THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 29, 1901. 
707 
each way. Keep as near to the glass as possible. 
Early in March they should be ready to go out into 
the cold frames. Keep them rather close for a few 
days, then give them more air according to the 
weather. A great thiDg is to try and keep them as 
sturdy as possible, and, as a means to this end, the 
lights of the frame should be taken off altogether 
before the Onions are planted out in their perma¬ 
nent quarters. The soil in which they are to be 
grown should have been trenched two or three spits 
deep, and plenty of good rotten manure put into it. 
This should be done in the autumn, and at the same 
time a good dressing of soot should be forked 
into it. 
The ground having lain fallow through the winter, 
and the plants brought on as indicated, the third 
week in April, if the weather is favourable, would be 
a good time to transplant to the open ground. 
Transplanting must be most carefully done so that not 
a fibre may be broken that can be helped. To do this 
use a small trowel and lift the plant with the ball of 
earth round it, placing it gently in the hole prepared 
for it. The rows should be 18 in. apart, and i2 in. 
from plant to plant. Should the weather be dry, 
they should be sprinkled with a pot and rose for a 
few days until well established, and, from early in 
June, manure water may be given about once a 
fortnight. Should the exhibition you are preparing 
for be about the third week in August, the Onions 
should be lifted a few days beforehand. 
Leeks. 
Leeks must, in their young state, be grown in the 
same way as recommended for Onions, sowing at the 
same time and giving them the same treatment, ex¬ 
cepting in this particular, that Leeks for exhibition 
purposes should always be grown in pots and never 
in boxes, the great thing to aim at with Leeks being 
to get them as great a length as possible, and the 
less the root fibres are interfered with the more likely 
are you to achieve this end and success in the show 
tent. About the third week in April, prepare the 
trench they are to be grown in. It should be 18 in. 
deep and 18 in. wide for a single row, the length 
being according to the number of plants you intend 
to grow. For two dishes, twenty-five plants will be 
enough to select from. The soil removed from the 
trench should be piled up at the sides of it to be 
used later on for blanching. Into the bottom of the 
trench should be placed some good rotten cow 
manure, or horse manure, to the depth of about 
io in. firmly trodden in. On the top of this, place 6 in. 
of soil, and in it plant the Leeks about 3 in. deep, 
and 12 in. from plant to plant. As soon as the Leek 
is planted in the trench, place a brown paper collar 
round the white of it and put a little soil around just 
to keep the collar firm enough in its place; but do 
not let the soil reach up to the top of the collar, in 
case it gets in between the leaves. Give abundance 
of water throughout the dry weather. The sort I 
prefer for exhibition is the Monarch, being a sturdier 
Leek and of better constitution and a darker green 
in the leaf than the Lyon—also a good sort. 
(To be continued.) 
« 1 » - 
THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE 
STUDY OF PLANTS. 
Sketch II. (Continued from p. 674.) 
We find the next mention of plants in Grecian fabu¬ 
lous history about 1260 A.C. The probability that 
the Greeks derived any knowledge they possessed 
from the Egyptians is very likely. Much of other 
arts in which the Egyptians excelled were also trans¬ 
ported to Greece. 
Esculapius, one of the most celebrated persons 
connected with the study of plants in Grecian myth¬ 
ology, owing to his great skill in the medicinal 
virtues of plants, achieved to the immortal dignity 
oi God, and father of medicine. True, he derived 
his instruction from his master Chiron, but the dis¬ 
ciple appears to have so much improved on the 
tuition of the master, as to not only cure all diseases 
by herbs, but resuscitate the very dead to life ! ! This 
extravagant display of the high position the virtues 
of plants received at the hands of the early Greek 
writers, though of no value whatever as far as actual 
truth is concerned, clearly demonstrates a fact of 
some importance, viz., that the study of plants 
certainly had a place of very considerable con¬ 
sequence among the Greeks at this remote age. 
Two of the-sons of this notable quack, Machaon 
and 'Podalirius, are extolled by Homer for their 
knowledge and skill of herbal meiicine at the time 
of the Trojan war. 
Besides those evidences of the progress of the 
knowledge of the properties of plants, at this early 
period it is supposed, from a reference which Homer 
makes to the garden of Alcinous, that plants were 
used for culinary as well as ornamental purposes. 
The same author refers to the Lotus and Nepenthes. 
It would seem from the statement made in 
1 Kings iv. 33, that King Solomon wrote a book on 
plants, a circumstance which would imply consider¬ 
able taste for the study of plants, among the Hebrews 
also. It is very likely they would, too, derive this 
taste from the Egyptians. Down to a period of 
about 600 years A.C., whatever evidences are 
directly or indirectly on record respecting the study 
of plants, there is not previous to this any reason 
for inferring that the subject was made an object of 
philosophical research. Thales, the earliest Greek 
philosopher, is regarded as being the first to enter 
upon phytological investigation. He is said to have 
travelled from Greece to Egypt for the purpose of 
being instructed in the knowledge which the 
Egyptians were in possession ot at the time. From 
the inquiry into the subject by the philosopher’s 
immediate successors, it is supposed that he must 
have made some advancement in the direction of the 
speculative side of the study of plants. Anything 
done is not considered, however, of further import¬ 
ance, than of giving a new course to the study of 
plants. 
Phythagoras, Anaxagoras, Empedocles, and Demo¬ 
critus, the successors of Thales, seem to have be¬ 
stowed some attention to the subject. Their books 
are unfortunately lost, and what is known of them is 
a reference to their opinions by subsequent writers. 
Phythagoras is credited with the honour of writ¬ 
ing a book on Onions. Anaxagoras held that vege¬ 
table seeds were suspended in the atmosphere and 
brought down to the earth, by the rain and dew. 
Empedocles taught a theory of germination, which, 
however, as might be expected, is not orthodox. 
Both he and Anaxagoras held that plants were 
sensible to touch, and capable of desires and 
passions ; we think this theory has lately been 
resuscitated. Democritus is said to have made some 
inquiry into the cause of the tastes and perfumes of 
plants, and which he held to be due to the form of the 
primitive components constituting plants. 
Hypocrates, the celebrated founder oi rational 
medicine (400 A.C.), greatly extendei the field of 
inquiry into the study of plants, and associates plants 
with medicine. He is said to enumerate over two 
hundred species of plants in his works. The dignity 
to which this philosopher raised plants was certain 
to incite emulation. Cratejas, a contemporary of 
Hypocrates, is said to have written a book on botany. 
It is unhappily lost. 
Xenoppon makes honourable mention of the sub¬ 
ject in so far as it tends to the perfection of the 
education of the Persian youth. 
Aristotle, however, is the first Greek philosopher 
who evidently entered into the subject of plants 
with any pretensions to a scientific investigation. 
He wrote two books entirely treating on plants, 
which are now lost. Inferring from his other 
learned contributions to philosophy which have been 
transmitted to our time, the loss of these works will 
be generally regretted. They would doubtless have 
contained much that would be interesting ; and yet 
perhaps much is not after all lost, for possibly we 
learn from Theophrastus, the disciple of Aristotle, all 
that was worthy of note in the lost works of his 
master. Theophrastus flourished about 300 A.C. 
He is said to have been a most enthusiastic botanist, 
so much indeed as to be denominated the " prince 
of ancient botanists.” He wrote two books on 
botany, for which his name is honourably famed. 
In the one he attempts to arrange plants, in the 
other to explain vegetable phenomena. — Antijuus. 
(To be continued.) 
Shrubs for Sandy Soils.—Quite a variety of 
shrubs specially lend themselves to cultivation oa 
sandy soils. In speaking of sandy soils in this con¬ 
nection we do not refer to pure sand but to land in 
which the proportion of sand ranges irom 70 to 80 ptr 
cent. On such land shrubs such as the Strawberry 
tree (Arbutus), Japanese Aucuba, Cotoneaster, 
EscallOnia, Laurustinus, Phillyrea and Guelder Rose, 
usually do well and flourish to great advantage. 
PLANTS RECENTLY CERTIFICATED, 
The undermentioned awards were made by the 
Royal Horticultural Society on the 18th inst. 
Orchid Committee. 
SOPHROCATTLEYA GEORGE HARDY TyNTESFIELD, 
var. —The parents of this bigeneric hybrid were 
Cattleya Aclandiae and Sophronitis grandiflora. Two 
at least of the seedlings have flowered.the one favour¬ 
ing one parent and the other seedling the other 
parent. The Tyntesfield variety under notice takes 
after Cattleya Aclandiae. The oblong sepals are 
suffused with buff-purple over a yellow ground, and 
thinly spotted with dark purple. The rhomboid 
petals are thinly spotted towards the top otherwise 
they resemble the sepals. The lip has the triangu¬ 
lar side lobes lined with pale purple on a creamy 
yellow ground, while the terminal transverse lobe is 
deep rose. The short fleshy column is deep purple. 
It will be seen that the form of the flowers is inter¬ 
mediate between the parents. The typical S. George 
Hardy has orange scarlet flowers with a few spots 
and therefore leans towards the other parent, 
Sophronitis. (Award of Merit.) Fred Hardy, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. Thos. Stafford), Tyntesfield, Ashton- 
on-Mersey. 
Floral Committee. 
Tea Rose Lady Roberts. — Amongst new Roses 
this is one of the most handsome we have seen this 
year, the colour being strikingly distinct and mag¬ 
nificent. The opening flowers have a firm conical 
centre, around which the outer petals become more 
or less decidedly revolute at the tips as the blossoms 
expand. The buds are of a rich salmon-red, and 
the open petals orange-salmon, fading to apricot at 
the edges. Form and colour are therefore the glory 
of this new Tea Rose as the blossoms are not 
■scented. Experts say that it is large enough or 
will become so, when properly grown, for exhibition 
purposes. We should think it will have an inter¬ 
esting career for that object. (Award of Merit,) 
Messrs. Frank Cant and Co., Colchester. 
Asplenium Trichqmanes bipinnatum. — The 
most striking feature of this beautiful variety is the 
great length of the pinnae, which are lanceolate, 
elongate, and either serrated, pinnatified or pinnati- 
sect, for they vary greatly upon one and the same 
plant. We understand it is a wild find collected 
in Wales. (Award of Merit.) C. T. Druery, Esq., 
V.M.H., Stanwixbank, 11, Shaa Road, Acton, W. 
Gloriosa lutea.— The leaves of this plant vary 
from lanceolate to ovate and terminate in a tendril. 
The flowers are similar to those of G. superba in all 
respects except in colour, the segments being soft 
buff yellow with a paler base. (Award of Merit.) 
The Hon. Mrs. Evelyn Cecil (gardener, Mr. Cox), 
Lytchett Heath, Poole. 
Carnation Duchess of Roxburgh. —The flowers 
of this fancy variety are of the largest size, and sup¬ 
ported by a non-bursting calyx, but without scent. 
The base of the petals is yellow, but towards the 
apex they are striped with pale heliotrope and apri¬ 
cot on a white ground, the combination of colours 
being peculiar and the general effect handsome, even 
although the colours are subdued. (Award of Merit.) 
Mr. J. Douglas, Edenside, Great Bookham, Surrey. 
Dictamnus caucasicus. —The leaves of this plant 
are leathery with ovate, crenulate leaflets. The 
plant is more vigorous than either D. alba or D 
Fraxinella, growing to a height of 4^ ft The large 
flowers are produced in a long, pyramidal panicle, 
and are rose, veined with reddish purple. AH parts 
of the plant are very powerfully scented. (Award of 
Merit.) Mr. Amos Perry, Hardy Plant Farm, 
Winchmore Hill. 
Sedum kamtschaticum.— This plant is of pro¬ 
cumbent habit, with terminal cymes of yellow 
flowers, and the spathulate leaves are crenate-den- 
tate above the middle and edged with creamy yellow. 
It is quite hardy and well adapted for cultivation on 
the rockery. (Award of Merit.) Mr. Amos Perry. 
Fruit and Vegetable Committee. 
Strawberry The Laxton.— The fruits of this 
variety are of good average, or even large size, coni¬ 
cal, obtuse, and of a rich crimson-red colour. It 
does not seem to become flattened at the point as 
Royal Sovereign sometimes does, and is of finer 
colour and flavour than that grand variety. The 
skin is also firm, so that it will keep well on the 
plant in wet weather, and also carry well to market. 
It has, therefore, several points in its favour in 
