June 15, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
669 
The Technical Instruction Committee of 
Buckinghamshire have been giving demonstrations 
in the use of sulphate of copper solution as a 
destroyer of Charlock. 
Ignorance or a Typographical Error?—The 
following appeared recently in aD article on the 
Pope in a daily contemporary :—" He speaks of 
passing the summer in his little palace in the midst 
of his favourite vineyard, and he has personally 
ordered the fumigation of his Vines by means of a 
chemical manure." 
Suicide of a Gardener.—An inquest was held 
last week at Crewe on the body of a gardener aged 
sixty-two, named William Berrington. He was 
found hanging in a loft on his employer’s premises, 
Councillor J. T. Worthington. He had been missed 
for several days. In his pocket were five pocket 
knives and at his feet a blood-stained razor with 
which he had attempted to cut his throat. A verdict 
of temporarily insane was given. 
Keeping Cut Lotus Blooms.—These blooms are 
used largely by the Japanese for decorating pur¬ 
poses. A merican Gardening describes the treatment 
adopted to prevent flagging. The blooms are cut at 
dawn, a little before sunrise, and then kept head 
downwards immediately after cutting to prevent the 
sap from running out of the stem. The end is then 
tied up with string and burnt. Another plan is to 
rub burnt alum into the end of the stem, which has 
also to be boiled in a decoction of red pepper and 
Artemisia. 
Pineapples from Jamaica.—Arrangements are 
being made in this island for the more extensive pro¬ 
duction of Pineapples, for which the climatic condi¬ 
tions are so admirably suited. At present there are 
only about twelve acres devoted to their cultivation, 
but the annual export from this small patch exceeds 
70,000 fruits annually. There are plenty of districts 
in the island where 1,000 acre fields of them might 
be grown. Our present supply of this delicious fruit 
comes chiefly from the Azores, especially St. 
Michael’s. ' 
Puddling Rose Trees.—The American Florists' 
Exchange for April advocates the practice of puddling 
the roots of Roses before sending them on long 
journeys. It says that after the experience of many 
years, many American growers believe the practice 
as necessary as packing damp material amongst the 
roots. A tin box is half filled with stiff, partly clay 
soil and enough water added to make a soft mush, 
and the roots are dipped into it. The utility of the 
practice undoubtedly comes from the incasing of the 
surface of all the roots in something which excludes 
the air and at the same time preserves moisture. 
Death of Mr. Thomas S. Ware.—We regret to 
learn of the death of Mr. Thomas S. Ware, at 
Barnard Castle, Durham, on May 30th, aged 76. All 
hardy plant lovers will remember that he was the 
founder of the firm of T. S. Ware, of Hale Farm 
Nurseries, Tottenham, to which many a pilgrimage 
was made by hardy plant lovers of by-gone days to 
learn what was new in the hardy plant line. Of 
course the late Mr. T. S. Ware had severed his con¬ 
nection with the firm in the early nineties, when he 
retired into private life. He was a man of whom 
many spoke well, who had the pleasure of his 
acquaintance. He was buried at Chingford, Essex, 
on June 3rd. 
United Horticultural Benefit and Provident 
Society.—The monthly committee meeting of this 
society was held at the Caledonian Hotel, Adelphi 
Terrace, Strand, on Monday evening last—Mr. C. 
H. Curtis in the chair. The minutes of the last 
meeting were read and confirmed. Eight new 
members were elected. One lower scale member 
asked to be allowed to pay the higher scale, which 
was granted. Eight members are receiving sick pay. 
Messrs. H. M. Pollett & Co.’s estimate for printing 
I, 000 copies of the rules was accepted. The secre¬ 
tary produced the receipt for £55 os. 8d. paid to the 
widow of the late Mr. Michael Davis, being the 
amount standing to his credit in the ledger. A letter 
of thanks from Mr. H. Saunders was read, for 7s. 
per week allowed him from the Benevolent Fund, 
and a receipt for £5 paid to Mr. Saunders from his 
deposit account was produced. A grant of 10s. 
from the Convalescent Fund was made to Mr. 
Joseph Russell (No. 473). The treasurer reported 
that he had a balance in band of £155 5s. 5 d. 
MESSRS. PEED’S GLOXINIAS. 
York flower show will prove a floral treat to visitors 
if all the exhibits are of such excellent quality as the 
batch of Gloxinias to be shown by Messrs. J. Peed 
& Son, Roupell Park Nurseries, West Norwood, 
London, which we had the pleasure of inspecting on 
the eve of the show. They were all arranged in a 
long heavily shaded house, and made an exquisite 
picture with their high-toned colours blended in a 
beautiful harmony,the effect of which was greatly en¬ 
hanced by the suffused light,which proved a welcome 
shelter from the blaze of tropical sunshine which 
was reigning outside. The strain this firm are work¬ 
ing on possesses some of the most desirable features ; 
besides being a most floriferous strain it possesses 
foliage of extra fine quality and substance—a feature 
which so many profusely flowered strains lack. 
The leaves of some of the plants were of a size 
seldom seen in these plants, and possess a lustre 
and freshness that was both pleasing to the eye and 
served to set the blooms off to the best possible 
advantage. The habit of the plants also makes the 
strain a very desirable one, being of a compact 
nature with the flowers thrown up well above the 
foliage on strong erect scapes. The batch included 
a large number of unnamed seedlings, many show¬ 
ing colours that are seldom seen in this class of plants. 
Amongst the named varieties we noted the follow¬ 
ing as worthy of special notice:—Countess of 
Warwick, a pink and rose variety, very free bloomer, 
Certificated at York last year; King Edward the 
VII., a deep maroon ; Queen Alexandra, white 
ground with rose margins spotted with a deeper 
rose; Amy Greenhill, white with faint rose ring round 
each segment, proving a special attraction to all 
visitors in the house; Walter Weever, white with blue 
margins beautifully shaded off; Mrs. W. Weever, 
white with rose-pink margins, densely spotted to base 
of the throat with deep red ; Lord Roberts, a very 
rich purple with white edges, foliage extra fine. 
E. L. Peed has deep rose margins and a rich red 
throat; Brilliant is carmine with purple throat 
which throws up the colour well; Duchess of York, 
white densely spotted with rich, small, purple spots. 
Shamrock I., is very deep rose with beautifully undu¬ 
lating margins, a very striking variety; Purple 
King, very deep purple, with white edges; King 
Oscar, a very deep coloured rich velvety bloom ; 
Petunia, white throat, purple suffused with white 
segments ; C. Young, an excellent crimson with light 
rose edges; Sir T. Lipton, claret and rose ; Queen 
of My Heart, a very large bloomed variety with 
white ground heavily spotted with deep purple, the 
throat handsomely pencilled with the same colour ; 
Mrs. M'Kinley, white throat with a few purple spots 
forming a ring at the top, segments rose pink; 
Fairy Queen, white profusely bespattered with 
crimson spots. 
ALPINE PLANTS IN BLOOM. 
A ROCKERY BAY. 
Many of the bays in the rockery at Kew are 
making a pretty picture at present, especially the 
first one, entering the dell from the Cumberland 
Gate. It is a beautiful mass of new, fresh green 
vegetation. The two well known Ferns, Aspidium 
Filix-mas and Asplenium Filix - foemina figure 
conspicuously in the scene. On one side Ramondia 
pyrenaica and R. serbica are in full bloom, grow¬ 
ing in crevices between the stones which are covered 
by the tiny Arenaria balearica; while at the bottom 
the handsome Primula japonica shares the ground 
with Meconopsis and hardy Cypripediums. Other 
odd plants are Lysimachia Nummularia, Saxifraga 
rotundifolia, S. granulata, several small Ferns', and a 
few Veronicas. 
SILENE QUAD RID ENT ATA. 
This is a pretty little rockwork plant belonging to a 
very big genus, seme botanists classifying as many 
as 400 species. It is also known as S. monachorum. 
None of the family are difficult to manage, but thrive 
In a light loamy soil. The above species requires a 
rather damp situation. It makes a very effective 
pot plant for greenhouse work, as it is such a flori¬ 
ferous species. It is now in full bloom. 
SAXIFRAGA SIBTHORPII. 
S. Sibthorpii makes a very pretty little rock plant, 
but will soon encroach on its neighbour’s ground if 
not constantly watched, as it produces seeds abun¬ 
dantly, comes up everywhere, and has a tendency to 
smother all other small plants which attempt to 
obstruct its course. The flowers are very freely pro¬ 
duced and of a bright yellow colour. 
VERONICA GLAUCA. 
There are some exceptionally fine shades of blue in 
the Veronica family, and the above species is one 
with such an intense blue as to make it always a 
conspicuous plant wherever it is growD, and a 
general favourite. It is an annual, and is easily 
raised from seed sown in shallow pans of sandy soil. 
The flowers, which are very freely produced, are 
blue, marked with lines of darker blue, with 
a large cruciform eye in the centre. It is admirably 
adapted for filling a sunny place in the rockery. It 
produces an abundance of seeds which ripen perfectly 
if the season is not too wet. ' 
LEONTOPODIUM ALPINUM. 
This much talked of alpine is now flowering in many 
rock-gardens. To the, alpine tourist it is better 
known as the Edelweiss, and many are the deaths 
that are caused by the daring climber attempting to 
scale some inaccessible spot to collect a specimen of 
it. It is by no means a difficult plant to grow, and 
succeeds on an exposed place in the rockery if pro¬ 
vided with a firm sandy soil. It is easily raised from 
seeds, which are produced very freely in hot seasons. 
It requires protecting from excessive moisture during 
the winter, but not from cold. It was first grown in 
Britain in 1776. 
SAXIFRAGA CERNUA. 
This is a British plant but now very rare, if ever it 
was plentiful in Britain. The only place now where 
it can be found wild is on Ben Lawers in the centre 
of Scotland. It is now blooming freely in the 
rockery at Kew, near to the dripping well. It is of 
very slender habit and reminds one of the Ivy-leafed 
Toad Flax, Linaria Cymbalaria. The flowers are 
seldom produced very freely, and no doubt this 
accounts for its rarity; but although it does not 
bear many seeds it produces large numbers of tiny 
red bulbils which cluster in the axils of the leaves 
and are capable of reproducing the plant.— K. 
- — — 
PYRETHRUMS FROM LANGPORT. 
June is the month to see Pyrethrums in perfection, 
and to study the many colours into which both 
single and double forms have been developed. 
They often commence flowering in May, provided 
the season is anything like an average one, and they 
may flower more or less in July ; but as a rule the 
ground becomes too hot and dry for them by that 
time in the south. The September rains often cause 
them to start into growth and flower a second time. 
When growing freely and flowering, they delight in 
a good supply of moisture, and in gardens where the 
soil is sandy and light, it would help them greatly if 
the cultivator would mulch the ground with any¬ 
thing that will keep the soil cool, and give it a good 
watering occasionally. For cut flowers and garden 
decoration generally they are worthy of a little 
attention in this way, and the profusion of flowers 
will make amends for any time spent on their 
behalf. 
A box of specimen blooms of the varieties grown 
by them reaches us from Messrs. Kelway & Son, 
Langport, Somerset, who are well known as raisers 
and growers of this showy class of plants, of many 
years’ standing. From time to time the best 
varieties that turn up in batches of seedlings receive 
distinctive names. Those sent us are all selected 
and named sorts. Amongst the single varieties, 
Queen of the Whites is peculiar, inasmuch as the 
yellow disc has reverted to white florets resembling 
the ray, except in being very short, so that the 
variety still remains decidedly single. Amongst the 
dark varieties James Kelway is decidedly the best, 
the rays being of a brilliant crimson, and very effec¬ 
tive in the cut state. The carmine flowers of 
General Gaselee are much larger and very conspicu¬ 
ous, the disc being unusually prominent. The 
stems are also remarkably strong. Grizzel is several 
shades paler, being of a deep rose. Alice is rather 
a pleasing, light colour, being rosy-pink, neat in 
form, and uniform in hue. The palest of all the 
singles, leaving aside the white one above men¬ 
tioned, is Countess of Onslow, the flowers of which 
are of a delicate pink. All of the above six have 
been judiciously selected, for neither may be con- 
