78 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  24,  1902. 
Corydalis  thalictrifolia. 
This  is  a  new  Chinese  species,  which  would  seem  to  be 
almost,  if  not  quite  hardy.  A  plant  of  it  is  growing  well  in 
the  Rock  Garden  at  Kew,  but  Messrs.  J.  Veitch  and  Sons,  Ltd., 
who  staged  it  in  quantity  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society  in  the  Drill  Hall,  and  received  an  award 
of  merit,  grow  it  in  pots.  Perhaps,  however,  they  did  so  only 
for  that  occasion.  The  large  flowers  are  deep  yellow  and  about 
the  size  shown  in  our  illustration  on  another  page.  The  sketch 
there  presented  also  shows  the  foliage.  Being  free-flowering 
and  showy,  it  is  likely  to  become  popular. 
Herbaceous  Calceolarias. 
There  will  always  be  lovers  of  these  flowers  in  evidence, 
and  as  cultivators  they  are  second  to  none  in  the  devotion  they 
bestow  on  their  special  favourites.  The  collection  which  we 
figure  on  page  87,  was  grown  by  Mr.  Edwin  Broadey,  The 
Gardens,  Hooten  Grange,  near  Chester,  the  seeds  being  pro¬ 
cured  from  Mr.  Henry  Middlehurst,  seedsman,  Liverpool.  The 
group  represents  a  very  fine  strain,  and  seme  of  the  flowers, 
he  tells  us.  measured  2fin  across,  while  a  few  of  the  plants  were 
2|ft  to  3ft  through.  Mr.  Broadey  adds  that  they  were  greatly 
admired  by  numerous  visitors.  Perhaps  our  correspondent 
might  be  induced  to  describe  his  successful  method  of  culture 
through  the  columns  of  the  Journal. 
Effect  of  Cold  on  Plant  Oils. 
Oils  of  Chamomile,  Rosemary,  Cumin,  Illicium  anisatum  and 
Rose  are  found  by  Dubois  to  phosphoresce  in  the  cold  on  agitation 
with  an  alcoholic  solution  of  potassium  hydrate.  The  different 
behaviour  of  oils  of  Geranium  and  Pelargonium  gives  an  easy 
means  of  recognising  substitutions  of  these  oils  for  oil  of  Rose. 
Turpentine  oil  does  not  phosphoresce  when  fresh,  but  sometimes 
does  so  when  old.  The  most  brilliant  effect  is  shown  by  sesculin, 
a  glucoside  of  Horse  Chestnut  bark.  In  the  cold  alcoholic  solution 
of  potassium  hydrate  this  substance  sparkles  for  hours,  brighten¬ 
ing  up  with  every  movement  of  the  liquid,  and  giving  an  intensity 
of  light  in  direct  proportion  to  the  purity  of  the  sesculin.  In  no 
case,  however,  is  this  phosphorescence  equal  to  that  of  cultures  of 
marine  photo-bacteria. 
Plants  at  Barmouth. 
A  few  years  ago,  Major  Best,  Lingfield,  brought  from  Men¬ 
tone  a  plant  of  Mesembryanthemum  truncatulum.  It  is  a 
plant  that  does  not  usually  stand  the  English  winter,  but 
when  the  plant  found  that  it  had  been  transplanted  in  a 
country  like  Wales  -which  can  boast  of  Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgo- 
gerychwymdrobwllllandysiliogogogoch,  it  having  a  crack  jaw 
name  itself,  at  once  felt  quite  at  home,  grew  luxuriantly,  flowers 
freely,  and  has  stood  several  winters  at  Barmouth  quite  un¬ 
protected.  Mr.  T.  Lewis  of  Messrs.  Clibran’s  says  that  for 
covering  bare  patches  of  rock  or  exposed  dry  positions  such  as 
abound  at  Barmouth  nothing  can  be  more  suitable  than  the 
Mesembryanthemum  truncatulum.  Another  plant  which  grows 
and  flowers  profusely  at  Barmouth  is  the  Centranthus  ruber  or 
the  red  Valerian.  The  bank  facing  Porkington  Terrace  has 
been  simply  gorgeous  in  its  red  Valerian  dress  this  season.  The 
spread  of  the  plant  is  not  due  to  human  effort,  but  to  the  dis¬ 
tribution  of  the  seeds  by  wind,  birds,  and  insects. 
Misuse  of  Coal. 
“  So  far  back  as  1882,  the  discovery  was  made  by  Sir  D. 
Brandis  and  myself  that  the  Eucalyptus  planted  on  tropical 
mountains  will  produce  fuel  at  the  rate  of  twenty  tons  (dry- 
weight  at  601b  per  cubic  foot)  per  acre  per  year  in  perpetuity. 
The  Eucalyptus  plantation  reproduces  itself  when  cut  without 
further  expense,  and  its  dry  timber  (which  as  met  with  com¬ 
mercially  weighs  501b  to  521b  the  cubic  foot)  has  an  equal,  or 
a  higher  thermal  power,  bulk  for  bulk,  than  coal.  We 
obtained  this  result  as  the  maximum  yield  of  Eucalyptus 
globulus  on  the  Nilgiris,  Southern  India.  ...  If  a  chance 
tree  on  a  chance  mountain  in  a  chance  soil  can  produce  the 
equivalent  of  twenty  tons  of  coal  per  acre  per  year,  it  seems 
not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  by  .selection  we  can  produce, 
say,  double  this,  or  forty  tons.  To  produce  this  in  perpetuity, 
we  should  probably  have  to  find  a  tree  with  the  moderate  soil 
of  the  Conifers,  a  powerful  sun,  a  heavy  rainfall,  and  a  very 
rapid  forced  growth  would  be  the  essentials  of  such  a  production 
of  wood  fuel.”— (From  “Nature,”  July  10,  1902.) 
Heliconia  vinosa. 
On  another  page  we  illustrate  a  broad-leaved  and  hand¬ 
some  species  of  Heliconia,  one  perhaps  but  little  known.  The 
leaves  are  large,  and  broadly  oblong,  quite  1ft,  or  even  lift 
long,  bright  green  on  the  upper  surface,  and  purplish  beneath, 
the  top  surface,  too,  is  ridged.  As  a  stove  plant  we  see  no 
reason  why  it  should  not-  be  more  freely  grown,  being  quite  as 
ornamental  as  most  of  the  other  species,  and  comparing  well 
with  any  of  the  Marantas. 
The  Use  of  Architectural  Features  in  Gardens. 
Now  that  “wild  gardening”  and  that  more  negligent, 
though  withal  beautiful,  style  of  gardening  which  sees  its  per¬ 
fection  in  wide  swathes  of  bright  flowers  “  naturalised  ”  in  their 
surroundings  has  so  largely  become  the  vogue  and  is  leading 
others  to  adopt  it,  there  seems  a  danger  of  losing  the  placid 
dignity  which  characterised  old  English  gardens.  Not  that  we 
ever  desire  a  return  of  the  type  of  garden  which  prevailed  in 
the  days  of  Loudon  and  Wise,  but  we  have  no  desire,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  abolish  everything  that  is  “  stiff  and  formal  ” 
from  the  garden  design.  Who,  with  good  judgment  and  a 
knowledge  of  the  beautiful  in  art  and  nature,  will  say  that  the 
formal  walk  and  placid  pool  confined  within  the  straight-lined 
balustrade,  as  shown  on  page  83,  does  not  command  admira¬ 
tion,  and  gives  the  impression  of  dignity  and  strength  to  the 
surroundings?  Properly  executed,  architecture  should  help 
certain  scenes  in  the  garden,  and  it  is  not  at  all  incompatible, 
as  some  suppose,  to  introduce  ornamental  masonry  with 
improving  effect  to  the  garden  plan.  The  landscape  gardener 
is  not,  or  ought  not  to  be,  merely  a  person  who  groups  shrubs 
and  trees  advantageously  or  introduces  the  water  element 
effectively  in  scenery;  he  is  largely  an  architect  as  well,  and  it 
is  quite  within  his  province  to  prepare  designs  for  such  a 
feature  as  that-  on  page  83.  The  confusion  arises  in  these  days 
from  the  fact  that  a  large  number  of  nobodies  take  upon  them¬ 
selves  the  name  and  pretensions  of  a  fully-equipped  landscape 
gardener  without  having  the  power  to  advise  on  any  line  but 
the  solitary  one  which  they  employ  in  all  oases. 
The  Gardens  at  Hatfield. 
A  grand  garden  party  was  given  at.  Hatfield  House  on  Satur¬ 
day,  the  19th  inst.  Hatfield’s  ancient  Oaks  have  looked  down 
on  many  a  notable  gathering  of  leading  men  and  women  since 
the  first  Earl  of  Salisbury  built  the  stately  home  which  is  now 
the  glory  of  the  Cecils,  but  seldom  have  their  rugged  branches 
overshadowed  a  more  brilliant  assemblage  than  that  which 
gathered  on  the  terraces.  The  reception  over,  the  many  visitors 
moved  about  the  grounds,  talked  with  their  friends,  listened  to 
the  music  of  the  bands  of  the  Grenadier  Guards  and  the  Royal 
Engineers,  who  performed,  one  in  the  eastern  and  the  other  in 
the  western  gardens,  or  admired  the  beauty  of  the  flowers. 
Evelyn  spoke  of  Hatfield  “  garden  and  vineyard  ”  as  being 
“  rarely  well  watered  and  planted,”  while  Pepys  says  of  the 
gardens  that,  they  were  “  such  as  I  never  saw  in  all  my  life ; 
nor  so  good  flowers,  nor  so  great  Gooseberries,  as  big  as  Nut¬ 
megs.”  The  Hatfield  vineyard  is  a  vineyard  no  longer,  and 
there  were  no  great  Gooseberries  visible  on  Saturday,  but  the 
gardens  are  still  “  rarely  well  ”  planted  and  the  flowers  still 
“good.  There  is  a  rosery  on  the  eastern  side  of  those 
famous  stables  which  once  formed  part  of  the  Palace  in  which 
both  Edward  VI.  and  Elizabeth  resided  under  guardianship, 
and  here,  though  the  first  glory  of  the  Roses  is  over  for  this 
year,  many  fine  specimens  of  the  queen  of  flowers  were  to  be 
seen.  Clos6  by,  in  the  square  garden  whose  most  noticeable 
feature  in  its  Lime  tree  walks,  there  is  such  a  collection  of 
flowers  in  various  tints  of  blue — Monkshoods,  Delphiniums,  and 
Lupins — as  must  have  gladdened  the  heart  of  any  “  herbaceous 
perennial  ”  enthusiast  who  may  have  wandered  thither.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  house,  just  beyond  the  old  maze,  is  a 
walk  overarched  with  Banksian  Crimson  Rambler,  and  other 
climbing  Roses,  and  near  it  lies  an  old-fashioned  enclosed 
garden  whose  principal  features  are  its  great  clumps  of  Lavender 
and  its  China  and  other  Roses.  The  well-known  Hybrid  Tea 
Rose  Marquis  de  Salisbury,  whose  petals  when  at  their  best 
seem  to  be  composed  of  the  richest  scarlet  velvet,  and  the  less 
familiar  Lady  Cranborne,  a  pretty  pink  and  white  cluster  Rose, 
are  here  growing  appropriately  almost  side  by  side. 
