426 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 4, 1899.^ 
Garden, who brought it to notice in their nurseries 
at Lcng Ditton last summer. It came originally to 
this country from China in 1751, but it is also a 
native of Siberia. Now the wild type has been re¬ 
introduced from China, and forms a branching, 
bushy plant, about 15 in. high, with dark green 
foliage, and pale mauve ray florets, surrounding a 
broad golden disc, and forming altogether a flower 
head or bloom 3 in. to 4 in. in diameter. The rays 
are close together, but in a single row, and constitute 
a flower of great refinement and beauty, in every 
way superior to those degenerate doubles that crop 
up occasionally in beds of the ordinary garden races. 
Amidst ail the fine doubles already in cultivation, 
there is room for a race of singles, differing in colour 
from the original, and we hope to see it developed, 
for the grace and simplicity of single flowers render 
them highly suitable for decorative purposes in the 
cut state. We are obliged to Messrs. Barr & 
Sons for this opportunity of figuring the China 
Aster. 
PRIMULA PYRAMIDALIS GRANDI- 
FLORA ALBA. 
The dwarf forms of that versatile species, Primula 
sinensis, have long been cultivated in gardens big and 
gardens little the country through ; but the very 
distinct break, represented by “ The Lady,” has 
come within recent years to impart an added charm, 
and a beauty of its own which is all the greater for 
being dissimilar to anything else. Plants 2 ft. in 
height, with tier upon tier of flowers, towering above 
each other to form a majestic floral pyramid, could 
not fail to attract and please, and thus the success of 
this very distinct break was assured from the moment 
it saw the light. 
Lately, our florists have been hard at work trying 
to raise intermediate forms between the colossal 
“ Lady ” and the dwarf and trim varieties, and 
success in this direction has not been wanting. The 
variety under notice is one of the best of these 
connecting links. It was raised by crossing the 
dwarf form Cannell's White and The Lady, and a 
glance at the accompanying illustration will show 
how the progeny partakes of the features of both its 
parents. The pyramidal habit of The Lady is there 
but in a modified form, whilst the pure white flowers 
are larger, more compact, and more regular. The 
foliage is that of a vigorous Palm-leaved variety, and 
it makes a sufficiently substantial base for the 
magnificent display of bloom that is reared above it. 
The Messrs. Cannell & Sons, of Swanley, to whom 
we are indebted for the loan of the block, have sent 
out no handsomer or more useful plant amoDgst 
the many that have first seen the light at that snug 
Kentish establishment, so aptly termed the Home of 
Flowers. P. pyramidalis grandiflora alba is a type of 
the new section of pyramidal Primulas made by the 
Messrs. Cannell, a section that has already become 
highly popular, and which will almost certainly 
increase in public esteem. There is ample room for 
all in our greenhouses, whether it be towering 
“ Ladies,” dwarf and sturdy large-flowered varieties, 
or plants intermediate between the two extremes. 
We cannot have too much variety, but we hope that 
the pyramidal forms will be allowed to remain 
distinct, with their freer and more elegant habit, and 
that too great a rush will not be made to increase the 
size of their flowers and rob them of their charm by 
making them too trim and stately. There is the 
danger, however. 
SWEET PEAS. 
Few garden races of plants have sprung into 
popularity more rapidly, and over so wide a range of 
the world as the Sweet Peas. Previous to this great rise 
in public favour, they were, more or less, cultivated 
in every garden of any importance in this country ; 
but a few temporary garden hedges of mixed varie¬ 
ties every summer used to be the extent. Beautiful 
they are in mixture, but the old way of growing them 
in that fashion tended to exterminate many of the 
choicer forms, by the gross growers crowding out the 
weaker ones. Singling out the several varieties, and 
growing only the very best from year to year, gave 
all an equal chance, and the new selections an 
opportunity to live and display their individuality. 
Selections they are from seedling variations, or in 
some few cases possibly by crossing, for that opera¬ 
tion is rather uncertain in its results without elaborate 
care to keep insects at bay. This selection and 
separate preservation of colour varieties has had the 
most important and far reaching results in the vastly 
extended cultivation of the race in the British Isles, 
America, and on the Continent. The use of separate 
varieties for decorative work in the cut state, has 
enabled the florist and decorators generally to 
produce some of the finest, most attractive, and 
refined results; and this fact again is largely 
responsible for the extended cultivation of the race. 
Sweet Peas are the flower of the poor as well as the 
rich ; for chaste decorations in which one variety or 
colour is employed can more often be set up with 
Sweet Peas than Roses. 
The varieties are now so numerous, and tastes 
differ so much that even experts can only make 
selections of those they admire or cherish the most, 
though their opinions deserve weighty consideration 
in proportion to the extent of their experience and 
the number of varieties they have grown under 
similar conditions and cultural treatment. Then 
again, hot and dry, cool and moist, seasons, and 
differences of soil and locality all serve to disturb the 
balance of favour given to any one set of varieties. 
Extremes of weather, even of a week’s duration, are 
capable of entirely altering the general appearance 
of a collection, unless shading and watering are 
resorted to in the case of dry, hot weather particu¬ 
larly. 
In a general way, however, selections can be made 
which will hardly fail to give a very fair amount of 
satisfaction over extended areas, when the cultural 
treatment is good. More skilful treatment is 
necessary in the southern counties of England, 
particularly in light soils, than in the cooler Midlands, 
and northern parts of Britain. A retentive loam, 
even inclined to clay, is more favourable to prolonged 
growth and continuous flowering than a light one > 
but even in the latter instance much may be done by 
digging out trenches, putting in manure, and by 
treading the ground at the time of sowing. 
In the case of white varieties very choice are 
Blanche Burpee and Emily Henderson, each in its 
own respective way. The latter has the notched 
standard, and the specialist would prefer the former. 
The ordinary cultivator would be satisfied with that 
which would give him the greatest amount of bloom, 
and in this respect both vary in different soils and 
seasons. A new comer in the shape of Sadie Burpee 
is described as a dainty pearly-white variety of first- 
class merit, and no doubt its capabilities and qualities 
will be well tested during the coming season. 
For want of a better term it is customary to speak 
of yellow Sweet Peas under such terms as cream, 
lemon and primrose ; but it is highly desirable that 
a yellow Sweet Pea will in the near future be as 
decided as the yellow Carnation which has for some 
years been more pronounced than a yellow Stock or 
Hyacinth. Queen Victoria is a soft yellow, subtly 
overlaid by a faint bronzy flush when ia its best 
form. Black and white seeded individuals crop up 
in this variety, and reproduce the respective 
colours from seeds. Mrs. Eckford is a delicate 
primrose shade producing large and refined flowers. 
Golden Gate is rather an inept name, for the flowers 
are of a pinkish-mauve, the name having been given 
on account of the upright, but not overlapping, wings 
resembling the leaves of a gate! 
Of light and subtle shades very charming is Lady 
Grisel Hamilton, with flowers of a satiny, or shining 
soft lavender. Those of Venus are salmon-buff and 
peculiar, though distinct and pretty. Chaste and 
delicate is Ramona, being lightly splashed with pink 
on a white ground. Sutton’s Butterfly is still the 
most decided Picotee-edged Sweet Pea, being white 
with a lavender-blue edge to the standard and wings. 
Of the striped varieties,many will agree that Aurora is 
one of the best, being salmon-pink and shaded and 
striped with a darker hue. Scarlet Striped is also 
choice in this line for those who admire variegated 
flowers; but Princess of Wales is an undesirable 
and unlovely dull colour —chacun a son gout, notwith¬ 
standing. Daybreak is a fantastic and subtle 
arrangement of colours, having a wavy, watered line 
of crimson-scarlet on the white ground of the stan¬ 
dard. 
Parti-coloured flowers of quite another type are 
met with in Painted Lady and Little Dorritt, which 
may be regarded as bicolors in this race. The stan¬ 
dard of the former is pink and the wings white, the 
combination being very pretty and effective. Little 
PRIMULA SINENSIS PYRAMIDALIS GRANDIFLORA ALBA. 
