February 9, 1901. 
379 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
work of leaves—for they are green. Then when the 
stamens and pistils are matured the petals have 
changed to pure white, solely for the purpose of 
attracting a pollinating agent. Then when the 
gynoecium has been fertilised the petals again 
become green and do the work of leaves. 
The new Coleus thyrsoideus was selected to show 
the peculiar arrangement for fertilisation common in 
the members of Labiatae. In the case of this 
Coleus, however, the form of the corolla and the 
position of the stamens is just the reverse from the 
general rule found in other Labiates. The stronger 
and broadened lip for the support of insect visitors, 
together with the conspicuous guiding lines that are 
so often to be seen in funnel-shaped flowers, was 
commented upon in this connection. 
The persistent, co-related characters of Crocuses. 
Irises, Freesias, and Gladioli brought these all under 
the Iris family, for botanists classfy not by one 
character only, but by a number. A concluding 
notice was given to Primulas, to point out how the 
P. pyramidalis type is simply a reversion to that 
which existed fifty or sixty years ago. 
STATICE PROFUSA 
Is a hard-wooded greenhouse flowering plant of 
great merit, and should be in every collection where 
blue flowers are appreciated ; and it would be news 
to learn where they are not. Shoots from 3 in. to 
4 in. in length taken now, prepared in the usual way, 
inserted in 4-in. pots of sandy peat and loam, 
watered in and placed under a bell-glass in an 
ordinary greenhouse, and stood in a shady corner, 
root and are ready to pot off in about six weeks, 
using similar soil and pots 2$ in. across, keeping 
close for another week, when they should be ready 
to stand on a shelf or other suitable glace near the 
glass. Moved into 5-in. pots as soon as fit, they will 
make nice little plants by next spring, and should 
carry two or three spikes of bloom. Little or no 
pinching is necessary, as it is of a branching nature. 
Good decorative plants can be grown in 8-in. pots, 
with a little feeding when full of roots. One or two 
stakes are necessary as the wood is rather brittle. 
Tn a good light greenhouse and not over-shaded they 
will flower from early spring quite late into the 
autumn. Mealy bug and scale are the chief enemies. 
These must not be allowed a footing; soapy water, 
a sponge and aphis brush will remove them, exercis¬ 
ing care that the leaves ate not broken off in the 
operation.— Grower. 
TRACHELIUM CAERULEUM 
Comes from trachelos, the neck, from its supposed 
efficacy in diseases in trachea ; hence the English of 
the genus, Throatwort. It grows naturally in shady 
woods in Italy, and was introduced to Britain in 
1640. It is not quite hardy, and is a biennial or a 
short-lived perennial. Its roots are fleshy, tuberous, 
and send out many wide spreading fibers. Its radi¬ 
cal leaves are ovate-lanceolate, serrated, pointed, 
about 2 in. long, and 1 in. broad. Its stems are 
irregularly garnished with similar leaves to the 
radical ones, and have a height of from 18 in. to 
25 in. Its flowers grow in compound many flowered 
umbels, have a small funnel-shaped corolla of an 
azure blue colour, bloom from July to September, 
and will before long take the place of Gypsophlla 
paniculata in the making up of floral decorations. It 
can be propagated from seeds and cuttings in cold 
pits in the autumn, and will make fine strong flower¬ 
ing plants the following summer. It is best planted 
under a south wall in good rich soil, where it will 
grow and flower profusely. It also makes a fine 
appearance upon old wallsTwhere its seeds and roots 
can find a lodgment.— R. N. 
■ ■ 
SPRING ANEMONES 
Are amongst the most beautiful of our outdoor 
flowers. The cultivated varieties are suited to 
garden adornment and provide quantities of cut 
stuff. Anemone fulgens produces quantities of single 
bright scarlet flowers and succeeds untransplanted. 
Anemone coronaria has prettier foliage than fulgens 
and produces large petalled flowers of while, blue, 
scarlet, lilac, maroon and purple colours with hun¬ 
dreds of all intermediate shades. Anemone St. 
Brigid is a beautiful variety producing flowers with 
two to three rows of narrow pointed petals which, 
when fully expanded with the inner row curving 
inward and sideward, are large, graceful and attrac¬ 
tive. They produce similar colours with coronaria 
but brighter with clean vivid shades. For garden 
purposes seedlings give best results. Seed should 
be sown during May, nursed and planted into their 
flowering quarters by September. After flowering 
they do better planted in grass, than if retained in 
the garden. Anemone apennina is very hardy and pro¬ 
duces beautiful cushions of soft blue star-like flowers 
above and inward of a fringing of deep green indented 
foliage. There are white and rose coloured varieties 
of the apennine type. The above Anemones, when 
placed in informal masses in juxtaposition with 
others of Anemone nemorosa, on the sloping banks 
of a pond containing "Flags,” where an odd shrub 
has been planted, behind which tall trees throw 
shadows of gray on their folding flowers at evening, 
or break the red gold radiance of a rising sun on the 
opening blooms in their endless tints, are something 
charming.— H. H. Gibson, The Gardens, Glencairn, 
Belfast. 
THE AURICULA. 
Auriculas in frames ought to be carefully looked 
after at this period of the year by removing all dead 
and decaying leaves, scraping ali green moss off top 
of soil, and keeping as near the glass as possible. Be 
very careful in watering, better too dry than too wet. 
Those that are intended for exhibition had better be 
removed to shelves in the greenhouse to get them 
forward. But on no account force them, as it makes 
flower spikes weak. Let them have the sunniest 
part of the house, and apply weak liquid manure 
when they require any watering, but always keep 
the foliage dry, especially the stage Auricula, which 
is very powdery on foliage. If any throw up two 
spikes the weakest had better be removed. This 
does not apply to Alpine varieties, these having as 
many as possible. After these are done flowering 
remove old flower spikes except where seed is wanted. 
Potting bad better be performed in June or July, 
dividing them up into single crowns, pottiog into as 
small pots as possible, depending on the size of the 
plants. Be very careful in drainage, which is the 
cause of failure often. Use good turfy loam and 
leaf mould in equal quantity, adding silver sand, 
charcoal, and old cow dung, using clean pots always. 
Let the frame be looking north after potting, when 
they will not need so much shading and watering.— 
James J. Staward, Junr., The Gardens, Belwood 
House, Milton Bridge. 
♦l» - 
ACALYPHA SANDERIANA. 
Last season's plants of this handsome variety should 
now have attention. From my experience the 
following treatment gives good results : —Cut down 
the plants a foot from the pots, and keep rather dry 
till the buds vegetate, when they should be repotted 
into smaller pots, using a compost of three parts 
loam, one of leaf mould, and enough crushed crocks 
to keep the soil open. Place them in a light position 
in day temperature, 65° to 75 0 , and water sparingly 
until growth demands an increasing supply. They 
are not injured by moderate exposure to sun, but 
syringing is harmful. When the young growths are 
about an inch long, select the four best, which are 
invariably those on the top, and therefore serve the 
better in securing the elongating catkins or "flowers” 
from damage by contact with the soil. The weaker 
growth should be disbudded when the plants require. 
Pot on into g-in. or other suitable sized pots, using 
soil composed as above, with the addition of a little 
bone-meal, potting the plants firmly. After the 
roots are in full possession of the soil, liquid manure 
once a week will benefit them. The growths should 
be arranged and neatly staked. We have grown 
plants in this way, producing fifty catkins, some of 
which were 2 ft. long. Cuttings root readily in 
bottom heat of 8o°, and potted on into 5-in. pots, 
make useful decorative plants quickly— W. Hopkins, 
Leighton Gardens, Westbury, Wilts. 
—■ «e»» - 
WINTER FLOWERING IRISES. 
Iris stylosa (syn. unguicularis) comes from Algeria 
on the borders of the Mediterranean. Every winter 
when I see it bloom (which it never fails to do, being 
remarkably free flowering) it always makes me 
wonder why it is not so extensively grown as its 
merits deserve. In the open ground early in January 
this hardy plant begins to throw up its flowers, 
which keep unfolding without intermission to the end 
of February. The flowers are borne on long stems, 
and are very fragrant. The standard and falls are 
bright lilac, and the throat veined with yellow and 
lilac on a white ground. The foliage is graceful and 
of a dark green, helping to form a picture unequalled 
by any plant in the open at the present time. I. 
stylosa speciosa is a showier form, the flowers larger, 
the petals broader, and of more substance, in colour 
a lively pale sky blue, veined towards the base with 
yellow. They are sweetly scented and suitable for 
vases. I. stylosa alba is an ivory white colour, and 
very beautiful; it possesses the free blooming quali¬ 
ties of the others. They all do well in pets, but do 
not stand much heat. If wanted for inside they can 
be taken up with a ball when showing bud and 
potted, then the flowers open readily. Ordinary 
garden soil suits them well, but it must be well 
drained, a warm and dry situation being the only 
essentials to free flowering.— C. F. B. 
WALLS AND TREES. 
The cleansing of garden walls and fruit trees is very 
often neglected. While the trees are away from the 
walls a thorough cleaning of both walls and trees 
should be done. Especially in old stone walls insects are 
hidden in crevices and holes between the stones and 
lime. These should be filled up with durable 
mortar or cement, so that the walls present an un¬ 
broken surface on which to train the trees. The 
stonework or brickwork ought to be well syringed with 
soft soap and sulphur solution at a temperature of 
130° or more to destroy as far as possible all kinds 
of insects appearing. The trees deserve attention 
next, dressing them with some effective insecticide. 
A good and simple one consists of sulphur, soft 
soap, paraffin, and hot water. To prepare the mix¬ 
ture dissolve half a pound of soft soap in two 
gallons of water, mix half a pound of sulphur to a 
paste, adding two wineglassfuls of paraffin oil, mix 
thoroughly so as to combine the oil vritb the solution. 
Soot or clay added will give a better colour to the 
mixture, and bring it to a more desirable sort of 
paint, when it is easily applied to the wood by the 
aid of a painter’s brush. On the younger portions 
of the wood the brush must be worked upwards, 
and the smallest bud will not be displaced, while 
every inch of wood can be covered. All iron or 
wooden fruit fences should be tarred.—T. S. Dick, 
Castlemilk Gardens, Lockerbie. 
-- 
GARDENERS’ GRIEVANCES. 
I hope, Mr. Editor, you will pardon me if I again 
make an attempt to encroach on your space, as I, 
too, like Mr. Blair, am still unconvinced. I again 
disagree with him when he says that men trained in 
large gardens, say where twenty to thirty or more 
hands are employed, are averse to accepting a situa¬ 
tion as head gardener in smaller ones. I think few 
young fellows who have had fifteen or more years in 
the routine of large establishments would wish to 
start as head in a similar place. They realise too 
well the difficulties of such charges. As a matter of 
fact it is very exceptional for a mar to obtain as 
his first headship a garden of the same extent as 
those in which he may have acquired his experience. 
Some of us keep our eyes on the latter, and I think 
rightly so, but on the other hand a great many have 
no wish to assume the responsibilities such places 
entail, and as a natural consequence drop quietly a 
few rungs in the professional ladder to where they 
find their greatest happiness. 
Some are not happy unless “ harassed ” (a queer 
predicament, I own), and with regard to comfort, if 
that means ease and freedom from care, I doubt if 
anyone expects that who aspires to the charge of a 
large garden ; they will make a mistake I imagine if 
they do. 
I do not agree that economy is better taught in the 
smaller gardens. My experience is the reverse. As 
to obtaining a headship in a large establishment 
after serving in small ones, I am afraid it is perfectly 
hopeless to think about it. If, as " A. V. M.” says, 
the small gardens are the best for knowledge and 
practical work, and that the best gardeners are to 
be found in them, why is it that we never hear of 
these men having "angels' visits” and securing 
some of the Plums of the profession ? I never see 
these visits chronicled ! No, " A. V. M. ” ! for the 
reason that " Nil Dasperandum " points out, that 
the " survival of the fittest,” as applied to gardening, 
is indeed a truth. I hardly suppose that anyone is 
