294 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 7, 1893. 
Gardening Miscellany. 
CjO ‘CT'- 
A SCENTED GRASS. 
Most agriculturists are familiar with the fragrant 
character of the sweet Vernal Grass of our pastures 
and meadows. There are also some highly-scented 
species such as the Lemon Oil Grass and some of 
its allies, but they are seldom if ever seen outside 
of botanic gardens. Oplismenus Burmanni varie- 
gatum is, however, common in many gardens, where 
it is better known under the name of Panicum 
variegatum. The plant is kept for the sake of its 
trailing stems and variegated foliage, and flowering 
is seldom encouraged or permitted. The panicles 
of bloom consist of solitary branches arranged 
alternately along the stems. Being small in size the 
flowers would be inconspicuous were it not that the 
feathery stigmas are of a peculiar shade of purple 
or deep red. The leaves are variously striped with 
white, pale yellow, and red at this season of the 
year, or possibly at other times under certain con¬ 
ditions. When in full bloom the flowers smell 
strongly, giving off an odour like that of certain 
Orchids. This cannot be described as particularly 
sweet, but at the same time not particularly dis¬ 
agreeable ; in fact some people cannot discern it at 
all, although tolerably strong. It is just possible 
that the odour arises from the pollen itself. There 
is a line of it in pots bounding the other plants in 
two of the houses at Gunnersbury Park, Acton, and 
visitors can hardly fail to detect the odour, without 
suspecting, it may be, the origin of it. 
IRIS FCETIDISSIMA VARIEGATA. 
The ordinary green form of the Roast Beef Plant 
is seldom seen in gardens, because when in flower it 
is inferior in point of beauty to the common Yellow 
Flag of our river banks. A point in its favour, how¬ 
ever, is the fact that - the leaves are evergreen, and 
the variegated variety may therefore be used to 
advantage in gardens during the winter months, when 
variegated plants of a herbaceous character are 
anything but common. The leaves are long-lived 
and durable, resisting the hardest frosts even in the 
north, provided they are not broken down with heavy 
snow. The variegation consists of broad pale 
yellow or white stripes on the margins of the leaves. 
Flowers are seldom produced by the variegated 
variety, at least in the north. At present it is very 
effectively used as an edging to a bed in the flower 
garden at Gunnersbury House, Acton. 
GARDENERS’ ROYAL BENEVOLENT INSTI¬ 
TUTION. 
I think that the fact of so many gentlemen of a 
philanthropic and liberal disposition according their 
support to this most deserving institution, and so 
helping to succour the most necessitous of our order, 
should stimulate many gardeners who are not now 
subscribers to do something to assist their less for¬ 
tunate brothers. The pleasure of helping to bear 
one anothers burdens is a very gratifying one and 
all who can ought to share in it. Should we be so 
fortunate as never to require assistance from the 
institution, so much the more does it become us to 
remember the less fortunate, many of whom are 
anxiously waiting until they can get elected on to the 
pension list. Some have had to endure this anxiety 
for four years and more, and probably suffering 
great privation the whole of the time. I know of 
many cases in which much joy and thankful¬ 
ness has been felt by candidates who have been 
elected without any great trial of their patience. 
With the management in such good and disinterested 
hands it were needless to discuss the rules, admirable 
as they are ; but I do most earnestly urge upon our 
gardening friends to give this deserving institution 
their most careful consideration. Our courteous 
and energetic secretary, Mr. Ingram, will, I am sure, 
be only too pleased to give any information on appli¬ 
cation to him at 50, Parliament Street, S.W. In 
Scotland there are not many supporters of the 
institution, but if more of my warm-hearted 
countrymen were cognisant of the good that would 
fall to the lot of many old gardeners or their widows 
if the institution were more liberally supported, I 
feel sure their benevolence would rise to the occasion, 
“ Unity is Strength.”— M. T. 
ROCHEA FALCATA. 
It is nearly a hundred years since this was first 
introduced to this country, and although we cannot 
expect that it will ever be grown in large quantities 
in any one establishment, yet it will continue to find 
admirers on account of its neat habit and broad 
corymb of scarlet flowers terminating the upright 
stem. Growth is slow, so that no large amount of 
space is required to accommodate a few flowering 
plants. During summer they may be kept in a 
greenhouse, where satisfactory growth will be made. 
A higher temperature than is accorded in that 
structure will be necessary in winter in order to 
develop the flowers, but in greenhouses where a 
minimum of 48° or 50° is maintained by night, the 
plants may be located with safety during the flower¬ 
ing period. Being of a succulent nature very little 
water is required during winter. The rigid and 
sickle-shaped, glaucous leaves contrast well with 
other subjects having more slender and elegantly cut 
foliage. It has been flowering for some time 
in one of the houses at Gunnersbury Park, Acton. 
UNSEASONABLE GROWTH. 
The unusually mild nature of the weather during 
December and previously was exercising an unseason¬ 
able stimulus upon vegetation, upon which the severe 
frost which set in upon Christmas Eve will act as a 
salutary check. The Japan Quince (Cydonia 
japonica) seemed to be as forward as anything, 
Many of the buds, both foliage and floral, were 
' more or less expanded a week before Christmas in 
the neighbourhood of London. The blossoms were 
not expanded it is true, but their buds had left the 
covering of bracts which should have protected them 
till spring, and they had developed to some size. 
The common Hawthorn was not quite so advanced, 
but the buds were nevertheless beginning to get 
green. The flower buds of the Yulan (Magnolia 
conspicua) were in many cases casting off their 
winter mantles, whether that will seriously affect 
their hardiness now or not. Amongst wild plants, 
the White Lamium might have been seen in full 
bloom. The yellow blossom of Jasminum nudi- 
florum and the pale lemon ones of Chimonanthus 
fragrans were plentiful enough but seasonable. 
ASPARAGUS RETROFLEXUS 
The stems of this ornamental species of Asparagus 
are evidently meant to climb in their native habitats ; 
but being very slender in character they are well 
adapted for culture in hanging baskets which show 
them off to the best advantage. They are not very 
much branched compared with those of more 
familiar species like A. plumosus and A. p. nanus, 
but they are altogether different in habit. The ulti¬ 
mate twiglets, generally, though erroneously, termed 
leaves, are linear, flat, and somewhat curved not un¬ 
like the leaves of Cryptomeria japonica. There is a 
fine plant of it in one of the conservatories at Gun¬ 
nersbury House, Acton, and it was awarded a First- 
class Certificate at Chiswick last summer. It flowers 
but sparingly, producing only a few seeds, at least 
on a plant with stems 3 ft. to 4 ft. long. Possibly it 
will flower more plentifully when it gets to large size 
as in the case of A. plumosus, which does not fruit 
till it gains strength and is allowed to run up the 
rafters of the house. In the same house is a large 
plant of A. plumosus nanus notable for two 
different shades of green (dark and light) of its foliage 
so-called. This has been the case for some time 
whether it will prove permanent or not. 
LARGE MARGUERITES. 
Small plants of Chrysanthemum frutescens are 
more generally useful in most establishments than 
large ones, because more easily accommodated in 
houses of moderate dimensions. Large ones how¬ 
ever are capable of producing a striking effect with 
the large quantity of starry blooms which they pro¬ 
duce. There are several massive specimens at Gun¬ 
nersbury House, Acton, one of the seats of the Messrs, 
de Rothschild. They are merely kept at Gunners¬ 
bury House through the winter, and sent U P to the 
town garden in summer where they are stood about 
in prominent positions, where they flower grandly 
during the summer months. The plants never 
become dormant provided they enjoy favourable 
conditions. They are at present located in the con¬ 
servatory, and the weather during the last three 
months being very mild, the whole front of the 
conservatory consisting of glass doors was kept wide 
open. Notwithstanding this the Chrysanthemums 
have been flowering finely for some time past; and 
if they can do so in winter, their appearance in 
summer may be imagined. They are grown in No. 
i-size pots and stand about a yard in height and 5 ft. 
to 6 ft. across. The numerous shoots are well set 
with buds, so that a rise in temperature later on must 
result in a fine display. 
APPLE AMERICAN MOTHER. 
The usual season of this Apple is stated to be 
October, but under fairly favourable conditions it 
will last till December or even till Christmas in 
good condition. The fruit is of medium size, conical, 
or occasionally oval in outline, with an open or 
closed eye set in a shallow very slightly plaited 
basin. The skin is smooth and shining, yellow, 
suffused with soft red on the shaded side, but -where 
exposed it is bright red and crimson. The latter 
colours extend over the greater portion, so that it is 
a fruit of considerable beauty. The flesh is yellow, 
tender, crisp, and very juicy, with a sweet aromatic 
flavour that is very grateful to the palate. Few of 
the Apples of American origin have proved very 
profitable to cultivate in this country, and American 
Mother is one of the few that may be considered 
eminently successful in this country. From the 
above description it may be gleaned that it is a 
dessert Apple of first-class quality. 
MARAN TA BARAQUINIANA. 
Several of the small growing species of Maranta 
are highly ornamental on account of the beautiful 
markings of their leaves. That under notice is un¬ 
usually small, making a plant about 3 in. or 4 in. 
high. A quantity of it in the nursery of Messrs. B. 
S. Williams & Son, Upper Holloway, is grown in 60- 
size pots,which prove amply sufficient for the size of 
the plant, which makes neat tufts of leaves covering 
the surface of the soil. The blade of the leaf itself 
is 2 in. to 3 in. long, so that the petioles are very 
short. The upper surface is silvery with a bright 
green midrib and margins, and glaucous on the 
under surface. Plants of this character are useful 
for the front of the benches in the stove or the warm 
conservatory for the sake of the colour variation 
which the leaves afford. 
PTERIS TREMULA VARIEGATA. 
Variegated Ferns constitute a present day develop¬ 
ment of this popular and ornamental class of plants. 
In a previous issue we mentioned some variegated 
sorts that have been obtained under cultivation. 
The same may be said of that under notice. There 
are some plants of it in the collection of Mr. H. B. 
May, Dyson's Lane Nurseries, Upper Edmonton. 
They are about 2 ft. high, rather erect in habit, and 
tripinnate, being in fact very similar to the type. 
The midrib is silvery-white, and from this silvery 
lines run almost to the margin as in the case of 
P. Victoria. If it can be raised from spores as 
easily as the type it is almost sure to become popular 
in a few years, more especially if it can be used in 
the same way for table and other decoration. The 
silvery lines are quite distinct and add much to the 
beauty of the plant, but whether they would retain 
this distinctive character in a greenhouse or other 
place with a similarly low temperature remains to be 
seen. 
A HELIOTROPE HEDGE. 
A reader obligingly sends us the following interesting 
cutting from the Los Anqeles Express of October 19th. 
"One of the most attractive objects in Ventura, 
California, is the 200 feet of Heliotrope hedge which 
faces Main Street in the nursery of Mrs Theodosia 
B. Shepherd. The wide cement walk is three feet 
below the garden. On the bank above, low posts 
were placed and wire stretched across to support 
small plants of Heliotrope, which were put out five 
years ago. Now they droop down to the walk and 
stand six feet above it, charming and fragrant masses 
of purple, lavender and white. All the year the 
purple glory of colour and perfume attracts the 
humming birds, butterflies and bees. Children in 
groups daily fill both hands, gentlemen in passing 
catch a spray for a boutoniere and ladies for corsage 
bouquets, and many a delighted tourist has gathered 
its flowers and raved over its beauty. As Mrs. 
Shepherd says—"it belongs to the town.” Thi 
week the Heliotrope has been cut, the long drooping 
branches trimmed and the ripe seed gathered. 
Yet in a week or two the hedge will be prettier than 
ever. It requires trimming from three to four times 
a year." 
