October  3,  1901. 
JOURNAL  CF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
3L> 
Gadding  and  Gathering. 
“  Here  awa’,  There  awa’.’’ 
Hampton  Court  Flower  Bedding. 
Opinion,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  glean,  gives  the  note  for 
excellence  in  its  bedding  effects  this  year  to  the  arrangements  at 
Hampton  Court,  that  hallowed  pile,  frequented  much  by  Londoners  living 
westwards.  Even  well-trained  gardener-critics  forget  to  grumble  when 
they  view  such  beds  as  that  filled  with  snow  white  Japanese  Anemones 
and  carpeted  beneath  with  deep  blue  Violas.  Rapture,  or  quiet  delight, 
let  us  say  (for  it  is  an  unpardonable  ann  uncement  to  state  that  a 
gardener  ever  goes  into  raptures  over  a  neighbour’s  efforts  !  ),  rises 
within  us  when  such  a  pleasing  contrast  presents  itself.  There  are 
rpiite  a  number  of  rectangular  beds  at  Hampton  Court,  and  of  these  a 
few  are  filled  with  elegant  and  exceedingly  light  foliage  plants,  usually 
rising  above  a  fiat  surface  presentment  of  floral  brilliance.  Thus 
might  be  noted  a  bed  whose  whole  centre  displays  one  glowing  sheet 
of  unbroken,  deep-scarlet-hued  tuberous  Begonia  flowers,  while  here 
>  nd  there,  with  a  few  square  feet  of  space  between,  uprise  the  narrow 
and  somewhat  reourving  blades  of  Eulalia  japonica  gracillima.  For 
t  He  better  furnishing  of  the  bed  there  are  bushy  little  plants  of  Fuchsia 
giacilis  variegata,  the  whole  being  gaily  edged  with  the  compact¬ 
growing,  white  flowered  Alyssum  maritima.  A  round  bed  was  similarly 
filled.  A  dark  crimson  tuberous  Begonia,  much  resembling  the  excellent 
La  Fayette,  was  employed,  and  for  “  dot  ”  plants  we  noted  Centaurea 
candidissima,  and  tidy  plants  of  Dracaena  indivisa,  the  edge  was  formed 
of  a  broad  strip  of  mossy  Saxifrage. 
Colour  contrasts  bad  evidently  been  seriously  studied  by  Mr. 
J.  A.  Gardiner,  who  superintends  the  gardens  at  this  famous  oentre. 
He  has  used  Pentstemon  (Chelone)  barbatus  above  a  grounding  of 
j  nllow  Violas  with  splendid  results.  A  simple  bed  of  tall  Iresines  and 
i  he  silvery -leaved  Centaurea  candidissima  furnish  jet  another  charming 
production.  Of  course  there  are  larger  and  choicer  beds,  containing  a 
long  list  even,  of  select  stove  plants,  such  as  many  gardeners  in  the 
North  can  scarcely  boast  of,  even  under  glass.  These  fiue-foliaged 
ixotics  are  grouped  in  sheltered,  sunny  beds,  and  receive  the  attention 
and  consideration  which  they  at  all  times  demand.  I  mentioned  Begonia 
La  Fajette  a  few  lines  higher.  This  beautiful  variety  is  to  be  seen  in 
one  of  the  beds,  and  amongst  it  are  golden  Celosias  of  the  pyramidal 
type,  Fuchsia  gracilis  variegata,  Abutilon  Szovitzi,  Miscanthus  zebrinus, 
and  a  broad  band  of  Abutilon  megapotanicum  around  the  edge.  The 
latter  plant  is  a  greenhouse  climber,  but  when  pegged-down  it  forms  a 
very  suitable  trailer.  Lantanas  are  to  be  seen  as  large  specimen  bush 
plants  grown  in  the  same  style  as  one  usually  finds  Plumbago  capensis 
when  used  in  beds.  Though  these  notes  are  not  by  any  means  adequate 
to  do  justice  to  the  great  variety  of  arrangements  that  have  been  pro¬ 
duced,  at  the  same  time  I  have  noted  the  finest  combinations,  and  have 
tried  to  describe  only  the  more  novel  of  them.  Let  my  friends  who 
have  no  time  to  sit  down  quietly  to  think  out  colour  contrasts  and 
harmonies  in  forms  be  so  good  as  to  plan  their  beds  somewhat  after  the 
style  of  those  at  Hampton  Court,  or  such  as  have  been,  and  will  be, 
described  from  notes  taken  in  metropolitan  parks,  and  I  am  quite 
certain  they  will  be  gratified  at  the  fine  effects.  It  must  not  be  over¬ 
looked,  of  course,  that  a  great  deal  of  oonstant  care  is  expended  by  all 
the  superintendents  and  their  men  in  the  up-keep  of  bedding  designs  in 
the  parks  of  London. 
“The  Innocents  Abroad.” 
Poor  Mr.  Darwin  !  honoured  abroad,  unknown  in  his  native  town. 
It  happened  at  the  time  of  the  Shrewsbury  Show.  I  had  arrived  in 
this  cake-famed  township  on  the  Tuesday  afternoon;  the  show  was  to 
be  held  next  day.  The  groups  and  general  arrangement  of  exhibits 
was  proceeding  within  the  tents,  but  there  was  no  work  at  that  time 
of  day  for  the  journalist,  so  forth  I  sallied  on  an  exploring  quest,  but 
presently  struck  upon  a  friend  and  fellow  scribe,  who  was  no  other 
than  Mr.  William  Gardiner,  from  Birmingham,  a  smoky  city.  Mr.  G. 
is  just  the  man  to  catch  hold  of  when  you  go  exploring.  He  has  the 
happiest  knack  of  questioning  people  who  ought  to  know  what  he  asks, 
but  don’t,  of  anyone  I  ever  went  in  partnership  with.  As  I  say,  then, 
we  both  set  out  to  see  the  “  sights  ”  of  Shrewsbury.  The  Quarry 
grounds  are  always  interesting,  the  more  so  to  those  who  know  what 
this  part  was  like  a  dozen  years  ago,  and  have  watched  the  steady 
progress  towards  a  higher  respectability  which  they  have  been 
assuming  under  the  generous  expenditure  of  the  committee  of  the 
Shropshire  Horticultural  Society.  And  so  our  track  wended  up  the 
left  bank  ot  the  River  Severn,  which  here  is  a  mere  shallow  stream, 
so  narrow  that  any  lad  of  eight  or  nine  years  of  age  could  pitch  a 
stone  across,  upward  we  went  to  the  Welsh  bridge. 
It  had  been  decided  that  we  should  go  and  pay  our  respects  to  the 
name  of  Charles  Darwin  by  visiting  the  home  of  his  birth  at  The 
Mount,  near  by.  We  had  heard  it  was  close  at  hand,  but  woe  for  the 
education  of  Shrewsbury’s  general  public,  no  one  knew  where  The 
Mount  was,  nor  had  many  of  them  any  knowledge  of  the  faot  that  the 
greatest  of  modern  naturalists  had  once  been  a  citizen  of  their  borough. 
Truth  to  tell,  the  workpeople  even  within  a  yard  or  two  (as  we 
eventually  discovered)  of  Darwin’s  childhood  home,  seemed  never  to 
have  heard  of  such  a  name.  My  friend  lost  no  opportunity  for  asking 
quest. one.  Having  spied  an  old  man  sitting  in  the  open  doorway  of  his 
house  facing  the  street,  the  inquisitor  approached,  and  bending 
politely  forward  he  whispered  in  the  septuagenarian’s  ear  :  “  Excuse 
me,  please,  but  oan  you  tell  me  where  Charles  Darwin  used  to  live  ?  ” 
It  was  said  as  though  he  believed  that  the  great  man  never  lived  here 
a  all  ;  so  barren  had  been  the  results  of  much  questioning  prior  to 
this.  “Charles  Darwin?”  echoed  our  veteran  acquaintance  in  an 
interrogative  tone,  then  he  bIowIv  shook  his  head.  But  taking  his 
response  as  a  lead,  friend  G.  added,  “Yes,  Charles  Darwin  you  know, 
the  naturalist,  did  you  ever  hear  of  him?”  “I’ve  heard  of  Mr. 
Darwin,” - and  then  he  stopped  short  as  if  uncertain  whether  he  had 
better  say  more.  “  Then,  where  did  he  stay  ?  was  it  near  here  ?  ”  we 
next  inquired,  but  this  important  item  was  a  piece  of  knowledge  the 
old  man  did  not  possess,  and  he  told  us  so.  On  we  went,  however,  we 
trusted  that  The  Mount  would  presently  come  into  view,  but  still  the 
loquacious  Gardiner  continued  with  his  fruitless  queries  and  sugges¬ 
tions,  that  met  with  nothing  but  apparent  mild  astonishment  from 
the  questioned  many. 
It  was  not  till  my  active  companion  had  boldly  tapped  at  the  door  of 
a  pretty  suburban  cottage,  and  had  fully  explained  his  purpose  and 
errand  to  the  intelligent  residents,  that  we  at  last — at  long  last — received 
full  and  definite  information  and  instructions.  Presently  we  came  to 
the  gates  of  “  The  Mount,”  and,  to  make  certain,  a  final  query  was 
expended  on  a  tradesman  who  just  had  emerged  from  the  place.  “  This 
is  Charles  Darwin’s  old  home  ?”  were  the  words  addressed  by  the  man 
from  Birmingham.  “  No,”  said  the  tradesman,  “  Mr.  L -  lives 
here,”  as  on  he  trudged  ;  and  all  I  heard  from  Gardiner,  as  he  peered 
after  the  fellow,  were  the  words,  “  Well !  well !  ”  The  coachman  at 
The  Mount  was  kind  enough  to  appear  at  that  moment,  and  he  no  doubt 
concluded  from  experience  that  we  were  two  pilgrims,  and  our  plight 
was  bad.  He  took  us  in  hand.  After  that  we  had  no  further  difficulty. 
The  coachman  knew  something  of  the  trees  about  the  place,  and  pointed 
out  those  that  Mr.  Darwin  had  planted.  We  eaoh  secured  leaves  and 
twigs  of  an  Oak  (Quercus  pedunoulata),  a  Mulberry,  and  a  Fig  tree 
that  had  grown  up  since  Mr.  Darwin  placed  them  there.  The  house 
itself  is  a  plain  two  or  three  storey  building,  I  could  not  exactly  say 
which,  and  is  at  the  present  time  nearly  all  covered  with  climbers. 
There  is  a  terraoe  on  one  side,  taking  one  down  to  the  fruit  and  flower 
garden  ;  the  stables  are  at  the  back;  and  a  fair-sized  lawn  with  trees 
occupies  what  I  may  call  the  west,  or  front  side.  We  thoroughly 
enjoyed  our  brief  and  interesting  visit ;  we  could  not  roam  about, 
seeing  the  house  is  occupied.  But  not  that  day,  nor  for  many  days  yet 
to  come,  will  Mr.  Gardiner  or  “Wandering  Willie”  forget  the  occasion 
on  which  we  went  in  search  of  the  birthplace  of  the  great,  dead  Darwin. 
— Wandering  Willie. 
Hoyal  horticultural  Society. 
Scientific  Committee,  Sept.  22nd. 
Present  :  Dr.  M.  T.  Masters  (in  the  chair),  Messrs.  Houston, 
ChapmaD,  Odell,  Saunders,  Worsley,  and  Douglas,  Dr.  M.  C.  Cooke, 
Prof.  A.  H.  Churoh,  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  and  Rev.  G.  Henslow,  Hon.  Sec. ; 
visitors,  Mr.  Crawshay  and  Mr.  Pockett  from  Australia. 
Maize  icith  twin  embryos. — Mr.  Houston  showed  plants  resulting 
from  two  embryos  growing  from  one  grain.  A  similar  phenomenon  was 
not  uncommon  in  the  Mistletoe,  Acorus,  &o. 
Lily  of  the  Valley  diseased. — Mr.  Odell  brought  samples  of  the 
foliage,  which  was  quite  brown.  It  was  referred  to  Dr.  Cooke  for 
examination  and  report. 
Oalls  on  Oak  leaf. — Mr.  Saunders  showed  an  Oak  leaf  having  four 
galls.  “These  are  formed  by  grubs  from  eggs  laid  by  Spathegaster 
Taschenbergi,  which  would  produce  a  parthenogenetio  generation  of 
gall  flies,  known  as  Dryophanta  scutellaris,  in  January  or  February. 
These  would  lay  their  eggs  in  the  buds  of  the  Oak,  and  small,  some¬ 
what  oonioal  gall3  would  be  found.  From  these  the  sexual  generation, 
Spathegaster  Taschenbergi,  would  emerge  in  July.  These  galls  are 
common,  but  are  usually  found  singly  on  the  leaves.” 
Cattleya  Qaskelliana. — Mr.  Crawshay  exhibited  a  spray  of  three 
flowers,  in  all  of  which  two  sepals  had  yellow  streaks,  thus  slightly 
simulating  the  colouring  of  the  labellum. 
Miltonia  spectabilis. — He  also  showed  a  small  imported  plant  of  this 
genus  which  had  never  been  potted  for  eighteen  months,  but  bad  sent 
out  a  flower  from  the  terminal  shoot. 
Spots  on  Orchid  leaves. — Mr.  Crawshay  read  several  communications 
from  Mr.  Bidgood  on  this  subject;  he  has  traced  the  spots  to  a  fungus, 
but  as  his  researches  are  not  completed,  a  further  communication  is 
looked  for.  The  fungus  appears  to  be  allied  to  a  Gloeosporium. 
Schinus  molle  with  fungus. — Dr.  Bonavia  sent  leaves  attacked  by 
Fumago.  Mr.  Pockett  said  it  was  frequently  grown  in  Australia,  and 
that  it  likes  much  warmth.  In  cold  districts  it  often  gets  black. 
Hybrid  Tomatoes. — Mr.  Worsley  showed  some  very  fine  specimens  of 
Tomatoes,  the  result  of  crossing  the  Grape  Tomato  with  a  red  garden 
form.  The  hybrid  was  remarkable  for  the  number  of  fruits  borne  by 
it,  some  twenty-five  being  on  one  branch;  on  another  were  two  closely 
arranged  rows  of  fruit.  Another  hybrid  was  between  an  egg-shaped 
