342 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
April  21,  1898. 
APRIL  FLOWERS. 
Typical  April  weather,  with  its  smiles  and  tears,  brings  with  it 
many  flowers,  and  paves  the  way  for  the  wealth  of  May.  The 
Primrose  shines  in  shady  nooks ;  on  the  heath  the  Furze  is  aglow 
with  gold;  the  Blackthorn  is  wreathed  in  white,  and  the  Celandine 
is  bright  with  its  stars  of  gold.  In  the  wood,  the  orchard,  the 
shrubbery,  and  the  garden  the  beauties  of  the  out'  r  world  are  brought 
closer  together,  and  our  eyes  are  gladdened  by  the  sight  of  their 
flowers.  The  theme  is  wide,  but  we  must  curb  ourselves  and  look 
more  narrowly  into  the  flowers  of  the  time.  Hardy  flowers  them¬ 
selves  branch  out  into  many  families,  and  we  are  apt  to  become 
entangled  in  the  delights  of  a  few  genera  to  the  neglect  of  others, 
unless  we  are  wary,  and  seek  to  extricate  ourselves  in  time.  We 
might  well  dally  with  the  Daffodils,  coquet  with  the  Fritillaries,  or 
spend  all  our  time  among  the  Primulas  or  Violas,  so  full  of  beauty  in 
the  youth  of  the  year. 
If  we  dally  long  with  the  first,  we  may  find  ourselves  tempted  to 
tell  of  the  rarer  flov/ers  sacred  to  the  gardens  of  the  wealthy,  and  to 
say  naught  of  the  gracious  beauty  of  those  within  the  reach  of  the 
many,  and  which  may  be  planted  singly  or  in  generous  clumps,  as  the 
purse  or  fancy  of  the  gardener  may  allow.  Enthusiasts  possessed  of 
means  enough  can  purchase  Monarch,  Weardale  Perfection,  or  other 
Daffodils  which,  as  it  were,  bear  the  blue  ribbon  for  the  time,  but 
others  may  find  equal  enjoyment  in  admiring  Emperor,  Empress,  and 
the  many  other  Narcissi,  full  of  beauty,  and  within  the  reach  of  prince 
and  peasant.  Others  may  tell  of  the  newer  and  rarer  varieties,  and 
many  of  these  have  been  figured  in  the  Journal.  Their  fascinations 
are  great,  but  the  clumps  of  the  commoner  kinds  appeal  to  almost  all 
as  they  float  gently  to  and  fro  in  the  April  winds.  One  only  shall  be 
mentioned  now,  and  that  because  of  its  earliness  among  the  section — 
that  of  the  Incomparahilis  Daffodils — to  which  it  belongs.  This  is 
Queen  Bess,  with  large  light  yellow  expanded  cup,  and  pure  white 
perianth  segments.  Beautiful  it  is,  and  so  cheap  that  he  is  poor 
indeed  who  cannot  include  it  among  his  garden  treasures. 
Queer  things  are  the  Fritillarias  to  those  who  know  them  not,  and 
quaint  do  they  seem  always  to  those  who  know  them  best.  The  majority 
of  us  have  to  content  ourselves  with  seeing  Gerard’s  “Ginnie-hen 
flower”  in  our  gardens  instead  of  by  the  grassy  meadows  of  the 
Thames.  In  moist  nook  or  on  rocky  hank  they  please  us  with  their 
drooping  bells,  but  their  beauty  is  best  seen  when  their  flowers  are 
turned  up  by  the  hand  and  their  interior  viewed.  If  Fritillaria 
meleagris  is  easily  grown  as  much  may  be  said  for  F.  acmopetala, 
F.  Thunbergi,  F.  pallidiflora,  and  several  others.  Less  confident  we 
may  well  be  if  we  plant  F.  recurva,  F.  aurea,  F.  Moggridgei,  and 
F.  Burnati.  We  may  grow  them  for  a  year  or  two,  but  in  many 
gardens  they  are  difficult  to  keep  beyond  that  time. 
The  Primulas  have  more  worshippers  at  their  shrine.  There  is  no 
prettier  sight  in  our  British  sylvan  scenes  than  a  “  mossy  bank 
bedight”  with  the  starry  flowers  of  our  native  Primrose.  Much  of  the 
beauty  of  our  gardens  is  due  to  the  varieties  which  have  sprung  from 
this  pale-flowered  mother.  Crimsons,  scarlets,  purples,  pinks,  lilacs, 
deep  yellows,  cream  coloured,  pure  whites,  and  now  wonderfully  good 
blues  proclaim  the  power  of  cultivation  to  influence  for  change. 
Clustered  Polyanthuses,  Oxlips,  and  Cowslips  are  speaking  witnesses  of 
the  charms  of  the  Primula  in  gardens  many,  and  of  all  sizes.  And 
what  of  the  Auriculas  ?  They,  with  others  of  the  genus,  will  soon 
hold  court  at  the  Drill  Hall,  for  lack  of  a  more  seemly  palace,  and 
though  we  shall  not  be  there  we  can  think  of  these  flowers  and  their 
followers.  In  “Auriculas:  A  Garden  Fancy”  Mr.  Baildon  tells  of 
them  in  words  one  would  fain  quote  were  it  not  that  space  fails. 
These  have,  worthily,  their  devoteea,  and  with  them  those  who 
delight  in  the  less  grown  species  will  admire  their  own  favourites. 
Primula  marginata,  P.  dentioulata,  with  its  variety  cashmeriana, 
Pt  Steini,  P.  visoosa,  P.  ciliata,  P.  camiolica,  P.  Dinyana — these,  and 
many  more,  have  claims  on  onr  admiration,  with  their  flowers  of 
many  hues  and  shades.  In  the  border  or  the  rock  garden  they  may 
shale  our  affections  with  others  of  the  race. 
The  earlier  Violas  have  begun  to  come  ;  but  who  can  say  he  is 
able  to  keep  abieast  of  the  host  of  varieties  now  open  to  seek  a  place 
in  our  gardens  ?  Their  name  is  legion,  and  still  they  come — white 
and  yellow,  blue  and  parple,  lilac,  brown,  pink,  striped,  spotted, 
rayless  and  rayed,  large  flowered  and  small.  Very  beautiful  they  aie, 
and  we  cannot  spare  them,  though  they  grow  beside  and  eclipse  the 
little  wildings  from  our  own  or  other  lands. 
But  a  paragraph  remains  for  a  glance  at  other  flowers  in  bloom. 
The  early  Rhododendrons  are  in  blow.  Primus  Pissardi — the  earlier 
flowers  stolen  from  us  by  the  frost — is  again  wreathed  over  its 
branches.  Dog’s  Tooth  Violets,  such  as  Erythronium  revolutum, 
E.  citrinum,  and  others,  turn  back  their  segments  and  please  us  by 
their  pretty  flowers.  Early  Saxifrages,  Aubrietias,  Drabas,  Androsaces, 
and  other  rock-garden  plants  brighten  the  mounds  and  slopes  they 
occupy.  There  are  yet  Glories  of  the  Snow,  Hepaticas,  Omithogalum 
ciliatum — an  early  bloomer — Scillas,  Anemones,  from  the  great  red. 
blue,  white,  and  parti-coloured  A.  coronaria  to  the  simple  varieties  of 
the  Wood  Anemone  and  that  from  the  Apennines. 
As  we  see  all  the  beauty  of  the  time  we  recognise  how  aptly  one 
of  our  living  poets  changes  his  expressive  words  from  “  girlish 
laughter”  and  “girlish  tears”  to  “golden  laughter”  and  “golden 
tears.”  Golden,  indeed,  are  these  moods  of  April — treasure-laden  to 
those  longing  for  the  summer  days. — S.  Aenott. 
SYRiNama  plants. 
The  time  of  the  year  has  arrived  when  the  value  of  syringing 
plants  growing  under  glass  as  an  aid  to  high  culture  can  scarcely  be 
over-estimated.  At  one  time  I  was  rather  dubious  about  syringing 
many  kinds  of  plants  which  I  have  found  out  since  are  greatly 
benefited  by  the  practice.  It  may  be  that  modern  houses,  which  are 
so  lightly  built,  may  have  something  to  do  with  the  change  of  practice. 
I  think  they  have,  for  in  houses  of  the  old  type  the  evaporation  from 
the  leaves  of  plants  must  have  been  very  slow  compared  with  the 
rate  in  which  it  goes  on  in  the  case  of  plants  growing  in  modern 
houses,  which  now  seem  to  have  reached  a  point  in  regard  to  lightness 
of  construction  beyond  which  it  is  not  desirable  to  go. 
The  point  which  now  requires  more  general  consideration  is  that 
of  providing  adequate  means  of  ventilation.  Houses  put  up  by  firms 
of  repute  are  usually  well  arranged  in  this  respect,  but  when  they  are 
built  by  men  who  are  not  specialists,  very  haphazard  methods  of 
providing  ventilation  are  often  resorted  to.  This  is  surely  false 
economy,  because  there  is  nothing  that  can  mar  so  quickly  the 
prospect  of  any  crop  growing  under  glass  as  insufficient  ventilating  at 
a  critical  time.  When  houses  cannot  be  given  the  requisite  amount  of 
air,  there  are  two  ways  of  preventing  the  vegetation  growing  in  them 
from  being  greatly  injured  by  such  circumstances,  I  have  written 
there  are  two  ways,  but  in  reality  they  may  be  considered  as  one,  as 
they  should  be  practised  in  conjunction.  I  refer  to  shading  and 
syringing. 
The  present  day  method  of  growing  Cucumbers  illustrates  my  point. 
Instead  of  making  the  airing  of  such  houses  a  source  of  perpetual 
trouble  we  now  keep  them  saturated  with  moisture  and  lightly  shaded 
in  bright  weather,  and  thus  secure  quickly  grown  and  tender  fruits  at 
a  minimum  of  cost  in  labour  and  fuel.  This  principle,  I  think,  may 
be  partially  applied  to  plants  growing  in  what  should  be  cool  houses, 
but  which  are  not  so  in  bright  weather  owing  to  the  little  amount  of 
ventilation  which  can  be  given.  A  slight  shade  given  to  the  roof,  and 
a  thorough  syringing  to  the  plants,  will  keep  them  healthy  and 
vigorous. 
The  popular  Marguerite  when  grown  in  cold  pits  on  an  ash  bottom 
will  often  thrive  well  without  syringing,  but  place  them  in  light 
houses  of  modern  construction,  attend  to  them  well  in  other  respects, 
but  do  not  syringe  ;  then  very  unsatisfactory  results  follow,  for  the 
plants  are  continually  infested  with  green  fly,  and  almost  invariably 
with  the  dreaded  maggot.  A  thorough  syringing  twice  daily  would 
have  brought  about  results  infinitely  more  satisfactory.  In  fact,  the 
white  Marguerite  enjoys  syringing  as  much  as  do  the  incurved  and 
Japanese  Chrysanthemums.  Rose  trees  in  cool  houses,  which  are  now 
rapidly  coming  into  flower,  enjoy  their  daily  syringing,  and  soon  show 
ill  effects  when  it  is  withheld.  The  water  thus  applied  not  only  helps 
to  keep  both  foliage  and  flowers  clean,  but  also  to  promote  rapid 
growth,  and  swell  flower  buds  to  a  large  size. 
Ivy-leaved  Palargoniums  again,  especially  when  growing  in 
ill-ventilated  houses,  delight  in  receiving  daily  syringings ;  the  growth 
then  comes  freely,  and  insect  pests  are  kept  down.  Even  Zonal 
Pekrgonlums  in  the  early  stages  of  growth  after  being  repotted  ar^ 
benefited  by  the  same  practice,  although  it  is  in  their  case  not  wise  tp 
continue  it  when  the  plants  are  growing  freely,  as  it  is  apt  to  induce 
strong  sappy  growth.  Dracaenas,  Palms,  Coleus,  Fuchsias,  Callas, 
Azaleas,  Araliae,  Crotons,  and  indeed  almost  all  fine-foliaged  stove  and 
greenhouse  plants,  revel  in  repeated  syringings  during  spring  and 
summer. 
A  mistake  to  avoid  is  to  syringe  indiscriminately  alike  in  all 
weathers.  During  dull  or  wet  periods  only  an  occasional  syringing 
should  be  given,  then  with  a  sudden  change  to  bright  weather,  the 
plants  feel  the  benefit  of  a  return  to  the  practice  of  receiving  copious 
“  artificial  showers.”  Fortunately,  such  showers  are  more  under  control 
than  natural  ones,  as  we  can  give  them  an  upward  force,  so  directed 
as  to  wet  the  under  as  well  as  the  upper  surface  of  the  leaves,  and 
thus  disturb  in  their  hiding  place  the  many  insects  which  seem  to  feel 
secure  on  the  under  sides  of  leaves.  Although  it  is  not  generally 
admitted  that  leaves  absorb  moisture  to  any  great  extent,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  growth  in  nearly  all  kinds  of  vegetation  is  greatly  pro¬ 
moted  by  showers  of  natural  or  artificial  rain.  One  reason  for  this  is 
that  evaporation  is  greatly  lessened ;  but  another,  which  is  often  over¬ 
looked,  is  that  the  moisture  also  conveys  gases  to  the  leaves  which 
they  have  the  power  of  absorbing  through  their  pores,  and  thus 
materially  assisting  in  the  formation  of  growth. — A  Wokker. 
