624 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 26, 1908. 
The Crown Imperial 
(Fritillaria Imperialis.) 
In the early spring, when the herba¬ 
ceous borders are practically bare, those 
who have grown the Crown Imperial know 
with what rapidity it springs up as soon 
as the weather becomes suitably mild in 
spring. In spite of relatively cold 
weather, the stems practically reach their 
full development in a short time, and 
ground that was previously bare becomes 
covered with beautiful green vegetation, 
later on to be followed with the large and 
showy flowers that form a whorl at the 
top of the stem amongst the leafy bracts, 
so characteristic of inis particular type 
of Fritillary. While the leaves and stems 
are of a beautiful light green, the flowers 
make a strong contrast by their very dif¬ 
ferent hue from the foliage. In some 
cases, as in the type, the flowers are of 
a deep orange-red, beautifully veined on 
both surfaces and furnished with half-a- 
dozen nectaries, which are of a remark¬ 
able character amongst hardy flowers. 
Other species of Fritillaria have these 
honey pits, but in no case do they bear 
the same striking size and appearance as 
in the Crown Imperial. 
As growth commences early, it is neces¬ 
sary on the part of the cultivator to plant 
them as early as possible, and September 
should not be allowed to pass, if it is 
possible to get them planted, so that the 
bulbs may commence forming roots and 
establish themselves some months prior 
to the throwing up of the flower stem. If 
these bulbs are planted late, roots can¬ 
not be properly developed before flower¬ 
ing time, and the stems cannot possibly 
be of such vigour as those of well-estab¬ 
lished plants. 
Besides the ordinary variety of Crown 
Imperial, there is a yellow flowered 
variety which makes a beautiful com¬ 
panion to the orange-red one. We have 
seen this so freely planted as to dominate 
a villa garden entirely. The yellow 
flowers showed up well, however, by con¬ 
trast with the bright green foliage. There 
is also a distinct form with variegated 
leaves. Then there are several varieties 
characterised chiefly by the greater size 
of their flowers, but to get the best results 
with each of these it is necessary to plant 
the bulbs at once. For the accompanying 
illustration we are indebted to Messrs. 
Barr and Sons, 11, 12, and 13, King Street, 
Covent Garden, who are largely identi¬ 
fied with the culture of all the leading 
and more useful types of hardy bulbs 
especially. 
-- 
Conference on the Spraying of Fruit Trees. 
The Royal Horticultural Society is or¬ 
ganising a Conference on Spraying, which 
will be held on October 16th (the second 
day of the Society’s British-grown Fruit 
Exhibition) at their hall in Westminster. 
Colonel Ward, M.P., will preside from 
11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Colonel Long, 
M.P., from 2.30 to 4.30 p.m. Papers 
will be read by Mr. Geo. Massee, V.M.H., 
Mr H. F. Getting, F.R.H.S., Prof. F. V. 
Theobald, M.A., and Mr. G. Hammond, 
F.R.H.S. At each meeting discussion 
will be invited. 
Barr and. Sons. 
Fritillaria Imperialis (Crown Imperial), 
TRADE NOTICE* 
The “Victoria” Heater. 
Improved means of heating small 
greenhouses continue to be made from 
time to time, and Messrs. C. Toope and 
Son, F.R.H.S., Stepney Square, Stepney 
Green, London, E., have been consider¬ 
ing the requirements of the amateur for 
years past in this respect. The “ Victoria” 
internal Tubular Heater is constructed 
with the object of gaining the greatest 
amount of heat in the shortest period of 
time. It consists of a water jacket 5 in. 
in thickness, surrounding an internal flue 
through which the heat from an oil lamp 
passes. This flue is 7 in. in diameter 
outside measurement, whilst the inner 
cylinder i;T6 in. There is, therefore, very 
little water to heat and little oil is there¬ 
fore necessary to get up the temperature 
to the desired degree. In the cylinder it¬ 
self several cross tubes are placed so as 
to arrest the heat, so to speak, while pass¬ 
ing through the larger cylinder. By 
this means there is little or no waste of 
the heat from the consumption of oil or 
gas. The heat produced is thus spread 
over the surfaces of the large inner 
cylinder and also of the small transverse 
tubes, thus securing all the available 
heat possible, while the products of com¬ 
bustion pass through the flue on its course 
to the outer air. 
The “Victor” Radiator. 
This also is a new invention of Messrs. 
Charles Toope and Son. It consists of a 
cylinder through which the heat from a 
lamp is escaping by the chimney. In¬ 
stead of letting it pass immediately into 
the open-air, thus wasting heat, it passes 
through the interior of the “Victor” Radi¬ 
ator, thereby arresting the heat while es¬ 
caping up the chimney. The radiator 
thus gets heated, and in order to utilise 
this heat small transverse tubes are 
passed through from side to side of the 
cylinder of the radiator. These small 
tubes become heated and thus cause a 
draught of air to pass through them, thus, 
heating the atmosphere of the house, j 
without, in any way, introducing the 1 
fumes of the gas or oil into the green¬ 
house. The latter, indeed, pass away by 
the chimney after passing through the 
radiator. This “Victor” Radiator is an 
additional contrivance to an ordinary oil 
or gas heater, whereby the heat that 
would escape up the chimney is arrested 
and utilised for the heating of the green¬ 
house. 
-- 
Ilex I’ernyi. 
The leaves of this remarkably pretty 
Holly are small and densely arranged on 
the stems, completely hiding them. They 
are of a dark, shining green, and have 
usually two spines on each side, as well 
as one at the apex. The little conical 
bush shown by Messrs. ]. Veitch and 
Sons, at the meeting of the R.H.S. on 
September 1st, was i\ ft. high. It v 
accorded a First-class Certificate. 
PORTABLE BUILDINGS, POULTRY HOUSES, 
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POTTING 8HEDS. 
0 HI l+l i7i"ftem||F 
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(fcgSK | The Cheapen in 
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— 1 Large Oatalogne, 
||L Id. Stamp. 
S®' Estab. 60 Years. 
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