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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  16,  1902. 
CARDER  CMEA'NINCSv; 
Hydrangea  Names. 
It  is  not  a  common  error— nevertheless,  one  not  unknown — 
for  persons  to  designate  the  well  known  hardy  Hydrangea,  H.  pani- 
culata.  Nurserymen,  observes  Mr.  Meehan  in  the  “Florists’ 
Exchange,”  receive  orders  for  this  subject,  and  in  nearly  all  cases 
assume,  correctly,  the  customer  means  H.  paniculata  grandiflora 
— a  very  different  thing.  There  is  in  cultivation  H.  paniculata, 
and  a  very  good  plant  it  is.  The  flowers  on  the  panicles  are  not 
numerous,  hence  do  not  weigh  down  the  heads,  and  each  head 
stands  boldly  erect  on  a  perfectly  straight  shoot.  It  is  a  good 
and  showy  shrub,  but  not  having  the  mass  of  the  H.  p.  grandiflora, 
it  does  not  make  such  a  grand  showing.  But  it  is  a  good  thing, 
and  is  extensively  used  for  massing. 
Treatment  of  Box  Edgings.  - 
The  best  time  of  the  year  for  clipping  Box  edgings  where 
employed  in  garden  walks  is  September  or  early  Octpber.  Where 
edgings  of  this  kind  have  been  neglected  and  plants  have  grown 
coarse  and  strong — and  perhaps  have  become  intermixed  with 
weeds  and  grasses — the  most  effective  method  of  renewing  the 
edging  is  to  have  the  whole  of  the  plants  dug  up  and  replanted. 
After  being  dug  up  in  this  manner  the  old  plants  should  be 
divided  out  into  pieces,  taking  care  that  upon  each  such  piece 
portion  of  the  roots  is  allowed  to  remain.  The  longer  roots 
attached  to  these  slips  should  then  be  cut  off  and  the  plants 
freshly  put  in  along  the  original  line  of  walk,  care  being  taken  in 
the  meantime  to  have  the  soil  underneath  and  about  them 
thoroughly  dug  up  and  cleared  of  all  roots  of  weeds  or  other 
extraneous  growth. 
Helenium  pumilum  magnificum. 
Nearly  every  devotee  of  hardy  plants  is  acquainted  with  the 
beauty  and  merits  of  Helenium  pumilum,  and  those  who  do  not 
know  it  should  constantly  be  reminded  of  its  value  in  the  garden 
with  its  large  yellow  flowers.  These  are  produced  in  the  greatest 
profusion  on  plants  running  from  2ft  to  3ft  in  height,  according 
to  the  character  of  the  soil  and  the  moisture  conditions.  The 
golden-yellow  flowers  are  about  2in  across,  and  are  very  beautiful 
with  their  high  centres  and  pretty  ray  petals.  In  every  way 
superior,  however,  is  the  variety  named  magnificum,  which  is  one 
of  the  best  hardy  plants  now  in  cultivation.  It  is  rather  taller  in 
growth,  though  that  is  not  always  an  advantage.  The  flowers  are 
also  larger  and  of  a  lovely  yellow  shade.  It  seems  to  me  to  flower 
even  more  freely  than  the  typical  H.  pumilum,  and  it  is  in 
almost  all  respects  a  much  finer  plant.  It  makes  a  capital  plant 
for  the  exhibition  stand,  though  it  does  not  show  to  advantage 
if  a  big  bunch  is  shown  with  all  the  blooms  crowded  together.  It 
should  be  loosely  arranged  with  a  good  length  of  stem.  It  can  be 
easily  grown  in  any  good  soil. — S.  Aknott. 
Helianthus,  Daniel  Dewar. 
We  have  Sunflowers  galore,  and  it  takes  something  distinct 
and  good  to-  make  a  place  for  itself.  In  its  own  way  Helianthus 
Miss  Mellish  is  unsurpassable,  though  its  rambling  habit  is  such 
that  it  requires  to  be  carefully  kept  from  encroaching  on  its 
neighbours  in  the  border.  It  ought,  indeed,  to  have  a  place  to 
itself.  The  same  character  is  the  defect  of  the  newer  one, 
H.  Daniel  Dewar,  raised  a  year  or  two  ago  by  Mr.  M.  Cuthbertson, 
of  Rothesay,  and  only  now  becoming  known  in  gardens.  It  also 
has  a  most  encroaching  habit,  and  wants  to  be  placed  where  it 
will  not  eject  or  smother  other  flowers.  Yet  it  is  worth  a  good 
place  if  only  for  the  sake  of  its  flowers  for  cutting,  for  they  are 
to  the  Sunflowers  what  the  Cactus  Dahlias  are  to  the  other  forms 
of  these  popular  flowers.  The-  petals  are  prettily  twisted,  and 
the  whole  appearance  of  the  flower  is  altogether  informal, 
though,  of  course,  one  cannot  say  that  H.  Miss  Mellish  is  formal 
either.  The  flowers  of  H.  Daniel  Dewar  are  smaller  than  those 
of  H.  Miss  Mellish  and  are  of  great  value  for  cutting,  if  this  is 
done  before  the  flowers  are  too  fully  open,  as  they  then  last  much 
longer  in  a  cut  state.  As  a  garden  plant,  too,  this  Sunflower  is 
quite  effective. — S.  A. 
A  New  Industry— Crab  Jelly. 
Probably  owing  to  the  deficiency  of  fruit,  including  the  Apple 
crop,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Channel  this  year,  there  is  great 
demand  for  Crabs  and  the  wild  Apples  of  the  hedgerows.  Mr. 
Clifford,  T.C.,  Clonmel,  and  Messrs.  Skehan,  Carrick-on-Suir, 
are  catering  to  meet  this  want.  Whole  drayloads  at  a  time  have 
been  sent  by  rail,  generally  t-o  Liverpool  or  Manchester,  where 
they  meet  a  ready  and  profitable  sale.  The  season  for  Whortle¬ 
berries  and  “  frahawns,”  or  hurts,  for  jam  making,  is  over,  and 
that  of  Blackberries  has  scarcely  arrived.  The  jams  made  from 
those  are  most  welcome  to  the  teeming  millions  of  Glasgow  and 
Lancashire.  But  is  it  not  to  be  regretted  (says  the  “  Nationalist”) 
we  have  not  small  capitalists  at  home  to  run  such  a  factory — 
keep  the  people  employed,  and  help  to  realise  fortunes  for  them¬ 
selves  or  their  shareholders,  instead  of  having  all  going  to  our 
more  wealthy  neighbours  ? 
A  Meritorious  Annual. 
The  plant  referred  to  is  Callistephus  hortensis,  which  grows 
ljilx  to  2ft  in  height,  and  is  terminated  by  large  mauve-purple- 
flowers,  in  form  like  those  of  a  very  large  single  Pyrethrum  ;  they 
are  distinctly  decorative.  Callistephus  hortensis  is  the  original 
species  from  which  the  numerous  varieties  of  China  Aster  in 
cultivation  have  been  produced.  Recently  we  were  greatly 
delighted  to  see  a  “  lakelet  ”  of  the  beautiful  flowers  of  this  plant 
sheeting  the  ground  on  the  fringe  of  a  shrubbery-copse  in  an 
outlying  and  sequestered  part  of  the  Royal  Gardens  at  Kew. 
The  plants  furnished  a  niQst  delightful  and  effective  show  from  a 
distance,  there  being  tall  plants  of  the  quick  growing  and  hand¬ 
some  Impatiens  Roylei  through  and  amongst  them,  the  whole 
mass  of  flowers  winding  out  and  in  among  the  Cyprus  and  Yew 
trees.  Seeds  of  the  Aster  had  simply  been  scattered  about  among 
the  half-bare  patches  of  soil  in  spring  time,  and  this  was  the 
successful  result.  The  feature  should  be  widely  copied;  it  is 
magnificent. 
Aster  Thomsoni. 
It  is  gratifying  to  see  that  this  pretty  Himalayan  Starwort 
is  growing  in  favour,  and  I  am  satisfied  that  those  who  already 
possess  it  will  not  regret  having  added  it  to  their  gardens.  It 
is  now  a  good  number  of  years  since  I  was  introduced  to  it  by 
one  of  our  most  eminent  hardy  plantsmen,  who  sent  me  a  plant 
with  some  appreciative  remarks.  It  deserved  them  all,  but  the 
plant  itself  seemed  to  make  its  way  slowly  into  other  gardens. 
It  is  now  fairly  well  distributed,  and  most  nurserymen  who  grow 
a  collection  of  such  flowers  keep  it  in  stock.  I  have  come  across 
it  several  times  in  gardens  this  year,  and  everywhere  it  has 
been  spoken  of  with  approbation.  Its  early  flowering  is  a 
distinct  advantage,  as  it  comes  into  bloom  in  July  as  a  rule, 
though  late  this  year.  It  lasts  well  through  August,  and  in 
colder  gardens  blooms  into  September,  commencing  to  flower  a 
little  later  than  in  the  warmer  districts.  It  grows  from  1ft  to 
2ft  high,  and  has  large  pale  blue  flowers  of  much  beauty.  They 
remind  one  of  the  blooms  of  the  fine  Aster  Amelins  bessarabicus. 
A.  Thomsoni  is  quite  hardy,  and  seems  to  me  to  dislike  a  very 
dry  and  poor  soil. — A. 
Cytisus  praecox. 
The  Brooms  are  always  favourite  plants,  and  a  good  collection 
of  the  Cytisuses  and  the  allied  Genistas  are  a  most  attractive 
feature  of  a  garden.  I  do  not  think,  however,  that  there  is  any 
one  so  much  admired  as  Cytisus  preecox,  a  true  “  cream  ”  Broom, 
though  it  opens  a  very  pale  yellow.  For  one  thing,  it  is  a 
splendid  doer  in  dry  soil,  and  it  never  fails  to  cover  itself  with 
a  perfect  veil  of  lovely  little  flowers.  It  is  one  of  the  small 
flowered  Blrooms,  so  that  those  who  expect  to  have-  from  it 
the  larger  blooms  of  Cytisus  seoparius  Andreanus,  or  C.  biflorus 
even,  might  possibly  be  disappointed.  Size  is  not,  however, 
everything,  and  both  for  beauty  and  for  profusion  of  flower 
C.  prsecox  will  more  than  hold  its  own  with  any  member  of  its 
charming  family.  I  have-  a  fine  plant  in  my  garden  which  in¬ 
creases  in  size  and  beauty  every  year,  and  is  a  perpetual  object 
of  admiration  when  it  is  in  bloom.  It  is  so  fine  that  one  will 
not  grudge  to  divert  the-  path  on  which  it  rather  encroaches  to 
secure  an  even  better  display  in  early  spring,  for  it  is  one  of 
the  first  of  the  genus  to  bloom.  After  flowering  it  is  out  well 
in,  but  requires  no  further  attention.  It  was  raised  at  War¬ 
minster,  in  Wheeler’s  Nursery,  and  is  supposed  to  be  a  hybrid 
of  C.  purgans  and  C.  albus. — R.  N.  T. 
