162 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
February  20,  1098. 
-  Lachenalias  and  Violets. — Mr.  W.  Allan  has  sent  us  from 
Gunton  Park  Gardens  some  admirably  grown  spikes  of  Lackenalia 
Nelsoni,  also  the  finest  Violets  we  have  seen  this  year.  The  spikes 
above  mentioned  contain  an  average  of  twenty  flowers,  all  fresh  ;  and 
the  Violets,  Marie  Louise,  Neapolitan,  and  Comte  de  Brazza,  are  much 
above  the  average  size  of  those  now  sold  in  London. 
Carnation  Uriah  Pike. — I  should  like  to  ask  your  corre¬ 
spondent  “  D.”  (page  118),  or  any  other  Carnation  grower,  if  the  above 
is  found  to  flower  freely  during  the  winter,  say  from  November  until 
the  end  of  February.  It  has  been  stated  by  some  persons  to  be  a  winter 
flowering  variety,  but  so  far  as  my  experience  goes  I  cannot  say  this 
much  for  it.  If  other  growers’  experience  should  differ  from  this,  and 
they  are  successful  in  flowering  this  grand  Carnation  at  the  time  stated, 
the  mode  of  procedure  would  doubtless  be  welcome  to  more  than  one 
reader  of  the  Journal,  as  if  it  can  only  be  cultivated  to  flower  freely  in 
the  way  that  Miss  Joliffe  or  La  Neige  will  do,  it  will  hold  its  own  for 
some  time  to  come. — Inquirer. 
-  Chinese  Primulas. — Varieties  of  Chinese  Primulas  are  now 
extremely  numerous,  and  many  of  them  are  of  such  merit  that  would 
warrant  the  surmise  that  perfection  had  as  nearly  as  possible  been 
attained  to.  But  this  has  been  thought  so  many  times,  and  of  so  many 
flowers,  that  we  do  not  suppose  experimenters  will  cease  their  work  at 
any  time,  for  the  possibilities  of  the  future  can  never  be  known. 
Amongst  the  introducers  of  superb  varieties  of  Primula  sinensis 
must  be  mentioned  Messrs.  J.  Yeitch  &  Sons,  Royal  Exotic  Nurseries, 
Chelsea,  who  have  favoured  us  with  specimens  of  some  of  their  leading 
forms.  The  flowers  combine  richness  and  purity  of  colouration,  with  size, 
form,  and  substance,  all  attributes  that  must  be  possessed  by  the 
Primula  of  to-day.  Amidst  such  excellence  it  is  difficult  to  particu¬ 
larise,  but  of  those  before  us  we  should  say  Chelsea  Scarlet,  Chelsea 
Rose,  Chelsea  Blue,  Gigantic  Red  and  White,  with  the  firm’s  Double  Red 
and  Double  Rose  were  of  the  choicest,  though  the  others  are  sufficiently 
good  to  merit  their  inclusion  in  every  collection. 
-  Instability  in  Plant  Nomenclature.— I  am  pleased  to 
see  the  note  on  the  above  on  page  139  of  the  Journal.  Only  recently  I 
observed,  in  turning  to  the  Saxifrages  in  the  Kew  “  Hand  List  of 
Herbaceous  Plants,”  that  S.  Burseriana  was  given  as  S.  burseriana. 
This  is  rather  inconsistent,  as  on  the  same  page  S.  Boydi  appears  with 
the  capital  letter,  and  in  the  line  beneath  giving  its  parentage  we  have 
S.  Burseriana  x  aretioides,  Burseriana  having  here  the  capital  letter. 
Were  this  only  an  exceptional  thing  it  would  be  of  less  consequence ; 
but  if  we  turn  to  the  Campanulas,  we  have  on  page  91  C.  Grossekii  and 
C.  Hendersoni,  while  on  the  same  page  are  C.  morettiana  and  C.  porten- 
ichlagiana,  these  having  the  small  letter.  Many  others  occur,  and  the 
value  of  a  most  useful  and  convenient  little  book,  which  I  have  had 
bound  as  worthy  of  something  better  than  a  paper  cover,  is  to  some 
extent  lessened.  We  have  so  much  good  work  from  Kew  that  finding 
fault  with  anything  emanating  from  that  source  is  an  unwelcome  task. — 
S.  Arnott. 
-  Women  Gardeners  at  Kew. — We  have  from  time  to  time 
received  several  more  or  less — generally  less — humorous  communica¬ 
tions  on  the  above  subject,  but  they  were  not  quite  suitable  for 
publication.  They  had  reference  mainly  to  the  attire  alleged  to  be 
imposed  by  the  authorities,  though  some  of  the  letters  were  not  untinged 
with  cynicism,  not  to  say  jealousy,  of  the  intrusion  of  the  fair  sex  into 
the  domain  of  gardening.  As  to  the  question  of  dress,  we  observe  in  a 
daily  paper  what  appears  to  be  an  inspired  paragraph,  to  the  effect  that 
the  Kew  authorities  do  not  oblige  the  two  “  women  gardeners  ”  to  wear 
trousers,  but  “only  knickerbockers  ”  when  “  at  work,”  as  skirts  might 
damage  valuable  plants  in  the  crowded  houses.  It  is  also  stated  that 
the  “  women  ”  are  provided  with  a  dressing  room,  lest  they  should  be 
seen  unsuitably  attired  when  going  to  and  from  their  work.  Those  of 
our  correspondents  who  have  betrayed  just  a  tinge  of  jealousy,  may 
perhaps  derive  a  modicum  of  comfort  from  the  thought  that  dressing 
rooms  for  workers  are  not  likely  to  become  general  in  private  gardens, 
and  perhaps  not  in  plant  nurseries  for  some  little  time  to  come  ;  while 
if  they  were  it  would  imply  a  great  increase  in  knickers,  and  if  these,  as 
may  be  fairly  presumed,  were  “tailor  made,”  there  would  at  least  be 
some  compensation  to  the  masculine  community,  and  there  is  no  law  to 
prevent  out  of  work  “  men  ”  gardeners  (of  which  there  are  sadly  too 
many)  changing  their  occupation,  and  making  clothes  for  the  women. 
We  advise  our  troubled  friends  to  keep  calm.  Kew  must  be  up  to  date, 
and  things  find  their  level,  even  by  the  possible  appointment  at  some 
future  date  of  a  Directress  of  the  Royal  Gardens.  In  one  respect  she 
would  have  a  difficult  task  to  perform — namely,  in  increasing  the 
confusion  in  authoritative  (?)  plant  nomenclature. 
-  Wholesale  Fruit  and  Potato  Salesmen  and  Growers 
Benevolent  Association. — We  are  informed  that  Mr.  George  Monro 
of  Covent  Garden  has  consented  to  preside  at  the  annual  festival  dinner 
in  aid  of  the  funds  of  the  Wholesale  Fruit  and  Potato  Salesmen  and 
Growers’  Benevolent  Association,  to  be  held  on  March  10th,  at  the 
Holborn  Restaurant. 
-  Gardening  Appointments.— Mr.  W.  Heath,  for  eleven  years 
gardener  to  Sir  F.  Peel,  Hampton  Manor,  Warwickshire,  has  been 
appointed  head  gardener  to  Lieut.-General  The  Hon.  Somerset  J.  G. 
Calthorpe,  Woodlands  VaR,  Ryde,  Isle  of  Wight.  Mr.  C.  Puddephatt, 
for  two  years  head  gardener  to  Sir  Anthony  Cope,  Bart.,  Bramshill  Park, 
Winchfield,  Hants,  has  been  appointed  head  gardener  to  G.  Lake,  Esq., 
J.P.,  Bushey  House,  Watford,  Herts. 
-  Protect  Your  Hardy  Plants.  —  Now  is  the  time  when 
your  plants  are  likely  to  suffer.  When  the  days  get  a  little  warmer 
at  noon  buds  Bwell,  sap  moves  faster,  and  growth  commences  ;  all  of 
this  is  natural.  The  danger  lies  in  the  sudden  coming  of  a  cold  spell 
after  it ;  this  is  very  injurious  to  many  things.  See  that  whatever 
covering,  as  mulching,  put  on  in  November  or  December  is  still  in 
place,  that  the  shelter  belts  and  screens  are  in  good  order,  and  that 
plants  layered  and  covered  with  earth  over  winter  are  nowhere  bare  and 
exposed  to  sunshine  or  wind. — A.  C. 
-  Chester  Horticultural  Show  and  Fete.— Just  as  we  were 
preparing  for  press  we  received  the  schedule  of  prizes  offered  for  compe¬ 
tition  in  the  ancient  city  mentioned,  on  July  15th  of  the  present  year. 
It  embraces  113  classes  in  the  various  sections.  The  chief  prizes  are 
£25,  £15,  £10,  and  £5  for  groups  of  plants  arranged  for  effect.  For 
groups  of  Orchids  the  prizes  are  £20,  £15,  and  £10;  while  similar 
amounts  are  offered  for  twelve  stove  and  greenhouse  plants  in  bloom.  A 
class  for  cut  flowers  will  arrest  attention — namely,  “  Display  of  Cut 
Flowers  arranged  in  any  conceivable  design,  or  combination  of  designs, 
at  the  discretion  of  the  exhibitor,  in  a  space  12  feet  by  5  feet.  A  few 
foliage  plants  may  be  used.”  The  prizes  in  this  class  are  £10,  £7,  £5» 
and  £3.  An  aggregate  display  of  considerable  interest  will  be  expected. 
The  chief  class  for  fruit  stipulates  for  eighteen  dishes,  prizes  £15,  £10, 
and  £5  ;  while  amounts  of  £5,  £3,  and  £2  are  provided  for  twelve 
“  varieties  ”  of  vegetables.  Unless  the  Committee  mean  that  twelve 
varieties  of  Potatoes  or  any  other  kind  of  vegetable  are  admissible,  the 
governing  term  is  not  happily  chosen.  We  presume  it  will  be  safer  to 
stage  twelve  distinct  “kinds”  for  winning  the  prizes.  We  perceive  also 
a  notification  that  “A  member  of  the  Council  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  has  kindly  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  deputation  a  silver 
cup  value  ten  guineas,  to  be  awarded  at  this  Show,  to  mark  not  only  a 
new  departure  of  the  R.H.S.  in  visiting  the  provinces,  but  the  fact  that 
the  first  invitation  to  do  so  was  received  from  Chester.”  The  show  should 
be  very  large  and  diversified  in  view  of  the  provision  made  by  the 
Committee,  of  which  J.  Wynne  Ffoulkes,  Esq.,  Crypt  Chambers,  Chester, 
is  the  Honorary  Secretary. 
-  Fruit  Prospects. — It  is  very  satisfactory  to  note  that  whilst 
the  winter  so  far  has  been  wonderfully  open,  yet  the  comparative 
dryness  which  has  prevailed  since  the  year  opened,  and  now  of  some 
seven  weeks’  duration,  has  greatly  helped  to  check  undue  or  premature 
growth  on  the  pait  of  deciduous  trees  and  bushes,  so  that  buds  seem 
comparatively  dormant.  So  long  as  they  remain  in  that  condition  there 
is  not  much  to  fear  should  sharp  weather  and  keen  biting  winds  be  pre¬ 
valent  in  March.  Fervently  I  hope  such  may  not  be  the  case,  indeed 
the  long  period  of  winter  dryness  rather  indicates  a  change  presently  to 
abundant  rains,  and  with  these  a  higher  temperature  that  may  provoke 
quick  bud  activity.  That  we  have  great  need  for  the  rain  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  and  if  falling  copiously  in  March,  unaccompanied  by  snow 
or  frost,  much  good  may  be  done.  A  wet  April  is  a  disaster,  because  it 
is  then  impossible  to  secure  a  good  seed-sowing  time.  It  is  very  possible 
that  fear  of  such  a  contingency  may  induce  many  to  sow  seed  early 
whilst  the  soil  is  in  such  admirable  condition.  The  prospects  of  a  fairly 
good  fruit  season  seem  therefore  to  be  very  dependent  on  the  nature 
of  the  weather  of  the  next  six  weeks.  The  trees  are  in  many  places  very 
promising,  although  Pears  show  more  so  than  Apples,  the  latter  as  a 
rule  having  borne  heavily  last  year.  Still  there  is  the  prospect  of  being 
a  very  fair  Apple  bloom  all  the  same.  Plums  may  not  be  so  very  heavy, 
but  Cherries  will,  no  doubt,  as  buds  show,  bloom  luxuriantly.  As  to 
bush  fruits  and  Raspberries,  they  are  all  right.  Strawberry  plants  will 
tell  their  own  tale  a  little  later,  but  crowns  seem  to  be  very  plump.  So 
far  at  present  in  relation  to  the  year’s  fruit  crop  there  is  nothing  to  be 
discouraged  about. — A.  D. 
