358 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  15,  1903. 
background,  and  give  a  certain  amount  of  shelter  against  cutting 
and  killing  ground  airs. 
The  alpine  collection  has  a  goodly  selection  of  the  true 
Geraniums  or  CTanesbills,  which  are  handsome  and  showy  plants 
for  the  midsummer  display.  G.  sylvestris  and  G.  sanguineum, 
Endressi,  and  ibericum  are  particularly  bright,  robust  and  free. 
Then,  for  the  opener  spaces  that  exist  here  and  there  at  the  base 
of  the  rockery  there  was  a  little  known,  though  extreihtly  neat 
and  pretty  Calceolaria,  that  sows  itself  annually,  and  is  named 
C.  mexicana.  It  is  a  wonder  our  park  superintendents,  who  have 
much  bedding  to  do,  do  not  find  a  use  for  it.  Saxifraga  granulata 
fl.pl.,  though  so  common,  is  a  very  handsome  and  useful  plant, 
and  grand  for  odd  chinks  wherein  it  catches  root  and  thrives. 
Part,  of  the  Bath  Botanic  Garden  rockery  had  but  recently 
been  renewed,  and  was  planted  with  Opuntias  and  Saxifragas. 
These  highly  interesting,  if  grotesque,  Cactaceous  plants  are  tried 
by  fits  and  starts.  Keen,  hardy  plant  gardeners,  and  curators  of 
botanic  gardens  ever  and  again  made  collections,  but  in  ordinary 
private  gardens  they  do  not  “  catch  on”  as  subjects  for  the  orna¬ 
mental  planter.  Truth  to  tell,  they  are  “  miffy,”  and  require 
this,  that,  and  the  other  care  until  they  get  a  hold,  and  even  then 
they  are  always  going  off.  Probably  the  finest  outdoor  collection 
of  Opuntias  and  Mammillarias  in  this  country  is  that  to  be  seen 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Palm  House  at  Royal  Kew  ;  there  they  are 
doing  well.  The  Earl  of  Ilchester,  at  Holland  House,  has  an 
assortment  of  kinds  which  he  partly  shelters  by  means  of  urn-like 
or  semi-cavernous  constructions  made  of  boulders  and  flat 
stones. 
To  do  the  rock  garden  ju.stice  at  Bath  (or  anywhere  else),  one 
must  see  it  at  its  best  in  summer;  but  this  western  city  (famous 
for  its  hot  springs  and  the  Roman  remains  of  sumptuous  baths 
and  aquariums)  is  to-day  rich  in  exotic  shrubs  of  ornamental 
merit,  and  compri.se  the  list  I  give  herewith.  Solanum  crispum 
is  one,  and  a  handsome  fellow  too,  though  seen  only  once  in  a 
hunclred  garciens.  The  reason  is  undoubtedly  its  tenderness ;  but 
the  pretty  pale  lavender  clusters  are  really  fine.  The  Bath 
specimen  is  the  only  one  I  know  of  growing  as  a  bush  in  the  open, 
and  has  macle  8ft  in  height  and  as  much  in  breadth.  Csesalpina 
japonica  had  suffered  from  the  late  frosts  we  had  in  the  spring, 
but  the  fact  of  its  having  grown  to  a  bush  in  the  open  spoke 
eloquently  of  the  mildness  of  the  Bath  climate.  When  it  flowers 
it  is  a  gorgeous  subject,  the  racemes  being  intense  rich  yellow.  Its 
floraison,  however,  has  to  be  patiently  waited  for  in  mo.st  cases, 
unless,  perhaps,  southwards.  The  Aralia  (or  Patsia)  japonica  had 
evidently  stood  out  for  a  number  of  winters,  but  this  subject  can 
even  become  accustomed  to  the  “  bitin’  cauld  ”  of  Scottish  winters 
and  springs,  so  that  it  ought  to  exhst  in  these  gardens  of  the 
Queen  of  the  West. 
Raphiolepis  ovata  or  Indian  Hawthorn,  has  leaHiery,  ovate, 
shining  dark  green  leaves,  is  of  .shrubby,  close  habit,  and  bears 
sweetly  scented  white  panicles  of  blos.som.  It  is  too  seldom  seen. 
Then  there  are  the  various  fine  Japanese  Quinces,  the  C^donias, 
now  all  put  under  the  genus  Pyrus,  of  which  P.  Maulei  and 
P.  Cydonia,  and  P.  Schiedeckeri  are  three  of  the  gems.  And  what 
ails  one  at  P.  japonica? — plant  of  many  graces,  and  so  useful. 
In  Griselinia  lucida  macrophylla  we  find  a  good  foliage  shrub,  in 
this  respect  resembling  a  hardy  Rhododendron,  but  without  the 
wealth  of  floral  yield  given  by  these  unequalled  subjects.  The 
seashore  Griselinia,  to  wit,  G.  littoralis,  seems  as  hardy  as  most 
needs  require,  seeing  that  robust  plants  can  be  viewed  in  the 
Duthie  Park  at  Aberdeen — a  bleak  city,  sw'ept  by  violent 
nor’-easters. 
The  Common  or  Hardy  Orange^ — Citrus  aurantium,  otherwise 
(Egle  sepiaria,  might  be  chosen  by  planters  w'ere  it  known  to  exist 
bere,  and,  more  than  that,  to  sustain  its  life  and  limbs  alway. 
No  one  would  plant  it  for  its  ornamental  properties;  at  least,  I 
hardlv  think  so,  since  its  dark  green  trifoliate  leaves  on  tortuous, 
prickly,  slender  stems,  are  all  it  affords  for  beauty’s  eye.  But  then 
a  hardy  Orange:  there’s  history  and  romance  in  the  name ! 
But  a  really  beautiful  shrub  is  Azara  microphylla,  possessing, 
first,  vigour;  second,  grace  of  growth;  third,  an  evergreen 
character ;  and  wuth  these  its  neat  oval  leaves,  about  the  size  of 
one’s  finger-nails,  that  shine  like  a  newly-polished  mirror.  It 
usually  attains  six  to  eight  feet,  or  more,  given  time  and  a  proper 
place.  Nor  are  the  Palms  awanting.  The  Trachycarpus 
(Chamserops)  excelsus  is  doing  well  along  with  a  choice  of  Maples 
(Acens)  in  a  sheltered  corner,  and  really  this  pretty  Fan-Palm  is 
very  hardy.  Photinia  serrulata,  the  Chinese  Hawthorn,  Avhose 
showy  red  leaves  give  .such  a  marked  effect  in  the  fore-front  of  a 
shrubbery,  when  they  are  young,  is  another  plant  of  note  at  Bath. 
It  is  fifteen  feet  high  ;  think  of  that ! 
In  conclusion,  one  cannot,  or  would  not,  like  to  omit  Collutea 
cruenta,  Olearia  macrodonta,  Lonicera  Barleari  (seldom  .seen), 
Sbeppardia.  argentea,  Hippophae  .salicifolia,  Pyrus  salicifolia,  and 
the  Juda-s  Tree  (Cercis  siliquastrum). 
The  inscription  on  a  quaint  and  pretty  cros.s-piece  dial  here  is : 
The  hours  are  round  this  cross  ;  and  while  ’tis  tiue 
The  time  is  measured  by  a  line. 
But  if  the  sky  be  clouded,  mark,  alas  ! 
The  hours  not  ruled  by  shadows  from  the  cross, 
— Wandering  WAllie. 
Tropaeolum  pentaphyllura— What  Treatment? 
Can  any  reader  suggest  a  plan  to  ensure  the  breaking  into 
growth  of  Tropteolum  pentaphyllum  early,,  for  summer  blossom¬ 
ing?  I  have  grown  it— a  very  favourite  flower — for  some  years, 
and  find  it  is  more  likely  than  not  that  tubers  planted  in  March 
will  not  appear  and  grow  off,  till  October.  Messrs.  Sutton 
and  SonSj  from  whom  I  had  my  tubers,  recommend  taking  up 
and  keeping  in  dry  sand  for  the  winter.  I  have  a  specimen 
in  bloom  now,  left  in  the  ground  all  the  winter,  which  broke 
into  growth  early;  but  of  half  a  dozen  fine  tubers  planted  in 
March,  several  have  now  (about  October  1)  started,  and  are 
growing  vigorously,  too  late  to  bloom  before  the  frosts  nip 
them.  One  winter  I  managed  with  mats,  to  protect  sufficiently 
two  specimens  which  bloomed  magnificently  the  next  summer. 
I  have  wondered  if  the  reason  of  its  behaviour  in  this  manner 
is  that  in  its  natural  habitat  this  is  its  season  for  growth? — 
J.  Turner,  Kent. 
Planting  Season— The  Falsity  of  Cheapness. 
The  seasonable  article  by  “  H.  D.”  under  this  heading  in 
last  week’s  issue  of  the  Journal  (page  323)  contains  much  of 
interest  to  intending  planters.  TAie  remarks  on  cheap  trees 
and  cheap  and  unreliable  labour  should  come  home  with  some 
force  to  many  people,  and  are  well  worth  bearing  in  mind  by 
all.  Really  good  arid  properly  prepared  young  trees  are  now 
produced  at  such  a  low  rate  by  our  leading  firms  that  there 
is  no  excuse  for  anyone  who  chooses  to  pick  up  at  a  paltry 
figure  the  indifferent  material  too  frequently  met  with  in 
auction  rooms.  With  all  the  information  now  available  as  to 
the  merits  and  defects  of  varieties  it  is  quite  time  that  an  end 
was  made  of  planting  inferior  sorts. 
To  a  certain  extent  I  am  also  in  accord  with  the  writer’s 
remarks  as  to  planting  in  exposed  positions,  though  these  have 
their  bad  season.s  as  well  as  those  occupying  a  lower  levef.  One 
of  the  most  successful  fruit  farms  with  which  I  am  acquainted 
is  situated  in  a  hilly  district  of  Surrey.  Here,  vale  and  hillside 
are  fairly  evenly  balanced  in  proportions,  and  it  frequently 
happens  that  though  there  may  be  a  dearth  in  one  portion,  a 
heavy  crop  may  be  gathered  from  the  differently  exposed  trees. 
One  season  it  may  be  the  low-lying  land  that  fails,  the  next 
the  high,  but  seldom  is  it  that  a  general  failure  prevails. — 
Provincial. 
Flavour  in  Fruits— A  fiuandary. 
As  a  close  reader  of  the  dear  old  Journal,  I  sometimes 
observe  anomalies,  and  the  following  excerpts  from  the  issue.s 
of  last  week  and  the  week  previous,  require  explanation  from 
the  powers  that  be.  The  question  comes  home  with  increased 
interest  at  this  moment,  for  I  have  been  nursing  hopes  of 
trying  the  pot-culture  of  Apple  trees.  But  I  want  to  know 
that  not  only  are  “  the  Gascoigne’s  samples  comforting  to  look 
at,”  I  also  want  flavour.  The  quotations  are  these  ; 
“  The  orchard  house  culture  of  Apples  on  a  large  scale  is 
expensive,  and  though  the  size,  colour,  and  beautiful  appear¬ 
ance  of  the  fruits  are  very  comforting,  the  flavour  is  not  quite 
equal  to  that  of  a  cracked  old  Cox’s  from  a  scraggy  orchard 
tree.  This  would  seem  to  put  a  premium  on  ‘  scraggy  orchard 
trees  ’ ;  but  when  a  man  handles  and  eats  a  magnificent  Peas- 
good’s  or  Gascoigne’s  sample,  he  hesitates  to  complain  if  the 
flavour  falls  short  of  his  expectations,  as  judged  from  the  out-, 
side.” — J.  H.  D.,  page  306,  October  1. 
“  The  orchard  house  fruit  (at  Chiswick)  made  up  for  any  ^ 
I  deficiencies  in  the  outdoor  section,  and  was  superb.  It  mostly- 
came  from  Messrs.  Bunyard  and  Co.,  Maidstone,  but  it  had  a 
lesson  to  teach  to  wealthy  garden  owners,  namely,  that  if  they 
would  have  fine  fruit  irre.spective  of  season,  the  line  is  to  erect, 
orchard  houses  and  adopt  this  style  of  culture.  It  has  been 
proved  withiout  doubt  that  the  finest  Apples  and  Pears  can  be 
grown  in  pots  under  glass,  and  in  these  da,vs  of  great  wealth  it 
is  the  finest  and  the  best  that  are  needed  for  the  tables  of  the 
affluent.  Considering  these  facts,  and  also  the  uncertainty  of 
the  British  climate,  as  experienced  this  year,  it  will  not  be  sur¬ 
prising  if  there  is  a  great  extension  of  orchard  house  fruit 
culture  in  the  future,  and  such  displays  as  that  recently  seen  at 
Chiswick  can  hardly  fail  to  give  impetus  to  the  movement.” — 
G.  H.  H.,  page  337,  Oetpber  8. 
Is  flavour  sacrificed  for  appearance,  or  not  ? — D.  0.  E. 
