470 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 25 , 1893. 
AMARYLLIS AT 
CHELSEA. 
The garden varieties of Hippeastrum, better known 
to the public as Amaryllis, are finer than ever just 
now in the nurseryof Messrs. J.Veitch& Sons,Chelsea. 
The central bed of the house devoted to them 
contains 1,050 bulbs and 2,150 are accommodated 
round the side benches, making a total of 3,200 
bulbs in the house. Supposing half of them are 
flowering plants, we would have 1,600 spikes of 
bloom in various stages ; but a large proportion of 
the bulbs have developed two spikes, so that an 
average of 2,500 spikes is under rather than over 
the estimate. Each carries two to four flowers, or 
an average of three, making a total of 7,500 flowers 
or buds in the house. The quantity in full bloom 
the other day produced a truly magnificent effect. 
No water was given the bulbs from the end of 
August till the latter end of February; they were 
potted in the last week of January in fairly moist 
soil, and the pots plunged in moist but spent tan. 
During winter they were allowed to rest in a perfectly 
dry state and merely syringed occasionally on bright 
days. Water had only been given during the twelve 
days previous to the time of our visit, and to this 
fact the success which has attended their culture is 
greatly due. The inference is that the bulbs should 
not be watered till they are fairly into growth, after 
which they enjoy a liberal supply. The dwarf, yet 
vigorous character of the flower stems shows that 
they have neither been unduly forced nor drawn in 
any way. 
The undermentioned selection of a dozen and a 
half of the best does not exhaust the list of first- 
class types, but could easily be doubled with¬ 
out mentioning the leading favourites of former 
years. On the contrary the standard all round has 
been considerably raised, and the selections of ten 
years ago would not find much favour at Chelsea, 
with a few rare and exceptional instances perhaps. 
We make no mention of the five varieties which 
were certificated at the Drill Hall, Westminster, on 
the 14th inst., as they are all recorded on another 
page. 
Talleyrand has widely funnel-shaped flowers of a 
very dark crimson, shaded with maroon in the 
throat. The flowers of Calabar are wide and bell¬ 
shaped with a short tube and brilliant crimson, 
shaded with maroon. Those of Princess May are 
beautifully netted with crimson and scarlet on a 
white ground, with a medium white band on each 
segment, and they are both large and handsome. 
The funnel-shaped flowers of Epirus are large, dark 
crimsom, and shaded witn maroon in the throat. 
Two scapes from a bulb of Sylph bear in the aggre¬ 
gate eight bell-shaped, white flowers,^shaded with 
scarlet lines on each side of the midrib. Something 
in the same way, but more striking and novel, is 
Carlina, which bears large funnel-shaped, white 
flowers, charmingly netted with claret in the throat 
and paler towards the margins. The novelty of the 
whole is the clearness of the tracery of colour on the 
white ground. The flowers of Hippocrates are deep 
crimson, with six white bands forming a star. Two 
scapes of Clytis bear in the aggregate eight flowers 
that appear orange-red or scarlet according to the 
amount of light falling upon them and the incidence 
of the rays. 
The light-coloured varieties continue to improve in 
size, texture, and breath of petal. Bertha has widely 
bell-shaped white flowers, shaded and netted with 
scarlet towards the edges. The stems are only about 
15 in- high. Somewhat taller is Scindia, bearing 
four widely bell-shaped flowers that are scarlet, 
shaded with maroon in the throat. These of Rondo 
are scarlet with darker veins and rayed at the base. 
One of the finest of the highly-coloured flowers is 
Inimitable, having widely funnel-shaped flowers of 
enormous size, fiery scarlet, and rayed at the base 
only. Altogether it is a most conspicuous variety, 
even when surrounded with other meritorious or 
even selected kinds. The purest of the white ground 
varieties we noted was Ivanhoe with funnel-shaped, 
pure white flowers marked with a few claret lines on 
each side of the midrib, except of the lowest segment, 
which had no marking. Idomeneus bears the largest 
flowers of any of the white kinds. The flowers are 
funnel-shaped, but very wide at the mouth, and 
white with light scarlet reticulations on either side of 
the midrib. On the contrary, the darkest of the 
varieties with largo flowers is Vedette. The blooms 
are funnel-shaped with broad segments of a uniform 
dark maroon, slightly rayed at the very base. As a 
contrast to the last-named, Cherub shows off to ad¬ 
vantage. The flowers are white with crimson lines 
radiating from the midrib. 
All of the above are new varieties and consequently 
unique, but Orion and Van Dyke are older ones to 
be put into commerce this sehson. Orion is of the 
same type as Champion, with large, widely 
campanulate flowers, having a very short tube, and 
of a brilliant crimson with a short green ray at the 
base. The flowers of Van Dyke, on the contrary, are 
of medium size, funnel-shaped, and of a brilliant 
vermilion hue, shaded with maroon in the throat; 
the tube externally is almost black at the base. The 
variety is relatively dwarf, the flower stem being only 
15 in. high. 
The new varieties put into commerce last year 
were likewise two in number, namely, Olivia, a large 
French-white flower, striated with rosy-scarlet lines 
on each side of the midrib ; and Titania, with glowing 
carmine flowers, shaded with scarlet. Many others 
of comparatively recent origin are to be seen in the 
Amaryllis house ; but they are the selections from 
many batches of seedlings extending over as many 
years, and have held their own simply because the 
best of their type. They in turn must give place to 
the most recent acquisitions of superior merit. The 
flowers of even ten years ago were small, and 
relatively poor in colour, compared with the average 
standard of to-day. 
-—■*-- 
HOW PLANTS FEED. 
Mr. R. Stewart M’Dougall, M. A.,B.Sc., lecturer 
on agricultural botany at Minto House, Edinburgh, 
recently delivered an admirable lecture on this sub¬ 
ject in Midlothian, from wjiich we take the following 
abstracts :—Plants feed in two main ways—by their 
leaves and by their roots. For the proper under¬ 
standing of how the plant took its food by means -of 
its leaves, some knowledge of the structure of the leaf 
was necessary. The leaf as seen in a diagram of a 
transverse section, consisted of the following parts— 
(a) an upper epidermis ; (b) a number of cells ar¬ 
ranged like palings, and hence called pallisade cells, 
these being filled with green colouring matter ; ( c) 
loosely arranged cells, with large intercellular spaces ; 
and (d) lower epidermis. The veins of the leaf were 
the channels continued into the stem by which the 
two kinds of sap passed, viz., elaborated sap from 
the leaves, and unelaborated sap from the roots. 
Scattered over the surface of the leaves, especially 
over the lower surface, little “ mouths ” or stomata 
were found. These “ mouths ” by means of guard 
cells, could be opened or closed, and thus, within 
limits, could control the water supply of the plant. 
The function of the epidermis was merely pro¬ 
tective. 
Functions of the Leaf. 
By means of their leaves plants (1) feed (assimilate) ; 
(2) give off water in the form of vapour (transpire) ; 
(3) breathe (respire); and (4) assist in building up 
the food into the constituents of the plant (meta¬ 
bolism) . In the matter of feeding, the plant had the 
power of utilising the carbon-dioxide of the air. The 
air passing through the cell walls reached the gran¬ 
ules filled with green colouring matter, and by the 
action of sunlight an organic compound, viz., starch, 
was elaborated from two inorganic substances, car¬ 
bon-dioxide and water. In the process oxygen was 
given off, and so there was a purifying effect on the 
air. This explained why a good area of trees always 
improved the climatic conditions of the district in 
which they grew, and it also explained why flowers 
in a room improved the atmosphere in that room from 
a health point of view. In regard to transpiration, 
the lecturer said water was evaporated from the 
leaves, the loss of water above being made good by 
water taken in by the roots. Experimental proof was 
given that transpiration did happen, and the stomata 
were mentioned as the great organs of transpiration. 
These stomata were, generally speaking, open by day 
and closed at night, but many factors assisted in 
modifying transpiration, such as the state of the sur¬ 
rounding air, dry or damp ; the amount of water 
taken in by the roots ; and the amount of exposed 
leaf surface. Attention, too, was drawn to the effect 
of mechanical disturbance, say, the violent shaking 
produced by high winds. It was pointed out that 
continued shaking induced an excess of evaporation, 
vv.th a cjj„cqucnt drooping of the leaves, and the 
different views as to how this came about were dis¬ 
cussed. If transpiration were checked the plant be¬ 
came unhealthy, while over-evaporation was equally 
harmful. Transpiration was very important to the 
plant, as by its means a good supply of water, so 
necessary for growth, was maintained ; while a good 
supply of water was equally necessary, as in it the 
food compounds cf the plant were dissolved. The 
surplus water was evaporated from the leaves. 
Equally with animals, plants breathed. Breathing 
went on day and night, the final process being a 
giving off of carbon dioxide and water. The different 
effects on the air of assimilation and respiration were 
compared, and an experiment was suggested to the 
audience, by which those present could prove the 
respiration of plants for themselves. The great im¬ 
portance of respiration was that it supplied the mov¬ 
ing forces by which the accumulated stores of food in 
the plant could be utilised in building up the struc¬ 
ture. Touching incidentally on the importance of 
light in the growth of most plants, the lecturer 
pointed out how, in practical forestry, it was very 
necessary to have a knowledge of the requirements 
of the different species. Trees were divided into two 
great branches, the light demanding and shade bear¬ 
ing, and suggestions were offered as to the princi¬ 
ples which should guide the forester in planting a 
mixture, say, of Larch and Spruce or Larch and 
Beech, the Larch being a light demanding species, 
and the Spruce and Beech shade bearing. 
Feeding by Roots. 
The feeding of plants by roots was then dealt with. 
Excluding the insectivorous plants, all plants had to 
take their food up, not in a solid but in a dissolved 
condition. The root-hairs were the important 
organs in root absorption, these root-hairs absorbing 
by their whole surface. There was a very intimate 
connection between these root-hairs and the particles 
of the soil. Each soil particle was surrounded by a 
film of water, known as the hygroscopic water, in 
which the food to be taken in by the plant was dis¬ 
solved. The other water, which was termed the 
" free water,” was drained off, its presence having a 
baneful effect, as it filled up the interspaces between 
the soil particles, and so prevented the free access of 
air. After pointing out the solvent action of the acid 
sap of the root-hairs—this being so solvent as to dis¬ 
solve rock which resisted water even when it was 
stimulated by carbon-dioxide—the lecturer showed 
how the water containing dissolved salts, the food of 
the plant, passed into the root-hairs. This was by 
means of what was known as Osmosis, a physical 
law which governed the process of plant absorp¬ 
tion. The movements of water in the plant were 
next discussed, and the channels pointed out by 
which the nutrient solution was conveyed upwards, 
these being the vessels of the wood or the walls of 
the wood cells and vessels. In the lower plants 
which had no vessels, the movement was, in the 
main, from a part well supplied with water to parts 
less well supplied. The “ bleeding ” of plants was 
next touched on, and the causes suggested. The 
differences pointed out between this and the ordinary 
transpiration currents were also pointed out with 
evident appreciation. In illustration of these points 
specimens of sections of trees were handed round, 
these showing the structure, as well as the growth of 
the wood. Special attention was directed to the 
" vessels ” which were seen, just like a system oftubes 
cut across. In the matter of food, different kind of 
plants require different kinds of food. Leguminous 
plants, for instance, were very fond of silica, whereas 
Cereals or Potatos chose very different substances. 
The principles which underlay the rotation of 
crops were based on what might be termed the se¬ 
lective power of plants—one variety taking most of 
one kind of food and another of another kinds. These 
different feeding crops followingin succession did not 
exhaust the land to the extent that the same kind of 
crop grown continuously for a certain number of 
years would. 
- »*» - 
■ WINTER ACONITES. 
The first gold gift has come to bless the year 
From Earth's abundant bosom, where the snow 
Seemed, with its silent folds, a month ago, 
To still all pulsings of the heart that, here, 
Asserts a deathless love by symbol clear 
To wistful eyes, long watching. Now we know 
Asleep, she dreams of waking—beating low, 
That faithful heart reminds her Spring is near. 
Death-like she wore her garments—we were sad ; 
In solemn dirge, snow-laden winds her fate 
Bewailed, while ran the year’s remaining sands. 
Birds carol her awaking—we are glad, 
But sing our songs in silence ; longing, wait 
Her gifts, like children, and extend our hands. 
Ric’iard F. Totundroiv, in " Nature Notes." 
