290 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  2,  1903. 
surplus.  A  large  nursery  bed  of  Celery  and  “  Greens  ”  provides 
most  of  the  gardens  about  with  plimts  at  a  few  pence  per  hundred, 
and  lately  John  has  employed  his  frame  and  hotbed  for  raising 
early  Onion  plants,  which  he  disposes  of  amongst  his  neighbours, 
who  are  ambitious  to  win  prizes  at  the  show,  and  after  that  he 
geneplly  manages  to  beat  them  in  the  end.  Early  Lettuce, 
Cauliflowers,  Peas,  Cucumbers,  and  fruit  from  the  trees  and 
hushes  form  part  of  the  material  that  is  turned  into  money,  and 
John  has  a  way  of  knowing  what  the  garden  brings  him  in  from 
a  remarkable  display  of  figuring  on  the  planed  side  of  a  deal 
board,  with  a  half-inoh  stump  of  black  lead  pencil,  which,  when 
not  thus  employed,  is  the  constant  companion  of  a  tin  tobacco 
box,  a  clasp  knife,  and  a  boot  lace,  at  the  bottoml  of  the  man’s 
corduroy  trousers  pocket. 
I  could  say  more  about  this  rustic  worthy  and  his  garden, 
but  am  reminded  tliat  space  is  not  unlimited.  Let  me  add  in 
conclusion,  then,  that  in  these  days  when  rural  districts  are 
being  drained  of  their  populations,  and  towns,  already  full,  are 
crowded  to  overflowing,  it  is  men  of  the  type  I  have  depicted 
above  that  we  want  to  remain  on  the  land,  and  one  thing  that 
will  tend  to  keep  them  there  is  an  inborn  love  for  gardening. — 
A  British  Rustic. 
- - 
A  Cottage  Garden  Exhibition. 
A  movement  which  is  attracting  widespread  interest  has 
recently  been  set  on  foot.  It  has  for  its  object  the  encouragement 
of  horticulture  in  the  direction  of  securing  higher  culture  in 
allotments  and  cottage  gardens  generally,  and  the  arousing  a 
keener  spirit  of  competition  amongst  the  members  of  horti¬ 
cultural  associations  in  rural  districts,  by  bringing  them  in  con¬ 
tact  with  Avhat  is  being  accomplished  in  other  localities.  With 
this  object  in  view  Lady  Algernon  Lennox  proposes  to  organise 
an  exhibition  of  garden  produce  on  Monday,  August  3  (Bank 
Ho’liday),  in  the  grounds  of  Broughton  Castle,  two  and  a  half 
miles  from  Banbury  Station.  The  Lennox  Silver  Challenge  Cup, 
value  50  guineas,  and  other  valuable  prizes  will  then  be 
offered  for  competition  between  the  horticultural  societies  of 
Oxfordshire,  IS'orthamptonshire,  and  Warwickshire.  The 
principal  class  is  for  “  the  best  collective  display  of  vegetables, 
fruit,  and  hardy  flowers,  to  be  grown  by  cottagers  and  amateurs 
only.”  The  prizes  offered  in  this  class  are  as  follows;. — First, 
Challenge  Cdp  and  10  guineas;  second,  8  guineas;  third,  6 
guineas;  fourth,  5  guineas;  fifth,  4  guineas;  sixth,  3  guineas; 
seventh,  2  guineas. 
Lady  Algernon  Lennox  has  also  decided  to  make  a  special 
grant  of  £1  to  each  competing  society,  to  defray  the  expenses 
incurred  in  collecting  and  despatching' the  exhibit  which  will  be 
conveyed  from  Banbury  Station  free  of  expense.  Prizes  of 
3  guineas,  2  guineas,  and  1  guinea  are  also  offered  for  the  floral 
decoration  of  dinner  tables.  The  Royal  Horticultural  Society 
is  taking  special  interest  in  the  movement,  and  is  offering  two 
Banksian  and  two  bronze  medals,  which  will  be  added  to  the 
other  prizes. 
No  entrance  fees  will  be  charged.  Lady  Algernon  Lennox 
specially  desires  that  the  competition  shall  in  no  way  interfere 
with  local  shows.  Tlie  collections  may  be  exhibited  by  one 
Horticultural  Society,  or  a  number  of  villages  may  group  them¬ 
selves  together  as  a  union,  for  the  purpose  of  competing.  The 
leading  nobility  in  each  county  are  supporting  the  movement, 
and  many  ivell-known  horticulturists,  including  the  Very  Rev. 
S.  Reynolds  Hall,  Dean  of  Rochester. 
Th^  above  scheme  is  undoubtedly  the  most  liberal  one  w'hich 
has  ever  been  put  before  the  public  for  the  purpose  of  creating 
greater  interest  in  the  cultivation  of  allotments  and  cottage 
gardens  generally,  and  many  societies  in  the  three  favoured 
counties  ought  to  embrace  the  opportunity  of  meeting  in  friendly 
yet  determined  rivalry.  All  communications  should  be  addressed 
to  Lady  Algernon  Gordon  Lennox,  Broughton  Castle,  Banbury. 
. — Onward. 
- e#** - 
Celmisia  coriacea. — This  exceedingly  handsome  plant  would 
seem  to  be  very  little  known  yet,  and  its  preference  for  a  mild 
climate  may  have  much  to  do  with  its  more  general  adoption.  In 
the  south-w’est  of  Ireland  and  the  south  of  England  it  succeeds 
well  in  rockeries  out  of  doors,  and  even  at  Glasnevin,  from  where 
our  photograph  came,  it  thrives  finely.  This  is  one  of  the  best 
species  in  the  genus,  the  compousite  flowers  being  laxge  and  white 
with  yellow'  disc.  The  leathery,  strap-shaped  leaves  are  also 
ornamental.  The  Celmisias  are  perennials,  some  hardy  like 
Lindsayi  and  spectabilis,  and  others,  like  Monroi,  require  green¬ 
house  protection.  They  are  all  easily  raised  from  seed,  and  adaot 
themselves  to  any  ordinary  garden  soil.  Notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  most  books  altogether  omit  any  reference  to  Celmisias, 
the  Index  Kewensis  lists  tliirty-four  good  species..  C.  Monroi 
is  the  only  hardy  member  grown  at  Kew.  It  would  be  interest¬ 
ing  to  learn  the  capabilities  of  eom?  of  the  ethers. 
Elementary  Notes  on  Plant  Distribntion. 
(Continued  from  page  270.) 
Having  discussed  some  of  the  chief  factors  affecting  plant  dis¬ 
tribution,  a  brief  examination  of  some  of  the  floras  or  groupings 
of  plants  by  Nature’s  hand  may  now  be  made.  It  has  already 
been  shown  that  plants,  by  the  nature  of  their  constitution  and 
capability  of  enduring  different  varieties  of  climate,  are  grouped 
into  zones  around  the  earth.  In  different  parts  of  each  of  these 
zones,  however,  they  are  again  grouped  into  smaller  assemblages, 
characterised  by  certain  genera  which  are  peculiar  to  the  region, 
and  sometimes  also  by  orders  or  by  a  local  development  of  species 
belonging  to  genera  having  a  wide  distribution.  Where  land  areas 
are  widely  separated  by  the  ocean,  as  in  the  case  of  America, 
Africa,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  and  the  Malay  Archipelago,  w'c 
might  expect  to  find  a  great  distinction  in  their  floras;  w'hilst  in 
the  case  of  the  less  dissevered  north  temperate  regions  we  might 
expect  to  find  a  more  uniform  flora  throughout,  and  yet  the  floras 
of  western  and  eastern  North  America  and  of  Europe  and  eastern 
Asia  are  quite  distinctive.  Practically  the  w'orld  may  be  mapped 
out  into  the  following  principal  floral  areas :  — 
1.  Arctic;  which  may  be  subdivided  into  Arctic  American, 
Arctic  European,  and  Arctic  Asiatic  floras,  for  although  over  two- 
thirds  of  the  species  found  in  Arctic  America  and  Arctic  Asia 
belong  also  to  the  Arctic  European  flora,  yet  there  is  a  substratum 
in  each  area  of  plants  characteristic  only  of  their  own  region. 
2.  Western  North  America;  comprising  the  area  from  the 
Pacific  Ocean  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  southern  boundary 
of  the  United  States,  and  including  Lower  California. 
3.  Eastern  North  America ;  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to 
the  Atlantic. 
4.  Mexico  and  Central  America.  5.  West  Indies. 
6.  Western  Tropical  America  ;  including  Columbia,  Ecuador, 
Peru,  and  Bolivia. 
7.  Eastern  Tropical  America;  including  Venezuela,  the 
Guianas,  Brazil,  and  Paraguay. 
8.  Chili.  9.  Subtropical  South  America;  comprising  the 
Argentine  Republic  and  Uruguay. 
10.  Temperate  South  America;  comprising  Patagonia,  the 
Falkland  Isles  and  Terra  del  Fuego. 
11.  Europe.  12.  North  Temperate  Asia;  Siberia  to  about 
latitude  50deg  north. 
13.  North  Africa  and  the  Orient;  this  includes  the  north  part 
of  Africa  to  the  tropic  of  Cancer,  Asia  Minor,  Syria,  Arabia, 
Persia,  Afgjianistan,  Turkestan,  and  Beluchistan.  Although  of 
wide  extent  and  comprising  several  smaller  floras,  the  general 
character  of  the  whole  flora,  of  this  area  is  fairly  uniform. 
14.  Tropical  Africa;  including  also  Socotra  and  the  islands 
along  the  west  coast. 
15.  South  Africa,  from  the  tropic  of  Capricorn  southward. 
16.  The  Mascarene  Islands;  comprising  Madagascar, 
Comoro  Isles,  Mauritius,  Bourbon,  and  the  Seychelles. 
17.  India;  including  Ceylon,  Burma,  Siam,  and  Malay 
Peninsula. 
18.  China  and  Japan.  19.  Malay  Archipelago ;  Sumatra, 
Java,  Borneo,  the  Philippines,  New  Guinea,  &c. 
20.  Australia.  21.  New  Zealand. 
Besides  the  foregoing,  there  are  some  lesser  island  floras, 
which,  although  very  interesting  in  character,  need  not  be  par¬ 
ticularised  here.  All  the  areas  mentioned,  have  floras  w’hich  are 
clearly  distinguishable  from  each  otljer,  each  of  them  being 
characterised  by  the  prevalence  of  certain  generic  and  occasionally 
ordinal  types,  which  are  either  entirely  wanting  or  present  in  a 
very  small  degree  in  the  other  regions.  For  although  there 
may  be  mixed  with  these  special  types  a  number  of  genera  and 
species,  which  are  also  present  in  one  or  more  of  the  other  floras, 
this  does  not  in  the  least  obscure  the  fact  that  there  is  an 
ancient  substratum  of  vegetation  indigenous  to  the  area  under 
survey,  characteristically  distinct  from  that  of  any  other  area. 
In  the  north  temperate  zone  there  are  some  exceptions  to  this 
statement,  which,  if  space  permits,  will  be  alluded  to  hereafter. 
It  is  beyond  our  knowledge  to  say  how  or  when  the  principal 
great  floras  of  the  world  were  developed  to  their  present  extent 
and  character,  but  it  is  perfectly  clear  that  they  have  been  so 
established  for  a  vast  period  according  to  human  conceptions  of 
time ;  at  the  same  time  there  is  evidence  to  show  that  the  vege¬ 
tation  of  the  earth  has  undergone  great  changes  in  ages  long 
since  passed  away,  and  it  may  be  truly  said  that  plant  distri-  , 
bution,  as  we  now'  find  it,  is  the  present  outcome  of  all  the  changes 
and  influences  that  have  been  wrought  upon  the  earth  since  first 
its  crust  solidified.  Space  will  not  admit  of  even  a  brief  account 
of  all  the  floras  enumerated,  it  must  suffice  to  give  short  charac¬ 
teristic  comparisons  of  a  few  of  the  principal,  W'hich  for  the  sake 
of  contrast  may  be  taken  in  pairs  in  each  zone. — N.  E.  Brow'N, 
F  L.S. 
