42 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 17, 1898. 
the wish that our own climate were kindly enough to 
admit of such fine plants being grown in the open in 
our own island. 
The owners of the plant under notice are Messrs. 
Messrs. Valpied Bros., Builders, St. Peter’s Port, 
Guernsey. 
- 
HARDY BAMBOOS. 
(Continued from Vol. XIV., p. 793 .) 
Phyllostachys. 
P. flexuosa.— The stems of this beautiful species 
vary from green to black, according to their stage of 
development and ripening, but are slightly tinted 
with purple in their young stages. They grow from 
6 ft. to 10 ft. high, and are flexuous, assuming a 
spreading or arching habit, particularly the branches 
and slender twigs or spray. The leaves are 2 in. to 
4 in. in length, of a dark glaucous green above and 
glaucous beneath. The sheaths of the leaves are 
slightly bearded at the apex. The whole bearing of 
the plant points to an affinity with P. viridi- 
glaucescens. It is a native of North China, and 
often grown under the name of Bambusa flexuosa, 
as in the case of many others of the Bamboo tribe. 
P. Henonis. —The greenish-yellow stems of P. 
Henonis, for some years grown in European gardens 
under the name of Bambusa Henonis, grow to a 
length of 8 ft. to 12 ft.; but they seldom aspire to an 
equivalent height owing to their slender and arching, 
or even drooping, character. Species of such habit 
ought to be planted on high ground with regard to 
the spectator, so that they may assume their natural 
drooping habit, and yet be seen to the best advan¬ 
tage. The stronger stems and their branches take 
an ascending direction, but arch over in most grace¬ 
ful fashion towards the tips. The branches and 
twigs are very numerous and fascicled, but the 
length of the internodes allows them to present a 
light and airy appearance, though the body of the 
bush looks dense when in healthy, well established 
growth, owing to the presence of numerous short as 
well as long stems. The leaves vary from light to 
dark glossy green according to the amount of shade 
or exposure, the shaded leaves being the darker. 
They are much shorter than those of P. aurea, being 
only ij in. to 3 in. long—a fact that accounts in 
part for the graceful elegance of the plant as a whole. 
It is a native of Japan, where it is known as Ha- 
chiku. The accompanying illustration represents 
a front view of one of the many fine plants at Kew, 
but the unavoidable fore-shortening of the stems 
gives no idea of their great length. A. B. Freeman- 
Mitford, Esq., the great pioneer and specialist in this 
class of plants, considers P. Henonis as the best of 
all owing to the gracefulness of its long, arching 
stems, and the airy arrangement of the foliage. 
P. marliacea. —For some reason or other the 
leaves of this species were much browned, and some 
of the young twigs killed during the past winter, but 
this was soon repaired after the young growths 
made their appearance. The stems attain a height 
at least of 5 ft., and are light green, or ultimately 
yellowish-green. The lanceolate leaves vary from 
2 in. to 3J in. in leDgtb, and are light green above, 
and glaucous beneath. The young leaf sheaths 
are bearded with a ring of brown bristles round the 
apex. The species was formerly known in European 
gardens as Bambusa marliacea; but in its native 
country, Japan, it is known under the names of 
Shibo-chiku and Shiwa-chiku. 
P. mitis. —Here again we get a plant that has 
been known for some time in European gardens as 
Bambusa mitis. From Tokio, Japan, it comes to 
this country under the name of Moso-chiku, under 
which name there is a small plant at Kew. It is also 
said to be a native of China. Some grand specimens 
at Kew, however, run up to a height of 6 ft. to T2 ft., 
but under more favourable conditions of climate it 
more than doubles that stature. The stems are 
greenish-yellow, with fairly long internodes, so that 
the branches and fascicled twigs have a thinly dis¬ 
posed and airy appearance. They are decidedly of 
^upright habit. The leaves are moderate in size, 
varying from light to dark green, according to shade 
or exposure, and are glaucous beneath. The top of 
the leaf sheath carries a few bristles, even after 
winter has passed. It well deserves a place in the 
Bamboo garden. 
- 
Cereus grandiflorus is the only true night-blooming 
Cactus. 
GARDENS OF THE RIVIERA.* 
By way of introducing the subject of my paper, I 
perhaps cannot do better than first define the dis¬ 
trict to which my remarks will apply. Although the 
Mediterranean coast, extending from just beyond 
Marseilles away to San Remo, in Italy, is known as 
the Riviera, I shall this evening only slightly over¬ 
step the Italian frontier, as my experience of the 
Riviera does not extend beyond that point. 
In some respects I think places may be likened to 
people. A person’s good qualities often remain dor¬ 
mant for a considerable time, to be brought to light 
eventually by some minor and unexpected incident- 
This appears to have been the case with the 
Riviera. Before the beginning of this century its 
horticultural advantages were not known, and,beyond 
the fact that various flowers for the distilleries, such 
as Oranges and Immortelles, were grown, very little 
was heard of this region. About seventy years ago 
the first step towards its opening up was made. 
A French gardener, named Poiteau, journeyed 
down to Nice to take notes for a book he intended to 
publish on the Orange. On his return north he 
awakened men to the great future he foresaw for 
horticulture in this hitherto neglected corner of 
France. Shortly afterwards a few other gardeners 
followed in the steps of Poiteau, and they, still more 
than he, aroused the curiosity of amateur and pro¬ 
fessional horticulturists alike concerning this 
country. But it was a long, fatiguing, and costly 
journey down there, and almost impossible to those 
not possessed of more than ordinary means. The 
chief cause of this part of France being kept so 
much behind was the impossibility, so to speak, of 
placing its produce on the market. 
About fifty years ago its progress commenced. 
Railways were constructed, thus facilitating the dis¬ 
posal of its products, so that from this period a 
gradual change became apparent. Wealthy visitors 
from foreign lands flocked southwards, attracted by 
the balmy air and blue skies of this sunny spot, 
with the result that from this time its prosperity was 
assured. One of the pioneers in the development of 
the Riviera was Lord Brougham. The esteem in 
which his memory is there held is evidenced by the 
fine statue of him, erected in one of the open spaces 
in the town of Cannes. 
Following the visitors from northern climes, as 
time went on, came horticulturists and gardeners in 
such numbers that to-day this long stretch of Medi¬ 
terranean shore—more especially beyond Cannes— 
is almost one vast garden. 
With its picturesque mountains, clothed with 
Pines, Olives, Orange groves, and vineyards shelter¬ 
ing the towns, villages and beautiful gardens, these 
latter stretching away to the deeply indented coast 
line, this country presents to the eye of a stranger 
an ideal picture. 
The chief towns of the Riviera, in the order one 
would pass them on leaving Marseilles, are Hy eres, 
Cannes, Nice, Monaco and Monte Carlo, and Men¬ 
tone. Grasse lies about fifteen miles inward from 
Cannes. During the winter season, from December 
to May, the population of these towns is almost 
doubled by the influx of visitors. Their situation 
and climate are exceptionally favourable. On the 
north they are sheltered by the Esterel Mountains, 
which extend from the west side of Cannes in a 
more or less unbroken line into Italy. On the south 
they are exposed to the mild breezes from the sea. 
As the stretch of land is so narrow, it can hardly be 
said to have either an east or a west aspect. 
The winter months closely resemble our late spring 
and summer in England. I think the sun is even 
more powerful, or, perhaps, as the air is so beauti¬ 
fully clear, one feels the full benefit of its rays. One 
of the charms of the Riviera climate lies in this 
clearness of the atmosphere. In the darkest months 
and shortest days a view of forty miles or more along 
the coast can always be had, and occasionally even 
the snow-clad peaks of Corsica, 120 miles across the 
sea, may be distinguished. 
Not more than 5 0 or 6° of frost are usually ex¬ 
perienced, although within the last four or five years 
one or two winters have been exceptionally severe, 
12° and 15 0 having been registered, and snow having 
fallen in quantity—a most unusual occurrence. Little 
or no rain falls between the months of May and 
October; there may, perhaps, be an occasional 
thunderstorm—nothing more. In August and 
+ A prize essay read by Mr. Harry H. Thomas, January 17th, 
1898, at the Kew Gardens Mutual Improvement Association. 
September, the hottest months, the thermometer 
sometimes reaches 100" Fahr. in the shade. The 
average summer heat in the shade is a few degrees 
above or below 90 Fahr. in the two above-mentioned 
months, more often above than below. When no 
rain has fallen for three or four months the ground 
becomes very hot and dry, and this greatly intensifies 
the actual heat of the sun. In many gardens during 
summer, work is commenced early and continued 
late, in order to give the men an opportunity of 
resting several hours at midday. 
Early in October the autumn rains come down, 
and continue for several days, almost without ceas¬ 
ing. From this time to December, for a period of 
about two months, one experiences the worst o 
Riviera climatic conditions, although this may be 
nothing more than a few wet and windy weeks. A 
cutting wind, known as the "Mistral,” often does 
considerable damage to vegetation, especially in 
spring, to the young shoots of Vines, many of which 
are broken off by it. 
The nature of the soil of the Riviera is exceed, 
ingly varied. At Cannes, in the west, the ground, 
more especially back towards the hills, consists 
almost entirely of rock. To bring this into a fit 
state for the cultivation of plants it has first to be 
broken up with a pick; afterwards the action of the 
atmosphere and rain, together with artificial water¬ 
ing, crumbles it in a very short time. After two or 
three years' continued manuring it becomes most 
fertile. All the choicest Palms thrive in this soil 
without the addition of peat or other materials. 
This is also the best compost for the handsome 
Acacias, which cannot be grown in any soil contain¬ 
ing chalk, however rich and well cultivated it may 
be. It is for this reason that the Acacia will not 
thrive at Nice, Beaulieu, Mentone, or, in fact, any¬ 
where to the east of Cannes. 
This rocky soil is very favourable to the growth of 
Carnations, Anemones, Ranunculus, and various 
bulbous subjects. Plants growing in it do not turn 
yellow, as they so frequently do in the soil of Nice 
and further east. 
Beyond Cannes, in the direction of Nice, where 
the mountains are at a greater distance from the sea, 
the soil changes completely, becoming alternately a 
sandy loam or a dark brown loamy soil containing 
much chalk. It is, generally speaking, very poor, 
the cultivation of the Olive for the last few cen¬ 
turies having greatly exhausted it. Just before 
reaching Nice, on the borders of the river Var, there 
is a large plain, several square miles in area, the soil 
of which is of a rich sandy nature to the depth of 
3 ft. or 4 ft. Very little manure is required for this 
land. This plain is really the vegetable garden and 
orchard of the Riviera, where Asparagus, Peaches, 
and Strawberries are grown in considerable quanti¬ 
ties. A few portions, each comprising more than 
ten acres of ground, are devoted entirely to Peach 
culture. 
The Asparagus grown in this district rivals in ex¬ 
cellence the world-famed product of Argenteuil. 
Immense quantities of Strawberries are also culti¬ 
vated. 
It is too much exposed here for the cultivation of 
flowers out of doors in winter, with the exception, 
however, of Victoria, Princess of Wales, and Parma 
Violets. 
Ths Peach trees are in their prime three years after 
planting, but after six or seven years are not of much 
value, owing probably to the fact that the roots then 
find their way into a gravelly subsoil. 
At Nice, Beaulieu, Monte Carlo, and Mentone the 
soil is of a clayey or limey nature, and is fairly pro¬ 
ductive. Oranges, many kinds of Palms, Bamboos, 
&c., do well, but being of rather a chalky formation, 
no peal loving plants can thrive in it. Even Cocoses 
require an addition of Cannes soil or peat to make 
them succeed. 
In places on the top of or between rocks, as, for 
instance, at Cap Martin, near Mentone, what soil 
there is, is of a heavy nature, in which almost any¬ 
thing will grow. 
There are places to be found with not more than 12 
in. to 18 in. of soil, where Carnations and other 
flowering plants have been continually grown for the 
last fifteen or twenty years without the soil appar¬ 
ently being at all impoverished. 
On the western side of the Riviera, by far the 
commonest tree is the " Aleppo Pine ” (Pinus hale- 
pensis), which covers hundreds of miles of mountain 
