August  2,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
105 
Two  Useful. Crotons. — The  value  of  Crotons  for  all  purposes  of 
decoration  has  been  referred  to  times  without  number  in  these  pages, 
and  the  culture  of  the  plants  has  received  the  attention  of  some  of  our 
ablest  growers.  I  am  therefore  writing  at  this  moment  simply  to  pay 
a  tribute  to  the  beauty  of  Prince  of  Wales  and  Warreni,  which  when 
well  grown  are  amongst  the  very  best.  Their  elegant  growth  and 
stately  habit  render  them  peculiarly  valuable  for  utilisation  in  groups 
of  miscellaneous  plants. — F.  W 
Srepentbes  at  Cbelsea. — The  collection  of  Pitcher  plants  at  the 
Royal  Exotic  Nursery,  Chelsea,  is  recognised  as  one  of  the  most 
complete  that  can  be  found,  and  it  may  safely  be  added  that  it  is  one  of 
the  most  excellently  grown.  At  the  present  time  the  plants  are  in 
splendid  condition,  and  are  building  up  some  grand  pitchers.  Notwith¬ 
standing  the  fluctuations  of  temperature  that  have  prevailed  Mr.  Tivey 
has  succeeded  in  keeping  the  plants  in  proper  progress,  as  their  healthy 
leafage  amply  testifies.  Amongst  the  newer  hybrids  N.  Balfouri  is 
conspicuous,  but  a  cross  between  N.  mixta  and  N.  Dicksoniana  has 
brought  forth  one  of  the  handsomest  pitchers  that  has  ever  been  seen 
The  prevailing  colour  is  green  and  crimson-brown,  and  the  form  is 
intermediate  between  the  parents. — Y.  E.  G. 
Winter  Greens. — The  breaking  up  of  the  intense  heat,  which  every¬ 
thing,  animal  and  vegetable,  seemed  to  suffer  from,  through  the  agency 
of  thunderstorms,  has  been  indeed  welcome  relief.  The  heavy  rains  had 
had  a  fine  cleansing  effect,  and  have  done  a  world  of  good  to  many 
things.  They  have  come  in  capital  time  to  enable  late  winter  greens  to 
be  got  out,  and  in  that  respect  will  render  inestimable  service.  Now 
areas  of  ground  left  bare  because  it  was  of  no  use  to  plant  in  the  great 
heat  have  been  filled  up,  and  there  will,  almost  certainly,  be  an 
abundance  of  Brassicas  next  winter.  Turnips  will  now  become  plentiful 
also.  Many  breadths  of  winter  greens  got  out  during  the  June  rains  bid 
fair  to  be  far  too  gross  presently.  I  am  dispr.sed  to  think  that  the  most 
useful  winter  supply  will  be  that  planted  now. — D. 
Sutton’s  Peerless  Pea. — Two  years  since  I  gave  to  some  of  tho 
Surbiton  allotment  holders  small  quantities  of  Peas  for  their  sowing, 
derived  from  a  trial  of  3-feet  varieties,  suitable  for  allotment  culture, 
grown  on  a  plot  on  their  group.  One  worker  had  about  three-quarters 
of  a  pint  of  Sutton’s  Peerless.  He  did  not,  however,  for  some  reason 
sow  them  the  next  season.  He  did  sow  them  this  year,  making  a  couple 
of  25  feet  rows.  I  saw  them  quite  recently,  and  found  a  splendid 
crop ;  indeed  I  think  a  finer  one  of  that  or  any  similar  variety  would 
have  been  impossible.  The  allotment  holder  was  so  delighted  with 
the  Peas  that  he  had  one  of  the  rows  photographed.  I  have  not  seen 
the  picture,  but  hope  to  do  so  shortly.  However,  the  satisfaction  to 
me  was  that  in  endeavouring  to  induce  these  workers  to  grow  the 
best  varieties,  this  man  had  done  Peerless  so  well  and  produced  such 
fine  results. — A.  D. 
Stenactls  speclosa. — For  blooming  in  June  and  July  this  hardy 
perennial  is  indeed  a  useful  and  showy  plant,  and  like  some  others 
in  this  section  of  garden  plants  it  can  be  raised  from  seeds  with  very 
little  trouble.  In  two  years  quite  large  bushes  can  be  obtained  from 
seeds,  and  if  sown  early  under  glass  and  forwarded  by  the  same 
attention  as  is  usually  given  to  summer  Asters  some  flower  heads 
appear  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year.  This  course  is  only  advisable 
when  its  flowers  are  in  early  request,  and  its  season  prolonged.  Later 
sown  plants  would  become  strong  when  duly  planted  out  by  winter, 
and  in  the  following  summer  quite  a  good  show  of  bloom  would  be 
forthcoming.  My  seed  came  up  somewhat  thickly  ’n  the  boxes,  and 
instead  of  transplanting  these  singly  they  were  picked  out  in  small 
bunches  of  several.  This  may  not  be  considered  a  good  practice  ; 
single  plants  obtained  by  sowing  thinly  would,  perhaps,  be  equal  if  not 
better,  but  the  results  justify  the  action.  Once  a  stock  is  obtained 
it  is  easy  to  increase  by  division  of  the  root  crowns  in  winter  or 
spring.  The  difference  between  Erigeron  speciosa  and  Stenactis 
speciosa  is  so  slight  that  both  need  not  be  included  in  any  collection. 
For  cutting  purposes  the  Stenactis  is  well  adapted  because  of  the 
long  stems  and  branching  heads  of  flower,  which  much  resemble  the 
perennial  Asters  of  the  autumn. — W.  S, 
iirbour  Day  In  Japan. — One  of  the  Tokyo  dailies  suggests  that 
May  10th,  the  anniversary  of  tho  marriage  of  the  Japanese  Crown 
Prince,  be  made  Arbour  Day.  In  America,  and  also  in  some  countries 
of  Europe,  a  day  in  spring  is  set  apart  as  a  holiday  by  the  public 
schools  for  the  planting  of  trees  and  the  fostering  of  interest  in  the 
preservation  of  forests.  Such  a  day  is  called  Arbour  Day.  It  is  both 
a  beautiful  and  useful  custom,  and  could  be  adopted  with  immense 
advantage  by  Japan,  the  forests  of  which  are  year  after  year  being 
steadily  denuded.  There  are  over  4,168,000  scholars  in  Japan,  so  that 
if  each  of  these  young  people  will  plant  a  young  tree  once  every  year, 
I  here  is  small  fear  that  this  country  will  ever  feel  the  scarcity  of  timber. 
rrult  Canning:  Industry. — The  profits  of  canning  fruit  in  the 
United  States  would  appear  to  be  most  alluring.  We  learn  that  the 
imports  of  Californian  fruit  into  the  United  Kingdom  for  the  first 
quarter  of  1900  were  double  those  for  the  corresponding  period  of  1899. 
There  would  seem  to  be  a  broadening  market  for  Californian  canned 
fruits  abroad,  and  this,  coupled  with  the  increasing  demands  for  fruits 
to  be  shipped  in  the  fresh  state,  will,  says  an  American  exchange, 
operate  to  keep  prices  up.  This  state  of  affairs  has  led  to  an  enormous 
expansion  of  canning  factories,  which  may  end  in  a  “  slump.”  India 
offers  many  openings  for  the  fruit  canning  industry,  but  enterprise  is 
wanting. — (  *  Indian  Gardening,”) 
ilsptaodel  and  Sundew. — A  very  pretty  yellow  flower,  with  its 
star-like  blossoms  tipped  with  orange,  is  the  Lancashire  or  Bog 
Asphodel.  I  should  not  call  it  very  common ;  still  it  grows  in 
marshy,  boggy  places  in  many  parts  of  the  South  of  England,  as 
well  as  north.  Some  sixty  miles  from  London  I  recently  picked  a 
bunch  of  Asphodels,  and  they  have  only  just  begun  to  wither. 
They  grow  among  Heather  and  Cotton  Grass,  and  the  round-leaved 
Sundew.  The  Cotton  Grass  is  a  favourite  plant  with  many  people. 
Some  ingenious  person  once  gathered  a  sufficient  quantity  of  it  to 
make  a  pocket  handkerchief  for  the  Queen.  The  round-leaved 
Sundew  used  to  bear  the  evil  name  of  red  rot  among  farmers,  who 
considered  that  it  gradually  destroyed  all  sheep  which  ate  it.  The 
purple  flowered  Butterwort,  which  is  to  be  seen  in  some  North  of 
England  and  Scotch  marshes,  and  is  a  very  common  Norwegian 
flower,  bore,  says  a  contemporary,  a  similar  reputation.  No  doubt 
sheep  which  fed  largely  in  the  marshes,  where  such  flowers  grew,  did 
deteriorate,  but  that  should  have  been  attributed  by  the  farmers  to 
the  badness  generally  of  the  fodder. 
Flowers  and  Foliage  at  Kew. — The  visitor  who  wishes  to  see 
some  of  the  beauties  of  Kew  Gardens  should  bear  to  the  right  past 
the  Museum,  in  which  are  stored  specimens  of  woods  from  all  parts 
of  the  world,  and  then  past  Kew  Palace  and  grounds.  In  the  middle 
of  July,  even  to  the  end  of  the  month,  the  tall,  handsome  Tiger 
Lilies  are  in  their  blossoming  prime.  The  Foxgloves,  which  are  still 
resplendent  in  many  parts  of  the  country  in  a  wild  state,  have  gone 
off  in  Kew  before  the  end  of  the  month,  and  in  the  Wilderness,  to 
which  we  are  going,  one  of  the  most  striking  flowers  scattered  about 
under  the  trees  is  the  tall  yellow  Mullein.  Down  by  the  lake,  which 
is  being  cleared  of  its  weeds,  another  fine  wild  English  flower  has 
been  planted  with  success,  the  yellow  Loosestrife,  which  may  be  seen 
in  July  and  August  by  many  a  streamside.  Why,  says  the  present 
writer  in  the  “  Daily  Express,”  have  not  the  authorities  established 
the  splendid  yellow  and  brown  spotted  Mimulus  at  the  edge  of  the 
lake  at  Kew  ?  It  would  be  a  decided  acquisition  there,  and  where  it 
once  effects  a  footing  it  stays.  We  bear  away,  however,  from  the 
lake,  and  make  for  the  plantations  of  Poplars  and  Oaks.  Between 
the  river  and  the  Azalea  gardens  there  are  splendid  trees,  and  the 
authorities  have  very  sensibly  given  many  of  them  their  English  as 
well  as  their  scientific  names.  Do  not  keep  to  the  gravel  path,  but 
wander  on  the  turf  among  the  great  trees.  There  you  will  find  fine 
specimens  of  Locust  trees,  whose  true  home  is  North  America,  but 
flourishing  greatly  here  in  the  Thames  Valley;  tall  Beeches  with  grey 
boles,  such  as  grow  in  the  grand  avenue  of  Savernake  Forest ;  Sweet 
Chestnuts  strewing  the  ground  with  their  soft,  long  “  catkins,”  and 
Oaks  of  divers  kinds.  There  are  our  own  two  varieties  of  native  Oak — 
the  common  Oak  and  the  Durmast — out  of  which  some  believe  the  roof 
of  the  Great  Hall  at  Westminster  to  have  been  made.  Intermingled 
with  these  are  Scarlet  Oaks  from  America,  whose  large  leaves  are  all 
aflame  in  the  late  autumn  ;  sombre  Turkey  Oaks,  too,  and  various 
others  from  Portugal  and  South  Europe,  Among  them,  in  the  fairest 
and  shadiest  parts  of  the  Wilderness,  near  tho  river,  there  are  a  few 
noble  Cedars  of  Lebanon. 
