April 1, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Narcissus Lowdham Beauty. 
Depicted in the illustration is a superb giant Leedsi Daffodil 
raised by my friend Mr. J. D. Pearson. 
This flower was exhibited at the Drill Hall on April 19th 
last year, and every member of the Narcissus Committee who 
saw it pronounced it the finest Leedsi form that they had as 
yet seen. 
After the R.H.S. meeting I went to Lowdham to pay a 
short visit, and was thus enabled to examine the flower more 
closely and learn something of its origin. 
It is one of a number of seedlings raised from a cross be- 
ween Minnie Hume and Mine. De Giaaff, nearly 
nil of which were high-class flowers of great 
beauty. 
The honour was done of allowing me to name 
this, the fairest of all the batch of the seedlings, 
and I selected the name which heads this note, 
because I thought that it would in some way 
commemorate the name of a village which is 
well known to horticulturists as the head¬ 
quarters of Messrs. J. R. Pearson and Sons. Till 
this flower appeared I was content to consider 
White Queen as the finest of the giant 
Leedsi Daffodils, but on comparison with Lowd¬ 
ham Beauty it is quite surpassed. 
The plant stands a trifle higher than White 
Queen, with strong, deep green, ample leaves. 
The flower is 4 in. across the mouth of the 
crown, which is very slightly crinkled and 
daintily frilled. 
The" whole flower is of a glistening ivory- 
white, and the broad segments firm and perfect 
in texture. 
It is difficult to convey in words the stately 
beauty of such an exquisite flower as this. Nor 
does the illustration do it justice, because the 
flower had got slightly damaged before being 
photographed by Mr. J. D. Pearson. 
Arthur R. Goodwin. 
Kidderminster, March 12th, 1905. 
Ventilation of Plant Houses. 
The thorough masteiy of the art of affording 
air to the occupants of the fruit and plant houses 
is one of paramount importance to all young- 
gardeners, and only by possessing an accurate 
knowledge of the principle of ventilation can a 
young man hope to become a successful gar¬ 
dener. Thus it is essential that every zealous 
young horticulturist should strive his utmost to 
become proficient, in this most, necessary adjunct 
towards successful gardening. 
With the aid of the appliances for ventilating 
which all modem constructed houses are now 
fitted with, and providing they are skilfully 
manipulated, no difficulties should accrue in 
keeping up that free circulation of air which is 
most essential to the health and successful de¬ 
velopment of the occupants of the houses. What 
would be the opinion of the average intelligent gardener of a 
man who comes out at 6 a.m. on a March morning and, simply 
because he finds the sun shining brightly, and regardless of a 
cold, biting wind, has all the ventilators of the houses thrown 
wide open? I am inclined to think: that the census of opinion 
would be to class such a man as a maniac • but, nevertheless, 
it is a source of regret to. know that there are men who are 
supposed to have reached the zenith of their profession given 
to this haphazard method of ventilation. 
The process of ventilating a glass structure should at all 
times he carried out gradually, allowing at least a rise of 
5 degrees above the normal temperature of the house. There 
may be exceptions to this rule, however, when the temperature 
of the outside atmosphere is abnormally high. In the ra-<- 
fruit houses which have borne early crops there can In- i , 
doubt that the trees are greatly benefited by being afforded ill 
the air which it iN possible to accord them. In admit tin / 
air to the houses the cultivator should l>o guided bv his 
knowledge, acquired by attentive study and observation, of 
those particular plants which he has to deal with. Plant-, 
like human beings, breathe, consequently they need at all 
stages of their growth a certain amount of air in order to reach 
a perfect state of development. 
It is a well-known fact that the density of cold air is much 
Narcissus Lowdham Beauty : Flowers tube white. 
greater than that of warm air; hence the former has a ten¬ 
dency to descend, while the latter lias a tendency- to ascend. 
For these reasons it will appear obvious that a sudden inrush 
of cold air coming in direct contact with the foliage of the 
plants should at all times be guarded against. The leaves of 
plants are continually abstracting from the air minute quan¬ 
tities of plant food in the form of carbon dioxide. Thus it will 
be seen how important it is that the stratum of air in contact 
with the foliage should be incessantly shifted, whereby fresh 
supplies of this food may be constantly presented and the 
process of assimilation greatly facilitated. This constant cir¬ 
culation of air, which is most needful for the health of plants 
