February 17, 1900 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
393 
Lygodium japonicum would suit W. Tait's pur¬ 
pose. This is a very pretty climbing Fern which 
revels in the slightly heated house. Plant it in a 
narrow border or in boxes or pots suitable to the size 
of the plants, placing the movables on the stage by 
a wall or pillar. Tie the shoots to a support as they 
grow, but be mindful of moisture in the air and at 
the root. 
Varieties of Roses for Standards. — W. Long-. 
The following are all suitable :—General Appert, 
Violet Bouyer, Mrs. John Laing, Dr. Andry, Paul 
Neyron (very strong), Marshal P. Wilder, La France, 
Duke cf Connaught, Baroness Rothschild, Marechal 
Vaillant, Antoine Mouton, Merville de Lyon,. Prince 
Camille de Rohan and Duke of Edinburgh. Treated 
well, in an open position and good soil, these have 
succeeded. 
THE LAWN AT HOWTH CASTLE. 
There are many beautiful and interesting scenes in 
the grounds of the Earl of Howtb, Howth Castle, 
Howtb, Co. Dublin, the shrubs and trees being a 
special feature. The mild and humid climate of 
Ireland is well suited to this kind of vegetation. 
Evergreens are plentiful, but deciduous subjects are 
by no means neglected. Very striking and peculiar 
is an old.Beech hedge, of great height, shutting in a 
pathway as wiih two long and high walls. These 
hedges are well kept and trim, otherwise they would 
scon obstruct the pathway. The accompanying 
illustration shows a view of the lawn. 
The Irish Yews are allowed to assume their 
characteristic form, and two fine specimens are seen 
bordering the long walk. The English or common 
Yew is trimmed into semi-globular form. Towards 
the outskirts of the lawn a wealth of other Conifers 
apd deciduous trees and shrubs may be seen. On 
the right is au Ivy-mantled ruin with a small and 
distant view of the castle behind. 
- m%m -— 
SAXIFRAGA OPPOSIT1FOLIA. 
Like the Snowdrop, the purple-flowered and 
opposite-leaved Saxifrage delights in the cool 
weather of early spring, which on the mountain tops 
may mean from the middle to the end of May, 
though the blooms may last till June in the cooler 
positions, but little exposed to sunshine. Those who 
take delight in building rockeries, and planting them 
with Alpine flowers, might well take a lesson out of 
Nature’s book. I have seen it planted in pans and 
kept in frames, and also planted on rockeries in low¬ 
land gardens and towns, where it often appears only 
moderately happy. The fact is, when planted in 
sunny and dry positions, only a bare existence is 
The Lawn, Howth Castle, Howth, co. Dublin, 
possible, because, in summer, the moisture is so 
scanty that the roots get dried up and the leafy 
trailing stems baked with the sunshine. Sun, wind, 
rain, frost, and snow, it stands with impunity, but a 
cool atmosphere and plenty of moisture are neces¬ 
sary to make it happy. One beautiful morning on a 
2ist of May, I set myself the task of climbing Ben 
Lawsrs, the mild weather and the difficulty of the 
ascent making me perspire. By the time I bad 
reached an altitude of 2,000 ft. it was bitterly cold, 
and the wind now blowing with the force of a gale 
made climbing doubly or trebly difficult. The hoary 
head of the old Ben was enshrouded in clouds, and 
by the time I reached the mountain tarn, Lochan a' 
Chait (Loch of the wild cat), the clouds descended to 
meet me, and snow fell heavily till I descended to 
the valley of Loch Tay. The winter's snow, like 
crystalised sugar, still lay heavily in sheltered posi¬ 
tions, especially in Choire an Lochan a' Chait. 
Where the ground was bare, it was oozy, slimy, 
slippery, and most uncomfortably wet everywhere; 
and walking was difficult, even where the slope of 
the mountain appeared moderate. At 3,000 ft. eleva¬ 
tion, Saxifraga oppositifolia was plentiful on banks, 
edges of the rills, rocks, and grassy sods. Here and 
there were tufts or sods of the Saxifrage, purple with 
blooms as large as those often dubbed S o. major, 
and which would have delighted the heart of the 
most aimless and indifferent cultivator.— J. Mac I. 
VICTORIA REGIA. 
This noble aquatic plant, with its enormous floating 
leaves, inhabits the equatorial regions of South 
America. Although perennial in its native habitat, 
it is treated as an annual under cultivation, and 
raised annually from seed. The leaves naturally 
turn up all-round their margins to the extent of 2 in. 
or 3 in., and when fully developed, from 6 ft. to 8 ft. 
in diameter. Their beautiful, fragrant flowers are 
produced thirty to fifty on a plant in one season. 
The flowers resemble to some extent, only much 
larger than, our common Water Lily (Nymphaea 
alba), tbe petals exhibiting that gradual transition in 
form to that of stamens The fruit when ripe 
is a prickly, globular berry ; the outer portions decay, 
and allow the seeds to escape. The seeds should 
not be allo wed to remain out of water for any length 
of time, or they will lose their vitality. They are 
sown about the middle of February, planting each in 
a separate pot of loam (60-sized pot), and then 
immersed in a tank of water. The seeds require a 
temperature of 80° to go 0 to germinate, and this is 
maintained by passing hot water pipes through the 
bottom of the tank. This is easily regulated by 
means of a screw valve outside the tank. The young 
