V  '  '  '  .1 
March  6, 1902.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER,  205 
roots,  and  they  will  now  need  their  final  shift.  Seven-inch  for 
the  strongest  and  6in  for  the  lesser  ones  is  large  enough.  A  little 
soot  and  artificial  manure  should  be  added  at  this  potting. 
They  will  now  need  to  be  placed  in  an  open  frame  or  plunged 
in  ashes  out  in  the  open,  providing  they  can  be  sheltered  from 
hea,vy  rains.  During  summer  it  is  most  essential  to  use  the 
syringe  twice  daily ;  soot  water  is  very  beneficial,  both  for 
syringing  and  watering  when  the  plants  are  establish^.  If  the 
plants  are  wanted  to  flower  early  the  first  buds  maj^  be  left; 
otherwise  these  are  best  sacrificed,  giving  the  plants  a  little  more 
time  to  mature  their  growth. 
When  the  plants  are  housed  they  must  be  afforded 
abundance  of  air  at  all  times,  maintaining  a  steady  heat  in  the 
pipes  with  a  temperature  of  50deg  to  55deg,  according  to 
weather  circumstances.  Water  must  be  afforded  carefully, 
mixing  a  little  artificial  manure  with  it  occasionally.  The  stages 
must  be  kept  in  a  moist  condition,  and  the  plants  syringed  when¬ 
ever  possible.  For  varieties  I  would  commend  Mdlle.  Therese 
Franco,  which  still  holds  its  own ;  Miss  Joliffe  cannot  yet  be  dis¬ 
pensed  with;  Mrs.  T.  W.  Lawson  is  good  in  colour  and  a  good 
“  doer ;  ”  W.  Robinson  and  J.  P.  Rugrus  are  fine  scarlets.  For 
whites  I  should  choose  Glacier,  Flora  Hill,  and  Mrs.  Moore. 
Many  more  might  be  added  to  these,  but  those  enumerated  may 
be  depended  on  for  the  main  batches. — Florist.  • 
point  of  view,  the  Hellebore  is  most  decorative  and  a  fine  plant ; 
;  but  to  see  it  really  beautiful  the  plant  must  be  grown  under 
i  special  conditions — namely,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
I  plant  to  be  grown  in  shade  and  to  be  protected  from  the  morning 
I  sun  and  cutting  ground  winds,  which  means  that  the  plant  should 
be  planted  under  the  shade  of  trees,  with  a  north-west,  west,  or 
south-west  aspect.  Again,  the  plant  is  not  decorative  until  the 
third  year,  and  when  it  is  established  it  should  not  be  moved 
unless  absolutely  necessary.  If  the  plant  is  moved,  it  is  advisable 
not  to  split  the  clump  up  too  smalL  and  if  it  is  ^lit  up  it  should 
be  broken  asunder  and  not  cut.  Further,  the  Hellebore  suffers 
during  very  dry  weather  in  summer,  and  if  planted  where  it  is 
i  likely  to  be  overlooked  with  water  and  not  in  the  shade,  it  is 
I  advisable  to  give  it  a  good  mulching.  Peat  moss  litter  will  be 
1  found  good  for  this  purpose. 
“  There  are  some  lovely  varieties  obtainable  among  the 
seedling  forms  which  we  offer  as  mixed  hybrids  on  page  38  of  our 
catalogue.  We  can  strongly  recommend  these  being  largely 
planted  in  woodland  walks.  The  plant  is  essentially  an  outdoor 
winter,  or  early  spring  flowering  subject,  and  is  not  of  much 
service  for  cut  flowers,  as  directly  the  H.  orientalis  varieties  are 
placed  in  water  they  flag  unless  the  flower  bracts  are  submerged 
in  water,  which  makes  them  difficult  subjects  to  bring  on  the 
exhibition  table  for  shows  or  to  use  for  indoor  decoration.  H.  niger 
Typical  Specimens  of  the  Stellata  Primulas. 
The  Hellebores. 
In  reference  to  the  figure  appearing  on  the  opposite  page 
(sketched  from  flowers  recently  sliown  by  Messrs.  Barr  and  Sous, 
King  Street,  Covent  Garden,  W.C.),  Mr.  J.  W.  Barr  kindly  con¬ 
tributes  an  interesting  letter  which  it  may  not  be  a  breach  of 
courtesy  to  print  in  full.  He  says : 
“  Helleborus  colchicus  maguificus  is  a  seedling  variety  of 
H.  colchicus,  and  has  been  in  commerce  for  about  five  years. 
H.  niger  scoticus  is  a  good  form  of  H.  niger,  which  I  picked  up 
in  an  old  Scotch  garden  some  years  back.  The  whole  family  of 
Hellebores  was  really  worked  together  by  my  father,  and  not 
by  me.  He  first  took  them  in  hand  about  twenty-five  years  ago. 
when  we  had  our  nurseiy  at  Tooting.  It  contained  specimens  of 
all  the  existing  plants  in  the  botanic  gardens  of  Europe,  and  a 
large  number  were  collected  in  Germany,  which  proved  to  be 
mostly  types  of  H.  viridis.  I  need  hardly  say  that  a  great  con¬ 
fusion  existed  in  the  names,  and  many  a  long,  weary,  and  cold 
day  have  I  spent  in  his  company  in  the  eiarly  days  of  February 
and  March  endeavouring  to  classify  the  numerous  specimens  and 
bring  them  into  order.  The  late  Mr.  Moore,  of  Chelsea  Botanic 
Gardens,  was  a  great  enthusiast  for  these  flowers,  as  also  the 
late  Dr.  Hogg,  and  during  the  flowering  season  used  to  spend 
most  of  their  Sundays  at  Tooting  with  my  father.  From  a  garden  ' 
varieties,  many  people  fail  with  these  on  account  of  their  being 
planted  in  hot  .sunny  borders  or  in  dry  soil  and  neglected  with 
water  during  summer,  when  the  foliage  is  allowed  to  dry  up,  the 
consecjuence  being  that  few.  if  any,  flower  buds  are  formed.” 
— J.  W.  Barr,  Long  Ditton.” 
- - 
Chinese  Stellate  Primulas. 
The  stellata  forms  of  Primula  sinensis  are  most  useful  plants 
for  tlie  decoration  of  the  conservatory,  drawing-room,  or  for  cut 
flower  during  the  winter  months.  Plants  of  this  section  will 
look  quite  fresh  after  being  in  the  dwelling-house  a  fortnight ;  in 
fact,  they  seem  to  enjoy  the  hot  dry  rooms.  We  have  had  a  grand 
lot  for  tiie  past  three  months  from  seed  supplied  by  Sutton  and 
Sons,  and  they  are  still  flowering  well.  I  would  advise  anyone 
who  lias  not  grown  the  Star  Primulas  to  give  them  a  trial.  There 
are  now  many  varieties,  with  varied  shades  of  colour.  The  only 
accommodation  requirements  are  a  cold  pit  and  a  w'arm  green- 
hou,se.  The  illustration  is  from  a  photograph  of  plants  grown 
here,  and  taken  by  my  employer. — G.  T.  C.,  Shipbourne  Grange^ 
Kent. 
