March 11. 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
199 
Notes on the Illustrations in this Issue. 
Eremurus robustus. 
for many years the species of Eremurus were much neg¬ 
lected or were to be found only in a few nurseries and some 
public places, such as Kew. Amateurs in various parts of the 
country who are interested in their gardens are now finding 
out that this stately plant can be grown successfully in any 
fairly well sheltered garden with a. friable and well drained 
soil. An illustration of E. robustus shows how well it has 
bloomed in the gardens of G. Brown-Westhead, Esq., Lea 
Castle, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, under the care of the 
gardener, Mr. Ernest J. Baguley. 
As may lie seen, the roots have been planted in a herbaceous 
border surrounded by Lilies, Delphiniums and other subjects of 
that class. Shelter is also effected by a Pine tree and some 
shrubbery in the rear of the border. The spikes, or, rather, 
racemes of bloom were fully 6 ft. high. This would indicate 
plants of great strength, although some have made greater 
growth as a result of deep soil and other favourable circum¬ 
stances. When seen, however, in conditions such as here re¬ 
presented, the lengthy inflorescence has a fine effect in the 
garden, even at some considerable distance. As our readers 
are now well aware, the flowers of this species are of a delicate 
pink tint, with a darker vein, generally of a brownish-green, 
to each segment. 
These plants take some considerable time to reach the flower¬ 
ing stage when raised from seeds, and when they happen to 
have been grown to flowering size in a nursery, it is necessary 
to exercise great care to prevent the breaking of the roots in 
transit to their new home or during the process of planting. 
This is due to the great length of the radiating roots and their 
fleshy, brittle character, but when the transplanting is effected 
with care the cultivator has a reasonable hope of success. We 
are not aware of the circumstances under which the plants in 
this case were grown to the flowering stage, but in any case 
they may be regarded as a success. 
The name Eremurus is no doubt a great puzzle to many, 
but it lias a direct reference to the habit of the plants belong¬ 
ing to this genus. The word is compounded of two Greek 
words—namely, eremos, solitary, and oura, a tail. These 
names refer to the fact that the Eremuri 1 produce only a 
solitary scape or inflorescence, as a rule, from each crown— 
hence the origin of the name. E. robustus and E. r. Elwesii 
are the best of all the known forms. 
Floral Diagrams. 
It is well known to teachers, especially those engaged in 
teaching botanical classes, how difficult it is to make their 
pupils understand the various different forms to be seen in 
flowers. This difficulty is increased by the fact that the classes 
are very frequently held during the evenings, and have to be 
dependent on artificial light for seeing the structure and fol¬ 
lowing out the botanical details of structure. Diagrams are 
indeed indispensable to those engaged in teaching botany, 
whether to elementary or advanced classes, and these again 
have to be supplemented by frequent drawings on the black¬ 
board. 
A splendid set of diagrams has come under our notice which 
have the merit of size, convenience, and being worked out 
in different colours in order to produce a clear contrast between 
various organs or sets of organs of plants. Each diagram re¬ 
presents different forms to be found in one or two orders of 
plants, as the case may be. Each diagram measures 36 in. by 
24 in., and is varnished and mounted on cloth and rollers. 
These diagrams, we may say, have been specially prepared 
for use in schools and colleges, and are used with great advan¬ 
tage by Mr. William Beaverly-Cowie, a Fellow of the Edin¬ 
burgh Botanical Society. The upper part of each diagram is 
suitable for the teaching of elementary botany, while the lower 
part of the same diagram is more serviceable for an advanced 
class, as it goes into the structure of the seed vessel or various 
types of seed vessel belonging W an order as well as the struc¬ 
ture of the seed and their embryos. 
Cruciferae. 
By means of small illustrations we are enabled to represent 
three of these diagrams, so that we may refer to them sepa¬ 
rately in order to give an idea of what each diagram contains. 
In the order Cruciferae we have representations of a portion 
of a Wallflower plant, a longitudinal section of a flower, the 
young seed vessel surrounded by its six stamens in two distinct 
sets, and other figures which show a seed pod bursting open, 
showing the position of the seeds, also of a floral diagram of 
the whole flower. The lower part of this same diagram shows 
a number of pods, characteristic of several sections of the 
order, including such as the Wallflower, the Shepherd’s Purse, 
Scurvy Grass (Cochlearia), Woad (Isatis tinctoria), and the 
Eremurus robustus at Wolverley. 
Radish. Several vertical and transverse sections show the 
complicated relation of the cotyledons with regard to the 
radicle in different sections of the order Cruciferae. 
As is well known to every botanist, this order can only be 
classified into genera and species by a strict observance of the 
peculiar structure of the seed vessel and the seeds themselves 
with their contained embryos. The small illustration here re¬ 
produced is the exact counterpart of this diagram in miniature. 
Needless to say, the diagram itself being on a much larger 
scale and handsomely coloured, the various parts which we 
have been discussing are shown distinctly. The calyx is re¬ 
presented by green ; the petals by pink or red ; the stamens 
by yellow; and the ovaiy by blue. Even under artificial 
light these distinctions stand out very plainly when the dia¬ 
grams are suspended. 
