THE GARDENING WORLD 
July 4, 1903. 
572 
in the herbaceous borders. Where this is done the plants 
should receive a good mulching of cow manure, and be given 
copious supplies of water all through the summer. Raising 
seedlings from these is very interesting, and by no means diffi¬ 
cult. The seeds, which ripen in considerable numbers, should 
be saved when ready and sown in boxes in a cold frame, using 
a fairly good compost. These take some time to germinate, 
but when large enough should be pricked off into other boxes 
and planted out in the spring; they will probably flower about 
the third year, and the best colours can then be selected. 
Aquatic Plants. —Many of these are now extremely beautiful, 
and the well-appointed water garden will be a most interesting 
part for some months to come. Though several things were 
injured by the frost, these appear to have recovered, and aie 
now making growth freely. The various sorts of water weeds 
are also growing apace, and will need keeping down, or the 
plants will suffer in consequence. The weeds should, if pos¬ 
sible, be taken right out, but where the bottom of the pools 
or streams is of soil this is almost impossible, and cutting them 
as low as a scythe or similar tool will reach is the best method 
I am acquainted with. Some plants also grow and increase 
so rapidly that they are little better than weeds, and unless 
ample space is at command, must be treated in the same way. 
The Nymphaeas especially resent being choked up with other 
growth, and if one wishes to have these at their best constant 
attention is necessary. Limnanthemum peltatum, though a 
pretty plant, must not be allowed to grow everywhere as it 
likes, or it will become a nuisance. Where water rats abound 
means must be taken to protect the better plants, as these 
quickly work havoc with the roots, and waterfowl must be 
kept away, or they will destroy the foliage and flowers. 
Plants growing on the margins should, where they require 
it, be staked and tied, and many will be benefited if given a 
good mulching of farmyard manure. This applies particularly 
to the Gunneras, which are now making immense growths and 
need a little stimulant. For the colder parts of the 
country no doubt the best variety to grow is G. scabra, which 
is much hardier than G. manicata, and is for this purpose a 
very handsome plant. In this district the foliage is of immense 
size, from 4 ft. to 5 ft. in height, and one of the best plants 
for the water’s edge. _ . 
Zizania Aquatica,—Those plants which have been raised 
under glass can be safely planted out now in baskets of soil 
and dropped into water about 1 ft. in depth. This plant is 
somewhat new to gardens, and, though of annual duration 
only, it. is extremely interesting, the tall spikes of flower and 
pleasing foliage being quite distinct from anything else. It is 
commonly called the Canadian Rice, and the seeds, when saved, 
should be sown immediately, as they quickly lose their vitality. 
The Rockery — Plants which have finished flowering should 
have the flower stems removed, unless it is desired to save seed, 
as these cause a strain to be put upon the plant, and in many 
cases weaken the flowering properties next season. 
Keep the growths of herbaceous plants supported, and if 
these are occasionally given a soaking of manure water the 
results will be much finer. 
Pentstemons, Chrysanthemums, and the like can also be 
o-iven weak stimulants and kept loosely tied to the stakes. 
b Aldenham House Gardens, Elstree. A. E. Thatcher. 
Eremurus robustus. 
Few early summer flowering plants are at once so handsome, 
floriferous, and attractive as the stronger members of this 
genus, imparting to the landscape a subtropical effect, seaice y 
excelled by the favourite Yuccas. They form admirable sub¬ 
jects- for heightening the effect of an altitude in the rock 
garden, for the herbaceous border, or for relieving the flat 
appearance of large beds. The subject under notice, from a 
rosette of Yucca-like, flexible leaves, produces a racemose 
flower scape 5 ft, to 6 ft. high, densely clothed for 2 ft, or more 
with large flesh-pink flowers, forming a cylindrical inflores¬ 
cence. The variety E. r. elwesia.nus is exceptionally good. 
Native of Turkestan. 
Alocasia sanderiana. 
The above plant is a relative of the Lords and Ladies, but 
being a tropical representative of the order it has developed 
much finer leaves, for which alone it is cultivated. It differs 
from most of the Alocasias chiefly by the leaves being cut or 
scolloped at the edges. For this reason it has been named 
“ Schizoeasia ” by some authorities, but others would reckon 
that these distinctions are too insignificant to separate it from 
the rest of its kind. The large shield-shaped and scolloped 
leaves are of a rich dark and shining green, with all the princi¬ 
pal ribs of a silvery hue. There are several others, in which tlifi 
scolloped character of the leaves is more or less evident, anc 
in some cases they are very pretty. The plant of which we! 
give an illustration may, however, be taken as a type of the 
others, which merely differ in minor particulars from the 
general plan of structure. The photograph was taken some 
little time ago in the nursery of Mr. John Russell, Richmond 
Surrey, who devotes a considerable amount of attention to thi 
class of plants. 
As the plants grow in tropical jungles, where the soil is loose 
consisting largely of vegetable matter, it follows that a com 
post should be made up of a similar character, so as to re 1 
semble that in which it naturally grows to a certain extent 
although, as a rule, that may sometimes be avoided. A goo 
compost would consist of fibrous peat, with a small quantit; 
of fibrous loam, with a fair quantity of leafy soil. Gardener 
also use a fair proportion of sphagnum, with some lumps o 
charcoal to keep the soil porous and open. Silver sand mus 
also be used to' ensure perfect porosity, as the plant requires a 
abundance of water during the growflng season, and provisio 
must be made for the surplus moisture to drain away. 
Rose Frau Karl Pruschke. 
The first plant of this, hybrid perpetual Rose which bloome 
was a very tall subject, and, although the blooms were ver 
handsome, the plant did not give the idea of being a ver 
good subject for general cultivation. It must be remembered 
however, that seedlings take a long time to come into bloom 
and they usually grow very rampantly previous to that period 
and also require time to reach a flowering condition. Sinet 
that happened, however, and the Rose has been propagatec 
in the usual way by budding, it has been giving great satisfac 
tion, even in a dwarf or bush state, so that it wall be perfectly 
amenable to culture, and grown in the same way as othe 
hybrid perpetuals for exhibition purposes. 
The flowers are pure white, shortly conical in the bud, c 
half-expanded state, but when fully developed they are globi 
lar. Hitherto the difficulty has been to get a pure wliii 
hybrid perpetual, because the only one of any importance fc 
exhibition purposes was more or less decidedly tinted wit 
pink. That under notice is snow white when fully develope 
An Award of Merit was accorded by the Royal Horticultur 
Society Avlien brought before them on July 8th last year. O' 
illustration was taken from a plant which bloomed in May 
the nursery of Messrs. William Paul and Sons, Waltham Cro> 
Herts. The photograph shows the wdiole of the plant, to tl 
top of the pot, and will give a good idea of its dwarf charset; 
when brought on for early work under glass. It may also, v 
believe, be grown as a pillar Rose by slightly different tree 
ment. 
Trade Notice. 
Messrs. Dobbie and Co. 
Messrs. Dobbie and Co., the Royal Scottish Seed Establl- 
ment, Rothesay and Orpington, Kent, have just purchasi 
sixty acre® of fine freehold land in the Essex seed-growing c- 
trict. It lies alongside the main Great Eastern line, ands 
close to Marks Tey Station. They intend removing their se - 
glowing operations from Orpington to this place next seaso: 
