l*Vln uaiy 25, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
,lo this than in spring, when the leaves are unfolding, because 
lliev are then more advanced, more complicated, and easily 
seen and understood. 
\ chapter on the leaf in relation to its environment is also 
very interesting, as an attempt has here been made to give 
reasons for the leaves assuming certain forms, these being 
due to the' medium in which they live, or to the atmospheric 
conditions surrounding them, and the nature of the medium, 
whether soil or water, in which they are situated. It is 
notable that those plants which live beneath the surface of 
the water very often have much divided leaves, while the 
same plants often send up a few leaves to the surface, which 
assume quite a different form. The aquatic species of 
Crowfoot are good examples of these. 
Another remarkable example may be met with in Victoria 
uyia, here illustrated in the adult state. The seedling stage has 
at" least four of the first leaves that are entirely different 
from the latter stages, and the three primary ones are sub¬ 
merged. Some may have been interested in the peculiar 
form of the To. uelia (Monstera), which has large, leathery, 
perforated leaves. The object of this is stated to be to 
permit the passage o* light through the upper leaves to those 
situated beneath. The hairs and scales on the surface of 
leaves assume a great variety of forms, many of which are 
here illustrated. 
Further over the book the sleep of leaves is discussed, 
together with galls produced by insects, anrl these again are 
oflowed by chapters on floral forms in relation to insect, 
plant marriages, Orchids, fertilisation of various plants by 
insects, humming birds, water, Sc c. An interesting account 
is given of the fertilisation of the flowers of Yucca by the 
Yucca moth. Those into whose hands this book may fall 
will therefore find an immense variety of subjects, any one of 
which, if taken up as a study, would form a very interesting 
hobby. 
Daphne blagayana. 
(See Supplement.) 
It is noticeable that similar and closely allied species of 
plants often have different scents. Of the species of the genus 
Daphne, Kerner has remax'ked that D. alpina has a vanilla 
scent, D. stiiata a lilac scent, D. Philippi a scent of violets, and 
D. blagayana a clove scent. 
The supplementary illustration shows the last-named species 
as it appears in March in the Glasuevin Botanic Garden. It 
is best grown as a bed on the grass, slightly raised and com¬ 
posed of turfy loam and sand. The mass represented is about 
8 ft. across. The natural height of the plant is about 6 in. 
It is highly important that the shoots should not be allowed to 
" grew away.’’ This is averted by placing bits of boulder on 
them, as shown in the illustration, page 157. Just before the 
middle of May is usually about soon enough for this operation. 
At the same time, some turfy loam should be added. The bed 
then appears to be nothing but stones. The plant, however, 
branches profusely and makes such vigorous growth that in an 
incredibly short time, some three or four weeks, hardly a stone 
is visible. The stones serve the triple purpose of conserving 
the moisture, inducing the formation of roots, and keeping 
the plant well furnished, as once the shoots are allowed to 
become lanky it ceases to flower, and soon dwindles away, lhe 
whitish flowers are borne in exposed clusters and scent the air 
for a distance around : the leaves are persistent, of a bright 
green- on the upper surface, paler and slightly glaucescent 
beneath. 
Daphne blagayana was first found by Count Blagay seventy 
years ago, growing in company with Valeriana tripteris, Poten- 
tilla camiolica, Ruscus Hypoglossum and Erica carnea. It is 
an interesting example of the survival of a species in a par¬ 
ticularly small area. In this connection we have culled the 
following from the “Natural History of Plants’ :—“This 
plant, commonly known as Kdnigsblume (the King's Flower) 
grows on the slopes of some mountains at Lail>.i< h, in (i 
niola. Before (lie flora of tin- Balkan |x.*ninsula hml | . n 
accurately explored it was believed that this species of Daplim 
had no other habitat than that on the mountains nbov' men 
tinned. More recent botanical researches have, however, n 
vealed the fact that the main area of distribution of D.qthi ■ 
blagayana is really in the Balkan peninsula, in Uo-nia. and 
Servia, and that the habitat in Cumiolsi is to that an-a as an 
island to the mainland.'’ Keener further makes the interest¬ 
ing assumption that seeing by what a small number of in¬ 
dividuals, amounting to some thousands only, this curiou- 
plant is represented in Carniola, that a series of very severe 
winters would be enough to cause its complete < xlcnnination 
New Main Crop Potato Chieftain. (See p. KiO.) 
From a photograph taken at Webbs Kinvcr Seed Farms. 
in that district, while for various reasons it might still continue 
to flourish in its main area of distribution in the Balkan pen¬ 
insula. Leo Fabmar. 
The Old Double White Rocket. 
This sweet-scented old plant is, I fear, getting scarce. There 
was an old cottager in this neighbourhood who grew quan¬ 
tities of it, and he propagated it annually, because he had 
experienced that it was risky to trust to second year plan’s. 
I procured cuttings from him and' kept it for years bi¬ 
annual propagation, but it was overlooked one year till too 
late for cuttings to be taken, and all were lost. The old man 
had died and his old thatched cottage pulled down. I have 
met with some tinted with pink or lilac, but ours was pure 
white ; so I presume that there are varieties, and I have 
seen a purple one, I think, in the nursery of the late Mr. 
Parker, Tooting. 
Preston. ^ • L. R. 
