218 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  ANH  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  March  12,  1903..' 
Another  bulb  is  the  Narcissus,  that  is,  N.  biflorus,  of  a 
pale  straw  colour,  nearly  white,  and  sweet  scented.  It  is 
probably  indigenous  in  Ireland,  and  some  few  south-western 
places  in  England,  while  it  may  be  said  to  be  naturalised 
in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  Devon,  Sussex,  and,  I  believe,  in 
York.shire.  Its  presence  is  readily  detected  especially  to¬ 
wards  nightfall,  for 
In  the  glory  of  tl)c  sunset,  in  the  purple  niists  of  evening, 
its  full  fragrance  is  distilled.  Other  bulbous  denizens  are  the 
j^ellow  Tulip,  of  a  very  slight  perfume,  which  grows 
variously  in  fields,  waste  places,  orchards,  and  quarries, 
being  perhaps  indigenous  in  the  eastern  counties  and  intro¬ 
duced  elsewhere  ;  and  the  Gladiolus,  which,  however,  is 
extremely  rare,  one  species  having  comparatively  recently 
been  found  among  the  bracken  in  the  New  Forest  near 
Lyndhurst,  and  I  have  heard,  too,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  It 
possesses  a  spike  of  from  four  to  eight  red  flowers.  Many 
may  think  it  has  been  accidentally  propagated.  The  earliest 
bulb,  that  little  modesty  the  Snowdrop, 
‘Wliicli  in  haliil  wliit(>  and  plain 
Comes  on  the  herald  of  fair  Flora’s  train, 
being  plentiful,  I  do  not  treat  of. 
And  now  for  a  great  favourite  in  the  few  places  where 
found,  the  Toad  Head,  or  Snake  Lily  as  it  is  locally  called, 
but  which  bears  the  more  dignified  title  of  Fritillaria. 
Let  us  visit  chez  lui  this  chequered  purple  or  cream- white 
Bell  Lily.  I  have  seen  myriads  of  them  in  certain  seasons 
in  the  Christchurch  meadows  round  Oxford  in  all  stages  of 
opening  bud,  full  bloom,  and  drooping  decay,  and  have 
thought  of  them  in  connection  with  those  lines : — 
Each  night  wc  die, 
Each  morn  arc  born  anew, 
Each  d.a}'  a  life, 
Rose  Mrs.  John  Laing.  (See  page  23-5.) 
upon  the  rocky  cliffs  of  Steep  Holme  Island,  where  it  has 
become  naturalised,  and  may  also  be  discovered  at  Cleve¬ 
land,  in  Yorkshire.  Formerly  it  was  found  in  considerable 
plenty  at  the  mouth  of  the  Severn,  but  now,  I  fancy,  is  ex¬ 
tremely  rare  there. 
The  Orchid  tribe  is  too  large  and  varied  a  one  to  deal 
with,  but  a  reference  to  those  curiously  correct  likenes^ses 
to  a  bee,  a  fly,  and  a  butterfly  may  be  made.  I  have  found 
each  of  these,  as  also  “The  Man,”  upon  the  chalk  downs 
between  Reigate  and  Dorking,  “The  Bee”  being  far  the 
most  showy,  and  having  a  rich  lobe  of  velvet.  The  Butter¬ 
fly  Orchid,  both  lesser  and  greater,  is  pretty  common  in 
Ireland,  and  is  to  be  found  in  woods  sometimes.  It  is  a 
great  delight  and  interesting  passetemps  hunting  about 
these  breezy  uplands  for  the  above  delicate  little  emblems 
of  summer,  which  have  always  have  about  them  such  a 
genuine  joic  de  ‘vivre  air. 
We  must  not  forget  the  sweet-smelling  accommodating 
semi- wild  Wallflowers,  which  very  readily  escape  from  cidti- 
vation,  and  inhabit  old  walls  and  buildings,  especially  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  cottages  and  old  churchyards. 
Neither  should  the  variously  coloured  Periwinkle,  of  blue 
pink  or  white  hue,  be  left  in  oblivion,  though  it  modestly 
conceals  itself  in  woods  and  shady  banks. 
Too  common  to  come  under  our  subject  are  many  other 
local  beauties,  and  which  are  less  likely  to  “  waste  their 
sweetness  on  the  desert  air,”  being  more  widespread  and 
well-known  in  their  habits,  and  partaking  almost  entirelj" 
as  they  do  of  a  wild’  rather  than  of  a  garden  state,  though 
the  “  embarrassment  of  riches  ”  of  the  meads  and  woods 
when  gay  with  the  carnival  of  colour  of  the  Cowslip  and 
Bluebell  or  Wild  Hyacinth  make  our  land  in  the  sweet  prima 
vera  or  virgin  springtime  a  paradise  of  delight  far  and  near 
alike  to  the  peaceful  dweller  in  the  coxintry  side  as  to  the 
hurried  sojourn  of  the  dweller  in  cities. — J.  A.  CARNEqiE- 
Cheales.  '  '  ' 
-  ,  Tf'<’bZ;  t£-  So7iS. 
Lupinus  polyphullus  albus.  (See  page  23").) 
Experimexts  at  Chiswick. — At  the  Scientific  Committec  ihccting 
of  tlie  R.H.S.  on  Feb.  24tli,  Mr.  Gordon  raised  the  question  whetJier 
it  would  not  j)e  possible  to  utilise  a  house  in  the  Chiswick  Gardens  for 
the  express  purpose  of  carrying  out  experiments,  ehelnical  or  other¬ 
wise,  which  have'  various  bearrings-  in  hortieultilre.-  -  After  some 
discussion,  in  which  the  members  of  the  committee  fully  agreed,  it  was 
proposed  to  reconsider  the  matter  at  the  next  meeting  with  the  olijeet 
1  of  laying  some  suggestions  before  the  council  of  the  K.H.S. 
Their  special  habitat  is  damp  meadows,  and  we  may 
fairly  call  them  truly  indigenous.  They^  have  a  pretty  wide 
domain,  and  have  been  found  not  only  in  Berks,  Bucks, 
and  Oxfordshire,  but  in  Somerset,  Dorset,  Surrey,  Suffolk, 
and  Leicester.  Few  persons  probably  are  aware  that  the 
Pseony  grows  wild.  It  possesses, .  how'ever,  a  mise  cii  scene 
