470 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 25, 1899.' 
SEASONABLE FLOWERS AT FALK¬ 
LAND PARK. 
Ax whatever period of the year a visit is made to 
Falkland Park, South Norwood Hill, the residence 
of C. H. Walker, Esq., something may be seen in 
bloom in various departments. The large Clematis 
indivisa is again flowering grandly on the roof of the 
corridor at one end, and on the roof of the cool 
house adjoining, from which the long sprays of white 
blossom are allowed to hang down freely. The 
wfcite-flowered Solanum jismincides flowers almost 
perennially, commencing afresh soon after it has 
been cut back and made a fresh start. Acacia verti- 
cillata and some others with their graceful sprays of 
yellow flowers are now contributing their annual 
quota to the display. Plants of Richardia africana 
are stood about the corridor, and amongst them we 
noted one bearing twin spathes. The fragrant 
Boronia megastigna is making its presence felt in a 
neighbouring cool house, open at the corridor end. 
Primula The Lady has been cultivated here suffi¬ 
ciently long to enable Mr. A. Wright to try his hand 
at improvement. He has now lilac, heliotrope, 
pink, white, striped, rose, and rich carmine-rose 
varieties, and tbinks much of the bright colour of the 
latter. Changes they are, but some of them are 
getting too near the ordinary improved forms of the 
Chinese Primula, both in the form of the flowers, 
and in habit to be considered improvements of the 
particular race to which The Lady belongs. This is 
the result of using the pollen of highly-improved 
forms of quite another type. The carmine-rose 
flower is, however, a very pretty colour. 
That Begonias take their share in brightening the 
houses during winter and spring goes without saying. 
Quite a number of sorts is employed for this pur¬ 
pose. B. manicata stands 2^ ft. high, and its cymose 
panicles of pink flowers are very graceful. The 
much larger flowers of B. semperftorens carminea 
splendens are also handsome. After a rest, B. 
President Carnot on the roof is commencing to 
flower again. Pyramidal specimens of B. Gloire de 
Sceaux, 18 in. to 24 in. high, have been very flori- 
ferous for a long time past. B. King Rufus and 
Arthur Mallet, with their reddish-purple leaves, are 
never seen to better advantage than when sunshine 
is playing through them. 
In one of the cool houses, kept gay with a variety 
of subjects, a batch of blue Primroses shows a con¬ 
siderable amount of variety. A uniformly blue one 
with an angled yellow eye, and entirely devoid of the 
purple zone, characteristic of this race, is an acquisi¬ 
tion in its way, and we should like to see a blue 
strain developed from it. 
Amongst the Orchids we noted a young and leafy 
side shoot on a plant of Dendrobium nobile, bearing 
a solitary flower in the axil of a large bract. The 
bloom was upside down, and the iip slightly abnor¬ 
mal, but being pressed against the leaves of the shoot 
it strongly resembled a buttonhole bouquet, ready 
made for use. Another abnormal flower was that of 
Cattleya Trianaei, having a miniature lip only J in. 
long in the usual position, its claw being adnate to 
the column almost throughout its length. The two 
sides of a full-sized lip had, however, parted with it 
at an early stage of development, one half uniting 
with one petal, and the other half with the corres¬ 
ponding petal to the left of the flower. The curious 
thing about these halves of the lip was that they 
faced in the opposite direction from that which one 
would have expected. They were joined to the claw 
of the lip at the base only. Another odd flower was 
that of Cypripedium falklandparkense, which 
opened on the 20th of October last, and remained 
fresh till the 24th of February, that is, the self same 
bloom. It will occur to some readers, perhaps, 
that the inventor of the above name must have been 
a genius. 
The name given to Cypripedium insigne Falkland 
Park variety is more according to usage. The dorsal 
sepal is handsomely blotched and the petals spotted 
in a well marked manner. The dorsal sepal of the 
hybrid C. J. Bartels is intense maroon, giving place 
to purple at the edges. C. Mrs. Geo. Botterill is a 
fine flower having the dorsal sepal greenish at the 
base, mottled aod suffused with rose. C. Calypso 
is another handsome hybrid. 
Numerous hybrid Dendrobiums are flowering, 
including D. rubens grandiflorum, with large and 
well coloured flowers. An unnamed hybrid between 
D. schneiderianum and D. splendidissimum grandi¬ 
florum has a creamy ground colour. 
Vanda teres is flowering early. Several forms of 
Coelogyne cristata include C. c. lemoniana with the 
lemon-yellow beard on the lip. Numerous varieties 
of Cattleya Trianaei are flowering, conspicuous 
amongst which is a variety having a decided bluish 
tint in the sepals and petals. The deep rose lip is 
also tinted with blue, making a pleasing though not 
very highly coloured flower. The popular Dendro¬ 
bium wardianum, suspended in baskets, bears large 
flowers and in great quantity upon astern. D. nobile 
nobilius still continues one of the best varieties of 
this popular species. The fragrance of the bold 
flowers of Cymbidium eburneum always make their 
presence felt in a house. 
The cool Odontoglossums are in excellent health 
and promise plenty of bloom. Some good round 
flowers of O. crispum are already expanded. Long 
spikes are covered by O. wilckeanum. Fresh flowers 
and varieties continue to open from day today, and 
the display gets richer as spring advances. 
ARDENING fflSCELLAMY. 
PRIMULA FORBESII. 
The “ Baby Primula,” to give it its American name, 
is creating quite a sensation in the United States, 
and, judging from accounts, florists there are making 
a good thing of it. The delicate lilac flowers are 
produced in great quantity, and the scapes carry 
their umbels to a height of 6 in. or 7 in. above the 
elegant, Fern-like foliage. Not only do the cut 
flowers find a ready sale, but the plants are also in 
great demand. This is in a great measure due to 
the way in which the plant flowers in the smallest of 
pots. It is thus eminently suitable for all sorts of 
decorative purposes, and American florists have not 
been slow to take advantage of this. An illustration 
in Gardening (American) for February 1st depicts 
Primula Forbesii in a small pot, and also a large 
shallow pan of it, the quantity of flower in each 
case being remarkable. 
RHODODENDRON MUCRONATUM, 
A recent issue of Moiler's Deutsche Gartner Zeitung 
contains an illustration and a minute description of 
this handsome Rhododendron. The plant bears a close 
resemblance to R. dahuricum, but differs from that 
form in having smaller and more accuminate leaves 
of very deep green. The flowers are very large, 
showy, and of great substance, exhibiting a delicate 
shade of blush. We owe the introduction of R. 
mucronatum to Europe to Herr Krier, who in the 
year 1890,when he was Consul at Seoul, the capital of 
Korea, sent seeds home to Germany, from which the 
plant from which .the illustration in question was 
taken was raised. The Land of Heaven has sent us 
many beautiful plants, and this bids fair to be one of 
them, judging from the descriptions given. 
ADIANTUM CAPILLUS-VENERIS IMBRICATUM. 
Of the numerous forms of our British Maidenhair 
Fern that is in existence, none is prettier or has more 
to recommend it to the notice of the lover of Ferns 
than A.C.-V. imbricatum. At first sight the plant 
recalls somewhat A. farleyense, although of course 
there are great differences between the two. The 
great size of the deeply cut pinnae, the segments of 
which overlap each other to a considerable extent, 
favours this view. The plant is of dwarf stature,and 
as it will grow with great freedom in a very limited 
root run it is of service for the filling of jardinieres 
and small fancy pots of all descriptions. It will do 
very well in a cool house, bnt a little stimulus in the 
way of a higher temperature, such as that of an in¬ 
termediate house, does not come amiss to it. 
-- 
PUBLIC PARK NURSERY, ROTHESAY. 
The principal feature of this nursery is the collection 
of hardy herbaceous plants in which Mr. Michael 
Cuthbertson takes an intense interest, and keeps 
adding to them as suitable things turn up. We 
called upon him in September last, when late- 
flowering subjects were still in bloom. Everything 
is grown in the open, except such choice things that 
require to be kept more directly under the eye, and 
which are located in unheated frames, kept un¬ 
covered at most periods of the 5 ear. This nursery 
is situated by the side of the Public Park; but more 
recently Mr. Cuthbertson acquired the Sunnypark 
Nursery for growing Dahlias, French and African 
Marigolds, Roses, Carnations, &c. 
A pretty and uncommon Orchid then flowering was 
Habenaria ciliaris, having soft orange flowers and a 
heavily bearded lip, which justifies the specific 
name. A new Delphinium, named Britannia, had in¬ 
tense blue flowers, and a large white eye made up of 
small petals. About 100 varieties of Pnloxes are 
grown, many of the finest varying from 18 in. to 2 ft 
high. A fine one is Leonardi de Vinci, having white 
flowers and a large crimson eye. Coquelicot is of a 
brilliant Poppy-red. La Neige is the best white. 
The orange and yellow double flowers of Montbretia 
crocosmiaeflora fl. pi. are freely produced, and the 
variety is grown in considerable quantity. Another 
fine variety is Arc en Ciel, with vermilion flowers. 
Those of Fleur Jaune are of the palest yellow. Alto¬ 
gether about thirty varieties of Montbretia are grown 
in this collection. 
Sunflowers are favourites here, including the 
large-flowered Miss Mellish, which has recently 
come into prominence. Helianthus rigidus Daniel 
Dewar was raised here, and has large golden rays 
that are reflexed at the sides, but stand up stiffly. 
The plant is of dwarf, branching habit, and flowers 
very freely, A large batch of seedling Sunflowers in 
bloom showed some of them to be characterised by 
flowers of large size, and showy. The large pure 
white flowers of Daisy Snowdrift were being pro¬ 
duced in abundance upon long scapes at this date. 
About thirty species and varieties of Heath are 
grown, including Erica vagans, E. tetralix, and 
others. The purple Heather includes the beautiful 
and uncommon double variety, Calluna vulgaris 
fl. pi., which might more often be grown than it is. 
The finest of all the Day Lilies, Hemerocallis 
aurantiaca major, has found its way here, being 
grown in large clumps. The flower scapes of Ere- 
murus robustus stood 8 ft. high. Another fine thing 
not often met with is Spigelia marylandica, of which 
a fine stock was growing in a peaty soil. It is a 
choice thing for a peat bed at the foot of a rockery. 
The golden rays and black disc of Rudbeckia fulgida 
make a fine contrast. The beautifully variegated 
Hypericum mosserianum tricolor is hardy here in a 
sunny position, where it makes good growth. Very 
choice, little rock plants are the silvery-leaved Gera¬ 
nium argenteum ; the woolly-leaved and pink-flowered 
Asperula arachnoideum; and the pink-flowered 
Aethionema grandiflorum, all of dwarf and neat 
habit. The double Wallflower formed big bushes. 
The Primrose family is well represented here, in¬ 
cluding Androsace Munbyi, and A. sarmentosa. 
The graceful Primula Forbesi was flowering freely 
in the open frames. Other choice species were P. 
floribunda, P. verticillata, P. scotica, growing splen¬ 
didly ; P. frondosa, having the underside of the 
leaves white; P. involucrata, P. Poissoni, and P. 
luteola, all in fine condition, the last-named being in 
quantity and growing freely. The blue Polyanthus, 
Primula elatior caerulea, is an interesting old thing 
not often met with in gardens. The Primrose Miss 
Massey, with crimson flowers and a golden eye, was 
flowering freely. Primrose Ann Dumollin, a double 
dark purple variety,commenced to flower in January 
last year, and continued till May; after a rest it 
commenced blooming again in the autumn. Arena- 
ria montana was also in full bloom at that time. 
Ranunculus Lyalli has been flowered in this nursery, 
and there were numerous healthy plants in the 
frames last autumn. It is a rare and handsome 
white-flowered species, but rather difficult to 
manage, according to some who have tried it. The 
flowers of Oenothera eximia open in the evening, 
and are powerfully scented. They are white at first 
but become pink on the second day. Oe. missouri- 
ensis was also flowering. The above notes were 
taken between showers on a wet afternoon, and in¬ 
clude only a few of the things to be seen. 
THE FRUIT FARM AT WOBURN. 
A most instructive paper upon the Duke of 
Bedford's experimental fruit farm at Woburn was 
read before the Royal Horticultural Society on the 
14th inst. by Mr. Spencer Pickering. Mr. H. J. 
Veitch filled the chair. 
In mentioning the scope of this paper Mr. Picker¬ 
ing said that he did not propose to go into detail with 
regard to the results of the numerous experiments 
that, had been conducted at Woburn, but rather 
wished to give an idea of the general principles, that 
were followed in carrying on these experiments. . 
