8 _ HE AUSTRAL'AN GARDENER. 
Oor, 1, 1903 
mere passing impression, of all this beauty 
we alight and visit these fields, wander 
leisurely up and down them, contemplate 
one by one each bed in turn. For a while 
we are in confusion, and so undiscriminat- 
ing. The general loveliness of the flowers 
needs, indeed, no practised eye; but it is 
here as always where art and science are 
concerned, the niceties of distinction, the 
pleasure, that comes to the connoisseur 
from his curious appreciation. of these nice- 
ties, are not to be arrived at but gradually 
and with attention. As the connoisseur’s 
sense steals over us, how alert grow our’ per- 
ceptions, into how charmed a circle we feel 
ourselves entering, full of strangely new 
interests and sensations! The very lan- 
guage of the scientist and his orderly divi- 
sions have something captivating about 
them ; yielding to the spell, we would our- 
selves become studentsand cultivators. How 
superb are these bloomss of the large Barri 
conspicuus with its rich yellow perianth, 
and its yet richer cup deeply edged with 
orange; or the Stella superba, white and 
brilliant gold; or the Incomparabilis 
Gwyther, soft sulphur and chrome ; or the 
splendid yellow of the clustered heads of 
Odorous rugulosus! Let us leave these 
- Medio-coronati, these Star Narcissi, and 
turn to the true Trumpet Daffodils, the 
Magni-coronati, of which some more im- 
posing, but certainly no lovelier, example 
may be found than N. Johnstoni, the 
Queen of Spain, the clear brilliant yellow 
hybrid from the exquisite little ‘Angels’ 
Tears,” this a natural hybrid, too, let us 
remark, one of Mr. Peter Barr’s many dis- ~ 
coveries on, the borders of Spain. Or is it 
showier blooms we hanker after? Then, 
take the majestic flower appripriately 
enough styled “Emperor,” or the Santa 
Maria noticeable amongst them all for its 
elegantly twisted perianth. 
But space fails us to name even the best 
of this splendid company. Year follows 
year, and its numbersegrow. But lately 
have been joined to it the large yet ex- 
quisitely delicate “Madame de Graaff,” a 
very duchess in ivory satin tricked with 
pale gold; the brilliant yellow Gloria 
Mundi, its splendid chalice stained through 
to orange; and then, latest comer of all 
these, and to an initiate perhaps the most 
precious, the “Apricot,” its long straight 
trumpet just the delicious hue of the fruit 
that names it—the crown this, assuredly, 
of how many years’ patient labor and 
thought, the strain of red brought at last 
to mingle with the natural yellow, and lo! 
a new color springs to birth in, this exhaus- 
lessly delightful Daffodil land. 
Delightful indeed, for all its wealth of 
grace, and color, and form, and subtle 
fragrance’; delightful, too, these Daffodils 
for their timely appearance on the earth, 
and finally, let us say, for their hardihood. 
They ask from us no fanciful nurture 
amidst strange heats and curious soils; 
they will flourish and blossom. bravely 
under our northern, and too often reluc- 
tant, springs; nor in the open country 
only, but here even in our town dwellings 
they will consent to unfold their charms 
for us not grudgingly. 
i—faturday Review. 
THE PETUNIA AS A SUMMER 
FLOWER. 
The usual fault of the spring flowering 
annuals is the short season of their bloom 
aud the necessity of replacing or renewing 
them with fresh plants. The Petunia, on 
the contrary, can be planted in the early 
autumn for early spring flowering or in the 
spring, and it goes on cheerfully flowering 
the whole summer through, and if cut back 
pretty hard in the autumn it shoots out 
afresh, and is ready by spring for another 
years blossoming. 
Another good point in favor of the flower 
is its ease of culture. When once estab- 
lished a little hoeing and an_ occasional 
watering will suffice, and it fills the beds 
with bloom and the air with perfume. 
For this climate it is undoubtedly one of 
the very best garden plants for all-round 
value. The seed requires care in raising, 
and it should be dropped on the surface of 
a well-prepared pan of soil, and-only dusted 
over with fine soil. Watering must be very 
PETUNIA, 
carefully done, as the seeds are so small, 
and are apt to be carried to the edge of the 
pot and not come up regularly where care- 
lessly watered. The seedlings require 
pricking out into a box or other pans when, 
they begin to crowd one another, and when 
about 3 in. across and five or six leaves are 
showing they may be put outside for bed- 
ding. It is well to keep back a supply of 
seedlings to fill gaps, as slugs are very fond 
of Petunias. 
‘The best manure for them, is well de 
cayed stable litter. When used as a mulch 
and abundant water can be spared, extra 
fine blooms can-be got of the different 
strains. The grandiflora, the fringe edge 
and the superbissima sections, are the most 
popular. Of these, the superbissimas have 
of late become the leaders, because 
of their great size and substance, their 
variety of color, and their fitness for exhi- 
tibion purposes. 
DEAN HOLE AND HIS ROSES. 
The London correspondent of the 
Boston “Herald” is authority for the 
statement that the eminent England 
rosarian and divine, Rev. Dean Hole, adds 
5,000 dol. a year to his income by the 
growing and sale of his Rose products, 
which are disposed of by a wholesale florist 
in Covent Garden market. 
What puzzles most people, says the cor- 
respondent, is how the Dean persuades 
Roses to grow in a place like Rochester, 
as experts say that the flower never 
flourishes in a smoky atmosphere or in a 
chalky soil. It has been surmised that 
the kind old Dean’s piety has much to do 
with the phenomenon, but the reverend 
gentleman denies the soft impeachment. 
Like a good business man, he will not 
give his secret away, and merely says to 
searchers after knowledge: “I am eighty- 
three in the shade, and, although I have 
no desire to encourage gambling, I will 
back myself to grow a Rose with any man 
in the world.” 
- 
ROSES ON THEIR OWN ROOTS. 
Two good Roses which succeed splendidly 
grown on their own roots, though neither 
are, I believe, Teas, are Mrs. Bosanquet 
and Reve d’Or. I have never seen such 
a fine specimen of Mrs. Bosanquet as one 
I saw on its own roots. It was in a bed 
with several others, whose names I forget 
now. The natural soil being sand and 
‘gravel, this had been taken out to a depth 
of 10 ft., so I was told, and replaced by 
good loam and manure. All the Roses in 
the bed were on their own roots. The 
Reve d’Or was grown in quite a different 
climate and soil, and I do not know how 
the bed was prepared, but it was a splen- 
did tree. It was in the centre of a round 
bed, about 3 or 4 ft. in diameter, and 
nearly filled it, and was full of flowers.— 
A. F. K. in “Gardener.” 
WHITE PINKS. 
The white Pinks have been a grand feature 
this year in those gardens where generous 
space has been allowed them. One old 
garden I know has long straight paths edged 
with these sweet-scented old flowers. This 
means that their number runs into many 
hundreds, and the result is that every portion 
of the garden is filled with sweet scent. 
There are a few points that should be 
remembered with regard to the culture of 
these flowers. One is that the plants will 
not last for ever. As they grow old they 
get unsightly and straggly, and some winter 
frost in all likelihood deals them a fatal 
blow ‘To prevent bare spaces, it is advisable 
to put in a few cuttings in some spare border, 
to be transterred in Autumn to take the 
place of any plants that have the signs of 
age and decrepitude uponthem. It is a 
good thing when putting out these new 
plants to add a certain proportion of new 
soil, as, like Carnations, Pinks generally get 
tired of the same soil year after year, and 
are finer and better in fresh positions. This 
change of position can scarcely be 
accomplished when the plants are used as 
permanent edgings, and therefore new soil 
and an occasional top dressing is the next 
best thing. 
These Pinks make one of the most satis- 
factory of edgings—Silvery foliage for the 
early months, masses of sweet smelling 
flowers. A little work with the garden 
scissors toremove all the faded flowers, and 
behold again neat, silvery foliage for the re- 
maining months in the year—F. M. WELLS, 
in “ The Gardener,” 
