14 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September, 5, 1896. 
cultivated in our gar.dens have sprung, if not a true 
native of Britain, has been naturalised in the 
meadows about Nottingham and other parts of 
central England, also in some portions of Ireland, so 
that it and its varieties are perfectly hardy. 
Crocuses may be employed in the flower garden in 
a variety of ways. Medium-sized clumps of one 
colour, dotted at intervals near to the front of a 
mixed herbaceous border look very pretty, whilst as 
an edging to other beds they are by no means to be 
despised. Where the practice of planting three 
standard Rose bushes in small circular beds is 
followed, nothing is more suitable for covering the 
ground, shaded by the bushes than Crocuses, and a 
Rose garden in which these pretty bulbous plants 
have been tastefully utilised may be made to literally 
glow with colour at a time when the Roses them¬ 
selves are anything but ornamental. In following 
out such a plan the most important point is the 
arrangement of colours. Certainly the most effective 
method is to plant in masses of one colour, and 
where the beds are small, this idea should be carried 
out. 
From the artist's point of view, however, all these 
arrangements are defective. Crocuses produce but 
comparatively little foliage, and the result is that we 
get a blaze of colour with nothing to soften it or to 
tone it down if they are left to themselves. Planting 
upon grassy lawns naturally suggests itself as a way 
out of the difficulty, and we venture to say that no 
one who has witnessed the magnificent effects yearly 
produced at Kew, and in the various London parks in 
this way could fail to appreciate and admire them. The 
accompanying illustration (p. 13), for which we are 
indebted to Messrs. Jas. Carter & Co., represent that 
fine variety Giant Purple, growing in Regent's Park. 
The soft green hue of the grass just waking to life 
'neath the influence of the genial vernal rains and 
breezes serves as an admirable foil for the starry 
flowers reposing upon its bosom, and just the thing 
to show them off to advantage. 
No studied arrangement of colours is needed in 
such a case, the plants must appear as if Nature's 
hand had strewn them there, and it may be stated 
here that once planted they will be quite capable of 
looking after themselves. The plants make little 
foliage, and what little there is will have fulfilled its 
office before the scythe or the mowing machine are 
called into play, so that the difficulty that applies to 
the naturalising of coarser growing subjects on the 
lawns near to the mansion is not to be apprehended 
here. 
Any ordinary soil, except clay, will suit Crocuses, 
so there is no need of a great amount of preparation. 
Planting should be conducted as soon as the corms 
come to hand. They should be buried about 3 in. 
below the surface of the soil. A similar distance 
may be allowed between the corms when planting in 
beds. 
Although Crocuses will not force to any extent, 
they may be successfully cultivated in pots, and a 
few pans or pots filled with them are generally much 
sought after for conservatory decoration whilst the 
year is yet young. The same compost as that used 
for Hyacinths will do. Five good-sized corms will 
be enough for a 5-in. pot. If pans are used, about 
an inch and a half space may be allowed between 
the corms. After potting, the pots should be 
plunged in ashes or cocoanut fibre in the same way 
as the other bulbs, and allowed to remain in this 
position for a few weeks until roots have been 
formed, and the tops have commenced to grow. 
Afterwards they must be removed to a cold frame or 
a shelf in a greenhouse, where they can obtain 
plenty of light. Fire-heat must only be applied to 
keep the frost out, or the corms will not flower. 
For naturalising purposes it will be well to invest in 
a collection of mixed colours. The corms thus 
obtained are quite good enough for the purpose, and 
come rather cheaper. For bedding purposes and 
for culture in pots, the following varieties will be 
found very suitable: —Mont Blanc, and Lady 
Stanhope, white ; Purpurea Grandiflora, and 
Othello, purple ; Albion, white striped ; La 
Majesteuse, violet striped ; Sir John Franklin, blue ; 
Large Yellow, and Cloth of Gold, yellow. 
- =» 3 » -- 
GALTONIA CANDICANS. 
Probably this plant is better known by its less 
correct name of Hyaciuthus candicans. The tall, 
graceful racemes of pure white flowers are produced 
at a time of the year when flowers of the kind are 
beginning to get somewhat scarce. Added to this, 
they associate wonderfully well with many other 
bedding plants. They may be employed with 
excellent results for planting amongst hardy Azaleas, 
dwarf Rhododendrons, and other flowering shrubs. 
Interspersed with Gladioli, they also do good 
service. One of the prettiest beds at Kew last year 
was one filled with Galtonia candicans and Gladiolus 
brenchleyensis, the pearly-white of the one and the 
vivid scarlet of the other producing a fine contrast. 
The name of the genus is commemorative of Francis 
Galton, an explorer of some celebrity, and includes 
two species only, that under notice and G. princeps, 
a closely allied species, but of secondary decorative 
value. The racemes are broader and shorter, and 
the flowers smaller and of a decided greenish cast. 
Galtonias will thrive in almost any ordinary garden 
soil, although they prefer that of a fairly light nature. 
An admixture of peat or leaf soil is therefore much 
to their liking. Propagation may easily be effected 
by offsets. Seeds will produce good flowering bulbs 
within four years of the date of sowing. 
-M-- 
BULBS FOR THE MILLION. 
One of the most important of the direct results that 
accrue from the improved international communica¬ 
tion that characterises the latter part of the nineteenth 
century is the vital union that exists between the 
producer and consumer. Distance has been to a 
very large extent annihilated, and we are able to take 
advantage of the influence of fairer climes than ours 
in obtaining for our own use what our own country 
cannot. Especially is this the case with horticultural 
commodities. Holland and Japan have been brought 
to our very doors, so to speak, and the horticultural 
traders of these countries are only too glad to 
exchange the fruits of their labours for British gold. 
The distinctive feature of present-day gardening is 
undoubtedly the vast amount of bulbs, chiefly of 
foreign growth, that contribute their quota of beauty 
to the adornment of our flower gardens, our conserva¬ 
tories, and dwelling houses. All this speaks with no 
uncertain voice of a huge channel somewhere, by 
means of which these supplies are distributed 
amongst us. To those of us who are accustomed to 
see bulbs of various sorts doled out in dozens and 
half dozens over the counter of a local nurseryman 
the immensity of the bulb trade does not so forcibly 
appeal. It is only when we visit one of the great 
centres of the industry, and see thousands upon 
thousands disposed of to eager buyers, that we are 
able to realise its far-reaching character. 
The name of Messrs. Protheroe & Morris is too well 
known whereever the love of horticulture has pene¬ 
trated to need any further advertisement here. Ever 
in search of a new experience, and learning that a 
great sale of imported bulbs would be held at the 
premises of 67 and 68, Cheapside on Friday, August 
28th, we were fain to bend our steps thither and 
witness for ourselves the transactions that would 
ultimately result in supplying our gardens next 
season with such a wealth of bloom and beauty. 
And what went we forth to see ? Simply a knot of 
interested individuals, many of them nurserymen 
and dealers, with a fair amount of the amateur 
element intermixed. Among the latter appeared 
more than one black coat of clerical cut, with the 
accompanying white tie. Of course it goes without 
saying that an auction graced by the clergy must be 
a very select affair indeed, and we were therefore 
not surprised to note the good behaviour of the 
meeting generally. 
As between seventeen and eighteen hundred lots 
had to be disposed of under the hammer it may be 
surmised that the business was conducted with 
remarkable celerity and despatch. From the gentle¬ 
man in the box, who wielded both his tongue and 
his hammer with right good will, down to the 
numerous porters who were bustling up the various 
lots as they were called for, all went off with machine¬ 
like regularity. One thing that impressed us most 
forcibly was the fact that although each bag of bulbs 
was duly sampled for the benefit of those who wished 
to see what they were buying, in very few cases did 
the buyers take the trouble to look. Long connection 
with the firm has doubtless convinced them that the 
material sold by Messrs. Protheroe & Morris is to 
be depended on, and they felt proportionately com¬ 
fortable in making their bids. A splendid instance, 
this, of how the confidence begotten of fair dealing 
between bu)er and seller contributes to smooth and 
easy working. 
Of course, to listen to the auctioneer one could 
only come to the conclusion that he was a philan¬ 
thropist in disguise, who sold simply because he 
was born to sell, and not because he made anything 
by it; but after all he was really very good, for he 
did not remind his audience more than once in five 
minutes of the bargains they were losing. Really it 
seems astonishing, taking the low prices into con¬ 
sideration, that so many Dutch growers can make 
bulb-growing pay. Labour, carriage, and packing have 
all to be thought of, in addition to the rental of the 
land the plants occupy, and the time they take to 
grow into marketable condition As a sample of the 
returns, we may say that 400 fine La Reine Tulips 
fetched 4s. 6d.; 300 grand bulbs of that most showy 
of Tulips, Keizer’s Kroon, only 6s.; 400 Due Van 
Thol, 200 Golden Crown, 200 Artus, 200 double La 
Candeur, and 200 double and single mixed Tulips 
were knocked down for 12s.—just a shilling a 
hundred for flowering bulbs in superb condition, as 
our own experience told us. Hyacinths, both single 
and double, all fine named varieties, changed hands 
at barely a penny a piece. The single red Norma, 
however, always seems to fetch a better price, as also 
do some of the finer of the blue varieties, although 
even then prices fluctuated considerably during the 
afternoon. 11 They must go” said the man with the 
hammer, and go they did, accordingly. Collections 
of Crocuses, 400 in each, composed of 50 each of 
eight named sorts, were knocked down as fast as 
they were put up at 4s. a time, Who would be 
without Crocuses? Narcissi seemed no exception 
to the general rule of cheapness. Thus 100 Grand 
Soleil d’Or, 72 Grand Monarque, 100 Gloria Mundi, 
and 150 Incomparabilis Stella were sold for 7s. 6d. 
The above are only a few instances of the prices 
that ruled throughout the day. Narcissi, Hyacinths, 
Tulips, Crocuses, Scillas, and Snowdrops, were no 
drug in the market, but were speedily appropriated 
by ready buyers until the last lot in hand was 
disposed of. We found ourselves wondering, as we 
left the auction rooms, how many hundreds of acres, 
how many thousands of gardens, that one day's sale 
had provided for, and if one day could do so much, 
how about all the other days ? but we gave it up, for 
that way madness lay. 
--5*- 
SOCIETIES. 
National Chrysanthemum Society, Sept. 1st, 2nd, and 
yd .—The Chrysanthemum season was opened most 
successfully on the above dates at the Royal Aquarium, 
when an exhibiiion of early flowering Chrysanthe¬ 
mums, Gladioli, and Dahlias was held. Naturally 
the show was of a much more varied character than 
later ones could possibly be, for although Chrysan¬ 
themums were not present in very great force, 
Dahlias, and hardy flowers generally were well 
represented. 
Mr. E. F. Such, Maidenhead, staged the best 
twenty-four bunches of Chrysanthemums, compris¬ 
ing eighteen varieties. In a class for twelve blooms 
of Madame Desgranges some excellent material was 
forthcoming. Mr. B. Calvert, gardener to Colonel 
Archer Houblon, Hallingbury Place, Bishop's 
Stortford, was placed first with a splendid lot. 
Mr. J. Sandford, gardener to G. W. Wright-Ingle, 
Esq., Wood House, North Finchley, was second ; and 
Mr. G. W. Forbes, gardener to D. Nicols, Esq., 
Regent House, Surbiton, third. Mr. B. Calvert 
staged another twelve superb blooms, this time of 
George Wermig. The majority measured fully 
seven inches in diameter, and the colour left 
nothing to be desired. Mr. J. Sandford was second. 
Mr. James Watt, gardener to Henry Bell, Esq., 
Fitzjohn’s Avenue, Hampstead, N.W., showed the 
best six bunches of yellow varieties, three blooms 
to a bunch. Competition was very poor in the 
amateurs’ classes, the most noteworthy exhibit here 
being a very pretty epergne, contributed by Mr. D. 
B. Crane, Archway Road, Highgate, N. 
In the nurserymen's class, Mr. John Walker, 
Thame, Oxon, led the way for forty-eight blooms, 
comprising not less than thirty-six varieties of show 
and fancy Dahlias ; Maud Fellows, Duke of Fife, 
Seraph, Perfection, Mrs. Gladstone, Harry Keith, 
Majestic, Geo. Rawlings, Miss Cannell, and Grand 
Sultan were some of his best varieties. Messrs, 
Keynes, Williams & Co., Salisbury, occupied second, 
and Mr. S. Mortimer, Swiss Nursery, Farnham, the 
third place, both with fine collections. Mr. John 
