8 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
July  2,  1903. 
CARDEN.  Cl^EANINCS 
Pot  Vines  at  Cardiff  Castle. 
Wending  iny  way  into  these  gardens  a  few  days  ago,  reflecting 
on  their  former  glory  and  pleasant  association.s,  and,  alas!  on  the 
now  changed  scene,  I  recounted  the  many  cultural  triumphs  of 
our  late  and  much  lamented  friend,  Mr.  Pettigrew — his  wonder¬ 
ful  Melon  crop,  his  many  new  varietie.s  raised,  his  Cardiff  Castle 
Cucumber,  his  magnificently  trained  fruit  trees,  each  monuments 
to  his  method  and  skill.  Above  all,  he  had  extraordinary  success 
with  pot  Vines,  grown  into  fruiting  condition  in  one  season,  and 
always  laden  heavily  with  bunches  of  tlie  finest  description.  This 
season  the  pot  Vines  are  again  excellent,  thanks  to  the  practical 
care  of  Mr.  Farmer,  who,  as  foreman,  was  for  several  years  Mr. 
Pettigrew’s  right  hand,  and  e.specially  so  during  the  latter  part 
of  his  long  and  painful  illness.  Tiiis  success  reflects  great  credit 
on  Mr.  Farmer,  who  remains  in  charge  of  the  gardens  for  the 
present.  The  varieties  grown  are  Black  Hamburgh,  Alnwick 
Seedling,  Foster’s  Seedling,  Madresfield  Court,  Black  Alicante, 
and  Black  Morocco,  the  latter  particularly  good,  and  all  were 
carrying  nine  to  twelve  bunches  each  of  more  than  average 
weight.  Last  year  Mr.  Pettigrew  grew  Diamond  Jubilee  and 
fruited  it  well,  but  was  not  pleased  with  its  quality.  Whilst 
sincerely  lamenting  the  loss  of  our  genial  friend,  the  thought 
would  occur,  that  the  fates  had  been  kind  in  sparing  him  the 
pain  of  beholding  the  ruthless  demolition  of  much  of  his  life’s 
labours,  for  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  gardens  are  doomed  to 
make  way  in  the  near  future  for  the  utilitarian  demon  in  the 
garb  of  bricks  and  mortar. — L.  Aedaith. 
Aubrietias. 
For  the  rockery,  or  for  edgings  to  paths,  Rock  Cresses  are 
valuable  plants,  and  also  for  spring  bedding  they  make  a  gay 
display  during  April  and  May,  and  even  well  into  June  were  they 
required.  Thanks  to  the  enterprise  of  several  persons,  we  have 
now  much  variety  to  choose  from ;  new  and  distinct  colours  aro 
now  taking  the  place  of  such  .sorts  as  deltoidea,  which  is  no 
doubt  the  parent  of  many.  A.  Dr.  Mules  is,  in  my  opinion,  quite 
the  best  of  the  dark  purple  varieties  ;  it  is  a  distinct  improve¬ 
ment  upon  A.  Hendersoni,  being  deeper  in  colour  and  more 
compact  in  growth,  exceptionally  free  flowering.  This  is  quite  a 
gem.  A.  Moerhemi  is  a  distinct  break  in  colour,  being  a  deep 
rose  pink.  When  first  expanding  the  colour  is  quite  pale,  one 
might  almost  describe  it  as  “washy,”  but  if  one  waits  to  see  the 
blossoms  fully  developed  it  is  quite  another  thing.  I  think  this 
has  been  the  cause  of  some  writers’  disparaging  remark.s — a  too 
early  opinion.  The  growth  is  vigorous,  the  foliage  being  of  a 
glaucous  tint.  Another  point,  too,  in  its  favour  is  the  length 
■  of  time  the  flowering  season  extends. 
A.  Fire  King  has,  perhaps,  the  brightest  colour  of  all — glow¬ 
ing  crimson.  It,  too,  has  the  merit  of  lasting  a  long  time  in 
flower.  In  growth  it  is  vigorous.  A.  Leichtlini  deserves  a  posi¬ 
tion  in  every  collection  ;  its  colour — bright  rose — quite  enlivens 
that  part  of  the  garden  in  which  it  grows.  The  habit  of  growth 
is  compact,  while  its  freedom  in  flo\vering  cannot  be  excelled. 
A.  Souvenir  of  Wm.  Ingram  has  larger  flowers  than  the  fore¬ 
going;  the  colour  is  rose  pink,  changing  to  pale  blue,  wdth 
paler  centre  markings. 
A.  Campbelli  (syn.  Hendei'.soni)  is  a  rich  violet  purple,  the 
blooms  are  exceptionally  large.  The  growtii  is  rather  straggling, 
in  other  respects  worthy  of  a  jilace  in  any  collection.  The  new 
varieties.  Bridesmaid  and  Lilac  Queen,  raised  and  distributed 
by  Messrs.  Barr  and  Sons  at  their  Ditton  Hill  Nurseries,  are  a 
distinct  gain ;  the  former  soft  blu.sh,  and  the  latter  a  soft  .shade 
■of  lilac.  Aubrietias  are  easily  propagated.  Where  a  sutficient 
stock  is  available,  to  get  quickly  good  plants  for  flowering  tho 
following  season,  division  of  the  roots  is  a  good  plan.  Directly 
flowering  is  i^ast  cut  away  all  the  flowering  shoots  and  pull  the 
roots  in  pieces,  and  plant  them  in  sandy  soil  to  which  is  added 
leaf  mould  freely.  Choose  a  northern  aspect,  as  this  site  dis¬ 
penses  with  the  necessity  to  shade  daily  should  the  weather  be 
hot  and  drju  The  more  scarce  varietie.s  should  be  increased  by 
cuttings  taken  off  now  and  inserted  in  .sandy  soil  in  a  cold 
frame. — ^E.  Molyneux. 
Veronica  spicata. 
Though  most  gardening  books  seem  to  omit  this  species  from 
their  lists,  it  i.s  neverthele.ss  a  desirable  plant  and  said  to  be  a 
native  of  Britain.  The  illustration  on  page  15  portrays  the  habit 
and  free-flowering  character  of  the  bush,  covered  with  its  dense 
spikes  of  blue  flowers.  It  is  a  dwarf  grower  lift  to  2ft,  and  is 
mainly  to  be  commended  for  tiie  rock  garden.  Our  photograph 
comes  from  Mr.  C.  Jones,  of  Ote  Hall. 
Schcenia  cassiniana. 
This  is  a  pretty  greenhouse  annual,  a  Composite,  with  pink 
and  rose  flowers,  borne  in  umbels.  These  are  of  the  “Immortelle  ” 
type  (i.e.,  “Everlasting”),  as  the  plant  is  a  native  of  the  drier 
regions  of  tlie  Swan  River,  W.  Australia.  Schcenia  is  nearly  allied 
to  Helipterum.  An  award  of  merit  was  given  to  Hurst  and  Sons, 
152,  Houndsditch,  E.C.,  vdien  they  staged  plants  of  it  before  the 
Floral  Committee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  on  June  9. 
New  Calceolarias. 
Writing  from  Fdston,  Hamilton,  N.B.,  Mr.  D.  Chisholm  (in 
sending  flower.s)  says: — “No.  1  Calceolaria:  This  is  a  cross 
between  Dalkeith  strain  herbaceous  Calceolaria  and  Golden  Gem 
hardy  shrubby  Calceolaria.  The  latter  was  the  seed  parent. 
The  cross  is  well  suited  for  bedding,  both  the  foliage  and  flowers 
are  more  attractive  than  the  seed  parent. 
No.  2  Calceolaria  :  This  is  a  cross  between  No.  1  and  Veitch’s 
finest  herbaceous  strain,  the  former  being  the  seed  parent.  There 
were  many  colours,  but  this  is  the  best  formed  and  marked.  It 
takes  the  character  of  the  seed  parent  in  the  foliage,  which  is 
robust  and  abundant.” 
A  New  Strawberry  Fiend. 
One  becomes  so  accustomed  to  the  visit  of  the  common  thrush 
and  blackbird  at  Strawberry  time  that  they  are  expectant  and 
realised  troubles,  and  thus  always  provided  for.  This  year  these 
birds  had  hardly  made  their  presence  felt,  the  abnormally  wet 
and  rainy  time  providing  abundance  of  woi'ins,  which  is  the 
natural  food  of  both  thrushes  and  blackbirds,  when  the  small 
brown  linnet  made  raids  on  the  forwardest  berries.  This  is  a 
new  trouble,  and  one  not  so  easily  dealt  with  unless  smaller 
me.shed  nettings  are  employed.  Ordinary  fi,sh  nettings  purchased 
for  the  protection  of  fruit  avail  nothing  for  the  brown  linnet, 
they  pass  through  the  meshes  almost  as  easily  as  though  they 
were  not  present. 
The  brown  linnet  has  up  to  now  been  regarded  as  one  of 
the  few  of  the  gardener’s  fealhered  friends.  They  have  even 
been  encouraged  here  in  their  nesting,  for  which  purpose  the 
Gooseberry  bushes  afford  them  ideal  spots.  Being  mostly  seed¬ 
eating  birds,  they  do  much  good  among  many  noxious  weeds,  and 
usually  here  they  are  seen  only  in  the  spring  and  early  summer. 
I  can  only  remember  one  season  when  they  were  a  trouble  to  the 
seed  beds ;  then,  as  if  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  season,  they 
stepped  in  to  replace  the  absent  chaffinch.  Bird  life  has 
apparently  not  that  uniformity  of  habit  one  is  inclined  to 
accredit  to  them — at  least,  I  have  found  from  year  to  year  that 
though  by  common  consent  they  claim  certain  crops  as  part  of 
their  diet,  they  evidently  do  not  bind  themselves  to  anything 
that  would  imply  etiquette  in  custom  or  season. 
Most  growers  are  acquainted  with  the  worthlessness  of  Straw¬ 
berries  attacked  by  mice.  The  .surface  of  the  fruit  is  simply 
peeled  off  by  the  removal  of  the  seeds.  Exactly  the  same 
appearance  is  given  to  the  fruit  after  the  linnet  has  adapted  the 
seeds  to  his  purpose,  and  I  note  they  are  not  so  particular  about 
the  perfect  ripeness  of  the  berry.  Probably  the  nature  of  the 
season  accounts  for  these  vagaries  of  bird  life.  It  cannot  be 
the  absence  of  weed  seeds  that  accounts  for  the  linnet  freak,  for 
everywhere  just  now  the  weed  trouble  is  in  the  ascendant  as  an 
element  of  controversy.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  from 
other  readers  whether  this  new  addition  to  Strawberry  connois¬ 
seurs  is  giving  similar  experience  elsewdiere. 
It  is  regretable  always  to  have  to  destroy  birds  that  may  do 
so  much  good  in  their  own  way,  but  when  their  numbers  increase 
as  they  do  so  plentifully,  given  unmolested  breeding  accommoda¬ 
tion,  it  soon  develops  into  a  serious  question  when  they  take  to 
a  new  custom  like  that  of  fruit  eating.  They  are  not  in  the 
least  shy,  but  will  come  almost  within  arm’s  length  and  help 
themselves  in  spite  of  net  coverings.  In  a  similar  manner  bull¬ 
finches  will  take  a  fancy  to  Raspberries  in  some,  though  not  in 
every,  year,  and  in  town  gardens  the  starling  is  an  equally 
dreaded  robber. — W.  S. 
