382 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  25,  1900. 
opinion  that  much  of  the  money  that  the  Council  annually  expends  on 
its  cricket,  football,  and  lawn  tennis  grounds  might  for  a  year  or  two  be 
diverted  towards  erecting  structures  commensurate  with  the  importance 
of  the  parks  and  the  flowers  that  are  grown  therein.  Such  houses, 
with  a  yearly  coat  of  paint,  would  be  practically  permanent,  and  I 
venture  to  aflirm  that  there  is  no  superintendent  in  any  of  the  London 
parks  who  would  not  undertake  to  keep  up  a  constant  supply  of 
various  plants,  so  that  the  public  might  have  access  to  them  with 
advantage  the  year  round.  But  I  suppose  we  must  not  expect  that 
in  these  go-ahead  times  an  educational  matter  will  be  given  the 
preference  to  those  that  are  devoted  purely  to  bodily  lecreation. 
Let  me,  however,  revert  to  the  Chrysanthemums  in  Victoria  Park, 
which  are  arranged  on  each  side  of  a  central  path  in  a  long  span-roofed 
house.  It  was  yet  somewhat  early  when  my  visit  was  paid  to  sjeak 
definitely  of  the  ultimate  beauty  of  the  entire  collection,  but  one  is 
safe  in  asserting  that  if  the  main  bulk  of  the  flowers,  which  will  be 
expanded  in  about  four  een  days,  are  equal  to  the  promise  of  the  buds 
to-day  they  will  be  of  decided  excellence.  There  are  now  hundreds  of 
flowers  of  the  earlier  varieties  in  various  stages  of  development,  and 
some  of  them  have  a  size  and  richness  of  colour  that  would  be  no 
disgrace  to  plants  grown  under  far  more  favourable  conditions.  It  is 
pleasing  to  observe  that  Mr.  Moorman  continues  to  grow  several  of 
the  very  old  varieties,  which  have  a  great  value  for  the  colour  of  their 
flowers,  even  though  these  be  not  of  present  day  exhibition  standard. 
Such  as  Mons.  William  Holmes.  William  Seward,  Stanstead 
Surprise,  Alberic  Lunden,  Gloire  du  Rocher,  and  a  few  others  produce 
blooms  of  fair  size  and  of  colour,  which  are  absolutely  invaluable  in  a 
collection  such  as  that  at  Victoria  Park,  or  indeed  any  of  the  exhibitions 
under  the  same  auspices. 
The  white,  yellow,  and  pink  varieties  that  in  the  Japanese  section 
so  largely  preponderate  nowadays,  are  to  be  found  in  considerable 
numbers,  but  they  are  leavened,  so  to  speak,  by  the  richer  hued  old 
sorts  that  have  been  enumerated.  So  far  as  possible  Mr.  Moorman 
maintains  the  collection  up-to-date,  but  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that 
the  whole  of  the  very  latest  introductions  can  be  represented.  In 
addition  to  some  scores  of  varieties  of  the  Japanese  section  several 
incurved  are  to  be  seen,  and  they  promise  to  build  up  some  really 
heavy  flowers.  Then,  too,  there  are  Anemones,  Pompons,  and  early 
flowering  decorative  scrts,  all  of  which  play  a  very  important  part  in 
the  general  picture.  In  one  respect  the  Victoria  Park  collection  will 
be  difficult  to  excel,  and  that  is  in  the  splendid  condition  of  the  foliage, 
which  is  large,  of  much  substance,  and  of  very  dark  green  colour ;  in 
many  cases  it  extends  quite  down  to  the  rim  of  the  pot. — Monocle. 
Iris  iberica. 
Ikis  rBEEiCA  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  interesting  plants 
which  Nature  has  bestowed  upon  us,  and  might  well  be  recognised  as 
one  of  the  wonders  of  the  vegetable  kingdom.  It  is  of  dwarf  habit, 
with  distinct,  glaucous,  linear,  arched  leaves,  and  produces  its  solitary 
gigantic  flowers  (fig.  106)  in  May  and  June  on  stems  which  seldom  exceed 
9  inches  in  height.  The  prevailing  colour  of  the  sepals  is  satiny  white, 
with  a  few  dull  red  spots  about  the  base ;  the  petals  are  strangely 
spotted  and  veined  in  such  a  manner  as  to  almost  defy  description ; 
indeed  it  is  impossible  to  form  any  idea  of  its  remarkable  beauty 
without  seeing  it,  since  so  curious  a  combination  of  colour  is  rarely 
seen. 
The  only  soil  in  which  I  have  known  it  to  grow  well,  so  as  to  almost 
attain  luxuriance,  is  the  rich  fibrous  yellow  loam  of  Kent  and  Surrey. 
It  should  be  planted  out  to  do  any  good,  for  I  have  never  seen  it 
cultivated  well  in  pots,  and  am  of  opinion  that  it  cannot  be  grown  to 
perfection  in  pots.  Some  years  since  I  bad  a  bed  prepared  with  rich  loam 
as  described  above,  the  bed  was  fairly  moist,  and  was  fully  exposed  to 
the  midday  sun.  The  plants  were  miserable  enough  when  planted,  though 
as  it  afterwards  proved  the  right  spot  had  been  selected.  The  second 
season  after  planting  they  had  made  such  headway  as  to  form  splendid 
tufts,  each  of  which  produced  from  two  to  four  of  its  striking  flowers^ 
and  during  that  year  we  had  scores  of  its  fiowers.  The  bed  in  which 
these  were  planted  was  not  allowed  to  become  dry ;  and  the  loam  being 
somewhat  holding,  though  by  no  means  retentive  in  character,  materially 
assisted  in  keeping  the  plants  moist.  Thus  placed  it  was  evergreen,  and 
endured  our  severest  winters  with  impunity.  The  process  has  also  been 
recommended  for  Iris  Susiana,  but  happily  we  have  instances  where  it 
has  fiowered  for  years  undisturbed  in  cottage  gardens.  I.  iberica  is  a 
native  of  the  high  mountain  ranges  of  Western  Asia,  and  should  receive 
every  encouragement.  Slugs  are  a  great  pest  to  this  species,  as  also  to 
I.  cristata  and  other  dwarf  members  of  the  genus. — J.  E. 
Dealt)  of  Il|r.  Willian)  Adam  Gater. 
The  body  of  Rose  growers,  both  amateur  and  professional,  is  all  the 
poorer  through  the  death  of  William  Adam  Gater  at  Slough  on  the 
15th  inst.,  after  an  illness  of  several  weeks,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five 
years.  Since  1858  he  had  charge  of  the  Rose  departments  at  the  Royal 
Nursery,  Slongb,  and  from  that  time  up  to  his  death  had  proved  himself 
to  be  in  the  very  front  rank  of  successful  cultivators.  Born  at  Cheshunt 
about  1835,  he  was  apprenticed  to  Mr.  Adam  Paul,  the  father  of  the 
veteran  Mr.  William  Paul,  and  there  picked  up  his  elementary  know¬ 
ledge  of  Rose  culture.  Coming  to  Slough  when  about  the  age  of 
twenty -three,  he  threw  himself  into  the  occupation  of  Rose  growing, 
and  speedily  made  his  mark. 
Those  who  were  present  at  the  great  International  Horticultural 
Exhibition,  held  at  South  Kensington  in  1866,  will  remember  the 
remarkable  specimens  of  Roses  from  the  Royal  Nursery,  Slough, 
which  were  staged  on  that  occasion,  and  won  for  Mr.  Turner  the 
first  prizes  for  ten  specimens  in  pots  not  exceeding  13  inches  in 
diameter  ;  for  the  best  specimen — a  truly  record  plant — of  H.P.  Comtesse 
de  Chabrillant,  one  of  the  most  exquisitely  formed  cupped  Roses  of  its 
day  ;  for  twenty  plants  in  pots  not  exceeding  8  inches  in  diameter ; 
and  a  second  prize  for  six  standard  Roses  in  pots.  The  foregoing,  with 
the  gigantic  Azaleas  from  Slongh  and  Chelsea,  were  among  the  leading 
features  of  this  famous  show.  In  the  splendid  exhibitions  held  twenty 
years  ago  in  the  Botanical  Gardens,  Old  Trafford,  Manchester,  specimen 
Roses  were  a  leading  feature,  and  in  1875  a  number  of  plants  were  sent 
from  the  Royal  Nursery,  enough  to  fill  seven  railway  vane,  and  they 
were  conveyed  by  special  train  from  Slough  to  Manchester  by  G.W. 
rail  during  the  night,  and  were  so  fine  that  they  fairly  electrified  the 
visitors  by  their  superb  finish. 
Another  public-spirited  display  of  Gater’s  productions  occurred  in 
1882,  on  the  occasion  of  one  of  the  great  exhibitions  held  in  the  Gardens 
of  the  R.H.S.,  South  Kensington.  At  that  show  seventy  specimen 
Roses  were  staged  in  one  group,  and  eleven  vans,  drawn  by  twenty -one 
horses,  were  engaged  two  days  in  conveying  the  plants  to  London — 
truly  a  great  undertaking.  Some  will,  perhaps,  remember  a  huge 
example  of  H.P.  Edward  Morren,  bearing  130  finely  expanded  blossoms? 
At  another  time  there  could  be  seen  at  one  of  the  great  London 
exhibitions  a  plant  of  H.P.  Paul  Perras  having  as  many  as  300 
developed  flowers.  The  following  new  Roses,  raised  at  Slough,  were 
sent  out  at  various  times  : — John  Stuart  Mill,  Rev.  J.  B.  M.  Camm, 
Royal  Standard,  Oxonian,  Miss  Hassard,  Mrs.  H.  Turner,  and  the 
widely  known  and  grown  Crimson  Rambler.  It  need  scarcely  be  said 
that  in  all  the  leading  exhibitions  held  in  London  for  years  past 
Turner’s  Roses  were  always  a  leading  feature. 
Those  of  us  who  saw  Gater  at  the  last  Temple  Show  little  thought 
it  was  the  last  London  exhibition  he  wonld  attend.  He  was  in  harness 
until  illness  compelled  him  to  lay  aside  his  life-long  work.  He  always 
took  great  pride  in  every  specimen  he  turned  out ;  a  superb  finish  was 
his  forte ;  he  had  the  capacity  to  bring  out  all  the  latent  possibilities 
in  a  plant ;  he  seemed  to  fully  understand  his  Roses,  as  if  he  had 
discovered  some  means  of  communication  with  them.  Roses  should  be 
planted  over  his  grave ;  a  pillar  of  Crimson  Rambler  would  be  a  fitting 
memorial  to  W.  A.  Gater.  He  died  a  widower,  leaving  grown-up  sons 
settled  in  life. — R.  D. 
- - 
TrencWng  and  Digging. 
The  importance  of  a  good  depth  of  soil  in  the  cultivation  of 
vegetables  is  acknowledged  by  ail  who  grow  them,  either  for 
exhibition,  home  use,  or  for  sale.  Depth  of  soil  is  absolutely 
indispensable  for  tap-rooted  vegetables,  inasmuch  as  the  main  or 
tap-root  strikes  deeply  down  in  the  soil  where  moisture  is  most 
abundant.  A  good  and  deep  soil  provides  food  and  moisture  lor  a 
longer  time  in  a  dry  and  parching  summer  than  a  shallow  soil  can 
do.  This  is  an  advantage  to  the  cultivator  as  well  as  the  plant, 
for  growth  can  proceed  without  an  undue  amount  of  labour  in 
watering.  The  most  that  is  required  during  the  early  stages  of  a 
dry  time  is  maintaining  the  surface  open  and  free  from  weeds  by 
hoeing. 
As  ground  now  becomes  vacant  there  is  an  opportunity  to  break  it 
up,  deepen  it,  and  enrich  it,  and  by  no  method  can  this  be  so 
thoroughly  and  effectually  done  as  by  trenching,  so  as  to  loosen 
the  soil  to  a  depth  of  at  least  2  feet.  In  no  garden,  whether  the 
soil  is  heavy  or  light,  does  trenching  come  amiss.  The  operation 
requires  considerable  labour,  but  it  may  be  lessened  by  adopting 
the  plan  of  carrying  out  a  portion  each  year,  so  that  in  no  one 
season  may  the  work  be  beyond  the  powers  of  an  ordinary  cultivator 
to  cope  with. 
Soils,  however,  differ  in  the  treatment  they  should  be  subjected  to 
