26 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  10,  1902. 
The  Horticultural  Hall. 
The  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Temple  Show  and  great 
exhibition  at  Holland  House,  having  now  passed,  the  Council  have 
formally  made  an  appeal  to  the  6,000  Fellows  of  the  Society  on 
behalf  of  a  fund  to  meet  the  coming  expenses  in  the  erection  of  a 
hall  for  the  fortnightly  shows  and  committee  meetings.  It  is 
unnecessary  at  this  period  of  the  Society’s  history  to  recapitulate 
all  that  has  been  said  in  favour  of  the  provision  of  a  hall — a  home 
—for  the  mother  society,  the  predominant  centre  of  British  horti¬ 
culture.  Those  who  regularly  attend  the  present  Drill  Hall  at 
Buckingham  Gate  are  well  aware  that  it  has  many  failings.  It  is 
frequently  too  limited  in  space  for  the  groups  and  tables  of  ex¬ 
hibits,  it  is  badly  lighted,  noisy,  cold,  and  draughty  in  spring  and 
winter,  and  unbearably  overcrowded  by  visitors  during  the  earlier 
summer  months. 
The  patrons  of  horticulture  who  so  largely  attend  the  Drill 
Hall  meetings  certainly  do-  not  enjoy  the  jostling  (which  is 
inevitable  at  present)  any  more  than  we  do,  and  it  is  for  these 
powerful  reasons  and  others  that  could  be  given  that  a  general 
subscription  on  behalf  of  an  imperative  object  is  necessary.  It  is 
hoped  that  the  Council’s  appeal  will  meet  with  the  heartiest  sup¬ 
port,  and  judging  from  what  has  already  been  promised,  and  from 
the  resources  yet  to  be  drawn  upon,  we  have  not  the  slightest 
doubt,  and  never  have  had,  but  that  finances  will  be  equivalent 
to  the  Council’s  requirements. 
From  £25,000  to  £30,000  is  expected,  and  it  is  for  the  Council 
to  see  that  no  more  than  the  higher  sum  will  be  spent  altogether 
on  the  hall.  The  amount  is  quite  sufficient  for  the  building  of  a 
spacious  and  perfectly  suitable  hall.  The  sum  already  contributed 
before  solicitations  have  been  made  amounts  to  over  £13,000, 
which  prognosticates  well. 
Improvements  in  Hardy  Plants, 
( Continued  from  x,a(J&  ?•) 
I  will  now  hastily  run  through  some  of  the  most  important 
families  that  I  think  should  be  dealt  with,  and  the  first  on  the 
list  will  be  the 
Aster,  the  capabilities  of  which  are  endless,  and  I  believe 
before  many  years  they  will  become  one  of  our  most  popular 
families  and  be  grown  by  millions,  both  in  pots  and  in  the  open. 
In  a  very  short  time  we  shall  have  as  many  pinks  and  reds  as  we 
have  blues  and  whites,  and  Perry’s  Pink,  one  of  the  lsevis  section, 
is  a  fine  one  to  work  from  the  colour  being  a  good  bright  pink  and 
the  first  of  this  section  of  a  good  colour.  It  is  a  seedling  raised  from 
Miss  Stafford,  a  Winchmore  Hill  Variety.  Great  care  must  be 
exercised  in  raising  Asters  to  keep  to  the  stick-at-home  varieties. 
Do  not  touch  those  that  run  all  over  the  border.  A  favourite 
group  of  mine  is  the  cordifolius  section,  forming  sheaves  of  the 
most  graceful  flowers,  and  favourites  with  everyone  for  cutting. 
I  find  this  group  is  far  better  grown  in  partial  shade.  The 
Amellus  group  will  take  a  first  place  for  pots,  their  natural  habit 
lending  themselves  to  this  mode  of  treatment.  The  flowers  are 
large  and  of  every  shade,  from  the  richest  violet  imaginable  to 
very  pale  blues.  The  white  we  have  is  of  no  use  liorticulturally, 
but  what  the  progeny  will  be  I  do  not  know.  In  Perry’s 
Favourite  we  have  the  first  good  pink  in  the  Amellus  section, 
and  one  that  must  become  popular.  There  is  no  question  that 
from  this  may  be  obtained  varieties  brighter  in  colour  and 
invaluable  in  every  way.  A  good  type  of  Aster  to  work  from  is 
Esme,  a  seedling  of  the  Rev.  Wolle-y  Dod,  3ft  high,  w'ith  a  large 
spreading  head,  pure  white,  and  remarkable  for  lasting  a  very 
long  time  in  bloom.  One  can  imagine  what  a  double  white  of 
this  description  would  be  worth,  and  it  is  coming.  We  have 
already  semi-doubles,  and  one  fully  two-thirds  double,  and  I  am 
looking  forward  to  the  coming  season  for  many  others  of  this 
character.  A  race  of  good  double  Asters  will  be  a  grand  addition 
to  our  list  of  decorative  plants  and  also  for  pots,  and  it  is  only  a 
question  of  time  to  obtain  them. 
Anemone  japonica  is  in  very  successful  hands,  and  great  im¬ 
provements  have  taken  place,  and  many  more  to  follow.  Queen 
Charlotte,  Mont  Rose,  and  Rosea  superba  are  grand.  I  should 
like  to  see  the  Parsley-leaved  variety  taken  in  hand.  The  foliage 
is  wonderfully  effective,  but  the  flowers  very  poor. 
Agrostemma  flos-Jovis  is  capable  of  great  improvement.  It 
is  a  good  all-round  plant  for  cutting  or  decoration,  and  there  is 
no  reason  why  we  should  not  get  a  double.  There  used  to  be  a 
large  double  variety  of  A.  coronaria  thirty  years  ago,  w'hich  I 
believe  is  now  lost. 
The  common  white  Arabis  has  made  a  great  bid  for  popularity. 
The  double  form  is  splendid  for  cutting,  lasting  well  into  summer. 
We  have  several  species  with  rose  and  pink  flowers.  Why  cannot 
we  get  this  colour  into  the  double  one? 
Asphodels  form  a  very  characteristic  group,  and  I  think  the 
*  Improvements  in  Hardy  Plants,  a  paper  read  by  Mr.  Am  js  Perry,  of  Winch- 
m  u  Hill,  London,  N.,  before  the  Horticultural  Club. 
Asiatic  and  European  species  might  he  brought  together  with  very 
good  results. 
Aconitums  offer  many  opportunities  for  improvement.  A  good 
yellow  A.  japonicum  or  even  a  yellow  A.  napeTlus  would  be  a 
great  acquisition.  Do  you  think  it  possible  to  obtain  them  ?  I 
say  yes. 
The  capabilities  of  the  Aubrietia  have  been  fairly  tested,  and 
we  have  now  a  good  range  of  colour,  but  there  is  no  reason  why 
they  cannot  be  still  improved  both  in  size  and  colour. 
The  Calystegia,  I  believe,  is  capable  of  a  great  transformation, 
and  I  see  no  reason  why  flowers  of  immense  size  and  of  almost 
every  shade  of  colour  cannot  be  obtained  in  the  perennial 
varieties.  If  the  annual  varieties  would  not  produce  these 
results,  we  might  seek  the  assistance  of  its  American  ally,  the 
Ipomaea. 
Campanulas. — We  all  know  their  capabilities,  and  there  is  not 
a  single  species  in  the  whole  race  that  cannot  be  improved.  As  a 
rule  the  great  bulk  are  raised  from  seed,  no  attempt  being  made 
either  to-  discard  the  bad  forms  or  to  retain  the  good  ones,  and 
many  are  becoming  so  poor  as  to  be  not  worth  growing.  A  few 
good  hybrids  we  have,  Van  Hout-te,  G.  F.  Wilson,  and  Hendersoni 
being  still  among  the  best.  I  should  like  to  see  this  family  taken 
up  by  two  or  three  enthusiasts,  as  they  are  so  easily  done,  requir¬ 
ing  little  attention  and  the  results  quickly  seen. 
Cheiranthus  alpinus,  the  Alpine  Wallflower,  would  well  repay 
a  little  attention.  Crimsons,  red  and  yellow  varieties  would  be 
very  effective,  and  I  think'can  be  obtained. 
Chrysanthemum  maximum  has  shown  a  remarkable  develop¬ 
ment,  and  some  of  the  flowers  are  really  superb.  For  decoration 
or  for  cutting  they  are  matchless,  and  still  I  believe  can  be  much 
improved.  Some  of  the  more  recent  seedlings  have  shown 
distinct  signs  of  doubling,  and  I  shall  not  be  surprised  any  day 
to  hear  of  one  being  raised.  I  have  just  read  that  American 
seedlings  are  showing  signs  of  colouring,  but  I  am  doubtful 
about  it. 
The  Shasta  Daisy,  which  has  been  sent  to  us  from  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic,  is  described  as  being  a  marvellous  production, 
but  whether  the  plates  are  overdrawn  or  not,  I  cannot  see  that 
it  will  bear  any  comparison  with  what  we  have  already  got.  I 
like  the  name  Shasta  Daisy  and  shall  certainly  use  it. 
Coreopsis  lanceolata  I  think  would  pay  wTell  for  a  little 
attention,  seeing  we  have  some  perennial  species  with  rose 
coloured  flowers,  which  we  could  fall  back  upon,  providing  the 
annual  ones  could  not  be  induced  to  assist  us  in  obtaining  different 
shades  from  those  already  in  cultivation.  A  red  or  rose  coloured 
variety  of  Coreopsis  lanceolata-  would  find  many  admirers;  a  great 
deal  might  be  done  in  selection,  as  I  do  not  consider  the  present- 
one  anything  like  so  good  as  the  one  I  knew'  twenty  years  ago. 
Echinacea  purpurea  has  degenerated  considerably  during  the 
last  twenty  years,  and  many  of  the  strains  now-  offered  are  not 
worth  growing,  whilst  the  good  ones  are  among  the  best  of  our 
autumn  perennials.  The  colour  is  being  improved  upon  each 
year,  and  reds  and  purples  will  soon  take  the  place  of  the  poor 
varieties  so  often  seen. 
The  Erigeron  contains  some  good  material  for  further  develop¬ 
ments,  and  in  E.  speciosus  w7e  have  a  very  useful  plant  for  all 
purposes  and  a  great  favourite,  as  it  lasts  so  long  in  bloom. 
Among  the  perennial  species  wTe  have  wdiite,  orange,  and  flesh, 
and  among  the  annual  varieties  yellow-s.  Transfer  either  of 
these  shades  to  the  speciosus,  and  the  result  would  be  very 
pleasing.  I  find  the  “  compositse  ”  as  a  rule,  especially  after  the 
first  break,  very  easy  to  cross. 
Eremurus,  white,  lemon,  and  apricot  varieties  of  robustusare 
in  existence,  and  many  other  shades  of  colour  will,  no  doubt, 
follow,  but  a  man  wants  to  start  very  young  if  he  wishes  to-  see 
the  result  of  his  labour  in  hybridising  this  family. 
The  species  of  Geraniums  are,  as  a  rule,  somewhat  weedy,  but 
there  are  some  among  them  remarkably  showy,  and  could  very 
easily  be  improved  upon.  The  white  variety  of  G.  sanguineum  is 
one  of  the  very  few7  varieties  w7e  have  in  this  family. 
The  Geums  are  somewhat  important,  as  they  last  a  long  time 
in  bloom,  are  easily  grown  and  very  variable.  There  are  now 
several  good  varieties  of  Heldreichi,  montanum,  and  coccineum 
plenum,  but  these  can  be  improved  upon  very  considerably. 
Gypsophila  paniculata,  the  double  variety  which  was  shown 
before  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  during  the  past  season,  I 
think  will  become  a  very  good  plant,  providing  it  can  be  pro¬ 
pagated,  but  I  have  never  been  very  successful  in  propagating 
this  by  cuttings,  and  I  am  somew  hat  afraid  of  the  double. 
In  the  Heleniums  w?e  have  turn  or  three  good  varieties,  the 
best  of  all  without  a  question  is  H.  pumilum  magnificum,  and 
this,  I  consider,  is  one  of  the  best  twelve  hardy  perennials  in 
cultivation.  It  is  in  flower  well  for  at  least  four  months,  and 
during  the  drought  of  the  past  season  was  a  mass  of  flower. 
H.  striatum  is  a  plant  that  will  well  repay  a  little  attention,  and 
I  can  see  no  reason  why  a  crimson  could  not  be  obtained  with  care 
by  selection.  I  have  raised  many,  all  striped  more  or  less,  but  no 
self-coloured  flowers. 
Helianthus  has  been  worked  upon  for  some  years  past,  and 
the  new  Helianthus  tomentosus  (certificated  under  the  name  of 
mollis)  is  excellent  for  crossing  purposes.  It  is  certainly  the  most 
