746 
The gardening world 
July 21, 1900.. 
macrantbum with a 5 ft. panicle. Cymbidiums 
were represented here by C. lowianum, one of the 
most useful. 
Proceeding in an informal manner, we next were 
shown into a house rendered gay by Gloxinias, in 
self, spotted, and banded forms in a great variety of 
colours. Tuberous Begonias, chiefly singles, occu¬ 
pied a great portion of the house with their bright, 
cheerful and varied colours. The crested forms (B. 
cristata grandiflora) have also found a home here. 
The Cypripedium house contained a collection 01 
some 130 named species, varieties and hybrids, while 
seedlings are coming up in the pots. All are well 
looked after, as their clean state and healthy vigour 
testify. Those in bloom included Cypripedium 
Stonei, C. rothschildianum (several plants, with 
three flowers on a stem), C. Parishi, C. lawrence- 
anum, C. mastersianum, C. Curtisii (with an 
enormous lip), a seedling between C. bellatulum and 
C. lawrenceanum, and C. caudatum Wallisii, the 
best of all the long-tailed forms. It is a lovely albino 
of the type, the pouch being white internally, this 
being surrounded by a line of purple spots, and 
those again by a yellow band. 
Cool frames at present accommodate a collection 
of all the best forms and colour varieties of Cypri¬ 
pedium insigne. 
The latest vinery next came in this route. The 
principal varieties noted were Gros Colman, Lady 
Downes and Alicante, the berries of which had just 
been thinned. 
A recent importation of Odontoglossum Insleayi, 
under the influence of direct sunlight was just 
starting into growth. Oncidium varicosum, O. 
crispum, O. marshallianum and others of that 
group were doing well on pieces of Tree Fern 
stems. 
The Tomato house was a fine sight of quite 
another character, the plants being grown in boxes 
sunk in the soil, confined to single stems and trained 
up to the roof. Their healthy character was quite 
interesting to witness. Many varieties are grown, 
including Batchelier's Prelude, Conference, Frog- 
more Prolific, Frogmore Selected, Comet, Rochford’s 
variety, Chiswick Peach and others, all heavily 
fruited. On the side benches was a fine and very 
varied batch of seedling Coleus, raised from a packet 
of seed. Zonal Pelargoniums, in up-to-date varieties, 
were also gay. 
Princess of Wales, Alexandra and Noblesse 
Peaches, together with Lord Napier Nectarine and 
others, were well cropped ; while Azaleas beneath 
were making their growth. C. H. Feiling, Esq., is 
very catholic in his taste, and it would be difficult to 
say in which of the above subjects he takes most 
delight. 
On the lawns surrounding the mansion various 
flower beds have been cut out of the grass and 
filled with plants of a varied character. Running 
along the front of the house, but on the boundary of 
the dressed grounds, is a long border, planted with 
flowering and foliage plants in undulating lines. The 
first line of the border consists of Pelargonium 
Mrs. Feiling, a zonal variety with uniformly golden- 
yellow foliage that deepens in tint as the summer 
advances. It is a distinct and handsome variety, 
being much more decided in colour than Crystal 
Palace Gem that used to be so popular. This is 
followed by lines of Petunia Countess of Ellesmere, 
yellow and white Marguerites, Lilium candidum, 
&c. The back lines are occupied with Roses, Sun¬ 
flowers, Dahlias, and other tall plants ; so that on 
the whole a varied and lengthened display will be 
kept up. A bed was gay with the dark crimson-red 
Pelargonium J. P. Currie. Pelargonium Mrs. 
Henry Cox, a tricolor with a very dark zone, and 
Chelsea Gem, having much white on the leaf form 
the features of another bed. It was too early, how¬ 
ever, to judge of the bedding. 
The interior of Southgate House itself is very 
elaborately furnished, with every conceivable article 
of use or ornament. The pictures in several of the 
rooms are splendid and evidence great taste in their 
selection. The house, indeed, is a perfect museum 
of plaques, or ornamental plates of Chinese, 
Japanese, and other design ; also lacquer ware and 
other wares representative of the best and highest 
artistic design. This is somewhat out of the beaten 
track of gardening; but plants and flowers also find 
their way here and contribute to the delight of their 
owner and his household. 
The late Mr. Fred, Ganham was a familiar figure 
amongst Orchid growers, where such were wont to 
assemble. He was succeeded at Southgate House 
by Mr. Charles Stocking, the present gardener, 
whom some may recognise in the illustration of the 
Orchid house we reproduce; while behind him is 
one of his assistants. From what we have seen of 
the establishment Mr. Stocking is evidently deter¬ 
mined to keep up the reputation of Southgate 
House. 
THE CLEMATIS. 
This well known genus of the order Ranunculaceae 
derives its name from the Greek word hlema, a Vine 
branch, and is also known in this country by the 
familiar name of Virgin's Bower. The species, 
according to the "Index Kewensis,” number about 
240, which are to be found mostly in the temperate 
zones of both hemispheres, so, with few exceptions, 
are hardy in this country. Only one species, C. 
Vitalba, is a native of England, which is to be seen 
growing freely in chalky soils, rambling over hedges, 
bushes and hanging cliffs, covered each autumn with 
its profuse tufts of grey plumose fruits, which gained 
it the name of Old Man’s Beard. 
Several other species are, however, familiar in our 
gardens—notably C. Flammula, C. montana and C. 
Viticella, whilst we occasionally find the following: 
C. erecta, C. integrifolia, C. paniculata, C. graveo- 
lens, C. coccinea, C. patens, C. lanuginosa, C. For- 
tunei and C. Standishi. This is, however, only a 
small list of species which, in my opinion, deserve 
more attention ; it would take up too much time to 
go thoroughly into the list, but those which strike 
me more particularly are the pretty early spring¬ 
blooming C. calycina, with its small, bell-shaped, 
yellowish-white flowers, marked inside with purplish 
spots; C. alpina and C. sibirica, the blue and white 
species from the Alps and mountains in Siberia 
respectively, so useful for the rockery, rootery, or 
pillar ; C. campaniflora, with its fragrant small 
white or purplish-tinted flowers in June and July ; 
the small yellow-flowered C. Wilfordi, which blooms 
profusely in August and September ; C. lathyrifolia, 
the herbaceous perennial which produces its small 
white flowers in loose corymbose panicles from June 
to August; and the sweet-scented Chinese species, 
C. davidiana, with its tubulose or Hyacinth-shaped 
flowers of bright blue disposed in elegant clustered 
heads during the month of September. 
For size and beauty the species are mostly far 
surpassed by the hybrids, which have been mostly 
obtained from C. patens, C. lanuginosa, C. Fortunei 
and C. Standishi, the last three being sent over by 
Fortune from China in 1851. 
The first person to commence the hybridisation of 
the Clematis in a systematic manner was Mr. Ander¬ 
son Henry, of Edinburgh, who, in 1855, crossed C. 
patens with C. lanuginosa, from which he obtained 
C. Reginae, though, I believe, the honour of raising 
the first hybrid must be given to the late Mr. 
Henderson, of Pine Apple Nursery, who sixteen 
years previous to the aforementioned date, raised C. 
Hendersoni, but whether it was an artificially pro¬ 
duced or chance hybrid I am unable to say. 
The next person to take up hybridisation was my 
father, who, in 1858, raised the still popular C. Jack- 
manni, which he followed up with many other 
varieties still in cultivation up to 1877. We are also 
indebted to Mr. Charles Noble, Messrs. Cripps & 
Son, Monsieur Simon Louis, Monsieur Lemoine, 
and many others for several fine forms, though from 
1877 to 1894 successful hybridisation appears to have 
been almost at a standstill. This, I believe, was due 
to two causes ; firstly, the want of using fresh blood, 
secondly, to the insidious “dying off” with which 
the Clematis has been affected for so long, rendering 
hybridisation not only disappointing but almost 
useless. 
I am pleased, however, to be able to now inform 
you, after several years close study and experiments, 
that I have been able to a great extent to avert this 
calamity, the losses at Wpking being now compara¬ 
tively small, and these it would be obviously unfair 
to attribute entirely to the so-called “dying off.” I 
have noted from time to time the different opinions 
that have been given as to the cause of this “ dying 
off,” some persons believing it to be caused by injury 
from frost, some attributing it to too much nourish¬ 
ment, water and heat ; some considering it to be 
brought about by the bursting of the cells through 
excessive moisture^ whilst others think it is caused 
by eelworms or fungus, and also to grafting. There 
is no doubt that frost is the cause of some deaths, 
and too much water and bad drainage to others, but 
I cannot agree with them that either of these is the 
sole cause of all the losses. My experience is that 
the plants mostly succumb during the summer 
months when the ground is driest and the sun has 
most power, and in the majority of these cases I 
could not detect any sign of the plants having had 
too much nourishment or water, or that the drainage 
was bad. 
With regard to insects and fungus, I have often 
noticed them in the decayed part some days after the 
branch failed, but not in the first stage. I have often 
seen eelworms in knobs formed on the roots, more 
especially of the common C. Viticella, but I have 
never seen this species go off in the same way as the 
hybrids, so I cannot attribute the cause to them, 
though they are no doubt very injurious to the 
plant. 
I have frequently examined the roots of the 
hybrids which have died down, and in most cases 
they appeared perfectly clean and healthy, the decay 
having started at or above the graft, and the plant 
has often shot up again from the base, sometimes 
only to die down once more. Grafting also cannot 
be put down as the direct reason, as plants on 
their own roots go off in the same manner. 
I do not think, however, that C. Vitalba, which is 
so generally used as a stock, is entirely suitable for 
some of the large flowering hybrids. The roots 
differ from those of the latter, being of a hard wiry 
character, the hybrids appearing, after they have 
had sufficient time to get established on their own 
roots, to ignore the stock, which eventually decays. 
Reverting again to the “dying off,” I am of the 
opinion that it is mainly due to loss of constitution 
through over-propagation, which has been brought 
about by the great popularity of, and consequent 
demand for the hybrids, and being of a soft succu¬ 
lent nature, have responded only too freely to the 
treatment. My other reasons for coming to that 
conclusion are, as already mentioned, that the plants 
mostly go off on the hot bright days of summer, and 
in many cases after having made several feet of 
growth, and are forming the flower buds, which 
seems to me to imply that they are wanting in vital 
power, and are unable to withstand the extra call 
upon their strength and the extreme heat. If it is 
not loss of constitution why was the " dying off” not 
noticed twenty-five years ago, and why has it in¬ 
creased of recent years, not only in this country but 
on the Continent, and how is it we do not see the 
rampant robust growths of former years? Again, 
it seems strange that whilst the large hybrids have 
been so badly affected, I have never seen C. montana, 
C. Flammula, C. Viticella, or C. Vitalba collapse in 
the same manner, unless my contention is correct 
that over-propagation is the cause. I might also 
mention I have not yet seen signs of the dying off 
amongst the new hybrids from C. coccinea. 
As a decorative plant the Clematis is almost un¬ 
equalled. Few climbers can surpass it for covering 
a wall or porch of a house, or training over trellis- 
work, commencing with C. montana early in May, 
and followed throughout the summer and autumn by 
the large hybrids of the patens, florida, lanuginosa, 
Viticella, and Jackmanni types. To these must be 
now included the new coccinea hybrids C. Countess 
of Onslow, C. Duchess of Albany, C. Duchess of 
York, C. Grace Darling, and C. Sir. Trevor Law¬ 
rence, which, with those of the last type, remain in 
bloom till frost comes. 
The Clematis is also at home planted out or grown 
in pots, in the conservatory, cool greenhouse, or 
glass corridor, if the situation is not too shady or 
confined. Those of the patens or florida types are 
often more appreciated in these positions than when 
grown out of doors, coming into bloom as they do 
at a time when flowers are somewhat scarce, through 
escaping the May frosts which sometimes spoil 
those growing outside. Rambling up pillars and 
poles, over rootery or rockwork, they are alike ele¬ 
gant, and when bedded out produce a most gorgeous 
effect; but when this is done it is desirable that 
those of the Viticella and Jackmanni types should 
be selected on account of their profuse blooming 
properties. Some of the smaller flowered species, 
such as C. Flammula, C. graveolens, C. montana, 
C Vitalba, or C. Viticella are also quite in keeping 
with wild scenery when scrambling over ruins, ar¬ 
bours, tree stumps, banks, hedges, and bushes, 
whilst several of the herbaceous and sub-shrubby 
species and varieties are worthy of a place in any 
herbaceous or mixed border.— (Read before the Hor¬ 
ticultural Club, Tuesday, June, 19 th, by Mr. A. G. 
Jackman.) 
