inly  it,  1898. 
JOVUA^AL  OP  mnfWULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  OARDEEER, 
51 
when  we  read  the  descriptions  of  some  flowers  as  they  appear  in 
catalogues.  Some  foreign  firms  are  experts  in  the  art  of  penning 
alluring  descriptions  of  new  flowers,  although  some  of  our  catalogue 
compilers  do  not  lag  far  behind.  Such  are  the  reflections  with 
which  I  conclude,  and  they  are  called  forth  not  by  some  plant 
belonging  to  a  new  genus,  but  by  a  simple  “  Snapdragon.”  Last 
autumn  I  was  presented  by  a  friend,  who  does  not  grow  “  hardies,” 
with  a  packet  of  seed  of  a  new  Antirrhinum  called  “  Niobe,”  which 
was  said  to  have  black-and-white  flowers.  It  is  in  flower  now,  and 
the  “black”  is  a  figure  of  speech,  and  means  deep  red.  Our  ancient 
mythology  must  be  inapplicable  to  present-day  experiences.  Accord¬ 
ing  to  it,  “Kiobe”  should  have  shed  the  tears;  but  the  lamentations 
proceed  from  the  grower,  who  has  been  at  the  trouble  of  raising 
and  tending  her  only  to  find  that  she  is,  if  not  an  “  impostor,"  a 
“  delnsion,”  conducive,  perhaps,  to  ihore  forcible  emotions  than  that 
of  grief.  If  the  reader  thinks  the  conclusioi  of  these  notes  rather 
too  lachrymose,  one  can  only  plead  as  an  excuse  the  character  of 
the  weather  as  1  write.  It  is  raining  heavily. — S.  Arnott. 
NOTES  FROM  TRINIDAD. 
Some  time  since  I  was  enabled  by  the  courtesy  of  a  friend  to 
give  some  unpretentious  descriptive  notes  of  Trinidad  in  winter. 
These  I  venture  to  supplement  by  further  correspondence  from  the 
same  source.  There  are  some,  I  know,  who  will  be  glad  to  follow 
the  footsteps  of  our  mutual  friend.  Brother  Joseph  McElligott,  in 
his  quiet  life  now  spent  in  that  far-off  island.  To  them,  at  least,  I 
need  not  apologise  for  any  paucity  of  details  in  the  matter  of 
scientific  description,  which  our  friend  is  unable  to  give ;  for,  as 
they  are  aware,  his  gardening  career  commenced  somewhat  late  in 
life,  but  few  have,  I  think,  pressed  forward  with  more  enthusiasm 
in  the  cause. 
Those  who  have  not  met  the  gonial  Dominican  may,  possibly, 
find  some  passing  interest  in  the  tropical  scenery  with  his  doings  in 
Trinidad.  My  correspondent,  who  is  at  present  superintending  the 
gardens  attached  to  the  Archbishop’s  residence  at  Port  of  Spain 
since  last  autumn,  has  already  made  his  mark  at  two  flower  shows. 
At  first  sight  it  appears  difficult  to  realise  how  that  in  a  land  of 
eternal  summer,  with  its  riches  of  tropical  vegetation,  sufficient 
interest  could  be  localised  in  one  spot  to  attract  the  public  ;  but  to 
provide  against  any  deficiency  in  this  respect  their  flower  shows 
appear  to  be  held  in  conjunction  with  an  industrial  exhibition,  and 
are  further  invested  with  interest  by  the  co-operation  of  His 
Excellency  the  Grovernor,  who  distributes  the  prizes. 
At  the  flower  show,  held  in  January  last.  Brother  J.  won  six 
prizes,  and  was  complimented  upon  his  Crotons,  grown  in  small  pots 
for  table  decoration.  Where  huge  Crotons  grow  like  Laurels  in 
the  open  this  appears  to  be  a  new  departure,  and  is  appreciated 
accordingly.  In  a  Trinidad  paper  of  June  126h  an  account  is 
given  of  a  two  days’  show  held  the  previous  week.  On  this 
occasion  premier  honours  were  awarded  to  Brother  J.  for  Ferns, 
Roses,  and  what  is  described  as  “  a  tray  of  grafted  Mangoes.”  The 
Roses,  doubtless,  were  of  more  than  passing  interest  to  Trinidadians, 
for  our  competitor  took  them  out  with  him  from  Dickson’s  of 
Chester. 
In  his  last  letter  he  says,  “  You  will  be  surprised  to  hear  that  the 
dwelling  houses  here  have  neither  glass  windows  nor  chimneys.  We 
have  a  city  (Port  of  Spain)  without  mud  and  without  smoke,  and  I 
must  tell  you  that  this  is  the  principal  city  of  the  West  Indies. 
Here  is  the  seat  of  Government  for  this  island  and  Tobago,  and 
our  port  is  crowded  with  shipping  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
We  are  but  a  few  hours’  sail  from  the  Orinoco,  which  is  navigable 
for  1000  miles.  I  hope  to  take  a  trip  of  400  miles  on  it  before  long, 
when  I  shall  probably  be  able  to  tell  you  of  dear  old  Waterton’a 
crocodiles  (Alligators?).  But  to  return  to  the  town.  All  the 
streets  are  in  straight  lines,  with  a  semicircular  range  of  hills  as  a 
background  visible  from  all  points.  Around  the  Queen’s  Park 
pretty  houses  are  raised  on  stilts  about  d  feet  from  the  ground.  All 
have  galleries  on  the  outside  for  walking  on,,  whilst  for  resting 
purposes  rocking  chairs  seem  to  bo  an  institution  here.  The  houses 
are  perfectly  in  harmony  with  Nature,  being  festooned  and  out¬ 
lined  with  the  delicate  tracery  of  creepers  flowering  all  the  year 
round.  Huge  clumps  of  Roses  flower  profusely,  but  appear  to  miss 
the  season  of  rest  they  have  at  home,  consequently  the  blooms  are 
smaller.  The  Government  House  and  grounds  are  on  one  side  of 
the  Queen’s  Park,  also  a  state  farm  on  the  opposite  side.  Farther 
up,  in  St.  Anne’s,  are  some  fine  residences,  one  of  which,  Coblentz 
— the  seat  of  M.  Centino  (one  of  our  princely  Cocoa  planters) — 
is  embowered  in  stately  Palms  and  noble  forest  trees,  with  a 
beautiful  rosery  in  front.  In  this  house  two  Royal  Princes,  the 
Duke  York  and  the  late  Duke  of  Clarence,  were  entertained.” 
Brother  J.  does  not  in  hU  letters  mention  the  fauna  of  the 
island,  the  rich  flora  and  grand  scenery  alone  appearing  to  claim 
his  attention,  and  though  he  has  doubtless  ere  this  come  across 
such  lively  species  as  centipedes,  bull  frogs,  with  a  few  snakes 
thrown  in,  such  things  have,  apparently,  no  terrors  for  him,  nor 
are  they  able  to  detract  from  the  evident  enjoyment  of  his  trip  to 
Trinidad. — K.,  Dublin. 
ANTIRRHINUMS. 
In  the  quiet  retreat  of  some  old  gardens  how  often  we 
may  find  Snapdragons  in  full  glory,  clumps  of  them  perhaps 
springing  up  here  and  there  in  borders  of  mixed  hardy  flowers, 
or  masses  thriving  on  dry  banks,  roughly  made  rockeries,  or 
in  shrubberies  where  the  roots  of  long  established  shrubs 
appropriate  the  lion’s  share  of  nutriment  to  be  found  in  the 
soil.  Plants  that  will  grow  and  flower  profusely  under  such 
conditions  are  assuredly  worthy  of  having  a  little  attention 
bestowed  upon  them.  The  older  forms  of  Antirrhinums  were 
pretty  enough  in  their  way,  but  are  quite  eclipsed  by  those  obtain¬ 
able  to-day,  the  tints  of  the  new  varieties  are  so  much  clearer 
and  brighter,  they  have  also  a  greater  range  of  colour,  and  in  the 
Tom  Thumb  type  we  have  varieties  which  grow  from  9  to 
12  inches  in  height,  and  are,  therefore,  admirably  adapted  for 
bedding. 
In  February  last  I  sowed  several  packets  of  seed.  When 
the  young  seedlings  were  large  enough  to  handle  they  were  pricked 
out  in  the  reserve  garden,  as  I  had  decided  to  test  them  thoroughly 
before  employing  them  in  the  flower  garden.  They  have  succeeded 
so  well  that  I  can  confidently  recommend  them  to  anyone  for 
bedding  purposes,  and  hope  to  employ  them  in  that  way  myself  next 
year.  These  Tom  Thumb  varieties  are  supplied  in  three  distinct 
colours — crimson,  white,  and  yellow,  the  colours  in  each  instanc-e 
being  true  and  clear.  The  yellows  and  whites  have  with  me  grown 
s  ightly  dwarfer  than  the  crimsons.  In  the  case  of  the  latter  the 
distance  from  the  ground  line  to  the  tip  of  the  flower  spike  is 
1  foot,  and  with  the  two  first  named  colours  only  9  inches.  Since 
the  last  week  in  J une  the  whole  of  the  plants  have  been  flowering 
profusely,  and  promise  to  continue  doing  so  quite  to  the  end  of  the 
bedding  season. 
In  what  are  known  as  the  dwarf  forms  there  is  a  still 
greater  variety  of  colour  ;  the  height  of  the  plants  in  this  section 
is  about  6  inches  taller  than  are  those  of  the  Tom  Thumb 
varieties  ;  then  there  are  the  tall  strains,  growing  to  a  height  of 
3  feet.  Take  whatever  section  we  may  we  find  the  flowers 
extremely  beautiful,  and  each  have  their  own  particular  uses  in  the 
flower  garden.  The  bedding  varieties  I  should  advise  to  be  sown 
in  gentle  heat  about  the  end  of  January,  so  as  to  have  good  plants 
showing  flower  buds  by  bedding-out  time.  The  remaining  portion 
of  my  notes  will  now  be  devoted  to  those  which  grow  from  to 
3  feet  in  height,  as  I  am  confident  there  is  a  great  future  before 
them  when  cultivators  fully  realise  how  easily  grown  and  beautiful 
they  are,  for  there  are  thousands  of  nooks  and  corners  not  only  in 
gardens,  but  in  woodland  streams,  lake,  and  river  banks,  where 
masses  of  their  long  flower  spikes  ought  to  brighten  up  the  scene. 
Again,  in  extensive  pleasure  grounds  where  shrubberies  abound, 
with  perhapj  numbers  of  large  overhanging  trees,  vacant  spaces 
occur  in  many  places  between  the  shrubs.  It  is  not  easy  to  get 
newly  planted  sirubs  to  succeed  in  such  positions;  but  hosts  of 
Snapdragons  and  Foxgloves  may  be  easily  established,  and  will 
afterwards  take  care  of  themselves.  We  have  several  acres  of 
shrubberies  answering  to  the  above  description,  in  which  I  am 
gradually  naturalising  these  fine  hardy  flowers  ;  and  as  they  become 
established  I  find  they  answer  a  doable  purpose,  for  they  keep 
down  weeds  as  well  as  beaudfy  a  once  unsightly  spot.  Weeds 
appear  to  have  a  capacity  for  growing  everywhere  if  nothing 
is  planted  to  dispute  their  right  of  tenure  ;  but  by  selecting 
flowering  plants  suitable  for  the  various  positions  they  are  placed 
in,  with  the  addition  of  a  little  cultural  attention,  the  “  w eeds  ” 
are  in  time  choked  out. 
In  pleasure  gardens  it  is  now  a  growing  fashion  to  lay  oat  ex¬ 
tensive  mounds  of  rockeries  with  winding  walks  between.  ’I’hese 
are  often  overhung  to  a  great  extent  with  trees  ;  where  such  is  the 
case.  Antirrhinums  are  very  suitable  for  planting  extensively  in  the 
background,  as  they  give  a  good  effect  quickly,  and  can  afterwards 
be  removed  as  slower-growing  plants  become  established.  For  all 
of  these  purposes  the  seeds  should  be  sown  about  the  end  of  J uly. 
Good  plants  are  then  obtained  for  planting  during  autumn  or  in 
early  spring.  They  then  have  time  to  become  thoroughly 
established  before  the  soil  gets  very  dry,  and  the  dense  foliage 
overhead  prevents  rain  from  reaching  it.  There  are  hosts  of 
English  gardens  in  which  Antirrhinums  ought  to  be  raised  by  the 
thousand  annually.  They  would  then  speedily  become  still  more 
attractive  throughout  than  they  are  at  present. — H.  D. 
