July  7,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
13 
ABUTILON  VITIF0L1UM. 
This  very  beautiful  half-hardy  shrub  is  well  worthy  of  cultivation  ; 
perhaps  if  it  were  a  little  hardier  we  should  see  it  more  frequently  in 
gardens.  In  the  West  of  England  it  is  said  to  attain  to  a  height  of 
14  feet,  and  to  a  circumference  of  upwards  of  30  feet.  Very  rarely  are 
such  examples  seen  out  of  doors,  and  it  is  only  in  favoured  climates 
where  such  results  could  be  expected.  In  most  cases  where  it  is  found 
in  gardens  it  is  an  inmate  of  the  greenhouse,  and  very  seldom  can  an 
adequate  idea  be  then  formed  of  the  beauty  of  the  shrub  when  fully 
developed.  The  flowers  are  large,  of  a  delicate  purplish  or  bluish  mauve, 
not  unlike  the  stately  Meconopsis  Wallichi  in  tint  and  form.  They  are 
produced  in  great  abundance,  and  in  contrast  with  the  large  dark  green 
lobed  leaves  they  have  a  fine  appearance.  A  small  spray  is  represented 
by  the  engraving,  but  the  specimen  had  suffered  somewhat  in  transit,  so 
that  it  scarcely  gives  a  fair  idea  as  to  the  beauty  of  the  plant. 
GRAPES  AT  HILL  GROVE,  KIDDERMINSTER. 
On  making  a  call  recently  at  the  gardens  at  Hill  Grove,  the  home  of 
W.  Halton,  Esq.,  I  was  astonished  at  the  heavy  crops  of  Grapes  in  the 
five  fine  vineries  there.  Mr.  Poole’s  practice  seems  to  be  to  crop  his  rods 
heavily,  and  before  they  become  exhausted  to  start  others  from  the  bottom 
of  the  rafter,  reaching  the  top  in  about  three  years,  when  the  older  ones 
are  cut  out.  In  some  cases  young  rods  are  left  on  the  old  roots,  while  in 
others  rods  are  started  away  from  older  Vines,  pegged  down  to  the  inside 
borders,  where  they  root,  and  are  then  severed  from  the  parent. 
Black  Hamburghs  are  a  splendid  crop.  In  many  cases  on  the  last 
6  feet  of  rod  ripened  last  year  are  eight  and  nine  bunches,  many  of  them 
2  lbs.  in  weight,  good  in  shape,  with  berries  swelling  and  colouring  well. 
Gros  Colman,  Alicante,  Lady  Downe’s,  Madresfield  Court,  and  Muscats 
are  all  in  fine  form,  and  carrying  enormous  crops,  Mrs.  Pince  especially 
so.  Neither  wood  nor  foliage  is  particularly  large,  but  both  are  good  in 
colour  and  substance.  Order,  neatness,  and  method  are  apparent 
throughout,  every  leaf  being  allowed  to  develop  without  crushing  its 
neighbour,  while  roots  are  everywhere  abundant  near  the  surface  of  the 
border. 
During  the  past  two  or  three  years  Cucumbers  and  Tomatoes  have 
been  grown  in  large  quantities,  and  there  are  now  heavy  crops  of  fine 
fruit.  In  both  cases  the  varieties  chiefly  relied  on  are  seedlings  raised  on 
the  place,  which  are  satisfactory  in  every  way.  The  kitchen  garden, 
whicn  is  a  very  fine  one,  was  in  excellent  order — in  fact,  success  may  be 
said  to  crown  Mr.  Poole’s  eflorts  in  most  things  he  takes  in  hand. — 
W.  H.  W.  r 
PROXIES  AND  IRISES  AT  LONG  DITTON. 
Travellers  on  the  London  and  South-Western  Railway  who  pass 
through  Surbiton  Station  cannot  fail  to  notice  the  gorgeous  masses  of 
bright  colours  to  be  seen  in  the  nurseries  of  Messrs.  Barr  &  Sons.  This 
blaze  of  colouring  is  caused  by  the  thousands  of  Pseonies  now  flowering. 
It  was  with  the  intention  of  becoming  more  closely  acquainted  with  them 
that  I  journeyed  to  Long  Ditton  on  a  pouring  w  et  morning  -  certainly  not 
an  ideal  time  to  see  and  examine  large  herbaceous  plants  ;  but  provided 
with  a  “  sou’- wester  ”  and  mackintosh  by  Mr.  William  Barr,  matters 
were  soon  comfortably  arranged.  The  healthy  appearance  of  the  plants 
was  very  marked,  and  their  arrangement  still  more  striking.  An  out¬ 
sider  would  not  notice  more  than  perhaps  twenty  varieties,  whereas  they 
must  be  counted  by  the  hundred. 
As  might  be  expected,  both  the  single  and  double  forms  are  well 
represented.  The  pick  of  the  former,  at  the  time  of  my  visit,  were  as 
follows,  taking  the  varieties  as  they  appeared  in  their  different  colours  : — 
Couronne  d’Or,  a  large  creamy  white  ;  Duke  of  Wellington,  creamy 
yellow  with  pure  white  guard  petals  ;  Madame  Dupont,  pure  white,  very 
full  flower  ;  La  Vestale,  one  of  the  most  striking  whites  ;  La  Tulipe, 
large  snow  white,  very  full  ;  Lady  Godiva,  white,  tinted  flesh  colour  ; 
Marie  Lemoine,  good  white,  and  Snowball,  one  of  the  best  noted.  In  the 
blush  tints,  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  a  beautiful  pink  ;  General  Bedeau, 
blush  white  ;  Lady  Somerset,  soft  rose  pink  ;  and  Madame  Breon,  silvery 
peach,  were  conspicuous. 
Passing  to  the  rose  varieties,  Alexandre  Dumas  must  be  noted  for  its 
free-flowering  properties  ;  Dr.  Boisduval,  rose,  with  a  salmon  pink 
centre  ;  Madame  Furtado,  carmine,  very  distinct  ;  Sir  Henry  Irving,  a 
bright  rose  pink  of  good  form  ;  Washington,  rose  cerise,  very  sweet 
scented  :  noblissima,  rose  ;  John  Fraser,  cerise  rose,  very  double,  and 
Sir  Walter  Scott,  bright  rose,  shaded  pink,  were  all  splendid.  Louis  Van 
Iloutte,  deep  crimson  :  Lord  Salisbury,  rich  crimson  ;  Marshal  MacMahon, 
rich  carmine  ;  and  superbissima,  a  strong  grower,  deep  carmine,  were 
excellent. 
The  single  varieties  appear  to  be  gaining  in  popularity,  and  there  are 
enormous  quarters  planted  at  Ditton.  As  with  the  doubles  the  colours 
are  massed,  so  that  a  selection  of  the  most  striking  becomes  an  easy 
matter.  The  Bride,  as  its  name  denotes,  is  white  ;  The  Moor  is  rich 
maroon  crimson,  with  very  distinctive  foliage  ;  Apollo,  deep  rose ; 
Celestial,  bright  rose  ;  Mazeppa,  deep  rose  ;  Princess  Teck,  rose  ;  Venus, 
bright  rose,  shaded  silvery  white  ;  Victoria,  deep  crimson  ;  Jenny 
Lind,  blush  pink  j  Dorothy,  rosy  carmine  ;  and  Kaiser, J.a  bright  rose* 
are  all  good. 
Mr.  Barr  considers  that  more  failures  with  Paeonies  occur  through 
planting  at  wrong  periods  than  from  any  other  single  cause.  The  ideal 
time  is  during  the  month  of  September,  as  by  planting  then  the  roots 
establish  themselves  while  the  ground  is  still  warm,  with  the  result  that 
the  flowers  develop  the  following  spring  ;  whereas  in  cases  where  planting 
is  deferred  till  November,  the  roots  do  not  move  till  the  following  spring. 
This  means  that  the  plant  is  engaged  in  forming  roots  instead  of  developing 
its  flower  buds.  At  Ditton  the  plants  grow  in  a  light  sandy  soil,  which  is 
heavily  mulched  with  manure  to  retain  the  moisture. 
Irises  in  all  sections  are  largely  in  evidence,  growing  in  all  sorts  of 
positions,  and  under  varying  conditions.  Many  of  the  sections  have 
now  finished  flowering,  but  judging  from  the  numberless  flower  spikes 
Fig.  3.— Abutilon  vitifolium. 
that  remain,  they  must  have  been  very  striking  and  attractive.  I.  siberica 
and  its  numerous  varieties  were  still  very  attractive,  growing  in  the  open 
quarters  and  beside  the  running  stream.  1  was  particularly  impressed 
by  the  Iris  orientalis  and  o.  gigantea,  forms  that  are  seldom  met  with  in 
o-ardens.  The  plants  appeared  quite  happy  in  the  open  ground,  growing 
from  4  to  5  feet  high,  with  very  handsome  foliage,  and  large  chaste 
flowers  with  white  standards  and  yellow  and  white  falls.  These  are 
plants  that  should  appeal  to  those  who  have  to  produce  a  quantity  of 
flowers  for  decorative  purposes. 
There  were  still  a  few  notable  forms  of  variegata  in  flower,  such  as 
Edward  Simmonds,  Magnet,  Robert  Burns,  and  Prince  of  Orange.  In 
the  Aphylla  -eetion  Madame  Chereau  and  Mrs.  Darwin  were  still 
beautiful.  The  Japanese  Irises  were  just  bursting  into  flower,  and  it 
will  be  worth  a  visit  any  time  during  the  month  to  see  them. — J.  B.  R. 
Dahlias.  —  All  varieties  of  Dahlias  that  have  commenced  to  make 
growth  freely  after  planting  out  permanently  demand  attention  in 
thinning-out  and  regulating  shoots.  Rub  oS  all  weak  growths,  confining 
the  plants  to  three  or  four  of  the  strongest  and  best  placed.  Each  plant 
requires  an  upright  stake  to  support  the  main  stem,  but  the  principal 
growths  will  afterwards  want  tying-out  to  strong  supports. — Grower. 
