390 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  11,  1E99. 
“gang  aft  aglee,’’  For  rats  a  little  sul]  hur  piste  on  bread  generally 
proves  a  quietus,  as  well  as  being  a  fairly  safe  remedy. 
Peacocks  have  not  much  to  do  with  gardening — for  those  who  are 
not  the  happy  (?)  possess  irs  of  them.  We  have  a  couple,  fed  on  a 
poubd  of  good  beef  per  diem,  besides  other  addenda  to  their  menu, 
and  it  seems  just  sufficient  to  brace  up  their  appetites  for  a  good 
square  meal  off  the  better  class  of  hardy  plan's.  These  they  go 
for  “tooth  and  nail”  till  not  a  shred  remains  but  the  label.  Tiiere 
is  no  wrinkle  applicable  here,  I  fear,  save  to  these  who  contemplate 
keeping  peafowl,  then  it  takes  the  emphatic  form  of  “Don’t.”  There 
is  an  old  superstition  that  these  birds  are  unlucky.  It  is  now  part  of 
the  creed  of — Wkinicler, 
FRAGRANT  GREENHOUSE  RHODODENDRONS. 
Among  the  many  Khododendrons  suitable  for  greenhouse  culture, 
tJiose  that  go  to  make  up  the  sc<uted  group  are  best  known  and  most 
popular,  for,  while  anything  like  a  representative  collection  ot  species 
is  rarely  found,  there  are  few  gardens  of  any  pretensions  that  do  not 
boast  some  of  those  now  under  notice.  The  group  consists  of  the 
following  species,  and  a  large  number  of  hybrids  which  have  originated 
tfrom  them:— K.  formosum,  ciliatum,  Edgeworthi,  and  Veitchianum. 
R.  formosum  is  a  very  variable  species  ;  it  is  distributed 
widely  in  the  Himalaya,  and  differs  greatly  in  size  and  shape  of  foliage 
and  flowers.  The  form  usually  met  with  has  leaves  3  inches  long  by 
lialf  an  inch  wide,  and  is  of  fairly  compact  hab't.  The  flowers  are 
2  inches  or  more  across,  white  inside,  and  suffused  with  rose  on  the 
outside  of  the  corolla.  Another  well  known  form  is  that  wh  ch  is 
often  called  E.  Gibsoni.  The  habit  of  this  is  looser,  the  leaves  larger 
and  more  hairy,  and  the  flowers  of  greater  size.  Others  have  still 
larger  leaves,  are  very  loose  in  habit,  have  the  throat  of  the  flower 
tinged  with  yellow,  and  are,  if  anything,  more  fragrant. 
E.  ciliatum  is  the  hardiest  of  the  group,  and  can  be  grown  in  the 
open  air  as  far  north  as  London  if  sheltered  from  cold  winds.  The 
leaves  and  young  stems  are  very  hairy.  The  flowers  vary  in  colour 
on  different  plants,  some  being  near  those  of  the  narrow-leaved 
formosum,  others  more  creamy;  the  calyx  in  this,  however,  is  well 
-developed,  which  is  not  tLe  case  with  the  form  of  formosum  it  most 
resembles. 
R.  Edgeworthi  has  possibly  been  used’  more  than  any  other  by  the 
hybridist.  In  appearance  it  is  very  distinct.  The  leaves  are  from 
3  to  4  inches  long  and  more  or  less  ovate,  with  recurved  edges.  The 
tipper  surface  is  very  deeply  veined,  giving  the  leaf  a  wrinkled  appear¬ 
ance,  while  the  under  side,  as  wt  11  as  al  the  young  wood,  is  thickly 
covered  w-ith  a  light  brown  felty  pubescence.  The  flowers  are  very 
•sweetly  scented.  They  are  borne  in  loose  tiu'^ses  of  from  tw'o  to  four 
flowers  each,  and  are  from  3^  to  Ah  inches  across.  •  The  colour  is  white, 
with  occasional  faint  marks  of  rose  on  the  outs-ide  and  pale  3'ellow  on 
ihe  inside  of  the  corolla.  A  figure  of  this  may  be  seen  in  the  “Bot. 
Mag.,”  t.  4936. 
E.  Veitchianum  was  introdne  d  by  Messrs.  Vtilch  of  Exeter  from 
Moulmein,  and  was  first  exhibited  by  them  in  May,  1857.  The  leaves 
of  this  are  almost  glabrous,  but  covered — espcc  ally  on  the  under 
surface — with  small  brown  scales.  The  flowers  are  white,  3  to  4  inch' s 
across,  and  the  ed^es  of  the  petals  are  very  finely  crisped.  This  species 
comes  near  formosum,  and  is  considered  by  some  botanists  to  be  only  a 
form  of  that  species. 
Many  hybrids  have  been  raised  from  the^e  species;  and  s.veral 
of  them  show  slight  difference  one  from  the  other.  The  prevailing 
features  are  large  open  flowers  in  small  trusses,  white,  with  sometimes 
green,  yellow,  or  rose  markings  in  cr  outside  the  tube,  and  all  very 
fragrant.  Possibly  the  best  of  all  is  E.  Fosterianum.  This  is  a  hybrid 
between  Edgeworthi  and  Veitchianum,  and  is  a  worthy  offsjiring  of 
two  such  beautiful  parents.  Tlie  foliage  is  intermed  ate  between 
the  two.  The  flowers  take  more  after  those  of  Edgeworthi,  but 
are  produced  with  greater  freedom,  and  show  themselves  off  better. 
They  are  borne  in  loose  trusses  of  from  three  to  five,  are  very  fragrant, 
white,  with  light  yellow  marks  on  one  side  of  the  throat,  and  o'ten 
■5  inches  across.  When  fully  expanded.  lhe  flowers  from  a  distance 
remind  one  strongly  of  a  large  Lily.  Other  good  varieties  are  Lady 
Skelmersdale,  Lady  Alice  Fitzwilliam,  La  Belle,  Countess  of  Sefton, 
Countess  of  Derby,  and  a  host  of  others. 
Before  closing  mention  should  be  made  of  R.  Countess  of 
Haddington.  This  is  a  hybrid  between  R.  Dalhons  se  and  R.  for¬ 
mosum.  It  has  the  long  tubular  flowers  of  the  first  named  Sjjecies, 
but  instead  of  being  yellow  they  are  bright  rose,  and,  like  .the  other 
parent,  sweetly  scented.  It  is  a  good  grower,  flowers  with  g:eat 
freedom,  and  is  without  doubt  one  of  the  mo<t  useful  of  the  group. 
As  these  plants  can  be  grown  with  ease,  and  only  n  quire  sufficient 
protection  to  keep  away  frost,  they  might  with  advantage  be  used  on  a 
large  scale,  either  as  pot  or  border  flowers,  the  beauty  rf  their  fragrant 
flowers  fitting  them  well  for  decorative  purposes. — W.  D. 
SWISS  FLORA. 
To  the  botanist  the  mountains  around  the  lake  of  Leman  or  Geneva 
and  uft  the  Rhone  Valle)'  offer  a  fine  field  for  research,  and  one  rarely 
excelled  in  variety.  From  February  to  June  there  is  a  ceaseless 
supply  of  wdld  flowers  in  their  season  if  one  seeks  for  them  in  their 
proper  habitat.  The  Crocus,  mauve,  white,  and  particoloured,  is  very 
early  in  its  appearance.  Indeed,  directly  the  snow  melts  off  the  lower 
plateaux  this  charming  little  flower  is  seen  on  all  the  hill  slopes  for 
several  thousand  feet.  They  last  well  on  till  the  end  of  April,  and  in 
the  autumn  spread  forth  a  second  supply.  The  Cowslip,  Primrose, 
and  Oxlip  come  next,  and  are  in  lull  swing  by  the  middle  of  March, 
when  also  the  Anemones  begin.  At  this  time  the  Violets,  lavender, 
w'hite  and  deep  blue,  the  latter  very  richly  scented,  are  broadcast  iu 
many  parts,  chiufly  where  there  is  some  woo<ded  growth  about. 
In  March,  too,  the  lovely  little  delicately  scented  Grape  Hyacinth 
abounds  in  the  bare  ground  of  the  vineyards  and  on  grass  slopes  not 
too  far  up  the  mountains,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  month  the 
perfect  blue  Gentian,  lather  high  up.  Poth  the  small  and  the  large 
kind  are  found  in  their  special  haunts.  Late  in  March  or  early  in 
April  the  stately  Daffodils,  in  the  few  places  they  favour,  glorify  their 
quarters  with  their  wondrous  wealth  of  gold.  By  the  end  of  April 
and  May  the  climax  is  reached  when  in  narls  whole  ]  atches  of  L  lies 
of  the  Valh,-y,  Orchids,  Ranunculus,  an  1  Nrtci  sus  rai-ie  their  elegant 
and  perfumed  heads.  The  last  named  around  Les  Avants  are  literally 
mown  down  by  the  peisants,  in  such  quantity  do  they  grow.  I  make 
no  mention  of  the  immortal  Edelweiss  and  other  flowers,  rare  cr 
difficult  of  access,  all  the  foregoing  being  of  general  growth  and  within 
easy  reach  of  anybody  of  ordinary  wa  king  powers.  There  is  a  peculiar 
charm  in  these  alpine  flowers. 
In  the  first  days  of  April  I  went  up  to  Eoville,  an  Alpine  village 
a  few  thousand  feet  up  a  narrow  v.ill  y,  the  fur  her  sTle  of  the  lake, 
and  found  many  beautifil  specimens  a'ready  nan.ed  ;  and  up  a  gorge 
off  the  Rhone  ValLy  on  the  outskirts  of  the  Dent  du  Midi,  on  the 
Chami  nix  route,  a  small  party  of  us  revtl'ed  in  the  d  dights  of  carpets 
of  Hepatica,  blue,  and  also  the  ra'er  white,  peifect  masses  of  the 
sweet-scented  Violet,  the  yellow  Mar.-hma.low,  c  u  ters  of  small  pink 
Primulas,  Crocuses,  the  ch  se  growing  golden  Rock  Rcse,  Pansies,  and 
another  very  beautiful  flower,  the  name  of  which  I  know  not,  seme 
white,  and  others  mauve  or  striped.  1  have  rarely  spent  such  a  delightlul 
half  dozen  hours  as  in  this  a’pine  climb  among  the  flowers,  protected 
from  the  sun  of  a  cloudless  sky  by  tlie  sw'eet  Pinc-c!.ad  slopes,  and 
with  an  appreciative  and  intdligeiit  English  lady,  whose  love  for 
flowers  was  also  very  great.  For  my  pirt  I  presen'ed  my  share  of 
the  Hepaticas  and  sweet-s  ented  VioU-ts  to  vis-a-vis  at  table  d’l  o  e. 
An  excursion  up  another' o^^shoot  of  the  Rhone  Valley  towar  Is 
Chahau  D’Oex  revea’el  srme  kinds  we  b  d  n  t  founl  before,  and 
included  Periwinkle,  pink  Hepat  ca,  yellow  Anemone  (found  in  but 
few  places,  I  believe),  Snowflakes,  masses  of  Gentian,  shrubs  of  purple 
Daphne,  and  a  flower  something  like  the  Star  ot  Bethlehem,  but 
yellow,  several  blossoms  growing  on  same  stalk.  The  latter  we  found 
in  a  marshy  spot  about  3.000  le.t,  grt;wing  ameng  the  Snowflakes, 
which  were  almost  over. 
In  closin ',  a  word  on  the  fn  it  trees  round  about  this  part  may 
not  be  out  of  place.  Both  in  the  small  garden  ].lots  in  Montreux  and 
in  the  orchards  in  the  rich  alluvial  so  1  of  the  Rhone  Valley,  I  was 
much  struck  wdth  the  profusion  of  blossom.  It  was  quite  an  excep¬ 
tion  to  see  a  tree  of  any  kind,  whether  Cherry,  Pear,  Apple,  Plum,  or 
Airicot,  without  masses  of  blossom  on  every  p.rt.  Whether  the 
promised  crop  sets  at  d  comes  to  maturity  or  not  I  cannot  say,  but  the 
signs  of  fruitfulness  are  most  remarkable.  I  noticed  both  in  the  valley 
and  pretty  high  up  the  extensive  cultivation  of  the  Walnut,  and  last, 
though  not  a  fiuit  tree,  an  occasional  Magnolia  ;  now  and  then  a  really 
massive  ’  tree  made  a  beautiful  appearance  to  the  eye. — J.  A. 
Carnegie-Cheales. 
-  The  Reign  of  the  Carnation. — Dame  Fashion  is  a  fickle 
mistress,  and  under  her  sway  the  popularity  of  flowers  rises  and  falls. 
Just  now  the  Carnation  occupies  a  lofty  pedestal  both  in  this  country 
and  across  the  Atlantic.  A  few  years  ago  the  devotion  of  whole  houses 
to  Carnations  was  a  thing  unknown,  and  the  variety  among  these 
flowers  extended  no  further  than  to  the  few  grown  in  the  beds.  A 
new  order  of  things  has  sprung  into  existence,  and  apart  from  the 
popular  Malmaison  section,  the  perpetual  flowering  varieties  are  much 
in  demand.  In  many  large  establishments  now  Carnations  are  a 
speciality,  houses  are  devoted  to  them,  and  blooms  are  obtained 
practically  all  the  year  round,  while  in  smaller  and  less  pretentious 
places  you  find  that  something  else  has  been  done  away  with  to  make 
room  for  more  Carnations.  All  this  has  had  the  effect  of  bringing 
forth  the  b<8t  efforts  of  raisers,  and  a  really  up-to-date  collection  of 
Carnations  in  pots  is  a  most  interesting  sight.  Though  the  Carnation 
is  accommodating,  the  plant  is  exacting.  Given  the  treatment  it  requires 
nothing  can  be  more  satisfactory  ;  withhold  it,  and  the  result  is  dis¬ 
appointing.  Allowing  all  this  the  flower  has  a  firm  hold  on  public  taste, 
and  as  far  as  one  can  see  it  is  a  hold  that  will  last. — G. 
