614 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 27, 1893. 
Cheal & Sons, Lowfield Nursery Crawley, who was 
accorded an extra prize. A similar award was made 
to Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden, for two 
tables of Irises in quantity, Lupins, Lilies, Paeonies, 
Pyrethrums, Candytufts, Florists' Tulips, etc. 
FLOWER SHOW DATES. 
As flower shows are fixed to date only by ordinary 
routine, and not by immutable laws, it is equally 
open to the same routine to vary those dates 
according to circumstances. It is to some such 
matter that one of your correspondents last week 
directed the attention of your readers, and I hope 
that his remarks will have due consideration. There 
can be no doubt but that the extraordinary nature of 
the spring time, its drought and its heat, has materially 
caused ^variation in the blooming time of plants, so 
that dates found suitable generally are quite out of 
time this year .All familiar with Roses, for instance, 
know that the flower buds are this season fully from 
two to three weeks earlier than ordinary, and that is 
but a moderate estimate. 
It is practically impossible that weather can now 
ensue that will check Rose development so much as 
to keep the flowers from expanding before the usual 
time. The season has, in fact, entirely upset all 
ordinary calculations. The same may be said of 
Carnations, and in the case of both these popular 
flowers, if the dates of the ordinary shows be not 
brought forward, it seems certain that the flowers 
will have come and gone before the shows are held. 
It was but the other day, in relation to Roses, that 
a wordy warfare was raging with respect to the 
fixing of the date of the National Society’s Southern 
Show. The date was a week too soon for the 
Northern men, so they said. Now it looks as if the 
date would be a good deal too late for the Southern 
men. 
I know that once fixed it is very difficult, as well 
as unusual, to vary it, but it is equally obvious that 
if shows do not catch the flowers they are intended 
to encourage when at their best, they are com¬ 
paratively valueless. It was even suggested the 
other day that the recent hot weather would 
accelerate such far-off blooming plants as 
Chrysanthemums by a fortnight. That, of course, 
remains to be seen, because it is a far cry to Novem¬ 
ber, but in the case of the other flowers, matters are 
different. I shall hope that your correspondent’s 
request for expressions of opinion will be responded 
to.— JRosa. 
-- 5 —- 
WHICH IS RIGHT? 
Your correspondent, " A. D.” on p. 598, must surely 
have made a mistake when he puts all the blame on 
the botanist for the unfixable nomenclatura,of plants 
in gardens, but particularly in reference to Cheir- 
anthus and Erysimum. The two genera ate widely 
distinct from a botanical point of view, and do not 
in fact belong to the same tribe of the order of 
Crucifers. The Cheiranthus, or Wallflower, has 
accumbent cotyledons, while the species of Erysimum 
have incumbent cotyledons. Thir may be put down 
as a difference so small and inconspicuous as to be 
quite unworthy of serious attention ; but the dis¬ 
tinction of the numerous genera of the order depends 
almost entirely upon the structure of the fruit and 
seed, and by overlooking these facts the classifica¬ 
tion of the order upon a natural basis would be next 
to impossible. 
It may be asked then why the botanists named the 
plants in question Cheiranthus, and now desire to 
change them to Erysimum. In the earlier stages of 
the science of botany it was impossible to prevent 
mistakes, especially in the case of plants superficially 
so much alike that their fundamental differances 
were not readily discernable. Is the present genera¬ 
tion of botanists to be bound hand and foot that 
they cannot correct the mistakes of their pre¬ 
decessors ? If so there would be an end to all pro¬ 
gress in the science immediately. 
The corrections in question are by no means new 
for Loudon recorded Erysimum helveticum and E. 
alpinum at least as early as 1829, although the wrong 
plant was described under the latter name, in fact a 
plant called Brassica alpina by Linnaeus. The true 
Erysimum alpinum, with upright unbranched stems 
is very little grown if at all in cultivation. E. ochro- 
leucum, with its stems decumbent at the base and 
branched there, has been doing duty for its congener 
in gardens, and is very plentiful under the erroneous 
name of Cheiranthus alpinus. The correct spelling 
of the annual Erysimum with orange-red flowers is 
E. Perofskianum or Perofski’s Erysimum. The 
various changes in this name is due to the attempt 
on the part of various authors to give a euphonious 
rendering of German and Russian names having f or 
ff in them and which are changed into v or w accord¬ 
ing to the opinion of the author. 
Moreover, botanists cannot be held responsible for 
many of the names attached to plants in circulation, 
because they are often given by horticulturists on 
their own responsibility without consulting a 
botanist. These, of course, can only be looked 
upon as garden names. For instance, a plant was 
put into commerce under the name of Dracaena 
Lindeni, and when it flowered it proved to be a 
variegated form of D. fragrans, and was then named 
D f Lindeni. Recently we have an instance of a 
plant named D Sanderiana, which is merely a 
garden name. Cases of this kind might be multi¬ 
plied ad infinitum, but the botanists cannot be held 
responsible for them.— Z. 
-- 
A KELSO NURSERY. 
Being in Kelso last week I made my way to the 
nurseries of Messrs. Stuart & Mein, having heard 
that there was a treat in store there, viz., the Tulip 
beds. On arriving at the nursery I met with a 
guide who ably pointed out the various novelties 
and specialities for which the name of this firm is 
famed. The Conifers, fruit trees, and Roses revel 
in the mellow soil of which the nursery ground con¬ 
sists. A large space is devoted to Hollyhocks, one 
of their greatest specialities, and which were, to all 
appearance, in a very healthy state. Delphiniums 
also come in for a large share of attention, and 
looked exceedingly well. Gladiolus are looking well, 
considering the dry weather, and no doubt will 
retain the name they have already made. 
They have, I believe, the finest collection of Tulips 
in Britain, and bestow all pains to develop them to 
the highest state of perfection. Enquiring as to their 
mode of cultivation, I was informed that in the 
first place the ground is duly prepared in the way of 
trenching ; this being done, planting takes place early 
in November, 4 inches deep and 6 inches apart. 
When the young growths push through the soil 
means must be taken to protect them from frost and 
hail storms, these being detrimental to their growth. 
The flowers are produced early in May, and shading 
is important, both as a protection from sun and 
rain. The collection of flowering bulbs numbered 
over 1,000 and were in magnificent bloom ; a quantity 
of the flowers had been cut, but of what was left I 
mention a few as very good :— 
Roses. —Heroine, Mme. St. Arnaud, Annie Mc¬ 
Gregor, Mrs. Adkins, and Triomphe Royale. 
Byblcemens. — Duchess of Sutherland, Trip to 
Stockport, Nulli Secundus, and Talisman. 
Bizarres. —Dr. Hutchens, Masterpiece, Mr. 
Mills, Chadwick, Sir J. Romilly, and Ajax. 
Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, etc., are represented by 
good sorts, inferior kinds being systematically weeded 
out and destroyed. The usual stove plants are 
grown, and Orchids also come in for a share of 
attention. The frame ground comprises a large 
selection of Dahlias, Mimulus, Marigolds, etc., 
ready to be removed to their flowering quarters. I 
would advise anyone who happens to be in the 
neighbourhood of Kelso to pay a visit to these 
nurseries. I am sure they will derive as much 
pleasure from their visit as the writer did.— -Visitor . 
-- 
Hardening §Iiscellany. 
P/CON1A WHITMANNIANA. 
The constitution of this plant must be excellent, 
considering how quickly it has become established 
in this country. There is a plant in the nursery of 
Mr. T. S. Ware, Tottenham, which, four years ago, 
was sent home from the Caucasus as a small piece 
in an envelope. The first year this remained dor¬ 
mant, but commenced to grow the second year, and 
has since done well, forming a large piece with many 
crowns, which opened from twenty to thirty of its 
semiglobose, primrose yellow flowers. The leaves 
are relatively large and twice divided in a ternate 
manner with oblong, rugose segments. If this dis¬ 
tinct Paeony should prove capable of being improved 
or of improving others, which there is reasonable 
hope it will, we may soon get a new race of Paeonies 
with yellow flowers of various shades. Rose, red, 
purple, pink, and white are the prevailing shades of 
Paeonies at present. 
THROWING OPEN PRIVATE GROUNDS TO 
THE PUBLIC. 
We learn with considerable satisfaction that Devon 
and Cornwall nobility (the two westernmost counties), 
are setting a good example by way of readily throw¬ 
ing open their parks and gardens to the public on 
special occasions, such as Bank Holidays. We 
know there are objections to this course when near 
to large manufacturing centres, but as a rule, unless 
some political meeting or demonstration of a 
particular character be the occasion, but little cause 
for complaint by way of damage to plants or shrubs 
is heard of, and beyond the necessity of employing 
additional labour to clean the walks, the adage " as 
you were” maybe applied. We know of but one 
instance in Cornwall where damage of anything 
worth the name was done, even after a demonstra¬ 
tion, and that was at Tregullow, the Cornish seat of 
Mr. Conybeare, M.P., when the rough mining 
populace took a more than passing fancy, not only 
to the, perhaps, finest Rhododendrons grown in 
England, but to the bushes, many of which were 
wilfully destroyed. This was quite an exceptional 
case, and under exceptional circumstances. How 
often has Mr. Gladstone had occasion to complain of 
his gardens at Hawarden being injured ? We do not 
recollect a single instance. Mr. Bolitho, M.P., for 
the St. Ives Division, sets a noble example in placing 
his grounds at the disposal of the public, and therein 
are some very rare and fine tropical plants. How 
soon will other counties follow Devon and Cornwall, 
and allow the public to gain the advantage of now 
pent-up natural beauties ?— X. 
ANEMONOPSIS MACROPHYLLA. 
The habit of this plant is similar to that of Anemone 
japonica, but conforms more strictly in the form of 
its leaves to those of Actea, Coptis, and Nandina, 
all plants belonging to the same order. The leaves 
are twice divided in a ternate manner with serrate 
segments. The plants grow 2 ft. to 3 ft. highland 
like shade, but not an over dry position. In this 
respect it agrees with Anemone japonica, which likes 
plenty of moisture when growing and flowering. 
The flowers have nine sepals, of which the outer 
three are purple externally and lilac internally, and 
the rest, including twelve petals, are white. It is 
therefore a handsome plant, resembling an Anemone 
as the generic name indicates. It was introduced 
from Japan as long ago as 1869, yet the plant is 
comparatively little known in this country. There 
seems no difficulty in its cultivation. It flowers 
during the present and next month, and may be seen 
in the nursery of Mr. T. S. Ware, Hale Farm 
Nurseries, Tottenham. 
PHLOX DIVARICATA. 
The various spring flowering Phloxes have given 
great satisfaction notwithstanding the long continued 
drought. The most of them are either dwarf or 
procumbent, so that they protect the ground for 
themselves, retaining the moisture. Like P. ovata, 
that under notice is amongst the tallest of the spring 
and early summer flowering species. It is somewhat 
spreading, but not prostrate on the ground, and 
generally about a foot high, forming a close bushy 
plant, with forking trusses of blueish or lilac flowers 
in the more typical stage. There is a variety with 
pale, nearly white flowers, and named P. divaricata 
alba or more frequently P. canadensis alba. What¬ 
ever the colour of the flowers, the plants are very 
suitable either for herbaceous borders or the rockery, 
as they do not require staking. Propagation is 
easily effected, either by division or by cuttings 
under a frame or handlight. 
ANEMONE SYLVESTRIS. 
The Snowdrop Anemone is a choice subject for the 
herbaceous border or the rockery in the early summer 
months on account of the size of its white flowers 
compared with those of other white species which 
come into bloom at this season of the year. Com- 
