May 4, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
301 
Auricula Brightness (J. Douglas). 
The above is an alpine Auricula with a 
golden centre, dark maroon body colour, 
and rosy edge. It is described as an 
alpine because there is no paste in the 
centre of the flower. An Award of 
Merit was accorded to Mr. J. .Douglas, 
Great Bookham, Surrey, at the meeting 
of the R.H.S. on 16th April. 
- ¥++ - 
A Fine . . . 
I Da y Li 1 y. , 
(Hemerocallis hybrida luteola). 
Several fine new Day Lilies have been 
introduced of late, among them being the 
excellent hybrid above named. This is 
the result of a cross between the well 
known H. aurantiaca major and H. 
Thunbergi. The colour of the flowers is 
even a richer shade of yellow than that, of 
H. Thunbergi, and the plant is as re¬ 
markably free-flowering as that parent. 
In size of bloom, height, and robust habit, 
the hybrid takes after H. aurantiaca. 
major. The flowers, indeed, may be 
called extra large, a fully expanded bloom 
measuring upwards of 6 inches across. 
The Hemerocallis are all hardy plants, 
not at all fastidious as to soil or situation, 
although they are more vigorous when 
planted in fairly moist soil. They are 
plants which give character to a border 
o f hardy perennial's, being of distinct and 
striking appearance. Like most plants 
of a clear and decisive colour, a fair-sized 
group consisting of a dozen plants or so 
should be planted, when a very fine effect 
is produced. H. hybrida luteola is really 
a plant that should find favour, and de¬ 
serves to be largely grown. 
Heather Bell. 
A Pretty . . 
J-leatl?. 
(Erica australis'. 
For gardens where Ericaceous plants 
thrive, the various hardy species of Erica 
I are excellent subjects, for they continue 
to grow and flower year after year with 
| very little trouble to the cultivator. They 
readily divide themselves into two sec¬ 
tions. the dwarf set and those of arbore¬ 
scent habit. E. australis belongs to the 
latter group, for it grows at least 6 feet 
high.- In habit, it is much looser than 
most species, and if not repeatedly 
stopped whilst young, long straggling 
shoots are formed, which are scarcely 
strong enough to support their own 
veight. By repeated stopping, however, 
his is avoided, and fairly well furnished 
ilants are obtained. The flowers are 
’ery conspicuous during April, being red 
md borne very freely. F or grouping 
vith such plants as E. lusitanica, E. 
irborea, or E. mediterranea, it is an ex- 
ellent plant, its looser habit and red 
lowers forming a nice contrast to those 
flants. Being a native of Spain and 
’ortugal, E. australis is a little tender, 
nd should not be planted in the colder 
arts of the country. W. D. 
Cabbage Green’s Express. 
We illustrate the above to show a type 
of Cabbage which may be regarded as a 
modern descendant of the old Early 
Battersea. This peculiar form is widest 
at the base and generally narrowed to a 
point. The Early Battersea, which was 
at one time extensively grown by the mar¬ 
ket gardeners around London, has now 
been forgotten. It still survives, how¬ 
ever, in its modern descendants, which 
are practically selections of what growers 
consider the best types. 
Some have been selected for their 
earliness, others for their particular 
shape, and when we remember that all 
Cabbages, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, and 
Kales of all kind have been developed 
from the common wild Cabbage, we can 
understand it is a very variable subject, 
and not only so, but is liable in the course 
of cultivation to degenerate. On account 
of this the growers have to keep on con¬ 
tinually selecting the best types which 
occur in their plantations to keep up each 
The advantage of this type of Cabbage 
is that it lies close to the ground, is not 
likely to be blown about by the wind, 
and being of a small or moderate size, it 
can be planted fairly thickly to produce 
Cabbages suitable for table, and which 
may be boiled whole. Very frequently 
the Cabbages which are grown for market 
are too large, and require to be cut. 
This spoils them to some extent, though 
that fact is only known to professional 
gardeners and to the people in private 
establishments who have their Cabbages 
grown in their own garden. 
Cultivators often spoil their Cabbages 
by allowing them to stand too long in the 
beds until they become drawn and spindly 
by being too crowded. To get the best 
plants, cultivators should sow thinly, and 
if they come up in clumps, they should 
be thinned out while still quite small to 
allow them to develop leaves close to the 
ground and form sturdy, useful plants. 
It would be an advantage where the 
Cabbage Green’s Express. 
type true to name. Forms appear in the 
plantations which are selected on account 
of their distinctness and names are given 
to them. 
In looking at the accompanying illus¬ 
tration it will be noted there is no bare 
stem. The leaves are closely crowded 
together, covering the short stem and 
lying close to the ground. The heart is 
conical, narrowed to a blunt point, and 
the leaves are conspicuously wrinkled. 
Most of the Cabbages of this type are 
early, that is, they soon form a heart, and 
for this reason we presume that they have 
all been developed from the original Early 
Battersea by selection. 
seedlings are crowded in the seed bed to 
lift and transplant the best of them into 
another bed. This is an additional ad¬ 
vantage where the seedlings cannot be 
planted out in their permanent positions 
immediately they are fit. Transplanting 
induces them to form plenty of fibrous 
roots, so that when finally planted out 
they take readily ‘to the soil without flag¬ 
ging much, and little check is therefore 
given to growth. Readers should see to 
this matter at once, and if they cannot 
plant out their Cabbages in a day or two 
thev should either thin them out and throw 
the thinnings away or transplant them into 
another bed. 
