October  8,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
827 
CARDEH.  C^ANINCS 
Azalea  amoena. 
The  pretty  bush  evergreen  Azalea  aincena  is  one  of  the  best 
known  of  all  the  family.  It  is  so  unlike  any  other ;  and  then, 
being  hardy  and  evergreen,  is  so  much  in  its  favour,  to  say 
nothing  of  its  lovely  rose-coloured  flowers.  But  the  exact 
colour  depends  on  situation;  sometimes  it  is  almost  crimson. 
In  very  severe  winters  the  foliage  will  be  a  little  damaged,  but 
the  wood  rarely.  As  soon  as  the  sap  rises  in  spring  the  flower 
buds  begin  to  expand,  and  by  May  this  bush  is  in  its  glory  when 
in  vigorous  condition.  As  with  all  Azaleas,  it  stands  pruning 
well,  and  when  it  gets  old  is  much  improved  by  being  cut  well 
back.  And  it  likes  good  food,  too.  Feed  it  well  and  prune  it 
occasionally,  and  vigorous  shoots  result,  which  give  abundant 
bloom. 
Spiraea  Thunbergi. 
This  shrubby  Japanese  Spiraea  (which  we  illustrate  on 
page  337)  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  finest  hardy  subjects  in 
every  way  that  are  known  and  grown  in  British  gardens  to-day. 
Perhaps  some  of  our  readers  who  were  at  the  gardeners’  dinner 
noticed  the  twiggy  growths  with  the  green  linear  leaves  that 
Messrs.  Veitch’s  decorator  had  used  with  his  flowers.  These 
were  growths  of  this  Spiraea.  Then  in  spring  it  is  a  splendid 
shrub  for  forcing,  the  plants  being  grown  in  pots.  It  is  naturally 
the  earliest  of  all  the'  shrubby  Spiraeas  to  bloom,  and  where  its 
beauty  is  not  marred  by  inclement  weather,  it  is  effective  and 
graceful.  A  light  soil  and  sheltered  aspect  are  what  it  enjoys. 
The  flowers  are  white,  and  the  leaves  bright  green,  becoming 
crimson  in  autumn. 
The  Vitality  of  Seeds. 
A  correspondent  writes  to  the  “  Evening  Standard  ”  :  About, 
the  year  1859  the  railway  from  Ware  to  Buntingferd  was  in 
progress — a  cutting  was  being  made  through  a  iDasture  field, 
when  the  workmen  came  on  an  entirely  different  soil,  which  was 
of  a  black  colour,  in  which  were  numerous  remains  of  Roman 
pottery  and  some  Roman  coins.  In  the  following  spring  there 
came  up  a  heavy  crop  of  scarlet  Poppies  for  some  yards,  next  to 
them  a  crop  of  Henbane,  and  further  on  a  crop  of  Rape,  or 
Brassica  napus.  Nowhere  else  in  the  neighbourhood  were  any 
of  these!  plants  to  be  met  with,  not  even  the  Poppies.  The 
seeds  must  have  lain  dormant  from  the  time  of  the  Romans, 
when  there  had  evidently  been  three  plots  of  ground  in  culti¬ 
vation,  so  sharply  and  clearly  divided  were  the  three  crops. 
Culture  of  Llbonla  floribunda. 
As  a  greenhouse  plant  there  are  few  more  worthy  of 
cultivation  than  the  above.  Insert  the  cuttings  in  March  in  a 
48-pot.  They  will  strike  freely  in  a  compost  of  turfy  loam 
and  silv'er  sand,  the  pots  to  be  placed  in  a  gentle  hotbed.  When 
rooted  pot  singly  into  three  inch  pots,  using  three  parts  of  turfy 
loam,  one  part  old  cow  manure,  one  part  silver  .sand,  with  some 
small  pieces  of  charcoal.  When  e.sta Wished ,  harden  off  and 
grow  in  a  cold  frame,  shift  into  “forty-eights  ”  before  the 
roots  are  matted  together,  and  never  let  the  aoil  become  dry. 
In  September  move  the  plants  into  the  greenhouse,  affording 
them  a  light  position  and  a  temperature  of  40  degree's  to 
45  degrees.  The  plants  will  flower  freelv  from  January  to  April, 
and  will  not  disgrace  the  dining  table  or  the  drawing-room,  the 
small  bright  green  foliage  with  the  orange  and  dark  brown 
flowers  being  very  effectve.  After  flowering,  move  them  into  a 
temi)orature  of  oo  degrees  to  60  degrees  to  make  new  growth, 
harden  off,  then  move  them  outdoors.  Libonias  make  nice 
standard  plants.  Cut  off  all  side  shoots  until  18  inches  high, 
then  stop  as  required  to  make  a  nice  head  18  inches  over,  which 
they  will  do  the  first  season  with  but  little  care.  Place  a  plant 
in  the  centre  of  a  fruit-stand  with  fruit  round  it.  Place  the 
.stand  in  the  centre  of  the  dining  table,  and  with  a  good  plant 
of  Gesnera  on  each  side  the  effect  is  most  beautiful,  especially 
by  gaslight.  The  Libonia  will  not  flower  in  a  high  and  moist 
atmosphere. 
Fruit  Trees  on  Dinner  Tables. 
To  eat  fruit  fresh  from  the  trees  at  a  banqueting  table  is  one 
of  the  latest  luxuries  of  English  epicures.  Certain  fruiterers  in 
the  \1  est  End  (says  a  London  paper)  are  now  making  preparations 
for  an  abundant  supply  of  dwarf  fruit  trees  laden  with  Cherries, 
Peaches,  Pears,  and  Apples  for  ornament  and  de.ssert  at  the 
dinnei's  of  the  coming  .season.  The  tiny  fruit  trees,  which, 
although  four  or  five  years  old,  are  only  some  3ft.  high,  not  only 
make  a  delightful  table  decoration,  but  produce  delicious  de.ssert. 
The  Cedars  at  Goodwood. 
The  death  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond  and  Gordon  serves  to 
recall  the  fact  that  the  Sussex  seat  of  the  Lennox-Gordon  family 
is  “  Glorious  Goodwood,”  rich  in  its  mighty  trees  and  broad 
glades,  and,  above  all,  in  its  unrivalled  view  of  the  English 
Channel.  The  park  at  Goodwood  is  seven  miles  in  circum¬ 
ference,  and  contains  the  famous  racecourse.  It  is  also  remark¬ 
able  for  its  wealth  of  imported  acclimati.sed  trees,  prominent 
among  which  are  the  Cedars  of  Lebanon,  the  Cork  tree,  and  the 
evergreen  Oak.  The  Cedars  of  Goodwood  were  planted  in  1762, 
and  are  exceedingly  well  grown  for  their  age,  and  add  greatly 
to  the'  S2)lendour  of  this  noble  park. 
Physalis  peruviana  edulis. 
One  rarely  sees  a  plant  of  this  old  greenhouse  shrub.  At  the 
Norfolk  Nurseries,  Dereham,  there  is  a  .specimen  planted  out  at  the 
back  of  a  lean-to  house,  where  it  no  doubt  had  been  many  years, 
and  where  it  flowers  and  fruits  freely,  and  Mr.  Green  stated  that 
the  ripe  fruits  have  a  considerable  attraction  for  the  employer. 
The  flowers  are  circular,  b'uff  yellow,  saucer-shaped,  and  have 
round  the  centre  five  purple  spots  ;  thei  fruit  is  yellow  when  ripe, 
and  snugly  enclosed  in  a  brown  calyx.  The  plant  does  well  in  a 
greenhou.se  or  vinei’y,  and  might  be  grown  with  advantage.  It 
is  known  as  thei  Cape  Gooseberry,  the  common  English  name 
come  of  its  popularity  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  It  i»s  said 
that  its  fruit  makes  an  excellent  tart,  and  what  is  known  as  Cape 
Gooseberrj'  jam  is  made  from  them. — R.  Dean. 
To  Make  Hydrangea  Flowers  Blue. 
If  Hydrangeas  are  grown  in  a  tolerably  strong  maiden  loam 
which  contains  a  portion  of  oxide  of  iron,  the  flowers  will  come 
blue  without  further  trouble;  but  the  plants  will  require  to  be 
potted  into  this  said  compost  and  continually  grown  in  the 
same  from  the  cutting  i^ot.  Watering  with  a  solution  of  alum 
for  some  time  previous  to  flowering  will  benefit  them  greatly. 
The  solution  may  be  made  by  mixing  at  the  rate  of  one,  ounce 
of  alum  to  a  gallon  of  rain  water.  Plants  should  be  struck  from 
cuttings  of  the  soft  wood  from  February  to  May  that  are 
required  to  bloom  in  those  months  the  following  year.  It  is 
advisable  to  flower  them  in  seven  inch  pots,  allowing  the  plants 
to  produce  one  cluster  of  flowers,  removing  side  shoots  to  strike, 
as  the  old  plants  are  not  to  be  depended  upon  to  produce  blue 
flowers  the  second  year. 
New  Lily,  Stephens’  Hybrid. 
Mr.  F.  W.  Stephens,  of  Bermuda,  successful  grower  of  true 
Harri.si  Lily  bulbs,  has  for  several  years  past  been  experimenting 
with  seedlings  of  the  best  Bermuda  grown  Lilium  longiflorum, 
l>ollenised  from  selected  Harrisi’s,  aiming  to  get  a  bulb  which 
would  retain  the  health  and  evenness  of  the  former,  while  it 
took  on  the  earliness  and  freedom  of  the  true  Harrisi  strain.  He 
has  this  year  succeeded  in  raising  two  bulbs  of  fifteen  inches 
circumference,  the  picture  of  health,  and  as  much  alike  as  two 
twins,  the  product  of  two  four-inch  bulblets  of  last  autumn’s 
planting.  The  scars  at  the  top  of  stems  show  that  each  had 
thirteen  flowers,  and  by  comparing  them  with  the  L.  Harrisi 
and  L.  Doei  (which  is  the  best  and  earliest  longiflorum  hitherto) 
it  will  be  seen  that  they  have  intermediate  c.haracteristic.s  of 
folia.ge  and  bulb.  Especially  noticeable  is  the  pronouncedly 
pointed,  free,  and  somewhat  twisted  petalago  of  the  new  bulbs, 
promising  extra  early  forcing  quality.  Mr.  Stephens  will  grow 
the  scales  of  these  two  bulbs  in  special  ground  this  coming 
season,  and  expects  to  raise  a  carefully  segregated  lot  of  bulbs 
true  to  this  new  type,  which  he  will  in  due  time  exhibit,  and, 
if  successful,  introduce  as  Stephens’  Hybi-id.— Pan  (in 
“American  Flcrist.”) 
