422 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  25,  1899 
«Efi1)odied  in  the  useful  handlists  now  available  to  the  public.  The 
confusion  that  has  long  existed  in  private  gardens  and  nurseries  with 
reg.ard  to  deciduous  trees  and  shrubs  has  been  deplorable,  and  it  is  only- 
in  such  an  establishment  as  Kew  that  the  work  of  comparison  and 
determination  can  be  satisfactorily  carried  out.  I  understood  from 
Mr.  G.  iN’icholson,  A'.M.H.,  the  Curator,  that  the  lists  are  undergoing 
a  still  further  revision,  and  as  he  has  made  a  close  study  of  trees 
for  so  many  years  Sir  AVilliam  Dyer  must  find  his  assistance 
invaluable. 
At  the  present  time  the  chief  floral  attractions  are  afforded  by  the 
luiinerous  members  of  the  great  Rose  family  included  in  the  genera 
Pyrus  and  Prunus,  with  the  latter  being  incorporated  the  species  com¬ 
monly  ranked  under  Cerasus  in  gardens  and  nurseries.  Amongst  the 
forms  of  Pyrus  there  are  many  worthy  of  notice,  but  only  a  few  can 
be  mentioned  here.  The  object  in  the  arboretum  is  to  show  the 
principal  wild  types  cither  considered  as  species  or  varieties,  with  a  few 
of  garden  origin  which  possess  some  special  botanical  value  as  resulting 
from  intercrossing  or  distinctness  of  characters.  For  this  reason,  pre¬ 
sumably,  the  ordinary  garden  varieties  of  Apples  and  Pears  are 
excluded,  and  yet  a  few  large  beds  might  be  devoted  to  some  varieties 
with  advantage,  at  least  that  is  my  opinion,  and  it  is  shared  by 
others.  No  one  -would  expect  to  see  an  orchard  formed  at  Kew,  but 
when  the  ornamental  powers  of  hardy  flowering  trees  are  being  dis¬ 
played,  there  are  certain  varieties,  especially  among  Apples,  which 
might  well  be  included,  as  they  may  be  placed  amongst  the  hand¬ 
somest  trees  at  our  disposal,  though  this  is  by  no  means  recognised 
as  it  should  be.  I  have  had  the  satisfaction  of  forming  such  a 
plantation,  and  I  should  like  to  see  others  of  a  similar  design,  for 
there  are  varieties  amongst  the  Apples  -which  for  size,  colour,  and 
abundance  of  flowers  cannot  be  surpassed  by  any  trees  adapted  for 
this  climate. 
The  forms  of  Pyrus  of  especial  note  just  now  include  the  -Japanese 
Crabs,  P.  floribunda,  of  wdiich  the  typical  tree  is  a  dwarf  specimen 
6  to  8  feet  high  w’ith  somewhat  drooping  branches,  the  flowers  small, 
bright  coral  red  in  the  bud,  and  tinted  or  -white  when  open,  produced 
-with  great  freedom.  Several  varieties  are  represented,  the  most 
remarkable  of  which  is  P.  floribunda  flore-pleno  (better  known  in 
gnrdens  as  P.  Halleana  or  P.  Parkmanni),  with  larger  double  handsome 
flowers  borne  in  profusion  along  the  branches.  Three  excellent  garden 
varieties  which  appear  to  belong  to  this  species,  though  I  have  not  seen 
ilicm  at  Kew,  are  ornamental  both  in  flower  and  fruit — namely, 
Transeendant,  Fairy  Apple,  and  John  Downie.  The  last  named  in 
particular  is  one  of  the  finest  Crabs  grown  for  ornamental  purposes  and 
also  for  use.  The  American  or  Fragrant  Ciab,  Pyrus  coronaria,  is 
past  its  b:'st  now,  but  when  in  full  flower  is  an  extremely  beautiful  tree 
of  compact  habit,  with  large  white  or  tinted  flowers,  and  far  superior 
to  the  Siberian  Crab  (Pyrus  baccata  and  its  numberless  varieties)  from 
a  floral  point  of  viewa 
A  stately  and  effective  tree  belonging  to  the  Aria  section  of  Pyrus, 
and  closely  related  to  the  Whitebeam,  is  P.  Decaisneana,  the  origin  of 
which  Mr.  Nicholson  says  is  unknown.  It  should  be  specially  valued 
for  its  foliage,  which,  when  stirred  by  a  breeze,  has  a  fine  appearance, 
the  xnder  surface  of  the  large,  evenly  elliptical  leaves  being  of  a 
glistening  white,  contrasting  with  the  bright  green  upper  surface. 
This  tree  is  very  little  known  in  gardens  or  nurseries  ;  in  fact,  it  dees 
not  appear  in  one  of  the  catalogues  at  my  hand.  Another  little  known 
tree,  Pyrus  lanuginosa,  is  noteworthy ;  it  is  included  in  the  Sorbus 
section,  and  is  a  near  relative  of  the  Mountain  Ash.  The  leaves  are 
pinnate,  with  a  broad  terminal  pinna,  which  gives  a  very  distinct 
appearance  to  the  tree.  The  flowers  are  white,  in  large  cymose 
heads  or  corymbs. 
Many  others  could  be  enumerated,  but  the  “  Plums  ”  and 
“Cherries”  demand  a  few'  w'ords.  The  ornamental  varieties  amongst 
the  true  Plums  are  not  very  numerous.  Prunus  communis  is  repre- 
sented^by  the  -variety  Juliana,  which  is  strong  and  moderately  free. 
The  double  form  of  the  common  Sloe,  Prunus  spinosa  flore-pleno,  is 
also  an  attractive  little  tree  in  flowmr,  but  is  very  slow  grov  ing.  One  of 
the  most  telling  trees  in  this  section  is  P.  cerasifera  var.  atropurpurea 
(P.  Pissardi),  and  though  this  is  especially  valued  for  its  rich  coppery 
foliage,  it  is  very  effective  in  flower  early  in  the  season. 
In  the  Cerasus  section  of  the  genus  Prunus  are  some  of  the 
handsomest  flowering  trees  in  culti-^'ation.  As  examples  of  single 
specimens  the  most  conspicuous  is  the  Bois  de  St.  Lucie  of  the  French 
Prunus  Mahaleb  and  its  varieties.  One  of  these,  named  chrysccarpa, 
is  a  magnificent  tree  about  20  feet  high,  and  with  a  spread  of  branches 
nearly  as  much,  the  latter  being  slender  and  drooping  gracefully  nearly 
to  the  ground.  The  flowers  are  small,  white,  and  fragrant,  but  they 
are  borne  in  such  profusion  that  the  tree  appears  to  be  literally  a 
mass  of  blossom.  Another  variety  named  pendula  is  represented  by 
a  large  graceful  tree  similar  to  that  just  noted,  but  rather  looser  in 
its  habit.  This  is  much  more  ornamental  in  a  smaller  state  ;  grown 
as  a  standard  on  a  stem  about  5  or  C  feet  high,  it  forms  a  beautiful 
head  of  drooping  branches,  and  is  well  suited  for  the  margin  of  a 
lawn. 
In  the  avenue  between  the  Palm  house  and  the  temperate  house 
are  two  specimens  of  Prunus  avium  flore-pleno,  that  for  symmetry  and 
beauty  would  be  difficult  to  equal.  They  are  each  about  15  feet  high, 
forming  fine  conical  heads,  the  branches  thickly  clustered  with  large, 
pure  white  double  flow'ers,  rendering  the  trees  remarkable  at  a  long 
distance.  Near  the  Richmond  gale  is  large  circular  bed  some  20  feet 
in  diameter,  planted  with  the  dw'aif  and  slender  growing  P.  japonica 
(P.  sinensis),  which  illustrates  the  advantages  of  grouping  or  massing 
when  applied  to  suitable  plants.  These  are,  like  small  shrubs,  3  to 
5  feet  high,  wdth  pale  ’green  leaves,  and  abundant  double  pure  white 
flowers  borne  along  the  slender,  graceful  branches.  This  is  attractive 
as  a  pot  plant,  but  is  far  more  useful  and  ornamental  massed  as  it  is  at 
Kew,  and  it  is  one  of  the  hardiest  of  the  introduced  forms  of  Prunus. 
There  is  much  more  of  interest  to  be  seen  in  the  Royal  Gardens 
than  can  be  now  set  forth  ;  in  fact  a  special  number  of  “  our  Journal” 
would  be  required  to  do  justice  to  the  theme,  therefore  these  remarks 
must  be  concluded,  or  the  Editor  will  think  1  am  seeking  to  fill  an 
undue  proportion  of  his  valuable  space. — R.  Lewis  Castle. 
BULB  FARMING  IN  IRELAND. 
The  Treaty  of  Amiens  Street. 
AVould  I  run  down  to  Rufli  and  see  the  Tulips,  as  Mr.  B - 
of  D - ,  and  Mr.  B - ,  of  C - ,  were  going  on  such  a  day,  by 
such  a  train,  from  the  Amiens  Street  Station  of  the  G.N.R.  ?”  “I 
would,”  and  saw  what  has  not  been  inaptly  called  “Holland in  Ire¬ 
land.”  One  B  vv'as  on  the  platform  when  the  writer  arrived  ;  the 
other  buzzed  in  merrily  after  promptly  settling  the  question  of 
carriage  by  flitting  behind  the  barrier  and  emerging  with  third-class 
tickets.  “  No  fourth.”  That  nipped  any  budding  argument  respect¬ 
ing  dignity.  Our  host  rushed  in  a  few  ticks  before  time,  counted  us, 
and  rushed  off  with  some  daring  proposition  to  the  powers  that  bs 
anent  stopping  the  express, of  which  more  anon.  “Take  your  seats” — 
we  took  ’em,  pondering  on  what  shall  it  profit  a  man  who  tenders 
sixpence  for  a  penny  paper  to  a  grinning  gossoon  devoid  of  change. 
En  Route. 
On  the  right  is  a  fine  bit  of  seascape  as  -we  rush  northwards. 
Unfortunately,  the  one  crushed  in  the  oijposi'.e  corner,  to  whom  it  is 
a  new  country,  can  catch  little  m.ore  than  a  peep  of  the  passing 
picture  as  it  unfolds  and  disappears.  However,  the  merry  B., 
bubbling  over  with  anecdotes,  which  legin  with  ladies  and  smoking 
carriages  and  end  with  horticultural  adventures  in  Italy,  locates  things 
in  the  intervals.  By  the  peninsula  of  Howth,  on  by  the  foreshore, 
Lambay  Island  looms  up  in  the  distance,  and  finally  two  estuaries  of 
the  sea  are  crossed  by  embankment  and  trestle  bridges,  under  which 
the.  ebbing  tide  is  washing  seawards.  Rush  at  last,  and  a  brief 
inspection  of  the  stationmaster’s  Flora.  Ribes  speciosum,  trained  on 
the  station  wall,  is  in  full^  flower,  and  very  pretty  are  its  simple  red 
blossoms.  His  garden  rises  up  the  bank,  and  has  a  mild  gracefulness 
in  the  disposition  of  many  clumps  of  Scilla  nutans  alba.  It  is  a  railway 
garden  accident,  however,  for  a  short  interview  wdth  the  Great 
Northern  deputy  discloses  the  fact  that  he  regards  gardening  as  a 
troublesome  sort  of  business,  and  w'c  depart  to  mind  our  owm. 
Rush,  and  the  Rushians. 
Imagiration  has  proved  a  vain  thing,  the  little  hamlet  of  Rush 
and  its  people  being  quite  unlike  any  preconceived  notions  respecting 
