214 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 28, 1908. 
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6difopial. 
il basest, Sasikxv 
A very pleasing article appears in the 
"Egyptian Gazette” of 19th February 
from the pen of Mrs. Irene Harvey, of 
Guilsborough Hall, Northampton. Some 
years ago a garden was laid out in the 
desert at Helouan by Baron Knoop. 
Helouan is within sight of the Nile on the 
one hand and the desert sands on the 
other. The great pyramids are also a 
feature of the neighbourhood. The soil 
in which the plants are now growing had 
to be carried on the backs of camels from 
the banks of the Nile more than a league 
away. Now the writer describes it as a 
dream world oasis in the desert. A high 
wall surrounds it, and Mohammed, the 
Arab gardener, tends it. Amongst the 
many interesting and flowering subjects 
to be seen are Australian Eucalypti, Hi¬ 
biscus from Singapore, the Hottentot Fig, 
Agaves, Aloes, Yuccas^ prickly Pears, 
and various other foreign subjects, includ¬ 
ing Acacia farnesiana, from which Mo¬ 
hammed distilled scent for his wife when 
she was young. 
Various parts of the world, however, 
have been called upon to furnish the oc¬ 
cupants of this desert garden, including 
Indian Honeysuckle, and such familiar 
flowers as Gaillardias, Petunias, Phloxes, 
Verbenas, Zinnias, Mignonette, Sun¬ 
flowers, Pansies, Calliopsis, Nasturtiums, 
Eschscholtzias, Pelargoniums, and Ivy¬ 
leaved Pelargoniums. Most of these are 
well known to all civilised people in 
various parts of the world, so well known 
and suitable are they for gardens in tem¬ 
perate countries. Practically the four 
comers of the world have been called 
upon to furnish this desert, garden. At 
one time Egypt was supposed to.be the 
home of the common Mignonette, but its 
origin is altogether doubtful. We are 
surprised, however, that it should be pos¬ 
sible to grow Pansies in such an arid 
climate, seeing that originally they were 
mountain flowers or most abundant in 
cool countries. 
There, too, have been brought together 
such things as Roses, Pepper trees, Wild 
Hyacinths, Oranges, Lemons, Tulips, 
Hollyhocks, Gilliflowers, China Asters, 
and many others with -which most people 
are familiar. Flowers are now children 
of no nationality or country, but serve to 
link together the various people of the 
earth. 
- +++ - 
A Caucasian . . 
Bellflower 
(Symphyandra ossetica). 
Very closely allied to the Campanulas 
is a genus of six or seven species of 
Symphyandra, having bell-shaped flowers 
like the previously named class. It forms 
a dwarf and compact bushy specimen 
box till they attain some size and the 
potted up separately. During the wint< 
these small pots could be kept under tf 
protection of glass on a bed of ashes, c 
even plunged amongst the ashes in a col 
frame, as slugs are thereby kept at ba’ 
In the following spring they could I 
planted out in suitable situations on tl 
rockery, where they are not likely to I 
overcrowded by coarse growing Veget. 
tion. 
- 
The Sale of Horticultural Poisonous Con 
pounds. 
For years past The Traders in Poisoi 
ous Compounds for Trade Purposes Pr< 
tection Society has been working har 
with a view to making legal the sale < 
poisonous compounds such as. wee 
killers, insecticides, sheep dips, etc., b 
persons other than chemists, as for ii 
stance nurserymen, seedsmen, and agr 
cultural agents. The Poisons and Pha- 
macy Bill passed its second reading 1 
the House of Lords on March 5th, an 
was referred to a Joint Committee of bot 
Houses of Parliament. By clause 2 . 
Symphyandra ossetica. 
about 6 in. high, with the stems furnished 
with lance-shaped leaves and the upper 
portion practically hidden by a large 
number of bell-shaped, uniformly lilac 
flowers about in. long. It comes from 
the Caucasus, and seems to thrive well 
under cultivation, judging by the speci¬ 
men here represented. Scarcely anything 
but flowers are seen on the compact bushy 
specimen which bloomed on the rockery 
at Kew about mid-summer last year. 
Propagation could be effected by means 
of cuttings if such could be procured, 
but, as a rule, very few' cuttings are ob¬ 
tainable, because nearly all of the stems 
develop a truss of flowers. Seeds, how¬ 
ever, in fine seasons at least, would ripen, 
and any number of plants could be raised 
in this way. A light compost should be 
made up consisting chiefly of. sand, leaf 
mould, and a little loam passed through 
a fine sieve for the benefit of the seed¬ 
lings. The pots could be placed in a cold 
frame and the seedlings pricked 0*? into a 
Maclaren and Sons. 
the Bill persons other than chemists wil 
be empowered to stock and sell thes 
compound poisons, and the inclusion 0 
the clause is entirely due to the effort 
of the above named society, who now as! 
that all who are interested in the sale c 
these compounds should assist to g6i 
Members of Parliament to support claus 
2, so that it may become law' this Session 
Our readers will, we hope, do all the 
can in this way to assist the passing 0 
the Bill in this form. 
Laelioeattleva Pizarro. 
The parentage in this case was L. jong 
heana x C. dow'iana aurea. The sepal 
and petals are of a rich rose, while th 
lip has a broad orange area and a broa' 
purple margin. It is a very distinc 
variety. Award of Merit by the R.H.S 
on March 3rd when showm by Major Ho! 
ford, C.I.E., C.V. O. (gardener, Mr. H 
G. Alexander), Westonbirt, Tetbury 
Glos. 
