April 15, 1893. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
518 
side measurement, the second in., and the third 
if required, 7 in., measuring at the top. To avoid 
one-sided plants it is necessary to turn them often, 
as the sun draws the branches towards it. 
Flowers for the London Poor. —Miss Frances 
Armbrecht, 13, Duke Street, Grosvenor Square, 
honorary secretary of the Flower Mission in connec¬ 
tion with the King’s Weigh-House Church, appeals 
for flowers for distribution among the poor who are 
ministered to by its staff. The mission, it may be 
explained, was only started last year, but its fragrant 
offerings were gladly welcomed by the roughest and 
most degraded, while the sick and aged prized them 
greatly. All sorts of flowers, whether garden or 
wild ones, will be acceptable, and those who are in 
the habit of arranging flowers for decorative effect 
will not forget to add some foliage or grasses. When 
sent in large quantities these can be forwarded by 
parcel post; the mission is willing, if desired, to pay 
carriage. The distributions are made weekly, on 
Saturday afternoons and evenings, so that boxes or 
baskets should arrive on Friday nights or Saturday 
mornings. The season of floral abundance is now at 
hand, and it is perhaps only those who have seen for 
themselves the loving appreciation of the London 
poor for flowers who can fully understand the possi¬ 
bilities for further good which may lie under the 
seemingly slight gift of a few flowers. 
Ealing and District Gardeners' Mutual Improvement 
Society. —The annual dinner of this society took place 
in the Victoria Hall, Ealing, on the evening of the 
6th inst, when fifty-two members and friends partici¬ 
pated in the enjoyment of the evening. The usual 
toasts were proposed, and speeches delivered con¬ 
cerning the work carried on by the society, namely : 
the reading of papers and discussion thereon, as 
well as the discussions on various questions brought 
before the society’s meetings on important and pre¬ 
sent-day horticultural topics. The chairman also distri¬ 
buted the prizes offered for exhibits and essays. The 
first prize for exhibits of plants at the meetings 
was awarded to Mr. Long who was followed by Mr. 
Slatter, Mr. Collins, Mr. J. Baird and Mr. Cox re¬ 
spectively. Prizes were offered by Mr. R Dean for an 
essay on the Onion ; and here Mr. Edwards was first, 
Mr. Long took the second place, and Mr. Gates was 
third. R. Dawes, Esq., offered prizes for an essay on 
Peaches and Nectarines, the first of which was again 
won by Mr. Edwards, followed by Mr. Long, Mr. 
Ernest Pentney and Mr. W. Wright respectively. 
C. Jones, Esq., and G. F. Nixon, Esq., offered prizes 
for an essay on Gladiolus, and the first award was 
made to Mr. J Slatter, while Mr. Ernest Pentney 
took the the second prize. 
/Echmea Zahnii —Many of the Bromeliads are 
beautiful when in flower, but others are beautiful 
at all times, and the above-named subject is 
one of them. The linear, fluted leaves are 
arranged in a dense vasiform tuft, and green 
striated with red on both sides, suffused with 
red on the upper surface and all more or less 
of a deep red at the base. On the flower stem they 
give place to bracts which are also of a deep red and 
very attractive. The flowers themselves are yellow 
and crowded together in clusters at the top of the 
flower stem. We noted the plant in this condition 
in the nursery of Messrs. J Laing & Sons, Forest 
Hill. Young plants are obtained as suckers from 
the base of the old one after flowering, and take 
some years to reach the flowering stage; but this 
need not be regretted seeing that the plant is attrac¬ 
tive at all times and may be used for decorative 
purposes including table decorations. 
Wood Green Horticultural Society —A special 
meeting of the members of this society took place in 
the Masonic Hall, Wood Green, on Tuesday last, 
when, at the invitation of the committee of the 
society, Mr. Richard Dean delivered an address on 
" The Auricula : its History, Characteristics, Types, 
Culture, etc.," illustrated by means of plants in 
flower. There was a large attendance, including 
ladies, special interest being taken in the culture of 
the flower through a number of the members being 
fanciers and cultivators of the border varieties. A 
very hearty vote of thanks was given to Mr. Dean at 
the close of his address, and, in acknowledging the 
compliment, he strongly advised those interested in 
the flower to visit the exhibition of the National 
Auricula Society, to take place in the Drill Hall, 
Westminster, on the 25th inst. 
A new Potato Spraying Machine. —The inventor of 
the Strawsonizer has just brought out a new machine, 
an extension of the Strawsonizer principle, to meet 
the want by farmers of an implement that will dress 
Potatos with Bordeaux mixture effectively and 
rapidly. The machine is of a light draught, and 
dresses the under surface of the leaves of seven rows 
of Potatos or plants thoroughly at one time, and 
more evenly than could be done by hand It has 
ft. iron wheels and a telescoping axel, so that the 
wheels can be drawn out from 4 ft. to 5 ft. apart, in 
order to suit any rows that are planted from 12 to 
33 ins. wide. It carries about sixty gallons of liquid, 
which is automatically agitated and has a reversible 
pump arrangement by which it can be pumped full 
and strained at the same time—-a valuable practical 
advantage. The nozzles can be elevated, brought 
close together, or stretched out to 30 ins. apart as 
required. The machine can be used as a large hand 
machine, and watering and spraying have been done 
in this way, with excellent practical effect, 300 to 
400 ft. from the machine. When not in use it may 
be kept full of water, and can be used in case of 
emergency as a fire engine. 
Orchid Pots of Teak. —At p. 421 we referred to 
Orchid baskets, rafts, cylinders, and Orchid pots 
made of Teak. Mr. H. G. Smyth, of 21, Goldsmith 
Street, Drury Lane, has recently added the latter to 
his stock of horticultural sundries, and we are now 
in a position to illustrate this new article which can 
hardly fail to meet a want. The pot in question is 
strong, durable, and simple, with the ribs fastened 
together at top and bottom by a strong copper wire 
running through them. Small pieces about an inch 
in length keep them apart at the top, but not at the 
Teak Orchid Pot. 
bottom , hence the pot-like shape which the article 
assumes. 
Royal Gardeners’ Orphan Fund.— At the meeting of 
the committee on the 7th inst. the Honorary Secre¬ 
tary reported the receipt of a donation of £5 from 
H.R.H. the Duke of York ; £1 from the Countess of 
Shrewsbury, and £1 is. from Lady Gordon Lennox. 
Mr. Kipling sent £7, the sum received by him for 
skating fees at Knebworth during the past winter. 
Mr. J. P. Leadbeater, Tranby Croft, sent 12s., the 
result of a card collection ; and from their collecting 
boxes, Mr. Jesse Willard, Holly Lodge, Highgate, 
sent £1 7s. 6d.; Mr. H. Canned, Swanley, £1 ; Mr. 
T. Turton, Maiden Erleigh, 16s., and the Liverpool 
Horticultural Association, 10s. 6d. 
The Brighton "New” Horticultural Society’s Spring 
Show on Tuesday and Wednesday was a very suc¬ 
cessful one, the exhibits being good all round, the 
arrangements thoroughly satisfactory, and the atten¬ 
dance good. Mr. G. Hart, gardener to H. Head, 
Esq., Shoreham, had the best dozen Hyacinths, and 
Mr. C. Mussell, Preston Park, the best dozen pots of 
Tulips—a grand lot. Other successful competitors 
were Mr. Gore, with Lily of the Valley ; Mr. House, 
with Amaryllis : Messrs. Peed & Son, with Cyclamens 
and Pelargoniums ; Messrs. W. Miles & Co., with 
double Primulas: Mr. Murrell, with greenhouse 
Azaleas, a well-flowered lot, and Mr. J. Turner, 
Furze Hid, with a group 60 ft square. Mr. G. Miles 
was second in the latter competition, and Mr. E. 
Meachen, third, and ad these as usual were of unex¬ 
ceptional quality. 
Among the exhibits not for competition were a 
grand group of plants and floral designs from Messrs. 
Balchin & Sons. A table of fruit from Messrs. 
J. Cheal & Sons, Crawley. A large table of decora¬ 
tive plants from Mr. Prinsep, gardener to Viscountess 
Portman, Buxted Park. This contained a grand 
plant of Dendrobium densiflorum, also pieces of D. 
Dalhousianum.andCypripediumhirsutissimumaswell 
as several other Orchids. Mr. A. Kemp, gardener to 
C. R. Scrase Dickens, Esq., Horsham, sent a stand 
of Grapes, and twenty-four dishes of Apples, and 
Mr. H. Stringer, 212, Western Road, had one of the 
most showy and tasteful exhibits in the show, viz , 
a bridal and ball-room bouquet, and also a large 
wreath of excellent quality. 
-- 
HYBRID PRIMROSES. 
So long as spring succeeds winter, so long, I suppose 
will the old love be renewed for the fresh and the 
beautiful, for the charm and the fragrance born of 
all that is implied and delightful in the magic of the 
word " Spring." In the summer season "the young 
man's thoughts lightly turn to love"; but in the 
spring of the year, if he affect nature, his cogitations 
are directed towards those sweet and philosophical 
lessons which are invariably suggested by a con¬ 
templation of flowers. Among the old-fashioned 
flowers, perhaps, none have received more considera¬ 
tion than the Primrose family ; and, although the 
present race of hybrid Primroses was unknown to 
our forefathers, it is quite certain that they were not 
very far behind us in the matter of symmetry and 
colour. But in these days the varieties are so 
numerous,and the tints and shades so extraordinary, 
that our ancestors could not but be astonished were 
it possible for them to rise up in evidence against 
us. 
These remarks are called forth by the grand dis¬ 
play of these flowers at Falkland Park, South 
Norwood Hill, where Mr. A. Wright, the able all¬ 
round gardener, has provided such a show as it has 
never been my pleasure to witness before. The 
strain is known as Dean’s Hybrids, and they are justly 
celebrated, inasmuch as the colours range from 
bluish purple to pure white, with a hundred inter¬ 
mediate grades between ; and while some of the 
hues are wonderfully rich and effective, in other 
cases the colours are so blended that it is quite im¬ 
possible to describe them. Again some of them 
are so unique that they possess white edges, and are 
otherwise fringed, feathered and blotched. 
Several of the pips were examined, and it was 
found that they measured ig in. in diameter. This 
is really remarkable, when it is considered that this 
time last year they were in the seed packet. 
Contrary to the generally recommended aids to 
cultivation, viz., partial shade and protection, they 
are well exposed to the full glare of the sun and the 
four winds of heaven, with the result that the plants 
are sturdy and dwarf, while the flowers partake of 
the same characteristics, are free in addition, and 
look for all the world like mountain gems—out of all 
proportion to the tuft of leaves. When it is further 
stated that there are over 7,000 plants, and that they 
occupy a position on a wind-swept hill more than 
400 feet above sea-level, it is self-evident that they 
are adapted to the bleakest of places. What wonder 
then that Mr. Wright is enamoured of them ! He 
positively asserts that for the outlay of capital and 
labour he has never received greater satisfaction 
What wonder he exhibits much enthusiasm for those 
delicately sweet and hardy denizens of the florists’ 
care! He is so partial to them that he would not 
discard, even at the risk of incurring the florists' ire, 
the " pin-eyed ” vatieties, which exhibit in other re¬ 
spects perfection of form and colour. Although I 
have dubbed them all Primroses, there is a large 
percentage of those forms known as Polyanthuses, 
and it may be well to query here what is a Poly¬ 
anthus ? Dr. Lindley, in the " Treasury of Botany,” 
describes a Polyanthus as " an umbellate-flowered 
variety of Primula vulgaris, while the most recent 
authority, the " Encyclopaedia Britannica states 
that " P. veris is the origin of the Polyanthus of our 
wardens." When doctors differ had we not better 
adopt the golden mean ? Certain it is that this 
^rand collection exhibits all the variations of the 
transition state, for plants which were earlier in the 
season, of the Primrose type, become as time de¬ 
velops the " Polyanthus of unnumbered dyes." 
