28 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 8, 190C."* 
was shown in very fine form by Walter C. Walker, 
Esq. (gardener, Mr. Geo. Cragg), Winchmore Hill. 
The stems were 4 ft. high, and four spikes carried in 
the aggregate twenty-eight flowers. The sepals and 
petals are buff greenish-yellow and glossy. The lip 
has a deep purple lamina, edged with white. 
(Award of Merit.) 
Laelia elegans J. Davis.— The flowers of this 
form are notable for the great length of the segments. 
The sepals are rosy-pink, and the petals deep, clear 
rose. The lip has a crimson-purple lamina and 
raised veins,the colour running to the base of the tube 
in the form of a band ; the rest is white, outside and 
inside. 
Odontoglossum Adrianae Countess of 
Morley. —In this case the size of the flowers is 
moderate, but they are beautifully rounded, with 
stfort clawed segments. The sepals are blotched with 
rich brown on white. The petals have fewer, 
orbicular brown spots. The lip has a brown blotch 
in front of the crest, and a few small ones round the 
sides. It is a natural hybrid and belongs to the same 
type of O. Adrianae as O. A. E. Ashworth. (Award 
of Merit.) Capt. Holford (gardener, Mr. Chapman), 
Westonbirt, Tetbury, Gloucester. 
Floral Committee. 
Platycodon grandiflorum semiduplex. — No 
more striking new hardy herbaceous plant has 
appeared for a long time. The flowers are of large 
size, freely produced, more expanded than in the 
type, and consist of two or three perfect corollas of 
a deep blue, and placed one inside the other. The 
calyx is quite normal. This semi-double character 
is indicated in the varietal name. The variety 
should prove a handsome subject for the rockery or 
even for pot work in a cool greenhouse. (First- 
class Certificate.) Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart, 
(gardener, Mr. W. Bain), Burford, Dorking. 
Gladiolus Jules Toussaint. — The flowers of 
this handsome variety are large, well expanded, rosy 
and shaded with purple towards the edges. The 
two lower segments have large, violet-purple 
blotches. (Award of Merit.) Sir Trevor Lawrence, 
Bart. 
Gladiolus Ocean. — The mauve-blue flowers of 
this variety are very distinct in their way. Usually 
four of the lower segments have a deep crimson 
blotch, above which on the disc is a white blotch of 
varying size and outline, but two of them are gener¬ 
ally triangular, thus giving distinctive character to 
the flower. (Award of Merit.) Sir Trevor Lawrence, 
Bart. 
Gladiolus Sir Evelyn Wood.— The handsome 
and distinct flowers of this variety are of a rich 
velvety-crimson, flaked with maroon towards the 
edges of the segments. (Award of Merit.) Messrs. 
Kelway & Son, Langport, Somerset. 
Glyceria aquatica foliis variegatis. — The 
leaves of this bold and handsome variety of a 
British grass have broad creamy edges, and several 
slender lines all over the surface. The variegation 
is conspicuous and good. For the margins of ponds, 
streams, &c., as well as for pot work this hardy 
subject ought soon to become very popular. (Award 
of Merit.) Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt. 
Gypsophila repens monstrosa.— The stems of 
this plant are three times as tall as those of G. 
repens and the flowers are likewise vastly more 
numerous than in that plant. It is possibly a hybrid. 
The .flowers are white and about \ in. in diameter. 
They have been produced continually on the plant 
since the end of June. (Award of Merit.) Mr. M. 
Prichard, Christchurch, Hants. 
Fruit and Vegetable Committee. 
Strawberry St. Antoine de Padoux. — This is 
evidently one of the Quatre Saisons type of Straw¬ 
berry, valued chiefly for fruiting in autumn when 
all other kinds have long ceased to bear. The fruit 
is large and of good flavour, judging from its quick 
disappearance from the table. The plant is of close 
habit. (Award of Merit.) Sir Trevor Lawrence, 
Bart, (gardener, Mr. W. Bain), Burford, Dorking. 
Tar a bad dressing for tree-wounds.—Accord¬ 
ing to Mr. C. E. Curtis, who wrote some time ago 
in the Estates Gazette on pruning and the healing 
of wounds, trees heal better without a dressing of 
tar than with it. By the application of tar, the 
cambium layer, or region of active growth is injured 
and development is interfered with. 
COWDENKNOWES, EARLSTON, N.B. 
“ O’ the broom, the bonnie, bonnie broom, 
The broom o’ the Cowdenknowes ; 
I wish I were at home again 
Milkin' my daddy’s ewes.” 
This fine old place standing high up on the banks 
of the Leader, and within a stone’s throw of that 
water, is most pleasantly situated amongst grand 
plantations, and is an ideal country seat. The 
house is a fine old redstone building of dates 1554 
and 1574. This is the charming home of Col. and 
Mrs. Hope. The gallant Colonel and his lady take 
a lively interest in all around them, and the whole 
place has undergone considerable alteration and 
improvement since they took possession. The site 
for the house seems to have been levelled out of 
gradually rising ground. A fine stretch of] lawn 
reaches away from the east side of the house, 
finished off to the east and north with finely rising 
wooded slopes, between which, from the south-east 
corner of the house, a pretty peep of the Black Hill 
takes the eye. In the north corner of the lawn is a 
fine specimen of the Cedar of Lebanon, which has 
stood the snows of many a winter, while on the wall 
of the house is one of the finest specimens of 
Wistaria one might wish to see, in splendid health, 
and which flowers freely. 
On what looks like an old gun battery, but now 
beautifully covered with fine Crimson Rambler and 
other Roses, a fine look-out is got. Just across the 
stream in front of us, and stretching away to the 
left, is a beautiful meadow (I should call it the 
Cowdenknowes), with the water circling round it in 
a beautiful sweep until lost to sight, beyond which 
stretches finely wooded country for miles. On our 
left we seem to look up a thickly wooded avenue of 
tall trees, with the water gliding through it until it 
bursts into the open, a neat wooden service bridge 
adding to the beauty of the whole scene. 
The gardens are some little distance from the 
house, but a pleasant retreat is to be found in a fine 
conservatory of 50 ft. in length attached to the 
house, where we found some fine flowering and 
foliage plants. Of special merit was a very fine 
batch of Sutton's hybrid, Streptocarpus. The batch 
we noted was arranged to the best effect in one mass, 
and occupied a good part of the front stage. The 
flowers were equal to many a fine lot of Gloxinia, 
their colour and markings being so various and 
pleasing as would make it difficult to describe. Mr. 
Robertson remarked they had never felt heat, and by 
keeping the seed pods off them they would last a 
long time. Amongst a fine lot of Cannas we noted 
Cousin Jacob, General de Marabel, Souv. d' Antoine 
Crozy, &c., all beautifully marked. Here also were 
some fine climbers, the old Habrothamnus, 
Plumbago capensis, and also, most attractive, a 
pretty sample as a climber of Fuchsia Lillie Ley, 
a perfect mass of bloom. Some fine tree Ferns, 
Palms, &c., made up a pretty house. A few yards 
from this house is a fine fernery cut into the bank 
and built up in rockwork and lighted only from the 
top; this is nicely planted with Ferns, and, with a 
few Palms added, looks very nice. 
From here to the garden we pass along a beauti¬ 
ful winding walk amongst tall trees, the ground 
rising up on the one hand, and on the other falling 
away down to the level of the water. From this 
walk we enter a pretty little flower garden, sloping 
down on our left and nicely dotted with clumps, and 
specimen ornamental shrubs. Amongst some fine 
things here was a pretty bed of Fuchsia Dunrobin 
Bedder, with an underground of Pyrethrum 
Sutton's Golden Ball, and edged with small white 
variegated Pelargonium. Another fine bed was 
filled with Nemesia strumosa SuttoDii, a pretty half 
hardy annual of most pleasing colours. Nemesia 
Suttonii nana compacta is another novelty which 
deserves a trial. We found here also a fine bed of 
that grand old Calceolaria amplexicaule, which for a 
yellow has nothing to match it. Another thing 
dotted in the borders here, and which took our 
fancy very much, was that pretty new Sweet 
William, Sutton’s Pink Beauty, a real gem of pretty 
salmon-pink colour. 
Mr. Robertson has under his charge a splendid 
collection of herbaceous plants in which he takes a 
special delight. Amongst those of special merit we 
noted Eryngium oliverianum, fine bright blue; 
Erigeron speciosus superbus, fine purple with yellow 
centre; Anthemis tinctoria Kelwayii, a grand bloom 
and most useful for cutting; Rudbeckia hirta, a 
showy and pretty plant; Galega officinalis alba, 
G. orientalis, both very pretty; Alstroemeria 
aurantiaca, fine orange ; A. chilensis, orange-scarlet 
and pink, very fine; Lychnis chalcedonica, fipe 
scarlet; L. rubra fl.pl., a good double variety; 
L. alba, fine white ; Helenium Bolanderi, yellow 
with dark centre ; and H. pumilum, yellow, are both 
fine things. Cimicifuga racemosa produces a most 
handsome spike, and is well worth growing. The 
above were but a few amongst a host of grand 
border plants which ought to be more widely known. 
The kitchen garden] is split up in four squares 
by interesting walks, one of which is laid down in 
grass and arched over at intervals by wire trellis, 
which are connected by rods sweeping from the one 
to the other. These are all covered by fine climb¬ 
ing Roses, &c., and have a fine appearance. The 
glass is not extensive. A nice span-roofed house 
recently erected stands north and south, and is void 
of any staging, the sides and pillars being planted 
with a fine collection of Roses. At the time of our 
visit a good crop of Tomatos occupied the centre, 
and once these are over the space will be free for the 
“ mums,” a fine lot of which was doing well outside. 
At the end of this house is a tidy little stove filled 
with nice useful stuff, and at right angles to this are 
two small vineries with excellent crops. A long 
range of pits in another part of the garden proves 
sufficient for their requirements. 
The first crop here this season is beyond the 
average, Apples, Plums, Raspberries, and Straw¬ 
berries all being good. We had the pleasure to 
sample the last named and can vouch for their 
quality. Some years ago the Black Currant break 
was cleared out, so bad were they with the bud 
mite; and a fresh plantation was made on new 
ground. A gathering was being made on the day of 
our visit, and from a remark overheard between 
Mr. Robertson and one of his assistants, there 
seemed to be some concern as to where baskets 
sufficient to hold them were to be found. The fruit 
was clean and of best quality. 
Much more time could have been delightfully 
spent, but our train would not wait. We had 
another pleasant walk with shady trees overhead, 
the rabbits popping out and in from their burrows 
in the glade to our right, the privet and bracken, &c , 
amoDgst our feet. Higher up the water is sweeping 
gracefully around fine open fields deep down below. 
The banks np to our feet were lined with Birch, 
Broom, trees, &c , but this is just what it is, a con¬ 
tinuation of ” leichs and howes and cow-den 
knowes,” and herein lies its beauty. — Richard. 
BEDDING AT EARL’S COURT. 
Gay and beautiful though the grounds at Earl’s 
Court, London, S.W., are, from the profusion of 
painted scenes, artificial representations and the 
general glitter and glare of the numerous buildings, 
which cover the acres of ground, all this, as we have 
said before, would grow very wearisome were there 
not a dash of the natural and living elements brought 
into it. The beds of flowering plants, filled by 
Messrs. John Laing & Sons, Forest Hill, S.E., the 
lawns and the shrubs, the neat paths, fountains, and 
Water Lily tanks, which are placed about in all 
quarters, give evidence by the crowds of people that 
throng around these areas, that they have a charm 
which many of the other entertainments fall short 
of. On a visit on one of the warm evenings we have 
lately had, it was noticeable that where there's a 
good soldiers' band, and pleasant gardens with 
comfortable seats, brilliant light and coolness, there 
could be found by far the larger throng of pleasure 
seekers. 
As usual the beds have been exceedingly well 
planted. There is not much alteration nor any 
radical use of new subjects in any of the bedding, 
for it has long ago been proved what best can stand 
the dry and sometimes smoky atmosphere which 
pervades Earl's Court. Around the outer borders 
in Imperial Court a broad mass of white Marguerites, 
glowing crimson “Jacoby” Pelargoniums, yellow 
bands of Golden Feather Pyrethrum, and an outer 
line of deep blue Lobelia, enlivens all this outer 
edge, and which acts as a fringe to the inner circle 
of bazaars, booths and bars. In the centre of the 
Court, beds of numerous forms are intricately 
designed and filled generally with a Palm in the 
centre, a few standard Dracaenas here and there, 
fine masses of Pelargonium Henry Jacoby, P. Mrs. 
