238 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  21,  li>01. 
tribe,  having  rather  the  look  of  a  tiny  beetle.  No  plant  he  examined 
was  free  iron  them,  and  this  might  have  to  do  with  the  lack  of 
flowers  ;  also  they  ha^  then,  owing  to  the  growth  of  trees,  no'  much 
light  or  air.  Under  cultivation  this,  as  are  other  Lilies,  is  occasionally 
troubled  with  mites,  and  is  liable  to  visits  from  wandering  aphides  ; 
but  I  have  never  heard  of  any  beetle  enemy. 
One  of  our  botanists  savs  that  sometimes  a  country  stroller 
mistakes  for  the  Lily  of  the  Valley  a  very  different  plant,  the  broad¬ 
leaved  Garlic  (Allium  ursinum),  deceived  by  the  stalk  of  white 
flowers  and  broad  pointed  leaves.  A  brief  applicatirn  of  the  nose  to 
the  plant  soon  leveals  the  mistake.  It  occurs  in  woods,  flowering  in 
May  like  the  other,  also  amongst  grass,  becoming  a  nuisance,  became 
it  flavours  the  milk  of  cows  that  eat  it  ;  by  sheep  it  is  usually 
shunned.  No  one  can  tell  why  the  species  rectived  its  bearish  name, 
and  tt  at  of  “  ramson,”  which  is  old,  remains  of  doubtful  meaning. 
This  we  know,  that  bef  re  our  ancestors  had  the  garden  Garlic  from 
France  or  Italy,  they  grew  the  above  species  sometimes,  because  it 
was  esteemed  as  a  relish  with  meat  or  bread  ;  they  boiled  the  leaves 
first,  though. 
The  Lily  and  the  Rose  are  supposed  to  be  rivals  in  the  master  of 
folk-lore,  and  certainly  the  Daffodil  has  had  more  notice  than  most 
flowers  from  poets  of  all  ages.  It  is  popularly  the  Lent  Lily, 
blooming  in  March  or  even  earlier,  coming  “before  the  swallow 
dates,”  and  in  moist  localities  occasionally  covering  whole  fields  with 
its  golden  flowers.  Daffo-down-dilly  is  a  familiar  name  for  it  in  some 
counties.  This,  like  the  shorter  Daffodil,  is  presumed  to  be  a  perversion 
of  Asphodel,  given  to  the  plant  by  the  Greeks  (not  the  only  speci'  8  so 
named),  and  implying  some  suspicion,  as  does  that  of  Narcissus, 
applied  to  the  genus;  for  it  was  believed  that  the  smell  of  some 
species  at  least,  being  narcotic,  caused  headache  and  faintness. 
Though  styled  a  Lfiy,  our  Daffodil  is  considered  to  be  a  Narcissus,  and 
distinguished  from  mostotheis  by  having  the  stamens  divided  into, 
two  sets.  Besides  that  difference,  the  cylindrical  cup  is  longer  than 
the  funnel-shaped  tribe  It  is  supposed  that  v  hile  growing  wild 
it  is  fertilised  by  pollen  borne  from  flower  to  flower  on  the  wings  or 
bodies  of  insects.  Again,  as  Chalice  Flower,  this  species  ranked 
among  sacred  plants,  the  centre  resembling  the  cup  or  chalice  used  for 
sacramental  wine. 
We  should  not  expect  to  gather  wild  Daffodils  now  about  London  ; 
but  the  plants  were  formerly  common  in  Surrey  and  Kentish  suburbs. 
It  was  likely  to  be  removed  into  gardens,  but  its  di-appearance  is 
chiefly  explained  by  the  growth  of  the  metropolis.  Miller  took  it  in 
hand  at  the  Chelsea  Physic  Garden,  thougo  before  his  time  several 
varieties  had  been  obtained.  He  sowed  the  seeds  of  Narci.-sus  Pseudo- 
Narcissus  early  in  August,  and  screened  the  pans  of  sandy  earth  from 
the  sun  till  October.  They  were  then  exposed  to  the  light,  but 
guarded  from  frost  till  April;  the  young  plants  were  next  shifted 
to  other  pans.  Alter  two  years  they  were  rtmovtd  to  beds,  sli.htlv 
manured,  again  removed,  and  in  the  fifth  year  considered  to  be  full 
grown  bulbs.  One  of  his  remarks  is  that  a  Narcissus  must  not  be 
judged  by  its  first  flowering,  since  it  w  11  often  improve  afterwards 
Amongst  the  favourite  old  varieties  of  the  Daffodil  was  one  with 
three  or  four  cups,  a  single  with  yellow  petals  and  a  reddish  cup,  also 
a  double  having  whit^  petals  and  a  yellow  cup.  The  old  gardeners 
insisted  that  a  good  Daffodil  or  Narcissus  should  have  a  strong  erect 
stem,  a  regularly  formed  flower,  and  distinct  colours.  If  Hirrick  was 
right  in  his  statemtnt,  that  when  a  Daffodil  bowed  its  head  towards 
you  this  was  a  sign  ot  id  luck,  or  might  even  portend  death,  ihe  first 
quality  is  important. 
It  is  not  needful  to  refer  here  to  the  many  varieties  of  Narcissus 
which  can  be  traced  to  foreign  parentage,  but  two  more  British  species 
may  be  named,  which  have  had  an  occasional  place  in  gardens  for  a 
good  while.  Both  are  rare  as  wild  plants,  probably  have  never  been 
abundant ;  they  nearly  resemble  each  other.  Bulbs  of  the  Poet’s 
Narcissus  (N.  poeticus)  were,  it  is  very  likely,  bi  ought  over  from 
South  Europe  centuries  ago,  yet  it  was  to  be  found  about  our  island, 
and  may  be  still,  though  not  near  London.  Nor  do  I  think  a  search 
tor  it  would  now  be  hopeful  “  in  a  warren  between  Shorne  and 
Gravesend.”  Its  beauty  and  perfume  were  attractive,  and  it  had 
much  of  legend  and  romance  belonging  to  its  history.  The  goddesses 
of  Olympus  took  the  Narcissus  flowers  to  form  wreaths  for  his  hair, 
and  the  classic  poets  sung  its  praises,  but  I  suspect  it  is  doubtful 
whether  the  Narcissus  of  the  Greeks  was  the  one  that  we  admire.  A 
handsome  double  variety  was  known  in  gardens  early  in  the  reign  of 
George  HI.  Then  the  two-flowered  sptcies,  or  N.  btflorus,  was  then 
frequently  to  be  seen  about  London,  but  seldom  proouced  double  flowers. 
Hornsey,  Middlesex,  was  one  of  its  wild  localities,  its  scent  being  the 
less  agreeable  of  the  two,  one  of  the  old  names  being  Primrose  Peerless. 
Passing  to  an  order  of  plants,  some  in  which  have  been  already 
noticed,  I  rematk  that  a  Itw  weeks  bonce  we  shall  le  looking  along 
our  Kentish  hedgerows  lor  a  species  which  is  a  notable  hatbtngirof 
spring.  The  Stitchwort  would  not  be  an  unsightly  pl  .nt  in  a  garden 
border.  It  seems  to  have  been  cultivated,  for  Loudon  remarks  it  is  a 
species  of  easy  growth  on  sandy  soil.  ^Unfortunately  the  white 
brilliant  flowers  do  not  last  long,  and  the  stem  of  Stellaria  Holostea, 
though  it  has  a  woody  elastic  structure,  is  curiously  brittle.  It  was 
accounted  a  token  of  good  luck  to  get  blos-oms  of  it  at  Easter,  but  in 
Devonshire  they  call  it  the  “pixy  flowrer,”  and  children  used  to  be 
afraid  to  gather  the  Stitchwort  lest  the  fairies  should  take  them  away. 
Uninvited,  the  common  Chickweed,  which  is  also  a  Stitchwort, 
appears  in  gardens,  flowering  nearly  all  the  year.  Our  forefathers 
utilised  it  by  cooking  it  when  vegetables  were  scarce. 
When  we  come  to  the  Campions  and  the  Catchflies,  also  of  the 
Caryophyllaceous  order,  we  have  several  native  species,  long  familiar 
as  garden  plants.  Considered  as  insect-killers,  the  Catchflies  are  far 
less  deadly  than  some  species  of  other  families,  wh'ch  not  only  kill  but 
digest  their  captures.  Common  about  London  and  almost  everywhere 
is  the  Bladder  Catchfly,  Silene  inflata,  with  a  puffed,  ribbed  calyx  and 
sea-green  leaves,  having  the  smell  of  Sweet  Peas.  They  are  stated  to 
taste  like  the  Pea,  and  in  some  countries  have  been  eaten  while  young. 
One  of  the  Georgian  gardeners,  Bryant,  recommends  the  cultivation 
ol  the  Bladder  Campion  or  Catchfly  in  kitchen  gardens.  It  may  be 
noted  that  these  plants  ensnare  insects,  not  by  any  traps,  but  by  the 
stickiness  of  the  leaves  or  stems.  From  Kentish  hills  and  other  places 
people  brought  into  gardens  the  somewhat  rare  annual,  the  Variegated 
Catchfly,  bearing  also  the  singular  name  of  S.  quinque  vulnera.  It  Isa 
dark  green,  densely  hairy  plant,  and  the  petal'  are  crimson  and  white. 
Two  of  the  showy  species  of  Lychnis  were  so  plentitul  near  London 
that  they  were  likely  to  be  transplanted  and  become  familiar  garden 
plants.  They  still  occur  along  meadows  and  hedgerows  near  the 
Thames.  One  of  these  is  L.  Flo  -Cucult,  or  Ragged  Robin,  a  tallish 
plant  with  flaccid  petals  ;  the  Lttin  links  it  to  the  cuckoo,  but  it  is 
seldom  in  bloi  m  when  that  bird  arrives.  In  scarlet  flowers  offer  a 
fascination  to  some  of  the  large  moths.  Sufficient  stickiness  exists 
abmt  the  joints  to  rank  it  amongst  the  Catchfln-s.  A  double  variety 
has  been  produced,  but  it  is  ot  dwarf  habit.  The  Red  Campion, 
L.  dioica,  developed  a  double  form  which  gardeners  called  Bachelor  s 
Buttons  ;  and  the  White  Campion,  L.  vespertina,  perhaps  a  variety,  is 
common  in  village  gardens.  After  cusk  it  is  fragrant. — J.  R.  S.  C. 
Javanese  Rhododendrons. 
The  two  following  paragraphs  conc’ude  the  article  by  Mr.  F.  S. 
Sillitoe  printed  in  the  Spring  number,  March  14th  : — 
The  Babaminmflorum  section  contains  only  five  varieties,  all 
double,  and  from  their  resemblance  to  the  double  garden  Balsam  their 
name  *is  derived.  They  must  not  be  confused  with  the  hardy 
R.  indicum  balsaminseflorum. 
Representing  as  it  does  the  only  true  double  flowers  in  the 
Rhododendron  family,  it  is  interesting  to  know  how  it  originated.  A 
semi-double  flower  on  a  Jav.-jas.  hybrid  was  noticed  and  fertilised 
with  pollen  from  stamens  that  had  not  become  altogether  petaloid. 
From  this  seed-capsule  fifteen  seeds  were  produced.  These  germinated 
and  were  grown  on,  and  in  five  to  seven  years  they  bloomed,  all 
having  more  or  less  double  flowers.  The  most  wonderful  fact, 
however,  was  that  no  two  were  alike,  and  the  five  v  rieties  album, 
roseum,  carneum,  aureum,  and  Royali.  The  last  differs  from  the 
others  in  not  being  a  “  self.”  All  these  were  considered  worthy  of 
cultivation,  and  when  shown  at  the  Royal  Horticultural  Sciety’s 
meetings  all  received  first-class  certificates.  Tn  s  shows  that  fertilis¬ 
ing  with  their  own  pollen  tends  to  fix  the  form,  but  with  pollen  from 
a  single  flower  a  single  bloom  is  produced.  A  semi-double  flower  was 
noticed  on  R.  Princess  Alexandra.  This  was  fertilised  and  produced 
seeds,  but  as  the  plants  only  produced  a  few  doub  e  flowers  it  was 
discarded.  _  . 
Muiticolor  hybrids  are  the  results  of  crossing  Jav.-jas.  hybrids  with 
the  true  R.  multicolor  (lemon  flowers)  and  R.  Curtisi,  with  dark  red  from 
Sumatra.  They  are  quite  distinct  from  any  ot  the  Javanese  section, 
having  smaller  flowers  and  more  slender  in  their  growth.  The  flowers 
are  produced  in  lax  corymbs,  and  are  all  colours,  trom  white  to  dark 
red,  and  some  of  two  distinct  colours.  The  finest  variety  in  this 
section  is  Mrs.  Heal,  a  pure  white,  obtained  from  multicolor  (yellow) 
and  Princess  Beatrice.  Tnese  are  the  most  floriferous  of  all  the  warm 
section.  Other  good  varieties  are  Ruby  (deep  red),  Rosy  Morn  (pmk), 
and  Nestor  (buff  rose).  One  hopes  to  see  these  beautiiul  shrubs 
become  more  popular,  as  they  certainlv  deserve  to  be,  and  there  is  yet  a 
large  field  open  to  the  hybrir  ist.  We  want  freer  flowering  varieties, 
and  to  introduce  the  Teysmanni  colour  into  the  Himalayan  section. 
With  the  opening  up  of  the  great  Empire  of  China  discoveries  of 
great  value  to  the  horticulturist  may  be  expected.  Dr.  Henry, 
Abbe  Delavey,  and  a  few  others  have  as  yet  been  the.  first  piioneers 
into  the  country  which  has  given  us  Primula  sinensis,  the  Chrys¬ 
anthemum,  and  many  Roses  and  shrubs;  while  at  the  present  time 
Mr.  Wilson,  an  old  Kewite,  is  exploring  unknown  reg  ons  of  that 
Empire,  which  is  supposed  to  contain  many  more  beautiful  Rhododen¬ 
drons  hitherto  only  seen  here  as  dried  specimens. — F.  S.  Sillitoe. 
