August H, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
675 
Notes on the Illustrations in this Issue. 
Lilium pomponium. 
Considering the length of time this beautiful Lily has been 
in gardens, it is surprising how seldom it is seen in the average 
garden. The bright vermilion or scarlet flowers, with their 
numerous black specks on the lower half of the segments, are so 
showy that one would expect to see it in every garden. It is a 
native of Lombardy and the south of France, from whence it 
was introduced in 1659, yet at the present day it is by no 
means common anywhere. 
It flowers about the end of June and the beginning of July, 
being one of the earliest to expand its flowers in company with 
L. eroceum, L. dauricum, and L. candidum. The stemsi 
are slender, varying from 18 in. to 3 ft. in height, and 
are densely clothed with narrow leaves, the lower half 
of which are more or less spreading, and the upper ones 
closely adpressed to the stem. Strong plants would 
bear 200 or more of these leaves. 
The flowers are produced in a raceme varying from 
two to fifteen blooms, and stand clear above the foliage 
on rather long spreading pedicels ; they therefore stand 
clear of one another, not being crowded in any way, 
and thus show off their brilliantly coloured flowers to 
the best advantage. The segments of these flowers are 
very closely revolute, even tightly curled up, this char¬ 
acter being much more conspicuous even than, in L. 
Martagon, to which section it belongs. These flowers 
are also sweeth' scented, so that they make their pre¬ 
sence felt in the garden where a good clump of them 
is grown. 
Our illustration was prepared from specimens re¬ 
ceived from Messrs. T. S. Ware, Limited, Hale Farm 
Nurseries, Feltham. Middlesex, and shows the char¬ 
acter of the plant from about the middle of the stems 
upwards. The middle stem, in fact, shows the greater 
proportion of the leaves. 
Allium kansuense. 
Several species of Allium are natives of Britain, but 
there are none of them to which we can compare this 
plant, except the kitchen herb, A. Schoenoprasum or 
Chives, formerly much more extensively used in do¬ 
mestic cookery than at the present day; The leaves of 
the Chinese species are much finer, however, being 
almost like Fescue grass, even when grown fairly strong. 
The flowersi are, however, the most ornamental part of 
this small growing species, being of a, bright Hue, and 
borne in nodding umbels from the top of the slender 
grass-like sterns. These flowers are almost the same 
colour as Scilla sibirica, but usually several shades paler, 
and might correctly be described as a clear bright sky- 
blue. 
It has sometimes been confused with A. cyaneum, 
hut the flowers of the latter are much smaller, much 
deeper blue, and have long stamens projecting beyond 
the corolla. They are also much more expanded and 
less bell-shaped than in the species under notice, which we do 
not hesitate to describe as the prettiest of all the dwarf-growing 
members of the Onion tribe. The stamens, of this plant are 
somewhat shorter than the corolla, and for this reason it 
has been described by Begel as A. cyaneum brachystemon, in 
the belief that it was only a variety of that species. It is 
very distinct, however, even when the two are grown side by 
side, and well worthy of cultivation in a, collection of hardy 
plants. The rockery is the best, place for A. kansuense, as it 
could be grown in quite a limited space, and it, would only be 
justice to' place it where it would not be crowded, over-run, or 
over-hung by coarser-growing plants. 
Our illustration was prepared from a neat tuft growing upon 
t ie rockery at Kew, and if it, had been taken somewhat earlier 
the stems would have been more upright. Just previous to 
that the heavy floods of rain broke out and battered down 
almost everything unable to resist their weight. 
Polypodium iridioides ramc-cristaturo. 
The fronds of this Fern in their typical form are strap¬ 
shaped, like those of a Scolopendrium, or like those of an Iris, 
as expressed in the specific name. The ordinary form, how¬ 
ever, has not yet attained great popularity in gardens, but the 
branched and crested form under notice is more likely to find 
admirers for garden purposes. We 1 think the leathery char¬ 
acter of the fronds would resist the dry atmosphere of houses 
when employed in floral decorations. 
The special feature of this variety is that, the fronds^ are 
bifid, trifid, or branching to the middle of the frond. In ex¬ 
treme cases this division of parts is carried right to the base. 
Each of these divisions now formed is crested as, indicated by 
Lilium pomponium. 
the varietal name, which means branched and crested. 
The illustration on another page was prepared from a. plant 
in the nursery of Messrs. jWm. Bull and Sons, King’s Road, 
Chelsea, who exhibited it at a meeting of the Royal Horticul¬ 
tural Society on July 8th last year, and were accorded an 
Award of Merit for it. 
New Public Park for Aberfeldy. —-Victoria Park, the new 
recreation ground at Taybridge Terrace, generously granted to 
Aberfeldy by the Marquis of Breadalbane, K.G., was on the 
4th ult. formally opened by the Marchioness. The afternoon 
was observed as a holiday, and a civic procession marched to 
the ground. Provost Campbell said Aberfeldy was a model 
burgh, and they were largely indebted to the superior for many 
of their improvements. Lady Breadalbane said it, was very 
unfortunate that Lord Breadalbane was unable to be present, 
that day, but he did not like to be seen walking on crutches, 
so she was taking his place. 
