174 
■JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  20,  1890. 
evidently  the  ecclesiastics  of  the  olden  times  knew  of  its  potent 
medicinal  effects.  Amongst  French  gardeners  there  existed  a 
prejadice  against  this  and  others  of  the  tribe,  which  were  thought 
hurtful  to  any  fruit  trees  that  might  be  near,  and  with  us  they 
have  almost  ceased  to  be  patronised  as  showy  climbers.  But 
beauty  hardly  belongs  to  them,  though  A.  Sipho,  having  large 
cordate  leaves,  makes  a  good  covering  for  bare  walls  or  trellis  work. 
These  resemble  the  Arums,  in  depending  for  fertilisation  upon  flies 
that  are  trapped  in  the  tube  of  the  flower,  and  have  to  remain  till 
they  are  sprinkled  with  pollen,  when  their  prison  walls  wither,  so 
setting  them  free. 
Among  border  plants  the  Dittany,  or  Burning  Bush,  is  remarkable 
because  it  has  a  luminous  appearance  at  night.  Dictamnus  Fraxi- 
nella  has  red  flowers  in  spikes,  and  the  ancients  are  said  to  have 
thrown  this  plant  on  funeral  pyres.  The  Polemonium,  which 
acquired  its  name  of  Jacob’s  Ladder  from  the  alternate  structure  of 
the  foliage,  is  one  of  the  flower  emblems  of  “  hope  ”  or  aspiration  ; 
it  was  also  called  Greek  Yalerian.  Oddly,  the  blue  P.  caeruleum 
is  a  native  of  our  isle,  though  local.  It  would  seem  this  species  was 
supposed  to  have  aromatic  qualities. — J.  R,  S.  C. 
THE  FLORAL  PROMISE  OP  AUTUMN. 
The  reign  of  the  Aqailegia  is  nearly  over,  and  that  of  the  Dahlia  has 
commenced.  The  single  Cactus  section,  which  is  the  latest  acquisition 
of  this  interesting  family,  and  one  of  the  most  artistic  in  its  capabilities 
that  has  hitherto  appeared,  is  already  brightening,  at  intervals,  the 
herbaceous  borders  of  our  gardens.  The  early-flowering  Chrysanthemums 
are  also  beginning  to  untold  their  varied  charms  ;  and  the  evanescent, 
jet  wondrously  beautiful  Tigridias  have  dawned  upon  our  vision  like 
dreams  too  bright  to  last,  blooming  with  the  morning,  and  disappearing 
with  the  day.  I  cannot  bid  adieu  to  the  much-loved  Aquilegia  without 
acknowledging  very  gratefully  the  kind  reference  to  myself  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  this  charming  flower  recently  made  by  that  accomplished 
writer,  Mr.  S.  Arnott. 
Eastern  and  western  Lilies  have  been  this  season  exceptionally  fine, 
and  full  of  hope  are  those  which  have  yet  their  latent  splendours  to 
disclose.  The  floral  promise  of  autumn  in  this  department  is  especially 
great.  Auratums  have  grown  to  a  commanding  height,  without  forfeit¬ 
ing  by  such  a  stature  in  any  degree  their  flowering  capabilities  ;  though 
their  growth  is  so  great  I  have  no  abnormal  fasciated  forms  this  year. 
Last  season  I  had  one  with  240  buds,  which  I  gradually  reduced  before 
the  blooming  period  came  to  eighty-five,  all  of  which,  notwithstanding 
ead  predictions  on  the  part  of  my  friends,  expanded  without  difficulty, 
and  produced  what  I  and  many  others  accounted  a  magnificent  effect, 
I  have  for  the  first  time  in  my  garden  this  year  the  variety  of  Lilium 
anratum  called  rubro-vittatum,  which  has  crimson  bands  instead  of  golden 
rays,  but  it  does  not  seem  to  possess  the  vigour  of  older  varieties,  such  as 
A.  platyphyllum  or  A.  virginale,  though  I  believe  that,  when  strongly 
established,  it  will  steadily  improve. 
In  former  seasons  I  have  essayed  in  vain  the  somewhat  arduous 
cultivation  of  Lilium  Krameri ;  this  year  it  has  opened  for  the  first  time 
in  my  garden  those  large,  delicate,  pale  pink  blossoms  which  give  it  such 
a  rarely  refined  and  distinguished  appearance.  Mr.  Kramer  told 
Dr.  Wallace  that  he  found  this  Lily,  which  he  introduced  into  England, 
at  a  very  high  altitude  among  the  mountains  of  Japan.  It  has  always 
succeeded  well  at  Logan  House  in  this  parish,  where  it  is  planted  in  a 
fine  ^rder  of  peaty  soil  formerly  monopolised  by  Azaleas  and  Rhodo¬ 
dendrons — an  ideal  place,  manifestly,  for  L.  Krameri  and  L.  auratum, 
of  which  an  imposing  circular  clump  of  the  “  Golden-rayed  Lily  ”  is  at 
present  in  glorious  bloom.  In  that  position  L.  auratum  often  reaches 
a  height  of  7  or  8  feet. 
My  loftiest  specimen  this  summer  was  a  “  Black  Martagon  ”  (Lilium 
dalmaticum),  which  was  nearly  10  feet  high,  and  produced  above  fifty 
very  dark  purple  flowers.  Szovitzianum  is  another  Lily  that  grows 
taller  and  stronger  year  by  year  ;  and  I  find  that  L.  Humboldti  has 
similar  characteristics.  L.  auratum,  on  the  other  hand,  as  the  Rev.  H. 
D’Ombrain  recently  pointed  out  in  this  Journal,  is  prone  to  degenerate  ; 
and  so  also,  I  can  certify,  is  L,  longiflorum,  by  reason  of  the  excessive 
mnltiplication  of  its  bulbs.  Speciosum  in  my  own  garden  remains 
conservative ;  if  it  does  not  increase  rapidly,  it  does  not  exhaust  its 
vitality  so  soon  as  those  I  have  already  characterised. 
Contemporaneous  here  with  the  transitory  Tigridias  are  the  CEno- 
theras,  erroneously  denominated  “  Evening  Primroses for  neither  in 
habit,  in  aspect,  in  fragrance,  nor  even  in  their  season  of  bloom  do 
they  in  any  way  resemble  our  favourite  May  flowers.  Of  these  perhaps 
the  loveliest  is  CEnothera  speciosa,  whose  pure  white  blooms  for  perfect 
refinement  could  not  be  surpassed.  Like  all  gentle  beauties  it  has  this 
limitation,  that  it  does  not  last  long  ;  but  as  an  English  poet  has  sung 
■of  the  Lily— 
“  Although  it  fall  and  die  that  night, 
It  was  the  plant  and  flower  nf  light.” 
This  with  me  is  the  intermediate  season  of  the  Rose;  yet  many 
varieties,  especially  among  the  Teas  and  Hybrid  Teas,  the  Chinas  and 
Bourbons,  promise  to  be  more  productive  in  autumn  than  they  were  in 
July.  Prominent  among  these  are  Souvenir  d’un  Ami  and  its  snow 
white  variation.  Souvenir  de  S,  A.  Prince  ;  Marie  Van  Hontte,  to  which 
I  am  ready  to  give  at  any  time  a  first-class  testimonial ;  Anna  Ollivier, 
Medea,  Sappho,  Papa  Gontier  (what  an  affectionate  name  for  a  Rose)  I 
and  his  beautiful  young  daughter,  the  satiny-white  Fiametta  Nabonnand, 
Grace  Darling,  Caroline  Testout,  Kaiserin  Augusta  Victoria,  and  Madame 
Lambard.  Among  so-called  Hybrid  Perpetuals  the  most  splendidly 
promising  are  A.  K.  Williams,  Charles  Lefebvre,  Duchess  of  Bedford, 
Lady  Helen  Stewart,  Cheshunt  Scarlet,  and  Dupuy  Jamain. 
Why  is  that  supremely  beautiful  variety,  entitled  Annie  Wood,  so 
greatly  ignored  ?  Is  it  because  it  dates  back  to  1866,  and  is  necessarily 
superseded  by  more  modern  varieties?  I  venture  upon  the  affirmation, 
that  since  the  period  of  its  introduction  by  Verdier,  it  has  not  been 
excelled,  I  recently  visited  an  extensive  rosarium  where,  among  not 
only  crimsons,  but  varieties  of  every  colour,  Annie  Wood  was  unquestion¬ 
ably  the  reigning  queen.  If  such  a  Rose  were  introduced  now  by  any 
eminent  firm  it  would  make  a  sensation.  In  the  present  lamentable 
dearth  of  new  Hybrid  Perpetuals  of  its  own  attractive  hue  it  is  possible 
that  its  older  popularity  might  easily  be  revived.  —  David  R, 
Williamson. 
NARCISSI  OR  DAFFODILS. 
The  Narcissus  or  Daffodil  is  related  to  the  beautiful  family  of  the 
Amaryllis.  It  ii  more  frequently  called  Daffodil  than  Narcissus.  It 
is  the  queen  of  hardy  spring-flowering  bulbs  that  adorn  our  flower 
borders  and  woodland  walks  in  the  early  spring  months.  When  the 
Snowdrops  and  Crocuses  have  passed  out  of  bloom,  we  have  the  Daffodils 
when  there  are  not  many  other  hardy  flowers  for  the  eye  to  feast  npon. 
The  Narcissi  are  always  welcome  when  we  see  their  golden  heads  waving 
to  and  fro  in  the  gentle  spring  breeze. 
Not  only  are  the  flowers  most  beautiful,  but  the  scent  from  them  Is 
delightful  and  refreshing,  especially  from  the  poeticus  varieties,  on  which 
Mr.  Engleheart  is  working  up  by  cross-fertilisation,  and  from  whom  we 
may  expect  some  good  things.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  paying  this  gentle¬ 
man  a  visit  in  the  spring  at  his  residence  in  Hampshire.  Unfortunately, 
I  was  too  late  to  see  his  Daffodils,  but  I  could  see  by  their  robust  foliage 
and  old  flower  stems  that  there  had  been  a  grand  display.  As  we  walked 
round  his  garden  he  pointed  out  to  me  a  border  about  70  yards  long  and 
4  yards  wide,  containing  twenty-five  nursery  beds,  in  which  he  said 
there  were  over  10,000  seedlings.  A  good  number  of  these  had  bloomed, 
and  were  duly  marked  with  stars  or  crosses  on  the  labels.  He  stated 
that  he  had  sent  into  Essex  1000  of  his  best  seedlings  for  a  change  of 
soil,  which  I  believe  is  very  beneficial  for  most  garden  plants  and 
bulbs. 
I  will  now  give  a  little  history  of  this  popular  flower.  It  is  by 
ho  means  a  modern  plant  or  bulb,  as  we  hear  of  it  as  far  back  as 
1670.  Mr.  F.  W,  Burbidge,  in  his  splendid  paper  given  at  the 
Daffodil  Conference  in  .London  this  spring,  says  there  are  to-day  dried 
specimens  of  the  Narcissus  in  the  Museum  at  Cairo,  and  in  the 
Herbarium  at  Kew,  taken  from  mummy  cases  well  known  to  have 
been  entombed  fully  2000  B.c.  It  is  believed  that  one  of  the  earliest 
species  of  this  ancient  genus  first  attracted  the  attention  of  the  wise 
men  and  poets  of  Greece  and  Italy. 
Although  they  are  called  both  Narcissi  and  Daffodils  there  is  a 
difference  in  the  construction  of  the  flowers.  Take  the  Daffodil  first, 
the  six  stamens  are  of  equal  length  and  in  one  series.  In  the  Narcissus 
there  are  also  six  stamens,  but  their  arrangement  is  different,  being 
divided  into  two  sets  of  three  stamens  each,  three  being  near  to  the 
mouth  of  the  flower  and  three  much  lower  down.  These  structural 
variations  in  the  flowers  admit  of  a  different  form  of  insect  fertilisation . 
I  will  now  refer  to  the  different  methods  by  and  positions  in  which 
these  beautiful  bulbous  plants  can  be  utilised.  First  they  can  be  planted 
in  large  masses  or  beds,  on  the  plan  adopted  by  Mr.  Barr  in  his  famous 
Daffodil  grounds  at  Long  Ditton.  They  make  a  gorgeous  display  when 
planted  in  clumps  by  the  side  of  woodland  walks  and  lakes,  or  in  the 
herbaceous  borders. 
They  look  very  beautiful  when  planted  on  grassy  slopes  or  dells  and 
accommodate  themselves  readily  to  this  natural  method  of  planting.  This 
is  the  plan  adopted  by  Mr.  Cammell  at  his  charming  Derbyshire  residence, 
Brookfield  Manor,  Hathersage,  where  they  grow  freely.  Here,  planted 
on  a  grassy  slope,  partly  shaded  from  the  sun  by  a  belt  of  trees,  is 
Johnstoni  Queen  of  Spain  (one  of  Mr.  Barr’s  triumphs  from  the 
Pyrenees),  which  flourishes  and  seems  quite  at  home.  With  the  green 
carpet  of  grass  its  soft  yellow  flowers  make  quite  a  picture.  It  is  also 
planted  in  nice  sandy  soil  in  a  pocket  in  the  rockery,  where  it  flourishes 
and  has  few  rivals.  It  has  a  peculiar  variation  in  the  trumpet  of 
some  of  the  flowers,  when  the  usually  plain  month  or  opening  is 
serrated. 
A  few  varieties  that  have  been  experimented  on  as  suitable  for 
naturalising  in  grassy  places  are  obvallaris,  the  Tenby  Daffodil,  a  variety 
of  the  Ajax  section,  with  perianth  and  trumpet  full  yellow,  one  of  the 
best  for  standing  rain  and  wind ;  a  very  early  sort.  Then  comes  Golden 
Spur,  with  its  large  spreading  perianth  and  distinct  rich  yellow  trumpet ; 
followed  by  Nelsoni  major  and  P.  R.  Barr,  the  last-named  is  termed  a 
small  Emperor,  but  it  is  not  so  shy  in  bearing  seed  as  its  parent.  Emperor. 
