April  9,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
m 
flower,  bright  cariuine-red  shaded  with  crimson,  very  free 
flowering  and  sweet. 
Farhenkonigin  (Hinner).  —  A  large,  well  shaped,  free 
flowering  Rose  ;  light  rose  shaded  with  darker  rose. 
Friedrich  Harm^  (Welter). — A  very  long  bud,  full,  large 
flower,  solitary,  and  carried  erect  on  a  very  firm  footstalk  ; 
cream-yellow  with  orange-yellow  centre.  Sweet,  free  flowering, 
suitable  for  forcing  and  cutting. 
General  Henrn  de  Kermatin  (Puyravand). — Long  bud,  and 
very  large,  full,  cup-shaped  flower ;  cerise-red  shaded  with 
bright  red.  Cross  between  Caroline  Testout  and  Reine 
Henriette. 
Ooldelse  (Hinner). — Large  full  flower  of  good  shape  ;  dark 
golden-yellow,  like  Souvenir  de  Madame  Levet. 
Gustav  Sohry  (Welter), — Very  long  bud  with  a  large  full 
flower,  very  erect ;  light  yellow.  Cross  between  Kaiserin 
Auguste  Victoria  and  Comte  Chandon. 
llG'ene  Guillot  (Guillot). — A  large,  well-shaped  flower,  like 
a  Camellia,  upon  a  firm  footstalk ;  sometimes  pure  white  or 
salmony-white,  the  reverse  of  the  petals  at  ti?nes  shaded  with 
carmine,  and  sometimes  the  centre  shaded  with  orange  or  rose. 
Laure  Mattione  (Soupert  et  Netting).  —  A  bright  rose 
•coloured  flower  of  good  shape  and  style,  with  a  long  bud  on 
firm  footstalk  ;  very  sweet  and  free  flowering.  A  cross 
between  Marie  Baumann  and  Caroline  Testout. 
Leon  Robichon  (Barbier). — Sport  of  Caroline  Testout,  but 
the  flowers  are  a  pure  white. 
Madame  Auguste  ChotUet  (Godard). — Superb  bud  of  a  rich 
yellow  colour  shaded  with  gold  ;  large,  full  flower,  dark  orange 
at  the  base.  Cross  between  William  Allen  Richardson  and 
Kaiserin  Auguste  Auctoria. — D.,  Deal. 
(To  be  concluded.) 
Stove  Plants:  Caladiums. 
Providing  the  tubers  of  these  have  been  resting  for  the  past 
live  or  six  months  in  a  dry  situation,  with  a  temperature  that  did 
not  fall  below  Sodeg  or  60deg,  they  may  now  be  shaken  out  of 
their  pots^  cleaning  away  all  old  .soil  from  them,  at  the  same 
time  washing  them  in  a  lukewarm  solution  of  softsoap  and  water, 
or  some  other  insecticide  which  will  eradicate  any  existing 
insects.  Prepare  clean  well-drained  pots,  u.sing  sixties  and  small 
forty-eights  for  the  small  leaved  varieties,  and  larger  pots, 
according  to  the  requirements  of  the  establishment,  for  the 
larger  varieties,  as  I  think  it  is  the  best  method  to  pot  them 
into  the  sizes  they  are  to  remain  in,  sO'  long  as  water  is  used  with 
discretion.  The  compost  should  consist  of  turfy  loam,  which 
should  be  broken  into  medium  sized  pieces,  with  half  the  quantity 
of  leaf  soil,  which  should  be  pas.se.di  through  a  half-inch  sieve, 
with  the  same  amount  of  peat  and  a  good  sprinkling  of  coarse 
silver  sand,  together  with  enough  charcoal,  to  keep  the  soil 
porous,  and  a  .small  addition  of  bone  dust,  Clay’s,  and  soot,  wliioh 
should  be  well  mixed  and  warmed  before  using. 
Should  any  of  the  tubers  be  partly  decayed,  scrape  a.way  the 
affected  parts,  and  dip  them  in  powdered  charcoal.  In  potting, 
lay  them  on  a  sprinkling  of  silver  sand,  which  will  help  to  pre¬ 
serve  them  when  at  rest,  keeping  the  top  of  the  tuber  just  under 
the  surface  of  the  soil.  The  pots  may  now  be  stood  pot  to-  pot 
in  a  house  with  a  temperature  that  does  not  fall  below  70deg  by 
day  and  65deg  by  night,  the  plant  stove  suiting  them  very  well. 
If  the  soil  was  in  a  moist  condition  at  the  time  of  potting,  water 
will  not  be  required  for  several  days,  but  occasional  dampings 
between  the  pots  and  a  moist  atmosphere  in  the  house  will  soon 
induce  them  to  grow. 
AATien  growth  commences  guard  against  bright  sun.shine, 
which  will  scorch  the  young  tender  foliage.  A^entilate  when  the 
thermometer  reaches  75deg  or  80deg,  keeping  a  moist  atmosphere 
during  the  growing  season,  but  don’t  .syringe  them  overhead,  but 
clamping  down  last  thing  with  some  liquid  manure  will  prove  a 
great  aid  to  the  foliage.  Keep  a  sharp  look  out  for  insect  pests, 
and  should  they  appear,  fumigate  lightly  with  XL  All.  As  the 
leaves  mature  they  may  be  staked  out  with  neat,  green  sticks, 
having  them  well  pointed  so  as  not  to  injure  the  roots  ;  also  they 
can  be  kept  a  little  cooler,  which  will  harden  them  for  decorative 
purposes  if  necessary. 
When  the  roots  are  plentiful  give  applications  of  liquid  manure 
twice  a  week,  as  they  are  gross  feeders,  and  will  require  plenty  of 
water  at  that  time  of  the  year.  As  the  leaves  begin  to  go  off 
and  change  colour,  gradually  withhold  water,  finally  stacking 
them  away  on  the  sides  of  their  pots  to  remain  for  the  winter. 
There  are  a  great  many  varieties,  but  a  few  good  ones  are 
Argyrites  and  minus  erubesoens  for  edging,  C’andidum  (one  of 
vhe  best).  Madame  Fritz  Koechlin,  Madame  Jules  Picot,  Gaspard 
Grayer,  Lady  Mosley,  Silver  Cloud,  W.  F.  Gladstone.  A'ille  de 
Hainburgh.  Pintado.  C'ardinale,  Arasuaby,  Chelsea  Gem.  and 
Belly mei. — Fj.  B. 
Daffodowndillies. 
Permit  the  old-time  poetical  name  just  once;  for  it  is  a 
mouthful  too  delicious^to  miss  on  these  annual  occasions.  A 
whole  world  of  sunshine  and  dancing  globlets  of  gold  and  silver, 
cinematographically  possess —the  inward  eye,”  in  the  mention  of 
that  name.  But  this  is  a  lack-lustre  season  for  the  Daffodils,  and 
winds  and  rain  at  least  have  played  sad  havoc  with  the  acres  of 
these  pe>erlo,sis  flowers  at  Barr  and  Sons’  Long  Ditton  Nurseries, 
by  Surbiton.  When  one  recalls  the  ‘‘summerless”  cycle  of  last 
year  in  England,  and  the  fact  that  the  harvesting  of  the  bulbs  was 
delaj'ed  three  weeks  to  a  month  beyond  the  usual  date,  there 
seems  a  reason  for  the  less  gorgeous  display  of  blooms  at  the 
present  period.  But  it  is  still  early  to  note  the  hey-day  of 
resplendency. 
A'arieties  have  greatly  increased  during  the  last  few  years, 
and  growers  could  possess  collections  numbering  considerably 
over  200  distinct  kinds.  Were  one  to  limit  the  choice,  however, 
to  three-“  X  ”  (xxx)  varieties,  it  is  estimated  that  the  list  need 
not  exceed  120  from  all  sections.  True,  of  course,  we  see  what 
Frenchmen  will  make  of  the  Tazettas  alone,  but  their  divisions 
need  not  concern  those  of  us  who  agree  that  species  are  limited 
to  a  very  few,  and  are  content  to  trace  the  variations  arising  from 
the  hybridising  of  species  and  their  hybrids. 
Possibly  every  conceivable  cross  has  been  tried  between  the 
typical  species  and  well-marked  varieties  of  the  Narcissus,  and 
yet  while  some  things  remain  to  be  proven,  we  may  trust  that  the 
day  is  passed  for  indiscriminate  hybridising,  and  that  the  charac¬ 
teristics  which  separate  the  recognised  sections  may  be  studiously 
preserved  and  built  up,  for  in  the  knowledge  of  these  existing 
divisions  or  sections  of  the  genus,  lies  much  of  the  interest  and 
pleasure  which  the  study  ensures.  And  if  an  undisciplined  cros.s- 
breeding  is  approved,  is  there  not  a  certain  danger  that  sectional 
distinctions  will  be  obliterated,  and  our  Daffodils  will  be  Daffo¬ 
dils,  but  too  bewildering  to  dissect  according  to  any  code  of  rules? 
Let.  us  preserve  our  silver-cupped  Leedsii’s,  our  true  “  incompara- 
bilis  ”  types,  seen  in  Sir  Watkin  and  Stella  superba  (by  this  I 
mean  the  true  half-length  open  trumpet),  and  our  lesser-crowned 
members  of  the  same  section,  the  Barriis ;  but  do  not  allow  the 
Burbidgeis  with  their  small  crowns  (Group  III.)  to  encroach 
further  than  they  are  at  present  upon  the  shortest  of  the  medium 
trumpets.  There  will  be  more  to  learn  on  this  subject,  however, 
from  the  paper  which  the  Messrs.  Baiw  prepared,  I  believe,  for 
the  meeting  of  the  Narcissus  Committee  of  the  Royal  Horticul¬ 
tural  Society  on  Tuesday  last,  and  which  is  printed  on  page  316. 
Leaving  the  larger  question  in  the  meantime,  and  coming  to 
varieties  pure  and  simple,  the  notes  of  some  of  the  newer  members 
of  first  rank  mav  have  an  interest.  For  the  sake  of  clearness  it 
is  advisable  to  place  them  in  their  respective  Groups,  and  the 
true  Daffodils  stand  foremost.  One  of  the  finest  of  these,  and 
one  so  far  but  little  heard  of,  is  Mrs.  Morland  Cro.sfield,  a 
sti’ikingly  handsome  and  beautiful  bicolor.  The  form  is  of  the 
best,  the  substance  good,  with  erect,  bold  flowers  on  long  stalks 
above  broad,  glaucous  foliage,  and  the  clear  yellow  trumpet  is 
exceedingly  beautiful.  It  is  one  to  be  very  specially  noted. 
Madame  Plemp,  with  its  dark  bluish  foliage,  has  aho  hand¬ 
some  blooms,  though  these  did  not  seem  quite  so  showy  as  those 
of  the  fore-named.  It  is  robust,  and,  of  course,  of  the  best. 
Peter  Barr  has  proved  as  vigorous  and  strong  as  could  be  desired. 
Growers  who  may  have  a  bulb  or  two  will  find  the  trumpet  to  be 
of  a  pale  primrose  colour  when  the  flowers  are  very  young,  but 
this  is  said  to  disappear  with  development  till  the  bloom  assumes 
pale  milk  white.  It  is  decidedly  earlier  than  Madame  de  Graatt, 
as  evidenced  at  Surbiton,  where  beds  of  each  were  planted  at 
the  same  time. 
Lord  Roberts  is  a  very  bold  yellow  Daffodil,  and  when  kept 
pure  as,  for  instance,  under  glass,  it  is  indeed  an  excel Imit  non  ei, 
stamped  with  merit  in  all  features.  A\  eardale  Perfection 
supplies  us  with  a  bulb  of  great  vigour  and  a  noble  refined  flower. 
The  perianth  is  white,  and  the  finely-formed  large  trumpet  is  of  a 
sweet  pale  primrose  shade. 
As  an  early  bicolor  trumpet,  the  Duke  of  Bedford  variety  has 
certainly  well  maintained  its  early  promise.  It  is  a  sturdy 
grower  ‘and  its  stout  and  finely-rounded  blossoms  have  a  telling 
effect.  The  price  is  still  prohibitive  to  the  ordinary  grower,  but 
in  a  year  or  two  it  shall  most  certainly  be  found  in  all  representa¬ 
tive  collections.  There  is  also  King  Alfred,  which  created  so 
much  notice  last  year,  and  about  which  no^  mistake  has  been 
made.  It  is  in  my  eyes,  a  perfect  trumpet  Daffodil.  The  tru^ 
is  very  long  smooth,  exactly  rounded,  and  so  be^tifully  tuined 
iounllAlTlS  moutli.  with  distinctl,^  frilled  The  Co  our,  too 
is  most  decided  :  a  rich  deep  golden  yellow,  held  high  and  straight 
above  the  foliage.  And  the  last  of  the  A,]ax  Narcissi  to  be  noticed 
here  is  Glory  of  Leiden,  a  great  favimrite  now,  the  price  having 
fallen  a  great  deal  in  later  years.  The  flowers  might  be  .stiffoi 
with  advantage,  yet  its  pale  yellow  perianth  and  glowing  golden 
trumpet  are  very  pleasing.  The  segments  are  broad,  and  the 
flower  is‘  held  up  to  face  the  viewer  full.v.  J. 
(To  be  continued.) 
