NURSERY NOTES.

MESSRS. W. CUTBUSH & SON. ORIGINALLY established at Highgate, now hemmed in by houses on almost all sides, the firm has in its possession two branch nurseries at Barnet, which I had an opportunity of visiting recently. In the one nearer to the centre of this small town are the dwellings of the manager, the offices and seedshop, and a number of old and new glasshouses for the cultivation of plants in pots, and a considerable amount of land which is under trees and shrubs, climbing plants, including many Roses of the Rambler class, as likewise Marechal Niel, W. A. Richardson, Gloire de Dijon, Wichuraiana, Dorothy Perkins, and others, all rather remarkable for the exuberance and ripe condition of their shoots. These Roses were under cultivation in large pots, and standing out-of-doors, preparatory to their removal to winter quarters. The stock of climbing varieties is a particularly large one. Polyantha Roses in red, pink and white, were abundant, and I may mention such dwarf varieties as Mrs. Cutbush, free flowering and pink-coloured, the tint being very near to that of Dorothy Perkins; La Paquerette, white, and Hiawatha, a single-flowered, beautiful Rose. Tea Roses growing in pots were gone or going fast out of bloom, and the varieties are choice and many. The variety G. Nabonnand was still in fine flowering condition.

In the houses there were observed capital plants of Heath, just such as find a ready sale for placing in vases and jardinières, namely Erica hyemalis, E. persoluta alba, E. Cavendishi, and E. ventricosa. Two long houses were filled with Tea Roses in pots, and Chrysanthemums for affording cut blooms chiefly.

In an old glasshouse, used as a warm greenhouse or stove, many plants of Bougainvillea glabra, Stephanotis grandiflora, Manettia bicolor, Clerodendron Thompsoni and Bouvardias were noted. Another glasshouse contained Cyclamens -such varieties as grandiflora alba, Crimson King, Mount Blanc, and Princess of Wales. The plants of Aralia gracillima, in this house, arrested attention by reason of their healthy appearance and symmetry, and the now rare Leschenaultia biloba major was observed in a few examples, in better condition than it is usually found in London nurseries. Plunged in the soil, in pots, were numbers of Honeysuckles, Clematis, Vitis purpurea, V. Coignetiæ, Ceanothus, and various plants for forcing.

In the open ground I remarked Escallonia macrantha with fine healthy growth. Actinidia polygama, A. arguta, a plant having beautiful yellow foliage at this season, Ampelopsis heterophylla, A. dissecta, A. Engelmanni, Rhus radicans, Akebia quinata, Bignonia radicans, Clematis flammula, C. montana and Calycanthus floridus, which last has produced its deliciously fragrant blooms in abundance this year. Polygonum Baldschuanicum has been equally floriferous, and its seeds have ripened. Pyrus japonica and P. j. candida have also flowered freely. There were noted numerous specimen Conifers in variety, likewise nice symmetrically-shaped green and variegated leafed

Hollies.

The Wood Street nursery at Barnet, distant about a quarter of a mile from the other, contains quarters for fruit trees, clean, vigorous specimens, many Hollies of a large size in fine condition for planting, some good specimen Conifers of planting size, such as Abies Pinsapo, Thuias of several species, Cedrus atlantica, and general nursery stock, (including Clerodendron trichotomum), Cytisus purpureus australis, Rhus Osbecki, whose bold compound leaves are most attractive at this season, and Buddleias in variety. To judge from the exposed site of the Wood Street nursery, on a steep slope of rather heavy soil, I should think that plants taken out of it and planted in exposed gardens, could scarcely fail to give satisfaction under good treatment. F. M.

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY

PLANTS.

CEROPEGIA HYBRIDA,

N. E. Brown (a new natural hybrid), and

C. SIMILIS, N. E. Brown (n. sp.). THE Asclepiads, in their remarkable structure, stand apart from all other Dicotyledonous orders in the same manner that Orchids do among Monocotyledons; in both the pollen is agglutinated into waxy masses, and in both there is a complicated provision for the removal of the pollen-masses by insects in a way that no other plants possess, but of the two orders the Asclepiads are undoubtedly the most complicated, and whilst there are a few Orchids that are or may be fertilised without the aid of insects, there is no Asclepiad known to me that can possibly be naturally fertilised by any

"The case with the Ceropegia you wrote me about is very curious. I grow here Ceropegia Sandersonii, Decne, figured in the Botanical Magazine, tab. 5792, fig. 145, and I intended to send you seeds of that species. I collected the seedpod myself, so I am quite sure it came from the right plant. A part of the seeds I sent to you, and another part I sowed myself. The plants I raised are also quite distinct from the mother plant, and I expect they will be the same as yours. At the same time with C. Sandersonii flowered C. Thwaitesii (not the true plant, but C. similis described below, N. E. B.), and because the flowers of my seedlings are something like those of this species, but much larger, I presume they are hybrids of C. Thwaitesii and C. Sandersoni ?. The mother plant must have been fructified by insects, for no artificial fructification was done. I send you some flowers of it, and also of C. Thwaitesii," fig. 146.

W.C.S.

other than insect agency. As it is therefore an order entirely dependent upon insects for perpetuation by seed, it is not surprising that natural hybrids should occur in it, as among Orchids. In the course of many years' study of Asclepiads, during which I have dissected and examined several thousand flowers, the conviction has been forced upon me that a large percentage of species and some genera have almost certainly originated as natural hybrids, but the Ceropegia here described is the first instance that has come to my knowledge where the hybrid origin can be considered proven. C. hybrida has been brought to my notice by Mr. W. Ledger, of Wimbledon, who is an enthusiastic cultivator of the species of this curious genus. Mr. Ledger informs me that he raised the plant from seeds sent to him by Mr. E. Th. Witte, the Inspector of the Botanic Garden at Leiden, who, in reply to questions asked by Mr. Ledger as to the origin of the plant, writes as follows:

I do not know if Ceropegias can be success. fully hybridised artificially, but it would at least be a difficult and delicate operation; indeed, the artificial fertilisation of Orchids is as child's play compared to the artificial fertilisation of any Asclepiad, and in the present case there cannot be any suspicion that the hybrid was so produced. The mother parent, C. Sandersonii, is represented by Fig. 145, and is also figured in the Botanical Magazine, t. 5792. It is well known to lovers of succulent plant, and always attracts attention by reason of the remarkable form of its flowers, which are of a pleasing pale green, spotted with darker green. The male parent (which proves not to be C. Thwaitesii) is represented by Fig. 147, which I have drawn from specimens sent by Mr. Witte, and the hybrid by Fig. 148, from which it will be seen that in the stem and corona it more nearly resembles C. Sandersonii, the leaves being much smaller than those of either parent, whilst the flower, although

much larger, is more akin to that of the male parent than to C. Sandersonii; this I have drawn from a flower sent by Mr. Witte, and a plant communicated to Kew by Mr. Ledger.

Corona x

G.Chrom

FIG. 146.-CEROPEGIA THWAITESIP.

The female parent (C. Sandersonii) is a native of South Africa, whilst the male parent (C. similis), judging from its relationship to C. Thwaitesii, is probably from tropical Asia, a difference of origin that adds interest to the parentage of the hybrid. The following are descriptions of the male parent and the hybrid.

CEROPEGIA SIMILIS, N. E. Brown (n. sp.),* Fig. 147.

This plant is cultivated at Kew, at Leiden, and by Mr. Ledger, and probably elsewhere as C. Thwaitesii; but it differs from that species in the much shorter corolla-lobes, which are white or pale greenish at the basal part instead of yellow, and by the presence of cilia upon them; also in the segments of the outer corona being equally spaced instead of being arranged in contiguous pairs as they are in the true C. Thwaitesii, of which a copy of the original figure of the flower is here given (Fig. 146) for comparison. As stated above, C. similis is the male parent of C. hybrida, and the following description is made from the specimens sent by Mr. Witte.

Stem twining, rather slender, glabrous; leaves thin in texture, with a. petiole inch to inch long, and a blade 1. inch to 2 inches long by inch to 1 inch broad, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, more or less acuminate, rounded at the base, glabrous on both sides, when young bronzy-green, becoming rich deep green, with a velvety sheen, sometimes changing to red when old. Peduncles lateral at the nodes, up to about inch long, glabrous, bearing two to five flowers, which open in succession. Pedicels 5 to 7 lin. long, glabrous. Sepals, 2 lin. long, lin. broad, lanceolate-subulate, glabrous. Corolla (not following the curve), 1 inch long; tube curved above the ovoid-inflated basal part, funnel-shaped at the mouth, glabrous outside, pale green on the inflated base, greyish-green, shading into whitish above, and at the funnelshaped part spotted with purple-brown; inside

Ceropegia similis, N.E.Br.; ad C. Thwaitesii arcte affinis, caule foliis floribusque persimilis; sed floribus (minoribus, corolle lobis brevioribus et ciliatis, coronæ dentibus æquidistantibus differt.

glabrous, with the exception of a ring of fine white curly hairs at the top of the inflated part, which is light green lined and dotted with dark purple-brown; the middle part is blackishpurple, shading above into whitish or pale greenish, dusted and veined with purple; lobes 3 to 4 lin. long, erect, with connate tips, closely replicate and 1 lin. broad at the base; viewed sideways, ovate when spread out, white or pale greenish at the basal half, very dark or dull green on the apical part, with a narrow blackish or dark purple-brown band separating the two colours, fringed on the margins with long, jointed, purple hairs. Outer corona divided into 10 equidistant subulate teeth lin. long, yellow, edged with purple, and entirely yellow on the basal united part, sparsely ciliate. Inner coronal-lobes about 1 lin. long, connivent-erect, blackish-purple at the basal part, yellowish or buff-tinted above. Native country unknown. As shown by my drawings, the lobes of the corolla vary somewhat in form, both flowers of Fig. 147 being from the same plant.

CEROPEGIA HYBRIDA, N. E. Brown (new hybrid), Fig. 148.

A new hybrid, as detailed above, from C. Sandersonii, fertilised by C. similis. Stems fleshy, 2 to 2 lin. thick, glabrous. Leaves very small, 2 to 4 lin. long, 13 to 2 lin. broad, thick and fleshy, ovate, acuminate, glabrous, green. Corolla curved and not following the curve 2 inches long; tube inflated, oblong at the base, narrowed and cylindric above, broadly funnel-shaped and 9 to 10 lin. in diameter at the mouth, outside glabrous, green at the base, light olive-green above, and the funnel-shaped part white, marked with five broad, dull green stripes, alternating with five series of connected purple-brown spots; inside with a pubescent

B

Column X 7:

Cardchron

FIG. 147.-CEROPEGIA SIMILIS, A NEW SPECIES.
A, portion of the stem with leaves and flowers;
B, detached flower.

band at the base and one above the inflated part, the narrow part glabrous, and the funnelshaped part and basal half of the lobes pubescent; the very base is creamy, the rest of the

the tips, closely replicate, inch broad viewed sideways, somewhat spatulate-obovate and emarginate at the apex when spread out, glabrous and dull green, spotted with darker green or brownish on the back, the inner face pubescent and pale greenish-white on the basal half, the upper half being glabrous and rich purple-black, with a velvety sheen, the margins are thinly ciliate with light purple hairs. Outer corona lin. long, cup-shaped, with five obscure, minutely bifid lobes, pale yellowish margined with dark purple-brown; inner coronal-lobes 14 lin. long, connivent-erect, with re-curved tips, pale yellow, with the basal part dark purple-brown and dorsally connected to the outer corona. N. E. Brown.

COLONIAL NOTE.

FRUIT-GROWING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. THE following is an extract from a letter received by a lady from her brother, who is in business in British Columbia :-"Thank you for the Gardeners' Chronicle just received. The article on fruit-growing in Canada by Mr. Miller is very good. I take it that Mr. Miller has never visited the south-east of British Columbia-tha is, this district and Kootenay generally. I don't know Mr. St. Barbe, of Nelson, but what he says is right-only he does not go far enough. If you read the article in the Gardeners' Chronicle again, you will remember he said that to a man with not less than £350 or £400, the Kootenay is an ideal place for settlement; also that with this amount he could buy 20 acres of the very best land and build himself a house on it. I should think so too. Many a man has started who never had a

quarter of £350 a capital; £350 is $1,750, which is a big sum out here, calculated by men who work for their living. Another thing, good land can be bought for far less an amount than Mr. St. Barbe says-unless he means land which has been improved, which is a very different proposition. Again, 10 acres will be enough to yield a good living to one mau and his family. Twenty acres is all right, but, as the writer says, better too little than too much. One thing he should have mentioned which he did not, is that all fruit lands in this part of British Columbia are covered with timber and brush; such, I think, is not generally known. Some have valuable timber upon them-trees up to 150 feet in height,

THE UPSALA BOTANIC
GARDENS.

FROM its association with the great Linnæus, this garden has a special interest for all connected with horticulture or botany. We are glad of this opportunity of publishing a communication from this venerated spot, the more so as it relates to a very interesting plant originally described by the great naturalist himself:

"In the Upsala Botanic Gardens there has flowered, these last few years, a rather remarkable plant, the Pedicularis sceptrum Carolinum. This plant is seldom met with in gardens, as it requires special treatment. I think your readers would like to see a photograph of it (Fig. 149) The plant,

logs of which are worth $5 to $7 per 1,000 feet. What I want to make clear is that all lands require clearing. The cost varies from about $30 to $60 per acre, according to the amount and Size of timber thereon. I notice there are dozens of gardeners advertising for situations in this issue of Gardeners' Chronicle. It is a pity the advantages this country offers cannot be brought to their notice, for they are just the men who would do well out here. Eight out of every ten of the men who take up fruit-growing here do not know the faintest thing about it, or, at the best, are merely amateurs, but they can make a do of it." Frank Lidgate, Slocan City, British Columbia, November 12, 1906.

when flowering, is about 2 feet high, and its erect habit and the stately mass of its yellow and purple-coloured flowers make it a great attraction in our out-door collection of plants from swamps and moist situations. In the place prepared here for the purpose it grows vigorously beside Pinguicula vulgaris and alpina, Parnassia palustris, Narthecium ossifragum, different species of Sphagnum, Eriophorum alpinum and other species of the same genus, Orchids, Drosera rotundifolia and intermedia, Vaccinium and Oxycoccos species, Sedum, and others. As a subscriber and an interested reader of the Gardeners' Chronicle I hope the photo will be found suitable for reproduction. Ivan Ortendahl, Garden Inspector."

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

CATASETUM LAMINATUM.

A FINE plant of this singular Mexican species is in flower in the collection of J. Gurney Fowler, Esq., Glebelands, South Woodford (gr. Mr. J. Davis), the plant having two spikes of seven and nine flowers respectively. The most singular feature in the flower is the ridge-like, serrats blade nearly half an inch high, which extends up the middle of the labellum and causes insects to walk round the narrow path at its base formed by the upturned margin of the lip; the cirthi of the rostellum are placed over the opening to the nectary, and to reach it the insect must cause the ejection of the pollinia. The petals are lanceolate, 2 inches long and inch wide, the petals similar, but half an inch wide, and arranged forward over the column. The sepals are greenish white, densely spotted with red, and the petals whitish, with fewer and larger spots. The labellum, which is three-quarters of an inch wide and 2 inches long, has an upturned ciliate margin, a raised plate, nearly half an inch high, and uneven at the top, running down the centre, the ridge being forked at the entrance of the spur, which is short, obtuse, and compressed. The lip is greenish at the margin, the blade down the middle being ivory white with purple spots. It is a rare and singu. lar species of considerable beauty.

CYPRIPEDIUM RECORD.

THE Earl of Tankerville, at Chillingham Castle, has succeeded in flowering a Cypripe dium, the result of crossing C. Leeanum Clinka. berryanum and C. insigne "Harefield Hall" in eighteen months from seeds. Mr. Hunter, the head gardener at Chillingham Castle, sends the record: "Sown May, 1905; flowered November, 1906," and states that there can be no doubt about the identity of the fine hybrid just flowered, as but few were sown before that date, and none which could be confounded with the cross in question. Another plant of the same batch is about to flower, and it will probably be shown at a meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society. The first to flower would have been shown but for the bloom sustaining an accident.

THE ALPINE GARDEN.

ANEMONE APENNINA AND ITS VARIETIES. Now that planting time is with us, it may be desirable to draw the attention of admirers of the Apennine Windflower to the double variety of Anemone apennina, for, although there are few persons who would prefer it to the single form, it has many beauties, apart from its interest botanically. It originated in the nurseries of Mr. C. G. Van Tubergen, junr., at Zwanenburgh, Haarlem, and was distributed by the raiser in the autumn of 1905, and it flowered in this country in the following spring. Mr. W. E. Gumbleton sent me flowers before my own plant came into bloom, and I was pleased to see that it was, as announced, quite double. The sepals are narrow and of a pale lilacblue shade. One feels a little disappointed that this variety has not the fine blue colour of some of the best varieties of A. apennina; still, the probabilities of securing a double deep-blue variety of this flower are quite within bounds. Mr. Van Tubergen informs me that he has also raised a very pretty double white variety, but as this increases very slowly, it is not yet ready for distribution. Still another variety has been introduced by Mr. Tubergen, and this is in point of colour remarkably fine. It is A. apennina purpurea, a name which scarcely describes the intense purple colour of the blooms. It has given me even more pleasure than the double variety: its brilliant purple flowers were exceedingly fine in my rockgarden last spring. The flowers are single, and they promise to be among the most valuable of all the varieties of A. apennina, which is a plant so variable in colouring that one is confident careful selection would soon give us many more beautiful varieties. S. Arnott Sunnymead, Dumfries.

A GLIMPSE AT THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE GARDEN.

IN the month of July I was enabled to pay a flying visit to Canon Ellacombe's delightful garden at Bitton Vicarage, Gloucestershire; but the time at my disposal was unfortunately too limited to allow of more than a casual glance at the treasures it contained. The following notes, therefore, do not profess to do more than draw attention to a few of the interesting plants viewed during an all too brief tour of the grounds. What was equally remarkable to one who is well acquainted with gardens in the south-west, where, in the genial atmosphere, numbers of tender subjects flourish to perfection, was the wonderful health of many of the same plants in the far more severe climate of Bitton. During Canon Ellacombe's and his father's lifetime love and care have been increasingly lavished on the vicarage garden, so that, at the present, it contains an almost unrivalled collection of rare and noteworthy plants. Of Roses there is a very full list, almost every known species being represented, while of the scarce, double-yellow, Rosa hemispherica, which it has been found impossible to strike from cuttings, there is a fine plant against a wall. A large assortment of Hollies is to be found in the gardens, a prostrate form of the variegated Holly being 19 yards in circumference and 6 feet in height at its tallest point. Ilex corruta had formed a handsome shrub, and I. latispina minor was also pointed out. The Berberis and Box genera were largely in evidence, and of the former B. angulosa, B. congestiflora, B. Fortunei, and B. umbellata were noted. Cotoneasters were also largely cultivated, C. congesta, C. depressa, C. Hookeri, and C. pannosa being viewed amongst others; and of Hydrangeas, H. platanifolia, H. quercifolia, and H. vestita. Amongst Elders were Sambucus canadensis, the variegated and the cut-leaved forms, and an uncommon shrub was the nettle-leaved Filbert. The lawn is beautified by several fine trees, amongst which may be mentioned a noble Cedar of Lebanon, the Maidenhair tree, Ginkgo biloba, between 60 feet and 70 feet in height; a fine Fernleaved Beech, Catalpa bignonoides, Parrotia persica, Koelreuteria paniculata, 35 feet in height, Juglans rupestris, with very handsome foliage; Oreodaphne californica, 25 feet high, and many others. Amongst the collection of noteworthy subjects were Abelia floribunda, Abutilon vitifolium, which succeeds so well in the south-west, in perfect health here as at Chepstow [and Dover]; the climbing Adlumia cirrosa, with Maidenhair-like foliage and rose-coloured flowers; Amorpha canescens, Artemisia tridentata, Azara integrifolia, the rarely seen Campanula punctata, a supplementary illustration of which appeared on August 26, 1905; and the alpine C. Thomasiniana, Calycanthus occidentalis, growing finely; Calceolaria alba, a large bush of the rare Cistus ladaniferus maculatus, 6 feet in height, for which C. cyprius is so often substituted, and a smaller one of the almost unprocurable white type. Clematis recta in a bog bed was unusually fine, being a mass of flower 5 feet in height, and as much through; C. coccinea, C. Durandi, and C. Sieboldi were also doing well in other parts of the garden. Clerodendron trichotomum was just coming into flower, and the Himalayan Plumed Thistle, Cnicus Falconeri, held numbers of inebriated bees in its expanded blossoms. Tricuspidaria lanceolata, better known as Crinodendron Hookerianum, was very healthy, as, amongst the Crinums, was C. Moorei variegatum, while the same was to be said of the New Zealand Coprosma acerosa. Coriaria terminalis was bearing its bright orange berries freely, and Corydalis glauca its pretty pink and yellow flowers, while Cydonia sinensis was remarkable for producing fruits the size of a cricket ball. A mass of Daphne Blagayana, which often proves a difficult plant to grow, was 5 feet square and the picture of health, while D. Cneorum was also doing well. Deeringia closioides and Decaisnea Fargesii were

inspected, as were the pretty pale yellow Dianthus Knappi and D. superbus, 2 feet 6 inches in height. Discaria longispina was a curious shrub from New Zealand. A bed of Erica carnea was a mass of green foliage. This is always clipped with the garden shears immediately it goes out of bloom, a treatment that evidently succeeds to perfection. Erinacea pungens, with deep-blue Pea-like flowers, is seldom met with; the pale yellow Erodium chrysanthum was a pretty sight; Escallonia montevidensis (floribunda) was in good health, as was Euonymus alatus, valuable for its autumnal colouring. The much-branched Mexican shrub, Fallugia paradoxa, bears large white flowers. Genistas were represented by a mass of G. sagittalis 8 feet across, G. horrida, G. hispanica, 16 yards round, and others; Gentiana septemfida, one of the loveliest of the genus, was in fuil flower, and the rare Gleditschia caspica was doing well. Helianthemum ocymoides, Hypericum aureum, and H. fragile were noted. Jamesia americana, a pretty white-flowered shrub from the Rocky Mountains, rarely seen, was pointed out; Linaria dalmatica, 5 feet in height, was bright with its yellow blossoms; and the Osage Orange, Maclura aurantiaca, was evidently happy. The pretty salmon-pink flowered Maivastrum lateritium was in full bloom, and attention was directed to two rarely seen plants, Melianthus minor and Muhlenbeckia axillaris, Nandina domestica was flowering as freely as it does in Cornwall, and the Mexican Nesca salicifolia, Nierembergia filicaulis from Buenos Ayres, and Osteomeles anthyllidifolia from the Pacific Islands appeared perfectly satisfied with their surroundings. There was a large plant of the new Pæonia lutea; the pretty Perowskia atri. plicifolia, 5 feet in height, was bearing its long lavender flower-sprays; Pentstemon campanu. latum, both in scarlet and white varieties, was very effective; the creeping North American Pachysandra procumbens was examined, as was Phormium Hookeri, which flowers well in these gardens. Pittosporum eugenoides appeared as contented as if it was growing in Cornwall. Polygonum capitatum springs up annually from self-sown seed, while P. cymosum, P. equisetifolium, a great rarity, and P. molle variegatum are but rarely seen. Pterocarya caucasica, one of the Walnut tribe, has handsome foliage; the creeping Plum, Prunus prostrata, evidenced its peculiar habit of growth, and a very fine form of Pyrus Maulei was said to excel in the rich colouring of its fruit. Rhus cotinoides, splendid in its autumnal colouring, as is the neighbouring Euonymus alatus, R. glabra laciniata, with its beautifully-cut foliage; Rubus odoratus, much superior to R. spectabilis; R. japonicus tricolor; Rhapiolepis ovata, with its Hawthorn-like flowers; the peerless Californian Poppy, Romneya Coulteri, perfecting the first of its great crêpe-like blossoms; Salvia Grahami; S. in. volucrata, the new Sophora viciifolia; Dierama (Sparaxis) pulcherrima, with its arching flowerwands, were seen and admired. Anemone sulphurea in a damp spot was very vigorous, and the variegated form of Astrantia major, seldom met with, was in flower, as was Verbena tenora Maonetti; Veronica Cookiana and V. pimeloides were noticed, as were Viburnum Mariesi and V. Awafurki; Wyethia mollis, Yucca fialamentosa variegata, and the curious Zanthoxylum planispinum. Interesting as was the collection of plants already enumerated, the high walls and sheltered borders immediately beneath them held an even choicer selection of rare and tender subjects. Here Asparagus verticillatus topped the wall with vigorous growth; the North American Aristolochia tomentosa, rarely seen, was present, and Bignonia capreolata with B. grandiflora were both in the best of health. The Australian Bursaria spinosa was holding masses of small white flowers; Carpenteria cali. fornica was displaying its single white blossoms, and the rare Cæsalpinia Gilliesi was doing well, as was the New Zealand Clianthus puniceus. Here I met with Convolvulus tugu

༣་།

riorum, a New Zealand climber, that I only know in one other garden, which is in the neighbourhood of Truro, where it grows to a height of 25 feet over a giant Myrtle. Fremontia californica had flowered well, and Indigofera Dosua was 10 feet high against a wall, while Mandevilla suaveolens was in flower. Marsdenia erecta is seldom met with, but was a pretty object, covered with clusters of small white blossoms. Olearia insignis, the queen of the New Zealand Daisy-bushes, had flowered, but had not made much growth since my visit two years previously. Ozothamnus rosmarinifolius had evidently bloomed profusely, and against the wall the Persimmon, Diospyros Kaki, was fruiting well. Pentstemon cordifolius was red with flower, and Pistacia atlantica, from the Canary Islands, was flourishing; while Plagianthus Lyalli, covering a large space of wall, was white with countless clusters of blossoms rather past their best. The Pomegranate, Punica granatum, was bearing its vivid scarlet flowers, and Salvia leucantha was in bud. I was surprised to see this Salvia doing well in the open at Bitton, as it is a tender subject from Mexico, and is often badly cut during the winter in the southwest. Smilax laurifolius, rare in cultivation, was in good condition, and Solanum Torreyi, only about 18 inches high, was bearing a large flower-head of great, violet-blue, yellow-centred blossoms very similar to those of S. Wendlandi. The Australian Bluebell Creeper, Sollya heterophylla, was in flower, and the blue-flowered South African Thunbergia natalensis was noted, as were Trachelospermum japonicum and the better-known T. jasminoides. Veronica Hulkeana, the most lovely of the New Zealand shrubbery species, was represented, and among the many Vines, Vitis Coignetiæ, V. heterophylla humulifolia and variegata were admired. Along the edges of the paths large and representative collections of Saxifrages, Sedums, and other low-growing plants added much to the charm charms of this beautiful and most interesting garden. S. W. Fitzherbert.

KEW NOTES.

STERNBERGIA MACRANTHA.

By far the largest of the autumn flowering Sternbergias, this species possesses a great disadvantage in that it frequently fails to flower after the first year. Seeing that it is widely distributed over Asia Minor from Smyrna to Western Persia, and south to Jerusalem, one would expect it to be found growing under different conditions in various localities, therefore at some times bulbs may be sent us from a certain district and flower as one could wish every year. Freshly-imported bulbs under the name of S. Clusii from Syria are flowering well, while a few flowers have been produced on bulbs planted against a south wall, and which have been there for several years. A hot, sunny position does not seem to be essential for flower. ing S. macrantha, as bulbs planted in a rather shady position in the rock garden produce flowers three years out of every four.

GENTIANA SCABRA.

UNDER various names, including G. Buergeri and G. Fortunei, this plant is sometimes seen in gardens, but it is still a rare plant, and seldom met with in good condition. It is one of the latest flowering of all Gentians, coming into flower during the month of November. Belonging to the group which includes our native G. pneumonanthe, it is of more robust habit, with broader leaves and large blue flowers. The throat of the flower is spotted with greenish white, and these spots are more conspicuous in some forms than in others, often spreading into the limb of the corolla. It is a native of Eastern Asia, and has been in cultivation over 60 years, having been sent by Fortune from Northern China in the year 1844. It is usually found growing in shady places on low hills, and

ARTEMISIA LACTIFLORA.

THIS late flowering Artemisia formed one of the most conspicuous plants this autumn in the herbaceous ground. Of bushy habit, growing between 5 feet and 6 feet high, the stems are well clothed with elegantly-cut, dark-green foliage. The upper half is composed of freely-branching panicles of slightly fragrant white flowers, giving the plant a light and graceful appearance. A mass of it planted near the water's edge would produce a charming effect in autumn, and such a position would suit it admirably. It is not particular, however, as to soil or position, and does equally well in a somewhat dry border or bed. Like many others of the same genus, it is an easy plant to increase, and the roots may be split up into small tufts, each of which will make a good plant the following season. Commencing to flower in September, the flowers last in good condition well into November. W. I.

THE FERNERY.

AMERICAN FERN SPORTS. WITH regard to the immense number of "sports" discovered in the British Isles among the indigenous wild Ferns, it has always been my opinion that the number was mainly due to the fact that for half a century a body of specialists have made a hobby of hunting for varieties, and not, as would superficially appear, to a greater tendency to " " in this country. sport Thanks partly to several contributions from my pen in this varietal connection to the "Fern Bulletin" and other publications in the United States, I have been favoured with numerous letters anent varietal "finds," and even in some cases with plants and spores all tending to show that diligent search alone is needed for the discovery of such productions. The marsh Buckler Fern (Lastrea Thelypteris), for instance, occurs in the States under precisely the same boggy and local conditions as in this country. I have hunted for this species myself among the Norfolk Broads, where it occurs in great abundance, and almost unaccompanied by other species. I was, however, unsuccessful in finding any trace of variation, and it still remains without the record of any sport" at all on this side the Atlantic. In the States, however, a very marked and good polydactylous form was found some years ago, and a clump of rhizome was sent me by post. Naturally, I watched its development in the spring with great interest, but the first fronds which appeared were those of the Sensitive Fern, Onoclea sensibilis, and after some time a slenderer frond appeared, which developed into a quite normal one of the desired species, so that I concluded a mistake had been made. Subsequently, however, a number of typical fronds appeared, and grew to a great length, all tasselled well at all terminals, while no other normals appeared. Despite its robustness for three years, all fronds were barren, and this year I had almost given up the hope of a sowing with its selective possibilities when I noticed that a comparatively small frond on a small division separately potted in the spring appeared somewhat contracted in all parts, and on close examination I found this was due to an abundant fertility from base to apex, so that now I have the desired material in plentiful measure. Here, then, we have a distinct acquisition to our varietal lists, though not of home production. Polypodium vulgare is generally distributed in the States, and there have already been recorded varieties either like or closely akin to our P. v. cambricum, cristatum, marginatum, deltoideum, semilacerum, ramosum, and multifidum, while a recent find, P. v. Churchiæ, appears, from the description, to be distinct from any previous ones, being not only beautifully crested, but having the basal pinnæ distinctly stalked, a new feature entirely. I am indebted to Mr. B. D. Gilbert, of Clayville, N.Y., for my data, and hope to receive from him before long specimen fronds of the above forms for comparison with the British ones. The "incisum" form of Asplenium Trichomanes has been recorded as found twice, but whether the "finds" are identical with the British ones, of which at least three distinct forms exist, is unknown to me. It

would in any case be very desirable to compare them. Some years ago a lady sent me fronds of a neatly tasselled Athyrium filix fœmina (Lady Fern) she had found, and this, too, was a thorough-bred, though the tassels were small. Judging, however, by American Fern literature, most of the students of these interesting plants are much in the position of our Fern students of half a century ago, in so far as they do not care to study the great capacity of the plants to vary widely and distinctly, and thus often discuss and even illustrate minor deviations such as have long since lost all interest on this side. Our own students of the epoch named had little reliable literature to guide them; the material was only then accumulating, but the student of to-day has an ample supply for reference. On the other hand, it is, of course, a fact that the area of the States is so great and its Fern flora has so recently been taken in hand, that the species themselves are quite possibly not exhausted as regards discovery, and it is possibly due to this that some of the ruling spirits over there do their utmost to discourage varietal research, and follow the old and here obsolete lines of argument, that such "variations" are merely monstrosities," and therefore devoid of interest, and appear to consider the advocates of their study rather as "cranks" than anything else. The crank," however, on the other hand, not infrequently comes across assertions in his special line, which his wider knowledge induces him to impute to real "cranks" rather than imagined A sneer, for instance, at crested varieties as being akin to two-headed kittens or six-legged rabbits is obviously misplaced, when we consider that the Fern varieties, apart from their ornate symmetry, reproduce themselves truly through these spores, while the true monstrosities in question are mere temporary freaks, happily quite incapable of transmitting their deformities to posterity. Furthermore, since

ones.

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the varietal forms have gained scientific attention, it has been found that the tendency to vary pervades also the reproductive systems, so that much light has been thrown upon the life-cycle and its capacity for taking short cuts in all conceivable ways, instead of following the roundabout normal routine. has been due to such investigation that the curious analogy between the malignant cells of cancerous growths in man, and certain abnormal forms of [the nucleus in the] reproductive cells in Ferns was discovered by Professor Farmer, forming quite possibly a link in the chain of knowledge of that dire disease which may enable it to be suppressed or cured. In short, it is in Nature's vagaries rather than in her orthodox procedure that lessons are to be learnt regarding the underlying laws, a fact which some of our American Fern-loving cousins have evidently not yet grasped. Chas. T. Druery, V.M.II., F.L.S.

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.

NEPENTHES.

I AM sending you four pitchers of hybrid Nepenthes raised by me at Remilly. One, N. Pauli," has received a First Class Certificate from the Société Nationale d'Horticulture de France.

The plant has not yet been pinched to make it flower, and the pitchers are still increasing in size. This is the case with another variety with green pitchers grown on the same hybrid, N. Tiveyi x N. mixta. This plant yields, as you see, large pitchers, but they are too green in colour. The other two pitchers are from plants raised by crossing N. Tiveyi x N. Morganæ. The plants are small and the pitchers are far from having attained their full development; one of them resembles that of N. Curtisii, but is redder in colour. I may add that I have now a plant of N. Curtisii (ordinary variety) in bloom. This is a female, and I have another female plant in bloom of N. Curtisii superba, but this shows the existence of a female N. Curtisii, and that the variety superba is not the female plant of that species. I have seedlings of N. Curtisii (ordinary variety) which are fairly large already; the pollen was taken from N. mixta.

I have, with much trouble, succeeded in raising some 50 seedlings from a cross between N. sanguinea x N. Northiana pulchra, but the young plants are very tender, and grow very

slowly. I have, on the other hand, some 300 seedling plants, very sturdy in habit, raised from N. Curtisii superba x N. Northiana pulchra, and hope that these will grow into plants superior to N. mixta, as N. Northiana pulchra has splendid very bright red pitchers, even finer than those of the ordinary N. Northiana. N. Curtisii superba, from which the seed was gathered, has also large and well-coloured pitchers. I have many other seeds ripening, but the fine male varieties, such Burkei, Rafflesiana insignis, &c., have not flowered this year. N. ventricosa has never flowered at Remilly, and I do not know if this is a male or a female plan t R. Jarry-Desloges, Paris.

TROPICAL, AND OTHER PLANTS.

CUBA. Early in the coming year the undersigned will issue the first decades of prepared herbarium specimens of his sets of the economic plants of the world.

The uncertainty of the names attached to cultivated plants and to others of economic importance is proverbial. No part of systematic botany is more difficult and none more interesting and important. Current names for garden and greenhouse plants are in the utmost confusion. Especially is this true of plants originally from the tropics, many of which produce only foliage in the higher latitudes. There has been a most remarkable dissemination of plants worthy of cultivation, and this is constantly increasing, and of great numbers of these plants the botanical identity is as little known to the scientific horticulturist as to the grower.

One of the most serious obstacles to a uniform method of naming cultivated plants is the entire lack of a widely-distributed standard set of herbarium specimens, including well-prepared examples of all the species and varieties, which should be deposited in all the centres of horticultural and botanical activity. Under a uniform series of numbers these could be readily referred to alike by botanists and horticulturists the world over. The opportuneness of this publication and its vital importance to horticultural and agricultural botany do not seem capable of exaggeration.

Locally, there could not be a more favourable place than Cuba for the undertaking of such a work. Here both temperate region and tropical plants may be grown, and the extensive introductions of hundreds of years from all parts of the world, besides our own active Acclimatization Garden, will furnish much valuable material. Full series of tropical fruits, timber trees, vegetables, spices, ornamentals, rubbers, Palms in flower and fruit, and medicinal plants, will furnish items of great interest-a sort of material which it has previously been very difficult to obtain. Even the minor varieties will be fully represented, and accompanied by full notes and by prints or tracings of fruits, &c. Where possible, also, such wild plants as indicate the parentage of cultivated forms will be included.

We already have promises of active co-operation from a number of botanists and horticulturists, and all have enthusiastically commended the proposal. Some of the best-known systematists in some of the oldest gardens of the world have promised their active aid in the preparation of this series. We do not desire to sell many of the sets-exchanges only are generally solicited. A few will be sold to cover the expenses of issue, but any persons desiring the set will be able to obtain it by contributing material in quantity of a few forms for the issue. Until further notice, the preparation of sixty good, complete, well-pressed specimens of each of five species or varieties of cultivated plants will ensure the delivery of one century of the published sets. The material to be contributed by each person co-operating must be decided upon by previous correspondence.

The undersigned has been issuing sets of plants for the past 15 years, so there is promise of a really valuable contribution to the working outfit of botanists and scientific horticulturists. As this is not local work, but draws on all Floras, any change of location by the author will, fortunately, not in any way affect the publication, and he looks forward to its uninterrupted continuation for many years. Early replies are requested from all those interested. G. F. Baker, Departamento de Botanica, Santiago,

Cuba.