]^^arch  5.  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
207 
of  some  such  authority  is  needful,  and  we  might  well  look  to  the 
Ivoyal  Horticultural  Society,  with  the  aid  of  experts,  of  course, 
giving  us  “light  and  leading.”  I  am  not  hopeful,  however,  that 
their  dictum  would  be  adopted,  even  by  the  English-speaking 
race,  for  if  we  consult  modern  botanical  works  from  the  United 
States,  we  shall  find  a  marked  discrepancy  in  many  genera.  In 
fact,  after  doing  one’s  little  best  for  years  to  unravel  some  of 
the  mysteries  which  present  theihselves  in  the  subject,  one 
becomes  a  pessimist  in  nomenclature. 
Let  me  assure  “A  Provincial,”  however,  that  he  is  mistaken 
in  singling  out  hardy  plants  in  particular  for  reference.  If  he 
will  look  up  shrubs,  for  example,  he  will  find  as  many  knotty 
problems  to  solve  as  in  the  other  branch  of  horticulture.  Most 
vriters  nowadays  follow  either  the  “Hand  Lists”  or  “Index.” 
Yet,  after  all,  the  important  thing  is  that  we  should  know  what 
we  may  expect  to  receive  if  we  order  a  plant  by  a  certain  name 
and  what  the  plant  is  that  writers  are  telling  about.  This  is 
not  easy  at  present,  and  I  fear  it  will  be  difficult  to  mend  matters. 
Past  experience  does  not  encourage  optimism  in  plant  nomen¬ 
clature.  Let  us  only  hope  that  there  are  no  lower  depths  to  be 
reached  ere  the  question  receives  a  settlement. — S.  Aknott. 
Saxifraga  Grisebaclii. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  showy  of  the  encrusted 
Saxifrages.  In  foliage  it  is  not  unlike  Saxifraga  longifolia,  thougli 
the  leaves  are  shorter,  and,  especially  during  the  summer  and 
autumn,  deeply  encrusted.  The  more  interesting  time  is,  how¬ 
ever,  during  the  winter  month,  when  the  centre  seems  to  rise, 
and  with  the  early  appearance  of  the  inflorescence  it  assumes  a 
beautiful  deep  purple,  or  even  scarlet,  hue,  which,  to  my  idea, 
is  even  prettier  than  the  flower  itself.  During  a  mild  winter 
as  the  present  it  commences  flowering  in  February,  the  whole  of 
the  iDeduucle,  in  fact  the  whole  inflorescence — stem,  calyx,  and 
flora!  bracts — are  covered  with  a  beautiful  scarlet  or  ijurple  down, 
tiie  bracts  tipped  sea-green,  while  the  small  flowers  are  yellow, 
l)arely  visible  under  the  large  bracts.  A  native  of  Macedonia, 
it  grows  in  fissures  of  rocks,  usually  exposed  to  the  sun,  buc  is, 
though  not  so  frequently,  found  oi^  moraines.  It  is  as  easily 
grown  as  S.  longifolia. — G.  Reuthi!,  Keston,  Kent. 
Sweet  Peas, 
Sweet  Pea  culture  from  the  laiesent  time  onward  will 
come  in  for  a  large  share  of  attention.  It  is  so  pleasant  to 
look  forward  to  seeing  the  new  gems  which  await  us,  or 
renewing  our  acquaintance  with  old  favoiu’ites.  Consider¬ 
ing  how  much  has  been  done  in  raising  improved  varieties 
during  the  last  ten  years,  we  may  confidently  look  forward 
to  new  triumphs  in  that  direction,  and  I,  for  one,  believe 
that  great  things  have  yet  to  be  accomplished  before  the 
dictum  goes  forth,  “  Thus  far  shalt  thou  advance  and  no 
further.”  Those  who  grow  these  popular  flowers  for  exhi¬ 
bition  will,  of  course,  have  their  early  batches  well 
advanced  in  pots,  with  the  intention  of  planting  them  in 
the  open  air  early  in  April  (or  in  March  if  the  weather 
proves  mild).  Others  who  grow  for  later  shows  will  sow 
their  seeds  in  the  open  air  during  March  or  early  April. 
V7hen  the  weather  is  favourable,  and  the  soil  in  good 
condition,  the  middle  of  March  is  an  excellent  time  to  sow, 
because  the  plants  have  then  ample  time  to  get  well 
established  before  dry  weather  sets  in,  and  they  are 
usually  late  enough  to  escape  serious  injury  by  frost. 
Exhibitors  must  necessarily  grow  a  considerable  number 
of  varieties,  and  it  is  therefore  only  the  large  growers  who 
can  devote  a  row  to  each.  The  clump  system,  however, 
allows  growers  with  limited  space  to  cultivate  many 
varieties,  and  to  keep  each  separate.  By  sowing  from 
nine  to  twelve  seeds  in  a  clump,  and  having  the  chimps  3ft 
apart,  grand  flowers  may  be  grown,  and  the  effect  is  very 
pleasing,  especially  if  the  clumps  are  arranged  to  form  an 
avenue,  or  are  disposed  at  the  back  of  an  herbaceous 
border.  If  the  soil  has  not  been  already  trenched,  it  is  an 
excellent  plan  before  sowing  to  take  out  holes  a  couple  of 
feet  in  diameter,  and  as  much  in  depth,  break  up  the  sub¬ 
soil  well,  and  in  returning  the  soil  place  a  good  layer  of 
well  decaj'ed  manure  18in  from  the  surface.  The  roots  will 
get  hold  of  this  early  in  the  summer,  to  the  great  advantage 
of  the  plants  during  periods  of  drought.  Superphosphates 
or  bonemeal  are  excellent  for  mixing  with  the  soil  before 
sowing,  and  dressings  of  soot  are  valuable  on  the  surface. 
Sow  the  seeds  a  couple  of  inches  in  depth,  and  place  them 
so  that  they  cover  a  circle  a  foot  in  diameter.  If  the  soil 
is  light  and  dry,  press  it  moderately  firmly  ;  if  heavy,  add 
a  little  light  material  around  the  seeds,  finishing  off  with 
the  natural  soil  without  compression. 
When  plants  grorvn  in  pots  are  planted  out,  it  is  always 
wise  to  afford  slight  protection  for  a  few  days  by  placing 
sprays  of  Hazel  or  Spruce  around  them,  because  one  night’s 
frost,  or  a  few  days  of  cutting  winds,  will  check  them 
greatly.  Old  exhibitors  will  require  but  little  information 
Saxirraga  Qrisebachi.  (Nat.  .size.) 
in  regard  to  varieties,  as  the  best  of  the  older  ones  are 
familiar  to  them,  and  new  ones  of  promise  are  eagerly 
obtained.  For  the  guidance  of  those  not  familiar  with 
varieties,  I  append  a  list  for  garden  or  exhibition  purposes. 
Pink  and  Rose. — Agnes  Hinton,  Apple  Blossom, 
Countess  of  Aberdeen,  Lovely,  Mrs.  Gladstone,  Princess 
Beatrice,  Royal  Rose,  Splendour,  Prima  Donna,  Venus. 
White. — Mont  Blanc,  Blanche  Burpee.  Purple  and 
Lavender  and  Mauve. — Dorothy  Tennant.  Elsie  Hinton, 
Lady  Grisel  Hamilton,  New  Countess.  Yellow. — Hon. 
Mrs.  Kenyon,  Marie  Hinton.  Blue. — Captain  of  the 
Blues,  Celestial.  Other  Colours. —Countess  of  Powi.s 
(orange  standards,  pink  wings).  Duchess  of  Westminster 
(salmon  buff  standards),  Gorgeous  (orange  standards,  jiale 
wings).  Lord  Kenyon  (rose  magenta).  Prince  Edward  of 
York  (salmon  and  rose),  Salopian  (deep  crimson). 
A  row  or  several  clumps  of  mixed  varieties  always  prove 
of  great  interest,  and  supply  hosts  of  flowers  for  cutting. 
I  always  consider  it  worth  while  running  the  risk  of  making 
one  sowing  during  the  autumn,  because  when  the  plants 
do  come  through  the  winter  safely,  they  produce  very 
early  flowers,  and  withstand  the  drought  of  early  sumnier. 
A  free  use  of  the  hoe  during  every  stage  of  growth  is  a 
splendid  aid  to  success  in  the  culture  of  any  crop,  and 
especially  so  in  the  case  of  Peas  of  any  types.  — H.  D. 
