January 7, 1905. 
THE QARDENINQ WORLD . 
7 
Phlox Fiancee. 
or trenched and manured before making the plantation. The 
soil itself should lie of a substantial character, though ■ ! or 
anything inclined to that would he undesirable. Indeed, good 
rich soil will be found to suit this class of plants admirably. 
During diy summers, however, tlie ground will inevitably 
become dry, and to guard against this the cultivator should 
have the ground mulched with well-decayed manure. This 
retains the moisture, keeps the plant s strong, and enables them 
to produce blooms of the largest size. 
The perennial Phlox has a quality that is seldom mentioned 
ill connection with their cultivation — namely, their fragrance. 
During the day, when the sun may be powerful, this is scarcely 
observable, but should anyone approach a bed of varieties in 
the dusk of the evening soon after the sun has lost its effect, 
the atmosphere will be pervaded with a subtle but distinct, 
fragrance for some distance around. White varieties of most 
plants are amongst those which are likely to be scented during 
the gloaming, but as white varieties of the autumn-flowering 
Phlox Fiancee; Flowers pure white. 
Phlox are garden productions, they do not excel their allies of 
other colours in this respect. 
Flowers at Moxtrettx on Christmas Day.— It seems that 
this sea-girt isle has not had all the favour of sunshine and 
mildness during the portion of winter now T past, for on Christ¬ 
mas Day, at Montreux, Switzerland, as many as forty different 
sorts of flowers were noted, including Roses, Primroses, iolets, 
Verbena's, and other garden flowers. 
* * * 
A Prolific A pile Tree.— -‘"The Globe” makes an extract 
fi\,m its pages of an issue in 1823, in which it is stated that an 
Apple tree belonging to Mr. Hunt, Weston-Zoyland. near 
Bridgewater, produced the astonishing number of 32.000 Apples 
in that year. 
For many years past the number of varieties of the late- 
tloweri'ng perennial Phlox lias been very great, but il one looks 
down the list of names it is evident that out Continental neigh¬ 
bours have been far more active in the improvement of this 
useful garden flower than have the raisers in this country. It 
will also occur to many that the number of varieties differing 
in colour is sufficiently great for all practical purposes. As in 
the case of the zonal Pelargoniums, we do not think that the 
race lias yet reached the “ Ultima Thule ” of perfection. 
Although we may have what we regard as perfection in 
colour, size and texture of the flower, as well as habit <>1 the 
plant, it is evident to most growers that these high qualities 
are not combined in any one variety, but appertain as single 
qualities belonging to different varieties. Raisers should there¬ 
fore continue their labours with the object of combining all 
these qualities in one and the same variety. To carry these 
qualities all through the gamut of colour is no easy matter, and 
will furnish work to enthusiastic readers for many 
years to come. These remarks apply to Phloxes 
which have been raised from P. paniculata. In some 
books P. acuminata and P. decussata are said to have 
taken part in the origin of the late-flowering Phloxes, 
but these names are now regarded as applying to 
mere forms of P. paniculata. 
On this occasion we intend speaking of two white 
varieties which are regarded as standing at the head 
of the list in this colour. These are Fiancee and 
Sylphide. Of the former we give an illustration of a 
panicle of blossom showing the general features of 
the variety. The flowers are pure white and pro¬ 
duced in large pyramidal panicles. 
The actual size of the flowers themselves, as well as 
that of the panicle, will depend largely upon the cul¬ 
tural treatment given the plants. If plants are 
allowed to occupy the same ground for years, the 
crowns become so numerous and densely compacted 
that the flower-stems get weakened, and both panicle 
and bloom will be small. To get the best results with 
Phloxes it is necessary to raise plants frequently, 
even once a. year, taking cuttings sufficiently early in 
late summer or early autumn to have them well 
rooted and established before winter. Even then, 
should more than one stem make its appearance in 
spring, this must be reduced to the strongest in order 
to get the best results. For exhibition purposes this 
necessary, though for cut-flower purposes the 
is 
in (he 
Cross, 
panicle need not be so large, unless it is to be put in 
water in vases singly. 
The other white variety, Sylphide, is regarded as 
superior to Fiancee by being purer white and having 
larger flowers. To prove this satisfactorily it would 
he necessary to- have both varieties grown under 
equal conditions, because if one was grown well and 
the other badly the superior variety might even be 
made to seem the inferior. Whatever qualities both 
may possess, growers will find it advantageous to 
have both until a superior is produced. Our illustra¬ 
tion of Fiancee was prepared from a photograph taken 
nursery of Messrs. William Paul and Son, Waltham 
Herts, last autumn. 
In the northern part of this island Phloxes are largely used 
for exhibition purposes, and their cultivation is attended with 
less difficulty than in the South owing to difference of climate. 
A skilful gardener is not at all embarrassed with the care of a 
collection of Phloxes even in the South, as thei plants respond 
to generous treatment and give excellent results in the driest 
of summers. 
The Phlox is a shallow rooting plant, and soon permeates 
the ground with a mass of fibrous roots which abstract the 
moisture', after which the plants may show signs of distress in 
very dry weather even at the time of flowering. To guard 
against this the intelligent cultivator lias the ground well dug 
