March 30, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
223 
NOTICES. 
To Readers and Correspondents. 
“ THE GARDENING WORLD ” is published by 
rfACLAREN AND SONS, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.O. 
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6ditotfial. 
Muscari botryoides album. Maclaren and Sons. 
?s'u\dpUs of ^osttcuUm.” 
The above is the title of a book written 
iy Mr. Wilfrid Mark Webb, F.L.S., and 
mbiished by Messrs. Blackie & Son, Ltd., 
o, Old Bailey, London. The design of the 
>ook is to offer a series of practical scienti- 
ic lessons meant to be useful to students 
,-ho wish to grasp the theoretical side of 
lorticulture. Mr. W T ebb was formerly an 
.ssistant staff biologist to the Essex 
lountv Council at Chelmsford, and there- 
ore deals with a subject in which he is 
amiliar. 
The book is illustrated with drawings 
nd microphotographs to enable the 
'tudent to grasp the idea not only of the 
external appearance and structure of a 
vlant, but also the minute internal struc- 
ure. It may, therefore, be described as 
i school book for those wishing to get a 
loser acquaintance with the life history 
>f plants and their requirements judged 
rom their habits, structure and other 
peculiarities. The book might also be 
1 lsed by those who are widely scattered in 
ural situations and cannot attend classes. 
The illustrations, of course, enable the 
eader to understand what the author ex¬ 
plains in text. Root, stem and leaf are 
Healt with and later on the flowers, fruits 
nd seeds are taken up and we feel sure 
hat those who study the fruits and seeds 
hey are required to sow in gardens will 
make a better use of their opportunities 
>y having an intimate knowledge, not only 
f the outward form of the seed, but the 
mbryo in the interior. Injurious insects 
re also dealt with, and some of the more 
ommon are illustrated so that gardeners 
an get familiar with their appearance 
nd be better able to adopt measures for 
neir eradication. 
.. A White .. 
Grape Hyacinth 
(Muscari botryoides album). 
M. botryoides is the true Grape 
Hyacinth as the name implies, the word 
botrys, meaning a bunch, and the popular 
idea compares this to a bunch of berries 
of the Grape. It is also the best known 
in gardens, being of the easiest cultiva¬ 
tion. Indeed, in some gardens it seems 
to have spread so as to appear like a wild 
plant. In spring the narrow Hyacinth¬ 
like leaves spring up along with the bright 
blue spikes of flowers, and present a cheer¬ 
ful appearance during the spring months 
when flowers are by no means plentiful. 
The white variety under notice merely 
differs in the colour of the flowers, and 
would, by some, be described as the al¬ 
bino of the species, or, in other words, the 
white variety. It is a native o>f Europe, 
and that would explain its hardiness and 
its good behaviour in this country. Not 
only is it a bulbous plant of great beauty 
and interest for the spring garden or the 
borders of the kitchen garden, but it may 
with equal facility be used for greenhouse 
decoration. The plan is to pot up the 
bulbs earlier or later in autumn and treat 
them like Hyacinths until the flower stems 
appear above the ground. Up> to this 
time they may be kept in cold frames, 
but as soon as the flower buds begin to 
show colour they should be transferred to 
the greenhouse. If the cultivator desires 
them early, his plan is to pot up the bulbs 
early, say, in August or September, and 
after they have commenced to grow, trans¬ 
fer them to a greenhouse, where, a tem¬ 
perature of 50 degs. at night is main¬ 
tained. 
-- 
Amateurs as Specialists. 
The old proverb, “What is worth 
doing is worth doing well,” applies with 
more force to amateur gardening than it 
does to those who make it a profession, 
for the amateur having more time and a 
far smaller field can apply himself to 
much closer investigation than is possible 
to the professional. The gain to the ama¬ 
teur is manifold ; for example, by becom¬ 
ing a specialist he finds greatly increased 
interest in his favourite plants; he de¬ 
velops his power of observation and rea¬ 
soning ; he has opportunities of displaying 
his skill to appreciative friends, and of 
earning money as prizes at flower shows. 
Besides this success in producing a new or 
an improved plant may bring him a for¬ 
tune. 
The folly of keeping perhaps to a few 
Geraniums or similar plant year after 
year is so obvious that it needs no dis¬ 
cussion. 
Ail the great specialists who have won 
fame or fortune were at one time ama¬ 
teurs like you or I. One produced a new 
Grape, another a new Potato, another a 
new Dahlia, and so on. You could as 
easily succeed. Why not try ? It is worth 
attempting. The field is so immense that 
there is scope for everyone, not merely 
to improve a plant, but to produce en¬ 
tirety new kinds of plants. At the same 
