650 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 11, 1898. 
does well. It has the additional advantage of being 
about a fortnight earlier. I noticed on this border a 
white sport on that beautiful Daffodil, Barrii con- 
spicuus. Mr. Dymock, the head gardener, had 
noticed this the year before, and I have no doubt he 
will take care of it. 
One of the most beautiful combinations on another 
bed was Proserpine Tulip and Polyanthus Narcissus 
Grand Monarque in about equal numbers, and a 
ground work of the above-mentioned Myosotis. The 
purple Van der Neer and the yellow Chrysolora 
Tulips were splendid, together with a blue ground¬ 
work, and had a distinct effect from any other. No¬ 
where have I seen such wonderful blooms of Keizer 
Kroon and Duchesse de Parma Tulips; and the 
remarkable fact about them was that the same bulbs 
had been retained from the year before to grow a 
second time with better results than the first. I 
have noticed the same point with Keizer Kroon 
Tulip before, and where there is room to grow and 
ripen them well there is no need to buy fresh bulbs 
every year. 
Mr. Dymock has a great liking for Cynosure 
Daffodil for massing, and, indeed, it was very light 
and effective in several of the beds, and carried its 
heads erect. The Wallflower was very fine, the 
variety being Sutton's Dark Red, and a noticeable 
feature was the uniformity in colour and habit. Mr. 
Dymock selects the small plants to grow on, con¬ 
sidering them the most alike in shade of colour. 
There were many features in the flower garden, but 
having no notes to guide me I mention only those 
that appeal to me. Everything seemed in perfect 
order, and, indeed, a great credit to both owner and 
gardener. I may say that Mr. and Mrs. Vernon, 
with their usual generosity to the local villagers 
and residents, opened their gardens on several 
Sunday afternoons, and by this means hundreds of 
people enjoyed the privilege of a look at the spring¬ 
bedding—a kindness much appreciated. 
The various departments in the garden were all in 
excellent order, and in the kitchen garden one could 
see that the vegetables were being well cared for. 
Mr. Dymock has already achieved some notable 
performances on the exhibition table, and at the 
Northampton show, in August of last year, prac¬ 
tically carried all before him, winning four first 
and one second prizes out of five collections of 
vegetables, a feat for which many a man would 
retire on his laurels, especially as his opponents 
were of a doughty character. A fine batch of 
Onions was ready for transplanting from boxes, and 
Celery, Leeks, &c., were well on. Spring Cabbages 
were in splendid form, Ellam’s Early Dwarf being 
especially so, without any bolting. The last 
remnants of Brussels Sprouts were being gathered, 
and considering the season (Easter) were first rate, 
Sutton's Dwarf Gem being the variety. The young 
fruit plantation, made within the last three years, 
promised well, and to commemorate the Queen’s 
reign, sixty Blenheim Orange Apples were planted 
last autumn .—A London Visitor. 
STREPTOCARPUS HYBRIDS. 
This genus, having yielded itself most readily to the 
charms of the hybridist, has brought forth some 
almost magical results in the eyes of those who can 
look back to the old days when the most commonly 
seen representatives of this class of plants were S. 
Rexii and S. Saundersii, both of which, although 
interesting and pretty, had not much about them to 
attract the notice of casual observers. How far 
different the present aspect of affairs in connection 
with them is was brought forcibly to my mind by a 
recent inspection of the strain grown by Messrs. J. 
Laing & Sons, of Forest Hill. In looking through 
them the idea of some startling developments in the 
near future was vividly impressed upon me. Although 
it can scarcely be expected that they will eventually 
oust the Gloxinias, they are even now formidable 
rivals, not only because of the great strides they 
have taken in the size and diversity of colour of the 
flowers, but also because of their floriferousness and 
the lower temperature in which they can be grown, 
and their adaptability for use as cut flowers. One thing 
to be aimed at is the production of varieties with 
somewhat shorter leaves. There will be within a 
year or two a strain with circular flowers; at least 
that is my own opinion, judging from recent develop¬ 
ments among them, and what took place among 
Gloxinias in bygone times. These new bidders for 
popular favour are evidently on similar errands 
bent. S. gigantea, about 3 in. across, is bright blue 
with purple blotches. Her Majesty is white with 
purple streaks. Princess of Wales is rosy-pink, and 
two unnamed seedlings struck me as being very dis¬ 
tinct and good,the first being blush-lilac with a purple 
throat, the other, light purple with a dark throat.— 
W. B. G. 
-**•=—— 
BELGIAN NURSERIES. 
V.—M. L. De Smet-Duvivier. 
In a northern suburb of Ghent is situated the com¬ 
pact and well kept nursery of M. L. De Smet- 
Duvivier, 319, Chausee d’Anvers, Mont-St.-Amand, 
Ghent, Belgium. It is within easy reach of the 
principal railway station (Gand Sud), and well 
worth a visit from those who like to see a tidy and 
well kept glass nursery, which was established thirty 
years ago. Like most others around the old- 
fashioned horticultural city, M. L. De Smet sends 
his plants abroad to Italy, Germany, France, 
Britain, &c. The nursery consists of twenty-five 
houses, besides pits and frames, and being compact 
every part of it is kept in trim order. 
The first house we entered contained a beautiful 
and varied lot of hybrid and cross-bred Anthuriums, 
belonging chiefly to A. scherzerianum. This work 
was commenced many years ago, and the whole of 
the plants, including the few that we shall mention, 
were raised by the untiring industry of M. L. De 
Smet. The seedlings now range from white to 
scarlet and the deepest crimson, and on the other 
hand to yellow, white, and spotted and blotched 
varieties, intermediate between the scarlet and 
white and the scarlet and yellow. Anthurium Mme. 
De Smet-Duvivier (raised between A. s. sanguineum 
and A. s. Adriani) has very large, oval sepals of a 
deep reddish-amaranth, and beautifully distinct. 
Another of his triumphs is A. s. duvivierianum, with 
the ancestors of which he commenced ten or twelve 
years ago. The commencement was a small white- 
spathed variety, which was crossed with a large red 
one. This he did in order to obtain size; then be 
crossed it three times back again with the white 
sort, and in the time above mentioned all the seedlings 
gave flowers of a beautiful creamy-white. Amongst a 
large batch of seedlings we noticed some traces of 
soft salmon-red or pink, but the majority are of a 
beautiful creamy-white. 
Equally distinct and grand in its way is A. s. 
formosum, having orbicular or nearly orbicular 
spathes of a rich crimson, and measuring 4 in. wide 
and 5 in. long. A. s. roseum is rightly named, for 
the spathes are of a beautiful clear rose, and there¬ 
fore remarkably distinct. The seedlings from A. s. 
duvivierianum crossed with A. s. sanguineum are 
remarkably varied, being spotted and blotched with 
scarlet or crimson on a white ground and in a great 
variety of ways. One of the most distinct and 
striking of the most recent successes is A. s. 
flaveolum, which is thickly mottled with scarlet all 
over a clear yellow ground. Only two plants turned 
up amongst 1,000 seedlings. Very singular in their 
way are those having two or more spathes. A. s. 
pomponatum album has a large white spathe and 
numerous small ones higher up the spadix. In the 
same category comes A. s. Prince Albert, with two 
or three large, blood-red spathes, two of which are 
opposite. The flower stalk of this striking variety 
has the peculiarity that it always comes from the 
centre of the plant. One side of two houses is 
entirely occupied with this interesting garden race 
of Anthuriums, amongst which many other fine 
things may be noted. 
The Orchid house consists of several compart¬ 
ments and wings, and many species were flowering 
on the occasion of our visit. There were fine 
spotted and blotched varieties of Odontoglossum 
crispum, O. Pescatorei, O. cirrhosum, O. ruckeri- 
anum, and O. luteo-purpureum, the latter having 
flower stems 3 ft. to 4 ft. long. Other beautiful 
species, flowering in the same house, were O. roseum, 
O. Oerstedi, O. ramosissimum, and others. Den- 
drobiums were doing grandly in Polypodium fibre 
and sphagnum. Masdevallias were represented by 
M. Chelsoni, M. triangularis, M. ignea aurantiaca, 
M. houtteana, and various others. Mesospinidium 
sanguineum, Maxillaria sanderiana, and Cymbidium 
lowianum were also in bloom, a grand piece of the 
latter carrying nine spikes, each bearing about 
twenty-eight flowers. A pretty Iridaceous plant in 
this house was Libertia bicolor, having white 
flowers and reddish edges to the leaves. Leaf stalks 
of tobacco are placed under the stages to keep green¬ 
fly and other insects at bay. 
Most of the other houses run parallel to one 
another, forming an immense block, connected at the 
ends by a continuous, glass-covered corridor, 130 
metres long, and filled with such things as Dracaenas, 
Aspidistras, Palms, Anthuriums, Ferns, Bamboos, 
and Dracaenas, the latter 3 ft. to 4 ft. high. 
The first house of this block is filled with flower¬ 
ing and foliage stove plants, including at the time we 
speak a large and remarkably healthy piece of 
Medinilla magnifica, grown in a tub and just com¬ 
mencing to open its flowers. Here also is M.Curtisii, 
with its pearly-white flowers. Much of the space is 
occupied with Palms such as Cocos weddeliana 
Latania borbonica, also Aspidistras, Ferns, &c. The 
next two houses contain a larger complement of Palms 
such as Areca Baueri, Kentia belmoreana, 
Anthuriums and Ferns. 
A large block of many houses joined together and 
continuous inside were occupied at the time we speak 
with Azaleas planted out in large beds of leaf mould. 
Flowering plants were stood 'at intervals, amongst 
the Azaleas, or occupied shelves overhead 
and other coigns of vantage. Amongst them 
were Boronia elatior, B. heterophylla, B. 
megastigma, Bauera rubioides, standard Acacia 
armata, with 3 ft. of stem, and pyramids of A. longi- 
folia, 8 ft. high. Stiffly grown Palms delighting in 
an intermediate temperature were Areca Baueri, and 
Phoenix reclinata. Araucaria excelsa was stood in 
rows amongst the Acacias. 
The contents of a stove were next inspected. 
Trained specimens of Clerodendron balfourianum, 
3j ft. high, and grown in pots, were flowering pro¬ 
fusely. Other flowering subjects were Caraguata 
Zahnii, Gloneria jasminiflora, Impatiens Hawkeri, 
with rich carmine flowers, Saintpaulia ionantha, 
Anthurium andreanum album, and others. Foliage 
plants were represented by Alocasias in variety, 
Licuala grandis, Livistona rotundifolia, &c., the two 
last named being choice Palms. 
Two more Palm houses came under notice and 
were occupied with a variety of subjects, all very 
clean and healthy. Besides species already men¬ 
tioned we noted fine batches of Raphis flabelliformis, 
species of Phoenix, Areca lutescens in quantity, and 
others. In fine form also were Nephrolepis daval- 
lioides furcans, Pandanus utilis, Crotons in great 
variety, and Anthurium andreanum in rose, pink, 
scarlet and other colours. Then came a houseful of 
Araucaria excelsa, followed by a stove, filled with 
Anthuriums, Begonia metallica foliis variegatis, fine 
foliaged sorts of the Arthur Mallet type, Abutilon 
insigne foliis aureo-marmoratis, Ixora coccinea, and 
Gardenias. Close by was another stove filled with 
Crotons in variety, and ether fine foliage plants. A 
new thing is Alocasia gandavensis, having broader 
leaves than A. Sanderi, of a dark green edged with 
silvery-white, and traversed by strong nerves of the 
same hue. The edges of the young leaves are over¬ 
laid with purple. 
In a house of Azaleas, Boronias, and other hard- 
wooded plants were miniature standards of the nar¬ 
row leaved Myrtle, and charming globular headed 
bushes of Acacia cordata, 18 in. in diameter and pro¬ 
fusely flowered. TheOtaheite Orange (Citrus sinen¬ 
sis) is admirably grown and fruited in Belgium. A 
houseful of plants in this nursery were 12 in. to iS in. 
high, well furnished with branches and loaded with 
small Oranges. The pots were plunged in a bed of 
the cut stems of flax. Eurya latifolia variegata, 
Hydrangeas, and Metrosideros floribunda are also 
well grown. 
The soil in this neighbourhood consists of a very 
fine gray sand, yet we were surprised to see how 
well Conifers grow in it. Flowering subjects included 
Prunus sinensis flore pleno, P. s. fl. pi. rosea, 
Kalmias, Spiraea astilboides floribunda, Hydrangea 
paniculata grandiflora, and Azalea mollis. The 
latter is, of course, helped with leaf soil. The frames 
were being filled with Indian Azaleas for the summer, 
all being planted in leaves according to the universal 
plan in Belgium. Two-year-old standard Sweet Bays 
in pots were in vigorous and healthy condition. 
- «i . .- 
Potatos to the extent of 4,000,000 tons are annually 
utilised by France in making starch and alcohol. 
