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ENGLISH HORTICULTURAL
NOTES.
The pear c nference or congress, or by
whatever name may best be indicated the
great exhibition of pears at Chiswick and
the meetings of growers from day to day,
was still a chief topic in horticultural papers
at the end of October. The pear lore which
occupies so much space in those journals
will possess not the slightest value for
Australians. The climate of England is not
naturally genial enough for any except early
varieties and those of what we term the
midseason kinds, which are grown against
walls in the most favourable English districts.
English writers condemn by wholesale varieties
possessing much merit when grown in the
Channel Islands, or in Belgium and France,
or in suitable districts in Australia. Many
writers propose to cashier half the nursery
men's present lists, and this would probably
be advantageous to growers in all coun
tries, but each country would have to make
its own selection.
The available varieties of hyacinth have
undergone no material change in Australia
for many years past. Few of th; varieties re-.
cently imported have proved superior, or
even ei'iual, to the old. It is not surprising
that lots ordered at a low fixed limit of price
should contain few or no new varieties.
For these higher figures have always to
be paid, and amongst amat.ur growers
of these essentially beautiful llowers are
many who would not object to pay for supe-;
rior new hyacinths the fair market price. J
"We can only now and then learn what varie- j
ties are of this character from chance j
observation in the garden periodicals. In one J
oftheseMr.J. Douglas,awell-knowntioristand i
contributor to the horticultural press, writes j
on the best new and old hyacinths:-" In- j
6tead of only growing one straw or yellowj
coloured variety, as I did for several years, j
two more of this colour have been added to j
onr collection-Bird of Paradise and King of :
Yeilows. They are distinct from each other, I
and from Ida, the old variety alluded to. The j
bulbs of King of Yellows are not very large,
but when it is in full vigour it is the best I
yellow. Bird of Paradise is a distinct and |
very fine variety; it has a long spikesnd well
formed bells, but a few of those at the j
top of the 6pikes are greenish, which
does not add to its beauty. Souvenir de I
J. H. Veen I have added again this j
year, it is the best dark purple-blue variety.
Princess Mary of Cambridge greatly im
proves the pale-blue section, and Grand Maitre j
is also' very distinct, forming a handsome
spike. Amongst red varieties we have tried
several new kinds; King of the Reds pro
mised well, but after trying it last year I left
it out, and went back to Vuurbaak for the
best dark red or crimson ; this variety, Gari
baldi, Linnaeus, and Albert Victor are the
best dark-red varieties. Fabiola and Von j
Schiller are the best pale-pink kinds.
Gigantea forms an immense spike in this
colour, but the bells are too small to be
effective. The doable varieties seem to be at
a discount, except Koh i-noor, which has
semi-double bells ; no others are grown for
exhibition. I always grow a few of the very
best, such aa Lord Wellington, Blocksberg,
Garrick, Laurens Koster, and Van Speyk." I
It is something to know that in double blues |
the foregoing old varieties are still the best
We learn from the Gardeners' Chroniclc
that there is some chance of an International
Horticultural Exhibition being held in 1887
in England. The Royal Horticultural So
ciety addressed a letter of invitation to the |
leading horticultural societies in the king-]
dom requesting them to take part in a meet
ing at South Kensington on November 10,
for the purpose of considering a proposal to
bold such an exhibition in 1887, being the
jubilee year of Her Majesty's reign. The
society has published an advertisement re
questing the presence of all who feel in any
way interested in the subject
. Special gardens for special uses will doubt-1
less be established in due course in Victoria.
A general botanic garden should contain all
available species, but the garden that would
be moat useful to medical students would be
one containing a special selection of plants.
The apothecaries' garden at Chelsea is an old-!
established institution, whose primary object
is, as it has been for the last 200 years, the
tending of botany to medical Btudents, and
latterlyalso to young women and to ladies in
fT*"»j»»g ior governesses in public schools.
We now learn that during the present year
the number qf visitors, mostly ptadents, has
been 2,784, of wjhom'aome 1,200 were males
and the remainder females. !Ehe society
eives a sold and also a silvernieaa.1 in both
classes of students to those vho pass the
jooet creditable examination*
$