April 2, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
491 
bloom. The large Palm house is well filled with all 
the useful decorative Palms, such as Kentias, 
Arecas, Phoenix, Livistona, and others in fine 
condition, and of all sizes. Bamboos in large pots 
and tubs are most useful decorative subjects that are 
rapidly becoming common. 
-- 
DEVELOPMENT OF CYCLAMEN 
LATIFOLIUM. 
Where the evolution of the hothouse Cyclamen is 
going to end it would be difficult or impossible to 
predict. Several innovations have become more or 
less common within the last few years. A bunch of 
flowers comes to us from Mr. A. Pentney, The 
Gardens, Worton Hall, Isleworth, notable for the 
multiplication of parts and size of the blooms, and a 
few have broad, fringed segments. Two stalks each 
carried twin flowers, which are thus brought together 
by the union of the peduncles in pairs, as can be 
seen by their partial separation at the top. In these 
cases the segments to the number of five or six are 
spreading instead of being reflexed. A larger 
number of flowers have eight or nine segments each, 
greatly overlapping one another owing to their 
breadth, though the mouth of the flower is wide 
enough to admit them in a single row. Most of 
these are of a rich red, one being pure white. 
Another form of evolution is the fringed form of 
flower, the segments of which have a line of out¬ 
growths on both surfaces, just within the margin, 
such as we see in Scolopendrium, upon the fronds of 
some varieties, The colour of this type being light 
and the petals broad and crimped,the blooms remind 
us of those of Lagerstroemia indica. From a 
decorative point of view the fringed varieties possess 
a certain amount of value on account of their 
distinctness, but their popularity will largely depend 
upon how they strike the public fancy. They will 
not displace the smooth-petalled varieties for some 
time to come, if ever they do ; but this will largely 
depend upon their further development, and the 
character they assume. 
-- 
NOTICES OF BOOKS. 
Mushroom Culture. London : Published by 
George Tucker, i, 2, and 3, Salisbury Court, 
Fleet Street. Price 2d. 
This pamphlet of thirty-one pages is No. 8 of the 
■■Salisbury’’ Series of Garden Produce Handbooks, 
and deals with various phases of Mushroom culture 
in the open air, in cellars and outhouses, in hot¬ 
houses, in frames, &c. The introduction having 
stated that we receive a considerable foreign supply, 
chiefly from Paris in the shape of “buttons,'' that 
is, the young and partly developed stage of the 
Mushroom, goes on to urge the attempt to meet this 
demand with home-grown produce. The would-be 
cultivator is urged to make a speciality of Mushroom 
culture, including that of the “ roon ” or early stage, 
if he would make the business a commercial and 
financial success. In like manner the highest prices 
are obtained for Mushrooms produced between 
October and May, but particularly during December, 
January and May. Quality and time are the two 
most important features of “ roon’’ culture, the 
Paris supply being considered dry and without flavour. 
Details concerning the cultural treatment are given, 
as well as short chapters on gathering the crop, 
preparing for market, and marketing the produce. 
Paper and type are alike good. 
Bush Fruits Culture. 
Jn this we have No. 9 of the same series as the above. 
As the name implies the pamphlet deals with Goose¬ 
berries, Currants, and Raspberries, and includes 
Strawberries as a crop that may be grown between 
the bushes. A considerable amount of attention is 
paid to Gooseberries, which their importance 
warrants. In describing the process of making 
cuttings, the advice given is sound, but we should 
not practice the method of inserting them. For 
instance, the ground having been chosen, the 
operator is advised to dig it all over and then lay the 
line at the place where the cuttings are to be inserted. 
This is to be done by pushing them into the ground 
alongside of the line, and treading the ground after 
all have been inser.ed. There is just a little danger 
of peeling off the bark at the base; but of more 
importance is the difficulty of pushing the cuttings of 
Gooseberries into the ground with the spines upon 
them. Though every bud intended to be in or near 
the ground should be removed, the spines need not 
be so treated, as they serve to hold the cuttings in 
the ground when frost is likely to raise them out of 
it. Another fact we should mention is that cuttings 
taken in September and divested of their leaves 
before insertion get well rooted before spring, thus 
gaining almost a season in advance of those put in 
in winter or spring. The selection of the seven best 
varieties for market purposes is a very good one. 
The same number of Lancashire prize Gooseberries 
is given, but rightly enough tbeir flavour is not 
recommended. Whinbam’s Industry is described as 
the only variety not subject to mildew in America, 
which is not a little surpiising when we remember 
how few of our Apples do well there, and vice vevsa. 
The details given respecting the cultivation of the 
Raspberry are very much to the point, but particu¬ 
larly concerning the preparation of the land. We 
note that large Currants are recommended 
irrespective of due regard to flavour, while the 
opposite idea is applied to the Gooseberry. Early 
and late Strawberries are urged as the best to plant 
so as to gain an advantage over competitors who 
disregard or are ignorant of the value of prolonging 
the season. 
Glasshouse Gardening. 
No. 10 of the “ Salisbury ” Series deals with the 
culture of fruits, flowers, and vegetables under glass, 
and chiefly from a commercial point of view as in 
the case of the preceding pamphlets, Most atten¬ 
tion in this case is given to materials and means 
rather than the subjects themselves, though a short 
article is devoted to the most important crops to 
grow. Tomatos take a prominent position, followed 
by French Beans, Grapes, Peaches, Cucumbers, 
and Mushrooms, Flowers require more skill and 
knowledge in their successful cultivation than the 
subjects above mentioned ; hence nothing more is 
said about them in this article, the cultivator being 
recommended to stick to those things which he 
understands best. Other articles deal with horti¬ 
cultural glass, bench-box culture, advantages of 
lean-to houses, ridge and furrow houses, anxiety of 
the foreign grower, cleanliness, the English grower's 
position, &c. The author of the book thinks that 
the failing of the foreigner is chiefly in the quality 
of his goods. Then let the home producer pin his 
faith to quality and win his way by dogged persever¬ 
ance is a proposition that we would second. 
- wf - 
CEANOTHUS RIGIDUS. 
There are numerous very pretty shrubs belonging 
to the genus Ceanothus, but several ot them are not 
very hardy in the midland and northern counties, 
particularly the small leaved and evergreen species. 
As far north as London at least, they prove hardy 
enough against a wall in the open to withstand all 
but the severest winters which we get at fairly loDg 
intervals. The species under notice was introduced 
from California in 1848, but is not so frequent as we 
should expect it even in the southern counties. 
Some branches of it, heavily laden with flowers and 
flower buds, have reached us from Mr. J. Reynolds, 
The Gardens, Sidbury Manor, Stdmouth, Devon. 
The stems are of slow and stiff, sturdy growth, pro¬ 
ducing a great profusion of short spurs and twig- 
lets that are densely crowded with clusters of rich, 
dark, purple-blue flowers. We should not expect 
it to flower in the latitude of Loudon for another 
three weeks. The shoots are covered with dark 
green, persistent, wedge-shaped leaves, smaller 
than those of the common Box as a rule, and 
reminding us of those of Cotoneaster microphylla. 
When in full bloom the shrub is really handsome 
and supplies a c lour that is quite uncommon 
amongst hardy shrubs. The evergreen leaves, 
when covering walls, have an interesting and 
decorative effect even when the shrub is not in 
bloom. 
-- 
SOME INTERESTING PLANTS. 
A large audience assembled on the 8th March to 
hear Professor Henslow lecture on some of the 
plants exhibited. This is the first of the series of 
six lectures which the Rev. Henslow, as Professor of 
Botany to the society, proposes to give through the 
year. J. T. Bennett-Poe, Esq., occupied the chair. 
Iris persica was the first of the plants passed 
rlnder review. This plant had been grown in Eng¬ 
land for upwards of a hundred years. It was the 
first plant figured in the first issue of Curtis' Botanical 
Magazine in 1790. 
The Sarracenias were the next subject of the Pro¬ 
fessor’s remarks. It was explained that the charac¬ 
teristic " tubes ” were formed by the leaves folding 
over and joining at their edges. The stiff bristle- 
like hairs which line the interior of these tubes, and 
pointing downwards prevent the escape of any 
insect entering were also commented on. As a 
curious instance of the complex workings of Nature's 
machine, it was stated that a moth, too wary to be 
caught in the trap herself, would drop her eggs into 
the tube amongst the trapped insects, and the grubs 
would, as a result, feed upon them. Certain birds, 
however, would find out the presence of the grubs 
and would slit the tubes wiih their beaks in order to 
get at them. The curious morphology of the flower 
was pointed out, and the position of the stigmatic 
points shown. 
That handsome development, the Papilio Cycla¬ 
men, then engaged the attention of the lecturer. 
Hypertrophy of the segments of the corolla had in 
their case produced a new race of plants, which 
would probably take a further step and become 
double. It was incidentally mentioned that an illus¬ 
tration of Cyclamen Coum was the fourth plate in 
the first issue of The Botanical Magazine. 
Epacris and Erica were used to illustrate the idea 
of " representative’’ plants, Epacris, with its five- 
pointed corolla coming from Australia, and Erica, 
with its four-pointed corolla hailing from South 
Africa. An examination of the plants, however, 
while it would show differences in the flowers of the 
two, would also reveal a similarity in their vegetative 
systems. This was due to the similarity of climatal 
conditions under which the plants were placed. 
Bryophyllum calycinum, a curious member of the 
natural order Crassulacea, was mentioned as being 
remarkable for the way in which the thick fleshy 
leaves detached themselves from the stem before 
they were dead, fell to the ground, and, under 
favourable conditions, rooted. The roots and buds 
were produced at the notches in the lamina or blade 
of the leaf. This, the Professor offered as evidence 
in support of the idea that fruits were only altered 
leaves, since in a Pea pod the seeds were borne on 
the ridge formed by the unison of the edges of the 
transformed leaves, or carpels. 
Specimens of the modern Amaryllis were likewise 
shown. The forefathers of these handsome plants 
were early figured in The Botanical Magazine, but the 
modern plants had become very greatly mixed up, 
and it was impossible to say definitely as to their 
genealogy. Hippeastrum pardinum, a Peruvian 
species, was shown, but the results obtained by 
crossing it, and some of the modern forms had, so 
far, not been satisfactory. The effects of H. Leo- 
poldi upon the race had been to produce the large, 
flat, open flowers with the short tube. He drew the 
attention of his audience to the fact that the five 
upper segments of the flower had each a white stripe 
running down the centre. Tne lower segments were 
much smaller than either of the others, and lacked 
the white stripe. The stamens, too, arched over or 
were declinate. He believed this to be due to the 
effect of insects. This smaller lower segment was 
always a feature of irregular flowers with declinate 
stamens. The insects alighting upon the stamens 
bent them over, and caused them to assume the 
shape they did. 
In conclusion, the Rev. Henslow touched upon 
hybridity, and brought forward several samples of 
Orchids to illustrate his remarks, including Dendro- 
bium wardianum, D. japonicum, and hybrids be¬ 
tween the two, also the bigeneric hybrid Epiphroni- 
tis. The Professor said that some people had the 
idea that if two plants of different genera would 
cross, they ought no longer to be kept in different 
genera on physiological grounds. It was necessary, 
therefore, to decide whether one would group and 
classify plants from a physiological or a systematic 
point of view, in which case there would be diver¬ 
gencies of opinion as to the place certain plants 
ought to occupy. 
At one time, people thought that sterility was the 
inevitable possession of the hybrid, but this was a 
fallacy, inasmuch as many of our popular races of 
plants, such as Roses, and Fuchsias were of hybrid 
origin, and they were all fertile enough. 
