1S4 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  ASD  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
February  26,  1903. 
CARDEfi.  GJ(EA'NINCS 
,iy'C.v 
“Tf-I/, 
Saxifraga  ligulata. 
Becau.se  tliis  plant  is  common  in  gardens,  its  value  for  early 
spring  blooming  is  apt  to  be  overlooked.  As  hardy  as  a  plant 
can  well  be,  it  puts  forth  its  floAvers  in  January  and  February, 
let  the  AvtAather  be  wintry  or  spring  like.  It  is  with  me  a  special 
favourite  for  this  reason,  and  on  the  steps  leading  up  to  the 
front  door  of  the  house  in  which  I  reside  can  be  seen  two'  fine 
specimens  in  lOin  pots,  each  carrying  several  heads  of  its  bright 
pink  blossoms ;  and  passers-by  wonder  what  plant  it  is  to  be 
blooming  so  brightly  in  the  middle  of  February.  They  have  been 
in  these  pots  for  three  years;  every  year  as  soon  as  the  plants 
show  signs  of  activity,  they  are  treated  to  a  top-dressing  of  soil 
with  which  is  mingled  some  of  Clay’s  fertiliser.  During  summer 
they  have  an  occasional  dose  of  the  fertiliser,  and  are  treated 
to  an  abundance  of  water  when  required  ;  and  the  plants  occupy 
a  standing  place  facing  the  north.  It  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
most  useful  of  our  hardy  floAvering  plants.  I  am  not  sure  if  any 
distinct  varieties  have  been  obtained  from  it.  I  have  a  plant 
of  a  supposed  deeper  coloured  form  of  it,  Avhich  Avas  sent  to  me 
dast  year;  but  it  is  the  old  type,  and  nothing  more. — R.  Dean. 
Notes  on  Cucumbers. 
Light  and  sun  heat  increase  the  evaporating  and  elaborating 
functions.  More  moisture  is  necessary,  therefore  damp  the 
house  tAvice  a  day,  and  syi'inge  the  plants  lightly  early  on  line 
afternoons.  On  cold  nights  a  temperature  of  Godegs  i.s  ample, 
but  in  mild  Aveather  alloAv  Sdegs  more,  maintaining  70  degs  to 
Todeg  by  day,  and  80deg  to  85deg  or  90deg  from  sun  heat,  closing 
early  so  as  to  increase  and  retain  the  heat  at  90deg  to  lOOdeg 
for  some  time.  Afford  Aveak  liquid  manure  tAvice  a  Aveek,  or  top 
dress  Avith  a  fertiliser,  and  AA'ash  iii.  If  the  plants  are  at  all 
pale  in  colour  use  a  little  soot,  and  if  the'  soil  contains  much 
organic  matter,  mix  Avitli  the  soot  an  equal  proportion  of  air- 
slaked  chalk  lime,  and  apply  at  the  rate  of  half-pound  of  the 
mixture  to  a  peck  of  good  turfy  loam,  and  apply  to  the  bed  about 
an  inch  thick  ;  Avatering  occasionally  Avith  a  solution  of  phosphate 
of  potash  |oz  to  a  gallon  of  Avater.  Stop  the  shoots  one  joint 
beyond  the  fruit  ;  thin- these  Avell,  removing  superfluous  groAvths, 
bad  leaves,  tendrils,  and  staminate  blossoms.  Ventilate  early 
and  carefully,  avoiding  cold  draughts  and  sudden  depressions  or 
fluctuations  of  temperature. — A. 
Dianthus  cruentus. 
If,  as  is  hardly  likely,  “  popular  ”  names  are  to  be.  used  for 
our  garden  floAvers,  there  Avill  require  to  be  a  general  revision 
of  the  designations  they  liaAm  hitherto  borne,  or  Ave  shall  haA^e 
some  pretty  floAvers  relegated  to  obscurity  because  of  the  un¬ 
pleasantness  attached  to  some  of  these.  Thus  I  feel  certain  that 
the  “  popular  ”  name  of  “  The  Bloody  Pink  ”  will  hardly  appeal 
to  the  greatest  stickler  for  English  names,  and  most  of  us  Avill 
prefer  to  adhere  to  Dianthus  cruentus,  Avhich  is,  after  all,  quite 
as  easy  to  pronounce,  and  disguises  in  a  more  comely  dress  Avliat, 
if  not  unpleasant,  is  not  Avhat  one  Avishes  to  make  obtrusiA’e. 
Dianthus  cruentus  is  a  Pink  Avhich  cannot  lay  any  claim,  so  far 
ns  I  have  ever  been  able  to  perceiv'e,  to  being  possessed  of  the 
charm  of  SAveet  pei’fume,  so  Avidely  diffused,  though  not  universal 
among  the  race  to  Avhich  it  belongs.  Its  main  merit  lies  in  its 
colour  and  the  pleasing  feature  it  makes  in  the  border  or  rockery. 
It  grows  to  about  a  foot  in  height,  and  has  croAvded  heads  of 
small  floAvers  of  a  colour  Avhich  is  fairly  well  described  in 
tecdinical  language  as  “  bloody  scarlet.”  Dianthus  cruentus  is 
a  true  perennial,  although  one  finds  it  the  better  of  occasional 
reneAval  by  cuttings,  or  preferably  by  raising  seedlings,  which 
are  easily  raised,  and  bloom  the  second  year  after  soAving.  Its 
height  is  about  a  foot,  and  massed  in  a  small  bed,  grouped,  or 
in  lines  in  the  border,  or  planted  rather  Ioaa’  doAvn  on  the  rockery, 
it  Avill  form  a  pleasant  diversity  from  the  floAvers  so  commonly 
seen  in  such  places.  It  is  inexpensir'e,  especially  when  raised 
from  seeds,  the  seedlings  being  more  A'igorous  and  proliferous 
than  plants  raised  from  cuttings. — S.  A. 
Daffodils. 
In  1629,  John  Parkinson,  an  apothecary  of  repute,  published 
his  book  entitled  “  A  Garden  of  all  Sortes  of  Pleasant  Flowers.” 
Among  them  are  nearly  a  hundred  different  kinds  of  Daffodils, 
many  of  them  figured  in  Avoodcuts  of  remarkable  fidelity.  In 
lamenting  the  confusion  existing  among  botanists  and  the  writers 
of  his  oAvn  day,  Parkinson  considered  that  it  arose  “  from  not 
distinguishing  the  name  of  Narcissus  and  the  Pseudo-Narcissus,” 
the  latter  being  still  the  authentic,  but  ungainly,  name  of  the 
common  Daffodil.  The  confusion,  hoAvever,  is  CA'er  groAving,  worse 
confounded.  Some  botanists  have-  decreed  that  the  Daffodil- 
Narcissus  is  fo  all  intents  and  purposes  a  member  of  the  Amaryllis 
family.  But  at  least  one  modern  Avriter,  greatly  daring,  has 
ventured  to  maintain  that  “  Daffodils  proper  are  Asphodels,  and 
that  Asphodels  are  Lilies.”  We  may  be  at  least  alloAved  to  think 
of  them  as  “Lent  Lilies,”  or,  like  the  dAvellers  in  the  West 
Countree,  call  them  simply  “  Lents.” 
StraAwberries  in  Pots. 
The  earliest  plants  noAV  ripening  their  fruit  should  have  a 
drier  and  more  freely  ventilated  house,  but  there  must  not  be 
any  sudden  change ' or  thei  fruit  Avill  not  ripen  Avell.  For  swelling 
the  temperature  should  be  Godeg  at  night,  and  70deg  to  75deg  by 
day,  advancing  to  80deg  or  85deg  Avith  sun,  and  plenty  of 
atmospheric  moisture,  and  after  the  fruit  changes  colour  the 
atmosphere  ought  to  be  drier,  so  as  to  ensure  flavour.  The  second 
batch  of  plants  have  set  the  fruit  Avell  and  been  thinned,  a  matter 
too  frequently  neglected.  This  enables  the  plants  to  produce 
large  fruits,  half  a  dozen  per  plant  being  better  than  a  dozen 
small,  but  regard  must  be  had  to  the  variety  and  the  require¬ 
ments.  Give  liquid  manure  copiously  as  often  as  required, 
examining  the  plants  tAvice  a  day,  in  bright  Aveather  thrice  for 
the  purpose.  Plants  in  vineries  and  Peach  houses  come  on 
successionally,  and  need  not  be  moved  except  to  meet  special 
requirements.  StraAvberries  of  the  large  A-arieties  placed  in 
span-roofed  frames  afford  grand  fruit  a  fortnight  to  three  weeks 
earlier  than  those  in  the  open  ground.  See  to  this  if  it  is  desired 
to  have  them. — A. 
The  Florists’  Varieties  of  Cineraria. 
In  the  adjoined  engraving  Ave  present  the  best  present-day 
type  of  florists’  Cinei'aria.  The  varieties  of  our  greenhouses  are 
chiefly  of  three  sorts;  double-floAvered,  stellate-floAvered,  and  the 
dwarf,  compact,  large  and  single-flowered  forms  of  Cineraria 
cruenta,  Mass.  From  1851  oiiAvards,  for  the  next  feAV  years,  the 
Cineraria  Avas  undergoing  transition.  The  plants’:  Avere  very 
much  like  the  stellate  Cinerarias  Avhich  have  again  become 
fashionable  during  the  last  five  or  six  years ;  but  under  the 
florists’  care  the  corollas  became  rounded,  smooth,  even,  and  en¬ 
larged.  They  had  all  dark  discs  in  the  old  days,  and  grey  discs 
Avere  considered  faulty.  The  genus  Cineraria  furnishes  a  good 
example  of  changes  in  plant  names.  Take  Nicholson’s  “  Dic- 
tionai-y  of  Gardening.”  Here  AAm  find  Cineraria  cruenta  recog¬ 
nised  (in  the  old  edition)  by  the  name  best  known  in  gardens, 
although,  as  a  fact,  species  are  seldom  met  Avith.  Then  turn 
to  the  “  Index  KeiAvensis,”  the  standard  guide-  if  Ave  except  the 
KeAv  Hand-lists.  In  place  of  Cineraria  cruenta  of  Mass.,  Ave 
get  Doronicum  cruentum,  while  the  KeAv  Hand-list,  Ave  are 
informed,  gives  Senecio  cruentus.  W'hnm  are  Ave  to  foUoAV  ? 
To  sati.sfy  the  botanists  and  to  be  correct  one  must  adopt  the 
ruling  of  KeAv,  for  that  is  the  provinoei  of  the  authorities 
there,  and  we  must  rely  upon  them.  At  the  same  time-,  Avhen 
a  garden  name  has  become  deeply  rooted,  like  Cineraria,  Croton, 
Gloxinia,  and  others,  horticultural  journals  might  be  forgiven 
and  be  doing  Avisely  if  they  continued  the  established  names, 
but  made  the  distinction  of  placing  the  contraction  “  hort.” 
( — horticulture)  after  these,  as  Ave  did  on  page  169  Avith  Ficus 
repens  of  gardens.  Changes  in  plant  names  become  necessary, 
or  at  least  are  adopted  OAving  to  fresh  discoveries  either  in  the 
researches  of  systematists  (that  is,  botanists  Avho  specially  study 
the  classification  of  plants),  or  OAving  to  fresh  introductions  of 
hitherto  unknoAvn  species  of  plants,  Avhose  characters.  When 
studied,  may  be  such  as  to  form  the  missing  link  between  genera 
previously  regarded  as  distinct.  When  these  additions  happen, 
it  becomes  botanically  imperative  to  redistribute  the  names. 
Gardeners,  as  Avell  as  botanists,  must  therefore  be  ever  ready  to 
adopt  a  revised  nomenclature. 
