December  10,  1898 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
56? 
open  by  removing  old  limbs,  leaving  promising  to  take  their  place.  This 
is  very  simple,  and  invariably  satisfactory  for  general  purposes.  Black 
Currants  bear  both  on  spurs  and  on  last  year’s  shouts,  consequently  it  is 
with  them  a  matter  of  thinning  and  shortening.  The  old  shoots  or 
branches  become  long  and  more  or  less  drooping,  overhanging  the 
growths  from  the  base,  and  rendering  them  unfruitful.  To  prevent  this, 
the  long  branches  should  be  shortened  to  where  they  began  to  depend, 
and  yoang  growths  left  to  take  their  place.  If  the  thinning  and  shorten¬ 
ing  be  done  properly,  the  bushes  will  have  wood  from  one  to  five  or  six 
years  old  from  base  to  summit,  all  so  disposed  as  to  let  the  sun  right  into 
the  heads,  so  that  the  fruit  will  not  only  be  finer,  but  less  liable  to  be 
damaged  by  gales  and  wet,  also  more  convenient  for  gathering  and  keep¬ 
ing  the  growths  free  from  insects.  Sturdy  growths  only  give  fine  fruit, 
and  the  younger  all  are  the  better.  With  a  little  judgment.  Black 
Currants  will  produce  grand  fruit  indefinitely,  as  they  are  constantly 
rejuvenated  by  the  periodical  cutting  out  of  the  branches  and  encouraging 
young.— G.  Abbey. 
(To  be  continued.! 
CROCOSMA  AUREA  MACULATA. 
The  old  type,  C.  aurea,  which  is  a  well-known  plant  in  gardens,  is 
sometimes  designated  Tritonia  aurea,  and  Crocanthus  mossambicensis, 
under  either  of  which  names  it  may  frequently  be  found.  It  is  a  native 
of  Kaffraria,  Natal,  the  Transvaal  northwards  to  Mozambique,  and 
the  Zambesi  highlands,  and  although  usually  grown  as  a  greenhouse 
plant,  it  will  also  be  found  a  valuable  addition  to  open  air  flowers. 
It  is  quite  as  hardy  as  the  new  race  of  Tritonias  lately  introduced  through 
Lemoine  &  Sons  of  Nancy,  which  along  with  the  Crocosma  get  injured 
in  severe  winters  if  not  well  protected . 
The  handsome  variety  maculata  (fig.  97)  is  also  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  a  greenhouse  bulb,  but  it  may  readily  be  grown  in  the  open 
ground,  and  either  lifted  and  protected  in  frames,  or  protected  in  the 
open  ground  with  any  loose  open  material  at  hand.  This  variety 
is  by  far  the  best  of  this  group,  and  one  of  the  showiest  and  most 
useful  of  summer  flowering  bulbous  plants.  The  flowers  are  quite 
half  as  large  again  as  the  type,  the  three  inner  segments  being  marked 
near  the  base  with  red  brown  blotches.  Seen  in  a  group  it  gives  a 
most  telling  effect,  and  in  this  way  is  superior  to  C.  aurea  imperialis, 
in  which  the  flowers  are  large  and  of  a  brilliant  orange  shade.  Both 
varieties  should  be  noted  by  all  on  the  outlook  for  showy  probably  hardy 
plants.  There  is  no  reason,  at  any  rate,  why  they  should  not  be  grown 
much  in  the  same  way  as  the  Tritomas,  and  be  equally  as  hardy  as  those 
very  popular  garden  flowers.  They  are  all -increased  by  division  and 
seeds,  and  make  good  plants  for  growing  in  pots  in  the  greenhouse. — 
Practice. 
HOME  OF  HORTICULTURE. 
I  HAVE  read  with  much  interest  the  articles  which  have  appeared 
in  your  columns  respecting  the  above.  The  drawings  which  I  have 
referred  to  will  be  forwarded  to  you  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  when 
I  shall  be  obliged  if  you  will  afford  space  for  their  publication,  together 
with  the  outlines  of  my  scheme  for  promoting,  establishing  and  main¬ 
taining  the  proposed  Home  of  Horticulture,  which  will  be  my  reply  to 
the  questions  which  have  arisen. — James  L.  Wood. 
The  Queen’s  Long  Eeign. — Commemorative  Proposals. 
Your  correspondent,  Mr.  W.  Wells,  makes  a  most  valuable  suggestion 
(page  .511)  with  regard  to  the  horticultural  world  doing  something  to 
commemorative  the  longest  reign  ;  and  not  only  would  his  proposal  (if 
carried  out)  of  a  club  and  permanent  exhibition  ball  be  a  splendid 
memorial  of  such  an  auspicious  event,  but  would  also,  I  feel  ceitain, 
supply  a  long-felt  want — a  home  and  meeting-house  for  gardeners 
coming  up  to  London  from  the  provinces  for  a  few  nights.  Apart  from 
the  acknowledged  need  of  a  central  hall,  built  for  the  purpose  of  holding 
exhibitions  comfortably  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  your  correspondent 
certainly  hits  the  right  nail  on  the  head  when  he  remarks  that  gardeners 
would  be  only  too  glad  to  know  of  a  place  where  they  could  go  and  be 
certain  of  obtaining  clean  and  comfortable  lodgings  and  necessary  food 
at  moderate  prices,  and  it  would  be  a  veritable  godsend  for  gardeners 
out  of  place — particularly  young  men.  As  things  are  at  present,  it  is 
impossible  for  them  to  feel  comfortable  in  the  class  of  lodgings  that 
their  purses  allow  them  to  patronise,  so  I  second  Mr.  Wells  in  the  hope 
that  you  will  allow  the  subject  to  be  discussed  in  your  valued  paper,  and 
that  the  other  gardening  papers  will  also  take  the  matter  up,  for  it  will 
be  necessary,  if  the  scheme  is  to  be  a  success,  that  the  whole  of  the 
horticultural  Press  and  the  leading  nurserymen  and  gardeners  co-operate 
most  cheerfully  together,  in  which  case  I  believe  such  a  club  would  be  a 
great  success,  bo^h  socially  and  from  a  moral  point  of  view.  1  feel 
certain  that  there  are  many  hundreds  of  gardeners  who  would  gladly  pay 
a  small  yearly  subscription  to  become  members  of  such  a  club,  which 
would,  besides  being  a  home,  also  bind  them  together  in  a  manner  that 
at  present  they  lack  more  than  any  other  trade  or  calling.  I  trust  we 
shall  see  the  matter  taken  up  in  a  manner  worthy  of  so  important  an 
object  and  occasion. — Alba. 
FLORISTS’  FLOWERS  AT  NEWTON  PARK. 
What  is  more  cheerful  than  to  find  oneself  surrounded  in  the  dull 
gloomy  days  of  December  by  a  grand  display  of  winter-flowering  plants, 
as  I  did  when  visiting  this  well  kept  place  at  Burton-on-Trent  ?  Houses 
well  adapted  have  been  erected  to  suit  the  convenience  of  growing  such 
plants.  One  structure  contains  about  300  splendid  Cyclamens  (Sutton’s 
superb  strain)  in  48-pots,  throwing  up  their  flowers  in  a  manner  that 
shows  they  have  received  the  proper  treatment.  Many  have  dozens  open 
now,  from  the  purest  white  to  the  brightest  rose  and  deep  crimson. 
Another  house  contains  a  good  collection  of  Primulas,  double  and  single. 
Amongst  the  former  Marchioness  of  Exeter  and  candidissima  are  very 
conspicuous.  The  singles  are  in  superb  condition.  All  the  varieties 
FIG.  97.— CROCOSMA  AUREA  MACULATA. 
are  profusely  flowered,  most  of  them  in  4  and  6-inch  pots.  They  are 
beautifully  arranged,  the  colours  being  well  mixed,  and  have  a  telling 
effect. 
Zonal  Pelargoniums  receive  great  attention,  for  one  of  the  finest  and 
brightest  sights  I  have  seen  for  some  time  is  the  house  devoted  to  these. 
There  are  some  300  in  48 -pots,  many  producing  a  dozen  spikes  of  their 
gorgeous  flowers.  Amongst  them  are  W.  Holmes  (salmon),  Florence 
Farmer  (white  and  salmon).  Snowdrop  (a  grand  white),  Lancelot 
(scarlet),  Stella  Massey  (pale  pink),  Neila  (rosy  pink).  Lady 
Francis  Bussell  (bright  pink).  Opal  (very  distinct,  peculiar  greyish 
pink),  are  most  conspicuous.  From  the  appearance  of  these,  as  well  As 
the  Primulas  and  Cyclamens,  a  show  is  in  store  for  some  time  to  come, 
for  the  flowers  and  spikes  are  innumerable.  All  the  leading  varieties  of 
Chrysanthemums  are  represented.  Over  600  in  pots  are  grown ,  not  for 
exhibition  flowers  but  for  good  useful  decorative  work.  Here  we  can 
cut  and  come  again.  A  succession  of  these  will  be  kept  up  yet,  for  the 
demand  for  cut  flowers  at  Christmas  is  great,  and  these  will  prove  most 
useful.  Other  houses  contain  good  collections  of  Ferns  and  foliage 
plants  grown  for  decorative  purposes.  iOVgruKi- 
The  vineries  and  fruit  houses  are  numerous  and  well  plantedi;  some 
