452 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
Mav  ni.  190C. 
in  shades  of  scarlet,  crimson,  purple,  blue,  and  white,  it  will 
be  readily  conceded  that  no  other  decorative  plant  can  afford  so 
charming  a  display  of  beauty  and  colouration  combined. 
The  exigences  of  space  forbid  full  details  of  the  cultivation  of  the 
Verbena  in  pots,  simple  though  it  be,  so  that  the  repeated  advice — 
a  system  of  liberal  treatment — must  for  the  present  suffice,  seeing 
that  starvation  doubtless  was  responsible  for  having  brought  this  once 
general  favouidte  into  comparative  unpopularity.  Mi  reover,  it  has 
been  sujjplanted  by  new  comers,  such  as  the  splendid  variety  of  the 
h3'brid  tuberous  Begonias  and  Gloxinias,  lacking,  however,  the  sweet 
fragrance  of  some  of  the  Verbenas.  As  a  florists’  flower  the  Verbena 
was  formerly  a  favourite,  and  a  stand  of  cut  flowers  on  the  exhibition 
table  was  sure  to  attract  attention,  especially  if  from  three  to  five 
trusses  of  one  colour  were  put  together  and  not  crowded,  but  spread 
out  to  their  fullest  advantage,  and  kept  apart  with  a  little  moss  o^ 
cotton  wool  rendered  invisible.  It  shown  in  single  trusses  they 
present  a  comparative  meagre  appearance.  For  the  sake  of  uniformity, 
however,  the  individual  size  of  the  variety  must  be  taken  into  con 
sideration,  and  possibly  three  extra  large  trusses  would  present  a  better 
effect  than  more. 
In  evidence  of  the  standard  quality  of  several  varieties  of  the 
bedding  section  cultivated  from  a  quarter  to  half  a  century  ago,  and 
which,  I  believe,  are  still  in  existence,  mention  may  be  made  of  such 
as  Purple  King,  Geantdes  Batailles,  Brillant  de  Vaisse,  Crimson  King^ 
striata  perfecta,  together  with  another  striped  variety,  the  sensational 
Imperatrice  Eugdnie ;  add  to  these  the  very  dwarf  habited  Melindres 
splendens,  seid  to  be  a  species  brought  from  the  hills  of  Buenos  Ayres 
in  1827,  and  the  first  scarlet  introduced  of  the  greenhouse  herbaceous 
section  of  Verbenas.  It  is  also  known  by  the  specific  name  chamae- 
drifolia,  and  there  is  an  improved  vaiiety  of  it  called  Melindres 
splendeus  grandiflora.  In  the  trade  parlance  the  herbaceous  Verbena 
is  divided  into  two  sections — viz.,  show  and  b.ddiig,  though  many 
of  the  varieties  in  both  will  suit  either  purpose. 
It  may  further  be  interesting  to  remark  that  in  respect  of  show' 
varieties  mention  should  be  made  of  two  notable  oms  figured  in  the 
“Florist  and  Pomologist”  of  March,  1863,  named  respectively  Lord 
Leigh  and  Lord  Craven  (two  Warwickshire  noblemen).  The  fi  rmej- 
was  raised  by  Messrs.  S.  Perkins  &  Sons,  Park  Nursery,  Coventry, 
being  a  chance  seedling  that  came  up  in  the  open  ground — a  handsome 
variety’,  remarkable  for  the  large  size  of  its  flowers,  of  excellent  form, 
colour  crimson  scarlet,  brightened  by  a  clear  yellow  eye.  The  latte^ 
variety  was  raised  by  Messrs.  Downie,  Laird,  &  Laing,  of  Sydenham 
and  Edinburgh  ;  it  was  a  remarkably  fine  variet}',  producing  boldi 
well  filled  trusses  of  large,  flat,  well  formed  flowers  1  inch  in  diameter, 
and  of  a  rich  velvety,  pucey-purple  self  colour.  Both  varieties  received 
first  certificates  from  the  Floral  Committee  held  at  Kensington- 
Innumerable  equally  fine  varieties  have  been  raised  since  the  breeding 
of  those  sensational  varieties,  and  many  of  which  are  reminiscent  of 
such  noted  raisers  as  Keynes,  of  Salisbury  ;  Smith,  of  Hornsey  5 
Eckford,  of  Sweet  Pea  fame ;  Wills,  of  Chelsea  ;  and  Piobinson,  of 
Pimlico,  who  raised  the  famous  Bobinson’s  Scarlet  Defiance.  Note> 
too,  the  late  Mr.  C.  J.  Perry,  of  Handswortb,  Birmingham,  who  raised 
numerous  varieties  of  great  merit,  but  unfortunately  owing  to  their 
cultivation  in  the  greenhouse  the  majority  of  them  were  debilitated 
in  constitution,  Mr.  Perrv’s  chief  aim  1  aving  been  the  securing  of 
fine  blooms  for  exhibition  jiurposes. — William  Gabdinkr. 
- - 
Pkomised  Botanical  Treasures. — The  British  Museum  trustees 
are  undertaking  a  work  of  some  historic  interest  in  deciding  to  publish 
the  series  of  copperplate  engravings  illustrating  the  plants  collected  in 
Captain  Cook’s  first  voyage,  when  Sir  Joseph  Banks  and  Dr.  Solander 
were  the  naturalists,  and  in  Captain  Cook’s  second  voyage,  when  the 
Foresters  were  tlie  naturalists.  These  plates,  which  number  more  than 
800,  were  prepared  at  great  cost  by  Sir  Joseph  Banks  some  hundred 
years  ago,  and  have  never  been  published.  Proofs  only  Avere  pulled, 
and  these  are  now  in  the  library  of  the  Botanical  Department  of  the 
British  Museum.  Their  publication  will  be  cf  great  interest  to 
botanists. 
“The  Art  and  Craft  of  Garden-Making.”" 
Illustration  is  the  mania  of  the  moment.  On  every  hand  we- 
note  the  prodigious  progress  which  is  being  made  in  the  reproduction 
of  natural  as  well  as  of  living  objects  through  the  medium  of  photo¬ 
graphy.  In  no  department  is  this  more  notice  tble  than  in  the  higher- 
priced  magazines,  which  present  us  w'ith  the  most  charming  representa¬ 
tions  of  absent  scenes  and  landscapes,  but  which  unfortunately  are  not 
always  accompanied  with  an  equally  fascinating  and  instructive  text* 
If  any  class  ot  literature  has  benefited  rather  than  another  by  these 
new  wondrous  mechanical  methods  of  illustration  it  is  surely  that  of 
landscape  gardening  and  horticulture.  Painful  indeed  is  it  to  look 
back  some  twenty,  or  even  ten,  years  to  the  so-called  pictures  of  garden 
and  woodland,  in  which  the  trees  often  resemble  those  imported 
varieties  from  the  Black  Forest  stocked  in  the  Lowther  Arcade  for 
transplantation  to  the  English  nursery.  Within  a  decade  we  seem  to 
have  traversed  whole  centuries  of  progress  in  black  and  white  illustra¬ 
tion — from  the  Chinese  or  block-book  style  of  art  to  the  full  glory  of 
the  Renaissance. 
But  as  w'e  suggested  above,  there  is,  owing  to  this  facility  of 
illustration,  an  inclination  in  many  quarters  to  subordinate  matter  to 
manner.  Even  in  organs  of  a  special  class,  which  profess  to  administer 
sc  entiPc  instruction,  there  are  frequent  lapses  into  mere  dih-ttantism, 
where  eked  out  and  disguised  a  disproportionately  small  and  unsatisfy¬ 
ing  text  is  set  off  by  a  perfect  emharras  of  picture.  Pleasant,  therefore, 
is  it  to  meet  with  a  handsome  quarto  volume  like  the  subject  of  this 
notice,  which,  white  spreading  all  the  present  day  charm  of  illustration 
over  mansion,  grove,  lawn,  river,  and  meadow,  extends  it  also  to 
matters  of  pure  technique,  accompanied  by  text  of  the  soundest, 
practical,  and  most  concentrated  character. 
In  a  volume  of  some  220  prages  Mr.  Mawson  has  treated  of 
the  “Art  and  Craft  of  Garden- Making.”  Pleasantly  leading  you 
through  fifteen  methodically  graduated  chapters  (of  which  the  first 
is  a  succinct  history  of  garden-making  in  this  country)  he  deals, 
amongst  other  topics,  with  the  choice  of  a  site,  the  making  of 
gateways  and  fences,  terraces,  lawns,  summer-houses,  conservatories, 
fountains,  lakes,  kitchen  gardens  and  orchards,  landscape  gardening, 
trees,  shrubs,  climbers,  perennials,  aquatic  plants,  and  Ferns.  In  his 
endeavour  to  make  this  work  terse,  exhaustive,  and  complete  within 
its  comparatively  small  compass,  Mr.  Mawson  has  clearly  spared  no 
pains.  He  has  consulted  the  best  authorities  and  selected  some  of  the 
best  exemplars  of  existing  gardens  or  of  useful  features  in  those 
gardens.  Everywhere  the  text  is  sound  and  the  diagram  or  illustration 
admirably  adapted  to  explain  the  principle  which  the  text  seeks  to 
inculcate.  These  diagrams  and  illustrath  ns  number  in  all  145,  of 
which  thirty-two  are  perspective  and  photographic  views  in  leading 
gardens,  twenty-four  are  garden  plans,  seventy-seven  technical  sections, 
shetches,  details,  and  twelve  garden  designs. 
In  perusing  these  pages  one  is  continually  impressed  with  the 
desire  of  the  author  to  make  his  work  eminently  useful  to  the  reader. 
Authorities  from  everywhere  are  quoted,  architects  treat  of  the 
Oriental  modes  of  trellis-work,  all  the  best  species  and  varieties  of 
treis,  shrub.s,  flowers,  and  grasses  for  permanent  plant  ng  or  annual 
bedding  are  indicated,  types  of  devices  and  decorative  a  ljuncts  for  the 
country-seat  or  villa-residenee  exist  in  profusion  with  instances,  and 
when  any  construction  or  method  of  culture  presents  some  doubt  or 
difficulty,  an  expert’s  opinion  often  accompanies  it  suggesting 
a  helpful  altei  native. 
In  the  short  space  at  our  disposal  we  are  unable  to  do  com¬ 
plete  justice  to  the  very  desirable  treatment  displayed  in  this 
volume.  It  is  an  object  of  pleasure  as  well  as  a  mine  rf  instruction, 
and  fitted  either  for  the  drawing-room  tab  e  or  the  use  of  a  prac¬ 
tical  man  who  is  capable  of  exiianding  an  i  ea  clearly  presented, 
of  an  already  familiar  subject.  We  can  highly  recommend  it  to  all 
who  are  interested  in  the  delightful  art  of  gardening,  and  trust  we 
may  yet  have  an  opportunity  ot  drawing  special  attention  to  some  of 
the  peculiar  merits  which  it  embodies. 
*  ‘-The  Art  and  Craft  of  Garden-Making,”  by  Thomas  H.  Mawson;  London 
Published  by  B.  T.  Batsferd,  !)4,  High  Holborn,  and  Geo.  Newnes,  Ltd., 
Southampton  Street,  Strand.  1900.  Price  21/-. 
