490 
THE GARDENING WORL’D, 
March 31, 190C. 
resorted to are all helpful to effect propagation. The 
most defiant of all we have met with is the Romneya 
Coulteri, which will neither give us satisfying results 
from seeds nor cuttings. 
Herbaceous Border. 
We will now turn our attention to the herbaceous 
border. This, if a hundred yards in length and 
twelve in width, it would contain a large collec¬ 
tion which would produce blend of colour and be 
useful as cut flowers, and so arranged as to produce 
bloom more or less at all seasons. 
The soil should consist of good loam, retentive in 
its nature and of good depth. Rotten stable or cow 
manure must be added should the soil prove poor 
and light in quality. 
The plants should be arranged to order and height, 
so that each may have its sufficiency of space for 
growth. We may place in the background the tall 
kinds such as Helianthus orgyalis, the tallest of all 
the Helianthuses. Delphiniums may alternate with 
Spiraea Aruncus. Inula Helenium, with large leaves, 
forms huge clumps, so that it wants plenty of room ; 
it would be well to place it central. 
We have yellow figuring very much in quantity in 
Helianthus rigidus, H. Miss Hellish, H. multiflorus, 
and its varieties; besides the many Rudbeckias, 
Helenium Hopesi, H. autumnale, and others, and 
tall Asters in variety. All these forming the back 
row may be blended with clumps of tall Hollyhocks, 
and the contrasting foliage and flower of Acanthus 
mollis and Liatris pycnostachya. 
The middle row of medium height can be supplied 
from the numerous Paeony hybrids, alternating with 
Achillea the Pearl, white and blue Campanulas, 
Oenotheras, Rudbeckia Newmani, Aster Amelius, A. 
ericoides and A. bessarabicus, Physostegias, Chrys- 
ocoma, Helenium pumilum, Centaureas, and Chrys¬ 
anthemum maximum varieties. All these forming 
the middle grouping may be blended with tall Lilium 
varieties, Gladiolus, and Tritomas. 
The front row should contain dwarf kinds such as 
Geum coccineum, G. miniatum, dwarf Liatris, 
Heuchera sanguinea, and Heucheras in variety of 
bronze and mottled foliage, dwarf Funkias, Armerias 
Asclepias tuberosa, and Statices in all their dwarf 
forms. These may be blended with the many forms 
of highly coloured annuals. Intervening spaces can 
be filled and carpeted with many of the alpines 
such as the Saxifraga, mossy kinds in particular, 
Veronica alpina and its many other forms, Anten- 
narias, Aubrietias, Thrifts, &c. These can be again 
blended by the Crocus, Scilla, Tulip, and clumps of 
Hyacinths. 
Early flowers such as these and the varieties of 
oriental Hellebores need protecting from frosts and 
cold winds which occur more or less during their 
period of bloom. Those arriving at maturity to¬ 
wards summer will require our attention as to thin¬ 
ning, staking, tying, weeding and watering if needed 
during seasons of drought. But, of course, much can 
be done by mulchings of manure, &c., to prevent a 
rapid evaporation at the roots. Staking and tying, 
too, is an important feature which we do not often 
spare much interest on, the taller perennials are 
much better staked and done in a way to preserve 
the outline of the plant or clump to its natural 
appearance. Those of medium height are much the 
best with forked branches stuck in, and around, so 
that the outer stems can fall or droop over in order 
to maintain the natural form or appearance, rather 
than having them spoilt by the one stick and a sharp 
tie. 
Autumn comes when the flowering season is on the 
wane, but nevertheless there will be a sprinkling of 
bloom here and there to be found in the Autumn 
Crocus and Amaryllis, and among the tall Asters, 
Tritomas, late Sunflowers, &c. Many coloured fruits 
and leaves will be taking the place of the host of 
flowers which are fast disappearing. The scarlet 
fruit of Physalis Franchetti, and P. Alkekengi, wild 
Iris, and Paeonia triternata will now be at their best, 
besides the long black fruited racemes of Aralia 
edulis and A. casbmirica. 
In the bog and alpine garden we shall see the 
matured fru't of Gunnera scabra and G. manicata, 
which produce coral and claret coloured spikes of 
seed, of huge growth, besides various blends of 
colour to be found among the plants and leaves, all 
telling the ! r own tale that summer bloom is just over, 
and now drawing to a close. 
The ground at this time may be dug over, and 
if the stools of plants are decayed in their centres 
they should be taken up and divided, and the border 
trenched. This needs to be done, that is, depending 
upon the nature of soil, every second or third year. 
Propagating. —This as with Alpines is mainly 
effected through the production of the large quantity 
of seeds; secondly, by divisions both of crown and 
root; thirdly, by cuttings, particularly in the autumn 
for annuals and biennials. Springtime is best for 
perennials, by taking the advantage of the earliest 
shoots which appear. Fourthly, a mode of grafting 
can be adopted as in Paeonies and Statices. 
Having gone through with the general character, 
somewhat roughly, of the plants which more or less 
adorn this part of the garden, I now, in concluding, 
add that many of these which I have made mention 
of, along with others such as Shortia galacifolia and 
many of the early group of spring-flowering alpines 
and border perennials may be grown in pots or 
pans and made use of to furnish some corner of the 
greenhouse. Of course, where large collections are 
grown the alpine house may be the first show house 
of the season. 
For Pot Culture. —We must follow upon the 
simple and similar lines we have done outdoors. 
Roots must have their perfect drainage as well as 
the crowns, which, of course, must be supported 
upon, and amoDg minature rock ledges and crevices 
in order that they may have as near as possible 
their own natural surroundings. Of course, the 
soils they flourish in best must be selected for them, 
besides the strata of rock they love most, which may 
be either limestone, granite, or chalk. 
Watering needs to be limited in winter time, and 
many require protecting in a cold frame with lights 
overhead, whilst those outdoors should be covered 
with sheets of glass to prevent the decay of their 
crowns by too much moisture which would other¬ 
wise lodge there. 
The best protection is their own mantle of snow 
which they get all the winter through up in the 
heights of the alpine regions. But being brought 
to the climate of lower levels, and subjected to the 
many conditions of our atmosphere in England, 
glass has to be used. In summer they like plenty of 
water,providing they are well drained, and this is best 
done towards evening, and a light sprinkle overhead 
in the morning proves of great benefit to them. For 
those which are cultivated in frames the lights may 
remain off altogether during this season. 
There are a few which it would do well to take 
note of before I finally close, which should always 
have a place in every collection, as they are 
extremely useful for pot culture, viz. Romneya 
Coulteri, the Californian tree Poppy, Gerbera 
Jamesoni and Orange River Daisy, quite distinct in its 
orange-red colour from all others in the composite 
family. Incarvillea Delavayi, a native of northern 
China, has Gloxinia-like flowers, distinct from all 
the other hardy plants. Eremurus robustus and its 
companion, E. himalaicus, are rarely seen in flower 
owing to the time they take to mature themselves to 
reach that stage. One or two varieties of Rud¬ 
beckias are somewhat new, such as Golden Glow and 
Autumn Glory. Among alpines we have had the 
flora of the Rocky Mountains recently introduced 
to us. 
Time will not allow to enlarge upon those which 
are useful to furnish rock walls, dry banks, stumps 
of trees, &c., besides others which are plants of 
climbing nature,— Alfred Tucker. 
Botanic Nomenclature.—At the meeting of the 
Linnean Society, on the ist inst., Mr. C. B. Clarke, 
F R.S , F.L.S., read a paper on " Botanic Nomen¬ 
clature.” He showed that the new rule adopted at 
Berlin—not to disturb names that had fifty years' 
user on the ground of priority alone—resulted in a 
practical uniformity with the system of naming 
adopted by Mr. Bentham and Sir J. D. Hooker. 
The Old World, he said, had thus reached a fair 
general agreement in nomenclature. The American 
botanists follow a new system which aims at finality 
on a so-called “non-shifting basis" in which the 
genus or species, as the case may be, is established 
on a type-specimen. Mr. Clarke’s paper was devoted 
mainly to showing by selected instances that this 
system did not ensure finality; that the errors in 
determining what should be ranked as the type are 
enough to discredit the system; and the author 
commented on the disputed question whether a plant 
should be given the oldest specific name bestowed 
upon it, or the oldest specific name it bears in the 
genus in which it is now placed. A discussion 
followed in which Messrs. Daydon, Jackson, H. J. 
Elwes, A. W. Bennett, A B. Rendle, E. M. Holmes 
H. Groves, and the President took part. 
- ■» !«— -— 
NURSERY VISITS. 
Mr. John Russell, Richmond. 
Some of our readers may recall the notes of a visit 
to the large Brentwood nursery of the John Russell 
firm, which appeared in the Gardening World 
last autumn. Besides the Brentwood establishment 
there are three other nurseries belonging to the same 
firm, one at Richmond, in Surrey, where much of 
the glass, the offices, and a seed-shop are, the other, 
being called the American nurseries, at Milford, near 
Mr. Louis Russell. 
Richmond, together with the Wood Lane Nurseries, 
Isleworth, Middlesex, where the bulk of the propa¬ 
gating is done. It will thus be seen that the business 
done by the sons of the late Mr. John Russell is ex¬ 
tensive, and that, as specialists in ornamental ever¬ 
greens and flowering shrubs, but particularly the 
former, they stand second to none in this particular 
section. The general trade of a first-class nursery 
is also included in their business, that is, garden 
seeds, nursery stock, fruit trees, Roses, bulbs, &c. 
At this season the houses at Richmond are closely 
filled with spring flowering shrubs for forcing, such 
as double-flowering Cherries, Staphyleas, Ghent, 
Indian and mollis Azaleas, various ornamental 
Prunus, Kerrias, and Spiraeas. The report on their 
group of Azaleas exhibited on the 13th inst. at the 
Drill Hall, makes it needless to say more on this 
head. The general collection in the houses is just the 
same as those which were placed for public scrutiny 
in the Hall at Westminster. Whether we fully appreci¬ 
ate the fact or not, one thing is undeniable, that 
nothing which we grow for spring embellishment is 
finer than the forced Azaleas (to take an instance), 
whether they be the sinensis, the mollis, or the 
hybrid types. 
And there is another class of plants which are far 
too sparingly indulged in, namely, the Japanese 
Maples. The trouble they cause is absolutely not 
worth consideration, while, for soothing beauty, a 
beauty which, from its freshness, its grace, and its 
charm, lays hold of one, we reflect in vain for their 
equal. Acer palmatum is a pretty species, having 
five- to seven-lobed foliage, and is the type of a 
number of our best varieties, such as A. p. sanguin- 
eum, a blood-red variety, which is even better than 
A. p. autro-purpureum. For lightness, A. p. palma- 
tifidum, with deeply lobed foliage of a bright green 
colour, is charming, and is one of the finest. A. p. 
dissectum has deeply serrated lobes, and A. p. roseo- 
marginatum, with the rosy edges, may be taken as 
