22 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 9, 1899. 
upper ones. Coburghia incarnata, a Cape 
bulbous subject, does well at the foot of a 
wall all the year round, but has not yet 
flowered. Abutiion Souvenir de Bonn, 
with its pa’e red flowers and handsomely 
variegated foliage, makes an excellent 
standard. A. Ball of Silver, in standard 
form, is freer and of better substance than 
the old Boule de Neige. A standard 
yellow variety is also very handsome with 
its great yellow bells. Musa japonica has 
been in the open air for three winters, and 
now forms a great stool of stems, with 
leaves nearly 18 in. in diameter, and as long 
as those of M. Cavendishii. The shrubby 
Mimulus, generally known as Diplacus 
glutinosus, and its crimson variety D. g. 
puniceus, make free flowering subjects for 
outdoor culture in summer. Healthy bushes 
of Streptosolen Jamesoni are laden with their 
rich orange blossoms. A very conspicuous 
subject in the open ground is Hibiscus 
Manibot, with its huge, pale lemon flowers 
and black centre, resembling a Hollyhock 
in the distance. Dimorphotheca Eckloni 
is a sort of Cape Marigold with white 
flowers and a blue centre, that delight in 
full sunshine. The large deep rose flowers 
of Ruellia macrantha, we opine, are seldom 
seen-out of doors. The white, pink" and 
crimson double varieties of Begonia sem- 
perflorens are flowering freely out of doors, 
and may yet give rise to finer varieties for 
bedding purposes. The long racemes of 
violet flowers, produced by Angelonia 
salicariaefolia grandiflora are very pretty, 
and may be likened to a blue Celsia. The 
slender, prostrate stems of Lotononis from 
South Africa, produces lilac-blue, Pea¬ 
shaped flowers. The finest specimen of 
Clianthus Dampieri, we have seen, is a 
plant in the open ground, and consisting of 
seven branching stems, flowering profusely 
and even fruiting. The seeds were sown 
under glass on the 6th February last, and 
the plant was merely covered with a hand- 
light for a time, after being first put out. 
The soil is light, but is the ordinary material 
of the garden, without any preparation. 
Cassia corymbosa makes a floriferous shrub, 
6 ft. to 8 ft. high in the open. A most 
graceful grass is Apera arundinacea, which 
has produced a great quantity of its slender 
and thread-like stems. Caryopteris Masta- 
canthus, a dwarf shrub belonging to the 
Verbena family, will be a mass of blue 
presently; it is quite in the open. The 
best of the modern, large-flowered and 
dwarf Cannas are flowering profusely and 
in succession from fresh suckers being 
thrown up. A fine lot of Richardia elliot- 
tiana, R. Pentlandi and R. aurata, is being 
summered in the open air. Coriaria nepa- 
lensis and C. japonica are dwarf, shrubby, 
and very rare plants, representing the 
natural order Coriarieae, hardly ever seen 
in gardens. The former is flowering and 
fruiting, the small green petals becoming 
thick, fleshy and yellow, resembling an 
open berry in fruit. 
Herbaceous and annual plants, more 
usually regarded as subjects for outdoor 
culture than the above, are grown in a great 
variety of showy and useful kinds. A 
splendid strain of Salpiglossis has flowered 
well, but did not like the artificial applica¬ 
tion of water. Ipomopsis elegans, 2 ft. to 
3! ft. high, is late,and though very healthy, 
is just commencing to bloom. A very 
dwarf Gaillardia, 15 in. high, with brilliant 
crimson flowers, tipped with yellow, has 
kept its character for two years. Two 
plants of the new Campanula mirabilis, 
having its branches spread over the ground, 
are just finishing the expansion of their 
pale silvery-blue flowers. They have had 
no special treatment. Veronica Hectori, 
imitating a Lycopodium, now forms a bush 
a foot in diameter and 6 in. high. A patch 
of the scarlet flowered Zauschneria califor- 
nica measures a yard in diameter. There 
is a fine variety of Rudbeckia purpurea; 
also the white Poppywort Eomecon 
chionantha; Tupa montana just getting 
strong enough to produce its scarlet 
flowers; Asclepias tuberosa, with scarlet 
flowers, and well advanced fruits ; a large 
bed of Aster Thompsoni with large, grace¬ 
ful heads of light blue rays; huge clumps 
of the pale blue, sweet-scented Clematis 
davidiana ; and a fine tuft of Montbretia 
imperialis, with orange-scarlet, handsome 
flowers, larger than those of any other we 
have seen. This is bound to come to the 
front when more plentiful. The superb 
strain of Pentstemons grown here has been 
flowering for some time past, though the 
seeds were sown in the beginning of 
February last. The golden rays and black 
centres of Rudbeckia speciosa (Newmanni) 
display themselves all over a triangular bed. 
Three lines of Lilium auratum rubro- 
vittatum in a bed of Azaleas and Azaleo- 
dendron, have been simply grand. Physalis 
Francheti, 2 ft. high, is laden with its great, 
inflated calyxes like Chinese lanterns. 
Hybrid and other Lobelias are a special 
feature of Burford Lodge. L. Kalmii is a 
blue-flowered species like L. Erinus, but 
erect in growth. The Willow-leaved L. 
laxiflora has scarlet flowers, but rather 
sparsely produced. The hybrids of L. 
splendens, L. fulgens, L. cardinalis, L. 
syphilitica, and perhaps some others, get 
more attention here than in any other 
private garden coming under our notice. 
Such forms as L. splendens, L. cardinalis 
(both scarlet), British Maid (pink), Queen 
Victoria (brilliant scarlet), Carmine Gem 
(rosy-carmine, floriferous and one of the 
best), Purple Emperor (purple), Crimson 
Gem (deep crimson and raised here), 
Amethyst (rich, dark purple), and Distinc¬ 
tion (deep magenta with bronzy foliage), 
are the glory of this Surrey garden. An¬ 
other but unnamed seedling, also raised 
here, is notable for its dwarf habit, green 
leaves, and rich carmine, very distinct 
flowers. Incarvillea Delavayi, having 
flowered early, is now quiescent. The 
annual species I. variabilis, with finely-cut 
foliage and rosy-purple flowers, is pretty 
but not very free in blossom. Rather 
interesting in its way is Centaurea 
americana with rosy-purple heads. 
Royal Horticultural Society.—The next fruit and 
floral meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society 
will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 12th, in the Drill 
Hall, James Street, Westminster, 1 — 5 p.m. At 
3 o’olock a lecture on “ Lessons from the Great 
Drought of 1898 " will be given by Mr. E. Mawley. 
American Horticulture will be represented at the 
Paris Exposition by specimens of fresh fruits, 
vegetables, ornamental plants and seeds, as well as 
by canned, dried, and manufactured products of 
fruits, nuts, and vegetables, of which large and 
representative exhibits are being prepared. Photo¬ 
graphs will have to take the place of practical models 
of the features in American horticulture, owing to 
the limited amount of space allowed. 
Weather in London.—The past eight days have 
been variable. Upon the whole they have been 
rather hot. The long drought which for three 
months or more caused plant growth in the London 
environs 'to suffer severely, broke on Thursday the 
last day of August. But even then the rain came too 
heavily and lasted only a short time altogether. 
Thunder was prevalent on Saturday. The town 
trees are rapidly throwing off their leaves. The 
evenings are drawing in fast, lamps in London having 
to be lit by seven o’clock. Still, things are very 
pleasant. About mid-day on Wednesday it became 
almost dark, and a brief but terrific thunderstorm, 
with torrential rain, broke out. 
Welcome Showers.— The drought which continued 
in an unbroken stretch for three months all around 
the London district has at length broken. But like 
so many other showers after prolonged spells of dry 
weather, the rain last week did not come down in 
moderation, but just pell-mell, and, of course, with 
such hard ground a vast quantity ran off. Still, 
what has fallen has done a measure of good. 
Extraordinary Scarlet Runner.—The other week an 
amateur in Twickenham showed an extraordinary 
pod of the Scarlet Runner to his comrades and 
others The seeds had been sown in his garden, and 
not having stakes at the time he simply allowed the 
Runners to trail. When gathering a dish recently 
he inadvertently pulled what proved to be a pod of 
monstrous size. After having grown 1 ft. or thereby, 
it had commenced growing again till it reached the 
extraordinary length of 17J in., and there being a 
short neck between the old and new growth, the pod 
looked like one growing out of the other. A shop¬ 
keeper offered the workman a shilling for his Bean, 
but he declined the money. 
Graft of Common Lilac on the Ash.—According to 
M. Petit, Departmental Professor of Agriculture at 
Morbihan, many towns would find it to their 
advantage to introduce the Ash tree, Fraxinus 
excelsior, into their streets, avenues, and public 
gardens. The numerous varieties of Lilac could 
be grafted on this tree. Both of them belong 
to the family of the Oleaceae, but to different tribes ; 
the Lilac belongs to the Oleae and the Ash to the 
Fraxineae. Several experimental grafts of Lilac on 
Ash have demonstrated the great affinity of the Lilac 
(Syringa vulgaris) and the Ash (Fraxinus excelsior). 
For avenues, already developed trees should be 
planted, and after two or three years' growth a cleft, 
crown, or shield graft made on the branches in a 
good year, 80 per cent, at least would succeed.— 
Aviculteur, August 26th. 
The New Peach Scale.—The original home of this 
" insect ” is probably the West Indies or Japan. It 
has, indeed, the popular name of "West India” 
scale. A tree badly infested has a white-washed 
appearance from the colour of the male scales. The 
females on the other hand, produce a greyish hue. 
The trees found to be under its bane are, Plum, 
Peach, Apricot, Pear, Cherry, Vine, and also other 
plants. A contemporary gives the following descrip¬ 
tion of it:—" The scale is readily distinguished from 
the San Jose, in that the female is a little larger, of 
a lighter grey colour, with the elongated exuvial poiDt 
ridged and located at one side of the centre ; and 
the male is smaller, elongated, with parallel sides, 
and white. The habit of the insect is to cluster 
about the trunk and lower branches of the trees. 
A twenty per cent, mixture of kerosene and water 
will destroy the matured females. In favourable 
parts there are three or four broods in one season, 
the first lot appearing about March. It is then that 
the broods should be promptly dealt with. 
Collection of " Burnsiana Mr. Wm. R. Smith, 
Superintendent of the Botanic Garden at Washington, 
D.C., sailed from New York for Glasgow, Scotland, 
on August 5th. His object is to visit the great 
libraries of Glasgow for the purpose of making 
additions to the works of Burns, the great Scotch 
poet. His present collection amounts to 1,000 
volumes relating to the writings of Burns, and he has 
no fewer than 230 separate editions of Burns’ poems. 
Mr. Smith contends that Scotland’s poet is even 
more appreciated in America than in his native land. 
Mr. Carnegie has promised to guard and find a home 
for this wide collection in his great library at Pitts¬ 
burg. Each book will contain a slip as follows 
" This book belongs to a literary cairn of Robert 
Burns collected by W. R. Smith, to honour him 
whose mission on earth was to preserve the dignity 
of man with soul erect. 
“ 1 Burns 1 thou has given us a name 
To shield us from the taunts of scorn— 
The plant that creeps amid the soil 
A glorious flower hath borne. 
" 1 Before the proudest of the earth 
We stand with an uplifted brow ; 
Like us, thou wast a toil-worn mail, 
And we are noble now. 
" ■ Inspired by thee, the gardener poor, 
All soul-degrading meanness spurns ; 
Our teacher, saviour, saint art thou, 
Immortal Robert Burns 1 ’ " 
