February 3, 1900. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
363 
so to speak, to be coaxed to do this. However, 
when in combination with other substances it may be 
considered the most valuable agent we possess for 
plant food. Nitrogen is found in cultivated grains, 
roots, and very abundantly in animal matter 
Hence the superior value of these substances 
when thoroughly oxidised for the growth of plants. 
The electricity in thunder storms compels nitrogen 
to combine with oxygen in small quantities in the 
air, and the result is the formtaion of nitric acid. 
How dreadful if from some occult cause both gases 
combined, our atmosphere would then be turned into 
an aerial ocean of deadly poison, which would pro¬ 
bably destroy all life in a few moments. 
Carbon dioxide. —This gas in the air is infinites, 
simally small in proportion to the latter two, and 
though it forms the staple food of plants, this minute 
proportion is more than sufficient for the support of 
the vegetable kingdom. It is found abundantly in 
various rocks and earths. There are enormous 
quantities of the gas in limestone, marble, andchalk- 
which when an acid is poured upon evolves the gas 
in abundance. Carbon dioxide, it must be remem¬ 
bered, is not elementary as the last two, but is a 
combination of carbon and oxygen. It may be con¬ 
sidered an oxide of carbon, a name far more in¬ 
telligible for beginners. Besides its value as a plant 
food it has mechanical agencies, such as pulverising 
and dissolving the soil. 
Hydrogen.— This is an elementary gas which is 
widely distributed everywhere. Water is composed 
of two measures of this gas, and one of oxygen, and 
is fourteen times lighter than the air. One-ninth of 
the water of the globe is hydrogen.— Oxygen. 
(To be continued.) 
STOVE FLOWERING PLANTS. 
(Continued from p. 345.) 
Centropogon Lucyanus is a very pretty winter 
flowering plant with rose-carmine flowers, and was 
brought to notice in 1856 as a garden hybrid, so that 
it is not a new plant to us by any means, yet not 
often met with in our plant stoves. One would 
almost think it belongs to the Euphorbia by the 
milky substance exuding from it when cut, but its 
natural order is Lobeliacae, by Johnson, Campanu- 
lacae, by Nicholson. There are half a dozen 
species and hybrids, but the above is the only one 
that I am acquainted with. 
It is easy of propagation, especially so if a bit of 
old wood is attached to the cutting, and it is placed 
around 3-in. pots that have been filled with loam, 
leaf soil, and sand. Put the pots of cuttings in a 
close case, with a slight amount of bottom heat, care 
being taken that no damping takes place. The after 
treatment is similar to what has been advocated for 
Eranthemums and Plumbagcs. It thrives well in 
cold pits or frames up to the end of September, and 
5J in. or 6 in. pots are large enough the first year, 
using a sprinkling of peat with the soil at the final 
potting. The long shoots must have supports when 
grown in pots, but if placed in baskets, for which 
they are well adapted, no staking is necessary. 
Grown in either way, and flowering in the depth of 
winter makes it a valuable plant for a warm stove or 
intermediate house. Shorten back the pendulous 
shoots a little after the bloom is gone over to produce 
cuttings, or cut to within a few inches of the ground 
if it is intended to keep the old plants and grow 
them on again, which is a good plan, these making 
fine bushes in 7 in. pots. Mealy bug is about the 
only pest I tave noticed that worries them, and I 
need not say these must be given a wide berth. 
Begonia Gloire de Lorraine.— This is a most 
beautiful decorative plant from October up to 
March when well grown ; and, unlike the majority of 
Begonias, it holds its flowers on so well, even when 
carted to the mansion or moved from house to house. 
It should be largely grown where a bright and lasting 
display is looked for. Where a temperature of about 
6o° can be maintained, and very little syringing 
carried on, the plant will continue to flower for many 
months : in fact, it is scarcely ever out of bloom, for 
if you cut it down, hoping to get a good supply of 
young shoots for propagating, a large percentage will 
bolt into flower again. These shoots are no use 
whatever for that purpose, as they fail to make a 
satisfactory break, but recently growers have told to 
the world that this charming plant can be easily in¬ 
creased by the leaves, which is a decided gain, and 
that plants so propagated make better specimens than 
side growths do, but as I have not yet tried the plan 
I cannot say much about it. Care will be required 
that the leaves do not decay before roots are 
emitted, and I should think cocoanut fibre refuse a 
good material on which to lay the leaves. 
Plants from cuttings require pinching several 
times to get a good, bushy plant. I have not tried 
these in cold frames, though I do not see why they 
should not be safe there for three months. But 
wherever they are placed keep them well up to the 
glass. They do not require large pots. Nice little 
specimens, from 12 in. to 15 in. across, can be grown 
in a 48-size pot. During the flowering period the 
plants must neither be kept too wet, nor, on the 
other hand, too dry, as they soon suffer from either 
cause. A white variety has cropped up within the 
past few months, but to judge from specimens seen 
and exhibited at one of the Chrysanthemum shows 
it is not nearly so showy as the pink.— Grower. 
(To be continued.) 
THREE GOOD SORTS OF BEETROOT. 
This is amongst the worst kinds of vegetables 
for seed growers to keep a good and true stcck. 
Those who frequent gardens are aware of this by the 
patches they see, often in a very mixed condition. 
Added to this there is a large number of names com¬ 
pared with the distinct kinds. For several years I 
have been saving a few roots when I have them 
taken up, with a view to fix a variety I selected 
some years ago ; and although I only grow the one 
kind I find great difficulty in fixing it. 
The best lot of Beet I saw last summer was 
growing in the gardens at Didlington Hall, Norfolk, 
The rows were forty to fifty yards long, two rows of 
a kind, namely, Nutting’s Selected, Dell’s Crimson, 
and Pragnell’s Exhibition. Out of the whole lots 
could only count six or eight rogues. 
Pragnell’s was perfect. Not one of the seed 
came from the original stock, as all the kinds came 
from Messrs. Veitch, of Chelsea. Generally, 
Pragnell's is considered by most growers as the best 
exhibition Beet in commerce. 
The soil is light and sandy, and had been worked 
deeply. Many of the roots (as I saw them taken 
up) were two feet from crown to tip of the root, 
as straight as they possibly could be, and free 
from side roots. • So good was the stock that I 
brought several home for seed. Both of the other 
kinds were good.— J. C., F., Chard. 
-*=s«.- 
BUCCLEUCH NURSERIES, HAWICK. 
(Concluded from p. 347). 
Considering the hybrid origin of Begonia Gloire de 
Lorraine it is not at all surprising that it should have 
given rise to sports. In the case of the pink sport 
and Caledonia we see a partial separation of the 
colours of the two parents (B. Dreggei and B. 
socotrana), as if an effort were being made by Nature 
to throw off the dual character of the hybrid. Here 
the sporting ends for the present, for in no other 
respect does the white-flowered Caledonia differ 
from Gloire de Lorraine. Both of these were grow¬ 
ing and flowering side by side in one of the warm 
pits of Mr. John Forbes, Buccleuch Nurseries, 
Hawick, who is naturally proud of being able to put 
such a fine thing into commerce. He has a large 
quantity of healthy stock. Another house contains 
strong plants of Rose Marechal Niel in pots. 
Carnations. 
Tree and border Carnations are extensively grown at 
Hawick. To the former race Carnation Yule Tide 
belongs. A thousand plants of it were grown in 
32-size pots last spring. It is a true perpetual, 
blooming at all periods of the year ; and equally 
suitable for outdoor culture as under glass. In 
September last it was flowering outside and inside, 
while about a year previous it was flowering beauti¬ 
fully in beds in some of the London parks. The 
first year it was brought before the public it gained 
ten First-class Certificates. It seeds freely, but 
hitherto it has produced nothing so meritorious as 
itself, though a soft, flesh-pink seedling is a fair thing 
in its way. 
Other tree varieties are well represented, chiefly in 
the houses. Very choice is the dark crimson Duke 
of York ; whereas Robert Pringle is bright crimson 
slightly flaked with a darker shade. Helen Keller is 
white striped with scarlet; La Neige, pure white ; 
Mrs. Leopold de Rothschild, otherwise known as 
Mme. Therese Franco, pink ; Miss Joliffe improved, 
flesh-pink; Winter Cheer, crimson-scarlet; and 
Uriah Pike, maroon-crimson. The edges of the 
benches are furnished with a fine lot of Campanula 
balchiniana, while Tropaeolum speciosum is stored 
under the stages. About half-a-houseful of fine 
young plants of Malmaison Carnations, in variety, 
gives promise of making fine flowering plants. 
A considerable area of ground is, every year, devoted 
to the cultivation of choice named varieties of border 
Carnations. The newer varieties are placed in 
frames, where they can be looked after and their 
merits determined. The frames are, of course, kept 
open all the summer and autumn. Amongst last 
year's new ones are : Triumph, a wire-edged, yellow 
ground; Tangier, heavily edged with scarlet, and 
very attractive; Queen of Holland, producing 
salmon-apricot flowers of fine form ; Professor Gerts, 
a handsome, steel-blue variety, flaked with bright 
scarlet (it produces large flowers, but, not being dis¬ 
budded, there is no bursting); Prince Bismarck, 
maroon; Kate Benary, a delicate flesh colour; 
Agnes, rosy-pink; and Nedda, white, with a large, 
red blotch on every petal, varying to scarlet, edged 
with white, and of the latter hue on the back of the 
petals. Of the above new varieties, the last named 
and Professor Gerts are very distinct, and charming 
fancy varieties, well worth growing in every collec¬ 
tion. Older varieties are John Forbes, heavily 
edged with rosy-scarlet on a yellow ground ; and 
Artemus, a satin-rose variety, flaked with steel-blue. 
There is a great run upon the former, but it is a 
vigorous grower with good grass. 
The varieties grown in the open ground are so 
numerous that only the best of them can be men¬ 
tioned. Corunna is a good and well-known yellow. 
Curtius is a fancy yellow variety, edged with 
salmon-red. Chameleon is handsomely striped with 
carmine on a yellow ground. Amongst seifs the 
bright scarlet Lady Benning is very fine; Ella 
Bander, rosy-salmon, very free, with good grass, and 
excellent for cut flowers ; and Miss Ellen Terry, 
huge, pure white and choice. Queen of Bedders is 
deep rose and very free. Salamander is salmon- 
scariet, and one of the best growers in the collection. 
Scarlet Gem is a very bright, new variety which was 
raised here. John Fraser is white, flaked and 
mottled with scarlet; and is both a strong grower 
and profuse bloomer. Distinct in its way and free is 
Col. Hope, with bright crimson-scarlet markings on 
a clear buff ground. All the varieties were of 
course layered by this time, and it was interesting to 
note the layers of Yule Tide in all stages of develop¬ 
ment towards flowering, thus demonstrating its per¬ 
petual nature. 
Besides a few already mentioned there are other 
choice yellow ground Picotees, including President 
Carnot, with rose, purple and scarlet markings in 
mixture; Primrose League, the best of the yellow 
ground fancies here, being edged and splashed with 
red in a striking way, and the large flowers never 
bursting; and Mr. Nigel, with a heavy crimson edge, 
and certainly one of the most choice and handsome 
of all the yellow ground Picotees, the colours being 
decided and striking. 
The true white ground Picotees, suitable for 
border work, also receive well deserved attention. 
Bailie Dunlop is characterised by a broad or heavy 
crimson edge, contrasting with the chaste and beau¬ 
tiful Boiard, having a rich rose, wire edge. The 
blooms of Edelweiss are very large, with a purple 
wire edge, that is, a very narrow line of colouring 
surrounding the white ground. Redbraes is charac¬ 
terised by a broad purple edge, and is one of the 
most handsome of its colour. Mrs. Arthur is a new 
variety, producing large, scarlet edged flowers, with 
great freedom. 
Hollyhocks. 
As the years come and go the Hollyhocks thrive 
here, and the disease is never feared, being more of 
a name than anything else. Possibly the climate 
keeps the plants vigorous and healthy. In any case, 
a large breadth of them has been planted out 
annually for many years ; and collections of the long 
and stately spikes are frequently exhibited. Though 
very old, Alba Superba, is yet considered the best of 
the double white varieties, being large, full and pure, 
Gem of the Yellows is a strong glower, with soft, 
primrose flowers, and is considered the best of its 
class. Hercules is also a fine old variety, having 
yellow flowers, more or less tinged with salmon. 
Another vigorous sort is Grace Darling, the large 
