Augurt 20. 19. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
666 
Notes on the Illustrations in this Issue. 
Deutzia scabra discolor purpurascens. 
For many years pa,st there has been confusion, between the 
two names D. scabra and D. crenata, and even now many 
plants are grown under both names in this country, but they 
really refer to onei and the same species, which is rather valu¬ 
able', having' given us a number of beautiful garden varieties. 
The form under notice produces clusters of flowers at the ends 
of the main stem and branches, which are purple in the bud 
state and white, tinted with junk, when expanded. The leaves 
are lanceolate, serrate on! the edges, and more or less wrinkled. 
In; all these respects the plant, is very similar to' the ordinary 
D. scabra, except in the purple and pink tints of the flower in 
their various stages of development. Judging, however, from 
the plants forming the subject of our illustration, flowers are 
freely produced on much smaller specimens than in the typical 
D. scabra. In our opinion, however, the ordinary form of 
the species requires a fair amount of warmth, a lengthy season 
to properly ripen the wood and enable it to flower freely. We 
have seen, it 8 ft. or 10 ft. in northern counties and producing 
very few flowers in the course of a season. The plants of the 
variety, wliich we photographed in the Coomibe Wood Nur¬ 
series of Messrs'. J. Veitcli and Sonsi, King’s Road, Chelsea, were 
only 18 in. high, which will give a fair idea of this relatively 
new and little-known, deciduous shrub. 
I ilium testaceum. 
The Nankeen Lily is so easily grown, in the open garden 
that no one with facilities for growing hardy plants should 
be without it. It would be: hazardous to name the section to 
which it belongs, as it really combines the characters of two. 
For many years it was supposed to be a hybrid, 'but there were 
some who doubted it, until the fact was proved by effecting 
the supposed crosses artificially. This more recent corner we 
occasionally meet with under the name' of L. isa.bellinum. Ex¬ 
cept that the flower has a somewhat longer tube than, usual for 
the section, it would fit very well amongst the Marta,guns, 
because when fully developed, the segments are well rolled 
back like the ordinary Turk’s-ca,p Lily. The colour is of a, 
very pale testaceous hue or yellow-red colour, spotted with red 
near the base. Tliei parents are L. candidum x L. chalee- 
dcnicum, the latter supplying the form for the most part-, and 
the pale red or Nankeen yellow which is discoverable in the 
flower. The: latter arise in clusters somewhat resembling an 
umbel, and therefore quite different from the habit of either 
parent. It, has been grown for many years at Kew, and our 
illustration was taken from a specimen which flowered there. 
Lithospermum graminifolium. 
Several species of Lithospermum have been cultivated in 
collections for some years past, but in our opinion one of the 
prettiest of them all is L. graminifolium, by reason of the 
pretty sky-blue of the long funnel-shaped flowers. There are, 
indeed, some who look upon. L. prostratum as the best of the 
species, because itsi flowers have the rich blue of the Gentian, 
but, this species forms a dense habited tuft covering the ground, 
and the dark blue' flowers merely rise above the surface'. No 
doubt this plant has its uses, and will continue to have 
admirers, but we should offer a plea, for that under notice', 
which we photographed in the nursery of Messrs. T. S. Ware, 
Limited, Hale Farm Nurseries, Feltham, about the end of May 
last. The leaves are linear, grass-like and of a, gray hue. The 
slender leafy stems, are only 6 in. high, but that is just suffi¬ 
cient to show off the brilliant sk} r djlue flowers. The species is 
a native of Italy, but very little known in this country, though 
hardy in the southern counties of England at least, and very 
suitable for slightly elevated positions on the rockery. The 
whole plant forms a compact tuft, increasing but slowly, and 
therefore requiring no attention to keep it from over-running 
its neighbours. 
Delphinium nudicaule. 
This Californian species is one of the dwarfest, if not the 
smallest-, of the Delphiniums: in cultivation, as the plant flowers 
when only 12 in. to 18 in. high. Our illustration shows several 
plants forming a little clump, every one of which was in blooim, 
some of the stems being considerably under a foot in height. 
The scarlet flowers are, of course, moderate in size, but their 
hue is very uncommon for this genus. Most of the leaves arise 
from the rootstock, as indicated by the name nudicaule, which 
refers to the leafless stems. As the plant comes from a, warmer 
climate than ours, and one that is frequently drier in winter, 
there is a, liability for the plants to get lost in severe winters 1 . 
A stock can always be kept up, however, by saving and sowing 
the seeds which are produced. The' chief difficulty with which 
Deutzia scabra ducolor purpurascens. 
the cultivator will have to contend is to guard against slugs 
when the plants are quite young. The best plan to raise seed¬ 
lings -would be to sow in seed pans and pot off the seedlings 
early, keeping them in a cold frame until the spring of the 
second year before planting them out. They will then, have 
attained some size and strength, and during the succeeding 
summer will be able to establish themselves firmly on selected 
positions on the rockery, where there will be sufficient depth 
of soil for the roots', but yet well drained, so as to' avoid injury 
tu them during the winter. 
-Dittos A-\n r a l it. 
-- -vvime iruit growers generally Wage relent¬ 
less war against birds which pay too close attention to fruit 
trees and bushes, there are wild bird fanciers who allow their 
Strawberries, Raspberries, and Cherries to be devoured til] 
only three or four are left for the owner. The fruit eaten i< 
regarded as “ the wages of the orchestra.” While some people 
keep singing buds m cages these complacent fruit growers are 
said to enjoy the notes of the blackbirds and thrushes foi 
nothing. We should regard this sort of thing as rather expen 
five music, and not always of the best kind if conducted bv the 
house sparrow. J 
