July 6, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
721 
from seed every year with very satisfactory results. 
Some people prefer to strike cuttings and propagate 
tbem in that way. When this is resorted to, they 
should be taken off in the winter and treated in just 
the same manner as Pelargoniums. 
Eryngiums.— Baxter', The common Sea-Holly 
does not often exceed i ft. 6 in. in height, but is all 
the same a very striking plant. For a colour effect 
we should recommend you to try E. amethystinum, 
which often reaches the height of 2 ft., and is very use¬ 
ful for cuttings, as the flower heads are a beautiful 
amethyst-blue, as are those of the better known E. 
planum. E. giganteura makes a noble plant, reach¬ 
ing from 2 ft. to 4 ft. in height, and making one of 
the most picturesque plants on the border. It is 
biennial. They do not require any special soil, 
and will thrive in any ordinary garden mould. 
ARABIS ALBIDA FLORE PLENO. 
The ordinary green and variegated forms of Arabis 
albida are well known garden plants, the former 
being very widely cultivated in cottage gardens for 
the sake of the profusion of white flowers which it 
produces every spring with the least possible atten¬ 
tion to its requirements. The variegated one is 
much utilised for edging purposes in various parts of 
the country, but proves a little tender in smoky 
THE ROCK GARDEN- 
PLANTS IN FLOWER. 
PapaYer alpinum. 
While this is closely allied to the Iceland Poppy 
(P. nudicaule), and by good botanists considered 
only a form of it, for garden purposes it is very dis¬ 
tinct, being dwarfer, with smaller flowers, sometimes 
of a different colour than is met with in the Iceland 
Poppy. The Alpine Poppy under notice is a native 
of alpine and arctic regions and would easily with¬ 
stand our severest winters, provided the weather 
would allow it to remain thoroughly at rest. The 
plant forms a dwarf tuft, not exceeding 6 in. in 
height, with finely divided glaucous leaves and 
lemon-yellow, salmon-pink, white or orange-coloured 
flowers in different varieties. The orange is some¬ 
times intensified to orange-scarlet. For rockwork it 
is a charming plant and one of the smallest Poppies 
in cultivation. 
Allium narcissiflorum. 
Of the several species of Allium in cultivation, this 
may safely be described as one of the best, even if 
not by any means so well known as the white- 
flowered A. neapolitanum, so much used for forcing 
purposes in winter. The species under notice bears 
deep rosy-purple, bell-shaped flowers in profusion, 
in drooping umbels at the apex of the flower stalk. 
between one pocket and another in its own free way, 
as it looks all the more natural when seen so grow¬ 
ing. It is of the easiest cultivation and may be pro¬ 
pagated by dividing the underground stems. 
Silene quadrifida. 
In several respects this comes close to S. a'pestris 
and S. quadridentata, but is nevertheless a very 
pretty rock plant and a stronger grower than S. 
alpestris. The spathulate dark green leaves are 
mostly confined to the base of the stems which rise 
up to a height of 6 in., bearing a profusion of flowers 
that vary from white to pale pink on the same 
plant. The short petals are four-toothed or angled 
at the apex ; hence the origin of the specific name. 
Jasione perennis. 
The general appearance of this plant Is closely 
similar to that of the Sheep’s Scabious (Jasione 
montana), a British plant with round heads of small 
blue flowers, not unlike those of some species of 
Scabious. J. perennis is a native of Western 
Europe, and was introduced as long ago as 1787, but 
at present it is seldom seen in gardens. The slender 
stems stand about 1 ft. high, and are leafy in the 
lower half, while the apex terminates in a head of 
bright blue flowers, which, though small individu¬ 
ally, are very effective in the mass. The plant is of 
the easiest cultivation in a sandy or friable soil, and 
can readily be propagated in spring by division of 
the crowns with the roots belonging to each. 
Arabis albida flore pleno. 
towns during winter, owing to the amount of filth 
deposited on its leaves. The new double-flowered 
variety under notice came prominently before the 
public in 1900, although it must have been grown 
some little time previously. It was brought before 
the Floral Committee of the Royal Horticultural 
Society on April 24th by a number of exhibitors 
last year, and was accorded an Award of Merit. 
Since then it has been finding its way into many 
gardens, and is sure to become a popular plant for 
spring decoration in the garden. We have seen it 
flowering a second time in September on the new 
growths encouraged by the late summer rains. 
When in thriving condition it produces an abun¬ 
dance of flower spikes from every rosette of leaves ; 
and as the flower stalks elongate and the double 
flowers expand, the spikes bear no small resemblance 
to Stocks or the double White Rocket, on a small 
scale, only the flowers are a little more thinly dis¬ 
tributed. The accompanying illustration was pre¬ 
pared from a photograph we had taken in the 
nursery of Messrs. Barr & Sons, Long Ditton. It 
represents only a small patch out of a large quantity 
then in bloom. The plant is admirably adapted for 
beds or borders, for planting on the rockery,and a'so 
for growing in pans in cold frames for early work in 
the conservatory or any other cool house on the 
place. Let it have a sunny and open situation, and 
the cultivator will be amply rewarded. 
The strap-shaped leaves bear as much resemblance 
to those of a Narcissus as do the flowers. The 
plant is of the easiest culture in any well-drained, 
friable soil, and is admirably adapted for cultivation 
on the rockery, where it flowers during the greater 
part of June. It is readily increased by offsets. 
Houstonia caerulea. 
This may be regarded as amongst the choicest of 
rock plants, seldom exceeding 3 in. or 4 in. in height 
and producing a profusion of its blue or blue and 
white flowers in profusion Very frequently the 
flowers are white, tipped with a delightful sky blue. 
The plant grows readily in a sandy and peaty soil in 
sheltered nooks of the rockery, and if liable to die 
out in winter if the soil is badly drained, the loss 
may readily be made good by saving seeds and by 
keeping a few plants in a cold frame by way of re¬ 
serve. It is a native of North America and is known 
by the common name of Bluets. 
Linaria pallida. 
Considering the dwarf habit of this plant the flowers 
are of appreciable size and so freely produced as to 
be quite conspicuous. They may be described as 
blue-purple with a large white palate. The stems 
creep just under the soil as a rule and send up short 
flowering shoots. This habit makes the plant pecu¬ 
liarly aiaoted for the rock garden ; and it should be 
planted where it can run through the chinks 
Meconopsis heterophylla. 
Some of the species of Meconopsis prove a little 
troublesome to cultivate, but this is evidently very 
tractable, and so beautiful as to be worthy of a 
place on the rockery, even though an annual. The 
slender, branching stems are 12 in. to 16 iD. high, 
each shoot terminating in a deep orange flower with 
a maroon centre, the contrast being very marked 
and charming. The leaves are variously cut, as 
indicated by the name, and generally light green in 
colour. It has found its way into several gardens, 
and was honoured with an Award of Merit recently 
by the Royal Horticultural Society. It is a native 
of California and seems to have just been introduced 
or re-introduced, for it was described in the Trans¬ 
actions of the Horticultural Society as loDg ago as 1835. 
Plants that Taint Milk.—It is very remarkable 
that at this time of the year complaints about 
tainted milk and butter are much more numerous 
than at any other time. One of the reasons for this, 
no doubt, is that during the early part of the year 
grass is not so plentiful as at a later date, and milch 
cows when turned oht from their winter quarters are 
not so discriminating in the matter of selecting 
plants eaten by them as they become later on. 
Another reason, doubtless, is that at this season of 
the year a larger number of plants liable to taint 
