May 27, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD , 
433 
Notes on the Illustrations in this Issue. 
The Tree Poppy (Dendromecon rigidum). 
A close inspection of the flowers of the Tree Poppy is suffi¬ 
cient to convince the ordinary plautsinan that this subject 
belongs to the Poppy family, but it is entirely different in 
aspect from anything else we have seen in the order. Not 
even the Californian Poppy (Romneya Coulteri) has much le- 
semiblance to this plant, although it is also inclined to be 
shrubby and usually a more rampant grower than the Tree 
Poppy. The stems of the Tree Poppy are relatively slender 
but proportionately woody, and they, as well as the side 
branches, usually terminate in a solitary golden-yellow flower 
consisting of four petals, beneath which are two sepals which 
fall early, as in the case of other Poppies. These flowers are 
about 1-J- in. across, and are filled up in the centre with a 
cluster of orange anthers. 
The individual flowers last about a cveek, the petals being 
the last to fall. Curiously enough, the flower begins to show 
that it is past its best by the gradual dropping of the stamens. 
The leaves are lanceolate, glaucous and finely serrulate at the 
margin, so 1 that on the' whole they bear no inconsiderable 10 
semblance to those of a Willow, particularly the white Willow. 
The accompanying illustration was prepared 
from a photograph taken in the establishment 
of Messrs. T. S. Ware, Limited, Ware’s Nur¬ 
series, Feltham, Middlesex, during the second 
week of March. The plants were, of course, 
in pots, and having been kept in a house with 
a moderately high temperature, they came 
into bloom in February. Out of doors the 
plant blooms later, usually in June. 
It is a native of California, and of similar 
hardiness to Romneya. In the south and 
west of England it would be an admirable 
plant for sheltered places in the open, but in 
the latitude of London and further north it 
would be necessary to plant it against the low 
front wall of a hothouse, where it could be 
trained against the wall and thereby cover, 
the bricks with an interesting climber of 
dwarf habit. Any good garden soil will meet 
its requirements, provided it is well drained, 
but, as in the case of other Californian plants, 
if plenty of sand is used to make_-fhe soil light 
and friable, the plant will pass through the 
winter more easily. Our illustration shows 
the character of the leaves and flowers rather 
than the height of the plant, this being merely 
in a small pot. Out of doors we have seen it 
flowering at a height of 2 ft. or 3 ft. 
A Himalayan Primrose (Primula erosa). 
The specific name relates to the peculiar 
character of the leaves of this species, which are doubly 
serrated, the secondary teeth being small and sharp. In out¬ 
line they somewhat resemble those of the better-known P. 
denticulata, but the secondary veins are wrinkled. By this 
character alone, as well as by the peculiarity of the toothing on 
the edges of the leaves, this species may be distinguished from 
the last named. The flowers are lilac-blue and produced in 
globular umbels or heads almost as dense as those of P. 
capicata. Each crown produces a number of scapes 6 in. to 
9 in. high, so that a little colony is both effective and interest¬ 
ing. It is a native of the Himalayas, and has been known to 
botanists for many years, but it does not seem to have got 
into cultivation until about the eighties. 
In the matter of cultivation it offers no difficulties beyond 
rearing fresh batches of seedlings occasionally to make good 
those plants which are liable to get lost owing to untimely 
growth in our moist climate during the autumn, while the 
plants are liable to get injured in winter by damping. Seeds 
may be reared in frames in the usual way and planted out in 
the open after they have made a few leaves. A well-drained 
soil will meet its requirements, and if inclined to be dry, a 
plentiful admixture of leaf-mould will improve the staple and 
tend to preserve the moisture in summer when I he fresh crop 
of leaves is being produced. 
A Hardy Amaryllid (Anoiganthus breviflorusp 
Few of the plants which come from the Cape of Good Hope 
are really hardy when planted in the open and left unprotected 
in this country. The plant under notice, which belongs to the 
Amaryllis family, is so nearly hardy that we have seen it 
flowering out of doors after having stood the winter in the 
open. The plant illustrated flowered in the Cape House at 
Kew during the past winter, so that would be a proper place 
for a South African plant for most parts of tins country. 
Nevertheless, we cannot overlook the fact that its hardiness is 
sufficient to enable it to be grown on the southern and western 
seaboard of Britain, where it would require no more protection 
than is given the Guernsey Lily in the Channel Islands. 
The individual flowers are about an inch long, bright yellow, 
and produced in umbels of three to ten flowers on scapes about 
a foot high. The strap-shaped leaves to the number of three or 
four are produced at the same time as the flower-scapes, as 
shown in our illustration. A good colony of bulbs would there¬ 
fore be interesting and flower about' the end of May in this 
country if planted in the open in localities where it can thrive. 
The plant shown, having been kept under glass, flowered during 
March. 
The Characteristics of Bird Soxgs. —Mr. George A. B. 
Dewar writes charmingly in the “St. James’s Budget on the 
subject of bird songs, and refers to the anthem of the M illow 
wren as a singularly delightful incident of English bird life. 
The joy of their song, he says, is akin with sadness, the sad¬ 
ness akin with joy, and observes that it is with English scenery 
as with English bird song, quoting Buskin’s fine remark : “ \\ hat 
is most musical will always be found most melancholy ; and no 
real beauty can be obtained without a touch of sadness. M hen- 
ever the beautiful loses its melancholy, it degenerates into 
prettiness.” The redbreast’s song is notable for its drawn-out 
train of pathos, the lark for rhapsody, wind thrush for revelry, 
the song thrush for painstaking, deliberate phrasing ; the black¬ 
bird for a certain insouciance, mellow perfection ; the wren for 
merriment, the blackcap for wild waywardness, romance ; the 
chaffinch for commonplace. But for the deep sustained note of 
passion we must look to the nightingale and the ring dove. Of 
the two he is inclined to think the ring dove’s is the intenser. 
