554 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
April 28, 1900. 
inch thick, and to the depth of § in., and inserting in 
the saw cut the edge of the glass. The piece of 
wocd must then be nailed on the top of the stick so 
that the glass, which should be about 6 in. sq., will 
stand 2J in. above the top of the pericarpium. When 
the latter becomes brown and dry on the outside it 
will be time to cut it off with 6 in. of the stem 
attached. It should then be placed in a dry room in 
the sun, in an upright position, and so soon as the 
top of the vessel begins to open, showing three com¬ 
partments of seeds, the latter should be carefully re¬ 
moved from the shells and kept dry, in a paper bag, 
until the following February, when they should be 
sown in some nice sandy soil, in a seed pan, well 
drained with potsherds. The seeds must be covered 
with sieved soil not more than one sixteenth of an 
inch deep. Great care must be taken in keeping the 
soil moderately moist, whilst the seeds are in a state 
of germination. 
The leaves of the young bulbs will present them¬ 
selves through the soil, like young Onions, with a 
bent stem, and will die down by the end of May or 
beginning of June, at which time the little bulbs, 
which will be no larger than small Peas, should be 
taken up and kept in fine sand until October, when 
they should be planted, in a well drained bed in the 
garden, separately, 3 in. apart and 3 in. deep, taking 
care to put a layer of sand, about 1 in. thick, under 
them so that the bulbs will rest in the sand and be 
covered with fine soil 3 in. deep. In ordinary 
seasons the foliage will begin to show itself through 
the soil in the following February, and the bulbs 
will be ready to take up again in June ; and although 
they will still be small, many of them will be sur¬ 
rounded with small offsets, and at this time each 
bulb, with its offsets, should be kept separately in a 
little paper bag or a small pill box, a littrle fine dry 
sand being put with them. In this way they should 
remain in a dry, cool room until planting time dur¬ 
ing the ensuing October, and the same process 
should be practised annually until the fourth or fifth 
year, by which time the bulbs should produce 
blooms, of which ninety-nine out of 100 will be self¬ 
colours of various shades, and termed “Breeders." 
So soon as the blooms appear their properties 
should be carefully scrutinised, and such that con¬ 
tain promising points of perfection should be num¬ 
bered and registered in a book, and kept until they 
break or rectify themselves into feathers and flames. 
The period of such change is indefinite, as some will 
break the first year after blooming, and others will 
be years before that freak of nature presents itself. 
When that happily looked for time does appear, the 
best variety which may have been produced in the 
breeder state, may break indistinctly, or into a dull 
or washy colour, that is, void of brilliancy, and 
which would make the variety worthless in the rec¬ 
tified state. 
As my remarks in your issue of the 7th inst., 
p. 507, imply, to raise seedlings, and especially 
Tulips, it requires patience, perseverance, and nerve 
to bear with all the disappointments which may 
possibly intervene during the progress of such a 
venture. Nevertheless, the inexpressible pleasure 
and delight afforded to the patient seedling raiser 
overwhelms, in the highest degree, the darkest 
clouds which may be met with during the whole 
process. 
The amateur florist who may read these remarks 
and afterwards have confidence enough to embark in 
the little venture recommended, can rest himself 
assured that the sun will, in its greatest radiancy, 
shine upon his efforts .—James Thurstan, Cannock, 
April 16 th, 1900. 
[The illustration on page 553 shows the elaborate 
care that an enthusiastic amateur may take to shel¬ 
ter his plants from rough weather, rain or blustering 
winds that may and often do occur during April and 
May when his Tulips have reached the flowering 
stage. The photograph shows Mr. Thurstan amongs 
his Tulips.— Ed.] 
-—■— 
RUSTIC WORK. 
Why we adopted, or rather how rough and ready 
looking “ornamental objects” came to be planned 
originally, we have no certain idea. Perhaps rustic 
chairs, arbours, or bridges, were inventions of the 
well meaning though sometimes inconsistent re¬ 
formers in the time of Wise, who led the van against 
formal design and established the natural and free. 
The element of variety and quaintness comes with 
the use of the rustic adornments, so for this reason 
the advocacy of more rustic arbours, bridges, vases, 
&c , for garden, may be admitted. Variety in a 
garden is a thing to be striven for, yet certain 
features must needs be carefully considered before 
being embraced—I mean in reference to their suita¬ 
bility for their surroundings. 
This leads me to hint that rustic adornments 
must not be bought up and planked down just any¬ 
where, as in a neatly kept formal garden. Taking 
the rustic arbour, its one position is in a wooded re¬ 
treat far back in the pleasure-ground. Placed thus 
it raises the feeling of fitness and gives charm, 
whereas under some other circumstances to see 
arbours causes one to imagine a clumsy toy from a 
Noah's Ark having fallen in forbidding and incon- 
formable surroundings. A rough heather thatch is 
very suitable for a rustic summerhouse. 
Then rustic bridges, when really skilfully made, 
are a source of interest and afford a great deal of 
delight from the study of their parts. The first idea 
of course is to make for security and beauty, and the 
after finish may be worked out according to the skill 
and time at command. 
To make a small bridge of the type under notice it 
will be necessary to build upright supporting walls 
on either side of the stream or gullet. Across from 
side to side stout horizontal beams are placed, and, 
if necessary, a central support. Lesser posts should 
be raised from the level of the bridge at each end 
for the fixing up of a handrail. Then the sides 
can be furnished with tortuous branches of Oak or 
Elm, having the bark pared off. Either single 
boughs or boughs with lateral shoots can be used. 
The chief points should be to get them to fit well, 
and to spread the pattern out properly, interweaving 
it nicely. Very fine garden seats and tripod rustic 
vases can be made if the right man takes the work 
in hand. Arches for Roses and Clematises may be 
put together in the leisure time at disposal; and 
besides furnishing ornaments for the garden it will 
also keep the men employed when outdoor work 
cannot be gone on with —J Dickson. 
-«*«-- 
VISITS TO NURSERIES. 
MESSRS. JAMES YEITCH & SONS, Ltd. 
All classes of plants are so well represented in the 
Royal Exotic Nurseries, Chelsea, of Messrs. J. 
Veitch & Sons, Ltd., that something of interest may 
at any time be seen. Flowering plants become very 
numerous, however, as spring advances. 
Greenhouse Plants. 
The house devoted to Clivias has been wonderfully 
gay for some time past. Many of the plants are 
confined to single stems of enormous strength, bear¬ 
ing huge heads of bloom. In breadth and substance 
of petal the flowers vary greatly ; and the shades of 
colour are sufficiently diverse to deserve distinctive 
names. A few of them are so distinguished. In 
colour they range from sulphur to orange, rosy- 
orange and orange-scarlet ; while some are of a 
bright scarlet. That named Favourite is of a very 
delicate hue, being sulphur-pink, with a pale throat. 
Clivias are much used upon the Continent as 
decorative plants in dwelling rooms, where they last 
for three or four weeks in the windows of cool and 
well-lighted rooms. They might be more employed 
for such a purpose even when out of flower on 
account of their dark green, leathery and strap¬ 
shaped leaves. 
In another house the hybrid greenhouse Rhodo¬ 
dendrons of the Javanico-jasminiflorum type are 
always in bloom, several colours being in evidence at 
present. 
The greenhouse proper is always well filled with 
a great variety of seasonable as well as hard and 
soft-wooded subjects that have been forced. No 
conservatory or greenhouse can be well stocked 
without them. A fortnight ago the standards of 
Cerasus Watereri and Prunus triloba were simply 
laden with blossom. The same may be said of 
Pyrus Malus floribunda in the form of pyramids. 
Very fine also were the double, rose-coloured Peach, 
Acacia ovata, Cytisus racemosus, the common 
Hydrangea hortensis and the white H. Dr. Hogg. 
Azaleas added their quota. Every collection should 
contain some specimens of Boronia heterophylla and 
B. megastigma, the former for its deep purple 
flowers, and the latter on account of its deliciously 
powerful and hauntiDg scent. In every part of the 
house and even outside of it on the lee side the 
delightful scent invites the visitor to closer acquain¬ 
tance with it. Mignonette, Hyacinths, Polyanthus 
Narcissus, Lilacs and even Cinerarias all emit more 
or less penetrating and pleasing scents that pervade 
the house everywhere. 
Stuve Plants. 
Amongst new plants there is no brighter or more 
pleasing subject than Ficus radicans variegata, the 
variegation of which is ample and of a silvery white. 
The plants are grown in Orchid pans and hung up 
near the glass. Another first-class novelty is 
Dracaena Eeckhautei, the most graceful of all the 
green Dracaenas, the beautifully arching leaves 
draping tall-stemmed plants even down to the pots. 
It came from the old D. rubra with dark green 
leaves. Those of D. Bruanti are also dark but 
broader. D. The Queen is of the same type as Miss 
Glendinning, with bronzy leaves and bright red 
margins, but it is easier to grow. On the rockwork 
of one house Selaginella serpens covered the stones 
with its pale green branching fronds. 
In the Nepenthes house are some fine pitchers 
although this is the worst season that one could 
inspect them. The pitchers of N. raffiesiana are 
still richly coloured; those of N. Morganiae are 
deep red ; N. bicalcarata, deep brown ; and a fine 
variety of N. Chelsoni has huge pitchers in good 
condition and richly marked with dark blotches. 
The Anthurium house is getting gay with an abun¬ 
dance of spathes of the bright scarlet A. 
scherzerianum. The variety A. s. Wardii is notable 
for the breadth of its spathes. A very variable 
hybrid is A. rothschildianum, there being some fine 
varieties here densely blotched and marbled with 
scarlet on a white ground. 
Passing through a cool house we noted Araucaria 
elegans, which comes from a much warmer island 
than the Norfolk Island Pine. The branches are 
more slender and graceful with shorter leaves than 
A. Rulei. Here also is a plentiful supply of A. excelsa 
and A. e. glauca, with distinctly glaucous leaves. 
A warmer house is filled with Kentias, Phoenix, 
and other Palms. Pancratium fragrans is grown in 
quantity, and a healthy stock of Eucharis grandi- 
flora is also flowering. The large Palm house is re¬ 
plete with big specimens of Kentia fosteriana, K. 
belmoreana, Cocos plumosa, and other Palms all in 
clean and healthy condition, with dark green foliage. 
Rather handsome in its way was Begonia sanguinea 
in another house. It belongs to the B. corallina 
type, but the leaves are of a bright crimson-red 
beneath, and the plants are dwarfer. 
Caladiums, although potted at the proper season, 
had been held in abeyance by the long continued 
cold and sunless weather, but they are now pulling 
up rapidly. The early leaves are certainly very 
handsome. Mr. Tivey is an enthusiastic cultivator 
of this class of plants, and the collection under his 
care is very extensive. Amongst the more engaging 
of the varieties a fortnight ago were Botafoga, soft 
red, with a broad, creamy edge; Oriflamme, red, 
with shaded green edges; Assungay, almost transpar¬ 
ent or translucent in its early stages; Lady Moseley, 
of a uniform pink and very pretty : Reine de Dane- 
mark, soft blush-pink, with carmine ribs and a green 
margin, and Louis Van Houtte, with large, dark, 
bronzy-crimson leaves. A delicate and pretty 
variety is Her Majesty, with white, translucent 
leaves, overlaid with golden-green aloDg the ribs and 
veins. Red, green, and white are pretty well mixed 
on the large, convex leaves of Orphee. Those of 
Excellent are olive, blotched with white and red in 
the centre. Candidum is a well-known standard 
variety for exhibition purposes. 
Orchids. 
The warm range of Orchid houses always contains 
something interesting, and on this occasion the 
Dendrobiums and Cypripediums were most abun¬ 
dantly represented. Dendrobium splendidissimum 
leeanum is a white or nearly white form, tipped with 
purple. D. atroviolaceum is now very well grown 
and flowered in small Orchid pans, hung up to the 
roof The parentage of D. wardiano-aureum is well 
indicated by the name, the orange lip having a 
maroon blotch at the base. D. Alcippe (lituiflorum 
x wardianum) is notable for its rich blue shade, and 
violet blotch on the lip. Choice also is D. crassinode 
album, the orange blotch on the lip contrasting with 
the rest of the flower, which is white. A large- 
flowered and sweet-scented form of D. primulinum 
was noteworthy. Blue and white flowers occur 
