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JOURXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  7,  19«}.' 
Notewopthy  New  Plants. 
A  new  Begonia  of  the  seinperflorens  section  is  B.  s.  coccinea 
fl.  pi.,  excellent  for  lawn-bedding  and  edging.  Plants  of  this 
new  variety  are  compact,  bushy,  and  not  more  than  4in  high, 
covered  all  summer  with  blight  scarlet  double  flowers.  It  was 
awarded  the  gold  medal  for  best  bedding  plant  by  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society  of  Vienna  last  summer.  Another  novelty, 
similar  in  character  to  the  above,  also  fine  for  edging  and 
border  planting,  is  Ageratum  Blausternchen  (little  blue  star), 
height  three  to  four  inches,  flowers  of  a  beautiful  sky-blue, 
produced  in  profusion  all  through  the  .season. 
Geranium  ppatense  fl.-pl. 
The  true  Geraniums  which  adorn  the  hardy  plant  borders 
are  eligible  for  a  place  in  the  finest' collections ;  and  the  one  we 
figure  may  be  classed  as  both  well-known  and  thoroughly 
deserving  of  appreciation.  The  type  is  a  beautiful  British  plant, 
growing  2ft  to  3ft  high,  with  round,  downy  .stems  and  leaves, 
as  shown  in  the  woodcut.  The  blue  flowers  are  bright  and 
effective,  and  tho.se  of  the  double  variety  last  well  when  cut. 
Besides  the  blue,  there  is  also  a  double  white  variety.  In  the 
re-arranging  or  planting  of  the  herbaceous  border,  or  the 
rockery,  space  ought  to  be  found  for  .some  of  the  Geraniums. 
Capnation  Mps.  T.  W.  Lawson. 
China  Asteps. 
The  improvement  .in  China  Asters  is  steadily  going  on. 
The  Ia.st  twb’ or  three  years  were  remarkable  for  the  number  of 
new  varieties  introduced  here  as  well  as  in  Germany.  But  this, 
season  seems  to  have  been  even  more  prolific  in  this  respect  than 
any.  Scores  of  new  Asters  are  offered  in  next  year’s  li.sts,  of 
which,  .so  it  seems,  a  Giant  Comet  Aster,  named  Rubin  (Ruby) 
may  be  found  of  great  value  to  gardeners  and  florists,  especially 
for  cutting.,  It,  is  declared  to  be  the  best  of  the  Comets  .so  far 
brought  out.  The  floweis  are  of  enormous  .size,  wavy  and 
curled,  full  up  to  the-  centre,  not  .showing  at  any  time  a  yellow 
disc,  resembling  Chrysanthemums  to  such  an  extent  that  it 
was  mistaken  for  such  by  nearly  all  of  the  members  present  at 
a  meeting  of  the  Society  for  the  Advancement  of  Horticulture, 
Berlin,  held  September  24,  where  it  was  first  shown.  The 
colour,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  a  deep,  glowing  scarlet,  a  shade 
scarce  in  Asters. 
Impepial  VePbenas. 
An  entirely  new  race  of  \'erbenas  has  been  obtained  by, 
taking  advantage  of  the  proclivity  in  that  genus  to  sport,  by 
careful  selection  and  continued  cro.ssing,  which,  it  is  expected, 
will  eventually  take  the  place  of  those  old,  emaciated  varieties 
now  in  cultivation.  In  this  new  strain,  introduced  under  the 
name  of  Verbena  hybrida  grandiflora  imperialis,  and  being 
better  known  in  Germany  as  the  new  Imperial  Verbenas,  a 
novelty  of  great  merit  is  offered  to  the  public.  The  habit  of  the 
plant  is  rol)Ust,  not  creeping,  but  boldly  upright,  carrying  its 
immense  trusses  of  bloom  on  sturdy  stems  well  above  tbe 
foliage.  Flowers  in  the  brightest  of  colours,  very  large  single 
florets  measuring  nearly  an  inch  in  diameter,  each  one  distinctly 
marked  with  a  pure  white  centre  or  eye,  rendering  it  most 
effective  for  massing  in  border  plantings.  On  account  of  its 
compact,  .symmetrical  growth  it  will  be  one  of  the  finest  pot 
plants  for  .spring  trade. 
This  splendid  variety  is  gaining  more  friends  every  year, 
and  well  it  may,  for  since  the  conditions  under  which  it  thrives 
be.st  have  become  better  understood,  it  has  proved  it.self  the 
most  profitable  Carnation  now  cultivated.  A  writer  in  the 
“American  Florist”  attributes  his  sncce,ss  to  care  in  taking 
cuttings  from  only  the  most  vigorous  and  healthy  plants.  The 
writer  there  says: — “After  they  have  been  rooted  and  taken 
out  of  the  sand,  we  di.scaid  all  that  show  any  signs  of  weak¬ 
ness,  and  after  they  have  been  iJotted  four  or  five  weeks  we 
go  through  the  batch  and  throw  out  all  that  are  not  growing 
properly.  In  this  way  we  get  rid  of  the  weak  portion  of  the 
stock,  and  have  left  only  strong,  healthy  plants,  which  make  a 
better  showing '  each  succeeding  j^ear.  I  believe  in  growing 
Lawson  as  well  as  all  other  Carnations  in  pots.  Those  that 
were  potted  early  in  2in  should  be  repotted  into  3  and  finally 
into  4in  if  there  is  any  danger  of  their  becoming  potbound  and 
their  growth  being  checked.  But  for  plants  that  are  to  be 
grown  in  the  field  it  is  seldom  necessary  to  use  4in  pots.  Those 
in  threes  make  good,  strong  plants  for  field  planting,  and  they 
lift  much  better  in  the  summer  than  plants  from  smaller  pots, 
as  the  3in  ball  of  earth  usually  .sticks  to  the  plant  and  prevents 
it  from  wilting  when  it  is  transplanted  into  the  greenhouse. 
Under  no  consideration  should  the  growth  of  the  Lawson  bo 
checked.  If  the  plants  are  not  to  be  grown  in  the  field,  thi-y 
sliould  be  kept  moving  in  pots  until  they  can  be  planted  in  the 
house.  Last  year  we  planted  from  3in  pots  about  June  20  in  the 
house  where  they  are  now  blooming,  but  we  made  a  serious 
mistake  in  holding  them  in  3in  six  weeks  too  long.  They  should 
have  been  planted  in  the  house  May  1,  or  shifted  into  4in  pots 
about  that  time.  Had  we  done  either  a  much  earlier  and 
heavier  crop  would  have  resulted.  The  Lawson  will  stand 
stronger  feeding  than  other  varieties,  but  care  should  be  taken 
not  to  use  anything  .strong  enough  to  injure  the  roots.  It  will 
take  more  water  than  most  varieties,  and  will  thrive  with  a  good 
syringing  on  all  bright  days.  AVe  find  it  does  best  in  a  night 
temperature  of  56deg  to  58deg.  Grown  cooler,  the  flowers  split, 
and,  warmer,  the  flowers  are  too  small.  Nothing,  however, 
seems  to  affect  the  stiffness  of  the  stem.  AVe  have  picked  from 
tliis  house  (18ft  by  100ft)  as  many  as  1,060  blooms  in  one  day, 
and  on  many  occasions  we  have  picked  from  800  to  950  at  one 
time.  But  these  heavy  pickings  were  after  the  flowers  had  been 
left  three  or  four  days.  Our  general  average  has  been  for  some 
months  past  about  1,000  per  week.” 
Easter  Daffs. 
South  liincolnshire  sends  London  as  many  blooms  as  the 
Scilly  Islands.  Last  year,  more  than  10,000cwt.  of  cut  flowers 
— mostly  Narcis.si — were  despatched  fi'om  Spalding  station 
alone.  Indeed,  for  many  seasons  past,  the  railway  comijany 
have  granted  the  glowers  a  flower  rate;  and  at  the  height  of 
the  season — at  Easter — are  compelled  to  put  on  ten-van  specials. 
Easter  coming  early  this  j'ear,  and  the  open-air  bulb  season,  on 
account  of  the  phenomenal  rainfall,  being  about  a  fortnight  to 
three  weeks  late,  the  growers  have  to  depend  upon  their  forcing 
houses.  Some  years  back.  Dr.  Arthur  Stiles,  of  Spalding,  for¬ 
sook  medicine,  and  transferred  his  professional  attentions  to  the 
growing  of  bulbs  and  blooms  for  the  wholesale  markets.  The 
houses  are  the  result  of  the  doctor’s  diagnosis  as  to  the  special 
treatment  required  for  the  forcing  of  bulbs.  Although  the 
houses  are  not  more  than  100ft  long  and  20ft  wide,  each  con¬ 
tains  about  90,000  blooms;  but  some  of  the  growers  have  houses 
containing  three  times  the  quantity.  Narcissus  poeticus 
ornatus,  or  Poet’s  Narciss,  is  favoui-ed. 
Eucha.pis  amazonica.  at  Capnatie  Hall,  Liverpool. 
Readers  will  readily  acquiesce  with  me  in  my  as.sertion  that 
this  plant  at  the  present  period  of  the  year  is  greatly  appre¬ 
ciated.  The  photograph  .shown  on  page  299  represents  in  all  ten 
plants  in  12in  pots,  some  of  the  plants  carrying  two  dozen 
scapes,  and  each  scape  has  an  average  of  six  flowers.  They  are, 
with  us,  of  the  easiest  possible  culture,  the  principal  item  to  be 
observed  being  the  temperature  of  the  houses.  This  should  not 
be  allowed  to  fall  below  65deg  in  winter.  Potting  need  not  be 
done  any  oftener  than  once  in  four  or  five  years,  the  compost  to 
consist  of  equal  parts  of  rough,  fibry  loam,  leaf  mould  half 
rotten)  and  cow  manure,  with  a  dash  of  rough  sand  and 
charcoal  to  keep  the  whole  sweet.  Plenty  of  drainage  is  essen¬ 
tial,  as  they  delight  in  an  abundance  of  water  at  all  times, 
winter  and  summer.  Experience  has  taught  me  that  the  old 
fallacy  of  drying  them  off  is  all  humbug.  AVe  get  a  similar 
quantity  of  flowers  as  represented,  about  three  times  a  year, 
which  does  not  say  much  in  favour  of  the  old  drying-off  process. 
In  summer  I  strongly  advise  the  use  of  soot  and  manure  water 
mixed ;  also  frequent  and  violent  syringings  overhead  with 
liquid  manure  water,  one  part  to  six  of  warm  water.  This  also 
acts  as  a  good  insecticide.  Fairly  heavy  shading  must  be  re¬ 
sorted  to  in  order .  to  prevent  strong  sunshine  from  scorching 
I  the  foliage. — AA\  B. 
