56 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AXD  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
July  17,  1902. 
Cypella  Herbert 
The  Cypellas,  with  few  exceptions,  are  not  cultivated  m 
gardens,  partly  because  some  of  the  Irises  are  showier  and 
probably  easier  to  manage  than  the  Cypellas  are,  and  also  because 
the  claims  of  the  latter  are  not  sufficiently  emphasised  in  the 
Press.  The  species  we  illustrate  in  this  issue  on  page  G3  is 
recognised  as  one  of  the  best,  and  is  more  generally  grown.  The 
Iris-like  flowers  are  “  yellow,  varying  in  shade  to  a  deep  chrome 
tint.”  They  are  sparingly  produced,  however,  and  their  beauty- 
excellence  may  not  be  regarded  as  sufficiently  satisfying  to  induce 
a  liberal  addition  of  this  species.  Cypellas  are  half-hardy,  bulbous 
plants,  and  may  be  included  along  with  Hypoxis,  Sparaxis, 
Freesias,  Anoiganthus,  Scillas,  and  such  other  plants  which  are 
not  generally  hardy  enough  to  be  left  out  of  doors.  They  thrive 
in  a  light  soil.  C.  Herberti  flowers  in  July. — F. 
Hardy  Flower  Notes. 
Almost  all  the  Acaenas,  or  New  Zealand  Burs,  are  desirable 
plants  for  the  rockery,  though  it  must  be  said  that  several  are 
of  an  aggressive  habit  if  left  alone  and  permitted  to  ramble  at 
will.  I  often  wonder,  however,  that  they  are  so  little  used  as 
carpeting  plants  for  summer  planting,  for  which  they  are  well 
adapted  on  account  of  the  close,  creeping  habit  of  so  many  of 
the  genus  and  the  pretty  hues  some  of  them  present.  We  have 
in  A.  Buchanani  one  of  these,  and  one,  too,  which  has  been 
but  little  grown  in  gardens.  For  the  rock  garden  it  is  a  little 
gem,  with  its  pea-green  foliage,  in  which  its  charm  consists. 
“  Pea-green  ”  is  the  nearest  one  can  come  to  the  precise  shade, 
but  it  wants  to  be  seen  to  be  appreciated.  The  flowers  are  in¬ 
conspicuous,  as  are  the  “  burs,”  or  fruits.  It  is  of  slightly 
trailing  habit,  and  it  seems  to  like  a  little  moisture  and  also  to 
thrive  well  in  shade.  It  is  a  native  of  New  Zealand,  and  is 
quite  hardy.  By  the  way,  I  recently  received  this  Acsena  under 
the  name  of  A.  Berteri,  and  promptly  notified  the  sender,  who 
said  he  had  it  from  a  good  source.  This  I  do  not  doubt,  but 
the  name  Buchanani  is,  I  have  good  reason  to  know,  the  true 
one  of  the  plant  of  which  I  speak. 
Achillea  mongolica. 
Not  a  new  plant,  this  Milfoil  is  yet  one  which  ought  to 
be  grown  in  many  gardens  where  it  is  yet  unknown  because  of 
the  value  for  cutting  of  its  charming  single  floivers  of  pure 
white,  as  well  as  for  the  beauty  of  the  wdiole  plant  as  cultivated 
in  the  borders.  The  foliage  in  itself  is  neat,  and  when  to  this 
is  added  the  summit  of  its  beauties  in  the  shape  of  flowers  we 
have  a  plant  worthy  to  take  a  place  in  the  most  select  border 
of  hardy  flowers.  It  is  of  neat  habit,  ton,  its  height  of  about  a 
foot  and  a  half  only  enabling  it,  as  a  rule,  to  dispense  with 
tying  in  sheltered  gardens,  a  benefit  in  the  case  of  an  elegant 
plant  like  this.  It  will  grow  in  any  common  soil,  but  it  ought 
to  have  a  sunny  position.  A.  mongolica  is  perfectly  hardy, 
and  may  be  raised  from  seeds  or  increased  by  divisions.  It  is 
easily  obtainable  from  most  good  hardy  plant  nurseries. 
Mertensia  sibirica. 
In  this  pretty  flower,  introduced  so  long  ago  as  1801,  we 
have  an  instance  of  a  plant  much  prized  at  one  time  sinking, 
with  so  many  other  hardy  flowers,  into  neglect,  and  now  once 
more  sought  after  and  appreciated.  That  it  is  now  prized  is 
due,  however,  not  to  any  gaudy  colouring  or  monstrous  blooms. 
It  is,  on  the  contrary,  a  flower  liable  to  be  overlooked  by  the 
casual  visitor  to  gardens- — the  one  who  strolls  along  and  merely 
glances  at  a  flower  without  taking  true  notice  of  its  character. 
There  is  in  the  colouring  of  its  leaves  and  flowers  a  kind  of 
subtle  harmony  instead  of  a  contrast,  which  tends  to  prevent 
the  colour  of  the  blooms  striking  the  ordinary  visitor  to  a 
garden.  If,  however,  the  flowers  themselves  are  examined,  then 
the  pretty  colouring,  sometimes  described  as  blue,  sometimes 
as  heliotrope,  is  unreservedly  praised.  I  do'  not  know  that 
either  of  these  terms  are  expressive  enough,  for  there  is  about 
it  some  of  the  lustre  on  tli  neck  of  a  blue  pigeon,  such  as  one 
sometimes  sees  in  lustre  glass  or  silk.  Then  the  .arching  habit 
of  the  branches  is  graceful,  as  well  as  the  drooping  of  the 
flowers  in  their  tube-blossomed  cymes.  In  addition  to  the 
ordinary  form  of  Mertensia  sibirica,  there  are  also  two  pretty 
varieties,  named  respectively  alba,  which  has  white  flowers, 
and  atro-cserulea,  which  had  darker  blue  blooms.  This  Siberian 
Mertensia  grows  from  Gin  to  18in  in  height,  and  flowers  gene¬ 
rally  from  May  to  July.  One  advantage,  it  possesses  is  that  it 
likes  shade  and  it  will  grow  ki  common  soil,  though  I  find  it 
prefers  a  moist,  peaty  one.  In  full  sun  it  is  least  satisfactory, 
especially  if  the  soil  is  dry  and  sandy. — S.  Arnott. 
The  Judas  Tree. 
Regarding  your  note  in  this  week’s  issue  on  C'ercis 
siliquastrum,  there  is  a  good  specimen  here  (Glliffaes  Gardens, 
Crickhowell,  Brecon)  quite  12ft  high. — J.  R.  Ecob. 
Eucalyptus  globulus  in  the  South. 
You  will  please  find  enclosed  branches  and  flowers  of 
Eucalyptus  globulus  (or  Blue  Gum  tree).  It  is  not  a  common 
occurrence  to  be  seen  in  bloom  in  this  country,  and  I  should 
like  your  opinion,  or  some  of  your  correspondents,  on  the 
subject  in  your  Journal.  The  plant  is  about  thirteen  or  fourteen 
years  old,  is  over  30ft  high,  and  it  is  the  second  time  it  has 
bloomed.  You  will  also  observe  that  on  the  young  shoots 
flower-buds  are  forming,  which  will  come  in  bloom  next  year. 
— T.  J.  Polkinghorne,  The  Gardens,  Bodmin,  July  14,  1902. 
Gardeners’  Bothies. 
There  has  lately  appeared  in  the  Journal,  and  also  in  some 
of  its  contemporaries,  a  deal  of  sentimental  writing  about  bothies 
and  bothy  life.  Some  writers  went  so  far  as  to  describe  bothies 
as  moral  nuisances.  Not  having  read  much  of  what  has  appeared 
in  print  on  the  subject,  I  am  not  going  to  discuss  it  in  any  shape 
or  form.  But  herewith  enclose  you  a  photo  of  the  bothy  at 
Nostell  Priory  Gardens,  which  accommodates  five  hands,  and  a 
woman  is  kept  to  attend  to  it  and  the  men.  Where  such  is  the 
case  they  are  very  comfortable,  and  much  appreciated  by  those 
occupying  them,  and  I  consider  the  bothy  an  indispensable 
adjunct  to  any  pretentious  garden  establishment,  and  in  some 
localities  I  cannot  see  how  they  could  be  dispensed  with  as  some 
seem  to  think. — John  Easter,  Nostell  Priory  Gardens. 
I  quite  agree  with  your  correspondent,  Mr.  R.  Russell,  in 
his  remarks  in  your  valuable  Journal  of  July  3,  and  as  I  have 
lived  both  in  bothies  and  in  lodgings,  and  for  years  I  have  had 
young  men  working  under  me  living  in  bothies,  I  claim  some 
experience  in  that  mode  of  life.  One  of  the  advantages  in  living 
in  or  near  the  garden  is  that  there  is  a  much  better  opportunity 
for  improvement  than  is  usually  found  in  the  sort  of  lodgings 
that  a  young  gardener  can  afford  to  pay  for.  When  I  lived  in 
lodgings  in  Edinburgh  I  had  my  food  prepared  for  me  and  my 
room  put  straight;  but  I  was  not  supposed  to  be  in  my  lodgings 
except  for  meals  and  to  sleep.  Now,  where  was  my  opportunity 
for  study,  even  if  I  had  the  books  which  I  could  not  afford  to 
purchase  out  of  12s.  per  week  P  When  I  have  had  to  engage 
young  men  for  the  garden,  in  nearly  every  case  the  first  question 
asked  of  me  was,  “  Is  there  a  bothy  ?  ”  and  that  generally  settled 
the  engagement.  Therefore,  I  think  .if  there  were  a  poll  taken 
of  young  gardeners,  the  majority  would  be  for  the  bothy,  as 
there  is  a  much  better  opportunity  to  study  for  those  who  are 
inclined  to  do  so,  and  for  the  collecting  of  botanical  specimens, 
which  every  young  gardener  ought  to  do,  in  order  to  make 
himself  familiar  with  every  plant  he  may  come  across.  There 
is  nothing  more  humiliating  than  when  a  gentleman  asks  his 
gardener  the  name  of  a  plant  and  he  lias  to  say,  “  I  don’t  know.” 
One  thing  I  should  like  to  see  more  in  practice,  which  would 
be  of  great  advantage  to  young  men,  and  that  is  the  naming  of 
plants  in  our  public  gardens.  It  would  not  only  be  a  benefit  to 
the  profession,  but  interesting  to  the  public  generally.  I  visited 
a  so-called  botanic  garden  in  the  Midlands  not  long  ago,  in  the 
hope  that  I  might  learn  something ;  but  I  could  see  nothing  to 
learn  from,  as  there  were  no  labels  visible,  so  I  concluded  they 
were  all  in  the  offices  having  their  spring  cleaning  done.  It 
was  not  much  loss  to  me,  but  for  young  men  desirous  of  qualifying 
for  the  battle  of  a  horticultural  life  it  is  an  injustice  to  them,  as 
there  are  not  many  young  men  in  the  country  that  have  an 
opportunity  of  going  to  Kew  or  Cambridge  where  they  can  run 
and  read  the  names  and  orders  of  plants  unknown  to  them.  It 
is  no  easy  task  for  a  young  beginner  in  botany  to  find  out  the 
names  of  plants  that  he  does  not  know,  even  if  he  has  a  Loudon 
or  a  Lindley  by  him,  whereas  if  our  public  gardens,  were  better 
supplied  with  labels  it  would  be  a  boon  and  a  blessing  to  bothy 
men,  and  give  them  a  better  opportunity  of  improving  themselves 
in  their  leisure  hours,  which  would  be  much  more  profitable  in 
