90 
/ 
July  29,  1897. 
JOUmAL  OF  mtiTiCULTlinF  COFTAQF  OAkDFKFR. 
exquisite  double-flowered  varieties — so  redolent  of  sweet  odours 
— have  been  defaced  beyond  repair,  some  of  their  single-flowered 
sisters  are  again  covered  with  bloom,  so  little  have  they  suffered 
from  the  rain. 
There  is  one  on  a  rockery  which  is  admired  by  most  people 
who  see  it,  although,  fine  as  it  is,  I  think  it  a  little  formal  in  its 
way.  It  is  an  Irish-raised  seedling,  and  probably  from  one  of  the 
old  laced  Pinks.  I  believed  it  is  named  Beauty.  The  flowers  are 
large,  being  fully  1^  inch  across,  and  the  colour  is  of  the  purest 
white,  with  a  broad,  very  dark  chocolate-coloured  zone,  which  con¬ 
trasts  well  with  the  white  ground  and  the  good-sized  white  eye* 
It  also  holds  its  flowers  well  up,  and  does  not  let  them  hang  down 
as  do  80  many  of  the  double  forms.  The  edges  are  prettily  fringed, 
and  although,  as  I  have  said,  a  little  too  formal  to  be  perfect,  it  is  a 
pretty  and  attractive  flower.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  variety  to  be 
obtained  in  the  way  of  seedling  Pinks,  and  some  beds  of  these 
seedlings  I  have  seen  contained  excellent  flowers  worthy  of  dis¬ 
tinctive  names. 
Very  pretty,  too,  are  some  hybrid  Pinks,  among  them  seedlings 
from  seed  kindly  given  me  by  the  Rev.  C.  Wolley-Dod.  Dianthus 
superbus  is  unmistakeably  present  in  the  appearance  of  some  of 
these,  the  deeply  fringed  and  laciniated  petals  showing  its  influence. 
The  mention  of  hybrids  makes  one  think  it  an  appropriate 
time  to  again  refer  to  Mr.  Carrington  Ley’s  hybrid  Poppy,  men¬ 
tioned  on  page  19.  This  is  to  endeavour  to  make,  as  far  as  possible, 
the  amende  honorable  for  questioning  the  hybrid  origin  of  this 
Poppy.  It  was,  perhaps,  as  well  that  the  saving  clause  that  it 
might  “  arise  from  my  own  slowness  of  observation  that  I  saw  no 
conclusive  evidence  of  hybrid  origin  ”  appeared,  as  I  fear  my 
observation  was  at  fault.  A  letter  from  the  kind  donor  of  the 
plant,  in  reply  to  one  of  mine,  led  me  to  examine  it  once  more, 
although  for  the  time  out  of  bloom.  The  result  has  been  that  I 
find  that  the  form  of  the  seed  capsule  and  its  colour  present 
evidence  of  the  relationship  of  the  plant  to  Papaver  rupifragum  ; 
while  the  flowers,  as  said  on  page  19,  are  those  of  a  small  P.  bracte- 
atum.  There  thus  seems  satisfactory  proof  of  the  hybrid  origin 
of  this  Poppy,  and  it  is  a  duty  to  correct  any  possible  misappre¬ 
hension  to  which  former  remarks  might  have  given  rise. 
A  seldom  seen  and  rather  singular  looking  flower  has  been  in 
bloom  for  some  time,  and  has  attracted  a  good  deal  of  notice  from 
the  garden  visitors.  This  is  one  of  the  Sisyrinchiums,  a  genus 
belonging  to  the  natural  order  of  Iridese.  The  best  known  of  the 
genus  is  S.  grandiflorum,  a  pretty  spring-flowering  purple  species, 
of  which  there  is  also  a  white  variety.  S.  angustifolium,  often 
known  as  S.  anceps,  the  “Blue-eyed  Grass”  of  North  America,  is 
also  occasionally  seen  in  gardens.  The  one  under  notice — 
S.  striatum — is,  however,  not  often  met  with,  and  only  came  to  me 
last  year,  and  forms  a  pleasant  reminder  of  a  delightful  garden  in 
the  Emerald  Isle,  where  a  happy  time  was  spent. 
Sisyrinchium  striatum  before  it  comes  into  flower  looks  exactly 
like  a  Flag  Iris,  with  its  broad  glaucous  green  leaves  and  upright 
habit.  From  among  these  are  produced  the  stems,  which, 
including  the  panicles  of  clusters  of  flowers,  are  about  3  feet  long. 
The  spike  or  panicle  of  blooms  is  composed  of  several  circles  of 
small  pale  yellow  flowers,  with  faint  brown  veins.  At  the  outer 
edge  the  flowers  are  almost  creamy  white,  deepening  gradually  to 
bright  yellow  at  the  base.  These  flowers  are  stemless,  and  are 
rather  more  than  three-quarters  of  an  inch  across.  They  only 
open  in  the  sun,  and  then  the  plant  is  very  distinct  with  its 
cluster  or  whorls  of  flowers.  As  may  be  supposed  from  this 
habit  a  sunny  position  should  be  given,  and  a  rather  dry  soil  in 
winter  will  prevent  the  loss  of  a  plant  worth  growing  from  its 
appearance.  It  comes  from  Chili  and  the  Andes  of  Mendoza,  and 
is  propagated  by  seeds  or  division. 
Although  not  showy  Sisyrinchium  striatum,  which,  by  the  way, 
has  several  synonyms,  will  attract  notice  amid  the  glow  and  colour 
which  fills  the  garden  now.  Roses,  Delphiniums,  Pinks,  exquisite 
Carnations,  Poppies,  Potentillas,  Sedums,  Semper vivums,  Agro- 
stemmas.  Peas,  Anthemises,  Irises,  Campanulas,  Mulleins  vie  with 
the  brightness  of  the  earlier  Lilies  in  bloom  as  we  look  out  upon 
their  glowing  colouri.  The  chaste  Lily  of  the  Madonna,  L.  can- 
didum,  is  ready  to  open,  when  it  will  find  rivals  in  the  Water 
Lilies,  which,  now  that  summer  has  really  come,  look  out  from  the 
water  of  the  garden  pool.  Though  the  storm  has  left  its  marks 
still  upon  many  flowers,  there  is  left  joy  enough,  beauty  enough 
in  what  remain.  The  horn  of  plenty  is  full,  well  nigh  to 
overflowing. — S.  Aenott. 
STRAWBERRY  CULT  Q RE. 
{Continued  from  p.  G9.) 
General  Management. 
Shortly  after  the  fruit  has  been  gathered,  and  when  the 
requisite  number  (of  young  plants  have  been  obtained  from  the 
beds,  the  latter  should  haVe  a  thorough  overhauling.  All  runners 
and  decayed  leaves  must  be  cut  away,  weeds  and  the  rougher  portions 
of  straw  removed,  so  as  to  leave  the  beds  tidy  till  the  autumn. 
The  only  attention  then  required  till  October  will  be  to  give  an 
occasional  hoeing  to  keep  down  weeds  while  they  are  in  a  young 
state. 
As  early  as  convenient  in  October  the  surface  of  the  soil  ought 
to  be  slightly  broken  up  with  a  fork,  and  a  3-inch  layer  of  half- 
decayed  manure  placed  over  it,  covering  the  whole  of  the  ground 
both  between  the  rows  and  around  the  plants.  This  practice  of 
autumn  mulching  is  not  only  valuable  from  a  manurial  point  of 
view,  but  also  gives  just  the  protection  needed  during  severe 
winters.  When  the  beds  are  situated  on  poor  soils  the  plants 
derive  immense  benefit  from  the  application  of  liquid  manure 
during  winter  and  early  spring.  Cesspools  are  often  emptied  at 
those  times,  and  so  powerful  a  fertiliser  should  never  be  wasted, 
for  it  is  a  “  gold-finder  ”  if  applied  to  fruit  gardens  and  orchards 
at  any  time  except  when  the  fruit  is  ripening. 
Strawing  the  Beds. 
This  simple  operation  is  performed  at  various  times  and  in 
many  different  ways  by  gardeners  and  market  growers.  The  latter 
frequently  mulch  with  rather  rough  manure  in  the  autumn,  this 
becomes  washed  by  the  winter  rains,  and  in  spring  is  perfectly 
8  weet  and  serves  for  the  fruit  to  rest  upon;  but  all  things  con¬ 
sidered,  I  prefer  to  straw  the  beds  in  spring.  The  plan  followed 
by  Mr.  Owen  Thomas  in  the  Royal  Gardens  seems  to  be  a  perfect 
one,  which  if  more  generally  adopted  would  often  prevent  the 
prospect  of  a  good  crop  being  ruined  by  the  occurrence  of  a  sharp 
frost  at  blossoming  time.  Mr.  Thomas  piles  the  straw  loosely 
between  the  rows  just  before  the  flowers  open,  they  are  thus  to  a 
certain  extent  constantly  protected,  and  when  danger  from  a  severe 
frost  is  apprehended,  the  material  already  at  hand  can  be  quickly 
scattered  over  the  plants,  and  when  the  fruit  is  set  it  only  needs 
pressing  around  them 
If  the  weather  happen  to  be  very  dry  when  the  fruit  is  swelling, 
one  or  two  thorough  waterings  should,  if  possible,  be  given,  as  the 
perforniance  or  omission  of  this  practice  often  accounts  for  the 
difference  between  a  poor  and  a  fine  crop  of  fruit.  Old  plants 
become  distressed  through  drought  much  sooner  than  young  ones, 
and  in  some  instances  the  young  fruits  wither  and  die  ;  a  state  of 
affairs  puzzling  to  not  a  few. 
Yarieties. 
Laxton’s  No.  1  is  generally  considered  the  earliest  Strawberry  in 
cultivation,  and  being  a  good  cropptr,  it  is  a  valuable  variety  worthy 
of  the  attention  of  all.  Its  one  weak  point  is  that  the  flavour  is 
not  quite  first-rate.  Early  Laxton  is  now  being  offered  by  the 
noted  firm  whose  name  it  bears,  who  state  it  to  be  still  earlier  than 
the  variety  just  named.  A  few  plants  of  this  should  certainly  be 
secured,  as  none  of  us  can  afford  to  neglect  any  improvement  in 
this  direction.  Sir  Trevor  (raised  at  Windsor)  is  also  slightly 
earlier  than  Laxton’s  No.  1,  and  should,  therefore,  when  possible,  be 
obtained  for  trial.  Next  in  point  of  earliness  comes  Noble,  which 
is  really  a  grand  Strawberry,  notwithstanding  its  deficiency  in 
fiavour  when  grown  on  some  soils.  In  light  land  it  crops  well,  is 
very  early,  and  the  flavour  is  fair.  In  the  markets  it  is  certainly  a 
fruit  that  “  takes.”  Royal  Sovereign  is  only  a  few  days  later  than 
Noble,  and  in  every  respect  a  grand  variety,  the  quality  in  this  case 
being  of  the  best.  King  of  the  Earlies  is  a  wonderful  cropper,  but 
the  fruit  is  small.  The  older  variety,  Vicomtesse  de  Thury, 
though  a  little  later  than  the  foregoing,  is  a  good  cropper,  the 
flavour  also  being  excellent.  Laxton’s  Monarch  is,  perhaps, 
the  finest  second  early  in  existence,  being  of  enormous  size, 
