522 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
April 14, 1900, 
» » n — * " 
Walking round the house we picked out a few of 
the best and most highly evolved flowers. The old 
Empress of India, which was so much admired 
twenty years ago, or even more recently, now 
appears quite a puny thing by the side of the giant 
flowered progeny, of which it was one of the parents. 
It is only by comparing the past with the present 
that one can realise the splendid advance which has 
been made with these garden creations of the florist, 
who in this instance, is Mr. John Heal, V.M.H. 
Thurina is a well expanded crimson flower, 
deepening to maroon in the throat. A very large 
and distinct flower is Cleopas, which may be des¬ 
cribed as greenish-white, heavily splashed with 
maroon crimson. An uncommon colour is presented 
by Francisca, an orange-red flower, shaded with 
violet. John Ruskin is one of the largest size, the 
huge flower being much flattened out, and of a deep 
orange-red. Of the delicately pale and almost white 
flowers, Lady Buller is, in our opinion, one of the 
most charming, because it is a large and shapely 
flower, well expanded, and white, except for a few 
lines of a soft red. The filaments are also white, 
and the very base of the flower of a soft Apple green. 
It deserves a place in the most select collection. 
Quite of another type is Navius, with a heavy 
splash of bright scarlet on the clear white ground 
of the upper half of each segment. The contrast is 
bright and cheerful. Adrastos is also a large white 
flower, lined and netted with orange-scarlet, or even 
heavily splashed on the edge of the segments. 
Optima, on the contrary, is a huge, intense crimson 
flower, with a short six-rayed star. The prince of 
the new varieties, flowering for the first time, is 
James H. Veitch, the huge flowers of which are of 
an intense maroon-crimson, rich, lustrous, and in¬ 
tensifying somewhat in the throat. It is, moreover, 
the largest self-coloured flower ever raised here, and 
puts all others in the shade. The uppermost of the 
outer petals is 3 in. or 4 in. wide, so that they over¬ 
lap each other beautifully. The flower scape is 
vigorous and of a dark bronzy-green, quite unusual 
among the Amaryllis. The usual rays forming the 
the star are here absent. 
Syrens is a flower of medium size, with broad, 
widely recurving segments, of good substance, and 
crimson-red. Polias is white and lined with rosy- 
red on either side of the broad white rays of the star. 
The broad segments of Novatus are orange-scarlet, 
with white tips and a short, pale green star. Ios is 
a well expanded flower, with some crimson lines 
flaming out from either side of the midrib of the 
three upper segments, the rest being white. A 
chaste, pretty and well expanded flower is Ignacite, 
which is of a soft white with a few faint red lines on 
either side of the long rays. One of the most dis¬ 
tinct in colour is Emita, which is heavily lined with 
rosy-purple on a white ground all over the flower 
except on the long-rayed star and the pale green 
base. Cupid is bright orange-scarlet, running into 
lines on the lower half. 
In Feodora we have another very distinct type of 
flower, the segments ascending rather sharply in the 
lower portion, and then suddenly spreading out almost 
horizontally. The segments are as broad as to make 
a round and regular flower, which is white and deli¬ 
cately tinted with purple here and there. Altogether 
it is very pleasing. Ornatus is a large and deep 
crimson flower, with a short green star. Leo is of 
a clear white, lined with crimson-red on either side 
of the long white rays. It is a chaste and pretty 
flower of clearly defined colours. Heckla is a huge 
flattened flower, of a deep red, with a pale green 
throat. On the contrary, Lyso is a short, stiffly- 
built flower, with crimson bands on a white ground 
Merula is of a bright and sparkling carmine, with 
white rays stretching half way down the flower. A 
strikingly distinct colour on the way to yellow was 
that which suggested khaki, and flowering for the 
first time it was named Khaki. The whole flower is 
of the colour indicated, with the exception of pale 
green rays which extend almost to the tips of the 
segments. The flower is by no means unattractive, 
and certainly strikingly novel. 
Sagana is heavily lined with dark purple veins on a 
white ground, thus making a pleasing variety. 
Velica is a bell-shaped fl jwer of a uniform, brilliant 
crimson-scarlet. One of the darkest flowers is 
Nazara, being of an intense crimson, deepening to 
maroon in the throat. Acacus is difficult of descrip¬ 
tion, as the colours consist of a combination or mix¬ 
ture of orange, red, and rosy purple. Eudora, like 
several of the above, is flowering for the first time, 
and is of an intense maroon-crimson, almost obliter- 
ing the rays. The bell-shaped flowers of Pera are 
orange-scarlet, and netted with that hue on a white 
ground, over the greater part of the flower. Gigonus 
is a huge flower of a rosy orange-red, with a pale 
green throat. The segments are very broad, over¬ 
lapping one another considerably. The queen of the 
whites at present is Iphis, on account of its great 
size, and widely expanded character. It is the most 
nearly pure white in the collection, having only 
some faint tints of pink towards the edges of the 
flower. The throat is of a pale apple green, thus 
finishing off a chaste and beautiful flower. There 
is more colour in Lady Buller, as we stated above, 
but the shapely build of the flower will make it a 
rival for Iphis. Both of them will undoubtedly find 
many admirers. 
Botanically these flowers belong to the genus 
Hippeastrum, rendered in English by Knight’s Star. 
The latter word refers to the white or green band 
usually running through the centre of each segment, 
and as there are six segments to the flower this will 
explain the frequent occurrence of the term " six- 
rayed star.” The accompanying illustration, p. 521, 
shows what we mean by a widely-expanded flower of 
the best modern type. The six-rayed star is here 
very short, but characteristic all the same. 
NATIONAL FLORAL EMBLEMS. 
The recent burst of emotion, for it is probably get¬ 
ting more substantial, seen in connection with the 
wearing of Shamrock on St. Patrick's Day, naturally 
draws attention to the subject of national floral 
emblems. It is true that of Ireland is not floral, but 
it is enough for the purpose, as is the Leek, which 
the Welshman favours. But the English emblem, 
a Rose, is essentially floral; and if the Thistle of 
Scotland is far from being a desirable flower, yet it 
is floral al) the same. 
That of our neighbour, France, used to be the 
Fleur de Lis, or as commonly called Flower de Luce; 
but I think it went out of fashion as a national 
emblem with the Bourbons, and the favourite flower 
now is the Violet. What may be the floral emblems 
of other countries I do not know, but at least Eng¬ 
land with her customary bold assertiveness has 
adopted the Queen of flowers, and now none dare 
dispute her right to the Rose. But in spite of our 
having, as a nation, so beautiful and so universally 
grown an emblem, no one seems now to wear it as 
such, but only just as they would wear any other 
flower, because it is one so universally admired. 
A society seems to have been recently formed with 
the object of popularising St. George's Day, April 
23rd, as the national festal day of England’s patron 
saint, and to induce all English people to follow the 
Irish emblem practice, and wear a Rose. It is un, 
fortunate for this desire that Roses are far from 
being plentiful on that date. Unlike the Primrose, 
which has been made into a party political emblem, 
and which is abundantly blooming on April 19th, 
the Rose is flowering only, just then, in warm houses 
or is found in the forcing trade or in Italian importa¬ 
tions, and Englishmen would hardly care to celebrate 
the feast of St. George with the aid of flowers 
grown out of England. 
If it were really desired, whether from mere 
transient emotion, or from some enduring patriotic 
or national feeling to have a national Rose day, then 
none would be better for the purpose than midsum¬ 
mer day, as just then roses are in great abundance 
everywhere. But it seems very doubtful whether 
English people, unless for some party purpose 
would care to establish any flower day, whether it be 
with a Rose or other bloom. It was most unfortu¬ 
nate that Primrose day was established for political 
objects, because it has done so much to render the 
wearing of this floral emblem distasteful; yet there 
should be in the nation enough pure patriotism to 
cause every right-minded, sensible person to gladly 
wear a Rose on some national flower day to show 
that he was for the time above party, and a pure 
Briton only. Of course, in such case it would be 
odd did the Irish people copy our doings as we did 
the other day, somewhat unfairly, over the wearing 
of the Shamrock, as by so doing we were stealing 
Ireland's long cherished emblem, and helping to kill 
what has, with Irish people, been for centuries a 
cherished national sentiment. We should, I think, 
soon find all pure nationality in floral emblems 
killed. Probably, then the British Empire would 
have to be represented by a conglomerate emblem, 
the Rose, Thistle, Leek, Shamrock, and a dozen 
colonial products, making of a typical at least a 
somewhat huge bunch.— A.D. 
GARDENIAS. 
Where cut flowers for buttonhole and other pur¬ 
poses are wanted in quantity, a batch of these is in¬ 
valuable during the spring months, when there is 
little to cut from besides bulbous plants. 
As a rule’ it is not profitable to grow the same 
plants of Gardenias for more than two or three 
years, as with each year they become more difficult 
to keep clean, being, as well, subject to attacks 
of eel-worm, where the latter are present in the soil, 
a season's labour may be thrown away by the 
sudden collapse of the plants from that cause. 
Indeed, many growers propagate all their stock 
each spring and discard the old stuff, after they have 
ceased flowering. 
Cuttings should be inserted now in single pots in 
light sandy soil, choosing rather large but well 
ripened shoots with several points, and plunging in 
strong bottom heat in a close case. They will be 
well rooted in about three weeks, and should then be 
gradually given more air previous to their removal 
from the case. 
As soon as the pots are filled with .roots, the little 
plants must be shifted on so that no check is ex¬ 
perienced by the roots becoming cramped. 
Where the watering is done by skilful hands, it is 
a saving of labour to pot them straight into 32’s, but 
generally it is safest to give an intermediate shift, 
viz.,into 54-size pots. 
A suitable compost for them may consist of equal 
parts of fibrous loam, peat, and leaf soil, with a 
liberal addition, of coarse, silver sand. A little 
bone-meal and soot may be added as well. Pot 
firmly and ailow sufficient water space. Equally 
good plants may be grown in peat alone ; but I am 
doubtful if they flower so freely as those grown in a 
little heavier compost. 
The plants must be shaded for a few days from 
bright sunshine, the syringe used freely among them, 
and the utmost care taken with the watering until 
the pots are filled with roots. If the pots can be 
plunged and a good bottom heat maintained it will 
greatly assist growth. The night temperature 
should not fall below 65°, and with warm weather it 
should rise proportionately. During the hottest 
months of the year the temperature in the day-time 
may be allowed to run up to 90° or more at closing 
time, which need not be later than three p.m. at 
any season, as Gardenias delight in a hot saturated 
atmosphere. 
A slight shading is necessary in bright weather, 
for a few hours during the summer months, removing 
it as soon as the house or pit is closed. Stopping of 
the shoots must be done once or twice during the 
season, but not later than the end of July. The 
plants must be supported by one central stake, loop¬ 
ing the outer growths to it by neat ties of black 
thread 
Greenfly or bug may be kept down by fumigating 
with XL All occasionally, and an emulsion of paraffin 
and soft soap, dissolved in warm rain water—using 
the former at the rate of a quarter of a pint to three 
gallons of water with just sufficient soap to absorb 
the paraffin, and mixing whilst a part of the water 
is boiling (the rest can be added after to lower the 
temperature to about 90° or too 9 for spraying the 
plants)—will effectually keep scale from spreading. 
Where time allows, hand-sponging is the better 
method for the extermination of scale. After either 
operation, heavier shading must be used and kept on 
some hours longer as well, or scorching of the leaves 
may ensue. Weak manure water will help the 
plants considerably, but avoid strong doses when 
the buds are forming, or they will very prpbably 
drop off. 
During the autumn and winter months a lower 
night temperature—say between 55 p and 65”, is 
beneficial, but with the advent of the new year a 
few plants may be put into warmer quarters to pro¬ 
duce a few early flowers. 
Any old plants, which are intended to be grown 
on, should be cut hard back after flowering, and 
allowed to break, when the balls may be reduced 
slightly, and then potted into a size larger pots than 
those previously occupied, when they may then be 
given the same treatment as the others.— Practical. 
