192 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
August  28,  1902, 
heads  of  Sedum  spectabile  are  filling  up  fast ;  when  these 
put  pn  the  rosy  purple,  then,  indeed,  are  the  passing  smiles 
of  autumn  at  hand,  and  the  all  too  brief  Indian  summer 
brings  the  glories  of  a  dying  year. 
In  looking  back,  Roses  bloomed  with  a  burst.  The  first 
week  of  July  was  pre-eminently  a  Rose  week  ;  one  week 
of  Roses,  and  the  decline  was  rapid.  Beds  of  Captain 
Hayward  were  superb,  and  H.T.’s  behaved  admirably. 
Now  mildew  is  rife  on  most  varieties,  and  Captain  Hay¬ 
ward  nearly  loses  his  commission  in  our  favour  by  being 
worst  of  the  lot.  What  the  hero  of  Rose  week  loses,  how¬ 
ever,  is  gained  by  Ulrich  Brunner  in  its  cleanliness  and 
general  good  deportment ;  even  where  growing  in  proximity 
to  the  mildewed  bad  company  has  not  corrupted  its  good 
manners.  The  last  Rose  of  summer  is  still  glorious  on  a 
many-arched  trellis  in  the  form  of  Crimson  Rambler,  and 
the  great  waggon-whip-like  shoots,  from  6ft  to  10ft  high  of 
this  year’s  growth,  are  as  delightful  to  contemplate  as  they 
are  to  anticipate.  Unfortunately  there  are  breaks  in  the 
bloom  on  this  trellis  owing  to  some  plants  of  Aglaia,  the 
so-called  Yellow  Rambler,  being  interspersed.  A  rambler 
it  is  truly,  yellow  it  may  be  if  ever  it  flowers  (has  anyone 
flowered  it  satisfactorily  ?)  ;  but  as  for  relationship  with  the 
Japanese  beauty,  it  has  no  right,  hence  “  Yellow  Rambler  ” 
is  a  misnomer.  Any  variety  of  colour  borne  by  legitimate 
children  of  Crimson  Rambler  would  indeed  be  an  acquisi¬ 
tion. 
Grateful  is  the  gold  of  the  large  flowered  Spanish  Broom 
grown  en  masse,  and  how  it  enjoys  the  good  soil  the  plants, 
as  seedlings,  were  transferred  to  four  years  since !  Never 
did  we  have  finer  clumps  and  lines  of  Sweet  Peas  (trans¬ 
planted  from  pots),  or  a  finer  display  than  in  mid-July  ;  but 
the  rainbow  blaze  was  suddenly  extinguished,  in  spite  of  a 
rigorous  exclusion  of,  all  seed  pods,  and  they  are  now 
flowerless,  although  there  is  a  wealth  of  second  crop  buds 
breaking  from  top  to  bottom,  showing  that  they  will  be 
good  again.  Yet  the  interval  does  not  please. 
Kitchen  Peas— well,  no  need  to  complain.  Some  dis¬ 
appointment  was  felt  over  Pierremont  Gem,  a  dwarf,  and 
supposed  early.  However,  it  came  in  lately  with  a  pro¬ 
fusion  of  handsome  pods  well  filled  with  peas  of  fine  colour 
and  flavour,  so  proves  to  be  a  grand  midseason  sort,  ultra 
useful  where  stakes  are  scarce.  French  Beans  have  been 
long  delayed  ;  Coronation  Day  (the  real  one)  gave  the  first 
picking  of  Ne  Plus  Ultra.  Cabbages  have  kept  clean  and 
succulent,  which  brings  to  mind  there  has  been  no  butter¬ 
flies,  and  wasps  are  not  yet  in  evidence,  although  there 
was  no  lack  of  queens  earlier.  Our  neighbour’s  bees,  too, 
were  watched  and  waited  for  over  the  garden  wall  when 
Victoria  Plums  were  in  bloom.  They  came  not,  so  a  hair 
broom  was  brushed  lightly  over  the  blossom,  and  the  set 
was  abundant.  Indeed,  the  only  outdoor  fruit  that  one  can 
now  regard  with  satisfaction.  Yet  Royal  Sovereign  Straw¬ 
berries  were  exceedingly  good,  although  a  full  fortnight 
late.  ■  - 
It  is,  perhaps,  too  early  for  comprehensive  stocktaking, 
with  its  summing  up  of  a  season  good,  bad,  or  indifferent ; 
but,  as  before  remarked,  it  has  been,  to  say  the  least, 
peculiar.  A  fine  autumn,  nevertheless,  cfan  do  much  to 
redeem  that  qualified  character,  and  although  it  will  not 
this  year  put  Apples  on  our  trees,  it  may  gamer  up  the 
hidden  forces  of  nature  for  future  benefit ;  and,  possibly,  it 
is  with  us  gardeners  as  it  often  proves  to  be  with  other 
men  wTho  are  often  happier  in  anticipation  than  in  posses¬ 
sion.  This  season  has  certainly  shown  how  little  we  can 
depend  on  orthodox  lines  or  dates  in  gardening,  but  the 
delightful  ( 1)  uncertainty  of  the  elements  with  the  widely 
divergent,  circumstances  of  locality,  puts  men  on  their  mettle 
— shows  the  vital  necessity  of  keen  observation,  and  en¬ 
forces  the  fact  that  orthodoxy  is  the  vampire  of  free 
thought  and  action. — A.  N.  Oldhead. 
A  Young  Gardener’s  Trip  to  South  Africa. 
( Concluded  from  page  1 73. ) 
On  arriving  at  Durban  five  days  after  leaving  Cape  Town, 
our  ship  had  to  anchor  outside  the  “  bar,”  being  too  large  to 
enter  the  harbour.  As  the  storm  cpne  was  up,  denoting  a 
dangerous  “  bar,”  no  tug  was  allowed  to  come  out  to  us  till 
late  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  exceedingly  heavy  swell  had 
somewhat  abated.  We  got  on  to  sound  footing  all  right,  but  not 
before  getting  rather  a  rough  heave  on  “crossing  the  bar.” 
About  once  in  a  lifetime  such  an  experience  is  quite  enough  for 
any  man.  The  delightfully  mild  climate  was  appreciated  after 
the  wintry  weather  we  braved  at  Cape  Town. 
Winter  at  Durban  appears  to  be  as  warm  as  any  of  our 
hottest  summer  days  at  home.  My  friend  and  I  decided  next 
morning  after  our  arrival  that  we  would  visit  the  _  Botanic 
Gardens.  We  found  Mr.  Myllie,  who  is  an  old  Kewite,  very 
willing  to  show  us  round.  The  Queen’s  Jubilee  Conservatory  is 
a  magnificent  building,  and  was  furnished  with  Tree  Ferns, 
Palms,  Adiantums  (splendid  specimens),  Polypodiums,  and  bela- 
ginellas  principally,  all  in  surprisingly  good  order.  A  Cocos 
plumosa  stood  about  20ft  high.  This  is  the  only  house  open  to 
the  public,  but  one  large  private  house  was  filled  with  a  fine 
batch  of  Adiantums  of  good  varieties.  Outside  this  house  were 
hundreds  of  young  plants  of  Crotons,  Aralia  A  eitchi,  and 
Kentias  in  small  boxes.  Out  in  the  garden  there  were  no  lawns 
like  those  which  we  are  accustomed  with  at  home.  Palm  trees 
of  many  varieties  are  planted  throughout  the  grounds  and 
reach  from  10ft,  to  30ft  in  height.  A  Cocos  Weddelliana,  oft. 
high,  looked  grand,  but  we  were  informed  that  it  required  the 
warmest  spot  to  stand  their  winter. 
Huge  plants  of  Euphorbia  (Poinsettia)  pulclierrima  were  a 
mass  of  flower,  the  bracts  measuring  from  12in  to  loin  from  tip 
to  tip,  and  I  am  sure  this  might  be  reached  at  a  time  at  home 
should  the  too  common  system  of  coddling  be  given  over,  very 
original  was  the  edging  of  Euphorbia  splendens,  9in  high,  along 
some  of  the  walks.  It  is  a  pity  that  an  edging  such  as  this 
could  not  be  resorted  to  for  protecting  some  of  our  lawns  and 
borders.  Large  trees  of  Acacias,  20ft  to  30ft  high,  were  just 
coming  into  flower ;  but  standing  out  prominently  was  a  magnifi¬ 
cent  tree  of  Acacia  spectabilis,  the  lovely,  silvery  foliage  or 
which  would  soon  be  hidden  from  view  by  the  great  amount  ot 
flowers  just  beginning  to  burst  forth.  Apart  from  this  was  a 
beautiful  Silver  Tree,  12ft  high,  standing  amidst  a  strong  under¬ 
growth  of  Asparagus  plumosus  nanus.  Then  we  came  to  the 
bed  in  which  Mr.  Wyllio  sowed  the  first  seeds  of  the  Asparagus 
now  known  as  A.  Sprengeri,  which  he  found  on  the  Bluff,  about 
two  miles  distant.  Planted  at  different  parts  were  beds  ot 
Dracaenas  of  sorts  we  are  acquainted  with  in  our  stoves. 
Here  and  there  were  large  plants  of  Pandanus  \  eitchi,  and 
very  odd,  too,  was  Ravenala  Madagascarensis  or  travellers 
Tree,  from  which  flows  water  after  a  certain  incision  has  been 
made,  and  probably  many  a  thirsty  traveller  has  been  revived 
in  this  peculiar  manner.  Taking  a  walk  over  the  Bluff,  we 
found  several  plants  of  Asparagus  Sprengeri  and  A.  tenuissunus 
climbing  up  some  plants  of  Lantanas,  8ft  high,  and  grooving 
wild.  These-  few  notes  do  but  give  a  poor  idea  of  the  beauty 
of  this,  the  finest  Botanic  Garden  in  South  Africa,  seen,  as  it 
was,  even  in  the  middle  of  their  winter. 
Adjoining  the  Botanic  Gardens  is  Sir  Benjamin  Greenacre  s 
grounds.  The  gardener,  who  is  an  Englishman,  very  kindly 
accompanied  us  round.  Two  houses  are  given  over  to  Ferns, 
one  of  which  is  filled  with  large-  plants  of  Adiantums,  of  the 
best  varieties,  and  Gymnogrammas,  mostly.  The  other  house 
is  totally  given  oyer  to  A.  Farleyense,  or  Ostrich  Feather  lem, 
and  although  small  plants,  they  are  the  finest  I  have  yet 
ibeheld,  the  fronds  being  fresher  and  larger  than  is  usually  the 
case  at  home.  A  house,  40ft;  long,  is  devoted  to  rockery  work, 
and  planted  with  many  varieties  of  Ferns  and  Begonia  Bex. 
The  roof  of  this  house  is  completely  covered  with  Cissus  discolor. 
Orchids  are  difficult  to  work,  but  a  small  house  is  furnished 
with  Cattleyas,  and  looked  fairly  well. 
The  grounds  outside,  however,  were  the  eye-openers.  Large 
beds  of  Crotons,  beautifully  coloured,  and  from  3ft  to  6ft  high, 
were  a  sight  that  once  seen  will  not  easily  be  forgotten.  Cannas 
had  been  good  but  were  almost  past.  Bougainvillea  glabra  and 
B.  Sanderiana,  used  here  as  a  climber,  rendered  a  profusion  ot 
flower.  Roses  do  fairly  well,  but  the  white  ants  play  havoc  at 
times. 
An  Araucaria  excelsa,  60ft  high,  and  a  small  tree  of  Arau¬ 
caria  Cooki,  12ft  high,  were  the  two  outstanding  features 
among  the  "trees.  Vegetables  are  difficult  to  grow7  in  Durban, 
but  the  Oranges  and  Bananas,  among  fruits,  are  the  finest 
flavoured  I  have  tasted.  A  run  through  the  outlying  districts 
showed  us  acres  after  acres  of  Pineapple's,  Bananas,  Oranges, 
and  Lemons  being  grow7n  for  market,  and  principally  for  the 
export  trade. — Alpha. 
