426 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 3. 1900 
CYCLAMEN AT READING. 
The quaint beauty and utility of the flowers of the 
greenhouse race of Cyclamen will long ensure their 
popularity with the general public. Even those 
gardeners who have not yet made a speciality of 
them, or mastered the secrets of success under con¬ 
ditions that are not always favourable to success, 
warmly admire well grown collections that come 
under their notice ; and we feel certain that success¬ 
ful cultivators will continue to increase in proportion 
to the desire to possess them for conservatory and 
greenhouse decoration in winter. 
We recently had the pleasure of inspecting the 
houses filled with Cyclamen in the nursery of Messrs. 
Sutton & Sons, at the Portland Road Nurseries, 
Reading. The plants commenced flowering in 
November last, and, as the buds are developed in 
succession, a grand display is maintained for several 
months together, in spite of the fact that seed pods 
are allowed to develop from an early period of their 
career. In this respect they differ strikingly from 
Chinese Primulas, whose flowers begin to drop soon 
after the fertilising brush has been applied. 
The old Persicum strain has been developed 
beyond all recognition within the last twenty years, 
and are now scarcely, if at all, inferior to the original 
of the Giganteum strain, which has likewise main¬ 
tained the pace. Vulcan is still the darkest colour, 
not only in the Persicum, but in all types. It is also 
of dwarf habit, and very floriferous, the intense 
crimson flowers making a splendid foil to the pure 
white varieties, such as Sutton’s White Butterfly, 
which is likely to be popular for many years to 
come. The snowy purity of the flowers, and their 
profusion is a guarantee of this; for it is the most 
floriferous of all the white varieties. Salmon Queen 
is the most distinct colour of recent innovations, and 
is a charming flower, whether viewed by itself or by 
contrast with any other variety. The type dis¬ 
tinguished by the appellation of Crimson and White 
maintains the original hues of what we take to be, If 
not the original type, at least one of the first breaks 
from the wild C. latifolium (persicum), obtained, so 
to say, by the washing out of the pink hue from the 
upper part of the petals, and concentrating the 
purple at the base of the same. The variety has, in 
fact, been made more decided and distinctive, 
Another one belonging to the same strain is pmk, of 
so decided a tint as to be describable as rosy-pink. 
The giant strain is fully as varied as the older race 
above mentioned. Giant White holds the same 
position here with regard to colour, as White Butter¬ 
fly does in the Persicum strain, though the two are 
otherwise perfectly distinct both in size and form. 
New colours continue to be added to the giant race, 
and this is an earnest of the advance that continues 
to be made by Messrs. Sutton & Sons. Giant Vul¬ 
can has now been obtained in small quantity ; and 
the same may be said of Giant Salmon Queen. Giant 
Pink is of taller habit than the above mentioned, and 
the length of the flowers is also a remarkable feature. 
Giant Crimson is, if anything, more floriferous, the 
colour being as described by the name. Somewhat 
paler is Giant Purple. Then we have other 
colours in Giant Rose and Giant White, the 
colours of which are sufficiently indicated as to re¬ 
quire no description beyond the fact that they have 
been selected for perpetuation on account of their 
decided shades of colour. While all may be raised 
from seeds in separate colours, they may be had in 
mixture if so required. 
The Papilio strain is gaining in popular favour on 
account of the broad and rounded outline of the 
petals, and their crisped or fringed margins. The 
colours are already fairly numerous, including white, 
purple, rose-purple, white and soft purple, and other 
hues. 
The long stalks of all the strains enable the flowers 
to be pulled (not cut) and used for decorative work 
in company with cut flowers or separately in house 
embellishment. Next autumn and winter’s stock 
was sown in November, and the seedlings are 
coming along favourably. 
The white, rosy and pink flowers of Primula 
obconica are annually improving in size; and their 
abundance makes them very effective for conserva¬ 
tory decoration. There is every prospect of a future 
for this species. A batch of hybrid Streptocarpus 
is both pretty and interesting, because the plants have 
been raised by hybridising the ordinary hybrid race 
with S. Wendlandii. The flowers are blue or violet 
and larger, while the stems are shorter than those 
of 5 . Wendlandii, which develops only one incon¬ 
veniently large leaf. The new strain commenced 
flowering in November. 
The tuberous Begonias for the forthcoming display 
next summer are already advancing through the 
seedling stage. Those of the B. semperflorens type 
were pricked off some weeks ago. Fine batches of 
Saintpaulia ionantha and S. i. alba show what a 
profusion of flowers they are capable of producing, 
not only at midwinter but all other seasons. The 
popular Begonia Gloire de Lorraine has been 
flowering profusely and continuously since last 
May. 
The frames are well stocked with batches of other 
popular flowers. The ordinary and highly developed 
garden strain of Cinerarias commenced flowering at 
least a month ago; and the same may be said of C. 
stellata, the plants being large, healthy, and vigor¬ 
ous, though most of them are grown only in 32 size 
pots. Calla Little Gem is also well grown here. 
The famous Reading strain of Calceolarias gives 
promise of being as fine as ever. The plants are 
grown in 24 size and smaller pots, the surface of 
which is covered with the healthy and massive 
eaves, indicative of the best of treatment. 
-—5—- 
INSECTICIDES. 
An American contemporary thus sums up our 
present knowledge of the use of insecticides :—- 
1. No one agent is effective against all pests. 
2. A combination of destructive agents far more 
effective than a single one. 
3. Certain slow breathing and very resistant 
forms of pests required to be treated with repeated 
doses. 
4. Necessity of watching for second broods, as 
insecticides have no effects on the^eggs. 
5. Thoroughness of application essential. 
Owing to the danger attached to the use of 
potassium cyanide, this does not seem to make much 
progress as an insecticide. 
-- a-—— 
AN OUTLINE OF CHARACTER AND 
CULTURE OF THE HERBACEOUS 
AND ALPINE FLORA.* 
The above heading is connected with a subject 
which is a very large one, and includes, if we take 
into consideration all the various kinds which are 
cultivated in an up-to-date garden, those which are 
in use for the herbaceous border, dry and wet posi¬ 
tions, the shade loviDg, edges of woodland walks, 
ornamental water, and finally the alpine garden or 
rockery. Each part can be furnished with its own 
particular plant or plants, adapted to grow in the 
various places mentioned. Nor must we forget the 
fact there are other classes of herbaceous plants 
which are in use as food, others as fodder for cattle, 
and a vast number of great value in medicine. In 
point of number a subject of this kind contains an 
endless amount of species and varieties to enumer¬ 
ate in detail; therefore we will confine ourselves to 
those of the flowering kinds which furnish both rock 
garden and herbaceous border, combining in effective 
grouping and colouring, also their use as cut flowers 
for decorative purposes. 
Their limits as to age or period of growth may be 
from a few weeks to several years, and may be 
classed as perennials, biennials, and annuals. I think 
we all pretty well understand these terms. In size, 
height, habit, structure, of foliage, flower, colour, 
and odour possesed in the many natural orders, they 
all differ and differentiate in the many genera and 
species contained in any one order. 
We find those of the alpine flora very dwarf com¬ 
pared with those growing in low lands or valleys, 
the latter ranging in height from 18 in to that of 10 
ft. or more, as we find in some Sunflowers, Spiraeas, 
&c., whilst others like Gunnera manicata have 
foliage of an enormous size, from 20 ft. to 70 ft. in 
circumference, specimens of which attain that 
measure when grown as a water-side plant. Flowers, 
too, are smaller as we ascend the mountain, and 
more so as we near the summit, only appearing as 
tiny specks on the plants, as in the case of the tiny 
alpine Forget-me-Not, Eritrichium nanum, whilst 
: Read before the Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ Association, 
February 14th, 1900, by Alfred Tucker, of the Reyal Nurseries 
Exeter. 
large flowers, are to be found in the Sunflower 
family, belonging to the order Compositae, taking the 
form of round heads, flat discs, and encircled by the 
ray florets of golden-yellow ; whilst those of the 
Rudbeckias have rising central cones, surrounded by 
their ray florets of lemon-yellow. As to habit, the 
flowers are generally throughout erect growing, and 
possess all the many shades of the foregoing 
colour. 
In Campanulacae, which include the Hare-bell 
genus, we have those of a more or less drooping 
character ; flowers bell-shaped and blue, the leading 
colour throughout, white occurring only in a few 
instances. 
Plants of this order vary in height from a few 
inches to 5 ft. or 6 ft. Many of the smaller forms 
are pleasing subjects for the alpine garden; whereas 
the taller ones are useful for grouping in the border- 
In the biennials belonging to this family the bells 
are very large and in shape like a cup and saucer, 
but differ in point of colour from those of the peren¬ 
nial form, which is mainly blue, whilst these merge 
into white and rose tints. But we generally assume 
that blue is the colour for the Campanula, because 
so many of the vast number of species belonging to 
the order possess this shade of colour. 
Among rock plants blue figures very conspicuously, 
and no order sets it off so well as the Gentianaceae, 
particularly in Gentiana verna, G. bavarica, and G. 
acaulis. Again, in Boragineae we have a pleasing 
form of trailing plant which shows it up to advan¬ 
tage, viz., Lithospermum prostratum. Also, it 
shines out a variety of tints in lighter or darker 
shades in many of the bush-like forms of Pulmona- 
rias, Borage, Cynoglossums, Omphalodes, &c. In 
the tall perennials we find it very marked in the 
order Ranunculaceae, in the forms of Delphinium 
hybrids, and parental species of Aconitum. 
Blue is generally first in season, and making its 
appearance in the alpine garden in the species of 
Chionodoxa, Scllla sibirica, Anemone blanda, and 
Hepatica ; and I might add it is generally the last 
to be seen in the fall of the year among the tall 
forms of Asters. Blue as a colour is more manifested 
in its brightest hues among mountain plants—more 
so than you will generally find among taller peren¬ 
nials, which are more fitting to furnish the herbace¬ 
ous border ; and I venture to say it ranks second on 
the list of plants over which it presides or governs. 
I mention this because, in speaking of colours, 
yellow stands first, that is to say, it predominates 
over the largest number of flowering plants, both 
among the herbaceous and alpine perennials and 
throughout the vegetable Kingdom, and particularly 
so in the largest of natural orders, Compositae, 
which have for their primary colour that of yellow, 
from that of the rich golden to those of softer hue of 
lemon-yellow tints. 
The next colour, and one of extreme value to the 
florist, is white, but I am inclined to say it is rather 
spare, that is, as a clear white amoDg tall perennials. 
It figures in Physostegia virginica alba, tall forms of 
Phlox, and Funkia grandiflora, the best of all whites 
as a hardy flower. White is also prominent in Ane¬ 
mone japonica alba, and a few types of Achillea and 
Campanula persicifolia alba. True, we have it in 
its many shades to be found among our Spiraeas, 
Centaurea and Chrysanthemum maximum types 
The colour appears clear again, and in the 
majority among the many which are in use in the 
rockery, in the forms of Iberis, Arabis, Androsace 
Arenaria, &c. But of course these being of a 
very dwarf nature they do not play a very important 
part in use as cut flowers. 
Red is the next colour, one we could not very well 
do without. It is poorly represented among Alpines, 
that is, a clear scarlet, with the exception of 
Zauschneria ; although Saponaria ocymoides 
splendens, and Calandrinia umbellata, Androsace 
Chumbyi, Dianthus Atkinsoni, as a deep blood red, 
and its allied companion, D. cruentus, are very 
charming objects on the projecting rocks of the 
alpine garden. Yet for good clear reds we have to 
call in the additional blends of the bulbous section 
of the herbaceous flora in the many species of tall 
and dwarf kinds of Tulips, &c., known in commerce. 
The colour appears at its best, and of the most 
striking hue in the large majority of the annuals 
which are grown, more particularly dwarf Phloxes, 
Zinnias, and others. 
The taller perennials cannot claim in this colour a 
very large number, although it is shewn in variety of 
