786 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 12, 1893. 
fully floriferous although light in colour. They are 
followed by two beds of tuberous Begonias with 
rose coloured flowers ; the plants are large and 
mixed with Albizzia lophantha on a ground of 
variegated Mesembryanthemum, and edged with a 
broad band of Viola Duchess of Sutherland in very 
floriferous condition, but here named Mrs. Turner. 
A little further on upon the left is a bold and rather 
striking bed, which owes its appearance to the 
different kinds of Begonias used, such as B. 
heracleifolia mixed with tuberous varieties, Abutilons 
and Fuchsias. The large leaves of the first-named 
are striking as they are uncommon in bedding 
arrangements. A bed of Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums 
named Henry Cannell is very fine from the great 
quantity of bloom, and yet there is room for Lilium 
speciosum. Zinnias, and Mignonette. Some old 
scarlet Pelargoniums and patches of Lobelia on a 
ground of Viola Duchess of Sutherland renders 
another pair of beds very attractive. 
Carpet bedding in this park is now reduced to a 
minimum, but as the visitor is proceeding along, 
two very effectively arranged beds of this type are 
met with bordering a cross path. The two are 
slightly different in design, but a general idea of 
their scope may be gathered from a description of 
one of them. An elevated patch in the centre is oc¬ 
cupied by a plant of Dracaena lineata surrounded by 
a small circle of Alternanthera amoena, which in its 
turn is surrounded by a band of Echeveria Peacocki 
on a ground of Herniaria. The rest of this elevated 
patch is occupied with Alternanthera amoena and A. 
magnifica. At either end of the bed are two other 
elevated patches of scroll work of Alternanthera 
paronycboides aurea surrounded by a ground of 
Herniaria, the edges of which are neatly clipped as if 
they were grass edgings. The edgings consist of the 
two dark-leaved Alternantheras above mentioned 
and Echeveria secunda glauco on the slopes. 
Numerous small dot plants are used all over the bed, 
including Sempervivum cuneatum, Echeveria glauco- 
metallica, E. farinosum, Pachyphyton bracteositn, 
P. aduncum, Gasteria verrucosa, Chlorophytum, 
Carex, Phoenix, Ophiopogon, and others, all of 
which are exceedingly neat and indicate good work¬ 
manship. The companion bed has a central cross 
of Crassula Cooperi, with frosty, marbled foliage, 
red buds and white flowers, all neat and forming a 
close carpet to the ground. It is a rare plant in 
bedding arrangements or otherwise, and therefore 
quite novel and pretty here. 
A little further on are two beds of seedling tuberous 
Begonias on a ground of the golden-leaved Creeping 
Jenny and which were pretty, but had scarcely at¬ 
tained sufficient growth to be fully effective when we 
saw them. The same may be said Of a large 
circular bed of Fuchsias intermixed with Heliotrope. 
Two circular beds of tuberous Begonias on a ground 
of blue Lobelias are very pretty at a short distance 
off. A good bed also is that filled with Erythrina 
crista-galli mixed with dwarfer plants of Chrysan¬ 
themum Precocite which has been in bloom for 
some time. Plants of the Ivy-leaved Pelargonium 
Galilee, about i8in. to 2 ft. high on a ground of 
seedling.Violas occupy another bed. More uncom¬ 
mon and somewhat novel is a mixed bed, of which 
the most prominent feature is Maurandya Bar- 
clayana, forming pillars 4 ft. to 5 ft. high, flowering 
fairly well and having the foliage in perfection. 
Mixed with it are Campanula pyramidalis and its 
white variety, Heliotropes, Lilium speciosum, 
bushes of Calceolaria amplexicaulis, Chrysanthe¬ 
mum Precocite, Roses, etc. A bed of a rosy-red 
variety of Carnation and another of the well-known 
Alice Ayres have been very floriferous. In both 
cases the ground was carpeted with the golden 
Creeping Jenny. 
Towards the Stanhope Gate are numerous beds of 
Pelargoniums in single file on the left hand side of 
the path, as is the case towards the far end near the 
Marble Arch. At the Stanhope end the plants have 
done better, probably because less overhung by tall 
trees. For instance, there are good beds of Pelar¬ 
gonium Myriel, crimson-red mixed with Viola Blue 
Bell, P. Aspasia, white, with Viola Lilacina, P. 
Henry Jacoby, white, mixed with Viola Duchess of 
Sutherland, and P. Omphale, salmon-pink. All of 
these varieties have grown well and form a good 
blaze of colour. Large plants of Pelargoniums, 
Fuchsias, Bamboos, Plumbago capensis, Eucalyptus, 
and Cannas isolated upon the grass are varied and 
interesting. 
THE HERBACEOUS BORDER, 
Choice Plants in Flower. 
Lychnis coronaria oculatus. —The ordinary 
type of this, with its large carmine or crimson- 
purple flowers, is a familiar object in many old- 
fashioned gardens where herbaceous plants receive 
due prominence. That under notice differs in having 
white flowers with a purple eye. It can be propa¬ 
gated by division or by seeds, but probably a good 
per cent, of the seedlings would revert to the original 
type. 
Polygonum amplexicaule. —The red flowers of 
this Knot-weed are individually small, but they are 
collected together in slender spikes which have a 
very graceful appearance, which is heightened by 
the slender character of the stems. The usual 
height of the plants is 18 in., and altogether is neater 
and more refined in habit than many other of the 
herbaceous perennial Polygonums to be seen in 
gardens. 
Coronilla varia.— Most of the Coronillas, 
whether shrubby or herbaceous, have yellow flowers, 
but that under notice is an exception. The flowers 
are produced in round-headed umbels during the 
greater part of the season, and have rosy standards 
with pale lilac wings. No attempt should be made 
to stake this plant, or all its natural beauty will be 
lost and less flowers the result. A space of 2 ft. to 
to 3 ft. square should be allowed it, and flowers will 
be produced in great quantity by the elongating and 
branching stems, which form a little round-headed 
mound of considerable beauty. 
Eryngium planum.— The bulk of the leaves and 
certainly all the larger ones of this plant are confined 
to the base of the stems, and are oblong, with a 
cordate base, and not spiny. The stems rise to a 
height of 2 ft., branching freely at the top with 
numerous, small, deep steel-blue heads. The bracts' 
and upper part of the flower stems are also more or 
less decidedly of this hue. The plant is easily grown, 
and furnishes a considerable quantity of cut flowers. 
Bocconia cordata.— Few plants are more readily 
affected by the nature of the soil and season than 
this plant. The stems will flower when 2 ft. or 3 ft. 
high in a dry season like what the present has been, 
especially in sandy or light soils, but when the 
contrary is the case they run up to 8 ft. or more, and 
give a sub-tropical effect to the border. The buff- 
coloured flowers are amongst the smallest of the 
Poppy tribe, but being borne in lengthy panicles 
they add considerably to the appearance of the plant. 
Sometimes a form with darker buff flowers is grown 
under the name of B. japonica, but the distinctions 
are not sufficient to warrant the name. The 
glaucous leaves are hoary on the under-surface. 
Rudbeckia speciosa.— The golden rays and black 
disc of this species render it one of the most hand¬ 
some of garden plants, whether for the decoration of 
the border or for bedding purposes. Its usual 
height is 18 in. so that it may be considered one of 
the most refined of Composites. Notwithstanding 
this it may be propagated to any extent from the 
suckers which it throws out from the rootstock. As 
beds upon the grass, or edgings to larger ones, it is 
very handsome if the.soil is not too dry, and con¬ 
tinues in bloom for a long time. 
Papaver nudicaule. —Seeds are now ripening and 
cultivators would do well to sow some at once of the 
yellow, white, and orange kinds. They cannot be 
expected to come true in all cases from seeds, but a 
good per cent may be relied upon. None of the 
Poppies are more useful nor handsome for cut flower 
purposes. Young plants are more relilble than old 
ones. Sown now they will flower early next 
summer. 
Primula Poissoni.— The beauty of this Chinese 
species is considerable, and the length of time during 
which flowers are produced should be an induce¬ 
ment to growers to keep a stock of young plants in 
cold frames to make good any losses that may occur 
amongst plants in the open border during winter. 
Each stem bears several whorls of deep purple 
flowers with a golden eye, and which are produced 
in succession over a considerable period of time. 
Chrysanthemum latifolium.— Several names 
are given to this plant in gardens, the more common 
of which are C. lacustre, and C. maximum. It is a 
strongergrowing and taller plant than the latter, with 
much broader leaves. The latter oblong-lanceolate 
and considerably the broader above the middle. 
whereas those of C. maximum are narrowly oblong, 
of the same width throughout, and altogether smaller. 
The heads of C. latifolium are large and white with 
a golden disc. 
Anemone japonica. — It is a pity that this good 
old-fashioned Anemone has been so much neglected 
in collections, for it is quite distinct from the white 
or rosy-pink forms in cultivation. The sepals of the 
type under notice are numerous and deep rosy- 
purple, while they come into bloom earlier, and the 
stems are only about 18 in. high. 
Aster pyren^us. — This summer-flowering species 
may be considered as giving a foretaste of the tall 
autumn-flowering kinds. The stems seldom much 
exceed a foot in height, and bear at the top a number 
of large lilac-purple flowers. It may easily be in¬ 
creased by division early in spring or later on “by 
cuttings, but altogether the rootstock increases very 
slowly. 
Act^a racemosa.— The habit of this plant is 
similar to that of Spiraea Aruncus, but the segments 
of the leaves are narrower, so that the bush does not 
appear so dense. The small, white flowers are pro¬ 
duced in long, terminal, and slightly branching 
racemes, and are very effective for border culti¬ 
vation. 
Campanula persic^folia coronata. — The 
flowers of this variety are semi-double, pure 
white, neat, and compact in form, and suitable 
alike for border decoration or for cut flower 
purposes. There is another white form with single 
flowers and an enlarged calyx of the same hue as 
the corolla. This also is worthy of cultivation, but 
it is inferior to the form under notice. 
-- 
THE GREAT DROUGHT 
OF 1893. 
The drought of 1893 will unquestionably take its 
place among the recorded events of history, if regard 
be had to its intensity, the length of time during 
which it has lasted, and the wide extent of the earth’s 
surface it has overspread. Treating the British 
Islands as a whole, the drought may be considered 
as embracing by much the greater part of the coun¬ 
try for the fifteen weeks beginning with March 5. 
But while copious rains have fallen during the past 
few weeks in many places, it may be regarded as 
continued to near the present time in many of the 
more important agricultural districts in the south. 
The drought was most severely felt in the southern 
division in England, and least in the north of Scot¬ 
land. Over Scotland, England, and Ireland it in¬ 
creased in intensity, with pretty uniform regularity, 
from north to south. Thus, the deficiency in per¬ 
centages from the average rainfall of that portion of 
the year was thirty at Lairg and fifty-nine in Ber¬ 
wickshire ; fifty-nine at Penrith, and ninety at 
Dungeness and Falmouth, and thirty-eight at 
Londonderry, and sixty-seven at Waterford. The least 
deficiency at any of the stations of the Weekly 
Weather Report was one at Glencarron, in Ross-shire, 
and the greatest at Dungeness and Falmouth, as 
stated above. At Glencarron the amount of the 
rainfall was 16 91 in., whereas it was only 060 in. at 
Dungeness, 077 in. in London, 0-92 in. in Scilly, and 
094 in. at Falmouth. At places south of a line 
drawn from Cambridge to Scilly less than a fourth 
part of the average rainfall of these fifteen weeks was 
collected, and consequently over this large district 
the effects of the drought have been most disastrous 
to agriculture and horticulture, the hay crop, for 
example, being in many places a complete failure. 
It was altogether a unique experience, in travelling 
in June from London to Scotland, to mark the great 
and steady improvement in the condition of the crops 
in the northward journey. 
During the period the type of weather prevailing 
was eminently anticyclonic, with the appearance, 
ever and anon, in localities more or less restricted, of 
small satellite cyclones with their attendant thunder¬ 
storms and rains. Hence the remarkably sporadic 
character of much of the rainfall, of which the most 
remarkable instance was a rainfall of 1-19 in. at 
Parsonstown on June 10th, and no rain whatever at 
any other of the telegraph stations of the Meteoro¬ 
logical Office in this country. Heavy local rains of 
this type, with downpours of an inch or upwards, 
were recorded on May 17th, 18th, 20th, and 21st, and 
June 10th. It is also to be noted that many thunder¬ 
storms occurred during the period, unaccompanied 
with rain, just as happened generally in the east of 
Scotland in June, 1887, on the day of the Queen’s 
