April  16,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTIOULTULE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
345 
very  beautiful  as  is  their  foliage.  The  silver-variegated  one  is 
very  pretty,  and  in  the  spring  a  good  clump  is  much  admired.  So 
may  we  say  the  same  of  that  with  golden  variegation,  which  should 
be  added  where  a  collection  of  Crown  Imperials  is  desired.  Then 
there  are  the  sword-stemmed  one  with  flattened  stem  and  the 
crown  on  crown  with  two  rows  of  bells.  The  Crown  Imperials  are 
impatient  of  disturbance,  and  like  a  good  rather  stiff  soil. 
To  look  at  a  clump  of  Sanguinaria  canadensis  with  its  snow- 
white  flowers  open  to  the  sun  one  is  at  a  loss  to  understand  why  it 
had  not  a  more  pleasing  name  given  to  it  than  that  of  the  Canadian 
Bloodroot.  Its  flowers  have  no  tinge  of  red  save  on  the  unopened 
buds,  when  they  come  with  blushing  hue.  The  name  is,  however, 
appropriate  enough,  as  the  root  yields  a  reddish  juice  which,  we 
are  told,  is  used  by  the  Indians  for  medicinal  purposes,  and  also 
forms  the  base  of  the  red  and  purple  dyes  used  by  them  for  basket 
and  other  work.  I  like  to  look  upon  its  little  white  cups,  which 
afterwards  open  out  almost  flat  like  saucers,  with  their  yellow 
centres,  and  to  see  its  lobed  Coltsfoot-like  leaves  wrapped  round 
the  flower  stems  whence  they  are  unfolded  just  before  the  flower 
is  past.  The  variety  I  grow  is  major  or  grandiflora,  which  is  larger 
and  prettier  than  the  typical  one.  The  Puccoon  .or  Canadian 
Bloodroot  likes  a  rather  peaty  soil  with  a  good  supply  of  moisture. 
Some  recommend  growing  it  in  a  half  shady  place,  but  with  me  it 
does  best  in  full  sun. 
Very  pretty  are  some  of  these  Grape  Hyacinths,  which  give  us 
both  delightful  shades  of  blue  and  also  sooty  black.  I  should  not 
like  to  say  it  is  the  finest,  but  certainly  Muscari  atlanticum  is  one 
of  the  prettiest  of  the  smaller  forms.  Very  pretty  is  it  with  its 
dwarf  habit,  its  conical-shaped  heads  of  flower,  and  its  deep  blue 
blooms,  each  with  a  little  ring  of  white  round  the  external  orifice. 
Like  nearly  all  the  others  it  is  easily  grown,  and  has,  what  is  alike 
a  merit  and  a  fault,  the  property  of  increasing  rapidly. 
The  Corydalises  or  Fumitories  are,  somehow  or  other,  not 
very  highly  appreciated  by  many,  yet  they  are  worth  growing, 
and  some  indeed  are  very  fine.  Corydalis  bulbosa  is  one  of  the 
best  known  of  the  spring  -  flowering  ones,  and  several  clumps 
growing  here  and  there  are  a  good  deal  admired,  slightly  dull- 
looking  as  are  the  purplish  rose  flowers.  I  have  also  the  white 
variety,  which  is  not  so  well  known.  There  is  also  a  prettv  white 
Corydalis,  known  as  C.  cava  or  C.  tuberosa,  and  which  has  the 
small  leaves  that  grow  among  the  flowers  quite  entire.  This  does 
not  seem  to  be  named  in  the  “  Kew  Hand  List,”  and  I  for  one  can 
see  little  difference  between  C.  cava  and  the  white  variety  of 
C.  bulbosa.  Mr.  Allen  has  sent  me  a  very  superior  seedling, 
with  larger  and  denser  clusters  of  flowers. 
One  reads  with  pleasure  that  the  curious,  but  pretty,  Iris 
orchioides  has  been  recently  brought  before  the  notice  of  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society.  I  think  I  spoke  of  it  last  year,  but  it 
is  worthy  of  being  briefly  mentioned  again,  so  distinct  looking  is 
its  habit,  and  so  pleasing  its  yellow  flowers.  It  is  quite  hardy  in 
my  garden,  and  is  considerably  admired.  One  feature  of  the 
plant  is  the  silvery  sheen  upon  its  foliage,  and  another  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  some  of  its  flowers  from  the  axils  of  the  leaves.  I  grow  it 
in  fairly  good,  but  light,  loam,  fully  exposed  to  the  sun  and  air  in 
a  level  bed.  It  comes  from  the  mountains  of  Turkestan,  whence  it 
was  first  introduced  by  Dr.  Regel. 
Several  Tulips  are  in  flower  in  the  open,  and  very  soon  there 
will  be  many  in  full  beauty.  Unfortunately  some  appear  to  have 
suffered  from  having  come  too  early  into  growth  so  as  to  be  injured 
by  what  little  frost  we  had.  Thus  some  buds  have  gone  blind,  and 
in  other  cases  the  foliage  has  been  injured.  I  am  pleased,  however, 
to  see  that  a  pretty  Tulip  kindly  sent  me  by  a  friend  in  Chios  has 
come  into  flower.  One  is  disposed  to  view  with  doubt  the  pro¬ 
spects  of  flowers  from  so  warm  an  island  surviving  our  British 
winters,  but  as  this  Tulip  stood  the  winter  of  1894  5  besides  the 
past  mild  one,  I  think  I  may  take  its  hardiness  as  assured.  I  do 
not  know  what  species  it  is,  which  I  regret  (for  I  do  not  entirely 
share  the  view  expressed  by  some  that  naming  of  plants  is  to  a 
great  extent  unnecessary),  but  it  appears  to  be  a  form  of 
T.  Gesneriana,  and  is  vfery  handsome  with  its  tall  habit  and  blood- 
red  flowers.  It  suffers  in  effect  from  being  planted  near  the  even 
more  brilliant  T.  Greigi,  which  is  in  flower  at  the  same  time. 
Charming  on  the  rockwork  are  the  clear  yellow  flowers  of 
Morisia  hypogsea,  together  with  quite  a  multitude  of  other  rock 
garden  plants,  for  which  there  is  no  space  for  detail.  In  the 
borders  there  are  Anemones,  Daffodils,  Fritillarias,  Triteleias, 
Aubrietias,  Arabis,  Scilla  italica,  Adonises,  Forget  -  me- 
nots,  Wallflowers,  Primroses,  with  the  many  others  brought  into 
bloom  by  the  breath  of  the  April  winds  and  the  smiles  and  tears 
of  the  month.  We,  who  admire  the  spring  flowers,  are  more  in 
harmony  with  the  smiles  than  the  tears,  for  we  have  around  us  the 
plants  we  love,  which  smile,  too.  as  they  nod  to  the  winds,  or  look 
up  to  the  skies  with  their  changing  moods,  in  which,  happily  for 
us,  brightness  has  the  highest  place.— S.  Arnott. 
Memorial  to  the  Late  Mr.  George  Prince. 
I  WAS  enabled  to  announce  at  the  meeting  of  the  Committee  of  the 
N.R.S.  on  Tuesday  that  I  had  received  great  encouragement  in  the 
project  of  instituting  a  memorial  prize  for  Tea  Roses,  in  recognition  of 
the  great  services  which  our  late  friend  rendered  to  the  cultivatim 
of  this  beautiful  class.  A  circular  is  now  being  printed  asking  for  the 
contributions  of  all  rosarians  ;  in  the  meantime  any  sums  may  be  sent 
either  to  me  or  to  my  co-Secretary,  Mr.  Edward  Mawley. — D.,  Deal. 
Hybridisation  of  Roses. 
In  the  autumn  of  last  year  Mr.  A.  Hill  Gray  offered  through  the 
National  Rose  Society  the  sum  of  £5  as  a  prize  for  the  best  essay  on 
“Hybridisation  of  Roses,”  and  the  prize  was  supplemented  by 
a  silver  medal  presented  by  the  Society.  Six  essays  were  sent  in,  and 
at  the  meeting  of  the  General  Committee  of  the  N.R.S.  on  Tuesday 
afternoon,  Mr.  C.  E.  Shea  reported  that  the  adjudicators  had  awarded 
the  prize  to  the  essay  having  the  motto  “Fortunae  caetera  mando,” 
and  on  the  envelope  containing  the  name  being  opened  by  the  Chairman 
of  the  meeting,  it  was  found  that  the  writer  was  Mr.  Walter  Easlea,  one 
of  the  foremen  in  the  nurseries  of  Messrs.  William  Paul  &  Son  of 
Waltham  Cross.  The  prize  essay  will  be  published  by  the  Society  in  the 
course  of  the  current  year. 
Roses  for  the  Garden. 
I  entirely  coincide  with  “  H.  D.’g  ”  opinion  (page  332),  which, 
indeed,  I  have  never  questioned,  that  Perle  des  Jardins  is  more  suitable 
than  Marbchal  Niel  for  garden  cultivation.  The  former  is  not  so 
beautiful  or  impressive — as  I  endeavoured  to  demonstrate  in  a  previous 
contribution — as  the  older  variety,  which,  however,  as  I  have  discovered 
from  experience,  requires  an  exceptionally  favourable  season  for  the 
manifestation  of  its  splendid  resources  ;  but  Perle  des  Jardins  is, 
as  your  c  ntributor  asserts,  of  more  perpetual  character,  and  altogether 
more  reliable  for  open-air  culture.  Climbing  Perle  des  Jardins  does  not 
succeed  so  well  with  me  as  the  border  variety  ;  perhaps  because  my 
plants  of  the  latter  have  a  more  open  and  sunnier  situation  than  those 
grown  on  the  wall. 
Marecha!  Niel,  when  grown  under  highly  favourable  atmospheric 
conditions  in  the  open  air,  is  much  grander  in  dimensions  and  deeper  in 
complexion  than  when  cultivated  under  glass.  I  have  had  it  much 
larger  and  finer  in  my  garden  than  I  have  ever  seen  it  in  my  conserva¬ 
tory.  But  I  cannot  count  on  this  as  an  annual  experience,  for  every 
season  is  not  equally  propitious  ;  and  I  have  always  found  that  it  is 
very  easily  injured,  either  by  frost  or  by  heavy  rains.  The  self-same 
attributes  which  constitute  its  beauty  create  its  susceptibility  to  the 
influence  of  antagonistic  elements  such  as  these, 
A  Tea  Rose  combining  the  characteristics  of  Marbchal  Niel  and 
Perle  des  Jardins,  the  size,  form,  fragrance,  and  delicate  colour  of  the 
one,  and  the  hardiness  and  perpetuality  of  the  other,  would  be  a  great 
acquisition.  Madame  Hoste  is  very  beautiful  and  exceedingly 
productive,  but  somewhat  lacking  in  fulness.  Medea  is  a  closer  approxi¬ 
mation  to  perfection,  but  I  do  not  always  find  it,  except  in  sultry 
seasons,  quite  so  reliable.  Madame  Chedane  Guinoisseau  has  a  depth  of 
colour  rivalling  that  of  the  Persian  Yellow,  but  its  flowers,  though 
distinctive  and  freely  produced,  are  very  small.  Princess  Beatrice,  in 
beauty  of  complexion  and  refinement  of  aspect,  almost  rivals  Marbchal 
Niel,  but  it  is  a  wretched  grower,  and  for  the  most  part  exceedingly 
sparing  of  its  blooms.  Marie  Van  Houtte  is  in  my  opinion  one  of  the 
finest  Roses  for  the  garden.  Its  colour  is  very  fascinating,  yellow 
shading  into  creamy  white,  the  outer  petals  being  occasionally  bordered 
with  pale  carmine. 
Of  climbing  Roses  for  the  garden  two  of  the  most  effective  are  the 
many  coloured  L’Ideal,  and  that  charmingly  scented  Hybrid  Noisette 
Madame  Alfred  Carri&re.  The  latter  has  invariably  a  peculiar  Boftness 
and  sweetness  of  aspect.  Its  light  green,  wide-spreading,  luminous 
foliage  affords  a  striking  contrast  to  the  deeper  and  darker  hues  of  Perle 
desJardins. — David  R.  Williamson. 
R08E  CULTURE.* 
This  iB  my  subject,  which  I  propose  to  take  in  the  following 
order— 1,  Roses  in  general ;  2,  Preparing  the  ground  for  them  ; 
3,  Protecting,  pruning,  watering,  and  exhibiting ;  and  concluding  with 
a  few  words  upon  Roses  in  particular. 
Roses  in  General. 
Speaking  of  Roses  in  general  it  must  always  be  remembered  that 
there  are  Roses  and  Roses.  The  same  modes  of  treatment  do  not  apply 
equally  to  all.  No  Rose  culture  will  be  successful  which  does  not 
recognise  and  iB  not  ruled  by  their  infinite  variety.  Hybrid  Perpetuals 
(H.P.’s),  for  example,  I  consider  quite  as  distinct  as  boys  and  girls,  and 
as  equaPy  needing  distinctive  education.  Those  “  fair  sex  Roses,”  as 
*  Paper  read  by  the  Rev.  Alan  Oheales  before  a  meeting  of  the  Reading 
Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Association. 
