250 
THE LADIES’ FLORAL CABINET. 
cipally in the color of the flowers. While there are no 
poor ones—in fact, though all are exceedingly good— 
some are greatly to be preferred to others. We have no 
hesitation in saying the variety known as purpuratum 
by far surpasses all others in the properties that consti¬ 
tute a perfect plant. We have just seen a clump of this 
lily in bloom on the grounds of Mr. Fleming, a very suc¬ 
cessful amateur, of Garden City, N. Y., that excel any¬ 
thing we have ever seen in the way of Japan lilies. They 
were nearly five feet in height and fully twice the size 
and strength of L. speciosum roseum, growing close be¬ 
side them and having had the same treatment. The stems 
were fully an inch in diameter at the ground and well 
furnished with dark, glossy foliage. We counted twenty- 
four flowers and buds on a single stem ; they were from 
six to eight inches in diameter and nearly as dark as those 
of L. Melpomene. 
. * 
& * 
The Yellow Japan Jasmine ( Jasminum floriduni) be¬ 
longs to the section represented by the well-known Jas- 
minum revolutum , a plant somewhat common in gar¬ 
dens, which flowered for the first time in England in the 
year 1814. fasminum fioridum differs from it in sev¬ 
eral particulars. The Gardener s Magazine says of it: 
“ The pinnate folioles are distinctly petiolated, the calyx 
teeth are slender, and the corolla tube longer, the expand¬ 
ing limb smaller and more elegantly modeled; this, in 
fact, is quite a delicate plant in its several features, al¬ 
though by no means delicate in constitution, for it is 
hardy here on a warm wall on a well-drained border. 
In B.M. 6,719 it is described as discovered by Bunge dur¬ 
ing his journey to China, and published by him in 1831. 
In B.R. 1842, Lindley gives it a place in Appendix No. 
58, as Jasminum subulatum , acknowledging indebted¬ 
ness to the Hon. W. F. Strangways, ‘ who raised it in his 
garden at Abbotsbury. It is very like J. paniculaium, 
but has yellow flowers, and must be a pretty shrub; 
greenhouse, no doubt.’ This beauty thrives without pro¬ 
tection, at Kew, and flowers in July.” 
* 
* * 
Queens County (N. Y.) Agricultural Society.—Al¬ 
though in no sense an agricultural paper, we notice with 
pleasure the premium list and regulations for the forty- 
fourth annual exhibition of this society, to be held at 
Mineola, L. I., September 22 to 25 inclusive. We can 
safely say there is not in this State an agricultural society, 
either county or State, that offers so much encouragement 
to floriculture as this. And we can also say, without 
fear of contradiction, that no other agricultural society in 
this State has so large and interesting exhibits of plants 
and flowers as this. Too much credit cannot be given 
the managers for the interest they take in floriculture and 
the liberal premiums they offer in the various classes. A 
move in the right direction is the encouragement they 
give to amateurs, a class that, as a rule, have no chance 
of success in competing with professional florists, conse¬ 
quently they rarely exhibit. The Queens County Society 
offer the same premiums to the amateurs—the lovers of 
flowers—as they do to professional florists, under the fol¬ 
lowing wise regulations: 
“ Competition confined to amateurs of Queens County 
who have never been professionally engaged in the culti¬ 
vation of flowers, and who do not employ a professional 
gardener, nor grow their flowers on the ground of a pro¬ 
fessional. 
“ All exhibits in this department must have been raised 
by the exhibitor or owned at least three months previous 
to exhibition, except those used for designs. 
“ All varieties that are incorrectly named will not be 
allowed to compete.” 
Premium lists can be obtained by addressing the secre¬ 
tary, Jacob Hicks, Esq., Old Westbury, N. Y. 
. * 
* * 
Editor Ladies’ Floral Cabinet : 
Reading this month’s number of your interesting and 
beautifully printed magazine, reminds me that perhaps 
you might like a short note on flowers out in our experi¬ 
mental garden at Oakwood. The ones most admired by 
our visitors just now, are the Japanese Iris Kcempferi. 
I do not know whether this is much grown with you. 
The story is that it was sacred to the Mikado’s garden, 
and not allowed to be sent out till the time of the great 
exhibition held in Vienna; then the wish to make as 
great a show as possible in the Japanese garden laid out 
there caused Iris Kcempferi to be sent. These were 
bought and. circulated in Europe ; since then a good many 
of the irises have been sent to England from Japan. The 
flowers are certainly gorgeous, of very many colors, from 
pure white to purple and gold—some lavender-colored 
and beautifully veined I admire the most; the flowers 
are as large and flat as a saucer. They are supposed to 
be difficult to bloom well, but we have not found this to 
be the case. I believe the conditions of success are good 
loam and damp situations, and these we can give them. 
Another much admired plant, also from Japan, is Lilium 
Browni ; we have had in a clump three plants, each with 
three flowers to the stem ; the thick, solid petal with its 
rich shade of white and the dark color on the back of 
the petal have a beautiful effect. Mrs. Duffield, the emi¬ 
nent flower painter, is just now staying at the cottage at 
our garden, painting flowers, and has reproduced this diffi¬ 
cult lily perfectly. Yours faithfully, 
George F. Wilson. 
Weybridge Heath, England, July 20, 1885. 
* 
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Hyacinthus Candicans.—This beautiful bulb is now in 
full flower in the fields, where it is grown on a large scale 
for commercial purposes, and, when well grown, there is 
no plant that gives greater satisfaction. We wish, how¬ 
ever, to say that, from our experience, this bulb does not 
succeed well after its first flowering. The first year after 
the bulbs have acquired their growth they throw up a 
flower spike from three to six feet high, branching, forming 
a pyramidal head, with hundreds of white flowers, which 
are exceedingly useful as cut-flowers for vases or for 
florists’ use. Although perfectly hardy, after the first 
flowering the plant is by no means satisfactory; the stem 
is short, but little branched, the flowers small and scat¬ 
tering. 
This fact should not prevent its general cultivation, as 
the bulbs are very cheap, and can be grown easily from 
