THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 2Z, 1893. 
What an erroneous notion! as a sight of this dis¬ 
tinct and attractive house would soon dispel. Visitors 
here are becoming more numerous since the authori¬ 
ties opened up the herbaceous grounds so pro¬ 
minently to the public, although it is yet in nubibus 
as far as the majority of the people are concerned 
But those who do find their way towards the house 
are very appreciative in their remarks, and many 
notes are jotted ‘down for future reference. The 
advantages of mere protection—for no artificial heat 
is used—are self-evident, for in a climate like ours, 
where the range of temperature at this season is so 
extreme, nature can only put on her best and gayest 
attire where she receives some assistance from the 
vicissitudes of the weather. Moreover, by the aid 
of glass, the beauty and integrity of the flowers can 
be preserved over a much longer period. Again, if 
it w'ere not for this structure many of the rare and 
exquisite gems of a mountain flora would “waste 
their sweetness on the desert air’’ as far as the 
flower-loving wanderer is concerned. From vague 
^generalisations let us descend to details, and notify 
some of the leading characteristics of the classes of 
vegetation which are here represented. 
Along the front row, then, may be examined the 
various species of Primula, P. Auricula, show and 
Alpine occupying a prominent place. P. Siebaldi, 
and its beautiful fringed varieties, also a dark form 
known as Magenta King cannot fail to attract 
attention, and to this P. rosea, and some hybrids of 
P. vulgaris, etc., and it will be admittted that the 
Primrose plays an important part in hardy plant 
culture. Next comes Milla uniflora with its pale 
and starry blossoms, and glaucous green grassy 
foliage, with Gentiana verna, as a set off in respect 
to colour. No wonder the mild Milla pales before 
the vivid blue of this lovely Gentian. Anemone 
stellata fires the zeal, which is only quenched by 
contrast with its pure white congener A. nemorosa, 
and its excellent variety Robjnsoniana. 
Among other white flowers may be noted 
Ranunculus amplexicaulis—a gem—and Allium 
vernale, which is very free and fine. The 
delicately tinted Phlox procumbens, and P. 
amoena; the bright blue conical-shaped clusters 
of the Grape Hyacinth, Muscari conicum, or the 
modest drooping racemes of Dicentra saccata, each 
excites some interest. 
Yellow flowers are supplied by Doronicums, and 
the free-flowering Erysimum ochroleucum, variety 
Helveticum—closely allied to the Wallflowers—and 
which is largely grown at Kew. Thus it will be 
seen that the plants enumerated, besides dozens of 
others, are quite sufficient to produce a floral 
picture which cannot be surpassed by any other 
forms of vegetation.—C. B. G., Acton, IV. 
--- 
CARVED FRUIT STONES. 
Nothing is wasted is China. The stones of various 
fruits and the shells of nuts are cleaned, dried, and 
carved into ornaments of the most graceful kind. 
Among the stones used are the Olive, Plum, Peach, 
and Cherry, and of the shells the Walnut and Cocoa- 
nut. The stones are collected with care ; each must 
exceed a certain standard of size, proportion, hard¬ 
ness, and weight. They are dried slowly and at 
such a heat as not to crack or sprout, and are then 
ready for the carver. The designer makes a rough 
outline of the future group or picture, and hands it 
over to his boys or apprentices. These work with 
great rapidity and soon block out the design, cutting 
through the hard ligneous tissue, and then extract 
the kernel. A second treatment now takes place to 
dry the interior of the stone, as well as to prevent 
the fine lining of the interior from undergoing decom¬ 
position. This completed, the designer sketches a 
second outline, and also indicates by his pencil or 
brush where the surface is to be manipulated, made 
into leaf work or arabesque, or be cut altogether 
away. The work is performed by the subordinates, 
as at first. The designer then does the finishing 
touches, after which the assistants clean, polish, and 
oil or wax the perfected carving. The stones are sold 
in this shape to quite a large extent, but more largely 
in other forms. Among these may be mentioned 
buttons, -watch charms, sleeve-links, earrings, and 
brooches, and, when strung together, bracelets, 
anklets, necklaces, watch-chains, rosaries, and official 
ornaments. The price of a stone varies greatly with 
the workmanship and the fame of the carver. Some 
may be bought as low as jd. a piece, others com¬ 
mand as high as 8 s. and 123 each. The average 
price is is. 3d. a stone, with a handsome discount for 
purchases in quantity. The carvings display great 
variety and beauty. One class represents bunches of 
flowers and leaves, in which pistils, stamens, and 
tendrils are accurately executed.. Similar to these 
are fruits and flowers, and flowers and leaves. A 
second class is composed of carvings of birds, 
reptiles, and higher animals. The dragon, griffin, 
stork, horse, lion, tiger, camel, elephant, and bull 
are the favourite figures A canon in Chinese 
carving is to reproduce only those animals which 
have been deified, and those mentioned are about the 
only ones which have enjoyed divine honours. A 
third class, and by far the most interesting, com¬ 
prises groups of human figures representing scenes 
in history, poetry, mythology, and the drama. The 
workmanship is often so fine as to be microscopic in 
its delicacy. In fact the finishing touches are made 
by the artist while using a magnifying glass of at 
least fifty diameters. On stones not over an inch in 
length along their major axis, it is not uncommon to 
find eight, nine, and ten characters in different 
attitudes and costumes. Unlike most phases of 
Chinese art, there is much regard paid to perspective 
and foreshortening. Some of these pieces might 
have been made by Hindoo or Italian artists, so free 
are they from local conventionalism Nevertheless, 
in the main, conventionalism is all-prevailing.— 
Society of Arts Journal. 
-- 
DOG’S-TOOTH VIOLETS 
AND WOOD LILIES. 
The species of Erythronium and Trillium are pecu¬ 
liarly spring flowers, and not only interesting but 
beautiful on account of their large and showy flowers, 
made all the more conspicuous because they make 
their appearance in spring before flowers are over 
plentiful, and because they will grow in woodland 
and shaded walks where spring flowers are peculiarly 
appropriate and desirable. The undermentioned 
species are all American. There is of course a 
European species of Dog’s-tooth Violet, namely, 
Erythronium dens-canis, already well known in 
British gardens, although it has been neglected of 
late. The subjects of these notes we examined the 
other day in Mr. T. S. Ware's, Hale Farm, 
Nurseries, Tottenham. 
One of the most vigorous of all the species is E. 
grandiflorum, in favourably moist seasons and in 
suitable positions growing to a height of 18 in. to 2 ft. 
The dry spring, however, has kept the flower stems 
down to 8 in. with two flowers each, whereas they 
bear as many as six flowers in favourable years. 
The flowers are pale sulphur-yellow with a golden 
zone at the base. The leaves have pale veins and 
sometimes a few bronzy blotches between. The 
plants grow like weeds in a moist border between 
two hedges. Finer and even more attractive is 
E. g. giganteum, also known as E. g. albiflorum, and 
is, if anything, more vigorous than the type. The 
flowers are pure white with exception of an orange 
zone at the base, and have golden anthers. The 
leaves are large, oblong, glaucous, and distinctly 
blotched with bronzy-purple. The type is a native 
of North-west America, and the variety comes from 
Washington Territory. 
The flowers of E. purpurascens are of the same 
type as those of E. grandiflorum, but white at first 
and afterwards shaded with rosy-purple, and having 
a golden zone at the base. The leaves are pale 
green and blotched with bronze between the grey 
veins. In full sunshine the base of the corolla 
externally assumes quite a purple hue. It is also 
grown under the name of E. Smithii. Another 
species now flowering freely is E. Hendersonii with 
much smaller but pretty flowers. The plant is 
altogether smaller and less vigorous than either of 
the above, and comes from Oregon. The leaves are 
pale green with grey veins. The flower stems are 
at present about 6 in. high and bear two blooms 
each, and which are white shaded with rosy-pink and 
have a violet-purple blotch at the base of each seg¬ 
ment. The stamens and style are purple, thus 
adding to the beauty of the flowers considerably by 
contrast with the pale segments. 
The species of Trillium popularly known as Ameri¬ 
can Wood Lilies or Indian Shamrocks are also well 
represented at the Hale Farm Nurseries. Several of 
them are now at their best while early ones are get¬ 
ting over, and late ones will continue the succession. 
T. discolor, also known as T. atratum, is particularly 
noticeable on account of the rich colour of the leaves, 
which may be described as elliptic and of a deep 
bronzy purple with greyish-green blotches. The 
solitary flower is sessile, that is, stalkless and close 
to the three leaves of the stem. The outer face of 
the sepals'is green but when the flowers are ex¬ 
panded the inner face of the sepal is purple and the 
petals of a rich shade of that hue. T. ovatum is the 
earliest species to flower and is similar to T. grandi¬ 
florum, but the white flowers are smaller. The 
leaves are ovate and green. The species is a native 
of the South United States and is well worth grow¬ 
ing to precede T. grandiflorum. The strongest 
growing species we noted was T. erectum, with deep 
purple petals. The variety T. e. album is even more 
vigorous, being about a foot high, with very broadly 
rhomboid, green leaves and stalked, nodding flowers. 
Altogether it is a bolder plant than T. grandiflorum, 
and the nodding character of the flowers serves to 
add interest and distinctness to the species. 
--5—-- 
JOHNSON SGARDENERS DICTIONARY.* 
A new edition of this old standard work, such as 
Messrs. G. Bell & Sons are now publishing in 
monthly parts, has long been a necessity, for in many 
cases the nomenclature was sadly behind the age, 
while as a matter of fact so many new species have 
been introduced, or garden forms have arisen even 
since the last supplement was published, that a record 
of them has become quite indispensable. The use 
made of a good black letter type to distinguish the 
genera and other headings in the new edition is a 
marked improvement upon the original edition, inas. 
much as the eye rests upon the names directly, ind we 
can find what is wanted without waste of time in follow'- 
ing the text. Another important feature of the book 
is the placing of synonyms alongside the correct 
name, instead of making a separate list at the end of 
the work where they would seldom be consulted. 
References to figures or illustrations in other pub¬ 
lications is also a useful innovation. 
The “Genera Plantarum” is taken as the 
standard authority for generic names, except in 
some instances where garden usage makes it more 
convenient to employ old and well-known names, 
which distinguish for instance Azalea as distinct 
from Rhododendron, and Cerasus from Prunus. 
This we can understand, but we must take exception 
to the calling of the species of Abies, Spruce Firs. 
The popular or English names are universally 
recognised by gardeners and identified with the 
proper class of trees, but the botanical names of 
Abies and Picea are often confused. The species of 
Abies are Silver Firs, yet under this heading we 
have Abies Ajanensis, A. alba, and A. nigra, all of 
which are Spruce Firs, namely, Picea Ajanensis, 
Fischer, P. alba, Link, and Picea nigra, Link. Abies 
Pattoni we venture to say is synonymous with 
Tsuga Pattoniana, given in the same list. We must 
also challenge the revisers' classification of the 
species of Adiantum. We find only three varieties 
classed under A. cuneatum, and one of these, namely, 
Lathomi, we should relegate to A tenerum. A. 
Legrandi and A Pacotti are given as greenhouse 
species, while A gracillimum and A. mundulum are 
described as stove species, but surely all of these are 
more closely identical with A. cuneatum than is the 
form Lathomi. A. Weigandi, although given as a 
species, we should class under A. Capillus Veneris, 
and A. Mariesii and A. Moritzianumjare also forms 
of the latter plant. A. cultratum is a form of A. 
trapeziforme, as also is A. t. Sanctae Catherinae, 
which although the most common of the two 
varieties in gardens is not mentioned at all. 
In the old edition of the dictionary a whitish 
variety of Agapanthus umbellatus is mentioned, 
namely A. u. albidus, but in the new one we find 
mention made of three additional ones, all having 
white flowers, yet which are apparently the same 
thing, recorded at different times under different 
names. Solium tremulentum, mentioned under Aira, 
we take to be a printer’s error for Lolium temulentum. 
Additional insects are being described in the new 
edition, but we should have liked to see some of the 
old articles upon them revised. Several genera of 
aphides are included under aphis. Something like 
’“‘Johnson’s Gardeners’ Dictionary.” A new edition, 
thoroughly revised and considerably enlarged. By C. H. 
Wright, F.R.M.S., and D. Dewar, Curator of the Glasgow- 
Botanic Garden. (London: George Bell & Sons). 
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