476 
June  7,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
LsDlia  purpurata  Backbousiana. 
Forms  of  this  lovely  Lselia  with  flushed  sepals  and  petals  are  not 
rare  by  any  means,  but  in  this  fine  form  it  is  very  deep  in  colour  and 
regularly  distributed.  Unlike  L.  p.  Ashworthiana  that  was  shown  a 
mw  years  ago,  it  has  not  at  all  the  appearance  of  a  monstrosity.  This 
latter  has  the  appearance  of  carrying  three  lips.  In  contour,  and  in 
size,  too,  L.  p.  IBackhousiana  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired,  and  it  is 
evideritly  free-flowering. ^  It  would  make  a  fine  companion  plant  to 
L.  p,  Littleiana,  figured  in  last  week’s  Jownal  of  Horticulture. 
Kergerstenia  graminea. 
Although  a  small  and  not  a  particularly  showy  Orchid,  this  is  a 
striking  and  brightly  tinted  species  well  worthy  a|place  in  collections  of 
a  representative  character.  The  foliage  is  narrow  and  grass-like,  the 
blossoms  occurring  from  the  base  on  single-flowered  peduncles,  but  as 
these  are  freely  produced  the  effect  of  a  well  flowered  plant  is  very 
good.  Like  other  dwarf  species  it  must  not  be  overpotted,  and  as 
thrips  are  fond  of  the  young  foliage  see  that  the  atmosphere  is  always 
kept  moist.  Being  a  native  of  New  Grenada,  it  does  not  need  much 
heat.— H.  E,  E. 
- - 
The  Parson’s  Freehold. 
Now,  I  do  not  want  to  draw  down  on  my  poor  head  vials  of  wrath 
from  every  parson  in  Great  Britain.  I  speak  of  the  fiw,  a  id  the 
shortcomings  of  those  few  do  not  extend  to  their  ordinary  duties  and 
responsibilities.  In  matters  spiritual  they  are  wide  awake,  and  are 
ready  with  many  a  lesson  and  excellent  precept.  It  is  on  the  outside 
of  their  churches  where  I  think  that  their  vigilance  slumbers.  It  is 
astonishing,  when  one  considers  how  often  they  pass  through  the 
churchyard,  that  they  cannot  see  how  miserably  neglected  it  looks.  So 
many  of  our  village  churches  are  set  in  excellent  nositions — their  archi¬ 
tecture,  though  perhaps  not  of  the  first  order,  is  fairly  good ;  the  fabric 
is  kept  in  repair  ;  and  more  than  that,  there  may  be  embellishments  of 
stained  glass  and  carved  oaken  work.  Several  places  will  occur  to  the 
reader  where  all  that  could  be  done  has  been  done  to  render  the  House 
of  God  seemly  and  orderly.  But  who  cannot  recall  cases  where  the 
churchyard — our  last  resting  place — is  most  obviously  neglected  ?  The 
grass  has  in  course  of  time  grown  rank  and  u»ly,  for  it  is  only  hy  con¬ 
stant  cutting  that  beautiful  turf  is  made.  Not  only  is  the  grass  bad, 
but  unsightly  weeds  of  all  kinds  have  reared  their  heads.  The  prin¬ 
cipal  path  may  be  kept  fairly  in  order,  but  there  is  a  look  of  unkempt¬ 
ness  everywhere.  ^  Some  churchyards  have  been  levelled,  so  as  to  make 
the  grass  easier  to  manage  ;  that  takes  away  from  the  picturesqueness, 
and  is  not  altogether  desirable. 
There  are  plenty  of  churchyards  with  the  old  raised  mounds  that 
are  kept  in  perfect  order,  so  the  thing  can  be  done.  The  secret  lies  in 
the  wardens  and  vicar  working  harmoniously  together.  It  is  not  done 
without  expense,  but  in  most  villages  there  can  be  found  old  men  who 
for  a  small  wage  will  gladly  potter  about  with  shears,  and  keep  things 
neat  and  tidy.  People  naturally  want  to  visit  the  graves  of  their 
friends,  but  it  does  not  look  well  to  allow  of  beaten  tracks ;  a  croquet 
hoop  or  two  will  divert  the  traffic,  and  hurt  no  one’s  feelings.  Pleasant 
is  that  yard  ^yhen  the  stately  trees  abound  ;  but  if  there  be  tree^,  there 
is  a  want  of  turf  where  they  throw  their  shadows  and  spread  their 
roots.  This  difiiculty  may  be  got  over  by  the  use  of  Ivy;  there 
are  so  many  beautiful  varieties,  and  they  grow  quickly  if  well 
planted.  One  grave  I  knew  where  the  rough  stone  cresses  Were 
recumbent,  husband  and  wife  laid  side  by  side,  and  now  round  and 
about  each  stone  the  glossy  leaves  make  a  beautiful  fratnework.  No 
matter  how  dense  the  trees,  the  Ivy  will  grow  and  will  look  well  at 
all  seasons. 
It  is  possible  to  make  the  turf  attractive.  Violets,  white  and 
purple,  will  grow  almost  anywhere,  and  what  can  be  lovelier  than  a 
carpet  of  them  ?  The  first  of  the  season  are  always  under  the  south 
and  east  walls,  and  beauties  they  are.  Some  long  dead  hand  in  the 
same  yard  set  lavishly  Crocus  bulbs,  and  more  recently  Daffodils  have 
found  their  home  there.  Eound  the  foot  of  several  graves  the  harbinger 
of  spring,  the  Snowdrop,  raises  her  pure  head,  and  the  saucy  Aconite 
is  irrepressible.  At  one  corner  someone  planted  on  a  young  girl’s  grave 
a  little  white  Scotch  Eose.  The  friends  are  all  gone,  the  tree 
remains.  A  few  Irish  Yews  may  look  stiff,  but  they  are  stately,  and 
the  crimson  berries  in  autumn  and  early  winter  make  grand  points  of 
colour. 
The  grass  never  comes  quite  up  to  walls  of  the  sacred  edifice.  A 
gardening  vicar  will  not  wait  for  his  wardens,  but  will  take  off  a  nice 
luece  of  grass  and  turn  the  ground  into  a  pretty  border.  Against 
the  buttress  I  would  have  some  climbing  Eoses — the  evergreen  variety, 
the  common  C.uster  Eoses.  Dean  Hole  reommends  for  this  purpose 
Felicitd  Perpetue  ;  I  add  Ruga  and  Dundee  Rambler,’ they!  are  all 
quick  growers,  and  do  not  die  out  as  some  of  the  grander  Roses  would 
do.  Over  a  porch  I  know  is  Honeysuckle,  and  below  the  east  window 
is  trained  Clematis  Jackmani  and  a  small  shrub  bearing  crimson 
berries,  which  I  believe  is  called  Cotoneaster.  At  the  base  there  are 
big  plants  of  Christmas  Rose,  and  they  are  sheltered  and  preserved 
clean  by  huge  fronds  of  common  Fern,  which  at  the  first  frost  falling 
make  a  capital  covering.  At  the  chancel  door  is  the  yellow  summer 
■flowering  Jasmine,  and  the  border  is  filled  with  all  manner  of 
sweet  and  pleasant  plants.  A  few  “  Geraniums  ”  look  well  against 
the  grey  stone  and  green  background,  but  a  lover  of  beauty 
needs  no  hints.  Under  the  north  wall  little  else  will  grow  except 
Ferns,  but  they  are  so 'graceful  in  themselves  that  nothing  more  is 
needed. 
Unless  the  architecture  of  the  tower  is  too  good  to  allow  of  it^ 
nothing  looks  so  well  as  Ivy.  There  is  one  old  Norman  church  not 
far  away  where,  the  east  window  being  uncoloured  glass.  Ivy  makes 
the  most  delightful  tracery.  A  few  modest  Primroses  should  lurk  in 
unsuspected  corners  ;  in  fact,  they  may  be  put  everywhere  where 
not  too  hot.  The  large  ox-eyed  Daisies  flourish  well  in  some  places. 
I  have  seen  them  covering  children’s  graves.  If  a  start  is  given  by 
the  vicar  he  will  soon  see  his  efforts  well  seconded  by  his  people.  All 
might  be  asked  to  contribute  to  the  border,  for  the  fuller  it  is  the 
better  it  looks,  and  some  of  the  tall  perennials  make  a  handsome 
show.  The  big  June  Lilies  must  not  be  forgotten — so  pure,  so  white, 
so  sweet.  If  natural  flowers  are  found  in  a  churchyard  those  unsightly 
china  wreaths  will  vanish  as  if  by  magic — the  contrast  will  be  too 
great.  There  is  nothing  like  educating  the  taste — false  notions  of 
beauty  (?)  will  disappear. 
I  would  make  the  graveyard  speak  of  life  and  hope  and  immortality* 
Let  it  be  the  beauty  spot  of  the  village.  Death  should  come  as  a 
friend,  not  an  enemy.  Ostentatious  show  is  not  what  we  look  for,  but 
great  beauty  may  reign  around,  and  the  poor  sorrowing  heart  may  feel 
soothed  and  lightened  by  the  sweet  influences  that  pervade  the- 
hallowed  place. — The  Missus. 
-  -  . -<♦♦♦» - 
A  Deartli  of  Peaclies. 
The  markets  of  Britain  are  usually  fully — sometimes  too  fully — 
supplied  wuth  the  various  descriptions  of  fruit  in  their  season,  for  have 
we  not  the  whole  world  to  draw  our  supplies  from,  and,  in  some 
respects,  to  compete  with,  which  makes  the  task  of  profitable  fruit 
growing  at  times  no  easy  matter.  This  season  Plums  of  splendid 
quality  have  been  largely  sent  us  from  the  Cape,  and  after  their 
journey  of  6000  or  7000  miles,  have  reached  the  metropolis  in  good 
condition,  and  many  of  them  have  from  thence  been  despatched  to  the 
principal  towns  throughout  the  country,  where  they  seem  to  find  a 
ready  sale.  I  do  not  know  definitely  what  has  been  done  in  regard  to 
the  supply  of  Peaches  from  the  same  source,  but  apparently  they  are 
not  sent  in  large  quantities,  or  do  not  stand  the  journey  we  1,  for  it  is 
an  undoubted  fact  that  the  supply  of  good  Poaches  is  not  equal  to  the 
demand.  This  remark  not  only  applies  to  the  early  part  of  the 
summer,  but  also  truthfully  indicates  the  state  of  affairs  onward  till 
the  end  of  September.  High-class  fruiterers  in  the  north  and 
midlands  are  often  at  their  wits’  end  to  know  how  to  get  Peaches  at 
short  notice.  Quite  recently  I  had  some  conversation  with  a  fruiterer 
who  does  a  very  large  trade,  and  he  stated  emphatically  his  difficulty 
with  Peaches  was  not  selling,  but  getting  them,  although  he  was 
always  prepared  to  pay  the  price  asked  by  any  grower.  This  has  been 
his  experience  during  the  last  two  or  three  seasons. 
When  the  outdoor  crops  are  ripe  I  expect  the  difficulty  in  obtain¬ 
ing  this  luscious  fruit  is  not  so  great  in  the  south  as  in  the  north 
and  midlands,  where  few  are  grown  in  the  open  air ;  but  it 
seems  to  me  to  open  up  a  good  field  for  enterprise  among  southern 
growers,  for  as  soon  as  the  London  markets  are  overstocked  with  any 
kind  of  produce,  some  of  it  is  quickly  despatched  to  large  provincial 
towns.  A  still  better  system  of  distribution  would  be  for  large 
growers  to  communicate  direct  to  fruiterers  in  various  parts  of  the 
country,  and .  thus  save  the  many  •  intermediate  charges  which 
often  play  such  havoc  with  the  *  grower’s  returns.  I  feel  sure 
that  British  horticulturists  are  too  enterprising  to  allow  this 
annual  scarcity  of  Peaches  to  lopg  continue,  but  those  who  are 
first  in  the  field  with  an  adequate  supply  will,  as  of  old,  reap  the 
greatest  reward. 
Let  me  now  turn  to  the  practical  side  of  the  matter,  and  advance 
a  few  ideas  as  to  the  best  means  of  Iproducing  crops  at  various  seasons. 
The  earliest  crop  might  with  advantage  be  grown  in  pots,  because 
when  the  fruit  is  gathered  the  trees  can  be  set  in  the  open  air,  and 
