and hazy blues, soft colours and ever-changing 
hues. Here, at our feet, the sweet Wild Thyme, the 
smaller Woodruff, and a gorgeous constellation of 
purplish-blue stars, to wit, the Viper’s Bugloss 
(Echium vulgare). Around, the hedges are covered 
with the Bitter-sweet or Woody Nightshade, the red- 
berried Bryony, the Traveller’s Toy (Clematis 
Vitalba) or the Common Hop, the Blackberry, the 
Dewberry, and the Wild Cherry are also here. But 
we must descend. We must leave all this beauty, 
all this wildness, and hurry on to our half-way 
house, the " Old Bell,” at Hurley. Here :— 
” Men laugh and riot till the feast is o’er ; 
Then comes the reckoning, and they laugh no more.” 
— C. B. G , Acton, IV. 
(To be continued.) 
yellow, shaded,reddish-vermilion ; the lateral ones 
are much darker. The petals are yellow except the 
dark vermilion tips and numerous spots of the same 
hue scattered all over them. The stem of the plant 
was only 6 in. high, and the flower scape was 2 ft. 
We believe Mr. Woodall has the honour of being the 
first to exhibit a flowering specimen in this country ; 
and we hope the species will prove tractable under 
cultivation. 
--*•- 
POPULAR AND USEFUL FLOWERS 
AT READING. 
So extensive and varied are the collections of all the 
more showy and decorative flowers in the nurseries 
and trial grounds of Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading, 
that we always find something interesting and 
worthy of close inspection. Under glass, the 
arrangements are such that something is always 
Renanthera imschootiana. 
Linaria vulgaris, Verbascum nigrum (or the Black 
Mullein), Verbena officinalis, Origanum vulgare (or 
Common Marjoram), Ballota nigra (or Black Hore- 
hound), Lapsana communis (or Yellow Nipplewort), 
Achillea Millefolium (or Common Yarrow), Vicia 
Cracca (or Tufted Vetch), Lotus corniculatus, 
Hypericum pulchrum, Reseda luteola, Papaver 
Rhaeas, Lathyrus pratensis, Agrimonia Eupatoria, 
Galium Mollugo, and a host of others. Amongst 
the “others,” however, we must mention Ononis 
repens (O. arvensis?), the pretty little trailing Rest 
Harrow, with pink pea-shaped blossoms and reddish- 
brown decumbent stems. This plant seems to love 
the noise and the dust of the roadside, although 
to-day it has been christened with rain-water, and 
looks in consequence cleaner and sweeter than 
ever. 
But here we are on the top of Prospect Hill! 
How pleasing ! The trees, the fields, the valleys, 
RENANTHERA IMSCHOOTIANA. 
The species of Renanthera are neither very numerous 
nor so often seen as their beauty would warrant; 
but the fact is, there are few gardeners who succeed 
in flowering them. That under notice is compara¬ 
tively new, and may prove more easy to manage than 
some of the rest. It is closely allied to R. coccinea 
and R. Storiei, but has simply racemose flowers 
instead of a panicle. The species is a native of 
Cochin China, and was first sent to Kew by M. Van 
Imschoot, of Ghent, Belgium, in 1891. A flowering 
specimen was exhibited at the meeting of the 
Royal Horticultural Society, on June nth last, 
by Edward H. Woodall, Esq., St. Nicholas 
House, Scarborough, when an Award of Merit was 
accorded it. The accompanying illustration was 
prepared from this same plant and shows the form of 
the flowers, their general contour and the simple, 
slightly drooping raceme. The upper sepal is 
coming on to produce a display in its own particular 
season. The leading features of the Portland Road 
Nursery at present, as far as indoor plants are con¬ 
cerned, are the tuberous Begonias and Gloxinias. 
The former we have never seen in finer condition, 
and shall refer to them specially in the course of a 
few weeks. 
Gloxinias. 
The plants grown on from last year's tubers had 
mostly finished flowering on the occasion of our visit 
on the 26th ult., and were ripening a splendid crop 
of seed. Sufficient flowers remained, however, to 
remind us of the colour of the several fine, named 
varieties for which the firm is so well known all over 
the country. Duke of York is dark scarlet with a 
broad white margin. Souvenir de Shrewsbury is 
richly spotted with violet and has a broad, white, 
spotted margin ; the under surface of the leaves is 
purple. Very pretty is Souvenir de Regent's Park, 
