148 
jouni^At  OF  mnrtauLWUF  and  cottaod  oaudmm. 
A.a^ust  Isdl 
even  higher  than  this,  overtopping  the  majority  of  it»  fellow 
occupants  of  the  garden.  Like  all  our  other  perennial  Sunflowers, 
H ,  multiflorua  comes  from  North  America,  and  has  given  some 
double  varieties  which  are  now  pretty  well  known.  The  first  was 
H.  m.  plenus,  which  was  followed  by  Soleil  d’Or  and  one  or  two 
others,  among  which  there  is  none  prettier  than  one  called 
Bouquet  d’Or,  which  is  of  dwarf er  habit  than  the  othen,  and  is  a 
really  handsome  plant  when  in  flower.  H.  multiflorus  seems  at 
one  time  to  have  only  ranked  aa  a  variety  of  H.  decapetalus,  but  is 
now  recognised  at  Kew  aa  a  distinct  species.  It  is  a  pity  that  we 
have  not  a  short  English  name  for  the  fine  variety  under  notice, 
and  anyone  who  would  give  us  one  of  agreeable  sound  would 
deserve  our  hearty  thanks. 
At  the  time  of  writing  there  is  in  flower  the  old-fashioned 
Allium  descendens,  which  very  few  people  seem  to  know  by  name, 
although  it  is  a  plant  comparatively  often  grown.  This  I  say  from 
having  seen  it  more  frequently  in  collections  of  hardy  flowers  than 
almost  any  other  member  of  the  genus — not  even  excepting  the 
old  Moly.  I  have  known  its  name  for  some  little  time  now,  but  a 
look  at  a  drawing  of  it  in  vol.  vii.  of  “  Curtis’s  Botanical  Magazine,” 
plate  251,  reminded  me  that  I  have  not  said  anything  about  it  in 
detail. 
Like  almost  all  the  members  of  the  genus  this  Garlic  has  its 
share  of  the  obnoxious  odour,  but  this  is  not  obtrusive  in  the 
garden  unless  the  plant  is  touched,  when  the  smell  is  felt  on  the 
hands.  As  a  border  plant  it  has,  however,  its  merits,  and  looks  not 
at  all  unattractive  when  its  reddish  purple  heads,  supported  on  their 
long  stiff  stems,  rise  among  other  flowers  of  a  different  character. 
Curtis  gives  a  very  good  account  of  it  under  the  name  of  A.  descen¬ 
dens  or  “  Purple-headed  Garlick,”  but  it  now  appears  to  be  classed 
as  a  variety  only  of  A.  sphoerocepbalum.  As  Curtis  says,  it  thrives 
in-almost  any  soil  or  situation,  and  is  about  3  feet  in  height.  The 
flowers  are  produced  in  a  slightly  elongated  globular  head.  Before 
these  open  this  head  is  covered  with  a  whitish  membrane,  which 
Curtis  tells  us  bears  “  some  resemblance  to  a  nightcap.”  When  this 
falls  off  the  head  is  of  a  green  colour,  but  this  is  gradually 
replaced  by  purple,  which  begins  at  the  top  and  then  works  down¬ 
wards  until  the  head  is  wholly  of  that  colour,  when  the  flowers 
begin  to  open.  It  lasts  for  some  time  in  bloom,  and  is  attractive 
from  the  time  when  the  heads  begin  to  assume  their  purple 
colouring. 
Curtis  suggests  that  Linnseus  may  have  given  it  the  name  of 
descendens,  from  “  its  being  one  of  those  plants  whose  roots  in  pro¬ 
cess  of  time  descend  deeply  into  the  earth.”  It  has  this  habit,  but 
it  is  quite  as  likely  that  this  Garlic  was  named  from  the  way  in 
which  the  purple  colouring  gradually  descended  on  the  flower  head. 
It  is  said  to  have  come  originally  from  Switzerland,  and  to  have 
been  cultivated  in  the  Oxford  Botanic  Garden  in  1766,  and  to  be 
described  and  figured  by  Haller  in  his  Monograph  of  the  genus, 
which  I  have  never  seen.  It  increases  rapidly  in  the  garden,  and  is 
not  very  impatient  of  disturbance,  succeeding  well  enough  when 
lifted  while  in  flower  as  well  as  when  at  rest.  The  leaves  wither 
before  the  flower  is  fully  developed,  which  points  to  the  desirability 
of  growing  this  Allium  where  its  want  of  foliage  will  not  be 
observed.  It  is  seldom  offered  in  catalogues,  but  should  not  be 
difficult  to  procure. 
Last  year  I  mentioned  the  exceedingly  pretty  Delphinium  Zalil, 
which  I  observe  received  an  award  of  merit  at  the  Royal  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society’s  meeting  at  the  Drill  Hall  on  23rd  July.  I 
remarked  that  I  had  not  had  the  opportunity  of  testing  it  with 
regard  to  its  perennial  habit.  With  a  view  to  forming  a  judgment 
upon  this  important  point,  I  allowed  my  plants  to  remain  where 
they  were,  with  the  result  that  I  fear  we  shall  require  to  treat  this 
distinct  and  pretty  Larkspur  as  a  biennial.  One  plant  has  survived, 
but  is  so  weak  that  it  can  only  be  said  to  live,  and  has  not  even 
attempted  to  throw  up  a  flower  spike.  Others  may  be  able  to 
record  more  successful  results,  but  my  own  trial,  and  that  of  some 
correspondents,  lead  me  to  think  that  we  must  not  look  to  this 
Delphinium  to  equal  in  perennial  character  the  hybrid  Delphiniums 
which  are  so  ornamental  in  the  borders  with  their  noble  spikes  of 
purple  or  blue.  This  sulphur- coloured  one  is  less  stately  than  they, 
but  its  colour  was  welcome,  and  some  regret  will  be  felt  if  we  have 
to  write  it  down  as  only  a  biennial  for  all  practical  purposes. 
Among  the  flowers  of  the  borders  there  are  hardly  any  which 
have  bloomed  over  so  long  a  season  as  the  old  double  blue 
Geranium,  G.  pratense  fl.-pl.  Where  it  originated  or  when  I  know 
not,  but  one  would  think  that  it  is  a  flower  which  must  have 
pleased  many  generations  of  flower-lovers  with  its  blue  or  purple- 
blue  double  flowers,  which  have  in  them  a  look  as  of  “  shot  silk.” 
Although  it  has  been  in  flower  for  a  long  time  a  good  bush  of  it 
has  still  a  great  many  flowers  in  bloom,  with  more  to  come  after 
them.  A  little  attention  in  the  way  of  clipping  off  the  withered 
flowers  would  be  worth  the  trouble  had  one  the  time,  but  I  have 
been  unable  to  spare  that  swift-flying  commodity  so  far  as  to 
devote  it  to  improving  the  appearance  of  the  Double  Meadow 
Cranes  bill.  There  is  no  difficulty  experienced  in  growing  it  in  any 
ordinary  soil,  and  although  it  seems  to  like  sun  it  does  well  in 
partial  shade.  Division  of  the  roots  is  the  method  followed  in 
increasing  it,  no  seed  being  produced,  and  although  not  one  of  the 
choicest  of  our  flowers,  it  is  a  pretty  and  useful  one  ;  more  so  in 
fact  than  many  others  more  highly  thought  of,  because  newer  or 
more  expensive. — 8.  Arnott. 
An  Amateur’s  Orchids. 
Amateur  gardeners  who  have  perhaps  only  one  structure  at 
their  command  do  not  usually  take  up  the  cultivation  of  Orchids. 
Possibly  the  reason  for  this  is  their  reputed  difficulty  of  manage¬ 
ment,  or  perhaps  it  may  be  that  many  are  deterred  by  thoughts  of 
expense.  That  they  can  be  grown  well  in  small  houses  has  several 
times  been  proved,  especially  where  a  judicious  selection  has 
been  made  at  the  outset.  As  to  the  matter  of  expense,  it  is  not 
everyone  who  aspires  to  the  dignity  of  being  a  Schroder  or  a 
Lawrence,  and  for  those  of  limited  means  there  are  abundance  of 
lants  to  be  bad.  The  suitability  of  Orchids  for  towns  has  long 
een  recognised,  and  that  they  are  increasing  in  public  favour  for 
this  reason  cannot  for  a  moment  be  doubted.  It  is  not  often, 
however,  that  we  read  in  the  gardening  press  of  a  London  amateur 
who  is  an  enthusiastic  orcbidist,  so  that  when  a  few  days  ago  the 
writer  was  invited  by  a  medical  friend  to  go  and  see  some  Orchids 
in  London’s  south-western  suburb  of  Wandsworth  it  was  accepted 
with  very  much  pleasure.  _ 
Mentioning  the  name  of  Wandsworth  will  immediately  recall  to 
the  mind  the  erstwhile  famous  Rucker  collection,  which,  in  its  day, 
was  certainly  one  of  the  finest  in  the  Metropolitan  district.  But 
the  one  to  which  attention  will  now  be  briefly  drawn  is  of  much 
smaller  pretensions,  and  is  the  cherished  property  of  E.  H. 
Bayly,  Esq.,  who,  after  upwards  of  two  score  years  under  the 
Government,  is  spending  the  autumn  of  his  days  amongst  his 
Orchids,  his  Ferns,  and  his  birds.  The  first  and  second  named 
occupy  a  long  lean-to  bouse  built  against  the  side  of  the  residence, 
and  that  the  association  is  congenial  to  both  is  proved  by  the  excel¬ 
lent  condition  of  the  whole  of  the  plants.  It  has  been  a  labour  of 
love,  extending  over  a  considerable  period,  to  bring  the  collection 
to  its  present  state,  and  now  it  has  almost  reached  its  limits,  as 
space  on  the  stages  and  under  the  roof  cannot  easily  be  found  for 
fresh  additions. 
It  has  been  said  that  the  Ferns  and  Orchids  occupy  the  one 
structure,  and  until  recently  Mr.  Bayly  has  done  all  the  needful 
work  amongst  them.  Now,  however,  they  are  mainly  looked  after 
by  a  jobbing  gardener  (the  owner  not  keeping  a  regular  mao),  who 
comes  a  day  and  a  half  a  we«^k,  and  who  hat  to  do  the  garden  as 
well.  All  that  he  knows  of  Orchids  has  been  taught  him  by  this 
employer,  and  their  condition  proves  how  well  he  has  learnt  his 
lessons  and  how  thoroughly  efficient  was  his  tutor.  There  is  no 
sign  of  insect  pests,  the  foliage  is  rich  deep  green  in  colour,  and  the 
pseudo-bulbs  are  plump  and  sound  as  anyone  need  wish  to  see. 
Labelling,  as  in  larger  places,  is  carefully  followed  out,  so  that 
visitors  are  able  to  appreciate  the  collection  as  well  as  its  owner. 
That  much  time,  thought,  and  labour  must  have  been  spent 
amongst  the  plants  to  bring  them  to,  and  maintain  them  in,  their 
present  excellent  state  goes  without  saying,  and  for  this  the  very 
greatest  credit  is  due  for  the  perseverance  that  mast  have  been 
severely  tried  at  times.  _ 
At  the  present  time  flowers  are  by  no  means  numerous  in 
Orchid  collections,  but  it  is  seldom  that  one  or  two  cannot  be  found 
in  bloom.  Here  a  Cattleya  Mossise,  with  rather  small  but  well 
coloured  flowers,  is  just  going  past,  though  a  Oypripedium  is 
still  in  good  bloom.  Besides  the  two  named  there  are  several 
Lsslias,  Odontoglossums,  some  particularly  fine  Cymbidiums,  Den- 
drobiums,  and  others,  all  of  which  produce  their  full  share  of 
beaucy  in  their  respective  seasons.  Equally  as  good  at  the  Orchids 
are  the  Ferns,  and  Mr.  Bayly,  being  a  true  Irishman,  is  probably 
as  proud  of  his  two  plants  of  the  charming  Killarney  Fern  as  be 
is  of  anything  else  in  the  house.  Perhaps  some  day  the  plants  may 
be  seen  in  the  flowering  season,  when  a  few  notes  of  species  and 
varieties  particularly  worthy  of  mention  may  find  their  way  before 
the  readers  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture. — H.  W. 
