474 
March 25, 1899. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
segments of this variety are finely wrinkled, and rich 
crimson, with short, white rays at the base. Award 
of Merit. Capt. Holford (gardener, Mr. A. Chap¬ 
man), Weston Birt, Tetbury, Gloucester. 
Hippeastrum Virginia. —In this case thesegments 
are white with orange-red or scarlet bands on either 
side of the midrib, and a pale green base. Award of 
Merit. Capt. Holford. 
Hippeastrum Murelli.— The very broad outer 
segments and the much smaller inner ones are dark 
crimson, intensifying to maroon in the throat. Award 
of Merit. Capt. Holford. 
Hippeastrum Apple Blossom.— Here we have a 
large, open flower of a light oraDge-scarlet, giving 
place to white in the lower portion, and green 
at the very base. Award of Merit. Capt. 
Holford. 
DECAY IN SEED POTATOS. 
I note a correspondent, " A. P.,” asks at p. 461, 
whether it is needful that Potato flesh should become 
decayed before the stored up food in the flesh can 
be utilised by the young growing shoots. If he will 
observe the conduct of Potato tubers generally when 
premature growth is made prior to planting, a very 
common occurrence, especially during mild winters, 
he will note that no decay has been evidenced even 
though the premature shoots may have been several 
inches in length. But there has been certain 
exhaustion of the starchy matter stored up in the 
tuber, and certain shrinkage has ensued. Exactly 
the same thing occurs when unsprouted Potaios are 
planted in the soil. Were there actual decay or 
decomposition following immediately upon planting, 
no root or bud of merit would result. From these 
facts he will have no difficulty in concluding that the 
sounder or mature in flesh a Potato is, the stouter 
and more matured will be the shoots breaking up 
from it. These shoots cannot well form roots from 
out of their stems, which later they do, and thus 
secure existence independent of the tuber until the 
tops of the shcots come through the soil and leafage 
is formed. Up to that time the shoot is subsisting 
on the stored starch in the tuber for its development. 
With respect to the other point “A. P. " refers to, 
that the rapid decay of the seed tuber stimulates 
growth in the growing plant; of course such decay 
does not take place until numerous roots have been 
formed, and then, as all vegetable matter in a state 
of decomposition, becomes readily convertible into 
plant food. So it is assured that the roots of the 
Potato plant derive food from the decaying fibre of 
the otherwise exhausted seed Potato tuber — A. Dean. 
BUCCLEUCH NURSERIES, HAWICK. 
Florists' Flowers. 
All the more useful flowers that are grown for the 
adornment of the open garden find their way to the 
Buccleuch Nurseries, Hawick, N.B., where Mr. 
John Forbes is very successful in cultivating them. 
To those we mentioned on p. 330 we now make a 
brief review of other things we saw in September last. 
East Lothian Stocks are great favourites, and 
crimson, dark purple, rose, scarlet, and white 
varieties were still flowering. The smooth or Wall¬ 
flower-leaved section included white and crimson 
varieties. The seed had been sown in January, the 
seedlings planted out in May, and they came into 
bloom in July. After the central shoot or stem 
flowered, the plants made vigorous growth, branch¬ 
ing and developing into large bushes. Many of the 
Violas were still a mass of bloom, and amongst them 
were the lovely JeannieP. Robertson, creamy-white, 
with a blue edge, like aPicotee ; Blue Bonnet, about 
the size of Blush Queen, but rich blue, floriferous, 
and dwarf; Queen of the Year, two shades lighter, 
but circular, fragrant, and quite a gem ; and Puller, 
a large, bright blue, rayed flower. White Empress 
is of fine shape, while Pembroke is considered one 
of the best yellows. 
All the newer and best types of Cactus Dahlias 
have been added to the collection, including 
Arachne, Britannia, Starfish, Kingfisher, Laverstock 
Beauty, Capstan, Mary Service, Harry Stredwick, 
Norfolk Beauty, &c. 
Hollyhocks are always grown in considerable 
quantity, the collection consisting of the best named 
varieties, fully exposed on all sides, and supported 
by stakes. No disease was to be seen amongst 
them. Some of the best were Duchess, deep rose ; 
David Henderson, large, rosy-crimson; Alba 
Superba, an old one, but yet one of the best pure 
white sorts; Gem of the Yellows, finely formed with 
good guard petals ; James McDonald, salmon-pink, 
and suffused buff; Hebe, blush, suffused salmon at 
the base of the petals ; Lady Mary Hay,a light purple 
self; Lord Decies, dark crimson; Miss Dawson, 
pink, shaded with salmon, and supported with a white 
guard ; and Mrs. Edgar, light salmon-blush. In 
the North, whatever the character of the season, 
Hollyhocks flower rather late in the seascn, and to 
get the spikes in perfection the top is cut off about 
5 ft. from the ground, a practice which concentrates 
the energies of the plant upon the flowers below the 
cut. Queen of the Buffs showed a mixture of prim¬ 
rose and cream ; Mrs. Forbes wascreamy-white and 
of fine form; Hercules, yellow with a dark base; 
William Deans, bright rosy-pink ; Grace Darling, a 
pleasing shade of rosy-salmon, and a fine old sort of 
great size; William Archer, deep rose-pink, with 
good guard petals. Memnon Improved was crimson- 
red, aod of great size, with broad guard petals. The 
rosy flowers of Model were small, but densely 
arranged on the spike. 
The purple Violet Amiral Avellan has found its 
way here amongst others. Autumn flowering 
Phloxes are extensively grown, the varieties being 
very numerous. Alongside of the modern race we 
noted the original Phlox paniculata, the starry 
blooms of which showed the great advance that had 
been made. Antirrhinum Hendersoni had white 
flowers, edged with purple, and two bold purple 
bands on the lip. The variety was raised in 
Henderson’s Nursery, Maida Vale, London, about 
50 years ago, and has never either been matched 
or given rise to anything so strikingly distinct as 
itself. Mule Pinks included Marie Pare, white, and 
Napoleon III, crimson. 
Within the last few years Montbretias have come 
into great favour, and a large number of varieties 
have been gathered together here. Turban is a 
golden-yellow variety, tinted with orange, and 
marked with a crimson zone in the throat. Aurora is 
a large, open, golden-yellow flower. A very hand¬ 
some dark variety is Etoile d'Or; and Pluie d’Or 
is something in the same way. Solsil Couchant is 
only 15 ins. high, very free-flowering and pure 
yellow. Rayon d’Or is golden yellow with a crimson 
zone. The flowers of Morgen Licht are very large, 
and orange, with two crimson bands. Solfaterre is a 
sulphur-yellow sort. Incendie is rich orange-scarlet, 
with a small yellow throat. Drap d’Or is clear 
golden yellow. Montbretia crocosmiaeflora fl. pi. is 
a double form of the original hybrid,and M. Potsii fl. 
pi. is a double form of one of its parents. Altogether 
three dozen varieties have been got together, varying 
from sulphur yellow to rich orange-scarlet. Fancy 
Pansies have been favourites here for many years, 
and great efforts are annually made to raise new 
and meritorious varieties. There was a plantation 
of some io.ood seedlings, amongst which were some 
very choice forms, marked in order that they might 
be proved by another year's trial. There was like¬ 
wise a large plantation of named varieties, including 
Mrs. P. Laing, a rich bronze new variety; Wm. 
Shaw, nearly black, with brown and golden edges ; 
Pittouchie, brown velvet with a golden edge, suffused 
with brown on the edge of the top petals; Maggie 
A. Scott, with blackish-brown blotches, a golden 
ground, and a deep purple border to the top petals ; 
and Gold Digger, having blackish-brown blotches, 
and a bronze border suffused with gold. The 
yellow ground of Mrs. Shankland contrasts finelywith 
the black blotches, and the violet border to the top 
petals marks this out as a choice and very handsome 
variety. George Stewart is a huge, perfectly circular 
flower with black velvety blotches almost covering 
the petals, the ground of which is yellow, and the 
top petals bordered with purple. 
The collection of hardy herbaceous and alpine 
plants is also pretty extensive, that is, the import¬ 
ations of border plants that have not yet been 
improved by the hand of man, and therefore scarcely 
rank amongst florists’ flowers. Rudbeckia speciosa 
was then in full bloom, and also R. subtomentosa, 
with deeply three-lobed leaves, golden flowers and a 
black centre. A neat-habited species is Stachys 
coccinea, with light scarlet flowers, and therefore 
remarkably distinct from the general run of the genus, 
seeing that most of them have purple flowers. 
A NEW CULTIVATOR. 
At the weekly meeting of the Ealing District Gard¬ 
eners' Mutual Improvement Society on the 14th inst, 
a very useful implement was exhibited by Mr. Cox, 
The Haven, Ealing. In appearance it resembled a 
revolving rake and consisted of sixteen teeth, Jin. 
wide and 3 in. long, slightly bent. They are firmly 
cast in four sections, two of these sections, each with 
four teeth, revolving on either side of the T shaped 
shaft slotted or dovetailed together. Fixed into an 
ordinary hoe or rake handle, it forms an admirable 
implement for loosening the soil between growing 
crops, and seeing that with this tool one can cover 
as much ground in one hour as an ordinary Dutch or 
draw hoe would do in four or five, the uses of such 
a tool in early spring and summer, in loose and work¬ 
able soils,are obvious. In loosening the soil and check¬ 
ing germinating “ weedlings" it serves a very useful 
purpose, and when better known will be invaluable. 
It can be used as fast as one can walk either drawn 
or pushed, and it is so constructed that the whole of 
the soil that it covers is stirred. I am informed that 
several sizes are made. I tried it in various parts of 
the garden, and consider it a very useful and labour- 
saving tool. On the principle that a stitch in time 
saves nine, I should say that this tool used in early 
morning would accomplish the dual purpose of 
stirring the soil and checking small weeds; and any¬ 
one knows what a lot of labour is saved by checking 
weeds in early stages of growth. 
Curiously, I took this to a local ironmonger and 
asked if he kept such an implement, and he informed 
me he had some on order, and also that the inventor, 
Mr. Hailer, now in New Zealand, was formerly in his 
employ as a lad. I should favour the use of a larger 
size, viz., about 1 ft. wide for such crops as Potatos, 
Cabbages, Kale, &c.— A.P. 
--5-- 
HIPPEASTRUMS AT KEW. 
The humours of misplaced points, or punctuation 
are as numerous and as varied as the colours of these 
beautiful plants. And, although punctuation, per se, 
has no particular bearing on Hippeastrums, yet I am 
made to say on p. 394 that these plants are " perfectly 
gorgeous in the matter of perfume," a statement 
which I have no doubt has contributed to much 
hilarity. As, however, “gorgeousness” is not 
exactly a state of things which can be said to appeal 
to the olfactory sense; and as, likewise, “ per¬ 
fume ” cannot be suggested as a quality existent in 
the Hippeastrum, it foilows that something is 
affirmed of this genus which will not bear the test of 
scrutiny. Herein lies punctuation’s playful part, for 
even a comma wrongly placed may alter the whole 
sense of a sentence, as in the famous toast; " Woman 
—without hey, man is a brute,” which once re¬ 
appeared in print as " Woman, without her man, is 
a brute.” 
And so here, the period, or full stop, being placed 
after “ perfume," instead of after “gorgeous,” the 
passage is not only rendered obscure but the im¬ 
possible is affirmed. If, therefore, the reader will 
kindly connect "in the matter of perfume” with 
“ Freesia refracta alba,” etc., all will be sweet and 
well. Errors in punctuatiou are, however, less 
frequent than errors in orthography, but both, no 
doubt, are due in large measure to the writer’s haste, 
or to the careless preparation of his manuscript. 
But let us return to the Hippeastrums. The 
batch already referred to has, since the first note 
was made, become even more gorgeous; and one 
robust and clear crimson variety, with perianths 7J 
ins. in diameter, has been named " Sir William,” 
after the recently knighted director of these ever- 
interesting royal gardens. Others vary considerably 
in size and colcur; some are mottled and veined, 
while one or two are nearly white but lined with 
crimson streaks. 
In hybrid plants, or crossed varieties, variability 
is, of course the rule, such variability, however, 
lending the greatest charms, whether it be in size, 
substance, contour, or colour. Seedling plants, too, 
afford the cultivator a more enduring interest, 
because it is always possible that one or two out of 
a given batch may exceed his most sanguine expect¬ 
ations. The plants in question were sown in heat in 
June 1896, their present sturdy and floriferous 
condition being proof positive that their requirements 
at Kew are fully understood. 
No class of plants, perhaps, is more entitled to 
the adjective "gorgeous” than Hippeastrums, or 
