474 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 24, 1900. 
Having chosen our site, which should be due 
north and south, we will proceed to put in their 
places those which will occupy a warm sunny aspect. 
Our soil should consist of good fibrous loam, peat, 
or leaf mould, and in the majority of cases should be 
added sharp grit or gravel; sometimes limestone 
chippings are needed. This helps to keep the soil 
porous for those which suit slanting fissures or pro¬ 
jecting ledges, viz., Androsace Chumbyi, A. sarmen- 
tosa, A. villosa, A. helvetica, A. pyrenaica, A. 
lanuginosa, and the variety Leichtlini. These last 
two, being of a trailing nature, should not be planted 
too near the first named sorts, which in shape are in 
compact rosettes with woolly leaves ; and in others 
they have silky hair-like coverings attached. 
Pockets filled with damped loam and of considerable 
depth are suitable to those Androsaces and other 
Alpines which may be of erect growth, such as 
Androsace carnea, which requires granite or sand¬ 
stone added to its soil. Alongside of it we can plant 
the species A. Chamaejasme, A. lactea, A. coronopi- 
folia, A. Laggeri, and A. vitaliana. We will now 
vary the flora to the tiny Star worts of the Rockies 
of Colorada, such as Erigeron trimorpheus and E. 
leiomeris. Next we should plant a colony of Dian- 
thus possessing gray or green foliage, pink or red 
flowers, which are either fringed or entire. Such 
kinds as the following are pleasing:— Dianthus 
alpestris, D. caesius, D. neglectus, D. alpinus, and D. 
Atkinsoni; also D. integer, a pretty white species. 
We will next have a change in colour to that of 
yellow in Sedum bridgianum, S. kamtschaticum, S. 
elegans, and S. middendorfianum, to pmk in Sedum 
Anacampseros S. Ewersi, S. turkestanicum, to white 
in Anemone palmata, and Alyssum spinosum, which 
also possesses white foliage. 
Overhanging Ledges, which are best for trailing 
plants, may be furnished with the red variety of 
Sapocaria ocymoides ; white in Gypsophila repens 
and Arenaria grandiflora ;• pink in Polygonum vac- 
ciniaefolium; Glossocomia clematidea, a charming 
rock plant, with bell-shaped flowers, and dark and 
yellow rings inside. 
Crevices and Fissures may be made to contain 
such plants as Edraianthus serpyllifolius, E. dalma- 
ticus, and E. pumilus. These are a pretty class of 
rock plants with more or less ball-shaped flowers, 
and bluish purple in colour. The last named has 
gray foliage. Phyteuma comosum is an interesting 
little subject to be in company with the gray spined 
foliage of Acantholimon venustum having flowers of 
a bright pink. Silene acaulis, Alsine Rosani and 
Saponaria lutea caespitosa do well to colonise to¬ 
gether with the dwarf white flowering Achilleas, and 
silver leaved Anthemis Aizoon. 
We do not get much in these drier positions in 
the way of blue. We have to make up soil of a 
moister nature which should be of peat and leaf 
mould, and a little sand added for those of very 
bright blue colouring, and of coarse the position 
must be lower down and more valley like in char¬ 
acter where we will place Gentiana verna, G. 
bavarica, G acaulis, G. septemfida, G. cruciata, G. 
Kesselringi, and G. asclepiadea, changing in size and 
colour in Gentiana lutea, G. thibetica, and G. asclep- 
iadea alba. We may also add Lithospermum pro¬ 
stratum and Omphalodes verna, besides dwarf forms 
of Pulmonaria, Cynoglossums, &c. 
Rising hillocks, with flat summits, may be fur¬ 
nished with plants somewhat of medium height, 
which will tend to break the monotony of dwarf and 
stunted kinds. They may include such forms as 
Geum coccineum, G. aureum, G. miniatum, Cam¬ 
panula Hostii, C. H. alba, C. rhomboidea, C. r. 
alba, Linum narbonense, L. monogynum, Anacamp¬ 
seros Borderi, Hieracium villosum, Linaria 
dalmatica, Scutellaria alpina, and Centaurea alpina. 
Many forms of dwarf Conifers can be made use 
of, with advantage, as well as the numerous alpine 
shrubs such as Senecio Greyi, Teucrium purpureum, 
Hypericum olympicum,Rhododendron Ghamaecistus, 
and others, not omitting a nice partly shaded nook 
for the smallest of all the Azaleas, Azalea pro- 
cumbens. 
For Winding Rocky Steps and stones which 
Otherwise would be bare, we may have Sedums, 
Thymuses, Sempervivums, Acaenas, &c., Aubrietias 
in variety. For long chains of crevices, running bet¬ 
ween rocks of great height, we may furnish to colour 
with the scarlet Zauschneria californica, and the 
interchanging of colour from white to pink in the 
trailing form ofVittadenia triloba. 
For Ledges and Ravines on the northern and 
eastern sides we can colonise, in groups, Saxifraga 
longifolia, Ramondia pyrenaica and alba, Haberlea 
rhodopensis. In the moister or lower ground we can 
fill up with a variety of mossy Saxlfragas, Dryas 
octopeta'.a, Primula sikkimensis, P. denticulata, P. 
cashmiriana, and P. capitata. In the ground of a 
bog nature we can use Spiraea gigantea and S. 
filpendula, Primula japonica, P. sieboldi, inter- 
sperssd with Osmundas, Ferns, juncuses.Carexes.&c. 
For the Pond or Lake we can give colour to it 
with the red, white and blue Nymphaeas marliacea, 
N. carnea, N. rosea, N. albida, N. Laydekeri rosea, 
and the blue form N. stellata, filling up the inter¬ 
vening spaces with smaller Aquatics such as the 
Aponogeton, Villarsia, Menyanthes, as well as many 
hardy Cypripediums, Myrsiphyllums, and others. 
For the Margins of Water we shall require 
different flora, as Caltha palustris, Sagittarias, Iris 
Kaempferi and Lythrum roseum. This I think will 
lend some idea as to outline of character in 
grouping and colonising plants on rocks, and in 
ground in the Alpine garden. 
(To be continued..) 
COUNTRY CHILDREN AND NATURE 
KNOWLEDGE. 
Here in England we have fallen, or perhaps one 
should say drifted, into a great educational mistake. 
As a matter of fact we have been giving a training 
to country children which to all intents and purposes 
is the same as that to be gained in the schools of 
towns. From this it follows that the ability of the 
boys is not judged from the proper standpoint. 
Even the lads supposed to be the cleverest will be 
no better fitted than their fellows for a rural life, 
where powers of accurate observation and a know¬ 
ledge of plant and animal requirements may lead to 
their ultimate success as men. On the contrary the 
training they have received, if they use their most 
ready qualifications for earning their living, will 
throw them into competition with a host of clerKS, 
who, if town bred, may have had greater advantages, 
and they will soon find their own level. 
Under such circumstances it is of paramount im¬ 
portance that parents and children alike should 
appreciate that in many cases it may pay “ better 
to wear a fustian jacket or the smock frock than it 
does to wear the black coat.” Furthermore, success 
or comfort in life is not alone to be determined by 
the number of shillings a week which are received. 
A clerk in the city may earn three times as much as 
a farm-hand, but he may also have to pay four times 
as much for rent, his clothes will cost more money, 
and as a rule fares to and from his place of business 
will have to be deducted from his income. In the 
end the worker with the pen may be decidedly the 
worse off of the two, and find himself unable even 
to indulge in those amusements which go some way 
to make a town life supportable. 
Writers have dwelt upon the added pleasure 
which a knowledge of what Nature is doing around 
us gives to existence, and everybody knows what a 
difference in the character of work is manifest when 
the operator has an intelligent interest in it, and 
does not merely consider it a piece of routine. 
Small wonder is it that from every side we hear de¬ 
mands that proper “ rural education ” shall be 
arranged for in this country. Other countries have 
felt bound to insist on some knowledge of Nature 
being imparted by means of object lessons, which 
shall lead on towards the mastering of the elements 
of horticulture and agriculture, and render intelli¬ 
gible at least the simpler operations in these subjects. 
Not only on the Continents of Europe and America, 
but throughout the English Colonial Empire such 
instruction is either compulsory or energetically 
encouraged. 
The English Education Department has admitted 
the necessity of a change, and such subjects as we 
have indicated can even now be taken at the option 
of the teacher in rural schools. The results, in 
spite of a number of marked successes achieved by 
enthusiasts, do not make the present system desir¬ 
able, but what has been done will save us from the 
necessity of going to France or Germany, or even 
the United States with its splendid arrangements for 
agricultural education,for an example of what and how 
to teach The outward and visible sign of the move¬ 
ment to effect the change may be found in the recently 
constituted Agricultural Education Committee and its 
work. At the invitation of the authorities this body has 
already suggested a syllabus of the work desirable, 
but much in the way of details is properly left to the 
individuality of the teacher. Those who are privi¬ 
leged to read this draft through cannot fail to be 
struck with the advantage that must accrue to the 
cultivator who from a practical examination of 
actual things learns the beginnings of scientific 
knowledge which The Gardening World has 
often shown the value of. There can be no doubt 
that having become familiar with cultural processes 
out of doors, and applied in his mind’s eye the 
theory learned in the schoolroom, a country lad 
would be in a very good position to become a suc¬ 
cessful gardener or worker on a farm. In the first 
walk of life the proposed calculations specially 
adapted to a farmer's requirements will not be of 
much direct use, but like any other arithmetic it will 
serve to sharpen the wits and improve the general 
education. Nothing better than the suggested work 
on seeds and plants and insects could be devised for 
the embryo horticulturist. 
In conclusion, it may not be unwise to point out 
the difficulties in the way of ‘ 1 rural education.' ’ Some 
people are against any change; to others the climb¬ 
ing out of a groove is troublesome. Again, if good 
is to be done all-round teachers will require a special 
training. As regards those who qualify for their 
work in the future this may be ensured. Teachers 
now at work, however, may not have the opportunity 
of attending classes in their hard earned leisure 
time, or may not be inclined to do so. The intro¬ 
duction of itinerant teachers, it seems, then, may be 
necessary, but these may not be welcomed in all 
classes at first, and they could hardly do as much 
good as an enthusiastic teacher always on the spot to 
take advantage of special opportunities. Lastly, the 
question of money to carry out the alterations and 
to encourage the work must not be overlooked. 
There is not the slightest reason, however, why 
rural education should not be introduced by gentle 
steps, and we hope to see one of these taken very 
soon. 
Since the foregoing was written a new code for 
day schools has been issued by the Education 
Department, which will have the effect of differenti¬ 
ating rural from urban education and will allow for 
it in all cases to be of a kind useful to the individ¬ 
uals and places to which and for which it is to be 
given.— W. M. W. 
PLANTS RECENTlTcERTIFIC ATE D. 
The awards here mentioned were made by the 
Royal Horticultural Society on the 13th inst. : 
Orchid Committee. 
Odontoglossum elegans Eastwood Park var. 
—The typical form of O. elegans is a supposed 
natural hybrid between O. cristatum and O. 
cirrhosum. The variety under notice is a great im¬ 
provement upon the type on account of the bold and 
prominent maroon-brown blotches on the soft 
creamy-yellow sepals and petals. The base of the 
lip is bright yellow, with long fringes to the crest, 
and a brown blotch in front of the latter. The 
flowers are also larger than the type and very hand¬ 
some. (First-class Certificate). Baron Schroder 
(gardener, Mr. H. Ballantine), The Dell, Egham. 
Dendrobium burberryanum. —The parents of 
this pretty hybrid were D. findlayanum x D. 
dominianam. The flowers are of good size, with 
bright purple sepals and petals, fading to a much 
paler shade towards the base. The lip is maroon at 
the base, creamy in the middle, and tipped with soft 
purple. (Award of Merit.) Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart, 
(grower, Mr. W. H. White), Burford Lodge, Dorking. 
Odontoglossum crispum Oakfield Sunrise.— 
A great amount of attention centered upon this plant 
owing to its being different from anything ever seen 
before. The sepals are ovate, blunt, crisped and 
white. The petals are rhomboid, obtuse, revolute at 
the tip and sides, the base and apex being white, 
while a large area is nearly of a uniform reddish- 
brown. On this dark area is a small crest, which we 
believe explains the phenomenal character of the 
variety, namely, that it is an attempt to form three 
lips, making a peloria. The lip proper is pale 
yellow with a few purple spots, and somewhat revo¬ 
lute at the sides like the petals. (Award of Merit). 
Thomas Baxter, Esq. (gardener, Mr. R Roberts) 
Oakfield, Morecambe. 
