LIBRARY

OF THE

MASSACHUSETTS

AGRICULTURAL

COLLEGE

source. _Cal.lg_ffi____{"u:nds

Ja-n -Te_
lloa

July 5, 1902.]

THE

GAEDENEES' CHEONICLE

Ji WLtcklv miustratfo Journal

OF

Horticulture and Allied Subjects.

(ES1ABLISHED IN 1841.)

VOL. XXXI.-THIRD SERIES.

JANUARY TO JUNE, 1902.

LONDON :
41, WELLINGTON STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C.

1902.

BRADBURY, AGNEW AND CO., LTD., PRINTERS, | ^ 0 2-
LONDON AND TONBRIDGE.

\

The Gardeners' Chronicle,]

[July 5, 1902

INDEX OF CONTENTS.

JANUARY TO

JUNE, 1902.

Aberdeen Botanic Garden, 245
Aberdeen University, prizes for

botany and zoology, 342
Acanthus arboreus, 221
Achillea rupestris, 430
Adonis davurica, 180
jEscuIus and Pavia, species of,

187 ; M. californica, fruiting in

Bath Botanic Garden, 187
Africa, South, 232
Agave recurvata at Santa Bar-
bara, California, 80
Agricultural statistics for Ireland,

95
Ailanthus, as an annual, 192
Almond, first flower of, 193
Alnwick Castle gardens, 273, 286
Alpines at, Edinburgh show, 319
America, fruit culture in, 95 ;

fruit and flower culture in, 229 ;

gardeners, in, 20, 48, 90, 132;

the plant trade on Memorial

Day in, 431
American Apple crop, the short,

in 1901, 22
Anaectochili, 100 ; culture of, 130,

138
Anemone cernua, 233, 256
Angelonia-grandiflora alba, 18
Angrfecum ichneumonium, 194
Anigosanthus pulcherrimus at

Belgrove, 311
Anthuriums, seedling, 395
Apiary, the, 12, 143, 275, 307, 344,

437
Apple, a new, 11 ; The Houblon,

79
Apple-trees, horizontal cordon, at

Sherborne Castle, 387; the

American blight on, 47
Apples, Australian, 145, 163, 290 ;

with synonyms, 377
Apricots, 175

Arauja graveolens, fruit of, 139
Arbor Day in Britain, 162
Archontophcenix Alexandra, 19 ;

A. Cunninghami, 19
Arctotis breviscapa, 39
Arenaria purpurascens, 430
Aristolochia arborea, 186
Aristolochia, insects in the flowers

of, 329
Artocarpus integrifolia, 205
Ash and Larch on the chalk, 311.

328
Ashwick Hall, 255
Asparagus Sprcngeri, 165, 233, 263
Aster Tradescanti, 177
Aster-worm, notes on the, 202
Asters, China, diseases of, 293
Aucuba, 241

Auricula Celtic King, 319
Azalea mollis, 170

B

Bachelor's Button, what is the,

69
Bachelor's Button = Goniphrena

globosa, 193
Bacteria in soil, [88
Bacteriosis in Orchids, 12
Baker, Mr. J. G., 192
Bamboos, growth and propagation

of, 188 j hardy, at Batsford, 278
Bananas at The Oaks, Emsworth,

225

Barbados, an interesting gather-
ing at, 93 ; volcanic dust in,
435

Barkeria Skinneri, 18

Bath, Royal "Victoria Park and
Botanical Garden at, 156, 179

Bean and Pea hybrid, alleged, 96

Bean, dwarf, crossed with the
Pea, 59

Beans, climbing, French, for
forcing, 335, 379

Begonia Buisson Rouge, 204 ; B.
Gloire de Lorraine, 75, 164, 202,
204 ; fungus on, 421 ; B. so-
cotrana, 84

Begonia-mite, the, 376

Begonias, winter-flowering, 204

Benevolent Institution, Gar-
deners' Royal, 26, 161, 384 ;
(annual dinner), 363

Berberis congestiflora hakeoides,
310

Berlin, note from, 139

Bilberries and the like, 75

Birds, nest-boxes for, 229

Black Currant-mite, the, 105

Bletia Hyacinthina, 430

Blight, American, on Apple-trees,
47

Boerhaavia diffusa, the, catches
chickens, 175

Books for young gardeners, 224

Books, Notices of: AgendaHor-
ticole (L. Henry), 78 ; Alpen-
Plora f iir Touristen und Planzen-
freunde (Dr. Jul. Hoffmann), 310;
Annuaire de l'Hort., de l'Ar-
boricul., fruitiore et de la
culture maraichcre en Belgique,
&c. (Belgian Garden Annual),
129 ; A Study of San Luis Obispo
County, California (C.H. Shiner),
44 ; Beccari, Nelle Foreste di
Borneo, &c. (in the Forests of
Borneo), 272 ; Bees, 112 ; Bibby's
Quarterly, 28 ; Boletim da Socie-
dade Broteriana, 261 ; Botanical
Magazine, 27, 112, 174, 261, 325
435; Bot. Mag., a2ndedit.of, 289
Botanic Garden, Brussels, 129
Botaniker Adressenbuch, 79
British Vegetable Galls, &c.
(E. T. Connold), 110 ; Bulletin of
the French Hort. Soc. of London/-
436 ; Cassell's Dictionary of
Gardening, 45, 129; Clay's
Successful Gardening, 178; Corn
Trade Year Book, 357 ; Cramp-
ton's Magazine, 45 ; Culture
Forcee des Oignons a Fleurs
(Jules Rudolph), 145 ; Cyclopredia
of American Horticulture (L. H.
Bailey), 308 ; Das Pflanzen-
reich (Professor Engler), 61 ;
Dawlish Guide (Homeland .Asso-
ciation, Ltd.), 162 ; Dictionnaire
Iconograph. des Orchidees, 325 ;
Die Schweizer Flora, 342; Ele-
mentary Plant Physiology ( Da n ie I
Trembly Macdongal), 357; El
Jardin, 435 ; Familiar "Wild
Flowers (F. E. Ilulme), 193 ;
Farm and Home Year Book, 28 ;
Flora of Tropical Africa, 245;
Flore . . . de la France (Abbe
Coste), 44 ; Florilegium Haar-
lemense, 44, 310; Formal Gar-
dens in England and Scot-
land (H. Inigo Triggs), 841 ;
Garden notes for the Colonies
and Abroad (Jas. Carter it- Co.),

146 ; Handbook to Minehead,
246 ; Holidays in Eastern Coun-
ties (Percy Lindley), 342 ;
Homeland Handbooks, 293 ; Hor-
ticultural Directory, 45 ; Hortus
Thenensis, 435 ; Icones Selectaj
Horti Thenensis (M. de Wilde-
man), 245 ; In a Minster Garden
(Dean of Ely), 79, 178 ; Index
Kewensis Supplement, 78 ; In
my Vicarage Garden and Else-
where (Canon Ellacombe), 310 ;
Insect Life : Souvenirs of a
Naturalist, &c. (J.H. Fabre),109 ;
Jahresbericht ueber die Neuerim-
gen und Leistungen auf dem Ge-
biete des Pflanzenshiitzes (Prof.
Dr. M. Hollrung), 311 ; Journal
d'Agriculture Tropicale, 341 ;
Journal of the Royal Horticul-
tural Society, 11, 324; Journal of
the Scottish Meteorological So-
ciety, 342 ; Kew Bulletin, 293 ;
Lawns (Sutton cc Sons), 178 ;
Les Plantes des Champs et des
Bois (Prof. Gaston Bonnier),
325; Les Routes Frnitieres, 97 ;
Lindenia, 277 ; Monographie der
Gattung Sorbus : Review of
Genus Sorbus (Von T. Hed-
lund), 72 ; Monograph of the
Coccidre of the British Isles
(Robert Newstead), 60 ; Natal
Plants (J. Medley Wood), 342 ;
Nature Study Journal (Wye Col-
lege), 193 ; Old-time Gardens
(Alice Morse Earle), 240 ; One-
and-All Gardening, 294 ; Paying
Poultry (W. A. May), 357;
Pictorial Greenhouse Man-
agement (W. P. Wright), 327 ;
Profitable fruit-growing (Jno.
WrUjlit, 46 ; Publications Re-
ceived, 10, 43, 103, 179, 194, 249,
262,' 277, 291, 311, 342, 433;
Queensland Flora (F. M. Baily),
162 ; Reliquife Dewevreanre
(Wildeman and Durand), 129;
Report of Royal Hort. Soc,
96 ; Rubber Cultivation in West
Africa (J. H. Holland), 179 ;
Smithsonian Report, 229 ; The
Book of Bulbs (S. Arnott), 46 ;
The Book of Orchids (W. H.
Wliite), 413 ; The Book of the
Rose (Rev. A. Foster-Melliar),
327 ; The Country (Dr. Huberts),
112, 177 ; The Country Gentle-
man's Estate Book, 327 ; The
Culture of Greenhouse Orchids
(Fredei-icfc Boyle), 181 ; The Cul-
ture of Vegetables and Flowers
from Seeds and Roots (Sutton it-
Sons), 79 ; The Favourite Flowers
of Japan (L. Boehrner it- Co.),
145; The Garden Annual, 28;
The Garden of a Commuter's
Wife (by the Gardener), 62 ;
Thomson's Gardener's Assistant,
vol. v., 240 ; The Journal of the
Kew Guild, 61 ; The Live-Stock
Journal Almanac, 28 ; The Profit-
able Farm and Garden, 193 ; The
Rosarian's Ycar-Book, 46 ; The
Woodlands Orchids (Frederick
Bnyle). 31; The Wessex of
Romance (U\ Blierren), 841;
Traito de Chimie Agricole (M.
Deherain), 96 ; I'nderground
Watering of Plants and Gardens
(John Grant), 179; West Indian
Bulletin, 93, 319

Books, sale of botanical, 27, 79, 97,

327
Botanic garden, Buenos Ayres, 71 ;.

at Melbourne, 240
Botanical laboratory, Liverpool,

356
Botanical wall-drawings, 310
Botany in Hungary and Roumania,

162
Botany, medical, 243
Bouquet, a beautiful royal, 394
Bouvardias, propagation of, 140
Brachionidium Sherringi, 319
Brackets, self-suspending, 325
Briar, stocks from cuttings,

139
Broccolis, notes on, 254
Brodifeas from Uruguay, 39
Brownea Crawfordi x , 61
Buckingham Palace, the lake at,

276
Buenos Ayres, notes from, 71
Bulb farm, an Irish, 304
Bulb garden, the, 124
Burnham Beeches, forestry in, 417

Cabbage clubbing, 12
Cabbages, crossing among, 109
Cactus " Urania,'' 40
Calanthe x triumphans, 4
Calathea crocata, 112
Calceolarias, herbaceous, 319
California, notes from, 73
Calochortus, a revision of the

genus of (Supplement, Feb. 15)
Calvat, how M., became a Chrys-
anthemum grower, 9
Campanula pyramidalis, 319; C.

rapunculoides, andotherspecies,

345
Canadian Horticulturist, 129
Canna Italia, 114 ; C. Mrs. Kate

Gray, 13, 74
Cantaloup Melons, 13
Cape Peninsula, emigration to-

the, 232
Cape Town, flowering plants and

flowers at, 197
Cape Town municipal gardens, 367
Carnation or July flower, 33
Carnation anthracnose in, 193 ;.

C. Beaute Inconstante, 278 ; C.

Mrs. Leopold do Rothschild, 108,

262
Carnations, propagating tree, 107;.

C. winter-flowering, 70, 108, 123,

150, 163, 233
Cassia corymbosa at Tregye, 278,

215, 311
Castlewellan, Japanese Maples at,

46
Caterpillar of the Ghost-moth, 114.
Caterpillars, a visitation of Looper,

489
Cattleya Cybele, 18 ; C. x Elvina,

4 ; C. quadricolor alba, 122 ; C.

x Rothwellise, 18; C, the blue,

128; C. Triamei, 122; 0. x

Viceroy, 70
C'attleyas Lielias at Baronshalt,

428
Cauliflowers, early, 135
Cedar of Lebanon, fine specimen.

of , 1 1 1
Cedar- tree, a mammoth, 10
Ccdrus f.ibani, the great, at Ad-
dington Park, 10

XH i

11

IV The Gardeners' Cl.ronicle,]

INDEX.

[July 5, 1902.

Census of gardeners in Lancashire,
293

Certificated Fruits and Vege-
tables. — Cucumber British
Queen, 302; Melon President,
398 ; Peach Duke of York, 347 ;
Pear 'Winter Nelis, 51

Certificated Plants.— Acacia
cultriforrnis, 151 ; Amaryllis 1m-
p^ratrice de Bresil, 50 ;
Anemone St. Brigid, 313 ; An-
grsecum Maloneyi, Supp.,
May 31 ; Asparagus japoni-
cus, 50 ; A. rnyriocladus, 412 ;
Aspasia lunata, Supp., May 31;
Auricula Alexandra, 280 ; A.
Firefly, 250; A. Rosy Morn,
250 ; A. '• W. Henwood," 250 ; A.
"Yellow Gem," 282; Begonia
alba grandiflora, 85; B. "Ex-
quisite," 398; B. Masterpiece,
442 ; B. Miss Dorothy Hardwick,
442 ; Beech, Pauls' gold-margined
variety of common, 397 ; Carna-
tion Duchess of Westminster,
346 ; C. Lady Hermione, 398 ; Cat-
tleya amethystoglossa Sander:e,
219 ; C. intermedia Aquinii,
Supp., May 31 ; C. labiata
"Warneri Little's variety, 398 ;
C. >; Miss Harris superba, 443 ;
C. Mosshe Arnoldiana " West-
field variety," 314 ; CM.
Aurora, Supp., May 31 ; C. x
Niobe, 281 ; C. x Parthenia
vernalis, 219 ; C. x Prince
Edward, 442 ; C. Trianjei alba
Mrs. Ed. Sondheim, 50 ; Cordy-
line Mayi, 280 ; Corydalis
thalictrifolia, 398 ; Cymbidium
x Lowio-grandiflorum, 110 ; C.x
L.-Mastersianum, 110 ; Cypripe-
dium x Dowlerianum, 152 ; C. x
Edithse, 281; C. Emperor of
India, 281 ; C. x A. Dimmock,
151 ; C. x Felicity, 152 ; C.
Godefroyse leucochilum pulchel-
lum (Supp., May 32) ; C. G. 1.
"Hessle variety," 443; C. in-
signe Fowlerianum, 80 ; C. Law-
renceanum, 219 ; C. L. Hack-
bridgense, 347; C. x Miss Fannie
"Wilson, 50 ; C. x Mrs. W. Mos-
tyn, 50 ; C. x Leander, Cam-
bridge Lodge variety, 50 ; C. x
Venus, Oakwood var., 80 ; C. x
rubescens " Ranjitsinghi," 86;
C. x Stevensii, 50 ; C. x Vipani,
Hessle var., 281 ; C. x William
Pitt, 219 ; Dendrobium x Ains-
worthi, " Hazelbourne var.,"
281; D. cumulatum, Supp., May
31 ; D. x Apollo album, 183 ; D. x
Ethel, 314 ; D. xRolfese roseuiu,
219 ; D. Wardianum Fowleri,
86; Disa x Luna, 314; Di-
morphanthus mandschuricus fo-
liis argenteo - marginatis, 280 ;
Epidendrum Sehomburgki, 347 ;
Eulophia andamensis, Supp.,
May 31 ; Exacum Forbesii, 50 ;
Freesia aurea, Supp., May 31 ;
Fritillaria askabadensis, 218 ;
Fuchsia triphylla hybrida, 398 ;
Gomesa planifolia, 50 ; Hseman-
fchus imperialis, 85 ; Heuchera
brizoides var. graeillima, 398 ;
Hippeastrums General Buller,
Mrs. Bilney, and Queen Alex-
andra, 280 ; H. Sir Christopher
"Wren, 218 ; H. Nysa and syl-
vanus, 250 ; Iris bucharica, 250 ;
I. Barnumse, 346 ; I. orientalis
.Snow Queen, 442 ; I. Sarpedon,
398 ; I. sofrano magntfica, Supp.,
May 31 ; I. Sunshine, 442 ; I.
Tauri, 50 ; I. "Warleyensis, 218 ;
Lachenalia " W. E. Gum-
bleton," 183; Lfelia anceps
-Chamberlainiana, 50; L. a.
Hilliana Rosefieldiensis, 50 ;

L. a. Hollidayana Crawshayana,
86 ; Lselia x Digbyano-purpurata
"Edward VII.," 183; L. x
Flavina, 251 ; L. x Helen, Supp.,
May 31 ; Laelio-Cattleya Cappei,
86; L.-C. x Choletiana, 151;
L.-C. x Dora, 251 ; L.-C. x
Digbyano- Schroder*, 219 ; L.-C.
x Hyeana splendens, Supp.,
May 31 ; L.-C. Mabel, 398 ;
L.-C. Martinetti Prince Arthur,
443 ; L.-C. x Myra Princess of
Wales, 219; L.-C. x Orpheus,
50 ; L.-C. x Queen Alexandra,
116; L.-C. x Rosalind "Prince
of Wales," 219; L.-C. x pur-
purato-Schilleriana Whateleyre,
183 ; L.-C. x Zephyra alba,
Supp., May 31 ; Ly caste Skin-
neri "Lady Gladys," 86; Mar-
guerite " Coronation," 398 ;
Masdevallia minuta, 183; M. x
Circe, 251 ; M. x Rushtoni
superba racemosa x ignea
Eckhardti, Supp., May 31 ;
Maxillaria fractiflexa, 314 ; M.
prsestans, Supp., May 31 ; Micro-
stylis congesta, Supp., May 31 ;
Miltonia vexillaria gigantea,
443 ; M. v. Queen Alexandra,

442 ; Narcissus Ada, N. Moon
Ray, N. Cecil Rhodes, and N.
Watch Fire, 313; N. Bettie
Berkeley, 281 ; N. Agnes Harvey,

346 ; N. Cressett, 281 ; N. Duke
of Wellington, 281 ; N. Glory of
Noordijyk, 281 ; N. incognita,
281; N. Peter Barr, 250; N.
Primrose Phoenix, 281 ; N. Queen
Christiana, 281 ; N. Queen Emma,
281 ; N. Sir Francis Drake, 250 ;
N. Torch, 250 ; N. Warley Magna,
281 ; Nympbrea W. Stone, Supp.,
May 31 ; Odontoglossum x
Adrians? Cooksoni, 347 ; O. x
A. Memoria Victoria? Regina?.,
251; O. x A. "Mrs. Robert
Benson," 219; O. x A. Sybil,

347 ; O. >: A. Fairieanum, 281 ;
O. crispum ardentissimum,
Supp., May 31 ; O. c. British
Queen, Supp., May 31 ; O. c.
Calypso, Supp., May 31 ; O. c.
"Fairy Footsteps," 314; O.
c. concinnum, Supp., May 31 ;
O. c. Dulce, Supp., May 31 ;
O. c. Glory of Brussels, Supp.,
May 31 ; O. c. Her Majesty,

443 ; O. c. Imperatrix Reginre,
443; O. c. "Lady Jane," Supp.,
May 31; O. c. "Lady of the
Lake," 347; O. c. "Mabel
Whateley," 152; O. c. " Mar-
jorie," 347 ; O. c. Miss Lucienne
Linden, 219 ; O. c. Pittise, 314 ;
O. c. Princess Helen, 443 ; O. c.
Princess Victoria, 443 ; O. c.
punctatissimum Princess Maud,
413; O. c. "Robt. McVittie,"
281 ; O. e. veniScum, Supp.,
May 31 ; O. citrosmum puncta-
tum, 314 ; O. x Edwardus Rex,
Supp., May 31 ; O. x Queen
Alexandra, Supp., May 31 ; O.

x Duvivierianum Burfordiense,
50; O. Halli "Queen Alex-
andra," 314; O. x Hallio-cris-
pum Heatonense, 116; O. Har-
ry ano - crispum "Duchess of
York," 314 ; O. x Hartwegense
"Princess Margaret," 443; O.
hystrix secundum nulli, 314 ; O.
x loochristyense enfieldense,
151 ; O. 1. " Lady Violet Green-
fell," 219; O. pardinum, 86;
O. Pescatorei Charlesworthi,
Supp., May 31; O. Rolfese,
"Oakwood var.," 281; O. x
Ruckerianum Pittianum, 219 ; O.
triumphans latisepalum, 314 ;
O. Wattianum, Hardy's var.,
50 ; O. x Wilckeanum Impera-
torium, Supp., May 31 ; Onci-

dium carthaginense, Supp.,
May 31 ; O. luteum, Supp.,
May 31 ; Ornithidium sophro-
nitis, 51 ; Pseonia arborea Queen
Alexandra, Supp., May 31 ; Pa-
paver A. W. Chillery, Supp.,
May 31 ; Pelargonium Col.
Baden Powell, 313 ; Phaio-Ca-
lantlie x Ruby, 151 ; Phaius x
Pho?be superbus, 347 ; P. x
Ruby, 347 ; Phalfenopsis San-
derianus, Wigan's var., Supp.,
May 31 ; Polystachya zim-
besiaca, Supp., May 31 ; Phyl-
locactus Emita, Supp., May 31 ;
Primula imperialis, Supp., May
31 ; P. sinensis var. The Duchess,
85 ; P. viscosa "Spring Beauty,"
250 ; Pteris Wimsetti multiceps,
280 ; Rhododendron (Azalea) rus-
tica,fl.-pl., Ramona, Supp., May
31 ; R. Lady Clementine Walsh,
442 ; Rose Dorothy Perkins, 340 ;
Saxifraga Guildford Seedling,
313 ; Sobralia x "Wiganise, 443 ;
Sophro-Lselia x lreta Orpet-
iana, 219 ; Sparaxis Fire King,
442 ; Thalictrum orientale,
Supp. , May 31 ; Trichopilia
laxa, Supp., May 31; T. ros-
trata, Supp., May 31 ; Tulipa
Gesneriana lutea pallida, 313;
Tulip Inglecombe Scarlet, 346 ;
T. Pride of Haarlem, Supp., May
31 ; T. Scarlet Emperor, 346 ;
Zygopetalum Perrenondi,251;
Z. rostratum, Supp., May 31 ;
Zygo-Colax Wiganianus su-

perbus, 151 ; Zygonisia Rolfe-
ana, 443

Chalk, Ash and Larch on the, 311

Cham;props excelsa at Appley
House (Towers), 377

Chardwar, Orchids at, 322

Chelsea Physic Garden, 276

Chestnuts at Walworth Castle, 04

Chickens, a plant that catches, 175

China, Mr. Wilson interviewed in,
204

Chrysanthemum (Shasta Daisy),
97 ; flowers as salad, 9 ; pic-
tures, 277 ; the, as a cottager's
plant, 101 ; rust, 40 ; the wild
forms of the, 301

Chrysanthemums, eel-worms in,
112 ; C. Mutual Friend and
Duchess of York, 48 ; Mr. Can-
nell upon the history of, 79 ;
ruston, 13,33; seasonable notes
on, 118; new, 9, 51

Cinerarias bedded out, 40 ; " Cac-
tus " flowered, 342 ; in the open
border, 72

Cistus, the hybridisation of, 229

Coal, anthracite, a method of
burning, 84

C'odlin-moth, spread of, in English
orchards, 05

Colonial Notes, 93, 100, 225, 319,
418

Colour, flowers which change, 107

Conifers collected in Shen-Si, 128

Conservatory the, at The Dell,
King's Norton, 00

Co-operation and Co-ordination,
197

Cooper's flexible carbon fibre, 125

Coppin, Mr. F. J., 246

Cornish gardens, plants flowering
in February in, 145

Coronation items, 395, 420, 435

Coronation Number, our, 412

Coronation Wreaths, 4 14

Cortaderia jubata, 378

Couch grass, 379

Crassula conjuncta, 100

Creelman, Mr. G. C. to edit Cana-
dian Horticulturist, 129

Creeper clip a, 329

Crinum Moorei and C. Powelli,
98, 150 ; history of, 113

Crinum natans, 61

Crinums, acotyledonous germina-
tion in, 40 ; hardy, 65
Crowns, flower in Amiens Cithe-

dral, 411 ; regal, 401
Cuba, landscape gardening in, 435
Cucumber plants, stopping and

training, 220 ; malformed, 341 ;

the raising of, 29 ; the soil

mixture for, 172
Cyclamen persicum, Mr. Murrell's,

345
Cymbidium eburneo-Lowianum,

154
Cymbidium eburneum, peloria in,

254
Cyperorchis Mastersii, and variety

alba, 4
Cypripedium "Brunhild," 350;

C. callosum var. Sandera?, 435 ;

C. x Edmund Rothwell, 190;

C. x Emperor of India, 322, 413;

C. exul, a malformed, 203; C

x A. Dimmock, 157 ; C. insigne

twin flowered, 01 ; C. x Mrs. W.

Mostyn,75;C. .Venus, Oakwood

variety, 91
Cypripediums in season, 9
Cytisus racemosus, 131

Daffodil Peter Barr, 311, 314

Daffodils, 109, 221

Dahlias, Cactus, 107

Daisy, the "Shasta" (C. Leucan-
themum . C. nipponicum), 97

Dalkeith Palace gardens, 81, 149

Daphne odora, 92

"Dean" testimonial, the, 45,79,
97, 98

Dean, Mr. John, a gardener J. P.,
293

Decastelma Broad way i, 319

Decorating the dinner-table, 89,
90, 305, 430

Decoration plants forhouse, 394,410

Dendrobium ■ Ainsworthi varie-
ties, 238 ; D. Boxalli, 367 ; D.
capillipes, 123; D. Falconeri, an
abnormal, 357 ; D. taurinum, 90 ;
D. Wardianum Fowleri, 125; D.
Wardianum, deformed, 328

Deodar, the, at Worthing, 396

Dermatobotrys Saunders' i, 131

Designing gardens, 349

Devansaye, M. de la, his librarv,
304

Diely tra spectabilis, culture of, 368

Diospyros texana, 319

Disease in Tomatos and Cucum-
bers, 133

Doryanthes as a food for pigs, 375

Downside, Leatheihead, 389

Drain-pipes for garden paths, 394

Dryniophlauis Normanbyi, 443

Dunn memorial fund, 83, 100

Dust, samples of, from high alti-
tudes, 113

Dyer, Sir W. T. T., 356

Eden Hall, Cedar, a fine, at, 114
Edinburgh Botanic Garden, 54
Egg, the wet, preservation of, 65,

164
EUeagnus reflexa, a plantation of ,

245
Electric light, use of, and ether,

in forcing plants, 144
Ellacombe's garden, Canon, in

March, 197
Embothrium coccineum at Tre-

gullow, 294
Emigratir.g gardeners, 141
Encbytrafus parvulus (Aster-
worm', 202
Epacris, the cultivation of, 56
Epergne, a new shaped, 28
Epping Forest, the care of, 97 ;

addition to, 193

tffiie Gardeners' Chronicle,!

INDEX.

•[July 5, 1902.

Eranthis hyemalis and E. ciliei-

cus, 212
"Erica propendens, 320

Eucalypti, 140

Eucalyptus blooming in Isle of
Arran, 217

Euphorbia hiberna and fish-poison-
ing, 341

Euphorbia (Poinsettia) pulcher-
rima, 213

Euphorbias, 190

Euston Hall injured by fire, 240

Evergreens, the rationale of, 37

Exacum Porbesii, 93

Fairy-cops, 253, 288

Fernery, the, 170

Perns in Queensland, 100 ; new,
of 1901, 41 ; the treatment of
hardy, 170

Fibre, Cooper's flexible carbon,
125

Fieus elastica variegata, 205

Fitzroya patagonicaatPencarrow,
392

Fleur-de-Lys, 132, 104

Flora of Southern Berks, 328

Floral Committee and its work,
the, 378

Floricultural Society, transactions
of the National, 53

Florist's flowers, 51, 70, 107, 123,
4580

Flower Garden, the, 6, 25, 43, 59,
77, 94, 111, 127, 142, 158, 171,
191, 208, 226, 243, 259, 274, 295,
306, 323, 339, 354, 372, 391, 432

Flowers, colours of, 5 ; cut, 232 ;
early, 83, 192; from Kirkcud-
bright, 101 ; in. season, 357 ;
vernal, 269 ; which change
colour, 107, 124, 149; wild, in
the garden, 333

Forcing of retarded plants, 155,
169

Forest plants, effects of weather
on, 388

Forestry, 238, 250, 308; at Burn ham
Beeches, 417 ; at Torphins, 315

Forestry, Committee of, 163, 326

Forestry in Ireland, 244

Fritillaria askhabadensis, 237 ;
F. libanotica, 389

Frost in Berlin, 320 ; in Kent, 329

Fruit, acreage under, 130

Fruit and Vegetable supplies in
the coronation year, 411

Fruit, colonial, 229, 201 ; cold
storage of, 178 ; crops in
France, 354 ; culture in the
United States, 28, 95 ; dry-
ing, result of experiments in,
•20 ; farm, the Duke of Bed-
ford's, 211; from Tasmania, 327 ;
from the Cape, 45, 02, 97, 163,
■211 ; growing in Transvaal, 232:
growers Federation National,
4556; season, colonial, 193; to
Australia, 163 ; trade in Cape
Colony, 344 ; trees, renovating
old, 86 ; trees by roadsides,
140, 163, 379; trees on railway
banks and on roadsides, 212,
422 ; tree planting on farms, 178 ;
the successful culture of hardy,
206, 234, 248

Fruits under glass, 7, 24, 43, 58,
76, 94, 110, 126, 143, 159, 174,
191, 208, 226, 212, 258, 274, 291,
300, 323, 338, 351, 372, 390, 423,
432

»V\Ki>EN as a hobby, the, 17, 180
Oarden design, 319
Garden-rollers, a brush attach-
ment for, 376

Gardener, the emigrating, 141

Gardeners, a census of in London,
140 ; in Lancashire, 293 ; in
Yorkshire, 375

Gardeners in America, 48

Gardeners' prospects in America,
90; young, and self-improve-
ment, 221

Gardenia florida, &c, 131

Garlands, mummy, 413

Gastronema sanguineus, 10

Gentiana verna, 430

Gentil, M. Louis, 161

Geraniums, hardy, 334, 360, 421

Gerbera Jamesoni, 232, 377, 421

Ghost-moth caterpillar of the, 114

Gilbert, the late Sir H., 145

Gladiolus injured by fumigation,
164

Glaeosporium Dianthi, 194

Gloxinias, 247

Gloxinias, culture of, 205, 278

Goeze, Dr. E., superannuated, 412

Gooseberries, early, 310

Gourd pergola, a, 40

Graftiog experiments, 61

Grafting fruit-trees, 1 19

Grain, flour and meal of British
commerce, 292

Grammatophyllum speciosum

flowering at Kew, 01

Grape prizes, 248

Grape prizes at Shrewsbury, 278,
294, 328, 378, 396

Grapes, keeping, 377

Grass seed, a gigantic, 211

Gunnersburv House, Japanese gar-
den at, 308

H

H.emanthus imperialis, 98
Hall, a, for the Royal Horticul-
tural Society, 23, 44, 46, 210,
213, 214, 277; the, 192; report
of the joint committee upon site
for, 176 ; subscriptions in aid
of, 374
Hamamelis mollis, 126
Hardy fruit garden, the, 6, 25, 41,
59, 77, 95, 110, 120, 143, 15S, 174,
191, 209, 220, 243, 259, 274, 290,
306, 323, 339, 355, 372, 391, 423,
432
Hardy plants, improvements in,

62, 72
Hartstongue, a handsome, 5
Hawaian Islands, vegetable pro-
ducts of the, 201
Heating, early treatises on, 121
Helichrysa, some African, 4
Helichrysum Gulielmi var. Meyeri,

4 ; H. Volkensii, 169
Heliotropium volterra, 389
Helleborus niger, flowers of, 27
Henry, Dr. Augustine, 201 ; dinner

to, 214
Herbaceous border, 331
Heteropteris purpurea, .".in
Hibiscus esculentus, 225
Hidalgoa Werklii, 39
Hippeastrum, crossing the, with
Clivia, 351, 421; H. stylosum
var. nudum, 39
Hippeastrums at Westonbirt, 230 ;
culture of, 188; some interest-
ing, 88
Holland House, Kensington, his-
tory of, 425
Hooker, Sir J. D., honour for, 374
Horse Chestnut-roots, 328 (see

also -lOsculus)
Horticultural sundries, 195
House decoration, plants for, 394
Hyacinth flowers, shedding of, 193
Hymenocallis Moritziana, 40 ; H.
tubiflora, 40

Ilex Golden Queen, 329
Impations grand iflora, 177
Indian garden, in an, 3.S5

Ipomwa aurea, 74 ; I. chrysantha,
74 ; I. repanda, 100

Ireland, statistics, 95

Iris persica with twenty-four parts
to flower, 90 ; I. reticulata
major, 197, 233; I. stylosa in
bloom on January 18, 83

Irises, hybrid alpine, 114; "In-
termediate," 327

Irish migratory labourers, 97

Isleworth, notes from, 39

Jack -fruit, the, 205
Japanese dwarf trees, sale of, 357
Japanese garden, Gunnersbury
House, 228

Keevil Manor, 141

Kerria japonica as Bachelor's
Button, 114

Kew Guild, annual meeting and
dinner, 363

Kew, addition to the herbarium
at, 61 ; admission of gardeners
to, 261 ; Bank Holiday at, 230 ;
notes, 10 ; plants in flower at,
on January 18, 01 ; show house
at, 61

Kitchen garden, the, 7, 25, 42, 58,
76, 95, 111, 126, 142, 158, 175,
190, 209, 227, 243, 259, 275, 290,
307, 323, 338; 354, 372, 390, 432

Kochia scoparia, 359

Labels by automatic machine, 357,

420
Laburnum sports, 440
Lselia anceps Chamberlainiana,

71 ; L. a. Hollidayana Crawshay-

ana, 123 ; L. x Digbyana pur-

purata Edward VII., 206, 413
Lfelio-Cattleya x Bowrialbida, 70 ;

L.-C. x Gladys, 238; L.-C. x

Lucy Ingram, 70 ; L.-C. Ophir,

280 ; L.-C. Prince Leopold, 286 ;

L.-C. x Queen Alexandra, 413 ;

L.-C. x Vesta, 5
Lagetta lintearia, 107
La Mortola, some plants in bloom

at Christmas at, 9
Lancashire, gardeners in, 293
Lapagerias flowering in the open,

248
Larch, the disease of the, 23S, 256 ;

the Japanese, 33 ; and Ash on

the chalk, 278
Latania Verschaffelti, 139

Law Notes : Batho, W. J. (Bank-
ruptcy case), 148 ; Belgian case,
retaining offsets from plants
when sold), 97 ; Claes v. Linden
(Orchid case), 299; Jones v.
Taylor (removing plants), 48 ;
Mears v. Callender (fixtures
case), 83 ; Savage u. Cooper
(delay in delivering), 03 ; Town-
roe p. a firm of solicitors (pur-
chase of shrubs), 48 ; Williams
v. Armstrong (claim for packing
plants), 267

Lawes, the late Sir J. B., tablet
to, 245

Lawn-mowers, 237, 320, 330, 358,
309

Lawson's.YeirOrc//(irif and (Vaj'di'fi,
359

Lettuce, Hampers Improved Y. F.
Forcing, 56

Library, M. de la Devansaye's, 304

Lilies, commercial and horticul-
tural aspects of, 80; cultivation
of, 74 ; L. Martagon, 301

Lilium candidum, 379, 422 ; L. gi-
ganteum, 124, 181, 197, 233, 248,
278, 379 ; in northern localities,
212

Lily of the Valley, forcing retarded
crowns of, 124, 105 ; not flower-
ing satisfactorily, 34, 99

Lobelia Mrs. Clibran, 376 ; L.
Newport's Model, 293

Looking backward, 53

Lotus arabicus, the poisonous sub-
stance in, 145

Lupin, the, as a field crop, 231

Lycaste Skinneri, 18; a twin-
flowered, 190

Lychees in Natal, 177

M

McIlwrick, Mr., presentation to,

240
MacOwan, Prof., D.Sc, 228
Magnolias, spring flowering, 277
Manchester Royal Botanical

Gardens, 97
Manures, chemical, in the kitchen

and fruit gardens, 06
Market gardening, 28, 172, 226
Martinique, Botanic Garden, 443 ;

scenery of, 375
Masdevallia elephanticcps, 177
Massey, presentation to Mr. John,

128
Maxillaria fractiflexa, 359
Medlar, the Bronvaux, 162
Melbourne Botanic Gardens, 240
Meliosma Herberti, 202 ; M. myri-

antha, 30
Melocannabambusoides, a gigantic

grass, seeds of, 211
Melon-growing in pots, 125
Melons, after transit, 248 ; early,

and pot culture, 30
Meyer, Mr. F. W., presentation

to, 9
Middlesex County Council horti-
cultural teaching, 79, 246
Midland garden, a, 5
Millardet, Prof., retirement of, 311
Miltonia Roezlii varieties, 70 ; M.

vexillaria "Freeland variety,"

367
Minkelersia biflora, 112
Misleto, poisonous effects of, on

the Pear, 45
Montrichardia aculeata, 112
Moschosma riparium. 122
Mueller, Baron Sir V. Von, monu-
ment to, (il
Mummy garlands, 413
Musa Cavendishi, introduction

of, into Polynesia, 225

N

NAMES, botanical and otherwise,
2110

Naples, a garden at, 38

Narcissi, hybrid, 172 ; spontaneous
seedling, 256, 294, 314, 352

Narcissus Leedsii " Elaine," 293;
N. Peter Barr, 250; N. Tazetta,
elegant mode of growing, 98 ;
N. odorus in Greenwich Park,
212 ; N. Margarita' " Iolanda,"
172 ; N. Sprengeri vomerensis,
173 ; N. S. elmensis, 173 ; N. te-
lamonius, 278

Neighbour, presentation to Mr.
Jas., 145

Newlands, Harrow-on-the-Hill, 28

Newstead, presentation to Mr. R.,
115

Nice, notes from, 223

Nicotine in horticulture, lecture
on, 152

Nomenclature at Kew, 135

Nonex, a household coment, 215

North, a visit to the, 51, 81

North Mvmms Park, winter flowers
?t, 181

VI The Gardeners' Chronicle,]

INDEX.

[July 5, lfon.

Novelties of 1901, 2, 22, 55
Nurseries in the United States, 175

Nursery Notes.— Barr & Sons,
Long Ditton, 295; Cooling &
Sons, Geo., Bath, 154 ; Cuthbert,
R.&G.,Southgate, 146; Cypher,
J., 204; Hogg & Robertson,
Rush, Ireland, 304 ; James & Son,
Farnham Royal, 305 ; Jannoch,
Theodore, Dersingham, 390 ;
Smith, Alfred, Peltham, 234 ;
Sutton & Sons, Reading, 172,
352; Veitch & Sons, James,
London, 207 ; Veitch, R., & Sons,
Exeter, 329, 370 ; Webb & Sons,
E., Wordsley, 214

Obituary.— Appleby, Henry, 290 ;
Batley, James, 300 ; Beale, Ed-
ward John, 49 ; Bennett, Alfred
"William, 85 ; Briggs-Bury, Mrs.
R., 115 ; Brown, J. G., 329 ;
Bruneau, Desire, 9 ; Bull, W.,
380, 381 ; Bullock, Thomas
(poisoned by XL All), 103 ;
Collett, Col. Sir Henry, 14 ;
Cooper, Sir Daniel, 393 ; Craw-
ford, John, 290 ; Crosfield, John,
14 ; Davies, Thomas, 329; Dewar,
R. M., 249 ; Dickson, Dr. Archi-
bald, 284 ; Downes, John, 248 ;
Downie, Chas., 382; Evans,
Edward, 440; Fisher, Charles,
219, 247; Flight, F. W., 115;
Furze, Walter, 248 ; Gilbert, Sir
Henry, 1 ; Graham, F. J., 115 ;
Grahame, C. J., 382 ; Harris,
G. St. P., 14 ; Hill, James, 134 ;
Hunnewell, H. H., 382 ; Jtnman,
G. S., 234 ; Kelway, Leonard,
115 ; King, Thomas, 290 ;
Leonard, H. Selfe, 145; Lom-
bard, Jas. Fitzgerald, 14 ; Mac-
kenzie, Jno. Ord, 198; Mansel-
Pleydell, J. C, 315; Marriott,
Thos., 360 ; Manning, Robert,
198 ; Massange de Louvrex,
Ferd., 9 ; Miller, John W., 381 ;
Peak, Ed. Amos, 100; Pownall,
W. H., 198 ; Roberts, Edward,
219 ; Rodeck, Emil, 259 ; Rollis-
son, Charles, 35 ; Rooke, Peter,
198 ; Stevens, George, 234 ;
Stuart, Dr. Charles, 133 ; Syme,
David, 85, 100, 213 ; Tate, Henry,
134; Tegg, James, 184; Temple,
Mungo, 268, 284 ; Troughton,
W., 248; Trussler, Mr., 198;
Verdier, Eugene, 277 ; Whale,
Albert Walter, 315 ; Wilder,
John, 345 ; Wilson, George
Ferguson, 228

Odontoglossum x Adrianse, Lieut.
T. G. Gibson, 170; O. x A.
Cooksonas, 389 ; O. x Mrs.
Robert Benson, 248; O. x An-
dersonianum magnificum, 238 ;
O. cirrosum Klabochorum, 38;
O. crispum "Alpha," 254 ; O. c.
Matlock variety, 254 ; O. c.
"Miss Lucienne Linden," 289;
O. c. Reedleyense, 123; O. X
EdwardusRex, 413 ; O. polyxan-
thum graudiflorum, 428; O.
triumphans varieties, 123 ; O.
Wattianum Hardyanum, 65

Onosma pyramidalis, 430

Orange, the Navel, 225; in Cali-
fornia, 420

Oranges, 83, 114 ; abnormal, 64

Orchard - house at Gunnersbury
House, 195

Orchard-house in February, the,

Orchid-houses, the, 7, 24, 42, 58,
76, 94, 111, 127, 142, 158, 174,
190, 208, 227, 242, 258, 274, 290,
306, 322, 338, 354, 403, 433

Orchid notes I and gleanings, 4,
18, 38, 70, 122, 154, 170, 190,238,
254, 209, 280, 307, 428

Orchids at the sale rooms, 201 ; at
Chardwar, 322 ; at the Warren
House, Stanmore, 307 ; at Wes-
tonbirt, 270; at Westfield, Wo-
king, 357 ; abuse of, when in
flower, 280, 329 ; bacteriosis in,
12 ; sale of, 293; royal, 413 ; the
back pseudo-bulbs of, 83 ; clean-
ing the leaves of, 04, 84, 150;
Cooper's fibre for, 125 ; in leaf-
mould, cultivation of, 20, 128

Orphan Fund, Royal Gardeners',
145 ; annual meeting, 134 ; annual
dinner, 330

Otto of Rose, 27

Uxton Hall, change of ownership
of, 9

Paddookhurst, notes from, 354

P;eonia Moutan albo-lilacina, 356

Palm, the Chusan, 145

Palms in the open at Santa Bar-
bara, 150

Palms on the Riviera, 34

Palms, Queensland, 288 ; three,
often wrongly named, 18

Pansies, fancy, at the Temple
Show, 380

Paris, notes from, 380 ; the beau-
tification of, 162

"Park," Lord Dysart's proposed,
64

Parkinson, John, 317

Parkinson's Paradisns sold for
£27, 310 ; Paradise and Tlie New
Orchard and Garden, 345 ; statue
at Liverpool, 317

Passiflora ambigua, 109

Pavia indica at Barton Hall Gar-
dens, 213

Payne, French honour for Mr.
C. H., 161

Pea, Carter's Michaelmas, 47

Peas, early, 53, 84 ; for succes-
sion, 108 ; and nitrogen, 48, 64,
78, 92, 98 ; late, 13, 33 ; popular
and sterling varieties of, 32, 84,
132, 262

Peaches and Nectarines, standard
trees of, 91

Peaches, double flowering, 74

Pear Doyenne d'Hiver, 234 ; poi-
sonous effects of Misleto on
the, 45 ; President Barabe, 114 ;
tree, a big Catillac, 294

Pelargoninm capitatum and essen-
tial oil, 295

Pelargoniums trained at Gunners-
bury House, 260

Perfume, double, in flowers, 262,
277

Pergola, a Gourd, 46

Pergolas and verandahs, plants
for, 251

Peziza coccinea (Fairy-cups), 253

Phaius grandifolius, a malformed
flower of, 211

Phalrenopsis in London, 38

Philibertia clausa, 319

Phloxes, hybrid, 277

Phosphoric acid and potash in
soils, 352

Pinanga Kuhlii, 97; P. Veitehi,
114

Pinus insignis, value of the timber
of, 73 ; P. monticola, fungus on,
262

Pitcairnia ramosa, 319

Plant-breeding in the United
States, 340

Plant-breeding conference, Inter-
national, 392

Plant Portraits. — .Eranthus
ramosus, 325 ; Aloe oligospila,
325 ; A. pendens, 435 ; An-
grrecum Eichlerianum, 27 ; A.

Scottianum, 325 ; Aquilegia
Helena-, 148 ; Asparagus Duches-
nei, 229 ; Aster Tradescanti,
177; Azalea indica Madame
Emma Eeckhaute, 98 ; Bauhinia
yunnanensis, 27 ; Berberis
dictyophylla, 325 ; Boronia tet-
randra, 229 ; Brodkea capitata,
229 ; Calathea crocata, 112 ;
Cattleya :■; Chamberlainiana,
325; C. x Clymene, 209; C.
labiata perfecta, 269 ; C. x
Memoria Bleui, 209 ; C. Pecka-
viensis x , 38 ; C. x Wavriniana,
325 ; Corydalis thalictrifolia,
201 ; Crinum Johnstoni, 27 ;
Crocus vernus, 310 ; Cypripe-
dium Stepmanise, 269 ; Cy-
stopteris bulbifera, 11 ; Delphi-
num bicolor, 98 ; Dendrobium
Phalsenopsis Lindenise, 209 ;
Deyeuxia elegans variegata,
357 ; Dicentra eximia, 229 ;
Disas, hybrid, 230 ; Echinocac-
tus microspermus, 435 ; Erica
Chamissonis, 38 ; Eucalyptus
cordata, 325 ; Eranthemum atro-
purpureum, 435; Euryops soco-
tranus, 435 ; Ficus radicans
variegata, 98 ; Gentianaangusti-
folia, 296 ; Hsemanthus Diadema,
38 ; Hibiscus Scotti, 27 ; Hidal-
goa Werckleyi, 368 ; Honckenya
hcifolia, 325 ; Hunnemannia
fumari;efolia, 230 ; Hyacinths
l'lnnocence and Captain Boyton,
310 ; H. Obelisk, 44 ; H. Roi des
Beiges, 44 ; Impatiens grandi-
flora, 177 ; Irises, various forms
of English, 44 ; Jasminum Main-
gayi, 177 ; Kalanchoe soma-
liensis, 261 ; Kniphofia multi-
flora, 325 ; Lfelia Lindleyana
var. purpurea, 325 ; Lilac hybrid,
98 ; Lilium speciosum album, 44 ;
Magnolia Watsoni, 230 ; Masde-
vallia elephanticeps, 177 ; Mi-
mulus ringens, 230 ; Minkelersia
biflora, 112 ; Montrichardia
aculeata, 112 ; Narcissus Gran-
dee, Golden Spur, and poeticus
ornatus, 310 ; Nemesia strumosa,
38 ; Odontoglossum grande, 357 ;
O. g. Pittianum, 325 ; Oncidium
varicosum Moortebeekiense,
269 ; Passiflora ambigua, 177 ;
Philodendron ealophyllum, 201 ;
Pitcairnia Micheliana, 11 ; Platy-
clinis filiformis, 325 ; P. glu-
macea, 325 ; Plectranthus Ma-
honii, 112 ; P. saccatus, 435 ;
Promenfea stapelioides, 325 ;
P. xanthina, 325; Prunus fruti-
cosa, 230 ; P. pseudo - cerasus
Watereri and P. serrulata, 38 ;
Renanthera matutina, 209 ; Rose
Perle von Godesberg, 290 ; R.
Souvenir de Pierre Notting,
230, 368 ; Ruellia Lorentziana,
368 ; Schizanthus Wisetonensis,
230 ; Schomburgkia Thomsoniana
var. minor, 27 ; Sobralia va-
ginalis var. lilacina, 325 ; Sola-
rium Xanti, 112 ; Stanhopea
Reichenbachiana, 325 ; Trichc-
pilia crispa marginata, 325 ;
Tulips, double, 44 ; T. Parrot &
Tournesol, 310 ; T. single early,
44 ; Tupistragrandis, 261 ; Vanda
Parishi, 269 ; Viscumcruciatum,
261 ; Vitis Voinieriana, 148

Plants, destruction of native, 157
Plants for house decoration, 394,

410; hardy, for forming devices,

149

Plants, New or Noteworthy :
Acanthus arboreus, 221 ; Aris-
tolochia arborea, 180 ; A. pon-
tica, 333 ; Aster subccerulea,
385 ; Cattleya x Rothwellise,
18 ; Crassula conjuncta, 106 ;

Cypripcdium "Brunhild," 350;
Fritillaria askhabadensis, 237 ;
Helichrysum Volkensii, 169 ;
Hippeastrum Kromeri, 105 ; Iris
Bucharica, 385 ; I. Warleyensis,
380 ; Kalanchoe kewensis, 387 ;.
Lselio-Cattleya x Gladys, 238 ;
Lilium japonicum var. Alexan-
dras, 254 ; Meliosma Herberti,
202 ; Mertensia, a new, 386 ;
Moschosma riparium, 122; Pas-
siflora ambigua, 169 ; Pinus [la-
ricio] pindica, 302 ; Platyclinis
barbifrons, 360 ; Primula Wilsoni,
413 ; Richardia Sprengeri, 349 ;
Stapelia bella, 137 ; Tulipa Mi-
cheliana, 350 ; Tulips from Bok-
hara and Trans-caspia, some new-
species of, 350 ; Vitas Voinie-
riana, 18

Plants under glass, 0, 24, 42, 59,
76, 94, 111, 127, 143, 159, 174,
191, 209, 227, 242, 258, 275, 291,
307, 322, 339, 355, 423, 433

Plantations, treatment of, 388

Platyclinis barbifrons, 366

Plectranthus as a vegetable, 375 ;
P. Mahoni, 112

Plum, Anna Spiith, 175

Plum trees, cordon, 33

Podocarpus chilina (printed P.
andina), 113, 146

Poinsettias, propagating, 103, 180)

Poison causes death to gardener,
128, 163

Poisons, sale of, for industrial
purposes, 80, 100, 112, 128

Poplar, restoration of an aged, 39S

Poppy, a harlequin, 223

Populus monilifera aurea, 140

Potato May Queen, 369

Potato cultivation, experiments;
in, 223

Potatos, 34 ; a new disease (Ba-
cillus Solanifolia) of, 394

Primrose, Wilson Blue, 293

Primula megaseasfolia, 114, 133

Primula oreodoxa, 372 ; P. Sie-
boldi, varieties of, 337 ; P. si-
nensis, the wild form of, 269;
P. viscosa "Spring Beauty,"
295, 296

Prior Park, Bath, 130

Propagating Tree-Carnations, 107

Prumnopitys elegans, male flowers
of, 436

Pruning, on, 20

Prunus Davidiana, 141

Ptychosperma elegans (see Drymo-
phloaus Normanbyi), 19

Queensland Palms, 288

Railway sleepers, 12 ; woods used

for, in Australia, 343
Rainfall in 1901, 33, 90, 164
Ramondia pyrenaica alba, 430
Ranunculus Lyalli, 233
Rats and Bamboos, 84
Reading College, report of, 43f>
Regal crowns, 401
Retarded plants, forcing of, 155,

169
Retarding plants, 160, 197
Rhea fibre, 61
Rhodes, Cecil, as a horticulturist,

418
Rhododendron Nuttalli, 379
Rhododendrons from Messrs.

Veitch, 376 ; hybrid, 368
Richardia Elliotiana, 360 ; R. E.,

culture of, 318; R. Pentlandi,

440 ; R. Sprengeri, 349
Richards', G. H., sundries estab-
lishment, 195

The Gardeners' Chronicle,]

INDEX.

[July 5, 1902. vil

Riviera, Palms on the, 3 1 ; plants
"in flower on the, 27

Robinia hispida and others, 120

Roehford Memorial, the, 161

Rollers with brush attachment,
370

Roots, denuded, of Horse Chest-
nuts, 328 ; gigantic, 245

Rosa lucida, 139

Rosary, the, 18, 139

Rose Blanc Double de C'oubert,
139 ; Felicite et Perpetue (origin
of name), 260, 294; Fortune's
Double Yellow, 231 ; General
Shablikine, 18 ; Gruss an Tep-
litz, 294; R. Mrs. Ames, 9;
names, 294 ; R. Niphetos out-of-
doors, 440; the, for Merry Eng-
land, 8

Roses, a good crop of, 379 ; of
British origin, and their origi-
nators, 428 ; retarding, 213 ;
the foliage of, 108; wild
Chinese, 438

Rothamsted and its present owner,
307 ; appointment of Mr. A. D.
Hall as Director, 325

Rumphius, the celebration of the
death of, 80

Santa Barbara, 80
St. Ann's, Dublin, 230
St. Catherine's Court, 342
St. Vincent, Island of, 343
Sandiingham Gardens, 401
Sauromatum guttatum, 201, 203,

294
Scale on Apple-trees, remedy for,

133
School gardens, 137
Schubertia grandiflora, fruitiDg

of, 233

Scientific Committee :— Ailan-
thus, seedling, bearing flowers,
108; AnthuriumScherzerianum,
383; Apple-leaves, crippled,
398 ; Arauja sericifera, seed-ves-
sels of, 198 ; Bacteriosis in
Arum-corms, 00 ; Bacteriosis in
Carnations, 105 ; Bananas, ma-
nure for, 134 ; Beech and Rose
diseased, 382 ; Begonias, dis-
eased, 134; B., mites on, 235;
burr on ^Esculus, 198; Carna-
tion disease, 198; Carnation-
leaves, 131 ; Cephalotaxus
fruiting, 297 ; Chrysanthe-
mum and Cornflower rust, 101 ;
Citron, with carpels resembling
fingers, 134 ; Clivia leaves with
rei spots, 101 ; Clematis glyci-
noides, 198; Crinum, bulbiforra
seed of, 101 ; Crinums, germi-
nation of seeds of, 105 ; Cycla-
men, bicolored, 198 ; Cyclamen
flowers, synanthy in, 105; Cy-
clamen, "sporting" peculiari-
ties of the Persian, 266; Cycla-
mens diseased, 00; Cyclamens
with eel-worm, 100 ; Cypripe-
dium insigne, flower stunted,
101 ; Cytisus Adami, 399 ; Daffo-
dil leaves, 290 ; diseased leaves
of Odontoglossum, 105 ; Ere-
murus leaves damaged, 388 :
fasciated Holly, 165 ; Fusarium
Solani attacks healthy Potatos,
898 ; gall on root of Loganberry,
108; Gloxinia flowers with ex-
crescences, 330 ; Gnaur on .Ks-
culussp., L65j ConAllamanda,
165; Gooseberry trees dying off,
330 ; grub on Rose, 235 ; Hazel-
buds affected with mites, 198 ;
Hippeastrutn Kromeri, 105 : hy-
brid, alleged between Pea and
dwarf Bean, 105 ; insect injurious
to Apple-gral't, 899 ; insects on
Apple-shoots, 108; Iris, over-

growth of, 398 ; I. unguicularis
with ripe capsule, 00 ; Jujube,
198; Kalauchoes, species of, exhi-
bited, 200 ; LastreaThelypteris,
fine form of, 330 ; Leucojum
vernum forming bulbs, 297 ; Li-
lium eandidum, wild form of,
399 ; Lily disease, 383 ; Linum
trigynum, 290 ; Lopezia miniata,
200 ; Melon leaves decayed, 382 ;
Melon disease, 399 ; Narcissus
disease, 235, 205 ; N. poeticus
var. ornatus eaten by slugs, 105 ;
Nympbfeas, air canals in, 134,
105 ; (Enanthe crocata, poisonous
qualities of, 198, 200 ; Osteomeles
anthyllidifolia, 200 ; Preony and
the Goat-moth, 297 ; roots eaten
by grub of Swift -moth, 101,
134; Paspalanthus sp., 198;
Palms, diseased, 198, 330 ;
Peach blossoms and protogyny,
297 ; Peach tree disease, 205 ;
Peaches, silver leaf in, 297 ;
Pelargonium leaf with pitcher,
235 ; P., leaves, decay in, 00,
141 ; P., leaves with Puecinia
granulans, 134 ; Peloria in Cat-
tleya, 235 ; Pinus pindica, 198 ;
Potato disease, 134,382; Prim-
roses, malformed, 330 ; Rasp-
berry canes and Pear-leaves
diseased, 383 ; Raspberry- moth,
the, 399 ; Richardia corms with
bulb-mite, 100; Robinia, nodules
on roots of, 297 ; Rose, proli-
ferous, 134 ; Roses dying, 399 ;
Schizophyllum commune, 235 ;
Slime-fungus, 198; Stipa viri-
dula injurious to cattle, 388 ;
Strawberry, proliferous, 235 ;
Tacca cristata, 330 ; Tea plant,
fruit of the, 399 ; Tropieolum,
hybrid, 235 ; Tulipa sylvestris
in wild state, 297, 330 ; Tulips,
Darwin, 383; Turnip seedlings,
■variation in, 297, 330, 383 ; Va-
leriana arizonica, 101 ; Violets,
diseased, 235, 265 ; Virescent
Tulip, 399 : Wood Leopard-moth,
105 ; Zizyphus jujuba, 198

Scilly Islands, flower harvest in
the, 153

Scolopendrium vulgare, variety
Drummondio superba, 5

Scotland, bare-footed bairns in,
115

Seaforthia elegans, 19 (see under
Drymophlcims)

Seaforthia elegans, confusion re-
specting name, 288

Seed crops of 1901, 35

Seed season, a review of the, 40

SelsdonPark, 211

Sequoia " combine," a, 370

Sequoia gigantea, a weeping, at
Dalkeith, 38S; S. g. pendula at
Brettargh Holt, Kendal, 185

Sherborne Castle, horizontal cor-
don Apple-trees at, 887

Shortia uniflora, 337

Shrubs in llowor in Dublin, 45

Silver-leaf disease, 393

Snowdrop, an Asia Minor, 217 ; a
yellow, 180, 212

Snowdrops, early, 79, 98, 150, 2 is

Societies.— American Carnation,
193; Ancient Society of York
Florists, 129; Bath and West
and Southern Comities, .is:!:
Beckenharo Horticultural, 85,
liii, !(;:,, IDS; Bolton Horticultural
and Chrysanthemum, 165; Brad-
ford Horticultural 198; Brighton
and Sussex Horticultural, 251 :
Bristol Gardeners, 66, 168, 286,
;:i I, 888 ; Cardiff and County
Horticultural, 66, 193; Cardiff
and District Chrysanthemum,
s? ; Chambre Syndicate des Hor-
ticulture Beiges, 118; Chelten-

ham Market Gardeners', 444 ;
Cheltenham Roval Horticultural ,
331 ; Chester Paxton, 35, 00, 102,
160, 283, 315 ; Chiswick Gar-
deners', 101, 118 ; Commons and
Footpaths Preservation, 283 ;
Cornwall Daffodil, 178, 282;
County Boroughof Hanley Horti-
cultural, 129 ; Croydon Horti-
cultural Mutual Improvement,
51, 101, 330 ; Devon and Exeter
Gardeners', 07, 101, 135, 100,
199, 235 ; Dudley Horticultural,
293 ; Dulwich Chrysanthemum,
118; Durham, Northumberland,
and Newcastle Botanical and
Horticultural, 129; Dutch Hort.
and Bot., 327, 375 ; Ealing Gar-
deners', 51 ; Ealing Horti-
cultural, 135, 348 ; East Anglian
Daffodil, 298; French Horti-
cultural of London, 60 ; French
Pomological, 9 ; Gardeners'
Royal Benevolent, 07, 80, 435 ;
German Pomologists' and Fruit-
growers, 375 ; Gloucestershire
Root, Fruit, and Chrysanthe-
mum, 166 ; Handsworth Horti-
cultural, 294 ; Herefordshire
Fruit Growers, 86 ; High-
gate and District Chrysan-
themum, 101, 294; Horticul-
tural Club, 112, 179, 244, 341,
393 ; Irish Gardeners, 102, 235 ;
Kent County Chrysanthemum,
35, 129; Kingston Chrysanthe-
mum, 183 ; Leicester Chrysan-
themum, 87; Linnean, 20, 101,
134,100,205,298,330; Liverpool
Horticultural, 07, 87, 297 ; Man-
chester and North of England
Orchid, 13, 67, 135, 235, 205,
314, 383; Metropolitan Public
Garuens, 23, 246; Midland Car-
nation and Picotee, 100; Mid-
land Daffodil, 29.S; National
Auricula and Primula, 166 (Mid-
land Section), 31 1 ; National
Carnation and Picotee, 198;
National Chrysanthemum, 51,
102, 118, 2 10;* National Dahlia,
112, 140; National Rose, 112,
293 ; Nationale Sociote d'llorti-
culture de France, 13; National
Sweet Pea, 178; Nurserymen
and Market Gardeners' Hail-
storm Insurance, 207 ; Nursery
and Seed Trade, 103; Prescott
Horticultural, 118; KeadingGar-
deners, 101, 135, 166,235,331;
Royal Botanical & Horticultural
of Manchester, 23.",, :; IS; Koyal
Botanic, 283 ; Royal Caledonian
Horticultural, 101. 312, 331;
Royal Horticultural. Ill, 85, 115,
1511, 182, 21S, 235, 21'.), 265, 279,
312, 330, 315, 1 III ; (Annual
Meeting), 1 10 ; (Report of New
Hall Committee), 170; (Special
"Hall" Meeting), 214 ; (Temple
Show), 301, and Supp., May 31
(see also under Hall); K. II.
of Southampton, 129; Royal
National Tulip, 345 ; Scot-
tish Horticultural, 192, 235;
Sherborne Gardeners', 298 ;
Shropshire Horticultural, 140;
Socicte Franchise d'Hort., .'ISO ;
Southern Counties Carnation,
193; Torquay District Gar-
deners', 129; United Horticul-
tural Benevolent and Provident,
51, IIS, |s:t, 381, HI : Wargravo
Hardeners', 1:1, 51, 285, -'>IS;
Woking Horticultural, 161 ; Wol-
verhampton Floral I'Y'tc, 178;
Yorkshire Gala, 87, 129, 399

Snowdrops, two on a stem, 180
Soil science, the new, is:; ; sterili-
sation, 229, 218 ; the humus of. '.':'.
Solanum capsicastruin, culture of,
3IS; S. Xanti, 112

Somerset garden, a, 233
Sophronitis grandiflora coccinea, 4
South Africa, vegetables and farm

plants thriving in, 12,
Spathacea bicolor, 40
Spiders and their webs, 0
Spinach, the Water-Dock as, 341,

300, 430
Spitalfields market, 179
Sports, separation of characters

in, 371
Spraying in Canada, 129 ; mixture

for, 194
Squirrels, 64, 133
Stanhopea Langlasseana, 38
Stapelia bella, 137
State ball in 1838, 412
Stocktaking, 45, 129, 178, 240, 320,

422
Straits Settlements, resources of

the, 77
Strawberry forcing, 5 1
Streptosolen Jamesoni 9 ft. high, 84
Sun, the constitution of the, 375
Sundries, 241
Sunflower seed-crushing industry,

393
Sunny Hill, Llandudno, 63
Sutton's gift to troops in South

Africa, 393
Swallows, early, 210
Swanley Horticultural College, 240
Sweet Pea Cupid, 177 ; S. P. Mont

Blanc, 201
Sweet Peas, artificial manures for,
164 ; select varieties of, 27, 99,

148, 194, 263
Sydney Botanic Garden, 145, 319
Syringe, an undentable, 329

T.vblu decoration, the art of, 365,
436

Tasmaniau Apples and Pears, 290

Tea-supply of Great Britain, 27

Technical instruction in Mon<
mouthshire, 341

Temperatures, low, 360

Temple show, the, 356, 371, 379

Thalictrum orientale, 430

Thrush, early singing of the, 47,
si; an exrly-hatched, 100

Thuja occidentalis and small-
pox, 229

Timber imported from France, 201

Tobacco cultivation under tents,
312

Tomato -disease, 197, 150, 278;
fruit, a heavy, 278; house, uti-
lising a, 378 ; plants for growing
out-of-doors, 2211

Tomatos and Cabbages under
glass, 231 ; the culture of, 15

Torcnias, 190

Transvaal, fruit-growing in the,
282

Tree, a Victorian memorial, 79 ;
King Edward's, in America, 112;
planting, coronation, 311 ;
plantations, treatment of, 888

Trees, estimating the age of, 1 16 ;
and shrubs, 120, 140

Tre^yo, tender plants out-of-doors

at, 811

Trochodendron nralioides, 310

Tulipa Micheliana, 850

Tulips from Bokhara amlTrans-
Caspia, some new species of,
350; from Cork, 325; of long
ago, 285; sporting, 311; wild,
:',7'.i : the wild of Italy, 888

Turnips, 869

U

(Jo wi>\. Earth-nuts in, 375
Underground watering of plants

ami gardens, I7'.i
Underley Hall, a wild garden at,

■J'il
University of St. Andrews, 825

Vlil The Gardeners' Chronicle,]

INDEX.

[July 5, 1903

Vanda Kimballiana, 37G
Vanilla in the Seychelles, 128
Vaporiser, a new kind of, 125
Vegetable products in Mincing

Lane, 185
Vegetables and the R.H.S., 308
Victorian Apples, 376
Victoria regia at the Royal Bo-
tanic gardens, 412
Vines, gas-tar and clay dressing

for, 99; hybrid, 261
Violets and the late G. P. 'Wilson,
245

W

Wallflowers, 247
Walworth Castle, Chestnuts at, 64
Weather and the fruit crops, 421 ;
i>. cold, in May, 344, 345 ; effects on

forest plants, 388 ; forecasts for
™ harvesters, 310 ; severe by the
, Solway, 149 ; in Aberdeenshire,

380
Westfield, Orchids at,' 357
West Indies, 343 ; an arbor-dav for

the, 435
Westonbirt, Hippeastrumsat, 230 ;

Orchids at, 270

Winter, artificial, 160

Wisley, sale of Mr. 'Wilson's

garden at, 375
Wistaria japonica fruiting, 4
Wood & Son's establishment, 241
Woods, the identification cf, 13

Xanthorrhcea hastilis, 9
XL-All, as a winter dressing for
Vines, 114

Yunnan flora , the, 204

Zamia, the fecundation of, 211
Zygo-colax x Wiganianus super-
bus, 156
Zygopetalum Murrayanum, 70

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Acanthus arboreus, 223

Acer polymorphum, var. atro-
purpureum dissectum, 41

iBsculus parviflora, flower aDd
leaf of, 189; M. californica,
fruit of, 186 ; M. turbinata
(= M. chinensis, Hort.), 187

Alnwick Castle, the Brislee Tower
at, 273 ; the conservatory and
flower garden at, 287

Anthurium, spathes of seedling,
395

Apple "The Houblon," 11

Aralia japonica variegata in Japa-
nese garden at Gunaersbury,
231

Arauja graveolens, seed - vessel
of, 139

Archontophcenix Alexandra1, 19

Aristolochia pontica, 335

Ashwick Hall, views in the gar-
dens at, 255, 257, 263

Bananas at The Oaks, Emsworth,

225
Bith Botanic Garden, rockery in,

179
Beale, the late Edward John, 49
Bean-weevil, the, 200
Begonia Buisson Rose, 204 ; B.

Gloire de Lorraine in basket,

202 ; B. Perle Lorraine, 205
Ball, William, the late, 381

Cape Town municipal garden, 367,
369

Cedrus Libani, the great, at
Addington (showing basal por-
tion), 8

Chalwin, H. J., portrait of, 368

Chrysanthemum indicum, wild
specimen of, 302 ; wild speci-
men of C. morifolium, 302

Cineraria flowers (florists' variety
and C. cruenta), 305

Clip for creepers, 329

Codlin-moth, the, 424

Cook, Mr. T. H., 410

Cypripedium • A. Dimmock, 157 ;
C. "Brunhild," 350; C. "Em-
peror of India," 415 ; C. exul,
ternary flower of , 203 ; C. x Mrs.
W. Mostyn, 75 ; C. x Venus,
Oakwood variety, 91

Dalkeith, the gardeners' house at,

81
Dendrobium taurinum, 80 ; D.

Wardianum Powleri, 125
Dermatobotrys Saundersii, 131

Exacum Forbesii, 93

Fisher, Chas., portrait of the late,

247
Pritillaria askhabadensis, 238

Gourd pergola, a, 47

HiEMANTHUS imperialis, 09

HelichrysumGulielmi var.Meyeri,
2; H. Volkensii, 170

Hole, Very Reverend S. R., the
Dean, portrait of, 434

Holland House and Gardens, Ken-
sington, views of, 427, 429, 431,
436, 437

Holly-leaf fly (Phytomyza ilicis),
331

Ilchester, Lord, portrait of. 425
Insects, destructive scale, 57
Iris bucharica, 387 ; I. Warley-
ensis, 386

Japanese garden at Gunnersburv
House, 309

Keevil Manor House, Wiltshire,
141

L.elia anceps Hollidayana Craw-
shayana, 123 ; L. a. Chamter-
lainiana, 71; L. x Digbytna
purpurata " Edward VII.," 206

Lawn-mowing machines, 320, 321,
336, 358

Maxillaria fractiflexa, 359
Meliosma myriantha, 31
Moschosma riparium, 122

Narcissus Margarita- "Iolanda,"

172 ; X. Peter Barr, 295 ; X.

Sprengeri Elmensis, 173 ; X. S.

Vomerensis, 173
Neapolitan garden, a, with Wash-

iDgtonia filifera 32 feet high, 39
Xewlands, Harrow-on-the-Hill,

view in gardens at, 29
Xymphreas, air canals of, 165

Odontoglossum x Adrian a? "Mrs.

Robert Benson," 249; O. x A.

Cooksona», flower-spike of, 389 ;

O. crispum " Miss Lucienne

Linden," 289; O. "Edwardus

Rex," 414
(Enaiithe crocata, roots of, 205
Orchard-house at Gunnersbury

House gardens, 195

Parkinson statue in Sefton Park,

Liverpool, 318
Passiflora ambigua, 171
Peloria of Lrelia Digbyano x Cat-

tleya Schroder*, 239
Pergola, a Gourd, 47
Pinus Laricio Heldreichi, cone of,

304 ; P. L. var. pindica, 304
Podocarpus nubigena with male

catkins, 114
Poppy, a harlequin, 223
Primula sinensis, wild specimen

of, after one year's cultivation,

271; P. s., wild specimen of,

collected by Dr. Henry, 270 ;

P. viscosa "Spring Beauty," 297
Ptychosperma elegans (by error ;

the Palm is Drymophlceus Nor-

manbyi), 21

Raspberry-moth, the, 399
Regent's Park, view in Ludwig

Mond's garden at, 147
Rollerand broomattached, Messrs.

Ransomes', 376

Roots, denuded, of Horse-Chest-

nut, 328
Rosa Banksia;, wild form of,

gathered by Dr. A. Henry, 439
Rosa indica, wild form of, 438

St. Catherine's Court, Somerset-
shire, 343

Sandringham, views of, 402, 403,
404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410,
411

Schroder, Baron Sir Henrv, por-
trait of, 210

Scilly Islands, gathering Arums
in,andloading train with flowers
from the, 155

Scolopendrium var. Drummonda'
superba, 5

Seaforthia(Ptychosperm;i)elegans,
21 (see Drymophlceus)

Sequoia gigantea, a weeping, at
Dalkeith, 388

Shortia uniflora, 337

Spray, Wood's Improved, 241

Stapelia bella, 138

Stuart, Dr., portrait of the late,
133

Sunny Hill Gardens, Llandv.dno, 63

Temple, Mungo, portrait of the

late, 284
Temple Show, views from the,

366, 371, 377
Tomato fruit weighing 1 lb. 10 oz.,

279
Tulipa Micheliana, 353 ; T. nit Ma

Gesneriana var., 351

Vine weevil, the black, 200

Washingtonia filifera 32 feet high
in a garden at Naples, 39

Windsor, views of, 417, 418, 419,
421

Wistaria japonica, seed-vessels
of, 3

Zygo-Colax
perbus, 156

Wiganianus s»i-

SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS.

^sculus parviflora, Tree of (March 22).

Agave recurvata at Santa Barbara, California (February 1).

Alnwick Castle, the Dairy Grounds at (May 3).

Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, from tub River (April 26).

Angr.ecum ichneumoneum at Shipley Hall Gardens (March 22).

Calochortus Plummer.e, C. Madrensis, C. Leichtlini, C. luteus var.

Weedii, C. Pcrdyi, and C. elegans var. amcena (February 15).
Cassia corymbosa in the Hon. J. Boscawen's Garden near Truro

(April 12).
Cedrus Libani, the great, at Addington Park, Surrey (January 4).
Conservatory at The Dell, King's Xorton (January 25).
Cypripedium callosum var. Sander.e in the Garden at Xew Hall

Hey, Rawtenstall (June 28).
Fitzroya tatagonica at Pencarrow (June 14).

Hippeastrums in the Palm-house, Sefton Park, Liverpool (May 17).
Japanese Garden at Gunnersbury House, Acton (April 5).
Japanese Maple at Castlewellan (January 18).

L^lio-Cattleya x Queen Alexandra (coloured), June 21).

L^lio-Cattleya x Queen Alexandra (May 24).

Lj«lia x Edward VII. (coloured) (June 21).

Latania aurea (March 1).

Palladian Bridge, Prior Park, Bath (February 22).

Pelargonium, sweet - scented, at Gunnersbury House Garden*-

(April 19).
Pinanga Kuhlii (February 8).

Plan showing Proposed Site for Horticultural Hall (March 15).
Podocarpus chilina (published as P. andina, February 15).
Tree P^jony in the Gardens of Captain Holford, Westonbiri

(May 31).
Vanda Kimballiana in Captain Holford's Garden (June 7).
View in Royal Victoria Park, Bath (March 15).
View in the Gardens, Xewlands, Harrow-on-ihk-Hill (January 11),
View in the Gardens, Selsdon Park, Croydon (March 29).
View in Royal Victoria Park, Bath (March 8).

January 4, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

THE

No. 784.— SATURDAY, JAN. 4, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Apiary, the

12

Orchid notes and glean-

Apple, a new

n

ings

4

Uook notice —

Orchids, bacteriosis in

12

The Journal of the

Oxton Hall, estate

Royal Horticultural

changed hands

9

Society

n

Paris

13

Cabbage clubbing

12

Peas, late

13

CannaMrs. Kate Gray

13

Presentation to Mr.

Cedar-tree, a great ...

10

F. W. Meyer

9

Chrysanthemum salad

9

Publications received .

lu

Chrysanthemums, new

9

Railway sleepers

11'

Cultural memoranda—

Rose Mrs. Ames

«l

Tomatos

15

Rose, the, for Merry

Cypripediums in season

9

England

8

Gilbert, the late Sir

Roses, the battle of ...

9

Henry

1

•' Rust " on Chrysanthe-

Hartstongue, a hand-

mums

13

some

ftelichrysa, some Afri-

5

Societies —
French Horticultural

13

can

Kew notes

La Mortola,list of some

plants in bloom at ...
Lilies, Mr. P. Barrupon

4

French Pomological .

9

10

9
9

Manchester it North

of England Orchid

Royal Horticultural .

13
9

Melons. Cantaloup ...

13

South Africa, vegetable

Midland garden, a

5

and farm plants in ...

12

Novelties of 1901

2

Weather in West Herts

15

Obituary—

Week's Work, the—

Buneau, Desire

9

Flower Garden, the ..

ri

Oolltt , Col. SirHy...

14

Fruits under Glass ...

7

Crostieid, Jno.

14

Hardy Fruit Garden.

7

Harris, Geo. St. Pierre

14

Kitchen Garden

7

Lombard, Jas. Fitz-

Orchid Houses, the .

7

Gerald

14

Plants under Glass...

(j

Louvrex, Fred Mas-

Wistaria japonica

4

sange de

9

Xanthorrluea hastilis .

9

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Apple, The Iloublon

liasal portion of the great Cedar of Lebanon at
Addington

Cedar of Lebanon at Addington Park, Surrey (Sup-
plement).

Helichrysum Gulielmi var. Meyeri

£coloier.drium vulgare var. D1un.1r.01.d1e siivcil a

^Seed-vessels of Wistaria japonica

SIR HENRY GILBERT.

IN our last issue we briefly announced the
death of Sir Joseph Henry Gilbert, the
able and devoted coadjutor of the late Sir
J. B. Lawes, Bart., the eminent authority on
-scientific agriculture and chemistry. Sir
Henry passed away at his residence at
Harpenden, at ten minutes past twelve
o'clock on Monday morning, the 23rd inst.,
in the presence of his family.

Sir Henry, who had long been ailing, was
*irst taken seriously ill in August last at
Strathpeffer, Scotland, where he had gone
for his summer's holiday, being attacked
by acute haemorrhage, followed by nervous
exhaustion and neuralgia of the stomach.

Sir Joseph Henry Gilbert was born at
Hull, August 1, 1817, and was therefore in
bis eighty-fifth year, being three years the
junior of Sir John Lawes. His father was
Hie Rev. Joseph Gilbert, the author of several
theological works. His mother, Ann Taylor.
<>f Ongar, who survived until 1866, was well
known as Mti authoress of poems, writing

originally with her sister under the names
of Ann and Jane Taylor.

After his school education, and the loss
of several years by a gun-shot accident,
which much impaired his health and de-
prived him of the sight of one eye, Dr.
Gilbert commenced his college courses at
the University of Glasgow, where he had
as contemporaries Sir Joseph Hooker and
Dr. T. Thomson, the Indian botanist. Here,
as elsewhere, he paid special attention to
chemistry, devoting some time to analy-
tical chemistry in the laboratory of the late
Professor T. Thomson. He next studied at
University College, London, attending the
classes of Professor Graham and others, and
working in the laboratory of the late Dr.
Anthony Todd Thomson. A short time was
afterwards spent in the laboratory of Pro-
fessor von Liebig at Giessen, where he took
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Re-
turning to L'niversity College, London, Dr.
Gilhert was class and laboratory assistant to
Professor A. T. Thomson in the winter and
summer session of 1840-41, and attended
other courses at the College at the same
time. On leaving college, he devoted him-
self for a time to the chemistry of calico-
printing, dyeing. &c, in the neighbourhood
of Manchester.

In June, 1843, Dr. Gilbert became asso-
ciated with Mr. (afterwards Sir John)
Lawes in the Rothamsted investigations,
and from that time until his death has
been engaged as director of the Roth-
amsted field and laboratory experiments,
which consisted of a systematic series of
researches in agricultural chemistry and
physiology of animals and plants. In the
early part of his career at Rothamsted he
was engaged in the manufacture of calomel
in an old barn which served as a laboratory.
At that time Mr. Lawes sought his services
as chemist in some commercial under-
takings, but Dr. Gilbert preferred to remain
at Rothamsted, and commenced that
brilliant series of researches which con-
ferred so much honour on the two investi-
gators. These researches began as " flower-
pot experiments,'' but were gradually ex-
tended till they became field experiments
on a scale hitherto unattempted.

The Rothamsted experiments may, indeed,
be pronounced unique, and are certainly
without parallel, either as to extent, cha-
racter, or scientific and practical usefulness.
It is not asserting too much to say that
these researches have done more to advance
agricultural and horticultural science, and
have been and will be of greater service to
agriculture than can ever be fully realised
Other countries can boast of very numerous
agricultural stations supported by Govern-
ment, whilst we have very few ; but the
Rothamsted experiments carried out by
private individuals surpass all that has
been done in any other country with or
without Government aid.

Sir Henry was elected a member of the
Chemical Society in 1841, the year of its
formation, and was President of the Society
in 1882-83. He was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society in I860, and in 1867 the
Council of tin' Society awarded to him, in
conjunction with Sir John B. Lawes, one of
the Royal medals. He received the hono-
rary degree of M. A. at Oxford in 1844. that
of LLP. :tt Glasgow in 1**3. and at Edin-
burgh in 1890, as also that of Sc.D. at Cam-

bridge in 1894. He was Sibthorpian Pro-
fessor of Rural Economy in the University
of Oxford for six years, from 1884 to 1890.

In May, 1893, the President and Council
of the Society of Arts awarded the Albert
Gold Medal to Sir John Lawes and to Sir
Henry Gilbert for their joint services to
scientific agriculture, and notably for the
researches which, throughout a period of
fifty years had been carried on by them at
the experimental farm at Rothamsted ; anil
the medals were presented to them at Marl-
borough House by, H.R.H. the Prince of
Wales (now King Edward VII.), President
of the Society, in the presence of many
members of the Council. Like his colla-
borator, Sir John Lawes, he was an hono-
rary or corresponding member of numerous
home and foreign agricultural and scientific
societies. On August 11, 1893, that is, about
a fortnight after^the jubilee celebration at
Rothamsted, Dr. GilberUreceived the honour
of knighthood.

The jubilee of the Rothamsted Experi-
mental Station in 1893 was made the
occasion of a ceremonial which was of an
unique and interesting character. At a
meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society
of England, presided over by H.R.H. the
Prince of Wales, it was resolved that, to
mark the completion of half a century of
continuous research in the Rothamsted
station, some public recognition should be
made of the invaluable services rendered to
agriculture by Sir John Lawes and Dr.
Gilbert. It was decided that the testimonial
should take the form of <1) a granite me-
morial with a suitable inscription to be
erected in the front of the laboratory at
Harpenden; (2) illuminated addresses of
congratulation; (3) a portrait of Sir John
Lawes painted by Mr. Hubert Herkomer, R. A.,
and a massive silver salver to Dr. Gilbert,
bearing the following inscription: "Pre-
sented by the subscribers to the Rothamsted
Jubilee Fund to Dr. Joseph Henry Gilbert,
F.R.S., in commemoration of the completion
of fifty years of unremitting labour in the
cause of Agricultural Science, July 29, 1893."
The various presentations were made, and
the commemorative granite boulder wTas
formally dedicated at a meeting of the
subscribers held at Harpenden on Saturday,
July 29, 1893. The Right Hon. Herbert
Gardner, M.P., President of the Board of
Agriculture, presided, and there was a large
attendance of leading agriculturists, scien-
tists, and others.

The Lawes Agricultural Trust, established
by the munificence of Sir John Lawes, pro-
vides that someone shall periodically visit
the United States of America and give a series
of lectures upon the results of the Rotham-
sted investigations. At the request of the
committee of management, Sir J. Henry
Gilbert undertook this duty in 1893, and
thus for the third time he visited the world
beyond the Atlantic, his former visits having
taken place in 1882 and 1884.

The results of the Rothamsted researches
are embodied in print in many forms in the
records of the Royal Agricultural Society,
the British Association, the Chemical So-
ciety, the Royal Society, the Horticultural
Society, the Society of Arts Journal, and the
Dublin Royal Society. In articles in tech-
nical newspapers, and in numerous reports,
pamphlets, and letters to the general pies-.
too long for enumeration here, which, as

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 4, 1902.

regards the agricultural history, progress,
and literature of the past sixty years are,
we may confidently say, to be reckoned
among the most remarkable achievements
of the century.

It is satisfactory to know that the re-
searches at Eothamsted will be carried on
in the future under the direction of the
Lawes Trustees.

The funeral of the late Sir Henry Gilbert

NOVELTIES OF 1901.

During the past year, as in the preceding

one, the hybridist, or novelty-makee, has had

a decided advantage over the importer, whoso

expensive occupation has in a large degree

FlG. 1.— HELICHRYSUM GULIELMI VAR. MEYERI. (SEE P. 4.)

He was twice married, first in 1850 to
Miss Laurie, daughter of Dr. Laurie, who
died in 1853: End afterwaid?, in 1855, to
Miss Smith, tb.3 i resent Lady Gilbert; he
leaves no issus.

took place at Harpenden on Friday, Dec. 27,
and was attended by the members of the
Lawes Agricultural Trust Committee, and
representatives of many of the scientific
societies of the country.

been made unremunerativo so far as the bulk of
the importations is concerned, by competition
with the home-made novelties. Signs are not,
however, wanting that plant-collecting abroad,
which we have to thank for the many showy

January 4, 19C.2.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

plants and the host of interesting things dear
to the heart of the botanist and true plant-
lover, will soon again be on a better footing.
-In the matter of high prices, and prices which
Slave been maintained, if we turn to the
Orchids especially, we find that the standard
best forms and the "albinos" have alwajs
■commanded the market better than even the
best hybrids. Take, for example, Cypripedium
callosurn Sanderse, C. insigne Sanderfe, and C.
Lawrenceannm Hyeanum, we have each by
multiplication acquiring perhaps something
iike £2000— a record which in the face of easy
production no single plant of a hybrid can
attain.

The Orchids,

as represented by the importations during
the past year, have been mainly Brazilian,
and the ever-acceptable Colombian Odonto-
glossum crispum has been imported in great
quantities, notwithstanding the disturbed
state of the country they come from. The
spotted forms of Odoutoglossum crispum have
proved the most beautiful and valuable Orchids
•of the year, the O. crispum Pittianum, for which
H. T. Pitt, Esq., was offered 700 guineas.
peaching the highest estimate of value,
although several others reached three figures.
So important has the hold of these beautiful
Odontoglossums on Orchid growers become,
that several collections are now almost
•entirely devoted to them, while in most
collections they form special features.

In the famous collection of Sir Trevor Law-
rence, Bart., Burford (gr., Mr. W. II. White),
considerable accommodation is given the
Odontoglossums, and of the collection there it
may be said that in point of vigour and excel-
lence of flower, they are equal to any in the
country. Many fine spotted forms of Odouto-
glossum crispum have flowered at Burford, but
the best are OJoutoglossum crispum purpu-
taseens, which received a First-class Certifi-
cate on March 2G, and O. lutco-purpurenm,
"Burford variety." Other fine things, new or
re-introduced to Burford, are Dendrobium
rubens grand iflorum, and other hybrids; the
yellow Sophronitis grandiSora Rossiteriana,
the fine Nibralia Ruckeri, Schomburgliii
Thomsoniana, L;elia ptnestans-bieolor, and
among the rare botanical species the very
remarkable emerald- g icon .Ivantkes denticns,
the singular Stanhopea eonnata, Liparis tri-
callosa, Mormodes Oberlanderianum, end
various singular Cirihopetalums, Buloo-
phyllums, & :.

Baron Sir 11. Schroder (gr., Mr. H. Ballan-
tine) still maintains his magnificent collection
as one of the bfst ever formed. Into it the
best procurable are generally admitted, and
new things are constantly flowering there.
2srow and then the inflorescences of such grand
and priceless things as Odoutoglossum Pesca-
torei Vcitchianum, O. P. S:-hroderianum, and
some of the test of the blotched O. crispum
and hybrids, are sent up to the Royal Horti-
cultural Society, and which often indicate,
especially witli the two first-named, that out
of the thousands since imported, nothing in
the same class or anywhere near it has again
appeared.

Sir Frederick Wigan, Bart., Clare Lawn,
East Sheen (gr., Mr. W. H. Young), is a steady
exhibitor of superb new Orchids. At the last
Temple Show, the fine Lrelio-Cattleya x Edgar
Wigan, the first of the L. Digbyana crosses to
show bright colour, attracted much attention;
and his Catlleya Mossise dulcis was a remark-
able variety. Other novelties have flowered
at Clare Lawn during the year, among those
exhibited and certificated being Cattleya
quadricolor variety alba. Lselio-Cattleya x
Wilsonis, and Phalse'nopsis Boxalli; while

Dendrobium x Wiganianum, Lnelio-Cattleya x
Clytie, and others, have been recorded.

Norman C. Cookson, Esq., Oakwood, Wylam
(gr., Mr. Wm. Murray), who not only grows
his fine Odontoglossums admirably, but also
propagates them with reasonable rapidity,
flowered some grand things in the past year,
four of the best being Odontoglossum x excel-

l'l ;. 3.— SEED-VESSELS or WISTARIA IAPONII V.
(See p. 4.)

lens Cooksoni, a large aud finely coloured
flower; O. x loochristyen.se Cooksonise, which
might he taken tor a large, heavily blotched,
yellow-tinted O. crispum; O. x Wilckeanum
Oak woodiense, and O. W. Sibyl, both excel-
lent. Of the famed Oakwood hybrids, further
extensions of the remarkable blood-red Ca-

latit lie Oakwood Ruby have flowered, and

Cypripedium Mrs. Rehder, Oakwood va-

riety, V. Lawrebel, Oakwood variety, and
others.

H. T. Pitt, Esq., Rosslyn.-Stamford Hill (gr.,
Mr. Thurgood), has been great in Odonto-
glossums, his O. crispum Pittianum and his O.
Hallii Edward VII. being the two best shown
during the year in their sections. O. crispum
Annie, certificated at the Temple Show, is also
fine ; and O. c. punctatum Rosslyn variety,
Miltonia vexillaria Rosslyn variety, Cattleya
Schroderse Heatonensis, and Lycaste Ballia;
superba, good things of lasting reputation ;
Cypripedium x Savageanum Pitt's variety, a
singular form with variegated flowers ; C. x
Nellie, aud C. x Ajax, a novel hybrid of C.
Chamberlainianum.

De Barri Crawshay, Esq., Rosefield, Seven-
oaks (gr., Mr. Stables), has made Odonto-
glossum - lore and Odontoglossum - culture
special studies, and he is continually proving
that his researches have not been in vain.
Among other fine things certificated to him at
the Royal Horticultural Society, or recorded,
are Odontoglossum crispum Raymond Craw-
shay, well worthy of the First-class Certificate
awarded, its flowers being fine in form, and
the glowing orange-tinted brown of its blotch-
ing unique ; O. x Crawshayanum (Hallii x
Harryanum) is a very pretty hybrid, in which
both parents are recognisable ; O. x Adrians©
Crawshayanum, a finely-blotched flower; O.x
loochristyense " Mrs. de B. Crawshay," a fine
hybrid of O. triumpbans, with the same rich
colouring as that species, a point which other
forms lack ; O. Nevadense Rosefieldiense and
O. x Denisonise nebula, two interesting forms,
the latter especially, as it verifies the original
figure, which some considered a doubtful
representation ; and O. Lindleyanum aureum,
a pleasing addition, as it nearly completes the
chain of yellow forms of brown- blotched Odon-
toglossums. The second Rosefield specialty,
Lrelia anceps varieties, have also been aug-
mented by distinct things, and especially
by L. a. Amesiana Theodora, an advance on
the hitherto best of its section L. a. A.
Crawshajana.

Captain Holford, Westonbirt, Tetbury (gr.,
Mr. A. Chapman), maintains the reputation of
Westonbirt as the leading Orchid establish-
ment in the West of England, which it has
sustained for over half a century. A choice
collection of botanical aud floral interest used
to be the aim ; now showy things, both species
and hybrids, are acquired and cultivated
up to their best. The Odontoglossums are
specially well grown, and some distinct ones
have flowered, the best being O. x Adrianre,
"Mrs. Robert Benson." The latest hybrid
Cattleya at Westonbirt is C. x mollis, var.
Lois.

Robert Tunstill, Esq., Monkholme, near
Burnley (gr., Mr. Balmforth), has been steadily
acquiring good Orchids for some time past.
During the year he received Awards at the
Royal Horticultural Society for Lycaste x
Tunstilli, a rosy red-and-white natural hybrid
of L.Skinneri ; Cypripedium Helen (bellatulum
■: insigne Chantini), a great beauty, named in
hon or of his wife ; C ittlcya x Portia and
the showy Lselio-Cattleya Haroldiana, and
also showed the clear yellow Odontoglossum
grand e citrinum, Monkholme variety, and the
finely-formed Cypripedium insigue, Sanderse
Monkholme variety, probably a true seedling
from the original.

The following best selection from tho new
or specially developed plants of tho season
credited to our amateurs plainly show the
favour given to the genus Olontoglossum.
W. Thompson, Esq., Walton Grange, Stone
(gr., Mr. W. Stevens), an Odontoglossum
specialist, showed Odontoglossum crispum
ouoen Empress, O. or ispo - Harryanum

roseum; tho very fine O. maoulatum Thomp-

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 4, 1902.

sonianum ; the blotched yellow O. x Wilcke-
;muui Golden Queen, and other distinct
Odontoglossums.

Elijah Ashworth, Esq., Hareficld Hall,
Wilmslow (gr., Mr. Holbrook), secured Awards
for Lselia Jongheana Ashworthise, the finest
white L. Jongheana ; Cattleya x Miss Harris,
var. " E. Ashworth"; and the remarkable
white Dendrobiutn Ashworthire from New
Guinea.

Richard Ashworth, Esq., of Ashland s (gr.,
Mr. Pidsley), flowered the finely blotched
Odontoglossum crispum Kossendale, O. c.
Margery, O. x Adrianaa aureum, and other
good varieties.

J. Leemann, Esq., Heaton Mersey (gr., Mr.
Edge), in his fine group of Odontoglossums at
the Temple Show, secured awards for O. cris-
pum Confetti, O. c. Domino, O. c. Countess of
Derby, O. c. The Nizam, and also flowered the
finely spotted O. x Adrianae Lindeniae, the
richly coloured Laelio - Cattleya x callisto-
glossa magnifica, and the pretty white Brasso-
Cittleya x nivalis.

George Singer, Esq., Coundon Court, Cov-
entry (gr., Mr. Collier), his for his best of
the year Odontoglossum x loochristyense
coundonense, O. luteo-purpureum, Coundon
Court variety, Cattleya Triana?i Godiva,
C. Mossise Earl Leofric, C. M. coundonen-
sis, and Cypripedium x T. W. Bond, Coun-
don Court variety, all very handsome and
distinct.

R. Brooinan-White, Esq., flowered Odonto-
glossum x Ruckerianum, Mrs. R. Brooman-
White, and other fine Odontoglossums.

G. W. Law-Schofield, Esq., produced Odon-
toglossum crispum Beauty, a model flower,
and Cypripedium x Maudhe magnificum ; W.P.
Burkinshaw, Esq., of Hessle, showed the bright
rose-tinted La-lio- Cattleya x Digbyano- Men-
deli Hessle variety ; Mrs. Briggs - Bury, of
Accrington, flowered Odontoglossum x loo-
christyense Fairy Queen, O. x 1. King of
the Belgians, and O. crispum Charlemagne.
Fred Hardy, Esq. (gr., Mr. T. Stafford), pro-
duced several pretty hybrid Dendrobiums, the
forms of D. x Cybele being especially fine ;
also D. x Staffordi, a pretty cross of D. Ben-
soniae ; Sophro-Cattleya x Geo. Hardy, Tyn-
tesfield variety ; Cypripedium x Leeano-
Chamberlainianum,and others. R.I. Measures,
Esq. (gr., Mr. II. J. Chapman), was fortunate
enough to flower the white Lselia purpurata
Kromeri, Cypripedium • Unixia superbum,
and other hybrids. W. M. Appleton, Esq.,
Weston-super-Mare, showed the very pretty
and distinct Cypripedium x Rolfei (Roth-
s:hildianum x bellatuluin).

J. Bradshaw, Esq., of Southgate, from his
fine collection of remarkable varieties of Cat-
tleya labiata, secured awards for C. 1. G. G.
Whitelegge, a fine white form ; and also
flowered other good whites, the blue-tinted
C. labiata glauca, and the pretty Odontoglos-
sum Adriana? Bijou.

Walter Cobb, Esq., flowered Odontoglossum
x Adrianae Cobbianum, the darkest in colour
which has yet appeared ; and during the year
Phaius Warpuri, now known as P. tubercu-
losus, and a few other new plants by the same
collector have been added to our gardens, and
a very large number of hybrids and varieties
have flowered here and there.

Not a single fine new Orchid, either imported
or hybrid, has appeared during the year in
sufficient quantity to render it available for
gardens generally. Among recently exhibited
hybrid Cypripediums, C. Mrs. Alfred Fowler
and C. x salus Mrs. F. Wellesley are among
the best.

{To be continued.)

SOME AFRICAN HELICHRYSA.

Some time since (Gardeners' Chronicle,
November 10, 1900, p. 334, fig. 10;!), we had the
opportunity, owing to the kindness of Mr.
W. E. Gumbleton, of figuring a new species of
Helichrysum which Professor Engler had named
H. Gulielmi. The species, as cultivated by
Mr. Gumbleton, was not only remarkable for
its beauty, but for the locality in which it
grew, viz., the mountain of Kilima-njaro, in
Central Africa. The genus is abundantly
represented in South Africa, in tropical
Africa, and in Australia.

In the same paper Dr. Engler mentioned,
without describing or naming it, another
Helichrysum as allied to H. formosum. This
is supposed to be the plant now illustrated
(fig. 1, p. 2). Mr. Gumbleton received the seeds
of it from M. Max Leichtlin under the appella-
tion " H. affine formosum." In due time it
flowered ; specimens were sent to Kew for iden-
tification, and were considered by the authori-
ties to be a variety or form of 11. Gulielmi.
Mr. Worthington Smith's drawing was also
submitted to Professor Engler in Berlin, who
requested Dr. Hoffmann to report on it, which
he did in the following terms : — "So far as I
can judge from the illustration, the plant may
well be If. Gulielmi, Engler; but in the illus-
tration the inflorescence is looser ; the species
varies, however, in this respect, and the in-
fluence of cultivation has also to be taken into
consideration. In the illustration the hairs
look as if they could be pulled off singly, while
in H. (lulielmi the hairs are soft and shaggy.
This appearance may arise from a defect in the
illustration."

It seems evident that we have here not
a new species, but rather a variety of II.
Gulielmi. Longer cultivation must determine
this point, and if it eventually prove suffi-
ciently distinct, it may be called H. Gulielmi
var. Meyeri, in compliment to Dr. Hans Meyer,
who discovered it, and sent the seeds to Mr.
Max Leichtlin. Mr. Gumbleton is also the
possessor of another species from the same
mountain, viz., H. Newi (Oliver and Hiern),
Flora of Tropical Africa, ii. (1877), p. 349.

WISTARIA JAPOXICA.

I have grown this fine and free-blooming
species for many years trained to a wall, and
though it has bloomed each year most abun-
dantly, the plant being literally covered with its
beautiful pendulous racemes of white and lilac
flowers, many of them 2 feet long, I never saw
a seed-pod form on it till 1899, when a single
one was discovered when the leaves fell. In
1900 three were found, and this year four, one
of them much larger than the others, which is
the one illustrated (6g. 2), and which I think
must be the normal size of the pod when fully
developed. Each pod only contains one seed.
I have not yet tested the fertility or germi-
nating power of these seeds, but hope to do so
next year. I believe this Wistaria has also
ripened seed at Kew, and at Mr. Walpole's
garden at Mount Ussher, co. Wicklow. W. E.
Gumbleton, Queenstown, co. Cork.

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

CALANTHE x TRICMPHANS.

A fine inflorescence of a very richly -coloured
hybrid Calanthe, a triumph of patient crossing
and selecting, is sent by the raiser, Norman C.
Cookson, Esq., Oakwood, Wylam, Northumber-
land (gr., Mr. Wm. Murray). It is of the
same section as the ruby-crimson C. ■ Oak-
wood Ruby, and the purplish-crimson C. .

atro-rubens, both raised by Mr. Cookson, wRo
gives the following information about the new
variety sent: —

"It is the fifth generation by selection from
Calanthe vestita rubro-oculata x C. x "Veitcbi.
It is in the way of C. x Alexandri, but much
better, and a much more robust grower."

The many flowered inflorescence has flowers
in which the lips have a strong resemblance
to those of C. vestita. The upper sepal and
petals are dark purplish-crimson ; the lateral
sepals are similar to them in colour, but with
more or less white showing on the outer
halves ; the lip is ruby-red, with adark claret-
purple blotch at the base. It is a very showy
addition to a class of winter flowers which Mr.
Cookson has done so much to enrich. J. O' &.

SorHRONITIS GRANDIFLORA coccinea.
A very finely- formed and large flower of a
rosy-scarlet tint, is sent by C. R. de la Salle,
Esq., Enbridge Lodge, Newbury (gr., Mr. G.
Ellwood), who remarks on its resemblance to
the variety known in gardens as S. grandiflora
rosea. But that variety appears as an occa-
sional plant out of importations of the scarlet-
flowered species, whereas Mr. de la Salle's
plant is but a more rose-coloured variety of the
section, which has more crimson flowers, and
has been named S. coccinea, although expe-
rience has proved the variability of S. grandi-
flora, and "coccinea" and militaris are now
placed as varieties of it. S. grandiflora is one
of the brightest of Orchids of small growth,
and when it is hung up in a cool-house they
make a fine show when there are not many
other brightly-coloured blooms open.

CYrEROIiCHIS Mastersii and VARIETY ALBA.

Flowers of varieties of Cyperorchis Mastersii
are kindly sent by Mr. J. W. Moore, Cragg
Royd Nursery, Rawdon, Leeds, who calls atten-
tion to their dissimilarity. This peculiarity was
noted in the Gardeners' Chronicle by Reichen-
bach, under the old name Cymbidium Mastersii.
" There is great pleasure felt in England now
about that lovely Cymbidium Mastersii with
purple, or violet, or mauve spots or blotches
on the anterior lacinia of the lip. The most
enthusiastic lover of the plant compared it to
Lselia anceps Dawsoniana. That is a question
of taste. I have several correspondents who
grumbled (in the bad month of November) that
the ' variety ' had no especial name.

" I am sorry I cannot follow that order, as,
candide lector, very many names are pro-
scribed. A glance at the two oldest repre-
sentations (Lindley, Bot. Reg., 1846, 50, and
Lindl., Pa.vton's Flower Garden) afford evi-
dence that those were blotched with purple,
or mauve, or violet ; hence the second variety,
now regarded the ' old one,' because the
oldest is forgotten, with white flowers, and
only yellow on the middle lacinia of the lip
and keels, might be distinguished as C.
Mastersii album." The fine spotted flower sent,
by Mr. Moore appears to be the form once
described as C. affine, and the pure white
flower with yellow keels is identical with that
for which the name album was suggested.
The varieties of Cyperorchis Mastersii, with
their fine arching racemes of fragrant flowers,
produced in winter, are very desirable plants
for the cool or intermediate-house ; and even
when not in flower, their elegant evergreen
foliage makes them ornamental plants.

Cattleya x Elvina (Trian.fi Schilleriana).
This hybrid, raised by Messrs. "Veitch &
Sons, Chelsea, bears much resemblance to ('.
Miss Harris, which was raised from C.
Mossiso : C. Schilleriana, and consequently
it is an affinity of the fine C. Miss Harris
var. E. Ashworth, which appeared as a sup-

January d, 1002.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

plement in the Gardeners' Chronicle, May 11,
last year, although the flower kindly sent by
Messrs. Veitch is not so large as that one, the
plant being of smaller size. The sepals and
petals aro of a delicate lilac-rose, ■with a
thickened silvery band running up the middle
of each, and a few purple spots. The lip is of
a bright rose-purple with darker purple vein-
ing and a white margin to the fringed front-
lobe — a pretty flower. In these hybrids of
Cattleya Schilleriana, that species is dis-
tinctly apparent in the form of the lip. In C.
x Elvina the sepals and petals are those of
C. Triansei, but rather narrower, and of
more substance, but the lip, though much
larger, closely approaches that of a good C.
Schilleriana.

L.elio-Cattleya x Vesta (C. superba x
L. vitellina).

Lselia vitellina, for which Baron Sir H.
Schroder, The Dell, E^ham (gr., Mr. H. Ballan-
tine), received a First-class Certificate at the
Royal Horticultural Society in 1893, aud which
was illustrated in the Gardeners' Chronicle,
March 25, 1893, p. 365, is a supposed hybrid
betwesn Laslia harpophylla and. L. Perrini,
with flowers of an Indian-yellow tint. Messrs.
.las. Veitch & Sons succeeded in crossing it
with Cattleya superba, and named the progeny
L.-C '. Vesta. The sepals are lanceolate;
the petals nirrowly ovate-acuminate, and both
of a bright copper-tinted orange colour. In
all hybrids of C. superba the peculiar form,
and rather hard substance, of its labellum are
transmitted in a marked degree, the present
case being no exception. The base, side lobes,
and centre of the lip are of an orange colour,
which extends as lines into the rosy-purple
front lobe, which has an undulate, whitish
margin. The tips of the side lobes of the lip are
turned back, and are rose-tinted. It is novel
in shape and pleasing in colour. James O'Brien.

A HANDSOME HARTSTONGUE.

We reproduce a photograph (fig. 3) of a
frond of Scolopendrium var. Drummondae
superba, recently exhibited by Mr. Chas. T.
Druery, and which obtained an Award of
Merit from the Floral Committee of the Royal
Horticultural Society. As will be seen, this
variety is characterised not merely by the
plumose or crispum frilling peculiar to some
of the more charming varieties of this species,
but is also furnished with a deeply-cut, lacy-
looking, curly fringe, adding greatly to its
ornate character. It originated as a seedling
from 8. v. crispum Drummondic, found wild
many years ago by Miss Drummond, near Fal-
mouth, and was given with a few others in a
very small state to the exhibitor by Mr. T.
Bolton, of Warton, near Carnforth. The
parent is an unique Fern in several respects,
having two forms of frond — smooth-edged
ones, loDg and slender, slightly frilled, and
terminating in a spreading ramose tassel ;
and others of similar shape, but with edges
projecting into filaments forming a stiff fringe.
These filaments suggested to Mr. Druery a ten-
dency to apical apospory, or the development
of prothalli from the tips — an idea which was
fully confirmed when portions were placed
under close culture. In the improved variety
the dimorphic character is eliminated, no
smooth-edged fronds appearing, while the
fimbriate and plumose character is developed
on a far greater scale. To bring out the full
features, close culture in a Wardian-caso or
large bell-glass is essential, since it has been
found that the tips are so sensitive' to drought
that during the hot weather, despite every
precaution, they wither and turn Irown, even
under glass in a fernery; hence, though

strong or robust plants result, the ultimate
delicacy of the fringing is lost. Tais remark
applies, of course, to culture near London,
but probibly in the more humid counties of
the west and north-west, the difficulty would
disappear. The beauty of the Fern, however,
entirely justifies Wardian-case culture, and
as a central specimen plant, surrounded by
other smaller- growing varieties, such as
Spleenworts, or dwarf forms of other species,
would constitute a group which would well
reply the little trouble entailed. A north
window, with ample light, but little direct
sunshine, could not be occupied to better

ric

-SCOI.'ll'KNDHll-M VAH. DRVMMOXD.H
SUPERBA.

advantage. So treated, this Fern, besides
developing its curly fringe, develops also pro-
thalli at the tips, enhancing tho effect, and
rendering it additionally interesting to the
botanist as well as the non-scientific amateur.

A MIDLAND GARDEN.

I have read recently a capital article on
"The Garden, and its Development," in a
book which I fear is not likely to bo seen by
many English gardeners. It is tho Annual
Report of the Smithsonian Institution of Wash-
ington, U.S.A. This important institution is
liberally supported by the United States
Government, and it issues every year a report
of its operations, finances, &0., with an
"Appendix" of some 500 pages, containing a

number of articles by first-class authorities
on the burning questions of the day in phy-
sics, natural history, archaeology, astronomy,
and other branches of science, illustrated ii>
the most elaborate manner with photographs,
woodcuts, diagrams, &c. This volume is pre-
sented annually to most of the scientific insti-
tutions and free libraries throughout the
world, but the great value of it does not seem
to be generally known in this country. The
United States Government is noted above al
others for its liberality in giving away free
copies of its most valuable publications
wherever they are likely to be useful.

The White Heather.
There is a popular superstition that it is
lucky to find a spray of White Heather. Of
the three common forms of Heather only two
occur in Leicestershire, viz., the Cross-leaved
Heath (Erica tetralix), and the Ling (Calluna
vulgaris), and of both of these the white
variety is occasionally found. I have always
supposed that the plant bearing white flowers
was a true variety, and would always bear
white flowers. My daughter, who has lately
returned from the south of France, has brought
me a branch of the purple Heather (Erica ci-
nerea), which has on it two spikes of flowers,
one entirely white and the other entirely
purple. It appears, therefore, that both may
grow on the same plant. She tells me that
the French people believe that the Heather
bears white flowers when it grows old.

The Colours of Flowers.
Has there ever yet been discovered a blue
Rose, or a blue Poppy, or a yellow Campanula -
It has long been noticed that in the flowers olf
certain genera there may be all shades of yel-
low, red, and purple, but no blue ; while in
others there may be all shades of blue, purple,
and crimson, but no yellow. Fifty years ago,
when it was supposed that the three primary
colours were red, yellow, and blue, it was
thought that the two primaries, yellow and
blue, represented two extremes, which could
either of them blend with the other primary,
red, producing various intermediate shades,
but that if they blended with each other they
could only form a compound-green. Scientific
gardeners of those days made out lists of plants
which might be grown together because their
colours would harmonise on these principles.
It is now known, however, that if there are
any colours which can be called primary they
are dark red, dark green, and dark violet.
Yellow is a compound of green and red. Blue
is a compound of green and violet. Anyone
can prove this by a careful manipulation of
two prisms, so as to make the coloured spectra
cross each other. It is the blending of green
with violet on one side that produces the blue
series, and the blending of green with red on
the other side that produces the yellow series.
It is difficult to make people believe that
green and red make yellow, or that yellow and
blue do not make green, because they are
more accustomed to the blending of paints
than of pure-coloured light; and theeolouis
of paints arc always impure, but the two
prisms show' it clearly enough, or two strips
of white paper looked at through a single;
prism will show it equally well.

Favourite Flowers.
A favourite flower of mino is the old-
fashioned Fraxinella, which I rarely see in
gardens now. It bears spikes of white or rosy
flowers, and when slightly rubbed, gives oil ;<
rich, aromatic scent. It always assooiatet
itself in my mind with tho hot and sunny days
of summer, "when all the garden paths are
warm and fragrant." A dry, sunny bordi I

6

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 4, 1902.

suits it best, and in such a situation it modi-
fies the midsummer heat with its Lemon-like
aroma. I suppose everybody who cares for
his garden has his favourites among the
flowers ; something in the colour or the form
or the expression pleases him, or reminds him
of some "golden days." that are gone for
■ever, or of some long-lost friend for whose
sympathy he sighs in vain. I have still a
spray of Heliotrope which once in the dim past
whispered " I love you," and through all these
oiany, many years I have never met that
fragrant flower without a friendly recognition,
and a feeling as if it had still some message for
one. The pretty purple alpine, Saxifraga oppo-
sitifolia, carries me always to the summit of
Ben Lomond on a cloudless summer evening,
with all the mountain-land of Scotland spread
around me like an embossed map. The Almond-
tree and the White Broom remind me of my
■father's garden as I remember it nearly seventy
years ago. All of us have some such memories,
and they are treasures to be thankful for.

A Prolific Damson-tree.
There is one large Damson-tree in this garden,
and we find the only practical way of getting
the fruit is to shake it down, spreading large
•cloths underneath to keep it clean. When
this was done last year, we collected from this
tree just about 100 lb. of fruit, and as five of
them weighed 1 oz. on an average, there were
•3,000 Damsons on that tree. The retail price
of Damsons here is Id. per lb., or 8s. Id. for the
100 lb. If the lot were worth 5s. wholesale,
-and the tree occupied or made useless 10 square
.yards of ground, it would have produced 6d.
per square yard, which is the standard at
which allotment gardeners should aim.

The Work of a Plant.
An astonishing plant is the Giant Sunflower.
I had a number of them 8 feet high, with
■stems an inch thick, and leaves and flowers
12 inches across. What a mass of organised
tissue to be produced in six months from one
single seed ! If the plant went on growing at
full speed night and day without intermission,
(it would be necessary for many cells to be
[formed in each second of time in order to
build up such a fabric. And yet how silently
-•and unobtrusively the work is done ! Does
the busy protoplasm know what it is doing, or
•what it has got to do ? Does it enjoy its life,
and sing at its work ? and are there any
creatures sensitive enough to hear it ? Do not
laugh, my practical brother gardener, at such
fancies. Let us not forget the poetry of the
garden while we dig up the Potatos.

Spiders and their Webs.
In the misty mornings of the declining year
•came the wonderful revelation of the spiders'
webs. Spread out in thousands on bush and
hedgerow, they are all unseen till the mist
(hangs liquid diamond-dust on every thread.
Then suddenly we realise that we are sur-
rounded by a huge population of spiders. I
■calculate that there must be 50,000 of these
webs in this garden, each inhabited by a pair
of spiders. They are chiefly of three genera,
•viz., Epeira, the geometric spiders, who spin
the beautiful laee-like webs, and often sit in
the centre watching for their prey ; Theridion,
spiders whose web is a mass of interwoven
•threads ; and Linyphia, whose webs are like
sheets suspended horizontally by the edges.
Near to each web, and generally on the
under-side of a leaf, may be found the spiders'
refuse-heap, consisting of the wings, legs, and
fragments of the bodies of the flies which
have been captured and sucked dry. If each
of the 100,000 spiders destroyed only ten flies
in the course of the season, it would mean
that without their presence we should have

had a million more of these little buzzing
pests. I am disposed to regard spiders as
friends of the human race. Flies I abhor. It
is said, however, that the female spider is
larger than the male, and more ferocious, and
that when her partner ceases to please her,
she simply eats him and gets another. I am
bound to say that I think this a bad example.
F. T. Mott, F.R.G.S., Birstal Hill, Leicester.

The Week's Work.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mundv, Esq ,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Codicetims (Orotons). — Where tall, single-
stemmed plants are needed for grouping with
other things during the late summer and
autumn months, propagation should at once
commence, and the method employed should
be that of " ringing " the stems of nice, clean
tops of shoots as low down as possible without
including any bare stem or defective leaves in
the portion left above the ring. Enclose in a
fairly large mass of sphagnum or other moss,
which should be tied closely into place, and
kept damp until sufficient roots have been
formed to allow of complete severance pre-
paratory to potting. The value of this method
of propagation lies partly in the facility with
which big plants can be obtained quickly, and
partly in being able to keep them always well
up to the light, which is impossible with
cuttings taken off in the usual way and put
into a propagating-box or handlight.

Ixoras. — These, too, may be propagated now,
if cuttings are available, striking them singly
in small pots in a bottom-heat of about 80".
Any old plants intended to be brought into
flower six months hence should be pruned into
shape, cleansed thoroughly, and afforded for a
few weeks a somewhat drier atmosphere and
less water at the root than they require when
in full growth. Too much importance can
hardly be laid on keeping the plants free from
insect pests, which are the cause of much
injury.

Gardenias. — A careful watch should be kept
on any plants now showing buds for the shoots
which show immediately round each bud,
which must be removed, for if this be not done,
the flower-buds will probably succumb, and
the plants will grow on and form a later and
probably less useful set of flower-buds. Plants
in bud may be afforded manure-water occa-
sionally, and plenty of sunlight and bottom-
heat, the latter being very essential to plants
flowering in winter.

Carnations. — The propagation of winter-
flowering Carnations must go on as rapidly as
suitable shoots are formed, the actual time of
propagation not being so essential as the
proper sort of cuttings, which should be small
side-shoots some 3 inches long. They may be
struck singly in small pots, or several placed
round the sides of larger ones ; shallow
boxes, too, may be used for the purpose, if the
plants are to be grown in quantity. The main
point to observe is that there shall be a good
bottom-heat in the bed — 80° to 85° — on which
the pots and boxes are to be stood or plunged,
and a much lower overhead temperature, so
that roots may form while the tops are at a
standstill. Some gardeners advocate striking
the cuttings two months hecee in preference
to the present time, but my experience is that
we cannot get the plants as big as they
should be if we propagate late, and this must
be left to growers more favourably situated as
to climate.

Forcing Plants. — Most of these can nowtbe
forced easily, the more difficult part of he
season being over. Shrubby plants, such as
Azaleas, Deutzias, Staphyleas, Lilacs, Gueldres
Roses, &c, should be put in an intermediate
temperature at first, and be well and fre-
quently syringed with tepid water. A fer-
menting bed of leaves will be a great help to
them. In forcing future batches of Lily of

the Valley, ordinary crowns should be sub-
stituted for the retarded crowns, so useful at
an earlier date.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Mayn'e, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Roli.e,
Bicton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Fruit-tree Planting. — Although details for
this operation were rightly given in these
pages early in November last, circumstances
may have prevented the cultivator from carry-
ing them out. Should such be the case, the
work may still be performed providing the
weather is not wet or frosty, deferring the
necessary pruning of such trees for some
weeks. Opinions vary as to the usefulness or
otherwise of mulching newly-planted fruit-
trees, and while favouring this practice, espe-
cially in districts where severe frosts are
experienced, I think this is often carried to
extremes. A mulch of strawy manure, 2 to
3 inches in thickness, placed over the soil as
soon as the trees are planted cannot but be of
some service where the roots have recently
been curtailed, and they are unable in conse-
quence to seize upon the soil before all
growth is checked. This mulch should be
removed as soon as severe frosts are past for
the season, and the soil lightly broken up with
the fork to the depth of 3 inches, so that sun
and air may act upon it.

Pruning Orchard Trees. — Even now, after
much advice given for years by the County
Council horticultural experts, pruning is sadly
neglected in this county, but surely fruits
finer, better quality, and colour, are obtain-
able when the sun can shine into the crowns.
In priming neglected trees, the crown should
be kept fairly open, and branches which cross
each other removed entirely, not perhaps all
at once, but in the course of two or three
years. All dead wood should also be cut out ;
cuts on living branches, if made with a saw,
should have the surface smoothed with a knife
or chisel, and if large then painted over with
Stockholm tar. Some varieties are prone to
push up a quantity of shoots from the centre,
which should be shortened to the second or
third bud, or entirely removed, otherwise a
crowded head will result. Should there be
much moss or lichen on the bark, scrape it
with a painter's knife, using care in so doing
not to injure the bark; then follow this with a
bast scrubbing-brush, and lastly, painting the
same with a mixture of soot and lime that has
been passed through a fine-meshed sieve, and
syringe the mixture on to the smaller branches,
choosing a fine, calm day for the job. Trees
that are to be grafted with other varieties
may have their limbs sawn off at points a
few inches higher than those at which the
grafts will be inserted later on. Be sure
that such trees are free from canker, and
are vigorous in growth. Shoots for making
scions should now be secured, selecting them
from healthy young trees, and taking, when-
ever possible, those of the previous year's
growth. Tie these in bundles of about,' a
dozen, fasten a label with the correct name on
each, and lay-them-in 3 inches deep in the soil
on the north side of a wall.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadouan', Culford
Gardens, Bury St. Edmunds.

Earlg-jlowcring Shrubs. — Plants of Chimonan-
thus fragrans grandidora on walls are now
opening their deliciously fragrant flowers, and
during severe weather some protection must
be afforded, in order to prevent injury to the
blooms by frost and cold winds. The same
care should be extended to Jasminum nudi-
florum, for where cut flowers are in much
request, the golden masses of bloom of this
plant when in good condition are much appre-
ciated. The plants of Lonicera fragrantissima
growing against a south or other warm wall,
are likewise developing their sweet-scented
flowers, and the necessary protection of these
will, later on, well repay the gardener.

Summer-bedding Plants. — Where varieties of
bedding Pelargoniums, Marguerites, Gazanias,

January 4, 190?.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

&c, have been ■wintered in cold frames, let
them be forthwith removed to a Peach-house
o*r vinery in which forcing has begun, and
where the plants may gradually begin to grow.
A careful estimate should be made of the dif-
ferent kinds and varieties of plants employed
in bedding, so that a sufficient number of each
may be obtained. Lobelias, Alternantheras,
and Iresines should have considerable care
bestowed on them, and they should not at any
time be allowed to get dry or excessively
moist at the root, this being very detrimental,
Lobelias especially being kept, if anything,
rather on the dry side, and in a position
near to the glass, in a house having a tempera-
ture of 55°. Alternantheras and Iresines are
the better for a temperature of 65° to 68°, and
in sunny positions quite near to the glass.

flints on Work in General. — In the pleasure-
grounds something may be done at the present
time in cutting off and collecting all dead
branches that are conspicuously unsightly on
Laurels, Hollies, Aucubas, Yews, &c, and if
any of the trees are lacking symmetry, this
may be remedied by regulating the branches,
and fastening them with strong tar-twine or
galvanised wire where the necessity exists.
Bo not, in doing this, bend or strain the
branches unduly, or the results may be dis-
astrous. Sweep up tree-leaves that may have
got blown on to the paths and the margins of
shrubberies and borders. Where alterations
are in prospective, such as the extending or
widening of the garden paths, materials should
be obtained so that the work once begun can
be rapidly completed. An ordinary path in-
tended for pedestrians or light wheel traffic,
need not be more than 18 inches deep, and in
dry soils 9 inches is sufficient. The excavation
may be filled with brick-bats, chalk, rough
stones, &c, to within 4 inches of the sur-
face, and the remainder completed with suit-
able gravel as soon as practicable after the
return of mild weather. "Where existing bor-
ders of trees and shrubs are to be made larger,
the additional ground should be manured and
trenched, and allowed to settle before the
trees and shrubs are planted. Recently-
planted clumps of herbaceous perennial plants
should have sufficient mulching material placed
over or round about them as will protect from
frost, especially Eremurus robustus and hya-
laicus, Incarvillea Delavayi, Anthericums, and
Pseonies.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Turton, Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Ordering Seeds. — What gardener at one time
or another has not experienced a drawback
by not having received his seeds in time to
take advantage of the ground being in the
right condition for sowing for early crops ? I
cannot, therefore, urge too strongly the pro-
crastinating gardener to send his order to the
seedsman with as little delay as possible, for
although at the date of writing prospects of
seed sowing in the open ground cannot be
thought about ; directly the days begin to
lengthen, and if only a short spell of open fine
weather prevail, much advantage may be
gained by sowing seeds, which I shall mention
in future calendars.

Order of Cropping. — If not absolutely neces-
sary to insure success with the various crops,
it is at least a great assistance to any gar-
dener with many other matters upon his mind
to have a fixed rotation for the several quarters
into which the majority of kitchen gardens
are divided, but more especially for the prin-
cipal crops, chief amongst which are Peas.
For early Peas, the most suitable place is a
south border, and where two such borders in
a garden can be set apart, as here, it is my
practice to plant in alternate years with early
Potatos. When for early Peas, the border is
deeply trenched, placing a good dressing of
rotten dung at the bottom of the trenches,
and the following season a good dressing of
well-rotted duns is simply deeply dug in for
the early Potatos. Tho main crop of Peas is
sown where tho Celery has been grown, and
exactly over the trenches, without any further

preparation of the land beyond levelling it,
marking the Celery trenches previous to so
doing. Savoys, winter Turnips, &c, follow
the Peas. After the above-named crops are
cleared off, part of the quarter is heavily
manured and trenched for Onions, the other
portion being simply dug over for the various
root crops. The earliest-sown Cabbage follows
the Onions in the autumn, and when the roots
are all cleared off, the remaining portion of
the quarter receives a good dressing of well-
rotted dung, and is then bastard-trenched,
and planted with an early kind of Cabbage,
which succeeds the autumn-planted ones, the
stumps being always cleared off as the heads
are cut, and the whole quarter planted with
Brussels Sprouts.

the sides, this being of great benefit at this
season, and as soon as the days get longer and
we have more sunshine they are greatly
benefited by over-head syriEging, and if the
house is properly ventilated no one need be
afraid of using the syringe freely overhead.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Coljian, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

Temperatures in the various houses. — Tem-
perature is a most important factor in the
successful cultivation of Orchids, and at no
time of the year is a greater amount of dis-
cretion needed than the present, in order to
keep the plants in a healthy state. The out-
side thermometer must be carefully watched,
as, for example, a temperature, say, in the
Cattleya-house one day of 68° or 70° would be
quite right, but a similar degree of warmth
the next day would be quite wroDg. I con-
sider that any hard-and-fast rule by which
the temperature of a house should always be
of this or that degree at any given time of a
day, is unsuited to the requirements of the
plants. In order to maintain as near as
possible the ideal temperature of an Orchid-
house, one must be entirely governed by the
outside temperature. On all occasions let
some air in by the lower ventilators, and this
should never be taken off entirely unless the
wind is very cold, or there is severe frost.
For the present, the temperatures may run as
follows, taking the reading of the outside
thermometer at night 40° ; in the morning 36° ;
and at noon 50° : —

Niglit. Morning. Noon.
Stove Orchid-house, 68° 65° 72°

Cattleya-house, 63° 60° 68°

Intermediate-house, 60° 57° 65°

Odontoglossum-house, 52° 50° 55°

During severe frosty weather the tempera-
tures should be reduced about 5° all round,
and the plants arid houses kept on the dry
side. I strongly advise at such times the use
of the roof blinds and the covering of the
side lights in order to curtail as much as
possible the use of fire-heat, and thus do no
harm to the plants.

Afiltonias. — Most of the autumn -flowering
varieties, viz., M. Clowesii, M. Candida spec-
tabilis, M. Regnelli and the hybrids of these
species, M. leucoglossa, M. Binotii, M. Bluntii,
M. Joiceyana and others, are now pushing out
their new growths and roots ; if re - potting
or top-dressing be necessary, this is a very
suitable season for carrying out such work.
Do not pot or disturb them till they are ready,
then the yoting roots will take hold of the
new compost before it can become soured.
Tho compost may consist of turfy peat °- well
chopped to pieces, and chopped sphagnum-
moss | ; the whole being well mixed together.
I prefer to use bracken-roots taken out of the
peat as drainage material, chopping them up
a little so as to get them down to the bottoms
of the pots without having to squeeze them
much. The pots should be half filled with
bracken- roots, and the potting done rather
firmly, keeping the base of the plant a little
below tho level of the rim of the pot. I do
not advise re- potting being carried out unless
tho plant really needs it ; and if the plants
were well potted last year, surfacing will be
sufficient. I advise surfacing them so that the
young roots that are thrown out with the
young growth can at onco find fresh compost
of which to take hold. After potting, afford
water very carefully, affording it only when
the compost is dry, until the roots havoseized
upon tho new compost and tho young growth
more advanced ; af forwards water may bo
freely applied. Let the pots be damped at

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch, Dalkeith.

Pot Vines. — Where very early crops of
Grapes are desired, forcing Vines in pots is
the best and most economical method. Ex-
cellent instructions have been given in quite
recent numbers of this Journal for the pre-
paration and starting of these Vines, and they
are now in active growth. The present
season is not favourable for early forcing,
as there has been little sun and much
fire-heat that has had to be employed. If the
Vines are plunged in a bed of warm leaves,
it will be very helpful to growth. Avoid!
very hot pipes on cold nights ; a mean,
temperature of 60° will do for Hamburghs,
and even less on a very cold night. As they
approach flowering, and weather permits,
give a mean temperature of 65°, rising 10° in
the daytime, or more with sunshine ; and
where no provision is made to warm the
admitted air in cold weather, the ventilation
must be arranged very carefully in the fore-
noon, conserving sun-heat soon after midday
so as to run the warmth tip to 80° or higher.
Stop syringing when the Vines are in flower,
but avoid a dry, arid atmosphere by damping
the paths frequently ; and if the Vines were
top-dressed before starting with vine-manure
and fresh soil, give the roots clear warm water-
as they require it till the fruit is formed and
swelling, when weak and frequent warm,
manure waterings may be given. Early forced
planted-out Vines that were forced early in the
previous year, and started at the beginning
of last month, will now be making growth.
If a bed of leaves mixed with a very little
stable-dung is put inside the house, and turned
over occasionally, it will hasten a natural,
healthy growth ; and with medium fire-heat,
the house should be kept about 60° at night. It
may be 2° or 3° less on very cold nights rather-
than have excessive fire-heat. When they
flower, raise the temperature if possible to>
65° at night, and 10° to 15° higher in the day,
according to the weather. Try to change the
air daily in the forenoon. Do not be in a*
hurry to disbud and tie down the shoots, but
wait to see which shoots promise best for
fruit. If any shoots press against the glass,
bring them slightly away from it, and day by
day gradually bring them down to their proper
place. The overcrowding of Vine-rods and
laterals is a mistake. The rods may be 4 feet
apart ; the laterals should extend two or three
joints beyond the bunch. Encourage all the
growth possible on early forced Vines. Remove
surplus bunches, reserving the best, but avoid
over-cropping. If the border was top-dressed
with vine- manure at starting, warm water
afforded when the Grapes are set will be suffi-
cient at the present. The next vinery, tc-
yield Grapes in June, should be started at the
beginning of the present month. The house
having previously been thoroughly washed
down, tho Vines should be cleared of loose
bark, and washed thoroughly as advised in
a former number. If the border is dry, it
should be well soaked with warm water. If
the Vine-roots in tho border are right, they
will bo a close network on the surface, and
only the merest loose surface need be removed,
after which apply a good sprinkling of bane-
meal, andthesame of Thomson's vine-manure;
on the top of that put 2 inches of iinely-cl opped
fresh soil, finishing with a dressing of short
horse-manure. The outsido border is better
for being covered with a foot of leaves thatched
with straw. The night temperature, accord-
ing to tho weather, may be kept at 50° to 55°.
10° to 15° higher in the day, till tlio buds
begin to break. Syringe daily more or less,
according to the weather. Avoid keeping the
Vines constantly wet ; damp occasionally by-
day to counteract aridity from fire-heat.

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 4, 190*2

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER.

Letters for Publication, as well as specimens and plants
for naming, should be addressed to the EDITOR,
41, Wellington Street, Coven t Garden, London,
Communications should be written on one side only of
the paper, sent as early in the week as possible, and duly
signed by the writer. If desired, the signature will not be
printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.

Newspapers. — Correspondents sending newspapers should be
careful to inark the paragraphs they wish the Editor to see.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, Jan. ti.-

Perjnnials, Bulbs, &c, by Protheroe it Morris, at

noon.
TUESDAY, Jan. 7.—

Bulbs, >fcc., by Rendell & Searle. 12.30.— Orchids and

Stove Plants, Beecheu Cliff Villa, Bath, by Fry &

Asprey, and on Jan 8.
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 8.—

Lilies, Shrubs, <£c. by Protheroe <t Morris, at 12 —

Bulbs, Palms, Shrubs, 4c., at Stevens' Rooms, 12.39,

Lilies at 2 30.
THURSDAY, Jan. 9.—

Blackberries, Bulbs, etc., by Protheroe & Morris, at

noon. Orchids at 12.31).— Bulbs, &c, and on Friday,

Rendell & Searle.

TENDERS.

Purchase of Turf, Tooting, London County Council,
Spring Gardens, S.W.

(For further particulars sec Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
-36 3°.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— January 1 (ti p.m.) : Max. ."4°: Min. 48".

January 2.— Fine ; mild; moist.
Provinces —January 1 (6 p.m.) : Max. 53°, S.W. Ire-
land : Min. 39", badlands.

Our American cousins arc now
TlieJ:o3e for much exercised in their minds

England. as to what flower they shall
adopt as a national badge.
The discussions have been long and varied.
Even now, no conclusion has been definitely
•arrived at. The same question has turned
up here in connection with the Coronation
ceremonial next June. We should not have
thought that there was room for any dispute
on the subject. The Rose has been for
•centuries so entwined with our history that
wo should have supposed no other flower
could have been budded on a British
.stock. The Rose is said to have been
the badge of Edward I. in the thir-
teenth century ; in 1397 John of Gaunt
bequeathed to the altar in St. Paul's his
coverlet of cloth of gold sprinkled witli
.golden Roses. We had thought it possible
*hat on one or more of the numerous shields
on the tombs of the Black Prince and of
Henry IV. in the Cathedral at Canterbury,
a conventional representation of the Rose
j night have been found. Through the
courtesy of the Dean, we are enabled to say
that this conjecture is erroneous, and that
neither on the tomb of the Black Prince,
nor on his hauberk still preserved in the
Cathedral, is there any representation of a
Rose. Its connection with the houses of
Lancaster and of York is, of course, known
to all of us, and was forcibly recalled to
mind last summer when a Rose show was
held in the historic Temple Gardens. In
Tudor times the Rose was constantly used
<xs an architectural adornment, and may
still be seen at Westminster, and many a
similar fane.

From this point of view it is interesting
to quote what Evelyn, writing in 1079, says :
" For even the very Damask Rose itself," as
my Lord Bacon tells us, Cent. 2, Exp. 659, is
little more than an hundred vears old in

England."' Compare this with what is said
by Parkinson, writing-in 1629. Parkinson
mentions thirty sorts in his garden, everyone
notably differing from the other.

But when the Rose was adopted as a
national emblem, Canada, Australia, Tas-
mania, and New Zealand bad not been dis-
covered ; and — except in Canada — there is
not a native Rose in either colony; nor is
there in any part of South Africa, the West
Indies, Mauritius, or Ceylon. Half the
British Empire then has no Rose unless by
introduction.

When we get a federated Greater Britain,
it is clear we shall have some difficulty in
fixing upon a flower that is common to all
the component elements. This being the
case, it will be best to disregard points of
geographical distribution as pedantic in the
circumstances, and to fall back on the old

The Red Rose on the back is plac'd

Thereon a crown of gold ;
The White Rose on the breast is brave

And costly to behold ;
Bedeek'd most rich with silver studs

On coat of scarlet red ;
A blushing hue, which England's fame

Now many a year hath bred."

The warders of the Tower still wear tunics
embroidered in the manner here described.

But in spite of the claims of long descent
on the part of the Rose, a claim is set up in
some quarters for the Iris, which some say
is the Fleur-de-Lys. Unfortunately for this
contention, it is not yet settled whether the
device is really intended to represent an
Iris, a Lily, or a spear-head !

Again, Fleur de Louis is considered to
have been the original name, and this has
been converted into Fleur de Luce, Fleur de

Fig. 4.— basal portion of the great cedar at addington tark.

(See p. 10, and our Supplementary Illustration. From photographs by J. Gregory.)

heraldic, conventional Rose as the floral
badge for the whole empire.

The Hon. Mrs. Boyle, in her charming
Ros rosariun — Dew of the Ever-living Rose,
cites from an old ballad some lines, which
are so appropriate to the occasion, that no
apology need be offered for emoting them.
Alluding to the White Rose of York and the
Red Rose of Lancaster, the ballad proceeds:

"These Roses sprang and budded fair,

And carry'd such a grace.
That Kings of EDgland in their arms

Afford them worthy place.
And flourish may these Hoses lorjg,

That all the world may tell
How owners of these princely flow'rs

In virtues did excel.

To glorify these Roses more,

King Henry and his Queen
First placed their pictures in wrought gold

Most gorgeous to be seen.
The King's own guard now wear the same

Upon their back and breast.
Where love and loyalty remain,

And evermore shall rest.

Lys, and Fleur de Lis. Prior, in his Popular
Names of British Plants, mentions the legend
that a shield charged with these flowers was
brought to Clovis from heaven while engaged
in battle against the Saracens. They were
assumed by Louis VII. in 1137 as his device,
and later on they were bestowed on Joan of
Arc.

No doubt several of our monarchs did
quarter the Fleur-de-Lvs on their coats of
arms as a testimony of their rights in France,
rights now happily long become obsolete,
and consequently also the claim to quarter
the Fleur-de-Lys.

Another claimant put forward for heraldic
recognition is the Lily - of - the - Valley, a
native plant of unsurpassed elegance and
delicious fragrance, but having no claim
whatever to be accepted as a national
emblem. Much historical interest attaches
to the Rose and to the Fleur-de-Lys, but the
Lily-of-the- Valley is totally devoid of any
such relation. What the ''Lily-of-the-
Valleys " of the Canticles may have been we
do not know, but we may be pretty sure it

January 4, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

9

was not what we call the Lily-of-the-Valley,
which is not a native of Palestine.

The Christmas Rose puts forth no claim
to historical significance, but its lovely
flowers, expanding at this season, are so beau-
tiful, that they confer a right to the popular
name Rose, although botanically they have
nothing to do with the genuine Rose.

Whatever flowers be adopted for merely
•decorative purposes at the Coronation, we
plead that as a matter of ceremonial usage,
no other than the Rose of England be
.adopted.

Royal Horticultural Society.— The first
meeting of the Committees of the Royal Hor-
ticultural Society in 1902 will be held as usual
in the Drill Hall, Buckingham Gate, 'West-
minster, on Tuesday, January 14. An election
•of new Fellows will take place at 3 o'clock.
To prevent misunderstanding, it may be men-
tioned that the committees of 1901 do not
vacate office until the date of the annual
meeting, 1902, and in like manner all Fellows'
tickets of 1901 are available until the end of
January, 1902.

New Chrysanthemums. — We have received
from Messrs. W. Wells & Co., Earlswood Nur-
series, Redhill, Surrey, a sheet containing
illustrations of novelties for next season.
Most of them are about G inches by 5 inches,
And are large enough to afford some idea at
Jeast of the general character of each flower.
Although the sheet will probably be distri-
buted with a descriptive catalogue, it would
have been convenient if the colour, as well as
the name, of each variety had been given upon
the sheet itself.

M. Ferd. Massange de Louvrex.— WTe
cegret to learn, from the Revue de I'Hortl-
■cultiire Beige, of the death of this gentleman,
who was a keen horticulturist, and a well
known cultivator of Orchids.

Lilies.— Mr. Bark, who is now in South
Africa, or was when we last heard of him, has
been discoursing on Lilies. To illustrate the
(reading, a fine group of Lilium longiflorum
■eximium was placed in front of the chairman,
to show the one Lily of the world which repre-
ssers the greatest amount of circulating
capital. It is estimated that Bermuda exports
from £15,000 to£20,000 worth of bulbs annually
of these Lilies to New York and London ;
Japan exports about the same amount of
money, and as these Lilies are thrown away
by nurserymen after they have sold the flowers,
instead of a decrease in the demand, it has
been annually increasing, since its value as a
cut flower and for forcing was discovered in
1882. The flats around Cape Town could be
profitably used for the production of this Lily,
and an industry started which would add a
nice little item to the profitable exports of the
colony.

M. Desire Bruneau.— The death is an-
nounced of this well-known nurseryman, who
yearly obtained the highest awards at the
Paris exhibitions. M. de Bruneau was seventy-
four years of age, and last year retired from
business, leaving his large nurseries at Bourg-
la-Reine, near Paris, to his son-in-law, M.
Nomhlet Bruneau.

Presentation at Exeter.— At the Castle
Motel, Exeter, on Saturday evening, Mr. F. W.
Meyer, landscape gardener with the firm of
Messrs. ROBERT VhTTCH & Son, of the Royal
Nurseries, Exeter, entertained his fellow
employe's to supper to celebrate the comple-
tion of twenty-five years' service. His col-
leagues took the opportunity of presenting

Mr. Meyer with a handsome silver-mounted
smoker's cabinet and outfit and an address
of congratulation on their behalf, subscribed
to by thirty-six members of the staff. Mr.
VBITCH sent a handsome silver salver with a
cheque and a letter, in which he expressed
his appreciation of the services of Mr. Meyer
and the efficiency with which he had fulfilled
his duties as professional landscape gardener
to the firm during these years.

List of some Plants in Flower in the
Open at Christmas, 1901, at La Mortola.
—Sir Thomas Hanbury, K.C.Y.O., sends us
the following list of some of the more remark-
able plants in flower at La Mortola this
Christmas. It appears there has been no frost
as yet this winter in that favoured locality ;
and while in many parts of England distressing
droughts have prevailed, the year 1901 there
has proved one of the wettest on record, no
less than 46-4 inches of rain having fallen, or
about double the average— of this, 15 inches
fell in the mouth of October.

Grevillea alpina
G. longifolia
Hakea eucalyptoides
H. pugioniformis
H. suaveolens
Hexacentris coccinea
Huernia aspera
H. Penzigii
Linum trigynum
Lotus Jacobams
Melianthus Trimenianus
Odoutospermum seri-

ceum
Passiflora raccmosa
Pilocarpus pinnatifolius
Rosa siuica
Royena pubescens
Seuecio angulatus
S. macroglossus
Stapelia tsomoensis
S. hirsuta
Strelitzia Reglnrc
Tagetes lacera
Templetonia retusa
Visnea Mocancra
Yucca gloriosa

Acacia Farnesiana
A. salicina, &c.
Albizzia lopliantlia
Aloe ciliaris

A. socotrina
Amicia zygomeris
Anagyris fietida
Anthocercis viscosa
Banksia marccscens

B. verticillata
Brassica rupestris
Bryophyllum crenatura
Buddleia araericana
Canarina campanulata
Caralluma europtei

C. maroccana
Cassia coquimbensis
Clerodendron fragrans
Cobcea scaudens
Correa coccinea
Dahlia Maximiliana
Datura arborca

D. sanguinea

D. suaveolens
Ephedra altissima
Gerbera Jamesoni

Meeting of the French Pomological
Society. — The French Pomological Society
lately held a meeting for the election of a
President to succeed the late M. de la Bastie,
and various other new members. M. Luizet
was elected President, M. Jac^uier, fils, and
M. Tueyve, pere, were elected Vice-Presi-
dents. The nomination of a Secretary was
postponed until the next meeting, which will
be held at Pau ; M. J. Nicholas discharges
the duties in the interim. M. de Veyssikre is
made Treasurer. The late President, M. de
la Bastie, has bequeathed to the Society all
his manuscripts, part of his library, and two
thousand francs.

The Battle of Roses.— Mr. Wm. Baylor
Hartland, of Patrick Street and Ard Cairn,
Cork, sends his friends and clients a charming
picture of a playful Battle of Roses between
two pretty maidens under a sunny sky. The
picture, which is nicely coloured, is mounted
on rollers all ready to be hung up, and some
appropriate verses by Mrs. Hemans are
appended to it as well as the patriotic senti-
ment that: "This Green Isle of ours will yet
win its way and put its goods over the wide
world by Industry."

Cypripediums in Season. — A very fine
set of C'ypripedium flowers has been kindly
sent for our inspection by O. O. Wrioley,
Esq., Bridge Hall, Bury (gr., Mr. E. ROGERS),
and in which a very high state of cultivation
is indicated, for in each case we have never
seen the flowers of the varieties represented
so fine. Cypripcdium Swinburnei magnifl-
cum is a gigantic, heavily-blotched flower; C.
insigne macranthum equals the stately C. i.

Harefield Hall variety, and somewhat resembles
it ; C. i. Marion has the blotching in the upper
sepal of a light purplish-brown, the spots
being merged ; C. i. Dorothy and C. i. Luciani
are two fine clear yellow varieties, the latter
the brighter and better ; C. xnitens superbnm
and C. >: J. Howes have fine dorsal sepals,
with purple spotting on the white upper half ;
C. x Calypso, Oakwood variety, has the upper
sepal white, heavily marked with purple ; C.
x Leeanum superbissimum, giganteum, con-
spicuum, Cypher's variety, and aureum gigan-
teum show a very wide range in this fine
hybrid, and afford ample excuse for their dis-
tinguishing names. The others are C. x Man-
selli (Chamberlainianum x villosum), a very
singular-looking hybrid, with greenish flowers,
tinged and striped with purple- brown ; and
C. x Fascinator (Spicerianum magnificum x
hirsutissimum), the twisted, purple-tinged,
densely-spotted petals of which very closely
resemble those of C. hirsutissimum ; the dorsal
sepal, however, more nearly resembles C.
Spicerianum, being white, with a broad purple-
coloured band running up the centre, and a
rose-purple tint on each side.

Oxton Hall. — We understand that in con-
sequence of the death of the elder Miss
Harris, the Oxton Hall estate, near Tadcaster,
has changed hands. Mr. Croft, the head
gardener, has retired on an annuity, after
serving the Misses Harris and their parents
for the long period of forty-five years. He is
succeeded by Mr. T. Marsh, who for a good
many years has been second gardener at
Oxton. The new owner of Oxton is Mrs.
Oliver, of Bolton Lodge, .near Bolton Percy,
Yorks, a lady who takes much interest in
horticulture generally.

Xanthorrhcea hastilis. — The "spear-
headed, grass gum" tree of Australia is
throwing up a strong flower-spike in the
Trinity College Botanic Garden, Dublin. The
same plant flowered before prior to 1879, and
the old flower- spike is still kept — dried, of
course. These tree sedges are not very
common in gardens, both seedlings and old
imported plants being difficult to establish.

Chrysanthemum Salad. — At the meeting
of the French Society of Chrysanthemum
growers at Grenoble some large flower-heads
of Madame Carnot were prepared as salad.
Some approved, some disapproved, others said
they were not so very bad. In any case, we
gather that the experiment is not likely to be
repeated.

How M . Calvat became a Chrysanthemum
Grower. — There is a tendency towards self-
disparagement amongst us Britons. This
arises from the progress made in Germany,
the United States, and other countries which
have distanced us in the applications of
science, and in consequence threaten our
commercial supremacy. It is pleasant there-
fore to road in he Chrysantheme that M.
Calvat's success as a Chrysanthemum raiser
is directly attributable to the treatise of
Mr. E. Molyneux, which he purchased, and
of which, being able to read English, he knew
how to avail himself. If M. Calvat had not
known English, he would not have read Moly-
neux. If he had not read Molynkux, he would
not have enriched horticulture with so many
fine varieties— the moral is obvious.

Rose Mrs. Ames.— As we stated in our
last issue, we received from the United
States a dozen blooms of this new Rose.
They were brought over by Mr. Dimmick in a
case ; the stalk of each Rose being inserted in
a small phial of water, so packed that the
water did not run out, nor the bottle become-

10

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[JANUARV 4, 1902.

broken. They arrived on the 23rd ult. in
excellent condition. We noted this the more
particularly as some that were sent over on a
previous occasion fell to pieces as soon as the
case was unpacked. One or two of the outer
petals which had been "bruised, and were
browned, were removed, and the next morning
we had on our table a bunch of Roses as fresh
as if the month had been July, instead of
December. The flowers had slightly expanded
and showed to advantage, their central pink
petals almost of the colour of those of " Blairii
n. 2." Still, we expected the petals to fall;
still they remained intact, so much so that
some thought the flowers had been gummed,
but that was clearly not so. On the 29th ult.
they were voted no longer suitable for the
drawing-room, though even then they had not
cast a petal. The Roses were cut with long
stalks, and the foliage was solid and dark rich
green, so that the flowers had a supply of
nourishment at their disposal, and this may
have accounted for their persistence.

Publications Received.— Nature Notes, Dec—

West Indian Bulletin, vol. ii., No. 3. Contents : Cacao,
Thrips and Fungoid Diseases; Sugar-cane. Disease,
Bud-variation, Manuring, Planting, and Crop Seasons ;
Formation of Sugar ; Sour Grass ; Insectivorous Birds.
— Principal Government Crop Report, Nova Scotia, Nov.,
1901. " The season was unusually early, and up to the
first week in July the weather was favourable for the
growth of all kinds of crops, but a drought set in about
that time, and retarded the growth of all kinds of crops
except hay. The hay crop in Cape Breton fell short,
and had the effect of reducing the production in the
whole province to an average one. All other field
crops are under the average. The fruit crop varied to
a considerable extent, but taking .it as a whole it has
been fairly large, and the quality excellent."— Journal
of the Kew Guild, — Profitable Fruit-growing, by John
Wright (Collingridge).— A Study of San Luis Obispo.—
From the Department of Agriculture and Technical
Instruction for Ireland: Agricultural Statistics, Ireland,
1901. Report on Irish Migratory Labourers ; also, Journal
of the Department, December, 1901. Contents : .Early
Potato Growing, "Field Experiments," and "Demon-
stration Plots," Art-craft Classes at the Glasgow School
of Art, Use and Purchase of Manures, Canadian Store
Cattle, Trade Notes and Memoranda.— Imperial Depart-
ment of Agriculture for the West Indies: General Treat-
ment of Insect Pests (second edition).— Jamaica Board of
Agriculture: A Report on the Cultivation of Pineapples
and other Products of Florida, by Robert Thomson.
Agricultural Bulletin of the Straits and Federated Malay
States, Edited by H. N. Ridley. Contents : Timbers of
the Malay Peninsula (continued), Treatment of Insect
Pests, Elementary Notes on the Propagation of Plants,
by C. Curtis, F.L.S. ; Vitality of Seeds, Foxy Coffee,
Diseased Roots of Para Rubber, &c— The Agricultural
Gazette of New South Wales, October. Amoug the con-
tents are papers on : Millet, Hay, Useful Australian
Plants, No. 73; Deyeuxia montana, J. H. Maiden ; Large
Boots of Salt-bush, A Fodder Plant for the Arid In.
tcrior, Sand-drift at Newcastle, &c— From the United
States Department of Agriculture, Division of Ento-
mology, Sffts Life-History of Two Species of Plant-Lice
Inhabiting both the Witch-Hazel and Birch, by Theo.
Pergande.— Publications of the University of Penn-
sylvania, New Series, No. 6 : Contributions from the
Botanical laboratory, vol. ii., No. 2.— Observations sur les
Apoc.ynacCes a Ixitex, recueillies par M. L. Gentil. dans
l'Etat Indcpendaut du Congo en 1900. par E. De Wilde-
man.— Mittcilungcn der Deutschen Dendrologisclien Gesell-
schaft, 1901.

A MAMMOTH CEDAR-TREE.
[See Supplementary Illustration.]

The Lebanon Cedar (Cedrus Libani) which we
illustrate this week (fig. 4), may certainly be
described as one of the most remarkable trees
in the country, and it would be most interest-
ing if information was forthcoming as to the
approximate date when the specimen was
planted in the position that has supplied its
needs so well. There is, however, nothing
but conjecture, and after appealing to many
persons connected with Addington Park estate,
including the "oldest inhabitant," who is
familiar with events which have happened
during a period of nearly seventy years, the
loast indefinite statement is that " the tree
has been planted considerably over 100 years."

There being no evidence as to its actual age.
■we shall content ourselves by affording some

particulars of the present condition and size
of the tree, and leave to all who may visit
Addington the fascinating task of evolving a
theory of their own upon so interesting but
dubious a matter.

We visited the little church at Addington,
some 000 years old, and from effigies and me-
morial tablets contained there, it is evident
that the Park Estate, previous to it being
purchased many years ago by the Ecclesiasti-
cal Trustees, belonged to the " Leigh " family,
who lived in the parish as early as the middle
of the sixteenth century.

The present steward and gardener, Sir. W.
Whalley, removed to Addington with Arch-
bishop Tait from Fulham Palace thirty-three
years ago. The late Archbishop Benson was
the last ecclesiastic who resided here, and
about four years ago the estate was sold by
the trustees to P. A. English, Esq.

The house is a plain building of grey stone,
and the Cedar stands upon the small lawn on
the south-east of the building. The best view
of the tree is naturally obtained from the
south, whence our photograph was taken,
growth being rather more vigorous, and the
branches better clothed on that side. The
spread of the branches from east to west
(from right to left of the illustration) is 127 ft.,
thus affording a covered walk in a direct line
of 42 yards. From north to south the spread
is rather less, being 101 feet. The view of
the area covered by the tree is very impres-
sive, and there is a little more room than is
necessary for an average man to walk upright
beneath the branches, which are supported by
forty-five props, many of them being distinctly
shown in the photograph.

The illustration on p. 8 of the base of the
tree shows the numerous branches which pro-
ceed from near to the ground-level. Two of
these come from the ground-level itself, and
a third is only 1 foot higher. One of these
three divides again almost immediately. We
put the tape around the bole immediately
above the lower three branches, and it
measured 23 feet 4 inches, and the limbs thus
shut off measured, in one instance, 7 feet in
circumference, and in the case of the forked
one, 10 feet 4 inches. The tree has appa-
rently lost one limb from the base on the
N.E. side, the scar being covered with
lead. Altogether, there are about one dozen
main limbs, and four of these are more or
less upright. Of the upright ones, three
are in good condition, but the fourth has been
broken off at some time at about 25 feet. This
has been quite overgrown by other branches.
The measurements we have given of the
spread and girths of the branches were
obtained by the tape, but the weather being
very wet we could only estimate the height of
the tree to be rather more than 50 feet.

No wonder that the Archbishops in their
turn were proud to entertain their friends
under the branches of this magnificent tree ;
and not their personal friends alone, but some
of the poor from the East of London, who
were invited to Addington each year, and
were entertained under the same tree, several
hundreds being able to sit beneath it at one
time. The care of the present owner is to
guard this valued link with the past from
possible injury, and all upon the estate know
their master's instruction that in case of
snow falling, the first duty to be discharged
is that of attending to the great Cedar, for
the loss of a limb would be lamented more than
that of a thousand pounds. The tree is in a
vigorous condition at the present time, and
shows no signs of decrepitude.

There are several other trees of importance
at Addington. Two Cedars on the lawn near

to the fountain were planted about 1830. A
splendid Tulip-tree (Liriodendron tulipiferum)
was planted about the same date, and there is
an excellent specimen of Paulowniaimperialis.
A very good tree of the Black Walnut (Juglans
nigra) is said to have been raised from a
seed of the great Hickory-tree at Fulhan»
Palace, and is one of the best specimens that
exist. There is a Maidenhair-tree (Ginkgo
biloba) upon the lawn also, and a pinetum in
the park. The specimens in the pinetum,
however, especially the species of Abies, are-
not flourishing.

The forcing and plant-houses at Addington.
are very old, and there are two walled-in
kitchen - gardens, which together with am
orchard, make an area of about 7 acres. The
present owner will probably restore the gar-
dens and build new glasshouses when the-
restoration of the dwelling-house has been»
completed. For three years past there have-
been 100 men employed at this task, and
the work is not yet finished. We may
add for the benefit of arboriculturists who
may like to visit Addington, that they should
proceed to East Croydon Railway Station, and
drive or walk the remaining 4 miles. Our-
illustrations are from photographs taken, bjj
Mr. J. Gregory, Croydon.

KEW NOTES.

The following plants were in bloom in the
greenhouse (No. 4) on the 26th ult., Bank
Holiday. Begonias Gloire de Lorraine and its-
varieties, Turnford Hall and Caledonia ; B.
semperflorens gigantea rosea, B. President
Carnot, Jasminum nudiflorum, Aster rotundi-
folius (Agathsea ccelestis), Daphne odora (in-
dica), Salvia splendens grandiflora, Freesias,,
Peristrophe speciosa, a bushy little plant with,
purple flowers ; batches of Cyclamen and
Chinese Primulas, including the stellate formt
of Primula sinensis ; Camellias upon bushes
planted out in the beds ; a beautiful display of
the attractive and fragrant Luculia gratissimai
upon a plant more than 6 feet high, planted in
a bed, and bearing nearly fifty trusses off
flowers ; Reinwardtia (Linum) trigyna ; varie-
ties of Erica, and Epacris ; Calceolaria Bur-
bidgei, which has flowers during the greater
part of the year ; Centropogon Lucyanus x ;
Cytisus fragrans ; Roman Hyacinths ; Rhodo-
dendron Illuminator, and R. Princess Alex-
andra; Tibouchina (Lasiandra) macrantha (od
roof) ; Primula obconica ; the new flowering Co-
leus, C. thyrsoideus, figured in our columns last
year, with cobalt-blue flowers, a plant that
should be obtained by all who have not yet
this species ; Eupatorium odoratum ; Erio-
stemon cuspidatus ; Moschosma riparium, a>
Labiate plant 2 to 3 feet high, bearing white-
flowers produced from the axils of the leaves ;
Richardia (Calla) africana ; Cestrums (Ha-
brothamnus) aurantiacum and elegans ; Acacia,
fragrans variety, A. platyptera ; Tecoma
Smithii, a hybrid from T. velutina ? and T.
capensiso* i and figured in Gardeners' Chronicle*
July 21, 1894 ; a Bignoniaceous plant with
orange coloured flowers, very free, and lasting
a considerable time — a capital greenhouse
plant ; Chrysanthemums ; Prunus japonica,
fl.-pl., a pretty hardy shrub, with long,
slender shoots wreathed witli small, pure
white, double flowers, &c. There were also
some well fruited Orange-trees (Citrus auran-
tiacum) in pots, Solanum integrifolium, and
Rivina humilis. In the Cape and Begonia-
houses were Ruellia macrantha, the beauti-
fully veined Acanthaceous flower illustrated
in these pages last week ; Jacobinia chryso-
stephana, a species with orange - coloured
flowers ; Eranthemum albiflorum, and E. An-

January 4, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

11

dersoni. Erauthemunis are very pretty plants
for the stove or intermediate-house if flowered
in pots of moderate size, and fresh stock be
-•raised each spring from cuttings.

In the Water-Lily (Victoria Regia) house,
the mammoth species of Grammatophyllum ((>.
«peciosa) was in flower, but the spikes appear
weak and injured. They will probably not
grow more than 1h feet in height, but in
Gardeners' Chronicle, August 28, 1897, flowers
were illustrated from a spike which was 7 feet
Qiigh, the individual flowers being 5 inches
across. The prevailing colour of the flowers
is dull yellow, spotted with reddish-purple.
An abnormal (male) flower produced at the
base of a spike in Sir Trevor Lawrence's
.garden, and figured in the same issue of the
Gardeners' Chronicle, was very handsome by
reason of its profuse and rich spotting, but it
■3iad only four nearly equal segments, and no
true lip. On the roof of the same house, a,
(large plant of Ipomoea Horsfalli Briggste bore
scores of bright carmine flowers, and made a

BOOK NOTICE.

The Journal of the Royal Horticultural
Society.
The December part has lately reached us,
and we may say of it that it more than merits
the commendations we have expressed on pre-
vious numbers. It opens with an account
of decorative gardening in the London parks,
by Colonel Wheatley. Then follow the ab-
stracts of certain lectures given by Professor
Henslow to the Chiswick students, in one of
which the Professor attributes, to the recom-
mendation of Prof. Daubeny, the glazing of
the houses with green glass. We believe it
was the late Robert Hunt who made the sug-
gestion ; but in any case, the green glass has
been abandoned wherever practicable. Another
lecture of great interest is that on the effect
of London fog on plants, in which the valuable
observations of Prof. P. W. Oliver, published
in an exhaustive report in an earlier volume

FIG. 5. — APPLE "THE HOUBLOX.

inch display of colour. This is an old stove
climbing plant well worth recommendation.

In the Orchid-houses the varieties of Calanthe
were making a good show, the colour of C.
"Veitchi being varied witli those of several of
■the C. vestita and other hybrids. In addition
■were Oncidium varicosum, La^lia anceps var.
Barkeriana, Zygopetalum Mackaii, Epidendrum
vitellinum, Dendrobium endocharis, species of
Cypripcdium, including C. Pitehianum, a pretty
.and distinct flower, the prevailing colour green,
with a little purple on the petals ; Cymbidium
.gigantcum, Mastlevallias, Odontoglossum An-
■dcrsonianum, and its variety Ruckerianum,
Lyeaste Skinneri, Habenaria carnca, Sophro-
mtis grandiflora, &c.

Prom the above list it will be seen that in
the greenhouse and the T-range alone there
were very many interesting plants for the
holiday-makers whose tastes led them to Kow,
whilst in all the other houses and museums
open to the public, much information could be
obtained by those desirous of improving their
horticultural knowledge.

PLANT PORTRAITS.

Cystofteris buldifeba.— Mttha.ru/ Monthly, Dec.

I'm aiknia Mi. -hhmana, Ed. Andre, ap, now— A new
Mexican species, "illi pendent, linear leaves, and erect
racemes of crimson flowers.— Revue Horticole, Dec. 10.

are summarised. A paper of special interest
is that of the Rev. H. Ewbank on the Onco-
cyclus group of Irises, the proofs of which
were corrected by the author only a few days
before his death. A second paper on the samo
subject by Mr. John Hogg, of Haarlem, is
divorced from the first by the interpolation of
a representation of the leaf and flowers of
some unnamed Eucalyptus.

But the chief value of this part consists in
the full report of the Lily Exhibition ami Con-
ference at Chiswick last July. We need not
do more than allude to this conference, as it
was very fully reported in our own columns.
But wo may repeat that this conference again
illustrated the fact that, of all the work done
by the Society, none equals in permanent
value the records of these conferences. After
the Lily Conference como3 a long paper on
Vine-culture as exemplified at the Paris Exhi-
bition by Sir James Blyth, which is the same
paper that was read before the London
Chamber of Commerce. Another very impor-
tant paper is that by Mr. C. G. Wyatt on the
origin and development of the Cactus Dahlia.

The notes on recent research are most
useful, but it may not bo irrelevant to suggest
that these notes be confined to subjects having

a direct or even an indirect bearing on horti-
culture ; but that abstracts relating to pure
botany be omitted. Discussions on the chro-
mosomes of Larix leptolepis, or on the
"middle lamella," for instance, seem out of
place in a horticultural journal. Again, in
the " abstracts " it would be well to cite at
first hand, or, at least, to note where necessary,
the fact that a particular plant, or whatever it
maybe, has already been figured and described
elsewhere, often more satisfactorily than in
the publication to which reference is made.

The" common- place notes" by the secretary
and superintendent are excellent. Amongst
other things they suggest attempting a cross
between Anemone nemorosa and A. coronaria.
This would indeed be an interesting cross ;
may we be there to see it ! Following these
chatty and useful notes comes a descriptive
record of the Gladioli and other plants grown
for trial at Chiswick last summer, and then a
very valuable report on Plums, important
to all fruit-growers. Lastly come the re-
ports of the various meetiugs of the several
committees.

We should like, as we have said before, to
see the irrelevant tail-pieces removed ; or if
that be considered undesirable, that some de-
scriptive legend be attached to them, and
that they be separated from the text by a
"rule." The details of the flower-head of
Composites on p. 457 have, like the other
tail-pieces, nothing to do with the subject in
hand, although they are not even separated
from it by a " rule." Moreover, the so-called
" seeds " are technically something more than
seeds.

The other illustrations have, we think, with-
out exception, appeared previously in the
horticultural papers. So important a publica-
tion as the Journal might, now thatthe finances
of the Society are in a flourishing condition,
depend more upon its own resources.

But these are points of detail of very minor
importance. What is of consequence is the
fact that the Fellows of the Society get a high-
class journal of excellent quality which, of
itself, is of considerably greater monetary
value than the average amount of their sub-
scription. The labour of editing amid all the
multifarious duties of the Secretary must be
very considerable, but the work is thoroughly
well done, and whilst it adds greatly to the
position of the Society, it confers the highest
crediton the Editor.

A NEW APPLE.

Mr. C. Ross, gardener to Captain Carstairs,
Wei lord Park, Newbury, has raised several
good Apples from crosses between the va-
rieties Cox's Orange Pippin and Peasgood's
Nonsuch, and one of these which was figured
in the Gardeners' Chronicle, Sept. 30, 1899,
p. 259, as Thomas Andrew Knight, but ha?
since been re-named Charles Ross, pro-
mises to combine the excellent quality and
flavour of the former variety with increased
size and attractiveness from the showy
but comparatively worthless Apple Peas-
good's Nonsuch. The new Apple shown
in fig. D, and named "The Houblon," had
the same parentage as Charles Ross. Fruits
were shown at a meeting of I lie Royal Horti-
cultural Society on t he 1 7th ult., when an Award
of Merit was recommended the novelty. The

fruita were nol larger than I huso of Cox's
Orange Pippin, but were very highly coloured,

especially on one side, the colour occasionally

having the appearance of splashes. The eye
is open, and set in a moderate-sized basin;
s'alk less than half an inch long, proceeding
from an even, funnel-shaped cavity. Tho
quality of the flesh is good.

12

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 4, 1902.

BACTERIOSISIIN ORCHIDS.

On October 5 last, Mr. William Murray,
gardener to Norman Cookson, Esq., Oakwood,
Wylam, handed me a portion of a diseased
plant of Cattleya Mendeli. Some of the
psuedo-bulbs were black and soft, the youngest
on the point of collapse, whilst others were
yellowish-brown. The blackness was extend-
ing from the infected bulbs into the leaves
from the base towards the point. The infected
bulbs were full of a dark brown liquid, smelling
something like Worcester-sauce. The liquid
was in very large quantity, was distinctly
alkaline, and was swarming with motile bac-
teria, amongst which were a few fungus-cells
like those figured by Wahrlich in the Botan-
ische Zeitung, July 10 and 23, 1886, and called
by him Fusisporium sporen (?). The liquid also
contained isolated empty cells in plenty, and
the tissue of the bulb was reduced to epi-
dermis, fibro - vascular bundles, and empty
collapsed cells. 1 liAfter a very thorough exami-
nation, no wound through which the bulbs
might have been infected was to be seen,
though doubtless the plant is infected through
wounds.

The next day, having no Cattleyas avail-
able for experiment, a bulb of Odontoglossum
grande was stabbed by a needle which had
been dipped in the brown juice from the
infected Cattleya bulb ; and at the same time
drops of the fluid were placed on uninjured
bulbs, leaves, and roots [of another plant of
the same species. The stabbed bulb imme-
diately began rotting, and in a week was
rotten throughout, but unchanged in colour ;
the uninjured portions were unaffected.

The ordinary methods of isolating the
bacterium which causes ^the rot by means of
plate cultures was used. Isolated colonies
were obtained and transferred to tubes of
nutrient gelatine, and after a month's work I
was satisfied that I had isolated the bacillus of
the rot. It liquefies the gelatine, forming a
funnel-shaped growth, with at first a large
bubble at the top ; the growth, however, is
limited to about ^-inch of the top, and a tube
following the line of the stab. The organism
grows very well in bouillon with peptone
neutral to litmus.

Prom a pure culture in gelatine I have
induced black rot in young Cattleya bulbs,
and a rot which leaves the bulb unaltered in
colour in bulbs of Odontoglossum grande, O.
crispum, and O. Pescatorei. Old bulbs of
Cattleya were not infected, probably because
there is an accumulation of organic acids in
such bulbs. Turnips, yellow and white ;
Potatos, bulbs of I. ilium (sp.), Hyacinth, Tulip,
anl Narcissus arc not.affected. Bulbs of Bpi-
dendrum vitellinum were rotted and black-
ened, those of Miltonia spectabilis, CVelogyne
cristata, Sophronitis grandiflora, and On-
cidium Porbesii were rotted, but the colour
was unchanged. A young Dendrobium bulb
succumbed to the bacillus, but an old one
which was very acid was not affected ; Cypri-
pedium insigne also was unaffected. Leaves
of Odontoglossum crispum were unaffected
when the epidermis was unbroken, but rapidly
succumbed when infected on a scratch. They
are not darkened in colour, at least, in the
early stage of infection. Always, so far as I
have experimented, a strongly acid Orchid
tissue is unattacked. Thereaction>f infected
tissue is always alkaline.

I have followed the action microscopically
in bulbs of Odontoglossum: the middle layer
of the cell- walls is first attacked. By this
means, the cells are entirely isolated, and
one finds in the fluid the large, apparently
empty, mucilage cells, the smaller cells loaded

with starch grains, or with a bundle of raphides
in them. The protoplasm of the cells is
attacked, and slowly disappears. The cell-
walls become exceedingly thin, and I think
that bacteria enter the cells, but of that I am
not at all sure. In parts where the action has
not extended strongly, the cell-walls appear
swollen, and the splitting along the middle
lamella; is very evident.

The organism is a short motile bacillus
whose flagella I have not yet succeeded in
staining. I am still engaged in investigating
the exact effects of this bacillus on the tissues
of Orchids, and the nature of the products of
its fermentative action. J. B. Gateshead.

THE APIARY.

BAR FRAMES.

In my last article I left off at the price
of sections at 8d. each, and considering
that the cost of the bees should only be
about 5s. and the crate 3s. 6d., this is a very
good return. I now come to the modern
system of bee keeping, namely, keeping bees
in bar frames, or what is known as the stan-
dard hives; by this is meant that all hives are
made of one size, so far as depth and width go —
it does not much matter what the length is ;
but a hive holding from 10 to 14 frames is
best, as the smaller the hive the greater
the heat, and for winter purposes this is
proved to be the best. Now, as to the cost : a
complete bar frame hive should not cost more
than 12s. 6tl. to 15s. 6d. complete, as this
answers all purposes for honey-raising, and
the cost of the bees, 5s., make a total of
17s. 6(1., and in a good season three orates of sec-
tions, each crate containing twenty-one 1 lb.
sections of honey can be raised, and reckoning
this at 6d. each section, the bee-keeper more
than covers his outlay.

It should always be borne in mind that bees
require looking after just at the right time,
and when all is going well they should be let
alone. I mentioned just now about the hive
being of standard size ; this is important, as
then the frames from one hive will tit another
hive, so that you can strengthen your weak
stock from a strong one. And another item of
importance is, that should you at any time
wish to dispose of them, you stand a much
better chance of securing a good price than
you would if your hives were all of different
sizes. All beginners in bee-keeping should
try and remember that it is far better to
understand how to manage one or two hives
properly than to undertake a large number
all at once.

The most successful bee-keepers are gene-
rally those who study the practical part first.
Another particular item, too, in bee-keeping
is, that everything should be kept as clean
as possible, and this applies most strictly
to honey for market, for everything should
be clean and up to the sample. It is well
known now that no garden is complete with-
out bees, because every gardener will agree
that unless there are bees to inoculate the
different blossoms, but little fruit would set.
In conclusion, I would again recommend every
beginner to get someone to give him a lesson,
and be as simple as possible in all manipula-
tions, and he will find that as the bees interest
him, the better and more expert a bee-keeper
he will become. Expert.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

in the Northern United States. In the Rocky
Mountain region traversed by the line, Picea.
Engelmanni yields the best timber. Towardg-
the Pacific coast, the Douglas Fir and the Red
Wood, Sequoia sempervirens, this last beiiicr
universally used in the Arizona railways. In
Oregon and Washington, Red Wood and
Douglas Fir are used, and occasionally Pinu«-
ponderosa. C. S. 8.

VEGETABLES AND FARM PLANTS THRIVING I'M

south Africa. — In reply to Mr. Jas. Crabbe's
enquiry concerning seeds of farm and garden,
plants in the eastern provinces of Cape Colony,
I have much pleasure in giving that gentleman
the desired information. Many of the garden
vegetables are farmed ; I therefore give but
one list. I believe Runner Beans are a failure
in Cape Colony, as I have never seen then
grown or sown : —

Asparagus

Beet

Beans (French)

„ (Broad)
Broccoli
Borecole
Brussels Sprouts
Barley
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Carrots
Clover
Cucumbers
Celery
Capsicums

Egg-plant (Aubergines)
Gourds and Vegetable-
Marrows
Herbs, all sorts
Kohl Rabi
Lettuce
Locks

Lucerne

Lentils

Melons (sweet and

water)
Maize (Mealies)
Mangel-wurzel
Millet (Kaflir Corn>
Onions
Oats

Parsnips
Potatos
Peas
Parsley
Radish
Rhubarb
Savoys
Seakale
Spinach
Turnips
Tomatos
Wheat.

railway sleepers. — In answer to an en-
quiry, I may say that on the Canadian Pacific
from the Atlantic Coast to the base of the
Rocky Mountains, the ties are probably made
of Thuya occidentalis, as in most of the lines

All the above pay for growing, some of then>
being very remunerative. W. Miles, late of
South Africa.

— — ■ In reply to Mr. James Crabbe's en-
quiry in your last issue, I spent some sixteen
months in South Africa with my yeomanry
regiment. During that time we traversed!
parts of Cape Colony, Bechuanaland, Griqua-
land, Orange River Colony, and Transvaal,
where I noticed with infinite pleasure how
luxuriant and rapid was the growth of alb
imported Conifers and deciduous trees. The-
climate is admirably adapted to almost every
form of vegetation, but the curse of the^
country is its locusts, which at certain,
seasons sweep over huge areas, leaving not a
single green blade in their track. The absence-
of irrigation is also, of course, against success;
in some parts, but this can be overcome, as=
water may be found almost anywhere by-
boring. All the vegetables Mr. Crabbc-
enumerates should flourish exceedingly ;
indeed, I have seen most of them growing.
Some common Gourds and Melons are indi-
genous to the Transvaal, and Maize is the
staple crop of South Africa. Already large-
sums of money have been made by market
growers around Johannesburg, where big-
prices were given on the Rand for such
vegetables as Mr. Crabbe names. 1 shall be
happy to give Mr. Crabbe any further infor-
mation in my power, if you will put me in.
communication with him. James Wm. Watt.

cabbage clubbing.— All experience goes
to show that gas-lime, to be a successful de-
stroyer of the club or slime fungus in the soil,
or oven of the maggot-club, must be spread
over the ground early in the winter, left un-
touched a few weeks to become pulverised,
then spread more thinly and dug in. But
surely, no one of any experience would plant
a successional crop of the Cabbage tribe in
ground which had just previously carried' a
diseased Cabbage crop ! But if all the con-
tiguous ground alike is infested with club-
fungus or maggot, then is it well to dress,
every vacant plot in the way advised ; and if
there be a breadth of young Cabbages close
by, dress them with the lime in mid-winter,
and after it has been exposed a few weeks,
hoe or point it in. It has been said that it is
the sulphur in the gas-lime which destroys
the fungus. No doubt it does, but rather less
as pure sulphur than as sulphuric-acid, hence
the need of applying it so carefully. A. D.

January 4, 100J

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

13

cantaloup melons. — In reference to your
article on p. 405, I may state that I have
grown a variety of Cantaloup for the past
jthree years, and have no difficulty in getting
fruits that weigh 12 lb. each, with flavour
equal to many of our English varieties. Un-
fortunately, my present employer objects to
Melons of this size, preferring those of 2J to
3 lb. each, and I have heard of others who make
the same objection. Cantaloup Melons make
excellent jam when mixed with equal propor-
tion of Apple, Keswick Codlin preferred. Hy.
Harris, Castle Gardens, Wenvoe, near Cardiff.

RUST ON CHRYSANTHEMUMS. — A Writer Oil

p. -100 suggests that this is caused by artificial
manure. The same suggestion was made, I
well remember, in respect to the Potato-
disease, and the doom of that vegetable was
promised. I am of opinion that manure has
little or nothing to do with the rust in Chrys-
anthemums ; in fact, I hold a contrary
opinion, and that a well-fed, vigorous-growing
plant is not so liable to be attacked as is a
■weakly one. There are two periods in the
growth of the plants when the disease gene-
rally breaks out. Growers look for its ap-
pearance, and generally first find it, on the
bottom and almost exhausted leaves of a plant,
say during the early part of September, when
it (the plant) is finishing its growth. Another
period for the appearance of the "rust" is
soon after the cuttings are inserted, and
before they grow away freely. They may be
clean, apparently, when inserted, but shortly
afterwards the disease is found in the soft,
decaying foliage. Most growers know that if
these leaves are removed, and the plant
started into growth vigorously, there is little
to fear until the end of the summer, as already
mentioned. Almost my first experience of
this disease was with a bed of early flowering
varieties, which had stood on the same ground
two seasons ; they were planted in rows, one
row of each kind. The plants had no manure
or water, and the ground was in poor con-
dition. Early in August, when growth was
finishing, a variety well known as "Flora"
was so infested that the leaves and flowers, or
what would have been flowers, were as brown
as snuff. On each side the plants were af-
fected, but had a green appearance. It was
sufficient proof for me that manuring or high
culture had nothing whatever to do with the
disease, and it also proved that some varieties
were much more liable to its attacks than
others. With the Potatos, the remedy was
found in growing only those varieties which
were not liable to disease, and the result is
that crops were never heavier or Potatos more
plentiful. The same will occur with Chrys-
anthemums, only those varieties must be
grown which will withstand the ravages of
the "rust." Growers should make a note of
these, and form their collections accordingly.
Home varieties always show it first, and seem
to encourage an outbreak ; let these be
avoided, to commence with. W. J. Godfrey,
Exmouth.

Doubtless very many readers of the

note on above by A. J. Long, appearing in
the Gardeners' Chronicle, p. 474, Dec. 28,
will, with a sigh, perhaps, wish they could
believe the writer to be a true prophet. He
says, " but I think the disease is rapidly dying
out." This is not my experience of it. That
some localities will be subject to its ravages
more than others, also that some seasons will
favour the disease more than others, I have
no doubt whatever; but that it is "dying
out " 1 doubt very much, and gardeners should
be lulled into no fools* paradise by any such
belief. Anyone who has studied the habits of
these micro- fungus pests, and knows the
vitality of their resting spores, will not bo so
sanguine as the writer. 1 am sure that arti-
ficial manures do not cause the rust — I am as
sure as is A. .1. I,.; but that plants atlorded
high living, especially when nitrogenous
manure is employed, are more susceptible to
the attacks of these minute leaf diseases.
Anyone who doubts this fact has only to take
note of the ravages of phytophthora infestaDS
in Potatos grown upon poor land, and in those

where the tops indicate a plethora of high
living. Perhaps some other of your corres-
pondents will tike up this Cjuestion for the
general good. W. F. E.

late peas.— In reply to Mr. T. Lockie,
who asks whether I have grown the two late
Peas, Late Queen and Michaelmas together, I
have to say that I have not. I grew them in
diverse years, and therefore could not, of
course, submit them to that severe test as to
identity or otherwise that is found by growing
them side by side. I do not recollect either
as to how the seeds compare, but both are
wrinkled Marrowfats. I found both capital
late varieties, and have also seen them in
good condition as such in various gardens.
But both are too late to suit the purpose for
which I grow Peas chiefly. In Mr. Lockie's
case, something depends on the source from
whence he obtained his stocks. 1 fear that
there is not even now in seedsmen so great an
excess of virtue as to prevent in the case of a
stock being exhausted the sending of one good
variety for another. Still, we see enough of
Pea varieties at Chiswick to know that very
many differ more in name than in appearance.
A. D.

Canna mrs. kate gray. — I know nothing of
the parentage of this very large flowering
Canna. lc is extremely handsome, but here
by no means of dwarf habit, as stated in a
previ-us issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle,
Last season I grew several dozen plants,
most of which exceeded 5 feet in height.
Your correspondent, "W. Miiller, Naples, is in
error when he states that Italia cannot be
seeded. I obtained three seedlings from this
variety the first year it was grown here. Of
this fact 1 am quite certain. IV. ./. Godfrey,
Exmouth.

the identification of woods.— I should
be sorry if your readers should go away with
the impression that my paper before the
Society of Arts on Dec. 4 was chiefly an attack
upon any section of botanists. Anything of
the kind was far from my intention, and I
should be the last man to overlook the services
of the Indian School of Botanists, whose
labours have furnished us with a very largo
share of the knowledge wo possess of Eco-
nomic Botany. The key to my remarks lies in
the following sentence, which I used: "Per-
haps if the scientific side of our study can be
developed sufficiently to attract the attention
of botanical explorers, we may achieve our
end by their assistance." I think that these
words imply that wo shall do little without
them, and an anxiety to solicit their aid.
Apart from all this, the names you cite are
chiefly typical economic botanists whose work,
compared with that which remains to be done,
embraces but a small poition of the earth's
surface. Omitting India and those regions
under the influence of European civilisation,
such as Australia and North America, we find
scarcely any information of a reliable cha-
racter, and 1 could mention scores of species of
timbertreesof which the proper namescan only
be guessed at. No one knows what tree the
African Ebony comes from, nor the African
Mahogany, of which vast quantities arc im-
ported, nor African Oak, to mention one
locality only, yet the region has been fairly
well explored in the interests of systematic
botany. I am well aware that they are re-
puted to belong to certain species, but if is
only when one seriously attempts to trace a
wood to its origin that one finds how nie:igre
is the information on record. Horticultu-
rists are far more fortunately situated, because
explorers know that efforts made by them to
introduce or call attention to new planls will
moet with appreciation at home. It is other-
wise with timbers, for there arc so few who
would recognise their work upon them, and
they have no encouragement to collect infor-
mation. I have no doubt that, could they rely
upon sympathetic co-operation here, the
explorers will respond cheerfully enough, and
it is to this end that wo are looking forward
with much hope. Herbert Stone, Little Hay
House, near Lichfield, December 20, 1001.

Societies.

MANCHESTER AND NORTH OP
ENGLAND ORCHID.

December 12.
LIST OF AWARDS.
First-class Certificates.
Cypripedium x Leeanum var. Clinkaberryanum.— A
fine distinct form, with an unusual amount of white in
the dorsal sepal; this segment also, instead of recurv-
ing, bends its sides forward. O. O. Wriolft, Esq. ;
also G. W. Law Schoiteld, Esq.

Lajlia autumnalis alba. — A fine variety from J. Lee-
MANN, Esq. ; also awarded a Cultural Certificate.

Awards of Merit.

Cypripedium x Niobe var. exeelsa.— A good-sized
flower, and well coloured. A. J. Keeling.

Cypripedium insigne var. macranthum. — A large,
densely-marked var. O. O. WBIGLEY, Esq.

Cypripedium x aureum var. belgica ; Cypripedium x
Helen, C. bellatulum x C. insigne Chantini. R. Tun-
still, Esq.

Cypripedium x uitens var. albens.— A form approach-
ing an albino, very distinct. G. W. Law Schofield.

Cypripedium < Leeanum var. Albertianum. E.
Rogerson, Esq.

Ladia anceps var. Amesiana. — A variety with a very
brilliant frontal lobe to the labellum. Mr. J. Cypher.

Vanda ccerolea var. magnifica.— A finely-shaped and
richly-coloured form, bearing about 12 flowers on the
spike. Stanley, Ashton & Co.

Gold Medal.
For a group of Cypripediums. O. O. WBIGLEY, Esq.

Silver-Gilt Medal.
For a group of Orchids. Mr. J. Cypher.

Silver Medal.
For a group of Orchids. Stanley, Ashton & Co.
For a group of Orchids. Mr. A. J. Keeling.
For a specimen Cypripedium insigne Harefield Hall
var. (also Cultural Certificate). W. Duckworth, Esq.

Votes of Thanks.
For a group of plants. R. Tcnstill, Esq., E. Roger-
son, Esq., John Cowan & Co., Messrs. H. Low & Co.

P. W.

WARGRAVE GARDENERS'.
DECEMBER is.— The last meeting for the year 1901
took place on the above date, when Mr. Cretchley, of
The Honeys, Twyford, read an iuteresiug paper on
"Kerns: their Culture and Classification." He dealt
with spore formation and sowing, the treatment of the
plantlets, suitable temperatures, moisture, potting,
soils, manures, Ac. The different varieties were de-
scribed for stove and greenhouse cultivation. Insect
pests were mentioned, and a list of Fernsmost suitable
for culling, and nursery work was given, after which a
splendid collection of dried fronds, fully named, was
passed round for inspection. These proved a capital
object-lesson, and greatly enhanced the value of the
paper. A discussion ensued, and many doubtful
points were cleared up. A voteof thanks was accorded
Mr. Cretchley for his paper. Seven new members were
admitted. n. Coleby, Hon. Sec.

PARIS.

Till-: National Horticultural Society of France
paid a well-merited compliment to M. Victor
Lemoine, the well-known nurseryman of Nancy,
when, at the meeting of December 12, they
conferred on him the title of Membre d'Hon-
ncur. Elections were held en December 20 to
till up vacancies in the Council. Several
lists were submitted, of which that from the
Council was accepted, except in one case.
M. Albert Truffaut, of Versailles, was re-
elected as first vice-president ; the two other
vice-presidents are M. Opoix, head gardener
of the Luxembourg, and M. Maurice do Vil-
morin, brother of the late M. Henri 1.. de Vil-
morin, and President of the Comito des
Roaieristes. M. Eugene Vallerant, Begonia-
grower of Taverny, near Paris, is the new
member of the Council elected by his col-
leagues in opposition to a candidate proposed
by the Council. The place of the late M.
Ernest Bergman, general secretary, has i ol
yet been filled, the election having been
deferred as a mark of respect for the deceased.

14

THE GARDENERS' CUR 0 NI CL E.

[January 4, 1902.

The Minister of Public Instruction has
nominated M. Cosiantin as Professeur de
Culture at the Natural History Museum, in
succession to M. Maxime Cornu. M. Con-
stantin was proposed by the Council of the
Professors of the Museum, and by the Academic
dcs Sciences.

M. Schlagdenhauffen, the Honorary Director
of the Nancy Eeole do Pharmacie, has lately
published, in the Bulletin of the Nancy Societe
Centrale d' Horticulture, an interesting paper
on Coronilla. Having noticed that seeds of
C. varia, C. scorpioides, t&c., which are often
mixed with the seeds of cereals communicate
a peculiar bitter flavour to bread or to beer,
the author investigated the matter, and
isolated the active principle, to which he has
given the name of Coronilline ; stating that
this substance is poisonous. The effect of it
on the heart is analogous to that produced by
digitaline, and in small doses (less than
one-fiftieth of a gramme) it is beneficial in
some forms of heart disease. Coronilla emerus
is the only species which, under these ex-
periments, yielded no bitter principle. G. IT.
Orignan.

ENQUIRIES.

Failure of Lily of the Valley to Flower
well. — A correspondent resident in a midland
town would be glad to know if any other
reader of this journal can advise him in the
following circumstance. He says: "I have
been growing largo quantities of retarded
Lily-of-the- Valley, and have been very suc-
cessful with them, always potting them in
Cocoanut-fibre ; but having run out of fibre, I
put loOO crowns into peat, the result being
that about half of them rotted off, and the
other half came deformed. Some would throw
up the flower-spike and not the leaf ; others
the leaf and not the flower-spike. Do you
think the peat would have anything to do
with it? The crowns looked all right before
they were potted, and they were grown by
the side of others in Cocoanut-fibre which
were doing well.

©bttuar\>.

James FitzGerald Lombard, J. P. —It is
with deep regret that we have to chronicle
the death of Mr. J. F. Lombard, which took
place on December 23 at his residence, South
Hill, Upper Rathmines, Dublin. For many
years Mr. Lombard has been a well-known and
spirited citizen of the Irish metropolis, having
taken a deep personal interest in the initiation
of many important commercial projects and
industry, and he was financially interested in
business concerns, and years ago took a deep
interest in the development of the Dublin
Tramway Company. He was a member of the
French Legion of Honour.

To horticulturists he was known on account
of his interest in florist's flowers, such as
Tulips and Gladioli, while he was also famous
tor the cultivation of some of the best Apples
and Pears iu the Dublin district, having se-
cured the premier awards for many years from
the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland.

Always a staunch friend of the poor and
afflicted, he did much on their behalf through
the boards and committees of the numerous
civic and charitable institutions, hospitals,
&e., to many of which he belonged. Not only
did he give freely of his fruit and flowers to
his friends and acquaintances whose gardens
(if they possessed any) were less prolific than
his own, but he sent large quantities to the
Dublin hospitals as well.

His home at South Hill stands on the bank
of the Dodder River, above Miltown, and
sloped south or south-east, and both position

and soil suited trees, flowers, and fruit re-
markably well. Although he kept a practical
gardener, the initiative was his own, and he
grew everything he undertook to great per-
fection. He was well known to most of the
best fruit and fruit-tree growers in England,
as to the florists of thirty or forty years ago ;
and the late Mr. T. Rivers, Dr.' Robert Hogg,
and many others, used to visit him and his
garden whenever they were in Ireland. Only
last autumn Mr. Geo. Bunyard spent an even-
ing with him amongst his pictures, &c, of
which he was very proud, and his fruit-
trees and greenhouses. He was one of the
very few amateurs who kept up a collection of
Camellias during recent years. He was in
every good sense a hospitable and genial man,
and was deeply respected by all who had the
privilege of knowing him.

Mr. Lombard was in his eighty-fifth year,
and his funeral took place on the 26th lilt.
He was one of the last of amateur horticul-
turists that linked the gardening fashions of
the first half of the century to the last in
Dublin and its vicinity. F. W. B.

Col. Sir Henry Collett. — We have to
announce the death, at his residence, 21,
Cranley Gardens, last Saturday, of Col. Sir
Henry Collett, a distinguished Indian officer,
who had seen much active service. Apart
from his profession, Sir Henry Collett was a
keen student of botany, and at the time of
his death he was preparing a handbook of the
flora of Simla.

Jno. Crosfield, J.P.— Many of the readers
of this Journal must recall the glorious dis-
plays of Camellias and Chrysanthemums at
Walton Lea, Warrington. The large numbers
of the working classes who had the privilege
of inspecting them will share great sympathy
which must now be extended to the bereaved
family of the late Mr. Jno. Crosfield, J. P.,
whose death occurred on Thursday last from
an attack of bronchitis. Art and horticulture
the late Mr. Crosfield made his own particular
hobbies, and many encouraging testimonies
can be readily adduced. Orchid.

G. St. P. Harris.— The death of Mr. George
St. Pierre Harris, of Leads Hill House, Or-
pington, Kent, on the 26th nit., at the ad-
vanced age of 94 years, removes a remarkable
man from the list of cultivators of the Dahlia.
For a man of his ago, he had kept wonderfully
well and active, taking a great interest in
his garden, and especially in the Dahlia. It
is as a raiser of Dahlias that Mr. Harris had
been so well known amongst florists, and
for years he had cultivated the flower, occa-
sionally exhibiting, but devoting his energies
mainly to the production of seedlings, both
show and fancy. During the past year he ex-
hibited at the Crystal Palace, at the Royal
Aquarium, and also at the meetings of the
Royal Horticultural Society, such show varie-
ties as Flower of Kent, Brilliant, Queen of the
Primroses, Sunset, and Standard, the last-
named a deep chestnut-red self, obtained an
Award of Merit from the Royal Horticultural
Society. A highly promising fancy, named
Mariner, had a First-class Certificate of Merit
awarded to it at the Crystal Palace; at the
former exhibition it also received the Special
Prize offered by Mr. Richard Dean for the best
seedling fancy Dahlia of the year. A few show
Dahlias of Mr. Harris's raising are found iu
catalogues. One of the best known is Ruby
Gem, ruby-crimson, with slight yellow tip to
each petal ; and some years ago Mr. George
Rawlings named a scarlet-crimson self after
Mr. Harris, which is still a popular exhibition
variety.

During his lifetime Mr. Harris filled certain
public offices in the county of Kent, and when
he went into retirement from Chelsfield, ho
built himself a charming mansion on Leads
Hill, Orpington, and laid out a delightful gar-
den ; and here he found pleasant occupation,
especially in cultivating his named and seed-
ling Dahlias. Mr. Harris passed away peace-
fully after a short illness, leaving a widow.
He had the rare experience of living under
the reigns of five English Sovereigns. R. D.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS taken in the
Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens at Chiswick,
London, for the period December 22 to December 28,
1901. Height above sea-level 24 feet.

Tempera-

7,

Temperatube

ture of the

O

1901

a

OF THE AIB.

SoiLat9A.M.

a

D

O

53

O

AtWA.M.

<

a

a

5

hi
2

ft
o

S
13

ft
"3

ft
<s

o

L

a 8

'ii

OS M

b

a

a

5

K

43

o
o

43

<

»

cti

<

43

o

43

•4

B^

aa o °a

W H

o o

3

n

3

CD

CM

43
OF)

a

i

a es

u

a

fci

3

o

1-1

ai tc

be tu

&i

M

« o>

3

<D

to

■o | "a

■o

■o

•a ! -a

■a

■O

SUN. 22

N.E.

33 0 31 -436 '5

28-2] ..

35-7 40-2

45 1

27 3

MOST. 23

S.E.

2«'.'> 25 '6 42 T

25-70-22

35 5 40 0

45-0

24-4

Toes. 24

s.w.

38-736-843M

26 -0 0- 63

35 -6 39 8

44 8

25 1

Wed. 25

w.s.w.

33-9 33-5'40-6

30-8 0-03

36-139-5

44-5

231

Thc. 26

w.s.w.

34 -5 33 '7 41 -6

33-2 ...

36-139-7

44 3

26 3

FBI. 27

w.s.w.

34-3 32 -3 39*7

27 -9 0-0535 -739 '7

44-2

20-4

SAT. 28

S.E.

39 '4 38 -6J44 -1

25 -3 0-35 35 -4 39 -5

1 '

44-0

19-1

|

Tol

Means

...

34 -3 33 '141 -2

28 -2,1-28 35-7 39 -844 -6

1 1 1 1

237

Remar

ks.~ The temperature remains much about the

same a

s last week, with cold winds, slight snow-

si lower.'

, and rain on

live days.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
The following summary record of the weather through,
out the British Islands, for the weeks ending Dec. 21
and 28, ts furnished from the Meteorological Office :—

" The weather during this period was cold and un-
settled generally. Snow, sleet, or cold rain were
frequently experienced in the more northern and
western districts, but in the south and south-east the
weather was drier and fairer, and the rainfall slight-
Thunder and lightning were experienced at some north-
western stations on the 18th or 19th.

" The temiicruturc was below the mean in all parts of
the kingdom, the deficit in most districts being as
much as 5° or 6°. The highest of the maxima occurred
as a rule during the middle of the week, and ranged
from 53' in the Channel Islands, and 48° in Ireland, S.,
to 4T in England, E. and the Midland Counties. The
daily maxima at inland stations were frequently only
of a few degrees above the freezing point. The lowest
of the minima which, with some exceptions, were
recorded either on the 20th or 21st, ranged from 12° in
the Midland Counties, 19' in England, S.W., and from
between 20° and 23" in most other districts, to 31° in
the Channel Islands.

"The rainfall was more than the mean in England,
N.E., and just equal to it in Scotland, E., England,N.W.,
and Ireland, N. ; iu all other districts, however, it
was less.

" The bright sunshine exceeded the normal amount in
most parts of the kingdom, especially in the south and
south-west ; but was deficient in Scotland, W. and E.,
and England, N.E. The percentage of the possible
duration ranged from 48 in England, S., 33 in the
Channel Islands and England, S.W., to 11 in Scotland,
W., 9 in Scotland, E.. and (5 in England, N.E.

" The Ilarometer and wind.— The distribution of
pressure over our Islands changed frequently
during this week. The principal disturbances
were : one that moved quickly southwards over the
western part of our islands soon after the commence-
ment of the period, and disappeared over Spain, and
another system which, after travelling southwards

January 4, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

15

down the North Sea to our north-east coast, remained
stationary, and gradually filled up. As pressure to the
westward of these disturbances was comparatively
high, the northerly winds on our western coasts were
generally strong, and at times attained the force of a
gale ; but in the east and south the winds were more
variable, and lighter in force. At the end of the week
the barometer was falling decidedly along our western
coasts, and the wind in that region shifted to S. or
S.E., and was increasing in force.

" The weather was again in a very unsettled condition.
Rain was of almost daily occurrence in the more
southern and western districts, and rain, sleet, or
snow in the north. The falls were at times large—
especially those experienced over England on Saturday.

" The temperature was below the mean in all districts,
the deficit ranging from 2° in Scotland, N., and the
Channel Islands, to 4° in Scotland, E., and England,
N.E. and N.W., and to 5° in the Midland Counties and
Scotland, W. The highest of the maxima were recorded
on Saturday, when they varied from 52° in the Channel
Islands and England, N.W., to 42° in Scotland, E., and
England, N.E. The absolute minima, which were re-
gistered on irregular dates, were very low in many
inland places. At Newton Reigny on Sunday the
thermometer fell as low as 4°, and readings of 20° or
below occurred sometime during the period in most
inland localities. In Ireland, S., and the Channel
Islands, however, the thermometer did not fall below
24" and 31° respectively.

" The rainfall was mueh in excess of the mean over
the Kingdom as a whole, but less in Scotland, N. and W.
In many districts the fall was twice as much as the
normal amount.

"The bright sunshine was deficient generally, but
somewhat exceeded the mean value for the time of year
in England, N.E., E., and S., and also in Ireland, N.
The percentage of the possible duration ranged from
26 in the last-named district, and 24 in England, E., to
13 in England, N.W., and to between 9 and 5 in
Scotland."

THE WEATHER IN WEST HERTS.

In the early part of the week the weather remained
cold, and on one night the exposed thermometer
registered 17° of frost. On the other hand, the last few
days have been exceptionally warm, the shade tempe
rature on one of them rising to 56°. This sudden
change has caused the ground temperatures to rise
rapidly, but as might be expected under such condi-
tions, there is a great contrast between the reading at
1 foot deep and that at 2 feet deep— the latter being at
the present time 1° colder, while that at 1 foot deep is
4° warmer than is seasonable. Rain fell on four days>
to the total depth of an inch. Owing to the recent
heavy rains, the ground has become saturated ; in fact,
as much as 9 gallons of rain-water came through the
percolation gauge covered with grass during the week,
and 8 gallons through the bare-soil gauge. The winds
have been as a rule rather high, and the atmosphere
humid.

December.

This was a cold month, but at no time did the ther-
mometer on the lawn show more than 19° of frost,
which is by no means an exceptionally low extreme
minimum for December. The cold period of the month
lasted rather more than a fortnight, when on six nights
the exposed thermometer showed from 13° to 19° of
frost. The total rainfall amounted to 4j inches, which
is nearly twice the average quantity for the month-
making this the wettest December since 1886, or for
fifteen years. So saturated did the ground become
that very nearly the whole of the heavy rainfall came
through the 2J feet of soil in both the percolation
gauges. On two occasions during the month the
ground was covered with snow to the depth of 2 inches.
Although such a wet month, the record of sunshine
was rather in excess of the average. Both the strength
of wind, and the amount of moisture in the air, were
about seasonable.

The Yeah.

This was another warm year. January proved warm,
while February and March were unusually cold. The
next seven months, with the exception of June, which
was rather cold, were all more or less warm, July being
exceptionally hot The two closing months of theyear
were both cold. The rainfall proved very light ; indeed
in the last forty-six years there have been only six
other years as dry. The deficiency amounted to
5j, inches, which is equivalent to loss in water to
about twenty-six gallons on each squarcyard of surface
in this district. It was not only a warm and dry, but
also a very sunny year— with two exceptions, the
sunniest in the hist sixteen years.

RAINFALL (II Tin: | ,\sT TlllJF.K MONTHS.

Since the winter hall of the drainage year began in
October, the total rainfall has come short of the aver

age for those three i (lis by about an Inch, B.'Jf.,

JJerkhamslnl , December 31, 1801,

MARKETS.

COVENT GARDEN, JANUARY 2.
Cut Flowers, &c.— Average Wholesale Prices.

Asparagus 'Fern,'

bunch

Carnations, per

dozen blooms
Cattleyas, p. doz.
Eucharis, p. doz.
Gardenias, doz.
Lilimn Harrisii,

dozen blooms
Lil ium lancif olm.

album, p. doz.

blooms
Lilium rubrum,

per dozen ...
Lilium longiflrm.

per dozen ...

s.d. s.d. | s.d. s.d.

Lily of Valley, p.
16-26 doz. bunches 9 0-18 0

Maidenhair Fern,
1 0- 2 0 doz. bunches 4 0-80

9 0-12 0 Mignonette, per

4 0-601 doz. bunches 40-60
16-20 Odontoglossums,

per dozen ... 2 6-6 0
Roses, Tea, white,

per dozen ... 10-30
— Catherine
Mermet, per

doz 2 0-50

3 0-50 Smilax, p. bunch 30-50
Tuberoses, per

5 0- 8 0 I doz. blooms 0 4-06

Plants in Pots.
i

Adlantums, doz. 5
Axbor-vitse, var.,

per dozen ... 6
Aspidistras, doz. 18

— specimen, ea. 5
Cannas, per doz. 18
Crotons, per doz. 18
Cyclamen, p. doz. 8
Dracaenas, var.,

per dozen ... 12

— viridis, doz. 9
Ericas, var., doz. 12
Euonymus, var.,

per dozen ...
Evergreens, var.,

per dozen ...
Ferns, in variety,

per dozen ...

-Average Wholesale Prices.

d. s.d. { s.d. s.d.
0-7 0 Ferns, small, per

100 4 0-60

0-36 0 Ficuselastica, ea. 16-76
0-36 0 Foliage plants,

0-10 6 ' various, each 10-60

0 — Lily of Valley, ea. 19-30
0-30 0 Lycopodiums, p.

0-10 0 dozen 3 0-40

Marguerites, per

0-30 0 dozen 8 0-12 0

0-18 0 Myrtles, per doz. 6 0-90

0-36 0 Palms, var., each 10-15 0

— specimen, ea. 21 0-63 0
6 0-18 0 Pelargoniums,

scarlet, doz. 8 0-12 0
4 0-18 0 — Ivyleaf, per

dozen 8 0-10 0

4 0-18 0 Spiraeas, per doz. 6 0-12 0

Fbbtt.— Average Wholesale Prices.

Apples, home
grown, Wel-
lingtons, per
bushel

— Blenheims,
&c., p. bushel

— Nova Scotian,
various, per
barrel

— King Pippins,
per bushel ...

— LargeCookers,
per bushel ...

Bananas, bunch

— loose, p. doz.
Chestnuts, per

bag

Cobnuts, Kentish,

per lb.
Cranberries, case

— quart

Custard - Apples,

per dozen ...

Grapes, Muscats,

home-grown,

per lb., A. ...

B., per lb.

— Alicante, lb.

s.d. s. d

6 0-80
5 0-80

15 0-25 0

5 0-76

4 6-50

6 0-90
10-16

7 0-10 0

0 8} —

10 6 —
0 6 —

4 0-80

4 0-60
16-30

On-Ill

Grapes, Gros Col-
mar, A , p. lb.
B., per lb.

— Almeira, per
121b

per barrel

Lemons, per case
Melons, each ...
Oranges, Denia,
per case

— Jaffa, per case

— Jamaica, per
case

— Navel, per
case

— Tan gie line,
per case

Pears, in cases —
Glout Mor-
ceau & Easter
Beurr6

— stewing, per
crate

Persimmons, per

dozen

Pines, each
Sapucaia Nuts, lb.
Walnuts, per bag

s.d. s.d.

16-20
0 6- U 9

4 6-50
14 0-15 6
13 0-15 0

0 6-13

8 0-10 0

9 6-10 6

12 6 —
18 0 —
0 6-1 3

11 0

10-16
2 0-40
1 3 —

5 0 —

Vegetables.— Average Wholesale Prices.
e.d. s.d. i

Mint, new bunch
Mushrooms, house

per lb.
Onions, cases ...

— Eng., per cwt.

— in bags

— picklers, per
sieve

Parsley, per doz.
bunches

— sieve

Parsnips, p. cwt.

bag 2 6-3 3

Potatos, per ton.. 50 0-95 o

Artichokes, Globe
per dozen ...

— Jerusalem, p.
sieve

Asparagus Sprue,
bundle

— Giant

— Paris Green...
BarbedeCapucine,

bundle 0 4

Beans, dwf., house,
per lb

— Madeira.p.bkt.
Beetroots, new,

per bushel ...
Brussels Sprouts,

sieve

Cabbage, tally ...

— dozen

Cardoons, each...
Carrots, per doz.

bunches

— washed, bags

— unwashed, per
bag

Cauliflowers, doz.

— tally

Celeriac, per doz.
Celery,]2bundles
Chicory, per lb....
Cress, per dozen

punnets
Cucumbers, doz.
Endive, new

French, doz.
Garlic, per lb. ...
Horseradish, fo-
reign, bunch
Leeks, 12bunches
Lettuces, Cabbage,
per dozen ...

2 6 4 6;

10-16

0 8 —
10 6-18 0

5 0 —

1 6

2 0

13-16 — new. per lb.

— newTeneriffc,
2£0- 3 6 per cwt.

4 0 — Radishes, p. doz.
0 9-10, bunches
10 — 1 Rhubarb, Yorks,
per dozen ...
19-26 Salad, small, pun-
2 6-36 nets, per doz.

Salsafy. per doz.

2 0 — bundles

10-20 Savoys, tally
0-10 0 | Seakale, per doz.

2 0 —
9 0-11 0
0 3 —

i a —

2 0-70

13-16

0 3 —

10-16

1 6 —

1 6 —

punts

Shallots, per lb....
Spinach, English,

bushel
Stachys, lb.
Tomatos, Canary.

boxes

Turnip-Tops, bus.

— bag

Turnips, per doz.

bunches

— bag

Watercress, per

doz. bunches

II 4\ —
14 0-18 0
10-26
13-16

1 3 -

a b

5 0-!"':

10 0-12 0

0 2

2 0-00

03 —

2 6- 1 0

1 6 —

2 6 —

16-20

i •;- I e

Blenheim Orange Pippins are still coming in, as well as
Cockle Pippins. Italian Cauliflowers fetch 3s. 6d. to is
per basket of 18 heads. The supply of Misleto was
greatly in excess of the demand, and many cratesful
were thrown away.

Potatos.
Dunbar Main Crop, 90s. to 95s. ; Up-to-Date, 85s. to
90s. ; Blacklands, 50s. to 55s. ; various, 55s. to 80s. John
Bath, 33 & 34, Wellington Street, Covent Garden.

SEEDS.

London : January 1— Messrs. John Shaw & Sons, Seed
Merchants, of Great Maze Pond, Borough, London.S.E.,
write that today's seed market, as was to be expected,
was thinly attended ; and with the holiday spirit which
prevailed, transactions were' naturally few and unim-
portant. Meantime, botli as regards Clover seeds and
Rye grasses, a very firm feeling is current, and a
healthy, active business in these and other articles is
shortly anticipated. The high rates demanded for
foreign Spring Tares have been stopping the English
buying. There is no alteration this week in either
Mustard, Rape, or Linseed; Canary-seed, although
inactive for the moment, manifests a strong undertone.
The mild weather diminishes the sale of boiling Peas
and Haricot Beans. Some choice new Giant Scarlet
Runners are now obtainable on very moderate terms.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.

Glasgow, January 1.— The following are the averages
of the prices during the latter half of last week :—
Apples, Newtown Californian, 9«. od. to lis. per case;
Oregon, 12s. to 13s. do. ; Nova Scotia Baldwins, 22s. to
26s. per barrel; Maine, 20s. to 24s. do.; Canadian.
22s. to 25s. do. ; Grapes, 9d. to Is. 6d. per lb. ; home
do., Is. 2d. to 2s. do. ; Oranges, Valencias, ordinary,
420's, 7s. to 8s. per case; do., large 470's, 9s. 6d. to lis.
do. ; extra large do., 12s. 6d. to lis. 6<t. do. ; large 714's,
9s. 6rf. to 12s. 6rt. do. ; Jaffa, 8s. to 9s. do. ; Mushrooms,
Is. 3d. to Is. 6rf. per lb. ; Onions, Valencias, 5's, 7s. 6d. to •
8s. 6d. per case; globes,. 6s. 6d. do.

Liverpool: January 1.— Wholesale Vegetable Market.
—Potatos, per cwt. : Up-to-Date, 2«. 2d. to 2s. 8d. ; Main
Crop, 2s. 9d. to 4s. ; Lynn Grays, 2s. to 2s. Id. ; Bruce,
2s. 2d. to 2s. 8d. ; Turnips, 6d. to lod. per 12 bunches ;
Swedes, Is. 4d. to Is. M. per cwt. ; Carrots, 3s. to 3s. 6rf.
per cwt. ; Onions, foreign, 6s. 6d. to 68. 6cJ. per cwt.;
Parsley, sd. to is. per dozen bunches ; Cauliflowers,
is. 6d. to 3s. doz. ; Cabbages, Sd. to Is. 8d. do. ; Celery,
Sd. to Is. 6d. do. St. Johm : Potatos, Is. per peck ;
Cucumbers, Sd. to Is. each ; Grapes, English, Is. tid. to
2s. 6d. per lb. ; do., foreign, 6d. to Sd. do. ; Pines,
foreign, 3s. 6<i. to 6s. each ; Mushrooms, Is. per lb, ;
Filberts, Is. do.

CORN.

Average Prices of British Corn (per imperial qr),
for the week ending December 28, 1901, and for the cor-
responding period of 1900, together with the difference
in the quotations. These figures are based on the
Official Weekly Return :—

s.d. s.d.

Oil -

Description.

1900.

1901.

Difference.

0 8- 0 '.i
7 6- M li
7 0 —
5 8-60

2 0-30

Wheat

Barley

Oats

«. d.

26 4

25 10
. 17 2

8. d.
27 7
26 8
19 10

B. d.

+ 1 3

+ 0 10'

+ 2 e

i s- a n

1 0- 1 8

0 6-0 8

Remarks.— Cuoumbers are easier Id price. Custard
Apples fetch it. to 8». per dozen. Chow-Chows, le. 6jf.

per dozen. Apples, 8UCh ;is Cox's Orange, Kilistim. and
King Pippins, arc practically over, but some good

CULTURAL MEMORANDUM.

TOMATOS.
It has been my practice for several years to
sow seed of the Tomato for an early supply of
fruit towards the end of the month of Novem-
ber, and invariably with very good results.
When rearing plants at the dead of winter, it
is very essential to keep them in a warmhouso
or pit, as near to the glass as convenient, so
that they may receive all the sunlight possible,
otherwise growth will not be sturdy, or sub-
stance of leaf and stem firm; such plants
should now be making growth slowly in .'i-imli
pots. At this season, perhaps two of the-
worst mistakes that can be made is to afford
too much pot room and to afford much watei
young Tomato plants in winter requiring but
little water before the plants get fairly well
furnished with roots.- Another evil is to crowd
the plants closely together, as to do this tends

10

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 4, 1902.

to spindly growth. If no seed as yet has been
sown, I would advise a sowing to be made
without delay, sowing thinly and evenly in
well-drained pots filled with a compost con-
sisting of leaf-mould, loam, and sand, pressed
by hand firmly. The seeds should be scarcely
covered with fine soil. Stand the seed-pots in
a frame or house having a temperature of 60°
to G5% and should the soil be fairly moist, no
water should be afforded for some days, but
this will depend in great measure upon the
condition maintained in the house or frame,
and the position in which the pots are stood
or plunged. As soon as the seedlings are large
enough to handle transplant them, putting two
or three plants of equal size round the sides
of ;>-inch pots, using soil of moderate warmth.
If the seedlings have spindled in the seed-
pans, pot them down to the first pair of leaves.
At this stage the plants must have no check
whatever, and they should be placed in a
moderately moist house, having a warmth of
60° tj 65', more or less, according to the state
of the weather. When the roots touch the
sides of the pots, repot this time singly, and
using the same size of pot, or repot without
disturbance into others .of larger size; re-
peatedly repot when necessary till the plants
come into 10 and 12-inch pots, a pair of plants
in each. The best place iu which to fruit the
plants is a light span-roofed house, the stems
being framed near to the glass on wires or
rods arranged for the purpose. All lateral
shoots must be pinched out, and some of the
larger leaves reduced iu length. Where
growers for market adopt methods differing
somewhat from the above, as for example, they
drop the seeds in boxes of soil at about an inch
apart, lift the seedlings when large enough
and transfer them to sma'll pots. Turfy loam
that has been in stack for a year, and decayed
manure, suit Tomatos when fruiting. H. Mark-
ham, Wrotham Park.

CormipoTuUnU

Books : Davenport. The Book of the Rose, by
Rev. Foster Mclliar, published by Mac-
millan ; small publications of the National
Rose Society, as "Report on the Constitu-
tion of Rose Soils," " Report of Conferences
held by the N.R.S. in 1900," " On Roses for
Garden Decoration," "Hints on Planting
Roses," "The Hybridisation of Roses," the
N.R.S. Prize Essay.— Z. How to Lay Out a
Garden, by A. Kemp (Bradbury, Agnew &
Co., Ltd., 10, Bouverie Street, Fleet Street) ;
The Art and Craft of Garden-Making, by
T. H. Mawson (London : B. T. Batsford, 94,
High Holborn) ; Landscape Gardening, by
H. E. Milner (London: Simpkin, Marshall,
Hamilton, Kent & Co., Stationers' Hall
Court).

Deciduous Flowering Shrubs and Trees for
a Northern County: Agricola. Amelanchier
botryapium, double and single- flowered Cher-
ries, Tulip-tree, Pyrus Malus (The Crab) in
many varieties, Lilacs, Philadelphus coro-
narius and others, Forsythia viridissima, F.
suspensa, Stuartia californica, Staphylea
colchica, Sea Buckthorn, Catalpa syringfe-
folia, Viburnum Opulus, V. laevigata, V. Ian-
tana, Kolreuteria paniculata, Almonds, and
Prunus in variety.

Destruction of Plantains and other coarse
Weeds in Turf : J. a. L. We do not know
the composition of Watson's Lawn Sand, but
there are other substances that will make
grass grow vigorously, viz., nitrate of soda,
blood, and fish manures, applied when
growth has begun, and again twice or thrice
in the course of the summer. These may be

given together with dressings of loam, finely
sifted, and wood-ashes. If the grass is
thin, sow the finest lawn grasses and
clovers, but these should contain no Rye-
grass ; cover thinly with loam, and roll or
beat with a spade. This treatment must be
persevered in for two or three years. Grass
seeds may be sown in March and April, and
dressings of loam, &c, given at the same
time, or earlier. The effect of the extra
vigour imparted to the grasses is to smother
the weeds out of existence.

Gros Colman Grapes Decaying: A Sub-
scriber. The inability to use fire-heatduring
the month of December has undoubtedly
induced mouldiness in the bunches, as that
spreads very rapidly from berry to berry.
The damaged berries should be removed,
stalks and all, and burned forthwith. If the
flue or hot-water pipes cannot yet be made
use of, place vessels containing quicklime in
the house, or burn charcoal in braziers or old
iron buckets on days when air can be given.

Lawn-sweeping Machines: W. 8. If you will
furnish us with your name and address, we
shall be enabled to put you into communica-
tion with a firm dealing in these machines.

Lilium speciosum : E. B. The bulbs should bo
planted iu a warm, sheltered situation, the
ground, if possible, being shaded by dwarfer
plants. The soil should be manured, and
well worked and stirred to a depth of 15
to "2 feet. Make firm and plant the bulbs in
late autumn, or immediately they are obtain-
able at the florist's, putting them at the
least 6 inches deep, with sand above and
below them. ]f rats and mice be not feared
the bulbs may be left in the ground when
the stems die down, otherwise remove them
to pots, half filled with loamy soil, and pre-
serve them in a cold pit bedded in fresh
leaves, so as to keep the frost from them,
but not in such bulk as to impart heat, and
cover the pots with slates, &c, so that mice
or rats cannot enter. See an article on
Lilies, p. 23, in the issue of the Gardeners'
Chronicle for July 13, 1901.

MESEMBRYANTHEMUMS AND Al.TERNANTIIERAS :

W. M. You cannot raise the variegated
forms of either from seed so as to be avail-
able for bedding out, but you would do well
to purchase stock plants, and raise plants
from cuttings. The first should be started
in an intermediate temperature, and the
second in the stove, say from 00° to 75°. It
will be soon enough in February to make a
start with the propagation of the plants.

Mushrooms: J.Hamlin. Withdraw them from
the soil with as little disturbance of the
soil as possible. It is not a safe practice to
cut off the stem at the ground-level, and
leave the root and remains of the stem to
decay in the bed.

Names of FRUIT: Fairlawn. l,Beurred'Arem-
berg ; 2, Notaire Minot; 3, Caroline; 4,
unknown ; 5, Cockle Pippin ; 6, Rymer ; 7,
Nelson Codlin. — T. H. B. 1, Bera;amotte
Dussart ; 2, Royal Russet ; 3, Harvey's
Pippin ; 4, Hunt's Deux Ans.

Names of Plants : F. E. fifj, & Co. We cannot
undertake to name varieties of Chrysanthe-
mum, or other " florists' " flowers.

Old Gardening Books ; F. W. M. The books
named have little horticultural value. Book
collectors might value them as curios, and
the price3 given in your note are the utmost
you could obtain for them.

Pears: R. W. R. The supposed B. Diel was
much over-ripe, besides being damaged, so
that it, and the long Pear, also over-ripe,
could not be identified. The round Pear we
-will endeavour to name for you in our next
issue.

Petroleum and Paraffin : A Reader. The
first consists of several substances of a
bitumenous nature found in rocks in many
parts of the globe. Liquid petroleum or
mineral oil is found in all localities where
bitumen or asphalte exists in quantity in

the rocks. It varies in composition and
densityaccording to whether it be obtained
from shallow or deep wells, the former
giving the heaviest and darkest product.
Paraffin is mostly obtained by destructive
distillation in retorts of shales, cannel-coal,
wax, peat, wood, &c.

Zonal Pelargonium: J. Hamlin. As it is
during the winter and late autumn that
these plants when grown in pots are most
valued, the gardener will in a measure be
guided by the state of the weather in ap-
plying artificial heat. On sunny days, not
much heat may be needed, a? but little venti-
lation is given and in bad weather scarcely
any, although what is called "a chink of
air " should always be afforded when frost
is not severe. Generally speaking, the
temperature may range by day from 55° to
60° with sunshine, 5° less in cloudy and very
cold weather, and by night 45° to 48°.

Communications Received.— R. T., Jamaica.— C. S. S.,
Boston, U.S.A.— W. E. G— R. P. B.— .1. W.— A. H.,
Pennsylvania— J. B., Gateshead— W. J. G., Exmouth—
Von Saint Paul, Fischbach— M. M., Geneva— R. F. K.—
L. C— H. W. W— W. B. H.-T. H. E.— J. W. O., with
thanks — A. J. C— W. G. S.— N. E. D., Gothenburg —
G. M.— L. U. G.— D. W.— F. W. F.— G. N— J. O'B-
A. II. S.— R. I. L — W. Baldwin, too late to be of
interest.— J. V. & Sons — Charles Sharpe & Co. — W. M.
— S. A.— G. P., Naples— L. L.. Brussels— C. The ac-
knowledgment of the receipt of a communication by
no means implies that it will be published. — O. O. W.
— The Dean of Canterbury— H. Berry— .T. M.— E. C-
A. S. & Sous— Neil Sinclair— D. R. W.— S. B. D.— J. A.
— C. T. D.-R. B. L. <t Sons— W. F. E.— C. C. H— R. B.
—P. B.— E. S— A. A. Fabius— " Bristol"— Little &
Ballautyue-R. W. R.— Witty— T. R— H. R.— G. G.

CATALOGUES RECEIVED.

SEEDS.

David W. Thomson, 24, Frederick Street, Edinburgh.
MISCELLANEOUS.

The Vineries, Ltd., Vineries Road, Acock's Green,
Birmingham— Dahlias, Hardy Flowering Plants,
Fruit Trees, and General Nursery Stock.

W. Wells & Co., Ltd., Eaiisuood Nurseries, Redhill,
Surrey— Supplement to Chrysanthemum List.

S. Mortimer, Rowledge, Farnham, Surrey — New Cactus
Dahlias.

W. J. Godi-rey, Exmouth, Devon— Chrysanthemums,
<tc.

ToonoOD & Sons, Southampton— Garden Seeds, etc.

J. Wood, Penrith— Garden Seeds, etc.

Brown & Wilson, Hi, Market Place, Manchester-
Garden Seeds, &e.

PuOTnEROE & Morris, 67 it 68, Cheapside, London-
Register of Nurseries, Market Gardens, Farms,
Florist's, Seed Businesses and Partnerships to be
let or sold.

W. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross, Herts— Seeds and
Sundries.

Leuuatt, Blake & Tve, Seed Merchants, Guildford —
Sweet Peas, with Cultural Notes.

T. Methven & Sons, 15, Princes Street, and Leith Walk,
Edinburgh— Seeds aud Imperishable Labels.

Dobihe & Co., Rothesay, N.B.— Seeds, Hardy Plants,
&c.

J. Peed & Son, West Norwood, London, S.E.— Seeds,
ct;-.

Bell it Bieherstedt, Leith— Wholesale List.

Howden &Co., Old Post Office Buildings, Inverness.

Little it Ballantvne, Carlisle.

McHattie & Co., Grosvenor Nurseries, Handbridge;
and Northgate Street, Chester.

GARDENING APPOINTMENTS.

Mr. G. H. Martin, for the last three years Indoor
Foreman at The Gardens, Kiuloch Castle, Rum, by
Oban, N.B.,as Head Gardener to Mr. Smith, Tranby,
Park, Hessel, Hull.

Mr. Neil McFadyen, for the last five years at
Dalquharran Castle, Dallly, Ayrshire, as Gardener
and Land Steward to Prince Smith, Esq , Gleulee
Park, New Galloway, N.B.

Mr. E. Branson, for twenty-one years Gardener at the
Rectory. Nowell, Notts, as Gardener to Mr. Fisher,
Bramcote Hills, near Nottingham.

Mr. G. Watts, late Head Gardener at Wroxham Hall,
Norfolk, as Head Gardener to Lt.-Col. Sir Fredk.
Cauden, Bart., Stargroves, Newbury, Berks, com-
mencing his duties on January 1.

Continued Increase in the Circulation of the
"GARDENERS' CHRONICLE."
IMPORTANT TO ADVERTISERS. — The Publisher has
the satisfaction of announcing that the circulation of the
"Gardeners' Chronicle" has, since the reduction in the
price of the paper, more than

*S- TREBLED. -**

Advertisers are reminded that the "Chronicle" circulates
among Country Gentlemen, and all Classes of
Gardeners and Garden-lovers at home, that it has
a specially large Foreign and Colonial Circula-
tion, and that it is preserved for reference in all the
principal Libraries.

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Supplement i.i the "..iudeiier- Clironlolo," Junuitj ,, IMS.

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% Meukig Illustrate journal

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FOR OYER SIXTY YEARS

THE LEADING JOURNAL.

Among our Correspondents
ALPINE AND HERBACEOUS PLANTS :-
ARNOTT, 8., Dumfries.
CORREVON, II , Geo, ■,*
DEWAR, D-. Glasgow.
DOD, R«v. C. WoUey, Malpas.
ELLACOMBE. Rev. Canon, Bitton.
ELWES, H. J-, Andovprsrard.
EWBANK. Rev. II.. tlia late, ttydc.
FOSTER, Prof. M., Cambridge.
HARTLAND, Baylor, Cork.
IRVING, W., Kew.
JENKINS, E., Hampton Hill.
WILSON, G. P.. F.R.S., V

(ESTABLISHED 1841)
and Contributors to recent Volumes the following, out of many Hundreds, may be named :

. Woybridn"'.

Its contributors comprise the most

Experienced British Gardeners,

and many of the mi ist

Eminent Men of Science,

at home and abroad.

IT HAS AN INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION FOR ITS ILLUSTRATIONS OF PLANTS.

Specimen Copy post free on application to the Publisher,

H. G. COVE, 41, WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND, LONDON.
• * May he ordered of nil Booksellers and Newsagents, and «t the Railway Booh at a I is.

THE

COTTAGERS' CALENDAR

OF

GARDEN OPERATIONS,

A new and revised edition of this little book, of which 280,0U0 have been already issued, is now readt.
It was originally drawn up by the late SIK JOSEPH PAXTON, and has been repeatedly revised and brought
up to date by the staff of the Gardeners' Chronicle, It is particularly Buited to the needB of cottagers and
allotment-holders, and forms an excellent manual for County Council lecturers and their pupils.

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Parcels of not less than twenty-five delivered, Carriage Free, in LONDON only.
Not less than one hundred Carriage Paid to any part of Great Britain.

AMATEUR GARDENING -
BENNETT-POB. T. J.
BOYLE, Hon. Mr*. " E. V. B."("Doys

anil Houra In a Garden ">.
CORDEROY. JortUB
ELLACOMBE, Rev. Cnnon.
BWBANK, Rov. II., the late. Ryde.
FREEMAN-MiTFORD.A. B.
GUMBLETON, W. E., Bolgrove, Cork.
WEIR, llitrrisi.n, Airledore.
WILKS. Rev. W , Shirley, Surrey.
WILLIAMSON, Rev. IX. Kirkmaiden.

WILSON. G. F., F.R.S., Weyoridge,

ARBORETUM, &c.:~

ANNESLEY. tlie Earl of.

ACTON, T., Kllmaeurragh.

BEAN. W. J., Kew.

BOOTH, J., Berlin.

CROUCHER, G.. OehU-rtyre, Crieff.

DUCIE, the Earl of,

NICHOLSON, G., late Curator, Royal

Gardens, Kew.
POWBRBCOHRIP, Viaconnt,
RASHLEIGH, J.. MeuabiUy.
SARGENT, Prof., Arnold Arlmr. r,,.,,.

Cambridge, U.S.A.
STRICKLAND. Sir C Bart

CHEMISTRY :-

CHURCH, Prof. F.R.S.
DEHBRAIN, Prof., Pans.
DYER, Bernard.
M1TCHBLL, W. S.
MCI.LRR, Dr. Hugo, F.R.S.
TRUFFAUT, Georges, Versailles.
WARINGTON, R., F.R.S,
WILLIS, J. J , Rotliumated.

DISEASES OF PLANTS :-

BIDGOOD, John, (fatesheod
BOS, Dr. Rit/iiu.i, Wageningeti.
COOKE. Dr. M. Cj
KLEBAHN. Dr., Bremen.
MASSEE. G , K.w
MURRAY', G , British Museum.
PAGET, the late Sir James, B\B S,
PLOWRIGHT, Dr. C. B.
PRILLIEUX. Prof. Paris.
SMITH, W. G,, Dunstable.
SMITH. Dr. W. 0., Leeds,
SORAUER, Prof., Prosknu.
WARD. Prof. Marshall.

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE, Limited,

41, WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND, LONDON, W.C

BAKER. J. G , Kew
DRUBRY. C. T , Acton.
BBMSLB-T-, A,

IENHAN G s, British Guiana,
gi aNBIDER, G., Chelsea.

FLORISTS' FLOWERS, &c. :-
CANNELL. H-. Sivanlej.
DEAN, R . Ealing.
D'OMBRAIN. Rev. H H, West wall.
DOUGLAS, J , Great Bnukhum.
ENGLEHEART. Rev. G., Andovcr.
HORNER, Rev. ft. D.

HOLYNliUX. E , Bwi OK Gardens.

PAYNE. C. Harn.iin.
smith, Martin, The Wan-on, Hayes
Common.

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE !-
AI.Ui'FF, Dr. the l»te. Odesi l
ANDRE, By, Paris
BAILEY, Prof, Ithaca, N.Y.
BARRON. L , Now York
BRI'ITdn, Dt . New Yorl
DUDDE, J. K., Utrecht.
CARLES, W. K. I'-i. ntslll
CHRIST. Dr., Basle.
CORCORAN, m . Odi isa
i i OTEHUS, in Amsterdam

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE :-
CLOS. Prof., Toulouse.
CREPIN.lateDircitor.BotanieGarden,

ctrnmel*
CBIB, Prof., Bonnes,
DAHLMARt, N. E., Gothenbuig.
DAMMEK, Dr. Udo, Berlin.
DAVEY, .1. Burtt, Univ., California.
DE CANDOLLE. Caximir, G-neva.
DINTEIt. Great Namao/ialand
DRIJDE, Prof., Dresden
ENGLER. Pror., Berlin. "
FOuSTER.O .Schml.bi, Upper Austria.
FRANCESCHl.Dc.SIa Barbara. Calif.
QO"DALE, Prof., Harvard UdIvi rsity
GOEZE, Dr.. Griefswald.
GRIGNAN, G., Paris.
HANBUIIV. Gomm., La Mortola.
HANSEN. G., California.
HANSEN, Prof Curl, Copenhagen
HENRICjUES. Prof,. Coimbra.
HENRY, D-. A , '
KERCHOVE, Cointa de, Gand.
KOLB, Man, Munich
KRELAGB, Haarlem.
LAET, Gbntlch.
LEHMANN, H.. Popoyau.
LEICHTUN, Max Baden-Baden.
LEMMON, J. G., fiaklaud, California.
MACFARLANE, Prof. Philadelphia.
MICHELI, SI.. Geneva
MONTEIUO. Chcv., Lisbon.
MOTTET. H.. Soeaux.
NELSON, W.. Juhan nesberg.
OI.IVEIRA, J. D\, Oporto.

PAUL. Bar

PENZir "

PROS!
ODI

i St.

Prof,

ROEHEI.IN, D,n„>,,i,
ROVELLT. Sig., I'allaiizn,
SCHRUTER, D. Zuri.-l,.
80LMS, Prof. Count, SlrasbuiL-.
SURINGAR, Prof.. Leydeu.
TRELEASE. Prof.. St Louis
VAN TUBERGEN, C. G.

Haarlem.
VALLANCB, J., California.
VILJHORIN, Maiuu-.- ile, Paris.
WAUGH. Prof., Bnrlinct.m, U.S.A.
WIGMAN; Bot. Garden, Buitenzorg.
WILLKOMM, Pn.r., Prague.
WITTMACK, Dr., Berlin.

FORESTRY :—

BRANDIS, Sir D Boon.

FISHER, Pr"f., Coojier's Hill.
FORBES, A. C.IateoL Bowoud, Wilts.
FRANCE. C. S , Aberdeen.
MAYIi. Dr., Munich.
MICU1E, C. Y., the late, Cullen.

I
ROGERS, Capt H., Plymouth.
SCHLICH, Dr.,Siii"niit.-n.b-iil, Forest
Department, Cooper's Hill,
UPSON. J., Lateoi Wortley.

FRUIT CULTURE ;—

BALTET. C, Troyih.
BARRON, A. F.. Chlswli H
BUXYARD, G., Miii'l>i"!i'.-. K
CASTLE, L,, Rid.mont.
eHHA-rj, ■).. Cmwl»y, Sussi -
CRUMP, W., Madvesneld Cowrl
MARKUAM, H., Vfrotham Park.
RIVERS, T. F., SuwbiiilKewi.rtb.
ROUP.-LL. W., Streathaui
TURTON, V., Sherborne I i
WOODWARD, G.,BarhamCourtGrdna.

GARDEN BOTANY :-

BARER. J. G., F.R.S
BALFOUR, Prof. R, Edinburgh.

BROWN, X. E . ll.ri.ai i, Kew.

BURB1DGE, F. W„ Botanic Gardens,

Dublin.
CLARKE, C. B.
]iT HI;. Sit W 1' 1 l. —;i ■■ ho. ;■■: .

Royal Gardens, Ken
ELWES. H. J., Andoversford.
HEMSLEY, W. B., F.R.S., Kew.
HOOKER, Sir J. D., tt.O.SJ . late

1 hi, ,1,,,-. Koynl Garden-., Kew.
JACKSON, J. R-. late 01 Museums,

RnvoJ Gardens, K»w
LEIfHTl-lN, Mai, Badeu-Bodeu.
LINDSAY. R.
MOORE, F.W.,Royul BuUnieGiiideuB,

Glosnevln,

GARDEN BOTANY :-
MOORE. Spencer.
OLIVER, Prof., F.R.S.
RESDLK. D-.. Nat. Hist. Muse\im
NO '['[ELLIOT, G. F. 8.
STAPF, Dr., Kew.
WITTROCK, Prof.. Stockholm.
W0RS> EY. A.. Isleworth.
WORSOELL, W. C, Rev.

GARDEN INSECTS :-
BLANDFORD, F.
McLACHLAN, R., F.R.S.
MICHAEL, A. D., I R.S.
XEWSTEAD. R., Chester.
WATERIKIUSE. C, O.
WESTWOOD, Prof., F.R.S. the h

LNDU AND THE COLONIES :-

ADLAM. R. W.j JohannesbniB

BIRDWOOD, fir G., India Office

BOLUS, H., Capetown,

BROADWAY, W. E.. Botanical Gar-
dens, Grenada, W.I.

BUCHANAN, D., Maekie, Queensland.

BUTTERS, J. J., Port Elizabeth.

CRADWICK, W. Hope, Botanic Gar-
den-,, Kingston, W.I.

CURTIS, C. Penang.

DUTHIE, J. F., S-iharunpore.

FAWCETT, W.,Snpenntendent, Botani-
cal Departnient. Jamaica.

FORD. C, Hong Kong.

GUILFOYLE, W. R.. Melbourne

HART, J. H., Superintendent, Botanical
Department, Trinidad.

HOLZR, M.. Adelaide.

IM THURN, Everard. British Guiana.

JENMAN, G. B., Bntish Guiana,

KING. Sir George; I'.il ST, late Direc-
tor. Roval Botanic l.idus., Cah'Utta.

MACOWAN, Prof., Cape Town.
MACOUN. Prof., Ottawa.
HA MAHON, P., Brisbane.
MAIDEN. J. H..Syd. ev.
McMILLAN, H. F., Peradeniya,

Coylnn.
MORRIS. D., Imp Cum mi ssi oner, W.I.
MURTON, H. J., Siam.
PEXha. LOW. Prof. Montreal.
PRAIN Bit geon Major Cmlcntta.
RIDLEY, H. N-, Superintendent,

Botanical Department, Singapore.

LANDSCAPE GARDENING :-
ANDRE, E„ Pans.
CHEAL, J., Crawtoy.
GOLDRING, W., Ki »
JACKMAN. J., Woking.
HAWBON, H. T.. Windermere,
MILNER, H. E., London.

ORCHIDS :-

BOUND, W P., Gatton Park
CHAPMAN, H. J., Cainberwell.
rviGNIAUX, Prof., Vervicrs.
COOKShn. n ., WvliUn-ou-Tyne.
DE I!. CHAWSHAY. Scvenoaks.
HL'RST, C. C

KK.EN^LIN, Dr. P., Berlin.
LAWRENCE, Sir Trevor, Bart.. M.P.,
p.,.. hi, rit. Royal Horticultural Soe,
LINDEN, Lucicn. Brussels,
MURRAY, W., Wylanmn-TynB.
O'BRIEN, James,
PFITZER, Prol., Heidelberg,
RENDLE. A. B., Brit Mus.
ROLFE, R. A., Kew.

ROSS. C m .. Florence.

SANDER, P., St. Albans,

SMEE, A. H., the law, Wellington.

SWAN, W , Tlioiuiote, Stain, -.
VEITi'll. H .1 , E.L.S.
WBATHBR3, P., Warn liester.
WHITE, R B . Arddarroch.
WHITE, W. II., gr., Sir I I
YOUNG. W. H., Clare Lawn Gardens,
E. Sheen.

PRACTICAL GARDENWG :-
BAIN, W., Borlbrd Lodgi
Dorking

Bid iTIIEUS'lTiN, l; I' , T>m n ;liame

Gardens, Preatonklrk,
BUNYARD, T,

I PRACTICAL GARDENDNG :~

CLAYTON, H. J., Grlmstoc Parif
COOK, A. «"'., Coi(i|.ti.n H.
COOMBBR,T..Th. Hendre.MonmonH
CCLVERWELL, W., Thorr* Perrow
CUMMINS. G. W.. late of (.'. i
DAVInSON, R.. Colfurd.
DAY, Galloway Him -
. Kingston.
DIVERS, W H., Belvoii Cai
DOUGLAS, J., Great Bookham
DUNN, M , late, Dalk--itl. Palae- Orln
HARROW, R. L., Edinburgh Botaoi

G iideni

HEMSLEY. A.
HBRRIN, C.

HUDSON, J., Griuiicr-ilnitv House.
HUGHES, J Wentworth WoodbOIU

Gardens, Rotherham.
JONES. C. H., Ol* Hall Ganlen

Rarseia Hill.
KLMI'-IIAIJ.. H., Lamport Ha

Garde rn, N,irttiain|itoii.
KIRK, A.. Norwood lianiens, Alio*.
LEACH, W. C, Alh.irv Park Garden!
I.INiis.w, R., Bdinbnrgh.
LYNCH, R. I, Botanic Garden!

Cambridge.
MACKINLAY, Geo., Wrest Park Q*

dens Ampthill.
MALLETI, Q. IS., Colaheiter.
MARTIN. H. T., Stoueleigh Abbe;

Gaolens, Kenilworth.
MclNTYRE, J-, Woodside Garden.

Darlinirton.
Mi INTVRE, M.
McLEOD, J. F., Dover House Gs

dens, Boehampton.
MAYNB, J , Bicnn.
MELYTLLE, D., Dnnrobin Gardens.
miles. Q, t., Wyoombe Abbi ( Grid
MILLER, J. W., late, Ruxley Lodgi
MILLER. W., late of foombe Abtw
MOLYNBUX. E.
MOORE, F. W., RoyalBotaiue Garde

Glasnevin.
ODELL, J. W., 81 lomore
PETTltiREW, A., (. anlirf Castle Grdn
POPE, W., Bighclere Gardens.
POWELL, D. C. Powderham Csstli
PRINSEP, H. C, Uekilcld.
ROBERrS. D.
SIMPSON, J.
SI ADA, T. H.

SMITH, J., Mentmiire Garden,
STANTON, G., Park Place Gardei

TALLACK,' J. C, Shtj.ley Hall.
TEMPLE, M-, Carrou House Gardei

N.B.
THOMAS. 0., late of Royal Gardei

TOwnsend, w. J.. Wokingham.
WADDS, B., Birdsall, Yorks.
WALLIS, .1.
WARD. A

WARD, M. W., Ravleyih.
WATsnN, \y . R,,vr,i i,.,|.|-m-, K-
WEBBTER, C-, Gordo,, O.stle Ganie
WHYTOCK, J., Dalk*>l'h.
WILLIAMSON. W., Tartu GoTdi

WILSON, D.Tlio Park, Prestwicl

W Q 1TB, G-, Rollesioi

Ginhlns.
WYTHES, G., Sioti Hon-. I
And many others.

D'OMBRAIN, Rev. U. H.. Weil

K.nt.
FISH, Di T. Hie :
Hi U.K. R , Vey Rev. Mean, RocUi
MAWLEY, I'., " Rosehank, Q rfc

nil. G-, Ghi ■■:■ ■
PAUL, W W.illlmtn rro.s
VIV1ANU MOREL Lvons.
WILLIAMSON, Bi i Ll. K(i i

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY, &C. :
BONAV1A, Dr. E.
BOULGBR, Pi .1 ■■ P.
DE VRIt 9, Prof, llneo
FOSTER. Sn Mn l> ,■
HBNS1 "iv. Bey, Pwf.
BCOTT, Dr., Kew.
BOLMS i

r i : I Fl AUT, G-, Vi i
WA1 i U B, Alfred, Di
w EIS8 Dt , sfanchmter.
7m i Mh.\- Pr wnr, H burj

<

O

<

m
w

a
w
u

January 11, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

17

,^>a

THE

dfartam' d{ltrmttcle

No. 785.— S A TURD AY, JAN. 11, 1902.

CONTENTS.

America, gardeners in

Meliosma myriantha...

30

llic United Slates of .

£0

Metropolitan Public

Angelonia grandiflora

Gardens Association

23

alba

18

Newlands, Harrow-on-

Apple-crop, the short,

the-Hill

28

in America

22

Novelties of 1901

22

Benevolent Institu-

Obituary—

tion, Gardeners'Roj'al

2a

Rollisson, Charles ...

35

Books—

Orchid Notes aud

The Woodlands' Or-

gleanings

IS

chids

31

Orchids, the culture of,

Books, sale of

27

in leaf-mould

2ti

Botanical Magazine ...

27

Otto of Rose

27

Carnation, the, or July

Palms in the Riviera ...

34

Mower

33

Palms, three, often

Chrysanthemum rust...

33

wrongly named

is

Cordon Plum-trees ...

31

Peas, late

33

Epergne, a new-shaped

28

Peas, popular and ster-

Flower - show at the

ling varieties of

32

Cape

28

Plants, new or note-

Flowers in season

27

worthy —

Fruit culture in the

Cattleya xUothwellke

IK

United States

28

Vitis (?) Voinieriana .

18

Fruit-drying

20

Potatos

34

harden, the, as a

Pruning, on

20

hobby

17

Rainfall for 1901

33

Hall, a royal, for the

Riviera, plants in flowei

RH.S

23

on the

27

Larch, the Japanese ...

33

Rose General Shabli-

Lily of the Valley, forc-

kine

18

ing of

34

Seed crops of 1901

3.1

T.ilies

30

Soils, the humus of ...

23

Market gardening-

Sweet Peas, select va-

Cucumbers, the rais-

rieties of

27

ing of

29

Tea- supply of Great

Melons, early, and pot

Britain

27

culture

30

Week's work, the

24

ILLUSTRATIONS.

AiThontoplioMiix Alexandra? 19

Muliosma myriantha .,. 31

Piychospermaelegans 21

Views of '* Newlands," Harrow-on-the-Hill, p. 29, and
Supplement.

THE GARDEN AS A HOBBY.

IN an article under tbe above heading,
which appeared on December 14, Dr.
Bonavia ridicules the advice given by Mr.
F. T. Mott in one of his papers on "A
Midland Garden," to the effect that ''old
men who retire from business and have
nothing to do but eat and sleep, and read
the papers, die off rapidly. They should
itake to gardening, and do part of the actual
work themselves." According to Dr. Bonavia,
it is useless for anyone who has not studied
gardening from childhood to attempt the
acquirement of even the rudiments of that
art in advanced years. The poor retired
business man is portrayed as incapable of
<loing anything in the garden with intelli-
gence, and as being ignorant even of the
rational method of plucking a Rose. Such
si sweeping assertion is calculated to
carry despair to the heart of every in-
offensive leisured individual who con-
templates solacing his declining years
by taking an intelligent interest in his
garden, and may well add yet another
to that inane crowd of " creatures,"
who are pictured "waiting for death" in
their club armchairs. But let the successful
business man, when he seeks his well-
earned retirement, and turns his thoughts
gardenwards, take heart of grace, for there
nic many, whose knowledge of garden-lore
is by no means limited, who will echo the
comforting advice given by Mr. Mott, and
assure him ihat there is no valid reason why

that intelligence which has led him to
success in business should utterly desert
him as soon as he sets foot in his garden.
That a life-long apprenticeship to gardening
is of inestimable worth will be admitted by
all who are conversant with the subject
practically and theoretically ; but there is
no more reason for a man's refusal to turn
his attention to horticulture because he is
not qualified to take the place of the late
Sir John Lawes or Sir Henry Gilbert than
there is for a child's objection to learn the
alphabet because it cannot read a book.

There was a time when those eminent
men knew nothing about soils; and when the
writer of the most learned book could not
read. Knowledge comes by slow degrees,
and never attains perfection. There is no
finality in learning. The more a man knows
of any subject, the more conscious he be-
comes of how much pertaining to it there
still remains to be learnt. The wisest among
us never cease being learners. If a man
were to set himself to the study of a subject
from his earliest childhood to his death-bed.
he would not learn all that might be known
of it. Years, perhaps ages later his know-
ledge would be amplified in directions he
never dreamed of. If, therefore, any have
perforce delayed their initiation into the
mysteries of Flora's lore until maturer
years, let none dissuade them from devoting
the remainder of their lives to its study, but
rather urge them so to do. They will not in
all probability become deeply learned, and
they can no more hope to acquire the expe-
rience possessed by those who have been
studying from their youth upwards, than
can the man who takes to golf in middle age
expect to rival the supple agility of the
player who has wielded a club from a lad.
but they will gain useful knowledge even in
this incarnation, knowledge acquired amid
the delightful surroundings of the fresh air
of heaven, and the breath of countless
fragrant flowers.

There is much that the veriest tyro in
gardening can do without running the risk
of committing any fatal blunder. Staking
and tying plants requires an artistic eye.
rather than horticultural knowledge. Pick-
ing off dead flowers and seed-pods, training
climbers, syringing aphis-infected foliage
with insecticide, occasional use of a light
lawn-mower, and numerous little odd jobs,
that, although they are done in the garden
can scarcely be termed gardening, will suffice
to employ the beginner's time. Bulb-plant-
ing and seed-sowing are not difficult opera-
tions, and advice on these and kindred
subjects is given in detail in gardening books,
ranging in price from a shilling to a sovereign
or more, advice that is far more readily
assimilated by the trained brain of the
business man than by the undeveloped
mind of youth.

Most of us can number among our friends
and acquaintances amateurs who are de-
votedly attached to their gardens, and pos-
sessed of a fund of valuable horticultural
knowledge, but who did not commence to
make gardening their study until middle life
or later; nevertheless much good work has
been done and is being done by such as
these in widening the appreciation of gar-
dens, independently of the enjoyment they
themselves experience in performing their
labour of love.

Hybridising offers a wide and interesting

field of work to those who take up gardening
in their later years. It is no difficultly-
acquired art, but its possibilities are infinite.
Thousands of seedlings may doubtless show
no improvement on their parents, but there
is always a chance of a break in a new
direction.

Humility is. perhaps, a somewhat rare
virtue, yet it is one that should be culti-
vated by every aspirant to knowledge in
gardening matters, for the first advances are
only to be made by the help of the oral or
printed advice of others. It is very true, as
stated by Mr. Mott, that "gardening is an
art full of complex details, and cannot be
taught by books alone. Experience and
practice are necessary to every gardener."
Personal experience is certainly the best
teacher, but at the first there is none to
guide, and until its lessons are slowly and
reverently garnered, each day adding some-
thing to the priceless store, the teachings of
those qualified to instruct are the only
stand-by.

The beginner generally credits the ac-
knowledged experts of the art with an om-
niscience that is almost supernatural. Later
on he finds to his comfort that no human
mind is capable of acquiring and retaining
an exact knowledge of the countless genera
of trees and plants in the world in all their
endless varieties.

Many years ago, when I first began to
interest myself in horticulture, I was, al-
though fortunate in having known the care
of a flower-loving mother such as Dr. Bonavia
appreciatively describes, painfully conscious
of my ignorance. As time passed on, I found
that even the greatest gardeners did not
know everything. The best dictionary of
gardening gave a white-flowered plant as
bearing purple blooms ; another dictionary
classed a certain deciduous shrub as ever-
green ; one of the most widely-known men
in the gardening world hesitated to name a
variety of German Iris; another had no
knowledge of a particular florists' Tulip, and
so on. These instances, which at the time
proved somewhat disquieting, led to the
consideration that the sum of gardening
knowledge now at our disposal was accumu-
lated, not by each master mind learning
afresh everything that had been learnt
before, but by working independently in
different directions and adding the wisdom
thus gained to the general store. The spe-
cialist in Irises has not necessarily an inti-
mate acquaintance with all the Composites
of the American continent, nor does it
follow that because a man possesses a
unique knowledge of Orchids that he is
competent to pass an exhaustive examina-
tion on the Coniferae.

Dr. Bonavia's story of the old gentleman
who enquired if there was any connection
between a Datura and a Date-tree, points to
the folly of jumping at conclusions in sub-
jects with which one is totally unacquainted,
and emphasises the fact that in such cases
silence is especially golden. Like ignorance
would be displayed by all sorts and con-
ditions of men who ventured to talk on un-
familiar subjects, and the opinions of a
gardener on the crojack-yard of a clipper
would doubtless appear as ludicrous to a
sailor as did the old gentleman's well-inten-
tioned but unfortunate attempt to interest
himself in horticulture to your corres-
pondent. Most probably the gentleman in

18

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January II, 1902

question was not among those under con-
sideration, who are anxious to acquire a
certain insight into the pleasures of gar-
dening— pleasures that are unfortunately not
unalloyed with possibly salutary disappoint-
ments. If, however, he belongs to that much-
to-be-applauded body, and applies him-
self to his new hobby with an earnest
desire to gather what knowledge he can
concerning it, there is no question but that
his efforts will eventually be crowned with
a qualified measure of success. He may but
master the alphabet of gardening, but even
that is something gained, for it may be laid
down as an axiom that the more in number
are those that embark in that entrancing
pursuit, the more will the health and
happiness of the world be augmented.
S. IF. Fitzherbert.

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

CATTLEYA x ROTHWELLI.E.
A new hybrid, between C. Eldorado and C.
Bowringiana, raised in the collection of Mr.
J. E. Rothwell, Brobkline, Massachusetts. It
is described by Mr. Oakes Ames in American
Gardening, 1901, vol. xxii, p. 815, flg. 174,
under the name of C. x Portia var. Roth-
wellise, as follows : —

"Plant intermediate .... sepals ob-
long ; petals broadly ovate ; lip with con-
tracted, apical lobe ; sepals, petals, and lip
pale purple-red, the apical lobe of the latter
and the margins of the side lobes deep rich
purple-red; throat rich yellow; flowers about
4} inches across."

An excellent photograph is given showing
the whole plant heaving four flowers.

The publication of this hybrid, under the
name of C. x Portia, raises a rather interest-
ing question. Mr. Oakes Ames, apparently
following Veitch's Manual, makes C. Eldorado
a variety of C. labiata, and as the hybrid
between C. Bowringiana and the latter is
known as C. x Portia, he therefore applies
that name in this case.

But this rather complicates matters, because
according to the same system, C. Warseewiczii
would also be considered a variety of C.
labiata, and a hybrid between C. Bowringiana
and O. Warseewiczii, named C. Wendlandi-
ana was described in 1894 (Qvclr. llrr., 1894,
p. 144), while C. x Portia was first published in
1897 (O'rch. 8e»., 1897, p. 375). I

Mr. R. A. Rolfe in his revision of the genus
Cattleya {(h-ch. Uev„ 1895, p. 2(59), makes both
('. Eldorado and C. Warseewiczii distinct
species, each having its own set of varieties,
and on the whole, this seems to be the most
convenient arrangement.

In accordance with this, therefore, I venture
to amend the name of this hybrid, as above.
C. C. Burst, F.L.S.

VlTIS (?) VolXIKRJANA.

Under this name M. Charles Baltet describes
in the current number of the Rewie dc Vliorii-
culture Beige, a Vine introduced from Tonkin
and dedicated to M. Vdinier.

As the flowers have not Ivon examined,
the position of the plant is uncertain, but the
leaves are palmatisect, each of the live seg-
ments being stalked, about 20 cent. long,
rounded at the base, oblong-acute, coarsely
toothed. M. Baltet says it will be a delight
' to plant-lovers, for it will make a Splendid
adornment of our winter gardens. Its cha-
racteristics consist in its vigorous habit, in I
superb evergreen foliage. '

CATTLEYA x CYBELE (GASKELLIANA x
LUDDEMANNIANA).

The union of two rather widely separated
forms of Cattleya labiata has, in this showy
hybrid, brought about pleasing results, even
although the new arrival still remains a form
of Cattleya labiata. Its chief features are
such as might be expected, and the notable
departure is in the almost abnormal breadth
of the petals, which in a great degree resemble
those of C. quadrieolor (chocoensis). The
general appearance of the flower is of a very
fine form of C. Triansei, with the label lutn
displaying the trumpet-shaped expansion of
the front and side lobes of the lip, inherited
from C. Luddemanniana. The flower, which is
0 inches across, has petals over 2J inches
wide, both sepals and petals being white,
delicately tinged with rose. The base of the
lip is pale rose, with purple lines running up
the middle, and extending into two yellow
patches in the middle area displayed as in C.
Warseewiczii. Front of the crimped labellum
Ipi'iji'ht reddish-purple. It is one of the novelties
which the raisers, Messrs. .las. Veitch & Sons,
of Chelsea, were prevented by the frost from
showing at the December display of the Royal
Horticultural Society.

Barkeria Skinneri.

A splendid inflorescence of twenty- five
bright magenta-purple flowers, with orange-
coloured crest to the lip, is sent by Joseph
Broome, Esq., Sunny Hill, Llandudno (gr., Mr.
A. C. Axtell), where it has bsen in flower for
some time. It is one of our brightest-coloured
and most elegant winter-flowering Orchids,
but it does not thrive so well in towns as do
some other species of Orchids. In the bright
sunlight and pure air of Llandudno the colours
of the flowers are very bright. It is botani-
cally an Epidendrum, and was first discovered
by Mr. G. Pre Skinner, growing on trees in
the mountains of Guatemala, in 1835, a region
which possesses an uniformly cool climate. In
our glasshouses it grows best on a raft, or in
shallow baskets suspended in an airy inter-
mediate-house, when making its growth ; but
when at rest, the plant should bo kept dry in
a cool vinery or greenhouse, in the full sun-
shine. A sojourn in the open air, suspended
from the branch of a tree in the hot weather,
has been found to benefit it.

Lycasti: Skinneri.
Some magnificent flowers of this species are
kindly sent by J. Broome, Esq., Sunny Hill,
Llandudno, who calls attention to their
gigantic size. The largest has a flower-stem
• about 14 inches in length. The sepals and
petals are tinted with rose, and the front lobe
of the lip is of a purplish-rose colour. The
flower is of fine form, the sepals each 3| inches
long and 2| inches broad. In another of the
flowers the segments are tinged with purple
on the inner halves; and the rose-purple lip is
bordered with white. A fine flower of the
singular Lyeaste gigantei, and some good
flowers of Cypripodium x Leeanum are also
sent, which in all cases show remarkable
development and bright colours. Jus. O'Brien.

perennial, but for practical purposes may be
treated as an annual. It grows to a height of
from 18 inches to 2 feet. Seed may be sown ii«
the spring, and the plants grown in an inter-
mediate-house, and flowered in . 5 or 6-inch
pots. If the points of the shoots are pricked
out once or twice during growth, extra bushi-
ness will result. The extremely numerous
flowers are a creamy -white, and slightly
aromatic. It reproduces itself true from seed,
with occasionally a break in colour, which
might afford scope to the ingenuity of the
hybridiser. Jiimes Baxter.

PLANT NOTES.

ANGELONIA GRANDIFLORA ALBA.
No one requiring a graceful and free-
flowering plant for autumn and winter deco-
ration should fail to procure a packet of
seed of this plant, sent out last year., 1 believe,
bv Messrs. James Yeitch & Sons. It is a

THE ROSARY.

ROSE GENERAL SHABLIKINE.

A season or two back this Rose was brought
into some prominence in the horticultural
papers, but sine • I have seen little notice of
it. A dozen plants obtained last planting-
time from a continental source have given
great pleasure. Though the plants were
small when received, they flowered fairly well
during the past season, and Kavc us a number
of their delicately-tinted flowers. It appears
too small for exhibition, but for those who
love Roses apart from that consideration, I
would advise the purchase of a plant or two.
The colour of the blooms is somewhat like
that of Madame Lambard but deeper, yet
clearer and brighter; in the bud and half-
opened stages a really charming flower. J. IV.

THREE PALMS OFTEN WRONGLY
NAMED.

ROBKKT BROWN; in his Prodromus Flora; Nora;
Hollandia:, gives the character of a new genus
of Palms, which, in honour of Francis Lord
Seaforth, he named Seaforthia. The species
which he created was called by him S. elegans,
R.Br. Amongst the characteristics, R. Brown
mentions the fronds with pinnules crose at
the apex. He says that this genus is nearly
allied to Caryota. The characteristic apex of"
the pinnules much attracted him. This plant
was afterwards united with Ptychosperm;a
of Labillardiere, and named Ptychosperma
elegans, Blume.

Afterwards Sir W. Hooker gave in the
Bot. Mag. a description and figure of a Paln»
under the name of Ptychosperma elegans,
which differs from P. elegans, BI., in its
pinnules, which are not erose but acuminate
at the apex. I have long wondered how it
could be possible to confuse two such dis-
tinct plants, and I think that the mistake
arose from the geographical distribution of
the two plants. Robert Brown's plant is a
native of Queensland, where it grows near
Endeavour Kiver, Cape York, Sunday Island,
Cumberland Islands, and Kockhampton. The
Hookerian plant is also a native of Queens-
land, growing at Sunday Island, the east
coast of Cape York, and Kockhampton. I
suppose that seeds arrived at Kew fron>
one of these places, that it was known
from Brown's paper that the Palm called
by him Seaforthia elegans grew there, and
that the seedlings were therefore named
Seaforthia elegans. Those who know how
sometimes names are affixed in botanical
gardens by the under-gardeners will not be
astonished at this.

The Hookerian Palm belongs to another
genus, named at a different time. Wendland,
who distinguished the genus at onc-e, < ailed it
Archontophcenix Cunninghami. Another spe-
cies of this genus is A. Alexandra, Weird I. r
very similar in habit to A. Cunninghami, btir
differing by its segments, which are only green

jANtARY 11, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

19

above, whilst underneath they are ashy
glaucous or white. The plant is also a native
of Queensland, where it grows at Rockingham
Tay. As the general habit is very similar

true Ptychosperma elegans (fig. 7), Blume, viz.,
the Seaforthia elegans of R. Brown, is mot
with but rarely in European gardens. What
is cultivated under this name in most cases

youth they form bifid leaves, the blade almost
horizontal. After having made some four to
six such leaves, each larger than the fore-
going, there appears a fully pinnate leaf, much

Fig. 6.— AttCHOXTorHCExix Alexandra, (see r. 18.)

to A. Cunninghami, it is often met with
under the name of Seaforthia elegans. Our
illustrations show the totally different habits
of Ptychosperma and Archontophronix. The

is either Archontophconix Cunninghami, or
Arehontophnnix Alexandria (llg. 0). The latter
are decorative hardy Palms, forming on tho
Riviera very fine high-stemmed specimens. In

differing in mode of growth from Phirnix ami
other pinuatisect-leaved Palms. On theHiviera
the plants were exposed to 0i° R. without any
harm. For rooms these two spocies are very

20

THE GAIiD EN En S ' CHE ONI CL E.

[January 11, 1902.

good plants, growing rapidly. The two photo-
graphs (figs. 6, 7) showing plants in the
Botanic Garden at Buitenzorg, were kindly
sent me by Prof. Treub. Dr. Udo Dammer,
Gross Lichterfelde, Berlin.

■wishes, either make a home here in comfort,
or return home in a few years, the better in
wisdom and pocket by the change. To any
such, desiring to try their luck, I shall be
pleased to give any details or assistance in my
power. A. Harding, Villa Nova, Pennsylvania,
L.S.A.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

+ - — .

GARDENERS IN THE UNITED STATES.
It is of America as a field for emigration
that I should like chiefly to speak. The great
number of good men advertising for positions,
and the low rate of wages paid to those en-
gaged, shows, I think, that some outlet is
necessary in order that the overflow of talent
existing in England in the horticultural line
shall not flood the market to a more disastrous
extent than it does at present. To my mind,
the United States provide that outlet. My time
here has been short, but it does not require a
long time for one to see that here good gar-
deners are as scarce as they are abundant in
England ; and my eight months' experience of
this State has proved to my satisfaction that
there is room here for many of those who feel
the ill-effects of the keen competition at home.
That I, in applying for the post I now hold
(being less than three months here, and almost
entirely ignorant of the methods in vogue),
should have received the preference over a
dozen established and capable applicants, and
the fact that all the important positions
around here are held by men who received
their training in one or other of the British
Isles, proves that gardeners from them are
looked upon very favourably by Americans
generally.

A man who does not mind work, and is not
over-particular what he does whilst waiting
his opportunity, need not be out of work a
week, and can earn good wages whilst looking
for better. A head man receives from 50 to
70 dollars per month, with house, vegetables,
milk, and often coals, and sometimes as much
as 80 dollars ; and positions are not so scarce
or hard to obtain as in England.

But it is the young man who stands the best
chance — one who can manage a greenhouse or
two, and who is willing to lend a hand outside
when required. There is a dearth of such
men. I know gardeners who have been trying
for weeks for such places without success.
My best man receives 25 dollars per month,
with board and lodging. The board is superior
to that which a young gardener is usually able
to provide for himself at home, and I have to
use him fairly " square " to retain him, as he
could get another post as good to-morrow if
he wished.

For the labourer in nurseries who knows his
work there are as good prospects. A friend
of mine, a nurseryman and landscape con-
tractor, who has more work than he can
manage, is handicapped by a staff consisting
chiefly of Poles, many of whom cannot speak a
word of English, and coloured men, none of
them having even an elementary knowledge of
nursery work. These men receive 5s. and Gs.
per day, and there arc not enough of them.

When these figures are compared with the
wages at home, America shows, I think, to
advantage. A man with a family would find
house-rent and provisions a little more expen-
sive than in England, but not in proportion to
the increase in his income. The climate is
healthy and enjoyable, and the country beau-
tiful. The servility too often expected at
home is unknown here, and life all round is
more free and pleasant. Any able-bodied man
who can control his taste for drink, and who
gives the whiskey a wide berth, can, if he

F K U I T - D R Y I N G.

MR. Udalb has, as our readers know, been
conducting experiments on the evaporation of
fruits, &c, for the Worcestershire County
Council. Ho has made these experiments the
subject of a detailed report, which we com-
mend to the notice of our readers. In the
meantime we may quote the summary given
by Mr. Udale : —

" 1. Ripe fruit dries more quickly than un-
ripe fruit, the latter being several hours
longer in the process, and therefore more
costly to produce.

2. Unripe fruit loses a larger percentage in
weight during the drying process, and is not a
good colour for its kind or variety when dried.

3. Large fruit of the respective kind or
variety produces the finest dried article of the
same variety or kind.

4. Small specimens of the same variety of
fruit or vegetables dry more quickly than
larger specimens.

5. Stone fruit, such as Plums, Cherries, &c,
should bo exposed to a low temperature at first
for several hours, and have the temperature
gradually increased as evaporation proceeds.

0. Apples and vegetables may be exposed at
once to a moderately high temperature, and
finished in a lower temperature.

7. Stone fruit should be placed on the trays
with the stalk ends uppermost.

<S. Fruit of equal size should be placed upon
the same tray, and not small mixed with large
fruit.

9. Apples and Pears should be immersed in a
weak solution of salt and water immediately
after peeliDg, 1 ounce of salt to 3 quarts of
water ; if left exposed to the air after being
peeled, they quickly go discoloured.

General Remarks.

I think there is a prospect of Plum-drying
becoming an industry in this country ; and
that in years of great abundance of fruit and
of very low, or no prices, the fruit may be
dried and sold wholesale at remunerative
prices. Clearly we have varieties which are
at once prolific and suitable for drying :
notably Monarch, Czir, Prince Englebert,
White Perdrigon and Victoria.

I think it is tolerably safe to say that each
of the varieties mentioned is worth, for drying
purposes, from 3s. per bushel upwards.

The operation of preparing and drying fruit
and vegetables is soon learnt by any intelli-
gent man or woman ; and I think it is labour
well adapted for women.

If 5s. and upwards can be obtained per cwt.
for good Apples, I think it will be best to
sell them in the undried state. Perhaps small
Apples will pay for drying ; and they might
also bo remunerative for making into jelly.

Although we have made jelly from the
peelings and corings of Apples and Pears —
that "nothing be wasted" — I fear that the
balance would be on the wrong side the
(ledger if, a strict debtor and creditor account
had been kept.

We have demonstrated that all kinds of
vegetables may be dried successfully — from
pot herbs to Cauliflowers, but we have not
tested them sufficiently extensively to be able
to say if or how far they could be dried with
commercial success.

I have tested the eating qualities of the
second grade Victoria Plums (I thought if the
second grade were good, the first grade would
be better) after gentle stewing for thirty
minutes, with the addition of a little lump
sugar, and I was more than satisfied with their
quality. They were clean and delicious, and
superior to any French Plums I have bought
at any time at 6d. per lb. retail. I selected
the Victoria for the test because it has been
condemned as unsuitable for drying by a eer-
tain writer in the horticultural Press, and be-
cause I know the better varieties can take
care of themselves.

Although it may be admitted that — so far as
our experiments have gone — the best varieties
for drying at home are Monarch, Prince Engle-
bert, and Czar, and that they now realise
remunerative prices when sold undried, wo
cannot be certain that they will bo so remu-
nerative five years hence, or even three years
hence.

Monarch and Czar are being extensively
planted, and we may have such abundant sup-
plies of these — and of others as good — in the
near future, that the prices realised for them
may fall to a comparatively unremunerative
amount in the fresh state ; then the grower
may dry them, and profit thereby.

Samples of French and Californian dried
Plums have been bought at 10d. and Od.perlb.
respectively, for comparison with the home-
grown and home-dried Plums, and the following-
are the results : — ■

Competent judges are agreed that in ap-
pearance—

Tlie Monarch surpasses the French at lOd. per lb.

Prince Englebert ,, ,, ■ „ ,, 6d. ,,

Victoria )

White Perdrigon I „ Californian ,, 6<J. ,,

Czar '

and that their quality in order of merit when
stewed gently for thirty minutes is as follows :

(1) White Perdrigon; (2) Victoria; (3)
French, at lOd. per lb. ; (4) Californian, at 6d.
per lb. ; (5) French, at 6iZ. per lb. ; (6) Pershoro.

The tenderness of the skins before stewing
varied in the following order: — (1) French at
10.1.; (2) Victoria; (3) Pershore ; (4) White
Perdrigon ; (5) Californian and French at 6d.

Two Silver Medals and a Bronze Medal
have been awarded to the samples of dried
fruit and vegetables by the Royal Horticul-
tural Society, Birmingham and Midland Coun-
ties' Chrysanthemum, Fruit, and Floral So-
ciety, and the Tamworth Chrysanthemum and
Fruit Society. James Udale."

ON PEUNING.

Some time ago considerable discussion was
evoked on the question whether, after a certain
stage, it was productive of any practical or
fruitful results to prune fruit trees. If I recol-
lect aright, I believe it was mutually understood
that at the start the trees were all prepared
for the purposes they were intended for, either
as standards, bushes, espaliers, or pyramids,
and as discussion was confined principally to
the staple fruits for the million, viz., Apples,
Pears, and Plums, these three I shall only now
deal with. I do not propose here to go into,
the culture, management, and training of each
form of tree, but rather to speak on the prin-
ciples of pruning generally in relation to all
forms, with its ultimate results on the tree,
whether for the production of fruit or other-
wise.

Working from the above data, it is a well-
known fact that earlier crops will be obtained
from unpruned trees after a certain stage of
their growth, but it may be at the sacrifice of
a well-balanced crown, through the neglect of
pruning. As the matter stands, it will be the

January 11, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

21

Fig

-PTYCHOSPERMA ELEGANS (SEAPOUTHIA). (SEK V. 18.)

aim«f tho gardener to pursue a middle course,
i-e., not to prune unduly hard in the attempt
to chock exuberance of growth while tho roots
arc 'neglected, as this will only intensify tho
evil aiu\ arrest tho fruit bearing capacity of

the tree, and cause nnnerom shoots to be
formed. Many writers on pruning overlook
this fact. Tho two operations of root-pruning,
or lifting and branch-pruning, should not bo
carried out the same season, as this -would

tend to lower the vigour of the tree and its
growth, which is as much to be deprecated as
a too great exuberance, but the growth of each
should be reciprocal. Another point 1 should
like to refer to is, that when the old

95!

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 11, 190?.

soil is taken out in order to sever the roots
all round the ball of the tree, new soil should
take it^ place; and there is nothing better
than good turfy loam, which should be well
worked in among, and made firm amongst the
roots.

The head of the tree will require scarcely
any attention for some time, except to remove
spindly growths and crossing branches, short-
ening very long branches to a reasonable
length, and keeping the head of the tree open,
so that sunlight can enter. The above re-
marks apply especially to standards. Espalier
and pyramid Apples and Pears, through being
mos ly grafted or budded on the Paradise and
Quince stocks, have a tendency to remain
dwarf, and fruit earlier than the former with-
out much pruning. The occasional lifting the
tree*, and summer -pinching, comprise most
of tile pruning required, and these processes
will, with gooil manurial surface-dressings in
the spring and autumn over the roots, keep the
trees in a high state of fertility for a number
of years. Trees of this kind are very suitable
for planting in gardens. After a time, long
fruit spurs will require removal, and the
shoots in the! middle of the head should be
thinned out, the best and.safest time to prune
being either after the fall of the leaf or just
before the sap rises.

Some years ago when I visited Byrkley
Lodge Gardens, near Burtonon-Trent, there
was a useful object lesson there in two rows
of splendid pyramid Apples on the Crab- stock,
whicli carried enormous crops of fruit. Mr.
Hamilton, the head gardener, assured me that
these trees had never been touched with a
knife since he planted them, except that they
were systematically root - pruned when this
was r^iuired. I cannot say much for the
shapeliness of the trees at the time of my
visit, which careful pruning at an early date
would have secured ; but they were certainly
marvels of fertility, and this, it seems to me,
to be more the object striven for than any-
thing else. J. D. O.

NOVELTIES OF 1901.

(Continued from p. 1.)

Nurserymen. — Messrs. James Veitch &
Sons have been constant exhibitors at the
Royal Horticultural Society, and during
the past year have secured a large share
of the awards. Four of their best new
Orchids are Laelio-Cattleya :< Digbyano-Mec-
deli, Veitch's var., of an uniform bright rose-
pink tint, and with a wonderfully-fringed
lip ; L -C. Semiramissuperba, the largest and
best of the winter-flowering \r. Perrini crosses ;
Cattleya x Brownise Veitch's variety, a very
remarkable and beautiful hybrid ; and Lselio-
Cattleya x llione, the largest, best, and
brightest in colour of the hybrids, bearing a
general resemblance to Cattleya Mantini.
Other fine things of Messrs. James Veitch &
Sons' of the year were Phaio-Calanthe ■
Si-hroderiana, I.jielio - Cattleya Va curia,

L.-C. Robin Measures var. Ena, L. - C.

Cybele, L.-C. Ophir, Cattleya Bactia,
Epidendrum x Clarissa superbum, and Masde-
vallia Alceste.

Messrs. F. Sander & Co., of St. Albans and
Bruges, have evolved many fine novelties
during the year, the greater part of which
have passed out of their hands before they
could be recorded to their credit. Odonto-
glossums, always a great specialty of theirs,
have in their hands produced some fine forms
during the year, among which are two clear
yellow Odontoglossum crispum — O. c. citri-
num and O. c. Sunshine ; and O. c. King
Edward VII., O. c. King-Emperor, O. c. album,

and O. c. majesticum have bloomed with them.
Also O. Pescatorei Emperor and * >. P. Empress ;
and among the hybrids O. • Adrians nobilius,
(). A. memorii Victoria Regina, O. ■ A.
Canary Bird, O. Rolfea1 puleherrimum, O. x
R. Mrs. II. II. Measures, O. Harry a no- cris-
pum " Duchess of York," Miltonia Bleuana
"Queen Margherita," Cattleya Reineckiana,
C. Mendeli Queen Alexandra, C. Kitty Lloyd
(velutina x Rex), and a large number of hy-
brid Cypripediums, in many of which the effect
of secondary crossing is seen.

Messrs. Charlesworth & Co., of Heaton
Bradford, have reaped the reward of skill and
diligence in the number of new and fine hy-
brids they have flowered during the year.
One of their most satisfactory crosses was
Cypripedium :■: Maudi;e and its varieties, re-
sulting from crossing C. Lawrcnceanum Hye-
anum and ('. callosum Sandene. Sophro-Lrelia

Gratrixiae and Sophro-Cattlcya x Nydia are
finely coloured flowers ; Cattleya germania,
C. , Iris and its variety aureo-marginat a, C.

fulvescens, C. x Lottie, Ltelio-Cattleya
luminosa, L.-C. x Ivernia, and L.-C. Harold-
iana Charlesworthi are all very fine things of
which the raiser may well be proud. Also at
Messrs. Charlesworth's many pretty hybrids
of more moderate pretensions, but interesting
withal, have flowered for the first time during
the year.

Messrs. T. Rochford & Sons' best were the
white Cattleya Hardyana, Rochford's va-
riety; the large and handsome Odontoglossum
x loochristyense Rochfordianuni, O. crispum
Edward VII., and O. Wilckeanum, Turnford
Hall variety.

Messrs. Stanley, Ashton & Co., Southgate,
flowered two specially fine albinos — Cattleya
Luddemanniana Stanleyi and C. Mossiw
" Mrs. F. W. Ashton" ; and their large impor-
tations of Odontoglossum crispum have pro-
duced promising spotted forms, of which the
best shown was O. c. " Abncr Hasscl."

Messrs. Hugh Low & Co. flowered Cypripe-
dium x Kimballianum, "Low's variety"; C.
Mendeli Mrs. R. Tunstill, C. M. His Majesty ;
C. Mossise Sir Alfred Milner, and some good
Odontoglossums.

Mr. Ed. Kromer had the largest and finest
coloured Lselia Jongheana in his var. Kromeri.
And all the other growers have in some degree
produced desirable novelties.

Continental Novelties.

M. Linden, in his famous collection of Odon-
toglossums at Moortebeeke, has bloomed
during the year a great number of fine things,
some of which have been figured in Lindenia,
and duly noted in the Gardeners' Chronicle.
Their Odontoglossum crispum "Quo Vadis,"
figured March, 1901, is a gorgeously-coloured
form, a thing of beauty to dream about ; O. c.
auriferum, a yellow-blotched form of the O. c.
xanthotes class ; and some of the varieties of
O. Adriana?, very large and showily blotched.
Among the Cypripediums, C. Glonerianum,
C. Bruxellense, C. exul aurantiacum, C. in-
signe Chantini Lindeni, and C. x Lansber-
giie, are all showy novelties. Several very
handsome new hybrid Cattleyas and Lselias
have also been flowered by Messrs. Linden,
and their Bornean type of Phahenopsis named
Rimestadiana has proved good, many of the
flowers being distinctly tinted with purple.
Out of other importations the fine Oncidium
varicosum Lindeni and O. v. Moortebeekense,
both bearing rich chestnut red marks on their
large golden-yellow labellums, have flowered.

M. Florent Claes at the last Temple Show
exhibiteel several fine Odontoglossums ; and
Mr. A. A. Peeters, of Brussels, some interest-
ing hybrids, &c.

The following Orchids among others have
been illustrated in the Gardeners' Chronicle in
1901 : —

Arachnauthe Cathcarti, March 9, p. 159.

Cattleya Miss Harris var. :E. Ashworth,
supplement, May 11.

Corjanthes Mastersiana, Jan. 12, p. 19.

Cymbidinm Lowio-eburneum, July 13, p. '-•">.

Cynorchis purpurasceus, Feb. 9, p. 87.

Cvpripedium Maudhe magnificum, Aug. 17,
p. 129.

Cypripedium T. W. Bond, Coundon Court
var., Feb. 23, p. 127.

Dendrobiom Ashwortbhe, Feb. 9, p. 86.

Epidendrum Claesianum, Feb. 2, p. 70.

L;vlia Mrs. Gratrix var., supplement, Jan. 5.

Lrelio Cattleya Digbyano-Mendtli, Veitch's
var., Sept. 1 1, p. 207.

Liparis tricallosa, April 0, p. 223.

Moorea irrorata, April 20, p. 248.

Phaius Warpuri ituberculosus), February 2,
p. 77.

Odontoglossum crispum Annie, January S,
p. 303.

Olontoglossum crispum purpurasceus, Apr. 13,
p. 233.

Odontoglossum crispum Rossendale, Apr. 20,
p. 249.

OJontoglossum Crawshayanum, July 27,
p. 77.

Odontoglossum Ruckerianum Mrs. It. 1!.
White, May 4, p. 279.

Odontoglossum maculatum Thompsonianum,
July 27, p. 77.

Odontoglossum crispum Pittianum, Aug. 24,
p. 149.

Sobralia Ruckcri, July 27, p. 07.

{To be continued.)

THE SHOET APPLE-CROP OF 1901.

A rei ent issue of the American Agriculturist
states that their earlier reports pointing to the
shortest Apple-crop for years have been fully
confirmed. October sunshine did something to
develop the fruit where there was any chance
for it, but in the main the crop was a dis-
appointing one. The only exception is found
in the important Apple sections of the south-
west, including Missouri, Kansas and Ar-
kansas, where the yield is proving very much
better than at one time seemed possible, and
buyers from all parts of the country are
clamouring for sound fruit ; and exceptionally
high prices rule. In what has long been con-
sidered the commercial Apple belt, phenomen-
ally light yields were the rule.

The surprising thing, as noted, is the deve-
lopment of the Apple crop in the south-west,
many counties reporting the largest yield for
years past, and of fine quality. As a result,
eastern buyers are making heavy drafts upon
south-western Apple orchards, paying farmers
big prices. As is often the case in seasons of
practical Apple failure, the quality of the fruit
in the older, middle, and eastern States,
is on the average poor. There are some
exceptions, but, as a rule, much of the fruit is
wormy, coarse, or lacking in flavour.

In practically every instance where there is
any fruit available for the markets, growers
are getting the highest prices they have done
for years. This will in a degree offset the
shortened rate of yield, except in sections
where the crop is a practical failure. High
prices at the same time induce growers and
dealers to utilise every barrel possible, and
this means the foisting upon the market of
much inferior fruit, resulting in a wide range
of prices.

The commercial Apple crop of the United
States approximates 23,000,000 barrels, against

January 11, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

23

more than double that amount last year, being,
in fact, the smallest output for many years

In the Canadian provinces the Apple-crop
is estreirely uneven. In the Apple section
of Ontario Ihi crop is probably the worst
failure ever known. At the same time the
quality of Ontario Apples is said to be good,
but not brilliant, the leading varieties being
Spy, Baldwin, and Russet. In Quebec a
moderate yield has been secured, while Nova
Scotia has a good, but not a full crop. Reports
from the Annapolis Valley state the average
yield of Apples to be 70 per cent, of a full
crop. The quality is among the best for years
past, far ahead of 1903, and growers are re-
ceiving splendid prices, ranging from 10s. 6d.
to l"2s. (hi. per barrel.

London dealers say the crop of winter
varieties of Apples, both in England and on
the continent, is better than was at one time
anticipated, but that there will be a demand
at good prices for Canadian and American
fruit, provided quality and packing arc right.
It is also stated that markets are favouring
highly-eol u red Apples. J. J. W.

THE HUMUS OF SOILS.

A GARDEN soil must contain in addition to
the necessary mineral constituents of plants,
a suitable supply of available nitrogen, or the
plants cannot make the necessary growth
requisite for full development of flowers and
fruit. It has been found by analysis that one
part of nitrogen in a soil will correspond to
about 10 or 12 parts of humus. Any increase
or decrease of the nitrogen in soils is followed
by a corresponding increase or decrease of
humus. The loss of humus and organic matter
from a soil not only reduces the stock of
nitrogen, but also reduces the amount of
available mineral-food as -well. The decaying
animal anil vegetable matters present in all
good s:>ils produce acids which act upon the
inert and inactive plant-food elements and
render them available. The humates or or-
ganic products which are formed by the union
of the organic acid products derived frou the
decay of the humus, combined with the mineral
matter of a soil, form valuable plant food.

Experiments have shown that humate of
lime is capable of being assimilated and
utilised by plants. Potash, phosphoric acid,
and all of the mineral elements of plant-food
when combined with humus and nitrogen,
constitute valuable forms of food for all kinds
of garden crops.

The high fertility of old kitchen garden
soils is due to the large store of humus. The
loss of humus changes the physical proper-
ties of a soil, both as to colour, weight per
cubic foot, and retention of soil-water. A
loss of humus and vegetable-matter causes
a lightness in soil-colour, an increase in
density and compactness, with a less capa-
bility to retain moisture. A dark-coloured
soil becomes hotter in the sun's rays than a
light coloured one ; but at night all soils will
cool to the same point.

Humus conserves the moisture of a soil,
while a rotation of crops, the use of stable-
manure, and the digging-iu of vegetable refuse
conserves the humus. If the soil contains too
much humus the vegetative system of plants
becomes overfed by an excessive quantity of
nitrogen, luxuriance of foliage and stem-growth
is encouraged, while flowers and fruit develop-
ment are retarded. In general it may be eaid,
that an abundant supply of potash and phos-
phoric aeid, especially the latter, tends to
increase fruit fulness, hardiness, anil firmness
of leaves and stems; while an abundance of

nitrogen and humus has a tendency to produce
just the reverse conditions. While the plant
cannot be at its best without a suitable supply
of nitrogen and humus, plants which are grown
chiefly for their fruits may easily 1)3 injured
by an amount only slightly exceeding a
sufficiency.

It has been found that the store of plant-
food in a soil is of little value unless the
physical conditions and the available moisture
which it contains are also considered. This
brings into prominence the question of proper
tillage. No matter how fully the soil may be
supplied with plant-food, if it does not furnish
a comfortable home for the plant, or if for
considerable periods there is not enough
moisture present to convey the plant-food to
the roots, little benefit may be expected from
the real or potential nourishment existing in
the ground. Plants growing in a garden suffer
oftener from a lack of moisture than they do
from lack of soluble food. J. J. Willis,
Hitrpciiih'ii.

A HALL FOR THE ROYAL
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The present time may not be that quite the
most appropriate for the favourable considera-
tion of a "Hall for Horticulture'' in London,
butwe must be careful not t > allow the project
t ) slip out of our memory altogether. Judging
as a mere outside Fellow of the Society, how-
ever, I should say that despite many anil
varied disadvantages, the Royal Horticultural
Society itself was in times past rarely, if ever,
in a better position financially than it is to-
day. When we hear of depression in some
other crafts and callings, il is very refreshing
to read of nearly 000 new Fellows of the
Society having been elected within the past
twelve months. As a matter of fact, none of
us, however old and experienced in matters
horticultural, can remember a time of greater
popularity and enthusiasm for gardens and
gardening, and for gardening literature than
that which exists in our own time. Palmy
days the Koyal Horticultural Society has seen,
the hey-day of Chiswick and its exhibitions,
its breakfasts, and fetes of various kinds, but
those sunny days were the. result of aristo-
cratic ascendancy and patronage, the days
when Dr. John Lindley. autocrat that he was,
used to dragoon the gardeners, and toll them
to go and get shaved, or to have their boots
cleaned ere they allowed the wind to blow
between themselves and the nobility! .\'m\-
a-days all this is altered, and whilst there is
all due respect paid to the comparatively few
nobly-born patrons of horticulture, the same
is also true of the democracy of gardens and
gardening, the working gardeners, and of
those who deal in plants and seeds, or in
gardening materials.

The Royal Horticultural Society to-day has
H.M. the King as its patron, and consists of
"all sorts and conditions of men.''

We are at the beginning of a year fraught
with many auguries for the general good and
welfare of England, the year of their (Iracious
Majesties' Coronation, a year when memorials
and all sorts of monuments will be erected in
commemoration of a most remarkable epoch in
our national history, progress, and welfare.
Now comes the question: What will horticul-
turists do to mark for ever the crowning of

England's King and Queen? One of the long-
felt, and of late, one of the most keenly felt
wants of the many horticultural supporters of
the Koyal Horticultural Society has been that
for a meeting-place and hall of horticulture
in London, in place of the conveniently

situated, but small and often overcrowded
Drill Hall now rented at Westminster. The
money to buy, to select the site, and to build
the hall in a convenient place or position, will
take time to collect, select, and carry through,
of course, and in these matters " hasten
slowly " is a good motto; but cannot we take
advantage of a great national pageant and of
patriotic rejoicing, and at least start a fund
for a Royal Hall of Horticulture in 1902, tin-
year of the Koyal Coronation ?

It is, in one way perhaps, unfortunate that
horticulture so far has not found its Carnegies,
its Lord Iveaghs, or its Yates Thompsons in
London ; but if it is denied the advantages of
wealthy patrons who are generous also, it at
least has an enormous following of amateur
and professional gardeners who are willing,
and many of them only waiting for an oppor-
tunity to aid and assist the Royal Horticul-
tural Society in this question of a hall aud
meeting-place of its own.

The Society is unendowed, even a Govern-
ment grant has so far been denied ; but now
that alterations arc in the air, it might be
well to approach the proper authorities anil
obtain from them, if possible, a suitable and
central site for the long proposed hall. Surely
a good position might be spared for such a,
building, either in St. James' or in the Ureen
Park alongside Piccadilly. If the project of
demolishing some of the houses in Spring Gar-
dens be carried out, so as to open up a broad.
avenue from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham
Palace, might not a Koyal Hall of Horticulture
find a fitting place thereon? Seeing that tin-
so-called Koyal Botanic Society has long
enjoyed the grant of a site in Regent's Park,
how comes it to pass that our. Royal Society of
Horticulture is left unprovided for in a similar
way? Between the work and usefulness of
these two societies, from a national point of
view, there is no comparison whatever, and
why the least important and less useful of the
two is favoured, to the exclusion of the other,
seems past all reasonable understanding. Some
equitable amalgamation of the Royal Horti-
cultural Society with the Koyal Botanical So-
ciety has often been suggested, but there are
financial and other reasons likely to prevent
such a union.

Lord Kosohcry suggested in a speech the
other day that business men were much to bo
desired in Parliament nowadays, and if we
gardeners could get a few good men of business
to take up this important question of a Royal
Hall for Horticulture, 1 believe their efforts
could be brought to be successful, and I feci

sure that gardeners everywhere throughout the

country would influence their employers, as
well as otherwise do the best they could,
for this project themselves. We shall be told,
IIO doubt, that there is "a lion in the way,''
but how often do we find, in reality, that it is
not the lion that is in the way, but a mere fear
Of failure, that prevents united action and
consequent success. F. W. liliibiiUjc.

Metropolitan Public Gardens' Asso-
ciation.—At the last monthly meeting of this

body, it was stated that the receipts during
1901 amounted to about £3,300, showing a de-
crease of about £1,200 as compared with the
preceding year, which was stated to be greatly
attributable to the adverse effects of the war
and its allied causes in having deprived tin-
Association of certain .-specially generous
supporters, ami in having diverted or lessened
the flow of general contributions. Theworlt

done by the Association is surely sufficient

advertisement of its value.

24

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 11, 1902.

The Week's Work.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. M. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

The Cattleyarhoiise. — Our plants of Cattleya
labiata autumnalis have now passed out of
flower, and will be afforded just sufficient
water to keep the pseudo-bulbs in a plump
condition. Laelia pumila and its varieties
may be similarly treated for the time being.
Plants bought in of recent importations of
this species should be potted in a compost
consisting of peat two-thirds, and sphagnum-
moss one-third, the latter being chopped up
finely, and the whole being well mixed to-
gether before use. Imported plants with all
their leaves retained on them should be hung
up in a cool house, so as to induce a start in
growth, afterwards shifting them to the inter-
mediate-house. During the time they are in
the Odontoglossum-house they will require
Jittle or no water, an occasional syringing on
bright days being all that they require.

Cleansing the Plants. — This kind of work
should be completed before the end of the
month, and doing this affords the opportunity
to cleanse the roof, glass-ends, partitions, and
front lights of the various houses, also the
stages — very necessary operations in districts
within a few miles of big towns. It is a most
important matter during the winter to afford
the plants the utmost amount of light, and
■only perfect cleanliness will secure this. The
Heaves of every plant should be sponged at the
least once a month, whether there are insects
cipon them or not, this being a matter of great
importance to the well being of Orchids, or of
•other plants.

Inserts. — At one time thrips were the "worst
of pests in Orchid-houses, but thanks to
Kichards' XL-All vapour used once a fortnight,
sand not of great strength except in very bad
•cases, the plants can be kept quite free of
these insects. This substance should be em-
ployed, whether thrips are noticed or not.
Scale insects, especially the small white one
that frequently infests Lrelias and Cattleyas,
sire still a great plague to cultivators, and
difficult to eradicate ; and we more often than
piot spread scale insects about among the
plants by removing them with a small stick or
<lry hard brush. At a certain stage of de-
velopment, they conceal myriads of eggs and
voting under their minute shelly covering,
which when disturbed alight on plants all oyer
a house ; so that it often occurs that after
the cleansing of the plants is finished, as we
fondly suppose, we have but spread about the
insects that were infesting one plant over a
(dozen. My practice is to touch the scale
insects with methylated spirits, and then rub
them off with a brush dipped in the spirit, and
even then the workman should take the
infected plant into a shed whilst cleansing it.
Red-spider sometimes gives trouble in the
winter season, especially infesting Cymbi-
cliums. As a means of ridding a plant of this
acarus, I sponge the plants with a preparation
■of petroleum, soft-soap, and flowers-of -sulphur,
which is a very effectual one. Mealy-bug,
although one of the worst of pests, can be
oasily eradicated if carefully watched, and
when found touching them with methylated
spirits. It is when allowed to breed and
harbour on plants unchecked that it is so
difficult to destroy. The only advisable method
is then to examine the plants at weekly
intervals, employing the remedy above given.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mundy, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Anthiiriums. — Species of the Scherzerianum
type are now beginning to grow and throw up
their earliest spathes, and this is the most
.suitable season for repotting or dividing any
of the plants, as the plants are not then sub-
jected to any great fluctuations of temperature
from sun-heat, of which they are very im-
patient at all times, but never so much so as

they are just after being potted. Sourness of
the soil renders the plants inactive, and to
obviate this, all, or nearly all, the old soil
should be carefully removed, even to the
extent of baring the portions of the stem or
root-stalk which have been buried. The new
soil should be lumpy, and freed from some of
its liner particles, but not to the extent of
leaving nothing but fibre. A suitable compost
consists of good loam, peat, charcoal, and
silver-sand ; and I would insist on the use of
a rather large proportion of loam. Peat is
usually looked on as the staple soil, and in it
the roots run freely, but the roots made in
peat are of quite a different nature to those
made in good loam, and not nearly so effective
in the production of spathes and leaves. Ample
drainage should be provided, and the crowns
elevated well above the rims of pots or pans.
Strict attention to this, and to afford water
on the surface, will certainly help to keep the
soil sweet for a long period of time. Plants
which stand in no need of repotting may be
afforded weak liquid-manure once or twice a
week to the surface of the soil. A fair amount
of humidity in the air of the house, and a
temperature of 58° Fahr. at night, with a rise
of 10° by day, should be afforded. These figures
are lower than those generally advised, but
have been proved as much more suitable than
higher ones.

Climbers. — Many climbers both in stoves
and greenhouses may be pruned at about this
date. In the case of Allamandas and Olero-
dendrons, only those intended for flowering
early should be dealt with ; and the same may
be said of Bougainvilleas in the intermediate-
house. But in the greenhouse, Plumbagos,
Heliotropes, Teeomas, Swainsonias, Jasminums,
and various Clematis may be pruned forth-
with, as they will not start too soon in the
temperature maintained in the cool green-
house. For the present, all the plants men-
tioned should be kept rather dry at the roots,
as they will have sufficient stored sap to cause
the buds to start, and much water applied to
the soil might do harm to the roots.

Chrysanthemums. — The cuttings should be
frequently inspected, and any that appear to
be rooted should be removed to a pit, &c,
where air may be afforded ; this being neces-
sary from the fact that some varieties take a
longer time in forming roots than do others,
and to treat all alike is a mistake. Again,
cuttings are not available or suitable for pro-
pagation all at one time, and the removal of
some shoots makes room for others. Of late
years, the propagation in the spring of many
varieties suitable for producing one large
flower on a plant has been found advisable.
The old plants intended for producing suitable
shoots should have extra attention, so that
the shoots may be sturdy and strong when
wanted.

Conservatory. — In this building there will
be a dearth of tall flowering plants at the
present time, and the display of flowers will
be mostly furnished by the various bulbs
which have been forced. These should be
frequently changed, and the house kept
thoroughly clean, so that there may be always
a general appearance of freshness and tidiness
to make up for lack of variety.

Tuberoses. — A batch of African Tuberoses
for early flowering should now be started,
plunging the pots in a bottom-heat of 70° to
75°. No water should be applied until growth
starts, as the plunging material will provide
sufficient moisture for the unrooted bulbs.
Each bulb should be covered with an inverted
pot.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock. Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch, Dalkeith.

Peaches and Nectarines that have been forced
early for several years, and were started this
season in November, will now be in full flower.
At this stage a constant circulation of air is
needed, and sufficient heat in the pipes to
maintain a night temperature of 50° when the

weather is very cold, and 55° when milder ;
during the day the temperature may be 10°
higher. As the pollen ripens, shake the trellis
each day, and if upon any variety the pollen
is scarce, convey some from others with a
camel's-hair brush. When fruit is set, do not
admit air constantly, but increase the night
temperature to 00°. Do not syringe the trees
until the fruits are the size of large Peas, but
damp the house frequently according to the
weather outside. Secure a change of air in
the house daily. Disbudding of the trees must
be attended to as soon as the fruit is set, re-
moving at first those on the front side of the
shoot and those on the opposite or back side
of the shoot, leaving those right and left and
the leading bud ; any buds that show a ten-
dency to grow stronger than the others should
be removed. A little later the disbudding
may be continued until no more shoots are left
than will be necessary for furnishing the trees
with fruiting-wood for next year, namely, one
at the base of each growth, one half way upon
upside of branch, and the leading growth ;
any buds with fruit at the base, and otherwise
would be removed, should only be pinched,
leaving three leaves. Guard against having
young growths at the extremities of the trees,
and little or none in the centres. When the
fruit is set, afford the inside border a watering
with warm water, and before doing this
sprinkle some of Thomson's Vine-manure, or
other artificial manure, over it.

A Suecession-housc to the earliest Peach-
house should have been closed at the beginning
of this month. It should contain such varie-
ties as Peaches, Amsden June, Hale's Early,
Stirling Castle, and Violet to Hfitive; Nectarines,
Cardinal, Precoce do Cronccls, Early Rivers,
and Lord Napier. A temperature of 45° to 50°
at night will be sufficient until the flower-buds
open, then 50° to 55°, with constant air, as
advised for earliest house. Daily syringing
and damping must be done, but avoid keeping
the trees constantly wet in dull weather. In
localities where the soil is heavy and suited
for Peach-trees, the border need only be
examined to give water enough at starting,
but in cases of light soil the surface of the
border should be removed down to the roots,
and a good dressing of artificial manure
afforded ; also a top dressing of 2 inches of
fresh soil, and a coating of farm-manure over
all. All trees in other succession and late
Peach-houses may now be pruned, and both
trees and houses thoroughly washed with soap
and warm water. Fir-tree oil is one of the
best and safest remedies against scale. If the
back wall of the house be smooth enough, oil-
paint it, otherwise lime-wash it, but if this
work be put off much later the buds will be
too forward, and suffer injury. It is neces-
sary, more often than is practised, to lift
Peach-trees to check strong growth, and now
and again a tree has to be brought in from
outside. The autumn is the best season to do
all such work, but it is not yet too late. Plant
on the surface of border ; the roots will get
down soon enough. It is not too late to renew
or improve late Peach-borders.

Early Muscat Vinery. — It is of little use to
start Muscats before the beginning of the
year, because the higher temperature required
for setting them needs the co-operation of the
lengthening day and sunshine. Muscat of
Alexandria when in flower require to set them
properly a night temperature of 73° to 75°, and
in the day as near to 90° as possible, with
abundant moisture. For early Muscat we
grow here Sprotboro' Muscat ; it suits early
forcing because it sets freely should the night
temperature go down to 05°. The bunch is
broad and dumpy, berries large, and of good
Muscat flavour. It requires the same length
of time to ripen as other Muscats. Started
thus early, Muscats are better for having the
roots chiefly inside; the same preparations
being made with house and border as those
previously advised. The night temperature at
starting for Muscats is 55° to 60°, 10° to 15°
higher in day. Syringe and damp down accord-
ing to the weather. Vineries from which the
fruit is cut should be pruned to two buds. Vines

January 11, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

25

with long spurs should have fresh rods brought
away from the base of the old rods, as finer fruit
is produced on these young rods. Cleanse the
house and Vines, prepare the border, and make
all ready for starting. Vineries with late
Grapes hanging in them should be kept cool
and dry, and falling foliage removed every
morn ins.

THE KITCHEN" GARDEN".

By T. Turton, Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Hot-beds. — With lengthening days and more
sun-heat, a milder heat in the various hot-
beds of which use is made will be of advan-
tage in the forcing of all kinds of early crops,
including salading. Where tree-leaves are
plentiful, a bed should be made sufficiently wide
to take two or more rows of frames, according
to the demand, for such vegetables as Aspa-
ragus, Carrots, Turnips, Radishes, Lettuces,
and Potatos. Such a bed has already been
made in these gardens. Apart from being an
ideal system for obtaining the above forced
vegetables, &c, it is a great saving of labour,
compared with the practice of mixing trce-

■ leaves and dung together, which is necessary
for the earlier forcing of Asparagus, &c. The
outside of the bed is formed with the longest
straw from the stables, the short going to the
heap for potting, and is from 2 feet to 3 feet
thick. All the best of the tree-leaves as they
are cleared up in the pleasure -grounds are
simply deposited there, and kept well and
evenly trodden ; one end of the bed is kept
open for the carts until it is nearly completed.
Such a bed lasts two years, being suitable for
frame Cucumbers during the summer, and Let-
tuces, Endive, &c, in the autumn and winter,
followed by Vegetable-Marrows the following
season. It is therefore necessary to divide
the ground set apart for such hot-beds into
two parts, making up one- half of it fresh every
year. The leaves from the two-year-old bed
make excellent leaf-mould, useful in the kitchen
garden where the soil is stiff and retentive,
and always acceptable in other parts of a
garden.

French or Kidney Beans. — Make further
sowings of these as required for succession,
using 7-inch pots, which will be large enough
for the present. Let the pots be filled to about
half their depth with turfy loam three parts,
and one part spent Mushroom-bed dung, with
a good proportion of charred garden - refuse
for ensuring porosity. Three or four large
crocks, covered with the rough portion of the
old Mushroom-bed dung, will afford ample
drainage for each pot. Sow eight or nine
Beans in a pot, and thin to five or six in a pot,
when it can be seen which are the best plants.
The soil should be sufficiently moist as not to
require water until the seeds have germinated,
and the leaves got free of the soil. Do not
[ cover the seeds more than 1 J to 2 inches, and
i leave space for a top dressing, which should

■ be applied when the plants are thinned and
supported. Place the pots quite near to the

, glass in a sunny part of a forcing-house having
i a temperature ranging from 00° to 70°. French
1 Beans should never be put into vineries, it
! being an impossibility to keep them free from
red-spider. Plants with pods set should be
afforded gentle syringings on fine days, in
order to keep this pest in check. The plants
would also be much benefited at this stage by
having clear liquid-manure applied twice a
week; that from fowls'-dung, which is easily
made by putting about 1 bushel of the dung
into a coarse canvas bag, and suspending this
in a butt of water, renewing the dung as it
gets exhausted of nutriment, and filling up
the water-butt. Failing this, a good sprinkling
of Clay's, or any of the many artificial
manures, which are quick inaction, will act as
a timely fillip.

Early Peas. — If the border for these is not
already prepared as advised above, let no time
bo lost before preparing it, as after the middle
of the present month (January) no opportunity
should be missed for sowing tho seed if the
ground is dryish and friable. Shallow drills

should be taken out with a spade, and if the
soil will admit of being trodden, the drills
should be lightly and evenly trodden to the
proper depth ; but if at all wet, then a board
about 7 inches wide should be used to press
the soil, which prevents the Peas sinking
deeply as the ground settles. Of late years
the more enterprising seedsmen have so im-
proved upon our early kinds of Peas, that in
the private garden at least it is no longer
necessary to sow the round, white-seeded,
flavourless varieties for early use. William
the First is quite as hardy as any of the early
round white-seeded Peas, and from long expe-
rience with it I have found it to be equally
early, and being a green Marrowfat Pea, it is
much superior in flavour, and may be de-
pended upon (provided a true stock of it is
obtained) for the supply until Exonian and the
newer varieties of early Marrowfat Peas sown
two or three weeks later come into use.

General Work. — Inspect the plantations of
midwinter Broccolis, and directly the heads
have reached a serviceable size lift the plants,
and lay them where protection from frost can
be given. Take up a sufficient quantity of
Jerusalem Artichokes, Parsnips, Salsafy, and
Carrots, to serve the needs of the establish-
ment for a week or longer. Carrots wintered
in the ground should l>e covered with long
litter or other light material, so that the roots
may be easily dug up in hard weather. Of Sea-
kale take up a sufficient number of crowns to
ensure a continuous supply of heads in the
event of hard frost setting in ; they may be
potted or boxed with leaf-mould among the
roots, placed in some frost-free spot, and taken
into the Mushroom-house or other dark warm
place in batches.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By K. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Violas. — Plants that were struck from
cuttings in the early part of the autumn of
last year will have made numerous fibrous
roots in the light, sandy compost in which
they are planted, and an occasional applica-
tion of soot-water and weak liquid-manure will
be very beneficial. This should by preference
be made early in the forenoon of bright days,
so that the foliage may get dry before the
evening.

Calceolarias and Centaureas. — Cuttings
which were inserted in cold frames in the
autumn will have wintered favourably this
year ; and in order to obtain a sturdiness of
growth, the frame lights should bo removed
for several hours in the daytime — and should
the weather be very mild, the lights may be
tilted about 4 inches at the back throughout
the night. Let all decayed leaves be fre-
quently removed, and the surface of the soil
stirred. Let tho side shoots of Centaurca
candidissima be similarly treated. Assuming
that the cuttings were inserted in the autumn
in 60-pots filled with sandy soil, they will have
become established in the cold frames, and
may have thorough exposure throughout; of
course, excluding frost by means of linings of
litter, &e., and coverings on the glass at
night.

Pergolas. — Where these structures exist,
and the framework consists of wood, the
pillars and arch-bars .should be well ex-
amined at this season, and any part that
is too fragile to endure for another year
should be replaced by sound materials.
The plants covering the pergola, such as Vitis
Coignettise, Wistarias, Oydonias, Viburnums,
Roses, summer-flowering Jasmines, .should bo
cleared Of dead shoots and spurs, lefastening
the shoots and branches to the framework,
and in so doing affording strong-growing and
large-leafed species ample space lor the deve-
lopment of the foliage. Forsythias, if these
are employed, where they have not already
been at fended to, will require tho same kind
of treatment, and the removal of the (lead

si ts. If insects or their larvae be present

upon the plants, prepare a mixture of petroleum

1J wine-glassful, black soap 3 oz., rain-water
1 gallon, stirring the ingredients together,
and applying it to the infested plants with the
garden-engine.

Clematis. — Species and varieties of these
that are protected from frost should have the
protective material removed in mild weather
in order that the leaf-buds may not develop,
prematurely. It should also be removed from
varieties of T. and H. T. Roses, whether of
bracken or litter, or the bark may decay.
Clumps of herbaceous perennial plants should
have the same kind of attention. The ordering
of flower seeds from the seedsman should have-
immediate attention, having proper regard 1(*
locality and climate, and the season at which
the chief display is desired, or the uses to
which the plants will be put.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Mayxe, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Bolle,
Bieton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

The Peach Wall. — Assuming that the trees
have been taken from the wall, pruned, am?
washed with an insecticide, it will be necessary
to lime-wash tho wall before fastening back
the trees; and if nails are used for the pur-
pose, it is best to go over the wall, stopping:
all holes with cement, before the lime-wash is.
put on, for it is here a great many injurious,
insects hide. The wash may be toned down
to slate-colour by adding a little lamp-black.
The branches should be tied in small bundles
so that the brush may be worked more con-
veniently. It is the practice in some gardens,
to keep the trees from the wall until the buds,
are well advanced, but although it may retard
the blossoming period a week or ten days, I do
not think the method a good one, as there is
the greater evil of knocking off many flower-
buds when training, no matter whether tied or
nailed, and the work can be much more ex-
peditiously carried out while- the trees are>
comparatively dormant.

Training. — A practised eye is required for-
tius work. The fan-shape is the best style of
training for the Peach and for all stone fruits,
whose branches are liable to die away. The
gaps can be thus more easily filled up than
by any other mode of training. The maiifc
branches should first be fastened in position^
and evenly distributed on either side from tho
centre of the tree, the lateral branches run-
ning in tho same direction, allowing a space-
of 3 to 4 inches between the shoots, tying or
nailing these at their full length, but not too
tightly, shortening to the second bud all.
surplus shoots or any inclined to grow out-
ward to form spurs. In training these two or
three years from tho graft, the centre should
bo kept well open and the shoots almosl
horizontal, or else most of tho sap will ruslh
to the upright shoots rather than to those on
either side lower down, and an ill-balanced:
tree will result. If the nail and shred are-
used in training, it should be placed above and'
below tho shoot alternately, this keeping the
branch in position better than if nailed only
on one side. All shreds to be osed a second!
time should be boiled, in case any insects or
eggs are contained in them. Nails are tln>
better if made red-hot and before quite cob*
placed in a bag and hustled too and fro to rid
them of rust. Newly-planted trees should
neither be pruned or trained for the-
present. It will be more comfortable for the
workman, and better for the border, if boards
are laid down for standing upon while the
work of pruning and washing is carried out.

Gooseberries and Currants.— Cuttings may bc-
madc of strong, straight shoots, 12 to 15 inches
in length, with all but the four buds at the top
removed, and topped about 2 inches. Black
Currants should retain the w hole of their buds,
so that some shoots may arise from the root-
stock annually. These cuttings are the better
if struck in a somewhat shady position id
trenches 4 to 0 inches deep, and having an
upright face. Make the soil firm about them.
A good distance for cuttings is 8 inches by
1 foot.

26

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE,

[January 11, 1002.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER

Letters for Publication, as well as specimens and plants

for naming, should be addressed to the EDITOR,

41, Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London,

Communications should be "written on one side only of
the paper, sent as early in the week as possible, and duly
signed by the writer. If desired, the signature will not be
printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.
f'ewspapers.— Correspondents sending newspapers should be
careful to mark the paragraphs they wish the Editor to see.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

( Royal Hort. Soc.'- Committees.
TUESDAY, Jan-, lil —Scottish Hort. Assoc. (Ann.

I. Gen. Meeting).
WEDNESDAY, Jaw to-Royal Botanic fociety meet.
THURSDAY, Jan. 16— Linnean Society meet.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, Jan. 13.—

Perennials, Border Plants, Roses, &c. bv Protlieroe
& Morris, at 12.— Roses, Bulbs, Ac., Johnson, Dv-
moud & Son, at noon, Japan Lilies at 1.30.

WEDNESDAY, Jan-. 15.—

Azaleas, Pa'ms, and Bulbs, by Protlieroe £ Morris,
?! 12Ift— Lilies, Plants, <Sso., at Stevens' Rooms, at

FRIDAY, Jan. 17.—

Border Piants, &c. Protlieroe it Morris, at 12-
Orchids, at 12.30.— Collection of Orchids, bv Mr'
Cowan, Coal Exchange, Manchester, at 12 3u.

SATURDAY. Jan. 18.—

Palms and Decorative Plants, at Stevens' Rooms.

TENDERS.

Construction of Recreation Grounds, St John's Wood
&■., Borough of Marylebone.

(For further particulars see Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
-36 7°.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— January x (6 p.m.) : Max. 17' ; Min. 43".

January 9.— Dull ; mild.
Provinces. —Jo?i'(an/ 8 (6 p.m.): Max 4;" W Ire-
land ; Min. 43°, N.E. Scotland.

The subject of the culture of
OrSin 0rchids in leaf-mould is one
Leaf-mould. of such interest to Orchid-
growers that the following
communication which we have received from
M. de Langhe-Yervaene will, we are sure,
he read by them with interest : —

" It should first be stated that this new
method of culture, introduced by us twelve
years ago, at first mot with but scanty sym-
pathy from horticulturists, and it was only
after some time, when we had given decided
proofs of the value of our theory, that here
and there some grower of Orchids, after visit-
ing our houses followed our example. So
simple a plan of cultivating these plants did
not seem feasible. Instead of weighing so
important a question, it was negatived a priori
pending fresh developments. Fresh proofs
were soon forthcoming, and year after vear
the results were more convincing; oddly
enough, those whose business it was to in-
struct Orchid-growers still found our method
undesirable, and disparaged it with the object
of decrying the use of leaf-mould, which was
supposed to do every possible harm to Orchids
planted in it.

We did not cease to contend that our system
of feeding was more natural, and therefore
more acceptable than those formerly pursued,
but our explanations of the value of the leaves,
and the abundance of nutritive properties
that they contained, were unheeded.

In 1890 a congress was held in Paris with
the object of determining the cause of the
degeneration of Orchids grown under glass,
and it was clearly demonstrated that diminu-
tion of the pseudo-bulbs was attributable to
insufficient nourishment. To escape these

consequences, the use of artificial manures
was recommended. Soon after this M. L.
C'HAURii, editor of the Paris Moniteur d'Horii-
cnliure, having heard of our new method of
cultivation, visited us at Brussels with the
idea of noting the results obtained by us.
Furnished with such information as we could
give, he recognised the importance of the
matter to French Orchid-growers.

It was after this that leaf-mould was made
the object of many experiments which, if not
satisfactory to everyone, at least converted
many who had previously been much averse to
its use; and it may be said that it is now
largely used in France. It is likely also to be
adopted in England. Misconceptions have
arisen from the notion that the compost
retains too much moisture, or that watering-
can never or only very rarely be effected.
These are obvious misconceptions, but which
must be removed if it is to be proved that
cultivation in leaf - mould is preferable to
growing in fihre or other soils, and if its use is
really practicable.

First of all the cultivation of Orchids as
epiphytes under a glass roof should be con-
demned. None can dispute this.

Plants have constant, need of nourishment
during the period of growth ; in theory,
remembering their grasping habit, which
enables them to hold on firmly, the possibility
of cultivating them as epiphytes seems feasible,
but in practice it is not so. In fact, it is a
question of supplying the plants with what is
essential to them by the intervention of the
air, considered as a medium ; this is not prac-
ticable, so they must be supplied by frequent
waterings enriched with liquid-manure, which
is hardly easier to accomplish. Then we must
use a compost, and decide of what it shall
consist. Fibres seem at first sight most suit-
able for their lightness and permeableness to
air, but experience shows that they form too
compact a mass, cutting off the necessary air
from the roots. Then the most decomposed
parts were removed, thus making a lighter
compost, but one liable to dry too rapidly.
To avoid this drawback, a certain quantity of
sphagnum was added, to retain moisture given
by watering without intercepting the passage
of air. Such was the compost used, except for
certain genera ; for instance, Vanda, Phalse-
nopsis, and others whose roots were more im-
patient of restraint, and which were grown in
sphagnum only.

There was little or no nourishment in a mix-
ture of fibre and sphagnum chopped together
so as to render it sufficiently permeable; the
only parts that the plants could directly assi-
milate were taken away. Sphagnum itself
contains no nutritive matter, and the plants
having no means of drawing nourishment from
it, are obliged to draw upon the reserve store
contained in the pseudo-bulbs ; hence their
dwindling as demonstated at the Cougress
before mentioned. There is justification for
the cultivation in sphagnum only of species
such as Vanda, as these plants are provided
with an extraordinary root system. Their
roots have strong powers of absorption, and
if carefully treated during the period of growth,
the necessary matters can be supplied by
watering, though there is always some diffi-
culty in this way of growing them.

Now to consider compost made of decayed
leaves or leaf-mould : of what should it be
composed, and what trees or shrubs should
provide the leaves?

Various analyses should be made to deter-
mine the relative values of leaves, and to find
which is most suitable for each genus or
variety of Orchid. Much remains to be done
in this respect. We have tried to solve the

question by following natural indications.
Leaves from the trees of woods and forests of
our countries, after their fall and decomposi-
tion, serve perfectly to nourish exotic plants
from any locality. A compost formed of these
leaves, when used, as is the case with Orchids,
for plants of small size, replaces and even im-
proves upon the soil necessary for their
establishment ; on this theory is based my
plan of cultivating Orchids. We will not en-
large on the nutritive properties of leaves
after their fall ; suffice it that their value is
considerable, while such a mixture can be
formed as no other manure can equal, especially
for application in cases where the plants grow
from seed, and are varied in character.

The basis of a compost such as this should
always be the leaves of Oak and Beech, which
are sufficiently durable, and with which any
other leaves can be mixed, forming what we
usually call leaf-mould. If our theory is ten-
able, as results induce us to believe, the
culture of Orchids in leaf-mould may become
general, provided that the necessary material
is obtainable in all countries without fear of
its becoming exhausted.

It remains now to describe its uses. Before
using the compost, all leaves that are not
sufficiently decayed should be sifted out, and
if it still seems too compact a little rough sand
should be added to ensure the passage of
water. We use pots of the usual form, of
which the depth is nearly equal to the width
near the top ; put one crock over the bottom
to. allow the superfluous water to run away,
and so arrange the plants that the bottom of
the pseudo-bulbs is on a level with the upper
edge of the pot, making the soil firm but
not hard, and covering with a light layer
of sphagnum chopped into inch lengths.
This addition is not essential, but is for
appearance sake, and also because if the soil
is exposed it becomes covered with minute
growths that prevent theairfrom penetrating.
We use fairly large pans when we have
vigorous plants likely to remain in them for
two or three years — but it is foolish to
generalise, as experience only can teach
details.

One question that seems to disturb those new
to this method of culture is how to give water.
We cannot enlighten those unfamiliar with this
method without entering into long details ;
suffice it to say that the amount of water is
regulated according to the genus of Orchid,
its seasons of vegetation and growth, as well
as the condition of each plant. The subject is
an important one, and an inexperienced hand
may do much mischief. If watering is judi-
ciously managed, the leaf-mould is naturally
more apt to dry too quickly, than to retain
the moisture long enough to do harm. L. P.
i)e Langlie-Vevwtene, fit. Grilles, Brussels.

Linnean Society. — On the occasion of the
evening meeting to be held on Thursday,
January 16, 1902, at 8 P.M., the following
papers will be read : — I. "On the Use of Lin-
nean Specific Names," by Mr. H. J. Groves.
Exhibitions: — 1. Branches of Cherry affected
by the Gnomonia disease, with remarks on
its effects and climatic causes; by Mr. A. O.
Walker, F.L.S. 2. Photographs and speci-
mens of heads of wild sheep, to illustrate a
recent suggestion as to the use of large horns
in feral species ; by Mr. J. E. Harting, F.L.S.

The Gardeners' Royal Benevolent In-
stitution.— A general meeting of the Gar-
deners' Royal Benevolent Institution will be
held at "Simpson's," 101, Strand, W.C., on
Thursday, January 23, 1902, at 1 P.M., for the
purpose of making certain alterations in the

January 11, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

27

•existing rules, us recommended by the Coni-
nuttc?. of Management ; and the sixty-
tlurd annual general meeting of the members
*)f this Institution will be held at the same
place, and on the same date at 3 p.m., to
receive the report of the Committee, and the
accounts of the Institution (as audited) for the
year 1901 ; to elect officers for the year 1902,
rind other affairs; and also for the purpose of
placing twenty pensioners on the funds. The
•Chair will be taken by Harry J. VEITCH, Esq.,
Treasurer and Chairman of Committee, at
3 o'clock, and the poll will open at 3.15 P.M.,
and close at 4.30 precisely, after which hour
no voting papers can be received. All the
voting papers have been issued. If any sub-
scriber has not received a copy, it is particu-
larly requested that intimation be sent at once
if o the Secretary, G. J. Ingram, at the Offices,
175, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W. The
annual friendly supper will take place on the
-same date, also at "Simpson's," after the
^annual general meeting, at 6 P.M., when
Alderman Robert Piper (of Worthing) will pre-
side. Friends desiring to be present are
disked to kindly notify the Secretary, at
175, Victoria Street, S.W.

"Botanical Magazine." — The January
slumber opens with a fine illustration of Crinuin
-Jolmstoni, t. 7812, a native of British Central
-Africa, from which country some forty other
species are now known. The present plant is
.intermediate between C. latifolium, which it
:i-esembles in the flowers, and the Cape C.
.longifolium, which it resembles in its long,
marrow leaves, tapering very gradually to a
point, but which are bright green, not glau-
cous, as in longifolium. The flower has a very
ilong, cylindrical tube, expanding into a
funnel-shaped limb, with white segments
faintly striped with rose in the centre.

Angrcecum Eichlerianum, Kranzlin, t. 7813. —
A climbing species, with oblong leaves,
[notched at the apex. Peduncles opposite, the
Heaves long, slender, 2 or 3 flowered. Flower
-'U ins. in the longest diameter, segments ob-
Jong, lanceolate, green; lip broad, spoon-
shaped, acute, white. Native of Calabar.

Bauhinia yunnanensis, Franchet, t. 7814. — A
graceful greenhouse climber, with tendrils
and two-lobed leaves, the lobes short and
blunt. The flowers are rosy-lilac, in loose
terminal panicles. It is a native of Western
China, and is cultivated in our botanic
gardens.

Schdmburgkia Thomsoniana var. minor, t.
7815. — A native of the Cayman Islands, to the
-N.W. of Jamaica. The pseudo-bulbs are
ridged ; the leaves broadly oblong-ovate, the
(numerous flowers in terminal racemes. Each
(lower is rather over 2 ins. in its longest dia-
gnotor, the segments spreading, oblong-acute,
yellow ; the lip projects, its two side lobes
■wrap over the column, the anterior lobe di-
vides into two oblong, obtuse lobules, rosy-
violet in colour, and undulate at the margin.
' I'lic species was originally described by
DReICHRNBAOH in our columns, 1887, vol. ii.,
U. 38.

Hibiscus Seottii, Balfour fil., t. 7810.— A
hispid shrub, with ovate leaves, sometimes
■slightly lobed. The involucre consists of 10 to
;12 linear bracts, and the corolla is 3h inches
n cross, yellow, with a central crimson spot,
lit is u native of Socotra. Flowered in the
Edinburgh Botanic Garden.

Tea-supply of Great Britain.— Accord-
ing to a recent number of the Journal d' Agri-
culture Tropicale, the importation of Tea into
England into 1885 was 182,438,216 lb., of
which; 63,794,026 lb. was from India, and

4,242,244 lb. from Ceylon ; the remainder
coming almost wholly from China. And as
regards the 303,807,149 lb. of tea imported in
1900, 150,968,149 lb. was from India,'
115,322,073 lb. from Ceylon, and only
21,852,042 lb. from China.

Plants in Flower on the Riviera.—
Mr. Proschowsky writes from Nice: — "May
I add the names of a few plants in flower in
my garden at Nice at Christmas to those
named by Sir T. HANBURY as being in flower
at La Mortola, a place undoubtedly less cold
in ordinary winters than Nice. Here, in parts
of my garden where the temperature is noted,
no frost has taken place as yet, the lowest
temperature recorded being l-5° Centigr. on
December 16, but some days of continual
mistral, with the temperature rising in the
day to 16° Centigr., caused the usual damage
to many plants, in shrivelling up the leaves,
flowers, and tender shoots. Several plants
having lost the points of their branches through
last winter's severe frost abnormalities occur
in the season of flowering, which has for all
tender plants been considerably retarded, even
where no parts of the plants were actually
killed, because the growth of all such plants
commenced very late in the season. I can
name, as an example, the different Wigandias,
which generally flower here in midsummer,
but last year did not flower at all, and only
now commence to show the flower-buds. A
few plants, among others, in flower here at
Christmas, and now in the first days of
January, not named in Sir T. HANBDRY'8 list,
are : —

Ageratuni mexicanum
Abutilon var.
Begonia Rex and others
Berheris uepalensis and

others
Bougainvillea glabra v.

Sanderiana
Ceauothus divarieatus
Chaimedorea var.
Oestrum (Habrothamnus)

var.
Daphne indica
Epiprcmnum mirabile
Eupatorium Morrisii
Euphorbia (Poinsettia)pul-

cherrima
Erioecphalus scriceus
Fatsia papyrifera
Freylinia cestroides
Grevillea Theleraanniana,

the most tloriferousplant

I know, actually in flower

every day in the year
Genista nionosperma
Heliotropium peruvianum
Iochromas in var.

Iberis sempervirens
Lopezia miniata
Lantanacamaia andothers
Maurandia seandens, Bar-

clayana and others
Musa Ensete
Nieotiana glauca
Pelargonium hybrids
Passiflora Raddiana
Plumbago capensis
Polygalas var.
Salvias ianthina involu-
crata v. Bethelli, lan-
tanafolia,eriocaIyx, and
others
Saxifraga crassifolia
Scuecio Ghiesbrechti, loti-

gifolius, and others
Sphteralcea umbellata
Solanum jasminoides
Sparmannia africana
Taesouia mollissima
Teeoma capensis
Thomasia solanaeea
Veronica speciosa and va-
rieties

Flowers in Season.— We have received
from Mr. A. Hatton, the gardener at The
Quarry, Sevenoaks, Kent, a box of very fine
flowers of Helleborus niger (Christmas Hose),
apparently the produce of plants protected by
glass during the flowering period. They
average 2J inches in diameter, and are of the
purest white, and at a slight distance scarcely
distinguishable from those of the Hog Rose.
The sender tells us that he had on January 0
cut forty dozen of the blossoms.

The Ulster Horticultural Society. —
- — Just too late for inclusion in our Almanac,
we have received intimation from the Ulster
Society that their next Chrysanthemum exhibi-
tion will be hold at Belfast on November 11
and 12, 1902.

Select Varieties of Sweet Peas. —

Shortly after the exhibition of the National
Sweet Pea Society in July last, we called
upon Mr. W. Simpson, at the Grange Gardens,
Sutton, who won the first prize in the princi-
pal class at that exhibition. We found that
the exhibition (lowers had been obtained from

a collection embracing as many as seventy
varieties, but Mr. SlMPSox considered many
of these were so nearly alike, or were inferior
to others, that he had come to the conclusion
that for garden purposes twenty would be
sufficient to represent all the desirable colours
and forms. In response to a>equest that Mr.
Simpson would give us his opinion as to the
best collection of twenty - four varieties,
we were favoured by the following list,
which may be useful to our readers when
ordering seeds for the coming season.
The varieties are Salopian, The Hon. F.
Bouverie, Duke of Westminster, Othello, Mrs.
Dugdale, Venus, Captain of the Blues, Lovely,
Lady Grisel Hamilton,* Gorgeous, Emily Hen-
derson, Miss Willmott,* Chancellor, Blanche
Burpee, Lady Mary Currie, Prince of
Wales, Triumph, Duchess of Westminster,*
Prince Edward of York, Colonist, Royal
Rose, The Hon. Mrs. E. Kenyon,* Lady
M. Ormsby Gore, and Emily Eckford.
The four varieties marked by * were figured
in these pages August 3, 1901, p. 87. Mr. W.
Simpson is gardener to R. C. Foster, Esq.,
and it is wonderful that from so small a gar-
den he should have been able to take such a
position at an exhibition. He had also some
remarkable plants of Euphorbia (Poinsettia)
pulcherritna, 7 feet high, with excellent foli-
age, and the appearance of other plants showed
that, given greater facilities, Mr. Simpson
would show himself a first-rate cultivator.

Otto of Rose.— Speaking at the Pharma-
ceutical Society on the production of this
valuable substance in Bulgaria, Mr. Holmes
continued : —

"I wish to direct the attention of distillers of essen-
tial oils in this country and our colonies to the fact
that there arc in this country localities, as in Devon,
South Wales, and Ireland, as well as in our colonial
possessions, where the requisite warmth, moist atmo-
sphere and soil to grow Roses to perfection, exist, and
that there are Roses more easily grown in this country
than the Bulgarian variety, which in sweetness are not
excelled by those of any European country. Among'
these may be mentioned the ' Unique,' a very flori-^
ferous, white-flowered form of Rosa centifolia; the
ordinary Rosa damasceua, or damask Rose of our
gardens, the General Jacqueminot, a hybrid perpetual,
and Madame Isaac Pereire, said to be the sweetest
Rose grown. The old-fashioned Maiden's Blush has
also a very sweet perfume, but, like the ordinary
damask Rose, and the Rosa centifolia, its period of
flowering lasts only during June. The perfume of Tea
Koses is remarkably powerful in the yellow Rose
Marcehal Nicl, which has never, so far as I am aware,
been utilised in perfumery, although the oil of Henna
flowers is very similar to it iu character, as is also that
of Bulnesia Sarmienti. There is no reason, consider-
ing the advantages of horticultural knowledge and
chemical skill and commercial enterprise possessed by
this country, why au English otto of Roses should not
in the future earn the same reputation that English
oil of Lavender and Peppermint already possess. The
only difficulty is that of the price of labour, but in this
industry! as in that of fruit-picking, children can be
employed without interference with their scholastic
duties, and there are probably in Ireland many dis-
tricts where suitable land could be obtained cheaply,
and where the moist climate is eminently adapted for
Hose cultivation. If a mechanical means of separating
the petals from the calyx could be devised, the odour
would undoubtedly be far superior to that of ordinary
otto of Roses."

Books.— At Messrs. Sotheby's last book
sale of the season at their rooms in Wellington
Street, Strand, on December 17 to 19, " English
Botany : or, Coloured Figures of British
Plants," by J. Sowkrby, 36 vols., 1790 to 1814,
realised £14 10s.; "Alpine Plants," by D.
WOOBTBR, 1874, £1 4s.; " Sylva Britannic* :
or, Portraits of Forest Trees," by J. G.
Striitt, 1826, 18s. ; " Description of the Genus
Pinus, with Directions relative to the Cultiva-
tion, &c," by A. B. Lambert, 1832, 14s.;
"Illustrations of the Natural Order of Plants,"
by E. Twining, 1868, 14a. ; " The Botanic
Garden," by B. Mainu, edited by J. O. Nivkn,
0 vols., coloured plates, 1878, £2 6s. ; " Ferns,

28

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 11, 1902.

British and Exotic," by E. J. Lowe, coloured
plates, 8 vols., 1872, £2 14s.; and "Nature-
printed Seaweeds," by W. G. Johnstone and
A. Croall, 1850, £1 Is.

A New-shaped Epergne.— Mr. J. Williams,
of Oxford Road, Ealing, is sending out an
eporgne constructed so as somewhat to re-
semble a tree with outspread roots and droop-
ing branches, the centre stem being left free
of decoration so as not to obstruct the view
across the table. Round the base and at the
summit are tube-shaped flower-holders set at
intervals, and so that, when the epergne is
dressed, it has a very light look. The orna-
ment is obtainable in silver-plated and in
bronze colour, and measures about 2 feet in
height.

Flower Show at the Cape.— Cape papers
record the occurrence of a horticultural exhi-
bition, at which Sweet Peas and Roses formed
prominent features. Considering that no
country in the world is richer in beautiful
and interesting flowers than the Cape penin-
sula, it seems a great pity that the horticul-
turists of the Colony do not avail themselves
of the riches at their doors, and not copy the
European procedures. Sweet Peas and Roses
are, of course, both beautiful and attractive,
but they should not be allowed to banish the
specially beautiful native flora. This would
furnish not only beauty, but variety and
interest even exceeding that pertaining to
Sweet Peas and Roses. There is room for
both, and neither need be excluded.

River-side Open Space.— We are informed
that a private Bill will be presented to Par-
liament next session at the instance of the
Earl of Dysart, the object of which is to
provide a river-side park extending from
Richmond to near Kingston-on-Thames, for a
distance of 3 miles along the Surrey shore of
the Thames. It is proposed to vest this land
in a public body, and preserve it in perpetuity
as an open space. Lord Dysart, by way of
a return, seeks permission, as Lord of the
Manor, to enclose a considerable acreage o£
Lammas-land to the south of Ham village.

"The Garden Annual," prepared under
the direction of W. Robinson (37, Southampton
Street). — A very useful little book, but which
was apparently sent to press before certain
changes were made — thus, Mr. Burkill is no
longer at Kew, nor is Mr. Jackson, nor Mr.
Nicholson. Professor MacOwan is not Direc-
tor of the Botanic Gardens, Cape Town.
Mr. Thomas is not at Frogmore, and the
changes at Sandringhatn have not been noted.
"Various changes have also taken place in
certain private gardens which are not inserted.

" Farm and Home Year-Book" (W. Robin-
son, 37, Southampton Street), is addressed to
stock-breeders, graziers, market -gardeners,
and agriculturists generally. The information
is so varied and good, as to render the publi-
cation one of the best of its class.

"The Live Stock Journal Almanack,
1902" (Vinton & Co.), is replete with infor-
mation suitable for horse-breeders, cattle-
raisers, poultry keepers. It is interesting to
see that whilst the average height of a race
horse in 1700 was 11 hands, now it is 15 hands
2J inches. The illustrations of various pedi-
gree animals in the advertisements are very
interesting to the naturalist as well as to the
farmer.

"Bibby's Quarterly."— Bibby's Quarterly
(edited by Joseph Bibby ; publishers, J. Bibby
& Sons, Exchange Chambers, Liverpool), is
very attractive and seasonable. There are

some capital coloured pictures, and the photo-
graphs of country life and of cattle are pretty
as well as interesting to those learned in stock.
The practical articles, such as that on " Uncle
Sam in the role of Teacher," deserve attention,
the following rules laid down for John Bull,
junr., embodyirig some very necessary hints : —
1. Be less self-complacent and more receptive
ofnewideas. 2. Put a little more thought and
energy into your work, whatever it may be.
."!. Travel around a little &nd study other
methods. 4. Help to reduce the drink bill,
alike as an end in itself, and as a means to
accomplish the other ends.

Fruit Culture in the United States:
Rhode Island. — On this subject the census
returns give us the following figures : — For
the State of Rhode Island : — ■

Orchard Trees and Fruits.

Fruit.

Number of
Trees.

Bushels of
Fruit.

1900

1890

1899

1889

Apples

213,598

207,230

339,445

239,367

Apricots

67

28

12

5

Cherries

2,193

3.011

1,329

689

Peaches

48,063

11,816

6,140

1,149

Pears

23,344

20,794

12,452

10,037

Plums and Prunes

4,327

1,183

571

138

The increase during the last decade is especi-
ally marked in Peach-trees, having increased
.530,247, or 300 8 per cent.; the quantity of
fruit produced increased by 434-4 per cent.
Apple-trees went up by 3"1 per cent. Pear-
trees increased by 12*3 per cent. The Cherry
crop was increased by 929 per cent., but the
number of trees decreased by 27"2 per cent.
Plums and Prune-trees went up 265-8 per cent.
The total value of all orchard products in 1899
was 155,571 dols. Some 779 farmers cultivate
small fruits, the value of the produce being
57,292dols. The fruits were Cranberries, Straw-
berries, Raspberries, Loganberries, Currants,
Blackberries, Dewberries, Gooseberries, and
others.

NEWLANDS, HARROW - ON - THE
HILL.

In all ages gardening has been the chief
pastime of the scholar, and the masters of
Harrow Schools of the present day pursue the
peaceful and interesting occupation with as
much zest as any of their predecessors. Some
of the schoolhouses have very extensive and
interesting gardens, and of them " The Grove "
on the Church Hill, until lately held by
Edward Ernest Bowen, M.A., whose death
occurred recently whilst on a holiday tour, is
one of the oldest, and in which the grounds
are to a great extent left in their natural
state. At a little distance on the hillside the
.Hardens of R. Bosworth Smith, M.A.,are rich
in hardy flowers and shrubs ; and on the slope
nearer the town the head-master's garden is
pleasantly situated.

Ncwlands, situated on the eastern slope of
the hill which is known as Harrow Park, is one
of the finest houses, and its master, Frank E.
Marshall, Esq., M.A., who has occupied it
since its completion thirteen years ago, has,
in the formation of its garden, so liberally and
effectively carried out his own ideas, that it is
one of the most beautiful in the district. The
house, situated on the high ground, is partly
clad with Wistaria sinensis and Ampelopsis
Veitchi, and has on the garden side a terrace
furnished with flower-beds (see Supplement).
On the slope below stand a noble Walnut-tree
of considerable age, a fine Spanish Chestnut,

and other large trees. Beyond them are-
beds of great size and irregular borders,
planted with flowering shrubs and herbaceous
perennials, two classes of plants which are
specially favoured by Mr. and Mrs. '-Marshall.
The large bed nearest to the house is planted
with hybrid Rhododendrons, among which
clumps of Lilium auratum find a place, which
made a striking display last summer. The
next lied is principally of Roses, which were-
also very floriferous last year; and others are
principally of Azalea mollis and A. pontica,,
which, after furnishing a brilliant display ol
flowers, brighten the scene with the bright
scarlet, red, and yellow of the autumn tint of
their leaves. The long bod at the side of the
view is planted with flowering shrubs and hardy
herbaceous perennials, among which in summer
annuals are planted to fill in spare spaces.
In this clump some bushy trees of the Sea-
Buckthorn give a novel feature with their-
branches of greyish-green leaves, and orange-
scarlet fruits. Two bushes of the male kind
are planted with them, and hence the effective-
show of berries. Effectively arranged are the
different varieties of double-flowered scarlet
Thorns, and representatives of most of the
finest flowering trees and shrubs, and very
fine selections of Paeonies, Irises, Delphiniums,,
and others of the stronger growing showy
perennials ; and nearer the margins of the
beds, the rarer and smaller growing alpines,
and other perennials.

The farthest bed in the home garden, wit hi a
which the turf is well kept, is a massive one of
the best named varieties of Rhododendrons,
all of which are now large specimens, and well
furnished with flower-buds.

Beyond, and stretching away to the kitchen
garden, the grass is allowed to grow, a part,
of the grounds is studded with an occasional
flowering and fruit-tree that is very charming,
especially in the summer time. The kitchen-
garden at the point farthest from the dwelling-
house has been well arranged. Mr. Marshal f.
is fortunate in having as head gardener evei-
since ho has been at Newlands, Mr. David.
Page, a diligent man of very high attainments-
ill his profession, and with over forty years
experience iu gardening in Harrow, an expe-
rience which has taught him much about the
peculiarities of a clay subsoil, and other
matters which render the district a hard one-
to garden in to anyone not used to it.

Mr. Page's plan has been never to plant:
anything without providing for it a good
depth of loam or other soil known to be suited,
to it, hence the fine condition of the Rhodo-
dendrons and other things in the garden. Foi-
plants of large growth the natural soil of the
district is excellent after they have attained
a good size, but in the earlier stages use of a>
lighter soil is advisable. On this plan the
kitchen - garden was laid out, with a good,
depth of loam on the surface, and it grows-
some of the best vegetables to be found in the
county. In this part of the garden Mr.
Page years ago, having an accumulation
of rotten grass which had been deposited ilk
a heap when the lawn was mown, tested its-
value as a manure, and he found it to be a»
very strong and efficient fertiliser. Since that
he has always had set aside the mown grass as-
manure, instead of taking it to the rubbish-
heap, as is the custom with many. The
surrounding country and a lake in the lowei-
ground are of much beauty, although the
district in other directions is getting covered
with houses.

At one side of the house is the old fruit,
garden, once part of the old manor-house
adjoining. The fruit-trees here are very aged,
as are even the fruit-bushes. But age doesv

January 11, 1002.]

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

29

•lot interfere with their bearing, for last
season the Red Currant - bushes bore an
•enormous crop. In the garden is a plan-
tkition of a very fine variety of red-fruited
Raspberry which originated on the place ;
and the old fruit-trees on the walls still bear
well in some years.

A walk having Roses on arches spanning it
anas across the garden, borders of herbaceous
'perennials being planted on each side — a
beautiful arrangement that is being adopted
In many gardens (fig. 8). At the end may be
ween a singular-looking old brick wall, the
purpose of which is not known.

The glasshouses and pits provide for the
jiropagation and cultivation of flowering
(plants ; and in one of the houses there are a
few Orchids which thrive and flower well,

times would be better pulled up, and their
places tilled with fresh plants. By these re-
marks it will be seen that even for one house
of moderate length, say 100 feet long, a selec-
tion of 100 plants is not too many, and that it
would bo wise to have another 100 plants ready
in a week or ten days after the house is
planted out. I always follow this practice
here, planting as we do a great number of
houses, and to sow 400 Cucumber-seeds at one
sowing is my general rule.

I remember the first year I was here bad
luck seemed to follow me ; the houses were
strange to me then, and I was more or less
working as a blind man, and several houses
had to be replanted a short time after the
start. It was then that I found that it is as
necessary to have a good supply of plants as it

Pig. 8.— the old manor-hoose fruit-garden at newiaxus, barrow-on-the-iuix.

(sit- p. 28.)

although they have to a certain extent to take
their chance along with the other plants.
Both Mr. Marshall and his gardener do all
they can to further the interests of gardening
an the district, and especially among the
cottagers and allotment-holders* who, mainly
owing to their exertions, now take a great
interest in gardening, and hold a cottagers"
show in which the produce is of very fine
quality.

MARKET GARDENING.

THE RAISING OF CUCUMBKKs.

IT is always a wise plan to make sure of a

large number of Cucumber-plants, as mishaps

will generally occur, and this is but ton due

where the growing of Cucumbers on a

large scale is concerned. The best of lis
have failures, and many houses have In bo
planted lor the second time, not Counting
the few plants which ini-hl here and I here
remain at a standstill, and which at all

is of fuel. It is wise, however, not to keep
such plants too long in reserve, unless one has
t lie opportunity of repotting them and looking
after their wants, or insect pests will very
quickly attack them, and are but too soon all
over the place.

When it is possible to make a hotbed in one
of the houses, no better thing could be made :
but it requires more time, anil my practice is
to clear part of the propagating-house, which
is always kept quite fr I' insect pests by

burning flowers-of-sulphur when it is empty.
The staging is covered with fresh stable-manure
— the longest of it, and in this 1 partly plunge
the pots; Where room is no object. 48's, or
even 82'S pots are the best sizes to be used.
Another plan is to use smaller ones, and repot .
Many growers sow the seeds In boxes, and pot
oil the plants in small pots in a lew days.

This last practice has much to recommend it,
where heavy crops are required in only part of
t he season, and such plants I have found are
more like those raised from cuttings incoming

into bearing in a shorter space of lime. Con-

trary to most growers, I never use crocks, but
moss instead, which we get from the woods
close at hand. This is much better than
crocks, which take up much space in the pots,
and destroy or injure the roots when the
plants are repotted or planted.

We take much pains with our Cucumbers.
The sowing cannot be done too carefully, for
it pays over and over again. All the materials
used in the sowing are sterilised, of which
there are many methods. A quick process is
to heat them, thus preventing all possibility
of nematodes, or eel-worms, remaining alive.
We are more than troubled with these pests ;
they have entered the ground in the houses to
a great depth, and we cannot get rid of them,
which is a very serious matter, although we
take greater precautions every year, and find
benefit therefrom. I also sterilise the seeds ;
this I do the night previous to sowing. The
plants thus raised have proved to be far superior
to others not so treated. The seeds are saved
from plants grown entirely in sterilised mould,
and only pure water is used. I can fully
recommend this practice to all growers of
Cucumbers.

To go back now to the propagating-house.
The pots, moss, and the mould are put upon
clean benches, which have been brought in a
few days beforehand, the pots being new or
clean ones, it being a dangerous thing to use
dirty pots. Half of all the failures in Cu-
cumber-growing are brought about by care-
lessness, and nothing else. In new places,
Cucumbers generally do well, and pay well.
No other plant tfcat I know of has so many
enemies and is subject to so many diseases,
brought about by intense culture. Year after
year, the same crop in the same houses, with-
out any change. Only by taking every pre-
caution can failures be prevented. Another
plague is rats, and no matter what I do, they
will find their way into the houses, and even
pull up the young plants after the seed itself
has disappeared and changed into plant-food ;
t hereforc I always cover the pots at night
with sheets of glass or empty boxes, which
answer well enough till the plants become too
large to be thus covered. It is as well to use
t he same mould for the young plants as will
be used in the beds, never sifting it, but
breaking it up by hand when too large, which
can be done when using it. When the mixture
is too fine, the water does not run away freely,
and there is less room for air. A little mould
only is required at the time of sowing. A
small portion of moss at the bottom, a handful
of mould at the top, in which the seed is
placed with the finger and thumb, point down-
wards, and plenty of space is left for a top-
dressing afterwards, which for that matter
might reach above the rim of the pot.

When long stable-litter is used on the
staging in which to plunge the pots, not much
water is required, even when there is a good
bottom-heat; and this itself is a great saving
of labour, and favours the health of the plant.
Tin' manure will also surround the plants with
moisture containing ammonia, which for Cu-
cumbers is of much benefit. I always make it
a practice to rc-ar range the plants frequently,
afford moisture to the bed— never, in fact,
letting it get dry long, or there would bo no
evaporation. It is a good rule to examine the
plants frequently for insect pests. The plants
will soon show if the bottom-heat is too high
by the weakly growth that they make. The
-lass should be kept quite clean inside and
Out, lor sunshine is of the greatest help in
making strong plants; the staging should

therefore be as high as it is possible to make it.

Where young Cucumbers are growing, the
gardener will find something to do every day ;

30

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January n, 1902.

in fact, it is on such careful treatment that good
results depend. This work, as it is done most I v
in the early part of the year, under all pos-
sible disadvantages, requires all the attention
it is possible to afford on the part of the culti-
vator. The seeds will germinate freely in a
bottom-heat of about 85°, with a lower top-
heat, say of 70° to 75°. Air should be admitted
to the house whenever the day is sunny and
not very eold. A. A. Fabius, Redlands Nursery,
Emsworth,

EARLY

MELONS AND
CULTURE.

POT

An early lot of Melons will be valuable iu
many gardens where fruit is required in
quantity in April or May. I am aware that
April is full early, but in the most favoured
parts of the kingdom with a good command of
bottom-heat, and by growing those kinds that
mature quickly — that is, a small or medium-
sized fruit — Melons of good flavour may be
had at the time named. Pot culture is not
generally practised, but much may be said in
its favour, as the plants when grown in pots
are more readily managed ; the roots being
curbed, more food may be given when the fruits
are swelling. I think Melons are more ap-
preciated early in the season than later, and
though there are difficulties to contend with
so early in the season, yet they are Dot so
great by this mode of culture. The plants set
more freely, and when set will take a liberal
supply of food, this causiDg rapid growth—
which is not always the case with plants given
more root-space. There are diverse ways
even with pot culture. I have seen the
Melon fruited in very small pots and do well,
but when grown thus the pots were plunged
in some rich rooting-material and the plants
were grown as cordons, only one fruit being
taken from a plant, and of course the plants
were much closer together than when larger
pots are used, say 12-inches or larger.

There is a gain in running the growths up
quickly and securing the first fruit that sets,
and plants grown thus in a shallow bed get
more bottom-heat and can be fed liberally. I
note this mode of culture to show that a hard-
and-fast line even with Melon culture is not
necessary. Many growers even now have not
Melon-pits or houses, and are obliged to grow
one crop in frames, and of course at this early
period of the year it would not be advisable
to sow for frame culture unless there was
ample tup- warmth from hotwater-pipes. On
the other hand, with a good top-heat and only
manure to furnish bottom-heat, by using large
pots sunk in the manure up to the rims, I have
cut Melons in the early part of May. drown
in pots there is a great saving of time, as it is
an easy matter to add new heating materials,
but the pots should be on a Arm base to
prevent auy sinking, and so arranged that the
plauts are not more than 12 to 18 inches from
the glass. The latter should be covered at
night in order to maintain an even temperature
and save hard firing.

Of course, with a Melon-house or pit with
a path in it the cultivator's task is easier, as
the plants can be attended to in any weather ;
in frames this cannot be done. Even with
these difficulties, Melons may be grown with a
little extra attention.

My notei more concerns house culture, and
often shelf-space in houses may be given to
pot-Melons when a whole house could not be
afforded.

For many years I grew our earliest lot of
Melons in 12-inch pots — some in 10, even — in
Pine-pits at the back of the pits, and very

well they did, but, of course, heavy crops
were not attempted ; two fruits to a plant, or
three at the most, were obtained, but in the
position named the plants could not get bottom-
heat. There was, however, a genial warmth
from the hotwater-pipes, and the temperature
would never fall below 05°. The first fruits
that showed were secured, and if only two
took the lead we let well alone and did not
trouble about others that followed. With pot
culture, close stopping is needed, but, on the
other hand,;the plants make a short-jointed
growth and show their flowers sooner than
when given more root-space.

When a whole house or pit can be spared
for the plants, so much the better, as here
much the same kind of treatment can be
given, but larger pots can be used and more
fruits allowed to each plant, as more trellis
space can be afforded. It may be asked, when
large pots are used and three or four fruits to
a plant secured, what is the gain, as the same
results can be obtained by planting out?
There is a great saving of time with pot cul-
ture ; there is less risk of the plants run-
ning too much to leaf and failing to set, and
some of the strong growers are at times
subject to this if the roots get into a body of
manure. Another important point not to be
overlooked is, that the fruits can be finished
better when the grower has good command of
the roots. I mean, the supply of moisture can
be checked at the right moment.

I need not dwell upon simple details, such
as raising the plants; this is well known,
but I would add it is best to secure a stroDg
plant at the start,andthisat the present time of
year is easier said than done. At the same
time I think well of the old method of raising
the seeds in small pots, sowing two or three
seeds in a pot, and when the plants are well
above the soil, thinning to the strongest.
Many raise the earliest plants by placing fibre
in the evaporating pans and plunging the pots.
It is a good plan, but the seedlings should
never be far from the glass.

I am not an advocate for growing the Melon
in poor soil ; far better curb the roots and
feed freely, thus securing an early set and
earlier fruit, and with pot culture these latter
points can be attended to — even for a late
autumn supply pot culture is valuable. I have
also noticed that plants given pot culture
rarely go wrong at the base, and this with
early plants is a great gain. G. Wythes.

MELIOSMA MYRIANTHA.*

Those who look at the multitude of small
flowers that bedeck the branching panicle of
this shrub, will recognise the appropriateness
of the name (fig. 9, p. 31). The flowers are
greenish-yellow, and give the plant the appear-
ance of a Spiraea. Nevertheless the order to
which it belongs, Sabiacese, is remote from
Spirtea, and is of interest to the botanist from
the position of the stamens opposite the petals.
As an ornamental plant it may take a pro-
minent place in the greenhouse, and it might
even prove hardy in sheltered situations in
the south and south-west. Perhaps also it
might prove suitable for forcing purposes.
Our illustration was taken by Mr. W. ti. Smith
from a plant obligingly submitted for our in-
spection in July last by Messrs. James Veitch
«.t Sons. The plant is a native of Japan, the
Corean Archipelago, and probably of somo
parts of China.

* Mcliosma myriantha, Siebold and Zuocarini in
Auttandl. Acad,, Munch., iv., Ii. (1843); Hemsley. Jonrn.
Linn. Soc. Botany, vol. xxiii., p. 145; Franeliet and
Savatier, Enum. Plant. Japan., vol. i. (1875), p. 91.

LILIES.

In some ancient pictures of the VirgMi
Mary, the artist shows her holding in heir
right hand a spike of Liliuin candidum, em-
blematical of purity; and no better Lily iu the
whole family could have been chosen. It is
as remarkable for its rich agreeable fragrance1
as it is for its refined form and pure white
flowers. Nearly all Lilies are conspicuous for
striking colours, and characteristic for per-
fume. L. candidum, L. longiflorum, and L.
auratum on a quiet evening fill the atmo-
sphere with a delicious odour. In such as
L. testaceiim the fragrance is fainter, still
very sweet. Some again of the European
Lilies are not altogether agreeable. Theme
are, however, some 170 species from the fouB
quarters of the globe to choose from, this;,
being somewhere about the number of species
of Lilies at present known, and a few hybrids..
Japan gives us somewhere about fifty- six.
varieties of Lilies, China about twenty-five
and now that the country is being opened up,
we have every reason to expect from the*
recent finds that important species in con-
siderable numbers will be added, and what is
of still more importance, species combining
great beauty with accommodating habits, and
of easy culture. India, including Burmah and.
Nepaul, contributes about seventeen species*
all of great beauty, but not all of easy culture:
in Europe. America contributes about thirty
species, amongst which are plants of nobles
aspect. Europe, including the Caucasus and
Siberia, contributes upwards of forty species,
representing many of great beauty and value
for effect in groups in mixed flower-borders.

Few of the hybrid Lilies appear to be of any
great merit, except L. testaceum, syn. exccl-
sum, and Isabellinum. " The Wizard of Santa.
Rosa," as Mr. Burbank is called by the people-
of the United States, has been hybridising the
Lily family for some years, and I notice one
has got into cultivation under his name.
Whether he will be more successful than
those who have been hybridising to get new
Lilies for the last hundred years, we shall see-
in time. When I saw him in his home at.
Santa Rosa, he was very sanguine, and had.
then sent out his first batch of chickens to sees
what the world thought of his handiwork.

The Lily seems to resist the efforts of man.
to breed mules, and if one is to judge froint
the hybrid L. Parkmanni, which, in my
opinion, to be made a really distinct plant, it-
wants another cross. It is a seedling from L.
speciosum and L. auratum, but is much too.
close to L. auratum ; a further cross with L.
speciosum might make it a really good mule.

It is some seventy years since the well-
known nurseryman, Mr. Groom, of Clapham,
near London, had a fine collection of Lilies,,
and as a boy I remember his price for L-
speciosum was 5s. to 105s. per bulb; he was,
what in those days was considered a great im-
porter of Lilies, and from a descriptive list of
his, which came into my possession some 25
years ago, containing names and descriptions
of some Lilies he had raised, I managed to.
collect most of them from various sources and
under various names, but not Groom's names -
By a careful examination of the flowers 1
arrived at the conclusion he used as parents.
Davuricum var. spectabile, from Siberia, with
L. bulbiferum from the Austrian Alps.

I see some recent writers think that th<-
varieties commonly known in gardens under
the name L. umbellatum, were raised from the
Japanese vars. of elegans (Thunbergianum), but
so strongly was I impressed in studying tln~
parents, L. bulbiferum and L. davuricum, and
taking all the points of the children into con-

Jancarv 11, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

31

#

Fit;. 9. — MKUOSMA MYUIAN'IIIA. (SKE V. 30.)

eideration, I see no reason now to change my by a spring frost, and (lie plants not being might have been usod also, but aftor all

"'l'"'"n- . , able to produce seed, they usually produced elegans is only a go igraphical form of I-

rfce points whioh determined myjmlg nt on the top of the plant bulbleta, which, when bulbiferum and dnvuricnm, so I consider my.

on the parents was the fact that when the planted, grew into bulbs. I will not dispute, arrangement of all the children remains good

flowers oi these Lilies, which got destroyed |,ufc SOIlle of the stronger vars. of elegans under the specific name L. davuriciun as a pro-

32

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 11, 1902.

forable name to elogans, and thus it is under
the name L. davuricum I will describe those
1 recommend for South Africa. Some will ask,
" What is in a name ? " I say there is a groat
deal ; it is in plants as important as in children
■ — a mode of distinguishing one thing from
another — and in the case of plants it is a great
advantage when we can range our garden
names under a species ; it prevents a great
deal of confusion in being able to show the
relationship.

Of recent years a new system of naming
hybrid plants raised in gardens was introduced
by Sir Michael Foster; it has much to com-
mend it. The first syllable of each of the
parent's name is taken, and supposing I have
rightly determined the parentage, and the
mother had been L. buibiferum, the name
would read bulb-dav, the motive being to know
from whence the plant had been derived ; but
'I must say such compound names sound
strangely to one's ears. In the very early
days, most Japanese Lilies came to Europe
through the Dutch, who, I think, were the
only Europeans allowed to trade with that
country, and I think they were only permitted
one vessel a year. At that time Dr. Siebold
was settled in Kobe, and, being a plant lover,
sent many Lilies and other Japanese plants to
Leyden, in Holland, and from thence they
were distributed.

The Lily, like the Daffodil, has had its
periods of falling out of public favour, so
that from Gioom's time till .some thirty years
■ago the only Lilies seen about were in old
gardens, and those of the commonest kinds,
which required no special attention. Now,
like the Daffodil, J think it has come to stay,
■as each year adds some new species requiring
less attention and better adapted to the great
varieties of soil and conditions in the number-
less gardens, small and large, to be found
wherever the English language is spoken. The
tact that Lilium longiflorum eximium succeeds
so perfectly, in South Afriea augurs well for
the successful culture of many, if not all,
Lilies in this favoured climate.

Lilies are propagated by scales, and this
■can be done so rapidly that it will be only a
tow years from the introduction of a new Lily
till it is on the market at quite a moderate
price. Unlike Daffodils, when a new variety
is raised the increase is slow, and it is a long-
time before a new Daffodil can be bought for a
few pence. Happily for us, it is not necessary
to wait in either case for moderately-priced
bulbs, as there are plenty of both Lilies and
Daffodils of the highest order of beauty, which
can now be obtained for a few pence per bulb.
It was in 1875 when the first two bulbs of
what is now known as Lilium Harrisii syn.
Easter Lily and Bermuda Lily (Lilium longi-
florum eximium) wero taken to Philadelphia
from Bermuda. In three years the two bulbs
represented 100, and as the source was known,
and the value of the Lily for Easter-flowering
appreciated, a supply of bulbs was got from
the gardens of Bermuda, and in 1882, under
the name of L. Harrisii, it was put on the
market. The inhabitants of Bermuda, finding
they had something, of value, collected these
Lilies from the different private gardens, and
Avent in for extensive culture. It is recorded
that somewhere in the nineties the export of
these Lilies from Bermuda amounted to two
million bulbs, their estimated value being
£15,000. About this time cupidity and igno-
rance led to sad disaster. Anxious to increase
the output, manuring was resorted to, and a
correspondent informed me of one farmer who
planted two acres, and manured them with all
the refuse he could find, including rotten
l'otatos: the result being the Lilies were

killed, or so badly diseased that the crop was
lost. Of so much value was this export to
Bermuda, that the Imperial Government sent
out a man almost specially to see what could
be done in getting rid of the disease. I
chanced to meet this man in New York on his
way to Bermuda, and hearing what his main
object was, gave him the key to the situation,
and asked him to let me know what he found ;
and when he did so, he stated that manure had
been at the bottom of the trouble. In these
days it is difficult to turn back the clock of
progress, and as Bermuda failed to meet the
growing demand for this Lily, it was somewhere
about the middle of the nineties a call was
made upon the Japs for Lilium longiflorum,
who lost no time in sending collectors to the
islands of the Japanese and Chinese seas, who
collected every bulb of this species they could
find. The outcome of this indiscriminate col-
lecting was some eight varieties, some tall,
some short, some with small flowers, some
with large flowers, some with split flowers,
seme with few flowers, and some with many
flowers on a stem. It so happened that a
large importer, knowing that I was going
to Japan, asked me to look into the matter
and report. I did so, and after inspecting
some fields of this Lily, I drew the attention
of the traders to the most desirable types to
cultivate, and advised such should be in-
creased separately, and as the supply of the
higher typos met the growing demand, to
throw away the inferior kinds. I had the
pleasure of seeing that, before I left Japan,
my advice had been acted upon ; and from a
photograph of a field of Lilium longiflorum
eximium now before me, all apparently true,
showed me and surprised me that in so short a
time this wonderful people, in their desire for
trade, should have cleaned their stocks so
quickly. I also see from a report that the
export of L. longiflorum from Japan to New-
York and London in 1809 amounted to about
£15,000, the entire export of Lilies from Japan
that year amounting to £25,000. I think Ber-
muda has not gone back on its £15,000,
possibly now £20,000, and Japan equally ad-
vanced. You can therefore imagine the
extent of the supply and demand, and that
mainly to grow under glass for the cut bloom,
and then throw it away. The Bermuda Lilies
reach the market first, and the grower gets
the flowers ready for the Christmas demand.
Those from Japan, coming later, meet the
Easter demand, and supply flowers during the
London season. During five to six" months
this Lily is to be had in London and all over
the British Isles, as also all over the American
Continent.

Should anyone desire to start a new industry
in the Cape Peninsula, this can be done with
Lilium longiflorum eximium, and thus share in
a profitable enterprise. No need to go abroad for
the material ; it is at hand, and soon millions of
bulbs could be shipped to London. You can-
not improve upon the speeies growing in your
gardens. I was curious to know the origin of
the stock in the Municipal Gardens ; 1 asked
Mr. Chalwin, the Curator, what he knew
about the plants, and his reply was : "I have
been Curator over twenty years, and they
were in the Gardens when I first took up my
duties." These Lilies must have been brought
here about the same time they were taken to
Bermuda, either directly or indirectly from
Japan. Prior to our getting Lilium longi-
florum from Japan, the stock of L. longiflorum
in Europe was a short-flowered, dwarf variety,
possibly worn out from long cultivation in an
ungenial climate. It is now some thirty years
since we commenced to have consignments of
Lilies from Japan, and no doubt some of these

early lots of Lilium longiflorum eximium had
found their way to the Cape and Bermuda
about the same time. It will please you when
I say that fifteen flowers on a plant of L.
longiflorum eximium was the greatest number
known in Japan. On this fine form of L. longi-
florum, Mr. Chalwin informs me that twenty
flowers on a stem is no unusual thing. There-
fore, according to the size of the bulb you put
in the ground will be the height of the stem
and the number of the flowers. To prove this,
I got Mr. Chalwin to lift a strong plant be-
tween 4 and 5 feet high, and measured its
bulb, which was 13 inches in circumference,
and from base of bulb to surface of the soil
8 inches. I would recommend that you plant
10 inches deep, measuring from the base of
the bulb, and my reason for this recommenda-
tion is that this plant is supported mainly
from the stalk-roots; some Lilies have only
roots at the base of the bulb, others have base-
roots and stalk-roots. The stalk-roots are the
main support of the, plant, so that every
encouragement has to be given to these;
while the roots from the base are working in
the interest of the bulb, the stalk-roots are
working in the interest of the flowers. One
bulb lifted had one flower; this bulb measured
0 inches in circumference, and 28 inches high.
Those species of Lilies which have no stalk-
roots, have to do double duty in supporting a
flower and remaking a bulb, consequently the
increase is less rapid. I ought here to men-
tion the longest flowers I could find in the
Municipal Gardens measured 8 inches in
length, and from tip to tip of the open flower

0 inches. I question if Japan or the finest
culture in Europe ever reached this size, and
with twenty flowers on a stem, be it remem-
bered, shows another argument in favour of
your charming climate. Some may ask what
was the shortest flower I found in the gardens.

1 think 1 must say 8 inches long, my eye not
being aide to detect much difference in the
thousands I looked over. P. Ban; in " Cape
Times."

(To be continued.)

POPULAR AND STERLING
VAKIETIES OF PEAS.

During the twenty-five years I presided
over Longford Castle Gardens, I grew most, if
not all, the leading varieties of the culinary
Peas, and had opportunities of testing many of
the novelties before they were put into com-
merce. The ground in which I grew the Peas
each year was trenched between 2 and 3 ft. deep,
and three layers, 6 inches thick each, of well-
decayed horse-dung were incorporated with
the soil in the process of trenching. In this
specially prepared land I sowed my second-
early, mid-season, and late Peas in early
January, February, and March, and after-
wards, at intervals of a fortnight or three
weeks up to the end of the third week in May,
making a large sowing for late crop the end
of the first week in June, as three months
later the pods will take a longer time than
previous crops did to fill. As soon as the
Peas appeared through the ground, a little
soil was drawn up to the plants on either side
of the rows. They were then supported by
spray or spreading sticks stuck firmly into
the ground on either side of, and close up
to, the haulms, following this with a layer of
half-rotten manure to the thickness and width
of 6 or 9 inches as a mulch, the Peas being
sown thinly rather than otherwise in every
case.

I may say that the Peas for yielding gather-
ings of green Peas towards the end of May
were transferred from 3-inch pots to a border
at the foot of a wall having a south-west

January 11, 1902.]

THE GARB EJYER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

33

aspect early in February, staked, and pro-
tected for a time with Spruce-boughs from the
effects of cutting winds and frosts, the rows
being planted obliquely in order to ensure the
haulms having the full benefit of the morning,
mid-day, and afternoon sun.

For yielding early gathering of Peas I relied
upon sowings of Lightning, Ringleader, "William
the First, and Exonian, made in pots the end
of December, and out-of-doors early in January,
at the same time that sowings of Carter's
Stratagem, Pride of the Market, Tele-
graph, and Telephone, were made for suc-
cession. These four varieties, for vigour,
productiveness, size, and handsome appear-
ance of their pods, and the fine quality
of the Peas with which they are well filled,
have not yet been excelled. Wordsley
Wonder, containing from nine to twelve large
Peas in each slightly-curved pod ; and Royal
Jubilee, a grand, good all-round Pea, the
handsome sword-shaped pods each containing
from nine to thirteen large and deliciously-
flavoured Peas; and Elephant, were reliable
main- crop varieties. Carter's Michaelmas,
Late Queen, Veitch's Sturdy (the result of a
cross between Veitch 's Perfection and Ne Plus
Ultra), Prodigy, Autocrat, and No Plus Ultra,
still hold the field against all new comers as
being the most reliable varieties in every way
for yielding supplies of Peas of first-rate
quality throughout the autumn months, until
cut down by frost ; being of vigorous constitu-
tion and prodigious croppers, producing,
mostly in pairs, large, handsome, well-filled
pods, containing from nine to eleven large,
high quality Peas each.

Sixteen years ago last September, in
looking through Tynninghame Gardens, Pres-
tonkirk, in company with Mr. Brotherston,
then as now the head gardener at this pictu-
resquely situated residence, I saw the Chelsea
"triplet" Peas, i.e., Sturdy, Prodigy, and
Autocrat, in fine condition, and heavily laden
with large, well-filled pods ; the crops being
in every respect as good as those at the time
growing in Longford Castle Gardens, nearly
500 miles farther south.

As the result of the cultural treatment
described above, I may say without, I hope,
being considered egotistical, that with
samples of the produce taken from most of
the varieties of Peas indicated above, I have
invariably succeeded in taking high honours
at London and leading provincial shows, at
which "special" and other prizes, as well
as medals, were offered collections of single
dishes of Peas. In fact, I have never failed to
secure extra good crops of any one particular
variety of the numerous varieties which I
tried and subjected to the cultural treatment
described above— varieties not mentioned in
this list, in which are only enumerated about
one-and-a-half dozen of the very best varieties
of the Pea in cultivation. I may add that in
time of drought the several ranks of Peas were
kept amply supplied with water at the roots •
but owing to the fact of good surface-dress-
ings of manure having been laid on the
ground immediately over the roots on either
side the plants, it was not necessary to incur
much labour in this direction. The reading of
the interesting and useful notes contributed to
the Gardeners' Chronicle on this subject by
Mr. Wythes (p. 388), and other correspondents
(p. 440), stirred up a favourite topic in my
mind, and to such an extent that I concluded
that there was still room for a further note on
this important subject that some readers
might peruse with advantage now that the seed-
ordering time is close at hand. H. W. Ward,
December 14. [We have always understood
that nitrogenous manure is not of any special
value to Peas, if it be not actually injurious.
En.] *

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

the rainfall at rugby.— 1 am sending
yon the tables of the rainfall, carefully kept
here for the past two years. I thought it.
would interest some readers of the Gardeners'
Chronicle to compare the rainfall for the two
years : —

1900.

Indies.

1901.

January...

... 384

January...

... 0 63

February

... 3'50

February

... 0 70

March . . .

... 0'53

March . . .

... 131

April

... 058

April

... 282

May

... 124

May

... 1 30

June

... 300

June

... 315

July

... 083

July

... 4'79

August ...

... 3 62

August ...

... 240

September

... 0 61

September

... 185

October ...

... 2-42

October ...

... 145

November

... 2'27

November

... Q82

December

... 413

December

... 439

Total ... 2657 Total ... 2561

Both years, 1900 and 1901, are below aver-
age here, but it will bo noticed that De-
cember in each year has been far above the
average, the average fall for that month being
2J inches. H. Berry.

RAINFALL AT TEMPLE HOUSE, BERKSHIRE.

—The appended table gives the quantity in
metric inches of the moisture measured in a
rain-gauge having a funnel with the diameter
of 5 inches, and placed at 1 foot above the
level of the ground, at an elevation of 105 feet
9 inches above sea-level : —

Number

Month.

Total
Depth.

Greatest fall
in 24 hours.

of Days on

which

'01 or more

fell.

Inches.

Depth.

Date.

January ■

1-U7

•16

27

35

February

165

•99

4

16

March

147

•45

2

17

April

257

■73

3

17

May

0-150

•18

30

■ 7

June

1-35

•62

30

13

July

2 33

•78

12

11

August

235

•50

25

12

September

118

■65

16

10

October

219

■98

16

20

November

043

19

13

8

December

3-60

•81

24

18

Total

20-85

99

Feb. 4

164

The average rainfall for the year is 27-50
inches, and that for 1900 was 26-35 inches.
George Groves.

late PEAS.— I have read with interest the
several articles in this journal concerning late
Peas, and I for one should like to sec a list
published of some ten or twelve good varieties
for succession, with dates of sowing the same,
if some gardener of wide experience would
oblige, as I feel sure there are many young gar-
deners greatly embarrassed as to which varie-
ties to grow after removing from one county
to another. C. B., Combs.

Japanese larch.— I read with keen inte-
rest the remarks of "W. H. Massie" anent
this interesting Larch, in your issue of 21st
ult., and so far as habit of growth and disease
is concerned, I endorse all your correspondent
says. None of us yet know the timber-value
of, Larix leptolepis, as grown in this country,
I admit ; but watching its behaviour as I have
done for a considerable period, and comparing
its hardihood growing alongside of the Tyro-
lese and so-called native Larches, from one-
year seedlings up to several feet in height, 1 am
convinced that this interesting species has a
future for genera) estate purposes. John
Arlhnr, Carlisle.

CORDON PLUM-TREES.— Doubtless as Mr.
G. Wythes says, p. 473, December 28, Plums,
when the soil is suitable, can be successfully
grown as cordons; or to be more correct,
perhaps, this I think is the inference l,i In-
drawn from his remarks. On Boils containing
chalk where wood growth is notgrOSS, cordon
Plums will do very well ; but it is a system
which should never be attempted upon si ion--,
isl soils, iii which the Plum makes a gross

growth. When I took charge of the gardens
which 1 now manage, there were, and are now,
upon a west wall, the following Plums, Heal's
Hybrid, Gisbourne, Jefferson, Victoria, Trans-
parent Gage, and Given Gage, as well as
cordon Pears and trained Cherries. ThcPhm s
were the usual fan-trained, and were fruitless.
The wall was only about 5 feet high. The
trees had made a very strong growth, which
had as regularly been cut bade to the top of
wall. 1 advised the raising of the wall, but
this was not allowed. Not to be beaten, I
suggested bolting iron standards to the wall,
and wiring 4 feet 6 inches above top of wall ;
this I was successful in getting done. The'
next season the trees made their usual ram-
pant growth, 3 to 4 feet long in some cases.
These long top shoots I carefully tied back to
the wire, cutting back only such as were not
wanted. To fill the wires at a reasonable
distance apart, these top growths were not ,
shortened in the least, the result is that each
season since, the trees have borne good crops
of splendid fruit. A short time ago I was at
the house of a friend, looking at a Gage which
he had taken much care of ; he was lamenting
its unfruitfulness. 1 observed the gross shoots,
at top of tree, and 1 asked what would be dove
with them. " Oh," said my friend, " the gar-
dener will prune them all off." " Now," I said,
"you nail them up to the wall of the house, 1 11
their lengths, and you will get plenty of fruit. '
I may say that the Cherries are coming into
fruit by being allowed to extend their growth,'.
The indiscriminate use of the knife has much
to do with the unfruitfulness of much wall "
fruit, especially upon strong soils. W. F. E.

the rust of chrysanthemums. — I was
amused to read tlte singular remarks- of '
" W. F. E." on p. 13 with reference to the
Chrysanthemum-rust, 1 am thinking he has
this fungus-pest rather strongly. However, I
beg to assure him that I have no desire to
lull him or anyone into what he is pleased to
term "fools' paradise." I am thankful to say
that our plants are free from the disease, and
as there have been scarcely any remarks in
the gardening press of late, I concluded the
pest to be dying out. If gardeners growing
these plants would kindly give their experi-
ence of this matter in these pages, we should
learn how far I am right. A. J. L.

I haVo read in your paper with

much interest the opinions of your various
correspondents on this subject. As A. J.
Long and W. J. Godfrey hold contrary
opinions as to the trial which I reported as
regards the effects of manure, will they kindly ■
explain how it was that the unmainued plants,
escaped without a trace of the rust? No par-
ticular varieties were experimented upon, but
cuttings were all taken from the same stock.
Several gardeners who saw the plants could
could not account for it. When the article cf
" W. .S." appeared in the Gardeners' Clironicle,
p. 420, I thought it would lie of interest to
give a report of this trial. McCitllocli,
(jr., Denton, Grantham,

THE CARNATION OR JULY-FLOWER.— Much

has been written of late as to the term " Car-
nation," whether it designates merely a colour
of the flower or plant ; perhaps the following
from Flora sen De Florum Cultura, by John
Rta, gent., 1676, may prove both instructive
and interesting. Hesays, p. 150, "July-flowers
(as they are properly called from the mouth in
which they bring forth their beautiful flowers)
are indeed the pride of summer, as Tulips are
the glories of the spring. Heretofore we had
of them many good varieties that wero not
seedlings, as the old Carnation." Here he
evidently refers to it as a particular flower of
a certain colour. Yet further hesays, "The
gray Ilulo, i he blue Hulo, tho white Carna-
tion," hero it is the plant, not the colour, .
"and others." He continues, "but now not ■
any of them aro to be found in any of our
gardens, yet we aso plentifully supplied with
many fine varieties of July-flowers, such as aro.
yearly imported from Flanders and other parts
of the Netherlands ; raised from seeds, thoso

34

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[Jantary 11, ISO?.

we call Dutch flowers, of which we have some
very good sorts." From this it appears that
the Carnation and its variants was distinct
from these latter. He then gives a list of
3G0 named and distinct sorts, so that at this
early period it seems to have been the practice
of naming any new or good variety after gods,
goddesses, men, women, and events. For my
own part I had deemed this a modern inven-
tion to please, and for mercantile purposes.
But of Mr. Rea further, " A multitude of these
are often brought over to London, and then
sold at mean rates to gardeners, who sell
them again to others who delight in flowers,
eommonly for twelve pence a layer ' ' (this
rather exceeds the present usual price) ; he
adds, "but the truth is, most of these mercenary
fellows about London are very deceitful, and.
who ever trusts them is sure to be deceived,
as I myself have often been, even by such of
them as I had by many benefits obliged."
Truly times have much improved since 1C76.
He presently describes the "Dutch Jnly-flowers
are commonly large, thick, and double ; the
more ordinary sorts aro all of one entire colour
[selfs], as red, purple, scarlet, or white, some
deeper coloured, others paler ; these single
colours arc little esteemed, but those flowers
chiefly valued which are well striped, flaked,
or powdered upon white, or blush with darker
or lighter red, crimson, or Carnation, sadder
or brighter purple, deeper or paler scarlet ; so
all the Dutch flowers may be comprehended
under these three sorts, that is red and white,
purple and white, and scarlet and white ; in
all which there are fine varieties." Here he
appends the florists' names of over 100 of
these flakes, so that at this period the Carna-
tion must have been held in high repute,
indeed, so much so, that Mr. John Rea there
delivers his predilection in verse : —

" For various colours Tulips most excel,
And some Anemones do please as well,
Ranunculus in richest scarlet shine,
And Bear-ears may well these in beauty joyn,
Cut yet, if ask and have, were in my power,
Next to the Rose give me the July-flower."

Cultural directions are also freely given, all
of which are almost identical with the present
methods of the "July-flower" fanciers. With
"the Clove" he is not much impressed, for
he says, "As for Clove, July -flowers, and
others of a more ordinary kind, such may be
set on banks or beds, and increased as the
former," &c. Harrison Weir, Poplar Hall,
Appledore, Kent.

FAILURE OF LILY OF THE VALLEY TO FLOWER

satisfactorily. — Your correspondent's de-
scription of his failure points to too much
heat having been employed, but as he had
others in Cocoanut - fibre refuse which did
well, the cause of the trouble may be in the
peat', which may not be porous enough. A
good substitute for Cocoanut -fibre refuse,
which we always use with success, is a mix-
ture of sifted coal-ashes 4 parts, and loam 2
parts, which, with a steady temperature of
75', gives no trouble. E. N., Chatham.

potatos. — In your issue for February 23,
f901, I observed, under the heading of " A
New Way of Growing Potatos," some remarks
respecting the communication made by M.
Noel Bernard to the Academic des Sciences
respecting the action of fusarium solani in the
formation of Potato tubers. Have any of your
leaders made any experiments this season with
;i view of ascertaining how far the results
obtained by M. Bernard are duplicated in
England ? If so, a report on their work
would be extremely useful and interesting.
H. /!. Dicks. [This is a matter which might
well form the subject of experiment at Chis-
wick. Ed.]

palms. — Will you kindly allow me space
for a few comments upon the interesting
articles on garden Palms by Dr. Ddo Dammer,
■a gentleman with whom I have had some in-
teresting correspondence, and to whom I owe
*ome valuable information about Palms likely
to grow here, but which have not yet been

tried. Through a mistake in the delivery of a
letter, Dr. Dammer was prevented during his
recent short stay on the Riviera from visiting
my garden, modest enough as yet in appear-
ance, but containing many different species of
plants in a young state, notably Palms, which
I have tried for some years to collect, in so
far as they can be cultivated in the open.
When Dr. Dammer states that some Palms
a, priori to be considered delicate, have re-
sisted 6 '5 R. without any protection, may I be
allowed to doubt, until precisely informed other-
wise, if the temperature was taken just on the
spot where the said Palms were growing ; and
whether these Palms were absolutely without
any protection ? One must have lived here for
years, and tried to make delicate plants live,
to understand of what enormous importance
shelter is in this climate, especially when it is
a question of avoiding cold by shelter from
above. I could name any number of species
which I have lost in exactly similar conditions
of soil and exposure but without any shelter,
while plants of the same species and same
strength did not even suffer when growing
underneath some tree, or protected by a
little roof of thin cloth, but open on all sides.
The cause is, of course, that the radiation of
heat from the ground is lessened in this way,
and the layer of cold air sinking down during
the night is intercepted. I think that Dr.
Dammer's informant, though in all good faith,
may have been misled by the temperature
taken at some distance from where the said
Palms were growing, perhaps even at another
level. I have in the Gardeners' Chronicle,
March 23 and 30, 1901, under the title, " Frosts
on tho Riviera," published a few notes as to
the effect of the frost here ; also in the number
for May 19, 1900, on the effect of the frost of
the foregoing winter (in this last-named article
a printer's error has put +2 centigr., instead
of - 2 centigr.). Now .my two thermometers,
placed at about 100 and 90 metres altitude,
give as the very lowest temperature during
last winter -3° and — "S'5° centigr., but for
weeks without interruption the temperature
touched zero, and often descended to - 2° ;
and herein, in the long-continued cold spell of
weather, often accompanied by the always
pernicious dry mistral- wind, lay the cause of
the often (as I found later in the year) fatal
result to delicate plants. I know well that
the temperature sank as low as -6'5° centigr.
in certain places, as for instance in a horticul-
tural establishment situated not far from my
grounds, but at about 8 to 10 metres altitude.
For all I know, the temperature may even in
the lowest parts of my own grounds have sunk
as low, but I have no thermometer in those
parts. Still I measured on February 1G, on a
little reservoir, ice 4 centimetres in thickness ;
ice which had not melted for weeks, but kept
on getting thicker by each night's frost. Bat
here I will note a very characteristic thing,
namely, that on another reservoir situated
still lower, but sheltered above by the dense
crowns of evergreen Oaks, no ice whatever
was found on the same day. The lowest
temperature which I have recorded in my
ground, several years ago, namely -4'5°, was
followed by numerous losses of plants, even of
such species as I do not find delicate in
ordinary winters ; which here, at Nice, means
winters with occasional drops of the tempera-
ture to -1° or -2° centigr., so that I should
not, until given absolute proof to the contrary,
believe that some of the most tender plants
have really borne unhurt a temperature of
0'5° R. Places only a few metres distant from
each other may, according to exposure and
shelter from certain winds, present extra-
ordinary differences in temperature ; and
there is nothing impossible in the supposition
that a thermometer may register- G'o° R., and
another 10 or 20 metres away only - 3"5°.
Lastly, may I add a few other remarks to Dr.
Dammer's interesting articles. Chainserops
Birroo, which I find indicated in Count Ker-
chove de Denterghem's list of Palms as synony-
mous with Livistona rotundifolia, Mart., but in
C. Solomon's book. Die Pahnen, as a distinct
species of Siebold and Martius is, to judge
from the many specimens I have of it here,

as Dr. Dammer thinks, only a variety of Cha-
imerops humilis, a very polymorphous species.
In the same book I find Chamserops eochin-
chinensis, Lour., indicated as a synonym of
Rhapis c, Mart. ; and in Kerchove's list
as a synonym of Rhapis c, Blume. Now 1
have many Palms under the name of Chamse-
rops cochinchinensis, but none could doubt
but that they are real Chamserops, but most
of them I have raised myself from seeds pre-
senting apparently no difference from the
seeds of Chamajrops humilis, L., and which
were certainly not seeds of a Trachycarpus,
while the seeds of Rhapis are unknown to me.
Now Dr. Dammer has recognised a Trachy-
carpus in a Palm labelled, somewhere on the
Riviera, as Rhapis cochinchinensis ; and there
also appears to be found a Chamserops cochin-
chinensis in the horticultural trade, which
really is a Chamrerops, only not from Cochin
China, but simply a variety of Channerops
humilis, L. I have bought both plants and
seeds from the same firm, but do not know
from whence they were originally derived.
Will persons living in countries where Palms
grow wild, kindly communicate with me with
the object of my obtaining fresh seeds of
new Palms to try here, either by purchase, or
in exchange for other seeds. A. Robertson-
Proschoii'skij, Pare " Les Tropiques," Chemin
des Orottes St. Helcne, Nice, Alpes Maritimes,
France.

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

The Woodlands' Orchids.*

Under tho above title that pleasant writer,
Mr. Frederick Boyle, has written a book in
waich he sets forth interesting particulars of
how Mr. R. H. Measures came to commence
forming his now fine collection of Orchids,
and the progress made during the time it was
being brought to its present state of excel-
lence, together with an enumeration of some
of its specialties, a few of which are repre-
sented by excellent coloured plates.

The author does not pretend to give ex-
haustive particulars of the items of the Wood-
lands' collection, neither does he pose as
giving cultural instructions on any point, but
in the matter dealt with much useful infor-
mation will be found to which even the Orchid
expert will not take exception ; while, taking
the book as a whole, it is lifted out of the
specialists' class, and rendered acceptable to
the general run of readers of books for amuse-
ment by the many pleasant stories told of
the adventures of collectors of some of the
Orchids enumerated, their wanderings, perils,
and dangers before ultimate success was
achieved— the stories being in most cases as
near facts as it is possible to get under the
circumstances.

The work with index extends over 274 pages,
and is illustrated bysixteenexcellentcoloured
plates, and a portrait of Mr. J. Coles, the
clever gardener at The Woodlands. In the
first chapter is told how that Mr. Measures
commenced his collection as a healthy relaxa-
tion during an exceptionally busy commercial
life. The inevitable followed ; that which
was begun without much thought or faith in
it as a welcome change from business cares
became of absorbing interest, and brought a
great deal of pleasure, thus accomplishing the
desired end.

The work goes on to give descriptions of
the principal Orchid-houses and their occu-
pants, together with pleasant information
relating to some of them. Between the
chapters of descriptive matter are stories of
sensational incidents in Orchid collecting.

* The Woodlands' Orchitis, by Frederick Boyle, 1901.
(London : Macmillan & Co., Limited. New York : The
Maeraillan Company.)

January 11, 1902.]

THE GARD EXER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

35

They are founded on fact, being derived
from friends of the late Mr. Roczl and others,
and contained in letters from the travellers
concerned ; but in the telling Mr. Boyle has
to draw on his fertile brain, and for that
reason the stories lose nothing in the telling.
Let not the reader think that any of the
stories are overdrawn, for the ordinary life of
the plant collector on active service is full of
such incidents, to which he becomes so inured
as to consider them quite in the ordinary
course of events ; and often, after great perils
are passed, he thinks no more about them,
and for that reason, together with the fact
that some of them never return to tell the
tales, thousands of thrilling incidents which
the writer of fiction would not dream of are
never related. Collectors' stories are told of
Cattleya Bowringiana, C. Mossise, C. Skin-
neri alba, Vanda Sanderiana, Phalfenopsis
Sanderiana, Dendrobium Phalaenopsis Schrc-
derianum, D. Lowii, Coelogyne speciosa, Brassa-
vola Digbyana, Sobralia Kienastiana, Cypri-
pedium Curtisii, C. Stonei platytsenium, C.
Spicerianum, Odontoglossum Harryanum, On-
cidium splendidum, and Bulbophyllum bar-
bigerum ; and in them and the rest of the
work, Mr. Bojle, being himself a cultivator of
Orchids, is enabled to avoid inaccuracies,
into which inexperienced writers are likely to
fall, although little errors by slip of the pen
have crept in. For example, in mentioning
Bulbophyllum Beccarii as the giant of the
genus at p. 253, the author says its " stem
is 6 inches in diameter." The rhizome, which
is the part of the plant alluded to, may be
1 inch in diameter, and 6 inches between the
comparatively small pseudo-bulbs bearing its
gigantic leaves.

The work is one which will be read with
pleasure both by the Orchid specialist and by
the far larger number of readers who know
little about Orchids ; and it is just one of
those books which pleasantly carries the
interests of a "hobby" into the far country
beyond its present domain, and in all proba-
bility it will do good by getting converts to
the Orchid cult.

THE SEED CEOPS OF 1901.

In sending you my views upon the seed
crops of 1901, I regret I cannot give you a
very satisfactory report, as the anticipations
of the early part of the year have fallen very
short of fulfilment. Perhaps the most dis-
appointing crop has been that of Early Peas,
both round and wrinkled. Although at one
time they promised well, they only yielded less
than half a crop, the consequence is that such
varieties as Earliest-of-All, Eclipse, and Gradus
are of a higher price than has been known for
many years ; in fact, the stocks are at the pre-
sent moment practically exhausted. Telegraph,
Telephone, and other market varieties have an
upward tendency.

The Radish is another crop which is un-
usually short. The acreage planted for seed
was an average one, but the dry weather
and black-By played such havoc with it that
in some districts the crops were practically
decimated; and the French crops proving
much less than anticipated have made Radish
seeds not only very scarce, but unusually
dear.

The Brassica tribe: as a whole- the cropi of

these have I i fairly good, and have been

harvested in very hue condition. 1 estimate
thai the supply will be fully equal to the de-

mand. Another disappointing crop has been

thai of Cairots, of which a i average acreage
was plcnt 'cl for seed, i.u' the dry weather so

injured the growing crops that in some districts
the yield was less than half of what was antici-
pated, such leading varieties as Altrinehain and
Intermediate are very high in price, and with a
short crop in France, they will further increase
in value. The Mangel crop has been a good one,
and prices rule very moderate. The acreage
of Swede planted out was scarcely up to the
average, and the yield varied very much. I
doubt if many crops in Essex and Kent yielded
more than sixteen bushels per acre, while
other districts produced fully forty bushels
per acre. The seel was harvested in splendid
condition.

Yellow Turnips also yielded well, and prices
for these are lower than usual. White Tur-
nips, on the other hand, are short, and for
such choice varieties asGrey Stone and Purple-
top Mammoth, prices are advancing.

POTATOS.

These have yielded well, with the exception
of early varieties, which are advancing in
price, while others are comparatively cheap.
There has been a brisk enquiry for seed
Potatos for the Cape, the varieties principally
in demand being Early Rose, Pink Beauty of
Hebron, Windsor Castle, Supreme, and Up-to-
Date. I observe that complaints have been
made that the Government has placed orders
for seed Potatos with German houses. If this
were the case the English growers would have
just reason to complain, for as we in England
have to pay the War Bill it is only right that
the orders should be placed in this country.
But as a matter of fact, the Government have
not so far as 1 know of ordered any seed
Potatos. Orders have come from Cape houses
for large quantities of seed Potatos, but the
difficulty has been in getting them shipped.
One line of steamers possesses practically the
monopoly of the quick carrying of goods to the
Cape, but the demands of the Government for
space on these boats have been so great that
English merchandise has been shut out fre-
quently at the last moment. The consequence
has been that Cape houses requiring the
Potatos immediately, and finding that they
could not rely on the shipments arriving in
time for planting, cancelled their orders with
English houses and placed them with German
and French houses, who were able to ship
them promptly. I have had orders for consi-
derably over 1 ,000 cases of seed Potatos can-
celled, by one firm ; on the other hand a
German house informs me that they despatched
between 4,000 and 5,000 cases to South Africa.
As we pay very heavily for an efficient Navy, I
should have thought that the Government
could have employed fast Cruisers to take
stores and war material to the Cape without
shutting out shipments from English mer-
chants, and thus driving trade away from the
country. John K. King, the King's Seedsmaiij
Coggleshall and Reading.

SOCIETIES.

BECKENHAM HORTICULTURAL.

January 3.— Mr. It. Cannell, Swanley, gave his expe-
rience of Canna cultivation during the past fourteen
years. Thinking there was something in Uiera as flower-
ing plants he took them up, although he was told lie
would never do much with them ; nevertheless, nothing
daunted, he persevered, until now, when staged at
exhibitions, as no other firm has ever staged them,
they are jokingly called Cannell s Plamers. He told
his audience that in raising new varieties, colour, size
of petal, and persistence, were very necessary features,
and he gave some hints on removing plants in flower
to long distances, and the salient points in raising
plants by seeds and division of the roots, and in generai
cultivation. M. W.

©bituar^.

Charles Rollisson, a well-known York-
shire gardener passed away on December 26,
in his eighty-fourth year. In his early days
ho worked in the gardens at Temple Newsam,
and thence he went to Middleton Hall, pear
Leeds, and subsequently to The Ridge, Pannal,
where he served under throe masters, .during
the lo»g period of forty-live years, the present
one being \V. 15. Bateman, Esq. Me was a

relative of I he late Messrs. Kollissons, of
Tooting, ;i very successful grouc r el Orchids,

and a good plantsirian in fact, be was an al!-
iouiuI gardener. His loss is sincerely mourned

by a large circle of friends.

KENT COUNTY CHRYSANTHEMUM
AND HORTICULTURAL.

January 3.— The fourteenth annual meeting of the
above was held on this date at Mr. Lewis's
Restaurant, Blackhcath, Mr. H. J. Jones, of the Kyc-
croft Nursery, Lewisham, presiding. There was a good
attendance of members, and the report and balance-
sheet was read, showing a sum of upwards of £10 in
favour of the society on the year's working. Mr. H. F.
Tearks was re-elected President, and Mr. P. Fox the
Hod. Secretary.

CHESTER PAXTON.

The opening lecture for the present year was
delivered by Mr. R. Newstead, at the Grosvenor
Museum, on Saturday, the chair being occupied by the
President, Mr. John Weaver, who briefly introduced
Mr. Newstead. The subject was entitled "The Mam-
mals of the British Isles (Past and Present)."

The lecturer dealt chiefly with the mammals inhabit-
ing the British Isles within the historic period, which
he said amounted to forty-seven terrestrial species, of
which the wolf, beaver, brown bear, and wild boar are
now extinct, and the two kinds of rats (Mus rattus and
M. decumanus), the rabbit and the fallow deer had been
introduced. Excluding the squirrel, which is said to
have been introduced, Ireland had only nineteen
species of mammalia.

The bats were dealt with at some length, and the
food of these somewhat uncanny but highly beneficial
animals was described, chiefly from an examination or
their rejectamenta, which had been found to contain a
large percentage of moth remains. In dealing with the
members of the remaining families, nearly all the
species were passed in review, most attei.tlon being
given to those animals which more or less affect the
crops and stores of the horticulturist and agriculturist.
The fossil animals were only briefly referred to, but
illustrations of the remains, together with restorations,
were thrown upon the screen, representing the Mam
moth, Woolly-rhinoceros, Cave-bear, <&c.,as found i»
the cave deposits of North Wales.

The lecture was illustrated by sixty lantern slides,
those illustrating the bats being of great interest, as
having been taken from life by Mr. Newstead.

In the discussion which followed, questions were
asked iu reference to the destructive habits of the
short-tailed field vole (Arvicola agrestis), the common
mole, the brown rat, and the long-tailed field mouse.

On the proposition of theCliainnan, seconded by Mr.
N. F. Barnes, a very hearty vote < f thanks was accorded
to Mr. Newstead,

Lorptepondenk

American Bi.kiht on Apple-trees : B. K.
There arc several re dies, but thai recom-
mended by M. < '. Jol y, a Vice-President of
the Central Horticultural Society of France,
gives good results;. To 7 lb. of soft-soap
add I lb. of train-oil, two or three handfals
of soot, and Bowers-of-sulphur, mixing these
in a pailful of lime-water. When incorpo-
rated, throw in as much powdered clay as

to make the mixture ol the consistency of
butter. Spread a cloth beneath the tree,

and scrape oil all t he moss and rough bark,
taking great care in clearing out the cre-
vices and angles about the fruit-spurs, &c,

Remove tl loth, and train everything that

has fallen upon it ; then paint the whole ol

the trunk and main branches, giving an

extra coal to cracks and crevlcee. This

3G

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 11, 1902.

should now be done without delay, and the
rain will wash the soap mixture down to the
roots, killing such aphides as may be Lurking
round the collar of the root. It is a good
plan to lay bare the roots, and dress them
and the soil with freshly slaked lime, or
drench the soil with soapsuds.
Axnuals for Cur Blooms : Bristol. Hardy
species : Ciodetia Lady Albemarle and others,
Limun grandiflorum, Centaurea Cyanus
minor, Sweet Sultan, mixed; dwarf Hyacinth,
Dowered Larkspur; Sweet Peas, in great
variety; Wall dowers may be got to flower
the first year by sowing early under glass,
and transplanting ; Dianthus Hedewegi, &c.
Tender species : such types of Asters as
Jewel, Cocordean, Victoria, Ostrich Feather,
pyramidal, quilled, and many others ;
Gloxinias, Verbenas, Lotus Jacobteus, Zin-
nias, Martynia fragrans, Petunias (also
perennial), Primula sinensis in great variety,
Salpiglossis variabilis, East Lothian Stocks,
Tropseolum Lobbianum, &c. The tender
species flower early if sown in 'warmth in
March, and grown under glass till planted
out in May, or grown in the greenhouse all
the season, Gloxinias excepted, which want
intermediate-house treatment.

Anthm \citk Com, and a Tubular Boiler:
G. S. As a fuel none is better, it beingslow
of combustion, and giving off great heat;
but it will not burn well unless there is a
rather tall chimney, so as to create a strong
draught. As the cost of the freight in your
town in Gloucestershire would be low, you
would doubtless find it as economical as
coke.

Apples Rotttnc on' tiie Trees : B. K. This is
doubtless caused by some fungus, as Monilia
or Fusicladium, which gains access to the
fruit through the eye, or by wounds and
abrasions of the skin. Some varieties of
Apples have thin skins, which may be
penetrable by the spores of fungi. The
( rees liable to these attacks should be
dressed twice in the growing season with
the Bordeaux Mixture.

.Begonias, &c\: Bristol. It will be about ready for
starting the tubers or raising Begonias from
seed, at the beginning of February. If you
can mix a large proportion of tree-leaves —
say, Oak, Beech, or Chestnut, with the
stable-litter, and throw the materials into a
heap for a week or ten days, turning them
. twice in that length of time, the bed will
not heat irregularly, or get dry in parts.
Make it 15 inches wider and longer all round
than the frame you intend to put upon it,
and thus allow space to put a lining of hot
manure round the sides. Do not put any
tubers, seeds, or plants into it till the steam
thrown off has got sweet; always afford air,
if only a quarter of an inch, at night, and
cover warmly at night. Top-heat need not
exceed 70° by night, or 80° by day : bottom-
beat 85°. A bed of finely-sifted coal ashes,
half-decayed leaves, fresh tanner's bark, or
cocoa-nut fibre refuse, 6 inches thick, should
be placed on the bed after the frame is in
position — this for plunging pots and pans in.
Bonus: Crispum. Tho book you describe is
t he first edit ion of M illcr's famous Dictionary.
Except as a curiosity, it is of no value.
Glasshouses: F. B. In the absence of an
agreement, the "fixtures," if used for pur-
poses of trade, are removable; but there
.are removable and irremovable fixtures. To
the former belong the wooden frames and
yiass of a glasshouse, with sills simply
bedded in mortar on brick foundations set
in the soil ; and pits, and the hot-wa'er
pipes that heat these structures. To the
latter belong the boilers set in the earth or
below the floors of glasshouses. The law or
custom in regard to these fixtures is getting
greatly modified from what it used to be.
You can use any kind of material for the
sides and ends of tho houses instead of
■ brickwork; bat if the glasshouse has adjoin-
ing buildings in the tenancy of other persons,
you must be guided by the borough rules,

which differ in various places. In regard to
this matter, you will be wise to consult the
surveyor of the borough. You may apply
for a new lease just previously to the expiry
of the old one.

Names of Fruits : T. R. The Apples sent are
certainly not Blenheim Orange. There must
have been a mistake on the part of the
person from whom you had the tree. The
variety you have very closely resembles
Duke of Devonshire. — Witty. 1, Down ton
Pippin ; 2, Scarlet Nonpareil.— R . 11'. B.
Ne Plus Meuris.

Names of Plants: Eden. The specific names
of some of the plants sent cannot be given
without seeing flowers. 1, Cotyledon sp. ;
2, 3, and 0, species of Cereus ; 4, Roehea
falcata ; 5, Stapelia sp. ; 7, Maranta Makoy-
ana. — E. W. Dendrobium aureum, often
called D. heterocarpum. — B. B., Shrewsbury.
A very good form of Cymbidium Traeyanum.
— W. D. 1, Eupatorium Weiiimannianum ;
2, Begonia subpeltata nigro- rubra; 3,
Acalypha marginata ; 4, Lastrea aristata ;
5, Cyrtomiuin caryotideum. — W. 11. Euphor-
bia (Poinsettia) pulcherrima, a very old gar-
den plant cultivated in warm-houses, for
the highly-coloured bracts which accompany
the flowers. Hints upon the cultivation of
the plants are given occasionally in our
weekly article " Plants under Glass."

New Adiantums : P., Naples. The small-
fronded variety is entirely new to us, but
the larger one, is, we believe, A. Hodgkin-
soni, one of the very numerous forms, or
home-raised hybrids from A. fragrantissi-
mum, which itself is of garden origin, and
probably a natural hybrid between A.cuuea-
tum and A. Moorei (amabile of commerce),
raised at the Pine -Apple Nurseries some
twenty years ago. G. S.

Our Supplements : G. W. It you have seen
photographic representations (sixty in num-
ber) of our Supplements, you may be sure
this has been done without our sanction.
The contents of the Gardeners' Chronicle
are copyright, and piratical reproductions
may entail serious consequences.

Piial.enopsis Leaves : F. Harrison. The leaves
show well defined examples of what is
commonly called Orchid-spot or disease,
the cause of which is not yet defined. The
cause has been assigned to an unsuitable
house, or to one where there is a direct
current of heat from the pipes, or to one
subjected to sudden falls in the temperature,
or anything else likely to cause failure of
f lie tissue in places. Try a change of house,
if possible. Place on a shelf, or suspend
near the glass.

Planting Wall Roses: Ah Amateur. Plant in
February, and cut in moderately severely a
month after planting. Select half-a-dozen
of the finest resulting shoots, and let the
others grow on as they may. Spread out
these finer shoots radially, loosely slinging
them up with bast, so that they have some
movement, and wait with patience. By
always laying-in young shoots at the base
of the plants, and checking strong growth
in the upper shoots by fixing them rigidly
to the wall, and giving their tips a
downward direction, the upper parts can-
not grow to the detriment of the lower.
Very strong run-away shoots in the upper
parts may be stopped — that is, cut bask
partially, or be entirely removed. When-
ever it is seen that certain shoots are
getting a predominance, do not hesitate a
day in putting matters right. A floriferous
bronzy-orange, deliciously perfumed Rose,
not often seen now-a-days, and very good
for a warm wall, is Jaune Desprez, and one
you might include in your list.

Prick of Orchids : A. Outsell. Every plant
that you have named could be purchased of
ordinary trade size for 7,s. Gd. to 10s. ; a few
probably for 5s., from the nurserymen.

Raising Briar Stocks : E. O. These can be
raised by sowing the seeds of the common

Dog Rose in the spring in beds in the open
ground. The haws must be laid in a heap to
rot, and then the seeds must be rubbed out
in water and dried. It will then be necessa ry
to separate them by rubbing between the
palms of the hands iu dry sand. If stratified
in fine earth or coarse pit-sand in a cold
frame, they will start to grow sooner when
sown in the spring. The seedlings appear
mostly the first year, but some seed is sure
to remain without germination till the next
year. The shoots of the Dog Rose taken off
with a heel of older wood may be struck in
the open ground like other Roses. Theyr
should be inserted in late September or in
October, "without waiting for the leaves to
fall. A Rose stock is fit to be worked when
of the thickness of a quill-pen, at the least
for a bush plant.

Skeletonising Leaves: Skeleton. There is no
better way than to lay them to rot in soft
water till tho membranous parts can be
brushed away with a soft brush. This pro-
cess does not take " a few years," but may
be completed in a few mouths.

Tall Scraggy Gloire de Dijon Rose on a
Wall: An Amateur. Cutting it down to
within 3 feet of the soil is one method of
getting the wall covered with shoots, but in
the case of very old plants, one year's
flowers are usually sacrificed, as the plants
break slowly and late if they break at all.
Another and safer one is to unnail the stem
and branches, and retrain them serpentine
fashion, so as to bring the uppermost
branches to within 6 feet of the soil. By so
doing, shoots will arise at each bend almost
as surely as if the branches were cut back
at these points ; and these young shoots
should be encouraged, and they will in time
cover all bare spaces, and take the place of
worn-out branches. Do not curtail their
liberty over-soon or over-much, as tho
greater the freedom the better and stronger
the growth, and the greater the display of
flowers. Of course, the plant must be
pruned in the usual manner, laying-in as
much of the best of last year's shoots as
space can be found for.

The Decay of Grapes : A Subscriber. The loss
of fruit was, as we indicated in the last
issue, due to damp air.

Tulips without Roots : W. B. We could
detect the rudiments of roots, and suppose
that given more time these would become
numerous, and the flowers be produced in
due course under cool treatment. Each
bulb contains a perfect flower. We are
unable to tell you why the roots are pro-
duced so abnormally late.

Communications Received — W. Sutton— H. Coleby—
T. Hammond— W. J. G.— G. S.— Messrs. Chisliolm it
Co.— G. C— W. D.-H. Kempshall-G.N.— J. E. J —
W. R. & Co.— T.. Buenos Ayres.— A. W.— G. P. M —
E. B— E. C— C.Thays — J. D. A.— F.E.— W. S.— W. J. G.
J. J. W.— A. D.— R. D.— S. B. D.— W. A. C— J. M.—
W. G.— H. M.— A. H.— Rev. H. F.— A. W. G— G. N.—
G. A. P., Naples.— J. M.— R. B.— G. II.

CATALOGUES RECEIVED.

SEEDS.

Gee it Sons, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire.

Kent & Bkydon, Darlington.

W. Drcmmond & Sons, Ltd., Stirling, N.B.

Aliiert F. Upstone, 35, Church Street, and 1, Market

Street, Rotlierham, Yorks.
Frank Dicks <t Co. (late Dobie it Dicks), 66, Deansgate.

Manchester.
Herd, Brothers, Penrith.

F. URQUHARTit Co., 11, Union Street, Inverness.
Tlllet, Bros., 133, London Road, Brighton.
John K. KiNG.Coggeshall, Essex, and Reading, Berks.
M. Cuthbertson. Rothesay, N.B. (Also Dahlias, Roses,

Pansies, and Herbaceous Plants.)
Wa. Cutbush & Son, Highgate, London, and Barnet,

Herts.
W. Drummond it Sons, Ltd., 57 & 58, Dawson Street,

Dublin.
Cunningham & Wvi.lie, 98, Mitchell Street, Glasgow.
Charles Sharpe & Co., Ltd., Sleaford (Wholesale

List).
Edmondson Bros., 10, Dame Street, Dublin.
Armitage Bros., Ltd.. High Street, Nottingham.

CHRYSANTHEMUMS.
H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, Kent.

(For Markets and Weather, set p. xi.)

Supplement to the "Gardeners1 Chronicle," January 11, 1902.

View in thk Gardens, Newlands, Harrow-on-the-Hill.

Januarv 18, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

37

THE

No. 786.— SATURDAY, JAN. 18, 1902.

CONT

Acer japonicum atro-
purpureum at Castle-
vvellan

American blight on
Apple-trees 47

Books, notices ot 44, 45, 46

California, the beauties
of

Chrysanthemum-rust .

" Dean," the, testi-
monial

Evergreens, the ration-
ale of

Ferns, new, of 1901 ...

Florist's Flowers

Fruit from the Cape ...

Gourd, a Pergola

Home, a, for the Royal
Hort. Society ... 44,47

" Horticultural Direc-
tory"

Law notes —

An auction-room sale

of plants. Removal

of plants from a

garden

Misleto on the Pear,
poisonous effects of

Naples, a garden at ...

Nitrogenous manures
for Peas

Jvotes from Isleworth...

Obituary —
Beale, E. J

46

45

48

49

ENTS.

Orchid notes and glean-
ings

Pea, Carter's Michael-
mas

Phalcenopsis in Lon-
don

Plants, new, flowered
at Isleworth

Presentation to Mr. A.
C. Forbes

Publications received .

Seed season, a review
of the

Shrubs, hardy, in Dub-
lin

45

Societies—
Croydon and Dis-
trict 51

Ealing Gardeners ... 51
National Chrysan-
themum 51

National Rose ... 44

Royal Horticultural 44, 49

Stocktaking

Thrush, early singing

of the

Week's Work, the—

Flower Garden, the...

Fruits under Glass ...

Hardy Fruit Garden.

Kitchen Garden

Orchid Houses, the .

Plants under Glass...

45

ILLUSTRATIONS.

A Gourd Pergola 47

A Neapolitan garden with Washingtonia fl lifer a
32 feet high 39

Acer japonicum atropurpureum at Castlewellan,
co. Down, the residence of Lord Annesley (Sup-
plement).

Leaves of Acer polyinorphum atropurpureum dis-
sectum 41

Portrait ot the late E. J. Beale 49

THE RATIONALE OF EYER-
GKEENS.

WE do not appreciate our blessings till
they are withdraw n. In like manner
we fail to realise how much our evergreens
contribute to the beauty of garden and
shrubbery, park and landscape, till some
gale of unwonted force, or some frost of
unusual severity, carries them off. It may
be we become conscious of something
awanting as we leave our own well-stocked
grounds and pay a visit to a friend who has
not made evergreens a study, and then the
thought dawns upon us that the sombre
foliage of the evergreen is that which has
given colour and life to the surroundings we
have left behind us.

But how many have given a thought to
the meaning of evergreens ? Who of us, in
spite of our admiration for them, can tell
why some trees and shrubs have deciduous
leaves, while others retain their verdure all
the year? Has climate, age, situation, soil,
individuality, fertilisation, fruit, foliage,
mode of growth, anything to do with the
problem? Shall we, in these dull days,
when the garden is bare, and little can be
done out-of-doors, wander round the estate
and examine the trees, whether indigenous or
exotic, and try to learn something about this
important subject?

Close by is a copse, and while the others
l»eat and shoot, we will observe and think.
The first thing that strikes us is, that most
of the trees are bare. With the peculiarity
relating to Beech and Oak pollards, which
retain their dead leaves, we must try to deal

another time. As we look around, however,
we see a striking contrast. The Elm is
bare, but the Holly is as green as at mid-
summer, the Hazel is leafless, but the Fir
and Yew are verdant. We thus quickly
separate all the trees into two groups, and
call the one deciduous, because the leaves
all fall in the autumn ; the other, evergreen,
because they have foliage the whole year
through. In the first group we have such
trees and shrubs as Oak, Elm, Hazel, Poplar,
Hornbeam, Birch, Beech, Willow, and even
the Larch tree, though it is a Fir. The ever-
greens contain the Holly, Yew, Ivy, Fir,
Laurel, Daphne, Laurustine, Arbor - vita?,
Bay, Aucuba, and many others.

We soon become aware, however, that the
number of native trees with deciduous
leaves greatly exceeds that of the evergreens.
We have to cut down our list by eliminating
all the Firs except, perhaps, the Scotch
Pine-tree, all the Thujas, Aucubas, Laurels,
and other broad-leaved species, till we have
only such as the Holly, Yew, Ivy, Juniper,
Privet, Gorse and Broom, Butcher's Broom,
and a few others left. Put all these together,
and see how poor a show they make. Here
is a fact which at once sets us thinking.
Why are the bulk of our evergreens importa-
tions ? Why have we hardly a single native
species with broad, flat leaves ? Why are our
indigenous evergreens nearly always provided
with needle-shaped leaves, as the aborted
Gorse, the Juniper, the Yew, and the Pine ;
or provided with spines, like the Butcher's
Broom and the Holly ?

Note, again, that none of our genuine
English evergreens are provided with bril-
liant or conspicuous blossoms. Why is
that ? Place the Holly and Yew beside the
Crab and Wild Rose, put the Juniper, Fir, or
Ivy by the side of the Guelder Rose, the
Bird Cherry, or the Hawthorn, and observe
how noteworthy is the contrast. I grant
that the Gorse makes a brave show even in
mid-winter, and is capable of making a
famous field of cloth of gold in the summer,
where it is kept browsed by rabbits and
sheep ; but the Broom and Gorse are not
genuine evergreens. The Privet, perhaps,
makes the best display, and the evergreen
Daphne (D. Laureola), with its yellowish-
green blooms, gives out an equally rich
perfume; but after all, what a poor show
they make.

We observe, again, that the foliage of
evergreens is almost always extremely
sombre, and that with the rarest exceptions
they supply us with no rich hues, even in
decay. There are no autumn tints to ever-
greens, and seldom are there any soft hues
in spring.

Once more I may call attention to the
fruit which adorns many evergreens, both
native and foreign. The scarlet berry is the
favourite form assumed. We have it in the
Aucuba and Laurel, the Euonymus — several
foreign species of which are evergreen,
and thrive well in our shrubberies — the
Butcher's Broom, the Yew, and others. In
the Ivy, Juniper, and a few other evergreens,
the fruit is purple or blackish. Here, then,
are a few of the most noteworthy facts.
They show us that evergreens are roughly
marked off from deciduous trees by the per-
sistent foliage, the sombre hue of the leaves,
the general predominance of needle-like foli-
age in the native species, and the presence of
red anil dark -coloured fruits, chiefly inedible.

We have now to ask, To what do these
curious facts point ? How are they to be
accounted for? They are too striking not
to arrest attention and demand an explana-
tion. We look, therefore, in the first place,
to the question of age. What is the testi-
mony of the rocks ? What do we learn from
a study of the climatic changes which the
earth has undergone ? I think it is quite
certain that the earliest plants were ever-
green. The oldest trees of any note, those
at least which predominate in the Carboni-
ferous Era, resemble our Pines and Fir-
trees. The climate of England has greatly
changed since then, and the vegetation has
changed with it. If, however, we examine
those lands which still possess a very warm
and equable climate, and are not subject to
periods of intense cold, we find that they
have a much larger percentage of evergreens
than our flora can produce.

We see, further, that the evergreens abroad
are possessed of leaves as large as those
which our most robust deciduous trees pro-
duce. Now, everyone knows the risks which
foreign evergreens run in our climate, by
reason of their heavy foliage. Given a fall
of snow of some hours' duration, and the
trees which have leaves are weighted down
and ruined, while those whose branches are
bare continue unharmed. We therefore see
how wonderfully Nature adapts her offspring
to the vicissitudes of life. In England,
where snow falls frequently and remains
long, the few evergreens we have possess
pointed leaves, which pierce the snow-flakes,
and offer little surface for their lodgment.
Am I told that the Ivy has broad leaves ? I
reply it is true, but the Ivy in nature climbs
around the trunk of a stalwart Ash or Oak,
and rarely exposes a flat surface to the snow.
Where it does, as when it grows on a wall,
or rambles over a building, it seems to re-
joice in the consciousness that the ever-
lasting arms are underneath, and no evil
can ensue.

These facts throw a new light on the
Holly-tree. We have heard much about the
prickles and the donkey. There may be
truth in the theory ; but I think no one can
examine our native Ulex in the light of the
facts I have been adducing, without feeling
that the sharp-pointed and carefully-chan-
nelled leaves are a splendid provision against
the snow and ice-cold rain of winter. How
would it fare at this untimely season of the
year if it had the leaves of the Sycamore,
Lime, Chestnut, or Laurel ?

Thus we learn that evergreens are more
frequent in equable climes, and when they
persist in these colder zones, they have to
be specially equipped to withstand the cold
and snow. This they do in various ways.
First we have the sharp needles of the Fir,
Juniper, Yew, and the pointed leaves of
Holly. Next we find that the leaves are
very thick and fleshy, in this respect differing
widely from nearly all the deciduous trees.
The leathery foliage of Laurel, Aucuba, Holly,
and other evergreens, is undoubtedly in-
tended to aid the functions of life during
the winter season. Further, many of the
trees and shrubs are provided with the power
to yield a special gum, resin, juice, or other
product, which is not found in deciduous
trees, unless they are of related orders. The
study of exceptions, such as the Larch, is of
peculiar interest in such a connection as
this.

38

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[JANUARY 18, 1902.

There remains another fact of great signi-
ficance. Many ladies and gardeners, whose
duty it is to dress the tables with cut flowers,
have' observed that if evergreens are blended
with blossoms, the latter soon droop and fail.
Let us put some Daffodils, for example, in a
vase, and treat them carefully, and they will
last for days. But put a similar bunch of
blossoms into another vase with Ivy, Laurel,
or other evergreens, and they are very
quickly over. Now why is this ? The
answer is that, almost without exception,
evergreens are poisonous. It may seem
strange at first sight that there should be
any marked difference in this respect be-
tween plants whose leaves fall in autumn,
and those which retain their foliage all the
winter. But a little thought will show us
the need for some such protection if the
evergreens are not to be swiftly exter-
minated. Cattle browse in a field where for
the present they can get an honest living.
Presently snow begins to fall. Everything
is covered ; and the only green thing any-
where to be seen is the Juniper, Yew or
Holly. At once the cattle rush for these ;
but they soon learn that it is at the peril of
their lives they browse on the fleshy leaves.
It is hard on the cattle doubtless, but the
trees have to live as well as they. I venture
to think that the dark green foliage, almost
amounting in the winter-time to an appear-
ance of blackness by contrast with the snow,
is a colour signal to warn the cattle against
the danger of feeding on evergreens. The
Holly and Privet, the Juniper and Yew,
seem to say, " Beware how you approach us
too closely, for there is death in the pot."
Rarely, unless pressed beyond measure,
will cattle touch the foliage which thus lifts
its warning voice, and so tree and cattle
alike escape destruction.

In this brief study I have left many im-
portant points unnoticed. It was my wish
to attract attention to an interesting and
fruitful subject of research, rather than
attempt an exhaustive exposition. I have
probably adduced sufficient facts to suggest
along what line we must travel if we are to
obtain a reliable clue to the rationale of
the evergreen. A Sussex Naturalist.

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

STANHOPEA LANGLASSEANA.
Prom a letter of M. Ed. Andre, who knows
the country well, and after a careful perusal
of Langlasse's letters, I find there was a slight
error in the place I mentioned to Professor
Cogniaux as the habitat of Stanhopea Lang-
lasseana, described in your issue of Dec. 14.
This plant was not gathered near Altaquezo
in the valley of Rio Mira, but near Altaquer,
on a small river called first Rio Cuaiquez and
lower down Rio Cuiza, an affluent of the Rio
Mira (altitude 1,700 m.). It is, however, not
far from the other locality, and quite in the
same region ; near also Armada, where M.
Andre discovered Anthurium Andreanuni.
M. Micbeli, Geneva.

Odontoglossum cirrosum Klabochorum.

It is easy to recall the interest which was
taken in Oclontoglossum cirrosum when that
fine species from the Andes of Ecuador was
successfully forwarded to England by the
brothers Klaboch in 1875 ; and on its flowering
in the following year the illustration in the
Gardeners' Chronicle conveved an idea of the

flowers to those who were desirous of learning
its appearance. Its elegant sprays of white
flowers spotted with red-brown caused it to
become a general favourite, and for some
years it was frequently seen in quantity ; of
late years, however, it seems to have become
less plentiful.

O. cirrosum has its peculiarities, which
render it more satisfactory in some years than
others, or in some gardens than in others.
Frequently the plants send up flower-spikes
at the end of the summer and which slowly
elongate, but do not produce flowers for
several months, and then perhaps only
sparsely. At other times their flower-spikes
branch and hear flowers quickly, and especially
in the late spring months. The finest type of
the species was distinguished as O. cirrosum
Klabochorum, and an inflorescence has been
sent by M. Frantz do Lact, of Contich,
Belgium, who calls attention to the foliaceous
bracts at the bases of some of the flowers.
This character is not uncommon in the species,
especially when the flowers have been delayed
as before mentioned. The long segments of
the flowers with their graceful, elongated tips
extend four inches and a half from tip to tip.
The sepals and petals arc white, handsomely
blotched with dark purplish-red. The lip is
white, with red lines on the side lobes, and
some red spots on the narrow front lobe.

Phal.enopsis in London.
While many of the most experienced culti-
vators of Orchids in highly favoured parts
of the country never succeed in thoroughly
mastering Phalsenopsis culture sufficient to
obtain satisfactory results, small lots of them
are to be found even in towns in the most
vigorous health. In the gardens of W. Shuter,
Esq., Belsize Grove, London (gr., Mr. Arm-
strong), we recently saw a number of plants
of Phalsenopsis in fine health, and which
had been growing there for many years in an
ordinary plant-house having an intermediate
temperature. Some of them were in flower,
although the London fogs work the greatest
mischief by destroying such of the advanced
buds or open flowers which may be on them
at the time. The plants, however, do not
seem to be damaged at all by the fogs. The
species represented were P. Schilleriana, P.
Aphrodite or amabilis, P. amabilis, known in
gardens as P. grandiflora, and P. Cornu-cervi.
With regard to these Phalsenopsis, Mr. Arm-
strong says that when he first came to the
gardens a good many years ago, the Phalae-
nopsis were badly affected by "spot," or
disease, and that they have gradually been
grown out of it, so that for several years past
no trace of " spot" has appeared. This is in
opposition to the opinion of many experts
that once "spot " takes an Orchid it is not to
be eradicated. They do not become large
specimens, but always keep healthy and flower
well. Mr. Armstrong modestly attributes the
good condition of the plants to his having
been fortunate in finding a position that
suited them; moreover, the temperature is
very evenly maintained at all times. Several
Saecolabium giganteum and other of the dis-
tichous-leafed Indian Orchids were flowering
and in fine health.

PLANT PORTRAITS.

Catti-eya Peckayiexsis x, Wiener IUnitrierte Garten
Zeitung, December.

Erica Chamissoxis, Klotsch, Wiener lllntlrierte Garten
Zeitung, December.

H.T5MAXTHUS DlADEMA, BeVUS lie l" I [mi ie nit lire BellK,

January.

Nemesia strumosa, Revue. Horticnle, January 1.

Prunus Pseudocerasus Wateiieri and P. Seuku-
lata, Garten Flora, t. 149, January.

A GARDEN AT NAPLES.

I think that of all Europeans, Neapolitans
are the most privileged, as far as gardening is
concerned. Mild winters, no extreme heat in
summer, and a moderate number of rainy days
during the year, allow a large number of Palms
and Ferns to be cultivated in the open, while
a good many northern plants are also easily
grown.

My garden, situated in the centre of the
city, contains some remarkable specimens, the
description of which may be of some interest
to lovers of gardening. Amongst the Palms
there are two Washingtonia robusta, 50 feet
high, and about thirty years old ; Washingtonia
filifera (see fig. 10) is represented by a spe-
cimen about 32 feet high. A Phoenix leonensis,
about twenty years old, has a diameter of 30 ft.

A remarkable Fern is Balantium antarc-
ticum, also grown all the year round in the
open, like the above mentioned Palms. Its
stem is about 14 feet high, and the leaves form
a splendid crown about 10 feet in diameter.
Another much - admired Fern is Cibotium
spectabile, a fine specimen, some leaves of
which are 12 feet long. This Fern, however,
has to be kept in the greenhonse during the
winter.

Among the trees growing in my garden I
must mention a Magnolia grandiflora 65 feet
high, which when flowering is all covered
with splendid white blooms, the fragrance of
which is so strong that I have to keep the
windows closed on the front of my house
before which the Magnolia stands. This
tree, as well as Araucaria Bidwilli and ex-
celsa and Camphora officialis give a fine effect
in the garden, but are freqpient in Neapolitan
gardens. A large summer-house of mine is
wholly covered with one single plant of Wis-
taria chinensis, which is about 480 ft. in span.
When blooming it is a splendid sight, and is
the admiration of all who see it. More than a
hundred thousand mauve racemes cover the
summer-house, and the fragrance is delicious.

As regards flowers, there is scarcely a day
without blooms opening throughout the year.
Now Roses, Camellias, and a few Violets are
flowering in the open, as well as Carnations
and Daffodils. Geo. A. Pfister, Naples*

NOTES FROM ISLEWORTH, 1901.

New Plants, or those which have come
under my observation for the first time
during the past year arc: —

Hippeastrum Kromeri, Worsley. — This is a
new species fully described in another issue.
It carries two flowers, individually resembling
H. Johnsoni, and lias remarkably fulvous
foliage.

Hippeaslrum psittacinunp var. — I recently
received a very fine form of this old species,
which has also remarkably fulvous foliage.
These two individuals, indeed, are the most
remarkable in this respect of any members of
the genus I have seen. This fulvous appear-
ance, however, is dependent in some measure
on the way the plants are cultivated.

Hippeastrum correiense our. — Between the
true epiphytal H. correiense and the terrestrial
H. stylosum there exists a number of inter-
mediate forms, presenting difficulties in nomen-
clature. The same old difficulty which re-
appears whenever an attempt is made to
reduce a mass of individuals into ranks, orders,
and degrees.

During the past year I have flowered several
hundred bulbs of H. styiosunV, and noted the
numerous slight gradations towards the type
of H. correiensis. Also several Organ Moun-
tain form-s near correiensis, but grading off

January 18, 1002 ]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

39

towards stylosum. One of these in particular
was nearly intermediate between the two.
It Bad a pair of compact flowers, and glaucous,
blunt foliage.

Hccmanthus species from the Congo. — One of
the events of the year was the exhibition before
the Royal Horticultural Society by Messrs.
Linden of several splendid forms of Hreman-
thus (see Supplement, August 10, 1901). Not
having thus far had any opportunity of critically
examining these plants or their' fruit, I can
only say of them that, as garden plants, they
mark an advance upon anything in this genus I

H. J. Ehves I had the pleasure of seeing a
splendid collection of these plants, and
especially admired those named " Miss Will-
lnott," "Lady Dorrington," "Ellioti" vars.,
some dwarf N. sarniensis, and a very beautiful
unnamed silvery-pink form, with very -wide
segments.

New Plants raised at Isleworth, flowering
for the first time in 1901 : —

Hippeastrum, Sort., " Rurik," dark red.

Canna, Hort., "G. B. Mallett," a new break
in this section, the majority of the flowers
being pollipetalous and unisexual.

Fig. 10.— a Neapolitan garden, with washingtonia filifera thirty-two feet high,

the two being called "the twins."

in the background a large magnolia tree. (see p. 38.)

Lave previously seen. The habit is that of H.
Liudeni ; the size of the flowers and the
various shades of red mark an improvement on
that species such as many garden plants show
when compared with the original importations.

Some of those were named "Fascinator,"
"mirabilis," " Diadema " (deep red), and
■"Queen Alexandra" (pink).

Such mixed nomenclature is open to objec-
tion. The first three names would suggest
three distinct species, and the last name a
garden hybrid.

Nerines, garden forms. — In the garden of Mr.

Tomato, Hort., a cross between " Wonder
of Italy" (a many-fruited form raised by Sn.
Herb, of Naples) and one of my own garden
forms. In this cross the character of each
parent is equipoised. Some bunches of ripe
fruit were shown before the Royal Horticul-
tural Society's Scientific Committee.

Tropmolum Lobbii, hybrid. — This hybrid was
raised fortuitously between Lobbii and garden
bedding forms. As they only came into flower
in the middle of September, their true merit

cannot bo ascertained till next summer, but
they promise to be useful garden plants.

The following Plants have not Flowered in
my Garden this Year : —

Stricklandia eucrosioides (figured in the
Gardeners' Chronicle, October 5, 1901, p. 263).

Cyrtanthus angustijolius. — Avery old plant,
although but rarely seen of recent years ; it is
worthy of a place in every garden.

Cririum Van Tubergen (Lynch). — This shows
an alliance with C. scabrum, and it seems
probable that it is of garden origin, possibly
dating back to Herbert's time.

Marica, species Petropolis. — This is a very
charming plant, raised from seed, I gathered
near Petropolis. It is in alliance with M.
ccerulea (Seubert), and has a remarkably
deflexed scape.

Cereus MacDonaldice pallidus. — A very large,
scentless, night - flowering plant of great
beauty, without the dark outer segments of
the type.

Eremurus Elwesianus. — New to my garden,
and a great acquisition ; it shows off very well
against a background of Bamboo. In the
evening only is it fragrant.

Pelargonium " Calif ornie." — This is a dwarf
double orange, much resembling Raspail,
except in its dwarf habit and dazzling colour.

Pelargonium " Rapkin's Glory." — This is an
improvement of Chas. Turner, lighter in colour,
but finer in every other respect.

Arctotis breviseapa. — I was very pleased with
this annual, and consider it a grand bedding-
plant for July and August. Its dazzling
orange-and-black flowers open very early and
close about 3 P.M.

Hippeastrum stylosum i<ar. nudum. — Among
several hundred flowers of the species, some
fifteen showed a variety which I thought
worthy of record. The filaments were remark-
ably exserted, far beyond what is usual, even
in this species, and the stamens spread out as
in H. calyptratum.

Hccmanthus sanguineus (Jacquin). — This can
hardly be called a new plant, yet it has been
so completely lost sight of that I think it must
be new to this generation of gardeners. It
flowered with me early this autumn in the open
at the base of a heated wall. It possesses
more historical than horticultural interest,
from which point of view it is in no way
superior to the common H. tigrinus.

Hidalgoa Werklii. — This charming climber has
obtained a reputation for being a shy bloomer.
With me it has belied this, having grown to a
large size and flowered in one year from a very
minute cutting. It grows quickest and best
on a wall outside, with full sun exposure,, but
is cut down by a sharp frost. The flowers
are fine for cutting. It is eminently suited
for the pillars and walls of a Succulent-house,
and is a very clean plant.

C rinum yuceaeoides (Herbert). — A small-grow-
ing species of some beauty. Not much removed
from C. Sanderianum.

Cactus Hort., " Isabelle Watson." — In this
brilliant flower the intense red of the outer
segments is heightened by a dazzling blue
colour suffusing the inner segments.

Hardiness of some Exotics.
Brodiwas (Triteleias) from Uruguay. — B.
aurea has proved hardy for some few years,
and has ripened seeds in the open. It still
makes a great effort to flower early in January,
but last spring it flowered again in season
with li. imiflora, and will probably in a fow
years accommodate itself to our seasons. A
flower which opened on January 2 was covered
with snow, exposed to 16° of air frost, and yet
re-Opened practically uninjured a few days

40

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 18, 1902.

afterwards. I think this must stamp the
species as being hardy in suitable soils.

B. Scllowiana, which may prove to he a
valuable garden plant, follows the same seasons
as B. aurea ; but I am. not so convinced of its
hardiness, although it has lived through one
winter outside.

Bpathacea bicolor. — This has proved hardy
for the last two or three winters, and flowered
in the open May 8. The flower-scape pushes
up for 18 inches inside the old sheathing loaf,
and is thus protected from frost until the very
day the flowers expand. The bulbs are very
proliferous, and like a dry sunny place. The
flowers are sweetly scented for some hours
after expansion. It ripened seed in the open.

The following Plants" have proved Hardy
at isleworth as tested : —

Watsonias, three species flowering end July ... 4 years.

Cypella platensis, flowering freely 1 year.

Chlidanthus Ehrenbergi 1 year.

Zepliyranthes gracilifolia (early October) ... 3 years.
Gymnothrix latifolia 3 years.

Seeds.

As the descriptions of the fruit and seeds of
so many exotics have been copied by one
writer from another, and errors have thus
been perpetuated which original investigation
would have corrected, I have allowed certain
plants to seed simply to make comparison with
the descriptions in books of reference. While
thus noting some discrepancies, other inter-
esting observations have been made.

Eymenocallis tubiflora.— During recent years
this species has been imported on many
occasions, and it seems now to be well distri-
buted in our stoves. It always carries a
number of ovules in each ovary. One speci-
men recently bore (in one umbel) 105 ovules in
five ovaries. These were not selected ovaries
chosen because of their proliferousness, but
were the five fruits carried on the one umbel,
and may therefore be taken as representing
an average for the individual parent. This
shows an average of twenty-one ovules, and
one ovary carried as many as twenty-five.

Thinking this worthy of record, I sent the
specimen to Kew, and was told that such pro-
hterousness was by no means unusual in this
species.

Surely, under these circumstances, it is
time the generic description of Hymenocallis
should be corrected. For it is no longer
possible to attribute to this genus the maxi-
mum number of "a pair" of ovules in each
cell, in view of the facts above stated.

Hymenoeallis Moritziana.—I think this is a
good species. I have flowered it from seed in
3} years, and it came quite true to type. This
species is always described as indigenous to
the neighbourhood of Caracas; but this is an
error. In the .Votes on the Distribution of the
Amaryllidece (Wesley, 94), I pointed out the
locality of this plant, but I did not then state
that the late Dr. Ernst, Professor of Natural
History at the University of Caracas, who had
personally explored the neighbourhood over
and over again, assured me that this species
could not be found within some days' journey
of the capital, and that he could find no record
of its ever having been gathered there. My
own visit to Caracas was limited to one month
during which I searched the same district
daily, with the result of confirming his
statement.

Acotijledonous Germination in Crinums.— As
1 am preparing a paper on this head, I will
merely state here that the radical process
issuing from the seed of (at least) some Cri-
nums, cannot, in my opinion, be classed as a
cotyledon. It is a process terminated by a

bulb or bud, and to include such under the
term cotyledon would be to expand, out of all
recognition, the definition of this term. I do
not say how far this theory of acotyledonous
germination in the Amaryllidere may be pushed,
that is a matter for prolonged investigation;
the object of this note is merely to record that
in my view the species C. Moorei, C. gigan-
teum, C. Yemense, and C. Yuccaeoides come
under this head.

Tomato Seedling, Variegation in. — Not infre-
quently in a batch of seedlings several will
show variegation. This spring one seed-pod
gave quite 80 per cent, of strongly variegated
seedlings. When these young plants had four
to six leaves each, they bid fair to grow into
decorative plants, but from this point the
variegation died out absolutely. Some persons
account for this by asserting that such seed-
lings were weak and lacked colouring-matter,
were in fact anremic, and that sunny weather
would cure them. My own observations show
that the variegation appears in the strongest
seedlings equally with the weaker ones, and I
think it is more probable that one of the pro-
genitors of our garden Tomato had, either
in itself or collaterally, variegated foliage.
Can any of your readers well versed in the
Solanaceae throw any light upon this?

Spalliacea bicolor. — The seeds are flat,
winged, and yellowish in colour; about sixty
in a fruit.

Htvmaiithus carneus. — The fruit is a trans-
parent, oval, green berry, inclosing the darker-
looking embryo, the coloration and trans-
parency being that of an unripe Muscat Grape.
(.Vote. Germination of seed not tested.)

Various Plant Notes.

Romuleus. — It appears that some confusion
exists in this genus. The Cape species seem
very refractory under cultivation in pots, and
are not hardy in the London districts. The
species of the Mediterranean are of course
much hardier, although not nearly so beautiful.

11. Bulbocodhtm (var. bicolor?). — This form
has a yellow base, and is taken in Mr. Nichol-
son's Dictionary of Gardening as the type.
However, all the coloured figures I have seen
of the type show a white base and longer
segments.

R. Linaresii seems to be another variety of
this species. It has a rather larger, nearly
self-blue flower.

R. purpurascens is a better plant than any
Bulboeodium form. It has self - coloured
flowers of a brilliant purple. The style is
very short, and the stigma remains hidden
among the anthers.

Hippeastrum Hybrids. — I thought that those
shown by Capt. Holford at the R.H.S. marked
an advance, both in colours and in robustness
on any previous exhibit I have seen. All that
remains to be done in this section is to re-
introduce more variety in habit.

Cactus "Crania." — I think that it is quite
inadmissible to found genera on leaves only, as
has recently been attempted in this order, and
that the old name, "Cactus," should be re-
instated ; and the recent divisions into Ccreus,
Phyllocactus, &c, reduced to sub- genera.
The form "Urania" has been in my collec-
tion for some years, and is almost certainly of
garden origin. Hence it probably exists else-
where under another name. However, as I
think it is the most beautiful form I have ever
seen, it was impossible to leave it without a
name for an indefinite number of years. This
is a day - flowering white Cactus, flori-
ferous, and possessing an almost intoxicating
fragrance.

Narcissus biflorus. — This species does not
flower freely in all soils, and has been super-
seded in many gardens by more showy forms-
In sweetness it surpasses all others. If well
done, it will often produce three flowers to
the scape. I gathered one specimen last,
spring with four flowers.

Cinerarias Bedded-out. — One feature of the
year in my garden was a bed of these plants-
Seed should be sown early in January, pricked
out into boxes, and planted out about the first
week in May. It is absolutely essential to-
select a damp and shady position. Early in
September the plants will come into bloom,
and last until cut down by frost. The latei-
ones may safely be lifted towards the end of
October, and potted-up for inside work. For-
tius purpose choose those which have not yet.
expanded their blooms, and lift them on a.
damp or foggy day. Of course, such plants cam
never rival those grown on in pots from the
start, yet very fair plants may be grown in
this way at about one quarter the expense of
the recognised method, in labour, fumiga-
tion, &c.

Gastronema sanguineum. — This plant ha*
been a worry to many gardeners. It should
never be grown in a pot, but either planted!
out, or in wide pans 4 inches deep. It does
not appear to flower well outside, but the
bulbs grow very fast in full sun during the
summer, and should be lifted towards the end
of September. In winter a night temperature
of 45° is sufficient if kept dry.

Summer-flowering Cape and Japanese Amaryl-
lids. — The past summer has not proved favour-
able for these plants in the open. My Lycoris.
only produced just short of 100 flower-scapes,
in place of nearly double that number.
Amaryllis flowered sparingly, and the Bruns-
vigias and Cape Crinums were a complete
failure. .1. Worsley, Isleworth.

A REVIEW OF THE SEED SEASON.

Early Peas, being scarce, are phenomenally
high in price this season, the supply, being
unequal to the demand, necessitating the
probable curtailment of orders. The serious
shortage in the harvest is owing to the per-
sistent drought experienced in the seed grow-
ing districts during May, June, and July, and
to the heat and dryness of the atmosphere whom
the blossoms were setting their pods, so that
the flowers dried up before they could reach
the stage of pod forming. It can be readily
understood that the yie'.d of seed fell greatly
below the average ; 2 and 3 acres of a particular
sort yielding not more than would a half acre
under ordinary favourable conditions.

Early Peas for seed are always grown on
light land to preserve their precocity, and it
was the light lands which suffered so severely
from the drought. To sow early Peas on
heavy land is to throw the stock back in point
of earliness, and also to increase the height of
the growth. Early Peas rapidly deteriorate in
regard to these particulars when grown on
retarding land. Many late wrinkled Peas are
also scarce, anil high in price. Three quarters
(24 bushels) per acre is regarded as a good
average yield of seed, but probably in no
single case has the average been reached this
season .

Some new Peas show a tendency to improve
under cultivation, and perhaps more particu-
larly some of the varieties bearing the name
of Laxton. Gradus is a case in point, and it
is found to be showing improvement as a
cropping Pea — as a seed-merchant said the
other day, "Gradus is working up a constitu-
tion of its own." This might be said of all the

January 18, 190-2.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

41

crosses made by Laxton ; the main aim has
been to produce dark green pods. Whether
rightly or wrongly, superior flavour is asso-
ciated in the minds of many with a deep green
pod ; and in order to produce the desired
colour, probably some amount of [breeding in-
and-in has had to be resorted to, to. secure
this end, hence some constitutional debility.
Green-podded Peas no doubt have the pre-
ference in the estimation of the market
dealer. Other Peas than Gradus are doubtless
going through the same course of improvement

the spring, which did their share of damage,
and they were followed by a visitation of
insect pests. The year 1901 was a record year
for noxious insects of every kind. They seem
to have been carried south and west by the
cold north-easterly winds, which prevailed
so long during the spring ; the Brassiea tribe
in. particular suffered from their attacks. So
severely felt were the ravages of vermin in the
seed-growing districts of western France, that
the caterpillar literally cleared fields of large
French Cabbages standing for seed; and it is

and Italy, are record ones, both in regard to
quantity and quality.

The supply of Italian Onions, represented by
the Tripoli section, though not so abundant, is
enough to meet an average demand. The largie
mild-flavoured Onions, introduced by Deverill
and others, seem to be taking the place of the
Tripolis to some extent in regard to the
particular purposes to which they are put.
One of the features regarding the development
of the Onion in recent years is the increasing;
popularity of the Queen type, which may bc?«
denominated a glorified Silver Skin. It is now.-
largely grown for pickling purposes, thus
superseding the red pickling type. When,
first the latter was pickled, it was found,
that one effect of the brine was to impart to
the clear silver skin a dull brown appearance,
but the brine is now so prepared that the
silvery appearance of the skin is retained,
without disfigurement ; the appearance of the-
Queen is therefore more taking than that ot
the old piekler, while the quality is also better-
every way. Pisiim.

NEW FERNS OF 1901.

British FERNS. — Despite the great number of
distinct types of variations in British Fern
species, the year has seen the introduction of
some decided novelties and improvements of'
type, viz., a quite new form of Osmundru
regal is (Royal Fern). Royal Horticultural
Society Awards of Merit were given to two
forms of Scolopendrium vulgare, viz., S. v.
crispum cristatum fimbriatum Stansfield, pret-
tily fringed, as well as frilled and tasselled ;
and S. v. crispum Drummondise superba, de-
scribed and figured in Gardeners' Chronicle,
January 1, 190'2, p. 5, which indicates a still
greater advance in the decorative direction iik
this species. A very remarkable viviparous.
form of this species was also exhibited by
Mr. Druery at the Scientific Committee, the
fronds literally crowded with young plants.
arising from surface bulbils, the original wild
find. S. v. cristatum viviparum O'Kelly.
bearing them but sparsely.

Finally, mention should not lie omitted of
Athyrium l.-f. cristatum fimbriatum, raised by
Mr. Garnett, Bowness, a remarkably slender,
finely tasselled form, somewhat on the lines of
A. f.-f. clarissima, and like that Fern cha-
racterised by soral apospory, but on a more
marked scale ; and further differentiated by the
apical form of the same phenomenon, plus tin-
tassels, and all the terminals. The parentage is
unfortunately unknown, but as it seems cer-
tain that it has not arisen from either of the
aposporous Athyria in cultivation, it being a
chance sporeling, it ranks as the first case of
combined soral and apical apospory which has
originated under culture. C. T. D.

FlC 11.— LFAVES OF A JAPANESE MAPLE, ACER POLYMORPHTM VAR. DISSECTTM. (SEE P. 40.)

The Week's Work.

by cultivation, while some rapidly fall away
and arc soon lost.

The prices of seeds of Carrots, Beets, and
Cabbages, are exceedingly high this season,
as they too arc very scarce. Parsnip and
Parsley were also scarce crops. Some suffered
by reason of the dry character of the late
summer and autumn of 1900, when owing to
the drought many seed plants could not be put
out, but had to remain in the seed-beds until
quit<> late in the year. During that time they
deteriorated rather than advanced; and (hen

owing to late planting they suffered so wlial

tt the rigours of the winter, and numbers

were destroyed. Then followed late frosts in

recorded that they at one point crossed the
Paris and Orleans railway in such numbers, that
they actually for a time stopped the progress
of one of the trains.

There is therefore a great scarcity of seeds
of many of the most useful kinds of culinary
vegetables ; and the same is true of some of
the seed-growing districts of Northern Europe.
Oi-iions and Leeks form exceptions to the
general scarcity. The Onion glories in hot,
dry weather. There is no doubt a reserve of
sustaining force in its firm fleshy bulbs, and it
sends its mots down deeply into the soil. The
crops of Onion-seeds saved in the north of

Kurope, and particularly in western Prance

THE 1IARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Mavne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle,
Bicton, East Budleigli, Devonshire.

Wall Fruit-trees.— As soon as the pruning
and training of stone fruits have been com-
pleted, the borders, which should be from 3 to
5 feet in width, measured from the base of the
wall, should be cleared of all primings and
rubbish, and receive a top-dressing onc-
inch thick of lime rubble or mortar re-
fuse, and be lightly dug over, removing
at the same time all suckers by cutting
them off close to. the root. Early lasl
spring 1 gave to all the wall-fruit borders
a top-dressing of this thickness of olil
"cob" broken up very finely, which was

procured from the cob walls of cottages.

pulled down at Bicton. Some of the older

42

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 18, 1902.

garden men implied that it would "burn"
the roots, but the healthy foliage and abun-
dant crops of fruit the trees carried last
summer, told quite a different tale. This kind
of top-dressing is not required yearly, and I
should be dubious about advocating its use on
■very retentive soils, "but with a light, sandy
soil resting on the old red sand-stone, it is an
excellent fertiliser. It must be used with
care, and then no ill effects will occur. I
plant a single row of Violets at the foot of all
the fruit walls, excepting those where Peaches
and Apricots are planted, keeping the
plant 18 inches distant from the steins of the
tree.

The Grape-vine. — Established jilants grow-
ing on walls may be pruned and put in order.
If grown on the spur system the laterals
should be cut back to the second or third bud
from the base, but if on the extension plan,
the growths that have been laid in during
summer to take the place of those that bore
fruit the past season, should be shortened
back to a plump bud, leaving about 4 feet of
shoots. If red spider infest the Vines, let the
wood be dressed with a mixture of water, soft
soap and flowers-of-sulphur. The Vine roots
are the better for a yearly top-dressing, re-
moving a layer of soil 3 inches deep, and
replacing it with maiden loam and bone-meal
— one peck of the latter to 4 bushels of loam.
The planting of Vines should be done about
the middle of March.

Strawberries. — Where these were not
mulched in late autumn, the ground between
the plants should be cleared of weeds and
dressed with short manure 2 or 3 inches thick,
pointing this in with a fork, in March. Some
gardeners object to using a fork between t lie
plants, but I consider the plants are benefited,
the rain penetrating the soil more readily ;
and if a mulch of clean Oat-straw be applied
when the flower trusses begin to push up, the
ground will usually be kept fairly moist until
the crop of fruit has been cleared. Planta-
tions made in August last will not need any
tnanure this year.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. H. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

O&oritoglossum - house. — Numerous flower-
spikes will now be showing on the plants, and
constant observation will be necessary to
guard against slugs, which otherwise would
soon destroy the labours of a season. The
leaves of the Lettuce, or Orange-peel laid
between the pots form, I think, the best baits
for them ; but do not trust to a trap, especially
If any good variety is showing bloom, but
place the plant on a piece of perforated zinc,
and keep the leaves clear of other plants— the
spike will then be safe. The flower-spikes
that have been out during the recent spell of
cold weather should not be allowed to remain
on the plant very long, or the plant will suffer
in vigour. It is better not to allow a plant to
flower if it show any falling off from the pre-
ceding year in length of leaf or size of pseudo-
toolb, which often occur when the plant has
been allowed to carry a strong spike the pre-
vious year, which remained on the plant for a
long period.

Lce.Ua anceps, and the many fine varieties,
such as L. a. Bull's alba, h. a. Hillii, L. a. Hol-
lidayana, L. a. Amesiana, L. a. Dawsoni, L. a.
Williamsii, L. a. Schroderiana, L. a. Ballan-
tiniana, L. a. oculata, L. a. Sanderiana, L. a.
Stella, L. a. Chamberlainiana, are the most
conspicuous Orchids in flower during the early
months of the new year, and they are worthy
of a place in every collection. The tempera-
ture of the house during the time they are in
flower should not be allowed to descend below
55° at night, nor rise above 63° by day, and
some air by the bottom ventilators should be
afforded when possible by night and day, in
volume according to the state of the outside
temperature. Water should be afforded with
care at this season, when some of the plants
are rapidly making new roots, whilst others
are still dormant. Plants that are making

roots require more water than others, but
even these should only be afforded water when
dry, so that the moisture will dry up quickly ;
for it is when the materials remain in a wet
state for several days after water has been
applied, that the newly-made roots suffer so
much. Any Laelia which requires potting this
season should receive attention as soon as
signs of root-action are noticed. The compost
should consist of very good turfy peat, with
most of the fine particles of soil shaken out,
and as a surfacing only sphagnum-moss should
be used, which is readily removed when sour
or worn out. In repotting, I advise the use of
pans in preference to baskets, these being
neater, and the plants are more easily potted
on occasion. The pans should be well drained
with clean crocks ; dead roots should be re-
moved, as also some of the back pseudo-bulbs,
not leaving more than three of them behind the
leading one; then, if there are several leads
to a plant, they can be put together with the
leads facing towards the rim of the pan. Let
the peat be inserted firmly among the roots
till the pan is filled, keeping the base of the
plant on a level with the rim of the pan, and
finishing off with several clumps of good heads
of sphagnum-moss. Plants which have been
potted will require very little water at the
roots for some time afterwards, beyond an
occasional syringing overhead on bright days.

The Back Pseudo-bulbs of Lcelias. — Those
which are removed when repotting should be
suitably labelled, and hung up in a somewhat
dry, light position, potting them when they
show signs of growth. A good method of
increasing L. anceps is to remove any lead and
two or three of the pseudo-bulbs which may bo
growing over the edges of the pan or basket,
leaving the back pseudo-bulbs to make new
leads, which, if in good health, does not take
a long time to accomplish. I have seen a strong
lead made the first season, and produce flowers.
Lselia anceps does not like its roots to be
interfered with, so I would not advise repot-
ting being carried out unless the peat is quite
worn out. Essential points in the cultivation
of L. anceps are plenty of strong light and
ventilation. The plants should, if possible, be
placed in an intermediate-house, and where
the blinds can be worked to suit them.

[Mr. Bound desires us to say that it was
really once a year, and not once a month, that
plants should have their leaves cleansed, as
was stated in the Orchid Calendar for last
week. We erred, it appears, on the side of
cleanliness. Eo.l

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mundy, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Regal and Show Pelargoniums. — These should
be potted forthwith if not already done, so
that the roots may have ample time to grasp
the new soil before the trusses develop.
Good turfy loam with a little decayed horse-
manure, a sprinkling of bone-meal, and plenty
of sand or road-grit suits them well ; leaf-
mould as an ingredient I do not advise, for it
has been held, rightly 1 think, that this is a
main factor in the development of leaf-spot,
and since discontinuing its use I have had no
further trouble with spot. Pot firmly, and do
not afford too much room in the pots for new
soil. Return the plants for the present to a
light shelf or position near the glass in a
house where only sufficient fire-heat is used
to keep out frost, and the air is buoyant.

Cannas. — Where early flowers are needed, a
batch of Cannas should be potted up, first
dividing them into single crowns, unless
bulky specimens are desired. Cannas do best
in a rich soil, into which a considerable quan-
tity of decayed cow-manure enters, and sand
in plenty. Good drainage must be afforded,
as they take water abundantly when growing.
I prefer to pot at this season into the flowering
pots direct, placing them in gentle warmth,
and applying no more water than they get
from the syringe for the first few weeks.

Asparagus Sprenaeri. — As a basket plant,
the growth of which will cover with graceful

verdure quite a largo space, nothing can
equal this plant, which grows faster than any
of its class, and the sprays are exceedingly
durable. Seedlings raised from last year's
crop of seed sown as soon as ripe will now be
fit for putting into baskets, and will by next
autumn make large plants. Employ a good
holding turfy loam and sand in plenty round
the roots ; lighter soil will do, but it gets
exhausted much sooner.

Heaths and Hardwooded Plants. — This is
probably the worst part of the year for these
plants. The ventilation should be as ample
as possible, without permitting sharp draught :
and in frosty weather no more fire-heat should
be applied than will serve to keep out frost.
The sulphur-duster should be at hand for use
in case of any mildew appearing among the
Heaths. Early flowered plants of E. hyemalis
should be cut back and placed in a slightly
warmer house to break.

General Work. — Camellias in flower and
bud should be freely fed with clear liquid-
manure ; healthy plants revel in this treat-
ment to an extent not so well understood as it
should be. Riehardias which are producing
spathes may also be heavily fed, and receive
also ample supplies of water. Euphorbia (Poin-
settia) pulcherrima will require no more
water for the present, as the roots have no
work to do, and the stems need ripening. E.
jacquinfeflora may also be allowed less water
at the root, but not dried off to anything like
the same extent, and it should be kept in the
stove. Dutch Hyacinths for flowering just
before those planted out should be brought
into a cool-house and kept near the glass.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Turton, Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Early Potatos. — In gardens where hot-water
pits can be set apart for this crop, forthwith
till them with fresh leaves of Oak, Beech, or
Sweet Chestnut, making the bed as firm as
possible by trampling it. This date will not be
too early if new Potatos are required about
Easter. The loamy soil in which Melon plants
were grown last year forms an ideal one for
Potato culture, and should always be reserved
for this purpose. The surface of the leaf-bed
should come to within 18 inches of the lights,
and on the bed should be placed a layer 6 inches
thick of soil. Assuming that the Potato sets
have already been started, and are growing in
a pit having a temperature of 50°, they will
have made strong shoots. Do not intercrop
with Radishes, &c, as the Potatos will soon
require all the space, and require moulding-
up, that is, before the Radishes are
fit for consumption. Ashleaf varieties of
Potatos had a long reign in gardens. They
are, however, now generally superseded by
Ringleader and other new early varieties.
The sets should be planted from 12 inches to
15 inches from row to row, and 9 inches in
the row.

Toiiwifos. — Plants raised from sowings made
in October, which have been standing in large
00-sized pots, should, if they are intended for
fruiting in pots, be shifted into 6-inch pots,
potting them moderately firmly in a compost
consisting of good turfy loam three parts and
spent Mushroom-bed dung one part, with
charred garden refuse in quantity according to
the nature of the loam. Place the plants very
close to the glass, in a house having a warmth
ranging from 60° to 65°, and 5° to 10° higher
than that in which they were grown hitherto.
Make a sowing of seed forthwith for raising
plants for planting-out in pits at the be-
ginning of March. The back walls of vineries
newly planted also offer a suitable place for
growing an early crop of Tomatos. A selection
of Early Ruby still holds its own here as a
variety for an early crop, and Sutton's Al to
succeed it. The seed should be sown in
6-inch pots, in a mixture of loam three parts,
leaf-mould one part, and enough silver-sand as
will ensure porosity. Place the pots in a
temperature of 65° to 75°, and as soon as the

!

January 18, 1902.]

THE GARD ENER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

4S

seeds have germinated, remove the seed-pots
to a shelf near the glass, so as to keep the
seedlings sturdy. When the plants are a few
inches high, pot them singly into small 60's,
and keep them on a shelf in a forcing-house
until they are large enough to be hardened off
previously to planting them where they are to
be grown.

Cauliflowers. — Plants in frames and hand-
lights should be fully exposed in mild weather,
and be afforded air, excepting during sharp
frosts. This is a sure precaution against
"buttoning," and prepares them for planting
on warm borders in March. Many gardeners
have relinquished autumn-sowing, owing to
the uncertainty attached to wintering them
under protection, and the possibility of ob-
taining equally serviceable heads of the
variety Early Forcing sown at the present
date. Let a sowing be also made of The Pearl,
which forms a good succession to the first-
named. Sow in boxes, and place in a tempe-
rature of 50° to 55°, and at all stages keep the
plants near to the glass ; when they are
3 inches high, a good batch should be potted
singly into i!£-inch pots, heaping up the pots
with compost, as recommended for Tomatos,
using some of the rougher portions of spent
Mushroom-dung for drainage. Plant with a
blunt dibber, or what is more expeditious, with
the index finger, and make the soil firm in the
Usual manner ; return the plants to a growing
temperature until they are established and
growing freely, then remove them to a cold
pit until the weather is mild enough to risk
planting them in the open.

THE PLOWEB GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Spring flowering bulbs. — In many places
border varieties of Narcissus are now shooting
through the soil, and when plantations have
stood for two or three years, a top-dressing of
wood-ashes and sifted loam equal parts, adding
to every barrowfnl of the former 1 peck
soot and 3 lb. of artificial plant manure,
spreading the whole evenly to the depth of
about i inch or a little less, will do much to
invigorate the bulbs. Plantations made last
autumn will not need such treatment, though
a sprinkling of fresh soot placed around the
clumps or lines will be of some benefit, and
also prevent the ravages of slugs. Some of
the best varieties are Glory of Leyden,
Madame de Graaf, bicolor Madame Plemp,
Fred. Moore, bicolor Weardale Perfection, and
Apricot, very flue.

Border Carnations, Picotees and Pinks. —
Assuming that plantations of the different
varieties for cutting purposes were made last
September in prepared beds, the plants, with
few exceptions, will have begun to grow,
rendering it necessary to stir the soil slightly
■with a hand-fork, taking care not to disturb
the roots thereby, maintaining a close watch
for wire-worm and the grubs of the cockchafer-
moth. Carnations of proved excellence are
Goldylocks, Mephisto, Mrs. A. J. Palmer,
Mrs. McRae, Much the Miller, The Hunter,
Verona, Wild Swan, and Germania, a variety
which when well grown, is a beautiful flower.
Amongst Pinks, very useful are Albino, Ernest
Ladhams, and Lady Falmouth.

Ranunculus. — In warm localities the tubers
of Ranunculus may now be planted in deeply-
dug, prepared beds, well-manured with leaf-
soil or other mild manure. Having dug the
beds and made the soil firm, the latter should
be shovelled out 4 inches deep and thrown into
the alleys, the bottom of the excavated part
made level, and the tubers, which resemble
birds' claws, should be set claws downwards
about I inches apart, and be pressed firmly
into the soil, scattering some sand over the
crowns and covering with fine soil and I hat
which was thrown out. The beds should be

covered with lir- boughs or other light
material, as a protection against frost, which
should not be removed till the end of March.

Biennials. An inspection made at this date
of the beds of (he various plants employed in

spring bedding is sure to show some losses,
and the present mild weather may induce
many to forthwith fill the gaps from the
reserve garden, but it would be better to
defer doing this till about the middle of next
month, when growth usually begins in such
plants as Erysimum, Mysotis, Silene, Lim-
nanthes, &c. Wherever practicable during
intervals of fine weather keep the Dutch-hoe
at work amongst all such subjects in the
flower garden. The vacant ground at the
front of shrubberies which it is intended to
plant with sub-tropicals, may be heavily
manured and deeply dug ; also the unoccupied
spaces in the borders of mixed herbaceous
wherein Dahlias, Salvias and Marguerites will
be planted. In the vicinity of the mansion
where neatness is required the paths and
terraces should be swept, rolling the paths
with a heavy roller and the turf with a lighter
one. A sufficient quantity of composts should
be stored in the potting-shed for future use,
which is better than leaving them out-of-doors
till wanted. In bad weather let all necessary
repairs of cutting and plant - boxes be made,
cleanse seed-pans and pots, and get labels of
a variety of sizes made, sorted, and put into
bundles in readiness for use.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccledch, Dalkeith.

Early-forced Fig-trees in Pots. — Following
the very excellent instructions already given
for the starting of these, it will be necessary
to maintain a gentle bottom-heat of 75° to help
the proper swelling of the fruit, and a mean
atmospheric heat of 60°, 10° to 15° more
throughout the day, closing early with sun-
heat. When the fruit gets to a certain stage,
increase in size is arrested till the setting
process is over ; and care must now be taken
in dull weather not to afford much water at
the root, nor keep the foliage constantly wet by
syringing it, or the fruit will turn of a yellow
tint; and on the other hand, the foliage of
the Fig is so liable to become infested by red-
spider, that syringing must be performed on
every bright day. Afford the soil sufficient
water, and let the paths and houses be damped
frequently, always using warm water.

Cucumbers. — In order to maintain a supply
in mid-winter, the plants must be croppeil
lightly, and the roots kept at the surface by
affording small top-dressings of rich turfy
loam, artificial manure, and on the top of all
some fresh horse-droppings. The syringing of
the plants at this season may only be carried
out early in the afternoons of bright days, and
when the weather is not very cold. The
temperature of the house at night should be
65°, and rather than maintain this with
excessive fire-heat, cover the roof with Frigi
Domo, or let it drop 5°. The bottom-heat
should not exceed 80° ; make the most of sun-
heat, let the temperature run up between 80°
and 90°, and only admit air in small quantity
in the forenoon when the day is line.

Pine-apples. — The division which contained
smooth Cayennes, which have been affording
ripe fruit for the past two months, being now
cleared of fruits, should be filled forthwith
with the same variety of fruiting size from
the succession pit. The bed having a heated
chamber underneath, and tanner's bark as
plunging material, some fresh bark should be
added to the old and mixed with it, and the
pots plunged "2 It. from centre to cent re, and as
fruit is not wanted before next November anil
December, the atmospheric and bottom-heat,

unci the quantity of water afforded the plants,
should for some time to come be such us will
conduce to rest. The main lot of smooth Cay-
ennes for the supply of fruit from the present
time till June, will require us near us possible
65° at night, 10° or 15° more in the daytime
with sunheat, and a bottom-heat of 90°. The
plants should be examined regularly twice a
week, and water afforded to those thai need
it, and to plants with swelling fruit frequent
applications of weak manure- water. The

paths and wall surfaces should be moistened

several times a day, but not the plants. 1 1 The
division of Queen Pines for affording fruit from
next June till the autumn, which since" last
September have been kept cool, both at top
and bottom, and rather dry, should this month
get a thorough application of water. The
night temperature should range from 60° to
65°, 10° more by day, and a bottom-heat of 90°.
After water has once been applied, water may
be needed twice a week ; a moist atmosphere
should be maintained by damping down two or
three times a day, but the plants should not be
syringed.

Strawberries. — For affording the earliest
fruit, plants growing in 5 or 6-inch pots should
have been plunged in mild bottom-heat about
the beginning of December, in a brick pit
sufficiently deep to hold a bed of tree-leaves
2J in. thick, provided with a flow and return
4-in. pipe for top-heat. This bed will afford a
bottom-heat of 70°, and a top-heat of 50° to 55°
should be maintained, according to the weather.
Those plants which were started at the be-
ginning of December are now beginning to
show the flower-trusses, and may be removed
to shelves in the Strawberry-house if one
exists ; if not, then to a shelf near the glass
in a pinery, a vinery, or Peach-house, that has
been started. Whilst in flower, and until the
fruit has set, employ a night temperature of
55° to 60°, with a constant circulation of air;
10° to 15° higher by day with sun. When the
fruit is set, remove the smaller fruits, reserv-
ing only a few of the best, and place the
plants in a mean temperature of 70°. If
pot Strawberries arc properly treated and fed
from the first, there is little trouble with
red-spider or mildew. Before starting them
lightly stir the surface of the soil, and apply a
light dressing—^- oz. of " veltha," mixed in as
much sand on the surface as a prevention of
mildew; then, when the fruit is set, apply a
sprinkling of Thomson's, or other good plant-
food. See that the plants do not suffer lack of
water, and frequently apply soot-water. In
bright weather syringe the plants twice daily,
and keep a moist growing atmosphere. The
two best varieties for the earliest crop are
Stevens' Wonder and John Ruskin.

Publications Received. — The Gentlewoman,

acceptable in every household.— Saturn Sates, January.
—Annual Report for 1900 from the Botanic Station. Grenada,
by W. E. Broadway, Curator. " An interesting feature
in connection with the work of the Botanic Station
during 1M0 was the establishment of seven experimental
Cacao plots in various parts of the Island, under the
control of the Curator and other officers of the Imperial
Department of Agriculture. The Report is, on the
whole, of a favourable character." An interesting note
is that the non-climbing variety of Black Pepper bore
a crop of fruit again. The plant is more productive in
Grenada than arc those which climb trees.— From the
Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West
Indies, we have received the following numbers of the
Pamphlet Series: No. 11. — Journal of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture of Western Australia, November,
1901. Includes many notes and papers on : The
Insectivorous Birds of Western Australia, by Robert
Hall ; Woodiness of the Passion Fruit, by A. Despeissis ;
Noxious Weed (Homcria collina), &■.-.— Annates Agronc-
migues, December 25.— Bolelin del lustituto FisicoGeo-
aratico de Casta Rica, Nos. 10 and 11— Syllabus of the
Dundee Horticultural Association for the session 1IW2.
and Annual Report.— Annual Report "u the Gardens of
Ms Highness Maharana Faleh Singhji Rahadur, (.'. C.S.I,
of Udaipur, .Vow. From the year 1898-99 to 1000-01.
The former year was fairly pood for the agricultural
and horticultural works, although the rains were much
below the average. The year 189.M900 was the worst
ever seen In Mewar. The famine of 1888 was nothing
in comparison to the present ouc : the gardens suffered
in many places, thousands of plants died, but Mango-
trees stood the drought well. -From the Imperial De-
partment of Agriculture for I lie West Indies:—
Pamphlet Series No. 11.— Bulletin qfthe Botanical Depart-
ment, Jamaica. Edited by William Faucctt. November
and December. 1901. Contents : Historical Notes, by
the Editor and W. Harris, F.L.S. IV. -.The Mango.
Nathaniel Wilson, by 1". Wilson. Ac. - Siftuel r i
Vagatine a] the Border. December, 1901. Contents:
Garden of the Wilhuv pattern Plate, by Irene Council ;
Carnations by the Sea, by. Ednab Kobinjon, As. This
magazineis published monthly, by the Passenger De-
partmentol the Southern Pacific Company, «, Mont-
BOUierV Street. San Francisco. California.— D
Siminwn ei Frietum. Hortus Botameus Bonaricusn
colleclorum et pro inutua pcrmulaud.i ollcruntnr I MSI
of Frutt and Seeds for exchange from the Bolauu
Garden, Buenos Ayres. Director, senor Tliays).

44

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 18, 1902.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER

Letters for Publication, as well as specimens and plants

for naming, should be addressed to the EDITOR,

41, Wellington Street, Coven t Garden, London,

Communications should be written on one side only of
the paper, sent as early in the week as possible, and duly
signed by the writer. If desired, the signature will not be
printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

("Annual General Meeting of
THURSDAY, Jan. 23-" ?ar,4?n.<2rs' R°yal Benevolent

Institution
Strand.

at Simpson's,

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, Jan. 20.—

Perennials, <Stc, bv Protheroe A Morris, at 12.

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 22.—

Fruit Trees at Cliffe, near Rochester, by Protheroe
& Morris.— Plants, <£c, at Stevens' Rooms, at 12.30.
Orchids, Leeds, Johu Cowan.— Azaleas, etc., Prothe-
roe & Morris, at 12.

FRIDAY, Jan. 24.—

Orchids, Perennials, Ac, by Protheroe & Morris,
at 12.30.

TENDER.

.Maintenance of Recreation Groundsill Marvlcbone.
Engineer, Town Hall, Maryleoone Lane.

(For further particulars sec Advertisement columns.)

Averaob Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
-37 7'.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— January 15 (6 p.m.) : Max. 40°; Min. 29°.

January 16.— W. wind ; dull ; milder.
Provinces. —January 15 (6 p.m.): Max. 4n°, NE
Scotland ; Min. 3S°, E. England.

The approaching annual meet-

IheRH1" ing of the Ko-val Horticultural
Society will no doubt induce
many of the Fellows to enquire what, if any,
steps have been taken to secure adequate
accommodation for the Society in London.
Mr. Burbidge's letter in our last issue we
-are sure gives utterance to what many
'beside himself are feeling. At the meeting
called to consider the matter in April last,
the proposal to purchase a largo area of land
at some distance from London for the
purpose of forming a garden was negatived
iby a very large and very emphatic majority.
Although the proposal to secure a hall was
.not formally before that meeting, yet there
could be no sort of doubt what the wishes
and aspirations of the Fellows present were,
<md substantial offers of assistance were
then and there made. The Fellows have
therefore a right, at the forthcoming meeting,
to know what has been done to give effect
to their wishes, and, though we are not
authorised to make any such declaration,
we hope that they will not be altogether dis-
appointed. Several sites have, wc know,
deen visited by a committee elected by the
Royal Horticultural Society, and presided
over by Baron Schroder, and their capabili-
ties discussed. All were very costly, some
so much so as to be prohibitive. In one
case, however, the conditions, if not fully
satisfactory, are more favourable, so that we
shall probably hear more about it at the
ensuing meeting.

The Society is in a remarkably prosperous
condition, and under the judicious manage-
ment of the Council, and its indefatigable
Secretary, a considerable reserve fund has
<been accumulated. To those of us who
remember keenly, the period of financial
disaster, the present state of affairs is
nothing short of wonderful. The present
time is therefore as propitious as any time

is likely to be, and every effort should be
made to avail ourselves of it by the erection
of suitable premises, which, if costly, will
be all the more valuable as an asset, and
will obviate the necessity of hiring the
Drill Hall and the offices of the Society.
Large financial help from outside must be
forthcoming, but considering that the Society
now numbers some 6,000 Fellows, mostly
recruited from the well-to-do classes, we
cannot doubt that if a full and straight-
forward statement of the case were submitted
to the Fellows, and an appeal made for help,
that the response would be favourable.

In the meantime a courteous communi-
cation has been received from the Royal
Botanic, inviting the Royal Horticultural
Society to hold some or all their shows in
the Regent's Park Gardens, and offering every
facility for the purpose. There is no doubt
the conservatories and exhibition grounds
are very suitable for the purpose, but they
are out of the way, and the policy followed
of late years by the Botanic is not such as
commends itself either to botanists or
horticulturists.

In reply, the Council of the Royal Horti-
cultural Society have, we believe, stated that
they are unable at present to accept the
offer of the sister Society, and that until the
arrangements for celebrating the Centenary
are decided upon, the Royal Horticultural
Society is unable to entertain the idea
of a change. Moreover, in view of the
great advantages which have accrued from
moving to Westminster, the Council would
have to be very decidedly convinced that
such a removal of site as now proposed
would not endanger the recently revived
prosperity of the Royal Horticultural So-
ciety. No doubt the idea of a complete
amalgamation between the two Societies
would not, under existing circumstances,
be acceptable, nor would the Fellows care at
their own expense to save the Royal Botanic
Society from the cost and trouble of main-
taining its own shows.

Another point has been raised by the
recent action of certain members of the
Fruit Committee, in urging the Society
to obtain by hire or purchase a small
area of three or four acres just outside
London, where trials can be conducted
more satisfactorily than they can be at
Chiswick. This is a very different matter
from the grandiose garden-schemes which
have been already negatived, and it is one
which may be very fairly considered by the
Council. The lease of Chiswick has still
nearly twenty years to run, but the un-
favourable conditions by which it is beset
increase in intensity each month. On the
other hand, we must remember what fine
examples of cultural skill have been ex-
hibited during the last year from Regent's
Park, Holland House, Gunnersbury, Cam-
berwell, and other suburban districts, no
better off climatically than Chiswick.

Even on Tuesday last several fine bunches
of Alicante Grape were shown from a garden
some three miles only from Charing Cross.
The bunches were not large, but they were
well finished and covered with bloom.

So, in spite of climatic difficulties, it is
still possible to grow creditable fruit and
flowers within a shorter distance from the
centre of London than is Chiswick. Never-
theless, sooner or later, Chiswick is doomed;
the question is — shall it be sooner or later?

The National Rose Society's Exhibi-
tion.— The date of the National Rose Society's
Rose Show in the Temple Gardens has been
definitely fixed by the Committee for Wednes-
day, July 2 next.

The Beauties of California. — A pamphlet
by Mr. C. H. Shinn, entitled A Study of San
Luis Obispo County, California, describes the
beauties and attractions of the " great domain
of California, which includes 158,000 square
miles of territory, close-packed with possi-
bilities that no mail as yet fully comprehends."
The many pictures of the district of San Luis
Obispo certainly show a lovely neighbourhood,
extensive, fertile, and inviting. The mere
idea of such abundant space, air, water, and
luxuriance of vegetation, is delightful to town
dwellers, and we advise those seeking a
change of scene to remember the advantages
of California.

" Flore . . . de la France." — The last
issued part of this useful publication includes
the Rosacea, and some other orders. The
plants are concisely, and, so far as we have
seen, correctly described, the descriptions
being so arranged as to be readily comparable
and easily found. The little sketches, like
those of the illustrated edition of Bentham's
British Flora, are very serviceable. It would
have been hetter if naturalised plants like
Claytonia perfoliata, for instance, had been
printed in a separate typo from the true
natives, and not numbered in continuous
sequence with the aboriginal inhabitants. The
author of this serviceable book is the Abbe
Coste. It is published by Klincksieck, Rue
Corneille, Paris, and may be had from Williams
& Norgate, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden,
London.

"Florilegium Haarlemense." — Two parts
of this illustrated periodical have reached us
from the publisher, De Erven Loosjes, Haar-
lem. It consists of coloured representations
of the best and most characteristic bulbous
plants selected by the General Bulb Society of
Haarlem. The descriptions are given in four
languages, Dutch, German, French, and Eng-
lish. The plates appeal to plant-lovers of
whatever nationality.

Obelisk, t. 46, is a single-flowered Hyacinth,
with a compact, cylindrical spike of small
yellow flowers. Its origin is not known.

Double Tulips, t. 47, is devoted to the illus-
tration of Lord Beaconsfield, with brilliant
crimson flowers, and Parmesiano white, flushed
with rose.

Lilium speeiosum album occupies t. 48.

Hyacinth Roi des Beiges, t. 49, is a crimson-
flowered variety, with a very dense, obtuse
spike. It was raised from seed by Messrs.
E. Kruyff, of Sassenheim.

Single Early Tulips, t. 50, Gele Prins, has
variegated foliage and yellow flowers ; Prins
van Oosterik is much sought after for its
single crimson flowers ; Gouden Bruid van
Haarlem (Golden Bride of Haarlem) has yellow
flowers, mottled with scarlet, and is a sport
from Bruid van Haarlem.

Tab. 51 is devoted to the illustration of
various forms of English Iris.

Presentation. — The removal of Mr. A. C.
Forbes, head forester on the Bowood Estate,
to a more important position at Longleat, was
made the occasion of a presentation of a hand-
some onyx Clock, and a gold bangle to Mrs.
Forbes. The presentation was made at the
Institute, Derry Hill, by Mr. H. Herbert
Smith, agent to the Marquis of Lansdowne, on
Friday, January 10. Mr. Forbes, who has

January 18, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

45

1*een for ten years head forester at Bowoocl,
Tsas carried out his work with credit to himself,
•sml advantage to the Bowood Estate. During
the greater part of this period he has been a
contributor of articles on forestry subjects to
the pages of this journal.

Royal Seedsmen.— Messrs. Kent & Bry-
don, seed merchants and nurserymen, of
Darlington, have been appointed seed mer-
chants by Royal Warrant to His Majesty the
King.

"Cassell's Dictionary of Gardening."
— The eighth part of this serviceable publica-
tion has been issued. It is well suited for
amateurs, and for those who do not require
exhaustive information. Within its limitations
K is well done, and well illustrated.

" Crampton's Magazine." — The January
number is full of good tales and other domestic
matter, and we commend it to all house-
holders who do not already know of it. The
editor is Mr. Harold Tremayne ; publishers
are Anthony Treherne & Co., 3, AgarSt.,W.C.

" Horticultural Directory."— This ser-
viceable publication is issued from the office
of the Journal of Horticulture, Mitre Court
Chambers, Fleet Street. It has evidently
been revised, as many of the recent changes
are inserted, but it is impossible to secure abso-
lute correctness in such a work, particularly
as the individuals most concerned so often
render no assistance. "Sir John Lubbock "
uo longer exists under that name, which has
Iseen superseded by the designation Lord
Avebcry. Mr. G. B. Mallett is no longer at
Mandeville House, Isleworth. Dibden House,
Ealing, is untenanted.

Fruit from the Cape.— The first ship of
'the Union Castle fleet of steamers bringing
fruit from the Cape is due to arrive here in a
tew days. The Carisbrook Castle left Cape
Town on New Year's Day with 358 packages,
tieing the first consignment ; the Kinfuuns
Castle left Cape Town on the 8th inst. with
■<501 packages. The description of the fruit
lias not been given by cable. The other
■ships to bring fruit are the Ki I dona n Castle,
Saxon, Norman, Dunvegan Castle, Scot, Briton,
and Dunottar Castle. The dates of arrival
liome are January 17, 24, and 31 ; February
7, 14, 21, and 28 ; March 7, 14, 21, and 28 ;
April 4 and 11.

Royal Purveyors. — Messrs. Ransomes,
SIMS & Jefferies, Ltd., Orwell Works,
Ipswich, have been appointed by Royal
Warrant manufacturers of Agricultural and
Horticultural machinery to His Majesty King
iEDWAKD VII.

Hardy Shrubs in Dublin.— Just at present
.'Jnsminum nudiflorum is gay with its yellow
stars and buds. The Wych-Hazel of Japan
<Hamamelis arborea) is also very pretty, its
■branches thickset with brown buds and fully
open flowers, the petals of which look like bits
of crumpled gold wire. The Tassel - Bush,
"Garrya elliptica, is clothed at the tip of each
:shoot with bunches of soft grey catkins, and
there are odd flowers and buds gleaming on
the Cydonia (Pyrus) japonica, and here and
there on the walls the golden-leaved forms of
Ivy gleam brightly in the sun. On the bor-
ders are Christmas and Lenten Rose Helle-
gjores, Iris stylosa, and the striped buff buds
of Crocus Imperati, are opening on warm, still
•days.

Stock-taking: 1901.— Before giving the
results for the past year, it will be necessary
to briefly summarise the figures relating to the
tuado of December, as stated in the Board
of Trade Returns. Briefly, then, the value

of the imports for the past month was
£46,770,097, as compared with £40,446,062
—or an increase of £323,435. Now, as to
exports, the output for December is given as
£24,313,777, against £23,611,972 for December.
1900— or a gain of £701,805. This doubly-
pleasant record for the closing month of " the
year that's awa'," will be hailed with satis-
faction by all interested in commerce. We
come now to the year's record. The total
value of the imports is £522,238,980, against
£523,075,163— or a decrease of £836,177. So
"things are not so bad after all." The fol-
lowing excerpt from the summary table are
worth recording here : —

Imports.

1900.

1901.

Difference.

£

£

£

Total value

523,075,163

522,238,986

—836,177

(A.) Articles of food
and drink— duty
free

156,090,088

162,949,666

+6,859,578

(B.) Articles of food
& drink— dutiable

49,230,529

47,595,501

—1,635,028

Raw materials for
textile manufac-
tures

77,347,363

79,401,772

+2,054,409

Raw materials for
sundry industries
and manufactures

65,079,691

57,954,510

—7,125.181

(A.) Miscellaneous
articles

16,771,621

17,298,198

+526,577

(B.) Parcel Post ...

1,119,621)

1,262,462

+142,836

The figures relating to the trade in fruits,
roots, and vegetables, are of perhaps more
interest than usual, owing to the opening up
of trade. The figures are as follows : —

Imports.

1900.

1901.

Difference.

Fruits, raw :—

Cwt.

Cwt.

Cwt.

Apples

2,128,541

1,830,208

—298,333

Apricots and Peaches

13,689

13,463

—226

Bananas... bunches

1,287,442

2,228,672

+941,230

Cherries

242,525

212,683

—29,842

Currants

64,462

70,402

+5,940

Gooseberries

26,015

21,735

—4,310

Grapes

592,857

679,878

+87,021

Lemons

947,891

1,070,354

+ 122,463

Nuts— Almonds

140,359

111,312

—29,047

Others, used as food

763,295

904,154

+140,859

Oranges

5,090,386

5,281,657

+ 191,271

Pears

476,901

348,866

—128,035

Strawberries

423,019

263,700

—159,319

Unenumerated.raw...

494,722

535,246

+40,524

Fruits, dried-

Currants, for home

consumption

798,647

963,633

+164,986

Raisins

564,303

554,408

—9,895

Vegetables, raw :—

Onions bush.

7,087,105

7,295,418

+208,313

Potatos cwt.

8,910,962

7,076,882

—1,834,080

Tomatos ,

833,030

793,991

—39,039

Vegetables, raw, un-
enumerated ...value £766,394

£389,828 j — £376,566

It may be noted that one of the "unenume-
rated " in evidence at Christmas time was
the Custard-Apple, many splendid samples of
which graced the dessert on that day. Come
we now to our —

Exports.
Concerning which a few figures are exhibited.
The twelvemonth's total is £280,498,889,
against £291,191,996 — showing a decrease of
£10,693,107. This is a serious falling off, but
then it might have been worse, and consider-
ing the enormous competition to which we are
subjected by "all the nations of the earth and
America," as a provincial friend put it to us,
we have come out perhaps as well as could be
expected. Of course, war's deadly blast has
shrivelled up many a promising scheme, and
the settlement of tariff charges act as deter-

rents to trade ; but a nation whose foreign
trade amounts to £802,737,875 must certainly
be possessed with pluck and energy sufficient
to carry it over all difficulties. Let us hope
that the final record of 1901 — a double in-
crease— may prove a good augury.

Poisonous Effects of Misleto on the
Pear. — In the G'ompfcs Rendus de VAcademie
des Sciences, M. EMILE LAURENT remarks upon
the existence of a principle injurious to the
Pear in the berries, seeds and young plants of
Misleto. " If this parasite germinates on the
branches of some varieties of the Pear
(Williams, Josephine de Maliues) it causes
death by midsummer. Such is the case, also,
according to JEAN CHALON, with Spartium
junceuni and Ficus elastica. In the case of
the Pear, the cortical tissue is destroyed and
contracts, often several centimetres away
from the point of inoculation. Inside the
vessels gummy lumps are formed which
impede the circulation of the sap, thus ex-
plaining the quick drying up of the young
branches during the hottest days of summer.
Following this necrosis of the bark, the young
plant which caused it dries and dies without
even penetrating the bark. The Pear is thus
saved from the further injurious effect of
the Misleto. Varieties which exhibit this
peculiarity are immune, while others are
predisposed to attacks of this particular
parasite."

A "Sight for Sair E'en " has been pro-
vided for passers-by in the dreary month of
January by the wall of a house close to the
gates of Gunnersbury Park. This is entirely
covered with Crataegus pyracantha, upon
which is still left an ample crop of scarlet
berries. Among the comparatively compact
branches of this creeper Jasminum nudiflorum
is running rampant, and the clear yellow of
its fully-expanded flowers forms a charming
contrast to the bright berries and green leaves
of the Cratiegus. It was not our fortune to
see this beautiful sight on a fine day, but
when the sun is shining the effect must be
truly gorgeous.

The R. Dean Testimonial. — A meeting of
the subscribers to the above was held at the
Royal Aquarium on Tuesday last, Mr. W.
Marshall presiding in the absence of N. N.
Sherwood, Esq., who was unwell. It was
unanimously agreed that the testimonial take
the form of a cheque, together with a hand-
somely framed address on vellum, the latter to
be at a cost not exceeding £5. It was also
resolved that the date of the presentation be
Tuesday, February 4, being the earliest con-
venient day to Mr. Dean's seventy-second
birthday, February 1, and that a public dinner
be arranged at which the presentation shall
be made, at such place as the executive may
determine. Also that the presentation bo
made by Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. J. H. Jones,
Secretary, reported the receipt up to date of
£290 ls.Od., and expressed a hope that it
would yet reach a larger sum.

TRADE NOTICE,

Mk. C. F. L.vnodon, for the last seventeen
years head gardener at Newton St. Loe, has
recently resigned that position for the purpose
of joining as partner Mr. J. B. Blackmore,
Begonia grower of Twerton-on-Avon, Bath,
who has just started a nursery in which the
principal' feature will bo tuberous - rooted
Begonias. The firm will also cultivate one o£
the finest collections of Carnations and yellow-
ground Picotees, having purchased the entire
collection raised by Mr. 0. Wall of South
Down.

46

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 18, 1902.

JAPANESE MAPLES AT CASTLE-

WELLAN, CO. DOWN.

[Supplementary Illustration.]

For the photograph fr.om which our illustra-
tion was taken we are indebted to the courtesy
of the Earl of Annesley. The following note
has been contributed by his gardener, Mr.
Ryan : —

"Of the numerous plant -treasures which
have been derived from Japan, this Acer (A.
japonicuin atro - purpureum), to my mind,
hears the palm. Whether we admire its
graceful foliage, its vigorous habit, or its
lovely colouring, it is jacilc princeps among
ornamental trees. At Castlewellan about
eighteen hundred different varieties of hardy
shrubs are cultivated, and we think that this
plant is the choicest. The specimen shown in
the illustration is 8 feet high and nearly 50 feet
in circumference, and yet it is not the largest
specimen here, but in shape it is very nearly
as perfect as a garden shrub. The young foli-
age, as it comes out in the spring, is of a
bright blood-red colour, turning in the middle
of summer to a greenish-purple. It makes a
second growth towards the autumn, when the
contrast between the two colours, the bright
red of the young leaves and the dark purple
of the general mass of foliage, is very effec-
tive. But it is just as it is about to drop its
leaves in late autumn that the colour is most
remarkable, and at that time for about a fort-
night it is no exaggeration to say that it is
brighter and more brilliant in colour than a
soldier's red coat. No one, who has not seen
the forests of Canada in the autumn, can have
any idea of its splendour.

Good loam, with a fair proportion of manure
from an old Mushroom-bed, makes a suitable
soil for Maples. It is a matter for wonder that
a plant whose foliage is so magnificent in its
tints, and withal so hardy — for it never suffers
in the hardest frost — is not extensively planted
in gardens and pleasure-grounds. Perhaps the
reason may be that it takes some time to raise
a stock of the plant. As to its monetary value,
I remember at the Temple Show of the Royal
Horticultural Society a few years ago a Duke
giving £20 for a plant not to be compared
with the one in the photograph ; and when the
traveller of one of the largest English nur-
series was making his annual visit, I showed
him one of our finest plants, which was then
in full le.if — the sun was shining brightly
through the young blood-red foliage at the
time, making a lovely mass of colour, and
asked him, as a matter of curiosity, what he
would value it at? He replied, 'Well, if we
had a customer for such a plant, and it could
be moved safely, we should not think of ask-
ing less than 70 guineas for it.' As we have
some hundreds of them, I thought to myself it
would be a very profitable crop to grow at
that price. Last spring a teri'ible occurrence
took place, from a gardener's point of view.
Eight of the Japanese deer escaped from the
doer park into the spring garden, and made
straight for the red Maples, and in one night
ate up fifteen of them as far as they could
reach, most of them being larger than the
plant illustrated."

Apropos of Maples, Messrs. L. Boehmer &
Co., Yokohama, send us the following note: —

" In particular. I should like to mention the
lovely spring Maples, which are just now so
beautiful, and especially the variety Acer
polymorphum atropurpureum dissectum, of
which I send a photograph (fig. 11, p. 41) and also
a few pressed leaves, which show the beauty of
this variety better than any word description
I could give. This tree is one of the most
beautiful ornaments in our* gardens, not ODly

on account of its fine-cut leaf (resembling more
that of a Fern than a Maple), but also because,
unlike the forest Maples, which obtain their
wonderf ul colouring in the autumn (the colour-
ing of Japanese Maples is particularly beau-
tiful), these leaves are at first beautifully
tinted, changing later on to green. Besides
the variety atropurpureum, we have the plain
green dissectum, also very lovely, and both of
the same drooping habit. The only way to
propagate these trees here in Japan is by
grafting, but as one of the trees in my garden
has produced seed so beautifully, I am very
anxious to experiment, and to see what the
result will be. At last, I wish to say that
with us these trees are perfectly hardy, and
as far as I have seen in the papers, they are
also hardy in England and America."

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

Profitable Fruit-growing.
The sixth edition of Mr. John Wright's
prize essay on this subject has been published
by Messrs. Collingridgc, 148, Aldersgate
Street. We are told on an inset that a copy
has been sent to, and accepted by the King ;
so that the essay, which was premiated by the
Worshipful Company of Fruiterers, has now
received the recognition of Royalty. It is not
necessary to'say anything in commendation of
a book in its sixth edition. It may suffice to
say that the selection of fruits has been
revised. "The secret of success," says the
author, in conclusion, "rests in exact know-
ledge, and its application in the form of dili-
gent, well-timed, and well-judged work."
Quite so ; but land laws, railway rates, com-
mission salesmen interfere with the applica-
tion of sound principles. Against and for all
that, the teaching of Mr. Wright's book
affords the best protection.

The Rosarian's Year-book.
This opens with a portrait of Mr. Orpen,
and a sympathetic account of his work among
the Roses, especially the Teas. Miss Jekyll
has a word to say on garden Roses, the Editor
reviews the events of the Rose- year, and Mr.
Pemberton deals with the new Roses of the
year, among which Bessie Brown takes the
lead ; whilst we have it on Mr. Pemberton's
authority that "Tennyson, as a maiden, is
useful." Mr. B. E. Cant's paper on stocks
and their influence, is very interesting.
Preference is given to the Briar cutting. Mr.
George Paul reviews the development of new
types of Roses, and the great extension of
Hybrid Teas. Mr. Mawley's meteorological
notes are, as usual, full of interest ; his sta-
tistical data, and the deductions from them as
to the chances ami amount of rainfall in June
and July, when Rose shows most abound, are
novel and important.

The Book of Bulbs. By S. Arnott (John
Lane : The Bodloy Head, Yigo Street).
This is another of the series of Handbooks
of Practical Gardening, edited by Harry
Roberts. Its title is very expressive of its
contents. It is wonderful how much the
author has been enabled to cram into little
more than a hundred pages. We are not sure
whether he would not have done better to
have confined his remarks to a selection of
bulbous plants, rather [than to have enume-
rated so many. None better than the author
could make the selection, and none better
than he could lay down the geneial principles
of their cultivation. At any rate, those who

want information about bulbous plants (using-
the term bulbous in a broad sense) will find in.
this little volume a compact encyeloptedia of
trustworthy information.

A GOURD PERGOLA.

Mr. Irwin Lynch, in his interesting paper
on Gourds, p. 457, suggests that "These-
Gourds might be grown very effectively if
planted in holes so arranged as to form a
pergola." This idea was carried out during
the past season in Mrs. Brightwen's gardens,.
The Grove, Stanmore. A kitchen - garden
path, some 180 feet long, was arched over with,
wooden poles, leaving a clear space overhead,
of 7 feet. The Gourds were planted out the-
first 'week in June, having been previously
hardened off in cold frames. By the middle of
July the pergola was formed, and large quan-
tities of Gourds set (see fig. 12). The sorts,
used were those which belong to Cucurbita.
Pepo, such as the Orange, Turk's Cap, Golden
Pear, warted and bi-color Gourds. A few
Squash Gourds were used, but these have to
be kept low down on the pergola, as their
great weight twists and breaks the bine
Amongst the species used, C. ficifolia and C.
grossularioides were most effective, the former
being the most robust and rapid grower of all.
the Gourds.

One of the most striking features of the-
pergola was the fruits of the Long-bottlo
Gourd (Lagenaria) ; these came to perfection
quite as well in the open as when grown in.
the stove. One of the. longest measured
5 feet 3 inches. Plenty of water with occa-
sional weak liquid-manure, and careful tying;
and thinning the shoots, are essentials to>
success in forming a Gourd pergola. J. TV'. OdelU

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

THE RUST OF CHRYSANTHEMUMS. — MlV

McCullock asks whether I can explain how it
was that certain plants which had had no-
manure escaped the ravages of this disease?"
Of course, 1 cannot do this. If it was pro-
duced by the manure used, it was a manure of
a very peculiar and unsuitable kind. I am
well aware that some poison their plants with
manures, and others almost destroy them with
pure water. This does not prove that manures-
and water must be withheld. Manure properly-
applied to a healthy plant should and will not
produce rust or any other disease. Manure-
should mean nourishment. I am of opinion.
that too much is made of feeding Chrysanthe-
mums. Beginners seem to think that the best
flowers are produced by applying enormous-
quantities of manures, whereas these are
really produced by healthy, properly nourished
plants. IV*. J. Godfrey, Exmuutli.

Not having experimented in the way

your correspondent " McCullock " has done,,
as given ante, p. 33, by using artificial
manures on some and not on others, it is not
an easy matter to give an opinion ; those who
try the experiments should be the best judges,
of the why and wherefore of the case. There
are many questions one might be inclined to-
ask on the kind of cultivation pursued, and
the sort of manure of which use is made. I
have quite as puzzling a problem to solve in.
my case, as stated on p. 474 : 1 may ask why
has the rust left us, when artificial manures
were used, and the treatment in general was
the same as in other years ? and again I have-
had plants in the open ground in the kitchen
garden which I lifted in the autumn, using no
manure in the potting soil, and yet some of
them got the rust, and others did not. I do
not think it a desirable practice to use more-
than one artificial manure during the season ;
mixing up different makers' manures cannot be-
right. The whole matter is puzzling, andi
wants further investigation. A. J. L.

January 18, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

47

A HALL FOR THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL
30CIETY. — I am extremely glad to note that
Me. Burbidge has re-opened this subject in
your columns, and fully agree with him that
rthis present year of the Coronation of His
Majesty the King, who is the patron of the
'Society, presents a most fitting opportunity
for such agitation and ventilation of the
.question of what so many consider to be a
vital need, as will lead to a definite plan, and
what is more, to the fulfilment of same on
proper lines. In my former communication
in this connection, I pointed out the enormous
difference existing between the status of the
Society at the time of the first attempt to
found a hall, and that which it enjoyed at ths

entirely from the slough of despond in which
it had nearly been smothered ; and its execu-
tive had yet to gain the confidence to which
subsequent success and rapid progress have
entitled it. Wo know, however, that the
Council is actively engaged at present in
licking a practicable project into shape ; and
it is to be hoped that on the next general
meeting of the Fellows, such a one may be
ripe for discussion and adoption. Remem-
bering, however, previous meetings, I would
certainly suggest that ample notice may be
given not merely of the date, but also as far
as possible of the plans and prospects and
general data which the Council propose to
bring forward for consideration ; and also it

FlO. 12. — A GOl'RD PKRGOLA. (SEE P. 4P.)

time of writing; since then, nearly 1,000 new
Fellows have been elected within the compass
of a year, and its onward and upward progress
is by leaps and bounds in lieu of an almost
•despairing struggle for bare existence. The
spirit of the Fellows was admirably evinced
at the last general meeting, when three of the
advocates of the hall promised £1000 each,
since, I believe, supplemented by a munificent
•offer by Baron Schroder of £5,000 more for
the same purpose. With a Fellowship of some
<i,000 or more, many of which are undoubtedly
able and willing to support the scheme if once
it were clearly formulated, there should be
little difficulty in finding the needful sum, and
•certainly far less now that there must have
been experienced on the last occasion, when
.nearly £30,000 were practically secured,
though the Society had by no means emerged

is to my mind, more important that a meeting
held to consider so vital a matter should not
be wedged in between other Committees, so
that a quite inadequate time is allowed for
full discussion. The Fellows should have a
previous opportunity of fully studying the
pros and cons, which it is impossible to do
properly when they are first made known at
the meeting itself. One point was put
forward and never cleared up on the last
meeting, and that was the effect of the
Society's charter as regards a hall of the
kind desired; and subsequently the point
was raised by the writer. How was it that the
charter was not an obstacle at the time of the
first attempt ? And if it was not, while the
now charter is, how was it that such an
obstacle was introduced in view of the known
desire of many Fellows that such a hall

should be obtained ? This, I think, should
certainly be made clear to all, for nothing
handicaps schemes of this class more than
uncertainty. The support given to the so-
called Royal Botanical Society is also, I am
glad to see, referred to by Mr. Burbidge. In
view of the infinitely greater importance of
the Royal Horticultural Society, and the
undoubted national benefit it involves, it is
an absolute anachronism that the latter is
left out in the cold while an invaluable privi-
lege is continued to another body, which is
practically little more than a name and a
centre for social amusement. I cannot help
thinking that once a definite scheme were
formulated, involving a Government con-
cession, and supported financially on an
adequate scale by the Fellows, representa-
tion in the right quarter could be made
sufficiently influential to remedy this anomaly,
and secure the Society at once its moral
rights, its hall, and, as a consequence, an
even more brilliant future than its present
rapid progress argues. Clias. T. Druery,
F.L.S., V.M.E.

AMERICAN BLIGHT ON APPLE-TREES. —The
remedy given in your issue of January 11, see
p. 35, is, I have no doubt, an excellent one,
although difficult of application to large trees.
I have found paraffin a sure remedy for the
destruction of this injurious pest. On taking
charge of these gardens some ten years ago, I
found the whole of the bush Apple-trees very
badly infested with American blight, indeed
they were the worst affected trees I had ever
seen ; many of the branches were wreathed
with insects. Knowing what an excellent
insecticide paraffin is, I decided to try its
effect on American blight. I put at the rate of
■| pint of paraffin to 3 gallons of water, which
was mixed by thoroughly agitating it with a
syringe for a few minutes previous to applying
it, which one man continued to do, while
another man syringed the trees with the
mixture. The experiment was a complete
.success, as not a living insect could be found
next day. A few appeared the following
summer, which were destroyed by another
application of the mixture, which was put on
as soon as the leaves had fallen. The trees
are now quite free from the pest, but as a
preventative 1 have the trees syringed every
autumn with a similar mixture. To those
whose Apple-trees are infested with this very
injurious pest, I would say syringe thein at
.nice with a similar mixture to the above,
which I have not the least doubt will prove as
effectual in their case as it did in mine. J. H. W.

EARLY SINGING OF THE THRUSH.— I first
noticed that a thrush in my nursery on
January 4 of this year had began piping out
an odd note or two of song, and to my astonish-
ment to-day (Jan. 7) just before the sun was
setting, it broke out into almost full song and
sang for nearly half-an-hour; I should think
this is almost the earliest, date at which the
thrush has been heard in this country. J. D.
Aldridge, Eustgulc .Yiirxer;/, Peterborough.

carter's michaelmas pea. — As there have
been several paragraphs regarding this line
late Pea in your columns, it may be interesting
to send you its complete history. Michaelmas
Pea was* selected at our seed farms, St. Osyth,
from a very tall late Pea that wo introduced
under the name of " Interest," but which by
reason of its height did not become popular.
We enclose some seeds of both Late Queen
and Michaelmas so that you may see they
differ materially; besides this, anyone who is
a judge can readily detect a distinction in the
pods during growth— the latter resembling Ne
Plus Ultra type, the other Autocrat type.
Our Michaelmas Pea went through the critical
trials of the Royal Horticultural Society! and
was the only bite Pea awarded honours in
1890, the Committee regarding it as a late
variety of much promise J and it was pro-
nounced by competent judges on tin- spot to
be distinct from all others. James Carter &
Co., Seedsmen to His Majesty the King. [There
is a conspicuous difference in the size of the

48

TEE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 18, 1902.

Peas in the two samples, Late Queen averaging
11 to 12 millimetres, whilst Michaelmas does
not exceed 10. Ed.]

LATE-FLOWERING DECORATIVE CHRYSANTHE-
MUMS.— I enclose two varieties of Chrys-
anthemums that are exceedingly useful for
Christmas and New Year's decoration, Mutual
Friend, which is white, and Duchess of York,
yellow. The size and form of the blooms,
which are produced on long, stiff stalks, make
them valuable. The specimens were grown in
8-inch pots, and the plants bore six to eight
blooms each. Geo. Nottage, Mill House, Bourne
End, January 7. [The blooms are uncommonly
well grown. Duchess of York is of soft yel-
low colour, and the blooms are of excellent
size. Ed.].

NITROGENOUS MANURES FOR PEAS.— The

note appended to the article on Peas in your
issue of January 11 is of some importance just
now, when early Peas are being sown. Many
cannot understand why it is that those who
supply their early crops, in gardens or in field
culture, with an abundance of nitrogenous
food, always secure better returns than those
who rely upon their plants being able to
secure sufficient nitrogen for themselves either
directly from the soil, or indirectly through the
action of the micro-organisms in the nodules
on their roots. It is quite true that Legumi-
nosae have this power, but only under certain
conditions, one of which is warmth, and a most
important condition it is, because the organ-
isms do not increase to any beneficial extent
with a low temperature of soil. Some thirty
years ago, when a youngster, I was much im-
pressed with the enormous number of nodules on
the roots of a grand lot of late mid-season Peas
I was pulling up after the crop was finished,
and as I had manured them exclusively with
phosphatic and potassic manures, I was
fairly puzzled about the matter. Since then
scientific research has explained the pheno-
menon. By careful observation during several
seasons your readers will find, as many of us
have already found, that for Peas required to
be picked green before the end of June it will
pay well to supply nitrogenous manure. A
crop in June requires energetic growth in
April and May, long before the soil is warm
enough to enable the micro-organisms to help
the plants and their gardener to a satisfactory
extent. A large grower for market often
assured me he found it profitable to apply
nitrogenous manures to Broad Beans required
for early picking. As a result of practical
experience, we find the early crops have to
• complete their work before the nodules have
begun to do their part. Practice with Seienee.

GARDENERS in America.— Having spent a
month last autumn visiting the nurseries and
private gardens in and about New York, 1 can
Yerify all Mr. Harding has said on this matter.
I found a good man can more than double his
home rate of wage. I am not referring to
head gardeners who hold high positions, but
to young men who have learned their business
in a good garden or nursery. They can always
get wages that will enable them to save more
than they would earn at home. Young gar-
deners and nursery men from England also
appreciate being welcomed in classes of society
that they could not join at home. W. Trou,
Crowborough , Sussex.

LAW NOTES.

BUYING A CHEAP LOT OF SHRUBS.

In the City of London Court, on Friday,
before Judge Lumley Smith, K.C., an action of
some interest to gardeners was brought by
Lionel E. Townroe, solicitor, 11, Queen Vic-
toria Street, against a firm of auctioneers, to
recover the sum of £5 for specific performance
of a contract for the sale and delivery of
shrubs, and in the alternative as damages for
breach of contract.

The plaintiff said that on October 25 last he
■went to the City Auction-rooms, which the

defendants carried on, and bought an assorts
mentof shrubs and plants. It was a clearance
sale which the defendants were holding at the
time, and one of the lots, which he purchased
for Is. 6d., consisted of a bundle of Azaleas
and Roses, &c. After he had purchased the
lot he left defendants' premises, having
cheeked the goods. Ho then paid for all his
purchases, and he asked the defendants' repre-
sentative about delivering the things. The
man assured him that they always undertook
the responsibility of packing and the delivery
of the goods to the carmen themselves, and he
demanded one shilling for doing that. The
next day the parcel was delivered to him by
Messrs. Pickford & Co., when he found the lot
in question missing. It consisted of twenty-
two shrubs in all. It was an extraordinarily
cheap lot at Is. 6o\, but they were worth £1,
and therefore he now asked the defendants to
be held responsible for that sum. On a pre-
vious occasion when he purchased shrubs at
defendants' auction-rooms there was also short
delivery.

A gardener named Harrington, whom the
plaintiff employed one day a week to attend to
his garden, said the parcel consisted of twelve
Azaleas, eight Gneldres Roses, and some Lilacs.
The twelve Azaleas alone were worth £1, and
sometimes they would fetch 3s. 6d. each. It
was not a fact that Azaleas could be bought at
4(1. each at any time.

The defendants' case was that the whole of
the goods that the plaintiff had bought were
sent to him.

The auctioneer who sold the goods said that
before the sale commenced he explained to the
public present that the sale was being held to
clear out the rubbish in the rooms. They had
held a good many sales, and of course all sorts
of plants, dead and alive, were left at the end.
There was no catalogue on the day of the clear-
ance sale, and he explained to the people that
they must make their purchases on their own
responsibility, as he had nothing to do with
the goods after the sale. The majority of the
buyers paid cash for their goods, and took
them away there and then. There were plenty
of buyers present, and he well remembered
the eighteenpenny lot being knocked down to
the plaintiff. They were half dead, having
been in their rooms for a considerable period.
He could not say whether there were twenty-
four or twelve shrubs in the lot. Everything
that the plaintiff had bought was put on one
side, and the plaintiff asked his porter to pack
them together, and this was done. The pack-
ing was done under the plaintiff's personal
direction, but the next day he came with a
complaint. It was ridiculous to suggest that
the plants were worth more than Is. 6<t., the
amount they fetched, and further, they
strongly objected to pay the plaintiff £1. He
would be pleased to supply the plaintiff with a
dozen of the best Azaleas for 4s. There were
quite forty people present on the day of the
sale, so it was not likely shrubs worth £1
would be allowed to go for Is. 6<(.

The plaintiff assured the Court that the
plants were in a perfect condition, and not as
stated by the last witness. He admitted that
he had obtained a great bargain.

Lincoln, the defendants' packer, spoke to
having put the plants together at plaintiff's
request. Everything that he bought was put
into the basket. It was not true that on the
next day when the plaintiff complained he
(witness) said he was not certain whether he
included all the things or not in the parcel.

The plaintiff said he paid 12s. for all the
plants he bought on that particular day.

Judge Lumley Smith : And you want £1 for
not having delivery of an eighteenpenny lot ?

The plaintiff : They assured me that they
undertook the responsibility of packing, and1
they demanded Is., for which they gave me a
receipt. When the basket came it did not;
look as if the shrubs had been stolen in transit-
There were eighty different plants, which wero?
packed separately inside the basket.

Judge Lumley Smith said he could not under-
stand why the trade should let the plaintiff
get for Is. 6d. what was worth £1.

The plaintiff said he would have to pay £1
if he wanted to get similar shrubs at a local
nursery.

Judge Lumley Smith said he was a lit We
surprised at the plaintiff making a claim for
the specific performance of a contract to
deliver the shrubs. The plaintiff could not.
possibly have delivered to him shrnbs which
had been lost.

The defendants' solicitor urged that under
the conditions of sale the defendants were not
responsible for anything.

Judge Lumley Smith said they did not apply
unless they were agreed to by the purchasei-
as well as the seller, and they were not.
The defendants had been paid Is. for the pack-
ing of the goods, and he was quite satisfied!
that the defendants' man had left out tin-
shrubs in question. There would be judgment
for the plaintiff for 10s. and costs.

A Singular Point.

A remarkably interesting case occupied the
attention of His Honour Judge Coventry-,
sitting at Preston County Court, the plaintiff
being Robert Jones, a property owner, living:
at Ashton-on-Ribble, near Preston, and the?
defendant John Taylor, who has been one of
his tenants.

From the evidence, it appeared that for a
score of years defendant was a tenant of thes
plaintiff, but received notice to quit, whicW
notice expired on November 30 last. In front
of the house was a small garden, planted by
defendant, as was admitted, with Laburnum-
trees, Auriculas, Pyrethrums, Roses, Rasp-
berry - canes, Lilies, Sage plants, Phloxes.,
Yiolas, Campanulas, Crocuses, and plants of
various descriptions.

On November 29 Mr. Jones saw Mr. Taylor-
digging up the Laburnum-trees and removing;
the flowers. He remonstrated with him, but-
without effect, defendant contending that as ai
market-gardener he had a perfect right to-
take the plants away. Plaintiff, however,,
instituted an action for the value of the plants,
and now claimed £1 5s. 6d.

Mr. Smith, on behalf of the plaintiff, cited
the Market Gardeners' Compensation Act*
1895, which defines a market-garden as " »
holding or that part of a holding which is
cultivated wholly or mainly for the purposes
of trade or business of a market-gardener,"
urging that the small plot of land in question
was simply used for ornamentation purposes,
and could not be regarded in the light of a
market- garden.

His Honour : It does not matter how small
the plot of land is, but rather how the occupiei-
uses i t ?

Mr. Smith : A nurseryman at the end of his
term of tenancy may remove trees planted for-
the purpose of his trade, but a private persou
may not even remove a flower.

In giving his decision, the learned Judge-
said the whole question was whether the
plants and flowers enumerated would apply-
wholly or only in part to a man carrying oi* '
the business of a nursery-gardener. He should:
quite think defendant, as he had said, did
plant these things, and occasionally sold soniOi.
but at the sime time others would not possibly-
come within the scope in question, and there?
would be a verdict for plaintiff for 10s.

January 18, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

49

©bituan?.

Edward John Beale.— It is with deep
regret w record the death of this gentleman,
which took place very suddenly on Wednesday,
January 8, from heart disease, in his sixty-sixth
year. Mr. Beale was the senior partner in the
seed firm of James Carter & Co., of High Hol-
born, London. He entered the employment of
the founder of the firm more than half a cen-
tury ago, and it was largely due to his business
capacity and abilities that the firm has reached
its present dimensions. He had for many
years held a leading position in the seed trade,
and the Editor of this Journal remembers

State for India for the promptitude and fore-
sight shown in connection therewith. The
full value of this transaction amounted to
£•16,000.

His efforts some years ago to prove the
feasibility of growing Tobacco in this
country, and the practical experiments he
carried out under the auspices of the flovern-
ment, will be recollected by many. The
results were embodied in a paper read by
Mr. Beale before the Society of Arts, and
a book was published under the title of
English Tobacco Growhnj, which was dedicated
by command of her late Majesty Queen
Victoria.

SOCIETIES.

The Late EDWARD JOHN BEALE.

becoming intimately associated with dim
during the investigations which led to the
passing of the Seed Adulteration Act, in con-
nection with which his experience was found
of great value.

Some very large transactions passed through
his hands during recent years, a few of
which, in view of their importance, it is
worth while recording. The request for
1000 tons of seed Potatos for the Irish
famine ; an order for 10,000 bushels of English

seed Barley by the Canadian Government, for
replenishing the stocks of that country. Mis
(inn was also entrusted by the Government of
India to furnish 2(10 tons of Carrot seeds, for
use in alleviating the famine, and received the

thanks of her late Majesty's Secretary of

He was a Justice of the Peace for M iddlescx,
a Fellow of the J.innoan Society, and one of
the sixty recipients of the Victoria Medal of
Honour for eminence in horl iculture. Mis firm
have been annual subscribers to the Gardeners'
Benevolent Institution since its formation in
1837. He was also the first annual subscriber
to the Hoyal Gardeners' Orphan Fund, and for
many years served on the committees of the
Koyal Horticultural Society. He was a candi-
date for Parliamentary honours on two occa-
sions, but beyond lessening a large majority,
was unsuccessful.

Mr. lieale had been ailing in health for some
few years, during •which time ho has boon much
assisted by his sons, and the business will be
conducted by thorn as usual.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.

January h.— The first meeting of the Committees of
this Society since the turn of the year, and following
an interval of four weeks, was held on Tuesday last, in
the Drill Hall, Buckingham Gate, Westminster. There
was a good attendance of members upon each Com-
mittee, and a salisfac'ory display of exhibits, especi-
ally bearing in mind the fact that the weather had
turned very cold, and in some gardens as many as IS0 of
frost was registered on Tuesday morning.

Among the Orchids were many interesting plantsand
valuable novelties, and the Orchid Committee recom-
mended as many as twelve awards, inc'uding two
Botanical Certificates, six First-class Certificates, and
two Awards of Merit.

The Floral COMMirrEE recommended four Awards
of Merit in respect to Exaeum Forbesii, Asparagus
japonicus(?), Amaryllis Imperatriee de Bresil, and Iris
Tauri. One of the most remarkable exhibits before
this Committee was a group of Begonia socotrana
from Mr. Leopold de Rothschild's garden.

The Fruit and Vegetable Committee recommended
a First-class Certificate to that excellent Pear Winter
Nelis, but no award to a novelty. A collection of late
Pears from Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Ltd., was
interesting.

In the afternoon seventy-one new Fellows were
elected to the privileges of the Society.

Floral Committee.

Present: W.Marshall, Esq. (Chairman); and Messrs.
Chas. T. Drucry, H. B. May. James Walker, R. Deaq,
G. Reuthc, John Jennings, C. E Pearson, Jas. Hudson,
u. C. Notcutt, w. Howe, W. Bain, Chas. Dixon, H. J.
Cutbush, Chas. Jeffries, C. J. Salter, Chas. E. Shea,
H J. Jones, W. P. Thomson, E. II. Jenkins, C. Blick,
Geo. Paul, Ed. Mawley, F. Page Roberts, and H. Turner.
Cyclamens were in grand condition from Messrs.
11. Low & Co., Bush Hill Park Nurseries, Enfield.
There were variations of colour from pure white to
deepest purplish. - crimson. The plants were well
ilowcred, and the blooms of large size and good form;
one variety with salmony carmine flowers was very
distinct. The "papillon" section was well repre-
sented by numerous varieties (Silver Bauksian Medal).
A magnificent group of plants of Begonia socotrana
from Leopold de Rothschild, Esq., Ascott, Leighton
Buzzard (gr., Mr. J. Jennings), served to illustrate
what a grand plant this is when it is afforded
the best cultivation. There were Mo plauts in 5-inch
and il inch pots; the foliage was good, and the
richly-pink (lowers excellent. The blooms were about
a foot or more high, and the stems being stiff, they are
exceedingly useful for cutting purposes ; whilst the
plants themselves arc handsome specimens for putting
into vases. Mr. Jennings divides the plants in May
and cultivates them in a warm greenhouse kept at. 66°
or E©°. They commence to bloom early in December,
and continue until February. They gradually die
down after that time, and during .March and April
arc resting (Silver-gilt flora Medal).

Messrs. Jas. Veitch .fc Sons, Royal Exotic Nurserie",
King's Road, Chelsea, exhibited small groups of several
very interesting plants. In the first place there was
Colcus thyrsoideus, a blue dowering species, which has
been figured in thc^c pages and commented upon on
many occasions, but which is not yet cultivated in
very many private gardens. Messrs. Veitch, who
obtained the plant through the Royal Gardens, Kew,
exhibited it in very good condition on Tuesday. The
specimens were in "'-inch pots, were about Sj feet high,
and most of them bore four inflorescences, each 5 to
7 inches long. The blue colour of the blossoms was
very well developed, and the foliage was good, but it
soon showed slight (lagging in the cold atmosphere.
As much depends upon the time when cuttings of the
plants arc taken, it may be of service to add that in this
case the cuttings were inserted on July 10 last. The
species requires the temperature of a warm grern
house. Also Moscliosina riparium, from British
Central Africa, a plant referred to on p. 10, as flowering
at the present time in the greenhouse, Royal Gardens,
Kew. The leaves arc soft, hirsute on both surfaces,
with margins notched regularly; the flowers are very
Small, produced upon axillary racemes, and arc faintly
tinted wilh purple colour. Messrs. VxhtCH A SONS hod
also a nice plant oi iiamainciis arborea, and branches
of n. japonica Zuccarlniana, and Cot'oneaster pann< 8
(Silver Flora Medal).

50

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[Januarv* 18, 1902.

Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanlcy, Kent, also
showed a group of plants of Coleus thyrsoideus, already
mentioned ; and in this ease, too, the plants were well
grown and freely flowered. In addition to the Coleus,
there were plants of Euphorbia (Poiusettia) pulcher-
rirna, and some Riehardias africana (Silver Flora
Medal \

Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons had also six very remai li-
able specimens of Begonia Gloire de Lorraine, in
8-iucli pot?, the plants being quite smothered with
richly coloured flowers.

The sport from Begonia Gloire dc Lorraine, known
as Turnford Hall, was again ' shown grandly by the
Exors. of the late T. Rochford, Turnford Hall, Brox-
bourne. The group was of considerable extent, and the
individual specimens quite of the type seen on former
occasions (Silver Flora Medal).

Air. K. Drost, Kew Road Nurseries, Richmond, ex-
hibited a great bouquet of forced Lilac, the stems of
which were cut 3 ft. or more in length, and inserted
closely together in an ornamental vase. The forced
plants were English-grown (Silver Banksian Medal).

Messrs. W. Cutbush & Son, Highgate Nurseries,
London, and Barnet, Herts, exhibited a group of
plants containing varieties of Erica, such as E. hye-
nialis, E. h. alba, E. melanthera, E. gracilis vemalis,
and E. ovata, with short, pinkish flowers. The Otaheite
Orange, Daphne indica, were also shown.

Messrs. R. Wallace & Co., Kilnfleld Nurseries, Col
Chester, exhibited several early - flowering Irises in
pots, including I. histrio, I. alata, I. Bakeriana, I.
lleldreichi, and I. Tauri.

Zonal Pelargonium "Beauty," described as a "per-
petual-flowering Geranium," was shown by Mr. Geo. H.
Towndrow, nurseryman, Malvern Link. Quite a large
group of plants was shown, and the flowers which were
single, and of bright scarlet colour, would make the
variety a very effective one for bedding.

Mr. Thos. S. Wake, Hale Farm Nurseries, Feltham,
had a few hardy plants in pots, including several hardy
Cacti, as Echinocaotus Simproni, Opuutia robusta, O.
polycantha, &c. Gentiana acaulis, Primula Forbesii,
and oilier plants in flower.

Mr. W. J. Godfrey, Exinouth Nurseries, Devon,
showed nearly 200 flowers of a white Japanese or deco
five Chrysanthemum, named Winter Queen. The
flowers are pure white, of large size, and the variety
should become one of the best of its section.

Mr. J. W. Springbett, Holly Nursery, Hammond
Street, Cheshunt, Herts, exhibited blooms of a Chrys-
anthemum named Buff Queen.

A new sort of bellows, for applying sulphur and other
fungicides and insecticides to plants, was shown by
MM. de Luzy Fr6res, 41A, Harold Street, Camberwell,
London, S.E. It is called the G.C.V.P. Bellows, and we
believe that it was considered by most members of the
Committee to be a most convenient appliance for the
purpose.

Awards of Merit.

Amaryllis Imperatrice dc Brfsil. — The plant shown
under this name by Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., Bur-
ford, Dorking (gr., Mr. W. Bain), had a thick, bulbous
stem, nearly 18 inches long, also loLg, pendent leaves.
The inflorescence bore four flowers, each of them
quite 5 inches in length, and pale lilac in colour, be-
coming nearly white towards the base of the interior,
which is much spotted with minute, deep lilac-coloured
spots. The flowers were large, and exceedingly hand-
some in form aud colour. The plant is probably a
variety of Hippeastrum procerum, and a better one
than we have previously seen.

Exacum Forbesii— This is a new Soeotra species, of
bushy habit, a foot or less in height as shown, growing
in 6-inch and 7-inch pots. Leaves triangular, 1} inch
across at the base; flowers about J inch across, in ter-
minal racemes, purple in colour, with prominent
yellow anthers. The plants were grown in a house
having an intermediate temperature. From Messrs.
Jas. Veitch & SONS.

Iris Tauri— An early-flowering species, illustrated
and described in the Gardeners' Chronicle, March 23, 1901,
p. 191. The flowers are about 3 in. high, of purplish-blue
colour, except the lip, which is very prettily marked
with white, and has an orange-yellow-coloured line
along the centre, From Messrs. R. Wallace & Co.

Asparagus japonicus (?).— This plant was shown by
Messrs. H. & J. Elliott, Courtbushes Nurseries,
Hurstpierpoiut, Sussex, and has densely green foliage,
with flat, curved phyllocladium § in. long.

Orchid Committee.

Present: Henry Little, Esq. (in the Chair); and
Messrs. Jas. O'Brien (Hon. Sec), H. Ballantine, De B.

Crawshay, E. Hill, F. A. Rehder, W. A. Bilney, H. T.
Pitt, H. A. Tracy, G. F. Moore, T. W. Bond, J. W. Odell,
W. H. Young, W. H. White, W. Boxall, J. W. Potter,
F. Sander, and H. J. Chapman.

There was a very interesting display of Orchids, in
which fine Cypripediums, Odontoglossums, andLa?lia
anccps predominated.

Baron Sir H. Schroder, The Dell, Egham (gr., Mr.
H. Ballantine), contributed a group of cut spikes of
remarkable varieties, some of them unique, and in-
cluding the beautiful Odontoglossum x Wilckeanuiu
Princess Christian, a pure white purple spotted form,
more generally called O.crispum Princess Christian; O.
WilckeanumGodefroyanum, O. crispum nobilius, a very
showily blotched variety; two very fine O. X crispo-
Harryanum, O. priouopetalon, O.x excellens luteolum,
a wholly clear yellow form ; Cypripedium insigne
Sandera1 and Sauderianum, and some good hybrids of
them; C.xLeeanum giganteum, princeps, and others ;
C. x Acta?us Langleyense, C. X Deedmaiiianum, C. x
Morganine, and other Cypripediums ; and a good set
of varieties of Lselia anceps (Silver Flora Medal).

R. I. Measures, Esq., Cambridge Lodge, Camberwell
(gr., Mr. If. A. J. Chapman), showed a selection of
grand hybrid Cypripediums, in which the noble C. x
Leander " Cambridge Lodge variety" was the gem (see
Awards). With it were C. x Milo superbum (insigne
Chantini x cenanthum superbum), a perfect flower
very richly coloured ; C.xHerapunctatissimum, richly
spotted both on the petals and dorsal sepal; C. x
Charles Richman superbum, of a uniform bright rose,
with darker markings ; and C. x Woden (superbiens x
Leeanum), a fine flower, of pale tints, and quite a
novelty.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, staged a group
iu which were several varieties of the yellow La-lia x
Mrs. Gratrix, all differing in tint; L. x Icarius (cinna-
harina x flava), with yellow flowers having a purple
front to the lip ; L. x Clio (cinnabarina x glauca), a
small reddish-yellow flower, with purple lines on the
side lobes of the lip; Lauio-Cattleya x Orpheus, a
(•harming white hybrid of L. glauca; L.-C. x Remula
(L. tenebrosa x C. Acklandioe ; L.-C. x Epicasta; and
the showy Cypripedium x Leander var. rubrum, with
a very handsome purple aud rose-tinted dorsal sepal.

De B. Crawshay, Esq., Rosefield, Seveuoaks (gr., Mr.
Stables), showed cut examples of line forms of LaHia
anceps, of which L. a. Chamberlaiuiana and L. a. Hilli-
ana Roselieldiensis secured awards ; also Odontoglos-
sum Leeanum Crawshayanum, more densely spotted
than the type.

W. Shcter, Esq., 22, Belsize Grove, Hampstcad (gr.,
Mr. Armstrong), showed a group of well-flowered
Cypripedium insigne, with which were several healthy
plants of Saccolabium giganteum with two spikes each,
and Angr.TCum eburneum vireus with two spikes;
all in excellent condition, although grown within three
miles of Charing Cross. A Silver Banksiau Medal was
awarded.

Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, Holloway, secured a
Silver Flora Medal for a good group in which the forms
of Lycaste Skinneri were specially good. With them
were several Calanthe x Bella, and C. x Veitchi alba ;
Cypripedium x rubrum, C. x Harrisianum, Williams'
variety, C. x Williamsii, C. x Dauthieri marmoratum
and striatum, with curiously striped flowers ; C. x
Sallieri aureum, C. x nitens superbum, in several good
specimens ; C. insigne punctatum violaceum, C. x Lee-
anum superbum. and Loelia anceps Hilliana.

F. W. Wellesley, Esq., Westfield, near Woking (gr.,
Mr. J. Gilbert), sent Cypripedium insigne Westfieldiense
and C. i. Gilberti, both with good distinctly blotched
dorsal sepals.

M. Florent Claes, 63, Rue des Champs, Brussels,
showed Odontoglossum x loochristiense, the finely
blotched O. x Adrianos Romulus, and flowers of
Odontoglossum crispum; also Oncidium cucullatum
Claes' variety, with nearly white, rose - spotted
labellum.

H. F. Simonds, Esq., Beckenham (gr., Mr. G. E. Day),
showed Cypripedium insigne " H. F. Simonds," in
which the brown colouring in the upper sepal is
continuous and not blotched.

Mr. Arthur Sutton (gr., Mr. Alex. Wright), Buckle-
bury, Woolhampton, showed Cypripedium x Mrs. A. W.
Sutton (Chamberlainianum x niveum), and C. x Jessie
Wright (Lathamianum X Chamberlainianum).

Awards.

First-class Certificates.
Lselia anceps Chambcrlainiana, from de B. Crawshay,
Esq., Rosefield, Sevenoaks (gr , Mr. Stables).— This

grand variety of Lselia anceps originated in the
gardens of the Eight Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, High-
bury, Birmingham, from whence it has on several occa-
sions been noted in the Gardeners' Chronicle. It may be
regarded as the highest form of the "grandiflora"
class, the flower being the largest, best in shape, and
with a very remarkable openly-displayed labellum.
The sepals and petals are broad, soft rosy-lilac, the lip
having purple lines at the base ; the fronts of the side-
lobes and the very broad front-lobe being of a rich
crimson purple.

Cypripedium X Leander "Cambridge Lodge variety'
(Leeanum var. x villosum), from R. I. Measures, Esq.,
Cambridge Lodge, Flodden Road, Camberwell. A
stately variety, of a very fine and variable set of
hybrids, of which this is the best of the lighter forms
in every respect. The flowers, which are very largti
are of very fine substance. The dorsal sepal is white,
with a small green base, the central area having some
dark purple spotted lines. The petals and lip are
massive, yellow, with a glossy red-brown tinge over the
surface.

Cypripedium x Miss Fanny Wilson (Sanderianum X
Argus), from Drewett O. Drewett, Esq., Riding-Mill-
on-Tyne.— This elegant hybrid has all the weird beauty
of C. Sauderianum, with much of the rich colouring of
C. Argus. The upper sepal is pale green, changing up-
wards to white, and bearing a dozen or so of purple
lines blotched in the lower part, and continuous in the
upper. The petals are over 6 inches long, with arched
shoulder-like upper part simulating C. Sauderianum,
which it also continues in the hairy warts at the edge.
The petals are drooping, greenish-white, spotted with
purple, and tinged with rose at the extremities, which
are singularly curved; lip reddish-rose; staininode
large, reddish-yellow.

Cypripedium X Mrs. II-. Mostyn (? Calypso x Leeanum
var.), from F. W. Wellesley, Esq., Westfield, near
Woking (gr., Mr. J. Gilbert). One of the finest hybrids
which has appeared of late, large in size, fine in form,
and grand in colour. The upper sepal is green at the
base, and white beyond the basal part, bearing some
large blackish-purple blotches, from which spreads
upwards a rich purplish-rose tint extending to the
white margin ; the broad petals and lip are light
yellow, the petals spotted and slightly veined with
purple, and the lip faced with the same tint. The
whole surface of the flower is glossy.

Odontoglossum, Wattianum Hardy's variety, from Baron
Sir H. Schroder, The Dell, Egham (gr., Mr. H. Ballan-
tine).—This fine variety received an Award of Merit
May 25, 1893. It is very different from the original
form. Its features are those of O. Harryanum distinct"
traces of which appear in the slightly concave base of
the lip. The plant bore a very fine inflorescence of
pale yellow flowers, heavily marked with purplish
chocolate. Lip white, with purple markings at the
base.

Cattleya Triana'i alba " Mrs. Edward Sondneim," from
Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Bush Hill Park.— A very
large, pure white flower, with very broad petals, and a
more ample labellum than is usually seen in C. T. alba.

Awards of Merit.

Odontoglossumm X Duvivierianum Bur/ordiense, from Sir
Trevor Lawrence, Bart, (gr., Mr. W. H. White).— A
pretty natural hybrid of O. nebulosum and O. macula-
tum. Sepals greenish-white, spotted with chestnut-
brown ; petals white, with red-brown spots on the
inner halves ; lip white with brown spots.

Lselia anceps Hilliana Rosefteldiensis, from De B. Craw
shay, Esq., Sevenoaks.— A fine white flower with
slight blush tint and a clear pink colour on the side
lobes and front of the lip.

L.rlio-Cattleya X Orpheus (L. glauca X C Trian:ei alba)
from Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons.— A very satisfactory
hybrid having the flue substance and fragrance of
Lselia glauca, but in size and appearance of labellum
more nearly approaching C T. alba. Sepals white,
slightly tinged pink ; petals and lip white, the latter
having a sulphur-yellow disc.

Cypripedium X Stevensii (Calypso Oakwood variety X
Albert Hye).— From W. Thompson, Esq., Walton Grange,
Stone (gr., Mr. W. Stevens). A large flower, with dis
tinct traces of the fine C. Calypso Oakwood variety.
Upper sepal white, marked with purple on the lower
part ; petals aud lip greenish-yellow, with a tinge of
purple.

Botanical Certificate.

Oomesa iRodriguczia) planifolia.— From Sir Trevor
Lawrence, Bart. (gr.,Mr. W. H. White). A goodlspeci-

January 18, 1902.] |

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

51

men of this pretty Orchid, also known as Rodriguezia
planifolia, with a number of racemes of greenish-
yellow, fragrant flowers, was sent.

OrnUhidium Sophronitis.—Trom R. I. MEASURES, Esq.
(gf., Mr. H. J. Chapman). A fine dwarf tuft of this
pretty species, bearing scarlet flowers, was shown.

Fruit and Vegetable Committee.

Present : George Bunyard, Esq. (Chairman), and
Messrs. H. Balderson, James H. Veitch, W. Bates,
S. Mortimer, Alex. Dean, Geo. Keif, \V. Pope, W. Fyfe.
H. Markham, M. Gleeson, Jos. Cheal, H. Somers Rivers,
Jno. Basham, F. Q, Lane, J. Willard, Geo. Wythes,
W. Poupart, C. Herrin, A. H. Pearson, E. ShawBlaker,
andW. Wilks (Rev.).

A Seedling Pear "Anchor" was shown by Captain
Cakstairs' gardener, Mr. C. Ross. The fruits were
small in size, and of soft texture.

The " Sutton " Rhubarb was shown from the Earl of
Ancaster's garden, Normanton Park, Stamford (gr.,
Mr. Butler). The stems were 2 feet or more long, of
bright red colour.

There was again an object-lesson in the cultivation of
the Vine in the neighbourhood of London. W. Shuter,
Esq., 22, Belsize Grove, S. Hampstead (gr., Mr. F.
Armstrong), exhibited eighteen bunches of Black
Alicante Grapes of very commendable quality and
"finish." They were grown within three miles of
Charing Cross, and the Vine from which they were cut
was said to have been planted in 187t>, and this season
has ripened forty-five bundles of fruit. A cluster of
Oranges came from the same garden (Silver Banksian
Medal).

Messrs. John Laing & Sons, Forest Hill Nurseries,
London, S.E., exhibited a collection of about sixty
varieties of Apples and a few Pears, including many of
the best varieties now in season (Silver Knightian
Medal).

Apple St. Basil was shown by Mr. John Basham,
Fairbank Nurseries, Bassaleg. The fruits were of
moderate size, and richly coloured.

A collection of seven varieties of Pears from Frank
Bibby, Esq., Hardwicke Grange Gardens, Shrewsbury,
included Glout Morceau, Bergamotte Esperen, Beurre
de Ranee, Olivier de Serres, Easter Beurr6, Passe
Colmar, Nee Plus Meuris (described as being eatable in
that locality this year for the first time in twenty-eight
years); Glout Morceau from open standards was de-
scribed as never having been eatable in the locality
previously (Silver Banksian Medal).

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, showed dishes
of twenty-two varieties of late dessert Pears. Amongst
these were beautiful samples of Olivier des Serres,
President Barabe, Beurre Dubuisson, Josephine de
Malines, Chaumontel, Passe Crassane, Nouvclle
Fulvie, Nee Plus Meuris, Marie Beuoist, Comte de
Flandre, Le Lectier, Zoc, &c. (Silver Knightian Medal).
Awards.
Pear Winter Xelis . — This excellent late-ripening Pear,
which, according to Hogg, was introduced to this
country in 1818 by the Horticultural Society of London,
and which was illustrated in the Gardeners' Chronicle
In 1845, was recommended a First-class Certificate on'
Tuesday last. It is so well known for its rich and
pleasant flavour, there is no need to describe the fruit
here. The variety is recognised as one of the best
winter Pears, if not the very best, notwithstanding
that, like many other good Pears, it is subjected to
faint praise in the Fruit Manual, where too much im-
portance is given to experience gained in one district
only— Tcddington : " As grown at Tcddington, it is a
good Pear, but of rather flat flavour. Not to be com-
pared with Josephine de Malines." From Messrs. Jas.
Veitch & Sons.

EALING GARDENERS'.

January 6— The lecture session of this Society was
opened on the date named by an address from Mr.
Richard Dean, V.M.H., on " Floriculture and Florists
during the past fifty years." In his opening remarks
the lecturer dealt with florists and plant cultivators
who in the fifties were local residents, such as Dr.
Sankey, Mountjoy & Son, Robert Ronalds, Isaac
Wilkinson; while the mention of Mrs. Lawrence,
witli some account of the fine specimens at that time
grown at Ealing Park, proved very interesting.

The florists of the two past generations were also
dealt with, many interesting reminiscences being
detailed. The gradual improvements in some of the
leading florists' flowers were traced, and due honours
paid to those who were prominent raisers and cultiva-
tors. The lecturer named as epoch-making flowers,
the Fancy I'ansy. the Japanese Chrysanthemum, Cle-
matis .la.-kmanni, Begonia holiviensis and its allies,

with the first new variety, B. Sedeni, Hippeastrums,
and Dahlia Juarezii. The improvements made with the
Gladiolus, Streptocarpus, and Sweet Pea were also
mentioned, and reference made to those mainly in-
strumental in carrying on the work. Some leading
exhibitors, with whom the lecturer had been asso-
ciated, were passed in review, the interest of the
audience being well sustained to the end. A cordial
vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Dean, and the same
compliment was paid to Mr. J. Harris, the President
of the Society, who occupied the Chair.

WARGRAVE GARDENERS'

January 8.— On Wednesday evening about sixty mem-
bers and friends of the Wargrave and District Gar-
deners' Mutual Improvement Society sat down to a
dinner at the "George and Dragon" Hotel, Wargrave.
The Vicar of Wargrave, a vice-president of the Society,
presided. Besides the usualloyal toasts, he proposed that
of " The Association " in a very humorous speech. His
hits at the gardeners called forth frequent applause.
Mr. H. Coleby, F.R.H.S., Hon. Sec., responded, and
gave a short account of the Society since its formation
four years ago. Opportunity was taken during the
proceedings to present a beautiful silver epergne and
fruit stand, loaded with choice fruits and flowers, to
Mr. Coleby, as a mark of the members' appreciation of
the services he had rendered the Association. Mr.
Coleby heartily thanked the members for their kind
gift. H. Coleby, Hon. Sec.

UNITED HORTICULTURAL BENEFIT
AND PROVIDENT.

Eleven new members were elected on Monday
evening last, and one other nominated. The com-
mittee were compelled by rule to reject two can-
didates, they being just over forty-five years of age.
Two new honorary members were elected. An old
member that has been on the sick-fund for eleven
months, and being still ill and in distress, was
granted £2 from the benevolent fund. Two members
were deputed to attend the meetings on January 14
and 15 respecting the Old Age Pension scheme. Three
members were transferred from the lower to the higher
scale of payments. Messrs. W. Gunner and T. H. Puzey
were re-elected to audit the accounts of the past year.
The treasurer has a balance in hand of £182 148. 2d.

NATIONAL CHRYSANTHEMUM.

The usual meeting of the executive committee took
place at Carr's Restaurant, 266, Strand, on the 13th
inst., Mr. Thos. Bevan in the Chair. A mass of corre-
spondence was read, including offers of valuable
special prizes from Messrs. E. Webb & Sons, Wordsley ;
Mr. G. H. Richards, Borough High Street, S.E. ; and
Mr. W. J. Godfrey, Exmouth, which were accepted.

The annual general meeting was announced for
Monday, February 3, at Carr's, and it was resolved that
in the event of the President, Sir A. Rollit, M.P., being
unable to preside, that Mr. C. E. Shea, a Vice-President,
be requested to do so. A decidedly satisfactory
financial statement was read, showing an income of
over £1,000, with a good balance over expenditure;
the reserve fund showed a balance of £110, while there
was a considerable balance of assets over liabilities.
The accounts were passed for audit subsequent to
presentation to the annnal general meeting. A draft
report was also read and passed, and ordered to be
printed and circulated among the members in the
usual way. Mr. Geo. J. Ingram was nominated for the
office of auditor in the place of Mr. W. Seward, who
retires by rotation. The secretary brought up the
revised schedules of prizes as passed by the revision
sub-committee, which were approved; and judges for
the various exhibitions in the present year were
appointed. A place for the future meetings of the
Society was also considered, the present meeting-
place having to be rebuilt. Offers of accommo-
dation have been received from the Holborn
Restaurant, Anderton's Hotel, and Messrs. Bertram &
Co. The matter was left in the hands of the Secretary
to see Mr. Bertram, with a view to a meeting-place
being appointed at the Royal Aquarium. Some new
members were elected, and the Corbridge and District
Chrysanthemum Society admitted to affiliation.

CROYDON AND DISTRICT HORTI-
CULTURAL MUTUAL IMPROVE-
MENT.

The annual meeting of this Society was held at the
Sunflower,* George Street, Croydon, on Tuesday pight,
Mr. \V. J. Simpson (The Gardens, Falkland Park) in the
chair.

The second annual report, which was adopted on the
proposition of Mr. 0. A. Btoggfc seconded liy Mr. W.
Turney, staled that the membership at present on the

books was 120, being an increase on the previous year,
which showed that the Society was gradually extending
its influence. The funds of the Society were in a sound
condition. There had been twenty-one meetings held
during the year, at which lectures and papers had been
given on various topics relating to horticulture, the
whole of which had been of a high standard of excel-
lence, and the discussions which followed were most
interesting, instructive, and carried on in a most har-
monious spirit. The average attendance at the meet-
ings had been fifty. The report also expressed cordial
thanks to lecturers and readers of papers and others
who had given assistance to the Society. It also ex-
pressed regret at the death of Mr. G. Tyler, one of the
members of the Society, and tendered their condolence
to his relatives and friends. The accounts, which
accompauied the report, showed a favourable balance
of £3 6s. 9d.

The Chairman having read letters of apology for
absence from the President (Mr. Frank Lloyd), who
promised, however, to take the chair at the annual
dinner on January 22, and others, the election of
officers was proceeded with.

A discussion followed on some proposed alterations
in the rules, and ultimately, oh the proposition of Mr.
W. Turney, it was agreed to appoint a committee to
revise the rules of the Society and make suggestions to
be considered at a special general meeting to be called
for the purpose. Messrs. Blogg, Harris, Turney, Laing,
and Woodgate were elected to act as the committee.

The valuable services of Mr. J. Gregory as secretary
were cordially recognised, and votes of thanks were
also accorded to the Chairman, the committee, and
other officers of the Society.

FLORISTS' FLOWERS.

NEW VARIETIES OP CHRYSANTHEMUMS.

The following additions to the list of
novelties given in an issue of the Gardeners'
Chronicle towards the end of 1901, may be of
interest to growers and purchasers of young
plants in the present year. The Princess was
raised in Australia, and is a flower of full
size, the florets moderate in width, drooping,
and imparting much grace to the flower, which
is of creamy-white colour, flushed with lilac.
W. R. Church was sent out last season as a
new Australian variety, which has come up to
the higli expectations of the florist, as being
an improvement upon many existing varieties ;
it is an incurved Japanese, with stout florets
in the style of Henry Weeks. A well de-
veloped flower will measure 8 inches in
diameter, and have a proportionate depth. In
colour, the inside or surface of the floret is a
ruby-red, and the reverse chestnut, the bloom
tipped with silver when unfolding. It will be
regarded as being one of the best of the
novelties. The plant grows vigorously, and is
of dwarf habit.

Madame Herrewego is said to be a sport
from Australie, but it is quite distinct from it
in form of flower. It possesses drooping
florets, even when expanding, which with age
twist at [the point; it is an acquisition, and
it is white, flushed with rich cream or pale
primrose in the centre. Donald McXeod has
broad; drooping florets, which curl slightly at
the tip, forming a flower about 8 inches in
diameter, and fully 5 inches deep, of a yellow
colour, lined and speckled with purplish-
crimson — one of the best new variel ies of I his
type.

Miss E. Poulton belongs to the incurved
form of Japanese, and is a full si/o flower
measuring 7! inches in diameter, and as much
;is (.', inches deep; with broad florets in-

OUTVing, With a slight twist, at the lip. The
colour is pure white; and no matter how
choice and limited the collection, fliis variety
should !»' added (o it, for 1 know of no better
Japanese incurved variety. Mrs. T. W.
Pocket! is an Australian seedling, and an

exact counterpart of Nellie Pocketl in all

except colour, which is pure yellow; this
will become a great favourite. Henry I! lines

52

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 18, 1902.

boars a resemblance to Edwin Molyneux in
form and in petal, excepting; that the new-
comer has slightly broader petals ; it is a
variety that is sure to find favour with
exhibitors.

Henry Stowe is seen sometimes as a perfect
incurving flower, and .sometimes it is a semi-
reflexed one. When freely grown it is a
pretty flower, the colour white, edged and
Hushed with light purple ; and a finely-de-
veloped flower will measure 8 inches by
G inches. Ethel Fitzroy lias slightly drooping
florets which incurve at the tip. It is a flower
of full size, and of a rich yellow-amber tint ; a
variety which will not fail to become popular.
Mrs. J. C'leeve has a free and fully rcflexed
floret, making flower of good depth ; rose
coloured surface, with a yellow reverse to
the florets. Mrs. Frank G. .Smith is a flower of
deep orange, flushed with bronze, and a
promising variety. Master C. S-'eymour be-
longs to the incurved Japanese section, re-
minding one most of Mrs. C. Wheeler ; in
colour it is deep red inside, with a chestnut-
bronze reverse. Nellie Perkins would be best
described as a glorified International. Snow-
drift is a loosely incurving Japanese of a
beautiful tint. Ella Hexheimer is a loosely
incurving Japanese, with the lower half a rosy
striped purple ; the centre of the flower is a
rich yellow, and the florets are hirsute at the
tips. Major Plumbe is a true incurved
Japanese of a rich orange-yellow tint. Mrs. R.
Darby has long semi-drooping florets, and is a
flower of much depth, of an amaranth tint.

Godfrey's Pride is one of a good type of
incurved Japanese, broad, with the reverse of
the florets yellow, shaded with chestnut, and
the inside of a light crimson tint. Mrs. J. T.
Thornycroft has narrow reflexiug florets, which
form a deep and compact bloom ; in colour
apricot-yellow, or red and yellow. Madame
Pailo Radaelli is an incurved Japanese, with
florets of middling size, and of a rosy-pink
tint. Marquis V. Vcnosta : the florets are
bifurcated at the tip; in colour it is rose,
shaded with silvery-white.

Queen Alexandra is of the Lady Ridgeway
section, and when that variety is fully expanded,
the florets are broad, reflexed, and possess a
charming colour, viz., golden-amber, suffused
with terracotta. Godfrey's King is a true
Japanese, with middle-sized, semi-drooping
florets of a rich terracotta-red, 'flushed with
amber. Kimberley in some instances is an
incurved Japanese, while in others it is quite
reflexed, owing presumably to age ; (the
florets are of middle size, and of a deep yellow
colour. May Perkins is a rich yellow coloured
incurved Japanese. Mrs. J. E. Collins is also
a large incurving Japanese, silvery- peach
colour. E. Molyneux.

(To be continued.)

Wrwfm
CoTtupandeny

Begonia Gloire de Lorra.ne: Bei'ts. Allow
the plants to flower themselves out, when
young shoots will form naturally without
cutting back, which may be used for cut-
tings if an increase be desired. From this
period onwards the plants should be slightly
rested in a warm greenhouse or pit (45° to
50°) for a period of two or three months, the
stems being somewhat cut back, and at the.
end of the rest period partially shake out
and repot.

Books: Auricula, Rudolf Beer. One is, we
believe, published at the Bazaar Office, 170,
Strand, London, W.C.

Canker in Markchal Niel Rose : 8. 8. J.
Appearances such as your specimens present
have been attributed to injury from frost.

Collection of six kinds of Vegetables with
which to compete at an exhibition held
IN THE FIRST HALF OF JULY : Exhibitor.
Marrowfat Peas ; Potatos, Kidney or Round ;
Cauliflowers ; French Beans ; Cabbage, or
Globe Artichokes ; Carrots or Turnips.

Daffodil Bulbs not Flowering : Hook. The
flowers are not formed in the bulbs, so that
you will not get bloom this season. Next
year they may produce flowers in the ordi-
nary way. It is not uncommon for bulbs to
wait a year or two before they form flower.

Donation : A. E. Has been paid to the trea-
surer of the Royal Gardeners' Orphan Fund.

Empty Greenhouses: Bloemfontein. Out of
nothing, nothing is to be obtained. You
must spend money in seeds, plants, or roots.
Radishes are not worth the trouble ; the
market grower will undersell you with their
produce from beds in the open. You had
better make up sloping beds of soil, and
grow Mustard and Cress. Many successional
crops can be obtained before the heat in the
houses becomes too great to grow these
seedlings to a profit. Fill a house or two
with Rhubarb-roots, disposing them close
together on the floor, and packing light soil
among them, covering the whole with
litter to draw up the stalks to a con-
siderable length and give a delicate
colour. Raise Tomato-plants in sufficient
numbers to fill two or all the lionises.
Not much will be gained by digging up the
clay bottom ; better put more soil into the
house, or better still, grow the Tomato-
plants in rough boxes, 1J ft. wide and 1 ft.
deep, filling these with loamy soil, and
afford manure -water and manurial top-
dressings when you have got a good set of
fruit. No fumigation or vaporisation is good
for unrooted cuttings. Make preparations
for using the houses for forcing Roses,
Dutch bulbs, Azaleas, Lilac, &c., another
year.

Foul Calumnies: 8. G. L. We share your
abhorrence of the foul and filthy imputa-
tions indulged in by some of our continental
neighbours, but we do not think your pro-
posal to boycott German seedsmen is prac-
ticable. In the first place, they are not
personally responsible for the malicious
inventions of some of their countrymen ;
their interests, indeed, lie in the main-
tenance of good relations ; and next, you
could not prevent our wholesale dealers
from receiving, as they do now, a largo
proportion of their stock from the Continent.

Gardeners in the United States of America :
A. E. IV. We would invite you to consider
the matter in the light of the statements
contained in a letter in our present issue.
We should imagine that the chances of
success as a gardener are as good in Canada
as in the U.S.A., with the advantages of
your continuing a British subject.

Lichen on Lawn : H.V. We should think the
lawn requires draining. Next spring apply
a dressing of nitrate of soda or other ferti-
liser to encourage the grass. Spud out the.
patches, and replace with fresh turf.

Maze : ft. D. Thuia occidentalis, the common
Yew, and Whitethorn, form excellent hedges,
The evergreens being the more suitable.

Myrsii'Hyllum (medeola) asparaooides : T.8.
We were not previously aware that this
plant was hardy so far north as Aberdeen-
shin-. If such is actually the case, we have
another handsome climber for warm outside
walls. Usually gardeners afford the plant
greenhouse treatment.

Names of Plants : Yitmla. Oncidium Cebol-
■?ti, often called O. juncifolium. — J. W. E.
1, Epiphyllum Russellianum ; 2, Begonia
Bub-peltata nigro- rubra. — A. F., Tottenham.
The hybrid you send a flower of has been
earned Cypripedium Kauffmannianum. — G. 8.
*., Kalmia latifolia ; 2, Andromeda japonica ;

3, Andromeda floribunda. The Violets are
excellent. — G. P. Eria vittata.

Pears Decaying : J. T. The cracking was
caused by a fungus, Fusicladium dendriticum,
and decay followed. The decayed fruit was
then attacked by a mould, Monilia fructigena.

Potato diseased : T. ft. The tubers are
almost destroyed by Peronospora infestans
— Potato-rot ; and the " grubs " are those of
Julus, or centipedes, creatures that feed on
decaying vegetable matter. Turn out the
clamp, remove all diseased tubers and burn
them, making a clamp in a fresh place.

Scu-e on Palm: C. B. Evidently a scale
insect, about which we will tell you more
next week. Soft-soap and tobacco would
form a good application,

Seakale : J. K. The roots are attacked by
slime fungus, such as causes club in Cabbages.
Destroy the plants by fire, and place new
plants in fresh soil.

Tim Gas Tar Mixture for Killing Mealy-
bug on Vines : T. H. It should be applied
in a warm state with a stiff brush, after
having thoroughly brushed the rougher
parts of the stems, or rubbed off the outer-
most coat of rough bark. No metal instru-
ment should bo employed in doing this.
There is no need to coat the buds with the
mixture, as it is not about them that mealy-
bug is found, but in the crevices and angles.
To make as good a job of it as possible, the
soil should be skimmed off with a spade to a
depth of 2 inches, taken out of the vinery,
and buried in any open trenches on land in
the course of being trenched. Then the
walls should be scrubbed and washed, all
nail -holes and open courses between the
bricks filled in with mortar, the whole being
washed with hot lime-wash, in which 2 lb.
of flowers-of-sulphur per pailful have been
mixed. The hot-water pipes should then
come in for a thorough cleansing. This
course of treatment must be continued for a
year or two, and every bug seen touched
with methylated spirits.

Tree Protective Composition : H. H. A
trustworthy one is Ahlbottn's, sold in 56 lb.
casks by the maker, 21, St. Andrew Square,
Edinburgh.

Vitis Voinieriana. Mr. Watson points out
that this plant was mentioned in the Gar-
deners' Chronicle, August, 1897, p. 147, and
in the Appendix II. of the Kew Bulletin,
1898. Large plants of it exist at Kew.

Communications Received. — N. E. Br. — General
C. B. L. S., next week if possible— H Weil F. W. B.—
M. C. C— W. G. G— D. R. W.— The Director, Sydney
Botanic Gardeu— The Director, Jardiu des Plaates,
Paris-S. G. L.— G. E. S.— S. W.— J. OB.-S. A.— W. iW.
—A. H.— H. B.— W. J. C— G. W— S. W. F— A. A. P.—
J. M.— J. I.— T. H.— J. Murray— Dr. B— D. McD —
H. T. M.— J. J. W.— A. H— E. C— W. J. B— G. Higgins.
— H. J.-G. O. R.-W. H. D.— G. M. W., Glasgow.—
G. P. S.— Mrs. Ross, Firenze.— W. T.— R. L. H., Edin-
burgh.—Mrs. B., Woodseats.

GARDENING APPOINTMENTS.

Mr. Geo. Smith, until recently Gardener at Wroxtou
Abbey, Banbury, as Head Gardener to His Grace the
Duke of Wellington, Ewhurst Park, Basingstoke,
Hampshire.

Mr. E. Snelurove, Gardener to General Lord A. G
Russell, until recently at Ewhurst Park, has gone
as Gardener to his Lordship, Uckfield House,
Uckfield, Sussex.

Mr. A. Edwards, for two years Gardener at W'oodfield
Gardens, Streatham, as Head Gardener to H. Steel,
Esq., Tapton Court, Sheffield.

Mr. W. Stephens, late of Chorley Wood House Gar-
dens, has been appointed Gardener to Lord
Chesham, Larimers, Bucks, succeeding G. Neville,
deceased.

Mr. William Dyer, as Head Gardener to H. Livesey,
Esq., Trulls Hatch, Rotherfleld, Sussex.

Mr. F. W. Rich, for the last three years Gardener at
Darwen Bauk, Torquay, and previously at Welfield,
Builth Wells, Breconshire, as Head Gardener to
Mrs. Bainbridge, Eldfordleigh, Plympton, Devon-
shire.

Mr. Alexander Dryden, unlil lately Gardener at West
Green Manor, Hants, as Gardener to Major Aver-
ston, Evercreich House, Evercreech, Somerset-
shire.

Mr. Joseph Taylor, for the last ten years Foreman in
the gardens at Claverton Manor, Bath, as Head
Gardener to E. H. Skrine, Esq., Inwoods, Monkton
Farleigh, Bradford-on-Avon.

Mr. Alexander McLean, late of Dunleckney Manor,
Bagenalstouu, co. Carlow, as Gardener to M. H.
Franks, Esq , Garrettslowu, Balliuspittle, co. Cork.

Supplement to the " Garoeners' Chronicle," January 18. 1902.

Japanese Maple at Castle weli.an.

January 2D, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

53

THE

(Sartors' (Jjftrmttcl*

No. 787.— SATURDAY, JAN. 25, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Beau crossed with Pea

Benevolent Institution,
Gardeners' Royal (An-
nual meeting)

Books, notices of—
Monograph of the
Coccida? of the
British Isles
The Garden of a Com-
muter's Wife
The Journal of the
Kew Guild ...

Chestnuts at Walworth
Castle

Chiswick

Codlin Moth, spread of,
in English orchards .

Conservatory at The
Dell, King's Norton .

Crinums, hardy

Cultural memoranda-
Early Peas

Strawberry forcing...

Cypripedium insigne
with two flowers

Egg. the wet

Epacris. the cultiva-
tion of

Fruit from the Cape ...

Glasgow Botanic Gar-
dens

Grafting experiments

Hardy plants, improve-
ments in

Kew, notes of plants in
flower at

Law notes-
Delay in supplying a
heating apparatus

Looking backward ...

Mealy-bugs and then-
kind

Mueller, Baron Sir F.
von, monument to...

61

62

61

North, a visit to the—
Edinburgh botanic
garden

Novelties of 1901

Odontoglossum Watti-
anum Hardyanum ...

Oranges, abnormal ...

Orchids, cleaning the
leaves of

" Park," Lord Dysart's
proposed

Peas, nitrogenous ma-
nures for

Peas, popular and ster-
ling varieties of

Societies—

Beckenham Horticul-
tural

Bristol Gardeners' ...

Cardiff Horticultural

Chester Paxton

Devon and Exeter
Gardeners'

French Horticultural
of London

Liverpool Horticul-
tural

Manchester Orchid...

Royal Horticultural
(Scientific Com.) ...

Squirrels

Sunny Hill, Llan-
dudno

Thrush, early

Vegetables—
A good Lettuce

Week's Work, the—
Flower Garden, the...
Fruits under Glass...
Hardy Fruit Garden.
Kitchen Garden
Orchid Houses, the .
Plants under Glass...

ILLUSTRATIONS.

A nook in the gardens at Sunny Hill, Llandudno ...
Eoile insects, a number of species of destructive ...
View in the conservatory at The Dell, King's Nortou
(Supplement).

LOOKING BACKWARD.
I" HAVE recently had occasion to turn up
-*- the pages of the Transactions of the
National Florioulturdl Society, the forerunner
of the Floral Committee of the Royal Horti-
cultural Society. The formation of this
Society grew out of the necessity for esta-
blishing an authoritative tribunal to deal
with novelties in florist's flowers, which
were at that time becoming very popular,
and being rapidly increased. It was a
time of considerable friction in floricul-
tural circles. George Glenny, who began
to write about florist's flowers in 1832, was a
strong force in matters floricultural, but
there was a considerable revolt on the
part of florists against his leadership, and
it was to give substance and organisa-
tion to this revolt that the formation of
the National Floricultural Society was
brought about. In the Horticultural Journal.
published during the thirties, Glenny in-
serted violent articles against Joseph Paxton,
and Thomas Hogg of Paddington, in par-
ticular; he was always in the thick of con-
troversy,and when the National Floricultural
Society was established, he attacked its
leaders with great violence. The founders
of the N. F. S. held that it was urgently
necessary that new florists' flowers should
be submitted to the opinion of com-
petent judges; varieties had been sent
out as first-class properties which when
grown proved to be inferior, and this was
generally owing to certificates being granted

by censors having but a limited knowledge
of the varieties already in cultivation. In
consequence, the National Floricultural So-
ciety was founded and supported by an
influential combination of traders and
amateurs, who wished to see a general
Society formed, which, by the exercise of
strictness and impartiality, should be a
recognised authority enjoying public con-
fidence, and competent to take cognisance
of any novelties which might be submitted
to it.

The Society was formed in March, 1851. Its
President was Mr. Edmund Foster, of Clewer
Manor, an influential country gentleman of
means, who was also then engaged in the
improvement of the show Pelargonium. There
were six Vice-Presidents, viz., Dr. Lindley,
the Rev. Chas. Fellowes, and Messrs. J. H.
Brown, R. Marnock, C. B. Warner, and J.
Wiltnore, a prominent cultivator of Tulips at
Old Ford, when it was a site of pleasant
gardens. A committee of thirty-nine persons
was instituted, and it included such names as
E. Beck, E. S. Dodwell, J. Gaines, R. Glendin-
ning, R. Headly, Andrew Henderson, J.
Keynes, J. E. Lane, C. Lee, Dr. Maclean, W.
Paul, T. Rivers, J. Salter, C. Turner, and J.
Veitch. Mr. Arthur Henderson, of the Pine-
apple Place Nursery, was the Treasurer ; and
Mr. John Edwards, the Secretary. The latter
occupied somewhat an unique position among
London florists : he was in business in Clerk -
enwell as a catgut manufacturer, and resided
at Wall Cottage, Holloway, where he grew
Tulips, Auriculas, &c.

The whole force of Glenny's wrath was
poured on the head of John Edwards. Edwards
contributed papers to the Gardeners' Chronicle
on "Florists' Flowers," and was a leading
writer on the staff of The Florist, which Mr.
C. Turner at that time had just commenced to
edit. He was also the founder of the National
Garden Almanack, the first edition of which
appeared in 1853. Of all the leading florists
who formed the first committee only the
veteran William Paul survives. He was also
one of the first thirty censors appointed to
make awards to novelties, and of these he is
the sole survivor. It may be stated that at
the end of 1857 Mr. Edwards retired from the
secretaryship, and the writer was appointed to
that office, and held it until the end of 1859.

For the best part of its existence the meet-
ings of the N.F.S. were hold in the rooms of
the Royal Horticultural Society, at 21, Regent
Street ; then they were moved for a time to
St. Martin's Hall, Long Acre ; but finally were
again held at 21, Regent Street, until the
period of dissolution of the Society at the
end of 1859.

The operations of the Society were carried
on in a methodical and complete manner ; sub-
jects submitted for Awards were staged by
noon, and then from six to twelve specially-
summoned censors set about examining the
subjects and making the awards. The latter
were three in number, viz., a First-class Cer-
tificate of Merit, awarded only to productions
of a very superior character ; a Certificate of
Merit to all subjects possessing sufficient
excellence ; and a Label of Commendation
which was affixed to all subjects of a pro-
mising character, but not deemed worthy
of the higher Awards. In every case where
an Award was made a schedule of pro-
perties was filled up. Here are the
particulars of a very popular show Pelar-
gonium named Magnet, raised and exhibited
by Mr. G. W. Hoyle, of Reading : colour high
scarlet-crimson, violet centre, large black
blotch raying towards the margin on a scarlet-

crimson ground, but lighter on the edges,
profuse, striking, and constant ; it received a
First-class Certificate. In the case of a Cine-
raria, more particulars were adduced ; in the
case of one named Orpheus, the description
runs: "form and truss, good; colour, dull
lilac-purple; disc, light; habit, dwarf and
compact; size, average." This was shown by
Mr. W. P. Ayres, then a nurseryman at Black-
heath. These schedules were retained by the
Secretary for publication in the Transactions
of the Society. It would be well if some such
schedule could be filled in of the properties of
all subjects receiving awards at the meetings
of the Royal Horticultural Society. It might
prove a desirable improvement upon the some-
what haphazard method now in operation at
the Drill Hall.

Iu consequence of an announcement made
by the Council of the Royal Botanic Society
that it was their intention to form a body
specially to deal with new florists' flowers,
and also an announcement by the Council of
the Royal Horticultural that it was their
intention to form a Floral Committee on the
same lines as their Fruit Committee, it was
deemed inexpedient to continue the National
Floricultural Society ; consequently its disso-
lution was resolved upon, and took place on
the occasion of the eighth annual meeting on
March 3, 1859. Mr. Richard Stains, Harewood
Square, was the treasurer of the Society at
the time, and all the books and papers were
committed to his care. Mr. Stains died many
years ago, and probably the books, &c, have
all been destroyed. Mr. Stains, who was the
proprietor of the Yorkshire Stingo Brewery in
the Marylebone Road, was a keen florist, and
invariably acted as one of the censors of new
florists' flowers at the exhibitions of the Royal
Botanic Society with Mr. Thomas Moore,
Mr. Anthony Parsons, and Mr. F. R. Kinghorn.

I have the whole of the Transactions of the
National Floricultural Society bound up in two
volumes, and they are very interesting read-
ing, especially to anyone who has contem-
porary knowledge of the operations of the
Society. It is well at the beginning of a new
century to recall some of the horticultural
doings of the past half of that which has just
closed. They have an interest reaching be-
yond the past and present generations. The
methods of our forefathers arc always interest-
ing to examine, and much may be learned from
them by those who do not regard such doings
in the past as altogether devoid oi' advantage
and instruction. R. Dean.

[It may be worth recalling that the violent
vituperations indulged in by Glenny were
largely instrumental in causing the foundation
of the Gardeners' Chronicle. Ei>.]

CULTURAL MEMORANDUM.

EARLY PEAS, &C.

As the subject of Peas is now engaging
attention, I should like to give my method (if
securing them; it entails but little more
trouble to those who are in tin- habit of sowing
dwarf varieties under a wall, and who have
the command of glass. Let the seed be sown
as usual, a few inches distant from the foot of
a south wall, and cover the seed with leaf-
mould, and lay sheets of glass slantingwise
against the wall, pressing the lower edges
slightly into the soil. A cord drawn tense
along the front of the glass, and fixed to
a nail at either end, will keep the whole
secure against wind. Even earlier pickings
may be had by sowing thinly, and afterwards
fixing the haulm to the wall or to stakes. Iu

54

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 25, 1902.

severe weather it is an easy matter to give
protection, but so long as the plants are free
of the glass they will stand 10° of frost after a
bright day without injury. It will be neces-
sary to remove the glass at intervals during
bright weather in order to apply water, and
to damp the plants overhead, in order to keep
them free of insects ; care should be taken to
do this early enough in the day to allow
of the foliage getting dry before night-
fall. Peas grown under these conditions are
dwarf and sturdy, and do not suffer any sort
of check ; this is one advantage gained over
those reared indoors, and transplanted to the
open air.

Many other plants, besides the early Peas,
can be forwarded in this manner. Last year,
we tried it on a row of Strawberries, growing
along a south border. Boards, standing on
edge, and lightly nailed to short posts, took
the place of a wall ; a narrow strip of wood
was tacked on to the boards on the inside,
near the top, to carry the glass. If a front
board is used, it should be narrow enough to
allow the sun to reach the plants. A sheet of
glass can be drawn back here and there
when necessary, in order to admit the
air. As time goes on, the posts can be
drawn slightly out of ground to give more air
and head-room, and the front board replaced
by inverted flowei'-pots to carry the glass
In this way we were able to pick ripe fruit at
least fourteen days in advance of the row
immediately in front, which doubtless also
received some benefit from the shelter ; the
variety was Royal Sovereign, but I am not
sure but what a less strong growing variety
would have been earlier. In the later stages
time was lost, owing to the foliage shading the
flowers and fruit. James Baxter, South Hants.

Strawberry Forcing.

For the earliest supply some gardeners in-
troduce the first batch of plants into heat in
the first week of November, and although
some of the plants may fruit fairly well, there
are, as a rule, a great number which fail to
throw up the spikes satisfactorily, and some
not at all. From the last week of December
and onwards, batches of plants may be brought
under glass at intervals according to require-
ments and accommodation with better results ;
and it may be taken as a fixed rule that
100 plants put into the forcing-house before
the new year will not carry so much fruit as
fifty plants after that date. For the first
crop I still adhere to Vicomtesse Hericart du
Thury, which, all points considered, appears
to be the best early variety ; and it is not
liable to be attacked by mildew and red-
spider, whilst it fruits abundantly, and the
fruit is of good colour and passable for flavour.

To follow this are Royal Sovereign and Sir
Joseph Paxton, President, and Sir Charles
Napier. No Strawberry should be put into
heat till the pots have been cleansed, and the
soil stirred up and top-dressed with moderately
dry loam. H. Markham.

A VISIT TO THE NORTH.— X.

(Continuedfrom vol. xxx., p. 438.)

Edinburgh Botanic Garden.

The history of botanic gardens in Edinburgh
commences in the year 1670, when " a portion
of the Royal Garden around Holyrood House
was occupied by two eminent Edinburgh phy-
sicians, Aridrew Balfour and Robert Sibbald,
for the making of a physic garden, and James
Sutherland was appointed to the ' care of the
garden.' "

Accepting this as the foundation of the
Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh, it is the

oldest but one in the United Kingdom, the
exception being that at Oxford, founded in
1632. The same physicians acquired in 1676
from the Town Council a lease of the garden of
Trinity Hospital and adjacent ground for the
purpose of a physic garden, and they appointed
the same James Sutherland to be " intendant "
of this garden. About 1702, says an official
publication, another botanic garden for the
College was established. Thus in the early
years of the eighteenth century, there were
in Edinburgh no fewer than three distinct
botanic or physic gardens.

James Sutherland gave instruction in botany
in the Royal Gardens from the very first, and
being appointed Botanist to the Kirig in
Scotland, established "a profession of botany "
there. Later he was appointed by the Town
Council Professor in the town's college,
now the University of Edinburgh. In
1706, Sutherland resigned his care of the
Town's and College Gardens, and his Pro-
fessorship in the University, but remaining
King's Botanist, retained the care of the
Royal Garden. 'When Charles Preston was
appointed his successor by the Town Council,
there were thus established rival gardens and
rival Professors of Botany. Sutherland died
in 1712, and was succeeded in the offices of
King's Botanist, Keeper of the Royal Garden,
and Regius Professor of Botany by William
Arthur, Charles Alston succeeding to the same
' offices in 1716.

In 1724 the College Garden was turned to
other uses, and five years later Charles Alston
was appointed to the charge of the Town's
Garden, and as Professor of Botany in the Uni-
versity. Through Alston, therefore, the Royal
Garden and the Town's Garden were again
under one keeper, who combined the Professor-
ships of Botany also. They have happily con-
tinued so ever since.

In 1763 John Hope, who had succeeded
Alston in 1761, proposed to combine the two
gardens by transferring both to a site, 5 acres
in extent, on the north side of Leith Walk,
below that now occupied by Haddington
Place.

In 1820, when Robert Graham was Regius
Keeper, steps were taken to again remove the
garden to the Inverleith property it now occu-
pies, and 14 acres of the field or park of Inver-
leith were purchased by the Exchequer, the
lease of the Leith Walk ground being sold.
All the plants had been transferred to the new
garden by 1823. In 1858, when John Hutton
Balfour was Regius Keeper, a further addition
wa? made by purchase from the proprietor of
Inverleith of a narrow belt of two-and-a-half
acres on the west side ; and in 1865 the Cale-
donian Horticultural Society having resigned
to the Crown its lease of the ten acres of the
adjoining ground, which it had occupied since
1824 as an experimental garden, this ground
was made part of the Botanic Garden. In
1876 the Town Council purchased from the
Fettes Trustees twenty - seven and three-
quarter acres of the Inverleith property on the
west side of the garden, and transferred it to
the Crown for the purpose of making an arbo-
retum in connection with the garden, the
Crown at the same time purchasing Inverleith
House and two-and-a-half acres of additional
ground. The present area — some fifty-seven
acres — was thus completed, and as the garden
is now surrounded by public roads, no further
extension on the site is possible.

John Hugh Balfour died in 1879, and was
succeeded by Alexander Dickson, who died in
1887. The present Regius Keeper is Professor
Isaac Bayley Balfour, M.D., M.A., F.R.S., who
has increased the reputation of the garden as
a teaching establishment, and at the same

time has maintained it in such a manner that
the people of Edinburgh find there many of
the features of a pleasure garden. So far,
indeed, as the visitor may see, the manage-
ment of the Edinburgh Botanic Garden is
similar to that practised at the larger and
more important one at Kew, where the difficult
task of making a garden, which exists pri-
marily for scientific purposes, an enjoyable
rendezvous for the multitude is carried out
with gratifying success.

I approached the garden in Edinburgh from
the entrance in Inverleith Row, very near to
which are several interesting trees with labels
attached, describing by whom and when they
were planted. Sequoia gigantea was planted
by Professor Christison in 1861, and a Cedar
near to the Students' Garden is a memorial of
the King's visit to the Gardens when Prince
of Wales. A label upon Quorcus conferta de-
scribes its planter as having been Dr. Maxwell
T. Masters, F.R.S., and the date of the cere-
mony July 13, 1875. The tree is now about
35 ft. high, and probably 25 ft. through the
branches. It is a prettier, better-shaped speci-
men than another of the same species planted
half-a-dozen years later by the late Duke of
Edinburgh. Dr. Masters contributed a paper
on the botanical history of this tree to the
Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edin-
burgh, on January 13, 1876. A tree of Quercus
palustris, with fine plants of Misleto growing
upon it, is worthy of remark, as the species is
not often seen to be a host to this pretty
parasite.

The herbaceous or students' garden in which
the plants are grouped together in their
natural orders, as at Kew, is just under the
terrace on which the newer raDge of glass-
houses stands. At the time of my visit, the
beds were scrupulously neat, and being cut
out of a closely mown, rich and verdant lawn,
they appeared much smarter than this part of
a botanic garden is usually maintained. On
the terrace already mentioned the groups of
heather were in bloom, and made a better
show than we can get in the south from similar
plants. Conspicuous amongst these were the
following, E. cinerea var. atro-purpurea, E.
Tetralix, the cross-leaved Heath in a variety
named Lawsoniana ; E. ciliaris, a showy species
with the flowers produced at the end of the
shoots ; and Daboccia polifolia var. bicolor,
some of the flowers of which were purple, and
others white. The numerous varieties of the
common Ling (Calluna vulgaris) included
Alporti, very free, about 2 feet high ; argentea,
alba, tomentosa alba, 2 } feet high; Drum-
mondi, &c. A bed filled with Pieris japonica
variegata among those containing Heaths had
a pleasing effect. The collection of Rhodo-
dendrons is appropriately near to the plants
already mentioned.

The rock-garden was formed, I believe, by
the late .las. McNab, and is upon the highest
portion of the grounds. At the same time
the plants are sheltered, for most of the
ground falls to the north, and upon this side
there are protective trees. This garden is
one of the most interesting features, and
affords greater variety of aspect and condi-
tions for the numerous species of plants than
do most rockeries. I took notes of a number
of interesting plants it contained, but it will
suffice to mention a very few of the most
prominent. Rose Wichuriana covered a bank
densely, and was very fine ; R. alpina var.
pyrenaica was extremely pretty, because of
the numerous elongated fruits it bore ; the
shrubby Veronicas succeed very well, and I
was rather surprised to notice Choisya ter-
nata growing finely in an exposed position so
far north. The species of Ericaceae generally
succeed in the neighbourhood ut Edinburgh,

January 25, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

55

and the Order is richly represented in the
rockery. I noticed Celinisia spectabilis, Litho-
sperniurn prostratum in considerable quantity
and excellent condition ; Rhododendron ferru-
gineum, R. latifolia, R. amoena, a fine collection
ofSaxifragaceae, great masses of Alyssuni,
and the interesting Acaena inicrophylla (Ro-
sacese), remarkable for its small, green flowers,
inconspicuous in themselves, but furnished
with long, showy crimson spines. It is a very
■dwarf (1 to 2 inches high) New Zealand ever-
green of cushion-like growth, and peculiarly
suitable for the rockery. There is a water
garden, and large arboretum ; but there was
insufficient time to make so close an inspection
of the latter as I could have wished.

The Glasshouses.

A very convenient and admirable range of
houses was built a few years ago, and in these
there is a large and useful collection of plants.
The Nepenthes-house was particularly attrac-
tive. It is a span-roofed structure, and Mr.
R. L. Harrow, who has charge of the indoor
department, has planted - out some of the
species. These have made very strong growths,
which are tied near to the rafters, and bore
numerous "pitchers." The house was very
well filled with plants in baskets also, in-
cluding hybrids such as N. Chelsoni, Mas-
tersiana, Balfouri, Dicksoniana, N. x mixta,
<&c. N. Burkei excellens and N. cylindriea had
succeeded splendidly when planted out, but
the work had been done only a year or so, and
it will be interesting to hear if they continue
to succeed. A plant of the handsome Anthu-
cium Veitchi was remarkable, and a climbing
plant, Pergularia odoratissima, with strongly-
perfumed, greenish-yellow flowers.

A new Hibiscus (H. Scottii, figured in the
January number of the Botanical Magazine,
t. 7816) was in bloom in a house containing
Rhododendrons, &c. It is a Socotran plant,
with rich yellow flowers, bearing dark-
coloured markings at the base ; but the
flowers were almost closed at the time — the
plant was 8 feet high. In the propagating-
liouse the rare Adiantum Balfourii was
shown to me ; it is a pinnate form, the
fronds 9 inches long, and the pinna; broad,
with fringed margins — a very pretty plant.
In the porch, Solanum Rantonetti was growing
very freely ; Passiflora edulis was well fruited ;
Solanum Wendlandi, that grand species, bore
excellent trusses of flowers; Tecoma Smithi,
was in flower and fruit ; Mackaya Bella in
flower, &e.

In the Orchid-houses I saw some very fine
plants of Cattleya citrina, and the pseudo-
bulbs become larger each year, an expe-
rience not common with this plant. There is
a large greenhouse, and in this I saw a speci-
men of Restio subverticillatus, which ] should
judge to be the largest in the country, being
about 12 feet through.

The Palm-house contained some fine speci-
men Macrozamias planted out, Dioon spinu-
losum, Encephalartos horridus, the rare E.
Ghellincki, and others ; Sabal umbraculifera, an
old plant, brought from the Botanic Garden at
Leith Walk, &c. The old Palm-house, now used
as a"temperate" house, is about 70 feet high.
A plant of Scaforthia elegans reaches within
20 feet of the top. There are capital plants of
Livistona chinensis, L, australis, Tree Ferns,
tender Conifers, Cocos flexuosa 30 feet high,
and Bacularia (Areca) monostachya, 10 feet
high. Fagus betuloides, with its tiny leaves,
is an interesting evergreen species of the
Beech.

The course of lectures delivered at tho
garden is spread over three years, and th.3
.members of the staff have a reading-room and

library provided for them. Occasionally there
are lectures by Prof. Balfour that are open to
the public, any of whom, if engaged in
the study of botany, may obtain the use
of the laboratories. The students at the
University receive their instruction in botany
at the Botanic Garden, which is open to the
public as early as 8 o'clock each morning
except Sunday, and then at 11 a.m.

There are but three Botanic Gardens in the
Kingdom maintained by the State. Edinburgh
is one of them, and the others are those at
Kcw and Glasnevin (Ireland). They are all
perfectly worthy of this maintenance, for each
is a centre of botanical and horticultural
teaching and activity. P.

(To be concluded.)

NOVELTIES OF 1901.

(Concluded from p. 22.)
Reference to the appended list of new or
rare plants illustrated in the Gardeners'
Chronicle during the past year, will show that
an unusual number of interesting plants have
been produced or specially called attention
to during the past year. Reference to notes
of the Royal Horticultural Society's shows
proves that the eminent firms of Messrs.
Sutton & Son, Veitch, Cannell, "Webb, Carter,
&c, have been successful in improving
numerous florists' flowers, in shape and beauty
of the flowers, as in Gloxinias, Begonias,
Chrysanthemums, Pelargoniums, Cyclamens,
Primulas, and others.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, have
for many years past turned their attention to
the introduction of hardy trees and shrubs,
have had further successes in that direction,
and the assurance of many more in the near
future. Their fine strain of greenhouse Rho-
dodendrons have been added to the winter-
flowering Begonias ; B. Ideala and B. Agatha
have been certificated. The Nepenthes, for
which the firm is famed, still improve ; and
the extraordinary N. ventricosa was certifi-
cated. Among flowering shrubs, Berberis
oongestiflora hakeoides and Cyrillaracemiflora
have both been illustrated in our pages ; the
Veitch strain of Streptocarpus has increased
in the size of the flowers, and some new
colours have been obtained ; the Cacti, a fine
collection of which was staged at the Temple
Show, produced a new set ; and the great
Veitchiau specialty, the Hippeastrums, have
been as successful as ever in the past year,
three of the best certificated being Aver-
uuieus, Marathon, and Rialto.

Captain Holford, Westonbirfc, whose gar-
dener is Mr. A. Chapman, holds the amateurs'
record for fine Hippeastrums, or Amaryllis as
they are more commonly called. The Westonbirt
collection of Amaryllis is the oldest in the
country. Hard on fifty years ago, the late
Robert Stayner Holford got together a line
collection of them, and the raising of new
varieties was carefully pursued. A. Ackermani
pulcherrima, that line dark blood-red old
species, now probably extinct, was much used
as a breeder, and from that day to this the
Westonbirt collection has been well first lor
dark red and crimson sell Bowers. Those who
saw tho fine group for which Captain Holford
was awarded a Silver-gilt Flora Medal by the
Royal Horticultural Society, on March 26 last
year, will readily recall their excellence. The
best of his certificated varieties were Lois,
Lord Borington, and Cloyelly, all grand
flowers.

Leopold de Rothschild, Esq. (gr., Mr. Hud-
son), who has been so successful with Nym-
phseas, has continued the culture of water

plants by growing equally well a fine lot Of
Nelumbiums, of Which the double white N.
album plenum; the double rose N. roseum
plenum ; and the new Japanese, N. Kiushirin,
were certificated. The typical N. speeiosum
and its varieties, and the yellow N. luteum,
also flowered at Gunnersbury — the latter
making quite a feature in the new Japanese
garden.

Messrs. F. Sander & Co., of St. Albans and
Bruges, seem to cultivate decorative plants
more extensively each year. Palms form a
very large feature, and of the favourite
Kentias at the Bruges exhibition they showed
forty-seven distinct species and varieties, the
varieties of course predominating, and includ-
ing golden-leafed, variegated, and dwarf
forms. The trouble is, that each of these dis-
tinct forms cannot be increased by propaga-
tion in a reasonable time.

Camellias and Azaleas at the Bruges estab-
lishment have produced some fine new forms,
and their culture by a firm conversant with
the requirements of British gardens has
caused the Camellias in bud especially, it is said,
to again find favour in this country. The new
section of decorative Caladiums between C.
albanense, C. venosum, and the best of the
garden forms, resulted in a new set : C. W.
Lauche ; C. l'ami Schwartz ; C. Countess of
Warwick ; C. Mrs. Oliver Ames ; C. Lord
Annesley ; C. Mrs. Miller Mundy ; C. Mrs.
H. L. Bischoffsheim ; and C. A. Siebert.

Among new Palms distinct in appearance
though not easy to determine botanically,
Messrs. Sander have Livistona Woodfordi,
Arenga Engleri, and Linospadix Leopoldi;
and of other plants Encephalartos Barteri,
Carludovica Leopoldi, Ficus pandurata, and
Nepenthes mixta, Sander's variety.

Lilies were brought prominently into notice
during 1901 by the Conference at Chiswick, at
which Messrs. Wallace & Co., of Colchester,
were the principal exhibitors, some of the best
being illustrated in the Gardeners' Chronicle.
Sweet Peas were equally happily exploited.

Chrysanthemums, Roses, Carnations, Dahlias,
and the other large classes of florists' flowers
have each been worthily replenished by the
many diligent workers among them; and
hardy flowers by the endeavours of Messrs.
Kelway of Langport, Mr. Ware, Mr. Perry,
Messrs. Barr & Son, and others have been
recruited by novelties, and their varieties,
new and old, have made perhaps more con-
tinuous displays at the Royal Horticultural
Society's shows than any other class of plants.

Two charming sections have been brought
out prominently during the past year, viz.,
1 rises, and the charming new hybrid Narcissus,
enumerated under tho popular name Daffodils,
raised by the Rev. G. H. Engleheart. Miss
Willmott, of Warley Place, Essex, a sincere
lover of plants of all kinds, secured awards in
both classes, among them being Daffodil
Allen's Beauty, D. Robert Berkeley, D. Earl
Gray, D. Elaine, D. Dorothy Wemyss, Iris
Willmottiana, and others, which will be found
in the appended list of plants illnsl rated.

The certificated varieties are mostly of the
Rev. G. H. Bngleheart's raising, and among

those for which he received awards were
Daffodil St. Cecilia and D. Florence, two fine
things of tho Ajax group ; D. Derrick, of the
poeticus class; and 1>. Master-al-Arms, a
bicolor; D. Aftermath, D. Sponsor, D. Day
Star, D. Sea Bird, U. Hear Guard, and D.
Amber, all valuable additions to this really
beautiful and useful class of Bowers for which
the Rev. Mr. Engleheart has done so muoh to
develop.

Other good Certificated Daffodils were u.
General Roberts, shown by -Messrs. Barr &

56

TIIE CARD ENER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

[January 25, 1902.

Son in their group on April 23, which secured
a Silver-gilt Flora Medal, and in which the
fine Daffodil Lucifer was so well represented ;
D. Stella superba, of Mr. Walter Ware ; and
D. Moonbeam, of Mr. R. Backhouse.

The following novelties and rare plants
have been illustrated in the Gardeners'
Chronicle in 1901 :— -

Adonis amurensis, March 16, p. 175.

Agapetes macrantha, January 19, p. 47.

Allium Brdelii, May 4, p. 287.

Aloe Lynehi, March 30, p. 199.

Anthurium Bakeri, January 5, p. 2.

Arctotis Gumblctoni, September 7, p. 179.

Arctotis decurrens, April 6, p. 214.

Arctotis stoechadifolia, August 10, p. 109.

Berberis congest ifloravar. hakeoides,May 11,
p. 295.

Brodisea crocea, August 17, p. 127.

Canna Kate Gray, Supplement, Sept. 21.

Cereus Wittii, January 19, p. 38.

Ceropegia debit is, April 13, p. 238.

Chaimerops humilis " Birroo," Nov. 23,
p. 371.

Chrysanthemum Queen Alexandra, Nov. 10,
p. 357.

Clematis brachiata, November 23, p. 367.

Cocos Yatay, November 23, p. 370.

Colchieum hydrophyllum, February 16, p. 102.

Coleus thyrsoideus, January 19, p. 46.

Cyrilla racemiflora, September 14, p. 199.

Delphinium Dorothy Daniel, Aug. 17, p. 139.

Delphinium William Kelway, Aug. 17, p. 139.

Dianthus x , May 18, p. 311.

Dianthus pclviformis, August 3, p. 97.

Diaseia Barberae, October 12, p. 278.

Dracontium gigas, February 23, p. 126.

Erigeron Coulteri, August 3, p. 99.

Eupatorium pctiolare, June 15, p. 379.

Haemanthus mirabilis, Supplement, May 25.

Haemantlms Linden's New, Supplement,
August 10.

Hoheria populnea, Supplement, Nov. 23.

Hyacinthus lineatus, February 16, p. 103.

Impatiens grandiflora, February 16, p. 111.

Iris paradoxa var. Choschab, February 16,
p. 104.

Iris Sindpers, February 16, p. 105.

Iris, new hybrid, Supplement, November 30.

Iris Paraver, June 22, p. 298.

Iris Alkmene, June 22, p. 299.

Iris Ewbankiana, June 22, p. 407.

Iris Tauri, March 23, p. 191.

Iris Willmottiana, April 27, p. 271.

Iris flavissima, May 25, p. 337.

Juglans cordiformis, Supplement, Oct. 19.

Juglans mandshurica, October 26, p. 302.

Kochia scoparia, November 16, p. 359.

Leuchtenbergia princeps, March 9, p. 152.

Lilium Bakerianum, July 20, p. 45.

Lilium Parkmanni, July 20, p. 52.

Lilium japonicum Colchesterense, Supple-
ment, July 20.

Lilium japonicum Alexandras, July 20, p. 54.

Lilium Washingtonianum purpureum, July 20,
p. 59.

Lilium Grayi, July 27, p. 69.

Lilium Kewense, Supplement, February 16.

Lobelia tenuior, January 19, p. 46.

Meconopsis heterophylla, June 22, p. 413.

Mimulus Burneti, August 10, p. 107.

Musa rubra, May 25, p. 335.

Narcissus Robert Berkeley, May 4, p. 278.

Narcissus Chas. Wolley-Dod, May 4, p. 278.

Narcissus King Alfred, Supplement, July 27,

Nepenthes ventricosa, October 26, p. 313.

Nymphasa Diana, March 2, p. 141.

Olearia stellulata, Supplement, October 5.

Opuntia papyracea, March 19, p. 153.

Pear Michaelmas Nelis, October 12, p. 273.

Pelargonium Endlicherianum, Aug. 24, p. 149.

Primula sinensis King Edward, Mar. 2, 1901.

Primula sinensis Queen Alexandra, Mar. 2, 1901.

Primula megasesefolia, April 6, p. 223.
Rose Conrad Ferdinand Meyer, July 6, p. 3.
Rose Soleil d'Or, July 6, p. 7.
Rose The Lion, July 6, p. 11.
Rose Ben Cant, July 6, p. 13.
Rose (Rambler), Queen Alexandra, Julv 13,
p. 27.
Sarmienta repens, May 11, p. 303.
Stanleya pinnatifida, June 15, p. 381.
Stricklandia eucrosioides, October 5, p. 263.
Sweet Peas, new, August 3, p. 97.
Thrinax Morrisii, Nov. 16, p. 353.
Tree Lobelias, June 29, p. 418.
Tulipa Wilsoniana, May 25, p. 327.
Wistaria, double-flowered, June 22, p. 403.

THE CULTIVATION OF EPACRIS.

Of all hard-wooded winter-flowering plants,
there are possibly none so useful or graceful
as the New Holland shrubs called Epacris.
Failure in the culture of these plants I attri-
bute to three causes, viz., 1, lack of air ; 2,
loose potting ; and 3, the too hard cutting-
back of plants after flowering. Of the three,
the last-named is the commonest error. I
know but too well that many very successful
growers cut their plants hard back after
flowering, and they succeed well after this
treatment ; but I have found them succeed
best without this barbarous method.

Epacrises are usually propagated by cuttings
of the tops of the shoots, about an inch long ;
these should be inserted in pots of silver-sand,
and put in a forcing-house under a bell glass,
or in a hotbed, air being gradually given as
soon as the cuttings have rooted. I have,
however, found layering to be the best method
of multiplication, and whatever others have to
say to the contrary, I always manage to root
them by this method, whereas scores upon
scores of cuttings have failed by damping.

Fill thumb-pots with a compost of peat and
sand, care being taken to have a preponde-
rance of sand on the surface for the layers to
root into. Place the plant to be propagated
on a hard surface in the greenhouse or else-
where, bend down the lower shoots, cut a
notch in them similar to that made in Cama-
tion-layeriDg, and peg them dowrn in the pots
with a piece of wire or wooden layering-pin,
and draw the sand round the layer, giving the
plants a gentle watering with a fine rose.
Place the plants where they may remain un-
disturbed until they are rooted, which will
probably be in six or seven weeks.

When well rooted, cut the connection be-
tween the old plant carefully, and remove the
young one on to a shelf near the glass ; afford
water carefully, and see to its various re-
quirements daily. In about a month after
this, shift the plant into a 3j-ineh pot, using
peat and sand in equal proportions. Crock the
pot carefully and well, place some rough peat
over the drainage to prevent the finer par-
ticles of soil being washed through ; be
careful and pot firmly, loose potting is a
prelude to failure. Press the conqiost all
round the ball of the plant so as to make it
quite firm and close. Afterwards remove the
plant on to a stage in a cool house, still keep-
ing it near the glass. Apply water carefully,
but not fire-heat unless the weather is ex-
tremely cold. The following spring, if the
plant has rooted well, pinch out the top in
order to cause side shoots to form ; and in
about six weeks after this, when the plant
has started to grow once more, shake it out of
its pot, and shift into a 5-inch one, employing
the same soil as before. In summer, remove
the plants to a cold frame, and let them
remain there until the end of September,
when they should be placed in the cool green-

house ; if they have rooted well, a weak
application of liquid-manure may be afforded
occasionally until they commence to flower.

Treatment of Old Plants. — Never shift the
plants into larger pots until they are well
rooted ; when the plants get large, they will
continue in good health for thr<je or four years
without shifting, and yet flower well, provided
they are occasionally fed with weak liquid-
manure. Frequent shifting is not requisite,
unless young plants are required as specimens.
The proper season for a general shifting is any
time from March to August, although upon
extraordinary occasions, as the breaking of a
pot for instance, they may be shifted with
safety at any other time. When potting,
provide ample drainage, and press or ram the
soil firmly. Some growers raise the centre of
the ball 3 or 4 inches above the sides of the
pot, their intention being to prevent the roots
from being injured by an excess of water, for
if by chance the plant does get an over-supply,
it can only be round the outside of the pot and
at the extremity of the roots ; the upper part
of the old ball of earth and the stem being so
much higher, that the water runs down to the
edge of the pot, and the quantity of drainage-
material below always keeps the plant from
suffering from an over-abundance of water.
For my own part, I consider this precaution
unnecessary, for provided the plants are
healthy, and the application of water is in
careful hands, no mischief will accrue from
the ordinary potting. After potting, remove
the plants to the greenhouse for a time,
afterwards place them in a cold frame for the
summer; syringe them occasionally, which
will serve to keep down thrips.

As soon as the plants have finished flowering,
cut back the stronger growths, but leave the
weaker shoots at full length. Some cultivators
cut all the growths back, but I must confess
that, after a trial of the two methods, I find
the former practice yields the better result. I
do not want to criticise other grower's
methods, nor, on the other hand, do I want
anyone whose plants do well to follow my
rules; but for those who fail to get a maximum
quantity of flower, my method of procedure
will be found beneficial. Let the plants be
syringed daily until the new growths break,
afterwards let the treatment be that previously
advised.

To recapitulate, the following rules should
be carefully followed : —

1. In propagating, employ layering instead!
of propagation by means of cuttings.

2. Do not shift into larger pots until the
plants are pot-bound.

3. Afford an abundance of air, but fire-heafc
only when the weather is extremely cold.

4. Water with great care.

5. Cut back only the stronger shoots after-
flowering, but leave the others at full length.

The following is a good selection of varie-
ties : — autumnalis, red and white ; Devoniana,
scarlet; Eclipse, crimson and white; Mont
Blanc, white-lemon ; The Bride, white ; Sun-
set, pink ; Vesuvius, crimson and scarlet ;
alba odorata, white, fragrant ; pulchella major,
white. John Denman, Bryribella, Trenuirehiony
St. Asaph.

VEGETABLES.

HAMPEL'S IMPROVED YELLOW FRAME-
FORCING LETTUCE.

This excellent variety of Cabbage-Lettuce
is highly spoken of by German gardeners as
being one of the earliest Lettuces for hot-bed
culture, and one of the best autumn varieties
in disused hot-beds under frames late in the

The Gardeners' Chronicle, January 25, 1902.]

FIG. 22.— SMALL WHITE SCALE ON OLEANDER
(ASPIDIOTUS NERII).

Fig. 18.— coccus flccciferus.

© m

<?

Fig. 14.

-SAN JOSE SCALE ON CALIFORNIAN PEAR
(ASPIDIOTUS PERNICIOSUS).

(Natural Sue.)

Fig. 15.— jan jose scale : female scale.
(Enlarged.)

Fid. 19.— ORCHID SCALE INSECTS.

Conchaspis Angrreci (Ckll.): A, natural size; b. c,
enlarged; B, from above; c, from the side. 2, Vin-
sonia stellifera (Westw.). 3, Prosopophora Den-
drobi (Dougl.). 4, Aspidiotus biformis (Ckll.).

Fig. 20.— cypripedium niveum, with coccus
stellifer.

Fig. 16.— SAN JOSE SCALE : ADULT female,
CONTAINING YOUNG.

(Greatly enlarged.)

Fig. 17.— san jose scale: young labVjb.
(Greatly enlarged.)

FIG. 21.— D1ASP1S AMYGDALI (TUYON).

A, insects of real size on branch of food plant.

B, scale of t lie female, magn. 15 diam.
c, scale of the male, magn. 20 diam.

D, female removed from the scale, magn. SO diam.

Fig. 23.— astero-lecanium orchidearum.
The " fringed " scale insect on Cypripedinm-leaves,
from Trinity College Gardens, Dublin.
1, 2, natural size; 3, scale* magn.: 4, portion of mar-
ginal waxy scales; 5, under-side of scale, magn. ;
ij, portion of antennte, magn.

FIG. 24— APPLE-TREE MUSSEL SCALE
(MYT1LASPIS POMORUM).

FIG. 25.— ALEYRODES COCOIS.

1, with insects mil. size; 2. under-side of larvsa ;
3, male insect ; 4, female Insect.

DESTRUCTIVE SCALE INSECTS. (See p. 60.)

58

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 25, 1902.

year. Growth is extraordinarily rapid, and
the handsome, firm heads remain good for a
great length of time. For winter use, seed
should be sown from August 14 to 30, and the
plants form firm heads of about equal size till
the beginning of winter, which, on plants in
frames which are kept cool and dry, remain in
capital condition for more than two months.
Deutsche Gartner ZeitUng, January 18, 1002.

TRADE NOTICE.

Mr. A. Appleby, who has been in the em-
ployment of Messrs. Hogg & Robertson for
the past twenty-two years, has been engaged
toy the Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society,
Ltd., 151, Thomas Street, Dublin, as principal
assistant under Mr. A. O. Watkins, for the
iiew retail department which the Society have
found necessary to establish in connection
with their largely increasing business. Mr.
Appleby, who is well and favourably known
throughout Ireland, carries with him to his
new sphere of duties the good wishes of a large
circle of the gardeners and agriculturists of
Ireland.

The Week's Work.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

The Cattleya-house. — Afford Cattleya Triansei
and C. Percivaliana, now developing their
flower-spikes, rather more water. Place the
plants in a light position, and keep the atmo-
sphere of the house buoyant. Cattleya Men-
deli and C. Mossise may still remain inactive,
but do not keep them so dry as to make the
pseudo-bulbs shrivel. Maintain a night tem-
perature of 50° to 55°, rising in the day to
about 00° ; they will then need less water than
if the temperatures were higher. If there
should be any plants of C. Mossife, C. Mendeli,
or Lselia purpurata that have not yet finished
making their growths, remove them to a
warmer house, and place them close to the
roof-glass. Admit bottom air freely whenever
practicable.

Leelia Jongheana will now need a fair amount
of water, and the full advantage of any sun-
shine there may be. We find that this lovely
species grows much better suspended than it
does on the stages. The intermediate-house
or the cooler end of the Cattleya-house is the
best 2Josition for them.

Dendrobiums. — Most of the deciduous and
semi-deciduous varieties will be pushing out
their flower-buds, and if not already removed
from their resting quarters, this should be
done at once. If the plants are left too long
in the cool-house after the buds have begun to
burst their sheath, they never attain their
proper size and colour. The following species
are now developing their flowers with us : —
D. Wardianum, D. crassinode, D. Findlayanum,
D. aureum, D. nobile and its many varieties,
and D. Linawianum ; and of hybrids D. x Ains-
•worthi and its many varieties, D. x Chelten-
hamense, D. x Clio, D. x Cybele, D. x Sybil,
D. x melanodiscus, D. x chrysodiscus, 1). x
Silvia, D. x Wiganias, D. x Ctirtisii, and D. x
■Owenianum. Although the plants are throw-
ing up their young growths, water must be
afforded with great care, especially if the tem-
perature of the house ever falls below 65°, or
their roots will decay. It is better to afford
water only when the plants are well dry, until
the days are longer and there is more sunshine.
"Back" pseudo-bulbs should be taken away,
leaving not more than three behind the lead.
The present time is a good one to cut off
pseudo-bulbs of varieties it is wished to
increase. "When cut off, carefully label, and
lay them on a dry stage till the end of
February.

Miltonia vexillarium. — Plants that were
potted back in small pots in the July potting,
and have made vigorous growth and have well
filled the pots with roots, may now be removed
to larger pots, taking the greatest care the roots
do not get injured in the operation. A suitable
compost for them consists of two-fifths chopped
fibrous peat, two-fifths clean chopped sphag-
num-moss, and one-fifth halt' decomposed leaves
(Oak, if possible). Mix these ingredients tho-
roughly together. Fill the pots about one-
third full with the rhizomes from the peat, for
we find this variety succeeds uncommonly well
in this form of drainage. Do not disturb the
balls of the plant, but simply liberate a few of
the outside roots. If the compost is in a moist
state, the plants potted will require very little
water for a week or two ; damp well between
them, and syringe lightly overhead on bright
days. As soon as the roots get hold of the
new compost, they will need water freely until
the flowering season is past. The spot so fre-
quently found in this variety .arises more from
insufficient ventilation and injudicious water-
ing during the short days than from the over-
head syringings, which do no harm if the
sanitary condition of the house is good and
judgment is used. Our plants are in the
Cattleya-house throughout the year.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS,

By James Whttock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch, Dalkeith.

The Marly Vinery. — Hamburgh Vines in flower
should be afforded a temperature of about 05°
at night, unless the outside air be very cold,
when a few degrees less warmth will be better
than employing excessive fire-heat. Start the
fires as early in the morning as possible, but
do not make a great fire if there are indications
of sunshine. Zealously guard against having
strong fire-heat when there is sunshine in the
early hours of the day ; the resulting heat
would be most injurious, and the early opening
of ventilators at this season is attended with
the worst results. If the temperature does
rise 15° above the mean, keep the air of the
house saturated with moisture, but admit very
little cold air. Thin the berries freely when
well set. Sprinkle some Vine-manure over the
border, water it in with chilled water, or very
weak tepid manure-water from the cow-shed.
If the Vines are in pots, they may be cropped
heavily, being good only for one year ; but
permanent plants should be relieved of unne-
cessary bunches as soon as the fruits are set,
taking care not to crop these heavily. Tie
down the shoots, and leave all the growth
beyond the bunch space will allow. The more
leaf development there is, the more roots
and vigour the Vines will acquire.

The Muscat-house. — Vines started in early
January, and afforded a night temperature
of 55°, may now be given 60°, and when the
buds have burst, 65° to 70°, according to the
weather. At all times try to get 10° to 15°
more heat in the daytime. When they approach
the flowering stage, a mean of 73° is required
to induce them to set well ; 90° in the daytime,
with plant y of moisture, and a little circulation
of fresh air evenly over the house.

Mid-season Grapes. — Complete the cleansing
of wood - work in succession-houses with
soap -and- water ; paint or whitewash the
walls, and remove the loose bark from the
Vine-rods, which may be scrubbed with
soap -and -water. A good remedy against
bug is syringings with hot-water mixed with
paraffin, or mix gas-tar and clay together,
and paint the rods with it. Pure paraffin
applied to dormant Vines will kill them; but
it may be painted on bare rods when in active
growth. Afford a good watering to the inside
border, then remove the surface to the roots ;
then afford a good sprinkling of bone-meal,
and Thomson's Vine Manure, covering this
with 2 inches of finely-chopped turfy-loam, and
finishing with a thin mulching of fresh horse-
droppings. Before starting the Vines at the
beginning of February, apply warm water to the
border again, lightly, and through a rose-can.

Tomatos. — Plants raised last July, and grown
in 10-inch pots in a Cucumber or similar house
during winter months will continue to afford
supplies for some time longer. Apply weak
doses of "Veltha" or " Veltha emulsion,"
which will keep the foliage healthy, and the
plants vigorous in the close air ; high tem-
perature otherwise is prejudicial to the plants.
Sow a little seed this month.

Cucumbers. — Sowseeds inasmall pot plunged
in moist bottom-heat. When they have ger-
minated, place them near to the glass in a tem-
perature of 65° to 70°. Continue to crop old
plants very lightly ; fumigate the house, and
afford moderate dressings of artificial manure
to the border. Damp the paths to counteract
the effects of much fire-heat. The temperature
may rise with sunheat to 90°.

Peaches and Nectarines. — Upon the earliest
trees the flowers will either be set, or the
pollen of the blossoms will be ripe. Touch
them very lightly with a camel's-hair brush or
rabbit-foot on end of stick. When all are
well set, afford the trees a good syringing
with chilled water ; and raise the night tempera-
ture to 60°. Upon very cold nights, rather
than fire hard, let the heat go down to 55°.
On bright days the trees may be syringed
morning and afternoon ; on dull days in the
morning only at present. Damp the surfaces
of the house frequently, but avoid a stuffy
atmosphere. Afford the inside border a water-
ing with warm water as soon as the fruit
is set.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Turton, Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

The Planting of Horse-radish. — Excellent
roots may be obtained from land deeply
trenched in the ordinary manner ; but better
ones are grown in beds in open situations
raised somewhat above the surrounding level.
Let a bed 6 feet wide be marked out, and the
soil within the boundary be thrown out to the
depth of 2 feet, then place some fairly well
decayed manure to the depth of 1 foot over
the bottom, returning the excavated soil. The
bed will then stand considerably above the
surrounding level. Such a plot will hold four
rows of sets at 18 inches apart, the sets being
planted at 1 foot apart in the rows. The best
kind of Horse-radish sets are straight pieces
of the roots about 1 foot in length, with the
rootlets rubbed off down to the bottom. When
planted, the top of a set should be about 1 inch
below the surface of the soil. Sets of a length
of 3 or 4 inches may also be planted at the
same depth as the longer sets, also crowns,
that is bits of root 1 or 2 inches in length
furnished with a bud of leaves, but neither
makes such serviceable roots the first season
as does the longer set. Let the holes made
with the dibber in planting be closed with
coarse road-grit or charred garden refuse. A
much larger quantity of fine roots when culti-
vated in this manner can be obtained from a
small piece of land, than is possible under the
more common practice followed in gardens of
planting Horse-radish in an out-ol'-the-way
piece of ground, and leaving it to itself.

Spearmint, Tarragon, and Chervil. — In most
establishments, a plentiful and constant supply
of these herbs has to be furnished by the
gardener. The roots of Spear-mint should be
dug up and placed in boxes with fine soil
sprinkled over them ; and the Tarragon in
flower-pots, and forced into growth in an early
Peach-house or vinery. Should the supply of
Chervil from plants growing in boxes be
running short, and plants exist in the open
ground, hand-lights should be placed over the
latter as a protection against frost that may
now occur ; otherwise let a sowing be made
forthwith in shallow boxes.

Mustard a«d Cress. — Make sowings every
three or four days, or according to the demand ;
boxes measuring 18 inches in length, 12 inches
in width, and 3 inches in depth, are convenient
for handling when filled with soil. An almost
pure vegetable soil is most suitable, favouring

January 25, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

59

quick growth, and leaving no grittiness on the
produce. Apply water to the soil with a fine
rose-can. Sow moderately thick, press level
with a bit of board, do not cover with soil,
and cover with slates laid on the sides of the
boxes till germination has taken place.

Seed Potatos.— All seed Potatos should by
this date be put in order for sprouting, but
especially so for early planting, where such
has not been carried out. Ascertain the
number of sets that will be required for plant-
ing in hot-bed frames, lay single layers of
these in shallow boxes on sifted leaf-mould,
and place in a succession Peach-house or warm
greenhouse to sprout. Fill also a few boxes
with the tubers set up on end for planting
sheltered borders, or at the foot of south walls.
Rub off all shoots of those not required for
early planting, and, where there is convenience
for doing so, lay them in single layers on
shelves, or on the floors of any out-house
where they can be kept cool, yet safe from
frost.

Broad Beans. — A sowing of the Early Long-
pod Bean should be made forthwith on
sheltered borders, and by preference on re-
tentive soil which has been newly trenched
or deeply dug. Sow the seed in double lines
drawn at 4 feet apart, the seed being dropped
at 1 foot apart. This is best done by throwing
out shallow trenches with a spade, and dibbling
in the seed with a blunt-ended tool about
1 inch deep. As the plants push up through
the soil, gradually fill the trench with the
earth thrown out, which will serve to protect
the plants against frost ; and even should the
tops get cut by frost, strong shoots will be
thrown up from the base. Sow also Longpod
Beans at 3 inches apart in boxes filled with
soil, and place in a temperature of about 50°,
and as soon as the plants are well above the
soil, remove the boxes to a cold pit, and plant
in trenches when the weather permits in early
March.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Matne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle,
Bicton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Filbert Trees are improved by annually thin-
ning the branches where they are placed too
thickly, keeping the centre of the bushes
fairly open. Care must be taken that enough
wood carrying male catkins be left for the
fertilisation of the female blossoms when in
flower. Should the former be scarce, some
branches of the common hedge Nut with
catkins upon them should bo tied on the
bushes as soon as the little red point can bo
seen on the female flowers. Shorten the
strong growths made last season 12 or
15 inches, cutting to an eye facing outwards.
Afford old bushes a dressing of short manure,
forking this lightly in. Planting may still
be done, though it ought to have been carried
out before the shortest day. It is well to
grow Filberts on single stems, as is done with
Gooseberries and Red Currants, or the old
stools throw up such a quantity of suckers
each year, which if left become a mass of
unfruitful wood. The Cosford variety should
be planted with other sorts, as I find it always
has plenty of catkins.

Raspberries. — Any replanting should be car-
ried out forthwith. In cases of new stations
the ground should be deeply dug, and plenty
of decayed farmyard manure worked in if the
soil be light, while that of a heavy nature may
bo afforded soot and wood-ashes only. The
canes are trained in many ways, but I prefer
to plant them in rows 0 feet apart and tie the
canes to wires tightly secured to posts 5 feet
in height, three tiers of wire running the
entire length of the row, placed IS inches
apart from the top downwards. The canes
must be at least 4 inches apart from each
other when tied to the wires. Mulch the
ground with strawy litter.

Miscellaneous. — The pruning of alt fruit-
trees, except those newly planted, should be
pushed forward as rapidly as possible. I find
the birds are again knocking out the buds of
Gooseberries, in Bpite of heavy syringings

with a mixture of soot, lime, and quassia
extract. We are now going over the young
growths again, painting them with a like mix-
ture, but thicker in substance. The covering
of bush fruits with galvanised wire netting is
the only sure remedy against these winged
depredators. Plum trees, especially the old
Greengage, are often attacked by tom-tits.
The trees should be treated the same as
Gooseberries, or have |-inch square-meshed
netting placed over the "trees. Examine each
week all fruits in store, and remove those that
are in the least decayed for immediate use.
Bergamotte d'Esperen Pear is now in use with
us, and though the fruits are rather small,
and inclined to be dry, are nevertheless useful.
All fruit keeps better in a darkened room, and
with but little ventilation at any time.

much water ; and young stock is always
useful in decorative work.

Abutilons may now be struck from growing
tops ; they strike more readily now than later;
and in any case advantage should be taken of
striking young stock or anything that can be
struck, so that they may be got out of the way
in time to make room for general plant propa-
gation during the next three months.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mundy, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Seed-soiving. — January is full early for
sowing seeds of many species of plants that
are grown under glass, excepting some which
take rather a long time to develop. Most of
those require a well-heated pit or house in
which to raise them successfully, otherwise
sowing should be deferred till a later date.

Olerodendron jallax. — It is often advised
that this plant be raised from cuttings. My
experience is that seedlings are better, being
kinder in growth, and productive of larger
nower-heads. The plant is magnificent through
October, November, and even a little later
when well grown ; its chief fault is that a
fully grown plant demands a considerable
amount of space. Seeds saved from last year's
plants should now be sown, several together,
in a 6-inch flower-pot in very sandy soil, and
the seed-pot plunged in bottom heat of 75°.
The seedlings germinate more freely in pots of
this size, and the difficulties of establishing
them later singly in small pots are very lew,
provided that they are so transferred while
still in the seed-leaf stage.

Tuberous Begonias, Gloxinias, and Strepto-
carpus have very small seeds, which should be
sown on the sanded surface of well-filled and
previously well-watered pans or pots of soil.
For the present, the treatment will be
identical, but it may be advisable to point out
that the sun should never be allowed to shine
directly on to the Streptocarpus seed-pan, for
this would be fatal while germination is
taking place and while the plants are very
small. With the foregoing should be as-
sociated that pretty little plant Kaintpaulia
ionantha. All these may be raised in heat,
the seed-pots being covered with glass, which
should be frequently turned over to disperse
the moisture condensed on the lower side.

Caladiums. — These should be shaken out, the
tubers divided, where increase is desired and
they admit of it, and started for the present
in pots of sand, in which they may remain
until the growth begins to grow prominently.
O. argyrites may be divided more freely than
the others, and is a most useful little plant.

Acalypha hispida.— Growing tops of this
plant strike freely in a lew days. The tops
should be strong ones from main stems. In
connection with this plant I may say, that I
have found the tassels liner and better in
every way when the plants have been grown
in heavy loam, and rammed hard. In the
ordinary mixture made up lor stove plants the
tassels often lengthen out into mere apologies
for what they might be.

Draemnas— Old plants may be cut up into
good tops also, and the "toes" obtained from
the thickened root -stems, or suckers in em-
bryo, all provide material from which young
plants may be raised. The tops probably are
the worst to manage, but should do! !»■

thrown away it well coloured.

Pandanus Veitchi. — Suckers should be
si ripped from (he older plants whenever ga 'I

coloured pieces are available. They will rool

readily in Cocoa-fibre or in soil if not afforded

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadogan, Culfoi'di
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Seeds. — Of the different species of sub-
tropical plants, sow at this date Melianthus-
major, Wigandias, Daturas, Eucalyptus, Acacia
Lophantha. The seeds should be sown in
shallow pans filled with a light kind of soil,
and the seedlings grown in warmth till the
middle of the month of May, when having
attained a good size, they may be gradually
hardened off in readiness for putting into their-
summer quarters. Seeds of Erythrina crista-
galli and Francoa ramosa may also be sown for
flowering in the summer of 1903. Groups or-
beds of these two species in juxtaposition are-
very attractive. Ricinus, Solanum, Ferdi-
nandia and Nicotiana being of freer growth
than the foregoing, may be sown the second
week in February, and the seedlings will
make strong specimens for planting out-of-
doors in the month of June. A sowing of
Celosia aurea and coccinea may be made now
for planting-out in the beds about the end of
that month. They will flower profusely alt
through the summer and autumn, and are a
great acquisition. It is important that all the
plants named above should be pricked off into-
pots and pans, and when sufficiently large
potted in clean pots of suitable size according
to their requirements. Many a gardener will
have experienced a difficulty in obtaining the
required number of Calceolaria cuttings last
autumn, many of the plants having dried off
early in the season for want of sufficient
moisture. This can be got over by a sowing
made now of Calceolaria Yellow Bedder in.
shallow pans or boxes in an intermediate tem-
perature, and as soon as growth commences-
after being pricked off 3 inches apart in boxes,
remove and grow in a cool structure, where
they will make satisfactory progress, and be
of a useful size by the middle of May. This-
plant is one of the most indispensable of
yellow-flowering subjects. A sowing may also-
be made, if stock be short, of Centaurea can-
didissima, and if the seedlings be grown in a
warm-house, they will become useful by mid-
June.

The Rock-garden.— In the wild rock-garden,
the various patches and colonies of herbaceous-
perennials, Ferns, &c, may be afforded a top-
dressing of fresh soil, having previously
removed decayed flower-stalks, leaves, and
weeds, and small shrubs that may bo planted
on the rockery, wit h amulching of well-decayed
manure where this is practicable. Remove
tree-leaves, especially where there are patches;
of Primroses, Violets, Anemones, Crocus, and
hardy dwarf bulbs. Wooden rustic- work, such
as steps, bridges, seats and arbours, should,
bo repaired. The ornamental rockery will
need frequent weeding, as many of the rarest
alpines do not succeed if weeds of peren-
nial duration abound. Alterations may be
carried out now, and the plants placed m
position without loss of time, always making a
suitable selection of soil when replanting.

Dwarf Bean Crossed with the Pea.—

We learn from our old correspondent, Mr.
SMYTIIK, late of Basing Park Gardens, that
Mr A.Giixktt, of the gardens. Sandling Park,
Hvthe, has raised a cross between a dwarf
Bean and a Pea, (ho latter being the pollen
parent. The seeds arc said to 1"' almost

exactly like those of the To:.. We have no!
seen tin- alleged hybrid, nor arc we rash
enough to asserj that Mich a cross is not
possible. We await further evidence.

60

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 25, 1902.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER.

Letters for Publication, as well as specimens and plants
for naming, should be addressed to the ED 1 TO R'
41, Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London,

Communications should be written on one side only of
the paper, sent as early in the -week as possible, and duly
signed by the writer. If desired, the signature will not be
printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.
Special Notice to Correspondents— The Editor does net
undertake to pay Jor any contributions, or to return the
unused communications or illustrations, unless by special
arrangement.

illustrations.— The Editor will thankfully receive and select
photographs or draurings, suitable for reproduction, oj
gardens, or of remarkable plants, flowers, trees, £c. ; but he
cannot be responsible for loss or injury.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

TUESDAY,

Jan. 28.

Royal Horticultural Society

Committees Meeting.
Annual Meeting of National

Sweet Pea Society, at Hotel

Windsor, at 3 p.m.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, JAN. 27 —

Plants, &c, by Protheroe & Morris, at 12 —Japa-
nese Lily Bulbs, by Johnson, Dymond&Son. at 4 30
and Roses, <Sc, at 12. ' '

TUESDAY, Jan. 28.—

Botanical and General Library, at Stevens' Rooms
at 12.

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 29.—

Liliums, Plants, etc., by Protheroe & Morris at 12
and 5; at The Nurseries, Woodford, Nursery Stock
by Protheroe & Morris, at ll.-Plauts, &c , at
Stevens Rooms.

FRIDAY, Jan. 31 —

Perennials, &c, by Protheroe & Morris at 12-
Orchids, at 12.30.-Orchids, by Mr. John Cowan, at
Liverpool, at 12.

(For further particulars see Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
—38 8*.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— January 22 (6 p.m.) : Max. 53°; Min. 49'.

January 23.— Dull ; mild.
Provinces.— January 22 (« p.m ) : Max 51° w Ire
land ; Min. 43', N.W. Scotland.

MealyBugsand T° d° JUStice to th™ volume,
their Kind.» whoso title is given in the foot-
note, the reviewer should be
a specialist in the same department. But
Mr. Newstead is the acknowledged leader
in this branch of entomology, and the would-
be reviewer can only bow the head in
homage. There have not been many en-
tomologists in this country who have con-
cerned themselves with this group. It may
therefore be a source of pride to gardeners
that one of their fraternity should, by his
own exertions, have raised himself to the
foremost place in his department. Gar-
deners know too much about the ill-doings
of mealy bug, American blight, scale, and
such like creatures, some of which we figure
in the present issue, but they have hitherto
concerned themselves with effects, without
troubling themselves to understand the
causes. And yet till the cause is known,
and the manners and customs— the life
history— of the creatures understood, the
application of remedies must be empirical.

"As a practical gardener," writes Mr.
Newstead, " I had for many years been fully
acquainted with the destructive habits of
the mealy bugs and scale insects of our
fruits and flowers, but it was not till the
year 1889 that I began in earnest the study
of the group on more scientific lines, when,
acting under the advice of my late employer

* Monograph of the CocMx of the British Isles, by
Robert Newstead, vol. i. Printed for the Ray Society.

and friend, Mi-.Alfred Osten Walker,F.L.S.,
I began a systematic study of the group."

About ninety species and varieties are
known in Britain, the majority of which
occur in plants cultivated under glass,
and are therefore probably of exotic origin.
It has been thought advisable to make
this monograph representative of all spe-
cies found living in this country, so that
the work may appeal not only to the
naturalist, but to all those who are in-
terested in horticultural pursuits. With
this object in view, instructions are given
on the methods of prevention and remedies,
to which have been added from foreign
sources the most approved modern systems
of combating these insects on a larger
scale than is usually employed in this
country. Besides this, the horticulturist
will also find valuable data on the natural
enemies of the Coccidse, and the extent to
which certain birds feed upon the insects in
question.

The opening chapters are devoted to the
life-history and habitats of the insects,
points which are unfamiliar to most people,
but nevertheless, of great interest, and in
some cases of great importance, as in the
case of the introduction of destructive pests
to our orchards, of which Mr. Newstead
gives some illustration.

The San Jose scale, Mr. Newstead thinks,
has never yet been met with in this country,
and is not likely to establish itself on fruit-
trees in the open-air. The danger to English
horticulturists lies, for the most part, in the
introduction of destructive coccids into our
glass-houses, where, in the absence of then-
natural enemies, they thrive and multiply,
causing us annoyance, disappointment, and
loss. The mention of enemies recalls the
fact that small beetles allied to our ladybird
have been found in other countries very ser-
viceable in keeping the Coccida? in check.
In the United States beetles of this kind
(Vedalia cardinalis) have been imported
from Australia to destroy the fluted scale
(Icerya Purchasii), and with excellent results.
The example has been followed with equal
success in Egypt and in South Africa. In
this country these beetles and the lady-
birds are not known to prey on the Coccida?.
Among birds, the titmouse (Parus cieruleus)
however, renders good service, on which
account, in spite of the injury he inflicts on
buds, his presence may be tolerated; and
the same may, in a minor degree, be said of
the jackdaw and of certain other birds.
" Their usefulness," says the author, " in
checking such destructive species of Coccidse
as the mussel-scale (Mytilaspis pomorum),
the Willow and the Ash-ecale (C. salicis)^
which latter sometimes renders the osiers
too brittle for weaving purposes, is not to be
overstated. Proof such as has been given is
indisputable, and I am convinced that quite
50 per cent, of these insects are devoured by
the birds whose names have been appended.
In the chapter on methods of prevention
and remedies, Mr. Newstead gives details of
the process of fumigation with hydrocyanic
acid gas— a process extensively used in the
U.S.A., and which has also been tried at
Wye College. It is so dangerous that it
should never be entrusted to careless or un-
intelligent operators, but with due pre-
cautions it is no doubt likely to be a most
valuable method. Less dangerous, though
not entirely free from risk, in careless

hands, is the use of XL, from the employ-
ment of which for mealy bug we have
secured excellent results.

Petroleum emulsion is also recommended
by Mr. Newstead. and here again we can tes-
tify to the excellent results of its application
in the case of mealy bug and scale. Gishurst
compound is also well spoken of, but is too
costly for use on a large scale. Other reme-
dies are mentioned which are well worth the
consideration of the gardener.

The chapters on classification and the full
details of structure will appeal to experts,
and necessitate minute microscopical com-
parative examination, for which few have
the requisite capacity or time. All that we
can say is, that Mr. Newstead's method of
treating his subject is unexceptionable, and
inspires the fullest confidence. The illustra-
tions are really elucidatory, the coloured
plates instructive ; the index just what is
required. What more remains to say but to
congratulate Mr. Newstead on his unequi-
vocal success, and to express our acknow-
ledgements to the Ray Society, without
whose aid this most valuable treatise would
nob have seen the light.

In order to illustrate the subject of scale
insects injurious to garden-plants, we repro-
duce (on p. 57) numerous figures contributed
to our columns by Curtis, Westwood, and other
famous entomologists ; and may also refer
to a paper of Mr. T. D. A. Cockrell, Curator
of the Museum, Jamaica, on May 0, 1893,
p. 548, wherein eighteen species of scale
insect injurious to Orchitis are described.

The Conservatory at the Dell, King's
Norton (Supplementary Illustration). — We
are enabled to afford our readers a view in the
conservatory belonging to G. E. Belliss, Esq.,
at The Dell, King's Norton, near Birmingham,
an example of a thoroughly modern method of
arranging the plants. Some of the plants are
permanent in the sense of being planted in
the borders which flank the sides of the
building, and others are portable and stand
for the most part on the ground. This is a
plan greatly to be preferred to that of arrang-
ing the smaller plants on stages and benches,
although in the case of plants having small,
particularly fragrant, or very interesting
flowers, there is often an advantage in bring-
ing them nearer to the eye of the observer.
This is, however, better done by arranging
such plants on small rustic stands or tables.
Where the light is good, plants do not suffer
when placed on tbe floor. The proportion of
foliage to flowering plants in Mr. Belliss'
conservatory is a very fair one, and well
furnishes the necessary foils to colour ; and
altogether the arrangements are such as may
safely be followed at any season. The gar-
dener at The Dell is Mr. G. Burrows, to
whom our thanks are due for the opiiortunity
to insert the illustration.

Royal Horticultural Society. — The
next meeting of the Committees will be held
on Tuesday, January 28, in the Drill Hall,
Buckingham Gate, Westminster. A lecture
on "The Renovation of Old Fruit Trees"
will be given by Mr. George Bunyard,V.M.H.,
at 3 o'clock.

Chiswick. — Unfortunately, comparatively
few of the Fellows of the Royal Horticultural
Society exercise their right of visiting
Chiswick, especially at this season of the
year. It is a pity, for they would learn
something, and they would by their pre-

January 25, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

61

sence encourage the officials to turn to even
Letter account than they do the resources
of the establishment. Just now the prepara-
tions are being made for the coming spring.
The Vines are being pruned, the Figs have
been attended to, the beds and borders
have been dressed, the rockery has been over-
hauled, and generally neatness, cleanliness,
and order prevail.

Plants in Flower, Royal Botanic Gar-
oens, Kew, January 18, 1902 : —

Shrubby.

Arbutus Uuedo

Hamamelis arborea

Beroeris nepalensis

„ japonica

■Chi nonanthus fragrans

,, ,, var. Zuccariniana

Clematis calyeina

,, mollis

•Crataegus oxyaeantha var.

Lonicera fragrantissima

praecox

., Standishi

Daphne Mezereum

Jasminum nudiflorum

,, ,, var. album

Osmanthus aquifolium

Erica caruea

var. ilicifolius

„ ,, var. alba (E. her-

Pyrus japonica

bacea)

Rhododendron dauricum

„ mediterraneahybrida

Herbaceous.

Adonis amurensis

Galanthus Elwesii

Alyssum Bornmuelleri

,, nivalis var. latifolius

Anemone Hepatica

Helleborus niger

Colchicum hydropbilum

,, orientalis

„ Tenorei

,, caucasicus

„ umbrosum

,, viridis vars.

„ montanum

Iris unguicularis vars.

*Crocus biiiorus Pestalozza1

„ reticulata var. sophc-

,, Sieberi

nensis

i, clirysantlius fusco-

,, Danfordise

tinctus

,, Heldreichi

.,, Korolkowi

,, Vartani

,, Fleischeri

,, histrioides

,, vitellinus

Leontice Leontopetalum

., gargarious

Primula denticulata

,, liyemalis var. Foxii

Merendera caucasica

,, reticulatus var. mi-

Narcissus bulbocodium

cranthus

monophyllus

Cyclamen Coum

SaxifragaBurseriana major

„ ibericum

Sternbergia Fischeriana

<3alanthus cilicicus

"The Journal of the Kew Guild."— Of
(the numerous periodicals which find their way
4o the Editor's table, there are few to rival in
interest this record of the sayings and doings
of old Kewites. Kew itself, it is needless to
say, is of unsurpassable interest to horticul-
turists and botanists, and those who labour in
it are necessarily more or less intimately
known to those concerned in horticultural
.affairs. But those who labour in it come and
go. It is the object of the Kew Guild to
secure that those who come shall be linked
■with those who go, and that those who go
shall be in touch with their successors. The
•extracts from the letters of old Kewites in all
parts of the world, not excluding the fightino-
ones in S. Africa, show how strong is the
feeling for the establishment.

Rhea Fibre. — Mr. Jeffries, of the Nur-
series, Oxford, sends us illustrations of the
growing plant and of the fibre it produces. The
value of the fibre of the Bcohmeria nivea has
long been appreciated, but some difficulties
Still exist in the cleaning the fibre and divesting
at of resin.

Cypripedium insigne.— Mr. Hawkes, of the
Gardens, Osterley Park, Isleworth, obligingly
sends us an inflorescence of this species with
two flowers, the upper one being the older.
The bract from whose axil the flower proceeds
is developed in the form of a perfect leaf.
Such occurrences are not very uncommon, but
are always interesting.

Monument to Baron Sir F. von Mueller.
—Wo learn from Nature that the monument
erected in the St. Kilda cemetery, Melbourne,
to the memory of Baron Sir F. VON Mueller,
wasunveiledon November 26 by the Governor-
General, Lord Hoi'EToun, in the presence of a
large assemblage of personal friends and men
of science.

" Das Pflanzen Reich."— This is a new
publication directed by Prof. Engler, and
devoted to the description and arrangement
not merely of the genera, but also of the
species of plants. The scope is thus enormous,
and the time that must elapse before its com-
pletion cannot easily be estimated. What we
have to note specially with reference to the
number before us is the fact that the present
"heft" is the work of our countryman, Dr.
RENDLE. It was thought at first that German
botanists alone would participate in this
gigantic undertaking, but this appears not to
be the case. Dr. Rendle deals with the
Naiadacse, a small but interesting group. The
characters are given in Latin, the comments
in English, and in some cases in German.

Early Thrush. — A correspondent writes
that on the Thames the thrush always sings
on mild days of November in the middle of the
day ; and that he has heard sixteen thrushes
or so on the same day in about 8 miles of
distance in January.

The Surveyors' Institution.— The next
ordinary general meeting will be held in the
Lecture Hall of the Institution on Monday,
January 27, 1902, when a discussion will take
place on the paper read by Mr. A. Dudley
Clarke (Fellow), at the meeting of Monday,
November 25, 1901, and on a paper to be read
by Mr. G. S. Mathews (Fellow), both entitled,
" The Final Report of the Local Taxation
Commission."

The Show-house at Kew.— Gardeners on
the look-out for decorative material for the
conservatories under their charge should make
frequent visits at all seasons to No. 4 house at
Kew. Just now the most attractive things
are hanging baskets of Lorraine Begonias, full
of bloom, and of a bright rosy-pink. Primula
obconica makes a fine show, and the Chinese
forms with the " stellata " variety are very
attractive. Moschosma, which we noted at
the Drill Hall last week, is in full bloom.
Tecoma Smithii x we noticed before, but it is
still flowering, as also is T. capensis. That
such strikingly decorative plants should
flower in small pots is a circumstance that
should commend them to the notice of gar-
deners. Centropogon Lucyanus x is an old
friend whom we should gladly see more of.
Pcristrophe speciosa is one of the winter-
flowering Acanthads which are very welcome
at this season, though it does not rival the
beautiful Ruellia macrantha lately figured.
Epacris makes a bright display, and an effective
group is made by combining Roman Hyacinths
and red-berried Solanums — but this is what
we might expect to find in any conservatory.
At Kew we look for novelties and decorative
plants not generally met with. Be this as
it may, No. 4 is always attractive, and the
grouping satisfactory.

Glasgow Botanic Gardens. — At a meet-
ing of the Glasgow Corporation, on the 16th
inst., it was reported that Mr. J.vs. WHTrTON,
Superintendent of the City Parks, had been
appointed Curator of the Botanic Gardens, in
the room of Mr. Daniel Dewar, resigned. An
announcement was also made to the effect that
a herbarium had been presented to the
People's Palace.

The Herbarium at Kew.— Preparations
are now being made for the addition of a new
wing to the Herbarium at Kew. The new
building will be on the western side of the
present edifice, and will nearly double the
available space. The additions to the herba-
rium are so numerous and so incessant that
this extra space will be none too great, and

should the proposal to remove the herbaria
from the Natural History Museum to Kew ever
be carried out, a large extension of the present
buildings must be again made. The new wing
at Kew is to be built so as to minimise the
risk of fire, and when it is completed, various
alterations will be made to the present build-
ing in order to render it also, as far as possible,
fire-proof.

Crinum natans.— In the Victoria-house at
Kew this curious species is now in flower.
The flowers, for a Crinum, are not remarkable.
The floating leaves are, however, very
striking ; they are about 3 feet long, linear ;
undulate at the margins. It is a native of
Western Tropical Africa.

Grammatophyllum speciosum.— We have
already chronicled the flowering of this plant
at Kew, and advert to it now to call attention
to the imperfect flowers at the base of the
spike. In these the perianth is four-merous,
with a straight column and no lip. This
reduction to whorls of two, together with a
straight column, is one of the commonest mal-
formations of Orchids, and is not devoid of
significance.

Brownea Crawfurdi ; .—High up amid the
rich vegetation of the Palm-house at Kew, the
eye is attracted by huge balls of glowing red,
the more effective from the setting of the
rich green foliage of the Palms. These Le-
guminous trees are very splendid, but they
are not for those who do not possess big
houses.

Stangeria schizodon is sending up its
Cycad-looking spikes in the Victoria-house at
Kew. This plant is not only very interesting
to the botanist, but it is a handsome plant for
the stove-house.

Misleto. — In the Cape House at Kew may
be seen some small plants of Olive in a 32-pot
(or thereabouts), bearing a species of Misleto,
like our own, but with red berries (Viseum
cruciatum). The same species may be seen on
Pyrus torminalis in the Temperate-house.

The Temperate-house at Kew.— Rhodo-
dendron pr;ecox makes a great show in this
house, and so do several of Messrs. Veitch's
hybrids, some of which may be had in bloom
all the year round. The Acacias are coming;
Camellia Sasanqua has come, but the most
noteworthy plant at present in this house is
an unnamed species of Agave in full flower. It
is a noble plant, with the leaves in dense tufts,
each leaf very thick, lanceolate from a broad
base, recurved, spineless at the margins.
From the centre of the tuft uprises a shaft,
perhaps 8 or 9 feet high, the upper portion
densely covered with greenish-white flowers.

Grafting Experiments.— According to a
recent number of he Jardin, M. Lindemuth
lately showed before the Prussian Horticul-
tural Society some interesting specimens of
grafting, in which the graft had exercised a
more or less marked influence on the stock.
The plants were : — 1st, Yellow Wallflower on
Red Cabbage, in which the plant had deve-
loped below lateral branches of Wallflower,
with a shoot of Cabbage and a head of Red
Cabbage. 2ndly, Brussels Sprout on Yellow
Wallflower. 3rd, Abutilou Thompsoni on Al-
thfea narbonensis. The former is a shrub, the
second is a herbaceous plant. Owing to the
influence of the Abutilou the branches of the
Althaja became persistent, and indeed, are
two years old. 4th, Solauum erythrocarpum
on Tomato (S. lycopersicum). The Tomato
being the more rapid grower, communicated
this property to S. erythrocarpum. 5th, Mal-
vastrum capense became variegated by grafting

62

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 25, 1902.

with Abutilon Thompsoni. 6th, Hybrid Pe-
tunia on Nicotiana glauca. If Petunias are
grafted on the stems of Nicotiana of rapid
growth, fine shoots of Petunias on the stems
can certainly be obtained. Mr. Winter, of
Bordighera, has already made this experiment,
and lias grafted Petunias on many branches of
Nicotiana glauca, whiGh in that district grows
as a shrub. The effect should have been very
fine, but a storm bruised the heavy branches
of the Petunias. 7th, A new plant, with
variegated foliage, Sida Napsea, obtained by
grafting with Abutilon Thompsoni, was a suc-
cess in one instance, while another specimen
remained green. 8th, Althaea rosea (Holly-
bock) became variegated by the influence of
the graft of Abutilon Thompsoni. Young
seedlings of Althsea rosea, of Malvastrum
capense, and variegated Anoda hastifolia have,
so far, remained green.

Fruit from the Cape.— Doubtless our
readers will be pleased to have the figures
relating to the imports of fruit from the Cape
into this country during 1901, per the Union
Castle Company's ships. They are as follows :
Grapes, 0,130 packages; Plums, 2,379; Apri-
cots, 434 ; Peaches, 5,703 ; Nectarines, 290 ;
Pears, 1,126; Apples, 113; Pines, 37; Quinces,
8 ; and Tomatos, 2. The first consignment for
the present year has arrived, we believe in
advance of the listed time, though a week
later than the first in 1901, and was made up
of 234 packages of Plums ; Apricots, 48 ;
Peaches, 75 packages.

IMPROVEMENTS IN HARDY

PLANTS.
The following important paper was read at a
meeting of the Horticultural Club on Tuesday
last by Mr. Amos Perry : — ■

It is now nearly forly years since I first interested
myself in hardy plants. It was at the period of the
"flare-up style of gardening," masses of brilliant
colour for about three months, and the remaining
nine almost bare. Many collections in nurseries were
destroyed, and I have had to run through these doomed
plants, buy up what I wanted at a nominal price, and
to see these same collections reinstated within ten
years from the time they were destroyed.

The only collections of repute in those days were
those of Rollison of Tooting, the St. John's Wood
Nursery, Youell of Yarmouth, and May of ISedale.
These collections were limited in extent, but unlimited
in price. Digitalis purpurea was priced at a shilling
a plant; Gentiana aflinis at the same figure. One had
taken five minutes and the other five years to make.
These were the sort of inducements offered to the
public for buying hardy plants. They were practically
ignored by everyone, and the trade always looked upon
them as a great nuisance, costing far more than they
were worth. To show how much they were appreciated,
I will just give you my first experience at the old
horticultural gardens at South Kensington. It was
suggested that a group of some of the wonderful
plants that were being collected together at Tottenham
should be exhibited at one of the big summer shows.
I believe this was the first time that anything like a
representative collection of hardy stuff had been
shown. A lot of preparation had been made, space
had been written for, and on the appointed day a van
with plenty of assistance appeared at the great horti-
cultural exhibition. I saw the superintendent, Mr.
Eylcs, shortly after my arrival, and asked him for a
space. He told me I should have to wait, and see if
any were left.

I did not like my reception a bit. After waiting and
worrying till about eight or nine o'clock, he told me
he would come and see what I had got. " Go and wait
in the yard till I come," and I was foolish enough to
go. After again waiting some considerable time I went
and found him, and got him to go and have a look at
the class of plants I proposed to exhibit. He looked
at them in the van, laughed, and said, " I cannot have
such rubbish here." However, after waiting another
hour or so, a man was sent to me stating they had got
a place for me in the western arcade among the
exhibits of wire-stands, pottery, and other accessories
to the garden. I was given two large wire-stands to set
up pots, pans, and boxes, and did the best under the
circumstances. Now, every show in the country largely
depends upon hardy plants to fill the tents.

It is impossible in a short time to go fully into such
an important subject as the improvement of hardy
plants, the capabilities of which are immense, buc it is
of vital importance that this matter should be taken
up to assist in maintaining an interest in hardy plants.
It is becoming more difficult every year to find
novelties, and it is new or rare plants that the public
want. It is surprising how little has been done in
this direction. Some families.it is true, have been
thoroughly dealt with, and these now form some of the
chief attractions to the gardens of the present day, but
how few have received the attention they deserve !

It is unfortunate that nurserymen as a rule have so
little time to devote to this important matter. The
older they get the more they have to do, and before
they have accomplished one tithe the part of their
early intentions they find their energies directed to
other phases of horticulture. What a vast field there
is still for enterprising men to take up hardy plants
and improve them by hybridising and selection ! What
an opportunity many of our gardeners have for this
kind of interesting work ! They have the materials and
opportunities, and in hundreds of cases nothing would
please their employers more than to know their gardens
were the birthplace of numbers of plants which sooner
or later would find their way into every garden in the
land.

There is also a vast field open for men fond of moun-
taineering, but this class of enthusiast is difficult to
find, because a young man has not the knowledge to
detect a new plant the moment he sees it, while the
middle-aged man having the knowledge has not always
the energy necessary to take a trip of two or three
days' duration in the mountains, carrying all the
paraphernalia required for climbing, and knowing
there is no luxurious hotel in which he can recuperate
for the return journey.

In one of my trips to the Pyrenees, in 1870, I was
successful in finding many interesting plants, some of
which are now common, while others have, unfortu-
nately, been lost— Ramondia pyrenaica alba, Primula
integrifolia alba, Gentiana verna alba, and a solitary
double-flowering variety, which never survived the
journey, Authericum Liliastrum major— not the major
now offered, but one growing 3J feet, with very large
flowers— and many others.

I am afraid we must fall back upon the amateur for
the raising of seedlings, selection, hybridising, &c,
and if we can only induce more enterprising amateurs
to take up this matter no one knows what may be ac-
complished. Secretaries might greatly assist in the
work by offering prizes for any improved variety of
hardy perennials, and honouring them according to
their merits.

We want more gentlemen like the late Mr. Nelson,
Mr. Ewbauk, and Mr. Harpur-Crewe, who did valuable
work in their time; the Rev. Wolley Dod, Sir Michael
Foster, who has done so much for the Iris ; Mr. James
Salter, the father of the Pyrethrum, and many others.
Some genera have received a fair share of attention,
and to the French florists we are principally indebted
for the great improvement in the Phlox, which is still
capable of further additions. Many of them are too
tall, and the Americans have just started a new race
only growing 1 foot in height, which for many purposes
will be invaluable. The alpine Phloxes were taken in
hand by the Rev. John Nelson, and to him we are
indebted "for one or two of the best at present in
cultivation.

The Hollyhock is essentially ail English flower, and
Mr. Chater's name will always be associated with it,
but I do not think there is much room for further
improvement in that direction. We want a change,
and I think the material is at hand in Althsea ficifolia
for producing an entirely new race of Hollyhocks,
dwarfer in growth, of pretty branching habit, and of
far more value for many purposes than the present
group.

Carnations and Pinks now occupy a prominent place
in our gardens, but what a change from the old school
of florists, of which the late Mr. Turner was chief ! A
Carnation with a fringed edge, in those days, was con-
sidered a monstrosity, no matter how free blooming or
beautiful in colour, and now we hear of fringed Car-
nations realising thousands of dollars.

In connection with the Carnation we must not forget
Mr. Martin Smith, who has done more for this flower
than any man living. Long may he continue his work
with this species, and set an example to others to try
and do likewise with some other race.

Delphiniums have received a fair share of attention,
both by English and French raisers, and many splendid
varieties have been the result. A remarkable break
has been obtained by Messrs. Kelway, but although the
results cannot be considered great, yet it is possible
that from these may be obtained other varieties of
greater merit.

The idea seems to prevail that a Delphinium should
be blue, and if you admit a white or a yellow into your
collection it must be a good one. It is, however, a
great achievement to get a break of this description,
and now we have white I see no reason why yellows,
scarlets, and every other intermediate shade cannot be
produced.

The Oriental Poppies deserve mention as being one
of [the few recent families that has received special

attention, and among them are many of great merit,
and still capable of great improvement. I see no-
reason why we cannot obtain as much variety, colour,
and form, as in the annual varieties. In Fringed
Beauty we have the first break in form. The flower
has a deep fringed edge to the petals, while in Mrs.
Marsh we have the first two-coloured varieties, and
with this material to work from no one can form any
conception of what may be obtained.

The Tritoma has received a good deal of attention,
but the work is only half done. T. MacOwani should
be taken seriously iu hand, to endeavour to form a new
race of dwarf varieties for summer flowering, and.
adapted for massing as well as for pots.

Lobelias, Pentstemons, Dahlias, Chrysanthemums,,
and others, we know all about, but they hardly belong
to the class of plant under consideration this evening.
(To be continued.)

BOOK NOTICE.

The Garden of a Commuter's Wife.
Recorded by the Gardener. With eight-
illustrations in photogravure (New York :.
The Macmillan Company. London : Mac-
millan & Co., Ltd.).
HERB is yet another book about a garden, or
at least a book wherein the garden serves as a.
background, the most prominent features being:
the author's domestic, and what should have
been her private affairs. The Commuter's,
wife gives herself an excellent character as an
affectionate daughter and wife, and is remark-
ably well satisfied with herself. As to the
garden, that is a "bit of garden - ground
framed in the hillside woods, of which it had
originally been a part ; it was to be itself, and
not distorted into a feeble imitation of the
classic gardens of other days and times. . . .
I desire the most flowers at the least cost, as
befits the frugal wife of a Commuter. Flowers,
for village brides, for the children, and for
church festivals, and flowers to make the
silent journeys from the hospital that some
must take less dreary for those who follow-
them." This Garden of Dreams the gardenei-
set s herself to 'manage without professional
assistance, and in the scattered reports upon.
it we gather that, though absolute perfection,
was, as ever, unattainable, health and amuse-
ment and self-satisfaction rewarded her efforts..
We on this side of the Atlantic would have
been pleased to hear a little more of the hill-
side garden, and less of matters which (in.
spite of hinted depreciation of the book) in-
evitably suggest Elizabeth and her many
admirers and followers.

Here is a little descriptive piece of which,
we could wish there were more :— " The
borders, about 6 feet in width, were a hopeless,
jungle of hardy plants, interspersed at inter-
vals with shrubs and tall bushes of the older
Roses, such as Magna Charta and Jacqueminot-
Some of these met over the path and partly
barred the way. . . . There was a broad band
of Hollyhocks, too well placed against the
Honeysuckle bank to be disturbed : straggling,
helter-skelter were Foxgloves, Canterbury
Bells, Larkspurs, Phloxes, Sweet William,.
Columbines, white Anemone japonica, still in.
bloom, in company with Monkshood, hardy
Coreopsis, Evening Primroses, Honesty, and
Sunflowers; while the autumnal growth of
white, yellow, and rod Hay and Tiger Lilies,
and scarlet Oriental Poppies was distinguish-
able."

Here, again, is a pretty picture of winter : —
"The evergreens, so old that they had lost all
Christmas-tree stiffness and taken easy atti-
tudes, had been so planted that, as the Elms,
and Maples lost their leaves, they seemed to
disappear into the draperies of these sturdy
trees, and be replaced by them; so that on
hill, grass slope, or flanking the walk, the furry
green of White Pines or the fretwork of Spruce

January

1902.]

THE GARD ENER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

63

mid Hemlock barred out winter desolation,
while the living green in the younger bird-
sown seedlings of the old trees crosses the
woody pasture until it blends with the sombre
tone of the native Red Cedars that gather
round the bars.

" Woman, you who have bought the bit of
ground with trees on the cross-road, that your
•children may be born to country life, plant
evergreens in the north for a windbreak, and
on the south for a pleasure to the eye — not the
new-fangled Blue Spruces, Golden Hemlocks,
fit only to be confined to the lawn as breeze-
excluding ornaments, or the stunted Firs of
florists' catalogues, but the sturdy old forest
trees that rear their heads laughing in the
gale and grow mightily ; White Pines and the
Scotch Fir of ruddy bark, White and Black
Spruce of long or dusting cones, graceful
Hemlock Spruce, and the dwarfer Balsam Fir
oi fragrant breath."

those grown inland ; but invariably there is
another quality about them, viz., large size,
which more distinctly points to the skill of
his gardener, Mr. A. C. Axtell.

In the Sunny Hill gardens, the keen winds
which at times sweep across the face of the
slope on which they are situated had to be
guarded against, and Mr. Broome, drawing on
the experience gained during the many years
he was the leading gardening amateur in the
Manchester district, and played a most im-
portant part in the affairs of the Manchester
Botanical Society, met the difficulty by laying
out a number of little gardens, each screened
by planting shrubs of different kinds, growing
tall enough to protect the flowers in each of
the garden nooks.

Our illustration (fig. 26), from a photograph
taken in the month of July, represents the
central part of one of these nooks, the screen
at the back being of dwarf Pines, which are

of Phloxes, Spanish Irises, Roses, &c, -which
were flowering in great profusion ; and some
of the gardens were edged with Phlox subu-
lata, Lychnis viscaria splendens ft. -pi., and
Pink Mrs. Sinkins. Some good plants specially
satisfactory at Sunny Hill are Iris Susiana,
I.Gatesii, Cheiranthus Marshalli, Cypripedium
spectabile, C. parviflorum, Gentiana verna,
G. septemfida cordifolia, Dianthus alpinus,
Morisia hypogsea, Lychnis Lagascfe, Sedum
Ewersii, Chionodoxa sardensis, C. Lucilia3, and
C. Alleni. Violets also thrive in this garden,
and Princess of Wales, Admiral Avellan, and
Marie Louise are the favourite varieties.

Among "tender" plants which are grown
outside as hardy plants are Francoa appendl-
culata, Agathsea ccelestis, Lilium Henryi, L.
nepalense, Veronica Chathamica, Mesembry-
anthemum formosum, Gazania splendens, Lo-
belia cardinalis, Chrysanthemum frutescens,
and a number of other subjects.

Mr. and Mrs. Broome take great interest in
everything grown in their garden, noting
the differences in the times of flowering of
various plants in different years. Mr. Broome
writes under date January 18: — "We are
much later this year. Last yTear at this time
Snowdrops were over with us ; this season
they are only just showing for bloom. At
Christmas we had in bloom in the open
garden several varieties of Chrysanthemums,
Marie Louise Violets, and the Roses Distinc-
tion, Mirie Van Houtte, Bouquet d'Or,
Gloire de Dijon, and a few others; Cyclamen
hederajfolium, Cytisusfragrans, Carnation Ger-
mania, Mignonette, and other things. At the
present time in flower we have Iris stylosa,
I. s. alba, I. s. speciosa, I. reticulata, I. r.
Krelagei, I. Bakeriana, and I. histrioides,
some of them just commencing ; Eranthis hye-
malis, Helleborus niger, H. n. major and varie-
ties, Erica carnea, Garrya elliptica, Viburnum
Tinus, Veronica linifolia,V. elliptica, Galanthus
robustus, Jasminum nudiflorum, J. n. aureum,
East Lothian Stocks, Petasites fragrans, Pri-
mula vulgaris ccerulea, Narcissus Bouquet;
and coming into flower, Saxifraga Burseriana,
S. oppositifolia major, alba, and varieties ;
Saxifraga sardica, Spii-e.i Thunbergi, Primula
denticulata, and a number of other things."

Fig. 26.— a nook in the gajbdens, sixny him., ixandudno.

LAW NOTES.

All this, though not very original, or by any
Queans a reliable recommendation for all to
follow, is at any rate an expression of indi-
vidual opinion, and more appropriate in a
■Garden Boke (as we are supposed to call this)
than accounts of how "my lady sat and
sipped — she has recently lost a molar, and so
'used her lips like a beak." Passages like
these jar sadly. The character of Martha
Corkle, strange name for a still stranger
portrait of an English servant, must lie purely
•fictional, the dialect of the woman being that
of no known British county. If such a being-
appeared in England at all, she would be
instantly known as an American. However,
the Gardener's Boke will no doubt find ad-
inirers among her compatriots, and the pictures
■at any rate are faithful representations of
beautiful scenes.

SUNNY HILL, LLANDUDNO.

We have on several occasions noted (he
■excellence of tlio flowers grown in the gardens
of Joseph Broome, Esq., both in (ho open and
in the plant-houses, which, as is nol uncommon
in plants grown al the seaside, seem to be
darker in tint and brighter in colour than

excellent as a protection against the wind,
and also afford useful shade in summer. At
the end of the walk is a fine bush of Crimson
Rambler Rose ; behind it Galega officinalis
alba ; to the left of the Crimson Rambler, and
on the left and right of the picture, are large
clumps of Erigeron speciosus superbus, a plant
which is very showy, and lasts a considerable
time in perfection. The other prominent
plants in the picture are Montbretias, Dian-
thus multiflorus Napoleon III., and oilier mule
Pinks ; Spiraea filipendula Bore - pleno, Cam-
panula glomerata, C. rapunculoides, Anemone
japonica alba, Alstrcemeria aurea, Geranium
pratense Sore-pleno, <!• Armenum and other
Geraniums, &c, the whole forming a dense
mass of flower arranged by (he hand of Nal lire,
for each plant has been growing where it
flowered.

A number of such pretty gardens as this go
to make up t he Sunny Hill garden. Each is
different to the other in the nature and arrange-
ment Of its plants. At the season when the
photograph was I a ken there were in oilier parts
of tin- gardens plants of Chrysanthum fru-
tescens, which grows into great plants, and
affords masses of white flowers. Campanula
persieifolia allia, some of the newer variet ies

DELAY IN SUPPLYING A HEATING
APPARATUS.

Messus. W»r. Cooper, Limited, horticultural
providers, Old Kent Road, S.E., were sued at
Lani'ieth County Court, on Thursday, by
Frederick Cha's. Savage, of Queen's Row,
Cambcrwell Gate, to recover £0 10s., money
paid for a heating apparatus. Damages laid
at £22 10s. were also claimed in respect to
plants killed by frost in consequence of the
apparatus not being supplied by the date
agreed upon.

Plaintiff's case was that early in October he
ordered a heating apparatus for his conserva-
tory, and defendants specifically agreed to
supply same within one week. On October 16
an order form was sent him which he filled up
and returned with his cheque for £6 10s. The
apparatus not coming to hand, he wrote on
the 28th of the same month a letter of re-
monstrance but received no reply. Oa Nov.
1.") he again wrote, stating that unless what he
had ordered arrived within I days, he would
have to gel I he apparatus elsewhere. On
Nov. 25 he received a communication from
defendants stating i hat i he apparatus had at
length come to hand. They regretted the
delay, which they ascribed to the foundry

64

THE GARDENERS' ' CHRONICLE.

[January 25, 1902.

having baen inundated with orders, and asked
plaintiff to withdraw his cancellation.

Defendants relied upon the written order
which specified no time within which the
contract was to be executed, and denied that
there had been any verbal agreement.

In the result, upon Judge Emden's sugges-
tion, the case was settled by plaintiff agreeing
to take £7 10s., which had been paid into
court by defendants.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

SQUIRRELS. — On the Wednesday preceding
Christmas, Mr. Tom Speedy, a well-known
Scots naturalist, lectured on "The Squirrel"
to an appreciative audience in Edinburgh. For
the pretty nimble little creature he had nothing
good to say. It is stupid, and when it buries
nuts does not always remember the locality of
its hoard. It is dirty in person, and provides
food, with a warm lodging, for a vast parasitic
population. But these are merely personal
characteristics, of interest to itself alone.
When it caters for its own food, the outlook
includes other interests of great importance.
Its food consists usually of fruit, nuts, acorns,
haws, fungi, the cones of Pine, the young
shoots and bark of Conifers and other trees,
toadstools, and birds' eggs. The damage
effected by the squirrel on Pine woods in the
north of Scotland is so great that on some
estates, in order to get rid of the "plague,"
as much as one shilling is paid for every squir-
rel's tail. As many as 1,000 to 1,200 are killed
annually on a single estate, yet their numbers
are never lessened, and damage to the planta-
tion is unabated. Exactly the same state of
matters exists on south country estates, but
the woods being of less extent less trouble is
required to destroy them. The writer is
aware of many young plantations, not only
Larch, but pure Scots Fir, which have been
completely ruined by visitations which lasted
only a few days. Squirrels are extremely
fond of Sycamores and true Planes, and peel
great strips of bark off young trees up to
20 feet in height, while the young buds in
early spring provide a favourite dish. During
the past year, especially in summer and au-
tumn, squirrels have been the cause of great
loss in gardens. One gardener assured me
they carried off a fine erop of Apricots in the
course of a few days, almost before they were
noticed. These trees are protected in spring
with glass copings and movable blinds, and it
may be said that every effort is made to secure
good crops to be eaten by— squirrels ! I have
heard of several instances, too, where Pears,
quite hard and only half-grown, had been car-
ried off ; of Peaches on walls denuded of the
fruit before it was stoned, and many other
instances of crops utterly ruined. It becomes
a much more serious affair when it happens
that squirrels are preserved, and the gardener
is advised not to interfere with them. I have
heard of a canny Scot who, placed under
these very aggravating conditions, possessed
himself of a birch-broom, with a handle longer
than usual, and with that instrument "swept"
his trees at the moment one of his foes hap-
pened to be intent on getting supplies !
Squirrels are easily caught by means of ordi-
nary rat-traps, placed on the top of walls,
along which they may travel to reach the tree
they visit. It is seldom indeed that a squirrel
fails to go straight into a trap, and if it does
swerve aside, the removal of the trap to
another part of the wall is sufficient to cause
it to forget its caution. I have known wire-
netting, fixed at an angle of 45° on the top of
a wall, and stretching over the fruit-tree, to
prove an effective barrier, but in a big stretch
of wall it becomes rather expensive. B.

CHESTNUTS AT WALWORTH CASTLE. — Re-
ferring to a letter I wrote you some time ago
respecting the two Chestnut-trees at Walworth
Castle, I can now send you the exact dimen-
sions :— Distance between the trees, 15 yards ;

the longest branch 100 feet from bole to
point ; total spread of branches for both
trees, 2,480 square yards; height of trees,
85 feet and 90 feet ; the girth of one tree at
3 feet from ground, 16 feet ; of the other,
17 feet 6 inches. The girth at the place where
the first branches break away is about double
these figures. W. R. hines Hopkins, per
J. R. I. H.

LORD DYSARTS PROPOSED "PARK." — It is

rather a bold description to refer to what
Lord Dysart proposes to offer as a public place
beside the River Thames at Ham, Surrey, as a
park. His proposal, so far as the chief extent
of the riverside frontage extending from Ham
House to nearly the Kingston Borough boun-
dary, is to set apart a frontage of 150 feet in
depth which may be planted with low trees,
and be maintained as a promenade. This would
be about two miles in length. Beyond Ham
House towards Richmond there is an area
known as Petersham Meadows, over which the
public have at present certain rights of way,
and these meadows it is proposed to hand over
to the Borough of Richmond as public land for
all time. That the view from Kichmond Hill,
of which these meadows are in the foreground,
be not marred, it is not intended to materially
change their present pastoral aspect. In
Kingston the Bill proposes to grant the borough
a new recreation ground, a few acres in extent,
on the Dysart estate, and on the northern
boundary of the town. This land is almost
close to Mr. J. Walker's market garden. The
Bill proposes to hand over all manorial rights
Lord Dysart may possess over that splendid
open space Ham Common, to the Ham Parish
Council absolutely. There lies between the
common and Ham village, and the River
Thames, a very extensive area of open or
unfenced land called Lammas-land, over which
certain inhabitants of Ham have during the
winter what are called Lammas rights. The
whole of the land is cultivated as market farms
by various tenants in the summer, and as there
is no pasture, the Lammas rights of the
parishioners are worthless. These rights it is
proposed for a sum of money to be paid to the
Parish Council to cancel, and thus place this
extensive area of land at Lord Dysart's
disposal. At present this splendid riverside
area often resembles a wilderness more than
an open space. One or two indifferent paths
traverse it, running to Teddington Lock, but
as an open space this land is at present quite
worthless. Were this Bill to pass, and the
promenade of 150 feet wide made as is pro-
posed literally from Kingston to Richmond,
exclusive of the existing tow-path, it would
form the finest riverside promenade on the
Thames, and the gain to local as well as to
town people would be immense. It is un-
fortunate for Ham, a small parish wedged in
between Kingston and Richmond boroughs,
that it is not a part of either of these towns,
as at present the Bill proposes to place the
maintenance of the proposed promenade on to
the shoulders of that small parish. Were
Ham a part of Kingston, as it should be,
then the two boroughs named could come to
an amicable arrangement to maintain the
promenade, and enable the now worthless
Lammas-land to become one of the finest of
suburban building sites. A. D.

POPULAR AND STERLING VARIETIES OF PEAS.

— In the editorial footnote appended to my
note under the above heading, p. 32, it is
stated : " We have always understood that
nitrogenous manure is not of any special
value to Peas, if it be not actually injurious."
It would be interesting to know upon what
grounds this understanding has been arrived
at. The idea is not only new to me, but it is
also absolutely contrary to all practical ex-
perience in the cultivation of the Pea in the
manner indicated in my note. I should like
to know what there is in nitrogenous manure,
such as I referred to in my article, i.e., well
decomposed stable-manure, when well incor-
porated with the soil in the process of trench-
ing or digging to prevent Peas flourishing in
ground thus prepared? The actual facts are

these : The roots of the plants push down into
each succeeding layer of manure and soil
after food and moisture. To be correct, the
roots are allured downwards by nitrogenous
influence to partake of the feast of congenial
and sustaining (gaseous) food and moisture
provided therein for their special benefit, and
the ultimate reward of the cultivator in the
way of securing prodigious crops of Peas of
the best possible quality in every way —
results which undoubtedly and most con-
clusively will go to show that nitrogenous
manure applied to the ground in the way-
described at p. 32, is of "special value" t©>
Peas, and that it most certainly is not
"actually injurious" to them. As the edi-
torial footnote might lead readers of the
Gardeners' Chronicle inexperienced in the
cultivation of the Pea to form a wrong opinion
on the value of nitrogenous manure, this note
is written with a view to prevent any wrong-
impressions being made in this direction.
H. W. Ward.

ABNORMAL ORANGES.— Oranges from Alcira,
a town in the south of Spain, are abundant in
the market at present, and about 10 per cent,
of the fruit have a second Orange inside the
skin of the usual one. This malformation is of
great interest, as illustrating the origin of the
fruit from a branch bearing a whorl of leaves ;
the axis in this instance has not been content,
to bear one whorl, and has attempted to con-
tinue the process — but the arrestment of the-
axial growth has caused the larger fruit to-
enclose the smaller, very much as a fungus;
surrounds other objects by the rapidity of its
cellular growth. The trade-mark of the brand
of Orange in which this has been observed is a
scythe, but the box contains a mixture of
varieties ; about 30 per cent, are seedless.
The habit of producing a small Orange inside
the larger one is also characteristic of the
Ladoo Orange of the Deccan. Should the
matter be of sufficient interest, I will be glad)
to send specimens of the fruit. G. M. W.

NITROGENOUS MANURES FOR PEAS.— The

Editor's footnote to Mr. Ward's article on
Pea-culture, p. 33, January 11, may probably-
open an interesting discussion on this,
question. I have tried nitrates on Peas, with
kainitand phosphates, but the results were not.
satisfactory ; possibly, the nitrates may not
have been applied at the proper time. For-
some years past I have always, excepting the
latest-sown Peas, used Thompson's Le Fruitier
and Willis' manure ; also on two or three
occasions Fertilitas and Vine-border Com-
pound, scattered along the drills when sowing
the Peas, the results being heavy crops up to-
the end of June ; after that date, the effect of
these manures has not been so noticeable.
This I have attributed to lack of moisture,
though the mid-season and late Peas have
been mulched with ordinary stable-manure. I
also applied some of these manures to dwarf
Beans last season, with satisfactory results;.
During a very interesting lecture given by
ilr. Shrivell before the members of the Devon,
and Exeter Gardeners' Association, on Jan. 15,
the lecturer stated that in conjunction with
Dr. Bernard Dyer he had carried out some
interesting experiments at Golden Green with
fruit and vegetables ; and for Broad and dwarf
Beans he recommended 2 parts nitrates, 4 phos-
phates, and 1 of potash. The results obtained
by the use of this mixture at Golden Greeni
showed great increase in the various crops..
I hope to use these manures during the coming;
season on both Peas and Beans, and will give
you the results later if you care to have them..
T. H. Hlade. [Do, please. Ed.]

CLEANING THE LEAVES OF ORCHIDS. — I was.
astonished to read the correction appended to-
Mr. Bound's Orchid Calendar of last week.
My experience has been that amongst Orchids,
as well as other plants, a cleaning of the
leaves is necessary much more often than oncei
a year. Even if the plants are not infested
with scale or other insects, dust will accumu-
late on the foliage, which, if left untouched
for a year, would be black with dirt, and

January 25, 1002.]

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

65

would be injurious to any kind of plant. I am
unable to conceive any gardener letting an
ordinary foliage plant alone for so long a
period, to say nothing about Orchids, especially
Cattleyas and Cypripediums, or anything
grown in a house where much moisture is
required, and where the foliage cannot be
regularly syringed. No doubt many gardeners
will comment upon the advice given, as such,
if acted upon, would be in many cases
disastrous. B. Bowyer.

ODONTOGLOSSUM WATTIANUM HARDYANUM.

— This plant has at last bloomed in Baron
Schroder's collection, not having shown a
spike since it was purchased by him at the
" Owen " sale in April, 1805. The grand spike
of 26 blooms, having 2 branches carrying G
and 4, was exhibited at the Royal Horti-
cultural Society on the 14th inst. I can now
advert to the article in your issue of Oct. 20,
1000, p. 286, where you figure Od. W. Crawshay-
anum, and I gave its history as relevant to
this particular variety. My deduction, that
this var. is the product of Lindleyanum and
Harryanum, as proved by my own plant
raised at Rosefield, has now been questioned
by two eminent Orchidists. To these and to
all interested I will now give my reply in
detail. I have paintings, lithograph, and
dried blooms of Wattianum, W. Crawshayanum,
and live bloom of W. Hardyanum before me,
hence the material is ample whereupon to
come to a definite comparison. One objection
raised was that the square lip of this var.
could not be produced by Lindleyanum, but
must come from sceptrum. I contend that
this is due to Harryanum, as proved by my
variety having it, even with Lindleyanum as
the female parent. Lindleyanum was also said
not to grow with Harryanum. Mr. Claes
stated last week to me that it does, for he has
seen and collected them in company. Another
suggestion was that Od. nevadense might be a
parent of the form pictured in Garden, May 3,
1890, andReichenbachia, II., i, pi. 9. Thiscanbc
negatived by the fact that it grows far away
to the north-east, and there is not a trace of
any sort left of the extraordinary processes
on the shoulders of its lip. One 'further ob-
jection was, that the immense branching spike
and heavy, round form, coupled with such
deep colouring, could hardly be produced with
Lindleyanum. I reply to this that Harryanum
was the female parent. With this condition
the plant can easily be seen to be the result
of Harryanum x Lindleyanum. My plantwill
prove this, for if it is so characteristic of
Harryanum with it as the male parent, then
necessarily Od. W. Hardyanum must be much
more so with it as the female parent, for Lind-
leyanum could hardly be expected to bequeath
as much as half its appearance in a hybrid
when crossed upon so much stronger species
as is Harryanum ; though constitutionally in
cultivation, many people do not find it so
robust as Lindleyanum. I think I have now
most conclusively proved this disputed matter,
and if anyone interested cares to see the
material whereon I have my deductions and
actual proof, I shall be pleased to show it
them if they will take the trouble to come and
see it. I may add that my plant promises a
larger bulb than ever, and I have no doubt
will in time show a branching spike as Od.
Harryanum often does when strong. De B.
Crnwxluty.

the wet egg.— An egg when it is laid is a
wet egg (the shell is wet), and the longer you
can keep an egg wet the fresher it will remain.
This is a truth, expounded, 1 believe, for the
first time, and has never before appeared in
print. Why do we hear so much, especially
through the winter months, about bad and
stale eggs ? We know that hens, with all their
faults, never lay stale eggs ; we also know, to
our cost, that but few hens during the winter
lay any eggs at all, good or bad ! Then, where
do we get our stale British eggs from ? We
stupidly make them stale by dry storing. If
all British eggs were wet-stored* the day they
were laid, such a thing as a had or even an
wdiffer< nt egg would become a novelty, a

curiosity, instead of being an everyday article
of commerce. We all know that an egg be-
comes stale by keeping; but, let me add, by
improper keeping. If an egg is kept a week it
is far from fresh, if kept a month it becomes
very stale, even objectionable ; if kept three
or four months it becomes what is termed
"the egg," "shop egg," "the foreigner,"
" not warranted," or, to be more precise, the
bad or rotten egg ! We all know what dry
storing is, when we look at a lot of eggs in a
shop window, or upon a shelf in the farmer's
larder. Wet storing is the placing of eggs
the day they are laid in water-glass, and
leaving them there until they are sold or re-
quired for immediate use. It matters not
whether they have been wet stored a week, a
month, or even five or six months, they con-
tinue equally fresh, and always good alike.
Surely this is a matter of some importance to
the British farmer, the shopkeeper, and to
every housekeeper. There is one way, and
only one way, of forcing our farmers and
shopkeepers to practice a little care and atten-
tion on the freshness of the eggs they stipply.
Let all housekeepers refuse to purchase British
eggs from any shop unless they see them taken
wet out of the preserving-pan, and let all
shopkeepers refuse to take in farmers' eggs
except with a guarantee that they have all
been wet^stored the day they were collected
from the nests. There' is no more trouble to
wet store than to dry store, the only difference
being, placing the eggs in a dry box or basket
in the one case, and into a bucket one-third
filled with water-glass in the other instance.
Where, then, is the extra labour ? Lime-water
has, for a century or more, been used in many
private families as a preservative, but water-
glass is far better. The American and our
own agricultural experimental farms and col-
leges have conclusively proved that glass-pre-
served eggs, even after six months' storing,
were as nearly equal to a "new laid" as a
preserved egg can possibly be. Eggs kept in
lime-water, after several months' immersion,
are apt to partake of a limey flavour, and are
only useful for kitchen purposes, but not for
the egg-cup. I can speak personally as to the
efficacy of water-glass, for I have just finished
two nine-gallon barrels of eggs, which I so
preserved last spring and summer. These
eggs proved as sound and good as when I
stored them nearly six mouths back ; and,
indeed, many of them when the top was re-
moved, retained within that "milky" matter
so characteristic of an egg taken straight from
the nest. All foreign and imported eggs are of
necessity more or less stale and of uncertain
age, having been laid weeks and sometimes
months before they reach our markets. But
the foreigner is more alive to his own interests
than we are, and already they are beginning
to practice the wet storing in water-glass, and
unless we mend our ways, the day is not far
distant when the stale dry-stored egg will
become the specialty of the British farmer and
shopkeeper. It took twenty years before our
farmers could be induced to adopt, even here
and there, the Dutch factory system to secure
a good butter of uniform quality ; how many
years will it take us before wo shall trouble
ourselves to preserve the freshness of our
eggs ? As water-glass is now an article of
commerce, and quite cheap, let us hope that a
jar of it may soon become a fixture in the larder
or store-room of all householders in town and
country who can appreciate a fresh egg in
preference to a more or less stale or bad
one. K. B. Bmjhot-dc-la-Bcrc, Burbage Hull,
Leicestershire.

THE SPREAD OF THE CODLIN - MOTH IN
ENGLISH ORCHARDS. — The very strong repre-
sentations made to us by customers and others
as to the enormous and annually increasing
damage wrought by this insect to Apples in
Britain has led us to investigate this subject,
with the view of ascertaining either the cause
of their rapid increase in numbers, means of
stamping out the evil, or holding it in check.
The life-history of the moth is now generally
known, but we might repeat that, according
to Miss Ormerod, it lays an egg in each fruit,

from this the caterpillar or maggot hatches,
feeding on the fruit until October or November,
when it emerges, and if in the orchard crawls
up a tree, finds a crevice where it lodges,
covers itself with a web, and in a few weel s
passes into the chrysalis state, from which the
moth comes in the following June. Now, as
we have no method of successfully killing
them while in the winged state, it follows that
we must attack them while in the caterpillar
or chrysalis stage. Our investigations show
that while much still remains to be done l.y
our nurserymen, gardeners, and growers, in
the efficient winter washing of their fruit-
trees, the tying of tarred bands round trunks,
&c, the real reason of the rapid increase cf
this pest (which threatens the very existence
of commercially successful Apple-growing in
this country) is, we think, due to the whole-
sale importation of grub-infested Apples from
the United States and Canada. Visits to our
Manchester Smithfield Market during the past
three months revealed a shocking state of
affairs, and we are assured the same applies
to all markets throughout this country, every
barrel of American and Canadian Apples re-
ceived during October and November swarmed
with the Codlin maggot ; on the casks being
opened, the under side of the lid and topmost
Apples were found to be covered with them.
Of course, the market salesman promptly swee. s
them anywhere out- of his customers' sight,
and they are then free to crawl into empty
produce baskets, straw litter, &c, the result
is that the caterpillars are thoroughly distri-
buted all over the country through the medium
of these empty baskets and market manure;
but in addition, we believe that large numbers
are also distributed with the Apples to the
public during October and November, to ulti-
mately find their way into every ashpit and
manure-heap, where in its weakest stage it
finds winter quarters, quite secure from
grower's tarred bands, caustic washes, &c.
We trust your readers will take up and thresh
this matter out, so that this annual importa-
tion of a most injurious pest may be stopped
before it is too late. We might add, that Tas-
manian Apples are quite clear of the pest, and
the Nova Scotian nearly so. Exovs., Robert
Campbell, John D. Campbell, Manchester,
January 11, 1902.

hardy crinums. — During the past few
months three articles upon Crinums have
appeared in the Gardeners' Chronicle, the
writers of which agree in considering C.
Moorei and C. Powelli as the most ornamental
species. C. yemense, appreciatively alluded
to by Mr. G. B. Mallett, is however well
worthy of being grown, and their varieties ;
since their many-flowered umbels have a very
decorative effect, and they appear perfectly
hardy, at the least, in the south-west. C.
Moorei, according to Mr. Mallett, is more
tender than C. Powelli, and "only thrives
under the shelter of a heated wall." This is
apparently not the opinion of Mr. J. O'Brien,
as bespeaks of C. Moorei as being " as hai'dy
for the open garden as most of the other
bulbs regarded as permanent garden-plants."
Certainly in southern Devonshire a heated
wall is unnecessary for its well-being,
though I must say that I have never come
across the 6 feet high flower-scapes spoken of
by Mr. Mallett. One of the prettiest floral
pictures of the late summer was provided by a
large plantation of C. Moorei album, which i«.
I believe, synonymous with C. Schmidt! of the
Continent, growing in a long bed at the foot
of a lofty perpendicular cliff in the public
gardens at Torquay. The site is absolutely
sheltered from the north and east by the reck
wall and is open to the south and west, and is
thus particularly favoured climatically, a fact
which is emphasised by I'lumbago capons-is
passing through the winters unprotected and
flowering annually, Physianthus alliens and
Stauntonia hit i folia fruiting abundantly, and
Habrotliamiiiis often blooming as laic as .No-
vember. In this spot the great white flower-
scapes showed their beauly, not by twos and
threes, but by dozens, their pine colouring

66

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[January 25, 1902.

being set off in the early autumn by the soft
blue of a background of Plumbago. In other
gardens this Crinurn grows in the open border,
and is never injured by frost. 8. W. F.

SOCIETIES.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.

Scientific Committee.

January 14.— Present : Dr. M. C. Cooke in the chair ;
Rev. W. Wilks, Messrs. Geo. Gordon, J. W. Odell, C. S.
Sa'uaders, E. M. Holmes, G. S. Boulger, C. Bowles, Rev.
Canon Ellacombe, Dr. Reudle, and Dr. Masters.

Cyclamens Diseased.— Mr. A. J. Reid sent conns, the
roots of which were clubbed, as happens in Cabbages.
On examination the appeararie'es were seen to be due
to the presence of Nematode-worms (Eel-worms).

Pelargonium Leaves. — From Mr. G. W. Murtrie came
Jeaves of Pelargonium in various stages of decay. Dr.
Cooke, who has since carefully examined the leaves,
reports as follows :—

" The leaves of Pelargonium were disfigured by large
brown indeterminate blotches of dead tissue, which
did not reveal any fungus mycelium when submitted to
the microscope, and there was nothing local to account
tor the spotting. The whole appearance suggested at
once to members of the Committee practically ac~
quainted with Pelargonium-culture that the appear-
ances were of the same character as are known to be
caused by sour soil, and that the only remedy was to
transplant into fresh soil at once. After twenty-four
hours, the dead parts produced a plentiful crop of the
common blue mould (Penicilliuni glaucum), which is a
4 saprophyte,' and only occurs on dead matter as a
consequence of decay, but is never productive of
disease, if. C. C."

Arum conns. — Some conns of Richardia africana were
shown, with here and there a patch of decayed tissue
like a bruise. Dr. Cooke, who has examined the
specimens since the meeting, reports as follows :—

"Doth conns, otherwise of a healthy appearance,
exhibited on one side an orbicular, brown diseased
spot, about a quarter of an inch in diameter, entering
the corm to nearly the same depth, surrounded by a
paler ring exhibiting the spreading of the spot. The
decayed matter from the spot showed no trace of
mycelium, but was almost entirely composed of
elliptical colonies of nearly globose hyaline bodies,
about 3 to 4 micromilleinctres in diameter, reminding
one of the colonies found in Lamprocystis. I am there-
fore inclined to the belief that the disease is some
obscure form of bacteriosis, hitherto undescribed."

Iris unguicularis.—Mv. Bowles showed a ripe capsule
of this species, which only occasionally ripens its seed-
vessels.

BRISTOL & DISTRICT GARDENERS
MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT.

Under the auspices of this Society an instructive
lecture was given in St. John's Rooms, on Thursday
evening last, by Mr. F. W. E. Shrivell, F.L.S..F.R.H.S.,
of Golden Green, Tonbridge, his subject being " Chemi-
cal Manure in the Kitchen and Fruit Garden," which
was based upou the results of seven years experimental
work carried out in conjunction with Dr. Bernard
Dyer, E.I.C., F.L.S., F.C.S. H. Cary Batten, Esq., J.P.,
President of the Association, presided over a good
attendance, and was accompanied by Mrs. H. Cary
Batten, who also takes a deep interest in the work of
the Society.

The President, in introducing the lecturer, alluded
to the great importance of the' subject to the district
where so much attention was devoted to agriculture
and horticulture.

Mr. Shrivell, who illustrated his remarks by a series
of diagrams, explained that for many years dung was
the chief manure both for the farm and garden, but
they were now trying by means of a series of experi-
ments at Tonbridge, to discover whether it was better
to use large quantities of dung, or to use a smaller
quantity with chemical manure, or to use chemicals
entirely. With regard to the system upon which their
• experiments were conducted, the land on which each
vegetable or fruit was grown was divided into
sections, each being in area a fiftieth of an acre.
One section was manured with heavy dressing of
dung; a second with light dressings of dung; a third
with chemicals only; and the other three with .a light
•dressing of dung, an ordinary' dressing of phosphatic
manure (either basic slag or superphosphate of lime)
and varying quantities of nitrate of soda. Diagrams
were shown, proving that after seven years' experi-
ments, the best result was obtained by employing a

small quantity of dung with the use of chemical
manures, this being specially noticeable in the case of
Broccoli, Potatos, &c. Nitrogen, phosphates and potash
were the elements of farmyard-manure. The value
of dung was that it was such a marvellous mechanical
agent. On light, sandy soil, for instance, in dry
weather it tended to keep moisture in the ground, and
prevented evaporation. In the clay soils, it tended to
lighten it and aerate it to a very considerable extent.
That was the great advantage of farmyard manure, or
what was ordinarily called dung ; but it had a great
disadvantage, and that was its cost.

Speaking with regard to fruit, the lecturer said ex-
periments had been made by treating its culture in the
same way as the vegetables were treated— heavy dress-
ings of dung, light dressings of dung, plus chemicals,
and chemicals alone. He had experimented oh Goose-
berries, Black Currants, Red Currants, Raspberries,
and Plums with light dressings of dung, plus chemicals,
and with chemicals alone, and adduced some inte-
resting information upon the effects on the different
fruits. For the purposes of bush fruits— Currants,
Raspberries, Gooseberries, &c. — the quantities for
100 square yards (broadcast) shouid be 10 lb. super-
phosphate, 10 lb. kainit, to be applied during
autumn or winter, and in early spring 7 lb. to 10 lb.
of nitrate of soda. With regard to Strawberries,
experiments showed that they could not grow Straw-
berries entirely by the aid of chemicals, but that
with a light dressing of dung added to chemicals,
they would be much more satisfactory to the
grower. Chemical manures were also useful for the
purposes of growing Onions, Beet, and Celery. With
regard to the latter, he knew that most gardeners were
much in favour of sewage, when they could obtain it ;
but he strongly advised them never to use sewage, for
there was a great objection to its use in growing any
vegetable that was eaten raw. Sewage should never be
used for anything that was not cooked. By its use in
this respect, they were apt to spread such diseases as
typhoid and diphtheria. In the use of chemical
manure for Celery, they would have to use discretion,
but they would find that a small quantity judiciously
used would ensure a splendid crop. Then again, they
could make a good liquid-manure for Cucumbers and
Melons. One ounce of nitrate of soda in a gallon of
water used once or twice a week would considerably
assist them in growing these. Chrysanthemums again
were the most difficult plants to deal with; alight
liquid-manure of half-oance of nitrate to one gallon of
water, might be used when the buds begin to form, but
they should stop to use it when the buds began to
break. In the kitchen garden, 'chemicals for 100 square
yards, with half-a-load of farmyard manure, should be
used thus : superphosphate 14 lb., kainit 10 lb. This
should be dug in with the manure in autumn or early
spring : and later on they should sow on the surface
10 lb. of nitrate of soda in two or more dressings. After
referring to the dressings for herbaceous borders (basic
slag 14 lb., kainit 8 lb., pricked in during autumn, and
nitrate of soda 81b. in March and April to the 100 square
yards), Mr. Shrivell spoke on another subject which
he said was important, and especially to the pro-
fessional gardeners. This was the subject of lawns.
He knew that many gardeners were troubled with
Daisies, and different weeds on lawns. He thought
that wherever they had got a ground with a tremendous
quantity of weed on it, that told the tale that the
ground was really very poor. If he gave them some-
thing to make their lawns grow, they should not
grumble at him if they had to cut the grass more often.
There was a suggested dressing for a lawn of 100 square
yards— 14 lb. of basic slag with 9 lb. of kainit, and a
• later dressing of 5 lb. nitrate of soda. This combina-
tion was a plant food to produce the finer grasses. and
Clover, while it would do away with the Daisies and
commoner weeds in a lawn. It did not follow if they
put this oh one year that they need put it on the next.
The basic slag and kainit had a tendency to stimulate
the growth of Clovers ; and if they did not want
Clovers, they must keep these two away; but if they
wanted a little Clover or Trefoil, put it on. That would
do away with the Daisies. Whenever they saw a
meadow full of Daisies and Buttercups, they knew
perfectly well that, as a rule, it was a poor meadow.
They must use nitrate alone if they did not wish to
grow Clover. His own feeling went to the balanced
manure. It was very rarely that lawns had a dressing ;
the only thing they ever got was a little lawn manure,
which was simply sand plus nitrogenous manure. The
lecturer gave many other instances of the value of
chemicals, and concluded his address amid applause.

FRENCH HORTICULTURAL OF
LONDON.

January 18.— The thirteenth aunual dinner of the
above Society, which was held at the Imperial
Restaurant, Strand, was one of the brightest and most,
successful of the series. Mr. Arnold Moss occupied
the Chair, and was supported by a numerous company
of members and friends.

The Chairman was in a peculiarly humorous vein
throughout the whole proceedings. In his opening

remarks, he dwelt on the usefulness of the Society, and
the great necessity of the two great nations being
brought closely together in friendly intercourse, and
felt sure that when many of the young friends then
present returned to their homes in France, they would
be able to assure their fellow countrymen that we in
England only desired to live in peace and harmony
Willi France. The health ;of the King, the Queen, and
all the Royal Family, and that of the President of the
French Republic, were then toasted with enthusiasm.

Mr. Geo. Schneider, in proposing the health of the
Chairman, gave some interesting statistics of the
Society, and reminded the company of the support the
Society had received from English nurserymen and
friends in this country, one of the earliest of whom
was their present Chairman.

Mr. Moss replied, and said that the French Horti-
cultural Society of London now consisted of 600 sub-
scribers, and the income was rapidly increasing. He
congratulated them on having a balance in hand of
£140. He had much pleasure in asking them to drink
to the continued prosperity of the Society, which
helped many of them to feel at home although away
from their native land. What we wanted was that they
should enjoy themselves whilst here, work hard and
take back happy recollections of their stay, and make
their friends understand that we English are not
exactly the savages some people represent us to be.
The Chairman then paid a high tribute to Mr.
Schneider for having brought the Society to its present
high standing.

After Mr. Schneider's reply, Mr. Navel arose, in the
name of the "membres titulaires," and presented him
with a gold fountain pen in a case, as a mark of their
esteem and affectionate regard for " Papa Schneider's'
interest in his young compatriots.

CARDIFF AND COUNTY HORTI-
CULTURAL.

January 17.— The annual general meeting of the
society was held on the above date, when between forty
and fifty members were present; Mr. John Grimes in
the Chair.

The balance-sheet and statement of accounts for the
past year were produced, and the report showed that
the society was in a favourable position. The Mayor
of Cardiff was elected President, Mr. A. M. Bailey,
Chairman of Committee; and Dr. De Vere Hunt as
Vice-Chairman. Mr. H. Gillett was re-elected Secre-
tary, and Messrs. Botsford and Rees Jones were
appointed to vacancies on the Executive Committee.
The date of the annual show was fixed for July 23 and 24.

It was decided to affiliate the small societies in the
Cardiff district. A trophy having a value of 15 guineas
has been kindly given by the proprietors of the Daily
JS'eivs of Cardiff. The scheme of affiliation has been well
received by the whole of the societies interested, and
a very interesting competition is looked for. Last
year the Committee inaugurated an art section (paint-
ings and photography), embracing horticultural sub-
jects, and the success attending their efforts were
considered so good that it will be repeated this year.

Votes of thanks to the late President, the Marquis of
Bute, closed the meeting.

BECKENHAM HORTICULTURAL.

January 17.— Mr. H. O. Etherinoton delivered a
lecture on "Some Physiological Considerations of
Plant Life," Mr. John R. Box in the chair. The lecturer
explained the accepted fundamental principles of
plant life, beginning with the single cell, with its
power of division and adaptation to environment, its
gradual development into the complex structure of
plants, capable of assimilating carbon di-oxide from
the atmosphere, and with the aid of chlorophyll
elaborating starch. The construction of cells, transpi-
ration, with the cause and effect of the circulation of
the sap, was illustrated by living specimens and
diagrams on the black-board in such an interesting
and simple way that the youngest could follow every
stage of the marvellous developments of plant life.

At the close of the lecture questions were asked on
"The cause of Vines bleeding throughout a cross-
sectional cut," "Variation of cellular tissue in the
structure of annual rings in forest trees," " The cause
why Beans and Hops twine in opposite directions,"
"On some illusions of spectral analysis," "The cause
of fairy rings in grass," "The construction and use of
pith in trees," and "What is protoplasm?" The
questions were promptly answered, but the last one
defied all human effort to fathom, as a single cell of
protoplasm was the beginning of life.

CHESTER PAXTON.

January 18.— At a meeting of this Society, held in the
Grosvenor Museum on Saturday, January 18, under the
presidency of Mr. N. F. Barnes, Eaton, Mr. E. Stubbs,
Gardener, Bache Hall, read an interesting paper,
entitled "The Culture of Chrysanthemums for Exhi-
bition Purposes."

-

January 23, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

67

An interesting discussion followed, in which the
Chairman, Mr. Lamont, Mr. Wakefield, Mr. Ryder, Mr.
Newstead, and others took part; and Mr. Stubbs
answered several questions that were put to him.

A gratifying announcement was made by Captain
MacGillicuddy, who was present, and who very kindly
offared to present to the Society a challenge cup and
money prizes for the best collection of plants of single-
flowered varieties at the next exhibition. The Captain
also said he felt sure the Society could organise a suc-
cessful exhibition of spring flowers; and if this were
undertaken, he would be pleased to lend it his support.
Needless to say, these announcements were received
with hearty applause; and in thanking Captain Mac-
Gillicuddy for his handsome offers, Mr. G. P. Miln said
he felt sure the Society would in due time take full
advantage of both.

LIVERPOOL HORTICULTURAL.

The fifteenth annual dinner and social evening was
held at the "Bear's Paw" Restaurant ou Saturday
evening last. Mr. Henry Middlehurst presided over
an attendance of about 150 members and friends, and
was supported by Mr. A. W. Ker, Mr. T. Foster, Chair-
man of the Association, and Mr. Harold Sadler, Secre-
tary. Amongst others noticed were Messrs. Webster
(T. Davies & Co., Wavertree), Rowland Bros., West
Derby ; Charles A. Young, West Derby ; B. W. Ker,
F. Ker, H. Ranger, King, &c. (R. P. Ker & Sons), Aig-
burth) ; J. Finnigan (H. Middlehurst's), Mr. Guttridge
(Wavertree Botanical Gardens), and a largejiumber of
the trade.

The dinner was admirably served, the usual loyal
toasts following. The Chairman in proposing the toast
of " Horticulture," dwelt on its progress, and espe-
cially on the capital work being promoted in the Liver-
pool district by the Parks and Gardens Committee,
and by the Liverpool Horticultural Association. In
responding for the latter Soeiety.Mr.Foster spoke in the
most hopeful terms, stating that things financial were in
a much better condition — a remark that met with great
applause from those present, and rightly so, for the
work that has been done by the Association has, and
does still appeal to gardeners throughout the kingdom.

Messrs. Ker & Sons decorated the room most lavishly,
and to them and to Mr. Middlehurst the thanks of all
present was due for other necessaries which go to
make up an evening's enjoyment. Orchid.

DEVON AND EXETER GARDENERS'.

Tue subject under treatment at the opening meeting
of the session was " Chemical Manures, and their
action on Bush and other Fruits, including Tomatos,
Grapes, &c."

The lecturer for the evening was Mr. F. W. E.
SHRivELL.of Tonbridge. He contended that in gardens
there was generally too much stable-dung used, and
too little, if any chemical manures ; and that very much
better results were attained by using a smaller quan-
tity of dung, and adding chemical manures at the right
time. For Currants, Raspberries, Gooseberries, &?.,
the quantities recommended per 100 square yards, sown
broadcast, were 10 lb. superphosphate of lime and 101b.
of kainit, applied separately during the late autumn or
winter, and, early in spring 7 to 10 lb. nitrate of soda.
To this might be added 25 loads of dung per acre, and
this would form a liberal manuring for any ordinary
garden soil. He qualified this advice as regards
Strawberries, for experience had taught him that they
did not like potash (kainit). For Cuoumbers, he
recommended applying once or twice a week a solution
of 1 ounce of nitrate of soda to a gallon of water. For
Chrysanthemums, half an ounce of nitrate of soda to a
gallon of water was stroDg enough.

He gave a prescription for Vines which had proved
to be a good one. It was : to each Vine, j oz. of sul-
phate of potash, 2 oz. superphosphate of lime, and
3S oz. nitrate of soda, to be applied at intervals, and in
the order given.

An interesting conversation followed on the results
attained by sonie of the members, who had been
treating crops in the way recommended by Mr. Shrivell
in former lectures to this Society, showing that the
advice then given, and since acted on, had yielded
the most favourable results.

The prize for the best three Onions shown at the
meeting was awarded to Mr. W. R. Baker, gr. to Lady
Duckworth, Knightleys, the specimens staged being
Cranston's Excelsior, the three bulbs weighing 5.', lbs.
A. II.

MANCHESTER AND NORTH OP
ENGLAND ORCHID.

January 9.- There was a capital display of plants at
the meeting held on this date. R. Ashworth, Esq.,
Ncwehurch, exhibited a large number of Odontoglos-
sums, some choice varieties of O. crispum and natural
hybrids being noticeable. O. crispum var. Pcctcrsii
is a charming Bower, but as shown it lacked size,
and the Committee requested that the plant be shown
again. O. x "Lady Primrose" is what some folk would

call O. sulphureum, a very nice lemon-yellow coloured
flower, which received an Award of Merit. A form of
O. Wilckeauum received a similar Award, as did also
O. crispum var. Francisii O. crispum magnificum
received a First-class Certificate. Silver Medal for
group.

R. Tunstill, Esq., Burnley, received an Award of
Merit for Odontoglossum crispum var. Reedleyense, a
fine spotted variety.

Mrs. Gratrix exhibited a natural hybrid Cypri-
pedium between C. insigno x C. villosum.

S. Gratrix, Esq., Whalley Lodge, staged a large
number of choice plants, of which the following were
noticed by the Committee. Cypripedium x Eurades
"West Point var.," First-class Certificate ; C. x Mons.
de Carte, First-class Certificate; C. x Lathamianuin
giganteum (a very noble variety), Award of Merit ; C. x
nitens superbum Gratrix's var., Award of Merit;
Cattleya Percivaliana West Point var.. Award of Merit.

A. Warburton, Esq., Haslingden, exhibited a well
flowered plant of Odontoglossum xelegans "Todd's var."

O. O. Wrigley, Esq., Bury, as usual staged a fine lot
of Cypripedes, a First-class Certificate going to C. x
Mons.de Carte; while Awards of Merit were voted to
C. x Lathamianum Bridge Hall var., C. x aureum var.
Rogersii, and Cattleya Trianfei var. " Smiling Morn," a
fine bold flower. Silver Medal for group.

Mr. K. Johnson exhibited Cypripediumxgiganteum
a well-named hybrid between C. Lawrenceanum x C
Sallieri var. Hyeanum (Award of Merit).

W, Thompson, Esq., Stone, had a few good plants, a
First-class Certificate going to Cypripedium x Stevensii,
a lovely hybrid between C. Calypso x C. x Albert Hye ;
it partakes freely of the former parent, and is a well-
balanced flower, of rather large size. The same exhi-
bitor received Awards of Merit for Odontoglossum
crispum var. giganteum, Lcelio-Cattleya x Charles-
worthi (L. cinnabarinaxC. aurea), one of the best and
brightest of this section yet seen in Manchester ; and
Cypripediumx" Christopher" (C. Leeanum giganteum
X C. X Actseus).

W. Bolton, Esq., Warrington, exhibited a peculiar
form of Cypripedium x Ceres.

E. Rogehson, Esq., Didsbury, received an Award of
Merit for Cypripedium x " Ririos."

Messrs. F. Sander & Co. staged a number of good
hybrid Cypripedes, none of which however came under
the Committee's notice.

John Cowan & Co., Gateacre, staged a few good
Odontoglossums, and received an Award of Merit for
O. Wilckeanum var. albens.

Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Enfield, received Awards
of Merit for Cypripedium X Euryadcs "Gow's var.,"
and for a hybrid between C. eallosum x C. Charles-
worthi, very rich in colour (Bronze Medal for group).
P. W.

THE GARDENERS' ROYAL BENE-
VOLENT INSTITUTION.

ANNUAL MEETING AND ELECTION OF
PENSIONERS.
January 23.— While these pages are passing through
the press, the supporters of this excellent Institution
are assembled for the purpose of holding a special
general meeting, followed by the sixty-third annual
general meeting. The meetings took place at "Simp-
son's," Strand, and were well attended. Mr. Harry
J. Veitch presided.

ALTERATIONS OF RULES.

At the special general meeting the chief business was
the consideration of the Committee's proposals in
respect to alterations and additions to the rules of the
Institution. These were as follows :—

That from and after the registration of the amend-
ments of the 5th and 10th Sub-sections of Rule III., the
sub-sections as they now stand be hereby repealed, and
the following rule substituted :

"All candidates eligible under Rule III., Sub-sec-
tion 2, who have been annual subscribers, or the
widows of such, shall be entitled to receive a certain
number of votes in proportion to the number of years
they have subscribed, that is to say :

" For each guinea subscribed for each year 100 votes,
and in like manner the votes to bo increased for each
additional guinea per year subscribed.

All candidates who are or may become Life Members
on payment of 10 Guineas, and who are eligible under
the same Rule and Sub-section, or the widows of such,
shall be entitled to receive 100 votes for each year of
Life Membership, but such lOO votes per year shall not
continue to be given for more than 10 years, being 1,000
votes for the 10 Guineas, and by payment of 20 G iiineas
be entitled to 200 votes per year not exceeding lo years,
being 2,000 votes for the 2" Guineas, and soon in pro-
portion, but subject nevertheless to such other rules
as apply to the election of pensioners.

Rule III., Sub-section 8.— After "total incapacity
in secpnd line, insert the words " through acci-
dent or Incurable disease." After " incapacity "

in fifth line, insert the words " from work at
any age." After the word " certificate " in sixth
line, insert the words "such certificate to bo
given when required by the Committee of the
Institution by a Medical Officer to be appointed
by them."

Rule III., Sub-section 11.— Substitute the words
"List of Candidates " for " Pension List " in the
sixth line.

Rule IV., Sub-section 2.— Strike out the words " one
vote for each vacancy" in third, fourth, and
seventh lines, and insert the words "five
votes."

Rule IV., Sub-section 3.— Strike out the words " one
vote for each Pensioner to be elected" in
fourth and fifth lines, and insert the words
" five votes at all elections of Pensioners."

Rule XIII., Sub-section 1.— Strike out the words
"All Life Subscriptions received from those
Members who may become eligible as Pen-
sioners under Rule III., Sub-section 2 and."

Add the following New Rule :—
Rule III., Sub-section 10.— "After each election the
Committee may if they flunk fit award Pensions
to not more than two of the remaining un-
successful candidates."

The Chairman and honorary Solicitor explained the
reasons that led the Committee to recommend the
alterations, which were supported by Messrs. Arthur
Sutton, Geo. Monro, Owen Thomas, George Wythes,
Peter Veitch, Ac. The first amendment to Rule III.
caused a little discussion, but was ultimately carried
with but two dissentients. The other amendments
were adopted unanimously.

The Annual Report, &c.

Mr. Harry J. Veitch opened the proceedings of the
annual general meeting at 3 p.m. The report and
balance-sheet of the Institution (as audited) for the
year 1901, were adopted with general satisfaction.
Officers were elected for the forthcoming year, and
other routine business was done.

The Committee recommended that there be twenty
new pensioners added to the fund, but in consequence
of-

Bamard, John, Cheltenham, aged 64, life member for
twenty-five years ; Briggs, Alfred G., Reigate, aged 68,
annual subscriber for fifteen years; Collins, John,
Bristol, aged 59, annual subscriber for eighteen years,
totally incapacitated through incurable disease ; Dean,
Emily E., Oxtcd, aged 61, widow, late husband annual
subscriber and life member for twenty years ; Derri-
cutt, John, Penrith, aged 66, annual subscriber and life
member for seventeen years ; Gray, Mary A., Dorking,
aged 6b, widow, late husband life member for seventeen
years ; Harris, William, Bromley, aged 79, annual
subscriber and life member for twenty-nine years ;
Long, William, Bristol, aged 67, annual subscriber for
twenty years; Morris, Samuel, Burlcy, aged 67, annual
subscriber for fourteen years and life member for
twenty years ; Mundcll, John C, Ryde, aged 67, annua]
subscriber for twenty-one years ; Sandford, Charles.
Luton, aged 70, annual subscriber for twenty-four
years ; Taylor, Matilda, Worcester, aged 70, widow,
late husband annual subscriber for twenty-five years;
being in distressed circumstances, and having in every
way complied with the regulations, the Committee,
after investigation and careful consideration in each
case, recommended that these twelve applicants be
placed on the funds without election, in accordance
with the present rules, and the recommendation was
adopted.

The Committee also reported that during the year
1901, the following widows of pensioners have been
placed on the funds without election, in accordance
with Rule III. 13. Ffoulkes, Eliza, aged 27. Newcastle,
Staff.; Parsons, Eliza, aged 79, Lewisham; Perkins,
Mary, aged 81, Exeter.

Elected Candidates.
An election for the remaining eight vacancies was
then proceeded with, and the result is as follows :—

EDWIN ATKINS 173'. Votes.

JOHN WILDER 4136

RICHARD HUNT 3917

SAMUEL BUCKS 3677 .,

WILLIAM 11ERRINGTON ... 8203

GEORGE MARLOW 2922

ELIZA WIG11TON 2872

ELISABETH BAXTER 2711

There were twenty-live unsuccessful cai did n
In the evening the Annual Friendly Supper took
place also at " Simpsons."

G8

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

[January 25, 1902.

-Jtr V
CoTmjpord&nU

Ants in Hot-houses : G. E. S. These pest? of
the gai'ilener can be annihilated by using
the Ballikinrain Ant Destroyer, sold by
Alexander Cross & Sons, Ltd., 19, Hope
Street, Glasgow, who can, owing to the
operation of the Pharmacy Act, only sell in
bulk, which may mean in the case of this
article in quantities of 1 gallon.
Apple Shoots : W. T. Affected by Nectria
ditissiroa ; cut out affected branches and
burn them. Spray the young shoots with
Bordeaux Mixture.
Books: H. P. and W. H. Peach Culture. Mr.
Upcott Gill, BaeaarOf&ee, 170, Strand, W.C.,
published a useful little manual on this sub-
ject, from the pen of the late D. T. Fish, which
may still be procurable, though it is twenty
years since it saw the light. — H. C. Mr. J.
Douglas, Edenside, Great Bookham, Surrey,
publishes a manual on the Carnation ; and
another on the Chrysanthemum may be
obtained from Mr. E. Molyneux, Swanmore
Park, Bishops Waltham. — Gardening in the
Tropics : R. B. A useful book for a resi-
dent in New Guinea is Tropical Gardening in
British Guiana, by John F. Waby, published
by J. Thomson, Argosy Press, Demerara.
The author, a gardener, was for many years
a resident in Trinidad and Guiana.
Caustic Soda-Wash and Plum-treks : T. S. If
employed at the strength given, and in the
manner advised, it is harmless to the buds so
long as these are closed, but it should not be
applied after there are signs of a renewal of
growth. The safest period yet remaining
would not extend beyond February 14 in
parts of the country south of the Humber.
Correction : In Mr. Worsley's article, for
fulvous read pulvous; used as a synonym for
pulverulent = dusty.
Dendrobiums and Odontoglossums Denuded
of their Flowers: 8. W; To remove the
whole of the flowers before or as soon as
they open would have the effect of impart-
ing vigour to the plants, other things being
equal ; and if the plants are not flourishing,
the effects are sure to lead to finer flowering
and stronger growth the year afterwards.
Earthworms and Subsoils: Weekly Reader.
Earthworms are not found in pure sand,
swampy, or bog-earth, and not in any great
number in hard, dry peat, resting on sterile
gravel and sand ; but in almost all other
kinds of soils they exist in enormous
numbers.
Fusicladium : H. A. Bolt. We cannot tell you
which particular Fusicladium is meant by
your Australian correspondent ; probably it
is F. dendriticum, which causes black patches
of rust on the leaves and fruits of the Apple,
killing the rind of the latter, causing it to
crack. It is very commoa in this country.
Gardeners Advertising in Canadian and
U.S.A. Gardening Journals: C. F. You
might advertise in the Canadian Horticul-
turist, published at Grimsby, Ontario; the
American Florist, 324, Dearborn Street,
Chicago; American Gardening, 136, Liberty
Street, New York ; and Florists' Review,
520 to 535, Caxton Buildings, Chicago.
How to Mix Tar and Clay for Dressing Vim:-; :
J. B. The clay, which should be free from
stones, should be dried, and then pulverised,
added as powder to the tar, and well mixed
together, water being afterwards added to
bring it to the desired consistency.
Medium for Advertisements : B.Wulj. Cape
of Good Hope Agricultural Journal (official),
and Cape Times.
Melons in a Peach-house : H. P. The tem-
peratures suitable for Peach-forcing are too
low. generally by 10°, for successful Melon-
growing ; besides, the means of affording
bottom-heat are lacking, and that is the
chief point.

Mushrooms failing to Grow satisfactorily :
G. P. 8. The cellar seems a suitable place,
but wo incline to the belief that the tem-
perature is kept too high ; 58° to 00° is suffi-
ciently warm at any season. The soil with
which the bed is covered is not one calcu-
lated to produce good, fleshy, solid Mush-
rooms, and you should substitute a heavier
one, or mix strong loam with that you
are accustomed to employ. The beds must
be made up of sufficient thickness — say, 2
feet — so as to be capable of retaining the
inner warmth for two months, hence the
stable-manure must be heated in a heap,
which should be opened and turned and
mixed together twice before it is made up
into a bed. The bed must be put together
piece-meal fashion and made firm as it rises.
Spawn at 98°, and soil down soon afterwards.
When the heat shows no signs of rising
higher, cover the bed with mats and litter
to conserve its warmth. Buy Mushrooms
for the Million, by Mr. J. Wright, at the
office of the Journal of Horticulture, Wine
Office Chambers, Mitre Court, Fleet Street.

Names of Fruits : C. H. F. Your package,
apparently posted on the 15th inst., only
reached us on the 22nd inst., and without
the label. The fruits are over-ripe, but
No. 1 is clearly Glout Morccaux, and No. 4
probably a small fruit of Ne Plus Meuris.

Names of Plants : Mrs. Boss. Cypripediumx
Measuresianum (venustum x villosum). —
A. E. W. 1, Adiantum capillus-veneris Ma-
riesii ; 2, Adiantum Pacoti; 3, Adiantum
cuneatum dissectum ; 4, Adiantum excisum ;
5, Onychium japonicum; G, Adiantum con-
cinnum latum, or a garden form of it. — J. R.
A variety of Linden's Hsemanthus mirabilis.
— Gen. L.Smith. The Cowslip Creeper of
India is Pergularia odoratissima.

Orchid Insects : W. H. D. The grub in the
young shoot of Cattleya is that of a species
of beetle not much unlike the grub of the
Dendrobium-beetle (Xyleborus perforatus),
but it is not apparently of this species. The
spider got smashed in transit, and cannot be
determined ; it is quite harmless, however,
and has nothing whatever to do with the
presence of grubs in the Orchids. Your
only remedy is to remove the grubs with the
diseased shoots and destroy them. If you
could send us one perfect beetle, we might
be able to identify it for you.

Removal of Vine Bark : A. H. So long as
only the rough outside loose bark is re-
moved no harm is done, but the living bark
below must not be disturbed.

Scale on Palm-leaves : C. B. Ischnaspis fili-
formis, the " blackthread scale" of Mr.
Douglas (see Mr. Newstead's volume on
Coccidae, mentioned in our present issue,
PI. xxvii., figs. 1 to 9, p. 210).

Springy Turf and Leaf -mould: Weekly
Reader. Leaf-mould alone, or even when
present in considerable proportion in the
staple, does not tend to the making of a good
lawn. The "good, sound, springy turf,"
concerning which you ask our advice, is due,
when it is not caused by the growth of much
moss among the grasses, to a very long-con-
tinued course of careful cultivation ; to
frequent top-dressings of manure, of soil,
wood-ashes, &c, which by slow degrees
raise the original level of the lawn, and
bring about a vertical thickening of the
mass of roots of the grasses and other
herbage. Doubtless, much of the glass in
old parks and gardens (the individual plants)
is far older than the ancient Oaks and Chest-
nuts standing around. The mowing-machine,
by its weight, is ruining the springy turf of
our old gardens, and in other ways spoiling
them. The most pleasant lawns upon which
to walk are not those that are much rolled
or machine-cut, or on which crowds of per-
sons assemble, though this last, being at in-
tervals only is not so detrimental ; but those
which contain quantities of the finestgrasses,
a large proportion of Trifolium repens and T.
minus, and no coarse-growing species of

grasses, Plantains, Sow Thistles, Yarrow,
Daisies, &c. We would not advise the use
of a layer of coal-ashes under the turf, ex-
cepting for a lawn-tennis court, where a
rapidly-drying surface may be a desirable
object, as the ashes would have the effect of
neutralising the action of the worms in
bringing the subsoil to the. surface in the
form of excreta, but only for a time, for
they would certainly burrow through it.
If the land is wet, let it be well drained
with tile and rubble drains combined,
always the best kind of drain where trees
exist, putting them in at 3 to 4 feet deep
and 25 feet asunder, following the line of
the slope if there be any. If there is an
average thickness of soil of an ordinary
kind, say, of light or heavy loam, or of
marl or chalky clay or loam, let this be
trenched or deeply dug ; and if poor, manured
with stable or farmyard dung. The staple,
if it can be retained, is to be preferred to any
artificial mixture. As regards your inquiry
as to the use of lime or ferruginous sand as
top-dressings, the former would benefit the
grasses if the land is lacking in lime. It
should be slaked before using, and preferably
mixed with clean loam, and not with road-
scrapings and ditch cleansings, although
these may do as dressings for arable land,
but they contain too many undesirable weed-
seeds to fit them as dressings for a lawn.
The sand would do no good. Unless an exces-
sive quantity of manure is dug in before a
lawn is made, it will not cause unsteadiness.
It is not a good practice to lay a race-course
up for hay. Sheep penning with roots and
cake afforded in the early part of the
season, and simple sheep grazing at other
seasons are to be preferred.

Sleepers of West Australian Railways : C.
These are constructed of "Karri" and of
" Jarrah." Karri is yielded by Eucalyptus
diversicolor, Jarrah by E. marginata. See
Von Mueller's Eucalyptographia. M.

The Use of Clay Vine Dressings : A. H. It
has two valuable uses : it gives an adhering
and smothering character to the dressing of
which it forms part, killing insects by pre-
venting respiration; and it is a vehicle for
the retention of pungent odours, as when it
is used in conjunction with gas-tar. Wheu
used along with sulphur, lime, and soft-soap,
as a dressing on Peach-trees infested with
scale-insects, its value lies chiefly in its
adhesive smothering nature ; and when it at
length falls off or is removed by the syringe,
the scale being dead comes away with it,
and the bark is left clean and bright.

XL-All Liquid as a Vine Dressing : A. H. We
have no experience of the liquid, and should
be glad to have that of any gardeners who
have used it against mealy-bug, scale, &c,
on the Grape-vine. There is no infallible
antidote for insect pests, but the gardener
must be ever up and doing.

Communications Received. — J. V., Oaklands, Cali-
fornia, with photograph, many thanks— G. M. W. —
T. H. S., photograph, many thanks— Gen. L. G.—
W. B. R.— E. H. J. -J. O'B.— A. W— W. E. G.— Dr.
Franceschi, California — M. Durand, Brussels—
de B. C— E. C— W. C— A. W .— C. J. Yes, please ; we
will look at it— Gen. Lucie-Smith— E. II. J.— H. S. W.
— T L., del Monte, California— E. W. C— G. Wassell—
F. P.— W. M.--W. R — A. W. B.— J. D. A.— B. S. G —
E J.— J. W.— W. H. C— T. H. S— E. C— Jas. D.—
Harrison Weir— W. J. C— J. O'B— Dr. Bonavia—
W. H. D— A. H.— Rev. H. F.— H. M.— J. M— T. H.—
J. I.— Mac— E. T— E. B.— C. G. G., Altrincham.— H. C.
—P. M.— C. P.— Case Bros.

Continued Increase in the Circulation of the
"GARDENERS' CHRONICLE."
MPORTANT TO ADVERTISERS. — The Publisher has
the satisfaction of announcing that the circulation of the
" Gardeners' Chronicle " has, since the reduction in the
price of the paper, more than

*S- TREBLED. -©»

Advertisers are reminded that the "Chronicle" circulates
among Country Gentlemen, and all Classes of
Gardeners and Garden-lovers at home, that it has
a specially large Foreign and Colonial Circula-
tion, and that it is preserved for reference in all the
principal Libraries.

(For Markets and Weather, see p. x.)

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February 1, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

69

THE

No. 788.— SATURDAY, FEB. 1, 1902.

CONTENTS.

88

86

Bachelor's Button
Benevolentlnstitution,
Gardeners' Royal ...
Hooks, notices of —
Index Kewensis(Sup-

plement) 79

Lindenia SO

Monographe derGat-
tung iSorbus (Re-
view of genusSorbus) 72

Various 79, 80

BueuosAyres 71

California, notes from 73
Cinerarias in the open

ground 72

CypripediumxMrs. W.

Mostyn 75

Dean, Mr. R., the testi-
monial to 79

Dunn Memorial Fund,

the 83

Florist's flowers ... 70
Hardy plants, improve-
ments In

Lielia anceps Chamber-
■lainiana

72

71

Law notes 83

Lilies 74

Middlesex County
school of horticul-
ture 79

North, a visit to the ... 81

Obituary-
Bennett, A. W.
Syme, David ...

85
85

70

Orchid notes

Orchids, the back
bulbs of 83

Peas, the use of nitro-
genous manures for 78, 84

Poisons, sale of, for in-
dustrial purposes ...

Presentation to Mr.
Wright

Rumphius, bicente-
nary of the death
of

Santa Barbara

Societies 79-87

Streptosolen Jamesoni 84

Week's work, the ... 78

80

80

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Agave recurvata in flower at Santa Barbara, Cali-
fornia (Supplement).

Cypripedium x Mrs. W. Mostyn 75

Ltelia anceps Chamberlainiana 71

View of gardener's house at Dalkeith 81

WHAT IS THE BACHELOR'S
BUTTON ?

MOST people would say, and without
hesitation, the double-flowering Ra-
nunculus acris, and it might be a surprise
to them to be assured that this plant is only
one of the many that at some time or other
has had that quaint designation bestowed
upon it. [See Britten and Holland, Dic-
tionary of Plant Names, 1886]. Still greater
would be their surprise if it could be shown
that this double Buttercup possesses a very
slight claim to the name, a claim depend-
ing almost entirely on its being so desig-
nated by the compiler of The Neiu Herbal
in 1578, and after a lengthened abeyance,
in having its claims revived in these latter
days. The name with its meaning has
become somewhat involved, so, in order to
add to the lucidity of what follows, it will
be necessary to pursue it down the cen-
turies, but in the pursuit I shall endeavour
to be as rapid as possible, and therefore
brief ; first explaining, however, that " Bache-
lor's Buttons " very frequently occur in Gar-
den Literature, and most often as a name
complete in itself.

Exactly twenty-one years after the date
above-mentioned, Gerarde in The Herball,
that chattiest of books, tells us that the
double form of Ranunculus bulbosus " is
called generally about London Batchelours
Buttons.'' This plant has become very
scarce, but the single form is not uncommon
as a weed. The root, from its shape, has
been called St. Anthony's Turnip, and
possesses a sap so acrid, that for centuries
it has been chosen by able-bodied beggars
as the best medium to apply to leg or arm
to produce those horrible blisters that
appeal so strongly to the simple-minded.
GerardealsoaddsR.aconitifolius fl. -pi., grown
in gardens commonly as " Fair Maid of
France," though erroneously, the single-
flowered form being the "Fair Maid." It is

she who figures with "Cockle-shells and
Silver Bells" in Mistress Mary's Garden.
Johnson, in the 1633 edition of Gerarde, intro-
duces the double red and the double white
Campion, as well as a sort with greenish
flowers, as Bachelor's Buttons, and says, no
doubt in all sincerity — " The similitude that
these floures have to the jagged cloath-
buttons anciently worne in this kingdome
gave occasion to our gentlewomen and other
lovers of floures in these times to call them
Batcheloure Buttons." Johnson's reason
has, consciously or unconsciously, appealed
to most 'people since as one worthy of all
acceptation.

Four years previously, John Parkinson,
that ever delightful writer on flowers,
admits into his Garden of Pleasant Flowers
two plants which he calls Bachelor's Buttons,
the one Ranunculus bulbosus, and the other
the double Mock Marigold; while in his
Theatricum Botanicum, the double white
Campion receives that designation. Then
there elapsed the wide space of a hundred
years, when Centaurea montana was added to
the number; and during the succeeding
hundred years several more plants acquired
the name, e.g., the common red and white
Campion, so pretty and sweet during sum-
mer in open woods; the double Ragged
Robin, double Sneezewort (Achillea ptar-
mica fl.-pl.), while Ranunculus acris re-
appears after its long eclipse.

During last century nothing novel con-
cerning the plant appeared in gardening
books, but the unremitting attention be-
stowed on folk-lore in all its branches has
brought to light several plants not hitherto
known to have been called Bachelor's
Buttons. Thus in Devonshire and in South-
west Scotland there is the Burdock ; in
Wilts and Somerset, Scabiosa sucissa ; in
various districts in the South-west of
England, Feverfew; the leaves of Navel-
wort ; Herb Robert, which is called " little
Bachelor's Buttons"; and Knapweed, or
Centaurea Jacea. Daisies and Pompon
Chrysanthemums have also been thus
named, so that no fewer than twenty plants
aspire to a designation at first sight so
meaningless. I have already quoted a
reason for the name, and it is only fair
to say there are other Buttons with
distinctive appellations, instances of which
are Barbary Buttons, Cockle Buttons,
and Soldiers' Buttons. It is therefore no
ways singular that there should be a Ba-
chelor's Button, though strange that so many
plants should bear the name. Johnson has
supplied a reason, but an incomplete one.
Numerous instances occur of writers of the
Shakesperian era using the word, with which
it may be assumed Johnson was acquainted.
A few are as follows: "I'll weare my bache-
lor's buttons still," says one. " He weares
bachelor's buttons does he not?" queries
another. "I am a bachelor," asserts one
swain, " I pray you let me be one of your
buttons still then ;" and, " Here's my husband
and no bachelor's buttons are at his dou-
blet," exclaims a wife. Unfortunately in
most cases the Bachelor's Buttons are men-
tioned along with that redundancy of inde-
licate allusion which is so marked a feature
of the period. Shakespeare himself alludes
to the same custom in Merry Wires, where
Mine Host of The Garterdeclares his belief in
the ultimate success of Fenton in his pursuit
of Anne Page, because, with other pregnant
signs, "'tis in his buttons." It is clear

that, whatever the flower, it must have
been carried openly, because in one in-
stance they are mentioned as having been
carried in the doublet. Girls also are said
to have carried them under their aprons.
One of the numerous commentators of
Shakespeare in the eighteenth century,
when his every word was analysed and criti-
cised, put the question in a new light.
Alluding to the remark, "'tis in his buttons,"
he observes, " It was an old custom among
the country fellows of trying whether they
should succeed with their mistresses, by
carrying the Bachelor's Buttons (a plant of
the Lychnis kind, whose flower resembles a
coat-button) in their pockets, and they
judged of their good or bad success by their
growing or their not growing there." From
what we know of the flowers of any Lychnis,
we should expect nothing but "bad success"
to follow a trial of this kind. But the quota-
tion is interesting as showing that bachelor's
desirous of assuming the role of Benedict,
the married man, did resort to a mild sort of
necromancy, in which the Bachelor's Button
played an important part. The custom
hinted at above existed till quite a late
period in some parts of the West of England,
and earlier it would almost certainly extend
to many parts of Great Britain. Flowers
were without a doubt cut off the living plant,
and placed in the pocket with an expecta-
tion that growth would follow ; but it re-
quires but a slight knowledge of our native,
flora to be aware that only plants like the
Burdock and Knapweed are capable of pro-
ducing florets after the flowers have been
decapitated. The method used in the South-
west of England consisted in selecting three
forward buds of Knapweed, out of which the
florets were extracted. The empty " buttons"
were then placed in the pocket of the person
interested, and removed at a set time, the
growth of florets meanwhile indicating a
result favourable to his desires, non-growth
the opposite.

It is an interesting fact that a somewhat
similar custom existed in Scotland, but the
plant in this case was called a carl-doddie,
the florets being stripped off, and as girls
only used this charm, they named each of
the three flower-heads after one of their
male friends. Placing the carl-doddies
together in her left shoe, the experimenter
then placed the latter under her pillow and
slept on it for a night : the flower-head that
made growth showing the man who should
many her. The word, it may be briefly
explained, is "carl," a man, and "doddie,"
any living thing with a smooth head — as,
for instance, a cow without horns is a
" doddie." Perhaps a " cropt man " may
be a good English equivalent. By all
good writers who know Scots' " Plantago
lanceolata" it is thought to be the "carl-
doddie," butLilium pomponium, curled Kale,
White and Red Clover, and by Scott in Border
Minstrelsy a " marsh " plant, have been
named. The word is a very old one. I
have seen it in a manuscript note of a
contemporary date in Lyte's Herbal, where
Scabiosa, in which Centaurea Jacea is
included, are indicated as carl-doddies.
It is not without interest that the same plant
used by a male to afford him knowledge
in his wooing, and called Bachelor's Buttons,
should also be called carl-doddie, a plant
which was used for exactly the same pur-
pose, and in nearly the same manner, by the
opposite sex. B.

70'

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE:

[February 1, 1902.

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

L>®LIO-CATTLEYA x BOWRIALBIDA.
The issue of American Gardening, January 4,
1902, records the production of this interesting
hybrid between Cattleya Bowringiana and
Laelia albida, raised and flowered by Mr. E. O.
Orpet, of South Lancaster, Mass. The plant,
which is stated to*be intermediate in character
between the parents, has pseudo-bulbs resem-
bling those of L. albida, but much more
elongated. The flowers are larger than those
of L. albida, and of a delicate lilac-red colour ;
the lip bordered with a deeper shade of the
same colour. Its flowers are at present sparsely
produced on peduncles 9 inches in length,
but when the plant has gained strength the
size and number of its flowers will doubtless
improve.

Zygopetalum Murrayanum.
This rare Brazilian species has recently
flowered in the Orchid-houses of J. Wilson
Potter, Esq., Elmwood, Park Hill Road,
Croydon. The habit of the plant is similar to
that of Zygopetalum crinitum, and the in-
florescence is erect as in that species. The
flowers, which measure 1J inch across, com-
mence within 2 inches or so of the base of the
spike. The sepals and petals are of a pea-
green tinge; the lip is white, and furnished
with a few purple linos at the base. The plant
thrives in the Cattleya-house, and appears to
be very free-growing, and an easy one to
flower. It was figured in the Bot. Mag.,
t. 3674. It flowered also in the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Glasnevin, in January, 1900.

L.elio-Cattleya x Lucy Ingram.
This beautiful winter-flowering hybrid be-
tween L. purpurata and L. Perrini, raised by
Mr. T. W. Bond, gr. to C. L. N. Ingram, Esq.,
Elstead House, Godalrning, is again in flower
there. Its flowers are like those of a good
Laelia purpurata, but with alabellum of the beau-
tiful colour andformof that of L. Perrini, though
much larger. The flower expands to a width
of 7 inches ; the sepals and petals are white,
the former tinged and the latter veined with
rose. The lip in the tube is white, and the
fronts of the side lobe and the middle lobe of a
rich claret-purple. It is interesting to note
the alteration in the time of flowering made by
hybridising. In the case of the Laelia Perrini
varieties (not hybrids), the certificated plants'
have been shown from the first week in
October to the first week in November ; the
numerous varieties of Laelia purpurata in May
and June, with the single exception of L. p.
Mrs. R. I. Measures, which was shown in
October. The hybrid between the two, L. x
Lucy Ingram, received an Award of Merit on
January 12, 1897, and it has since regularly
flowered in the month of January. The many
beautiful hybrid Laelio-Cattleyas raised by
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons also follow the same
rule, i.e., by crossing Laelia Perrini with
earlier flowering species, the time of flowering
of the progeny comes later, that is more in
the depth of winter than that of L. Perrini,
although the time of flowering of that species
forms the basis. The result is much the same
in the crosses obtained from the late flowering
Cattleya labiata, the hybrids flowering in the
middle of November. Laelia x Pilcheriana
(crispa x Perrini), however, is spring-flower-
ing, probably because the seed-bearer was the
summer-flowering L. crispa.

Cattleya x Viceroy (labiata x Brymeriana).
This somewhat showy hybrid, raised by
Messrs. F. Sander & Co., has flowered simul-
taneously with Sir James Miller, Bart, (gr.,
Mr. J. Hamilton), and Sir Frederick Wigan,

Bart. The flower, which is nearly equal in
size to an ordinary Cattleya labiata, but with
a much firmer substance, gives stronger
indications of that species than of C. x Bry-
meriana. But examination of the lip with the
side lobes turned back clearly discloses traces
of both C. superba and C. Eldorado, the
parents of C. x Brymeriana, in the orange
coloured base with a band of dark reddish-
purple extending up the middle, and merging
into the bright crimson-purple front lobe. The
sepals are creamy-white, tinged with rosy-lilac ;
the petals rosy-lilac, with a more purple shade
on the veining. The lip, which calls to mind
that of Cattleya Percivaliana, is yellow at the
base, with a red-purple band up the middle.
The front of the lip is bright crimson-purple,
with a narrow rose margin.

MlLTONIA ROEZLII VARIETIES.

This fine species, which many fail to grow
successfully, thrives admirably in the collec-
tion of Sir Frederick Wigan, Bart., Clare Lawn,
East Sheen (gr., Mr. W. H. Young), in a house
kept at an even degree of warmth. That these
varieties do thrive is indicated by the fact of
the flowers having improved each year. At
the present time some individuals of an im-
portation received in 1896 are in flower, some
of which are of extraordinary size and colour ;
while all of them are larger than the average.
The best form of 51. Roezlii alba has flowers
over 4 inches each way, thus forming an
almost perfect circle. The petals are 1} inch
wide, and the lip 2J inches ; the whole flower
pure white, with a yellow disc with orange
lines at the base of the lip. The coloured
variety is nearly as large, the colour being
the same tint, with a large claret-purple
blotch at the base of each petal. Both are
very fragrant. J. O'B.

FLORISTS' FLOWERS.

WINTER-FLOWERING CARNATIONS.

Those plants which flowered in autumn and
mid-winter are now producing numerous side-
shoots suitable for the making of cuttings, and
the propagation of plants to flower next
autumn should not be delayed. The shoots
should measure 4 inches in length, and should
not be very soft. Place the cuttings in small
pots or shallow pans filled with a light, sandy
soil, and sink in the plunging-bed of a dung-
heated frame, and keep close and fairly moist,
admitting air daily in small quantities for
half-an-hour.

When the cuttings begin to grow, roots will
have already formed, and 'the cuttings may
soon afterwards be placed on a shelf near the
glass in an intermediate-house, and gradually
inured to the air and light. In a month, pot
them off singly in 60's, using a fairly light soil,
and replace the plants on the shelf and freely
ventilate the house on favourable occasions.
When the roots touch the sides of the pots,
shift them into 4^-inch pots, and keep them in
a house having a temperature of 55° to 60°, afford-
ing abundance of air as the season advances.
They may be grown in a lower temperature, but
growth will be slower, and to flower the plants
early in the autumn they must be kept freely
growing. A suitable compost for them after
the first potting consists of good turfy loam
three-quarters, leaf-mould one-quarter, to-
gether with a good addition of silver-sand or
mortar-rubble, and a small quantity of soot.
Ordinary manure should not be used, but a
suitable artificial fertiliser should be mixed
with the soil. After making a trial of several
manures, 1 find WilHs's " Carnation Manure "
gives the best results when used at the rate

of -J lb. tol bush, of the potting soil. When the
flower-buds begin to show, apply it in water at
the rate of 1 oz. to 1 gall, of water, stirring it
well beforeusing. Anapplicationof this manure
should be followed by one of clear water,
when the plants require water. This manure-
promotes a firm, sturdy growth, and the grass
assumes that glaucous hue characteristic of
robust health. During the summer, stand the
plants in an open jjosition on a bed of coal-
ashes ; lightly dew the foliage after a hot day,
but make provision for shielding them from
heavy rains in the autumn. To flower them
during the winter the plants should be placed
in a light, airy house near the glass, and
afforded a temperature of 55° to 60°, with
abundance of air at all times. Of the so-called
winter - flowering varieties there are many,
but kinds that may be relied upon to flower
well in mid-winter, may almost be counted
on the fingers of one hand. I have found none
to equal a variety named C. A. Dana, in colour
rose-pink, calyx perfect, with long stalks from
which blooms may always be gathered, while
the habit is all that can be desired ; it is an
effective colour under artificial light. Mrs.
Leopold Rothschild is a well-known capital
variety, but would be still more valued if it
was a better bloomer in the winter. Pride of
the Market is said to be the best pink-coloured
Carnation for winter flowering, and it is
certainly a very promising variety; in colour
a soft clear pink, calyx good, but subject to
rust. Pride of Exmouth is of a salmon-pink
tint, with a calyx which does not split, and it
possesses stiff stems. Queen of Pinks is of the
same tint as Dana, but the flower has lounder
petals, which have a little more substance; a
sturdy grower, and calyx that does not burst.

Of yellow-ground Carnations general ly there
are but few that are suitable for winter work,
and the best two that of which I know any-
thing are Jessie Godfrey, an improvement on
Lady Doreen Long. Lady Poltimore is another
variety that is of compact growth, has a good
calyx, and the blooms open well in the winter.
Of scarlets, Vicar of Exmouth is good ; Winter
Cheer is still hard to beat. W. Robinson is
good at times ; while Sir Redvers Buller, sent
out as the best scarlet for winter flowering,
has unfortunately not j>roved its worth with
me. Novel in colour is Lady Audrey Buller, a
satiny mauve, shaded with plum colour, and a
rather tall grower. A fine crimson is King
Edward VII., a good grower, nicely shaped
bloom, clove scented, and good calyx; this
should prove a good addition to this class
of whites. Flora Hill is free, and usually
affords some good flowers which are fragrant,
but the petals are flimsy, while it is too tall a
grower. Deutsche Brant is a very sweet-
scented flower, but it bursts badly, and is an
indifferent grower. A very promising white
is Mrs. S. J. Brookes, the blooms having
smooth, stout petals, a good calyx, while the
habit is as good as can be. Then there are
America, a very promising variety ; also Mrs.
T. W. Lawson, of sturdy habit, the blooms
opening well in the winter ; the stems are
long and strong, and the blooms of good size ;
the colour is very bright, particularly under
artificial light — it lacks refinement, but is
nevertheless an acquisition. There is yet
room for a good winter-flowering yellow Car-
nation. Primrose Day nor yet Duchess Con-
suelo can be said to be good for the purpose,
though they will at intervals furnish a few
nice flowers.

Forgiving support to the plants and flower-
stems there is nothing better than the coil
stakes, which are neat in appearance, of a
pleasant green hue, and very durable ; and
as the shoots can be placed in the coils
without any tying, there is a considerable
saving in labour. T. H. Slade.

February 1, 1902.]

UIE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

L^LIA ANCEPS CHAMBEB-
LAINIANA.

9ur illustration (fig. 27), which our artist
has, verified by measurement of the flower,
represents the finest form of what is known in
gardens as the " grandiflora " section of Lselia
anceps, which originated some years ago in
the gardens of the Right Honourable Joseph
Chamberlain, Highbury, Moor Green, Birming-
ham, from whose collection we have remarked

De B. Crawshay, Esq., Rosefield, Sevenoaks
(gr., Mr. Stables), at the Royal Horticultural
Society's meeting on January 14, when it was
awarded a First-class Certificate, and afforded
us the opportunity to obtain an illustration.

BUENOS AYBES.

THOUGH I was unable to land at Rio Janeiro
on my way to Chile, and so lost my chance of
visiting the celebrated Botanic Gardens there,

cities of Europe in the cleanliness of its streets,
the number and beauty of its public squares,
gardens, and boulevards, most of which have,
I believe, been planted by Mr. Thays.

I was surprised to find that though severa'
species of Palm grow well in this climate, the
Oriental Plane is the best shade tree in the
town, whilst outside it Australian trees, such
as Eucalypti and Casuarinas, grow so fast that
there are already many of 10 to 12 feet in cir-
cumference, and they are rapidly altering the

FIG. 27.— I..KI.I A ANCEPS (IIAMBKIo.AlNIANA.

on it on several occasions. It gives a striking
proof that extraordinary qualities of size and
colour are maintained, for it lias varied but
slightly in cither since its first appearance.
The sepals and petals are of a soft rosy-lilac
colour. The base and side lobes of I lie lip are
marked with purple lines, the middle lines
being continued by (he orange-coloured callus.
The front lobe of the lip is of a glowing
crimson-purple, and the whole flower of very
fine form and substance. It was shown by

1 was much pleased to find at Ihienos Ayres a
garden Which, though only tunned about six

years, has already a most interesting collec-
tion of plants, and, under I lie very able

management of Mr, Charles Thays, the director,

is likely to become one of the first in Smith
America. This gentleman appears to combine

scientific knowledge with good taste ami
judgment, and has been well supported by the
municipality of Buenos Ayres, a town which is
already far superior to many of the" capital

features of the country round Buenos Ayres,

Which has very lew indigenous trees.

The Botanic Garden, though not largo, is

nicely laid ..nt, and I he soil, nat urally sandy,
has been improved by the addition of much

Vegetable mould. Its principal feature is the

way in which the indigenous trees and shrubs

el the various provinces of Argentina, from the
subtropical regions of Tucuman, Catamaroa,

ami Missione, in the north, to the arid wastes
■Of Patagonia in the south, have lieen grouped

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 1, 1902.

in separate divisions. Besides this national
collection, there is a good selection of the
trees and shrubs of North America, Europe,
and Asia, arranged geographically, and a
considerable collection of plants and shrubs
arranged in their natural orders for the use
of botanical students. Among the trees
which struck me most by their beauty was
Tipuana speciosa, Benth., a very handsome
flowering tree from the north of Argentina,
which attains large dimensions. It has been
the subject of a special article by Mr. Thays in
the Revue HoHicole (1892, p. 462), and the
seeds have been freely distributed by him in
Algeria and the South of Europe, where it is
hardy. Juglans australis is a fine native Wal-
nut, which I had not previously seen, and
which would also be probably hardy in South
Europe. Another striking small tree or shrub
is Bocconia frutescens, which has very hand-
some pinnate leaves, so unlike those of Boc-
conia cordata that I could hardly believe it to
be congeneric.

Poinciana Gilliesii is oneof the characteristic
shrubs of the country, and seems to grow over
a large area, as I saw it in the pampas near
San Luis. Habenaria montevidensis is one of
the few terrestrial Orchids of the country, and
seems a very robust and free-growing plant.
Bromelia sceptrum is a striking plant, which
might be tried out-of-doors in the South of
England; as well as Dyckia aurantiaca, which
was new to me. Parkinson ia aeuleata is a very
pretty Argentine shrub that I do not remember
to have seen in Europe ; and Bauhinia ean-
dicans, Daubentonia Tripetii (Sesbania), and (I
will not be sure of this name, or of the next)
Pithecoctenium convolutum [?] are all deserv-
ing of cultivation in any situation not liable
to more than 6° to 8° of frost.

I saw among the Iridaceous plants two which
were new to me, and both were worth grow-
ing—Cypella Herberti, a bulb which I also
found wild near the town ; and Sisyrhyncium
convolutum, a robust, tufted herbaceous plant,
with good-sized yellow flowers, said to come
from Patagonia, and probably hardy in England.

Mr. Thays published a long list of seeds
which havejbeen grown in his garden, and
which is well worth consulting by those who
are interested in the native plants; and I
wish him every success in his labours, which
must greatly benefit his adopted country
H. J. Elwes.

CINERARIAS IN THE OPEN
BORDER.
It is not often one can see between 300 and
400 Cinerarias planted for flowering in the
open border, but having planted that number
last May, and enjoying the effect it has since
produced, it is quite evident to me that many
of our north wall borders can be made to pro-
duce an effect seldom seen, and quite different
from the usual style of border flower garden-
ing. The somewhat heavy appearance of the
Cinerarias was relieved by introducing Humea
elegans and Grevillea robusta in an irregular
manner about the border, these two contrast-
ing well with the foliage and habit of the
Cinerarias. The forms used were of the
florist's type, C, stellata and C. cruenta, and
by mixing them the flatness of the whole was
broken up ; C. cruenta being the tallest, C.
stellata of medium height, and the florist's
type the dwarfest. No special treatment of
the soil is called for beyond digging and
manuring. The seeds should be sown in pans
in January, and when the first rough leaf has
expanded they should be transferred singly
into small 60-sized pots, and placed on a shelf
in the greenhouse, or in a frame where they

get plenty of light and a fair amount of air.
The seedlings soon make sturdy little plants,
and in a few weeks are ready to be potted
into 48-size pots, from whence they are to be
planted out in the border. During the months
of March, April, and the beginning of May, no
place suits Cinerarias better than cold frames
or pits, where the minimum temperature is
not less than 40°, and the maximum 50°.
Should the highest allowable temperature be
approached, the lights must be pulled off the
frames. Warm rains do the plants much good,
and assist in keeping them free from aphis.

No fear need be entertained about the plants
getting too much moisture at the root, a
sturdily grown Cineraria having its foliage so
arranged as to throw off much of the rain
falling upon it. Some of the plants thus
treated (of the cruenta and stellata type) will
make panicles of flowers nearly a yard through,
and the hybrida or florist's section the same
size in proportion. The frost of October 26
and 27 last apparently did not hurt our plants,
owing to the protection afforded by overhang-
ing trees, so that on November 1 they were
affording a wealth of colour in spite of heavy
rain and dense fogs.

A few of the plants that were for some unex-
plainable reason very late, were carefully
transferred to pots, kept close, and quite
cool. These gave a good display in the con-
servatory far into the winter. These plants
have practically given no trouble, beyond the
potting-up, and an occasional application of
water during the summer— a contrast to the
tedious everyday attendance needed by Cine-
rarias when grown in pots. J. W, Miles,
Isleworth.

BOOK NOTICE.

MONOGRAPHIE DER GATTUNG SORBUS. Von T.

Hcdlund (Stockholm, 1901).

In this work of 115 quarto pages the author
has given a careful classification of the genus
Sorbus, under which he includes as sections,
Cornus, Aucuparia, Aria, Torminaria, Chamse-
mespilus and Aronia. He enumerates 55
species, and many forms and hybrids. All the
species mentioned by him are included by
many authorities under the genus Pyrus, but
P. alnifolia — a Japanese species recently in-
troduced to British gardens— is regarded as
belonging to a genus apart, viz., Micromeles.
Altogether 155 species, forms, and hybrids
are carefully described, and 34 figures of
leaf outlines and character of pollen help to
elucidate the text.

The German, in which the monograph is
written, is sometimes unnecessarily involved,
and is consequently at times difficult to under-
stand. The following sentence may be taken
as an example in proof: "Die zusammenfas-
sung derjenigen in der Natur entstandenen
Pflanzen, welche — von den Anomalien abgese-
hen — dieselben konstant erblichen Abiinde-
rungen aufweisen konnen, stellen die nieder-
sten Einheiten des systems, d.h. die Sippen im
Sinne Wettstein's dar." This phrase appears
to mean that to treat collectively plants, grow-
ing under natural conditions, which — apart from
anomalies — are subject to the same inherited
variations, represent the lowest units of the
system, i.e., the " Sippen " as understood by
Wettstein. Sippe means a clan, and in botanical
parlance there seems to be no exact English
equivalent. During the printing of the work,
however, the author found a word which he
preferred, and he suggests in a footnote that
Elemental- Art (primary species) should be sub-
stituted for Sippe wherever it occurs in his
pages.

A good deal of importance is attached to the
character of the pollen — if it is irregular in
shape and colour, it is assumed that the plant
which furnished it is a hybrid. Some un-
doubted hybrids, however, have fairly regular
pollen, and bear fertile fruits — for instance,
the Scarlet Chestnut of gardens, which is a
cross between the Horse-Chestnut of Europe,
and the Scarlet Buck-eye (^Esculus Pavia) of
the United States.

Our author recommends the raising of large
numbers of seedlings of all the different forms,
species, &c, of Sorbus, and the careful study
and comparison of these, in order to arrive at
just conclusions. In studying a group, he says
one must begin from below and work upwards.
In an angiospermous group it is of first im-
portance to ascertain clearly, to what extent
in each instance, different conditions have
influenced the plant in size, habit, &c, in its
development from seed. How important this,
method is, he proves by stating the fact that
in some of the lower Algse, the different modi-
fications of one and the same species have been
generally treated as distinct genera, and even
placed in different families. Unfortunately
with trees much space would be required, and
a long series of observations extending over
many years would be necessary.

Lack of space prevents our giving Hedlund's
key to the genus — it extends to nearly a score
pages. Many new names occur, amongst which
we mention the following : —

Sorbus commixta,Hedlund-S. Aucuparia var. japoniea,

Maximowicz.
S. parviflora, ,, -Pyrusmicrantha, Francliet

& Savatier.
S. splendida, ,, =S. sambucifolia, Kiehne.

(This is probably a hybrid between S. microcarpa and
S. Aucuparia.)
Sorbus sibirica, Hedlund. = S. Aucuparia vav. glabra,.

Trautvctter.
S. decurrens, „ =S. lanuginosa, Kitaibcl.

S. Meinicliii, „ = S. Aucupariaxfennica.

S. quercifolia, „ =(?)S.longifoliax Aucuparia.

S. persica, ,, =Pyrus flabellifolia, De-

caisne.
S. salicifolia, ,, =P. rupicola, Syme.

S. incisa, ,, =P. scandica, Babingtou.

P. pollveria, L., or as it is now called in
Kew Hand-list of the Arboretum, P. auricularis,
Knoop, does not fulfil Hedlund's idea of the
generic characteristics of Sorbus, and so is
only incidentally mentioned on p. 84. It is a
hybrid between a member of the Aria group
and a cultivated Pear.

P. malifolia, Spach, another hybrid of similar-
origin, the author of the monograph thinks has.
disappeared from cultivation. We have, how-
ever seen it both in the Paris Botanic Garden
and at Kew. Geo. Nicholson.

IMPROVEMENTS IN HARDY
PLANTS.

The following important paper was read at a
meeting of the Horticultural Club on Tuesday,
Jan. 21, by Mr. Amos Perry.

(Continued from p. 62.)

Now I will hastily ruu through some of the most im-
portant genera that I think should be dealt with, and
ihe first on the list will be the —

Asters, the capabilities of which are endless, and I
believe before many years they will become one of our
most popular families and be grown by millions, both
in pots and in the open. In a very short time we shall
have as many pinks and reds as we have blues and
whites, and Perry's Pink, one of the lsevis section, is a
fine one to work from, the colour being a good, bright
pink and the first of this section of a good colour. It
is a seedling raised from Miss Stafford, a Winehmore
Hill variety. Great care must be exercised in raising
Asters to keep to the stick-at-home varieties. Do not.
touch those that run all over the border. A favourite
group of mine is the cordifolius section, forming
sheaves of the most graceful flowers, and favourites,
with everyone for cutting. I find this group is far-
better grown in partial shade.

The Amellus group will take a first place for pots*
their natural habit lending themselves to this mode oS

February 1, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

73

treatment. The flowers are large and of every shade,
from the richest violet imaginable to very pale blues.
The white we have is of no use horticulturally, but
what the progeny will be I do not know. In Perry's
Favourite we have the first good pink in the Amellus
section, and one that must become popular. There is
no question that from this may be obtained varieties
brighter in colour and invaluable in every way.

A good type of Aster to work from is Esme, a seed-
ling of the Rev. Wolley Dod, 3 feet high, with a large
spreading head, pure white, and remarkable for lasting
a very long time in bloom. One can imagine what a
double-white of this description would be worth, and
it is coming. We have already semi-doubles, and one
fully two-thirds double, and I am looking forward to
the coming season for many others of this character.
A race of good double Asters will be a grand addition
to our list of decorative plants, and also for pots, and
it is only a question of time to obtain them.

Anemone japonica is in very successful hands, and
great improvements have taken place, and many more
to follow. Queen Charlotte, Mont Rose, and Rosea
superba are grand. I should like to see the Parsley-
leaved variety taken in hand. The foliage is wonder-
fully effective, but the flowers very poor.

Agrostemma flos-jovis is capable of great improve-
ment. It is a good all-round plant for cutting or
decoration, and there is no reason why we should not
get a double. There used to be a large double variety
of A. coronaria thirty years ago, which I believe is now
lost.

The common white Arabis has made a great bid for
popularity. The double form is splendid for cutting,
lasting well into summer. We have several species
with rose and pink flowers. Why cannot we get this
colour into the double one ?

Asphodels form a very characteristic group, and I
think the Asiatic and European species might be
brought together with very good results.

Aconitums offer many opportunities for improve-
ment. A good yellow A. japonicum, or even a yellow
A. Napellus would be a great acquisition. Do you
think it possible to obtain them ? I say, yes.

The capabilities of the Aubrietia have been fairly
tested, and we have now a good range of colour, but
there is no reason why they cannot be still improved
both in size and colour.

The Calystegia, I believe, is capable of a great trans-
formation, and I see no reason why flowers of immense
size and of almost every shade of colour cannot be
obtained in the perennial varieties. If the annual
varieties would not produce these results, we might
seek the assistance of its American ally, the Ipomcea.

Campanulas.— We all know their capabilities, and
there is not a single species in the whole race that
cannot be improved. As a rule, the great bulk are
raised from seed, no attempt being made either to
discard the bad forms or to retain the good ones, and
many are becoming so poor as to be not worth
growing.

A few good hybrids we have, Van Houtte, G. F.
Wilson, and Hendersoni being still among the best. I
should like to see this group taken up by two or three
enthusiasts, as they are so easily done, requiring
little attention, and the results quickly seen.

Cheiranthus alpinus, the alpine Wallflower, would
well repay a little attention. Crimsons, red and
yellow varieties, would be very effective, and I think
can be obtained.

Chrysanthemum maximum has shown a remarkable
development, and some of the flowers are really
superb. For decoration or for cutting they are
matchless, and still I believe can be much improved.
Some of the more recent seedlings have shown distinct
signs of doubliug, and I shall not be surprised any
day to hear of one being raised. I have just read that
American seedlings are showing signs of colouring,
but I am doubtful about it.

The Shasta Daisy, which has been hurled at us from
the other side of the Atlantic, is described as being a
marvellous production, but whether the plates are
overdrawn or not, I cannot see that it will bear any
comparison with what we have already got. I like the
name Shasta Daisy, and shall certainly use it.

Coreopsis lanceolata I think would pay well for a
little attention, seeing we have some perennial species
with rose-coloured flowers, which we could fall back
upon, providing the annual ones could not be induced
to assist us in obtaining different shades from those
already in cultivation. A red or rose-coloured variety
of Coreopsis lanceolata would find many admirers ; a
great deal might be done in selection, as I do not con-
sider the present one anything like so good as the one
I knew twenty years ago.

Echinacea purpurea has degenerated considerably
during the last twenty years, and many of the strains
now offered are not worth growing, whilst the good
ones are among the best of our autumn perennials
The colour is being improved upon each year, and reds
and purples will soon take the place of the poor
varieties so often Been.

The Erigeron contains some good material for
further developments, and in E. speciosus we have a
very useful plant for all purposes and a great favourite,
as it lasts so long in bloom. Among the perennial
species we have white, orange, and flesh, and among

the annual varieties yellows. Transfer either of these
shades to the speciosus, and the result would be very
pleasing. I find the " Compositor," as a rule, especially
after the first break, very easy to cross.

Eremurus, white, lemon, and apricot varieties of
robustus are in existence, aad many other shades of
colour will, no doubt, follow, but a man wants to start
very young if he wishes to see the result of his labour
in hybridising this genus.

The species of Geranium are, as a rule, somewhat
weedy, but there are some among them remarkably
showy, and could very easily be improved upon. The
white variety of G. sanguineum is one of the very few
varieties we have in this family.

The Geums are somewhat important, as they last a
long time in bloom, are easily grown, and very variable.
There are now several good varieties of lleldreichi,
montanum, and coccineum plenum, but these can be
improved upon very considerably.

Gypsophila pamculata,— The double variety, which was
shown before the Royal Horticultural Society during
the past season, I think will become a very good plant,
providing it can be propagated, but I have never been
very successful in propagating this by cuttings, and I
am somewhat afraid of the double.

In the Heleniums we have two or three good varie-
ties, the best of all without a question is H. pumilum
magnificum, and this, I consider, is one of the best
twelve hardy perennials in cultivation ; it is in flower
well for at least four months, and during the drought
of the past season was a mass of flower. H. striatum
is a plant that will well repay a little attention, and I
can see no reason why a crimson could npt be obtained
with care by selection. I have raised many, all striped
more or less, but no self-coloured flowers.

Helianthus has been worked upon for some years
past, and the new Helianthus tomentosus (certificated
under the name of mollis) is excellent for crossing
purposes. It is certainly the most characteristic in
the family, distinct in fol age and formation from any
of the others, and one that does not run about.

Heliopsis lrevis is still capable of further improve-
ment. The colour is unique at that season of the year,
and for cutting it is invaluable, but it is not a good
habit. A variety 2 feet or 3 feet high, covered with rich
orange flowers, would find many admirers.

The Oriental Christmas Roses are very useful, but I
do not think can be much improved upon ; they are no
good for cutting, and never will be, but in a shrubbery
border they are very useful.

It is possible to get some fine varieties of Hemero-
callis, but they will have to be remarkably distinct to
find tavour with the public. Commercially there is not
much value in them, I suppose from the fact that they
cannot be killed!

Among the Heucheras there is a possibility of very
great improvement. A crimson H. erubescens would
make a charming plant, and as these are easily crossed,
and the results quickly seen, would be a nice group for
some impatient enthusiast to take up. H. zabehana, a
Continental introduction, is one of the first hybrids we
have, and a very good plant it is. H. sanguinea
appears to be degenerating. Even the variety splen-
dens does not come up to the standard of what I grew
in my private garden at Tottenham. Originally there
were six plants— one died on the road— brought by the
late Andrew Murray from Lower Mexico, which he
gave to me. The description he gave of this species
growing wild was of a plant 3 feet or 4 feet high, with
flowers more than double the size, and scores of
branching spikes emanating from quite small clumps ;
and when he saw them at Tottenham for the first time
he was more than disappointed, and did not consider
the plant worth the trouble he had bestowed upon it.
The spikes he saw at Tottenham were far more beau-
tiful than those usually seen in English gardens.

The Irises present a fine field for the hybridiser,
although they are not so easily managed as one might
suppose. They have always been popular. We have
had a few new varieties of germanica, a good many
new varieties of the olbiensis, and a few hybrids of
Max Leichtlin and Sir Michael Foster, and a few others
are the nett proceeds of the last twenty years. There
has never been much done in the way of hybridisingt
Max Leichtlin being one of the first. One of the best,
of his was Warei, a cross between I. Susiana and one
of the germanica sections; but he does not appear to
have been very successful with them. Sir Michael
Foster has many hybrids, some most charming, and he
appears to be crossing everything. His " monspur '*
sections are good, the result of crossing Monnieri and
spuria. " Parsam," a cross between paradoxa and
sambucina, is very Pretty, and there are many others
that we know little about. I had almost forgotten the
Iris Krempferi. A marvellous change has taken place
in these since the late Baron von Siebold introduced
his first set from Japan. These had quite small
flowers, and were not worth growing by the side of
those now in cultivation. I believe the first informa-
tion we had of these large ones was at Tokenhouse
Yard, when Messrs. Protheroe <fc Morris offered some
thirty or forty clumps, one or two plants of each
variety, accompanied with the usual Japanese draw-
ings. These caused quite a sensation, and realised
several pounds a clump. The Japanese were not slow

in sending over many more, and for the last twenty
years a regular trade has been done in them ; but I do
not think we have any more varieties now than then fc
Iberis, Inulas, Lathyrus, Linums, and Liriarias, wo
must pass. All are good popular genera, from which
improved varieties could be obtained.

The Megasea has received a fair share of attention.
Mr. Smith, of Newry, having raised a great number of
seedlings, some very interesting, but there are not
enough whites and light shades of colour. Unfortu-
nately, this group has never been very popular with the-
public.

The Evening Primroses (Oenothera) present many-
opportunities for hybridising and selection. Soonei-
or later we shall have some one finding a white micro-
carpa or fruticosa, both of which would be eagerly
sought after, and if whites, why not roses and reds :-
Has anyone seriously attempted to cross these species ■■
I have never heard of one, and I feel sure they would,
pay well for a little attention.

I must not pass the Pentstemons without mentioning:
P. heterophylla, a lovely Californian species of a beau-
tiful blue colour. I see no reason why we could not!
get blue ones among the hybrids, seeing both are very
similar in growth.

Potentillas.— What a wealth of colour we have in the
hybrid Potentillas! The combinations are marvellous,
but all spoilt by the habit of the plant. Could we not
obtain a new set, less rampant in growth, and erect?
If we could, it would be a great boon, for we have no
other genus possessing so much brilliancy of colour as
these.

Scabiosa caucasica is now producing a nice range of
colour, and as the plants can be propagated by divi-
sion, will oecome very useful. Unfortunately, they are
slow in increasing, and it will lie some years before we
see much of them. Some of the new shades are
delightful.

The Spirreas are an important genus, and there is no
question that many improvements can be made in
them, especially in point of colour. A coloured variety
of S. japonica or S. Aruncus would cause quite a sensa-
tion. I would not say they can be obtained, but I know
they are well worth trying for.

We have a good pink variety of Spiraea gigantea, and
I remember having offered to me a bright pink variety
of S. filipendula, but such a fabulous price was asked
that it was impossible to secure it. Twenty-five years
ago this class of plant was at a very low ebb. What'
became of it I never knew, but I can see it in my mind's
eye now, and should like an opportunity of obtain-
ing it.

Sedum spectabile contains many points of great
merit, and if we could get a batch of seedlings, im-
provement only in colour would be a great commercial
success.

The Statices are becoming more popular now atten-
tion has been given to selection, &c. In S. limo-
num we have a very variable species, varying from the
purest white to all shades of blue and pink, with
dense heads of flower 2 feet across. The individual
flowers are smaller than those of S. latifolia, but far
more graceful for cutting. These are much sought
after for this purpose.

There are hundreds of other genera that could be-
mentioned, all of more or less interest, and from past
experience with other groups I feel sure similar re-
sults could be obtained. It will be useless for anyone
to take up this matter unless it is done systematically,
keeping to the object in view.

There must be nothing left to chance, as the cost or
planting out, say, 1,000 Aster chance seedlings is great,
especially if you get no results; whereas twenty care-
fully selected might produce one or two worth keep-
ing, if only for further trial. One is not likely to get
desirable novelties the first time of asking. It is a
question of close watching and perseverance, and il
only one or two are taken up by anyone here to-night
with an idea of improvement, my work this evening-
will not have been thrown away.

CALIFORNIA.

PlXUS INSIGNIS. — Mr. R. W. ADLAM, ill the

Gardeners' Chronicle of December 31, writing
from Johannesburg, asks whether the timber
of Pinus insignis has any eommercial value-
Thousands of acres around Monterey are
covered with this Pine. I have never heard
of it being used for any other purpose than
that of fuel. Owing U) its quick growth.
its timber is not durable enough for building
purposes; it decays quite rapidly after being
cut.

During the past two or three years the
Pinus insignis has been attacked, especially
in private grounds, by a beetle, which 1 believo
(lies from one tree to another. I have found
the remains of wings where they enter the tree.
This beetle bores into the. tree close to tin-

74

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 1, 1902.

ground in a downward direction ; it no doubt
breeds, afterwards the young burrowing be-
tween the bark and wood, until after a year,
or sometimes a little longer, the tree suc-
cumbs. I have noticed that trees from fifteen
to twenty-five years of age are more susceptible
to attack from this beetle than at any other
age. Thos. Lee, Supt. of Hotel Del Monte
Grounds, California.

IPOMCEA AUREA.
This was described by Kellogg in the Pro-
reedinQs of the California Academy of Sciences.
It is indeed a noble plant, but a shy bloomer
I am afraid, unless it can get very intense
heat in summer. It bloomed with me two
years ago, five years from seed, and never
again, probably because I was obliged to
transplant it, and for a year it hardly gave
sign of life.

IPOMCEA CHRYSANTHA,

said to come from Fernando Po, grows exceed-
ingly rank here, but not one flower has
ever appeared.

Double-flowering Peaches. •
Not only is it a common occurrence for
these to bear fruit, and the seeds to germinate
freely, but it is worth remarking that seed-
lings will bear flowers of shades different
from the parent plant, in many cases pure
white, variously striped, and more or less
intense crimson flowers, appearing on the
same seedling.

Canna Mrs. Kate Gray.

There is no mistake in my correspondence
published at p. 366 of the last volume of the
Gardeners' Chronicle. The facts pertaining to
the origin of this variety are exactly as stated
in my correspondence, namely, it was a plant
of Italia which was fertilised with the pollen
of Madame Crozy, and not vice versa, as
asserted by Mr. W. Muller. Furthermore, it
niay interest your readers to know that it was
through extraordinary perseverance that the
result was obtained. The employer of Mr.
Morse did not like his time to be taken up by
such breeding work, and exacted that strict
account should be kept of the time employed.
Well, it took 900 hours of patient work to
obtain that lone seed, from which Mrs. Kate
Gray was born. Dr. F. Franceschi, Santa
Barbara, Cal.

ALPINE GARDEN.

PRIMULA MEGASE,EFOLIA, Boissier.
This fine Primrose, figured in Gardeners'
Chronicle, April 6, 1901, is now, at the end of
January, in full flower in my garden in a cold
frame. It was given to me last year by Miss
Willmott, about the time of the April show in
the Drill Hall, where it was exhibited for the
first time. It has somewhat the habit and
stature of P. rosea, but the flat leaves are
rounder, the flowers are larger, and have more
red in their colouring. In E. Boissier's Flora
Orientalis (vol. iv., p. 26) only one habitat is
mentioned, "moist, shady gorges near Rhizeh
(a maritime town, about halfway between
Trebizond and Batum), at an elevation of
900 feet, flowering in May." The plant is
now offered by the dozen by Carl Sprenger, of
Naples, who tells us it is a native of Persia,
and that it flowers " in winter and spring, and
sometimes in autumn." It is just this un-
certainty of season which may prove a draw-
back to its open-air cultivation in England.
It will probably prove as hardy as P. denti-
culata, but, like that species, be liable to be

enticed into premature flowering when the
early autumn is warm and wet, and 'so get its
flowers spoilt by winter. In that case it will
require some similar management to retard
the autumn growth. The species is, however,
well worth the attention of amateurs as a
good late winter greenhouse plant, even if it
cannot be persuaded to defer its flowering to
what Boissier says is its proper season, May.
C. Wollexj-Dod, Ed<je Hull, Malpas, Jan. 26.

LILIES.

Cultural Directions. — A good, medium
soil, free from ground insects, is, as a rule,
the most congenial soil for all Lilies. There
are some species of Lilies which like more
moisture than others. The soil at Mr.
Arderne's is free, well drained, and the con-
stant watering the Rhododendrons get makes
the place an ideal one ; and what can be more
charming than to see rising from the midst of
Rhododendrons such Lilies as the varieties of
L. pardalinum, L. auratum, L. excelsum, and
many others V The ground is shaded, the
bulbs are kept cool, while. absolute freedom
for the tops and foliage is secured. Lilies
should not be coddled, but planted where they
are to flower. Should success attend the
selection of the spot, a new pleasure is intro-
duced into the garden ; should there be a
failure, this is no more than happens in one's
daily routine — try again. A real gardener
never gives up, but goes on till he succeeds.

On receiving Lily-bulbs, examine the base ;
if sound, all is well, but if the scales fall away
from the base, you can have no success. There
may, however, be some healthy parts on the
scales ; from these you have a chance of getting
bulblets, by laying them on a compost of soil
mostly clean sand, and covering over with the
same material, placing the pot, box, or kero-
sene-tin in a shady place, and keeping the
soil moist, but not wet. If you buy your
bulbs, see that the outside scales are healthy
and firm. If you import bulbs, caution the
sender as to the degree of moisture in the
moss surrounding the bulbs, as it often
happens the sphagnum-moss used is too wet,
and in consequence the bulbs are apt to rot.
I have seen good consignments of Lily-bulbs
packed in common sawdust of such wood as
white deal. "Avoid charcoal and cork saw-
dust ; these absorb the goodness out of Lily-
bulbs. A heavy soil may suit some of the
moisture-loving Lilies, but a sour soil or a
water-logged soil is bad. Drainage is indis-
pensable for the successful culture of all Lilies ;
if a collection of Lilies be grown in the same
bed, put the bed, if possible, on a sloping bank,
those which love the dry soil highest up, and
graduate down to the moisture-loving ones at
the lower part of the bed. Lilies, such as the
varieties of elegans and some others, like a
rather dry ridge, and with deep planting, will
stand a good deal of drought.

Give Lilies more or less shade from the
midday sun, and shelter them as much as
possible from severe winds. The great aim
should be to keep the soil cool, and this
may be best attained by a mulch of the pre-
ceding year's leaves of trees, rotted, or laying
stones on the surface, there being no objection
to plenty of sand-stones heaped on the beds.
Under such conditions, moisture-loving Lilies
niay be grown to perfection, bearing in mind
shade and watering. The Lilies which do well
in a partially dry soil, will do better with
than without stones on the surface. The
stones ensure coolness, and conserve moisture.
I am strongly in favour of blocks, large and
small, of sand-stone amongst which Lilies
should be grown, and I am almost sure this

mode of growing them would be attended with
as much success as if planted amongst Rhodo-
dendrons. It must not, however, be for-
gotten that shade from the midday sun —
indeed, the fierce rays at any hour of the day
— should be avoided, and shade in Cape Town
is as good as full exposure in Europe.

Lily-bulbs, when out of the ground, should
never be exposed to the atmosphere, or the
scales will become flabby, and this means a
loss of vitality, and often the cause of failure ;
while some Lily-bulbs when much exposed to
the atmosphere will make no top-growth the
first year. They are not however, resting.
If they are not dead, they will be found work-
ing underground, and will make a leaf-growth
the following year. I saw some L. auratums
in kerosene - tins the other day in a very
crippled condition. On examination, I found
this arose from the bulbs being partially
uncovered ; the result could not have been
otherwise. Had the bulbs been a few inches
below the surface, a very different state of
things would have happened ; no chance for
the root-stalks, and the stem was drawing on
the bulb-roots, a very unfair thing for the
bulb. It was doing double duty, and this
was not its nature. If a bulb, after a reason-
able time, does not throw a shoot, scrape
down carefully, and find whether dead or
alive. Mr. Chalwin, of the Cape Town
Botanic Garden, in my presence, dug up
some L. longiflorum which had made no top-
growth, notwithstanding which they had
actually increased in number, both in large
and small bulbs. There did not appear any
reason for this freak of Nature, but here was
a lesson not to judge hastily, and the same
happens with many other bulbs. I remember
a whole bed of L. testaceum serving me so,
and I recollect also a bed of Angels'-tears
Daffodils, which I had collected on an island
in the Bay of Vigo, in Spain, serving me in
like manner. In both cases, the bulbs when
dug up were in splendid condition. There
must have been a reason in both cases, as also
in that of Sir. Chalwin's L. longiflorum, but
why they should take a year in Mother Earth,
without calling in the aid of the atmosphere,
is one of those questions we may speculate
upon, and not be much the wiser in the end.

All exporters of Lily bulbs are fully aware
of the necessity of keeping the scales plump,
hence their mode of packing. In the short
run from England to the Cape there should be
no difficulty in getting out the bulbs in prime
condition.

There has been a good deal said and written
on the subject of disease in" Lilies ; it comes
on the foliage like Potato-rust, and in all such
cases these leaves should be removed. The
Bordeaux Mixture will stop it. This disease,
I am informed, is not unknown amongst wild
Lilies. It does not, however, appear to affect
the bulb. Disease produced from manuring
is quite another thing. I am told there is an
insect which eats out the centre of a Lily
stem, but in the cases submitted for exami-
nation, showed that the Lilies had not been
properly treated.

Nearly all Lilies like a good, rich soil to
grow in, but not a freshly-manured soil. It is
a custom with some, when the Lily has no top
growth (this we call being at rest, but I am
doubtful if a Lily or any bulb is ever actually
at rest) to mulch with cow-manure, dried and
rubbed through a sieve, and leave the rain to
wash, the fertiliser down to the roots. The
Japs at this time give a little liquid manure,
made from night-soil, once a month, and stop
as soon as the Lily-top appears above the
ground. It is to be remembered that the Japs
are all but vegetarians. The nearest, there-

-

Bebruary 1, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

75

fore, to their liquid manure .will be that made
from the droppings from the cowshed, and the
liquor should never be darker than stout.
The Lily bulb, as I have already said, is really
neCer at rest, hence the Japs feed the young
roots that they may the better carry the
flower-stem and reproduce themselves. The
Japs care nothing for Lilies beyond the money
they can make from the sale of the bulbs, or as
an article of diet. P. Barr, in " Cope Times."

In fine size and shape, it has some resem-
blance to C. x Beekmanni, but in point of fact
there is nothing comparable with it. It is
probably a second crossing, which has pro-
gressed and developed beauties not seen in the
other members of the batch. The upper sepal
is emerald green at the base, and white in the
upper part, the middle and basal area bearing
fine blackish-purple blotches, the middle space
between the blotches and the white margin

Fir;. 28.— cypripedium x mrs. w. mostyx.

CYPRIPEDIUM x MRS.
MOSTYN.

WM.

This fine Cypripedium (fig. 28), which was
pronounced one of the finest hybrids of its
class, and awarded a First-class Certificate by
the Orchid Committee of the Royal Horti-
cultural Society on January 14, 1902, when it
was exhibited by its fortunate owner, F.
■Wellesley, Esq., "Westfield, near Woking (gr.,
Mr. J. Gilbert), has puzzled experts to decide
what its parentage might be, for its features
Beem to convey the best qualities of several
species and hybrids, and especially of C. x
Calypso Oakwood variety, which may have
been one of the parents.

being of a soft rose colour. The petals and
lip have a yellow ground, spotted and tinged
with chocolate-purple, the surface being very

glossy.

BEGONIA GLOIRE DE LORRAINE.

Tun cultural requirements of this beautiful
winter-flowering plant are becoming better
understood. It is pretty well known that
it originated in France, M. Lemoino being
the raiser, and after being sent to England
and receiving a First-Class Certificate froni
the Royal Horticultural Society, it was
taken up by many growers, most of whom
failed to do any good with it ; and in

France it was condemned as" being useless
by all the leading nurserymen. Yet at the
present time it is recognised as being one
of the most valuable flowering plants, and
besides the large numbers grown in France,
many plants are furnished by English growers.
Its re-introduction to France is due to M. A.
Truffaut, of Versailles, who when visiting
England a few years ago told me that the
plant was no good, but on seeing some well-
grown plants, exclaimed that he had never
seen it so beautiful before, and was induced
to make another trial of it in France, with the
result that lie has built a range of glass-
houses specially for its cultivation; and
although he now cultivates large quantities,
English growers receive extensive orders,
both from France and Germany. It is now
unnecessary to enlarge on the merits of
this capital plant, but a few remarks on its
cultivation may be of service.

In the first place, it is so persistent in flower-
ing that cuttings are with difficulty obtained,
and many cut off the flower stems with the
idea of getting the plants to start from the
base, with the result that they do start, and
begin to flower again ; whilst if allowed fo-
llower from the original stems, the buds at
the base will remain dormant till the flower-
ing period is pretty well exhausted, and when
they do start good cuttings are readily-
obtained. There is no difficulty in propa-
gating the plant, as with ordinary care almost
every cutting will make roots. The most im-
portant point is to pot them off as soon as
they are fit, and keep them growing without a
check. Although they do not fill the pots
with roots like some varieties, they like pot-
room, and a good rich compost. In the earlier
stages of growth plenty of warmth may be
applied, and later on a moderate temperature
with plenty of light and fresh air ; the
plants must never be crowded together after
they are well established in their flowering-
pots ; manure-water may be used freely.

Varieties.
In addition to the original variety, we uoiv
have some distinct sports. The " Turnford
Hall " variety, which has almost pure white
flowers may be regarded as the best and most
distinct of these. The flowers are almost pure
white, having only a slight shade of pink on the
under side of the petals ; the flowers stand up
well, and are as abundant as those of the
original. The Gunnersbury variety, "Mrs.
Leopold de Rothschild," has flowers of a
paler shade of pink than the parent, and the
racemes are closer, the flowers hold on more
persistently, and with age they assume almost
a leafy character instead of falling. The first
white-flowered sport, Caledonia, is very dis-
tinct, and though not quite so vigorous as the
type, it may improve ; and to those who have
not succeeded with it I should say, "try
again." It may be noted that this variety
produces more female flowers than any other
variety referred to, but I have not yet found
it to form mature seeds. A. Hemsley.

Bilberries and the Like. — Mr. Munson
of the Maine Agricultural Station has pub-
lished a bulletin relating to the genus Vac-
cinium in its horticultural aspects. After
dealing with the literary history of the genus,
the author proceeds tn detail the methods of
cultivation. In the State of Maine alone
there are seven factories for canning Blue-
berries (Vaccinium corymbosum), whilst the
Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon and V.
Oxycoccos), must be grown on a much larger
scale if wo may judge from the large quantities
that come into our markets. A botanical
description of the several species adds greatly
lo lite value of this excellent monograph.

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 1, 1902.

The Week's Work.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch, Dalkeith.

Melons. — The sowing of Melon-seed before
the middle of January is attended with only
partial success unless suitably constructed
and well-heated Melon-houses exist in which
to grow and fruit the plants. As a mode of
sowing, drop two lumpy bits of moderately
dry loam into 3- inch pots ; put two seeds in each
pot, and, without affording water, plunge the
seed-pots in a bed having a bottom-heat of 80*
or 85", and as soon as they germinate, bring
them near the glass to prevent the drawing of
the plants, still withholding water — for the
little plants at this season will thrive with
comparatively little moisture — whereas,
should the soil get wet and be kept in that
condition they will do no good. It is not good
practice to shift into a size larger pot to grow
on, but leave the stronger of the two in the
3-inch pot until leaves and stem are stoutly
developed ; then plant in the fruiting quarter,
which may either be a bed resting on bottom-
heat of 85°, or in 12-inch pots plunged in
bottom-heat. If planted on beds, do not make
a big body of soil at this season, but rather
put up a narrow ridge of moderately dry soil,
mixed with little bits of lime-rubbish. Melons
like a good heavy soil, and in the absenco of
that, use turfy loam mixed with an approved
kind of artificial manure ; make the ridge
firm, and when the soil is warmed throughout
plant on the top of the ridge at a distance of
2 feet apart, and apply no water after plant-
ing, at this season the moisture in soil being
probably enough for the plants till they have
made a fair start. The mean temperature of
the air should be 70°, 10° to 15° higher in the
day-time ; and let the paths and all other
surfaces be damped lrcquently, guarding
against the drying effect of fire-heat, and keep-
ing generally a moist growing atmosphere.

Cucumbers. — Plants raised from seed sown
at the beginning of January, unlike Melons,
may be shifted from the 3-inch pot to a
5-inch pot before planting them in the fruiting
quarter, and one house if sufficiently long will
suit both, if the Melons are placed at the
warmer end, and are allowed to have plenty
of sunshine. The portion of the border the
Cucumbers are planted in should have 6 inches
of drainage material on the bottom, sods (the
grassy side downwards) being placed on this,
and a small ridge of soil on the sods in which
to plant. The soil for Cucumbers may consist
of one half rough, turfy soil, and one half
well-rotted manure well mixed together, this
openness of material suiting the more copious
waterings and syringings that the Cucumber
plant needs.

Young Vines. — If young "Vines are wanted
either for pots or planting-out, now is the
time to put in the eyes. There is no question
that striking the eyes in turfy-loam is the best
method. To do this, fill boxes measuring
24 inches by 18 inches by 3 inches with finely-
chopped turfy-loam; put the Vine-eyes over
the surface at 6 inches apart, and place in
bottom-heat of 80°, the temperature of the
house being 55° to 60°. When the eyes have
grown 6 inches in length, cut out each" eye" in
the centre of a square of 0 inches, when the
young Vines will flag — but after two days
the little squares may be potted if meant for
pot Vines ; and those meant for planting-out
should be reboxed, say, two or three plants
in the above-sized box, the soil used being
fresh turfy - loam with some Vine -manure
added. By the middle of May — the best time
for planting — lift each Vine out as a solid
sod, lay it on the surface of a new border
where it will grow without feeling the
removal, and the roots will keep near the
•surface. I had some Vine eyes inserted last
February for planting in a new vinery which
was only finished towards the end of the
month of June ; at that time the young Vines
were planted, and by the beginning of the

month of October, they had grown to a length
of 25 feet, the house being a very high o.ie. In
preparing cut-backs or one-year-old Vines,
steep them in a tank of water for forty-eight
hours, then shake away all of the soil from
the roots, half fill some boxes of the size given
above with turfy-loam mixed with Vine-manure,
spread the roots out carefully, one Vine in a
box ; cover with 1| in. of the same kind of
soil. This done early in February, they will
lift out as a flat, solid sod in the middle of the
month of May, and grow away without check.
A crop of Grapes may be cut at the end of
May, the Vines grubbed up, a small new
border made, and Vines raised from eyes
planted the same season, the rods going to
the top of the house by October.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mundy, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Yellow- spathed Richardias. — Of these C.
Elliotiana seems to be the most popular, but
as the cultural treatment of C. Pentlandi and
C. aurata is identical, they are all included
within the scope of these remarks. They differ
in their needs from R. africana in that they
require much more heat when growing, and a
longer and more complete resting period, for
unless the tubers are well baked in sunshine,
no spathes need be expected. In order to
have spathes during the latter half of April
and throughout the month of May, which seems
to be their natural flowering season, the tubers
should now be potted, using rather large pots,
as they make a considerable quantity of roots.
The soil used should consst of equal parts of
loam, leaf mould, silver sand, and a small
quantity of dried cow-manure ; the sand not
being stinted, it appearing to be essential to
good growth. They should be started in a
light position in a house having a minimum
temperature of about 60°. At the beginning
no water, excepting what falls from the
syringe, should be afforded, but when they are
rooting strongly copious supplies are required
until the growth of the plant is complete.
Seeds of these plants sown at this season in
heat germinate freely ; the seeds should be
sown far enough apart to allow of them grow-
ing for one season without removal from the
seed-pots.

Ferns. — Many plants will bo the better for
being split up and repotted in new soil, others
may perhaps go through another year with a
top-dressing and a re-arrangement of the
drainage materials. It should be borne in
mind that all Ferns with rhizomatous stems do
not like deep potting, or even deep pots.
Most Ferns succeed in peaty soil, but soils
containing a large proportion of pasture-loam
suit Adiantums grown chiefly for cutting pur-
poses. Take great care, when potting, of the
young fronds now showing, as future success
depends greatly on careful treatment at this
date.

Alocasias, Marantas, and some other Stove
Foliage Plants should be examined, top-dressed,
or repotted, while the sun's warmth is feeble,
Marantas especially suffering from root dis-
turbance. A very good mixture for most of
these plants consists of peat, le.if mould, sand,
and a small quantity of turfy loam. Dieffen-
bachias may be beheaded, the tops struck,
and their stems cut up and treated like those of
Dracaenas, if increase be desired. Youn gplants
are, as a rule, more useful than old ones.

Bouvardias. — Plants that are passing out of
flower should receive less water preparatory
to pruning them later on for the production of
shoots fit for propagating purposes. For my
part, I like root-cuttings the best, but young
stock may be raised by either method.

Plant-cleansing. — When opportunity offers,
plants of all kinds infested by insect pests,
not destroyed by fumigation or vaporisation,
should be cleansed with a sponge and an
insecticide. Mealy-bug and various scale
insects are especially troublesome in warm
plant-houses, and should be destroyed at this
season, when breeding is at its lowest point.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Turton, Gr. to J. K. D. Winofield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Early Carrots. — Sow in drills in hot-bed
frames the French Forcing, and for succession
Sutton's Early Gem, the former- at 8 inches
apart, and the latter at 9 inches. Where a
separate frame cannot be set apart for growing
early Radishes, seed may be sown between the
rows of Carrots, the latter being then sown in
drills drawn 11 inches or 12 inches apart.
Radishes germinate so quickly, and require to
be so freely ventilated, that it is inadvisable
to sow them together when the Carrots are
required early. Avoid sowing either of them
thickly.

Turnips. — Sow in a frame placed on a mild
hot-bed seeds of the Early White Milan and
Sutton's White Gem Turnips, in drills drawn
at 1 ft. apart, and intercrop with Wood's Early
Frame and French Breakfast Radishes, sowing
thinly both Turnip and Radish seeds ; and
place Lettuce-leaves on the bed, in order to
form baits for slugs, examining the leaves
night and morning. A stack of good soil
should always be available for frame purposes ;
and that in which Chrysanthemums, pot Straw-
berries, Melons, &c, have been grown, if it
has been in stack for a time, will be found in
every respect a very suitable one.

Spinach. — When the soil is in a condition to
get upon, make a good sowing of a round-
seeded variety, the Victoria by preference,
and place the bed, if possible, on a south
border. Autumn-sown Spinach in old kitchen
gardens is apt to get gappy as time goes on,
therefore the advisability of making a sowing
at about this date. The seed-drills should be
drawn at 18 inches apart ; or they may find a
place between the lines of early Peas.
Spinach succeeds in freshly broken up land,
as, for example, in fields that have been long
under the plough, and is then heavily
manured, and dug 1 to 2 spits deep.

Seakale. — Finish lifting the roots that are
to be forced in warm, dark places. The best
plan to adopt for getting a supply of Seakale
late in the season is to grow some part of the
crop in permanent beds, two rows in a bed,
or in rows of small groups of three or four
plants each. Where such beds exist, Seakale
pots with movable covers should be placed over
the clumps, and then a wall of strawy stable-
litter should be built round the bed, and the
centre filled up and well over the pots with last
year's tree -leaves, trampling them firmly
between the pots, and applying a covering of
litter, so as to keep the leaves from being
blown about. Seakale grown in this manner
is superior to that produced by lifted roots,
and its production entails very little labour,
provided the beds are so placed as to be
come-at-able with the garden cart.

Pea-sticks. — Procure the supply of these
forthwith, and when received, lay them flat
on a level piece of ground, and after forming
them into a stack, lay some heavy pieces of
timber on the top of the stack, till they can be
trimmed and the butt ends sharpened. Treated
in this fashion when green makes them flat,
facilitates the work of sticking the rows, and
makes more sightly rows. For early Peas I
use the previous year's sticks, which should
now be re-sharpened, and formed into bundles
of a size convenient for a man to carry.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

Genera/ Remarks. — The various shadings and
blinds belonging to the various Orchid-houses
should be repaired and got in readiness for i
use. 1 favour the use of lath blinds, for apart
from the fact that they are best for the plants
in the summer, they are useful to lower over
the roof on cold nights in winter, so as to
minimise the use of fireheat, and if kept well
painted they will last for many years. Blinds
made of split Bamboos answer the same pur-
pose, but for a gentleman's establishment,
where the houses are in a prominent position,

February l, 1902.]

THE GARB ENER 8 ' CHR ONI CL E.

77

they are not so neat as latUs. Obtain a suffi-
cient quantity of peat, sphagnum-moss, and
leaf-soil, so there may be no delay in repotting
the plants. All bottom ventilators in Orchid-
houses should have a piece of perforated zinc
fastened on the inside to keep slugs and other
vermin out of the houses.

Cymbidiums. — Plants of C. Traceyanum and
C. giganteum that flowered in the late autumn
or early winter will now be making growth,
and if any of them require to be repotted or
divided, this is the proper season for these
operations. Large specimens of Cymbidiums
are very attractive, and I advise everyone who
has sufficient houseroom to cultivate a few of
them. In order to maintain the plants in great
vigour it becomes necessary to divide them
after they have attained to the desired dimen-
sions, and grow on the smaller pieces, so as to
take their.places as specimens. After a plant
has filled as large a pot as it is possible to
afford it, and the compost is exhausted, the
deterioration of the plant will begin, unless it
be divided and given a fresh start. A suitable
compost consists of good turfy loam two-thirds,
and leaf-soil one-third, together with a sprink-
ling of small crocks, the whole being well mixed
together. A few large clean crocks will suffice
for drainage, and over these some lumps of
turfy loam should be placed. I'ot rather
firmly, and keep the base of the plant a little
below the rim of the pot. After potting apply
water very carefully till the plants have taken
a good hold of the new compost ; syringe freely
between the pots and under the leaves, but
overhead only on bright days.

C. Luwitinitm, C. eburneum, and the charming
hybrids Lowio - eburneum, and the reverse
cross, are now developing their flowers, and
the plants will take water freely and without
injury if the pots are well filled with roots.
Cymbidiums do not require so much heat as is
generally applied, and when grown cool the
flowers and foliage are much finer than when
the opposite course is followed, and there is
little trouble in keeping them clear of insecl
pests. The same temperature as that advised
for the Odontoglossum-house is quite high
enough, plenty of fresh air being afforded.

Imported Orchids. — Much of the success in
the establishing of imported Orchids is due to
the sort of treatment afforded immediately mi
being received from the importers. Before
being allowed to go into the houses thoroughly
cleanse them of dirt and insects, then
lay them on a stage in a somewhat cool,
moist house till the potting can be attended
to. Many of the leaves may bo retained
if they are placed in a cool-house and kept
well shaded till they show signs of growing.
An imported plant requires time to recover,

and c I treatment affords that time; growth

also is stronger and cleaner when it does
start.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. JIavnk. Gardener to the Hon. Mark Koi.le,
Bictou, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Grass Orchards. — The established and older
trees should receive an annual top-dressing
at this season, and Cor this purpose road-
scrapings mixed with farmyard manure form a
good compost, and if not plentiful enough to
spread over the entire orchard, it should be
placed around each tree for a space of 6 feel
in diameter. Many Devonshire fanners turn
Sheep Or pigs into their orchards as soon as
the fruit lias been cleared from them, towards
the end of November, ami gratifying results
are achieved thereby, the fruit swelling ap to
a much larger size than heretofore, especially

Where pigs were turned in. When these

animals are taken out of an orchard, not a
blade el' glass can be seen, but as soon as
the warm days come, it soon begins lo grow
again. These animals do not touch the trees,

bill they POOl up and devour all roots of
aettles that come in their way; still, it is
sator in put wire netting, branches of Holly or

Furze around the stems of young ti s in

Order to prevent the pigs rubbing themselves

agaiusl I hem. Sheep have been known to

bark the trees badly when the latter are left
unprotected. All newly-planted trees should
be firmly staked and tied before animals are
turned into an orchard. Liquid-manure, gene-
rally obtainable where there are large gardens,
may be applied with advantage at this season
to established trees only.

The Mulberry. — Outside of a nursery the
Mulberry is seldom seen as a young tree, a
matter for regret, seeing that the fruit is so
generally liked in tarts, and as jelly. The Mul-
berry is generally found growing best in moist
situations, though I have seen trees of great
age in this county on a dry bank flourishing
and fruiting abundantly in most years. The
standard is the usual form of tree, and it
should be planted on turf, so that the ripe
fruit may fall thereon, and be fit for use.
The wood of the Mulberry being very brittle,
the tree should not be planted in exposed
situations. In the less warm parts of the
country, the Mulberry requires a warm wall
to bring it to perfection.

The Quince and Medlar. — A few Quince and
Medlar-trees should be found in every garden,
for while the fruit of the former cannot be
eaten in the raw state, it makes a delicious
marmalade and an addition to Apples in tarts.
It is best grown as a bush or a pyramid. The
pruning is much the same as that afforded the
Apple, removing all useless sprays each
winter, affording a rather moist loamy soil,
and full exposure to the sun. The varieties
with Apple and Pear-shaped fruits are those
mostly cultivated, and the flowers arc very
beautiful, so that the Quince is a capital
plant for the shrubbery, or isolated on the
lawn. Tiie Medlar makes an excellent jelly
when blotted, and many persons like them in
the raw state. The tree- requires but little
pruning when once it begins to fruit, though
any shoots that are inclined to cross each
other, or run away unduly, should be removed
betimes or cut back. It is generally grown
as a standard, but forms a picturesque bush.
Old trees should be assisted with manure in
some form, or the fruit will be small. The
Royal and the Nottingham are good varieties
to plant. Trees may still be planted in open
weather.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By K. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Propagation. — Shoots fit for making cuttings
of Iresines, Alternantheras, Heliotropes,
Abutilons, &c, should now be taken off, and,
after proper preparation, inserted in pots or
pans filled with a mixture of finely sifted leal-
mould one-half, loam one-quarter, silver-sand
one-quarter, with a J-inch layer of sand on the

surface; afford water sufficient in quantity

to settle the sand about them, but no more,
and plunge in bottom-heat of about 75° in a
propagating-house or frame, and keep close
and shaded from sunshine for about ten days,
and then gradually inure to light and air.
If possible, let the requisite number of each
variety be struck at one time, in order that
batches of equal-sized plants are obtained. If
certain varieties of bedding Pelargoniums are
scarce, cuttings may be obtained in quantity
from plants which have been stored in pels or.
boxes, potting them singly in 60's in a light
compost, placing them on the border in a
Peach-house or vinery that has been started,
where they will strike readily and become
useful plants. If Lobelias are required in
largo numbers, sow seeds of a good strain at
this season, and again in a fortnight, using
shallow pans, and affording tepid water In
the soil before sowing the seed. When the

surface of the soil becomes dry, place a square
of glass over each pan, and shade with some
light materials until the seeds germinate. Care

must be taken ti< it lo apply water overhead
before such time as the seedlings are well
rooted into the soil: slightly immerse the

seed-pans in tepid water, so that the water

enters I'r below.

Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums. — These plants are
very desirable for outdoor gardening, either

as trailers, or specimens for covering trellises.
Such of the plants as are intended for forming
into specimens, which have wintered in 7-inch
pots, may now be potted in 9 or 10-ineh ones,
making use of a compost consisting of turfy-
loam, spent Mushroom-dung, and some road
scrapings. Cuttings of these plants standing
in boxes having commenced to grow should be
potted off to the number of two in a 60-pot, in
a less rich material.

Flowering Shrubs. — The pruning, tying, and
nailing of climbing plants on waifs with a
warm aspect should now have attention. The
system of spurring the laterals will suit all
the summer-flowering varieties of Lonieera,
such shoots only being retained of full length
as may be required for extension. Species
of Clematis will require little beyond removing
the dead shoots. The shoots of some species
die to the ground annually ; but hybrids of the
Jackmani type, where the plants are robust,
should have the weakest shoots thinned out, or
the plants will soon exceed the available space.
C. Jackmani and its hybrids may be cut down
to the ground annually, as it flowers on the
current season's growth, or the shoots may be
simply shortened ; C. montana (spring), C.
patens (spring), C. florida (summer), flower on
the one-year-old wood ; C. graveolens (late
summer), G. lanuginosa (successional), and C.
viticella (successional), flower on the young
growing summer shoots. Avoid the over-
crowding of the shoots of Jasminum officinale
by removing the superfluous growths. Buddleia
globosa, Choisya ternata, Thermopsis laburni-
folia, Passiflora coerulea, and P. Constance
Elliott, giow and flower best by allowing free
extension, only unripened parts of shoots being
removed. There are many kinds of Roses that
may be closely spurred so far as regards the
growth of the previous year, but reserving well
ripened shoots that spring from the base of the
plants ; these being laid in, filling the place of
exhausted shoots and branches. The flowers
of Marechal Niel and climbing Xiphetos are
borne on young, well ripened lateral shoots.
Cut back old bare branches where practicable,
and thus make room for strong vigorous
growth that will produce flowers the coining
summer.

Resources of the Straits Settle-
ments. — According to a recent number of
Nature, Mr. H. N. Ridley, Director of the
Botanic Gardens, Singapore, delivered a lecture
at the Imperial Institute recently, entitled
"The Economic Resources of the Straits
Settlements and the Malay Peninsula." He
remarked that the forests, which originally
covered the whole peninsula, contain rnauy
valuable products, such as timbers, wood-
oil, benzoin, gutta-percha, and rattans. Owing
to the felling of trees by the Malays, gutta-
percha, so indispensable for electric work,
has been nearly exterminated. Fortunately,
however, the product can now be extracted
from the leaves and twigs without injury to
the trees, which are being planted by the
Government. A very large area of the
Federated States is under Coffee, but on
account of the present glut of the market, and
the consequent low prices, most of the
planters are adding Para-rubber to their
estates — a tree which thrives marvellously
well, and produces a very satisfactory amount
of rubber of the first quality. India-rubber
from the Ficus elastica also promises well :
but although it is being planted, its product
is less highly valued. Accounts were given
of the cultivation ami preparation of Sago
(1 acre of the Sago-Palm gives as much nourish-
ment as 16;! acres of Wheat), Tapioca, Gambia.
Mangrovc-Cutch, Pepper, Nutmegs, Cloves.
Indigo, and Pineapples. The greater pari ol
the preserved Pines of commerce come from
Singapore, where the price of the fruit varies
from a farthing to a penny each ; and the
lecturer remembered a time when they had
been as cheap as sixteen a penny I The
mineral resources of the colony include gold
and tin. the latter being found in i

abundance."

78

THE GARB ENER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

[February 1, 1902.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER.
Letters for Publication, as well as specimens and plants

for naming, should be addressed to the EDITOR.

41, Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London,

Communications should be written on one side only or
the papek, sent as early, in the week as possible, and duly
signed by the writer. If desired, the signature will not be
printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.

Special Notice to Correspondents.— The Editor does not
undertake to pay Jor any contributions, or to return the
unused communications or illustrations, unless by special
arrangement.

Illustrations.— The Editor will thankfully receive and select
photographs or drawings, suitable for reproduction, oj
gardens, or of remarkable plants, Jloivers, trees, £c. ; but he
ctnnot be responsible for loss or injury.

Local News. — Correspondents will greatly oblige by sending to
the Editor early intelligence of local events likely to be oj
interest to our readers, or of any matters which it is desirable
to bring under the notice of horticulturists.

Newspapers. — Correspondents sending newspapers should be

careful to mark the paragraphs they wish theEditor to see.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, Feb. 3.—

Plauts, Lilies, <6c, bv Protheroe & Morris, at 12.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 5.—

Palms and Decorative Plants, Fruit, Trees, &c, at

Stevens' Rooms, 12.30.— Azaleas, Palms. &c, by

Protheroe & Morris, at 12.
FRIDAY, Feu. 7.—

Roses, Ferns, &c., at 12: Orchids, by Protheroe &

Morris, at 12.30.
(For further particulars see Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperaitre for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
-39 3°.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— January 29 (6 p.m.): Max. 39°; Mm. 3V.

January 30.— Fine ; slight frost.
Provinces.— January 29 (6 p.m ) : Max. 42", S.W. Ire-
land : Miu. 27\ N.E. Scotland.

We are challenged by Mr.
The Use of Ward to give chapter and verse
Nitrogenous { statement in a recent

Manures

for Peas. number, that there is no

" special " virtue in the use of
nitrogenous manures for Peas. Perhaps, if
we had used the word proportionate, our
meaning would have been clearer. We did
not intend to convey the impression that
Peas -were not at all benefited by manure of
this kind— daily experience in the season
would prove the contrary. But the benefit
is not directly proportionate to the quantity
of manure used. We based our statements
on the well-known Rothamsted experiments,
in particular on some which we had the
opportunity of watching and noting for
ourselves for some years in succession.

On a plot manured with dung, the total
Leguminosse actually diminished in com-
parison with what happened on the un-
manured plot. Leguminous plants under
the influence of dung and ammonia-salts
were almost banished, and corresponding-
results were observable on each one of the
manv plots to which nitrogenous manure
of any kind was applied. It must be
remembered that these were not a few expe-
riments on a small scale over a short term of
years, but, on the contrary, they were very
numerous, on a large scale, and extended
over half a century, the records being kept
with that minute accuracy which charac-
terised all the Rothamsted experiments.-
A summary statement of the [facts is given

in Dr. Masters' Plant Life, p. 100, in the
chapter on " The Battle of Life."

Leguminous plants are known to be in a
degree independent of nitrogenous manure
by virtue of the little nodules which are
met with on their roots. These nodules
result from the irritation and swelling
caused by minute bacteria. But the irrita-
tion and swelling are not all detrimental to
the plant. The bacteria they contain have
the power, in some way or another, of col-
lecting and furnishing to the plant the
nitrogen it requires, possibly by converting
insoluble compounds of nitrogen in the soil
into those which can be assimilated. In
any case, the apparent parasite confers a
benefit on its host, and a state of what
botanists call '; symbiosis" is maintained, to
the advantage of both. I'ercival's Agricul-
tural Botany (1900) has an instructive chapter
on this subject.

The whole subject is indeed complex and
ill-understood, but enough is known to show
that, provided a soil be fairly rich, no large
amount of farmyard manure or of nitro-
genous manures generally, is necessary in
the culture of Peas and Beans. In this
respect they are the antithesis of cereal
plants.

One of the best artificial manures for
leguminous plants, Peas and Beans, is
muriate of potash afforded as top-dressings
at tri-weekly intervals, and if possible in
moist weather hoeing it into the ground.
This should beapplied just before the plants
come into flower, and again during the bear-
ing season. In the event of rain not falling,
water must be applied on each side of the
row for a space of \x inches, the distance
to which the dressing should extend. As
manures furnishing potash and phosphates,
there are the Norwegian fish-manures, espe-
cially that of cod and potash, the phosphates
equalling 20 per cent., and potash 15 per
cent., and the quantity advisable to use being
from 2 to 4 cwt. per acre. Asa means of treat-
ing the land in accordance with the needs of
the Pea-crop, the intercropping method is
the more suitable, the position of the rows of
feas being indicated by stakes, the breadth
for single rows being 4 feet, and double
rows 7 to S feet, according to the height of
haulm. These strips could be left un-
dunged, and be trenched 2 to 3 spits deep ;
and the intermediate breadths should be
manured in a manner suited to the various
crops they are intended to carry, and dug
or trenched as may seem desirable.

* "Agricultural. Botanical, and Chemical Results
of Experiments on the Mixed Herbage of Permanent
Meadow, conducted for more than twenty years in
succession on the same Land." Part ii. "The Botanical
Results." By Sir J. B. Lawes, Bart.. LL.D., Ac. ; .1. II.
Gilbert, Ph.D., F.R.S.. etc. ; and Maxwell T. Masters,
M.D., F.R.S. Philosophical Transactions •>( the Royal
Society, vol. 173(1883).

Linnean SOCIETY. — On the occasion of the
evening' meeting to be held on Thursday,
February (i, 1902, at 8 P.M., the following
papers will be read: — 1, "On a Method of
Investigating the Gravitational Sensitiveness
of the Root-tip," by F. Darwin, F.R.S. , F.L.S. ;
2, " An Extinct Family of Feins," by Dr. D. H.
SCOTT, F.R.S., F.L.S. '

My Garden Diary.— Messrs. Sutton &
Sons, of Reading, have again this year sent
out an Almanac in a pretty cover, and con-
taining useful cultural notes, and blank spaces
for memoranda. The following appropriate
quotations are appended to the booklet : —
" Doing things in good time is the main secret
of successful gardening," The Garden that J
Love, by Alfred Austin. " I do hold it, in the
royal ordering of gardens, there ought to be
gardens for all the months in the year ; in
which, severally, things of beauty may be then
in season," Lord Bacon.

Presentation to Mr. John Wright. —
At the annual meeting of the "Worshipful Com-
pany of Fruiterers, held on Friday, January 24,
Mr. John WRIGHT, V.M.H., was presented
with the handsome Gold Medal of the Company
upon the publication of the sixth edition of
Profitable Fruit Growing. Mr.' 'Wright, who
was for twenty-five years (ending at the close
of 1900) on the staff of the Journal of Horticul-
ture, thus becomes a triple Gold Medallist for
distinguished services in horticulture.

Monmouth Technical Instruction Com-
mittee.— Wo have received the Report of the
Organising Secretary to the Technical Instruc-
tion Committee (County of Monmouth) as
regards agriculture, dairy and cheese schools,
horticulture and arboriculture. Horticultural
instruction has proved acceptable and profit-
able, and cider-making has also received
attention, and the cider showed a marked
improvement upon that made last year.

"Agenda Horticole." — Par b. Henry
(Paris : Librairie and Imprimerie Horticoles,
84 bis. Rue deGrenelle). A useful handbook,
including a calendar and much useful informa-
tion, not merely about agricultural and horti-
cultural arrangements for the current year
and notes, but also weights and measures,
postal information, money tables, and the
usual accompaniments of an almanac, including
a blank diary and pages for memoranda.

" Index Kewensis." — The first instalment
of the Supplement to the Index Kewensis,
prepared by M. Durand, of the Brussels
Botanic Garden, and Mr. B. Daydon Jackson,
has just been issued. It comprises the names
of plants published between 1886 and 1895
inclusive, and extends from " A " to " Cym."
The first thing that strikes us is the over-
whelming number of names for which Herr
Kuntze is responsible. To give one instance :
under Acinodendron between seven and eight
quarto columns of Kuntzean names are given
for species which have been referred by all
other authors to Miconia. Herr KUNTZE may
be right or he may be wrong in his opinion,
but by insisting on it, he is making systematic
botany impossible. Nomenclature in itself is
a means and not an end ; pursued as an end it
defeats its own object of facilitating study.
The editors are probably technically correct
in inserting all these names, but we should
have been just as well pleased if they had
been left in the author's Reiisio Generum
Plantarum, where they might have been
found by those desirous of making the
search. If these names had been the outcome
of monographic research on the part of
the author, they would, of course, have
a clear right to be inserted in this Index.
Ten years ago we discussed the matter in
these columns, and need not more fully
advert to it now unless it lie to express our
satisfaction that the names alluded to are
treated as synonyms rather than as accepted
names. The more frequent insertion in the
Supplement of the date of publication is an
improvement for which workers will be
grateful. Even now, there are omissions in
this particular, for while the dates are given
in some genera, they are omitted in others.
In some cases we find hybrids included, a
circumstance which, in view of the activity of
hybridists, we may well rejoice at. The
spelling of the word Alchimilla is unfamiliar ;
LlNN.EUS certainly wrote Alcheniilla, but
doubtless the editors had good reason, be-
cause, as we see in the Philosophia Botaniea,
TOURNEFORT wrote Alchimilla. If this is the
reason, the change is of a rather Kuntzean
character. A few misprints, wonderfully few.

February 1, 1902.]

THE GARD ENER S ' CUR ONI CL E.

79

are apparent: " laseiocarpa " should be
"lasiocarpa," and "Im Tluirm " should be
" Im Thurn ; " Aristolocbia longe-caudata,
Mast., published in Martios' Flora Brasili-
'ensis in 1809, and figured in the Gardeners'
Chronicle, November 1, 1890, is not mentioned
either in the original text or in the Supple-
ment, although Sereno Watson's plant of the
same name, but not published till 1887, is
included. But these are very minor matters ;
the substantial fact is, that we have here the
commencement of the record of all plant-
names (except those of Cryptogams), pub-
lished between 1886 (the date at which the
original volumes cease) and 1895 ; and this is
a boon for which all botanists and all those
engaged in systematic research will hold the
editors in grateful admiration.

A Victoria Memorial Tree.— The King
has planted a tree at the Flemish Farm,
Windsor Great Park, in memory of Queen
Victoria. It is placed near that planted by
the late Queen to the memory of the Prince
Consort, to mark the spot where he fired his
last shot when shooting in Windsor Park,
where he caught a chill shortly before his
death.

Botanical Books.— The books recently
sold at Stevens' Rooms in many cases sold at
splendid prices: " Curtis's British Entomo-
logy" realised £19; a remarkably tine set of
" Curtis's Botanical Magazine," £130; " Ed-
wards' Botanical Register" realised £10;
"Hooker's Icones Plantarum," t'43 10s.;
"Loddiges' Botanical Cabinet," £39; "So-
werby's English Botany," £15; "Parkinson's
1'aradisi in Sole, &c," £20; "Andrews' Co-
loured Engravings of Heaths," £15 10s. ;
"Curtis's Flora Londinensis," £12 12s.; and
"Blume's Rumphia " realised £13.

Houblon Apple.— Messrs. Horne & Sons,
Cliil'e, near Rochester, Kent, have purchased
the entire stock of the new dessert Apple
called Houblon from Mr. C. Ross, Welford
Park Gardens, Newbury, Berkshire. This is
from the same cross as the famous Charles
Ross Apple ; in fact, it is from a pip out of the
same fruit, but takes more of the character of
one of its parents, Cox's Orange. It gained
the 1st prize at the Palace Show, October 10
last. The same dish was shown at the Royal
Horticultural meeting, December 17, when an
Award of Merit was recommended for the
novelty. The fruits were not larger than
Cox's Orange Pippin, but were very highly
coloured. The eye is open, and set in a mode-
rate-sized basin ; the quality of the flesh is
good. The parent tree having a heavy crop of
fruit last summer, made but little wood, so
that the stock of trees the first year will be
very limited.

The Middlesex County Council School
of Horticulture. — The Technical Education
Committee of tbe Middlesex County Council
having decided to establish a school of practical
and scientific horticulture, has, by arrange-
ment with the Edmonton District Council,
acquired a large piece of land with six green-
houses at Pymmes Park, Edmonton, for the
purpose of carrying out this idea. The main
object in view is to give a thorough horticul-
l ural training to those who are anxious to take
up gardening as a profession. Opportunity
will also be afforded to school teachers to
acquire a knowledge of horticulture by means
of special Saturday morning lessons and
demonstat ions in the gardens. Only the liest
and most profitable kinds of fruits, flowers,
anil vegetables, will be grown; and trials and
experiments of particular crops or varieties

will be carried out from time to time, as
occasion may require. Scientific training will
go hand in hand with the practical, and
lectures and demonstrations on the theory and
practice of horticulture, the examination and
classification of plants, the use of the micro-
scope, &c, will be freely given. Students
will also have the privilege of attending the
lectures on chemistry and other sciences at
the Council's well appointed laboratories at
the Tottenham Polytechnic. The County
Council offers three scholarships of £20 to £30
per annum, according to the age of candi-
dates. The work in the gardens will be carried
out under the direction of the Council's In-
structor in Horticulture, Mr. John Weathers,
F.R.H.S., author of A Practical Guide to Garden
Plants. Prospectuses and further information
relating to the School of Horticulture may be
obtained from the Organising Secretary, The
Guildhall, Westminster, S.W.

Flowers in Season.— Some blooms of very
excellent varieties of Primula sinensis were
recently brought to our notice by Mr. W.
Bull, the New Plant Establishment, King's
Road, Chelsea, which brought out capitally
the advances made in colour, form, and size,
in this species. We remarked marmorata,
lilacea, Ruby Queen, Imperial Blue. Avalanche
(a fine dense white), and Comet, all single-
flowered ; Blushing Beauty, Fulgens, and
Prince Arthur, among double-flowered varieties.

Chrysanthemums. — Mr. H. Cannell
lately discoursed at Chislehurst on the
history of the Chrysanthemum. Few persons
are better able to speak with authority on this
subject, as he has been an active participator
in the work of improvement dining the last 50
years. SALTER, whom Mr. Cannell mentions,
was not a Frenchman, but an Englishman who
resided for some years at Versailles and after-
wards returned to England, bringing with him
many novelties among Chrysanthemums. He
was also one of the first to take up the
varieties imported by Fortune. Mr. CANNELL
alludes to the value of the services of Mr.
Harman Payne; and sketches the origin and
progress of the Pompone, Japanese, hairy,
early-flowering, and other varieties, and does
not overlook the beauty of the single varieties.

Testimonial to Mr. Richard Dean.— At
a meeting of subscribers, held on January 14
at the Royal Aquarium, Westminster, it was
resolved to entertain Mr. Dean to dinner at
the Aquarium on February I. and to then
present the testimonial. The testimonial will
take the form of an address on vellum and a
cheque. Application lor dinner tickets should
be made to Mr. H. .1. JONES, Kyeeroft,
l.ewisham, London.

"The Culture of Vegetables and
Flowers from Seeds and Roots."— By

SUTTON & Sons, Beading. (London: SlMl'KlN,

Marshall, Hamilton. Kent & Co., Ltd.) This
is the tenth edition of a handbook valuable to
any gardener, professional or amateur. It
deals with a Year's Work in the Vegetable
Garden, the Rotation of (Vegetable) Crops,
the Chemistry of Crops, Culture of Flowers
from Seeds and from Bulbs, Flowers all the
Year Round, Lawns from Seeds, and Fungous

and Insect Pests. The I k is the work of

experienced hands, and I lie present edition

appears to be improved and enlarged. The

index is a useful addit ion.

"Botaniker Adressbuch." — This is a list
of the Dames ami addresses or living botanists

in all countries. It is carefully executed,
and indispensable to botanists ami those who
have to do with i hem. The latest change in

the Brussels Botanic Garden is not noted,
probably because the book was already in
type. It may be had from Herr Dorfler,
Barichgasse 36, Vienna, III.

Snowdrops. — In a garden at Ealing ex-
posed to tbe north, the first Snowdrop was
picked on January 21, which is about the
average date. The earliest date in the same
garden was January 9, 1890, the latest date
February 0, 1891 .

Fruits and Vegetables from France. —
It is interesting, for several reasons, to learn
that the trade in Strawberries and vegetables
between Brest and Plymouth is an increasing
one, and very profitable to our friends across
the Channel. In 1900 the sales here of French
produce amounted to £50,000 ; last year they
reached some £00,000 ; and it is believed that
this year there will be a still further increase.
In view of this, several steamers are being
taken up here on six-week contracts to carry
fruit and vegetables from Brest, &c, to Ply-
mouth, on every day of the week excepting
Saturday and Sunday.

The National Chrysanthemum Society's
annual general meeting, which has been
already announced for Monday next, Feb. 3,
will be held at Carr's Restaurant, 205, Strand,
W.C., at 7 P.M., when Sir A. K. RoLLIT. M.P.,
the new President, is expected to take the
Chair. In addition to the usual business, such
as the presentation of the Committee's report
and balance-sheet, election of Officers, &c,
notices have been given of proposed amend-
ments to Rules III. and XIV. A subscription-
list has been opened for the purpose of
establishing a memorial to the late President
by the offering for competition each year of a
large Gold Medal of the Society, such medal
to be known as " The Sir Edwin Saunders
Memorial (Sold Medal."

"In a Minster Garden."— A causerie by
the Dean of Ely. (London: Elliot Stock,
02, Paternoster Row, B.C.) The pictures first
draw our attention, as they are from photo-
graphs of charming "bits" of Ely archi-
tect are. As to t he garden, that is the set tiiii;-
for a love-story with a heroine endowed with
beauty, book - learning, musical genius, and
just a few other possessions. Dr. Stibbs is
evidently enthusiastic about the history of
Ely and the " Minster," and is most at home
when writing of I'.ltYHTNOTH the Ealilorman.

John of Crauden, and other local heroes, who
are still far more interesting than the puppet-
Like characters that are supposed to be types

of modern life. But we are not disposed to

be severe on any part of a book •' written."
says the Dean, "to amuse myself during the
enforced leisure of convalescence;" and

avowedly " O el oil a." This motto is a quota-
tion from a list of expenditures of the thir-
teenth and fourteenth centnrox: the "O"
indicating one or other of the great pre-
Christmas antipl 9 which began O sapientia !

0 Adonai ! and so on. "The olla, or pot,

was the homely synonym lor the Subsequent

rejoicing at the refectory least . . . under

1 he I il ill us • ( ) et olla.' therefore, was evidently

combined the tl ghl of things both solemn

and joyous, grave and gay, of prayer and

worship ifa chinch, ol comrade workand happy

leisure in cloister and Eratry house." Be?

sides the subjects already indicated, we read
of I he Prior's holiday in t he .\ew World, \\ here

his experiences were Favourable but, probably,
not unique, and so are given to us in a single
chapter, and not spun out to form a whole
book. This "Minster Garden" should be
welcomed by transatlantic readers, for il

80

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 1, 1902.

bears about it the atmosphere as it were of
antiquity, half traditional, half historical,
that makes our cathedral cities so charming.
The book would make a welcome gift to anyone
interested in Ely, as it is full of local " colour,"
yet quite unlike an ordinary guide-book.

Rumphius.— The directors of the Colonial
Museum at Haarlem intend to celebrate, on
June 15, 1902, the bicentenary of the death of
Georg Eberhaiu> Rumphitjs. This naturalist,
who was born in 1627, died on the Island of
Amboyna, after forty years of unremitting-
labour there. A medal is to be issued to
commemorate the life and work of this distin-
guished scientific man in the Moluccas. The
medal shows, on one side, the portrait of
RUMPHIUS, and on the other, a view in Am-
boyna. The execution of the design lias been
entrusted to the firm of C. Y. Begeer, of
Utrecht. Purchasers of the medal will be pre-
sented with a copy of the Rumphius Memorial
Hook, which will be published on June 15, 1902,
at the Colonial Museum. Contributions may
be sent to Herr AY. P. Gkuexevfxot, or to Herr
M. Glii'slioiF, director and secretary respec-
tively of the Colonial Museum, Haarlem. The
medal, which is about 2 inches across, costs
about two guineas in silver, and eight shillings
and sixpence in bronze.

" Lindenia." — The December number of
this important publication contains coloured
illustrations and descriptions of the following
Orchids : —

Vandn. teres i<ur. Candida, tab. dcclvii. — A
variety originally described by Reichenbach
in our columns in 1875. The segments are
white, the anterior lobe of the lip streaked
with lilac, and the base marked with yellow.

Odonioglosswm crispum La Veine, t. dcclviii.
— A truly superb variety, with flat flowers,
broad, ovate-acute, undulate segments, white,
with a large central rosy-purple blotch. The
lip is of similar form, with a large central
purplish blotch, surrounded by a narrow
white edge, and with a yellow disc. The name
" la Veine " has reference to the fine " vein "
of Odontoglossums which the collectors for
the Moortebeeke establishment have been so
lucky as to exploit.

Cqlanthe : Mylesii, t. dcclix. — Probably a
hybrid between C. vestita and C. Yeitchi.
The hybrid has the flowers entirely white. A
list of the more important hybrids is given.

Cymbidiwm tirirhuun, t. dcclx. ; Bat, Mag.j
t. 5457. One of Mr. Parish's discoveries in
the mountains of Tennasserim. Flower seg-
ments greenish-yellow spotted with red, the
lip white streaked with purple, its lateral
lobes yellow streaked with reddish-brown.
The terminal flowers are sometimes wholly
red, and the column imperfectly developed,
peculiarities which are not constant, as they
are not shown in the plate.

Royal Appointment. — Messrs. Thomas
Green & SON, Limited, inform us that they
received a warrant appointing them purveyors
of mowing-machines to the KING in August
last, and they were therefore among the first to
receive His Majesty's commands. The firm
held a similar appointment from her late
Majesty Queen VICTORIA.

Publications Received. — The Ninth Report
oftheNeui Zealand Department vf Agriculture, 1901. Con-
tents: Sir John McEenzie, K.C.M.G. (obituary notice);
Report "f Secretary for Agriculture, Dairying, Stock,
Poultry. Veterinary Science, New Zealand Hemp.
Biology, Horticulture, &c. — Annual Report of the
Queensland Department <>i Agriculture for 1900-01.
'■The greatest agricultural industry here at present is
the su^ar industry. About one-fifth of all our culti-
vated laud is under Sugar-cane, and about three-fourths
of the value of our agricultural exports must be
credited to sugar. It is therefore not pleasant to have
to record the heavy loss this great industry* suffered,
chiefly from drought, last year." Much more en-
couraging are last year's figures relating to Wheat.
Maize and fruit-growing also were successful.

SANTA BARBARA.
[See Supplementary Ii.lustcation.]

Ouu illustration, furnished by Dr. Fran-
ceschi, shows the effect of an Agave when
permitted to flower in the open air. The plant
is named A. recur vata, a name not in Mr.
Baker's list, but which may be a form of the
common A. americana, the so-called century
plant, though every gardener is aware of the
inaccuracy of the popular notion that a century
is required to ensure the production of flower.
A considerable time may indeed lapse before
the conditions are favourable. When once
the plant has flowered it dies, but not before
it has provided for its perpetuation by the
production of offsets.

Santa Barbara, says Dr. Franceschi, is
known all over the world as the place where the
largest number of plants from widely different
climates have congregated to live happily to-
gether, and will often thrive with more vigour
than in their native countries. Mainly two
factors have contributed to bring these re-
sults. The first is Nature, namely, the special
topographic and climatic conditions of this
spot. The local meteorological records for
over 30 years, when carefully compared with
other localities of Southern California, un-
questionably show that Santa Barbara enjoys
the privilege of higher rainfall, and of less
variation between the different seasons of the
year, consequently the growth of most plants
is continuous, and they will attain here larger
size and come into bearing much earlier than
in other places. The other factor is man, who
in this case has wonderfully co-operated with
Nature. Ever since the first establishment
of the Old Mission, more than a century ago,
a much larger number of plants was intro-
duced here from foreign countries than in
other localities of California, and a smaller
number of them have been lost, because they
found here more congenial conditions. At the
beginning of the new century, it is safe to
say that there are grown in the open at Santa
Barbara not fewer than 150 different species of
Palms, about the same number of Conifers,
50 species of Bamboos, about 300 Vines or
climbers, and something like 2,000 different
species trees, shrubs, and perennials. They
have been introduced here from the hottest and
from the coldest regions of the globe, as well
as from the temperate ones, and they combine
to make a display of vegetation that have no
rivals anywhere else.

As for Roses and the more familiar garden
flowers, their profusion at all seasons of the
year is fairly bewildering. Even more in-
teresting to the botanist, or indeed to most
genuine flower-lovers, are the native wild
flowers which, in their season, carpet field and
hill-side.

THE SALE OF POISONS FOR
INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES.

\Vili\ you kindly allow me to bring under the notice
of your numerous readers, the action that is being taken
by and on behalf of a number of importanttraders who
are interested in the sale of poisons for other than
medicinal purposes!' Agricultural agents, farmers,
agriculturists, fruit-growers, seedsmen, ironmongers,
drysalters, and many others are concerned, and to
some of these the subject of this letter may not be un-
familiar, while to others, who have not. had their atten-
tion directed specially to it, it may be both new and
interesting, as well as important.

To put it brieily, the question at issue is, the right,
and the desirability, of poisonous compounds required
for trading and industrial purposes, being sold by
other than dispensing chemists and druggists. The
latter possess, under the Act of 1868, the monopoly of
all such sales, and occasionally the Pharmaceutical
Society, acting in their behalf, institutes prosecutions
for the recovery of penalties, with the object of assert-

ing this monopoly; but as a matter of common prac-
tice, the law is not generally regarded as having the
effect that the Pharmaceutical Society contends for,
and many retail dealers habitually disregard its alleged
intention— of course, at the risk of being proceeded
against. It is for the purpose of relieving traders of
this liability, and thereby meeting thejconvenience of
the public at large, that an organisation entitled "The
Traders in Poisons or Poisonous Compounds for
Technical or Trade Purposes Protection Society" has
been formed ; and the action that this Society is now
taking, in the interests of all such traders throughout
the country (and not merely its members), is what I am
anxious to disclose to your readers.

The Society to which I have the honour to be
Secretary was formed in March, 1900, since which date
it has been very successful in organising the various
traders who are directly concerned in the sale of
poisonous compounds for industrial purposes; upon
the eve of the last General Election it communicated
with most of the parliamentary candidates, and 90 per
cent, of the replies received were favourable to the
Society's objects. Briefly put, the object is to secure
an amendment of the existing law. Those traders who
are continuing the sale of the various articles in which
they have been accustomed to deal will be gratified to
learn that effectual and energetic steps are being taken
to vindicate their position, and secure their immunity
from prosecutions. This is largely due to the greatand
sustained interest taken in the Protection Society by
its Treasurer (Mr. G. H. Richards), whose strenuous
exertions have done much to inspire confidence in the
classes of traders who are directly concerned iu this
subject, and who may confidently rely upon a con-
tinuance of energetic action in their behalf until the
object is attained. There are many reasons why the
Pharmacy Act of 18BS, already alluded to, should be
amended. In the first place, it is evident, from the
preamble, that it was intended more particularly to
ensure the safety of the public, by insisting that
only competent persons, having practical knowledge
of the properties of poisons, should have the dis-
pensing of same. That is reasonable enough; but
in the days when the measure became law there
were not in existence the multitudinous pack-
ages and bottles of preparations, compounded by
the manufacturer ready lor immediate use, for horti-
cultural, agricultural, and other trade purposes, which
are now to be met with all over the country. As
regards these, the ordinary chemist and druggist has
no more practical knowledge than the man in the
wood. The manufacturer tells him— and the public at
large— by advertisement, that this or that mixture, or
sheep dip, or powder, is au excellent remedy for this
or that disorder, and the purchaser, like the chemist,
takes it on trust for some specific purpose, the chemist
being merely the channel through which the manu-
facturer reaches the customer. There is no skilled
practical knowledge of poisons required to dispose of
a sealed packet or vessel which the chemist receives
from the manufacturer, who alone undertakes the
responsibility of declaring that a compound of
poisonous articles, of a certain strength, is effective
for a certain purpose. The purchaser might just as
well buy what he wants from any other tradesman so
far as the skilled knowledge of the Chemist is brought
to bear upon the article disposed of. Indeed, in most
cases it would be distinctly advantageous to the buyer
if he went to some person who had practical experience
of the preparation required. Take, for instance, the
case of au insecticide (such as XL All) containing
poison. Would not a seedsman or horticultural agent
be more likely to give valuable advice to a purchaser
based upon practical experience, than a chemist whose
principal employment is the dispensing of drugs
intended to cure all the ills that flesh is heir to ? The
one has probably used the poison himself, and is in a
position to say how best to apply it; but the chemist
would, from his different occupation, have had no
opportunity of acquiring such knowledge.

The same argument applies to sheep dips, weed-
killers, &c. If there is any risk to public safety in-
volved in the proposed freer sale, it is not increased by
disposal through a seedsman, nor minimised by being
handed over a chemist's counter. Again, how few
pharmacists have any but the most remote knowledge
of the best means of destroying aphis, mealy bug, or
mildew— so destructive to the fruit-grower— compared
with the seedsman or agricultural agent ? The new
vaporiser^ and insecticides which have come in*o such
general use in recent years have been invented by
members of the horticultural trade, aud people who
are accustomed to their application are naturally the
best advisers of purchasers— not chemists, who know
nothing of them beyond the label on each packet.
Indeed, the skille-l knowledge of the pharmacist,
which may be of the utmost service in making up a
bottle of medicine for a human being, is not brought
into use in the sale of a sealed packet or vessel ; hence
the very reasonable demand that the sale of poisonous
compounds for purposes already indicated shall not
be confined to chemists and druggists, but. be legally
extended to other tradesmen, who can then meet the
convenience of the public without incurring risk of

February 1, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

81

•prosecution. A measure such as is contemplated would
also enable photographic requisites containing poison
to be sold by others than chemists.
, It is to the benefit of traders in all parts of the
country that the Society to which I have referred is
■exerting itself, and I am glad to inform you that the
■reasonableness of its demand has been admi ,ted by the
iPrivy Council, who last year appointed a Poisons Com-
mittee to investigate the matter and report on the
evidence submitted to them. Already that Committee
lias held three sittings, at which witnesses were heard
■on behalf of the Pharmaceutical Society on the one
Jiand, and our Protection Society on the other, besides

seedsmen, oil and colourmen, ironmongers, hardware
dealers, and the like, who would benefit by an amend-
ment of the law which enabled them to sell, without
fear of prosecution, many articles in great demand, in
town and country alike. I therefore hope that this
Trade Protection Society will receive their cordial
support. It already has the sympathy, in a practical
form, of the Ironmongers, the Tar Distillers, and the
Photographic Societies, and it is hoped that the success
which has attended its efforts so far in its attack upon
the monopoly, will attract the continued and extended
interest of all those who wish to see that monopoly
broken down.

A VISIT TO THE NORTH.— XI.

{Concluded from p. 55.)
DALKEITH PALACE.
On the last of the very few days spent in
Edinburgh, I determined to go to Dalkeith,
and get a glimpse of those gardens that, to-
gether -with the name of their late director,
Malcolm Dunn, are known, by repute at least,
to all readers of the Gardeners' Chronicle.
Time was very short, for when I had travelled

Flfi. 29.— VIEW OF THE GARDENER'S HOUSE AT DALKEITH, AND SHOWING SITE OF THE RIBBON BORDERS, REFERRED TO ON P. 82.

fsame independent skilled and Departmental wit-
nesses ; and there is good reason for believing that the
Committee may recommend the adoption of a third
schedule to the Pharmacy Act. which will provide,
-where poisonous compounds are sold in sealed pack-
ages for agricultural, horticultural, disinfecting, and
other trade or technical purposes, by persons other
'than chemists, who shall be duly licensed, and being
respectable and responsible individuals, they shall be
lawfully entitled to sell such articles.

It must be understood, however, that this desired
result can only be obtained by the traders concerned
bestirring themselves and bringing pressure to bear
upon the Members of Parliament in their respective
districts, pointing out to them the desirability of the
Government being urged to bring in an amendment
Bill for the purposes above indicated.

For every fully qualified chemist, there must be a
•large number of agricultural agents, horticulturists,

In saying this, allow me to add that we in no sense
advocate, or desire to bring about, the indiscriminate
sale of poisons. We urge that all retailers of them
should be registered and licensed, and that those who
arc not pharmacists should sell only in sealed packages
or vessels, without breaking bulk. By these pre-
cautions being observed, we contend that the public
safety would be safeguarded quite as much as it now is,
while the public convenience would be vastly increased.
If other information is desired on this important sub
ject.it will be readily furnished by yours faithfully,
Thos. (1. Dobbs, Secretary, t'l, Snnsomt Street, Worcester,
January 28, 1H02.

P. a. — Since writing the above, according to the
Chemist and Druggist Jthe trade organ of the pharma-
cists) of the 25th inst., it is admitted, to use their own
words, " that the report (of the Poisons Committee of
the Privy Council) will be to some extent opposed to
the Pliarma T Act view of tho*salo of poisons."

to Esk Bank Station on the North British Rail-
way, and walked to the gardens, the after-
noon's sun was low. But contrary to expecta-
tioii, 1 was fortunate in finding the new
gardener, Mr. James Whytock, in one of the
vineries, and he very kindly did all in his
power to assist his unexpected visitor to see
as much as was possible of this celebrated

place.

The approach to the estate is not of tho best
description. The borough of Dalkeith im-
presses the visitor unfavourably. The houses
are blackened by smoke, and the dwellings
are small and mean in appearance; whilst tha

number of bare-footed "bairns,'' and of even

82

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 1, 1902,

older individuals, that are seen in the streets
and at the doors of the houses may be accepted
as proof that the inhabitants generally are not
in too comfortable circumstances. Such are
the conditions of the main thoroughfare, and
they approach almost to the great gates
leading- to the park.

Once upon any part of the estate of Dalkeith
Palace, which it may be scarcely necessary to
say is one of the residences of the Duke of
Bueeleueh, aud the contrast afforded to Dal-
keith itself is very impressive. Here is every-
thing upon a grand scale. The Palace is large,
the park is extensive, and contains very old
timber trees, and the gardens are provided
■with everything necessary for the maintenance
of a princely establishment.

In the Glasshouses.

I have stated already that I found Mr. Why-
tock in one of the vineries, and that being so,
he directed my attention at once to some
"Vines of the Sprotboro Muscat. Some gar-
deners believe this variety to be synony-
mous with Muscat of Alexandria, but at
Dalkeith the blossoms set freely in a lower
temperature than is successful in the case of
the variety more generally cultivated. There
is little doubt but that the Vines at Dalkeith
have needed to be renewed in the past few
years, and the new gardener has applied him-
self to the work at once. Consequently, some
of the houses now contain quite young canes,
and after a few seasons it is confidently
expected that the yield of Grapes will be much
greater and the quality superior. The Duke
has built a new vinery as an encouragement.
This structure is 75 feet long and 20 feet wide.
It has a J span roof, and is 20 feet high. The
builders were Messrs. McKenzie & Moncur,
and_like most of their houses, this one is con-
structed of teak wood. The length of the house
is relieved by a porch with lantern roof in the
centre. The young Vines planted in this
house had been raised from eyes started in
the month of February. Some of my readers
may think the house inconveniently high, and
it is certainly unusually lofty, but I believe the
dimensions were chosen by the Duke, and his
gardener will doubtless be able to manage
it satisfactorily. There are at Dalkeith,
including the new one, eight vineries, one of
which is very large. Most varieties of Grapes
are cultivated, and Mr. Whytock has a very
good opinion of the comparatively new Lady
Hutt. In some of these vineries the system of
glazing provides that the panes of glass over-
lap each other a little at the end, and there is
i-inch space between them, the lower pane
passing, of course, under the higher one.
This system answers perfectly, for there is no
drip in consequence, and the air thus admitted
in small quantities from the top of the house
is very beneficial, and prevents scorching.

TherearenumerousPeach and Nectarine-trees
indoors. In one of the houses, young trees
had been planted in 1900, and in addition
to others there is a Peach-house 250 feet in
length, and adjoining this a similar structure
also 250 feet long containing Plum-trees. Late
Peaches and Nectarines were very plentiful
at the time of my visit (September 3), and the
trees appeared in good condition. Figs are
cultivated in two houses which contain trees
in pots and in borders. The forcing of Straw-
berries is a large item, as fi,000 plants are
thus used. Favourite varieties are Keen's
Seedling, Scarlet Queen, John Raskin, and
Royal Sovereign ; but Mr. Whytock said their
very best early Strawberry ripening at the
end of February is Stevens" Wonder. Melons
and Tomatos are grown in abundance. Of
the former, the varieties known as Earl's

Favourite and Holborn Favourite are much
prized.

I was next shown a feature that unfortu-
nately is very rare in modern gardens, namely,
a fine collection of Pineapples. These were
in a low, three-quarter span-roofed, sunken
pit. 200 feet long, with a path through it.
Many gardeners, I know, are glad to be re-
lieved of the care of Pine - cultivation, and
owners are equally willing to be spared the
expense of the necessary firing. But one
notes the disappearance of the Pine - stove
from a garden regretfully. The cultivation of
Pines calls forth all the care and skill of a
gardener, and a first-class fruit produced
under the best cultivation is incomparably
superior to most imported ones, that too
many noblemen now rely upon exclusively.
It is all in their favour at Dalkeith that coal is
purchased there at lis. the ton ! What a boon
would this be for Londoners !

In the pinery mentioned there were fine
plants in flower of Pergulariaodoratissima, and
Stephanotis floribunda, neither of which har-
boured a single mealy-bug ! Of the rest of the
houses I must write very briefly. There were
plenty of moderately-sized ornamental plants,
suitable for table adornment or for furnishing
vases, and excellent plants of Ccelogyne cris-
tata were remarked, 2 feet or more across
them, Caladiums, Cannas, Carnations, Strepto-
carpus, and Begonias. Calanthes were looking
well, and have doubtless made a good show of
flower. In^the stove, which contained larger-
sized ornamental plants, were three fine Musas,
and there is a house filled with Camellia
plants, also a greenhouse, &c.

A Convenient " Potting-shed."
Before passing from the glass structures,
attention maybe drawn to a new "potting-
shed " that has been built under Mr. Why-
tock's directions. It is 60 feet long and 21 feet
wide, and the roof is partly of glass. How
great the contrast between this spacious,
light shed and the potting-sheds in half the
gardens tin the country, which are small,
draughty, and insufficiently light for the con-
venient discharge of the work that has to be
done in them ! The stokehole, too, at Dalkeith
that leads to the powerful steel Cornish
boilers (12 feet by 5 feet) is a most convenient
one.

Extraordinary Collection of Fruit Trees.
Of the'kitehen garden, I acres are contained
inside the walls, and 8 acres outside. It is
divided by good broad walks, covered with
loose gravel, and there is an old-fashioned
sun-dial in the centre. Everything is main-
tained in a neat condition, and it was a plea-
sure to inspect the fine crops of vegetables
that were [then so plentiful. Probably there
is no private collection of hardy fruit-trees so
rich in variety as that formed at Dalkeith by
Dunn, who had always a love for experiment,
and thirst for increased knowledge at first
hand. It was these characteristics that led
him to plant nearly 200 varieties of Plums, 700
of Apples, and 500 of Pears. In an experi-
mental garden these trees would now be of
great value, if only as a means for the iden-
tification of fruits from time to time by
comparison with living specimens, but they
gave Dunn very much more trouble than fifty
varieties of each would have done, and
possibly the yield of fruit would have been
much greater from the lesser number of
varieties. In pruning and training also, Dunn
tried {most of the known methods for his own
satisfaction, but the greater number of trees
in the orchard are tall standards, with but few
pyramids. Near to the glasshouses, and upon

either side of a path which lead* to Mr,
Whytock's house (see fig. 29), were exceed-
ingly gay ribbon and hardy flower borders.
There was nothing unusual among the plants,
used in them, but they throve and flowered
so well, that one turned again aud again to>
look at the effect, which although so gay was
harmonious, and proved that the arrangement
of the plants had been given consideration.
A somewhat formal flower garden is contained
on a small lawn near to the kitchen garden,
aud shut off from the park by a wall on the
east side. The walks between the beds are-
covered with white shell.

The wall just mentioned affords on this west
side some protection to a choice collection of
flowering and other shrubs, some of which
grow in the border and others against the
wall. Choisya ternata, Cytisus pallidus,
Olearias, Daphne hybrida, shrubby Spirreas..
hybrid Weigelas, Eleagnus, double-flowered
Bramble, Xanthoceras sorbifolia, Syringas, &c.
Had there been more time, a -closer inspection
of the collection would have been of very
great interest, for in this instance, Dunn's
work is affording results in respect to new or
little-known shrubs that would be profitable
to all planters in this district of Scotland. In.
the same border Eucalyptus Globulus was 25
feet high.

An old Rose-trellis.

An old rose-covered trellised walk abuts on
to the lawn already mentioned. It covers a
length of path of 500 ft., and among the old!
Rose-trees there are some varieties that may-
be now very rare. In addition to the Roses,
there are Honeysuckles, Peas, &c. ; and Mr.
Whytock states that nearly always during
spring, summer, and autumn, there is some
plant or other in flower. This Rose-trellis.,
with an arbour at either end, is nearly a
century and a-half old, and was moved by
Macintosh, sixty or seventy years ago, from
the old garden to the new one he was then'
engaged in forming.

Another collection of Roses worthy remark
is contained in a hedge planted early in the
last century, probably by Macintosh, or
earlier. The varieties are double-flowered
Scots Roses, and though there are now only
ninety-one existing, it is said that the collec-
tion originally included 150 varieties, which
at the time they were selected were thought
to be not only distinct from each other, but
the choicest obtainable. This broad hedge is.
about 100 yards long, and the varieties main-
tain a show of bloom for more than a month
each year. The labels have long been lost
from the plants, but each variety has been,
numbered and described when in flower with
a view to identifying them. Many of them
are exceedingly beautiful and fragrant, and
such a quantity of them must scent the air for-
a considerable distance. These Roses were
described at some length in the Gardeners'
Chronicle, July 16, 1898, p. 41.

Dalkeith Palace stands on a terrace over-
looking a deep valley where the river Eslc
flows through the grounds. There is a fine
massive stone bridge over the river, and a.
waterfall behind ; and on the terrace several
fine Cedars of Lebanon. The view from the
Palace embracing these and the wide sweeps of
excellently maintained lawns is very enjoyable.

Dalkeith grounds include some part of the
original Caledonian forests, and Oaks which
are said to be 800 years old. In the pleasure-
grounds are very many trees and shrubs of
interest that I have not mentioned, including
a large Cedrus Deodara, Taxus adpressa,
Hollies in great variety, Buddleia globosa,
Kolreuteria paniculata, and Sequoia gigantea

February 1, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

83

pendula 18 feet high, said to begone of the
first plants of this variety distributed. Its
apex is still erect, not drooping, as in the speci-
men illustrated in the Gardeners' Chronicle,
December 29, 1900, p. 478.

Mr. Whytock, a Scotsman, who came to
Dalkeith from Earl Fitzwilliatn's garden at
Coollattin in Ireland two years ago last
October, and who is now writing each week
in these pages upon "Fruits under Glass,"
may be depended upon to maintain the gardens
in first-rate condition, and keep the estab-
lishment to the front of Scottish horticulture
Ijy the practice of good cultivation. Mr.
"Whytock was once foreman in Dalkeith Gar-
dens under the late Mr. Thomson, and his
. present position is the third he has held as
faead-gardener.

I returned to Edinburgh from Dalkeith rail-
way station, reaching the City rather late in
the evening. On the following morning,
Wednesday, I had travelled to Glasgow by
9' o'clock to attend the second show in the
International Exhibition, that of fruits and
vegetables (an account of which was published
in these pages at the time), and on Thursday
morning at 8 o'clock was again in London.

Thus was "A Visit to the North" ter-
minated, and therefore these notes may now
conclude also with a grateful acknowledg-
ment of the courtesy and kindness shown me
by very many sympathetic horticulturists
-'across the Tweed." R. H. P.

LAW NOTES.

THE RIGHTS OF MARKET GARDENERS.
Claims for Orchards and Glasshouses :

Important Judgment.
An important judgment has just been deli-
vered in the High Court by Mr. Justice Cozens-
Hardy in the case of Mears ». Callender. This
action was brought by a landlord against the
outgoing tenant of a farm in respect to fixtures
put up for market gardening purposes, and the
result will interest all the market gardeners
tn East Anglia.

His Lordship said : About twenty years ago Mr.
Joseph Mears bought of Mr. Wiltshire a farm called
Kingwood Farm, in Oxfordshire. It was a purely agri-
cultural holding. For some few years he occupied
the farm, but on August 17, 1887, he granted a
lease of it to the defendant for 7, 14, or 21 years
from Michaelmas, 1887, at the yearly rental of £165.
Shortly after the lease, the defendant converted part
of the meadow surrounding the house into an orchard.
There are now upwards of 1200 trees in the orchard-
Apples, Pears, Plums, and Cherries— in good bearing
condition. These trees, though not capable of re-
moval, are worth several hundred pounds to anyone
taking the farm. The defendant also erected ten
glasshouses, in which Grapes, Peaches, Nectarines,
Tomatos, and Strawberries were grown. From these
houses he supplied fruit to Reading, and also to
Cbvent Garden, and I think it is clear that he carried
on the trade of a market gardener on the premises
with marked success, and with the full knowledge of
the landlord. The defendant gave notice to quit the
farm at Michaelmas, 1901, and he claimed the right to
remove the houses and to have compensation for the
■orchard trees. He pulled down three houses before
action was brought, and the question raised in this
action is whether the plaintiff, who is the present re-
versioner, can take the benefit of the orchard trees and
of tberenmininghouseswithoutmaking anycompensa-
tionor payment forthesame. The plaintiffs allegation
■that the defendant threatened to cut down or remove
the orchard trees is not proved. There is some conflict
of evidence as to the structure of the glasshouses.
Upon tlic whole, I conclude that, as to one of the
houses, which lias concrete sides, and which was
erected in or shortly after Is9.'i, under the superin-
tendence of Mr. Baker, the glass Bpan-roof is not
attached in such a way as to constitute it part of the
freehold. I think it substantially rests by its own
weight, upon the concrete wall, and th.it it. could be
lifted up and removed without in any way pulling l.i
pieces or damaging « lie walls. As to the other houses,
wooden piles were driven into the ground, on the top
.(|. which wide sills were placed which supported the

glass span-roofs, except in the case of the vinery, where
there was a lean-to roof. The roofs were nailed to the
sills or backings, which in turn were nailed ;to the
posts. Under these circumstances questions of impor-
tance and difficulty arise ;for my consideration. It is
contended on the part of thejplaintiff that the defendant
is bound to leave the orchard and all the houses
without claiming compensation. On the other hand,
the defendant claims, both ;at common law and
under the Agricultural Holdings (England) Act,
1883, as enlarged by the Market Gardeners' Com-
pensation Act, 1895, to be entitled to ;remove or
to have compensation for all the] glasshouses, and he
claims under those Acts to be entitled to compensation
for the orchard trees. It will be convenient to consider
—first, what are the rights of the parties irrespective
of the Acts of 188.3 and 1895, and whether, and to what
extent, their rights are modified or affected by those
Acts. Now, at common law, it is plain that the defen-
dant could not cut down or remove the orchard trees
or claim compensation. But, as to the glasshouses, a
much more difficult question arises. If erected for the
mere purpose of pleasure and ornament, and not for
the purpose of a trade, they would not be removable—
"Buckland v. Butterfield" (2 Broderip and Bingham,
54) "Jenkins v. Gething" (2 Johnson and Hemming,
520). If, however, they were erected, as in the present
case, by a market-gardener for the purposes of his
trade, different considerations arise.- In " Penton v.
Robart " (2 East, 88) Lord Kenyon intimated a strong
opinion in favour of the tenant. On the other hand
Lord Elleuborough, in the leading case of " Ehves
v. Maw" (3 East, 38), did not approve of Lord
Kenyon's observations, at least in so far as they
might be taken to apply to agriculture :—" He "—
i.e., Lord Kenyon — ''certainly seems, however, to
have thought that buildings erected byjtenauts for
the purpose of farming were, or rather, ought to be,
governed by the same rules which had been so long
judiciously holden to apply in ithe case of buildings
for the purposes of trade. But the case of^buildings
for trade has been always put and recognised as a
known allowed exception from the general rule
which obtains as to other buildings." I am not
satisfied that Lord Ellenborough dissented from
Lord Kenyon's view, so far as market - gardeners
were concerned. If, however, there be any differ-
ence between Lord Kenyon and Lord Ellenborough,
I prefer the view that glasshouses erected by a
nurseryman for the purpose of carrying;on his trade
may be removed. The dicta ' of Lord Bramwell in
"Wake v. Hall" (8 App. Cas., p. 24n), support this
view. Moreover, the whole tendency of the Courts
in recent years has been to enlarge the rights of
tenants in respect of fixtures. Nor do I consider
that there is anything in Vice-Chancellor Kindersley's
judgment in "Whitehead v. Bennett" (27 L. J., Ch. 474)
which ought to lead me to a contrary^ conclusion.
Therefore I think the defendant is entitled to
remove the glasshouses. The next question is as
to the effect of the Acts of 1883 and 1895. His Lordship
having summarised the provinces of those Acts, pro-
ceeded : I think Parliament deliberately enacted for
the benefit of market gardeners that, where a landlord
had acquiesced in improvements by the tenant, the
tenant should have the same right in respect thereof
as he would have had if they;had been executed after
the Act of 1895. If so, it follows that the defendant is
entitled to compensation for the glasshouses and for
the fruit-trees, such improvements being taken out of
the first part and placed in the third partof the first
schedule of the Act of 1883. If, however, I am wrong in
holding that the defendant will be entitled to compen-
sation for the houses and orchard.' under the Act of
1895, 1 think he will be entitled to compensation for the
orchard, though not for the houses, under the Act of
lss3. The landlord's consent in writing to planting
the orchard was given by the lease. A landlord cannot
impose as a condition of his [consent to the term that
no compensation shall be Daid. The Act prohibits
this. The result is that, in my; opinion, the plain tlfl
fails in his contentions, and the action must De dis-
missed, with costs.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

oranges. — I have just read the note mi
'•Abnormal Oranges" in the Gardeners'
Chronicle, January 25, 1902. 1 can add some
information concerning the matter, being ac-
quainted with a dozen or so Orange-trees in

Cannes, Nice, anil San Kemo, whose Oranges

are always double-enceintes, N,. tn say. These
trees differ in no respect from normal Orange-
trees, hut their Oranges are always double,

and one can always see thai they are so with-
out opening them, as the distal end of the
fruit is somewhat distended, as if there 'were
a small burrow inside. This is the case speci-
ally when the enclosed Orange is very small

or incomplete, for it stays at the distal end,
between the skin and the large Orange. When
the enclosed is large, it is to be found in the
middle of the large one, and then there is no
swelling at the distal end. The seeds give
normal trees ; abnormal Orange - bearing
trees can be obtained only by cuttings or
grafts from the latter. If you could send me
some information concerning the Ladoo Orange,
and also the seedless varieties, I should feel
much obliged. H. de Varigny, .S'c.D., 18, Rite
La\o, Paris.

early flowers.— In reading in the last
issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle the names of
the plants in flower in Mr. Broome's garden
on January 18, I was reminded that on Jan. 9
we gathered from about four clumps of Iris
stylosa a dozen perfect flowers, and since that
date we have not been without flowers. At
the time of writing, a dozen more might have
been seen, and numerous buds visible. The
clumps mentioned are growing in a border
having a southerly aspect. I think that by
affording it shelter from cold winds, Iris sty-
losa may be successfully grown anywhere in
the Midlands, and some plants of it should
find a place in every garden. J. Piatt.

THE DUNN memorial FUND.— Having sub-
scribed to the above fund, I should be inter-
ested to know what progress has been made,
and how our money has been spent. Beyond a
postcard acknowledgment of my contribution,
no other information of any description was
sent me. At the end of twelve months I wrote
to one of the members of the committee asking
him to give me information regarding the
memorial ; the reply I received was that a
stone had been erected in Dalkeith Church-
yard, which had not given satisfaction, and
that a meeting was about to be called to
consider the matter, after which a full report
would be published in the gardening press.
A year has passed, and still no report. I
should like to know if it is a usual thing for
subscribers to be treated in this way ; if so,
all I can say is, that the promoters of me-
morials are not likjly to meet with success.
J . Fulton, Grims Dyke, Harrow Weald.

THE BACK-BULBS OF ORCHIDS.— The corre-
spondence that lias been appearing of late in
this journal in reference to the back-bulbs of
Orchids must have suggested many ideas to
the cultivator of these plants. I may say that
I huve cultivated Orchids continuously for
twenty-three years as a gardener, and I am
convinced that of all plants with which a gar-
dener has to do, Orchids seem capable of
standing more rough usage than any other
plants ; but on the other hand, no other plants
give better results for good cultivation. I
could record some interesting results of propa-
gation, pruning, &c, but I should like to add
a suggestion with regard to the long pseudo-
bulbs of C'attleya intermedia, C. Leopoldi, and
the like, which surely every grower would
treat differently to those of C. lubiata. Many
persons wifl remember the beautifully grown
batch of C. nobilior which came into Stevens'
rooms from a Belgian firm some years ago.
The treatment of this species was not well
understood, and connoisseurs pronounced it. a
milTy, and the result was that there was no
sale for it, and the lot, upwards of 150 potfuls,
were sold at something like sixpence apiece.
They came under my care, and I noticed that
their mode of growth was very distinct ; one
bulb had leaves, the next apparently was

deformed, with no leaves perhaps, and of
very small size, then the next growth larger,
with good leaves, and so on all through the
lot. The fact suggested two growths in one
season, but that by others was considered an
unreasonable suggestion. However, 1 have
proved without (ionbt that several varieties

will do this successfully, and at this moment

I have a plant of (.'. intermedia which has been
well cared for during four yens, and proves
my contention. I purchased a small piece,

two imported and one hnme-growu bulb, un-
dowered a promising piece lor what 1 had in
view. That was in the month of November.

84

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

JFgduuary 1 ,- 1902.

I placed it in -warmth of 60°, and moist sur-
roundings, and it started at once, made a
growth, but did not flower. In the following
month of August I shook it right out and re-
potted it in peat and moss (not leaf-soil), and
cut the imported pseudo-bulb away. It started
again, and during the winter it made a growth
just twice the size At the preceding one, and
early in March it gave four fine flowers. I
have never rested or dried it off, and it has
twice since that time given four flowers and
made one summer bulb, unflowered — that made
in the winter always doing this. Now it is
throwing up the largest growth it has ever
had, and it is also breaking from the base of
the third pseudo-bulb, and old and new are
rooting vigorously. Let but imported plants
once start roots, 1 am sure they will be found
to succeed if they are kept growing. I have
flowered C. Leopoldi with seven flowers from
one sheath ; and C. amethystoglossa also, under
similar treatment, has made pseudo- bulbs
2| feet long, and flowered freely — and I should
have no hesitation in treating importations in
like manner if I had the opportunity of so
doing. W. Gostling, Bournemouth.

STREPTOSOLEN JAMESONI.— While visiting
the gardens of A. H. Harman, Esq., Lower
Greyswood, Haslemere, I was much struck
with a fine display of Streptosolen Jamesoni in
one of the greenhouses. The plants were over
!) feet high, growing in 10-inch pots, and
clothed from top to bottom with fine trusses of
bloom. Mr. Harris, the head gardener, in-
formed me that he struck cuttings of this
plant each year in the spring, and grew them
on without pinching. A batch of plants grown
in this manner would prove extremely useful
in any establishment, especially when lofty
conservatories and greenhouses have to be
furnished with plants in flower at the present
season. J. Murray, Lythe Hill, Haslemere.

early peas.— Apropos of your articles on
early Peas. Have we done anything for the
earliness of Peas during the last 250 years?
are they even as early as they were in the
seventeenth century? On May 22, 1604, Mr.
Pepys records in his diary, "So a good supper
of Pease, the first I eat this year." Now
these Peas must have been grown within a
mile or so of London, and most assuredly
grown in the open air ; even with a good deal
of coddling we cannot get Peas here in the
open by the end of the third week in May,
nor for a good many days after. A little
farther on in the same year, he writes, on
June 13, " Thence having a gaily clown to
Greenwich, and there saw the King's works,
•which are great adoing there, and so to the
Cherry Garden, and so carried some Cherries
home, and after supper to bed." The Cherry
Garden was on the bankside at Rotherhithe.
Cherries were imported to the neighbouring
county of Kent by Henry VIII. It seems that
fcoth Peas and Cherries were somewhat
earlier in the reign of the Merry Monarch
than " in this thin-faced time of ours." Robt.
Peel Sheldon, The Itosery, Twyford by
Winchester.

NITROGENOUS MANURES FOR PEAS. — Three

years ago I grew twenty rows (of 150 feet) of
Sweet Peas for cutting for market. The seed
was sown about the last week in September,
and with them I sowed a mixture of three parts
(by weight) of superphosphate, and one part
kainit ; towards the end of January I thought
I would try the effect of nitrate of soda on apart,
as they did not appear to me to be looking as
well as I could wish. I marked off 50 feet of
each row, and gave a slight strewing of nitrate
of soda; the result was apparent almost at
once, and the flowers were ready to gather
nine days earlier than the untreated portions
of the rows, and the effect was also very
marked in the increased length of the stems.
I consider the result to be the more marked,
as the nitrated portion of each row was the
furthest from the shelter of the hedge ; but
the flowers spotted very badly whenever the
■weather was only slightly damp. I consider
for early Peas or Beans an application of

nitrate of soda beneficial. I have tried it with
later crops, but do not see any very decided
benefit. I am advocating the use of nitrate of
soda for early Leguminous crops in North
Devon this spring, and several to whom I have
recommended its use have promised to give it
a trial, and some interesting lessons should be
the result; and for the benefit of your readers,
some at least of the results shall be sent you
if you wish. Albert J. Manning, Horticultural
Instructor, Devon County Council. [We shall
be glad to receive them. Ed.]

In dry soils, when trenching for mid-
season and late Peas, it is good practice
to place a layer of manure in the bottom
of the trench (see p. 33), the manure retain-
ing moisture, which is just what Peas in
hot and dry soils, especially in the south of
England, require. The frequent moistening
overhead of the haulm after warm and dry
days is also beneficial. On scientific grounds,
the manuring of Peas in this way may be con-
sidered wasteful, but that view hardly comes
within the scope of the present discussion.
Besides, in many gardens Peas must be pro-
duced at all cost. As the matter stands at
present, it appears to be one of those cases in
which practice and results have "the pull"
over theory. A solution may be found in the
rejoinder of the darkey, who, on being inter-
rogated as to why the muck made the corn
grow so fast, replied : " It was in such a hurry
to get up out of the way of the stench, it just
grew and grew." James Baxter.

CLEANING THE LEAVES OF ORCHIDS.— My

correction in the issue of the Gardeners'
Chronicle for January 18 was simply the
changing of the word " month " for the word
" year," making it read thus, " at least once a
year" ; surely that does not convey the im-
pression that no plant wants cleaning oftener.
I quite agree with your correspondent, Mr.
Bowyer, that if a plant gets covered and dis-
coloured with dirt, it would be most injurious,
whether it is a Cabbage or an Orchid. I
assume that your correspondent quite agreed
with a monthly sponging. Well, there is cer-
tainly one thing to be said in favour of it, we
should never hear of any gardeners being out
of situations. So far I have never found time
to thoroughly cleanse all Orchids more than
once a year. If the houses are kept as they
should be, clear of insect pests, proper
ventilation afforded, and the plants kept in a
healthy state, they should not get into a very
dirty condition. If your correspondent is so
situated that he can find time to sponge his
Orchids every month or so, I am not going to
say they will not be benefited if carefully
done. With perhaps the exception of Phala-
nopsis, I have never yet found the necessity
for such frequent sponging. I have never
grown Cattleyas in a house containing much
moisture ; no doubt much moisture in a
Cattleya - house would entail more cleaning
than if the plants were grown in a sweet,
well-ventilated house. I am a strong believer
in cleanliness, and as soon as a plant has any
dirt on it, that plant should be cleaned by all
means. W. P. Bound, Gatton Park Gardens.

rats and bamboos.— In that interesting
and useful book, The Bamboo Garden, Mr.
Freeman-Mitford says : — " The worst living
enemies of these plants (Bamboos), especially
of the dwarf species, appear to be the rats
and voles, which will burrow under the wire-
netting and gnaw through the stems in order
to carry away the leaves for linings to their
nests. It is not easy to suggest any remedy
for this nuisance." At Penearrow, Cornwall,
early last summer some fine clumps of Arundi-
naria japonica growing on the bank of a lake
were badly disfigured by water-rats, which
gnawed through the culms at a height of about
4 feet. These detestable depredators were,
however, soon shot. I am unable to assign a
reason for this kind of mischief, as they did
not, as in Mr. Mitford's case, carry away the
stems or leaves wherewith to line their nests,
nor did they eat any portion. Various theories
were advanced, and for a time it was put

down to "sheer cussedncss," till at last my
employer (Mrs. Ford) expressed the opiniora
that as the culms of the Bamboos were nice
and hard, and there being nothing else more-,
suitable for their purpose, the water-rats had
merely "sharpened their teeth" at the cxr-
pense of our Metake. And it is notorious that,
the front teeth of these rodens -elongate te>
such an extent, that unless weLl ground back,
they 'would overlap those of the lower jaw,
and the animal would, in consequence, die ot"
starvation ; this explains the otherwise un-
meaning gnawing of doors, beams, and posts-.
by rats and mice. A. C. Bartlett, Penearrou'
Gardens.

begonia SOCOTRANA.— The superb plants ofe
Begonia socotrana shown at the Drill Hall meet-
ing on Jan. 14 by Mr. Jennings, showed the
great value of this plant as a decorative sub-
ject. Other gardeners have realised its.
worth, but in a different manner, viz., by
using it in the crossing of other kinds. In
this way this species would appear a favourite
and in demand. And while this is so, its own
merit — which, by the way, is as great or even
greater than its crosses — has been kept out of
sight, more or less, of the gardening public.
The glossy peltate leaves of the plant alone-
formed an attraction, the freedom With
which it flowers, and the length of the flower-
stems, show it to be a plant of the highesli
class. Furnished with stems 18 inches and
more in length, it is no matter for wonder that
it finds favour for cutting purposes. More-
over, the plant is self supporting, and needs.
not even a central stake. The true pink
colour of the flowers leave nothing to be
desired, and Mr. Jennings may well be con-
gratulated on his good culture, as well as thc-
fact that he risked so fine a lot from safe-
quarters at home on the eve of a very sharp
frost. E. Jenkins.

EARLY SINGING OF THE THRUSH. — It may
interest you and your correspondents to know-
that I have a thrush (caged) that commenced
to sing the first week in December, and has*
been in full song this last month. He is hung
out in the garden every morning, and sings,
against another thrush whose voice he can
hear not far away. It is certainly very early-
for them to be so forward, but no doubt it is.
owing to the remarkable open weather we ale-
having for the time of year. A. W. Brooks.

A METHOD OF BURNING ANTHRACITE COAL.
— 1 have many times addressed you upon the?
subject of anthracite coal, and I strongly
recommended it for greenhouse fires when it.
was at a reasonable price. Now that the best,
quality has gone up to 32s. a ton for delivery:
anywhere near London, I shall be glad to*
recount my experience. A coal merchant with
whom I deal assured me that he could supply?
me with some very good anthracite, the same-
as I had had previously, at 26s. I agreed to-
take a truck, and he sent it in. When I tried
it I found that instead of burning like the pre-
vious lot he had sent me, some of which still
remained, it would not burn at all, in fact, it
put the fire out when it was put on with the-
other anthracite coal. I at once got the coall
merchant to come and examine it, and we cer-
tainly found that it differed considerably in.
appearance, and we sent samples to Swansea-
The experts whom the matter was referred to-
wrote back to say that they had no knowledge-
as to where such coal could have been found,,
and begged for information. As I was in a fix,,
and some of the papers gave as a forecast the>
probability of very cold weather, I experi-
mented by adding 25 per cent, of South York-
shire to this non-combustible coal, and I found!
that it burned fairly well, but this was a great,
price to pay. I then further experimented by
getting some small sittings from the coal-heaps^
which came at a very much lower price, and
to make this stop in the furnace we hit upom
the plan of mixing these two sorts of coal with
some water, and then putting it on the top of
the fire, and it answers admirably. I send yon
this information in case, owing to the famine
prices of anthracite coal, some of your readers;

February 1, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

85

may bo caught in tho same way I have been,
and they will know how to order, also how to
get out of the difficulty should any of this
coal from Cardiff have been sent in to them.
Tkos. Christy.

©bftuar^.

Alfred William Bennett. — We greatly
regret to have to announce the sudden death
of this gentleman on the 23rd inst., at his
residence, Park Village Bast, Regent's Park.
Mr. Bennett, who was in his sixty-ninth year,
was well known in botanical circles, having
been lecturer on Botany |at St. Thomas' Hos-
pital for many years, and for a long period
connected with the Royal Microscopical
Society, of whose publications he was part
editor. He contributed largely to botanical
literature, having furnished a monograph of
Polygalacese to Martius' Flora Brasiliensis, and
similar contributions to some of the colonial
floras prepared at Kew. In conjunction with
Mr., now Sir William Thiselton-Dyer, he trans-
lated Sachs' Text-Book of Botany, assisted Dr.
Masters in the preparation of the fourth
edition of Henfrey's Elementary Course of
Botany ; and in conjunction with Mr. George
Murray, brought out an excellent Handbook of
Cryptoyamic Botany (1889). He published
various works on Alpine plants, paid great
attention to the fertilisation of flowers by the
agency of insects, and devoted much attention
to the study of Algse. These brief indications
will suffice to show the extent and variety of
his work. Those who were associated with
him will mourn the loss of a consistent and
valued friend. Mr. Bennett was a Fellow of
the Linnean Society, and a member of the
Scientific Committee of the Royal Horticul-
tural Society. It was he who prepared the
original manuscript catalogue of the Lindley
Library soon after its purchase by the Trustees
in 1867.

David Syme. — Many of our readers will
learn with regret of the deatli of Mr. David
Syme, the Managing Director of the firm of
Peter Lawson & Son, Limited, of Edinburgh,
which took place at New York, Lincolnshire,
suddenly on Saturday morning, Jan. 25.

SOCIETIES.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.

January 28.— An ordinary fortnightly meeting of the
Committees of this Society was held on Tuesday last in
the Drill Hall, Buckingham Gate, Westminster. The
display of exhibits was of moderate extent, and little
greater than was the case a fortnight previously.

Orchids were fairly numerous, and the Orchid
Committee again considered a large number of
novelties worthy a special award, recommending five
Awards of Merit, two First-class Certificates, and one
Botanical Certificate.

The Floral Committee recommended a First-class
Certificate to a magnificent Haemanthus from M.
Linden, Brussels ; and Awards of Merit to Begonia
alba grandiflora from Mr. Lange, nurseryman, Hamp-
ton, and to Primula sinensis var. The Duchess, shown
by Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading. The largest
exhibit before this Committee was one of Primulas
from Messrs. Sutton & Sons, and in addition to various
minor exhibits, there was a collection of Ferns from
Messrs. J. Hill & Sons, Lower Edmonton, a group of
spring flowers from Messrs. Barr <fc Sons, and a group
of bulbous Irises from Messrs. Wallace & Co.
Colchester.

At a meeting in the afternoon there were fifty-one
new Fellows elected to the privileges of the Society :
and a Lecture upon "Renovating Old Fruit Trees"
was given by Mr. Geo. Bunyard, V.M.H., Chairman of
the Fruit Committee.

Floral Committee,

Present : Charles E. Shea, Chas. T. Druery, H. B. May,
James Walker, R. Dean, G. Reuthe, J. F. McLeod, James
Hudson, John Jennings, W. Howe, C. R. Fielder, Chas.
I Dixon, Charles Jeffries, George Gordon, Chas. E.
j Pearson, Herbert J. Cutbush, George Paul, W J. James,
F. Page Roberts (Rev.), H. J. Jones, W. P. Thomson,
E. H. Jenkins, and Charles Blick.

Coleus thyrsoideus was again shown by Messrs. Jas.
Veitch & Sons, Royal Exotic Nursery, King's Road,

Chelsea, who on this occasion showed the stock plants
from which the plants exhibited at the last meeting
were struck in May last. These stock plants had appa-
rently been stopped once after the cuttings were taken
from them, and therefore bloomed a little later. The
plants do not like too much heat during the summer.

Messrs. Wallace & Co., Kilnfield Gardens, Col-
chester, showed a very interesting group of early-
flowering Irises in pots. The varieties were numerous,
and included the new I. Tauri, I. Heldreichi, I. alata,
I. Histrio, I. histrioides, I. h. major, I. Bakeriana, and
the distinct little yellow-flowered I. Danfordia3. Most
of these Irises have been illustrated in these pages.
There were also Colchicum hydrophilum, and C. liba-
noticum, Adonis amurensis, Galanthus Elwesii,
Ikariae, and Whittalli, and the early-flowering form of
Sternbergia Fischeriana (Bronze Banksian Medal).

Messrs. Geo. Jaceman & Son, Woking Nursery,
Surrey, showed some good strong plants in pans, of
Iris persica Tauri and I. Tubergeniana. The former
was certificated a fortnight ago, and the latter last
season. I. Tubergeniana is very handsome, by reason
of its large, bright, white-edged foliage, with glaucous
under-surface, and it continues to throw up fresh
spikes of its yellow flowers for a considerable time.

A plant of Loropetalum chinense in a pot was shown
by the Earl of Ilchester, Holland House, Kensington
(gr., Mr. W. Dixon) (Vote of Thanks). Figured in Gar-
deners' Chronicle, vol. xix., n.s., 1883.

Mr. Thos. S. Ware, Ltd., Feltham, exhibited a collec-
tion of spring flowering plants in bloom in pots.
Among these were Eranthis cilicicus, Saxifraga Bur-
seriana, Galanthus Whittalli, Gentiana acaulis, several
bulbous Irises, Primula Forbesii, etc.

Messrs. Barr & Sons, King Street, Covent Garden,
London, W.C., exhibited a few hardy plants in pots
which were arranged in such a manner that the pots
were hidden by moss. There were Irises Heldreichi,
Danfordire, Histrio, histrioides; also several good
varieties of Helleborus niger, including one named
Scoticus (Bronze Banksian Medal).

Messrs. J. Hill & Sons, Barrowfield Nurseries, Lower
Edmonton, Middlesex, made an exhibit of Ferns in pots
The varieties were chiefly popular ones, but included
also some choice varieties of Gymnogrammas, Polypc-
diums, Aspleniums, &c. Asplenium inrequale, with
most proliferous fronds ; Pellfea rotundifolia, and
Ficus radicans variegata were interesting (Silver
Flora Medal).

Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading, quite filled one of
the long central tallies with a display of varieties of
Primula sinensis. The plants were in 5-inch pots, and
the first trusses of flowers were nicely open. The
variety of most immediate interest is described under
"Awards." There was also a double-flowered variety
of the same type as "The Duchess," possessing the
rose-coloured ring of the latter. But as yet there exists
only one plant. Another new double form had reddish-
rose flowers. Of the older types there were groups of
such varieties as Giant Terra Cotta, Giant White, Giant
Pink, and mixed Giants, also single ones, including
Snowdrift, The Sirdar, Reading Blue, Royal White,
Crimson King, Pearl, Brilliant Rose, Ao. Double forms
included varieties of white, pink, and scarlet flowers,
&c. In addition to all these, there were varieties of
the Stellate Primulas, with pink, white, blue, or purple,
and carmine flowers, <tc. (Silver Flora Medal).

Awards.

Begonia alba grandiflora. — From the appearance of
this Begonia, it would seem to be a sport from B.
Gloire de Lorraine, but we do not know positively that
this is the case. The flowers are larger than those of the
variety Caledonia, and would be pure white were it not
for the faintest tint of pink. The plants are vigorous
in growth, and of good habit. From Mr. Lange,
nurseryman, Hampton (Award of Merit).

Hxmanthus imperialis. — This is an exceedingly hand-
some Hremanthus, from M. Linden, Brussels. The
flower-segments are very much larger and broader
than those of H. mirabilis (figured in our pages, May 25,
1901), the segments being half an inch across and
more than 1 inch in length ; the flower-spike was about
19 inches high, and the colour of the flowers salmon-
red (First-class Certificate). A plant of H. mirabilis in
bloom was likewise shown.

Primula sinensis var. The Duchess.— This is a handsome
and distinct variety of the Chinese Primrose, and was
illustrated in the Gardeners' Chronicle, February 3, 1900.
It is remarkable for a rich reddish-rose-coloured zone
around the greenish-yellow eye, and a white margin.
The flowers aro of considerable size, and excellent
form. This is the first occasion that Messrs. Sutton

have exhibited so many plants of this novelty, which
apparently comes very true from seeds. It will be
welcomed in gardens as affording a distinct effect from
any Primula at present in cultivation. From Messrs.
Sutton & Sons (Award of Merit).

Orchid Committee.

Present: Harry J. Veitch, Esq., in the Chair; an*
Messrs. Jas. O'Brien (Hon. Sec.), De B. Crawshay, JL
Coleman, J. Gurney Fowler, J. Wilson Potter, H. M.
Pollett, H. Ballantine, Norman C. Cookson, R. Brooman-
White, J. Douglas, E. Hill, F. A. Render, H. T. Pitfc-
G. F. Moore, T. W. Bond, W. A. Bilney, H. J. Chapman,
W. Boxall, W. H. Young, and H. A. Tracey.

Sir Frederick Wigan, Bart., Clare Lawn, East Sheen
(gr., Mr. W. H. Young), was awarded a Silver Flora.
Medal for a group which consisted principally of welt
flowered Phalamopsis, many of which had been in the
collection for fifteen years. The most numerous were
the P. Schilleriana, including one of the pure white
P. S. vestalis, and with them were good specimens of
P. Aphrodite, P. amabilis, P. X casta ; L<elia anceps
Hilli, L. a. Williarasii, and a fine L. a. Sanderiana,
with six flowers on the spike ; Odontoglossum x Loo-
christyense, two forms of O. X crispo-Harryanum, a.
very fine Miltonia x Bleuana, Cattleya x porphyro-
phlebia, Lrelio-Cattleya x Cappei, with three spikes.;
Trichopilia marginata, Dendrobium x Wiganias, the
true Lselia praistans, &c.

J. Colman, Esq., Gatton Park (gr., Mr. W. P. Bound),
secured a Silver Flora Medal for an excellent group,
principally of varieties of Lielia anceps, hybrid Den-
drobiums, Calanthes, <fcc. In two sections of the
group were massed well-flowered specimens of Calanthe
x Bryan, and C. x William Murray, two of the best
and most free-flowering ; beside them were fine speci-
mens of the favourite old Zygopetalum Mackaii, Lrclia
anceps Schroderiana, L. a. Stella, L. a. Sanderiana, and
some pretty-coloured Lielia anceps, good Odontoglos-
sum crispum, and O. Andersoniau'um ; Dendrobium
X Juno, D. X Curtisii, D. x Cybele giganteuni, D. x
Ainsworthi, Woodhatch variety, D. X Rainbow, D. X
Owenianum, D. x Burfordiense, D. xsplendidissimum,
D. nobile Amesice, D. n. nobilius, and others.

Messrs. Charlesworth & Co., Heaton, Bradford,
staged a small, select group, for which a Silver Bank-
sian Medal was awarded. The centre was of five
plants of the showy reddish-orange and crimson
Lrelio-Cattleya x Charlesworthi (C. aurea x L. cinua-
barina), one variety differing from the others in having
bright golden-yellow sepals and petals. On each side
were vases of cut spikes of Oncidium splendidum ;
and other remarkable plants were Lycaste x Ballia
superba, L. lasioglossa, with a number of flowers;
varieties of Lycaste Skinneri, of which the charming
L. S. " Lady Gladys " was the best ; and a fine example
of the noble Cypripedium x aureum Hyeauuin.

H. T. Pitt, Esq., Rosslyn, Stamford Hill (gr., Mr.
Thurgood), showed a finely blotched form of Odonto-
glossum x Looehristyense, closely resembling O. x L.
Kimberlcy; a pretty variety of O.x crispo-Harryanum,
and O. pardinum.

De B. Crawshay, Esq., Rosefield, Sevenoaks (gr., Mr.
Stables), showed the purple spotted Odontoglos6um
Pescatorei Rosefleldiense, the heavily blotched O. x
Andcrsonianum "Jupiter," L;clia anceps Hollidayana,
L. a. H. Crawshayana (see Awards), and Loflia K
Nemesis (anceps x superbiens), a very interesting
hybrid, which, although intermediate in character,
presents the features and colour of L. superbiens
strongly.

F. Wellesley, Esq., Westficld, near Woking (gr,
Mr. J. Gilbert), showed Cypripedium x Hera superbum,
with a fine white upper sepal, greenish at the base, and
densely blotched with dark purple; C.xCeleus (insigne
Chantinixvillosum), one of the finest of the C. xnitens
class ; C. x Miss Castellan, a distinct flower of C. X
Leeanum section ; C. x Dr. Conway (exul < callosum),
a delicately - tinted flower with an emerald -green
ground-colour, the upper part of the dorsal sepal being
pale rose, changing to white towards the margin. Tho
base of the upper sepal and inner parts of the petals
were spotted with chocolate. Mr. Wellesley also
showed C. x rubescens " Ranjitsinghi "(seo Awards).

Messrs. Hugh Low & Co. showed Cattleya Triann-i
Reeblingiana, a fine flower of the C. T. Baekhousiana
type; C. T. Mrs. de B. Crawshay, large, andwitli .m
intense crimson crimped front to the lip. another good
form of C. Trian.fi, and Cypripedium x Thompson!.

W. P. Burkinshaw, Esq., Hesslo, Hull, showed Ltelio-
Cattleya x luminosa (L. tencbrosa X C. aurea), a prettjr
variety with bronzy-yellow sepals, and petals slightly
speckled with rose, and a purplish-rose labelluni witli
darker veining.

86

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 1, 1902.

Frau Ida Brandt, Riesbaeh, Zurich (gr., Mr.
Schlecht), sent flowers of a natural hybrid Lyeaste
(? Skinneri X lasioglossa), and a singular-looking green
Lyeaste sp. and Maxillaria ochroleuca.

Awards.
First-class Certificate.

Cypripedium x Venus, Oakivnod variety (niveum x
insigne Sanderre).— From Norman C. Cookson, Esq.,
Oakwood, Wylam, Northumberland. A Charming
hybrid, large and distinct, and of most delicate tints.
The flower is wax-like in texture, the petals long,
broadband curved downwards. The upper sepal was
white, with a yellowish tint over the basal half, which
was also dotted with minute purple spots. Petals
cream coloured, undulate at the edge, and evenly dotted
with purple; lip pale primrose, compressed laterally;
staminode clear, pale yellow, with a green boss in the
centre ; foliage greyish, with dark green reticulation.
A very worthy production, and by far the best of the
C. insigne Sanderae crosses, or of the crosses of C.
niveum and C. insigne.

Lselia anceps Hollidayana Crawshayana, from De B.
CHawshat, Esq., Rosefleld, Sevenoaks.— Flower large,
white, with chocolate-purple lines on the inside of the
side lobes of the lip, and a pencilling of rose-colour on
the front lobe ; crest yellow.

Award of Merit.
Cypripedium X rubescens " Ranjitsinghi" (amanthum
superbum x Boxalli), from Francis Wellesley, Esq.,
Westfield, Woking.— A very striking flower. Dorsal
sepal nearly black, with a heavy purplish tinge at the
back, showing through to the broad white margin of
the upper portion. Petals and lip Indian-yellow, with
a dark chocolate-purple tinge.

Cypripedium insigne Fowleriamtm.— From J. Gurney
Fowler, Esq^, Glebelands, South Woodford. A very
finely-formed variety of a dark tint. Upper sepal evenly
blotched over the greater part of its surface with dark
purplish-brown blotches ; upper portion white.

Dendrobium M'ardianum Frnvteriannm..— From J. Gur-
NBv Fowler, Esq. The flowers all exhibited that form
of peloria known as tri-labellia, the lower sepals being
slightly modified like the labellum, and each bearing a
yellow patch, and dark purple marking resembling the
lip.

Lsdio-Cattteya x Cappei (L. cinnabarina x C. War-
scewiczii), from Sir Frederick Wigan, Bart., Clare
Lawn, East Sheen.— Sepals and petals dark copper
yellow, lip crimson, with purple veining.

Jjycaste Skinneri " Lady (Uadtjs," from Messrs. Charles-
worth & Co., Heaton, Bradford.— This may be likened
to the best form of L. Skinneri alba, with a delicate
pale rose-pink freckling on the petals. A very chaste
and beautiful flower.

Botanical Certificate.

Odontoglossum pardimtm, from ' H. T. Pitt, Esq.,
Rosslyn, Stamford Hill.— Flowers yellow, with brown
markings ; segments narrow, like O. ramosissimuin.
Cultural Commendation

To Mr. Quartermain, gr. to- A. Seth Smith, Esq.,
Silvermere, Cobham, for a very fine;plaut of Augnecum
sesquipedale, with ten flowers.

. To Mr. Stables, gr. to De. B. Crawshay, Esq., Rose-
field. Sevenoaks, foragrandplantof the purple-spotted
Odontoglossum Peseatorei Rosefieldionse, with a
branched spike of thirty-six (lowers:

Fruit and Vegetable Committee.

Present: Geo. Bunyard, Esq., Chairman ; and Messrs.
Henry Eslings, Jos. Cheal, S.'. Mortimer, Alex. Dean,
C. llcrrin, M. Gleeson, H. Markham. Geo. Keif, Edwin
Beckett, G. Norman, J. Willard, Jas. H. Veitch, H.
Balderson, E. Shaw Blaker, and.W. Wilks (Rev.).

Lieut.-Col. Vivian, Rood Ashton, Trowbridge (gr.,
Mr. W. Strugnal), showed 'twelve dishes of Apples, un-
commonly fine, well-preserved specimens in almost
every instance. We remarked King of Tomkins County,
Hoary Morning, Dutch Mignoune, Calville St. Sauveur,
a green fruit; Newtown Pippin, Annie Elizabeth,
Reinette du Canada, Claygate Pearmain,< Norfolk Stone
Pippin, Court Pendu Plat, and Gooseberry Pippin (a
Silver Banksian Medal).

A dish of Beurre Rauce Pears were shown by the
Earl of Ilchester, Holland House, Kensington (gr.,
Mr. W. Dixon) ; the fruits were clean, and of average
size, and showed how well some fruits can .-till be
grown in London (Cultural Commendation).

A dish of five fruits of Pear.President Barabe were

shown by Lord Suffield, Gunton Park, Norwich (gr.,

Mr. Allan); they were fine examples of the variety

(Cultural Commendation).

Mr. J. Harris, Blackpill Nurseries, Swansea, showed

Potato "Sir John Llewelyn," grown in open field ; also
samples of the same garden-grown, the latter being
much the finer-looking sample. The tuber is flat,
kidney-shaped, and very regular in outline (a Cultural
Commendation).

Renovating Old Fruit Trees.

In the afternoon Mr. Geo. Bunyard delivered a short
lecture on "The Renovation of Old Fruit Trees,*'
gave many hints, gained by much personal experience,
and opened up an exhaustive disquisition upon a
subject which has already been discussed. He said
that whilst Pears are particularly amenable to this
treatment, most stone fruits are not. Plums, Peaches,
and Nectarines that have become unfruitful from age
or Deglect are best destroyed, and young trees sub-
stituted for them. Stone fruits, as a rule, will not
endure the severe pruning that is necessary in an
attempt to restore them to a fruitful condition. Cherry-
trees in orchards, however, are exceptions, and may be
successfully treated. Mr. Bunyard advised that in
such a case all the useless wood and branches should
first be removed from the trees ; also any that are
broken or cracked, or that tend to crowd the centre of
the trees. If the land be pasture, then mow the grass,
and clear away everything in the nature of prunings,
*fcc, afterwards applying 2 cwts. of salt to the acre.
When the grass has grown again, turn sheep into the
orchard and feed them with oilcake and other good
food. The sheep will eat the grass so short that it
resembles a Turkey-carpet, and their droppings will be
of great value to the roots of the trees.

Mr. Bunyard gave some hints upon restoring Pear-
trees against walls. One system is to cut out every
other tier of branches, and encourage new ones in
their places. Subsequently, the alternate branches
may be also removed, and the tree will then be com-
posed of new wood, with the exception of the main
stem. A more radical method is to cut down the main
stem itself to a point just above the lowest tier of
branches, and get a new stem and branches. Mr.
Bunyard has recently seen a very good illustration of
success following such practice. If the Pear-trees arc
not of good varieties, the laterals may be grafted 1 foot
from the stem, with one variety, or with as many
varieties as there are branches, thus making the tree
serve to test new or little-known sorts. A good mulch-
ing may lie afforded the ground, when the trees have
been treated as described, i

Pears on the Quince, and Applesjon the Paradise
stock, and planted in the open, said Mr. Bunyard, may
be treated more easily than trees on the free-stock.
Dig out a trench around the tree, and cut away the
loose, rough roots, afterwards filling in with fresh
loam. The trees will be in excellent condition for
removal the following year, and it is best to move all
the old trees into a new plantation of themselves.
They can thus be afforded fresh rooting medium, and
there can be effected a renewal of the soil where the
old trees stood previously. Further hints were given
upon the renovation of pyramidal Apple and Pear-
trees, cordons on walls, Fig trees, and Vines.

Strawberries, said Mr. Bunyard, are best renewed after
two years, or if a "lazy" bed be wished for supplying
fruits for preserving, then keep them for three years.

HEREFORDSHIRE FRUIT GROWERS'
ASSOCIATION.

January 23.— The third annual meeting of the Here-
fordshire Fruit Growers' Association was held at
Hereford on the above date, Mr. C. W. Radcliffe Cooke
presiding. In resigning the Chairmanship, Mr. Cooke
congratulated the Association on the fact that it had a
membership of 262. Besides the Association opera-
tions, it advertised Herefordshire as one of the best
fruit-growing districts in the world. He pointed out
various ways in which the Association might make
itself useful in the current year, in addition to its field
meetings and discussions. They might press upon the
Corporation to still further enlarge the wholesale fruit
market, which was attended by dealers from the
Midlands and Wales, and which had become too
small ; and they might see what could be done in regard
to securing uniform weights and measures in the sale
of the fruit. A Committee was appointed to wait upon
the Corporation.

Mr. George Cresswell was elected President, Dr.
Bernard Dyer (who had been making experiments in
fruit fertilisers) was appointed Analyst in the place of
Dr. Voelcker, and Mr. R. Newstead was appointed
Entomologist.

Mr. Machen suggested the giving of prizes for the
best- managed orchards. Mr. Dawes, Ledbury, was
added to the Committee.

GARDENERS' ROYAL BENEVOLENT
INSTITUTION.

ANNUAL REPORT.
The Committee have much pleasure in submitting
their annual report and statement of accounts, as
audited, for the year 1901, and in doing'so congratulate
the subscribers and friends of the institution on its
continued prosperity and the success which has at-
tended its efforts on behalf of the aged, disabled, and
distressed people who have been obliged through mis-
fortune and necessity, occasioned by no fault of their
own, to seek its benefits, and the aid thus afforded,
it is encouraging to know, is most gratefully appre-
ciated by the recipients in their days of need.

At the beginning of the year 1S1 persons— 98 men and
S3 widows — were receiving life annuities of £20 and £16
respectively. Of this number, during the year thirteen
had passed away — ten men and three widows — whilst
two widows have been removed from the list, one having
been sent to an asylum owing to her mental condition,
and the other to an infirmary on account of advanced
age and illness, and consequent inability to pay for the
medical attendance and nursing she now requires. Of
the men deceased, four left widows, and their circum-
stances being of a deserving and necessitous nature,
the committee have been enabled under their rules to
award them the widows' allowance of £16 a year. There
were, therefore, at the close of the year, 170 recipients
of permanent relief, and the committee, notwithstand-
ing that they have eleven vacancies only, recommend
an addition of twenty pensioners to be elected this
day, making a total of 190 persons on the funds, being
nine more than at the corresponding period of last
year, and the largest number of beneficiaries receiving
life annuities from the Institution in any year since its
foundation. Whilst the committee are keenly alive to
the increased liability thus entailed, they have been
influenced in their action by the generous financial
support hitherto accorded to the institution, which
they are encouraged to hope will be continued and in-
creased in the future, so that there will be no necessity
for the work to be in any way curtailed.

The committee are much gratified to be able to report
that the Anniversary festival dinner, which took place
in May last, under the presidency of the Right Hon.
Lord Llangattock, was most successful, a substantial
amount being realised in aid of the funds. For this
pleasing result the committee are deeply thankful, and
desire to place on record their great indebtedness to
Lord Llangattock for his kindness in presiding, his
able and warm advocacy of the Institution's claims,
and for his lordship's generous contribution to the
funds. The committee take this opportunity of offer-
ing their sincere thanks to the stewards, collectors,
donors of flowers, the horticultural Press, and to other
helpers who contributed in any way to make the
festival a success.

The Committee have much pleasure also in drawing
attention to the continued progress of the valuable
auxiliaries, from which the following amounts have
been received during the past year: Bristol and Bath
(hon. sec, Mr. G. Harris), £80 17s. ; Devon and Exeter
(hon. sec, Mr. W. Mackay), £30 : Reading and District
(hon. sec, Mr. H. G. Cox), £70 7s. ; Wolverhampton (hon.
sec, Mr. Richard Lowe), £20 ; Worcester (hon. sec, Mr.
Percy G. White), £85. The hon. secretaries are most
cordially thanked for their valued services so ungrudg-
ingly given to the cause, as are also other friends in
various parts of the country who, either by arranging
concerts, opening of gardens, holding flower stalls, or
in other ways so generously furthered the interests of
the institution.

The Committee are glad to be able to state that the
special funds have proved a source of incalculable
benefit. From the " Victorian Era Fund " nearly £100
was distributed during the past year amongst the
unsuccessful candidates at the last election who were
formerly subscribers to the Institution, whilst a sum
of £48 has been given from the " Good Samaritan Fund"
as a temporary help to several cases of a particularly
distressing nature. This latter fund has been aug-
mented in the past year, and the Committee rejoice that
the increased income from that source will enable them
to respond favourably to more of the many pathetic
appeals which so frequently come before them. They
would, however, again point out that only the interest
derived from this fund is available, and they therefore
very earnestly commend its object to those friends who
have it ill their power to increase its usefulness.

The committee have to make the very gratifying an-
nouncement that his Royal Highness the Prince of
Wales has graciously consented to succeed his Majesty
the King (now Patron) as President of the Institution,
for which mark of Royal favour and recognition they
are deeply grateful, and they feel sure that every friend
of the Institution will unite with them in tendering
his Royal Highness their most humble and respectful
thanks.

The committee congratulate the members on the
alterations in the rules which have been this day de-
cided upon at the special meeting, feeling convinced
.that they, will, yery largely .conduce to the still greater
success and well-being of the Institution in the future.

February 1, 1902.]

TEE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

87,

The committee cannot conclude their report without
referring with great regret to the many losses that
have occurred through death in the past year amongst
the valued friends and supporters of the Institution.
These losses will be severely felt, and the committee
therefore plead most earnestly for renewed effort to
fill the places of those subscribers who have passed
away, that the work may be not only maintained, but
that further help may be forthcoming to such an extent
as to warrant an enlargement of its beneficent agency
on behalf of a class who in their day have done so
much to brighten the lives and minister to the neces-
sities of others.

Balance Sheet, 1901.
Dr. £ s. d. £ s. d.

To balance 1,028 3 3

,, amount on deposit 3,315 10 • 0

,, annual subscriptions 1,533 It! 4

,, donations at and in conse-
quence of festival dinner,
including collecting cards 1,636 7 3

,, return of income tax 42 19 3

„ advertisements in annual

list of subscribers 51 6 0

„ dividends and interest ... 903 3 7

4,167 12 5

Total

... £8,511 5 8

Or. £ s. d. £ s. d.

By pensions and gratuities 3,155 11 8

,, expenses, annual meeting

and election 10 5 9

„ secretary's salary ... .:. 275 0 0

,, office assistance 29 12 3

„ rent, cleaning, firing, light,

<fcc 88 17 11

393 10 2

„ printing, including annual

reports, appeals, voting

papers, &c 119 11 6

„ stationery, &c 20 14 3

,, cheque books 6 14

„ festival expenses, £191 4s. Id. ;

less dinner charges,£H9 14s. 71 10 7
„ wreath, address, &c, Her

Majesty Queen Victoria ... 6 19 6
„ postage, including reports,

voting papers, appeals, <fce. 53 0 0

„ travelling expenses 5 13 9

„ carriage, telegrams, repairs,

and incidental expenses ... 7 16 7

„ bank charges 0 2 6

„ amouuttransferredto"Qood

Samaritan Fund" 1,000 0 0

„ amount placed on deposit ... 2,715 10 0

„ balance with treasurer ... 940 13 1

•> » >i ^secretary ... 4 5 0

291 10 0

3,715 10 0

Total .

944 18 1
. £8,511 5 8

Victorian Era Fund.
Balance Sheet, 1901.

Dr- £ s. d. £ s. d.

To balance ;j ],; -

„ dividends 124 14 o

„ return of income tax 6 0 7

130 14 7

Total

Cr.

By gratuities

„ balance, December 31, 1901 ...

Total

GOOD SAMARITAN FUND.
Balance Sheet, 1901.

„ P*- £ s. d. £ t. d.

To balance 561 ,5 1

,, donations, 1901 222 3 0

„ dividends 38 10 0

„ return of income tax 0 18 1

„ amount from deposit account

of general fund 1,000 0 0

Total

... £203

11

2

£
91
112

s.
5
6

• 1
0
2

... £203 11

2

Cr. .

By gratuities '.

„ purchase of £536 19s. 9rf. 2; ",,

Consols ... 520 0 0

,, purchase of £610 Great West-
ern Railways0,, Debentures 1,001 8 0

. £1,823 6 2

d. £ s. d.

48 0 0

balance in hand, Dec. 31, 1901
Total

1,521 8 0
253 18 2

... £1.823 6 2

llavmg audited the accounts, we certify the same
correct, and the books in good order. We also cerlify
that the securities of the invested funds are in I lie
bands of tl.o bankers, by whom the dividends are
received DO behal of the Institution. Tlwmas M„„„h„,
Tluimnx Hii'iJ'l, .Irs Hard.

WARGEAVE GARDENERS'.

January 15. — The annual meeting of the Association
took place on the above date, Mr. W. H. Scott presiding.

Mr. W. H. Scott read his 1st prize essay on " How to
keep the Flower Garden gay during the Year." He
treated the subject in calendar form, giving the work
of the gardener from month to month, beginning with
October. Lists of flowers, shrubs, bulbs, &c., which
could be used in any way, with brief cultural directions,
were given. He was heartily congratulated on his
treatment of the subject. II. Coleby, Hon. Sec.

LEICESTER CHRYSANTHEMUM.

January 23.— The annual meeting of this Society was
held on the above date, Alderman G. Collins in the
chair.

The Chairman moved the adoption of the report and
balance-sheet, and said the Society had not made much
money, but they were on the right side. The Society
was not formed for the purpose of making money ;
their object was solely to encourage horticulture, and
especially the cultivation of Chrysanthemums and
fruit. The report was then adopted.

Officers were elected as follows :— President, Alder-
man Collins; Hon. Treasurer, Mr. John Whait ; Hon.
Secretary, Mr. S. Scattergood.

CARDIFF ATJD DISTRICT CHRYS-
ANTHEMUM.

January 24.— On the above date a large gathering
of members and friends attended the annual meeting
of this Society. The chair was occupied by Mr. G.
Shewring.

The meeting decided to hold their annual show
on November 5 and 6. It is understood that an
amalgamation of the Penarth Society with that of this
Society is to take place.

Mr. Geo. W. Drake, of Cardiff, was presented with an
illuminated address, in recognition of his having won
single-handed the National Society's Trophy for the
Cardiff Society. II. Gillett, Secretary.

WOOLTON HORTICULTURAL.

The annual general meeting was held in the
Mechanics' Institute on Friday evening, Mr. J. Stoney,
gr. to F. H. Gossage, Esq., Camp Hill, presiding. The
Secretary's report proved to be very satisfactory.

LIVERPOOL HORTICULTURAL
ASSOCIATION.

The Committee of this Association are to be highly
congratulated on the improved financial position of
the Association disclosed at the annual general meet-
ing, held in the Secretary's Offices, Victoria Street, on
Saturday evening last, the numerous attendance being
presided over by Mr. Thomas Foster, Chairman of the
Association.

To the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent, and the Royal
Gardeners' Orphan Fund the sums of three and two
guineas were respectively voted. Orchid.

GRAND YORKSHIRE GALA.

The annual meeting of the guarantors and life
members of the Grand Yorkshire Gala has just been
held. Sir C. Milward presided, and there were
present the Lord Mayor, the Sheriff, several Aldermen
and Councillors, and other well-known gentlemen in
York.

The Lord Mayor, in acknowledging his election, said
that it was true that he had been associated with the
Gala for a great many years— he did not know exactly
whether it was twenty or twenty-five— and he had
always taken a great interest in it. It was a pleasing
circumstance that this year they had the Lord Mayor
and the Sheriff as Chairmen of the two important com-
mittees, the Finance and the Entertainment Com-
mittees. He hoped that the forthcoming Coronation
would not detract from the popularity and success of
the Gala. He alluded to the satisfactory fact that they
had on the Council some of the most prominent busi-
ness men of the city, which was, lie believed, a cause of
the great success of the Gala.

Alderman Border moved I he re election of Alderman
Sir Christopher Milward as Chairman, for it was to him
thai I hey looked as their natural head.

The Chairman said that In- would retain the position
witli great pleasure. Willi regard to reducing the
schedule, they could not material]; do so without
running the risk of losing some of the exhibitors,

Alderman Border was re-elected Vioo-Chairman, ami
Alderman Sir J. Sykes Kymcr as Treasurer.

Alderman Dale moved the re-election of Mr. C. \V.
Simmons as Secretary, speaking of his great business
aptitude, and the esteem and respect in which he was
held.

Mr. Taylor was elected Auditor for the ensuing year.

The Council and the various committees were re-
elected, and the various amounts allocated for prizes,
entertainments, music, and fireworks.

It was resolved to send votes of condolence to the
families of Mr. Cypher, Mr. Jackson, and Mr. Brock.

.Jtr\

CoTPapoiwbm.

ALLAMANDA "WILLIAMSH : S. B. G. If you cannot
afford the plant the fullest amount of sun-
shine, and train it not less than a foot
distant from the roof-glass, it will not flower
satisfactorily. In order to flower it early ,ia
start should have been made early in January.
Allamandas last five to six months in bloom.
Young plants struck from cuttings last year
cannot be expected to flower much this year,
indeed it would be better to remove the
flowers.

An Asphalt Floor in a Conservatory : A. F.
This is another instance, if one were needed,
of the folly of consulting the ordinary
architect in matters horticultural. As no
flowering plant will live in the house, your
only course is to replace it with cement
tiles, ornamental, or plain, or stone.

Azalea indica Casting its Leaves : E. T.
Azalea plants willeast their leaves in somo
quantity yearly, and it depends on treatment
how many and when they are cast. Plants
kept cool and moderately dry at the root, as
they should be when not forced in the
winter season, retain their leaves till
growth begins, when some of them are sure
to fall. It is not a disease, and there are
no signs of thrips on the leaves sent.

Books : Botanical Works. M. E. Orr. If
you will kindly furnish us with your
correct address, wo will reply to your
questions through the post, as our previous
reply was returned. — Balph Landless.
Monograph of British Coccidce of the Britisli
Isles. The book is furnished only to Fellows
of the Ray Society.

CARNATIONS Diseased : Carnations. The plants
sent are attacked by a fungus, Helmintho-
sporium echinulatum, for which, owing to
its attacking tho plants from inside, there is
no cure. Burn tho plants forthwith, and
grow no more on tho same spot.

Chrysanthemums: Amateur. Your list of
incurved varieties is a good one. If you add
to this, you may obtain Queen of England
and any of its sports; Topazo Orientalo,
-Louisa Giles, Mrs. H. J. Jones, Annie C.
Love, W. Howe, and Mrs. Gerald Williams.
There have been few additions of late years
to tho old-fashioned reflexed blooms, which,
though not large, possess a degree of refine-
ment, sometimes greatly lacking in tho
larger Japanese flowers. Your list is suffi-
ciently representative, if you obtain tho
additional varieties you have suggesi ed.
Tiler.- are few exhibitors of this type, and
if you grow them well there is every proba-
bility Of your winning a prize. We have not
space to describe times for stopping and
" taking" the buds of each variety, but you
may obtain trustworthy information upon
such details in the catalogue of a reputable
raiser or grower. We have not recom-
mended you to get this season's novel-
ties, because an amateur is moro likely
to succeed with : better-tried sorts, but if
you have the necessary conveniences to

grow rather more plants than you expect to
need, then tho cultivation of the latest,
Novell ies lias a I'asi-innl ion not easily resisted.
All of the varieties which have been ceiiili-
rated Ibis season hy tho National Chrysan-
themum and Royal Horticultural Societies
have been described in these pages during
November and December, from the actual
Dowers exhibited.
Codlin-moth ami gukask on Tab Bands:
W. w. To begin the cycle of existence of
this inosi destructive insect, the better to
understand the means to be adopted for

88

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 1, 1902.

its destruction ; it may be stated that the
grub having fed first on the pulp and then
on the pips of the Apple, conies to the ground
with the fall of the fruit consequent on the
destruction of the seeds, lies still for a day
or two, then crawls up the Apple-tree stems,
selects a crevice of the bark, in which, having
made it smooth, it spins a silken case, in which
after a few weeks, it becomes a chrysalis,
and in this state remains till the following
June. In that month it is on the wing, de-
positing one egg on each Apple visited,
which is deposited near the eye, where the
skin is thinnest. The grub, on hatching out,
pierces the fruit diagonally, avoiding the
core at this period, and confining itself to
the pulp, and piercing the skin at its lowest
' point, thus finding an easy outlet for the
pellets, and an inlet for the air. Within a
few days of being full fed, it pierces the
horny core case, and eats the pips. It will
thus be seen that grease or tar bands are of
use in arresting the grubs after they leave
the fruit, say in July, and climb the trees,
and the moths in June, when they assemble
in the daytime on the stems of the Apple-
trees. It is also a good practice to make
smother fires of weeds under the trees in
the middle of June, in order to drive away
the moths. When grease or tar bands are
used, there should be wider bands, say 8 in.,
of grease-proof paper, bound round the
trees, to prevent the grease, &c, entering
the bark. The horticultural sundriesmen
and nurserymen sell special preparations for
smearing the bands. The wingless winter-
moth and its caterpillars are caught by the
same sort of bands put on the trees about the
middle of October.
"Copy." H. C. writes, "at this dull season
perhaps you could insert the enclosed"
(something like three columns of printed
matter). If our correspondent could see the
hopeless heajis of " copy " on our table, for
which it is impossible to find room, even by
an increased number of pages, he would not
say it was the dull season, but he would
compassionate us in our constant struggle
against the exigencies of space.
Cypripediums after Flowering : An Old
Subscriber. The plants having no pseudo-
bulbs or fleshy roots, must be afforded water
according to their needs all the year round.
DRAC.ENAS : An Old .Subscriber. A few leaves,
the oldest, fall each year ; but the crowding-
together of the plants, with consequent lack
of light and air, will cause the fall of more
leaves than would otherwise be the case.
Fern in the Dining-room Window : Tooting
Bee. The air of a living-room being too dry
to suit Ferns, you can only do them justice
in a glass case. If the plant is found not to
be dead on turning it out of the pot, shake
the outer layer of soil from it, and repot,
doing this in March. No top-dressing will
be of any avail before growth has com-
menced. Perhaps a top-dressing in March
would suffice, if not many roots have been
made, and the soil is sweet. Ferns do not
require much larger pots than will accom-
modate the roots without cramping them,
together with a moderate portion of peat, or
peat and loam.
Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Institution :
J. C, and L. C. T. Name of Secretary, Mr.
G. J. Ingram, Office, 175, Victoria Street,
London, S.W.

Gardening Appointment in South Africa :
jR. Tames. But small chance of obtaining
a situation as gardener before the country
settles down at the close of the war. We
are unable to say how a post could then
be obtained by anyone on this side, except-
ing through an advertisement in this or
the Cape of Good Hope journals.

Grafting Lilac : B. Brown. Being provided
with your wildings or suckers, laid in the
soil in late autumn, they can be taken into a
cold-house or shed at this season, and grafted
by any of the usual methods, whip, cleft, or
tongue, and at once I aid-in in a cold-pit or
frame, and kept as quiet as possible by good

ventilation when there is no actual frost,
till the middle of March, when they should
be bedded out in close lines in the nursery
or reserve-garden.

How to become a Fellow of the Royal
Horticultural Society : J. M. You should
write to the Secretary, Rev. W. Wilks, at
the office of the Society, 117, Victoria Street,
London, S.W., who will gladly furnish you
with the desired information.

Insects : Anxious. The insects you describe
as being similar to the house-flea have cer-
tainly one characteristic possessed by that
nimble insect. We are unable to find them.

Insects in Soil: G. Bethel. 1, the grubs of
Tipula oleracea, Daddy Longlegs ; 2, the
grey, vermiform grubs are the larvse of a
species of Mycetophihe, belong to a family
of small, active gnats, the grubs of which
frequent damp situations amongst various
plants, including also Bolcti and other
fungi. In the absence of natural food they
might possibly attack cultivated plants ;
but they are not included among the recog-
nised pests of the horticulturist.

Lilacs : J. W. The plants were doubtless not
well cultivated, or the wood insufficiently
matured ; the wood and buds being thin and
lacking in size.

Manure for Sweet Peas : S. P. Muriate of
potash at the rate of 2 oz. to the square
yard, applied twice or thrice as a top-
dressing in wet weather. The land should
be deeply dug and in good heart ; bone-
meal is too slow in its action. Sow thinly,
and keep the pods diligently picked off the
plants, for you cannot have many flowers if
seed be allowed to form. Do not allow the
ground alongside the rows to become long
impervious to the air, but stir it frequently.

Marguerites : J. B. Why address the pub-
lisher on such a matter V Your plants pro-
bably received a check from cold some
weeks since.

Mushroom Abnormal: Alex. Innes. Not un-
common. The spawn has overrun the Mush-
room. Similar specimens, even more remark-
able, have been figured in our columns.

Names of Plants : W.H.O. 1, Cypripediumx
selligerum ; 2, Cypripedium x Ashburtoniie ;
3, Cypripedium x Harrisianum ; 4, Oncidium
excavatum, often called Oncidium aurosiun
in gardens. — F. P. Probably a species of
Geum. How can it be a cure for dropsy V
Dropsy is not a disease itself, but the
result of disease in the heart, kidneys,
or liver. Cure them, and you cure the
dropsy, not otherwise. — Weekly Subscriber :
Yarmouth. 2, Acalypha marginata ; 3, Li-
bonia floribunda ; 4, Agathcea ccelestis ; 5,
Thuja occidentals ; C, Epiphylluin. — L. C. T.
Lavatera arborea variegata. — 8. H. 1, Cen-
tropogon Lucyanus ; 2, Begonia argyro-
stigma ; 3, Begonia Dregei, often called B.
parviflora ; 4, Begonia metallica of gardens ;
5, Selaginella csesia ; 6, Selaginella denticu-
lata. — 8. & M., Kelso. Apparently a leaf
from Galax aphylla. — J. M., Devon. Helle-
borus subpunctatus (white). The purple-
flowered vars. are derived from various
crosses of H. colchicus, H. orientalis, and
others. The other flowers sent were very
nice for the season, and much earlier than
the same would be in most other parts of
the country.

Notice to Quit Service : G. S. In law the
gardener is a domestic servant, and as such
is entitled, in the absence of an agreement to
the contrary, to a quarter's notice, although
in practice it is found more agreeable to em-
ployer and servant to shorten this to one
month. A gardener living rent free in a
house on an estate, and enjoying various
perquisites, if he has to leave at short
notice, can obtain compensation for insuf-
cient notice, for wages, rent, and perquisites
due during the unexpired term.

Potatos discoloured : F. N. An early stage
of the Potato disease, Phytophthora in-
festans, figured in these pages Dec. 13, 1884,
and March 21, 1891.

Removal of Trees and on the Termination
of a Tenancy : G. W. »S'. See " Law
Notes " in present issue, p. 83, for the
latest decision in the Courts.

Rose on a N.-W. Aspect: Tooting Bee. The
plant may grow fairly well on this rather
sunless aspect, but we should doubt its
capacity to flower in a satisfactory manner.
Rather plant a Clematis, Jasminum revo-
lutum, J. nudiflorum, Berberis stenophylla,
Kerria japonica, or Aristolochia Sipho.

San Jose Scale: D. D. C. Our figure was
derived from an original source. The two
groups are nearly allied.

Seed Sowing, Times of Sowing, Transplant-
ing, &C. : Interested. The Cottager's
Calendar, published at this office, is not too
much advanced for the use of young children,
but the information conveyed should be
supplemented by oral instruction of an
elementary kind, not found in that useful
little work. The teacher must therefore
have some knowledge of gardening, and
have the gift of making the children inter-
ested in the various operations, which is
not a difficult matter ; for no book alone
will succeed in doing that. No book will
teach a child how to prepare a seed-bed,draw
a seed-drill, or lift a young plant and trans-
plant it to a nurse-bed, or how to repot a
plant. The thing to be done must be demon-
strated by the teacher, then the lesson is at
once grasped by the children. As a general
rule, fine seeds, such as those of Celery,
Cauliflower, Lettuce, Cabbage, Radish, the
seeds of herbs, and those of the size of
dust-shot, may be broadcasted on the sur-
face and raked in, or put into drills made
i-inch deep or less, the latter being the
better method. This applies also to flower-
seeds of small size. Peas and Beans need
drills 3 inches deep in close soils, and
4 inches in light or sandy ones. Spinach,
Carrots, Parsnips, Onions, may bo sown in
those drawn 1 inch or less deep. Seeds
sown in flower-pots and seed-pans are sown
at various depths ; the finest, such as Lo-
belia, Nicotiana, Calceolaria, &c, must be
scattered evenly on a smooth, level, firm
surface an hour after the soil has received a
good application of water. Such seeds must
not be covered with soil or sand, but kept
dark with a tile or bit of slate till germina-
tion has taken place. Seeds slightly larger
may be covered with very fine mould to a
thickness equal to their own, and so on.
Lupins, Ricinus (Castor Oil), and the like
should be put J-inch under the surface.

Soil for Potting Souvenir de la Malmaison
Carnations : 8. P. As a means of lightening
very adhesive loams, peat is useful, but not
necessary ; broken-up plaster, road grit, or
sand, answering the same purpose.

Violets Diseased : 1\ A". The plants are
attacked by a fungus known as Puccinia
Violaj. If the condition is at all common in
your stock, it will be best to burn it, and
procure fresh plants. The disease spreads
from one Violet plant to another, but will
not be likely to attack other species of
plants in the same frame.

Water-glass: M. R. This is another name
for soluble glass, a silicate of potassium,
found in .commerce as a white, glassy mass,
a stony powder, or dissolved as a viscous
liquid. It can be bought at some chemists'
shop. An explicit pamphlet has been issued
by the Leicestershire Egg Preserving Depot,
price 4 id.

Communications Received.— W. G. H,— F. M., Cleve-
don, next week— Reliquiie Dewevieana?— Brussels-
Mrs. E. S. Photographs, with thanks — A. C. B.
Photograph, with many thanks— C. D., Heaton
Mersey, many thanks— A. B— La Mortola, with
photograph, with many thanks — Signor Beceari,
Florence.— Ignoramus-W. H. W.— J T. L.-F. W. B.—
J Brech & Sons, Boston, U.S.A. -J. M.— E. W. C—
W M— Pomona-G. L.— T. H. B.— W. J. C— W. E. B.-
W G —J. M — N. E. B— F. T. M— W. H. D.— W. H.—
j j _c G. Nunn— H. F. W.— B. B., Exeter— T. H. S.—
photo received with thanks— F. W. B— A. D.— S. W. F.

(For Markets and Weather, see p. x.)

Supplement to the "Gardeners' Chronicle." February 1, 190Q.

Agave recurvata, Santa Barbara, California.

# ... J * T.,.

February 8, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

89

THE

(Sartors' djjtonick

No. 789.—SATUMDAY, FEB. 8, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Agricultural statistics,
Ireland

Bean and Pea hybrid,
alleged

Book notice—
Les Routes Frutieres
Traite de Chinie
Agricole

Hook sales

Colonial notes —
Interesting gather-
ing at Barbados ...
"West Indian Bulletin

Crinum Moorei and C.
Powelli

Cypripedium x Venus,
Oakwoodvar.

Daisy, the Shasta

Daphne odora, culti-
vation of

Dean, Mr. R., presen-
tation to ... 97

Decoratiugthe dinner-
table

Dendrobium taurinum

Dunn memorial fund,
the

Epping Forest, care of

Exaeum Forbesii

Foreign correspond-
ence-
gardeners' prospects
in the United States
of America

Forestry in the United
.Kingdom

Fruit culture in the
United States

Iris persica

Irish migratory la-
bourers

Manchester botanical
gardens

Narcissus tazetta

Obituary-
Peak, Ed. Amos ...
Sy'roe, David

Peaches and Necta-
rines,standard trees
of 91

Peas, nitrogenous ma-
nure for ... 92,97

91

97 I

90

97

Pinanga Kuhlii

Plant portraits

Poisons, sale of horti-
cultural

Rainfall at Rotham-
stedin 1901 ...

Report, of the Royal
Horticultural So-
ciety

Sherwood, Mr.

Snowdrops, early

Societies —

Chester Paxton

Chiswick Gar-
deners'

Devon and Exeter
Gardeners'

Highgate Chrysan-
themum

Irish Gardeners' ...

Linnean

National Chrysan-
themum

National Rose

National Sweet Pea.

Reading Gardeners'

Royal Horticultural

96
97
98

102

101

101

101
102
101

102
97
97
101
9d,

ioo

Sweet Peas, select

varieties of

Thrush, an early

hatched

Vines, gas-tar and clay

dressing for

Week's Work, the—

Flower Garden, the...

Fruits under Glass ...

Hardy Fruit Garden.

Kitchen Garden

Orchid Houses, the .

Plants under Glass...

91
90
93

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Cypripedium x Venus Oakwood variety

Dendrobium taurinum

Exacum Forbesii

Hjemanthus inrperialis

Pinanga Kuhlii, a Javanese Palm (Supplement).

DECORATING THE DINNER-
TABLE.

WE are apt to plume ourselves in this
connection upon our artistic notions
and our well-dressed tables are sometimes
thought of as ample proof of a highly
civilised state of existence. We can, how-
ever, hardly consider this custom of decking
our feasts and banquets as exclusively a
modern one. The blossom-decked festivals
of ancient Rome and Pompeii have been
frequently referred to by historians, and if
the story painted upon sarcophagus and
temple wall in Egypt is to be relied on,
we may readily believe that a much older
civilisation than either of these was in the
habit not only of adorning its religious
observances, but also the mundane functions
of eating and drinking were not carried out
without tho beautifying influence and
presence of flowers.

Apart from considerations of the ancient

or modern use of flowers at table, there

; occurs the thought of a time in Britain, as

;! in other lands, "when wild in woods the

' noble savage ran.'' One can imagine a

nobler specimen than the other savages
noting and taking an interest in the beauty
surrounding him, as he ate his handful of
roots, or tore from the bone the flesh he may
have beeti consuming. At any rate, it
always appears to me a tribute to a really
primitive state of being, this plan of having
flowers or plants arranged with more or less
effect upon the table at which our meals are
partaken. It is the same influence that
prompts people to carry food a long distance
that they may eat and drink as did their
ancestors of long ago, untrammeled by the
four walls of a room, and with nothing
except perhaps a few branches between
them and the sky above.

It is a far cry from the days of the ab-
original Briton to the present time, but a
few remarks upon this subject of decoration
may not be out of place ; there is, I fear,
room for improvement in our methods. A
man may be the happy possessor of in-
genuity in carrying out original ideas, and
yet these qualities will perhaps be the
means of leading him to the perpetration of
a design both incongruous and inartistic.
Ingenuity has provided miniature arches,
bridges and certain appliances in which
wire plays an important part. For each and
all of these we may be grateful or not. It
depends so much upon the size of table to
be dealt with, its accessories, and the style
of dinner to be served upon it.

The peripatetic waiter will gaze with
anything but admiration upon a daintily
appointed table, and will tell you with
something approaching derision for the
light and elegant effect, at which you have
aimed. "If it only had a square of silk in
the centre it would look all right." At
which you are tempted to ask if he would
not like a mirror with a few china ducks
"swimming" upon it. Most likely he will
tell you " they would look very pretty." and
in despair you leave him. Having seen
these pretty ducks swimming on looking-
glasses, and having no love for them, or the
much-vaunted coloured centre-pieces of silk,
I can only say that nothing short of compul-
sion shall ever make me use either one or the
other for table decoration. In the exhibi-
tion-tent there is a growing tendency to
make a special feature of table decorations,
and there is no question that they excite a
great amount of interest, and in large exhi-
bitions, where the work is fairly welljdone
and competition keen, it is usually a matter
of some difficulty, owing to the number of
spectators, to get a sufficiently comprehen-
sive view of any of the designs to form a
proper judgment. Even here it is possible
to see some peculiar ideas carried out by
exhibitors, and I shall not readily forget a
rather flagrant case in which a well-known
gardener and myself awarded the first prize
to atable simply and yet artistically adorned
with autumn-tinted leaves and ripe berries, in
preference to one upon which Orchids in
profusion had been heaped. Cypripedium
insigne muddled up with splendid ^Cat-
tleyas ; above all. a bright scarlet ^lamp-
shade— and I bore the brunt of the language
bestowed on us by the disappointed one.
The decorator who works in the daylight of
an ordinary show has opportunities denied
the one, the result of whose work will only
be shown by artificial light. Here blue is
an almost impossible colour, but in the
daytime sonic charming effects may be

obtained by the use of blue flowers. In the
case of yellow, none but the richest and
deepest ought to be used for night-time ;
yet the pale varieties of the Iceland Poppy
are used in the daylight with delightful
results.

Those who have had something more than
a nodding acquaintance with the work of
high-class London florists, will know that
their designs are not made to fit in with
the appointments of the table, but vice
versa. Everything must give way for their
concocted arrangements. But those who
have frequently less material to work with,
viz., those private individuals to whose lot
falls the decoration of the dinner-table,
must more often than not make their ideas
and devices fit in with and be subservient
to the " laying " of the table.

There is great difficulty in giving advice
and stating general rules for guidance in
this matter. I have seen a book filled with
liighly-coloured but impossible designs for
the dinner-table. The combinations of cut
flowers were, to speak mildly, remarkable,
and such as I should never dare to use.

Tables not only differ in their appoint-
ments, they differ in size. It has fallen to
my lot to dress them in several districts,
and in one case I remember there was
scarcely room for the smallest amount of
tracing, owing to the narrow table used.
In others there is greater width, and upon
these the best and most telling effects can
be produced.

I am not going to give more than a general
outline of the various methods of procedure.
Minute instructions are almost sure to mis-
lead in this matter. A sense of proportion
is a great requisite. Most people, if they
had not seen, could imagine, the noble dis-
play likely to be produced by a combination
of Arums and Poinsettias ; yet this would
be out of place upon a small table, though
suitable enough where from twenty to thirty
are dining together. The most frequently-
used articles for tracery and festooning we
find are Smilax, Lygodium scandens, Sela-
ginella, antl Asparagus and Fern fronds.
These are, doubtless, all suitable enough so
long as small or smallish flowers are used in
conjunction. It is when we come to use
larger flowers, such as Chrysanthemums,
Camellias, and so on, that some heavier
material must be looked for, and used
in lesser quantity. Malmaison Carna-
tions look well with foliage of the border
varieties, or Pinks. Roses with their own
foliage, than which nothing becomes them
better. Reve d'Or produces charming leaves
and shoots for this purpose, as does also
Aglaia. The blooms of the common monthly
Rose are almost perfect for the table, being
amply supplied with buds, and of a colour
which comes out well under artificial light.
Charming dancing Daffodils must not be
forgotten, but eschew Polyanthus Narcissi.
which are too strongly scented— a drawback
this to which all flowers of heavy odour are
subject. Scarcely any of the Lilies are suit-
able, for this reason.

Amongst Orchids, Cattleyas, La-lias, Den-
drobiums. Qdontoglbssums, and Calanthes.
especially the two last, are worthy of being
set up, each of them making for lightness
and elegance. Cattleyas should be sparingly
used, and it is to be supposed there are not
a very large number of places where they
are likely to be used in great profusion.

90

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 8, 1902.

In conclusion, let me offer a few words in
favour of the many lovely things we are able
to produce outside, which when carefully
treated give a refined and artistic finish to
any table. Poppies, Aquilegias, Clematis,
Sweet Peas, Anemone japonica, both white
and rose-coloured; many Roses, and number-
less inhabitants of the hardy herbaceous and
half-hardy world. The use of plants is, by
the rules of latter-day fashion, allowable
both in conjunction with cut flowers and
alone. There is a vast wealth of material in
this connection which it is scarcely neces-
sary to enumerate individually, Dracaenas,
Crotons (Codiseums), Panax, Jacarandas ;
various rush-like plants such as Carex and
Cyperus alternifolius, the Pandanuses and
Aralias, besides Asparagus, and many Ferns.
These are all valuable in some way or other,
and may be used in carrying out various
designs, heightening the effect, or giving
lightness to the floral part of many an
arrangement upon the dinner-table. J. W.

THE RAINFALL AT ROTHAMSTED
IN 1901.

According to the rain-gauge at the Rotham-
sted Experimental Station, which was con-
structed forty-nine years ago, and Is l-1000th
of an acre in area, stands 2 feet above the
surface of the ground, and is about 420 feet-
above the sea-level, we find that the rainfall
for the year 1901, recently ended, amounted
to 23TV inches, which is about 5$ inches below
the average record for this district, extending
over a period of forty years.

Tho following table shows the rainfall of
each month for the past year at Rothamsted,
Hertfordshire, with the average amount of
rainfall for each month of the previous forty
years, and the difference of 1901 above or
below the average : —

Rainfall at Rothamsli d for each Month of the Year 1901, and
the Average and Total yearly Rainfall.

Months.

Rainfall,
1901.

Average

Rainfall

of Forty

Years.

1901.
Above or
Below the

Average.*

January

Inches.
1-18

Inches.
246

Inches.
—1-28

February

1-26

174

—0-48

March

2'5«

173

+0 83

April

2-51

197

+0-54

May

1-81

234

— 0-S3

June

0'84

2-42

— 1'88

July

244

2-72

' —0-28

August

2-00

2-60

—0-60

September

135

260

—1-2.=.

October

2'02

3'20

— 1-ls

November

1-05

a»ee

—1-60

December ...

413

2-20

+ 1-93

Yearly total ...

23-15

2863

—5'48

* The sign (— ) signifies below the average, and the
sign (+) above the average.

Tho above table shows that the yearly total
of rain, with melted snow and frost, for the
past year was 23' 15 inches, against an average
of 28-65 inches for the previous forty years,
showing a deficiency in the twelve months of
nearly 54 inches. There were but three
months in the year— namely, March, April,
and December — when the rainfall exceeded
the average record, consequently there were
nine months of deficiency. This is the smallest
yearly rainfall since 1898, when 20J inches
only were measured.

In order to understand what this deficiency
of 5i inches of rain means to our natural
springs of water and to vegetation, it may be

explained that this deficiency represents a total
of 553 tons of water, equal to 121,132 galls.
on each acre of land ; accordingly our well-
springs and other supplies of water show a
falling-oil' which can easily be accounted for.
A well at the Rothamsted Laboratory, from
which no water is drawn, but which is
measured month by month, to determine the
rise or fall of the springs, in January of last
year recorded a depth of 2 feet 11 inches of
water; this gradually rose to a maximum
depth of 3 feet 11 inches in April. Since that
date the water has been decreasing, and at
tho beginning of December, 1901, there were
but 11 J inches of water in the well. The large
rainfall of the month of December -will prob-
ably cause another rise of the springs. J. J.
Willis, Harpenden.

DENDROBIUM TATJRINUM.
Originally discovered by Cuming in the
Philippine Islands, this singular-looking species
was flowered for the first time under eultiva-

Fh;. an.— denduobium taurinum.

tion in Loddiges' nursery in 1842, and from that
time until a few years ago the small importa-
tions made of it always came from the Philip-
pines. But among the plants collected in
Amboina by the late David Burke, for Messrs.
Jas. Veitch & Sons, were a few specimens of a
plant identical with the typical D. taurinum
in most respects, though differing much in the
appearance of its brown tinted yellow flowers,
and which was named D. taurinum amboinense.
Last year Messrs. Hugh Low & Co. still
further added to the known area of geo-
graphical distribution of the species by
flowering plants imported from New Guinea,
the flowers of which were in every respect
similar to the Philippine species, a circum-
stance all the more singular because the
Amboina plant, a much nearer neighbour of it
than the original Philippine form, is so dis-
similar in colour, and some other details, as to
entail a great deal of consideration, as to
whether it might not better be considered a
distinct species.

Our illustration (fig. 30) represents a flower
of Messrs. Hugh Low & Co.'s New Guinea
form. The sepals and petals were whitish,
the petals tinted with rose colour; the lip
pale rose, with purplish markings at the base.

All the forms of D. taurinum are tall-growing,
tho pseudo-bulbs sometimes being 9 feet in
height. Messrs. Low's plants were about
3 ft., but probably the dwarfest were selected
for sending to this country. The inflorescence
is borne on upright spikes, and the flowers
have sufficient resemblance to the head of a
bull to warrant the name given to it. It should
be grown with Dendrobium Phalcenopsis, D.
superbiens, and others of that class in a warm
house, and should be rested with a restricted
supply of water in the intermediate-house.

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.

GARDENERS' PROSPECTS IN THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA.

I notice in your issue of January 11, 1902,.
a communication from A. Harding, Villa Nova,
Pa., setting forth in rather glowing colours the-
opportunity British gardeners have in this
country, as he sees it. Mr. Harding speaks
from an experience of eight months, and is
naturally enthusiastic when he compares his
present condition with those that ordinarily
obtain in the English gardens. For nearly
twenty years I have been in daily contact with
the gardeners of New England and New York,
and seldom a day passes without one or more
applying to me for positions, therefore I feel
that my experience warrants me in speaking-
as to the facts. The British and German gar-
deners, because of the knowledge they possess
through a more systematic training in the busi-
ness than is readily obtainable in this country,
usually have the preference when positions are
offered. There are not many American gar-
deners. The wages Mr. Harding mentions -
are correct, and in some instances even
more money is paid. The trouble, however,
is that there are now more gardeners,
head and working, in America than there are '
positions for. A call round at the leading;
seed stores in any of the principal cities will,
I think, demonstrate this statement to be '
beyond question. The business with which I
am associated makes, at a considerable ex-
pense, a specialty of supplying horticultural
and agricultural help ; and we have to-day on '
our books the names of more capable men
seeking positions than we expect to be able
to place this season; while there will, un- \
doubtedly, be added to this already too big;
list the usual number of "floaters " that come
to the top every spring when the season's
work opens.

The nurseries in this country are rim on an
entirely different system from what they are
on your side; and usually it is only for 'a
couple of months in tho spring and another in
the fall that a gardener, out of regular em-
ployment, can hope to find work in them.
The employing of Poles, mentioned by Mr.
Harding, is not per force, but by preference,
because of the fact that Poles and Italians will
work for less remuneration than almost any
nationality that seeks refuge in the United
States. Their 5s. or 6s. a day may seem a
large sum when compared to the nursery
labourers who are working at home for
15s. to 18s. a week, but the English nursery
labourer should remember that he has employ-
ment for twelve months of the year, and that
his 2s. has as great a purchasing power as our
dollar, so far as necessities are concerned ;
while the nursery-labourer in this country,
north and west of Pennsylvania, rarely finds
employment for more than eight months of tho
t welve.

While it is not my purpose to discourage
honest, capable, and ambitious- gardeners and. '

February S, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

91

lloi'ists from coming to the United States, it
may not be out of place for them to know that
this is not exactly a land flowing with milk
and'honey, and that situations are not always
to be had for the asking. Perhaps it is not
too much to say that more scope is afforded
here, and young men of ability have more con-
sideration shown them than they usually
receive from English employers. Neverthe-
less, they have in many things to serve a
second apprenticeship, and during that time
receive only "apprentices' pay." When he
eventually applies for the higher position, he
finds, as Mr. Harding puts it, "over a dozen
established and capable applicants in compe-

Cypripedium niveum and C. insigne Sanderce,
and on flowering this year was shown at
the Royal Horticultural Society's meeting on
January 28, when it was unanimously voted a
First-class Certificate. The upper sepal is
white with a yellow tinge over the basal half,
which is also dotted with minute purple spots.
The petals are cream coloured, evenly dotted
with purple ; lip pale primrose ; stamiuode
pale yellow, with a small green boss in the
centre. The foliage is broader than that of
C. insigne, greyish-green with dark green
reticulation.

It may be assumed that this cross has been
made before, and the seeds proved non-

FlG. 31.— C'YPRIPF.IMt 'M VENUS, OAKWOOD VARIETY.

fcition," which actually reduces the conditions
to those prevailing in your country, except
perhaps in the matter of pay, and this, as
above suggested, is to a material extent offset
by the extra expense of living and temptations
in spend money naturally incident to the
country. Archibald Smith, llostou, Moss.

<" Y P R IPE D I U M x V E N V S.
OAKWOOD VAEIETY.

THE subject of our illustration (fig. :',l) must
do added to the list of really beautiful and
distinct hybrid Orchids raised by Norman C.
Cookson, Esq., of Oakwood, Wylam-on-Tyne,
in whose garden so many flue garden-hybrids

have originated. II was obtained by crossing

effective; for it is recorded in the Gardeners'

Chronicle, 1805, i., p. 200| though no raiser's
name is given. Whatever may have been the
outcome of that record, certainly nothing so
beautiful in its way as that shown by Mr.
Cookson has been exhibited. The cross be-
tween C. niveum and ordinary C. insigne is
known as ('. niveo-insigne J and C. • Muriel
llollington was said to be of similar parentage,
but doubts are expressed on that point.

Mr. Cookson's success in securing the best
in its class out of C. insigne Sanders is all
the more gratifying, as that fine yellow form
of ('. insigne does not generally produce good
results. Probably its chaste beauty is nul-
lified by crossing with coloured species, but
the other parent in this case being white
it is enhanced.

STANDARD TREES OF PEACHES
AND NECTARINES.

My first ideas on the above subject were
obtained in 1862. At that time I was employed
in a garden not far from Sudbury Hall in
Derbyshire, and occasionally I called there to
see the gardens. The head gardener at that
time was a Mr. Dick, a very gentlemanly, intel-
ligent man. For some time previous to his
taking charge, the gardens had been practically
closed. Amongst the fruit-houses were two
roomy lean-to Peach-houses. The trellises for
training the trees upon were curvilinear at
the front, and on the upper portion of the back
wall. Most of your readers will recall houses
of this description. The natural soil of the
district was of a moist loamy character, and
as the trees on the front trellises had free
access to the outside borders they grew very
freely. I was informed that a few years pre-
vious to the time mentioned the trees gene-
rally had grown nearly wild, not having been
pruned or tied down for some two or three
years. In the case of those on the front trel-
lises it was decided not to attempt to let them
down to the trellis again. The shoots were
thinned out, leaving the stoutest and best-
placed ones, which thus formed a series of
small bushes growing upright from the main
branches. The first year a nice crop of
good fruit was secured, and when I saw them
they were producing a capital crop. I left
that district at the end of 1803, so cannot say
how long they continued to do well.

My next observation bearing upon this
subject was in the case of a span-roofed house,
which had been used previously for the culti-
vation of Ericas and other hard-wooded green-
house plants. The house in question ran from
east to west, hence the fall of the roof-glass
was to the north and south. For about two-
thirds of the distance up each side a trellis
was fixed some 14 inches from the glass. The
side facing north was planted with dessert
Plums, and the one facing south with Peaches
and Nectarines. Along the centre some good-
sized trees of the latter, hitherto grown in
pots, were planted out. For a few years the
whole continued to afford fairly good crops of
useful fruit, but they had to be cleared out
after a time, as the house was too narrow
and low for them. I ought to say that in wet,
sunless seasons the Plums did not prove satis-
factory. This was a case like the former,
where the gardener had to make the most of
the means at hand for the time being.

The Style of House for the Purpose.
Were I called upon to erect a house or
houses for the supply of late summer and
autumn Peaches, I should erect them on the
lines of the one last described ; but the houses
would run from north to south, and the interior
space would be more roomy. Seeing that it
is nearly impossible to permanently fill an
ordinary lean-to or span -roofed house with
standard Peaches and Nectarines and get
regular crops of good fruit, 1 should propose
to combine trellis-trained trees and free-
growing standards in the same house. My
reason for doing this would not be a cultural
fad, but a firm belief that it would be profit-
able in every way to do so. A house of the
kind 1 mention should be 30 feet in width ; its
length would depend upon the needs and
wishes of the builder; if for a private esta-
blishment, one, say 100 ft. long would supply
abundance of good fruit for most, if not all,
families, ripening, say from the beginning of
August to the end of September, after which
time, in northern districts especially, Peaches
are not much valued on the dessert-table. Of

92

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 8, 1902.

course, in late seasons one or two of the kinds
named below would keep until the middle of
October if required.

Beyond giving a few dimensions of the house
1 allude to, there is no need to go into further
particulars. Any good horticultural builder
would erect it. I mentioned 30 feet as the
■width, the height of the ridge should be 12 feet
<> inches from ground level, with ."! feet 3 inches
for the eaves ; 2 feet of the latter should con-
sist of moveable lights, hung from their cen-
tres, so as to open inwards and outwards. By
this method a current of fresh air is carried
upwards in the space betwixt the glass and
the trellis-trained trees. This is an important
matter in late Peach-houses, especially now-a-
days when the plane of their roofs is little
better than a sheet of glass. ( )n each side
of the ridge there should be continuous
moveable lights, say, not less than 2 feet
(i inches in width. If these were made
in 9 feet lengths, and being so that they could
be easily removed each year when the fruit
was picked, and the wood properly ripened, it
would be an advantage in several ways. One
advantage would be, that it would prevent the
house being converted into a general plant-
store in the winter. Many so - called late
Peach-houses are gradually turned into second
early ones through being used for this pur-
pose when the trees should be completely at
rest. Instead of the usual door at each end
under the ridge, I would have two doors at
one end, if not at both. The object in this is
to facilitate work when new soil is required,
&c., by giving free access to wheelbarrows,
garden-engines, and hand-barrows.

Owing to the standard trees being planted
along the centre of the house, two small paths
would be required. The doors suggested
should be opposite the paths. It would be
necessary to have not less than two lengths
of 4-inch hot-water pipes up each side of the
house to exclude frosts at night when the
trees are in blossom ; and also what is of
equal effect, if not greater importance, in
dull, sunless seasons, viz., dry the atmosphere
sufficiently in the daytime to liberate the
pollen-grains, and ensure a good set.

Beyond saying that the walls which carry
the eaves should have well-arranged openings
quite up to the ground-level so as to give free
access outwards to the roots from the trellis-
trained trees, I do not propose to go further
to describe the details of border formation.
These have been recently discussed in the
Gardeners' Chronicle by fully competent men.

Planting the Trees.
Beginning with standards, I would suggest
that twelve trees be put in a house of the
length named. This would give each tree
about 8 feet 6 inches of space lengthways,
and a little more crossways, in the space in
centre of the house. Two parallel brick-on-
edge walls running the whole length of the
house, say from 3 to 4 feet from the centre,
should be put down. These walls might be
carried, say 1 foot below ground-level, and
rise an equal height above it. Cross-walls of
the same depth and height, and 8 feet C inches
apart, would give a separate compartment for
each standard tree. I am quite sure this
extra expense would in the long run be amply
repaid by the greater cultural advantages
afforded. When planting, be sure and choose
strong, healthy maiden trees on stout 5-feet
stems. It will require fully as much care and
attention to form the base of a good standard
as that of a trellis-trained tree, though I
would by no means suggest that much annual
pruning is advisable. After the first year's
growth, each tree would carry, say, two

dozen fair fruits. I know some gardeners
speak of more fruits having been pro-
portionately produced ; but seeing that a
Peach under, say, S ounces in weight is but an
apology for a good fruit, 1 would dissuade
growers from overcropping, at the outset at
any rate. As is well known, it is the pulp
that is eaten, not the stones, and it is impos-
sible to have an undue quantity of the latter
well clothed with the former. When fully
grown, each standard would give not fewer
than 100 Peaches, with perhaps 120 in the
case of Nectarines. My selection of varieties
of Peaches would be Barrington, Bellegarde,
Violette Hative, Crimson Galande, Goshawk,
Prince of Wales, Sea Eagle, and Walburton
Admirable; and of Nectarines, Balgowan,
Lord Napier, and Pineapple.

The trellises for training the trees upon
along each side should run about 12 feet up
the roofs from eaves, and be not less than
18 inches from the glass. Here I would plant
six trees on each side, thus allowing a space
of about 16 feet (i inches for each tree.
Nectarines should be kept to themselves.

My selection of varieties for trellis trees is
Condor, A'bec, Grosse Mignonne, Nectarine
Peach ; Dymond, Violette Hative, Princess of
Wales Peaches ; and Early Rivers, Balgo-
wan, Violette Hative, and Stanwick Elruge
Nectarines.

Taking one fruit f/om each square foot of
trellis would give 1,200 fruits from each side
of the house, making with fruit from standards
considerably over 3,000 fruits annually, which
most practical fruit-growers will agree is a
fair quantity. I need hardly mention that
until the trees come into full bearing, the
vacant space might be occupied with Tomatos,
or some other crop. H.J.C., Grimston Gardens,
Tadcaster.

CULTURAL MEMORANDUM.

DAPHXE ODORA.

SOME few individuals of this old and
fragrant species which flowers about Christ-
mas, should be found in every greenhouse.
The plant is generally grafted on stocks of D.
laureola in March, though 1 have been fairly
successful in growing them on their own roots
by putting in during September slips 3 ins. long,
with a heel of older wood, in a mixture of
sandy peat and loam, in thumb-pots. The slips
should be placed against the side of the pot,
afforded water, and put under a bell-glass in
the greenhouse. They may take longer to
form roots than in heat, but the plants are
stronger, and not so liable to decay; more-
over, the plants are longer- lived on their own
roots than grafted plants. At Bicton the
plant is used to cover a greenhouse back wall,
where they succeed admirably, not being
crowded with other plants ; and for this pur-
pose grafted plants are preferable, as they
grow stronger. Nice little bushy specimens
can be grown in 7-inch pots, in loam and peat in
equal proportions, with enough silver-sand
and a small quantity of powdered brick-bat as
will give porosity, potting firmly. Frequent
repotting should be avoided so long as a plant
is healthy.

Water must be applied only when it is
wanted, as ill-health quickly follows excess of
moisture at the root ; and manures should be
avoided. In the month of July, plants in pots
are the better for being placed outdoors, and
gradually inured to full sunshine, plunged in a
bed of coal-ashes. In Devon and Cornwall
Daphne odora is hardy, and except in very
severe winters, they flower freely from the

new year onwards. Out-of-doors, a S. or S.E.
wall should be selected for the plants, and one
fairly sheltered from cutting winds, and the
drainage should be good ; the same kind of
soil as that used for Daphnes in pots, but in a
more lumpy state. At Bicton, some litter or
bracken is placed around the stems of the
plants when severe frosts threaten, and put a
mat over them if they are in flower. J. Mayne,
Bicton. [Our correspondent kindly sent a few
flower-heads, taken from plants that had been
out-of-doors for five years, the variety being
the pink-flowered one. This and the white-
flowered variety are very sweet-scented. En.]

NITROGENOUS MANURES
FOR PEAS.

In such discussions as occurred in your last
issue, it is well to take the entire horizon
into consideration, when science and practice
will always march hand in hand and pull
together, and redress the balance over the
assumption that "practice and results have
the pull over theory," as stated by Mr. James;
Baxter. As the more important part of the
problem, I prefer to consider Mr. Manning's
point of view first, who tells us he sees no
very decided benefit in supplying nitrate of
soda to Peas, except the earlier ones. This is
as it should be, for as nitrification in the soil
sets up in proportion to the action of the sun's
heat, summer and later crops obtaining the
full spell of the power of our great orb, are
well provided from natural nitrification in the
soil. In this connection, I should like to offer
another illustration bearing on the subject. In
dry, warm seasons, we have observed that fruit
crops do not colour so well as when a fair
amount of rain falls. Rain reduces summer
heat of the soil and diminishes nitrification.
When this occurs fairly, fruit (especially
Apples) will be highly coloured. When con-
tinuous drought occurs, the fruit will be
green. Anyone wishing to experiment can do
so for himself by intelligently assisting Nature,
and copiously affording water, and syringing;
with water a portion of his trees in August
and September, and comparing results with the
other portion left to Nature unassisted.

Dry heat of the soil promotes nitrification,
and thus continued growth of fruit occurs, in-
stead of the maturity shown in the development
of colour which is promoted by rain and its.
effects of cooling the soil. Thus, in general,
the application of nitrate of soda has its most
striking effects in spring on all kinds of crops,
natural nitrification being yet little deve-
loped so early. The interesting lessons fore-
seen by Mr. Manning, and which, so says.
an editorial parenthesis, will be gladly
received, will therefore be surely evolved on
these lines from the various trials to be made
by others as suggested by Mr. Manning.
When we thus see results from joining theory
to practice, we come to Mr. Baxter's case,
who finds a layer of manure (presumably
dung), placed at the bottom of a trench, very
useful. Naturally so, in a dry season ; ,but,
of course, not for its manurial character, but
as he says, for a moister bed for the roots,
which he supplements by moistening the Pea-
haulm overhead, being also found beneficial.
When we shall have acquired the habit to
irrigate, a goodly supply of water will not be
considered any longer so unnecessary ; but its
sufficiency at the root of Peas will reduce the
usefulness of manure at the bottom of trenches
for Peas, as the latter thrive remarkably with
water only for the later crops, and are quite
independent of dung, as natural nitrification
makes up for it in the case of all Leguminous;
plants.

February 8, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

93

Irrigation in agriculture dates from hoary
antiquity, and at the present time cne-seventh
part of the entire population of our glolje.orfive
times the population of these isle?, subsist
almost entirely by production, dependent upon

easy one, and thus proceed from the simple to
more complex environment, so that a scientific
system be evolved in time out of the learning
of the A, B, C, to start from the present day.
11. H. Iiitsrheii, Sidcup, Kent.

Flo. 32. — EXACUM FORBESII: GREENHOUSE SHRUB; FLOWERS PURPLE.

systematic irrigation, not a few million lives
being thus maintained in British India. It
seems a good broad hint to this nation to
apply irrigation at home, which modern habit
of thought expects of intelligence. Especi-
ally should rain-water be stored individually,

bo to have a resource on the spot wherever
physical configuration renders the prnblem[an

EXACUM FORBESII.

OCR illustration (tig. 32) of this new species
from Soeotra, was obtained from plants shown
by Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Koyal Exotic
Nursery, Chelsea, at a meeting Of the Koyal
Horticultural Society on January 1 I, when the
novelty was recommended an Award of Merit

by the Floral Committee. It is a perennial
greenhouse shrub, of bushy habit, a foot 01-
less in height as shown, growing in 6-inch anil
7-inch pots. The leaves are sessile, ovate-
lanceolate, deep green, rather glossy, 1J inch
across at the base ; flowers rather more than,
^-inch across, produced in terminal racemes,
purple, or violet-purple in colour, with pro*-
minent yellow anthers. The plants shown by
Messrs. Veitch had been cultivated in a green-
house, having an intermediate temperature-
E. attine was illustrated in the Gard. Chroiu,
May 10, 1881, and E. macranthum, Mar. 17,1894.

COLONIAL NOTES.

AN INTERESTING GATHERING AT
BARBADOS.
This, the fourth meeting of the Agricultural*
Conference, has just taken place at Barbados,
and -we have returned to our respective homes
after what may be looked upon as a most
profitable and pleasant time. Among the
representatives from the West Indian Colonies-
were nine Kew men, and our old friend, Mr.
J. H. Hart, of the Botanical Department in the
flourishing island of Trinidad. The Kew men
present were : — Messrs. R. Ward, of Britisk
Guiana; H. Powell, of St. Vincent; J. Jones,
and D. Tannock, of Dominica ; Wm. Lunt, from
St. Kitts; W. N. Sands, of Antigua; A. J.
Jordan, of Montserrat ; H. Miller, of Tobago;
and W. E. Broadway, of Grenada. We missed
one colleague, Mr. J. C. Moore, the Curator
of the Botanic Station at St. Lucia, who unfor-
tunately was prevented from putting in an
appearance on account of his island being,
under quarantine. Possibly this is the only
part of the tropics where so many Kew men.
annually meet. Situated as we are thousands,
of miles away from home, and among, rela-
tively, few of one's kinsfolk, it is difficult to
describe how we appreciate the opportunity
of meeting each other. We, who have been
so long from the old country, hear and learn.,
much from the newer men, as well as from
those who have been privileged to visit
Britain on their well-deserved holiday. The-
stay^at Barbados extended beyond the usual
time by some forty-eight hours, owing to the
Royal Mail steamer Elbe from England being
two days late, having experienced bad weather .
These annual Conferences are held under the
presidency of Dr. Morris, C.M.G., &c, the
Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture for the
West Indies, and it is through his invitation.,
and influence that Kew men and others are
enabled thus to foregather for business and
pleasure. Barbados, an old British colony,
is a strikingly busy place compared with
Grenada. One of its characteristics is t he-
delicious flying-fish, which, when alive, skim
over the open sea and resemblo a lot of birds
flying together. There are also edible sea-
urchins. H\ E. Broadway, Cremida, January 10,.
1902.

West Indian Bulletin.

The last part received contains a full report
of the proceedings at the West Indian Agri-
cultural Conference, 1902, held at Barbados-
under the presidency of Dr. Morris. The zeal
and energy of this gentleman appear to be-
having good results. Dr. Morris still holds
out the hope that a Sugar-cane will be de-
veloped which will yield 40 to 50 per cent-
more sugar than any now in cultivation. Re-
membering what was accomplished with the
Sugar-beet bv the late Henry de Vilmorin, ami
his lather before him, there is good ground for-
the belief that similar results may accrue in
the case of the Sugar-cane. The Presidential
address is very suggestive ami hopeful. Next
year, perhaps, the Conference will be held in
one of the other islands.

94

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 8, 1902.

The Week's Work.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

The removal of the back pseudo-bulbs. — I
would refer to the article on p. 409 in Gar-
deners' Chronicle for December 7 last, ou the
removal of the leading growth of Orchids. I
consider this article gives us the one and only
method of checking the great loss of plants
that has been going on since Orchids have
been imported. The species worthy of propa-
gation can be found ; but the others which
have been allowed to remain in the same state
:is when imported, i.e., with all the old
pseudo-bulbs to rob the leads of nutriment,
are gone altogether in a great many cases, and
others are following them. Nothing is more
charming than a specimen Orchid, but it is
not the number of pseudo-bulbs which a plant
posessess, but rather the number of its leads.
There is nothing to be gained by leaving a
string of perhaps 8 to 12 pseudo-bulbs behind
the lead, but if they are allowed to remain
they make the lead weak continually and
general decay sets in. My advice is to sever
all the back pseudo-bulbs excepting three or
four immediately behind the lead, especially
in the case of Ljelias and Cattleyas ; then,
when the plants are potted, the leads can be
placed together in the case of specimens, and
■ make a much neater plant, and generally
improve the health of the plants.

Cypripediums. — The present is a suitable
time to re-pot or divide plants of C. insigne
and its many forms, C. Charlesworthi, C.
Spicerianum and tiie crosses derived from
them. (Tew if any Orchids are more gene-
rally useful in apartments than C. insigne,
or that will succeed amongst and under
specimen Orchids. At Gatton Park thisCypri-
pedhun is grown beneath plants of Cymbi-
ilhuus, in which way they do not take up much
valuable room, and they afford a lot of flowers.
The importations of recent years, especially
nf the C. Montana, have given gardeners
many charming varieties of this fine old
species, and lovers of flowers — apart from
Orchid cultivators — should grow, in addition
to the old form, such varieties as C. insigne
Sandera3,lC. i. Sanderianum, C. i. Dorothy, C.
i. Fowlerianum, C. i. Harefield Hall var., and
others. Specimen-making should be the one
aim with all of the C. i. section, with the
reservation that, as previously stated, after
t hey have attained the desired dimensions and
the soil has become exhausted, they should be
divided, and the divisions grown on to speci-
men size. If this practice be followed from
year to year, dividing a few and potting
others, a stock of specimens can be readily
kept up. Sometimes specimens are observed
that have been grown in the same flower-pot
for a number of years and still flower well ;
but still, if the plant had been divided there
would have been twice the number of flowers
obtained.

Potting soil.— C. insigne and its varieties
grow well in turfy peat two-fifths, good fibry
loam two-fifths, leaf-soil one-fifth, knocking
out the finer particles of the loam if it be
heavy. The ingredients should be mixed
together and the pot well drained, and both
pots and crocks quite clean. Let the potting
lie done rather firmly, filling the pots nearly
to the rim, and insert a few clumps of living
sphagnum-moss on the surface. The same
kind of compost suits 0. Charlesworthi, C.
Spicerianum, but in potting these varieties
l lie base of the growths should be kept a
little higher than the rim or more drainage
afforded, but do not make the surface convex.
Water should be afforded carefully till the
roots have seized upon the new compost.
Frequent moistening of the stage and the sides
of the pots, and the foliage on bright days, isof
benefit to the plants. Any plants that have
been divided should be shaded from the sun
till the roots make a new start. The species
and hybrids named need a temperature of not

less than 50°, considerable humidity in the
air, and the avoidance of all closeness. A
suitable house is one in which exotic Ferns
and Palms are grown, or a moist greenhouse.

THE FLOWER GARDEN-.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Humcu elegans. — Plants that are being grown
on for out-of-door decoration of any kind
should now be shifted into 9-inch pots in a soil
consisting of turfy-loam and decayed manure,
and a small quantity of charcoal and silver-
sand, with sufficient drainage material. When
the plants have begun to seize upon the new
soil, afford them full sunlight and plenty of ail-
on all favourable occasions by day, and apply
water carefully. Plants of Grevillea robusta
and Eucalyptus Globulus growing in pots
which have become too tall for the greenhouse
may be shifted into larger pots, and beyond
affording them water more freely, they may be
treated like Humeas. They will form excellent
subjects for planting in the shrubberies or
large beds in June.

Bedding Pelargoniums. — Those which have
been placed in warm houses will have begun
to grow freely, and may be potted forthwith
singly in 60's in a mixture of turfy-loam and
spent Mushroom-dung passed through a J-inch
sieve, with a small quantity of sand added.
The pots used should be new or well washed,
and no crocks will be necessary if some pieces
of turfy-loam be placed over the bottom of the
pots. Recourse is sometimes had to the
" mossing," and replacing the plants in boxes,
but I have not found this method very
satisfactory.

Marguerites.- — Rooted cuttings should be
repotted into 48's after treatment similar to
that of the Pelargoniums, but they must be
removed to cold frames at a much earlier date,
in order to induce a desirable sturdiness of
growth.

Gagania splendens. — Young plants may be
transferred from the cutting-boxes, and put
4 inches apart in other boxes in a mixture of
loam, peat, decayed manure, and sand.

Dahlias. — If an increase of the number of
plants is desired, old roots should now be put
upon a bed having a bottom-heat of 75°, cover-
ing them up to the collar with light soil ;
syringe them twice daily, and as soon as the
shoots produced have grown two joints in
length, remove them by slipping them off,
insert singly in small pots filled with sand and
leaf-soil, and plunge in a close warm frame.
When rooted, gradually inure to light and air,
and repot as may be required.

Seeds. — A sowing of East Lothian Stock seed
should be made at this date thinly in shallow
pans or boxes filled with light soil, and place
in a vinery at work till germination takes
place, then remove to a cool house. In about
a fortnight the plants may be pricked off
singly into large 60's, using a rich loamy soil,
place them on the border of such house, and
apply water sparingly until growth begins,
after which admit air freely, and at no time
allow them to become dry at the root. Sow
seeds of Salvia patens, and afford ordinary
treatment under glass until the month of May.
It usually happens that some of the old
seeds decay in the winter, hence the need to
sow. Seeds of Salvia Scarlet Queen should
also be sown, and when pricked off the plants
should be grown on in a warm house till
midsummer. This plant associates well with
autumn-flowering Chrysanthemums, or it may
be planted in the borders.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch, Dalkeith.

The Earliest Peach-house. — The fruit being
well set and of the size of horse-beans, a
certain amount of thinning should be carried
out, but leaving plenty for later thinning,
early forced trees not always swelling off the

fruit regularly. As the swelling proceeds
more fruits can be removed, the final thinning
taking place when stoning is over. Every-
thing possible should be done at the present
time to help the swelling of the fruits, keep-
ing a mean temperature of 60°, and 10° or 15°
higher in the day-time ; syringing twice
daily with tepid water, and sprinkling a quick-
acting manure on the border, which should be
washed -in with tepid water. The Peach does
not like a stuffy atmosphere, but as much
fresh air as may be prudently admitted, avoid-
ing cold draughts, which chill the small fruit
and arrest growth. Disbudding should now
receive attention, taking care to leave the
bud at the base of the shoot. At this stage
greenfly is often troublesome, and the trees
should be syringed with quassia-water ; and if
the small points are curled with greenfly, dust
them with tobacco-powder.

Early Vinery. — If the Vines are in flower,
keep a mean temperature in the vinery of 65°,
rising to 80" or higher in the daytime with
sun-heat, damping the paths and wall surfaces
so as to secure a moist air in the house. Much
watchfulness day and night will be required on
the part of those in charge of the houses, chang-
ing the air of the vinery by admitting it in
small quantity by the upper sashes or ventila-
tors during the warmest hours of the day — cold
air injuring both foliage and berries when ad-
mitted in quantity. Attend to the tying-down
of the young shoots, and keep them away from
the glass. Allow two or three buds beyond
the bunch to grow, stopping laterals back to one
bud ; proceed with the thinning of the berries
as soon as the fruit is properly set, and apply
a light sprinkling of vine-manure to the
border, washing it into the soil with tepid
water.

Second Vinery. — The vines in this vinery
are following close upon the heels of those
started a month earlier, and are developing
their flowers. Let there be no haste to dis-
bud, but first see which bunches are likely to
be the best before making a choice. One
shoot to one spur is enough to leave. The
mean temperature should not go below 60°, or
5° more than this if the weather is moderate,
and 70° to 75° by day. Tie the shoots to the
wires with a long strand of matting at the
first, and bring them bit by bit on alternate
days towards the trellis. If the weather is
bright and the air in the vinery inclined to be
dry, damp down frequently. Vines, in order
to produce ripe Grapes in the months of July
and August, should now be started. Unless
the weather is very cold, but little fire-heat
will be required at the first to maintain a
night temperature of 50°, and by day of 55° to
60° when weather is bright. Syringe the Vines
in the early morning and early in the after-
noon, damping the paths occasionally. If the
weather is dull, one syringing in the morning
is usually enough. Before starting the vinery
the inside border should be examined, and if
found to be dry, it should be afforded warm
water mixed weakly with cow-house drainings,
and afterwards a moderate sprinkling of bone-
meal and vine-manure put on the surface
together with two inches of fresh, turfy loam
finely chopped.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mundy, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Palms generally will now require their
annual inspection as regards repotting and re-
tubbing. I would like to suggest, however,
that these accommodating plants are often
subjected to too much root disturbance, and
that while they are doing well, and show no
signs of lessened vigour, they should be let
alone, as over-potting may lead to the souring
of the soil, and given the requisite shade and
syringing during thesummer. the small amount
of root-space that they require is surprising.
Kcntias, Arecas, and, in fact, almost all the
more useful Palms grown under glass, appear
to enjoy a certain amount of confinement at
the root, if other conditions are right, and to
the decorator this is a great advantage. When

February 8, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

95

potting is necessary, however, the greatest
care should be taken to provide good tough
turfy peat and loam that will not soon decay :
and good, but not an excessive amount of
drainage, carefully placed, and leaving as
much space as possible for the roots without
elevating the crowns of the root above the
rim. No new soil should be placed above the
root-level. I would rather leave some roots
exposed than bury any portion of the stems.
In potting-on young plants, the smallest shifts
should be given. A new Palm that has pleased
me very much is Kentia Sanderiana ; this has
an Areca-like appearance, and promises to
stand rough usage better than that popular
species, Areca lutescens.

Eucharis. — While these are doing well, they
may be left alone. Probably the^best plants
now to be found have occupied their pots for
many years together without disturbance,
except to replace the surface-soil, which is
sure to get washed away. If, on the other
hand, the soil has got into a bad condition,
the plants must be shaken out and repotted,
placing as many bulbs as possible in a pot,
and potting them deeply. Pots over 12 inches
in diameter are unsuitable for Eucharis, as the
large body of soil required soon gets sour.
February is a suitable month in which to repot,
as then the roots are fairly active, and the
temperature may be kept equable, there being-
no great amount of sun-heat. To keep Eucharis
healthy and free from the mite, I prefer a
cooler, more airy, and somewhat drier treat-
ment overhead than that generally given. A
free use of sand in the potting mixture, good
loam and peat, are the ess-entials, with, of
course, sufficient, but not over - abundant
drainage.

Fuchsias. — Autumn-struck Fuchsias should
now be repotted, old plants brought to the
light, and any that are wanted to produce
shoots for propagating purposes, after being
slightly cut back, should be placed in a vinery
at work ; while those intended for growing on
as specimens may be pruned severely into
shape, and kept cool for some time, no water
being afforded for several days after pruning.

Herbaceous Calceolarias. — These may be
placed in their flowering pots, using sandy
loam, enriched with decayed cow-manure in a
dry state. Pot them with a moderate degree
of firmness, and place in a house where the
general conditions are cool and moist, with
plenty of light, and where they get very little
direct sunshine.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Turton, Gr. to J. K. D. Winofield Diubv, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Ridging Ground for Potatos.— Land intended
for the main crop of Potatos, and now be-
coming vacant, if at all retentive, may be got
into good condition before the time arrives for
planting, if ridging is done at once. This will
allow the ground to be exposed for several
weeks to frosts and other pulverising agencies,
and effect a great saving in labour. Ridge the
land at the necessary distances for planting
Potatos, which may be 2 feet 6 inches, except
in cases of very strong growers, which may
require 3 feet from row to row. Having'
nicked out the land at these distances with a
spade, dig deeply with a full-length, flat-tined
digging-fork by preference, between the
nicked-out lines, throwing the soil up roughly
into a sharp ridge. When planting - time
arrives, the frost will have pulverised the
Sides of the ridges ; then take a digging-fork,
and level up the trenches to the proper depth
to receive the sets. The tubers can be planted
by one man to a line, and another man should
follow with a digging-fork to cover the tubers
with soil from the ridges. The land between
the rows may be forked over directly after-
wards or loft until a more convenient time.
If extra fine and clean-skinned tubers are
desired, or should the land require such a
dressing, cover the sets in the trenches with
decayed leaf-mould and charred garden-refuse.
.This has been my practice in respect to the
. main crop of Potatos for many years.

Onion Ground. — If this has not already been
well prepared by heavy manuring and trench-
ing, no time must be lost. Land on which the
main crop of Peas was grown last year, and
which in most cases would be followed with
Savoys and other early winter crops, will now
be vacant. Place at the bottom of the trench
all rubbish in the way of leaves from the
Savoys, and other refuse from the crops ; but
pull up and burn all big stumps. After turn-
ing in the top spit, put on a layer of dung, and
another layer under the finishing spit, which
should be left roughly thrown up, and so
exposed to the action of the weather till the
time arrives for preparing the surface for
.sowing.

Mushroom-house. — Where much fire-heat has
to be employed to maintain the required tem-
perature, this will necessitate frequent sprink-
ling of the beds, walls, and path with water
through a fine-rose water-pot or syringe.
Judgment and experience, however, are the
great factors in successful Mushroom-growing,
and the covering of beds which are exposed
to fluctuating temperatures or dry atmospheres
with clean soft hay not only prevents moisture
evaporating, but reserves the heat in the beds.
Watering beds whilst the Mushrooms are
small is often fatal to them, and the aim should
be to afford a good watering to beds after a
crop has been gathered, then re-cover with
fresh hay, and unless the bed is exhausted,
another crop will soon result. Maintain a
temperature of 55° by lire-heat, and keep floors
and surfaces near to hot-water pipes well
damped. Collect droppings for another bed in
the Mushroom-house, always avoiding, if pos-
sible, those voided by horses fed with Carrots ;
and upon no account use the dung from horses
which have recently received physic.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Mayne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle,
Bicton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

The Fig. — In this garden, near to the sea
coast, we never find it necessary to protect
Fig-trees, even in the most severe weather,
and in localities where such protection is
necessary, the covering should be used only
during frosts. Do not permit the trees to
accumulate too much wood. It is very
essential that the sun and air should be
able to penetrate freely among the branches,
to thoroughly ripen the growths, and thus
render the shoots less liable to be damaged
by severe frost. Well ripened shoots of
the Fig will withstand 12° to 16° of frost,
but it is the continuance of hard frost
for weeks together that does the mischief.
Thinning of the shoots may be done in mild
weather, and the remaining ones washed with
a mixture of soft-soap and flowers-of-sulphur,
made of the consistency of paint, which will
kill any red-spider there may be upon them.
Curtail the rooting space of the trees, and do
not permit them to enter a rich, loose border,
or they will make gross and unfruitful wood.
Short-jointed wood is required, and for the
production of this the border cannot well lie
too firm, as the best results are generally
obtained from trees whose roots have worked
under a road or garden path. Good loam, with
about one-sixth of old mortar-rubble, well
mixed together, is a good compost. Thorough
drainage is necessary, and the planting is best
done late in March. The old variety, Brown
Turkey, is one of the hardiest, most reliable,
and best-flavoured varieties for cultivation
out-of-doors. If a wall is afforded the trees, it
should be one facing south or south-west. In
this county (Devon) standard and bush-trees of
largo dimensions are frequently seen laden with
fruit during August and September, in warm
positions sheltered from the north by buildings
or evergreen hedges.

The Pear. — Any trees affected by the Mussel-
scale, and that have been pruned, should bo
painted over with paraffin emulsion at once.
We had two fan-trained trees on a west wall
so badly infected that they made no growth.
As a winter dressing, half-a-pint of paraffin

was put into a 4-galloh pail of nearly boiling-
water and thoroughly mixed together, and
enough clay added as would make a thick paint.
This was laid on over every part of the trees
twice, after an interval of a week ; the f oil owing
season the trees grew away kindly, and have
done so every year, no trace of scale having
been noticed since. It is necessary to un-
fasten the trees before starting to paint, so
that every part gets its share.

Fruit Culture in the United States. —
The subjoined figures and explanatory matter.
from the Census Returns, refer to the State of
New Hampshire..

Number of
Trees.

Bushels of
Fruit.

Fruits.

1900

1890

1899

1889

Apples

2,034,398

1,744,779

1,978,797

2,283,3.17

Apricots

141

191

2

CI jerries

6,700

7.1154

1,183

501

Peaches

48,819

19,057

6,054

1,204

Pears

38,287

39,378

19,341

19,2f-s

Plums and
Prunes

18,137

10,151

4,942

842

The value of the fruit grown was 707,729 dols •
In 1900, 94-8 per cent. ; and in 1890, 95'S per
cent, of all the fruit trees in the State were
Apple-trees. The increase in ten years was
16-0 per cent. Peaches flourish only in the
south-eastern part of the State. The Cherry-
trees decreased in the same period 6"5 per
cent. ; Pear-trees, 2-8 per cent. ; while Plum
and Prune-trees increased 78-7 per cent. As
the quantity of fruit is determined largely by
the nature of the season, which varies more or
ess from year to year in all the New England
States, no valid comparisons can be made
between the crops of 1889 and 1899. The-
former year was evidently more favourable
to the Apple crop than was 1899, for although
there was an increase in the number of trees,
there was a decrease of 13"3 per cent, in the
quantity of fruit reported. Cherry, Peach,
Pear, and Plum trees, on the other hand, bore
more abundantly in 1899 than in 188!). The
area given over to small fruits in 1899 was
731 acres, and the value of the fruit grown
was 116,830 dollars — an averrge of 159 dollars
per acre. The acreage and production of ber-
ries were as follows : — Blackberries and Dew-
berries, 65 acres ; Cranberries, 23 ; Currants,
27; Raspberries and Loganberries, 80; Straw-
berries, 307 ; Gooseberries, 5 ; and other small
fruits, 227 acres, with a total produce of some
1,210,906 quarts. The produce was greatest
with Strawberries, Raspberries, and Black-
berries.

Agricultural Statistics, Ireland. — A
report has been published as a Government
paper showing the extent in statute acres.
and the amount of the crops grown in the
several counties of Ireland in 1901. There is
a decrease in acreage of over 20 per cent, in
Wheat, of 0-5 in Oats, of 7'2 per cent, in
Barley, and of 3-6 in Rye; in Potatos of 2!>
per cent., in Turnips of 2'7 per cent. On the
other hand, Mangel Wurzel, Flax, and Hay
exhibit an increase. The amount of actual
produce for Cereals and Potatos shows an
increase. Of the Potatos grown over liti per
cent, are "Champions," and last season was
very favourable, the produce per acre aver-
aging 5'3 tons. A valuable diagram is given.
showing the produce of Potatos during each
one of twenty years. It is very desirable that
this should be corela'ted with similar tables
showing the tempera t lire, rainfall, and, if
possible, the amount of sunshine.

96

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 8, 1902.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER
Special Notice to Correspondents.— The Editor does not
undertake to pay Jor any contributions, or to return the
unused communications or illustrations, unless by special
arrangement.
Illustrations.— The Editor will thankfully receive and select
photographs or drawings, suitable /or reproduction, ot
gardens, or of remarkable plants, flowers, trees, £c. ; but he
cannot be responsible for loss or injury.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

TUESDAY, FEB. 11

Royal Horticultural Society :
Committees meet. Annual
General Meeting ot Fellows
at 3 P.M.

ultural Club at 5, Dinner

FRIDAY,

| at 3 P
Hortici

V, at 6 P

r.„„ ..(Annual Meeting of the Royal
* EB- " t Gardeners' Orphan Fund.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, Feb. 10 —

Border Plants, Bulbs, &c, by Protheroe & Morris,
at 12.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 12.—

Azaleas, &c, by Protheroe & Morris, at 12.— Palms,
&c, at Stevens' Rooms, 12.30.— Sale of Nursery, Bull
Inn, Dartford, at 4, by Dann & Lucas.

THURSDAY, Feb. 13.—

Sale of Hollies and Rhododendrons, at the
Eccleston Nurseries, Prescot, by Protheroe &
Morris, at 12.30.
FRIDAY, Feb. 14 —

Sale of Hollies and Rhododendrons, at the Eccles-
ton Nurseries, Prescot, at 12.30.— Roses, Plaots, &c,
at 12, and Orchids, at 12.3U, by Protheroe & Morris.
(For further particulars sec Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observationsof Forty-three Years at Chiswick
-390°.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— February 5 (6 p.m.) : Max. 38° ; Min. 34'.

February t>.— Mild; dull.
Provinces. — February 5 (6 p.m ) : Max. 41°, Scilly ;
Min. 33°, East Coast.

Well in advance of the annual

T1theRRPHS °£ meeting on February 11, the
Council of the Royal Horticul-
tural Society has issued its annual report.
It is in the main of a highly satisfactory
character, financially and otherwise, but
while, on the one hand, it contains little
that the Fellows do not know already, on the
other, it is silent upon the point of all others
upon which the Fellows are most anxious to
have information. We must possess our
souls in patience till the annual meetiDg,
when in all probability the President will be
able to announce what has been done in the
matter of obtaining a site for the erection of
a Hall. We have not space to reprint the
report in full, but we may comment on some
of the more important of its contents. No
fewer than 930 new Fellows have been
•elected in the past year, a fact which we can
only characterise as " prodigious."

The net cost of maintaining Chiswick is
put down at £1,576. The success of the
■Chiswick students in spite of the somewhat
meagre opportunities afforded them is very
gratifying. It is suggested that in future the
examinations of pupils be held in February
instead of in April, as being a more con-
venient season. In some quarters we hear
■complaints that the examination is not of a
more directly practical character. If the
candidates were closing their educational
career instead of beginning it, there would
.be some force in this objection. Practical
experience can only be obtained by practical
work. To expect youths who have only been
si short time in the garden to be expert
practitioners is unreasonable. This points
to the desirability of a preliminary examina-
tion to be held, sav, at the end of the first or

second year of pupilage, and a final ex-
amination of a practical character two or
three years later.

No fewer than 083 awards of some degree
or other have been made during the year by
the various committees. Of these no fewer
than 408 were allotted by the Floral and 191
by the Orchid Committees. These figures,
we think still, indicate an excessive liberality
on the part of the censors, calculated to
materially lower the value of the several
awards. We are glad to see an attempt to
meet this contingency by the promulgation
of a new rule, that any proposal for an award ■
"shall not be considered as carried unless
the number of votes recorded for the proposal
be at least double the number voting against
it." We shall be glad to see this majority
raised toatwo-thirds majority in a committee
of not fewer than twenty members.

It is a matter for satisfaction to find that
several of the special societies have intimated
their intention of holding their exhibitions
in conjunction with the Society's meetings,
and in future the show Tulips will be dealt
with by the Narcissus Committee. We have
always regretted the frittering away of means
and energy occasioned by the special so-
cieties. They should, we think, be treated
as sections of the parent Society, with a
representative on the Council, and invested
with Home Rule in all special matters.
Extra prizes could be provided for as they
are now. By some such means the minor
societies would gain in dignity, and be less
exposed to the charge of self-glorification of
individuals.

The Fruit Show at the Crystal Palace is a
most momentous matter as regards the
promotion and improvement of fruit-culture.
The Fellows do not appear to realise the
importance of the subject as they should do.
It is really a matter of national concern,
which in other countries would be under-
taken, or at least liberally helped by the
Government.

Of the Journal we have lately spoken. The
Fellows can butTeel satisfied with the spirit
with which this excellent publication is
carried on.

One hundred and sixteen local societies
have become affiliated to the Royal Horti-
cultural Society during the year. This
suggests that the Council might devise
means for increasing the utility of provincial
shows. They are very agreeable meetings,
eagerly sought after by prize-winners, and
even by commercial firms, but their influence
in the promotion of horticulture is surely
not proportionate to the efforts made. An
annual meeting at which delegates from the
local and special societies might be present
to discuss matters of interest to them all
is very desirable.

And this brings us to the matter not
mentioned in the report, but which is upper-
most in the minds of those actively con-
cerned in the work of the Society. We mean
the establishment of a horticultural In-
stitute to serve as headquarters for the
Society,and in which the gardening charities,
the special societies, and all associations
connected with horticulture, might find a
home so far as it might be possible or
expedient. Never was the Society in a
better position to undertake such responsi-
bilities, never were there greater chances of
support than at present. What better way
of celebrating the centenary of the Society

can be suggested? The Fellows await
developments with eager interest. In the
meantime, we believe negociations of a satis-
factory character are in progress, though not
in a state to be formally divulged. In any
case, they must be submitted to the Fellows
for approval before any absolutely binding
step is taken.

Royal Horticultural Society. — The
next meeting of the committees of this Society
will take place on Tuesday, February 11, in
the Drill Hall, Buckingham Gate, S.W. The
annual general meeting of the Fellows of the
Society will also he held in the Drill Hall at
3 P.M. on the same date.

At a general meeting of the Royal

Horticultural Society, held on Tuesday,
Jan. "28, fifty-two new Fellows were elected —
amongst them being the Countess of Kenmare,
the Countess of SEFTON, and the Countess of
St. Germans — making a total of 123 elected
since the beginning of the present year.

IRIS PERSICA. — Among Mr. WALLACE'S
beautiful collection of spring-flowering Irises
shown at the Drill Hall on the 28th ult., was a
flower of Iris persica with six sepals (falls),
six petals (standards), six stamens opposite to
the sepals, and six petaloid styles. The natural
supposition would be that this was a case of
the union of two flowers, but against this view
is the fact that the parts of the flower are
perfect in number. In cases of fusion, some
of the parts get squeezed out and obliterated.
so that instead of twenty-four, as there were
in this case, there might be twenty or some
smaller number.

Horticultural Club.— Theannual general
meeting will he held in the Club Room, Hotel
Windsor, on Tuesday, February 11, at 5 P.M. ;
and the annual dinner will be held in the
same place at 6 P.M. We regret to see that
the founder of this useful Institution, the Rev.
H. H. D'OMBRAIN, has found it requisite to
resign his post as Secretary.

Alleged Cross between a Dwarf Bean
and a Pea.— Mr. W. S.mythic sends us two
seeds of a dwarf Bean (Phaseolus), and one
seed of an alleged cross between the Bean and
a Pea (Pisum). We must not say that such a
bi-generic cross is beyond the range of possi-
bility, but the probabilities are that some over-
sight has occurred. In any case the supposed
hybrid seed is very curious. The seeds of the
Bean are about 12 mill, long, 8 mill, wide,
compressed from side to side, oblong, obtuse *
at both ends, slightly kidney-shaped, chestnut-
brown, shining, with a white, oblong, roundish
scar or hilum, about 4 mill, long, partly sur-
rounded by a blackish ring. The alleged
hybrid seed is 11 mill, long, 9 mill, lat.,
greenish-yellow, oblong-ovoid, obtuse at each
end, neither flattened nor kidney-shaped. The
hilum is white, oblong, not surrounded by a
deeper-coloured ring.

Forestry. — We hear that a Departmental
Committee has been appointed to consider
and report on forestry and woodlands in the
United Kingdom.

"TRAITE DE CHIMIE AGRICOLE."— The first
edition of th ■ Traite de Chimie Agricole
appeared ten years ago and was soon ex-
hausted, and in the newly-published second
edition, M. DKHlilt.ux has brought the work up
to date by chronicling therein the discoveries .
made in the last ten years. Among the
chapters that have been revised and enlarged ,
may be mentioned those on germination, i
soluble manures, penetration and decompo-
sition of carbonic acid in leaves, reduction :

February 8, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

97

of nitrates and formation of albuminoids in
the plant, growth, maturity, &c. There are
also short monographs on Colza, Wheat, Oats,
Beetroot, Potatos, and the Vine. The author
also records the results of scientific experi-
ments relating to the circulation of water in
the plant, enrichment of the soil, fermenta-
tions of arable land, calcareous applications,
chemical manures and mixed manures. In
fact, the treatise is thoroughly up to date, and
■should prove valuable to those for whose use
it is intended. (Publishers, MASSON ET ClE.,
Paris.)

National Rose Society. — A meeting of
the General Purposes Committee will be held
at the rooms of the Horticultural Club, Hotel
Windsor, Victoria Street, Westminster, on
Tuesday, the 11th inst., at 2 p.m. A meeting
of the Committee will be held on the same day
at 3 p.m., H. Honywood D'Ombrain, Edward
JMawxey, Hon. Secretaries.

The Care of Epping Forest.— The annual
••eport of the Epping Forest Committee details
ithe necessary thinning carried out among the
old trees during the past year, and the plant-
ing and due protection of young plants. The
jiouds have been cleaned and deepened ; but for
various reasons, drought being one of them,
boating on the ponds has been less popular
than usual. The committee has received the
gift of a piece of freehold land and a cottage
at Fairmead, Loughton, from Mr. Gellatly,
one of the verderers.

The Law. — An interesting case decided at
the Tribunal of Commerce at Ghent is reported
in the current number of the Revue de I' Horti-
culture Beige. The plaintiff purchaser sought
damages from the defendant salesman, because
the offsets had been taken off from some plants
of Dracsena neo-caledonica before they were
■delivered. The defendant pleaded the custom
of the trade. The Court gave judgment for
the plaintiff, saying, that if the defendant
•wished to retain the offshoots he should have
made an express stipulation to that effect.

Seed List of the Jaroin des Plantes. —
We have received the " Index seminum " from
the Paris garden. It is a lengthy document,
and is the first of its kind signed by the new
Professor, M. J. Costantin. Applications for
•exchange of seeds, &c, should be made to
M. le Directeur du Museum d'Histoire Natu-
relle (Service de la Culture), Rue Cuvier 57,
il'aris.

Irish Migratory Labourers. — In the
official report published by the Department
of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for
Ireland, statistics are given of the number of
Irish labourers migrant to Great Britain, and
their condition. In absolute numbers, as well
as considered in relation to the population,
there has been a great decline during the last
difty years, partly owing to permanent emigra-
tion, to the curtailment of the cropped area
of Great Britain, and to the use of agricul-
tural machinery, and partly to the local de-
velopment in Ireland of fishing and other
•industries. Strangely enough, one of the
•characteristics of Irish migrants is said to be
■" one of extreme thrift while in Great Britain,
in order to save against the rainy day in the
winter and early spring. A large Scotch em-
ployer of Irish labourers told of a lad working
on his own farm who was brought to him one
day in a faint. On enquiry, he found that the
young fellow had not had a proper meal for
several days, every penny he earned being
immediately despatched to the old people in
Mayo. These side-lights on the Irish labourer
in Great Britain make one wish that an industry

and a self-sacrificing spirit of such a kind
could find their opportunities on Irish soil."
Certain it is that the Irish workman seems to
do better anywhere than at home, exhibiting
as a colonist or migrant qualities that are
certainly not the usual characteristics of the
nation. The development is often to be
ascribed to physical benefits consequent on
an improved climate and better food and
clothing; but though these conditions may
affect settled emigrants, they can have no
influence on new-comers, who frequently, as
in the case above mentioned, pass through a
time of much privation.

"Les Routes Fruitieres."— Par Charles
Baltet, Horticulteur a Troyes (Paris : Li-
brairie Agrieole de la Maison Rustique, 26,
Rue Jacob). M. Baltet here gives us a re-
print from the Journal d' Agriculture Pratique,
which we commend to the notice of all inte-
rested in fruit culture. He treats of the v but,
origine, installation, produit, et choix des
especes a planter." The "but" is (trans-
lating freely), "to plant the borders of roads,
streets, canals, and rivers, with fruit-trees ;
this is an act of humanity, foresight, and
patriotism." We can but hope that the be-
haviour of the general public will justify
this confidence if the scheme was universally
adopted. " France includes more than 500,000
fruit-trees planted along her highways," and
as these are appreciately and widely used,
there seems every justification for adding yet
further to the number.

The Shasta " Daisy."— This, like the Ox-
eye "Daisy," from which it originated, is no
true Daisy, but a variety raised by Mr. LUTHER
Bur bank. The flower-heads, according to the
figure, are 1 inches across, and of a glistening
white. The plant is perennial, and is said to
be the outcome of a cross between the Ameri-
can species with the European C. Leucanthe-
muiu. This was again crossed with the Japa-
nese C. nipponicum, and rigid selection exer-
cised till the i> resent fine strain has been
produced. Other varieties are promised in
the future, some coloured, others " double."

The Surveyors' Institution.— The next
ordinary general meeting will be held in the
Lecture Hall of the Institution, on Monday,
February 10, when a discussion will take place
on the papers read by Mr. A. DUDLEY Clarke
and Mr. G. S. Mathews, entitled "The Final
Report of the Local Taxation Commission."

Cape Fruit.— The Castle Co.'s S.S. the
Kildonan Castle has just brought home
406 packages of Plums, 34 of Apricots, 155 of
Peaches, 1 of Nectarines, 6 of Pears, total 000
packages. The Saxon followed the above,
bringing 744 packages of Plums, 52 of Apricots,
and 259 of Peaches — in all, 1,055 packages of
fruit.

Mr. Sherwood.— One of the most pleasant
features at the testimonial dinner to Air.
Richard Dean was the announcement which
was made by Mr. Edward SHERWOOD, to the
effect that an improvement was manifest in the
health of his father. Mr. SHERWOOD is so
highly esteemed in horticultural circles that
the news of his severe illness was felt as a
personal matter, and the good news which his
son was able to give was received with corre-
sponding sai isfaction.

The Dinnerto Mr. Richard Dean.— Those
who read our account of the presentation and
dinner to Mr. Richard Di:an will feel no
surprise at the enthusiastic nature of the
proceedings. The narrative of his career of
work during half a century is really astonish-
ing. To it must be added what was only

slightly touched on at the meeting — his work
as a journalist. How many reports of flower
shows niuso he have written ? How often have
we had to avail ourselves of his services ? In
this connection we would specially allude to
his review of horticulture and floriculture pub-
lished at the time of our Jubilee, and also at
the beginning of the century. No one had fuller
knowledge of the subject, and no one could
have treated it better from his point of view.
We hope long to have the aid of our honoured
friend .

The National Sweet Pea Society, at
their Annual Meeting on the 28th ult., decided
to hold its next exhibition on July 15 and 16,
at the Royal Aquarium, Westminster.

Book Sales. — During Friday and Saturday-
last, Messrs. Sotheby disjjersed the libraries
of the late Mr. W. Mathews and of the Rev.
H. L. Nelthropp, F.S.A. The Mathews col-
lection included Reichenbach's Icoties Florce,
1850 to 1899, for £63 10s. ; the Alpine Journal,
1863 to 1901, £29 10s. ; Cook's British Fungi,
1881 to 1891, £23 ; A. W. Moore's The Alps in
1864, £10 10s. ; Sowerby's British Botany,
16 volumes, £33 ; and books like Colman's
Scenes from the Snowfleld, 1859, for £6 10s.

The Botanical Gardens, Manchester. —
The Royal Botanical and Horticultural Society
of Manchester has again experienced ill-
success. At the seventy-fourth annual meet-
ing, recently held, the report stated that there
had been a loss during 1901 of £639 18s. 4d.,
which increases the liabilities of the Society
to £7,398 Is. 9d. Mr. W. Fogg, in supporting
the resolution to adopt the report, said that
for the last nine years there had been a con-
tinual loss, amounting in the aggregate, with
allowing for one year's profit, to £739. He
was prepared to suggest that the gardens
should be handed over to the Corporation,
under whose supervision the gardens would
be much better carried on.

PINANGA KUHLII, Blame.
[Supplementary Illustration.]
The Pinangas are Palms still too little
valued by amateurs, but I cannot say what is
the cause of this. They are rapid growers,
forming strong plants attaining to a man's
height in about four or five years ; most of
them form fine bushes by branching at the
base, their leaves are charmingly varied as
well as their general appearance, the sections
often being by no means regular, as in their
colour. In a short time they form a stem, and
then they early begin to flower and to fruit.
Their cultivation is without difficulty, if they
have a regular temperature at the roots, and
sufficient moisture. I have kept them for a
long time in my room, with the pots embedded
in moist sphagnum. This precaution enables
many Palms to be cultivated indoors, which
will not as a rule grow in tie dry air of a
living room. One of the hardiest species of
Pinanga is P. Kuhlii, Blume, a Palm 16 to
25 feet high, with annulate stems 2 inches in
diameter, the younger nodes reddish. The
fronds are terminal, have a long cylindrical
base, a petiole 2 feet long, an elliptical pin-
natisect blado 4 feet long and 2J feet broad,
with sub-opposite segments, the lower ones 4 to
5 inches, the upper ones only 2 inches distant
from each other ; the uppermost 1 foot long,
2 inches broad at the apex, witli bidentate
teeth 4 to 5 inches long, 2 inches broad ; the
lateral segments falcate - lanceolate, 2 to
2'. inches broad, long acuminate, 11 to 2} feet
long: This species is a native of the lower
mountain woods of western Java. When the
inflorescences appear beyond the leaves the

9&

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 8, 1902

male flowers first develop, and after flowering-
fall off in a few days ; then the female flowers
appear. For pollination the male flowers must
be collected and laid away in a dry place.
For the photograph I am indebted to Prof. Treub
of Buitenzorg. Vdo Hammer, Gross Lichterfelde,
Berlin.

PRESENTATION TO MR. RICHARD
DEAN. V.M.H.

About fifty persons assembled at the Royal Aquarium <
Westminster, on Tuesday evening last to entertain at
dinner Mr. Richard Dean, and to present to him an
illuminated address, accompanied with a cheque for
£300. Mr. Dean attained his seventy-second birthday
on the previous day.

Very much regret was expressed that Mr. N. X. Sher-
wood, who has been Treasurer to the Testimonial
Fund, was prevented by illness from attending; and
by further misfortune, Mr. W. Marshall, who was to
have presided in Mr. Sherwood's absence, was also
confined to his house by temporary indisposition. The
senioV Secretary to the Fund, Mr. M. Cuthbertson, of
Rothesay, chief partner in the firm of Messrs. Dobbie it
Co.,-, in these circumstances discharged the duties of
"The Chair" in excellent manner.

When the Royal toasts had been honoured, Mr. Cuth-
bertson in proposing that of Mr. Dean, said that it had
been felt for some time that there should be some
means taken to show an appreciation of the immense
work Mr. Dean had done for horticulture during so
many years. A few gentlemen, who should be name-
less, agreed that a fitting opportunity for doing this
was atibrded by the fact that Mr. Dean was nearing the
end of his seventy-second year. The chairman, being
also joint secretary, had been particularly struck by the
measure of spontaneity in the response, so many having
subscribed who could only have known what was going
on from the accounts in the horticultural papers. He
referred to some of the principal work of Mr. Dean
since the year 1857, and said that he was one of the
founders of the Royal Gardeners' Orphan Fund, and
remained upon its committee until the end of last year.
Mr. Cuthbertson had known him for twenty years. He
had been Mr. Dean's host, his guest, his equal (when
judging florists' flowers at Wolverhampton and else-
where), but never his superior. With a few further
appropriate remarks, the chairman then made the
presentation.

Mjt\ Dean, in rising to respond, was for a minute
quite overcome, but gaining Lmastery of his feelings,
made a most interesting speech, which was practically
the story of his life.

He was the son of a gardener, his father being fore-
man in a nursery near Southampton ; but at thirteen
years of age he was obliged to turn out and earn a
living for himself. He was under -gardener to a
gentleman who became Mayor of Southampton in 1 859,
when the under-gardener was made the Mayor's body-
guard, and was brought into association with gentle-
men and functions that stirred his imagination and in-
spired his ambition. In 1853 Dean entered the nursery
of Charles Turner at Slough, earning 14s. a week. He
was sent to various exhibitions with Turner's wonder-
ful florist's flowers, and in many ways gained much
experience. In 1857 he entered a large seed business
in Loudon, but it was not long before Mr. Turner
informed Dean that a secretary was needed for
the National Floricultural Society, in succession
to John Edwards. Dean accepted this position. In
1858 the first great National Rose show was held,
and he helped the present Dean of Rochester in the
work on that occasion. In 1861 he joyfully received an
invitation from Mr. Eyles to assist iu judging at one of
the great shows of the Royal Horticultural Society. In
1864, Mr. Dean succeeded John Edwards as secretary to
the old Horticultural Club that met monthly at An-
dertons II. del, and where John Downie, William Paul,
Dodds, Thomas Moore, and other well -remembered
men gathered. In 1865, Dean went to Chester to take
part in the business of F. A. Dickson & Co., but was not
very comfortable there, and the late Dr. Hogg, hearing
of this, invited him to return to London and become
assistant-secretary to the great International, Exhibi-
tion of May. 18B6. At this marvellous exhibition there
weresj acres of land covered over, and the total
receipts amounted to £lt!18 4s. :•'. There were lie- judge
It was intended that the show should continue lor four
days, but at the end of that time it was found that the
people of London were only awakening to the fact
that a great international exhibition was taking plaee
in their midst, and the exhibition was therefore main-
tained for live days longer. Financial disaster was
thus averted, and as a result of that exhibition £1000
was given to the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Insti-
tution, another sum was devoted to the purchase of
the Lindley Library, and a considerable portion was
spent in the preparation of a report of the proceeding
edited by Dr. Masters. The ground for the exhibition'
was laid out by a committee of Standish, Gibson, and
Fortune, assisted by Mr. Eyles and others. At a
dinner held at The Star and Garter, Richmond, sub-

sequent to the exhibition, there were twenty - one
gentlemen present, all of whom had taken a con-
spicuous part in the work of the exhibition. After
dinner the company was photographed, and of those
twenty-one persons, only six are now alive, including
Sir Daniel Cooper, Mr. Harry J. Veiteh, Mr. W. Paul,
Dr. M. T. Masters, Mr. W. Bull, and R. Dean.

In 1867 a series of provincial exhibitions was com-
menced by the Royal Horticultural Society, and Mr.
Deau was engaged in some capacity or other at all of
these excepting the last one, held at Preston, which he
did not see. In 187u and previously he was in Ireland,
and visited many gardens on behalf of the Irish
Qardener. He delivered a lecture upon spring flowers at
the Rotunda, Dublin. Later he was associated with the
late William Thomson in editing The Gardener, a Scottish
horticultural journal. From 1873 to 1876 he had work
in connection with City (lower shows held in Finsbury
Park, and with horticultural shows at Richmond. In
1889 the great fruit show was held in the Guildhall.

Mr. Dean was Secretary of two Hailstorm Funds, one
in 1876, when a storm visited North London, and £800
was obtained for relief purposes ; and one in lsTSi, when
a similar storm visited South London, and a sum of
£7-i0 was subscribed. He was Secretary also of the
Postal Reform Union, a deputation from which waited
upon the Rt. Hon. Wm. Monsell. Postmaster General,
and which was instrumental in bringing about first the
simple post, and next the parcel post, that is now so
useful to the horticultural trade and others.

In 1890 Mr. Dean succeeded William Holmes as'
Secretary of the National Chrysanthemum Society,
which position he still holds. In 1892 and 1893 Mr.
Dean was employed in promoting a series of horticul-
tural exhibitions at Earl's Court ; and about the same
time was engaged in carrying out exhibitions at the
People's Palace in East London, and in giving horti-
cultural lectures there. What lias happened since that
time, said Mr. Dean, was known to most of those
present. He had done fifty years' honest horticultural
work. He had been instrumental in connection with
his brother Alexander in improving the Primula, and
was among the first to get a break in P. Sieboldi. He
had also done something with Potatos, and in the way
of improving the Viola. Mr. Dean said that he had
attempted throughout to play the game of life fairly
and squarely. He had doubtless made mistakes, but
archbishops had done this also.

Mr. George Gordon, V.M.H., in proposing the toast of
"Mr. N. Sherwood, Hon. Treasurer and Chairman of
the Fund," referred feelingly to the cause of Mr. Sher-
wood's absence ; and Mr. Ed. Sherwood replying, gave
the welcome news that his father was much better,
and that he had that day telephoned to his sons that
he would have liked to have been present, but the
doctor forbade.

Mr. T. Bevan proposed the toast of " The Testimonial
Committee," and Mr. J. \V. Wilkinson, responding,
declared that he did not know which he most admired
in Mr. Deau, his ability, his activity, or his audacity!
"The Hon. Secretaries " was proposed by Mr. Robert
Sydenham, and a response was made by Mr. II. J.
Jones, who has shown extraordinary energy and tact
in advancing the interests of the Testimonial. Mr.
Jones read some amusing extracts from a large
number of letters from gentlemen unable to be present.
Mr. Owen Greening proposed "The Press" in a very
felicitous speech, and it was responded to by Mr. C. H.
Curtis, and Mr. R. Hooper Pearson.

Illuminated Address.
The words upon the vellum were as follows :— " This
address, with the accompanying purse containing £300,
is presented to you on the occasion of your entering
your seventy-third year, in grateful recognition of the
many valuable services you have rendered to Horticul-
ture during the past fifty years, and with the best
wishes of all the subscribers." Then follow the names
of the Secretaries. Treasurer, Committee, and of about
3uu subscribers to the fund.

ENQUIRY.

A Correspondent, signing his communication
" A. D. Berncy," would be glad to be informed
by some of our correspondents, acquainted
with the railways of South Africa, what kinds
of timber are used as sleepers on those lines.

PLANT PORTRAITS.

Azalea indica Madame Emma Eeckhaute.— Double
rose-pink, edged with white. Described and figured by
M. Charles Pyuaert in the Reriie de V Horticulture Beige
for February.

Delphinium brolor, Nuttall, Medians' Monthly,
January.

Ficus raduans variegata, Eeeue de V Horticulture
Beige. February.

Lilac Hybrid— Between Syrluga Brctsc-hneideri and
S. Josikoa, raised by M. Henry in the Jardin des Plantes.
Revue Horticole. January 16.

1LEMANTHUS IMPERIAL IS.

A fine 'flower-head of this handsome plant
was shown by Sf. Linden, of Brussels, at the
last meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society
at the Drill Hall. The head of bloom was
about C inches in diameter, poised :on a stallc
of about 1.") inches in height, the colour beingr
a pleasing shade of salmon-red. The flower-
segments are longer (see fig. 30, p. 99), but more
pointed than those of H. mirabilis, figured in
Gardeners' Chronicle, May 25 last year, which
had very superior flowers to the plant shown, as
H. mirabilis at the Drill Hall, with H. imperialis.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

narcissus tazetta. — When in Boston.
Mass., recently, I saw in Messrs. Farquhar's
seed store ail elegant mode of growing this-
pretty bulb. A shallow bowl was filled with
pebbles about the size of a Hazel-nut, and a
bulb was placed in the centre, and round the
sides in thumb-pots were small plants of
Cyperus altemifolius ; the bowl was tilled to.
the brim with water, and arranged in this-
manner the bowl formed a beautiful object in
the conservatory at once. Another mode of
making a bowl is to sow the top of the pebbles,
with seeds of Timothy-grass (Phleum pratense),
and by the time the Narcissus is in bloom this,
will have formed quite a green carpet arounrt
it. 8. B. Dicks.

CRINUM MOOREI AND C. POWELLI. — It may
interest your correspondent " S. W. F. " and
others to know that these two majestic Cri-
nums were produced over thirty years ago at
Glasnevin Botanic Gardens by the late eminent
Director, Dr. David Moore, and carefully de-
veloped under the care of his indoor foreman,
Mr. Powell, to whom he dedicated one of
the issues, known as C. Powelli x . Both
plants remained for many years in the border,
stretching closely along the front of the long:
glass-range, producing immense Agapanthus-
like clumps, and displaying an unequalled
stateliness of foliage and bloom unknown in
the whole of the Amaryllis family. In some
circular beds in the grass, not many yards,
distant, Lilium giganteum and L. cordifoliiun
were to be seen growing in perfection ; the
former when in full bloom was usually 6 to
8 feet high. About 50 yards distant, and near-
the Director's house, stood the first Pampas-
Grass planted in the British Isles. By the-
way, Mr. John Orr, an eminent Scotch crypto-
gamic botanist and pupil of Sir W. Hooker, was.
then in charge of the fernery. He was over-
seventy years of age, and was highly esteemed
by the late Dr. Moore as his valued aid in
assisting in the study and discovery of many
Irish mosses. J. Murison.

early snowdrops. — In a recent issue of
the Gardeners' Chronicle, I note that the
first Snowdrops were gathered at Ealing on.
January 21. Here the flowers have been
gathered in quantity since January l(i, and
sent to my employer in London. Certainly, the-
Snowdrops here are not exposed to the north
wind, but in many cases they are exposed 011
the south-east, where there is very little to
protect them. Last year we were enabled to-
gather blossoms quite three weeks earlier.
To-day, February 1, my son brought in a
Daffodil bloom just starting to open. The
Daffodils are well sheltered in all directions,
being surrounded by largo bushes of Rhodo-
dendrons. We are bounded on the south by
the Solway Firth, which tempers the climate
of the Isle. The Snowdrops cover some
acres of ground, and about as much ground
will soon be ablaze with Daffodils. J. jeffrcij.
The Gardens, »S't. Mary's Isle, Kirkcudbright.

PEAS AND NITROGEN.— The editorial adden-
dum to a recent paragraph onPeas and manures,
because apparently so incomprehensible, seems
to have proved a stumbling-block to some
worthy and very practically-minded gardener-
contributors, who are astounded to read that

February 8, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

99

"nitrogenous manure is not of any special
value to Peas, if not actually injurious." Pro-
bably these readers have not followed closely
scientific investigations, which have shown
thift members of the pulse tribe, or pod-bear-
ing plants, have a capacity not common to
other forms of plant-life, of being able to
abstract from the air and to feed upon it,
nitrogen, which constitutes so large an ele-
ment in the atmosphere. It is found that
Peas, for instance, possess this capacity just
in proportion as the plant-roots have on them
small swellings or nodules, and these small
eruptions are present on the roots of all the
Leguminosfe in greater or less quantity. Thus,
the editorial observation is based on what is,
without doubt, sound scientific facts, and is
easily understood bv those familiar with the

ties grown under absolutely similar conditions
from which nitrogenous manures have been
withheld. That serves to show that however
apparently sound is the scientific theory, its
weak feature is the fact that the free appli-
cation of nitrogen as manure produces far
better results. But then the question is, in
what form for Peas, &c, is nitrogen as
manure best supplied ? I think ninety-nine
out of every hundred growers would say, " In
the form of good animal manure." I fear it is
a case in which I can hardly be other than
partial, as in all cases I have found that the
effect on pulse of any application of good
stable or other animal manure is to far exceed
in growth and crop -production what can be
obtained by the application of artificial
manures even when those be liberal lv utilised.

Ff(i. 33.— II.EMANTI1US IMPERIALIS: FLOWERS SAIMCfN-RBD. (SEI

I'. 98.)

. tiodule theory. But gardening practice has
shown, that so far from the application of
nitrogenous manure to Peas, Beans, or others
. of the family being harmful, it is really bene-
ficial. On the other hand, it does not seem
yet to have been shown whether the free appli-
cation of nitrogenous manures to the soil on
which pod-bearing plants are grown, to some
, extent renders the natural abstraction of
( uitrogen from the air for the benefit of the
i crop inoperative, or partially so. Has anyone

SO far lested the nodule Creation on roots of
Pea plants that have from their inception been
liberally fed with nitrogen as manure, us
compared with (Ik- product on roots of plants
that have no! been so ted, and have had to
obtain the essential nitrogen from the atmo-
sphere? Asa rule, it is found that, Peas and

Beans liberally led with manure IV the lirsl

produce the stoutest siems, Hie largest and
niosi luxuriant leafage, and the fines! as well
.-is greatest abundance of pods, as compared
with i he plants and produce of I he same varie-

Now, good animal manure contains free nitrogen
in greater degree, probably, than it does either
of phosphate or potash-; yet when applied to
ground on which pod-bearing crops are to be
grown in the winter, there is no waste, and
the nitrogen seems to be fully utilised. II
that be so, why is it so commonly noticed thai
nitrate of soda, the favourite nitrogenous
manure of I he chemical compound apostles,
is advised to be applied so late as after crops

have made growth, lest il lie washed out and

wasted, n not wasted in the one case, why so
in the other? No doubt, as experiments here
and all over i he kingdom have shown, I hut these
chemical manures in dry seasons hardly be< e

soluble, hence to a large extent, no doubt, their
comparative ineffectiveness on crops. To test
them fairly against animal manures, (hey want

lo be applied early in I he year, and thus beco

thoroughly soluble. A. I). [The point is not
whether nit rogenous manure is beneficial (we
all know ii is), but whether the benefit is pri -
port innate tot lie expendil ure. Ed. |

lily of the valley.— I was' very pleased to
see one communication concerning the failure
of the Lily of the Valley to flower satisfacto-
rily, but at the same time your correspondent
writing under the signature " E.N., Chatham,"
does not give the cause of the failure, inas-
much as he says in the first place that the
failure, by the description given, points to too
much heat being employed, and then in the
same breath he says, but he has others in
Cocoa-nut fibre refuse, which did well. The
cause of the trouble may be in the peat. He
then gives a very good substitute for Cocoa-
fibre refuse, which he says, with a steady
temperature of 75°, gives no trouble. I may
say that I never reach that temperature, pre-
ferring from 5.")° to 60°, which I find suits
retarded Lily of the Valley admirably. I have
noticed that whenever a* question has been
asked about retarded plants, it is very seldom
there is much discussion on the subject, so
that it makes one think that there are some
secrets concerning the cultivation that those
who grow them by the thousands do not wish
to divulge for the benefit of others. I am sure
a good article written and printed in these
pages by one of the large growers who have
shown us at different times what can be done
with these retarded things, and the success
they have gained, 1 am sure is not without
experiments in the first instance, would not
only be read with keen interest by us novices,
but would give us heart to go in for these
subjects more if we were sure we should not
have all failures, and I also maintain it would
open up the trade for them in not too busy a
season of the year. Midland.

GAS-TAR AND CLAY DRESSING FOR VINES.—

The above-named dressing seems to be much
recommended as an antidote to mealy-bug on
Grape-vines. No doubt it will destroy and
cheek the pest, but at the same time it has a
most curious effect on the Vines, and which I
have no doubt has been observed by other
practical gardeners, viz., that after the Vines
have broken, and reached the tying-down
stage, that the young shoots so dislike the tar
that they grow themselves almost away from
the parent stem ; that tying down tar-dressed
Vines is almost a tine art — so much so, that I
should not like to give a young gardener the
job ; and for that reason I shall never use gas-
tar dressing, after an experience some years
since. Half a pint of Fir-tree oil to a gallon
of clay puddle is safe, and equally effective,
without the drawback of the tar effect at the
time of tying down the Vine. Of course,
whatever remedy is used, some of the insects
will appear in the spring, and a sharp look-out
should be kept, and as one of your corre-
spondents observed, should be touched with
methylated spirit ; and all gardeners who are
by circumstances compelled to make their
vineries houses of general utility, stove,
greenhouse, and vinery ill turn, bug will con-
tinue to be a foe for a gardener to reckon
with, in spite of all the remedies, ancient and
modern. There is no remedy but cleanliness
and hard work. If the common wren can find
ils way by broken pane or chink to any glass-
house, il is very loud of the above noxious
insects. R. M., Newbury.

SELECT VARIETIES OF SWEET PEAS. — That
the selection of twenty-four varieties of Sweet
Peas enumerated in the Gardeners' Chronicle
of January il is fairly representative will be

the. opinion of many growers of I his popular
Mower. Mr. Simpson evidently does not
favour the Striped varieties, but some of these
are very attractive, notably I'rineess of Wales
and America, I he former Striped mauve on a
white ground, and t lie latter bright rod
striped, and very showy. In the dark maroon

sells. Black Knight would make an excellent
companion to Othello, and has the merit of
being exceptionally free Dowering; Navy
Blue will always hold its own amongst the
dark blue varieties, of which Emily Bekford
and Captain "i the bines an- favourites. A
distinct and beautiful variety which I have

grown for two seasons is ( 'a pi i vation, a

pleasing shade of magenta. Five <>t the

100

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February S, 1902.

orange-pink varieties are given in Mr. Simp-
son's list, the best of these without doubt
being Miss Willmott, probably the largest
Sweet Pea yet raised, and grand in every
way. All varieties of this particular colour
are more or less scorched by the hot sun, and
to present them in their true character it is
advisable to shade them with some light
material during the hottest part of the day.
Amongst the so-called yellow Sweet Peas, the
new Hon. Mrs. Ken yon is an advance, more
in size, however, than in colour, made more
apparent by its fine, erect standard. Blanche
Burpee, the well-known white, also has this
desirable feature, which doubtless accounts
for its popularity over the later raised Sadie
Burpee. Among rose - coloured varieties,
Prince of Wales and Royal Rose are splendid,
both being very vigorous growers, which
frequently produce four flowers on a stem.
Mrs. Dugdale, also of this shade, has a ten-
dency to come streaky and splashed with a
lighter colour. Light blue or lavender shades
are well represented in Lady Grisel Hamilton
and Countess of Radnor, still one of the best.
No better pink could be grown than the
variety called Lovely, worthy the name,
although Mr. Robert Sydenham maintains
that Prima Donna is slightly superior. The
nearest approach to a scarlet is Prince Edward
of York, • a very desirable variety. In con-
clusion, I have proved the merits of the
following dozen — Blanche Burpee, Black
Knight, Lady Grisel Hamilton, Navy Blue,
Miss "Willmott, Prince of Wales, Captivation,
Gorgeous, Lovely, Salopian, Prince Edward of
York, Queen Victoria. T. H. B., Walhdmptoh.

AN EARLY-HATCHED THRUSH.— On Wednes-
day, January 22, 1902, when out shooting
pheasants, I found on the ground amongst the
Ivy leaves a young fledged thrush, but not
able to fly ; it sat and opened its beak to be
fed, just as it would in the nest. W'. U. 11'.,
Belvoir Park, Belfast.

SALE OF HORTICULTURAL POISONS.— I am

extremely pleased to gather from your columns
of Feb. 1 that energetic steps are being taken
to remedy the absurdity involved in the present
regulation regarding the above. Taking
the well-known XL-All fumigating materials
as a popular example, I may cite my own case
as illustrating the inconvenience and even
damage involved. For years I had been in the
habit of getting a supply from a well-known
horticultural firm in London Wall, but on the
last occasion when I went there, I was in-
formed they were debarred from selling, and
could give me no information as to how I could
obtain it. Searching the advertising columns
where it used to appear as obtainable any-
where, I found that even the advertisements
were suspended ; and finally, after some days'
delay, during which my floral foes were getting
well ahead, and laying their new season's eggs,
which I aimed at preventing by their anni-
hilation in time, I found the manufacturer's
address, and made my way to Southwark.
Even there, however, the ridiculous law
blocked me, and all I could do was to get the
address of a City chemist, who was apparently
the sole agent. This involved another journey,
which resulted in my getting what I wanted
with a considerable expenditure of time and
trouble, and a delay which led to the sub-
sequent detriment of my plants by the advent
of a fresh generation of foes. Furthermore
the chemist naturally was absolutely devoid of
practical experience as regarded the applica-
tion of the remedy, while at my previous
source of supply I had only to ask to obtain
reliable advice, since the tradesmen were both
nurserymen and salesmen. Hence I could not
but feel that any such invasion of a qualified
trade by an utterly unqualified one was not
merely an anomaly, but a great wrong both
to the rightful trade itself, and its legiti-
mate customers, who very often required
skilled advice as well as the materials with
which to carry it out. What would the Phar-
maceutical Society think if the horticultural
trade claimed and obtained a monopoly of all
•vegetable ingredients, and the right to dis-

pense them without the ability to specify
their particular uses and modes of applica-
tion ? Many garden plants, too, are very
poisonous: Monkshood (Aconitum) to wit,
has led to many deaths by being taken for
Horseradish : far more fatalities have occurred
in this way than can be laid to the charge of
horticultural remedies. Why, then, does not
the Pharmaceutical Society step in and claim
the right of sale of all such plants, and keep a
register to be signed by the purchasers '!
These suggestions are ridiculous on the face
of them, but not more so than the unjustifiable
attempt of one trade to draw a hard-and-fast
frontier line which is clearly a long way
within the boundaries of another, to the
hindrance of business, and the detriment of
the customer, to say nothing of the vested
interests of the inventors and proprietors of
extremely valuable articles, whose interests
must have suffered severely by the trade being
suspended for so long in mid-air, like Mahomet's
coffin, while the nurserymen and pharmaceu-
tists fight out the battle. C. T. D.

MALCOLM DUNN MEMORIAL FUND. — I notice

in your issue of 1st inst. a communication from
Mr. 3. Fulton on this matter. There has been
considerable delay in issuing a report of this
Fund, but as it would serve no good purpose to
enter into the causes, I do not trouble you
with them. I anticipate, however, that a
report will he issued very shortly. P. Murray
Thomson, Joint Secretary.

©bituan?.

The late Mr. David Syme, Edinburgh.—
The remains of Mr. David Syme, whose death
was briefly announced in our last issue, were
interred in Sighthill Cemetery, Glasgow, on
Wednesday, Jan. 29. For over half a century,
says the Scotsman, Mr. Syme was a prominent
man in the seed trade. He began commercial
life fifty-six years ago in Glasgow with the firm
of J. & R. Thyne. After various changes he
came to Edinburgh over forty years ago to
undertake the management of the nurseries of
Peter Lawson & Son, and when that firm was
ultimately formed into a limited liability
company he was appointed manager, and
latterly managing director. During that long
period he controlled the business, which is
carried on in all parts of the United. Kingdom
and abroad, in an eminently satisfactory
manner. He was a very genial man, and had
friends in all parts of the country. Five or
six years ago, when he completed his fiftieth
year in the seed trade, a silver service was
presented to him in London by representatives
of seed firms in the United Kingdom, as well
as abroad. When disputes arose between
seed merchants in various parts of the
country, Mr. Syme was frequently referred to
to settle the matter. Mr. Syme was twice
married, his second wife pre-deceasing him some
years ago.

Ed. Amos Peak. — We deeply regret having
to record the removal by death, in his sixty-
eighth year, on January 11, of the much-
respected horticulturist, Edward Amos Peak,
Parks' Superintendent to the Hull City Corpo-
ration for forty-two years.

Mr. Peak was born at Davenport, in
Cheshire, in September, 1833, and before
many years had elapsed he found himself in
the gardens belonging to the late Earl Crewe,
Crewe Hall, Cheshire. A few years later he
was transferred to Brantinghamthorpe Gar-
dens, in East Yorkshire, where he remained
until an opening for him was found in the gar-
dens at Hampton Court Palace. Here he re-
mained, and finally acquired a good all-round
experience as a practical gardener ; but
not feeling satisfied with that post, he
secured an appointment under the late

Mr. Nivcn, the than Curator of the Hull
Botanic Gardens, in Linnaeus Street. Shortly
afterwards he was chosen to assist Mr. Nivenr
in forming and laying out the now very
beautiful Pearson Park. It was from this,
time, and until his death, that Mr. Peak
proved himself to be the right man in the*
right place ; whilst his botanical knowledge*
fitted him well for the position he was for sr»
many years afterwards destined to fill.

For years Peak laboured assiduously in the
hope that the great horticultural awakening-
would come, and his anticipations were?
realised in the formation, under his personal
superintendence, of the extensive East and
West Parks. He lived, not only to formulate
and construct, but to foster and care for the
great avenues of trees that line the streets of
Hull. The extensive glass structures in tin-
various Hull parks are crowded with evidences,
of Peak's ability as a plantsman ; and tin-
flower-beds are the admiration of all who have
seen them.

At the many public functions in the city.
Peak displayed marked decorative ability, and
the line Chrysanthemums, together with the
artistic manner in which the groups were>
arranged for exhibition at the Hull Chrysan-
themum Society's shows, earned for him
general recognition as a decorative artist ;
but he was not allowed to enter into public:
competition. He did much planting at the
crematorium, sanatorium, burial-grounds, and
other public places. By his expressed wish.
his body was taken to the crematorium to be»
consumed. To the trust reposed in him Mr.
Peak was faithful to the end ; and although a
man of a retiring disposition, he was known to
a very wide circle of horticultural friends.
J. P. Lcadbetter, Tranbij Croft Gardens.

SOCIETIES.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.

Scientific Committee.

January 24.

Present : H. J. Veitch, Esq., ia the Chair, and Messrs
Druery, Douglas, Holmes, Saunders, Shea, Michael,
Bowles, Rev, W. Wilks, Drs. Mil ler, Cooke, and Master? .

Richardia corms and Cyclamens.— Mr. G. S. Saunders
reported on the corms sent to the last meeting : ■■ The
Richardia corms that I took away from the hi si
meeting of the Scientific Committee are attacked by •
one of the 'bulb mites,' probably Rliizoglyphus
echinopus; it is a very difficult pest to deal with.
Water at a temperature of 115' Fall, will kill them. I
should add 4 oz. of sulphide of potassium to every quart
of water, and allow the bulbs to remain in the mixture
for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour. I do not imagine 1
it would injure them in any way, the injury does not
seem to have gone very far below the surface, so that it
might be well to cut out the injured portion before
putting them into the warm water. I should be very-
careful not to allow any of the earth in which these
plants were grown to get upon the potting bench, or
any uncontaminated soil.

" As to the Cyclamens, I must admit that I was unable- -j
to find any eel worms in the roots, but theyare affected
so exactly in the same manner as others in which I "
have found them, that I have no doubt but that the-
•root-knot eel worm' (Heterodera radicolai is thc-
cause I cannot suggest any remedy, but to prevent
the pest spreading the plants and the soil in which J
they are growing should be burnt, and on no account
thrown on to a rubbish- heap, or any of the soil allowed
to come in contact with non-infested soil."

Mrs. Batten Pool since the previous meeting sent
specimens of the Richardia in growth to supplement
the corms above alluded to. On examining the plants,
the older roots were found to be decaying, but an
attempt was made to form new roots. The appearances
were thought by the Committee to be due to a check
caused by cold.

Ptcris serndata.—A firm of nurserymen sent fronds ' I
partially destroyed by some insect supposed to be a
black-fly. The condition is very common, but the

February 8, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

101

cause is not perfectly ascertained. The senders
were requested to forward specimens of the fly for
determination.

Pelargonium Leaves.— With reference to Dr. Cooke's
report on these leaves, Mr. Fraser writes :— " I should
like to say a word in reply to the suggestions made :
(1) As to faulty cultivation. I can plead that I have
been an amateur plantsman for over forty years, during
fifteen of which, in my younger days, I, single-handed,
grew stove and greenhouse plants for exhibition with
good success. I always use the best materials I can
buy for compost, and have never yet put a plant into
a dirty pot. (2) The wash I used was sulphide of
potassium and soft-soap, applied both by spraying
and liberal ablution, and as fungus and sulphur do
not agree, the former may have got the worst of it.
(3) My greenhouse has the sun on it sixteen hours a day
in the long days, and a fair shore in the short ones.
It is glazed with glass 16 inches wide, between rafters
1 inch thick, and the glass is washed when necessary,
so the plants enjoy all the light it is possible to give
them in London. We have had little fog so far. In all
my experience I have never seen Pelargonium-leaves
decay in the same way before, and to me the cause is
still obscure. I now intend to try nitrate of soda, to
induce leaf-growth, and later on will report the result."
Soil.— A sample of soil was sent by a firm of seedsmen,
but the committee desired to see specimens of plants
stated to be injured by it.

Chrysanthemum Pust.—Dv. Cooke made the following
communication on this subject: —

" Chrysanthemum and Cornfloncr Mast.— Recently, when
I reported to the committee upon these rusts, I applied
a scientific name to the fungus doubtfully, and with a
mental reservation that in each case they were the
Uredo form of Puccinia Hieracii, and this was precisely
what the book-makers led me to do.

"I am since informed that in spite of all the efforts
and experiments of the heterocismists, they are unable
to claim the Uredo of the Chrysanthemum as the
Uredo form of Puccinia Hieracii, or of any other Puc-
cinia, which I believed in my own heart all along.
Nowadays we arc not permitted to trust our eyes, but
must have faith in experiments. Hence the poor
Chrysanthemum rust is an orphan, or worse, even ille-
gitimate, and must remain as Uredo Chrysanthemi.

" As to the other rust, it awaits the result of experi-
ment; but I am more disposed to call it the Uredo of
Puccinia Centaurea?, which has been united or mixed
up with Puccinia Hieracii. I may be permitted to
observe that no fewer than fourteen of the old species
of Puccinia date before the Reformation ! and I know
not how many species of Uredo are all bundled together
into the latter-day species called Puccinia Hieracii,
amongst these being the Puccinia Centaurea" of
Martius, and still nearer to our tramping Uredo, the
Puccinia Cyani of Passerini. Let us hope that this
also will find rest at last. I should recommend horti-
culturists to call it Uredo Centaureie, and they will not
be very far from the truth."

Bulbiform Seed of Crinum. — Mr. Druery showed on
behalf of Mr. Roupell a fine example of this curious
condition. The seed was of the size of a small Apple,
green and fleshy.

Leaf Galls, etc.— Mr. E. M. Holmes brought specimens
which will be reported on later.

Red Spot on Leaves of Imantoplu/llum. — Mr. Saunders
brought specimens showing red spots. It was stated
that these spots sometimes followed on the attacks of
the bulb-mite, and that they were connected with the
presence of a yeast fungus (Saccharomyccs).

Faseiation in Valeriana arizonica. — " In March last,"
writes Mr. Worthington Smith, " I received by post
from Dr. Masters a specimen ot Valeriana arizonica
for illustration. The example was received in a flat
and semi-dried slate, and it had previously been
received also by post from Mr. llcnkel of Darmstadt, so
the specimen may be truly said to have passed through
some vicissitudes before I received it. The illustration
is printed in the Gardeners' Chronicle for March :io, 1901.
I planted the damaged and cut root-stock in very poor
earth in apot, and placed it under glass without heat,
with the, result that the old root-stock has now pro-
duced two new growths, both twice the size of
the original plant, with leaves twice the normal
length, all the parts fasciatcd in a remarkable manner
and with flowers from two to three months in advanco
of the parent. Faseiation is sometimes put down to
over-rich living and comfortable surroundings, but in
this instance it seems to have been brought about by
serious difficulties."
Cueumber Leaves.— From Mrs. Batten Pool came

specimens with the familiar signs of the presence of
red -spider.

drub in Soots of Pseony.— Mr. Cannington Ley, of
Farleigh, sent, through Mr. Bunyard, Pamny - roots
eaten by the larva of some moth, which was pro-
nounced to be a Swift-moth, Hepialus.

Cypripedium insigne variety.— Mr. Tracy, Amyand Park
Road, Twickenham, sent a specimen which may be
described as a dwarf or stunted flower, in which all the
parts of the flower arc normal, but much reduced in
sise. The plant produced flowers of the same character
last year also. No information was given as to whether
the whole plant was dwarfed, or only the flower.

Cypripedium insigne variety— In this specimen, from
Mr. Parr, Trent Park, New Barnet, there were two
flowers, the topmost flower expanding first, the second
flower developing from the axil of the bract which was
developed as a perfect leaf. The parts of the flower
were normal. M. T. M.

LINNEAN.

January is.— Prof. S. H. Vines, F.R.S., President, in
the Chair.

Mr. Alfred O. Walker. F.L.S., exhibited some
branches of Cherry affected with a fungus disease caused
by Gnomonia erythrostoma, and made the following
remarks :— In the autumn of 1900 certain varieties of
Cherry were noticed in Kent to retain their leaves in a
withered state at the time of the normal leaf-fall. They
were examined by Mr. G. Massee, and the fungus
causing the mischief was ascertained to be Gnomonia
erythrostoma, Auerswald. The Royal Agricultural
Society investigated the evil, and recommended that
all the affected leaves should be stripped off and
burned, to avoid future mischief. Although few
growers did this, the crop of 1901 was exceedingly good.
The immunity of the Cherry orchards from the menaced
calamity was ascribed by the exhibitor to the compara-
tively equable temperatures and the small rainfall ot
the latter year, whilst the outbreak in 1900 was attri-
buted to the extreme low temperatures in May, follow-
ing abnormally high temperatures in April.

Mr. J. E. Harting, F.L.S., exhibited some heads of
wild sheep, together with photographs and lantern-
slides, to illustrate a recent suggestion by Dr. George
Wherry, of Cambridge, as to the use and value of spiral
horns in feral species.

Dr. Wherry pointed nut that while the horns were
enormous, the cars were remarkably short, situated
exactly in the axis of the spiral, and, as it were, at the
apex of a hollow cone formed by the great spiral horn.
This he regarded as a provision of Nature to enable the
animal to hear better, and to determine the direction
of sounds when there is a mist or fog.

Mr. Harting pointed out that the remarkably large
spiral horns were peculiar to the male sex, and that if
they were to be regarded as of use for the preservation
of the species, the ewes, whicli required the most pro-
tection, would be in that respect defenceless. This
would be especially Hie case with Ovis nivicola, the
sexes of which, according fo Dr. Guillemard (\oyaye of
the " Marehesa," vol. i., p. ill), lived apart in small
herds for some portion of the year. It was a signi-
ficant fact, also, that wild sheep, like other wild
animals, posted sentries whilst feeding to prevent
being surprised by their enemies, and it was the expe-
rience of those who hunted them (hat when ap-
proached, the alarm was generally given by aewe.

Kcv. J. Gerard quoted a letter received from his
brother, Lieut. Gen. Sir Montagu Gerard, H.M. Com-
missioner for delimitation of the Pamir boundary with
Russia, to the effect that he had seen skeletons of Ovis
Polii which showed that the horns of two big rams had
become interlocked whilst fighting, and that both
animals had perished from their inability to disengage
themselves.

Messrs. H. and J. Groves read a paper on "The Use
of Linneau Specific Names." They showed that great
diversity of practice existed in dealing with these
names, and pointed out the necessity of arriving at
some agreement as to their use as a first step towards
uniformity in nomenclature.

A paper by Messrs. W. B. Hemslky, F.R.S., F.L.S.,
ami H. H. W. Pearson, M.A., F.L.S., was read, entitled
" The Flora of Tibet or High Asia, being a consolidated
account of the various Tibetan Botanical Collections in
the Herbarium of the Royal Gardens, Kew."

THE HIGHGATE AND DISTRICT
CHRYSANTHEMUM.

January 22.— The annual general meeting of this
Society was held on the above date, the President, Mr
C. F. Cory-Wright, J. P., D.L., prosiding, and was
supported by a good attendance of members. The
Treasurer (Mr. J. McKcrcliar) submitted the financial
statement for 1901. winch showed (he Society In a
solvent condition. The election of officers then took
place, and resulted as follows :— President, the Rt. Hon.
the Earl of Manslicld, proposed by Mr. Cory-Wnglii.
who stated that Lord Manslield had intimated his

intention of attending the Alexandra Palace on Oct. W
to open the Society's exhibition, and preside at Ok
annual dinner of the Society to be held there the same
evening ; he would also give £20 towards the prize fund.

January 30.— At a committee meeting held on the
above date fifty-three new members were elected. The
committee agreed to insert three classes, open to
growers all over the country, to be called Specia!
Coronation Classes, one to be for twelve vases oi
Japanese blooms, five blooms in each, prizes to consist
of a silver cup, money, and medals ; another to be for
six vases of incurved blooms, five blooms in each ; an£
the other, which is to be made a leading feature cS
the exhibition, that of a floral display of Chrysanthe-
mums, which must include Japanese, incurved, re-
llexed, and Pompons, to be exhibited in pots or bottles,
with Ferns, grasses and other foliage, in an oval space
of 20 ft. by 1-1 ft. Prizes : 1st prize, £10 10s. and silver-
gilt medal ; 2nd, £7 7s. and silver medal : 3rd, £! 4a.
and bronze medal ; 4th, £2 2s. and bronze medal.
Nothing in this exhibit to exceed 4 ft. in height

CHISWICK GARDENERS' MUTUAL
IMPROVEMENT.

January 23.— A very good attendance of members
assembled on the above date to hear Mr. Osbors, of
Kew Gardens, read an interesting and instructive
paper on "Ferns, their General Cultivation and
known Genera." The paper was well thought, out, and
based on thorough practical experience, and traced
Ferns from remote geological times, the introduetJCK
of exotic, species by Tradescant in 1628, to those naw
in general cultivation. Suitable soils were notaa,
and special attention drawn to the fact that experience
now shows that more light and less heat, with proper
ventilation, suit this class of plants better than the
closer, darker conditions prevalent a few decades
since, when the subject was not so well understood.

Methods of reproduction noticed were by spores,
division of root-stocks, rhizomes, and bulbils; and it
was recommended that spores should be started as
soon as dry after being gathered, for keeping gene
rally proves unsatislactory as regards subsequent
germination.

After mentioning many interesting species worth
cultivating of the various genera, a discussion was
opened by Mr. M. T. Dawe. who divided his remarks
into two heads, (1) botanical, (2) horticultural, and
spoke for some length on both, and gave some inte-
resting experiences of their cultivation. Messrs.
Mallinson, Sillitoe, Ball, and Prince also spoke. Mr.
T. Humphreys occupied the chair. C. 11. Buck, Hon Sic,

READING & DISTRICT GARDENERS'
MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT.

January 27— During the past month three meetings
have been held in connection with the above associa-
tion The annual meeting took place on the above date,
when the Report and Balance-sheet presented to the
members proved that the Association during 1901 had
experienced a flourishing year in regard to the atten-
dance the number of members, and also financially.
The firsfordinary meeting of the new year look place on
the 27th' when Mr. E. Fry, gr., Greenlands, Reading,
read a paper called " A Chat on the Kitchen Garden.

DEVON AND EXETER GARDENERS'.

••TllK. Chrysanthemum as a Cottagers Plant " was the
subject of a suggestive paper read before the Associa.
Hon by Mr. G. C. Crabue, Prospect Park. Exeter, a
well-known amateur member of the Association.

The essayist, introduced his subject by saying that
what he meant by treating the favourite autumn flower
as a cottagers plant, was that as a class it required lest*
t.„-e,nitsciiltivalion,lessexpeusc in growing.and which
was so hardy that it could be grown to comparative
perfection without the aid of glass or artificial protec-
tion It was quite practicable to strike the cuttings m
the open by placing some light, sandy soil m a sunn/
border placing the framework of a grocers box upou
it after having knocked the bottom out of the bor,
covering with loose squares of glass, and protecting
with a bit of canvas or sacking of any kind.

The cuttings should be dibbled in about 3 inches
apart After about three dayst'r) the cuttings should
have calloused, when light should gradually be given
and in about three weeks give more and more air by
removing the glass bit by bit, always taking care lo
exclude frost or excessive damp at night. A dusting
of flowers of sulphur will keep away mildew, and a
mulching of dung round the sides of the box will en-
gender sufficient warmth. A southern, south-western,
or south-eastern aspect is best, and one that is not
overshadowed by a tall hedge, or anything of that

nature. ,..,

A light soil isessenli.il in raising the cuttings. When
largo enough to bo put out, each plant, I feel p
should have a little pit to itself, about 12 inches dc.j.

102

TEE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 8, 1902.

■with 4 inches of broken crocks in the bottom. Oyster-
sbells would serve the same purpose. Place prepared
compost on the top of them, and set your plants in
that. A piece of wire netting 3 ft. 6 ins. wide, stood on
end, cylinder fashion, makes a good support; and if
sticks be preferred, let them be natural ones, with
their bark on. Stopping should never be continued
after Lady-day. (Several members demurred at this
date, saying It was altogether too early, the consensus
of opinion of the members present being that May was
Uje better time to make the final stopping.)

Mr. Crabbe then dealt with feeding by liquid-
manure, and the various remedies against insects. He
recommended careful disbudding to get some of the
flowers larger, especially picking off the crown bloom-
bud as soon ae it. is fairly developed. When the plants
have finished flowering, do not be in a hurry to cut
down the old steins, but £ivc a mulching of stable-
njanure or ashes, to induce the sending up of tuckers
for flowering the following year. The essayist then
gave a selection of twenty-four sorts which lie could
recommend, giving their height and titneof flowering.

A bunch of blooms, cut from the open ground near
Exeter on January 29, was placed on the table by a
member, the variety being Earl Canning. A. U.

NATIONAL CHRYSANTHEMUM.

(ANNUAL MEETING.)

February 3. -The annual General Meeting of this
Society took place on Monday evening last, at Carr's
Restaurant, Strand. The new President, Sir Albert K.
Rollitt, M.P., presided, and there were about eighty
members present.

Report of the Executive Committee.

Sir Albert Roli.itt in moving the adoption of the
Report, associated himself with the sentiments of the
opening paragraph, which expresses the Society's
"deep sense of loss" through the death of Sir
Edwin Saunders in March last. The report goes
on to say that, ia memory of the late Presi-
dent, it has been decided to institute a Sir Edwin
Saunders Memorial Gold Medal. The members are
congratulated upon the quality of the exhibitions held
in 1901, and arc assured by the committee that "there
are no indications that the Chrysanthemum has ceased
to be in any degree a popular exhibition flower."
-During the past season the Floral Committee has
awarded twenty three First-class Certificates of
Merit and four Awards of Merit to new varieties
of Chrysanthemums, and the Classification Com-
mittee has continued its work of classifying doubtful
varieties. The schedules of prizes have been modi
fled a little, but no increase has been made in the
sum of money offered. Reference is made to
the annual outing of the Society, when a visit was
made to the interesting garden of Mr. Alfred Tate,
near Leatherhead, and incidentally to the gardens at
Cherkley Court. A contract has oeen made to hold
the Society's exhibitions at the Royal Aquarium for
the next three years. The present number of societies
affiliated is 139, and the number of members
708. "The Society has had to experience during
the past two years a. somewhat serious loss of
members, as also of affiliated societies." The report
concludes with an expression of thanks to the donors
of special prizes, including Sir -Albert Bollitt, who has
consented to continue the special 1st prize of £15 given
by the late President in 1901. After Sir Albert Rollitt
had referred to some of the items in the report, and to
the services rendered by Mr. R. Dean, he formally
moved that the report be adopted, and this was
seconded by Mr. Thos. Bevan ; and excepting an
incident in respect to the privileges of delegates, which
will be referred to presently, the report was accepted
unanimously, and without discussion.

The Balance Shut.

The principal items in the receipts were aunual
subscriptions, £330 9s.; donations and special prizes,
6137 9s. ad. : from the Royal Aquarium Company, £375'
rent of space, £81 8s. Bd.; affiliation' fees, £58 5s. 6d.'-
aud medals, &c, affiliated societies, aa; is.— the total
receipts were £1,111 58. 2d.' On the expenditure side
£497 was given in prizes, £S(i 13s. 3d. expended upon'
printing and stationery, £189 12s. 9(J..upon medals and
engraving, £69 I8s:.6d. upon show expenses, £1C0
Secretary's salary, and £61 16». :>./. upon postage and
registration. There is a balance at, the bank of
£41 12s. 4d., and if this be subtracted from £s; 7s 4rf
brought forward from the .preceding year, a ldss of
over £10 during 1901 is shown. The balance-sheet was
however, accepted without discussion, if we except
Mr. Bevan's question in respect to the carrying out of
suggestions made by the auditors, one of which was
. that the Chairman of the Finance Committee should be
required to sign all accounts. .

Election of Officers.
Sir Albert K. Rollitt, M.P., was unanimously elected
President for the coming year; Mr. J. W. Moorman
was reelected Treasurer, Mr. Thos. Bevan Chairman of
the Executive Committee. Mr. Witty Vice-Chairman,
Mr. C. Harman Payne Foreign Corresponding Secre-
tary, and Mr. R. Dean General Secretary. One of the
Auditors, Mr. W. Seward, having served two years, has
been succeeded by Mr. G. J. Ingram. From various
reasons the following gentlemen have ceased to serve
upon the Executive Committee : Messrs. C. Bliek,
W. Davey, E. Dove, C. Gibson, Geo. Cuthbert, W.Logan,
T. G. Swales, and W. Owen. Eight of the retiring
members were re-elected, and the following new ones :
George Pi'ickett, James Tyler, A. E. Stubbs, Geo. Little,
C. H. Curtis, J. Jones, — . Tapper, and — . Hawes.

Amendments to Rules.
Mr. Young, a delegate from an affiliated society, said
that he had given notice to the General Secretary of an
amendment to a rule governing the privileges of dele-
gates, but it had not. bean put upon the Agenda. The
Secretary explained that this was not done because he.
the General Secretary, thought that delegates had not
power to move such amendments. The President, how-
ever, after considering Rules IV., IX., and XIX., ruled
that they have, and regretted that Mr. Young's intended
amendment could not be proposed that evening because
notice had not been given by the Secretary in the
Agenda.
Mr. R. Dean moved that in Rule III. —
After "the management of the Society shall be
vested in the Officers of the Society, viz., a
President, Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, Chair-
man, and Vice-chairman of the Executive Com-
mittee," add "General Secretary and;" also
line 6 after " the President, Treasurer, Chair-
man, Vice-Chairman," add " General Secretary."
Mr. Dean, who described his position in the Society
as equivalent to that of a "managing director," has
evidently resented the deprivation three years ago of
his privilege to vote upon the committees. He made
an earnest appeal to the members to restore to him the
privileges of a member, albeit he is paid a. salary by
the Society. The resolution was carried unanimously.
Mr. J. McKeichar then proposed, and Mr. J. T.
Simpson seconded, that the following addition be made
to Rule XIV., that :— " The officers of the Society and
the elected members of the committee are disqualified
for nomination or election as judges."

Mr. McKcrchar was supported by Mr. W. Mease, Mr.
Lake, Mr. Dean, and others, but was opposed by several
speakers, most of them members of the committee. In
the end, this desirable amendment was rejected by a
majority of about two to one.

IRISH GARDENERS' ASSOCIATION.

ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT
A meeting of the members of the Irish Gardeners
Association and Benevolent Society was held on Jan. 28,
1902, in the X. L. Caf<5, Grafton Street. Mr. F. W. Bur-
bidge, M.A., President of the Association, occupied the
chair, aud there was a large attendance.

The Chairman, in the course of an interesting address,
referred to the condition of gardeners generally, and
contrasted the difference between gardeners who were
employed close to large cities, and those who resided
in the country districts. Passing on to speak of the
different classes of employers, he said the ideal em-
ployer was a gentleman or lady who knew something
of gardening themselves. There were others who did
not in the least know what they wanted, but were
determined to have it. They were uncertain
themselves, aud worried their gardeners in many
ways. No one garden could have everything of the
finest and best. Then there was often a plurality
of employers, and a gardener who got amongst
people at cross-purposes required a good deal of
balance and backbone, and a good temper to boot.
Some gardeners that he knew did their duty under
irritating conditions of this kind so well, that they
were really worthy of promotion into the diplomatic
service of their country. The fact was, that many
gardeners showed quite as much tact and ability
in managing discordant people as they did in the
culture of good fruit and flowers (applause). He was a
great admirer and sympathiser with the present and
the future lady gardener, but he pitied them when he
looked round and saw what multifarious duties many
" mere men" gardeners had to perforin. Managing a
garden and the things it contained was often a mere
fraction of what the so-called gardener had to do. He
was oflen a bailiff, at times a forester, had to keep an
eye on the river aud deter poachers from lifting the
salmon ; he must be a cattle doctor, and an engineer at
times, levelling, :drawing, taking out. quantities, and
calculating the cost of work. He (the Chairman) knew
at, least two most. able gardeners near Dublin, who not,
(inly managed good gardens and the home farms, but
also ran the electric light plant. So the lady gardener
would have to learn a, good deal more than mere garden
craft, or work amongst the flowers, if she were to

succeed, for a gardener's work was practically un-
limited. A gardener had to learn many things, but of
all things he should know something of logic, or the
science of clear and accurate thought. He especially
recommended to the rising race of young gardeners the
study of Prof. Jevon's Primer of Logic, and his com-
panion volume on Political Economy, both of which were
invaluable to a young man. To these should be added
Mr. John Wright's Primer of Horticulture, which dealt
with the first principles of gardening in a clear and
efficient manner. Every gardener should also learn to
draw anything to scale, and to make a sketch of any-
thing he wished to remember. To be able to show
things by means of a rough sketch or by a working
drawing was often a great gain. Every gardener
should have some specialty of his own. He should
take up some plant, or group of plants, [something
preferably not attempted before, and try to im-
prove it either for food, or for that delightful
mental food called beauty. He should select,
cross fertilise, or hybridise it, and so do his best to
improve it in every possible way. Look what Burpee
and Eekford had done for the Sweet Pea, or Engle-
heart and others for the Narcissus, and Laxton, father
and son, for the culinary Pea and for the Strawberry.
To come nearer home, let them look at what Mr.
Campbell, of St. Ann's had done for the Chinese Prim-
rose, the Japanese Anemone, the Persian Cyclamen, or
the Carnation. Only want something, then work for it,
and in the end they would gain their heart's desire.
The successful gardener, like ihc successful doctor,
was he who was best able to apply to his own business
the discoveries that were being made by the great army
of accurate observers, who were labouring on his
behalf. The only secret in successful gardening was
close observation and practical experience. Some
gardeners spent the greater part of their lifetime out
of a place, while others were rarely out of a situa-
tion. He would suggest that a registry for duly
accredited gardeners should be kept and worked
by the Association for all men who were well
recommended, but especially, of course, for their
own members. The organisation and registration ot
labour was especially necessary for gardeners, as so
many of them were isolated. He did not propose any-
thing like a trades union, but merely a central combi-
nation and a system of co-operation for their mutual
good (applause). It would well repay the gardeners of
Ireland to combine and join this Association, and sub-
scribe sufficient to pay a registration secretary, who
would devote his time and ability to look after their
best interests in every possible way. But, after all was
said and done, the gardener had really much to be
thankful for. Every good gardener took a great and
just pride in his work, and in most, cases he ought to
feel grateful that his work was carried on in pleasant
places, and amid healthy and beautiful surroundings.
His work was his very own, and he was right, to feel
proud of ft. Now that, they had an Agricultural and
Technical Department in Ireland, he hoped that
amongst other things, it would do much to avoid
too much centralisation of industries in towns,
and to revive local aud village industries, and that,
the old - time emulation in good work would be
re-established on or in connection with the land
in this country. The revival of village indus-
tries and the cheapening of railway and other
transit charges for raw materials and finished pro-
ducts might, he believed, not only relieve the conges-
tion of half or totally unemployed labourers in towns,
but it would restrict the exodus from this beautiful and
fertile land of the best and strongest of their popula-
tion, who at present became downhearted, and left
them in desperation for the United States of America,
or for other and often far less hospitable aud kindly
shores.

Afterwards a lecture on " Nitrate in the Garden
was delivered by Mr. John Simpson. The lecture,
which was illustrated by a number of limelight views
described in detail the results of the experiments
carried out by the Permanent Nitrate Committee, and
the lecturer claimed that in nitrate of soda, science had
provided the gardener with nitrogen in the exact form
adapted to the wants of the plant, whether in the
orchard, the kitchen garden, the flower-bed, or the
greenhouse. The Daily Express, Dublin, January 29, 1902.

CHESTER PAXTON.

CHESHIRE ORCHARDS.

This was the subject dealt with at the usual fort-
nightly meeting of the Paxton Society, held on
Saturday last, under the chairmanship of Mr. Robt.
Wakefield. Mr. John Taylor, of Hoole, gave a carefully
prepared paper, and afforded some valuable hints, the
outcome of long experience and careful observation.
Mr. Taylor assured his audience that the County of
Chester was as capable of producing good fruit as any
other part of England; and this statement was fully
borne out by the excellent examples of local-grown.
Apples and Pears exhibited at the meeting. Ah
animated discussion followed the reading of the paper,
in which the President (Mr. John Weaver) and others
took part.

February 8, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

103

Publications Received.— journal oj the Depart-
ment of Agriculture of Western Australia. December,
19U1. Includes : Talks on Manures. Prevalent Blights,
Red« Pear Mite, Importation of Indian Oranges, Lime
and its Application to the Soil, &a. — Santa Bar-
bara, by C. A. Moody (illustrated). Reprinted from
November, 1901, " Land of Sunshine," Los Angeles.
Cal.— From the University of California, College of
Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station. E. W.
Hilgard, Director : Bulletins No. 131, Phylloxera of the
Vine, by F. T. Bioletti ; No. 133, Tolerance of Alkali by
various Cultures, by R. H. Loughridge ; No. 131, Report
on Condition of Vineyards in Portions of Santa Clara
Valley, by F. T. Bioletti and E. H. Twight ; No. 135, The
Potato-worm in California, by Warren T. Clarke: No. 136,
JErinose of the Vine, by F. T. Bioletti and E. H. Twight.—
From the Blue Hill Nurseries, South Braintree, Mass.,
U.S.A. : Price List of Hardy Herbaceous Perennials and.
Alpine Plants, grown by Julius Heurlin. — Hobbies
Garden Guide. 1902 (Dereham, Norfolk). A catalogue
containing much useful information.— he MoU Scien-
tifique. Janvier (Librairie J. B. Balliereet Fils, 19, Rue
Hautefeuille. Paris. — The Irish Gardener, 11, 'Fleet
Street, Dublin), January 11 and January 18.— Annual
Report on Government Gardens and Parks in Mysore, for
the year 1900 — 1901, with the Government Review
thereon .— " Government have read Mr. Cameron's
report with much .interest, and are gratified at the
increasing popularity and usefulness of the gardens
under his charge. It is satisfactory to note that atten-
tion is being paid to the cultivation of Paspalum dila-
tatum (new fodder grass), Florida Velvet Bean, Rubber-
trees, and other plants yielding useful products."

Vegetables.— Average Wholesale Phices.

MARKETS.

COVENT GARDEN, FEBRUARY G.

[We cannot accept any responsibility for the subjoined
reports. They are furnished to us regularly every
Thursday, by the kindness of several of the prin-
cipal salesmen, who revise the list, and who are
responsible for the quotations. It must be remem-
bered that these quotations do not represent the
prices on any particular day, but only the general
averages for the week preceding the date of our
report. The prices depend upon the quality of
the samples, the supply in the market, and .the .
demand, and they may fluctuate, not only from day
to day, but often several times in one day. Ed.1
Cut Flowers, &c.— Average Wholesale Prices.

s.d.
Artichokes, Globe,

per dozen ... 3 0 3 6

— Jerusalem, p.

sieve 10-16

Asparagus Sprue,

bundle ... 0 9 —

— English ... 8 0 —

— Paris Green... 5 6 —

— Spanish ... 2 9 —
BarbedeCapucine,

bundle 0 3 —

Beans, dwf., house,

per lb 2 6-30

— Madeira, per
basket ... 2 6-30

Beetroots, per

bushel ... 13-16

Brussels Sprouts,

sieve 19-23

Cabbage, tally ... 4 0 —

— dozen 0 9-10

Carrots, per doz.

bunches ... 3 0-36

— washed, bags 2 6-36

— unwashed, per

bag 20 -

Cauliflowers, doz. 3 0 —

— tally 5 0-10 0

Celeriac, per doz. 2 6 —

Celery, ]2bundles 10 0-16 0

Chicory, per lb.... 03 —
Cress, per dozen

punnets ... 13 —

Cucumbers, doz. 10 0-19 0

Endive, new

French, doz. 2 0-2 6

Garlic, per lb. ... 0 3 — (

Horseradish, fo-
reign, bunch 10-16

Leeks, 12 bunches 20 —

Lettuces, Cabbage,

per dozen ... 0 9-16

Mint, new bunch 0 4-06

Asparagus 'Fern,'

. bunch

Carnations, per

dozen blooms
Cattleyas, p. doz.
Eucharis, p. doz.
Gardenias, doz.
Lilium Harrisii,
. dozen blooms
Lilium lancifolm.

album, p. doz.

• blooms
Lilium rubrum,

• per dozen ...
Lilium longiflrm.

per dozen ...
Plants in Pots

«■<*• e.d. | s.d. s.d.

Lily of Valley, p.
1 6- 2 6 | doz. bunches 9 0-18 0

Maidenhair Fern,
10-30 doz. bunches 4 0-80

9 0-12 0 Mignonette, per

4 0-60J doz. bunches 40-60
16-20 Odontoglossums,

per dozen ... 2 6-60

5 0-80 Roses, Tea, white,
per dozen ... 10-30

— Catherine
3 0- 4 0 | Mermet, per

doz 2 0-50

3 0-50 Smilax, p. bunch 30-50

Tuberoses, per
5 0-801 doz. blooms 04-06

-Average Wholesale Prices.

s.d. 8.
5 0-70

Adiantums, doz.
Arbor-vitaB, var.,

per dozen ... 6 0-36 0
Aspidistras, doz. 18 0-36 0

— specimen, ea. 5 0-10 6
Cannas, per doz. 18 0 —
Crotons, per doz. 18 0-30 0
Cyclamen, p. doz. 8 0-10 0
Dracaenas, var.,

per dozen ...

— viridis, doz.
Ericas, var., doz.
Euonymus, var.,

per dozen ...
Evergreens, var.,

per dozen ...
Ferns, in variety,

per dozen ...

s.d. s.d.

Ferns, small, per

100 4 0-80

Ficus elastica, ea. 16-76
Foliage plants,

various, each 10-60

Lily of Valley, ea. 19-30
Lycopodiums, p.

dozen 3 0-40

Marguerites, per

dozen 8 0-12 0

Myrtles, per doz. 6 0-90

Palms, var., each 1 0-16 0

I — specimen, ea. 21 0-63 0
6 0-18 0 | Pelargoniums,

scarlet, doz. 8 0-12 0

Ivy leaf, per

dozen 8 0-10 0

4 0-18 0 Spiraeas, per doz. 6 0-12 0

12 0-30 0
9 0-18 0
12 0-36 0

4 0-18 0

Fruit.— Average Wholesale Prices.

s.d. s.d.

6 0-10 0
9 0-12 0

5 0-70

13 0

6 0-10 0
10-16

6 0-10 0
6 0-90
4 0-10 0

6 0-10 0

2 0-26
1 8 —
13-20

5 0-60

s.d. s.d
Ap p 1 e s, home-
grown, Wel-
lingtons, per

bushel

—. Californian,
cases

— Blenheims,
&c., p. bushel 5 0-80

— Nova Scotian,
various, p. brl. 21 0-26 0

— King Pippins,
per bushel ...

— LargeCookers
per bushel ...

Bananas, bunch •. »-,» ,,

— loose, p. doz. 10-16
Cape Fruits—

Apricots^ cases

Peaches. .j

Plums

Chestnuts. perbag 7 0-14 0
Co"bnut8. Kentish,

„ per lb 0 11- 1 o ; Pines, each ... 19-3

Cranberries, case 9 0-10 6 SapucaiaNuts. lb. 1 3 -
— Quart 0 6 — ' Walnuts, per bag 30-4

Custard - Apples,
per dozen ...

Grapes, Gros Col-
mar, A., p. lb.
B., per lb.

— Alicante, lb.

— Almeira, per
12 1b. ...

per barrel 14 0-15 6

Lemons, per case 5 6-10 6
Oranges, Denia,

per case ... 10 o-lx 0

— Jaffa, per case 13 0-17 u

— Jamaica, per
case 12 6 —

— Navel, per
case 13 0-14 0

— Tan gierine,
per case ... 0 10-8 6

Pears, Easter
Beurre.inhalf
cases 12 n —

s.d. s.d.
Mushrooms, house,

per lb 0 8-0 10

Onions, case ... 8 0-86

— English, per

cwt 7 0-76

— in bags ... 5 6-60

— picklers, per

sieve 2 0- 3,0

Parsley, per doz.

bunches ... 16-2 0

— sieve 4 0 — ■

Parsnips, p. cwt.

bag 2 6-33

Potatos, per ton.. 50 0-90 0

— new, per lb.... 0 3J- 0 4
Frame, lb. O 8

— newTeneriffe,

doz.

per cwt.
Radishes, p.

bunches
Rhubarb, Yorks,

per dozen ...
Salad, small, pun-
nets, per doz.
Salsafy, per doz.

bundles

Savoys, tally
Seakale, per doz.

punts
Shallots, per lb.
Spinach, English,

bushel
Stachys, lb.
Tomatos, Canary,

boxes

Turnip-Tops, per

bushel

— bag

Turnips, per doz.

bunches

— bag

Watercress, per

doz. bunches

10 0-14 0
0 9-19

7 0 —
3 0-80

. 11 0-13 0
0 2 —

4 0
0 4

2 0 —
16-20

2 0-26
16-26

0 6- 0,8

Potatos, Dunbar, main crop, 90/- : Up-to-Date, 80/- to
B5/-; Bloods, 45/-. Various, 50/- to 80/-.

SEEDS.

London : February o.— Messrs. John Shaw & Sons, Seed
Merchants, of Great Maze Pond, Borough, London, S.E.,
report to-day's market thinly attended. There is now
a 'fair seasonable all-round Inquiry for field seeds.
Choice samples of white Clover seed have become- ex-
ceedingly scarce, and for these the late unprecedented
rise is well sustaiped. Red seed is, however, rather
quiet, and low, and even medium qualities are not
readily placed. Full prices meantime arc asked . for
Alsykes, Trefoils, and Rye-grasses. Lucerne and
Timothy continue in short supply, and command high
rates. There is this week no quotable variation in
either Mustard, Rape, or Linseed. Tares are in, im-
proved request at currencies favourable to sellers.
Bird seeds are just now neglected. For Peas, Haricots,
and Lentils, the' sale is small, at former figures. The
low terms on which Scarlet and White Runners are
now obtainable attract attention.

CORN".

Average Prices of British Corn (per imperial qr.),
for the week ending February 1, 1902, and for the cor-
responding period of 1901, to -ether with the difference
in the quotations. These figures are based on the
Official Weekly Return :—

Description.

1901.

1902.

Difference

Wheat

a. d.

26 7

8. d.
27 4

». d.
+ 0 9

Barley

25 7

26 7

+ 1 0

Oats

17 8

20 2

+ 2 6

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.

Qiasqovi, February .=..— The following are the averages
of the prices during the past week :— Apples, Cali-
fornian, 88. 6d. to l'-s. tid. per case ; Oregon, 128. to
13s. do.; Nova Scotia Baldwins, 228. to 248. per barrel ;
Maine, 20s. to 24s. do.; Canadian, 2.3s. to 268. do.;
Oranges, Valencias, ordinary, 120's, 7s. tots, per box;
do., large 420's, 9s. 6d. to los. do. ; extra large do.,
10s. 6d. to 12s. 6d. do. ; large 714's, 9s. to 9s. sd. do. ;
Jaffa, 12s. to 138. do.: Grapes. Is. to 2s. 6d. per lb.;
Mushrooms, Is. do.; Onions, Valencias, 5's. 9s. 6d, to
los. per case ; do., Globe do., 88. 6d. do. ; do. Dutch
6s. '«'. do.

Liverpool: February \— Wholesale Vegetable Market.
— Potatos, per cwt. : Up-to-Date, 2s. 3d. to '2s. 9d. ; Main
Crop, ■'«. to 4s. ; Lynn Grays, 2s. to 2s. 6d. ; Bruce,
28. 3d. to 2s. nd ; Turnips, sd. to Is. per 12 bunches ;
Swedes, Is. Id. to Is. 6d. per cwt.; Carrots, 3s. to 4s.
do. ; Onions, foreign, 5s. 6d. to 6s. tyd. per cwt. ; Cauli-
flowers, Is. to 2s. Gd. per dozen : Cabbages. 8d. to Is. 9d.
do. ; Celery, 8d. to Is. 6d. do. St. Johns : Potatos, la. to
Is. 3d. per peck; do., new. ud. per lb. ; Grapes, English,
2s. to 2s. 6d. per lb.; do., foreign. Id. to Od. do. ; Apples,
2d. to Id. per II).; Tomatos, tid. do.: Asparagus, is.
per bundle: Mushrooms, Is. -id. per lb. Birkenhead :
Potatos. Hid. to Is. per peck ; Grapes, English, Is. 6d.
to 3s. ud. per lb.; do., foreign, 4d. to 8d. do.; Mush-
rooms, la, to la. od. per lb.

THE WEATHER.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS taken in the
Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens at Chiswick,
London, for the period January 26 to February 1,
1902. Height above sea-level 24 feet.

Tempera-

Tempebature

ture okthe

O

1902.

q

g

op the Air.

S0ILat9A.M.

s
B

s

o

O

H
O

w

a

At9A.M.

at

o

Hi
«S

g
<

Pi

©

13

o

o

P.

■a

<

0 ?* S

a ■

si

si

>.

.„

H
to

Q

3

3

CO

3

w

o

Tjt

1-5 fc.

u

a

'£

ha
3

■<

<

<!

j

fci 1 fcij

bo

oi 1 m

5? 1 «">

bi

. o

■8 .2

•a n3

-a

■a i -a

•3

•a

Sun. 26

S.W.

31 0 32-6

;»-6

si-so-is'ss-sis-o

45-0

23 2

MON. 27

s.w.

398

39-5

17 •■*

31-8

38-r42-0

45-0

31 -8

TUES.28

w.s.w.

III -7

38'6

45-4

39 '5

39-9:42-0

44 9

32 0

Wed. 29

N.N.W.

32 0

28-2

38-1

29 '5

38'9'42-2

44 8

22 9

Thu. 30

N.

32-2

3r,7J38-l

29 '5

0-03

37 '2 41 -5

44-7

24 1

FBI. 31

N.E.

36-7

34 5 37-2

33-0

36-4 41 0

44 5

25-6

Sat. 1

E.N.E.

ai-4

32-3L''4-0

32-3

36-2 40-5

44 3

26 X

Means

35 7

33-910-1

32 -p

Tot
0-2137-911-7

44'7

26-5

Remarks. — The weather continued dull and very
cold. There were heav.y gales of wind from the north-
east at the eud- of the week.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

The following Summary Record of the weather
throughout the British Islands, for the week ending
Feb. 1, is furnished from the Meteorological Office :—

"Ihewofterwas unsettled during the early part of
the week, with snow in the north, and cold rain, sleet,
or snow elsewhere. Later on, however, the conditions
improved greatly, and clear skies became general, and
the air very dry and keen.

"The tiMiprratnri was below the mean in all parts of
the Kingdom; over England and Ireland the deficit
ranged from 3' to.r>°, and in the Channel Islands it was
only 2°, but in Scotland it was unusually large, varying
from 9° in the west to as much as 12° iu the north. The
highest of the maxima occurred during the earlier
days of the week in the English and Irish districts, but
towards its close in Scotland. They ranged from 51" in
England, S., the Channel Islands, and Ireland, S., to
IT in Scotland, E. AM, several Scotch stations the daily
maxima were somcttmesibelow32°, and at For« William
on Thursday the thermometer did not exceed 22°. The
absolute minima, which were mostly registered during
the latter half of the week, were as low as 2° in Scotr
land, N. and E., and 15" in Scotland, W. ; elsewhere
they ranged from 16° in England, N.W., and 17° in Eng-
land, N.E., to 20° in Ireland, {*., 25° in England, E. and
S., and to 32° in the Channel Islands

" The rainfall was less than the mean in nearly all
districts, but just equalled it in England, S.W., and
slightly exceeded it in the Channel Islands.

"The6n<//t( sunshine was (after I. lie first few days) very
prevalent, and greatly exceeded the normal amount.
The percentage of the possible duration ranged from
19 in England, E„ 48 in England. S.W, and 47 in Eng-
land, S., to 41 in the Midland Counties, 38 in Scotland,
W , and 32 in Scotland, E."

THE WEATHER IN WKST HERTS.
A cold and sunny week, with aearobing north-
easterly winds and some snow. On the coldest day
the temperature in the screen at no time rose more
than 1° above the frce/.ing-point, lint on the coldest
night the exposed thermometer only registered 11° of
frost. The ground at 2 feet, deep is at the present time
2° colder, and at 1 foot deep 3 colder than is season-
able. On these days snow fell, and mi the morning of
the 4th the ground was covered to I lie depth of 1-inch.
Throughout, the evening of the 2nd, and also after-,
wards during the night, there occurred 0 (all of very
tine sleet ami rain, which froze on reaching the
ground, thus causing a thin coat my ol ice to ["' formed
upon it, and makingtho roads and pathways exl remelv
slippery. This phenomenon, which is of comparatively
rare occurrence, is known as a "glazed frost" or
"silver thaw." There has beei moasui fble perco-
lation through either ol tin; soil gauges since thi
month began. On the first fivo days of the week the
sun shone on an average for nearlj ii\. hours a day,.
but since then there has been no record ol sunshine.

104

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 8, 1902.

During the four days ending the 2nd, the mean
Telocity of the wind was v* miles an hour, and the
direction some point between north and east. Through-
out the greater part of the week, the small amount of
moisture in the air has been a noteworthy feature.
Iri8 Hlstrlo eame first into flower on the 1th, which is
» fortnight later than last year.

January.

This was a very warm January, and the fifth warm
one in succession. At no time was there any excep-
tional heat or cold. The lowest reading indicated by
the exposed thermometer was IV of frost. Very little
rain fell, indeed, less than one-third the average quan-
tity for the month. Snow fell on two days, but on no
occasion was there sufficient to cover the ground. The
sun shone on an average for 1 } hours a day, which is a
remarkably good record for January. The winds were-
as a rule, high, and came principally from some
westerly point of the compass. The atmosphere re-
mained exceptionally dry. in fact, drier than in any
January of which I have here any record.

The Rainfall ior the last Four Months.

The total rainfall since the winter half of the
drainage year began in October, comes short of
the average for the same four months in the last forty-
six years by 2| inches, which is equivalent to a loss of
•ver 12 gallons of rain-water on each square yard of
surface in this district— E. M.,I!erkhamsted. Frb. 4, 1902.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Advertising for Situations in Gardening
Papers in Canada and U. S. A. : IV. B.
Had you read your Gardeners' Chronicle
■with due attention, your question would
have been superfluous. See issue for .Ian. 25
this year, p. 68.

Azalea indica and Violets: J. IV. B. The
first have been infested by thrips, which
have sucked the juices of the leaves, and
eaused their fall from the shoots ; and the
last were infested by red - spider whilst
©ut-of-doors last year, with the result that
the plants have been checked in growth,
and they are not likely to flower satisfac-
torily. Azaleas should be frequently fumi-
gated whilst under glass, and dipped in an
insecticide once or twice whilst they remain
out-of-doors in late summer and autumn,
and occasionally be turned on their side and
heavily syringed, more especially directing
the water against the under-sides of the
leaves. Violets should be placed in half-
shady situations, the ground kept moist, and
the under-sides of the foliage wetted fre-
quently with an elbowed nozzle of a syringe.

Camellia Scale: H. It. M. Aspidiotus
Camellise. Remove, by sponging and brush-
ing with Gishurst Compound Soap used at
the rate of 2 oz. to one gallon of water,
spreading a cloth on the soil under the
plants so as to capture all insects that may
fall from the leaves, and putting them into
the fire.

Caustic Soda Dressing: Ignoramus. This
might do harm to vegetable crops growing
beneath the trees.

Clubbing in Brassicas: W. W. The best
cure is a total change of crop for at the least
seven years, and dressings of lime and
potash; the fungus Plasmodiophora brassicse
is favoured by acids and checked by alkalis,
and farmyard manures should not be applied,
more especially if oxen have been fed on
infected Turnips and Swedes.

Creosoted Wooden Staging: W.J.8.G. If
your plants are certainly being injured by
the fumes, you cannot do better than remove
the staging, or leave the glasshouse unoccu-
pied for a few months. Doubtless less injury
will result to the plants when more air can
be afforded than is possible at the winter
season.

^•Dust" on Cabbage-leaves, &c. : G. H. M.
The spores of a fungus— Puccinia sps.

Employment in Kew Gardens : Bamsleu. By
making application to the Director, who will
Surnish you with a form to be filled up.

Labourer's Notice : E. R. No notice would
be required if the man was engaged as a day
labourer. The matter turns upon the terms
of the engagement.

Maiden Apple and Plum-trees ■ N. T. P. The
better method is not to cut back all of the
lateral shoots on stems, but to leave four to
six at full length, and remove the others
entirely, leaving no snags. The few that
are left for a year or two will strengthen
the stems, and their removal will result in
but few scars. At 6 feet, or a greater
height if desired, the stems should be
stopped, and half a dozen good shoots
secured for forming the basis of a crown.
The method of pruning differs if the
bush form of tree is desired. The plants
set out this season should be allowed to
stand for the entire period till October
unpruned, when the stems should be cut
back to within 6 to 8 inches of the graft ;
and when they break in the spring following,
the shoots should be reduced to four to six
of the strongest. No other shoots should be
allowed to form the first year.

Market Terms : H . L. H. Per dozen bunches
must be taken literally, although the number
of roots in a bunch may differ considerably
according to the kind of vegetable, root, &c.
Seakale punnets measure 8 inches in diameter
at the to)), and 71 inches at the bottom, and
2 inches deep. The number of Seakale heads
going in a punnet will depend upon the size
of the heads. A "tally" is not a measure
of a weight, but of number, viz., 60.

Mulberry-tree Flowering but not Fruit-
ing : M. H. If the site is low, and liable to
be scourged by late frosts, this may account
for the absence of fruit ; or the plant being
unisexual, with male and female catkins
growing near each other in the axils of the
leaves, may, in the case of your plant, be
provided with flowers of one sex only. If
these are of the female sex, the planting
alongside of a fresh normal tree obtained
from a nursery may effect a change.

Mussel Scale on Apple-trees : J. B. A very
bad case. It would be well to cut away
shoots infested to the degree of those
received here. To destroy this scale when
present in moderate quantities, follow the
recommendation contained in our Hardy
Fruit Garden article on p. 95 of present issue.

Names of Plants : A Subscriber. Cymbidium
eburneum. — J. F. A. Cypripedium Sanderi-
anum has the reputation of being rather
difficult to grow, but we have seen it
luxuriating in a close warm house similar to
a forcing-house, where an even temperature
is ensured. The spotting might arise from
a sudden fall in the temperature of the
house. When your Cypripedium Calypso
have finished their next growth, place them
in a cooler and drier house for a few weeks,
and probably it will induce them to flower. —
A Reader. 1, A form of Adiantum cuneatum ;
2, Adiantum gracillimum ; 3, Cyperus
alternifolius ; 4, Pteris eretica. — Front.
1, Cypripedium venustum ; 2, Cypripe-
dium Spicerianum ; 3, Cypripedium in-
signe ; 4, Cypripedium nitens. — Heliotrope.
Cymbidium eburneum. Some varieties have
no purple spots on the lip ; yours is a
showily spotted form. — II. 8'. S. Lycaste
cruenta, and Cypripedium x Ashburtonipe
variety. — F. B. 1 , Nephrolepis davalli-
oides ; 2, Pteris Adiantoides ; 3 and 7, forms
of Adiantum cuneatum; 4, Adiantum con-
cinnum ; 5, Adiantum hispidulum ; 6, Adi-
antum tenerum. — A. E. 1, Quercus Ilex,
Evergreen Oak ; 2, Prunus lusitanica, Por-
tugal Laurel ; 3, Juniperus recurva ; 4, a
Cedar, probably C. Libani ; Pinus silvestris ;
6, Thuya occidentalis. As some of the labels
were detached, the numbers may in some
cases be incorrect.

Nitrate of Soda and Tartaric Acid Mixed :
H. L. H. The action of these substances
when mixed together on plants is unknown
to us. Nitrate of soda is a well-known
manure, employed largely when an increase

in the yield of fodder plants, grasses, &c,
and leafage generally is desired. The
ordinary dressing is from 3 to 5 cwt. per
acre. Some crude tartaric acids contain
salts of potassium.

Nursery Work and Routine: E. R. These
are best learnt by taking service in good
general nurseries for some years. It is a
large subject; and it would be wise if you
decided to what branch to devote yourself,
indoors, fruit, or trees and shrubs.

Pears at the Top of some Trees, Small and
Deformed: M. H. The trees being aged,
may also be decrepit. Can you send speci-
mens of the fruit ?

RlCHARDIA WITH DOUBLE SPATHE, ONE LEAFY :

P. J. C. Not uncommon in very vigorous
plants.

Roses in Pots Failing when Forced : H. N. H.
Roses will not force well unless well es-
tablished in pots a year in advance. Roses
received from a nursery in November, potted
and pruned immediately, might flower un-
forced in eat ly summer, but are not fit plants
to force early, unless the entire ball of soil
and roots is shifted with but little dis-
turbance, beyond loosening a few of the
outer roots. Dwarf - budded or grafted
Roses should be buried so deep at the first
or second potting as to bring the point of
union under the soil.

Sick Bothy Man : Enquirer. The head gar-
dener is not morally justified in stopping
the under-gardener's pay, when, owing to
illness, he cannot attend to his duties for
one day ; on the contrary, he would do well
to obtain medical advice at the employer's
expense, and make no deduction whatever,
but this is a matter of humanity and good
feeling.

To Skeletonise Leaves: Carnation. Place
the leaves in a pan of soft water, and leave
them therein for a few days ; then drain off
the water, and replace it with fresh, con-
taining a few drops of muriatic acid, and
allow the leaves to remain in this for a few
hours. Then try if the leaves are ready for
skinning, and if so, take them out of the
pan and place in a saucer, and gently rub off
the pulp with a soft brush, to do which
requires a good deal of patience and care.
Then dry them, and put in the sun to bleach.

Vines in a Bad State : A. L. The bad state
of the Vines has been brought about during
recent years by careless cultivation. Some
parts of the borders received scarcely any
water, others were deluged with strong
manure-water. The rods were denuded of
their bark to too great a depth, and then
dressed with gas-tar (strength not given)
and clay, innocent of harm if of the proper
proportions. The general condition of the
Vines being bad, you must set about their
renovation, and that of the border forth-
with ; removing the apparently dead Vines,
making an entirely new border of small
width if new canes are planted, and of a
suitable width if some of the old Vines are
retained. All should be replanted. Let
only good pasture loam be employed, mix-
ing with it charcoal, lime-rubble, crushed
bones, and Thomson's Vine Manure ; the
loam forming four -sixths of the whole.
Make no use of farmyard or stable manure,
and let the after-treatment be of a kind
likely to maintain the soil in a healthy state
for as long a period as possible. Pay great
attention to the drainage of the borders.

CommunicationsReceived.— E.W. & Sons.- Ch. Dennis.
—Dr. Wrench.— H — P. W —Pomona— E. C— W. H. C
— E. M— Daniels Bros — B. B— T. T.— W. G.— B— J. S.
—J. F.— J. C. T— J.Miskin— J. G— J. W. M.— G. M. W.
— W. G. G.— F. W. B., photographs, with thanks.—
W M — Dicksons, with thanks.— B. A— T. H. S.—
W A C — W. E. B— D. R. W— H. J. V— J. B— T. H L.,
Penzance— F. B. Snaffan.— H. J. J.— S. A.— E. W. & Co.
B. G. S.— C. G. G., with thanks.

DIED.— On Monday, the 3rd inst., at "Gray-
thorne," 89, St. James's Road, Wandsworth
Common, London, S.W., Patrick Rose-Innes
Davidson, formerly of Iwerne Minster, Bland-
ford, Dorset, in his 76th year.

Supplement to the " Garoeners' Chronicle," February 8, 1902.

PlNANGA KUHLII, A JAVANESE PALM.

tirtutbury, AfttevtfrCo,, / ».. P* 'titers, London u«M

February 15, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

105

No. 790.— SA TURD A Y, FEB. 15, 1902.

CONTENTS.

106

Irises, hybrid alpine .
Kerria. jnpouica as

114

IIS

Bachelor's Button .

114

112

Lagetta lintearia
Obituary—

107

112

Briggs-Burv. Mrs. R.

115

Flight, F.W.... ...

115

110

Graham, F. J.

115

109

Kelvvay, Leonard ...

115

Oranges ;

114

109

Pear President Barabe

114

Peas for succession ...

108

PinangaVeitchi

111

Plants, new or note-

114

worthy —

Crassula eonjuncta

106

114

Poisons, sale of

112

Primula megasea?folia

114

114

Prumnopitys elegans

113

Roses, the foliage of...

108

118

Societies-

Horticultural Club

112

106

Linnean

National Chrysan-

112

in

themum

118

ins

National Dahlia ...

112

113

National Kose
Royal Horticultural

112

na

112

lib

(Annual meeting)

116

Miscellaneous

118

107

Week's Work, the—

Flower Garden, the .

111

10ft

Fruits under Glass .

110

Hardy Fruit Garden

110

107

Kitchen Garden ...

111

111

Orchid Houses, the.

111

10S

Plants under Glass .

111

Anrectorhili

Bairns, bare-footed, in
Scotland

*'Be:-s"

Books, notices of—
Botanical Magazine
British Vegetable

Galls

lusect Life, &c.

Cabbages, crossing
among

Calochortus, revision
of the genus of (.Sup-
plement)

Canna Italia

Caterpillar of the
Ghost-moth

Cedar of Lebanon, a
fine

Chrysanthemums, sea-
sonable notes on ...

Colonial notes-
Ferns in Queensland

Crinum Moorei andC.
Powelli x

Currant bud-mite, the

Dust

Eel worm s in Chrys-
anthemums

Florists' flowers-
Propagating Tree

Carnations

Winter - flowering
Carnation

Flowers which change
colour

Insecticide, XL-All ...

Ippmcea repanda

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Calochortus Plummenc.C. Madrensis, C. Leichtlini,
C. luteus var. Weedii, C. Purdyi, and C. elegans
var. anuena (Supplement, pp. i., ii., iii., iv.)

Podocarpus nubigena

Prumnopitys elegans {Podocarpus andina),at Pen-

tajerrick, Cornwall (Supplement).

THE BLACK-CURRANT MITE.
INTERESTING RESEARCHES.

MR. CECIL WARBURTON, Zoologist to
the Royal Agricultural Society, re-
ports in the new volume of the Society's
Jou.rp.ul the results of observations upon the
Black Currant Gall-mite, carried out during
the past year — by far the most complete
and persistent of any hitherto attempted. In
introducing them, Mr. Warburton remarks
that, although the mite has been a recog-
nised pest in England for more than thirty
years [the first notice and figure were
published in these columns in 18B9, p. 841,
by the late Professor Westwood. Ed.], and
it is generally allowed that the first con-
dition for the successful treatment of a
pest is an accurate knowledge of its life-
history, our acquaintance with the habits
of this most destructive little creature
has been very imperfect. The accounts of
the few observers who have endeavoured to
trace its life-history have differed in im-
portant points, and the method of its migra-
tion has been a mere matter of conjecture.
It has followed that suggestions of treat-
ment have been almost entirely empirical,
and that different periods of the year have
been named as those most suitable to the

application of dressings that may possibly
prove effective. This unsatisfactory state of
affairs, it is explained, was not due to a
want of diligence upon the part of investi-
gators, so much as to the difficulty of ob-
serving a mite only one-hundredth of an
inch in length, and only a sixth or an eighth
of that measurement in breadth. It is true
that the mites within a bud can be seen by
means of a good microscope ; but when it
comes to tracing their methods of migration,
and keeping wandering individuals under
observation for hours at a time, the diffi-
culties are obviously very great.

On a former occasion Mr. Warburton pub-
lished the results of some observations and
experiments upon the mite, but they were
chiefly of a negative character; and last
year he determined to undertake the task
in a thorough manner. As it was necessary
to keep infested bushes under daily observa-
tion during the whole period of research,
lest some important point should be missed,
a second observer was almost a necessity,
and the assistance of Miss Alice L. Emble-
ton, B.Sc, was therefore obtained. With
her help, the research was carried on with-
out intermission from the middle of May
throughout the summer and autumn.

From his. earlier investigations Mr. War-
burton found that there was no month in
the year, with the possible exception of
December, when the mature'mites were not
accompanied by eggs and young ones ; and
this tremendous fertility led him to the
assumption that a large proportion of them
perished annually without; having time to
do any damage. This assumption has how
been fully confirmed. Some of the mites
survive the winter in diseased buds, and as
these are the parents of all subsequent
broods, it was particularly desirable to
observe what became of them. In this con-
nection an important point comes into
prominence. The mites are constrained to
change their quarters by two causes. Buds
that are only slightly infested are able to
put out leaves, and the mites ;within them
are then turned out to face thejinclemeney
of an English spring. These are the mites
that have been noticed wandering about
Black Currant bushes early in the spring,
and in Mr. Warburton's opinion, nearly all
of them perish, because at that time no new
buds have been formed, and he, has nut
found any sheltered under the bark of a
bush, or in the soil under it. Indeed, he has
had mites on the ground under observation
until they were dead. The conclusion is,
then, that there is no need to apply dressings
for the purpose of killing these early
migrants, as they will be killed by the lack
of food or the weather.

With respect to the other cause of the
migration of mites, the case is entirely dif-
ferent. Where the infestation is sufficient
to prevent the buds from developing leaves,
the mites are provided with food and shelter
until the buds have become withered and
sapless, and before that time new buds for
the next year's leafage have been partially
developed. During February, March, and
April the mites within the abortive buds
multiply rapidly. About the middle of May
some of the buds may lie observed to be
cracked, and mites can lie seen on the out-
sides of them. For three or four weeks
after this, when the buds are gradually
drying up and becoming unfit for habitation,

a constant migration of mites is taking-
place, and it was to this movement that the
observations obviously needed to be chiefly
directed.

Some curious and interesting results re-
warded the assiduity of Mr. Warburton and
his colleague when keeping these summer
migrants under notice. Many of them were
seen crawling about as quickly as four short
legs near the head could drag a long and
inert body. By desperate exertions, a mite
can cover an inch in about ten minutes.
This, it might be supposed, would be an
ample rate of progress to enable a mite to
travel from an old and withered bud to the
nearest new and sappy one. It was found,
however, that steady progress was seldom
attempted, the crawling motion having been
interrupted by curious performances. The
mite possesses at the hinder end of its body
a muscular disc, surmounted by two rather
stiff and curved bristles. Upon such tail-
discs mites were observed at frequent inter-
vals to rear themselves, feebly waving their
legs in the air, standing up, it is stated
" like so many skittles."

At first these curious antics were puzzling,
but experiments soon led to an explanation.
It was found that mites, when in the upright
attitude, if touched with a needle-point or
a camel-hair brush, at once adhered to it,
and let go their hold upon the Currant bud
or stem. But, as Mr. Warburton remarks,
it was obvious that needles and camel-hair
brushes were not precisely the objects likely
to present themselves to the mites in the
ordinary course of Nature, and consequently
not the objects of their rearing motion.
Conjecturing that it was some insect, as a
carrier, that was sought by the blind instinct
of the mites, spiders, mites (other than the
gall-mites), and ants were induced to run
over the infested buds, while flying insects
that had been seen to alight on the buds
were caught and subjected to microscopical
examination. Here we have the most im-
portant result of the research. In almost
every case mites were found clinging to the
hairs, legs, or bodies of the insects. "We
can hardly doubt, therefore," Mr. War-
burton remarks, "that this habit of rearing
themselves upright, and waving their legs in
the air, has been acquired for the definite
purpose of obtaining the aid of passing in-
sects in the accomplishment of journeys far
beyond the reach of their own limited
powers of locomotion."

But, a reader may object, the mites would
do much better by crawling to the nearest
new bud than by taking a precarious journey
in the air. No doubt, if there are plenty of
new buds on the bush. But it is to be borne
in mind that there are few new buds on a
bush half killed, and none on one entirely
withered through the agency of the mites;
also, that an infested bush seldom grows
rapidly enough to provide food for a con-
stantly and tremendously increasing number
of mites. Hence the need of a better means
of migration than that of crawling very
slowly to the ground, along its surface, and
up the stem of another bush, possibly dis-
tant, and not improbably sufficiently occu-
pied by other mites. Here, however, we
have one of the numerous examples of the
apparent provision of Nature for the per-
petuation and extension of the race, regard-
less of the fate of the individual. As any
passing creature, Mr.. Warburton observes, is
seized indiscriminately, it is a mere accident

106

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 15, 1902.

if the mite reaches a destination of the
slightest use to it, and myriads that are
borne away must be carried far from their
food-plant, and perish of starvation. The
latter part of this statement is probably
true: but as the majority of insects that
alight on Black Currant bushes may lie sup-
posed to do so for some special purpose, and
to travel from one bush of the kind to another,
it -('ems an exaggeration to say that it is a
mere accident if a mite is carried to a desir-
able destination. Winged Currant aphides
were observed to lie particularly useful as
carriers of the mites, which were found
clinging to the antennae of many of them.

Another method of speedy locomotion on
the part of mites was observed, that of pro-
jecting themselves endways from their
standing position to a lower part of the bush
or on to the ground. This they appear to do
in desperation, after waiting vainly for a
passing insect. But in this case again, the
method of migration is precarious, as the
mites which fall to the ground soon perish
if they do not find afresh bush and crawl
up its stem. At least, the most careful
observations failed to discover anything but
more or less speedy death among mites on
the ground. Hence, Mr. Warburton con-
cludes, that there is no basis for the suppo-
sition that the ground under infested Black
Currant bushes becomes contaminated with
mites. This is comforting to growers who
desire to make new plantations on the same
ground as that occupied by old ones.

Another comforting piece of negative
evidence is to be found in the failure of Mr.
Warburton to find any mites under loose
bark, in cracks on the stem, or on the roots
of hushes. On the other hand, he observed
mites wriggling their way into young buds,
and he even found some attacking Red
Currant bushes — which, however, are never
seriously injured by mites.

Eggs were first found in young buds in
the last week of June. After that time mul-
tiplication is very rapid. Mr. Warburton
looked in vain for a second general migra-
tion, only rare cases of mites outside buds
being discovered in the autumn.

If washing be tried, from the middle of
May to the middle of June is the time to
catch migrants; but that is just when the
blossom might be injured, and, on the whole,
washing is pronounced of doubtful value.
Unfortunately, the only methods of checking
the pest which Mr. Warburton at present
can recommend are the old one of picking
off the diseased buds in winter, and the
removal of all wood bearing next year's
Imds. which, as he observes, would almost
entirely destroy the crop of that season. It
is .to hoped, however, that the last word upon
the destruction of the Black Currant-mite
has not yet been written. W. E. B.

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

CRASSULA CONJUNCTA N. E. Brown
(«. SI'.).
Tins species is nearly allied to C. perforata.
Than berg, and in the absence of flowers might
be mistaken for that species, unless critically
examined. The distinguishing points are as
follows : — The leaves are always concave
above, never flat or convex, nor recurved as
they frequently arc in C. perforata ; they are
of a rather lighter glaucous-green, and the
filiation on their margins is rather longer and

denser. The inflorescence is narrower and
much more compact, the cymes of which it is
composed having much shorter stalks, and the
flowers are larger and pure white, not dull
yellow as in ('. perforata. The plant was senl
to Kew by Professor MacOwan from South
Africa in 1890, and is now in flower in the
succulent-house at Kew.

Stems erect, often decumbent at the base,
1} lin. thick, somewhat woody in the lower
part, glabrous, brown. Leaves \ to § in. dis-
tant, fleshy, broadly connate-perfoliate, as if
threaded on the stem, \ to \ in. long and as
much in breadth, about 2 lin. thick, broadly
ovate, shortly and somewhat obtusely pointed;
very spreading but not recurved, slightly con-
cave above, convex beneath, glabrous, rigidly
ciliate with very short cartilaginous hairs, pale
glaucous-green, tinted with red along the mar-
gins. Inflorescence a terminal thyrsus 2 to
3 inches long, J inch in diameter, composed of
six to eight (or more?) pairs of small, rather
crowded, four to ten-flowered cymes. Bracts
like very reduced leaves, 1 to 2 lin. long,
| to 1J lin. broad, connate, ovate, acute, erect,
not ciliate. Peduncles of the cymes \\ to
If lin. long, glabrous. Bracteoles like the
bracts, but smaller. Pedicels -J- to J lin. long,
glabrous. Sepals \ lin. long, ovate-lanceolate,
acute, glabrous, not ciliate. Corolla 2} to
2!j lin. in diameter, pure white; petals li lin.
long, § lin. broad, oblong, lanceolate, subacute,
very shortly connate, and also adnate to the
stamens at the base, spreading, recurved at
the tips, glabrous. Stamens five, filaments
; lin. long, shortly adnate to the corolla at
their base, gradually tapering upwards, gla-
brous, white; anthers j lin. long, reddish.
Hypogynous glands minute, about ,', lin. long,
quadrate, yellowish. Carpels five, about 1 lin.
long, narrowly ovoid, tapering into a short
style, pale yellowish-green, glabrous. .V. E.
Brown.

AN.ECTOCHILI.

I have pleasure in sending you the follow-
ing note about these gems of the vegetable
kingdom — the most beautiful plants on earth,
considered collectively — Ansectoehili.

These small Orchids are found in both the
eastern and western hemispheres, but the
kinds or varieties which have the most lovely
and richest leaf-colouring come from Java.
Professor Treub told me a few years ago they
do not grow so well in the forest under natural
conditions as they do under cultivation at
Utrecht.

Generally, these "jewels" are found diffi-
cult to keep alive; for some time they con-
tinue to put out two or three leaves, but soon
become unhealthy and die off. Often and often
I have sent a couple of healthy plants to my
colleague, Mr. A. Fiet, Curator of the Botanic
Garden at Groningen. For a few months they
have been all right in the north of our damp
country, but notwithstanding careful atten-
tion, sooner or later they died.

Three years ago, again I sent him two nice
little plants, -which arrived in perfect order.
Perhaps he remembered on which side of the
house they have a place at Utrecht, that is, on
the north side. He gave his plants the same
aspect at Groningen, and since then he has
grown them just as well as 1 do.

We have, in one of our stoves, a small case
on the north side, which is the home of our
Ameetochili. Each plant is in a thumb-
pot, filled with good peat and living
sphagnum- moss, mixed with small broken
pieces of charcoal and some sand. Twice a
year, in March and October, they are re-
potted into clean pots, a work for which I use

my own hands and care. From most of them
I take off young plants, an operation which
every propagator understands, and keep the
plants growing ; when it is done they look so
happy and so grateful. I am sure that if they
could speak they would say, " You have don»
a good work ; to lie sure, we will make new-
growth and beautiful leaves." In summer-
time we give them plenty of water, but at this
time of the year less, without letting them get
quite dry. Whenever they show signs of
flowering, we at once cut the bloom-spikes out,
as soon as they can be gut at.

Let me finish by telling your readers that
everybody may have a look on these pearls
except "Monsieur le Soleil," whose beams;
are not good for these lovely creatures. J. K.
Budde, Utrecht.

COLONIAL NOTES.

FERNS IN QUEENSLAND.
We have not many species of Ferns in the
immediate neighbourhood, Alsophila australis
is the finest. I have seen them 20 feet high,
and with quite as much spread of fronds.
Farther north Angiopteris and Marratia grow
very fine. Six months ago I had spores of
twenty-six species sent me from England, and
most of them have germinated, but several of
them are British, so it is doubtful if they will
live in this heat and dry air. Mr. Druery's
articles in the Gardeners' Chronicle on Ferns,
are always very interesting to me, also the
reports of the scientific committee. The last
nine years of my life in England was spent as
gardener and general manager with the late
Sir W. Siemens at Tunbridge Wells, where I
suggested to him the application of electric
light to vegetation ; it was soon put in prac-
tice, and Dr. Masters was one of the many
visitors who came to see it. At Sir William's
death I came out here. I was for ten years
manager of the State Nursery here, but left it
two years ago. The nursery was established
for the purpose of collecting fruit-trees, &c,
from all the tropical world, and testing their
suitability for cultivation in Queensland. The
chief crop is Sugar-cane, as it is really the only
farm-crop grown, and great uneasiness prc-
vails just now among the farmers and manu-
facturers with regard to the Kanaka Bill now
before the Federal Parliament, for if it passes
in its present form, and Polynesian labourers
are done away with, then the Sugar industry
will decline, for white men will not [or cannot]
do field work in this climate. The Orange
grows very well, but there is no market for it.
The Mango is the king of fruits, but for that
also there is no market, and tons rot on the
ground. I feed my cows on Mangos, but that
does not use up the crop. I have to read a
paper on the life-history of the Fern at our
next horticultural society's meeting, and shall
draw largely on Mr. Druery's Fern lore. D.
Buchanan, Kaliguil House, Mackay, Queensland.

lI'OMCEA REPANHA, JdCq.

There are few prettier native climbinn
plants in Grenada than this Ipomeea. It is
found in the parish of St. David's, where,
among the trees and bush growth, the magenta-
coloured flowers may be readily seen by
persons passing along the main roads. The
root of 1. repanda is large, and not unlike
some forms of Sweet Potato (I. Batatas), so
extensively cultivated for food purposes.
During many weeks now we have had it
flowering on a wire support imported from Eng-
land. The flowers are Home in large numbers.
The leaves differ widely iu their shape, some
being simple, others three-lobed, others yet

February 15, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

107

again finely fingered, and between these are
noticeable diverse and Irregular cuttings.
Ipomcea repanda is undoubtedly a desirable
garden plant. That under cultivation in the
Grenada Botanic Station was presented by
Mrs. Branch on February 15, 1899, whose hus-
band, by the way, the Rev. G. W. Branch, is
a keen agriculturist, and a sympathetic
gentleman in anything that tends to further
and advance the interests of this Station and
local agriculture generally.

lagetta i.intearia, lam. (jamaica lace
Bark).

From the Botanical Gardens of Trinidad in
1898 we received a small plant of the West
Indian Lace Bark-tree ; subsequently it was
planted out on Section N in the Botanic
Station of this colony, where it has made fair
progress. There are times of the year when
the plant becomes divested of foliage, and
then it appears as a bare, twiggy object ; to-
day—December 14, 1901— it is in full flower.
Its height is 6 feet. The pure white and very
fragrant inflorescences are a little like those of
the Lily of the Valley, as seen produced upon
this Lagetta. Of a delicate green colouring are
fche leaves when the tree breaks into blossom.
We found difficulty in obtaining the species
sintil Mr. J. H. Hart was good enough to send
it from Trinidad. The lace-like inner bark is
baleen advantage of in some parts, and worked
up into many kinds of fancy articles, doilies
being among the number. If. E. Broadway,
Grenada.

New Guinea.

Mr. F. Manson Bailey, the colonial botanist
of Queensland, publishes as reprints from the
Queensland Agricultural Journal figures and
descriptions of New Guinea plants, among
which may be mentioned Selaginella Palupalu,
a native name ; Cassia Bartoni, and Nepenthes
t'holmondeleyi. Gomphocarpus brasiliensis,
an introduced plant to Queensland, is likely to
be poisonous to stock. These and various
other plants are described in the seventh and
ninth volumes of the Queensland Agricultural
Journal.

FLOWERS WHICH CHANGE
COLOUR.

Everyone has heard of the blushing Rose.
I need not therefore take up time with an
account of such a well known phenomenon.
There are other flowers of which it may be
said that they are "born to blush unseen,"
except by those who are always on the alert
ifor unconsidered trifles in the plant realm.
And truly, when we come to study this curious
tendency on the part of many of our native
plants (as well as those of foreign lands) to
■change colour, the matter is full of wonder.
What end can there be to gain, what result to
achieve ? Can the plant itself be benefited by
the action, or is there some altruistic principle
at work'.-' Wo must try and discover the
answer. The phenomenon is by no means so
rare as one might suppose. Everyone who
has noticed the Celandine of early spring will
have observed how liable its petals are to get
blanched, and assume a washed-out appear-
ance. When we come to think of it, we recall
the fact that many garden flowers not only
fade in 1he ordinary sense of the word, that is,
droop and die, but they also fade as a carpet
or ribbon will do when exposed to the sun, or
as a dress material or wall paper arc apt to do
after having been for a while in use. It may
be we have thought it was the same in both
cases — that the flower, like the dress, had
grown palo before the blanching sun. That
may sometimes he the case, hut wo want to
examine quite a different set of conditions.

Let us begin with a group of plants which
contain some of the best known English
flowers, and at the same time several of the
most striking illustrations of colour change.
I refer to that group which contains the
Forge t-me-Not, Bugloss, Borage, Comfrey, and
Hound's-tongue. If you open any botanical
work you will find a number of statements
respecting these flowers, such as the follow-
ing:— "The flowers are at first yellow, then
blue;" or, "The blossoms are red on first
opening, after which they change to bright
blue or purple." You will also find that such
names as versicolor (or that which changes
colour), and mutabilis (i.e., mutable or change-
able), are employed in connection with such
plants, showing that when they were originally
described and named by the botanical au-
thorities, this peculiarity struck them as one
of the most notable features. Thus we find
one of the Forget-me-Nots (Myosotis versi-
color) described as having flowers which are
"concave, yellow, then dull blue:" or as
another puts it, "at first pale yellow, after-
wards blue. On plants inhabiting damp
places, the flowers are at first white."
Another has flowers which are pale pink in
the bud, but very bright blue when expanded.

I was cycling the other day over the
Sussex Downs, and came across an enormous
quantity of the beautiful Viper's bugloss
(Echium vulgare). The bulk of the flowers
were of a rich blue colour, but among them it
was easy to detect some which were decidedly
red. You look up your botany, and find
it recorded that the flowers are at first
reddish, afterwards bright blue. I like
to turn to that quaint old observer of Nature,
Gerarde, and see what he has to say about
these things. He tells us that there is a kind
of Viper's bugloss " that hath rough and hairy
leaves ; the stalk also is rough, charged full
of little branches, which are laden on every
side with divers small narrow leaves, among
which leaves grow flowers, each of a sad blue
or purple colour at the first, but when they
are open they show to be of an azure colour,
long and hollow, having certain small blue
threads in the middle." And as 1 turn over
the pages of his wonderful Herbal, 1 find under
the Lungwort (Pulmonaria), or Cowslips of
Jerusalem, this very accurate note: "Cow-
slips of Jerusalem, or the true and right Lung-
wort, both stalks a span long, bearing at the
top many fine flowers, growing together in
bunches like the flowers of Cowslips, saving
that they be at the first red, or purple, and
sometimes blue, and oftentimes all these
colours at once." How little did old Gerarde
dream that in the days to come such facts as
these would prove of surpassing interest, and
throw a wonderful light on the problems re-
lating to the cross-fertilisation of plants !
Thus far, we have seen that flowers may be
white, yellow, pink, red, or purple, and
eventually change to blue. In each instance,
up to the present, blue has been the last or
highest colour. The flowers belonging to this
group of plants, under normal conditions,
never reverse the order. They do not begin
with blue and end with pink, red, yellow, or
white. Evidently, then, there is method and
order in the variations, and the changes take
place on a definite plan.

Before we enquire into the cause of this
remarkable change, let us ask if it exists else-
where in the plant world. It does, and to a
very great extent, though the change is not
always along the same line, or with the same
colours. We find, for example, that some
flowers only change colour when they are
fading away, after having fulfilled all the
duties of life, just as the blushing maiden may

change into the pallid or sallow dame. Thus,
we frequently find the White_ Hawthorn be-
coming pink, and I remember once in Cumber-
land observing with great surprise how a
hedgerow which a week before had been one
mass of snowy blossoms, was now quite of a
ruddy hue. The Hawthorn had changed colour,
and in so doing had progressed a stage from
white to pink. Similarly, as every cottager
knows, the modest little Virginia Stock, wThich
on opening is of a yellowish tint, changes to
pink, then progresses to a bright red colour,
and finally appears as a mauve or blue flower.

1 suppose few cultivated flowers show this
peculiarity more strikingly than the Hy-
drangea. Several of the species are white in
their early stages ; but the one which flourishes
best in our English borders, and grows with
amazing profusion out-of-doors in Devonshire,
starts life with pink blossoms; these change
according to a regular law, gradually ascend-
ing from one colour stage to another until the
series is complete. Those who are interested
in the subject would find it alike pleasant and
profitable to note down the changes.

Sometimes we see this law of change illus-
trated, not in a single flower, but by comparing
the closely related species. For example, we
have in England quite a number of wild
Geraniums. Some of these have very small
petals, and are fertilised by insignificant
insects, or depend upon themselves for setting
their seeds. The blossoms of these species
are white, pink, light red, flesh - coloured,
rising to blue and purple. As the flowers
become larger, and cross - fertilisation is
effected by the more advanced insects, such
as bees, the colours become more intense;
and so we proceed from rose colour to light-
purple, purple, blue-purple, till we reach the
dusky Geranium (G. phfcum), in which the
blossoms are purplish - black — one of the
deepest colours found in our flora. This
parallel in a group of closely-related flowers,
with the changes which take place in the
Forget-meNot, Lungwort, or Virginia Stock,
is sufficiently curious to arouse attention and
enquiry. The Mallows might be studied in
the same way. One of these, a foreign plant,
known as the Mutable Rose (Hibiscus muta-
bilis), resembles the Hydrangea in its colour-
changes. It begins with white, then becomes
flesh-coloured, and ends with being of a rich
red hue. Our Sweet Peas often reveal similar
changes. A Sussex Naturalist.
(To be continued. )

FLORISTS' FLOWERS.

PROPAGATING TREE CARNATIONS.
ALTHOUGH there is no definite time for taking
cuttings, the months of February and .March
form the best season for striking cuttings of
I hose plants, and cuttings struck then will
make good plants for flowering the following
winter. It is very important to get short -
jointed side Shoots- for CUttingS. These succeed
best, and also branch out and make better
plants than the long, thin growths. Success
depends mainly on attending to small details.
In the first place, care should be taken that
the stock plants are tree from insect pests,
and that previous to taking cuttings they arc
fairly moist at the roots. I like to take
the cuttings early in the morning, when they

are fresh ami stiff. They will then snap off at
a joint and require no trimming at the base,
anil those always root better than if CUf oil'. I
usually cut the lips of the leaves off, and put

twenty cuttings in a 5-inch pot, using loam.
peat, and sand in equal parts, with a little

108

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 15, 1902.

extra sand on the surface. The pots should
be prepared beforehand, so that the cuttings
can be put in as soon as taken off, or if any-
thing should happen to delay, and they get
withered, they should be put in water for a
time. They root more quickly if they are
kept quite close, with a good bottom-heat, and
a surface warmth of 10° to 15° less. The frame
should be opened every morning, but only left
for a short time, for if once the cuttings get
withered failure is sure to follow. They may
be frequently sprinkled overhead, otherwise
no water is needed. Provided the fine, thread-
like fungus (which is the cause of what is
called "damping") does not make its appear-
ance, almost every cutting will root if reason-
able care is taken, but a little neglect may
result in losing a whole batch of cuttings.
Nothing is more disastrous than letting them
get withered, or exposing them too much
before they have begun to make roots. To
ensure short, sturdy plants, they must be re-
moved from the close frame as soon as rooted,
and gradually hardened off, by which time
they will be ready for potting-off singly,
which should always be done before the pots
get too full of roots. A. Hemsley.

WiNTER-FLOWURING CARNATIONS.

Having read Mr. Slade's excellent article on
winter-flowering Carnations in the Gardeners'
Chronicle of February 1, I must beg to differ
with him concerning the varietvMrs. Leopold
de Rothschild. Mr. Slade admits that it is
a capital variety, but not a good bloomer in
the winter. Having grown about 1,000 each
year, since it was introduced, I do not hesitate
to say that it is the very best variety I have
yet seen for the above purpose. We strike
the cuttings about the first week in February,
and then as soon as they are fit, pot them off
into thumbs, HO's being, I think, too big for the
first potting; and finally shift them into a
7--size pot. But at what season the plants
are to flower depends more upon the time the
growths are stopped than anything else. The
first stopping is done just as they are getting
established into 4|-inch pots, or whatever size
they are put into. That stopping is generally
sufficient for most varieties, but Mrs. Leopold
de Rothschild being such a quick and strong-
grower requires a second stopping about the
first week in August if they are required to
flower after November. By stopping the
second time we get larger plants, and of
course, a larger quantity of bloom. Willis-
Manure is a capital stimulant, but I find soot-
water and Clay's Fertiliser also good manures
lor them. I cultivate most of the varieties
mentioned by Mr. Slade, viz., America,
Glacier, Mrs. J. T. Brookes, Mrs. Lawson,
<xc ; but the Carnation has yet to be intro-
duced that will compare with such a fine
variety as Mrs. Leopold de Rothschild. J. Jen-
nings, Ascott Gardens.

THE FOLIAGE OF ROSES.
This is a subject of some importance with
reference to garden ornamentation ; for there
are many beautiful varieties of Roses which
would be artistic in effect (especially when
their growth begins on the confines of summer,
and their tender buds appear), even though
they did not produce thereafter a single
flower. This is especially true of the Tea
Roses, which have a delicacy of aspect, a
gracefulness of manner— if I may so express it
which their stronger brothers, the so-called
Hybrid Perpetuals, do not equally possess;
though it must be admitted by the impartial
cultivator that they make ample amends for

this inferiority to their fairer sisters by
their vigorous development, their massive
foliage of a lustrous green, and the deep
radiance of their flowers. But it may ex-
pressively be affirmed of the Hybrid Teas that,
in this new race of pre-eminently beautiful
Koses, the noblest attributes of the refined
and graceful Teas, and of the stronger-grow-
ing Hybrid Perpetuals, are grandly combined.
The finest foliaged Rose in my extensive col-
lection of 180 distinct varieties is one which
I find included in very few of the leading cata-
logues, I mean Madame Joseph Combet, which
Mr. Wm. Paul includes among the Hybrid
Perjietuals ; mainly, I presume, because he
does not devote a separate department to the
Hybrid Teas. The foliage of this exceedingly
strong-growing and even aspiring Rose is
uniquely lovely, especially about the middle
of June. At thac leafy and luxurious period
it is an object of great admiration to all be-
holders, growing as it does very conspicu-
ously in the centre of my garden. Few, if
any, of its contemporaries approach it in
artistic effect ; though one of its companions,
Madame Lauretti Messimy, has also flower-
shoots of marvellous hue. The latter is the
finest of all the China Roses, whether as
regards the production of graceful leaves or
tenderly fragrant flowers.

Several of the Hybrid Perpetual Roses,
while not so richly coloured, have very fine
foliage, especially such varieties as A. K.
Williams, whose opening shoots have a unique,
characteristic, carmine shade, shining through
the green ; Madame Gabrielle Luizet, Crown
Prince (whose virginal colours in early
summer are notably fine), Clio, Spenser, and
Margaret Dickson. Of the Tea and Noisette
Roses, some of the most impressive are
Madame Pierre Cochet, which many rosarians
regard as superior to William Allen Richard-
son, and whoso foliage is quite as attractive as
its deep orange flowers ; L'Ideal, Catherine
Mermet, Comtesse de Nadaillac, Safrano,
Hon. Edith Gifford, Cleopatra, Sunrise, En-
chantress, Bouquet d'Or, and Climbing Perle
des Jardins. These, and many other kindred
varieties that cannot here be enumerated or
described, combine flowers of the noblest
beauty with foliage of the loveliest artistic
effect.

Many of the hybrid Tea Roses, whose
splendid endowments I have already indi-
cated, are equally effective, rivalling the
Noisettes in their far-shining hues. Supreme
among these are the invincible La France,
which invariably generates magnificent shoots ;
Duchess of Albany, and Caroline Testout,
which have similar characterics ; Papa Gontier,
a rose of rare beauty; and Madame Pernet
Ducher, two of the most precious of modern
introductions ; Marquis Litta, Clara Watson,
a variety whose capabilities have been some-
what under estimated ; Viscountess Folke-
stone, a supreme favourite with rosarians;
Killamey, a charming semi-climbing New-
townards Rose ; Gustave Regis, Marquis of
Salisbury, and Mrs. W. J. Grant. All of those
fragrant floral treasures of the garden are of
great decorative value, not less for their dis-
tinctive foliage than for their odorous and
luminous flowers.

When Wordsworth wrote, in- a moment of
inspiration : —

" It is my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes,"
he was expressing, consciously or otherwise,
a scientific truth. For it is an unquestionable
fact, that plants of every description breathe
vitality through their leaves, and unless these
are in a pure and health-giving condition they

do not realise the deep blessing of strong and
vigorous existence. Life to them, under such
conditions, can only be described as a living
death. If, on the other hand, the leaves are
fresh, and bright, and beautiful, unconscious
of the influence of noxious insects, and other
subtle enemies of vegetative life, they abso-
lutely seem, as Wordsworth has told us, to
enjoy their gracious activities, and rejoice in
their strength.

While, therefore, the foliage of our fairest
Roses is exquisite, it serves a higher purpose
than this ; it not only ministers to our instinct
for beauty, but generates the healthful energy,
and conserves the vital essence, so mysterious
to us, and yet so realisable, of the life of those
plants by which our natures live.

" Nature is but a name for an effect.
Whose cause is God."
Darld R. Williamson.

PEAS FOR SUCCESSION.

The note I sent some time ago for publication
in the Gardeners' Chronicle on the subject of
Peas, brought some interesting communications
which!were published; and some persons asked
why certain varieties were omitted, and others
suggested different varieties. I agree with the
remarks made by the several writers, but my
note mostly concerned those varieties which
I had found the most generally satisfactory.
I intended to point out that diverse soils, me-
thods of cultivation, and localities, account
for great differences in Peas, and that which
may succeed in one district or garden may fail
in others. I indicated varieties that succeed
in the cooler north, but failed at Syon. My
present object in writing is to reply to the note
(p. 33) from a correspondent, " C. B., Cambs.,"
and I gladly do as "C. B." suggests; and I
would also thank Mr. H. W. Ward for his kind
remarks concerning my note in the previous
volume (p. 388). I try to get Peas for the
table as early as possible, and employ glass
protection at the start ; but I am not sure that
'• C. B." can afford Peas this protection— still,
it is one well worth trying, and which
greatly aids early cropping. Briefly, it may
be stated that there is great variety in Peas,
and gardeners have their favourites. For
first crop I sow early in December in 5-inch
pots in good loamy soil, not too light,
but porous, seven to ten seeds in a pot,
thinning if necessary when the seedlings are J
large enough to handle, to about half the
number, for nothing is gained by crowding
the plants.

It may be asked why sow early in December V
Because only cold frame treatment is adopted,
and when the plants are well above the soil,
air is admitted freely in suitable weather,
and the plants are never coddled. I admit
that Peas sown, say, six weeks later will, if
sown in heat, be as large; but such Peas are
less satisfactory than those grown in a cold
frame from the start, the latter, if planted
properly, not suffering. It is a waste of time
to grow the plants for some time and then
lose them. The east and north-east winds in
March are trying for plants raised in heat,
and if you do not plant out in March, pods
cannot be gathered in May. My methods are
very simple. The rows usually occupy a
south border, which has a wall at the back or
north side, and the soil is well enriched ; the
drills are made rather deep, and protection is
given by sticking in branches of Yew or
common Spruce, and the soil is made firm
about the roots. The produce of these rows
will be ready in the last week in May or first

February 15, 190?.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

109

week in June, according: to the sort of
weather that has prevailed. I need scarcely
add that 1 am not wedded to the pot culti-
vation of Peis, and other means may be
adopted in raising the plants, viz., sowing on
strips of turf, iu boxes or drain tiles ; the
5-inch pot is handy, but the roots are much
cramped in it. I have sown Peas in larger
pots, and to the number of eight to ten
seeds in a pot, and have been obliged to
cover the plants when in bloom on frosty
nights.

I now come to the important point, viz., the
varieties to sow, and there is a fine choice. In
pots I sow three varieties, Chelsea Gem,
Gradus, and Daisy. The first-named is the
earliest ; the others give larger pods ; and
though these are 3-feet Peas, if staked in pots
they rarely exceed 2 feet, and if they show
any inclination to run higher, the bine is
stopped at 2 feet. My earliest Peas in the
open are Bountiful, Early Giant, and May
Queen. I place Bountiful first on account of
its hardiness, as it may be sown earlier than
the others, and it has grand cropping qualities.
The seed is sown as early in February as the
ground can be worked ; indeed, in the light
soil at Sion I have sown in January, and the
crop has been ready from June 10 to 20. This
sowing succeeds the pot plants, and is also
grown on a sheltered border; and as regards
gathering, the seasons vary, so that I have
given a good margin, though we have had pods
earlier than the dates given. The next sowing
is made in a less warm situation, and the same
varieties are sown about the middle of the
present mouth, the crop turning-in a little
later than the last-named. For this sowing,
the grower will find such varieties as Strata-
gem, Acme, Excelsior, and Thomas Laxton —
all splendid croppers — the best to sow. Acme
is a new Pea, similar to, but larger than
Chelsea Gem. From the middle of February
sowings are made at tri-weekly intervals, and
in the open quarter ; and for March sowings I
prefer Duke of Albany, a fine variety, whose
failing is that it turns in quickly, am\ nearly
all at once. Others well worth "C. B.'s "
notice arc .Main Crop (Veitch), Telephone,
Alderman, Criterion (Veitch), and Eureka.
Any of these varieties, sown in April and
May, will be reliable, and give the July and
August supply.

Now comes the more critical season for
Peas, viz., September and October. Indeed,
on thin or gravelly soils the plants at times
fail in August, and where this is the case I
would advise sowing in trenches, using a
liberal amount of decayed manure, and sowing
thinly. Indeed, this latter advice is applicable
to all sowings from the middle of March, as
many failures occur when the seedlings crowd
each other.

For late April and May sowings, any of the
Ne Plus Ultra type'may be sown. One of our
best early autumn Peas is undoubtedly Veitch's
Autocrat of No Plus Ultra type, which if sown
in May and early Juno affords a grand crop if
the soil is made good. Goldfinder is another
splendid variety ; and one your correspon-
dent named Chelsonian, a very fine Pea of the
Ne Plus Ultra type, as are Windsor Castle,
Prodigy, Carter's Michaelmas, Sutton's Late
Queen, and Latest-of-All, as autumn Peas.
When these varieties fail, I have sown the
first early Peas for October crops, but they
need much attention in the matter of moisture
at the roots, and it is well to sow them in a
cool border in rich soil, and take means to
keep down thrips and avert mildew attacks.
Many of the tall varieties I have noticed
above, 1 have found not to suffer from mildew
late in the year. G. Wythes.

CROSSING AMONG CABBAGES.

We extract from the columns of the Strut dard
the following account of some experiments
made under the direction of Mr. Arthur Sutton,
which abundantly confirm the opinions gene-
rally held as to the facility of intercrossing
among the members of the genus Brassiea, and
the imperative necessity of growing particular
stocks apart from their near allies : —

" About two years ago Mr. Sutton was surprised to
see in a public print statements by an agricultural
authority who had had some experience in seed-
growing, to the effect that all the trouble he had taken
to isolate various cruciferous seed crops in the past
was probably unnecessary, because it now appeared
that rkey would not cross-fertilise naturally. Appa-
rently, he based this conclusion upon the statements
of some experimenters in artificial crossing, to which
he was referring. Mr. Sutton knew that cruciferous
plants would be particularly liable to cross, and to
spoil each other, if the care thus pronounced unneces-
sary ceased to be taken, and therefore he determined
to carry out a demonstration, not to satisfy himself,
but to prove to doubters that plants of the Cabbage
tribe would cross naturally with the utmost freedom
when grown for seed side by side. Accordingly, at the
beginning of 1900, he planted in a seed-bed one plant
each of dwarf green curled Kale, Brussels Sprouts,
Broccoli, red variegated Kale, purple curled Kale,
thousand-head Kale, Couve Tronchuda (or Portugal
Cabbage), Giant Drumhead Cabbage, Sutton's Favourite
Cabbage, dwarf Blood-red Cabbage, and Drumhead
Savoy. The Broccoli, Drumhead Cabbage, Blood-red
Cabbage, and Savoy plants were either killed by the
winter or so much damaged that they did not mature
any seed, although the Red Cabbage, at least, appears
to have grown to the flowering stage. The seed of eacli
of the other plants was saved separately, and carefully
sown in the spring of 1901.

From the plants thus raised two transplantings were
made, each of about forty plants. In one transplanting
the plants were taken without any selection ; while in
the other as many diverse forms as could be picked out
from the appearance of the leaves were chosen. The
results, now that the plants are mature, are so remark-
able that they could hardly be imagined by anyone who
has not seen them. It is no exaggeration to say that
the crossing among these several varieties of cruci
ferous plants, by natural agency, has been as profuse
and intricate as it could have been rendered by the
most ingenious human manipulation. The results of
the interesting experiments are still to be seen in
Messrs. Sutton's trial - grounds within a mile of
Reading.

On one side of a path a specimen of each of the types
of seed-bearing parent-plants is growing, and opposite to
it there are four rows of plants produced from the seed
of the similar plant subjected to the trial. As has been
intimated, the demonstration is duplicated, one set of
plots containing plants taken at random, and the other
plants selected for variety in appearance when they
were small seedlings. There is very little difference
between the two sets of plots in degree of variation
from the parent stocks, now that the plants are mature.
The plants which appear to have exhibited the greatest
potency in the infection of other varieties are Brussels
Sprouts and red variegated and green Kale, possibly in
part because they, or the first at least, were flowering
and producing pollen for a longer time than the other
plants. In the case of Brussels Sprouts, it is reason-
able to suppose that the numerous tlower-heads which
they throwT up would mature by instalments, just as
the top and the stem sprouts do when they are grown
for cooking. In less degree this might have been
expected, also, in the case of Thousand-head Kale ; but
the inoculative potency of this variety has proved in
the trial smaller than that of some other kinds,
though greater than that of the Close - hearted
Cabbage.

Among about forty plants grown from the seed of a
dwarf green and curled Kale, taken at random, there
is not one true to type. There arc two purple Kales,
several of a coarse type of Kale, not properly curled
and partly of Brussels Sprouts character, and one
semi-Cabbage. In the companion plot of selected
plants from the same seed, there is one Kale nearly
true to type, and seven are dwarf purple Kales, while
one is like a Thousand-head, the rest being coarse
green Kales.

In neither of the Brussels Sprouts plots is there a
single plant with " buttons " on its stem, as there would
be in one of true type. Instead, there are the most
curious specimens of loose Sprouts— some quite purple,
some variegated red, and some with Kale leaves ; while
one has a top and stem Sprouts showing the peculiar
light Igreen and white -veined foliage of the Couve
Tronchuda. It is not impossible that this Sprouts-Couve
cross, alone among all the " sports,'' may prove worth
perpetuation as a fresh culinary acquisition. The
variegated Sprouts present a pretty appearance, but
arc of no value for cooking.

The red variegated Kale plants Jin both their plots
show more signs of Cabbage inoculation than any

others. In each plot there are four plants of distinct
Cabbage character, half of them being red and half
variegated. Other plants are bastard types of the Kale,
some red variegated and some green, while five in the
unselected plot are sufficiently true to type to pass.
Several of the plants are of Brussels Sprouts character.
with Kale leaves.

Among the progeny of the dwarf purple Kale there-
are several plants of curious foliage, almost like the
leaves of Parsnips in shape, and apparently, the
result of the crossing of thousand-head aud purple
Kale. Other Kales have very large leaves, while some
have curiously - twisted foliage, unlike that of any-
cultivated plant. There are five dwarf purple Kales
in one plot and ten in the other, but only two areas
densely curled as the seed-bearing parent stock, and
nearly all are much deteriorated in colour.

There is not a single plant of true type in the unse-
lected plot of thousand-head Kale. Several are obvious,
crosses between that stock and Brussels Sprouts, a few
of which show markings of the red variegated Kale,
while others are semi-Couve Tronchudas. In the
selected plot there are five plants of nearly true type,
four more like Couve Tronchuda, and one a thousand-
head Couve, others being nondescript purple or green
Kales of degenerate forms.

Four distinct Cabbages are to be found in the twiv
Couve Tronchuda plots ; other plants are apparently
crosses between Couve and thousand-head Kale, or
Couve and Brussels Sprouts; and there are several
like Drumhead Kales, but heartless, as the Couve is.
In the selected plot are to be seen four plants similai,-
to the seed-bearing parent, but not true to type, while
there are none as nearly true in the other plot.

Perhaps of all the seven plants which produced seed,
the Cabbage has been least spoilt by exposure to-
chance crossing. There are six true to type in the two
plots, with three semi-red Cabbages, but still the great
majority of the plants are of mixed character. Then-
is one distinct Cabbage-Couve cross, and another plant
appears to be a combination of Cabbage and thousand-
head Kale, besides which are to be found two Cabbage-
headed Brussels Sprouts, and several Kales of coarse
type, probably Cabbage - Kales. Perhaps the most
curious plant 'in either of the Cabbage plots in one oJ
combined Couve Tronchuda and Brussels Sprouts
character, the Sprouts on the stem being stained by
the red variegated Kale.

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

— • —

Insect Life : Souvenirs of a Naturalist, J. H.
Fabre, Docteur des Sciences. "That
inimitable observer," Charles Darwin.
Translated from the French by the author
of Mademoiselle Mori. With a preface by
David Sharp, M.A., F.R.S., and edited by
F. Merriiield; with illustrations by M.
Prondergast Parker. (London : Macmillan
& Co., Ltd.; New York: The Macmillan
Company.)
A number of hands seem to have worked in
the formation of this book, but a second read-
ing of the somewhat lengthy title-page renders
clearer the amount of credit due to each. First,
much sympathy is elicited for the patient
naturalist who, with a minuteness suggestive
of that of Alphonse Karr, entered into the
study of insect life. We are introduced to the
Searabeus, and his near relation Gymnopleuris
pilularius, a scavenger beetle, whose behaviour
is watched and experimented upon with re-
sults much to the credit of the creature's
nerve-power and physical capacity for work.
Then we pass on to the Cerceris, a burrowing
hymenopteron ; the yellow-winged Sphex, and
many another Creature, and we almost seem to
share our author's eagerness in studying these,
not as mere " specimens," but as wonderful
beings instinct with lite, and with a mission
in the world. Here is an extract relating to
the Ammophila: —

•'That a wasp should return to the nest and
a bee to the hive does not surprise me : these
are permanent abodes, and the ways back are
known by long practice ; but the Ammophila,
who has to return after a long absence, has no
aid from acquaintance with the locality. Ber
shaft is in a place which She visited yesterday,
perhaps for the first time, and must find again
to-day when quite beyond her bearings, and
moreover when she is encumbered by heavy

110

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 15, 1902.

prey. Yet this exploit of topographical
memory is accomplished, and sometimes with
-a precision which lefi me amazed. The insect
made straight for the borrow as if long used
to every path in the neighbourhood; but at
other times there would be long visitation and
repeated researches. If the difficulty became
serious, the prey, which is an embarrassing
load in a hurried exploration, is laid in some
obvious place on a tuft of Thyme or grass
where it can be easily seen when wanted.
Freed from this burden, the Ammophila re-
sumes an active search. As she hunted about
1 have traced with a pencil the track made by
her. The result was a labyrinth of lines . . .
a maze, showing how perplexed and astray
was the insect. The shaft found, and the
stone (that sealed it) lifted, she must return
to the prey, not without some uncertainty
when comings and goings have been too many.
Although it was left in a place obvious enough,
the Ammophila often seems at a loss when the
4iine comes to drag it home; at least, if there
be a very long search for the burrow, one sees
her .suddenly stop and go back to the cater-
pillar, feel it and give it a little bite, as if to
make sure that it is her very own game and
property, hurrying back to seek for the bur-
row, but returning a second time if needful,
•or even a third, to visit her prey. 1 incline
to think that these repeated visits are made
to refresh her memory as to where she left it."

This extract shows the style of the trans-
lator, as well as that of M. Fabre.

As regards this accomplished Frenchman,
we hear that it was from poverty that he rose
to his position as naturalist and writer, origi-
nality and freshness being peculiar to his work.
""His philosophical position," .says Mr. Sharp
in the preface, " may be briefly stated to be a
•determined refusal to recognise evolution as a
■definite idea. In this -we may think him
wrong; but it must be admitted that his
views form a valuable antithesis to those of
the many evolutionists who take the position
that all that remains for the naturalist to do
is to repeat the words Natural Selection and
Variation, and declare that thereby we under-
stand the Cosmos."

M. Fabre's dissent from Darwinism seems
nevertheless founded, as with other oppo-
nents, on an imperfect understanding of cer-
tain branches of the theory.

In concluding this notice of a learned book,
•charmingly written, we must praise the illus-
trations for being so life-like. To sketch
insects at work so as to get a good portrait
-and get some idea of environment, is always
•difficult.

British Vegetable Galls.— An introduction
to their study, by Edward T. Connold.
(Hutchinson & Co.) Large 8vo, pp. 312 ;
tabb. 130.
The author of this handsome volume has
broached a fascinating subject, and has
accumulated a vast mass of information which
will be most helpful to the student. The
photographic reproductions are numerous and
excellent. There are numerous appendices,
and a good index. In succeeding chapters the
author deals with the nature and appearances
of galls, their collection, and method of pre-
servation. As to classification, the author
groups these productions under four headings,
according as the insects or nematodes affect
the roots, stems, leaves, or flowers. The
creatures which are instrumental in producing
these excrescences are fungi, nematode worms
<eel-worms), some beetles, flies, aphides, moths,
and wasps.

In view of the great interest of the subject,
it would seem as if the life-history of the

creatures, especially of the gall-flies, was
scarcely treated with sufficient fulness; but
as we are promised a companion volume on the
galls of the Oak, the wonderful history of the
gall-flies may litly be included in that volume.
\n the present volume most of the more con-
spicuous galls, except those of the Oak, are
described, the name of the insect given, the
manner and time of growth of the gall, and
the time when the perfect insect emerges.
We think it is unfortunate that the author has
not consulted the volumes of the Gardeners'
Chronicle, for he would have found several
original descriptions and figures by Curl is,
Westwood, and others, long antecedent in
some cases to those he has quoted. Mr.
Connold has done good service by collecting
within the covers of one volume details
scattered over many books and periodicals,
and must assuredly excite interest in a subject
of the highest interest.

The Week's Work.

THE 1IAEDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Maine, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle,
Bicton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

The Apricot. — Pruning and training, as in
the case of the Peach, are usually undertaken
in the present month, and as this season
in Devonshire gardens the trees will soon
be in flower, the necessary work should
not be longer delayed. Providing the right
kind of treatment was adopted last summer,
pruning will scarcely be necessary. Avoid as
much as possible the removal of large branches,
unless these are dead, as no other stone fruit
suffers so much from the use of the saw.
Apricot trees are less liable to insect pests
than other stone fruit out of doors, which is
partly accounted for by the treatment afforded
the trees during the summer; be this as it
may, the trees at this place have had no in-
secticide or dressing applied for eleven years,
nor has the crop of fruit ever failed. Whilst
encouraging the formation of fruit spurs, as it
is from these that most of the fruit is obtained,
it should be the gardener's aim to keep these
as short as practicable, in order that they may
receive the benefit of sunheat ; do not crowd
the spurs or shoots over-much. Well ripened
last year's shoots should be laid in entire if
not more than 18 inches long, and if it is
necessary to shorten them let it be done just
in front of a prominent wood-bud. The fruit
on these shouts is much finer than on the spurs.
In training, as with the Peach, endeavour to
regulate the branches so as to equalise the
flow of sap on either side of the tree. Good
friable loam, with a fair amount of old plaster
or lime rubbish incorporated in it if the soil
is heavy, light loam receiving less. It is now
late for transplanting, but I have carried out
the operation when the flowers were on the
eve of expanding, as also with the Peach, with
excellent results, but I do not advocate late
performance of such work.

Strawberries. — If new plantations are to be
made in the spring, the land should be heavily
manured and deeply dug, burying the manure
between the first and second spits. Early in
March, in suitable weather, set out the plants
12 inches apart, in rows at 2 feet asunder,
making the soil about each plant firm, and
mulching between them with strawy manure.
A full crop cannot be expected till next year,
when every other plant alter fruiting should
be removed. During the ensuing summer a
row of Onions or Lettuces may be grown in
alternate rows with the Strawberry plants.
The period August and September is the most
suitable for making new beds, as then, with
strong plants, a fair crop may be reckoned
upon the following summer. After giving both
methods a trial, I prefer utilising the forced
plants, setting out these in May and June
2 feet apart each way, getting a full crop the
next season, and after the third crop has been
taken, the plants are destroyed, and an equal
number put out on a new piece of ground to
take their place.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch, Dalkeith.

Vineries. — The Muscat and Gros Colman
Vines should be got ready for starting, afford-
ing tepid water mixed with manure- water
from the cow-house or other source, and then
proceed to top-dress the border.. If the roots
are near the surface in large numbers, the
merest scraping with a blunt instrument will
suffice ; and having removed thus much of the
soil, sprinkle bone-meal and Vine-manure over
it, and apply finely-chopped turfy-loam 2 inches
thick, and on the top of all a mulch of short
stable-dung. The cleansing of the house in
the usual manner should follow. The night
temperature should lie 50° when the buds
begin to swell, increasing it to 55° in mild
weather. Strong tire-heat should be avoided,
and lower temperatures rule in very cold
weather. These Vines need a 10' higher mean
temperature than others. Muscats when in
flower to set them successfully need a mean
of 73°.

Late Vineries. — Where Grapes are still hang-
ing on the Vines these should now be cut with
long pieces of the shoots and kept in bottles
of water in the Grape-room. Take care that
the bunches hang clear of the bottles and the
rack, and that there is a bit of charcoal in
each bottle. The Vines being cleared of Grapes
may be pruned forthwith. Let all cuts be
dressed with styptic, and proceed as with the
earlier Vines, removing all loose bark, but not
scraping the rods too much, washing them
with soap and water, and if necessary, on ac-
count of thrills or bugs, painting them with a
strong insecticide. Thoroughly cleanse wood-
work, look to walls and pipes, and afford
water to and top-dress inside borders. If the
roots of late vines are not in good condition
let the inside border be looked to at once,
removing the soil, but carefully preserving the
roots, covering them with damp mats. Ascer-
tain the state of the drainage, making it good
where faulty, and return the old soil to the
extent of J, mixing with it J-inch bones and
bone-meal ; the top of the border for 1 foot
in depth should consist of turfy loam evenly
chopped, and mixed with lime-rubbish, bone-
meal, and Thomson's or other vine-manure,
the whole being well compacted after spread-
ing out the roots evenly — a mulch of horse-
droppings may be placed over all. Outside
and inside borders should not be disturbed the
same year. Follow the same method with out-
side borders, choosing dry weather for the job,
or it may not be successful.

Fig-liouse. — The Fig-trees in this house are
exhibiting fruit and leaves, and the night
temperature may be increased to 60°, with a
rise of 10° by day, with a moist, growing
atmosphere, syringing twice daily. If thrips
are visible on the foliage, spray with XL-All
insecticide. The roots of the Fig should be
confined to a certain limited space; and if the
soil is poor, afford frequent top-dressings of a 1
quick-acting, artificial manure, washing inl
the same with tepid water, so as to encourage I
surface rooting, fine fruit, and foliage.]
Another Fig-house may be started, with a]
temperature of 50° at night and <>0" by day,
syringing the trees and damping down as the
weather may render necessary.

Succession Peach-house. — If the trees are in
flower or nearly so, little fire-heat will be
needed in mild weather, and 55° in the day-
time being enough with air admitted at the top
of the house night and day. If the weather is
dull and rainy, use fire-heat so as to increase the
warmth 5°, or with sun-heat 15°. Use a camel's!
hair pencil to distribute the pollen from trees
on which it is plentiful to others upon which
it is scarce. Damp down the paths, &cJ
occasionally. The pruning and cleansing of i
the trees of scale, thrips, or red-spider in
the later houses should be finished before
the buds become prominent, and the trees
dressed with XL-All; also the woodwork and
walls cleansed with a strong soft-soap and
petroleum wash.

February 15, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

Ill

THE PLOWEE GARDEN.

By R. Davidson. Gardener to Earl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

"• 'La inns. — Lawn-tennis courts, croquet and
bowling-greens should have all eoarse weeds
extirpated, and a dressing of bone-meal applied
at the rate of 3 ewt. per acre, and over this
some finely-sifted rich loamy soil half-inch in
depth. Should the grasses on some portions
be thin, sow early in March fine lawn mixtures
at the rate of 1 bushel per acre, raking the
seed into the turf and covering it with some
sifted loam, rolling it frequently. A bowling-
green should be frequently top-dressed thinly
with fine river-sand, and be swept thoroughly
in order to maintain an even surface, roiling
being an almost daily necessity. The ordinary
lawn should be freed from weeds and coarse
grasses, very bad places being returfed. Where
there are subsidences, strip off the turf, fill in
with loam, make level, and replace the turf,
beating and rolling it when it is not in a
frozen state. Turf under trees that is weak
may be top-dressed with rich soil ; and in
March grass-seeds of strong-growing kinds
may be sown. A net will probably be needed
to protect such patches from birds, and treated
in the manner described above. If labour and
expense are of no consequence, relay with new
turf. Lawns which contain much moss should
be well scratched with a close toothed-iron rake
or a patent moss-grubber, the moss collected
and wheeled away, and a top-dressing of super-
phosphate of lime one-half, kainit one-quarter,
nitrate of soda one-quarter, applied to the
amount of 3 cwt. per acre, and over this strew
loam to the depth of half an inch. Sow seeds
if necessary. Grass slopes and banks with a
S. and S.W. aspect which have suffered from
last year's drought may either be sown or
turfed ; if the latter, the spaces between the
turf must be filled with fine soil, and the turf-
beater vigorously used. Grass verges may be
relaid, but the cutting of the edges should be
deferred till April.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Tdrton, Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Peas.— As soon as the state of the ground
will admit of being trodden upon, sow second
early varieties in quantity according to the
demand, including that excellent early but
somewhat delicate variety Exonian. Of second
early marrowfat Peas, it will be difficult to
excel Duke of Albany, Criterion, and Webb's
Senator, the last-named being apparently but
little known. It must be quite ten years since
I first grew this variety, and yet I have looked
in vain in other catalogues than Messrs.
■Webb & Son's for the variety ; but con-
sidering its good cropping properties, it is a
wonder that the price of the seed should keep
at so high a figure. The drills for Peas grow-
ing to a height of 5 feet should be at the least
<i feet apart. Let them be taken out with the
spade, and when the seeds are covered at this
date, the drills should not be quite filled, and
they should be kept deeper as the season ad-
vances, so as to facilitate the application of
water at the root, and generally to avert the
necessity for it. I still adhere to the practice
of sowing over the Celery-trenches, which
were dug out at 5 feet apart, and to sowing
the dwarf varieties alternately with the taller
ones. If mice attack these early sowings, set
traps forthwith, or much damage may bo done.
One or two good cats kept in a kitchen garden
save the gardener much worry and loss of seed
by these pests.

Spring Cabbage.— Set out plants from the
sowings made in August. In these gardens,
land that was occupied by Beetroots and other
root crops was bastard-trenched and well
manured early in the winter, and the more
forward plants sot out, and others as they
Become lit will be planted. These plots adjoin
those planted at the end of the month of Sep-
tember, and will form a succession to them,
and the crop will be cleared off in time for
planting Brussels Sprouts, which arc grown in

quantity here. The ground will receive no
farther preparation lor these last beyond
cleaning and drawing deep drills with the hoe
in which to plant. The Cabbages now planted
may stand "21 ins. apart from row to row, and
1") ins. in the rows. In districts where the
Turnip-flea is troublesome, Cabbages planted
now from the late autumn sowings are more
satisfactory than those from spring sowings ;
hence a separate border or piece of ground
should be planted, where they can stand for
supplying heads during the summer, and a
crop of greens from the stumps during the
autumn and early winter mouths.

Shallots and Garlic. — As soon as the ground
is in a fit state, plant these bulbs without
delay in well-prepared ground and open posi-
tion. Give the ground a light dressing over
of soot, and unless the soil is very light, a
heavy dressing of charred garden refuse as
well. Plant in beds 4 feet 0 inches wide good-
sized cloves, at 9 inches apart, pressing them
sufficiently deep to prevent disturbance by
worms or when roots form.

General work. — Lift Salsafy, Parsnips, and
Carrots which have been left in the ground.
The Salsafy and Parsnips must be replanted
close together on a border facing the north, so
as to keep them in good condition as long as
they are likely to be in request. The Carrots
may be banked up against a wall in sand or
light soil, preferably in an open shed facing
north, or in the coolest place available, and
stored in this manner they will keep till late
in the spring.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

Repotting and Potting. — In potting imported
plants they should be made shapely by remov-
ing some of the back pseudo-bulbs, and the
size of the pot or pan should correspond not
so much with the number of pseudo-bulbs, as
with the number of the leads. When potted
make the plant secure by fastening the pseudo-
bulbs to sticks, which, if the crocks are placed
upright in the pot, can be made quite steady.
The potting being finished, very little water
should be applied till new roots have seized
upon the compost, and the air should be kept
moist, and damping down frequently done
between the pots.

Brassavola nodosa grandiflora. — This plant is
developing its flowers, and will require a fair
amount of water at the root. The Cattleya-
house is generally suitable for Brassavolas,
and they should be so arranged that they may
receive more sun than most Cattleyas will
endure.

Brassavola Digbyana. — This plant is showing
signs of growth, and any plant that requires
repotting or top-dressing should be taken in
hand. A suitable kind of compost consists of
turfy peat two-thirds ; chopped-up sphagnum-
moss one-third, mixing these ingredients to-
gether. The drainage should be ample. At
Gatton the Brassavolas grow best if suspended
near the glass. While the plant is growing it
will take a fair quantity of water, but the com-
post should be decidedly dry before water is
afforded. On sunny days an occasional syring-
ing is of benefit to the plant.

Zygopetalums. — The species Mackayi, cri-
nitum, and intermedium, having passed out of
flower may need repotting, and the potting
mixture may consist of turfy-loam two-thirds,
leaf-mould one-third, and crocks broken small
should be added if the loam is heavy. Pot the
plants firmly, and keep the base of the plant
just, below the rim. The drainage should be
ample, so as to allow of the rapid passage el'
the large quantity of water which has to be
applied when the plants arc growing. All of
the old leafless pseudo-bulbs should be re-
moved, with the exception of those on plants
which have got into a bail stale of health, and
perhaps have only leaves on the last pseudo-
bulb, upon which it is prudent to Leave two
more pseudo-bulbs. Zygopetalums are pro-

perly inmates of the intermediate-house, and!
stand in need of a fair amount of light and
sunshine. After being repotted, no more
water is required than will just keep the
materials slightly moist, but when there is.
more sunshine water may be freely applied.
The black spot frequently seen on these plants
arises, I believe, from affording the plants toe.
much shade, and too close an atmosphere. It
may be stated that no disturbance of the
plants should take place unless it is actually
required, although it. is good practice to divide
a few very large plants annually. The Zygo-
petalums, of which Z. Mackayi is a type, are
very desirable for winter display, and the
flowers make good material for cutting.

Epiphronitis Veitchix. — A pretty hybrid,
between Sophronitis grandiflora and E. radi-
cans is now in flower here. The plant requires,
to be placed at the cooler part of the Cattleya-
house, and during bright weather it should be
kept well syringed. This variety, like E.
radicans, is seldom out of flower, so it is.
advisable if the plants are not growing freely
to remove the flower-spikes sometimes. Potting
may be performed at almost any season when
a plant requires it, in a compost of sphagnum-
moss two-thirds, and peat-fibre one-third.
They can be propagated in the same way as.
E. radicans.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mundt, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Gloxinias and Achimenes. — The tubers should
now be shaken out of the soil, and the first-
named repotted at once, no water being
applied until growth begins ; and the second*
covered with sand and allowed to make
2 inches of stem-growth before being potted
or put into baskets. Gloxinias do best in
stove-heat from the start, but Achimenes will
succeed in a vinery or other fruit-forcing
house in the early stages of forcing.

Hydrangea. — The stems of H. paniculata
should be cut down to the base, and only a
limited number of shoots allowed to form, the
fewer the shoots the finer being the flower-
heads. H. Hortensia should, on the other
hand, be only deprived of its weakest shoots,
which should be cut back to the basal buds ;
last year's strong but fiowerless shoots being
retained for this year's flowering.

Zonal Pelargoniums. — Although for use in a
cut state the zonal Pelargoniums are not very
suitable, they are of value for winter flower-
ing, and their brilliance of colour is hardly
matched by that of any other plant. In order
to obtain plants for winter flowering an early
start is necessary, and cuttings should now be
inserted singly in 3-inch pots, and placed on a
sunny shelf near the glass in an intermediate-
house. The cuttings should consist of shoots
taken from plants that have been occupying a
similar position, and not from attenuated
specimens from the conservatory, the shoots,
of which have become soft and drawn. When
choosing varieties, let them be those that
have the character of flowering well in the
winter, summer flowercrs being not as a rule
good at that season.

Pot Boses.— Where but a limited number of
pot Roses can be forced, the season of forcing-
must be governed by one's special needs.
H. P.'s take from eight to ten weeks to come
to perfection when not hard forced ; Teas a
little less, and on these lines calculations
should be based, bearing in mind that the
harder the forcing the poorer the flowers.
H. P.'s may be fairly hard-pruned, Teas rather
less so, but in each case all growth too weak
for flowering should be removed. A gentle
hot-bed made of tree-leaves and stable-dung
is very useful, affording a moist heat, and the
slight amount of top warmth needed at the first,

which should not exceed 50 as a m.ixi m.

The chief enemy of pot Roses is mildew, and

the most rational method of fighting which ifs

to observe great careinnol giving an excess

of ventilation, indeed during the earlier stages,
it is wise not to ventilate much, il at all.

112

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 15, 1902.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER

Special Notice to Correspondents. — The Editor does not

undertake to pay Jor any contributions, or to return the

unused communications or illustrations, unless by special

arrangement.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. lSi'R(?yal Botanic Society's Meet-

f Linnean Socicly's Meeting
I West of England Chrysai

,iiiysantlie-
IHUKbDAY, 1EB, 20- lnum Society's Annual Gene-
(. ral Meeting at Plymouth .

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, Feb. 17 —

Hardy Border Plants, &c, by Protheroe & Morris,
at 12.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1ft.—

Consignment of Japanese Lilies, Plants, Ac, by Pro-
theroe & Morris, at 12 and 5.

THURSDAY, Feb. 20.—

Rose-Trees, Azaleas, Begonias, Irish Ivies, Liliums,
Ferns &c, at Pollexl'en ifcCo.'s Rooms, at 12.30.

FRIDAY, Feb. 21.—

Plants, Bulbs, &c, at 12, and Orchids, at 12.30, by
Protheroe &■ Morris.

{For further particulars see Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
-393'.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— February 12 (6 p.m.) : Max. 30"; Min. 21'.
February 13.— Fine ; cold. Wind N.N E.
Provinces.— February 12 (6 P.M.) : Max. 41", Scilly
Min. 24°, Cambridge.

The annual meeting on Tuesday

„ ?oy,a:1 , last passed off satisfactorily.
Horticultural „,, ,. » ,, ,

Society. The proceedings followed very

closely the forecast we were
able to make last week. Sir Tkevor
Lawrence's speech is reported in full in
another column.

The question of a site for a new exhibition-
hall, with offices for the Society and other
horticultural bodies, was alluded to, but
was not gone into in detail, as the nego-
tiations are not in a sufficiently forward
state to be made public. It is hoped
that, provided no legal or other difficulties
arise at the last moment, the arrangements
proposed will be as satisfactory as circum-
stances will permit. In the meantime,
there is really no reason why more might
not be done in the present Hall at little cost
and trouble for the comfort of the lecturer
and audience than is at present the case.

Linnean Society.— On the occasion of the
evening meeting to be held on Thursday,
February 20, 1902, at 8 P.M., the following
papers will be read: — 1. (A.) " On some Gaste-
ropoda (Limnotrochus and Chitra)," from Lake
Tanganyika, with the description of a new
genus, (b.) " On the Nyassa vivipara, and its
Relationship to Neothauma," by Miss L. Digby.
2. "On the Fruit of Melocanna bambusoides,
an Exalbuminous Grass," by Dr. A. Stapf,
F.L.S. 3. "On a West Indian Sea Anemone,
Bunodeopsis globulifera," by Dr. J. E,
Doerden.

National Rose Society.— At the meeting
held on the 11th inst., the retirement of the
Rev. H. H. D'Ombrain from ill-health was
announced. Mr. D'Ombrain was the founder
of the Society, and his retirement will be
felt as a severe personal loss by the members
■of the Society.

National Dahlia Society.— The annual
general meeting of the Society will be held,
by permission of the Horticultural Club,

in their Rooms, at the Hotel Windsor, Vic-
toria Street, Westminster, S.W., on Tuesday,
February 25, at 3 P.M. Agenda : — Report and
balance-sheet for 1901 ; election of officers ;
other business. J. F. Hudson, Hon. Sec.
The committee will meet at 2.30 p.m. on the
same date to prepare the Report for submis-
sion to the annual meeting, and to transact
other business.

Horticultural Club. — At the annual
meeting of this useful Institution, which may
be described as the social centre of almost all
the metropolitan horticultural societies, the
resignation from ill-health of the secretary
and founder, the Rev. H. H. D'Ombrain, was
received with great regret. It was agreed
that in future the subscription be reduced
from £2 to £1 Is. Mr. E. T. Cook was unani-
mously appointed secretary, as from next
July. Mr. H. J. Veitch was appointed
treasurer, and kindly consented to carry on
the duties of secretary until Mr. Cook took up
his appointment. The President, Sir John
Llewelyn, Bart., was chairman at the annual
dinner.

" Botanical Magazine." — The plants
figured in the February number are : —

Montriehardia aculeetta, Crugcr, tab. 7817. —
A noble west tropical Aroid, with erect stem,
stalked hastate leaves a foot long, and a white
open spathe, about 8 inches long, encircling a
thick cylindric white spadix. Kew.

Plectranthus Mahonii, N. E. Brown, tab. 7818.
— A perennial labiate herb from Mt. Zomba,
lat. 15| S. The leaves are stalked, ovate, the
numerous violet flowers in terminal racemes.
Kew.

Minkelersla biflora, Hemsley, tab. 7819.— A
Mexican Leguminous plant, allied to Pha-
seolus, but with longer calyx-lobes and move
elongated petals. The plant is of climbing
ha bit, with trifoliolato leaves, the leaflets ovate.
The flowers are on long stalks, and are re-
markable for their large orbicular violet side-
petals or wings, which exceed in size the
standard. The genus is named in compliment
to Dr. Minkelers, of the University of Louvain.
Kew.

Calathea crocata, E. Morren, tab. 7820. — See
Gardeners' Chronicle, 1900, vol. ii., p. 113,
f. 29.

Solatium Xanti, A. Gray, tab. 7821. — A native
of S. California, remarkable for the variability
of the foliage, though this feature is not re-
markable in the specimen figured. The flowers
are in terminal clusters, of a light violet
colour. Cambridge Botanic Garden.

" The Country." — A new illustrated
monthly journal is to be published under this
title. Mr. Harry Roberts is the editor, and
J. M. Dent & Co. the publishers. Descriptions
of famous gardens are to constitute a feature.

Uganda. — In Mr. Whyte's opinion, this
country will form an excellent Coffee and Tea-
growing district, and most European crops
will do well. Rubber from species of Lan-
dolphia and Strobilanthus (?) may be obtained
with facility. Tropical Agriculturist.

Royal Seedsmen. — Messrs. Daniels,
Brothers, seedsmen and nurserymen, Nor-
wich, have been appointed seed growers to
His Majesty the King.

King Edward's Tree. — In the New York
Central Park, we are informed, there is an
Oak tree which was planted by King Edward.
It is small and very crooked, and was planted
over forty years ago, on the occasion of the
King's (then Prince of Wales) first and only
visit to the United States.

Cambridge Botanic Garden. — We have
received a copy of the Exchange List of Seeds
issued from the Botanic Garden of the Uni-
versity. It is an extensive list, and as it is
signed by Mr. R. Irwin Lynch, the correctness
of the nomenclature may be depended upon.

Irises. — Mr. Lynch, the Curator of the
Botanic Garden, Cambridge, desires to make a
special study of the genus Iris. He would,
therefore, be extremely grateful for any
flowers, not of the quite commoner kinds,
which might be sent him. He would be happy
to name them if required.

Sale of Poisons. — At the Council meeting
of the Royal Agricultural Society, held on
Feb. 5, the question of the sale of poisonous
substances used for agricultural or horti-
cultural purposes was brought forward by Mr.
Bowen-Jones :—

" The Chemical Committee of the Royal Agricultural
Society were of opinion that it was necessary (a) That
Schedule A. of the Act of 1868 should be more strictly
defined than at present ; for example, the first item,
' Arsenic and its preparations,' might beheld at present
to cover sheep-dips, weed-killers, Paris green— for
fruit-trees— arsenical soaps, and other articles used in
agricultural operations, which were totally uncon-
nected with pharmacy, and were not required to be
dispensed, being already prepared in the form in which
they are used by the public. Such articles should
either be excluded from Schedule A. or otherwise ex-
cepted from the provisions of Section 15 of the Act.
{b) That the power at present given under Section 2 of
the Act to the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society
to declare by resolution that ' any article in such reso-
lution named ought to be deemed a poison within the
meaning of the Act of 1868,' should, as regards agricul-
tural and horticultural articles, be only exercised with
the previous approval of the Board of Agriculture.
With regard to the second reference to the Poisons
Committee, ' to consider whether a third subdivision
might not be added to the schedule, containing sub-
stances which, whether sold by pharmaceutical
chemists or not, should be labelled or otherwise dis-
tinguished,'the Chemical Committee thought it would
be reasonable that any vendor of what for convenience
might be called 'agricultural and horticultural
poisons ' should be allowed to do so, provided he sold
the article in the condition in which he received it
from the manufacturers, the packet, bottle, or other
receptacle being kept intact and unopened, and marked
outside with an indication of its contents, and of the
poisonous nature of the substance. The specific
articles to be included in this third subdivision should
be clearly stated in the schedule. In the case of the
more virulently poisonous of such preparations, the
same precautions as defined in Section 17 of the Act of
18(38, as to a register of sales, Ac, might also be pre-
scribed ; but otherwise there should be no restrictions
or monopoly in the sale of poisonous substances used
in agricultural or horticultural operations.'"

Whatever may be done, it should be made im-
perative in the general interest that the
articles in question be sold in carefully sealed
packages, and the poisonous nature of the con-
tents should be clearly denoted on the package.
At present this is not done, at least not in all
cases. The same or similar restrictions as are
now imposed on chemists who sell these sub-
stancesshould be imposed on vendors generally.

"Bees." — This is the title of a "journal
devoted to up-to-date bee-keeping," the first
number of which was published in January.
Enthusiasts in the industry should read all
available literature relating to it, this publi-
cation included. We note that the Editor
invites correspondence from readers on all
subjects connected with bee - keeping, and
these should be addressed to Mr. E. A. Geary,
26, Oxford Road, Upper Norwood, S.E. Bees
is illustrated, and is planned to be issued
monthly, at the price of 2d. a copy.

Eelworms in Chrysanthemums. — In the
Comptes Rendus of theAcademie des Sciences,
January 20, is a note by M. Chifklot on the
disease in Chrysanthemum foliage, caused by
nematode worms of the genus Aphelenchus.
The remedies suggested are : to burn the
affected foliage ; to prevent contaminating
the soil used in repotting by taking care not

February 15, 1902.]

THE GARB ENER 8 ' CHR ONI CL E.

113

to throw on it infected, leaves, &c. ; as far as
possible to sterilise the soil ; to make use of
artificial rather than of natural manures ; and
to take cuttings only from healthy plants.

Dust. — In a recent communication to the
Society of Arts, dealing- with observations
miade in a balloon at high altitudes, the Rev.
M. I. Bacon thus alludes to the subject of
•dust : —

" I commenced witli collecting samples of dust from
air which had passed over a large tract of sea. For this
purpose I chose the Scilly Isles, where never mind
whence the wind might blow It was easy to find a rocky
.rampart, which caught the first blast off the ocean.
Keeping these as standard results labelled according
to the directions of those winds which had given them.
I next compared them with results similarly obtained
inland on open commons, in different quarters of
London, and so on, finally transferring the experi-
ments to the car of the balloon. As may be supposed,
the sample freest from matter in suspension was
-gathered in the Scilly Islands. It is likewise true that
the most dust-laden sample was also collected from the
opposite cliff of the same island (St. Mary's), the ex-
planation of which when discovered was instructive.
The Island of St. Agnes lay a mile to windward, but its
whole area was so small that I had regarded it as
negligible. On visiting the island, however, I found it
entirely carpeted with flowers grown for market, and
then in full bloom, whose pollen, borne on a fresh
freeze, had not only loaded but stained the spirit in
the test-bottle.

" One of the clearest samples in the whole series was
secured at the open end of the Aldersgate platform
•of the Metropolitan Railway, the explanation pre-
sumably being attributable to the passing trains
attended with volumes of steam which emitted under
.the roof would entrap and cleanse out the dust. But
another state of things was found aloft. On a still
afternoon on May 1, at 2,000 feet above Kingston, the
air was found far more heavily charged with dust than
•that of the London streets the next day. So again at
half a mile above the City in August last the dust,
though somewhat less in quantity, was far more
abundant than on the ground within the enclosure of
Stamford Bridge in the forenoon of the following
■day."

New Public Recreation Ground at
Gillingham, Kent.— In a public competition
for the best design for laying-out the above,
Messrs. William Barron & Son, landscape
gardeners, of Elvaston Nurseries, Borrowash,
were awarded the first prize.

Nature-Knowledge.— Nowadays there is
•a marked tendency to teach children less by
hooks and more by object-lessons. The seed
that Prof. Henslow sowed half a century ago
at Hiteham is bearing fruit in places widely
.remote from that Suffolk village. Some papers
reprinted by Mr. Wilfred and Miss Ethel
Webb from The Record of Technical and Secon-
danj Education, 1901 (Macmillan & Co.), are
very interesting as showing what may be done
to interest children, and stimulate and guide
that faculty of curiosity which almost all
children have, but which is too often dis-
paraged rather than encouraged.

PRUMNOPITYS ELEGANS.

[See Supplementary Illustration.]
The demon of synonymy at once arises in
the case of this plant. A beautiful illustration
was sent to us from Penjerrick under the Dame
Podocarpus andina. Those who consider the
plant to be a Podocarpus will continue to use
this name, but there are many of a different
opinion, and who call the plant, some Stachy-
carpus, somo Prumnopitys. In the list of
Conifers published in the Report of the Conifer
Conference, which is the fullest authoritative
list of cultivated Conifers that we have, tin-
name of Prumnopitys elegans of Philippi is
adopted, as it was by Lindley, Gardeners'
Chronicle, 1863, p. 0; Carriere, Veitcli, and
the compiler of the Kew Hand-List. The Kew
Index, however, calls our plant Podocarpus
aflinis, which is probably a mistake, for V.
afflnifl is a. Fijian plant, described by See un.

In the Conifer Conference list the differences
between our plant and Podocarpus are shown
to consist in the fruits being placed on a loose,
slender woody spike, instead of solitary on a
fleshy stalk ; whilst the anatomical structure
of the root is, according to Van Tieghem,*
different from that of its near allies. In the
last edition of Veitch's Manual, p. 155, fig. 54,
is given an illustration of a fruiting branch,
which shows how different the plant is from
the true Podocarpus.

Prumnopitys elegans inhabits the Andes of
Southern Chile, and was introduced thence by
Pearce on behalf of Messrs. Veitch. It is
hardy over the greater part of Great Britain,
but, says Mr. Kent in Teitch's Manual, it
grows most freely in the south-western
counties of England and in Ireland. Its foliage
is Yew-like, dark green above, slightly silvery
beneath, the individual leaves linear, oblong,
acute, with a midrib prominent on both sur-
faces. The berries are about 1 cent, long,
oblong, ovoid, rounded, with a fleshy red or
purplish aril nearly covering the hard, bony
seed. We believe the shrub to be quite hardy,
and, as far as we have seen, it is not very
particular as to soil ; but it is so attractive a
plant that it is worth a little special attention.
It makes a good plant for a window or outside
balcony, which is a pretty good proof that its
requirements are not very exacting.

Lindley, quoting Philippi, describes the
fruits as yellowish-green, but those we have
seen have been reddish or purplish. The
berries are edible — perhaps by those who can
get nothing better.

A similar tree occurs in the same district, viz.,
Podocarpus nubigena (fig. 34), also introduced
by Messrs. Veitch from Valdivia, by Mr. W.
Lobb. It is a true Podocarpus, with linear,
very pointed leaves, about 4 cent. long. Mr.
Acton, of Kilmacurragh, Rathdrum, Ireland,
furnished us in 1891 with specimens bearing
male flowers, which up to that time had not
been described (see Gardeners' Chronicle,
August 8, 1891). The same native name,
"Maniu," is said to be given to both plants.
M. T. M.

CRINUM MOOREI and C. POWELLI.

Mil GUMBLETON writes :— " I have road with
considerable amazement the statements on
]>. 98 of your last issue, made by your correspon-
dent Mr. J. Murison, as to the origin of these
fine plants, which he asserts were both raised
by my old friend the late Dr. David Moore,
the Director of our Irish Kew at Glasnevin. 1
do not think that these statements are at all
in accordance with facts, as I do not believe
that ho raised either of them. I have always
heard that Crinurn Moorei was sent to Dr.
Moore from Natal as an unnamed species,
which lie was asked by the sender to allow to
bear his name, as the first to bloom it in
Europe. Crinum Powelli : was raised some
twenty or more years ago by my friend Mr.
<'. B. Powell, of The Old Hall, Southborough,
Tonbridge, by crossing the tender C.
Moorei with the hardy C. capense, or
Longiflornm, and was distributed for him
in three colours, named respectively C.
Powelli, deep rose colour; C. P. interme-
dium, pale pink; and C. P. album, pure white,
by Messrs. Henderson & Son, of Wellington
Road, St. John's Wood, the site of whose
nursery now forms a part of Lord's Cricket -
ground. My memory of all these facts is so
clear, from having grown all these plants
since their introduction most successfully,
that I hope my friend, the present Director of

• Hull. Sue. Hut. France, 1891, p. 1S3.

Glasnevin Gardens, will bear me out in their
correctness when he sees my letter in your
columns. W. E. Gumbleton, Quecnstown."

■ In the Gardeners' Chronicle of the 8th

inst., a correspondent gives us some special
information about the above two varieties of
very useful bulbs, which he says were "pro-
duced " over thirty years ago by Dr. David
Moore. I saw C. Moorei at Glasnevin thirty-
five years ago, growing out-of-doors, and
in splendid health and condition, as nearly
all the plants generally were in that
pretty garden whilst Dr. Moore had it in
his charge. Now, if your correspondent can
give us the history of the " production " of C.
Moorei, I am in the position of being able to
do so in the case of C. Powelli. Not that
this is necessary with readers of the Gar-
deners' Chronicle, for since 1881 it must have
been repeated five or six: times, and likewise
by Mr. Burbidge in No. 949 of The Garden, in
1890, where a coloured illustration of it is
given. The seeds of C. capense, crossed by
the pollen of C. Moorei, were sown about 1875
in Bury St. Edmunds, and the young plants
the following year were at once pricked
out in a row out - of - doors, where they
remained till I left Suffolk in 1880. They were
sent up to London to Messrs. E. G. Henderson
& Son, of The Pine-apple Place nursery, who
began to dispose of them in the following
year. Whilst in Bury, all the bulbs had not
bloomed, for the white variety flowered first
at Pine-apple Place. Seeds were saved from
both " C. capense album," and the ordinary
pink kind, but strange to say, the deeper-
coloured varieties of C. Powelli were produced
by the seedlings of the white variety. I
would hardly have troubled you with these
details, only that any accurate information
about matters connected with the Cape cannot
be too often repeated. C. B. Powell, Southboro'.

Your correspondent has fallen into error

about the history of Crinum Powelli x . Crinum
Moorei was first raised and flowered at Glas-
nevin, and is from Natal. Crinum Powelli x was
raised in England by crossing Crinum Moorei
with C. capense, the raiser of this fine plant
being Mr. Powell, after whom it is called, and
not after a foreman at Glasnevin, your corres-
pondent evidently confusing the names Powell
and Pope. There are varieties of both Crinum
Moorei and Crinum Powelli x , ranging from
pure white to deep rose, each variety having its
distinctive charm, and all being attractive.
These Crinums are perfectly hardy, provided
only that they arc deeply planted ; the whole
neck of the bulb should be underground, so
that sometimes it is from 2 to 3 feet from the
surface of ground to base of bulb. F. W. Moore,
Glasnevin.

[Other correspondents have addressed us to
the same effect, which induces us to repeat the
history of these plants in question. C. Moorei
was described first by Sir Joseph Hooker
in the Botanical Magazine, t. 6113, from a
specimen sent by Dr. Moore, of Glasnevin,
after whom it was named. It was also figured
in the Gardeners' Chronicle, 1887, ii., fig. 101.
It was first made known by a sketch made in
Natal by the late Bishop Colenso. It is com-
prised under the same name by Mr. Baker in
his Handbook of the Amarijllidetc (1888), p. 93,
and in the Flora Capensis, vi., 200. A coloured
figure was also given in the Garden for 1881.
Crinum Powelli < is a hybrid between C. longi-
folium alias capense and C. Moorei, botanically
described in Baker's Handbook, p. 95, and also
in the Flora Capenais, vi., 202. A notice of tin-
plant is also given in the /'/oris/ and Pomoloyist,
1884, p. 155. Ed.]

114

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 15, 1902.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

PINANGA VEITCHI, WENDLAND. — I WilS Very

much struck- by the beautiful picture of
Pinanga Kuhlii, Blume, as it grows at Buiten-
zorg, in the Gardeners' Chronicle, February 8,
and by Herr Ddo Dammer's remarks at p. 97
on Pinangas generally." I wish all the species
were as free-growing and as vigorous and
satisfactory as he therein declares them to
be. There is at least one exception in the
genus which has so far, 1 believe, defied the
best efforts of good cultivators to keep it
alive in our hot-houses here in England, viz.,
P. Veitchi, a very handsome dwarf species
with beautifully coloured foliage, which I
introduced from Borneo for Messrs. Yeitch, of
Chelsea, about twenty-four years ago. As
growing in Borneo, on the forest floor in
reflected light amongst steel-blue Ferns and
Selaginellas, it formed one of the most beau-
tiful dwarf-growing Palms I ever saw ; but it
defied all efforts to develop its beauty in
English gardens. I presume Herr Dammer
has not had any experience of this species ?
F. W.Burbidge, Dublin.

KERRIA JAPONICA AS BACHELOR'S BUTTON.
—On reading the article " What is the
Bachelor's Button ? " in your issue of the 1st
inst., I was much struck by the omission of
Kerria japonica, which I have from my youth
known as Bachelor's Button.. This may be
due, perhaps, to its comparatively recent
introduction, and therefore no allusion to it is
made in the older works. Charles Dennis,
Hopedene, Holmbury St. Mary,

hybrid alpine irises.— Quite recently con-
siderable prominence was given to what was
described at the time a "new race of hybrid
alpine Irises" (see Gardeners' Chronicle, No-
vember 30, p. 397). Judged by the text, and
by the excellent illustration, the reader had
every reason to believe that there was a new
and greatly-improved race of these hardiest
of hardy plants. On Tuesday last at the Drill
Hall, what I imagine to be representatives of
this new race were placed before the Floral
Committee in the most, deplorable condition.
All that was before the committee was the
merest handful of flowers, crushed and bruised
almost beyond recognition, and as far as is
known, with not an atom of information to
guide even those closely interested in such
things. It is simply impossible for the above
committee to know anything concerning new
hybrid races of plant's, unless it be given
direct information. In a case such as this,
the Irises should be shown in the growing
state in pans or pots, so that the natural
growth and other characteristics may be seen.
E. F. Jenkins, Hampton Hill.

PEAR PRESIDENT BARABE.— In your report
of a recent Royal Horticultural Society meet-
ing at the Drill Hall, you allude to a small
exhibit of the above variety as having been
awarded a Cultural Commendation. This re-
minds me that I have very lately been enabled
to partake of some fruits of this grand winter
Pear, as grown by Mr. Allan ; and I have no
hesitation in saying that, taking all points
into consideration, it is the best-grown Pear
of its season in this country. The flavour is
rich, the texture of the flesh melting, above
middle size, and handsome in appearance.
There is just the slightest tendency to gritti-
ness towards the core in an occasional fruit,
hut this is scarcely worth mentioning. A
great point is, that the flesh is sound at the
core even when the skin has the appearance
of decay, so that the gardener need have no
fear when dishing up the fruits for dessert. I
am not writing from one trial only, as I have
had the opportunity of testing it for three
seasons at the least. The best fruits Mr.
Allan grows are obtained from shoots grafted
on the free-growing and good Conseiller de la
Com-, and this offers a method to those who
may wish to try the variety, and can obtain
shoots fit for grafting. 1 would suggest that
it be worked on the wilding Pear stock, or on

some strong-growing Pear, and not largely on
the Quince until its capabilities have been
tested. On a strong-growing stock it will
grow strongly and become fruitful at an early
age. J. C. Tallack.

CANNA ITALIA. — Your correspondent " W.
T. G. " cannot have had the true Canna Italia,
which he says has given him seeds. This
hybrid, as well as all the other hybrids (about
thirty) of the Orchid-flowering Cannas raised
by Mr. Sprenger, at Naples, has, in spite of
all efforts, remained perfectly sterile. The
ovaries swell, but they continue to be hollow.
The same has been observed in Spain,
Portugal, and the south of France, while there
has never appeared anything about production
of seeds in the horticultural papers ; and so in
the seed trade, you will never find them offer-
ing these Orchid-flowering Cannas. If this is
the case, how could it be possible that this
Canna has produced seeds in England, where
the climate is by no means so favourable as in
the above-named countries? I am afraid one

X-240

Fig. 34.— PODocakpus nuhicena : showing

male catkins.

Separate anther, magn. 10 diam. ; pollen grains

magii. 240 diam. (Seep. 113.)

must leave the decision of this question to a
microscopical examination, which will prove
that the pistil is crippled and unable to fulfil
its function. William Miiller. ■

PRIMULA MEGASE/EFOLIA. — In the Rev. C.
Wolloy-Dod's interesting note on the above
plant, he refers to the uncertainty in its season
of flowering as being a drawback to its open-air
cultivation in England. I have it flowering
well in a cold frame, and also out in the open,
and of the two, the plants on the rock garden
look the better. They have withstood 18" of
frost uninjured, and are now looking tho-
roughly at home. Carl Sprenger gives the
flowering season as being winter, autumn, and
May. I can speak for its winter-flowering,
but it remains to be seen if it will flower in
May and autumn. The plant, for which I was
given a R.H.S. award last April, sets its seeds
well, and is a strong plant, in full flower now.
E. Willmott, Warley Place.

CATERPILLAR OF THE GHOST-MOTH.— At the

last meeting of the Scientific Committee of the
Royal Horticultural Society a caterpillar was
exhibited, found on the roots of a Pyeony, and
said to belong to the genus Hepialus. These
caterpillars are a nuisance in my garden,
injuring, and even destroying some of my

Michaelmas Daisy, by eating the young fibres.
of the roots. They lodge in or just beneath
the woody root-stalk, and under its shelter
they move about feeding on the incipient
growth. If I dig up a dozen pieces of Michael-
mas Daisies probably half of them contain two
or three or more of these soft and colourless
semi-transparent and ill-looking vermin, more-
like the larva of a beetle than the caterpillar
of a moth. I refer them to Hepialus humuli,
the Ghost-moth, well known to all observers
of Nature, the male being white above and
brown beneath, alternately visible and invi-
sible as it flits from side to side like a phantom
in the dusk. These moths, of which there are-
several native kinds in the same genus, are
known collectively as " Swifts," and rank
next to the Sphinxes in classification. A
smaller kind, equally common with the Ghost-
moth, is named H. lupulinus, and is said to
have a similar caterpillar, and the same root-
eating habit. From their lodgment under a
hard roof of root no insect icide can reach these
caterpillars, so they complete their growth
and transformations in security. C. "ft'olley-Doil,.
Edge Hall, Malpas.

A FINE SPECIMEN OF CEDAR OF LEBANON. —
At Eden Hall, Cumberland, on November 13,
1901, a remarkably fine specimen of Cedrus.
Libani was blown down. It was one of a pair
whose size and symmetry had earned for them
a local fame. It measured 75 feet in height,
and from the base to where the trunk divided
into seven large branches it contained 100 cubie
feet of wood. The whole tree being computed
to contain over 800 cubic feet of wood, the
market value of which was no doubt much
lessened by its being slightly decayed in the
centre. The spread of its branches was about.
96 feet, and its age is supposed to be more
than 200 years. The soil in which it grew
was that covering the old red sandstone. Un-
like Cedrus Deodara the wood has a very large
grain similar to pitch Pine, and is of a much
lighter colour. J. W. Mallinson, Eden Hally
Cumberland.

ORANGES. — Ladoo is described on p. 209 of
my book, Gardening in India. The seedless.
Orange is a form of the Valencia Orange, de-
scribed in the supplement to the book I send
(supplement to p. 210). Out of a dozen
Oranges served to me in a shop without selec-
tion, four proved entirely without seed. The
fruit was from Alcira, and the trademark a
scythe. At Poona, India, there is a very fine
seedless variety of the Pumalo (Citrus decu-
mana) in cultivation, and no difficulty is found
in its propagation by budding. G. Marshall
Woudrow.

THE INSECTICIDE XL-ALL AS A WINTER-
DRESSING for grape-vines. — I have given
Richards' XL-All a fair trial for all kinds of"
insects that infest plants under glass and out-
of-doors ; and as a winter dressing against
mealy-bug on the Grape-vine, I have found it
to be the best remedy of any I have used, and
quite safe. I need hardly say that it must be
used according to the directions given on the
bottle. I have used it rather stronger, i.e.,
one part insecticide to ten of water, for Vines,
and at that strength it destroys all the mealy-
bugs which are touched by it ; but "H. H. "
must not expect that it will thoroughly eradi-
cate the pest, as there will be many of the
insects that the insecticide will not reach, and
he will have to keep a sharp look-out for them
all through the summer season. For scale on
Codiseums and Palms, I use it at the rate of
one part to twenty of water as a dip, and
about three weeks afterwards I have the plants,
sponged with it, and the first-named plants do
not lose their lower leaves afterwards. For
green and black fly, one part to thirty-eight of
water is quite effectual, and as a dip for the
tips of the young shoots of Peach and Necta-
rine-trees it is excellent. I have used it as a
dip and for syringing forced Roses, Carnations,
Chrysanthemums", Cinerarias, Calceolarias,
Liliiims, and various other plants. It is more
effectual when mixed with warm vain-water.
J. Miskin, Rnnnymede, Old Windsor.

February 15, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

115

"BARE-FOOTED BAIRNS" IN SCOTLAND. — One

lias read with so much pleasure "R. H. P.'s "
interesting articles oua" "Visit to the A'orth,"
that I am rather unwilling to criticise any-
thing. I think however that, like a good
tnany Englishmen who come across the border,
he has assumed too readily that the presence
■of bare-footed children, or even of bare-footed
adults, is to be taken as a sign of poverty.
I know little about Dalkeith, so am not
■concerned about its reputation, but "would
point out that throughout the greater part of
.■Scotland, apart from the larger towns where
the naked foot runs many risks, children whose
parents are in what may be called comfortable
circumstances go bare -footed in summer;
while in country districts even the children of
the parish ministers may be seen enjoying
their freedom from foot-gear. This is for pure
pleasure, and is a practice which, apart from
economy, has much to commend it, as anyone
will see who studies the free and lithe move-
ments of bare-footed children, and contrast
•them with those of any who wear clogs,
which generally give their wearers a slouching
H'ait, or even those who wear shoes. I know
well how difficult it is to induce children who
have enjoyed the freedom of bare feet during
the summer to put on their shoes and stock-
ings when cold weather comes. The im-
pression that the absence of shoes or other
=tttire for the feet is a sign of Scottish poverty
is an old one, as will be seen from the works
of those who visited our northern land more
than 100 years ago. S. Amott, Carsetkorn, by
Dumfries, N.B. [So far as the above remarks
relate to the naked foot in country districts,
Mr. Arnott may be correct, but he is wrong in
"thinking" that I "assumed" too readily that
the practice of running bare-footed in the large
towns is associated with more or less poverty, or
tthriftlessness. Instead of " assuming," I
enquired of responsible Scotsmen having to
■do with the city government in Glasgow and
Edinburgh, and the answers given me in
both cases agreed with my own observa-
tions in the streets. Dalkeith is a borough,
»ud not a country village, and the " bare-
footed bairns" there, just as in the mining dis-
trict of Bailleston, near Glasgow, belong to its
least prosperous or least thrifty inhabitants.
The custom may be a good one or not, but 1
heard everywhere, from Scotsmen, that in large
ttowns at least, it is not practised to-day by the
middle or upper classes to an appreciable
■extent. R. B. P.].

©bituarp.

Leonard Kelway. — The Langport and
■Somerton Herald announces the death on
'February 5, at the early age of twenty-one,
■of Mr. Leonard Kelway, second son of Mr.
William Kelway, of Brooklands. Leonard
Kelway was born at Riverslea, Langport, in
1X80. He was educated at Sherborne School
(Wilson's House), which he entered in 1N94,
smd left in 1898 to join the firm of Messrs.
Jas. Kelway & Son.

Mr. F. W. Flight.— We regret to record
the death of this gentleman, which occurred
recently at his residence, Cornstiles, Twy-
ford, Winchester. He was an enthusiastic
horticulturist, exhibiting at most of the county
shows with great success. The deceased was
& member of the National Hose Society, ami
an exhibitor at times at the metropolitan
shows of that society.

Mr. F. J. Graham.— The death of this once
popular fruit-grower a1 a great age a few
•days ago at his residence, Crant'oid, M iddlesex,
was recently announced in the daily papers,
Mr. Graham had lived in retirement so long,
and had reached such a patriarchia] age, thai
he had outlived most of his contemporaries.
He was an active member of the British I'oino-
logieal Society, and on the formation of the
Fruit and Vegetable Committee of the Royal

Horticultural Society, he was one of its
earlier Vice-chairmen : and was a foremost
figure at fruit exhibitions. One of the Apples
he grew largely at Cranford for Covent
Garden Market was Ronald's Gooseberry
Pippin. Dr. Hogg, in his Fruit Manual, men-
tions it as a "very rare fruit," and he
" doubted much if it is to be had true in an
ordinary way." Mr. Graham's name is asso-
ciated with his Yellow Perfection Wallflower,
of which there is a coloured illustration in the
number of the Florist and Pomologist for July,
1864. This variety was the result of careful
seeding and selecting through many genera-
tions ; the object sought to be obtained being
the production of a variety in which the
flowers should be of a pure yellow colour,
of large size, good form, and highly fragrant.
This fine variety is still to be found in some
seed lists, and such present-day yellow Wall-
flowers as Cloth of Gold and Carter's Old
Gold were no doubt derived from it. R. D.

Mrs. R. Briggs-Bury.— It is with great
regret that we announce the death of the
above lady, at her residence, Bank House,
Accrington, Lanes., on the morning of Friday
last, February 7, at the age of sixty-two years.
The loss, so unexpectedly we might say, of
such a generous and enthusiastic horticul-
turist will be keenly felt throughout the
county, for only upon the day previous to her
death she was an exhibitor at the meeting of
the Manchester and North of England Orchid
Society, and expressed her feelings of pleasure
at the success she had attained. The chief
delight of the deceased lay in her Orchids,
which were very successfully cultivated. At
!.:er funeral, which took place at Accrington
on the 11th inst. amid tokens of sorrow on
every hand, representatives of many of the
horticultural firms and societies with which
the deceased lady was connected, were present.

Societies.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.

February ii.— The meeting of the committees of the
Royal Horticultural Society, in the Drill Hall, Buck-
ingham Gate, Westminster, on Tuesday last, was the
commencement of the Society's official year 190343.
The personnel of the several committees was slightly
altered, and all round a fresh start was made. A large
number of Fellows visited the Hall during the day, and
there was a good attendance at the annual general
meeting, which was held at 3 P.M., in the Drill Hall,
where occasionally the noise was so great the President
could not make himself heard; and where little or no
provision is made for the comfort of either audience
or speaker, a good deal more might be done even at
the Drill Hall.

The display of exhibits would have been larger had
the weather been less severe, for several exhibits of
orchids and other tender plants were not brought to
the Hall for this reason. The ORCHID COMMITTEE
alone granted any awards to novelties, and possibly.
now that a two-thirds majority is required in every
such case, there will be fewer awards than there have
hitherto been.

A remarkable exhibit of Apples from Messrs. Georck
Bt'NVARD &Co . Maidstone, was honoured by an award
of a Gold Medal.

Floral Committee.

Present : Chas. E. Shea (in the Chain; and Messrs
chas. T. Druery, II B. May, I!. Dean, J. H. Fitt, John
Jennings, Jas. Hudson, W. Howe. J. A Nix, C. R,
Fielder, Charles Dixon, Charles Jeffries, u. C. Notcutt,
.1. II. Barr, \V. P. Thomson. E. 11. Jenkins, K. Wilson
Ker. II. .1. Cutbush. W. J, James, n. Turner, Geo. Paul,
Ed. Mawlcy. Chas. Blick, and II. J. Jones.

Clematis lndivisa and its variety lobata were«galn
shown by Messrs. W, I'm i & Son, Waltham Cross Nur-
series, Herts, in a mosl attractive manner. There
were about seventy plants in .".inch and 6- inch pots,
each plant about 3 feet high from the pot, and profuselj

furnished with their pretty white flowers and pink
anthers from the top of the plants to within a short
distance of the base. The growths w" ere tied to a single
stake, and doubled back from the top (Silver Flora
Medal).

Messrs. 11. Cannell & Sons, Swauley, Kent, made an
imposing display with Chinese Primulas, more than
sufficient to fill one side of a long table. The colours
of the flowers were remarkably good, and in size and
form, too, they were capital. Some of the best of the
florist's varieties were Swanley Blue, The Queen, white
or blush-pink; Cannell's Pink, certainly the best of
this colour, with large, much-fimbriated petals; The
Sirdar, rich carmine ; Dr. Nansen, rich crimson : Myia,
delicate mauve colour; Surprise, purplish-crimson;
Swanley Giant Improved; My Favourite, very free,
flowers rather small, rich pink colour, and much
fimbriated : H. Cannell, one of the most brilliant of the
crimson-flowered varieties ; Fern-leaf Blue ; Snowdon,
large, white ; and Mrs. Kennard (new), silver and rose
coloured, very pretty, and of large size. In '"The
Lady " strain there were many degrees of crossing
exhibited, some of the plants having the pure notched
petal of the natural form, and others possessing very
slightly fimbriated petals, and larger-sized flowers, but
in company with much of the free-flowering habit of
the " unimproved " strain. Some of these of note were
Mrs. R. Cannell, Queen of Holland, Queen Alexandra,
Fairest of the Fair, Red Lady, Magenta King, Salmon
Beauty, &c. (Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. Wm. Cutbush it Son, Highgate Nurseries, K.,
and Barnet, Herts, showed a dozen plants of Rhodo-
dendron Jacksonix iu flower in pots. The plants were
full of bloom, and the flowers are pink-coloured, with
deeper colour in the centre of each petal.

Coleus thyrsoideus was again shown by Messrs. JAS.
Veitch ct Sons. Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, who
brought the same plants that were shown in flower on
January 14. They were fast passing when seen on
Tuesday, but the exhibit served to show that the
species will bloom continuously for a cousiderable
period.

Messrs. Veitch had also Rhododendron Early Gem,
very profusely in flower, colour mauve ; Amygdalus
persica magnifica, crimson flowered; A. Davidiana
alba, exceedingly pretty; and Loropetalum chinense,
which was shown well by Lord Ilchester at the last
meeting.

Cyclamens from Messrs. HutiH Low it Co., Bush Hill
Park Nurseries, Enfield, were very good, and exhi-
bited a strain with large flowers, with great variation
in colour.

Messrs. John Laing & Sons, Forest Hill Nurseries,
London, S.E., exhibited a group of miscellaneous
plants, including Rhododendron indicum varieties,
Cordylines, Codueums, Palms, &c.

Messrs. Baku & Sons, Kiug Street, Covent Garden,
Loudon, exhibited in a moss-covered mound a number
of pots containing hardy bulbous plants in flower,
including the newer giant Snowdrops, Narcissus cyela-
mineus, Iris persica, I. Hcldi'cichi, Muscarine. There
were cut flowers of varieties of Helleborus, Anemone
tubcrosa. Arc. (Bronze Banksian Medal).

Messrs. GEO. Jackman & Son, Woking Nursery,
Surrey, exhibited a few rock-plants in flower, made up
in a box to simulate natural conditions. There were
Saxifrage Burseriana, Primula Forbesii, Cyclamen
repandum, Polygala chamtebuxus, Baxifraga oppositi-
folia, Primroses, Irises. Ac, including some nice ones
in a pot of I. niardiensis, which were lifted from the
open ground. Tne colour of I. niardiensis is silvery-
grey, acquiring a purple tint, with a yellow mark along
the tails, and a purple blotch at up (Bronze Banksian
Medal).

Orchid Committee.

Present: Harry J. Veitch. Esq., in the chair: and
Messrs. .bis. O'Brien (hon. sec), J. Gurney Fouler.
De B. Crawshay, II. T. Pin. H. M. Pollett, n. A.Tracy,
w. A. Bilncy. F. A. Rehder. F. J. Thome, J. W. Odell,
H. I Chapman, W. 11. Young, W. Hoxall. J. Douglas,
E. Hill, and H. Ballantine.

Messrs. Jas. Vbiti b & Sous, Chelsea, were awarded
a Silver Flora Medal loravery good group of hybrid
Orchids, in which their endeavours to produce good
yellow -flowering winter -blooming hybrids was well
"shown in the bright yellow Dendrobium \ Ophir (au-
reum x signatum), and the floriferous pale yellow D.x
[mogene (signatum x euosmum leucopterum Sir
Ti.i ,..i, I \» i.-i ki i s yellow i' v, Igan

wasalsosli , andD.xWardlano-Japonicum; D

delta; Phaltenopsis x Bebo (rosea x Sanderlana),
P. x Ariadne x Stnarliana x Aphrodite), a line bunch

116

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 15, 1902.

of the dark [scarlet form of Epidendrum X O'Brieni-
anum, Lariia x Edissa (anceps x purpurata), a fine
lemon-coloured form of L. x Mrs. M. Gratrix, L.-C. x
Doris (L. harpophylla x C. Triancei), L.-C. X Myra,
Cattleya x Miranda (ametliystoglossa x Triana-i), and
two fine new hybrids enumerated in the list of Awards.

Messrs. Charlesworth & Co., Heaton, Bradford,
staged a very effective group for which a Silver Flora
Medal was awarded. The centre was made of good
varieties of Lcelia Mrs. M. Gratrix of different tints of
yellow, and Ljelio-Cattleya x Charlesworthi, with
orange sepals and petals and crimson lip. At the end
were stands of cut spikes of Odontoglossum cirrosum
and Oncidium splcndidum ; and arranged with them
were the handsome spotted Odontoglossum crispum
■'Etoiledu'C'ongo"; O. c. Chestertoni; O.xLoochristy-
ense var. nobilior, a fine yellow variety, blotched with
brown, the ground colour of the labellum being white ;
O. x crispo-Hallii Heatonense ; Cymbidium grandi-
florum ; Houlletia odoratissima, the red-brown typical
form ; andJH. o.|flavescens, a clear yellow variety.

J. Colman, Esq., Gatton Park (gr., Mr. W. P. Bound),
showed Dendrobium nobile Colmanianum, a fine large,
pure white variety, with sulphur-yellow disc to the
lip; D. x euosmum "Eleanor" (x cndocharis x nobile
nobilius), a pretty white flower, with rose tips to the
segments; D. nobile albiflorum, white, with purple
centre to the lip; and D. x Ainsworthi Gatton Park
variety, near [to D. x A. intertextum, but with larger
primrose-tinted flowers.

Leopold de Rothschild, Esq., Gunnersbury House,
Acton (gr.,[Mr. Hudson), showed four fine flowers of
Cattleya Trian.-ei "Marieae," a beautiful, large, and
perfectly-shaped variety, with silvery-white sepals and
petals, delicately tinged and veined with pink, and
large labellum, the front of which was of a magenta-
crimson tint, the disc yellow, a maroon coloured band
extending between it and the front.

The Rev. F.;paynter, Stoke Hill. Guildford (gr., Mr.
Cooke), showed [a pretty hybrid Cypripedium, near to
C. x tesselatum porphyreum, with flowers uniformly
tinted with reddish-rose, the upper sepal bearing dark
purplish lines.

Messrs. Hugh Low &; Co., Bush Hill Park, showed
Dendrobium nobile virginale Low's variety, a true D.
nobile, with large.'pure white flowers, having a sulphur-
yellow disc to the lip; a free grower and profuse
bloomer. Also Cypripedium x insigne x bellatulum.

E. C. Bliss, Esq., Tulse Hill (gr., Mr. Parker), showed
a compact specimen of iCcelogyne cristata with a large
number of flower-spikes.

H. T. Pitt, Esq , Rosslyn, Stamford Hill (gr., Mr.
Thurgood), showed the singular-looking Cirrhopetalum
appendiculatum, a Sikkim species, illustrated in the
Oardeners' Chronicle, December 10, 1898, p. 415; and a
pale green species of Eulophia.

W. M. Low, Esq., Wellesbourne, Warwick (gr., Mr. H.
Liney), sent Odontoglossum x loochristyense, "Wel-
lesbourne House" variety. Flower of good form,
yellow, heavily blotched with brown.

Messrs. D. Dowel, horticultural sundriesmen,
Ravenscourt Avenue, Hammersmith, showed a varied
assortment of Orchid-pans, some of the very small
ones being well adapted for seedling Orchids ; also
potting materials, 4c., of good quality.

Awards.
First-class Certificate.

Lsslio-Cattleya x Queen Alexandra (L.-C. x bella x C.
Trianai), from Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea.—
A magnificent hybrid, surpassing in size, form, and
fine colour of its flowers L.-C. x bella (L. purpurata x
C. labiata), and others of that showy class ; the flower
being enlarged and broadened by the influence of C.
Triamei, th« petals especially being very broad and
well displayed. The sepals and petals are of a light
rosy-lilac, the lip intense ruby-purple, with an orange-
coloured disc, behind which are some reddish markings
extending to the base ; the whole of the front and
edges of the side lobes having a very narrow lavender-
coloured margin.

Awahd of Merit.

Cymbidium X Loivio-grandiflorum (Lowianum x grandi-
florum), from Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea.— A
very fine hybrid, embodying all the stately characters
oi C. grandiflorum (Hookerianum), especially in its
broad, emerald-green, wax-like sepals and petals, and
apparently the free-flowering habit of C. Lowianum.
The large flowers had emerald-green sepals and petals ',
and whitish lip marked with dark red, after the
manner of the best form of C. Lowianum, but the lip is
much larger than in that species, and bears nearer
resemblance to C. grandiflorum in the ;crest. It was

said to be a foundling, the seeds not coming up
where they were sown, but this one, and [one or two
more, presumably the same cross, came up on the
moist wall of the house.

Odontoglossum x Hallio-crispum Heatonense (Hallii x
crispum), from Messrs. Charlesworth & Co., Heaton,
Bradford.— Flower large and broad in all the segments,
the large shield-shaped labellum being especially con-
spicuous. Sepals yellow, with red-brown blotches over
the minor two-thirds, the tips yellow; petals fringed,
yellow, with red-brown blotches on the inner halves;
lip crimped at the edge, pale yellow, with a few reddish
spots.

Cymbidium x Loieio - Mastersianum (Lowianum x
Mastersianum).— A very interesting and pretty hybrid,
whose advent merges the section honoured by botanists
with the distinct generic name Cyperorchis, and which
includes Cyperorchis Mastersiana and Cymbidium
proper. The plant promises to be of elegant habit, and
floriferous. The specimen, flowering for the first time,
bore a raceme of four flowers, nearly as large as those
of C. x Lowio-eburneum when first exhibited, and of
similar formation. Sepals and petals white, slightly
tinged with green ; lip white, with purple markings.

Cultural Commendation.
To Mr. Downes, gr. to J. T. Bennett-PoK, Esq.,
Holmewood, Cheshunt, for a well-grown Plant of Ipsea
speciosa, with six spikes of large yellow flowers. The
plant is referred to Pachystoma senilis, under which
Fortunei and other yellow species are also placed in
Index Kewensis.

Fruit and Vegetable Committee.

Present: Geo. Bunyard, Esq., in the Chair, and
Messrs. Jos. Cheal, G. T. Miles, W. Bates, S. Mortimer,
Alex. Dean, H. J. Wright, Geo. Keif, Geo. Woodwardi
H. Markham, Jas. Smith, F. Q. Lane, J. Jaques, G. Rey-
nolds, W. Fyfe, Ed. Beckett, A. Ward, J.WLUard, Jas. H.
Veitch, P. C. M. Veitch, A. H. Pearson, and C. G. Nix.

A dish of nice fruits of Pear Bergamotte Esperen
was shown by the Earl of Ilchester, Holland House,
Kensington (gr., Mr. Dixon), (Vote of Thanks).

Messrs. R. Hartland & Son, Cork, showed intensely-
coloured fruits of an Apple described as Ballinora
Pippin.

A fine bunch 'of forced Asparagus blanched to the
very tip, was shown by the Duke of Northumberland,
Syon House, Brentford (gr., Mr. Geo. Wythes), (Vote of
Thanks).

Seakale from Messrs. Jas. Veitch <fc Sons, Royal
Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, attracted considerable atten-
tion. They showed a large quantity of the purple
variety, and of Lilywhite, and of a new one called
Beddard's Seakale, a cross from the purple and white
varieties. It was said that the varieties were planted
for forcing on Jan. 18, the varieties Lily-White and
Beddard's being fit to cut in 23 days, and the purple
variety five days earlier. The new one is undoubtedly
a strong growing, attractive Seakale (Vote of Thanks).

Messrs. Geo. Bunyard & Co., Royal Nurseries, Maid-
stone, were awarded a Gold Medal for a very handsome
exhibit of Apples, which furnished one side of one of
the long tables. The loo dishes or so of fruits were of
large size, excellent in colour, and as fresh-looking as
in October. There were culinary and dessert varieties
and it is invidious to mention any when all were so
good. The following varieties, however, were excep-
tionally attractive in appearance : Gascoigne's Scarlet
Seedling, King of the Pippins, Calville Rouge, Golden
Noble, Annie Elizabeth, Twenty Ounce, Farmer's Seed-
liug, Bismarck, Mrs. Phillimore, Belle Pontoise, Hoary
Morning, Cox's Orange Pippin, Newton Wonder,
Calville Malingre, Baumann's Winter Reinette,
Winter Queening, Swedish Reinette, King of Tomkins
County, Tower of Glamis, Peasgood's Nonsuch, Ribston
Pippin, &c. There were excellent fruits of the follow-
ing Pears :— Ramilies, Catillac, and Uvedale's St.
Germain.

Messrs. Jas. Cheal i- Sons, Lowfield Nurseries,
Crawley, exhibited seventy-five baskets and dishes of
Apples. Wenoticedverygoodspecimensof Cox'sOrange
Pippin, Newton Wonder, Jubilee, Beauty of Stoke, Paro-
quet (new). Lane's Prince Albert. Fearn's Pippin, Lord
Derby, Mabbot's Pearmain, and Crawley Reinette, a
new one, said to be a very late one, in season in March,
a late bloomer, and a very free cropper and easy
" doer." It is a little similar to Blenheim Orange
in appearance and size (Silver Knightian Medal).

Messrs. John Laino & Sons, Forest Hill Nurseries,
London, S.E., had a small collection of Apples, in which
Tom Putt, Gloria Mundi, Beauty of Kent, Dumelows

Seedling, and Lane's Prince Albert, showed to ad-
vantage. '

Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, exhibited some
big Onions in several varieties.

Annual Meeting.

The annual general meeting of the Royal Horticul-
tural Society was held at the Drill Hall, Buckingham
Gate, Westminster, on Tuesday, February 11 ; Sir
Trevor Lawrence, Bart., the President, occupied the
chair, and the attendance in the draughty Drill Hall
was numerous.

The President, in opening the meeting, said : —
Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we owe you some
apology for the fact that we have to meet in this Hall
to-day. It is not a very convenient place; but I hope
that in the course of a few years we may be sufticiently
fortunate to have a hall of our own.

Fifty-eight new Fellows were nominated for election
at the meeting.

Mr. Geo. Paul next moved a vote heartily thanking;
Sir John Llewelyn for his past services on the Council,
and expressing the great regret of the Council that
Sir John found it impossible, owing to the distance he
lived from London, to attend the meetings of that body.
Mr. Paul said they were losing a man who possessed
great knowledge of horticulture, and his loss would be-
a very severe one to the Society.

Sir John Llewelyn, in returning thanks, assured
the meeting that he left the Council with very great
regret. He had always taken a pleasure in this work^
which had been to him awork of love. It was a whole-
some rule of the Society that members of Council
should attend regularly, and this he found impossible,
owing to living 200 miles from London. Of course,
they did not want to make the Society a merely London
Society, but they wished that its ramifications should
extend far and wide. He was therefore glad to find,
that a countryman had been elected to fill his place
He should, however, at all times, do all he could to
promote the welfare of the Royal Horticultural Society,
and he was glad to see the proud position it was now
holding in this country.

The President then said :— The next business is for
me to move the adoption of the Annual report. I think,
there are very few people who are interested in the
Royal Horticultural Society who will not agree with
me, when I say that the Council are presenting a very
satisfactory report to the Fellows.

New Fellows.
The numerical gains the Society has made are really
remarkable. I find that 930 new Fellows were elected
during the first yearof the new century. That is, I say,
remarkable, when I remember that in 1888 — which.
after all, is but a few years ago— there were only S52
paying members of the Society all told. It must notbe-
supposed that this is in any way due to fashion.
Unfortunately fashion, charming as it is, is perhaps,
the most fickle thing in the whole world, and if we-
were congratulating ourselves on the number of new
Fellows to join a fashionable Society, I should not
have the same satisfaction as I feel at the present
moment. Nor must it be supposed that the recruiting-
ground of the Society is in any way becoming ex-
hausted ; because, notwithstanding the fact that nearly
1,000 new Fellows joined the Society last year, we have
already thus early in the year elected 180 new Fellows.
The names of the Fellows occupy 126 closely printed
pages of the Report. I have not counted them, but I
am told that the total is, roughly speaking, 5500.

The Royal Botanic.
I dare say some of you have seen in the newspapers
some paragraphs associating the name of this Society
with the Royal Botanic. Society. We received a most
courteous letter from that Society, suggesting that
they should place their gardens at the disposal of this
Society. Unfortunately, this Society had already made
all its arrangements, not only for the present year, but
I may say for practically a considerable time to come,
and we were unable to meet the advances which were

made to us.

The Temple Show.

I think you will agree witli me that so long as the
Benchers of the Honourable Society of the Inner
Temple are so kind as to lend us their gardens, there-
is no better place in the City of London in which to
hold our great shows. Perhaps I ought to take advan-
tage of that remark, and say how very grateful we arc
to the Benchers of the Inner Temple, who have extended
to us such enduring hospitality. Although the gardens
are not quite as large as the Benchers might like,
and certainly not so large as we could desire, still they

February 15, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

117

occupy a central position in Hie City of London, easily
accessible from all parts, and that is a great advantage.

The Rkport.

As to the report, I think you will agree with me that
it is somewhat detailed. I do not wish to go unneces-
sarily into the matters dealt with; but in Paragraphs
stress is laid on the value of the lists of awards by the
various Committees of this Society. I think nobody who
is occupied in Hie cultivation of a garden can do at all
well without a copy of the lists of awards. They have
been published by the Society, and we are very greatly
indebted to several of our Fellows for the valuable
assistance they have given us in that matter. In this
connection I must mention Mr. Gurney Fowler, who
has taken a great deal of trouble in making these lists
correct, and I believe they have been so revised that
there is scarcely a mistake to be found, if indeed there
is one.

The Awards.

The total awards by the various Committees during
the year number 983. I venture to think that number is
far too many. If the awards are multiplied with any
degree of generosity, of course they lose their value
in proportion to their multiplication. I think the
uew provision is a good one which lays it down that
no award is to be given except by a vote of a two-
thirds majority. Formerly the awards were decided by
an absolute majority.

The Scientific Committee.
Then the report speaks of the value of the services of
the Scientific Committee. Upon that committee are
gentlemen of the highest scientific eminence in the
horticultural world, and their services are very great
indeed. There is no doubt whatever that the future
belongs to science, and that [applies to horticulture as
it does to everything else. When we remember how
science has absolutely altered the face of the globe, it
will be seen what a prominent position is filled by the
scientific horticulturist.

The Special Societies.

It is a real satisfaction to this Society to find that
several o! the kindred societies, which no doubt were
originally started by some members of this Society, are
showing an increasing inclination to come home to
roost under the auspices and guardianship of this
Society. There is the Tulip Society, the Dahlia
Society, the Auricula and Primula Society, and others.

At this point noise was made by some workmen in
the gallery .which led the President to point out the need
for a Hall of their own — a remark which was again
applauded. Continuing he said, these societies are
now holding their shows under the auspices of the
Royal Horticultural Society, and all we can say is, the
more these kindred societies gather under the wings
of the parent Society, the better the parent Society
will be pleased.

The American Conference on Hybrids.
With regard to paragraph 14, I should mention, in
addition to Mr. Nicholson and Mr. Bateson, that we
have, owing to a request coming from America, asked
Captain Hurst, who is well known as a hybridiser of
plants, especially Orchids, to go with those gentlemen
to America for the Conference on Hybridisation to be
held in New York in the autumn.

"The Journal."
There is one 'matter which I hope you will admit
am entitled to refer to with feelings of congratu-
lation, and that is the Journal. I think there is
nobody who is acquainted with the Journal who
does not recognise the value of that publication
now. Within the last year or two it has been
enormously improved; and it is impossible to
avoid mentioning in this connection the name of the
gentleman who edits it. I refer, of course, to our
invaluable Secretary, Mr. Wilks. I consider that the
Journal for a Society of this sort has very nearly
reached perfection. The cost of printing it, is £1506.
We have to deduct the amount we get from advertise-
ments—£523, and from sale of copies, £68 ; that is a
reduction of £591, leaving the net cost of producing
the Journal £915— money, I venture to think, very well
spent indeed. I must also ask you to bear in mind
your obligation and gratitude to the gentlemen who
are responsible for the abstracts and notes which
I now form a prominent feature of the Journal. These
gentlemen occupy very prominent positions in con-
nection with horticultural and botanical sciences, and
the obligations of the Society to them are very great.

One Fellow asked, whether the Jour mil could not be
printed on unglazed paper; andanother suggested that
the edges might be cut.

The President said glazed paper was necessary for
the proper production of the "blocks;" and anyone
who loved books would regard the cutting of the edges
as barbarous.

Rectifications.

I should like to say in passing, that the expression
" three years," in paragraph 5 of the Report, should
read. " during the last five years." Then there is one
rectification to make in paragraph 18 of the Report
where it is stated that it is proposed to hold examina-
tions of young men for Certificates in the month of
February, instead of in April. It has been pointed out
to the Council that that would be an exceedingly
inconvenient time, and that it would absolutely de-
prive us of a considerable number of candidates, and
the Council thought it best to revert to the original
month of April.

Rose Conference.

In another paragraph of the Report, you will
see that, owing to the kindness of the Earl
and Countess of Ilchester, a Rose Conference
is to be held in the grounds of Holland House
towards the end of June. I need hardly say that
there could be no better place to hold such a Con-
ference, for not only are the gardens very celebrated,
but an historic interest pertains to the mansion,
which would attract people to visit them, even if they
did not care for the queen of flowers, the Rose. I do
not think there is the slightest difficulty in entertain-
ing the hope that the Conference which is to take place
on June 24, may be continued on June 25. At one time
there was considerable doubt, owing to the Coronation,
but the date of that event has now been settled.

The Proposed Hall.
There is only one other matter to which I ought to
refer. It will be within the memory of all present that
a considerable discussion has taken place as to the
best way of celebrating the centenary of the Society,
which will take place in 1904. It will also be within
the memory of a great many present that we had a
meeting in this building last year, when a proposal to
purchase a site for a new garden did not, under the
circumstances, recommend itself to the Fellows. At
that time promises of pecuniary assistance were made
to a very considerable amount by gentlemen who were
prcsent.provided the Society ultimately decided toadopt
an alternative proposal for having a Horticultural Hall
with offices instead of a new garden, as the best method
of celebrating the centenary of the Society. Not that a
hall, with offices, were to shut out the provision of a
new garden when the Society has to leave Chiswick.
It was felt by a great many people present that while
there were always sites available for a new garden, the
sites which would be suitable for a new hall [would
daily, and even hourly, become fewer. However that
maybe, it was decided by the meeting that the idea of a
new garden, at all events in the manner in which it was
placed before the Fellows, could not be entertained.
It was largely at the instance of Baron Schroder,
who has always been not only a very eminent horti-
culturist, but a very prominent and one of the best
members of this Society, that a committee was formed to
consider the sites which might be suggested for a hall
for the Society. The committee consisted of Baron
Schroder (as Chairman), Earl of Ilchester, Mr. Sher-
wood, Dr. Masters, Mr. May, Mr. Harry Veitch, and
myself, with the Rev. Mr. Wilks as Secretary. Five
different sites have been brought before the committee.
It is not necessary, and I presume nobody would desire
that I should delay this meeting by going into the
details of these various sites ; but during the last few
weeks a site has been suggested which has been very
carefully considered, and in regard to which negotia-
tions are now going on. We were especially cautioned
by the gentleman who was acting for the Society in
regard to this site that we should not talk about it.
Perhaps you will think that I am doing the very thing
we were expressly cautioned against doing, but I am
not going to mention the exact nature of the site. I
believe you will trust the committee at all events not
to do anything foolish, and I have the authority of
every member of this Council to assure the Fellows
that nothing will be done without the whole circum-
stances being placed fully before them, and receiving
their consent. As the negotiation is now proceeding
it would be not only not advantageous, but it would lie
absolutely disadvantageous if anything were said
about it beyond what I have already stated— that the
negotiation is now proceeding. As soon as it arrives
at such a state that it can properly lie placed before the
members of this Society, the Council will summon a
special general meeting and place before the Fellows the

whole of the facts. I should mention that no great delay
can occur in regard to that. The matter must be settled
within a reasonable time, and therefore my anticipa-
tion is that we shall be in a position to call a meeting
before very long. I thought it would be wiser on
the whole to make this statement rather than to say
anything in reply to questions asked by the
Fellows. Of course, 1 am well aware that the Fellows
of the Society must feel very great anxiety on this
subject, and if there is any question that any Fellow
desires to ask, 1 shall be most willing to answer him
if I can do so without in any way risking the success of
the negotiations. I beg to thank you most sincerely
for listening to my remarks. I hope you will agree
that the Report is satisfactory. I should like in con-
clusion to say that we owe a very great debt of gratitude
to everybody who has done what they possibly could
to promote the interests of this Society. We owe it to
the amateur and professional horticulturists of this
kingdom who have done their best to maintain the
Society ; who have supported its shows, and put them-
selves to expense and personal inconvenience to pro-
mote the welfare of the Society; and we owe it to the
men of science who have given us their assistance and
their papers in our Journal. We also owe a great debt
of gratitude to our Committees, which embrace most
of the prominent horticulturists of the Kingdom,
for their great services. Our Secretary's services to
the Society are practically invaluable. He has lately
beeu overworked, and you see how the Society has
grown, and may judge what a very heavy burden of
work falls upon him. We have endeavoured to relieve
him of some of his work, and I am quite sure that
whateverwedoin that direction will receive the hearty
support of the Fellows of this Society. We havea most
excellent staff in our offices, and to them also our
thanks are greatly due. I beg now to move the adoption
of the report, and Dr. Masters will be kind enough
to second the motion.

Dr. Masters said that, as a member of the Committee
to which the President had alluded, he had the greatest
pleasure in seconding the motion that the report be
received and adopted.

Centenary Celebration.

Mr. A. Dean asked whether the Hall would be ready
for the celebration of the Society's centenary ? He also
suggested that it would be a very proper way to
celebrate the event by a great international horti-
cultural exhibition for that year.

The President : That matter has not been over-
looked. There has been considerable discussion in
Council as to the desirability at some time of holding
an international exhibition. But if there is one thing
in the history of the Society— oue caution which it
conveys more than another— it is, not to be too im-
patient. We spent our money like water in times
past. We left £.80,000 at South Kensington, and what
we should now do is to husband our resources with the
greatest possible care, and devote them to the best
means of securing an enduring prosperity for the
Society, and not to run any unnecessary risks. Our
hope is that when we find it possible to carry out the
proposals which are being considered, the hall will
certainly be ready by 1904.

The report was adopted unanimously.

The Council.

As the provisions of the Charter require that three
members of the Council shall resign every year, the
Council have decided that the three vacancies shall be
created by the resignation of Sir John Dillwyn Llewelyn,
Bart., Uic Rev. Hugh A. Berners, M.A., and Harry J.
Veitch, Esq. The following gentlemen have been duly
nominated to fill the vacancies, viz. :— Arthur L. Wigon,
Esq., Rev. Hugh A. Berners, M.A., Harry J. Veitch, Esq.
The following have been nominated for election as
Vice-Presidents, viz. :— The Right Hon. Joseph Cham-
berlain, M.P ; the Right Hon. The Earl of Ducic; the
Right Hon. Lord Rothschild; Barou Sir Henry Schroder
Bart. ; Sir John Dillwyn Llewelyn, Halt. ; Sir Frederick
Wigan, Bart.

The following have been [nominated for election as
officers, viz. : — Sir Trevor Lawrence, (Bart., ;V.M.H.,
President; I. Gurney Fowler, Esq., Treasurer; Rev.
W. Wilks, M.A., Secretary; Alfred C. Harper, Esq,
Auditor.

The whole of these were olected without a vote being
taken, as there were no other nominations.

Mr. Arthur Bottom proposed : "That this meeting Is
glad to hear from the President that steps arc being
taken to secure a site for a hall, and pledges itself to

118

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 15, 1902.

give its most favourable consideration to any proposal
which the Council shall in due time lay before it." lie
said he was quite sure they were all indebted to the
Council for work that they had been doing for many
months past in trying to obtain a suitable and perma-
nent home for the Royal Horticultural Society. He
did not think that their having a hall need exclude
their possessing a garden. But their experience in that
building that afternoon proved to them the absolute
necessity of having a home of their own.
. Surgeon-Major Inl'E seconded the motion, which
was carried with three dissentients.
The meetihgtlieu ended.

DULWICH CHRYSANTHEMUM.

Feijruary 4.— The eighth annual meeting of the Dul-
wich Chrysanthemum Society was held on the above
date, and was signalised by a large attendance of the
members. The balance-sheet shows a balance in hand
of £10 19s. The receipts from all sources increased by
£25 during the year, while the expenditure was not
quite £11 more than in 1900. When it is remembered
that the National Chrysanthemum1 Society has lost
about £10 on the year's working, and many local so-
cieties liave had a disappointing year, it is clear that
the Dulwich Society receives a large and increasing
amount of support, and great credit is due to the whole
of the executive for its prosperous condition.

The Society intend to hold a three days' show instead
of two days as heretofore, the dates fixed being
November 11, 12, and 13.

CROYDON AND DISTRICT HORTI-
CULTURAL.

February 4.— A well-attended meeting of the Croy-
don and District Horticultural Mutual Improvement
Society was held at the " Sunflower " on the above
date, Mr. W. J. Simpson in the chair.

Mr. A. Maslex, gr., Bramley Hill House, read a paper
on the Seasonable treatment of Vines. An interesting
discussion followed.

WARGRAVE GARDENERS'.

February s.— The members met on the above date
to hear Mr. W. J. Fuller's 1st prize essay for assistant
gardeners on " Chrysanthemum Culture." He dealt
most fully with every phase of the subject, from the
cutting to the exhibition stage. A long discussion took
place, in which many joined. The dreaded "rust"
gave rise to the expression of conflicting opinions by
various gardeners.

There were some good exhioits. Six new members
were elected. //. Coltby, Hon. Sec.

NORTH PECKHAM AMATEUR
CHRYSANTHEMUM.

February (i. -The annual dinner of the above society
took place at the Trafalgar Hotel, Peckham, on the
above date, C. H. Taqg, Esq., Town Clerk of Camber-
well, in the chair. He spoke highly of the horticul-
tural Press, and in particular of the Gardeners' Chronicle,
iu the dissemination of instruction and information in
regard to Chrysanthemums, as well as the support
afforded to the various local authorities in London in
their endeavour to provide open spaces for the "classes."

The monetary condition of the Society is very satis-
factory, the balance at the bank being £;», after paying
various sums to the local charities. A mutual instruc-
tion class has been started.

CHISWICK GARDENERS' MUTUAL
IMPROVEMENT.

February 6.— At a meeting held on the above date,
Mr. Miller, of Ealing, read an interesting paper on
•' Plant Life," before a good attendance of members.
Mr. Miller briefly traced vegetation from bacteria, viz.,
fungi alga?, the bryophytes or liverworts, vascular
cryptogams, and the phaneogams or flowering plants,
and discoursed for a short time on the tissues which
become more and more complex as the scale is
ascended. Methods of reproduction in the various
types were noted, and the phenomenon of symbio-
sis, as in the lichens, was discussed. The whole
paper resolved itself into a brief treatise on some
of the various phases of protoplasm, and as such was
of immense interest, largely because so little is
definitely known regarding the principles which govern
its laws. C. 11. Buck, Hun. .Sec.

a cheque for £61 18s. 2d. was drawn in favour of the
widow, that being the amount standing to the late
member's credit in the ledger. A member having
received his full amount of sick pay was granted 5s.
per week from the benevolent fund.

Ten members were reported on the sick fund, the
amount paid out for the month being £18 2s. The
Treasurer reported a balance in hand of £713 16s. Id.,
and was empowered to invest £650 in the best available
Trustee Stock. The annual meeting will be held at the
Caledonian Hotel, Adelphi Terrace, Strand, on Monday,
March 10, at 8 p.m.

UNITED HORTICULTURAL BENEFIT
AND PROVIDENT.

February 10.— At the monthly meeting held on the
above date, twelve new members were elected. The
death of Mr. James Clarke of Taunton was reported, and

NATIONAL CHRYSANTHEMUM.

Febrl-ary 10.— A meeting of the Executive Committee
was held on the above date, on which occasion there
was a full attendance. After an animated debate over
the election of Mr. W. Mease as a judge at. the October
and December shows, the election was confirmed. The
Secretary presented an interim financial statement,
and announced that a considerable portion of the
arrears of members' subscriptions had been paid.
Some matters arising out of the report of the auditors
were dealt with as directed by the annual meeting,
and the subscriptions to the fund for establishing a
memorial to the late President, Sir E. Saunders, were
announced. The Secretary reported that the building
[Carr's Restaurant] in which they held their meeting
had been scheduled under the London County Council
scheme of improvement to come down. Negotiations
had been opened in several quarters in order to make
provision for a future meeting-place, and with the
consent of the Directors of the Royal Aquarium.
Messrs. Bertram & Co. had made an offer of accommo-
dation at the Aquarium at a nominal charge. This
offer was accepted.

The date of the annual outing to Paddockhurst,
Crawley, was fixed for July 23. An election to the
Floral Committee was made, to till the vacancies
caused by members retiring by rotation, and most of
the outgoing ones were re-elected. The Classification
and Catalogue Committee, the Schedule Revision,
Finance, Show, and Arbitration Committees were re-
appointed with a few alterations; and a number of
candidates for election were accepted.

PRESCOT HORTICULTURAL.

This is one of the more popular suburbs of Liverpool
which can lay claim to a flower-show that always com-
mands considerable attention from lovers of horti-
culture. In the report just issued by the Society, it is
to be regretted that the year's working does not show
a substantial balance, notwithstanding the fact that
two social evenings have been given during the present
season. However, the financial state is on the right
side, and the committee, through their energetic
Secretary, Mr. W. Case, have again announced an
annual show, to be held, by kind permission of Lord
Derby, in Knowsley Park, on July 31. Orchid.

HORTICULTURAL MEETING AT
GHENT.

At the last meeting early in February of the Chambre
Syndicale des Horticulteurs Beiges et Societe Royale
d' Agriculture et de Botanique, at Ghent, the following
awards were made :— Certificates of Merit : Foragroup
of five Odontoglossums, from M. Th. Pauwels; for
Cypripedium hyb. villosum x Leeanum, from M. Fl.
Stepman, of Brussels ; for C. Hoogendyckeanum Leea-
num x villosum, for C. Vanden Bulcheanum sup. x
insigne coloratum, both from M. Stepman; and for
Miltoniopsis lileuana and Lrelia auceps var. Holli-
dayana, both from M. E. Praet.

A Certificate of Flowering was allotted for Lycaste
Skinneri var., from M. Th. Pauwels.

The following awards were also made :— For Cypripe-
dium Spicerianum ■: insigne sylhetense, from M.
Pynaert Van- Geert ; Ficus radicans variegata, from M.
Louis De Smet; Cypripedium hyb. Spicerianum x
sylhetense, and C. Spic. x sylhetense, both from M.
L. Draps-Dom, of Brussels ; and for cut flowers of Cypri-
pedium, from MM. Janssens and Pitzeys, of Merxem,
Antwerp.

A Certificate of Flowering was awarded for Cymbi-
dium Hookeriauum, from M. L. De Smet Dltvivier.

Honourable Mention was accorded for : Cypripedium
hyb. Boxalli x barba turn, from M. Pynaert Van Geert;
for C. Godseflianum, [from the same exhibitor ; for C.
Spicerianum x barbatum purpuratum, from M. L.
Draps-Dom; and for C. hirsutissimum x barbatum
illustre, from the same exhibitor.

Scilly Isles Narcissus. — The largest
consignment — 14 tons — of Narcissus grown
this season in the Scilly Isles arrived at Pen-
zance yesterday for the English market. West -
minster Gazette, February 12, 11102.

SEASONABLE NOTES OX
CHRYSANTHEMUMS.

Plants raised from cuttings put in during the
month of December under frames, hand-glasses,
&c, and properly attended to, are making
good progress. When it is seen that growth is
taking place, gradually expose them by admit-
ting air, and a few days later the plants may be
placed upon a shelf suspended from the rafters
in the same house. When the voting plants
have moderately filled the pots with roots,
they must he at once removed to others 3 J ins.
in diameter. They will subsequently be re-
moved into pots 5J ins. in diameter, and later
into the pots in which they will flower.

For the present potting use a compost of
two parts loam, one of leaf-mould or half-
decayed horse-manure, with sand added. To
every bushel of such compost add 1 lb. of
Thomson's Vine and Plant Manure, or other
good plant stimulant. Many fail in cultivating
Chrysanthemums because they start their
plants too weakly. The plants cannot be
grown too strongly at this period.

For the greater convenience in potting, pass
the compost through a coarse sieve, rubbing
the fibrous parts through also, not rejecting
this. Vse clean pots, and provide them with
good drainage material, which should be pro-
tected by a covering with some of the rougher
parts of the compost. Pot firmly. Let the
soil be moist at the time it is used, and do not
afford water for a day or two at least. During
the early months of the year yoxmg Chrysan-
themum plants may be severely cheeked by
over-watering, and every care should be taken
to avoid this, remembering also that the leaves
should never be permitted to flag from lack of
moisture.

After potting, return the plants to their
former position on the shelf, until the roots
run through the soil to the sides of the pots ;
then place a neat stake to each, and transfer
them to a cold frame or pit, standing them
upon ashes near to the glass. Keep the
atmosphere of the frame rather close for
a day or two, after which admit air as
abundantly as the state of the -weather will
permit, and on very fine days remove the
lights altogether during the warmest hours.
A sufficient covering should be provided over
the glass at night to protect the plants from
frost. A Chrysanthemum plant should never
be allowed to suffer a check of any kind, from
the time the cutting is inserted until the
blooms are developed. E. M'olyneux.

MARKETS.

COVENT GARDEN, FEBRUARY 13.

(We cannot accept any responsibility for the subjoined
reports. They are furnished to us regularly every
Thursday, by the kindness of several of the prin-
cipal salesmen, who revise the list, and who are
responsible for the quotations. It must be remem-
bered that these quotations do not represent the
prices on any particular day, but only the general
averages for the week preceding the date of our
report. The prices depend upon the quality of
the samples, the supply iu the market, and the
demand, and they may fluctuate, not only from day
to day. but often several times in one day. ED.l
CUT Flowers, &c— Average Wholesale Prices.

Asparagus 'Fern,'

bunch

Carnations, per

dozen blooms
Cattleyas, p doz.
Kucharis, p. doz.
Gardenias, doz.
Lilium Harrisii,

dozen blooms
Lilium lancifolm.

album, p. doz.

blooms
Lilium rubrum,

per dozen ...
Lilium longiflrm.

per dozen ...

s.d. s.d. |

s.d. s.d.

Lily of Valley, p.

doz. bunches 9 0-18 0
Maidenhair Fern,

doz. bunches 4 0-80
Mignonette, per

doz. bunches 4 0-80
Odontoglossums,

per dozen ... 2 6-60
5 0-80 Roses, Tea, white,

per dozen ... 10-30
| — Catherine

Mermet, per

doz 2 0-50

Smilax, p. bunch 3 0-60
Tuberoses, per

doz. blooms 0 4-08

16-26

10-20
9 0-12 0
4 0-60
16-20

3 0-40

February 15, 1902.]

THE GARB ENER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

119

Plants in Pots.— Average Wholesale Peices.

s.d.
5 o-

s.d.

7 o

Adiantums, doz.

Arbor-vitae, var.,

per dozen ...

Aspidistras, doz.

— specimen, ea.
Cannas, per doz. 18 0
Crotons, per doz. 18 0-30 0
Cyclamen, p. doz. 8 0-10 0
Dractenas, var.,

per dozen ...

— viridis, doz.
Ericas, var., doz.
Euonymus, var.,

per dozen ...
Evergreens, var.,

per dozen ...
Ferns, in variety,

per dozen ...

Ferns, small, per

100 4 0-60

Fieuselastica, ea. 16-76
Foliage plants,

various, each 10-50

Lily of Valley, ea. 19-30
Lycopodiums, P

dozen ... ', 3 0-40
Marguerites, per

dozen... , 8 0-13 0

Myrtles, per doz 6 0-90

Palms, var., each l °~15 °

' — specimen, ea 21 °-*3 0

6 0-18 0 Pelargoniums

scarlet, d'oz 8 0-12 0
4 0-18 0 — Ivyleaf, per

dozen ... 8 0-10 0

4 0-18 0 i Spiraas, per doz. 6 0-12 0

Feuit.— Aveeage Wholesale Peices.
d. s.d.

6 0-36 0

18 0-36 0

5 0-10 6

12 0-30 0
9 0-18 0
12 0-36 0

Apples, home-
grown, Wel-
lingtons, per
bushel

— Californian,
cases

— Blenheims,
&c., p. bushel

— Nova Scotian,

Custard - Apples,
I per dozen ...
: Grapes, Gros Col-
mar, A., p. lb.
B., per lb.

— Alicante, lb.

— Almeira, per
121b

s.d. s.d.

2 6-30
16-19
13-20

5 0-60

— per barrel 14 0-15 6

various.p.brl. 21 0-26 0 Lemons, per case 5 6-10 6

— King Pippins,
per bushel ... 5 0-7 0

— LargeCookers,

per bushel ... 13 0

Bananas, bunch 6 0-10 0

— loose, p. doz. 10-16
Cape Fruits-
Apricots, cases 6 0-10 0

Peaches 10 0-13 0

Plums 5 0-80

Chestnuts.perbag 7 0-14 o
Cobnuts, Kentish,

per lb. ... 0 11- 1 0
Cranberries, case 9 0-10 6
— quart 0 6 —

Oranges," Denia,

per case ... 10 0-13 0

— Jaffa, per case 13 0-17 0

— Jamaica, per

case 12 6 —

— Navel, per

ease 13 0-14 0

— Tan gierine,

per case ... 0 10- 8 6
Pears, Easter

Beurre.in half

cases 8 0-90

Pines, each ... 19-33
Sapucaia Nuts, lb. 1 3 —
Walnuts, per bag 3 0-40

Vegetables.— Aveeage Wholesale Peices.

per
per

Artichokes, Globe,
per dozen ...

— Jerusalem, p.
sieve

Asparagus Sprue,
bundle

— English

— Paris Green...

— Spanish
Barbe de Capucine,

bundle

Beans, dwf., house,
per lb

— Madeira
basket

Beetroots,

bushel
Brussels Sprouts,

sieve

Cabbage, tally ...

— dozen

Carrots, per doz.

bunches

— washed, bags

— unwashed, per
bag

Cauliflowers, doz.

— tally

Celeriac, per doz.
Celery, 12 bundles
Chicory, per lb....
Cress, per dozen

punnets

Cucumbers, doz.

Endive, new
French, doz.

Garlic, per lb. ...

Horseradish, fo-
reign, bunch

Leeks, 12 bunches

Lettuces, Cabbage,
per dozen ...

Mint, new bunch

s.d. s.d.
3 0 3 6
10-16

1 0 —
9 0 10 0
7 o —

2 9 —

0 3 —
2 6-30
2 6-30
13-16

2 0-26
5 0 —
0 9-10

3 0-36
2 6-36

2 0 —

3 0 -

5 0-10 0
2 6 —

10 0-16 0
0 3 —

13 —

6 0-12 0

2 0-26

03 —

10-16
2 0 —

3 10- 1 3
0 4-06

s.d. s.d.
Mushrooms, house,

per lb. ... 0 6-0 9
Onions, case ... 8 0-86

— English, per

cwt 7 0-76

— in bags ... 5 6-60

— pioklers, per

sieve 2 0-30

Parsley, per doz.

bunches ... 16-20

— sieve 4 0 —

Parsnips, p. cwt.

bag 2 6-33

Potatos, per ton.. 50 0-90 0

— new, per lb.... 0 3j- 0 4
Frame, lb. 0 8 —

— newTeneriffe,

per cwt. ... 10 0-14 0
Radishes, p. doz.

bunches ... 10-16
Rhubarb, Yorks,

per dozen ... 12-14
Salad, small, pun-
nets, per doz. 13 —
Salsafy, per doz.

bundles 7 0 —

Savoys, tally ... 3 0-80
Seakale, per doz.

punts 11 0-13 0

Shallots, per lb.... 02 —
Spinach, English,

bushel ... 4 0 —

Stachys, lb. ... 0 4 —
Tomatos, Canary,

boxes 3 6-46

Turnip-Tops, per

bushel ... 2 0 —

— bag 16-20

Turnips, per doz.

bunches ... 2 6-30

— bag 1 6- 2 6

Watercress, per

doz. bunches 0 6-08

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.

Glasgow, February 12.— The following are the averages
of the prices during the past week :— Apples, New-
town Californian, 8s. art. to 10«. nd. per case ; Oregon,
128. to 13s. do. ; Nova Scotia Baldwins, 22s. to 24s. per
barrel; Maine, 20s. to 24s. do.: Canadian, 23s. to
2«s. do. ; Grapes, Is. to 2s. M. per lb. ; Oranges, Valen-
cias, ordinary, 420's, 7s. to 8s. per box ; do., large
420's, 9s. 6d. to 10s. do. ; extra large do., 8s. 6d. to
12s. ed. do. ; large 714's, 9s. to 9s. 6d. do. ; Jaffa, 12s.
to 138. do. ; Mushrooms. Is. to Is. 3d. per Hi. ; Onions,
Valencias, 5's, 9s. ed. to 10s. per box; do., Globe
8s. 6d. do. ; do. Dutch 6s. ed. do.

Liverpool: February 12.— Wholesale Vegetable Market .
— Potatos. per cwt. : Up-to-Date, 2s. 3d, to 3s. :id. ; Main
Crop, .'is. M. to 4s. 3d. ; Lynn Grays, 2s. to 2s. M. ; Bruce,
2s. 3d. to3». :\d : Turnips, lOd.tol*. 3d. per 12 bunches ;
Swedes, is. ad, to Is. itd. per cwt. ; Carrots, 3s. 6d. to 4s.
do. ; Onions, foreign, 5s. ed. to 6s. ed. per cwt. : Parsley.
10(/ to Is. 2d. per dozen bunches; Cauliflowers.
Is. to 2s. erf. per dozen ; Cabbages, hid. to 2>. per
dozen ; Celery, 8rf. to Is. 6(1. do. 81. Johns : Potatos, Is.
per peck; Cucumbers, 18. each ; Grapes, English, ls.iirf.

to 2s. ed. per lb.; do., foreign, 6d. to 8rf. do. : Pines,
foreign, 3s. 6rf. to 6s. each ; Mushrooms, is. per lb. ;
Filberts, Is. do. Birkenhead: Potatos, Is. to Is. 2d.
per peck ; Grapes, English, Is. b'd. to 3s. 6d. per lb. ;
do., foreign, id. to srf. do. ; Mushrooms, is. to Is. 6d.
per lb.

SEEDS.

London : February 12.— Messrs. John Shaw & Sons, Seed
Merchants, of GreatMaze Pond, Borough, London, S.E.,
report to-day's market thinly attended, with a quiet
business passing. The article which still meets with
most favour is Alsyke, and a further advance therein
has to be noted. With regard to White Clover-seed,
although the excitement has spent itself, no lower
prices are accepted, and its firmness appears fully
justified by its real scarcity. Red Clover-seed, mean-
time, keeps dull, and favours buyers ; but full rates
are demanded lor Trefoil, Timothy, and Cocksfoot.
Linseed has risen Is. per quarter ; but Mustard is
cheaper. There is. however, no change in Rape-seed.
Tares ai*e in active request, on fully former terms.
Bird-seeds move just now in narrow limits. The severe
weather naturally increases the consumption of Blue
Peas and Haricot Beans. The Board of Trade returns
give the imports into the United Kingdom of Clover
and grass-seeds for the past month as 43,709 cwts., value
£319,131 ; as against 37,701 cwts., value £244,603, for
January, 1901.

CORN.

Average Prices of British Corn (per Imperial qr.),
for the week ending February S, 1902, and for the cor-
responding period of 1901, together with the difference
in the quotations. These figures are based on the
Official Weekly Return :—

Description.

1901.

1902.

Difference.

Wheat

Barley

Oats

8. d.

26 8

25 7
17 7

8. d.

27 2

26 9
20 3

s. d.
+ 0 6

+ 1 a

+ 2 8

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS taken in the
Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens at Chiswick,
London, for the period February 2 to February 8,
1902. Height above sea-level 24 feet.

1902.

Temperature
of THE Aie.

At9A.M.

•t

a

O

xJ

-

■3

CO

n

M

si

p.

0

bo

a

Tempera-
ture ofthe

SOILat9A.M.

SUN.

2

MON.

3

TUES.

4

WED.

5

THU.

6

FBI.

7

Sat.

8

Means

E.N.E.
E.N.E.

N.E.
E.N.E.
E.N.E.

N.E.
S.E.

M
V

•O

33 3
32'7
35-3
33 0
34-8
33'0
84 -5

31 -5 31'9 31 2 0 01 35-8 40-0
33-0<>-in;:t:. -5 ::'.>•;

32-0 35
::i 0 ;v-
32 -036 '2
'33-2J38-6
80'5|39'1
33'9*>7'3

33 -S
32 5
33 -0

38-5,82-4 36*8

I

... 3.V5.-S9.'.

... 35-7 38-3
?:.-'.<. 38-2
81 -6'0 '03 86 '4 39 '3
30-50 05I36-1 39-3

Totl
31*9.0 -1535-839-5

s
■a

44 0

43-9
43 6
43 5
48-8
43 1
43 0

M
V

■a

24 4
29 3

31 5
30-0
110
27 :>
23 1

Remarks. — Dull, eold weather has prevailed during
the past week, with strung wind, slight rains, and
snow at intervals.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

The following Summary Record of the weather
throughout the British Islands, for the week ending
Fell, s, is furnished from the Meteorological Office :—

" The wtather was (air in most parts o( the Kingdom
during the earlier half of the week, but subsequently i>e

eainc less sett led. until by Sat unkiy snow had become

very general in all the northern districts, and Bleet or
cold rain in the south. The snowfall in some of the

northern districts of Great Britain and Ireland was
very heavy.

-'The temperature was again below the mean, the
deficit ranging from 3° in England. N.E., and 4 in Ire-
land, N., to 6° in the Midland Counties, England. S.,
the Channel Islands, and Scotland, N., and to 7° in
England, S.W. The highest of the maxima were re-
corded on rather irregular dates. They varied from
48° in England, S.W. and the Channel Islands, to 42° in
England, N.E. and N.W. At many northern, central,
and eastern stations the daily maxima were frequently
below 36°. The lowest of the minima were registered
either at the beginning or end of the period. They
varied from 8* in Scotland. E. and 10' in Scotland. V
(at Nairn and Wick on Sunday), to 20° in England, S.W ..
28' in Ireland, S., and 31' in the Channel Islands.

" The rainfall was less than the mean in all districts.
Sonic of the amounts yielded by the snow were large—
especially in the north of Ireland. At Edenfel there
was as much as 0'92 inch, and at Armagh 102 inch.

"the bright sunshine was much less than the normal
over the Kingdom as a whole, but exceeded it in Scot-
land, N., aud Ireland, S. The percentage of the possible
duration ranged from 24 in the latter district, and 23.
in the former, to 9 in England, S. and N.W., and in
Ireland, N., and to it in England, E."

THE WEATHER IN WEST HERTS.
The present cold spell has now lasted exactly a fort-
night, during which the temperature in the screen has
at no time risen more than 8° above the freezing point.
On the coldest night of the past week a thermometer
exposed on the surface of the snow registered 18 o£
frost. The ground has been gradually getting colder,
and is now 3° colder at 2 feet deep, and 4° colder at
1 foot deep, than is seasonable. Snow fell on the morn-
ing of the 8th to the mean depth of an inch, and the
ground is still about half covered by this fall. No
measurable quantity of water has as yet come through
either of the percolation gauges this month. The sun
shone on an average for one and a half hours a day
during the week, which is a small record for February.
The air has been throughout very calm, the mean rate
of movement at 30 feet'abovethe ground being only one
and a half miles an hour. The atmosphere has again
proved dry for the time of year. E. .1/., Berkliamtted,
February 11, 1902.

TRADE NOTICE.

M 1:. F. Sander, of St. Albans, and of Bruges,
Belgium, requests us to make known that he
lias taken into partnership his three sons,
Conrad Fearnley Sander, Frederick Kropp
Sander, and Lewis Lohmann Sander, who have
been engaged in the business for several
years. The style of the firm will henceforth
be Sander and Sons. Mr. Godseff remains
as manager.

Apple Shoots Bored : W. Noble. The work
oftheWood Leopard mot li-catei pillar, Zeuzera
jesculi. When coarse wood-dust is noticed
at the foot of a tree or beneath the branches,
suspect this creature as the originator, and
look for the entrance to the gallery, tip
which thrust a wire and kill the caterpillar.

Books: F.W.C. The must modern and tin-
best for your purpose is The Boo/,- of the
Rose, by the Rev. A. Foster-Melliar, pub-
lished by Messrs. Macmillan & Co., St.
Martin's' Street, London, W.O. The publi-
cations ni' the National Hose Society can be
obtained from .Mr. K. Mawley, Rosebank,
Great Berkhamstead.

CYCLAMEN: -V. V. '/.. The production of two

flower-stalks where one only normally occurs

is nut a very rare occurrence. In your case

the two flower-stalks arc fused together.

On making a cross-cut, the vascular bundles

arc found arranged, nut in a circle, lint in

I llipse. Tin' stalks arc united all the

way Up, but the Hewers themselves are not

joined.
Distance in- Earth i'rum

mi' sin : ;:. (;. n.

The earth's path or orbit is net strictly

120

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 15, 1902.

circular, but an ellipse in one of the loci of
which is the sun. The earth is nearest the
sun or in perihelion at the beginning of the
year, or when it is winter in the northern
hemisphere : and at its greatest distance,
aphelion, at midsummer in that hemisphere.
The least distance of the sun from the earth
is 94,000,000, and the greatest .96,000,000
of miles.

Everlasting Peas: W. G. L. The roots and
tops of these reaching to considerable
length, the plants in nursery lines should
certainly not be planted at a less distance
apart than 2 feet. If they are grown in 8 to
10-inch pots sunk in the soil, and that,
perhaps, is the better way, 15 inches would
afford enough space for top growth to
develop.

Foreign Basket-makers : G. Bradwell. We
are unable to recommend traders. You
should consult Letts' London Directory,'
under Foreign.

Gardener in Ill-health: Bouvard.' See reply
to a similar question in our "Enquiry"
column last week.

Hardy Red, White, and Blue Coloured
Plants for a Device: Inquirpr. Red:
Ajuga reptans; white: Centaurea ragu-
sina, Cineraria maritima, or Cerastium to-
mentosum ; blue : Plumbago Larpentse.
Much depends upon the season of the year
for which the design is intended.

Hyacinths Failing: G. F. The bulbs may
have been lifted in an immature condition,
and are unfitted for forcing, although capable
of producing flowers at their natural season.
Many such instances of the slow-rooting of
Hyacinths and Tulips have reached us this
season.

Lack of Notice : E. JR. We think that you
were there on trial. It would be unwise to
tike the matter into a Court.

LAl'AGERIA : Bourard. Loam of a rough, turfy
kind, two-thirds; peat, one-third; and
enough sharp sand as will make the soil
porous.,

Lily of the Valley : Ignoramus. So long as
the plant is at rest it may be planted ; and
if you can determine those parts of the
plant, i.e., buds, or, in garden parlance,
crowns, which are three years old, and
plant only these, you may get flowers next
June as desired. That is the chief point, as
crowns older than three years have already
flowered, and will not again flower; and
those of one and two years are too young
for flowering. Three-year-old crowns are
obtainable from the Lily of the Valley
specialists. Scan our advertisement
columns.

Monograph of the Coccid.e of the British
Isles : A. L. As was stated in last week's
Gardeners' Chronicle, it is a publication of
the Ray Society,. and only obtainable by the
members of that society.

NAMES of FRUITS : Novice. 1, Winter Majetin ;
2, Minchull Crab ; 3, Ribston Pearmain. —
G. C. 1, Besi Vaet; 2, Due de Nemours ; :5,
Moccas ; 4, Notaire Minot. — B. B. Irish
Reinette.— F. W. 1, Jean de Witte ; 2,
L'Inconnue ; 3, Leopold I. — P. M., Malpas.
1, Easter Beurre ; 2, Glout Morceau ; 3,
Beurre Stcrckmans. — J. J. Cassante de
Mars. — C. G. M. 1, Winter Quoining ; 2,
Gascoyne's Scarlet Seedling ; 3, Royal
Russet ; 4, Rosemary Russet ; 5, Fearn's
Pippin ; G, Cockle's Pippin.— M. A. R. The
Apple is Red Ingestre, one of Knight's
seedlings, which originated from the same
cross as Yellow Ingestre, and the seed was
obtained from the same fruit as the latter
variety, which is however much more
generally known. — G. O. R. The Apples are
as follows : green, Winter Greening ; bronze,
not recognisable, a very poor specimen ; red
streak, Keeping Red Streak, it is not much
grown now, but it was at one time in the
Royal Horticultural Society's collection ;
russet, Pitmaston Nonpareil ; lemon, Golden
Spire.

Names of Plants: S. The seed - pods of
Colutea arborescens (Bladder Senna). — F.
Felix. Sericographis (Jacobinia) Ghies-
brechtiana. — IV*. C. & Sons. 1, Gesnera
splendens; 2, Billbergia nutans, figured in the
Botanical Magazine, t. 0423. — J. P. Ansellia
gigantea lutea. — W, I'. J. Dendrobium
speciosum, growing well in a sunny con-
servatory.— Crassinode. The Orchid seems
to be Sophronitis cernua. It will grow on
rafts or blocks suspended in a moderately
cool house, and kept moist. — 11'. P. Arcto-
staphylos Uva-ursi. — J. B. Probably a
species of Panax, but we cannot be sure from
the specimens sent.

Passiflora : Heliotrope. The disfigurement
upon the leaves may be due to drippings of
cold water upon them. It is likely the
flowers will set better when the days are a
little longer, and warmer.

Peach Shoots Dead : H'. J. P. There is
nothing observable about the shoots sent
to indicate the probable cause of their
death. The shoots seem of fair strength,
and they are well set with flower and wood-
buds. We should attribute the loss to some-
thing applied to the soil or to the tree as a
wash, or to the grubs of Scolytus Pruni or
S. rugulosus, whose feetless larvae make
perpendicular galleries or tunnels between
bark and wood, from which in all directions
smaller galleries branch out. You should
examine the older wood and stem for traces
of the borings. There are several other
species of borers affecting the Peach. The
soil sent appears to be of good quality, and
quite suitable for the Peach.

Peaches and Vines: Bouvard. At the strength
of 2 to 3 oz. of Gishurst Soap to the gallon
of warm water ; no harm will be done whilst
the buds remain closed.

Raiser of the Potato Sir John Llewelyn :
Solanum. Probably the exhibitor, Mr. J.
Harris, Blackpill Nurseries, Swansea. Why
do you not write to them for information
regarding the novelty ?

Streptocaepus : Bourard. Petroleum ; a wine-
glassful in a gallon of soap-suds, keeping
the same well agitated whilst being used.
Dipping head downwards in a vessel con-
taining the insecticide is better than syring-
ing the plants. It must be repeated till the
mealy bugs are destroyed.

Sweet Williams Injured : T. H. ('. The injury
is caused by weevils, for which pay a visit
to the plants after dark, providing yourself
with a dark-lantern, and having turned on
the light suddenly, the creatures will be
observed to scamper away in all directions,
when you must catch them.

The Nurserymen, Market Gardeners', and
General Hailstorm Insurance Corpora-
tion, Ltd.: G. Bradwell. The above is the
full title of the Co., and its offices are at
41 and 42, King Street, Covent Garden,
London, W.C.

Tomatos : ./. W. N. The young plants are
attacked by some fungus, and you cannot do
better than use sulphide of potassium (liver
of sulphur), at the rate of § oz. to one gallon
of water ; or continue the use of the Bor-
deaux Mixture or the Wye Mixture, which
you have been using hitherto. The early
winter-raising of Tomato plants on such an
enormous scale is sure sooner or later to lead
to a catastrophe, seeing that the conditions
of cultivation weaken the plants, rendering
them extremely liable to infection. The
plant which had been syringed with the
Wye Mixture showed the fungus killed or
greatly checked. Both plants had evidently
been raised in a warm, steamy house, with
but little ventilation afforded, as would be
the case at this season. We should question
the advisability of sowing Tomato-seed at
so early a date.

Wistarias : D. K. The white-flowered W. chi-
nensis macrobotrys, and W. japonica, also
white, are of equal hardiness.

Communications Received.— JemimaGreenwood.— Dr.
Grosser, Brcslau— A. W.— C W. D — H. H. H.— R. P. L.
— T. H. L.-C. D.— S. K— C P.— W. E. li.-H. R H.—
Rusticus— E. B., with thanks, letter to follow— J. P. —
R. T.— H. F.— J. Mi-I. — G. S.— "The Agricultural
Assistant," Cape of Good Hope— G. T. G., Paris.—
A. D. W. — Prof. Dcherain, Paris— C. Sprenger, Naples
—A. W., Isleworth— A. H.-C S— F. M.— J. H. H.—
S. W. F— T. H. S— R. H.-F. W. B.-W. A. C —Rev.
II. F.-E. C.-J. OB.— T. H. L— M. W — W. It. C—
C. L. B— II. Woodthorpe.— W. J. C— H. S.

Continued Increase in the Circulation of the
"GARDENERS' CHRONICLE."
IMPORTANT TO ADVERTISERS. — The Publisher has
the satisfaction of amiouncing that the circulation of the
"Gardeners' Chronicle" has, since the reduction in the
price of the paper, more than

*S- TREBLED. -**

Advertisers are reminded that the "Chronicle" circulates
among Country Gentlemen, and all Classes of
Gardeners and Garden-lovers at home, that it has
a specially large Foreign and Colonial Circula-
tion, and that it is preserved for reference in all the
principal Libraries.

CATALOGUES RECEIVED.

GARDEN SEEDS.

Dobie & Mason, 22, Oak Street, Manchester.

John Charlton, 35&37,The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells

Hogg & Robertson, 22, Mary Street, Dundee.

C. R. Shilling, Hartley Seed Stores, Winchfield, Hants.

F. C. Edwards, 12-15, Warehouse Hill, Leeds.

Brown & Wilson, 10, Market Place, Manchester.

Thomas Cripps <fc Son, 49, High Street, Tunbridge

Wells, Kent.
Arthur Robinson, ia, Bishopsgate Without, City.
Millar Brothers, 20, Market Place, Hull.
George Bruce & Co., 35, Market Street, Aberdeen.

Also Farm Seeds.

Kelway & Sons, Langport, Somersetshire. Also

General Plant and Root Catalogue.
Co-operative Seed Co., Albany Road, Roath, Cardiff.

Also Farm Seeds.

FARM SEEDS.
E. Webb & Sons, Wordsley, Stourbridge.
Dickson, Brown & Tait, 43 & 45, Corporation Street
Manchester.

Toogood & Sons, Southampton.

ORCHIDS.
Charlesworth & Co., Heaton, Bradford.

FOREIGN.

J. Lambert <fc Sohne, Trier— Seeds and Plants.

VALLEnAND FrSres, Seine-et-Oise.

MM. Denaiite et Fils, Carignan, Ardennes, France

Seeds.
W. Atlee, Burpee & Co., Philadelphia, Pa— Seeds.
H. Correvon, Jardin d'Acclimatation, Geneva— Seeds.

Rivoire, Pere et Fils, It!, Rue d'Algerie, Lyons,
France— Plants ; special offer to the trade.

Wilhelm Pkitzeh, Mililiirstrasse 74, Stuttgart— Seeds
and Plants.

MANURES.

The Native Guano Company, Ltd., 29, New Bridge
Street, Blackfriars, London, E.C

MISCELLANEOUS.

John Hepworth & Co. (successors to W. F. Charles &
Co.), Loughborough. Leicestershire — Insecticides,
Vaporisers, Weed Killer, Manures, &c.

GARDENING APPOINTMENTS.

Mr. F. Folwell, for the past four and a half years
Foreman in the gardens at Foxbury. Chislehurst,
as Gardener to Chas. Morley, Esq., M.P., Shocker-
wick House, Bath ; entered upon his duties,
February 10.

Mr George Ford Chislett, for two years and a half
Head Gardener at The Manor House, Ringwood,
Hants, as Head Gardener to H. Emmons, Esq., at
his new place, Hamble, Southampton.

Mr. Joseph Sangster. for the last four years Steward
and Gardener at Burton Hall, Stillorgan, County
Dublin, as Head Gardener and Steward to CHAS. R.
Hamilton, Esq., ot Hamwood, Dunboyne.Co.Meath.

Mr Chas. Brennan, lately Foreman in the Gardens,
Kenure Park, Rush, Co. Dublin, as Head Gardener
to Geo. F. Brooke, Esq., D.L., Summerton, Castle-
knock, Co. Dublin.

Mr R Towse, late of Gisburn Park Gardens, Clitheroe,
as Gardener to Mrs. Thwaites, Troy, Blackburn.

February ib, 1902.] SUPPLEMENT TO THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

CALO< Ho mis I'l.i M.\li:i,M-: (HORT. V U.LACE) : inl.ni i; LILAC.

C A L 0 C H 0 R T U S.

There arc few if any, flowers that surpass
in beauty those of this genus ; and there
are few, if any, botanists more capable of
dealing with them in a satisfactory way
than Mr. Carl Purdy. That gentleman
has lately issued a revision of the genus
•Calochortus in the Proceedings of the Cali-
fornia Academy of Sciences, The plants
■extend from British North-west America to

Mexico, and as far east ;i^ Nebraska. This
vast area entails considerable variation in
soil, climate, and altitude; and a corres-
ponding variation in the plants which grow
in it.

It is only in thegai'dcn, writes Mr. Pr/BDY,
where plants from different localities can
be grown under identical conditions, that
the relationship between apparently dif-
ferent forms can be satisfactorily deter-
mined. Mi-. Pirhy has had nearly cverv

known species under cultivation for some
years, and tne garden has proved the
identity of forms apparently different ;
here also the variations attributed to en-
vironment are shown to bo constant. In
the garden, too, strains which from a
botanist's standpoint seem scarcely distin-
guishable, showed marked differences in
vigour, flowering time, or immunity from
disease.

Hundreds and thousands of Liliaceous

II

SUPPLEMENT TO THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. [Fbbruary is, 1902.

V

p

3 it

a ^

Is

ii

B o

S°

o
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February 15, 1902.] SUPPLEMENT TO THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

in

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#'4Btays

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IV

SUPPLEMENT TO THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. [February *, 1002.

CALOCHORTIS ELEOANS VAR. AMCENA : COLOUR OK FLOWERS LILAC,

plants may in one locality be picked show-
ing little or no variation. In another
locality the variation is very observable.
The difference may be slight, but the
"variant" once noted is found to be con-
stant. The difference is generally such as
that which florists denote by the term
strain, not that which constitutes a species
or variety. Mr. Purdy tells us he has seen
places where hundreds of flowers of C.
venustus could have been selected, each
differing in colour and markings from the
rest. Why a species that remains so true
to a type in some localities should vary so
remarkably in others, is a circumstance not
easy of explanation. Hybridisation will
account for it in some but not in all
instances.

In cultivation, a very slight variability in
strain is often accompanied by a marked

constitutional difference. In two adjacent
beds of Calochortus venustus coming from
different localities, the differences may be
too slight for the botanist's eye to detect.
Nevertheless, in the one bed two-thirds of
the leaves may be destroyed by mildew
(Botrytis), whilst in the other not a leaf is
affected. The extreme types on which
species are founded are easily distinguish-
able, but a perfect chain'of variations links
them closely together ; thus, there is no
doubt that C. Weedii, C. Plummeiw, and
C. obispoensis are variations from one
species. Absolute differences of size, de-
pendent as they are on differences of en-
vironment, are of little value as points of
distinction, but proportionate differences
are of more value. Mr. Purdy describes
forty species in two sections, each section
divided into a number of groups. An ana-

lytical key will facilitate th
of any particular species,
further aided by a full
species, with appropriate

identification

process still

script ion of each

bibliographical

references and explanatory notes. Figures
of C. Purdyi, longibarbatus, luteus, Weedii,
and macrocarpus are given. The author,
supported no doubt by competent authority,
adopts the objectionable practice of spelling
personal names with a small initial letter
instead of a "capital, a proceeding which we
are glad to see is not followed in the new
Supplement to the Index Kewensis. But
this is a small matter. Of much greater
moment is the fact that Mr. Purdy has laid
gardeners, and especially garden-botanists,
under great obligations by this publication,
which will, we trust, be reprinted in some
more easily accessible form than the
Proceedings of the California Academy.

Supplement to the " Gardeners' Chronicle," 'February 15, 1902.

PODOCARPUS ANDINA AT PENJERRICK, CORNWALL

Rradbtity, Afttew&Co,, Ltt,% Printers, London r-/r 7on*rtag;

February 22, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

121

THE

No. 791.— SATURDAY, FEB. 22, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Aniectochilus, the cul-
ture of 130

Bamboos 133

Benevolent Institu-
tion, Gardeners'
Royal 128

Bulb garden—
Lilium giganteum... 124

Cultural memoranda-
Melon -growing in
pots 125

rvtisus raeemosus ... 131

Dendrobium Wardi-
anum Fo vleri ' ... 1L5

Dermatobotrys Sauu-
dersii 131

Disease in Tomatos
and Cucumbers ... 133

Exhibitions, coming... 129

Fleur de Lys, the ... 133

Flight, Mr. F. W. ... 128

Florists flowers —
Winter - flowering
Carnations 12.3

Flowers which change
colour '24

Fruit, acreage under . 131

Gardeners in the
U. S. A 132

Heating, ear.y
treatises on 121

Ltelia anceps llolli-
dayanaCrawshayana 123

Lily of the Valley ... 124

Mussel-scale on Apple-
trees lis

New Inventions—
A Kind of Vaporiser 125
Cooper's Flexible
Carbou-fihre ... 125

Newstead, Mr. Robt.,
presentation to ... 136

North Mymms Park,
winter flowers at ... 131

Obituary—

Hill, James

Stuart, Dr. Chas. ...
Tate. Henry

Orchid Notes and
Gleanings

Orchids in leaf- mould,
cultivation of

Peas, popular and ster-
ling varieties of ...

Plants, new or note-
worthy—
MoEChosma ripa-
rium

Poison !

Presentation to a gar-
dener

Primula niegaseicfoliii

Prior Park

Societies-
Devon and Exeter

Gardeners'

Ealing Horticul-
tural

Linnean

Manchester Orchid.
Reading Gardeners'
Royal Horticultural
128,

Spraying

Squirrel, the

Stock-taking

Trees and shrubs—
Hamamelis mollis ...
Robinia hispida and
others

Vanilla in Seychelles

Week's Work, the—
Flower Garden, the .
Fruits under Glass .
Hardy Fruit Garden
Kitchen Garden ...
Orchid Houses, the.
Plants under Glass .

134
133

131

122
128

128
133
130

135
13'-
135
136

134

1211
133
129

12«

128

127
126
12H
126
127
127

125
131
123
122

\ LLU8TRATION8.

Dendrobium Wardianum Fowleri

Dermatobotrys Saundersii

Lielia anceps Hollidayana Crawshayana

Moschosma riparium

Palladian Bridge at Prior Park, Bath (Supplement)
Portrait of the late Dr. Stuart

EAELY TREATISES ON HEATING.

THE subject of heating is obviously one
of great importance to all who have
greenhouses, and it forms a very consider-
able part in the economy of the garden .
To-day the whole question has become re-
duced into very narrow proportions, and it
is scarcely likely that the many existing
"best" methods now employed will undergo
any very radical change in the future
Those who have interested themselves in old.
garden literature will have been struck witli
the great number of books, dealing with the
subject of heating, which appeared at the
latter part of the 18th and during the earlier
years of the 19th century. Each writer had
a' new system to demonstrate, the chief
qualifications of which were claimed to be
efficiency and economy. In a general way.
it may be said that these were just the two
essential qualities which the old systems
I eked.

The number and variety of systems must
have been exceedingly embarrassing to
amateur gardeners of small means. The
discussion passed from beyond the limits of
tin' gardening world, and the Quarterly

Review, inTan garticle^on '' Horticulture,"
someteighty^years ago, took up the topic.
The writer was probably only attempting to
be amusing when he charged Sir George S.
Mackenzie, a distinguished and enthusiastic
writer on horticulture, with inventing an
economical hot-house in which it is proposed
to ripen Peaches in the dark ! Sir George
repudiated the soft impeachment in his
pleasant "Gleanings" in the Memoirs of the
Caledonian Horticultural Society, 1821. There
were doubtless scores of other jokes and
witticisms at the expense of the advocates
and inventors of the various rival systems,
but these may be passed over.

I have been fortunate enough to pick up a
good many old books which deal wholly or
partially with the all-important subject of
heating. These books can hardly be de-
scribed as " light reading," for the authors
are all in deadly earnest. One of the earliest
books of this class in my collection is by an
author whose writings on agricultural and
cognate subjects enjoyed a great popularity
in their day, Dr. James Anderson, the title
of his book being A Description of a Patent
Hot-House, which operates chiefly by the Heat
of the Sun, without the aid of Flues, Tan Bark
or Steam, &c, and is dated 1803. Anderson,
who had written many books, chiefly on
agricultural subjects, and was a member of
many societies, was the son of a Scotch
farmer, and himself appears to have had a
good deal of experience of rural life in his
earlier years, although the attraction of a
literary career proved irresistible. A highly
appreciative notice of him appeared in
Public Characters, 1800-1801 ; but there is a
suspicion that Anderson himself, as in the
case of the other persons " biographed " in
this publication, had a hand in the article.

In regard to Anderson's "Patent Hot-
House," the author was clearly a man of
theory rather than one of practice. The
"mode of applying the principles" in con-
nection with this patent hot-house are :
'•tirst, the management of the heat produced
by the sun alone, and the modifications of
which it is susceptible, witli a view to pro-
duce the desired effect without the aid of
culinary fire; and, second, the management
of culinary fires so as to make them produce
the greatest effect possible with the smallest
expenditure of fuel, and the less expense in
other respects." As to the form and con-
struction of the house, Dr. Anderson says :
— " Instead of making the roof of the hot-
house sloped, as usual, let it be made flat,
or nearly horizontal, like the ceiling of a
room, and all the joinings of the glasses
closed with the utmost accuracy ; and the
sashes which contain them screwed fast
down, and joined close, so as to be air-
tight." Instead of a flue, " or other con-
trivance of that sort." ''all of which are
expensive," the Doctor selected an Argand
lamp. The whole of the house is to be sur-
rounded with glass, with as little woodwork
as possible, and no brickwork of any sort is
allowed. I need not, perhaps, go more fully
into details, into whicli the author enters
with an amazing passion for minuteness.
He gives a plate of diagrams whicli appear
to be perfectly simple in theory. It is per-
haps of more interest now to point out that
the inventor conveyed the right of his patent
to George Byfield, the architect ; Samuel
Butler, hot-house builder, of Chelsea : and
David Stewart, gardener and hot-house

builder, of Woodlands, Blackheath ; and
they unanimously declared themselves per-
fectly satisfied of the efficacy of the plan
proposed, "but Mr. Byfield expressed a
doubt if the expense of construction would
not be greater than the inventor imagined."
Dr. Anderson, however, determined to put
his theory to the test, directed Butler to
erect a house according to his design, and
this, after a year's trial, and " notwith-
standing those unavoidable blunders in the
workmanship which are always experienced
on a first undertaking." he " has found that
it not only came up to his wishes, but greatly
exceeded his highest expectations." The
invention appears to have made little or no
headway, and the Doctor himself died soon
after — in 1808 — at West Ham, Essex, at the
age of sixty-nine.

The second book on the subject of heating
in my collection is by an Irishman, John
Cushing. and its title is The Exotic Gardener,
in which the management of the hot-house,
greenhouse, and conservatory is fully and
clearly delineated according to modern prac-
tice. It was first published at Dublin in
1811, and ran into a third edition, which was
issued in London in 1826. Cushing was an
Irishman, and was for many years foreman
of the forcing department in the nurseries of
Lee & Kennedy, at Hammersmith. G. W.
Johnson states that he died in 1819 or 1820.
He appears to have left Lee & Kennedy and
settled in Ireland, as nearly all of the sub-
scribers, of whom a list is appended to his
work, are Irish. He has no new invention
to describe, but gives plain, matter-of-fact
particulars of his own system of culture — a
system which, with some few reservations,
was at that time generally followed in good
gardens.

One of the earliest mentions of hothouses
was communicated to the Philosophical
Transactions for 1694, by Sir Dudley Cullum,
and the paper is described as " a new in-
vented stove, for preserving jjlants in the
greenhouse in winter;" but little progress
was made for many years, for even in 1721,
when John Mortimer published his Whole
Art of Husbandry (5th ed.), it would seem
that glass was not employed in the construc-
tion of greenhouses — perhaps on account of
its great cost, and artificial heat seems to
have been obtained by open fires in holes
sunk in various parts of the floor.* Evelyn,
however, mentions the greenhouse and hot-
house in the Chelsea Gardens, and observes :
" What was very ingenious, was the subterra-
neous heat conveyed bymeansof a stoveunder
the conservatory, all vaulted with bricks, so
that Watts, the gardener, has the doors and
windows open in the hardest frosts, exclud-
ing only the snow." At about this period
also, or a little later, we read in Switzer of
Bishop Compton's greenhouses at Fulham
Palace. .

* Apropos of this, I find I have preserved a cutting
from one of our daily papers, whicli is worth repro-
ducing here, but " without prejudice " :—

"A curious illustration is given of the way in which
one of the houses in the Botanic Garden, Oxford, was
heated in the early days of the past century. It was
simply a brazier on wheels, and the duty of the gar-
dener was to move this primitive furnace from one spot
in the house to another, so as to ensure that the
frcc/.ing-point should not be attained."

[Our correspondent has not road his Qardtntre'
Chronicle well, or the daily paper was unprofessional
enough to quote without giving references, for the
paragraph was taken from the Gardeners' clinmitic :
Many years ago we saw that brazier at Oxford, and
obtained our information about it from tho veteran
botanist William Baxter, the elder. ED)

122

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 22, 1902.

So far as I have been able to find, Ander-
son's book, which I referred to at the com-
mencement of this article, is the first
independent treatise on hothouse building
and management. The subject was much
discussed at that period, more particularly
in the transactions of horticultural societies,
as well as in books on gardening generally.
In the Memoirs of the Caledonian Horticul-
tural Society for 1821, there is an interesting-
paper ''On the Application of Steam to the
Heating of Forcing-houses and other kinds
of Hothouses and Frames." by John Hay,
Planner, Edinburgh. He there gives the
results of his experiments, along with a
design for a steam valve. From his remarks
it is interesting to learn that " the use of
steam for the heating of hothouses in general
has of late years been much attended to in
the neighbourhood of London, particularly
by Messrs. Loddiges & Sons, of Hackney.''
In 181:?, George Todd, who described him-
self as a surveyor and hothouse builder,
published a folio volume of plans, elevations,
and sections of hothouses, greenhouses, Arc. ;
and since that time the number of books on
the subject of greenhouses and the best
means of heating them has been, in the
words of the local reporter, " too numerous
to mention.'' W. Huberts.

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

MOSCHOSMA RIPARIUM.*
This is a native of south tropical Africa,
both eastern and western, and occurs also in
Natal. It is a Labiate shrub, with hairy
stems, stalked, ovate, cordate, crenate leaves,
and very numerous small, cream-coloured
flowers in erect panicles. Mr. Worthington
Smith's sketch (fig. 35) gives a good idea of
the general appearance of the plant as exhi-
bited lately by Messrs. Veiteh at the Royal
Horticultural Society. The plant has also
been in bloom for some time in No. 4 house at
Kew, a circumstance which indicates that the
plant is useful for the decoration of stove or
warm greenhouses during the winter months.

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

CATTLEYA TRIAN^I.
Mr. F. Mason, of Clevedon Court Gardens,
Somerset, has sent us a peloriate flower having
three sepals and two lateral petals normal,
three lips perfect ; one anterior in the usual
position, two lateral ; column normal. The
column is generally considered to contain
potentially six stamens, of which one only is
usually developed. Supposing the column of
the flower before us to be represented by Al,
as in the Darwinian notation, then the two
lateral lips would be the representatives of
the two outer lateral stamens A2, A3.

CATTLEYA OUADRICOLOR ALBA.

A fine flower of this pure white Cattleya is
kindly sent by Robert Tunstill, Esq., Monk-
holme, Brierfiekl, Burnley (gr., Mr. Balmforth).
It is a white form of the plant known in gar-
dens as C. chocoensis, and C. Triansei choco-
ensis, but it is as well separated from C.
Trianrei by its very broad petals, which are
almost as broad as long, and by the peculiar
arrangement of the segments of the flower, as
any of the other forms of C. labiata are.

* Muscltosma riparium, Hochstetter. — Baker, in Flora
Tropical Africa, vol. v. (1900), pp. 354 and 523 ; Basilicum
myriostachyum, Hiern, in Cat. Plant., Welwitsch, vol. i.,
p. 858.

Fl(J. 35.— MOSCHOSMA RJPARIUM (WINTER-FLOWERING SHRUB) : BLOWERS OREAM-COXOUKBD.

February 22, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

m

Its identity with Cattleya quadricolor which
appeared in the collection of the late Mr.
Rucker in 1850, and which was published by
Bateman in the Gardeners' Chronicle, 18(54,
p. 269, is well established. It is one of the
most elegant of Cattleyas, its extraordinarily
broad petals rendering it very attractive.
The whole flower is pure white except the
disc of the lip, which is yellow.

Dexdrobium capillipes.
Pseudo-bulbs bearing flowers of this pretty
little Burrnan species are sent by Mr. J. Cole,
gr. to — Smallpage, Esq., Craigmoor, Little
Ornie's Head, Llandudno, where it is said to
be flowering very effectively. The pseudo-
bulbs, some 3 inches in length, are stout, and
much resembling small ones of D. albo-san-
guineum. The flowers, which are over an

named handsome form has flowered in the
collection of Robert Tunstill, Esq., Monk-
holme, Brierfield, near Burnley (gr., Mr.
Balmforth). It is a beautifully-formed flower,
just over 3 inches across ; and the sepals and
petals, which are nearly equal in width, are
1{ in. wide; the plain -edged sepals are
white, with clusters of three to four irre-
gularly elongated, dark rose-red blotches in
each ; the fringed petals are pure white ; the
fringed lip white, with a yellow crest, beside
which are several dark red spots, and in
front one large reddish blotch. Distinct
features about it are its fine shape, and the
peculiar red-tinted colour of its markings.

OnOXTOGLOSSUM TRIUMPHANS VARIETIES.
A large number of this fine Odontoglossum
have already bloomed at Messrs. T. Rochford

Fig. 36.— l.«lia axceps holtjdayana crawshayana.

inch across, are borne on slender, upright
.stems either singly or in pairs ; the large
labellum and petals almost concealing the
lesser sepals. The colour is bright yellow,
the lip having an orange-coloured disc. It is
a neat, dwarf, early spring-flowering species,
and one which is by no means common.

Flowers of a fine variety of Dondrobium
■crassinode, and a D. Wardianum with rose-
pink tips to the sepals and petals, instead of
the usual purplish-rose colour, are also sent.

Odontoglossum crispum Reedleyense.
Blotched varieties of Odontoglossuni cris-
pum have boi-ii firs! favourites for some years
past, and during that time many tine forms
have flowered out of the importations re-
ceived. A marked peculiarity about them is
that each variety is positively distinct from
all others, and easily recognisable by some
feat ure to those who st udy them. The abovc-

& Sons, Turnford Hall Nurseries, Broxbourne,
and among them there is considerable varia-
tion of form and colour, though the typical
characters of structure are in most cases
maintained. Two forms, however, exhibit
marked structural differences, which seem to
indicate that they are natural hybrids of the
O. dicranophorum class (Lindleyanum

triumphans) : Rchb. f., Gardeners' Chronicle,
March 17, 1888, p. 330; although it is difficult
to understand how such a combination should
result in llowers with longer segments than
those of (). triumphans. The darker flower has
narrow segments, which measure from tip to tip
ol the sepals (i inches. The colour of the sepals
and petals is like thai of a good triumphans,
viz., bright yellow, with glossy chestnut-
coloured blotches, and clear yellow tips. The
lip is only about halt as wide as thai of typical

( ». triumphans, and nearly twice as long, the
trout being continued into an acute point.

The base of the lip is pure white, the middle
portion brown, and the tip yellow. The
lighter form more nearly approaches O. trium-
phans, but it has also an elongated apiculate
labellum. The sepals and petals are yellow,
closely marked with narrow, oblong, trans-
verse, brownish-orange markings. Both are
very singular and distinct. The lighter one
has been proved to be constant, and the darker
is now flowering for the first time from a small
plant. It now bears but one flower, but with
good cultivation the large size and peculiar
features may be expected to be maintained on
a large inflorescence.

L.ELIA ANCEPS HOLLIDAYANA
CRAWSHAYANA.

In the Gardeners' Chronicle, February 10,
1894, the type of Lselia anceps Hollidayana
was described by Mr. James O'Brien; and in
the issue for January 27 of the same year, he
described L. a. Ashworthiana, a figure of
which was also given at p. 103 of the same
date. Both were imported by Messrs. F.
Sander & Co. from the Orizaba district, and
the distinguishing features, iwere the finely-
formed flowers and the highly - developed,
square-fronted labellum.

In the variety Crawshayana (fig. 36), for
which De B. Crawshay, Esq., Rosefield,
Sevenoaks (gr., Mr. Stables), was awarded a
First-class Certificate at the Royal Horticul-
tural Society on Jan. 28 this year, while the
general characteristics of the type are closely
adhered to, the variety is florally better in
every respect than any of the section which
have yet appeared. The flowers are of fine
substance, white, with chocolate-purple lines
on the inside of the side lobes of the lip; a
yellow crest, and a delicate pencilling of rose-
colour on the front lobe.

FLORISTS' FLOWERS.

WINTER - FLOWERING CARNATIONS.

I x the interesting article on winter- flowering
Carnations, p. 70, by Mr. T. H. Slade, there
arc one or two points which appear to me to
invite criticism. First, as to the size of cut-
ting used. Is not a cutting of 4 inches long
far too large for the majority of varieties?
Mrs. T. W. Lawson will strike freely, I know,
at that size, but to produce the most proli-
ferous plants of the varieties mostly culti-
vated, small side-shoots from the flowering
stems, and averaging perhaps less than 3 inches
in length, are preferred, for they root more
freely than stronger cuttings taken from the
basal growths, which correspond with tho
layering shoots of our ordinary border
varieties.

Secondly, as to the value of Mrs. Leo Roth-
schild, which I prefer to call by its original
name of Mdlte. Theresa Franco. With me it
is absolutely tho most reliable of all, and may
be flowered, and flowered freely, from Sep-
tember to May; and this is, I believe, the
generally accepted opinion. I fed convinced
that it is due in a great measure to the value
of this variety that this class of Carnation is
now so popular. I hope Mr. Slade will some
day find cause to modify his opinion of its
merits.

Mr. Slade docs not mention Reginald God-
frey among his selected varieties. It is

another of our best. Tin- flowers are slightly

paler than those of Tli.aese Franco, but are
very full, ami the plant is u tree grower. It
is a true winler-llnwcring variety, in which it
differs from many sent out as such. Flora

124

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 22, 1902.

Hill and Mary Godfrey are our two best
whites ; the former is not flimsy here, though
perhaps its deeply fringed edge gives it a
slight appearance of flimsiness — it is full, and
very sweet-scented. Mrs. Moore, after many
years' acquaintance, and Deutsche Brandt, a
variety of very poor constitution, I am dis-
carding. Mary Godfrey has smooth edges,
and a shell-like petal ; it is very chaste in
appearance, though some of its later flowers
are tinged with rose, which scarcely detracts
from its appearance.

Firefly is an excellent scarlet of good con-
stitution, which I prefer to Wm. Robinson, as
it is not so tall. Both are, however, good
varieties. Sir R. Buller is shy in flowering,
and the shoots should not be stopped ; but
the qualities of the flower are so magnificent
that it cannot be spared. Individual flowers
last almost twice as long as those of any other
variety we have. The work of selection is
interesting. I am discarding this year about
a score of varieties found wanting in some
point or other, and am still retaining more
than that number, including half a dozen of
the latest American varieties for further trial,
as their journey across the water prevented
their developing perfectly. J. C. Tallack.

BULB GARDEN.

LILIUM GIGANTEUM.
In his interesting papers on " Lilies and
their Culture," Mr. G. B. Mallett writes that
L. giganteum "cannot be cultivated with any
measure of success in the open border." This
statement from an authority on Lilies being
calculated to dissuade amateurs from attempt-
ing the cultivation of this grand Lily because
they are unable to provide it with " rather
dense shade," I venture to reassure them by a
few words on the fairly successful culture of
L. giganteum in sites where little or no shade
was available. It is a well-known fact that in
its native habitat L. giganteum grows invari-
ably in the shade thrown by forest trees, but,
as in the cases of many plants that are capable
of making tolerably satisfactory growth under
conditions that do not obtain in their natural
homes, this Lily, if its wants are well cared
for in other matters, will often grow and
flower well even in open situations. In a
sheltered and moist valley in the neighbour-
hood of Torquay, I grew L. giganteum for
several years, and many fine flower-spikes
were thrown up from a bed that was shadeless
from 10 A.M. to sunset.' I believe that flower-
spikes 13 feet in height have been recorded.
My best spike fell short of this height by
3 feet 2 inches, but an average of 9 feet was
not uncommon. A bed 3 feet in depth, con-
sisting of three-parts leaf-mould and one of
loam, was provided, and the plants were
copiously watered while making growth, while
weak liquid-manure was given when the flower-
spike was being thrown up. In the winter the
bed had a heavy mulch of decayed hot-bed
manure. In the garden in question some
thirty species of Lilies grew, and for the most
part flourished. On the steep, dry slope of
light soil where I am now living, successful
Lily-culture, except perhaps in the case of L.
rubellum, is out of the question. In other
gardens I have seen flower-spikes of L. gigan-
teum from 8 feet to 10 feet in height produced
by plants growing in a sunny position. But the
most striking instance of this Lily exhibiting
vigorous health in an unshaded position was
met with by me in a certain Cornish garden
during the past summer ; in this garden I
witnessed a sight that I never expected to see,

either in England or elsewhere, namely, about
seventy llower-spikes of Lilium giganteum,
fifty of which were in one colony. It was early
summer, and the rapidly-lengthening flower-
stalks showed as yet no sign of buds, but all
looked pictures of health and robustness, and
no do ibt attained the height usual in the
species. All these Lilies were raised from
seed, perhaps the most advisable method of
propagation if one has patience to await the
long-deferred blossoming. If bulbs instead of
seeds are relied on, Mr. Mallett's recommenda-
tion that small and not first-sized ones should
be planted must be followed, if fine flower-
spikes are to be produced, since, although the
season of waiting will be longer, the ultimate
effect will be far more satisfactory, for fine
spikes are never thrown up by recently-
planted bulbs.

In conclusion, I would suggest to those who
are anxious to grow Lilium giganteum, that if
they have at their disposal a shady spot where
the roots of the Lilies will not be encroached
upon by those of surrounding trees, they should
plant the bulbs there ; but that if no such site
be available, they need not despair of achieving
success in an open and sunny site, provided
they spare no pains in attending to the wants
of the Lilies in other respects. S. W. P.,
Kings wear, S. Devon.

LILY OF THE VALLEY.

Your correspondent, " E. N., Chatham,"
notes a failure that is by no means an isolated
instance. I believe at the present time more
gardeners fail to flower retarded Lily of the
Valley than those who succeed, and I think I
may safely say that in nine cases out of every
ten this is due to placing them in too much
heat at first. The point to remember is this,
that the energies of these plants or roots have
been suppressed by keeping them in a very
low temperature for months after their usual
flowering season. Therefore, as soon as they
are exposed to a temperature a few degrees
above the freezing point, and away from keen
draughts, they will commence growth ami
produce flowers. But if they are placed in a
high temperature, such as your correspondent
speaks of, viz., 75°, so surely will they fail.

I believe it was six or seven years since one
of the large importers of Lilies called ray
attention to these retarded roots, at the same
time sending me a few bundles for trial, with
written instructions as to their management,
which I carried out to the letter, aud need-
less to say, proved satisfactory. Since that
time I have flowered many thousands, and
perhaps you will allow me a little of your
space wherein to describe my treatment.
There is not the least doubt in my mind that
cool treatment for these retarded roots is the
correct course, viz., a temperature of 45° is suffi-
cient to start with. But supposing they were
required in flower at a certain date, and there
was any doubt about this, a rise of 5° will not do
any harm, and will have the desired effect. Tem-
peratures, however, are not all the require-
ments. They should be potted or boxed in
rather heavy soil, very firmly indeed, and
must be heavily shaded [(kept nearly in the
dark), and of course should receive a thorough
application of water. They must never be
allowed to become dry, or anything approach-
ing dryness. Under this kind of treatment
they will have made 6 inches of growth in
about ten days, and may be exposed to a
little more light ; but the degree of moisture
must be maintained, and no direct sunlight
admitted, as to do this would prove disastrous,
especially if the leaves and flower-spikes are
well advanced. A considerable amount of

shade must be afforded till the flower-spiki s
are well open, fit indeed for cutting; in fact,
spikes will not bear exposure to full sunlight
at any time. I have in my mind those plants
that are to flower during the Christmas season
and January.

In the event of flowers being required in the
summer or autumn months, a common garden-
frame placed in a slightly shady part of the
garden is an excellent place for them. I
simply plant them out in rows, or rather
spread the bundles out in shallow trenches,
and made the soil thoroughly firm about them.
The two matters to guard against are excess of
heat and light, for either of these will prove
fatal. Crowns treated in the manner described
will flower in from twenty-one to twenty-four
days after being taken from the refrigerator.
I fear I have overstepped the limits of space,
but should it seem desirable, I will deal with
Spirasas, Liliums, and other retarded plants at a
later date. [Please, do so. ED.] Thomas Arnold.

FLOWERS WHICH CHANGE
COLOUR.

(Concluded from p. 107.)

But now we have to call attention to another
fact, which has perhaps hardly been suffi-
ciently observed. We have seen that indi-
vidual flowers, like the Forget-me-Xot, change
from yellow or white to pink, red, and blue.
Next we have seen that groups of plants, like
the Geraniums, reveal a similar order. Now
take the flowers of the seasons, and look at
them broadly for a similar law. In the early
spring, we have flowers which are green,
greenish-yellow, and yellow, as the Moschatel,
Ivy, Hellebore, Celandine, and Buttercups.
Then come the white flowers, as Dead-nettle,
Daisy and Oxeye, Campion, Bedstraws, Um-
bels ; and when the summer is here, and insect
life is fully developed, we find all our Clovers,
Vetches, Heathers, Bluebells, highly coloured
Composites, Roses, Mallows, Irises, Gera-
niums, and other red, purple, blue, and richly
pigmented blossoms. The fact is too patent
and conspicuous to be passed over unobserved,
aud its bearing is entirely in harmony with
the conclusions which the study of the pre-
vious facts would suggest. But before we try
to ascertain the moral, it will be necessary to
meet some objections.

It will be remarked by some careful observer
that there are several highly coloured flowers
in spring. What are they ? Our native flora
yields few save the Violets. True, we may
possibly find the Columbine, an early Fumi-
tory, the Mezereon, and one or two other
plants with coloured flowers ; but they are the
exceptions which prove the rule. Their study
is full of instruction and suggestion, but they
are to be regarded from another point of view
if we would understand them fully.

Again, it will be said that it is no unusual
thing to find white varieties of red, purple,
and blue flowers, and that this shows the law
to be unreliable. Here we have again to
deal with a noteworthy exception. Bluebells,
Milkwort, Thistles, and many other plants
with highly-coloured flowers do vary consider-
ably. The further north we go the more pre-
valent does the albino become. White heather,
which is regarded as lucky, white Bluebells,
albino bugles, and other forms abound in Scot-
land, Sweden and Norway, and it would be
possible greatly to enlarge these notes if one
were writing for those who are familiar with
botanical terms and distant floras. There are,
moreover, several books which the student
can consult if he prefers reading about such
subjects to going into field botany for him-

February 22, 1902.]

THE CARD ENER ,S" CHR ONI CL E.

125

self. Climate, soil, disease, may account for
maDy exceptions.

Let us now turn to the practical issue.
Flowers tend to change colour. These colour
changes are of various kinds, and are
wrought out under the influence of definite
laws. The first thing I want to notice is that
fading flowers often assume a higher colour as
they complete their life-work. What a beau-
tiful fact if one were preaching a sermon.
"What a pity more preachers are not natu-
ralists. The law has been well stated in the
following words : "We may lay it down as a
principle that the fading colours of less de-
veloped petals often answer to the normal
colours of more developed." This law holds
good also between the different species of a
genus, or among the various members of an
order. Thus we find many flowers in the Kor-
get-me-Not group which are pink, flesh-
coloured, or red, when perfectly developed.
This colour corresponds with the early stages

addresses until that colour appeared." Bees
and butterflies are quick at colour-reading,
and they have their individual preferences.
Here in my garden is a blue Speedwell,
around which the bees are busy all the day.
The Dandelion, and many other yellow flowers,
will be found alive with beetles and flies,
while the Scabious, Foxglove, Bluebell, Corn-
flower, Sage, Heather, and other red, purple,
and blue flowers, are being visited by bees
and butterflies. One further interesting fact
must also be observed. The aesthetic taste of
the bees correspond with our own. The
colours and perfumes which please us gratify
them as well. Thus, the stock of bright
blossoms and fragrant flowers which we love,
is perpetuated by their industry. If the case
were otherwise, what pleasures should we
lose ! Who will account for this ? Can any-
one affirm that the matter is accidental '? We
prefer to believe it to be divinely arranged.
A fixissex Naturalist .

CULTURAL MEMORANDUM.

FIG. -'5/.- DENDROBICM VtWTUMAM M FOWLERI.

of other flowers which change to purple and
blue in their ultimate stages. This general
law again obtains in relation to the seasons,
so that the blue and purple flowers pre-
dominate when the insects are fully developed.
It seems evident from these three converging
lines, that we must arrive at the following
conclusion : Colour has relation to insect life.
The higher the colour, the higher the form of
insect which is attracted. Yellow is the colour
for beetles, blue for bees. This fact is capable
of abundant demonstration. I give one or
two illustrations in conclusion. In South
America there exists a Viburnum which
changes colour as its flowering advances. It
is yellow on the first day, orange on the
second, and purple on the third. Now Midler
observed that various butterflies visited the
tree, and he was struck by the fact that " each
1 kind of butterfly which visited it stuck rigidly
j to its own favourite colour, waiting to pay its

DENDEOBIUM WARDIANUM
FOWLERI.

Ix this remarkable variety, which was ex-
hibited at the Royal Horticultural Society,
January 28, by J. Gurney Fowler, Esq., Glebe-
lands, South Woodford (gr., Mr. J. Davis), wo
have an example of peloria, as it is called with
flowers generally, but which among Orchidists
is known as tri-labellia, and of which a familiar
example is the now plentiful Dendroliium nubile
Cooksoni, which has steadily remained con-
stant, and it is to be presumed, the abnormal
characters of D. Wardianum Fowlcri will
also be maintained. It will be seen by our
illustration (fig. :!7) that the two lateral sepals
have yellow marking with a purple blotch,
after the manner of the colour displayed in
the laliellum, the rest el' the flower being
White, with rose-purple tips, as in the normal
form. The variety received an Award of
Merit.

MELON GROWING IN POTS.

Having read the note from your corres-
pondent on the above subject with much
interest, may I be allowed to make a few
remarks on this subject. Few gardeners of
the present day practice the pot culture of
Melons, thinking that the application of
enough bottom-heat is impracticable. If fruits
of middle size and fine flavour are desired, the
seeds should be sown early in the month of
March, then good results can be obtained.

Last year 1 made use of pots and secured a
good crop (as reference to the Gardeners'
Chronicle for September 21, 1901, will show),
without bottom-heat, and from the time I
planted them in the fruiting-pots no artificial
top-heat, the thermometer in the house often
falling to 48°, which may appear to some too
low for success with Melons. My practice is
to place a strong plant in a 12-inch pot, which
is allowed to go on to its full limit before
stopping it. The plant will make short joints
(a thing greatly in favour of fruiting), and
push out shoots at every joint, and nearly
every one of these will show a fruit ; but, it
not being essential to set all the fruits at
once that the plant is to carry, some of the
blossoms are fertilised three weeks later, and
this can be done with good results. All non-
fruiting lateral shoots must be cut off close to
the stem, and after the fruit has reached a
safe stage, the plant may be fed to any extent ;
what I usually afford is manure-water, and
maintain the feeding till the fruit showed
signs of ripening, when it is discontinued.

By the use of pots the plants receive the
full benefit of the manure. My plants showed
no signs of canker, nor did the fruits split.
W. J. Coslimn, (jr.. Hillside, Groombridge.

NEW INVENTIONS.

A NEW KIND OF VAPORISER.

WE have recently received a vaporiser for
use in glasshouses, now being manufactured
and sold by Messrs. W. J. Bush & Co., Ltd.,
Ash Grove, Hackney, London, N.E. It con-
sists of a block-tin cylinder 7 inches in height,
and 1 inches in diameter, fitted with a door in
the side, a portable dish of copper lor holding
the liquid, a glass lamp for holding methy-
lated spirits, and a cotton wick, the whole
being strongly made and well finished. The
3 oz. bottle of compound accompanying the
apparatus is stated to be capable of fumigating
a house or houses containing 4,000 cubic feet
at the cost of 3s. fld. As yet we are unable to
certify as to the efficiency of the compound in
destroying plant pests, but hope to test it
shortly.

Cooper's Flexible Carbon Fibre.

Watching the articles pretty closely in the
Gardeners' Chronicle, I was struck particu-
larly with one a short time ago concerning
leaf-mould as a medium in which to cultivate
Orchids. I am pleased to say I quite agree
with the writer in one thing especially, thai
is, artificial cultivation of Orchids require
treatment somewhat different to what they
obtain in their natural state. For one reason,
we cannot hope to supply exactly all that
they get in their wild state ; and yet from my
experience in some cases we are able even to
improve them by intelligent aid, and 1 feel
sure that much is to be done by those bold
enough to try. I have ventured to send for

the writer of the article two samples of what.
appears to lit in with his ideas, and wish par-

126

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 22, 1902.

ticularly to be understood that I am simply
writing as an inventor who, after patient
experiments, believes in his invention. To be
candid, I may say that I made a slight mistake
in sending the fibre out in its pure state. I
expected the majority would know what to do,
but some, I am sorry" to say, expected it to be
entirely different to what it really is. You
will see one canister is prepared ready for use
for most plants, yet can be altered as found
desirable. The other canister contains pure
fibre unchopped, as a pad of it is useful to
cover the crocks instead of sphagnum-moss,
and for other purposes that will present them-
selves. I may say the patent has been completed,
and that I am prepared to back it up with a
thousand pounds if required to advertise it,
but I find it is useless to bother with the trade
for a start — they simply want to sell their
plants, and do not care much for scientific
research. E. W. Cooper. [Some weil-known
cultivators report favourably upon it, and we
intend to have it tested still further. Ed.]

TREES AND SHRUBS.

HAMAMELIS MOLLIS.
Mr. Burbidge tells us that this Chinese
shrub is flowering in the gardens at Ham-
wood, Dunboyne, co. Meath. It is a fortnight
earlier to bloom than H. arborea or H.
.japonica. It has thicker shoots, more softly
tomentose, and the flowers are denser and
more brightly coloured than in its allies. It
■was introduced from China by Messrs. Veitch,
and is a most desirable addition to our
winter-blooming hardy shrubs.

ROBINIA HISPIDA, AND OTHERS.

The so-called Rose Acacia is a shrub of large
-size, as distinct as it is handsome, producing
great masses of flowers; in fact, its flowers
are so numerous sometimes as to almost break
down the bushes, and I have often been
obliged to fasten them up to stakes. It is
a plant well suited for growing in pleasure-
grounds, large or small, and it generally does
well in any kind of soil. At Compton Basset
they are planted in various positions, and they
are unusually attractive. Another very pretty
-species is R. pseudo-Acacia Decaisneana, a
shrub of more upright habit, with pink flowers,
produced very freely. This species is of
robust growth, and soon forms a fine tree. It
should not be planted in exposed positions, or
the wind will greatly damage it. The tree is
not particular as to soil. W, A. Cook.

The Week's Work.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch, Dalkeith.

Pineapples. — Fruiting Queens which have
been rested, and are rather dry at the root,
should now have the soil thoroughly moistened,
and the bottom-heat maintained at 85° to 90°,
the atmospheric heat being 65° at night and
•80° with sun-heat by day. Let the air of the
house be kept uniformly moist. Suckers of
Queen Pines potted-up in the autumn into
■6- inch pots should now be shifted into the
fruiting-pots, that is, pots of 10 inches in
diameter; and before the work is started, let
fresh tan be got ready to mix with the old,
fresh, turfy, and rather light and dry loam,
and mix bone-meal with it ; also see that the
pots are well cleansed and properly drained.
The suckers a few days previously should
receive a thorough application of water.
"When the plants are turned out of the pots,
remove the surface - soil and the crocks,
slightly disentangle the roots, place the old

ball rather low down in the pot, fill in round it
with small quantities of soil, making it mode-
rately firm with a rammer, and afford no
water for a fortnight. The newly - potted
plants should be plunged in the freshened-up
bark-bed at 2 feet apart, and afforded a
bottom-heat of 85° to 90°, and top-heat at
night of 00°, and 70° by day, and a little more
when the sun shines. The house should be
kept close for a week, and no effort made to
force growth by higher temperatures than
those I have given. If the plunging thermo-
meter shows an excess on the above figures
for bottom-heat, slightly elevate the plants by
placing a little tan under the pots, replunging
when the heat declines.

The Earliest Pot Tides.— The Vines should
be top-dressed without loss of time, using
turfy loam, mixed with Vine-manure. It is an
advantage to have the pots placed on large
turfs of fibrous loam, and on a solid base, and
to sprinkie the turves with Vine-manure. A
barrel of cowhouse drainings should be kept
at hand, and as it is usually rather potent, only
a very small quantity should be added to
the clean tepid water used. It should be
frequently employed. The gardener must
carefully guard against the soil in the pots
becoming soddened. Let growth be encou-
raged, restricting only the laterals on shoots
which are carrying bunches. With bright
days and cold weather ventilation must be
carefully studied, reducing the amount of fire-
heat in the midday hour when possible, and at
the warmest part of the day, or when the
house is 10° higher than in the" early morning.
Admit a small amount of air at the top of the
vinery, closing the ventilators early, and
damping paths and surfaces frequently", using
weak cowshed-water occasionally for damping
purposes, the ammonia thereby given off being
helpful to the foliage, and checking the spread
of red-spider.

Early Vines in Borders having the fruit set,
should have all of the bunches not required
removed, and berries thinned on those that
remain. Encourage the growth of foliage to
the fullest extent of the space allowed, and
what restriction is called for should be carried
out at frequent intervals, it being bad practice
to allow a lot of growth and then cutting it
away. Maintain a night temperature on cold
nights of 60°, or 5° more on mild nights, ad-
vancing to 80° or 85° in the daytime with sun-
shine ; and during spells of cold winds the
ventilation must be carried out, especially at
the early stages, or the berries will be marked.
Afford inside borders a sprinkling of Vine-
manure, and wash it in with tepid water, or
use water with weak liquid-manure ; a mulch
of rotten manure will now be a benefit on the
border.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Matne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle,
Bicton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Spraying Fruit Trees. — The latter half of
the present month is considered the best time
for this operation, first completing any arrears
in the matter of pruning, so that the wash can
be put on before the buds get prominent.
Doubtless the caustic soda and potash solution
repeatedly recommended in these pages is the
most effective, but on account of its corrosive
action on the skin and clothes, many hesitate
to make use of it. For spraying large trees
the Stott sprayer is a capital invention, and at
the present time is being used by the tenants
on this estate upon orchard trees. It is used
on the farms for spraying Charlock among
Barley, but is easily adapted for using on
fruit-trees by the addition of a few yards of
hose and a fine-spraying nozzle. A calm, dry
day is necessary for the work, and every care
must be taken that the mixture does not come in
contact with the skin. Besides destroying the
insects that ittouches as well as their eggs, also
lichen and moss, leaving the tree bright and
clean. To make this preparation, dissolve
1 lb. of crude commercial potash, 1 lb. of
caustic soda, in 10 to 12 gallons of hot water,
say at 110° ; a little common treacle added will

make it stick on better. Apples, Pears, and
Plums will stand it at the above strength, but
for Peaches and Apricots 3 to 4 gallons more
of water should be added. Keep the mixture
well agitated while spraying is going on, and
at the temperature stated above ; but this is
not always convenient.

Raspberries. — Established canes should have
their tops shortened down to a plump bud.
The canes planted in the autumn or early in the
year are the better for being cut down to
within 18 inches of the soil about the present
date, and thus concentrate the energy of the
plant for the production of strong growths for
fruiting next year in preference to taking a
few fruits this year. Autumn-bearing varieties
require to be cut to the ground level at the
end of February each year, and receive a
good mulching of rich manure over the roots,
which may be lightly forked in later on.

Bush fruits. — Newly - planted bushes of
Gooseberries and Currants may be pruned
into shape a bit, though if but one year from
the cutting, which usually have three or four
shoots, they will merely require shortening to
within three buds of the base of each shoot.
Gooseberries of erect habit of growth should
have all shoots cut to a left bud, facing out-
wards ; spreading-habited ones to a bud look-
ing inwards ; and pendulous-habited bushes
to an upwaid- formed bud. The frosty weather
at this date is very acceptable in the W. and
S.W., as it will retard the blossoming of
Apricots, Peaches, and Pears, which in these
gardens are too far advanced for the time of
year. Though the frost may be severe,
pruning may be carried on for several hours
during the warmer parts of the day ; and
recently planted trees of the trio just men-
tioned should be afforded whatever pruning is
required before the buds get prominent. As
the Apricot is the first to expand its blossoms,
protection should be got in readiness, the
erection and use of which will be dealt with
in my next contribution.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Turton, Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Rhubarb. — Owing to the generally short
Apple crop of last season, Rhubarb is in more
demand than usual this season, and the supply
must be kept up by placing a good batch of
roots in a Mushroom-house at intervals of a
fortnight. From now onwards I prefer Myatt's
Victoria Rhubarb, which yields plenty of fine
stalks of a nice colour. Where the supply of
roots is not large, the forced roots will do for
replanting, if properly hardened off when
taken from the Mushroom-house, &c. They
may be placed against the side of a hot-bed,
and covered with leaf-mould, with some long
litter over the crowns. Deeply trench and
heavily manure the ground intended for the
new plantation, which should be planted
during the present month. Rhubarb pays for
deep cultivation, and is most productive on re-
tentive soils. The earlier varieties are showing
signs of renewal of growth, and Seakale-pots
may be placed over a few of the earlier roots,
and surrounded with some sweetened fer-
menting material. Lacking Seakale or large
plant-pots, boxes measuring 18 inches square
at the bottom, 1 foot at the top, and 2 feet
high, made with a cover, will answer instead.
When made of seasoned Elm, they endure for
several years. Some larger boxes, or barrels
with the ends knocked out, are suitable for
placing over crowns of Myatt's Victoria when
they begin to grow, and no further protection
beyond covering the top afforded.

Asparayus. — Where much Asparagus is
forced, a certain quantity of land should be '
sown with Asparagus each year ; and although
a few weeks hence will be early enough to sow,
the land should be now well prepared in
readiness for sowing. Asparagus prefers a
light, deeply worked soil, and it should be well
enriched with good stable manure if the soil
be retentive. In addition to a heavy dress-
ing of the kind of manure named, roadside

February 22, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

127

trimmings which have been in good sized heaps
for at least twelve mouths, river sand, charred
garden refuse, old hotbed soil, and anything
of that nature should be incorporated with the
sorl in the course of trenching it. These
additions will raise the soil considerably ; and
should the position be very damp, and in
consequence cold, the beds should be raised
still more by throwing soil from the alleys on
to the spaces where the beds will be. I prefer
sowing, to planting one or two-year-old plants.

Celery.— The seeds of Celery required early
in September should be sown thinly forthwith
in a compost of two-thirds good loam, and one-
third equal parts spent mushroom-bed dung
and leaf-mould, with a dash of silver sand,
putting the soil into shallow boxes, and placing
these in a temperature of from 55° to 00°. The
boxes should be covered with sheets of glass,
which need not be raised till the seeds have
germinated. Place the plants near the glass,
and harden them off so that they will withstand
being pricked off into cold frames on hard
bottom during April. It is usual to grow
white Celery only for the early crop, as it
blanches more readily than the red varieties.
It is, however, advisable to sow an early pink
or red variety also at the same time.

Sowing of Various Seeds.— Where a suitable
border with a south or westerly aspect exists,
small sowings of the following seeds may be
made in skeleton frames made with 11-inch
boards, and covered with spare lights from
pits or frames, viz., Brussels Sprouts, Autumn
Giant Cauliflowers, Early White Milan Turnips,
French forcing Carrot, Radishes (Turnip and
long -rooted), Leeks, Commodore Nutt and
White Cos Lettuces. All of the above except
Lettuce Commodore Nutt, which should be
sown thinly broadcast and left to turn in for
use, should be sown in drills made 9 inches
apart. Sown thus, seedlings do not get drawn
as when grown in hot-bed frames, and in the
case of Brussels Sprouts, &c, they do not
receive the same check as when transplanted
from hot-bed frames.

THE PLOWEB GARDEN.

By R. Davidson. Gardener to Eakl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Gladiolus.— The corms should be planted as
soon as the ground becomes fit for working ;
and if, as is usually done, sunny positions are
chosen for the beds, groups, &c, and the
ground is heavily manured and deeply dug, it
will be ready for planting in March. Where
small groups are to be planted, let the soil at
planting-time be shovelled out to the depth of
4 ins., put in wheelbarrows, and place the
corms at distances varying from 2 to 7 inches,
according to the size to which the variety
grows. The corms beirg firmly set on the soil,
fill in the holes evenly with the excavated
soil, and make smooth. If planted in borders,
line out these into beds of about 5 feet in
width, with alleys 18 inches wide between
them, and draw drills at 10 inches apart
and 4 inches deep, planting and covering the
corms as above. Hybrids of G. gandavcnsis
planted amongst Hydrangea paniculate grandi-
flora flower at the same season as the latter,
and make an effective display. G. The Bride
is excellent for massing in the herbaceous
border, or associated with early-flowering
Pentstemons of brilliant colours.

JByacinthus eandicans. — This ornamental
Liliaceous plant makes telling masses in the
front parts of the shrubberies, and the plant
is not over-fastidious as to soil, but if a sum 11
quantity of sandy peat is incorporated with the
staple, its needs are suited exactly. Pro-
ceed as with Gladiolus, but put the bulbs
3 inches down in the soil and 7 inches apart.
Sprinkle some sharp sand over the bulbs
before covering with the soil. In the event of
severe frosts, a covering of cocoa-fibre refuse
or halt-decayed tree-leaves will keep out frost.
When planted irregularly in beds or borders
of Tie,. Pseonies (hat are not too tall, the
Meets are highly decorative, or they may be
planted in bods" in company with Gladiolus
prenchleyensis.

Montbretias. — The flowers of these are of
much value for cutting and decoration gene-
rally, and no time should be lost in planting
them. For this purpose plant only selected
and thoroughly matured flowering bulbs, on a
south or west border. The plant succeeds in
a light, rich soil, and they may be planted in
beds similarly to Gladiolus, i.e., in drills
7 inches apart, and not more than half an inch
between the corms, covering the whole evenly
2J inches deep. Plant also in unoccupied
spaces towards the front of the herbaceous
border, where they afford a pleasing diversity
of colour throughout the autumn.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

Epidendrums for Covering Walls, &c. — E.
radicans and the hybrid E. O'Brienianum are
two Orchids adapted for training on the glass
or solid ends of Dendrobium-stove or Cattleya-
house, being fastened to bamboo-rods, and
carried up to wires stretched transversely.
The plants treated in this manner have
pleasing effects when there is not much else
in flower. When ably grown, the species
named, more especially E. radicans, are nearly
always in flower, and the flowers are useful
for buttonholes. A suitable compost for these
Epidendrums consists of equal parts of turfy-
peat and chopped sphagnum-moss, and they
should have plenty of light, a fair proportion
of sunshine, and frequent syringings. The
plants are increased by means of the aerial
growths, which should be cut off and potted.

Triclwsma suavis. — This pretty winter-
flowering plant is now growing freely, and if
potting is necessary this season, attention
should be at once given to it. The plant
succeeds in a compost consisting of good
turfy peat two-thirds, chopped sphagnum moss
one-third ; the drainage should be good, so that
the plant can have copious supplies of water
during the spring and summer months without
risk of souring the compost. A place in the
cooler part of an intermediate-house suits the
plant. Its fragrance, and the fact that it
flowers in the winter, should make the species
a favourite.

Phalamopsis. — The plants should still be
kept rather drier than wet if the atmosphere
in the house bo kept humid as it should be.
In some gardens, Phalamopsis are very difficult
plants to grow, and it is not easy to define the
reason why this should be. I have known
them to succeed capitally in one house, and
go back when removed to another where the
same conditions have been maintained. An
old house is preferable, and one where a very
moist air prevails during the season of growth.
A propagating - house where the moisture
arises from the cocoa-fibre refuse plunging
material laying over the hot-water pipes
which supply the bottom-heat, often makes a
suitable house. If the plants are suspended,
the flower-spikes should be kept tied down
away from the glass ; and in the case of any
plant not in good health, it should not be
allowed to produce flowers. Phah-enopsis
will often throw up flower-spikes, when it
would bo fatal to let them remain on the
plant. The moss should be kept well away
from the centre of the plants. The tempera-
ture advised for tho stove Orchid -house
should be maintained.

Calanlhes. — Most of the deciduous species
and varieties having passed out of flower,
should be afforded a rest ; and if space is no
object, tho plants may be left in the pots and
kept quite dry. Otherwise, shake them out,
secure the labels to the pseudo-bulbs, and
place tho latter in shallow boxes with sand,
keeping tho dormant bud above tho level of
the sand. A shelf in the Cattleya or inter-
mediate-house forms a suitable place on which
to set them, or any houso where the air is
dryish, and the temperature does not fall
below 55°. On no account should they be
stored where they are exposed to full
sunlight.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mdndt, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Bumeas. — The earliest plants should now be
ready for placing in the flowering pots, and
not allowed first to get pot-bound. A mixture
of peat, loam, leaf-mould, in equal proportions,
and sand, is suitable ; more peat or leaf-mould
being employed if the loam is very tenacious.
To afford water soon after potting is not
advisable, and if the balls are in a fairly moist
condition beforehand, and the potting soil is
moist enough to bind without becoming pasty,
no water will be needed for some time. Keep
the plants in the greenhouse, as they dis-
like fire-heat ; and do not use the syringe on
them.

Begonia CHoire de Lorraine. — This is un-
doubtedly the most popular of winter-flower-
ing Begonias, and its decorative merits are
such as to make it quite invaluable in any
garden. Given an intermediate temperature
only when flowering, its season of growth is
extended beyond the time when plants in-
tended for stock should be at rest, and it is
possible to keep the same batch of plants in a
presentable condition as late as April, a date
that is too late to commence the resting period
that is necessary before good sucker - like
cuttings, which can be relied on to furnish
good plants, are produced. A portion of the
stock of plants should now be divested of
their flowers, removed to a house or pit with
a temperature of about 55°, and kept for about
a fortnight or three weeks rather dry at the
root ; at the end of that period the old flower-
ing growths may be shortened to half their
length, and when the suckers, which show
renewed activity of the roots, appear, the
remaining portions of the old stems may be
cut hard back. Cuttings, perhaps, may be
showing on these old stems, but these should
not be relied on for propagation, as they
never grow away with vigour. Some growers
shake out and repot the old stools, but I have
not found this necessary unless the soil has
been soured with manure-water. In addition
to plants raised from cuttings, some may be
raised from the finest leaves, which can now
be found on the plants. These should be
dibbled in, with some two inches of stem, in
shallow boxes of cocoa-nut fibre or light soil
and sand, the leaf itself standing clear of the
soil. In a temperature of from 05° to 70' roots
will soon form, and be followed by gootl
growths, but the leaves should not be placed
in a close propagating-case, damping-off occur-
ing if they are kept close.

Tiiherous - rooted Begonias. — Some of the
tubers may bo potted up forthwith for early
flowering, though I like to keep most of the
stock back, for though not perhaps so good in
autumn as in summer, they are generally mucin
more useful then. All Begonias like decayed
cow-manure, and this should be provided in
the potting soil, which should consist of good
sandy loam. Start them in a temperature
of about 55°, and apply no water for some
weeks after potting, as, given a moist soil
at that time, the usual humidity of the house
suffices.

( 'yblamens. — Autumn-raised seedlings which
have made at the fewest two leaves may be
potted singly in thumb-pots, or several to-
gether in a 5 or (i-inch pot, or even pricked off
in pans for the time being, affordimg each
plenty of space in which to develop. Where
the conditions of the house are suitable, and
they can be kept close to the glass, I prefei

to pot them singly. A temperature of not

lower than 5(1° to 55° is most suitable at this
stage.

Lapagerias. — Just now strong young basal

shoots may be looked for on specimens growing'

in borders, and as slugs and weevils oil en
cause injury to these, their appearance should

bo noted, and a collar of cotton-wool placed
round the base of each shoot. A little
thinning of the weaker shoots may now be

effected, and the plants cleaned'.

128

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 22, 1902.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER

Special Notice to Correspondents. — The Editor does not

undertake to pay Jor any contributions, or to return the

unused communications or illustrations, unless by special

arrangement.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY. Feb. 24.—

Border Plants. Perennials, Bulbs. &c.,by Protheroe

& Morris, at 12.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 26.—

Plants from Holland' Lilies. &c. by Protheroe &

Morris, at 12. Bulbs and Plants, by Stevens & Sou.
THURSDAY, Feb. 27 —

Roses, Begonias. &c, by Protheroe & Morris, at 12.
FRIDAY, Feb. 28.—

Orchids in great variety, by Protheroe &. Morris.

at 12.30.

(For luriher particulars see Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
—MS*.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— February IS (tj p.m.) : Max. 38': Min. 35'.

February 20.— Raw ; damp: dull.
Provinces.— February 19 (6 p.m.) : Max. 48% S. W.
Ireland; Min. 34°, E. England.

The Culti- ^HE use °^ leai"mou'a' in the

vation of cultivation of Orchids is attract-

Orchids in ing so much attention that we
Leaf-mould. g]adiy iay before our readers
the following remarks by M. Lucien Linden,
whose cultivation of these plants leaves
nothing to be desired. . We trust Orchid-
growers will make experiment for them-
selves, and give our readers the benefit of
their experience : —

" I see that in the newspapers, and par-
ticularly in articles published in the Gar-
deners' Chronicle and the Orchid Reviexc, the
question of growing Orchids in leaf-mould is
attracting some interest in England. The
opinion of those who have long cultivated
Orchids, and studied the growth of these
plants under various conditions, should, I
think, have some value in this discus-
sion. My opinion is shared by my foreman,
M. Van Cauwenberghe, whose ideas with
regard to cultivation are the same as my own
(and we have for twenty-seven years studied
the subject together), should, we think, be of
value, and it is our duty to make them known.

In the Moortebeek houses, the Orchid-culti-
vation in which is often eulogised in your
columns, we are not partisans of the new
method, for a very simple reason : from our
own experiments, and from those that we have
seen tried elsewhere, we have not yet found a
system superior in its results to those obtained
by us under the old system. We do not believe
that the material, the sustenance for the
plant, is of primary importance in Orchid-
culture. Aeration, the degree of moisture
given at different stages of their growth, the
resting period, and a proper temperature, are
the chief factors of success.

Whether the plants are cultivated on blocks
(Cattleyas), in pots, in green moss, live sphag-
num, leaf-mould, or in the roots of Polypodium,
is a very secondary matter.

Orchids need no manure, and we never give
them any. Formerly, my father grew all his
Orchids in living sphagnum, and his plants
were as fine as ours are to-day.

We might almost say that if material for
repotting is of great importance in gardening,
it is living sphagnum that we should recom-
mend before everything else. When a plant
is not doing well, be it an Odontoglossum, a
Cypripedium, or a Cattleya, it is in sphagnum
that it regains vigour — green sphagnum that

restores it to life. Life only can call back
life.

Lately, to complete our experiments, we
have bought right and left from amateurs and
horticulturists Cypripediums and other Orchids
cultivated in leaf-mould. The only living
roots that we found were in the sphagnum
over the surface of the pots ; in the earth they
were usually rotten.

We certainly do not wish to condemn the
new system of cultivation ; but the best result
obtainable by the new method is that it will
relieve amateurs from their apprehension in
growing Orchids. A plant that can be re-
potted like a Fuchsia or a Pelargonium cannot
be alarming. Therefore, in England and else-
where, cultivation in leaf-mould should be
tried, but not [mais pas avec emfoanemenf] to
the exclusion of the ordinary method. Ex-
perienced growers, naturally, will understand
why I say that it will only be of service to
those who do not know how to cultivate
Orchids.

If a commission be sent into Belgium to
study the new system, I cordially invite them
to visit our houses at Moortebeek, and to make
comparisons for themselves. L. Linden."

Mr. F. W. Flight. — It gives us the greatest
concern to find that we, in common with
several of our contemporaries, were misin-
formed as to the death of this gentleman.
The intelligence was conveyed to us at the
last meeting of the Royal Horticultural So-
ciety, and we can only express our deep
regret at the pain which we must unwittingly
have occasioned, and at the same time our
gratification at learning that Mr. FLIGHT is in
good health.

Royal Horticultural Society. — The
next meeting of the Floral and Vegetable Com-
mittees of the Royal Horticultural Society
will be held on Tuesday, February 25, in the
Drill Hall, Buckingham Gate, Westminster,
1 to i p.m. A lecture on " The Use and Value
of Nicotine in Horticulture," will be given by
Mr. G. E. Williams at 3 o'clock.

At the annual general meeting of the

Royal Horticultural Society held on Tuesday,
February 11, sixty new Fellows were elected,
amongst them being Lady Boston, Col. J. Heap,
(iEOKGE H. Baxter, F.Z.S., and the Rev. H. M.
Wells, M.A., making a total of 183 elected
since the beginning of the present year.

■ Examination in Horticulture. — Can-
didates wishing to sit for the Royal Horticul-
tural Society's examination in horticulture on
Wednesday, April 23, are requested to send in
their names, with that of their supervisor, as
early as possible. Entry forms may be ob-
tained on application to the Secretary, Royal
Horticultural Society, 117, Victoria Street,
London. S.W. Applicants should enclose a
stamp. The Society will also in future con-
tinue to hold its examination in April, and
not in February, as it was once intended.

The Cultivation and Cure of Vanilla in
Seychelles are referred to in an interesting
report by Messrs. Brookes & Green, of
Mincing Lane, who state that the vanilla
industry has been most successful in the
island, and that Seychelles vanilla is superior
as regards quality and value to all except
Mexican vanilla. The island possesses a
magnificent harbour, and the climate is very
healthy ; but owners of vanilla gardens have
anxious times, a prolonged drought interfering
most seriously with successful flowering, while
between that period and fructescence the
plants are frequently damaged by gales of
wind, so that plantations which gave early

promise of a good crop finally yield but a poor
result. When ripe and ready for harvesting,
the beans (pods) are in a green, damp condi-
tion, and the process of curing and preparing
the vanilla for shipment to London requires
much care and attention, any parcels packed
too damp (immaturely cured) almost invariably
contracting "mould " on the voyage, and the
value being thus largely reduced. The crop
for 1901, shipped during the months of August
to December, totalled "fully double" the
heaviest quantity exported from Seychelles in
any previous season, and the present season's
crop will probably reach the importantquantity
of about 80 tons. Pharmaceutical Journal.

Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Institu-
tion at Liverpool. — Those who are in sym-
pathy with the work and aims of the Gardeners'
Royal Benevolent Institution will be glad to
learn that a representative committee has
been in Liverpool, to arrange a smoking con-
cert to be held in the City Hall, Eberle Street,
on Wednesday, March 12. Professor R. J.
Harvey Gibson, M.A., F.L.S., Professor of
Botany, Liverpool University College ; H. J.
Veitch, Esq., and Mr. Geo. J. Ingram, secre-
tary of the Institution, will deliver addresses.
The chairman of the committee is Mr. C. A.
Young, of the Floral Nursery, West Derby;
secretary, Mr. R. G. Waterman ; and
treasurer, Mr. Crippen. Donations will be
thankfully received.

Presentation to a Gardener.— On the
occasion of the annual supper of the West
Derby Horticultural Society on the 12th inst.,
the Chairman, Mr. C. A. Young, presented to
Mr. John Massey, gr. to Mrs. Hignett, of
Bankfield, West Derby, a silver and Oak
"Tantalus." Mr. Massey, in returning thanks
for the gift, said that it was also his 71st
birthday. The inscription read: "Presented
to Mr. John Massey by a few friends, on the
completion of 40 years' service at Bankfield."
Mr. Massey incidentally remarked that he
had been gardener at Bankfield to nine em-
ployers, and that he had seen the estate for
the third time put up by auction, quaintly
remarking that he supposed he had been
bought in.

Chinese Conifers. — In a communication to
the Bulletin of the Italian Botanical Society,
October 13, 1901, Mr. Beissner describes the
Conifers collected by Father J. Giraldi in
Shen Si. Among them are Larix chinensis,
Cephalotaxus Griffithi, a Himalayan species ;
Juniperus taxifolia recurva, and Ginkgo
biloba, the native country of which has not
been known till lately.

Fruit and Farm Produce by Rail.— The
authorities of the Great Eastern Railway Co.
inform us that during the half-year ending in
December last, the number of farm produce
boxes forwarded to their destinations was
65,000, showing for the first time a decrease,
as compared with a similar period. The falling
off was caused principally by the partial failure
of the fruit crops in the eastern counties,
and also to the long drought during the summer
months, which adversely affected the eggs and
poultry traffic.

Poison !— The Staffordshire Sentinel for
January 30 reports that a firm which manu-
factures a nicotine insecticide for horticultural
purposes appears to have sent it out to seeds-
men and florists without any indication of its
poisonous nature ; consequently the retailers,
knowing nothing whatever about the dangerous
properties of the liquid, supplied it to a
customer in an old brandy bottle without a
proper label. As a result, a gardener mistook

Fhbruary 22, 1902.]

THE GARB ENER S ' CHR G NI CL E.

129

the insecticide for some beer, which it closely
resembled in appearance, and died shortly
afterwards.

Spraying. — At a recent meeting of the
Nova Scotia Fruit Growers' Association, Dr.
Fletcher remarked that the spraying of fruit-
trees was suggested in Canada first before the
Association sixteen years ago, and he had had
the honour of bringing in the suggestion. Yet
rafter all these years of discussion, many people
did not yet understand how to spray. Drench-
ing a tree is not spraying it. Throwing a
mixture over it in patches is not spraying.
Spraying means enveloping the tree in a spray
or fog so that every part may be wet but not
drenched. Some men have a habit of using-
the same remedy for any insect that may be on
the trees without regard to what the insect is.
We spray, he said, too often without an
intelligent idea of what we are doing. We
should remember that there are two kinds of
insects, those that chew and those that suck.
We should spray with arsenates for insects
that chew, and use an oily coating for those
that suck. Fungus diseases also need their
special remedies.

Garden Annual for Belgium. — There
has recently been issued a useful " Annuaire
de 1'HorticuIture, de l'Arboriculture fruitiere
et de la Culture Maraichere en Belgique et
des Industries qui s'y rattachent." The
scope of this work may be understood from its
long title ; it forms a large octavo volume,
and should be useful to those for whom it is
intended. It may be obtained from the Ad-
ministration, Coupure, 15, Ghent, Belgium.

Botanic Garden, Brussels. — The ad
interim appointment of M.Durand as Director
has now been made permanent.

The Ghent Quinquennial.— Yes, posi-
tively ! the next Exhibition will be held in
April, 1903. If we had not the schedule before
as, we should have said that the last meeting
was held the year before last !

"Cassell's Dictionary of Gardening" is
well got up, and well illustrated ; the text is
accurate and suitable for amateurs, who will
find it very serviceable for their requirements.

" Reliqui/e Dewevrean/e." — This is a
sumptuous publication, prepared by MM. Em.
de Wildeman and Th. Durand, of the Brussels
Botanic Garden, and devoted to the descrip-
tion of the plants discovered in the Inde-
pendent Congo State by M. Alf. Dewkvri:.
It is published under the auspices of the
Government of the Congo State. The technical
•descriptions are accompanied by useful notes.
Two new or recently-described species of
Hfemanthus are mentioned, viz., H. Eltvel-
<leanus and H. Arnoldianus.

" Industrial and Commercial Japan." —
This publication, by Dennison Gray (printed
by the Yokohama Bunsha, Yokohama, Japan),
•deals with modern Japan, the " commercial,
shipping, manufacturing, industrial, and
general business capabilities of the Empire."
It is, in fact, an illustrated account of the
•buildings and wares of many of the principal
business firms of Japan. It includes an
account, with pictures, of the nurseries of
L. Boehmer & Co., of Nos. 5 and 28, Bluff,
"Yokohama.

Stock-taking : January. — The year has
opened with a very considerable increase in
the matter of imports, i.e., £4,143,832, some of
v?hich is due to the " budget " anticipations
of speculators — this especially under the head-
ings of "articles of food dutiable," where
.sugar looms largely. The total value of im-

ports for last month is £50,131,348, as against
£45,987,510 for January, 1901— hence the in-
crease above recorded. The following is our
usual extract from the "January " table:—

Imports.

1901.

1902.

Difference.

£

£

£

Total value

45,987,516

50,131,348

+4,143,832

(A.) Articles of food
and drink— duty
tree

13,843,506

14,889,213

+ 1,045,707

(B.) Articles of food
•k. drink— dutiable

4,084,853

5,383,665

+ 1,298.812

Raw materials for
textile manufac-
tures

9,218,659

10,892,272

+1,673,613

Raw materials for
sundry industries
and manufactures

4,073,790

3,872,232

— 201,55*

(A.) Miscellaneous
articles

1,435,S51

1,958,030

+522,179

(B.) Parcel Post ...

87,462

94,305

+6,843

This table is somewhat fuller than of yore, and
this may not be considered quite an improve-
ment ; one item is so, however — the markings
of differences by the signs plus and minus,
whereby a column is saved. The usually
interesting figures are to be found under
fruits, roots, and vegetables, as under : —

Imports.

1901.

1902.

Difference.

Fruits, raw :—

Cwt.

Cwt.

Cwt.

Apples

288,151

186,989

—101,162

Apricots and Peaches

19

16

—3

Bananas... bunches

119,834

157,053

+37,219

Grapes

4,610

1,002

—3,668

Lemons

97,495

126,144

+ 28,649

Nuts— Almonds

4,989

14,316

+9,327

Others, used as food

42,691

36,363

—6,328

Oranges

833,341

1,032,064

+ 198,723

Pears

1,237

557

—680

Plums ...

4

38

+ 34

Unenumerated.raw...

6,235

6,822

+587

Fruits, dried-

Currants, for home
consumption

39,315

82,927

+43,612

Raisins

17,673

29,114

+ 11,441

Vegetables, raw :—

Onions bush.

490,774

576,180

+85,406

Potatos cwt.

451,055

285,001

—166,054

Tomatos ,

37,768

17,814

—19,954

Vegetables, raw, un-
enumcrated ...value

£27,680

£32,719

+ £5,039

One feature of interest to all has yet to be
added to the Keturns of the Board of Trade,
and this is a brief statement of all the canned
fruits imported.

The Exports
for the month are valued at £24,254,574, as
against £24,753,531 — the resulting decrease
being £498,957. Coal exports are to some
extent responsible for this falling off ; but for
which an increase on last year's total would
have occurred.

Mr. G. C. Creelman has been appointed
Secretary to the Ontario Fruit-Growers' Asso-
ciation, leaving Mr. WooLVERTON to edit the
Canadian Horticulturist. Mr. Creelman is a
graduate in agriculture from the University of
Toronto, has been Professor of Biology in the
Agricultural College of Mississippi, and has
had much experience in teaching.

Coming Exhibitions. — We havo received
a number of schedules of forthcoming horti-
cultural exhibitions, among which are the
following : — ■

The Durham, Northumberland and New-
castle Botanical and Horticultural Society
will hold a spring show on April 1 and 2, and
a summer show on July 23, 24, and 25, both at

Newcastle. At the former exhibition there
will be as many as sixty-seven classes for
plants in bloom and cut flowers ; whilst the
same number of classes at the summer exhi-
bition will include plants, cut flowers, floral
decorations, fruits, and vegetables. The
summer show has been postponed for a fort-
night since our Almanack was published. The
Secretary is Mr. J. B. Reid, Mosley Chambers,
30, Mosley Street, Newcastle.

The Grand Yorkshire Gala on June 11, 12,
and 13, in the Bootham Field, York, is expected
to prove as fine a horticultural exhibition as
any of its predecessors. There are ninety-
four classes in the schedule, and a sum of £750
will be offered in prizes. This sum will be
divided as follows : — £300 for Orchids, stove
and greenhouse plants ; £200 for Pelargoniums,
Carnations, Begonias, &c. ; £150 for Roses,
cut flowers, &c. ; and £100 for fruits and
vegetables. The Pelargoniums and Fuchsias
staged at York are now-a-days much finer
features than at most exhibitions. The Secre-
tary is Mr. Chas. Simmons, The York Hotel,
York.

The Ancient Society of York Florists,
instituted, as the schedule says, in time imme-
morial, and re-established in 1760, will hold
minor shows on April 16, May 21, July 16, and
September 3. At these exhibitions members
of the society only may take part. The twenty-
sixth annual Chrysanthemum show, which will
take place on November 12, 13, and 14, is of a
different kind, and contains many open classes.
Altogether there are 113 classes for Chrys-
anthemums, fruits, and vegetables, and the
prizes offered are of a very liberal character.
The Secretary is Mr. GEO. F. W. Oman, 38,
Petergate, York.

The Royal Horticultural Society of
Southampton have arranged to hold exhibi-
tions on July 1 and 2, and on Nov. 4 and 5.
The summer show will be for general horti-
cultural exhibits, including Roses ; and the
autumn exhibition for Chrysanthemums, fruits,
and vegetables. The Secretary is Mr. C. S.
Fuidge, 6, College Terrace, London Road,
Southampton.

The County-borough of Hanley Horticul-
tural Fete becomes a more important exhibi-
tion each year, and being situate in almost the
centre of the thickly populated district in
North Staffordshire known as " The Potteries,"
there are plenty of visitors to make the shows
financially successful. The committee has now
a balance at the bank of £2,287 14s. 6d., and
the income in 1901 was £4,396 3s. 5d., as com-
pared with £3,632 5s. lod. in 1900. We have
an advance proof of the schedule, which shows
that very liberal prizes are offered for a great
variety of horticultural subjects. It will open
on the same day as the show of the National
Rose Society in the Temple Gardens (July 2),
a circumstance which will prevent some from
visiting Hanley who may otherwise have done
so. The Secretary is Mr. J. Kent, Hanley
Park, Staffordshire.

The Torquay District Gardeners' Associa-
tion will hold a spring show on March 26, and
a Chrysanthemum show on November 5. This
is one of those societies that holds meetings
for the discussion of horticultural subjects, as
well as promote exhibitions; and the society
possesses a library containing 100 valuable
books. The Secretary is Mr. G. Lee, The
Lodge, Upton Leigh.

The Kent COUNTY Chrysanthemum Society
hold their annual shows at The Rink, Black-
heath, and the next one has been arranged for
October 21) and 30. The Secretary is Mr. F.
Fox, The Gardens, The Cedars, Lee.

130

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 22, 1902.

The Shropshire Horticultural Society will
hold its spring show; on April 9, when prizes
will be given for plants and cut flowers in
twenty-seven classes. This early exhibition,
however, is not so; interesting to the majority
of our readers as the great floral fete which
will take place on August 20 and 21 in The
Quarry, Shrewsbury, and at which a schedule
just to hand declares there will be offered
more than £1,000 in prize-money, besides a
"Silver Challenge Vase for Grapes, value
50 guineas, five Silver Cups, Gold and Silver
Medals, and other valuable prizes." Very
great encouragement is again offered exhi-
bitors of groups of plants arranged for effect,
and for collections of specimen plants. In the
cut flower section there are classes for all, or
very nearly all, the principal species in season.
In the two principal fruit classes alone a sum
of £100 is offered, besides a ;50-guinoa Chal-
lenge Cup, &c. ; there are excellent classes
for vegetables also. The Shropshire Horti-
cultural Society shows itself determined to
maintain its exhibitions the best displays of
horticultural produce in the provinces, and
this, notwithstanding there arc many others
that are now conducted much upon the same
lines. The Hon. Sees, are Messrs. Adnitt and
Naunton, The Square, Shrewsbury.

The Surveyors' Institution. — The next
Ordinary General Meeting will be held 'in the
Lecture Hall of the Institution, on Monday,
February 24, when a Paper will be read by
Mr. Rowland Berkeley (Associate), entitled,
"Electric Railways and Street compensa-
tions." The Chair will be taken at 8 o'clock.

Acreage under Fruit.— The following is
a brief outline of the statistics relating to
the fruit crops in 1901,' as published in an
agricultural return just issued by the iBoard
of Agriculture. The total area under orchards
in England was 228,580 acres ; that under
small fruits, 67,828 acres. Wales shows a
total of 3,767 acres under orchards ; and
1,092 acres under small fruit. Scotland has
2,313 acres under orchards, and 6,079 acres
under small fruit. The Isle of Man has
307 acres in orchards, and 139 acres under
small fruit. Jersey possesses 1,027 acres
of orchards, and 117 acres under small fruit ;
whilst Guernsey and ;the other Channel
Islands have 207 acres in orchard, and 343 acres
in small fruit. In Ireland, in 1901, there were
4,877 acres under small fruit.

Cape Fruit.— The ship Norman has brought
662 boxes of Peaches, 248 of Plums, 154 of
Nectarines, and 47 of Pears.

PRIOR PARK.

_ The subject of our Supplementary illustra-
tion this week, is the charming Palladian-
bridge in the grounds at Prior Park, near
Bath. Prior Park Mansion was built during
the eighteenth century for Ralph Allen, whose
name was closely connected with postal reform,
and who enjoyed the friendship of many of the
learned men of his day. The lands were onco
the property of the Priors of Bath, and in this
way doubtless its present name originated.

The building is situated on the crest of one
of the hills that surround Bath, and from its
terraces may be obtained an exquisite view of
the fine old city. A nearer view from the terrace
is one consisting of the grounds of Prior Park
themselves, with the Palladian - bridge almost
at their termination.

Looking directly from the centre of the
mansion, the ground dips away steeply in a
most beautiful ravine-like valley, whose'banks
on right and left also slope markedly from the

terrace, and are ornamented by handsome
groups of fine trees. The lakes are in terraces,
and the delightful effect of the bridge, in the
grand "setting" that the grounds afford it,
can scarcely be described.

Our photograph, taken by Mr. AY. Rossiter,
of Bath, does not give much idea of the lovely
grounds, but well depicts the bridge in very
near perspective. It is a fine specimen of
Georgian architecture, and was built in 1751,
when itsjdesign was no doubt copied from the
famous bridge at Wilton.

The Palladian mansion, with its two wings,
is very remarkable for extent and for magni-
ficent workmanship, and during the middle of
the jjighteenth century was the scene of a
social life of, the highest culture, it having
been the haunt of poets, authors, and actors
ofj^pjite^Gainsborough painted his celebrated
portrait :of Garrick here. The poet Pope had
a favourite walk in the grounds, which has
since been named after him. Pope did not
like Bath, and was staying at Prior Park when
he wrote: "I live out of the sulphurous pit,
at the edge of the pit, at Mr. Allen's, for a
mouth or so." Fielding, Quin, Bishop Warbur-
ton and many other well-remembered men fre-
quented the place as the guests of Ralph Allen.
For very many years past the mansion has
been used as a Roman Catholic school, but
visitors to Bath who may desire to see the
beautiful grounds can always obtain permis-
sion to do so. Our photograph was taken
when the grounds were looking their best,
and the trees were resplendent with foliage,
but even on Monday last, when we were there,
the winter scene was a beautiful one.

THE CULTURE OF AN.ECTO-
CHILUS.

In the Gardeners' Chronicle of December 7,
1901, p. 410, Mr. James O'Brien, in an interest-
ing article entitled "Imported Orchids," men-
tions theAnaectochili as being plants generally
found difficult to cultivate, and his success
with them some years ago by frequently pro-
pagating them, and growing them in a compost
mainly of loam-fibre. The use of loam-fibre I
consider of special significance, for in loamy
soil they are always found growing, and never
in the light Orchid-peat and moss in which
they are often potted in gardens. I am very
fond of these jewelled members of the Orchid
tribe, and as I have seen, as you will
readily believe, a good many in their native
habitats, I will venture to make a few
remarks, which I hope may interest your
readers, and which perhaps may help to make
the beautiful Anajctochili better understood.

Now I assert that Ansectochili are not at all
so delicate [as they are generally supposed to
be ! I am certain that the real fact of the
matter is, that these plants are starved to
death, or killed with kindness, and that they
do not die much faster than is the case now;
only proves their great natural vitality. Now
as you well know, the Ana?etochili are ground
Orchids. They are found in forests growing
in veryjrich loam. I have never seen one
growing in moss in its native country. Yet
what do I see at home ? There, as a rule,
they are planted in the old orthodox mixture
of sphagnum, charcoal, and fibre rubbish,
which may be suited very well for an
Epiphyte, but hardly for a ground Orchid.
Then they 'are generally put under a glass
shade, so that the poor things cannot even
get much sustenance from the air. The result,
of course, is that the plant weakens, gets
delicate, and ultimately dies ; and the plant
is blamed, and not the method of cultivation.

I am well aware how difficult and often im-
possible it is at home to give a plant the
exact natural conditions it enjoys in its wild
state, and modifications have to be considered,
yet I am sine if growers would procure some
nice surface-loam out of the forest, and place
the plants just loosely on this lumpy material,
mixed perhaps with a little silver sand to keep
it well open, and always keep it damp, they
would be surprised at the result.

To show how hardy the Ansectochili are, I
will just relate the story of the introduction
of Ansectochilus Sanderianus. I found thr*
plant in British New Guinea, where it grows,
at an elevation of between 1,000 and 2,000 ft.
I collected a good number, but had to keep-
them about a month before I could get. away.
A white mycelium was very troublesome,
several times destroying a whole boxful in a
single day. Atlastlwasfortunateenoughtoget
a passage in the mission steamer John Williams,
which brought me and my plants safely to>
Cooktown. I intended to go to Singapore via)
Batavia. When applying for a passage pev
Royal Mail S.S. Queensland, the answer I got
was "First steamer full, second steamer-
full also." I offered £10 extra, but it was
useless. There were no other steamers.
To go via Sydney was impossible, on account
of the winter, so there was no help for it but
to wait. I was despairing of keeping my
plants alive — nine weeks in Cooktown in the
winter would kill anything, I felt sure. Cook-
town is the windiest place I was ever in. In
the hotel the only sheltered spot I could get
was a tiny bit of a court-yard, half garden,
just outside the billiard-room. But even there-
the wind used to sweep down in strong gusts,
continually, the rain was icy cold, and I am
afraid occasionally the billiard players watered
my plants in a manner not at all suited to
such delicate things. But in spite of all this
wind, rain, and cold — I used to feel cold under-
two blankets — my Ana?ctochili were flourish-
ing, and even growing, though unluckily two-
grand Impatiens, a gorgeous Didymocarpus (?),.
and several other new things died.

After nine weeks I got away, and after
twelve days arrived at Batavia. I waited four-
days there, in two more days I reached
Singapore. When I arrived there, my plants,
looked almost as fresh as they did when I
started from New Guinea, and I had not lost
a single Ansectochilus after leaving there.
After some delay at Singapore, Mr. Fox, of
the Botanic Gardens, who was going home on
leave, was kind enough to take them home,
and Messrs. Sander received them at St.
Albans almost as fresh as they were when
collected. I do not think any other kind of
Orchid would stand such prolonged rough
treatment half so well.

Then take the grandest of all Anaectochili, I
mean A. Leopoldi, with leaves 6 inches long
and 4 inches broad, and most wonderfully
marked. When the plants arrived in Belgium
they had been on theroad overthrec months, yet
they were so good that they were exhibited at
the Ghent Quinquennial show, where lhave no
doubt you saw them.

In Singapore I have seen them in private
gardens, just potted in ordinary soil, and
treated by native gardeners just as they treat
Begonias, Caladiums, and things of that sort,,
and they do very well.

But I think I have said enough to convey my
impression, that if people would seek to under-
stand the Ansectochili, and treat them ration-
ally, and more like other plants, there is
nothing in their nature which prevents them
being easily grown. W. Mieholitz, Bhamo*
January 12, 1902.

February 22, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

131

DERMATOROTRYS SAUNDERSII.

I feel that I have done this plant a wrong,
aild hasten therefore to make reparation. It
had not flowered very freely until this season,
and I concluded that, although very interest-
ing and suitable for a botanic garden, it "was
not ornamental. It is interesting as being
the sole representative of its genus, one also
not closely allied to any other ; and it is in-
teresting on account of the nonconformity of
its structure with that of any Natural Order
to which it can be referred. One authority
has referred it with little hesitation to the
Solanacese ; while another, on account of char-
acters foreign to that Order, has referred it
to the Scrophularinese, where no similar plant
is found. It is somewhat distinct type, upon
which certain questions might be raised. All
this, indeed, I had recognised, but now I find

The accompanying illustration (fig. 38) has
been prepared from a photograph kindly taken
for me by my foreman of the plant-houses, Mr.
K. Allard, who has succeeded in obtaining a
very good representation. The plant was
introduced to Kew in 1892, and is figured
in the Botanical Magazine of 1891, t. 7369.
It is there stated, on the authority of Miss
Katherine Saunders, who sent seeds and
living plants to Kew, that "the slirub is
epiphytic, growing normally on trees, though
also on the ground." It will be noticed that
the branches are sometimes thicker above
than below, a feature which does sometimes
belong to epiphytic plants, and it recalls Dry-
monia punctata to my mind at this moment.
Dermatobotrys we have only grown as a pot-
plant, under which treatment it does perfectly
well. It is a native of Natal and Zululand.
R. Irwin Lynch, Botanic Gardens, Cambridge.

Fro. 38. — dermatobotrys saitndersii : flowers rem.

that apart from interest, nothing could be more
quaintly ornamental for the conservatory.
The plant has an i-regular manner of branch-
ing, though all principal branches proceed
from a round knob - like base — a kind
of hub. In autumn they lose all their
leaves, and after a short time burst into
.growth, the Bowers then appearing just at
the juncture of the old and new wood,
and crowned as it were by a tuft of fresh
green foliage. The flowers are lj inch long,
of eoral-red colour, and curved in a graceful
manner. There are sixty-five on the plant
liere illustrated. It has been grown in a cold
greenhouse, and is at least three years old,
though only a foot high. It gives evidence of
being a very useful winter-flowering plant,
not growing inconveniently large, and not
requiring to be re-struck from cuttings every
now and then to produce the best result;
Indeed, the only drawback it appears to have
is, that it does not at once become fully
floriferons.

WINTER FLOWERS AT NORTH

MYMMS PARK, HE UTS.

It may at once be stated that what is grown
here is of the best. The winter-flowering Bego-
nias are the newest which Messrs. Vcitch &
Sons, of Chelsea, havo distributed, together
with the less modern li.Gloire de Lorraine and
B. GloiredeScoaux. Of each of these there were
many line specimens, grown in the case of the
last lew months from the catting to a height of
I feet, and almost as much in diameter. The
last-named winter-flowering variety is not seen
so often as it might be, and grown in the
manner as it is here. The plants of 11. Gloire
de Lorraine were equally tine, and models of
form. This variety is grown chiefly in 0-inch
pots, and the plants had attained a height of
28 inches and a diameter of 2 feet, free-branch-
ing pyramids, and with but half the tying
usually seen. 1 observed a number of line
plants of B. SOOOtrana, the leaves handsome
and shining, with numerous sprays of pink

flowers. The specimens of B. Ensign, a variety
which was ablaze with flowers, were hand-
some plants, about 2 feet high, and unique for
richness of colour. The plant increases with
age in the richness of colour and size of the
flowers. B. Turnford Hall was here, too.

The display does not consist entirely of novel-
ties, for Mr. Fielder, gr. to Mrs. Burns, grows
quantities of plants of C'entropogon Lucyanus,
Ruellia macrantha, fine specimens in full flower.
Lilium speciosum, which had been retarded,
were among those [observed. Carnations are
grown in great numbers, especially Souvenir
de la Malmaison for flowering later. An ex-
cellent variety that was in bloom was America,
a large and handsome, flower of a shade of
scarlet. As here grown, with one flower on
one stem, the latter about 15 inches high, it is
really very fine, and with no apparent liability
to burst the calyx ; the variety is nicely
scented. Houses of a large size are set apart
for Roses, and gave evidence of a good display
of flowers to come. J.

CYTISUS RACEMOSUS.

If shoots 3 inches long and furnished with a
heel of the older wood be taken at this season,
and stuck-in round the rims of small well-
drained pots filled with a sandy loam, made
firm by hand, afforded water, and set aside
for a time before inserting the cuttings, they
will root under bell-glasses in a warm house.
With proper attention in regard to potting and
applying water, these will make sturdy,
flowering plants in one year. "When rooted in
the first pots, shift into CO's, and place in a
warm greenhouse, syringing them repeatedly
in bright weather. Their next shift should be
into 48's, employing turfy loam, leaf mould,
and road grit. In June stand them ou coal-
ashes in a cold frame, and later draw off the
lights till cold nights set in. The plant must
be well supplied with moisture at the roots,
and over head in hot weather ; and occasionally
soot-water and mild liquid manure may be
applied.

Gardenia Florida, radicaxs, &c.

If old plants after flowering are primed,
shaken out of the exhausted soil in pans, and
repotted, they will flower well the next year.
But in order to keep up a healthy lot of
Gardenias, plants should be struck in the
autumn and winter seasons annually. In the
absence of a propagating-pit, the cuttings may
be struck in any hotbed having a temperature
of 70°, and bottom-heat of 80", or they may be
struck in pots plunged in* boxes filled with
leaf-mould, and stood on hot-water pipes.
U. Markham, Wrotham Park, Burnet.

ENQUIRIES.

— « —

Yioi.ets DROOPING AMD scentless. — A corre-
spondent ("J.") would be pleased if some
of our readers would kindly explain why
frame-grown Yiolets droop very shortly after
being gathered and put in water. Sometimes
they wither in a lew hours. Warm water has
been used in the glasses, and a few drops of
ammonia have been placed in the water; also
the flowers and stalks altogether plunged in
a basin of water for several hours before
arranging them, but with no result. The
blooms are largo and plentiful.

CRONAETTOM RTBICOLA. — A Belgian corre-
spondent asks whether this fungus, which

passes part of its life on I'inus St rebus, and
part on the Black Currant, is seriously in-
jurious to the latter. He has no Weymouth

Pines in the immediate neighbourhood. We

have not heard of any serious damage I rem

this fungus, but shall be glad of Information
(see Gardeners' Chronicle, 1802, pp. II and 13,J).

132

THE GARD ENER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

[February it, 1902.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

THE FLEUR-DE-LYS.— In the Gardeners'
Clironicle of January 4, 1902, p. 8, it is stated,
regarding the heraldic emblem, usually called
the "Fleur-de-Lys," that "unfortunately for
this contention (i.e., that this emblem had the
Iris for its parentage), it is not yet settled
whether the device is really intended to repre-
sent an Iris, a Lily, or a spear-head ! " There
is one thing that would appear to be settled,
viz., that it cannot represent any known
flower. All "Fleur-de-Lys" have from one to
three ligatures, that is say, one to three turns
of a string. This feature is fatal to any con-
tention that would derive it from a flower.
That ever present feature would point that it
is composed of two or four things tied to some-
thing, for there is no flower that has ligatures
round its waist ! It may be quite true that
Clovis obtained this device from Palestine
during the Crusades, and that it was first seen
on the shield or banner of some Saracen chief.
The probability, however, is that its parentage
may be referred to a vulgar superstition, and
that it has nothing to do with any kind of
flower. In Oriental countries the belief is
universal that horns of animals have the power
of averting the evil influences of the "evil
eye" from anything they may be attached to,
so they are stuck on houses, trees, &c. The
"Fleur-de-Lys" is probably no other than a
degraded form of two pairs of horns tied to a
stick. This superstition is very prevalent in
the south of Europe, and may have been intro-
duced there from the East, by either the
Saracens, or those remarkable sea -faring
traders, the Phoenicians. Anyhow, the pro-
bable origin of the "Fleur-de-Lys" can be
seen on a large scale on the Sacred Tree of the
Assyrians in the British Museum. See dis-
cussion on this subject in the Flora of the
Assyrian Monuments, p. 131. E. Bonavia, M.D.

gardeners in the U.S.A. — My remarks
upon America as a land of promise to the over-
crowded horticulturists of England have been
read with more interest than I anticipated,
and I am deluged with correspondence on the
subject. I shall be glad to give a general
reply through your columns, by your kind
permission, as it would be impossible for me
to reply individually. Many wish to " take
advantage of my offer to get them positions."
I did not make such an offer. I am not in a
position to do so ; nor would the law^here allow
of anyone engaging them. Everyone must
come out, and get the position afterward,
taking some risk. In saying gardeners are
scarce, I do not mean that lucrative head
places are actually waiting for someone to take
them, but that the opportunities are better,
and competition less keen. I have been
favoured with a letter from a leading nur-
seryman in this country, and one most quali-
fied to judge, in which, commenting upon my
previous letter to the Gardeners' Clironicle, he
says : — " There is, as you say, a good field here
for gardeners of the better class, and for
under gardeners." The law of the land makes
it necessary for everyone to fight his own
battle, and one must be prepared to take the
rough with the smooth, as witness my own
experience. Coming from a place where I had
all the privileges (and may I say "soft snaps ")
appertaining to the position of a head man
with thirteen assistants, I found myself during
the first weeks of my American experience
laying turf, grubbing and replanting hedges,
making paths, &c. I mention this, that no
one should be led to try it by my advice,
thinking the country an Eldorado, where
dollars can be picked up in the streets. There
is good money for good work — all a reasonable
man can ask. To the many who have ques-
tioned me upon the subject, I may say the
best time to come out is the end of March,
ready to begin business in April. Outdoor
work, retarded by frost, has then to be pushed
forward rapidly, and nurserymen, landscape
gardeners, and others, are very busy. The
cost of the voyage is £8 second cabin (South-

ampton to New York), £6 steerage. In addi-
tion, one must have not less than 30 dols. to
land with. It is necessary, not only for one's
personal convenience, but for the satisfaction
of the authorities here. The climate, which
many enquire about, is such that any Briton
should thrive in it — greater extremes of heat
and cold, but nothing unpleasant ; no special
outfit is necessary. Wages vary, of course,
but the casual worker obtains 8, 9, and 10 dols.
per week, according to ability, out of which
4 to 5 dols. go for board and lodging, accord-
ing to what district one is located in. Wages
are highest around New York, and there the
stranger would do well to look first for busi-
ness, as, if unsuccessful, which in spring
would not be likely, hecould then coraefurthcr
on to New Jersey, and into Pennsylvania.
Those interested solely in fruit farming should
go further afield into Maine, or even to Cali-
fornia. Where I am, it is a country place,
with few chances of profitable employment, as
compared with other places. In conclusion
(although as a result of this correspondence a
few may hear of something which may per-
haps be to their advantage), I regret my
inability to assist all in a practical way. I
further regret that many sent stamped enve-
lopes and stamps, which are useless hero. My
opinions, as expressed in this and my previous
letter, are such as I have formed from only a
slight knowledge of this vast land, and I, not
desiring any credit for the success of any who
may be led to try it through me, likewise as
little desire to be blamed for any failure.
Alfred Harding, Villa Nova, Pennsylvania.

THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.— It
scarcely seems quite fair to the Superinten-
dent of the Royal Horticultural Society's
Gardens to compare its cultural and climatic
advantages or disadvantages with those of
other gardens in its immediate neighbourhood.
The superintendents mentioned in the Gar-
deners' Chronicle, p. 44, all of them, it may be
said, are in absolute power as to what they
may do in their respective departments to
bring about some act of cultural skill, or to
create some new feature in the garden ; some
alterations which, according to their ideas,
would be an agreeable surprise to their em-
ployers, who might, in all probability, know
nothing of it, until some day on their
home-coming they happened to see it. Such
happy feeling under these circumstances
between employer and employed makes life,
even to a gardener, worth living for. Not
so, however, with the Superintendent of
the Royal Horticultural Society's gardens.
His position is that of a very much handi-
capped man. It is not left to him to conceive
some happy idea, the success of which he
himself could foresee, and to at once carry
the work out whilst the idea was fresh upon
him. I believe I am right in supposing that
in the first place the Superintendent must go
to the Secretary, and he in turn to the
Council, before sanction can be obtained: in
this sort of circumlocution many a grand idea
gets smothered ere it is born. We are told
that nicely - coloured Alicante Grapes have
been grown within three miles of Charing
Cross. So also as good and better might be
grown at Chiswick ; but to produce sensational
bunches, the borders of the once famous vinery
would have to be renewed with a mechanical
mixture of soil up-to-date in regard to its
constituents, and young Vines planted. The
history of Grape-cultivation in this country
goes to show that grand bunches of Grapes
are produced only at places where new
vineries have been erected, or old ones
thoroughly renovated and replanted, which
will do quite as well. Our exhibition-tables
show what a shifting business the successful
cultivation of the Grape-vine is. An old hero
disappears, a new Patroclus takes his place,
only to be run down by a Hector, who in turn
is bowled over by another aspiring Achilles ;
and so the Grape war goes on, prizes now here,
and now there. Few gardeners have fought
the battle of Grapes more successfully or more
continuously than those at Eastnor and El-
vaston Castles. But back to our text. That

the fertility of the soil in the Chiswick
gardens is greatly exhausted is, I believe,
admitted by all ; but its renewal by a heavy
dressing of turfy-loam is only a matter ot
£ s. d. But under the present circumstances
would it be wise to spend money on the reno-
vation of an old, worn-out garden, which is
drifting year by year into such unfavourable
local conditions which threaten, in a few more
years, to render successful and satisfactory
cultivation almost an impossibility? Rather
we would say, look out for fairer fields and
pastures new, where the soil is virgin, and the
condition of the surrounding air everything
that could be desired — anyhow, so far as it
can be got in this country. But a truce to
going too fast. We are pleased to hear that
the Society's exchequer is now well filled,
and its affairs in a healthy condition ; that the
two things for which we have for years been
longing are now within measurable distance of
realisation. One is the new Exhibition
Hall, which everybody seems to be agreed
should come first, and after that the new-
garden laid out in a locality where it will
satisfy everybody ! Keep on the old gardens
until the new one is secured, then it may be
parted with after removing from it everything
thought worthy of removal. Commence in the
new garden with a clean slate, under the guid-
ance of the present indefatigable secretary.
Supported by a wise and well-appointed Council,
with such equipment, we should have a Society,
and an experimental garden second to none.
H". Miller, Berxswell.

POPULAR AND STERLING VARIETIES OF PEAS.
— Under the above heading, on p. 32 of your-
issue of January 11 last, I read with interest,
and also with some astonishment, the system
on which Mr. Ward grew Peas when he was at
Longford Castle. To quote his own words, he
states that he trenched the ground ' ' between
2 and 3 feet deep, and three layers, 0 inches,
thick each, of well-decayed horse-dung wer<-
incorporated with the soil in the process of
trenching." Now, three layers 6 inches each
equals 18 inches in depth of dung, and as In-
states that he prepared the soil for his.
" second early, mid-season, and late Peas " in
this manner, he must have had to dung a con-
siderable amount of ground. Taking my own
case, that of a moderate-sized garden, a break
something like 30 yards square would be re-
quired for the period mentioned by Mr. Ward,
and to manure the soil to the extent he states
would take the enormous quantity of 450 cubic
yards or loads of manure, a quantity I should
be glad of to manure the whole garden for
three or four years, or longer. I have tried
to understand if it was possible that this
quantity could have been used, or whether
Mr. Ward had made a slip of the pen ;
but if that were the case, there has been time
to correct it, and we may take it that he so
meant it. I think there are few gardeners
who will attempt to follow Mr. Ward in his
methods of Pea-growing so far as manuring is
concerned, unless it be for experimental pur-
poses, it being in most gardens impossible to
obtain so much manure, even were it advis-
able to make use of it. My own experience is
that such a large quantity of rotten manure is
not required by Peas, and that about one-
twentieth of the quantity Mr. Ward recom-
mends is what we use here, and even that
is a heavy dressing. Added to this are a
sprinkling of wood-ashes and old mortar-
rubbish, and a thin dressing of dissolved bones,
these being incorporated with the soil during
the trenching, which is done as Mr. Ward
recommends, from 2 to 3 feet deep. The dung
is used with a view to helping to retain tin-
moisture in the soil, which, being of a gravelly
and chalky nature, is very light and porous.
On heavier soil, where there is more mois-
ture, the results have been equally satis-
factory as when no dung was applied.
I have tried making up trenches on a
limited scale with manure from the
stables, and have had fair results, but
nothing like so satisfactory as with the method
I now employ. It is not claimed that my crops
of Peas are as good or better than were Mr.

February 22, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

133

Ward's at Longford Castle, but they bave been
very satisfactory both as to quantity and
quality. Having carefully watched of late
years the effect of, or rather the ineffective-
ness'of, nitrogenous manures on Peas, I have
come to the conclusion, that if they are of any
benefit at all, it is in the form of farmyard or
stable-dung on light soils which prove of use
in conserving the moisture in the soil, thereby
benefiting the Pea crops in dry weather ; but
1 should not recommend a thickness of 18 inches.
James Gibson, Danesfield Gardens, Marlow,
Bucks.

primula megase/efolia, Boissier, is really
a very fine species, and one of the best
Primroses for winter-flowering purposes in
greenhouses,, cold frames, and probably also
in rooms near the glass, when sufficient
light is given. It is no doubt one of the
richest flowering specimens, and will become
a favourite with amateurs and gardeners. My
garden is situated at an elevation of about
800 feet. I cultivate this Primrose in the open
ground at the base of a shady wall in peat, loam,
and leaf-mould, mixed with much silver-sand ;
the surface is covered richly with moss or dry
Chestnut-leaves. There it grows very well,
is evergreen, and flowers from September to
May continually ; only disturbed occasionally
when the north - eastern wind sometimes
injures it. It is freely watered in spring
and summer, and I have found that it likes
a short period of rest in the autumn. It
seeds freely with me in the open ground, and it
the seeds are sown immediately will germinate
before the second spring or winter. They
must be sown in very humid peat and sand. I
also cultivate it with success in pots under
glass during the winter, which here is never
severe, keeping these plants during the
summer in a shady and damp place near a wall,
and never under trees or shrubs. These plants
in pots do not flower much earlier than the
others in the open ground, only their stalks
are longer and more elegant, and the flowers
appear to be a little larger, but are less finely
coloured than the others in the open ground.
The flowers are in a loose umbel of from ten to
fifteen or more, and are mostly in a single
umbel, more rarely in two, and very seldom in
three. They are of a very fine red-purple
colour; later ones are paler, changing to lilac,
and certainly capable of producing, under good
cultivation, much better forms. I have two
very fine varieties not yet multiplied. It is
widely diffused from the Caucasus to Persia and
Afghanistan, but is not easily discovered, and
never common; but where it is found it grows
profusely, as it spreads by means of small
thready suckers. The rootstock is somewhat
thick, and can bo kept six months and more
without earth in quite a dry state. In this
state only was I able to introduce it from a
locality in Persia some years ago. Boissier saw
it only, as it seems, in a locality near Rizeh,
and also from this locality I have received a
good stock which is quite identical with my
Persian plants. That is all we know so far of
this lovely and sweet Primrose, which to-day
is in my garden in its glory, together with the
fine Iris Heldreichi or tauri, both sent me
some years ago from Mersina by Mr. Siehe.
The purple Primroses with golden eyes, and
the bright blue Iris Heldreichi are very happy,
and form a fine contrast. W. Sprenger,
Yomero, Naples.

MUSSEL-SCALE ON APPLE-TREES. — I should
like to add one other remedy to your corre-
spondent in "The Hardy Fruit Garden," and
it is a very simple but a most effectual one,
viz., mix 1 oz. of paraffin-soap to each gallon of
water — see that the soap is thoroughly dis-
solved, and isyringe the trees affected on
evenings when sharp frost is expected, or
while it is freezing ; the sharper the frost the
more effective will the remedy prove. 1 have
cleaned many trees, both of Apples and Pears,
in this way of this destructive insect. When
the trees arc badly coated by this scale, it
may be found necessary to repeat the syringing
several times, but it will undoubtedly clean
the trees. Not only is it a good way of freeing

trees of this scale, but from every kind of
insect, and their eggs and larvse. Of course,
the object is to envelop the insects, &c, in
ice, which will be the case on sharp frosty
nights. I have followed this practice for some
time, and I am well satisfied with results ; it
thoroughly cleanses the bark of vegetable
growth as well as insect life. Of course, no
one would think of doing this after the buds
show signs of bursting, and therefore the
sooner it is done the better. T. Arnold, (jr.,
Cirencester House, Gloucestershire.

the squirrel received a large amount of
attention at the meeting of the Royal Scottish
Arboricultural Society on January 31, and the
statements of Mr. Speedy as noted in the
Gardeners' Chronicle of January 25 were
largely corroborated. Mr. McHattie, of the
City Gardens, Edinburgh, was the only speaker
who declared largely in its favour, thinking it
had not increased of late years, and that it
would be a pity to exterminate it. Mr. Clark,
Haddo House, advised the employment of
bands of boys to beat woods for the agile
creatures, every one that could be found to be
shot. Lord Mansfield no doubt was correct in

THE Late Dr. STUART.

attributing the difficulty of rooting out
squirrels to the sentimental feelings of ladies
for the agile little quadruped. If we are to
credit Lightfoot, and he was a careful ob-
server, squirrels were very scarce in Scotland
in 1772, when he itinerated the country along
with Pennant, Strathspey being the only dis-
trict where they were plentiful. Fifty years
ago they were somewhat of a curiosity in
lowland Scotland, and in some districts in the
south-west they arc still uncommon. B,

BAMBOOS. — Re Mr. Freeman Mitford and
the " hardy Bamboos," see p. 13 of that inte-
resting book The Bamboo Garden, where it is
stated that it is only from the two or three
knots at the base of the stem that a new growth
proceeds; this, however, fails to cover the
whole ground. Experience has shown me
that the bunches of shoots which are produced
from the upper joints of the two-year culm, if
taken off when ripe, and placed in a suitable
moist and warm atmosphere, root from the
base of the mass of young shoots, resulting in
a few months in a stock of nice little bashes.
I am speaking in particular of the true Ariin-
dinaria falcata, as defined by Mr. Freeman
Mitford; also of Thamnocalamus Falconeri.
1 should judge, from observation of these
plants, that in a sufficiently moist climate the

tufts of small shoots, by the bending over of
the culms, reach the soil, and there root, as is
the case with a number of other plants known
to the gardener. E, Tidmarsh, Grahamstown.

DISEASE IN TOMATOS AND CUCUMBERS.— I
notice in your " Answers to Correspondents "
on February 15, the one with reference to the
disease in Tomato-plants, an enquiry that I
suppose will frequently appear in the Gor-
deners' Chronicle throughout the season. I am
of the opinion that a great deal might be
accomplished by a more careful method ( f.
seed saving of Tomatos and Cucumbers. In
many instances cultivators save seeds year
after year, from plants grown in a high
temperature and highly manured, which cer-
tainly must tend to weaken the constitution
of the plants, and make them more susceptible
to disease. If sufficient plants of each to pro-
vide seed for the next season were grown
under cooler treatment, and not manured.
If any extra nutriment was required it might
take the form of top-dressiDg with good virgin
soil, I think that plants raised from seed
saved in this manner would be stronger, and
better able to resist disease. A correspondence
on this subject would no doubt be of great
service to a good many of your readers, as a
failure in either of these crops is a serious
matter to market gardeners in these days of
severe competition and low returns. E. B.,
Worthing.

©bituarp.

Dr. Charles Stuart. — The death of Dr.
Charles Stuart, Chirnside, Berwickshire, was
announced in the daily papers of the 14th inst.
By his death the North of England loses one
of its oldest and most successful florists. Dr.
Stuart's age was not mentioned, but seeing
that he and Mr. James Dobbie, of Rothesay —
who survives — were competitors at a Pansy
Show held at Herwiek-on-Tweed in 1846, Dr.
Stuart must have reached an advanced age.
The Pansy was at that time a very popular
florists' flower both north and south, and not
a few of the most successful florists of thirty
> ears ago commenced the culture of flowers
by taking the Pansy in hand. Nor were hardy
flowers generally overlooked by Dr. Stuart :
he devoted his time to the improvement of
several, and to his enterprise wo owe Aqui-
legia Stuarti, a beautiful dwarf blue-flowered
form, but which is found somewhat difficult of
cultivation. The Polyanthus was also one of
his special favourites, and he was highly
successful in improving the Gold-laced Poly-
anthus, naming two or three varieties of great
merit, which it is to be hoped will not bo
lost to cultivation, as it is a section which
greatly needs strengthening. While travelling
in Ireland some years ago, he discovered at
Ballinora, Connemara, a i.ew variety of hardy
heath, which was named Erica Tctralix Stuarti
in his honour.

It was his valuable and far-reaching work in
improving the Viola which most called for the
admiration of contemporary florists. .Mr. Win.
Cuthbertson, Rothesay, has kindly placed at
my disposal a memorandum compiled by Dr.
Stuart, in which he sets forth details of his
preparatory work. In 1874 ho commenced
by taking pollen from a then popular bed-
ding Pansy. Blue King, ami with it fer-
tilised Viola cornuta. He obtained one pod
of seed which, when sown, produced twelve
plants. They (lowered the next Season,
and were, as might have been expected,
all blue in colour, and each with a close,
tutted habit of growth. The next step was to
cross a pink-flowered Pansy on to the seed-
lings obtained from the first cress, but with

limited success. Such plants as were raised

afforded more variety in colour, and t he same

tufted habit of growth |was continued. The

134

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 22, 1902.

best of this cross wereTpropagated, andjsome
of them were sent to the Chiswick Gardens
of the Royal Horticultural Society to afford a
test in a southern climate, Dr. Stuart at the
same time issuing an invitation to all who
were then raising Violas to send their.flowers,
so that there might ' be as complete a trial as
possible.

Dr. Stuart states that in " the autumn of
1875 I was informed that I had got six First-
class Certificates, and was 1st in the compe-
tition, Messrs. Dickson & Co., Edinburgh
(whose manager, Mr. James Grieve, had been
at work some time previously in the same
direction), being 2nd. I find, on referring
to the record of awards made by the Floral
Committee in 1875, that one Certificate only
was awarded to Dr. Stuart, and that for a
variety named Williams ; but three or four in
1876. At this time it was suggested to Dr.
Stuart that he should endeavour to obtain a
variety without rays round the eye, and he
set himself to work to accomplish this end ;
but it was ten years before he succeeded in
finding a really rayless Viola. This was in the
year of the Queen's Jubilee. The plant was pro-
pagated ; the next season he had a little plan-
tation of it ; it was of compact, tufted growth,
and the blossoms emitted a powerful fragrance.
This was the origin of the variety Violetta :
by crossing this on to a white self with few
rays, Sylvia was obtained ; and Sylvia, crossed
with a Peacock Pansy produced Border Witch,
" a singular flower which, in its best dress in
moist weather, is very striking." Many dis-
appointments with his crossings were experi-
enced by Dr. Stuart, for he relates that though
he had crossed specially with a view to the
production of rayless varieties, out of 150
seedlings Border Witch was the only one
without rays. From that time forth, Dr.
Stuart raised many fine varieties which came
into cultivation. He always aimed at refine-
ment, a close, tufted habit of growth, freedom
and constancy in bloom, and fragrance. In a
letter written in 1898 Dr. Stuart remarks :—
"In crossing any wild species or varieties of
Violas, it is necessary that the pollen should
be taken from the cultivated species and
dusted over the pistil of the wild one. Pollen
taken from V. cornuta, for instance, will, if
put on to a common garden Pansy, only give
seed which will produce bedding Pansies, and
not the sturdy, tufted strain Violetta re-
presents." B. I).

James H ill. — We regret to record the death,
at the age of eighty years, of Mr. James Hill,
florist and nurseryman, of Barrowfield Nursery,
Lower Edmonton, which took place on Sunday,
February Hi, after a long and painful illness.
Mr. Hill established the Barrowfield Nursery in
1848, and the business was carried on in recent
years under the title of James Hill & Son.
The specialty of the firm is exotic Ferns, of
which very well cultivated exhibits are
occasionally to be seen at the meetings of the
Royal Horticultural Society.

Henry Tate.— Readers of this journal in
Liverpool and the country generally will learn
with regret of the death of Mr. Henry Tate,
formerly of Allerton Beeches, Liverpool, at his
residence, Bolney House, Ennismore Gardens,
London, at the early age of forty-eight years.
Whilst residing at Allerton Beeches, the
deceased gentleman made Orchids his hobby.
The collection was not extensive, but the cul-
tivation of the plants was very superior ;
moreover, many choice varieties have origi-
nated there. The collection of seedling Cypri-
pediums and Cattleyas disposed of at the
Allerton Beeches' sale contained many fine
crosses and hybrids.

Societies.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.

Scientific Committee.

February 11.— Present : H. J. Veitch, Esq., in the
Chair; Messrs. Hooper, Gordon, O'Brien, Chapman,
Holmes, Douglas, Worsdell, Saunders, Bowles; Rev.
W. Wilks ; Drs. Cooke, Rendle, and Masters were
present.

Pxony Roots.— The identification of the Caterpillar
affecting these roots as that of the Swift moth
(Hepialus) was confirmed.

Bananas in the Canary Islands. — A Fellow made
enquiries as to the best kind of manure to be used for
these plants at a reasonable price, the usual substances
recommended beingtoo costly for commercial purposes.

Pelargoniums in the Transvaal. — A correspondent sent
leaves of Pelargonium, which were referred to Mr.
Massee, who has since reported as follows :—

"The fungus on Pelargonium leaves is the African
species of 'Geranium leaf-rust,' Puccinia granulans,
K. and C. Diseased plants should be isolated, and the
diseased leaves removed as quickly as the health of the
plant will allow. Spraying with Coudy's Fluid would
prevent healthy plants from becoming infected. The
fungus is not uncommon on wild species of Pelargo-
nium in S. Africa, and has probably passed from such
wild plants to the cultivated ones. The fungus is a
very interesting species not previously known as
attacking cultivated plants. Care will have to be taken
that it is not imported into Europe."

Carnation Leaves. — Some diseased and distorted
leaves, from a gentleman at Thames Ditton, were
referred to Dr. Cooke for examination and report.

Potato Disease.— Some specimens of diseased Potatos
were sent from the Chippenham Horticultural Society.
They presented in the interior of the tuber black spots,
such as were investigated at Chiswick by Dr. Plowright
and others several years ago, and figured in the
Gardeners' Chronicle, Dec. 20, 1884, p. 788, fig. 135. The
specimens were placed in the hands of Dr. Cooke for
examination and report.

Unhealthy1Fern,—Mr. GORnoN showed, from a corres
pondent, fronds of a Fern in a sickly distorted con-
dition, attributed by the Committee to defective
cultivation.

" Buddha's Fingers" — Mr. Holmes showed a specimen
of a malformation in a Citron, consisting of a dissocia-
tion of the carpels, which thus resembled so many
fingers.

Proliflcation of a Ruse— Mr. Worsdell showed a good
illustration of this frequent malformation.

Anemone nemorusa. — Mr. Worsdell also showed speci
mens of this plant, in which the radical leaves were as
long as the bracts of the involucre.

Diseased Begonias. — From Mr. A. Dewar came leaves
of Begonia Gloire de Lorraine in a diseased condition.
The leaves were infested with thrip and mites. Fumiga-
tion or spraying with tobacco-water was recommended.

Air-canals in the leaf and in the flower-stalks of Nymphssas.
—Dr. Masters showed impressions illustrative of the
varying arrangements of the air-canals in the petioles
and peduncles of several species and varieties of this
genus — arrangements which are sufficiently varied
and sufficiently distinct to allow of the grouping of
the several species and varieties into certain well
defined groups. The subject had attracted the atten-
tion of the speaker many years ago, but the recent in-
troduction of M. Latour Marliac's hybrids suggested a
further examination, which was confirmatory of
previous observations, and the results of which are
detailed in the communication now laid before the
Society, For the opportunity of examining numerous
specimens. Dr. Masters expressed his great obligations
to Mr. Hudson, the expert cultivator of these beautiful
plants at Gunnersbury House.

specimens were received from a garden in the north of
England.

Messrs. H. and J. Groves, F.L.S., exhibited a series
of British hybrid liatrachian Ranunculi, including R.
peltatus x Lenormandi (R. Hiltoni, H. & J. Groves),
R. Baudotii x Drouetii, R. Baudotii X heterophyllus,
and R. peltatus x trichophyllus, together with speci-
mens of their supposed parents. They pointed out that
the hybrids were usually characterised by (1) being
intermediate in appearance between the two parents,
having some of the distinctive characters of each, but
with a more vigorous vegetative growth ; and (2) by the
fruit being mostly abortive, and the peduncles not
becoming recurved.

Mr. Francis Darwin, F.R.S., F.L.S., read a paper on
" AMethodof investigating the Gravitational Sensitive-
ness of the Root-tip," showing the apparatus used, and
lantern-slides of seedlings under experiment. Con-
fining himself to the modern development of the ques-
tion, the author remarked that the observations of
Czapek and of Pfeffer having been contradicted by
Wachtel, it had become desirable to confirm these
observations by employing a different method. The
apparatus used consisted of a counterbalanced lever
53 cm. long, able to turn in any direction by being
mounted on a knife-edge. Seedlings of the Bean and
the Pea were employed, and glass tubes, straws, and
Dandelion-scape were in turn used to contain the root-
tip, and by the aid of certain mechanical appliances,
to prevent the root slipping out of the tube. The tip
being fixed, the remaining part of the root and the
hypocotyl (cauticlet became curved in varying degrees,
due to the stimulation of the root-tip. The result has
becn| confirmation of the observations made both by
Czapek and by Pfeffer.

Dr. D. H. Scott, F.R.S., F.t.S.,gave an account (illus-
trated by lantern-slides) of "An extinct Family of
Ferns "—the Botryopteridce, our knowledge of which
is primariiy.due to the researches of M. Renault. The
vegetative organs and sporangia of the type-genus
Botryopteris were described, and two British Palaeozoic
species, B. hirsuta, Will., and B. ramosa, Will., were
added to the genus on the ground of their anatomical
structure. The genus Zygopteris, also known with
soma degree of completeness, was next dealt with, and
the structure of the British species Z Grayi, Will.,
described in some detail. Reasons were given for in-
cluding other genera, such as Anachoropteris, Aste-
roehlama, and Tubieaulis in the family, while a close
connection with Diplolabis and Corynopteris was also
regarded as probable. The affinities of the group were
discussed in conclusion, points of agreement with
Hyinenophyllacea1, Osmuudacea?, Ophioglossacea?, and
other families of Ferns being pointed out. Heterospory,
believed by M. Renault to exist in Botryopteris and
Zygopteris, was not regarded as established, and
affinities were sought rather among homosporous
Filices.

LINNEAN.

February i;.— Professor S. H. Vines, F.R.S., Presi-
dent, in the Chair.

Professor Reynolds Green, F.R.S., F.L.S., exhibited
some Primroses which showed the nut uncommon phe-
nomenon of sepalody of the petals. The corolla was
green and the limbs of the petals were rugose, and of a
texture almost comparable with that of the foliage-
leaves. He also showed another specimen in which
the calyx as well as the corolla was petaloid. Both

ROYAL GARDENERS' ORPHAN
FUND.

Annual Meeting.

February 14.— The annual General Meeting of the
supporters of this charitable Fund was held on the
above date in the Essex Hall, Essex Street, Strand,
W.C. The attendance was only moderate, not more
than thirty gentlemen being present.

Mr. H. B. .May, chairman of the Executive Com-
mittee, presided.

The Annual Report.

"In presenting their fourteenth annual report, the
Executive Committee once more congratulates the
supporters of the Fund upon its continued prosperity
and useiulness, as, although unfortunately, in common
with many other charitable institutions, the total
receipts for the year show a slight falling off, the Com-
mittee have been enabled to meet all claims upon the
Fund, and to expend in regular allowances to orphans
duly elected to receive the same, an increase on the
disbursements of the previous year, as well as to expend
a larger amount in the form of grants iu aid, the total
amount disbursed being £1,099 17s. 6rf., or an excess of
jEiiB 5s. over any previous year.

The Committee has the greatest satisfaction in
making the announcement that Her Most Gracious
Majesty Queen Alexandra has kindly consented to
continue to the Fund the patronage which Her Majesty
previously accorded to it as Princess of Wales.

By the generosity of the subscribers attending the
last annual general meeting, when, as in the previous
year, all the candidates were elected, the Committee
were placed in the gratifying position of being able to
commence the new century, and the first year of the
reign of His Majesty King Edward VII., without any
candidates waiting election.

With regard to the grants in aid, the Committee feel
certain that in this beneficent branch of the fund's
operations, they will have the sympathetic support of
all subscribers iu the good work that is being done in
helping to give a useful start in life to those poor
ophans, who, by virtue of the age limit, cease to receive
regular assistance, by helping to lengthen the period
of schooling in some cases, and by the provision of

February 22, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

135

clothing and tools in others; while candidates await-
ing election are frequently assisted by means of allow-
ance- of 2s. tid. per week.

The number of orphans who hare been elected to
receive the benefits of the Fund during the past thir-
teen years is 143, and the total amount expended in
allowances during the same period is £9,814 12s. 6d.
The number now on the Fund is seventy-five, and
twelve will be added this day.

The Committee still deplore the fact that there are
many gardening centres in the country from which the
Fund receives little or no support ; while, on the other
hand, the efforts made by good friends and fellow-
workers in such districts as Altrincham, Bournemouth
Bradford, Bristol, Chesterfield, Chislehurst, Reigate,
Richmond, Rugby, Sevenoaks, Wimbledon, &c. (who,
by means of local collections, concerts, and the sale of
surplus flowers at exhibitions, annually raise amounts
which greatly assist the Fund), are gratefully acknow-
ledged by the Committee.

The Annual Festival, held at the Hotel Cecil on
May 7, under the presidency of the Hon. W. F. D. Smith,
M.P., proved to be one of the most successful of the
series, and the Committee has the gratifying fact to
record that the earnest and sympathetic appeal made
by the chairman on that occasion resulted in a sub-
scription list amounting to £648 17s. Id. Most grate-
fully do the Committee acknowledge the great service
rendered to the Institution by the Hon. W. F. D. Smith,
and they have the greatest pleasure in recommending
that he be this day elected a Vice-President of the Fund.

It is with the liveliest satisfaction that the Committee
make the ,- nnouncement that Leopold de Rothschild,
Esq., has most kindly consented to preside at the next
Festival, which will take place at the Hotel Cecil on
Thursday, May 8th, and they trust that all friends of
the Charity will assist them in making the presidency
of this princely patron of Horticulture, in Coronation
Year, a memorable one in the annals of the Fund.

In the month of May, a favourable opportunity offer-
ing, your Committee made an addition to the invested
funds by the purchase of £514 Great Indian Peninsular
Railway guaranteed 3 per cent, stock, at a cost of
£499 IS;. 8(2.

Wit deep regret the Committee has to record the
death of Mr. Alfred H. Sniee, who, on the establishment
of the Fund, readily gave his consent to act as one of
the Trustees, and subsequently not only assisted the
Institution with generous financial support, but also
most readily afforded the management the benefit of
his ripe financial experience in dealing with the Fund's
investments. In life warmly interested in the success
of the Fund, Mr. Smee did not forget the poor orphans
in death, having bequeathed to the Institution £250
free of legacy duty.

Other valued supporters have also passed away in
the persons of Sir Edwin Saunders, one of the Vice-
Presidents ; Mr. Martin Hope Sutton, Mr. D. T. Fish,
Mr. A. Henderson, and Mr. Thomas Rochford. In the
early days of the Institution, Mr. Fish was most
strenuous in his efforts to gain support for the Fund,
and helped materially to establish it on a sound
financial basis : while by the lamented death of Mr.
Rochford, the Fund has lost the open-handed and most
sympathetic support of one of the most kindly natured
of men, and British horticulture one of its most-enter-
prising and skilful exponents.

The Committee have pleasure in recommending that
Mr. Leonard G. Sutton, of Reading, be elected a trustee
in the place of the late Mr. Smee.

The members of the Committee who retire by rota-
tion are Messrs. W. R. Aldcrson, A. F. Barron, G. Cuth-
bert, W. Howe, J. Lyne, C. E. Osman, W. Poupart, and
J. Walker; and Messrs. Alderson, Cuthbert, Howe,
Lyne, and Poupart, being eligible, oiler themselves for
re-election. Mr. George H. Barr, King Street, Covcnt
Garden; Mr. T. W. Sanders, Lewisham ; and Mr. G.
Nicholson, Richmond, are nominated by the Committee
for election to the seats vacated by the retirement of
Messrs. Barron, Osman, and Walker.

By the retirement of Mr. Barron, on account of con-
tinued ill-health, which all who know him deeply
deplore, the Committee desire not only to assure him
of their warmest sympathy and best wishes for his
restoration to health, but also to place on record their
high appreciation of the invaluable services which be
rendered to the Fund at its foundation, and sub-
sequently as its Secretary, and their sense of the loss
which it sustains by his retirement from active partici-
pation in its management.

The Committee, keenly sympathising with Mr. Sher-
wood in his recent severe illness, and heartily hoping
that he may be speedily restored to health, again most
warmly acknowledges the great personal interest
which, ns Treasurer, he lias taken in the management
of the Fund, and the munificent financial support
which lie has continued to accord to it. Mr. Sher-
wood's re-election this day. the Committee feels as-
sured, will afford the highest gratification to all well-
wishers of the Fund.

■ To t lie Auditors, Mr. Martin Rowan and Mr. P.
Rudolph Barr, the Committee also tender hearty
iii.ni! a for their valued services in auditing the
accounts — a labour of love, most conscientiously
parried out. Mr, Rowan is the retiring Auditor, and
is nominated by the Committee for re-election

Statement of Accounts.

The receipts from general and local secretaries sub-
scriptions was £340 7s. 3d., and from donations
£161 13s. 6d. The annual dinner receipts were
£648 17s. Id.; dividends on stock and interest on
deposits £302 4s. 3d. The total receipts, including a
balance in hand of £1,173 Is. 3d, were £2,683 10s. 5d. On
the expenditure side, allowances to orphans amounted
to £1,028 10s., Emma Sherwood Memorial £1.3, and grants
in aid £5S 7s. tid. The expenses of the annual dinner
were £162 17s. id. (there being thus nearly £500 profit
upon the event). Secretary's salary £100, various other
items show an expenditure of £92 2s. 2d. ; the purchase
of £514 of;Stock cost £19918s. 8d., and there are balances
at bank, on deposit, and in hand of £2,683 10s. od.

Proceedings.

The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the report
aud balance-sheet, said the year had been a singularly
uneventful one. He said that the falling off in receipts
was more apparent than real, as subscribers were apt
to forget dates, and some subscriptions that should
have appeared in this year's account would do so in
the next. After the Chairman had referred to other
features of the report, Sir J. T. I). Llewelyn, Bart.,
seconded its adoption, saying that the Fund was doing
better work than ever. Hte hoped the number of sub-
scribers would be lengthened and strengthened. The
report was adopted unanimously.

On the proposition of Mr. W. Bates, the Hon. W. F. D.
Smith was elected a Vice-President. On the proposition
of Dr. M. T. Masters, seconded by Mr. Harry J. Veitch,
Mr. Leonard G. Sutton was elected a trustee in the
place of the late Mr. Smee.

The personnel of the Committee was then altered as
suggested in the above report, and the retiring
members were thanked for the services they have
rendered.

Mr. A. Dean thought that the least the Committee
could have done was to have suggested that Mr. A. F.
Barron be elected a Vice-President ; however, as ex-
plained by the Chairman and Mr. Assbee, it was
thought that the proposal should be made by the
members rather than by the Committee. Mr. Barron
was thereupon unanimously declared a Vice-President.

Mr. Brian Wynne was unanimously re-elected Secre-
tary, and the Chairman testified to the efficient manner
iu which Mr. Wynne had discharged the duties of the
office.

Children Elected to the Fund.

Messrs. George Cuthbert. William Cutbush. J. F
McLeod, and H. J. Jones, were appointed scrutineers
of the Ballot. At half-past four the Chairman declared
the result as follows :— Frederick John Nicholls, 284
votes; H. H. Orchard, 236; Edith Martha Bevis, 232;
F. E. Tickner, 222 ; E. D. Seyderhelm, 218 ; E. M. Sey-
derhelm, 213; Hugh Allen, 208 ; J. A. C. Robertson, 205;
H. R. Tickner, 204; J. A. Wakelin, 191; H. Robertson,
185; M. M. de Gruchy, 167; W. Gregg, 107; Williamina
Hendry, 47; Lilian M. Francis, 35; and Evelyn P.
Cherry, 30. The Chairman then declared the twelve
children first-named duly elected.

The Friendly Supper

took place in the evening, at the Cannon Street Hotel,
Mr. H. B. May presiding; Mr. J. F. McLeod and Mr.
Assbee filled the Vice-Chairs.

MANCHESTER AND NORTH OF
ENGLAND ORCHID.

February 6.— W. Thompson, Esq., Stone <gr., Mr.
Stevens), staged a few nice Odontoglossums, O. crispum
var. Jubilee receiving a First-class Certificate and a
Cultural Certificate. The group contained also a
number of panfuls of well-grown Sophrouitis grandi-
flora. A Bronze Medal was awarded.

From the garden of the late Mrs. BRIQQS-BuBT,
Accriugton (gr., Mr. Wilkinson), came Cypripedium x
aureum var. Pomona— an Award of Merit; C. x Lilian
Greenwood, a very fine form, received a First-class
Certificate; C. X Becckmanni came from the same
collection.

O. O. Wrigley, Esq., Bury (gr., Mr. Rogers), staged a
fine lot of Cypripediums again. A line plant of C.
Lathamianuni, in a (i-inch pot, and bearing fourteen
flowers, received a Cultural Certificate. A Silver
Medal was awarded for the group.

Mrs. S. Gratrix, Whalley Range (gr., Mr. Cypher),
exhibited Lycaste ■; Bailee, which has been previously
certificated by the Society.

Messrs. Charlksworth A Co., Bradford, sent a mag-
nificent hybrid Lycaste, of a deep purplish-rose colour,
with dark crimson lip, named Lycaste x Charleaworthi,
undoubtedly the best variety yet observed in tins
genus. The committee were unanimous in awardinga
First-class Certificate.

Mr. J. Cypher, Cheltenham, staged a group >>i plants
consisting of good forms of various Dcudrobiuiris, nil
good examples of careful cultivation; Dendroblum <
Ainsworlhi "Cypher's var." was one noted amongst

them, the flowers of a rich shade of eo'.our. and of large
size ; Lycaste Skinneri var. alba was also well shown
(a Bronze Medal).

Messrs. F. Sander & Sons, St. Albans, received a
First -class Certificate for Cattleya TTiamei " Our
Iving, 'a fine, handsome, richly-coloured flower, with
flaked petals and a lich lip; the soike bore four of
these flowers. P. ir.

EALING HORTICULTURAL.

February 17.— The thirty-seventh annual meeting of
this Society was held on the above date in the Town
Hall, Mr. R. Willey, one of the Vice-Presidents, pre-
siding. The annual report of the Committee expressed
regret that the summer show held in the new Walpole
Park was not so financially successful as could have
been desired, owing to the incidence of the weather.
The exhibition was a good one, and the special prizes
for table decorations was the means of bringing out.
some charming designs. There was an excellent
show in November, but a small attendance, owing to
the dense fog which prevailed. The financial statement
showed a balance in favour of income over expenditure
of £31. Leopold de Rothschild, Esq., ^was re-elected
President; the Vice-Presidents were re-elected, with
the addition of the Mayor; and the officers were
re-elected. A motion that the show on July 9 next
should beheld in Corporation Walpole Park, was met
by an amendment that the President be approached for
permission to hold the show in Gunnersbury Park.
This was carried by a. considerable majority. It was
resolved that an autumn show of Chrysanthemums be
held in the Town Hall on Wednesday, November 12.

DEVON AND EXETER GARDENERS'.

"Gardens and Gardening on the Continent, as com-
pared with England," was the title of the paper read at
the last meeting of the Association by Mr. Percy A.
Meyer, who had spent five years in continental nurse-
ries, and at the Horticultural College of Proskau,
Silesia, and is now an assistant at Kcw. The observa-
tions, remarked Mr. Meyer, did not apply to the Con-
tinent generally, but to Germany aud Switzerland. In
comparison as regards climate, with all its faults, the
English climate was more kindly, and many of our
common shrubs, like Hollies, Laurels, Aucubas, and
Rhododendrons, could, in some districts, only he
grown out-of-doors iu sheltered positions in Germany,
aud generally required the protection of straw or Fir
branches in the winter months. Evergreen Euonymus,
Portugal aud common Laurels, &C, were generally
grown in tubs, which were put under cover from the
end of October to the end of February, and later. Koses
and wall fruit-trees have to be carefully protected
from the frosts which, as a rule, prevail during most
of the winter, and at times are very severe.
Rockvvoik plants are covered with leaves and Fir-
branches pegged down on the top of them, spring-
flowering bulbs being similarly treated. Clethra,
Ceanothus, Genista, Deutzia, Japanese Maples, and
Honeysuckles, all require protection. At the end of
ApriKin Gevnany -the season is no further advanced
than at the beginning of that mouth in England, but
things soon forge ahead after that; and when a few
weeks have passed, vegetation is in a more forward
state than in this country. The temperature in summer
reaches and maintains a higher standard than with us,
and as regards Germany, that is why (lie saving of
flower-seeds is so successful in the Erfurt, ijuedlinburg,
and other districts where the leading seed-growers
have their headquarters.

In the north of Germany the laud is light and sandy,
and the country very flat. In the south, the country is
more hilly, and the soil heavier. In the valleys of
Switzerland, fruit-crops are abundant, and fruit is
cheap. The love of gardening is more general in Ger-
many than in England, but there is the rattier curious
fact to be noted that while a German owner will spend
less on the making or laying out oi a garden, and do
more afterwards to maintain and improve it. t lie English
owner is often more, lavish in his initial expenditure,
and niggardly afterwards in keeping it up. In the
public gardens and nurseries, and in large private
gardens in Germany, a marked distinction is made
between the professional gardener and the garden-
labourer. A three years' apprenticeship is imperative
before a young man is accepted as a gardener proper
and to become a foreman'it is incumbent upon him to
have served a term at some horticultural College, of
which there are plenty in the country, lie must be
theoretical as well as practical. W miien arc employed
to a considerable extent in gardening at wages running
from is. to is. 8d\ per day. Male garden labourers get
8». in ::.. p,i- day Gardeners do not gel much more
than labourers, although head gardeners and foremen

generally have tree cottages and Qthly waj

s e of the inn erles are very extensive, Dear

Berlin covering a i mi it. nun aires devoted to tin- cultlvt
lion ni ornamental trees, shrubs, and fruit-trees. A

136

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[February 22, 1902.

curious feature in such a nursery is that the packers,
■numbering between twenty and thirty, are paid by
•piece-work. The entire staff numbers about 400, of
which about ICO are women. The Germans arc far
behind the English in fruit- forcing, and Grapes,
■Peaches, and similar fruits grown under glass in Ger-
many are much inferior to the same class of fruit as
grown in England. Nor is the cultivation of flowers
under glass, particularly Orchids, so well done in
Germany as it is in England. The public gardens of
Germany are, ou the whole, more tastefully laid out
.and better looked after than corresponding gardens in
England. Private gardens in Germany are neither so
numerous, extensive, or so well equipped as those in
England. The plan of laying-out is on the model of
the public gardens in most cases. Nearly every large
city in Germany has its botanic garden, those of
■Berlin", Hamburg, Dresden, and Carlsruhe being excel-
' lent. Mr. Meyer gave some interesting details of the
i practice in Germany of budding, grafting, and the
various methods of propagation, as practised in that
•country. A. Hope.

; READING & DISTRICT GARDENERS'
MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT.

February 10.— The fortnightly meeting of the above
'Association, held in the Abbey Hall, on the above date,
was presided over by Mr. Leonard Sutton, the Presi-
dent, and was attended by nearly 130 members, one of
largest attendances yet recorded. The subject for the
evening was "Salient Points of Fruit Culture," and
was introduced in an exceedingly practical manner by
Mr. E. Molyneux, of Swanmore Park, Bishops Waltham,
his demonstations iu the art of root and branch
pruning, staking, <fcc, making, his lecture easy to follow,
even by the youngest members present.

The exhibits were of tine quality for the season of the
year, consisting of Apples, from Mr. J. Bissev, gi\,
Beenham Grange; and Mr. F. Fry, gr . Grcenlands,
Heading.

Mr. Robert Newstead. — A crowded
audience filled the Lecture Theatre at the
Grosvenor Museum, Chester, on the occasion
of a presentation to Mr. R. NEWSTRAD, a fuller
notice of which will be taken iu our next
issue.

Arum cornutum : J. R. We know of no such
plant ; but there is no difficulty about the
cultivation of Arums, either tender of hardy,
given a rich soil, and a rest without drying
off completely, in the case of those grown in
pots, when the foliage has died down.

Aspidistra getting Spotteid and turning
Yellow : Mrs. tiimnton. A fungus is the
probable cause. Can you send a diseased
loaf for examination ? The plant should be
rested during the winter by being sot in
a cool place, not necessarily in full daylight,
and the soil kept slightly moist. The flowers
rise only just through the surface of the
soil, and being dull purple in colour, cannot
be mistaken for new leaves. The plant should
not begin to make new growth till April.

LOOKS :\F. H. P. The Forcing Garden, by
Samuel Wood. Published by Crosby Lock-
wood & Co., Stationers' Hall Court, Ludgate
Hill, E.G. ; or get some of the special manuals
sold by Mr. Upcott Gill, 170, Strand, W.C.—
A. F. Select Ferns and Lyropods, by B. S.
Williams. Sold at the Victoria Nrrseries,
Upper Holloway, London, N. The Dictionary
of Gardening, by G. Nicholson and others.
Published by Upcott Gill, 170, Strand,
London, W.C.— D. B. At the Journal of Horti-
culture Office, 12, Mitre Court Chambers,
Fleet Street, London. Price Is.

Caterpillar in Poplar-trees : E. G. The
larvae of the Goat-moth. Kill them by
thrusting a piece of wire into the holes made
in the stems.

Cucumber Dying off in the first Hough-
leaf Stage: H. Woodthotpe. The soil sent
is of a very unsuitable kind, is heavy and
retentive, instead of being light, porous, and
moderately rich. Young plants are very

liable to "go off" from any excess of
moisture when planted in soil of the nature
of that sent. The plant had the appearance
of having been grown in a lint little venti-
lated frame.

Dendrobium Hildebrandi : M. R. M. The
species is considered easy to grow and
flower when treated as D. nobile. Probably
if you rest them in a cool, airy vinery or
greenhouse after the growths are fully com-
pleted, you will flower them more satis-
factorily ; or if you place some of them in
Orchid-baskets, and suspend them, that may
answer the purpose.

Dressing for Tree Stems as a Protection
against Rabbits: J.fi.U. Make a thick paint
of clay, cowdung, and lime and water, and to
this add spirits of tar, in the proportion
of two wineglasses to an ordinary pailful.
With this the stems may be smeared 4 feet
high. N. Ahlbottn, 21, St. Andrew Square,
Edinburgh, sells a tree protective composi-
tion that is highly spoken of.

Fellow of Royal Horticultural Society :
A. F. If you apply to the Secretary, Rev.
W. Wilks, 117, Victoria Street, Westminster,
the necessary information will be sent you.

Greenheart : Prof. ('. Apply to Messrs. J.
Lenanton & Sons, 9, Gracechurch Street,
London ; or to Messrs. Denny, Mott &
Dickson, 105, Fenchurch Street, London, E.C.

Name of Fruit : R. C. Catillac, a stewing
Pear.

Names of Plants: R. E. 1, CattleyaPereival-
iana ; 2, Odontoglossum gloriosum, which
some include in the forms of O. odoratum ;
3, Goodyera discolor, figured as such in the
Botanical Magazine 40, t. 2055, but now
known as the typical Haemaria discolor. In
cultivation it is classed with the Anwcto-
chili, respecting which articles have ap-
peared in the Gardeners' Chronicle, and
others will follow. — R. C. Graptophyllum
hortense ; more often called G. pictum in
gardens. It is known as the Caricature-
plant ; by shutting off certain sections of the
colouring on the midrib, the most singular
faces can be made out. — J. H. Oypripedium
insigne, Polypodium aureum (not an Adian-
tum), and Carex variegata. — W. J. C. Aspa-
ragus tenuissimus. — L. H. Senecio grandi-
folius; generally called S. Ghiesbreghti in
gardens. It is used in subtropical garden-
ing for summer display outdoors. — W. H. T.
The specimens are very poor ; the withered
leaf No. 3 cannot even be guessed : 1 appears
to be Codiaeum (Croton) Johannis ; 3, Ma-
ranta Makoyana ; 4, Cissus discolor. — Foir-
lawn. 1, Cyperus laxus ; 2, C. alternifolius ;
3, better specimen required ; 4, 5, 6, varying
growths of Ficus stipularis, which is known
in gardens as F. repens ; the leaves are com-
paratively small until the plants are old, and
vary according as the plant is grown against
a wall or as a standard.

Pi; \ch Blooming atIrregular Times: C.C.C.G.
The buds were formed and matured at
slightly different periods in the plant's
growth.

Punnets: J. B., Edmonton. We cannot under-
take to recommend trade houses. Could
you not visit the great London markets,
and ascertain the names and addresses of
makers, &c. ?

Rose Leaves having Black Spfcks on the
Lower Surfaces: J. J., Chertsey. The ex-
crements of minute insects — not fungus.
Cleanse the leaves with soapy water, and
then syringe thorn with clean water.

The Glut: S. W. F. You have overlooked
the fact that your suggestion is already
carried out as far as possible.

Timber and Ornamental Trees on a Heavy
Clay Soil : G. P. If the land is drained by
deep, open grips (narrow ditches), or rub-
ble drains, and trenched 2 feet dee)), the
following trees are likely to succeed, with
shelter from the wind in the form of some
quick-growing trees, as Poplar, Willow, and

Alder. For permanent trees, employ Oaks
of all kinds, if ornamental planting is looked
lor ; or the common British Oak if it is to be
left for timber; also Hornbeam, Alders,
Planes, American Walnuts, Sycamore especi-
ally, planting this last on the windward side,
or every side except the south ; common Ash,
Silver Fir, Balm of Gilea'd Fir, common
Spruce, Douglas Fir, and Weymouth Pine ;
2 acres of land is a small area under timber,
and it will not admit of a large miscellaneous
collection being planted, without great loss
in the cutting away or transplantation of
trees when they begin to crowd each other.
If it is to be all under one or two kinds, say
Oak and Hornbeam, or Douglas and Silver
Fir, or a mixture of the four, the deciduous
species should be planted at 12 to 10 feet
apart, and common Spruce used as nurse-
plants, cutting these away as the trees ap-
proach each other. If all is to be under Douglas
or Silver Fir, these may be planted at 3 ft.
apart in quincunx fashion, and finally be
thinned to double the distance; you will
then obtain straight, clean boles, free from
knots and big limbs. Ornamental species of
Conifers might occur at prominent points,
or at the sides of roads, and about the en-
trances; as Abies amabilis, A. magnifica,
A. Pinsapo, A. nobilis. Sequoia sempcr-
virens (Redwood), Thuja gigantea, and T.
plicata, all of which would grow well in the
heavy land.

Trees and Shrubs for Planting an Island in
Conjunction with Poplars and Willows :
A. R. P. If the flooding endures but for a
brief period of time, Hibiscus syriacus =
Althea frutex, Bignonia (Catalpa) "syringae-
folia, B. Bungei, and B. speciosa, Rhodo-
dendrons, Kalmias, Andromedas, Pernettyas,
Gaultherias, the last five in peat, or light
sandy loam and leaf soil ; Aralia Sieboldi,
Lilacs, Quinces, Medlars, Gleditscbias,
Black Thorn, and Thorns, Crataegus in
variety ; Hippophae rhamnoides, Celtis
orientalis, Ribes of species, Cornus san-
guinea, and others; Benthamia fragifera,
and Symphoricarpus racemosus. Of Conifers
plant any of theThuias, Juniperus virginiana,
Pinus excelsa, if the position is warm P.
insignisalso; alsoP. Strobus, Abies pectinata,
A. balsamea, Pseudotsuga Douglasii, Tsuga
canadensis, and Taxodium distichum. Of
deciduous trees choose Juglans nigra,
Carpinus betulus, and most of the Oaks of
the new and old world succeed in wet soils
if the water be not stagnant. We know of
no kind of bulbs that rats will not devour
when hard pressed by hunger.

Water-Glass : J. E. H. and G. W. C. At the
foot of the article we inserted three weeks
ago is found the name of the writer, but the
post town, Hinckley, was omitted. We have
nothing to add to what was there stated.
Doubtless we shall hear more about the
undertaking shortly.

Communications Received— W. G. G., specimen, with
thanks— E. im T., Ceylon— S. W. F.— H. H. DO.—
W. W. & Co.— M. Durand, Brussels— H. O. F.— W.M. W.
— G. W. C— J. A.— D. W. (Kev.)— W. P. W.— W. G. S,,
Leeds, many thanks— W. M. W.— W. G. S.. Dunstable,
many thanks— J. M. H.— R. S., Birmingham.— Adnit <t
Naunton— R. H. P.— E. W.— R. R — E. M— R. S.—
Dr. W— B. B.-J. J.— M. W.— A. D.— J. W.-J. G. W.—
W. S— Expert.— C. L. B.— J. A.— J. R. J.— R. P. B.—
A Horticultural Student.— J. H. Maiden.— J. Whytock.
— W. A. C.-W. H. C— E. C— A. H.— J. J. W.— J. H. H.
— H. S.—Froggatt.— J. W.P.—Colocynth.— Inquisitor.

DIED. — On the 18th inst., in London, Jane
Elizabeth Rashleigh, aged sixty-six years,
second wife of Jonathan Rashleigh, Esq., of
Menabilly, Cornwall, and 3, Cumberland Ter-
race, Regent's Park, N.W., and only child of
Arthur Pugh, Esq., of Lissadrone, Co. Mayo.

(For Markets and Weather, set p. xi.)

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March 1, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

137

THE

(Ssrifenm' (prmtkle

No. 792.— SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Amcctochilus, culture
of the 133

Apples from the anti-
podes 145

Araujagraveolens ... 139

Berlin—
Lntania aurea from
Rodriguez (Supplement)

nooks, notices ot 145, 146

Uoskoop

Uouvardias, the pro-
pagation of

Carnations, winter -
(lowering

Colonial notes—
St. John's Bread ...
The emigrating gar-
dener

Cornish winters

Crinum Moorei ani
C. Powelli x

r/alkeith, and other
matters

Electric light and
ether, use of, in
forcing plants

I lowers which change
colour

Fruit-trees by road-
sides

Gardeners in London,
a census of

Gilbert, the late Sir
Henry

grafting fruit-trees ...

Hardy plants for form-
ing devices

Keevil Manor House...

Law note —
W. J. Balho (Bank-
ruptcy case)

Lotus arabicus

.Neighbour, Mr. Jamc?,
presentation to

l"e.vstead. Mr. R.,
presentation lo

Nicotine in horiicul-
tuie

145

110

150
142

150
149

144
149

140

140

115
143

15

Nursery note —

Cuthbert, R & G .
Southgate ...
Obituary—

Selfe Leonard, H ...
Orchids, the cleansing

of

Orphan Fund, Royal

Gardeners ...
Palm, the Chusan ...

Palms

Plants, new or note-
worthy—

Stapelia belki
Podocarpus chiliua ...
Rosary, the—

Rose Blanche Double
de Coubert

Rosalucida

Briar stocks from

cuttings

School gardens
Snowdrops, earliness

of

Societies —

Royal Horticutural
Sweet Peas, selected

varieties of

Sydney Botanic Gar-
dens

Tomato disease
Trees and shrubs-
Eucalypti

Populus monilifeva
aurea

Prunus Davidiana...
Trees, the age of
Weather, severe, by

the Solway

Woodward, Mr. Geo....
Week's Work, the—

Apiary, the

Flower Garden, the .

Fruits under Glass .

Hardy Fruit Garden

Kitchen Garden ...

Orchid Houses, the

Plants under Glass .

140

145

150

145
145
150

137
14ci

139
1?9

139
137

150
150

115

i.:o

141
141
140

119

no

1 3

14a

143
113
142
142
143

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Lntania aurea from Kodriguez (Supi leu end.

Seed vessel of Arauja graveolens 139

Slapelia bella, and floral details 138

The Manor House, Keevil. Wilts 141

View in the Garden of LudwigMond.Esq . Regent's

Paik 117

SCHOOL GARDENS.
/ \F the school gardens which we now
^-J more frequently hear about in this
country than formerly, two kinds may easily
be distinguished. There are, in the first
place, those intended for the benefit of
elementary school children; and. in the
second, others of which older pupils may
avail themselves, in connection with what
are called continuation schools.

At present it is only the latter style of
garden which county councils can legally
bring into existence, and directly assist with
the money given to them for Technical
Instruction. The fact therefore that the
conference on school gardens, arranged lately
by the Berkshire Technical Education Com-
mittee, dealt almost entirely with gardens
for elementary schools, is worthy of note.
It may be taken as additional evidence of
the indirect help which the county councils
are anxious to give to the Hoard of Educa-
tion, in the endeavour to introduce a proper
system of rural education for children.

It is being recognised, only too slowly
perhaps, that it is better to learn by seeing
and doing than by merely reading books.

In advocating, therefore, the formation of
school gai'dens, in connection with which
object lessons in Nature-knowledge are to
be given as part of the school work, the
Government has shown that it appreciates
the educational value of gardening.

Already many elementary school teachers
have been trained in technical classes how
to teach their pupils to learn from Nature,
and have been similarly initiated into many
of the mysteries of horticulture. If. how-
ever, school gardens are to be encouraged as
they should be, and made a success, it re-
mains to bring before the teachers concerned
the objects to be sought, as well as the
difficulties in the way which some of their
fellows have successfully surmounted, and
to demonstrate the best model to be chosen.
There is no better way, perhaps, of doing all
this than by holding conferences like the
one to which we have alluded.

Mr. T. G. Eooper, who was the principal
speaker, very rightly made it clear that work
in the garden of elementary schools must
be entirely educational, and the utilitarian
idea absolutely removed. We might say
further, that an excellent training is gained
from observing the growth and habits of
living things, and gardening moreover ex-
ercises the memory, and its operations
strengthen the limbs. On the other hand,
the mere suggestion of turning out gar-
deners is ridiculous; the failure upon the
part of critics to see that this is not intended,
lias oftentimes served to hinder the intro-
duction of out-door work into the curricula
of schools.

A comparison of the school - gardens,
common on the Continent, with those of
England, which Mr. Hooper is so well quali-
fied to make, shows that while the latter are
less elaborate, and probably afford less
general information to the pupils, they are
a great deal more practical and serve their
purpose better. Indeed, the Germans them-
selves are prepared to admit this. Much
may be learned from beds in which are
found blossoms of decorative value, the
flowers useful to bees, fruit-trees, vegetables
grown as farm or garden crops, pot herbs,
and plants used in medicine, as well as
those of economic value, such as Madder,
Flax, and Hops. The fact, however, remains
that nine-tenths of the labour falls to the
lot of the schoolmaster. In England, how-
ever, where the aim is only to grow the
best sorts of vegetables and fruits, the
children do all the work. Mr. Booper
claimed that English school-gardens are the
best in the world ; and Mr. J. C. Medd was
able to cpiote the same opinion, in regard at
least to one of them, as expressed by the
High Commissioner appointed by Canada to
study the question.

The schemes of work at this garden and
one or two others, are given in an interesting
pamphlet which has just been published by
the Board of Education. Plans of various
plots are also shown, and details of courses
on plants and Nature knowledge, which are
carried out at schools in Kent and Essex
respectively, are included. The simple
physiological experiments devised for the
latter scheme are particularly worthy of
consideration.

It must be remembered that the success
of the school-garden depends, in a great
measure, upon the man who inspects it.
Mr. Rooper happens to be one of the

Government inspectors who has made the
subject of horticulture his own. He is.
however, the exception, and we sympathise
with Mr. Macan, the Secretary of the Surrey
Technical Instruction Committee, in his
vain appeal to the authorities to appoint at
least one man in the district who knows
something about gardening.

There is much interest attaching to the
experiences of an elementary schoolmaster,
who at the outset thought that the diffi-
culties in the way of his founding a school-
garden were too great to be overcome. He
did not know enough about horticulture to
enable him to teach ; how was he to get
land; who would buy the tools; and where
were the funds with which to purchase the
necessary seeds ? and so on. However, the
master and some of his fellows asked the
Oxford County Council to hold classes, after
attending which the teachers passed the
examination of the Koyal Horticultural
Society. A piece of the garden attached to
the school-house was given up, and it was
decided to start garden work if the parents
of the pupils would provide the tools, while
the small Government grant was allocated
later to the purchase of material. Upon the
day appointed for the inauguration of the
garden, all the boys concerned appeared
with spades in their hands, and a good
beginning was at last made.

In this connection may be mentioned the
formation of a new association organised by
Mr. J. C. Medd, with Sir John Cockburn as
Chairman, which it is hoped will hold an
exhibition in London in July, where the
results of the Nature-study work of all the
various kinds of school in England, and
possibly elsewhere, will be displayed.

Quite recently the Berkshire Technical
Education Committee approved a scheme
for the conduct of school gardens in connec-
tion with continuation schools; and at the
Conference later in the day, a short paper
by the County Horticulturist. Mr. Wright,
brought out very strongly the useful work
already done by them.

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

STAPELIA BELLA, A. Berger(sp. nov.).

THE origin of this Stapelia is unknown to
me. Since its introduction into this garden,
some years ago, it has always been cultivated
under the name of Stapelia glauca (from which,
however, it is quite distinct), and no trace
can be found of its antecedents or where it
came from. It flowers abundantly every
autumn, and proved very hardy in the severe
winter of 1901, when it withstood a cold of
— 3f Cels.

The structure of the flower is somewhat
curious ; it closely resembles the description
recently published of Stapelia mirabilis, N. E.
Br. The trembling hairs on the margin move,
as in the Tromotriche ; nevertheless the plant
belongs to the sub-genus Stapletonia. It pos-
sibly might he a hybrid between an Orbca,
or Tromotriche, and a Stapletonia. Mr. N. K.
lirown, to whom I submitted this plant, and to
whom 1 am much indebted for his kindness in
helping me to name it, is also of this opinion.

The stems are erect, 0 to 7 inches high and
3 of an inch broad, quadrangular, with short,
papillous hairs, and with short, patent teeth
at the angles. The flowers rise in threes or
fours from a short common peduncle at the
base of the young shoots. Pedicels short, J to

138

THE GARD ENER S ' CUR ONI CL E.

[March 1, 1902.

\ of an inch long, reddish, puberulous. Calyx-
lobes triangular-lanceolate, acuminate. Buds
broad and flat-topped. Corolla with a short
tube, radiate, with very patent, finally revo-
lute lobes, externally green, with five reddish
nerves, inside deep purpleor brown, about"2ins.
broad. The corolla- is of a very fleshy con-
sistency, especially near the centre, where it
is thickened in such a manner as to form a
flat wall, which includes a short, pentangular
tube, the inside of which is paler, and fur-
nished with some reddish hairs of different
lengths. The corolla-lobes are deltoid-ovate,
glabrous, and fringed at the margins with
long, simple, dark purple, trembling, and very
deciduous hairs. Ligulfe of the corona erecto-
patent, black-brown, from a broad base acumi-
nate, and faintly tridentatc. The inner di-
visions of the inner corona long filiform
recurved, the outer divisions much shorter,
wing-like, patent, triangular. Ahcin Berger,
La Mortoht.

CULTUEE of the ANFECTOCHILUS.

It would have been still more interesting if
Mr. Budde, of Utrecht, had appended to his
useful note in the last issue of the Gard. Chron .
a list of the species cultivated by him. In
my reference to them, Dec. 7, 1901, p. 410, I
mentioned them only incidentally, and there-
fore did not indicate the species I at one time
or other had through my hands, and it may be
well to enumerate some of the leading species,
and endeavour to place them under their recog-
nised names, for although most of these pretty-
leafed terrestrial Orchids are called Anfecto-
chilus in gardens, or perhaps more correctly
Ancectoehilus, they include several very dis-
tinct [genera, and probably if their flowers
were readily available for comparison there
would be more changes in their nomenclature.
Their leaves are the great attraction, although
the flowers are very pretty, and would be seen
more often than they are but in my younger
days it was generally thought to bring about
the death of the plant to allow it to flower,
and some form of the same notion still prevails.
Certainly, as at present managed, the flower-
ing of the Anfectoehili, with the exception of
the varieties of Hfemaria discolor and one or
two more, seems to be fraught with peril. The
reason of that is, that we have not as yet quite
mastered the method of treatment of the plants,
or we should be able to grow and flower each
species in the same manner as other stove and
greenhouse plants, and to that end the articles
of Mr. Budde and Mr. Micholitz will lend
assistance. I think the use of fibrous loam in
the compost in which they are potted, and
observance of Mr. Budde's hint about keeping
them on the shady side of the house, and
which Mr. Micholitz indirectly suggests when
he describes them as growing in forests, would
make two good points to work on. My own
experience is that the Ansectochili like a good
clear light, but are soon damaged by the
direct rays of the sun.

The species I had, and which may perhaps
be found here and there in gardens still, were
Anfectochilus argyroneurus, and A. Frederici
Augusti, which sometimes appeared as A. xan-
thophyllus ; A. regalis, a Ceylon species; A. con-
cinnum, an Assam ally of it ; A. setaceus, and
its variety ; A. cordatus, A. Reinwardti, and A.
Roxburghi, also known as A. Lobbianus.
Among some of these species there is great
variation in the tint and marking of the
leaves, and garden names have been given
them. Of a more slender and ascending habit
are Physurus argenteus, P. Ortgiesii, P. pictus,
and P. querceticola, the first three with

silvery veined leaves, and the last of a bright
green, with oblique silvery markings.

Macodes Petola, with its bright green leaves
beautifully veined with silver, is one of the
strongest and freest growing. It is not an
uncommon thing to see a pan of it with several
growths in a shady part of the stove-house,
without a bell-glass.

Macodes Sanderiana, more often called
Anfectochilus Sanderianus, is the recent intro-
duction referred to by Mr. Micholitz, Feb. 22,

FIG. 40.— STAPELIA HELIA.

Ill J ^.CKROlJ

FIG. 41.— STAPELIA ISELI.A : DIAGRAM.

a. Section through the flower.
is, c, Floral details.
(See p. 137 )

p. 130. It may be likened to a robust and still
freer-growing form of M. Petola, though quite
distinct.

Dossinia marmorata, or as it is gene-
rally called, Aiucctochilus Lowii, is another
strong-growing species, with large olive-green
leaves, beautifully veined ; and it succeeds
well with but little trouble if a suitable place
to grow it — that is the most important factor
in all the other cases — be found.

The noble species which Mr. Micholitz men-
tions of Anfectochilus Leopoldi is doubtless
Dossinia Leopoldi. I can fully boar out all
his remarks about it, for I was fortunate
enough to be President of the jury of the
Orchid section at the great Ghent Quin-
quennial Show, April, 1898, and remember its
beauty, although shown, I believe, in the
battered and travel-stained case in which it
made its long and rough journey.

The section known as Goodyera, and in-
cluding forms of Hfemaria discolor, are free to
grow and flower, and I have used the flowers
of them for cut blooms. The old variety is
well known, and H. d. Dawsoni, with its vel-
vety chocolate leaves veined with red, and
the green form of it known as H. d. Ordiana,
have leaves of great beauty and pretty spikes
of white flowers.

Of hybrids we had Anfectochilus :•: Dominii
and A. Veitchi, both crosses between

Anfectochilus and Hfemaria discolor. Both
received First-class Certificates at the Royal
Horticultural Society in 1800 as Goodyera.

Other distinct things known as Anfetochilus
in gardens are Goodyera Rollissoni, since
identified by Mr. Rolfe as a Macodes ; Zeuxine
regia, with its narrow olive-green leaves,
bearing a rosy-silver band down the middle,
and which is better known as Anfectochilus
striatus, and Monochilus regius, the last
generic name being an awkwark complication,
for it had been previously used for a genus of
"Verbenaccfe. Then we have the pretty
Nephelaphyllum pulchrum, a Malayan species
of comparatively easy culture. These all go-
under the common denomination Anfectoehili
in some gardens, and so far as I have been
able to prove them, all require a warm plant-
house, preferring the shady side of a plant-
stove to an Orchid-house. But there are a few
worthy to associate with Anfectoehili which I
have grown well in a cool house. These are
the North American Goodyera repens, and G.
pubescens, with green and silver leaves ; and
the pretty bronzy-leafed Japanese G. velutina.

Reminiscences of times gone by are the I
reward of all who have studied plants for I
many years, for when special sections are f
thought about, old friends temporarily for-
gotten, again appear before the mind's eye. I
The name Goodyera recalls a plant which I
have long since lost sight of, although I think
it has been recently imported again, viz., I
Cioodyera macrantha, brought from Japan by
the late John Gould Veitch, and figured in the
Gardeners' Chronicle in 1807. The plant had
the habit and beauty of an Antectochilus, the
leaves being olive-green, with emerald-green
veining, the sides bordered with light yellow. I
I always thought it was a Japanese garden
production, or variegated form of a typo with-
out the yellow border. The flowers borne
close down to the leaves are very curious.
It was also called Georchis. Another pretty
species now probably lost is Goodyera rubro-
venia. Many of these pretty things have>
been lost from keeping them too warm con-
tinually, and not lowering the heat and
moisture when the growths have finished, I
believe. But let it not be thought that I am
posing as one who has at any time thoroughly
grasped the successful culture of what are
called Anfetochili, for when I was generally
more successful than most others, I never had
them in thoroughly safe and satisfactory con-
dition throughout. One or other was con-
tinually turning sulky, and to meet that I
adopted the plan of propagating them fre-
quently, and that method prevented actual
loss, and gave the best results. Perhaps
others may give their experience on this
interesting subject. James O'Brien.

March 1, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

139

THE ROSARY.

ROSA LUCIDA.
THiiRE are mauy single-flowered species of
Roses that are invaluable for grouping in the
garden and pleasure grounds, and R. lueida is
one of them. It is a very hardy species, and
readily raised from seed for the purpose of
naturalising or planting in largo groups, say,
from 20 feet to 25 feet across. The plant
spreads underground, and grows to about
4 feet in height. The shoots are slender, the

growth is free, but not quite so strong as that
of R. rugosa, or some of the other varieties,
and the fruits are not so numerous or hand-
some. This is but of secondary importance, as
the flowers are produced in great abundance,
and perfume the air for some distance around,
especially if there are many plants. For this
reason a situation near a walk is appropriate.
Varieties of R. rugosa grow freely, require no
pruning, and generally speakiDg, but little
attention. The foliage is fine and very dis-
tinct, and the ripe fruits are showy in the
early autumn. J. G.

Fig. 42. — seed-vessel of arauja gbaveolens.

a, Side of fruit; nat. size. p,

B, Back of fruit; nat. size.

C, Longitudinal section of fruit; nat. size. H,

D, Transverse section of fruit ; nat. size.

E, Central axis with imbricated seeds ; nat. size.

When the fruit is cut, each tuft of hairs quickly opens like an umbrella, and pushes the imbricated seeds
f i*om the fleshy central axis. Each seed lias a loosely-attached tuft of hairs at its base.

(;, Front and side of seed showing appressed

seed-hairs; ■ 3.
The hygroscopic seed hairs expanding and

pushing off the seed ; x '2.

foliage is glossy, the red flowers are produced
near the points of the shoots, and the ripe,
globular fruits are attractive after the leaves
have fallen. The bare stems are of a deep red
colour, and are effective in the winter sun-
shine. J. O.

Rose Blanc Double de Colbert.

Where the varieties of R. rugosa arc culti-
vated, this variety should be included. It is
a double-flowered form of rugosa alba, and
fairly well known considering the compara-
tively short time it has been in commerce, and
being one of the best it maybe confidently
recommended to planters. The habit of

Standard and Dwarf Briar Stocks from
Cuttings.

It is rather late in the day to touch on the
above, seeing that they are usually planted in
early winter. Still, it will occasionally happen
that through pressure of work planting is
delayed, the stocks being heeled in. Person-
ally, I have been as successful with spring as
with autumn plantings by taking the precau-
tion of heeliDg them in directly they are re-
ceived, and mulching the ground heavily with
short litter. The few hints on selection I am
about to give would have been more appro-
priate to the matter in the autumn, at the
samo timo they will apply to stocks planted at

about the present date. As some thousands
have passed through my hands, I claim to know
something about them. Long, green, sappy
growths are usually of one year's growth,
and therefore unsatisfactory if left at full
length ; and I advise their being cut down for
dwarfs, as the nearer the roots the better is
the wood ripened. Black hide-bound stocks
are not suitable, and they seldom afford satis-
factory shoots for budding on, and sometimes
they remain quitodormant. The sort of stocks
I have found invariably to succeed are from
two and three years' growth, with firm green
and brown-veined bark, similar to a nearly
ripe, nicely netted, green-fleshed Melon. The
stock should be quite straight from the ground-
line, and if ultimately to carry a good head,
should not be less than |-inch in diameter,
and 3 feet or more in height on stem, without
any with bends or crooks ; clubbed roots
should be thrown aside. Briar cuttings for
making dwarf stocks can still be made, and
can usually be found in the hedgerows. A
cutting should measure 6 to 9 inches long from
straight ripe shoots. Disbud from the butt
end, and leave only three or four- buds at the
top. Do not choose shoots that are commenc-
ing to grow, these being useless for the
purpose. J. D. Godwin, 29, Cleveland Road,
Southsea.

FRUIT OF ARAUJA GEAVEOLENS.

We give this name with some hesitation, as
there seems to be wild confusion in the
nomenclature of these plants, a confusion it is
not in our power to disentangle ; all we can do
for the moment is to avoid coining a new name
to add to the embarassing synonymy.

The fruits we now figure are similar to those
of Arauja albens, which we have- illustrated on
various occasions ; but they differ in their
more elongated and slender form, and in the
coarse tubercles by which they are beset.
The plants are nearly allied to the Stepha-
notis. The seed-pods illustrated (fig. 42) were
obligingly sent to us by Mr. W. H. Clarke,
of the gardens, Aston Rowant, near Walling-
ford, under the name of Schubertia grandiflora.
This is, we believe, synonymous with Arauja
graveolens, Mast., in Gardeners' Chronicle,
September 8, 1888. The action of the seed-
hairs in detaching the seed as described by
Mr. Worthington Smith in the note beneath
the figure is very noteworthy.

BERLIN.

LATANIA VERSCHAFFELTI, Lem., Ac.
Amongst the fan -leaved Palms, all the
species of the genus Latania are jewels. Two
of them are frequently met with in the collec-
tions of the amateur, viz., L. Commcrsoni,
Gmelin, better known under the name L. rubra,
and L. Loddigesii, Martins, which is also dis-
tributed under the name L.glaucophylla. The
former is a variablo Palm, as I have seen from
many seedlings, as the purple margins of the
segments vary in width. The finest varieties
are those in which the purple colour is spread
over the whole lamina, but these are seldom
seen. L. Loddigesii differs in the glaucous
nature of the petioles, and also in the seeds ;
but the plants lose their seeds, and the
glaucous tint often gets washed away, and
then it is difficult to distinguish this species
from the other. The next young loaf to appear
will prove the identity. The seedlings of
these two species are remarkable in that the
first leaf is from the beginning fan-shaped
with deep sections. I know no other Kan

140

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 1, 1902.

Palm which has this characteristic, for the
famous Lodoicea seychellarum, the first leaf of
which is also fan-shaped, is no true Fan Palm,
but intermediate between Fan and Feather
Palms. Whether the third species of Latania,
L. Verschaffelti, Lemaire, also known under the
name L. aurea, Duncan, has the first leaf fan-
shaped, I cannot say, as I have not yet had
seedlings of it. This rare Palm is not to be
confounded with the yellowish-green Livistona
aurea, which is, it seems, a form of Livistona
chinensis. The true Latania Verschaffelti, a
Palm 40 feet high, has petioles S to 8 feet long,
densely tomentose with orange margins, which
are spiny on young plants. The pale green
blade is \\ to 5 feet in diameter, with divisions
2| feet long by 2 inches broad, acuminate, the
entire margins and the veins beneath slightly
tomentose. It grows abundantly over the
island of Rodriguez. It is a curious fact that
the Palms of the Mascarenes and the neigh-
bouring Seychelles have so often coloured
margins. Besides the above, I note the
Dictyosperma album, with orange margins
when young ; D. rubrum, which is by no means
a variety of the former, •with purple margins ;
and D. furfuraceum, also with purple margins.
Other colours than green on the leaves of
Palms from that region are not scarce, i.e.,
Chrysallidocarpus luteseens (better known as
Hyophorbe luteseens), which is, by the way,
not identical, as often is said, with Hyophorbe
indica, as Chrysallidocarpus forms many
slender stems 2 to 3 inches in diameter, whilst
those of Hyophorbe indica are about 0 inches
thick and single ; then Hyophorbe amaricaulis,
with fine violet petioles ; Hyophorbe Ver-
schaffelti, and Phoenicophorium seychellarum.
This is a curious coincidence. Our .Supple-
mentary Illustration slows a fine specimen of
Latania Verschaffelti as grown in the famous
Botanic Garden at Buitenzorg. I am very much
obliged to Professor Treub for kindly sending
me the photograph. Dr. Udq Dammer, Berlin.

THE

PROPAGATION

BOUVARDIAS.

OF

Is order to obtain good plants for flowering
the following autumn and winter, the cuttings
should be put in not later than the middle of
March, and if earlier, then all the better, if
the cuttings are good ones. Plants that have
been dried-off and cut back break freely when
put into heat and kept syringed, and but little
water afforded at the roots until they are well
started. The plants should not be cut back
too closely, and old leaves may be removed
entirely. Before starting, it is a good
plan to dip the plants in some fairly strong
insecticide.

The cuttings should consist of shoots that
have made two pairs of good leaves, taking
them off close to the old shoots. A cutting
requires but little "making," and they root
just as freely when cut between the joints as
when severed at a joint, but short-jointed cut-
tings with buds at the base make the best
plants, for they will usually break from the
buds under the soil if stopped at an early
date.

The cutting -pots should be filled with a
compost consisting of equal parts of loam,
peat, and sand, with a little extra sand on the
surface. I like the surface-sand to be quite
dry, so that it will run down when the dibber
is taken out of the soil, and thus afford a good
base for the cuttings. I should add that the
soil in the pots should be made just sufficiently
firm to hold the cuttings erect, the Bouvardia
being an exception to most fine-rooted plants,
rooting better in a loose, open compost, and
making better growth. Do not let the cut-

tings wither, and place them in the warmest
part of the propagating-pit on a good bottom-
heat. When afforded insufficient heat, the
cuttings get hard, and are a long time in
starting into growth. I usually stop Bouvar-
dias once in the cutting-pots, and pot them off
as soon as they have made fresh shoots, but
potting them singly. It is very necessary to
keep the plants growing freely from the start,
and it is only when they receive proper atten-
tion in the early stages of growth that their
full value can be realised. Most of the varie-
ties, if propagated at this season, -will make
good plants by the autumn, but B. Humboldti
corymbiflora requires to be two years old to
flower it satisfactorily, and this variety should
not be stopped so late in the season as those
with the rough leaves, such as B. Hogarth, or
B. President Cleveland and B. Vreelandi.

I may add that B. Humboldti grandiflora is
an improvement on B. H. corymbiflora, and one
of the best for affording cut flowers, as with
good treatment it will furnish flowers from
June till October. Bouvardias require no
artificial heat from June till September, but
full exposure to the sun, with plenty of air
and careful attention to affording water, with
liquid-manure freely applied after they begin
to flower. .1. Hemsleij.

FRUIT-TREES BY ROADSIDES.

"France has over 500,000 of these, and is
planting more every year." Surely this is an
object-lesson to us all in Great Britain, and
especially in Ireland, and the idea may meet
with some favour from our agricultural or
forestry societies, and the country, district,
or urban councils. Hardy fruit-trees, Apples,
Pears, Plums, or Cherries, are so handsome
when in bloom, that they deserve planting for
beauty alone, apart altogether from the
prospects of a fruit crop.

In America, Cranberries arc sometimes
grown on sandy wastes on a communal plan,
and there is no reason why fruit-bearing trees
should not be planted beside the roads near
to our villages and country towns, and the
fruit sold publicly by auction, and devoted to
the upkeeping of the roads, or to other public
objects.

Some may naturally object, and say the
fruit would be stolen. At first this may take
place; but why is not the fruit stolen in
France, Germany, and elsewhere, where fruit-
trees by the roadsides is an old-established
institution ?

By planting tall standard trees, the danger
of wholesale theft would be minimised, and no
one would object to the thirsty wayfarer
taking and eating the fruit that fell to the
ground ; even the few knocked off by sticks or
stones would not much affect the total crops.

The best of cider Apples, often very hand-
some in flower and fruit, though almost in-
edible, might at least be grown. W.W. Bu'rbidge.

A CENSUS OF GARDENERS, &c,

IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE COUNTY
OF LONDON ON MARCH 31, 1901.

Unlike the method adopted at previous
censuses, when the occupations of the people
of England and Wales were published in one
volume, and at a late period after the taking
of the census, the authorities have created a
new departure this time by publishing the
results of the census taken less than a year
ago in County Sections. The first occupational
results to appear are those relating to the
Administrative County of London, which com-
prises the City of London, together with the

twenty - eight Metropolitan Boroughs con-
stituted under the Local Government Act of
1899. The figures given showing the number
of gardeners (not domestic), nurserymen,
seedsmen, and florists, enumerated within
this area at the recent census are as follows ; —

Total numbers, males, 6,858; females, 1,260.

These totals are distributed under the following rang ■

of ages : —

Ages.
10
II
15
20
25
35

Males.

10

50

479

554

1,276

1,2)7

Females.

.1

19

338

299

273

155

Totals

Ages. Males.
45 1,387
55 1.114
65 598

75 and

upwards 143

Females.
80
60

IK

6,858 1 ,260

Of the '\s~>8 males, 440 are described as " employer.-*.'*
4,898 as" working for employers," 1,358 as "working oi\
own account," and 162 as " others, or no statement."

Of the 1,260 females, 42 are described as " employers,"
1,025 as " working for employers," 151 as " working on
own account,'' and 39 as " others, or no statement."

The following table has been prepared,
showing the localities in which the gardeners,
&c, were enumerated : —

Males Female: .

City of London 11 4

Battersea, Mctiopolitan Borough If- 7 45

Bermond-ey ,, ,, :~8 I

Bcthn;\l lirecn ,, „ 37 II

Camberwell „ „ 384 33

Chelsea ,, „ 17 2:i

Deptford „ ,, 130 21

Finsbury ,, ,, 26 52

Fulhani ,, „ 326 46

Greenwich ,, „ 226 17

Hackney ,, „ 307 10

Hammersmith ,, „ 259 40

Hampslead „ „ 325 31

Holborn ., ,, 58 66

Islington ,, ,. 403 110

Kensing on ,, „ 291 7S

Lambeth .. ,, 699 77

Lewisham ,, ,, 791 :'t*

Paddingtun „ ,, 203 ~,i

Poplar ,, ,, 38 s

St. Marylcbonc ,, „ 182 54

St. Pancras „ ., 313 75

Shoreditch „ „ 22 31

Southwaik ,, ,, 103 is

Stepney „ „ 71 4 1

Stoke S'ewington ,, ,, 95 1-'

Wandsworth ., ,, 8^0 65

Westminster (City),, „ 133 113

Woolwich ,, ,, 160 12

Totals

i,858

1,260

.1. R. Bellingham, 10, Brompton Square, S.W.,
February 15, 1902.

TREES AND SHRUBS.

— ♦ —

POPCLUS MONIL1FERA AUREA (P. CANA-
DENSIS AUREA).
In gardens where the planting of groups id'
trees and shrubs is carried out for the effect
produced by their foliage in summer, this
golden Poplar is one of the best, because of
its good colour. It is a tree that is somewhat
pyramidal in outline, and if it grows too high,
it can easily be reduced by removing the
leader. Those from 15 feet to 20 feet high
form effective contrasts with, amongst other
shrubs, Primus Pissardi and the purple
Hazel. The bright yellow foliage of this
Poplar is very telling at a distance throughout
the summer. J. G., Batsjord Park Gardens.

Eucalypti.
A few weeks since some notes appeared in
the Gardeners' Chronicle, p. 450, in which E.
coccifera is stated to be synonymous with E.
amygdalina. I think an error must have crept
in, and one of these names got printed in
mistake. The two species are very distinct
here in the young state (5 feet high), and
correspond to the descriptions given in 1
Nicholson's Dictionary of Gardening. [E. coc-
cifera is considered to be a mountain form of
E. amygdalina. En.] But my chief object in
writing is to state that E. coccifera is the only
species I can obtain at present that is likely
to prove hardy here. I have tried eighteen

March 1, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

141

different species during the last eight years,
and will let you have a full report of them
later. Many persons will now be ordering
their seeds, and some may like to try E. cocci-
fera. ; it is a much neater growing species
than E. Globulus, and has smaller and whiter
stems and leaves during the first year ; the
whiteness disappears to a great extent when
the leaves get older. E. cordata is next to
the above in hardiness in my collection, and
its leaves put on some pretty purple tints in
the winter. E. resinifera was sent me by my
friend the late Mr. Ewbank, but has not
proved so hardy here as he anticipated ; he
was misled by the description given him by the
Italian monk. E. ficifolia I have not yet tried ;

the 12° of frost experienced at Poltimorc
seems to have had no injurious effect on them,
owing to the fact that the air at the time was
very dry. [Koran illustration and an interest-
ing historv of this species, see Gardeners'
Chronicle, April 23, 1892. Ed.]

KEEVIL MANOR.

Our illustration (fig. 43) shows a view in
the garden attached to the Manor House,
Kcevil, a remote village in Wiltshire, seven
miles or more from Trowbridge, and sixteen or
eighteen miles from Bath. The house is an
Elizabethan structure, and the residence of
Colonel Sir J. W. Wellington, K.C.B. The

berths for first-class gardeners who are steady
men. When in Adelaide, South Australia, a few
months ago, Mr. Henry Sewell, the leading
nurseryman there, was lamenting the great
deficiency of trained gardeners, and said : " I
want such in my nursery, and I could place a
few in good situations if I had them on hand."
I promised, on my return, to make his wants
known, but my return is so uncertain, and
as the question is before the craft, I avail
myself of your valuable medium to deliver
my promised message to the gardeners of
Great Britain. Those desirous of leaving
home should write to Mr. Henry Sewell, nur-
seryman, Adelaide, South Australia, and as he
is a very polite man, with a good heart, I am

PIG, 43.— THE MANOR HOUSE, KEEVIL, WILTS.

can anyone tell me where to get seed of it ?
E. Gunnii is not hardy here. When travelling
about Ireland last autumn I watched for any
Eucalyptus that appeared to be hardy there,
but very few were to be seen ; the oldest
plants were two of E. Globulus in a cottage
garden near Arklow (these had evidently been
cut back by frost), and an old plant of E.
coccifera at Kota, which must have been
growing there for many years. Perhaps the
gardener, Mr. Osborne, late of Kota Gardens,
if he sees this, may bo able to give some par-
ticulars as to what species have been tried
there. W. H. Dicers, Bclcoir Castle Gardens,
(Irantham.

Prints Davidiana.
This, one of the earliest of trees to flower,
should, writes Mr. Slade, of Poltimorc Park
Gardens, find a place in every garden that can
afford it a spot for full development. The
long, slender shoots are crowded with the
pretty white blossoms at the present time, and

view is interesting, as showing an exceedingly
pronounced representation of the formal type of
gardening, in a locality where there is no rail-
way station for several miles, and which is so
remarkable for old-world characteristics.
Probably this extreme cultivation has been
practised to afford distinctness to a garden
surrounded by natural beauty and contrast
on every side.

The photograph is one by Mr. W. Rossiter,
Bath.

COLONIAL NOTES.

THE EMIGRATING GARDENER.
READING the Gardeners' Chronicle this morn-
ing, dated January 11, my eye fell upon Mr.
A. Harding's invitation to gardeners to better
themselves in the United States, where there
are no doubt numerous chances. There also are
in our colonies many advantages and good

sure he would answer all such letters. There
are many places open in other parts of Aus-
tralia, but it is only in Sydney where there
is an organisation ready togive a helping hand
to new arrivals of the craft, and as this may
not be generally known, I advise all gar-
deners going to New South Wales to go at
once to the Gardeners' Association Rooms,
Queen's Hall, Pitt Street, Sydney, where there
is generally a good gathering of gardeners,
and a little flower show of things of special
interest each Friday, from 8 to 10 P.M. Then
there is Mr. Robbie, Superintendent, Hyde
Park, Sydney, who generally knows of any
situation for a gardener, and who could put
young men in the way of finding some kind of
employment. A reference to this notice, and
your correspondent's name, would not be
without its effect. In Melbourne, Mr. I'lirvis,
manager of K. Hamilton Brunning's seed busi-
ness, would be a useful man; also Mr. Chces-
niaii, nurseryman, Melbourne; and my good

142

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 1, 1902.

friend Mr. Beatson, of George Anderson & Co.,
seedsmen, George Street, Sydney ; and fruit-
men would find Mr. Carl B. I.uffmann, Royal
Horticultural Gardens, Burnley, Melbourne,
very sympathetic.

St. John's Bread.
In the same article reference is made to a
good hedge. The finest I have seen in my travels
is one made of St. John's Bread (Ceratonia
siliqua) — pleasant to look upon, secure as a
stone wall, and handsome throughout, with
none of those blemishes so constantly seen in
hedges of Conifers1. This beautiful hedge sur-
rounds Mr. Henry Sewell's nursery, in which is
one bed with upwards of 500 varieties of Roses,
including all the newest from Europe. Mr.
Henry Sewell's nursery, Adelaide, is the best
ordered one I have seen in my travels, and I
am glad to make this testimony. Mr. Sewell
is an old country gardener, and a genuine
lover of plants, greatly esteemed and appre-
ciated by the amateurs around Adelaide,
whose sound advice can always be relied upon.
He is also a great encourager of park de-
velopment around Adelaide, which is the most
beautiful eity of Australia, surrounded, as it
is, with its delightful hills within a few miles
of the town, and which forms a summer resi-
dence for the well-to-do, as it is cool on the
hottest day, the town being the winter resi-
dence of the families who have a house on the
hills. Peter Barr, V.M.H.

The Week's Work.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

Cattleya labiata autumnalis variety. — This
plant is now exhibiting signs of renewed
activity, and if any plant seems to require
dividing, the operation should be carried out
in the manner advised previously. Others
not calling for subdivision may be top-dressed
after removing the surface-compost, remem-
bering that a root saved is a root made. A
suitable compost which is both nourishing,
lasting, and porous, consists of fibre-peat
three -fifths, chopped sphagnum - moss one-
fifth, and leaf-soil one-fifth, wsll mixed to-
gether. Pair drainage should be afforded,
using discretion as to the quantity required
by the health of the plant, a vigorous plant
not wanting so much as a sickly one ; and I
would advise the crocks to be used in an
erect position. Plants that are in small pots
and in good health will only require potting-
on, not disturbing the ball unless the compost
is in a bad condition. Others that have gone
back should be reduced, removing the whole
of the useless back pseudo-bulbs in order to
give the new growth the advantage of the
roots made. In potting, the bud should be
kept just a little above the rim of the pot.
Carefully insert the compost among the roots
rather firmly, and finish off with a few clumps
of good sphagnum heads on the surface. The
plants will require for the present water only
when the compost is dry. Damp freely be-
tween the pots on bright days.

Trichopilia fragrans and T.j.var. nobilius
are two lovely white flowering Orchids, well
worthy of general cultivation. A suitable
place for these plants is a shady part of the
intermediate-house, but the materials should
not be allowed to get very dry, and when
growing the plants should be afforded water
very freely. The plants at Gatton arc growing
(fast at this season, and should any of them
need potting the best time for the operation
is when the young growths are about 2 inches
high. The potting compost may consist of
equal parts of turfy peat and chopped sphag-
num-moss. In sunny weather generally, and
all through the summer months, Trichopilias
are much benefited by syringing them once or
twice a day.

Aerides. — Plants not needing to be repotted
should have much of the compost oa the
surface removed and be top-dressed. Clean,
picked sphagnum-moss two-thirds, and turfy-
peat (out of which the finer par tides are shaken)
one-third, pressing the whole firmly. When re-
potting is required, get the plant as low down
in the new pot as the leaves will allow, and
cut away as much as possible of the old stem.
When a plant has got tall and lanky, and
possesses no air roots on that part where
severance would be desirable, the stem should
be mossed over, and kept damp in order to
encourage roots to form before severing it.
A shady corner in a moist stove forms a
suitable home for Aerides falcatum, A. f. var.
expansum, A. Lawrencese, A. odoratum, A.
Sanderianum, A. Savageanum, and others.
A. Fieldingi and A. afline should bo grown
under rather cooler conditions. Repotted
plants should be frequently damped at the
sides of the pots, and strong sunshine not be
allowed to reach them. If the house is very
humid, but little water will be wanted at
first, and nothing more afforded than a damping
of the surface of the compost, so that the
sphagnum-moss may not die.

Shading. — During bright weather lower the
blinds on Orchids requiring shade, and Orchids
that have been divided or bought in as im-
ported recently, and over all small seedling
Orchids. But do not shade too freely the
Odontoglossum, although ic will very soon be
necessary to shade these in the middle of the
day when the sunshine is stronger ; but as
yet a little sunshine together with good ven-
tilation gives strength and firmness to the
growths which have been developing during
the winter. Each man must use his own
judgment as to the amount of sunshine his
plants will stand without being injured.

the soil be light ; but if of the opposite nature,
then three parts rotten stable manure will be
more suitable. In either case place the
manure at the bottom of the trenches, and
thus induce the roots to strike downwards, as
they will in search of the manure, and hence
better crowns also straighter and better roots
for making into sets.

Jerusalem Artichokes.- — With the return to
suitable weather, let tubers be planted as
early as possible, choosing a bit of ground
that is retentive and has been deeply worked,
but not necessarily heavily manured. Planting
in such land encourages early tubering with-
out the need for affording water in dry
weather, which is the case when planted in
shallow cultivated soil. Where they must be
grown on the same piece of ground year after
year, and they are often employed in this way
to hide something objectionable during the
summer months, let the crop be lifted as soon
as the state of the weather will admit. Then
find the number of sets that will be required
when planted at 2 feet apart each way to plant
the piece of ground, and select clean tubers
about the size of a hen's egg. Place the lifted
crop of tubers in a heap in any cool place out-
of-doors, and cover them with rough straw or
bracken. Deeply trench the ground every
alternate year, and when the opportunity offers
for doing so exchange some of the soil.

THE KITCHEN" GARDEN".

By T. Torton, Gr. to J. K. D. Winofield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Parsnips. — Assuming that the land for this
crop has been deeply dug, after being trenched
for a previous crop, take the first opportunity
when the surface of the ground is dry enough
to admit of it being trodden upon to roughly
rake it over, and make the surface level.
These proceedings, although not absolutely
necessary for obtaining good roots, help to
make a good tilth, and are in keeping with
good workmanship. But it is always advis-
able to wait for fine weather, rather than
to carry out the work when the weather
and the land are alike in an unsuitable state.
Let drills be drawn 18 inches apart and
1 inch deep, and sow the seeds singly 2 or
3 inches apart in the drills. This entails a
little more time than scattering the seed in the
usual manner, but it is of advantage when the
thinning has to be done.

The Onion Quarter. — If the ground was
trenched as advised in a previous Calendar, it
will have become pulverised by frosts, and
advantage should be taken of fine weather to
break up the clods and loosen the soil to the
depth of 9 inches ; and after it has dried
sufficiently, and been well trampled upon all
over, afford a moderate dressing of fresh soot
previous to raking it down. Stiff land should
be afforded a good dressing of charred garden
refuse, which will have the effect of preventing
the soil running together and getting com-
pacted when it is trodden upon. It is so
important to have a well made seed-bed for
the Onion-crop, that no labour should be con-
sidered too great to obtain this, and it is
advisable to wait a week or longer rather than
to sow when the ground is in an unfit state.
Sow the seed thinly in drills at 15 inches
apart, and draw them from the same end of the
ground, when there will be less likelihood of
the drills varying in width, as is the case
when the drills are drawn from both ends.

Seakale Ground. — If not already done, the
ground for this should be well prepared by
deeply trenching it forthwith, affording a
liberal dressing of rotten farmyard manure if

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadooan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Seeds.— Seeds of bedding Petunias may be
sown at about this date, preferably the single-
llowered varieties, than which, when the strain
is a good one, nothing can be prettier. The
plants succeed in almost any position in the
garden, and flower profusely for a long time.
Sow also seeds of Dianthus Heddewigi and D.
chinensis, very excellent annuals for filling
small beds ; Ageratums and Nemesia strumosa
Suttoni, a pretty, floriferous little plant,
^useful for planting in beds and border
or in conjunction with other plants. Sweet
Peas and Mignonette may now be sown out-of-
doors in well-manured and deeply-dug soil.
For affording flowers for cutting, a sowing of
each should be made once a fortnight until
the end of the month of July.

Propagation. — Many kinds and varieties of
bedding plants now claim the gardener's at-
tention ; and cuttings that were inserted in
the propagating-frames and house at the be-
ginning of last month being well-rooted, should
be forthwith put into pots or boxes. Iresines,
Heliotropes, and Abutilons should all be potted
singly in 00's in a light, rich compost. Alter-
nantheras may be placed in shallow boxes at
3 inches distant from plant to plant, and if a
little wood-ashes or even coal-ashes be added
to the soil, the colouring of the foliage will be
much enhanced. Cuttings of Nasturtiums,
Sweet Alyssum, and Mesembryanthemum cor-
difolium variegatum may be put closely into
boxes, the soil for the last-named consisting
of loam, decayed manure, and sand in equal
proportions, about one-sixth of the whole of
lime-rubbish.

Edgings. — If the various kinds of live edgings
employed for the margins of large beds, &c.,
be lifted at this date, and the ground well
dug, if necessary a small quantity of fresh
soil added, and the plants afterwards divided,
re-arranged, and planted at regular distances
apart, they will give little trouble for the
remainder of the year. Among the plants
used in this manner are Yinca major elegan-
tissima, Stachys lauata, and various grasses,
variegated and other. Where the pretty
Lonicera flexuosa aurea reticulata is employed
as a margin to large beds of flowering shrubs,
the shoots must be regulated and pegged
down close to the soil. Should the relaying
and mending of the Box-edgings be found
necessary, let the work be carried on without
delay.

Flowering Shrubs. — The lateral shoots of Jas-
minum nudiflorum as they pass out of flower

March 1, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

145

should be cut back to the second or third
basal bud, and the strong growths necessary
for covering unfurnished spaces reserved at
almost full length, nailing or tying them.
CMmonanthus fragrans may be similarly
treated, but leaving the shoots -with at the
most two buds. Sprinkling of an artificial
manure on the surface of the ground per
square yard at the rate of 2 to 3 ounces, and a
mulch of half-decayed stable litter, will stimu-
late growth in these plants. Trees of Primus,
Pyrus, Viburnums, &c, recently planted, may
now have their shoots cut hard back, in order
to induce an even break, and the trees after-
wards allowed to grow at will, unless sym-
metrical specimens are thought desirable.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Matne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle,
Bicton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

The Protection of Blossoms. — As soon as the
colour of the petals on Apricots and Peaches
is observed, some kind of protection is abso-
lutely necessary, if good crops are to be looked
for with any degree of certainty, more
especially in low situations. The flowers,
when kept dry, will withstand several degrees
of frost with impunity ; but when wet, and
frost follows, loss more or less is sure to
occur. The young growth, which appears
soon after the flowers expand, also stands in
need of protection. In some gardens no pro-
tection whatever is afforded these trees, but I
consider the best policy is to look ahead, as if
the foliage, especially that of the Peach, gets
badly blistered later on, the young wood is
crippled to such an extent that a full crop of
fruit is a rare thing. It is not every Apricot
and Peach-wall that is furnished, like that at
Bicton, with a portable glass coping. The
panes of glass in this protector are 2 feet long
and 18 inches wide, and are secured in an iron
frame having a fall of 9 inches from the top of
the wall to the front, and on to this trebled
fi=v,_,«+t;ng is hung, and reaches nearly half-
•■-- '..,— ■■n the wall, and is secured to stakes
placed 4 feet from the foot of the wall. Fail-
ing a glass coping of this sort, boards about
18 inches in width may be fixed to brackets.
Scrim-canvas, Haythorn's hexagon netting,
and similar materials are used ; but with all
of these the trees have to be uncovered on fine
days and when it is not frosty; but in the
case of fish-netting, it can remain in position
until all danger from frost is at an end.

Pruning.— Stone and other fruit- trees planted
in the autumn of 1901 should be pruned early
this month. Shoots of standards, pyramids,
and bush-trees should, if much growth was
made last year, be shortened back to within
6 or 8 inches of the last operation, and shoots
not required for extension cut back to a couple
of buds. Maiden trees of last year should
have the shoot or stem cut back to within
four or six buds from the base, and thus lay
the foundation of the future crown. Trees
planted this year should be left untouched till
the autumn. Where Gooseberries and Cur-
rants were left unpruned for fear the birds
might take the buds, they should be pruned
forthwith. All planting operations should be
brought to a close as speedily as possible, for
should a dry spring and early summer set in,
the trees would have little chance of laying
hold of the soil, unless much attention 'was
paid them in the matter of affording water,
and even then it is seldom that the growth
made is satisfactory.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

I By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mundt, Esq
Shipley Hall, Derby.
Chrysanthemums.— Many of the early-struck
cuttings will now be ready for potting into
largo 00's, or 3i-iiiefi pots. Previous to this,
however, such varieties as require early stop-
ping to induce breaks should be dealt with.
Several of the finest varieties require this
attention, in order to get them in good form
at the exhibition season, and their names

I are to be found in almost all good catalogues.

■, Turfy loam two-thirds, with decayed horse-

droppings one-third, and some sand, make a
suitable mixture for these plants. Pot with a
moderate degree of firmness, and place the
plants in a light position near the glass in a
frame from which frost is excluded, affording
no water at the roots for a day or two, but
syringing once or twice a day if flagging
occurs.

Liliums. — To succeed with L. longiflorum var.
Harrisii, and to provide for any deficiencies in
that somewhat erratic variety, the earliest
plants of this variety may be brought into
an intermediate temperature. Growth should,
however, have started before this is done, as
any attempt to hurry the bulbs at this date
will defeat the object in view. The house in
which these Lilies are grown should be well
exposed to light, as they do not like shade
during the early part of their growing season.

Forced Plants. — The earliest-forced plants
are of no use for growing on, but those which
flower from now onward are worth keeping if
they are afforded shelter under glass till April.
A season's rest will bring Azalea mollis, Lilacs,
Gueldres Rose, Staphylea, &c, round again,
so that they may be again forced with good
results. Daffodils, and in fact Narcissi of
all types except perhaps the Scilly or Paper-
white, may be saved for planting under trees,
and there are many other such plants that
pay for care after forcing.

Seed-sowing. — One need not enumerate the
many kinds of plants grown from seeds that
should be sown about this time, as the direc-
tions printed on seed packets will be quite
sufficient to work ou ; and a little licence may
be allowed in accordance with the time in
which the various plants so raised are ex-
pected to flower, or, in the case of foliage
plants, to be at their best for the decorative
purposes they are to fill. Personally, I have
generally found it best to delay a little beyond
the dates as given, i.e., if February and March
are given, the first week of the latter month
will be quite soon enough, and it is well to
remember that seeds germinate stronger and
more freely as we emerge from the winter.
Large bodies of soil turn sour more quickly
than do smaller quantities, so it is not advis-
able to be too generous in this matter ; and
another point that should not be forgotten is,
that most seeds germinate best in the dark, but
must not remain under such conditions after
the plants have pushed through the soil, and
careful watching is necessary in all the early
stages if good results are to be obtained.

Pricking off Seedlings. — Earlier raised seed-
lings of Begonias, Streptocarpus, &c, should
be pricked off before the soil in the seed-pots
gets sour. I advise pricking-off into shallow
pans rather than potting-off singly, as the
plants do not then require water so frequently,
nor are they subject to the sudden changes to
which plants in very small pots are liable. It
is not necessary to wait until the plants may
be easily separated from each other before
attending to pricking off ; indeed, some appear
to do much better when lifted and replanted
three or four in a clump. The great thing is
to see that the seedlings are quickly trans-
ferred from one receptacle to the other, so
that there shall be no chance of their becoming
withered.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whttock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch, Dalkeith.

The Orchard-house. — The woodwork of this
house should be thoroughly cleansed with soap
and water, and all wall surfaces either painted
or lime-washed. The kinds of fruits grown in
orchard-houses, particularly in cold districts,
are Cherries, Gage Plums, and Pears, which are
liable to be infested with scale, and in order
to destroy these the following dressing should
be applied: in a large vessel of soapy water
pour in a half pint of petroleum, and keep the
mixture constantly stirred whilst syringing
the trees, doing this forthwith, the bulls being
dormant. In very hi, I cases the branches may
be dressed with XL- All lic|iiid insecticide,
using a painter's brush for the purpose. The

repotting of pot-trees requiring more rooting
space, should have been carried out in Sep-
tember and October, but when no repotting is
called for, let inert surface-soil be renewed,
and a top-dressing of turfy loam, mixed with
bone-meal and Vine-manure, be applied. The-
borders should also have the surface-soil re-
moved, and be top-dressed in like manner, so-
as to induce the formation of numerous surface
roots.

Early Muscats. — These Vines, if started af-
file beginning of the fi rst month of the year, will
be now in flower, and it will be necessary to keep
the temperature at night at 72°, and by day
with sunshine at 90", but lower in dull
weather. There should be just the least
possible amount of air afforded, and the vinery
should be kept slightly moist. When in
flower, distribute the pollen with the hand or
camel's-hair brush, and if pollen of any other
variety is available, convey it to the flowers
of the Muscats. The foliage is tender, and
more readily injured and scorched than that of
other varieties ; and when the fruit is set and
has begun to swell, more air may be given in
favourable weather. Guard against cold cutti ng
winds entering the house, and causing rusting
of the berries. The border for early Muscat
Vines being inside, should |uow be afforded a
sprinkling of Vine-manure, and a mulch of
rotten manure ; and if the drainage is all
right, water may be applied copiously.

Fig House. — If the early varieties Pingo de
Mel and St. John's are grown, the fruits will
now be of a fair size, and the night tempera-
ture may be raised to 60°, and 10° higher in
the daytime. Keep the air of the house moist,
and as the days lengthen and more sunshine
obtains, syringe the trees morning and after-
noon ; and if growing in pots, do not let them
get dry at the roots, or the fruit will drop.
Those planted out in a border may be afforded
water copiously, and occasionally an artificial
manure, or weak diluted manure-water from
the cowshed. Squeeze the growths with the
finger and thumb at the fifth joint to stop them.

THE APIARY.

By Expert.

The severe weather will induce the careful
bee-master to ascertain the condition of his
bees, especially the weak stocks. When his
calendar, on referring to it, tells him that
number one, two, and four are strong, and
have plenty of stores, more harm than good
will be done by interfering with them ; but as
to number three, which is weak, he should
raise the corner of the quilt and slip a cake of
candy underneath as gently and quietly as
possible, and see that the quilt is put again in
place — but in no case for the present must the
bees be encouraged to breed. A cursory glance
might be given to all hives on a bright day to
see if the bees have any stores left, bntdonot
disturb them. Wet or mouldy quilts must be
replaced with dry ones, and a small quantity
of naphthaline put on the quilt and at the back
of the hive. The bee-keeper should take as
his maxim for a month the old saying, " leave
well alone."

To make Bee Candy. — Place a clean pan
on the fire, put half a pint of clean water and
three pounds of crystallised cane sugar, and
stir it till the sugar is dissolved, not allowing
it to burn. Boil it for a few seconds, and then
cease stirring and let a drop or two fall on a
plate, and if this " sets " at once, so that the
surface does not stick to the finger when
pressed, it is sufficiently boiled ; but if sticky,
it contains too much water, and either more
sugar must be added, or the boiling con-
tinued. The right condition being reached,
remove it from the Are, and set the pan in
cold-water to hasten cooling of the mixture.
Stirring briskly all the while until the mixture
begins to turn white or granulate, and become
rather si iff, when it. may be poured into a
mould suitable for I he purpose, and lined with

paper \or easy removal, and to prevent it

sliclcins to I lie quilts. The candy SO made
will, when cold, lie Of such consistency as to.
bocome quite sufl anil buttery when scraped

with the flnger-nait.

144

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 1, 1902.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH.

\ Royal Botanical Society. Meet-
} ing.

i Chambrc Syndic-ale des Jlorti-
SUNDAY, March 2-, culteurs Beiges, Meeting at
) Ghent.

TTirsniv n.nfo i * Scottish Horticultural Assoeia-

lULbDA*. MARCH 4-( fioU| Meoting.

THURSDAY, March 6-Linnean Society, Meeting.

( Royal Horticultural Society,
) Committees Meeting

i Torquay Gardeners' Society.
Spring Show. Royal Bot an i-
( cal Society. Meeting

SATURDAY, MARCH 1

TUESDAY. Mar. 11

WEDNESDAY. MAR. 19

THURSDAY, Mar. 2;-

FRIDAY,

TUESDAY,
FRIDAY.

MONDAY,

Mar. 21

-Linnean Society, Meeting.

Horticultural Show in Man-
chester Free Trade Hall.

Royal Horticultural Socielj-,
Committees Meeting.

Mar. -2i— Good Friday.

iBank Holiday. Jersey Agri-
Mar. 31- cultural and Horticultural
( Society, Exhibition opens.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, March 3 —

Azaleas. Begonias, Carnations, Roses, &c , at Pro-
tlieroe & Morris.

TUESDAY, March 4.—

Sale of the Tixall Collection of Established Orchids,
by order of the Exors. of the late E Bostock, Esq.,
at Tixall Lodge, Tixall, near Stafford, by Protlieroe
A Morris, at 12.30.

WEDNESDAY, MAR. 5—

Important Sale of 110 cases of Japanese Lilies,
Davallias, Peonies, Aeers, Ac., at Protheroc *fc
Morris' Rooms, at * o'clock. Continental Plants.
Tuberoses, Roses, Greenhouse Plants, &c: at. 12 I' —
Ferns and Flowering Plants, Palms and Decorative
Plants, Perennials. Lilies, Azaleis, Rhododendrons
*&c, at Stevens' Rooms, at 12.30.

FRIDAY, March 7.—

Sale of Shrubs and oilier Stock at The Nurseries.
Feltham, by order of Messrs. C. Lee & Son, by Pro-
tlieroe <t Morris, at 12.0.— Perennials, Carnations,
Roses, Hardy Border Plants and Bulbs, at Protlieroe
& Morris' Rooms. — Imported and Established Or-
chids, at Protlieroe & Morris' Rooms.

TENDER.

Grardians of the Parish of Lambeth, Brook Stieet.
Keuningtou Road— Upkeep of Garden at Norwood.
Tenders to be sent in before March 11.

f For further particulars see Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
-411°.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— February 26 (0 p.m.) : Max. 47° ; Min. 3s\

February 27.— mild ; dull: rainy.
Provinces— February 26 (6 P.M.): Max. 47°, Sciliy;
Min. 37% E. Counties.

Practical gardeners have
El" Light ***? tne opportunity of
and of Ether making scientific experiments,
in Forcing and commercial men, in spite
Plants. 0f tne aii-iniportance of the
subject to them, are even less inclined to
step beyond the path marked out by
routine, unless some immediate benefit is
likely to be forthcoming. Experiment
stations, then, become more and more ne-
cessary, and they should be supported by
those who will ultimately benefit from
them. Such a one we might have at Chis-
wick. We do not think there would be any
insurmountable difficulty as to funds, or as
to a scientific director competent to devise.
carry out, and publish the results of experi-
ments likely to benefit practical horti-
culture. How is it, for instance, that no
one in this country has taken up the
question of the use of the electric light, or
for the matter of that, of artificial light of
any kind, for forcing purposes in our dull
winters':' The evidence obtained some
twenty years ago by the late Sir William
Siemens was simply astounding (see Gard.
f'hron., 1880, April 3, p. 432). Mr. Buchanan,
me gardener,now in Queensland, was allowed
a free hand, and the results in the case of
forced Strawberries, Wheat, and other crops

were almost beyond belief, more especially
as regards the hastening of the ripening
process.

Of course this was an experiment on a
limited scale, and the question of expense
did not enter into consideration. The houses
were there, the apparatus was installed, the
extra cost of utilising the light was not
material. The results were, however, so
extraordinary, that it is a matter for astonish-
ment that no one in this country has con-
tinued the experiments, and shown what
modifications are necessary to make the use
of the electric light, or the incandescent gas
light, in forcing a commercial success. The
subject is not even mentioned in the recently
published gardening manuals to which we
have referred. In France more has been
done, and still more in America, where the
use of the electric light has been proved
under certain circumstances commercially
advantageous in the case of Lettuce-growing.
Prof. Bailey, in the Cyclopaedia of American
Horticulture, sums up the results that have
been obtained in the United States by
saying that ': the application of the electric
light to the growing of plants is a special
matter to be used when the climate is
abnormally cloudy, or when it is desired to
hasten the maturity of crops for a particular
date." Now these are just the very con-
ditions which obtain in an ordinary British
winter. Prof. Bailey- goes on to say that.
1; Only in the case of Lettuce has it been
proved to be of general commercial im-
portance, and even with Lettuce it is doubt-
ful if it will pay for its cost in climates
which are abundantly sunny."

Professor Bailey writes, under the sunny
skies of the States, of the electric light only,
and from a commercial standpoint alone.
The conditions of British horticulture differ
widely, and in many places gas would be
cheaper and more efficient than the electric-
light,

Another means of facilitating forcing
operations has lately been made known by
one of the professors at a Danish Agricul-
tural School, and which consists in subject-
ing the plants to the fumes of ether. The
plants so exposed shed their leaves, as
though they had been subjected to frost.
The best results with Lilacs are obtained in
late summer. The ether then stops vegeta-
tive growth, and a moderate temperature
being supplied, the flower -buds quickly
expand, so that Lilacs may be had in bloom
in the first half of September. M. Frasz
Ledien, of the Dresden Botanic Garden, has
been experimenting in the same direction,
and the results he has obtained are summa-
rised in recent numbers of Le Jardin, from
which we glean the following particulars: —

For early forcing, says Herr Lkimen', the
action of ether is so important that none who
practice forcing on a large scale can afford to
dispense with it. Flowers obtained by early
forcing naturally command a high price. It
should further be considered that fuel is
saved by this method (whether the forcing be
at a high or a low temperature), and that this
economy more than balances the cost of etheri-
sation. The cost per plant works out at
rather more than one penny (12 cents.).

1. The varieties of Lilac usually forced in
Germany : Marie Legraye, Charles X., and
Leon Simon, were in full bloom twenty-eight
days after having been brought into the
house ; Marie Legraye was even earlier in
flowering.

2. Various flowering shrubs may be bloomed
in much less time than by the usual process.
Plants of the same variety not etherised have
not bloomed, or have bloomed badly, in the
comparative trials, or perhaps some opened
their flowers in eight or ten days (according
to the variety) after those that: were treated
with the ether.

3. Etherised plants can be forced at a lower
temperature than that which is essential for
the blooming of those not etherised.

Besides Lilacs, Herr Ledikx also made ex-
periments with Viburnum tomentosum syii.
plicatum, Azalea mollis, Prunus triloba, Deutzii
gracilis, Lily of the Valley, Hyacinth, Rose,
and cut branches of ornamental spring-flower-
ing shrubs. Azalea mollis and Viburnum did
well ; Prunus triloba was less amenable to the
action of the ether ; Deutzia gracilis failed
altogether. Lilies of the Valley etherised and
placed in heat on November 21 flowered in
the proportion of 40 per cent, on the twenty-
first day, while of those not etherised only
2 per cent, flowered, and these in a tempera-
ture of 23° C. For late forcing of Lily of the
Valley the ether had but little effect, so that
it seemed better in that case to keep the
plants in the refrigerating apparatus or in
cool chambers. For Roses the results were
not altogether decisive, although a very
marked advance was reported.

Branches of Azalea mollis cut and etherised
expanded their flowers in twenty-three days,
while the buds on branches not treated did
not open until twelve days after. The greatest
success was with Lilacs, Viburnum, and
Azaleas. Viburnum plicatum, though slow to
bloom, placed in heat on December 2, was in
full bloom about December 14 ; while those
plants not etherised yielded only poor flowers
at a much later date.

Azalea mollis submitted to ether on Nov. 20,
and brought indoors on the 28th, was covered
with flowers on December 20, although the
check plants only bloomed partially in the
beginning of January. The more nearly the
normal season of the flowering of the shrubs
is approached, the less vigorous is the effect
of the ether. The value of etherisation, then,
is for early forcing in November and De-
cember, when the flowering can be hastened
by some two or three weeks.

Plants lifted from the borders without pre-
liminary attention during the summer, flower
as normally as if forced in January or February.
This, it must be confessed, is an immense
advance in the forcing industry.

The application of the treatment is not
without certain inconveniences and difficulties
at the commencement. The vapour of the
ether is imflammable, so that no light must be
brought into places where plants are etherised
until the vapour has been thoroughly dispersed
by ventilation ; no fire or light must be allowed
anywhere in the neighbourhood of the ether.

There is still some difficulty in administering
the ether to ensure perfect volatilisation. The
plants should remain plunged in the vapour
for a certain time, about forty-eight hours, and
this must be in an absolutely air-tight place,
to prevent the escape of the vapour. The
larger the area, the more precautions should
be taken both to concentrate the vapour
during the period of etherisation, and to
ensure its rapid dispersal after the operation.

For forcing on a large scale, cemented
buildings with a door and several ventilators,
the interstices of which are hermetically
sealed so as to prevent the escape of any
other, are most convenient. The interior
arrangement should be such that every corner
can be filled with plants, so as not to waste
the ether unnecessarily.

March 1, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

145

Now here, to revert to our plea for an
experiment station, is an experiment which
could readily be tried at little cost at
('his wick, and if the facts as recorded by
oih- Danish and Saxon friends can be eon-
firmed at Chiswick, that establishment
would confer a benefit on horticulture of
more permanent value than it does by
i.he present necessarily inadequate trials.

Royal Gardeners' Orphan Fund.— In our
account on p. 135 of the very satisfactory
meeting of the supporters of this Fund, we
were compelled to summarise the statement of
accouuts owing to pressure upon our space.
In that summary it is stated that there are
balances in hand, on deposit, and at bank of
£2,683 10s. 5d., which is really the amount of
expenditure for the year, including balances
£728 15s. 9d.

Linnean Society.— On the occasion of the
evening meeting to be held on Thursday,
March 0, 1902, at 8 p.m., the following papers
will be read : — 1. " On some new Species of
Lepadidse in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.),"
by Prof. A. Gruvel. 2. " On the Morphology
of the Brain in the Mammalia, with special
reference to the Lemurs, recent and extinct,"
try Dr. G. Elliot Smith.

Mr. Selfe Leonard. — We greatly regret
to have to announce the death, on the 21st
inst., of Mr. Selfe Leonard under very dis-
tressing circumstances. He was staying at an
hotel in Rome and fell down the staircase,
sustaining injuries from the effects of which he
shortly succumbed. Mr. Selfe Leonard was
nn enthusiast in the collection and cultivation
of hardy plants, and his garden near Guildford
is one of the most noteworthy in this respect
in the country.

Presentation.— On Friday, 21st inst., Mr.
James Neighbour, head gardener at Copped
Hall, Epping, was the recipient of a handsome
marble clock, presented to him on his retire-
ment from his post by the garden staff, and
other employes and friends on the Copped
Hall estate. Mr. Neighbour has given faithful
service to E. J. Wythes, Esq., and family, for
Jtpwards of forty years, and was much re-
spected by his employer. The presentation
was made by Mr. J. Featherstone, foreman in
the gardens at Copped Hall, in the presence of
the garden staff and others.

BOSKOOP. — To lovers of hardy trees and
shrubs, and of those adapted for forcing pur-
poses, it will be interesting to know that an
exhibition of such subjects is to take place at
Boskoop, Mar. 22 to 25. When one remembers
the profusion of Mollis Azaleas, and other
flowering plants, which might be collected
at Boskoop, one can but anticipate a show of
extraordinary beauty. Mr. G. J. de Vink is
the Secretary.

National Rose Society.— A meeting of
the General Purposes Committee will be held
at the Rooms of the Horticultural Club, Hotel
Windsor, Victoria Street, Westminster, on
Wednesday, March 5, at 11.30 a.m. Edrnird
Mawley, Hon. Sec.

Presentation to Mr. R. Newstead.— A
crowded audience, representative of all classes
»>f citizens of Chester, filled the Lecture
Theatre at the Grosvenor Museum on Wednes-
day evening, February 5, being attracted
thither by two objects : the first, to take
part in a presentation to Mr. R. Newstead,
the distinguished and popular curator of the
»uuscum, of a handsome timepiece, and a purse
of gold, containing £141, spontaneously sub-
scribed for by many admirers as a tok<»n of

appreciation of his scientific work; the
second, to hear from Mr. Newstead an
interesting lecture, entitled " My Natural
History Work." The timepiece bore the
following engraved inscription: "Presented
to Robert Newstead, A.L.S., F.E.S., and
Hon. F.R.H.S., with a purse of guineas,
by members of the Chester Society of Natural
Science, Literature and Art. February 5,
1902." The" chair was taken by Mr. J. D.
Siddall, who was supported by the Mayor of
Chester (Mr. James Frost, who attended
specially to make the presentation on behalf
of the subscribers). The. chairman (Mr.
Siddall), after a few wTords of welcome to the
Mayor, said Mr. Newstead's work for the
Society was so well known as to hardly need
any explanation from him. He was appointed
curator when they came into that building.
This presentation to Mr. Newstead came out
on the publication by the Ray Society of a
monograph by Mr. Newstead on the scale
insects. The question treated in that work
was one of very great economic and national
importance, and the very fact of Mr. New-
stead's work being chosen for publication by
the Ray Society as their annual volume was in
itself proof of the importance of the subject,
and of the admirable way in which the subject
had been treated by Mr. Newstead. Since
the date of that publication, Mr. Newstead
had had the great honour done him by being
elected one of the Associates of the Linnean
Society. These things, together with Mr.
Newstead's continued kindly work for the
museum, had suggested to them the desira-
bility of choosing the present time for making
to him some acknowledgment of their in-
debtedness for his manifold works.

The Late Sir Henry Gilbert.— We learn
from Sature that, according to the will of Sir
Henry, his portrait, painted by his brother
Josiah Gilbert, is to be placed in the library
of the Sibthorpian Professor of Rural Economy
at Oxford. Sir Henry occupied the Professor-
ship from 1881 to 1899. Dr. Daubeny held the
Professorship for many years, and in more
recent times Professor Warington.

Sydney Botanic Gardens.— During the
month of March the garden was visited by
immense numbers of flying-foxes. There must
have been many thousands of them, and some
of the large trees were quite black with them.
Several local sportsmen shot large numbers,
and the destructive animals were all killed
or flew away in about a week from the first
appearance of the swarm. It is many years
since the gardens were visited by a plague of
these animals.

"Culture Forcee desOignons a Fleurs,"
par Jules Rudolph ; and " L'Art de Bou-
TURER," par Adolphe Vanden Heede (Librairie
and Imprimerie Horticole, 61 bis, Rue de Grc-
nelle, Paris). These two books may be men-
tioned together, as additions to the library
of practical gardening books. Forced bulbs
(to use a general term for them) are now so
important an industry that any information on
the subject is useful. As to the second book,
the propagation of plants is also a valuable and
interesting subject. The two Manuals are
clearly illustrated, and the flowers are not
exaggerated, as is too often the case in illus-
trations of them.

Lotus arabicus.— Messrs. W. R. Dunstan
and T. H. Henry contribute to the Philoso-
phical Transactions, vol. cxciv.,p. 515, a paper
on the poisonous substance contained in this
plant. The Arabs are aware that in the early
stages of growth the plant is very poisonous,

though when mature it is used as fodder for
cattle. The two investigators above-named
found that in the unripe plant a considerable
proportion of hydrocyanic acid is developed.
In the mature plant no poisonous substance is
formed.

"The Favourite Flowers of Japan." —
This is a publication from Messrs. L.
Boehmer & Co. (Alfred Uxger, Proprietor),
exporters and nurserymen, 5 and 28, Bluff,
Yokohama, Japan. The firm claims to have
the only European nursery in Japan, and this
book is written by Mrs. Unger for English
readers. It is an account of many of the
favourite floweis of the country, interspersed
with cultural hints. The book is wonderfully
light in weight, bound in Japanese fashion,
and printed on native paper. Last, but not
least, we must mention the charming and cha-
racteristic coloured pictures of Peach-blos-
soms, Cherry-blossoms, Pseonies, Iris, and
other flowers, and thedelightful and suggestive
little landscapes.

The Chusan Palm. — A correspondent in
North Wales sends us some interesting par-
ticulars of the life-history of this Palm. The
plant was at first grown in a Fern-house
attached to the residence of the late N. B.
Ward, of Fern-case fame, at Clapham. As it
appeared strong and healthy, it was sunk in
its pot in the garden during the summer, and
taken under shelter in the winter. As it still
did well, its next home was in a greenhouse,
where it remained for some two or three years,
being carefully protected in winter. Finally,
its owner moved to Wales, and the plant was
transferred to Penmaenmawr, where it found
a home in the garden, in a corner where the
only protection afforded is that of the sur-
rounding shrubs. It has lived there for years,
and is still quite hardy and healthy, and has
bloomed in four successive years. The Palm
has grown to a height of 10 feet, and continues
to flourish in this favoured locality, where, as
our correspondent remarks, except for the
winds, plants from almost any temperate
quarter of the globe would grow.

Apples from the Antipodes. — Respecting
the arrivals of fruit cargoes from Australia
during the present season, the officials of the
Peninsula and Oriental Royal Mail Steamship
'Company write: — Sailing from Sydney, New
South Wales, the Arcadia sails on the 19th
inst., expected in London on April 6 ; India
sails March 5, due in London on April 20 ; the
Oceana sails March 19, due in London on
May 4 ; Britannic sails April 2, due in London
on May 20 ; Australia sails April 16, due
June 3. The traffic manager of the Orient
Royal Mail Steamship Company inform us
respecting the arrival in the port of London of
their fruit ships that the Austral is due to
arrive on March 29, the Ophir on April 12, the
Omrdh on April 26, the Oratava on May 10,
and the Orizaba on May 26. The manager adds,
that should the requirements of the season so
demand, there may be an additional steamer
or two put on.

Cornish Winters. — The following note
appeared in a recent number of the Western.
Morning Neies, kindly forwarded to us by Mr.
FOX :—

"It may interest some of your readers to know that
on Sunday last the following plants were flowering in
the open air in Falmouth gardens :— Abutilon vcxilla-
rium variegatura. Acacia dealhata and lophantha. Ane-
mones, Arabia grandillora, Arbutus Unedo, Aucuha
male, Azalea aracena, Berberls Darwini, lieali, and
japonica; Borago officinalis. Camellia white, Cam-
panula pyramidalis, Cliimonauthiis fragrans, Choisya
tcrnata, Chrysanthemum scgetum and Japanese In
variety ; Cistus, rose-coloured ; Citron Madras, Cle-
inatis balcarica and cirrhosa; Cornus mas, Correa,

146

THE GARB ENER S ' CUR ONI CL E.

[March 1, 1902.

CoroniUa glauca and vimiualis ; Crocus, Cyclamen
Coum, ibericum,rand persicum ; Colletia horrida, Cyli-
sus, Daphne Laureola and Mezereum ; Eranthis hye-
malis. Erica carnea and mediterranea; Escallonia
maerantha, Eryngium pandanifolium, Eupatorinm
Weinmannianum, Euphorbia giant, Forsythia sus-
pensa, Fragaria indica, Fuchsia "Little Dot," ifco. ;
Garrya elliptic!, Genista, Grevillea rosmarinifolia, P. -
largoniums, llelleborus -colchicus, niger, maximus,
orientalis, rubra, punctatus, trifoliatus, and fcetidus ;
Hyacinth Roman, Hydrangea hortensis, Iberis semper-
virens. Iris stylosa, Jasminuni nudillorum, Kcrria
japonica, Kniphofia, Lavender, Leptospermum sco-
parium, Lithospcrmum prostratum, Lunaria biennis,
Mandragoraotlicinalis, Marguerites, Cape Marigold, Me-
liantlms major, 10 feet high ; Narcissus minor Grand
Monarque, Henry Irving, Paper White, Soleil d'Or,
«&c. ; Olearia Gunniana; Pansics; Phlomis fruticosa;
Pitto8porum Tobira; Polyanthus in variety; Primroses;
Pyrus japonica, red and;white; Rhododendrons; Roses
Devoniensis, Bardon Job,'[GIoire de Dijon, monthly,
&c. ; Ribes fuchsioides; Ruscus aculeatus ; Schizotylis
coccinea; Saxifraga crassifolia; Seabiosa; Senecio
petasites ; Snowdrops; Stocks; Spiraea hypericifolia ;
Tussilago fragrans; Veronicas in variety; Viburnum
lucidum and Tinus ; Vinca major and variegata ;
Violets; Virginian Stock ^Wallflowers, &c.

"The list is less extensive today, but the scarlet
berries of Asparagus deflexus, Aucuba japonica, Skimmia
japonica and lougifolia, and seeds of Magnolia Yulans
Lennei, are in brilliant contrast to the snow. H. F.,
February 12."

"Garden Notes for the Colonies and
Abroad." — This publication, by Messrs. James
Cartkr & Co., High Holborn, would be useful
to all emigrants and colonists. It contains an
alphabetical list of possessions and countries,
■with notes on the -soil, climate, and suitable
crops of each. Indian gardening receives
special attention, the pages devoted to monthly
■work in the hills being particularly valuable.
Following this portion of the handbook is a
section, also alphabetically arranged, on
Vegetables for Abroad, then one on Flowers
for Abroad, and on Specialties for Abroad ; all
calculated to serve as useful guides to those
who take with them to foreign lands their love
of gardening, and are in entire ignorance as to
how to continue their pursuit under the altered
circumstances.

The Age of Trees.— The>stimation of the
age of trees by means of [the number of rings
visible in the wood is well known to be subject
to many exceptions. In a recent number
of the Revue Horticolc it is pointedVit that
by pinching, or pruning or grafting, a second
layer of wood may be formed in one year in a
shoot. The explanation given by M. Guiguard
is that the pinching or other operation brings
about a state of rest, less Isap is directed to
the wound. But when t the adjacent buds
begin to grow, the afflux of sap is increased,
and a fresh zone of wood is the result.

PODOCARPUS chilina.— In a supplement
to a recent number, that for February 15,
we gave a reproduction of a photograph^
which was sent to us as representing Podo-
carpus andina. Unfortunately, no specimen
was sent with the photograph, so that we
were unable to verify the name. Podocarpus
andina is, as we pointed out, a synonym for
Prumnopitys elegans. Now, we have before
us a specimen from the tree at Penjerrick, and
recognise that it is really Podocarpus chilina.
Of this we have dried specimens from Kew
and from the Royal Botanic Garden, Ed;n-
burgh. In the latter garden the plant is (or
was in 1891) called P. andina, so that no doubt
the plant is cultivated elsewhere under this
wrong name. Looked at in detail, P. chilina
is very different from Prumnopitys, a native
of the same country, and the habit is also
different. P. chilina, the plant represented
in our Supplementary illustration, has leayes
8 to 9 cent, long, 0 mill, wide, linear lanceo-
late, acute, falcate, deep shining green above,
paler beneath, tapering at the base into a
very short stalk. Beneath the epiderm is a
layer of stereome or strengthening cells, and,

in the substance of the leaf, beneath the
central bundle, is one large resin canal. The
hemistele, or central strand of tissue, is
defined by a well-marked bundle- sheath or
"endoderm," and is transversely oval in
shape. In spite of the deep green colour of
the leaf, the central cells of the cortex are
destitute of chlorophyll or mesopliyll. It is a
native of the Andes of Chile, and is hardy in
the south of England and Ireland. In
Veitch's Manual of the Coniferce, prepared by
Mr. A. H. Kent, in addition to the tree at
Penjerrick, fine specimens are noted at Kilma-
curragh, co. Wicklow, and at Fota Island,
near Cork. M. T. M.

Mr. George Woodward. — Many of our
readers will share our sympathy with the
popular and skilful fruit grower at Barham
Court Estate, Maidstone, who has just suffered
the loss of a little daughter, aged eleven
years, from pneumonia.

The National Dahlia.— The annual meeting
of this society was held in the rooms of the Horti-
cultural Club on Tuesday last, E. Mawley, Esq., in
the Chair. The President, officers, and members of
committee were reelected, with the addition of Mr.
W. Tulloch and of Mr. Bennett-Poe as a Vice-Presi-
dent. Owing to the unsatisfactory relations with the
Crystal Palace Company, the society has, as we have
previously announced, determined to hold their show
next September in the Drill Hall, under the auspices
of the Royal Horticultural Society. The financial
statement showed that the society had a credit balance
of £1 13a. 2d , but this pleasing result had been obtained
by the liberality of some members of the trade who re-
nounced the greater portion of the prize-money due to
them. In this way the loss occasioned by the action of
the Crystal Palace Company was made good. It was
suggested that Lord Ilchester should be asked to be-
come a patron. The report, proposed by Mr. Mawley
and seconded by Mr. Jones, was adopted.

THE POPLARS, AVENUE ROAD,
REGENT'S PARK.

Our illustration in the present issue (fig. 44)
affords a view of a portion of the Rockery,
situated at the end of the pretty garden of
Ludwig Mond, Esq., which, for a suburban
garden, is most interesting by reason
of the successful culture of the Orchids
and other plants, and Grapes, attained
by his gardener, Mr. J. O. Clarke, and
which have been often noted in the Gardeners'
Chronicle. The garden has some fine trees,
and a good stretch of well-kept lawn, which is
not cut up in flower-beds, in the manner too
often found in suburban gardens. A good
view of the general garden was given in the
supplement of our issue of April 20, 1901.

The Rockery is thickly planted -with old-
fashioned flowers, among which a very large
number of those mentioned by Shakespeare
find a place, and render the arrangement
doubly interesting. At the back are rambling
Roses, Lilies, and flowering shrubs, all of
which lend their part to the floral display in
their seasons.

NURSERY NOTES.

MESSRS. R. & G. CUTHBERT.
More than a century ago, in the year
1797, James Cuthbert, of Berwick-on-Tweed,
established a nursery business at Southgate,
iu Middlesex. It was a small beginning, but
we believe the business has been carried on
uninterruptedly until the present time. Less
than a year since, there were four generations
of George Cuthbert's living at Southgate, but
the decease of the great-grandfather, the last
surviving son of James Cuthbert, was recorded
in the Gardeners' Chronicle for August 3 last,
in the eighty-sixth year of his age. Since
the veteran's death, the little jhouse he

occupied in the nursery has been utilised for
enlarging the offices and seed-shop, which has
given to the frontage of the premises an.
increased dignity of appearance.

Camellias have been grown at this nursery
for a large number of years. There are now
seven houses containing planted -out speci-
mens, some of which are of remarkable size,
whilst all are in an excellent and healthy con-
dition. Most of the plants are of the old
variety Alba Plena, and have been planted.
sixty or more years. One large specimen,,
said to be over one hundred years old,,
measures 16 feet in height and 30 feet through,
or 90 feet in circumference ; it is well fur-
nished with growths and foliage to the base,,
and appears covered with buds. No manure
other than soot is given to these trees, but a
liberal dressing of soot is applied after the-
flowering stage.

Large specimen plants of Rhododendron.
(Azalea) indicum varieties, including Fielder's-
White, are cultivated for supplying flowers-
for cutting; also thousands of Roman Hya-
cinths, Narcissus, Tulips, Ivy-leaf and other-
Pelargoniums, Roses, &c. The old Primula,
sinensis alba plena is largely grown, and a-
white, single-flowered variety, named The-
Bride, is cultivated for seed purposes, its
habit being unusually free-flowering. Alto-
gether, there are about a score of glass-
houses, some of which are very old, and
roofed with tiny panes of glass, but others,
have been rebuilt.

The out-of-door stock is contained on about
six or seven acres of land in the district, and
comprises Aucuba, Laurels, Cupressus, Cedars,,
and other evergreen and deciduous trees and)
shrubs, especially Limes, of which there is a.
good stock ; also flowering trees and shrubs of
the species most commonly planted. Another-
5 acres has been acquired recently, upon the-
top of the hill, near to the entrance to Trent
Park, and this will be planted with nursery
stock.

Forced Trees and Shrubs.
During the last few years this Southgate-
firtn, which now consists of George Cuthbert
and his two sons, G. H. Cuthbert and R. J.
Cuthbert, has come prominently before the
horticultural public, by reason of the exceed-
ingly fine exhibits of forced Rhododendrons.
(Azaleas) of the types known in gardens as-
mollis, sinensis, Ghent, rustica, &c, at the-
Drill Hall and the Temple shows ; a photo-
graph of the collection staged at the last
Temple show being reproduced as a supple-
ment to this journal on August 17. The-
public in this country has probably never seen,
these types of Rhododendron shown better
than in the glorious and richly coloured groups-
exhibited by Messrs. Cuthbert, and the firm-
has thus helped very largely to direct atten-
tion to new and most desirable varieties for
forcing, and for planting on southern slopes in.
the garden.

Being informed that the firm intended to-
exhibit a very large and interesting group of
forced plants at the Drill Hall on February 25,.
we welcomed an opportunity of inspecting;
them a few days earlier in the glasshouses,,
this being the primary object of our visit on
the 21st inst.

The weather during the last six weeks has-
not been very helpful in the matter of forcing,
whether flowering plants or Vines, but not-
withstanding this, by very great care in push-
ing along this species, and delaying that one,
a very representative display of forced shrubs
has been obtained for the closing days of
February. Every day now marks an advance,,
there is more daylight, and the possibilities ofi

March 1, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

147

148

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 1, 1902.

a little sunshine are better, so that before
another fortnight has passed the Lilacs and
other species that seemed hardly likely to be
ready for Tuesday, will be in full flower.
Among Rhododendrons that were sufficiently
forward were the following: Mollis section,
Cotnte de Quincey, yellow, shaded with orange ;
Comte de Papadopoli, rosy-red colour, shaded
and spotted withlorange ; Queen Sophia, rose :
Chevalier de Reili, creamy white, spotted
orange; Dr. Reichenbach, a newer variety, of
very pleasing colour, with shades of rose,
salmon, and orange; Elizabeth, claret-coloured,
■with silvery ! sheen; the beautiful variety
Anthony Roster, and others.

A very large plant of Daviesii, a most hand-
same variety[of the Ghent or American section,
in a pot 20 inches, in diameter, was just
opening its flowers ; these are white, with
yellow blotch on the upper~!petal. Seedlings
of R. oecidentale in full flower were very
beautiful; the flowers are white, with just a
suspicion of pink, and with 'yellow blotch.
They vary considerably in [these character-
istics, bat all are deliciously scented.

Of shrubs there was considerable variety in
bloom, and none were handsomer than the
standard and bush plants of Wistaria sinensis.
The standards averaged about 4 feet high, and
the bush plants 2J feet. On one of the latter
plants there were fifteen trusses of flowers of
delightful colour and fragrance. Gardeners
do not force Wistarias so commonly as the
effective qualities of the plants warrant. It
way be that they are known to be difficult,
but Messrs. Cuthbert succeed with them well
enough even so early. The main consideration
is to start them ve-y slowly indeed, refraining
from pushing them until the flower-buds show.
In default of this the plants hurry along into
growth, and produce few flowers or none at all.
Another very desirable" plant for forcing is
Cytisus purpureas incarnatus. The plants we
saw were quite dwarf, consisting only of
arching sprays a foot or more long, with
flowers from all the leaf axils. Naturally, the
fljwers are purple coloured, but forced ones
are only palely tintec1.

Then there were the double-flowered Primus
sinensis in red and white varieties, P. tri-
loba, Malus floribunda, and the variety
atrosanguinea ; Laburnums, Magnolia eon-
spicua, Deutzia gracilis, Erica melanthera,
double - flowering Cherries, Genista An-
dreana, G. fragrans, and G. prtecox alba ;
Kalmia latifolia, Ribes atrosanguineum (which
can be forced into bloom in about a week),
the double - flowered Thorn, Staphylea col-
chici, Daphne Genkwa, with pale lavender-
coloured flowers on very slender growths ;
and Forsythia suspensa ; also Pyrus Schei-
deckeri, P. Maulei, and the much better
P. M. superba ; P. j japonica, rose, alba, and
rubra. There were also five or six varieties
of flowering Peaches (Prunus persica), in-
cluding rosseflora, sanguinea, and alba plena.
All of these are very beautiful, and the
snow-white ^blossoms of that last-named are
useful for a variety of purposes. Many of
the above-named species are forced as stan-
dards as well as | bushes, and with a few-
Japanese Maples which have also been forced
into leaf, a very pretty exhibit is likely to be
made at the Drill Hall meeting.

SELECTED}! VARIETIES OF
SWEET PEAS.

Publications Received.— Agricultural Bulletin of

the Strait.-; and Federated Malay States, December, 1901.
Contents : Timbers of the Malay Peninsula (continued).
Para Rubber in the State of Amazonas, Transport of
Tropical Fruit, The World's Tea and Coffee Consump-
tion, »&c. — Journal de la Sociibf d'JIurtictdture du Japon,
December 20, 1901, containing articles (in Japanese) on
Narcissus Culture, by S. Taketa ; Culture of the Japanese
Carrot, by M. Hayashi, &e.

My attention has been drawn to the selec-
tion of Sweet Peas given by Mr. Simpson in
your issue of January 11, p. 27. The list there
is undoubtedly a very good one, but with your
permission I will make an exception to a few
of them, and tell your readers why I make the
exception.

Captain of the Blues is hardly wanted with
Emily Eckford ; it is a very good variety,
rather darker in colour, but I should certainly
give the preference to Navy Blue. As the
best substitute in place of Chancellor, I should
undoubtedly select coccinea, one of the new
varieties which went out last season for the
first time, and which is undoubtedly the
nearest approach to a scarlet that we have yet
got. Chancellor is in my opinion too near Lady
Mary Currie to be wanted in a stand of twenty-
four distinct varieties ; and I should even
prefer Oriental, as somewhat a darker shade
of colour, if coccinea were not used. Duchess
of Westminster, according to all my trials and
observations of the last season or two, has been
so varied in its character, its markings, and
its size, that I should much prefer Countess of
Lathoni, which is somewhat in the same way,
but a much more reliable, and in my idea a
better flower. Colonist I should leave out, for
the reason that it is one of the most unreliable
flowers I have ever grown, not so much in the
size of its blooms as in the variety of its
shades of colour, for I think if anyone would
grow fifty seeds of Colonist, they might without
any difficulty select five or six distinct shades
of colour from the row when in bloom. I
should much prefer the newer variety, Lord
Kenyon, which in my opinion is the best of this
shade of colour after Prince of Wales. Mrs.
Dugdale I hardly think is wanted with Royal
Rose, and it has an unfortunate habit of be-
coming very deformed at times in the lower
part of the wings. For Lady Ormesby Gore I
should substitute Mrs. Eckford, which,
although perhaps not quite so bright in colour,
is undoubtedly one of the best Peas in exist-
ence as a pale primrose self. Lady Ormesby
Gore has a tendency to " hood," and is dumpy
in the shape, and is certainly not wanted with
the Hon. Mrs. Kenyon. For Othello I should
substitute Black Knight ; the former I look
upon as a dull colour as compared to the latter,
which is always one of the most telling dark
varieties that is exhibited in a stand of twelve,
eighteen, or twenty-four, and that was shown
pretty well in the Sweet Pea Centenary at the
Crystal Palace, for there I find Othello was
only exhibited thirty -five times, whereas
Black Knight was exhibited sixty -three.
Black Knight was in the 1st prize stands on
seven different occasions, and Othello was
only represented in three. Black Knight
was exhibited in twenty-eight different stands
in other provincial shows during that season,
as compared to seven of Othello.

Your correspondent of February 8 alludes to
the fact that I still favour Prima Donna before
Lovely, and I am still of that opinion. Lovely
has such a tendency to become streaky in the
centre of the standard, which in my opinion is
a very great defect, whereas Prima Donna is a
much more constant flower right through, al-
though I find, on referring to the number of
exhibits at the Centenary, Lovely was cer-
tainly shown on more occasions, it being repre-
sented in seventy-five stands as against fifty-
four ; in the provincial shows there was not
so much difference, one being shown forty-
three times and the other thirty-seven.

As another instance of Mr. Simpson's list, I
am rather surprised he has left out Sadie

Burpee and put in Emily Henderson. Thero
his always bson a very great diversity of
opinion amongst growers generally as ti">
whether Sadie Burpee or Blanche Burpee is.
the better flower, but it has hardly ever-
been questioned or compared with Emily
Henderson. Blanche Burpee, in:my opinion, is.
the finest white in existence, with its bold,
upright standard. Sadie Burpee is a very
gjol flower, bai unfortunately "saddles" in.
the standard too much to please me; whereas
Emily Henderson is a smaller flower in every-
way, and has a split or heart-shaped standard,,
which is quite a standard of the past as com-
pared to the flowers which are now looked
upon as a standard of what a Sweet Pea ought
to be. I find Sadie Burpee was exhibited at
the Centenary show sixty times, and in thi-
provincial shows thirty-seven times ; whereas.
Emily Henderson only appeared thirty-three
times at the Centenary and nineteen times in.
the provincial exhibitions. This, I think, will
speak for itself as to its popularity. R. Syden-
ham, Birmingham.

LAW NOTES.

♦

BANKRUPTCY OF WM. JNO. BATHO.

The first meeting of the creditors interested
under the failure of William John Batho,
nurseryman, Finchley, was held at the London*
Bankruptcy Court on Friday last. The state-
ment of affairs filed by the debtor disclosed
gross liabilities amounting to £93,155, of which
£24,571 15s. 2d. was due to unsecured creditors,
the total liabilities expected to rank amount-
ing to £30,390 19s. The assets are estimated
to produce £20,450, including the estimated,
surplus from securities in the hands of fully
secured creditors amounting to £18,077 lis. 11</ .
The nett assets after deducting the claims of
preferential creditors payable in full amount-
ing to £190 19s. lid., are returned at
£20,259 0s. Id., thus showing a deficiency of
£10,131 18s. lid.

It appears from the official receiver's report
that the debtor has been adjudged bankrupt.
The debtor commenced business in December,.
1895, and purchased a nursery from Mr.
Phippen for £2,500, and taking over a mort-
gage of about £1,300. It appears that he-
obtained the purchase-money by way of a gift
from an aunt. He is possessed of about
37 acres of freehold land, with water-tower,.
and of various houses, situate at Finchley.
The causes of insolvency are stated to be " In-
sufficiency of capital, and the Vines not being;
sufficiently developed to permit of their frui t-
ing, and the depression in trade caused by t he
war and the Queen's death ; interest on
borrowed money, and heavy insurance pre-
miums." The debtor has been requested to.
furnish further particulars of the " Loss by
speculation in mining shares." The debtoi-
stated on his preliminary examination that he-
had taken out two life policies in the Loudon
Life Association, Ltd., for the sum of £2,500
each, which are mortgaged to Lord Forester-
and Mrs. Vernon, and further charged to Sir
Henry A. White. It appears, however, that
there are two further life policies taken out
on the sinie Association, and the Company-
claims to have a first charge on each policy.

As the debtor was unable to make any offei-
of composition, Mr. Oscar Berry, chartered
accountant, of Monument House, E.C., was
appointed trustee of the estate, and to act
with a committee of inspection also appointed.

PLANT PORTRAITS.

iQUiLBOlA Hf.leS/E (flabellata x coerulea).— Sepals
bluish-violet; broad petals, white, with a deep bine
spot at the base, (iartemvelt, February 1.

Vitis Voiniehiana. — Evergreen climber. Serav
Uorlicole, February 1.

March 1, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

140

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

GRAFTING FRUIT-TREES.— As grafting will
soon begin, I wish to mention two modes of
grafting which I found very successful last
year. One requires the stock and graft to be
of about the same size ; both are cut very
sloping, like a fish-splice of a fishing-rod, and
made to fit together; a small tie is made in the
centre of the cuts, and india-rubber tape, well
stretched first, such as is used by engineers
for making electrical joints, is wound round
the graft and stock, commencing at the
bottom, and secured at the upper end with
india-rubber solution. As the sun may rot the
india-rubber before the union is firm, it is well
to fasten bast round the india-rubber loosely.
The india-rubber stretches as the graft grows,
and when the matting gives way the graft is
firm. Capt. H. Rogers, Hartley, Plymouth.

FLOWERS WHICH CHANGE COLOUR.— In a
recent issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle, p. 124,
bottom of third column, your contributor, "A
Sussex Naturalist," in his interesting notes
respecting "Flowers which change colour,"
says, "There are, moreover, several books
which the student can consult." I, and pro-
bably many more of your readers, would be
much indebted to him if he would kindly, in
some future issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle,
name the books in question. The subject he
deals with is a most interesting one, and I
should much like to know more about it. R. B.,
Wimbledon.

HARDY PLANTS FOR FORMING DEVICES. — It
would appear from an enquiry by "Inquirer"
(see p. 120 of the Gardeners' Chronicle), that
advice is sought concerning device-planting;
but it is not easy to suggest plants unless the
season for which such things are required is
clearly stated. This much is stated in the
reply to "Inquirer," who appears to possess
an idea for the patriotic "red, white, and
blue." Even with the many hardy plants in
cultivation, we are still without plants that
would be effective in the particular shades of
colour required, assuming that it is a floral
device that is desired. There are hosts of
good hardy plants, many in the colours named,
although few that can endure to be pinched
and pegged down as in carpet bedding. The
very revival of hardy plants years ago was a
sort of protest against this method of employ-
ing plants. There are hardy plants that may
be introduced into any style of gardening,
without robbing the plants of their beauty.
Among flowering plants none can compare as a
bedder with the blue Lobelia for dwarf habit
or profuse flowering ; therefore, where blue is
needed, Lobelia will have to be used. The
blues we find in Veronica, in Campanula, or
the 'Gentian, but plants of spreading habit
are, by their habit and free growth, unsuited
for the making of devices. There are, however,
hardy plants which are of service in general
bedding arrangements, and I will give a few
of the more prominent. It is, perhaps, in the
silver-leaved plants that hardy subjects will
shine best, for here we find, in addition to
that very o'd and tried plant, Cerastium to-
mentosum, such things as Achillea umbel-
lata, witli silver foliage and white flowers ;
A. ageratoidcs = Anthemis aizoon, with white,
Daisy - like flowers ; A. Clavennfe, white-
flowered, while the leafage in each is quite
distinct. The first aud last are readily dealt
with in quantity, but A. ageratoidcs is less
so. Another fine plant in the same category
is Teucrium Polium, also known as T. aureum
from the yellow flower-heads ; the leafage of
this is very fine, and the plant easily propa-
gated. In this connection I do not forget
Leucophytum Browni, a useful plant, but not
absolutely hardy ; and not least among white-
leaved subjects is the well known Antennaria
Candida, whoso dense, spreading tufts adapt
it specially for devices on a small scale. To
these may be added Santolina incana, a per-
fectly hardy sub-shrub. In grcon-leaved sub-
jects, Achillea toraentosa aud A. aurea are

rather alike, but distinct in their flowers ;
then there are Veronica repens, Mazus pumilio,
Mentha Pulegium gibraltaricum (not hardy),
Ajuga reptans, and several "mossy" Saxi-
fragas, as, e.g., S. hypnoides, and its variety
elegans, S. Stansfieldi, S. Sternberg!, and
others. Of Sedums, a pair of perfect bedding
subjects may be found in S. hispanicum and its
variety S. h. glaucum ; and still another good
plant in Herniaria aurea, which has also given
a golden sport. In variegated subjects the
Golden Thyme, the variegated forms of Arabis
lucida and mollis, the golden- leaved Stellaria
graminea, the variegated Veronica gentian-
oides, are some of the best. Besides these,
there are such well marked plants as Dactyl is
elegantissima, Chamsepeuce diacantha, Cen-
taurea ragusina and compacta, Cineraria mari-
tima, the purple-leaved form of Ajuga reptans ;
and for a large bed or in a damp locality, Scro-
phularia nodosa fol. var. This last will bear
pegging down, and the points should be p inched
to keep it from flowering. In this way the
silver leafage is very fine. A good flowering
plant is Verbena venosa. In the springtime
there is an abundance of flowers on dwarf,
verdant carpets ; the Aubrietias, alpine and
setacea varieties of Phloxes ; Gentiana acaulis,
White Arabis, Asperula odorata, and others ;
but none of these by their natural bearing
suggest a more useful sphere by trimming
them into well defined or rigid lines. They
are far more beautiful naturally grown, and
each in turn covered with its wealth of floral
beauty. E. J. [Our correspondent has given
the names of a large number of very useful
plants, but "Inquirer" required only red,
white, and blue. En.]

SEVERE WEATHER BY THE SOLWAY.— Xot

for seven years has there been in this district
such a severe storm of frost and snow as the
one just gone. The frost of 1895 cut down
many tender plants that grow and flourish
well along the shores of the Solway. Buddleias,
Fuchsias, Veronicas were cut down to within
a few inches of the ground. How they may
faro this season, as well as others that
have since been planted, such as Hydrangeas,
Phloxes, Eucalyptus, Choisyas, &c, remains to
be seen ; but till the present month wo have
escaped the severe weather that prevailed,
both north and south of this locality. Between
the evening of February 7 and the morning of
the 8th, 0 inches of snow fell, and frosts
occurred on the 10th, 18 ; 11th, 22' ; 12th, 21°;
13th, 23'; 11th, 23°; 15th, 10°. As long as the
sun allowed the snow to remain on the bushes
they were doubtless safe. The Eucalyptuses
were slightly protected by some branches of
Sweet Bay, and except that the tips of thoir
upright growths are a little damaged, they do
not seem to have suffered much. It is to be
hoped that the others mentioned may not have
fared worse, as when the sun had melted the
snowthey wereentirely unprotected. J. Jeffrey,
Kirkcudbright, N.B.

THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. — The
announcement of the president at tin- annual
general meeting reported in the Gardeners'
Chronicle, p. 117, has doubtless given great
satisfaction to all the Follows, especially to
those who remember the Society in the
bad old times ; and the members of the
Council arc to be congratulated on the
wise and straightforward course they have
taken. All who are interested in horticulture
should give loyal support to the policy that is
now being pursued, and every effort should be
centred upon the main object, viz., a Central
Hall and suitable offices. The question of a
new garden can wait, and nothing can be said
upon the subject in more appropriate terms
than those expressed by the president in his
address. In the meantime it is noticeable that
the old garden at Chiswick has recently as-
serted its capabilities in a remarkable way.
Let anyone turn to the Report of the Council
issued in December, 1!)01, and a most interest-
ing and valuable paper on Plums will be found.
Nothing comparable to it, or so free from trade
bias, can be found elsewhere, and the only
regret one feels disposed to express is that

the report on Plums was not issued in a sepa-
rate form. This fruit is second in importance
only to the Apple, and the result of the Chis-
wick trials will be a safe guide to planters
throughout Great Britain. Very few varieties
failed to fruit, and "good crop," "very good,"
and "extraordinary crop," are expressions of
frequent occurrence in the report. Mr. Wright,
the superintendent, and his staff, are entitled
to great credit for the successful fruiting of
so many varieties of Plums in the old garden
under ordinary conditions. W. Roupell.

DALKEITH, AND OTHER MATTERS. — The

account given of Dalkeith Gardens by
" R. H. P.," p. 81, was to me very interesting
reading, especially the allusion to the ribbon
flower borders along the sides of the broad walk
fronting the gardener's house. I think I am
not very far wrong if I venture to say that the
introduction of the striped-ribbon system of
planting a flower-border was first initiated at
Trentham, by the late Mr. Fleming, near upon
sixty years ago. Be that as it may, I recollect
how delighted I was when first I saw it there
forty-nine years ago ; and more than once
have I helped to plant it. I well remember
sending a sketch of the border, accompankd
by a list of the various things with which
it was planted, to the late Mr. Laing, who
was then gardener to the Earl of Rosslyn, at
Dysart House. Mr. Laing tried a short length
of it, which so pleased the Earl that he desired
a long border in the kitchen garden to be
prepared, so that he could enjoy the effect of
it on a more extensive scale. It is refreshing
to find that ribbon-borders are not yet alto-
gether written out of existence by the newer
school of garden-writers, who must fill their
often rather uninteresting books with some-
thing. When at Combe I had an opportunity
of forming a very fine ribbon-border, longer
than the one at Trentham, v portion of which
was even carpet-bedded, and \\ell did it look !
When the late Mr. Stevens, of Trentham, saw
my border, and found it to be longer than his,
he went home and. took an early opportunity
of turfing his down. The gardener's house at
Dalkeith is a decent enough looking structure,
but why should its walls be so completely
naked of any representation of plant life V No
Wistaria.no Escallonia, no Roses; not even
Tropaeolum speciosum, which grows so freely,
and is so much admired by southern visitors
to Scotland. Par! of the house too is
obscured by what appears to be an Ivy-
clad brick wall ; whilst on the other side
there is a naked palisade, also without
the semblance of plant-life upon it. Then, 8S
to the glasshouses. From what we have heard
from time to time of the grandeur at Dalkeith,
we would have expected to have found a very
different representation of them. Fig. 2D
shows live houses, all of which are in different
lengths, widths, and heights ; of the person
who directed their construction it certainly
could not bo said of him that he was a man of
one idea only. 1 believe at one time a range
of glass was considered to be more pleasingly
effective by having a number of breaks in the
lengths of its elevation or facade, the fallacy
of which is now pretty well exploded, and we
are pleased to note the erection of a new
vinery, 75 feet long by 20 feet wide. This is
encouraging for the new gardener; of the
success of which we will hope to be favoured
with an account by and by. " R. II. 1'." giv< *
it as his opinion that an "English-grown Pin< -
apple is far superior in flavour to some of tho
imported ones." One often hears this remark,
though the truth of it is difficult to appreciate,
seeing that the Azore Islands (from which 1
believe the bulk of our Pine-apples come) are
situate something like 1,(100 miles further south
than \\o are, enjoy a fair summer, and of course
wanner clime ; therefore, we would naturally
conclude thai Pine-apples with such advan-
tages would be superior in flavour — as they
are in size — to those grown in this country.
It would be interesting to put the matter to
proof, by selecting a first-class specimen of
home and imported growth, and have their
flavour tested by the Fruit Committee of Hie
Royal Horticultural Society, followed by a

150

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 1, 1902.

short lecture as to how and where the advan-
tages or disadvantages of flavour comes in, in
the culture of the fruits respectively of each
eoantry. TV. Miller, Bevkswell, February 10.

palms. — I have read with much interest
the notes about Santa Barbara, California,
and especially that 150 different Palms are
grown there in the open. Would Dr. Fran-
eeechi give the list of these 150 species, and
thereby greatly oblige all interested in culti-
vating Palms in semi-tropical climates ? I
hare, after years of trial, been able to bring
about 100 different (or supposed) species of
Pal»e together growing here in the open.
About as many others which I have tried have
succumbed, but not always from climatic
causes, so that if I could procure such species
again I should go on trying them. Very many
species may, A priori, be supposed to be as
hardy as those which prove so here, but I
have not been able to obtain them. Dr. U.
Danamer thinks that about 300 different species
of Palms would live here, and as the climate
of Santa Barbara is about the same as this, it
would obviously be of great interest to know
which are the 150 species already found to be
hardy there, and which may be supposed
hardy in many other countries with a similar
climate. Ipomcea chrysantha, which has not
flowered at Santa Barbara, has flowered here,
producing middle-sized, pale yellow, rather
inconspicuous flowers. I had planted this
with many other climbers against my old, not
very large house, but after two or three years
the growth of Ipomcea chrysantha, and of
some others, whose habit of growth was
unknown to me, as, for instance, Coccinia
Dinteri (Naudin), which latter was described
andfigurod byE. Andre in the Revue Horticole,
190*, p. 268, had become so enormous that I
was obliged to take them away. In fact,
these climbers had to bo trimmed every few
weeks to prevent them from burying the
ho*se altogether with their verdure, which
lay in thick masses across the roof. Besides
this very luxuriant growth, suitable only over
immense buildings or large trees, the creepers
had the quality of sucking up all moisture
from the soil for a considerable distance
around. "When a stem was cut, the sap would
flow out in a quantity enough to fill a drinking
glass. The effect of this great absorption of
moisture, and, of course, of that of other
elements of food, was to prevent the growth,
nay, the very life of any other plant for several
yards distance around where they were grow-
ing. I should advise everybody to avoid
planting such voracious plants near slow-
growing or valuable specimens. A. Robertson-
Proscliowsky, Pure les Tropiques, Chemin des
Grottes, St. Selene, Nice, Alpes-Maritimes,
France.

EARLINESS OF snowdrops.— I find that a
groat many plants grow and flower here out-
aide that would not do so in Oxfordshire, among
such being Veronicas, Fuchsias, and even the
Gun Cistns, which are doing here nicely. They
have been planted nearly two years, and have
been without any sort of protection. I se-
lected a dry subsoil and well sheltered situa-
tion. The great drawback is that everything
keeps growing up to Christmas, and then we
aet a cold time, with wind from the east in
March. Fortunately, the garden is well
sheltered from that quarter. J. Jeffrey, St.
-Mary's Isle, Kirkcudbright.

WINTER - FLOWERING CARNATIONS. — I am

sorry so good a cultivator of Carnations as
Mr. Jennings differs from mc on the merits of
Carnation Mrs. Leopold Rothschild as a winter-
flowering variety ; and in writing of winter, I
will say the months of December and January
as being about the worst time for flowering
the plants. By having several batches of
plants, with timely stopping, flowers come in
succession ; hut there arc doubtless many
persons who grow but a tenth of the number
Mr. Jennings does, and consequently they
would not be able to gather so large a quan-
tity of flowers daily in mid-winter. When
writing of winter-flowering Carnations, I had

in my mind those varieties that I have found
to be constant bloomers, which open
their flowers freely in mid-winter, without
any system of stopping the plants. The va-
riety Mrs. L. Rothschild forms abundance of
side shoots on the flowering stems, a good
quality when increase of stock is desired,
but if the plants produced a few less of these
and more flowers, the value of this fine Carna-
tion would be enhanced. Are there two
varieties of Mrs. L. Rothschild ? I have
grown it with "Franco," but failed to see
any difference in them. T. H. Slade, Devon.

CRINUM MOOREI AND C. POWELLI X. — I

have been much interested and instructed
with your able correspondent's critical re-
marks on the origin of these plants. By some
temporary forgetfulness, I associated Dr.
Moore's foreman, Pope, with Mr. Powell, the
raiser of C. Powelli. I beg to apologise to
that gentleman for the inadvertency. I am
indebted also to Mr. Gumbleton and Mr.
Moore for their lucid information, as well as
to the Editor for his historical references, and
shall take the earliest opportunity of gratify-
ing myself with a perusal of the articles
referred to, and which I had missed reading
during absence at various times from England.
C. Moorei, with its numerous aliases and
variations, Colensoi, natalense, Makeni,
Makoyanum, ornatum, Schmidti, &c, as well
as the various dates usually given of their
introduction, are very misleading. I believe
the Dictionary of Gardening says introduced in
1874. Mr. Powell saw the plant at Glasnevin
thirty-five years ago ; I saw it thirty years
ago, when a privileged student, by favour of
the eminent Director from 1872 till 1877, and
at the lectures on " Crossing species and
Varieties, &c," I heard Dr. Moore compliment
his foreman by name in connection with rais-
ing C. Moorei at Glasnevin. Evidently he
alluded to raising it from seed, but I under-
stood it to mean a garden hybrid, and by
that oversight subsequently associated Mr.
Pope with the product of crossing C. Moorei
and C. longiflorum. Perhaps Mr. Moore
could say if Mr. Pope was in any way in-
strumental in procuring the seeds of C. Moorei
originally, and if he remembers if that
foreman had a brother in the Government
service in Natal who sent the seeds home ; or
if its first appearance at Glasnevin preceded
the receipt of the sketch made by Bishop
Colenso? J. Murison.

tomato-disease. — Referring to a note on
Tomato-seed in the Gardeners' Chronicle of
Feb. 22, I should say our gardening friend is
quitecorrect about the selectionof Tomato-seed,
and to save it from plants grown under cool
conditions. I may say that I grow Tomatos
all the year round, and I hardly know what it
is to have the disease, or any plants go wrong.
I simply grow a few plants outdoors, and save
just the medium-sized fruits for seed. The
most important point is to examine every seed
with a lens, and save only those seeds which
are free from a black spot which is to be seen
on some seeds when taken out of the pulp,
which, although it is a tedious job, pays in the
end. I once saw a crop of Tomatos, grown
from seed saved in this way, a perfect sight,
that will never go out of my memory. A. C.

THE CLEANSING OF ORCHIDS. — Mr. Bound

seems quite surprised at my calling in ques-
tion his method of cleansing of Orchids,
asserting that I gave a wrong impression to
his words. I adhere to my statement that
Orchids require a thorough cleaning oftener
than at least once a year. No doubt in the
pure air of Reigate they do not get so dirty
as in the suburbs of large towns ; but what
would a collection of Orchids look like at the
end of a year if they did not get overhauled,
the pots, stages, and glass washed, especially
the side-lights of the houses, oftener than
once a year V and they would certainly do no
credit to the man who had charge of tbem.
Mr. Bound assumes that I agree with a
monthly sponging ; not so, but I would rather
advise once a montli than a yearly one, where

circumstances allow of its being performed.
My contention is, that as soon as plants re-
quire cleansing they should be cleansed, even
if it is once a month. Mr. Bound emphasises
the value of ventilation to Orchids, and it cer-
tainly is an excellent thing, but there are times
when it cannot be afforded, especially in
localities where town fogs abound, carrying
with them all sorts of impurities. I agree
that Cattleyas do not require so much
moisture as the East Indian Orchids, but a
certain amount must be afforded in order to
keep the air moist, and the air-roots of the
plants in a healthy active state. B. Bouiyer,
Morton Hall Gardens, Swinderby, Lines.

Societies.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.

February 25.— A very interesting display of exhibits
was made at a meeting of the committees on Tuesday
last at the Drill Hall, Buckingham Gate, Westminster.

The Floral Committee recommended a First-class
Certificate to Acacia cultriformis, which was shown as
A. harpopliylla. It is a very pretty species, with pecu-
liar, hatchet - shaped phyllodia. There were groups
of forced flowering plants, of Primulas, Cyclamens,
hardy plants, &e., to which eleven Medals were
awarded.

Orchids were more numerous than on recent occa-
sions, and the Orchid Committee recommended First-
class Certificates and Awards of Merit.

The Fruit and Vegetable Committee had but little
work to get through, and only awarded a few Cultural
Commendations to some fine Onions, Seakale, and
Asparagus.

In the afternoon, at a meeting presided over by Sir j
J. T. D. Llewelyn, Bt., there were about seventy new
Fellows elected to the Society, and a Lecture upon the
uses of Nicotine in Horticulture was given by Mr.
Williams.

Floral Committee.

Present : Chas. E. Shea, Esq., in the chair ; and Messrs.
Chas. T. Druery, H. B. May, George Nicholson, James
Walker, R. Dean, J. F. McLcod, John Jennings, J.
Hudson, W. Howe, C. R. Fielder, Chas. Dixon, J.Fraser,
C. Jeffries, J. A. Nix, Geo. Gordon, R. W. Wallace, EH.
Jenkins, R. C. Notcutt, C. Blick, Geo. Paul, and Ed.
Mawley.

Messrs. R. & G. Cuthbert, Southgate Nurseries,
London, N., were awarded a Silver-gilt Flora Medal
for a very exhaustive collection of forced flowering
trees and shrubs, which, being described upon p. 146,
need not be referred to in detail here.

A group of Lachenalias in bloom in baskets and pots \
was shown by Mr. Allen Chandler, Bunch Lane, '
Haslemerc. The varieties were seedlings, most of
them deep yellow-coloured, with little red about them, j
One in particular had very large flowers of much
substance.

Primula obconiea was shown in a group from Messrs.
J. Peed & Son, Norwood Road, West Norwood. The |
seedlings varied in the colour of the flowers, some
being of rich pink colour, and others almost white ,
(Bronze Banksian Medal).

Messrs. Wm. Cutbush it Son, Highgate, London, N.,
and Barnet, Herts, had a nice group of Ericas and
other such plants in full flower. There were Erica )
melanthera, E. Wilmorenna, Epacris in red, white, and
pink varieties ; Boronia megastigma, and B. hetero. I
phylla; Acacia Drummondi, so useful as small plants
in 5-inch pots, &e. (Silver Banksian Medal).

Mr. George Mount, of Canterbury, has commenced ,
to exhibit his forced Roses a fortnight earlier than
usual, having on Tuesday last the varieties La France,
Mrs. Jno. Laing, Mrs. Sharman Crawford, Madame '
Gabrielle Luizet, and Capt. Hayward (Silver Banksian I
Medal).

A variety of Asparagus, under the name of A. plu-H
mosus Blampiedi, was shown by Messrs. Blampied &
Taddevin, La Fosse, St. Marten's, Guernsey. Four plants .j|
in 10 inch pots were shown. The variety was obtained J
from seeds from South Africa, and is said to require 10° J
less heat than the type, is much freer in growth, and J
is liked better in the market. The growths develop ||
phyllodia earlier than does the type, and producelan '
unusual amount of spray, the growth it has made since ^
Christmas being remarkable.

Messrs. Wm. Wood & Son, Ltd., Wood Green, London, ^
exhibited some of their specialties, including a
new form of garden syringe and other sprayers, &c.'

March 1, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

151

Prunus (Amygdalus) persiea magnifies was finely
shown by Messrs. Jas. Veitch & SONS, 544, Kirig's Road,
Chelsea. This is a crimson - flowered Peach, very
effective when forced into flower, as Messrs. Veitch's
plants were. There were forty-eight of them in 7-inch
pots, and all were nicely covered with flowers (Silver
Banksiau Medal). Some fine plants of Cnpressus Law-
soniana var. Stewarti, a very effective golden-leaved
variety, as well as forced plants of Forsythia suspensa,
came from the same source. Also a group of plants
of Cineraria Feltham Beauty, a distinct variety, with
pretty mauve - coloured flowers, having a pleasing
branching habit.

The new Rose Mrs. Oliver Ames, a sport from Mrs.
Pierrepont Morgan, itself a sport from Madame Cusin,
described in these pages on December 28 last, was
exhibited by Mr. John May, nurseryman, Summit, New
Jersey, U.S.A. The flowers had travelled from
America, and had been cut from the plants fourteen
days, but they were sufficient to show that the variety
is a good one (Cultural Commendation, and Vote of
Thanks).

Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, Kent, made a
large exhibit of Primula sinensis varieties, all of them
belonging to " The Lady" strain. Some had dark and
others light coloured foliage, and the flowers varied in
size and in the degree of notching or fimbriation. Some
of the best varieties were Lady Emily Dyke, white ; Red
Lady, Queen Alexandra, mauve, with white ring around
yellow eye; The Lady, white ; Salmon Beauty, Princess
Eva, white, or very palely tinted; Crimson Beauty,
Lady Whitehead, white ; and Purple Lady. Messrs.
Cannell had also a group of plants in flower of
Echeveria retusa, whose reddish -orange -coloured
flowers made a very showy display. Messrs. Cannell
also exhibited a dozen large, well-flowered plants of
Cyclamen Snowdrift, a white-flowered variety, and
gathered flowers of their florist's strain of Primula
sinensis (Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Bush Hill Park Nurseries,
Enfield, showed a group of miscellaneous plants in
flower, including Cyclamens, Epacris, Rhododendron
(Azalea) indicum varieties, Lilacs, Ericas, So. This
exhibit made a very showy display. Messrs. Low also
showed some large standard trees of Acacia ricinifolia,
A. longi folia, and Cytisus racemosus (Silver Flora
Medal).

Messrs. Wji. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross Nurseries,
Herts, showed a fine lot of Camellias in pots, which
were stood along the centre of the hall. They were in
capital health, and freely flowered. Upwards of fifty
varieties were represented, including the old alba
plena, still the best white one ; Reine des Fleurs, red ;
Montironi vera, white ; tricolor Augusta superba, rich
pink, &c. Some pretty seedling varieties with semi-
double flowers were shown, of which section Lady
. McKinnon, scarlet, mottled with white, is one of the
finest (Silver-gilt Flora Medal).

Messrs. Geo. Jackman & Son, Woking Nursery,
Surrey, again exhibited some rock plants and others in
boxes, built up to represent a more or less natural
environment. Anemone blanda was in bloom, also
Puschkinia libanotica, Anemone apennina albida, the
pretty little Saxifraga oppositifolia, Iris reticulata,
Fritillaria aurea, F. Moggridgei, Tulipa Kauffmanni,
yellow Polyanthus, the slender growing Androsace
lactea, Primula villosa, &e. ; also larger plants like
Spiraea Thunbergi, the double-flowered Arabia, Ericas,
<&c. (Silver Banksian Medal).

Messrs. Baku & Sons, King Street, Covent Garden,
London, exhibited a number of species and varieties of
Snowdrops in flower, also Narcissus cyclamineus,
N. Corbularia, and forced flowers of N. princeps, N
Horsfieldi, N. Golden Spur/and other varieties, making
a very interesting exhibit (Silver Banksian Medal).

Messrs. T. S. Ware, Ltd., Hale Farm Nurseries, Fel-
tham, Middlesex, also showed a collection of choice
hardy plants in bloom, and were awarded a Silver
Banksian Medal.

Messrs. Weeks & Sons, Bromley, and Beckenham,
Kent, showed the "Chartcras" Seedling Protector,
The contrivance is an adaptation of the well-known
practise of using thread to scare bird9 from plants,
and would be useful for the protection of Crocuses,
Primroses, Carnations, Ac, from the ubiquitous
sparrow.

Fikst-class Certificate.

Acacia cuttriarmis.— Some sprays of Acacia, shown by
Mrs. Denison, Little Gaddesden, Bcrkhamsted (gr.
Mr. A. G. Gentle), under the name of A. harpophylla-

I proved to he A. cultriformis, and was awarded a First
elass Certificate. It is a very distinct and pretty
species, having phyllodia resembling the blade of a
chopper one-third of an inch long, ending in an acute

point or hook. The flowers are yellow, and are borne
upon axillary or terminal racemes. We were informed
that the plant had been cultivated in a pot for twenty
years, but had not flowered until last year, due probably
to the plant having been removed from the pot and
planted out.

Orchid Committee.

Present : Norman C. Cookson, Esq., in the Chair; and
Messrs. Jas. O'Brien (Hon. Sec), De B. Crawshay, R.
Brooman-White, J. Charlesworth, J. Douglas, A. Hislop,
H. T. Pitt, H. J. Chapman, J. Cypher, W. Boxall, W. A.
Bilney, F. A. Rehder, H. A. Tracy, and W. H. White.
The weather being mild, a fine display of Orchids was
made, both groups and new and rare plants being well
represented.

In the former class, Messrs. Sander & Sons, St.
Albans, secured the highest award, a Silver-gilt Flora
Medal, for an exceptionally fine group in which the
forms of Lycaste Skinneri were remarkable, no
fewer than twelve fine plants of the best variety
of Lycaste Skinneri alba being among them. Lycaste
Skinneri "Baroness Schroder" is a finely - formed
flower, white, with a delicate flush of pink, and
light rose markings on the petals. Among new or rare
Orchids represented were Cymbidium x Wiganianum
(eburneum x Tracyanum).acream-white flower marked
with purple on the lip, which partook of the form of C.
Tracyanum ; Miltonia x Bleuana, a good form; Zygo-
petalum X crinito-Gautieri, a pretty hybrid, the lip of
which was white and violet ; Masdevallia Schroderiana,
with many flowers ; a singularly- freckled Mormodesnot
yet determined ; a fine Lrclia Jongheana, and various
other remarkable novelties, several of which are enu-
merated in the list of Awards.

Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., Burford (gr., Mr. W. H.
White), was awarded a Silver Banksian Medal for a
select group of remarkably finely-grown rare Orchids.
In the centre was a fine plant of the rare Dendrobium
Treacherianum, bearing nino large rose and claret-
coloured flowers on one spike ; Cypripedium x Miss
Louisa Fowler, Burford variety, a very strongly grown
example; the delicately tinted C. 'x hirsuto-Sallieri,
with several fine flowers; C. x argo-Morgania?; the
singular Maxillaria arachnites, profusely bloomed ;
Masdevallia burfordiense, with fleshy claret-coloured
flowers, closely lying on the surface of the moss; the
rich Indian red M. x Bocking hybrid; M. Gargantua,
with very large purple and yellow flowers ; Lailiaanceps
Veitchiana ; Dendrobium nobile burfordiense, with the
lateral sepals bearing purple colour, as iu the lip; D.
X xanthocentrum pallens, a model flower; and the
new Cypripedium x Berkeleyanuin (bellatulum x
Boxalli), a distinct novelty, in which both parents
appear. The upper sepal was greenish-white, marked
with dark chocolate; petals broad, curved forward,
cream-white, spotted and veined with dark purple.

Captain Holford, Westonbirt (Orchid grower, Mr.
Alexander), staged a group in which were a singular
primrose - yellow tinted Odontoglossum crispum,
another with blotched sepals, CattleyaTriamei Weston-
birt variety, C. T. allied to "Eboracensis," and several
other good C, Triauaci ; Cypripedium villosum Weston-
birt variety, C. x Calypso, and the richly-coloured C. x

C. Oakwood variety ; a cut inflorescence of a noble
hybrid, a fine improvement on C. x A. de Lairesse
(Curtisii X Rothschildianum), Dendrobium x Leechi-
anum roseum, «.fcc. (Silver Banksian Medal).

J. Cot.MAN, Esq., Gatton Park, Reigate (gr., Mr. W. P.
Bound), was awarded a Silver Flora Medal for a very
effective group of well-grown and profusely-flowered
showy Orchids, among which the Dendrobiums were
prominent. The centre was a fine specimen of the
light coloured D. nobile Gatton Park variety. Around
it were D. n. nobilius, D. n. Couksoni, D. n. elegans,

D. n. delicatum, D. x Cybele giganteum, aline plant of
the yellow, fragrant D. aureum, D. x Juno, and other
Dendrobes; Phaius x Norman, and another white and
purple hybrid Phaius; the purple Masdevallia cucullata,
the scarlet Epiphrnnitis x Veitchi, Odontoglossum
crispum varieties, Cattleya Trianffii alba, a finely-grown
Phahcuopsis Schilleriana, with a strong spike, the old
one of last year bearing a strong plant ; Cypripedium X
Winnianum, Liclia anceps Stella. L. a. Sanderiana, and
the massive white L. anceps Waddoniensis, Ac.

Mr. J. Cypher, Cheltenham, received a Silver Flora
Medal for a very showy and well arranged group of fine
Dendrobiums, grown and flowered iu the excellent man-
ner for which the firm has a reputation. In the group
among others were Dendrobium x Ainsworthi Cypher's
variety, D. x A. roseum, D. x splendidissimum grand!-
floruin, and the still finer D. s. mngnificum, D. x
Lccchianum. D. x Virgil, and others of that line type :
D. x Cybele, D. x Aurora, D. nobile nobilius, D. n.

Cooksoni, D. n. giganteum, and a very pretty whito
form with a rose centre of the class of D. n. Mur-
rainianum.

Messrs. Charlesworth & Co., staged a group in
which were two fine pans of Odontoglossum cirrosum,
with many spikes, plants which they grow to perfection.
In the centre was a healthy plant of the still rare
blush-tinted, fringed-lipped Loolio-Cattleya x Digby-
ano-Mossire, Heaton variety. The disc of the lip was of
a peculiar greenish-yellow, and there were some red
markings at the base of the lip, and one in front,
which will probably develop as the plant gains
strength. Another showy hybrid which previously
gained an award was Lselio-Cattleya x Sunray (L. cin-
nabarina x C. superba), now shown with six bright
orauge-red flowers with ruby-red lips ; and a pan of
La;lia x Coronet (harpophylla x cinnabarina) showed
the plant intermediate in character, but the flowers
approached L. harpophylla very closely. Messrs.
Charlesworth also showed two good varieties of
Ltelia x Mrs. M. Gratrix.

H. F. Simonds, Esq., Woodthorpe, Beckenham (gr.,
Mr. Geo. Day), showed Odontoglossum x Adriancc Mrs
Simonds, pale yellow, with a few dark spots.

Geo. Singer, Esq., Coundon Court, Coventry (gr., Mr
Collier), showed Cypripedium x Coundoncusis (Lee
anum x ?), a massive flower, with strong indication of

C. x Leeanum, but heavily spotted on the broad petals.
W. C. Walker, Esq., Winchmore Hill (gr., Mr. G. Cragg),
showed Odontoglossum crispum Avice, a rose-tinted
flower of the best type.

Fred Hardy, Esq., Ashton-on-Mersey (gr., Mr. Staf-
ford), showed flowers of three hybrid Cypripedium?;

R. G. Thwaites, Esq., Streatham (gr., Mr. Blackl, sen
Dendrobium x Wiganianum album (nobile albiflorum
x Hildebrandi, a pretty white form, very free flowering.

D. M. Grimsdale, Esq., Uxbridge (gr., Mr. T. A. Hooker) .
sent Cypripedium villosum, Kent Lodge variety, a large
bold flower. Malcolm S. Cooke, Esq., Kingston Hill
(gr., Mr. Buckell), sent Odontoglossum Rossii " Cooke's
variety," a fine large flower.

R. I. Measures, Esq., Cambridge Lodge, Camberwcll
(gr., Mr. H. J. Chapman), sent Cypripedium X Argo-
Arthurianum, a finely spotted flower.

Awards.

First-class Certificate.

Zygo-Colax x Wiyanianus superbus (Z. intermedium x
C. jugosus). from Messrs. Sander & Sons.— A magni-
ficent hybrid, and a substantial advance on the original
form, although the plant is still small. Flowers much
larger than the original, broad in all its parts, and of
thick substance. Sepals and petals pale gi'een, closely
marked with chocolate- purple, confluent blotches,
forming bars across each segment. Lip broad, whito
heavily marked with violet-blue. A remarkable and
attractive flower.

Awards of Merit.

Cypripedium X A. l>iminock(x Godseflianum x Drurii)
from Messrs. Sander & Sons, St. Albaus.— A very dis
tinct novelty, unlike any other in the now numerous
group of Cypripediums, but nearest to C. x Winni-
anum (villosum x Drurii). The fine flower of waxliko
substance, the petals bent forward after ihe manner of
C. Drurii ; upper sepal green at the base, spotted with
dark purple, a broad band of the nearly black huo
running up the middle; central area of the dorsal
sepal flushed with rose, the upper part white ; petals
and lip yellow, the former spotted, and the latter
tinged with purple-brown.

LxlioVidttcyax. C/»ite(m«<i(La;liasuperbien3X Cattleya
Mossiic), from Messrs. sandk.r A Sons, and Messrs
Hugh Low & Co.— A fine cross, in which the raisers
have succeeded in enlarging the flower of Laolia supcr-
biens to Cattleya like proportions, and reducing the
ungainly length of the inflorescence. Flower as largo
as Cattleya labiata, but narrower in the segments.
Sepals and potals light rosy-lilac. Lip dark rose, with
yellow disc, and some dark lines on the inside of the
side lobes.

Odontoglossum* L' ochriit yense Enfteldtnee, from Messrs.
Hugh Low&Co., Bush Hill Park.— A very finely-formed
variety of the natural hybrid between O. triumphaus
and O. crispum. All the segments almost equally
broad. Sepals and petals bright canary-yellow, the
petals having the inner halves white, the sepals large,
with reddish blotches.

rhaio-Calantlie X Ruby (P. Sanderianus < Calanthe X
Oakwood Ruby), from Norman C. COOKSON, Esq.,
Oakwood, Wylain (gr., Mr. Win. Murray), \ really
showy Phaio-Calautlic, partaking mui il the blood-
red lint of the phenomenal Calanthe X Oakwood
Ruby, one of Mr. Cookson's best. Spike with many
flowers of good size; sepals and petals roay-lilao,

152

THE GARDENERS' CKRONICLE.

[March 1, 190?

whifislrat the back ; lip large and openly displayed, of
a deep purple colour, with some darker lines on the
crest.

Odontoglossum eri/pum "Mabel Whateley," tioin H.
Whaieley, Esq., Priory Lawn, Kenilwortli <gr.. Mr.
Cook).— A blotched form of the best, type, and consider-
ing the small size and poor condition of the plant,
likely to develop into a remarkable variety. All the
segments broad; the reverse of the sepals heavily
blotched and tinged with purple, which shows through
in some degree to the surface, which also bear several
bright red-brown blotches. Petals white, with a large
irregular red-brown blotch extending nearly across
the middle; lip white, with yellow crest, and some
dark blotches.

Cypripedium x Felicity (? callosum x tonsum), front
H. T. Pirr. Esq., Stamford Hill (gr., Mr. Thurgood).— A
charming and delicately tinted flower. Upper sepal
pale green at the base, with emerald -green lines
running into the middle area of pale lilac; tip while.
Petals and lip greenish, slightly tinged and veined
with rose.

Cypripedium x Dowlerianum (insigne puuetatum vio-
laceum x Godcfroytc leucochilum), from W. M. Apple-
tiiS, Esq., Weston-super-Mare. Flowerof the yellowish
white of C. G. leucochilum, but larger and more
rounded, and beautifully marked with dark purple.
Cultural Commendation.

To Mr. Duncan, gr. to C. J. LrcAS, Esq., Warnham
Court, Horsham, for three well-flowered plants of
Odontoglossum coronariuin brevifolium.

To Mr. Seaman, gr. to G. Taylor, Esq., Margery Hall,
Hcigate, for a fine specimen of Dendrobium speciosum
with ton spikes, each from 1 to 2 feet in length.

Fruit and Vegetable Committee.

Present: A. H. Pearson, Esq. (in the Chair); and
Messrs. Jas. H. Veitch, W. Poupart, Geo. Wythes, J.
Willard, J. Jaques, James Smith, C G. Nix, Ed. Beckett,
W. Pope, M. Gleeson, George Keif, If. .1. Wright, Alex.
Dean, S. Mortimer, H. Eslings, and Jos. Cheat.

Six very flue bulbs of Cranston's Excelsior Onion
were shown by Wyndham Portfl, Esq., Malshanger
Park, Basingstoke (gr., Mr. N. Kneller). A Cultural
Commendation was recommended.

Messrs. W. Poupart & Sons, Twickenham, obtained
two Cultural Commeudations. One of these was for
some first-rate forced Asparagus, and the other for
equally good Seakale.

Varieties of Apples were submitted by Mr. W. San-
derson, Kirkby Laythorpe, Slcaford ; I. Vale, Esq,
Cullis, Orleton, Hereford ; the Duke of Richmond and
Gordon, Goodwood, Chichester; and Messrs. W. B.
Rowb & Son, Worcester. None of them were thought
lo possess exceptional merit.

The Lecture.

NICOTINE IN HORTICULTURE.
Tlieafternoon lecture was one by Mr. G. E. Williams
upon" The Use and Value of Nicotine in Horticulture."
T.ie lecturer, after describing that nicotine was an
alkaloid present in the Tobacco-plant, said that in
boiling the leaf of the plant, unless this was done in a
vacuum, the nicotine would become oxidised, and con-
sequently another substance would be formed. Very
great care was needed to prevent this oxidation taking
place.

There were other substances that were equally de-
structive to insect life, such as carbolic acid, sulphate
of copper, and weak solutions of mineral acids,
but they were more or less injurious to plant life;
quassia-liquor was douhtle-s of use in the destruction
of some pests, but it did not answer perfectly in all
cases.

Nicotine was the most perfect of all insecticide?.
It had been proved to be absolutely harmless to all
forms of vegetable life, though a deadly poisou to
insect and animal life, whether red-spider, aphides,
mealy bug, or scale?. Experiments had been made to
ascertain whether or not nicotine was of use as a
disinfectant against microbes. Microbes (which the
lecturer described as being organisms between the
vegetable and animal worlds) of small-pox, anthrax,
typhoid, &c., were cultivated iu Agar (a geletinous sub-
stance) in jars, and the vapour of pure nicotine was
caused to pass through the jelly for forty-eight hours.
It was afterwards found that the microbes were not
merely alive, but that they possessed the power to re-
produce themselves as before, finally proving that
nicotine had no effect upon microbes. A good disinfec-
tant was not necessarily an insecticide, nor vice versii

There were three ways or methods in which nicotine
might be applied to plants for the purpose of cleansing
them from insect pests. Thcflrstand principal method
was that of applying heat to the n'cotine, and so

vaporising the atmosphere of the house in which the
plants were contained; 2nd, by direct application of
the nicotine to the plants themselves; and 3rd, by
mixing nicotine with a fibrous material, and burning
it in the house, or by burning the leaves themselves.
Mr. Williams strongly deprecated this method, as in-
efficient, and dangerous to the plants. When nicotine
was brought into direct contact with fire, it was
destroyed, and another substance formed, that, unlike
nicotine, affected vegetable life injuriously. He said he
had seen the bad results of such a method in the
Channel Islands, where Tobacco-leaf, being duty-
free, was burned in the Tomato. Cucumber, and other
houses.

In adopting the first-named and best method, that of
vaporising, it was necessary to bear in mind —

(1) That the boiling-point of nicotine is 250' Cent.,
whilst that of water is only 100° Cent.

(2) That the less heat applied, the more potent would
be the vapour.

(3) That it is necessary that the vapour be given off
very rapidly.

To meet these diflicullies the nicotine is mixed with
alcohol, which, being exceedingly volatile, is given off
upon the application of little heat, and iu rising takes
into the air a considerable amount of the slow-boiling
nicotine with which it is incorporated. Such fumi-
gating compounds as this had been manufactured for
use by horticulturists, and 1 oz. was sufficient to
vaporise 1,000 cubic feet of air.

In reference to the method No. 2, by which the
nicotine is applied directly to the plant, Mr. Williams
explained that it is usual to mix it with a substance
that will help to make it stick to the leaves of the
plants; it is then much diluted, and applied by a
syringe or sprayer. This me hod was useful when in-
dividual plants required treatment, and it was not
necessary to treat the whole house.

In conclusion, Mr. Williams protested against the
action of the Pharmaceutical Society in restraining
persons other than the manufacturer and chemists
from selling poisonous compounds of this nature,
declaring that the seedsman should be permitted to
sell them if lie kept a register of the persons who
purchased quantities from him.

ENQUIRY.

Book ox Lupins. — Will some of our readers
kindly recommend " W. G. T." an inexpensive
book on the culture of Lupins, and the name
and address of the publishers V

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Arum : J. W. M. Will yon kindly send us
spathe and leaf when developed, for iden-
tification.

Aspidistra: Mrs. Simntun. 1 1 is as wc feared.
The plants are grown too warm in late
autumn and winter, with the result that the
leaves are thin, and thestalks rather attenu-
ated. The plants cannot grow all the year
round and be healthy. The autumn and
winter temperature ought not to exceed 45°,
and they will grow all the more vigorously
in the summer from this enforced rest in
those seasons ; in fact, the plants may be
afforded bottom-heat of 75° to 80°, and top-
heat 10° to 15° higher whilst making their
growth in early summer, but it is not neces-
sary. When resting but little water is
needed.

BOOKS : F. Youles. Williams' Select Ferns and
Lijcopods, to be obtained of the publisher,
Victoria and Paradise Nurseries, Upper
Holloway.

Briar Cuttings : T. H. These can be inserted
in sandy soil, pressed firmly about them, in
the season October 1 to February 28. Make
them about a foot long, from hard, well-
ripened shoots, taken with a thin heel of
the older wood. If you want only a few,
layer the points of the shoots in the soil
around the mother-plant.

CORRECTION : In the article on winter-flowering
Carnations, p. 1*24, for Deutsche Brandt, read
Deutsche Braut. — Spraying Fruit-trees:
Mr Mayne is desirous of explaining that it
was owing to a slip of the pen he mentioned
the name of Stott instead of Strawson ;
wee his Calendar, p. 124, in the last issue.

CYCLAMEN, &C. : Inquisitor. The plants have
been potted in the right kind of compost,

but the cultivation has been at fault. Pre-
sumably the house has been kept too warm,
the ventilation has been insufficient, and the
plants have suffered from being crowded
together, and placed at a considerable dis-
tance from the roof-glass. It should not be
difficult for you to alter all that this year.
If the whole of the young Cyclamens are
drawn in the leaf-stalk like the one sent, a
rather cooler and more airy treatment on a
shelf close to the glass in a low pit, and
one or two small shifts afforded the plants
whilst growth is most active, should result
in a more stocky growth of leaves in the
future, and a plentiful set of flower in late
autumn. Guard carefully against crowding
the plants together, or with others. If the
tubers of the older Cyclamens are kept,
it should be in cold frames, and they
should be afforded a rest when the leaves
begin to decay, not entirely withholding
water from them ; or you might plant them
in beds of peat, or some prepared light soil
in the open air, putting them into pots at
the end of the month of August ; and if
properly treated, they would afford a
quantity of bloom late in the winter. The
Kichardia plant is strong, but it is much
drawn as if by warmth, and lack of air.
The tubers will be all right another year.
Grubs: Trouble. "Leather Jackets," the
larva? of the Daddy Longlegs. If you could
turn up the soil between the rows occa-
sionally, and pen some fowls on the planta-
tion, and hunt for the grubs in the soil close
up to the plants, their numbers would be
greatly reduced.

GUMMINESS AND DISCOLORATION OF THE LEAVES

or Camellias: J. P. The gummy coating is
due to the excrements of aphis ; and the
black spots to a superficial mould. The
remedy in each case is soap and water
applied with a bit of sponge.

Improving Grass Land : A. H. Loam four-
sixths, wood-ashes two-sixths, preferably
those from young shoots and small branches,
and bush prunings. Apply the dressing by
spreading it with a shovel, and do not apply
it deeper than ^-inch. An excess of wood-
ashes is injurious.

Names of Plants: Constant Reader. Lache-
nalia luteola. — 11'. P., Lancaster. Cattleya
labiata Triana?i. The abnormal development
of the lip is interesting, but such is not an
uncommon occurrence. — Froagatt. Liparis
longipes, a pretty little species often im-
ported with other plants from India. — J. L.
1, Odontoglossum blandum ; 2, Odonto-
glossum Lindleyanum ; 3, Odontoglossum
Pescatorei. — Mendeli. Dendrobium nobile,
a good form. Habenaria Susanna?. It is
deciduous, and requires to be kept cooler
and dry for a time after the leaves die off. —
J. M., Clijton. Both varieties of Cattleya
Trianrei ; No. 1 a very good form of it. —
IV. C. S. Lselia albida.— J. T., Dartford.
1, Lselia anceps Sanderiana ; 2, Dendrobium
speciosum. — B. B. 1, 2, and 5, varieties of
Odontoglossum X lanceans, commonly
called Andersonianum, 5 inclining towards
O. crispitm, and 2 towards O. gloriosum ; 3,
O. luteo-purpureumsceptum ; 4, 0. odoratum ;
(i, O. crispum. — ('. Jones. 1, Common single-
flowered Daffodil ; 2, Spiraea Thunbergi.

Rhubarb Elford : T. H. Not known to us.

Water-Glass : E. P. Water-glass, silicate of
potash, may be bought at most chemists'
shops.

Workmen's Compensation Act: J. H. H. If
contributory negligence could be proved on
the part of the employer, he would be liable,
not otherwise.

Communications Received.— The Photogram. Ltd.—
Ed. Maw.ey— J. A — Caspeg— E. H. J— W. J. B.—
J. J. de V., Boskoop— J. D. S., Baltimore— G. B —
K. F.. Falmouth-S. & S.-E. D. T— W. B. H— H. N.—
J. H.— C. P.— E. M. w.-T. H. S— W. W.-J. H. -Grapes
— H. C— E. M— A Savage— / iverpnol Journal of Com-
merce-F. M.-Dr. R.-E. J — H. W. W.-E. C.-C. L. B.
-W. A. C.-G. B. M.-H. M.-K. M. E.-E M.— J. R. J.
-M. M.-J. W.— W. S.-A. C.-G. R.-C. W. D.^J. G.-
F. W. C— C. J— C. B.— H. W.

(For Markets and Weather, see p. xiv.)

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March 8, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

151

THE

d5nnicnrr.ra|hroniclc

No:7m.-SA TURDA Y, MARCH 8, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Aibor-day in Bri'ain 162
Ai lilUial winter ... 160
Asiata^us Sprrngeii 165
Austra ian Apples ... 163
BatkVicoiia Paiband

botanic gardeu ... 156
Benevolent Institu-
tion,GardeneiVKoyal 161
I'.egonia Gloire deLor-

raineasatable p'aut 164
Botany in Hungary

and Kouinania ... 162
CaiuatioLS. winter-

floweiing ... ... 1-3

Dahlias, Cactus ... 167
Daw, i-.li, guide to ... 16^
Kgg. lhewetr stale... 164
Fit'ur de-Lys, the ... I6t
Kxhibiiions.coininr 161
Fl< lists' flowers at tl.c

Drill Hall 161

Forcing retarded

p'auts 155

Forestry 163

Fruir to Australia ... 163
Frait- rees. planting,

on roadsides 163

Gentil. M. Louis 161

Gladiolus injured by

fumigation 164

Kirkcudbright, early

flowers from ... 161

l.iiy or the Valley, re-
tarded ... ... 1-5

Medlar, the Bronvaux 162
Kursery notes —

Ueo. Cooling & Sons,

Balh 154 (

Oivhid notes and
gleanings—

Cymtidium x ebur-
neo-Lowianum ... 154
Paris, the beautiEca-

tion of lf'2

Payne. Mr. C. II.

Peas and manure

Plants, destruction of
native

Poinsettias, propa-
gating

Poisons, the sale of ...

Rainfall in 1P01

Rochford memorial,
the

Rn*e shows in 19 2 ...

S illy Islands flower
liarvest

Soc'eties—
Bolton nort. and

Chrysantheuium...
Bristol Gaideners' .
Devon and Exe or

Gardeners'

Linnean

Midland Carnation

and Picolee
National Auricula

and Primula
Reading Gardeners'
Koyal Horticultural
Scottish Hort. 161.

Spring-time in London
Sweet Peas, artificial

nranuies for

Vegetables—

Early Cauliflowers...
Victoria Trickeri hort.
Week's Work, the—

Apiary, the

Flower Garden, the .

Fruits under Glass .

Hardy Fruit Garden

Kitchen Garden ...

Orchid Houses, the.

Plants under Olass .
Zygo Colax X Wigan-

ianus superbus

I LLU8TRATION8.

Air-canals of Nymplirras

Ai urns (Richardia), field of, in the Scilly Islands ..

Cypriredrum .< A. Dimmock

Seilly Island?, loading srcc'al train with flowert

from tl. e

View in the Victoria Park, 1-ath (Supplement).
Zygo-Colax x Wigauiiuus srp;rbus

161
1-4

If:!

164

161
162

165
166

166
16j

166
166
160
165

156

155
162

159
US
159
15S
158
158
159

165
151
1"'7

153

156

THE SCILLY ISLANDS FLOWER
HARVEST.

UST at the entrance to the two channels,

J

where the currents meet, and the sea
tuns highest, lie those forty tiny, storm-
swept Scilly Islands, of which only five arc
inhabited, the remainder are resting-places
for countless flocks of sea and land birds.
Being right in the track of our principal
shipping, this rock-bound archipelago forms
a, veritable death - trap to the unwary
mariner, as the graveyards only too plainly
show ; and yet, withal, they are so mild of
climate, that just when vegetation is at its
lowest ebb in the other parts of Great
Britain, the air is redolent with the delight-
ful fragrance of plants and flowers, and the
fields are full of lovely various-hued Narcissi.
From Christmas until after Easter, prac-
tically the whole archipelago is converted
into a huge flower garden; dazzling in its
brilliancy, and producing an average of over
10 tons of flowers daily, for the first three or
four months of the year. This is the more
remarkable when it is remembered that in
the five inhabited islands there are only
about 8,000 acres of land, and that much of
this is rocky and barren. The soil is, how-
ever, very fertile, and this combined with
an exceptionally mild climate, enables the
Scillonians to gather two crops of flowers
per week from the same area. The great
and varied genua of Narcissus supplies the

chief products ; nearly 200 varieties are cul-
tivated, some of which are said to be indi-
genous to the islands. These reach the
London and other markets sooner than
those from the South of France, and are
consequently in better condition.

Every available man, woman, and child
is pressed into service during the season,
and though small their numbers (under
2,000 all told), they manage to cut, sort, pack,
and despatch from twenty to thirty-five tons
of flowers every alternate diy. This ship-
ping on alternate days prevents the over-
stocking of the markets, and better prices
are the result. 200.000 packages, totalling
about 1,000 tons, are as nearly as possible the
season's shipments. They are taken from
Seilly to Penzance, a distance of about forty-
three miles, by steam-packet, thence by rail
to the various markets (see fig. 40, p. loo).

The prevailing winds are south and south-
west, frost and snow being practically un-
known, but southerly gales are frequent,
and are sometimes of such severity as to
prevent the steamer from putting to sea for
as long as a week ; this of course seriously
interrupts the trade. During exceptionally
strong gales the sea has been known to rush
into St. Mary's (the most important island)
on one side and dashing through the streets
of the little town find an exit on the other.
But, in spite of these storms, the tempera-
ture is wonderfully uniform all the year
round. In winter the influence of the Gulf
Stream, which envelops these quaint little
isles, is so strong that the temperature very
rarely falls below 45°, whilst the splendid
ocean breezes of the summer time prevents
its rising above 60°. It is indubitably the
most uniform in temperature of any place
in the United Kingdom, and surpasses in
equability many of the more popular conti-
nental spas and winter resorts. Practically
winter is unknown, for mild autumnal
weather is expet ienced until Christmas, when
spring sets in, and flowers being to bloom in
the open. On account of this, these interest-
ing little islands, within a few hours journey
of London, should prove an ideal abode for
invalids ami others desirous of escaping the
cold and fog of our winter season. The
mildness of the climate is indicated by the
field culture of Richardia (see fig. 45, p. 154).
The islands are held under lease from the
Crown, and the proprietor is little short of a
king to the people. His residence at Tresco
is a fine old abbey homestead, which is
supposed to have originally belonged to the
Benedictine monks of Tavistock, even prior
to the Norman Conquest. The abbey gar-
dens, which are open to visitors, afford a
treat not to be missed ; tropical and sub-
tropical, and the most delicate hot-house
plants are healthy and vigorous in the open
air all the year round. These gardens are
beautifully laid out in sections; one plot is
known as "The Wilderness," this contains
Ferns from all parts of the world, not
excluding Australia and New Zealand.
Another portion is called '-Lower Aus-
tralia"; another "Higher Australia," &C.,
each plot containing exotics indigenous
to the different parts of the world which
they represent. [Illustrations of these
gardens, and of the vegetation of the islands,
have been from time to time given in our
columns.]

There are many foreign plants there
which are noted as being the only ones of

their kind to flower out-of-doors in the
British Isles. There are Palms, Ferns,
Prickly Pears, Aloes, Fuchsias, Azaleas, and
many others too numerous to specify, but
all contrasting finely with the many varieties
of the beautiful, sweet-smelling Narcissus.
The air is laden with delightful fragrance,
whilst the eye is charmed by the beauty
of the scene.

There is, however, another story to
be told in connection with Scilly; a sad
and terrible tale of suffering and death,
which began with the advent of navigation,
and has continued right down through the
centuries to the present time, for in spite of
lighthouse, fog-signals, and an ever-vigilant
coast-guard force, many terrible shipwrecks
with great loss of life have occurred from
time to time round these rocky coasts.
Ample proof of this may be seen at the
entrance to the Abbey Gardens in the shape
of a garden-house, known as the "Hall of
Departed Spirits." This curious building
is decorated with a large number of figure-
heads, anchors, and other relies of the
many ill-fated vessels which have been
wrecked in the vicinity. The ceiling and
spaces between the figures are filled with
innumerable shells of many kinds, which
give the building a very pretty appearance.

It will be remembered that Sir Cloudesley
Shovel and his fleet were wrecked on the
Scillies after the capture of Gibraltar in
1707; and there is a legend in connec-
tion therewith which is worth recounting.
One of the crew of the Admiral's ship,
the Association, was a Cornishman, and
knowing the coast well, ventured an opinion
to the officer of his watch that the ship was
steering straight for the. rocks at Scilly, and
advised the altering of her course ; this was
reported to the Admiral, who, having com-
plete confidence in his officers, ignored the
advice. The seaman, however, strongly
held to his own opinion, and this so enraged
the Admiral that, it is alleged, he ordered
the man to be hanged from the yard-arm.
Before being hanged he was permitted to
read a psalm, and the one he chose was one
calling for vengeance upon his persecutors.
Shortly after the man was hanged, the Asso-
ciation struck in a fog and quickly sank, only
one man being saved ; the remainder of the
fleet were soon in the same predicament,
and the loss of life was enormous.

A few brief words about the lesser islands
will no doubt prove interesting. Wrecking
and smuggling were at one time very preva-
lent, and the church of St. Agnes is said to
have been built from the proceeds of a
wreck. There is a well on that island, into
which people cast pins, and called upon
their patron saint to send them wrecks.

A bell in the turret of St. Martin's Church
once did duty on board a ship which ra
ashore there.

Of the uninhabited islands, Samson is
probably the most interesting. The ruin
of former habitations may be seen there.
These dwellings, ten in number, were suffi-
cient for the whole of the population, who
were originally about fifty in number. Their
numbers gradually decreased, and abou
half a century ago they were so few, and
were living in such a semi-barbaric state
that the late Governor caused them to re-
move to the larger islands, where they
might learn something of the ways o
civilisation. T. H. Liddicoat.

154

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 8, 1902.

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

CYMBIDIUM x EBURNEO- LOWIANUM.

A REMARKABLY fine and distinct variety of
this ornamental hybrid Cymbidinra is sent by
Mr. John M. Bell, gr. to the Rev. Canon Prety-
man, Great Carlton Lodge, Louth, Lincoln-
shire. Mr. Bell writes : — " It comes of a cross
between C. eburneum S , and C. Lowianum $ ,
effected in 1891, and now flowering for the
first time." The same cross flowered in 1889
with Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons— the first
hybrid Cymbidium to flower in gardens. The

NURSERY NOTES.

GEO. COOLING AND SONS, BATH.
The middle of February is not the best time
to visit a Rose-garden, but being then in the
neighbourhood of Messrs. Cooling's nursery at
Batheaston, about two miles from the Great
Western Railway Station in the city of Bath,
and one mile from the railway station at
Bathampton, we were strongly disinclined to
lea7e the district without making a call. We
soon discovered that in the light, span-roofed
houses the work of increasing the stock of

was R. himalaica Cooling's variety, which is
described as having larger flowers than the
type, and possessing deeper yellow-coloured
anthers. Some of these varieties were grafted
upon the Briar, and others upon the Manetti
stock. Those upon the Briar are " kept up "
in potting, so that the stock may have exposure
to sun and air. This stock under such condi-
tions will swell as the plant develops, but
will fail to do so if the whole of it is buried in
the soil. In the case of varieties grafted upon
the Manetti stock, Rose cultivators adopt a
quite opposite method of procedure when re-
potting their plants, and the point of union is

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(Phutogmph by Gibson, Penzance )

variety now sent seems different from others
in having more colour in the lip, and a dis-
tinctly rosy tint in the sepals and petals.
Probably a very fine form of C. Lowianum was
one of the parents, for the rich colour dis-
played on the lip of the hybrid much re-
sembles the colouring on the lip of C. Lowianum.
The leaves however are narrower than usual,
being only as broad as those of C. eburneum.
The flowers are 4| inches across ; the sepals
and petals of a creamy white, with a decided
flush of rose-pink, and the veining, especially
that at the back of the flower, is pale green.
The lip is yellowish-white, the callus bright
yellow, and the front lobe has rosy-purple
markings ; column yellowish, tipped with
purple. It is a very fine variety, beautiful in
flower, and ornamental in growth.

new Roses was proceeding apace. In the
case of such novelties, time is far too valuable
to permit of the propagating being performed
exclusively in the out-of-door nursery. Plants
had been worked indoors, and were then being
shifted into 5-inch pots from smaller ones.
These novelties included Queen Alexandra, the
new companion to Crimson Rambler, staged by
Messrs. Jas. Yeitch & Sons at the last Temple
Show. The flowers are produced in large erect
clusters, and the colour is very similar to that
of the red Thorn ; also Lady Battersea, Milton,
Liberty, Boadicea, Leuchtstern, Sunrise, &c,
most of which were illustrated last season
in the Gardeners' Chronicle. Some of the
R. Wichuriana hybrids that have been so well
shown by Messrs. W. Paul & Son and others,
were also being increased in this fashion, as

placed below the surface of the soil, so that
the grafted Rose may form roots of its own>
and eventually become independent of the
stock. These are details familiar to every
Rose-grower, and they should be observed by-
young gardeners who have a desire to increase
their stock of particular varieties of Roses by-
similar means.

In the propagating houses we remarked also
the new red Jackmanni Clematis, known as
Ville de Lyon, of which a stock is desired as
quickly as possible, this type of Clematis
being greatly appreciated at the present time.
Out of doors Messrs. Cooling & Sons have
about thirty acres of land, of which eight acres
at least are used for cultivating Roses, and
nine acres for fruit trees. The Rose nursery
is a considerable distance from what is termed

March 8, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

155

the home nursery, where the glasshouses,
fruit trees, and other nursery stock is con-
tained ; but the enthusiasm the firm has for
the cultivation of "garden" Roses is reflected
in two borders at the home nursery, in
which there are 500 varieties, each distinctly
labelled with what is believed to be its true
name.

The term " garden " Rose is used to describe
every section and variety that may not be
called "exhibition" Roses, or that are not
sufficiently good from the florist's point of
view to bo shown in competitive classes for
Hybrid Perpetual s, Hybrid Teas, or Teas. It
includes all the Sweet Briars, the Moss Roses,
the single flowers, such as the beautiful R.

FORCING RETARDED PLANTS.

In compliance wTith your request, I offer a
few additional remarks to those of last week
on forcing retarded plants (if the word forcing
is necessary). In reality, however, very little
forcing is necessary provided the plants or
bulbs are placed in a suitable position, and
given ample time to come on gradually.

Spir.eas
should be potted as soon as received, and
not allowed to lie about and become dry, or in
any way neglected. Unlike Lilies of the Valley,
these make considerable root-growth, and a fair
amount of pot-room is required. The soil,
moreover, should be of a fairly retentive

I have found that the maximum temperature
for Spirseas is 55", and the time required to
flower them depends on the season they are
taken out of the refrigerator. Those started
in July, August, and September will take from
eight to ten weeks, and proportionally longer
as the days shorten and light declines.
T. Arnold.

(To be continued.)

VEGETABLES.

EARLY CAULIFLOWERS.
Whkn seed is sown iu January, February,
and March, in preference to early autumn, a

FIG. 46. — LOADING SPECIAL TRAIN WITH FLOWERS FROM TilE SCILXY ISLANDS. (SEE P. 153.)

(Photograph by Gibson, Penzance.)

macrantha, China, Polyantha, Noisette, and
the varieties of species of Rosa, &c. Such are
the 500 varieties that, planted on either side
of a walk in the home nursery, scramble up
the supports afforded them, and in June pro-
duce a prodigality of bloom, such as no exhi-
bition variety can emulate. Every new OS rare
variety of these old-fashioned Roses, as they
are sometimes termed, is obtained for these
borders as early as possible, and so the col-
lection is maintained a thoroughly representa-
tive one.

The fruit trees are cultivated on a slope in
very good soil, consisting of sandy loam, and
the trees were clean in the bark and extremely
good in appearance. The rest of the nursery
stock includes hardy trees and shrubs, coni-
fers, &c.

character, and of good quality, and the
potting should be firm.

The plants may be placed in a common
garden-frame or cool greenhouse, when they
soon start into growth, and may be taken to a
house which is kept a little warmer. They must
be shaded heavily during the time they are in
the cool temperature. 'When they have made
a few inches of growth, less shading will be re-
quired, but they must not be exposed to full
sunshine till the leaves are well developed,
when the shading may be removed by degrees
and the plants exposed to full light. But here
lot mo give a word of caution : place each
plant in a saucer filled with water, for re-
tarded plants must not be allowed to become
dry at any time, and they should receive ample
ventilation and space in which to grow.

good succession of Cauliflowers is obtained in
the summer months from Hay onwards, with-
out much risk from buttoning, if ordinary care
be taken; the later sowings coming in for
out-of-door planting, and the earlier one for
growing and forming heads under glass pro-
tection. The seed requires a temperature of
50" to 55° for its germination, ami the young
plants from the first must bo kept near the
roof-glass or light, and plenty of air afforded,
so that legginess be avoided. When two pairs
of true leaves form, pot them singly into CO's in
a light rich soil, and still keep Deal (lie light.
For a week or more after the polling is a
critical tinio for the plants, for if the soil
should bo too moist, or it presses too closely
round about tho stem, damping oS is to bo
feared. When the plants start into growth,

156

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 8, 1902.

water must not be lacking at the root, as if
this occur good heads are seldom formed.
On sunny days a dewing overhead with a fine
rose-pot refreshes them. Well established
plants should receive a few applications of
Clay's Manure in water. Do not let the plants
remain long in pots, but plant them in cold
frames in rows at 15 inches apart, and
1 foot from plant to plant. The planting
should be done in shallow drills, in which
superphosphate and a small quantity of ni-
trate of soda is sprinkled. As the planting
proceeds the drills should be filled, and the
manure covered. The manure acts imme-
diately on the growth of the plants from the
first, and till the heads are fit for consumption.
The plants should be freely afforded water.
On bright days the frames should be closed at
2.30 to 3 P.M., and the plants sprinkled.
Ventilation should be afforded as early in the
morning as the state of the weather allows,
and protection from frost must be afforded at
night. Cauliflowers should always be grown
freely, and I am satisfied that it pays the
gardener to make use of artificial manure.
For early cutting, two excellent varieties are
Veitch's Extra Early Forcing, and Sutton's First
Crop. If cold frames are limited in number, a
few of these varieties may be grown for the
earliest crops out-of-doors. To follow these
two varieties out-of-doors, Veitch's Mid-
summer Day, a dwarf compact plant that forms
heads quickly, and these are of a good size ;
and for succeeding these, Magnum Bonum, Uni-
versal, and Early Giant, of Messrs. Sutton &
Sons ; and Messrs. Veitch & Sons' Pearl pro-
duce fine heads; and if the seeds are sown at
tri-weekly or monthly intervals, Cauliflowers
can be obtained till October, when the Large
White, and the Autumn Giant become fit for
use. I follow the practice of drawing drills
and manuring the same at planting time at all
seasons, and the land is frequently stirred
between the plants, till they are of a size that
no longer admits of a man working a hoe
amongst them without breaking the leaves or
loosening the plants in the soil. T. H. Blade.

ZYGO-COLAX x WIGANIANUS
SUPEEBUS (fig. 47).

The original form of Z.-C. x Wiganianus
was shown by Sir Frederick Wigan, Dart.,
Clare Lawn, East Sheen (gr., Mr. W. H. Young),
at the Royal Horticultural Society, January 9,
1900, when it was accorded an Award of Merit,
the parentage being given as Zygopetalum
intermedium Colax jugosus, and the record
was probably correct. But in regard to both
parents there is a little confusion in gardens,
the fine old Zygopetalum Mackayi often being
named Z. intermedium, and iu'ce versa. With
respect to the Colax, botanists have placed
that part of the genus which includes C. ju-
gosus under Lycaste, and hence the name
would be Lycaste jugosa.

Zygo-Colax x Wiganianus superbus, which
was evidently derived from the finest forms of
each species used in the crossing, was shown
by Messrs. Sander & Sons, St. Albans, at the
Royal Horticultural Society, February 25 last,
and was unanimously accorded a First-class
Certificate.

It is a very attractive flower, larger in all
its parts than the original, and beautifully
marked. The substance of the flower is fleshy,
and the surface glossy. Sepals and petals
light green, closely marked with chocolate-
purple. Lip violet -blue, with the white
ground colour showing through towards the
margin. The plant shown was quite a small
one, and the flowers were very large, compared
with the size of the plant.

ROYAL VICTORIA PARK AND

BOTANIC GARDEN, BATH.

[See Supplementary Illustration.]

The Victoria Park, situate rather less than
half a mile from the centre of the fashionable
city of Bath, was opened by Queen Victoria in
1830, seven years before her accession. It
was created at the expense of some of the
wealthier inhabitants of the city, who pro-
vided a sum of £1000 for this purpose. At the
present time, the park and botanic garden,
which is contained in the park, constitute an
area of 49 acres.

The management of this delightful pleasure
ground and botanic garden is of a kind that is
nowadays very rare. Though belonging to
the citizens, the park has never been officially
taken over by the authorities ; it is therefore
managed by an elected committee, and is de-
pendent upon voluntary contributions, and
upon small sums that arc charged for the
privileges of cycling on the excellent roads,

of spring before bursting into leaf and flower.
That splendid tree, Prunus Davidi.iaa, had its
flower-buds well developed ; and upon the
rockery, Primula denticulata in similar condi-
tion seemed impatient for the frost to lift. But
the Snowdrops, the Winter Aconite, Ericas, and
several of those choice hardy Irises, that are
as early to flower even as the Snowdrops, were
the only plants actually in open flower.

Tie photograph reproiucod in the Sapple-
ment to our present issue was taken during
last summer, and represents afcv flower-beds
in a portion of the park near to the Royal
Crescent. The trees in the background in-
clude a fine Beech-tree, a smaller copper-
leaved Beech, and a Horse- Chestnut tree.
These few flower-beds are nearly all of a
similar kind there are in the park, the bedding-
out system being but little practised there.

The Royal Crescent alluded to is a most
handsome five-storied building of stone, that
overlooks the park on the south-east side. It
is considered to be one of the most noteworthy

.^»

^CKKot-I .

FlC. 47. — ZYGO-COLAX : WIGANIANUS superbus.
Flower (real size) green, with purple spots; lip blue.

attending the band concerts, and so forth.
That the exceedingly interesting collection of
trees and shrubs and of alpine and other hardy
plants contained therein is maintained with so
much care and judgment, is an excellent testi-
mony to the liberality and intelligence of
those upon whom the task devolves, rather
than a justification of the present system.
Most cities and towns have awakened in late
years to a sense of their responsibility in the
matter of acquiring and maintaining such
means of out-of-doors amusement, recreation,
and instruction as are provided by public
parks and botanic gardens, and by officially
making themselves responsible for the future
maintenance of such as they possess, have
secured them against possible neglect which
may result, if from any reason it is found
impossible to raise the necessiry sum that is
each year necessary. Probably the authorities
would make themselves responsible for the
park if such a state of things actually occurred ;
but the pity of it is in many such cases, the
plants are allowed to suffer irreparable injury
in the meantime. We hope such a misfortune
will never happen to Bath.

On February 17, when we had the pleasure
of visiting the park, there was little sign of
the vegetative life that awaited the influence

architectural features of the city, and is
composed of private residences.

Mention has already been made of the col-
lection of trees in Victoria Park, selected
wo believe by Loudon, and planted by the
late W. H. Baxter, who at one time had
charge of the Bath Garden. The following
are some of the most conspicuous ones.
In an avenue of Horse - Chestnuts upon
one side, and Elms on the other, particular
interest centres in the Elms, which are
different from each other, and are neatly but
legibly named. These trees, with others in
different parts of the park, make a very good
collection of Elms. Varieties of Crataegus are
numerous, and some old standard trees (all of
them graf'ed), distinctly named, are very
interesting, as they exhibit differences in
habit of growth. There is a very old specimen
of the Glastonbury variety (C. oxyacantha
prsecox).

Among Oaks we noticed fine trees of Quercus
aspleuifolia, Q. Ilex (the evergreen Oak), Q.
Cerris variegata, with a curious habit of
growth, the branches being very flat, and the
top of the tree almost like a table, but it is a
tree having a very beautiful effect when in
leaf ; Q. rubicunda, Q. robur, planted on our
present King's wedding day, &c. There is a

March 8, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

157

fine tree of Pavia flava, near to the Queen's
Square entrance to the park, and other species
of Pavia and ^Esculus were noted. One of the
species of JEsculus (.'E. carnea or rubicunda)
was unusually interesting, as it was more or
less covered with burrs, formed probably in
consequence of the attack of a mite. These
burrs vai ied in size from that of a hen's egg
to 2 feet across, and they were studded ovtr
with buds upon small spur-like growth? 2 cr
3 inches long. At the flowering stage these
buns become almost covered with a mass of
curiously developed flower-spikes. There were
originally six specimens in the park, but only
two now remain, four having bsen cutdown from

Cedrus Libani ; the double-flowered Chinese
Cherry, with flat branches, covered at top
with short spur-like growths ; a number of
very large Ailanthus glandulosa, which form a
marked feature of the park ; Dlmus suberosa
(the Cork Bark tree) ; a fine specimen of the
handsome-leaved Acer macrophyllum ; Juglans
nigra ; Trachycarpus excelsa, 20 feet or m ire
high, protected with mats, &c. Some Weeping
Willows of considerable dimensions, and other
weeping species, adorn the margins of a pond
which was beautified years ago by Milner, who
formed a small island and made the banks into
a pleasing outline, and planted them. A group
of Hollies is very effective on one of the

Fig. 18.— cyprifemum x a. dimmock.

the same reason. All of the trees were grafted
upon the common Chestnut at different heights.
Only the scions have been affected, never the
stock, and although there are growing in the
park many fine trees of Chestnut and Pavia,
Mr. John Milluirn, the present superintendent,
declares that none other have been so affected.
It would be interesting to know if this species
has suffered similarly in other parts of the
country.

Other trees that are noteworthy include
Gleditschia sinensis, Arbutus hybrida, with
five great spreading limbs proceeding from the
bole of tho tree, which is much cracked by the
action of frost ; A. Andrachne, exceedingly
pretty with its reddish-brown branches, but
bright green under the peeling bark ; A.
Unedo, which unlike A. Andrachne, fruits
freely in most seasons ; Cupressus maerocarpa ;

banks, some little distance from the water,
and in a delightful corner near to the water-
fall are grouped a selection of choice tinted

shrubs.

(To be continued.)

CYPRIPEDIUM x A. DIMMOCK
(GODSEFFIANUM x DRURII).

SOME of the sections of hybrid Cypripediums
have become so crowded as to render the
identification of those nearest alike very
difficult. In the case of the one represented
by our illustration (fig. 48), and for which
Messrs. Sander & Sons received an Award of
Merit at the Royal Horticultural Society on
February 25 last, no complication of the kind
presents itself, for it is quite distinct, and
not likely to bo confounded with the only

other presenting itself for comparison, viz.,
C. x Winnianum (villosum x Drurii).

The flowers of C. x A. Dimmock have a
shining wax - like appearance. The upper
sepal is green at the base, spotted with dark
purple, a broad band of nearly black hue
running up the middle ; the area above the
green base is of a rose tint, the upper part and
margin white. Petals and lip yellow, spotted
and tinged with purple -brown. The plant
seems to be a very strong grower, and when
thoroughly established it may develop still
greater beauty.

THE

DESTRUCTION
PLANTS.

OF NATIVE

The wholesale destruction of native plants
by collectors for trade purposes is a matter
that is becoming serious in many parts of the
country ; the scouring of hedge-banks and
lanes for Primroses to meet the demand in
large towns for the commemoration of an
eminent statesman, is a case in point. To
prevent such spoliation, it would be well if
the local authorities throughout the kingdom
were to follow the example of the United
Devon Association in their efforts to preserve
the natural beauty of the county by the pre-
vention of the illegal removal of Ferns and
wild flowers. These words are extracted
from a report in a recent issue of the Devon
and Exeter Gazette, of the prosecution of two
men for wilful damage at Kenn, near Haldon,
by taking up and carrying away a largo
number of Ferns and Fern-roots. The circum-
stances were as follows : — On the 6th inst.
both the men were seen in the plantation in
the act of digging up the roots, and being
ordered off, left, promising not to return ;
later on, however, they returned and resumed
their work, and when they were again sur-
prised, the ground was found for yards
riddled with numberless holes from whence the
plants had been dug. Further on, no fewer
than ten sacks filled with Ferns, and covered
lightly over with leaves, were found, and
close by a large heap of Ferns ready for re-
moval. A horse and trap appeared later on
the scene to remove the spoils. When the
men were taken into custody, and upon an
examination of the fruits of their labour being
made, it was found that the number of root*
taken amounted to nearly 2,000. The value of
the Ferns for the purposes of the prosecution
was estimated at from £8 to £10. The solicitor
who appeared for the prosecution asked that
a heavy penalty might be inflicted, as such
men as the defendants were in the employ of
London dealers who paid all the fines incurred
by the Fern-gatherers when the latter were
convicted. It was also said with regard to
the principal offender that there was no doubt
of his having sent to London at various times
large quantities of Ferns. On January 20 ho
sent bags of Ivy and ten bags of Ferns ; on
January 31 seven bags of !<'crns ; and in the
first week of February two bags more, all of
which were consigned to a dealer in Co vent
Garden Market. The principal defendant was
sentenced to two months' imprisonment with
hard labour, and the other man, who seemed
to a certain extent to be the other's agent, to
six weeks with hard labour ; and in sentencing
them, the Chairman said that the Bench were
determined to put a stop to such depredations,
which were ruining the beauty of the county
of Devon.

The Devonshire magistrates will have tho
full sympathy and support of all who love tho
country for tho sake of its natural beauties.
John R. Jackson, Claremont, Lympatone, DeUOII.

158

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 8, 1902.

The Week's Work.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Hints on Work in General. — In the mixed
borders, groups of Iris reticulata and I. major
are now developing their deliciously fragrant
flowers, and a little protection should be
afforded them against frost and cold winds by-
placing hand-lights over them ; or in lack of
these, some Fir-boughs stuck firmly in the soil,
and reclining over the flowe. s, will do tolerably
well, serving also as a shade from sunshine,
and thus save the flowers for a much longer
period of time. Where Anemone fulgens is
grown for effect, the plants must be carefully
guarded against the ravages of pheasants, it
being well known that they injure the young
foliage coming through the soil, and also the
flower-buds as they open by their scratching.
Wire-netting about 3 feet high, neatly fastened
around the beds or groups, is the most effective
means of preserving the plants. Crocuses
also, especially the yellow-uowered variety,
are much disturbed by pheasants if no pro-
tection be given. If these bulbs are planted
as narrow bands at the margins of beds and
borders, Pea-guards may be placed over them
as soon as they appear through the soil,
which will preserve them from injury by these
birds and sparrows.

Propagation.— If the propagating-frame is
becoming empty, it may be reoccupied with
the main batch of Lobelia-cuttings, taken from
last year's selected stock plants ; and if these
cuttings are made If inch in length, and in-
serted to one-half their depth, quite close
together, in a thin layer of sharp sand mixed
with leaf-soil, on a bed with a bottom-heat of
60° to 65°, and sufficient water afforded with a
fine rose water-pot, and slightly shaded from
-strong sunshine, in a few days roots will form.
By gradually inuring the young plants to light
and air, in a fortnight or a little more they
will have made sufficient roots to warrant
their being placed in shallow boxes at a dis-
tance of 24 inches apart. The compost in the
boxes should not be much enriched, and a
temperate-house will be the best place for
them for about a fortnight ; then remove to
cold frames.

Violets.— Plants grown to produce flowers in
succession to those in garden frames may have
all protecting material removed, and be freed
from decayed foliage and rubbish, stimulating
growth by means of a light dressing of charred
garden rubbish or wood-ashes, worked care-
fully into the soil. If the plants grow at the
foot of a west or south wall, in a light, dry
-soil, an application of weak soot-water will
act beneficially on them.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

Propagation of Dendrobiums.— The plants
should be placed on bottom-heat, and failing
that, a position should be found for them that
is near to the hot-water pipes in the stove
■Orchid-house, on a frame of some kind, or a
(hand-glass, the latter being usually sufficiently
largo for the purpose. The ordinary propa-
gatmg-case is too moist in which to start the
plants, although after the growths have heen
potted it answers quite well. In the case of
the hot-water pipes being used, plenty of
crocks for drainage should be placed for
them ; and when a stage is used, crocks
are equally needed, as nothing that will
retain moisture should be beneath the cut-
tings. Over the crocks place a mixture of
two-thirds chopped sphagnum and one-third
coarse sand, to the depth of 1 inch. If
the pseudo-bulbs intended to be propagated
were removed and laid on a dry stage, as pre-
viously advised, some of the sap in them would
be dissipated, and they would not be liable to
decay when cut up, and would start into growth
quickly. The pseudo-bulbs should be cut into
lengths, each with a dormant bud, but all the
joints which have borne flowers may be thrown

away. The propagating-bed should be divided
into sections with sticks, each section being
as large as will accommodate one species or
variety. Each should be named correctly — a
matter of importance in a collection of Orchids.
The cutting should be lightly pressed into the
materials of the bed, only just deep enough to
hold them steadily, with the dormant bud facing
the light. Keep the frame, &c, close in the
daytime, but afford air at night ; on bright
days a slight damping of the cuttings with
the syringe will help them, but the compost
must be kept on the dry side. If not placed
over bottom heat no water should be afforded.
As soon as the cuttings have grown 1 inch in
length, place them in very small pots in a mix-
ture of two-thirds chopped sphagnum-moss, and
one-third chopped peat fibre, and return them
to the frame, &e. till the first small pseudo-
bulb is made up, afterwards gradually harden
them off. The cuttings which are the earliest
started will often make a second pseudo-bulb
the first year. A collection of Dendrobiums
may thus be kept young and vigorous if a few
are propagated annually.

General Remarks.— The days are gradually
getting longer, and the sunlight stronger,
therefore the houses should be "damped more
frequently; and some species of plants will
require more water at the roots. We must
take care that the sun does not burn or unduly
shrivel any of the plants. It is desirable to
admit as much sun as can be done with safety,
especially in the early morning, and late in
the afternoon. Although there have been
some days with clear sunshine, the next six
weeks will be a very critical period, and
every attention will be necessary to keep
the temperatures right. This is extremely
difficult when there is strong sunshine all the
afternoon, and it is followed by a sharp frost
and cold winds, as before ,'we can get the
proper night temperature the warmth has fallen
lower than the correct temperature for the
early morning. The fires should be started
early enough in the afternoon to prevent this
occurring. The temperatures should gradually
fall from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m. to get as near as
possible to the ideal temperature ; nothing is
more harmful to plants than to have the
temperature higher in the morning than at
night.

Odonloglossum-house. — During bright days
the Odontoglossums will be greatly benefited
by a good overhead syringing about mid-day,
which will be sufficient for the present;
but frequently damp the stage, &c. ; and
admit air freely whenever practicable. The
side ventilators may be opened whenever the
outside temperature is above 45°. The bottom
ventilators should never be shut quite closely ;
ours have not been shut this winter. A small
quantity of air may be admitted at the top
of the house until the last thing at night.

THE KITCHEN' GARDEN.

By T. Turton, Gr. to J. K. D. Winofield Digbv, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

French Beans. — Where convenience exists
for so doing, the best results are obtained in
hot-water pits filled with tree- leaves and
short stable dung in equal parts, over which
sound loam, such as is suitable for Melon
growing, should be placed to the depth of
1 foot without further preparation. If the pits
are at liberty, let the Beans be sown in boxes at
3 inches apart, and place the boxes in a forc-
ing-house, to be planted in the pits when the
heat has declined to about 80°. Beans raised
in this manner can also be planted in any bed
or border in heated houses which may com-
mend itself as suitable. Continue to practice
the directions given in previous Calendars for
fruiting and successional crops in pots.

Cauliflowers. — Pot into 3-inch pots the
strongest plants of Pearl Cauliflower, seeds of
which I advised the sowing in heat in January.
Harden off the smaller jjlants, and prick them
out at 4 inches apart in a spent hot-bed frame.
Prick out also at the same distance apart
seedlings of Early Forcing sown at the same

time. When planting out those last named into
the open ground in April, every alternate plant
in alternate rows may be left to form heads
in the frame. They afford nice heads during
the month of May, and being more delicate in
flavour than Broccoli, are much appreciated.

Autumn - sown Onions. — Take the earliest
opportunity when the ground is in a good
condition for doing so to transplant these into
ground that has been well prepared by trench-
ing and heavily manuring. My practice is to
plant a few rows on the margins of the ground
prepared for spring-sown Onions. Plant in
rows 15 inches apart and 9 inches in the rows.
Preserve the roots as much as possible, and
plant them just deep enough to keep the
Onions in an upright position.

Potatos. — Look over stores of these, and if
convenient to do so remove them to a fresh
place, be it in bins or in heaps on the floor of a
shed or cellar where they will be secure from
frost. Rub off the growing shoots, and use
special care in handling the tubers, as after
this date rough handling easily blackens them.
Upon the first fine day look carefully over
those in clamps ; tafeing away diseased tubers,
rubbing off shoots from the others, and re-
moving them to the Potato-cellar or frost-
proof shed. If the seed-tubers of main crop
sorts have been kept over the winter in
clamps, after rubbing off all the shoots, spread
the tubers out thinly on shelves or floors
where they can be made secure from frost, yet
kept cool.

Potatos in Heated Pits. — On warm sunny
days examine the earliest plantings, and
should the soil be in a dry state, afford sufficient
tepid water to moisten well the whole bed of
soil. In succession pits, as soon as the tops
are well through the soil, if there is sufficient
depth of soil, draw it up to the Potato-stems ;
or top-dress with soil such as that in which
French Beans have been grown, which has
been kept in a warm shed ; otherwise it must
be warmed previous to using. Plant succes-
sion crops in frames on beds of tree-leaves,
having first prepared the beds as advised in a
former Calendar. After placing from 6 to
9 inches of rich loamy-soil in the frame, it
being about the same distance from the glass,
take out deep drills with a trowel at 15 inches
apart, and plant the sets 9 inches apart.
The sets should have been laid out in boxes
to sprout, and all shoots except two or three
of the strongest taken out with the point of a
knife.

General ivork. — Clear away all the decaying
leaves from Brussels Sprouts, Kales, and other
winter greens and Broccoli. Do not, however,
unduly expose the stems of Broccoli in view
of the possibility of further severe frosts.
Keep the manure-heaps turned regularly ; and
where tanks exist for catching the drainings
from hot-beds or from stables or cow-houses,
throw sufficient of this over the heaps to aid
the rotting of the manure before the drying
winds of March are upon us.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Mayne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle,
Bicton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Labelling. — Before it is too late to distin"
guish the names on the nurseryman's tickets'
let all newly bought-in trees and fruit bushes
be furnished with lasting labels of zinc, lead,
or hard wood, doing this very necessary work
without loss of time. The lead label of our
forefathers has my preference, having the
letters or numerals punched-in with dies and
painted white ; the pieces of sheet lead, one-
eighth of an inch in thickness, being cut of
various sizes, according to length of the name
of the variety to be stamped on them. Two
holes should be made to take the wire or nails,
the latter for attaching to walls, the former
for fastening to stakes or trellis. These labels
are rather too heavy for hanging on standard
or bush trees in the open if the full name is
put on, and in their case pieces If inch square
should be employed for stamping with num-
bers, which should correspond with the name
written in a book. The Acme label is largely
used, and has proved all the inventors claimed

March 8, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

159

for it. neat, simple, and durable. In fastening
the wire on to the trees, plenty of space
should be left for the expansion of the branch
or stem, otherwise canker may be set up, a
malady that should be avoided at all costs.

The Wineberry (Rubus phcenicolasius) . — A
fruit -of recent introduction, and deserving
of extended cultivation, ripening as it does
during August and September, has proved a
useful culinary and dessert fruit, and one
of which the birds are not over fond. The
plant bears similarly to the Raspberry, and
requires the same general kind treatment. It
grows rampant at Bicton, and would make an
excellent plant for covering arches, the crimson-
coloured shoots adding to its beauty, even
when not in fruit. The quickest way to mul-
tiply the stock of the plant is by pegging
the points of the shoots down to the soil in
early autumn, when they quickly form roots.
Being later in starting into growth than the
Raspberry, it may still be transplanted in dry
weather. Late-planted canes should be well
mulched forthwith.

The Blackberry. — Of the many varieties
found in nurserymen's catalogues, the Parsley-
leaved is the one most generally grown in
gardens, it being a hardier plant than the
American kinds, though the Wilson Junior is
a very fine fruit ; but it requires plenty of
space and a very warm, sheltered position in
this country to do it justice, in which respect
it resembles the Wineberry. These Rubuses
should be grown on strained wire fences, or
over wire or rustic arches of wood, and the
shoots pruned back to a plump bud early in
the present month, the wood that has fruited
in summer having been removed in the early
autumn, as in the case of Raspberries.

FRUITS UNDEE GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch, Dalkeith.

Tomatos. — These, if they have been growing
all the winter in a Cucumber or other warm
house, will have grown tall, and in order to
prolong their season of fruitfulness till the
plants raised from seed at the new year are fit
to take their places, the stems may be laid
horizontally, intercrossing each other, bending
each top into the soil in the pots or boxes.
Keep the young Tomato-plants near the glass
in a warm house or pit ; and sow seed for the
general summer supply, sowing thinly in well-
drained pans or pots, and pricking out quickly
into boxes when the plants are fit to handle,
and keeping them near the glass.

TlieOrchard-house. — The roots of young Plum-
I trees which are growing very strong should be
(examined, and some of the stronger roots
| shortened, and the rest raised towards the
I surface. See that the soil of the borders and
that in the pots is in a thoroughly moist
state ; and the pruning having been performed

■ before the cleaning was begun, all will be in
readiness for a start.

Marly Peach-house. — The foliage is now fully

: developed, and may be heavily syringed twice

: daily, a little weak insecticide being frequently

used in the water. Until the stones are formed

in the fruit, keep a rather lower temperature,

say 55° at night, and admit air at the top of

the house in quantity according to the weather

in the daytime. See that the soil of the

borders is moderately moist, and when the

second swelling begins, that is, after stoning,

the temperature on mild nights should be 65°,

and 60° on cold nights ; close the house early in

the afternoon with a temperature of 80° or 85°

from sunheat. During the second swelling

the trees should receive manure-water in a

,weak state. The final thinning of the fruit

should be carried out when the second swelling

begins, leaving one fruit to a square of 9 inches,

(Or in the case of the weaker trees, 12 inches.

'The trees of Peaches and Nectarines that were

'started in January having set their fruits,

these may bo thinned for the first time, and a

slight disbudding carried out ; and in the case

of fruits at the base of the buds, let three

■ leaves be left to aid in developing them. The

temperature at night may range from 55° to G0°,
according to the state of the weather ; and on
bright days let it reach 80° or 85° at the closing
time. Syringe the trees twice daily except in
dull weather, when once a day will be enough.
Let the air be buoyant yet not arid. The
border should be afforded water plentifully,
and if the trees are vigorous they will require
no manure, but old ones and those in a feeble
state should have artificial manure, or] tepid,
diluted manure-water. Peach-trees to carry
ripe fruit in July and August should now be in
flower, and as much heat kept in the hot-
water pipes as will afford a buoyant warmth in
the house. A small quantity of ventilation
night and day may be afforded at the top, and
a night temperature of about 50°, rising to 70°
or 75°, by day with sunshine. Apply water to
the border when starting the house, and no
more till the fruit is set.

Strawberries. — The fruits of the earliest
forced plants are now ripening, and will be
the better for being placed on an airy shelf.
The succession plants will have thrown up
strong foliage and flower-spikes, and should
have received a top-dressing of some kind of
artificial manure when put into the forcing-
house, no more manure being applied till the
fruits are swelling. When in flower maintain a
warmth at night of 50° to 55°, and when the
fruit is set let the temperature by night be
not higher than 65°, the day temperature being
10° higher. Syringe the foliage, and apply
no manure after the first fruits change
colour. Thin the fruit sufficiently, and
grow all so as to be fit for dessert.
When the fruit is picked, put the plants in
cold frames to harden-off for planting-out.
All vacant shelves and frame space should be
kept filled with succession-plants, washing
the pots and top-dressing the plants before
bringing them in.

PLANTS UNDEB GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mundy, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Hard-wooded Plants. — The general collec-
tion will, during the present month, require
much attention, especially with regard to
ventilation, as on one hand cold draughts must
be avoided, which is the cause of mildew on
Heaths ; and on the other, so as not to stint the
plants of air. Water at the roots is now more
frequently needed, and it should be, if possible,
rain or river water. Leschenaultias and
Boronias are plants with delicate roots, which
quickly succumb to excess or lack of water.

Epacrises. — When the flowers fade generally
the shoots should be pruned back almost to
the base, and very weak ones entirely re-
moved. For a few weeks afterwards much
water should not be afforded, neither should
much air be admitted ; and it is better to
remove the plants from the greenhouse
to another house where less ventilation is
afforded. When the forwardest of the new
shoots are about 1 inch long, the plants should
be turned out and repotted in a mixture of
hard turfy peat and sand, potting them firmly,
and taking care that the rootstock is not
buried in the soil more than from J to -3 inch ;
and the roots are not long exposed to the air
while the potting is being carried out.

Ericas. — Winter-flowering varieties which
were cut back and started into growth in an
intermediate temperature as advised a few
weeks ago, will now be in a fit condition for
being shifted, and this should not be delayed,
it not being advisable to keep the plants in
this house any longer than is absolutely
necessary to induce the roots to seize upon the
new soil. The same kind of soil as that em-
ployed for Epacris is suitable for Heaths, also
potting and crocking, both of which must bo
carefully performed. Late or -summer-flower-
ing Heaths should be kept cool and well venti-
lated, so that they may come into flower at
their proper season. Watch the tips of the
new shoots, and if these are observed to be of
a much paler tint than the matured leaves, it
is an indication that the house is not well
ventilated.

Cytisus racemosus. — Plants in bud or in
flower may be afforded occasionally clear soot-
water, which will impart a deep green tint to
the leaves, and check the spread of red-
spider. After the plants have ceased to
flower, let them rest for a few weeks in a cold
frame.

Stove plants. — In the stove there will be
many plants now in need of repotting, and
it will be advisable, in the case of those of a
shrubby nature, to reduce the balls slightly,
and repot them in the mixture of soil most
suitable to the various subjects, making sure
that the materials used are of the best, and
that they are warmed, and the drainage is.
well arranged and effective without being too
bulky, a few well-placed crocks being better
than a large quantity put in carelessly. Alla-
mandas, Bougainvilleas, Clerodendrons, and
the like, which may have been recently hard
pruned, should be left untouched until they
start into growth.

Gardenias, if furnished with flower-buds, may-
have a weak mixture of water and some arti-
ficial manure applied, and occasionally clear-
soot - water. The young shoots that show-
around the flower-buds should be pinched out
before they become large, or the latter will
be injured. A few plants should, however, be-,
allowed to grow away without any pinching of
the shoots or points, for affording cuttings.

THE APIARY.

By Expeet.

In my last contribution on the subject of
feeding bees, I mentioned a method of making
Cake Candy, and I now describe that of Flour
Candy. This is made exactly in the manner
previously described, but directly the pan is
removed from the fire for cooling the candy,
carefully add U lb. of pea-flour to the 10 lbs.
of sugar, and stir the whole briskly till the
mixture begins to stiffen, then proceed as
before. Its effect on the bees is most bene-
ficial. When used with frame -hives, the
attached paper should not be removed, as this,
placed uppermost, will prevent the flour -cake
from sticking to the quilt.

Honey on Hand. — All honey on hand should
be looked over, and where the sections have
become candied, they should be bruised and
given back to the bees a little later on to
clear. Sections of honey should be sold now,
unless they are to be kept for show purposes ;
and the same remark applies to run honey.
Where this has candied, e.vre should be taken,
that it is not made too hot to enable it to run,
as this spoils the flavour very considerably.
All crates and frames should likewise be
cleansed, and a few got ready with full sheets
of foundation wired-in for insertion in the
brood chamber. Remove the old ones, unless,
they contain a little honey, which should be
bruised and placed right in the front or the
back for the bees to clear. It is a great
mistake to keep comb in the hives for too long
a period, and it is always less expensive in the
long run to replace it with full sheets to strong
stocks, much valuable time being lost in comb-
building when the bees should be breeding.

Honey Imports.— The value of honey imported
into tho United Kingdom during the month of
December, 1901, was £1,039.

Spring-time' in London. — The current
number of the Girls' Realm (Norfolk House,
Norfolk Street, W.C.), includes an illustrated
article on "Spring-time at tho Corner of the
Street." This deals with a subject somewhat
rare in popular literature, that is, the num-
bers and varieties of flower-sellers in the
London streets, where spring is certainly, in
one sense, more forward than in many a
country place in England. The samo publi-
cation 'describes "A Year's Practical Garden-
ing," or how two girls did the work of a head
gardener. The adventures of tho inexperi-
enced couple will no doubt interest young
readers of the magazine and others who are
fond of flowers and of gardening.

160

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 8, 1902.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER.

Letters for Publication, as well as specimens and plants
for naming, should be addressed to tlie EDITOR
4-1, Wellington Street, Coven t Garden, London,

Communications should be written on one side only of
the paper, sent as early in the week as possible, and duly
signed by the writer. If desired, the signature will not be
printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

1 Annual Meeting of the United
MONDAY, Mar. 10-' Unit. Benefit and Provident
I Association, at 8 p.m.

rriFisnsv iuu> , .IRoval Horticultural Society
lUHbDAY, mar. 11 -( committee Meetings.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, March 10 —

Plants, Bulbs, &e„ by Pi'otlieros & Morris at 12.0.—
Roses, Fruit Trees, and miscellaneous plants, by
Johnsou, DymondandSon.at 12 0; Japanese Maples
at 3.0.

TUESDAY, March 11.—

Clearance Sale of Conifers and Evergreens at .foyn-
ing'a Nurseries, Waltham Cross, I>y Protheroe &
Morris, at 12 o'clock.

WEDNESDAY. Mar. 12—

Azaleas, Liliums, Bulbs, &c. by Protheroe »fc Morris
at 12 o'clock.— Specimen Palms and other Plants,
at Stevens' Rooms, at 12.30.

FRIDAY, March 11 —

Hardy Plants. Perennials, Ac . by Protheroe &
Morris at 12.0.— Orchids in variety, by Protheroe &
Morris at 12.30.— Lilies and Miscellaneous Plants, by
Rendell & Searle, at 12.30.

(For further particulars see our Advertisement columi 8 )

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
—421°.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— March 5 (6 p.m.) : Max. 47°; Min. 35-.

March 6.— Wet fog.
Provinces.— March 5 (6 p.m ) : Max. 4*°, Scilly:
Min. 41', E England.

,_u. . , Our forefathers woull truly

Artiii(ti3.1

Winter. have stood aghast at many
things which we, their suc-
cessors, take as a matter of course. Much
of what we do they would have looked on as
a presumptuous interference with the laws
of Nature. We know, to speak of our own
experience, that they, or some of them, ob-
jected to the raising of artificial hybrids.
If they could have carried their objections
into practice, they might have reduced us
to the consumption of " berries harsh and
crude," and to the utilisation, with little
improvement, of roots such as formed the
dietary of the noble savage when wild in
woods he ran. Nowadays, in order to keep
the milk sweet, we heat the fluid to kill
one bacillus — a fact of which the anti-
viviseetionists should surely take note, and
we add another to enhance the flavour of
the butter and the uniformity of its com-
position. We illuminate the opacity of our
organisation by the employment of rays of
light which penetrate what was before im-
permeable. The phrase to see through a
brick wall no longer conveys the impression
of something beyond the limits of possi-
bility. As for poor Puck, and his boast of
putting a girdle round about the earth in
forty minutes, Signor Marconi has put him
hopelessly behind the age. Actual fact has
transcended imagination. Imagination fore-
shadowed the possibility ; science has more
than secured its realisation. All these things
have been brought about by intelligent ob-
servation, research, and experiment. The
same holds good in gardening. If we are to
progress we must be constant in observation
and experiment. If we restrict ourselves,
as many of us are obliged to do, to the daily
routine of practice, we may become as good

gardeners as our fathers were before us,
but we shall not push the machine forwards,
or leave our art any better than we found it.
Fortunately, competition and commercial
interest combine to overcome the stagnation
of practitioners, and lift us out of the rut of
routine. We have been led to these reflec-
tions by the perusal of an article on the
retardation of plant-life in the columns of
Cohl Storage (5, Great Queen Street), which
is so suggestive that, while leaving to out-
contemporary the responsibility for his
statements, we think it of sufficient interest
to transfer the greater part of the article to
our own columns : —

" In the vegetable kingdom, with a few ex-
ceptions, the work is done in the summer and
rest is taken in winter. In hot-houses it is
always summer, and in cold stores it is always
winter. Given the facilities for these con-
ditions, the gardener of to-day is practically
master of the situation, and can make plants
live or rest, flower or fruit, just as he pleases
or just as they are wanted for the market.

The field of actual experience in this branch
of cold storage is not as yet a wide one, but,
as far as is known, the best design for a horti-
cultural cold store consists of an insulated
room, kept in perfect darkness, and at a tem-
perature of somewhere about 22° Fahr. The
room should be surrounded by wooden shelves,
covered with a layer about 2 inches thick of
fine dry washed sand. On this sand the more
delicate bulbs and roots should be laid, as,
thus placed, they would bo more available for
examination from time to time. In stores
attached to nursery gardens, where a trade is
done in the roots, and where they are generally
imported in large quantities from abroad, the
roots need not be moved from the packing-
cases in which they arrive, but can be piled
up on the floor in these until wanted. There
is no occasion to use cold-air refrigerating
machines, which are very expensive in fuel ;
the much more economical carbonic acid or
ammonia machines, working with brine circu-
lation or direct expansion, are much the best.
With these machines the temperature of the
cold store can be regulated to a nicety by
valves in the ordinary way. The rooms can
be piped on the ceiling or round the walls,
but in order to save the expense of running
the refrigerating machine too frequently,
brine walls or direct expansion pipes and
brine accumulators are to be preferred. With
these, a run of a few hours a day will generally
suffice, for it must be remembered that, unlike
food stores, root stores are not required to be
entered continuously, and that in consequence,
provided the insulation is good, there is very
little tendency for the temperature to alter
much.

These small refrigerating stores are emi-
nently suitable for use in connection with the
gardens of country houses, and can also be
used for preserving all sorts of fruit (Apples
have been kept in cold storage in perfect
condition for over two years), vegetables,
food, butter, game, &c. They might also be
combined with a small ice -making plant,
sufficiently large to keep the mansion supplied
with ice during the summer months. As ice is
always expensive, and usually exceedingly
difficult to obtain in the country, this would
be a great boon. From £400 to £500 would
easily cover the cost of a small cold storage
and ice -making plant suitable for such a
purpose, and the gain from every point of
view is inestimable. Most country houses of
any pretensions already have their own electric
light installation, in which case the same
driver could readily run all the machinery.

In any case, an intelligent gardener could
easily manage it.

There appears to be no reason why practically
any root p'ant should not be capable of haviag
its growth retarded by cold storage. Its use
is at present confined to retarding varieties
of bulbs, but any perennial that naturally dies
down or loses its leaves in the winter should
be susceptible to the same treatment, and
made to bloom at any season of the year. For
evergreens, light is required, and in that case
greenhouses should bo made with double glass
lights, but with as few of them as possible.
Naturally, however, owing to the less perfect
insulation, these would require rather more
refrigerating power than the dark store.

When the roots or plants are wanted to
flower, they are removed from the cold store.
With evergreens the change of temperature
should not be too sudden, and they should be
kept for a few days in an intermediate room
bsfore being removed to the open air or to the
hot-house, as the case may be. Roots can be
taken straight out of the store, and, after
they have thawed in the ordinary atmosphere,
can be planted out in beds or pots in the usual
way.

The influence of warmth and dampness
rapidly stimulates the dormant vitality. Lily
of the Valley crowns in the ordinary way take
six weeks to flower. Retarded roots are much
more rapid ; in a few days the shoots are a few
inches high, in a week the plants are vigorous,
and in less than a month they are in full bloom.
Some plants, of course, are naturally more
vigorous than others, but the prolonged rest
appears generally to have the effect of
stimulating the growth when once it is started.

There would seem to be no occasion to limit
retardation by cold storage to plants and
flowers ; by its aid Grapes, Strawberries,
Raspberries, Figs, and all manner of glass-
house fruit, might have their fruiting season
retarded at the absolute will of the gardener.

Steam power is not necessary ; any form of
motive power, such as an oil-engine, gas-engine,
or water-wheel, is suitable, and, so long as
there is a suitable supply of water for con-
densing purposes, the store can quite well bo
built in any convenient position, or in the
place where power already exists. About
five horse-power is amply sufficient to work a
small cold store, and a small oil-engine will, in
country districts, be generally found most
suitable and economical for the purpose."

Royal Horticultural Society. — The
next meeting of the Floral and Fruit Com-
mittees will be held on Tuesday, March 11,
in the Drill Hall of the Loudon Scottish
Volunteers, Buckingham Gate, Westminster,
from 1 to 4 p.m. A lecture on " The New Soil
Science" will be given at 3 o'clock by Mr. R.
Hedger Wallace.

At a general meeting of the Royal

Horticultural Society held on Tuesday, Feb. 25,
seventy - two new Fellows were elected,
amongst them being the Marchioness of Lath,
Lady Ebury, Lady Lewis, Lady Peel, Lady
Ridley, Hon. Mrs. Parker, Hon. John Wallop,
Lieut.-Col. Jas. Campbell, Major W. D. Gar-
nett-Botfield, Surg.-Gen. A. Eteson, Capt. B.
J. St. George, and A. H. Lyell, M.A., F.S.A.,
making a total of 255 elected since the
beginning of the present year.

■ The prize schedule for the Crystal

Palace Fruit Show will be issued by the Royal
Horticultural Society on March 31, price (post
free) one penny. Donations towards the prize
fund will be gratefully received by the Secre-
tary of the Royal Horticultural Society, 117,
Victoria Street, London, S.W.

March 8, 1932.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

161

Horticultural Club. — The monthly
<linn3r will take place on Tuesday, March 11.
at 6 P.M., when the subject for discussion will
be " Birds in their relation to Horticulture,"
to be opened by Mr. C. E. PEARSON. Should
lime permit, it is proposed also to have a short
discussion on the future of the Club. Dr.
HENRY, who has done so much to make known
the Chinese flora, is to be the guest of the
< tub at an early date. Full particulars will be
shortly announced.

The "Thomas Rochford" Memorial. —
The members of the Turnford Hall Working
Men's Institute, founded in 1896 by the late
Mr. Tiios. Rochford, who died on October 12,
1901, have placed in their club-room a perma-
nent memorial of their late beloved President.
It is an oil painting, executed by Mr. Pry,
of Camden Square, and bears the inscrip-
tion :--" Thomas Rochford. Born 1849. Died
1901. Founder and first President of the
Turnford Hall Nurseries Institute. Subscribed
ffjr and presented to the Institute by the
members." The unveiling ceremony was per-
formed on Thursday evening by Mr. Joseph
Rochford. Mr. H. Kelsall, general manager,
presided, and Mr. T. P. TROUNCE, manager of
the London and County Bank, delivered an
interesting address on the life-work of the
deceased gentleman, who, he said, was no
ordinary man, but one endowed with excep-
tional attainments, and who seemed to be one
of the favoured ones of the spirit of success.
He was frank, and ever ready to assist by
advice or otherwise those who came openly to
li'jn ; but he disliked any who tried by subter-
fuge or deceit to secure his favour. His
energy was not devoted to the accumulation of
wealth alone, for he took in more land, and,
as it were, scattered more seed, thus making
more employment for reapers and gleaners.
No man better deserved the fruits of his
labour, and he was wont to mingle in the
pastimes and the pleasures of his men,
and his entire sympathy was with those
who worked for him. Mr. E. B. Bar-
jNARD, Sawbridgeworth, who also addressed
the meeting, described the late Mr. Roch-
ford as an idealist, who secured success
in business and the esteem of all who knew
him. Other gentlemen addressed the members,
and an enlarged photograph by Mr. H. Cle-
ments, was gratefully accepted by the mem-
bers, as were also one or two other gifts
reminiscent of the deceased.

Mr. C. Harman Payne. — We learn with
mmch satisfaction that the sympathetic
Foreign Secretary to the National Chrysanthe-
mum Society, Mr. C. H. Payne, has received a
fresh proof of the appreciation of his labours
from the Government of the French Republic,
which has appointed him Officer of the Order
of the Merite Agricole. This distinction has
been conferred upon him for his contribution
to French literature on the Chrysanthemum,
on the occasion of the last congress at
Bordeaux, when he won the Silver-gilt Medal
awarded to the best and most comprehensive
report in the French language upon that
interesting and extensive subject, the Chrys-
anthemum. But the French Government also,
no doubt, wished to acknowledge the valuable
aid which Mr. Payne rendered his French
confreres in the formation, and later on in the
organisation of their Society, which indeed is
a very great success. We believe Mr. Payne
is the first Englishman raised to the rank of
Officer of an Order which is seldom bestowed
upon foreigners of any nationality, and we
congratulate him upon his good fortune, and
much appreciate the kindly act of the French
Government.

M. Louis Gentil, who for three years
fdled the important post of Agronome et
Surintendant des Plantations du Haut-Congo,
and who last year was sent on a mission as
luspecteur Forestier do l'Etat Independant
du Congo by the Belgian Government, has
been appointed Chef des Serres et des
Cultures Coloniales du Jardin Botaniqne de
Bruxelles. After serving an apprenticeship in
a Government school of horticulture, and
staying for a time at the nursery of Messrs. J.
Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, Mr. Gentil entered
the Royal Gardens, Kew. During his stay in
England, the Societe Francaise d' Horticulture
de Londres, of which institution he was a most
active member, never had a more painstaking
secretary.

The Scottish Horticultural Associa-
tion proposes to celebrate its semi -jubilee
by a dinner to be held on March 21, at
129, Princes Street, Edinburgh. We wish
the event every success, and the society
continued prosperity. The Convener of the
Dinner Committee is Mr. A. Chalmers, 24,
Frederick Street, Edinburgh.

The Annual Meeting of the United Horti-
cultural Benefit and Provident Society is to
be held on Monday next, March 10, at 8 p.m.,
at the Caledonian Hotel, Adelphi Terrace,
Strand. Mr. Herbert J. Cutbush will preside.

The Surveyors' Institute. — A paper was
read by Mr. Rowland Berkeley (Associate),
entitled " Electric Railways and Street Com-
pensation." A discussion followed, and was
concluded, and a vote of thanks was unani-
mously passed to Mr. Berkeley for his paper.
The next ordinary general meeting will be
held in the Lecture Hall of the Institution on
Monday, March 10, when a paper will be read
by Mr. C. H. Bedells (Fellow), entitled "Notes
on the Insurance of Buildings against Fire."
The chair will be taken at 8 o'clock.

The Gardeners' Royal Benevolent In-
stitution. — A large gathering of horticul-
turists will be held on Wednesday, Mar. 12,
1902, at the City Hall, Eberle Street, Dale
Street, Liverpool, when R. J. Harvey Gibson,
Esq., M.A., F.L.S., has kindly consented to
preside. Harry J. Veitch, Esq., Treasurer,
and George J. Ingram, Esq., Secretary of the
Institution, have promised to be present to
give some account of the objects and advan-
tages of this beneficent society. At the con-
clusion of the meeting, a smoking concert will
be held, for which a large array of talented
artistes have generously tendered their ser-
vices. We confidently rely upon the united
support of gardeners (private and market),
seedsmen, nurserymen, and others interested
in horticulture, so that the result may prove
beneficial to the Institution, and creditable to
the city of Liverpool and district. The officers
and committee will gladly receive the names
of intending life members, subscribers, and
donors ; and will supply admission tickets (Is.
each), and any information required. Charles
Young, Chairman, West Derby; A. J. Crippin,
Treasurer, Egremont ; R. G. Waterman, Secre-
tary, Woolton.

Coming Exhibitions.— Further schedules
to hand include the following, viz., that of: —
The Royal Caledonian Horticultural So-
ciety, for their spring show, to be held on
May 7 and 8, and their autumn show on Sep-
tember 10 and 11. At the spring show, in
addition to 108 classes of the usual character,
there is to bo a very interesting competition
among under-gardeners, as announced in our
pages in August last. Thoy are required to
draw a plan to scale (40 feet to inch) for laying

out a piece of ground about twenty acres in
extent (as shown on a sketch published in the
schedule) for kitchen garden, flower garden,
and pleasure grounds. The plans have to be
returned to the secretary not later than
April 1. We hope there will be a good number
of competitors for the three prizes, £3, £2,
and £1, that are offered. The great autumn
exhibitions held in the Waverley Market,
Edinburgh, are remarkable for the fine dis-
plays of fruit, vegetables, and cut flowers then
shown, and the forthcoming event promises to
be as good as previous ones. The schedule
includes about 270 classes, aud the prizes in
the leading classes in each section are of a
liberal character. We may refer to a special
open competition, for which a sum of £10 is
offered in three prizes by Mr. and Mrs. J.
Martin White, of Balruddery, Dundee. These
are offered for the "best essay on the lasting
qualities, the preservation and arrangement
of different flowers, foliage, and plants in a
cut state in water, in either town or country,
and in the town distinct from the country,
including a statement of the conditions of age,
growth, weather, &c, for, and the methods of
cutting such flowers, foliage, and plants, and
their treatment afterwards, so as to last well ;
a description of the injurious effects of some
on others when placed together in water, and
suggestions as to their arrangement so as to
show them to the best advantage, having
regard both to economy and beauty." All
essays must be in the hands of the secretary
by August 1. If the first prize essay shows
particular merit, the first jirize may be in-
creased. The secretary is Mr. P. Murray'
Thomson, 5, York Place, Edinburgh.

The Croydon Horticultural Society will
hold its annual show on July 22 in the grounds
of Brickwood House. Roses are always a
special feature at this show, and altogether
there are 122 classes for these and for plants,
fruits, and vegetables. The secretary is Mr.
A. 0. Roffey, 55, Church Road, Croydon.

The Woking Horticultural Society holds
meetings on the second Thursday of each
month for the reading of papers, and for com-
petitions in a few classes arranged forsubjeets
particularly in season. The syllabus of lec-
tures to be given in the session commencing
March 13 is an excellent one. The secretary
is Mr. M. Rose, Elm Villa, Woking Village,
Woking.

Acacia cultriformis. — Mr. Gentle, gr. to
Mrs. Denison, who exhibited sprays of this
distinct and beautiful Acacia at the last meet-
ing of the Royal Horticultural Society,
informs us that the plant is ten ortwelve years
old, and that it is now in flower for the fourth
time.

Cork International Exhibition.— From
May till November of this year a great ex-
hibition will be held in this thriving and
progressive city. The attractions offered,
both those of a business character as well
as those of a recreative nature, are very
numerous.

" British Coccid/e." — We have been
kindly informed by a correspondent that this
very useful work, from the pen of Mr. Robert
Newstead, can be secured by sending one
guinea to the Secretary of the Ray Society,
Rev, Professor Wiltshire, 25, Granville Park,
Lewisham, Kent,

Early Flowers in St. Mary's Isle, Kirk-
cudbright.— We have received from the head
gardener to Captain J. Hope, at St. Mary's
Isle, a number of hardy flowers which have
opened since the cold snap in early February.
These include Arabis, Winter Aconite, He-

162

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 8, 1902.

paticus, Leucoium vernum, double and single-
flowered Snowdrops, Crocus, Primroses, Poly-
anthus, Blue Squills, Jastninum nudiflorum,
Laurustinus, Chimonanthus fragrans, Violets,
Mahoniaaquifolia, Wallflowers, Heaths, Daisies,
and Helleborus roseus. In the note sent by the
gardener at St. Mary's Isle, Mr. J. Jeffrey,
and inserted in last week's issue, p. 149, the
word Phloxes should have been Flaxes
(Phormiurn), much more tender plants.

Botany in Hungary and in Roumania. —
We have become accustomed to the receipt of
Japanese publications on horticulture, but
Hungarian and Roumanian papers have not
been so common. The first number of the
Magyar Botanikai Lapok (Untjtirische Bo-
tanische Bliitter) is before us. The text is in
Magyar, accompanied happily by a German
translation. Amongst its contents we note a
variety of the common Spruce, called Abies
(syn. Picea) ellipsoconis, of Borbas. The cone
is represented as erect, but that is probably
by mistake, and the branches are studded
with small glands. Another variety is called
var. adenoclada, Borbas, who refers it,
under the eccentric system of nomenclature
adopted by some, as Abies Abies (L.). Cer-
tainly Linn.eus never mentioned such a species.
The other publication is entitled Buletinul
Erbarului lnstitutitlui Botanic den Bucuresti
(Bulletin de VHerbicr dc I'Institut Botanique
de Bucarest), edited by Prof. Yladesco. The
second language here made use of is French,
and in some cases German.

Victoria Trickeri, hort.— This is now
determined to be the V. Cruzianaof D'Orbigny
of Paraguay. It is much hardier than the
Amazon species. The leaves are villous on the
under surface. Seeds may be sown in water
in February or the early part oi' March, in a
temperature of 75°. The seedlings may be
potted off in thumb-pots, and repotted when
the first floating leaf appears, repotting at
intervals till the season is sufficiently ad-
vanced to permit of their being planted in
summer quarters. The water should have a
temperature of 75° to 80°. Full details are
given by Mr. THICKER in the American Florist
for December 21.

The Beautification of Paris.— Paris will
soon possess a large new park in the Champ
de Mars. The Champ de Mars, known to those
who have visited the Universal Exhibitions held
there since 1807, is a rectangular area including
nearly 11,000 acres situated to the east of
Paris, and bounded on one side by the Ecole
Militaire, and on the other by the Seine, by
the borders of which is the Eiffel tower. Until
1889 this large space served as an exercising
ground for the troops of the Paris garrison.
After the Exhibition of 1889, part of the build-
ings of that Exhibition (Galerie des Machines,
Palais des Arts Liberaux, &c), were pre-
served, and the Minister of War received as
compensation some ground outside the fortifi-
cations of the city. The Champ de Mars re-
mained partly unoccupied until 1900, when it
was again covered with the Exhibition build-
ings. It seems now arranged by general con-
sent not to have another Universal Exhibition,
at least, not in the middle of Paris. It is there-
fore decided to use this large and often empty
Space as a park, and this, after long negotiations
between the City of Paris and the State. The
Galerie des Machines (Galerie d'Alimentation
and Salle des Fetes in 1900), and the other
buildings are to be taken down, the ground
cleared, and a park made with ornamental
water, rock-work, plantations, &c, the whole
forming a picturesque effect comparable to the
Buttes Chaumout designed by Alphand. The

neighbouring land will be sold, and the pur-
chasers required to erect handsome-looking
houses. It is hoped thus to impart beauty to
a quarter which hitherto has been dull, and
even dangerous, owing to the low population
attracted by the vicinity of the barracks and
this deserted space. Gf. T. G.

Dawlish.— The last addition to the Home-
land Handbooks is devoted to Dawlish and the
Estuary of the Exe, with notes on Chudleigh ;
by Beatrix Cresswell, illustrated by Gordon
Home. This ia the usual modern, chatty
guide-book mentioning the objects of beauty
and interest round the locality treated of. In
an appendix will be found details of some of
the screens preserved in the country churches,
these Devonshire screens having for some
time past been studied by the author. We
are grateful, also, for accounts of some of the
landed estates in the neighbourhood ; these
are, of course, not open to the public, though
it is often possible to obtain permission to
visit them. At Mamhead, according to the
writer, "The first Ilex Oaks were grown, from
Acorns brought over in 1096. I have been
told that the avenue of Spanish Chestnuts,
which leads up to the house on the Starcross
side of the property, was grown from some
Chestnuts brought home after the Peninsular
War, but I cannot vouch for the accuracy of
the assertion. The ' Lucombe Oak,' a hybrid of
the Ilex, was first grown here by Mr. Lucombe,
who was gardener at Mamhead, and since well
known in the firm of Lucombe & Pince,
whose beautiful gardens are near Exeter. . . .
Here in 1775 Boswell came to stay ; he men-
tions setting out 'on a visit to the Earl of
Pembroke at Wilton, and my friend Mr.
Temple at Mamhead, in Devonshire.' At that
time Mamhead Park was in the possession of
the first Earl of Lisburne. In Mamhead
churchyard is an enormous Yew-tree, the most
notable tree on the estate ; its size and magni-
ficence so impressed Boswell that he made a
vow underneath it never to be drunk again."
Of Powderham and Powderham Park we hear
praise, and a brief notice that there are fine
Oaks and Rhododendrons in the Park, but the
chief plant wonder of the place is not men-
tioned at all. This is the giant Eucalyptus
coccifera, already upwards of 40 feet high,
and, we believe, still flourishing. We advise
those who admire English scenery to visit for
themselves the sceues commended in this book,
whose charms are those of woodland, sea, and
archreology. This guide, and the others of the
series, are published by The Homeland Asso-
ciation, Ld., St. Bride's House, 24, Bride
Lane, Fleet Street, E.C.

The Bronvaux Medlar.— M. Jouin, in the
number of the Jardin for January 20, gives
some further details respecting this alleged
graft hybrid. This Medlar is grafted on the
Hawthorn. Immediately below the graft a
branch (1) is developed which is neither that
of a Medlar nor of a Hawthorn. Another
branch (2) springs from the same point side by
side with No. 1. A third branch (3) springs
from the trunk of the tree on the opposite side
to the two preceding branches. The lower
part of this third branch presents the cha-
racters of the Hawthorn, but the upper portion
differs from both the Hawthorn and the
Medlar. Branch No. 1 has produced one shoot
which in no wise differs from the Medlar, and
also a forked branchlet, which has produced
on one side an inflorescence of the Hawthorn,
and on the other a corymb of eight Medlar
flowers. These variations have been grafted
in their turn, and remain constant. M. Jouin
describes in full some of these graft-hybrids,

together with illustrations. Thus this curious
Medlar resembles the Adams' Laburnum, which
excites so much surprise every spring. Since
the discovery by Mr. Walter Gardiner of
the continuity of protoplasm, these cases have
become a little more intelligible than they
were before. At one time the cell was con-
sidered as a closed bag, so that the proto-
plasm of one cell had no direct communication
with the contents of its neighbour. Now it
has been proved that in very many cases there
is direct continuity between the plasm of one
cell and that of another, so that the whole
plant may be looked on as one mass of plasm
imperfectly separated into separate masses by
cells with permeable walls.

" The Queensland Flora."— The fourth
part of this useful publication, prepared by
Mr. F. Manson Bailey, the Colonial Botanist,
has just been issued. It is modelled on the
same plan as the Colonial Floras, but differs
from them in containing illustrations ; thus in
the present part we find representations of no
fewer than eight species of Nepenthes, as N.
Kennedyana, Bernaysii, albo-lineata, Moorei,
Jardinei, Rowanpe, Alicse, and Cholmondeleyi.
How such a book could have been produced!
away from our large herbaria would be a
matter of surprise if we had not recalled the
fact that Bentham's Flora Australiensis was at
hand to guide the author. But in any case the
production is a remarkable one, and confers
the highest credit on Mr. Bajley. The printers-
also deserve a meed of approbation, as the
work is as well turned out as if it had been
issued in London. The present part concludes
the first volume, and is provided with a good
index.

Rose Shows in 1902.— The following list
of Rose show fixtures has been kindly for-
warded by Mr. Ed. Mawley : — June 11 (Wed-
nesday), York (three days) ; June 24 (Tues-
day), Holland Park, London, W., Rose Con-
ference (R.H.S.) (two days) ; June 28
(Saturday), Maidstone and Windsor; June 30"
(Monday), Canterbury; July 2 (Wednesday),
Temple Gardens, London, E.C. (N.R.S.), Croy-
don, Hanley (two days), and Richmond
(Surrey) ; July 3 (Thursday), Colchester and
Norwich ; July 4 (Friday), Exeter (N.R.S.) ;
July 5 (Saturday), Sutton (Surrey) ; July 8
(Tuesday), Gloucester and Harrow ; July 9
(Wednesday), Ealing, Farningham, Formby,
Hereford, and Stevenage ; July 10 (Thursday),
Bath, Eltham, and Woodbridge ; July 17
(Thursday), Helensburgh and Halifax ; July 19-
(Saturday), Manchester (N.R.S.) ; July 22
(Tuesday), Tibshelf; July 23 (Wednesday),
Cardiff (two days). The above are all the
dates that have as yet reached us of Rose
shows and other horticultural exhibitions
where Roses form a leading feature.

Arbor -Day in Britain. — An essay has
reached us written by Mr. Elliott Tlll.
for the Society for the Protection of Birds
(3, Hanover Square, W.) on the best means
of establishing a "Bird and Arbor-Day"
in the British Isles. The author, like another-
Evelyn, notes the depletion of the wood-
lands for ship and other building, and the
waste of bird-life also. He pleads for the
planting of souvenir and other trees, as well
as for careful re-afforestation to compensate
for compulsory clearances. With regard to-
birds, Mr. Till claims that they are valuable
as insect-destroyers, as well as interesting for
many other causes, and that the extirpation of
at least the rarer sorts would be a real
calamity. We cannot sympathise fully with
the praise of clipped trees and vegetable

March 8, 1902.]

THE GARD ENER S1 CHR ONICL E.

163

curiosities, but quite agree that children
should be taught, by means of object-lessons,
to study the uses both of birds and of trees,
and tp observe without destroying them. As
regards the institution mentioned in the title
the author says: "Festina lente is a good
motto to bear in mind in the endeavour to
advance Bird and Arbor-Day. Attempt it first
in one or two counties. I suggest Surrey and
Essex. The forces which operated to bring
about Arbor-Days in America may perhaps be
present in England, but in nothing like the
same degree. The idea should grow gradually,
not be forced ; a natural growth will result if
the idea be properly cultivated." The plant-
ing of fruit-trees by road-sides, as done on the
continent, should also receive attention. In
conclusion, we must mention the charming
plates illustrative of trees and of a bird that
are shown us in this pamphlet, whose aims
Command our sympathy.

Fruit to Australia.— We learn from the
Liverpool Journal of Commerce of February 24
that the Orient Pacific Company has issued a
- ?lr<:ular offei-ing to take fruit and vegetables
to Australia at a rate per box. The boxes are
not to be larger than 2 feet 10 inches cubic
measurement, and half-boxes are to be allowed
if they do not exceed 1 foot 5 inches. The
freight to Fremantle is to be 5s. per box, and
2s. 9d. per half-box ; and to the other ports,
4s. 3d. and 2s. 3d. Arrangements will be
made for the transhipment of boxes to such
Australasian ports as the Company does not
call at. It is quite likely that this may be
the beginning of an important trade with the
Colonies, for, though Australia produces a
large amount of fruit on her own account, the
seasons here and there are interchanged, and
European fruit will come in when their trees
are not in bearing.

Australian Apples.— The following mes-
sage has been received from Sydney, advising
the following shipment of fruit from the
Colonies:— By the Orient Co.'s SS. Austral,
«xpected on 29th inst. in London, 16,000 boxes ;
by the P. & O. Co.'s SS. Arcadia, expected
home about the 5th prox., 18,000 boxes.

Fruit from the Cape.— It is pleasing to
note the regular despatch of fruit from Cape
Town. The last advices to hand state that,
concerning the Union Castle Company's ship,
Dunvegan Castle, which has brought 540 boxes
of Plums, 520 of Peaches, 117 of Nectarines,
106 of Pears, 120 of Grapes, and 2 of Grena-
dillas ; total, 1411 boxes.

Forestry.— The Right Hon. R. W. Han-
bury, M.P., President of the Board of Agri-
culture, has appointed a departmental com-
mittee to enquire into and report as to the
present position and future prospects of
forestry, and the planting and management of
woodlands in Great Britain, and to consider
whether any measures might with advantage
be taken, either by the provision of further
i -educational facilities or otherwise, for their
promotion and encouragement. The committee
consists of the following gentlemen, viz. : —
Mr. Ronald C. Munro-Ferguson, M.P. (Chair-
i man), Sir John F. L. Rolleston, M.P., Mr.
| Edward Stafford Howard, C.B., a Commis-
• sioncr of his Majesty's Woods, Forests, and
i Land Revenues ; Professor W. Sciilicii, C.I.E.,
Ph.D., Professor of Forestry, Royal Indian
Engineering College, Cooper's Hill; Colonel
Frederick Bailey, R.E., Lecturer on Forestry,
Edinburgh University; Professor John R.
; •Campbell, B.Sc, an Assistant Secretary to
', the Department of Agriculture and other In-
dustries, and Technical Instruction for Ire-
land; Mr. John Herbert Lewis, M.P., Mr.

George Marshall, and Dr. William Somer-
ville, an Assistant Secretary to the Board of
Agriculture. Mr. Reginald H. Hooker, of
the Board of Agriculture, is the Secretary to
the committee.

Horticulturists and the Sale of
Poisons. —At the Newcastle -under -Lyme
Police-court, on Monday, March 3, two florists
and horticulturists, of Newcastle, were sum-
moned at the instance of the Pharmaceutical
Society, under Section 17 of the Pharmacy
Act, 1868, for selling a poisonous vegetable
alkaloid without a label being attached to
the vessel in which it was supplied bearing
the word poison, and the name and address
of the seller. A pint of XL-All insecticide
was supplied in an old brandy-bottle without
any label except one relating to brandy.
No warning was given. Morgan used a
little of the insecticide and placed the bottle
on a bench in the potting-shed of his employer's
garden. On January 23 a man named Thomas
Bullock was working in the garden, and some
beer which he sent for was also put in the
potting-shed. The beer was in a bottle very
similar to that containing the insecticide,
and Bullock in mistake drank some of the
latter and died in a short time. After a long
hearing, the Chairman said the Bench were
unanimous that an offence had been proved,
and fined the defendants £2 and costs. Journal
of Horticulture.

stops bleeding. [It is good practice to bury
the cuttings head downwards in fairly dry
sand till all are ready for dibbling in the cut-
ting-pots. Ed.] If put into the close propa-
gatmg-pit before they get withered, and
given a slight sprinkling, and more water
after the base of the cuttings has dried up,
they will root without losing a leaf. The
advantage of having the strong cuttings is,
that they will have large leaves down to the
base of the plants. Any early-struck plants
which have their tops taken off, if cut down
to about 4 inches from the pots, will break
with two or three shoots each, and make useful
plants for growing in large pots. Care must
be taken that the cuttings are removed from
the close pit as soon as rooted, and after a few
days they may be fully exposed to the sun.
With careful attention to affording water,
Poinsett ias may be grown on through the
summer without any shading, and when the
sun gets less powerful, they should be kept up
as near the glass as possible. They will
require no artificial heat until the nights get
cold ; but care must be taken that they are
not left in a cold-house too long, for though
they may not appear to suffer at the time, they
will lose their leaves as soon as given more
warmth. A. Hemsleij.

CULTURAL MEMORANDUM.

PROPAGATING POINSETTIAS.

It is not an uncommon error" to start this
plant into growth at too early a date, with the
result that it gets tall, and by the time it
should begin to form its bracts, it has begun
to lose vigour, and does not form as fine heads
as a younger plant would do. If cuttings be put
in during June, or even as late as July, they
will produce fine heads of bracts, provided the
treatment is good. An important point is
good strong cuttings, which can only be ob-
tained by giving early attention to the stock
plants. If the stock of plants is limited,
some cuttings may be put in early, and the
tops taken off later on. The plants that have
been dried off may be started at this season
by placing them in a light, warm position,
and syringing them regularly, but not afford-
ing much, if any, water at the roots until
growth has begun. Some of the old soil may
be replaced with fresh loamy material. The
first growths are usually thin, and may be cut
off, and when they start again the shoots may
be thinned out, leaving from three to five on
a plant. As stated above, if the stock of
plants is short, the early growths may be
used for cuttings. There is little difiiculty in
propagating Poinsettias if the accommodation
is suitable, viz., a close garden-frame set on a
dung-bed, having a bottom-heat of 80° ; but I
prefer an indoor propagating-pit, this being
more under control in all weathers, for it is
most essential that they should have careful
attention.

The cuttings should be inserted singly in
3-inch pots filled with a compost consisting of
loam and leaf-mould, with enough sharp sand
as will make it porous. Cut the shoots close
under a joint. Those stems that have made
much growth will be hollow between the
joints, but that is no detriment if they aro
carefully treated, for they will root as freely
as others, cut close to the old wood. Some
dry sand should be applied to the base of the
cuttings as soon as they are taken off ; this

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

planting fruit-trees on the sides of
roads.— I was glad to read Mr. F. W. Bur-
bidge's note at p. 140, in the issue of the
Gardeners' Chronicle for March 1, recommend-
ing the planting of fruit trees at the sides of
public roads. I hope this matcer will be taken
up by landowners, and the practice more
generally adopted. I have several times advo-
cated this in the pages of the Gardeners'
Chronicle, but I fear without result so far;
but I would like to say again, that not only
roadsides but hedgerows and divisions of
fields everywhere in all parts of the country,
whore nothing profitable or beautiful is grow-
ing, might with advantage, and without any
large outlay of money, be planted with stan-
dard trees of Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry,
Damson, and other fruits ; the landscape would
be beautified in a very short space of time,
and profitable returns would come in due time.
I am told that in some parts of Franco many
miles on both sides of the roads are planted
with Cherry-trees, which afford abundance of
fruit, and have a beautiful effect when in
bloom. I believe that with the exception of
sparrows, the French arc not troubled so much
during the fruit season with birds as we in
England. If this practice were common
throughout the country, its aspect would be
much improved, to say nothing of the profit
accruing to the owner of the trees. Bailey
Wadds, Birdsall, York.

win ter-flowering carnations. — Replying
to Mr. Slade's query regarding Mrs. Leopold
de Rothschild, I have met with only one
variety under this name, and it is undoubtedly
the same variety that is known as Madamo
Therese Franco. With regard to the merits of
this Carnation, Mr. Slade is not alone in his
opinion, for I have heard some trade growers
make the complaint that it does not flower so
freely as they could wish. On the other
hand, I find that some consider it to be the
best pink coloured variety yet raised. I
myself should still give the preference to
the old favourite Miss Joliffo ; or rather tho
improved variety of it, for in this the side
shoots follow on, and come into flower much
sooner than do those of Mrs. L. de Rothschild.
Mr. Slade refers to the number of side shoots
that this produces, and if he would put tho
phints on, all of those side shoots would Come
into (tower in due time. The spring struck
plants do not have sufficient time for these
side shoots to flower until the following spring ;

164

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

[March 8, 196?.

but those propagated in October and stopped
the following May will, if potted on, make fine
bushy plants, 'which should flower well the
following winter. I have seen it grown and
flowered in 7-inch pots most satisfactorily.
"While writing about Carnations, I should like
to say a word in favour of C. Countess of
Warwick, a variety which was raised from
"Winter Cheer, fertilised with pollen of a
seedling, the result of an earlier cross with
Winter Cheer and Uriah Pike. It is not quite
so dwarf as the seed pareut, but it is equally
free-flowering, and the flowers are of a bright
crimson colour, with broad petals and a perfect
calyx. I have found WinterC'heerto seed freely,
and have raised some good varieties from it ;
but although I have persevered, I have never
succeeded in getting good seed from Miss
Joliffe, while in others which appeared less
likely to seed have proved very prolific.
A. Eemsley.

BEGONIA GLOIRE DE LORRAINE AS A TABLE

plant. — I was interested in reading the
article on p. 89 concerning table decorations,
but I was surprised that the writer made no
mention of so good a plant for this purpose as
Begonia Gloire de Lorraine. This plant when
in flower has a pretty effect either by daylight
or artificial light. The plants should be grown
in 6-inch pots to a height of 15 inches. Small
sprays of flowers and leaves may also be placed
in small vases, or used in tracery, no other
blooms being used. C. L. Branson.

GLADIOLUS INJURED BY FUMIGATION. —

I enclose a few leaves of forms of Gladiolus
nanus, which, like those of Watsonia, I showed
last year, have become damaged by a very
slight fumigation. It is singular that these
things should suffer when young fronds of
Ferns growing in the same house are unin-
jured. It cannot, I think, be too widely known
that these plants cannot stand fumigation with
tobacco or preparations thereof without injury.
Is there any peculiarity in the cuticle of the
leaf that would account for this ? The inner
cellular tissues have quite collapsed. I have
noted that many Cape plants — particularly
Gastronema sanguineum — are similarly affected
when fumigated. Geo. B. Mallett, Colchester.

THE wet o. stale egg. — Since the appear-
ance of the " Wet v. Stale Egg " letter in your
recent issue and other papers, I have received
several hundreds of letters asking the nature
of water-glass, and where it can be obtained.
Water-glass is a silicate of soda, and is supplied
by many wholesale as well as retail chemists,
and is used for other trade purposes besides egg-
preserving. I may say that a leaflet has been
issued by the Irish Board of Agriculture, and
also that a very explicit pamphlet has been
printed by the Leicestershire Egg-preserving
Depot, Hinckley, price 4UI., and this I shall
be pleased to forward post-free to anyone who
may desire detailed information. K.B. Baghot-
De la Bere, Burbage Hall, Leicestershire.

ARTIFICIAL MANURES FOR SWEET PEAS. —
Last season my Sweet Peas were doing very
badly, which I attributed to the poor kind of
manure at my disposal — peat-moss litter from
the stables. The dry season, together with
the dry state of the manure, prevented it
decomposing in the ground, as was observed
in the autumn, when it was turned up with the
spade almost as dry as when it was dug in.
Having some artificial manure by me, the same
as I use for Pear-trees, consisting of one
part muriate of potash and two parts mineral
superphosphate of lime, I gave them a sprink-
ling with this every fortnight, which was well
watered in. The result was very marked, for
the plants grew vigorously, flowered profusely,
and the blooms were of a much brighter colour
than usual, and very large in size, on long
stalks; but they lacked substance, and would
not stand the bright sunshine without be-
coming discoloured ; dampness likewise caused
them to decay. The seed-pods were kept cut
off as often as time would allow, excepting on
one occasion, when they were left rather
longer than usual ; I noticed then every pod

was well filled with small seeds, which I think
goes to prove it an excellent manure for
culinary varieties. In another part of the
garden I sowed some fifty varieties on a well-
prepared border, for the purpose of a screen.
Being anxious to get quick growth, and with
the view of testing the efficacy of the different
manures, 1 gave them water every fortnight
with sulphate of ammonia in it, of a strength
of 2 oz. to 4 gallons of water. The result was
a much closer jointed and firmer growth, but
they did not bloom so freely, neither were the
blooms so large as those dressed with the
muriate of potash; but the colour of the
flowers was equally good, and I found that they
lasted much longer when cut, and also when
left on the haulm. I do not say these manures
would produce the same results on all kinds of
soil; it would be interesting to know the dif-
ferent effects on different soils. To under-
stand the application of manures thoroughly,
we should all know the chemical analysis of
the soil, so as to be able to add those con-
stituents in which it is deficient. A great
many of us give indiscriminately the same
manure to everything, but I am not a believer
in the same salve for every sore. Here the
soil in both cases was the same, that is, a
rather heavy, chalky nature. I have not as
yet tried here a mixture of two parts kainit
and one part nitrate of soda, but did so some
four years ago with Sweet Peas growing on a
light sandy loam, sprinkling a little along the
rows, not too close to the plants, for fear of
injuring them, and applying water afterwards,
repeating this application every ten days.
The results in this case were good ; there was
no damping or scalding of the flowers, and
they were of good size and colour. 11'. H.
Clarke, Aston Roxvant Gardens, Oxon.

FLORISTS' FLOWERS AT THE DRILL HALL. —

It is exceedingly interesting to observe in
the arrangements of the Royal Horticultural
Society for the present year, how the various
special societies are sheltering themselves
under its wing. The National Auricula So-
ciety has stuck to the Drill Hall loyally ; the
National Tulip Society, hitherto holding its
southern competitions at the Temple Show,
where they were amidst the immense wealth
of exhibits somewhat lost, now has them at
the Drill Hall on May 20. The National
Carnation Society, evidently not successful
in its flirtations with the grand lady of
Sydenham Hill, returns to its old love, the
Royal Horticultural Society, on July 22, with
a big schedule ; and on September 2, the
National Dahlia Society brings its great show
of flowers from the Crystal Palace to the Drill
Hall. What remarkable additions to the
Fellows' privileges do these shows present ?
Whatever may be the deficiencies of the Drill
Hall, at least flowers will keep fresh longer
there than anywhere else. A. D.

the fleur-de-lys. — Amongst the many
interesting and beautiful buildings that abound
in the city of Reims, none is more worthy of
attention than the ancient Abbey Church of
St. Remi, founded by Clovis and Clotilda in
the first part of the sixth century. When
visiting this church with some friends a few
years since, we were impressed by the curious
appearance of an old piece of tapestry, which
hung on the wall of the sacristy. It was of
extremely early date, and the scene repre-
sented on the arras was apparently intended
to commemorate the triumphant return of some
kingly warrior to his people. The hero was
on horseback ; close behind him rode a retainer
bearing the royal shield, on which were dis-
played three emblems, which at the first casual
glance we accepted as the orthodox badge of
the Kings of France — the Fleur-de-Lys ; but a
closer inspection revealed the fact that these
were no "Lilies of France," but three un-
mistakable toads, grouped heraldically, their
eyes were clearly denned, and their limbs
attached to their bodies. On reflection, one
can perceive how the conventional Fleur-de-
Lys can be the natural evolution of such a
weird device. This can be tested by copying
the Fleur-de-Lys in its most primitive form,

and then sketching the outline of a toad in as '
simple and conventional a manner as possible,
adding the eyes ; and then comparing the two j
drawings, when the likeness between them is ,
very noticeable. The unusual interest we
displayed in the old tapestry at Reims seemed :
to amuse our guide, the sacristan. He told us
it was stated to be one of the most ancient |
specimens of the handicraft still preserved to
France, and that the badge on the royal shield !
was certainly intended to represent three -
toads, which was the primitive cognizance of
the Kings of France, until Clovis transformed
the reptiles into the conventional Fleur-de-
Lys. On consulting Murray's Handbook of
France later in the day, we read therein but a
brief description of the old tapestry, but what
little account there was fully corroborated all
the sacristan had related concerning the
traditional evolution of the Fleur-de-Lys. I
have often seen the origin of the Fleur-de-Lys
ascribed to the Lily, and the Iris. Eliezer
Edwards, in his dictionary of Word*, Fasts
and Phrases, says of it: " Louis VII. adopted
the Iris as his badge when he formed the
crusade, which led to its being called Fleur-
de-Louis. This in the course of time has been
corrupted to Fleur-de-Lis, the name it still
retains in France, and in the southern parts of
England." The evoluti n of the Fleur-de-Lys
from a flower appears to be the universal and
accepted tradition, and never, except at
Reims, have I heard it suggested that after
all it may be an idealised representation of
the humble toad. E. M. W.

RAINFALL IN 1901 IN CENTRAL IRELAND. —

Some of your readers may like to know the
amount of the rainfall during 1901 at Belve-
dere, West Meath, which is near the centre of
Ireland : —

Month.

January
February ...
March

April

May

June

July

August
September...
October
November ...
December ...

Total ...

Number

Total

Greatest fall in

of Days

Depth.

24 Hours.

01 or
more tell.

Inches.

Depth.

Date.

3 70

•87

18

20

181

•35

1

13.

348

•56

29

15

224

•80

2

16

189

■37

i

12

2 74

130

22

13

0'9i

•56

1

«

271

•58

9

19-

548

1 20

17

23

3 44

'65

29

21

341

205

11

13

370

'65

7

20

35 54

197

C. Brinslfij-Mnrlcij.
THE RAINFALL AT SHIPLEY HALL, DERBY, IN

1901.— January, 1-61 in.; February, 1-38 in.;
March, 2-21 in. ; April, P76 in. ; May, P02 in.;
June, 1-79 in. ; July, 505 in. ; August, P52 ml
September, 1-45 in. ; October, 1*55 in. ; No- i
vember, 2-31 in. ; December, 4-25 in. Total
for the year, 25-90 in. This quantity of rain
and snow is almost as much below the average
as that of 1900 was above it. July, as will be
seen, was the wettest month, usurping in this
respect the position taken by August in the
previous year. More than half the July total
fell in two consecutive days, viz., the 25th
and 26th, when the falls were respectively
1"18 and P54 in. Part of the December record
was due to the extraordinary and disastrous
snowstorm of the 13th, in which over 1 foot of
snow fell in the course of a very few hours,
the snow being in that condition when it
sticks closely to anything on which it may
fall. J. C Tallack.

peas and manure. — Whatever kind of
manure be applied to Peas, it should be well
decayed and thoroughly mixed with the soil, '
which should be double dug or trenched. A
thick layer of manure beneath the roots of Peas
if it cakes in dry weather does more harm than
good, causing abundant mildew ; but a mulch
applied to the soil alongside the rows, and
water applied in dry weather, is of great
assistance. My experience in Pea-growing is
not limited to one garden or kind of soil, and

March 8, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

165

I have been obliged to produce good Peas
from the end of May till late in the season.
The surest method by which Peas may be
obtained in quantity is to treat the land in
the manner stated, and not put the manure in
layers. Many gardeners believe in the efficacy
of layers of manure at the bottom of trenches
in conserving moisture in the soil, but of this
idea lam rather doubtful, and prefer to mix it
with the whole body of soil. L.

RETARDED LILY OF THE VALLEY. — With regard

to " Midlands " note on p. 99, the thought has
occurred to me, do people carry out properly
the directions given them before they begin
to think there are trade secrets with regard
to the successful cultivation of this or that
plant ? I think any good firm who sells re-
tarded plants will, if asked, always give
directions as to the subsequent treatment
necessary, and do in some cases send out
printed directions with the plants. In my
own case, not having had any experience with
retarded crowns of Lily of the Valley, and
hearing quite diverse opinions from those of
my friends who had, I asked the firm who sup-
plied me if any special treatment was required,
and the answer was, "Nothing beyond the
directions printed in catalogue." As this
batch was wanted for a special occasion, I was

plant-houses or for decorating ball-rooms, as
well as for affording stems for cutting. In this
method of cultivation, the plants must be sup-
plied with liquid-manure at frequent intervals,
or the foliage will become yellow and stunted.
As a basket plant, or for training along the
rafters of the conservatory or stove-house,
this species is unrivalled. Another use for
the plant is for bordering the plant-stages or
hiding the hot-water pipes ; and when asso-
ciated with Oplismenus Burmanni variegata in
the stove, it is very pleasing. H. T. Martin.

OCIETIES.

EOYAL HORTICULTURAL.
Scientific Committee.

February 25. — Present : A. D. Michael, Esq., in the
chair; Rev. W. Wilks, Messrs. Saunders, Douglas,
Bennett-Poo, Odell, Chapman, Hooper, Holmes, Nichol-
son, Worsdell, Boulger, Bowles, Carruthers (visitor),
Drs. Miiller, Rendle, Cooke, and Masters.

Diseased Leaves of Odontoglossum. — Mr. Chapman
showed leaves showing discoloration and shrivelling
of the leaf-tips, attributable to excessive moisture and
unfavourable climatic conditions. There was no trace
of fungus.

x ^

oo
oo

©

FIG. 49. — AIR-CASALS OF NYMI'II.l-.AS.
A, n, Plan of section of flower-stalks. I, 2, 3, Plan of arrangement in leaf stalk'

very particular that the treatment recom-
mended was carried out in every detail, and
the result was the finest lot of Lily of the
"Valley, with plenty of healthy foliage, I had
e^er had in mid-winter. 1 have determined to
always use retarded crowns for early forcing.
To my mind, success in plant growing, as in other
things, is brought about by strict attention to
little details, and by allowing nothing to be
too much trouble, remembering what is worth
doing is worth doing well. J. Q. W., Bess-
borovgh Gardens, Ireland.

asparagus SPRENGERi.— There is no ever-
green plant of a decumbent character that can
be put to more varied uses than Asparagus
Sprengeri, and thero is no plant cultivated
under glass that will thrive better under
adverse conditions. It will grow in the stove
or the cold greenhouse, provided plenty of
water, a suitable soil, and good drainage are
afforded. When market-gardeners take up the
extensive cultivation of a certain plant, as is
the case with this plant, we may know that
there is a good demand for it, and that thore
is " money in it." Well grown plants produce
sprays of light green, feathery foliage, of 4 to
5 fett in length. Liberal treatment is re
quired in order to obtain these results. Where
largo quantities are required, it is advisable
to provide boxes or confined borders in which
to plant, where the fleshy, tuber-like roots
may ramble in search of nutriment. The soil
should largely consist of friable loam, sand,
and mortar-rubble. The plant may also bo
cultivated in pots for the cinucllisb.ii cnt of

Alleged Hybrid between ren and Dwarf Bean. — Dr.

Masters showed, on behalf of Mr. SMITHS, a Pea like
seed raised, as was stated, between a dwarf Bean and
one of the culinary Peas. The seeds of the Bean-parent
were shown, in the form of small, flattened, kiduey-
shaped Eeeds, of a shining chestnut-brown colour.
The supposed hybrid seed resembled a smooth, round
Pea in size, form, and colour. As there was only oue
seed available, no minute examination was made, but
the seed was forwarded to Chiswick to be grown and
reported on.

Xarcissns poelicus car. ornatus. — Mr. Jenkins sent
flowers of this variety to show the manner in which
the coloured edge of the corona was eaten off by slugs,
leaving the yellow cup untouched. Whether the slugs
are attracted by the reddish colour or seductive
flavour of the rim of the corona, or by some other
inducement, is a matter for investigation.

tiuaitroii AStevhU 8j>. — From the Botanic Garden, Bath,
came a globular woody excrescence crowded with buds
and contracted shoots. The tree is reported to lieu-
very numerous such growths, from some of which the
(lowers protrude, so that their appearance is at that
period peculiar and attractive. It was suggested that
these outgrowths might be the result of the irritation
set up by mites or by fungus (Exoascus). [See p. 157 of
our present issue.]

Oaaur on AUamanda —A similar production on the
branch oi an Allamandawas shown from Mr. Bedford,
Stratl'an Gardens, Kildarc; but in this case there were
no budsorshoots. It was suggested that the irritation
occasioned by ants was competent to induce such
growths.

Dfteoied Leaven.— Miss Di.ydks sent various leaves,
as follows:— (1) Violet leaves. These were affected with

red-spider and thrips, for which the application of
tobacco-water and soft-soap as a wash was recom-
mended. (2) Leaves of bulbous plant from Burmau.
These were marked by red streaks, and ultimately hy
the decay and shrivelling of the tip of the leaf. The
appearances were such as are occasioned by thrip, for
which fumigation with tobacco or XL All is very
effectual. (:i) Pelargonium - leaves discoloured and
shrivelled. No insect or fungus could be found on
these leaves, the condition of which was attributed to
unfavourablecondilions of light, temperature, moist n:e,
or all combined.

Cyclamen Flowers, Synanthy in — Mr. J. S. Davis sent
flowers of Cyclamen more or less united one to another,
and with leaves developed on the flower- stalk.
Although the appearances are far from uncommon, it.
is not easy to assign a definite cause for their
production.

Fasciated Holly.— Mrs. Morley, Southborough, sent a
specimen of this malformation, due to excessive
growth. It presented no special peculiarities.

The Wood lAopard Moth.— Mr. A. D. Webster sent
specimens from Greenwich Park, to show how severely
the trees were suffering from tlio effects of this
tunnelling caterpillar.

Bacteriosis in Carnitions. — Dr. Cooke reported as
follows on some specimens exhibited at the last,
meeting :—" The Carnation -leaves sent to the last
meeting arc undoubtedly affected by the disease
described as Bacteriosis. The appearance of the leaves
is strikingly like that figured in the Bulletin o! Iht
V S.A. Experinietd Station, Purdue University, May .,
1H96, p. 549, and the minute organisms, whatever they
may be, are similar. The name given to the parasite is
Bacterium Dianthi. The disease is said to enter Hie
plants chiefly through the punctures made by aphides,
and the suggestions irade are that the plants may be
kept essentially free from the disease by keeping lie
foliage dry, and preventing the presence of aphides.
Overhead spraying should only be done occasionally ou
bright days, with water containing a small amount o£
ammoniacal copper carbonate."

termination of the Seeds of Crinum and other Amaru!!. ,'.*.
—Mr. Worsi.ev contributed a paper accompanied by
illusta'ions. Mr. Worsley contends that the structure
usually considered a cotyledon is not truly so nan-cd.
for it has no counterpart among dicotyledons, and it.
does not perform the functions of acotyledon. Mole-
over, Mr. Worsley thinks that " in comparative
anatomy, function is a safer guide than locality. "

.NYir Species of Hippcastrum.—Hr. Worsley showed a
flower of this supposed new species, with the following
note :—

"Hippeatrum Knmeri.— This unrecorded species was
introduced by Mr. Kroner of the Roraima Nurseries,
W. Croydon, who both presented me with a bulb and
sent flowers of o' her bulbs not showing any divergence.
It was gathered in the highlands of Minas Geracs,
Brazil, on the banks of the Upper Rio Sao Francisco.
It holds til intermediate position between the rutiliuii-
reginte group, and the epiphytal group inhabiting ll.c
Organ Mountains. It seems nearest akin, geogia-
phically and generally, with II. correiense (Bliry.
Hexand., «)."

Air-canals in Nymphteat.— The arrangement of the a '.
canals here shown, tig. 49, formed the subject el ■<■
communication to the Scientific Committee at its
previous meeting, and will be discussed in detail ma
future number of the Journal of the R II S.

BOLTON HORTICULTURAL AND
CHRYSANTHEMUM.

FKiiiit ahy 11.— The adjourned general meeting ol
this society was held on the above date. The state-
ment of accounts for the past year wai adopted,
showing a nctt loss of £15, 0«. 9rf. on the year's wot k i ill
It was unanimously agreed that the retiring President
(Thos. Walker, Esq. \beaskcd to accept the presidency for
the ensuing year. Mr. Smith was re-elected Chairman ;
Mr. Shore was re elected Treasurer; Mr. II. Makin was
elected Secretary ; Messrs. Mather and Hay the Audi-
tors; half of the committee were also elected. It was
also resolved that the secretary of this society be
elected at its annual general meeting. The full addn-s
of the new secretary is 638, .St. Helen's Koad, Bolton.

BECKENHAM HORTICULTUBAL.

FmurAin 1 1. — A. I>. Hall, Esq., M.A.. Principal oi ilic
South Eastern Agricultural College. Wye, delivered a
lecture on "Soils, Cultivation, and Water Supply.'
The Importance of good soil, and the reasons. , I be
difference in their value, were briefly alluded :■
atter whioh the lecturer applied his remark!
particular]; to the soils of the district.

166

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March* 8, 1902.

WEYBRIDGE GARDENERS'
PROVEMENT.

IM-

FEirer.mTH.- At the invitation of tlie coinniittee of
the above society, Mr. Richard Dean, V.M.H., delivered
an address at the Public Hall on " Floriculture and
Florists during the past Fifty Years." Mr. J. Bilney
was in the chair, and the attendance a very large one.

WARGRAVE GARDENERS'.

FEiiRUAKY 19.— The meeting on the above date was
largely attended. Mr. H. G. Cox, Hon. Sec. of the
Reading Gardeners' Association, gave an interesting
lecture upon " The Primula," illustrated with a series
of forty-one lantern-slides.

. He traced the evolution of this popular plant from
its introduction into this country in 1819 to the present
day. General directions for culture as practised at
Messrs. Sutton's nursery were given, and short refer-
ences made to P. stellata, P. obconica, P. Sieboldi, and
P. fioribunda.

Among the excellent exhibits was a group of
Primulas, by Mr. Bkodie, gr. at Wargrave Hill, which
was awarded the Society's Cultural Certificate. Four
new members were elected.

BRIGHTON AND SUSSEX HORTI-
CULTURAL.

February 20.— The monthly meeting of this society
was held at the Imperial Hotel, Brighton, on the above
date, and the subject before the members was entitled
"A Talk on the Chrysanthemum," by Mr. H. J. Jones,
of Ryecroft Nursery, Lcwisham. There was a large
gathering of members, and the Chair was filled by
Mr. Miles.

Mr. Jones' discourse on the cultivation and exhibi-
tion of the Chrysanthemum covered more than two
hours, and was greatly appreciated by his audience.

LINNEAN.

February 20.— The Rev. T. R. R. Stebbing, M.A.,
F.R.S., in the Chair.

On behalf of Mr. G. M. Thomson, F.L.S., of Dunedin,
N.Z., the Secretary exhibited a scries of photo-
graphs of New Zealand flowers, including several
species of "Mountain Daisy," Celmisia coriacea, C.
ramulosa, and C. Haastii; Olearia insignis, Veronica
biformis, and Clematis indivisa. The alpine flora of
these islands included a number of beautiful plants,
many of them, like the Raoulias (or Vegetable Sheep),
producing white blossoms in such profusion as to be
conspicuous at a considerable distance. One of the
most noticeable was the great white Buttercup, Ranun-
culus Lyalli, commonly known as the Mount Cook
Lily, of which two photographs were shown.

In connection with the plants, some observations
were made on the birds which visit them, e.g., the
Bell-bird or " Korimako," Anthornis melanura, the
Grey Warbler, Gerygone flavirostris, the Pied Fantail,
Rhipidura flabellifera. and the Yellow-breasted Tit,
Petraeca macrocephala. Of these, the first-named was
observed to assist in the fertilisation of the native
Fuchsias, on quitting which the feathers of the head
were seen to be stained with the bright blue pollen of
the flowers. A favourite nesting-site of the Tit, Petra-ca
macrocephala was said to be immediately under the
head of the Ti-tiee, Cordyline australis, a good photo-
graph of which was likewise exhibited.

A paper was read by Dr. J. E. Duerden on "The
Internal Structure and Histology of Bunodeopsis
globulifera, Verrill, a West Indian Sea Anemone."

Mr. B. Daydon Jackson, Sec. L.S., in a "Report on
the Botanical Publications of the United Kingdom as a
part of the International Catalogue of Scientific Litera-
ture," gave the history of botanic bibliography from the
time of Linnanis, mentioning the admirable catalogue
by Dryander of Sir Joseph Bank's library, and passing
on to the Royal Society's Catalogue of Scientific Papers,
at present consisting of eleven volumes, ranging from
1800-1883, the record of the last seventeen years being
in course of compilation.

The genesis of the International Catalogue of Scientific
Literature was then briefly described, and the means
adopted for the collection and classification of titles
given. The Linuean Society had contributed the titles
of papers and books issued within the United King-
dom, amounting to about 2,300, and the first part of the
volume devoted to botany for 1901 was now in the
hands of the printers, for early publication.

A paper by Miss Lettice Digby, of the Biological
Laboratory, Royal College of Science, was read on her
behalf by Mr. J. E. S. Moore, "On the Structure and
Affinities of some Gastropoda from Lake Tanganyika
belonging to the genera Chytra and Limnotrochus."

READING & DISTRICT GARDENERS'.

February 24.— A pleasing ceremony took place at the
ordinary meeting of the members on the above date,
Mr. H. G. Cox, the energetic Secretary, being the
recipient of a handsome testimonial, as a token of the
appreciation felt by the members of his valuable
services to the Association, which have now extended

over a period of some years ; Mrs. Cox also was pre-
sented with a handsome solid silver tea service in
morocco case, while to Mr. Cox himself a valuable half-
hunter gold watch was handed. The gifts were
accompanied by a framed illuminated address, hearing
the photographs and the names of all the working
members of the Association. The presentation was
made in the presence of a large gathering of members,
Mr. Leonard Sutton presiding.

Mr. L. Sutton, speaking on behalf of the members,
expressed their indebtedness to Mr. Cox for his work
as Secretory, and his services since he had been a
member of the Association. He assured Mr. Cox of the
great appreciation they all felt for what he had done.
He knew from Mr. Cox's work outside the Association
what a difficult matter it must have been for him to
find the time for the work in connection with the
Association. He (the President) was glad that one of
the presents was for Mrs. Cox. The inscription was as
follows : — " We, the undersigned members of the
Reading and District Gardeners' Mutual Improvement
Association, wishing to express our appreciation of the
services rendered by Mr. H. G. Cox as Secretary, have this
day presented him and Mrs. Cox with a silver tea
service and gold watch as a token of our esteem and
regard." Then followed a list of the working members
of the Association.

Mr. Stanton, being called upon to say a few words,
remarked that Mr. Cox had done a great deal for the
Association, and had, in fact, made it what it was, the
first in the country, there being now over 200 members.
Mr. Stanton spoke of the appropriateness of the two
presents, and mentioned that the way in which the
subscriptions had come in was very creditable to the
society. Over 150 persons had contributed.

Mr. Cox responded on behalf of himself and wife.
It might interest the members, he said, to be re
minded that the first meeting of the Association was
held on December 6, 1888, when fifty-four members were
elected. There were now 229 names upon the books,
and there were three new members to be elected that
evening. He had no doubt that at the present time the
Association was the strongest of its kind in the
country.

The ordinary business of the evening was then
proceeded with.

BRISTOL AND DISTRICT
GARDENERS'.

February 27.— A good meeting was held at St. John's
Rooms on the above date, when Mr. J. C. House, of
Westbury-on-Trym, delivered a lecture on the " Violet."
The Bristol amateurs were invited to attend, and
received a cordial welcome from their professional
brethren. Mr. House has made a special study of the
sweet Violet. Many people, the lecturer remarked,
were under the impression that there was a deep secret
concerning the cultivation of Violets, which he ad-
mitted, but which he said was that of "painstaking"
in every detail, and in doing everything needful, well.
A clear atmosphere, suitable soil, and a natural posi-
tion were the essential conditions. He recommended
propagation by runners, put in during the autumn in
sandy soil, covered with a frame and partly shaded
during the first few days, and if possible facing south ;
planting the roots out about the third week of April]
firming the soil round them, and keeping them well
watered during the summer mouths. The best time for
gathering the blooms was in the early morning or late
in the evening. The lecturer also described several
of the insect pests and diseases which the Violet is
subj ect to, and gave the means for their prevention
and eradication.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE ROOT, FRUIT
AND CHRYSANTHEMUM.

March 1.— The annual meeting of this Society was
held in Gloucester on the above date. The balance-
sheet showed total receipts £328 16s. id., and expendi-
ture (which included £202 15s. paid away in prizes)
£308 19s. 4d. ; leaving a balance in the bank of £19 17s. 3d.,
the largest the Society has ever had. It was acknow-
ledged that this was due to the energetic efforts of Mr.
S. S. Starr, the secretary, who had completely resusci-
tated the Society since his appointment some few years
ago.

The Chairman (Mr. William Priday) was re-elected to
that office for the seventeenth time in succession, and
all the other officers were reelected.

In arranging the schedule of prizes, some correspon-
dence was read by the Secretary from Messrs. Sutton it
Sons, Reading, with reference to certain altered con-
ditions on which they were prepared to offer their
prizes, namely, " that no exhibitor could claim Messrs.
Suttons' prize who also exhibited at the same show, or
in connection with the same Society, roots or green
crops which are the produce of seeds supplied by other
seedsmen." The Secretary said that similar conditions
were also imposed by Messrs. Webb & Sons in connec-
tion with their prizes. It was resolved by a large ma-
•jority of those present that the prizes of these seedsmen
he not accepted on those terms.

DEVON AND EXETER GARDENERS'.

" Hy-bridisation : Its Bearing on Gardeners, Bo-
tanists, and the Commercial World," was the subject
of the lecture by Mr. G. Lee, gr., Upton Leigh, at the
last meeting of the Association. Science, said Mr. Lee,
however profound or however skilfully applied, would
never do away with the necessity for a practical know-
ledge of gardening, and the use of the spade and the
knife. Although the actual demonstration of the
sexuality of plants was of much more recent date, its
existence had been surmised oy Empedocles, B.C. 460.

Tracing the study of gardening science from Tlieo-
phrastus and Pliny to Bacon, Hales, Bonnet, and
Duhamel, when the physiology of plants received
careful study, he carried his references up to the Con-
ference on Hybridisation in 1899. He mentioned the
enormous improvement in the Begonia as one of the
results of hybridisation.

The extraordinary impetus given to the cultivation of
Orchids by the rich discoveries of the plant collectors of
the earlier half of the nineteenth century, was followed
by the no less stimulating effect of the published re-
searches of Darwin on the fertilisation of Orchids.
The advent of new species has been to a certain extent
discounted by the success of hybridists ; and many of
their productions have revealed some of the possi-
bilities of hybridisation,which justify the expectation of
even greater and more interesting results. Nor has
hybridisation benefited the so called flowering plants
only, but it has extended to the improvement of
culinary vegetables, agricultural plants, and fruits.

It has been roughly calculated that the improvements
effected on the different varieties of Wheat grown in
America lias made an increase of about 4 bushels per
acre in the yield, which, at a moderate valuation,
represents an increased annual value in the Wheat-
crop of £28,000,000 sterling! The value of hybridisation
as a botanical science is undoubted, and not easily
estimated, while the fascination of the work is en-
grossing and elevating in a high degree.

Mr. Andrew Hope (lion, secretary) occupied the chair.
At the close a hearty vote of thanks was awarded to
the lecturer. Mr. Hope gave a prescription he had
received from the Board of Agriculture for the removal
of moss, lichens, decaying bark, and fruit- destroying
insects from orchard-trees, sayiug at the same time
that the recipe was both cheap and effectual, viz., 1 lb.
caustic soda and 1 lb. pearl-ash, separately dissolved,
adding 7 lb. agricultural treacle, or the same quantity
of soft-soap, to 10 gallons of water, the wash to be
applied in the month of February, if possible.

CHESTER PAXTON.

At the Grosvcnor Museum on Saturday Mr. B. Moore,
The Dale, read a carefully prepared paper, entitled
" The Successful Culture of Calanthes." Mr. Moore has
been a successful grower of these beautiful orchidaceous
plants for a number of years, and he dealt with his
subject in a practical manner. He placed a high esti-
mate upon them for decorative purposes, and stated
that with care the flowers would last from two to three
weeks after being cut. He gave minute details as to
potting soils and suitable manures, and other matters
connected with the cultivation of the plants.

NATIONAL AURICULA & PRIMULA
(Southern Section).

The twenty-fifth annual report of this Society in its
statement of accounts shows a balance in hand, after
paying its liabilities in the year 1901, of £21 13s. 6d., a
sum about £2 in excess of that of 1900. Eleven new
members joined the Society during the year, but there
have been several losses from death and other causes ;
and to ensure the prosperity of the Society, it now
remains for the members to bring in recruits to fill
these and other vacancies, which must inevitably
occur. This annual show will be held in the Drill Hall
of the London Scottish Volunteers, Buckingham Gate,
Westminster, on Tuesday, April 22.

Mr. J. Douglas, of Great Bookham, Surrey, again
generously offers to supply members with a packet of
Alpine Auricula seed, saved from the best varieties, to
such as will undertake to sow the seed and cultivate
the plants, and on condition that they apply to Mr.
T. E. Henwood, 16, Hamilton Road, Reading, before
June 1.

MIDLAND CARNATION & PICOTEE.

The Report for 1901 of this Society shows continued •
prosperity, although the committee have to regret a
considerable diminution of the balance in hand, as
compared with 1900. The eleventh annual show held
at Edgbaston on August 1 was considered to be one of
the best hitherto held, in spite of the Flakes, Bizarres,
and white ground Picotees not being up to the exhibi-
tion standard. The attendance of the public and
of members was larger than in -any previous year, afld

March 8, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

167

the entries much more numerous than usual, particu-
larly in sell's, yellow-ground Picotees, Fancies, and
" undressed " classes. The rule made two years ago
requiring that all seedlings should be named, has had
salutary results.

FLORISTS' FLOWERS.

CACTUS DAHLIAS.

No visitor to any of the flower shows in the
autumn months can fail to be struck with the
beauty of the modern Cactus Dahlias. These
have become so numerous of late, and the
flowers are so exceedingly attractive and good
as cut flowers for indoor decoration, that a
note on some that took my fancy at the Crystal
Palace show in September of last year may
serve a useful purpose at the present time
when gardeners are contemplating the pur-
chase of novelties: Loreley, delicate rose, white
centre ; Mrs. J. Goddard, in colour scarlet,
extra fine ; Night is a very dark coloured
flower ; Laverstock Beauty, vermilion ; Regulus,
a deep crimson ; Starfish, of orange-scarlet
tint and nice form; Charles Woodridge, purple-
crimson ; Cheal's White; The Clown, red,
tipped with white ; Emperor, plum coloured,
with yellow base ; Uncle Tom, very dark ; Mrs.
J. J. Crowe, pale yellow ; Bridesmaid, prim-
rose ; Britannia, soft pink ; Alfred Vasey ;
Harry Stedwick, with long crimson petals.
Of these I intend to add several to my stock
of these varieties.

The tubers having been brought from the
store in which they have remained since the
autumn, should be placed in a gentle heat,
covered lightly with soil, and the shoots
slipped off, potted singly or otherwise in
sandy leaf-mould and peat. Let each variety
be carefully labelled, and placed in bottom-
heat of 75° till rooted, when they must be re-
moved to a frame having top-heat of 55°,
shifting them when necessary into larger
pots, and in April inuring them to outside
conditions. H. Mat-kham, Wrotham Park.

MARKETS.

COVENT GARDEN, MARCH 6.

Plants in Pots.— Average Wholesale Phicbs.

»■•*• s.d. 1 s.d. s.d.

Adiantums, doz. 6 0-70 Ferns, small, per

Arbor-vitse, var., 100 4 0-80

per dozen ... 6 0-36 0 Ficus elastica, ea. 16-76
Aspidistras, doz. 18 0-36 0 Foliage plants,
— specimen, ea. 6 0-10 6 ! various, each 1 0- 5 0
Cannas, per doz. 18 0 — Lily of Valley, ea. 19-30
Crotons, per doz. 18 0-30 0 Lycopodiums, p.

Cyclamen, p. doz. 8 0-10 0 i dozen .' 3 0-40

Marguerites, per

. Dracaenas, var.,

per dozen ... 13 0-30 0
— viridis, doz. 9 0-18 0
Ericas, var., doz. 13 0-36 0
Euonymus, var.,

per dozen ... 6 0-18 0
Evergreens, var.,

per dozen ... 4 0-18 0
Ferns, in variety,

per dozen ... 4 0-18 0

Fecit.— Avebage Wholesale Pbices

dozen 8 0-13 0

Myrtles, per doz. 6 0-90

Palms, var., each 10-15 0

— specimen, ea. 31 0-63 0
Pelargoniums,

scarlet, doz. 8 0-13 0

— Ivyleaf, per
dozen 8 0-10 0

Splrseas, per doz. 6 0-12 0

s.d. s.d.
Apples, home-

Eown, Wel-
igtons, per
bushel 6 0-10 0

— Californian,

cases ... 8 0-10 (j

— Nova Scotian
and Canadian,
various, p. brl. 21 0-30 0

— LargeCookers,

! per bushel ... 6 0-70
Bananas, bunch 5 0-10 0

— loose, p. doz. 10-16
• Cape Fruit—

I Grapes, case ... 10 C-16 0
Nectarines, case 10 0-12 0

Peaches 8 o-io o

Pears 4 0-80

I Plums 4 0-80

Chestnuts.perbag 12 0-15 c
Cobnuts, Kentish,
, per lb. ... l o —

t Cranberries, case 12 0 —

! — quart 8 0 —

.Custard - Apples,

per dozen ... 6 0-9 0

s.d. s.d.

Grapes, Gros Col-
mar, A , p. lb.
B., per lb.

— Alicante, lb.

— Almeira, per
121b

Lemons, per case
Oranges, Bitter,
case „

— Denia, case ... n o-ll

— Jaffa, per

case 16 0 —

— Murcia, blood,

case

— Tan gierine,
per case

Pears, Easter
Beurre.inhalf
cases

3 0-40
16-20
2 0-30

5 0-70
9 0 —

6 0 —

8 6-90
0 8-36

Pines, each
Sapucaia Nuts,

per lb.
Strawberries, per

lb.
Walnuts. per

bushel

10 0-15 o
2 0-30

13 —

6 O-ll) 0
16 0 -

Cut Flowees, &c.— Average Wholesale Peices.

Asparagus ' Fern

bunch

Carnations, per

dozen blooms 1
Cattleyas, p. doz. 9
Eueharis, p. doz. 4
Gardenias, doz. 1
Lilium Harrisii,

dozen blooms 5
Lilium lancif olm.

album, p. doz.

blooms
Lilium rubrum,

per dozen ...
Lilium longiflrm.

per dozen ...

s.d. s.d. | s.d. s.d.

Lily of Valley, p.
16-26 doz. bunches 9 0-18 0

Maidenhair Fern,

10-20 doz. bunches 40-80

9 0-12 0 Mignonette, per

O-6 0 doz. bunches 4 0-60

6-2 0 Odontoglossums,

per dozen ...

Roses, Tea, white,

per dozen
— Catherine
3 0-40 Mermet, per

doz.
3 0-50 Smilax, p. bunch
I Tuberoses, per
5 0- 8 0 I doz. blooms 0 4-06

3 6-60
10-30

2 0-50

3 0-50

Vegetables.— Average Wholesale Pbices.

s.d. s.d.
Artichokes, Globe,

per dozen ... 3 0-36

— Jerusalem, p.
sieve 10-16

Asparagus Sprue,

bundle ... 0 10- 1 3

— English ... 5 0 —

— Giant 15 0-22 6

— Paris Green... 7 0 —

— Spanish ... 19 —
Beans.dwf . .house,

per lb 16 —

— Madeira, per
basket ... 10-40

Beetroots, per

bushel ... 13-19

Brussels Sprouts,

sieve 2 0-26

Carrots, per doz.

bunches ... 3 0-40

— washed, bags 3 0-36

— unwashed, per
bag 2 0-26

Cauliflowers, per

dozen 3 0 —

— tally 5 0-10 0

— Italian, bask. 3 9-46
Celeriac, per doz. 2 6 —
Celery, per dozen

bundles ... 10 0-14 0
Chicory, per lb.... 0 3 —
Coleworts, bushel 2 0 —

— bag 3 0 -

Cress, per dozen

punnets
Cucumbers, doz.
Endive, new

French, doz. 19-20

— Batavian, per
dozen

Garlic, per lb. ...

Horseradish, fo-
reign, bunch 10-16

Leeks, I2bunches 2 0-26

Lettuces, Cos,

per dozen ... 13 0-15 0

— Cabbage,

per dozen ... o 10- 1 o

s.d. s.d.
Mint, new bunch 0 4-09
Mushrooms, house,

0 8 —

8 6-90

per

7 6-
6 6-

8 0

7 0

per

2 0-30

2 0 3 0
16 —

2 0-
0 4
5 0-

3 0

per lb.
Onions, case

— English,
cwt. ...

— in bags

— picklers,
sieve

Parsley, per doz.
bunches

— sieve

Parsnips, p. cwt.

bag

Peas in lb. bags...

in flats
Potatos, per ton.. 50 0-90 0

— new, per lb.... 0 2J
Frame, per

lb

— newTeneriffe,
per cwt.

Radishes, p. doz.
bunches

Rhubarb, Yorks
per dozen

Salad, small, pun-
nets, per doz.

Savoys, tally

Scotch Kale, bus.

Seakale, per doz.
punts

Shallots, per lb....

Spinach, English,
bushel

— French, per
crate

Stachys, lb.
Tomatos, Canary,

boxes

Turnip-Tops, per

bushel

— bag

Turnips, per doz.

bunches

— bag

Watercress, per

doz. bunches 0 6-08

Remarks.— The Cape Grapes now arriving are Honey-
pots, both red and white; Strawberries are easier in
price, as also are Onions. Apples remain at about the
same price as last week. Sweet Potatos fetch, perewt.,
16s. to 185. ; old Pot atos about the same as last week.
Grape-fruits, per doz., 4s. Bitter (Seville) Oranges are
coining in, and the present is the proper time for
making marmalade and wine.

Potatos.
Dunbar Main Crop, 90s. ; Up-to-Date, 80s. to 85s. ;
Blacklands, 45s. to 50s. ; various, 508. to 80s. Seed in
variety, prices on application. John Bath, 32 & 34, Well-
ington Street, Covenl Garden.

1 3 •

4 O- :

i e- 2 o

03 —

0 6 —
12 0-14 0

2 0-26
... 0 10J-1 3

1 3 —

4 0-60

2 0-26

10 0-14 0
0 2 —

3 6-40

4 0
0 3

2 0-36

2 0
2 0-

3 0-

2 0-

4 0

2 6

3 6

SEEDS.

London : March 5.— Messrs. John'Shaw & Sons, Seed
Merchants, of Great Maze Pond, Borough, London, S.E.,
write that there were but few buyers on to-day's seed
market, with only a small business passing. The chief
requirement just now to bring on the consumptive
demand is a spell of favourable weather. Meanwhile,
Clover-seeds all round show no important change in
value, but no description can be written dearer. Rye-
grasses continue dull. There is this week no alteration
in Mustard or Rapeseed, but Linseed is firm. Canary-
seed, with its moderate stocks quietly diminishing, is
featureless; other kinds of Birdseeds call for no com-
ment. For Spring Tares there has been a better
request. Scarlet and White Runner Beans arc now
obtainable on unusually moderate terms. Blue Peas
and Haricot Beans have moved off slowly.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.

Glasgow, .March 5.— The following are the averages
of the prices during the past week :— Apples, New-
town Californian, !>.«. <;d. to 10s. 6d. per case; Oregon
12s. to 13s. do. ; Nova Scotia Baldwins, 22s. to 21s. per
brl. ; Maine, 20s. to 24s. do. ; Canadian, 23s. to 26s. do. ;
Oranges, Valencias, ordinary, 420s, 7s. M. to 8s. per
box; do., large 420's, 9s. 6d. to lus. do.; extra largo
do., 10s. 6d. to 12s. 8d. do. ; largo 714's, 9s. to 9s. M. do. ;
Jaffa, 12s. to 13s. do.; Grapes, home, is. M. to 2s. M.

per lb. ; Onions, Valencias, 5's, 9s. 6d. to 10s. per box ;
do., Globes, 8s. 6d. do. ; do., Dutch, 6s. 6d. do. ; Mush-
rooms, Is. to is. 6rt. per lb.

LrvEBPOOL : March 5. — Wholesale Vegetable Market.
—Potatos, per cwt. : Up-to-Date, 2s. 2d. to 2s. 8d. ; Main
Crop, 3s. to 4s. ; Lynn Grays, 2s. to 2s. 6d. ; Bruce,
2s. 2d. to 2s. 8d ; Turnips, Swedes, 2s. to 2s. 3d. per cwt. ;
Carrots, 3s. 6d. to is. do. St. Johns : Potatos, Is. to Is. 2d.
per peck; newdo.,6d. per lb.; Grapes, English, 3s.
per lb. ; do., foreign, id. to 6d. do. ; Pines, English, 5s.
teach ; Apples, 2d. to id. per lb. ; Tomatos, id. to 6d.
ditto ; Asparagus, Is. per bundle ; Cucumbers, Is. each,;
Mushrooms, is. 6d. per lb. Birkenhead : Potatos, lOd.
to is. per peck ; Grapes, English, 2s. to 4s. per lb. ; do.,
foreign, 6d. to 8d. do. ; Mushrooms, Is. to Is. 6d. per
lb. ; Filberts, Is. do.

CORN.

Avebage Pbices of British Corn (per imperial qr.),
for the week ending March 1, 1902, and for the cor-
responding period of 1901, together with the difference
in the quotations. These figures are based on the
Official Weekly Return :—

Description.

1901.

1902.

Difference.

Wheat

Barley

Oats

». d.

25 11

25 0
17 9

s. d.

27 1
26 7
20 5

>. d.

+ 1 2

+ 1 t
+ 2 8

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS taken in the
Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens at Chiswick,
London, for the period February 23 to March 1, 1902,
Height above sea-level 24 feet.

Tempera-

Temperature

ture ofthe

o

1902.

a
§

OF the Aib.

S01Lat9A.M

s
a
o

5

o

Al'.'A.M.

tx

n

t

d

a,

<

1" ™

o

«

'X

13

■-■ 3

» X

N

i
i

S

£

4a
O
O

4a

49

CD

5!

43

43

s

CD

■3

Hw

■a

■3

M

■3
m

m

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CO

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IS

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a

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si u &ij „; ci sj ' tic

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■a -a -a j .3 -a -a ■«

o

■a

■a

SUN. 23

S.S.E.

45 '4

44 '7 50 '6 39 '0,0-03 34' 4 37 '3J41 '3

35 3

MON. 24

E.S.E.

45 9

44-6 47-1

45 0 0- 29 37 -9 37 -8 41 '3

U-3

TUES.25

E.S.E.

44 4

43-947-7

44 -8 0-05 39 -738 -941 -8

11 0

Wed. 26

E.S.E.

39 9

38-147-1

87'80-1589 8 10-0 41 '3

33 6

THC. 27

S.S.W.

46 -7

44-4 50-9

10- -' 10-8 1" ■'■ n -6

35 3

FBI. 28

S.S.W.

47 '9

45-9 53-6

13*80-03 11 '9 11-0 41-8

S5-3

Sat. 1

N.E.

11 -4

10-763-4

86-3 ... 41-7 il 8 12 0

i 1

28-5

iTotl

Means

14 5

43-2 49-9 40-7 057 39-4 39 -6i41 -5
1 1

'5 8

Remarks.— A week of foggy mornings and dull days,
with frequent showers.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

The following Summary Record of the weather
throughout the British Islands, for the week ending
March 1, is furnished from the Meteorological Office :—

"The urather during this period was generally mild
witli very frequent, but not as a rule, heavy rain.
Some fine, clear intervals were, however, experienced
at limes, especially in the more eastern and southern
districts.

"The temperature was above the mean throughout
the kingdom; in the cast and north-cast of Great
Britain tho excess was only 1° or 3', but in most other
districts it was as imich as I . and in Englaud, S.W.

and Ireland, S.,6", The highest of the maxima, ocourred

on rather irregular dates, and ranged from 59° in
England, N.W. Cat Llandudno on Tuesday), and 67° iu
England, S. and tho Channel Islands, to 64 In the
extreme northern and north-eastern districts, and to
61° in Scotland, \V. The lowest of the minima, which
were mostly recorded cither on Wednesday 01 Thurs-
day, ranged from 27 in the Midland Counties, and 98*
in Scotland, E. and England, N.E. aud E., to 37" in

168

THE GARDENERS' CUR ONI CL E.

[March 8, 1902.

England, S. and S.W., 39° in the Channel Islands, and
to 10" in Ireland, S.

" The rainfall was more than the mean in almost all
pirls of the kingdom; the txcess was very consider-
able in most districts, but only slight in the extreme
j ni'tli-east and east. In Scotland, N. and the Channel
Islands the fall was less than the mean, the deficit in
tire former region being large.

"The bright sunshine was deficient in all districts
except the Channel Islands. The percentage of the
possible duration ranged from 3."> in the district just
ruined, and from 26 in England, E, to 21 in England, S..
Ill in England, N.E., 8 in Scotland, N. and E., and
;: in Scotland, W.

THE WEATHER IN WEST HERTS.
A week of very warm and showery weather. On live
dsys the shade temperature rose in the middle of the
djy above SO", and on no night did the exposed thermo-
meter show more than 4° of frost. Both at 1 and 2 feet
deep the ground is at the present time about l°wiirmer
than is seasonable. Some rain fell on nearly every
day, but to the total depth of only about three-quarters
of an inch. This was rather a dull week, as the sun
shone on an average for only about two hours a day.
The winds were, as a rule, very light, aud there was
more than the usual amount of moisture in the air.
The first fertile flower appeared on a selected bush of
the wild Hazel on the 1st, which is nearly a fortnight
later than its average date in the previous eleven years)
but two days earlier than last year.

February.

This was a very cold and exceptionally calm
February. On only four nights did the exposed
thermometer fail to register a temperature below the
freezing point, and on the coldest night showed l"i° of
frost. Throughout the first three weeks both the days
and nights were all cold, but during the remaining
week the weather remained as persistently warm.
Rain or snow fell on thirteen days, to the total
depth of nearly lj inch, which is about half an
incli below the average for the month. Of the total
quantity, however, less than a quarter of an inch
was deposited during the first three weeks. About
3 gallons of rainwater came through the percolation-
gauge covered with short grass during the last week of
February, and aoout 6 gallons through the bare .soil
gauge, but previous to this there was no measuiahle
percolation through either gauge. The sun shone on
an average for about one and three quarter hours a day,
which is about half an hour a day short of the mean
record for the month. The atmosphere remained
remarkably calm, indeed calmer than in any previous
February of which I have here any record. It was also
more humid than in any February for sixteen years.

The Winter.
Taken as a whole, this was rather a mild winter, and
the rainfall was about half an inch in defect of the
average for the season. December proved excessively
wet, but after this there was very little rain until the
last week in February. In fact, during the seven weeks
ending February 21, only about three quarters of an
inch of rain fell, which is only about one-fifth of the
average quantity for that period. The record of clear
sunshine fell short of the mean for the quarter by
about five minutes a day.

The Rainfall for the Past Five Months.
Since the winter half of the drainage year began in
October, thetotal rainfall has come short of theaverage
for those five months by 3J inches, which is equivalent
to a loss on each square yard of surface in this district
of 15 gallons of rain-water. E. M., licrkhamsted, March 4,
1902.

Jtr
mponden

A G rafting-wax : E. T. A wax that may bo used
either warm or cold is made by melting 1^ lb.
cf clear resin and \ lb. of white pitch. At
the same time melt J lb. of tallow. Pour
the melted tallow into the first mixture,
and stir vigorously; then before the stuff
coo's add slowly J lb. of Venetian red.
Another recipe for a cold wax is: Melt six
parts white resin with one part beeswax.
Remove from, and partially cool by stirring,
then add gradually with continual stirring
enough methylated spirit to make the mixture

when cool of the consistency of porridge. It
may be applied with a bit of wood or the
finger.

Analysis of Soil : J. L. If you, or your
employer, is a Fellow of the R.H.S., you can
get your soil analysed at a small expendi-
ture. Apply to the Secretary, 117, Victoria
Street, Westminster.

Cai.la or Richardia Bloom : J. (i. W. A
twin-flowered specimen, by no means un-
common.

Correction: Calanthes. In our Orchid
Calendar lor Feb. 22 last, it was erroneously
stated that the pseudo-bulbs of Calanthes
should not be exposed to sunshine in order
to mature them, when the contrary is the
case.

Cucumber Leaves : C. D. There is nothing

in the leaves themselves to account for the
disfigurement. They arc rather thin, such
as we should expect to find upon forced
plants in weather that prevented the use of
the ventilators. Keep your plants as stuidy
as possible, and be very careful not to use
excessive doses of the manures you name.
There is no disease manifest in the leaves.

Grcp, in Peas : F. W. ('. The larvas of the Pea-
weevil, Bruchus granarius. Their presence
does not always prevent germination, but the
resulting plants are sure to be deficient in
vigour. All respectable seedmerchantshave
the seed-peas sorted by women and girls, and
weevil-eaten seeds picked out before the
order season arrives.

HirrKASTitUM (Amaryllis) : Thomas Gibbs. An
exceedingly fine flower, of rich flame colour,
almost scarlet. In size it is quite remai li-
able, and is not unlike some of the varieties
that have been exhibited by ("apt. Holford ;
but whether a name has been given to an
exactly similar one we are unable to say.

Moss- litter as a Manure for Tomatos :
Whitney. If the material is allowed to heat
and be turned and thrown into heaps about
once a week till it is freed of much of its
ammonia, and decay has set in generally, it
is useful as a manure, especially with heavy
loam.

Names of FRUITS : T. \V. L. Apparently poor
fruits of Ne Plus Meuris.

Names of Plants: G. A. We cannot under-
take to name varieties of Camellia. Send
the flowers to some nurseryman who grows
them largely. — J. O. Eupatorium Weiumanni-
anum. — J. Af. Ji. Cyinbidiuin x eburneo-
Lowianum of excellent quality. We remark
on it in a paragraph, p. 154. — C. C. Pitto-
sporum undulatum. — Froggatt. Odontoglos-
sum x Andersonianum, a small variety of it.
— Dr. C. Lndlow. Odontoglossum triutn-
phans, a very lino variety of it. — T. Denny.
Cypripedium Boxalli ; we shall have some-
thing to say about the flower C. exul in a
future issue.

Pear Diseased : Trevince. The shoots sent
are affected with a fungus, Nectria ditissima,
causing the so-called carker. Dress affected
parts with coal-tar, or cut out down to
living bark, and destroy by burning all
infected material. It is also advisable to
remove down to living healthy tissue. The
infection is brought about by the germina-
tion of spores on wounded parts, pruned
shoots and spins, bruised and abraded
bark, &c.

Primrose Seedlings : C. 11*. D. The seedling
Primulas are attacked by the fungus called
Ovularia piimulina. The disease is mostly
confined to the seedling stage. If the soil
is thoroughly disinfected by heat, and the
seedlings sprayed with dilute potassium
permanganate solution, the disease can be
held in cheek. G. Uassee.

Stopping Chrysanthf.mums so as to have
the Plants in Bloom Nov. 20: Careful
Header. To know when to stop any of the
varieties, and also the time when to take the
buds, consult a specialist's catalogue.

Theoretic Instruction in Horticulture:
Anxious. Certainly we would advise you to
participate in a course of theoretical
instruction, as you will then gain an insight
of the "reason why " of numerous practices
of the gardener's art, with the result that
you will be tetter equipped :.s a gardener,
and better enabled to direct the labours of
others. Without it you cannot expect to
surpass your predecessors. With it you
may make an advance on what they could do.

Tine : Grapes, Tewkesbury. There is no Phyl-
loxera on the specimen sent, but the cause
of the death of the Vine is not discoverable,
unless it be the exhaustion of the soil in the
pot(V) of all plant food.

Wire Trelllsing : If. T. H. If it be a wall
that is to be furnished with wire to which
fruit-trees will be fastened, let common
iron wire be employed, securing it with
cast-iron studs, which can be bought at
about the same price as cast-iron wall-nails.
It is prudent to have the terminal studs
about 2 inches long, and the intermediate
ones 1} inch. These and the wire, which
may be about the size of ordinary packing -
twine, i.e., one-tenth of an inch in diameter,
will last many years. The wires should be
fixed vertically, there being then no sagging
owing to the weight of the branches; and
being of short lengths there is no movement
as in horizontal wires to cause rubbing of
the rind. The wire should be placed at
7 inches apart, ' inch distant from the face
of the wall, and be stretched very taut.
All ties should pass once completely round
a wire, and in the case of the branches of
more than one year old, it should be twisted
twice afterwards, so as to form a pad between
branch and wire, and avoid contact of the
two. A tied tree has a neater appearance
than one that is fastened with nails and
shreds ; and an expert man will tie a tree
almost as quickly as a good nailer would
nail it.

Communications Received.— E. S. S.— L. Van den B .
Tirlemont— W. H. S., please send for perusal— W. E.
— li. G. S., next week— S. W. F.— J. W— Innes & Co-
National Rose Society.— M. Jehlen. Paris.— J. W —
S. W. F.-W. B. H— W. G. J. & Co.— W. E., Leipsig .—
H. B. J , many thanks: we will examine, and report.
—Lord A.— J. L.— A. H., Orton, please send a few
later on; what you sent was exactly what was re-
quired; many thanks.— II. J. V.— W. W— D. Brough.
—J. M., Bath.— J. P., Ashwickfwith thanks).— F R. H. S.
—J. F.— J.S.— J. C— EC. L.-W. J. Simpson.— A. R. P.,
Nice.— Nonex — <J. B— G. M. W— F. W. O.— H. Z .next
week.— A. G.— C. D., photographs, with thanks —
T. D.-O. B., Belgrade.— M. C. C— B. G. S.-F. S —
A. B— T. II. S.— A. S.— J. W. N.-S. A.-W. M— E. C.—
T. T— J W.-Diosma.-W. S.— E J.— B. H.— J. W. T —
II. P.— W. H. S.— A. C.

CATALOGUES RECEIVED.

FARM SEEDS.
Cooper, Tauer & Co , Ltd.,90it!t2, Southwark Strecf,

London, S.E. (Wholesale List).
Kent & Bkydon, Darlington.
W. Clibran & Son', 10 & 12, Market Street, Manchester,

and Oldfield Nurseries, Altrincham.

PLANTS.
John Forbes, Hawick, Scotland -Florists' Flowers and

Border Plants.
S. F. Richmond, Ossett, Yorks— Chrysanthemums.

GARDENING APPOINTMENTS.

Mr. L. Carsley, for the last three years Foreman in the
Gardens, Ickworth, Bury St. Edmunds, as Head
Gardener to Peter Hoare, Esq , Luscotnbe Castle,
Dawlish, Devonshire.

Mr. F. Olver, who has been Foreman in the Gardens,
Hackwood Park, Basingstoke, for nearly four years,
as Head Gardener to Baron Schroder, The Rookery,
Nantwich.

Mr. Wit. Judd, for the past four years Head Gardener
to J. C. Deverell, Esq., Dorking, as Head Gardener
to Mrs. Harris, Steventon Manor, Whitchurch, ,
Hants.

Continued Increase in the Circulation of the
"GARDENERS' CHRONICLE."
MPORTANT TO ADVERTISERS. — The Publisher has
the satisfaction of announcing that the circulation oj the
" Gardeners' Chronicle" has, since the reduction in the .
price of the paper, more than

*S- TREBLED. -S»

X

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pq

pi

Oh

pi
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March 15, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

169

THE

(Sartors' dfftnrracle

No. 794.— SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Adonis davurica ... l?o

Apricots 175

Bath, Royal Victoria
Park and Botanic

Garden at 179

Book notice—
The culture of green-
house Orchids ... 181
Various ... 177, 179

Botanical Magazine ... 177

Daffodils 169

Ferns, the treatment

of hardy 170

Fruit, cold storage of 178
Fruit-trees, planting

on, farms 178

Garden, the, asahobby 180
Horticultural hall and
offices, special meet-
ing to consider pro-
posed site for ... 176
Milium giganteum ... 181
lyehees in Natal ... 177 ,
Market gardening—
The soil-mixture for
Cucumbers ... 172
Narcissi, hybrid ... 172
Nursery notes—
Sutton it Sons, Read-
ing 173

Nurseries in thellnited

States 175

Orchid notes and
gleanings—
CattleyaTrian:ci with

three lips 170

Odontoglossum x
Adriame "Lieut.
T. G. Gibson " ... 170

Obituary —
Tegg, James

Plant, a. that catches
chickens

Plants, new or note-
worthy—
Helichrysum Vol-

kensil

Passiflora ambigua

Plum Anna Spiith ...

Poinsettias, propa-
gating

Publications received

Retarded plants, the
forcing of

Snowdrop, a yellow ...

Societies —
Cornwall Daffodil ...
Horticultural Club .
National Sweet

Pea

Royal Horticultural

United Hort. Benefit
and Provident ...

Wol ve rhampton
Floral Fete

Stock-taking

Sweet Pea Cupid
Sweet Peas, artificial

manures for

Week's Work, the—

Flower Garden, the .

Fruits under Glass .

Hardy Fruit Garden

Kitchen Garden ...

Orchid Houses, the.

Plants under Glass .

181
175

169
169
175

180
179

169
180

178
179

178
176
182

183

178
177

175
174
174
175
174
175

ILLUBTRATIO N 8.

Helichrysum Volkensii 170

Map showing site for the proposed Horticultural

Hall, in Vincent Square, Westminster, p. ix. of

Supplement.

Narcissus Margarita? "Iolanda" 172

Narcissus x Sprengeri, varieties elmensis and

vomerensis 173

Odontoglossum erispum "Lady Jane" 181

Passiflora ambigua 171

View of rockery in the Botanic Garden, Bath ... 179
Winter view in the Royal Victoria Park, Bath

(Supplement).

DAFFODILS.

f\F all vernal flowers, these are the most
p-' fascinating. They have also the longest
reign, extending, as it does, from the death
of the Crocus till the re-appearance of
the fragrant Narcissus ornatus, an early
form of N. poeticus. We do not "weep"
now-a-days, like the olden English poet, to
see them " pass away so soon." Perhaps in
his day he had only the early and
familiar Narcissus pseudo-Narcissus and the
great Telamonius plenus ; whereas we, who
live in the golden days of hybridisation,
have Daffodils in glorious and continuous
bloom from the confines of March till the
middle of May. Most of them also are com-
paratively easy of culture; in many instances
the noblest varieties, such as Emperor and
Empress, will increase year by year, if only
they are assigned a suitable position, in deep,
moist loam, witli adequate drainage; while
others of a hardier character, and even more
accommodating nature, will, without any
difficulty, become naturalised on lawns.
The earliest variety here, growing in grass
under the venerable, overarching trees,
with charming effect during the month of
March, is the "Scottish Garland Lily"
(Narcissus scoticus), where it has been, I

believe, for the last fifty years. It is a much
more perfect flower than the English Lent
Lily, to which, under its botanical name,
allusion has already been incidentally made,
and it is exquisitely serrated. I would
not describe its perianth as white (unless the
variety we possess is a hybrid), rather as
being very pale primrose. My supreme
favourites for garden -cultivation are the
beautiful white-winged, or bicolor forms,
all of which are exquisite, while several, in
their size and substance and splendour, are
nobly impressive. Among the grandest of
these are the famous Weardale Perfection,
whose price, unless to the affluent cultivator,
is quite prohibitive, but which is un-
questionably one of the most striking Daf-
fodils in existence; Victoria (which I first
saw at the Long Ditton nurseries of
the Messrs. Barr), with creamy - white
perianth and golden trumpet, gracefully
fringed ; J. B. M. Camrn, remarkable
for its beauty of form ; the venerable Hors-
fieldi, raised by a flower-loving Lancashire
weaver; Empress and Grandis, rivalling in
their endowments the boasted beauty of
Weardale, though perhaps not quite so
large. Exceedingly decorative to our garden
borders are also the pure yellows, of w:hich
some of the finest are the almost invincible
Emperor, which I never weary of contem-
plating, so lustrous is its aspect during the
period of bloom ; Ard Righ, an early-
flowering Irish creation, requiring for
effective culture a half-shady situation ;
Glory of Leiden, a grand variety ;
Countess of Annesley, Golden Spur, a
Daffodil of rare beauty, worthy of its name ;
and the highly distinctive Queen of Spain.
The variety last mentioned, discovered in
Spain by Mr. Peter Barr, I have not found
very reliable or enduring ; but I greatly fear
that it did not find in my garden congenial
soil.

Extremely interesting also are the "cha-
lice-cupped" Daffodils (Narcissus incom-
parabilis), especially such fine forms as C. J.
Backhouse, of a luminous yellow hue, with
orange-scarlet cup, which was awarded a
First-class Certificate by the Royal Horti-
cultural Society; the greatly-admired Gloria
Mundi, which received a similar distinction;
Princess Mary, Queen Sophia, and the
richly-coloured, highly-artistic Frank Miles.
A very effective hybrid is Barri conspicuus,
which should be found in every garden.
Most charming in their influence are the
" Eucharis-flowered," silvery-white Daffodils.
of which some of the choicest varieties are
Duchess of Westminster, Mrs. Langtry,
Beatrice, Grand Duchess, Duchess of Bra-
bant, and Princess of Wales.

The fair and fragrant successors of these
are Narcissus ornatus and N. poeticus,
which keep our gardens beautiful and
odorous till the advent of the Kosc. David
R. Williamson.

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

HELICHRYSUM VOLKENSII.*

(See Qg. .".(I, p. 170.)

Tins is another of the African species which
Mr. Gumblcton has succeeded in flowering.
To him wo are indebted lor the specimen now
figured by Mr. Worthiugton Smith, and which

* Il'-lichrt/snm VoUttnift, O. Hoffmann, in Kmtl. 1'flnn-
MRU, Ost.-Afrik. (1895), p. 4lu.

has been identified for us by Dr. Rcndle. Like
its congeuers that have been recently figured,
it is a native of the Kilima-ujaro mountain in
German East Tropical Africa, -where it grows
in the " highest zone of vegetation." It is of
shrubby habit, the stems and branches densely
covered with white, shaggy hairs. The tipper
leaves are about 4 cent, long, 3 to 4 mill,
wide ; sessile, ascending, linear, mucronate,
with recurved edges, and more or less studded
(especially on the under surface near the mid-
rib) with small-stalked, capitate glands. The
flower-heads in the specimen before us are
about 2 cent, long, 25 mill, across, in groups
of three. Bracts of the involucre membranous,
lanceolate ; outermost shorter, bright rose-
coloured ; innermost longer, whitish.

The plant before us differs from the type,
as pointed out to us by Dr. Rendle, in having
fewer heads of flowers on shorter peduncles ;
but this may be due to cultivation.

Passiflora ambigua.
Our illustration in fig. 51, p. 171, is of a new
Passion flower, published in the current number
of the Botanical Magazine, from which journal
•we extract the following particulars: — "The
description of Passiflora ambigua cited under
tab. 7822 is taken almost wholly from one
kindly lent me by Mr. Hemsley. It was drawn
up by him from a specimen which was raised
from seed received in 1896 from Mr. E. G.
Sturridge, nurseryman, of Blewfields, in
Nicaragua, which flowered in the Palm-house
of the Royal Gardens, Kew, in May, 1901.
Mr. Hemsley regards its affinity [to be] so
close with P. laurifolia, Linn. (Jacquin, Horttts
Vindobonensis ii., t. 162), and P. maliformis,
Linn. (Bot. Register, t. 94), as to suggest the
possibility of its being of hybrid origin. Pre-
mising that P. ambigua is a very much larger
plant, with flowers more than double the size,
and with a differently coloured perianth, it
further differs from P. laurifolia in the petiole,
being biglandular in the middle, not at the
apex, in the bracteoles being eglaudular, in
the leaves not being cordate at the base, and
in the long filaments of the corona having ob-
tuse not subulate tips. From P. maliformis it
differs in the same characters of the leaf-base,
size of flower, and long filaments of the
corona, and also in the stipules being linear,
not ovate with subulate tips." J. D. H., in
Botanical Magazine.

THE FORCING OF RETARDED
PLANTS.

(Concluded from p. 155.)
LlLll'M LONciUXORUM. — This plant has been
the least satisfactory with me, and I believe
this is a somewhat general experience. The
bulbs must be potted as soon as received, the
potting being similar to that afforded to
Spir:eas ; and they should receive but a very
moderate amount of water, in fact, I never
afford any before the soil is filled with roots.
It is better to use moderately moist soil for
potting than to apply water, and plunge the
pots in Cocoanut-flbre refuse or finely-sifted
coal-ashes in a cold frame. The pots should
be frequently sprinkled or syringed. When
growth lias bosun, carefully shade the plants,
and place them near the glass in a house whore
a temperature of 50° can bo maintained ; when
flower-buds show, a warmth of 60" should bo
afforded, but not higher than (his. The bull's
may be potted at any time daring the summer

and autumn; those potted before September
require from fourteen to sixteen weeks to
bring them into flower, and proportionately
longer as the season advances. Green-fly

must be kept in check, or deformed flowers

170

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 15, 1902.

■will be the result. L. lanci folium and the
variety album require the same kind of treat-
ment, but a period of three or four weeks
longer is required to bring them into flower.

Azalea mollis.

These plants should be potted as soon as
received, put in a cold frame or the green-
house, lightly shaded in bright weather,
and syringed frequently till the flower-buds
begin to open, but no longer. Azalea mollis
requires careful treatment, or the flowers will
be very short-lived. They must not be kept
in a dry atmosphere, or one that is very
moist, and soil should be kept moist.

In conclusion, I may state that those plants
are not so lasting in apartments as naturally-
grown plants, more especially Azalea mollis.
But a great deal depends upon the treatment
afforded, for should any of the details here
set forth beneglected they will flag, and there
is an end of them for decorative purposes. I
have not by any means exhausted the list of
retarded plants now on the market, such as
Deutzias, double and single-flowered Cherries,
Pyrus, and other useful subjects. T. Arnold.

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

«

CATTLEYA TRIAN^I WITH THREE LIPS.
A singular * and rather pretty case of
peloria is shown in one of [the two flowers of
an inflorescence of Cattleya labiata Triansei,
kindly sent by Mr. Brown, gr. to Geo. C.
Raphael, Esq., Castle Hill, Englefield Green.
One of the flowers is of the normal shape, a
good and well coloured variety ; the other in
the arrangement of its parts seems to imitate
an Iris, the nearly straight column having
three labellums arranged round if like the
standards of an Iris germanica. In each the
normal form of the lip is tolerably well re-
tained, though they are scarcely so large as
that of the perfect flower. The colour is the
same, viz., pale lilac at the base, orange in
the centre, and bright purple in front. The
sepals and petals are white, tinted with rose ;
the petals slightly stalked at the base, and
both sepals and petals arranged round the
showy centre of bright coloured labellum.

Odontoglossum x Adrian.e "Lieut. T. G.
Gibson."

The pretty set of natural hybrids between
Odontoglossum crispum and O. Hunnewellianuni
appear tolerably freely among importations
from a certain locality, and there is great
variation both in the size and the markings of
the flowers of the different forms. First there
are a good number with small flowers of a
crumpled shape, which are not much valued ;
then there are the dark varieties with yellowish
ground colour, spotted with chestnut-brown,
and more nearly approaching O. Hunnewelli-
anum ; and lastly the forms approaching O.
crispum, which are much prized and valued
according to the nearness to which they
approach the typical O. crispum in the size
and arrangement of their flowers. The best of
that finest type which we have seen is O. x
Adrian se " Lieut T. G. Gibson," kindly sent
us by Mr. James Riddell, gr. to T. G. Gibson,
Esq., Lesbury House, Lesbury, Northumber-
land, who names it after his son, Lieut. Gibson,
who has for the last three years been serving
his country in South Africa. The flower,
which is nearly 3 inches across, is almost as
broad in the segments as O. crispum ; in
colour white, with a purple tint on the backs
of the sepals, which shows through to the
surface. The sepals have each a group of

small red-brown blotches near the base, and
one large irregular one near the tops, which
are margined with primrose -yellow. The
fringed petals have the middle portions
blotched with red-brown. The lip is white,
with pale yellow crest, above which are many
small purple lines, and in front several red-
brown blotches, the margin being toothed. It
is said to have two spikes of ten and twelve
flowers.

THE FERNERY.

— ♦ —

THE TREATMENT OP HARDY PERNS.

Por those who possess collections of hardy
native Perns, or who contemplate giving
some space to choice varieties in shady

or division, taking care not to over-pot, a pot
an inch wider being usually ample for a shift
except for very robust varieties. The drainage
should be carefully seen to, and if the old
ball shows any signs of sourness, it is best to
shake the Pern quite out, remove the dead
roots, and repot in fresh soil. The best
general compost is a mixture of equal parts of
friable yellow loam and leaf-mould, or brown
fibrous-peat, adding a dash of coarse silver or
road sand to assist in keeping it open. Perns
which have developed a number of side-
shoots or offsets should have these removed —
a single crown always makes a better specimen,
and shows the varietal characters to more
advantage than when a crowd is permitted to
accumulate. These offsets can be usually pulled
away or split off with a blunt trowel or piece

Pig. 50. — helichrysum volkensii
(see r.

bracts bright rose-coloured.
169.)

situations in the open or in cold conser-
vatories with a northern aspect, March is
decidedly the best month in which to over-
haul or instal the plants. The Perns are
only just commencing to awake from their
long winter sleep, and are thus not only
in a vigorous condition, and best fitted to
withstand the shock of removal or trans-
mission, but are also the least liable to suffer
permanent damage since the new fronds are
all to come, and the old ones if damaged imply
no great loss by removal. It is, however,
advisable to retain these old fronds of ever-
green species until the plants are re-esta-
blished, and the new ones well advanced,
cutting off only the obviously dead portions,
or such as may show evidence of insect infes-
tation in the previous season, as such evidence
is always accompanied by the presence of
eggs, which mean a later brood if not de-
stroyed. Pots should now be cleaned, and
their tenants attended to as regards repotting

of wood, and as they are furnished with their
own particular set of roots, they only require
potting-up or transplanting to form indepen-
dent specimens. These remarks refer to such
Ferns as Lady Perns, Male Perns, and other
Lastreas, and Shield Perns, all of which form
central crowns, round which a complete set of
fronds form a circle like a shuttlecock. The
rambling species with travelling root-stocks,
like the several Polypodies, the common Poly-
pody, and Oak, Beech, and Limestone Poly-
podies are best left alone to form clumps, as
their fronds spring up singly, and arrange
themselves in such a way that they look best
when well established. Under glass this tribe
is best grown in shallow pans, room being
thus given for lateral extension. Such Perns
can be propagated easily by cutting the
rhizomes or root-stocks here and there, and
pulling them asunder, when each piece with a
growing tip roots, and a frond or two will
make a plant. The pans should stand on,

Makoh 15, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

171

not in, smaller saucers, which will catch and
retain surplus water, and should not be
allowed to become empty. On the other
hand,*it is not wise to stand pots in saucers
so' that they are constantly saturated ; none
but remarkably vigorous plants in full growth
will'stand such saturation long, as the soil is

sourness results, and growth, as we have
found, is greatly stimulated, while the trouble
of watering is reduced. Fern-beds in the
open may now be cleared of absolutely dead
fronds, but it is well to mulch, not bury, the
crowns lightly with old leaves, to protect the
incipient growth from drying winds, to which

to their houses on the north or" east, where
the satisfactory growth of flowering plants is
impracticable, we cannot too strongly suggest
the installation of a few dozen fine varieties
of our native hardy Perns, such as any trade
list will indicate. With a little care, a collec-
tion of such plants will prove intensely inte-

FlQ. 51.— PASSIFLORA AMBIGUA. (SEE P. 1C9.)

apt to become sour, and air is as necessary to
roots as water for healthy growth. We have
tried, and cannot too strongly recommend, for
Ferns Sankey's well-pots, which have a hole
in the side a little way from the bottom, and
an earthenware diaphragm fitted loosely inside
the pot just above the orifice. The bottom of
the pot retains the surplus water, but as thcro
is a space between this and the diaphragm, no

they are subject at this time of year. In
planting such as is necessitated by the re-
moval of divisions from crowded plants, care
should be taken to give ample room for sub-
sequent growth ; the fault of most collections
is overcrowding, in consequence of which a-
large proportion of the natural beauty is
sacrificed.
To those who have conservatories attached

resting, as well as extremely decorative; the
shade which is BO adverse to the Dowering
plants, is the congenial element for the Ferns,
if not overdone. The plants are ;is hardy as
grass, and their diversity of form really
wonderful, while their variation in size from
the giant to the dwarf, admits <>l (heir uso
under any space conditions whatever. Clias.
T. Druery, F.L.8., V.M.E.

172

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 15, 1902.

MARKET GARDENING.

THE SOIL MIXTURE FOR CUCUMBERS.

There can be no doubt that the best results
in the cultivation of Cucumbers are obtained
with turf that has "been in stack for twelve
months, kept free from all weeds whatever
and under cover. This will seem easier to try
than to do, which I fully admit ; such turf,
however, providing it is kept dry and free
from herbage, will be entirely free from nema-
todes, worms, and insect pests. What to
do the first year, when, of course, no such
soil is available, is to mix newly-dug, turfy
loam with fresh horse-dung, using enough of
the latter to set up strong heat in the body
of loam, and after a few days to turn the heap,
putting the outside into the middle in re-form-
ing the heap, and then leave it for a week or
two, after which space of time, there will
be no insect left alive, providing the work has
been properly done. Another method when
no horse-dung is available, is to employ lime
and soot, mixing these with the soil, which,
as I have proved by experience, frees the soil
from the insects that are the bane of the
Cucumber-grower. Another method is to bake
the sods made up into a stack on the top of a
garden boiler, which however cannot be put
in practice where large quantities of soil
are required.

If a certain amount of fresh stable-dung be
employed in the mixture, and it is at once
brought into the Cucumber-house, it will heat
.slightly for a short time, and much more so if
warm water be applied to it. When turf
cannot be obtained cheaply, the best of what
there is has to be made, and an effort made to
make it fit for the purpose. Cucumber soil
usually contains a large percentage of
manure, and the absence of fibre in the mould
is of less importance. The materials should
be in a rough, unsifted state that will let
water pass freely away, and remain in that
condition for a few months. Cucumbers will
succeed in it ; whatever other ingredient is
lacking can be added afterwards.

The market-growers and private gardeners
like to see strong growth of leaf and shoot,
but it is possible to make the soil too rich for
the plants by supplying too much nitrogen in
the soil; and seeing that soil in the form of
top-dressing has to be employed, artificial
fertilisers beyond what the soil mixture
contains should not be used at first unless
the soil is known to be poor or not quite
suitable.

A Cucumber plant in full bearing takes
from the ground principally nitrogen, potash,
and phosphoric acid, and if these in the proper
quantities could be added to the soil, good
results would follow ; but if we were to add
any of these elements in excess of the demands
of the plants, bad results would ensue. With
too much nitrogen in the soil, the plants
form very gross shoots and foliage, and do
not crop so freely as short-jointed, mode-
rate-sized shoots and leaves will do, and the
fruit will take longer in reaching a usable
size. The grower should test his fruit now
and again, and the flavour will tell him if any
mistake has been made in the treatment of the
plants. A well grown Cucumber freshly cut
has a pleasant flavour. Too much phosphoric
acid in the mixture might be a gain in quality,
but the fruit would be classed as seconds (in
size) only ; yet nothing would sooner stop the
production of fruit than lack of phosphoric acid
in the soil. Again, if too much potash is used
the plants will not last for any length of time,
and they will not, as the gardener says,

"break freely." The Cucumber-plants will
absorb large quantities of potash to their
detriment, and the cultivator must cut back
the bine considerably. It should be re-
membered that some kinds of soil contain an
abundance of potash, and manure may also be
present.

From all this it will be seen that the making
of a suitable Cucumber-compost is not an easy
matter. The gardener should find out in what
elements his soil is lacking and supply these,
which is true of all cultures ; but particularly
with that of Cucumbers. A capital fertiliser
for mixing with Cucumber soil is charred
garden refuse, which is rich in potash and
mineral salts, and is useful in imparting
porosity.

Lime in some form is another necessary
addition to a Cucumber-compost if it be not
naturally found in the soil, as in the case of
loams from chalky districts. If we see young
plants when still in the pots producing

from November to January, while the
earliest Pseudo-Narcissus does not begin to
flower till the end of February. But as I
planted the bulbs of the first specimen
(Paper - white) in December, it flowered
here at the same time as the latter (Daffodil),
and so their fecundation was somewhat
easily effected.

The following is a description of the
hybrid : —

Bulb globose, somewhat smaller than that of the
mother, covered with thin, light brown tunics. Leaf
linear, light green, not glaucous ; 1 to 1J ft. long
about ltd 1 in. broad. Peduncle shorter than the
leaves, about a foot long, or a little longer, veined with
two prominent edges; flowering from February to
March. Pedicels irregular, shorter than the spathe.
Flowers two or three, closely united, fragrant. Perianth
milky-white, ascending, tube funnel-shaped, green on
the base outwards ; segments concave, acute, as long
as the tube; corona cup-shaped, truncate, about half
as long as the segments, milky-white on their base,
sulphur-yellow on the upper part. Stamens and style
variable, the latter much shorter than the stamens.
• fuite sterile, as I believe.

FlG. 52. — NARCISSUS MARGARIT.E " IOLANDA."

flowers, it might safely be taken that it does
contain enough lime. A disadvantage in the
use of lime is that it sets part of the ammonia
free. If the soil is clayey, lime will form a
very good addition [but it should take the
form of quicklime, and be distributed through-
out the soil whilst it is still in the heap, and
before it is put on to the beds. Ed.]. A. A.
Fabius, Redlands Nursery, Emsworth.

HYBKID NARCISSI.

Narcissus x M argarit.e ' ' Iolaxda ' ' (Narcissus
papyraceus x Pseudo-Narcissus), (see fig. 52).
Amongst my new hybrid Narcissus are
some very fine and graceful specimens,
flowering at the end of February, and
to-day (March 4) in their full glory. It was
somewhat difficult to hybridise the two
different species, as N. papyraceus, known
in gardens under the old name of " Paper-
white Narcissus," flowers very early here

This very fine hybrid Narcissus flowers here-
in my garden near Saint Elmo luxuriantly, and
will become, when more known, a favourite, if
it prove hardy in English gardens ; but that
is doubtful. Ch. Sprenger,

Narcissus x Sprexgeri, Baker, in Gardeners'
Chronicle, VAR. VOMERENSIS (N. Tenorii :
Pseudo-Narcissus), (fig. 53.)

Bulb very large, ovoid. Leaves six or more, broati,
linear, somewhatglaueous, erect, or ascending, flattish,
much longer than the peduncle; this is about 1£ ft.
long, striated, cylindrical, with two slightly prominent,
edges, flowering in February to March. Pedicels irre-
gular, shorter than or as long as the spathe. Perianth
spreading, or slightly ascending ; tube large, funnel-
shaped, longer than the segments. Segments ovate-
oblong, acute, ascending, pale sulphur-yellow. Corona
fine golden-yellow, as long as the segments, cylindrical > »
erect, sometimes plicate, undulate, irregular, crenate.
Stamens and style very short. Stamens erect, much
longer than the style, inserted low down the tube, but
deeper than in the pseudo-Narcissus. Flowers mostly
three on the stalk, very fine, fragrant.

As it seems, this hybrid is quite sterile. A
very splendid garden hybrid, of great interest. •.
It is in flower here now for the first time.

March 15, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

173

Narcissus x Sprengeri, Baker, var. elmensis
(N. Tenorii x Pseudo-Narcissus var.), (fig. 54).

BuTb large, ovoid. Leaves four to six, linear, glau-
cous, erect, canaliculate. Peduncle shorter than the
leaves, with two prominent edges, ; flowers produced
from February to March. Pedicels irregular, shorter
than the spathe. Perianth horizontal, not ascending;
tube greenish-yellow, funnel-shaped, as loug as the
segments. Segments splendid lemon-yellow, spatulate,
undulate - acute, longer than the corona. Corona
golden-yellow, cylindrical, erect, plicate, irregularly
inciso-crenate as is the case in the flowers of the male
parent. Stamens and style much shorter than the
corona. Stamens not erect. Style much longer than
the stamens. Flowers very fragrant.

A magnificent new hybrid, flowering for the
first time. Ch. Sprenner, Naples.

of seeing for themselves what is being done
with Primulas and Cyclamens.

With doable-flowered varieties of the first,
great progress has been made, which renders
the plants of this section more easy of culti-
vation as compared with the older method
pursued with the ordinary double-flowering
Primula. No fewer than six distinct varieties
are now in commerce. Added to this, a double-
flowered form of The Duchess has been ob-
tained which cannot fail to become popular,
possessing as it does the colour of that variety.

Much progress, too, has been made with
the Carnation flaked strain, in which formerly
there was .so much more white than purple ;

maintains its place for the purity of the white
flowers, even the latest exhibit no tinge of any
other colour, and it is quite the earliest to
flower where early-flowering bright coloured
Primulas are valued ; the variety Reading
Scarlet is indispensable. Very fine are the
individual blooms of Reading Blue and Cam-
bridge Blue, which have but few leaves, and
the style of growth is very effective and the
plants very dwarf, and of remarkable freedom
in flowering. Rosy Queen, a Fern-leaved
variety, is desirable, the habit good. The
Duchess is still as fine as when introduced in
1900, and is perhaps the showiest Primula, the
rosv-carmine centre being so telling a feature.

Fie. 53.— narcissus sprengeri vo.merexsis.
(see p. 172.)

Fig. 51.— narcissus sprengetu elmensis.

NURSERY NOTES.

PRIMULAS AND CYCLAMENS AT MESSRS.
SUTTON AND SONS'.

A charming contrast to the weather outside
was afforded by the houses on the occasion of
a recent visit. Tho Primulas wore in full
flower, but the Cyclamens had been at their
best shortly before.

It may be the last time that we shall see
this yearly display in their present quarters.
As happens in most well-conducted businesses,
Messrs. Sutton have found the demands of their
customers have outgrown the capabilities of
the existing promises, and they contemplate
removing the glasshouses to a much more
commodious site.

A few lines on what came under notice may
have an interest for many readers of those
pages, who may not have had the opportunity

but now the flaking is nnteh more decided.
The flowers of this strain are especially telling
by artificial light. The white-flowering forms
with dark leaf-stems are also found more
effective on the plants than those varieties
having green leaves and stems. The deeply-
fringed flowers come in compact trusses on
short stems, and are freely produced. The
improved double scarlet is now as rich in
colour as Crimson King, which is one of the
brightest of Primulas.

Among single-flowered forms there were
many handsome types observed, but the one
which struck me most was Pearl, a variety
that still holds its own. Twenty-one years
have elapsed since Sutton introduced this
variety, and it is still a very popular variety.
The plant is of robust growth, and the Mowers
come in large trusses, making it a very effective
plant.

Royal White is another favourite; Snowdrift

The giant single-flowered forms, in a variety
of colours, are a distinct gain ; the magni-
ficent flower-trusses and flowers, some of the
latter 3 inches in diameter, render this type
very valuable in decorative work. Giant
Pink, Giant Crimson, and Royal White are
desirable forms, the first being especially
effective.

Star Primulas have a future before them,
seeing what a great variety of colour has been
obtained, and how useful they are for cutting.
No fewer than seven dist ine( colours are offered.
White Queen is especially free; Mont Blanc,
with dark Kern-leaves, is become a very
popular variety. A Primula having flowers
white, splashed with purple flakes is attrac-
tive J pink and salmon colours are pleasing.
Giant White produces flowers fully 1J inch in
diameter, remarkable for great substance in

the segments. Carmine is, perhaps, the moat
desirable in the star sections under artificial

174

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 15, 1902.

light. Taken as a whole, the star types of
Primulas are sure to become popular.

Cyclamens. — Although somewhat past their
best, it was easy to see that the plants, now
carrying a full crop of seed-vessels, had been
very floriferous, the Giant forms of almost all
the popular colours "having been especially
showy. Salmon Queen is much improved since
last season, as are the Giant forms of Vulcan
and Giant White, which last is much improved.
Butterfly still maintains its hold on the public
by the quality of its flowers, and is distinctly
the best of the latifolius type. E. M.

The Week's Work.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

Yandas. — Most of these plants maybe grown
sn the same house as the Aerides, and afforded
the same kind of treatment, but if V. coerulea be
placed in the stove during the growing season, it
should be removed to the Cattleya-house during
the resting season. At Gatton we leave the
plants all the year round in the Cattleya-house,
and keep thorn dry during the winter months.
.Imported plants may now be obtained cheaply.
On receiving such plants, thoroughly cleanse
them before putting them into the houses.
When this has been done, suspend them head
downwards in a cool shady house, and slightly
spray them once or twice a day till they show
signs of root action, then pot them up in the
compost advised for Aerides. Make the pots
two-thirds full of crocks, and in potting let
the leaves be brought as near as possible to
the level of the compost, cutting away a
portion of the old stem, and letting a further
portion go down amongst the crocks. Keep
the plants well shaded, and syringe frequently
between the pots; but until the roots have
made a good start, the compost should be kept
fairly dry.

Dendrohiums.— Many of the plants, having
flowered, are throwing up the young growth,
and when this has got about 3 inches in length
is the proper time to repot. The wholesale
vepotting of Dendrobes is not to be recom-
mended, and only those that have reached a
certain stage should be repotted. The com-
post may consist of turfy peat one-half, good
leaf-soil one-quarter, and chopped sphagnum-
inoss one-quarter, all being mixed together.
A fair amount of drainage is needed by plants
standing on a stage, but the Dendrobium
requires something more than crocks upon
which to feed, and the amount of material must
be in the discretion of the cultivator. In cases
where water can be dispensed with care and
judgment, but little drainage is necessary ; on
the other hand, if water has to be applied to
batches of the plants, then give good drainage
in the pots. Suspended plants in pans, &c,
■do not need much drainage material. Young,
healthy plants simply requiring to be shifted
should not have the ball of material disturbed
beyond removing the compost at the top,
unless it has become sour, or is worn out.
Older plants, and especially such as have only
leading growths near the rim of the pot,
should be pulled to pieces and the older parts
removed, not more than two pseudo-bulbs
behind the leading bulb being retained, and
the divided portions placed together. By this
means the same number of leads are obtained,
but in a smaller pot, and the health of the
plant is maintained. Dendrobiums should be
potted rather firmly, and the base of the
leading growth kept a little below the rim of
the pot. At the finish, insert three or four
clumps of live sphagnum-moss on the surface,
which are of assistance in the summer months by
reason of the moisture thereby being retained.
Repotted plants require scarcely any water at
the root for some time, if the house be kept
moist. The critical stage is when the roots
begin to emerge from the new growth, and no
water must be applied then unless the compost
is thoroughly dry ; and the right time for so
doing is early morning.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mdsdy, Esq ,
Shipley Hal], Derby.

Hippeastrums. — These, where they have
been retarded, will now be pushing up their
flower-shafts, and should be brought into a
warmer house, and afforded one good applica-
tion of water or manure-water, and no more
till the leaves begin to develop.

Shading will soon be required, Anthuriums
especially needing much attention in this
particular.

Gloriosa supcrba.— Pot the bulbs in a mixture
of peat, leaf-mould, and loam, and a large pro-
portion of sand, and place a handful of it and
some decayed cow-manure round each. The
soil being moderately moist when used, no
water will be required till growth is being
made. The best sized pot is one of 10 inches
in diameter, which does away with the neces-
sity for repotting.

Winters-flowering Carnations. — Let all young
stock be potted off singly when rooted, and be
grown on rapidly in rich sandy loam, which is
the best sort of soil for them in the early stages.
Those plants which were potted earlier may
remain for the present rather close to the
glass, in a house having a temperature at
night of about 00°, and be sprinkled lightly
twice or thrice daily. Pot off later cuttings
as they become rooted, using for them a mix-
ture of loam, leaf-mould, some decayed manure
well pulverised, and a considerable proportion
of silver-sand. Let the potting be fairly firm,
but do not ram the soil, it being advisable
for the present to let the roots run freely in
the soil. Earlier struck plants potted singly
should be shifted as soon as the roots begin to
coil round the sides of the pots, but not
affording large shifts.

Souvenir de ia Malmaison Carnations. — The
best place for these varieties in the winter is
a vinery shelf, but as Vines will soon be grow-
ing, this position will be no longer suitable
for the plants, and they must be removed
to another house, where a slight amount of
shade may be afforded when the sun becomes
powerful. Small and weak layers occupying
OO's should be shifted into 5-inch pots, and
grown on for flowering next year, it being
unlikely that they will produce good blooms
this year.

Hard-iooodcd Plants.— Continue the potting
of such plants as have flowered, and are
starting into fresh growth, as when caught in
this condition they do not suffer from lack of
movement at the root, or from having much
new growth to support. Azalea indica which
flowered early should be repotted if the pots
are too small, but if they are large they will, if
other conditions are right, grow and flower well
for several years in the same pots ; and if much
bigger plants are not desirable, repotting is
best left alone. Old plants, or those which
may have got into an unhealthy state, may
sometimes be restored to health by cutting
back into the old wood, removing all weak
shoots, placing the plants in a forcing-house,
and syringing them frequently.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch, Dalkeith.

Earliest Peach-house. — The severe weather
and unusual absence of sunshine experienced
in February caused the gardener to place his
entire dependence upon artificial heat, which
together with a lack of fresh air, has resulted
in the Vines making slow progress. Patience
must be exercised, and till stoning is finished
and the second swelling begun, the tempera-
ture should not exceed 60° at night, and 70° to
75° by day, affording as much air as is safe, but
not when the north or east winds prevail. Just
sufficient young shoots should be left for next
year's bearing wood, with plenty of shoots
towards the centre of the tree ; but do not
crowd the shoots. Sometimes shoots must be
removed which have fruits at their bases, in
such cases shorten the shoots to three leaves.

The use of much fire-heat will have favoured
the increase of red-spider, and heavy syring-
ings morning and afternoon, with occasionally
a weak mixture of soft-soap specially made for
horticultural purposes, should be applied. I
use Bentley's, which is also a good anti-mildew
preparation.

The Peach-house started in January. — The
trees iu this house are nearly as forward as
in that which was started one month earlier,
and the same kind of treatment applies to it.
The inside border is not likely to be dry, the
constant sy ringings and mulch of dung on the
surface having kept the soil moist ; but where
trees are not growing strongly, apply a Vine-
manure, and then water copiously when water
becomes necessary. This kind of treatment
attracts the roots to the surface, and produces
fruitful wood, as well as swells the fruit to a
fine size, even in poor soils.

The Peach-house started at the beginning of
February. — If the fruits have set very thickly,
there will still be some that need removing at
this the second thinning ; but do not remove
all, rather reserve some for another thinning
in a week or ten days. The treatment is the
same as for the earlier houses. If aphides
infest the trees, syringe with quassia-water,
fumigation being risky. With lengthening days
and more sunshine, this Peach-house will
progress more rapidly than the earlier ones.
Maintain a night temperature of 60°, and close
iu the afternoon with sunheat at 80°. Syringe
the trees twice a day, and keep a moist but
not stuffy atmosphere ; and help the swelling of
the fruits with Vine-manure sprinkled on the
soil, washing it in with tepid water, or em-
ploy weak manure-water from the cowhouse
instead. The trees that are to provide ripe
fruit in July and August should be kept at 00°
by night, and be treated generally as directed
for trees started a month earlier. The trees
in the latest house should be kept back as
much as possible with all the ventilators open,
but when the flowers open, let the night
temperature be 50° to 55°. Guard against frosty
cutting winds ; damp the paths occasionally,
and afford air night and day.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Matne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle,
Bicton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

The Fig.— After this date it is safe, even in
the colder districts, to remove protective
materials from the trees. This done, remove
the very thin and the more sappy, gross
shoots ; and in fastening the shoots to the
wall or fence, do not crowd them together so
much as to obstruct the sunlight, or the wood
will be ill-ripened, and the fruit-crop the next
year a poor one. A space of from 12 to 15 inches
between the chief branches will allow of good
space to lay in lateral shoots for next year's
bearing.

The Pear. — In less favoured counties than
Devon, Pears usually occupy warm walls, as
in the ease of Apricots and Peaches here.
Where this is the case, and no provision exists
for the protection of the blossom, spruce fir-
boughs placed thinly over the earlier flowering
varieties, which will soon be opening their
flowers, will afford protection from hoar
frost.

Grafting. — It is yet early to begin to graft,
though much depends upon the season in regard
to this kind of work, and not a little on the
locality. In the south-west, grafting is fully
three weeks in advance of the north ; and, as
a rule, no grafting should be done till the
sap has begun to flow in the stock, that is,
from the middle of March — the present month,
and the operation may be carried on till the
end of the month of April. Apples and Pears
are the fruits which the private gardener
mostly grafts, substituting good in place of
inferior varieties on trees of moderate age
that are healthy. Such trees usually bear
fruits the second year, and the crop increases
year by year if the seasons are favourable.
The branches that are grafted should not be

March 15, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

175

more than 6 inches long, measured from
the stem, and the ends should be made
smooth with a chisel or knife before grafting
begins. The scions should consist of mature
one-year-old wood, and possess two to four
wood-buds, according to the strength of the
stock. The saddle-graft is most in vogue in
the west, withstanding wind much better
when in leaf than the side or whip-graft,
though it requires support as growth increases.
Crown-grafting is a very simple method, and
is done by cutting the rind about 2 inches or
so down the stock, and inserting the wedge-
shaped scion, having a shoulder cut out so as
to rest on the top of the stock ; while for
large trees, cleft-grafting is about the only
means of tackling them, and often two scions
are put in at one operation by splitting the
stock with a chisel, and inserting two wedge-
cut scions, one at each end of the cleft, and
making sure that the barks of stock and scion
coincide. Whip-grafting, too, is much in use,
and when stock and scion are about of a size,
it is a successful method. First remove a slip
of wood and bark in an upward direction on
the stock, and a similar one from the scion
with a tongue to fit into a cleft made in the
stock. The whip and the saddle -graft hold
the scions better, but have no other merit.
Tying-in the grafts needs to be done firmly,
but not so as to cut into the bark ; and
raffia is as good as anything for the
purpose. Claying a graft consists of forming
an egg-shaped mass of clay and horse-dung
round the point of union for the purpose of
excluding moisture, and preventing the drying-
up of the scion ; but grafting-wax is much
better than clay, and more easily applied.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Torton, Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digbt, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Small Seeds. — Good breadths of the seeds of
the following vegetables may now be sown on
warm borders, viz., Brussels Sprouts, for the
main crop; Pearl and Autumn Giant Cauli-
flower, Earliest-of-All Cabbage, Winter Mam-
moth and Christmas White Broccolis, Early
Horn Carrot, Sutton's White Gem and Early
White Milan Turnips, Globe or Turnip-rooted
Beet, for an early supply of roots ; and long-
rooted and olive-shaped Radishes. All of the
above, excepting the Radishes, should be sown
in drills made at 1 foot apart. The Radishes
may either be sown in drills at 8 inches apart,
or broadcasted in beds having a width of
4 feet in the case of the latter, raking the seed
into the ground and afterwards patting it with
the back of a spade. If small birds are trou-
blesome, especially greenfinches and chaf-
finches, protect the seeds with nets as soon as
sown. Stout sticks, about 3 feet long, placed
along the back and front of the border, to
which stout lacing wire to carry the nets is
easily fixed, is the most effectual way of pro-
tecting the seed.

Lettuce. — Make a good sowing of Perfect
Gem or Commodore Nutt broadcast, but very
thinly, on a sunny border on a well enriched
soil, and sow very thinly in drills drawn at
15 inches apart, seeds of the Paris White Cos.
Where convenience does not exist for raising
White Cos Lettuce-plants under glass, those
raised from seed sown now and thinned early,
grow away without check, and afford fine Let-
tuces in succession to those raised in tho
autumn. Plant out Brown Cos wintered in
cold frames or from the seed-bed. If planted
on a cool border they will succeed those
planted out last autumn on warm borders.

Parsley. — Make a small sowing forthwith on
firm soil in a warm position. This will suc-
ceed last year's old Parsley bed when tho
latter affords no more good pickings.

Peas. — Make sowings in quantity, according
to the expected demand, from this date, at tin-
least once a fortnight ; and a good rulo to
observe in regard to Peas is to sow as SOOE aa
the last sowing is well through the soil. 1V;is
of the No Plus Ultra type afford hitter returns

if sown during March, than at a later date.
Sow at the same time Duke of Albany from a
reliable stock. In regard to heavy cropping
and superior flavour, these two Peas for second
early and midseason supply are difficult to
surpass. They grow well in most soils. From
this date seed may be sown in shallow trenches
taken out with spade ; and after covering the
seed about 1 inch, the soil in the trenches
should be about 3 inches below the general
level, and the depth should be increased
as the season advances. Peas coming through
the soil must be protected from sparrows
with Pea-guards, or by running three rows of
black thread over each row, making fast to
sticks placed G yards apart, and 1 foot above
the ground. Black thread is much more
effectual than white, which the sparrows
avoid. In northern parts of the country where
early Peas are raised in pots or in other ways,
these should now occupy cold pits or frames,
and should be well hardened off. I have long
since given up raising early Peas in this way,
as from sowings made on a warm border as
early as the state of the ground will admit in
January, these come up on the first change
to open weather in February and grow away ;
even after a month of continuous frost, our
earliest Peas sown on January 13 on a warm
border, and also in the open quarter, were
well through the ground at the beginning of
the present month.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

The Rosary. — A commencement with the
pruning of the bushes, &c, may now be made,
choosing first the hardiest Roses. Although
the methods of cultivation adopted with these
varieties is varied, and must in their nature
differ, the end in view is the same, viz., the
suppression of certain parts to promote the
building up of others. Strong-growing varie-
ties of H.P.'s and H.T.'s should have all
unripened growths cut hard back, and the
stout, well-ripened shoots retained at from
14 inches to 18 inches in length, and the wood
of three and four years old cut out of the
centres as far as may be practicable. Mode-
rate-growing varieties may be left at from
8 inches to 12 inches, and weak-growing ones
at about three buds from the base. If pegging
down is desirable, let long shoots be retained,
and bend down and peg them early next
month. Roses which are grown for furnishing
flowers for cutting require but little pruning
beyond the cutting away of dead wood,
and regulating the shoots. Some varieties
of Teas and Noisettes will, in some localities,
have suffered from frost, and stand in need
of having the dead portions removed down
to living wood. Tho plants that have thus
suffered will lose much of their vitality,
and the display of blossoms will be poor.
Standards, than which no other form of train-
ing tho Rose is more ornamental when tho
plants are well grown, may have the branches
carefully pruned and regulated as to tho
distance they stand apart, and according to
the habit and vigour of the variety. Tost
every stake, and put new ones where they
are required, making all ligatures secure,
and using neat pads of leather or cloth
to presorvo tho bark from friction. Afford
all beds, borders, and solitary plants a
dressing of rotten cow- manure, forking it
carefully into the soil.

Evergreen Shrubs. — Isolated specimens of
Laurel, in order to maintain the desired
character in form, may have the strong shoots
neatly cut back, and the whole surface of the
crowns made even witli tho knife. Tho com-
mon Laurel is a useful shrub for massing;
and for covering slopes it should be cut quite
low down. Whore Hollies are used for topiary
work, the same kind of pruning may he carried
out at tho end of tho present month. With
the advance of spring, specimen plants grow-
ing in tubs must be afforded water copiously
at tho root, and occasionally some artificial
manure and soot-water.

FRUIT REGISTER.

PLUM ANNA SPATH.
This variety is figured in the February number
of the Bulletin d' Arboriculture, &c., and is
described as a tree of vigorous growth, hardy,
and fertile. The fruits are about 2f inches
long, oblong, a little flattened at both ends,
purple, with a bluish " bloom " ; flesh Apricot-
coloured, juicy, and of good flavour. It flowers,
late, and ripens its fruit in October.

Apricots.
M. Mouillefert, in a recent number of Le
Jar din, gives a description and a coloured
figure of two varieties of Apricots, which he
considers to be primitive forms of the Apricot.
These varieties were found in Cyprus, where
they bear freely, the fruits being largely used
for culinary purposes. The varieties are re-
produced from seed.

Nurseries in the United States.— We-
take the following figures from the American
Nurserymen. They show some of the results
of the late census, and indicate very strikingly
the differences between the state of affairs in
1890 and in 1900. The ?gures give the number
of nurseries in certain States, and the value o£
the products in dollars : —

1890.

1900.

State.

No.

Value.

No.

Value.

15

68

166

23

20

35

8

41

120

5

145

530

311

9

17

$
272,152

80,410

4,158,851

106,250

146,509

111,805

124,000

180,912

1,393,666

8,166

1,712,464

10,609,866

3,134,780

36,000

35.000

22

47

141

. 21

23

11

6

16

49

s

54

237

95

9

4

179,300
101,455

1,725,945

121,925

284,600

49,900

67,025

78,400

344,600

32,000

646,475

3,607,107

944,790

185,300

28,500

Connecticut

Massachusetts...
New Hampshire.
New Jersey

Pennsylvania ...
Rhode Island ...

A Plant that Catches Chickens. — In the
Journal of the Department of Agriculture of
Western Australia, there lately appeared an
account of a plant which is described as being
a perfect death-trap for chickens. As they
feed or play amongst it, it enmeshes them,
lacing them round with its long tendrils as
with so much twine, and holding them until
they aro released or dio of starvation. Seven
chickens about a fortnight old wore rescued
from the plant, in one day. Tho matter being-
referred to tho Government Botanist, he (Dr.
Morrison) replied : — " The plant is Boerhaavia-

diffusa, a native of all I he Australian States
and of Polynesia, and I lie warmer parts of
Asia and Africa. It belongs to the natural
order Xyctai;iiia<-o;o, ami probably like other
spocios of tin- same family, possesses medicinal
qualities. More commonly, the plant is not
provided with hairs, Iml in tho form sent it is
covered all over with ere -I . j tinted, rigid, or
almost spiny hairs of varying length, and to-
these i' owe-; iis Faculty a i a chicken-catcher.
Tho chicken is caught h.- these stiff hairs

fixing themselves Oil iis tender si; in under I he

young feathers, and the more the bird
straggles the more the flexible branches

heroine wound round iis body and its escape

becomes more hopeless."

176

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 15, 1902,

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER.

Letters for Publication, as -well as specimeiis and plants
for naming, should be addressed to the EDITOR,
41, Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London,

Communications should be written on one side only of
the paper, sent as early in the week as possible, and duly
signed by the writer. If desired, the signature will not be
printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

i Torquay Gardeners* Society,
WEDNESDAY, Mar.19s' uEtulith tart iS p0stp0ned
( Royal Botanical

Society, Meet.

THURSDAY, Mar

( Linnean Society, Meeting.

2)-' Horticultural Show in 1

( Chester Free Trade Hall.

FRIDAY,

( Special Meeting, Royal ITort.
Mar. 21 - Society, at the Drill Hall,
t Buckingham Gate, at 3 P.M.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, March 17.—

Lilies, &c, by Protheroe & Morris at 12.0.

TUESDAY, Mar. 18.—

Greenhouse Plants, &c.,' Aberdeen Park Nurseries,
Highbury, by Protheroe & Morris, at 12.0.— Roses
and other Plants, by Pollexfen & Co.

WEDNESDAY, Mar. 19—

Roses and other Plants, at Stevens' Rooms.— Aza-
leas, Palms, &c, by Protheroe & Morris, at 12.0.
Lilies, &e., at 5 p.m.

THURSDAY, Mar. 20 —

Roses and various Plants, by Pollexfen & Co.— Dwarf
Japanese Plants, &c, by knight, Frank & Rutley,
9, Conduit Street, W.

FRIDAY, Mar. 21.—

Lilies, <tc, by Rendell A Searle, at 12.30.— Orchids,
by Protheroe <fc Morris, at 12.30.
(For farther particulars see our Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
—43 0'.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— March 12(6 p.m.) : Max. 51"; Min. 43'.

March 13.— Fine.
Provinces— March 12 (6 p.m.) : Max. 53°, Scilly :
Min. 39', Orkneys.

THE PROPOSED HORTICULTURAL
HALL.

WE have been requested to publish the
following notices: —
Royal Horticultural Society,

117, Victoria Street, S.W.
Notice is hereby given, that a General
Meeting of the Society will be held at 3 p.m.,
on Friday, March 21, at the Drill Hall
(London Scottish), Buckingham Gate, S.W.,
to receive from the Council and, if approved,
to adopt a report recommending a proposed
site for a horticultural hall and offices.

Fellows are requested to show their tickets
at the door. None but Fellows will be
admitted.

By order of the Council, W. Wilks, Sec.

It is important that all Fellows should endeavour

to attend this meeting.

REPORT
Presented to the Council of the Royal Horti-
cultural Society by the New Hall
Committee, February 25, 1902.

Gentlemen.— Your Committee was ap-
pointed on June 4, 1901. It consisted of
Baron Sir Henry Schroder, Bart., Chairman;
Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., V.M.H., Harry
J. Veitch, Esq., F.L.S., Dr. Masters, F.R.S.,
N. N. Sherwood, Esq., V.M.H., Rev. W. Wilks,
M.A., Secretary. It has since been enlarged
by the addition of the Et. Hon. the Earl of
Ilchester, and Henry B. May, Esq.

The Committee was appointed "to con-
sider the question of a Horticultural Hall,
and to report thereupon to the Council.

Your Committee has held fourteen formal
meetings, besides several informal, for the
inspection of sites by various members of
the Committee.

At the first meeting, Baron Schroder made
a statement in regard to finance, concluding
with the words, "The financial part of the
question need not cause any insuperable
difficulty." It was therefore decided that
the first matter for the Committee to engage
upon should be the finding of a suitable
site.

Five different sites have been very care-
fully inspected and enquired into, with the
result that four have been dismissed as
unsuitable for one reason or another.

Your committee strongly advise the adop-
tion of the fifth site, which they regard as
suitable for the Society's purposes, all cir-
cumstances considered. They do not believe
that any better site can be obtained which
would not prove to be altogether beyond the
financial resources likely to be available.

The first site investigated was that
known as Niagara, covering an acre of land
(about 40,000 square feet), and with a large
circular building. The price of the freehold
was fixed at a little over £100,000. Probably
at least £5000 would have been required for
adapting the building for the Society's pur-
poses, and another £5000 or more for
building suitable offices. The rates and
taxes would also have been exceedingly
heavy. Long and careful consideration was
given to this site, but after the fullest en-
quiry with regard to borrowing upon the
freehold, and the rate of interest required,
Baron Schroder announced at the fourth
formal meeting of the committee that the
rate of interest required for borrowing on
Niagara is so high that, considering the
large initial outlay required, he had reluc-
tantly but decidedly come to the conclusion
that the property was too large and too
costly to be further entertained.

The second site was one in the Bucking-
ham Palace Road, containing 15,190 square
feet. This site also received careful con-
sideration, but was eventually dismissed, on
the ground that a rent of £700 a year,
coupled with an obligation to expend at least
£20,000 on buildings, was too high a price
for the Society to pay for a lease of eighty
years only.

The third site was bounded by Vauxhall
Bridge Road, Francis Street, and Carlisle
Place, andincluded the fine building suitable
for offices, &c, known as the Old Cardinal's
House. The whole site proposed contained
22,500 square feet. This property com-
mended itself strongly to the Committee,
but it had the disadvantage of belonging to
three different owners, and also of involving
the necessity of obtaining certain per-
missions from the London County Council.
As soon as definite negotiations were entered
into with the various owners, it was apparent
that an agreement as to price could not be
arrived at, and this site was most regretfully
dismissed.

The fourth site was in Francis Street,
consisting of 15,000 square feet, but the rent
asked, viz., £1,400 a year for a long lease,
was considered to be beyond the Society s
means.

The fifth site is in Vincent Square, at the
corner of Bell Street. It has an area of
17,565 square feet, and the rent asked is
£690 a year for a lease of 999 years. (The
present Drill Hall contains 7,200 square feet.)
Your Committee recommend the adoption of
this site.

The Ecclesiastical Commissioners, the

owners of the land, stipulate that a sum of
not less than £15,000 should be spent on a
building and offices, and your Committee
are advised that the rates would not exceed
£400 a year, which with the rent would
make an annual expenditure of £1,100 ; or
after deducting the present cost of hall and
offices, £320 a year, it would involve an
increase of expenditure of £780 a year. The
approaches to Vincent Square are not at
present all that could be desired, but two
new roads are already decided upon; one
direct from Francis Street, starting from
exactly opposite the New Cardinal's House;
and the other from Horseferry Road, to the
corner of the site in question in Bell Street.
In considering the extra annual cost, your
Committee have not made any calculation
of either the additional expense of care-
taker, light, and fuel, nor for the possible
income from letting part of the buildings to
horticultural societies, or the great hall for
meetings, &c. Your Committee believe that
a sufficient sum to cover the erection of
the necessary buildings may be raised by
public subscription, towards which promises
amounting to £8,000 have already been
received. Signed on behalf of the Committee,
Trevor Lawrence.

MEMORANDUM by the COUNCIL.

The Council of the Royal Horticultural
Society consider it desirable at the present
juncture to make to the Fellows a general
statement of the policy they intend to
pursue.

The Council are fully aware that a con-
siderable number of Fellows desire that a
garden better situated than Chiswick should
be secured as a memorial of the centenary
of the Society.

It was also shown unmistakably at the
late general meeting that a widely-felt
desire exists that a better Hall and offices
should be provided, which the Society would
have completely under its own control.

The Council desire to carry both these
objects to a successful issue, and looking at
the history of the Society during recent
years, they see no reason why this should
not be done.

The practical question at the moment is,
which of the two shall have precedence, as
they certainly cannot both be proceeded
with at the same time.

The policy of the existing Council is to
endeavour to secure first a suitable Hall and
offices near those now occupied at West-
minster, and when that is done, to devote
their attention at once to the acquisition of
a site for a new garden.

The reasons which actuate the Council in
adopting this order are many, and among
the more important are the following: —

1. They consider it to be the more gene-
rally acceptable to those Fellows who take
an active part in promoting the welfare of
the Society.

2. They have already received promises of
financial support to the extent of £8,000
towards the building, whereas no such
support has at present been tendered to-
wards securing a garden.

3. A site for a Hall, 400 yards from
Victoria Street, and in a rapidly improving
neighbourhood, as good as can ever be ex-
pected to be within the means of the
Society, is at our disposal.

4. The Council are of opinion, and have

March 15, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

177

been professionally advised, that the rent
asked is a moderate one, and is within the
means of the Society. The proposed lease
is for 999 years, which is equivalent to a
freehold.

5. They are also of opinion that the pro-
vision of a good Hall and offices would in
itself attract a large number of new Fellows,
and would in that respect help the subse-
quent acquisition of a garden.

It should be noted that it has been found
necessary to take the decision of the Fellows
without any delay, owing to the obligation of
terminating certain leases at Lady-day.

The Council confidently appeal to the
Fellows, of whom they hope to see a full
attendance at the Drill Hall on the 21st at
3 p.m., to support the policy briefly outlined
in this memorandum. They trust that the
Fellows will not allow the Society to be
placed in the undignified position of doing
nothing to celebrate so memorable an occa-
sion as its Centenary, which would be the
probable result of the rejection of this
proposal.

The Council hope to be in a position to
place preliminary plans and estimates before
the Fellows on the 21st. Having regard to
the unbroken continuance of large additions
to the Fellowship roll, and to the ever-
increasing interest taken throughout the
Empire in every branch of horticulture,
the Council feel that they will not appeal in
vain for the funds necessary to provide a
satisfactory Hall and Offices without serious
encroachment on the invested funds of the
Society. W. Wilis, Secretary. By Order of
the Council, March 11, 1902.

The most pressing needs of
Royal the Royai Horticultural So-

Horticultural ^ ,, „

society. ciety are the possession of a

home and of a garden. When
we speak of the Royal Horticultural Society
in this connection, we consider it, not as a
local society, but as the corporate repre-
sentative of British horticulture. As such,
no one will deny the necessity for a common
(meeting place, with accommodation for
•offices, library, lecture-room, exhibition-hall,
and other requisites. To provide these will
be a fitting method of celebrating the
■centenary.

As to the garden, that will be, rather than
is, a necessity. We have a garden at our
disposal for nearly twenty years. It is, no
doubt, very desirable to have a new one of
modest dimensions in a more suitable situa-
tion. The realisation of that desire can wait.
Meanwhile, let us make the best of what we
have.

Now, as to the Hall. It will be remem-
bered that when the schemes for a garden
or gardens in the country were laid before the
Fellows, they were ultimately rejected by
large majorities. After the letters of Sir
William Tiiiselton Dyer, and the speeches
and explanations of other prominent Fellows,
no other course was possible consistently
with common sense. The lapse of time does
but emphasise this conclusion. As a result,
the Council was empowered to find a location
for the erection of suitable premises. The
Council delegated this work to a committee,
consisting of some of its own members,
iogether with some outside Fellows, and
Jaoaded by Baron Sir H. Schroder.

Several sites were accordingly examined.
All but one were found unsuitable, either

on the score of expense, shortness of tenure,
or for some other reason. At length a plot of
ground in Vincent Square, Westminster, an
open space of some ten acres, has been found.
It is not an ideal situation, but it is distinctly
a good one, and in a few years there is no
doubt that, owing to the improvements now
in progress, it will be excellent. It is, as
the map published in our present issue
shows, within a few minutes' walk of the
existing offices and Drill Hall, near to St.
James's Park Station, not far from Victoria,
close to the new Roman Catholic Cathe-
dral, and in the immediate vicinity of a
large residential upper and middle class
community. Access to it is already better
than in the case of the Drill Hall.

Now, as to the financial question, experts
like Baron Schroder tell us it is not beyond
the means of the Society, and need not
entail burdens beyond what the Society
may assume under existing circumstances,
without undue risk.

Baron Schroder has shown his own
confidence in the scheme by promising five
thousand pounds towards its fulfilment.
What is of even greater significance, he has
actually become responsible for the ground-
rent until the building is erected. Further
than that, three gentlemen have already
promised the sum of a thousand pounds
each. So that before a single penny
has been solicited from the Fellows, a
sum of eight thousand pounds has been
spontaneously promised, while nothing
has as yet been promised for the garden
scheme. The Society has ten or twelve
thousand pounds in reserve, which can be
utilised for purposes of paying interest. Its
annual income is increasing rapidly. Since
the beginning of the year more than a
hundred new Fellows have been elected
than during the corresponding period last
year. The financial outlook was neverso good.
Circumstances were never so propitious.
They are not likely ever to be more so. The
Fellows, therefore, have now the opportunity
for which they have been longing. It is
for those gentlemen who are eager to secure
a Hall to act up to their convictions, and
transmute their words into acts. If they do
not, they will create a lamentable dead-lock,
and perpetuate those inconveniences which
all are loud in decrying. It is the bounden
duty of every Fellow to attend the Special
Meeting of the Society which will lie held
in the Drill Hall, .lames Street, West-
minster, on Friday, March 21, at 3 p.m.
The proposal as explained in the lucid and
straightforward Council Memorandum will
then be presented for approval or rejection.
Surely among those who use the Drill Hall
and are familiar with the workings of the
Society, there can be no possible doubt as to
the result. As to the country Fellows,
whilst a hall would be of the greatest con-
venience to them, a garden would be all but
useless. An International Horticultural
Exhibition could well bo combined with the
hall scheme. Who knows but that Vincent
Square itself could bo obtained for such
a purpose, and then — the prospect is almost

too brilliant for the imagination !

Linnean Society.— On the occasion of the
evening meeting, to be held on Thursday,
March 20, 1002, at 8 p.m., the following papers
will be road: — 1. Electric Response in ordi-
nary plants under Mechanical Stimulus, by

Prof. J. C. Bo-je. 2. On the Fruit of Melc-
canna bambusoides, Trinius, an Exalbuminous
Grass, by Dr. O. Staff, A.L.S., &c. 3. On
Malacostraca from the Red Sea, collected by
Dr. H. O. Forbes, by Messrs. Alfred O.
Walker, F.L.S., and Andrew Scott.

" Botanical Magazine." — The plants
figured in the March number are : —

Passiflora ambigua, Hemsley, t. 7822, having
flowers somewhat like those of P. alata, but
with terete stems and elliptic leaves (see
pp. 109 & 171 in the present issue).

Jasminum Maingaiji, C. B. Clarke, t. 7823. —
A climbing shrub, with stalked, ovate, entire
acuminate leaves, and terminal tufts of white
flowers, each flower with a corolla-limb of
eight to ten segments. Native of Peuang.

Masdevallia el e pliant iceps, Rchb. f., t. 7824.
■ — A remarkable species ; also mentioned by
Reichenbach in theGardeticrs' Chronicle, 1876,
ii., 516, under the name M. gargantua. The
flowers are 8 to 9 cent, long, with a thick
calycine tube about 2 to 3 cent, long, expand-
ing into a 2-lobed limb, the upper segment
solitary, free to the base, yellowish- green,
oblong, with a long tail ; the two lower ones
united to the middle with a large crimson
blotch in the centre, each ending in a long
tail. It was discovered on the mountains of
New Granada by Warscewicz at an elevation
of 7,000 to 10,000 feet.

Aster Tradcscanti, Linnaeus, t. 7825. — The
supposed original of the Michaelmas Daisy,
introduced before 1633 by John Tradescant,
doubtless from Virginia.

Impatiens grandiflora, Hemsley ; Gardeners'
Chronicle, 1901, vol. i., p. 110, fig. 47.— The
finest of the Balsams in cultivation, with rosy-
lilac flowers, streaked and blotched with car-
mine. Introduced from Madagascar by Mr.
Wahpur.

"The Country." — We have pleasure in
noticing the first number of a new periodical,
entitled The Country, and edited by Mr.
Harry Roberts. The magazine is a sixpenny
one, and is to be published monthly from Aldino
House, 29 and 30, Bedford Street, W.C. The
March number includes a portrait of the Very
Rev. S. Reynolds Hole, Dean of Rochester ;
country gossip by F. W. Blrbidce, Canon
Ellacombe, Hon. Mrs. Earlk, S. Arnott, and
the Editor ; and various articles, illustrated
for the most part by photographs, on topics
included in the scope of the paper. These
subjects are all connected with the country,
for the publication deals and will deal with:
I, drawings, by Herbert Railton, of the
moated houses of England ; 2, study of wild
life in Britain, illustrated by photographs of
birds, beasts, and insects ; 3, fishing, shooting,
hunting, and other sports and games ; 4, dogs,
horses, cattle, poultry, bees, &c. ; 3, the
fishing rivers of Britain.

Lychees in Natal.— Looking at the favour
with which the fruit is received in Natal, an
extented planting of the tree is in contempla-
tion, so at least we are informed; possibly the
prices paid tor imported fruit may have some-
thing to do with the report. London boys,
and girls also, are not in love with the Lychee ;
they declare it a nut without meat in it.
Certainly in many wo have seen the contents
had shrivelled into a dirty-looking bit of
"something," as a small purchaser termed it ;
and the whole thing was fit only for playing
ping-pong with !

Sweet Pea Cupid.— Mr. Rgbhbr, of Qued-

linbuig, tells us that seeds of this section
ripened in America do not llowcr well in
Germany. The plants do well, but drop their

178

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 15, 1902,

buds. This is not the case -with plants raised
from German seeds. Mr. Rcemer has sent us
seeds for trial, and some have been sent to
Chiswick. We have ourselves noticed the ten-
dency to drop the flower-buds before expansion
in the case of plants grown from American
seed, but we cannot say at present whether on
the same soil English-grown seed does better.

New Park at Eltham.— An effort is being
made to secure a large acreage for the forma-
tion of a public park in this Kentish suburb of
the "Great Wen." The Woolwich folks pro-
mise largely, and soon the matter may be
expected to take proper shape — much of the
money necessary is already promised.

Lawns. — In a suggestive green cover we
have a pamphlet on garden lawns, tennis
lawns, bowling greens, putting greens, and
cricket grounds, by Sutton & Sons, Reading.
The subject-matter is good, and the advice
given excellent, and we recommend the pages
to anyone needing help with lawns at this, the
gardeners' busy season. Publishers : Simpkin,
Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., Ltd.

"Clay's Successful Gardening."— This
is the second edition of a small handbook of
practical horticulture, issued by Messrs. Clay
& Son, Stratford, and B. W. Allen, 4, Ave
Maria Lane, E.C., the former firm being the
proprietors of Clay's Manures. The new edi-
tion has been revised, partly rewritten, and
reduced in price, so is sure of favour from the
public, for whom it is intended. Among the
contributors we note the names of more or less
well known professional, amateur, and market
growers, whose articles are worth careful
reading.

" In a Minster Garden."— This book, by
Dr. Stubbs, Dean of Ely, was lately favourably
noticed in our columns. We welcome the
second edition of the " Causerie," the ap-
pearance of which is proof of the appreciation
with which it has met. We may mention again
that the book is full of chatty information and
illustrations of charming nooks in and about
Ely and its minster, and that the publisher is
Mr. Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.C.

Cold Storage of Fruit. — Various experi-
ments have been made in Prance as regards
storing fruit, flowers, and vegetables, in ice
chambers. M. Loiseau, President of the Mon-
treuil (Seine) Societe d'Horticulture, showed
at the autunm exhibition of the National Hor-
ticultural Society at Grand Palais some Peaches
that had kept., perfectly in a refrigerator
built accordingto the plans of M. Douane, of
Paris. The Peaches had been kept in the
chamber fifty-three and fifty-eight days, and
represented the varieties Mignonne, Bonouv-
rier, Belle Bcauee, Imperiale, Alexis Lepere,
and Galande. A wholesale dealer offered four
francs each for them. The experiments will be
continued.

The National Sweet Pea Society's
schedule, just to hand, shows that the com-
petitive classes arranged for the forthcoming
show on July 14 and 15 next, are much the
same as those of last year. There are not so
many open classes, however, nurserymen and
seedsmen being excluded from several in most
of the sections.

Stock-taking : February.— The Board of
Trade Returns for the month of February
show, to some extent, the effect of endeavour-
ing to anticipate the modifying hand of the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the matter of
fettering instead of freeing the breakfast-
table. Surely this latter was a consummation
most devoutly to be wished; those whose duty
it is to "make ends meet" do not appear to

think so now— hence the rise or fall in quantity
of food imports. Really, then, figures do not
at present count for much — they will after
Easter. The value of last month's imports is
just £41,691,501, against £39,714,439— or an
increase of £1,977,152. Sugar, both refined
and raw from Germany, bulks largely ; cocoa
went up, but tea and coffee gave way; but
fruit figures well, as will be seen. Wines and
brandy show a fear lest the hand of the
Chancellor should lay hold of them. Here is
our usual extract from the " summary table."

Imports.

1901.

1902.

Difference.

£

£

£

Total value

39,714,439

41,691,591

+1,977,152

(A.) Articles of food

and drink— duty

free

11,441,433

10,836,854

—604,579

(B.) Articles of food

& drink — dutiable

3,948,374

4,358,500

+410,126

Raw materials for

textile manufac-

tures

7,657,682

8,t'95,331

+1,037,649

Raw materials for

sundry industries

and manufactures

3,135,406

3,379,374

+243,968

(A.) Miscellaneous

articles

1,388,060

1,708,938

+320,878

(B.) Parcel Post ...

110,182

139,711

+29,529

There can no longer be any doubt that the
Banana has come to stay with us ; looking
back, the truth of this will be found in our
monthly table of fruit imports, which for
February reads as follows : — ■

Imports.

1901.

1902.

Difference.

Fruits, raw :—

Cwt.

Cwt.

Cwt.

Apples

166,577

123,651

—42,926

Apricots and Peaches

164

104

—60

Bananas... bunches

87,125

154,861

+67,736

Grapes

606

1,089

+483

Lemons

85,978

54,697

—31,281

Nuts— Almonds

6,726

10,625

+3,899

Others, used as food

25,856

28,591

+2,735

Oranges

638,306

779,778

+141,472

Pears

667

854

+187

Plums ...

106

125

+19

Unenumerated.raw...

6,144

4,852

—1,292

Fruits, dried-

Currants, for home
consumption

53,702

42,627

—11,075

Raisins

16,653

18,023

+ 1,370

Vegetables, raw : —

Onions bush.

650,948

637,31 7

—13,631

Potatos cwt.

382,772

93,190

—289,582

Tomatos „

36,310

23,938

—12,372

Vegetables, raw, un-
euumerated ...value

£25,960

£35,435

+£9,475

By the way, some are of opinion that Lemons
will give way in favour of Bananas ; that, we
would say, continues a moot point, and the
Lemon — no fruit in fact — could be spared
from our menu. The imports for the first two
months of the year foot up £91,822,939, against
£85,701,955 for the same period this year —
showing an increase of £6,120,984 ; and one
day of last month was given over to the
obsequies for Her late Majesty, Queen
Victoria.

The Exports

for last month were valued at £21,312,276
against £21,037,455 for the same period in
1901, or a gain of £274,821. The gain may be
small — it is a welcome change to the dull
monotony of "decrease," noted month by
month of last year. Coal shipments show a
heavy fall, but the exports of this raw material
last year at this time were very high ; looking
once more at the action of the Exchequer
officials. Ships built for export showed in-
creased value, as did materials for textiles ;

and here China shows what may once more be
expected from her merchants, even with Japan
as her next-door neighbour. The value of the
exports for the first two months of the year
are placed at £45,581,450, compared with
£45,790,986 for the same period in 1901— a
decrease of £209,530 ; a trifle surely to be
made up in the Returns for March !

Planting Fruit Trees on Farms.— Here-
fordshire fruit is famous, and a number of
landlords and tenants of this fertile county
assembled under the auspices of the Fruit
Growers' Association at Hereford recently,
for the purpose of discussing the best
terms to be arranged upon as between land-
lord and tenant when planting fruit-trees.
Mr. Manby Power, a large landowner and
fruit-grower, near Ross, suggested that the
landlord should let the tenant plant, and at
the expiration of his tenancy allow him to
have three-quarters of the value of the trees.
Mr. John Watkins, another large fruit-grower,
said his idea was that if a landlord wished to
improve his estate by planting or fitting up
orchards he should have full power to do so,
if the tenancy was an annual one, on notice of
twelve months. If the tenancy was on lease,
the landlord should have no power to plant
without the tenant's consent. If a tenant
wishes to plant orchard-trees, he should have
power to do so after giving twelve months'
notice, and at the end of his tenancy claim full
compensation for the cost of the trees, pro-
tecting, planting, and looking after them the
first four years, with compound interest on
the cost. The suggestions met with general
approval, and a committee was appointed to
report on the subject.

The Cornwall Daffodil and Spring
Flower Society, writes Hon. John Bosca wen,
of Tregye, "had the honour of showing their
loyalty to her Majesty (who is Patroness of
the Society), during her visit to Cornish
waters, by sending cut flowers to decorate the
Royal cabins and other parts of their
Majesties' yacht Victoria and Albert. The
flowers were conveyed to the Royal yacht by
me on Friday, March 7, before their Majesties'
arrival, and the flowers were presented to her
Majesty by the President, the Earl of Mount
Edgcumbk. The flowers and shrubs were all
grown out-of-doors in Cornwall and the Scilly
Islands, and consisted of Mimosa, Rhododen-
drons, Violets, Anemones, Primroses, Crocus,
Iris, and Daffodils. A more beautiful collec-
tion of flowers could not have been produced,
the Violets and Rhododendrons being especially
of great beauty. The flowers filled twenty-six
market boxes. Both the King and Queen
Alexandra expressed their admiration at the
beauty of the display and their gratification
at receiving the floral tribute ; and the Queen
further honoured the Society by wearing some
of the flowers in her dress on every occasion
during her visit, and took some away with her
in an open basket in the Royal train." When
one hears so much of the immense quantities
of flowers coming from abroad, it is only right
for the public to know what their own country
can produce at this time of year.

Wolverhampton Floral Fete. — The four-
teenth annual show will be held in the West
Park on July 8, 9, and 10, in association with
the Wolverhampton Art and Industrial Exhi-
bition. The schedule has just been issued,
and shows that the value of the prizes has-
been largely increased, and that new classes-
have been provided for Begonias, Sweet Briar,
Tea and Noisette Roses, hardy flowers, laced
Pinks, Carnations, Gloxinias, and arrangements
of cut flowers. Altogether a sum of nearly

March J5, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

179

£800 is offered in prizes, besides a Silver Chal-
lenge Trophy, Gold, Silver, and Bronze
Medals. Tiie beautiful West Park is an
admirable place for the exhibition, and
although the show has been increasingly suc-
cessful ever since its establishment, there is
little doubt but that in the present year,
-when so many people are likely to be attracted
to Wolverhampton by the Art and Industrial
Exhibition, the horticultural exhibition will
be better than any previous one. There is
never such a display of fruit at Wolverhampton
as one sees at Shrewsbury, but the date of the
•exhibition which makes this impossible at
Wolverhampton is also the reason why at the
latter place there are always such fine shows
of Roses, Pinks, Carnations, Pansies, Violas,
Ac, in addition to thejcollections of plants.
The Secretary is Mr. W. E. Barnett, Snow
Hill, Wolverhampton.

to remedy it by the underground watering of
gardens by means of his Bamboo water-spears.
These, briefly described, are hollow canes, to
be thrust into the soil and filled (perchance
with a funnel) from a can of water. We leave
patient readers and gardeners to learn further
details from the book, and also commend to
their notice the chapters on the culture of
Rose trees and the propagation of Rose trees,
included in the volume.

"Rubber Cultivation in West Africa."—
This handbook is by Mr. J. H. Holland,
Curator of the Botanic Gardens, Old Calabar,
Southern Nigeria. It contains mention of six
of the principal Rubbers of the world : Para,
Ceara, African Vine, African Tree, Central
American, and Assam, representing the three
natural orders Euphorbiacese, Apocynacese, and
Urticacese. Para rubber is not successful in West

Fig. 55.— part of the rockrry at botanic garden, bath.

Showing a very fine plant of Astralagus Tragacantha ; also Ozothamnus rosmarinifolius
= Hehchrysum diosnncfolium in bloom, etc.

" Underground Watering of Plants and
Gardens."— To which are added chapters on
the culture and propagation of Rose trees.
By John Grant (London: Ward, Lock & Co.,
Ltd., New York, and Melbourne). "Having
been an enthusiastic gardener for some fifty
.years .... 1 verily believe I have, in ray old
age, discovered a most important fact or prin-
ciple which has hitherto escaped the notice of
mankind .... What I have observed is, that
there exists, in very hot, dry weather, a zone
of earth at or near the surface, and extending
downwards to a depth of several inches, which
presents an impassable barrier to the prin-
ciple, or rather to the action of the principle,
of capillary attraction, which I have observed
is the great distributing power by which water
falling, or collecting, upon the earth unequally,
that is to say, in larger quantities at some
spots than at others, is evenly distributed
over adjoining spaces." This check to "capil-
lary attraction" resulting in an absence of
water where water is needed; that is to say,
at the roots of plants Mr. Grant proposes

Africa ; Ceara grows in some districts, but is
a failure as a rubber producer, as also is Cen-
tral American. Assam, after ten years' trial,
does not yield so well as when growing natu-
rally. Landolphias, from their climbing habit,
are not well adapted for cultivation. The
native tree (Funtumia elastica) possesses many
qualities to recommend it. The rubber is of
good quality. The book before us includes
five large and useful plates.

Rare Conifers.— M. Oscar Bierbach, of
the Botanic Gardens, Belgrade, informs us
that he has seeds for disposal of Abies
Apollinis, Pinus l'euke, P. leucodermis, Picea
omorica, Pinus pindica, and other species not
met with in commerce.

Spitalfields Market.— There is at length
a possibility of getting this popular market
extended and renovated, also the Surrounding
streets widened, all the approaches in fad
made Buitable fora market with a future. The
Stepney District Council and the City Corpora-
tion have como to an understanding, and the

London County Council has agreed to join
hands concerning the projected improvements,
which will therefore stand a good chance of
being carried out.

Daffodils and Lilies.— Mr. Petkr Barr,
the Daffodil King, for whom we shall have to
invent a new epithet to indicate his feats as a
traveller, has reprinted his lectures in Cape
Town on the Lilies of the world, and on the
cultivation of the Daffodil. The lectures were
amply worth publishing in a more permanent
form, and on the return of this modern Ulysses
we may hope for a further publication.

Flowers in Season reached us recently
from Ard Cairn, Mr. Baylor Hartland's
nursery near Cork. They included very nice,
well-developed flowers of Ard Righ, one of the
earliest to open its flowers in the open air,
and another equally good. Next probably to
Scilly, Cork produces the greatest quantity of
Narcissus in the three kingdoms, as also
excellent bulbs.

Bailiff of the Royal Parks and Gar-
dens.—The First Commissioner of Works has
promoted Major William Clive Hussey, late
Royal Engineers, Assistant-Bailiff of the Royal
Parks and Gardens, to be Bailiff of the Royal
Parks and Gardens, in the room of Colonel
Moreton John Wheatley, C.B., late Royal
Engineers, who has retired under the age
limit.

The Horticultural Club. — A pleasant
eveniDg was spent at the Club on Tuesday
last, the occasion of the monthly dinner. In
the absence of the Chairman, Sir J. T. D.
Lle\vel\yn, Bart., the chair was occupied by
the vice-chairman, H. J. Veitch, Esq. After
dinner, a discussion was opened by Mr. Chas.
E. Pearson, whose subject was " Bird Life in
relation to Horticulture " — a bright and inte-
resting paper. A vote of sympathy was passed
with Mrs. Selfe-Leonard in her recent sad
bereavement. Dr. Henry will be the guest of
the Club at the next monthly dinner on
April 8.

Publications Received.— From the Royal Gar-
dens, Kew, Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, Appen-
'lis II., 1902. Catalogue of the Library ; Additions received
during 1WX— Twenty fifth Annual Report (for 1901) of the
Rational Carnation and Pieotec Soci>!>/ [Southern Section).
The annual exhibition was a very successful one. New
flowers were not so much in evidence as on former
occasions.— Cassell's Dictionary of Gardening, Part 10.
From " llydrocharis to Law," and with coloured Plate
of Michaelmas Daisies.— Eleventh Annual Report (for 1901)
of th ' Society /or the Protection of Birds. Records good
work done as regards the restriction of cruelty to
birds and the preservation of rare species.— From tha
Yorkshire College, Leeds, and the East and West Rid-
ings Joint Agricultural Council. Report on a Test of
Varieties of Potatos at Garforth, 1900-1901. The results of
the test are tabulated according to the varieties em-
ployed and the circumstances of their environment. —
The Gardeners' Magazine (Calcutta), February. Contents :
News aud Notes, Notes and Replies, the Editor's Table,
Cycloptcdia of Indian Plants. — Der Bolaniscke Garten
tend das Itotanische Museum der UntventUU '/.Urirh, im
Jahre, 1901. Issued by the Director, Prof. Dr. Hans
Schinz.

ROYAL VICTORIA PARK AND
BOTANIC GARDEN, BATH.

(Concluded from p. 157.)

[Seb Supplementary [lldstratiqn.]
"The Dki.i. " is the name given to a dis-
used old quarry that, owing to the natural
shelter it provided, was formed into a small
pinetnm many years ago. It is the most
charming spot in the park to the lover of fine
trees, and of conifers especially. There is a

magnificent specimen of Welllngtonia (Sequoia

gigantea), 50 ft. or more high ; and the Red-
wood, S. sempervirena, is even a nobler and

better specimen of 60 feet high ; Abies Smith"

iana, Taxus baccata Dovastoni (Weeping Yew),

180

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[MARCB 15, 1903.

presenting a front of about 15 yards long;
Cupressus Lawsoniana, and several species of
Pinus, are very well worth inspection. The
handsome Cephalotaxus Fortunei and C. dru-
pacea have not made largo specimens, and
probably the shade is now too dense for them
to succeed.

At one of the entrances to the park is a fine
obelisk, erected in 1837 in honour of Queen
Victoria ; and there are several large vases.
The " "Victoria " vase was erected in 1880 to
celebrate the fiftieth year the park had been
opened. The "Miller" or Batheaston vase,
shown in our Supplementary Illustration, is
said to have been found at Frascati, near
Cicero's villa, in 1759, and to have been subse-
quently in the garden of Lady Miller at
Batheaston Villa.

Since our last issue was published we are
informed that the Park in 1830 was laid out
from plans of Mr. Ed. Davis, a Bath architect,
and father of Mr. C. E. Davis, the present city
architect.

The Botanic Garden.

A little more than fifteen years ago a valu-
able collection of hardy plants was left by C. E.
Broome, F.L.S., for the botanic garden, and Mr.
John Milburn, the present Superintendent of
the park and botanic garden, was engaged
from the Royal Gardens, Kew, to go to Bath
and plant the new collection, and take charge
of the old one. A walk amongst the plants
with that gentleman is sufficient to convince
one that he has the greatest interest in and care
for them. The honorary Curator at that time
was the late J. W, Morris, F.L.S., and he was
responsible for some of the plans followed by
Mr. Milburn when laying out and planting the
garden. The present honorary Curator is
T. F. Inman, Esq.

Directly one enters the gateway, there are
to be seen some rather tender and other choice
plants growing very well in the grass. Such
are Choisya ternata, Olearia macrodonta (quite
hardy here), Verbascum pannosum, as a single
plant on the turf, and Mr. Milburn says it is
a glorious plant in such a position ; Abclia
chinensis, planted in similar circumstances ;
Myrtle, provided with slight temporary pro-
tection ; Xanthoceras sorbifolia, and a seedling
from Canon Ellacombe's plant of /Eglc sepiaria
(Citrus trifoliata), which fruits at Bitton (see
fig. in Gardeners' Chronicle, April 28, 1900,
p. 269). Mr. Milburn hopes that he, too, will
obtain fruits from his plant. Polygonum
baldschuanicum is planted on an exposed
portion of the rockery, and succeeds per-
fectly. Mr. Milburn says that the species is
much less effective if growing amidst shelter.
His plant grows very stocky, with short
internodes. Daphniphyllum is the nearest
ally to the Rhododendron, so far as superficial
appearance goes, that is capable of cultivation
here, the soil containing a quantity of lime ;
Olearia stellata, Raphiolepis japonica, 3 to
4 feet high, and 3 feet through ; Magnolia
Soulangeana, &c, were noticed.

A bog-garden is being formed, and some
Bamboos have been planted near to this spot.
These will be increased so far as space will
permit. There are great banks of Arabis,
Phloxes, Ericas, and a grand plant of Eu-
phorbia Wulfenii; Sophora (Edwardsia) te-
traptera, which has proved hardy here for
ten years at least ; Carpenteria californica,
most vigorous plants of Daphne Cneorum, the
dwarf Willow (Salix reticulata), fifty years
old, but not more than 2} inches high ; Shortia
galacifolia in a pojket on the top of the
rockery ; Photinia serrulata, the dwarf Almond
■which fruited here last season ; and beds of
Irises, &c. We will not make the list more

tedious by enumerating other species, but
there are many that would interest the hardy
plantsman.

Our illustration at fig. 55, p. 179, represents
a portion of the rockery as it appeared last
summer, containing a very fine plant of Astra-
lagus Tragacantha, Ozothamnus rosmarini-
folius, Pinks, and other plants in flower, &c.
A small collection of British plants ij main-
tained, and a collection of choice British
Ferns purchased from the collection of the
late Colonel Jones of Clifton.

Sufficient proof is furnished by the plants
in the Victoria Park of the genial climate en-
joyed by the Bath district, and of the sheltered
and favourable situation of Bath itself.

In conclusion, we may remind our readers
that it was in the Victoria Park that the Bath
exhibition of the Royal Horticultural Society
was held in 1873, an event which formed the
subject of notes in many issues of the Gar-
deners' Chronicle for that year.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

PROPAGATING POINSETTIAS. — May I supple-
ment Mr. Hemsley's able article on p. 163?
If very dwarf plants with large heads are
required, these may be produced by employing
the following method. During the first half
of August stake the plants to their full length,
and cut halfway through the stem at a joint
about 4 inches from the top. For a few days
keep the plants shaded during sunshine, and
gently dew them with the syringe. In about
a fortnight the incision will have callused ;
the remaining portion of the stem should then
be cut, and the cuttings inserted as directed
by Mr. Hemsley. These cuttings will quickly
root and produce large heads slightly earlier
than plants grown in the ordinary manner. If
allowed to break and grow on, the plants from
which the cuttings were taken will furnish two
or three smaller but useful heads of bracts.
I can endorse Mr. Hemsley's concluding re-
marks— as a rule, Poinsettias are "coddled"
far too much, but as he says, they must not be
left in the cool-house " too " long. In Devon
and Cornwall these subjects summer well in
cold pits, and the lights maybe left off on mild
and dry nights. A. C. B.

ADONIS DAVURICA.— In the Index Kewensis
this plant is given as synonymous with A.
vernalis, and certainly, so far as appearance is
concerned, there is little or no difference be-
tween them ; but from the garden point of
view A. davurica has this notable distinction,
that it is a long way the first herbaceous plant
of the year, coining into flower before the
winter Aconites. It can be bought atC-50dols.
per 100 from the Yokohama Nursery Co. of
Japan. Re winter Aconites, I wonder whether
other people have had my experience, and
found Eranthis cilicica a far more reliable
bloomer than E. hyemalis. A. K. Bulley, Ness,
Neston, Cheshire.

A yellow snowdrop.— Among the clumps
of Snowdrops in a cottage garden in this
neighbourhood, several flowers have appeared
of a distinct yellow colour. The plants differ
slightly from the ordinary type. They have
the usual pair of leaves, but they are green,
not glaucous. The three outer segments of
the perianth are slightly narrower, more acute,
and less concave ; and there is a short tube
above the ovary, which is a darker yellow than
the rest of the flower. I have never heard of
such a variety, nor can I find any record of
such. Is it known to English gardeners? I
have just gathered from my own garden a
Snowdrop with two flowers on the same stalk,
one about an inch below the other. It is a
case of fasciation, but the union of the two
stalks is scarcely visible, and the effect is
very elegant. Could such fasciation be
induced as a normal character? F. T. Mott,
Leicester, February 8.

THE GARDEN AS A HOBBY.— The discussion
raised by Mr. Mott's recommendation that
old men who retire from business should take
to a garden and do part of the actual gardening
work themselves, has been an interesting one,
but it is not possible to agree altogether with
those who advocate either view of the ques-
tion. However beneficial we who love gar-
dening for itself find it, we must admit that
there are many who take no interest whatever
in it, and whose entering upon it as a hobby
would neither tend to benefit them physically
nor mentally. Yet it is probable that many
who have not tried gardening as a hobby
would benefit immensely, and they would find
in the actual labour required a pleasure and
both physical and mental advantage. I have
known several instances of old men who have
turned to gardening in the leisure of retire-
ment, who have found in it true joy and a
satisfying hobby at a time when they would
have almost died of ennui had it not been for
its occupation and engrossing interest. It
may be replied that this interest had been
fostered by, or had been a legacy from the
teachings of a parent, or from seeing her or
him busy among their flowers and plants. In
many cases this is so, but there are many
others in which no such influence can be
traced ; and we may only suppose that the
taste arises from some innate love for gar-
dening, which only awaited leisure to ensure
its development. I have particularly one
case in view in which it was difficult to see
whence this business man derived the taste
for gardening which made him one of the
keenest of growers of a certain class of plants,
not even plants beloved of the multitude, nor
such as could be shown to visitors as rare
flowers, costing so much money, and to be
looked upon as the luxuries of a man who
" had made his pile," and could afford to have
them. I would go the length of saying that
old men who retire from business ought to try
gardening for a time to see if it suit their
tastes. If it should do so, then they will have
alighted on a well of happiness which will
never fail them, even though increasing age
render them incapable of the actual work
required. One thing which always strikes me
forcibly in connection with this subject is,
the number of retired soldiers and sailors —
principally sailors — who become enthusiastic
and really good gardeners after their retire-
ment from active work. It is not necessary
always to be a disciple of their particular style
of gardening to enable one to look upon their
efforts with pleasure. Some gardens presided
over by these men are often painfully stiff and
formal ; while some of our old sea-captains
show a liking for decorating their gardens
with old figure-heads and all kinds of curio-
sities. Yet they may be keen gardeners,
and it is a pleasure to see them so interested
in the ancient craft which brings so much
health and happiness to those who can enter
into it with zest, but which is a cruel bondage
to those who have no taste for it. As for-
blunders in gardening, I fancy that as we I
know more about it and other things, we grow
more painfully conscious of how much we have
yet to learn ; of how much we knew but have
forgotten, and of the difficulty of arriving at
the exact truth with regard to many plants.
Mr. Fitzherbert has a very suggestive passage
bearing on this subject on p. 17 of your issue
of January 11 ; and because a man, however
old, is unacquainted with scientific nomen-
clature, or even with the names or character-
istics of the Natural Orders, he may not be
debarred from growing his plants well, and
may have from them a good deal of the enjoy-
ment received by the one who has the names,
habitats, botanical features, and such-like at
his fingers' ends. Not that one despises these
tilings; they are most valuable, and the man
who has them has sources of pleasure denied
to the other; but there is no reason why we
should not persuade a man who does not
know the difference between a Crucifer and a
Composite to continue growing his Wallflowers
and his Sunflowers, though ignorant wherein •
lies the differences of structure they show.
Even the man who likes to work about his

March 15, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

181

garden walks, to tie up his flowers, to cut off
faded blooms, and such-like common tasks,
but leaves the other things to his gardener or
the .robbing man who comes in at intervals, is
surely spending bis time better than in
aimless lounging about the streets, passing
his afternoons drowsily perusing the news-
papers of which he has long before secured
the salient features, or in worse ways passing
the time Providence, aided perhaps by his
own exertions, has left him to use as he
pleases for the remainder of his days. If
such a man has a taste for gardening in any of
its aspects, by all means let him enter upon
it. Those who love it, or come to care for it,
will find that it is still not only " the purest,"
but the most satisfying of human pleasures.
S. Arnott, Dumfries.

lilium giganteum.— I note that " S. W. F."
takes exception to my remark that "Lilium
giganteum cannot be grown with any measure
of success in the open border; " and he further
cites an instance of this Lily thriving in the

wall, and the only safe course open to me is a
middle one; the climatic conditions of which
may be clearly stated. Only recently a corre-
spondent complained that I had not done
Ci'inum Moorei justice, in declaring it "to be
too tender to withstand our winters, save in
the shelter of a heated wall." The instance
he cited was that of a clump growing in a
warm, sheltered position in South Devon, and
a certain clump buried more than a foot deep,
so that the tips of the bulbs (usually quite
2 feet long) were just above the ground. The
first case cited explains itself, whilst I cannot
conscientiously recommend the course followed
in the latter, for I have in my records of the
Amaryllideae a note of experiments made in a
celebrated garden, in the matter of planting
Crinums deeply as a protection from frost.
The bulbs, a fine, valuable lot, were planted
1 to 2 feet deep, according to their size, and
have not been seen since. The method, I
believe, was originally advocated by the late
Dean Herbert, who was rather successful with
Crinums. In that case, however, it was an

bone-dust as a dressing for summer flower-
beds, particularly for Pelargoniums and Cal-
ceolarias, forking it into the surface of the
soil just before the plants arc planted., llij.
Foster, The Lodge Gardens, Doncaster.

Pig. 50.— odontogloshi'ji crispum "lady jam:."

open border, but "in a sheltered and moist
valley in the neighbourhood of Torquay," a
further reference being made to a clump in a
Cornish garden. I would like to point out
that the extreme south-west of England is
exceptionally mild, and that records of the
behaviour of Lilium giganteum in that part are
of little use to those living elsewhere. 1
venture to assert that the plant would refuse
to grow at all in some parts of England, and
would not thrive so well under the best pos-
sible conditions found north of the Thames as
it would do south of that boundary. Wherever
there are late spring frosts to be feared,
Lilium giganteum cannot be grown without
being afforded a good deal of shelter. It may
grow fairly satisfactorily until the spike ap-
pears, when, should cold winds or a frost
occur, followed by warm sunshine at midday,
the stem will split and crack in all direction's.
The early morning sun will destroy any spike
of L. giganteum In this manner, after it has
passed through a cold or frosty night.
" S. W. P." should remember that the climate
of south-west England is moist compared with
the eastern side of England, and much milder.
When writing of the degrees of hardiness of
plants, it is necessary to remember that there
are gardens in Caithness as well as in Corn-

expert who knew his plants well, and who was
guided in all that he did by that knowledge.
I have planted out a great many Crinums for
the test of hardiness in a garden near London,
and I should think quite sixty bulbs of
Moorei, but none of the latter have thriven in
the open under the best possible conditions.
They existed, and probably e.\ist still, but not
as creditable specimens. Geo. B. Mallei t.

ARTIFICIAL MANURES FOR SWEET PEAS. —

I am of the same opinion as Mr. Clark, that
one salvo does not suit every sore. I
have proved that artificial manures give
better results than stable-manure. For the
last live years I have grown four rows (5(1 feet
long) of Sweet Peas in different parts of the
kitchen garden at this place, the soil of w hich
is light and sandy, using stable-manure, and
that of pigs, and the plants have done fairly
well ; but the best results were obtained from
bone-dust. The ground is dug deeply in the
autumn, and as soon as the weather permits
in February, having taken out a drill, into
which 1 sprinkle bone-dust rather heavily,
and cover the same with soil 3 or 4 inches
deep, I sow the seed. In dry weather 1
a )ply manure and scot, and Thompson's or
Standen's manure. I can strongly recommend

BOOK NOTICE.

The Culture of Greenhouse Orchids.
By Frederick Boyle. (Chapman & Hall).

Yet another work on Orchids by Mr.
Frederick Boyle, and this time of a more
important character, for it is designed to
assist the struggling amateur. As Mr. Boyle
himself puts it, he considered that there was
room for a book on Orchids written " by an
amateur for amateurs," and on those lines ho
commenced it and carried it out. But as it
was intended for a serious work, expected to
be reliable on all points of cultural details,
the amateur did a wise thing, and submitted
his copy to Mr. Joseph Godseff, the well-known
manager to Messrs. Sander & Sons, of St.
Albans, and hence the work has the stamp of
expert authority placed on the amateur effort.
The book deals only with Orchids which may-
be grown successfully in a cold-house. That
simple fact is much in its favour, for it enables
the amateur with only cool-house accommoda-
tion to get readily at the things which arc
suitable for his case without having to sepa-
rate them from plants which require more heat
than he can give, the possession of which
causes more small collections where accom-
modation is very limited, to look and be un-
satisfactory, both as regards growth and
flower, than anything else. The enumeration
of all species available for culture in the
greenhouse is likely to do good also in
another way, for it will indicate many
species, such as the highland Brazilian
Oncidiums, which should be grown cool, but
which are killed in largo quantities by being
kept in excessive heat, especially when at
rest.

The book, which has for a frontispiece a
coloured plate of "Odontoglossum crispum
Alexandra;," the Alexandra accidentally
placed as a varietal instead of a synony-
mous name, has also a plate of Laelia anccps
Schroderiana and Oncidium macranthum, and
the descriptive matter is brightened by fifty
illustrations of single flowers of standard
cool-house Orchids, reproduced from photo-
graphs by Col. F. C. Taylor, one of which —
Odontoglossum crispum "Lady Jane," a re-
markable form, flowered by J. Wilson Potter,
Esq., of Croydon— we, by the courtesy of the
Publishers, arc enabled to produce (fig. 50). The
bulk of the work is taken up with the enumera-
tion of the genera and species recommended
for culture in the greenhouse, together with
cultural instructions, and much other infor-
mation regarding each of the subjects dealt
with, and the wholo is successfully and entei
tainingly treated, much that cannot fail to bo
of the greatest service to the amateur being
set forth in a very plain and intelligible
manner.

The opening chapter. "The Nature of
Orchids," deals in a familiar way with the
structure and mode of growth of Orchids, and
in its course touches on the question of the
use of artificial manures, but without any
definite conclusion or recommendation being
come to or given.

The second chapter is on "The Orchid
House," mosl useful details, instructions, and

a cross-section plan of a model house being

given.

182

THE GARD ENER S ' CIIR ONI CL E.

[March 15, 1902.

" Orchid Names " is the heading of the next
chapter, and in it the matter savours more of
the popular magazine than of a book seriously
intended for workers. Iu the course of a
rambling criticism on the scientific Orchid
names, the author says : " Nineteen in twenty
among genera and most species bear a Greek
or Latin title, qualified only by bad grammar."
Patient and clever men have worked on this
question for centuries, and have done their
best, and to them Mr. Boyle should be thankful
that he is able to indicate the plants he writes
about, and wishes his readers to identify. It
is common for novices in our days to think
they can leap into notoriety by assailing the
best that science can place before them, and
that, too, without even hiutingat or attempting
to suggest a better method. The names are
intended as a means of classifying the genera
and identifying the species wherever plants
are studied or cultivated, and that means is
accomplished in an admirable degree by our
present system of nomenclature. Botanists
themselves are always ready (perhaps too
ready) to correct errors whenever any fresh
light is thrown on the subject, but the system
as it is must remain.

In his dealing with the names at his com-
mand, too, the author is not always accurate.
Taking at random Odontoglossum x Ander-
sonianum, it is said to bo named after Dr.
Anderson, botanist, instead of the late Mr.
Anderson, gr. to T. Dawson, Esq. ; and Cym-
bidium Mastersii after Mr. Masters, editor of
the Gardeners' Chronicle, instead of Mr.
Masters, then of the Calcutta Botanic Gardens.

In the chapter on "Potting Orchids," and
in other parts of the work, Mr. Boyle writes
enthusiastically of the Belgian culture of
Orchids in Oak-leaf mould, or terre de bruyere ;
but in the cultural instructions under each
genus he wisely places the well-tried British
method of potting in peat-fibre and sphagnum-
moss first, and sometimes refers to the other
method as an alternative.

Recent communications in the Gardeners'
Chronicle show that the leaf-soil culture is by
no means generally accepted, even in Belgium,
whilst in this country it is only on its trial ;
and although excellent plants may be found
here, grown in leaf-soil, there are not wanting
growers who pronounce against it after trial.
Further cautious experiments in that direction
are needed. Taking the work for what its
author intended it to be, viz., a plain, suffi-
cient, and trustworthy guide for amateurs of
little experience, it may be said that he has
accomplished this end to a remarkable degree,
most matters, to which some might take ex-
ception, having little bearing on the vital
question of good culture. The average prices
of many of the things are also given.

SOCIETIES.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.

March 11— There was a very fine show of plants ami
flowers in the Drill Hall, Buckiugham Gate, West-
minster, on Tuesday last. The display was a larger one
than has been made at any meeting since the com-
mencement of last autumn, and quite as much as the
present hall can conveniently contain. Throughout
the day there was very little daylight in London, whilst
in the hall itself it was impossible to see the exhibits
perfectly. Before " p.m. it was necessary to light, the
building with gas, but this was at best very inefficiently
done.

Orchids were shown numerously, and the Oklhid
Committee considered a number of novellies to be
worthy of awards.

The Floral Committee made only one such award,
and this was to a variety of Lachenalia, from the'
Glasnevin Botanic Garden. Several very fine groups

of forced llowering trees and shrubs were shown, and
a number of other groups of miscellaneous description,
some Cyclamens being of exceptional cultural merit.

The Narcissus Committee met, but there being so
little to do, did not formally "sit," so that the Floral
Committee discharged the work.

The Fruit and Vegetable Committee had not many
exhibits before it, but fruits of a reputed cross between
an Apple and a Pear were very interesting.

In the afternoon a Lecture was given by Mr. R.
Hedger Wallace, entitled " The New Soil Science." Mr.
Harry J. Veitch, who presided, announced that during
the present year 100 more new Fellows have been
elected than during the corresponding period of last
year.

Floral Committee.

Present: W. Marshall, Esq. (Chairman); and H. B.
May, Geo. Nicholson, R. Dean, J. W. Barr, G. Reuthe,
J. F. McLeod, W. Howe, Chas. E. Pearson, J. Fraser,
Chas. Dixon, H. J. Cutbush, C. J. Salter, Chas. Jeffries,
Jno. A. Nix, Chas. E. Shea, R. W. Wallace, W. P. Thom-
son, E. H. Jenkins, W. J. James, H. Turner, Geo. Paul,
Jas. Walker, E. T. Cook, R. C. Notcutt, and H. J. Jones.

Tea Rose Lady Roberts, exhibited by Messrs. Frank
Cant & Co., Braiswick Rose Gardens, Colchester, is a
reddish apricot-coloured flower, previously given an
Award of Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Some very fine hybrid Lachenalias were shown by
Mr. F. W. Moore, from the Royal Botanic Gardens,
Glasnevin, Phyllis Paul, Brightness, Kathleen Paul.
Brilliant, and W. E. Gumbleton, were names attached
to the varieties, which were more or less yellow in
colour, and of large size and substance.

Several varieties of Violets iu pots and as cut flowers
were shown by exhibitors, one very purple in colour,
being from Lady An caster, Normanton, Stamford.

That lovely Rose, Fortune's Yellow, was shown in
very great profusion by Lady Wantage. Lockinge Park
(gr., Mr. Fyfe). from whose garden we have seen many
previous exhibits of the same old Rose. In this in-
stance the blooms were made into a great pyramidal
bouquet, such as is presented by a free (lowered Rhodo-
dendron (Azalea).

Clivias (Imantopbyllums) were splendidly shown by
Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons. Royal Exotie Nurseries,
Chelsea, who had forty plants in 6-inch and 8-inch pots.
Each plant bore a very strong spike of flowers, all of
them of good type, and varying slightly in degree of
colouring. Loropetalum chinense was grandly shown
in small plants from the same establishment; tkey
were in 5-inch pots, the plants being 1 foot or l^foot higk.
and very full of flower. The plant is evidently capable of
becoming a good vase plant, perhaps even a "table '
plant, {Rhododendron amcenum Illuminator and
Short ia galacifolia were shown in flower from the
same firm (Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons again exhibited plants of
Cineraria Feltham Beauty, of rather dwarf and
branching habit, the flowers being a distinct mauve
colour. These plants were accompanied by another
batch of a variety called ramosa, of taller and looser
habit, with purple flowers.

Some extraordinary plants of Cyclamen were shown
by Colonel Rogers, Franklands, Burgess Hill, Sussex
(gr., Mr. C. Murrell). The plants were in 8-inch pots,
and were not only remarkable for excellent habit, but
for unusual freedom of flowering, the blooms being
large, and of great substance. Some of the plants were
seven years or more old, and it was stated that one of
the best specimens, with white flowers, had been
shown in flower in November last at the Birmingham
Chrysanthemum Show — an extraordinary instance of
continued flowering. There were white, and mauve,
and purple and crimson varieties, and from any point
of view were deserving of praise. The plants came from
a very small establishment (Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. Jno. Waterer & Sons, Ltd., Bagsliot,
exhibited some choice varieties of Conifers in pots,
the plants being almost perfect ones. Some of the
forms represented were :— Retinospora pisifera nana
variegata (excellent dwarf plant), Cupressus versicolor,
Juuiperus virgiuiaua aurea, Thuia occidentalis aurea,
Cupressus Westermanni, Retinospora obtusa nana
aurea, Retinospora filifera aurea, Juniperus japonica
aurea, Buxus canadensis nova. There were also
numerous good plants of Skimmia jape nica and Andro-
meda japonica in bloom (Bronze Banksian Medal).

Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, Kent, again
made a very gay exhibit of flowering plants, including
a considerable batch of Cinerarias of a fine strain of
the florists' type. Cyclamens were very good, and in-
cluded some of the fimbriated varieties. A batch of
plants of Primula obconica showed what an amount of

colour is now obtainable in the flowers of this species,
which for hardiness of constitution, and a free-flower-
ing habit, is everything that could be wished (Silver
Flora Medal).

Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Clapton, London, and
Bush Hill Nurseries, Enfield, exhibited a pretty group
of plants, containing Acacia Drumimondi, A. ovata,
Cyclamens, Schizanthus Wisetonensis, Boronia megas-
tigma, B. heterophylla, &c. ; Carnations, &c. Messrs.
Hugh Low & Co. also showed a corner group arranged
on the floor, consisting of Palms, ranging from t> to 10 ft.
in height, healthy, and well furnished with leaves. In
the front of the group stood a row of plants of Crimson
Rambler Roses, and Cytisus racemosus, these being
placed alternately (Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. Paul & Son, The Old Nurseries, Cheshunt,
showed some first-class varieties of Lachenalia, one of
the best of which was L. aurea chrysantha ; also some
blooms of Camellia alba plena, plants of Ccelogyne
cristata alba, &e. (Bronze Banksian Medal).

Seedling Hippeastrums from F. A. Bevan, Esq.,
Trent Park, Barnet (gr., Mr. H. Parr), included some
fine varieties, and were shown over a ground-work
formed of varieties of Primula stellata.

Messrs. Jno. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill Nurseries,
London, S.E., exhibited a group of choice stove and
greenhouse plants.

HARDY PLANTS.

Messrs. R. Wallace & Co., Kilnfield Gardens, Col-
chester, exhibited some choice hardy plants in pots.
Several Irises were included, as the distinct I. Sind-
jarensis, I. histrioides, I. reticulata, I. r. Krelagei, and
I. Danfordia?; Fritillaria aurea, Muscari azureum,
Scilla sibirica alba, several varieties of Narcissus, and
of Galanthus, <£c. (Silver Banksian Medal).

Messrs. T. S. Wabe & Co., Ltd., Hale Farm Nurseries,
Feltham, showed a large collection of hardy alpine and
other plants in pots. Hepatica triloba in various
colours, Saxifraga Burseriana, ifcc, in good batches,
were effective. There were forced Magnolias, Nar-
cissus, &C. (Bronze Banksian Medal).

Messrs. Geo. Jackman it Son, Woking Nurseries,
Surrey, exhibited some hardy plants on a rockery.
Amongst the numerous species in flower were Litho-
spcrmuni canescens, a new Fritillaria, F. Zagriga, with
slender growths, 3 or 4 inches high, and small brown
and green flowers; Polygala chamrcbuxus purpurea,
Primula verticillata, P. denticulata alba, &c. (Silver
Banksian Medal).

Messrs. Barr & Sons, King Street, Covent Garden,
showed extensively various Narcissus, many Hepaticas
of the small-flowered species, Anemones, Helleborus,
species of hardy Cyclamens, Chionodoxa, several Iris,
including Orchioides, Bulbocodium monophyllum.
The chief features of the exhibit was the bank of
named Narcissus blooms in good condition. A Silver-
gilt Banksian Medal was awarded.

Messrs. W. Cutbush & Son, Highgate, London, N.
showed flat baskets filled with Hepatica triloba rubra,
and the double-flowered of this variety ; H. t. ccerulea,
and the double-flowered form of it ; and H. t. alba.

Mr. Robet Sydenham, Birmingham, exhibited some

Narcissus, Hyacinths, Tulips, &c. growing in moss-

libre instead of soil. The fibre certainly suited them

perfectly.

FORCED TREES AND SHRUBS.

Messrs. W. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross Nurseries,
Herts, had an exceedingly beautiful group of forced
trees and shrubs, remarkable for the numerous
varieties of Peach, Almond, and Prunus species. The
double white and the double crimson Peach, also the
Carnation-flowered (rich rosy-red), are very lovely.
Prunus triloba was of capital colour, and like all the
other species, was full of bloom. Magnolia conspicua,
in several specimens ; Forsythia suspensa, very freely
bloomed, were among other good plants in the group.
(Silver-gilt Flora Medal).

Messrs. R. & G. Cuthbert, Southgate Nurseries,
Middlesex, contented themselves with a smaller group
of forced shrubs than was shown on the previous occa-
sion. There were very large plants of Rhododendron
molle, Hortulauus Witte, and Isabelle Van Houtte.
Standard Lilacs of the varieties Madame Lemoine
(double white), and Charles X.,also of Viburnum Opulus-
double white and double pink Thorns, Stapliylea
colehiea, &0. Among the dwarfer plants Kalmia lati-
folia was very pretty, aud many varieties of Japanese
Acers (Silver Banksian Medal).

Messrs. W. Cutbush & Son, Highgate Nurseries,
London, and Barnet, Herts, exhibited forced shrubs,
in which standard trees of Cytisus, Laburnum, Spirosa .
grandiflora, double pink Thorn, Lilacs, Ribes, tfec., were

March 15, 1902.1

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

183

included. Among the smaller plants were Spirtea
prunifolia fl.-pl., with its little white, button -like
flowers ; Staphylea colchica, Prunus triloba, Lilacs,
Magnolia Soulangcana, &q. (Silver Flora Medal).

Award or Merit.
Lachenalia W. E. Gumbleton.—A very fine variety, with
large flowers wholly golden-yellow in colour, except in
the bud state, when they are orange-red. From Mr.
F. W. Moore, Royal Botanic Garden, Glasnevin.

Orchid Committee.

Present: Harry J. Veitch, Esq. (in the Chair); and
Messrs. Jas. O'Brien (Hon. Sec), De B. Crawshay,
H. M. Pollett, H. Ballantine, J. Douglas, J. Cypher,
F. A. Kehder, W. A. Bilney, H. T. Pitt, W. H. Young,
. H. J. Chapman, F. W. Ashton, W. H. White, W. Boxall,
T. W. Bond, \V. Thompson, H. Little, H. A. Tracy, and
J. W. Potter.

Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., Burford (gr., Mr. W. H.
White), staged an effective group, in which the plants
were splendidly grown, and profusely flowered
throughout. The principal feature was the fine Den-
drobiums, among which were two forms of the
pretty D. x burfordense, the large and showy D. x
melanodiscus Rainbow, D. x Rolfea?, D. x Cybele, D. x
Dominianum, a charming specimen of D. barbatulum,
with over thirty fine spikes of white flowers; the rare
blush-white D. superbum Burkei, D. nobile Ballianum,
D.xspeeioso-Kingianum, with many spikes; the bright
yellow Sophro-Lielia x Marriottiana flavescens, Masde-
vallia X Hincksiana, M. leontoglossa, M. triangularis,
and thejpretty orange-coloured M.xxanthino-Veitchi-
ana (Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, were awarded a
Silver Flora Medal for a remarkable group, mainly con-
sisting of rare hybrids, which, though fine, were eclipsed
by the central plant, Laelia x Digbyano - purpurata
Edward VII. (see Awards) ; with it were two others from
the same batch, but with smaller whiter flowers, tinged
and veined with rosy-lilac ; sprays of the brilliant scarlet
form of Epidendrum x O'Brienianum, Laelio Cattleya
X Antimachus Caenea, L.-C. x Pallas, varieties of L.-C.
X Myra, with yellow flowers ; Cypripedium x Eury-
ades splendens, a magnificent and richly-coloured
variety, far the best of its class ; C. x Leonidas, C. x
eximium, various Dendrobiums, &c.

Frank A. Rehder, Esq., Gipsy Hill (gr., Mr. Norris),
was awarded a Silver Flora Medal for a neatly arranged
group of Dendrobiums. The varieties of D. nobile
ranged from the pure white D. n. album to the richly-
coloured forms of the nobilius class. Of the hybrids
the best was D. x Magda (nobile nobilius x melano-
discus), a grand flower, with the rich purple colouring
of D. nobile nobilius, and the broad petals and fine
substance of the other parent. Also very distinct were
D. X socius nobilior, D. x Sibyl, D. x splendidissimum
grandiflorum, D. x xanthocentrum, and other hybrids.

Messrs. F. Sander & Sons, St. Albans, were awarded
a Silver Flora Medal for a very effective group, princi-
pally of varieties of Phaius x Normani, P. x Marthte,
and other hybrid Phaius, among which there was
remarkable variation in colour. With them were good
specimens of Cymbidium eburneum, Lrclio-Cattleya x
Lucia superba (C. Mendeli x L. cinnabarina), with
clear yellow sepals and petals, and a crimson front
and edges of the side lobes of the lip ; and L.-C. X
Edwardi (L. cinnabarina X C. Hardyana), with bronzy-
orange flowers, the sepals and petals veined and tinged
with dark red ; the lip ruby-crimson.

G. Singer, Esq., Coundon Court, Coventry (gr., Mr.
J. Collier), showed Cattleya Trianan Coundonense, a
very remarkable, broad-petalled variety of a uniform
purplish-rose tint, the large disc of the lip orange, and
the front ruby-crimson ; C. T. Cassandra, a blush-white
flower, with purple front to the lip: C. T. alba Coundon
Court variety, a fine pure white ; C. T. Theodora, a very
finely-shaped, light variety; Cypripedium x Olivia,
i Phahenopsis intermedia Portei, P. i. Brymcri, and P.x
i Lady Rothschild.

SMr. Jas. Cypheh, Cheltenham, was accorded a Silver
morn Medal for a very fine group of magnificently-
grown Dendrobiums, comprising D. x Ainsworthi
Cypher's variety, D. x Aspasia, D. x rubens magnili-

icum, D. nobile nobilius, D. n. Statterianum, D. n.
Fisheri, D. n. Murrhinianum, and other Dendrobes ; a
fine L.-clia Jongheana, good Odontoglossum Hallii,
varieties of Cattleya Triansei, and hybrid Cypripediums.
Messrs. Stanley, Ashton & Co., Southgatc, staged
an effective group, containing a great variety of species
; and hybrids. The centre was a line Cymbidium Lowi-
, ainini, wilh a large specimen of C. xcburneo-Lowianuin
0,1 each nlc. Willi them were a good solcotion of
variolic of Lyeaste Skinueri, including the pure while

form ; Lfelia harpophylla. L. flava, Odontoglossums,
Cochlioda Noezliana; various Dendrobes, including
the pretty D. x Ainsworthi, Osidge variety, and D. x
Vannerianum, etc.

H. T. Pitt, Esq., Kosslyn, Stamford Hill (gr., Mr.
Thurgood), showed Odontoglossum Hallii leucoglos-
sura, "Kosslyn variety," with large and finely-marked
flowers ; O. x loochristyense, Kosslyn variety, a very
fine canary-yellow, handsomely-blotched flower, and a
pretty form of O. X aspersum.

Jbremiah Coljian, Esq., Gatton Park (gr., Mr. W. P.
Bound), sent Dendrobium x Wiganianum Gatton Park
variety.

Baron Sir H. Schroder, The Dell, Egham (gr., Mr.
Ballantine), showed Odontoglossum crispum Truffauti-
anum, a fine form with white flowers bearing irregular
clusters of red-brown blotches on the middle of each of
the segments.

A. Warbdrton, Esq., Vine House, Haslingden,
showed the handsomely - blotched Odontoglossum
crispum Lindeni.

J. Ebner, Esq..Beckenham (gr., Mr. Scutcher), sent
Odontoglossum mirandum, Cypripedium villosum, and
a distinct hybrid between C x Lathamianum and C.
villosum.

Mrs. Haywood, Woodhatch, Reigate (gr., Mr. C. J.
Salter), showed Deudrobium x Aspasia superbum, and
D. x splendidissimum grandiflorum Mrs. Haywood,
both good floriferous hybrids.

F. Wellesley, Esq., Westfield, Woking (gr., Mr.
Gilbert), showed Ljelio-Cattleya x Gottoiana Westfield
variety, a very distinct flower, with pale buff sepals,
and petals veiued and tinged with light purple, and a
rich purple labellum.

Messrs. liciiB Low & Co. showed Lzelio-Cattleya x
Lucasiana.

Fred Hardy, Esq. (gr., Mr. T. Stafford), sent flowers
of three singular but not showy hybrid Cypripediums.

Awards.

First-class Certiiicate.
Lielia X Digbyano-purpurata "Edward VII." from
Messrs. Jas. Veitch it Sons, Chelsea.— One of tne most
remarkable hybrids yet raised. The first of the parent-
age was flowered by Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons in 1898,
but gave no promise of such a remarkable development
as that seen in the present variety, " Edward VII." The
labellum constitutes the greater part of the flower, the
sepals and petals, which are white veined with rose,
being gracefully arranged round it, contributing to the
effectiveness of the labellum, which forms the chief
attraction. The lip has much of the form of that of
L:eliaDigbyana, but is expanded and enlarged in avery
remarkable degree. The base is of a primrose-yellow
tint, in front of which is a white band, from which
radiates rose-purple veining, extending into the rose-
tinted front, which generally gets lighter in hue until
at the beautifully fringed margin it is nearly white.
Progression seems to have carried this remarkable
hybrid almost out of touch with the others of its
parentage.

Award of Merit.

Leelic- Cattleya X purpurato - Schilleriana Whateltya.—
From II. Whateley, Esq., Priory Lawn, Kenilworth
(gr., Mr. Cook). A pretty hybrid, approaching nearest to
Cattleya Schilleriana. The sepals and petals arc tinged
with light purple ; lip front glowingruby, disc yellow,
with some dark lines, side lobes white with purple
veiuing.

Dendrobium X Apollo album (nobile pulchcrrimum x
splendidissimum grandiflorum). — A very beautiful
variety, with large, finely-formed, white flowers, with
dark claretrpurple disc to the lip.

Botanical Certiiicate.

Maadevattta nunuta. Lindl., from K. I. Measures, Esq.,
Cambcrwcll (gr., Mr. H. J. Chapman). —A singular
tufted dwarf species, with numerous white flowers
from Guiana.

Cultural Commendation.

To Mr. Stevens, gr. to W. Thompson, Esq., Walton
Grauge, for a fine specimen of Odontoglossum pul-
chcllum majus, witli sixteen spikes.

To Mr. Scutcher, gr. to J. Ebner, Esq , for Odonto-
glossum mirandum, Rchb. f.

Fruit and Vegetable Committee.

Present : Joseph Cheal, Esq., in the Chair ; and Mcssr. .
W. Bate?, S. Mortimer, A. Dean, II. J. Wright, E.
Beckett, W. Fyfe, II. Markham, .1. Willard, .Lis. a.
Veitch, W. II. Divers, W. Poupart, M. Gleeson, and
G. T. Miles.

Mr. Will Tavi kii, Osborn Nursery, Hampton, Mid-
dlesex, exhibited eighteen dishes of very well pre-
served Apples. Particularly good were Northern

Greening, Newton Wonder, 'Annie Elizabeth, Cox's
Orange Pippin, Claygate Pearmain, and Blenheim
Orange Pippin, Uvedale St. Germain Pear was shown
well (Silver Knightian Medal).

From Lord Wantage's garden at Lockinge (gr., Mr.
Fyfe), came some big Onions, including such varieties
as Ailsa Craig, Cranston's Excelsior, Aristocrat, &o.
(Silver Bauksian Medal).

From the Duke of Rutland's garden at Belvoir, near
Grantham (gr., Mr. W. 11. Divers), were shown fruits of
Apples Court Pendu Plat, and Scarlet Nonpareil ; and
Pear No Plus Meuris, all of them good.

Dr. B. Addy, Pembury Court, Kent, exhibited fruits
of a reputed cross between an Apple and a Pear. The
fruits were more or less Pear-shaped, but the flesh and
flavour were those of an Apple. The wood and foliage
of the tree were described as resembling a Pear-tree
It would be interesting to learn more of the cir-
cumstances.

The Lecture.

The lecture delivered by Mr. R. Hedger Wallace was, as
far as we could hear it, an excellent summary of what
is known of the action of bacteria in the soil. The
conditions in the Drill Hall are so bad, and so little is
done to improve them, or to add to the convenience
either of the lecturer or of the audience, that we must
await the publication of Mr. Wallace's paper in the
Journal till we can do justice to it. The soil science,
as the lecturer said, is in its infancy, but we know
enough to realise that under ordinary conditions
the soil teems with organisms of the minutest sizet
whose business it is, on the one hand, to break up
the constituents of the soil into their component
elements, and thus render them available in the
nutrition of the plant; or, on the. other, to effect the
combination of elements and build up, rather than
destroy. In either case, complex chemical and fermen.
tative changes ensue, the nature of which is not yet
fully determined. Most of these creatures are influ-
enced unfavourably by light, but thrive in darkness,
moisture, and a sufficiency of heat. To many of them
air (oxygen) is essential, others thrive in the absence
of that element. In the case of Leguminosa?, the bac-
teria or bacterioid bodies which are found in the little
knobs on the root are able to supply a sufficiency of
nitrogen which reduces (but does not annul) the neces-
sity for the application of nitrogenous manures. The
knobs themselves are supposed to be caused as a con-
sequence of the irritation set up by the bacteria. It
had been thought that by inoculating the soil with
bacteria increased crops would result, and a substance
known as nitragin, and consisting of bacteria, had
beeu used for this purpose, but the results at present
were not satisfactory. That the Fellows will look for-
ward to the publication of Mr. Wallace's lecture with
great interest was testified by the brisk discussion that
ensued.

KINGSTON CHRYSANTHEMUM.

March 4.— The annual meeting was held on the above
date, there being only a moderate attendance. The
chair was occupied by Mr. W. J. Wells.

Mr. Hayward, secretary, presented a statement of
accounts, which showed that the receipts for the year
from all sources were £152 16s. Off., and the expenses
£170 1». 3d., leaving an adverse balance of £17 5s., which
was greatly due to the very bad weather on the days of
the Society's show last year.

After discussion, it was decided to hold the next
show on November 12 and 13, at St. James's Hall.

UNITED HORTICULTURAL BENEFIT
AND PROVIDENT.

ANNUAL MEETING.
March 10.— The annual meeting was held under the
presidency of Mr. Herbert J. Cutbush, at the offices
oi the Society, Caledonian Hotel, Adelphi Terrace
Strand, W.C. The report for the past year was unani-
mously adopted, and it was decided to print .1,00" copies
of same for distribution amongst the members aud
others. A perusal of the report shows a continued
increase in membership- < Lilly -three new members
having been elected during the year, whilst two only
had died— the total membership is now over sum. Over
£300 has been distributed in siek pay during the 16
period, whilst members, aged and otherwise, had been
assisted to the amount oi juu'7. The Convalescent Fund
had not been drawn upon to a great extent. I'll is fund

is not sufficiently known we think to the mbei - Eta

object is to assist them by a change of airdurli

valcscencc. The entire workio Including

the secretary's salary, printing, postages, auditor's

fees, &0., amount to £103— bell

member. The treasurer reported uavini

61,600 during the year— the largest amount ever sot

184

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 15, 1902.

aside iu an equal time. The total invested funds now
stand at £19.0U0, with a balance in the treasurer's hands
of £86 lis. id. The liabilities to members amount to
£18,887 78. 10d, leaving a balance of £199 6s. 3d. over
and above all liabilities.

Mr. Cutbush strongly advocated the claims the
Society has upon the whole body of gardeners, espe-
cially the younger ones now starting into life. In a
concise and clear manner he laid the Society's benefits
before the members, and urged them to renewed efforts
to further extend its usefulness.

Thanks to the retiring members of the committee,
who were again elected ; to the secretary, who was also
reelected; to the trustees and treasurer, were all
unanimously passed. As treasurer, Mr. Hudson has
held office for twenty years consecutively, having
invested in that time £16,593 iu Trustees' Stocks for the
sum of £17,011.

As showing the interest the officers and committee
take in the business affairs of the Society it was stated
that out of a possible attendance of fifteen, the average
attendance was eleven. For reports and rules our
readers are referred to the secretary, Mr. W. Collins,
9, Martindale Road, Balham, S.W.

TRADE NOTICE.

Mr. Fred. Smith, for the past three years
gardener to Sir Shirley H. Salt, Bart., Crick-
howell, has taken over the glasshouses and
kitchen gardens at Walthatn Grove, near
(Irimsby, where he will commence business as
a fruiterer and florist.

©bttuarp.

James Tegg. — The death, at the age of
seventy years, of Mr. J. Tegg, who up to re-
cently was head gardener and forester at Bear-
wood, Wokingham, is announced as having
occurred on the 5th inst. Some two years
or so ago, Mr. Tegg retired through ill-health,
and resided at 'Wokingham, near the scene of
the principal work of his life. Death came
somewhat suddenly through heart failure, and
he was buried in Bearwood churchyard, which
is on the estate. He leaves a widow and
grown-up family.

James Tegg was born at Midgham, in South
Berkshire, on March 29, 1832, and began his
gardening career in the then well-known nur-
sery of Mr. Henry Groom, at Clapham Rise,
Surrey. From thence ho went to Driffield, in
Yorkshire, and filled the position of foreman
in a private garden. From thence he came
south, and was next found as foreman at Messrs.
Maudsley & Sons, at Norwood ; and from there
joined his father, who was then gardener at
Dover House, Roehampton, as his foreman.
Then came the opportunity of his life — his
appointment as head gardener to Baron
Hambro', at Roehampton, where he soon
became known as a successful cultivator and
exhibitor of fruit at the exhibitions of the
Royal Botanic Society in the Regent's Park,
the Crystal Palace, and elsewhere, Grapes and
Melons especially being staged by him. Here
he remained for ten and a-half years, when he
went to Clumber, Worksop, Notts, as head
gardener to the late Duke of Newcastle, and
while there he was an exhibitor in several
classes at the International Horticultural Ex-
hibition held at South Kensington in May,
186G. He remained at Clumber five years, and
then came south to take charge of the gardens
and woods of Bearwood, the estate of Mr.
Walter — a post that he filled for the space of
thirty-one years ; and while here he carried
out several extensive alterations and im-
provements, including the planting of the
Wellingtonia avenue, the formation of a new
kitchen-garden, an extensive rock-garden, &c.
The building of the palatial mansion some
years ago afforded an opportunity for extend-
ing the pleasure-grounds, and in subsequent
years other improvements were made. Mr.
Tegg always took a strong personal interest
in his work. He was a man of remarkable
energy and activity, and kept the gardens and
houses in excellent order. One incident in
his career was occasionally mentioned by him.
He made up the first bouquet presented to her
present Majesty the Queen, when as Princess
Alexandra of Denmark she first came to Eng-
land in 1863. The bouquet was made by order
of Baron Hambro', and was presented to the
Princess by the Danish Ambassador. B. D.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Aspidistra: A. D. The present month is a good
time for subdividing the plants. When this
is done, the plants sooner recover when
afforded bottom- heat of 75° to 80° in a frame
for a month or two. Use a loamy soil, and
good but not over-abundant drainage.

Caterpillars found among Cabbages : J. S.
At the stage of the grub sent it is very diffi-
cult to say for certain what the species is. It
is not peculiar to Cabbages, and you had
better feed some of them on the leaves and
stems of Cabbages; allow them to pass
through the chrysalis stage and form the
perfect insect, and send that to us.

Daffodil Sir Watkin: H. &■ B. St. Martin.
The striping or deep channelling of the
leaves is due to some sort of check to growth.
The plants will doubtless grow out of it as
the weather gets warmer.

Gardening in India : Correspondent . In reply
to your question, we would say that Gar-
dening in India, by G. Marshall Woodrow, is
the most suitable book for your purpose.
The publishers are : Bombay, Thacker & Co.,
Ltd. ; Calcutta, Thacker, Spink & Co. ;
Madras, Higginbotham & Co.

Gardener's House and the Parochial Rates :
An Old Subscriber. If the house you occupy
rent free is not on the home estate of the
employer, but is a separate tenement, you
must pay the rate, and make the best terms
you can with him.

Landscape Work, Drawing, Designing, &c. :
A. B. C. Obtain Mr. H. E. Milner's Land-
seape Gardening.

Leaf-miners in Margderites : Maggot. In-
secticides are of no avail. You must pinch
the grubs under the thumb-nail when there
are but few of them, or cut off the leaves
and burn them if too numerous to destroy
by the first method. When the insect is on
the wing, the deposition of eggs may be
prevented by the use of quassia-water. The
same fly infests Chrysanthemums, Cinerarias,
Senecios, &c.

Names of Fri its : C. P. Beauty of Kent.—
J. H. 1, Hormead Pearmain : 2, a small
example of Hambledon Deux Ans. — Golocynth.
Flanders Pippin. — W. D. 1, t'ox's Orange
Pippin ; 2, Sturmer Pippin ; 3, Christmas
Pearmain. — G. R. A handsome form of
Beauty of Kent. — D. C. H. 1, probably a
local variety ; 2, we believe this to be the
true Melrose. — G. H. 1, Warner's King ;
2, Cobham.— H. J. 1, Golden Reinette ; 2,
somewhat resembles Cluster Golden Pippin,
hence, perhaps, it has obtained the local
name of Cluster ; this, with 3 and 0, are, no
doubt, of local origin ; 4, Fenouillet Jaune ;
5, Norfolk Stone Pippin ; 0, is not the true
Ten Shillings, an old Apple, but resembles
it in some points, and has thus probably been
named locally.

Names of Plants : C. S. You send three very
small sprays of some Junipers without
numbers by which we can identify the
specimens. Please send better specimens
properly numbered. — J. F. Brassavolaglauca,
Lindl., now generally called Lfelia glauca.
It generally has some slight purple markings
at the base of the lip. See Gardeners'
Chronicle, 1890, vol. vii., p. 350.— T. H. 0. P.
Cattleya Triansei, a fairly good variety. —
W. J. R. 1, Todea superba, a filmy Fern ;
2, Adiantum cuneatum mundulum ; 3, Poly-
podium aureum ; 4, Adiantum hispidulum ;
5, Platyloma flexuosum, sometimes called
Pteris flexuosa ; 6, Diphne Mezereum. —
J. C. B. 1 , Cattleya Triansei delicata ; 2,
Cattleya labiata, flowering late. — C. R. S.
Lselia Jongheana, now rather plentiful, but
very rare a few years ago. — D. E. T. 1,
Diosma species, send in flower ; 2, Diosma
ericoides ; 3, Diosma capitata ; 4, send in
flower — possibly a Privet; 5, Polygala oppo-
sitifolia; 6, Polygala cordata ; 7, Acacia pul-
chella ; 8, Acacia cultriformis. Please send
better specimens in future, most of these are

without flowers. — W. P. Dendrobium nobil e
album. — A. B. 1, Acalypha Maci'eeana ;
2, Acacia longifolia ; 3, Acacia cyanophylla,
so far as we can judge by the specimens
sent. — J. W., Coventry. A very fine variety
of Dendrobium nobile, but without sufficient
distinctness to warrant a special name. —
R. E. The small African Orchid is Eulophia
tristis; the fleshy flower Stauropsisgigantea,
more often called Vanda gigantea ; the Den-
drobium nobile is a very fine variety. — E. R .

1, Habrothamnus, or Cestrum fasciculatum ;

2, Cotyledon sp., send when in flower; 3,
Abies Pinsapo. — G. B. P. Lonicera fra-
grantisshna. — Rosa. Griselinia littoralis,
nat. order Cornacea. — E. C. L. Leaves
insufficient, send when in flower. Sent with
an Apple, bnt No Name. 2, Grevillea rosrua-
rinifolia ; 3, Diplopappus chrysophyllus ; 4,
Cupressus lusitanica, probably ; 5,Cupressus,
perhaps Goweniana, but we cannot tell with-
out cones ; G, Yeronica Traversii.

Notice to Leave Employment : D. Kimber. If
you lose wages from being late in the morn-
ing, you do no work in the first quarter of
the day, so that there is really no cause of
complaint on your side, but rather on that
of the employer. If oft repeated it might
afford a reasonable cause for discharging you
at a moment's notice. If you are a day
labourer, no notice is required by an em-
ployer. If living in a bothy, a month or a
week's notice is customarily required and
given.

Notice to Quit Service: A. A., Kew. Under J
the circumstances related, you are, as a
gardener engaged at a yearly salary, entitled
to at the least one month's notice, or in !
lieu thereof, payment in full for that length
of time.

Nursery: D. K. L. As you possess only an
acre of land, and must transplant the young •
stuff after it has remained in the seed-beds I
two years, a very few pounds of Larch, J
Spruce, and Scots Pine will suffice — say 10 lb.
of the larger and heavier seeds, and pro-
portionately less of the small, light seeds.
Prepare now beds 4 feet wide and of any
desired length, by dressing them with leaf-
mould or quite decayed stable-manure, and
digging the soil deeply, but not necessarily
trenching it ; trample the soil firmly, rake
it to a fine tilth, scatter the seed thinly
broadcast, cover with soil out of the alleys
from a quarter to half an inch deep, and roll
lightly.

Pelargonium: J. C. The disfigurement upon
the leaves of the variety Raspail is probably
due to drip or damp. Afford more ventila-
tion, and maintain as buoyant and pure air
as possible.

Primula obconica : F. R. H. 8. A few years
ago the flowers you send would have been
novel ; but there have been many seedlings
raised recently that produce blooms quite as
large, and of equal colour to yours. Some
very remarkable plants shown at the Drill
Hall are referred to on p. 182.

Strawberry Plants Failing : Worcester. The
plants have the appearance of having had
the top growth forced up by a high tempe-
rature much in advance of any action at the
root. The forcing needs to be very gentle
in the early stages, and, if possible, bottom-
heat should be applied by sinking the pots
partly or wholly in a leaf-bed, and at the same
time keeping the tops cool and ventilated.

Communications Received.— Conway G. Warne.— C B.
— B. H. S.-F. T. N. — Harrison Weir.— A. C. B.-
A. H. R. — Ed. Andr6, Paris, with many thanks.-
J. M. D. & Co.— R. W. R., with many thanks.— A. G.-
Hou. J. B.— F. W. O— N. R. F— J. W— Dr. W. S.. Bres
lau.— Dinter, German S. W. Africa.— F. L. W.— Dick
sons.— W. H.S.— K.tfcSons— J.M . Bath (with thanks).
-T. Foster— E. C— B. Ashton— J. M.— G B— R. D -
J. W. M.-J. D.-A. J. L.-W. P. B.-J. P., Sydney.-
j \v._ T. T.— E. S.— J. J.— Gardener.— Oncid.—Cedo
Nulli.— T. F.

PHOTOGBAPHS lECEIVED, WITH THANKS.— J. T. — A. D.,

Stevenage.

(For Markets and Weather, see p. xiv.)

X

H
<

o

H

O

>
2

2

March 21, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

185

THE

(gardeners' djtonkk

No. 795.— SATURDAY, 31 ARCH 22, 1902.
CONTENTS.

.T: cuius and Pavia ... 187
.Vilanthus, a preco-
cious 192

Angracum ichneumo-

neum 194

taker, Mr. J. G. ... 192
Books, notices of ... 193
Cation Ellaeombe's
garden, early flowers

in 197

Carnation, anthracnose

in 193

Co-operation and Co-
ordination 197

ICpping Forest, addi-

lion to 193

Euphorbias, culture of 19tj

Flowers, early 19J

H eads, big and little.. 194

Hippeastrums 188

Honours to horticul-
turists 193

Horse-Chestnuts ... 187

Horticultural Hall, the 192

Iris reticulata major... 197

1. ilium gigauteum ... 197

Obituary—

Mackenzie, Jno.Ord. 198

Manning, Kobt. ... 198

Powell, W. H. ... 198

Kooke, Peter 198

Trussler, Mr. ... 198

Old and the new. the. 197
Orchid notes and
gleanings—
Cypripedium x Ed-
mund Rothwell ... 190
Lfclia Jongheana

vars 190

Lycaste Skinneri, a
twin-flowered ... 190

Orchard - house in
Gunnersbury House

Gardens

Plants, new or note-
worthy—
Aristolochia arborea
Publications received
Retarding plants
Richards, Mr. G. H. ...
Scientific Committee
Societies—
Beckenham Horti-
cultural

Croydon Horticul-
tural Mutual Im-
provement

National Carnation

and Picotee
Reading Gardeners'
Royal Horticultural
Scottish Horticul-
tural

Southern Counties'

Carnation

South Africa-
Flowering plants
and flowers at Cape

Town

Spraying

Sweet Peas, selected
Tomato disease

Torenias

Vegetable products in

Mincing Lane
Week's work, the -
Flower garden, the .
Fruits under glass ..
Hardy fruit garden .
Kitchen garden, the
Orchid-houses, the .
Plants under g ass...

ILLUSTRATIONS.

-T^iculus californica, with fruits

jV. cuius parviflora, flowers and leaf of

-Ksculus parviflora, tree of, in flower

-Ksculus turbinata

j\ngraicum ichneumoneum, a specimen plant of
(Supplement).

lleau weevil, the

Orchard-house in Gunnersbury House Gardens ...
Vine-weevil, the black

186

194
197
19-i

198

19*

198
199
192

192

193

lS'ti
194
194
197
190

191
191
191
190
160
191

186
1*1*
189
187

S00
195
200

VEGETABLE PRODUCTS IN
MINCING LANE.

AT this time of year, when the British
public generally is more or less inte-
resting itself in the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer's Budget, our thoughts run over a
wide range of commercial products, or likely
sources of taxation that may possibly sug-
gest themselves to the resourceful and fertile
mind of the Chancellor, and that will not
press too heavily on any class of the com-
munity in particular. In doing this we
cannot help being struck with the promi-
nent part the vegetable kingdom plays in
the realisation of revenue. A glance even
at the Customs Tariff of the United Kingdom
which, of course, is a list of those articles
which are already liable to duty, proves the
truth of this statement, not only with regard
to the number of vegetable products in com-
parison with those from other sources, but
alsa to the absence of many other well-known
substances of equal or even more impor-
tance, and which would probably yield large
sums wereaslight duty chargeable. Tobacco,
Tea, and Sugar are, as everybody knows,
fruitful sources of revenue which, though the
rates upon each may be varied, will, like the
income tax, probably never be surrendered-.
l'rob.ibly, however, there are comparatively

few people who have any idea of the im-
portant position fruits and flowers under
different forms hold in the Customs tariff,
and the unequal manner under which they
are taxed; thus, while dried Currants pay only
two shillings per cwt., Raisins are charged
seven shillings — very unequal rates for two
varieties of the Grape, the presence or
absence of " stones " or seeds in the fruit
apparently making all the difference, and
yet not entirely so, for the Sultana (a stone-
less Grape) is classified as a Raisin, while
some of the very large Currants now often
seen in the market are sometimes a puzzle
even to the Customs authorities, who have
to decide whether they should be classified
as Currants or itaisins. Figs and Fig-cake,
Plums and Prunes, are chargeable with the
same rate as Raisins; while canned and bot-
tled fruits preserved in thin syrup pay one
shilling per cwt., the same preserved in thick
syrup have to pay two shillings more, or
three shillings per cwt. Crystallised fruits
are distinguished from others by a higher
rate, namely is. 2d. per cwt. Ginger preserved
in syrup or sugar is charged three shillings
per cwt., while preserved Tamarinds pay
only one shilling.

Flowers occur in the Customs tariff in one
form only, and this not in a fresh or dried
state, but in the condition of sweetmeat,
namely, the crystallised flowers of the
Violet, Rose, Orange, and which are charged
at the same rate as crystallised fruits.
namely, 4s. 2d. per cwt.

If the Chancellor of the Exchequer were
to take a walk through the several brokers'
show-rooms in Mincing Lane, he would, no
doubt, become imbued with new ideas of
taxation : at any rate, a glance down the
reports of the London markets in that busy
corner of the great city is a lesson of much
interest and great educational value, for it
is chiefly in these reports that we first find
references to products new to commerce —
things that are sent into market at first in
small quantities to test their suitability as
marketable articles, and their prospect of
finding purchasers. Products of this kind
of any real value seldom make their way
with any flourish of trumpets, but become
quietly established, the demand increasing
as their properties become known.

The case is, perhaps, rather different with
regard to medicinal products, any new dis-
covery in this direction has of late years been
made the cause of many much-advertised
quack medicines, though some of them have
proved of value, and have found a place in the
Pharmacopoeia, such as Coca (Erythroxylon
coca), and Cascara sagrada (Rhamnus Pur-
shiana), and others. In the Mincing Lane
classification of products, it is sometimes
difficult to find any special article; for in-
stance, one unacquainted with the ways of
product brokers, would scarcely expect to
find Chillies classed with spices, but in such
company they are always placed, though
the principal use of the Chilly is as a condi-
ment, either for making cayenne pepp.'i- or
for mixing with pickles. Very large quan-
tities of these pungent fruits now come into
English commerce, and it is said that the
increased demand is to some extent due to
the use of much larger quantities than has
hitherto been the case in the West of Eng-
land pilchard preserving trade: though there
is also a fairly good demand for them in
medicine.

The geographical range of. commercial
Chillies has of late years become much wider
than formerly, for besides the regular source
from India, we receive Chillies of good
quality and very bright appearance from
Nyassaland, Sierra Leone, and Zanzibar ;
and more recently from Japan. The botani-
cal source of the African Chillies is attri-
buted to Capsicum minimum, and though
the general appearance of the Japanese form
is very similar, it is usually somewhat
larger, and has less pungency; and it has
been suggested that it may be a small form
of C. annuum. The market value of Chillies
varies from 38s. per cwt. for ordinary mixed
Zanzibar, to 52s. for good red Nyassaland
fruits, but these prices are affected by the
ebb and flow of supply and demand.

Speaking of spices, one would rather
expect to find Vanilla under this head, but
so important is this valuable product in the
Mincing Lane trade, that it is not only
placed under a separate heading in the
market reports, but the samples themselves
are always shown in a separate show-room,
and indeed in a distinct building.

The extension of the cultivation of Vanilla,
not only in new plantations, but also in
entirely new countries, is sufficient proof of
its constant demand, and of its value a
profitable crop; and this notwithstanding
the continued manufacture and use of
artificial vanilline. The following facts on
the presentcondition of the trade in Vanilla
are gathered from our well-informed con-
temporary the Chemist and Druggist, who,
in reporting on the Vanilla sales at the end
of last month, say that the supply brought
forward was the heaviest on record, and
attracted a much larger attendance of
buyers than usual. There was, however, a
good demand, and practically the whole
quantity offered, about 2,800 tons, was sold.
Long lengths being scarce brought good
prices, while medium lengths also sold were
pods from 8 to 8J inches long, and of good
chocolate colour, fetched 22s. 6</. per lb. ;
7£ to 8 inches, 19s. 6d. to 21s. 6d. ; and so on
in proportion, for it must be remembered
that Vanilla - pods are classified in the
market and valued according to their
lengths, plumpness, and colour. Thus, at
the same sale the lowest grade of dry,
brown pods realised only from 4s. to lis. 6rf.
per lb.

Referring to the condition and prospects
of Vanilla cultivation in the Seychelles,
Messrs. Brookes & Green, the well-known
brokers, state that the Seychelles crop for
1901 shipped from August to December
totalled fully double the heaviest quantity
exported from the island in any previous
season, it being estimated at about 80 tons.
The feature of this season's supply of
Vanilla from Seychelles is the unpre-
cedented large proportion of short beans.
Medium to good size quality measure from
(> to 8 inches, but the consignments landed
in London during the past three months
have contained about 75 per cent, of very
short beans, ranging from 3 to 5 inches.
The result has been that whilst long-length
quality has fairly maintained previous
values, the short measurements show a
reduction of about 50 percent. To obtain
good plump pods, it is incumbent for
planters to see that early in the season the
young shouts are thinned by picking out a
quantity of surplus sprouts; in the piv-ent

186

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 22, 1902.

case it would seem as though nearly all
had been allowed to grow. This view is
somewhat confirmed by recent reports from
Seychelles, which advise that the flowering
for the nest crop is small — possibly due to
the weakening of the bines last year ;

ment, it may be stated that in November
last one shipment from the Seychelles
amounted to 21,267 kilos, of which 12,386
kilos went to Marseilles, and 8,881 kilos to
London. The exports from Tahiti during
1900 amounted to 162,636 lb., of the value of

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

ARISTOLOCHIA ARBOREA.
In the catalogue of M. Linden issued in
1858, this plant is mentioned as having been
found in the forests of Chiapas, New Granada,

Pig. 57.— fruit and seud of .e.sculus californica from botanic garden, bath, (see p. 187.)

indeed, some of the older plants are reported
as seriously exhausted— a very natural result
if the above surmise is true.

The warning here given, though not ex-
pressed in gardening terms, will be under-
stood by those who cultivate the plant for
profit, and who will, no doubt, benefit by
the hints.

As an illustration of the quantity of
Vanilla sometimes shipped in one consign-

£32,132— no small sum to be added to the
finances of the island.

Chillies and Vanilla, to which we have
referred, are only two items in the immense
returns that flow into and are distributed
from the great city markets included under
the generic name of Mincing Lane. At
another time I hope to refer to other pro-
ducts of equal value and interest. John B.
Jackson, Lympstone, Devon.

by M. Ghiesbreght. Linden, it appears, sent
it to Kew, where it flowered, and was figured
and described by Sir William Hooker in the
Botanical Magazine (18G2), t. 5295. Since that
time, so far as we can find, nothing has been
heard of the plant till Captain Donnell Smith,
of Baltimore, forwarded us specimens of an
Aristolochia gathered by Herr von Turekheim
in Guatemala at an altitude of 350 metres. On
examination of the flower we had no difficulty

March 22, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

187

in at once referring the plant to the A. arborea
of Linden. The plant is highly curious, as
like its congener, A. maxima, it is not a
climber, but a low, branching shrub, with
numerous erect, slender branches, long, lan-

beneath the surface of the ground, about
2 inches in diameter, of a rich brown colour,
the outer part of the corolla [perianth] on the
lower end 3-lobed, middle lobe white (the white
even extending over the side lobes), but the

£ vtyt/fy:

Fie. 58. — iEsfri.rs tikbixata (= jr. chinensis, iiort.).
(see r. 188.)

ceolate leaves, and curious flowers emitted
from the corky stem near the base.

The main peculiarity of the flower we shall
allude to immediately, but in the meantime
we may quote M. von Turckheim's description
from the living plant. " A little tree or shrub
about 8 to 10 feet high, with very rough bark
[and], long, lanceolate leaves ; flowers coming
out on the main trunk in clusters, even from

most queer thing is that the place where the
outer corolla goes into the tube is closed by a
spongy excrescence of the shape of a fungus
whose stalk is white, while tho hat [pilous] is
of the same dark brown as the corolla."

The coloration is not perceptible in the
dried flowers, but the fungus-liko excrescence
is easily detected. Its broad, cylindrical stalk
emerges from the throat of tho perianth at the

junction between the distended tube and the
expanded limb. This stalk is surmounted by
a thick, oblong, cushion-like, fleshy cap, about
1 cent, in its longest diameter, aptly compared
by von Turckheim to the pileus of a fungus.

The column placed, as usual, at the extreme
base of the tube immediately above the ovary,
is oblong, with a sub-orbicular, 2-lobed disc,
differing from the ordinary 6-lobed style of
most Aristolochias, but resembling that in the
genus Holostylis. The flowers of Aristolochias
have in many cases a fold or tube emerging
from the throat of the perianth, and pointing
downwards as if to facilitate the ingress of
insects, and perhaps to obstruct their egress
when once they have gained admission. This
arrangement, like the curious process of A.
arborea, is doubtless connected in some way
with the fertilisation of the flower, but it
would bo rash to say in what way till we
had the opportunity of seeing the insect, if
insect it be, at work. We must have examined
many scores of dried Aristolochia flowers, and
many living ones, but we scarcely remember to
have seen an insect in them on any occasion.
Maxwell T. Masters.

HORSE-CHESTNUTS.

J3SOCEUS AND Pavia. — Among trees of large
size that are hardy in this country, the
common Horse-Chestnut (JE. Hippocastanum)
is by far the most ornamental as regards its
flowers. No tree that we can grow equals it in
its combined grandeur of aspect and beauty as
a flowering tree. There are, besides this, seven
other species in cultivation, but none of these,
in this country at any rate, is more than
medium -sized, and two of. them are usually
of a shrubby character. All the species~of
/Esculus are noteworthy for their beauty of
foliage, standing perhaps pre-eminently in this
respect as a genus of hardy trees. It should
be mentioned that " JSsculus," as now inter-
preted, includes what were formerly known as
" Pavias." The Pavias were distinguished
from JSsculus by their smooth fruits and four-
petalled corollas ; the true /Esculus having
spiny fruits and five petals in the corolla.
The discovery, however, of species in which
these distinctions broke down caused the
merging of the two groups under ^Esculus.

All the species are gross feeders, and like a
rich, moist soil. The greedy, far-reaching
roots of the common Horse-Chestnut make it
difficult to grow any choice plants near it. It
is, in fact, only suitable for large gardens or
parks.

The best method of propagating these trees
is by seed, which should be sown as soon
as ripe. Some of the varieties of garden
origin have, of course, to be " worked," but it
is unfortunate that the stock oftenest used
for the smaller-growuig ones should be the
Horse-Chestnut, Its vigour and rapid growth
make it quite unsuitable for them, and gro-
tesque specimens, with the stock thrice the
thickness of the scion, are frequently the
result of using it. Seedlings of the species to
which the variety belongs should, if possible,
be used as stocks.

M. CALIFORNIA.
This tree, one of the rarest of the Horse-
Chestnuts, is a native of the western slopes of
the mountains of California. It lias a low,
rather spreading habit, and at its largest is
only from 30 foot to 40 feet high ; oftener it is
a shrub one-third as high. In tin- southern
parts of England, even al Kow, it is perfectly
hardy, and it flowered in Messrs. Veitch'a
nursery at Exeter :>s long ago as is:,s. Daring
(he summer of 1001 it flowered and fruited at

188

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 22, 1902.

the Bath Botanic Gardens, under the charge of
Mr. J. Mil burn, from whose specimen the accom-
panying illustration (fig. 57, p. 180) was made.
Sargent describes it as the most beautiful of
all the American species in its numerous
flowers, which are borne on erect racemes,
0 inches or more long, and are white tinted
with rose in colour. The leaflets vary in
number from four to seven, but are usually
five in each leaf, and are narrower and
smaller than in the other species. Perhaps
tha climate of southern England may scarcely
be sunny enough to suit the Californian Horse-
Chestnut, but judging by its success at Bath,
it seems deserving of more frequent trial.

M. CARNRA.

Nothing certain appears to be' known of the
origin of this Horse-Chestnut, but it is as-
sumed to be a cross between the common
Horse-Chestnut and ffl. Pavia. Its convenient
size (25 feet to 30 feet in height) makes it a
popular tree in gardens, and it is now almost
as well known as M. Hippocastanum. It is
the best of all the Chestnuts, with brightly
colouredjflowers, some of its improved forms —
the best of I "which is called Briotii — being of
a rich, deep red. Its neat, rounded habit
makes it'as well adapted for small gardens as
the common Horse- Chestnut is for parks and
avenues. It ripens seeds, and improved
forms can be raised from them.

M. FLAVA.

None of the American species of .■Esculus
seems capable of attaining togrcat dimensions
in thi? country, but this, the "Sweet Buck-
eye" of the United States, is the largest. It
is described as often 90 feet high, growing wild
on the slopes of the mountains of Carolina and
Tennessee, but the finest specimen' I have seen
in Britain has been little more than one-third
as high. It is, nevertheless, a very handsome
tree, shapely, even rather formal in outline,
and amply furnished with its beautiful foliage.
Its racemes are 4 to ^5 inches in length, and
the flowers pale yellow. There is a variety of
it which has roddish-jHirpleJlowers, and nume-
rous forms (or perhaps hybrids between this
and .-E. Pavia) exist in nurseries. Some of these,
such as discolor, Lyoni, neglecta, Wbitleyi, and
macrocarpa, are amongst [the handsomest of
dwarf Horse-Chestnuts. They are, however,
frequently short-lived, owing to the practice
of budding them on the common Horse- Chest-
nut which has been alluded to.

JE. GLABRA.
Although this species, like all the Horse-
Chestnuts, is handsome as regards its foliage,
it has no merit as a flowering-tree. The
racemes are not large,, nor are the flowers ;
and the latter are of an inconspicuous
greenish-yellow. It is a North American
species, and is most frequent in the Missis-
sippi Valley, where it is rarely more than
30 feet high ; it is now, however, a rare tree
in a. wild state. Its popular name is the
" Ohio Buckeye."

M. Hippocastanum.
The common Horse-Chestnut, in spite of the
species subsequently introduced, is still by far
the best as a park or avenue-tree. In breadth
and bulk, none of the other species approach
if, at least in this country. Nor in its
splendour as a flowering tree is it equalled by
any other of similar size that can be grown in
this country. For very long after its intro-
duction to Western Europe, over three centuries
ago.its native country couldouly be conjectured.
It was known to have reached more western
countries by way of Constantinople, and was
believed to have come originally from Northern
Asia. It has, however, been found to be a

native of the mountains of Northern Greece.
Of several varieties of the Horse-Chestnut in
commerce, the most noteworthy and useful is
the double- flowered one. The flowers of this
variety being very double, and the racemes of
large size, give it a very striking appearance,
and the blossoms remain longer in good con-
dition than those of the single forms. Var.
Schirenoferi is also double-flowered, but in
what way it differs from the old I have not
known it long enough to find out. The curious
variety known as laciniata, or aspleniifolia,
has its leaves divided into narrow lobes.
There are also variegated forms of no par-
ticular merit.

M. INDICA.
In its foliage this is one of the most striking
of the Horse-Chestnuts. The leaflets are more
numerous than in any other cultivated species,
being usually seven, and frequently as many
as nine, to each leaf. The leaflets are often
1 foot long, and the leaf-stalks a rich red
colour. There are some small trees at Kew
that have flowered occasionally, but they will
probably flower with more frequency and
freedom as they get older. The raceme is a
very fine one, being 8 to 10 inches long, erect,
and more slender than that of .F. Hippocas-
tanum ; the flowers are white, the upper petal
being marked with a yellow blotch, and the
lower ones tinged with rose. At Kew, the
Indian Horse-Chestnut has proved to be hardy,
although there is no doubt it likes a sheltered
spot. It comes from the Himalaya, and there
reaches a height of 00 to 70 feet, equalling
the common species in beauty when in flower.
Apparently it almost equals it in bulk as well,
for, according to Sir Joseph Hooker, it has a
trunk 3 feet in diameter.

-E. PARVIFLORA (= PAVIA MACEOSTACHYA,
Qard. Chron., 1877, ii., Ii57).

Whilst this species is usually seen in a
shrubby state, it does occasionally become
a small tree. Where space is limited, it is
the best of the .Esculus, as it usually
remains under 9 feet in height, and is of
compact, bushy form. Single specimens
are sometimes 15 feet or more in diameter.
The foliage is of a fine dark green, and is
handsome in form, rendering the species one
of the most striking of deciduous shrubs.
Flowering five or six weeks later than the
common Horse-Chestnut, it is not until late
July or August that it is at its best ; its
racemes are slender, erect, and numerously
furnished with pinkish-white flowers, a pro-
minent feature of which are the long, thread-
like, more deeply - tinted stamens. It is a
native of Eastern North America, where it is
found on the foot-hills of the Southern
Alleghanies. (See fig. 59, p. 189 ; and tig. GO,
p. ix.)

M. Pavia (Pavia rubra).

This species is often confounded with the
red-flowered varieties of M. flava, with which,
possibly, it has hybridised. The true plant
is somewhat rare. It is a shrub, usually low
and even straggling in habit, but it is perhaps
the richest coloured of all the -Esculus. The
flowers are not abundant on the racemes, but
are each 2 to 3 inches long, narrow, and of a
bright red. The leaves are small, and of a
shining dark green. It is a native of the
Southern United States, and is less hardy than
most of the American species.

.£. turbinata (= m. chinensis hort , not of
Bunge).

Little can be said of this species as yet, for
it is a comparatively recent introduction. It
flowered in Messrs. Veitchs' Coombe Wood
nursery last year, but was, 1 believe, dis-

appointing. However, it may improve with
age. It is perfectly hardy, as might indeed
be expected, for it comes from the Island o£
Yezo (Japan). It is remarkable for its fruits,
which are about 2 inches in. diameter, and
even more distinctly Pear-shaped than those
of M. californica (fig. 58, p. 187).

The tree known in European gardens as
-Esculus chinensis (or sinensis) is this Japanese
Horse-Chestnut. The plant figured in Gard.
Chron., 1889, v., p. 110, is also M. turbinata.
The true M. chinensis of Bunge has not, so far
as I am aware, been introduced to Europe. It
is quite distinct from M. turbinata, being
much more nearly allied to M. indica. The
accompanying figure was made from a speci-
men that flowered with Mr. Van Volxcm
thirteen years ago, under the erroneous name
of .F. sinensis. W. J. Bean, Keiv.

HIPPEASTETJMS.

Their Culture. — Our earliest-potted bul lis,
which were placed in an intermediate-house
after they were potted, are pushing up their
flower-shafts, and in the case of a collection
being an extensive one, which is divided into
two portions, the later portion of bulbs may
now have their annual repotting, assuming that
growth is dormant. Some gardeners repot I
only a portion of the bulbs annually ; more-
over, when many are grown, it is not conve-
nient to repot the entire stock, those tip-
dressed last season being the only repotted
ones. I prefer to repot annually, the plants
growing the stronger for it. A good turfy
loam which has been in stack for a year, two-
thirds, some spent Mushroom- bed manure, cne- ■
third, and silver-sand, form the potting soil.
The exhausted soil should be shaken from the fl
roots, then crock clean pots, putting rough ■
loam over the crocks, following this with a. j
handful of the soil, and make this firm, thei I
put in the bulb, spread out the roots, and let
some of the compost trickle in amongst them ;
make linn and fill up the pot to within an inch 1
of the rim, the shoulder of the bulb being
visible. Plunge, if convenient, in a mild hot-
bed, not far from the glass, and afford no
water before some amount of growth has taken
place, the water-syringe being sufficient at
the first. When the flower-spikes arc we 1
up out of the bulb, afford enough water as
will moisten the entire mass of soil, and after
this stage keep the soil consistently moist.

If the pots are plunged in a hot-bed, only a
moderate amount of water is required. It is
customary to surface the hot-bed with tanners'
bark or cocoa-fibre refuse. The plants may be
grown satisfactorily without a hot-bed. Afti r
flowering, place the bulbs in an intermediate-
house or a vinery, but not where the shade is
dense ; water in abundance should be applied
during growth, withholding it gradually when
the leaves show signs of ripening. At this
stage, fully expose them to sunshine, and
afford air freely ; they must be kept sate
from frost. A well-flowered Hippeastrnm
makes a useful vase plant, seldom failing to
excite admiration, if of. a good type. Bulbs
may now be bought fairly cheap ; but to those;
about to grow them, I wouldsuggest the buying
of a few good varieties. They cross readily,
and produce seed freely, and the raising of
seedlings is an interesting occupation. Seed-
lings flower when fully four years old, and
sometimes when three years old if the treat-
ment has been very good. Thrips are some-
times troublesome, but fumigating or sponging
with some insecticide will eradicate these ;
while if grown with other plants troubled
with scale, this parasite will attack them.
[Bulbs started very early in the year by the

March 22, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

189

FlO. 50.— KSf'I IIS PARVTFLORA (PAVIA MACROSTAOHYA). (SEE P. ISM.)

190

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 22, 1902.

aid of hot-bed frames can be flowered in April, of the species ; but seeing the two extremes

ripened off, rested, top-dressed, and flowered
again within the space of twelve months.
Such bulbs should not be started early the
next year. Ed.] T. H. Slade.

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

together, we perceive how untrustworthy even
what many would consider botanical differ-
ences are, although distinct species have been
made of plants with less clearly defined
differences.

CYPRIPEDIUM x EDMUND ROTHWELL.

The issue of American Gardening for March 1
gives an illustration of this distinct hybrid,
together with illustrations of the parents — C.
Hookerfe and C. Sallieri Hyeanum. The raiser,
Mr. J. E. Rothwell, gives an account of the
origin of the plant, which first flowered on
January 3 this year, six years from the
time the cross was made. He likewise gives
the following description : — " Dorsal sepal
primrose-yellow, darkest towards the base,
with a white margin. Petals rich butter-
yellow, with a strong suffusion of the purple
of the pollen parent (Hookene) over the lower
half, most intense at the extreme ends. In-
ferior sepal greenish, much the shape of
Hookerse. The staminode strongly resembles
the seed parent, Sallieri, a strong yellow in
colour. The pouch also resembles the seed
parent in shape, and is of a dark yellow,
suffused with a tawny colour. The spots of
Sallieri have entirely disappeared from the
dorsal, and the general appearance of the
flower is a decided improvement over those of
the parents, and yet it is quite intermediate."

A Twin-flowered Lycaste Skinneri.
On several occasions the extraordinary
vigour of the plants of Lycaste Skinneri in
Mr. J. Broome's garden at Llandudno has
been commented upon in this journal, and a
fresh sending of fine blooms discloses the fact
that the vigour of the plants has not decreased.
The largest flower is supported by a stem
13 inches in height, and the former is 7 inches
across. The others are nearly as large, and in
the case of one of them two large flowers are
growing on one spike, which present a strange
appearance, one flower being arranged almost
in front of the other on a foot-stalk 2 inches
in length. Flowers of a superb variety of
Dendrobium nobile, two distinct large forms
of Odontoglossum triumphans, O. Hallii xan-
thoglossum, and a bright yellow L»lia Cowani,
which seems to differ in the form of its lip
from L. flava, are also sent.

L/ELIA JONGHEANA VARIETIES.

This fine species bears very large flowers,
considering its dwarf habit, and some plants
are now in bloom in many gardens. The plant
thrives when it is suspended in a light
position from the roof of a cool intermediate
house. There is great variation in the colour
of the flowers, for apart from the occasional
albino, this ranges from blush-white to lilac
and bright purple, the extraordinary orange-
coloured, ridged crest being present in all,
but varying also in some degree. Two fine
flowers, each about 7 inches across, the one
of a pale lilac tint, and the other tinged and
veined with dark rose-purple, are kindly sent
by J. Broome, Esq., Sunny Hill, Llandudno,
exhibit structural differences in a marked
degree. The darker flower has the wavy-
edged, middle lobe of the lip gradually taper-
ing to the apex, and continuous with the
margins of the side lobes, with no perceptible
cleft between them. The lighter flower has
the middle lobe crimped and broadly ovate,
and distinctly separated from the side lobes
by a cleft ^ inch in length on each side.
Deviation in this respect in some degree is
noticeable wherever there are several plants

PLANT NOTES.

-+-

TORENIAS.

The genus Torenia contains some very
beautiful species of dwarf-growing greenhouse
plants. They are of easy culture, and the
plants when in flower are very decorative.

The two best all-round species are T. asiatica
and T. Fournieri, both of which are robust in
constitution and remarkable for flowering
freely throughout the summer months.

There are two methods by which the re-
quired number of plants may be raised. First
by sowing seed in the month of April, and
when the young plants are sufficiently large,
pricking them off singly, and growing them on
quickly in a temperate-house ; or secondly, by
striking cuttings of the young shoots when
procurable. If these be inserted in a light,
sandy soil, and covered with a bell-glass, roots
will very quickly be emitted. An essential
point to bear in mind in growing these soft-
wooded subjects is to give them every en-
couragement to grow away freely, without
check of any kind. Maintain a genial atmo-
sphere about them, and afford frequent
syringings, especially on hot, dry days.

A compost I have found very suitable for
Torenias is one consisting of one-third loam,
one part of flaky leaf-soil (not sifted too
finely), and the remaining part Mushroom-bed
refuse and sand.

T. Fournieri is of more upright growth than
T. asiatica, and is well adapted for growing in
pots, though the species is sometimes culti-
vated in hanging baskets, and when well-
grown, the Torenias are excellent subjects for
this purpose, provided copious supplies of
water be afforded them in hot weather, by
immersing them in a vessel of water. This
method of watering will check the progress of
insect pests to some extent.

Thrips and red-spider will sometimes attack
Torenias, but with slight fumigations, or sy-
ringings with weak insecticides before the
flowering stage, they will not do much harm.
When the flowers appear, keep the plants near
to the light, and discontinue overhead syring-
ings. At this period the plants may be removed
to an airy structure that is shaded during the
hottest part of the day. The Torenias make
very beautiful room-plants, and are not quickly
injured by being placed in them. H. T. Martin,
Stoneleigh Abbey Gardens, Kenilworth.

sets were all stood on end in shallow boxes as
advised in a former Calendar, the shoots will
be sturdy and strong, and should be reduced
to two or three of the stronger, in the same
way as were those planted in frames. The
object with the earliest crop of Potatos is
the production of tubers of a goodly size
for the table without wasting the energies
of the plants in producing a host of very small
tubers useless for consumption, which is the
case when all the shoots are left. If the
border was well prepared by trenching and
manuring in early winter, it will be in fine
condition for planting with a dibber, a method
I prefer, as it economises labour, and avoids
much disturbance of the soil. Heavy soils are
the better for being thrown into ridges when
dug, and these should be levelled, unless the
ridges run north by south. The handiest way
is to plant in the furrows. A Potato-dibber
should be made about 15 inches long and
about 3 inches thick. It should be made of
hard wood, as Yew-tree branch or Boxwood,
and should have a spur of a smaller branch
on the top of it to fit between the thumb
and forefinger. The sets should not be placed
deeper than 4 inches.

Autumn-planted Cabbages. — When the surface
is dry and the day fine, put the hoe through
the Cabbage-beds, and pick up all the chick-
weed and other weeds of any size. The hoeing
will check the growth of weeds, and aerate
the soil. If the land be of a light nature, make
it firm about the plants by trampling round
each, all Brassicas succeeding best in a firm
soil, and more especially Cabbages.

Broad Beans. — Early Long-pod Beans, sown
in boxes as advised in the month of January,
should now be standing in cold frames ; and
after a few days of full exposure by having
the lights removed, on the first spell of
mild weather set out the plants in shallow
trenches on a warm border, in double lines,
the plants standing at 1 foot apart in the line,
and the trenches drawn at 4 feet apart.
Another sowing of a Long-pod variety may be
made forthwith on a warm border, and at the
same distances apart as those planted out,
and also in shallow trenches. Failing an
available border, sow in the open quarter.

The Week's Work.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Theton, Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Planting Potatos. — The planting of early
Potatos is a matter which is just now occupying
the attention of most gardeners. The earliest
crop is obtained from south borders, sheltered
on the north by a wall or high building ; and
on such sites skeleton frames can be fixed for
supporting mats or other protecting material
when frost threatens in May. Sufficient
ground should now be planted to ensure a
supply of tubers for the table till those that
will be planted a month hence come into use.
As an early variety to plant outside and under
glass, I prefer Ringleader, which I grow ex-
clusively for this purpose. Assuming that the

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. p. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gattoi
Park, Reigate.

Odontoglossum citvosmum. — These plants a:
pushing up their growths, and should be
afforded a little more water than they have
hitherto received since October, but let there
be no forcing of growth till the flower-spikes
appear. The good flowering of the plant
depends on the treatment afforded in the rest
season. At that season they should be exposed
to full sunlight, and the ventilation should be
ample till the flower-spikes appear ; they should
also have a large amount of sunshine, and
water be gradually increased in quantity.

Potting.— After flowering is over is the best
time to repot the plants should it be required,
not disturbing them unless the materials are
in a bad condition. The compost may consist
of turfy peat two-thirds, and chopped sphagnum
moss one-third. Pans are to be preferred to
pots, as these can be easily suspended on
account of the pendulous spikes, and hung
close to the glass. The drainage should be
good. At repotting, remove the back pseudo-
bulbs with the exception of two behind the
leading one. When growing freely after
flowering, apply water abundantly, and syringe
them overhead on bright days. If placed in
an intermediate-house and afforded a good rest
during the winter months, with sunshine, no
difficulty will be experienced in flowering this
species of Odontoglossum.

Compost and Drainage.— A compost of two"
quarters fibre peat, one-quarter clean chopped
sphagnum-moss, one-quarter good leaf soil, well
mixed together, will prove a very suitable
mixture. I do not advise the use of any crocks
in potting Odontoglossums ; the rhizomes from
the peat make an ideal drainage. I am firmly

:

he

March 22, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

191

convinced the introduction of rhizomes in
place of crocks for drainage, is one of the
greatest advances ever made in the culture of
Odontoglossums. The pots should be filled to
the extent of one-third with chopped rhizomes ;
do not pot too firmly, and keep the base of
the plant below the level of the rim of pot.
Finish the operation by inserting two or three
clumps of live sphagnum-moss. I do not
believe in covering the whole of the surface
with sphagnum. Newly-potted plants at any
season require careful watering till the growth
gets advanced ; it is when the plant is growing
fast, and the roots are very active, they
require water freely.

Tluinias. — It is advisable to shake out and
repot these plants annually, using a compost
of fibry loam one-half, peat one-quarter, leaf-
soil one-quarter, with a sprinkling of coarse
silver sand, and crocks broken small. The
pots should be filled to about one-third their
depth full with clean crocks, and over these
put some of the rougher potting material. The
proper time for repotting, as with most things,
is when the young growths are becoming
visible. Remove most of the old roots, leaving
just enough to steady the plant ; pot firmly
and keep the surface of the compost below the
rim of the pot, making the plant secure to a
neat stake. The plants will require very little
water until the young growths push forth roots,
when the supply may be increased. Thunias
should be grown quickly, and have plenty of
sunshine, which will cause them to flower freely
and will strengthen the growths. A place in
the Dendrobium-house close to the glass will
suit them. I have grown them successfully,
hung up close to the glass, in a Croton-house,
and if the plants are started without shade,
and not allowed to become dry after plenty of
roots have formed, no sunshine will injuriously
affect them before the middle of April.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke op
Buccleuch, Dalkeith.

Melons planted at the beginning of this
month in the warmest and sunniest part of
a forcing house, will require no water at the
roots nor any syringing for a time, moist atmo-
sphere sufficing for them. Melons require a
heavy soil mixed with lime-rubbish, not rotten
dung. Earlier sown Melons, now at the
fruiting stage, may be afforded a steady
bottom-heat of 85°, and a drier atmosphere
about them. Pollinate the female flowers
with pollen during sunshine, after making
sure there is the required number of female
flowers upon the plant, that they may all swell
alike when the crop is set. Afford a good
application of manure-water, but leave a por-
tion round the collar of the plant C inches
wide not watered. Melon-plants will now be
showing the roots on the surface of the soil,
and a top-dressing should be applied, con-
taining a little artificial-manure, and mulch
with horse-droppings. Temperature by night
70°, by day 80° to 85°.

Muscat of Alexandria Vines started at the
beginning of January, being now in flower,
require a night temperature of 70% and two
or three degrees warmer if the weather be
mild. During the day, with sun-heat, the
temperature may run up to near 90°, and keep
the air of the house moist. Fresh air should
be admitted in small quantities evenly over
the house. Distribute the pollen by gently
tapping the trellis, or drawing the hand over
the bundles of flowers. Do not thin the fruit so
early as Haniburghs are done, but wait until
it can be seen which berries will swell kindly.
Muscats throw an abundanco of bunches, but
for all that avoid heavy cropping. Attend
frequently to the stopping and regulating ; do
not permit the growths to be too numerous,
and in removing them do this gradually. Keep
all the main foliage clean and healthy. Syring-
ing must lie discontinued whilst the Vines are
in flower, but throw plenty of water about the
house, occasionally using manure-water for the
purpose. Jf tho roots are at the surface,

afford one or two sprinklings of Thom-
son's Vine - manure oil the inside border
after the fruit is set, and apply water after-
wards. Want of proper nourishment induces
red-spider quicker than auything. Muscats
require a mean temperature of 70° to 75° all
through. Muscat Vines now breaking into
growth will require a temperature at night of
60° or 65°, according to the state of the weather,
shutting up in the afternoons with sun-heat
80° or 85°. Syringe the Vines twice daily, and
by damping the paths and other surfaces keep
the air moist. Young Muscat Vines coming
into bearing, if progressing, will have strong
wood, and will require to be kept in a tem-
perature as low as 50°, to induce the eyes
to break equally. No attempt should be made
to force such Vines, whether Muscats or other
variety.

Late Vineries should now be started, so that
the fruit may ripen by the end of September.
If there is a considerable depth of surface-soil
on the border, and no roots in it, remove
this and top dress with finely-chopped turfy
loam,' adding a spadeful each of bone-meal
and Thomson's Vine-manure to every wheel-
barrowful of loam. Afford the inside border a
thorough application of water before applying
the top-dressing.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Matne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Kolle,
Bicton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Bush-fruit Quarters.— The dressing of the
bushes that were pruned lately should be
carried out with well -decayed pig or cow-
dung, and the ground lightly dug with a fork
before the wind carries its manurial properties
away. I have the ground dug close up to the
stems of the bushes, the continual trampling
on the ground when gathering the fruit making
the 'soil quite hard. The soil round about
newly-planted bushes is not touched. Bushes
that are top heavy should be provided with a
stout stake about 2-J feet long, 1 foot of which
should stand above the soil, and to this the
stem should bo fastened with willow twigs or
tarred string. Bush quarters dug over at an
earlier date should be stirred with the flat
hoe in dry weather, as should also the Rasp-
berry quarter. Where it is the custom to
lightly dig the soil between Strawberries, in
order to bury the dressing of manure, the
work should be carried out forthwith ; and as
the plants are now making growth, any withered
or decayed foliage should bo removed before
tho digging is begun. At Bicton the plants
have not suffered nearly so much as in some
seasons, but up to the present we have had
very little east wind.

The Fruit Room. — The stock of fruits should
bo examined weekly, and fruits removed that
show any signs of decay — and though lato
varieties of Pears and Apples in general are
keeping well this season, there arc sure to be
some that are rotting. As the rcgrafting of
worthless varieties with better will now be in
full swing, it may not be amiss to enumerate
some, the good keeping qualities of which have
been proved for some years past. Among des-
sert Apples, Blenheim Orange Pippin, Adams'
Pearmain, Scarlet Nonpareil, King of Tompkins
County, Baumann's Red Reinette, Ribston
Pippin, and Stunner Pippin, are still plump ;
and of culinary Apples, Bramley's Seedling,
Newton Wonder, Beauty of Kent, Rymer, Wad-
hurst Pippin, Alfriston, Annie Elizabeth, The
Sandringham, Norfolk Beefing, Tower of
Glamis, Betty Geeson, and Dnmelow's Seed-
ling, are still very good.

Salpiglossis, Phlox Drummondi, and Zinnias,
should be sown at about this date on a mild
hot-bed, having an even covering of finely
sifted soil 2 inches deep, made smooth and
thoroughly moistened. The seeds should be
thinly broadcasted, and covered with finely
sifted soil to the depth of J inch, shading the
soil till germination has taken place ; and the
seedlings should not be allowed to flag or even
become dry. With regard to Zinnias, when,
the seedlings are large enough to be pricked
off, they should be placed in moderately-rich
soil, singly in 60's, or three in a 48-sized pot.

Violas struck from cuttings last autumn, if
hardened off, may now be planted out>of-doors
where they are to flower. The soil for Violets
should receive a dressing of charred garden
refuse, as in this substance the Violet roots
freely, makes fine large clumps in a short
space of time, and if a slightly shaded position
can be afforded, the flowering will be much
prolonged.

Calceolarias. — These plants, if well rooted,
should be transplanted to cold frames at about
5 inches apart, the soil used being loam two-
thirds, spent Mushroom-dung one-third, to
which some sharp sand must be added. Keep
the frames close for about a week after trans-
planting, then expose the plants gradually to
the air, and do not stint them for water when
growing. Only when frost threatens is there
any need to cover the frames at night.

Bedding Hyacinths. — The flower-heads have
just come through the soil, and will need some
sort of protection against frost, such as would
be afforded by spreading cocoa-nut fibre refuse
1 inch thick over the beds, which might remain
till the flowering period is over. This layer
preserves the flowers from being splashed by
the rain, which spoils the white and light
coloured varieties.

Eellcborus plants gone out of flower should
be mulched with rotten manure. Hellebores
are impatient of removal, but if additional
clumps are desired, some of the larger clumps
may be dug up now and divided, and the divi-
sions planted in trenched ground in a moist,
partially shaded situation. If the soil is re-
tentive, put in plenty of drainage materials
below the plants. Hybrids of H. • orientalis
now in flower should be protected from rain by
means of handlights or bell-glasses.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadooan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Seeds. — Numerous seeds of annuals will have
to be sown during the next six weeks, most of
which may be raised in cold pits furnished
with moveable sashes; the varieties that are
quite hardy in beds or patches in the open, in
well prepared soil, sowing when the weather
is line, and the soil in a fairly dry condition.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mundy, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Eucharis. — Those plants potted as recom-
mended some few weeks back now require to
have water carefully afforded, as excess at
this period would be injurious to any roots
that are just beginning to seize upon the new
soil; and it is this which makes the repotting-
of healthy Eucharis unpopular with gardeners.
Atmospheric conditions should be watched,
for the hot, steamy atmosphere that some
gardeners maintain and advise is bad for the
new leaves, which, under such conditions are
thin, and endure but badly. Shade is necessary,,
but it should be accompanied by suflicieut ven-
tilation. The best plants of Eucharis grandi-
flora (amazonica) I have ever grown were kept
in a healthy and vigorous condition under the
shade of a fan-trained Fig-tree during t he-
greater part of the year, the abundant mois-
ture accompanied by free ventilation necessary
for the Figs suiting the Eucharis admirably;
and these plants remained in excellent condi-
tion without spot or blemish for many years
under my charge. I mention this faot, here,
as showing the exact conditions I would main-
tain for Eucharis generally, which will produce
abundant leaves of a leathery texture, not
likely to succumb to any fluctuations to which
tho plants may bo exposed.

Deuteias which have flowered should have
much of tho old wood cut hard back, in some
cases almost to the level of the soil, and be
placed in a forcing-house. New shoots will
soon form, which will flower much teller, ami
bo more useful than the usual thicket of old
wood which the plant so often presents.

1(2

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 22, 190*

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER
Letters for Publication, as well as specimens and plants
for naming, should be addressed to tfw EDITOR-
41, Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London,
Communications shouhi^be written on one side only or
the paper, sent as early in the week as possible, and duly
tigned by the writer. If desired, the signature will not bt
printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.

Newspapers. — Correspondents sending neicsp-apers should be
C ireful to mark the paragraphs they wish the Editor to see.

il strations.— The Editor will thankfully recent and select
photographs or draxeings, suitable for reproduction, of
gardens, or of remarkable plants, flowers, trees, <frc. ; but he
cannot be responsible for loss or injury.

Special Notice to Correspondents.— The Editor does not
undertake to pay for any contributions •■<■ illnstrat
to return the unused communications or illustrations,
unless by special arrangement.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

Mar. 2:i

I Exhibition of Hardy Trees and
I Shrubs at Boskoop.

Mar as ' KoTal Horticultural Society,
( Committees Meeting.

WEDNESDAY, MAB.S6 ■' To''<l>Ia>' Gardener,' Society
( Spring Show.

SUNDAY.

TUESDAY,

FRIDAY,

Mar. 2? -Good Friday.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

MON'DAY, Mar. 24.—

Roses. Hardv Plants, &c, by Protheroe & Morris,
at 12.0.

TUESDAY, Mar. 25.—

Collection of Orchids, by the late E. Hopper. Esq.,
at 67, Cheapside. by Protheroe <fc Morris, at 12. Jo —
Roses and other Plants, by Pollexten & Co.

WEDNESDAY, Mar. 2«—

Azaleas, Palms, &c, by Protheroe & Morris, at 12.
Odontoglossum crispum, bv Protheroe «fc Morris, at
12 30.— Palms, Decorative Plants, Roses, <fce , by Mr.
J. C. Stevens, at 12. 30.— Palms, Roses. Carnations,
Azaleas, Rhododendrons. Ac , at Stevens Rooms,
at 12.3 ■. — Roses. Bays, Palms, &e . at Pollexfen £
Co.'s Rooms, at 12-30.

{ For further particulars see our Advertisement column*.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick

-ur.

Actual Temperatures :—

London- March 19 (tj p.m ) : Max. Si-'; Min. 41".

March 2i'.— Rainy, colder.
Provinces— March 19 (6 p.m.) : Max. 51', S. Mid-
lands : Min. 3v", Orkneys.

The Before this issue can reach

Horticultural the reader's hands, it is pro-
HalL bable that the Horticultural

Hall scheme— if associated with a great
International Exhibition, so much the
better— will have been accepted, rejected,
or its consideration postponed. We have
already laid before our readers the reason-
why, in our opinion, it should be accepted.
We have reason to know that the advisory
committee, presided over by Baron Schroder.
and comprising several members of the
Council, was unanimous in its recommenda-
tion of the site in Vincent Square, as the
most suitable locality for the erection of the
proposed Hall. Postponement would be
highly inconvenient— perhaps fatal; rejec-
tion seems to us, in the circumstances.
scarcely po-^ible.

The only alternative scheme, so far as we
know, is the formation of a new garden.
The very formidable objections to such
garden-schemes as were formulated last
year need not be repeated. They remain in
full force.

A properly-equipped research-garden, or
experimental-station, directed by a scientific-
investigator, such as may be counted by the
score in the United States and Germany. is
<[iiite another matter. This need not inter-
fere with the present garden operations.
But it will be time to consider these matters
when the question at present before the
Fellows is settled. One thing at a time.

The PSOPOSID Hall.— As it is the unexpected
that freq'ieutly happens, any scheme that may be
submitted by the Council should have the fullest dis-
cussion, even if more than one meeting be necessary.
Moreover, Fellows resident some distance from London
should have an opportunity of expressing their
opinions. We as fully appreciate the importance of
the Society having a suitable building in which to
conduct its business, house the magnificent library
under its charge, and hold its meetings and minor
exhibitions, as the most strenuous advocate of a horti-
cultural hall : but we are extremely anxious that the
Society should not be crushed by bricks and mortar,
or be so crippled as to be unable to maintain an
experimental garden in a full state of efficiency.
Gardeners' Magazine.

We found the place without llie slightest diffi-
culty, and discovered that all tha» had teen said in
favour of the site was no elaboration, and that the
place is. in the highest sense, eminently satisfactory.
The corner of Bell Street proposed to be rented for the
hall, seems to be at present a goodly sized garden
belonging to a villa standing alone. Being walled-
in. the space cannot be seen from tlie street.
It is a most convenient position, however, and
is exactly at the corner where Bell Street
meets Vincent - Square Road at right angles.
Vincent Square, by the way. is really a ten acre green
grass park or playing-field, used by the boys of West-
minster School. Thus, right in front, there is ample
freedom and a pleasant survey. Bell Street, at present,
is composed of low-roofed houses, and tenanted by
labouring people, but the whole neigiibourhood is
highly respectable even now. and is yearly being re-
modelled into one where handsome residential
flats, churches, and such other buildings form the
composition.

Fellows of the Society who desire to see the ground
and its surroundings before voting at the meeting on
the 21st, can do so by a three-minutes' walk from the
present exhibition hall in Buckingham Gate. Cross
into Artillery Row (which is exactly opposite Bucking-
ham Gate), and at the bottom of the street bear round
to the left behind the Army and Navy Stores, where
there is a wide, open, paved space. Here take the
right hand and cross into Greycoat Street, on the left,
this leading into Bell Street, at the end of which the
site lies. The whole distance is not more than too yards.

It is earnestly hoped that Fellows who support the
proposed new Hall movement will be forward at
the meeting in the Drill Hall at 3 o'clock, and that
at last the Society will sign its intentions to take
the necessary steps towards the erection of a suitable
edifice for its floral exhibitions, its library, offices,
lecture-hall, and council chamber. £-.000 have already
been promised, and at least another £3,000 can be
expected by an appeal to the 5,500 Fellows, without
touching the standing funds of the Society at all. The
expenditure of £7-o a year extra on ground-rent for
the proposed Hall is a mere bagatelle in face of the
constant accession of Fellows, and also in view of the
likely attractions of such a Hall. Journal oj I!

The Royal Horticultural Society's
Committees, will meet on Tuesday next,
March 25, in the Drill Hall. Buckingham
Gate. Westminster. A lecture on " The
Defences of Plants," wil! be given by Professor
Caur, at 3 p.m.

At the Narcissus Committee meeting at

the Drill Hall, on Tuesday, March 25, a dis-
cussion will take place en the Daffodil-fly,
Merodou equestris.

At a general meeting of the Royal

Horticultural Society, held on Tuesday,
March 11, fifty new Fellows were elected,
amongst them being Lord Hiilingdox, Lady
Millais, Lady Margaret Douglas. Major
H. A. CUMMINS, Major L. H. Prioleau. and
Capt. W. O. Cantley. making a total of :!0.">
elected since the beginning of the present
year.

Examination in Horticultckk. —The

Royal Horticultural Society's Annual Examina-
tion in the Principles and Practice of Horticul-
ture, will be held on Wednesday, April "23.
Intending candidates are requested to send in
their names to the Secretary, Royal Horti-
cultural Society, 117, Victoria Street. London;
S.W., as early as possible. A stamped and
directed envelope must be enclosed with all
communications requiring a reply.

Mr. J. G. Baker has been lecturing in
Ireland, and inspecting the botanical collec-
tions near Dublin. The Royal Irish Academy
made him an honorary member on the occasion.

The Scottish Horticultural Associa-
tion has just published its Transactions, in-
cluding a copy of the Constitution and bye-
laws, the Syllabus for session 1902, and the
twenty -fifth annual report. : Abstracts are
also published from the following papers de-
livered during the past year: — The Gladioli,
by W. Kelway ; The Root Management of
Apples and Pears, by M. Temple ; Spring Bed-
ding, by John Cumming ; The Florist and his
Flowers, by J. Forbes; Pear Culture for Scot-
land, by J. Cunnison ; The Cultivation of the
Malmaison Carnation, by D. Kidd ; Judging at
Country Shows, by James Bird ; Roses for
Garden Decoration, by Geo. Gordon ; Public
Parks, by Jas. Dobbie ; The Tomato, by C.
Blair ; and Palms, by Geo. Wood. The Asso-
ciation has now more than 1100 members, and
may be congratulated on its healthy and
energetic condition. The meetings are held
at No. 5, St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, on
the first Tuesday of each month, at 7.30 p.m.,
excepting in January, when the meeting is on
the second Tuesday. The Secretary is Mr.
Peter Loney, 0, Carlton Street, Edinburgh.

The Surveyors' Institution.— The next
ordinary general meeting will be held in the
Lecture Hall of the Institution on Monday,
March 24, when the adjourned discussion on
Mr. C. H. Bedell's paper, read at the meeting
of the 10th instant, entitled " The Insurance
of Buildings against Fire," will be resumed.
The chair will be taken at 8 o'clock. The
Institution will be closed froa Thursday
evening, March 27, to Wednesday morning,
April 2.

An Annual Ailanthus ? — In a communi-
cation to the Popular Science Recieiv for July,
1S72, was mentioned an instance wherein a
shoot was produced from the root or under-
ground branch of Ailanthus glandulosa. The
shoot was only about a foot in height. Beneath
it bore simple leaves, which passed gradually
into pinnate leaves, these latter being suc-
ceeded by simple leaves at the base of a
perfect inflorescence. We have now received
some seedlings of the same species from Mr.
Dinter, the Superintendent of the Forest
Station at Brakwater, German South-west
Africa, which show an even greater degree of
precocious flowering. The seedling plants are
only 2 or 3 inches in height. In some cases
the cotyledons still remain, and the foliage
shows the same transition from the simple to
the pinnate form, and while the lower leaves
are alternate, the upper ones are opposite;
gnd the stem, as in the former case, is termi-
nated by an inflorescence of perfect flowers.
Here, then, we have a plant which is usually a
tree, not producing its flowers till it has
attained a considerable height and an age
reckoned in decades of years, hurrying through
its li e like an annual, and suggesting, as Mr.
Dinter says, the possibility of the ancestors
of the Ailanthus having been annuals. Mr.
Dinter does not tell us the conditions under
which these seedling Ailanthus grew, but wc
can recall a similar instance in the case of a
Philadelphus in our own garden, where a seed-
ling plant grew from a chink between two
glazed tiles under unpropitious circumstances,
but produced cotyledons, leaves, and one ter-
minal flower, though the whole plant was only
about 1 inch long.

Early Flowers. — Mr. Divers, gardener to
the Dike of Rutland, Belvoir, writes of these :
" Since the frost of February disappeared, we
have had a great awakening among the early
plants and shrubs, and although later than
usual in commencing, several of them are now
quite gay with flowers, viz., Rhododendron

March 22, 1902.]

THE GARD ENER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

193

pifeeox, R. dahuricum, R. altaclarense, R.
Nobleanum, and R. Jacksoni, which are making
the-gardens look quite bright ; and although
liable to have their blossoms killed by the
first frost, they should always be planted
plentifully if the soil can be made to suit
them. Forsythia suspensa on a south wall is
a sheet of golden blossoms ; and close by a
plant of Cydonia japonica has to-day (Mar. 15)
opened its first flowers ; an ordinary March
frost does not injure these. Of lowlier growth,
but not less pleasing, Scilla bifolia and Iris
reticulata are in full bloom ; the same may be
/said of Anemone blanda, which sometimes
commences early in December. Of varying
shades of purple, these plants look best if
kept at a distance apart, and the same rule
applies to Chionodoxa Lucilire, C. sardensis,
and Scilla sibirica, which are now commencing
to open. With the exception of Anemone
blanda, none of these show to advantage the
first year after planting, even when every
possible care is taken ; they always look best
after three or four years' growth in one posi-
tion, when the flowers appear in quantity and
form compact masses. Anemone fulgens,
which sometimes gives us a good quantity of
flowers in January, only opened its first bloom
on March 6 this year ; but it will soon be a
mass of scarlet — a broad row 400 feet long
will be in bloom in a fortnight. This is one of
the most useful hardy flowers we have, easily
grown, perfectly hardy, free flowering, keep-
ing up a good succession, lasting well in
water when cut, and of a colour which I have
never heard anyone object to at this season.
"Unfortunately for me, pheasants are very fond
•of it in every part — roots, leaves, and flowers :
they will destroy all that they can reach, and
as the birds are not to be frightened away by
anything, I can only grow Anemone fulgens
and A. blanda in the kitchen-garden, but were
it otherwise, some good beds of these plants
about the flower gardens would give a wel-
come mass of colour for several weeks."

William Cutbush & Son.— A paragraph
lias gone the round of the papers, announcing
the death at Highgate, by suicide, of William
Cutbush, "the well-known florist." We are
happy to state that the report does not apply
to any member of the well-known firm of
nurserymen at Highgate, but to a newsvendor
of the same name.

Middlesex County School of Horti-
culture.— A scholarship at the above school
of the value of £25 for one year, and renew-
able for a second year, has been awarded to
Leonard M. Young, of 51, Leicester Road,
East Pinchley, N.

The Southern Counties Carnation
Society.— The fourth annual report of this
Society, has just been issued. In addition to
a detailed report of last season's show, the
pamphlet contains a very interesting letter
from Mr. Martin R. Smith, upon the breeding
of new varieties of Carnations, and articles
from other well-known Carnation growers,
upon "Carnation and Picotee Shows," "Carna-
tions in Scotland," "Flakes, Bizarres, and
Picotees," "The Carnation in 1901," " Carna-
tioa Lore," and "A Paper for those com-
mencing to grow Carnations." A list of
yellow-ground Picotees and Fancies as classi-
fied by the National Carnation and Picotee
Society, is included, and a schedule of the
prizes to be offered at the forthcoming show of
the Southern Counties Carnation Society, to
be held on a date about the middle of July.
There are twenty-five classes for Carnations
and Picotees, and particular attention is
drawn to a class for six blooms of any variety

of Carnation or Picotee, to be shown in
bottles, tins, or glasses, with not less than six
inches of stem, without paper collars, &c. ;
a burst calyx will disqualify a flower. The
Hon. Secretary is Mr. W. Garton, jun., York
Buildings, Southampton.

"The Profitable Farm and Garden." —
The second annual volume of our contempo-
rary, The Profitable Farm and Garden, edited
by Mr. T. W. Sanders, is now before us. It
deals with live stock, horses, dairy farming,
poultry keeping, market gardening, bee-keep-
ing, and other profitable industries connected
with the land. The weekly parts bound form
a bulky tome full of information, and abun-
dantly illustrated in black and white, and
with coloured plates. We commend the book
to all interested in the subjects of which it
treats. The publishers are Messrs. W. H. &
L. Collingridge, Aldersgate Street.

The Fruiterers' Company. — A prize of
-o guineas, together with a Gold Medal, is
offered by the Worshipful Company of Fruit-
erers for the best essay on "Gathering, Pre-
paring, Packing, and Profitably Disposing of
Home-grown Fruit and Vegetables by Cottagers
and others with Small Holdings." The essay is
not to exceed 25,000 words in length, and is
to be addressed to the Clerk of the Worshipful
Company of Fruiterers (John Eagleton, Esq.),
40, Chancery Lane, W.C., not later than
October 1, 1902. Intending competitors
should write to the above address for full
conditions.

Reading College. — An excellent summary
of information relating to the nature and
mode of application of manures to various
crops has been prepared by Mr. Douglas A.
Gilchrist. It should be studied by farmers
and market gardeners. We presume it may
be had for a small sum on application to the
author, Reading College.

The Almond. — The first expanded bloom
noticed at Ealing was on March 15, the same
date as last year.

" Bachelor's Button." — We like popular
names, they are so easy and so exact in their
application. Just so ! Here is our con-
temporary Indian Gardening informing us
that in India the Globe Amaranth, Gomphrena
globosa, is universally called Bachelor's
Button.

American Carnation Society. — The an-
nual meeting of this Society held at Indiano-
polis, February 19 and 20, was very successful,
and would have been more so had it not been
for a violent storm which delayed the trains
and prevented some exhibitors altogether
from reaching their destination.

AdditiontoEpping Forest.— At last week's
Court of Common Council, a communication
was read from Mr. G. BUXTON, relative tj the
purchase by him of the rights of the Lord of
the Manor of Theydon Bois, which includes
the greater part of Bell Common, Epping, and
the waste land along the Ivy Chimnies Road,
and offering to present the same to the
Corporation of London, in order that it might
form a part of Epping Forest. Needless to
say. the offer was gratefully accepted.

Nursery and Seed Trade Association. —
The annual meeting of this Association was
held on Tuesday, the 11th inst., at the
offices of the Association, 30, Wood Street,
Cheapside, E.C. Mr. John HARRISON, of the
lirm of Messrs. Harrison & Sons, Leicester,
was the Chaiiman. The twenty-fifth annual

report and balance-sheet was read and adopted,
and the President, officers, and members of the
Association for last year were re-elected for
the present year.

Honours to Horticulturists.— Wo are
glad to hear that M. Bols, the Secretary-Editor
of the National Horticultural Society of France,
has been nominated a Chevalier of the Legion
of Honour. M. Georges Truffaut has also
been nominated as Officer d'Academie.

Colonial Fruit Season, 1902.— We have
received advice by telegraph from Sydney of
the following shipment of fruit : — per Orient
Co.'s Ophir (expected to arrive here about
April 12), 22,000 boxes ; per P. & O. Co.'s
vessel India (expected about April 19), 25,000
boxes ; per White Star Medoe (expected to
arrive about April 19), 18,000 boxes, including
7,600 for Liverpool.

The Cardiff and County Horticultural
Society's schedule of prizes to be offered at
the next annual exhibition on July 23 and 24
has just reached us. There are 104 classes for
plants, flowers, fruits, and vegetables, in
addition to forty classes which are exclusively
for amateurs. The exhibitions are held by
permission of the Marquis of Bute in the
Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. The Secretary is
Mr. Harry Gillett, 60, Woodville Road,
Cardiff.

The Bradford Horticultural Society's
exhibition, to be held on August 29 and 30
next, will consist of plants in pots, cut flowers,
fruits, and vegetables. The schedule before
us contains 109 competitive classes. The Hon.
Secretary is Mr. W. D. B. Pearson, Peel
Park Hotel, Bradford.

Shedding of Hyacinth Flowers. — A
correspondent sends us several specimens in
which the spike falls off in the most disappoint-
ing way. It is not at all uncommon, and is
the result of irregular or disproportionate
growth. The flower-stalk grows too fast, and
is nipped off at the base by the unyielding
scales of the bulb, between which it is thrust up.

"Nature Study Journal." — Wye College,
Kent, an old grammar school, now devoted to
other purposes, is certainly a progressive
establishment, and one from which we hope
much. One of the latest developments is the
publication of a Nature Study Journal, giving
hints to teachers as to the readiest means of
getting children to use their eyes and their
brains, of interesting them in what is going
on around them, and of furnishing them with
information which will eventually be of direct
service to them in their occupations.

" Familiar Wild Flowers." — This publi-
cation, arranged by Mr. F. E. Hulme, con-
tinues to be very popular, and a new and
enlarged series is now being brought out.
The first part contains a plate and description
of the Evening Primrose ((Enothera biennis),
an importation, and not a wild flower; Butter-
bur (Petasites vulgaris), Hare's-foot Trefoil
(Trifoliumarvense),Hogweed(Herai-leumsphon-
dyliuui), Bird's-eye Primrose (Primula fariuosal,
Dyer's Greenweed (Genista tinctoria), Ivy
(Hedera helix), Black Horehound (Ballota
nigra), Gladdon (Iris fo?tidissima), and Hem-
lock Water - Dropwort ((Enanthe crocata).
"Familiar'' wild flowers have English names,
but these, unfortunately, are not always
familiar, and vary with locality, so are not
always helpful. This bright little publication
is sent out by Gassell & Co.

Carnation Anthracnose. — During the
past few weeks several specimens of diseased
Carnations have been sent to the Gardeners'
Chronicle, and to the Scientific Committee, which

194

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 22, 1902.

have been rather fpnzzling to determine on ac-
count of imperfect development, with the ex-
ception of [those suffering from the presumed
Bacteriosis, -which correspond to the American
diagnosis. Specimens recently 'sent, in good
quantity, -were fortunately better developed,
and exhibit the ravages of a parasite new to
this country, and apparently before unde-
scribed. It is of the kind known in the United
States by the general name of Anthracnose, and
is in all cases a destructive pest. The leaves
are at first spotted with small purple roundish
spots. These gradually enlarge and become
confluent and indeterminate, and at length
brownish in the centre. Meanwhile the leaves
become sickly, and commence to die off at the
tips. The pustules are not to be distinguished
by the naked'eye, and scarcely by the aid of a
lens. Cells beneath the cuticle supply the
place of definite receptacles, and in them a
large number of elliptical hyaline sporules
(ten to twelve by five m) are produced, which
escape through the fissured cuticle. At length
the cuticle about the orifice turns pallid, and
appears as a pale dot on the purple spots. No
described species of Glseosporium has been
found which answers to this diagnosis, and
hence we have called it —

GUeosporium DianlhV. (Cooke).— Amphigenous spots at
first small, roundish, dark purple, then confluent and
indeterminate, sometimes;turning brown at the centre.
Pustules indistinct to the naked eye. but finally pale at
the orifice. 3porules 'elliptical hyaline (ten to twelve
by five n). No remedies have been tried, but it would
be advisable to apply diluted Bordeaux Mixture, so as
to destroy the extruded sporules. and to pick oft" as
many of the diseased leaves as possible. .V. c. Cooke.

Big Heads and Little Heads.— There is a
prevalent impression that there is some rela-
tion between the size of the skull and the
quality of the brain power within it, so that
men with large heads'should be more intelligent
than small-headed people, and vice versa. Prof.
Karl Pearson and his assistants have worked
out this problem by measurements, statistics,
and mathematical demonstrations, and thev
arrive at the conclusion that for practical
purposes it seems impossible, either in the
case of exceptionally able men, or in the bulk
of the population, to pass any judgment from
size of head to ability.'or vice versa. Proceed-
ings of the Royal Society, No. 456, March, 1902.

Congo Plants. — Under the auspices of
the Congo State, M. de Wildeman is publish-
ing a series of illustrations and descriptions
of plants constituting the flora of Katanga.
The descriptions are elaborated with the care
and accuracy characteristic of the author ;
and the quarto lithographic plates are ex-
cellent. We regret the" necessity for placing
plants of different Orders on the same plate.

Spraying. — The Canadian Horticulturist
recommends for spraying purposes a mixture
of lime, sulphur, and salt, as much less expen-
sive than and equally efficient as Bordeaux
Mixture. The quantities used are lime, 35 lb. ;
salt, 15 lb. ; sulphur, 15 lb. ; water to make
40 gallons. The mixture is boiled for three
hours in an iron kettle and applied hot.

Publications RECEivED.-.vo(«r<- Notes, March.

—Proceedings and Journal of the Agricultural and Horti-
cultural Society of India, for July to September, 1901.
This pamphlet includes also a figure and description
of Raphis flabelliformis, and brief notes of other
plants mentioned in the Society's lists.— Bulletin of the
Botanical Department, Jamiaca, January and February
1902. Contents: Report of the Orange Conference"
Japanese Persimmon (Diospyros).— Bulletin of Mite,
laneous Information, Botanical Department. Trinidad,
January. Contents : An Insect-destroying Fungus ;
Bougainvillea speetabilis : Root Irritation: Grafting
Coffee and Cacao, and Budding Oranges.— The Queens-
land Agricultural Journal, January: "The year 190°
opens with great promise. The Wheat harvest has

been a record for Queensland. The yield of sugar has
been most satisfactory on the whole. Fruit culture is
extending." So says the preface to this, the first num-
ber of the fifth yearly volume. Various appropriate
illustrated papers are included.— From the Jamaica
Board of Agriculture : A Report on the Cultivation of
Pine-apples and other Products of Florida, by Robert
Thomson. " Our illimitable resources await enter-
prising Englishmen to embark in Orange-growing. "—
From the Ontario Agricultural College: Bulletin IIS,
Yeast oik! Us Household Use, by F. C. Harrison ; this
should be read by all interested in the subject.— An
Edible Fungus (Hydnum erinaceum), by J. C. Arlhur;
and Horse Nettle (Solanum Carolinense) and Buffalo
Bur (3. rostratum), hy the same author.— Illustrated
Papers reprinted from the Annual Report of the
Indiana Agricultural Experiment Station.— From the
New York Agricultural Experiment Station : Bulletin
No. 199, November, 1901, An Epidemicof Currant Anthrac-
nose, by F. C. Stewart and H. J. Eustace; Bulletin
No. 2C0, November, 1901, Notes from the Botanical Depart-
ment, by the same authors.— From the University of
Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, Urbana,
December, 1901, Bulletin No. 67, Apple Scab, by G. P.
Clinton ; and Bulletin No. 63, January, 1902, Important
Details of Spraying, by A. V. Stubenrauch.— From the
University of Minnesota, Department of Agriculture,
Class Bulletin No. 12, December, 1901, Outline of Green-
house Laboratory Work, by Samuel B. Green and R. S.
Mackintosh ; excellent practical lessons are given that
every gardener might study with advantage.— Clues to
Relationship among H etenecious Plant Rusts, by J. C.Arthur,
reprinted from the Botanical Gazette (U.S.A.), January,
1902.— From the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bul-
letin No. 31, Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual Meeting
of the Association of Economic Entomologists, records
investigations concerning the Codling-moth, Hessian-
fly in New York State in 1901, Jarring for the Curculio
in Georgia, San Jose Scale in Japan, New Species of
Aphis, &c.

AXGE.ECTM ICHNEOIONEOI.
[See Supplementary Illustration.]

This elegant species was first described by
Lindley in his paper on "West Tropical
Orchids," in the Journal of the Linnean
Society, vol. vi. (1862), p. 136. He there
speaks of it as a very fine species, with leaves
15 inches long and 2 inches broad, with spikes
of the same length. The white flowers, when
unexpanded, look very like some Ichneumon-
fly settled on the inflorescence.

Reichenbach, in alluding to this plant in
the Gardeners' Chronicle, December 3, 1887,
p. 681, says:— "Scientifically, I call it Lis-
trostachys, as the two caudicles adhere to one
gland" — a character which he admits may
easily be overlooked. The only absolute dif-
ference between the two genera is that An-
grrecum has a single stalk to the pollen-
masses, whilst Listrostachys has two. For
these reasons, Rolfe, in the Flora of Tropical
Africa, vii. (1898), p. 163, keeps the two genera
distinct, whilst the Index Kewensis combines
the two under one (Angrjecum).

Our illustration shows how well Mr. Tallaek,
of Shipley Hall Gardens, manages the plant,
and how elegant it is. The plants require
abundance of heat and light, and from their
evergreen habit must never be allowed to
become dry.

SELECT SWEET PEAS.

I have read with much interest " T. H. B.'s" and
*• R. Sydenham's" remarks on the twenty-four varieties
of Sweet Peas recommended by me in the Gardeners'
Chronicle of Jauuary 11.

Both of these gentlemen are, I think, under the
impression that the twenty-four varieties given were
meant as the best twenty-four for exhibition purposes.
But this is not the case. Were I asked to name twenty-
four varieties for exhibition, they would find them to be
entirely different to the varieties already enumerated.
Then " T. H. B. " would learn that I am not altogether
against striped varieties. Princess of Wales is a grand
Pea among the striped varieties, and has an excellent
companion in Senator, a very large flower of command-
ing appearance, striped chocolate coloured on a creamy
ground. America is well known to me, and has a good
companion in Aurora, a better and larger Pea iu every
respect; in colour it is white, flaked with orange-
salmon.

" T. H. B. " says Navy Blue will always hold its own
among the dark blue varieties, in which EmUy^Eckford

and Captain of the Blues are favourites; but my
favourite is the Captain.

Captivation is a fine variety, and one I have grown
for two seasons ; but I like Duke of Westminster much
better. Fine orange-pink varieties are given in my
list, and'all favourites and good. Miss Willmott is one
of the largest in this class of colour, but I think it will
take something even better to remove that grand
variety Gorgeous from taking first place, when well
grown and shown in good form. Unfortunately, the
latter has rather a weak constitution, therefore it
requires a little more care and attention to biing it to
perfection. Miss Willmott is grand, and possessed oS
a sound constitution, and a general favourite by all
who know it. Iu yellow or primrose colours I have
no hesitation in saying that the new variety, The
Hon. Mrs. E. Kenyon, is the best and the largest Sweet
Pea in cultivation. Queen Victoria would make an
excellent companion to the former.

Mrs. Dugdale is a splendid flower, which, as your
correspondent says, has a tendency to become streaky.
Yes, if exposed to the full rays of the sun. This is a
variety, like many more of these soft colours, that will
be better for heavy shading duriug the hottest part
of the day. Experience teaches me that all Sweet Peas
known to myself, something like 120 varieties, are
more or less partial to shade. "T. H. B.'s" selection
of a dozen varieties is undoubtedly a good one.

Your correspondent " R. Sydenham" thinks Captain
of the Blues is not required with Emily Eckford. Navy
Blue is not unknown to me, I having grown it for the
last two seasons, but I like the Captain best, and in my
opinion he is more at home with Emily Eckford than
with Navy Blue.

In place ot Chancellor, Mr. Sydenham would sub-
stitute Cocciuea. Very well ; I should say " do so, if it
be to his taste." It is not mine. Coccinea is a good
flower, with erect, round standard, good form ; in
colour it is bright cerise, and I believe will become a
very popular variety. At the present time we require
something different to Coccinea to deprive Prince
Edward of York of the dignity as being the nearest
approach to a scarlet Sweet Pea. This, at least, is my
opinion.

Your correspondent thinks Chancellor is too much
like Lady Mary Currie. In my opinion it is perfectly
distinct. Had he said that Lady Mary Currie was too
much like Miss Willmott, then he might have justified
his cause. Miss Willmott is, in my opinion, a very
much enlarged Lady Mary Currie.

Oriental I discarded last year as an inferior variety
to those already enumerated in my selection of orange-
pink varieties.

Duchess of Westminster, as grown here, is a lovely
variety, and very reliable. It is, unfortunately, under-
sized, as compared with the giants that appeared with,
it in 1900, and from the same raiser, Mr. H. Eckford ;
but its magnificent form and charming colour make
good any deficiency in size. In colour it gives a ripe
Apricot effect, with flushed pink standards.

Countess of Lathom is a good variety, and may be
best described as an improved Venus, but not in keep-
ing with Duchess of Westminster.

Mr. Sydenham's experience with the variety Colonist
must be exceptional. As grown by me at The Grange
Gardens, it is one of the best, most reliable in every
way, being very large and free-flowering. In colour it
is rosy-lilac, and instead of growing fifty seeds I have
to content myself with twenty- one. The best vase
of this variety I have seen was shown at the Royal
Aquarium last year by Mr. F. J. Clark, gr. to Mark
Firth, Esq , Wistow Hall, Leicester, in the class for
twenty-four distinct varieties. The same gentleman
showed Emily Henderson iu grand form, and which I
will mention presently.

Lord Kenyon and Prince of Wales are two grand,
and perfectly distinct varieties. Mr. Sydenham thinks-
Mrs. Dugdale is not required with Royal Rose. Perhaps,
not ; but in my opinion they are both excellent varie-
ties, and the former the better of the two. I have
never found anything deformed about it.

Mr. Sydenham would substitute Lady Ormsby Gore
for Mrs. Eckford. In colour the former has nothing
at all to do with Mrs. Eckford— at least, as grown here.
Lady Ormsby Gore is a charming variety, large, good
grower, and grand constitution ; pale bull' in colour,
overlaid with the most delicate pink.

For Othello Mr. Sydenham would substitute Black.
Knight. The former he considers a dull colour to that
of Black Knight. Well, my views are exactly the
reverse. Black Knight is truly as sombre-looking as
its name implies ; a graud Pea undoubtedly, but in my
opinion Othello is much ihe brighter of the two, being
equally large and free-flowering. Iu colour it is a
chocolate red, self-coloured flower, a colour not before
attained.

Mr. R. Sydenham commits himself in details regard-
ing the varieties Othello and Black Knight. He looks
upon Othello as dull in colour compared with Black
Knight. Then he goes on to say that Black Knight is
one of the most telling dark varieties that is exhibited
in a stand of twelve, eighteen, or twenty-four varieties.
I am perfectly sensible to .he fact. It still remains a
very dull colour as compared with Othello. Regarding
the variety kuown as Lovely, it is well named ; while
Prima Douna is also a lovely variety.

March 22, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

195

Mr. R. Sydenham seems surprised that I have left
out Sadie Burpee aud put in Emily Henderson. My
reason for doing so is this : I am unable to grow Sadie
Burpee to my mind ; in other words, I have never
managed to produce it in its true character. I there-
fore decided to have it out of my selection, as I would
not like to recommend to my friends what I cannot
grow myself, and in Emily Henderson I think I gave a
good substitute. As it is known to me, Emily Hender-
son is a grand outstanding variety, and very popular
andeed.

In Blanche Burpee I think we have without doubt
the largest white Sweet Pea, but I am not prepared to
say it is the best white. IT. Simpson.

taking place quite late in the summer, when
the Peaches, &c, have been standing in the
open air for some weeks. This method of
fruit-tree cultivation enables the gardener to
obtain two crops of dissimilar fruits in the
course of the year in one and the same house ;
and it presents no difficulties beyond pro-
viding the necessary labour required for
shifting the plants, affording water, &c.
"When we saw the house in the middle of
October of last year, the crop of Plums

"We are informed by a correspondent that
the Peach, Nectarine and Plum trees formed
a picture of great beauty in the orchard-
houses at the time the blossoms opened this
spring.

HORTICULTURAL SUNDRIES.

It is a moot question if the business of a
dealer in all sorts of articles needed by a
gardener in his calling had its counterpart a

Fig. CI.— view of ripening rixMS in the orc-iiard-house at uunnkksbuby iioi'se gardens.

THE ORCHARD-HOUSE. GUNXERS-
BURY HOUSE, ACTOX.

This building fulfils two purposes during
the course of the year, that of providing
Peaches and Nectarines in the first week
of May, whilst later it is devoted to Plums.
The trees are grown in pots, and the Peaches
and Nectarines arc moved into the house in
December, the course of treatment being that
•of an early forcing-house, the heating appa-
ratus being equal to the maintenance of the
required degree of warmth, and consisting of
-several rows of pipes running along the sides
and two on the floor of the house.

The Plum-crop is not required till late in
the autumn, and the trees are kept in the
open air, protection being afforded them when
in bloom ; their removal to the orchard-house

generally was ripe, and good examples of fine
flavour were noted of Grand Duke, Transparent
Gage, an attractive and delicious fruit of a
rich ytllow tint : Coe's Red Drop, of the same
sort of flavour as the Golden Drop, but not
then quite ripe ; as was likewise Rivers' Late,
a fruit of a fine yellow tint ; Ickworth Im-
peratrice, which Mr. J. Hudson, the head
gardener, said should not be eaten till it
shrivels ; Reine Claude de Bavay, one of the
finest Gage Plums ; and Decaisne, a useful
late green-fruited variety. The range is con-
tinued beyond that portion set apart for
Plums, and seen in the illustration (lig. 61) :
one division having the borders planted with
Cherry-trees, Plum and Pear-trees in pots,
being stood in it late in the summer in order
to bring their fruits to perfection without
artificial heat.

quarter of a century ago. Dealers in pots
and garden crockery-ware, in bast mats, in
sand and soils, and Pea and Bean sticks, in
Birch and heather-brooms we had ; also tool
merchants, and people who supplied mowing
machines and rollers, spray pumps and garden
engines ; but the wit of the business man had
not as yet evolved the garden sundriesman.

It was with a feeling of considerable ca-
riosity, not unmixed with doubt, if enough
material would bo forthcoming on visiting
Mr. G. H. Richards' wholesale emporium,
No. 234, Borough High Street, London, S.E.,
to concoct a readable article, and whether we
have succeeded in so doing we must leave to
the opinion of the reader.

The view of the exterior of the business
premises indicated exactly the wholesale
dealer, which indeed the proprietor professes

196

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 22, 1902.

to be, and admittance was only to be ob-
tained by ringing the door-bell. This was
answered by a clerk from an office above the
ground floor. In this spacious room there was
little to be seen ; but it is the proprietor's
intention to make a "show" shortly with
some of his more attractive goods. An ascent
to the office where half a dozen clerks were
employed, then a short delay, and we were
taken in hand by Mr. Richards himself, and
piloted through a very extensive lot of large
and small rooms and cellars, filled from floor
to ceiling with as extraordinary a lot of goods
as it has ever been our good fortune to find in
any one business house. One stock-room was
filled with wreaths of everlastings, Xeranthe-
mums, Helichrysums, &c, the so-called Cape
flowers, stored in cardboard boxes. Other
artificial flowers were there for the making of
funereal wreaths and other devices, and their
destination, we were told, is chiefly the Mid-
lands, very few of such articles finding a sale
elsewhere in the country. They come mostly
from Italy, Austria, and Germany, and must
represent a considerable sum of money annually
expended with those countries.

Then came into view that most useful garden
article, the Sussex trug (German trug, a
basket), made of Ash, very strong and very
light ; of a variety of sizes, from that having
the capacity of a bushel measure to tiny toy
sizes for children's use ; then Willow ware,
including sieves and half-sieves, now made of
the imperial bushel and half-bushel sizes,
although still retaining the old designations.
Dried and dyed Italian grasses occupied a
large amount of space ; then came a room piled
round with shovels, spades, trowels, reels
upon which to wind garden-lines, &c.

Skelton seemed to be the favourite maker
of spades, and we remarked a capital nursery
tree-lifting spade, of which the "strap"
reached almost the whole length of the handle
from the tread to the grip, obviously a heavy
tool, but stronger than that usually found in
the hands of the gardener or nurseryman's
labourer. Of raffia, we expected to see large
quantities, but not in tens of tons, forming
square piles of bales of 2 cwt. (probably
100 kilogs.) each, these were the samples of
several hundred tons warehoused at the docks.
Much of this material seemed to be of the finest
light coloured, silky, tough quality capable
of minute sub-division, and yet be strong and
effective for a year or longer, even when
employed out of doors.

We believe the trade in raffia in Mada-
gascar is almost entirely in Mr. Richards'
hands.

The far-famed Richards' XL-All occupied a
large store to itself, and was found in large
carboys and glass bottles of various sizes. A
wide table runs down the middle of the room,
admitting of two rows of packers to work
readily without confusion. The smallest
bottle sold contains enough liquid to vaporise
1,000 cnbic feet. The little apparatus that is
used in the vaporisation being made of sheet-
iron galvanised is less costly than those of
brass and block-tin, and serves its purpose
similarly. The preparation is a little more
costly than others in the market ; still, gar-
deners and horticulturists generally find it a
very safe and effective means of ridding
plants of insects. So poisonous a substance
needs to be duly labelled, to prevent accident
as far as possible.

A little lot of bouquet-wire, about 2 tons in
weight, was stored in this room ; and it did
not take up many superficial feet. We were
shown contrivances made of wire which
enable the bouquet-maker to place the flowers
and greenery in that loose and graceful

manner we all like to see, which is so difficult
of performance when moss and wadding are
used in the heart of the bouquet. Persons
unaccustomed to the making of bouquets
will find these contrivances of great use,
and also a saving of time. The forms are
various, and include the so-called shower-
bouquet.

Flower-sticks form a most important part of
the stock, and consist of deal, painted and
unpainted, mostly made on the Continent,
because of the cheapness of manufacture ; of
Bamboo, in great variety of lengths, from
2 1 feet in length to 10 or 12 feet, first-class
material, and very enduring ; and with ordi-
nary care outlasting hazel, ash, and deal by
several years. When out of use, Bamboo-rods
should be tied in bundles, and be kept in a
cool, dry place.

Excellent, strongly made pot-hangers, taking
48's and 32's, for use in hothouses, were
noted, the suspending arm so bent as to keep
the pot level, very different from the extem-
porised article in use in gardens. The base-
ment of the warehouse was stored with
Bedfordshire silver-sand, artificial manures in
variety, Russian mats, syringes, and garden
pumps and engines, and great quantities of
Orchid-peat, for which the proprietor is cele-
brated. The peat is cut in blocks of about
18 inches long and 6 inches square, and is
sun-dried before being brought into store. It
contains but little sand or soil, and is the best
obtainable, coming, we understood, from
Dorsetshire. Wood-wool is now largely used
by gardeners in the packing of fruit, having
displaced moss, and great bales of it in various
grades of fineness and quality were observed.
As a material for packing fruit, the odourless
" wool " (shavings) of the Aspen is obtained
from Sweden ; and a slightly coarser kind,
manufactured from deal, is good for packing
some things not spoiled by the slight odour of
turpentine.

We remarked some exhibitors' vases for
holding flowers, made of the so-called Danesby
ware, a vitrified product, not unlike that made
from slag, but of a different colour, having
brown tints instead of violet, blue, &e. These
vases are made in a variety of sizes, from that
intended for a buttonhole to those of 2 feet in
height, to accommodate long-stalked flowers.
There are likewise embossed and engraved
vases and tazzas, for standing in florists'
shop windows ; quassia chips, and sulphur
in barrels of 2 cwt. each ; collapsible
boxes for wreaths, &c., for sending through
the post. These can be opened out, and
packed in numbers together in bundles for
transit, and thus occupy but a small amount
of space. A box of this sort is put to-
gether in a moment by means of white metal
clips. These boxes seemed better adapted for
packing in crates than for sending singly by
post or rail. We have not the space to do
more than mention a few of the multitudinous
and varied contents of this Borough Road
warehouse and that near the Shot Tower in
the same district, viz., Weed Killer, Dried
French Moss, in small crates of 100 bundles,
each neatly bound round with paper — we should
have been more gratified had it been English ;
shading materials of all sorts, artificial flower
wreaths ; 400 gross of Strawberry punnets, the
forerunners of a much larger quantity soon to
be brought in ; more raffia (about eight tons),
propagating, seed, and cutting boxes, such as
those in which the Covent Garden growers and
sellers dispose of bedding plants, Musk, an-
nuals, &c. Here can the grower come and
buy his boxes for a trifling sum, ready to his
hand and suitable for every purpose. The
florist can also obtain his fancy basket wares,

both coloured and plain, culled from Austria,
Bavaria, and France ; and the gardener, much
plagued by birds, can find his needs in the
matter of netting met to a nicety, the netting
being strong and good, and all of it tanned,
so as to increase its durability; of cork, a
great store ; white china ware, patronised by
town florists, of which there are about seventy
different patterns from which to choose ; and
lastly, and most incongruously as we thought
in such a place, innumerable Birch-bark crosses
for putting at the head of graves, and much in
use in the Midlands.

CULTURAL MEMORANDUM.

EUPHORBIAS (POINSETTIAS).
Old plants which have for some wetks
been resting on their sides in a dry and
cool position may now be placed in a house
and kept on a shelf, or, at any rate, near the
glass in a temperature of about 55" as a
minimum ; the old growth being shortened
back to a point where it assumes a woody
condition, it being from below this point
that the shoots best fitted for the making
of cuttings are formed. I do nob advise
the raising of plants from portions of the-
stem cut up into eyes, as those from natural
breaks on the older portions of stem aro
much to be preferred if they are given plenty
of time in a very moderate temperature,
rather than being submitted to a higher tem-
perature later on. At the first no water at
the roots is necessary, but the plants may be
freely syringed twice a day, and the house
closed early. A really light position is
necessary for the production cf good cuttings.

El'PHORBIA JACQUINI.EFLORA.

Plants which have not been dried off or
subjected to the cool conditions recommended
for the foregoing, will have now formed shoots
fit for cuttings, which may be taken off with
a heel of the old wood, using a very sandy
soil, and placing them in a close propagatiog-
case. This plant enjoys a long season of
growth, and does best when planted-out in
narrow borders in a stove where the growths
can be trained near to the roof.

Gloxinias

that were started in small pots shift into
larger ones ; and put Achimenes started in
boxes or pans into the pots, pans, or baskets
in which they are to flower. J. C. Tallack.

SOUTH AFRICA.

FLOWERING PLANTS AND FLOWERS AT
CAPE TOWN.

Your remark on the Sea Point Flower Show
in your issue of December 21, 1901, was
seasonable. Exotics in the gardens of the
Cape Peninsula are the order of the day. No
amateurs have native plants, so far as I have
seen, in their gardens; they are considered
common. Two days in the week the blacks and
off-coloured Cape natives range themselves in
Cape Town, opposite the Standard Bank, with
cut native flowers on sale, and beyond this it
may be doubted if those whose business has
brought them to stay, or make a temporary
home, know much of the rich flora of the Cape
Peninsula. Permits are issued to the flower
sellers to cut wild flowers, and they are
strictly enjoined not to pull up roots, and so

March 22, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

197

far as the bulbous plants are concerned
this is all right ; but I fear the heaths have a
bad time of it, unless they are aged and deep-
rooted. One fruitful cause of the destruction
of the native flora is the bush fires, thanks to
the invention of lucifer matches ; when the
pipe is lighted the burning match is thrown
amongst the scrub, and being dry is soon
ablaze, and great tracts of land are covered
with flames. Another cause, no doubt, is the
number of broken bottles scattered where
" pick-nickers " have been, the hot sun playing
on the glass produce fires. The Government
do the best they can to minimise the evils.
For the present no permits are given to gather
flowers on Table Mountain. Were the gcrd
and clever Dr. Harvey to visit the early scenes
of his botanical work around Cape Town, he
would find fewer species, and this will con-
tinue, as the town keeps creeping up the sides
of Table Mountain and the Lion's Rump. The
Right Hon. Cecil J. Rhodes has acquired large
properties on the Rose Bank side of Table
Mountain, and has made a splendid carriage
drive through his property, and throwing the
whole of his grounds open to the public,
adding, " Make use of it, and protect it, as it
is yours." From this the public have con-
cluded it is Mr. Rhodes' intention to transfer
this property to Cape Towu as a public
recreation ground. Peter Burr, V.M.H.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

EARLY FLOWERING PLANTS IN CANON ELLA-

COMbe's garden. — One is often asked for
names of early- flowering hardy plants, and it
is at such gardens as the Rev. Canon Ella-
combe's at Bitton, in Gloucestershire, that we
may learn them. For considerably over half a
century hardy plants have been collected and
cared for at Bitton, and in no other garden
hive I seen such beautiful clumps of hardy
Cyclamen, some of which grow on the lawn at
the foot of large trees, and others in a most
natural way in the borders. C. Coum, with its
glossy green leaves and bright red flowers,
produced in hundreds, has been in flower since
early February ; C. neapolitanum flowers in
early autumn, and is followed by beautifully
mottled foliage, which it retains throughout
the winter— fine old plants of this are in the
Bitton Garden. In a rather hurried walk
round the garden on March 11, I noted amongst
others the following plants in flower : —
Anemone blanda, A. stellata, A. hortensis var.
fulgcns, and A. Hepatica in variety ; Petasites
nivea ; Narcissus minor, and its variety mini-
mus ; Iris reticulata, I. stylosa, and varieties
alba and speciosa ; Corydalis rutsefolius, C.
Kolpakowskiana; Daphne odora (indica) rubra,
this is quite hardy at Bitton, the specimen is
a large :ind healthy one, every shoot of which
has a cluster of flowers ; Daphne Blagayana ;
Saxifraga ciliata, perhaps the prettiest of the
Megasea section, it has hair-fringed leaves,
and close set spikes of delicate pink flowers ;
Erythronium grandiflorum, E. dens-canis ; Sisy-
rhinchium grandiflorum; Crocus imperati, C.
versicolor, C. vermis ; Draba athoa, with bright
green rosettes of leaves, and yellow flowers ;
Scopolia carniolica, and variety concolor ;
Chionodoxa Luciliseand Sardensis ; Hellelorus
punctatus, H. atro-purpureus, and several other
varieties of Lenten Rose ; Leucojum vernum
var. carpaticum ; Azalea praecox ; and Erica
carnea, in large masses full of flower. J.
Milburn, Botanic Garden, Bath.

IRI8 RETICULATA MAJOR.— Plants of this
variety, and the type, have been flowering
very well here in the rockery. The bulbs
were planted last year. As I have noticed
various \ iews expressed as to the distinct
character of the variety major, it may be inte-
resting if I compare the two grown in these
gardens. There is certainly a difference in

the size of the flower, and in height, as well as
in growth ; but scarcely more so than one
would expect from the difference to benot:eed
in the size of the bulbs when they were
planted. Certainly the flowers of I. r. major
were nothing like the "double size" claimed
for it. If one can only keep the bulbs of both
in good condition over another year, the com-
parison will have more value. The "major"
form, for some reason or other, not explicable
by position, was a few days earlier than the
type, and its scent appears to be stronger.
J. C. Ta.Ua.ck, Shipley Hall Gardens.

retarding plants.— I have been much
interested with your correspondent's cultural
directions of retarded roots and plants, es-
pecially in his concluding remarks about
Azalea mollis, and the lasting qualities of the
flowers, but which I found to be totally the re-
verse. A dozen plants which I had direct from
the late Mr. Rochford during July of last year,
when received I potted up and put into a plant-
stove temperature, and within a fortnight,
without any sign of flagging, all the flowers
were well developed. When put into the
mansion they lasted quite three weeks without
in the least becoming unsightly. I now would
like my naturally-grown plants to last the
same length of time, but find instead of three
weeks they last but ten days. I think where
a good many fail in growing retarded plants of
all kinds is through not buying from a trust-
worthy source; secjndly, from careless manage-
ment, leaving the plants lying about before
potting, and not affording enough water.
A. Young, The Gardens, Hintou Admiral,
Vhristchurch, Hants.

the old and the new.— Iii an interesting-
letter I have just received from Mr. J.
Mclndoe, of Hutton Hall Gardens, lie laments
that though "during the past twenty-one
years he has on several occasions sent samples
of his best seedling Melons to the meetings of
the Royal Horticultural Society, he has never
had the good fortune to obtain recognition of
one of them." Does the confinement neces-
sary in the case of a long journey rob the fruit
of its aroma and flavour ? I submit this point,
because I an aware that several of Mr.
Mclndoe's seedling Melons more than hold
their own at the great provincial shows. In
proof of .this, I uny state that at the great
fruit show held in Glasgow last September the
1st prizes in Iho Melon classes went as
follows: — 1st prize, grr en-flesh, Mclndoe's
Best-of-AU ; 1st prize, scarlet-Hesh, Mclndoe's
Scarlet Premier. Boti of thesj were distri-
buted by Mr. Mclndoe twenty years ago !
It. D.

TOMATO disease (cladosporium lycoper-
SlCl). — This fatal disease is one that is now
occupying the minds of many market growers
and gardeners in private places, as this pest
too often makes all the difference between a
profitable crop and a failure. Many remedies
have been put forth from time to time, with
varying degrees of success, but prevention is
better than cure. Noticing correspondence
on the subject in these pages recently, I
venture to give my experience with regard
to this disease. " E. B's " advice respecting
plants employed for seeding purposes, to
grow them in the open air and without animal
manure, seems to go far towards solving the
problem. In a garden in Sussex, where over
4,000 Tomato- plants were cultivated annually
under glass for several years, Tomato disease
was non-existent the first year ; the second
year it appeared in a mild form, about 3 per
cent, of the plants were affected by it ; the
third year it had increased to about 10 per
cent., and then, it was time to become alarmed,
so I then (during the next winter) removed
the soil from the borders, wheeling it to the
further end of the garden, and replaced by
new; and the walls were lime-washed. These
measures proved successful, no disease ap-
peared, and a heavy crop of fruit was gathered;
Xo animal manure of any kind was used in the
soil, but the soil, when the plants were
carrying a good number of fruits, was dressed

with charred garden refuse. Experience
teaches that the removal of the soil, which
has carried several crops of Tomatos, reduces
the risks of the disease attacking the plants-
The lack of ventilation favours the spread ( t
the disease, and although the plants may loc k
well, they lack the vitality to enable them to
resist attacks. I now grow about 200 Tomato-
plants every year, but the disease seld m
infests them. All are grown in the open air,
and the soil is kept dryish. A remarkable
fact I noticed last season was, that where
Tomatos were planted in ground that had not
been recently dug, the crop was heavier and
the roots came nearer the surface, and were
as a consequence, in a drier medium than
those planted in ground recently dug. Tl is
(in my opinion) again goes to show that
dryness is not injurious, but rather the reverse.
An instance of the good effects of a dry soil
came under my notice in Cape Colony, where
large quantities are grown, and those that
were irrigated regularly, and rather freely,
produced long-jointed shoots and a light crop
of fruit, while chance seedlings that escaped
irrigation gave better crops. J. M. Miles,
Isleworth.

CO-OPERATION AND CO-ORDINATION.— May 1

ask you for space to lay the following sugges-
tions before your readers. The great growth
of the past century indicates that co-operation
and co-ordination are especially needed in
things agricultural. Co-ordination is lacking
not because of the innate dislike of people to
co-operate, not because of jealousy between
societies and associations, but chiefly because
of the lack of opportunities of learning what
others are doing. Taking the subject of village
industries, for instance, it is most difficult ts
get definite information either as to what ii
being done in certain localities, or where spe-
cial industries flourish. Again, there are many
possibilities for the promotion and establish
ment both of the lighter branches of agriculture
and of many of the rural industries in village*
and districts, but the individuals who have the
will to start them, either have not the power,
the training, or the knowledge to see the pos-
sibilities within their rea-di. This lack of
training and knowledge of course reacts upon
the rural population, and contributes to the
rural depopulation. Then, again, many loca-1
industries are cramped through not being more
widely known, and many an individual started
upon an independent career suffers through
lacked' a market; thus associations and indi-
viduals need the stimulus of friendly compe-
tition and mutual co-operation. It is propose*
to hold a Conference at Warwick Castle or
May 1 next, to provide an opportunity: —
(1.) For those directly engaged in any other
lighter branches of agriculture or rural
industries to make known their work. (2.)
For those who are interested in the things per-
taining to the welfare of our country districts
to learn what is being done to stay the rural
depopulation. (3.) For an interchange of idea.-
and sympathetic suggestions between those
engaged in allied industries. (4.) For those
who need teachers or trained workers to
meet those who are fully traine 1 anl
capable of teaching others. (5.) For the
binding of all these in one strong or-
ganisation for co-operation and co-ordination.
It is therefore hoped any who are interested
in the objects for which the conference is
called, and who wish to learn fuller details of
the programme of the discussion, as also of
the hospitality to be offered for the occasion,
will write for particulars to the Warden, Lady
Warwick Hostel, Reading, or to myself.
Frances Evelyn Warwick, Warwick Castle.

lilium giganteum.— It would be a pity if
amateurs should bo deterred from trying to
grow this fine plant because it is said in a
note on p. 181 to bo unsuitable for most
English gardens. Thirty years ago I was told
by an eye-witness that this Lily had become
almost naturalised in two gardens so widely
separated as that of Mertou Hall in the south
of Norfolk, and (cordon Castle in the Highlands
near the mouth of theSpey, coming to maturilj

198

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 22, 1902.

freely in both of them from self-sown seed.
Here, twelve miles south of Chester, I have
done very well with it for nearly thirty years,
and am able to keep quite as many as I want.
We are very liable to sharp frosts late in
spring, but I never saw the effects mentioned
by Mr. Mallett. As the soil here is stiff brick
clay, nearly all my flower-beds are filled with
artificial soil to a depth of 2 or 3 feet, and L.
giganteuni thrives in any of [them, though 1
have no doubt that it prefers "a sheltered and
rather shady situation. It is in fact almost
the only Lily which I can grow to my satisfac-
tion. It ripens seed late in October, and theseed
comes up sparingly if sown broad-cast in the
open soil, taking about eight years to mature.
As for the Crinums which Mr. Mallett dis-
parages as not hardy, it is certainly of no
use trying them here ; but my friend, Mr. E.
Woodall, used to grow them well in his
open borders at Scarborough. He once gave
me a fine flowering bulb of Crinum Powelli
album. I followed his instructions as to
soil, but it never flowered ,with me, and
when it was reduced to half its size, I returned
it to him, and it soon recovered, and flowered
well. C. Wolley Dod, Edge Ball, Malpas.

I hope that Mr. Mallett will not

succeed in convincing his readers that
Lilium giganteum can only be grown suc-
cessfully out-of-doors in the south-west of
England. He affirms that it "will not thrive
so well under the best possible conditions
found north of the Thames, as it would do
south of that boundary." He says it is
necessary to remember that there are gar-
dens in Caithness as well as in Cornwall.
Yes, and all the way between ; perhaps I may
put in a word for a locality midway between
these extremes. In the south-west of Scotland,
where we are by no means exempt from late
frosts (I have seen the thermometer down to
20° Fahr. on May 20), Lilium giganteum has
grown and flowered for more than thirty years
in the open border at Monreith, without any
protection whatever. Herbert Maxwell.

Societies.

©bituan?.

Robert Manning.— We greatly regret to
hear of the death of one of our old correspon-
dents, Mr. Robert Manning, the librarian of
the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. He
had the interests of the library at heart as we
know. He was a native-born American : born
at Salem in 1827, and died suddenly, at Boston,
on Feb. 17.

Mr. Trussler.— There died on Thursday,
March 13, 1902, aged seventy-nine years, Mr.
Trussler, a retired nurseryman, and native of
Parnham, Surrey. He started nursery work
at Messrs. Chas. Lee & Sons, Hammersmith,
and was subsequently at Sharman's, of Bromp-
ton, S.W., later at Messrs. Weeks, Chelsea,
now Mr. W. Bull's ; and lastly, before starting
on his own account, he was manager of the
now defunct Royal Nursery of Messrs. Cat-
lough's at Peltham.

Peter Rooke. — We regret to see the
announcement of the death, in his ninety-
fourth year, at Weybridge, of a very old corre-
spondent of this journal. His collection of
hardy Perns was remarkable.

John Ord Mackenzie. —The death at
Dolphinton, Lanarkshire, of this gentleman,
in his ninety-first year, is announced. He
•was a large exhibitor at the Conifer Con-
ference, and an occasional correspondent of
this journal.

W. H. Pownall.— We regret to learn from
the Journal of Horticulture of the death of
this greatly respected gardener at Lenton,
Notts, on March 3. Mr. Pownall was a fre-
quent contributor to the Journal, by whose
staff he was held in the highest esteem.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.

Scientific Committee.

March 11.— Present ; A. D. Michael, Esq., in the Chair ;
Rev. W. Wilks, C. H. Hooper, J. W. Odell, E. M. Holmes,
W. C. Worsdell, G. S. Saunders, F. J. 13aker, A. Worsley ;
Drs. H. Miiller, A. B. Rendle, M. C. Cooke, and M. T.
Masters.

Burr on Pavia sp.—Mr. Odell reported that he had
been unable to flndany mites on the specimen exhibited
at the last meeting.

Clematis glycinoides. — Mr. Odell also exhibited a
flowering specimen of this Australian species.

Insects on Apple Shoots.— Mr. Hooper brought shoots,
supposed to have been attacked by insects, which were
referred to Mr. Saunders for report. That gentleman,
as we since learn, is unable to pronounce a definite
opinion on the subject.

Unhealthy Palms.— A firm of nurserymen sent six pots
of Kentias for the opinion of the Committee. They
were referred to Mr. Odell for examination and report.
Mr. Odell has since reported that he finds no fungus
on the living plants, and considers the malady to be
constitutional. Some fungus spawn was found in the
soil growing on the fragments of decayed wood.

Bicolored Cyclamen.— From the gardens, Sandhurst,
Runfold, Farnham, came a plant of Cyclamen latifolium,
with white and rosy flowers originating from the same
tuber. Dr. Masters commented on the interest of the
specimen, as showing an instance of variation un-
influenced by hybridisation.

Slime-fungus.— Dr. Cooke reported on the leaves of
an unknown plant, submitted to the last meeting. The
leaves were covered superficially with pink splashes of
a chalky-looking nature, upon which, here and there,
were small gyrose nodules, not larger than a Rape-
seed, of pitch-brown colour. All this flaked off easily,
and left the plant green, and uninjured. The brown
portion consisted of a mass of subglobose spores of a
brownish-violet colour, evidently belonging to some
slime-fungus or Myxogaster. Being unable to identify
the species, he sent it to Mr. Geo. Massee, who has
published a monograph of this group, and this is his
reply: — "The substance is undoubtedly the Plas-
modium of some Myxomycete, but of what species I
cannot say. It is quite superficial, and would do no
harm to the plant it occurred upon."

Pxpalanlhus sp.—Mr. E. M. Holmes showed a species
of Prepalanthus (nat. ord. Eriocaul&cea?), nearly allied
to P. elegans and P. niveus, which is used in the district
where it grows, on the banks of the Amazon, for deco-
rative purposes. The white persistent dry bracts of the
involucre give it the appearance of a Helichrysum.
Its long, slender, pliable stalks render it useful for a
variety of decorative purposes.

Jujube.— Mr. Holmes also exhibited specimens of a
large variety of Zizyphus jujuba cultivated in China,
and preserved as a sweetmeat. The preserved fruits
are about the size of Dates, but broader, and flatter,
and have a striated surface. According to SirTHOs.
Hanbury, from whom they were received, the Chinese
call them Meih-Tsau, or honey Jujube, and prepare
them by making longitudinal incisions in the fruit
with a knife, and then plunge the fruit into honey,
subsequently drying it. It is prepared in Hunge Chow,
the district that yields the best green Tea. The pre-
served fruit forms an excellent article for dessert, and
it is surprising that it has not hitherto been imported
for that purpose into Great Britain. Bretschneider,
in the Botanicum Sinicum, ii., p. 119, No. 278, under
TaTsao (great Jujube), quotes the following from the
Chinese writer, Kno P'o :— " There is now in Ho-tung,
in I-shi-hien (South-western Shansi), a kind;of Tsao of
the size of a hen's egg," and explains that this is pro-
bably the large Jujube now produced chiefly in Shan-
tung, which the Chinese preserve with honey or sugar,
and which is sold at Peking under the name of meih-
Tsau (honey-Jujube).

Gall onthe Root of the. Logan Berry.— From Mr. Holland,
Malvern, a hard, rounded gall was shown on the roots
of this plant, which is a hybrid between a Raspberry
and a Blackberry. Mr. Saunders pointed out its resem-
blance to the root gall of the Raspberry, attributed to
eelworms, but he has been unable to find any trace of
eelworm in the specimen exhibited.

Carnation Disease.— Dr. Cooke reported on various
specimens submitted to him by Dr. Masters, in which
he had failed to find fungus or bacteria. [Since the

meeting, Dr. Cooke has examined other specimens, and
finds them affected with a new species of Gkeosporium.
See p. 193.]

Seed-vessels oj Arauja serici/era (Physianthus albrns). —
Some follicles of this plant were sent by Mr. Pentland,
the gardens, Ashwick Hall, Marshfield, Gloucestershire.
The plant is an Asclepiad, the fruits of which are illus-
trated in the Gardeners' Chronicle, 1893, vol. xiv., p. 436,
The plant from which these specimens were taken bore
scores of fruits, the result of fertilisation through the
medium of insects.

Hazel Buds affected with Mites.— Mr. R. W. Dean sent
specimens of buds distorted in the same manner as the
buds of the Black Currant. The occurrence of these
buds in the Hazel and Filbert was known long before
the appearance of the Currant Bud-mite.

(Enanthe crocata poisonous to Cattle. — Mr. Holmes
showed tubers of this plant thrown up on the sides of
a ditch, where they had been eaten by cattle with fatal
results, the symptoms being similar to those of
poisoning by strychnine.

Seedling Ailanthus bearing Flowers. — Dr. Masters
showed specimens he had received from Mr. Dinter,
German S.W. Africa, which were interesting as bearing
flowers, whilst the cotyledons were still attached, and
the whole plant was not more than 2 or 3 ins. in height.
Dr. Masters recalled a similar production of flowers on
a small shoot proceeding from a sucker of the same
tree, and also the formation of perfect flowers on some
seedling plants of Philadelphus, when only 2 to 3 ins.
in height.

Pinus pindica (?).— Dr. Masters showed cones, re-
ceived under this name, from Mr. Oscar Bierbach, of
the Botanic Garden, Belgrade. The tree is reported to
be a native of the mountains of Thessaly. No foliage
was sent, but the cones have the appearance of those of
a variety of P. Laricio, but much more tapering in form
than is usually the case in that species.

CROYDON AND DISTRICT HORTI-
CULTURAL MUTUAL IMPROVE-
MENT.

March 4.— There was an excellent meeting in the
Society's room at the Sunflower Temperance Hotel on
the above date, wheu Mr. M. E. Mills presided. Mr. W
Beale, gr. at Hayes Place, Hayes, gave an interesting
paper on "Begonia Gloire de Lorraine," and handed
round the room some leaves showing the advantage of
propagating from leaves. A discussion followed the
reading of the paper. " Caladiums " will be the subject
on March 18. J. G.

BECKENHAM HORTICULTURAL.

March 14.— There was a good attendance to hear
Prof. J. Percival, M.A., F.L.S., deliver a lecture on
" The Improvement of Plants by Selection and Hybridi-
sation." In respect to sports, the lecturer said that
only those plants which had been introduced and
established a number of years were liable to sport, e.g.,
Peach produce Nectarines, Gooseberries, fruits of an
entirely different colour, &a. The only way to per-
petuate a sport was to cut the shoot or branch up, and
propagate from it; seed was of no use. The most
successful plant-raisers of the past had devoted them-
selves entirely to one class of plants. The differences
produced by soils, manuring, watering, aspect, &c , often
cause marked difference in plants, but such changes
are not permanent. Examples given of " selection "
were the Student Parsnip, which originated from the
wild Parsnip ; and the Carrot, which was transformed
by Vilmorin in eight generations from its wild state
as an annual with a long, thin root into a biennial by
late sowing and careful selection.

NATIONAL CARNATION & PICOTEE.

THe twenty-fifth annual Report, now before us,
exhibits the affairs of this Society in a flourishing
condition. Allusion is made to the unfavourable cir-
cumstances under which the show of last year was
held, the great heat materially affecting the flowers,
and bringing them into bloom prematurely.

New varieties were not numerous, but First-class
Certificates were awarded to Mrs. Guy Sebright, a light-
rose-coloured self, shown by Mr. M. V. Charrington ;
Euryalus, a fine heavy-edged yellow-ground Picotee,
shown by Mr. T. H. Delabere May; Lady Constance
Butler, a promising yellow-ground fancy, shown by
Mr. Edmund Charrington.

The exhibition for 1902 will take place under the
auspices of the Royal Horticultural Society, on Tues-
day, July 22, in the Drill Hall, Buckingham Gate,
Westminster, The committee, while retaining the

March 22, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

199

divisions and number of classes, with the exception
of one for tables, for which they have substituted
bouquets, have deemed it necessary to curtail the
number of prizes offered in the schedule for 1902.
This „ has been rendered necessary by the loss of
the Crystal Palace Company's donation of £50, and
by the resignation of more members than usual
during the past year. The receipts for the year 1901
amounted to £460 3s. Id., the expenditure to £350 12s. 7d.,
and the balance in hand was £119 10s. 6d.

Fruit.— Average Wholesale Prices.

s.d. s.d.

DEVON & EXETER GARDENERS'.

"Eccentricities in the Life of Plants," was the
subject of a lecture at the last meetiugof this Asso-
ciation, by Mr. Harold Baker, an assistant in Messrs.
Robert Veitch & Son's nursery at Exeter.

Mr. Baker gave many interesting instances of
mimicry in plants, graphically describing how one
plant intuitively usurped the appearance of another,
or of its surroundings, sometimes for defence, and at
other times in an agressive and selfish manner. To
illustrate his paper, he staged specimens of insec-
tivorous and other plants, demonstrating to his
audience the why and the wherefore of the eccen-
tricities of many plants, or giving the probable reason
for them.

MARKETS.

COVENT GARDEN, MARCH 20.

[We cannot accept any responsibility for the subjoined
reports. They are furnished to us regularly every
Thursday, by the kindness of several of the prin-
cipal salesmen, who revise the list, and who are
responsible for the quotations. It must be remem-
bered that these quotations do not represent the
prices on any particular day, but only the general
averages for the week preceding the date of our
report. The prices depend upon the quality of
the samples, the supply in the market, and the
demand, and they may fluctuate, not only from day
to day, but often several times in one day. Ed.1

Plants in Pots.— Average Wholesale Prices.

s.d. s.d.

Adiantums, doz. 5
Arbor-vitse, var.,

per dozen ... 6
Aspidistras, doz. 18

— specimen, ea. 5
Cannas, per doz. 18
Crotons, per doz. 18
Cyclamen, p. doz. 8
Dracaenas, var.,

per dozen ... 13

— viridis, doz. 9
Ericas, var., doz. 12
Euonymus, var.,

per dozen ... 6
Evergreens, var.,

per dozen ... 4
ferns, in variety,

per dozen ... 4

d. s.d.

0-7 0

0-36 0

0-36 0

0-10 6

0 —

0-30 0

0-10 0

0-30 0

0-18 0

0-36 0

0-18 0

0-18 0

Ferns, small, per

100

Flcus elastica, ea.
Foliage plants,

various, each
Lily of Valley, ea.
Lycopodiuins, p.

dozen

Marguerites, per

dozen

Myrtles, per doz.
Palms, var., each

— specimen, ea.
Pelargoniums,

scarlet, doz.

— Ivyleaf, per
dozen

Spiraeas, per doz.

4 0-60
16-76

10-60
19-30

3 0-40

8 0-12 0

6 0-90

1 0-15 0

21 0-63 0

8 0-12 0

8 0-10 0
6 0-12 0

Vegetables.— Average Wholesale Prices.

s.d. s.d.
2 6

Artichokes, Globe,
per dozen ...

— Jerusalem, p.

sieve 10-16

Asparagus Sprue,

bundle ... 0 9 —

— English ... 6 0 —

— Giant 10 6-18 0

— Paris Green... 6 6 —

— Spanish ... 2 0 —
Beans.dwf., house,

per lb 16 —

— French, broad,

flat 3 0 —

— Madeira, per
basket ... 2 0-30

Beetroots, per

bushel ... 13-19

Brussels Sprouts,

sieve 10 —

Cabbage, p. tally 3 6-50
Carrots, per doz.

bunches ... 3 0-40

— washed, bags 3 0-36

— unwashed, per

bag 2 0-26

Cauliflowers, doz. 2 6 —

— tally 1 0-10 0

— Italian, bask. 2 0-30
Celeriac, per doz. 2 6 —
Celery, per dozen

bundles ... 8 0-16 0

Chicory, per lb.... 0 3 —

Coleworts, bushel 10-16

— bag 2 0-30

Cress, per dozen

punnets ... 13 —

Cucumbers, doz. 3 0-50
Endive, new

French, doz. 1 9-2 0

— Batavian, per
dozen 19 —

Garlic, per lb. ... 0 3 —
Horseradish, fo-
reign, bunch 13-16
Leeks, la bunches 2 0-26
Lettuces, Cos, doz. 5 0 —

— Cabbage, doz. 0 10- 1 0

Mint, new bunch 0
Mushrooms, house,

per

per

per lb.
Onions, case

— English,
cwt. ...

— in bags

— picklers,
sieve

Parsley, per doz.
bunches ... 3

— sieve 2

Parsnips, p. cwt.

bag 2

Peas in lb. bags... 0

in flats ... 6
Potatos, per ton.. 50

— new, per lb.... o
Frame, per

lb o

— newTeneriffe,
per cwt. ... H

Radishes, p. doz.

bunches
Rhubarb, Yorks

per dozen ... o
Salad, small, pun-
nets, per doz. 1
Savoys, tally ... 3
Scotch Kale, bus. 1
Seakale, per doz.

punts 10

Shallots, per lb.... 0
Spinach, English,
bushel

— French, per
crate

Stachys, lb.
Tomatos, Canary,

boxes

Turnip-Tops, per

bushel

— bag

Turnips, per doz.

bunches

— bag

Watercress, per

doz. bunches

d. s.d.
3-0 6

8 —
7 C- 7 6

7 0-76
5 0-60

2 6-36

3 0-40
2 e- 3 0

0-3 0
6 —
C- 7 6
0-90 0
3J-

5-0 6

0-16 0

0 —

8- 1 0

3 —

6 —
6-2 0

C-12 0
2 —

3 0

6 —
3 —

3 6-46

0-2 0

6- .1 6

iS- 2 0
0-2 6

Apples, home-

grown, Wel-

lingtons, per
bushel

6 0-10 0

— Californian,

cases

8 0-10 6

— Nova Scotian

and Canadian,

various, p. brl.

20 0-30 0

— LargeCookers,

per bushel ...

6 0-70

Bananas, bunch

6 0-90

— loose, p. doz.

10-16

Cape Fruit-

Grapes, case ...

8 0-10 0

Nectarines, case

10 0-12 0

Peaches

10 0-12 0

Pears

6 0-12 0

Plums

9 0-12 0

Chestnuts, per

bag

15 0 —

Cobnuts, Kentish,

per lb.

10 —

Cranberries, per

case

12 0 —

— quart

8 0 —

s.d. s.d.

Grapes, Gros Col-
mar, A ., p. lb.
B., per lb.

— Alicante, lb.

— Almeira, per
12 1b

Lemons, per case 10 6-15 0
Oranges, Bitter,

case 5 6-60

— Denia, case ... 11 0-35 0

— Navel, per
case 12 0-14 0

— Murcia.blood,
case

— Tangierine,
per case (100) .

Pears, Easter
Beurre\in half
cases & cases .

Pines, each

Sapucaia Nuts,
per lb.

Strawberries, per

lb 3 0-60

Walnuts, per

bushel ... 16 0 —

Remarks.— Some outdoor Rhubarb is now coming in,
fetching 2s. to 3s. per dozen bundles ; this is bound in
a very different way to the Yorkshire Rhubarb. Grape-
fruits sell at 12s. 6d. per case. Apples all remain in
price about the same. A few Cabbages are now coming
in.

Potatos.

Dunbar Main Crop, 90s. ; Up-to-Date, 80s. to 85s. ;
Blacklands, 45s. to 50s. ; various, 50s. to 80s. Seed in
variety, prices on application. John Bath, 32 & 34, Well-
ington Street, Covent Garden.

THE WEATHER.

3 0-40

2 0-26

3 0-40

6 0-80

5 6 —

5 0-60

7 6-15 0
2 0-30

10 —

SEEDS.

London: March 19. — Messrs. John Shaw & Sons, Seed
Merchants, of Great Maze Pond, Borough, London, S.E.,
state that the present favourable weather naturally
causesabrisk sowing demand forfarm seeds generally,
as a result of which stocks are rapidly working down.
Fine samples of new English red Cloverseed have
become scarce, whilst there is no quotable alteration
in either Alsike or white. Trefoil keeps specially firm,
but Tares and Rye-grasses are dull. Lucerne is dearer,
and much wanted ; Sainfoin, however, continues cheap,
whilst Cocksfoot shows a substantial advance. As
regards bird seeds there is no fresh feature. Mustard
and Rapeseed realise former terms. Linseed is steady.
Scarlet Runner Beans are obtainable at very tempting
rates ; meantime, the trade doing in Peas and Haricots
is confined to narrow limits. The Board of Trade
Returns give the imports into the United Kingdom of
Clover and grass seeds for February, 1902, as 44,547 cwt.,
value £82,248, as against 37,796 cwt., value £81,505, for
the corresponding month of 1901.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.

Liverpool: March 19.— Wholesale Vegetable Market.
—Potatos, per cwt. : Up-to-Date, 2s. 2d. to 2s. 8d. ; Main
Crop, 2s. 9ri. to 48. ; Lynn Grays, 2s. to 2s. 4d. ; Bruce,
2s. 2d. to 2s. 6d ; Turnips, Swedes, Is. 4d. to Is. 6d. per
cwt. ; Carrots, 3s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. do. ; Onions, foreign,
os. to 6s. 6<f. do. ; Parsley, 8tl. to 10</. per twelve bunches ;
Cauliflowers, Is. to 2s. 3d. per dozen ; Cabbages dd. to
Is. [id. do. ; Celery, Gd. to Is. do. St. Johns : Potatos,
ls.lper peck; new do., 8d. per lb. ; Grapes, English,
4s. M. per lb. ; do., foreign, 6d. to 8d. do. ; Pineapples,
English, 3s. 6d. to 5s. each ; Apples, 2d. to 4d. per lb. ;
Tomatos, dd. ditto; Asparagus, Is. to 6s. per bundle ;
Cucumbers, ed. each ; Mushrooms, Is. 4d. per lb.
Birkenhead : Potatos, lod. to Is. per peck ; Grapes,
English, 2s. to 4s. per lb. ; do., foreign, 6d. to lod. do. ;
Mushrooms.lls. to Is. 6d. per lb. ; Filberts, Is. do.

Glasgow, March 19.— The following are the averages
of the prices during the past week :— Apples, New-
town Californian, 9s. 6d. to 10s. 6d. per case; Nova
Scotia Baldwins, las. to 24s. per barrel; Maine, 20s. to
24s. do. ; Canadian, 23s. to 26s. do. ; Oranges, Valencias,
ordinary, 420's, 10s. to lis. per box; do., large 420's,
12s. to 14s. do. ; extra large do., 14s. to 19s. do. ;
large 714's, 12s. to lis. do. ; Californian Navels, 15s. to
18s. do. ; Grapes, is. to 3& 6(2. per lb. ; Mushrooms, is.
do. ; Onions, Valencias, 5's, 8s. to 9s. per box ; do.
Globes, 8s. 6d. do. ; do., Dutch, 6s. 6<(. do.

CORN.

Average Prices of British Corn (per imperial qr.),
for the week ending March 15, 1902, and for the cor-
responding period of 1901, together with the difference
in the quotations. These figures are based on the
Official Weekly Return :—

0 6-08

Description.

1901.

1902.

Difference.

Wheat

Barley

Oats

». d.

25 9
25 1

17 7

1. d.

27 1

28 6
20 6

s. d.

+ 1 1
+ 1 5
+ 2 11

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS taken in the
Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens at Chiswick,
London, for the period March 9 to March 15, 1902.
Height above sea-level 24 feet.

Tempera-

z
0

Temperature

tore ofthe

1902.

0
g

or the Air.

SOILat9A.M.

0

5

h
O

55

O

At9A.M.

>

H
O

3

H
Z

A

®

■a

ft
0
0

•a

ft
0

0

Oi **-*

2LW

a 0 0

3 3

»

m
at

S

«

0
0

43

a

a

3
n

a

3
m

m
9

H
en
W

&

4a
0

M

e

<

<

<

a

a

£

W

hi

M

&jb 1 &i tii

d

tin

M

a

<D

•O

*8 t3 13

■a

•3

•a

■o

Sun. 9

N.W.

50 9

44 '9 56-144 8

007 43-2 42'3

43 1

42 0

Mon. 10

E.N.E.

44 9

44-2 49 3 44 7

45-0 43-2

43-3

415

TUES.ll

S.S.E.

44 4

43 '4 49 -3 38 -5

44-2 43-8

43 4

316

Wed. 12

S.S.E.

44 9

43 -6 53 5 42-0

44 4

43 '9

437

35-8

Thu. 13

S.S.E.

46*2

39 '7 56 -8 32 -3

44 1

44-2

43 9

25-1

FBI. 14

S.S.W.

49 3

45 9 54 -6135 -8

051

44 141-3

44 2

27'6

Sat. 15

W.N.W.

47'4

42'5

52-8

42 1

Tot

45-2 44-5

44-2

39-5

Means

...

46'9

43-5

53-2

40-0

0-58 44 -3 43'7

1 1

43-7

34-7

Remarks.— The first part of the week was remarkable
for dense, black fog; the latter part has been bright
with the wind strong. A considerable quantity of rain
fell on the 14th.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

The following Summary Record of the weather
throughout the British Islands, for the week ending
March 15, is furnished from the Meteorological Office :—

"The weather during this week was somewhat rainy
in all the more western and northern districts, although
the daily measurements were small, but over the greater
part of England it was generally dry until Friday,
when considerable rain fell over all the more southern
counties.

" The temperature was again above the mean, the excess
ranging from 5" in England, S.W., and the Midland
Counties, to 3° in Scotland. The highest of the maxima
were registered on different days in various parts
of the Kingdom ; they ranged from 60° in England (at
Southampton, on Sunday), to 51° in several of the north-
western and northern districts. The lowest of the
niiuima were recorded, as a rule, either ou the 13th or
14th, and ranged from 27° in Scotland, N. and E., and
28" in England, S., to 35° in England, S.W., and Ireland,
N., and to 36° in the Channel Islands.

" The rainfall exceeded the normal amount in Scot-
land, N. and W., the Midland Counties, and Eugland.S.,
and just equalled the average in England, E. and S. W. ;
elsewhere the fall was again less than the mean.

"The bright sunshine was deficient in all districts
excepting Scotland, N. The percentage of the possible
duration ranged from 32 in England, S. and E., and
29 in Ireland, S., to 16 in England, S.W., and 15 in
England, N.E. and N.W."

THE WEATHER IN WEST HERTS.
A remarkably warm week for the middle of March*
On the warmest day the temperature in the thermo-
meter screen rose to G23, a reading which has only once
before in the last sixteen years been exceeded so early
in the spring. The present warm spell has now lasted
nearly a month, during which period there has been
only one day or night which has been in any way cold
for the time of year. The ground has become very
warm, and is now 4° warmer at 2 feet deep, and 5°
warmer at 1 foot deep than is seasonable. There was
only one wet day during the week, and then nearly
threequarters of an inch fell, which is equivalent to a
watering of over 3 gallons on each square yard of sur-
face in my garden. Of this amount, about 2 gallons
has since come through each of t lie percolation-gauges.
Although the sun shone on two days for more than
eight hours a day, yet the average duration of sun-
shine for the week was rather under the average for
March, owing to t lie cloudy character of several other
days. Strong winds blew from the W.N.W. "ii two
days, but calms and light airs prevailed during the
rest ol the week. On the one wet day the atmosphere
was very humid, otherwise the air continued excep-
tionally dry. An Early Kivers Peach, growing on a
south wall In my garden, came into blossom on tho
17th, which is exactly a week earlier than its average
date of first flowering in tho previous sixteen years,
and nine days earlier than last year. E.M., Berkham.
sled, March 18, 1902.

200

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 22, 1902.

uyrrtjpojuUnu

Aerial Roots of -Vines: T. W. M. Caused
by a too great amount of moisture in the
vinery. Reduce the degree of moisture, and
roots will cease to be put forth.

Arruj Stocks : P. W. The Douein and French
Paradise stocks answer for bushes and
small trees ; and for trees which have to be
planted on shallow soils, or those which
have water not far from the surface. For
this climate, the English Paradise, broad-
Seaved Paradise and Nonsuch, are the best
stocks for standard trees. Many nursery-
men have their own select stock of these.
which they raise from seed.

BOOKS : John Spencer. Culture Forcce des
Oignons a Fleurs, par Jules Rudolph; and
L'Art deBonturer. p ir Adolphe Van den Heede .
Obtainable at the Librairie et Imprimerio
Horticole, 04 bis, Rue Crenelle, Paris; or
through a foreign bookseller here.

" BlUC. HT - BITS " ON YOUNG VINE SlIOOTS :

T. IV. M. Kindly send specimens, other-
wise we are unable, to answer your query.
S'lPaiPHDIUM : J. R„ Fircn-e. Your Oypri-
pedium bears a striking resemblance to
Cypripediuin x orphanum, which was sup-
posed to be the result of a cross between
C. Druryi and C. barbatuni. Your flower is
even pale for that variety, and therefore we
think that the dark-coloured C. x oenanthtun
is not one of the kinds used in its
production.

PROPPix'd of thb Young Fruits 6s this
PeacH: T. F. Tae mishap may be due to the
dryness of the soil during the winter— a
very common cause, and often unsuspected
by the gardener, owing to the moist ap-
pearance of the surface. Another probable
cause is a very abundant crop of fruits.
There is no mildew on the fruits sent.

tiojn Varieties ok Cactus Dahlias : Corre-
spondent. Varieties of Cactus Dahlias that
are free-flowering, which carry the flowers
well above the leaves, are as follows, viz. : —
Countess of Lonsdale, William Cuthbertson,
Spitfire, Lady Pearson, Loadstone, Flora-
(Tora, Dr. iNanscn, and Rocket (Pompon
Cactus).

Manures for Gardev Son,: E. Junes. The
analysis of air-dried soil being as follows:
moisture, 1*11 per cent.; carbonaceous
matter, 092 per cjnt. ; nitrogen equivalent
to ammonia, 0 35 par cent. ; available phos-
phate, 0-087 per cent. ; available potash
0-027 per cent. The best manure for
general purposes for such soil as the above
given is in quantities per acre as follows :
superphosphate, 1 cwt. ; nitrate of soda,
tj cwt.; slaskei lime, { cwt. Note, do
not omit the lime from the mixture, as
ther* is an exc ass of organic matter in the
soil. J. J. Willis.

Mice-. C. H. B. If your garden is very
secluded, and there are no fowls abjut, you
can lay poisoned (arsenic) grain about, which
is a good means of ridding a place of mice.
The dead bodies, we may remind you, may
tie eaten by your favourite cat. Cats and
traps, after all, are the best destoyers.

Illustrations of Groups of Orchids : T. W. M.
Examples of such as have appeared in this
Journal for the past ten or eleven years miy
perhaps be obtained of the publisher, if you
specify your requirements.

INSECTS : C. S. The Bean-seeds are injured by
th j beetle shown in fig. 03. The eggs are
laid as you suggest, on the y'oang seed-
vessel in the Bean- blossom. As the maggots
hatch, they cat their way into tae growing
seeds, and remain in this c'osed tunnel
dining the chrysalis stage, and until the
beetle eats its way oat, leaving the little
roaad holes you have observed. Do no

plant such injured seeds, nor seeds from
which the beetles have not yet emerged.
These may be identified upon examination
by their possessing a little round, slightly
discoloured depression. Destroy all such
seeds and beetles. The insects from the
vinery are those of the black Vine-weevil,
shown in fig. 02, and one of the worst
enemies to Vines and Strawberries. The
eggs of this insect are laid just below the
surface of the ground, and the maggots feed
upon the roots of plants. The perfect
beetles feed during the dark hours of night,
and are greatly scared by a bright light.

152. — III.ACK VINE WEEVIL (OTIORHYNCHUS

sclcatus) [much magnified).

| G

-BEAN WEEVIL (BRCCHUS GRANAHU'M

{much magnified).

During the day they are hidden away in the
cracks of the wall, or under clods of earth,
boards, or other refuge, and as they have
to get from these hiding places to the
plants by foot (for they are wingless), you
may possibly be able to place something
that will prevent them from doing so.

NAMES OF PLANTS : Oncid. Cittleyaamethysto-
glossa.— 11. K. C. D. 1, Polygala oppositi-
folia ; 2, Clianthus puniceus ; 3, Acacia
Rieeana. — W. T., Harrogate. A very fine
Odontogloss.um Audersonianum. — J. T.,
Hartford. 1, Cattleya Triansei delicata :
2 and 3, forms of Odontoglossum crispuin. —
W. C, Worthing. 1, Maekaya bella ; 2, Cur-
culigo recurvata ; 3, Megasea crassifolia. —
E. R. 1, A Cypress, perhaps C. Qoveniana,
send a cone ; 2, Sodum lydium ; 3, Ballota
sp. ; 4, Orobus veruus ; 5, Lonicera fragran-
tissiina ; 0, Saxifraga hypnoides. — IV. T.
Trachystemon orientate, a Boragineous plant
from the Levant. See Hardeners' Chronicle.
July 3, 1S30. — A. G. C. Send better speci-
mens. 3, is Berberis Darwini. — C. H. C.
Corn us mas.

ONCIDILM Jonesianum: Crass! node. The part
of this plant which you refer to as "the
bulbs" are the leaves. The pseudo-bulbs
of this species are very rudimentary, and
are attached to the rhizome after the large
fleshy terete leaves fall. There is no Onci-
dium like it in growth bearing flowers such
as you describe. The species which is im-
ported with it, and is much like it in growth,
is Oncidiutn Cebolleti, but that has upright
spikes consisting of many yellow flowers.
The- only plant we can think of with growths
and flowers such as you describe is Leptotes
bicolor (Tetramicra bicolor), but it is a
smaller grower, aud much more tufted than
Oncidiuni Jonesianum.

Pruning Evergreen and Deciduous Shrubs,
ROSES : 8. P. If the removal has been care-
fully performed, and there is little root
disturbance, as for instance, when a large

compict mass of soil and roots is removed
bodily, no pruning may be called for, unless
it be fie removal of long unripe shoots. Ou
the contrary, if there is considerable root
disturbance, together with mutilation of the
same, some reduction of the top growth is
necessary forthwith. It is a great assistance
to abundantly apply water before the balls
are quite covered over with earth ; and later
to syringe the tops night and morning till
growth is well advanced, that is till June or
later in the year. Climbing Roses should
have all of the leading shoots cat back to
oae-half their length, doin ; this as soon as
growth is renewed, and then catting to
strong buds; applying water and syringing
as above.

Richardia Leaves: E. Smith. Scalded by
sunshine whilst moist.

Sewage Farm Cuors : A. A. J. Italian Rye-
grass. This plant is excellent for milch
cows and cattle, and does well on sewage
farms and irrigated land generally, but
it smothers other grasses, and leaves the
ground bare when it dies out, which is
not the case with the perennial Rye -
grass. No other green crop yields a larger
amount of herbage. Roots, such as Tur-
nips, Beet, Mangold Wurzel, Parsnips,
and Carrots, would succeed, also Comfrey.
We would advise you to study Permanent
and Temporary Pastures, by Messrs. Sutton,
of Reading; published by Hamilton, Adams &
Co., Paternoster Row, E.C. ; and Agricul-
ture, Practical and Scientific, by Jas. Muir,
M.R.A.C., published by Macmillan & Co.,
St. Martins Stree% London, W.C.

SLUGS : C. H. B. Liming and trenching the
soil, thus burying or killing all that are
found in the upper crust of soil ; aud it is
only in frosty weather that slugs penetrate
the soil deeper than 0 inches Many can be
destroyed by going out at dusk with a box
filled with air-slaked lime, and strewing
this on the ground near to the plants they
mostly injure. Then slates and roofing-tiles
can be laid about half an inch above the soil,
and the creatures caught in great numbers
as they cling, in the daytime, to the moist
under-surface. Cabbage and Lettuce-leaves,
and little heaps of bran, are irresistible
baits for slugs, and ducks are partial to
them.

The Bleeding ok Grape-vines: Kao-Nyla.
There is nothing to be done. When growth
is a little more advanced the exudation of
the sap will cease, and the Vines be none
the worse. Do not let the soil get dry.

Vine Shedding its Shoots : B. B. The leaves
are apparently affected with some fungus,
perhaps a slime fungus, and the shedding may
be the effort of the plant to get rid of the
diseased portions. Send better specimens.

Vines : Subscriber. The leaves sent are very
deficient in substance, and in consequence
readily injured by sunshine whilst wet from
syringing. Afford more air with caution,
beginning at this date at 8 A.M., and as time
goes, still earlier, with a small amount left
on all night. This will strengthen the Vines,
and give substance and firmness to the
foliage.

Violet: J. Milsom. From two blooms crushed
flat in transit thrcug i the post, it is im-
possible for us to give the name of the
variety; you should send several, together
with leaves of the plant, packed in damp
moss in a tin box.

Communications Keceived.— O. B.. Belgrade— 1> W.—
F. W. B., hook, with thanks.— A. H.-R. K\, Liverpool,
with thanks— Baron Schroder— G. S. S.— J. W. O —
J. B , Berlin— W. H. S., Twyford— W. E. B.. CJranad*
—Harrison Weir— A. H., Orton— D. R. \V— H. 7..
Eisgrub; we shall publish the description shortly-
L. Van den B., Tirlemont (manv thanks).— W. C &
Son.-F. A. P.— J. R. J.— G. S. B— B. A — \V. C. ~L —
A. H.-A. W. S— W. G.— A. C. B.-E. T., Graham's
Town.— G. M. W.— J. A. F.-C. H. C.-C. G. G. (with
thanks). — J. S.. Sutton. — G. Wythcs.-H. B. J.—
W. S.-B.-G. M. W.-H. J. J.-E. T. H.-K. D.-R. P. B.
—J. W.— T. T— II. W. W.— J. D.— G. IS.— Orchid.—
J. II. N.— R. D.— E. C.-J C. T.— W. C.

Supplement to the " Gardeners iChronicle." March 22, 1902.

A.M.K.M I'M [CHNEUMONEUM AT SlIII'I.KY llAI.I. GARDENS, DERBY,

March 29, 1902.]

THE GARD ENERS' CHR ONICL E.

201

THE

<&m&mm' (fylxvmxkk

No. 796.— SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Aster-worm

Begonias —

Gloire de Lorraine .

Buisson Kouge

Perle Lorraine
Cannell, Mr. R.
China, Flora of
Cypripediuin exul

malformed

Edmondson, Messrs.
Erantliishyemalis and

E. cilicicus

Euphorbia pulcher-

rima

Ficus elastica varie-

gata, culture of
Fruit farm, the Duke

of Bedford's

Gloxinias, culture of .
Grape-prize at Shrews-
bury

Grass-seed, gigantic .
Hardy fruits, culture

of

Havvaian islands,

vegetable products

of the

Horticultural hall 210,

Jack-fruit

Lilium giganteum 212,
Narcissus odorus in

Greenwich Park ...
New plants—

Meliosma Herberti .
Nursery notes —

Webb & Sons, E.-,

Stourbridge

Orchard house in

February

202
201
201
211

204

203
211

212

213

205

211
205

212

211

201

213

205
213

Obituary-
Edward Roberts ...
Charles Fisher

Pavia indica

Phaius grandifolius ...

Railway banks and
fruit-trees

Road-sides and fruit-
trees

Roses, retarding of. for
the Coronation ...

R.H.S. general meeting

Selsdon Park

Snowdrops, yellow 212,

Societies—

Liunean

Royal Horticultural

R.H.S. general meet-
ing

R.H.S. committee
meetings

Syme, David, the late.
The Schroder Hall ...

Tradenotice

Weather, the

Webb's nursery

Week's Work, the—
Flower Garden, the .
Fruits under Glass .
Hardy Fruit Garden
Kitchen Garden ...
Orchid Houses, the.
Plants under Glass .

Wilson. Mr. E. H.,
Travels in China ...
Winter Aconite
Zamia, fertilisation of

2111
219
213
211

213
214
211
213

211
210

211

218

213

210
20«
210
214

208
208
£09
209
208
209

204
212
211

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Liegonia Gloire de Lorraine
„ Buisson Rose
,, Perle Lorraine

Cvpripedium exul malformed

L;elia, Edward VII

Schroder, Baron Sir Henry...

202
204
205
203
£07
210

THE PRINCIPAL VEGETABLE
PRODUCTS OF THE HAWAIAX
ISLANDS.
\ S everyone in the horticultural world
-^*- knows, Sugar is the staple industry,
and is largely cultivated throughout the
Islands. It was cultivated in very small
quantities before 187(5, when a treaty of
commercial reciprocity with the United
States came into effect. Under the pro-
visions of this treaty an era of unexpected
prosperity set in, and the production of
Sugar, as well as Rice, increased more than
was ever anticipated. Large barren tracts
of land were brought into cultivation by ex-
tensive irrigation, some of the ditches being
Hi miles in length, carried through dense
woods, tunnelled through rock, and spanning
wide caiions. The Ewa Plantation, near
Honolulu, is one of the largest and finest in
the Islands. About 90,000 acres an' taken
up with the various plantations, with a
yearly yield of about 220,000 tons of sugar.
1 1 cequires an average of eighteen months

for a crop to mature, the ordinary yield
being 3^- tons to the acre ; yet on specially
rich alluvial soil, it is sometimes as great as
9 tons to the acre.

Next in importance comes Rice. Its
culture is principally carried on by the
Chinese, and in the San Francisco market
it grades with the best coming from China.
The ground is ploughed and well harrowed,
the field is then submerged, the water being
allowed to stand until the crop ripens, when
it is drawn off. The method of cultivating
is crude and primitive. The Chinaman
sows the seed thickly in a small field; when
the plants are about 6 inches high, they are
pulled up and taken to the field for planting,
where they are set out in the mud by hand
in rows about 8 inches apart. When matured
the water is drawn off to allow the straw
to ripen. The crop is then cut with the
sickle. No threshing machines are used by
the Chinese Rice grower, but the grain is
separated from the chaff by being beaten
out with the hoofs of horses or Chinese
cattle, as in ancient times.

Coffee is cultivated, but not to a large
extent, although Hawaian, or Kora, Coffee
takes a high place among the best Coffees of
the world ; the trees are grown anywhere,
from the sea-level up to 3,800 feet above the
sea. One of the greatest difficulties to con-
tend with is insect blight, which is greatly
kept in cheek by peculiar parasites, and
ladybirds that have been introduced for each
kind of insect. The cultivation of Tea is
carried on with good results, the best quality
of leaf being obtained on the higher eleva-
tions. The high price of labour prevents its
more extensive cultivation.

Hemp has been experimented with, and
pronounced by experts to be of a good,
strong description. The expense of cultiva-
tion is trifling, and the yield per acre is
about 13i tons. Ramie, or vegetable silk,
grows luxuriantly, but the industry is not
developed, owing to the want of suitable
machinery.

The soil and climate of Hawaii cannot be
excelled for the production of tropical
and sub-tropical fruits, and their introduc-
tion has added largely to the prosperity of
the islands, especially so in the case of
semi-tropical fruits, such as the Alligator-
pea r Banana, Lime (Citrus Limetta), Orange,
and Lemon. The Alligator-pear grows to a
large size, and the fruit is of a superior
quality. The flesh is of buttery consis-
tency, with a nutty flavour, and it makes a
delicious dressing for salads ; the largest
of these heads is about 6 inches long, and
weighs upwards of 3 lb. The Mango grows
in great profusion, and several varieties are
used for making chutney, the best varieties
having been imported from India and
Jamaica. It is an evergreen with small,
glossy leaves ; and a gum which exudes
from the trunk of the tree is used in medi-
cine. It bears fruit several months of the
year, and it is not unusual to find trees with
fruits on one side and blossoms on the
other.

( 'ocoa-nuts grow all along the sea-shore, or
any spot where nothing else will grow; but
they are now very little cultivated. The Sapo-
dilla.Soursop, Pommelo, Cherimoya, Custard -
Apple, Papaw, Citron, Water-Melon, Grana-
dilla, Pomegranate, and Tamarind are some
of the desirable exotic fruits that- do well in
the islands. Vegetables of all descriptions

are raised throughout the 'year, and Water
and Cantaloupe Melons are superior to those
grown in most countries. Pineapples grow
wild on all the islands ; there are some
twenty-five varieties taking their names
from the localities whence they are ob-
tained. Near Pearl City, some eight miles
from Honolulu, a plantation of an excellent
variety exists. The average weight of the
fruits is 8 lb., although the fruits of some
varieties have been known to reach a weight
of 17 lb. The Pineapple season is from the
middle of the month of May to the middle
of August.

Bananas are raised in great quantities
and shipped to the west coast of the United
States, the cost of cultivation being very
small. Along the mountain ranges are
trees and Vines in luxuriant growth, forests
of a magnificent species of tree, whose wood
has beautiful markings, and capable of taking
a high polish, equalling the finest walnut and
mahogany ; this is the Koa-tree. The islands
at one time were very rich in Sandal-wood,
but when the natives found it would be a
great source of income to them, they cut
down the old trees in a very short space of
time, and sold them to dealers in the United
States, and neglected to plant young trees
for a future supply.

Not the least important vegetable product
is Taro. It consists of two kinds — the upland,
which grows on the hillsides in dry ground,
and the lowland, or more important staple,
which is propagated like Rice, under water.
Long irrigating ditches are required in
preparing the bed. The ground is levelled
off and enclosed by a wall impervious to
water. The floor of the patch is made as
rich as possible, and the top is cut from the
ripe roots and set out in hillocks placed
several feet apart. The water is let in, and
allowed to remain until the crop is mature,
i.e., in about twelve months, the only labour
required being to keep the soil clear of
weeds, and provide a depth of about (i ins.
of running water. Taro can be planted at
any season, and a ripe crop obtained. The
root is oblong, the largest being about 1 foot
in length, and from 3 to 4 inches in diameter.
The root is baked by the natives, who make
from it what they call poi, the baked root
being pounded till it forms a paste, which is
thinned by adding water, and afterwards
allowed to ferment. As a food it is most
nutritious.

Another important plant much used by
the natives is the Ti ; it has also a large,
oblong root, and the leaves are of a shining
green tint. The Ti-leaves were at one time
woven together, and formed a short cloak,
which the natives sometimes wore. The
root, after baking, is sweet and pleasant to
the taste. It is also used to make an intoxi-
cating drink, by bruising the roots with a
stone, and steeping in water until it
ferments.

Besides the plants mentioned, there are
many beautiful flowering and foliage plants,
among which Codiseums (Crotons) are
worthy of special mention. All the va-
rieties grow in great luxuriance, and show
exceedingly rich leaf-colouring.

Round the College grounds, in the suburbs
of Honolulu, is a hedge of a night-blooming
Cereus (Cereus nycticalus), which is a mag-
nificent sight when in flower, the blossoms
ranging from 2 to 3 feet in circumference.
Donald Mclntyre, Moanalua, Honolulu.

202

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 20, 1909.

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

MELIOSMA HERBERTI.

In tho Gardeners' Chronicle of January 11,
1902, p. 31, I notice a flowering panicle of M.
myriantha depicted, and a paragraph respect-
ing it on the opposite page. In the West
Indies a new species was discovered a few
years ago at St. Vincent, by Mr. Herbert Smith,
after whom it was named by Mr. Rolfe of
the Kew Herbarium. At that time it was
only known from that island. Since then,
it has been found in Grenada by the late
David Alexander, a negro plant collector
and myself, and is said to be good for
making into posts. We distributed seed
recently to the Royal Gardens, Kew, and the
Botanic Gardens of Trinidad, W.I. Some
seeds sown here have germinated very well.
W. E. Broadway, Grenada.

BEGONIA GLOIRE DE
LORRAINE.

This (lower is the subject of a very good
article in the Gardeners' Chronicle, Feb. I,
1902, p. 75, and as we have been very suc-
cessful in its cultivation, I thought I could
not do better than forward to you (for publi-
cation if you think fit) a photograph of one of
our plants. This plant is 2 feet from the rim
of the pot (a 32) in extreme length, and 2 feet
wide as it hangs. It was grown from a cutting
struck the first week in April, and the shoots
were stopped.

My experience of this Begonia dates back
some six years, when one cutting was sent to
the head gardener under whom I then served,
and it was handed to me to propagate and
grow ; and in several situations that I have
been in since that time I have watched the
plant carefully as to its requirements, and
have succeeded in producing good, wcll-
flowered plants.

I usually cut off the old flowers, and fresh
ones then appear. As far as temperature is
concerned, the plant-stove is where they
always seem to thrive best, providing mealy-
bug does not pass from Crotons, &c, to the
Begonias. Plenty of moisture, a suitable com-
post, which should contain equal parts of peat
and leaf-mould, a small quantity of loam and
bone-meal, and sufficient silver-sand to keep it
open, are essentials.

We had over thirty |plants, the majority of
which averaged over 2* feet high.

I have not had the opportunity of growing
Caledonia, and the impression I got once at the
Drill Hall was that it was of weak constitu-
tion, and reports of it from gardening friends
are not satisfactory. John G. Wilson, Foreman
at Eshton Hall Gardens. [The photograph
(fig. 64) was taken by G. C. Mellor, a youDg
gardener at Eshton Hall. Ed.]

of Fritillarias, Tulips, Asters, Celery, and
many other cultivated plants, suffering from
the ubiquitous foe ; and as if to be avenged
for tho publicity I had given to it, the little
annelid invaded my own garden, and soon
destroyed an entire row of Celery. Now I
have received samples of sick Celery from
Ireland blighted by the same insidious pigmy.
Evidently then, the Aster-worm (as I called it
from the: fast that it was first discovered in

for studying its character. I find among my
memoranda the following note : " Some weeks
after discovering E. parvulus, I again examined
the Celery, and found a new worm (as figured
in my note-books) in its place. I at once ques-
tioned whether E. parvulus may not be what
one might call a larval form." This note is
dated March, 1X98, and concludes with the
query : " Why may not worms have larvsa, and
then develop into higher forms? I want to

Pig. 64.— begonia gloire de lorraixe: grown at eshton hall as a basket plant.

NOTES ON THE ASTER-WORM.

In the Gardeners' 'Chronicle for August 14,
1897, will be found an article on Aster sickness
and its cause. In that paper I gave some
particulars of a small white worm (Enchy-
trseus parvulus, Friend), which had been
guilty of terrible ravages among cultivated
plants. This worm had not been previously
recorded for Great Britain, though it may
have been reported from Germany under
another name. Once it had been found, it
turned up everywhere. I received letters
from every part of the country with specimens

that plant) has come to stay, and is not parti-
cular about the kind of host on which it feeds.
Given a good supply of succulent roots, tubers,
bulbs, or leaf-stalks, and it will thrive so long
as its table is kept well replenished.

I have to-day, however, to call attention to
a noteworthy fact, which so far as I am aware has
never before been observed or recorded. When,
in the winter of 1897-98, my own Celery began
to fail, I at once looked for the cause. I then
found the Aster-worm thoroughly established
in my garden, and bad abundant opportunities

work this out." Unfortunately for me I had
shortly after to change my residence, leave
my garden with its curious and interesting
creatures behind, and give up the study of the
Aster-worm for some years.

Now the surprising point is here. The dis-
eased Celery from Ireland is infested with
these two identical worms in equal numbers.
I have not heard of anyone hiving seen the
second form in Great Britain. I have not my-
self described it in connection with Celery or
Aster sickness ; nor am 1 aware that anyone.

March 29, 1902.1

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

203

either in England or elsewhere has ever ob-
{ served the phenomenon. Ilmv is it. then, to
■ be accounted for, that when th-j Aster-worm,
Whether in England or Ireland, in 1897 or
VMi, attacks Celery, it is found to be asso-
ciated with another form of Enchytrsens ? My
own suspicion is, that the smaller and earlier
form may be regarded as in some sense the
' larval stage of the later and larger. But let

ins examine the possible explanations.
If the problem had been submitted to me
! from without, and I had not been able to
develop a theory of my own on the strength
of repeated observations, I should have said : —
1. We may have here a case of symbiosis, or
a kind of free parasitism. One is so familiar
with this S3i't of thing in Xature that even if

possibly the Aster-worm strikes the blow, and
the larger species follows it up. That is a
second possible hypothesis.

3. It is, however, not in the le..st contrary
to fact or reasoi that the second and larger
worm is a higher or adult form of the Aster-
worm. The following are the arguments in
favour of this theory : — In the first place, my
experience hitherto shows that while the
Aster-worm is the form most frequently found
when disease begins to show itself, as time
goes on the second form increases in numbers
till they are equal (as in the Irish Celery
recently examined), and finally the lesser form
disappears altogether and the larger takes the
Held, as in my own Celery-trench in March,
1898.

Fig. g:

-TERNARY I'LOWKR OF CYPRIPEMUM RXUL.

symbiosis among annelids is not yet proved,
there is no reasonable ground for supposing
it improbable. We know so little about the
life-history of these lowly creatures that we
cannot at present say what novelties may not
be discovered among them. Perhaps, then, it
is s mbiosis, or even a species of free para-
sitism. If that may not be, then —

2. The first and smaller form may be regarded

as a pioneer, preparing the way for the larger

and later form. This, again, is a frequent

occurrence. We know that there are many

creatures which cannot win a livelihood except

in the tracks of some other worker. It may

be the two are related, or it may be they are

widely separated in genus or family. Some

pests never initiate sickness or decay, but the

■ moment the animal or plant on which they

; prey is seen to fall at the hand of another,

'• they rush in to do their work. The vulture,

[which will not kill an ass, will gloat on its

' carcase if another deals the death-blow ; so

As we have no evidence that these worms
are cannibals (though 1 believe cannibalism is
not yet an extinct vice among annelids), the
prima facie evidence is in favour of the evo-
lution of the larger and later form from the
lesser and earlier. Next I may add that so
far as I have been able to observe the forms,
it is rare for the lesser one to show traces of
having reached the adult stage. I speak
cautiously here, because the Aster-worm has
been known to develop the organs of repro-
duction, as my illustration in the Gardeners'
Chronicle shows. But this fact would not
weaken my theory, as we know that the larvas
of some gnats lay eggs, so it is not unreason-
able to allow the larval forms of worms to do
the same.

We have again the analogy of the mites to
help us. The Eueharis - mite, for example,
develops from an insect into a spider, or
from a creature with six legs (in the larval
stage) to one with eight in the imago. What

is there, then, in the nature of things to
prevent a worm developing in the same way ?
If this theory of evolution through a larva be
accepted, it will throw light on a number of
points in the anatomy and life-history of some
species of worms which are at present obscure.
It might further aid us in reconciling and
understanding the descriptions of earlier natu-
ralists, who, studying the larval and imago
stages at the same time, tell us that the setre
and other organs vary in number, position, and
other details in the different specimens.

To me, therefore, it seems that we have here
a capital working hypothesis, and it appears
strange that some of the many workers among
the Enchytreeids have not thrown light on the
subject. If we grant that worms may pass
through different stages of development, we
may have a clue to the meaning of Lumbri-
culus, for example, which seems very clearly
to be a larval form. Moreover, a new light
will be thrown upon the position which worms
hold in the scale of being. We shall see them
to be arrested forms of life, which, though they
have themselves been evolved from lower
larval forms, have yet been unable to get
beyond the grade of larvse. Even larvte may
moult, as do the young caterpillars of the silk-
worm. Why then may not worms ?

Finally, in order to establish this theory, it
will be necessary to pay great attention to
details.

It will readily be seen that a good many
experiments would have to be undertaken.
Check plants would have to be provided, and
every precaution taken to keep the results
properly registered. This is hardly the work
for the practical gardener ; but it might well
be undertaken by the biologist or practical
naturalist who has command of a good garden
or two, and could give the necessary time to
the experiments. Moreover, the question
whether the later form is or is not evolved
from the earlier, is not one which materially
helps the florist or gardener, as he wants to
know how to get rid of the pest. At the same
time, the surest way of dealing satisfactorily
with any evil is first of all to study its life-
history, and hunt it through all its resorts
and lurking-places, its protean shapes and
forms, so as to be able to identify it wherever
it appears, or whatever form it assumes. The
student would need to be an expert in annelid
anatomy, since such important characters as
the brain, sperm-sacs, salivary glands, and
other features, would require special atten-
tion. If this is hardly the work for a prac-
tical gardener, he must at the same time be
interested in the life-history of a creature
which gives him so much concern and trouble.
Hilderic Friend, Chichester.

CYPRIPEDIUM EXUL.

Mb. Denny, the Gardens, Down House, Bland-
ford, sends us a flower of Cypripedium exul
with three sepals, two lateral and one anterior
(tig. G5). The lateral sepals are white, except
in the basal half, where they are yellowish-
green in the centre, marked with large cir-
cular purplish spots; the lower or anterior
sepal is almost entirely greenish - yellow.
Alternating with the three sepals are three
petals like the two lateral petals of a normal
flower, but placed one centrally, opposite the
lip, and two at the sides, decussating with the
two other petals. The lip is normal in posi-
tion and conformation. The staminode is
either very deeply divided, or it consists of
two united at the base only. The anthers are
imperfect, tho stigma sub-orbicular, distinctly
two-lobcd. The ovary is one-celled, with four
parietal placentas.

204

THE GARD ENER S ' CUR ONI CL E.

[March 29, 1902.

WINTER-FLOWERING BEGONIAS.
Begonia Buisson Rouge (fig. CC). — M. Le-
moine sends us photographs of two new hybrids,
raised by him at Nancy, which seem valuable ad-
ditions to winter-flowering plants. This hybrid
originated from a cross between B. diversi-
folia (Bot. Mag., 2966), which flowers all the
summer when exposed to the full sun, and E.
polyantha, which produces its flowers in the
greenhouse in winter. The general appear-
ance is shown in fig. 66. The flowers are pro-
duced at the end of August in the open
ground, and the plants, lifted in autumn and
placed first in a cool-house, and afterwards in
a warm greenhouse, remain in flower till
January. The flowers are rosy-carmine, and
form a variation from the Chrysanthemum
during the dull season.

Begonia Perle Lorraine (sic). Pig. 67.

Begonia polyantha crossed by B. dredalea
has yielded M. Lemoine a hybrid whose stem
attains a height of about 2 feet or a little less.
The leaves are green and black-spotted on the
upper surface, paler green with red spots on
the lower surface. The flowers appear in
January, and are white flushed with rose
colour ; they remain in beauty from January
till April. When in full bloom the plants
look as if covered with snow. Both foliage
and inflorescence are described as excep-
tionally beautiful.

CHINA.

THE FLORA AND FAUNA OF YUNNAN, &c.

(•Special for the " Gardeners' Chronicle.")

Mr. E. H. Wilson, the representative of
Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, who
has been on a botanical exploring expedition
in China for the past three years, is now re-
turning home after what we understand has
been a very successful mission. Upon his
arrival at Shanghai, he gave to our corre-
spondent a very interesting account of his
experiences.

" Mr. Wilson's object, he said, has been the
collection of botanical specimens and plants,
with a view to introducing them into England,
and thereby adding to our knowledge of the
flora of China.

"About 2,600 herbarium specimens have
been collected. Seeds and bulbs are of course
the most noteworthy in the class, these being
for commercial purposes, while the plants
themselves will be for scientific purposes only.
Orchids are plentiful in Yunnan, but not in
Hupeh ; in fact, there are none worth men-
tioning, the climate being too cold. I have
not seen an Orchid in Hupeh worth 2 cents.

"His object has not been to collect any
particular species of plants, but anything
likely to be of interest or value to the bo-
tanical world.

"Until you reach Ichang the country is flat
and monotonous, but a few miles below Ichang
you begin to strike a mountainous region. To
the north-west you get mountain ranges, with
peaks rising from 5,000 to 10,000 feet high.
It is in this district that nearly all my collect-
ing has been done. Through the Yangtze
gorges, the glens, the creeks, and along the
cliffs, I have spent a good deal of time. The
most noteworthy thing about these moun-
tainous regions is the paucity of the inhabi-
tants. There are probably not three inhabi-
tants to the square mile, and an interesting
point is that they all suffer from goitre, a
disease of the throat, which they attribute
to drinking snow - water. They live almost
exclusively on the common Potato, which
thrives luxuriantly here ; it forms their staple
food. The Potato was introduced to the dis-

trict by the Catholic Fathers about a century
ago. It is too cold to grow Rice, Maize, or
"Wheat."

Tn this region the tiger, leopard, wild pig,
wild goat, deer (both large-horned and short-
horned), wolves, and foxes are very common.
The common pheasant (Reeve's), and golden
pheasant are also to be found here in large
quantities.

"These mountainous regions are covered
with the remains of forests ; here and there
are small collections of trees, but for the
remainder, the trees seem to have been felled
and taken away. The Oak, Beech, Birch,
Maple, and Ash, thrive well, as well in fact as

varieties now cultivated in our greenhouses at
homo have been evolved. Again it is the
home of the Chrysanthemum. The Chrysanthe-
mum is very common here, and is to be
found growing in profusion in all the hedges
and ditches in and around Ichang ; it is from
this type that our homo Chrysanthemum
originally came. Of course, the original
specimen, by comparison with a cultivated
one at home, is a mere weed, notwithstanding
that here is the native home of the plant.
The Peach-tree grows wild in the higher parts
of the mountains, and a form of the Japanese
Maple is abundant.
"The unfrequented parts of the district of

Fig. 66.— begonia buisson rose: winter-flowering.

Height about 3 feet ; colour rosy-carmine.

we see them in the native woodlands at
home, only differing in species. Giant Fir-
trees are very abundant, and attain from 100
to 150 feet in height. The Fir tree is commonly
used for the making of bee-hives, the trunk
being hollowed out ; the wood is also used
for coffins. Rhododendrons, Viburnums, Cle-
matis, Brambles, Vines, Roses, Apples, Plums,
and Privets, run riot in numberless species.
The herbs mostly found belong to the Com-
posite and Labiatre. Among the flowering
plants met with are Primulas, Anemones, and
Saxifrages ; these make a fine show in the
early spring in the higher regions. There are
one or two peculiarities about the flora of
Ichang which are well worth noting. In the
first place, this district is the home of the wild
Chinese Primula, from which the numerous

Ichang is rich in coal, there being out-croppings
at the surface nearly everywhere you go. Id
some districts it is being worked by the
Chinese. Copper and iron ore are to be found
in and around Shinan, where already a few-
mines are working.

"In the summer in Ichang the thermometer
oftenrunsuptollO°Fahr.,i.e.,of course, during
the hottest season of the year ; while in the
winter it falls as low as 24°. The average
rainfall is about 30 inches per annum. Ichang
is a healthy place for Europeans to live in. I
would add that a pleasing characteristic of the
people of Western Hupeh is their extreme
friendliness towards foreigners, who never get
insulted. I was there during the Boxer
troubles, and never had any difficulty of any .:
sort."

March 29, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

205

JACK FRUIT.

The Jack fruit (Artoearpus iutegrifolia)
has a* peculiar odour and flavour -which
requires training to appreciate ; hence,
although delicious to those who acquire tho
taste in early life, the matured traveller is
usually very easily satisfied unless the speci-
men offered be one of those rare variations
with an odour differing greatly from the
normal. Flavours are indescribable, but that
of an over-ripe Melon approaches somewhat
the flavour of the Jack. While growing, the
immense compound fruit, about 20 lbs. in
weight, but often much heavier, hanging from
the naked stem or large branches, is an object
of special interest. The tree needs an equable

may be ensured. Several of the tied-up seed-
lings are planted together, deep enough for the
end of the stem only to protrude, and if more
than one survives, the others are removed, and
the twining of the stem continued during the
first year ; afterwards it is permitted to grow
naturally, and the addition of fresh soil above
the roots is all the attention required. When
about seven years old, fruit begins to appear,
and the oldest parts of the tree bear first ; the
twisted-up portion of the stem underground
produces the most valued specimens, probably
because they are ripened on the tree, the
odour being the first indication of their
presence. When the market day arrives, the
cultivator puts the odoriferous mass on his
head, takes his alpenstock in his hand, and as

CULTURAL MEMORANDUM.

GLOXINIAS.

Seed may be sown at this date, as well as
much earlier in the year, in pans filled with
finely sifted loam and leaf -mould, together
with a fair quantity of sharp sand, and they
should be well drained. Having made the soil
firm, sow the seeds evenly and thinly, and
cover them slightly, and put the pans or pots
in a pit having a top heat of 70°, shading from
sunshine. When the seed has germinated, put
the pans close to the glass, in order to prevent
drawing. As soon as any of the seedlings are
large enough to be handled, lift these, and prick
them off into large 60-size pots, in a soil

■ I

•

S - 1

> ■.;■■ ...

JSe-

. . ■ M

%4^

Bto. 67.— begonia perxe Lorraine.

Flowers white, flushed with rose ; leaves green with black spots above, paler aud with red spots beneath.

warm and moist climate, and does not object
to a long season of heavy rain, and a longer
season of dry soil if the air be moist. The
climate of the Western Ghats of India, at an
altitude of 1,000 to 2,000 feet, is specially
favourable. Here the moisture-laden breeze
from the sea every evening, even in the dry

I season, brings water enough to bedew every
leaf, and the hot north-east wind is shut out.
The hill people of western India have an
I interesting manner of propagating the tree.
I The seed is .wrapped in moss, and placed on
I the roof of the house, out of the way of
| field rats, and the almost continuous drizzle,
I if not heavier rain, from June till October,
(supplies sufficient moisture to ensure ger-
I mination and growth in a few weeks to
about 12 inches in height. Tho young tree
is then wound gently round a stick, and
mado fast in this position, while the cultivator
I prepares a site for planting by banking up a
slop/\ so that a deep soil with perfect drainage

he marches off down the boulder-strewn path
to the distant market, he is greeted as one
bearing a special blessing of the gods, and
reckons how many weeks' Tobacco and Chillies
he will be able to buy with his fragrant
burden.

The Jack has a name in every one of tho
many languages of India and Ceylon, but none
of them approaches the sound of its familiar
appellation, and that was probably given by
our early voyagers, from the resemblance
between its tough outer covering, studded
with raised points, and the Jack coat -of -
arms, used by soldiers and sailors in mediaeval
times, and it is more than probable, that after
months of salt pork and beef, our sailors
enjoyed tho rather fulsome flavour of the
massive fruit, and gave it the name most
familiar to them. Among the many vernacular
names of the Jack, Artocarpus iutegrifolia
is the most widely known. G. Marshall H'ood-
roir, Enter.- Pro/. Botany and Agriculture.

similar to that in which they were sown.
When they have got leaves an inch long, pot
them singly into 3-inch pots, keeping them all
along in a warm, light house.

Tho next shift should be into 48's, using
a soil consisting of two parts fibrous loam,
and one part each of peat and leaf-mould,
some bone-meal, and silver-sand, and in theso
the plants may be flowered. When tho
soil gets filled with roots, afford manure-
water occasionally.

Gloxinias must never be kept in close, moist
houses, or one in which there is not much air,
or tho light is bad, or the leaves and flowers
will be weak. W. Hopkins, WelforA House,
Eampstead.

FlCDS HLASHOA 1 IBIEGATA.

Though not quite so much in demand as i1

wasa lew years ago, this may still be regarded
as a useful plant. The great drawback is,
that the marginal creamy-white variegation

206

THE GA RDENER 8 ' CHE ONI CL E.

[March 29, 190"

does not stand exposure to sudden changes of
temperature ; a low temperature with mois-
ture on the leaves will be sure to cause dis-
coloration, but if the atmosphere is dry they
will stand much bettor. I have known plants
to keep in good condition for months in a window
in a cool room. The sun coming on the leaves
while they are moist is one cause of discolora-
tion. With the exception of being careful with
regard to moisture, the cultural requirements
are similar to those needed by the ordinary
green Ficus, and cuttings will root as freely. By
keeping a few strong plants for stock, a supply
of young healthy plants may easily be kept up.
The cuttings should be taken while the plants
are not in active growth. After taking them
off, some dry warm sand should be applied to
the base to stop bleeding. Put in singly in
small pots, using sandy loam, and plunged in
a close propagating-pit where there is a good
bottom-heat, they will soon root ; and in a few
days after they are removed from the pit, they
may be potted on into larger pots. It is most
important that they should be attended to, as
they require it, for if allowed to get a check
the stems get hard, and they make small
leaves ; and even if they are got into strong
growtli again, there will be a contraction of
the stem, and small leaves at the point (or
rather, part of the stem where they had been
checked). Good yellow loam, with manure
and sand added, is the best compost, and after
the pots are filled with roots, liquid-manure
may be used freely. Plants that have been
grown on in heat may bo gradually hardened
off after they have attained to a useful size;
and if they have been grown fully exposed to
the sun, they will be short-jointed, and the
leaves of better colour and substance than
when grown under shade. A. llcmsley.

L.ELIA x DIGBYANA-PURPURATA
" EDWARD VII.''

Ouu illustration represents one of the
most remarkable hybrid Orchids ever raised,
and for which the raisers, Messrs. Jan. Veitcii
& Sons, of Chelsea, were awarded a First-
class Certificate at the Royal Horticultural
Society on March 11 last. It is remarkable
in every point, but especially in that it shows
a surprisingly progressive development in a
cross, the general run of whose progeny have
been considered as but of moderate value. In
the variety Edward VII., however, not only
the members of its class, but all other hybrids
of Ltelia Digbyana are excelled. The parent-
age is L. Digbyana x L. purpurata ; and the
flower is white, slightly veined and tinged
with a delicate rose colour, the disc of the
lip being primrose-yellow, changing to white
as it approaches the bright rose-purple mark-
ing on the front.

THE SUCCESSFUL CULTURE OF
HARDY FRUITS.

In the first place we will notice some of the
varieties of hardy fruits which have been
tested and have stood the climatic conditions;
their market value in competition with foreign
produce ; also the character of the soil, and
best method of cultivation to ensure success.

As a selection of hardy fruits suitable for
our climate, I would specially recommend the
following : —

In Gooseberries, Whinham's Industry, War-
rington Red, Crown Bob, Lancashire Lad,
Whitesmith ; Ashton Red for preserving ;
Amber Yellow for dessert.

In Apples, Closeburn's Seedling, of the style
of Hawthornden, but a finer Apple, and heavier
cropper; John Peel, as per illustration, raised
in the North of England ; Brayton Hall, Low-
ther Castle, Cellini Pippin, Keswick Codlin,

early ; Lord Suftield, improvement on Keswick,
much larger ; Northern Spy, a grand dessert
Apple; Warner's King, Turnover, fine Apple,
good keeper and bearer ; Norman ton Wonder,
long keeper, indispensable; Stirling Castle,
Pott's Seedling, an enormous bearer, and a
first-class Apple ; King of the Pippins, un-
equalled as a dessert fruit, and heavy bearer ;
New Hawthornden, a splendid culinary Apple ;
Carlisle Castle. The above kinds embrace
every Apple necessary to be grown, and have
all been tested as to their hardiness.

Hardy Prars for the English climate: —
Catillac, Williams' Bon Chretien, heavy crop-
per, fine juicy Pear, should be sold off quickly ;
BeurreSiiperfln, Duchesse d' AngoulOme, Marie
Louise, Glout Morceau, Beurre Diel, large
fruit ; Easter Beurre, fine.

Lnte Pears : — Hazel, Chaumontelle, Beurre
Rauce, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Citron des
Cannes, and Winter Xelis.

The above kinds will furnish, judiciously
managed, a supply of Pears nine months out
of the year.

Hardy Plums come next. In these I wou'd
recommend Diamond, Victoria, Bed Orleans,
Rivers' Prolific, Mitchelson's, Jefferson, Wine
Sack, Heine Englebert, Magnum Bonum,
Kirke's Plum, Heding's Superb, Heine Claude
de Bavay, Green Gage Imperial, all being
bearers are suitable for both dessert and
kitchen use.

This list of select hardy fruits is not
complete without the addition of a few
Cherries, such as Black Tartarian, May duke,
Bigarreau, Morello, and White Heart. A
good selection of English grown fruit will
always command a good price in the market,
according to quality, and their adaptation for
the requirements of the home trade.

In the culture of hardy fruits whether as
orchard trees or as pyramids or bushes, the
following points are essential to ensure suc-
cess. First, a selection of suitable land ; 2nd,
the consideration whether the land requires
drainage or not ; 3rd, a selection of suitable
kinds of fruit, and those which have stood the
climatic test. Those already given are the
names of those varieties which may be relied
upon in this respect.

The Land.

One of the principal features of successful
fruit-culture is the selection and preparation
of suitable land. If the land where it is pro-
posed to form the fruit plantation is of a stiff
retentive nature, with a marly subsoil that
holds the water, a thorough drainage may in
the first instance be necessary. Under these
conditions, and in this kind of soil, fruit-trees
are more apt to form tap-roots, and begin to
show signs of canker and rust in the bark.
This is certain to act injuriously upon the
health of the plants. If, however, a situation
for the orchard can be selected in which there
is a good depth of rich loamy soil, with a sub-
soil or stratum of gravel underneath, the
necessity for drainage will be obviated. I am
aware that in some districts land cannot
always be met with of the character I have
named, but if uot, do not plant unless there is
a reasonable prospect of realising a fair return
for the outlay. If it is compulsory to plant
fruit-trees on a lighter description of soil, see
that the ground is well trenched. On old
tilled land this is often especially necessary,
as the subsoil may and often is of a superior
description to the surfacesoil. When planting
S3e that the trees have a good mulching of
well rotted horse-manure, and also a good top-
dressing on the surface after planting. Do
not plant too deep, but make the trees secure

and firm after planting by treading the ground
round the plants.

The next point is the proper state of the
trees, so as to secure them from the effects of
rough winds. When the situation selected is
open to the north and easterly winds, it would
be advisable to form a shelter by planting
round the land, or at any rate on that side
much exposed to the action of the gale, a
narrow belt of Spruces or Scotch Firs, with a
boundary fence of Whitethorn as a protection
for the freshly-planted trees in the earlier
stages of their growth ; or the following plan
might be adopted as soon as the site for the
orchard is determined upon. This would be
by planting the aforementioned belt of trees
about two years before the actual planting
of the orchard itself. The system, however,
which 1 should recommend to secure the
largest and finest crop of fruit, and also enable
the owner or occupier to place the fruit on
the market as early as possible, would bo
to plant bush and pyramidal trees instead
of standards. The reasons are : the trees
come into bearing much earlier, and a larger
quantity of trees can be planted on a given
space of land. My advice is: purchase
some good strong plants to start with, of the
sorts mentioned, from a reliable nurseryman
or fruit-tree grower. This will ba the first
step towards success. I have seen some
wonderfully fine crops of Queen of the Kitchen,
Lord Suflield, and Pott's Seedling Apple?
grown in this way on large pyramid trees. In
this case there was no undue shading of the
fruit by the foliage of the trees. Every
autumn, after fruit-bearing, a good top-dress-
ing of manure round the trees, also in the
spring, when liquid can be procured, of liquid-
manure should be applied. Liberal treatment
of the trees in this way will be amply repaid
by a literal crop.

For orchards of a limited space where i he
land is naturally well sheltered from the
winds, I would plant standard trees of a good
size to commence with, giving attention to the
staking and manuring of the trees as before-
mentioned. If a mixed fruit plantation is
required, plant Apples and Pears, with the
addition of a few reliable Plums among them.
It would be necessary to allow a distance of
about 5 or 5| yards between the trees eveiy
way. In the intermediate spaces I would
recommend Gooseberries to be planted, con-
lining the selection to the four undermentioned
kinds: — Whinham's Industry, Crown Bob,
Ooldfinder, and Warrington or Ashton Reds.
The first kind mentioned is acknowledg d to
be the largest cropper, finest flavoured, and
most robust in its growth of all the known
varieties of this grand national fruit, and will
amply repay good culture and the necessary
pruning. I have mentioned Gooseberries as'
the most suitable and profitable fruit for the
purpose, as I consider they meet the demand
best for an early market fruit.

In this note I have confined my remarks to
five kinds of fruits only, viz., Apples, Pears,
Plums, Cherries, and Gooseberries, as I con-
sider them the principal and necessary hardy
fruits to meet the national demand.

Another important consideration in the
culture of hardy fruits is the pruning of the
trees ; but this should not be commenced until,
the trees are sufficiently advanced in growth
to be determined by the judgment of the
operators.

Pruning, &o.

Many orchards are neglected at a certain,
stage of their growth, by not adopting a
system of cutting down all old, worthless
trees, and filling up their places by planting

March 20, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

207

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3

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208

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[Maiich 29, 1902.

some good, robust young trees of approved
sorts. By a proper attention to this matter
of gradual replanting, an orchard may be kept
in a fruit-bearing state for many years longer
than otherwise would have been the case.
In reference to pruning, it is obvious there are
two main reasons why it should have attention.
First, in order to make the tree send out in a
right direction, sufficient branches of the
right sort, to form a well-shaped, fruit^bearing
tree. If the tree is of robust growth, and
sends out a quantity of sappy, unripened
shoots, more seuerc pruning will most probably
be required, than for a tree of less vigorous
habit, but which forms a greater quantity of
well-ripened fruit-bearing wood. The other
reason is, that the removal of superfluous
branches, and the cutting off of superfluous
roots by root-pruning, is a safe course to adopt,
in order to maintain a healthy balance
between the growth of the tree and its fruit-
produeing powers. The pruning of branches
must be done in harmony with the needs of root-
development, and also with reference to
the nature of the soil and subsoil. It is,
no doubt, more difficult to prune or lift the
roots of a tree than to prune the branches, but
it is nevertheless a fact, that there are and
have been numerous instances in which an
almost sterile tree has been transformed into
a heavy fruit-bearer by a judicious and timely
root-pruning. Practice based on these con-
siderations, has been a long continued demon-
stration of the soundness of this theory, but,
of course, judgment is required to carry out
the details. A. W. Godwin, Derbyshire.

The Week's Work.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch. Dalkeith.

Cucumbers. — Plants raised from seeds sown
in January, and planted in the middle of Feb-
ruary in the Cucumber-house on a ridge of soil,
will now be growing freely, and may soon
take the place of the winter-bearing plants.
During this montli there are bright, sunny days,
with cold winds, and the nights are cold, 'in
.such weather shut off the fire-heat early in the
morning, and ventilate only a little at the
top of the house, and that during the warmest
hours of the day ; the temperature with sun-
heat may be 85" to 90°. Frequently damp the
paths and the walls on bright days. The
plants themselves may be sprayed over
morning and afternoon, but although the soil
be porous and the drainage good, at this early
stage the soil must not get very wet. When
the plants are stopped, allow three shoots to
form from each plant, which retain. Stop the
growths frequently, and do not crowd them;
allow only one or two fruits to perfect on a
plant. A night temperature of 70° is required,
but rather than maintain that on cold nights
with fire-heat, cover the roof with frigi-domo or
•other cloth. The plants will be the better for
a bottom-heat of 80° to 85°.

Pines.—- Smooth-leaved Cayennes are now
furnishing ripe fruit, and will continue so to
<lo for the next two months. Look carefully
over the plants twice weekly, and apply water
to those requiring it, and weak manure-water
to plants swelling fruit; guano, Thomson's,
and cowshed-drainings are suitable manures
for the purpose. Plants with ripening fruit
should be afforded clean water, and that very
sparingly. PiUCs are the better for being
kept rather dry than wet at the root. The
nights being cold this month, a temperature of
00° to 05° on mild nights will be suitable ; damp
down the paths, and keep the air moist, but
do not use the syringe. With sun-heat, and
m the absence of cold winds, afford plenty of

air, and close the house or pit in the after-
noon when the warmth indicated is about 80°.
Fruiting Queen Pines that were started in
January will now be throwing up their flower-
spikes, and should be afforded a dry, warm
air ; a night temperature of 65J to 70°, accord-
ing to the state of the weather, and by day 80°
to 85° with sun-heat, with air admitted by the
top ventilators. Damp down the paths once
or twice a day, and at closing time. If in
10-inch pots, examine the plants carefully
twice a week as to their requirements in
regard to water, affording water only to those
that are really dry at the root. Maintain a
bottom-heat steadily at 85°. Succession Queen
Pines placed in the pots in which they will
fruit, and plunged in a bed having a warmth
of 85', will probably be in need of water at
the root, but only in the event of there being
considerable shrinkage of the soil. Afford a
night temperature of 60°, and apply air
when a warmth of 70° by day is reached.
Plenty of air must be afforded at this stage,
weather permitting, or the leaves will get
drawn. Suckers of smooth Cayennes that
were taken off in the autumn, and which
have been growing freely, may be potted
into their fruiting-pots ; those of 11 inches
diameter are the best for this variety. They
should be quite clean, or new, and well drained.
As a potting-soil use fresh turfy-loam of a not
very heavy nature, and to each wheel-barrow-
ful add a 0-inch potful respectively of bone-
meal and Thomson's manure, mixing it well
with the soil. The latter should be rather
dry, and be made firm in the pots with a
rammer. Plunge the potted plants in a bed
having warmth of 85°. The air temperature at
night should range between 65° and 70°, and
that by day from 80° to 85°, with much mois-
ture. At the end of the month of May the
plants may be rested for a period of two
months by keeping the house cooler and drier.
At that date start them again so as to afford
fruit in the winter after the Queen Pines are
over, these being unsuitable for winterfruitiug.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

Odontoglossum crispum, Ac. — Many of the
plants will now be ready for repotting, for
it is a mistake to suppose that all Odonto-
glossums of the crispum and Pescatorei section
should be potted in August and September,
although at that season, as now, a certain
number of plants would be ready for ijotting.
I do not believe in making only two potting
seasons. Some growers say of this class of
Orchid, that they should be potted at the
present time, and another class next month,
and soon. But the Orchid cultivator should
remember that some may be ready for repotting
and some on the contrary may not be ready.
With such plants as Odontoglossums, especially
those species and many of the hybrids which
have no definite season of growth, as some are
in flower and some are growing in every month
of the year, injury is very easily done by
repotting at unsuitable times, and the grower
should use discretion in deciding which plant
or plants are, and which are not, ready.
When the new growths are 1 to 3 inches high,
the plant may be repotted. At Gatton Park,
there are plants which flowered in the months
of November and December, which are ready,
and others whose flowers appeared in January
that will not be ready for some-time.

Oalanthes. — Most of the deciduous varieties,
viz., C. rosea, C. vestita and its varieties, and
the hybrids obtained principally from the first
two species, C. Bryan, C. Sandhurstiana, C.
Veitchi, C. Clive, C. Cooksoni, C. Victoria
Regina, and C. bella, should be repotted when
the new growths are about 1 inch in length ;
employing a compost consisting of good fi brous
loam two-thirds, good leaf-soil one-third, well
mixed together, with a smill quantity of
coarse, clean sand and crocks broken small ;
the drainage should be good, and more should
be put in the pots where several pseudo -bulbs
are placed together in G and 7-inch pots, say,

to one-third of the depth. Single pseudo-
bulbs should go into 4 and 5-inch pots. Some
of the dead roots should be retained in order
to steady the pseudo-bulbs in the soil, but if
any of the pseudo-bulbs are long and heavy,
as is the case with C. Veitchi, they should be
fastened to a neat stake. Pot firmly, but do
not use a rammer, and keep the soil below the
rim of the pot ; and let the base of the young
growth be just below the surface of the com-
post, which must not contain much moisture,
otherwise the passage of the water through,
it will be in a measure prevented, and the
plant will suffer in consequence. The re-
potting finished, place all the plants together
iu a sunny position in a moist house, where
the night temperature does not fall below 05°,
and afford but very little water at the root
for some time ; in fact, the plants should be
kept well on the dry side till the growths
have attained to a height of 4 to 6 inches, and
then only when the soil is dry. The time for
affording water in abundance is when the new
pseudo-bulb exhibits signs of development, at
which season the soil should not be allowed to
become dry. The black spot prevalent on the
pseudo-bulbs and leaves of deciduous Calanthes
usually originates from one of the two follow-
ing sorts of treatment, viz., too much water
and shading in the early stages, or too large a
quantity of manure in the compost, or applied
in the liquid form. Both conduce to the forma-
tion of soft growth. My opinion is, that a
clean, hard pseudo-bulb is preferable to a
large one developed upon manure, and not
only is the flower-spike more compact and
beautiful, but there is not that danger from
spot which sooner or later appears when
manure is used.

Miltoniu vexillaria. — Vigorous plants may
now be afforded water more freely, and this
course should be continued till they have
flowered, and on sunny days the syringe should
be used overhead at 10 a.m., and 2 p.m. Con-
stant observation is necessary in order to
ward off infestation by thrips, which would
soon disfigure the growths. Shade the plants
from strong sunshine, and if lath blinds are
used on the house in which the Miltouias
stand, the glass above the plants should be
painted over with one of the liquid shading
preparations, white or grey for preference.
If Cattleyas are grown in the house, these
plants can obtain more sun, as the blinds need
not be lowered so early in the day, and the
M. vexillarium can obtain the additional shade
so necessary to their well being.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Pampas-grass. — The young plants raised from
seed last year being now established in 5-inch
pots, may be planted in their permanent situa-
tions if hardened off, or they may find places
in the mixed flower borders. The soil should
be well drained, enriched with stable-manure,
and when the plants are growing freely in the
summer, water should be plentifully applied.
These plants make excellent "dot-plants" in
large beds, surrounding them with plants of
Henri Jacoby or other dark, free-flowering
zonal Pelargoniums. If plants are retained
for this purpose, they should be repotted.
Established groups standing in borders or in
parts of the pleasure grounds should now be
relieved of the protecting material, and all dead
foliage clipped off with the shears, and some
well-rotted stable-manure dug in round about
the roots with a fork, the dug portion made
neat and tidy.

Bamboos. — Bamboos are exceedingly graceful
plants in every way, and worthy of a place
being found for them in every garden,
especially where water is found. The plants
require a rich, loamy soil, and plenty of
moisture at the root, and a situation sheltered
from the east and northerly winds. The
present time is a suitable season for planting
Bamboos, or splitting and lifting a portion of

March 20, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

209

the roots from large clumps. Having dug up
a part of a clump, divide and lay out the roots
regularly in rich loam, leaf-mould, and sharp
sand, "in ordinary seed- pans or cutting -
boxes, 'with a small quantity of crocks,
and place in a warm pit having a mild
bottom- heat and a moist atmosphere. The
plants should be shaded from strong sun-
shine, and -when the stems reach 12 inches to
18 inches in length, remove them to a cold-
frame and keep close for a week, then expose
them gradually to sunlight and air, and by the
middle of the month of May, they will be
sturdy clumps for planting in prepared sites
in the open. In some instances, the leaves of
the leading shoots of large clumps in exposed
positions wither, and turn brown, from the
effects of wind and frost, and although these
plants present an unsightly appearance, it is
well not to remove the withered portions until
the young foliage is well developed.

Lawns. — Henceforward the lawn must be
well swept and rolled previous to cutting the
grass with the lawn-mower or scythe. The
cutters of the mowing-machine should not be
set too low, or the sprouting grasses will get
shorn too close, and will in many instances
die in consequence. In warm and sheltered
places the grass will have grown to a good
length, and will need cutting with a scythe ;
in the meantime let the machines be examined,
and all repairs carried out in readiness for use.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Tubton, Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digbt, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Seakale. — Roots for lifting for forcing and
for forming permanent beds should be planted
forthwith, i.e., before the sets ha ve made many
roots. Directions for the preparation of and
the position of the ground having been given
in a former Calendar, everything will now be
in order for the carrying out of the work. The
sets should be planted with a dibber. Roots
to lift for forcing should stand in rows at
I foot apart, and the latter drawn at 2 feet apart,
the top of the set being about 1 inch below
the surface. For affording a late supply of
Seakale, a few rows should be left at one end
of the plantation, and before they commence
to grow, or early in March, each crown should
be covered with a field drain-pipe 1 foot long
and 6 or 9 inches in diameter, according to
the strength of the crown, which should be
filled with finely sifted garden-soil, free from
manure by preference, or with sifted coal-ashes.
Hence, for this purpose provision should be
made now by planting sufficient sets. Per-
manent beds should measure 4§ feet in width.
Plant two rows in each bed in triangular
groups, 27 inches from row to row, and
24 inches apart in the row.

Caulifloivers. — The strongest of the plants
that have been wintered in frames or hand-
lights should now be planted on warm borders
or other sheltered positions, planting in deep
drills taken out with a hoe. Plant the large-
growing Autumn Giant at 2| feet from
row to row, and 2 feet apart in the row. For
Walcheren, and the varieties that grow to a
small size, plant 3 inches less each way.

Globe Art tchokes. — If the plants have suffered
from frosts, and provision was made against
such loss by potting up some of the side
growths in late autumn and storing them in
cold pits, those may now be planted forthwith
in deeply-trenched, well • manured ground,
planting at 6 feet from row to row, and 4 feet
apart in the rows. Old stools may also bo
taken up and replanted, but they do not re-
establish themselves so quickly as young
plants.

Balsafy and Sc.orzonera.—Sovr seeds thinly
in drills drawn 15 inches apart on the ground
set apart for the root crops, and by preference
adjoining the Parsnips left in the ground like
those for the ■winter.

Asparagus. — Asparagus - beds to which a
dressing of short, prepared stable-dung was
afforded in the winter should now bo raked
Over, and the rougher portions drawn into the

alleys, and collected and wheeled away. Then
hand-weed and square up the beds, using the
garden- line as a guide. If grown on the flat,
rake off strawy portions of the dressing, pull
up all the larger weeds, and then scatter some
light rich soil over all. Afterwards apply a
dressing of agricultural salt, about 2 to a ozs.
per square yard, before the Asparagus begins
to throw up.

Sowing Asparagus-seed. — If the land was
prepared as advised in a former Calendar, I
prefer to make new plantations by sowing
seed in drills, to planting one or two-year-old
plants. If on the flat, let the drills be drawn
at a distance of 2 feet apart and 1J inch deep,
and drop the seeds in singly at 3 inches
apart, the plants being eventually thinned to
18 inches. Beds that are raised above the
ground level should be 5 feet wide, so as to
take three drills drawn 18 inches apart, the
outside rows being 1 foot from the ontsides of
the beds. An alley 1^ foot wide should be
formed between the beds. The plantations
formed on the flat may be intercropped the
first season with Lettuce, Radishes, &c. ; and
the alleys of beds with early Cauliflowers.

Celery. — Sow seeds of this thinly in boxes
for the main crop, and place in a frame having
a not higher mean temperature than 55°.
Afford air freely as soon as the seed has
germinated, and aim at keeping the plants
stocky.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Millee Mundy, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Begonia Gloire de Lorraine. — After a short
rest, put the plants into a pit and afford a fairly
high temperature, and shade from bright sun-
shine. Suckers will soon begin to form at the
base, and these make the best of cuttings if
taken when they are 2J to 3 inches in length.
Do not strike the cuttings in a close case, but
expose them in the ordinary manner and keep
them shaded. Leaves inserted into the propa-
gating bed a few weeks back are now pro-
ducing shoots, but I shall keep them in the
boxes till the growths are as long as an ordi-
nary cutting before potting them. Many
species of herbaceous or fine-rooted Begonias
may be struck at this date, and it should be
remembered that young and quickly grown
plants give more satisfaction than old stunted
ones.

Salvia splendens grandiflora. — Cuttings may
be taken from specially selected plants that
were cut back after flowering. Seeds, too,
may be sown in heat ; and seedlings assume
a better habit than plants raised from cuttings,
and the best type reproduces itself true from
seed.

Eucomis punctata. — One often observes this
species grown in pots, but the plants have not
the robust characteristics of those planted in
the open air. It is perfectly hardy if planted
deeply in the soil, needing then no winter pro-
tection. Many kinds of bulbs are the better
for being buried somewhat deeply, and to do
this would bo the salvation of many of the
so-called tender species. Those who possess
many plants of Eucomis punctata in pots
should spare some of them for the open border.

Bamboos. — Whether planted out or in pots,
Bamboos grown under glass are throwing up
their culms, and on their treatment at this
period depends much of their decorative value.
The process of growth is quick, and during
this short season the quantity of water re-
quisite is great — indeed, it seems impossible
to apply too much, but no manure-water is
required, clear soft water being sufficient ;
and my experience is, that when this is given,
the dead tips which render the leaves un-
sightly later in the season are not nearly so
common. If desired, some of the culms may
be stopped at varying heights, so as to keep
the plants well furnished at the bottom.

Stove Plants. — In the stove the increase of
sunshine, and consequently of ventilation,
leads io rapid evaporation, which should

be counteracted by syringing the plants

heavily with tepid water morning and after-
noon, and damping-down more often. The
afternoon syringing is important, as the
humidity thus created allows the house to be
shut up without fear of scorching the leaves
while the sun is still high in the sky — a great
aid to growth.

Propagating. — Cuttings of Tradescantias,
Ficus, Panicutn, Pilea muscosa, and similar
plants used as edgings to stages, may now be
struck; also the smaller-leaved section of Rex
Begonias should be raised from leaves, and
Isolepis from division. Young and fresh
material raised at intervals of three or four
months is much better than old, stunted
plants.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Mayne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Kolle,
Bicton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Cherries. — A slight protection of some sort
is necessary against frosts for trees that are
planted against warm walls, the flowers open-
ing very early in the season. A single thick-
ness of \ inch meshed fish-netting, fastened to
the coping and kept away from the trees with
forked twigs, affords in a usual way ample
protection. If the blossom-buds are much
crowded, rub off those which face inwards to
the wall, and others inconveniently placed ;
better crops of fruit being carried by trees
which are sparse of bloom, than others having
what is called a sheet of bloom. The Morello
Cherry, which is often given a place on a wall
facing north, flowers much later than the
sweet-fruited varieties, and it sets its fruits
satisfactorily in most seasons in the warmer
parts of the country quite unprotected.

The Peach and Nectarine. — With the arrival
of warmer days, the growth of the shoots
is rapid, and the trees should be examined
for insects once a week. If aphides are
observed, dust the affected parts with tobacco-
powder, which if persevered with will keep
the insects from increasing in numbers until
the flowers are set, and it is safe to syringe
the trees with an insecticide, or with plain
water, an operation that I like to defer until
the fruit is swelling away nicely. Any neglect
to destroy aphides early in the season cripples
the growth of the trees, and makes a differ-
ence in their condition the entire season.
The tobacco need not be washed off, for
it is harmless. Apply water to the borders
if on examination the soil is found to be get-
ting dry, which is most likely to be the case
if glass or other copings are in use.

Strawberry (Alpine). — Where this fruit is
liked, plants should be raised from seed sown
annually in pans or boxes of light soil, and
placed under glass where a small amount of
artificial heat can be applied. When the
seedlings are large enough to be handled
readily, prick them off at 3 inches apart, and
harden off so that they can be planted out
towards the end of the month of May. The
seeds may also be sown out-doors at the end
of the month of April, and placed in their
permanent quarters when large enough to be
handled; but in this case scarcely any fruit
will bo obtained the same year, although the
plants will fruit freely the next year. I would
here like to point out the merits of that per-
petual-fruiting variety St. Joseph, a cross be-
tween an alpiuo and a garden variety. Early
last April I planted out on a west border fifty
plants, and was able to gather fairly good,
nice-flavoured, Mini fruit so late as the early
part of Novcmbor. The plants of this variety
need not bo planted at a greater distance
apart than one foot each way.

TRADE NOTICE

Mr. Jos. Smith, of Messrs. Ban & Sons,
Covent Garden, and formerly of Sandringham,
has boon appointed manager to Messrs. Vernon
& Murray, Westoning Xnrseries, llarlintou.

210

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 29, 1902.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER
Letters for Publication, as well as sperimens and plants
for naming, should be addressed to the EDITOR.
41, Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London,
Communications should bt written on one side only of
the paper, sent as early in the week as possible, and duly
signed by the writer. If desired, the signature will not be
printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.

Newspapers. — Correspondents sending nwspapers should he
cxreful to mark the paragraphs they wish the Editor to see.

it titrations.— The Editor will thankfully receive and select
photographs or drawings, suitable f&r reproduction, cf
gardens, or of remarkable plants, flowers, trees, £c. ; but he
cannot be responsible for loss or injury.

Special Notice to Correspondents.— The Editor does ntt
undertake to pay Jor any contributions ■ HI nitrations, or
to return th? unused communication? or illustrate -nst
unless by special arrangement.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL.

TUESDAY, API!.

WEDNESDAY Apr.

THURSDAY, A.PB.
SATURDAY, Apr.

SUNDAY.

Apd.

TUESDAY. AFB.

WEDNESDAY.Apr.
TUESDAY, Apr.

WEDNESDAYS PR.

THURSDAY. Apr.

("Scottish Horticultural Asso-
I ciation meets
j l Durham, North, and Newcastle
| Botanical and Horticultural
Society's Show at Newcastle
V. (two days).

„ i Show of Hyacinths at Wood-
1 bridge, Suffolk.

3— Linnean Society Meeting.

5 -Royal Botanic Society Meeting'

g ( Chambre Syndicale d'Hort.
I Beiges, Ghent. Meeting.

i Royal Horticultural Society's
| Commit lees meet.
8-j Brighton and Sussex Horticul-
tural Society's Exhibition
L (two days).

c, ; Shropshire Horticultural So-
• ) ciety's Spring Show,

(Cornwall Daffodil and Spriiif
15- Flower Society's Show at
I Truro (two days).

f Daffodil Show at iDswich.
,e) Ancient Society of York Florists

| (Members' Exhibition).

\ Royal Botanic Society Meeting.
17— Lionean Society Meeting.

C Royal Horticultural Society's
_ _„ Committees Meet.

JEsDAY. Apr. 22 -i National Auricula and Primula
Show, at Drill Hall, West-
minster.

Royal Horticultural Society'.-.

WEDNESDAY.Apr.

FRIDAY. Apr.

WEDNESDAY.Apr.

I

/Royal Horticultural Society'
\ Examinations in Horticul
23 ? ture.

| Royal Botanic Society's Show
. of Spring Flowers.

QJ I Darlington Horticultural So-
( ciety's Spring Show.

( Midland Daffodil Society's Show
30- at Birmingham (subject to
' alteration)

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

WEDNESDAY, April 2-

Aza'eas, Roses. Carnation;, Palms, Perennials, and
Miscellaneous Plants, at Stevens Rooms, at 12 30 —
Liliums, Roses, Palms, &c. by Protheroe & Morris,
at 12.0.

FRIDAY, April *,—

Plants Bulbs, etc .by Protheroe & Morris, at 12 0
Orchids, at 12 30.

(For further particulars see our Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from i Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
— 3D 7 .

Actcal Temperatures:—

London.— March 2o (6 p.m ) : Max. E0'; Min. 40°.

March 26.— Fine.
Provinces -March 35 (6 p.m ) : Max. 46°, S.W. Corn-
wall ; Mm. Sy1, Orkneys.

The Schroder ?* 11*?™™^*™* TJr^

Hall. ,he Fellows of the Royal Horti-

cultural Society assembled in
their "lodgings" in the Drill Hall on Friday
last, approved of the proposal to purchase
for 999 years fa plot of land in Vincent
Square. Westminster, for the purpose of
erecting thereon a suitable " Home," includ-
ing offices, lecture rooms.'committee rooms.
library, and an exhibition hall. The verdict

in which many gentlemen from the provinces
took part, was given in such an unequivocal
and unmistakeable manner, as cannot fail to
be gratifying to Baron Sir Henry Schroder.
To that gentleman, more than to any
other, the scheme owes its initiation.
His liberality very materially lightens the
financial difficulties which the Society has
still to encounter in carrying out this
scheme. Time after time the subject has
been brought before the Fellows, but
always with the same result, so far as
the principle is concerned. The verdict
being all but unanimous, there can be
no question now that it represents the
opinion of the vast majority of the Fellows.
That being so, the Fellows are in honour
pledged to give the scheme all the support
in their power. The financial bogey, which
gave us such alarm when the discredited
garden-schemes were proposed, has not,
it is true, entirely disappeared; but it is

Baron SIR HENRY SCHRODER, Bt.

far less dreadful to look upon now than it
was then, and in view of the valuable asset
which we shall have in our possession,
we can afford to smile confidently, where
before we could not conceal our dread.

We are quite cognisant of the risks entailed
when we begin to meddle with bricks and
mortar, and are not oblivious that the cost
of maintenance must be considerably heavier
than it is now. Still, we know that all these
considerations have been taken into account,
first by the Committee presided over by
Baron Schroder, and then by the Council
of the Society. The Committee contained
among its members the President, Sir
Trevor Lawrence, and the Secretary, the
Rev. W. Wilks, who, together with Mr.
Harry Yeitch. represented the Council.
Mr. Sherwood, a first-class business man, it
will be admitted, also took an active share
in the work of the Committee. That Com-
mittee was throughout absolutely unani-
mous in opinion, though we believe there
was not such harmony on the Council.
When we have the assurance from Baron

Schroder endorsed by such men as we
have mentioned, that the risk is not heavier
than the Society, under existing circum-
stances, may fairly undertake, we do not
think the Fellows need be apprehensive of
the result. Its success now lies with them.

The outcome of the meeting on Friday
must be gratifying not only to Baron
Schroder, but to Sir William Thiselton
Dyer, Sir Michael Foster, Dr. Morris.
and others, who, in the very darkest hours
of the Society, did not despair of its ulti-
mate recovery ; but with zeal and energy
for which the Fellows cannot be too grate-
ful, did their utmost to run the Society on
business principles, and lift it to a higher
plane than ever. Some, as we were told by
the President, rendered substantial financial
aid. The names of these benefactors were
not revealed, but they, with the others we
have mentioned, must, we venture to think,
have been as much surprised as gratified at
the success which has followed the carrying
out of the policy they so strenuously ad-
vocated. Where so many have given of
their best to further the interest of the
Society, it might seem invidious to mention
more names, but we should not be doing
justice if we omitted to recall the services
rendered by the President and the Secretary.
Throughout the President has acted with an
impartiality and a judgment that command
universal respect ; and as to the value of the
labours of the Secretary, the present flourish-
ing state of the Society affords sufficient
testimony.

Of the two classes of Fellows, metropolitan
and provincial, it is difficult to see which
will reap the greater benefit from the Home,
as we prefer to call it, rather than the Hall.
Those near at hand will naturally use it
most often, but it is not so essential to
them, and it is questionable whether they
will really derive as much benefit from it as
the provincial and colonial Fellows, who,
when they come to London now experience
the want of such a club as it is hoped
will soon be at their service. In any case,
the gentlemen from the shires who even
now come up to lend the Society their aid.
time after time, and who were well represented
at the last meeting, afford convincing proof
that the Society is not exclusively metro-
politan, nor even English, nor Irish, nor
Scottish ; it is British in the widest sense of
the word. The Home will afford a common
meeting-place for horticulturists of all de-
nominations, from this or from that side of
the seas. The number of Fellows who
would make personal use of the gardens
would be infinitesimal.

As we are all of one opinion, in principle,
with reference to a garden, and the only
difference has been as to whether the
Home or the garden should come first,
it is to be hoped now that those gentlemen
— not more than three, we think — who
believed themselves to be " conscientious
objectors" either to one proposal or the
other, will now with one accord rejoin the
Council on the first opportunity. Every-
one sympathises with their motives, and
everyone knows that they have the interests
of the Society at heart. They have severally
made their protests. Now that the verdict
of the Society is so unmistakeable, let us
hope they will sacrifice their personal pre-
dilections, and join heartily in a strenuous
effort to secure a suitable Home.

March 20, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

211

The Council of the Royal Horticul-
tural Society.— We are informed that Baron
Schroder has accepted a seat on the Council
in the room of C. E. Shea, Esq., resigned.

Linnean Society.— At the evening meet-
ing to be held on Thursday, April 3, 1902, at
8 p.m., the following papers will be read:—
1. "On the Composite Flora of Africa," by
Mr. Spencer Moore, F.L.S., &c. 2. "A Halo-
Dial Branch of Lepidophloios fuliginosus," by
Prof. F. E. Weiss, B.Sc, F.L.S., &c.

A Gigantic Grass Seed.— At the meeting;
of the Linnean Society on Thursday, March 20,
Dr. Otto Stapf exhibited several seeds of
-Melocanna bambusoides, a species of Bamboo,
which completely upset the popular idea of
grass seed dimensions, the giants of which are
presumed to be represented by pedigree Wheat
and Maize, in which latter the huge mass of
seeds constitutes, it is true, a very substantial
fruitage ; the actual seeds, however, are com-
paratively small. In Melocanna, on the other
hand, in lieu of a spike arm or cylindrical mass
of associated small seeds, we have solitary
ones, measuring no less than 5 inches in height,
by 3 in diameter, a massive pear-shaped body,
the size and form of which are as utterly
different from our usual idea of a grass
iseed as can well be conceived. By what
evolutionary process this huge solitary
fruit has been arrived at, is not clear, but
as might be expected, the great store of nutri-
ment embodied in so large a fruit, favours the
developement of the associated embryo plant
to such an extent, that the first product of
germination is a robust growth, which practi-
cally secures establishment and continued exist-
ence. The single seed is thus fully as efficacious,
if not more so, in securing reproduction, than
x very large number of small ones, and by its
greater individual vigour, would probably have
an infinitely better chance of survival in a
dense.growing Bamboo jungle, where small
weakly seedlings would be utterly incapable of
reaching the light. This, indeed, is probably
the key to its genesis.

Mr. Robert Cannelu— All friends of that
enthusiastic horticulturist, Mr. H. Cannell,
of Swanley, will be pleased to learn that
the climax of the dangerous illness through
which his son Robert Cannell, of Eynsford,
has passed, has been safely reached, and
now, with good nursing and ample nourish-
ment, there is every reason to hope that the
patient will soon regain his customary health.
For a few days the patient's life hung in the
balance, and gave to his friends profound
anxiety. Mr. Robert Cannell has for several
years had the onerous charge of the seed-
growing department of the well-known Cannell
firm at Eynsford, and has been a frequent
visitor at the Drill Hall meetings. It is greatly
hoped that he may now be restored to health,
■and enabled to discharge his responsible
duties.

Cape Fruit.— The Carlsbrooke Castle has
arrived with the following : Grapes, 609 boxes ;
Peaches, 90 ; Pears, 29. Total, 734 boxes.

The Duke of Bedford's Fruit Farm.—
As regards paying, the returns from the
Woburn Fruit Farm for the past year, which
have just been completed, show some highly
interesting results. We learn that the returns
range from £50 to £80 per acre. When this
farm .was started, it was predicted by those
who had known the land well for more than
half a century, that fruit-growing there was
sure to fail, and those who do know the land
and the unfavourable circumstances which

there prevail, will agree that only the best
possible management could produce results
anything approaching it. These results are
not "calculated theoretically," but are the
actual sales, retail and wholesale, the average
prices of all qualities being taken, so that
there is no exaggeration. It is well known
that with the system of grading some of the
Apples made very high prices, and we have no
doubt that some of the kinds of fruit, if taken
alone, would amount to a much higher total
per acre. The farm has only been established
a few years, and the trees have not yet come
into full bearing, but the returns show what
fruit Bedfordshire land will produce under the
best cultivation, good management, and the
needful outlay.

Phaius GRANDIfolius.— A correspondent,
residing at iVeston, Cheshire, kindly sends us
flowers of this species with two sepals, placed
fore and aft, two lateral petals at right angles,
no lip, and an erect column, with the wings
much narrower than usual. This reduction of
the parts of the flower to four (two decussating
pairs), is not all uncommon in Orchids. Whe-
ther this diminished number of parts is merely
an accidental degeneration, or whether it
represents an ancestral condition, when Orchid
flowers were of more simple construction than
they now are, is a matter for speculation.
From a horticultural point of view the change
is not desirable.

An Interesting Jubilee.— In the autumn
of 1901 the firm of Messrs. Edmondson Bros.,
seed merchants, 10, Dame Street, Dublin,
completed fifty years of existence, and in
commemorat ion thereof have publ ished an illus-
trated pamphlet, in which the development of
the house is set forth in modest terms, full
of interest. The late John Edmondson, the
founder of the firm, was originally in the ser-
vice of a railway company in Ireland, and
subsequently he went to Birmingham as the
agent of his uncle, Mr. Thomas Edmondson,
the inventor of the railway ticket system, and
while there his love for his garden and flowers
induced him to take up the culture of Pansies
especially, which he grew with great success.
In 1851 Mr. Edmondson went into business as
a seedsman in Dame Street, Dublin, and seeing
the importance of bee culture, he also took up
the sale of bee appliances, and was the means
of popularising it in Ireland. In 1861 he was
joined in business by his brother Thomas, who
in 1869 started the Irish Gardeners' Record, a
weekly paper devoted to gardening, forestry,
and bee-keeping, but which ceased to exist
after a few years. In 1864 Mr. Thomas
Edmondson retired, and succeeded in estab-
lishing two large enterprises, one, the Dublin
Laundry Company, the other, the Dartry Dye
Works. In 1894 Mr. John Edmondson died,
but the seed business is continued under the
management of Mr. George Watson. Garden
and agricultural seeds, flower roots, tools and
all requisites, with bee appliances, are the
leading business features.

The Fecundation of Zamia.— Mr. H. J.
Webber, who took a prominent part in our
Hybridisation Conference, has published in a
Bulletin of the Bureau of Plant Industry,
Washington, a remarkable paper on "Sperma-
togenesis and Fecundation of Zamia." It
embodies the results of investigations made in
Florida. As an aid to the practical work of
plant-breeding, it is pointed out " that it is
highly important that a more thorough know-
ledge of the reproduction of the plants be
gained ; such investigations throw light on
the phenomena of heredity, which are at the
foundation of plant -breeding work." One

extraordinary fact brought to light is the size
of the spirally-coiled spermatozoids, which
are so large that they may even be seen by
the naked eye. A summary of the history of
the investigations made by Hirase and other
Japanese botanists in the case of Ginkgo is
given, together with an epitome of what has
been done since by the author and by various
German and Russian naturalists. The import-
ance of this paper can hardly be over-esti-
mated, but it is for experts only. We expect
that novices would find it difficult to answer
the question, " Is the blepharoplast a centre-
some ? " Nevertheless, the history of the
divisions which take place in the nucleus, on
which the growth of the plant depends, can-
not be elucidated completely till this and
cognate questions be answered. Fecundation
consists of a fusion of two entire cells — cyto-
plasm with cytoplasm, and nucleus with nu-
cleus. The summary given by Mr. Webber
must be mastered by all those who are engaged
in embryological study. Six plates illustrate
the memoir.

SELSDON PARK.
[See Supplementary Illustration.]

The residence of Wickham Noakes, Esq., is
situate about 3| miles out of Croydon, and the
road ascends almost all of the distance. The
house is said to have been built by a Mr.
Smith, 100 years since, of Bath stone, which
became very much injured by the action
of the weather, so much so that in 1891 the
stone building was encased with red bricks,
as shown in our Supplementary illustration,
The view in this photograph shows the east
front, partly covered with Wistarias and
Roses. The tree with a seat around it is a
specimen of Cedus Libani, which, with a com-
panion tree of tliejsame species, also in the front
but not shown upon the photograph, was planted
to celebrate the commencement of century
nineteen. The tree in the illustration has no
leader, and consequently is composed of very
numerous branches, and is not more than
30 feet high at most, wb.ilst.its companion is a
handsome tree, rising some 70 feet in the air,
and possessing a bole 11| feet in circumference.

Very fine views may be had from this side
of the house, extending over a considerable
expanse of pretty country and to Worm's
Heath. There are groups of Rhododendron
ponticum about the lawn, which slopes rather
steeply from the house ; and before reaching
the Park boundary of blue palisades, there are
small flower-gardens, one upon the ground
level, and another at its side sunken a foot
deep or more. At this point and others in the
garden, the upper soil is sand only, occasion-
ally 20 feet deep, therefore some of the trees
are not very long lived. Passing round to the
north side of the house, however, there is
much less sand, and some good trees are notice-
able ; whilst upon several parts of the estate
of 700 acres, the timber is as good as may be
wished. Other than the two Cedars mentioned
above, we may instance a tall and handsome
copper Beech on the east front, still showing
the point where it was grafted, about 1 foot
above the ground level ; sweet Chestnuts,
Beeches, including two specimens of imposing
dimensions, and an Arauearia imbricata,
planted 66 years ago on the sand, and now
about 55 feet high. This is a good specimen,
and interested us by reason of the unusual
amount of young growths around the stem,
wherever a branch has been maimed by
wind, or has died from other reasons. The
growths do not proceed from the main stem,
but from the branches, at a point not more
than 1 inch from the stem. They crivc to the

212

THE GARB ENER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

[March 20, 1902.

tree a very curious appearance, for many of
them are short, and they are dense enough to
hide the stem, which in this tree is usually so
conspicuous an object.

Previous to Mr. Noakes buying the estate
two years ago from Mr. Stevens, Selsdon Park
was the residence for some years of a Bishop
of Rochester, and during some part of its
history the garden was not kept in first-rate
condition. Mr. J. A. May, the gardener, who
accompanied his employer, when removing from
Leatherhead to Selsdon, has consequently had
occasion to take away many dead and dying
trees from the grounds, and replant the shrub-
beries to some considerable extent. In doing
this, use was found for many of the old tree
roots and butts, which have been grouped in
various places to form rooteries, and adorned
with choice varieties of hardy British Ferns.

There is a very good kitchen-garden of two
acres, but it slopes directly to the east, and
is, in consequence, not conducive to early
cropping. The walks are all edged with Box,
of which the gardener has three-quarters of a
mile to keep trimmed. An iron arch spans
part of the main walk, and supports cordon
and other Pear-trees ; whilst a wooden arch
is covered with rambling Roses, amongst
which Turner's Crimson Rambler grows to an
extraordinary length. Just below the kitchen-
garden chalk comes to the surface, and here
Broccoli keeps grandly through the winter,
and has a very small casualty list.

The Glasshouses.

There is a conservatory attached to the
east front of the house, forming indeed part
of the building. It contains Palms and other
large foliage plants. Another spacious house
with lantern roof in the grounds to the north
of the house was built about twenty-six years
ago. It has a stone back to the north, and all
the rest of the structure is glass, down almost
to the ground-level. It was doubtless in-
tended as an orangery, and serves very well
now for the cultivation of fruit-trees in pots
including Tomatos.

The rest of the houses are all together in a
portion of the garden. They include a Peach-
house, with trees at front and back, that have
set a very abundant crop of fruits; three
vineries, a show-house, two Orchid-houses,
several other plant - houses, a Cucumber-
house, and two Melon-houses. A span-roofed
house full of Odontoglossums, &c, contains a
large number of plants in very healthy
condition. Most of them are now showing
flower-spikes, whilst already in bloom are O.
crispum, O. Pescatorei, O. Rossii ma jus, O.
gloriosum, Sophronitis grandiflora, Masde-
vallia Harryana, &c. There are some very
good plants of the commoner Dendrobiums,
and excellent basketsful of Coelogyne cristata,
the variety alba succeeding even better than
the type. Another house contains Cattleyas,
Cypripediums, Lycastes, Lajlias, &c, and good
results are obtained from these.

The Chinese Primulas are just passing out of
bloom, but Cyclamens are still gay. We have
seldom seen a better-grown collection of Cine-
rarias than is contained in one of the houses.
The strain is of the very best, having finely
formed flowers, 3 and 1 inches across, of very
brilliant colours, and every plant is an instance
of good cultivation. Some strongly growing
herbaceous Calceolarias will succeed these.

We should have mentioned that in two new
teak houses, the Melons are being grown upon
stages without bottom-heat, except that there
are hot water-pipes under the stage. This
practice is to be adopted this season, owing to
a suggestion of a writer in these pages some
time ago.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

PLANTING FRUIT-TREES ON RAILWAY BANKS.

— I have read with interest Mr. Burbidge's
note at p. 110 in the issue of the Gardeners'
Chronicle for March 1 ; also Mr. Wadds' on
p. 1G3 for March 8, in which he suggests the
planting of fruit-trees in hedgerows and by
the sides of public roads. I have often thought
that if the sunny and sheltered railway banks
were planted with fruit-trees of various kinds,
it would not only add great beauty to the
landscape, but the owners of the banks would
soon realise good profits from the fruit, as
after the first outlay, the expense attached
would be practically nominal. Such positions
would produce first-class fruit, which is always
in great demand. I am sure if all the land
which is now lying in waste were utilised in
this manner, the result would be most satis-
factory to the various railway companies, and
the beauty would be much admired by pas-
sengers when the trees were in full blossom,
and later on in the year when hung with
ripe fruit. Geo. Bond, High Ashurst Gardens,
Dorking.

FRUIT-TREES ON ROAD-SIDES. — In these

days, when so much land has gone out of culti-
vation, there is surely no need to advocate
the planting of fruit-trees by the sides of
roads in the way your correspondents advise ;
far better plant timber-trees suited to the
soil and locality. In most parts of Hereford-
shire the Pear grows in the hedgerows, while
in Worcestershire the Plum occupies a similar
place ; and here in southern Oxfordshire the
Cherry is to bo seen everywhere. I may add
that in nearly all cases they are seedlings.
I am afraid, if anyone adopts the planting of
fruit- trees on the roadside, they will make a
bad speculation. No doubt, from a landscape
point of view, the fruit-trees when in bloom
would add to the beauty of the country ; but
on the other hand, in many parts of the country
one sees plenty of such trees in gardens and
orchards. A. J. Long. [Hedgerow timber, we
would remind our correspondent, is seldom fit
for any purpose but fuel. Ed.]

lilium giganteum. — Here is a fact or two
about Lilium giganteum. At Sowerby, 2 miles
from Bridlington, L. giganteum grows both in
the unsheltered garden, and also partially
shaded in the adjoining shrubberies, to 8 or
10 feet high, and ripens seed every year. It
is perfectly hardy there. At Boynton, also,
which is 2 miles inland from Bridlington, it
flowers and ripens seed ; and I consider it
quite hardy, although it has not grown there
quite as finely as at Sowerby. As for Crinums,
two or three species have been grown suc-
cessfully out-of-doors, by Dean Herbert (in
Yorkshire) and others ; but a large part of the
genus come from tropical or sub-tropical
climates, and various soils and situations, and
it is absurd to lump them all together. C. 11'.
Strickland, Hildcnley, Malton.

In my note on this noble Himalayan

Lily (p. 124), I advocated a shady spot for its
culture where such site was not encroached
upon by the roots of trees ; but at the same
time deprecated amateurs being deterred from
growing it in an unshaded situation by Mr.
G. B. Mallett's sweeping assertion that it
could not be grown successfully in the open
border. I had no intention, as Mr. Mallett
appears to infer, of limiting this recommenda-
tion to the south-west of England, the district
from which I wrote, and do not think that my
words were open to such misinterpretation.
I am fully aware of the existence of Scotland,
and I am also aware from personal observation
that Lilium giganteum often flourishes therein
the open, unshaded border. Mr. S. Arnott
and the Rev. David R. Williamson, both
valued contributors to the Gardeners' Chronicle,
and both Scotsmen, have written of the be-
haviour of this Lily in their country. Mr.
Arnott has, in past years, told us of a speci-
men 14 feet high, growing in an angle of a
high kitchen-garden vail facing south-east — ■
an exceptionally sunny position ; while Mr.

Williamson has introduced his brother ama-
teurs to a "splendid specimen" growing in
his own garden, over 10 feet in height, bear-
ing " numerous large flowers." Personally, I
should consider the West of Scotland, with
its moist climate, preferable for Lily culture
to certain districts south of the Thames,
which in hot summers are burnt up with the
heat through weeks of torrid weather. Late
frosts, which Mr. Mallet speaks of as a danger
in the north, are quite as disastrous, if not
more so, in the south-west, where growth
naturally commences at an earlier date ; and I
remember a Lily-grower in that district, who
contributed a paper to the late Lily Confer-
ence of the R. H. S., suffering severely from
this cause a few years ago. I am glad to see
that such an authority as Mr. Wolley Dod and
Sir H. Maxwell are also able to testify to L.
giganteum flourishing in Scotland ; while in
the former's garden it is evidently as tho-
roughly at home as it can ever be south of the-
Thames. If frost is anticipated when the
flower-stem shows itself, a few evergreen
branchlets firmly fixed into the ground so as
to shelter the young growth, should prove
sufficient protection either in Cornwall or
Caithness. S. W. F.

NARCISSUS ODORUS IN GREENWICH PARK. —

A friend has called my attention to a variety
of Narcissus odorus which he saw flowering-
abundantly in Greenwich Park early in
February. The Curator informed him that
they begin to flower about Christmas, am?
continue till April, and that he calls them
"the early-flowering Jonquil." The Curator-
gave my friend specimens, which he lias for-
warded to me. On comparing them with the
portraits in Burbidge's/Iistoi'i/ of the Narcissus,
they answer to plate xxiv., N. odorus var. he-
minalis. Perhaps some of your readers who-
understand the species N. odorus may have-
noticed them, and will tell us whetherthis very
early habit of flowering is usual with var. hemi-
nalis. I find that Haworth enumerates nine
varieties of N. odorus (Philogyne), and identifies
heminalis, which he calls the narrow cupped,
with Parkinson's N. juncifolius luteus magno-
calyce. Par. 93, fig. 4. C. Wolley Dod, Edge
Hall, Malpas.

THE CHAMPION GRAPE PRIZE AT SHREWS-
BURY.— As I have now received the Shrews-
bury schedule, I am pleased to see that the
long-talked of £50 "Queen's Champion Cup"
for twelve bunches of Grapes is backed with
a £20 cash prize. But there is too great a
falling off in the second prize, £12 in cash
with "Encyclopedia Dictionary," which book
the majority of competitors may already
possess. If the firm which offers this prize-
would come forward and give the £8 Queen's
in cash, it would make the competition keener.
A. Kirk, Norivood, Alloa, N.B.

yellow snowdrops. — If, as I gather from
Mr. Mott's letter in the Gardeners' Chronicle
of March 15, the segments of the Snowdrop
flowers upon which he remarks are yellow,
and not only the ovary and the marks on the
segments, which are generally green, he has
made a noteworthy find, though it was one
not unlikely to appear some day. I had, how-
ever, expected to find it among seedlings or
colour sports of Galanthus nivalis viridiflorus,
which has the segments green instead of
white. If the yellow tint should prove per-
manent, as one may hope, these Snowdrops
will be most interesting. S. Arnott.

ERANTHIS HYEMALIS AND E. CILICICUS. —

In my garden E. cilicicus seems to be rather
more tender than E. hyemalis ; and several of
my friends have found it difficult to establish.
On the other hand, E. hyemalis flowers regu-
larly and profusely, except where it is in a-
dry, sunny place. From its behaviour this
spring, however, I think E. cilicicus is going
to do well in suitable positions, and in a shady
corner in a peaty soil it is flowering better
than before. It does not, however, equal E.
hyemalis in freedom or earliness of flower.
Under what conditions does Mr. Bulley grow
these Winter Aconites? S. Arnott, Rosedenc .
Carsethorn, !iy Dumfries, N.B.

March 29, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

213

THE CORONATION — RETARDING ROSES. —

There is no doubt but that the supply of
flowers of the Rose will equal the demand at
Coronation- tiuie, as the season is just right,
the weather being favourable ; and it is very
probable that for some time afterwards the
Rose will be in great demand for decoration,
and we should now think out some means by
which the supply may be prolonged. I should
say that those persons who have a large stock
of iinforced Roses growing in pots should from
now onwards keep them in a cool situation,
which will probably make the difference of a
fortnight in their flowering ; also beds of
dwarf plants might, before buds are far ad-
vanced, be shaded from strong sunshine, and
some sorts may have the stronger shoots
"topped before the flower-buds are formed, the
bush being made to break anew. A. J. Long,
Wyfold Court.

the late david syme.— I notice in the
Gardeners' Chronicle, February 8, 1902, in
referring to the death of my oldest friend,
Mr. David Syme, you say he commenced com-
■mercial life fifty- six years ago. If your
reporter had said sixty years, you would have
toeen close upon the time. I can see him and
his mother in my mind's eye at this distance
of time, coming to the Glasgow Arcade at
8 a.m. I had just disposed of the shutters,
And was adjusting the sacks of nuts, and such
•other articles as formed part of the stock-in-
trade of the business— in those days Mr.
•James Thyne, not J. & R. Thyne, this was a
much later development— and seeing a wee
laddie hanging about, I asked him if he was
the new boy. His mother answered for him,
by saying she was not sure of that, so I had to
lug about the sacks, more than half my own
■height, unaided by the wee laddie, who would
willingly have given me a helping hand but
for his cautious mother, who would not
•commit the apple of her eye to a situation he
iiad the previous day committed himself to
without the consent of his parents ; so mother
■and son waited the arrival of Mr. Thyne. The
mother was anxious as to the kind of work,
which was simply to run out with parcels,
.and when she ventured to make some stipula-
tions, to which Mr. Thyne at once assented,
and told the mother to take the boy away or
•leave him to the understood customs of the
shop. Mrs. Syme was a sensible woman, and
finding wee Davie had no notion of remaining
longer under the schoolmaster, left him, and
■he grew up in the interest of the fruit side of
<the shop, and I in the interest of the seed side,
till 1846, when I left for the north of Ireland
■as head shopman to Daly, Drysdale & Co.,
Newry. Davie took my place amongst the
seeds, and well maintained the progressive
•development of this department, which pre-
ceding older men had failed to do, leaving the
department as they found it. Peter Barr
V.M.H., Cape Town.

pavia indica, etc.— In the last issue of the
■Gardeners' Chronicle, I read with interest Mr.
.Bean's description of the various trees of
jEscuIus growing in the different parts of this
oountry, and assuming that it might be of
interest to some readers of your Journal to
know there are two fine young specimens of
the Pavia indica in the gardens at this place.
The trees are about 20 feet in height, and for
the last three years they have flowered pro-
fusely. The late Sir Charles Bunbury, Bart.,
brought the seed from the Himalayas. The
seed ripened at Barton Hall, germinated
freely, and numbers have been raised at the
garden. There are in the garden three trees
■of ^sculus macrostachya ; one, the most
prolific in flowering, coming into flower about
the first week in August. T. E. Walker, Barton
Hall Gardens, Bury St. Edmunds.

snowdrops. — Your correspondent, J.
Jeffrey, p. 150, writing from St. Mary's Isle,
Kirkcudbright, of the "Earliness of Snow-
drops," quite omits to give a date of their
flowering. During one of my revisits to the
west coast of Scotland, January 14, 1871,
Snowdrops were in full flower on that date.

The situation was at Knockdow, a lovely place
about three-quarters of a mile from the mouth
of Lochstriven on the eastern shore, and also
within a short distance of the Kyles of Bute.
They were of the single-flowered variety; a
boxful I brought with me much surprised my
friends in Warwickshire. At this place
(Berkswell), March 3, the double variety
could scarcely be said to be at their best, and
the single ones are no forwarder. If the west
coast is new to your correspondent, I can
quite understand his appreciative remarks,
not only of the earliness but also the freshness
of all kinds of shrubs in their highly-favoured
locality, which owes the mildness of its
climate to the influence of the Gulf Stream
drift, and warm westerly winds. Let these
be cut off, and then the western shores of the
British Isles would in all probability enjoy no
better climate than that of frozen up Labrador,
which is exactly in the same latitude. W.
Miller, Berkswell.

THE horticultural hall.— The Council
of the Royal Horticultural Society and the
Committee of Selection are to be heartily con-
gratulated on the decision come to at last
week's general meeting. A new era has now
opened for the Society ; it only remains for
every individual Fellow to do his or her best
to provide the necessary funds, and we shall
have a permanent home for horticulture in
London, where we may hope, eventually, to
see all its various branches unite under the
regis of the Royal Horticultural Society ; and
if a suitable building is raised, it may possibly
prove a source of revenue to the Society, as
it would be useful for many purposes when
not required for horticultural meetings and
exhibitions. The new garden can wait for a
few years. The trials of vegetables, flowers,
&c, embrace some useful work, which the
Society must continue and develop. In the
meantime, all of us must endeavour to make
the new hall worthy of British horticulture,
of the Royal Horticultural Society, and of the
largest and richest city in the world. W. H.
Divers, Belvoir Castle Gardens.

EUPHORBIA (POINSETTIA) PULCHERRIMA. —
May I be allowed space for a few remarks on
the closing sentence or two of your corre-
spondent "A. C. B.'s" note on the propaga-
tion of Poiusettias, p. 180? He says: — "In
South Devon and Cornwall these* subjects
summer well in cold pits, and the lights may
be left off on mild and dry nights." But I
can assure " A. C. B." that hero in North-east
Sussex, where I reside, the temperature falls
considerably below that of South Devon, yet
Poinsettias are grown out-of-doors for at least
three months of the year, viz., from the middle
of the month of June till late in September.
The plants are planted in a border in the front
of an early vinery, in a compost similar to that
in which they would be potted, and afforded
water, and syringed more or less according to
the state of the weather. In September they
are lifted, and placed on a bed in one of the
pits, as close together as the balls of soil and
roots will allow, and soil is worked in amongst
them as the job proceeds ; a good quantity of
water is afforded, and mats are thrown over
the glass when the sun shines, these being
removed in a few days. The bracts on plants
thus treated are very fine, some measuring
15 inches across. Had I to grow them in pots
for decoration, I should treat them in the same
manner ; only, instead of planting out, I would
plunge the pots in the ground. Even in the
northern parts of the country, I should plant
out in cold frames those intended for cutting,
and those in pots plunge in frames, exposing
them during the day and placing the lights
over tbem at night, the nights being colder in
the north than in the south, although it is
exceedingly warm in the daytime. J. 8.

lilium giqanteum.— I can corroborate all
that Mr. Wolley-Dod has said respecting
Lilium gigantoum succeeding well as far north
as Gordon Castle. 1 have seen it growing in
one of the ploughmen's or cottar's gardens
there, and flowering magnificently, with

seemingly but little attention ; but I have
always thought the climate in that district,
from a few miles east of Gordon Castle to
as far west as Nairn, and as far inland as
the foot of the hills of " Birnie," to be much
more genial than anything to be found for-
mally miles further south. Chas.Simpson,Newby
Hall Gardens, Ripon, Yorks.

THE OECHAED-HOUSE
FEBRUARY.

IN

When recently looking through the orchard-
houses in the gardens of Gunnersbury House,
I was struck with the beauty in the bloom of
the Peaches, Nectarines, and Plums grown in
pots at the time the flowers were fully deve-
loped. I could not help remarking to Mr.
James Hudson that the trees were worth
growing in this way for their floral beauty
alone, for the branches of most of them were
literally wreathed in blossoms of varying
shades of pink and rose. We are so accus-
tomed to regard such trees as fruit-producers,
that we are apt to overlook the service they
render when in full bloom. They render two
series of services ; but a due estimate of the
first is obscured by the more utilitarian
character of the second.

What are the laws operating to determine size
in the blossoms of Peaches and Nectarines?
Apples, Pears, Cherries and Plums all show
variations in size: it is the blossoms of
Peaches and Nectarines which display most
colour, though the roseate tints found on the
exterior surfaces of the blossoms of some
varieties of Apples give them a very gay
appearance.

Of the large-flowered Peaches grown at Gun-
nersbury House, one of the most conspicuous
is Early Alfred, the flowers large and of good
form, the centre of the corolla a little darker
than that of the circumference. The Necta-
rine Peach puts forth large bold blossoms, and
they have a striking appearance. Dr. Hogg
has large deep-coloured blossoms for a Peach,
it is a second early variety, good cropper, and
Mr. Hudson speaks favourably as to its quality.
Rivers' Early York is also a fine large-flowered
variety. Early Silver has large flowers, and
they are of a delicate pink tint. Mr. Hudson
thinks very highly of Dr. Hogg as a flowering
Peach, it was the most striking in the whole
collection.

Two varieties were conspicuous for their
small blossoms, viz., Crimson Galande and
Magdala, the latter the deepest in colour, but
probably Nature provides an equivalent in
that these varieties produce showy fruits.

There were several small-blooming sorts,
such as Victoria, quite small, but deep in
colour, and a free setter ; Advance, also
small, but with a dark centre and stamens;
Stanwick Elruge, quite small, sets freely, but
it stones very mdiffereutly, only two or three
fruits on;a tree. This appears to be a pecu-
liarity of this variety, and it is perhaps diffi-
cult to assign a cause fortius failure to stone.
Mr. Hudson is experimenting with a view of
overcoming this defect. Drydon is also quite
small-flowered ; Balgowan is the same, but the
blossoms are deeply coloured; Improved
Dowuton is also a small-flowered variety. Jlr.
Hudson hazarded the opinion that as a rule
the small-flowered Nectarines set their fruit
more freely than do the large-flowered va-
rieties ; it would bo interesting to know if
this is borne out by general observation and
experience.

Mr. Hudson considers Amsden June to be
the most reliable early Peach ; next to this ho
puts Early Beatrice, though it is not one of
the most reliable as a cropper, but useful on
account of maturing its fruit early.

214

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 29, 1902.

What is the cause of bud - dropping in
Peaches ? and especially so in the case of
some of the American varieties. Waterloo
and Alexandra are both bad bud-droppcrs.
Some of the English Peaches do the same, but
not to the extent the two Americau varieties
named do. It is exasperating to a gardener
■who has healthy trees in pots, and which
promise to be laden with blossom, to find
them dropping their buds to a serious extent
just when expansion is expected. Is this
peculiarity characteristic of the twain Ameri-
can varieties mentioned above under all con-
ditions of culture, and if so, is it traceable to
some association with heredity ?

Of the large-flowering Nectarines, the new
Cardinal produces fine blossoms ; they are very
pretty, and of a delicate pink tint. Byron
also has large blossoms, but rather deeper
and brighter in colour than those of Cardinal ;
Rivers' Early is another large-flowered variety ;
Rivers' Orange has large, delicate pink
blossoms ; Pineapple also, and it is very free
of bloom ; Lord Napier is another of this
character. Cardinal, says Mr. Hudson, is the
earliest Nectarine, it is ripe twelve days
before Early Rivers ; and this in its turn
precedes Lord Napier by a like deviation of
time. Cardinal has begun to colour its fruit
before that of Lord Napier has finished swelling.

The blossoms of Plums are very much alike,
there is little if any perceptible difference in
point of size and tint, in the varieties in the
Gunnersbury House orchard-houses. Reine
Claude do Comte Atthems, has large white
blossoms, which are produced in abundance ;
it is a fine late red Gage Plum, freestone, and
of the best quality, and seems to do admirably
under the restrictions of pot-culture. Mr.
Hudson remarked, that all Reine Claude Plums
when grown in the open are of excessive
growth, hence they are ofttimes indifferent
setters. Jefferson and Rivers' Early Prolific,
with others, were seen to be very free of
bloom. Mr. Hudson takes great delight in
the pot-culture of Plums ; he states he had no
idea so much could be done with them under
the control of pot-culture, and this fact is
admirably illustrated when the trees are
carrying most gratifying crops of ripe fruit.
R.D.

NURSERY NOTES.

A CALL AT "WEBBS'," WORDSLEY.

The words " Webb's seeds " are familiar to
most railway travellers, and quite recently I
made a call at this colossal establishment,
near Stourbridge, to see the Primulas and
Cinerarias.

The first sight of the huge blocks of seed
warehouses reminded me of an American " sky
scraper." I had previously heard that Messrs.
Webb & Sons were great at Primulas, Cine-
rarias, Cyclamens, and Calceolarias, and this
proved to be true, for they appear to be ex-
tremely fastidious iu selecting only the very
best strains of each variety to grow for seed
purposes. The stocks were grown thoroughly
well in a series of light, airy greenhouses,
specially devised for the purpose, the neces-
sary selection and roguing being rigorously
carried out.

The Calceolarias were the cleanest and best
grown plants I have ever seen. The seeds
were sown on June 3, and are now contained
in 8-inch pots to flower.

The Cinerarias were equally good, enormous,
well-marked flowers, in self and various
colours, on clean, dwarf, compact plants, with
healthy foliage. The Stellata section, also a
fine strain, had a house specially to itself.

Primulas, too, had evidently been good in
bloom, and were ripening their seed-pods.
One named Mafeking was quite a new, warm
colour, of compact habit, and the flowers are
well set up above the foliage.

Cyclamens are chiefly kept to tinea distinct
self colours, viz., Mont Blanc, a grand white ;
Vesuvius, not well named, a dark crimson ;
and Rose Queen.

There were houses of Gloxinias and Begonias
making their growth ; tree and other Carna-
tions, and a host of other flowering plants for
seed-production.

A hurried run through the seed warehouses
revealed an enormous output of farm and
garden seeds. For instance, there were some
2000 sacks of Webb's Imperial Swede seed ;
each sack weighs 200 lb. ; and this variety
holds the record for the heaviest weight per
acre, viz., 50 tons. Two hundred tons of Man-
gold seed were in stock, named Lion, odc of
Messrs. Webbs' own raising.

Something like 7000 tons of seed Potatos are
sold annually.

Senator, a new garden Pea, was described
as being a great acquisition ; and another new
second early Marrow Pea is to be brought out
next year. About 150 women are employed
all winter hand-picking garden Peas.

I could not reach the seed farms and trial
grounds at Kinver, some 1500 acres in extent.
W. C. M.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

[General Meeting to Discuss the Ques-
tion of the Proposed Site fob a
Hall and Offices in Vincent Square,
Westminster.

A General Meeting of this Society was
held at the London Scottish Drill Hall,
Buckingham Gate, Westminster, on Friday
afternoon, March 21, to consider a report
from the Council on the subject of the pro-
posed new Hall for the Society. .Sir Trevor
Laurence, Bart., the President, occupied the
Chair ; anil there was a very large attendance
of Members of the Council and Fellows.

The preliminary formalities having been
completed, Sir Trevor Laurence addressed the
meeting —

The President's address and resolution.
liaron Schroder's letter.

The President's resolution seconded by Sir
William Thiselton Dyer. The King's Good-
will. The Reserve fund.

Mr. Shea objects, and proposes the adjourn-
ment of the meeting, jor the. purpose of obtain-
ing the votes of all the Fellows, in which he is
supported by Mr. Bennett-Poe, Sir Alexander
Arbuthnot , and Mr. Gordon.

Sir Michael Foster on the situation, he
supports the Resolution.

Mr. Arthur Sutton, Vr. Masters, Mr. Ker,
the Dean of Rochester, and other speakers.

The meeting became impatient, uttering cries
of "Vote! Vote!"

The original resolution and the amendment
again read.

The amendment formally put to tlie meeting.
A few votes only were recorded in ils favour.

The Presiilent's resolution carried by an over-
whelming majority, amid signs of enthusiasm and
gratification.]

The President's Speech.
The President said :— Ladies and Gentlemen, I have
a, motion to lay before this meeting, but I have some
introductory remarks which I desire to make before
stating the terms of the motion which I shall propose.
I venture to consider, and I think the Fellows of this
Society who are present will consider, that to-day we
have to arrive at a decision of considerable importance,

and I confess that I approach the task of proposing this
motion with a sense of considerable responsibility.
Up to the present time, fortunately, I think the action
of the Fellows of this Society has been on the whole
unanimous. We have had very few points on which
any serious divergence of opinion arose ; but in
carrying out a work of importance in a Society
like this, it is almost impossible that this
should continue to be invariably the case. We
cannot expect when important questions arise
such as that which has arisen now, to have complete
unanimity in regard to the feeling of the Fellows oi
this Society. At the same time I should be the last to
fail to recognise, what I believe the Fellows of the
Society who are present will recognise, that whatever
differences of opinion there may be, they are in no way-
incompatible, whether you take this view or that, with
an earnest desire for the welfare of the Society. I
venture to hope that we have no reason to anticipate a.
very heated discussion on this occasion. I venture
even to suggest that in our discussions we might set
an example to an august body which meets in this
immediate neighbourhood. (Laughter.) So far as I
am personally concerned, I shall to the best of my
ability avoid saying a single word which can in any
way, so far as I can understand it, offend anybody who
is here present.

Now I think you will agree with me that the Centenary
of such a Society as ours, with its Fellows numbering
6,000 to 7,000, is a great occasion. So far as the Society
goes, I do uot think a more important occasion is likely
to occur for a great number of years; and I cannot
help believing that the large majority of those present
will desire to see this great occasion suitably eele
brated. And may I ask— What is the position of this*
Society ? As it has grown in numbers, so, I believe I
may say, it has grown in repute, until it may be truly
said that botli at home and abroad it has become the
recognised head of the horticulture of the United
Kingdom, and. indeed, of the Empire.

In such a Society the general policy to be adopted
must necessarily be submitted to, and be approved and.
adopted by, a general meeting of the Fellows; but the
details of whatever decision a general meeting of the
Fellows may come to, and the carrying out of those
details, would naturally be left in the hands of the
executive, that is to say, of the Council.

I do not myself doubt for a moment that many of
the Fellows think that either alternative proposal for
celebrating the centenary of the Society— whether it bo,
a Hall with offices, or a new garden— would be desirable
in itself ; but unfortunately, the position of the Society
is such that we cannot have both at once, and the
question is, to which of the two shall priority be
given ? I venture to express what is my own opinion,
and the opinion of several of my colleagues on tho
Council, that looking at the necessity for a strong hor-
ticultural society in the British Isles, and to the past,
history of the Society since it left South Kensington v
to the unbroken flow of new Fellows, to the good repu-
tation in which the Society now stands, and to the
ever-growing interest in horticulture throughout the
Empire, I venture to think that the Society will
possess both a new Hall with offices, and a new garden,,
before this century has passed its youth.

I am anxious, as far as it is possible to do so, to
approach .this question dispassionately, and to put.
before you such considerations as appear to me
reasonable in our discussion of the question as la
which of these two desirable objects we shall give
priority. The question I have to ask myself is this :—
Are there weighty and sufficient reasons why priority
should be given to the scheme for building a Hall and'
offices fcr this Society ? I venture to think there are.
We have met together to-day in a hall where we
habitually have our fortnightly meetings, and 1
remember that when we came from South Kensington
we thought ourselves very fortunate in being able to
secure the use of this hall. At the same time, it has
been felt all along— and I think reasonably and natu-
rally felt— that this hall was at best but a makeshift.
It is obvious that it has very considerable disadvan-
tages. It is often very cold and draughty, and there-
fore bad for plants ; the light is exceedingly bad. To-
day it happens to be relatively bright, but very often
the light is very bad in this hall, and it is impossible
to see the tints of the flowers. Then we have entirely
outgrown the dimensions of this hall, and besides not
offering adequate accommodation, it is very noisy,
which makes it very inconvenient for our meetings and
lectures.

We have had offered to us a site of adequate dimen-
sions, at a moderate rent, for a term of 99f years, which..
is practically a freehold. It is situated within 400 yards
of Victoria Street, in a rapidly improving and a rapidly
developing neighbourhood. It possesses good light
and aspect.

The President here turned to a pUn on the screen
behind him, similar to that given in the Gardeners'
Chronicle on p. , March , 1902 ; and after explaining
the approaches aud other circumstances connected
with the proposed site, he proceeded : -Well, Ladiea
and Gentlemen, that is the site, and that is its posi-
tion. Owing to the great increase of the Society
which is taking place— as you will remember there
was an addition of 900 new Fellows last year

March 20, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

215

to which must be added already this year 300—
the great increase of the Society has entailed neces-
sarily a great increase of office work ; and it is abso-
lutely impossible to carry on our office work in the
present offices in Victoria Street. I occasionally, of
course, go into the office during working hours, and
I always find our invaluable Secretary at work with
three clerks sitting at the table with him, because
there is nowhere else to put them ; and it is absolutely
impossible for him to have a private interview with
anybody when he may so desire. Our Society has com-
pletely outgrown the old offices, and there are no
means of getting any additions to the office in the
present building. What we want to do, if the
Fellows accept the proposal which I shall presently
place before you, is to provide a new and convenient
Hall: and we believe, in doing that, we shall hold out
an inducement for a not inconsiderable number of new
Fello.vs who might not otherwise have joined us.
Everything that adds to the comfort and convenience
of a well-ordered Society, no doubt adds to the number
of its Fellows ; and there is every reason to believe—
while I do not doubt, whether we have a new Hall or
not, we shall have a constant flow of members— still
proper accommodation for a Society considerably
advances its interests.

Then, last but not least, we have promises of £8,000
already, and that without issuing any appeal. They
were voluntary o.Ters, and they were not made in
answer to any appeal.

The arguments in favour of a new garden are mainly
these. Toe advantages of Chiswick have gradually
ceased as London has drawn nearer and nearer every
year. We are being surrounded with buildings and
houses, and in addi ion, the drying of the soil has
been increased by the excessive drainage which all
building-land undergoes. Nobody disputes that such
a Society as this, which is scientific as well as practical,
should have a thoroughly good garden; and whether
you decide upon a Hall to day, or whether you do not,
I sincerely trust that before many years have elapsed
we shall have a good new garden, which we require for
conducting the work which our Society ought to be
conducting— scientific, experimental, and practical.
Still, notwithstanding that, we have Chiswick lor
another twenty years. Although Chiswick is very
much degenerated from what it was formerly, I am
sorry to say that when I conferred with the Duke of
Devonshire's solicitors and surveyors, we learnt that
the surrender value of Chiswick, if it were to be
surrendered now, is a much less valuable asset than
we had been lei to suppose, fn addition to that,
during the year 1900 exhaustive enquiries were made in
every direction near London, and it was not found
possible to select a suitable site. The moment you got
suitable laud, the necessity for good railway accommo-
dation became a prime consideration, and the great
difficulty was to secure a site which was convenient of
access and which should not be inordinate in price.
The result was that a balance of considerations, and
weighing the advantages and the disadvantages, left
in my mind a decided preponderance in favour of a
Hall and Offices.

Now, 1 >hould not he acting fairly, as it seems to me,
if I did not say a few words about a gentleman who has
been one of the best friends this Society has ever had—
I mean Barou Schroder. Baron Schroder is an
enthusiastic horticulturist, and he has been all alon;;
most anxious to promote the welfare of thi9 Society. I
remember the days which few here present I think
remember, the dark days when we were at South
Kensington. I remember that the Society was abso-
lutely on its last legs, and the question was how long
it could coutinue to exist. At that time nobody gave
us greater help or better advice for the welfare of the
Society than did Baron Schroder; and I see other
gentlemen present— Sir William Thiselton Dyer and
Sir Michael Foster— who did yeoman service, and
rescued the Society from a collapse. And it may not
be known, but I think I may reasonably mention it,
that there were not a few gentlemen interested in the
welfare of this Society, who put their hands in their
pockets and made donations to the Society, which
alone enabled it to be carried on.

I should not be doing justice to Baron Schroder if I
did not read a statement which has been placed in my
hands by the Secretary of this Society, on the connec-
tion of Baron Schroder with the committee for the
selection of a site. I will read it, because I was not
always able to be present, and am not, therefore, of my
own personal knowledge, acquainted with all that
happened. This is the statement :—

"It is almost a year ago that Baron Schroder asked
the Council to appoint a committee to act with him in
looking for a site and in studying the question. From
the first appointment of that committee until the
middle of January, when he was obliged to go to the
South for his health. Baron Schi Oder not only devoted
himself to investigate the financial position of the
Society, and each site which was proposed, but actually
laboured to inspect every new site, refusing to be dis-
heartened by repeated failure and disappointment. He
learned of the sitein Vincent Square, and so highly did
he think of it, and knowing the rapid manner in which
the slums are bciDg swept away in the neighbourhood,
ind fine residential mansions taking their place, he

thought, that he would personally secure it, lest it
should slip through our hands; so he secured it on a
lease for 999 years. He is ready at a moment's notice
to hand it over to the Society; over and above that,
he has promised £5,000 towards the building fund, if
the site be accepted.

In America, horticulture has met with many generous
benefactors, but there is no one in Great Britain who
would have acted in such a spirit of public-minded
liberality and of personal effort in the cause of horti-
culture as our friend Baron Schroeder has done."

I believe that is a perfectly accurate statement. The
Council now venture to submit to the Fellows the
question of the policy to be adopted at the present
juncture of the affairs of the Society. The details must,
asit seems to me, necessarily be left to the Council,
who are, I hope, trusted by the Fellows ; for if they
are not, the proper course to adopt would be for them
to replace the present Council by men whom they do
trust-men in whom they have confidence. But the
details, whether structural or financial, cannot be
either satisfactorily or advantageously discussed at a
general meeting.

I may mention an analogous case in connection with
St. Bartholomew's Hospital where it is proposed to
spend a quarter of a million. In that instance the
details were left to the Executive of the Hospital. I
mention that to show that details eould not be dis-
cussed in a general meeting. Should the Fellows pass
the vote, with moving which I shall conclude my
speech, I will briefly mention the general lines upon
which the Council, so far as they have been able to
decide as yet, would propose to ac'.. Rough preliminary
plans and estimates have been prepared, but they are
not yet in such a state as would justify their being
submitted to this meeting. The Council are advised
that such plans, or others of a similar character, would
involve an outlay of not less than £25,000. This they
propose to ask for from the Fellows and their friends.
They have already promises of £5,000 from Baron Sehro
der, and £1000 from Mr. Elwes, similar sums from Mr.
Sherwood, and Mr. Sutton. I think we can look con-
fidently to the great interest which is taken in horti-
culture by the vast number of wealthy Fellows of this
Society to produce the not very extravagant sum of
£25,000 for a purpose which is so essential and necessary
for the interests of this Society.

The Council desire to avoid, if possible, drawing
upon the accumulated funds of the Society. They
would not do that if it could be avoided. They are of
opinion that the rates and taxes, and maintenance
charges fortheHall and offices, could easily be defrayed
out of income, and they hope that some revenue may
be derived from letting and similar sources, when
the building is completed.

BABON SCHRODER'S LETTER.

I have received a letter from Baron Schrooer
which he says I am at liberty to read to the meeting
I interpret that as a desire that I should read it, and
therefore I will proceed to read it :—

"Cap Martin Hotel, rites Menton, A.M.
" March. IT, 1902.

•' My Dear Sir Trevor,

"You arc no doubt aware that I have been in
active correspondence with Mr. Wilks since I left
London for the south of France; in his last letter he
'nforuis me that the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have
accepted my offer for the St. Vincent Square site.

" I am delighted at this news, as I am sure thatunder
the circumstances we could not have a better position
for our Hall, or one that is more likely to improve.

" Mr. Wilks informs ine that the Council have called
a meeting of the Fellows for Friday next, the 21st inst.,
and I am anxious to write to you a few lines for the occa-
sion, as, I regret to say, I shall not be able to be present
personally. I trust that the Fellows will approve of
what has been done, and come forward liberally in sub-
scribing the necessary funds for the purpose of erecting
a suitable building on the grounds. If I have come
forward in subscribing £5.000 for that purpose it is, I
can assure you, in consequence of my great love for
horticulture, and my high esteem for the old Society,
which will next year have existed for a hundred years.
1 feel that it is totally unworthy of so great a Society
that it should not have its own home, but still remain
at the Drill Hall, which is quite inadequate for our
wants. I cannot but believe that the Royal Horticul-
tural Society, with its large and increasing number of
members, will be easily able to collect the sum of £20,000
to £25,000, which is necessary for our purpose, and to
which £8,000 have already been subscribed.

"One word more about the St. Vincent Square site.
We have there not only splendid light for our shows,
but we shall probably have a chance of utilising the
Square for our exhibitions in case the Temple Gardens
should fail us, which, I think, is a very great point in
is favour.

"You may make use of this letter in any way you
may think proper, and wishing you most heartily a
successful meeting on Friday.

" I remain, yours very sincerely,

"(Signed) J. W. Si -iiruder."

The resolution I have to propose is to the followiD
effect :—

" That the Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society,
in general meeting assembled, accept the principle of
building a new Hall in celebration of the centenary of
the Society, and hereby adopt the report laid before
them this day by the Council. They also desire to
record their appreciation of Baron Schroder's public-
spirited conduct in securing a site, which they hereby
adopt, and they authorise the Council to take the
necessary steps to enable the building to be opened in
the year 1901."

Sir William Thiselton - Dyer seconded
the motion. He said : I do not know
that I was ever called upon on any occasion,
of public business to fulfil a duty with
more pleasure than I dothat which I have
been invited to undertake this afternoon. I
have looked forward to this day with long-
ing expectation. It is thirteen years since
we were turned out of our quarters at South
Kensington neck and crop, I think I may
say into the street. It was due to you, Sir,
to Baron Schroder, to Mr. Veiteh, to my
friend Sir Michael Foster, and a body of
gentleman, who did not despair that the
wreck of the Society was saved, and that it
was enabled to build itself into the efficient
institution which exists to-day. When we
departed from South Kensington, we were
determined that the past should be buried for
ever, and that a new policy of vital activitr
and real work should be that which should
animate us ; that policy, Sir, under your
consistent and persistent guidance, has
been a success, and now, instead of being
in an insolvent position, we are a flourish-
ing and prosperous corporation. You are
asked to-day to realise what you are, ai &
what you have become, and to show to the
public some outward and visible sign of the-
place you hold in the community of this great
country. We left South Kensington because
we would no longer be at the beck and call of
every caprice of fashien. In these more humble
and less attractive quarters, we have devoted
ourselves to horticulture, pure and simple ;
we have not had our ears deafened by a Horse
Guards' band whenever we have been looking
at a Daffodil. The public have taken us at
our word, and we are now in a position which,
thirteen years ago, we could not have
believed possible; now we have to consolidate
our position and crown the edifice, and see
if we cannot with reasonable comfort extend
the operations of the Society, which is
at once learned and practical, by providing
suitable accommodation for our labours. We
want a place where our committees can meet
and deliberate in privacy ; we want a place
for the Lindley Library, where it can be
of use to our Fellows ; and we want a place
where our officers can conduct their busi-
ness with propriety and with some comfort.
Is it too much to appeal to people when the
gift is positively dangling over our head ? 1
will not pursue the theme with any elabora-
tion, because I feel that it already commends
itself to your common-sense. The Council have
always been consistent in this matter, as in
every other part of the policy that they have
pursued. What did the Council say in 1888,
when I had the honour to bo a member
of it? We told you that the first work of
the Council was to secure a suitable home
for the Society. Through the kindness of
the London Scottish Rifles, and I think
owing to the personal kindness towards some
of us of Colonel Eustace Barfour, we obtained
the use of this hall. At first then' were n*
skylights, and it was through the intervention
of Colonel Balfour that some skylights were
put in. We had only a temporary agreement

216

THE GARD ENERS' CHR ONI CL E.

[March 29, 1902.

for this ball, as we fully recognised its draw-
backs.

The following year his present Majesty the
King, then Prince of Wales, was so kind as to
open our Temple Show. We presented to him
an address, in which we asked his co-opera-
tion in regard to the policy which I hope will
be finally decided upon to-day. What did the
King say ?

The King's Good Wai.

"We all know that His Majesty is not a person
who talks lightly, and in the few words ho
addressed to us in the Temple Gardens, he
said: " I sincerely hope that your labours in
this respect (that is, in] obtaining a Hall) may
be successful, for I feel' sure that such a Hall
will be of the greatest use and advantage."
May wo not re-echo and emphasise the words
His Majesty himself used, .and agree with
words instinct with common sense, that the
provision of a central Hall for the Society will
be of great use to the horticultural community.

Owing to the staunch co-operation of the
trade, persons interested in horticulture have
had an opportunity, fortnight after fortnight,
of seeing here everything that is novel, and
everything that is excellent in the horticul-
ture of the country. The busy man who could
not range over the nurseries, and cover con-
siderable distances, could come here and see
everything he desired to see. Then the
amateur who is proud of his garden could, in
ten minutes, see the results of the work of a
lifetime. It is true that the light is not all
that could be desired, and that the tints of
the flowers are not seen at their best, but for
all that the place has been invaluable.

But there is more than that. When you do
good work, consequences flow which you did
not expect. I am told that this place has been
such a rendezvous, such a centre of interest
for the horticultural world, that in the early
hours of the morning, before the more fashion-
able people come, this is practically a Horti-
cultural Exchange. You see people you want
to see, and you at once arrange with them.
Only the other day I had a considerable demand
for plants. A member of my staff came here
and saw one man, and in a few minutes the
thing was done. So that you have actually a
centre of horticultural life, and you have all
the making of a great society, except a proper
casket to contain it. I hope you will support
cordially and unanimously the policy which

the Council have laid down. 1 must confess

freely confess— that the scheme that has been
put before us far surpasses anything I ex-
pected. Sir Michael Foster, and myself have
seen many sites slip away, and thought it
would be almost impossible in the immediate
neighbourhood to secure one which had all
the advantages of the Vincent Square site,
which I must confess far exceeds what I
thought would be within the range of practical
possibility.

I cannot sit down without, re-echoing what
the President said about Baron Schroder. I
remember the time when we were working
for the resuscitation of the Society, how
we were supported by his enthusiasm, his
commonsense, and his counsel, which was
always at our disposal, never faltering in
working for the ultimate welfare of the So-
ciety. And now, seeing the way in which ho
has come to our aid, I think, we should really
be throwing God's gifts away if we rejected
the scheme which has been put before us this
afternoon.

Tub Reserve Fund.

I should like to say a word or two, in con-
clusion, in reference to the Reserve Fund,
which I had some part in initiating. When
we came here this was an insolvent society,

and it was by the private kindness and
liberality of many members of the Council that
the Society was able to face its banker with
anything like a fair face. The Council in that
way cleared off its immediate responsibilities.
As soon as we became solvent, I urged upon
the Treasurer, Dr. Morris, to commence
a reserve fund, the ultimate destination
of which should be the construction of a hall,
and if you will turn to the accounts of the
Society for 1890, you will find an item, "To
reserve fund for Horticultural Hall, £6G and
a few odd shillings." That was the beginning
of the reserve fund that I am told has now
risen to the substantial figure of £11,000.
That reserve fund is really ear-marked for a
Horticultural Hall, but I am perfectly ready to
agree, if the Society will raise the necessary
money, it may not be necessary to touc-h that
reserve fund. I would wish to impress
upon the Society — that the reserve fund was
accumulated for the purpose of a hall, and
that it ought not to be alienated for any other
purpose. I am sorry to have intruded so long,
but I wouid urge upon you to support this most
critical, this most fundamental motion.

The Amendment.

Mr. C. E. Shea moved the following amend-
ment : —

' ' That this meeting stand adjourned to this
day fortnight, at the same place and time if
possible, and that in the meantime copies of
the Report be sent to every Fellow of the
Society."

Mr. Shea said : We should, I suggest, look
at this matter simply as Fellows of the
Society desiring to devote ourselves to
evolving that which is best for the Society.
Of course, on matters of policy, individuals
will always differ. When I was on the Council,
in February, 1900, I assented to the declara-
tion of the Council that a garden was abso-
lutely essential for this Society, and I am not
prepared in March, 1902, to swallow the words
I used in February, 1900. I would say " look
before you leap," and not "leap before you
look." Then I think that in such a crisis in
the history of the Society we should refer this
matter to the whole of the 7,000 Fellows
throughout the country. There you have the
fundamental reasons, apart from all personal
matters, which led very much to my retire-
ment from the Council. The President has
told us that, on the balance of advantage, a
Hall is to be preferred to a Garden. I cannot
forget that with equal, if not even greater
eloquence, he told us a Garden was rather to
be preferred than a Hall. It is always open
to everybody to change his mind. I am in no
way quarrelling with Sir Trevor if his mind
has changed ; but I am waiting to see if the
step proposed to be taken by the Society at
this crisis is one to be taken without
obtaining the approval of those Fellows who
are asked to do it. If I see that secured, I
have nothing more to say. We have had the
point put before us as to whether it shall be
a Garden or a Hall. I do not intend to discuss
that question. But I must say, let us not, in
our desire for a Hall, render it impossible for
a Garden to be created hereafter within such
a time that we may hope to see. Looking at
the financial aspect of the matter, figures have
not been placed before us in any detail. Our
position at the present time has been roughly
declared to be that we have a booming success
in new Fellows, and an income of £2,000 a
year, and that altogether we are in a state of
such efficiency that we almost need not look at
financial considerations. We must not forget
that we have achieved all this under existing

conditions of the experimental garden at
Chiswick, an admirable Journal which is so
ably conducted by our energetic Secretary,
Mr. Wilks ; and our shows in this very much
depreciated Drill Hall. We are asked to
destroy all this. Now let us look at the leap
that the Council are asking us to take. We
have £2,000 on account of income, and an
accumulation of some £13,000 odd, although
£2,000 of that is in some trust and cannot be
touched. The scheme as introduced will cost
us an annual increase of our necessary expen-
diture which cannot be less than £1,000 a year.
That is to say, that £1,000 a year additional
is to be spent on account of a new hall and
offices.

It has been said that we have £8,000
promised, and it is suggested that we could
spend £8,000 from the reserve. Sir William
Thiselton Dyer has, I think, expressed an
objection to that fund being trenched upon,
but if you once accept this scheme, can you be
sure that you will not be compelled to trench
upon it ? When you have taken over your
liabilities, and have added your rates and
taxes, you will find that you will have to go
on. There is no retreating, and your liability
will be, roughly, £25,000. Suppose you have
to go to the reserve fund for the next £8,000.
What follows ? You take £8,000 out of the
reserve, which is then reduced to £3,000 ; in
fact, you take more than £8,000, because of
the difference in the price of Consols, and you
get so much less, pro tanto of accumulated
interest. If you spend £1,000 in rates and
taxes and up-keep — and we have had none of
these details placed before us — we shall get
much less accommodation. If you take £1,000
from your income, what prospect is there of a
garden in the future ? However much we may
disguise it, the real crux of the matter is — is
there to be a hall or a garden ? Two years
ago we said a garden was absolutely neces-
sary ; that is what we have to decide to-day.

My plea to-day is simply this. Let the
Society be consulted, and let it speak for
itself. Look at the prudence as well as the
justice of this plea. If you go on to-day, you
will create a certain sense of discontent among
those who are not here.

Several Fellows : No, no. They have all
had due notice.

Mr. Shea : You in this room cannot do this
thing. In an able article in the Gardeners'
Chronicle it was stated that those who have
called for a hall must be prepared to act up
financially to what they have called for, or a
very serious loss will occur. That is perfectly
true and frank. I say, go safely forward with
the assent of the whole Society ; and for the
sake of doing the thing properly and orderly,
let the matter be placed before a meeting of
the Fellows, when they have had a full and
complete copy of the report before them. We
have communications in the Press, but those
do not reach every Fellow of the Society.
I now feel that I have discharged my duty as
a retired member of the Council.

Mr. J. T. Bennett-Poe : I beg to second the
amendment, and I do so for the same reasons
expressed by Mr. Shea. I do so advisedly,
seeing that we are proposing to become
involved in such a large annual expenditure,
there should, in my opinion, be an appeal to
the whole body of Fellows.

Sir Alexander Arbuthxot : I support the
amendment. It is, I think, a most reasonable
amendment, and I cannot help feeling that if
it is rejected by this meeting, the meeting will
have done an act of what I may call great
unwisdom. The great body of the Society,

March 29, 1902 ]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

217

not only the country members who are away
from London at this moment, but the members
in this hall, have no information, no practical
information, as to the details of this proposal.
It is a very large leap, and it appears to me
that it is absolutely a leap in the dark, and I
cannot see, how we, as reasonable men, can
reject the very moderate amendment which
has been moved by Mr. Shea, that another
fortnight's time be allowed, in order that the
great body of the members of the Society may
be made acquainted with what is being done.
I would have supported this amendment
even if no reference had been made to
the great body of members in the country.
So far as the members present at this moment
are concerned, it is very important that they
should all know how matters stand more
clearly than we know at present. I would
earnestly suggest that this amendment be
adopted. I should be the last man— and it is
not without hesitation that I venture to come
forward in opposition to the Council of this
Society, for I am well aware what admirable
work) you, Mr. President, and our friend the
Secretary, have done for this Society. I was
for two years a member of the Council, and
I am well aware of the merits of those who
are conducting this Society.

But this is a very important case, and I
would ask you to pause in order to enable the
Fellows generally, those who are present as
well as those who are away, to become ac-
quainted with the facts which ought to be laid
before them. I therefore strongly urge that
the amendment be not rejected.

Sir Michael Poster : I hope this amend-
ment will not be pressed. I have really some
difficulty in knowing what the amendment
means. Does it mean that this meeting is not
competent to decide upon the important affairs
of the Society ? There are only two ways by
which a Society can carry on its work-
one is by meeting, publicly called for that
purpose, and those who are not there are
alone responsible for not being there ; another
•way is to send out a voting paper to each
member of the Society. Now, I venture to
think that on such a question as this, the
latter is the very worst possible way in which
you can get the decision of a society. The
people who are here are the people who are
most interested, those whose voice ought to
have the greatest weight ; and I cannot con-
ceive any just objection to a vote of this
meeting on so important a matter as this— a
just and proper vote of the Society, upon
which the Council is justified in acting. Is
that the meaning of the amendment, or is it
that a fortnight's delay is necessary, as the
matter is not ripe for action ? As my friend
Sir William Thisel ton-Dyer has said, we have
been talking about this Hall ever since wo
left South Kensington. I can repent what he
said, that when we left South Kensington we
felt we must look out as soon as possible for a
suitable Hall with central Offices for the
Society, and that wo took this Hall only as a
makeshift. We have had it before our minds
all these years. Surely we do not want
another fortnight to consider it ! Although
the question as between a Hall and a Garden
has not been raised directly, yet the question
really has been raised. We have been reminded
that two years ago wo discussed this question
of a Garden, and I remember speaking with
such force as I had in favour of a Hall, and a
Hall has been the one great want of the
Society.

Financially, 1 have rather gathered from
Mr. Shea that, prosperous as wc havo been in
the past, we are going on the downward path

directly we get an adequate Hall with all its
conveniences. That is the very thing to make
us still more prosperous, and still more able
in the very near future to get that experi-
mental garden which I have quite as much at
heart as he has. I imagine I am nothing if I
am not scientific, and I feel very strongly that
it is one of the functions of this Society to
carry on experimental investigations in horti-
culture in a garden of their own. I recognise
that this cannot be done now, adequately, at
Chiswick ; and I look forward to an adequate
Garden being, at some time, within our means.
But that is only one part of the functions of
this Society. Another part which appeals to
me quite as much as the scientific idea, is
seeing new and beautiful flowers, beautiful
fruits and vegetables, in a Hall of our own.
That is a matter which, I think, on the whole,
is the more important of the functions of this
Society. It is that by which we are enabled
to appeal to the public. As to the details, it
is not for me to go into them. I feel perfect
confidence in the Council, and I venture to
think that the Society would make a profound
mistake if they did not accept Baron Schroder's
admirable offer and take this hall.

Dr. Masters : In the first place, I have a
bone to pick with Mr. Shea, and I would
remind him that an editor is quite an imper-
sonal being. I have the fullest sympathy with
those gentlemen who want a garden ; I believe
we all have sympathy with them. The only
point upon which wo differ is this, that we
must wait for a garden. We have got a garden,
such as it is, and we can very well wait until
we have built a hall sufficient for our needs.
At present we are only in lodgings. Mr.
George Paul, the late Mr. G. Deal, and myself,
wero answerable for taking this hall. We
never looked upon it except as a stop-gap. It
has been a good stop-gap, but now, like all
lodgers, we are beginning to think we
ought to have a home of our own. That is
the way with all British people. When
they have got a house, they begin to
think they will have a garden; and when
they have a garden, they think they will have
a greenhouse too. I am sure I am expressing
the general feeling when I say, that I hope Mr.
Shea and Mr. Poe will reconsider their posi-
tion, and come back to the Council. We
respect their motives, and if they will come
back to the Council and help us to get a hall,
they can help us to get a garden. This is an
opportunity for getting a hall which is not
likely to occur again. It is for us to accept
this opportunity. I have attended fourteen or
fifteen meetings of the committee appointed
to find a site, and I havo arrived at the con-
clusion that this is the site, under existing
circumstances, for this hall. Do not let us
miss this opportunity. If we do, gracious
knows how long it will be before we get a
proper hall and a proper garden.

Surgeon-Major Ince : Mr. President, I must
say that I have considerable sympathy with
the amendment. Major Ince was proceeding
with his speech when the President interposed,
and the Major resumed his seat.

Mr. George Gordon supports the

AMKNIiMI'NT.

I should like to say, said Mr. Gordon, how
heartily I support the very moderate and,
as I believe, very desirablo amendment which
Mr. Shea has proposed. It is of the highest
importance that we should have a definite
statement from the Council that we shall
not spend any part of tho reserve fund.
I need not say that one of tho reasons
of our leaving South Kensington was be-
muse many years ago too much money Was

spent by the* Council ; in fact, they "spent
beyond their means. Sir William Thiselton-
Dyer has spoken of the marvellous success
which has attended the Society since we left
South Kensington. I fully agree with him,
and I have no doubt whatever that one reason
for that success has been that the Society has
devoted its attention wholly and solely to
horticulture. Before we embark on a scheme
we ought to know how we are going to raise
the money, and that we should'not "spend an
absolutely necessary reserve, and thereby be
deprived of a reserve should it be reqwired.
It is for this reason that I rise to support the
amendment, so that the whole of the Fellows
shall have an opportunity of knowing all the
facts.

Mr. Sutton on the Proxy Vote.

Mr. Arthur Sutton : I believe I am right in
saying that the Council have no power to take
any decision away from us. Only last year an
innovation was made, giving the Council the
option of taking a decision away from us, and
to refer it to the country at large. I think it
is a most serious responsibility for the Council
to assume. All the members could have got
here if they had wished to. Some of us have
come from great distances at considerable
inconvenience, and I have delayed my own
departure for Egypt so as to be present to-
day. If this matter were referred from us to
the country, it means that the enormous ma-
jority of those who really havo not had any
opportunity o:' taking a close interest in the
affairs of the Society, and who do not know
the ins-and-outs of this matter, will be asked
to record their vote. It is quite possible that
their votes might be in the majority ; but why
should the wishes of others who know all the
facts bo swamped by such a vote ? I really
hope that the Council will consider that this
is a matter that wo who are present can settle.

As regards the question of finance, it is
quite true that those who are not on the
Council are working in the dark. But that is
only relatively so. If Baron Schroder is will-
ing to accept the financial responsibility
himself, it shows, in my opinion, that it is a
perfectly safe financial step. It has been
said that during the past two years the
Council have changed their minds. Well, I
think the Council deserve our thanks for more
accurately gauging the feelings of the members
at large. 1 heartily join in the wish of Dr.
Masters that these two Fellows who have
taken such an interest in, and havo rendered
most valuable services to tho Society, will
come back to the Council and help to carry
through this most excellent work.

The Dean of Rochester : Mr. President, I
hope you will not lose this grand opportunity.
When I look back in my eighty-third year and
see what a large part of my life — and what a
delightful part of my life — has been spent in
gardens and with gardeners, 1 feel constrained,
having a conscience, and being a philanthopist,
to make every effort which 1 think will tend
to spread this enjoyment amongst tho people.
Something has been said about looking before
you leap. On many occasions that does not
do. I am an old fox-hunter, and there are
occasions if you look before you leap you will
never see tho hounds again ! We have a good
horse, and we have got tho man to whom we
owe a great debt of gratitude. Hiving got
the horse, I hope we shall quit him at the
fence.

Mr. R. P. Ker, of Liverpool : Mr. Presi-
dent, I am a country member, but I have all
the facts in hiy own mind. I am convinces
that the action of the Council is the right

218

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[March 20, 190?.

policy. The proposed Hall is in the right
place, and we shall be doing something for the
prosperity and success of the Society if we
adopt the resolution to-day.

The President then put the amendment.
Only eleven Fellows voted for it; the others
-voted against it. On the original resolution
boing put, the President, amid much cheering,
declared it carried with three dissentients out
of a meeting of about three hundred Fellows.

The proceedings then came to an end, with
% vote of thanks to the President.

Societies.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.

March 25.— A very large display of spring flowers,
Orchids, plants, and fruits was made at the fortnightly
meeting of the Committees on Tuesday last in the
Srill Hall, Buckingham Gate, Westminster.

The Orchid Committee recommended as many as
thirteen awards to novelties, and seven medals to
groups.

The Floral Committee recommended one First-class
Certificate and two Awards of Merit; also nine
medals.

Neither the Fruit and Vegetable Committee nor
the Narcissus Committee recommended any award to
a novelty, but the first-named body recommended the
.iward of a Gold Medal to Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons
5ov a collection of excellent Apples.

There was a somewhat persistent rumour throughout
ihc day that the King would visit the hall, but His
Majesty did not do so. The rumour was created by an
enquiry that had been received from a news agency,
which suggested that His Majesty had made arrange-
ments to come.

To the afternoon ProfessorCARRdelivered a Lecture
opon "The Defences of Plants," which was illustrated
ivy some unusually good lantern-slides.

Floral Committee.

Present : W. Marshall, Esq , Chairman ; and Messrs.
W. B. May, C. T. Druery, Geo. Nicholson, John Jennings,
J. F. MeLeod, W. Howe, John A. Nix, Clias. Jeffries,
C. J. Salter, W. Bain, H. J. Cutbush, F. Page Roberts
<.Rev.), Chas. E. Shea, \V. P. Thomson, E. II. Jenkins,
W. J. James, R. Wilson Ker, Chas. Blick, and R. II!
Wallace.

Pteris (Andromeda) floribunda as bushes^ feet high,
and as much through them, was shown by Messrs.
John Waterer & Sons, Ltd., Bagshot, Surrey. There
were thirteen fine specimens full of flower just about
5o expand.

Hardy Rhododendrons, Azaleas, from Messrs. R. & G.
Hutbush, Southgate Nurseries, Middlesex, were very
?ay, aud the flowers were all orange-yellow coloured or
white, or both. The orange - yellow variety was
Alteclarense of the "Ghent" type, and very fine;
Occidentalc is white, with yellow upon upper petal,
and fragrant (Silver-gilt Flora Medal).

Messrs. W. Cutbush & Son, Highgate, London, N.,
ind Barnet, Herts, made a beautiful show with forced
Vees and shrubs. Included were double - flowered
Peaches in variety, Gueldres Rose3 (Viburnum Opulus),
Magnolia Soulangeana, Wistaria sinensis, Cerasus
ruteola, with flowers of pale creamy -yellow, afterwards
becoming white; Cytisus Laburnum, Ribes albidum,
ind others; double red Thorns, Staphylea colchicaj
Rhododendron Daviesii (Ghent section), white, with
yellow on upper petal ; K. Anthony Koster, ,tc. ; stan-
dard Peaches and Thorns, and other things helped
much to secure the effect obtained (Silver-gilt Bank-
sian Medal).

Violet The Dowager Lady Williams Wynn was shown
From the Dowager Lady's garden by Mr. G. J. Squibb.
The flowers are double like New York, but very much
jaler in colour. Several other varieties of Violet came
a»m the same garden.

Hyacinth flowers from bulbs that have been in the
svi.und for four years, being top-dressed only each
autumn, were shown by Dr. Bonavia, Westwood, Rich-
mond Road, Worthing, to illustrate what good results
are thus obtained (Vote of Thanks).

Messrs. Linden &Co., Brussels, exhibited a handsome
Hiemanthus named H. maximus, with an exceedingly
large truss of bright coral-coloured flowers.

Lachenalia W. Watson, shown by Mr. F. W. Mooee
Ctlasnevin Botanic Garden, Dublin, has pure yellow
flowers of unusual width.

Captain Holford, CLE., Tetbury, Gloucestershire
(gr.,.Mr A. Chapman), exhibited a few choice seedling
Hippeastrums : Monarch, deep crimson ; Sir Christo-
pher.Wren, of the same colour ; Nell Gwynne, white,
with red stripes ; Countess Grey, of similar type, but
with less colour; and Mr. R. S. llo'ford, greenish-
white.

Lapageria rosea, The Knoll variety, of which flowers
were shown by Sir Trevor Lawrence. Bart., Burford,
Dorking, is a very fine variety indeed. The blooms
exhibited were 4 inches across.

Messrs. Jno. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill Nurseries,
London, S.E., exhibited a group of miscellaneous stove
and greenhouse plants ; also a group of Japanese
Maples in pots, and several plants in flower of Fothcr-
gilla alnifolia, &c. (Bronze Banksian Medal).

Forced Roses from Mr. George Mount, Canterbury
were very line, and included the varieties Mrs. John
Laing, La Fiance, Ulrich Brunner, and a large number
of other choice varieties (Silver-gilt Banksian Medal).

Messrs. Thomas Cbipps & Son, Tunbridge Wells,
showed Retinospora obtusa Crippsii, a fine plant, 6 ft
high, and a number of smaller specimens, about l.Uf.
high, a golden variety of the type. This firm also
showed Acer palmatum rosea marginata, A. Palmatuin
palmatilidum, A. P. eratajgifolium, A. P. flavescens,
and the very distinct and handsome A. japonicum;
also some nice plants of Rogeria cordata in bloom.

Cinerarias were shown by Messrs. H. Cannell &
Sons, Swan ley, Kent, who had a group of plants on the
floor near to the entrance door. The strain was that
known as " Stellata," with graceful, branching habit of
growth, aud numerous flowers. There was much
variation in colour and in the sizeof the blooms (Silver
Banksian Medal).

Messrs. Hugh Low &Co., Bush Hill Park Nurseries.
Enfield, exhibited a group of forced trees and shrubs
containing some very fine plants of standard Peaches,
Prunus triloba, &a., also dwarf plants of Cytisus race-
mosus, Hydrangea hortensia, Magnolia Soulangeana,
M. conspicua, Mollis Rhododendrons, Malmaisou
Carnations, etc. (Silver Banksian Medal).

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Royal Exotic Nurseries,
King's Road, Chelsea, exhibited a few very strongly
grown plants of selected seedlings of Clivia, all of
which were of good merit ; also plants of Grevillea
rosmarinifolia, Corylopsis pauciflora, Atragene aus-
triaca, au anemone-like plant, with azure blue flowers,
6 ins. high; and Rhododendron indicum var. Ksempferi,
a Japanese Rhododendron with numerous, rather
small flowers, light red colour; and R. linearifolia, a
species with inconspicuous flowers of botanical interest
only.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, also showed a group of
Hyacinths in pots, which constituted a very choice
collection of varieties. A few double varieties were
included, but the majority of them were single -
flowered (Silver Flora Medal).

Mr. Leonard Brown, Brentwood, Essex, exhibited a
collection of Hyacinths and Narcissus, all of them very
fine. The Narcissus, which were very strong, were
forced flowers from British - grown bulbs (Bronze
Banksian Medal).

Messrs. Geo. Jackman & Son, Woking, Surrey, showed
a collection of alpine plants in bloom, very neatly
arranged. There were Anemone Pulsatilla alba, a rare
plant; Primula denticulata alba, several Fritillarias,
Muscari, and many other choice plants (Silver-gilt
Banksian Medal).

Messrs. R. Wallace <fc Co, Kilnfield Gardens,
Colchester, exhibited a group of hardy flowering
plants in pots. Amongst these were Fritillaria citrina,
F. aurea, F. pudica, and- F. "Tuntasia,"(?)a new one,
with small flowers of exceeding dark brown colour;
Fritillaria (Korolkowia) discolor, Iris reticulata, I.
sindjarensis, I. Tubergeniana, Ac. ; also varieties of
Chionodoxa, Scilla, Narcissus, &c. (Silver Banksian
Medal).

Mr. Arthur W. Wade, Riverside Nurseries, Col-
chester, exhibited Iris reticulata, Chionodoxa Lueil-
li<e, and C. Sardensis, Anemone blauda, Narcissus, &c,
in pots (Vote o£ Thanks).

Messrs. Barr & Sons, King Street, Covent Garden,
London, W.C., exhibited a fine single Hyacinth,
" Rosita," with very faintly tinted flowers, also a very
good form of Chionodoxa Lueilliae, with uuusually
large flowers. Also a few choice hardy plants, &c.

Messrs. Thos. S. Ware, Ltd., Hale Farm Nurseries,
Feltham, had a very large exhibit of hardy flowers.
Amongst these were Narcissus in pots, including the
fine variety Golden Spur, also Fritillarias, Primroses,
Anemones, and Primula Forbcsii.

Awards.

Fritillaria askubadenris. — A pale yellow - flowered
species, of which we hope to publish an illustration
and description in an early issue. From Miss Willmott
(Award of Merit).

Sippeastram Sir Chrixtopher Wren —A bright rosy-
crimson-coloured variety, with large flowers of very
good form. From Captain Holford, CLE. (Award of
Merit).

Iris Warleyensi* is a new species, shown by Miss
Willmott, Warley Place, Warley, Essex. The species
resembles I. orchioides generally, but is of different
colour, being almost azure -blue, with a beautiful
purple zone ou the fall. From Miss Willmott (First-
class Certificate1.

Orchid Committee.

Present: Harry J. Veitch, Esq., in the Chair: andMessrs.
Jas. O'Brien (Hon. Sec.), De B. Crawshay, J. Charles,
worth, H. Ballantine, J. Douglas, W. Cobb, J. Cypher,
F. W. Ashton, H. A Tracy, H. J. Chapman, F. A. Rehder-
W. A. Bilney, G. F. Moore, E. Hill, .1. W. Odell, W.
Boxall, W. II. White, W. B. Latham, J. G. Fowler.
H. Little, and W. H. Young.

There was a very fine show of Orchids.

Sir Trevor Laurence, Bart., President, Burford,
Dorking (gr., Mr. W. EL White), exhibited an interesting
group of rare Orchids, in which were Ca>logyne pul~
chella, lesembling a C. elata, of small growth, and with
upright spikes of snow-white flowers with nearly black
blotches on the lip ; Ccelogyne sparsa, with many spikes-
Cirrhopetalum fimbriatum, with fourteen umbels of
dark red flowers ; the pretty natural hybrid Odonto-
glossum Dormanianum, the richly-coloured Cattleya
Triana?i "Reine des Beiges," a very large-flowered
Odontoglossum crispum, O. x Andersonianum, &c.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, were awarded a
Silver Flora Medal for a fine group, composed princi-
pally of hybrids. Of these were L:elio-Cattleya x
liigbyano -Schrodene, with pretty, fringed - lipped,
blush-white flowers ; varieties of L.-C X Myra, with
yellow flowers with crimson lip; L.-C. x Picanus (L.-C.
x Pallas x L. cinnabarina), L.-C. x Clonids, several
L.-C. nighlowiensis, the rich yellow Dendrobium x
Ophir, D. X Socius, D. x Stratius, Epidendrum x
Clarissa, Cypripediums, and a singular little terrestrial
Orchid with white flowers.

H. T. Pitt, Esq., Kosslyn, Stamford Hill (gr., Mr.
Thurgood), staged an effective group, for which a Silver
Flora Medal was awarded. The back row was of Vanda
suavis, Dendrobiums, and other tall growers, and in
front were arranged a good selection of the showy
Odontoglossums, Epidendrum alatum, Cymbidium
eburneum, Dendrobium atroviolaccum, Sophronitis
grandiflora, <ic.

Messrs. Sander & Sons, St. Albans, had an extensive
group, in which the hybrid Phaius— Norman, Marthte,
&c, were a feature. In the group were two very fine
and dissimilar varieties of Miltonia x Bleuana, Cycuo-
ches Amesiana, with a raceme of singular greenish
flowers, spotted with purple ; Odontoglossum hystrix
Fascinator, with the sepals almost covered with choco-
late-purple colour ; O. h. prionopetalon, having large
flowers with fringed petals ; O. x cuspidatum, good 0.
crispum, a pretty hybrid with finely blotched flowers
named O. Horsmani, varieties of Lycaste Skinner!
Vanda Parish!!, &a. (Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. Chaklesworth & Co., Heaton, Bradford,
showed a good group, in which the most prominent
plants were Epi-Lielia X Sylvia (E. Cooperianum x L>
cinnabarina), with upright spike of many flowers, with
dark reddish-orange sepals and petals, and rose-purple
lip with white centre; Odontoglossum x Adrians
Duchess of Cornwall, a very fine yellowish flower,
prettily spotted ; Odontoglossum triumphans Wilsoni,
a grand flower, with broad, richly marked segments.
An interesting incident in regard to it is that the
original exhibitor, W. Marshall, Esq., who got a First-
class Certificate for it in I8e9, identified it. Other
good Odontoglossums were included, and a fine lot of
varieties of Phaius X Norman, Cattleya x LouU
Chaton, Angrieeum Sanderianum, Dendrobium x
Apollo album, D. x Ainsworthi intertextum grandi-
florum, Cypripedium x Berkelcyi (bellatulum x Box-
alli), C. X Godiva (niveuin x Chaniberlainianuin), and
other species (Silver Flora Medal).

W. P. Burkinsiiaw, Esq., the West Hill, Hessle, Hull
(gr., Mr. Barker), secured a Silver Banksian Medal for
a group of very fine and excellently-grown Dendro-
biums, in which D x splendidissimum flavescens,
D. X s Hessle variety, D. x Rubens graudiflorum.

March 29, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

219

and D. x Jessie were specially fine. Three good
plants of D. nobile nobilius were also in the group.

J. Colmav, Esq.. Gatton Park, Reigate (gr., Mr. W. P.
Bound), was awarded a Silver Banksian Medal for au
excellent group, in which the Cymbidium eburneum,
C. X Lowio-eburneum, Odoutoglossunis, and white
Ccelogyne cristata were effectively arranged.

Messrs. Stanley, Ashton & Co., Southgate, showed a
group of the showy La^lia Jongheana and Cymbidium x
eburneo-Lowianum (Silver Banksian Medal).

Messrs. Linden it Co., Brussels, showed Odonto-
glossum crispuni "Miss Lucienne Linden" (see
Awards), O. c. Emperor of India, a large blotched
flower; O. X loochristiense "Etoile d'Or," a bright
yellow, blotched tiower ; Dendrobium Wardianum
Lindeni, a large, finely-coloured flower; and Phalrc-
nopsis amabilis Rimestadiana, perhaps the largest and
best form of that fine species.

M. Florent_Claes Brussels, showed Odontoglossum
x Adrianiie Pollux, a large, white, sparsely spotted
form ; O. X A.Remus, O. crispum Triana'i, and other
good Odoutoglossums.

Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Bush Hill Park, showed
Lycaste X Ballia\ Cypripedium x Shillianum. Liclia x
lone, and Cattleya Triainoi " Phyllis," a pretty peach-
blossom-tinted flower, resembling C. Schrodera1.

F. W. Moore, Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin
Dublin, sent the singular Gongora charontis.

Captain Holford, Westonbirt (gr., Mr. Alexander),
showed Dendrobium x Sibyl magnificum, with a very
finely flowered pseudo bulb, over 3 feet in length.

G. F. Moore, Esq., Bourton-on-the- Water (gr., Mr.
Morris), showed as Phaio-Cymbidium x Chardwarense
a very beautiful hybrid, of the general habit of Phaius
x Ashworthianus, and with similar large yellow
flowers, faintly striped with red, and purple, yellow,
veined lip : supposed to be between Phaius grandi-
folius and Cymbidium giganteum. In the face of the
experience in crossing Zygopetalum Mackai without
effecting much change in structure, it cannot easily be
decided.

W. B. Latham, Esq., Botanic Gardens, Edgbaston,
Birmingham, showed two forms of Cypripedium x
edgbastonense (nitens x Chamberlainianum), and C.
x Deedmanianum.

C. Carruthers. Esq., Reigate, showed a good Odonto-
glossum triumphans.

Mrs. Haywood, Woodhatch, Reigate (gr., Mr. C J.
Salter), sent Dendrobium x Wardiano-Hildebrandi.

Awards.

First-class Certificate.

Odontoglossum x Adriame " Mrs. Robert Benson," from
Captain Holford, Westonbirt (gr., Mr. Alexander). —
This beautiful variety received au Award of Merit
when Captain Holford showed it with its first flowers,
February 26, 1901. Good cultivation has shown it to be
one of the finest yet seen. Flowers large, cream-white,
prettily marked with reddish-brown.

Lselio Cattleya X Rosalind "Prince of Wales" (L.-C. X
Dominiana x C. Triana'i), from Messrs. Jas. Veitch &
Sons.— Flowers very large, the petals broad and flat.
j Segals tinged with rosy-lilac ; petals almost entirely
suffused with dark purplish-crimson. Front of the
large labellum ruby-purple; disk yellow. A very
remarkable improvement on the original illustrated in
the Gardeners Chronicle, January 2, 1897, p. 3.

Lxlio-Cattleya X Digbyano- Schroder® (L. Digbyana x
C. Schrodera?), from Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons.— This
is in form, and in the line fringing of the lip, similar
to L.-C. X Digbyano-Mossise, but lighter in colour.
Flowers white, tinged with pale rose; fragrant.

Cattleya amethystoglossa Sanders, from Messrs. F.
Sander & Sons.— A beautiful albino, well worthy to
rank with C. intermedia alba or Parthenia, than which
it is likely to continue far more rare. Flowers of
typical shape, good size, and pure white. The coloured
form is also known as C. guttata Prinzii.

Awards of Merit.

Cattleya x Parthenia vcrnalis (x calummata fimbriate

j X Mossiai, from the Right Hon. Lord Rothschild,

' Tring Park (gr., Mr. E. Hill).— A charming white flower,

similar in shape to Cattleya Mossia\ but of wax-like

texture ; lip beautifully veined, with soft-rose colour.

Odontoglossum loochrislyense "Lady Victoria Grcenjell,"
from Captain Holford.— This closely resembles the
handsome O. I. Rochfordianum, which was considered
the best O.x loochristyeuse. Captain Holford's plant
bore a very strong spiko of bright yellow flowers,

• handsomely blotched with red-brown ; lip white with

• dark iel blotches, and fimbriated like some of the O.x
Adrinnse.

Sophro-kdia x Ixta Orpetiana, from Captain Holford.
—A charming dwarf hybrid, with large rose-tinted
scarlet flowers, in form near to Sophronitis grandiflora.

Dendrobium x Rolfex roseum, from W. P. Barkinshaw,
Esq., Hessle, Hull (gr., Mr. Barker).— A fine variety of
the natural hybrid between D. primulinum and D.
nobile. Flowers like those of a good [D. nobile, but
without the dark coloured base to the lip.

Odontoglossum crispum Miss Lucienne Linden, from
Messrs. Linden, Brussels.— The little plant shown gave
promise of very remarkable development when strong,
the colouring being rich and very distinct. Flowers
white, a large port-wine coloured blotch occupying the
central third of the sepals, the petals having similar
blotches over one-third of their surface. There were
also a few purple lines at the base of the petals, and
some small spots on the sepals and lip.

Cypripedium Lawrenceanum , from Messrs. Linden,
Brussels.— A good form of the type, which had not
previously been certificated.

Odontoglossum x Ruckerianum Pittianum, from H. T.
Pitt, Esq., Stamford Hill (gr.,Mr. Thurgood).— Flowers
very large, soft yellow, heavily tinged with purple at
the backhand profusely spotted.with purple-brown, and
tinged with rose colour.

Cypripedium x William Pitt, from H. T. Pitt, Esq.,
probably C. Dayanum x Tautzianum.— A very fine
white flower, with extended, broad petals. Petals and
upper sepal tinged with rose, and bearing minute
purple spots. Face of the lip pale rose. Foliage like
that of C. Dayanum, very handsome.

La-lio-Cattleya x Myra Princess of Wales (C. Triana'i X
L. flava), from Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons.— Flower of
good form, light orange colour, with claret-crimson
lip.

Narcissus Committee.

Present: H. B. May (Chairman); Revs. G. H. Engle-
heart, S. E. Bourne; Miss Willmott, and Messrs. W.
Wilks, W. Poupart, W. T. Ware, W. Goldring, J. D.
Pearson, Robt. Sydenham, J. T. Bennett-Poc, J. Pope,
W. F. M. Copeland, G. Reuthe, Jas. Walker, P. R. Barr,
and C. Scrase Dickeus.

Owing to the decided check of the last few days,
fewer Narcissi were in evidence than might have been
expected, but one or two good stands of cut blooms
and flowers in pots served as a reminder of the on-
coming Daffodil season.

The Committee made no awards to new seedlings'
but the following were given to groups :— A Silver Flora
to a large and representative collection sent in beauti-
fully fresh condition by Miss Currey, Lismore, Ire-
land; a Silver Banksian to Messrs. Barr i Son for a
well-staged bank of fine examples, notably some very
brilliant Gloria Mundi and Constellation, an Incom-
parabilis, with very broad white segments and orange
crown; a Bronze Banksian to L. Brown, Esq., for a
small select group.

An interesting paper was read by P. D. Williams,
Esq., Lanarth, St. Kevcrne, on " Merodon equestris,'
the dreaded Narcissus-fly. Growing samples of affected
bulbs, with the living larva, were shown; and the
paper appeared to demonstrate that much is still open
to question of the precise manner in which the insect
makes its attack, notwithstanding the full monograph
on the subject of Dr. Ritzema Bos.

Fruit and Vegetable Committee.

Present: George Bunyard, Esq. (Chairman), and
Messrs. Jos. Cheal, H. Ealing, S. Mortimer, Alex.
Dean, H. J. Wright, Geo. Keif, H. Markham, Ed.
Beckett, F. Q. Lane, Jas. Smith, G. Norman, Jas. H.
Veitch, and A. H. Pearson.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch it Sons, Royal Exotic Nurseries,
King's Road, Chelsea, were awarded a Gold Medal for
a magnificent collection of eighty-eight dishes of
Apples, all of them of capital quality, and per-
fectly preserved. Particularly noticeable were Blen-
heim Orange, Fraise d'Hoflinger, Ribston Pippin,
Golden Noble, Emperor Alexander, Bramley's Seed-
ling, Lane's Prince Albert, Sandringham, Newton
Wonder, Lord Derby, Tyler's Kernel, Cox's Orange
Pippin, Bess Pool, Stunner Pippin, Ac. There were
also some Pears, including Directcur Alphand, Catillac.
Uvedale's St. Germain, Bcllissimc d'Hiver, and Muricttc
de Millcpieda.

Messrs. J. Cheal A Sons, Lowficld Nurseries, near
Crawley, exhibited fruits of several varieties of Apple,
including Armorel, Stunner Pippin, Boston Russctt,
Duke of Devonshire, Crawley Reinette. &c. The last-
named variety is a capital keeper of the type of Blen-
heim Orange.

A Cultural Commendation for Mushrooms was recom-

mended to Lord Aldenham, Aldenham- House, Alden
ham, Elstree (gr., Mr. Beckett). These were distinctly
"Cluster" Mushrooms, and showed excellent cul-
tivation.

R. M. Whiting, Esq., Credenhill, Hereford, exhibited
two dozen dishes of Apples. All of these were good
and well preserved specimens. Newton Wonder
Mabbott's Pearmain, Sandringham, and Lane's Prince
Albert being particularly good (Silver Knightiau Medat).

The Lecture.

The lecture was given at 3 p.m., by Prof. Carr, anil
consisted of a series of illustrations of what is now
known as "Ecology." Groups of plants growing i«
various situations were shown on the screen, and an
explanation of their peculiarities was given, according
as they grow in heaths, marshes, pools, sandhill' ,
rocky coasts, sea-beaches, and so forth. The illustra-
tions were excellent, and showed not only the general
character of the localities, but also the structural
adaptations to aquatic, dry, or saline situations.

©bituan?.

Edward Roberts. — Horticulturists in
Kent and Surrey will learn with deep regret
of the sudden death on the 19th inst. of Mr.
Edward Roberts, who for close on half a
century was employed with the firms of John
Cattell, Thos. W. Edmunds, and latterly Thos.
W. Edmunds, Limited, of Cattell's Original
Nurseries, 'Westerbam, Kent. His kindly and
obliging disposition, combined with an ever-
ready desire to impart the beneli t of his long
practical experience to all lovers of gardening,
will be cherished by the many friends with
whom he came in contact.

Charles Fisher.— We regret to have to
announce the death on the 21st, inst., of Air.
Fisher, for many years the head of the firm of
nurserymen at Sheffield, known as Fisher, Son,
and Sibray. Mr. Fisher, who was in his
seventy- ninth year of his age, was famous for
his knowledge and skill in the cultivation of
hardy shrubs. He was the raiser of numerous
Hollies of first-rate importance. We hope in
a future number to give further particulars of
his career.

METEOROLOGICAL, OBSERVATIONS taken in the
Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens at Chiswick,
London, for the period March 16 to March 22, 1903.
Height above sea-level 24 feet.

Tempera-

Temperature

ture ofthe

o

1902.

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OB' THE AlB.

SOILat9A.M.

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SUN. IS
MON. ] 7

TUES.18

Wed. it'
Thd. SO
Fbi. 21

SAT. 22

Means

N.W.

S.W.
W.S.W.
S.S.W.
S.S.W.
W.S.W.
S.S.W.

•a

47 9
49 1
47 '8
49 i)
17-0
45 9
43 5

47 3

&o bo tea be bo
o a a « <u <u

43'4]55-4!33-5, ... 44 7 44 8

... 44'6'l4 9

39'5 ... 46*945*2

137, ... 45445

113 02545 145 5|45 o'.'l

II
37*3.0*1943 9 15 3 46 ii.; S

40'2'48'3'35-5 0 III 42 9 H m'i;, 2 : r

42-7.W3

44 4 66 1

45 149-4
42 151*1

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44 '4

44*630 •■(
44 7.10 «
44 9 37 :<

I Tot

43 7 53 -239 0 0-6041-
III

I.. 1 II-8 3U J

I I

Remarks.— The first part of the week was fair wtLh
some bright sunshine ; the last part has been stormy
There was a thunderstorm on the list, when li.nl (oil
as big as small marble:).

220

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

March 20, 1902.]

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

The following Summary Recoed of the weather
throughout the British Islands, for the week ending
March 22, is furnished from the Meteorological Office :—

"The weather during this period was very rainy over
Ireland and Scotland, and rain also fell rather fre-
quently in the western parts of England. Over our
northern and eastern districts, however, the rain was
mostly confined to the -later days of the week, the
earlier part being generally fine and dry. Thunder
and lightning occurred in various parts of central and
south-eastern England on Friday afternoon.

"The temperature was again above the mean, the
excess ranging from 4' in the Midland Counties and
England, N.E., to 1° in Ireland, S. The highest of the
maxima were, with few exceptions, registered on the
17th. They were as high as 62° in Scotland, and England,
N.E. and S., r.ud 61° in England, E. and N.W., and
Ireland, N., while elsewhere they ranged from 60° in
the Midland Counties, to 55° in the Channel Islands.
The lowest oi (he minima were recorded either on the
21st or 22nd, and varied from 23° in Scotland, E. and W.,
to 33° in England, S. and S.W., and to 40° in the Channel
Islands.

"The rainfall was less than the mean over all the
eastern, central, and south-eastern parts of England,
as well as in the Channel Islands, and only just equal
to it in England, N.W. Elsewhere the fall exceeded
the normal amount, the excess in Scotland, N., being
very large.

"The bright sunshine varied greatly in different dis-
tricts, but exceeded the mean over central and northern
England, and also over the greater part of Scotland.
The percentage of the possible duration ranged from
50 in England, N.E., 43 in England, N.W., and 37 in
Scotland, E., and the Channel Islands, to between 25
and 23 in Ireland, and to 19 in Scotland, N.

THE WEATHER IN WEST HERTS.
The recent remarkable period of warm weather,
which had lasted exactly a month, came to an end on
the 21st. Since that date colder conditions have pre-
vailed, and on two nights the exposed thermometer
indicated 11° of frost. The ground, which at the
beginning of the week had been unusually warm for so
early in the spring, lias gradually become colder, and
is now at about a seasonable temperature, both at
1 and 2 feet deep. The weather has been rather
showery, but on only one day was there any rain worth
mentioning. The total fall amounted to rather less
than half an inch, but only about a tenth of this
quantity has come through the bare soil percolation-
gauge, and still less through that covered with short
grass, showing how dry the ground had for the time of
year previously become. The sun shone on an average
for nearly three and a half hours a day, which is some-
what below the mean duration for the latter half of
March. The wind, which came almost exclusively
from some point between south and west, varied
greatly in strength. During the early morning
hours of the 26th, with a change iu direction,
the wind at one time rose to the force of a
moderate gale— direction W.N.W. This is the highest
wind recorded here since December 9 last. The atmo-
sphere continued for the most part unusually dry for
the latter end of March. Anemone Pulsatilla came into
flower in my garden on the 24th, or eleven days earlier
than last year. E. M., Berkhamsled, March 25, 1902.

MARKETS.

COVENT GARDEN, MARCH 26.

[We cannot accept any responsibility for the subjoined
reports. They are furnished to us regularly every
Thursday, by the kindness of several of the prin-
cipal salesmen, who revise the list, and who are
responsible for the quotations. It must be remem-
bered that these quotations do not represent the
prices on any particular day, but only the general
averages for the week preceding the date of our
report. The prices depend upon the quality of
the samples, the supply in the market, and the
demand, and they may fluctuate, not only from day
to day, but often several times in one day. Ed.1
Plants in Pots— Aveeage Wholesale Prices.

s.d. s.d.
Hyacinths, white,

per dozen ... 10 0-12 0
— colours, per

dozen s 0-10 0

Hydrangeas, per

dozen 9 0-12 0

Narcissus, single,

per dozen ... 60-80
Tulips, all colours,

per dozen ... 0 9-10

Acacias, per doz. 6 0-80
Arum Lilies, per

dozen 8 0-12 0

Azaleas, per doz. 30 0-60 0
Cinerarias, per

dozen 4 0-60

Daffodils, double,

per dozen ... 6 0-80

Genistas, pr. doz. 8 0-10 0

VE3ETABLES.— AVERAGE WHOLESALE PEICES.

s.d. s.d. s.d. s.d.

Onions, case ... 6 6-70
2 0-26! — new, green,

doz 16-20

1 tt- 1 6 — English, per
cwt 7 0 —

0 lu — — in bags ... 5 0-60
SO— — picklers, per

8 6-18 0 sieve 2 6-36

4 6 — Parsley, per doz.

2 0-23 bunches ... 30-40

— sieve 3 0-40

11-16 Parsnips, p. cwt.

bag 2 0-30

3 0-36 Peas in lb. bags... 0 5 —
in flats ... 5 6 —

2 0-30 Potatos, per ton.. 50 0-90 0

— new, per lb.... 0 2| —
13-20 Frame, per

lb 0 5-06

1 0 — i — newTeneriffe,

4 6-60! per cwt. ... 14 0-16 0
Radishes, p. doz.

bunches ... 0 9-10
Rhubarb, Yorks,

per dozen ... 0 7- 10^

— outdoor, doz. 2 0-30
Salad, small, pun-
nets, per doz. 13 —

Savoys, tally ... 2 6 —

Scotch Kale, bus. 10-20
Seakale, per doz.

punts 15 0-16 0

Shallots, per lb.... 0 2 —
Spinach, English,

bushel ... 2 6-36

— French, per
crate 2 6-30

Stachys, lb. ... 0 3 —
Tomatos, Canary,

boxes 3 6-46

Turnip-Tops, per

bushel ... 10-20

— bag 16-30

Turnips, per doz.

bunches ... 16-20

— bag 2 0-23

— new, French,
bunch 10 —

Watercress, per

doz. bunches 0 6-08

Artichokes, Globe,
per dozen ...

— Jerusalem, p.
sieve

Asparagus Sprue,
bundle

— English

— Giant

— Paris Green...

— Spanish
Beans, dwf. .house,

per lb

— French, broad,
flat

— Madeira, per
basket

Beetroots, per

bushel
Brussels Sprouts,

sieve

Cabbage, p. tally
Carrots, per doz.

bunches

— washed, bags

— unwashed, per
bag

Cauliflowers, doz.

— tally

Celeriac, per doz.
Celery, per dozen

bundles
Chicory, per lb....
Coleworts, bushel

Cress, per dozen

punnets
Cucumbers, doz.
Endive, new

French, doz.

— Batavian, per
dozen

Garlic, per lb. ...
Horseradish, fo-
reign, bunch
Leeks, 12 bunches
Lettuces, Cos. doz.

— Cabbage, doz.
Mint, new bunch
Mushrooms, house,

per lb. ... 0 8

3 0-40

3 0-36

2 0-26
2 6 —

4 0-10 0
2 0 —

8 0-15 0
0 2 —
10-16
2 0-30

13 -
4 0-60

10-16

1 6 —
0 3 —

13-16

2 0-26

3 6 —
0 10- 1 0

0 4-07

Fruit.— Average Wholesale Peices.

s.d. s.d.
Apples, home-
grown, Wel-
lingtons, per
bushel 8 0-10 0

— Californian,

cases ... 8 0-10 6

— Nova Scotian
and Canadian,
various, per

barrel 20 0-27 6

— LargeCookers,

per bushel
Bananas, bunch

— loose, p. doz.
Cape Fruit-
Grapes, case ...

Peaches

Pears

Plums

Chestnuts, per
bag

Cobnuts, Kentish,
per lb.

Cranberries, per
case

— quart

6 0-70
6 0-10 0
10-16

5 0-80
10 0-12 0

6 0-10 0
10 0-12 0

15 0 —

12 0
8 0

s.d. s.d.
Grapes, Gros Col-
mar, A., p. lb. 3 0-40
B., per lb. 16-20

— Alicante, lb. 3 0-40

— Almeira, per

12 lb 6 0-80

Lemons, per case 9 6-15 0
Oranges, Bitter,

case 5 6-60

— Denia. case ... 12 6-35 0

— Navel, per

case 10 6-16 0

— Murcia.blood,

case 14 0 —

— Tangierine,

per case (10.1). 2 6 —
Pears, Easter

Beurre\inhalf

cases & cases . 12 0-18 0
Pines, each ... 2 6-40
Sapucaia Nuts,

per lb. ... 10 —

Strawberries, per

lb 3 0-60

Walnuts, per

bushel

16 0 —
Cut Flowers, &c— Aveeage Wholesale Peices.

s.d. s.d.

per

16-20

3 0-60

4 0- 6 0

2 0-40

16-20
13-16

16-20
16-00

Mimosa, p. bunch

Narcissus, p. doz.

Pelargoniums,
Scarlet, per
dozen

Roses, Red, Gen-
eral, per doz.
blooms

Tulips, all coirs.,
per doz.

s.d. s.d.

10-16
16-40

0-8 0

2 0-26
4 0-80

Anemones,
doz. ...

Arums, per doz

Azaleas, per doz.

Frcesias, p. doz.

Gardenias, per
dozen

Jonquils, p. doz.

Marguerites, Yel-
low, per doz.
— Star, per doz.

Remarks.— Grapefruits per case fetch 14s. ; Egyptian,
the best of Onions for culinary purposes are now
coming in, and selling at 6s. 3d. per bag of about 1 cwt. ;
new green Onions per dozen bunches, Is. 6d. to 2s. A
few Kentish Broccoli are now coming in; Brussels
Sprouts and Savoys are practically over for the season.
The last Grapes from the Cape were wastey ; some fine
English black Grapes are now on sale. A consignment
of Tasmanian Apples is expected to arrive iu thfs
country in the course of a few days.

Potatos.
Dunbar Main Crop, 90s. ; Up-to-Date, 80s. to 85s. ; and
other varieties, 45s. to 80s. Seed in variety, prices on
application. John Bath, 32 & 34, Wellington Street, Covent
Garden.

CLIVEAS. — I send you six spikes of seedling
Cliveas. They have all been raised here. The
flowers are cut from a batch of forty plants,
exhibited at the Manchester Spring Show this
week. E. Rogers, Bridge Hall Gardens, Bury.
[The flowers are very good, and show excellent
cultivation.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

•

Bryophyllum: L. W. What you send is un-
questionably the old B. calycinum (not B.
proliferum). It is propagated by little buds
which form on the edges of the leaves.
Botanists of the older school were very
familiar with it as a lecture specimen.

Calanthes : J. B. Our writer of " The Orchid
House ' ' Calendar gives seasonable directions
for the cultivation of C. vestita, the deci-
duous species, in the issue for February 22,
1902, and it is touched upon at various sea-
sons throughout the year. The pseudo-
bulbs should be exposed to sunshine when
resting, that is, at this season, and not in
the shade, as was inadvertently there stated,
and be kept dry at the root. The most suit-
able kind of soil for Calanthes is a friable,
turfy loam three-quarters, used in a rather
rough state, a small quantity of leaf-soil, and
dried flaky cow-dung together a quarter, and
e small quantity of sharp sand. The drainage
should be ample, and one pseudo-bulb should
be put into a 0-inch pot, and more of them
into larger pots. Pot firmly. Repotting is
performed in the spring as soon as signs of
renewed growth become visible. The other
species are evergreen, and when at rest the
plants must not be deprived of water, but
afforded as much as will keep the soil slightly
moist. C. x Veitchi, a hybrid raised from
Limatodes rosea and C. vestita, is deci-
duous, and needs a treatment like that
afforded C. vestita. Of C. vestita, numerous
varieties exist in gardens. Our Orchid
Calendar will contain directions in regard
to the treatment of Calanthes from time to
time.

Liming Cut Sets of Potatos : J. P. Lime is
looked upon as a fungicide and bactericide,
and in that way it is an advantage if applied
to the cut surfaces of sets, and those in
which the sprouts are broken off. At any
rate, the tubers will not be injured by the
lime.

Names of Plants: C. C. Pilling. Probably
Festuca ovina, or Sheep's Fescue. — R. R.
All three varieties of Odontoglossum trium-
phans ; No. 3, the dark variety, a very
distinct form.— J. F. Billbergia iridifolia.—
F. J. T. 1, Clivea nobilis, "figured iu the
Botanical Magazine, t. 2850, as Imatophyllum
Aitoni ; 2, Farfugium grande.

Runner Beans : E. T. H. The growth would
be slightly hastened by sowing the beans in
pots or boxes an inch apart, transplanting
them at the end of the next, or in the
following month, when there is no longer
any risk of losing the plants by frost. The
plant does not succeed out of doors before
the soil has become warmed to 50° at the least.
Transplanted beans should stand at a dis-
tance of 6 to 8 inches apart in the drill,
which should be taken out 7 inches deep,
and only half filled iu at planting time, the
rest later.

Vine-border Dressing : J. P. Your master
was quite right ; the Grape-vine takes up
lime, and the mortar-rubble supplies this
substance, its effects lasting for years, only
the quantity seems excessive. If the roots
allow, it should be forked in. The dressing
of surface soil may not then be needed.

Vine-leaves with Warts on the Under-
SURFACE : Reader. Caused by an excess of
moisture in the air. Afford more air and
less moisture in the house.

DIED.— On March 20, at Lesham Villa, Kew,
Mary, widow of the late George E yles, formerly
superintendent of the Royal Horticultural
Society's Gardens at South Kensington.

Continued Increase in the Circulation of the
"GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

IMPORTANT TO ADVERTISERS. — The Publisher has
the satisfaction of announcing that the circulation of the
" Gardeners' Chronicle " has, since the reduction in the
price of the paper, more than

*S- TREBLED. "*»

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April 5, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

221

THE

(Barters' dfftrmtick

No. 797.— SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Amaryllis (Hippe- MaeOwan, Professor .

astrums) at Weston- Melons

bin : 230 New invention —

America, fruit and Self - suspending

flower culture in ... 229 brackets

Anemone cernua ... 233 Ohituary—

Asparagus Sprengeri . 233 Jenman, G. S.

Birds, insect-feeding. 2*9 Stevens, George

Carnations, winter- Wilson, Geo. F.

flowering 233 Pear Doyenne* d'Hiver

Cistus, hybridisation Plants, new or note-

of 2;9 worthy-
Colonial notes— Acanthus arboreus .

Hibiscus esculentus 225 Poppy, a harlequin ...

Musa Cavendishi ... 225 ' Potato cultivation ...

The Navel Orange... 225 Ranunculus Lyalli ..

Coronation gift ... 228 Rose, Fortune's

Daffodils 221 double vellow

Flowers, cut 232 St. Ann's, Dublin

Foreign correspon- Societies—

dence — Irish Gardeners ...

Nice 223 Manchester Orchid .

Fruits, culture of Royal Horticultural

hardy 234 (Scientific Corn-
Heads, big and little . 229 mittee)

Iris reticulata 233 Scottish Horti-

Japanese garden at cultural

Gunnersbury House 228 Somerset garden, a ...

Kew, Bank Holiday at 230 South Africa—

liilium giganteum ... 233 Cape Peninsula

Lupin, the, as a field Fruit in Transvaal .

crop 231' Gerbera Jamesoni...

Alarket Gardening— Tomatos and Cab-
Cucumber plants ... 226 bages under glass ...

Tomato plants ... 226 . Week's work, the

I LLUSTRAT IONS.

Acanthus arboreus

Aralia japonica variegata at Gunnersbury House
Musa Cavendishi at TheOaks Gardens, Emsworth.

Poppy, a Harlequin

View in Japanese Garden at Gunnersbury House,
Acton (Supplement).

228
233

234
234
228
2?4

221
223
223
233

231

230

23H
235

236

233

232
232
232

231

22b

231
225
223

DAFFODILS.

IT is perhaps two years since I read a magazine
article in which the writer was nonplussed
by a quotation that referred to the Daffodil as
a flattened white flower ; and I have no doubt
the great majority of his readers were equally
out of sympathy with the old poet, whose
knowledge of Daffodils was so scanty. Yet if
they could have thrown themselves backwards
through the intervening centuries, they would
have discovered in the " parvi-coronata " sec-
tion the true Daffodils. It is Gerarde we have in
great measure to thank for the transference of
the name to the Pseudo-Narcissus, which long
after his time continued the bastard or false
Daffodil when both sections were referred to.
The word itself has been the occasion of much
discussion as to its meaning and even its
origin, but whether it is an "Asphodel"
or a " Saffron - Lily," or what may be
the meaning concealed in its sweetly -
sounding syllables, is not the object of
this paper to discuss. At the same time a
suspicion, amounting almost to certainty,
cannot be dismissed, that the name is a
second-hand one, and of no very ancient date,
■say, about the middle of the sixteenth century.
In the form of Daffadondilies, Tusser was the
first, I believe, to use it for the Narcissus.
The oldest known names for what we call the
common Daffodil are " Crowbells," and Yellow
Crowbels, in Gerarde's Fable of Old Names,
distinctly said to be applicable to the yellow
Daffodil. The common name of Narcissus
foiflorus would seem to be less ancient, but if
it loses in age, as Primrose Peerelesse, it
gains in prettiness. It has, moreover, another
designation that carries us back almost to
the days of Chaucer — "the floure Ionettis."
There are other names, such as Rosen-Lilies,
that prove Daffodil not to have been all-
comprehensive. This designation recalls the
Jincs of Drayton —

" Sec there be store of Lilies,
Called by si epherds Daffodillies."

And as a matter of fact, simple "Lilies" is
still a name in use. If it were possible to
accept Drayton as an irreproachable guide,
see how it would clear, for instance, some of
the puzzling things in Izaak Walton, as where
he mentions the " Meadow chequered with
Water-lilies and Ladysmocks," or "The boy
gathering Lilies and Ladysmocks," com-
mentators in both cases walking round the
Lilies without noticing them among their feet,
but charming us with delightful descriptions
of Ladysmocks, Culver-keys, Gander-grass, and
all the rest. Drayton, moreover, in another
place, gives expression to the same words as
Walton, where Dousabell is described getting —
" Sweete Cetywall,
The Honeysuckle, the Harlocke,
The Lily, and the Ladysmocke,
To deck her summer hall."

If we dared to say definitely, "These Lilies are
Daffodils, ' ' how perfectly satisfying it would be.
Worth noticing, too, is the way the early
writers attributed to the Daffodil a love of
water. Thus, if we hark back to Spenser, he
tells us of the black-browed Cymoent —
" Where as she play'd
Amongst her watry sisters by a pond,
Gathering sweete Daffadillyes, to have made
Gay girlonds from the sun their foreheads fayr
to shade."

In the same sense it is named as one of the
flowers in the garden of Adonis : —

" Foolish Narcisse, that likes the watry shore."
Inferentially, Bacon, too, says the same thing.
" The flowers," he remarks, "that come early
are Prime-Roses, Violets, Anemonies, Water-
Daffadillies, Crocus vermis, and some early
Tulips." Aud a minor poet expresses much
the same idea : —

" So I the fields and meadows green may view,
And daily by fresh rivers walk at will,
Among the Daisies and the Violets blue,
Red Hyacinth and yellow Daffodill."

It is interesting also to note the great
variety of plants deemed members of the
Daffodil family. The Tulip, for instance, was
first presented to English readers as a kind of
Daffodil, and Pritillaria Meleagris as the
Chequered Daffodil. The earliest names of
Sternbergia Clusiana and the prettier and
better known S. lutea were respectively the
Persian and winter Daffodils. In like manner
Sprekelia formosissima was first introduced to
gardens as an Indian Daffodil ; while that of
Virginia is Zephyranthes Atamasco. Phil-
lips very strongly recommended the Crown
Imperial on account of its being " the largest
and best kind of Daffodil;" and another sort
commended by Evelyn was the Round-headed,
or Brunsvigia multiflora. But it is only fair to
say, if permission' to rank as a Daffodil was
easy to obtain, these old-fashioned botanists
at the same time discovered a nice discrimina-
tion in finding names for favourite species.
Thus the " Nonsuch," or Incomparable, applied
to what is now called Sir Watkin, is amply
descriptive for the period, and withal pretty.
" Rush " Daffodil, or Spanish Trumpets, were
in use earlier than " Jonquil." Nosegay Daffo-
dils fitly describe Narcissus Tazetta and Milky
Daffodil, N. totus albus. Pheasant's Eye used
to be a common name for N. poeticus ; and
Chalice-flowers and Camel's-neck arc quite
antiquated, Hoop-petticoats being not quite
so old.

What the future of the Daffodil is to be
cannot be prophesied. White and primrose
and yellow sufficed in the past, but now the
variety that shows the most orange or scarlet
is being discussed. "Lulworth," not a first-
rate flower by any means, holding an enviable
position on that account alone. But it must
soon give place to the now and expensive
hybrids that have been dispersed throughout

the length and breadth of the land ; and the
old-fashioned kinds with their quaint and
pretty names bid fair to become too common
for anything but every-day use. R. P. B.

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

ACANTHUS ARBOREUS, Porsk.*
(See fig. 70, p. 222.)
This fine and very interesting species was
first sent to Europe from Arabia petrsea by
the eminent and well known Professor G.
Schweinfurth. It seems that it is one of
the finest plants of the Flora in that dry
and arid land. It grows also in some dis-
tricts of Egypt, and here, at Naples, has
proved to be hardy this winter. It is now
in full flower with me, and seems to me
so interesting as to be worth introducing
to the readers of the Gardeners' Chronicle. It
is an evergreen, very prickly and spiny shrub,
growing rapidly during the summer, but ar-
rested always by our rainy winter, and it does
not suffer from a light frost, but it suffers in
severe winters, when the thermometer regis-
ters below 3° min. Reaumur. In that case the
foliage falls, and also the ligneous parts of
the stems dry up. Nevertheless, the plant puts
forth shoots in the following spring, growing
in such a ease with great rapidity, so that the
new shoots have attained in July to a height
of about 3 metres, or 9J feet. This Acanthus
is worth attention from lovers of interest-
ing plants. It is a tall shrub, grows rapidly,
bears large, long, lanceolate, very spiny,
and undulate leaves, and in spring, about
the end of February, long, cylindrical flower-
heads, such heads bearing on the point of
every branch a veritable armoury of daggers,
stilettos, fishbones, and similar sharp things.
The flowers appear first on the inferior part of
the spike, and last a long time in full splen-
dour. The corolla being unilabiate, is the only
conspicuously coloured part of this strange
flower-head. It is waxy-white at the base,
and purple or carmine elsewhere, spatu-
late, a little trough-shaped, with the limbs
incised, and the margins much recurved. It
seeds freely in the latter part of the spring ;
the seeds are ripe in July, and grow easily, as
do those of every other species of Acanthus.
The leaves of A. arboreus are quite smooth,
shiny, and absolutely hairless on the upper
surface, but richly pttberulent on the under-
side. Like the European perennial Acan-
thus, so also this species grows easily from
root cuttings or fragments, if the operation
be done in spring. If the root-stock of strong
plants is gashed it produces many suckers,
and if these are potted in March or April, and
planted in a rather shady and humid place,
one by one the branches will root freely, and
grow away as if nothing had been done to
them. I have cultivated this plant in the
open and in pots with some success in a mix-
ture of loam and granular sand. Its place
during the cold season in England would be
in the Cactus or succulent-house. It will
grow very well in a room near the glass, as it
requires as much light as possible. Charles
Sprenger, Yomero, Naples.

* A. arboreos, Forskalil, Flor. .Egypt. - Arab., lis. —
Pubescent or glabrate, stout shrub 3 to 19 feet high.
Leaves up to 12 by 6 inches (often only half this size),
pinnatifid half-way down, or lobate with doubly
spinous margin ; petiole up to .'. inch long. Spikes 3 to 7,
terminal, up to 6 to 10 by 2 inches, often pubescent or
hairy ; bracts 1J by I inch, ovatc-lauceolate, acuminate,
with many strong spines on the margin | inch long;
bractcoles l.| by J inch, spinous on the margins.
Poetlcous caivx-scgment exceeding 1 inch in length,
lanceolate, three-nerved, spine-tipped ; anticous c.-ilyx
segment exceeding 1 inch in length, lanceolate, two-
nerved: two inmost calyx - segments , inch lent:.
elliptic-lanceolate, mucronatc. Corolla )j Inch loot;.
rose or pale purple. Capsule j by ' incii. Clarke, in
Flora of Tropical Africa, vol. v., p. 106.

222

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April .J, 1902.

Fig. 70.— acanthus akboreus. (see p. 221.)

April 5, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

223

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.

Nice. — Perhaps the following remarks may
be of aiso to Mr. W. H. Divers, who wishes to
hear of Eucalyptuses likely to endure the
English climate : —

In the Bulletin ile la Socteti Nationale d'Ac-
elimatation de France, October, 3,901, he will
find an interesting article on Eucalyptus by
H. Morel, who for many years has made a col-
lection of them. This gentleman, who culti-
vates them at Beyrouth, in Syria, has not, of
course, opportunity there to try their re-
sistance to much cold ; but lie names the fol-
lowing, from the experience of others, as
being the hardiest, and in this order : E.
urnigera, Mazelliana (?), coecifera, viminalis,
amygdalina, gomphocephala, rostrata, inicro-
theca, polyanthema, Miilleri, and rnbescens.
Thus as E. Globulus, which Mr. Divers has
found hardy in Ireland, is not named in the
above list, it may be supposed that those
named would live there, they being hardier
than that species.

The climate of Nice is much colder than that
of Beyrouth, still I should think that most, if
not all, Eucalyptuses would grow here. I
have myself only tried about fifty species, but
found most of them very difficult of culture,
being very particular as to the quality of the
soil. There are certain species, said to be of
exceptional beauty, which, like M. Morel, I
try year after year unsuccessfully. E. flcifolia,
which Mr. Divers names, is one of these.
Still, I have seen this species in a prosperous
state in Pasadena, California, covered with
its rosy flowers. I am disposed to think that
this has, as have many other Eucalyptuses, an
objection to calcareous soils. Of all the species
I have tried, only about a dozen are reasonably
luxuriant here, though I must admit that the
Eucalypti are not plants which interest me
specially, and therefore have not all been tried
so repeatedly, and under such different con-
ditions, as have some other plants. Let me,
though, here observe that I have one, the
common E. Globulus, which is of a size for its
age which may be called unusual even with this
quick-growing tree. It is, at 1 metre above the
ground, 1 m. 47 centimetres in circumference,
and about 30 to 35 metres high. It is only
nine years old, from seed, and was, when
planted, one year old, about 1 metre high,
these plants making but poor growth in pots.
Now this tree, which towers high above the
Olive-trees, has been planted in an out-of-the-
way place, where the very poor soil, consisting
of stiff, white, gravelly clay, was not even
broken up, but only a hole of about 2 square
metres and a half-metre depth made, wherein
it was planted ; but next to it is a water con-
duit, with a leakage, by which the soil is
kept constantly moist, and this explains its
enormous development.

In other parts of my grounds trees are found
of this common species ; thus, a row of them
has been planted at the edge of a steep slope,
to keep up the carriage-road. Though these
trees are in good, deep, and loose red loam,
they are now, at the age of twenty-seven
years, only as large as the one-year-old seed-
ling has grown to be in eight years, and the
explanation undoubtedly is that while this
last, though in very poor soil, never lacked
moisture, the others grow in a very dry place.
But a still greater contrast is made by one
tiny tree, as old as the others, but having had,
in addition to the drought, to contend with an
abundant native vegetation of Oaks, Straw-
berry-trees, and others, near which it was
planted. This last, though ( wenty-seven years
old, would not represent in volume more than

a hundredth part perhaps of the nine-year-old
one. I could not afford to give the best places
needed for delicate plants to such voracious
trees, but I often wonder what would have.
been the development of the said E. Globulus,
if eight years ago, instead of being planted in
poor, unbroken soil, it had been planted where
t he ground is dug from 2 to 4 metres depth,
and mixed with one cubic metre of decomposed
manure per square metre of ground. No doubt
it would have grown still more wonderfully,
but I suppose nothing else would have pros-
pered for a long distance around it. A. Rdbert-
son-Proschowsky, Pare les Tropiques, Chemin
des Grottes, St. Helene, Sice, A.M., France.

A HARLEQUIN POPPY.

During the summer of 1900 a number of
field Poppies (Papaver Rhoeas) came up spon-
taneously in a bed of peat which I had con-
structed in my garden in Chelsea during the
previous winter. Of these Poppies a few
were white, the rest red. The subject of the
present note was peculiar in that it produced
flowers of three sorts, viz., red, white, and

Fkj. 71.— plan showing the distribution of
colour in a harlequin poppy.

half-and-half. This plant commenced flower-
ing in the last week of June. The first flower,
which terminated the chief axis of the plant,
was half white, half scarlet. The transition
was quite sudden, as though one half of a
white flower had been painted red. One outer
petal, and the adjacent halves of the two
inner ones were red, the other outer petal
with the halves of the inner ones adjacent
to it were white. The stigmatic bands and
the anthers, which usually differ in colour in
red and white-flowered Poppies, behaved in
this flower as though it were compounded of
half a red flower and half a white.

The second flower, arising at the summit of
the topmost lateral, resembled the first. All
subsequent flowers wore either red or white.
Of the four primary branches which produced
flowers, the first, which, as I have stated,
began with a half-and-half, followed this up
with an all-white flower. On this particular
branch no further bud opened during the time
the plant was under observation. The second
lateral produced red flowers only ; the third,
white flowers only; the fourth, red flowers.

These facts are shown in the illustration
(fig. 71), wherein are represented the positions

and colours of all the flowers produced. Those
numbered I. to v. are the leading flowers of
the main axis and of the principal lateral axes
in their order of opening. The flower-stalks
which end with a >; bore buds, but these were
too immature at the close of observation to
allow of a certain determination in regard to
their colour. The subtending bracts of the
flowers are also indicated.

The plant was pulled up on September 3.
Seed collected from the three types of cap-
sules was sown in March, 1901, under varying
conditions as regards soil and aspect ; but
the whole crop was uniformly red-flowered.
The crop, however, was a poor one, as we
suffered a good deal in Chelsea from the
inclemency of the season last spring.

The diagram shows the plant in elevation,
as though it had been pressed with all its
flowers on it. I only regret that I did not
also construct at the time a projection of the
branches and flowers on a horizontal plane.
F. W. Oliver.

Experiments in Potato Cultivation,
1901. — The Cheshire County Council, which is
doing such excellent work at its Agricultural
and Horticultural School at Holmes Chapel,
has just issued a report on the Potato experi-
ments carried out there during the year 1901.
It has been compiled by the Principal, Edric
Druce, Esq., M.K.A.C, F.C.S. In the first
series of experiments ninety varieties were
tried in small plots, which were manured at
the following rate per acre : — 16 tons farmyard
manure, 3 cwt. 30 per cent, superphosphate,
1 cwt. sulphate of ammonia, 1 cwt. muriate of
potash ; the artificial manures being sown on
the farmyard manure in the drills at the time
of planting. In these trials Harrison's Early
Short-top stands at the top of the list of early
kidneys, Carter's Royalty at the top of the
list of early rounds, Duchess of Buccleuch
1st second-early kidney, a seedling first early
round. Monstrous (Jaruian) first late kidney,
Charles Fidler first late round. These experi-
ments are valuable to the extent of indicating
what varieties should be tried in larger quan-
tities the following season. The second class
of experiments carried out by the school are
most important ; the manuring was similar to
that indicated above for the small lots. The
date of planting was from April 23 to May 9 ;
the drills were 27 inches wide, and the sets
were placed from 12 to 14 inches apart, accord-
ing to the variety. The plots varied in size,
but (and this is an important factor) in each
case the produce of one-twentieth of an acre
was weighed. First among earlies stands
Carter's Royalty with 11 tons 5 cw^t. per acre
to its credit ; this variety is described as
" Very white, mealy, and of excellent flavour."
The best second early is The Factor (Dobbie),
with 17 tons 5 cwt. per acre : this is a kidney
variety, "strong in haulm, slightly yellow,
mealy, and of good flavour ; " it was awarded
an Award of Merit last season by the Royal
Horticultural Society after being grown and
cooked at Chiswick. Up-to-Dato comes out
first among the lates with 13 tons 10 cwt. per
acre ; this standard variety requires no
description, as it is so well known. It is inte-
resting to note that Royalty produced 11 cwt.
of small tubers, and 8 cwt. diseased tubers.
Doubtless fewer diseased tubers would have
been found in this variety had it been lifted
earlier than the beginning of September. The
Factor produced 10 cwt. small, and 5 cwt.
diseased; while I'p-to-Date produced 9 cwt.
small, and 8 cwt. diseased tubers. Thirty-
( hreo varieties in all wore tried in this second
or large class of experiments; The rest of the

report is (levelled to recording tl fleets of

different manures on the Potato crop, and of
the results obtained by planting sords of dif-
ferent sizes, ma kins alfogef her a most valuable
little treatise on practical Potato culture.

224

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 5, 1902.

YOUNG GARDENERS AND SELF
IMPROVEMENT.

Many young gardeners are no doubt desirous of im-
proving themselves in horticultural knowledge, but
may be at a loss to know of some systematic way in
which to go to work. Efforts are perhaps made, but
for want of help or the knowledge of the best way to go
about things, they do not result in much. Others
again, if they have their attention directed to it, may
see the benefit to be derived from a little systematic
study; and the purpose of this article is to give some
help in that way to such who may find it useful.

The long winter evenings form an excellent time for
study, and to prepare for work of observation during
the summer time. To gain a good knowledge on horti-
cultural matters, it is very helpful to know something
of botany, geography, chemistry, geology, and other
things; but before dealing with these subjects, it will
be best to take the practical side.

For a real knowledge of gardening there is only one
way of obtaining it, that is, by personal experience ;
and individual enterprise must show itself in the
main for the obtaining of the proper sort. Practical
knowledge is not to be given on paper, but it is won-
derful how this is to be helped by systematic reading,
observation, and note-taking; and some suggestions as

to these matters will no doubt prove useful to some of
the readers of the Gardeners' Chronicle. As to reading,
the books dealing with gardening arc multitudinous,
and to the making of them there is no end ; but the
following selection is given from the library of a horti-
cultural school, and covers a good range of subjects
(see Table below).

Thompsons Gardeners' Assistant is an excellent work,
brought up-to-date, dealing with all sides of gardening;
is well illustrated, and contains c apters on botany,
insect pests, and plant diseases.

A good encyclopaedia or dictionary is the best thing
for general reference, and besides Nicholson's Dictionary,
mention might be made of the American Encyclopxdia
of Horticulture, edited by L. H. Bailey; publishers,
Messrs. Macmillan A Co.

Garden Flowers and Plants is a capital little book as a
primer.

Tltr Horticulturist's Rule Book is full of information
and recipes of things likely to be of use to the
horticulturist.

Farm and Garden Insects is a compact little book,
helpful to recognise the insects of the garden. To
be able to distinguish useful and harmful insects and
birds, to recognise plant diseases, and to know how to
deal with them, is an important part of gardening
knowledge. Regular attention should be given to the

1.
2.
3.

4.

5.
6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

12.
1.3.
14.
15.

16.
17.

18.

19.

20.

21.
22.

i.'i.

21.

25.

26.

30.

31.

32.

33.
31.

35.
36.
37.

Name of Book.

Author, itc.

Publishers.

Thompson'sGardeners' Assistant. New edition. 6 vols.

Dictionary of Gardening and E = cyclopaedia of Horti-
culture. 8 vols.

Choice Stove and Greenhouse Plants. 2 vols

Greenhouse and Stove Plants

Amateur Orchid Cultivator's Guide Book
Sander's OrchidGuide

Cultivated Roses

Book of the Rose

Tuberous Bcfonia : Its History and Cultivation

The Dahlia : lis History and Cultivation

Popular Bulb Culture: A Handv Guide to the Suc-
cessful Culture of Bulbous Plants, both in the
Open and Under Glass.

Tomato Culture

Garden Flowers and Plants : A rrimcr

Hardy Flowers

Arboriculture for Amateurs: Being Instructions for

the Planting of Trees for Ornament and Use, ic.
Our Gardens...- ;

Culture of Vegetables and Flowers from Seeds and
Roots.

Profitab'e Gardening : A Practical Guide to the
Culture of Vegetables and Fruits.

Principles of Fruit Growing

Scientific and Profitable Culture of Fruit Trees

Practical Fruit Culture

Fruit Culture under Glass

Art of Grafting and Budding

The Tree-Pruner : A Practical Manual on the Pruning
of Fruit Trees.

The Strawberry Manual

The Nursery Book

The Forcing Book

Horticulturists' Rule Book

Calendar of Sowings and Plantings in the Flower
and Vegetable Garden.

Special Manures for Garden Crops

Chemistry of the Garden : A Primer for Amateurs
and Young Gardeners.

Horticultural Buildings

Farm and Garden Insects

Manual of Injurious Insects and Methods of Pre-
vention and Remedy.

Our Garden Friends and Foes

Our Country s Birds and How to Know Them

Text-Book of Plant Diseases caused by Cryptogamic
Parasites.

Edited by \V. Wat
sou.

Edited by G
Nicholson.

B. S. Williams ..

Thomas Baines ...
H. A. Burberry ...

Gresham Publish-
ing Company.

UpcottGill

The Author, Para-
dise Nurseries,
London, N.

John Murray

Blake it Mackenzie

per vol.

per vol.

3s.

F. "ander it Co..
St. Albans.

Edited by T. W.
Sanders.

W. II. AL Colling-
ridge.

Rev. A. Foster-
Melliar.

Macmillan & Co....

Gardening World
Office.

Edited by Win.
Luib.ber.tson.

Macmillan it Co. ;
andDnbbieitCo.,
Roth say.

W. D. Drury

L. Upeott Gill ...

B. C. Raven scroft .

UpcottGill

18.

.1. Wright

Macmillan it Co...

Is.

W. Robinson

The Garden Office .

Wm. H. Ablett ...

Bazaar, Exthanoe
it Mart Otfice.

28. riff

S. Reynolds Hole.

J. M. Dent & Co. ...

Sutton & Sons

Simpkin. Marshall,
Hamilton, Kent
&Co.

Shirley Hibberd .

W. H.iL. Colling-
ridge.

L H. Bailey

Macmillan & Co....-

From the French
of M. Du Breuil.

Crosby Lockwood
it Son.

3s. ed

J. Cheal, F.R.H.S.

George Bell it Sons

2s. ed

David Thomson ...

Wm. Blackwood
it Sons.

Charles Baltet ...

Crosby Lockwood
it Son.

2e. ed

Samuel Wood

Crosby Lockwood
it Son.

Is. ed

Laxton Bros.

Hulattit Richard-
son, Bedford.

Is.

L. 11. Bailey

Macmillan it Co....

L. H. Bailey

Macmillan it Co....

L. H. Bailey

Macmillan it Co....

E. Kemp Toogood.

Toogood it Sons,
Southampton.

ed.

A. B. Griffiths ...

W. H. itL.Colling-
ridge.

■2S.

H. H. Cousins

Macmillan it Co....

is.

F. A. Fawkes

Swann, Sonncn-
schein it Co

Wm. Somerville ...

Macmillan it Co....

Is.

Eleanor A. Or-
nierod.

Simpkin. Marshall,
Hamilton, Kent
it Co.

J. G Wood

George Routledge
it Sons.

3s. ed

W. J. Gordon

Simpkin, Marshall
it Co.

George Massee ...

Duckworth it Co. .

various gardening journals, which are a continual
soui'ce of varied information relative to horticulture.
Funds may not allow of investment in more than one
among the many gardening journals now published,
but that one should be a good one. and the Gardeners'
Chronicle is not to be bettered.

There is also a very good way in which to obtain a
reading of the best literature; that is to form a little
circulating library. Where there are several in a
garden, or within easy reach of one another, by each
taking in a different journal, and after reading passing
it on to the others for perusal, the reading of as many
different journals as lhere arc members of the circle-
can be obtained for the cost of one, and the certain
journal taken, after going round, comes back to its
subscriber. Books could also be passed round in this
way, were care taken I y the various readers that they
did not get damaged. But through the reading of gar-
dening journals there is a very great deal to be learned,
and much up-to date information obtained.

This much, then, for gardening literature; but the
great thing is for the individual bent on self-improve-
ment to develop his powers of learning, and to know
how to make use of what is learned. The habit of ob-
servation is a great thing to be cultivated, and the
habit of making systematic records and notes of work,
observations, and experiences, and any thoughts which
may suggest themselves upon a matter, is wonderfully
helpful.

For this purpose there is nothing like keeping a
diary, and making entries every evening of the day's
work, and of anything of interest learned during that
day.

A ruled book of about 250 pages, size about 7 by
si inches, is very useful for the purpose. The pagea
should all be numbered, and a }-inch margin line
drawn from top to bottom at the left-hand side of each .
Entries should be made regularly, and a temporary
index kept. This is to be easily done by taking suffi-
cient sheets of foolscap paper, dividing each page into
two columns by a central line drawn from top to bottom,
and then heading each column with a letter of the
alphabet ; these should be pinned together and kept at
the end of the book. In making the entries the date
might be underlined iu red ink, and the chief points of
them in ink of another colour, like violet; this gives
method in the making of entries, and in glancing over
backwritingatauy time, the eye may be arrested by any
point that may prove interesting, thus :—

" Sept. 4. — Potted off rooted Erica cuttings made in
June from the half-ripened growths. Three or four in
a large sixty is better than singly in a thumb ; they are
not likely to get so dry, while a little disturbance at
the roots when they are young, does no harm. Soil,
fine peat and silver sand; very firm potting is essential.

Sept. 5.— Potted on Cinerarias ; these will stand a
shift from Bo's to 32's, as they are very quick rooting, if
care is given to watering. Soil used, lotted turf-loam,
good proportion of well-decayed manure, and sufficient
>and to form a spongy compost. Very firm potting is
not good, because of the quantity of roots formed, and
the room they occupy."

In the temporary index, column E, the word Ericas,
with the number of the page against it on which this
entry is made, will indicate where in the diary some
information respecting Ericas will be found. The same
with Cineraria under C, while by underlining the chief
points of the entry, they stand out to the eye when
glancing over the book at any time. When the book is
becoming filled, a number of pages at the end of it
should be counted off for the index proper; the number
of pages that will be required can be ascertained from
tlietemporary index. Uponthesepages,whenruledand
lettered, the permanent index can be made, getting the
items in alphabetical arrangement, dictionary style.

Not merely notes of work done should be made, but
notes of observations, notes of what may have been
learned in conversation or in reading, and by this
means a book of valuable and suggestive information
can be built up, and when that is finished, another can
be started.

• To help with the practical work, some classification
of the plants dealt with is very useful; say, for instance,
plants grown under glass. These are, I think, usually
roughly divided into groups, as hard- wooded, soft-
wooded, herbaceous, bulbous, succulent, Palm, Fern,
and Orchid types. For the purposes of study, they may
be better classified and scheduled up in the following
way : —

Take a full double sheet of ruled foolscap paper, and
divide into ten divisions, ruling lines from top to
bottom. Label it at the top " Greenhouse plants," and
on a line below head the columns in this way. Horti-
cultural Student.

[To the above list of reference books for a garden
library we should certainly add the Treasury of Botany,
in 2 vols., Longmans. ED.]

Publications Received.— Agricultural Bulletin

of the Straits and Federated Malay Stales, edited by H. N.
Ridley. January. Contents : Timbers of the Malay
Peninsula, Indigo, Instructions for Drying Plants,
Gutta-percha from Leaves, Dissemination of Seeds by
Natural Means, &c.— West Indian Bulletin, Vol. II.,
No. 4. Contents : Jamaica Fruit Trade, Rice in British
Guiana, Sweet I'otatos, &c.

April 5, 1902.1

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

COLONIAL NOTES.

MUSA CAVENDISHI.
This interesting dwarf Banana (figured in
Paxlon's Magazine, iii., 51) is well known in
English hothouses, where it frequently ripens
large bunches of delicious fruit. According
to Baker, it was brought from Southern China
to Mauritius, and after being cultivated there
was afterwards introduced to England in 1827.
I referred to this Banana in a letter to the
Times of September 3, reprinted in the Gar-
deners' Chronicle of September 7, and quoted
Seemann's interesting statement (Flora Yiti-
ensis, p. 289) that plants from the Chatsworth

were such realistic artists that he felt sure such a
dwarf Banana existed in China before It was known to
Europeans. Since Sir Joseph's death, I have been
informed that the ship in which the plants that were
given to Mr. John Williams was wrecked on its arrival
at Fiji, but when all hope of the recovery of the plants
had been abandoned, they were found to have arrived,
and taken root on the sea-shore. I havelived in Chats-
worth Park forty years, but have not found anyone
who could verify this statement (which I heard in
Italy). If you can throw any light on the story I shall
be obliged if you will favour me with a line on the
subject."

D. Morris, Imp. Depart, of Agriculture /or
the West Indies, Barbados, January 18.

The accompanying photograph (fig. 72),
says Mrs. Ernald Smith, may be of some
interest to your readers. It represents four
Banana - trees bearing fruit at the Oaks

In the volume for 1850, p. 452, the story of
the introduction of this valuable plant from
Chatsworth to the Samoan islands by the
missionary Williams is detailed. Ed.]

The Okroe (Hibiscus esculentus).

We cultivate this plant largely in Grenada
as a food-producing plant — in fact, it grows
partly wild. The portion eaten, as everybody
knows, is the young seed-pod, shortly aftei-
the corolla drops off. It is, when cooked, of a
slimy nature, but withal palatable, when once
a taste is acquired for it — like so many hot-
country productions. Roasted salt fish, a
pepper (Capsicum), cooked Plantains, and
Okroes, up in the mountains, after a bath in
the running stream, and the appetite as a con-

Fic

-MUSA CAVENDISHI, IN THE GARDENS AT THE OAKS, EMSWORTH, HANTS.

Gardens, taken to the Polynesian Islands by
John Williams, the Martyr of Eromanga, led
to its extensive cultivation, and contributed
to put an end to the famine that previously
had devastated some of those islands. I have
just received a letter, quoted below, from Mr.
E. M. Wrench, of Baslow, Derbyshire, -who
mentions from hearsay what is current in the
neighbourhood of Chatsworth as to the intro-
duction and distribution of the Chinese
Banana. In the absence of works of reference,
I am unable to look into the subject at present,
and can only hope that the publication of Mr.
Wrench's letter may lead to the actual facts
jbeing placed on record. Mr. Wrench writes : —
J " Dear Sir.— I have been interested by your letter to
"l the Times of September 2, and particularly to your
allusion to the introduction of the Muea Cavendishi or
chinensis Into Polynesia. I have heard Sir Joseph
Paxton say how he sent a botanist to China to find the
.dwarf Banana, in consequence of his discovery of a
I drawing of the plant on a red Chinese wall-paper—
'exposed when a room at Chatsworth was being re-
papered. Sir Joseph Paxton argued that the Chinese

Gardens, belonging to Mr. Ernald Smith,
Emsworth, Hants. All were last year's
suckers ; the one which is ripe first was a
sucker in February, 1901. It showed fruit in
August, and in six months (that is January 21)
we were cutting splendid fruit ; it had 165
fruits. No. 2 was a sucker in April, 1901 ; it
showed fruit on October 5, and we expect to
cut in April. No. 3 was a sucker on April 27,
1901; it showed fruit on November 16, 1901.
No. 4 was a sucker on June 23, 1901 ; it showed
fruit Nov. 28, 1901. On an average three of the
fruit weigh 1 lb. Mr. Hughes, the gardener,
is to be congratulated on his success.

[The history of the introduction of this
Banana from Mauritius to the Cape of Good
Hope, and then to the Calcutta Botanic Garden
by Gibson, is given in the Garde?iers'
Chronicle, 1841, p. 100. It fruited at Calcutta
in 1836, and Gibson remarks it ought not to
require more than twelve or thirteen months
for the maturation of the fruit.

sequence "placed on edge," is a tasty and
satisfying dish.

In the island of Carriacon, attached to
Grenada, the natives dry, slice, and string
the Okroe, hang it in the sun, and use it in
their culinary requirements at will, which
certainly is a useful and foreseeing custom,
for in the dry season such a thing as a fresh
Okroe is hardly to be seen. W. E. Broadivatj,
Grenada.

The Navel Orange.
fie Orange within Orange, Hard. Chron. of
February 1, p. 83, this peculiarity is, I think,
from description just an extreme form of
"Navel Orange," ride my report of last year.
The "Navel" Orange "Embiguo" of Portu-
gese, &c, is named from the fact that asecond
small abortive fruit is produced just under the
rind of the Orange proper, the " eye " of which
is very open, and the second Orange more or
less protrudes, havi ng somewhat the appearance
of the human navel. There is a good plate in

226

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 5, 1902.

California!! Fruits, Wiekson; the picture, how-
ever, is intended to show the beauty of the
fruit of the "Washington Navel Orange,"
rather than the abnormal secondary fruit.
The State of California publishes a report with
several plates, sections of the " Navel " fruits.
1 forget title of book just now. The " Navel "
Orange is in great, repute in California, and
the same may be said of South Africa, where
the variety was introduced from Bahia some
twenty years before it reached the "Washington'
Botanical Gardens, from thence was distributed
to Riverside, California ; hence the name
" Washington " Navel. These remarks, chiefly
for your own information, will throw some
little light on the importance of the variety ;
also account for the stress put on to it in my
report for 1900. The plates in Californian
report, if I rightly remember, show the ex-
treme form of a small Orange quite imbedded
in the larger fruit.

Your correspondent, H. de Varigny, inquires
as to seedless varieties of Orange. The Malta,
St. Michael's Paperrind, Excelsior, Jaffa, may
be named as seedless, and the Navel varieties
nearly so; no doubt there are other seedless
kinds besides these named. E. Tidmarsh,
Grahamstown, 8. Africa.

MARKET GARDENING.

RAISING TOMATO-PLANTS FOR PLANTING
OUT-OF-DOORS.

The present is the best time for making the
first sowing of Tomato-seed for raising plants
to fruit in the open. If many thousands of
plants are required, it will be advisable to
make three sowings at intervals of five or six
days between each sowing, thus affording time
to get the plants, resulting from the first
sowing, pricked out in boxes or potted off
singly into 3-inch pots, before those raised
from the second sowing are ready for treating
in the same manner, the plants resulting from
the third sowing being treated in the same
way in due time. Thus sown, all the plants
can be conveniently dealt with in the way
indicated above, before they become " drawn
up," as would probably be the case were the
plants all raised from seed sown at one time.
Sow the seed thinly in shallow boxes, having a
little fibry-loam, half-decayed leaves, or half-
rotten stable dung, placed in the bottom, and
then filled to within 1 inch of the top with
light soil, made fairly firm with a piece of
board before and after the seed has been sown,
and covered lightly with line soil. Place the
boxes in a position near the roof glass, water
through a fine rose, and then cover the boxes
with a few sheets of newspaper, so as to
prevent the soil drying too quickly by the
action of the sun ; the covering of paper will
preserve the soil in a more uniformly moist
condition than would otherwise be the case.
The paper should, as a matter of course, be
removed as soon as the seedling plants appear
through the soil. As soon as the little plants
have made about 2 inches of growth, they
should be pricked out in boxes (prepared as
recommended for the reception of the seed) in
rows between 3 and 4 inches apart, and at
the same distance from plant to plant in the
rows, making the soil moderately firm about
the individual plants in dibbling them in.
Place the boxes in a pit or house near to the
glass, water to settle the soil about the plants,
keep close and shade from sunshine for a few
days, by which time the roots of the plants
will have taken to the soil, and the shading
can be dispensed with altogether; the ad-
mission of fresh air should be gradually

increased, in order to promote and maintain
a sturdy growth in the plants up to the time
they are transplanted in the field in rows,
between 2 and 3 feet asunder, and at 1 foot
from plant to plant in rows.

Stopping and Training Cucumber-plants.

Cucumber - plants raised from seed sown
the first week in December last, are now
fruiting pretty freely from the first and
second lateral growths trained to the first
and second wire of the trellis, and pinched
beyond the second joint, the sub - laterals
being stopped at one joint, the same treat-
ment being applied to the lateral and sub-
lateral growths, as they push forth close to
the several wires, the main stem having been
pinched at intervals of 2 feet beyond the first
wire of trellis. The fruit should be cut as
soon as it attains to the vjroper size. All
"crooks" being cut the same time, and sent
to market in flats marked "crooks," at the
same time as sending the duly formed and
developed fruits. In packing, put a good lining
of hay in the flats, and next to this a lining of
paper on the bottom, sides, and ends of the
flats, as well as a layer of paper between
and over the top lot of fruit, a cover-
ing of hay being put over all in sufficient
thickness to admit the lids of the individual
baskets being shut down pretty closely on the
contents, thereby preventing the fruit from
shifting in any way in transit. Put a surface-
dressing of short manure, from which all rank
heat has escaped in the process of turning
over, on the ridges; this will not only preserve
the moisture in the soil about the roots, but it
will also contribute to the swelling the fruit
by the substance of same being washed down
to the roots each time water is applied thereat.
Keep the plants uniformly moist at the roots ;
aim at a night temperature of 70°, and run it
up to 90° or 95° with sun-heat, before ad-
mitting fresh air to the house, plenty of water
being distributed in the house at same time. A
high atmospheric temperature, well charged
with moisture, being an indispensable con-
dition in the production of Cucumbers in
quantity and fine quality. H. W. Ward, Mar. 15.

but a good proportion of mortar-rubble should
be incorporated with it, the whole made firm,
and water afforded. Grafting fruit and other j
trees must be rapidly pushed on with now I
that the sap is rising. The clay that is put on j
the grafts should be examined, and if found to
be cracked, smooth it over with a thick slip of
clay and water ; or having rubbed the clay
with wetted hands, fasten pieces of canvas,
carpet, or some green moss around the clay.

The Week's Work.

THE HABDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Matne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle,
Bicton. East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Apricots. — Except in the south, it is yet
early to disbud ; here the operation must soon
be commenced, as well as the thinning of the
fruit where too many have set. The young
growths should be thinned by degrees, a
beginning being made with those at the top of
the tree. As the Apricot fruits on spurs, as
well as on one-year-old, well-ripened shoots,
only those shoots that are at a right angle to
the wall face, are ill-placed, or are crowded
together, should be removed, the best situated
shoots being retained to be laid in or pinched
back later on.

Plums. — Trees on south or west walls unfold
their blossoms early this month, and should be
afforded protection against frost at night, such
as double fish-netting, which is also a pro-
tection against hail. The covering should be
removed in mild weather.

General Remarks. — The month of March has
been favourable for carrying out all kinds of
work, and there should be no arrears to fetch
up. Late-planted trees should receive a good
mulch of strawy litter, and be made secure by
nailing, tying, or staking, as the case may
require. The Fig and Vine may still be
planted in warm, well-drained positions, the
soil used for each being free from rank manure,

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Floiuerina Deciduous Shrubs. — • Plants of,
Lonicera fragrantissima and L. Standishi have
for the most part ceased flowering — a suitable
period for pruning them. In doing this, the
shoots that have flowered should be cut back
nearly to their base, the stronger ones to
about three buds, and the weaker to one bud,
and thus make space for the young wood which
will flower next year, which should be trained
in the desired form as it grows. Always aim
at getting the shoots to grow as far as is
practicable with about equal vigour, and if
any are more vigorous than others, stop them
at the fourth leaf, and encourage two laterals
to grow from that point. Medium-sized, short-
jointed, well-ripened wood always flowers well.
During the growing season, apply some suit-
able fertiliser once a fortnight, at the rate of
about 3 ozs. per square yard of surface,
washing it into the soil over the roots of
the plants, and if it be of a light sandy
nature, afford a thin layer of half-decayed
tree-leaves or rotten manure. The pruning '
of Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora con-l
sists of cutting back last year's shoots
to two eyes, and it being the rule for the
flower panicles to appear on the young wood
at about the seventh or eighth pair of leaves,
whenever sufficient flower-heads are found on
a plant, all superfluous weak growths should
be removed, in order to prevent overcrowding.
Half-standards similarly treated need support I
from strong, neat stakes, and if any of these I
are decayed, replace them with new ones,!
tying the stems of the plants thereto with!
tarred string; then apply a thick mulch ofj
rotten manure. H. Hortensia and its varieties!
require some light kind of protection against!
frost, otherwise the flower-buds get damaged.!
This species should be pruned after flowering,
and the plant looks well when placed several!
together in the shrubbery borders. Young
plants are easily raised from cuttings of half-
ripened wood struck in the summer in a cold
pit, and young plants possess flowers and foliage
of a much finer size than is the case with
aged plants ; moreover, they are more easily
managed in every way. The present affords a
suitable season for planting the Hydrangea
out-of-doors. The stations should be heavily
dressed with manure, the soil trenched, and
the plants copiously afforded water when
planted.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke op
Buccleuch. Dalkeith.

Figs. — The fruits in the earliest house being
well advanced, see that the trees do not suffer
from dryness at the root ; and if the trees are
fruiting freely, and thewood is not too strong,
apply weak manure-water frequently. If red-
spider be present on the leaves, afford copious
syringings, and maintain considerable hu-
midity in the house. In dull weather do not
make so much use of the syringe as in sunny
weather. Let the night temperature be 00°,
and by day 10° or 15° higher. As the fruit
approaches ripeness, stop the syringing, but
do not keep a too dry atmosphere, for the
second crop of Figs is coming on.

Peach - house. — The trees in the earliest
house being now in active growth, no moro
shoots should be retained than are necessary
for furnishing next year's crop ; and in the
case of young trees for extension, any shoots
having fruit only at the base should be
shortened back to three leaves, and those

April 5, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

227

that are unduly strong and likely to rob the
others should be entirely removed, and the
weaker shoots thereby strengthened. Let over-
crowding-of- shoots be carefully avoided, and
lay in shoots towards the centre, so as to have
that part well furnished. When stoning is
finished, which will be known by the fruits
increasing in size, the temperature may be
raised, according to the state of the weather,
to 65° on cold nights, and 70° on mild ones,
not exceeding these figures unless ripe fruit
is desired at a very early date. Syringe the
trees twice daily, so as to keep the foliage
clean, ceasing when the fruits begin to ripen,
affording then a dry, warm atmosphere, and
ventilating freely by day, and a little air at
night more or less, in accordance with the
outside temperature.

Succession - houses. — Attend to the first
thinning of the fruit, the disbudding and
pinching of the shoots, and apply quassia-
water if aphis appear ; and if the leaves curl,
distribute tobacco-powder over them. To old
trees apply manure-water at the root, but not
any to vigorous growing ones till the last
swelling of the green fruit takes place.

Melon-houses. — In order to secure Melons in
succession till a late date in the autumn, sow
seed now, and at intervals of two or three
weeks ; sowing in 60's to the number of two
or three in each, in coarse, rather dry loam,
and plunge them in bottom-heat of 7o° to 80°,
and close to the glass then, and at every future
stage of growth. No water should be applied,
unless the soil becomes unduly dry. These
plants may be grown in garden frames set on
hot-beds made of stable-litter and last year's
tree-leaves. When the violent heat has passed
away, make a hillock of fresh loamy soil, mixed
with fine lime-rubbish, in the middle of each
light ; place two plants on each, and cover
the whole surface of the bed slightly with
soil. When the roots show plentifully on the
surface, add soil gradually till the bed is of an
uniform depth. Afford a small amount of ven-
tilation constantly at the top of the frame for
two or three weeks, or as long as much vapour
is given off. The fruits on plants raised in
January will now be swelling, and some fresh
soil mixed with artificial manure may be added
to the beds, with a 1-inch layer of horse-
droppings over all. Afford water pretty
copiously at this stage, but not within a space
of 6 inches round the stems. When the Melon-
house is closed about 2.30 to 3 p.m., the tem-
perature may not exceed 90% nor during the
night or hours of darkness 70°. The heat of
the bed should be steady at 85°. Damp the
paths and walls, and generally keep the house
moist.

P. Humboldti, P. Wallichi, may be similarly
treated ; P. Norman, P. Marthse, P. ainabilis,
and P. Cooksoni, hybrids of P. tuberculosus
and others, are beautiful varieties which do
not require anything more in the potting soil
than small pieces of soft brick about the size
of a walnut mixed in it, and to be afforded
more water when they are growing. My ex-
perience of these hybrids when grown in leaf-
mould is, that they endure for only a short
period of time, but the sight of the fine, healthy
plants exhibited on March 11 at the Drill Hall
by Messrs. F. Sander & Sons, which were
growing in leaf-mould, made me think that we
have hitherto neglected one of the best com-
posts Nature provides us with, and cultivators
of Orchids should make themselves conversant
with the new methods and alter their practice
accordingly. The Phaius being plants requir-
ing much moisture, a shady position should be
found for them in the warm Orchid-house, and
where the syringe can be frequently applied
between the pots and overhead in sunny
summer weather.

THE OBCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Eeigate.

Odontoalossum bictonense. — Should any plant
require potting this season, the operation
should be attended to forthwith, the compost
used being that advised in a previous Calendar
for Odontoglossum crispum. This variety suc-
ceeds to a better degree in an intermediate
than in a cool-house at all seasons, but even
then an intermediate-house is not the best
place, unless fresh air is constantly admitted.
During the growing season the plant will
take a fair amount of water at the root, and
be benefited by being syringed overhead on
bright days.

Phaius. — Plants of P. grandifolius now
passing out of flower should be kept rather
dry at the roots till the new growth appears ;
and should repottiDg then be found necessary,
this should be performed when the new growth
is 3 inches high. Asacompost use good turfy-
loam one-half, turfy-peat and leaf-mould one-
quarter each, mixing these well together with
some soft red brick, or crocks broken small.
The drainage should be good, as it is essential
that a clear passage for water be given, the
plant requiring much water when growing.
The soil should bo made firm, and the base of
the plant kept below the rim of the pot.
Phaius Blumei, and its varieties P. bicolor,

PLANTS UNDEB GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mundy, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Bouvardias. — Those who favour the raising
of stock from new growths taken off with a
heel, should now be enabled to get these in
plenty from early rested plants ; and strike
them readily if the plants have not been fed
with artificial manures. Light and sandy soil
is best for filling the cutting pots ; and the
cuttings must be shaded till they strike. Per-
sonally, I prefer root cuttings, raising them
in the same manner as the Dracaena from eyes,
putting them thickly into pans filled with
sandy soil. Young plants raised in this
manner grow very freely. If some of the old
plants are going to be retained, they should,
when they break after pruning, be shaken
out of the soil, the root-mass reduced, and
re -potted in a mixture of leaf -mould, fib-
rous - loam, and a small quantity of decayed
animal manure, together with a considerable
quantity of sand. The plants should be placed
in a house where they will be afforded a fair
amount of heat and moisture.

Primulas. — Among the many species of cool-
house Primulas, P. floribunda and P. verticil-
lata should not be overlooked. The former may
be flowered at any season, but I prefer to raise
the plant from seeds now ripening on winter-
flowered plants, new seeds always germinating
with but little trouble. When large enough,
prick them out into pots or pans, potting them
later, singly in 60's, and removing all flower-
trusses till the end of the month of September.
With this sort of treatment it is possible to
flower them throughout the winter season,
that is, at a time when they are most appre-
ciated. P. verticillata is a lovely, sweet-
scented species, flowering in the months of
April and May. The new season's seeds are
not yet ripe, but it will be possible to raise a
fair percentage of plants from the seeds of
last year. The above must not be raised in
strong heat, or their germination will be
delayed.

Cinerarias. — Those plants that are now
coming into flower should be afforded clear
manure- water twice a week ; or. alternately
with water, that made from sheep's-dung, or
obtained from the ox or cow -stalls, being
preferred.

Cyclamens.— Plants going out of flower should ,
if intended for keeping over another year,
have all old flower-stems pulled out clean
from the baso before being put into a cool,
shady frame to rest for a while, during which
time the water supply should be greatly
reduced. But I do not advise the retention
of once flowered plants, for though good
specimens are now and then seen, and used to
be common, the results gained by present-day
methods of raising and -rowing-on quickly are
moro generally satisfactory, and one knows
beforehand that there will be no blind plants.
JJschynanthus.— Where these are grown, the
stock should now be renewed by taking cut-

tings of the young growths and inserting them
in sandy peat, in small pots that may be
plunged in a propagating-frame. Insert them
three in a pot, and pot them on bodily for
transfer into flowering-baskets. Old plants
may be turned out and replaced in fresh soil,
if they are healthy. For some weeks after-
doing this no water need be afforded except
through the svringe.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Tueton, Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digbt, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Celery. — Heads of Celery still in the trenches
may now be taken up and heeled-in on a north
border for temporary kitchen use. The ground
being cleared, the ridges may be levelled, and
the groundsownwith Peas in succession, or with
Beet-root and Carrot seeds. The early-sown
Celery should be pricked off into boxes at 3 ins.
apart, the boxes placed on a mild hot-bed,
and removed thence to a cold pit or frame on
renewal of growth. This is a better method
than to prick out in hot-bed frames and allow
the roots of the plants to strike down into the
hot-bed materials, and in consequence suffer a
check when transplanted to the trenches.

Kales, Broccolis, &c. — Sow on an open piece
of rather poor ground, and better plants will
be obtained than if the ground were rich, as
in the latter the plants grow too big be-
fore they can be planted out. Sow the seeds
thinly in drills drawn 1 foot apart, and there
will be no necessity to prick out the plants
into nurse-beds. Cottagers' Kale is a service-
able variety, and should be planted exten-
sively. A good type of Scotch Kale, such as
Sutton's Al and Asparagus-Kale, should also
be grown pretty largely. Sow a good quantity
of seed of Purple Sprouting Broccoli, and less,
of other varieties, as where space permits the
planting on different aspects in the garden
and its adjuncts of this important crop is
advisable, the plants being raised in as hardy
a manner as possible. 'Another sowing of
Broccolis should be made about the end of
the present month, or in May, for planting
after Strawberries or early Potatos are cleared
off. Sow Green Curled and other varieties of
Savoys, which require a long season to mature.
Herbs. —New beds should be planted in
alternate years, and the spring is the best
season for planting. Common Thyme and Sage,
green or purple-leaved, should be raised from
slips put under handlights in the autumn,
which will at this date be in a fit state to
plant. The plants may stand at 1 foot apart.
Mint and Tarragon should be raised from
cuttings taken from roots that have been
forced, raising them in hot-bed frames. Pot
off divisions of Marjoram and Lemon-Thyme
pulled from old plants. Seeds of Knotted
Marjoram, Sweet Basil, Summer Savory, and
Chervil should be sown directly the weather
and state of the ground are favourable
for so doing. As the last three go to seed
quickly, it may be necessary to make several
sowings. The old herh-beds should not be
destroyed until the newly-planted ones have-
become established.

Kitchen Garden Wolfcs.— The fine weather-
experienced for some time past having been
favourable for the pushing forward of all kinds
of work, advantage should be taken of the
next two or three weeks to entirely replant or
make good the gaps in the Box-edgings, or
to straighten and mend any sort of edging
existing in the kitchen garden ; also 1 0 turn
or wheel away dirty gravel, previous to-
spreading fresh. April, all things considered,
is one of the best months of the year for such
kinds of work, and no effort should he spared
to make the kitchen garden as inviting to the
employer, in respect of well-eared-for walks
and edgings, as in other matters. Al tins
season weed-killer can be used mosl effec-
tually, the gravel not being dry, hence not

so much el' the liquid is necessary to peach

the reels of the weeds. Since I'm- mil- !

tint, ol weed-killer, and the scarcity and dear
„ess of labour, Ilex as an edging for garden
walks Das gone OUl Of favour.

228

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

[April 5, 1902

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER
111 jstrations. — The Editor will thankfully receive and select
photographs or drawings, suitable /or reproduction, of
gardens, or of remarkable plants, flowers, trees, £c. ; but h*
cannot be responsible for loss or injury.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

SUNDAY. Apr. •\C^HsSSS^uS.BaA

(Royal Horticultural Society's
Committees meet.
TUESDAY. Apr. 8- Brighton and Sussex Horticul
I tural Society's Exhibition
V (two days).

WED.VESDAY.Apr 9 i Shropshire Horticultural So-
( ciety s Spring show.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, Aphil 7—

Rosps. Ferns, Bulbs, Ac, bv Protheroe and Morris.

at 12.
TUESDAY. April 8, also 9 -

Nursery Stock, &c, Parker and Parker. Leamington
WEDNESDAY. APRIL 9—

Roses. Palms, Sweet Bays, Carnations, Violets,

Azaleas, &c, at Stevens' Rooms.— Palms. Azaleas,

Perennials, <ic. by Protheroe <Si Morris at 1:.'.— Sale

of Orchids, by Cowan, Leeds, ls.:jn.
FKIDAY. APRIL 11—

Border Plants. &c hy Protheroe and Morris, at 12.

—The Stoke Hill collection of Orchids by order ot

Hie Rev. Payuter, by Protheroe and Morris, at

12.30.

( For further particulars see our Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
—47 2 .
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— April 2 (6 p.m.) : Max. 51°; Min. 40°.

April 3.— Fine.
Provinces.— April 2 (tl p.m.) : Max. 4S3, W. Ireland
Min. 42', Shetland's.

The news of the death of Mr.
Mf^^^?^xE George Ferguson Wilson, or

T hKliL SON , ._ '

Wilson. as he was generally called,
"George Wilson." will be re-
ceived with universal regret by his fellow
horticulturists.

He died on Good Friday at Weybridge in
the eightieth year of his age. To most
people he was known as an enthusiastic
gardener, but in his early life he was not
only a man of business, as manager of
Price's Patent Candle Company, but a man
of science of such note that he was
elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
To him we owe the production of pure
glycerine, and of various papers relating
to the chemistry of fatty substances. Mr.
Wilson, in fact, was one who clearly per-
ceived the all importance of scientific
method and of scientific research in the
improvement of manufacturing processes.
Now-a-days, thanks to German competition,
manufacturers are beginning to recognise
the importance of science, but Wilson was
fifty years in advance, and the excellence of
his products, and the results that accrued
from them, sufficiently attest the correctness
of his judgment.

"Science once introduced," says Wilson.
•'has raised candle-making from a simple,
clumsy, offensive, mechanical trade into a
first-class chemical manufacture, one offer-
ing the widest field for applications of the
highest chemistry. . . . All, I think, tell the
same story — the immense importance of
bringing the greatest possible amount of
science to bear on industry."'

The story of this part of Wilson's life, and
of the circumstances that led up to it, is
given in The Old Bays of Price's Candle Com-
pany, from which the above citation is made
This is a most interesting and significant
book, written by Mr. Wilson for the instruc-
tion of his sons.

Living originally at Wandsworth, he soon
acquired a " cottage " at Weybridge, to which
he retired when business permitted him,
and where he made his first great horti-
cultural success with his Orchard-house.
Herbaceous plants and Lilies were also
thus early subjects of his attention. This
little cottage, known as Gishurst Cottage,
was placed at the disposal of his friends
from time to time, and great was the
pleasure he was enabled to confer on his
friends by this hospitality. Some sur-
prise was raised by his friends at the
name " Gis-hurst '' (meaning pig-wood), but
Wilson stated that the word would soon
be widely known. This indeed proved to be
the case, as the valuable insecticide known
as "Gishurst Compound" was shortly in-
troduced, and is now universally used by
gardeners. The Gishurst Compound sup-
plied another illustration of the application
to practical purposes of chemical knowledge
which was so marked a characteristic of Mr.
Wilson.

After a time a substantial residence was
built on Weybridge Heath, and gardening
pursuits were pursued on a larger scale.
'■Laboratory training teaches careful obser-
vation and close watching," both useful
in gardening. This was made manifest in
Wilson's gardening career. It was not long
before he became the possessor of some
acres of land at Wisley, a few miles from
Weybridge. A clearance was made in a
wood. There was little if any plan, but the
plants were placed in the situations most
suitable for them. The ground was ex-
tensive enough to allow of experiment being
made, and the result was that plants seem
to lie growing there as if they were natives
to the soil.

Mr. Wilson for many years took great
interest in the affairs of the Royal Horti-
cultural Society, and served on its Com-
mittees. For a time he was Chairman of the
Fruit Committee. He was on the Council
when the Society was at a very low ebb. At
this time he strenuously advocated the guinea
subscription, which was not looked on with
much favour at the time, but the adoption of
which in these later times has been one of
the chief factors in the prosperity the
Society now enjoys.

The Japanese Garden, Gunnersbury
House, Acton (Supplementary Illustration).
— The garden at this pretty suburban resi-
dence of the Messrs. Rothschilii, contains
several singular and remarkable features ; and
probably the one which would strike the
visitor most is the Japanese garden. This
garden has not been formed longer than two
years, and it is at the present time very well
furnished with vegetation, and seems as if it
might have existed for twenty years. The
ground plan consists of banks and islands
with flat tops and steep banks, and separated
by little stretches of water, everything in
miniature ; and in that respect a counterpart
of many of the gardens of the wealthy in China
and Japan, as we know them by descriptions
and drawings. There are the slender Bamboo
bridges, the stone altar or lantern, never
absent from a Japanese garden ; the tlat
stepping stones laid irregularly, but evenly,
over wet places, here, with common Musk
growing in the interstices between them ;
Water-Lilies of various species, Chinese Palms
and Bamboos, and surrounding the whole, a
neatly constructed fence of Bamboo-rods put
together without nails. The country has

been ransacked by Mr. Hudson, the gardener,
for plants of Chinese or Japanese origin, where- I
with to give suitable realistic effects ; plants
which are not native to Japan or China being
rigidly excluded. The more prominent plants
are Bamboos and Palms, and these seem to
have been planted so extensively with the idea,
probably, of affording immediate effect, that
the danger of smothering out more weakly
plants seems imminent. We remarked growing
in the water Zizania aquatica (Rice), Rod-
gersia podophylla, Hydrangeas of species,
Japanese Convolvulus, Lilium longiflorum,
Myriophyllum proserpinacoides, and that great
favourite of the Japanese gardeners, Rhodea
japonica, and the variegated form of it ; the
double and single-flowered forms of Sagitaria, ,
Cyperus antiquorum, Hedychium coronarium,
Funkia undulata, F. media, F. subcordata, and
others. On the balustrade of the bridge, the
long trailing growths of Wistaria sinensis are
being trained in a natural manner. A good
plant of Aralia japonica variegata made a
conspicuous patch of white foliage (see fig. 73, ]
p. 231). Other Aralias noticed were pulchra,
SieboldiandS. variegata ; plants of Sciadopytis
verticillata, Illicium religiosum, and Quercus
Daimio, the Japanese Oak, are flourishing.
Altogether, the Japanese garden affords
gratifying effects, and it is a complete change
from the ordinary style of garden, although
flowers are subordinated to foliage, and are
relatively few.

Royal Horticultural Society. — The
next Fruit and Flower Show of the Royal
Horticultural Society will be held on Tuesday,
April 8, in the Drill Hall, Buckingham Gate, I
Westminster, 1 to 5 p.m. A lecture on " The
Construction of Pergolas, and on Plants for |
them, and for Verandahs," will be given by I
Miss Gertrude Jekyll, V.M.H.

Professor MacOwan, D.Sc, B.A., F.L.S.

—"No man better deserves the honour," were
the opening words used by Professor Hahx at
the Good Hope Hall on Cape University Degree I
Day, the 14th of last month, as he proceeded
to state the reasons why Professor Peter Mac-
Owan, B.A., F.L.S., the colonial botanist,
should be invested with the honorary degree
of Doctor of Science. Professor MacOwan
was appointed principal of the Shaw College,
Graham's Town, in 1802. From 1869 to 1881 he I
was professor of chemistry at the Gill College,
Somerset East, and in 1881 he was appointed
director of the Cape Town Botanic Gardens,
and professor of botany at the South African
College. Since 1892 Professor MacOwan has
held the position of Government Botanist.
Professor MacOwan has carried on the study
of South African botany with enthusiastic zeal
and great success, and his scientific work in
systematic and applied botany is held in the
highest esteem in South Africa as well as in
Europe.

National Rose Society.— Weare informed
by Mr. Emvn. Mawley, hon. secretary, that
there will be no meeting of the committee
during the present month.

Coronation Gift. — The dreary monotony
of life in the blockhouses will be enlivened
and relieved by the kindly thought and gene-
rous consideration of Messrs. Sutton & Sons,
the well-known seedsmen of Reading, who are
sending as a Coronation Gift a presentation
box of both vegetable and flower seeds to each
of the long line of blockhouses erected by our
patient hard-working soldiers in South Africa,
in all 55,000 packages. Messrs. Sutton & Sons
were fortunate enough to secure the active
sympathy of Colonel Sir Howard Vincent,
MP., who has been greatly interested in the

April 5, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

229

sehem^, and through him they conveyed their
offer to the War Office. Lord Roberts, the
Commander-in-Chief, and Mr. Brodrick, the
Secretary of State for War, have sanctioned
the proposal, and have -written gratefully
accepting the present on behalf of Lord
Kitchener and the Army in South Africa.

Colonial Fruit: Season 1902. — The
Orient Company's steamship Omrah, due in
London on April 26, will bring 28,000 cases of
Apples from Hobart ; and the Oceana, due on
May 4, will bring 20,000 cases.

Bureau of Plant Industry.— This is a
•section of the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
-organised in July, 1901, and devoted to the
investigation of vegetable physiology and
pathology, botanical investigations and experi-
ments, the study of grass and forage plants,
•of pomology, of seed and plant introduction,
and other matters relating to horticulture and
-agriculture. Some idea of what our American
kinsfolk are doing may be obtained by stating
that the bureau consists of a chief, Prof.
■Galloway, and no fewer than twenty-five
assistants, comprising pathologists, botanists,
physiologists, a" cerealist," a Tobacco expert,
a mycologist, and a chemist.

The Hybridisation of Cistus. — Self-
■fecundation is impossible with many species
•of Cistus, although the pollen and the ovules
are perfect, and fertilise the flowers of other
individuals which allow themselves to be
fertilised by them. The pollen of Cistus
jnonspeliensis fecundates most of the white-
flowered species of Cistus, while it is with
■difficulty fertilised by them; of 200 fecunda-
tions attempted on this species, one plant
only did well. Other species manifest the
same differences in their aptitude to fecundate,
or to be fecundated. In crossings where the
role of the parents is interchanged, the pro-
ductions are often quite similar ; sometimes
-they are not similar. C. ladaniferus crossed
•by C. hirsutus forms an erect shrub, C.
hirsutus crossed by C. ladaniferus forms a low
,plant like the mother.*

Sterilisation of the Soil. —American
Carnation-growers prevent many of the ills to
which Carnations are subject, by forcing
steam at a pressure of 30 to 40 lbs. through
the soil placed on benches for a couple of
hours. This kills eel-worms, fungus-spores,
red-spider, weed-seeds, &c. For the manner
in which it is done, see the American Florist,
February 22, p. 116.

The Smithsonian Report. — We have
before us the annual report of the Board of
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, Wash-
ington, showing the operations, expenditures,
and condition of the Institution for the year
ending June 30, 1900. The report of the Super-
intendent of the National Zoological Park is
illustrated by photographs by Messrs. Dugmore
& Keller of the bear, moose, mule, deer,
antelope, and beaver, that add greatly to the
attractions of the book. The general appendix
contains articles on Progress in Astronomy
-during the Nineteenth Century, by Sir Norman
Lockyer ; the Solar Eclipse of May 28, 1900,
by S. P. Langley ; Notes on Mars, by Sir
Robert Ball ; Solar Changes of Temperature,
by Sir Norman Lockyer and W. J. Lockyer ;
the Pekin Observatory; Progress of Aero-
.nautics, by M. Janssen ; Lord Rayleigh on
Flight ; the Langley Aerodrome ; the Zeppelin
Air-ship, by Thomas Curtis ; Kites in Meteoro-
logical Observations, by A. L. Rotch ; Che-

" Ed. Hornet, So'Ace tur let Tramiu Bcierdiflquet, Paris,
1886. Bull, got JM. France, xlvl. (I8D9), p. exci.

mistry in the Nineteenth Century, by Prof.
Ramsay ; Liquid Hydrogen, by Prof. Dewar ;
A Century of Geology, Prof. J. Le Conte ;
Evolutional Geology, by Prof. W. Sollas ;
Progress in Physics, by Prof. Mendenhall ;
Electricity during the Nineteenth Century,
by Prof. Elihu Thomson ; Photography of
Sound Waves, by R. W. Wood ; Unsuspected
Radiations, by Prince Kropotkin ; Incan-
descent Mantles, by Vivian Lewes ; Physico-
Technical Institution in Charlottenburg, by
Henry Carhart ; Geographic Conquests of the
Nineteenth Century, by Gilbert Grosvenor ;
From Cape to Cairo, by Ewart Grogan ; Yer-
mak Ice - breaker, by Admiral Makaroff ;
Biology in the Nineteenth Century, by Oscar
Hertwig ; Restoration of Extinct Animals, by
F. A. Lucas; Life in the Ocean, by Karl
Brandt ; and Nature Pictures, by A. R. Dug-
more. This latter article is delightfully illus-
trated with photographs taken from live birds
and other creatures, that are as superior to
the average pictures of them as the living
creatures to stuffed specimens. Character-
study of a beaver is equally interesting. Ad-
vance in Colour Photography ; Breeding of the
Arctic Fox, by Henry de Varigny ; Discoveries in
Mesopotamia, by Dr. F. Delitzsch ; Ancient
Steelyards, by H. Gokeland ; China and the
United States, by His Excellency Wu Ting-
Fang ; Chinese Folklore and Western Ana-
logies, by F. W. Williams ; Loot of the Summer
Palace at Pekin, by Count d'Herisson ; Medi-
cine in the Nineteenth Century, by Dr. J. S.
Billings; Malaria, by Dr. G. M. Sternberg;
Psychical Research of the Century, by Andrew
Lang ; The New Spectrum, by S. P. Langley ;
The Century's Great Men of Science, by J. S.
Peirce ; Life of Huxley, by W. K. Brooks ;
Reminiscences of Huxley, by John Fiske ; are
the remaining papers in an interesting volume.
Where necessary, diagrams and plates illustrate
the letterpress.

Fruit and Flower Culture in the
United States. — The following figures re-
specting fruit-tree cultivation in the State of
Maine we abstracted from the Census Returns
now being issued at Washington, U.S. The
" difference " (+ or — ) column is the result of
comparison with the figures of the Census
of 1891 ; the produce returns are similarly
treated : —

Fruits.

Number of Trees.

Produce

—Bushels.

1900.

+ or —

1899.

+ or —

Apples

4,184,781

+1,181,673

1,421,773

—1,649,698

Apricots ...

84

—102

—3

Cherries ...

11,597

+911

1,550

+686

Peaches . . .

9,592

+ 7,985

1,895

■+ 1,678

Pears

39.S-02

+5,571

11,200

— 1 911

Plums and
Prunes ...

29,001

+ 14,607

2,282

+991

The value of orchard products in 1899 was
833,634 dolls. The small fruit area is now
1,036 acres, distributed among 4,577 farms.
The value of the fruits grown was 157,699
dolls., anaverageof 3,445dolIs.perfarm. Of the
average, 49"4 per cent, was devoted to Straw-
berries, the produce reaching 1,066,860 quarts.
The other fruits were : — Blackberries and
Dewberries, 151 acres — 164,300 quarts ; Cran-
berries, 90 acres — 1,554 bushels; Currants,
32 acres — 37,080 quarts; Gooseberries, 30
acres — 41, 230 quarts ; Raspberries and Logan-
berries, 131 acres — 214,700 quarts; others,
90 acres — 102,040 quarts. Coming to the cul-
ture of flowers, the proprietors of 65 of the
OS establishments whose flowers are grown
for the market, make commercial floriculture
their principal business. In ISO!) they raised

flowers and plants valued at 134,232 dolls.
In these there are 653,861 square feet of
glass-surface, equivalent to 490,396 square
feet of land under glass. Some 131 farms have
693,714 square feet of land under glass ;
making a total for the State of 1,184,110
square feet.

Insect - feeding Birds.— Mr. Edward
Lovett, of 41, Outrarn Rd., Croydon, sends us a
plea for protecting insect-feeding birds. He
says : " For many years I have encouraged the
nesting of titmice, robins, and hedge-sparrows
in my garden, with the result that my fruit-
trees are always clean and free from maggots,
&c. During winter, I feed these birds with
suet scraps or other fat suspended from the
branches of trees or placed in some other cat-
proof position. This food is always put near
suitable nesting boxes, also cat-proof. Last
year I had six nests in my garden ; the house-
sparrow enjoys much misplaced consideration.
The London County Council has, as an experi-
ment, given instructions for my suggestion to
be adopted in their Parks and Gardens."
Appended to the circular are diagrams of
protected nest-boxes with measurements.

Big Heads and Little Heads. — A corre-
spondent calls our attention to an article in
a recent issue, anent the proceedings of the
"Royal Society," and says that no "brain"
students of any importance has ever asserted
that " large heads are more intelligent than
small heads," nor are such views shared by
phrenologists. What he does say is this :
large heads are more powerful than small
ones, more full of force, more able to manage,
than small ones, and less manageable ; but
the degree of intelligence depends upon the
quality, &c, and not the size. So far, Pro-
fessor K. Pearson is correct ; it is just as
easy to judge of brain quality, intelligence, or
" ability," as it is for a merchant to judge of
the quality of any marketable produce, if
studied in the light of the founders of brain
science, Drs. Gall and Spurzheim.

"The Journal of the Department of
Agriculture of Victoria." — We note the
appearance of this as a new publication, the
first part being issued in January. The editor
is Mr. H. W. Potts. The Journal is to be of
help in giving advice to agriculturists and
cultivators generally, to report upon the work
of the Department, and to be a means of ex-
tending the inter-State and foreign markets.
The contents are contributed by competent
authorities, and are of the naturo of those
found most valuable in similar publications.
A coloured plate of Vitis monticola accom-
panies this first part.

Thuja occidentalis (Arbor Vit/e) and
Smallpox. — A medical doctor writing in the
Daily Express recommends this plant as a
homeopathic cure for smallpox, and declares
that it has cured some of the worst cases of
the confluent type. As a preventive, the
writer says: "Anyone taking a dose a day
need not fear smallpox ; and those who have
bad arms, or suffer from the effects of vaccina-
tion, will find in Thuja a wonderful remedy."
A medical doctor should know that there is no
" cure " for smallpox.

PLANT PORTRAITS.

Asparagus iu'chesvei.— A new species, from tho
Congo, even more decorative than A. tiprongeri.— Revue
dg V Horticulture Beige, March.

Bokonia tktrandha— Greenhouse shrub, leaves pin-
nate, pinnae linear; Bowers stalked, axillary, piuk.
Rutaceous. Sevue del' Horticulture Beige, March t.

Bhodm:a cafitata, Bentliam. — Ueehans' ''
March. Pot" monograph of the species ol this genus
see Gardeners' Chronicle, August 29, 1890.

DICBNTBA KXIMlA. — Amatiur G March 1.

230

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 5, 1902.

Disas. Hybrid Varieties (D. Langleyensis x D.,
Veitchi x).—(iarte>iflom, March 1.

Huxxemannia fumarikfolia.— An herbaceous per-
ennial allied tQ.Eschscholtzia. Revue Sorticole, Mar. 1.

Magnolia Watsoxi..— Lc Mnniteur d'Hortieulliirc,
February ltf.

Mimulus rixgexs, Liunreus. — Medians' Monthly,
February. Flowers pale lilac. N.E. America.

Prunus i-'Ruticosa, 'Pallas — P. Cham.t-xerasus,
Jaequin. — Shrubby: leaves lanceolate, tapering at the
base to a short stalk ; peduncles 2 inches long, slender ;
fruit subglobose. the size of a large Pea ; purplish-red.
Revue Horticole, February 111.

Rose Souvexir de Pierre Nottixg. T.— Flowers
creamy-yellow, petals recurved, inner Hushed, with
bronze on outer surface. A cross between Marechal
Niel and Madame Cochet. Rosen Zeitung, January.

Schizanthus Wisetonensis x.—Le Moniteur 'Horti-
culture, March 10.

flowering bulbs, &c. Most noticeable in this
house are four large pot plants of Acacia pul-
chella, nearly 5 feet high, and as much
through. They are literally "smothered"
with pretty yellow, almost orange-yellow,
flowers, and anyone seeing them must ever
after remember this species.

BANK HOLIDAY AT KEW.

The many visitors to the Royal Gardens,
Kew, in the glorious sunshine of Monday last,
could hardly fail to admire the Daffodils and
other spring flowers that, like the visitors
themselves, responded to the influence of the
summer-like conditions of the atmosphere.
The grassy "mound " that stands between the
T-range and the Palm-house was ablaze with
the golden -yellow of the Daffodils, which
though not at their best were sufficiently
showy to call forth very hearty appreciation.
In the pleasure-grounds there was little else
in flower excepting the Almonds, therefore
the bulbs in the grass, in beds, and upon the
rockery, had few rivals.

At the Easter Bank Holiday no visitor to Kew
fails to inspect the contents of the glasshouses,
and to spend the greater part of his time in
doing this, leaving his wanderings in the plea-
sure-grounds and wild-garden for Whitsuntide
or August. The temperate-house is less sombre-
looking than usual just now, for the great
Rhododendron bushes, including those that
came from Tremough, are nearly in full bloom ;
and most of the Acacias are covered with
yellow blossoms, a very distinct one being A.
longifolia. The Agave species referred to in
our number for January 2.">, p. 61, is still
there with its great flower-spikes, but the
flowers have passed. The species has been
determined a new one, and the name A. Bakori
has been given it. In one of the smaller
divisions of the temperate-house the quantity
of blossom upon the Orange-trees made the air
almost oppressive with their perfume. The
Palm-house plants look very well, but, as
usual, there is not much floral show there.
The more observant of the visitors, however,
may have seen the great trusses of handsome
flowers high above their heads upon the
Browneas, several species being now in bloom.

The Orchid-houses were nearly filled with
bloom, the show of Dendrobiums and Epi-
dendrums being excellent. The new Phaius
tuberculosus, introduced by Mr. Warpur, the
handsome Moorea irrorata, and many other
species and varieties, contributed to the
beautiful display.

In the stove may be seen in flower, tied to
a rafter, a very old Acanthaceous plant,
Asystasia scandens, with cream - coloured
flowers having five lobes to the corolla limb,
and brown, almost black anthers. TKe species
is evergreen, grows about 5 to 7 feet high,
and needs all the heat and moisture of a stove
atmosphere. In the Begonia-house a number
of species and varieties are making a glorious
show of flower. Jatropha podagrica in bloom
in the Heath-house is worth notice for its
exceeding brilliancy of colour : the flowers are
orange- red of the very brightest tint ; the fi vc-
lobed leaves are just commencing to develop
from the apex of the gouty stem.

In the greenhouse, or No. 4, there is an abund-
ance of bloom upon such plants as Hippeastrums,
Rhododendrons, Eriostemons, Acacias, spring-

AMARYLLIS AT WESTONBIRT.

The famous collection of Hippeastrums in
Captain Holford's gardens near Tetbury,
which has been continuously improved upon
for the last fifty years, has never before made
such a grand show as at the present time.
The large span-roofed house specially arranged
for their cultivation is filled with gorgeous
flowers from end to end, about 2,000 spikes of
magnificent flowers in all stages being ex-
panded. The flowers of this strain possess
characteristics in which a descent from the
fine old species which it was the delight of
Captain Holford's father to collect can be
distinguished. The collection was famed for
the advances made upon Amaryllis Ackermanni
pulcherrima, and A. marginata venusta, as
they were then called in gardens ; the former
imparting the deep scarlet tint to its pro-
geny, and the latter the delightful shade of
scarlet and white stripe, and a delicate
fragrance to those derived from it. The same
features greatly improved may still be traced
in the Westonbirt Hippeastrums of the present
time. In the early days of the collection,
important improvements were wrought by
selecting seedlings of some forms of A. vittata
and A. Gravinse, or Graveana as it was called ;
and with regard to one of the first breaks from
the last-named, which the late "Squire"
Holford considered perfection, it is related
that its flowers first opened on the wedding-
day of our present King and Queen, and
the Squire, as he was generally called by
his people, immediately named it Princess
Alexandra, and bore it off to the mansion to
take the place of honour at the dinner-table.
It was a grand flower, and similar ones in the
collection to-day still hold their own. The
raising of Hippeastrums at Westonbirt is
systematically carried out, well defined types
being followed up, with the result that the
collection boasts of great variety, and does
not merge into one large class, and thus create
monotony. The two extremes are the pure
white without any colour at all, and the dark
velvety crimson-scarlet with a scarcely per-
ceptible green base, from which springs an
intensely dark reddish-maroon flush to the
middle of each segment. Of these the pure
white is the least grateful subject to increase
or improve, although already a very fine form
has been secured. The dark shades of scarlet
and the crimsons are more prolific, but as
each marked improvement sets the standard of
excellence higher, the work in this as in other
classes is not light. Breadth and equality in
width of petal and expansion are the principal
points aimed at. Even in the best strains the
lower middle segment is defective in regard
to size, but in some of them it is now equal to
the other segments. To evolve new sections
is another object, and in this direction the
charming variety known as Apple Blossom
takes the lead. Its flowers are fine in form,
white with a tinge of red on the margins, and
a profusion of minute red spots evenly distri-
buted over the surface of the flower, suggest-
ing descent from the always rare, and now
probably extinct, Hippeastrum pardinum
Dombrainae, or "salmon-spotted," as it was
called.

Looking over the dense mass of magnificent
flowers, it is difficult to select; but beyond

those mentioned, Mrs. Albert Grey, a fine
scarlet and white ; Autocrat, scarlet with,
white star ; Cardinal Richelieu, large cherry-
red ; Lord Dalhousie, scarlet with white star •,
Monarch, crimson ; James . O'Brien, dark
blood-red ; and Wildfire, rich scarlet, showed
up prominently. There were, too, among the
new and yet unnamed bulbs some finer flowers.

Strange crosses are also attempted, and now
about to flower is one of special interest,
between the Hippeastrum and Clivea miiiiata.
At least, Mr. Chapman, the head gardener,
can answer for the cross being made with
exceptional care, so as to obviate any risk of
disappointment ; and although there is at
present little to indicate a change from Hippe-
astrum, there seem to be traces of difference
in the form and veining of the leaves, and the
flowers, when expanded, may disclose others.

In a cold greenhouse were noticed a number
of fine large bulbs sending up flower-spikes.
In the matter of cultivation, Mr. Chapman
stated that he does not repot all of the bulbs,
annually, although when the time for over-
hauling them arrives a large proportion are
repotted. In the New Year the house is pre-
pared, and the materials of which the plunging-
bed consists is got in readiness for the plants.
In February the bulbs are taken from their
cool, dry, resting quarters, and those to be
repotted are shaken out of the soil, and
repotted in a compost consisting chiefly of
good turfy- loam two-thirds, leaf -soil, old
stable-manure, and |-inch bones one-third.
The plants not repotted are top-dressed, and
all that are intended for the chief display
plunged in a bed having a gentle bottom-heat,
and carefully and sparingly afforded water
till the flower-spike leaves appear, at which
time water is more freely applied. But in the
matter of affording water, some sections differ
from others ; the descendents of the almost,
evergreen Hippeastrum aulicum platypetalum,
which was one of the stock-breeders years ago,
suffering from the severe drying-off that is
found suitable for the race which partakes
more of the deciduous character of H.
vittatum. The introduction of fresh blood
into the old stock has chiefly been effected by
the use of Hippeastrum pardinum, H. Empress-
of India, and one or two others of Messrs.
Veitch's strain.

On glancing at the display presented at
Westonbirt, it is difficult to imagine any other
class of plants which could make such a
gorgeous display, some faint idea of which,
may be gained by those who saw the Gold
Medal group shown by Captain Holford at the
Royal Horticultural Society, or our illustration
in the Gardeners' Chronicle, May 13, 1890,
p. 299.

ST. ANN'S, DUBLIN.

Loiu> Ardilaun's residence is situated near
the sea, in the direction of the Hill of Howth,
four miles from the centre of Dublin, and at a
considerable elevation. The park is large,
and is agreeably planted with deciduous and
evergreen trees, to which large additions have
been made recently. In sheltered parts of the
estate, Conifers are making good progress, and
promise to become fine trees. The old kitchen-
garden is largely planted with hardy and half-
hardy herbaceous perennials and flowering-
shrubs, and was remarkably gay with flowers-
in August last, when I was there. Mr-.
Campbell, his lordship's head gardener, is-
much interested in raising new varieties of
hardy flowers, and had a bed of very beautiful
Carnations, that he had raised from seed at
various times, some of which have passed into-
the hands of the trade ; he has also crossed

April 5, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

231

•with success, the more difficult subjects —
Anemone japonica and Lobelia fulgens. A
pergola has been constructed over one of the
main. walks, of unbarked Fir-poles of varying
(lengths, ingeniously joined together, which
had a very pretty effect. A good selection of
hardy climbers is planted that will eventually
■cover it ; and a border of mixed flowering
plants formed along each side of it. Near the
mansion I observed large flower-beds cut out
in the grass, and divided into sections by
capital hedges of common Yew, the dark
colour of the foliage increasing the floral
■effect, and affording protection against the
wind. Large .masses of Lobelia fulgens, in-
cluding several very fine varieties ; Salvia
patens, Heliotrope, and various kinds of Pelar-
goniums in large beds, and of distinct colours,
and made a fine display. Some borders of
mixed herbaceous — perennial, and annual
plants near here were doing well ; and a good

make mention of Lonicera gigantea, a dis-
tinct and desirable species ; Cassia corym-
bosa survived the winter on a wall outside,
and was covered with flowers ; shrubby
Veronicas in variety are hardy here, and do
well. Several rare climbers have lately been
planted on a warm wall, and will prove in-
teresting in a few years if they survive. One
good feature, which I suppose everybody would
like, was a hedge of Lavender. W. H. Divers.

THE LUPIN AS A FIELD CROP.

A CORRESPONDENT, " W. G. T.," enquires on
p. 152 for the publisher's address of a cheap
book on the cultivation of Lupins ; and seeing
that no one has replied to him in these pages,
I think it may be of interest to give him a few
references to sources of information on the
subject. The question has been asked several
times before in agricultural journals, but I

Fig. 73. — ahama japonica variegata, in the Japanese garden, ginnersbury hocse.

(see p. 228.)

matter is fully treated there, and quotes that
in February, 1859, Mr. Thomas Cnrisp, of
Butley Abbey, brought its merits as a sheep
food under notice of the public in a com-
munication to the Council of the Royal Agri-
cultural Society of England. He received the
seeds from Baron Nathusius, a large landed
proprietor in Prussia, who devoted much time
to practical and scientific agriculture. A full
report of that gentleman's statements, ana-
lysis, &c, are given, and contains information
of considerable importance.

"Our Farm Crops," by Wilson, 2 vols.,
Blackie & Son, Edinburgh, pp. 150 to 153.
This well-informed author, in treating the
subject, refers also to the important article
in the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal,
vol. 22, p. 100.

The large white Lupin is much appreciated
on the Continent, where sheep are fed on the
young jjlants, and the seeds, soaked in water,
make good cattle-food. There are three species
used, the before-mentioned Lupinus albus, the
common yellow (L. luteus), and the small blue
(L. varius). The seed in each case is quite
distinct, the two latter being much smaller
than L. albus ; the yellow is the hardiest,
consequently better adapted for poor soils in
colder climates than the South of Europe.

The quantity of seed required for an acre
would be about 112 lb. to 168 lb., according to
requirements of crop, and generally costs
about 20s. per 112 lb. for large quantities.

It is most valuable as a green manure for
arid, barren lands, and is destined to become
of great service to the farmers at the Cape.
J. Mwrison.

specimen of the golden -leaved Cortaderia
(Pampas-grass) was a telling feature. Yew-
hedges are found in various parts of the
.gardens, the best I have ever met with. From
the front of the house, looking towards the
sea, a novel effect is produced by training
some large Lime-trees in the form of three
•adjoining arches ; the view of the sea as seen
from this point is very charming. But the
water view is not confined to the sea — a lake
in the grounds has been well treated by
planting fine foliage plants and trees
on the banks, showing up well from various
points of vantage. In the vicinity of the
lake a fine spring of water known as St.
Ann's Well, exists, and from which the place
takes its name. Palms and plants with fine
foliage are grown in a lofty conservatory, and
many subjects not often met with in gardens
were observed in the houses, all of which bore
■evidence of good cultivation. It was not the
time for Orchids in flower, but a collection
growing in various suitable houses had a
Wealthy look. 01 plants in flower I must

have not seen any direct answers to it. Con-
sidering that there are only two works re-
ferred to by Mr. B. Daydon Jackson in the
Vegetable Technology, it may be conceded that
a special work on the subject is very scarce,
if such a book really exists.

Under " Lupine," the editor referred to
mentions : —

"Analysis and Use of Lupine Seed as
Fodder," by H. Settegast, Chemical Society'*
Journal, 1872, pp. 642, 01:!.

" Monogralia dei prati artificiale Coltivati
ed erba medica, trifoglio, lupinella et Sulla,"
by G. A. Ottavi, ed. 3, Casale, 1879, 8vo.
(Sulla is Hcdysarum coronarium ; French
Honeysuckle of our gardens, and Sainfoin
d'Espagno of the French.)

Messieurs Vilmorin et Cie., Paris, publish
an important work, " Les Plantes de grande
Culture," at 3 francs, where full information
on sowing and cultivating is given, when used
for feeding purposes, green manure, &c.

" Purdon's Practical Farmer," Farmers'
Gazette Office, Dublin, pp. 27(i to 278. The

FORTUNE'S DOUBLE YELLOW
ROSE.*

Mr. Thomas Blackmore. gardener at
Springfield, Great Marlow,, Bucks, sent us
recently the following note with some
liowers of this species: —

"I am sending you a small box of Roses
(Fortune's Yellow), a variety, I think, not
enough known to be appreciated. It is a most
prolific bearer, easily grown in a cool green-
house ; our's is grown in a house facing south-
east, with just sufficient heat to keep out
frost. When once established it soon covers
a largo space, requires but little pruning,
simply cutting out the old wood and laying-in
the young. The Rose was planted in a border
made of Reigate loam, 2| feet in depth, five
years ago, and it now covers a trellis under
the roof of more than 290 square feet ; and it
makes a grand sight when in full bloom. I
have been cutting for the last month, and
could cut perhaps on an average about eigh-
teen dozen blooms weekly. Unfortunately,
the flowers do not last long, but owing to the
freedom with which they are7produced, there
is a pretty constant supply. My employer,
Mr. R. Hay Murray, first saw the plant in
Italy, where the flowers are quite yellow, not
tinted as they are in this country."

Fortune, when visiting Soo-Chow in June,
H44. saw there in the Chinese gardens a
tine new double yellow Rose. Subsequently
he found the same climbing double yellow
Rose in the garden of a mandarin at Ning-
Po. It was said that it was from the more
northern districts of the empire.

Lindley, in Journ. Il<<n. Soc. vi. (1861), 62,
mentions Fortune's double yellow Rose, then
cultivated in the garden of the Society. It
was brought home by Fortune OB his return
from China in 1816 (I. c, i. 223). Fortune

History of European Botanical DUcovtrict in China,
Bretschnelder, p. 45;.

232

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 5', T902T.

speaks highly of its beauty in China, but in
England it has little claim to notice [?].
Flowers as large as those of the common
China Rose, semi-double, solitary, dull buff,
tinged with purple.

Lindley notices the same plant again in
Paxton Flower Gard. iii. (1852), 156, and names
it Rosa Fortuniana. It was first sent by
Fortune in 1845, to the Horticultural So-
ciety (Joum. Hort. Sue. i., 218). Some years
later he introduced it for Standish & Noble,
with whom it flowered. Fortune furnished
the following memorandum :—

" I discovered it in the garden of a mandarin
at Ning-Po, where it completely covered an
old wall, and was then in full bloom. Masses
of beautiful yellowish and salmon-coloured
flowers hung down in the greatest profusion.
The Chinese call it 'whang jang ve (huang
ts'iang wei)' or yellow Rose. The flowers
vary a good deal in colour. It is quite dis-
tinct from any other known variety, and
admirably adapted for covering walls."

Comp. also But. Mag., tab. 4679 (1852),
Fortune's double yellow Rose; Flore d.
Serres, viii. (1852), tab. 769; Revue Hort.
(1854), 41, tab. 3 ; Reyel, Monogf. Ros. in Act.
Petrop. v. (1877), 328, considers Fortune's
China yellow Rose to be a variety of R.
einica, Murr.

SOUTH AFRICA.

FRUIT GROWING IN THE TRANSVAAL.

The fruit crop this year is a splendid one,
for which we may thank the fine rains which
fell in October, when the orchards were in
bloom. Our rainfall for the last four months
was :— October, 5-43 inches; November, 4-12 ;
December, 4"41 ; January, 7'64. The Johan-
nesburg market is amply supplied by orchards
six miles from town — another proof of the
repeated assertion that this town and its
suburbs is an oasis in a desert of uncultivated
ground. And yet, when the Transvaal was
first settled, this part of the high veld was
looked down upon by the Boers as worthless.
The soil was poor, grass scanty, water scarce,
the winter was hard, and there was no shelter
for stock, as native trees were wanting. But
the soil has been tilled by brains and gold,
and as a result, we see to-day vast forests
and gardens and m*chards yearly extending
all round the city of Johannesburg.

Beginning with Cherries early in November,
we next have superb Apricots, Peaches, Necta-
rines, Plums, Grapes, Figs, Apples, Pears, and
Quinces. And from Barberton, on the way to
Delagoa Bay, come very good Pine-apples,
Bananas, Mangos, Oranges, and Guavas. This
season Japan Plums have appeared on the
market in quantity for the first time, and the
more we see of this class of fruit the better
they impress us ; Satsuma, Kelsey, Boton,
Ogon, Burbank, we have fruited them all. The
crop of Green-Gage Plums is a very good one
this year ; so also is Standard of England
Plum, Damsons, and Agen, French or Cali-
fornian Prune. The Peach stock is the best
for nearly all Plums in our light. soils.

This is pre-eminently the country for the
Peach, for it is the only introduced fruit which
springs up self-sown, therefore we may assume
that it is perfectly at home here. The varieties
grown are European, American, and selected
seedlings raised locally. Only now we begin to
value EarlyCrawford Peach as a canning variot y.
The St. Helena, or large yellow Clingstone, is
the latest Peach ; it is a fine one for jam, and
a very good stock for budding Plums and

Apricots on. For size, flavour, appearance,
hardiness, vigorous growth, and freedom from
maggots in the ripe fruit — that curse of the
Cape and Natal — the Peach is a universal
favourite. The only insect pest known is
green-fly, which attacks the young leaves ; but
this may be checked by syringing with
paraffin and soft-soap much diluted.

The Apricot comes next to the Peach in free-
dom of growth and regular bearing. Cherries
we are only beginning to cultivate ; but the
deep, dry sandy loam which is our prevailing
soil seems to suit Cherries and Spanish
Chestnuts exactly. Much trouble has been
caused in past years by planting Cherries
which were budded on a suckering stock
which spread everywhere, but we have learnt
better now. Our soil is somewhat too light
for Apples and Pears, but in a heavy, black,
moist soil, such as is found near spruits and
rivers, these two fruits do very well. There
are exceptions to every rule ; the most expe-
rienced man finds every season fresh to him,
every walk in the country, every visit to a
farm, garden, or nursery raises new questions
and suggests fresh ideas ; and so this season
we have been surprised to find Apples bearing
heavily on a poor, moist, white sandy soil, and
Quinces fruiting well in a situation we took to
be far too dry to mature such a moisture-
loving fruit.

Pigs love a rather hot, moist aspect to fruit
well, but in a cold, dry, windy, exposed spot
they fruit very sparingly. Grapes do very
well, if suitable varieties are selected for
planting. This is not a wine making country,
as the term is understood in France, Cali-
fornia, the south-west districts of the Cape,
and many parts of Australasia, because pur
winter is dry and summer wet — just the re-
verse of the seasons in the above-mentioned
countries. But there are some imported
European Grapes which thrive very well on a
trellis, what is called Chasselas, Sweetwater,
green and black and crystal ; these are very
vague names, but I give them as given to me.
The native hybrid American Grapes, as grown
in the Eastern States, for eating and wine-
making, do admirably on the high veld, and
should be grown by everyone who has a back
yard or piece of spare ground.

Strawberries require irrigation and a heavy
moist soil ; we must confess we have been
unable to grow a good Strawberry here. Cape
Gooseberries (Physalis edulis) can strongly be
recommended as a paying crop. In frostless
parts they are perennial, but hereabouts they
must be treated like Tomatos. Melons, neither
sweet .nor water, like our wet summer, still
fair specimens are to be bought which have
been locally grown. A dry, hot aspect and
sandy soil suit Melons best.

The price of fruit in the shops is still much
too high. Two shillings a dozen for Peaches,
and sixpence each for Bon Chretien Pears
seems exorbitant. Altogether, the prospects
of fruit-growing in the Transvaal are very
promising. R. IV. Adlam, Curator, Joubert
Pork, Johannesburg, January 29, 1902.

Gerbera Jamesoni.
In your issue of December 21, 1901, p. 450,
reference is made to the Barberton Daisy
(Gerbera Jamesoni). It may interest your
readers to know that it grows amongst mag-
netic stones ; so powerfully magnetic are these
stones, that running one of them along the
edge of a table, a needle will as rapidly follow.
Mr. Charles Ayres, the nurseryman, of Cape
Town, who some years ago sent home so many
Richardia Pentlandi, on returning from his
excursion after the above plant, was asked by

the magistrate of Barberton to accompany him
to the spot where the G. Jamesoni grew, and
he collected as many as his means of transport
permitted, simply pulling up the plants, and
stuffing them into sacks. After several days"
journey they were none the worse, and after
pulling the plant to pieces, he dispatched most
of them to England, along with the collection
of bulbous plants, which form an item of his
world-wide business.

Cape Peninsula.
A few gardeners are always in request
here and other parts of South Africa. Ambi-
tious young men frequently drift into othei-
profitable employment. Mr. Chalwin, of the-
Municipal Gardens, would always be ready to
advise; and Mr. Charles Ayres, nurseryman,
always takes an interest in new arrivals. He
came out to Cape Town to a gardener's situa-
tion, and is now a flourishing nurseryman and.
florist, with a good balance at his bank — an
old man of the late John Fleming's, of Clive-
den. All men in South Africa do well, if they
stick to their business. I have never met with
a more prosperous community than the mer-
chants of all grades doing business in Cape-
Town. The postmaster from Somerset West,
who has just called upon me, says this pros-
perity is not confined to Cape Town ; it is the
same all over the country. Should the big;
irrigation scheme be carried out, South Africa
will be the paradise of the universe. It is.
well that it should be understood gardening;
here is not as it is at home. A man should be
ready and willing in a nursery to take a share-
of the work all round, from the potting-sheck
to the packing-shed ; and in a private place-
from the spade to the water-hose. Those who
feel such work degrading, had better remain at,
home, where a gardener is somebody, and not
go to a place where his knowledge is more-
wanted than appreciated. Peter Ban; V.M.H.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

CUT FLOWERS. — It is a common experience
that some flowers will not keep well in watei-
even for one day. Not only does the blossom.
not last, but the whole thing withers as if the
stalk did not reach the water. By the know-
ledge of a few simple facts much disappoint-
ment and vexation of this sort may be avoided..
In the first place, all flowers should be put iu
water as soon as they are cut. If left out of
water for some time, the flowers are parting
with their moisture, and not only have they to
make up lee-way when put in water, but the
cut ends get dried and shrivelled, with the
result that some of them have a much lessened
power of absorption. Where this has hap-
pened, a half- inch or so should be cut oil
the ends of the stalks immediately before-
putting them in water. This is an excellent
thing to do with flowers which have been tra-
velling, and in addition to this it is advisable
to inunerse them for an hour or two in a pair
of water up to their heads — if the water is
tepid so much the better. Some flowers, like
Poppies, Stephanotis, Convolvulus, and some
Campanulas, which have a milky juice, need a
little extra care, as the juice sometimes solidi-
fies as it dries at the end of the stalk, and so
impedes the rise of water up the stem. For
these and similar flowers it is necessary to
split the cut ends a little way immediately
before putting them in water, when the milky
juice- is washed out. Lenten Roses, and some
perennial Sunflowers and Gaillardias, are often
very unsatisfactory in water ; but if the stalks
are split a good way up, and the whole of the
split portion kept* in water, they will be
found to last as long as anything else, and
longer than many things. It is the flowers
with woody stems that often present the-
greatest difficulty — Lilac, Gueldres Rose,

April 5, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

233

Spiraea, tall pieces of perennial Phlox, &c. In
addition to cutting the ends off the stalks im-
mediately before putting them in water, some
recommend peeling the bark off for a couple
of inches from the end ; some, slitting the
stems a little way up; some, loosening the
bark for an inch or so, but not removing it ;
and others, cutting the ends off with a long
slanting cut. All these are more or less
effectual preparations of woody-stemmed flowers
for vases, some answering better to one form
of treatment, and some to another. This sort
of thing has to be learned by experience.
Some of the water-loving flowers, too, are
difficult to keep alive. Our English Horse-
tails (Equisetunis), some of the tall Water-
reeds, the Water Plantain, and many others,
will only succeed when cut if several inches
of the stem be immersed, and little notches
made along the stem so immersed ; one notch
in the upper part of each internodal portion,
so as to let the hollow stem be tilled with
water. Though it is a very bad practice to
recommend, there are some of the wild flowers
which almost refuse to live in water unless a
portion of the root is pulled up with them.
This is notably the case with scarlet Poppies,
which, if gathered in this way — the whole stem
with a piece of the root attached — will live
well, and many unopened buds will untold.
As there is no fear of exterminating the
flower-lover's gaudy friend and the farmers'
enemy — Papaver Rheeas, it may safely be
quoted as an instance where this practice is
successful. Certain others, however, which
answer well to this method, I refrain from
mentioning, as they are too delicate and
modest, and withal, not sufficiently plentiful
to justify or excuse such radical destruction.
Alger Petts.

MELONS AND LONG TRANSIT.— I do not think

the transit of Melons per rail some 250 miles
can at all affect their flavour, as to cover even
such distance, the fruit n^ed not be packed
more than eighteen hours. There have been
very few Melons sent to the Fruit Committee
from Mr. Mclndoe, whilst some other growers
have sent many new ones. But even of those
which have to come short distances, few are
found to be good enough, whether in flesh or
flavour, to obtain an Award of Merit. No
fruits are more uncertain than Melons, and
those that have beautiful firm and appearance
externally, may when tasted prove to be very
unpleasant in flavour. It seems impossible to
find a certain reason for this unreliability,
because not in all cases are thrips or spider
prevalent, or fruits cut before ripe, or from
other causes of deterioration. Probably the
reason why so many new Melons are of such
indifferent quality is, that there is far too
much of in-and-in breeding. A. D.

FRUITING OF SCHUBERTIA GRANDIFLORA. —
When employed in the gardens at Ashton
Court, near Bristol, a plant of this species
grew freely on the back wall of the stove, and
flowered and fruited well. It is a useful plant
for cutting, though it is not generally known
in gardens. At the last York Show, the
flowers shown by one of the exhibitors were
greatly admired. A. Shipway.

lilium giganteum. — My own experience
of the behaviour of this Lily, and its suc-
cessful cultivation in some gardens in the
open, in the main agree with that related
by " S. W. P.," Kingswear, South Devon
(see p. 124 of Gardeners' Chronicle). Indeed,
the only point of difference applies to the
soil in which the plant was grown. Not
that a stem of 13 feet in height was ever ob-
tained, or that still more glorious, if not,
indeed, unique crop, for this country at least,
of fifty flower-spikes, for this must have been
an extraordinary, unrivalled picture ; still
there were enough flower spikes, varying from
7 feet to 10 feet in height, to show that not
only may this Lily be grown in the open, and
without that dense shade said to be more or
less essential by Mr. Mallett, but to demon-
strate that it may be grown under far more
ordinary conditions than is usually supposed.

My experience of the plant was not of one
growing in a favoured locality, like the Cornish
garden referred to, but in a garden barely
6 miles from Charing Cross, and the success
attained should encourage residents in the
suburbs of London to attempt its cultivation.
It was an upland garden at Sydenham, and the
time about twenty-five years ago. At this
time, trustworthy information concerning this
Lily and its requirements was not so readily
obtainable as now, but, judging from what
I had seen of pot - grown examples, I
decided to afford it a heavy soil, namely,
that including clay, that had been taken
out when making the railway tunnel at Penge.
It was a very unsuitable soil for Lilies, but
was rendered suitable by the addition of
potting-bench refuse soil, and leaf mould from
the adjacent wood. The borders, banks, and
slopes were formed of this clay, and garden-
ing, so far as choice plants was concerned, was
an expensive matter. The border in which
the Lilium giganteum grew consisted of this
kind of clay, in which, however, a plantation
of Laurels appeared to be quite at home. A
thin shade from Birch trees fell over the
western side of the border, but every other
part was fully exposed to the sun. The bulbs
were planted in pots in the month of May, and
when established they were transferred to the
border. The bulbs at that time would be three
or four years old. Progress was satisfactory
beyond expectations, and every bulb flowered,
namely, twelve in the first year, a few in the
third, and the remainder in the fourth year from
planting. The only protection afforded in the
winter was a moderate mulch of dry Oak-
leaves or Beech, and as the young leaves
appeared in the spring, twigs of Laurel or Box
were stuck into the ground around in order to
ward off frosts. I regard seedlings of three
years or four years old large enough to plant,
and particularly when planted from pots as
fairly established examples. In this manner,
another three or four years — better if live
years — must elapse before the flowering stage
is reached. Vigorous as the plant is, frequent
applications of liquid-manure in the growing
season are good lor it. E. Jenkh.s, Hampton
Hill.

iris reticulata. — I send a bloom of Iris
reticulata which seems to be the fusion of two
flowers. It has twenty-two parts, and the
obliterated fall may be clearly traced, caught
in the sheath from which, under ordinary
circumstances, the second flower would have
emerged. It miy possibly be of interest in
connection with the case of a flower of Iris
persica, mentioned on p. 90 of the current
volume of the Gardeners' Chronicle (February 8,
1902). The flower there noticed had twenty-
four parts, and this fact is said to be against
the supposition that it originated in the union
of two flowers, and " twenty or some smaller
number" to be usual in cases of fusion.
M. J. W., March, Cambridgeshire. [A section
across the ovary clearly showed the union of
two flowers. Ed.]

iris reticulata major.— After readiDg the
note by your correspondent, Mr. J. ('. Tallack,
I can corroborate his remarks as to the fact of
I. reticulata major being earlier than the type.
We had the two varieties on a narrow south
border, and in our case I. reticolata major was
at least a fortnight earlier than the type, and
justified its name of I. r. major. H. M., Newbury,
March 25, 1902.

asparagus sprengeri. — Your correspon-
dent Mr. H. T. Martin has at various times
called attention to miny useful decorative
plants. His note in the Gardeners' Chronicle
for March 8, p. 165, is not the least important
of these reminders. Mr. Martin says that
liberal treatment is required to ensure growths
i to 5 feet in length. I am not penning this
note with the object of pulling his remarks to
pieces, but to assure anyone who will give
Asparagus Sprengeri a basket, say 2 feet in
diameter and 18 inches in depth in which to
grow, the basket being suspended in a stove
temperature, that it is, at all events with me,

quite an easy matter to secure growths 10 to
12 feet in length, and these are very useful
where decoration is carried out on a large
scale. The basket system, I think, is much
the best way of growing this highly orna-
mental plant, especially in tall structures,
where its beauty is seen to great advantage.
It flowers profusely here, and fruits also, and
I know of few plants that are sweeter when
in flower; a single well- flowered plant will
scent a very large house. Another most
useful variety is Asparagus deflexus, whoso
light, filmy growths are particularly effective
on a white cloth, and also for festooning
candelabra, &c. The growth of this with me
is much lighter than I have seen it elsewhere.
B. Ashton, Latham Gardens, Ormskirk.

anemone cernua. — For several years I
have regularly imported this plant from Japan,
put the roots in the ground, and seen no more
of them. Very possibly it is one of those
roots which Mr. Jenkins tells us can only be
saved by a little preliminary nursing in
cocoanut-fibre. Anyhow, last autumn I elected
to pot them, and to keep them under glass
through the winter. The first bloom has just
come out, and is very attractive. It is a
nodding bell, woolly on the outside, and of a
rich claret colour on the inside. If the plant
proves hardy, it will be very desirable ; it can
be bought quite cheaply in Japan. I note that
Mr. Arnott's experience with Eranthis hye-
malis and E. cilicicus is the reverse of mine.
This is a good thing, for it means that gardens
which are unsuitable for the one may be just
the thing for the other. For test purposes, 1
grow them both in open beds ; and whereas
E. hyemalis mostly puts up barren shoots,
every shoot of E. cilicicus bears a flower. I
give no protection ; the soil is very stiff, and
the plant increases at a great rate. A. K.
Bnlley, Neston, Cheshire.

ranunculus lyalli.— I am glad to report
that whereas I have never done any good with
seed of this glorious plant imported from New
Zealand, seed which ripened here last summer
on my own plants, and which was sown at
once, is now germinating excellently in a cold
frame. Sown under heat, it failed. A. K.
Bnlley, Neston, Cheshire.

WINTER- FLOWERING CARNATIONS. — The

correspondence in the Gardeners' Chronicle
upon the above subject has been very interest-
ing to me. I quite agree with Mr. Jennings
on p. 108, February 15: " The Carnation has
yet to be introduced that will compare with
Mrs. Leopold de Rothschild." The opinion t f
your correspondent, A. Hemsley, however,
does not seem to coincide with that of Mr.
Jennings or myself. Mr. Hemsley says (on
p. 103, March 8), "The spring-struck plants do
not have sufficient time for these side-shoots
to flower until the following spring." If that
is the experience of A. Hemsley, it is very
different to mine. Plants struck in January
and treated as Mr. Jennings advises, giving a
final stopping about the fiist week in August,
flower uninterruptedly here from the end of
September until the following May, and I
only use for the final potting 6-inch pots. 1
was told last November by a very eminent
authority, a lady, that she had seen thousands
of plants, but none to approach mine. I do
not say this in any spirit of egotism, but just
to show A. Hemsley that spring-st ruck planl s
can be flowered satisfactorily the following
winter. Between Mrs. Leopold de Rothschild
and the improved I'orin of Miss Joliffe there is,
in my humble opinion, a great difference, the
latter losing much by comparison with t In-
former. Countess of Warwick is line as a
winter-flowering crimson, and Winter Cheer
is the best scarlet I have yet found. Mis.
Lawson is a great favourite here, but what a
long timo the flowers need to develop! B, Asft-
ton, Lathom Gardens, Ormskirk.

A somerset garoen. — The winter has
been trying, but the promise of fruit-blossom
is great. Bulbs are very fine, owing to the
good ripening they had last summer. Romneya

234

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 5, 1902.

Coulteri lias stood the -winter -well, and is
shooting up freely. Oncocyclus Irises are a
feature here, and many good Daffodils are
promising well : Cernuus is just opening,
Madame de Graaf has been very fine. 1 find
Emperor, Empress, Shirley .Hibberd, and
Princeps do best in pots. Hyacinths are poor.
From a Somersetshire Garden.

the hall. — I am truly glad that the
horticultural hall is decided on. In the
flourishing state of the Society there is no
risk, and the plan is far better than the bad
and extravagant plan of buying a place in the
country which no one would ever visit. Berlin.
[We have letters to the same effect from dif-
ferent parts of the country, as well as from
abroad. En.J

' culture of hardy fruits. — Your corre-
spondent, A. W. Godwin, Derbyshire, is con-
servative in his views in the selection of varie-
ties, especially Apples and Pears, as of the
former he only gives sixteen varieties, kit-
chen and dessert included, and says this limited
number embrace " every " Apple necessary to
be grown. Surely this is a sweeping asser-
tion to make, even if your correspondent only
alludes to the North of England. Among
these are one or two kinds that I have always
understood to be much more reliable on warm
soils and in warm positions, notably Warner's
King and King of Pippins. The latter variety
your correspondent describes as unequalled as
a dessert fruit. 1 am afraid the majority of
cultivators hold quite a contrary opinion as to
its merits in this respect. Varieties of far
better flavour, which should be quite hardy in
the North, will be found in Kerry Pippin,
Court of Wick, Claygate Pearmain, Man-
nihgton and Wyken Pippins, Scarlet Non-
pareil, and Duke of Devonshire ; and I
should say the Ribston and Cox's Orange
Pippins and American Mother could be in-
cluded, if a situation can be given having a
good depth of loamy soil, with a subsoil of
sand or gravel, as your correspondent advo-
cates. All these are reliable bearers. And
as regards Pears, one can scarcely call
Duchesse d' Angouleme a good dessert variety,
and Beurre Ranee is more often suitable for
the kitchen than for the table, and this even
against a wall. Chaumontel is very uncertain ;
Louise Bonne of Jersey is classed as a late
Pear, but no doubt this is a clerical error, as
its season is October and early November.
Glout Morceau and Easter Beurre are de-
cidedly late Pears, and should have been
classed as such ; and one would have thought
that very excellent Pear Josephine de Malines
would have succeeded in Derbyshire, as it is a
very hardy late kind, and of good flavour
generally. Did space permit, I could extend
the list very considerably of both Apples and
Pears that thrive and ripen their fruits in the
open, and extend the supply in the case of
Apples ; and we down South should not care
to be limited to sixteen varieties of Apples
and fourteen of Pears for our supply through-
out the season. J. Mayne, East Devon.

plants. In the other ten houses, Cabbages
only are growing on the soil floor, just as if
in an open field. The Tomato-plants, with the
exception of one house, yet are in 10-inch pots,
and barely from 2 to 3 feet in height ; they
are generally a good selection from Comet.
The plants stand in rows of twenty across each
of the two houses, at 3 feet apart, hence there
are in each 200 of these rows, or a total Of
4,000 plants, whilst in the whole block of nine
houses there are no fewer than 30,000 ; that is
a number that will almost make one's hair to
stand on end. Wires are fixed tightly across
over each row of plants 7 feet in height, and from
these lengths of soft yarn depend secured to
the bamboo canes supporting the plants, whilst
yet young : what an enormous produce should
all these thousands of plants presently give.
All plants are kept free of side-shoots ; all are
carefully watered, and later, when producing
fruit, are fed with artificial manures. In the
tenth house, there are on stages an enormous
number, probably, some 00,000 plants in large
00-size pots, all stout and sturdy ; these are
being got ready to plant out in the ten other
houses, now occupied by Cabbages, when these
are cleared off. Holes are made in the ground,
about the size of a 10-inch pot, these are filled
with fresh soil and the plants put into them.
In this way, in due time, the whole of this
huge area of glass, becomes filled with
probably some 100,000 Tomato-plants ; really
it becomes a vast Tomato factory. The
Cabbages are planted out in the late autumn
as soon as the Tomato-plants are cleared off,
and very much as if in a field or garden.
They are, just now, materially in advance of
the outdoor breadths, and should be all sent to
market ere any outdoors are ready ; cutting
is soon to commence. Of the many thousands
of plants, not a bolter was to be seen. The
crop is cleared in ample time to enable
Tomato-plants to follow. Cucumbers are
grown in great quantities in long, low span-
houses, well heated. A. D.

TOM AT OS AND CABBAGES
UNDER GLASS.

When, just recently, for the first time since
their erection, I looked over the huge range of
span-roofed glasshouses Mr. Alfred Smith put
up several years' since, at Feltbam, Middlesex,
I found the entire block of twenty houses to
be occupied solely with spring Cabbages, and
Tomatos in pots. The block comprises twenty
houses, each 600 feet long and 33 feet, or
exactly 2 rods wide ; the divisions are merely
brick piers to carry the roofs. As each pair
of houses covers nearly an acre of ground, the
block covers nearly 10 acres ; such a block of
glasshouses devoted to the culture exclusively
of Cabbages and Tomatos, shows something of
the nature of market-garden enterprise. Ten
of the houses have been heated with four rows
of 4-inch piping ; in these are the Tomato-

©bttuar^.

Mr. G. S. Jenman.— My dear friend and
your old correspondent, Mr. G. S. Jenman, the
Government Botanist, British Guiana, and
Superintendent of the Botanic Garden, George
Town, died on February 28, aged fifty-seven
years.

With him we lose one who had the best
knowledge of West Indian Perns of any bo-
tanist. I fear much of his work will now
never see the light. I was, as you know,
publishing in our Bulletin his Ferns of the
West Indies and British Guiana, but alas,!
I fear I shall never complete it unless I can
get his notes for the remnant.

He has long been in very bad health, so that
the end was not unexpected. He was a true
friend, a charming correspondent, and a tho-
roughly clear and accurate describer of the
Ferns he loved so well, making few mistakes
in nomenclature. Most of the species he
named have been accepted, sooner or later,
by other authorities. I have known him since
1875, or over a quarter of a century. He was
diffident and nervous in public, but in private
life he was replete with information on most
scientific subjects.

His name must always be associated with
the Demerara Botanic Gardens as that of their
first superintendent. He was just preparing
to take leave-of-absence from his official duties,
which he had performed for sixteen years
without a recess. J. E. Hart, Trinidad.

The Argosy of Demerara, March 1, in a
sympathetic obituary notice, says : —

Mr. Jenman was a native of the south of England,
but early in life he went with his family to the south of

Ireland, where his boyhood days were spent. When he
reached his youth, he selected horticulture as the
profession he was to pursue, and entered the world-
famous botanical gardens at Kew. There he remained
for several years prosecuting his studies both in theory
aud practice, with such success, that when a botanist
was wanted to take charge of the Cinchona Gardens.
Jamaica, the Choice of the authorities fell on the young
gardener from Ireland. After, spending several years
in that colony, Mr. Jenman was appointed Government
Botanist and Superintendent of the Botanic Gardens
of British Guiana, when these were instituted under
Government supervision in 1879 (August 21). Under
his care, the Gardens have been laid out and cultivated,
what was once to all intents and purposes waste land
being converted into one of the finest and most valu-
able botanical gardens in the West Indies. His experi-
ments in tropical culture extended over a large
variety of plants and growths, but what his name has
been most closely associated with are seedling Cane
experiments. At first, on his own initiative, and later,
on the arrival of Prof. Harrison in the colony, in close
association with the Government chemist, Mr. Jenman
carried out a long series of experiments which have
made the names of Harrison and Jenman almost house-
hold words wherever the Sugar-cane is cultivated.

[By the death of Mr. Jenman we lose a
valued correspondent, many of whose descrip-
tions of new Ferns were given to the public in
these columns. We had also the opportunity
of determining various species of Passiflora
and Aristolochia, which he confided to us for
the purpose, including the curious Mitostemma
Jenmanni, Passiflora deficiens, Aristolochia
longicaudata, and others. Ed.]

Mr. George Stevens. — The melancholy
circumstances attending the death of Mr.
George Stevens, at the St. John's Nursery,
Putney, are deeply felt by many who knew
him. He was for many years an active member
of the National Chrysanthemum Society, a
member of the executive committee from the
first, a member of its floral committee, and an
exhibitor at its shows. Owing to failing
health he retired from the Society a few years
ago, but he never lost his interest in its work,
or in the Chrysanthemum ; he was one of the
founders of the Putney Chrysanthemum Society.
As far as can be learned George Stevens was
trained as a gardener, and in the early sixties
he was engaged in laying out and planting
what was then known as the Duke of St. Albans
estate, on the left hand of the ascent from
Putney Town to Wimbledon Common, and now
covered with villa residences. He next went
into business at Putney, taking advantage of
the growing interest in the Chrysanthemum
after the introduction of the Japanese types.
He also grew plants and cut flowers for
market, the double white Chinese Primrose in
particular, and later he grew Carnations. He
had two florists shops in Putney, and grew
flowers for sale in these. He was a Fellow of
the Royal Horticultural Society, and for a con-
siderable time a member of its floral com-
mittee. Mr. Stevens had just come through a
long illness, and he had been greatly depressed
during the past three years, which was more
particularly manifested since the death of his
wife in October last. He was twice married,
and had no children, but was assisted in his
business by his stepdaughters. Mr. Stevens
was sixty-six years of age at the time of his
death. R. D.

FRUIT REGISTER.

DOYENNE D'HIVER.

This fine old Pear is well figured in the
Bulletin d' Arboriculture, etc., for February.
It is an excellent late variety, but requires a
south wall to do it justice. It has no fewer
than thirty-three synonyms, which shows that
pomologists live in a fragile dwelling, and
should not be too ready to rail at the botanists.

April 5, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

235

NEW INVENTIONS.

SELF-SUSPENDING BRACKETS.
* An invention of a very simple nature, useful
to gardeners who make use of portable hanging
shelves in forcing and greenhouses, which they
remove when summer comes. The bracket is
made in one piece, doubled on itself (not
welded together) in such a manner as to form
a loop by means of which it can be passed over
an iron rod, or dropped on to hooks screwed
into the principals of the roof. The shelf,
formed by two pieces of board meeting in the
middle, is dropped on to the horizontally
turned up ends of the bracket. The uses of
these brackets are manifold. The article, the
invention of Mr. Alfred Savage, East Ham,
London, is patented.

Societies.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.
Scientific Committee.

March 25. — Present : A. D. Michael, Esq., in the
chair; Rev. W. Wilks, Messrs. Vt'orsley, Douglas, Chap-
man, Nicholson, Odell, Druery, Hooper, Boulger, G. S.
Saunders, C. G. Shea, Drs. A. B. Rendle, Hugo, Mtiller,
M. C. Cooke, and Masters.

Narcissus Disease. — Rev. W. Wilks brought specimens
in which the bulbs and roots appeared healthy, but
the leaves turned brown, and decayed from the tip
downwards. The malady is stated to be widely diffused,
but at present no light has been thrown upon its
cause.

Hybrid Trop;eolum, <0c— Mr. Worsley showed flowers
of a hybrid raised between T. Lobbi and one of the
garden Tropa?olums. A hexamevous flower of aTydea
was also shown, in which the stigma was trifid. A
zonal Pelargonium was exhibited in which the edge of
the leaf was bordered with red, as happens in decaying
leaves, whilst the flowers, usually white, were in this
case suffused with salmon-pink in the centre.

Diseased Violets. — Some specimens from the Moor
Hall Gardens, Harlow, in which the leaves were
shrivelled, but in which the root-development was
very satisfactory, were referred to Mr. Douglas for
examination and report.

Proliferous Strawberry.— Mr. Hooper showed a co-
loured drawing of a Strawberry, in which small plants
were developed on the receptacle in the place where
'he "achenia" ought to be (see Vegetable Teratology,
p. 116). . .

Sickly Palms.— Mr. Odei.l showed further specimens,
which confirmed the opinions expressed at the pre-
ceding meeting.

Jlites on Begonias.— Mr. Shea adverted to this subject,
and elicited the recommendation from the chairman to
burn the roots forthwith if they were attacked by mite.

Qrub on Rose, <£c, taken from a tunnel in a Pose Stem. —
Mr. Chittenden sent a specimen for naming, and this
on being submitted to Mr. Saunders has been detei-
mined to be the grub of some hymenopterous insect,
such as causes galls on Roses, especially the form
called Bedeguar, or Robin's Pincushion. Mr. Chitten-
den also sent the seed or pip of an Apple containing
two embryo plants — the supplementary embryo
having probably been developed from one of the
synergidat.

Pelvria in Cattleya.—Dr. Masters showed an illustra-
tion of regular peloria in a Cattleya which he had
received from Messrs. Veitch. In this (lower there
were three sepals of equal size and similar form; alter-
nating with these were three regular flat petals, the
lip being represented by a petal in size, shape, and
colour like the lateral petals. This flower is probably
a reversion to the earlier and simpler conformation
rom which the peculiar Orchid structure, as we now
know it, has evolved. The column was in the normal con-
dition. It is noteworthy that this llower was produced
from the same seed pod as the hybrid between Cattleya
Schroderse and Brassavola Digbyana1}. Evidences oi
the cross were very obvious in the normal flower,
whilst in the peloria the appearance was that oi a
degenerate Cattleya.

Cuacufa.— Dr. Bonavia sent a specimen; ol ;i shrub
from the Riviera, encircled by a Cuscuta, but tin'
species could not be determined.

Schizophylluni commune. — From Chiswick came a
fungus said to have grown on the " Panama Pear." The
fungus was determined by Dr. Cooke to be the above-
named species.

Pitcher on Leaf of Pelargonium.— Mr. Cooper sent a
specimen showing a funnel-shaped leafy cup in place
of the inflorescence (see Vegetable Teratology, p. 313, for
a similar production on the leaf of a Lettuce).

MANCHESTER AND NORTH OF
ENGLAND ORCHID.

March 6.— A numerously-attended meeting was held
on this occasion, and groups of plants were sent from
a long distance. Medals were awarded as follows :—

Messrs. Sander & Sons (Silver), Mr. J. Cypher (Silver-
gilt), S. Gratrix, Esq. (Bronze), W. Thompson, Esq.
(Bronze), and Mr. S. Allen (Bronze). Messrs. Low & Co
and Mr. D. McLeod received Votes of Thanks.

A. Wabhurton, Esq., contributed a beautiful Odonto-
glossum crispuin var. Luciani, which ranks with O. c.
apiatum and O. c. Pittianum in point of beauty
and gracefulness. A Gold Medal was awarded the
exhibitor.

Mrs. S. Gratrix exhibited a beautiful form of Odonto-
glossum x Loochristiense, distinct, each segment being
marked with a large blotch.

R. Briggs-Bury, Esq., exhibited Cattleya x Rosalind
var. superba, very finely coloured, and of good form.

Appended is the list of Awards :—

Odontoglossum crispuin var. Luciani, Gold Medal,
A. Warburton, Esq.

Odontoglossum crispum var.fcMrs. A. Warburton,
First-class Certificate, A. Warburton, Esq.

Odontoglossum x Loochristiense, First-class Certifi-
cate, Mrs. S. Gratrix.

Dendrobiumx Bryan (luteum and Wardianum), First-
class Certificate), S. Gratrix, Esq.

Dendrobium x Cybele West Point var., First-class
Certificate, S. Gratrix, Esq.

Dendrobium Backhouseianum,|First-class Certificate,
S. Gratrix, Esq. /

Odontoglossum aspersum, First - class Certificate,
W. Thompson, Esq.

Cattleya Rosalind superba, First-class Certificate,
R. Briggs-Bury, Esq.

Cypripedium Minos Gratrix's var., Award of Merit,
S. Gratrix, Esq.

Cypripedium Prince of Wales Lawrenceanumniveum,
Award of Merit, S. Gratrix, Esq.

Dendrobium nobile West Point var., Award of Merit,
S. Gratrix, Esq.

Cypripedium Miss Louisa Fowler, Award of Merit,
W. Thompson, Esq.

Odontoglossum Loochristiense nobilius, Award of
Merit, W. Thompson, Esq.

Odontoglossum Rossii majus var. Amesias, Award of
Merit, W. Thompson, Esq.

March 19.— The meeting on this date was held in
conjunction with the Royal Botanical and Horticul-
tural Society of Manchester's spring show at the Free
Trade Hall. There was a magnificent display, and the
entire committee were present, in addition to foreign
visitors, who were invited to assist.

Groups of Orchids were shown by O. O. WRKiLEV,
Esq.. consisting of a number of fine Dendrobiums for
which a Silver-gilt Medal was awarded.

S. Gratrix, Esq., had a unique collection of Lycastcs,
including choice forms of L. Skinneri and hybrids
(Silver Medal).

T. Statter, Esq., exhibited a fine collection of Den-
drobiums, including some fine forms of D. Juno, D.
splendidissimum, D.Ainsworthi,&s. (Silver-gilt Medal).

W. Duckworth, Esq., staged a handsome group,
containing good forms of Cattleya Trianrei, and nume-
rous good Dendrobiums (Silver Medal).

W. Thompson, Esq., staged a group of Odontoglos-
sums, in which a number of bright-coloured O. Pesca-
torei were remarked.

W. Watson, Esq., had a pleasing group, consisting of
Oypripediums. Dendrobiums, and Cattteyas (Silver
Medal).

R. Ashworth, Esq., sent a beautiful collection of
Odontoglossums, and a fine piece of Dendrobium ■
Cassiope (Bronze Medal).

Mr. J. Cypher received a Gobi Medal lor a tine group,
in which [were many beautiful species and varieties.
His Dendrobium nobile album was, perhaps, one of
the finest, and it was greatly admired, ii being, as
regarded form, far finer than D. n. virginale, the
flowers being substantial and well formed.

Messrs. Cowan & Co.. Ltd., were awarded a Silver-
gilt Medal forfa miscellaneous collection, among which
were some pretty plants. Mr. A. J. Keeling staged a
group of Oypripediums, and some good plai ts of
Dendrobium (Bronze Medal' Mr. J. Robson was
awarded a Silver Medal for a miscellaneout
Mes ' Sander .v. Suns had a number of beautiful
hybrids of Pliaius (Silver Medal).

Tho awards made on this occasion wereas follow

I'lusr OXASS I !] 'in tl VTKS,

iglossum crispum Queen Alexandra, R. Ash-
worth, I

Dendrobium nobile album, J. Cypher, Esq.

Cattleya Triamei Amesiana, Hugh Low & Co.

Odontoglossum Adriamci Wellsianum, M. Wells, Esq.

Lrelio Cattleya x Broomfield var., M. Wells, Esq.

Cypripedium x minus (Young's var.), R. Briggs-
Bury, Esq.

Lycaste Skinneri alba superba. S. Gratrix, Esq.

Odontoglossum crispum, Sherlock Holmes, J. Lee-
mann, Esq.

Odontoglossum crispum, Coronation, R. Ashworth,
Esq.

Odontoglossum Andersoniauum magnificum, R. Ash-
worth, Esq.

Awards of Merit.

Odontoglossum crispum Christopher, W. Thompson,
Esq.

Cypripedium x Eui-yades splendens, W. Thompson,
Esq.

Lrelio-Cattleya x Lucasiana, Hugh Low & Co.

Lycaste amabilis, S. Gratrix, Esq.

Dendrobium pallens, A. J. Keeling, Esq.

Dendrobium Ainsworthl var., A. J. Keeling, Esq.

Odontoglossum hybrid, R. Ashworth, Esq.

Odontoglossum X Adrianrei Lady Gladys, Charles-
worth & Co.

Cultural Certificate.

Dendrobium x Cassiope, R. Ashworth, Esq.

ROYAL BOTANICAL AND HORTI-
CULTURAL OP MANCHESTER.

March 18, 19.— The spring show under the auspices
of the above Society was held in the Free Trade Hall
on the above dates. The Hall does not lend itself to
the purpose, being much too dark, and artificial light
required throughout.

There was a good display, Orchids being a feature.
This section is dealt with in our report of the Man-
chester Orchid Society's proceedings.

Messrs. Dickson, Brown & Tait exhibited a magni-
ficent lot of Hyacinths and Narcissi, for which they
were awarded a Gold Medal.

E. Ashworth, Esq., Wilmslow, staged a very fine
collection of Orchids, some choice gems being shown.
A peculiar and rare plant is that shown under the
name of Dendrobium Ashworthiie ; in appearance it
looks very like an albino form of Dendrobium atro-
violaceum, which perhaps describes it best ; it comes
from the same country as -the latter, but it is recog-
nised by botanists as a true species. The entire collec-
tion was choice, and several rare plants were to be
seen. Dendrobium llilli was shown with five fine
flower-spikes.

O. O. Wrigley, Esq., sent a good collection of his
strain of Clivea miniata, a distinct and brilliant addi-
tion to the show (Silver-gilt Medal).

Messrs. R. Ker & Son, Aigburth, staged a number of
their fine varieties of IUppeastrum, which seem to
improve year by year (Silver-gilt Medal).

Messrs. Dickson & Roiiinson, Manchester, made a
good display with Narcissus.

Messrs. Cutuush & Son, Highgate, staged Ericas,
Boronias, Cyclamens, &0. (Silver Medal).

Groups of spring-flowering plants and bulbs arranged
for effect were staged by the Earl of Ellesmere (gr.,
Mr. W. B. Upjohn), 1st prize ; Jas. Brown, Esq., Heaton
Mersey, 2nd prize; and J. Walton, Esq., Newton
Heath, 3rd prize.

All the groups of Orchids mentioned in the Orchid
Society's Report were also part of the show. P. II'.

WARGRAVE GARDENERS'.

March 19. — Mr. A. S. Gait, F.R.H.S., the Berks
County Council Lecturer in Horticulture, gave, on the
above date, an address on " Horticultural Fads, Fancies,
and Fables." It was of a most amusing but instructive
character, and some excellent hints .were given, which
caused an animated discussion at the close of the
lecture. The lecture was divided under the heads
Mythical, Meteorological, aud Practical Curiosities.
Traveller's tales, weather-lore, gardener's iad- and
fancies, all came in for a good share of attention; and
a hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr. Gait for his
interesting lecture.

There were some good exhibits staged. Mr w. Pope,
gr. to ,1. P. Win ii:. Esq., was awarded a Cultural
Certificate for a fine group of Dendrobium nobile; and
Mr. W. Bazeley, of theTwyford Nurseries.a Certificate
of Merit lor a plant, a cross between a Clivia and an
Amaryllis. //. Coleby, Bon, Sec,

READING & DISTRICT GARDENERS'

MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT.

Thbbe was a good attendance ol members at the

.....ii |»e above A ocia i > hen Mr. w.

Townsi Ni>. of the Gardens, Sandhurst Lodge, Welling

,"' College Stal read a most practical and Inte-

re ting paper on " Hardy Flowering Shr
ireing"— a department of horticultu

236

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 5, 1902.

tliis gardener excels. Mauy questions were asked, and
an interesting discussion followed.

A fine display of flowers was made by the following
members, viz. : — Honorary exhibits, Mr. Townsend,
including flowering sprays of twenty-five of the varie-
ties of hardy flowering trees and shrubs mentioned in
the lecture; Mr. J. W. Tims, gr. to Mrs. Simonds, a
double-spathed Arum.

The entries for Certificates were made by Mr.
E. S. Pigg, gr. to J. T Strange, Esq , Aldermaston,
group of flowering plants, including a bank of Van
Zion, Princeps, and Golden Spur Narcissi, Cineraria,
greenhouse and star types, Hyacinths, and Azaleas.
Mr. F. Lever, gr., Hillside, a group of flowering bulbs.
Mr. House, gr. to W. Pole-Routh, Esq., Oakfield, three
fine specimens of Deulzia gracilis, measuring a yard
through; and Mr. W. G. Pi(i(i, gr., Treveroli, Maiden-
head, a plant of Dendrobium nobile.

gave some excellent hints as to how single-handed
gardeners might become successful. The lecture was
illustrated by specimen blooms of the leading English
and American varieties.

SCOTTISH HORTICULTURAL
ASSOCIATION.

This flourishing society, which seems to illustrate in
a remarkable manner the unity existing among all
classes of gardeners in Edinburgh and its neighbour-
hood, held a most interesting function on the 21st ult.,
meeting in large numbers, and dining in one of the
principal restaurants in the city by way of celebrating
the semi-jubilee of the society, it having been founded
in 1876. Its flow of prosperity must have passed all
hounds hoped for by its founders. It has now a mem-
bership of considerably over l.ooci, and a large reserve
fund ; and the chairman said it had one member
resident as far away as Demerara.

The chair was taken by Mr. C. Comfort, the Presi-
dent, a practical gardener of considerable ability, and
a forcible speaker; and among the company was Bailie
Hrown, the Senior Magistrate; ex Bailie Macdonald,
Chairman of the Dundee Horticultural Association ;
while Mr. Richard Dean was present by invitation as
representing southern horticultural societies. An
excellent dinner having been dispatched, the chairman
proposed the usual loyal toasts, followed by that of the
Lord Provost, Magistrates, and Council of Edinburgh,
which was responded to in sympathetic terms by Bailie
Brown, who dwelt upon the efforts made by the muni-
cipal authorities to beautify the town in many ways ;
the work being done by the city gardener, Mr. J. W.
McHattie, and upon the warm interest the Council
took in the work of the Association; and announced
the gift by the Council of a City of Edinburgh Victorian
Prize Silver Cup for competition at the Chrysanthemum
exhibition.

In a highly sympathetic speech, ex-Bailie Macdonald
proposed the Scottish Horticultural Association, allud-
ing to what is being done in Dundee in the same
direction. This, the toast of the evening, was spoken
to by the chairman in a manner which did himself and
the society great credit. He traced the history of the
society from its commencement, and showed that the
present proud position of the society had been se-
cured by the labours and hearty co-operation of the
members, who were bound together by the one bond of
common interest in horticulture, and were associated
in promoting a love for the garden and flowers; that
the commencement made twenty-five years ago was in
a small way, but that the satisfactory position occupied
by the Association that day was largely due to the
energy aud practical sagacity of the original founders,
among whom was the honoured name of the late Mr.
Malcolm Dunn.

In dwelling upon the exhibition part of the society's
work, the chairman stated that on the occasion of the
first show, so poorly was it supported that 18«. 6d. was
the amount of the takings at the doors; but now so
great was the measure of success which had come to
them that they now took the large sum of £600; and
when recently balancing up, they were able to give £lu0
to the Royal Infirmary, £50 to the Children's Hospital,
and the same amount to the Royal Gardeners' Orphan
Fund.

The toast of kindred societies was proposed by Mr.
R. W. E. Murray, aud responded to by Mr. R. Dean,
who met with a hearty reception from the company.
Other toasts followed, and the proceedings were pro-
tracted to a late hour, and were brought to a close in
the orthodox Scotch fashion. The tables were charm-
ingly decorated by plants and flowers contributed by
the firms of Mr. John Downie, Mr. Thomas Fortune,
and Mr. Matthew Todd.

CROYDON, KENLEY, AND PURLEY
GARDENERS'.

At the fortnightly meeting held at the Commemora-
tion Hall, Kenley, on Wednesday evening, March 19, a
paper was read on "Winter-flowering Carnations " by
Mr. J. Smith, manager to Messrs. Vernon & Murry,
market growers, Harlington, and formerly for six
years Carnation-grower at Sandringham. There was a
large attendance to hear an interesting and instructive
address upoa a popular flower. Mr. Smith being an
expert, little margin was left for discussion, and he

BRISTOL & DISTRICT GARDENERS'
MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT.

This Association held its meeting at St. John's Rooms,
Bristol, on Thursday evening, when Mr. Daniels, of
the Newport Gardeners' Association, gave a paper on
" The Cultivation of the Cineraria." Judging from the
discussion which followed Mr. Daniels address, if
was obvious that the Cineraria is very much in favour
with the gardening fraternity of the district, and as
the essayist remarked, it was deservedly popular on
account ol its free blooming qualities, making it an
indispensable plant for conservatory and house deco-
tion, especially the new type, " Cineraria stellata,"
which is extremely floriferous and most useful for
cutting.

IRISH GARDENERS' ASSOCIATION,
DUBLIN.

March 24.— The quarterly meeting of this association
was held at IS, D'Olier Street, Dublin, on the above
date, the President beingin the chair. After the trans-
action of the usual business, Mr. George Farmer, of
the Royal Botanical Gardens, Glasnevin, gave a very
instructive exhibition of lantern-slides of Orchids,
mostly of botanical interest. The pictures represented
some rare Masdevallias, Pleurothallis, Restrepias,
Maxillarias, Dendrobes, Malaxis, Cymbidiums,
Ciclogynes, &c. ; and also some general views
taken in the Gardens. There were capital pictures
of Daphne Blagayana, and of the rare Bornean
Pitehcr Plant (Nepenthes Rajah), which flourishes
so well in one of the cool Orchid - houses at Glas-
nevin. Mr. Farmer gave some interesting notes as
to the habitats, cultivation, and insect-fertilisation of
the various species illustrated, and was awarded a
cordial vote of thanks for his exhibition.

The Chairman, in his remarks, said he hoped other
young gardeners, and especially those connected with
their own Association, would take up photography, or
some other branches of study, and give the results to
their members in a clear and simple way, such as had
been adopted by Mr. Farmer for their benefit on that
evening, i 'orreapondent.

DEVON AND EXETER GARDENERS'.

At the last meeting of this Association, Mr. K,
Hodder, of I'onsonby Gardens, Torquay, was to have
read a paper on " A Stroll in the Garden," but owing to
domestic bereavement was unable to be present. His
place was taken by Mr. A. Hope (Hon. Sec), who gave a
resume of, and a commentary upon "The Rules of
J udging," published by the Royal Horticultural Society.
He drew attention to the great necessity there was on
the part of competitors to adhere closely to the con-
ditions of the schedule, and to bear well in mind the
respective values of form, quality, uniformity, colour,
and effective staging. In view of the forthcoming Rose
Show at Exeter of the National Rose Society, he quoted
what had been laid down as a necessary condiiion in
show Roses, and what should be avoided in selecting
specimens for exhibition.

The annual summer excursion will take place in
July, when Dartmouth and Totnes will be visited, vid
the River Dart.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

BOOKS: J. M., Boskoop. The Horticultural
Directory and Year Book, published at 12,
Mitre Court Chambers, Fleet Street, London,
E.C. ; also the Harden Annual, published at
37, Southampton Street, Strand, London,
W.C.

Chinese Lilies: Tixia. The flowers have
failed to open owing to the plants suffering
a check, but we are unable to say the cause
of this, having no knowledge of the treat-
ment yon have afforded them.

Cineraria stellata : R, M., Newbury. The
flowers are very pretty.

Contribution to R.G.O.F. : A. C. Your con-
tribution has been sent to the Treasurer, as
desired.

Cuttings not true to Name : F. H. P. If the
facts are, as you say they are, we should
think you have a valid claim against the
vendor. A solicitor would advise you.

Gardener's Appointment : H. Jacoby. No
charge is made. If intended for the current
week, the notification should be sent not
later than Tuesday.

FlG: F. B. The root is certainly dead, and
also covered with fungus spawn ; but we do
not think the fungus is the cause of death,
but only the consequence. Without knowing
more of the particulars, we cannot give an
opinion as to the cause of death.

Names of Plants: O. S. Retinospora obtusa
and Erica carnea. — T. C. 1, Chionodoxa
Lucilise ; 2, Choisya ternata. — M. B. We
are unable to name varieties of Roses with
certainty. — B. R. All but 2 are fine forms
of Odontoglossum triumphans ; 5, shows
a remarkable difference in having the callus
without the additional ridges on each
side, a very handsome and finely-formed
variety ; 2 seems to be of hybrid origin,
probably of the O. x loochristyense class,
although the flower is not yet developed.
It may be that when stronger, the plant may
exhibit more of the characters of O.
triumphans, and approach it so closely as to
render the difference of little importance.
The form and crenulation of the lip is the
chief distinguishing feature in the flower sent.
K. A. 1, Polystichum angulare ; 2, Asple-
nium Adiantum nigrum ; 3, Polystichum
aculeatuni ; 4, Lomaria spicant (Blechnum
boreale) ; 5, Lastrea rigida. — Orchid, Lasse-
i'ade. 1, Cypripedium villosum ; 2, C. x
Williarasianum ; 3, C. x Murillo ; 4, On-
cidium Marshallianum ; 5, Miltonia cuneata;
6, Cypripedium x Harrisianum ; 7, Odonto-
glossum triumphans ; 8, Cypripedium x
Atys ; 9, C. x Eismannianum. — J. 0., Preston.
1, Billbergia thyrsoidea ; 2, Hebeclinium
ianthinum ; 3, Eranthemum pulcheflum ; 4,
Anthericum lineare variegatum ; 5, Centra-
denia rosea ; 6, Strobilanthes (Goldfussia)
isophyllus. — /. P. Saxifraga (Megasea)
ciliata.

National Carnation and Picotee Society:
Mrs. Nix. The annual subscription is five
shillings, or more, at the option of indivi-
dual members. The hon. secretary and
treasurer is Mr. T. E. Henwood, Auricula
Villa, 16, Hamilton Road, Reading.

Peaches : J. M. W. The trees have set too
many fruits, and they have naturally cast-
some of them, and thus relieved the strain
on the energies of the trees. The brown
colour of the kernels is always found in
fruits that have been shed.

Rose-growing Commercially within Ten
Miles of London : V. C. C. Choose the
medium clayey loams of Essex or northern
Middlesex.

Vines : J. (1. ('. The Vine-leaves sent are
suffering from Brunissure of the French
(browning), caused by Plasmodiophora vitis,
closely allied to the slime fungus which
causes finger-and-toe in Cabbages. It not
only attacks the leaves, but the shoots. All
diseased parts should be removed and burnt,
and the Vines syringed with sulphide of
potassium, h oz. in a gallon of water, or with
the Bordeaux Mixture.

Vines ■ A. T. R. The leaves are attacked by
a fungus that destroys the tissues of the
leaves in patches, these patches dry up and
drop out, leaving holes. Apply the Bordeaux
Mixture, or sulphide of potassium (liver of
sulphur) at the rate of \ oz. to 1 gallon of
water.

Violets and 12° of Frost: A. P. No blooms
would expand during a frost of this severity.

Communications Received.— W. C— J. G.— J. B.— W. R.
— P. C. W. C— W. H. W.— C J.— W. M. W.— J. D. I.—
B. H. & Co.— H. W. \\\— F. A. P.— C. T. D.-W. A. G.,
Palermo— J. R., Florence-Sir M. F.— Tilia— E. F. L.,
Bournemouth— W. Chuck— G. H. W.— G. G.-J Tim- ,
son— W. E. B.— J. OB— R. D.— T. H— E. C— W. H. H.
--K. S.-A. W. G.— F. P.— H. L— H. T. M.— W. C— I
J. L. & Sons— J. Pentland.

(For Markets and Weather, see p. x.)

Supplement to the " Gardeners1 Chronicle," April 5, 1902.

Japanese Garden at Gunnersbur? House, Acton: photographed b^ J. Gregory.

April 12, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

237

THE

No. 798.— SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Aucuba, the 24!

Kooks—

Old-time Gardens ... 240

Thompson's Gar-
deners' Assistant . 240

Various ... 245,240
Botany, Medical ... 243
Oissia corymbosa at

Tregye 24.".

Coppin, Mr. F. J. ... 2j6
Klsagnus reflexa

plantation 245

Eucalyptus blooming
, in Isle of Arran ... 247
Euston Hall partially

destroyed by fire ... 246
Fisher, the late Mr.

Chas 247

Forestry in Ireland ... 244
Forestry —

The disease of Larch 238

Fruit, hardy 248

Gloxinias 218

Henry. Dr., dinner to,

at the Horticultural

Club 241

l.npagerias from the

open 248

J.awes, the late Sir J.B. 245

I.awn Mowers 2*7

Lilium giganteum ... 248
Melbourne Botanic

Gardens 24n

Melons after transit . 248
.Metropolitan Public

Gardens Associa-
tion 2)8

Middlesex County

Council 246

"' Nature Study " exi-

bition, forthcoming 245
Plants, new or note-
worthy—

Fritillaria askhaba-
densis 237

Leelio - Cattleva x
Gladys £33

Obituary—

Dcwar, R. M

Downs. John

Furze, Walter

Troughton, W.
Odontoglossumx Adri-
ans "Mrs. Robert

Benson "

Orchid Notes and
Gleanings—

Dendrobium x Ains-
worrhi vars.

Odontoglossumx
An dersonianuin
magnificum
Presentation to a

Gardener

Roots, gigantic
Scilly visited by H.M.

the King

Snowdrop, an Asia

Minor

Societies-
Brighton and Sussex
Horticultural

Linnean

Midland Daffodil ...
National Chrysan-
themum

Royal Horticultural
Surveyors' Institu-
tion

Stocktaking

Sundries !

Sutton, Mr. Martin ...

Swallows

Swanley Horticul-
tural College

Wallflowers

Week's Work, the—
Flower Garden, the
Fruits under Glass .
Hardy Fruit Garden
Kitchen Garden ...
Orchid Houses, the.
Plants under Glass .

249

248
248
248

246
245

246
247

251
245
245

246
249

246
241
246
246

246
247

243
242
243
243
242
242

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Cassia corymbosa at Tregye. Cornwall (Supplement).

Fritillaria askhabadensis 238

Odontoglossum Adriana? ' Mrs. Robert Benson "... 248

Peloria in Laslio-Cattleya flower 21-9

Portrait of the late Mr. Charles Fisher 247

Spray, Wood's Improved 241

LAWN-MOWERS.

WITH the returning spring, lawns,
whether extensive or limited, will be
needing attention and preparation for the
mowing season, and the machines should be
got ready for use whenever required. In
some localities the grass grows much earlier
than in others, and many need mowing
during March, but this work is not, as a
rule, general before April. It is not advisable
to begin earlier than is necessary, as sharp
frosts are often experienced in March, and
these may be injurious to grass newly
mown. Many lawns become somewhat
patchy and untidy when the grass grows
irregularly, but this does not get very much
worse if left alone until general growth
begins, when the scythe should be passed
over any of the worst places in advance of
the mowing-machine.

In nearly all gardens the use of lawn-
mowers has become general, almost to the
exclusion of scythes ; and there are so many,
both in variety and varying sizes, to be pro-
cured, that their use is not to be wondered at.
For instance, the circulars of three well-
known firms of manufacturers, recently re-
ceived, each include machines from (J inches
up to 48 inches. As a general rule, those
cutting under 12 inches are only to be recom-
mended for small lawns or tennis courts, and
to amateurs who prefer to use the machine

themselves. Horse-machines, cutting 42 ins.
and 48 ins., are full large, unless the lawns
are extensive and the ground fairly level, or
with long, gentle slopes. Perhaps the most
useful size for general use in gardens is
12 inches, which is convenient for working
almost anywhere on terraces or amongst
flower-beds, and could be used by a man all
day, and moved from place to place by him
without further aid. The statements by
makers that a given size can be worked by
a man, man and boy, donkey or pony, &c,
may be accepted in some instances, but
they should be taken rather as extremes ; a
great deal depends on whether the lawn is
level or otherwise.

Machines of different makers differ more in
details of construction than in the general
principle adopted for cutting grass, which is
still that of a fixed horizontal blade, with
which the spirally arranged cutting blades
come into contact when revolving on what is
called the cylinder. The number of knives
varies in different machines, some being- placed
wide apart and fixed to revolve very rapidly
for the special purpose of cutting long or
rather rough grass. It is more satisfactory
for the knives to be somewhat wide apart and
to revolve rapidly lather than too close, as
there are often patches of grass which are
thicker and higher than the rest, and the
knives get choked, and do not deliver the
grass into the box.

Many machines are worked by cog-wheels,
others by chain-gearing, the former being the
stronger of the two, and it works at a greater
speed, so that fewer cutting knives are requisite
on the cylinder. Some people are partial to
one kind of gear and some the other.

When the machine is first used in spring,
the blade ought to be regulated, so that it does
not cut too low, by means of the front rollers,
which can be adjusted to the height desired.
The knives should always work quite evenly
all along the ledger -plate, and this can be
tested by means of a piece of paper, which
should be cut easily in any part. For ad-
justing the knives there are screws in many
machines above and below the bearings which
support the cylinder ; but in others, strong
springs are put beneath and screws above, so
that it is only necessary to move the latter
with a spanner in order to lower or raise the
knives.

Occasionally provision is made for substi-
tuting side rollers for the front ones, and
there are machines specially fitted in that
way for cutting long grass. Some people
dispense with the grass-box, which naturally
lightens the machine for working, but does
not answer very well when the crop is heavy,
and leaves an untidy appearance from the
grass being left on the ground. If the cy-
linders are reversible, and the knives become
dull at any time, the cylinder can be taken
out and changed end for end, which will
cause the unused edges to come in contact
with the cutting plate.

it is most importantthat all mowing-machines
be kept clean and well oiled — that is, cleaned
each time after being worked, and proper oil
that is suitable for machinery must be used.
Only an intelligent and careful man is fit to
be entrusted with their management, and he
should, if possible, always look after them.
All machinery requires care and cleanliness,
though this seems often to bo forgotten with
lawn-mowers that are not infrequently left
exposed to the weather, and the knives
corroded with dried grass, dirt, and rust. It
is never advisable to take them any further
than is necessary along a road, and if they

have to remain outside, a dry platform and a
dressed waterproof cover should he provided.

A man who manages a lawn-mower ought to
know how to adjust the front rollers and
cylinder, and alter either if the work is
unsatisfactory. It is best to stop immediately
if anything is going amiss, especially if work-
ing with a horse. Whenever a breakage
occurs, the part can generally be replaced by
applying to the makers ; and when a machine
requires a general doing up it is, in most
country places at least, advisable to take a
similar course, and get it done in the winter.
This is not always requisite every year,
especially when cutters are reversible ; but,
of course, much depends on the amount of
wear-and-tear, and whether the machine is
used daily in summer, or only once or twice a
week. The expense, including carriage, is
quite sufficient, without having it done more
often than is necessary.

At this season there is a good deal of work
in preparing lawns for the machine, such as
rolling, sweeping with a birch-broom, and
picking up all stones that invariably get
thrown on the grass from a carriage-drive.
Small pieces of flint or pebbles are more dan-
gerous than softer stones. If these come in
contact with a knife it may be bent or a piece
broken out, and this is not an easy thing to
put right. A Gardener.

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

FRITILLARIA ASKHABADENSIS.*

(See fig. 74, p. 238.)
This new Pritillary is of great interest, as
being a second species of the subgenus
Petilium, which up till now has only been
known to be represented by a single species,
the Crown Imperial. The present plant has
similar leaves and inflorescence to the Crown
Imperial, but the flowers are smaller (pale
yellow slightly tinged with green), with
oblong obtuse segments (in the Crown Impe-
rial they are oblong-rhomboid), with a small
round green nectary, concave as viewed
from the face of the segment, and slightly
convex when viewed from the back. It was
exhibited at the Drill Hall recently by Miss
Willmott, V.M.H., and naturally excited much
attention. It was discovered by Sintenis, near
the village of Kasakala, near the town of Ask-
habad, growing in calcareous soil, at an eleva-
tion of 1000 metres above sea-level. These
two places are not in Persia, as M. Micheli
had supposed, but over the border, in the
Trans-Caspian province of Russia. When M.
Micheli exhibited to the French Horticultural
Society on February 27, they gave him a first-
class prize, with special congratulations, and
a First-class Certificate of Merit.

Description. — Bulb globose, under 2 inches
in diameter, with copious scales and copious
cylindrical root - fibres. Stem robust, gla-
brous, erect, densely leafy, and green above
the brownish base. Leaves sessile, as-
cending, the upper linear and whorled, the
lower lanceolate, or the lowest oblong.
Flowers about five, pendulous, subvertieil-
late ; pedicels cernuous, under an inch long ;
bracts small, erect, linear ; perianth openly

» Micheli in Jnurn. Horl. Soc. France. 1902, p. 145.
Bulbo magno globoso squamoso ; fibris radicalibus
cylindricis copiosis; caule valido stricto ereoto
folioso ; foliis sossilibus nitidis viridibus, superioribus
linearibus soepc verticillatis rcliquis sparia lanceolatis
vcl oblongis ; floribus 6-8 protandris subverts ■ill.it Is
cernuis inodoris; bractcis linearibus parvis crcctis ;
peiiautbio campanulato pallide lulco viridi tinoto,
segment is oblongis obtusis prope basin ncctnrlo pirvo
viridi impresso pnnditis ; fllamcntis clongatls lineari-
bus; anthoris lincaribu9 pallide luteia; OVariO cy-
llndrato trlcarinato; stylo olongatu apicc trlcusptdato

238

THE GA RDENERS' CHR ONI CL E.

[April 12, 1902.

carnpanulate, pale yellow, with a greenish
tinge, above an inch long ; segments oblong,
obtuse, nearly half an inch broad, with a
small, round, impressed nectary just above the
base. Stamens nearly as long as the perianth;
filaments linear, slightly pubescent ; anthers
linear, pale yellow. Ovary cylindrical ; style
tricuspidate at the tip, not developed till
after the anthers. Fruit and seeds not yet
seen. J. G. Baker.

Lmuo - Cattleya x Gladys {Cogniaux),

hyb. nov.*
A new hybrid from C. Harrisoniana violacea
x Lfelia cinnabarina, raised in the houses of
M. Fournier, of La Cavaliere, Marseilles, by
M. E. Cleverly, head gardener, who desired
that it should be named after his daughter,
Mademoiselle Gladys Cleverly.

The sowing was made on March 28, 1898.
The flowers, which last for about two months
in perfect condition, appeared for the first
time in January, 1901, and again this year at
the same date. A. Cogniaux.

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

DENDROBltIM x AINSWORTHI VARIETIES.
The now bewilderingly large class of Den-
drobiums that come under the above heading
form one of the principal features in the
Orchid-houses in the spring months, their
showy, fragrant flowers being specially useful
for cutting. A pretty set obtained by crossing
D. nobile albiflorum and D. aureum is sent by
Mr. Shill, gr. to G. W. Law-Schofield, Esq.,

tinged with purple ; the middles of the petals
and bases of the sepals bear numerous small
red-brown spots, the sepals also having a
cluster of larger spots in the middle. The
shield- shaped fimbriated lip is apiculate,
cream-white with yellow disc, and one large
reddish blotch in front of the crest and small
spots on each side.

FORESTRY.

THE DISEASE OF LARCH.

I SEE it is proposed by one of your agri-
cultural contemporaries to institute further
inquiry into the Larch disease. The sug-
gestion comes, I have heard, from a well-
known professor of forestry and agriculture,

Caf^chr^.

FIG. 71.— 1'RITIU.UilA ASKHABADKN81S;: FLOWERS YELLOWISH OREAM-COLOUREI>. (SEE P. 237.)

Pseudo-bulbs monophyllous, or diphyllous.
Flowers from 2 to 3, width 9 to 10 cm.
Sepals and petals erect, spreading, very pale
rose, the centre marked lengthwise with a
deeper tint. Lip sulphur -yellow, with the
disc more orange, and a light rosy flush on
the outer surface. Column rose, of a darker
shade on the back, the fore part orange
towards the base.

* Laiio-Cattleya x Gladys— Pseudo-bulbis robustis,
fusiformibus vel clavatis, apice mono-diphyllis ; t'oliis
coriaceis, oblougo-ligulatis, apice oblique emarginatis ;
pedunculo commoni apice, 2—3 fle.ro, basi spatha
parva iucluso, foliis longioie ; iloribus majusculis :
segmentis ereeto - patulis ; sepalis ligubtis, aeutis,
lateralibus satis brevioribus falcatis ; pctalis oblougo-
laneeolatis, aeutis, subfalcatis, margiue leviter uudu-
latis, sepalo dorsali paulo brevioribus ; labello sepalis
lateralibus paulo breviore, ambitu late ovato-penta-
gono, profunde trilobato. lobis lateralibus columnam
ampleeteutibus, apice subrotundatis crispulis, lobo
terminali leviter recurvo. subrotundato, valdeconeavo
subeonduplicato, margiue valde crispo ; eolumna clavi-
formi, trigona, valde Incurva— Cattleya Harrisoniana
violacea X Lxlia cinnabar hta.

New Hall Hey, Rawtenstall, near Manchester,
who calls attention to the merits of the
variety called "Ethel Massy," which has
large yellow-tinted flowers, with a maroon
blotch on the lip. The other flowers all have
a slight yellow tint in the sepals and petals,
and some are tinged with rose colour.

Odontoglossum x Andersonianum

MAGNIFICOI.

For some time past the varieties of Odonto-
glossum x Andersonianum have not been
special favourites, unless in the case of re-
markable forms ; want of size and breadth of
petal are the chief blemishes. In the case of
O. x Andersonianum magnificum, a flower of
which is sent by Richard Ashworth, Esq.,
Ashlands, Newchurch, Manchester, the size
and breadth of petal of an ordinary O. crispum
are closely approached, while the beautiful
marking of the flower renders it specially
attractive. The flower is cream-white, slightly

and it has been suggested that the enquiry
should be taken in hand by the Board of Agri-
culture. Whether the object be to find out the
cause of the disease, or a preventive or cure
for it, is not clear. The latter seems to me to
be the most important, and the only thing to
be done if Hartig's theory of the disease be
correct. It has always seemed to me to ex-
plain everything ; but putting aside those
who dispute his statements on no tangible
grounds, I understand there are authorities
who do doubt his findings, and it would be
interesting to know on what grounds. I dare
say Professor Marshall Ward could tell us
how the matter stands. In his translation of
Hartig, he appends a foot-note stating that the
Peziza Willkomii, though often overlooked, is
quite common on diseased Larches in England
and Scotland, with all the characters and
relations to the blisters — which is true, only
the casual observer does not often find it
unless the little fructifications are present,

April 12, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

239

and late autumn is the season -when they are
most abundant.

Many foresters have got confused about the
cause .of the Larch-blister, and confound cause
and "effect with'regard to it. For what we do
know about the fungus which, according to
Hartig, causes the disease, we are indebted
to, the Germans. In Brown's Forester, last

wound) there can hardly be any doubt,
although, owing to some as yet unexplained
cause, the disease to the Larch does not
always lay hold with the same virulence
under these conditions.

This brings me to the point that I would
like to deal with. It has been supposed that
the Larch disease is worst in Scotland, and

in the older woods close by, the Larches were
quite sound. The whole neighbourhood is a
Fir-tree county, all the Firs doing well, in-
cluding the Larch, until disease attacks it,
young trees making annual leaders over 3 ft.
long, a length I have only seen exceeded on a
similar soil in Leicestershire, where numbers
of trees were making shoots over 4 feet in

Fig. 75. — pkloeia oi; i.klia diobyana ?, x cattlkya schuoder^? $. (see

2:S5 IN OIR LAST ISSUK.)

original edition, issued in 1882, it is not even
mentioned, and one is left to guess what the
author means by the Larch disease. He calls
it the " unhealthiness prevailing" in Larch
plantations, and evidently had never so much
as noticed the fungus. Foresters differ among
themselves as to whether late frosts or the
Larch-aphis are the cause of the disease, and
think the fungus is an after-consequence, but
that these agents cause wounds at which the
fungus enters (and, according to IIarti.tr. the
Peziza cannot enter the bark except at a

that the late frosts and snow-breaks arc the
two principal causes. That is a great mistake,
as the disease appears in its very worst form
in the South of England, where the frost is
less severe, snowfalls light, and where the
Larch reaches its maximum rate of growth,
and produces timber of the best quality.

A few examples may suffice. On the shore
near Bnettisham, in Norfolk, and not so very
far above high-water mark, there are, or
lately were, some of the worst diseased
plantations of Larch 1 have ever seen, although

length. The diseased Norfolk plantations con-
sisted of pure Larch, about seven years of age;
and the remarkable thing about them was, the
rapid manner in which the disease appeared
to have sproad over all the trees, both trunks
and branches being equally affected about tin-
same time. The .blisters appeared to have all
hurst < >u t almost simultaneously, not beginning
in the stem only and travelling up and on to
the branches; as it is supposed to do, and which
takes time. J. Simpson.

(To be continued.)

240

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 12, 1902.

MELBOURNE.

The descriptive matter, together with views
of the Melbourne Botanic Garden, recently
published in the Gardeners' Chronicle, were
ranch appreciated, and we have received
from many sources highly flattering letters
in consequence. "I do not think the Mel-
bourne Botanic Gardens ever looked better
than they do at the present time, and
never during my twenty-eight years as Di-
rector have I witnessed so many handsome
trees and shrubs blooming at once. The
shrubberies and groups are perfect masses of
colour. Of course, it must be admitted that
the season is exceptionally favourable for
such a display, as we are enjoying a fair
amount of rain, whilst as yet we have not
experienced any extreme heat.

8ome of the Australian Myrtaceous trees
and large shrubs almost dazzle the eye, so
splendid are the blossoms. The well-known
Eucalyptus iicifolia from Western Australia,
with its bunches of bright scarlet, crimson,
pink, and other shades ; also Eucalyptus calo-
phylla, another species from the same State,
bearing immense heads of pearly-white on
some individuals, and of rosy-red on others,
are most striking objects on the margin of
some of our spacious lawns of Buffalo-grass.
The Callistemons, too, having become huge
bushes of 10 or 12 feet high, and spreading in
proportion, are wondrous masses of scarlet,
maroon, or crimson and white. The same may
be said of the Melaleucas, some of which are
trees of considerable size. Melaleuca genisti-
folia, wherever it occurs in the landscape,
might well be likened to a mound of snow, for
not a leaf can be seen. Metrosideros robusta
and M. tomentosa are clad in deep crimson,
contrasting splendidly with their glossy,
dark olive-green foliage. The former is known
to the Maories as "Rata," and the latter
as " Pohutukawa," or Christmas-tree. In the
moist coastal ravines of New Zealand, the
latter plant develops adventitious roots, be-
comes in reality a parasite, and, like some of
our Australian Fig-trees when conditions are
favourable, envelops the tree, no matter how
large, upon which it is growing.

Well named indeed is Calodendron capense,
or wild Chestnut of the Cape of Good Hope.
It belongs to the order Rutaceae, and is a
noble umbrageous tree, foliage dark green,
and the extreme point of every strong branch-
let bears a large compact spike of fleshy pink
blossom. " Beautiful tree " it is indeed, and
several fine specimens which grace our lawns
are admired by every visitor. (See Gardeners'
Chronicle, Feb. 17, 1883.)

Some of the Erythrinas, or Coral-trees, have
sent forth massive spikes of scarlet, and one
group of these in particular is rendered more
glorious by its proximity to some fine speci-
mens of Grevillea robusta, whose branches are
laden with orange-coloured flowers.

Golden - yellow Cassias and Acacias are
abundant everywhere, often in delightful
contrast with boughs of Jacaranda mimosse-
folia bending with their weight of coerulean
blue-bells, or with Brazilian Bougainvillea
robed in royal purple.

But of all the glories of our garden at this
season, there is not, in the opinion of many,
anything which can eclipse the splendour of
the Flame-tree of New South Wales — Sterculia
acerifolia. Of this tree there are many speci-
mens distributed throughout the plantations,
and one which has attained some 30 feet in
height stands in the midst of some Date-Palms
— one gorgeous pyramid of intense vermilion.

Mr.Bailey,the Government botanist of Queens-
land, thought I had discovered a very distinct

variety, with narrow leafage and peculiar
bunches of rosy-pink blossoms, and named it after
me ; but alas ! the seedlings raised from it have
produced nothing better than (not one of them
is like the parent) mere shades of colour, such
as may be obtained from any tree in the
garden. Bees are always at work, and we
find a difficulty sometimes in determining the
difference between a coloured Eucalyptus
calophylla and E. ficifera — to begin with,
the seed-vessels of both resemble each other
in some respects. W. R. Ouilfoyle.

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

— ♦ —

Old -Time Gardens. Newly set forth by
Alice Morse Earle. A Book of the Sweet
o' the Year. (New York : The Macmillan
Company ; London : Macmillan & Co.,
Ltd.)

In adding to the many books of gardening-
lore and legend, Mrs. Earle has made a bold
venture. Yet we have nothing but praise to
offer, for the pages record the sentiments of a
genuine lover of plants and flowers, and are not
interrupted by irrelevant details of the author's
private life and predilections. The old-time
gardens referred to are, principally, those of
the so-called New World, which in this twen-
tieth century is already rich in memories of
the past. We have before us charming illus-
trations of gardens — real gardens, not neglected
yards, nor the formal appendages to mansions.

Mrs. Earle does not pretend to give scientific
information ; she chats pleasantly, communing
with herself and her readers. Botanical names
she loves not, yet owns that in many cases it
is want of familiarity that makes their sound
unwelcome.

There is sympathetic talk here of gardens
planted by settlers, often with seeds and roots
brought with them into exile, and carefully
tended for association's sake. Descendants of
the original colonists still keep up and treasure
this work of patience.

"Let me tell," says our author, "of two
Lilacs of sentiment. They bloom over the
grave of a fine old house, and the great
chimney stands sadly in their midst as a grave-
stone. • Hopewell,' ill-suited of name, was the
home of a Narragansett Robinson famed for
good cheer, for refinement and luxury, and for
a lovely garden, laid out with cost and care,
and filled with rare shrubs and flowers.
Perhaps these Lilacs were a rare variety in
their day, being pale of tint ; now they are as
wild as their companions, the Cedar-hedges.
Gathering in the front dooryard of a fallen
farmhouse some splendid branches of flowering
Lilac, I found a few feet of cellar-wall and
wooden house-side standing, and the sills of
two windows. These window-sills, exposed
for years to the bleaching and fading of rain
and sun and frost, still bore the circular marks
of flower-pots. ... A few days later 1 learned
from a woman over ninety years of age, an
inmate of the poor-house, the story of the
home thus touchingly indicated by the Lilac-
bushes and the stains of the flower-pots. Over
eighty years ago she had brought the tiny
Lilac-slip to her childhood's home, then stand-
ing in a clearing in the forest. She carried it
carefully in her hands as she rode behind her
father on a pillion after a visit to her grand-
mother. She and her little brothers and sister
planted the tiny thing, ' of two eyes only,' as
she said. . . . The puny slip has outlived the
house and all its inmates save herself, out-
lived the brothers and sisters, their children
and grandchildren, outlived orchard and gar-
den and fields. And it will live to tell a story
to every thoughtful passer-by till a second

growth of forest has arisen in pasture and
garden, and even in the cellar-hole, when even
then the cheerful Lilac will not be wholly
obliterated."

This extract is characteristic of the senti-
ment of the book. We might quote much more,
but this will sufficiently indicate the matter
awaiting the readers of these pages. There is
much reference to old English herbals, gar-
dens, and garden-lore, and frequent quotations
from prose and verse writers. The chapter on
sundials is sure to give pleasure, illustrated as
it is with many pictures.

There is still room for books, even on the
over-worked subject of gardens of romance,
provided that they are as original, relevant,
restrained, and generally pleasing as is this
volume.

Thompson's Gardeners' Assistant. (Pub-
lished by the Gresham Publishing Co.,
34, Southampton Street, Strand, London.
W.C. ; and at Edinburgh and Dublin.)

The fifth volume of this re-issue of the
older work embraces the treatment of all the
hardy fruits of our gardens, and that of the
Grape - vine, Pine - apple, Banana, Orange,
Lemon, and Citrus group generally ; Melon,
Cucumber, Tomato, and fruit-preserving, pack-
ing, and storing. There are four coloured
plates, including two varieties of the Peach,
three of Cherries, two of Melons, and two of
Tomatos. In every case of a variety being
mentioned a brief note is given embodying its
chief characteristics, and remarks as to crop-
ping, training, forcing, season of ripening,
and behaviour of the tree and its fruits,
besides a quantity of miscellaneous in-
formation not admitting of classification.
This rule is followed throughout, and excellent
illustrations are inserted in the text, mostly
prepared from photographs. Thus the Apricot
is represented as a standard fan-trained and a
dwarf fan-trained tree, and the kernel cavity
is shown of different varieties to show differ-
ences of form, and entire fruits shown for a
like purpose.

The chapter on Figs in pots, and on varieties,
is well worth reading by the young practi-
tioner. Cordon Gooseberries are recom-
mended, and illustrations given of some of the
methods of training. The Strawberry has a
number of illustrations to itself, one of them
indicating average sizes of about a dozen
different varieties ; but we must protest
against the excessive number of varieties
described, many of which ought in fairness to
dealer and gardener to be consigned to the
rubbish-heap, and a severely select list given
instead. Elton Pine, described as being acid,
most persons would call decidedly tart, and
only passably eatable when preserved. We
note a chapter on Filberts and Cobs, including
a list of ten select varieties, as also one of
Walnuts.

The Date-Plum, Diospyros kaki, which can be
successfully grown in our warmest counties,
has a chapter to itself, and a select list of
varieties is furnished. As might be supposed,
the Grape-vine comes in for very full treat-
ment, and numerous illustrations assist the
reader to an understanding of the text.

The different methods of cultivation pursued
in English gardens are given, these including
open-air cultivation in fields and on walls, in
vineries, and in pots under glass. The de-
scriptive notes on varieties are especially
valuable, and the selection of varieties admits
of but one improvement, and that is in 1
reduction of the number.

Readers will be surprised at the amount of
matter devoted to the Tomato, and those who
are acquainted with the latest introductions

April 12, 1902.]

THE GARD ENER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

241

■will wonder at the omission of the most trusty
out-of-doors varieties, namely, Sutton's Early,
a nice fruit, with s did pulp, and almost as
early. as Earliest- of- All : Mortimer's Peerless,
a great cropper, and smooth of outline; and
Magnum Bdiiueu, next in point of earliness to
Earliest-of-All.

There is a very good chapter on fruit pre-
serving, together with figures of apparatus.

SUNDEIES!

A visit to a great seed establishment or
nursery usually impresses one with the im-
portance and extent of the horticultural and
grain crops in this country. Equally so will an
inspection of a horticultural sundriesman's
stock illustrate the exceedingly numerous
needs of a gardener. Nor can the visitor fail

p ses it answers very well. Specially selected
peit for Orchids was being hand-pulled into
smaller pieces, and by means of fine sieves all
but the fibre taken away before the peat was
packed into light wooden barrels for trans-
mitting to purchasers. Leaf-mould and sand
are kept in stock ; and upon request we were
shown a kind of leaf-mould for Orchid cultivators
who are desirous of practising a system that
has been discussed recently in these columns.
Messrs. Wood call their preparation "Mdos,"
and it would appear to consist of loam, mould,
and root-fibres, being similar to what is known
as Belgian leaf-mould.

Next in importance to the rooting mediums,
the gardener considers the question of manures.
Messrs. Wood & Son provide animal manures,
and pure chemical manures, to those who know
sufficient to be able to apply these latter

Fig. 76.— wood's improved spray: handle and bulb can be
contained conveniently in one hand.

I to realise that the means now employed to

■ satisfy those needs constitute a large industry.

It was with such reflections as these that
we inspected quite recently the premises and
stock of Messrs. Wood & Son, Ltd., which
adjoin the Wood-Green Station of the Great
Northern Railway.

The primary needs of a gardener are rooting
mediums for his plants, such as loam, peat,
leaf-mould, sand, and sphagnum-moss ; and
few gardens are situated where it is possible

■ to obtain all of these without buying any.

If the most favourable conditions obtain,
and "good pasture loam" can be got for the
hauling, then it is very likely that peat for

ithe hard-wooded plants, and especially for the
Orchids, must needs be purchased from a
distance, and silver-sand and sphagnum-moss
also.

!" That is Surrey and this Northamptonshire
loam," said a son of Mr. Jas. L. Wood,
| managing director. " The latter is not quite
equal to the Surrey loam, but for many pur-

successfully ; but a larger trade is done with
the mixed chemical manures, varying in their
ingredients according to the crop for which
they are recommended. The most important
of these is Le Fruitier, specially recommended
for Vines, but applicable to most fruit-trees.
Its action is described as less quick, but more
permanent than some others upon the market,
and very good testimony is forthcoming from
practical fruit-growers. Special manures for
lawns, Roses, and for Carnations are manu-
factured in quantity.

The question of insecticides and fungicides
is a large one. In this particular again many
gardeners prefer a preventive ready mixed,
or requiring only to be diluted with water,
to making their mixture themselves of known
ingredients. This may not be always the
wisest course, but it is a fact that many
gardeners dislike mixing their own chemicals,
whether for manures, or for insecticides or
fungicides. It is for these that Messrs. Wood's
"Veltha" was manufactured. We have not

any knowledge of the constituents of this
fungicide, but there is ample testimony from
well-known gardeners who have used tin-
powder and the emulsion, to its efficacy in the
destruction of fungoid diseases.

As a powder, it is recommended for mixing
with the soil against slime fungus in Tomatos,
and any other fungus the resting spores of
which"are at one season or another found in
the soil. The emulsion is used for dipping and
spraying plants affected, or likely to be
affected, with fungi. As in the case of
Chrysanthemum-rust, it is generally found to
be necessary to use both these preparations.
" Carvita " is recommended against disease
in Carnations, and there are numbers of special
insecticides and fungicides to which, as we
are ignorant of their composition, we arc
unable now to make further reference.

The implement and tool department of the
sundriesman is a large and interesting one.
The need for spraying plants with certain
liquids, and for applying to the leaves and
branches tobacco and other powders, has
given rise to innumerable devices to secure
greater convenience in the operations. Our
illustration (fig. 76) shows a small aluminium
spray, holding 1 quart, that can be con-
veniently worked with but one hand, leaving
the other free to hold the shoots or leaves as
desired. The " Perfecta " syringe is another
useful device. By means of an adjustable jet,
it is possible to spray either directly forward
or at any angle within an arc of 90° from
the axis. It is a very quick-filling syringe,
of full size.

Just as is the case in some financial state-
ments, so from the gardener's point of view,
the word "sundries" includes countless
items, and we are unable to refer to a tithe of
those stocked by Messrs. Wood.

THE AUCUBA.
Common as the spotted Aucuba undoubtedly
is, still the plant of to-day does not, in my
opinion, get its full meed of that recognition
which from its many decorative qualities it
so richly deserves. Imported from Japan in
1783, it enjoyed a popularity as an ornamental,
evergreen, free-blooming dioecious shrub, and
a large well -grown specimen in a suitable
position proved an attraction. By its green
and golden sprinkled leaves it served as a
colour foil to others more sombre tinted in its
immediate locality. As " The Spotted Laurel,' '
it held its own against all comers. True, it was,
that according to Kfempfer, it being the female
of the race, it should in the early spring-tide
be enriched by a number of large, somewhat
obovate, coral-coloured berries, fair in form,
and lustrous ; but for a time none such graced
our English gardens, for here in this beautiful
land of ours it had no mate. Then came the
joyful news that Robert Fortune in China had
found the species and a mate, and the long-
wished-for stranger " was shipped," " was on
the seas," "was come," "was landed," and
was " to be seen blooming in all its beauty ; "
and then anon the lady-plant, adorned in
natural jewels rare, graced our gardens, nay,
our very dining -tables, with her new and
blushing beauty. Small plants sold for large
prices, for it was said, and this truly, the seed
would grow, and so readily reproduce, as like
produces like. But it was hardly this, for
Fortune sent a lesser kind, one of dwarfer
growth, green in foliage, and in berrying
wonderfully prolific. It was called "vera";
and yet another more robust, and if I remember
right ly, one green-leaved and margined yellow,
called limbata. The old sort, tho now one,
and all wore admired again and again. They

242

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[ArRiL 12, 1902.

were talked of, exhibited, -written about, and
then like most other things about which
Fashion rages, it being no longer novel, the
nourish of trumpets subsided, and then came
the usual silence of neglect.

Now, I doubt very much whether Robert
Fortune himself ever had any idea what an
extent of variety would come of the welcome
find and importation, nor do I believe either
that the gardening public of to-day realises
what a wealth of curious and varied forms,
foliage, heights, growth, markings, colourings,
and grandeur as a shrub the Aucuba presents.
In some instances it is almost a tree. To
the close observer or the true gardener these
plants are wonderful, and far outvie many other
groups of plants as fit adornments for our
lawns and shrubberies. Even the Holly and
the Ivy lose by comparison, for not a few of
the large green-leaved Aucubas are stately in
the extreme, and when bedecked with their
gaily red and glistening fruit, they are simply
grand.

I think it was the late Maurice Young, of
Godalming, who got the first and most attrac-
tive " break " in both sexes. They had long,
narrow, dark green and most elegant foliage,
and are, I believe to this day, known as
Aucuba Youngii. But now, the varieties are
bewildering, and selection is rendered diffi-
cult, though pleasurable. In a bed of two or
three hundred seedlings, some are broad-
leaved, dark green, or light green, and some
almost emerald ; then, with the same colouring,
there are narrow-leaved, some toothed, others
not, and some will show almost oval leaves.
Some are thick in substance, others thin ; some
with crimson berries, others with more of the
orange tint, and some even yellow or white ;
and the berries again in an open place where
they can be well seen, while others are down
among the greenery. Then, apart from all
the different forms of foliage, habit, style, and
growth, comes in the variegation. Here
again the changes are wonderful and beau-
tiful; the deep green "peppered" with gold
or silver, or freckled, some with scarcely a
dot or a blotch, others as scarcely green ;
some with a tendency to all gold, and some
with a gold centre and a green edge ; others
with green centre and gold edging; and the
habit of all just as much differentiated. If
variety is charming, surely we get it in the
Aucuba japonica of to-day. In every way and
almost in any situation the shrubs are valuable
as dwarfs, and for size, sometimes almost trees.
Their decorative power is great, and they are
attractive in all ways. Hardy and beautiful,
the Aucuba japonica has now become charm-
ing for the pleasure-ground or the garden,
little or big, for it is a host of i self. Harrison
Weir, F.R.H.S.

The Week's Work.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

Ccclogyne — The plants of C. cristata and its
varieties may have grown so large as to require
dividing, and others will need top-dressing and
repotting. A suitable compost for this plant
consists of one half turfy peat, one quarter
turfy loam, which if very heavy and not con-
taining much fibre, may be used in less quan-
tity, one quarter clean chopped sphagnum-
moss, the whole being mixed together. The
pans in which the plants are to be grown
should be fairly well drained, more drainage
being afforded when the plants are standing
on a stage than to those suspended ; and in
potting let the rhizomes be placed only a trifle
higher than the rim of the pan. When the

pseudo - bulbs are much crowded together,
carefully pull them apart, and remove some
of the back bulbs ; if it be desirable to retain
the plants of specimen size, they may be placed
together, and proper space left for the develop-
ment of the growth. By this means the plant
can be madeequallyfloriferousall over,andstill
afford space for the leads that were cramped
before to develop. By removing a few of the
old pseudo-bulbs, and directing the leads to
the desired positions by means of a peg, a
specimen plant may for many years remain
undisturbed, a top-dressing occasionally being
the only thing required. In order to increase
the stock of plants, three or four leads
possessing not more than three old pseudo-
bulbs behind each lead maybe placed in 6-inch
pans in the soil mixture named. The back
pseudo-bulbs cut away from the leads when
making up a large specimen soon break, if they
are laid on a stage. An intermediate-house
affords a suitable place for them. At Gatton
Park they are grown amongst the Cymbidiums ;
and providing the plants have abundance of air,
and a temperature which does not fall below
50° in winter, there is no difficulty experienced
in their cultivation. Water must be carefully
applied after flowering, and till the growth
gets well advanced, remembering that the
cooler the plants are grown the less need for
water will there be at the root. The season
when water should be freely applied is when
new growths begin to develop their pseudo-
bulbs.

General Remarks. — Most of the plants in the
houses, now show signs of activity, and the
grower has it very largely in his power to
afford them such treatment as shall assist
them to make the fullest and best growth
possible. The five principal matters to be
attended to are, judicious shading, proper
ventilation, careful watering, damping, and
spraying.

Shading. — By judicious shading is meant the
arrangement of the plants in the houses in
such a manner, that the shade-loving Orchids
can be shaded without excluding sunshine
from those species that are capable of deriving
benefit from it. In most houses we find some
of both classes, and it is often necessary to
have a curtain inside the house to protect
those that dislike direct sunshine ; not only
are the sunshine-loving Orchids benefited by
this arrangement, but the shade-loving Orchids
too, derive benefit from the sunshine being
allowed to illumine the other portion of the
house. The blinds should never be used until
they are absolutely necessary, and they should
be raised again as soon as possible. The early
morning and late afternoon sunshine is a
great stimulus to the plants.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Milleb Mundy, Esq
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Calceolarias may be treated similarly to
Cinerarias, see Calendar for April 5 ; the
nianure-water helping to develop tall, branch-
ing stems and fine flowers in both cases. The
house or brick-pit should be kept cool and
rather moist, and the plants shaded from
direct sunshine.

Hibiscus. — Where these plants can be afforded
a place in an intermediate-house they flower
profusely, whereas in a stove they are not so
readily managed, and the flowers are sparsely
produced, and a greenhouse is too cool for
them. Cuttings of Hibiscus may be struck at
this season, the rooted cuttings being planted
out on a mild hot-bed or in a warm spot out-
of - doors, and potted in August or early
September.

Cent ropogon Lucyanus. — This is a favourite
stove plant, which should be treated in a simi-
lar manner to Hibiscus, and cuttings should
be struck annually. Aged plants may be cut
back at this season, and induced by syringing
and warmth, to make shoots.

Carinas. — Plants for flowering in the autumn
should now be divided into single crowns and
potted in rich soil, and grown on for a time in
a forcing - house, provided they are afforded

plenty of sunlight. I prefer to place them at
once in the flowering-pots, as being both a
saving of labour and a benefit to the plants.

Pelargoniums. — The various types will now
require attention ; the show and Regal sec-
tions will be in need of a few neat sticks and
ties, so as to give the plants a nice shape ;
and as at this date the flower-trusses are being
thrown up, more manure-water should be
applied. The Ivy-leaved species and varieties
are growing rapidly, and they will need a
similar kind of treatment, affording manure-
water, being more advisable than repotting at
this season.

Climbers. — Many of these plants, especially
those of the stove, are growing freely, and
rendering a frequent training of the shoots
very necessary. Dipladenias suffer greatly
from any neglect of the training of the shoots,
and Myrsiphyllum asparagoides is another
plant that needs almost daily attention. A
secondary but important reason for giving
frequent attention to these and other climbers
is the opportunity thus afforded for detecting
stray examples of mealy-bug, and any of this
pest destroyed at this season means a great
lessening of the numbers later on.

Chrysanthemums. — Young plants should now
be shifted into 6-inch pots, provided they are
fairly well rooted. The soil at this shift
should be good, but not overloaded with
manure.

Clerodendron fallax. — -Let the young seed-
lings or plants raised from cuttings be potted
before they have become pot-bound, this
being a plant that should never be in the least
degree starved at the root. The soil should
consist mainly of a fairly rich turfy-loam, three-
fourths leaf-soil, and one-fourth coarse sand.

Tuberous-rooted Begonias. — The main batch
of these plants should now be potted up for
flowering in the autumn months, the soil
provided being a porous one. Begonias of this
section are not particular, but I would advise
a fair quantity of dried decayed cow-manure
being mixed with the soil, as tending to
healthy growth and long flowering.

Fuchsias. — Fuchsias struck in the autumn of
1901 may soon be shifted into the pots in
which they will flower. As I have before
mentioned these plants, I need only say that
they should be afforded a good loamy soil,
moderately enriched with artificial or other
manure, and grown freely, being well syringed
twice a day, and the house closed early, allow-
ing the warmth to rise with sun- beat to 85°.
In order to produce good plants, the leading
shoots must be tied up, and for the present
stopping of the shoots should not be carried
out.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whttock, Gardener to the Duke op
Buccleuch. Dalkeith.

Vines in Pots. — The earliest of these will
ripen their fruits during the present month,
and the house must be kept drier with a small
quantity of air afforded constantly. The night
temperature should be kept at 60°. If the
pots are plunged, water must be very carefully
applied ; and in any case, less water will now
be needed, and no manure in any form.

Earliest Permanent Vines. — These, if the
fruit is swelling for the second time, will be
the better for an application of manure-water
at the roots. For the present the temperature
at night should be 65° to 70°, and at closing
time in the afternoon 85° with much moisture
distributed about the vinery. Let the Vines
be frequently inspected, removing the lateral
shoots ; and when the Grapes begin to change,
colour, let the temperature be reduced to 00°
at night, with a small amount of top air
afforded them and also by day, and keep the
air drier. On early Vines red-spider is apt to
show itself, but this pest can be checked by
coating the pipes with flowers-of-sulphur after
the seeds have formed, or by sponging the
leaves with weak liquid XL-All insecticide.

Mjiscnts. — The Vines that were started
early in January should be afforded a night

April 12, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE,

243

temperature of 75°, and during the " stoning "
period growth is all but stationary. Apply
air early in the day in order to avert scalding
of the leaves and berries, closing in the after-
noon with the heat at 85°, and damping down
copiously.

Vines Started in February or March. — The
Vines are making rapid progress, and the
laterals, one to each spur, will require to be
brought down to the wires by degrees. In
the case of young rods which are breaking at
every bud, remove the shoots right and left to
15 inches apart. The Hamburgh vinery, as
the Vines are approaching the flowering period,
should be kept at night at C5°. Muscat Vines,
when in flower, should be afforded 75° at night
and 15° more with sun-heat by day ; keep the
air of the vinery moist, and when the bunches
are in flower, draw the hand down over the
bunch, so as to distribute the pollen. The
interior borders having been afforded sufficient
wat r and top-dressed with Vine-manure when
the Vines were started, will require nothing
more until the fruit is set, when another
sprinkling of Vine -manure and a copious
application of water may be called for.

Vines coming in to Growth, should be afforded a
night temperature of 60° to 65°, and be syringed
twice daily, closing the vinery in the after-
noon at 80° with sun-heat, and damping down
abundantly.

Strawberries. — Ripe Strawberries are now
plentiful, and the remaining plants require but
very little heat in order to get them into flower.
The plants may stand on shelves or in a pit, so
long as they are near to the glass ; and the
night temperature should be about 55° till the
fruit is set, when 65° will be suitable, with
a rise of 10° to 15° by day. If the plants
on starting were not top-dressed with an arti-
ficial manure, such as Veltha, and some fresh
soil, it may be done after the fruit is set and
thinned. Plants standing on shelves must be
examined twice daily, and water applied
where required, and occasionally soot-water,
&c, continuing this till the fruit begins to
colour. While the fruit is developing in size,
syringe the plants twice daily, and keep the
air moist ; when ripening, let the air be less
warm, and do not distribute much water about
the house.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Tubton, Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digbt, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Tomatos. — The seed of Tomatos for planting
out-doors should be sown thinly in pots or pans,
and these placed on a shelf near the glass, so as
to ensure sturdy growth in the seedlings ; and
when large enough pricked out into boxes and
afterwards shifted into 5 inch pots. I still put
my reliance in Early Ruby for planting in the
open, but Sutton's Winter Beauty is a wonder-
fully heavy cropping variety, with a strong
constitution. I intend this year to afford it a
warm position in the open, and also to plant it
against a warm wall along with Sutton's Al.

Vegetable - Marrows. — Seeds may be sown
forthwith in heat, and the plants set out in
May in the forcing-pits or frames now occu-
pied with Potatos. The seeds may be sown in
4-inch pots to the number of three or four,
and thinned to two when it is seen which are
the stronger.

Peas.— Put stakes to any that are now in
need of support and protection, the Pea-
guards being removed and placed over later
sowings just coming through the soil. In
staking, place the sticks 5 to 6 inches from
the plants, and push them slantingly into the
soil. By putting the sticks into the soil in
this fashion, small sticks are but little needed
to keep in the haulm within the rows of sticks
till the tendril lays hold of the latter.

Potatos. — The tubers may now be planted
with comparative safety in all parts of the
country, and an effort should be made to finish
the planting by the middle of the month. If
the soil is heavy, and it was ridged when dug
in the winter, a liberal dressing of leaf-mould

and about one-fourth of its bulk of charred
garden-refuse, well mixed together, may be
scattered along the furrows before and after
planting. Planted in this manner, the crop of
tubers will turn clear in the skin. In light
soils the sets may be planted with a blunt-
ended dibber. It is advisable to break up
with the Dutch-hoe the crust of land that was
dug some months ago before beginning to
plant the sets, thus killing weeds and aerating
the land. Plant early varieties at 2 feet
from row to row, and 1 foot apart in the rows,
and main and late croppers at 2§ feet to 3 feet
apart from row to row, and 15 inches apart in
the rows, according to the strength of haulm.

Brottd Beans. — Make one or two more sowings
in the open quarter according to the demand ;
and for a supply throughout the month of
August a larger sowing may be made next
month on a north border, sowing in trenches
at 4 feet apart on ground not recently dug.
The trench should be thrown out with a spade,
and short dung put on the bottom, and after
setting the seed in two rows at 1 foot apart,
draw the thrown-out soil over them. For
the late planting I prefer Green and Broad
Windsor.

the action of the wind. Varieties that are of
slow growth, and which do not cling readily
to walls, should have their shoots regulated ,
nailing these neatly thereto.

THE PLOWEE GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Eahl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Campanulas. — C. pyramidalis and C. p.
alba are excellent plants for outdoor and in-
door decoration when well managed, looking
well in the pleasure-grounds when grouped in
beds and borders. Plants raised from seed
last spring, which have been wintered in cold
frames, may now be transferred to suitable
prepared situations, making the soil firm about
the roots, and keeping the crowns slightly
above the level of the ground. Seed of these
plants obtained from selected specimens may
now be sown for next year's blooming, when
the seedlings are large enough potting them
on as required, in a rich, loamy soil.

VioZets. — The propagation of the Violet by
lifting strong, healthy one-year-old plants that
have ceased to flower, separating the young
crowns, and planting these singly into 60's in
a mixture of two-thirds loam, one-third leaf-
mould, and about one-sixth part of the whole
of road-grit, is a satisfactory method of ob-
taining strong young plants. Having applied
water to the soil in the pots, place them in a
common frame, near to the glass, with a bottom-
heat of 65% and keep close, and slightly shaded
from strong sunshine for a fortnight. After-
wards gradually inure them to the air, and
plant out in their permanent quarters in the
middle of next month. The best place for
Violets in the summer is a north or north-west
border, but a good deal depends upon the local
climate and the nature of the soil. It is of
importance that the soil should be well enriched
and trenched, and have some charred garden-
refuse worked into the soil near the surface ;
and if it be stiff and retentive, some lime-
rubbish incorporated with it during the
digging does good. Violets do not require
much attention in the summer beyond slightly
stirring the surface soil occasionally with
the hoe, and to be afforded water in dry
weather. Those intended for early winter-
flowering should be denuded of the runners
as fast as they appear.

ley. — From a decorative point of view, there
is scarcely any evergreen more useful than
Ivy, and a number of plants of the different
varieties should be kept in pots. Ivies are
easily propagated by cuttings, or by grafting
on the common Ivy, and the present season is
perhaps the most favourable time to do this
work. Ivy on walls usually gets clipped once
a year, but this is not often enough for strong
growers, and three times during the year is
advisable, that is during the present month,
again early in the month of August, and a final
trimming in autumn. By so doing a smooth
even surface of foliage is obtained, the
sparrows are prevented from roosting therein,
and it is not easily detached from the wall by

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Matne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle,
Bicton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Tlie Apple and Pear. — The bushes and pyra-
mids show especially well for bloom this
season. Where an extension of the branches
is desired, and the leading shoots were not
shortened at pruning time, it will often be
found on examination at this date that the
points of these shoots are set with blossom-
buds ; and wherever such is the case, let
these buds be rubbed off, or the shoots cut
back to a wood-bud. This applies likewise to
wall and trellis trees. Any protection afforded
to the blossoms on wall Pears should be removed
as soon as possible after the fruits are set,
unless very cold weather should occur, when
its removal may be delayed for a time. Bushes
and pyramids of the Pear now coining into
flower may, if not of too large a size, be
afforded protection by sticking in large,
spreading Pea-sticks, and covering these with
scrim canvas; but unless such can be kept
clear of the blossom, I consider more harm
than good is done by it in windy weather.

Miscellaneous. — The rainfall almost every-
where has been less than usual, and it will be
advisable to ascertain the condition of the soil
as regards moisture wherever trees and bushes
have been planted recently, more especially
trees against walls and those in well sheltered
spots. If water is found to be necessary afford
it in the morning, so that it may sink some
depth into the soil before nightfall, frosts
being still common, even in Devon. The
Black Currant bud-mite should be sought for,
and if found, cut the affected shoots hard
back and burn the severed pieces, and spray
the bushes again with the caustic soda wash.
Ply the Dutch-hoe between all bush fruits,
and on Strawberry and Raspberry plantations,
cutting off all suckers springing up far away
from the shoots.

Medical Botany. — The extraordinary
development of physiological botany during
the last half century has not been an unmixed
benefit. It has to a large extent ousted sys-
tematic botany, which in olden times had
in its turn too exclusive attention. Botany
has been eliminated from the curriculum
of study demanded of medical students.
Certainly, more is expected of the medical
student than he can possibly digest even
in the five years pupilage now required.
Still, in the olden time, three complete years
were considered sufficient, and one of the
subjects then required was at least the ele-
ments of systematic and especially of medical
botany. Had the practitioner mentioned in
the subjoined paragraph possessed oven the
rudiments of medical botany, he could not
have fallen into the astonishing errors which,
if he is correctly reported, which we doubt,
he is alleged to ha%-e committed. A boy, it
appears, " picked some roots " on the towing-
path near Hammersmith, ate one, and shortly
afterwards became very ill. In spite of
medical assistance he died. The medical man
who attended to the boy is reported to have
expressed himself as follows: — "He was of
opinion that the long, radish-shaped roots,
resembling Horse-radish (produced), were the
black or garden Nightshade (Solatium nigrum),
and the deceased boy's symptoms tallied with
the recorded cases of death from that poison.
One berry had been known to kill a child, but
the root was much stronger." Whatever the
plant really was, it would be difficult to make
so many mis-statements in an equal space,
[We have since learned thai the roots were
those of (Knaiit he erocata. Bd. |

244

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 12, 1902.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER.

Letters for Publication, as well as specimens and plants
for naming, should be addressed to the EDITOR,
41, Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London,

Communications should be written on one side only of
the paper, sent as early in the week as possible, and duly
signed by the writer. If desired, the signature will not le
printed, but kept as a guarantee 0/ good faith.

Illustrations. — The Editor will thankfully receive and select
photographs or drawings, suitable for reproduction, of
gardens, or of remarkable plants, flowers, trees, £c. ; but le
cannot be responsible for loss or injury.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

TUESDAY,

WEDNESDAY.Apr

I"

164 t

( Cornwall Daffodil and Spring
Apr. 15 - Flower Society's Show at
( Truro (two days).

["Daffodil Show at Ipswich.
Ancient Society of York Florists
^ I (Members' Exhibition).
'"j Liverpool Hort. Assoc. Show of
Plants and Flowers.
V Royal Botanic Society Meetiug.
THURSDAY. Apr. 17-Linnean Society Meeting.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, April 14—

At fi7, Cheapside, Perennials, Lilies, &c, by

Protheroe and Morris, at 12.
TUESDAY, April 15

Roses, Palms, Bays, &0., by Pollexfen and Co.
WEDNESDAY, April 16—

Palms, Sweet Bays, and other Decorative and

Flowering Plants, at SteveDs' Rooms, at 12.3c.—

Palms, Liliums, Bulbs, &c., by Protheroe & Morris,

at 12.— Orchids, &S., by Rendell & Searle, at I.
THURSDAY. April 17—

Various Plants, by Pollexien and Co.— Orchids,

Glasgow, bv John Cowan.
FRIDAY, APRIL 18—

Orchids in great variety, bv Protheroe and Morris,

at 12.80.

( For further particulars sec our Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
-48 3°.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— April 9 (6 P.M.) : Max. 48°; Min. 37°.

April 10.— Dull. cold.
Provinces.— April n (6 p.m.): Max. 48°, Scillv Isles;
Min. 40°, Orkneys.

Dr. Schlich lately addressed a

Ireland!" letter to the Times on this sub-
ject, with the spirit of which
we must all sympathise. We all regret that
so much wearisome and disheartening delay
occurs in this and similar matters. Com-
mittees are appointed, suggestions from the
most competent authorities are made, and
various proposals are set forth, and yet but
little is done. It is true, in the case of
Ireland, that something has been done to
promote the fishery industry; but attempts
to enable the farmer to obtain a livelihood
from his little holding have mostly proved
abortive, except where the land is of excep-
tional fertility. Having obtained a first-hand
acquaintance with the state of affairs over a
large portion of Ireland, Dr. Schlich is satis-
fied that the small farmer in the congested
districts would be really and substantially
helped by the afforestation of lands not
required for agriculture and grazing, includ-
ing fencing to exclude cattle.

"Nearly half a million acres in county
Galway," says Dr. Schlich, "are waste land,
which yields a miserable income of a few pence
a year per acre, or nothing at all. About two-
fifths of the area are turf, bog, and marsh, of
which only certain portions would at present be
fit for planting, but, on the whole, I am satisfied
that more than 100,000 acres, and perhaps up
to 200,000, are quite good enough for planting.
Even if we take the smaller figure, the affores-
tation of the area would involve labour valued
at, say. £300,000. Just imagine the benefit to
the poorer part of the population if, say, one-
twentieth of that amount, or £15,000, were

spent annually on this scheme, and it may be
that the sum would be double that amount, or
£30,000. At the end of twenty years, when
the planting has been finished, work in the
forests would commence, regularly and for
ever, on an increasing scale. A steady trade
in timber would spring up, and, above all,
local industries would develop, working up
the raw material derived from the forests.

We have, of late years, imported timber to the
value of £25,000,000 a year, apart from wood-
pulp. Amongst that timber are thousands of
tons of Birch, which is used for bobbins. Is
there any country better suited for the growth
of Birch than Ireland? Or, take Spruce and
Scotch Pine, of which, especially the former,
wood-pulp is made. There is no reason what-
ever why pulp factories should not spring up
in Galway, especially where water-power is
available, provided there was a sufficient and
steady yield of Spruce or Scotch Pino timber.
Then, again, there is pit timber, the demand
for which is steadily increasing. Last, but not
least, there is sufficient evidence to show
that the imports of large timber (especially
Coniferous timber, equal to 87 per cent, of our
total imports) in the future are far more pro-
carious than most people are aware. It is
merely a question of a moderate number of
years when the United States of America will
require every stick which Canada can spare
under the present system of working. As it
is, they already take half the total exports of
timber from Canada. And it is more than
doubtful whether the countries around the
Baltic will be able to keep up their present
exports of timber.

*****

Would it not be possible to make the experi-
ment in one county, say, Galway ? Could not
the Irish Government, when buying and
breaking up large estates, constitute as State
forests the surplus areas which remain over
after the cultivated lands and grazing grounds
have been settled with the occupiers ? If the
afforestation is carried out in a judicious
manner, it will yield a fair return on the
invested capital, considering that most of the
land in question can be acquired for a few
shillings an acre. It is, however, essential
that the scheme of afforestation should be
carefully drawn up and carried through in an
economic manner, and not in a haphazard way.
Apart from the selection of the right species
of trees to be planted, the important point is
that the forests should not be created in large
out-of-the-way blocks, where special forest
labourers would be required, but that they
should consist of blocks scattered over the
country between the cultivated fields and
grazing grounds of the small farmers or pro-
prietors. In that case the man who cultivates
a few acres of land can earn some money by
working in the forest during winter, when his
fields do not require his attention. There will
thus be no necessity for a portion of the popu-
lation going abroad in search of work during
part of the year, an expediency of doubtful
value. It is far better that these men should
have an opportunity of earning some money in
their leisure days, and yet be able to reside in
their own homes. Afforestation of the surplus
lands can do this, without a financial loss on
the part of the country. II'. Schlich, Cooper's
Hill, March 15."

At the monthly dinner of this
u—JOS „, Club on Tuesday, the 8th, at

Horticultural , • '

Ciub the Hotel Windsor, Dr. Henry.

of Chinese flora fame, was the
guest of the evening. Mr. Harry Veitch
occupied the chair in the unavoidable ab-
sence of Sir John Llewelyn, and some forty

members and visitors were present. Sir
Trevor Lawrence, Sir W. T. Thiselton-
Dyer, and the Rev. W. Wilks represented
the horticultural and botanical interests in
conjunction with many others of note. A
capital programme of vocal and instrumental
music served to enhance the attractions of
the evening, though as it turned out. the
eloquence of the speeches generally, and
particularly the interesting nature of that
of Dr. Henry, would have amply repaid
attendance. The usual loyal toasts having
been proposed by the chairman, followed by
that of the Royal Horticultural Society,
which elicited many renewed expressions of
approval of the Hall scheme.

Sir Wm. T. Thiselton Dyer proposed the
health of Dr. Henry in a capital speech
which evoked considerable amusement by
its quaint combination of dry official re-
serve and genial appreciation of Dr. Henry's
labours, the extent of which may be gathered
from the fact that his contributions of
specimens, not merely to British collec-
tions, but also to foreign ones, number
many thousands, and embrace an enormous
number of valuable plants.

Dr. Henry' in his reply undoubtedly made
the speech of the evening. In his allusions
to the extreme richness of the Chinese flora
as exemplified by the contributions afore-
said, he pointed out that there still remained
an enormous area to be explored, two
virgin provinces alone exceeding in area
France and Germany put together. He also
pointed out that when he went thither, his
previous Oxford education left him utterly
ignorant of anything useful, an extensive
knowledge of ancient Greece, subsequently
upset by th ; discovery of its fallacious basis,
being of no aid to him whatever. Hence he
modestly argued that he had been the
wrong man entirely for the task, and that
when an expedition was fitted out, as he
hoped might be done perhaps under the
auspices of the Royal Horticultural Society
itself, its members should be fully qualified
men, who would not, as he did at the outset,
regard Primula obconica as simply a trouble-
some weed because it was so abundant,
leaving it to be sent over by someone else to
constitute a chief attraction at our floral
shows. That such an expedition would pay,
Dr. Henry argued from the fact that not
merely were there innumerable valuable
flowering plants undoubtedly waiting to be
found, but that the Chinese cultivated
many sorts of vegetables unknown to us,
many fruits existed, also unintroduced, and
even forage-grasses grew there which he
considered worthy of introduction. Chinese
methods of culture also should be studied
by the expedition, since they managed in
some favoured spots to raise seven crops in
a season. Further, the climatal conditions
of much of the area in question were such
that the plants found should be hardy in
these islands. Dr. Henry' cited numerous
species there existing, Ribes, Rhododen-
drons, etc., which would excel anything yet
introduced. Finally, he expressed the belief
that by such study of agricultural methods,
and introduction of new material, the home
agricultural question might be solved, and
our rural population re-established by the
utilisation of the vast areas of waste land —
a consummation devoutly to be wished for in
the interests of the home countries, which
would thus be less dependent on outside
sources for its food supplies.

April 12, 1902.]

THE GARD ENER S1 CHR ONICL E.

245

On the conclusion of Dr. Henry's inte-
resting speech, Sir Trevor Lawrence handed
him the Veitch Memorial Medal, and it was
felt by all present that it could not have
been bestowed upon a more worthy
recipient.

Other toasts followed, concluding with the
health of the Chairman, which closed a
highly interesting and practical meeting.

Cassia corymbosa at Tregye, Cornwall
(Supplementary Illustration). — The genus
Cassia belongs to Leguminosa>, and numbers
about 200 species, natives of tropical and
warm temperate climates, but few of which are
cultivated in this country. The flowers are
yellow, leaves pinnate, leaflets opposite, and
petioles usually glandular. Very few repre-
sentatives of the genus exist in private gardens
in this country, and C. corymbosa is but
seldom met with, although it makes a showy
subject for the greenhouse, being equally
at home growing in a border, as a wall-
plant, or in a pot or tub ; and the
cultivation of this and other species
presents no difficulties. In the mild south-
west counties of England, Ireland, and
Scotland, C. corymbosa forms a most effective
plant for planting against a sunny wall, or in
a sheltered nook where plenty of sunshine
can reach it. That this species grows into a
grand specimen and an object of great beauty,
in such situations, is evident from our illus-
tration, which represents a plant of C. corym-
bosa growing in the gardens of the Hon. John
Boscawen, at Tregye, Perranwell, Cornwall.
The plant is but eight years old, and was
raised from a cutting taken from a plant grow-
ing in Mr. Pendarves Vivian's garden, Bosa-
han, in the same county. It flowers in August,
and in the winter loses all, or nearly all, its
leaves. C. corymbosa is a native of Buenos
Ayres.

Linnean Society.— On the occasion of the
evening meeting, to be held on Thursday,
April 17, 1902, at 8 r.M., the following papers
will be read: — 1, "The Anatomy of Todea,
with Notes on the Affinity and Geological
History of the Osmundacefe," by Professor
A. C. Seward, F.R.S., P.L.S., and Miss Sybil
O. Ford; 2, "On the New Zealand Phyllc-
branchiate Crustacea — Macrura," by G. M.
Thomson, F.L.S., &c.

The Surveyors' Institution.— The next
ordinary general meeting will be held in the
lecture hall of the Institution, on Monday,
April 14, when a paper will be read by Mr.
C. H. Hooper (Fellow), entitled "Compensation
for Fruit-planting." The chair will betaken
at 8 o'clock. It has been decided, on the
invitation of the Cambridge, Huntingdon,
Norfolk, and Suffolk Provincial Committee, to
hold the next country meeting at Cambridge
on May 22 and 23. The morning of the first
day will be devoted to papers and discussions,
and the afternoon to an inspection of the
Colleges and University buildings, and to a
visit to Ely, with a dinner in the evening ;
the second day to excursions to Sandringham,
by gracious permission of His Majesty the
King ; and to Cheveley, by kind invitation of
Col. McCalmont, M.P. Full particulars will
be issued later on.

"ICONES SELECT/E HORTI THENENSI8."—

Two parts of this useful publication are before
us. The object is to illustrate and describe
the plants cultivated in the garden of M. Van
orn Bossche at Tirlemont. The illustrations
are excellent, and comprise the details most
needed by the botanical student. The de-
scriptions are drawn up with much care and

accuracy by M. de Wildeman. Among the
plants specially interesting to horticulturists
mentioned in the present parts are Limnanthes
Douglasii, Morina longifolia, and Nerine
undulata.

"The Land Roll."— We would remind our
readers that our contemporary, The Land Roll
(published by Messrs. DOWSETT, KNIGHT & Co.,
3, Lincoln's Inn Fields), is interesting to all
concerned with such matters as are suggested
by the title. The articles deal with archae-
ology, value of land for building and cultiva-
tion— in fact, with every such subject viewed
from a general and from a commercial stand-
point.

Botanic Gardens, Malta. — We have re-
ceived a copy of the seed catalogue of this
garden. The catalogue is carefully compiled,
conveniently arranged, and has a copious
alphabetical index. It is not often that we
meet with a catalogue so well arranged. The
Director of the garden is Dr. Deboxo, Floriana,
Malta.

Nonex. — A small tin of this cement has
been sent to us for trial. Having used it on
brickwork, as well as on stonework, to fill up
cracks, stop up mouse-holes, and to fasten a
metal shelter to a wall, we are enabled to
report very favourably on it, and think it
likely to be very useful to amateurs and
householders generally.

" Flora of Tropical Africa."— We are
glad to announce the publication of a part of
this important work, containing the remainder
of the Cyperacese monographed by Mr. Clarke.
This part concludes the eighth volume. A
preface by the Editor, Sir William Thiselton
Dyer, and a copious index, add to the value
of the volume. The grasses will be included
in a separate volume. It is intended to pro-
ceed at once with the printing of the fourth
volume, comprising the Apocynacea?, an order
of great economic interest, as comprising so
many plants yielding caoutchouc.

Legacy to a Botanic Garden.— The late
Mrs. Stephen Wilson, of North Kinmundy,
Aberdeenshire, has left by her will, in addition
to other legacies to Aberdeen charities, her
estate of North Kinmundy to the trustees of
the Cruickshank Botanic Garden, Aberdeen, to
be held by them for purposes similar to those
for which they hold the gardens, or for sup-
plying facilities for the study of forestry, or
any kindred subject. An idea of what this
bequest means to the Cruickshank Garden will
be better understood when it is stated that
the rent-roll of North Kinmundy is of the
annual value of £512 12s. 5d.

Alteration of Date. — We are informed
by Mr. Sydenham that the forthcoming show
of the Midland Daffodil Society will be held on
April 24 and 25, not on April 30 and May 1 as
previously announced.

Gigantic Roots.— Ithas often been pointed
out that the mammoth roots exhibited at agri-
cultural shows are fallacious guides as to
quality, the excessive size being mainly due
to a disproportionate accumulation of water.
M. Deherain has lately shown that in the case
of Sugar-Beet, although in the smaller roots
the total yield per hectare is less, the weight
of dry matter is greater, and the loss of nitrates
diminished.

The Late Sir John B. Lawes, Bart^—
A large and handsome brass memorial tablet
has been erected in the parish church of
Harpenden in memory of the late Sir John
Lawes. The tablet bears the armorial crest

of the Lawes' family, with the motto "Pour
lafoi," and the following inscription: — "In
affectionate memory of Sir John Bennet
Lawes, Baronet, F.R.S., only son of John
Bennet Lawes. Born at Rothamsted, Dec. 28,
1814 ; died at Rothamsted, August 31, 1900.
His long life and his great knowledge were to
the last devoted to far-reaching investigations
into all scientific matters which could affect
agriculture. The results'obtained were freely
given for the benefit of his fellow men, both
in his own country and all parts of the world.
This tablet is erected by parishioners of Har-
penden and others, who deeply feel his loss,
as an example and a friend."

The Forthcoming "Nature Study" Ex-
hibition.—The scheme for a " Nature-study"
exhibition, which we mentioned in our issue
of March 1, has now assumed a definite shape,
and the show will be held at the Gardens of
the Royal Botanic Society from July 23
onwards. Produce will be admitted as show-
ing the results of practical instruction in
horticulture; but the bulk^of the exhibits
will probably be more strictly educational.
It is hoped to promote and make public all
kinds of teaching in which the study of Nature
around us comes into play ; therefore the
systems of professedly agricultural and horti-
cultural establishments will be as welcome as
the experience of the elementary schoolmaster
or the recorded observations of his village
children, who, following the advice of the
Board of Education, have begun to take
lessons from Nature out-of-doors. The execu-
tive committee, of which Sir John Cockburn
is chairman, and Mr. J. C. Medd secretary,
have given a list of exhibits, which are merely
suggestive, in a circular which is being issued.
It is carefully pointed out also that these
are not to be taken as defining the scope and
objects of "Nature-study" teaching. Such
definition is, however, very badly wanted, and
educationalists will look with interest to the
decisions of the judges, and the report of the
executive committee upon the exhibition, as pos-
sibly solving a difficult problem. A momentary
glance at the aforesaid circular will show how
much of further interest to horticulturists will
be included in the exhibition. Plans of school-
gardens in elementary and continuation schools,
models and diagrams illustrating operations
in gardening, collections showing the habits
of plants, specimens of injurious and useful
insects, as well as of troublesome weeds,
together with examples of what horticultural
societies are doing to interest people in the
world of life.

Royal Gardens, Kew. — Applicants for
situations as gardeners should apply to the
Curator, Mr. W. Watson, Royal Gardens, Kew.

Violets and G. F. Wilson. — In the Violet
trade in France no one orders Violets but
"Wilson's" (Violettes a longue tige, dites
Wilson's). Are these Violets in any way
connected with our old friend ?

A Plantation of El/eagnus reflexa.—
A recent number of the Revue Horticole con-
tains some notes by M. Ed. Andre about the
park at Biandos, between Bayonne and Pau.
There, in the grounds, which belong to M.
Bastbrrechk, is an avenue of El»agnus
reflexa, close to the public road. There are
eleven of the shrubs, each at the foot of an
old Oak, of which it climbs the trunk, and
extends to the branches, climbing up 50 feet,
and forming evergreen clusters 18 feet across.
Several of those huge climbers have stems
30 inches in circumference at the base. There
are many branches reddish-brown, with hand-
some LaOrcl - shaped leaves, green above,

246

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 12, 1902.

golden-red, dotted with bronze beneath. In
October open many small white tubular
flowers speckled with red, and scented with
clove. Elreagnus reflexa differs from E. pun-
gens of Thunberg, at least in a horticultural
sense, by being less shrubby, and its climbing
branches form a tall climber.

"Handbook to Minehead." — We have
frequently had occasion to mention the Home-
land Handbooks (published by the Homeland
Association, 24, Bride Lane, Fleet Street, E.C.),
and our readers will therefore know what to
expect in Vol. 18 of the series, that deals with
Minehead, Porlock, and Dunster. It is
w-ritten by C. E. Larter, and illustrated
from drawings and photographs. These guides
should be acceptable to those visiting the
neighbouihoorls of which they treat, as they
deal intelligently with the towns and their
environs, ami with the stag hunts and other
sports of the districts.

The Swanley Horticultural College. —
"We have before us the Report for 1901 of the
Swanley Horticultural College. Many im-
provements have been made, and the " Botani-
cal Garden " has been enlarged. Many of the
students have obtained appointments as gar-
deners, and many others have entered for
botanical and horticultural examinations with
great success. The work of the year is,
therefore, highly satisfactory, and further
improvements and enlargements are now in
contemplation.

The Scilly Islands.— H.M. the King has
recently paid a visit to Tresco, where he
inspected the gardens of Mr. Dorrikn-Smith
and the flower-farms of the island.

Metropolitan Public Gardens Associa-
tion.— The nineteenth annual report (for 1901)
of this Association is now before us, and
includes details of the successful undertakings
of the year. "As London grows, so the
opportunities for the Association's work
extend, and a watchful eye is still required
in order to protect valuable breathing spaces."
The pamphlet gives an account of funds
received, and suggests that further donations
would bo of use in assisting the Association in
its valuable work of encouraging, in every
possible way, the preservation of existing
open spaces and the acquisition of new ones ;
assisting in beautifying the streets and giving
health, as well as pie sure, to the dwellers in
our crowded metropolis and its suburbs.

Swallows. — I saw a swallow feeding,
strong on the wing, near Shepperton on
April 3, the earliest I have ever noted. D.

Horticultural Teaching by the Mid-
dlesex County Council. — "We learn that
the County Council of Middlesex has made
arrangements for lectures for teachers in hor-
ticulture and practical gardening. These
lectures will be given in the Middlesex County
School of Horticulture, Pymmes Park, Edmon-
ton (adjoining Silver Street station, G.E.R.),
by Mr. J. Weathers, and commence on Satur-
day, April 12. The instruction will include a
general survey of cultivated plants, their
habits, and character ; the functions of their
parts; their propagation, germination, &c. ;
also a study of soils, manures, and insect
enemies. These classes are free to teachers,
and, under certain conditions, the Technical
Education Committee will pay part of the
railway fares of those attending. Application
for particulars must be made to Mr. B. S. Gott,
The Guildhall, Westminster, S.W.

Euston Hall.— The destruction by fire of a
considerable portion of the Duke of Grafton's
mansion near Thetford is announced.

Stock-taking : March. — The Board of
Trade Returns for the month of March present
a very dreary appearance. The decrease in
imports noted amounts to £5,528,195, the total
for the month being £40,897,861, compared
with £46,420,050 for the same period last year.
A glance at the figures in the accompanying
table will show in what the decrease consists
— the deficit in articles of food ; both sections
tell a tale in which perhaps the Chancellor
of the Exchequer has something to say ; but
ours not to reason why — here. Perhaps it
may be suggested that the early Easter Holi-
days destroyed the symmetry of the returns,
even causing the heavy drop in the timber
imports. The figures above noted are as
follows : —

Imports.

1901.

1902.

Differeuce.

£

£

£

Total value

46,426,056

40,897,861

—5,528,195

(A.) Articles of food
and drink— duty
free

13,366,807

11,575,732

—1,791,075

(B.) Articles of food
& drink — dutiable

5,533,602

3,866,048

—1,667,554

Raw materials for
textile manufac-
tures

7,830,883

6,724,952

— 1,105,931

Raw materials for
sundry industries
and manufactures

3,948,609

3,431,3H7

-517,212

(A.) Miscellaneous
articles

1,669,042

1,980,032

+310,990

(B.) Parcel Post ...

207,751

120,195

—87,559

In the trade of the past three months there is
a gain of some £572,818 compared with the
same period last year, the figures being
£132,694,250, as against £132,121,432. We
come now to the imports of fruit, &c, con-
cerning which we have the following figures : —

Imports.

Fruits, raw :—

Apples

Apricots aud Peaches

Bananas... bunches

Grapes

Lemons

Nuts— Almonds
Others, used as food

Oranges

Pears

Plums

Strawberries

Unenumerated.raw...

Fruits, dried —

Currants, for home
consumption

Raisins ,

Vegetables, raw : —

Onions bush.

Potatos cwt.

Tomatos „

Vegetables, raw, un-
euumerated ...value

1901.

1902.

Difference.

Cwt.

Cwt.

Cwt.

155,840

115,804

—40,036

146

40

—106

126,849

168,703

+41,854

1,514

948

-566

71,284

71,901

+617

4,569

6,163

+ 1,594

41,629

59,186

+ 17,557

747,923

923,939

+ 176,016

2,015

715

—1,300

127

50

— 77

5

1

—4

3,980

5,187

+1,207

32,164

46,541

+ 14,377

16,498

15,981

-517

529,961

411,121

—118,840

741,H03

209,468

—532,435

49,576

35,060

—14,516

£41,319

£59,781

+£18,462

There are some charges made against the
handlers here of West Indian Oranges, &c,
but possibly they are based on some misunder-
standing ; at any rate, let us have a fair field
and no favour in the disposal of fruits from
our Colonies. The —

Extorts
for the month of March show up on the wrong
side. The value of the month's trade is
£22,217,238 as compared with £25,021,293 for
the corresponding period last year — or a de-
crease of £2,804,055. But the item of £2,167,225
decrease on new ships goes far to account for
this falling off. The figures for the past three
months are £67,798,088, as compared with
£70,812,279— a loss of £3,013,591. Possibly

proceedings at St. Stephen's may tend to the
amelioration of the present condition of things
as delineated in the Trade and Navigation

Returns.

Mr. Martin Sutton.— The daily papers
announce the intention of Mr. Martin Sutton.
to present to the town of Reading a statue of
H.M. the King, asa memorial of the Coronation.

The National Chrysanthemum Society's
Report for 1901, and schedule of prizes to be
offered for competition at the exhibitions to-
be held during the present year, has just been
issued. The gist of that report and balance-
sheet was published in these pages on Feb. 8
last. The dates for the Society's shows are
October 7, 8, and 9 ; November 4, 5, and 6 :,
and December 2, 3, and 4. They will he held
as usual in the Royal Aquarium, Westminster.
The most important competition at the
November show again promises to be in the
class for sixty blooms of twelve varieties, to
be shown in vases. As much as £50 is offered
in this class alone, and we are glad that such
liberal encouragement of this more natural
system of displaying the blooms is to be
continued. In other respects, and except-
ing a few modifications, the schedule is
much the same as that of last year, and
there are again many valuable special prizes,
including that offered by the President, Sir
A. K. Rollitt, M.P., for the best group of
plants. There does not appear to be any
special instructions to the judges at the
December exhibition to encourage the exhi-
bition of freshly-opened flowers of moderate
size rather than of retarded specimens of the
biggest bloomed varieties, that naturally
would be out of season at that date. But we
believe it to be very generally thought, that
this late exhibition should be made the means
of developing a race of naturally late blooming
Chrysanthemums to a greater degree than at
present is the case. The results of the work
of the Classification, Floral, and other Com-
mittees are given, and are interesting to those
who cultivate their Chrysanthemums partly or
wholly with a view to exhibiting them.

Mr. F. J. Coppin. — For upwards of twenty
years, writes a correspondent, Mr. F. J-
Coppin, has held the rank of Superintendent
in the London parks, and for a long period he
has been in charge of Battersea Park. When
it was resolved by the London County Council
to create a new office, and give Lieut.-Col.
Sexby a right-hand man, Mr. Coppin, as senior
superintendent was chosen for the position.
The step was forced upon the Council by the
continued growth of the area of parks, commons,
and open spaces, the Chief Officer finding it
well nigh impossible to keep them under direct
supervision.

The Nurserymen, Market Gardeners',
and General Hailstorm Insurance Cor-
poration, Ltd., will hold its annual meeting
on the 11th inst., at 41 and 42, King Street,
Covent Garden, London.

Presentation to a Gardener.— The local
members of the trade and the gardeners in the
Windsor district, together with some friends
from a distance, met at the Castle Hotel,
Windsor, on the 26th ult. to make a presenta-
tion to Mr. James McIlwrick, who, after a
service of twenty-eight years, has retired from
the post of head gardener to Mr. V. B. and
Lady Emily Van der Weyer, New Lodge,
Windsor. Mr. McIlwkick was entertained at
a complimentary dinner, presided over by Mr.
Harry Turner, Royal Nursery, Slough, who
in the course of the evening presented to Mr.
McIlwrick an illuminated address and a purse

April 12, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

247

containing twenty-five pounds in gold. The
address expressed the regret with which the
gardening community had learned of Mr.
McIlweuck's retirement from New Lodge, and
bore testimony to the excellent work done by
the recipient in encouraging rural district
flower shows, and in other ways. A very
•enjoyable evening was spent.

THE LATE MR. CHAELES FISHER.
The death of this famous nurseryman, re-
corded in your issue of Saturday week, leaves
one more void in the decreasing few of the
great gardeners of the last century. Friend
and contemporary of such men as the late

lost his interest in gardening, and it was only
a little before Christmas that I received from
him a long and interesting letter on his garden
and its contents.

In a knowledge of hardy trees and shrubs,
Mr. Fisher at his prime had few equals. Of
evergreens, more especially Hollies, he made
a special study, and a series of various fine-
leaved forms bear record of his success in
raising novelties. Ilex Fisheri, Hands-
worthensis, Handsworth Silver, Foxi, and the
recently distributed novelties of the firm,
Wilsoni and Mundyi were amongst his
productions.

As to Berberis stenophylla (first called Hands-
worthensis), I remember his taking me to see

The Late Mb. CHARLES FISHER

Robert Marnock, James Veitch, Arthur Dick-
son, Robert Parker, B. S. Williams, and Bruce
Findlay, Mr. Fisher seemed, in his retire-
ment, a link with the preceding generation.

Born on May 19, 1823, at Handsworth, he
succeeded to the headship of the firm founded
by his great grandfather at Handsworth, on
the retirement of Messrs. Fisher (his father),
Holmes & Foster, in the early fifties ; carrying
on the business with the lato Mr. Ed. Holmes
(afterwards of Lichfield) as Fisher, Holmes A
Co. until 18(18, when Mr. Holmes retired,
being succeeded by his son-in-law, Mr. Sibray,
when the firm became Fisher, Son & Sibray.

When in 1888 a private company was formed
under the same title, Mr. Fisher remained a
director, taking however a decreasingly active
part in the management, until he eventually
disposed of his interest two years ago. Though
retired from active work, Mr. Fisher never

the original plant, and a double form was also
selected by him.

Rhododendrons, including some charming
varieties of campanulatum, still cultivated ;
early varieties, such as Handsworth Early
White and Scarlet, as well as hybrid Cataw-
bionse varieties, such as Countess Fitzwilliam
and others, were his gains in this group. In
greenhouse Rhododendrons, Mr. Fisher took
especial interest, raising the finest of the
white, sweet-scented varieties, Lady Alice
Fitzwilliam.

Of choice hardy trees and shrubs, Mr. Fisher
produced many varieties, interesting in flower
and foliage.

As a pupil of his in 1858 and 1859, I owe liiin
a debt of gratitude in teaching me to know
and love hardy trees and plants, and during
my stay at Handsworth, 1 found in him a kind
friend and an efficient teacher. Many others had

the same experience, and I may note amongst
these Mr. Nicholson of Kew, Mr. Jeffries of
Cirencester, the late Mr. John Warner of
Leicester, Mr. Roupell of Peter Smith & Co.,
of Hamburg, one of the first authorities on
Coniferse in Germany, and many others.

Mr. Fisher was of commanding presence,
standing some 6 feet 3 inches high, and of
great physical development. A fine type of
the clear, common-sense Yorkshireman ; and
speaking of him after a continuous friendship
of nearly fifty years, I may say that he was a
man whom it was an honour and a distinct
advantage to have known intimately.

He was laid to rest in the Handsworth
churchyard on Monday, 21th ult., amidst marks
of respect on the part of many, some of them
lifelong, neighbours. George Paul.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

wallflowers. — I have heard numerous
complaints as to the injury done to common
Wallflowers during February by the sharp
frosts of that month. I have seen evidences
of the mischief done also. At Hampton Court
the Wallflowers are remarkably fresh and
vigorous, not a leaf seeming to have been
harmed. That immunity is doubtless due to
the care taken early in the winter to fix
branches of Yew in and amongst the plants in
the numerous beds there. Now these are
removed, and the plants are fully exposed,
the benefits of such protection can be seen.
That such form of protection was furnished
indicates that the gardeners there expected
harm to their plants would ensue, were not
such wind or frost breaks provided. There is
the possibility that fogs do as much harm
as frosts, but these pestilent visitations do
not extend in their most virulent form to
Hampton Court. But it is hardly likely that
branches of Yew would protect plants in the
open from the evil effects of London fogs. A. D.

an asia minor snowdrop. — Mr. Siehe, of
Mersina, sent me last autumn a Snowdrop,
which, from the markings on the inner seg-
ments, as well as from its general habit, he
believed to be a new species ; it also flowers
earlier than the ordinary Elwesii. I sent the
flowers to Kew this spring, and the judgment
was that the plant is not a new species, and
cannot be specifically distinguished from
Elwesii. As a garden plant, however, from its
earliness, and from its habit, it is sufficiently
distinct to be worth having. It seems to me
to be identical with a form of Galanthus
which Mr. Whittall kindly sent me some few
years back gathered at Cassaba. M. Foster,
Shelford.

A GUM-TREE (EUCALYPTUS) BLOOMING IN
MARCH AT CROMLA, CORRIE, ISLE OF ARRAN. —

This winter has been severe. At Ivil marnock,
Ayrshire, 7 miles from the sea, the thermo-
meter fell on February 24 to 8° (24 of frost).
Many plants suffered, Veronica Traversii being
killed, though the tall, dark, bright-leaved
V. anomala, if that be the correct name,
was uninjured. On March SI I crossed to
Arran to see what my plants at Corrie were
like. 1 confess to a surprise, for they were
all uninjured. I was especially pleased to
find that the Tree Fern (l)icksonia antarc-
tica), as also a little plant of Acacia de-
currens (Black Wattle), which 1 had planted
last year was untouched. It. was also inte-
resting to lind that the plant of Desfontainea
spinosa had still a few flowers expanded, and
that Camellia Donckelari was in bloom, and
the double-flowered white Camellia— alas ! it
has changed to a double red was showing its

petals, as was the case with Rhododendron arbo-

rotim ni veil in : wli i le li. ( H bsoni and |{. virginale

were covered with flower-bods, and K. l-'al-
coneri was in good health largest leaf 15 in.
by 71, exclusive of stalk : and it need not be
added the three species of Palms, and the great
Palm-Lily (GoryphaVeitchi), brought from Can-

248

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 12, 1902

terbury, Sow Zealand, in 1878, and planted at
Cromla in the following year, were untouched ;
as was also that other New Zealand plant, Mer-
trosideros lucida, and a standard of Loinatia fer-
ruginea. It was gratifying to see all these in
excellent health ; but a surprise awaited me.
On going to my collection of Eucalypts — there
are nine species — I was astonished to find
Eucalyptus cordata, which I have named the
Silver Gum of Arran, in bloom. It was planted
in 1895. I send one of the twigs. It will be
noticed that there are only three flowers on
each stalk, yet there being a leaf on each side
of the stem, and a flowering stalk at each
leaf, the flowers so expand as to form a circle
around the twig. It will be observed also
that the leaves are already expanding. This
is a dwarf Gum, in Australia growing only to
the height of 50 feet, though it will probably
grow considerably higher in Arran. I notice
that one bloomed at Castlewellan, Ireland,
in 1893 ; there it bloomed in May, at Arran
in March. In reality, I believe it was in
bloom all the winter, but I was not in Arran to
see it. David Landsborough, Kilmarnock.

gloxinias. — I read with interest Mr. Hems-
ley's article in the Gardeners' Chronicle of
March 29 on Gloxinias. I cannot quite agree
with him that a moist atmosphere does not suit
them. Owing to a limited amount of space,
the Gloxinias at Holcote are grown in a
Cucumber-house until they commence to open
their blooms, after which they are placed on
the north side of the conservatory. Whilst in
the Cucumber-house, the pots stand on the
beds, and are constantly syringed ; they seem
to revel in the treatment, for last year they
carried from fifty to sixty well-developed
blooms on each plant. The foliage was clean
and healthy. G. B. Wcstlake, Bolcotc Gardens,
Yeovil.

LAPAGERIAS FLOWERING IN THE OPEN.— I

enclose a few blooms of Lapageria rosea,
grown in the open in the garden of W. All-
hnflens, Esq., Pinhay, Lyme Regis, just on the
borders of Dorset. Mr. Bloye, the able gar-
dener, has both the red and white varieties
doing remarkably well in quite an exposed
position. The plants are now (April 4) in full
bloom, and throwing up strong growths. A. E.
Townsend. [The flowers are in every respect
equal to those produced indoors. Ed.]

early snowdrops. — Your correspondent,
W. Miller, Berkswell, says, on p. 213, in your
issue for March 29, that I omit to give the date
of the flowering of our Snowdrops. If he will
be kind enough to look up the Gardeners'
Chronicle for February 8, p. 98, he will find
the dates on which they opened flower here
this season and last season. J. Jeffrey, tit.
Mary's Isle Gardens, Kirkcudbright .

MELONS after transit.— Whether Melons
lose their flavour in travelling or not I cannot
say, but this I do know, that Melons when
they arrive at the Shrewsbury Show have very
little flavour in them. When 1 used to be
honoured with a judgeship at Shrewsbury, no
department gave me more trouble and mis-
givings in my own judgment than that of
deciding the flavour of some thirty or forty
Melons. To retain command of one's tasting
capacity is a task more difficult than anyone
might imagine. Many of the samples are often
so far gone that they should never have been
brought. Once I remember a Melon haviDg
a decided flavour of "tar." To satisfy my-
self that I was not mistaken, I called a
passing judge to our assistance. He tasted,
and instantly gave it as his opinion that the
flavour was that of "tar most decidedly."
This man passed along and could not be
induced to taste any more of them. IV. Miller.

LILIUM GIGANTEUM.— This Lily used to grow
and flower very well at Combe Abbey, War-
wickshire, and many specimens throve and
looked very well after themselves when
planted out in the shrubberies. Those planted
on cultivated borders were slightly covered
over in winter with a few Oak leaves, weighted
down with something to prevent them being

blown away, but amongst which in spring the
leaves and flowering spikes would safely make
their appearance. These would again be pro-
tected by a few Spruce branches stuck into
the ground all round, to be removed when all
danger of frost was over. IV. Miller.

THE SHREWSBURY GRAPE PRIZES.— Like Mr.

Kirk and many others, I am glad the long-
promised Grape Cup competition is so soon to
become a reality, and sincerely hope the
scheme will create a monster competition of
the very best produce from all parts of the
country, that we may see to what high
standard of perfection the cultivation of the
Grape may be brought. It is also most grati-
fying to be assured that the cup and the whole
of the cash prizes are provided by the enter-
prising Shropshire Horticultural Society,
which we may confidently trust to carry out
the scheme in an impartial manner. The only
pity is, that the London "season" and the
Scottish grouse season do not come on at about
the same time, as the southern growers are
usually handicapped and put to their wits'
ends to meet the heavy requirement of the
earlier London season, while the northern
growers usually have only to prepare for the
August grouse season, and thus possess better
opportunities and time for preparing their
productions. Moreover, they have the ad-
vantage of a longer season of growth. I am
rather sorry Mr. Kirk is so uncharitable as to
"look a gift horse in the mouth" by com-
plaining of the uselessness of the special 2nd
prize of books to head gardeners, because there
are plenty of under ones who would be glad to
have them. I may also assume that it is not
yet too late for any other "special " merchant
to step in and supplement any of the minor
prizes. And why does Mr. Kirk call the Cup
the Queen's Cup? when it is entirely provided
by the Committee of the Shropshire Horti-
cultural Society, that we must thank for that
and many other generous helps our honourable
profession have received. J. H. Goodacre.

sterilisation OF the SOIL.— In last week's
issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle, a paragraph
appeared referring to the benefits which
American Carnation growers have derived
through sterilising the soil. We have, in
conjunction with a gentleman well known to
horticulturists, taken out a provisional patent
for an apparatus for soil sterilisation, which
will shortly be on the market. In the mean-
time we shall be pleased to give particulars
should any of your readers wish for the infor-
mation. William Wood & tion, Ltd., Wood-
Green, London, April 8, 1902.

THE SUCCESSFUL CULTURE OF HARDY FRUIT.

— In the issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle for
March 29, a long letter on fruit culture was
published from the pen of A. W. Godwin,
which is in many respects so misleading that
it ought not to be allowed to pass without
notice. In his list of Apples he states that King
of Pippins is " unequalled as a dessert fruit."
But I do not think many gardeners will differ
from me if I say that, but for its appearance
it would be almost unknown, being of very
poor quality. And after givinga list of Apples,
many of which are scarcely known, and from
which the best late varieties are omitted, he
states that this list embraces every Apple
necessary to be grown. He ithcn gives a list
of late Pears, in which he places Louise Bonne
of Jersey and Citron des Caimes, which needs
no comment from me, except for the benefit of
the ignorant planter who may be led to pur-
chase such varieties for late use, and find them
gone by November. Edmund D'()licr,Knocklin,
Bray, Ireland.

ODONTOGLOSSUM x ADRIANS
"Mks. ROBERT BENSON."'

Our illustration (fig. 78) represents a flower
of this fine natural hybrid of O. crispum and
O. Hunnewellianum for which Captain Holford
of Westonbirt, Tetbury (gr., Mr. Alexander),
received a First-class Certificate at the
Royal Horticultural Society on March 25, it
having previously received an Award of Merit
when flowered on the fresh imported plant,
Feb. 26, 1901. The plant as last shown, well
exemplified the good resulting from careful
cultivation, both plant and flower having
greatly improved. The finely formed flowers
are cream-white, the markings reddish-brown.
Crest of the lip yellow.

ENQUIRIES.

What, if any grounds, are there for the
statement that Mushrooms cease to grow
when the moon is about the full? E. Kent.

Can you give me the names of any flowers
having two distinct scents, which are given
off at different times, and which would be easy
of access or of cultivation for purposes of
observation? Tilia.

©bituan?.

Walter Furze. — This gentleman, who
was a resident at Teddington, a F.R.H.S., and
well known in his district as an ardent
amateur horticulturist, came to an untimely
end at Bournemouth on March 31, where he
was temporarily residing, having been thrown
from his horse near Darley Chine on the 22nd
ult. The animal also kicked him on the head
and rendered him unconscious, and in spite of
what seemed to be a successful operation, he
succumbed on the date named.

Formerly devoted to the culture of the
Chrysanthemum, and being often a successful
competitor, and once carrying off two years m
succession the then popular Kingston Chal-
lenge Vase, Mr. Furze later became an enthu-
siastic orchidist, and was at one time an
active member of the Orchid Committee of the-
Royal Horticultural Society. His health had
not been good for some time, hence his com-
parative retirement from active life.

John DowneS. — We regret to announce
the death of Mr. John Downes, head gardener
at Berkswell Hall, Warwickshire, on Saturday,
March 29, from heart failure following in-
fluenza. He was fifty-nine years of age, and
had been gardener to J. H. Wheatley, Esq.,
for many years. He was greatly respected in
the district, and enjoyed a high reputation,
among the gardening fraternity. It was, how-
ever, as an authority on Chrysanthemums that
Mr. Downes was probably best known, and for
over twenty years he was one of the judges at
the Birmingham Chrysanthemum Exhibition.
The deceased leaves a widow, one son and
three daughters, the son unfortunately being
blind.

William Troughton. — We regret to have
to record the death from paralysis of Mr.
Troughton, a well known seedsman and florist,.
at Preston, having nurseries at Walton-le-
Dale, Lancashire. Death occurred on the
7th inst., the day succeeding Mr. Troughton's
sixty-fourth anniversary of his birth. The
following particulars are extracted from the
Lancashire Daily Post : —

' ' Coming to Preston from Cumberland in 1851 ,
he commenced business in 1863. When the
Pleasure Gardens were taken over by a com-
pany Mr. Troughton was manager, and when
they ceased business he took the place him-
self. For many years past Mr. Troughton has
been established at the Walton Nurseries and
in Church Street, this business, it is stated,
having been founded a century ago by Mr.
James Cookson, and passing through various
hands into those of Mr. Troughton. Deceased
was a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural
Society. Ferns were his specialty, and he
had over a thousand British varieties. Many
years ago he was secretary of the Preston
Horticultural Society, and on the retirement

April 12, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

249

of Mr. C. Parker a couple of years since he
was persuaded to take over the secretaryship
of the Preston and Pulwood Society, organis-
ing the excellent summer exhibition last year.
Deceased leaves a son and three daughters."

, Robert Menzies Dewar. — We regret to
record the death on April 5, at the age of
seventy-four year3, of Mr. Robert Dewar,
head gardener at Dunnikier, Kirkcaldy, Fife-
shire. The deceased was born at Aberfeldy,
and when he was quite young his parents
removed to Liston, in Haddingtonshire, where
he received his early training and education.
He afterwards returned to Castle Menzies,
where he served his apprenticeship as gar-
dener. After spending a few years in various
parts of the country, gaining experience and
knowledge, he finally settled as head gardener
at Dunnikier, now well-nigh fifty years ago.

Societies.

■ — ♦—

BOYAL HORTICULTURAL.

April 8.— The usual fortnightly meeting of the com-
mittees on Tuesday last, in the Drill Hall, Buckingham
Gate, Westminster, was accompanied by an ex-
ceedingly large exhibition. During the spring months
the displays made at these meetings for several years
past have been greater than could conveniently be
accommodated in the Hall, and now that the number
of Fellows is increasing so rapidly, the difficulties are
felt more acutely, because there arc very many more
visitors than was formerly the case. On Tuesday last
the crowding between the tables caused annoyance to
everyone. Such a condition of things makes the duties
belonging to the Press even more arduous than they
would otherwise be.

Orchids were finely represented, but only one First-
class Certificate and four Awards of Merit, were recom-
mended, being less than half of the extraordinary
number recommended on the previous occasion.

FlG. 78. — ODONTOGLOSSHM AflHIAN.-K "MRS. ROBKRT BENSON.'

.

Mr. Dewar was a man of rare intelligence,
with that quiet, calm, and unassuming manner
often associated with those who are much in
communion with Nature. His eminence in his
profession, and the sterling probity of his
character, made his advice and judgment
highly valued and esteemed ; hence it is that
he was so much in request as a judge by floral
and horticultural societies. He is survived
by his wife and a large family.

Publications Received.— Transactions of the

Enylixh Arbnricultural Society, vol. v., part 1, compiled
by John Davidson (19111-1902). Contents : Reports of the
Annual Meetings; Making and Cost of Roads and
Bridges to carry 10 to 1ft tons, by Mr. Jos. Price;
Timbers, by Mr. Arthur Deane (with beautiful Illustra-
tions of sections, showing the "grain" of various
woods); Arboreal Tunnellers, by Mr. Mosley ; Canker
of Oak, by Prof. Potter ; Forest Management in France,
by Prof. Fisher, &c.— Transactions of the Koyal Scottish
ArboricnUural Society, vol. xvi., part 3; Lieut. -Colonel
F. Bailey, Hon. Editor. The contents include papers
on Forestry Exhibition at Paris and its Lessons, by J.
Gamble ; Outlook of the World's Timber Supply, by Dr.
W. Schlich (a most important paper); ArboricnUural
Adornment of Towns, by R. Munro Ferguson; Notes
on Tree-seed Testing, by J. Rafn, of Copenhagen;
Forestry in Kent ami Sussex, by D. A. Glen, and
similar subjects.

Tub Floral Committee adopted a resolution of
sympathy with the relatives of the late Mr. G. F.
Wilson, who was a former Chairman of that body.
This Committee recommended one First-class Certifi-
cate, and six Awards of Merit to novelties ; also a
round dozen of Medals for groups of forced shrubs.
Cyclamens, Roses Clivias, Pelargoniums, and hardy
plants.

Some fine fruits of Royal Sovereign Strawberry andan
Apple wero all that the Fruit and Veiietaiii.e Com-
mittee had wherewith to concern itself.

Floral Committee.

Present : George Paul, Esq., in the Chair ; and Messrs.
C. T. Druery, G. Nicholson, C. E. Pearson, R. C.
Notcutt, J. Jennings. W. Howe, J. W. Barr, C. Dixon,
R. Wallace. C. Jeffries, 11. J. Cutbush, J. A. Nix, H. .1.
Jones, \V. Cuthbcrtson, W. P. Thomson, E. H. Jenkins,
K. Wilson Kcr, H. Turner, C. E. Shea, \V. Marshall, and
Rev. F. Paee- Roberts.

Cyclamens were shown very finely by the St.
Georue's Nursery Company, Hanwcll, London, W.
The group of plants covered about a threequar cr length
of one of the long tables, and all of them were well
grown, freely - llowered examples, the white and
coloured varieties being alike largc-llovvered and of
bold appearance. The " Papilla " and fringed section--
were shown with plain foliage and with deeply fringed
and tessellated foliage. One plant had rosy purple

flowers with a deep fringe, which was cream-coloured.
Another was pure white, with canary-yellow at the
base of the segments (Silver-gilt Flora Medal).

Zonal Pelargonium flowers from Messrs. H. Canneli.
& Sons, Swanley, Kent, were brilliant, and of the
largest size and best form. Very conspicuous were
such varieties as Chaucer, rich salmon-pink ; Lord
Curzon, purple and scarlet; The Sirdar, pure scarlet;
Lady Sarah Wilson, white, shaded witli salmon-red,
especially towards the margin of the petals; St.
Cecilia, rich pink; Lilacina Improved, Niagara, white,
etc. Half a dozen plants also were shown of the
"Cactus" strain of Cineraria, figured in the Gardeners
Chronicle, May 11, 1901, p. 297. The florets are rolled
inwards longitudinally. The only colour shown was
rich purple (Silver Flora Medal).

A group of fine Clivias in flower from H. Little, Esq.,
Baronhalt, The Barons, East Twickenham (gr., Mr. J.
Watts), was recommended a Silver Banksian Medal.
The group contained upwards of two dozen specimens
of this plant, that better perhaps than any other
succeeds in the most urban districts, andx needs but
little attention.

Camellias as cut flowers from the open ground were
shown by Sir Francis T. Barry, Bart., M.P., St.
Leonard's Hill, Windsor (gr., Mr. Robert Brown). The
plants from which the flowers were cut have been
growing "without protection of any kind" for
from three to nineteen years. The flowers and foliage
were fresh - looking, and quite unaffected by bad
weather (Silver Banksian Medal).

Mr. Charles Turner, Royal Nurseries, Slough,
exhibited plants of Deutzia gracilis robusta, D, g.
rosea, palely tinted with rose colour ; and D. Lemoinei.

H.-cmanthus Diadema was shown by the Marquis of
Londonderry, K.G., Wynyard Park, Stockton-on-Tees
(gr.. Mr. HE. Gribble).

Flowering sprays of the rather rare Biguonia
Tweedieana (yellow) and of Cantua dependens, were
shown by Mr. R. I. Lynch, Cambridge Botanic Gardens
(Vote of Thanks).

Messrs. Geo. Jackman & Son, Woking Nursery.
Surrey, exhibited alpine and other plants very effec-
tively arranged in boxes; Gentiana acaulis, Primula
marginata, P. frondosa, P. japonica, Androsace sar-
mentosa, <tc. Bigger plants included a dozen speci-
mens of Incarviilea Delavayi in flower, and a grand lot
of Cypripedium spectabile (Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. Wallace & Co., Kilnfield Gardens, Col-
chester, exhibited a group ot hardy plants, includiug
excellent specimens of Iris orchioides, I. o. Cferulea.
I. Willmottiana, &0. ; also Fritillaria Whittalli, F. palli-
diflora, &e. ; and the brilliant Tulipa Greigii (Bronze
Flora Medal).

Mr. Thos. S. Ware, Ltd., Hale Farm Nurseries.
Feltham, exhibited a group containing several plants
in flower of Incarviilea Delavayi, Ramondia Nathalie
(earlier flowering than R. pyrenaica), Silcne virginicr,
Lithospermum eanescens, a fine lot of Shortia galaci-
folia, Primula Sieboldi varieties, &c. (Rronze Banksian
Medal).

Mr. Amos Perry, Hardy Plant Farm, Winchmorc
Hill, London, N., showed a group of hardy plants,
including tall - growing varieties of Iris pumila.

5 inches high, among these were Princess Louise, ol
very pretty blue colour; Harlequin, Beauty, &c. Pri-
mulas viscosa, P. marginata, &C, and very strong]; -
grown plants of Primula denticulata, Sc. (Bronze Flora
Medal).

Mr. Arthur W. Wade, Riverside Nurseries, Col-
chester, exhibited some hardy flowers, including good
plants of Anemone Pulsatilla, Narcissus in variety.
Muscaris, Primulas, double flowered Arabis, Erythro-
nium Hartwegi, &c,

A group of Roses in pots, shown by Messrs. W. Pal <

6 Son, Waltham Cross Nurseries, Herts, was composed
exclusively of new varieties. Among these were Boa-
dicea, a bright pink-coloured Tea variety; Souvenir de
William Robinson, bronzy yellow, with re 1 upon the
outer petals; H.T. Liberty, hright red or crimson;
H.T. Souvenir de Madame Eugene Verdier, white,
with apricot - coloured centre; T. Dr. Felix Guyon,
yellow; H.T. Marie Louise Poiret, vinous red; H.T.
Frau Karl Druscliki, white, with pretty, high
filbert-shaped hud; H.T. Souvenir du President Carnot,
a very pictty flower, of soft pink colour; the hybrid
Soleil d'Or, figured and described in these pages, July r-,
1931, p. 7, <Sc. (Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. I'm ■ A son, The Old Nurseries, Cheshunt,
London, N., exhibited Koses in pets. Amongst thee
were the new n. T. Lady Battersea, ol bright red
colour, an effective Bower, bavlDg line -.terns [or
cutting: Marquise Lltta; .' new T named Queen ■

250

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 12, 1902.

Sweden and Norway, of delicate salraon-pink colour :
H.T. Bessie Brown ; Rugosa repens, described as a new
creeping Rose, with large, white, single flowers, &c.
Messrs. Paul & Son also showed a group of Hippeas-
trums in flower (Bronze Banksian Medal).

Messrs. Fbank Cant & Co., Braiswick Nurseries,
Colchester, exhibited two dozen fine Rose blooms,
showing capital specimens of Cleopatra, Madame
Hoste. Niphetos, Suzanne-Marie Rodocanachi, &e.

Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Bush Hill Park Nurseries,
Enfield, London, N., exhibited a group of plants of
Turner's Crimson Rambler Rose ; the new companion
for the above-named, Queen Alexandra, rich pink
colour'; Hydrangea Hortensia, Malus floribunda
Scheideckeri, Magnolia Halleana stellata, Wistarias, &c.
Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., had also pretty groups of
their new Schizanthus, known as S. Wisetonensis.
The rich pink coloured, and the brown and pink
varieties are the most effective, the lighter ones having
a rather washy appearance when exhibited thus early.
Some of the newer varieties of " Malmaison " Carnations
were also shown (Bronze Flora Medal).

Messrs. Jno. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill Nurseries,
London, S.E., showed a group of forced shrubs, in-
cluding " mollis "Rhododendrons, Spiraea Van Houttei,
Lilacs, Laburnums, Deutzias, Genista fragrans, <&c.

Cineraria variety ramosa, already remarked upon at
these meetings, was again shown by Messrs. James
Veitch & Sons, Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea. The
ten plants shown displayed but little variation, and
the strain may be recommended for a distinctness of
habit and for the brightness of its reddish-purple
flowers. Hippeastrums from the same firm included
several pretty varieties, and Sylvanus and Nysa were
recommended Awards of Merit. The Veldt has a green
centre, and the segments are reddish-brown towards
their extremities, quite a new tint. Concilia was the
lightest coloured one, having only a few scarlet lines
upon the greenish-white segments. Messrs. J. Veitch
ASons also showed a floor group of Kalanchoe coccinea,
consisting of a large number of [plants in 5-inch pots,
each bearing one head of flowers. The effect of the
large number of orange and red coloured corymbs was
striking, but the plant is not nearly so good an one as
K. flammea. The taller plants would measure 3 feet,
and the dwarfer -J feet.

From the Earl of Lathom's garden, Lathom House,
Ormskirk (gr., Mr. B. Ashton), were shown some thick
stems of Euphorbia pulcherrima, that had flowered
and produced good bracts within an .inch of the old
wood (Vote of Thanks).

Messrs. W. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross, Herts,
exhibited a very choice group of flowering shrubs,
some of them brought into flower by affording them
the shelter of a glasshouse. We remarked Lilac
(Syringa) Leon Simon, double flowered ; L. Souvenir de
Louis Spilth, individual flowers large, and of a lilac
tint, single-flowered, and the plant very free as shown ;
L. Chas. Joly, flowers of a bright lilac tint, and double
spike, too little developed to afford a true idea of size ;
L. Arthur Win. Paul, double flowered, of a lilac tint,
the unopened buds red coloured ; the white-flowered
L. Madame Lemoine ; Cerasus J. H. Veitch, double
flowered, blush coloured, and very free ; C. Fortunei,
single flowered, white, with a pink flush; double-
flowered French Cherry; double-flowered Almond,
flowers very densely set on the shoots ; double-flowered
Crimson Peach; the double- flowered Pyrus angusti-
folia, a fine thing ; plants of Spiraea confusa, beautifully
bloomed ; Cytisus precox, Staphylea colchica, Mollis
Azaleas in variety, Wistaria sinensis, Xanthoceras
sorbifolia, densely flowered.

Messrs. Bare & Sons, King Street, Covent Garden,
showed bulbous flowers largely, Daffodils forming the
major part of the exhibit. Tulips were shown with
some degree of profusion, and came apparently from
plants pushed on under glass. We noted the orange-
scarlet Prince of Austria, Snowflake, and the pure
white Rosalind; Muiillo, blush coloured, double
flowered, distinct and pretty: Primrose Queen, a
flower of a soft yellow tint; Rose Queen, a well
formed crimson bloom ; Tulipa Kaufmanniana, a well
formed, yellow coloured flower, having a few crimson
flakes on the outside of the petals ; six flower-heads of
Iris Susiana; a few dwarf Alpines, inclusive of
Anemones, Androsaces, Saxifragas, Primulas &c
(Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. Wm. Cuthush & Son, Nurseries, Highgate,
showed a little group of winter-flowering Carnations,
consisting of plants of WinterBeauty.au almost per-
petual flowering variety, and of a vivid scarlet tint; a
few of the original Souvenir de la Malmaison ; and two
lauts with one bloom each of Cecilia, a shapely yellow

coloured flower of tall growth. Messrs. W. Cutbush
& Sons also showed a group of forced flowering shrubs,
which included "Ghent" and "mollis" Rhododen-
drons, Magnolia Soulangeana, double white and double
red Thorns (standards), Laburnums, Viburnums, &e.
(Silver Banksian Medal).

Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, Upper Holloway,
London, N., showed a corner group of handsome, well-
grown Dracaenas, Palms, Aspidistras, Ba.mboos,
variegated Acer Negundo, &c.

Awards.

Auricula Firefly.— A showy alpine variety, maroon-
crimson in colour with exceedingly clear yellow centre.
The flower has extraordinary size and form (Award of
Merit).

Auricula William Hrnwood.—A green-edged show
variety, paste cream-coloured surrounded by irregular
ring of blackish-purple (Award of Merit).

Auricula Rosy Morn. — An alpine variety of extraordi-
nary size, colour cherry-red, divided from the brightly
coloured yellow centre by a thin purple ring. All
rom Mr. James Douglas, Edenside Nurseries, Great
Bookham (Award of Merit).

Hippeastrum Nysa.—A flower of moderate size,
excellent form, and very deepest crimson-colour.
From Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons (Award of Merit).

Hippeastrum Sylvanus. — Of moderate size, extremely
imbricate, segments recurving a little. Colour scarlet,
mottled with white. From Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons
(Award of Merit).

Iris Bucharica.— This species has been named by
Professor Michael Foster. It has very bright green,
glossy leaves, that arch prettily ; the flowers are white,
with yellow lip, about 14 inches high ; shown by
Miss Wii.LMOTT, Warley Place, Warley (First-class
Certificate).

Primula viscosa " Spring Beauty." — Described asacross
between this Primula and Auricula C. ,T. Perry. The
leaves are about 2.j inches wide and 3 inches long, a
little more ovate than those of the Primula, and notched
as they are ; the flowers are lj inch across, rich, deep
purple, with cream-coloured centre, petals notched in
centre, just as those of the Primula. Shown by Mr.

E. A. Hambko, Esq., Hayes Place Gardens, Hayes,
Kent (gr., Mr. Wm. Beale) (Award of Merit).

Narcissus Committee.

Present : H. B. May, Esq. (Chairman) ; Miss Willmott.
Revs. G. H. Engleheart, G. E. Bourne, and W. Wilks:
Messrs. W. Poupart, W. Goldring. J. T. Bennett-Poe,
R. Sydenham, P. R. Barr, W. Ware, J. Pope, J. D.
Pearson, G. Reuthe, W. Copeland. and C. R. Scrase
Dickins.

The committee had no large quantity of material to
deal with, owing to the check of the last few cold days
and nights. The following awards were made :—

Firstclass Certificate to White Ajax Peter Barr, from
Messrs. Baeb. Awards of Merit to Ajax Sir Francis
Drake, an enlarged Emperor, from Messrs. Kendall,
Newton Poppleford ; and to Torch, a highly decorative
garden variety of N. incomparabilis, great in stature
and vigour, yellow with glowing red crown, from the
Rev. G. H. Engleheaet.

Medals were awarded to groups as follows ;—

Miss Cubrev, Lismore, Ireland, a Silver-gilt Flora
Medal for a very extensive and choice collection, in-
cluding the finest of the Engleheart seedlings as yet
distributed.

Messrs. Bare & Son, Silver Flora Medal for a fine
bank of all available varieties in flower. In the centre
were arranged many vases of the best novelties, which
were much admired through the day, in particular the
splendid new white Ajax Peter Barr.

Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, Bronze Banksian
Medal for a good representative collection.

Mr. B. Hartland. Cork, contributed some large
bunches, for which a Vote of Thanks was given.

Orchid Committee.

Present : Harry J. Veitch, Esq. (in the Chair) ; and
Messrs. Jas. O'Brien (Hon. Sec), De B. Crawshay, H. M.
Pollett, II. Ballantiue. E. Hill, J. Douglas, W. A. Bilney,

F. W. Ashton, W. Thompson, H. T. Pitt, J. W. Odell,
W. H. Young, W. Boxall, T. W. Bond, J. W. Potter,
J. G. Fowler, and H. Little.

H. T. Pitt, Esq., Rosslyn. Stamford Hill (gr., Mr.
Thurgood), showed a very interesting and well-arranged
group in which all sections of Orchids were repre-
sented, and for which a Silver Flora Medal was
awarded. The greater number were varieties of Odon-
toglossum crispum of a very fine type, and excellently

well grown. Several spotted forms were in the group,
the best of which was the fine, heavily-blotched O.
crispum " Abner Hassell," which received an Award at
the last Temple Show ; good O. Pescatorei, O. trium-
phans, O. x Adrians, O. X Humeanum. O. x Ander-
soniauum, and other Odontoglossums were also
present ; a good selection of Cattleya Schrodera?, of
which C. S. Pitt's variety is by far the most remarkable,
the colour of the lip being ruby-purple; Deudrobium
atro-violaeeum, Cypripedium Mastersianum, C. x
George Llewellyn, a pretty C. niveuni cross, with white
flowers marked with purple; Angrrecum sesquipedale,
Chondrorhyncha Chestertoni, and other remarkable
species.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, were awarded
a Silver Flora Medal for a remarkable group of hybrid
Orchids, to which the bright yellow, orange, and
purple tints of Lielio-Cattleya x Hippolyta, L.-C. x
highburyensis, L.-C. X Myra Princess of Wales, La'lia
x Latona, L. x Mrs. Gratrix, and others of that class,
imparted a showy feature. The largest rich claret-
purple flowers were of L.-C. x Dominiana Langley-
eusis; and other fine hybrids were L.-C. x Wellsiana,
L.-C. X Callistoglossa, L.-C. x Lucilia, L.-C. x Duval-
iana, L.-C. vacuna, Ljelia x Novelty, Cattleya x inter-
texta, Chysis x Chelsoni, C. x Sedeni, Epidendrum x
Clarissa, Dendrobium x Alcippe, and the new Seleni-
pedium x Hylas (leucorrhodum x caudatum Wallisii).

Baron Sir H. Schroder, The Dell, Egham (gr., Mr. H.
Ballantinei, was awarded a Silver Banksian Medal for
a group of very fine -tilings, chiefly cut flower spikes.
Among them were the original Odontoglossum x
Leeanum, the fine, heavily blotched O. crispum Rext
the beautifully formed and finely spotted O. x Adrianse
Memoria Victorias Regina?, O. xelegans, Eastwood Park
variety, O. Pescatorei Schroderianum, finely blotched
with rose-purple; O. coronarium, Loelia x Edissa,
Angracum Ellisii, <feo.

Messrs. F. Sander & Sons, St. Albans, obtained a
Silver Banksian Medal for a fine group, in which their
hybrid Phaius were effective, their large flowers vary-
ing from pale rose to claret-purple. Four handsome
forms of Odontoglossum x crispo - Harryanum were
shown, three of them having nearly white flowers,
heavily marked with purple, the other, the variety
primulinum having a bright yellow ground. Other
noteworthy plants were Cattleya Schrodera;, Odonto-
glossum crispum, O. ramosissimum, O. luteo-purpu-
reum, Saccolabium calceolare, and Phaius Sanderiana.

Messrs. Charleswoeth & Co., Heaton, Bradford,
staged a small group of plants, all of much merit. In
the centre was a plant of Cypripedium x Colossus
(villosum giganteum x Sallieri aureum), having an
upper sepal that was green-tinted at the base, changing
to pale yellow towards the upper margin, and marked
with purple brown ; the broad petals and lip resembled
those of a gigantic C. villosum. Odontoglossum cris-
pum Dora had finely-formed, milk-white flowers that
were prettily-blotched with chocolate-purple over the
greater part of the surface ; O. X Hallio-crispum had a
fine spike of yellow, chocolate-spotted flowers; O. X
Adrianie Daphne, flowers nearly as large as O. crispum,
and evenly spotted ; and other varieties of O. X Adrians
of good quality; Cattleya Schrodera? Fascinator, C.
Trianrei, Uplands variety, very fine in colour; and
La'lia Jongheana alba, the best pure white which has
yet appeared (Bronze Banksian Medal).

J. Gurney Fowler, Esq., Glebelands, South Wood-
ford (gr., Mr. J. Davis), was awarded a Silver Banksian
Medal for three magnificently grown plants of Den-
drobium Devonianum, with long and well-matured
pseudo-bulbs, thickly clad with pretty white and rose
flowers with orange centres. The plants were flowering
on home-made growth, and better or more profusely
flowered ones have probably not been shown before.

Captain Holeord, C.I.E., Westonbirt (gr., Mr.
Alexander), showed Odontoglossum x elegans "Wes-
tonbirt variety," with a very strong spike with five
branches. It is larger and lighter in colour than the
original, and a fine and distinct form ; also a Cattleya
Schrodera1, with a velvety purple blotch on the lip.

Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, Holloway, in their
group of Amaryllis aud Clivias, staged a number of
good Odontoglossums, viz.. Edithn?, hcbraicuni, Ander-
sonianum, Wilckeauum, triumphans, &c. The group
likewise contained Ada aurantiaca, Calanthe San-
deriana, Cattleya Mendeli, C. Mossia;, Cymbidium
Devonianum, Cypripedium x Lebaudyaniun, C. Mas-
saianum, Trichopilia lepida, &c.

NoemanC.Cookson, Esq., Oakwood.Wylam, Northum-
berland (gr., Mr. H. J. Chapman), sent Cypripedium
X Wm. Lloyd superbum, a grand form, with flowers far
superior to any preceding it, notwithstanding that the

April 12, 1002.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

251

inflorescence bore two flowers. Tlie fine purplisli-rose
flowers bore dark chocolate-purple markings and white

tips to the dorsal sepal and petals.

F. Wellesley, Esq., Westrteld, Woking (gi\, Mr.
Gilbert), showed Cypripedium x W. E. Dickson, a fine
C. Kothschildianum hybrid, of which the other parent
is not recorded. Tlie flowers, which are the darkest of
the* section, partake much of the shape of C. Roths-
childianum; and the staminodeand the very dwarf habit
seemed to indicate that a C. bellatulum hybrid might
have taken part in its production. The upper sepal is
tintedadark rose, and has dark purplish lines running
through it ; petals extended, tinged with rose, and
bearing distinct dark chocolate-purple markings ; lip
reddish. Another plant to be admired was C. x Chap-
mani Westfield variety, a broad and well-formed
flower, lighter in colour than the original.

De B. Crawshay, Esq., Roselield, Sevenoaks (gr., Mr.
Stables), showed the handsome Odontoglossura . x
Adriame Crawshayanum, and Odontoglossum x
Crawshayanum (Hallii x Harryanum).

H. F. Simonds, Esq., Woodthorpe, Beekenham (gr.,
Mr. Geo. Day), showed Cyrtopodium punctatum, which
flowers freely with him, and a well-grown Odonto-
glossum Pescatorei Leeanum.

Walter Cobb, Esq., Dulcote, Tunbridge Wells (gr.,
Mr. J. Howes), sent Odontoglossum triumphans Cob-
bia?, a very large and darkly blotched flower ; the fine
Cypripedium x Mary Beatrice, and the reddish-yellow
Sophro-Lrelia x Marriottiana.

Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Bush Hill Park, showed
Cattleya Schroderas alba, " Low's variety," a very fine
pure white; C. S. Phyllis, of peach-blossom colour,
with rosy- orange disc to the lip; other varieties of
C. Schrodera? ; C. Trianon fulgens striata, resembling
Backhouseiana ; Cypripedium x macropterum, C. x
Morgania?, and Saceolabium ampullaceum.

Thomas Carruthers, Esq., Gaskmore, Reigatefgr.,
Mr. G. Collip), showed Odontoglossum x Wilckeanum
Carruthersii, a pretty form ; and J. Richardson, Esq.,
Hale Croft, near Altrincham (gr., Mr. W. Jenkins), sent
a fine spike of Dendrobium Dalhousieanum, and three
Odontoglossums.

Sir Frederick Wigan, Bart., Clare Lawn, East Sheen
(gr., Mr. W. H. Young), showed a fine spike of Miltonia
Bleuana, and one of the very richly marked Miltonia
vexillaria Memoria G. D. Owen.

Awards.

First-class Certificate.
Odontoglossum x Adrians: Memoria Victoria Regime
from Baron Sir H. Schroder, The Dell, Egham (gr..
Mr. H. Ballantine).— The finely grown plant had a
strong spike with flowers of perfect shape, the petals
fringed and the lip crimped and fimbriated ; colour
white, evenly and closely blotched with dark purple.
Award of Merit.

Lxlia x Flavina (pumila x flava), from Messrs. Jas.
Veitch & Sons.— A very singular and pretty dwarf
hybrid with short, stout growths like L. pumila, but
with a flower on an elongated spike, equal in size and
form to that of Cattleya Percivaliana. In colour a soft
primrose-yellow, with orange-coloured disc to the lip.

Masdevallia x Circe (tovarensis x Chimcera), from
Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons.— The first of the M. Chi-
mau-a crosses. Leaves like those of M. tovarensis, but
thinner; flowers ascending, on slender stems. In size
largerthau M. tovarensis, and with theequal triangular
arrangement of the perianth as in M. Chimcera. Colour
yellowish with red papilla, and three red lines iu each
segment continued into the slender, reddish-coloured
tails.

Lxlio-Caltleya x Dora (L.-C. X Hippolyta, Phcebe x C.
Schrodera).— A pretty flower, nearly as large as C.
Schrodera:, and of an indescribably pretty salmon-
tinted yellow hue, with a darker colour on the lip.

Zygopetalum x Perrenondi " Cecil Rhodes."— From H.
T. Pitt, Esq. (gr., Mr. Thurgood). The plant bore a
strong spike. Sepals and petals green, blotched with
purple. Lip nearly covered with blue veining and
tinting, on a white ground.

Fruit and Vegetable Committee.

Present: George Bunyard, Esq. (Chairman), and
Messrs. Jos. Cheal, H. Eslings, S. Mortimer, A. Dean,
H.J.Wright, W. Pope, G. Keif, J. Jaques, C. G. Nix
J. Smith, F. Q Lane, J. Willard, G. Wythes, J. H.'
Veitch, II. Somers Rivers, and H. Balderson.

Forced fruits of Strawberry Royal Sovereign were
shown byA. Hahoreayks Brown, Esq., M. P., Broome
Hall, Dorking. There were half a dozen punnets of
large, ripe fruits (Silver Banksian Medal).

Apple Edward VII. was shown by Mr. H. Rowk,

Barbourne Nurseries, Worcester. The fruits were
yellow-coloured, like those of Golden Noble, hard,
round, of moderate size.

Beach's Patent Weed Extractor, shown by Mr. J. H.
Beach, The Gardens, Hazells, near Gravesend, is an
implement like a narrow rake with three prongs, each
prong divided in the centre with a slit becoming nar-
rower at the top. It is recommended for dragging
Daisies out of lawn-grass, and weeds from beds and
borders.

The Lecture.

In the afternoon a lecture upon " Plants for Pergolas
and Verandahs." by Miss Jekyll, V.M.H., was read by
the Rev. W. Wilks, M.A., Secretary.

Miss Jekyll gave some useful hints upon the con-
struction of pergolas of various kinds, and recom-
mended suitable materials for the purpose. A selection
of the best plants for particular portions of the per-
golas and verandahs recommended was given, amongst
which were the following species : — Aristolochia
sipho. Wistaria, Clematises montana, &c. ; Ayrshire
Roses. Vitis cordata, V. Coignetiae, the Chasselas or
Royal Mascadiue Vine, Laburnum, the Snowy Mespilus,
Gueldres Rose, Wych Hazel, Bignonia radicans, Poly-
gonum Baldschuanicum, double - flowered Brambles,
Crataegus pyracantha ; various Roses, including Crim-
son Rambler, Longworth Rambler, <&c. ; Orange
Gourds, Hops, Azara microphylla, &c.

Mr. Harry Jas. Veitch, who presided, and Mr. George
Bunyard offered somevaluable advice upon the subject
so interestingly introduced by the authoress.

BRIGHTON AND SUSSEX HORTI-
CULTURAL.

April 8, 9.— In dull but dry weather, this Society
held the first of the three exhibitions which form its
programme for the present year. The spacious Corn
Exchange and the space under the Dome were filled to
overflowing. The entries were much more numerous
than is usual, the quality throughout very good, and
the competition keen.

In addition to the competitive exhibits, Messrs. W.
Balchin & Son brought from their Hassocks nursery
a very fine group of flowering plants mingled with
foliaged subjects ; the chief attraction in the group
was a batch of the lilac-coloured Tetratheca ericoides ;
this was deservedly awarded the Silver-gilt Medal of
the Society.

Messrs. Barr & Son, King Street, Covent Garden,
had a representative collection of cut Daffodils ; Mr
Murrell, gr. to Col. Rogers, Burgess Hill, Maidstone,
a very fine specimen Cyclamen persicum ; and Mr.
G. W. Piper, Ucktield, had a large collection of cut
Roses. Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons had a collection of
Apples, with plants and flowers. To each of these the
Silver Medal of the Society was awarded.

Competitive Classes.
Groups and tables of plants were a leading feature,
and several classes were devoted to them. The 1st
prize in the open class for a group was won by Mr.
Geo. Miles, nurseryman, Brighton, who had an ex-
ceedingly tasteful arrangement ; Mr. H. Head, nur-
seryman, Hove, was 2nd.

In the gentlemen gardener's division, Mr. W. E.
Anderson, gr. to B. Parish, Esq., Preston Park, was
placed 1st, for an attractive group of flowering and
foliage plants. Tables of foliage and flowering plants
were fewer than usual ; Mr. Geo. Miles again came
in 1st.

Collections of Orchids arranged on tables are always
an attractive feature at Brighton. Mr. H. Garnett, gr.
to R. G. Fletcher, Esq., Brighton, was placed 1st; he
had a very fine piece of Cymbidium Lowianum, also
Cattleya citrina, Dendrobiums, Odontoglossums, &c.
Mr. J. Harper, gr. to E. E. Tucker, Esq., Brighton,
was 2nd.

A very pretty feature at Brighton is the decorated
mantelpieces and hearths. These are arranged against
the walls of the Corn Exchange, and they afforded
object-lessons in house and room decoration. Mr.
Geo. Miles was 1st, with a truly artistic arrangement,
light, effective, and nicely balanced; Mr. W. E.
Anderson was 2nd.

There were several classes for Hyacinths in pots, in
twelves, sixes, and threes. The best collection iu tlie
larger class came from Mr. C. F. Bdnney, Brighton ;
Mr. J. Harper was 2nd.

Early Tulips made a good feature. Iu the open class
for twelve pots Mr. W. E. Anderson was 1st; Mr. J.
Harper was 2nd.

Of Lily of the Valley, twelve pots which gained the
1st prize for Messrs. W. Miles & Co. were very good.

There were also Freesias. Mignonette, double Violets,
Polyanthus, Primroses, Auriculas, double Chinese
Primroses, Hydrangeas, &c.

Messrs. W. MlLBS & Co.'s six Auriculas were a very
free-flowering and fragrant yellow variety, known as
Yellow Gem.

Collections of six plants of Primula verticillata, well

grown and bloomed, were charming; and such things
as Chrysanthemum frutescens, Dielytra spectabilis,
Astilbe japonica, Deutzias, and Solomon's Seal were
numerous and good.

Two classes, one for twelve and" the other for six
Genistas, brought numerous freely grown and flowered
Cytisus racemosus. Messrs. VV. Miles & Co.'s 1st prize
twelve were excellent in every way.

Cinerarias were numerous. The 1st prize twelve,
shown by Mr. Pressland, gr. to II. W. Smithers, Esq.,
were well grown and bloomed, the flowers medium-
sized, and finely formed.

Daffodils were well shown in several classes, while
pots of Polyanthus Narcissi were laden with fragrant
blossoms.

Cyclamen persicum were finely shown by Mr. Murrell,
gi\ to Col. Rogers, Burgess Hill; while the collections
of six white Arums made a great feature, Mr. Anderson
was placed 1st, and Mr. Harper was 2nd. Greenhouse
and the mollis section of Azaleas made up a very fine
bank of colour on the orchestra under the dome.

There was a class for six pots of Strawberries in pots,
Mr. Goulding, gr. to W. Voules, Esq., taking the 1st
prize with excellent Royal Sovereign.

MARKETS.

COVENT GARDEN, APRIL 10.
[We cannot accept any responsibility for the subjoined
reports. They are furnished to us regularly every
Thursday, by the kindness of several of the prin-
cipal salesmen, who revise the list, and who are
responsible for the quotations. It must be remem-
bered that these quotations do not represent the
prices on any particular day, but only the general
averages for the week preceding the date of our
report. The prices depend upon the quality of
the samples, the supply in the market, and the
demand, and they may fluctuate, not only from day
to day, but often several times in one day. Ed.1
Vegetables.— Average Wholesale Pbices.

s.d. s.rf.

2 0-26

2 0-26
10-16

0 8 —

4 6 —
8 6-15 0
6 0 —

1 2 —
10-30

0 10 —

2 C- 2 6

19-36

5 0-60

2 6-36

3 0-50
14 —

10-20

4 0-1U 0

10 0-12 0

0 2 —

1 6

2 0-30

13 -

2 0-50

16-20

03 —

13-16
2 0-26

2 6-30

0 6-10

per

Onions, new, green,
doz. ...

— English,
cwt. ...

— in bags

— Egyptian, bag

— picklers, per
sieve

Parsley, per doz.
bunches

— sieve

Parsnips, p. owt.

— bag

Peas in lb. bags...

— in flats
Jersey, per lb.

s.d. s.d
Artichokes, Globe
per dozen ...

— Jcr.isalcm, p.
sieve

Asparagus Sprue,
bundle

— English

— Giant

— Paris Green...

— Spanish

— various
Beans, dwf., house,

per lb

— Madeira, per
basket

Beetroots, per

bushel
Cabbage, p. tally
carrots, per doz.

bunches ...

— unwashed, per
bag

— New, French,
per bunch ...

Cauliflowers, per
dozen

— tally

Celery, per dozen

bundles
Chicory, per lb....
Coleworts, bushel

— bag

Cress, per dozen

punnets

Cucumbers, doz.

Endive, new
French, doz.

Garlic, per lb. ...

Horseradish, fo-
reign, bunch

Leeks, 12 bunches

Lettuces, Cos, per
dozen

— Cabbage, per
dozen

Mint, new, per

bunch ... 0 8

Mushrooms, house,

per lb. ... 0 !i
Onions, case ... 6 0

Fruit.— Average Wholesale Prices
S.d. s.d.

6 0-70

5 0-60

6 6 —

2 6-36

4 0-50

2 0-26

3 0

2 6-
0 5

86 -
2 6 —

0 2
0 i

Potatos, per ion.. 60 0-90 0

— new, per lb....
Frame, lb.

— newTeneriffe,
per owt.

Radishes, p. doz.

bunches
Rhubarb, Yorks,

per dozen ...

— outdoor, per
dozen

Salad, small, pun-
nets, per doz.
Scotch Kale, bus.
Seakale, per doz.
punts

— natural, doz.
Shallots, per lb....
Spinach, English,

bushel
Stachys, lb.
Tomatos, Canary,

boxes

— English, lb....
Turnip-Tops, per

bushel

— bag

Turnips, per doz.

bunches

— bag

— new, French,
bunch

Watercress, per
doz. bunches

12 0-16 0
10-20

0 6-10

13 —

1 6 —

15 0 —

12 0 —
0 2 —

2 6-30

0 3 —

3 0-50

1 6 —

1 0 —
16-20

2 0 —
16-20

10-16

Apples, home-
grown, Wel-
lingtons, per
bushel

— Californian,
cases

— Australian
Tasmanian &
Victorian. case » 0-16 0

— LargeCookers,
per Dushel ...

Bananas, bunch

— loose, p. doz.
Cape Fruit—

I ■ nines, case ...
Pears

8 0-10 0
12 0-16 0

6 0-70

7 0-12 0
10-16

Grapes, Gros Col-
mar, A . p. lb.
B„ per lb.

— Alicante, per
lb

— Almeira, per
12 1b

Lemons, per case

Oranges, Hitler,

case

— Denia, case ...

— Murcia, blood,

case

— Tangierlne,
per case i M ))

Pines, each

7 0-10 0

8 0-10 0
Chestnuts. bag 15 o-lt; 0 Sapucaia Nuts,
Cobnuts, Kentish, per lb

per lb. ... 10 - Strawberries, A

Cranberries, case 12 0 — | per lb.
— quart... ... 8 0 — I — B., pel

s.d. s.d.

4 0-50
.'11-26

0-5 0

0-10 0

6-15 (l

5 0 —
18 0-40 0

4 0 —

:■■ ii- 10

1 0

10-60

i 6- a e

252

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 12, 1902.

Plants in Pots— Average Wholesale Prices
d. s.d. s.d.

0-8 0 Evergreens, vars.,
per dozen ...
0- 7 0 | Ferns in variety,
per dozen ...
0-36 0 Genistas, pr. doz.
Hyacinths, white,
0-6 0 per dozen ...

— colours, per

0-36 0 dozen

0-48 0 Hydrangeas, per

0 — dozen

Marguerites, per

n- 6 0 dozen

D — Narcissus, single,

0-30 0 per dozen ...

Palms, var., each

8 0 12 0 Pelargoniums,

scarlet

6 0-80 — white

Spiraeas, per doz. 6 0-10 0
12 0-30 0 Sweet Briars, per

6 0-18 0 dozen 3 0- 4 0

Tulips, all colours,
6 0-18 0 i per dozen ... 0 9-10

Acacias, per doz. 6
Adiantums, per

=» dozen 6

Arbor Vitie, per

dozen 6

Arum Lilies, per

dozen 4

Aspidistras, per

dozen 18

Azaleas, per doz. 24
Oannas, per doz 18
Cinerarias, per

dozen 4

«'lematis,perdoz. 12
Orotons, per doz. 18
L yi-laiuens, per

dozen 8

Daffodils, double.

per dozen ... 6
Drac.-enas, var.,

per dozen ... 12
Ericas, per dozen 6
Euonymus, vars.,

per dozen ...

4 0-18 II

4 0-18 0
8 0-10 0

10 0-12 0
8 0-10 0

9 0-30 0

6 0-

0

fi 0- 8 0
1 0-20 0

fi 0- 8 0

6 0- 8

Cut Flowers, ic— Average Wholesale Prices.

Anemones, per

doz

Arums, per doz. .
Asparagus Fern,

per bunch
Azaleas, per doz.
Carnations, per

bunch

Cattlcyas, dozen
Eucharis,perdoz.
Frcesias, p. doz.
'lardenias, p. doz.
Jonquils, p. doz.
Lilium Harrisii,

per dozen
l.ilyof the Valley,

dozen bunches
Maidenhair Fern,

dozen bunches
Koses, Marechal

Niel, per bunch

s.d. s.d.

16-20
16-40

16-26
4 0-60

10-26
9 C-12 0
3 0-40

2 0-40
16-20
13-16

3 0-60
6 0-80

'6-30

Marguerites, Yel-
low, per doz.

— Star, per doz.
Mermet Koses. p.

bunch

Mignonette, per

dozen bunches
Mimosa, p. bunch
Narcissus, per

dozen

Pelargoniums,

Scarlet, per

dozen

Roses, Red, Gen-
eral, per doz.
blooms
Smilax, p. bunch
Tulips, all coirs.,

per doz
Roses, White, per

bunch

<.d. s.d.

2 0
0 o

0-5 0

3 0-60
10-16

4 0-60

1 0-
I 6-

1 6
3 0

2 0-30

Remarks— English Apples are few, and Turnip-top*
less plentiful. Rhubarb, both forced and outdoor, is
il un lant. New framed Peas are arriving from the
CI an lei Islands, and Lettuces from St. Malo. English
Oi ions are cheaper. Grape-fruits, per case, 12*. Gd.

POTATOS.

Dunbar Main Crop, 90s. ; Up-to-Date, 80s. to 85x. ; and
other varieties, 46s. to 80s. Seed in variety, at various
prices. John Bath, 32 * 34, Wellington Street, Covad
Garden.

CORN.

Average Prices of British Corn (per Imperial qr I
for the week ending April 5, 1902, and for the cor-
responding period of 1901, together with the difference
in the quotations. These figures are based on the
Official Weekly Return :—

Description.

1901.

1902.

Difference.

Wheat

Barley

Oats

s. a.

26 3

25 3
18 0

s. A.
27 3

26 S

30 6

». d

+ 1 o
+ 1 2
+ 2 6

THE WEATHER.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS taken In the
Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens at Chiswick,
London, for the period March 30 to April 5, 1902.
Height above sea-level 24 feet.

Tempera-

Temperature

tube of the

O

1902.

a
g

or the Air.

SOILat9A.M.

3
D

H

o

a
o

s

a

5

At9A.M.

<
a

m

a

M

n
o

— -

2

55

3

a
S

5

•o

*»
O

o

a

9

•a

©
3

43

O.
B
■

to

©

4

3„-

go

3

3 3

J3

3

H

i

Fr

o

s

<

<

4

a

a

#■

3

-4

t» 01 I U 1 H 1 » i U tt

fihavlQj^jQ'Q

■o

•a

SUN. .30

s.w.

40 9 38 9 51 6 33 30' 05,44 7 45 '2

45 2

25 1

Mon :;i

s.w.

SO 8 48 '2 60 5

40 5 0- 01 44 9

45-0

45-2

40-0

TUBS. 1

s.w

19 9 46 4 57 3

48-41 ...

47 5

45-7

45 3

43 -5

WED. 2

N.E.

45-9J41-l15ii 7

32 -3| ...

46-0

46-2

45 5

22-5

Thu. :■

S.W.

43-1 39-3 53-3

34-9,0-06 45-4

46-2

45 7

30-3

FBI. 4

w.s.w.

45-7 40-152-7

34 90 04 45 1

46 0

45 '8

27 -6

SAT. 5

s.w.

45'4 44-4 52-4

39-5 0 06 45 3 46-0

45 8

34 3

1 1

|Tot'

Means

46 0 42 5 54 '1

1 1

37'7 0-22 45'6 45-8

45-5 319

tQTWfWZ

Hemarics.—\ week ol very variable weather, dull days,
cold winds, aud frequent showers.

*** Editor and Publisher.— Our correspon-
dents would obviate delay in obtaining
answers to their communications, and save
much trouble, if they would kindly observe
the notice printed weekly to the effect that
all communications relating to financial
matters and to advertisements should be
addressed to the Publisher : and all commu-
nications intended for publication, or refer-
ring to the literary department, should be
directed to the Editor. The two depart-
ments, publishing and editorial, are quite
distinct, and much unnecessary confusion
arises when letters are misdirected.

Amaryllis: A. H. The scales are swarming
with bulb mites. You will do well to burn
the bulbs. Insecticides will be of little use,
as the mites are in the interior of the bulb.

Anemone : R. B. We can find no fungus ; the
plants look as if they might have been
checked by frost.

Bottling and Preserving Fruits: Northern
Render. The Royal Horticultural Society,
117, Victoria Street, published some years
ago in their Journal much useful matter on
the subject, which may be available on
application to the Secretary, at the above
address.

" Copper-flowering " Plum: De St. We pre-
sume you mean Prunus Pissardi, which has
copper- coloured foliage. The flowers are
formed abundantly at this season, and are
white.

Fir Tree Dead : F. L. The borings in the
piece of Fir bark have been produced by
two different species of insect. The small
" shot-holes " are probably the work of the
Pine-beetle, Hylurgus piniperda ; the large
hole looks like the work of the Giant Saw-
fly, Sirex gigas ; but without the insects, in
either case, it is impossible to be quite cer-
tain. The beetle prefers sickly or freshly-
fallen trees, but it also attacks apparently
sound and healthy ones, and is then very
injurious. The saw-fly is only occasionally
destructive to Conifers in this country. It
is possible the insects may have caused the
death of the tree, but one cannot be quite
certain of this without more reliable evi-
dence. You could easily ascertain if the
insects are present in the other trees by a
careful examination of the bark and branches.
The presence of the beetle may be detected by
the fine grass at the end of their burrows oil
the bark, they also tunnel in the small ter-
minal branches. The presence of the saw-
fly may be detected by the large circular
holes in the bark. You should cut down the
dead tree and burn it. It may still contain
saw-fly grubs, but the beetles will have long
ago left it.

Grave-vine that Flags by Day: Constant
Reader. Botanists are not agreed as to
the mode by which the moisture from the
soil reaches to the highest parts of a plant
or tree. The greater probability is that
the sap ascends in combination with the
gases found in soils ; the gases being
ammoniacal, and the results of the decom-
position of animal and vegetable sub-
stances in the soil. The soil beneath the
roots of the Vine may be destitute of
ammonia, and there is scarcely any gas,
consequently the water that enters the Vine
through the roots is insufficient to replace
that which is lost by transpiration from the
leaves, hence the flagging by day and the
partial recovery during the hours of dark-
ness. Could you not make holes with a
crowbar to points below the lowest roots of
the Vine, and pour into these strong un-
diluted liquid-manure, so that the bottom of
the border would become impregnated with
ammonia which would not be in contact with
the roots ?

Greenfly on Roses and Maidenhair Ferns
under Glass : Perplexed. As the house is
in such a state of disrepair that fumigation
would be in vain, you should syringe the
Rose-plants with weak soap-suds, or with
weak tobacco-water, say 1 quart to 3 gallons
of water; or use quassia-water and a little
soft-soap, so that it will stick — say 3 oz. to
the gallon of water. The proportion of
quassia-chips to this quantity of water is
4 oz., boiling them for ten minutes. The
Ferns could be dipped overhead in it with-
out fear of injury.

Grub-. A. Elgar. Could you not send a speci-
men or two for identification ?

Insects : P. 7'., Epsom. The Bean - weevil,
Bruchus granarius. — E. W. L. W. A weevil —
very destructive. Trap them with slices of
Carrot or Potato, and destroy them.

"Loudon's Arboretum": A. M. Is still a
valuable book, but as we are not book
dealers we cannot tell you the price. Ask
Mr. Wheldon, Great Queen St., London, W.C.

Names of Fruits : G. 8. Horton. Norfolk Beef-
ing.— Cedo Nitlli. Spanish Warden. — X. Bau-
mann's Red Winter Reinette.

Names of Plants ■ Veritas. The top flower,
the dark coloured one, is Odontoglossum
triumphans ; the other a pale form of Odon-
toglossum Insleayi. Why not number the
flowers ?— E. C. 2, Cattleya Schroderse ; 3,
Oneidium serratum ; 4, Dendrobium Pier-
ardi ; 5, Aeranthus Leonis. — 11". B. 1, Cym-
bidium eburneum ; 2, Odontoglossum glorio-
sum ; 3, Oneidium sphacelatum ; 4, Onei-
dium altissimum ; 5, Cypripedium x csnan-
thum. — Reader, A. C. S. 1, Asparagus plu-
mosus ; 2, Nepeta Glechoma variegata.—
R. Wotton. Marica humilis (Nat. Ord.
Iridese). — F. A.J. Rhododendron ciliatum. —
E. R. 1, Potentilla Fragariastrum ; 2, Eu-
phorbia amygdaloides ; 3, Mercurialis per-
ennis. — R. J. The Wilson bunch-blue Prim-
rose.— Sayoir. Epiphyllum Gtertneri and
Cyrtodeira fulgida, so far as we can judge
without seeing flowers. — .V. F. P. Mercuri-
alis perennis. — S. P. 1, Petasites fragrans ;
2, Scilla bifolia alba ; 3, Retinospora squar-
rosa of gardens; 4, Nerium Oleander; 5,
Cupressus Lawsoniana var. erecta viridis ;
<i, Plumbago rosea. — Friavage. Dondia epi-
pactis. — R. R. Odontoglossum > Ander-
sonianum of the nearly unspotted type.
The extreme variability of this hybrid,
especially in the matter of colour, induced
him to combine all under O. lanceanus. —
R. T. Odontoglossum odoratum, and Bulbo-
phyllum fusco-purpureum. — A. J. R. Den-
drobium Pierardi. — H. C, Grantliam. Den-
drobium atro-violaceum, a very good variety
of it.— T. H. B., Hants. 1, Odontoglossum
gloriosum ; 2, Odontoglossum x Wilckeanum,
a very good flower. — ('. 8. 1, not Boydi,
not recognised ; 2, Saxifraga apiculata. See
Engler in Gardeners' Chronicle, May 5, 1894.

Tomatos: Watford. The plants are apparently
affected by what is termed the " sleepy
disease." It is caused by a fungus that first
attacks the roots, and grows up in the in-
terior of the plant. Spraying is useless,
and we are afraid there is nothing to be done
but to burn the plants.

Tomatos : 8. Pearcij. We do not see any
fungus, but we suspect it will shortly
develop ; have the plants received a check ?

Variegated Cuuumber: G.B. We have seen
such before ; both foliage and fruit are
variegated.

Water-Glass : A. E. You should communicate
with Mr. K. B. Baghot-de-la-Bere, Burbage
Hall, Hinckley, Leicestershire.

Communications Received. —Geo. Beghin, Jersey.—
C. J, letter follows— C. Palmer, next week. Glad to
see your handwriting again— De H.— Ed. Andre, tout j
;i Thcure.— R. D.— T. E. H— J. A. C— J. V. & Sons —
K. E. Br.— J. P., Birmingham— Blackie & Son— C. S.— I
A. B. R.-J. Bannerman.-J. T.-H. B. W.-T. T-
W. P. B.-J. J. W.-G. W.-R. W.-E.'B.-H. F.-C. |
Pynaert.— J. C. T.— R. B.— A. J. Monro.

Supplement to the Gardeners' Chronicle," April 12, 1902.

•>■— «^r^'

Cassia corymbosa in the Garden of the Hon. J. Boscawen, near Truro:

PHOTOGRAPHED BY F. W. Ml-YF.R.

H>a4bur\ . .-tsHrrv Or Cit., Lit.. Printers. London an.i VmBruigi

April 10, 1002.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

253

THE

No. 799.— SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 1902.

Alpine Garden, the—
Anemone cernua ...

Ashwick Hall

Asparagus Sprengeri

Boobs, notices of

Botanical Magazine ...

Carnation Mrs. L. de
Rothschild

Dover House Gardens

Fairy-cups

Forestry—
The disease of Larch

Fungus on Weymouth
Pine

Grape - Vine, united
leaves of

Henry, Dr. Augustine

Hippeastrums at
Messrs. J. Veitch &
Sons

Kew, gardeners for ...

Law note —

. Claim for packing
plants

Narcissus Peter Barr

Narcissi, spontaneous
seeding and hybrid-
isation of

Nurserymen and Mar-
ket Gardeners' Hail-
storm Insurance
Corporation, Ltd. ...

Nursery notes-
Orchids at Mr. J.
Cypher's, Chelten-
ham

Obituary-
Temple, Mungo

Orchids at sale room .

and

CONTENTS.

Orchid notes

f leanings —
ontoglossum cris-
punivars." Alpha"
and Matlock
Peloria in Cynibi-
dium eburneum ...
Peas, popular and
sterling varieties of
Pelargoniums, trained,
at Gunnersbury ...
Perfume in flowers,

double

Plants, new or note-
worthy—
Lilium japonicum
var. Alexandras ...
Publications received
Rodecb, Emil, death

of

Sauromatum guttatum
Societies—

Linnean

Manchester Orchid.
Royal Horticultural
(Scientific Com.)...
Sweet Peas, selected...
Underley, a wild gar-
den at

Vegetables —
Notes on Broccolis .

Vines, hybrid

Week's Work, the—
Flower Garden, the
Fruits under Glass .
Hardy Fruit Garden
Kitchen Garden ...
Orchid Houses, the.
Plants under Glass .

256
255
263
261 I
261

262
258
253

356

262

263
961

367

261

267
256

256

267

264

261

254
254
262
260
262

254
262

259
263

26«
266
260
265
263

254
261

259
258
259
259
258
258

ILLU8TRATION8.

A group of Fairy-cups 253

Asliwick Hall Gardens, Gloucestershire, views in... 255,

257, 263

<£nanthe crocata, roots of 265

Pelargonium, sweet - scented, at Gunnersbury
House Gardens, Acton (Supplement).

FAIRY CUPS.

HAPPY were the days when poetry and
imagination held a seat in the council
chamber of the human mind. Now, alas !
we are as innocent of poetry as we are of
"the society of elves. It is greatly to be
feared that the Board School and the
"struggle for life," which the evolutionist
has pressed into his service, have effectually
chased both the genius of poetry and the
last survivor of the genii and the fairy race
from our midst. Give us gold, posts of
honour, rags of office, lace and furbelows, a
name to live though we be dead, and we are
satisfied. Were it not for the naturalist and
the lover of old-world lore, who are able to
turn to the records of the past, and prove
their point, the matter-of-fact folk of to-day
would deny that fairies ever existed. What
matters it that our vocabulary is full of
such words as elf, good folk, and genii; or
that the French have their fee, the Arabs
their jin, and the Chinese their sin t It
means nothing to the practical man of this
advanced age. These same folk would deny
that there is, or ever was, a man in the
moon, or a mermaid in the sea. Ask them
for proof, and they have none to give. How
can one prove a negative ? they enquire.
Show them the man's face on a moonlight
night, and they laugh you to scorn. They

believe that ridicule will often do more than
argument, and so they take the cheapest,
easiest, readiest way to put you out of
countenance.

Were our fore-elders, then, a set of igno-
ramuses ? Why did they talk so persistently
of the elves and fairies, the pixies and genii,
the afreets and gude folk, if such never
existed ? Had they not heard them chime
their merry peals on the blossoms of the
Harebell, seen them creep into the finger-
hut of the Foxglove, observed the marks of
their favour on the Cowslip-bloom, and
witnessed their deeds of love or hate in
woodland revel and midnight dance ? Did
not the poets give detailed particulars of
their servants and livery, and were they not
always robed in green? "It's printed in a
book," and that is proof enough, in all con-
science. Had it not been true, how could it
ever be in print ?

But we go further. In the woodlands
to-day we can find the lovely Fairy-bath
(called by botanists Peziza coccinea), in
which these dainty mortals were wont of
yore to take their morning dip. If truth
must be told, they were a good deal more
cleanly in their habits than some of their

Fig. 79.— a group of fairy cups,
b, Cross section of Fairy Cup.

more tangible survivors. How many of us
indulge in the luxury of a cold bath in the
mornings of springy Alas! many of our
homes have been built without any regard
to our necessities, much less have such
luxuries as a bath been taken into account.

The dew collected in the vermilion chalice
of the fungus sufficed for these little imps,
and we may imagine that they were very
adept at splashing tho sparkling drops into
each other's eyes, just as baby brothers
delight to do to-day. Let the reader visit
some Hazel-copse early in the new year,
and search among the fallen twigs, the
green moss, the seared and decaying leaves,
for the beautiful productions of which I am
writing. They are in the shape of a cup,
goblet, or bath; and in point of size vary
from half-an-inch to an inch and a-half in
diameter. One might easily fancy that a
clever artist had been employing his leisure
time in painting acorn -cups of different
sizes, or the insides of the Chestnut-burrs,
with the most brilliant colours. The in-
terior of the chalice is of the richest hue.
There are many different species, each of
which differs more or less from the others in
size, colour, texture, shape, and habit of
growth; but the true Fairy-bath is dyed
vermilion, and contrasts most delightfully
with the brown twig or sienna leaf on which
it is seen to repose.

Here we have an object worthy of the most
careful, detailed, and intelligent study which
the most learned and reverend mind is
capable of bringing to bear upon it. The

following are a few of the many questions
which instantly suggest themselves to the
lover of Nature, as he gazes for the first time
upon the gorgeous plants. How came these
lovely creatures here ? What is their use ?
How are they propagated ? By what means
are they distributed ? What end can this
surpassingly beautiful pigment serve amid
surroundings so sombre, and in a spot on
which the eye of man will seldom rest F
What is the peculiar end which these
growths serve in the economy of Nature ?

What is their Use ?

Yes : that is the proper question with
which to begin our investigations. This is
an utilitarian age, and we must ever enquire
of this and that — Cui bono * If a thing has
no apparent use, if we cannot at once see how
it can be turned to account and made into
hard cash, let it be thrown aside. If it will
not show itself amenable to the action of
our philosopher's stone, which turns all it
touches into gold, it is naught. How
strangely inconsistent we are ! Nature,
however, can hold her own. She always
has a reason for everything. The mischief
is that we deal with her as we deal with
foreign people. We do not always master
their language, and in consequence we do
not understand their mind and meaning.
Lords of creation, we spurn everything that
requires a little thought and patience, to
find presently that we have crushed jewels
under our heel, and rendered ourselves poor
and despicable when we might. have been
the victorious bearers of the richest trophies.

Nowhere is this more clearly set forth
than in the patient study of the woodland
fungi. The autumn witnessed the fall of
the leaf. During the winter many a bough
or limb of tree has come down with a crash
under the force of the gale-blast, as the
result of premature decay, or by the stroke,
maybe, of the woodman's axe. These decay-
ing twigs, branches, trunks — this accumula-
tion of vegetable debris — would become a
mighty incubus, were there not always
ready to hand an equally mighty army of
scavengers, whose duty it is to change the
old dead matter into forms of living beauty.
The fungi are specially adapted for this
important task. They are to the vegetable
world what the carrion feeders are to the
animal kingdom. Rather, let me say, they
arc the chemists of Nature, aye, and the
alchemists as well. As the analyst seizes on
the coal-tar and changes it into aniline, sac-
charine, and a host of other beautiful and
useful things, so does the fungus seize upon
the decaying bough and change it into a
thing of beauty and a joy forever. As the
modern manufacturer buys up so-called
waste products, and converts slag into ce-
ment, and refuse into bricks and mortar for
the uprearing of a splendid mansion, so docs
the fairy bath utilise the useless vegetable
ii: hris. If tlie manufacturer takes your
cast-off suit to pieces, that he may work up
the shabby material into a new style of
cloth, so the fairy -cup and its fellow
workers break up the out -worn garb of
the forest trees, and make the leaves,
twigs, and branches up again in a thousand
different ways for the joy of the beholder,
the purifying of the air, and the glory of the
( Ireator.

Wheels within wheels arc ever revolving
in Nature's never - resting factory. They

254

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE

[April 19, 1902.

cease not day nor night. The instant a once
living creature, be it animal or vegetable,
high or lowly, ceases to hold its own, that
moment an army of workers bind it hand
and foot, and commence the mighty pro-
cesses ol dissolution and reconstruction.
The fungi, including bacteria and bacilli,
disease germs and other much - dreaded
monsters of the subtlest form, are specially
set apart for this work of disintegration,
and thus we find an answer to the all-
important question— what is their use?
What end do they serve in the economy of
Nature P They break up useless matter,
just as the mills of the contractor and manu-
facturer do. They set free various gases and
chemical products which would otherwise
be locked up, and unavailable for use. They
produce rich vegetable mould, and utilise
the materials on /which they work for build-
ing up their own beautiful, but delicate
frames. Truly they are Nature's tireless
alchemists; only that they have got past
the age of experiment, and have solved the
problems of transmutation.

Having perfected their own forms, and
produced a plentiful supply of reproductive
germs for the continuance of the race, these
lovely gems are now handed over to the
keeping of a new order of scavengers, and
become in turn the prey of molluscs and
other animals. They serve these creatures
for food, whereas the rotten debris would be
unfit for their digestion. But this very act
of sacrifice brings its own reward. By death
they secure continued life, for the* snails
pass the life-germs through their bodies
unharmed, and so the spores are in due
course deposited in the resting-place of the
mollusc, and left to commence the life-story
of the fairy-bath afresh.

Here, in brief, is the answer to our second
question. How are the Fairy-cups propa-
gated and distributed ? If we were to take
a thin slice out of a fungus, just as we cut
up a Cucumber, and examine it with the
microscope, a world of wonders would un-
fold itself before the astonished gaze. Stand-
ing shoulder to shoulder, like troops on
parade, we should see thousandson thousands
of upright bodies called sacs, each of which
contains exactly eight life-germs or spores ;
the mouths of these miniature flasks point
upwards and outwards, so that if the snails
do not devour the plants, the corks fly out
of the bottles, something after the fashion
of stoppers from the bottles of aerated
waters, and away float the spores by myriads.
This may be demonstrated with a puff-ball,
where the snuff- like powder is composed
almost entirely of spores. The breeze catches
them, and wafts them to different parts of the
wood, and here those that are able to do
so commence housekeeping on their own
account. A Sussex Naturalist.

{To be continued.)

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

LILIUM JAPONICUM var. ALEXANDRA.
In a recent number of the Botanical Magazine
(Tokyo), January 20, 1902, p. 10, Mr. T. Makino
has some observations on the Flora of Japan,
in the course of which, he describes a fine
form of this Lily in the following terms.

" Lilium japonioum, Thunb., var. Alexandra,
Baker, in the Gardeners' Chronicle, third ser.,
xiv. (1893), p. 80 ; Ibid. p. 242, fig. 44.

Lilium Alexandra', Hort. Wallace.

Lilium Ukeyuki, Hort.

Forma >iobilissima, Malcino, nov. var.

Stem, stiffly erect, terete, hard, attaining
about 3 — 9 decim. in height. Leaves sparse,
loosely placed, ovate-elliptical, or ovate-
oblong, shortly acuminate, shortly petioled,
many - nerved, firm in texture, shining.
Flowers, 1—3, erect, shortly pedicellate,
infundibuliform, about 10 cm. long and across,
white, exceedingly fragrant ; perianth, oblong-
lanceolate, with an apiculate tip, and a
longitudinal, prominent, nervous carina on the
back, the inner ones broader than the outer
ones ; bract lanceolate. Stamens shorter
than the perianth, style erect, slightly higher
than stamens. Nom. Jap. Tamoto-yuri."

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

PELORIA IN CYMBIDIUM EBURNEUM.

Mr. Bound sends us two flowers of this
species illustrative of irregular peloria. The
two side petals, in fact, have assumed the
appearance of the lip, so that the flower has
three lips whence Reichenbach's term " trila-
hellia." The term peloria is applied to those
cases in which a flower that is habitually irre-
gular as in Orchids generally becomes regular.
In the flower before us, the flower is made
regular by the increase of the irregular por-
tions. In regular peloria the flower becomes
regular by the absence of irregular portions,
as in the Cattleya figured in our last issue.
It is possible that regular peloria represents an
ancestral condition when all the parts were
regular, whilst irregular peloria is due to
enhanced development.

ODONTOGLOSSUM CRISPUM " ALPHA."

Flowers of some of the best of the Odonto-
glossums in his group which secured a Silver
Medal at the Manchester and North of Eng-
land Orchid Society's Show on April 3, are
kindly sent by Robert Tunstill, Esq., Monk-
holm, Brierfield, Burnley (gr., Mr. Balmforth).
A pale purple-tinted variety with blotches on
the sepals, another blotched form, and a grand
flower of the white type known as" Pacho," are
all excellent ; but beyond compare is his flower
of O. crispum Alpha, from a very small plant
flowering for the first time. This flower is of
fine proportions, and beautifully marked. The
ground white, the sepals light brownish-red
with white tips, and an occasional irregular
white mark in the dark colouring, so closely
are the blotches set. The fringed petals have
the reddish spotting commencing near the
column in very small, irregular spots, similar
to those on O. x hebraicum, the spotting
gradually getting larger towards the white
tips, and covering two-thirds of the surface.
The large fringed and fimbriated lip has a
yellow disc, beside which are small reddish
blotches, and one very large one in front.
The very large blotching on the sepals and
front of the lip contrasts effectively with the
small ones on the petals and sides of the lip.

Odontoglossum crisitm Matlock variety.
To an enthusiastic amateur like J. Woods,
Esq., Matlock Villa, Ryde, Isle of Wight, the
flowering of such a very fine variety must
afford much pleasure. The variety is one of
the very best types of O. crispum ; the flowers
large, of fine, firm substance, and the sepals
almost as broad as the petals. It is white
with a light rose-purple tint spread over the
sepals and petals ; the former also having one
large cluster of, and some smaller, light purple
blotches. The petals have each three to four
light purple blotches, and the yellow disc of

the lip is partly encircled by red-brown mark-
ings. The petals and lip are fringed, and the
whole flower is very showy. No two of these
fine forms of O. crispum are exactly alike.
Each has some special attraction, especially
for its owner ; and it is no wonder that they
are such favourites.

VEGETABLES.

NOTES ON BROCCOLIS.
Few vegetables are more valuable than
Broccolis, and few are more erratic : as, for
instance, those planted last year, owing to
the drought and heat, have not turned in so
well as usual ; and the late growth, tender and
liable to injury by frosts, was injured by hard
frosts in the winter, and those that were not
injured received a severe check, and are very
much retarded. I find that the plants in the
gardens of Alnwick Castle are less reliable in
turning in at their proper seasons than usual,
though the rainfall was not abundant, but it
was much better, and more snow than in the
south. This season most of the Brassica genus,
omitting Coleworts and autumn-sown Cabbage,
are more irregular in growth than usual, which
is owing to the check when the plants were
pnt out. The best remedy for this condition is
to sow and plant out early. I well remember
an old gardener sowing Broccoli-seed on a
certain date in February if possible, and
planting out in the quarters as soon as the
plants were large enough to handle, and there
was no doubt a great deal of sense in his
methods, as in dry seasons the roots went deep
into the soil, and drought and heat affected
the plants but little. Since that day there
have been several useful additions to Broc-
colis, and some varieties are hardier than
others, though of course all are affected in the
same manner by drought and heat early in the
season. Years ago Cape Broccolis were a
favourite vegetable, following Walcheren, and
doubtless the introduction of "self-protect-
ing" Broccolis has ousted most of the older
forms, and certainly this variety is of great
value, but with us it is over before December,
a season when good Broccoli are of the most
value. I have tried sowing a late lot of the
"self protecting" for later use, but I am
sorry to say the result is not satisfactory, as
the later sown in a favourable season so soon
catches up the earliest one ; and the best
means that I have found of retarding a crop is
to plant on a north border, and when the heads
are nearly ready for use, to lift and store the
plants in an open shed. One of the best early
winter Broccoli, either north or south, is
Sutton's Michaelmas White ; if sown early in
March it is ready in October, although last year
it came in a month later. Again, the old White
Cape afforded the same kind of treatment was
later still, so that it shows how much the
weather may influence growth. For mid-
winter supplies, there is no Broccoli superior
to Christmas White, a very dwarf grower,
which is in its favour, for being short of stem,
and in habit compact, it is not so easily injured
by frost. A very fine type of Broccoli coming
into use a little later is Superb Early White,
and I do not think that Snow's Winter White
is equal to Superb Early in quality. I have
had to discard Snow's, the old true stock not
being obtainable. There are other good va-
rieties, such as the excellent Carter's Sana
ringham Winter White, a very good mid-winter
variety; also the older Osborn's Winter, when ,
it can be obtained true. There is no lack of
good varieties, and my only wish is that our
seasons were more to be trusted. G. Wi/tlies.

April 19, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

255

ASHWICK HALL.

The Gloucestershire residence illustrated in
tig. SO was built by the late Mr. Orred, a mer-
chant, in 1857, and the garden was made a few
years subsequently by Mr. H. E. Milner. It was
unfortunate for the garden, as well as for Mr.
Orred, that this gentleman lived but a few
years to enjoy the fine place he had made for
himself. There is ample evidence to show
that subsequent to Mr. Orred's death Ashwick
was not afforded proper care. The schemes
for effect that Milner had planned with trees
and shrubs were consequently prevented from
developing perfectly. A designer and planter

six years ago ; since that time, he has
interested himself in improving the ap-
pearance of the gardens and the estate
generally. The extent of the gardens has
been about 18 acres, including the ground
occupied by the house, but at the present
time, the energetic gardener and bailiff, Mr.
Jno. Pentland, is engaged in the work of con-
verting three or four more acres of the park
into lawn.

The best trees are some good specimens
of Sequoia gigantea, 8. sempervirens, and
Cedrus Libani. Juniperus virginiana has
been planted in small groups and circles,
and thrives well, as does Cupressus macro-

trees, that have already commenced to bear
crops. The wisdom of making this plantation
will be more obvious each year. The kitchen
garden is not in one piece, nor is it included in
the 18 acres above mentioned, but in the park.
The illustration on p. 257 (fig. 81) shows some
flower-borders in an enclosed garden leading
to, and containing the glasshouses. Perhaps
it was originally intended to plant this area
with vegetable crops, and on either side of the
central walk there are even now old espalier
fruit-trees, that have long since ceased to be
profitable. Excepting these trees, the ground
is planted with nothing but flowering plants,
and as the photograph shows, some very pretty

.

Fig. 80.-

-VIKW 01' ASHWICK HALL, SHOWING THE SOUTH-WEST SIDE CLOTHED WITH IVY AM) AMI'KLOPSIS,
AND ONK OF SIX CEDARS WHICH FORM AN AVENUE AT RIGHT-ANGLES THERETO.

of new pleasure-grounds necessarily assumes
that those who will have the care of the gar-
den afterwards will preserve it in sympathy
with the general arrangement, and see that
this is not marred by the overgrowth of un-
thinned evergreens, many of which are pro-
bably planted for temporary effect merely.
Where this is not done with care and per-
sistence, the best planned and most judiciously
planted garden, falls far short of the beauty
and interest it might otherwise possess.

The present owner and occupier of Ashwick,
is C. II. B. Firth, Esq., a son of the late Mark
Firth, of Oakbrook, Sheffield, whose memory
is greatly respected in that town, and to
whoso generosity Sheffield is indebted for
its " Firth Park." Mr. Firth purchased the
estate, consisting of nearly 1,200 acres, about

earpa lutea. There has been much thin-
ning done in the past six years, and it is still
being carried out, with a view to saving those
trees and shrubs that previous neglect had
not ruined. In the pleasure grounds, and par-
ticularly in the park, are some fine old Thorns,
and the estate is described as looking its best
when these are in blossom. Among the many
improvements that have been made since Mr.
Firth came to Ashwick are a rosary, and a
small "Jubilee" flower garden, made in 1897.
The rosary includes some of the best Teas and
Hybrid Teas, and is a feature much appre-
ciated. Our illustration on p. 263 (fig. 82)
affords an idea of the effect obtained in t ho
"Jubilee "garden, wit h Si neks, Chrysanthemum
maximum, and in the farther beds, Dahlias.
Mr. Kirtli hasalsj planted 1,000 young fruit-

effects are secured. It would result in further
improvement if the espalier trees could be
replaced with some of the free -blooming
"garden " Roses.

The glass-houses are not large structures.
They are span-roofed, and are utilised for
growing fruits, flowers, and plants for the
house. A nice collection of Orchids is grown,
and Lrelias, Cattleyas, Oncidiums, &o., look
well.

In connection with Orchids, the gardener,
Mr. Pentland, relates that lie has found it im-
possible to got sphagnum-moss to thrive, owing
to the water of the district containing a large
amount of limO ; he therefore adopts a different
mode of culture t ban is common. For most of
the plants, loaf-mould containing a proportion
of root-flbrea has been used in t he piareof peat,

256

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 19, 1902.

thus anticipating a practice that has been
discussed in these pages recently ; and as
sphagnum-moss will not thrive, Mr. Pentland
does not keep his plants above the level of
the pot, but below it. He half-fills the pots
with crocks, then plants the specimens at one
side in the leaf-mould, and on the other side
of the pot adds more crocks, until they and
the surface of the leaf-soil are on the same
level. He has found the plan to answer most
successfully at present, and the matter of
affording water to the roots is not attended
with" so much danger, for as only one-half of
the crocks is covered with the leaf-soil,
aeration from top to bottom is complete.
M. Linden wrote in these pages on Feb. 22, in
respect to a quantity of plants in leaf mould
that he had purchased, "only living roots
were in the sphagnum-moss over the surface
of pots ; in the earth they were usually
rotten." At Ashwick leaf-soil is used, and no
sphagnum or other moss. Especially healthy
were the Oncidiums, Lrelias, and Cattleyas.
At present this novel system, though tried
on a small scale only, appears to satisfactorily
compensate for the loss of the sphagnum-moss.
We should mention |that in the stove, Arauja
(Pbysianthus) albens bore scores of fruits,
some of which have been before the Scientific
Committee, see ante, p. 198.

Ashwick is situate 3 miles from Box Railway
Station, 9 miles from Chippenham, and 7 miles
from Bath. Whether it be approached from
Box or from Bath, the road is a very steep
incline, and upon the top of the hill where
"The Rocks" and Ashwick Hall stand, may
be had most beautiful Views of the valleys of
Box and St. Catherine! The Box tunnel, that
cost half a million of money and 100 lives to
construct, is but a short distance away.

The drive from Bath is along an old Roman
road through Batheaston and over Banner
Down, where upon the side of the road three
great stones mark the meeting of the three
Counties, Gloucestershire, Somersetshire, and
Wiltshire. P.

SPONTANEOUS SEEDING AND
HYBRIDISATION OF NARCISSI.

I am anxious to obtain information as to the
gardens in Great Britain wherein Narcissi have
been observed to seed naturally, and also of
those wherein cross-bred or hybrid seedlings
have spontaneously appeared. Of course,
seedlings may be raised artificially anywhere
if the flowers are hand-fertilised, or if dif-
ferent varieties or species are carefully cross-
fertilised, a la Herbert, Leeds, or Engleheart ;
but I especially wish to know of localities
wherein cultivated or naturalised Narcissi on
grass, seed without any human assistance.

As I write, Mr. Bedford, of Straffan, Kildare,
sends me flowers from seedlings that have
appeared within the last few years, on the
grass, where the common English Daffodil and
the "Tenby" Daffodil are growing in prox-
imity. They are intermediate in appearance,
having the six-parted, flanged trumpet of
" Tenby " (N. obvallaris), but of a paler gold,
and the short perianth-segments are much
paler, approaching more nearly to those of
common English, or N. pseudo-Narcissus. N.
princeps also seeds very abundantly on the
grass at Straffan, but so far as I know, no
hybrids between distinct species have
appeared there.

At Kilmacurragh, in Co. Wicklow, seedlings
have appeared, and these are apparently
crosses between the dwarf Daffodil (N. nanus)
and one of the white kinds, probably N.
cernuus.

In the south of Ireland, spontaneous seed-
lings of Daffodils, both white and yellow, have
long been known and appreciated by modern
cultivators, although their origin as to time is
quite unknown.

The late Dr. Charles Stuart, of Viola fame,
had a very curious and interesting set of spon-
taneous seedling Daffodils in his garden, both
single and double flowered.

It is also believed that the curious frilled
trumpet Daffodil, called " Crom a Boo," came
as a chance seedling amongst Ard Righ, and
other yellow Daffodils, on the lawn at Croom,
near Limerick ; the same is true of many
others, such as Countess of Desmond, Richard
Boyle, Silver Bar, White Minor, Minnie
Warren, Little Dot, and the double-flowered
trumpet minor known as Rip Van Winkle, and
the little double-flowered trumpet nanus of
Dr. Stuart.

In an old Co. Wicklow garden, hybrid varie-
ties, seemingly intermediate between the
white-flowered N. cernuus and the yellow
kinds, constantly occur, and the same is true
in other gardens, where the borders are
dressed and weeded with both care and dis-
crimination.

It is now that Narcissi are being so exten-
sively planted on grass-lawns and in pleasure-
grounds, however, that the seedlings will
have a better chance of survival. There is
no doubt but that all the Narcissi are specially
adapted for insect fertilisation, and that in
this way the frequent intercrossing of various
forms, and even of distinct species, now and
then takes place, and seedlings in variety may
be expected to appear on the grass wherever
Narcissi are so grown. F. W. Burbidge, Dublin.

ALPINE GARDEN.

ANEMONE CERNUA.
In reply to Mr. A. K. Bulley (see Qardeiners'
Chronicle, p. 233), I regret to say that I am
unacquainted with the species here men-
tioned to which attention is directed. In my
recommendations for nursing these imported
plants — usually microscopic scraps — I hardly
go so far as to say that planting in Cocoanut-
fibre refuse is the only way of saving such
plants alive. I do, however, say that some
years ago the fact was so forced upon me that
I could not ignore its value ; and in the case
of importations, its immense value. I first
discovered the value of the fibre when receiv-
ing large lots of Anemone alpina, Adonis, Cy-
pripedium calceolus, and other subjects of a
like character each year in early autumn.
Shorn of nearly every root, either by rough
methods in collecting, or by decay during
transit, I have, like Mr. Bulley, lost very
valuable consignments by setting out the
plants in the soil forthwith. These losses
were often considerable and vexatious, and the
value of the CocoanuiVfibre refuse was finally
forced upon me, after having planted and
lost a large batch of Adonis and Anemone
alpina and A. Pulsatilla. As soon as the im-
portation came to hand, I selected some of the
best pieces and planted them forthwith, whilst
the remainder were simply laid in the boxes,
and firmly covered with the fibre. One box
contained the smallest, the unsaleable pieces ;
and because of their little value, little notice
was taken of them. When, however, the
colder weather had departed, it was clear that
the plants set out in the autumn were dead in
every case ; while the small scraps which had
been fully exposed in the box of fibre were not
only alive, but making quantities of roots—
and so large a mass of them, that the plants

came out of the box in a compact mass of fibre
and roots, and I could not further ignore the
great lesson I had been taught. Doubtless
the cold soil and rootless condition of those
planted out were responsible for the failure of ,
the others ; while to the porosity, lightness,
and comparative warmth of the Cocoanut-fibre
was due the resuscitation of the quite small
plants in the box. Not only did these survive,
but the Adonises when seen by the late Mr.
Robert Parker a year or two later had filled a
large bed with such fine tufts, that he declared
they were " the finest lot he had ever seen in
cultivation." At this time the clumps would
be 8 or 10 inches across, the larger roots fully
16 inches long, and the top growth nearly
2 feet high. These small plants were planted
out in the month of April or May, and some
sandy fibre was scattered in each trench. No
doubt the potting, to which Mr. Bulley has
referred, has kept the plants warmer and
drier, hence his success, and it is significant
that all those previously planted in the ground
had failed. Where potting cannot be done,
however, it will be found an easy matter to
heel-in those imported pieces in Cocoanut-
fibre refuse in shallow boxes in the manner
described. It this manner many a valuable
plant may be preserved alive. E. Jenkins.

BULB GARDEN.

NARCISSUS PETER BARR (WHITE AJAX
DAFFODIL).
Never before has such a flower as this been
submitted to the public gaze. Since N. Mme.
de Graaff came into being several white kinds
have appeared, but Peter Barr among the
Daffodils is like a Marechal Niel or Niphetos
among Roses— in other words, unique. It is
hardly any good trying to describe it by com-
parison, for it is comparable to no other
variety, either in the firmness of the flower,
the great purity (whiter than the whitest
Ajax of which I know anything), and its great
size, length of corona and perianth alike. It
is, perhaps, something like what one may have
expected from two snch parents — these, I am
told by Mr. W. Barr, are Monarch and Mme.
de Graaff — both high-class, beautiful flowers,
good ideals for present-day cross-breeders.
In the reflex'ng rim of the trumpet, Peter
Barr is less roundly recurved perhaps than
Mme. de Graaff, but in size and vigour it is
very remarkable. The name of Peter Barr
(Daffodil King) is hardly likely to wane, and
if so, this white-winged giant will certainly
do its share in the perpetuation of the name
of one who has done yoeman work in the field
of the Daffodil. The flower well merited the
award of a First-class Certificate. E. H.
Jenkins, Hampton Bill.

FORESTRY.

THE DISEASE OF LARCH.
(Concluded from p. 239.)
Now, the cause of this sudden outbreak I
attribute to wounds made on the Larch by hail-
storms, or by the Larch-aphis or Pine-beetles,
and at which wounds the Larch-fungus, Peziza,
enters. According to Hartig and others, hail
driven fiercely against the tender bark injures
the latter, as also the aphis does in the case of
the foliage and tender shoots. Wounds caused
by these agents would be spread over almost
every part of the tree, and the disease, in the
form of blisters, might be expected to follow
the wounds in the same order. My opinion is
that the aphis is the Peziza's " provider " in
very many cases, but does not itself cause the

April 19, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

257

disease, because the aphis is quite common in
dry seasons and on very dry soils, where it is
not followed by the disease. Some other con-
dition seems to be necessary, after the aphis
has provided an entrance, to cause the Peziza
to establish itself to a destructive extent. In
the fine climate of Norfolk, the driest and
sunniest in England, it cannot be excessive
moisture that encourages the disease, though
Hartig says a damp climate favours it. The
only other plantation attacked to nearly as
destructive an extent as the one in Norfolk
was one I visited last autumn in Galloway,
N.B. The woods were not all badly affected,
but one in particular was, and the agent, who
had been there many years, assured me that
the blister first appeared on the trees all over

guish between diseased and non - diseased
trees. For all kinds of railway and other
fences, pit props, &c, blistered stems quarter
girthing, 3 inches, are just as acceptable as
any other. I saw last year a badly diseased
Larch plantation in the South, twenty-five
years of age, nearly all the trees of which were
saleable. I advised the owner to fell and
trim them, which he did, and is doing so now,
and the price, I am told, will yield £25 per
acre on high-lying, very poor land, unfit for
farming purposes. That is £1 an acre at least
annual rent in a rotation period of twenty-five
j'ears.

What soil has to do with the Larch disease
is still a mystery. It is not at all certain that
an ill-drained so"! produces the disease. That

lings push up with extraordinary vigour, and
growths are reproduced from old stools so
rapidly that a second crop of poles and trees
may be had within a very short rotation
period. The young Larch on the same ground
is quite free from disease, and their annual
growth is exceptionally fine and clean. Old
crops of Larch, recently felled, and planted
within the memory of persons living, fetched
in the final cut alone, not long since standing,
over £:!00 per acre ; at least, the proprietor
of the estate and his agent showed me that
£1700 had been got for 5 acres of Larch. The
woods had not, of course, been as severely
thinned as is usual, and the trees were ex-
ceptionally tall and cylindrical, which means
measure.

Fig. 81.— AsiiwicK hall: showing the flower-borders in a wai.i.kimn garden containing the glass-houses.

(ske p. 255.)

the wood about two years after a bad attack
of the aphis, and had extended ever since.

According to Loudon, the Larch -blight
(aphis) was at one time no more common than
the disease, and first appeared in Scotland
about a hundred years ago. Since then it has
spread all over the kingdom, and the Larch-
blister appears to follow in its wake.

Some of the worst cases of the disease are
to be found on the borders of Somerset and
Devon. Larch has been planted very exten-
sively there within the last forty years, and
on some estates the disease has practically
destroyed the plantations. Trees of the size
of young poles and rails are to be seen dead
and dying in masses, and falling against each
other — quite a pitiful sight. We have often
wondered why owners of such woods do not
cut them down and sell the timber for what it
is worth. Timber merchants do not distin-

may cause heart-rot, but I have a conviction
that abundant moisture in the soil is at least a
preventive of the Larch-aphis. Drought, top or
bot torn, or both, certainly promotes the develop-
ment of that plague. 1 understand that the
chalk formation is one of the most retentive of
water, which it holds in suspension, and does
not give up by draining, like other formations.
That is the experience of the London Water-
works authorities, and it is a fact that both
the Ash and Larch thrive amazingly on the
chalk. On certain estates in Wiltshire, not
far from Tisbury, on the high-lying chalk
downs there, are some of the finest Larch and
Ash, both young and old, to be seen in
England, both growing in or on pure chalk,
which in that neighbourhood is in many places
only the thickness of a sod from tho surface,
as can be seen in railway cuttings and
quarries. On this formation young Ash seed-

Yet chalk by itself cannot be considered as
anything but a poor soil, and unless it is the
steady supply of moisture which it affords ti>
the roots at all seasons, one is at a loss to.
understand why it produces such good and big
Larch and Ash. The Ash is commonly sup-
posed to prefer a deep, moist loam, but
whether on the hard pan of chalk in Cam-
bridgeshire or on the chalk downs of Wilts, it
equals tho best on any other soils; and the
Larch seems to be a good companion tree
under such circumstances.

I wish much that the Gardeners' Chronicle
could collect information about the Larch-
disease. What more interesting problem could
engage the Scientific Committee ? We are
practically without data respecting its ravages.
in different parts of the country, and i'»
different soils, situations, altitudes and
aspects, Ate. .'. Simpson.

258

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 19, 1902.

DOVER HOUSE ^GARDENS,
ROEHAMPTON.

The new glass structures, which have been
Imilt by Messrs. McKenzie & Moncur, in Mr.
J. Pierpont Morgan's garden are now com-
pleted, and furnished with plants. They con-
sist of three elegant, span-roofed houses, and
a corridor, and] are connected with the older
show-house by means of a door in the centre.
In the corridor have been planted some choice
flowering creepers and climbers, which may
be expected to make the structure exceedingly
attractive in the course of a year or two. One
of the new houses will be used for the cultiva-
tion of Orchids, another one at present is
filled with Codifeums, and the third, together
with the corridor and the older show-house
contains a very great variety of plants in
flower. Conspicuous amongst these well-
grown plants are Acacias armata, Drummondi,
&c, Rhododendron (Azalea) mollis, Lilacs,
Genista fragrans, Cyclamens, Staphylea col-
chica, Richardias speciosa and Elliottiana,
Cyclamens, Mignonette, Boronia megastigma,
Ericas (including E. propendens), Wistarias,
Hippeastrums, &c. The new range forms a very
pleasing addition to the features of the garden.

The Palm-house, which was built some three
years ago, is now filled with very fine speci-
mens, and provides an effect in the way of
green foliage plants which was previously
lacking in these gardens.

In the span-roofed house that formerly was
filled with stove species, and in the adjoining
division, the great specimen plants of Souvenir
de la Malmaison Carnation are producing a
few early blooms, and by their stout, glaucous,
arching foliage promise as great a wealth of
flower in May and June as formerly. There
is not a sign of fungoid disease in the entire
collection. Among other pretty effects in the
plant-houses is that furnished by a first-rate
collection of Caladiums, just having developed
several leaves each.

In the fruit houses, as in all of the others, the
condition of things in general, and in detail, is
most praiseworthy. An extraordinary good
crop of early Pigs has afforded ripe fruits
during the past three weeks. Strawberries are
ripe ; Peaches and Nectarines having passed
the stoning stage are now swelling. Grapes from
pot Vines are nearly coloured. A row of cordon
Pear-trees, which was planted along the inte-
rior front of along late Peach-case two seasons
ago, are in blossom, and the proportion that
will bear fruits during this second season pro-
mises to be unusually good. To induce this
precocious fruiting, some of the varieties were
"'double-worked," or grafted on two stocks.

The grounds upon the south front of the
dwelling-house have been made the very most
of. The old shrubbery that once screened the
road fence has been removed, and a narrow
screen of Conifers put in its stead. The ground
thus saved, with a little added thereto, has been
turfed, and in the turf are informal beds of
almost every shape and size. Mr. J. F. McLeod
has managed to group into these beds a very
large proportion of novelties in hardy shrubs.
The Mollis Rhododendrons make a grand effect.
Some of the beds contain the variety An-
thony Koster exclusively. The white variety,
Daviesii, is also grouped in beds, as is the
very effective variety of Prunus pseudo-
Cerasus known as James H. Veitch ; Lilies, and
some of the choicest border plants. The
smaller beds are planted with bulbs in spring,
and flowering plants later.

Mr. Morgan, who has lately arrived in
Europe from America for his annual visit, has
a keen appreciation for sterling quality,
whether it be in a picture or in a garden plant.
In conjunction with high quality, however, he
.admires neatness. P.

The Week's Work.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Wbytock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch. Dalkeith.

Peaches and Nectarines. — The trees in the
earliest house, the fruit of which is now swell-
ing after stoning, should be afforded a higher
temperature night and day, but letting it fall
to 65° or 60° on very cold nights, and maintain-
ing it at 80° to 85° with sunheat by day. Let
the trees be syringed morning and afternoon,
and keep the air moist. Although the young
shoots may have been thinned, it will be
necessary to push aside or take away any of
the leaves that cover or shade the fruit from
the light, and to press the fruit outwards
from the lower side or back of the trellis.
When fruit begins to ripen, the syringing of
the trees must be stopped and air admitted
constantly, a genial atmosphere being created
by damping the paths and borders by day, and
heat afforded at night.

The Succession Peach-house.- — If the fruit is
stoning, the mean temperature should not
exceed 60°, and air more or less should be
afforded by day. Let the trees be syringed
twice daily, and remove gross shoots, so as to
throw vigour into the weaker shoots. See to
the thinning and adjustment of the shoots all
over the trees, with a view to securing good
fruiting wood. In order to secure ripe fruit
in July and August, trees which have set their
fruits freely may now have their first thinning.
At this stage aphis is sure to be present on
the shoots, and must be destroyed without
delay, but as fumigation with any form of
tobacco is not advisable at this stage, insecti-
cides must be used instead, and a safe one is
Quassia-water, or a weak mixture of Bentley's
Soft-soap. The mean temperature should be
about 60°, rising to 75" or 80° with sunheat.
Syringe the trees in the early morning, and in
the afternoon at closing time. See that the
trees do not lack water at the roots, and if
there are aged trees .standing in the border
sprinkle Thomson's Vine Manure on the latter,
and afterwards apply tepid water. Failing
Thomson's, apply diluted drainings from the
cowsheds. Trees in the latest house, if in
flower, must be afforded air constantly on
sunny days by the upper ventilators or lights,
but guard against draughts of cold air. As a
help to the setting of the fruit, go over the
trees about noon on fine days, and afford them
a very gentle fine syringing. When the fruit
is set, apply water to the inside border, and
keep the house a little warmer.

The Orchard-house. — Plums, Pears, and Cher-
ries being in flower or setting their fruit, now
distribute the pollen in the middle of the day
by giving a brisk tap to the stem of each tree.
Plums that set freely in the open air always
require aid under glass. Afford air constantly
by the upper ventilators, and admit plenty by
day in accordance with outside conditions ;
damp the house twice or thrice daily, and when
the fruits are set sprinkle the border with
artificial manure, and apply water. Keep a
sharp look - out for aphis, syringing with
Quassia-water of a suitable strength if any be
noticed. Disbud the trees early, removing
entirely all foreright shoots, pinching off all
shoots found on the lower sides of the branches,
and on the upper side leave the one which is
nearest the base, one in the middle, and the
terminal growth.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mdndt, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Ferns.— In many ferneries, it is impossible
to keep insect pests under by vaporising with
nicotine, as the fumes injure the young fronds,
and sponging, too, is harmful to the plants,
and where there are many plants it is impos-
sible. A careful overhauling made weekly at
this season, when the new fronds are pushing
up, cutting out ail old fronds that have lost
freshness, is an excellent way of lessening
insect pests, the eggs and immature insects

being got rid of ; and the young fronds soon,
replace the old. This kind of work must be
diligently carried out this month and next.

Selaginellas. — The common species S. Kraus-
siana, much used for groundwork in the fernery,
in Palm-houses, &c, should be cleared away ;
a little additional soil afforded, and then be
thickly replanted with the tips of about 3 ins.
in length, dibbling these into the soil and
afterwards applying water. Annual replanting
is imperative where a good effect is looked for
during the winter, the old plants being liable
to fog off in patches during the winter and
autumn. Other species of Selaginella should
also be renewed now, and among others, S.
uneinata, commonly known as S. csesia, and
valued for its metallic-bluish tints, and S.
amceua should not be overlooked.

Forced Plants. — Azaleas and other forced
plants which may have been grown on in the
glasshouses since flowering had ceased, should
be removed to cold frames, shaded from very
bright sunshine, and protected at night with
mats, till they become hardened.

Epiphyllums. — These are most effective when
grown as standards, and the present is a
suitable season for grafting young cladodes
growths upon to stocks of Pereskia aculeata,
either by crown or side grafting. Grafted
plants should be kept for a time in a moist and
warm house till the union is complete.

Phyllocactus. — The flower buds on these
plants will soon appear, and from this date
until the flowers open, water should be very
carefully applied, as an overdose will, unless
the drainage is quite perfect, cause the buds
to turn yellow and drop off. A dryish inter-
mediate-house and full exposure to the sun
suit these plants.

Clivias. — From now onwards through the
summer months, Clivias require a good supply
of water at the root. The plants are very
effective when planted out so as to form a
margin to the beds in the Palm-house or con-
servatory, in which position they flower better
than one would expect. On no account should
much water be afforded during the autumn and
winter months, or loss of the leaves will be
sure to follow.

Gesueras. — A batch of tubers should now be
potted and placed in the stove to start them.
Gesneras succeed in a mixture of turfy loam,
peat, and much sharp sand, and the tubers
should be covered with about 1 inch of soil.
Afford them a moist atmosphere, but no over-
head syringing, and shade the growing plants
when the sun is strong.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

Ventilation. — The amount of ventilation
that should be afforded depends upon the
elevation and style of the house, also upon the
surroundings, whether these are conducive to
the free circulation of air or otherwise. All
Orchids require fresh air, and the question
as to whether sufficient is being afforded, is
equivalent to asking whether or not the air in
the house is pure and sweet. It is notcorrect
to assume that because an Orchid requires to
be kept hot, less fresh air is necessary for it
than for others. Very great care must be
exercised in keeping the atmosphere in the
hothouses sweet. In the Cattleya and cooler
houses, little difficulty will be experienced in
keeping the atmosphere sweet and buoyant.

Affordinfi Water. — By discriminating between
plant and plant, many young roots may be
saved to help to develop the new growth. The
operation should be carried out early in the
day, so that the plant may become partially
dry before night. Plants that are growing
and rooting freely, and whose roots have
penetrated the entire compost, will require
water more frequently than those that are
newly potted, or those that have very few
roots. Speaking generally, a plant will
root more freely when kept on the dry side ;
then, when it has made many roots, afford

April 19, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

259

water more freely. Where Fern rhizomes are
used in the place of crocks for drainage, less
water will be required at all times.

Damping-Down. — The amount of the damping-
down required in any one Orchid-house will
vary from day to day, in accordance with the
weather, more moisture being required when
the outside atmosphere contains but little
humidity — in fact, in very bright weather it is
not possible to afford too much during the
early and middle hours of the day ; but the
probable kind of conditions at night must be
estimated before damping-down heavily late
in the afternoon, otherwise there may be an
excessive amount of condensation on the glass
as the temperature declines, which will cause
dryness of the air — a very injurious condition,
against which the gardener must always be on
his guard.

Syringing the Plants may only be performed
with safety on some species on bright, clear
days ; whilst Disa grandiflora, Epidendrum
radicans, most of the Odontoglossums, Spatho-
glottis, many of the Cypripediums, Cymbi-
diums, and Sobralias, are benefited by being
syringed whenever the house temperature is
right, using discretion as to the time of day
when the days are short, or the weather very
dull, when very little overhead syringing will
suffice, and that should be performed sufficiently
early to allow the leaves of the plants to be-
come dry before nightfall ; whilst during
bright, warm weather, these same species may
be frequently syringed with advantage. Over-
head syringing should only be practised with
Dendrobiums, Cattleyas, Masdevallias, Zygo-
petalums, Lycastes, and Vandas, on bright days,
and then only when in growth, and very
lightly, so that no water runs into the centre
of the plant or of the pseudo-bulbs. The
syringe should be fitted with one of the patent
spraying nozzles, which deposits water as fine
as dew. Lselia anceps is an Orchid that when
growing should be syringed overhead several
times a day, and once rather late in the after-
noon, commencing to do this about the third
week in April, and continuing to do this till
growth is almost finished.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Mayne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rollk,
Bicton. East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Disbudding Fruit-trees. — In some parts of
the country Peach and Nectarine trees will be
sufficiently advanced in growth for disbudding
to be undertaken. This operation must bo
effected gradually at intervals of six or eight
days, or a check will be given to the trees.
Disbudding is best performed with the finger-
and - thumb, in fact no growth should be
allowed to remain long enough as to require a
knife for its removal. The current season's
fruiting wood of a foot or more in length
should be furnished with three shoots, two
at the base and one midway, and of course
the points of the shoots, unless the shoot has
filled its allotted space, when the lead should
be pinched at the third or fourth leaf. When
going over the trees for the last time, the one
growth on the upper side of the shoot at the
base is usually the one to be retained, unless
a more than usually large space has been left
between the main fruiting wood, when the mid-
way shoot may also bo retained ; crowding must
be avoided as being detrimental to the ripening
of the wood. In the case of young trees, it
will bo necessary to reserve more shoots for
extension and as a basis for the crown, though
these should be laid in from 3 to 4 inches
apart. Maiden or one-year-old trees from tho
bud growing on the reserve wall, which were
cut back as advised in a previous calendar,
will now be growing freely, and tho leading
shoot may be secured, training it erect ;
and others that push out below should bo
trained to the right and left, allowing a space
from 4 to 6 inches between them, surplus
shoots being rubbed off whilst quite small.
Do not be in too much haste to fasten-in I liese
shoots, growth being much stronger if they
are allowed to grow unrestrained for a
month or longer time. Pinch lateral shoots at

the first joint on the bearing shoot, and if the
latter should be growing too rapidly for the
good of the side shoots of the tree, its point
may be pinched out when 18 inches of growth
have been made. Whilst cold winds prevail,
aphis is almost sure to increase its numbers,
and dusting with tobacco-powder will be con-
stantly called for.

Apricots. — Continue to thin the fruits of the
Apricots if the set has been very abundant,
reserving most of those that are taking the
lead, and thin these the last of all. As soon as
the weather becomes milder, remove netting
or other protective material from Apricot-
trees, but allow glass or other kinds of coping
to remain for a fortnight longer, otherwise a
check may be given to the growth of the trees
and the fruits. I would remind gardeners of
the need to examine the stone-fruit-tree
borders, and if the soil be found at all dry, to
afford water copiously and in the early morning
hours.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Schizostylis coccinca.- — The tufted bulblets
of this having commenced to grow, it is a
suitable time to plant or replant them. Where
this useful winter-flowering plant is grown
extensively, it should be given a slightly
elevated bed on a south or south-east border,
using a compost consisting of sandy loam two-
thirds, mixed with leaf-mould one-third. Plant
in beds of 4 or 5 feet wide, with 18-inch alleys
between, in drills drawn at 10 inches apart
and 4 inches deep. The large bulbs are those
that will produce flowers the current year,
and these should be put in at 4 inches, and the
smaller bulbs at 2 inches apart. Fill in the
drills, and press the soil firmly with the back
of an iron rake, with which the surface may
be made smooth and even.

Rock Plants.— The alpine species of Cam-
panula require the protection of a cold frame
during the winter and spring months, and if
duly hardened off, any that have been so
wintered may be now planted in the rockery.
C. pumila alba, C. Waldsteiniana, and C. Por-
tenschlagiana are amongst the prettiest of
these, succeeding in any ordinary kind of soil.
Water mast be afforded the plants when the
weather is dry. The Edelweiss is another
little plant that is the better for cold-frame
protection throughout the winter, and if
planted out now in well-drained soil on
the rockwork, it will produce its quaint-
looking flowers freely from midsummer till
early autumn. The plants are easily raised
from seeds, which is the best method of raising
them. Sow at present date or early in tho
autumn, and grow on in boxes or pots in any
exposed position in the garden. (Enothera
speciosa rosea is also a charming free-flowering
subject, and my experience with it so far. is
that it requires cold- frame treatment in the
winter. This plant thrives equally well if
planted in a dry, sunny position in the front
of the herbaceous borders.

General Remarks. — All half-hardy annuals
which were sown a fortnight ago in frames
will require the utmost care, the changeable-
ness of the weather rendering the carrying
out of the necessary details of this kind of
work rather harassing as regards ventilation,
affording water, and shading from strong sun-
shine. The hardening-off treatment of the
numerous species and varieties of summer-
bedding plants will also occupy the mind of
the gardener ; it is work that requires con-
siderable forethought, as well as entails much
labour and time in tho forming of shelters,
temporary or otherwise, for the protection of
the plants from cold winds at all times, and
frosts by night, especially if tho gardener is
not well supplied with eold frames. Pelar-
goniums, Fuchsias, Abutilons, and tho like,
are plants that are not improved by leaving
them in forcing-houses alter the foliage of the
trees, Vines, &o., has developed. Humea
elegans and specimen zonal Pelargoniums are
plants that must also be afforded a cool, airy

position, and all must have ample shade
afforded them for at least ten days after their
removal from the warmer houses. All plants
that require it should have water applied
before 11 a.m.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Tcrton, Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Peas. — The demand for this vegetable being
greatest in the month of July, sowings of the
best varieties of Marrowfats should be made
weekly till the middle of the month of May,
and afterwards the sowings should consist of
only such varieties as are known to yield well
in the autumn, of which smaller quantities
may be sown. Let the sticking of succes-
sional crops be attended to directly the plants
are 4 inches high, as with seasonable weather
the plants will grow apace, and they should
not be allowed to grow up through the wire
Pea-guards, or into the thread put to defend
the Peas from the birds. If sparrows and
other feathered foes peck the leaves after the
rows are sticked, dust the plants with air-
slaked lime and fresh soot mixed together in
equal proportions, repeating the dressing if
rain should wash it off. Peas on light gravelly
soils should be mulched with partially rotted
stable-manure, but on retentive soils mulching
should be deferred till more warmth has been
imparted to the soil.

Onions. — As soon as the plants have come
through the soil and the lines can be made
out, let the Dutch-hoe be used, and thus check
the growth of weeds and aerate the soil. Seed
of the silver-skinned Onion for pickling pur-
poses may now be sown on poor soil, so as to
avoid the production of large bulbs, sowing
thickly.

Capsicums. — Seeds may be sown forthwith
in pots or pans, placing these in a hot-bed,
and pricking them off in boxes after a few true
leaves are made. When of a height of 4 to
0 inches, plant them in the frames that
have been in use for forcing Potatos, where
they will give better results with but a tithe
of the labour required when grown in pots.

Lettuce. — The varieties of Cabbage-Lettuce
sown in skeleton-frames on warm borders,
early in February should be thinned to about
6 inches apart, the thinnings being planted
out on a sheltered border, and some in the
open quarters. Make a sowing at this date
of the Paris White Cos and some large-growing
Cabbage - Lettuce for setting out upon the
ridges between the rows of Celery.

Turnips. — The early sowings being rather
uncertain, it is advisable to make small sow-
ings at intervals of ten days or a fortnight in
different parts of the garden, taking early
precautions against attacks of the Turnip- flea,
by means of dressings of air-slaked lime and
fresh soot in the early morning hours. Let
the early sowings be chopped out with a hoe,
but do not thin finally till the plants are safe
from the flea. Early Milan anil Early Snow-
ball are excellent varieties to sow at the
present date.

Emil Rodeck. — Many persons in this
country will learn with regret of the death on
April 5, at the age of sixty-nine years, of
llorin Ivmii, RODBOK, head of the firm of RODBCF
BROTHERS, dealers in objects of fine art, fancy
goods, and manufacturers of Russia leather— a
Iccnial man and a charming host. The deceased
was an ardent horticulturist, indeed, one of
the first amateur gardeners in the Austrian
metropolis, growing stovo plants (Croton
Rodeeki), hardy plants, Roses, and florists*
flowers; and he was the |. ■— .-ssor of a very
choice collection of Orchids at a period when
these plants were little known or appreciated
in Austria. Herrn RODECK was the recipient
of numerous decorations and titles, being,
among others, Knight of the Franz Josel
Order, Royal and Imperial Councillor of Com-
merce, Knight of the Order of the Crown.
IV. Class, and of the French Legion of Honour.

260

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

[April 19, 1902.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER.

Letters for Publication, as well as specimens and plants
for naming, should be addressed to the EDITOR,
41, Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London,

Communications should be written on one side only of
the paper, sent as early in the week as possible, and duly
signed by the writer. If desired, the signature will not be
printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.
lustrations. — The Editor will thankfully receive and select
photographs or draivings, suitable for reproduction of
gardens, or of remarkable plants, flowers, trees, &c. ; but he
cannot be responsible for loss or injury.
Newspapers. — Correspondents sending newsjtapers should be
careful to mark the paragraphs they wish the Editor to see.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUIN6 WEEK.

TUESDAY.

WEDNESDAY.Apr

Royal Horticultural Society's
Committees Meet.

National Auricula and Primula
Show, at Drill Hall, West-
minster.

/ Royal Horticultural Society's
\ Examinations in Horticul-
! { ture.
/ Royal Botanic Society's Show
of Spring Flowers.

THURSDAY, Apr. 24-' Midland Daffodil Society's Sho
1 I at Birmingham (2 days).

FRIDAY,

ipp ,,- I Darlington Horticultural So-
~l ciety's Spring Show.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, April 21—

Roses, Ferns, Bulbs, &c, at 67, Cheapside, by Pro-
theroe and Morris, at 12.

TUESDAY. April 22—

Roses, Palms, Davallias, Japanese Maples, at Pol-
lexfen and Co.'s Rooms.

WEDNESDAY. April 23—

Liliums, Palms, Bulbs, &c. at 67, Cheapside. by
Protheroe and Morris, at 12.— Palms, Flowering
Plants, Japanese Dwarf Trees, Davallia Bullata in
fancy pieces, &c, at Stevens' Rooms.

THURSDAY, April 24—

Palms, Roses, Davallias. Japanese Maples, Bulbs, &c ,
at Pollexfen and Co.'s Rooms.

FRIDAY, APRIL 25-

Established Orchids in great variety, at 67, Cheap-
side, by Protheroe and Morris, at 12.30.— A large and
splendid collection of Orchids, &c, in the Coal
Exchange, Market Place, Manchester, by Mr. John
Cowan, at 12.30.

( For further particulars see our Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
-49 3°.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— April 16 (6 p.m.) : Max. 59°; Min. 46°.

April 17.— Foggy.
Provinces.— April 16 (6 p.m.) : Max. S73, Home
Counties; Min. 46>, N.E. Scotlaud.

The more we have to do with
What's m a botanical, i.e., scientific names

Name r ,. , ,

on the one hand, and with
popular or with garden names on the other,
the more convinced we are of the desira-
bility of using names for the one purpose
for which they are really designed, and for
no other. A name should be used as a means
of distinction, a mere label, and nothing
else ; just as we say John and Thomas
without any attempt to differentiate between
the two persons. Directly we begin to make
the name significant by conveying some
information about the nature of the plant,
its history, its native place, or what not,
so soon do we begin to pile up confusion
and trouble for the future. To-day we call
a plant Narcissus maximus, to-morrow we
find a bigger one. Our predecessors called
one plant biflorus, where we find it to be
one-flowered only, or perhaps three-flowered.
To-day we receive a plant from China, and
we call it " Novicia chinensis ; " next week
we ascertain that our supposed novelty is
none other than the Annosa himalaica, now
found to occur also in the Himalayas. We
might give countless instances of this char-
acter, but we do not desire to weary the reader
with such technicalities. We only plead

that the names used in gardens, for garden
purposes only, should not be Latinised until
their validity has been attested by some com-
petent authority. Till that time, provisional
names in the vernacular should be used.
Moreover, those provisional names should
not be cast in such a technical form that the
unwary may be deluded into the notion
that the plant is a duly registered member
of society. Even if a " garden name " be
applied, it is much better not to make it
imply anything beyond the separate identity
of the plant to which it is applied. Paul
Jones & Co.'s ': Earliest-of-All'' Marrowfat
Pea is almost sure to be superseded next
year by Peter Simple Brothers' " Earlier-
than -the -Earliest." But if the one were
called " Paul Jones," and the other " Peter
Simple," or any other arbitrary appellation,
no confusion would arise. Moreover, such
names need not be changed, whilst the
botanical names must needs vary according
to the progress of science, increase of know-
ledge, and differences of interpretation.

When names are borrowed from foreign
sources, additional complications ensue. An
old and valued correspondent calls our
attention to the Rose Felicite - Perpetue.
This name has often been the subject of
discussion, and the name is variously spelt
in our catalogues. Our only consolation is
to find that French rosarians themselves
often differ in their practice with regard
to the spelling of this name. Now, how-
ever, we have the happiness of being
able to extricate ourselves from the con-
fusion occasioned by this name ; and
thanks to our excellent confrere, M. Andre,
to offer a reasonable explanation. If we
can only remember this, it will save us
from the difficulty in future. But, first of
all, we will let our " very old," and, we may
add, valued subscriber speak for himself.

"I notice almost, if not quite all the English
Rose - catalogues call a well known Rose
'Felicite Perpetue,' and am puzzled. Fe-
licite is a feminine substantive, surely the
adjective should be ' perpetuelle ? ' Perpetue
is nonsense ; no one would use a second
person singular in the imperative mood con-
joined to a plain substantive to make a name.
We often laugh over the mistakes of our con-
tinental friends with regard to our mother
tongue. Are we able to throw a stone at
them when we use so ridiculous an appellation
for a French Rose, alike unmeaning and un-
grammatical ?

" But we equally sin with German ; perhaps
to compensate our French blunder, and show
how impartial our ignorance can be. All the
catalogues I have seen, with one notable ex-
ception, give the Rose Griiss aus Teplitz, a
greeting from, or out of, Teplitz, as Griiss an
Teplitz ; again a blunder, and one ignoring
that the name really denotes the place of
origin of the Rose.

" Why should we thus expose our ignorance
in such ordinary matters, and make ourselves
a laughing-stock to the world ? "

Now, here is the history of the name
Felicite-Perpetue : —

"Felicite et Perpetue, raised in 1827 by
JACQUES, head gardener at Neuilly (Seine), as a
seedling variation from R. sempervirens. The
origin of the name is as follows :— Felicite and
PERl'iiTiTR were two Christian ladies who
suffered martyrdom together in 203. Their
names are always associated in the martyrology
of the Saints. You may consider this infor-
mation as exact. Ed. Andre."

In ordinary usage, the connecting particle
et is omitted, and the two names are placed
in apposition, thus: Felicite Perpetue. The
latter word should thus always be written
with an initial capital, and if a hyphen is
placed between the two names, so much the
better. How it is that the two martyred
ladies had such modern - looking French
appellations in the year 203 it -is for philolo-
gists to determine. Enough for us to have
a reasonable explanation of a hitherto per-
plexing name.

Trained Pelargoniums at Gunnersbury
House (Supplementary Illustration). — The
head gardener at this place, Mr. J. Hudson, is
a very successful cultivator of the fragrant-
leaved species of Pelargoniums, of which P.
lladula, a much-branched balsamic-scented
plant; P. fragrans, the Nutmeg- scented ; P.
quercifolium, P. capitatum, a plant yielding
an essential oil on distillation, which is em-
ployed in perfumes ; and P. abrotanifolium are
types. These were once much more frequently
met with in gardens and appreciated than is
the case at the present day, being cultivated
in the greenhouse for use in the dwelling, and
as window plants. Their scent is varied and
pleasant, and it is imparted on being lightly
touched, or the plants shaken by the wind.
As decorative plants in the open, few of them
have much floral value, although a few of the
hybrids, such as Touchstone, Prince of Orange,
Rollisson's Unique, and erubescens, that were
used in bedding arrangements forty or fifty
years ago, were showy, and their flowering
season endured for three or more months. A
large collection of these Cape species exists
at Gunnersbury House, and many of the plants
have been seen at the Temple shows of the
Royal Horticultural Society. Mr. Hudson
finds that the plants, which he employs in the
town houses of his employers, Messrs. Roths-
child, in room decoration, suffer scarcely at
all from dust, heat, the fumes of gas, or from
a confinement of fourteen days' duration. In
the summer and early autumn, many of the
finer specimens are placed on the terrace at
Gunnersbury House, and during the winter
and spring they find a home in some of the
glasshouses at that place. The subject of our
illustration measured about 10 feet in width,
and there are several others as large, as well
as some of columnar form, measuring 6 to 8 ft.
in height, representing the labours of a dozen
years. The plants are not pinched or pruned,
but the shoots trained in as they lengthen.
An extensive collection of these plants also
exists at Kew and at Chiswick.

Royal Horticultural Society. — At the
Royal Horticultural Society's meeting to be
held on April 22 in the Drill Hall, Buckingham
Gate, Westminster, special prizes will be
offered for Daffodils, open to amateurs and
gentleman's gardeners only. First prize a
7-guinea Silver Cup (presented to the Society
by Messrs. Barr & Sons), second prize R.H.S.
Silver Flora Medal. Group of Daffodil-
blossoms, grown entirely outdoors (Polyanthus
varieties excluded), must include some of each
section, viz., magni, medii, and parvi-coronati ;
must contain at least thirty varieties distinct,
at least three blooms of each must be shown.
Not more than nine blooms of any one variety
may be put up. To be staged in bottles,
vases, or tubes, not exceeding 3 inches in
diameter at the top (inside measurement), and
all the stems must touch the water. The
quality of the flower will count more than
quantity, and correct naming and tasteful
arrangemsnt will be duly considered. Any

April 19, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE,

2GI

hardy foliage may be used, Daffodil or other-
wise. No prize will be awarded unless there
are three competitors at the least. Entries
should be addressed to the Secretary, R.H.S.,
117, Victoria Street, London, S.W.

The National Auricula and Primula

Ssciety will hold its annual show at the same
time and place ; and a lecture on " Campa-
nulas " will be given by Mr. M. Prichard,
F.R.H.S., at 3 o'clock.

The Society's examination in horti-
culture will take place on Wednesday, Apr. 23,
at various centres throughout Great Britain.
Intending candidates are requested to forward
their entries at once to the Secretary, Royal
Horticultural Society, 117, Victoria Street,
London, S.W.

National Rose Society. — A meeting of
the General Purposes Committee will be held
at the Rooms of the Horticultural Club, Hotel
Windsor, Victoria Street, Westminster, on
Tuesday, the 22nd inst., at 2 p.m.

The Warwick Castle Conference.— The
Conference on the Co-ordination of Rural In-
dustries, which was to have been held at
Warwick Castle on May 1, has not been aban-
doned, but is postponed until later in the
year. Details of the proposed programme
may, however, be obtained from the Warden,
Lady Warwick Hostel, Reading ; and it is
hoped that all those interested in the subjects
for discussion will write for particulars.

Dr. Augustine Henry.— With reference to
the condensed report in our last issue of Dr.
Henry's speech at the Horticultural Club,
that gentleman desires us to make a correc-
tion. He did not, as was there stated, receive
his education at Oxford University ; and the
story which he told of the views of an under-
graduate on the political institutions of
ancient Athens was not meant to be a criti-
cism of classical education as such. Mr. Henry
merely intended to point out that forexplorers
and travellers to do good work a previous
training in natural history was essential ; and
that we have been too much dependent hereto-
fore on amateurs for our knowledge of such
regions as the interior of China.

"Boletim da Socieoade Broteriana." —
The first fascicles of the eighteenth volume
comprise a paper by Prof. Flahault on the
names to be given to geographical areas dis-
tinguished by special groups of plants, ac-
cording to varying conditions of soil and
climate. M. Coutinho has a monograph of
the Campanulacere of Portugal, which will be
very serviceable to students of this Order.
There are numerous other memoirs interesting
to students of Portuguese botany.

Auction Sale Room Notes.— The unre-
served sale of Orchids from the Rev. F.
Paynteh's collection at Messrs. Protheroe &
Morris' Central Sale Rooms, Cheapside, was
well attended, and good prices were realised
throughout. Cypripedium Mrs. E. V. Low
fetched 36 guineas, C. Lawrenceanum Hyeanum
30 gs. and 40 gs., C. insigne, Harefield Hall
variety, 32 gs. and 22 gs. ; C. insigne Luciani
■26 gs., Cypripedium x Olivia 10 gs., Odonto-
glossum Vuylstekeanum 40 gs., O. crispum
Heatonense36 gs.,0. c. magnilicum 20 gs., O.
excellens 27 gs., O. crispum Brilliant 24 gs.,
and other plants at good prices. Among the
plants in flower or bud sold at 2 p.m., as is the
rule, were Cypripedium hellatuluni album, a
strong plant, 54 guineas; Odontoglossum,
spotted variety, 50 gs. ; Cattleya Schroderte,
fine form, 25 gs. ; and Cypripedium Chamber-
lainianum, 10 gs.

"BotanicalMagazine." — TheApril number
contains coloured figures and descriptions of
the following plants : —

Philodendron caloplajlliim, Brongniart, t.
7827. — A "stemless" species with stalked,
oblong, entire leaves, each 2 to 3 feet long, in
tufts. The midrib is very thick. The spathe,
6 inches long, is raised on a long stalk, con-
volute at the base, expanded above, white
externally, rich carmine internally ; spadix as
long as the spathe, ivory-white. Native of
Guiana.

Viscum cruciatum, Sieber, t. 7828. — Parasitic
on the Olive. It is like the common Misleto,
but the berries are reddish. Native of Spain,
N.E. Africa, and Syria. Kew.

Tupistra grandis, Ridley, t. 7829. — The short
stem bears a number of lanceolate recurved
leaves, each 2 to 3 feet long. The flower-
spike is stalked, and emerges from the stem
near the base. It bears numerous closely
packed, reddish - brown flowers, each about
f inch long, with a cylindric tube, and a
recurved, six-lobed limb ; the style is white,
protruding beyond the perianth, and ter-
minating in a large, disc-like stigma. Native
of the Malay Peninsula.

Corydalis thalictrifolia, Franchet, t. 7830. —
A Chinese perennial with coarsely divided
leaves, and spikes of yellow flowers, each
about 1 inch long. According to the state-
ments in the text, the name thalictrifolia is
pre-occupied. Kew.

Kalanchoe somaliensis, Hooker, t. 7831. — A
native of Somaliland, where it was found by
Sir Edmund Loder. It is a succulent shrub,
with sessile, oblong, crenulate leaves, and
loose terminal cymes of flowers. Each flower
is erect, 2-§ inches long, with a short five-lobed
calyx, and a very long slender corolla tube,
white, expanding into a four-lobed spreading
limb.

Bark. — The Timber Trade Journal is
answerable for the statement that the pros-
pects of the bark trade are improving. It is
expected that £4 a ton will be realised instead
of 50s. Chemical substances do not produce
such good leather as the bark does, as pur-
chasers are beginning to find out, and the
requirement of best leather have been greatly
increased by the S. African War.

"The Country." — The second number of
our new contemporary is before us, and the
contents include a portrait of Sir Edward
Grey, Bart. ; illustrated papers on Elstow and
John Bunyan, by the Rev. A. J. Foster ;
Spring Trout Fishing, by R. B. Marston ;
The Garden of Canon ELLACOMBE at Bitton ;
Daffodils, by the Rev. G. H. Enclkheart ;
The Language of Birds, by E. K. Robinson ;
Bird Haunts, by Helen Milman ; and various
shorter articles and notes. As we before
stated, the editor is Dr. H. Robkrts ; and the
magazine is published by J. M. Dent & Co.,
Bedford Street, W.C.

Colonial Fruit.— The Orient and P. & O.
Companies have received information from
Sydney, advising the following shipments of
fruit, viz., per Orient Co's. Orotava, due in
fiOndon about May 10, with 25,000 boxes ; per
P. & O. Co's. Britannia, about May 17, with
17,500 boxes ; White Star Cos. ship, Afric,
17,000 boxes, including 1,0(1(1 boxes for Liver-
pool ; G. Thompson & Co's. Salami's, with
8,600 boxes.

Monarch of the East.— The plant which
is parading under this title, and said to come
from Central Asia, is the well known Sauro-
matum guttatum, an Aroid which is a native of
North-west India and of the Bombay Presi-

dency, and is an old garden plant, having been
frequently introduced. A good figure of it
will be found in the Botanical Magazine at
t. 4465. The spathe is very long, and hand-
somely spotted and bordered with rich
purple-brown on a yellowish ground. The
odour, however, is anything but agreeable. If
kept from frost and damp in the winter, it may
be planted out-of-doors in a shady place.

Forestry. — The Timber Trades Journal
says that for colliery purposes alone we import
from France and other countries at least a
million tons of timber, that might just as well
be grown in this country.

"Kerner's Natural History of Plants.''
— Messrs. Blackie and Son, contemplate a re-
issue of Kerner's Natural History of Plants, a
work which, in its English form, is identified
with the name of Prof. F. W. Oliver. The
new edition, which will be issued at a con-
siderably reduced price, will be substantially
a reprint of the original English edition, with
a few necessary alterations and corrections.

A Wild Garden at Underley. — A new
"wild "garden has just been planted at Under-
ley Hall, the residence of Lord and Lady Henry
Bentinck. A list of the plants used includes
about 800 species and varieties, made up as
follows : 189 alpines, 53 bulbs, 49 aquatics,
47 Roses, 250 herbaceous, 91 deciduous trees
and shrubs, 70 evergreen trees and shrubs,
14 Ferns, 'and 37 annuals. The numbers of
each variety vary from one to some hundreds.
The work has been done by Mr. W. A. Miller,
his Lordship's gardener.

Royal Gardens, Kew.— We regret to find
that our editorial note last week was mis-read
by a number of gardeners out of a situation
and desirous of finding some other appoint-
ment. As was obvious from the heading, the
note referred exclusively to young gardeners
desirous of getting employment in the Royal
Gardens at Kew. Such persons should apply
to the Curator for a form of application, of
which we append a copy.

" Applicants for admission as gardeners into the

Royal gardens are furnished with [a] paper, which when
filled • in must be signed by their present or last
employer, and returned to the Curator, accompanied
by a letter in applicant's own handwriting and with
testimonials from employers or practical gardeners.
Foreigners must be able to write and speak English.
The wages are 21s. for gardeners, and 2T». for sub-fore-
men per week, with extra pay for Sunday duty. Appli-
cants must be at least 20, and not more than 26 years
of age, and have been employed not less than five years
in good private gardens or nurseries. They must be
healthy, free from physical defect, and not below aver-
age height. Whilst at work they must wear blue serge
suits and grey flannel shirts with turned down collars.
The applicant will be informed if his name has been
entered for admission, and on a vacancy occurring
will receive notice to that effect. Should he not be
appointed within three months, the application must
be renewed."

Hybrid Vines.— The plants resulting from
crossing two entirely distinct species are
habitually sterile ; or if fertile, the degree of
fertility is very limited. The species of Vitis
form a most remarkable exception to this rule.
M. MlLLARDET* has succeeded in fertilising
among themselves fifteen species of thisgenus,
and, a most important fact, all the hybrids ob-
tained are fertile and mix freely, the Vines
bearing themselves as in nature. | The various
genera of one family, the different species of
the same genus present, further, great differ-
ences as regards aptitude to combine by cross
fertilisation. Bull. Soc. Bot. France, xlvi.,
1899, p. exci.

' Millardet, Bisai tUr VHybrtdaUon ds In Vigne, p •
(Paris, G. Masson, 1891 I
t P. Viala. rue Mission Vittcole en AmMque, p. no ot

suiv., 1839.

262

THE GARD ENER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

[Arp.a 19, 1902.

Grenada Agricultural Society. — Wo
congratulate the Grenada Agricultural Society
on a highly successful annual exhibition held
by them in Queen's Park early in February.
The weather was favourable, and there were
numerous entries in the various classes, and a
large attendance of interested visitors.

"The Fruit Trade News" is devoted to
the interest of fruit growers and salesmen.
The articles are short and serviceable.

Publications Received.— Some Australian Food-
adjuncts, by J. H. Maiden. From Agricultural Gazette of
Jf.S. JPate», Dec., 1901.— Agricultural Gazette ofN.S. Wales,
January. This includes articles on Useful Australian
Plants, No. 7.% a Peppermint (Eucalyptus piperita);
Eucalyptus-trees and the Bee-keeper, by J. H. Maiden ;
Eradication of Prickly Pears, by Geo. Valder, and
various other papers connected with agriculture. —
Queensland Agricultural Journal, February. This in-
cludes lessons in agriculture, and papers on such sub-
jects as dairying, poultry, the orchard, and tropical in-
dustries.— Agricultural Bulletin of the Straits and Federated
Malay States, edited by H. N. Ridley, February. Con-
tents : Timbers of the Malay Peninsula (continued),
Annual Rings in Timber, Ficus elastica in Malacca,
and Para Rubber in the Straits Settlements.— From the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon, come the following
circulars : Helopeltis (Mosquito Blight), by E. Ernest
Green, April, 1901 ; School and other Gardens, and how to
Plant them, by John C. Willis, July, 1901 ; Cacao Canker in
Ceylon, by J. B. Carruthers, October, 1901 ; Camphor, by
M. Kclway Bamber and J. C Willis, November, 1901 ;
and Mosquitosand Malaria, by E.Ernest Green, December.
1901.— Sunset, a Magazine of the Border, February
(published monthly by the S. Pacific Co., Montgomery
Street, San Francisco. Cal.). Contents : Luther Bur-
bank, man, methods, and achievements: and various
popular articles and notes.— Catalogue of Colorado Mild
Mowers, D. M. Andrews, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.— Bul-
letin de la Socu'tc VAvenir Hortieole, Annee 1901. Place du
Commerce, 13, Ghent. Motto of the Society : " Heureux
les peuplesquiconsacrent toutesles forcesaudeveloppe-
nicnt de l'Agriculture et de l'Hortieulture," Ch. Baltet.
—Quarterly Leaflet of the Women's Agricultural and Horti-
cultural International Union, No. 9, March. Contains in-
formation, in parallel English and French columns,
upon the industries indicated by the We.— Annual
Beport of the Public Gardens and Plantations, Jamaica,
for the year ended March 31, 1901, by W. Fawcett,
Director. Since last spring special steamers have
brought fortn ightly to Bristol consignments of Bananas
and other goods, about 20,000 bunches of the fruit being
carried each time. A larger steamer and a weekly
service will be started if the trade develops further.
Other crops were satisfactory, and the reports from
the several gardens and plantations are favourable.—
The Journal of the Board of Agriculture, March. Contents :
British Crops of 1901, Seeding of Grain, by J. Speir ;
Purchase of Artificial Manures, Growth of Hops, by A.
D. Hall ; Cultivation of Maize for Fodder, English
Coppices (Part II.), by J. Nisbet; Imports of Agricul-
tural Produce in 1901.— Curlis's Botanical Maqazine,
April. Tab. 7827, Philodeudron calophyllum ; t. 7828,
Viscum cruciatum; t. 7829, Tupistra grandis ; t. 7830,
Corydalis thalictrifolia ; t. 7831, Kalanchoe somaliensis.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

dual perfume in flowers.— At p. 248 in
last week's issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle,
a correspondent, "Tilia," makes enquiries
concerning this interesting subject. Whether
it could be substantiated that any plant really
gives off two distinct scents at different
periods may be open to doubt, but there is no
doubt that some flowers do emit more than
one decided perfume. At the moment nothing
occurs to me more forcibly than some species
of Muscari, and I would name M. conicum
especially. This, to my sense of smell, con-
tains all the combined scents of an old-time
cottage garden nosegay, that would of neces-
sity include Gilliflower, Southernwood, Stocks,
and such things. Taken into a warm room this
deliciously fragrant mixture is, I think, in-
creased, and whatever it may be in fact, it is
without doubt a most agreeable, fascinating
odour. In the same species there is not want-
ing that touch of spicy aroma that is usually
admired and coupled or combined with what
else may be there, makes a most agreeable
whole. Not all the species of Muscari are
similarly endowed, though some possess their
own distinctive perfume. And therefore I
think "Tilia" may well study the group.
M. azureum=Hyacinthus ciliaris has scarcely

any perfume, and what there is, to me, is
not agreeable. M. moschatum is well known,
and the M. botryoides set have a delicate,
quite distinct perfume. There is something
very spicy in the best scented so-called
Clove Carnations, and of course Hyaeinthus is
remarkable for strong, if not dual-scented
flowers. E, H. Jenkins.

FUNGUS on weymouth pine. — "Within the
last twelve years most of the Pinus monticola
growing here have been more or less bad with
that fungoid disease Peridermium Strobi, or
Pini, both in branch and bole ; and Mr.
Potheringham has had them all taken out, with
the exception of one, a very fine tree over
70 feet high, which is slightly affected with
the disease in the tips of a few branches.
As Mr. Fotheringham is anxious to have it
stamped out, I should like to know whether
the spores of the Peridermium live on the
roots, especially on those we have felled but not
grubbed out. As a preventative we are going
to cover all the places where they have been
with gas-lime, and plant no other Pines for
some time. It has .also killed a good Abies
concolor violaeea, and is also on the Weymouth
Pine. I shall be pleased to hear some of your
arboriculturist correspondents' opinions.
James Laurie, Murtlily Castle Gardens, Perth.
[The particular fungus passes part of its life
on Currant-bushes of various kinds. See
p. 131 of our present volume, and Gardeners'
Chronicle, 1892, pp. 44 and 135. Hence it
would be desirable to destroy any species of
Ribes growing in the vicinity. Ed.]

POPULAR AND STERLING VARIETIES OF PEAS.

— I had not intended revertiDg to this subject,
but the remarks made by Mr. James Gibson at
p. 132 require a few words more from me, in
order to set that gentleman's mind at rest
regarding the amount of manure which I
annually used in the kitchen gardens at Long-
ford, in preparing the ground for Peas and
other vegetables. I can assure Mr. Gibson
that the facts were correctly stated in my
article (p. 32), and no "slip of the pen " had
been made by me in the matter. I certainly
do not wonder at Mr. Gibson being astonished
at the quantity of manure which I had at my
disposal at Longford — my position in this
respect being, so far as my experience goes,
quite unique — seeing that I had the manure
from the hunting and livery stables in which
about sixty horses were kept (a little over
100 yards from the garden manure-coop) en-
tirely at my command. No wonder, therefore,
that I should endeavour to turn this most
favourable circumstance (from a kitchen gar-
dener's point of view) to good account. And
in order to do this I had a cement tank built
under ground at the lower end of the manure-
coop, and in which direction the ground ran,
so as to enable the liquid-manure to drain into
the tank. The manure as received from the
stables was made into successive " benches "
at the tank-end of the coop, one man standing
thereon spreading out the manure thrown up
to him by three or four others. In the absence
of rain, the manure (consisting of straw and
droppings) was well and frequently watered ;
water being delivered thereon through a hose
at the rate of about 30 gallons per minute —
the soakage being conveyed in tubs to the
fruit-tree borders at a temperature ranging
from 70° to 90°. The several banks of manure
were turned over two or three times each at
intervals of a few weeks before being used in
the garden, the manure being so thoroughly
decomposed as to admit of its being placed on
the barrows or carts with shovels if necessary.
Thus it will be seen that the heavy dressings
of manure trenched into the ground in autumn,
and dug into it at various times throughout
the year, was soon reduced to the consistency
of the soil, and therefore was at all times
easily assimilated by the roots of the several
crops — including, of course, Peas and Beans.
Are not the nodules on the roots of Peas
grown under ordinary conditions caused by a
check of some sort? such, for instance, as
would likely to be experienced by Peas growing
in shallow, light, poor soil. Be this as it

may, I have never noticed nodules on the roots-
of Peas grown as described in my article at
p. 32. Will Mr. James Gibson, or any other-
gardener who has succeeded in growing good
crops of Peas in ground in which liberal
dressings of short moist manure had been dug,
kindly state for the benefit of the readers of
the Gardeners' Chronicle why, in their opinion,
the best possible results in the way of heavy
crops of large, handsome, well-filled pods of
Peas, large in size, and fine in quality, cannot-
be grown in ground prepared as indicated in
my note at p. 32? Mr. Gibson says, "There-
are few gardeners who will attempt to follow
Mr. Ward in his methods of Pea-growing, so*
far as manuring is concerned," adding that
" in most gardens it is impossible to obtain so-
much manure." Quite so. But this assertion
does not in any way go to show that my method)
of Pea-growing was wrong. Mr. Gibson,
according to his own showing, is not in a
position to condemn my method of procedure.
He has never tried it, neither can he adduce-
sound facts to show that the system is wrong.
Mr. Gibson says that "about one-twentieth of
the quantity of manure recommended by Mr.
Ward is what we use here," adding, " and
even that is a heavy dressing ; ' ' and he
further says, "added to this are a sprinkling
of wood-ashes and old mortar-rubbish, and a.
thin dressing of dissolved bones," these being
incorporated with the soil in trenching 2 to 3 ft.
deep. "The dung," Mr. Gibson says, "isusert
with a view to helping to retain the moisture
in the soil, which is of a gravelly and chalky
nature, very light and porous." What effect
were the "sprinkling of wood-ashes and old
mortar rubbish, and a thin dressing of die-
solved bones " likely to have on Peas sown in,
such land as that described above ? Mr.
Gibson ' ' having carefully watched of late years
the ineffectiveness of nitrogenous manures
on Peas, he has come to the conclusion that if
they are of any benefit at all (!), it is in the
form of farmyard or stable-dung on light soils..
which prove of use in conserving the moisture
in the soil, thereby benefiting the Pea-crop in.
dry weather." It is somewhat difficult to-
follow Mr. Gibson in this matter. He implies
that the Pea-crop does not require the soil
(whether light or heavy in texture) being en-
riched to enable it to yield satisfactory crops.
In short, his reasoning implies that, no matter
however poor the land may be, it is not
necessary to dig good dressings of well-rotted
stable-dung or farmyard - manure therein to-
secure good crops — moisture being the only
sine qua nou in his opinion. Prof. Maiden, in his
article on " Practical Agriculture," printed in
the Salisbury and Winchester Journal on Jan. 25
last, under the heading of "The Pea Crop,"
writes thus: — "The manuring for Peas is.
rather a vexed question, since the theory of
the nitrogen-eliminating powers of the nodular
growth on the roots has been recognised ; but
there appears to be little doubt that though
the plants can thus acquire nitrogen from the
air, they can also assimilate it from the soil in
the ordinary course — therefore, though a few-
years ago the use of farmyard manure for the
Pea-crop was deprecated, there seems little-
doubt that this manure is by no means wasted
on Peas." The above remarks go to show
that the rougher experiments made by gar-
deners and farmers, and the results thereby
obtained, cannot be overlooked by chemical
scientists, in arriving at definite conclusions
regarding the special requirements of garden
and farm crops. H. W. Ward. [Owing to the
crowded state of our columns of late, the
publication of the above has been unavoidably
delayed. Ed.]

CARNATION MRS. LEOPOLD DE ROTHSCHILD.

— In reply to B. Ashworth (p. 233), I quite
agree with him that these propagated in
January and stopped early would flower from
the side-shoots the following winter ; but I
have never interpreted January to mean spring.
It is just this difference which often causes
disappointment ; and there is also a consider-
able difference in circumstance. It is quite
evident that Mr. Ashworth is a good cultivator,,
and his plants get the best possible treatment

April 19, 1902.]

THE GARB ENER 5" CHR ONICL Z

26;

without getting a cheek at any time. With
regard to the relative merits of the above and
Miss Joliffe, I wrote from my own experience,
which has been acquired in growing large quan-
tities of the two varieties side by side from
plants propagated in March, each variety being
allowed to grow on without being stopped,
Miss Joliffe flowered from the main stem in
August, and these blooms were cut when the
terminal bloom was well open, cutting them
with long stems, and all the buds ; the
.side-shoots following on, and commencing
to flower by the end of September, while the
terminal flowers of Mrs. L. de Rothschild did
not open until September, and I well remember

mentioned by me in my note of March 8, viz.,
4 to 5 feet. As a matter of fact, I have seen
vigorous plants, provided with ample rooting
space, carrying growths quite 12 feet inleDgth,
and such growths are doubtless of great
utility to many gardeners ; but, personally, I
prefer sprays 4 feet long or thereabouts, cut
from plants growing in smaller receptacles
than those mentioned by Mr. Ashton. So far as
my experience goes, such are more serviceable ;
the leafage along the whole length of the
growth is more dense, yet quite as elegant
as that produced on the more vigorous shoots.
I grow the species in 32 and 24-sized pots, and
feed liberally when they become filled with

very pretty, and resembled a leopard's skin as
much as anything. I should add that it
remained at its best for only one day, when
the sheath began to wither, and the spike to
droop ; it is now gradually fading, the sheath
being curled instead of lying out smooth, but
still retaining its prettily marked appearance.
I am sending the account of this curious bulb,
as I believe it is rather uncommon, and might
interest some of my fellow-readers of your
Journal. If you consider it sufficiently in-
teresting, I will have the bulb photographed
when potted and the growth at its best, and send
it up to you. James H. Jones, The Gardens, The
Bungalow, Westgate-on-tiea. (See p. 2G1, col. 2.)

Fig. 82.— ashwick hall: vikw of the "jibilke" fi.owkk-gauiikx. (she r. 255.)

on one occasion having a large batch which
did not produce a single flower from the side
shoots until the following April. I think I
referred to October as the time for propagat-
ing, so as to ensure side shoots flowering the
following winter ; and my experience was
.gained in the neighbourhood of London, with
its smoky fogs to contend against, and I can
■quite understand that under more favourable
conditions it is possible to obtain the same
results from those propagated in the month of
■January following. I am pleased to hear Mr.
Ashworth's good opinion of Countess of
Warwick, and I would recommend him to try
. Ethel Crocker, a newer American variety,
which received an Award of Merit from the
Royal Horticultural Society last season, and is
of similar colour to Mrs. Lawson, and very
free. A. Hemsley.

asparagus sprengeri.— I quite agree with
your correspondent, Mr. B. Ashton, when he
says that under liberal cultivation this As-
paragus attains to greater length than that

their fleshy, tuber-like roots. I think with
Mr. Ashton that there is no more graceful
plant for suspending from the roofs of warm
structures than this Asparagus ; and whether
they are planted out in baskets of soil of the
size stated, or kept in pots and stood in wire
baskets (the pots being covered with live
moss), they are objects of great beauty and
utility, fl. T. Martin, Htoneleigh Abbey Gardens.

SAUROMATUM GUTTATUM. — I am enclosing
you an illustration of a curious bulb which has
just been in flower here. I received the bulb
from my employer's son last October, and kept
it on a shelf in the conservatory. About three
weeks ago it commenced to grow, and on
Tuesday, March 25, the sheath started to un-
fold. The next day the sheath was fully
developed, reaching a length of 15 inches.
The spike was 11 inches high, and the growth
from the top of the bulb (o the commencement
of the spike was 4 inches. It gave out a very
stroDg and not altogether pleasant smell, but
was very curious to look at. The Sheath was

UNITED LEAVES OF GRAPE-VINE. — I herewith

beg to forward you a peculiar leaf- formation
in the form of a double or twin leaf taken from
main rod of Black Hamburgh Vine, three years
planted. I have seen many fasciated growths
similar to the one which produced this novelty,
but not a leaf. Win. Cliuclc, Brodsivorth Hall
Gardens, Doncaster.

SELECTED SWEET PEAS.— I have read Mr.
Simpson's further letter upon Sweet Peas with
much pleasure. In making comments upon his
selection in your paper of January 11, I should
like him and your readers to kindly under-
stand the remarks were not made to find fault
with his selection, but to try to improve it,
and to give my experience for tho benefit of your
readers. I have always taken a great interest
in Sweet l'eas, not only growing them myself
under different treatment, but I have seen
them growing in different parts of the country
and abroad. I havo made it a duty every July
to visit some of tho large trade growers, and
see their different trials to make my notes as

204

THE GA RDENER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

[April 19, 1902.

complete as possible, and they have been pub-
lished in my little book, All About Sweet Peas,
6,000 of -which were originally printed, and all
the profits arising from it were given to the
Gardeners' Orphan Fund. This year it is my in-
tention to revise this little book where neces-
sary, in order that it may be as reliable as it
can be made, so if there are any of your readers
who think they can give any better descrip-
tions or any better selections, I shall be
pleased to receive them and give them consi-
deration for the general good of horticulturists
at large. Referring to Mr. Simpson's last
remarks in your issue of the 22nd ult., I am
somewhat at a loss to understand Mr. Simpson
talking about Prince Edward of York as the
nearest approach to a scarlet Sweet Pea. This
variety in my opinion is not a self- colour at
all, but is more of a bicolor, the standard
being a salmon-carmine tint, and the wings
decidedly a pink or rose. It is certainly a
very pretty and interesting variety, but to
class it as a scarlet I think is misleading.
Mr. Simpson's remark that Miss Willmott is
more like Lady Mary Currie I certainly
agree with. His remarks upon Duchess of
Westminster somewhat agree with mine, be-
cause this variety is too small as compared
with others of a somewhat similar tint.
His remarks upon Colonist are somewhat a
mystery to me, because I do not judge this
variety by the results of my own personal
growing, but from my general observation in
the different large trials. The discrepancy of
colour, or these different shades of colour,
were particularly noticeable in the row that
was grown by Mr. Sherwood in his trial-
grounds in 1901 for the special benefit of the
National Sweet Pea committee. Mrs. Dugdale,
as shown last year, was certainly better than I
have ever seen it before ; but the deformity in
the wings was particularly noticeable in Mr.
Sherwood's trials in 1900. Mr. Simpson quite
misreads my remarks respecting Lady ( )rmesby
Gore and Mrs. Eckford. If he will kindly
read it again, he will there find I said "For
Lady Ormesby Gore I should substitute Mrs.
Eckford." I did not say I would substitute
Lady Ormesby Gore for Mrs. Eckford, for I
consider the Lady Ormesby Gore is really not
wanted with such a much-improved variety as
the Hon. Mrs. Kenyan. Respecting Othello
and Black Knight, that I think will have to
remain a matter of a difference of opinion.
For my own part, I should fifty times prefer
Black Knight; and I am sure that if Mr.
Simpson or any of your readers will note in
the coming season, at any ten or twelve of the
leading shows, that they will find Black Knight
is the favourite with the majority. Lovely
and Prima Donna : I consider these both
charming varieties. Lovely is certainly
worthy of its name; but that Mr. Eckford
himself thought Prima Donna to be the better
of the two is, I think, confirmed when he
described the latter himself as " A great gem,
and the best of its colour." In regard to the
three whites, Emily Henderson, Sadie Burpee,
and Blanche Burpee, I think in all good col-
lections of forty or fifty varieties all three
should be grown, because they represent the
three standards in as decided a manner as any
three varieties of one colour well could do.
Emily Henderson has a split or heart-shaped
standard, and perhaps in matter of whiteness
is the best of the three; Sadie Burpee has
generally been looked upon by many as the
best of the three, but I always say it hoods too
much to please me, and I very much prefer
Blanche Burpee with its bold," upright stan-
dard, and generally three and often four flowers
on a stem. Having said so much, I will now
give what I consider the best varieties in cul-
tivation, naming what I would grow if I selected
six, twelve, twenty-four, or forty best, adding
ten others which, if wanted are all that is neces-
sary or desirable to grow. All the others may
very well be discarded, unless one wanted to
grow them for variety sake.

Six varieties.— Blanche Burpee, Duke of
Westminster, Lady Grisel Hamilton, Prima
Donna, Prince of Wales, Salopian.

For twelve varieties 1 should recommend the

six above and the following :— Black Knight,
Coccinea, Gorgeous, Hon. Mrs. Kenvon, Miss
Willmott, Navy Blue.

For twenty-four varieties the above and the
following :— Captivation, Counters of Lathom,
Emily Eckford, Hon. F. Bouverie, Lady Mary
Currie, Lord Kenyon. Mars, Mrs. Eckford, New
Countess, Prince Edward of York, Sadie
Burpee, Triumph.

For forty varieties the above and the follow-
ing :— Admiration, Dorothy Tennant, Duchess
of Sutherland, Emily Henderson, (iolden Gate,
Her Majesty, Lottie Eckford, Lovely, Othello,
Queen Victoria, Royal Rose, Venus, and the
four striped varieties, America, Gaiety, Mrs.
J. Chamberlain and Prince of Wales. If anyone
wants more than forty varieties I would
add the ten following :— Captain of the Blues,
Countess Cadogan, Duchess of Westminster,
Duke of Sutherland, George (lordon, Lady
Nina Balfour, Lottie Hutchins, Mrs. Dugdale,
Oriental, Stanley.

In conclusion I may say that if I were asked
for what I consider' to be the hest twenty
varieties to grow with the idea of sending a
stand of twelve or eighteen varieties for exhi-
bition, my choice would be the first twelve
above mentioned with Countess of Lathom,
Emily Eckford, Lady Mary Currie, Mars, Mrs.
Eckford, Prince Edward of York, Sadie Burpee
and Triumph. Robert Sydenham, Birmingham.

NURSERY NOTES.

ORCHIDS AT MR. J. CYPHER'S,
CHELTENHAM.

At all seasons of the year, capital displays
of Orchids in bloom are to be found at the
Exotic Nurseries, Queen's Road, Cheltenham,
but the spring is the best time for Den-
drobiums, which are a specialty of this nur-
sery. Here may be seen in contiguous
houses a most bewildering collection of
varieties of D. nobile, which the firm has been
selecting from importations, and acquiring
from all sources for many years past. To look
over a list of names of varieties, one is apt to
think that there can be in some cases but few
differences to note, Ibut when seen growing
and flowering together the variations are
unmistakable to those who make Dendrobiums
a specialty ; as witness the fine Dendrobium
nobile elegans, D. n. pendulum, and D. n.
pulcherrimum, which originated in the now
defunct Rollisson collection. This variety is
still in Mr. Cypher's selection, showing distinct
features which render them well worthy of being
retained. Then there are fine examples of the
rich purple-tinted D. nobile nobilius, which
for years everyone agreed was not to be sur-
passed. But "never is a long day," and out
of a recent importation to the Exotic Nurseries,
a D. n. nobilius giganteum has flowered which
is an improvement in every respect on the
older form, although the flowers are produced on
a smal 1 plant. Another very d istinct form is D. n .
striatum, with lilac-tinted flowers, the sepals
and petals of which are evenly veined with
purple, unlike that of any other form. D. n.
Fisberi is beautiful in shape, showing much
white around the centre, and rich carmine- rose
on the outer halves of the segments ; D.n. Ballia-
num and D. n. Murrhinianum are white varie-
ties, with faint rose-purple disc; and in this
class again Mr. Cypher has flowered a distinct
improvement, especially in the larger and
better-formed flower; D. n. album has pure
white flowers, D. n. Cypheri is a delicately-
tinted form, and D. n. Statterianum, D. n.
Heathi, D. n. Sanderianum, D. n. majus, D. n.
Cooksoni, D. n. rotundifloruni, and others
show well in compact, finely-flowered plants,
suspended from the roof of the house. Other
pretty Dendrobiums were D. Wardianum album,
D. Devonianum candidulum, Dendrobium x

rubens magnificum, a very large and richly-
coloured flower ; D. x Apollo grandiflorum,
one of Mr. Cypher's best ; D. x Apollo
album, a beautiful white form ; varieties
of D. x melanodiscus, D. x Rainbow, D-

< Luna, D. x Venus, D. x Virgil, D. x
splendidissimum grandiflorum, and D. x Ains-
worthi, in many fine forms ; D. x Cybele, D.

x Rolfese, and a number of others, including
some unnamed crosses, two pretty ones being
D. x tortile x Cassiope and D. crassinode x
aureum. The Dendrobiums are grown in this
nursery with great luxuriance, the rule being
to apply a good brisk heat and plenty of water
when growing, and then a well-defined cooler
dry resting season. So grown, a large quantity
of D. Phabenopsis Schroderianum, including
two or three pure whites, and a large
general collection, are maintained in increasing
vigour.

Odontoglossums form another specialty, and!
several houses are filled with fine plants,
which in every case have large pseudo-bulbs-
of a dark green, shining appearance — a plain,
indication of robust health ; and this season,
many comparatively small plants are sending
up two spikes each from one pseudo-bulb, only
one of which is retained, the other being
promptly pinched off, so as not to distress the
plant by compelling it to carry so many
blossoms. There are good displays of Odonto-
glossum crispum of the best type, and in less-
quantity O. Hal I i, O. cirrosum, O. triumphans,
O. luteo-purpureum, O. blandum, O. niveum,
O, Edwardi, &c, and also a few hybrids, of
which one distinct variety seems to be a.
hybrid of O. Pescatorei. It has white flowers,,
shaped like those of O. Coradinei, purplish
markings at the base of each segment, and a
large purplish blotch in the middle of each.
In one Odontoglossum-house is a bright array
of Sophronitis grandiflora; in another, a large-
batch of Masdevallias, of which M. Shuttle-
worthi, M. ignea varieties, M. x Heathi, M.
Veitchiana, M. x Hincksiana, M. Schroder-
iana, M. Estradse, and others were in flower •,
and some of thej M. bella and M. Chimsera
class, with prominent flower-buds.

In a cool-house, the varieties of Lycaste
Skinneri, including four excellent plants of
the best pure white, were in bloom ; and
among other cool-house plants noted were a.
good lot of Oncidium Marshallianum, O. Bar-
codes, O. cheirophorum, O. incurvum, O.
superbiens, O. macranthum, Ada aurantiaca,.
and a form of it much finer than the ordinary,
and with larger, more expanded orange-scarlet
flowers.

Cypripediums form a third specialty, and
especially complete was the collection of fine,
yellow and other distinct forms of that
favourite species C. insigne. So varied is the
collection, that with some of the darker
coloured varieties flowered out of imported
plants there is a close resemblance to C. :
nitens and C. .-. Mons. de Curte. Among
those in flower were some very large C. vil-
losum majus and C. v. aureum ; C. Boxalli
atratum, C. selligerum majus, C. x Harrisi*-
anum superbum, still one of the stateliest of
the dark-flowered hybrids, if the still rare, best,
form, such as this is, be obtained ; C. Masters-
ianum, with fine, uncommonly tinted flowers ^
C. x Goultenianum, C. :•: Lathamianum, C. x
Calypso, C. x Godseflianum, C. < rubescens, C.

< Haynaldo-Chamberlainianum, really showy,
with several flowers open at the same time on
the same spike, and a number of others.

Cattleyas and Lselias were in quantity and
fine condition, good specimens of Lselia pur-
purata occupying one side of a house. Among
those in flower are Cattleya Triansei varieties,
including alba ; C. Schroderse, C. Harrisoniana,

April 19, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

265

and C. intermedia; and the plants in a fine
lot of C. Mendeli are sending up spikes.

Suspended overhead were a number of stout
specimens of C. Lawrenceana, -which is fast
becoming a rare plant ; and a good lot of the
favourite C. aurea. C. Bowringiana are also
very vigorous, and in most of the sections of
C. labiata the white forms are doing well.

In one house there were observed some large
specimens of Epiphronitis x Veitchi well fur-
nished with flowers ; at the end are trained
varieties of Bpidendrum x O'Brienianum, and

admixture great care is necessary, and the
leaf-soil not allowed to get wet.

Among the many other interesting things
noted in flower at Mr. Cypher's are a fine
specimen of the pretty rosy-tinted Yanda x
Charlesworthi, a batch of Oncidium Papilio
and O. Krameri, grown much cooler than
usual ; Phaius Wallichi, with extraordinary
stout flower-spikes ; a plant of the distinct-
looking'Lselia prsestans Cypheri, which has fine,
white flowers with a slight lavender tint, and
a rich plum -coloured labellum with white

Societies.

Fig. 83. — roots of (bnanthe crocata — poisonous.

(fee note in R.H.S. Scientific Committee Report, p. 26t>.)

E. radicans, which Mr. Cypher uses so effec-
tively in his floral displays. On one side-stage
is a batch of Miltonia vexillaria sending up
spikes. This batch has been made the subject
of experiment with leaf-soil, one half being
potted in it, and the other in peat and sphag-
num-moss. The leaf-soil has the best of it, for
the plants are the finer ones. Mr. Cypher has
also used leaf-soil for Odontoglossums, mixing
the leaf-soil with the other material in a
similar manner to that recommended by Mr.
W. P. Bound in the Orchid Calendar of the
Gardeners' Chronicle, March 22, p. 190 (and
which has also been favourably reported on by
Others) with considerable success. "Whore
leaf-soil is used the chief point is to be careful
with the watering. Where it is used without

front ; a grand lot of white Lselia anceps
sending up spikes freely ; a pretty hatch of
Pinguecula caudata; fine specimens of the
best white Cymbidium eburneum, and other
Cymbidioms. Odontoglossum Itossii ma.jus,
Cochliana Noezliana, Acrides .japonicum, Sec.,
and all with the well-to-do look which Mr.
Cypher well knows how to produce.

There is, as might be expected, a house for
the raising of hybrid Orchids, and in it and
some of the other houses there is evidence
that this kind of work is being carried on with
success, for hybrids were observed in all
stages of development, sonic of the flowering
plants of Lrolio-Cattleyas being said to be of
special merit ; but most of the old plants were
acquired by purchase.

BOTAL HOETICULTUEAI.
Scientific Committee.

April 8.— Present : Dr. M. C. Cooke, in the cliair: and
Messrs. Hooper, Gordon, Odell, Druery, Bowles,
Douglas, Worsley, Holmes, Bennett Poe, Rev. W. Wilks,
and Dr. Masters.

Violet-leaf Disease.— Dr. Cooke reported as follows on
the specimens sent by Col. Spragge :—

" Many of the leaves of the Violets exhibited were in
a bad state, the tissue being entirely bleached and
dead, but not in interfoliary spots, as in Pbyllosticta
and Septoria, but marginal, extending inwards until
the greater part or the whole of the leaf is involved.
It was the opinion of some of the members oi the
committee that this bleaching was the result oi
external circumstances, and not from the attacks of
any parasite. With this view I am disposed to agree.
The mode of attack is not that of the American disease
(Alternaria), of which I failed to Ami a single spore.

" All the spots were occupied by tufts of a black
mould, which at present I am inclined to think must
be saprophytic, appearing subsequently on the dead
tissue. They do not appear upon the leaves beginning
to fade, only on the quite dead spots. These moulds
are of two kinds, and both belong to genera of which
the species are wholly saprophytic, it being the excep-
tion, in some few cases, for them to become parasitic.

"The fungus appears in small, dark olive-coloured
tufts scattered over the dead tissue, and in no case
becoming confluent, and spreading in patches.

"The earliest form to appear is a Cladosporium,
which certainly is not Cladosporium herbarum, nor
does it appear to be Cladosporium epiphyllum. The
threads are slender, uubranched, septate, and of a
pale olive, not nodulose or torulosc, and rather long
for the genus (120 to 150 by 5 n). The conidia, as usual,
are at first continuous, afterwards uniseptate, then
biseptate and triseptate ; so that iu the same tuft one
may find conidia with no septum, and others with one
two, or three, in all cases narrow, and but little thicker
than the threads (is to 30 by 6 to 7 n).

"The other form, which appears mixed with the
foregoing, is a Macrosporium of the type of M. sarci-
nula, with delicate, deciduous- threads and somewhat
cubical conidia (30 to 35 by :5 to 30 »»), truncate at the
ends, and but slightly constricted. The septa, longi-
tudinal and transverse, divide the conidia into quad-
rangular cells, mostly in three irregular rows, and oi
a darker olive-brown than appears in the Cladosporium

" Unfortunately, I have not seen a description of the
Italian Macrosporium Viol.e, which has the reputation
of being a destructive parasite on Violets.

"It has been demonstrated that there is some close
affinity, or relationship, between Cladosporium and
Macrosporium. They are often found together, and in
some cases have the reputation of being the mierocu-
nidiaand macroconidia of some species of Pleospora,
bearing muriform sporidia contained in a9ci.

" I can only repeat that 1 do not think these mould-
are the cause, but the consequence of the disease.

"N.B.— Since writing the above I have seen descrip-
tion of the Italian pest, Macrosporium Viohc (Poll),
and it is certainly not the same as the one I have
described; since, in that species, the spots are de
finitely orbicular and regular, and the conidia are
clavate, and attenuated at the base (40 to 90 by 10 n),
not at all resembling these described above, which I
must still, in default of better evidence, regard as a
saprophyte."

.Varcfomw Disease— Rev. \V. Wilks showed further
specimens showing yellow stripes, both in the leaves
and in the flowers, as a preliminary to the shrivelling
of the tips of the leaves. A similar condition had been
seen in Iris. It was considered that the disease was
due to the presence of bacteria. Mr. Nicholson re-
marked that Narcissus "Sir Wat kin " was much subject
to the discoloration, but when growing in the grass it
was relatively free from it.

Praclitree Disease.— Some conversation ensued with
reference to a disease on Peacl -trees in Essex, and it.
was desired that further specimens of the roots and
foliage might be sent.

PtrUttria pteudo btiibi. Mr. Gordon brought psendo-
btObl ail'ectcd with a black fungus, on which Dr. Cooke
undertook to report.

Rootlttt hull* of ByaettUlt».—1tt. <;orpon also brought.
ipet inicns showing tins not uncommon phenomenon,
The cause was attributed in the first instance to the
bulbs not having been matured, and next to soino
check to growth.

I'lJi.

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 19, 1902.

Piantr exhibited — Mr. i,YNCH brought from the Cam-
bridge Botanic Gardens specimens of tlie following
plants :—

Aahmcfioesoiiiiilitnsh —Figured in the April number
of the Botanical Magazine, from Sir Edmund Loder.
eollected by himself, also introduced by the Cambridge
Botanic Garden through Mrs Lort Phillips.

A", coceinea. A', crcnala, K cassiopega, from Dammann
of Naples. The last name- is not in the h'ew Index, and
the plant therefore probably requires to be identified.

Gnidia simplex,— Probably referable to G. carinata.

Tecama australis.— Remarkable for the sunken glands
seen on the lower surface of the leaf, such as ai-e met
with in other genera of the Order.

Aloe somaliensis, «p. ». — Introduced to Cambridge, also
to Kew, but not yet figured.

Utpezia miniata. -Not commonly seen, but interesting
on account of its mechanism for cross-pollination.
The one perfect stamen is held in tension by a folded,
leafy, or expanded staininode below. On this part the
insect alights, as the best position from which to reach
the two drops of honey that seem to rest upon the knee-
shaped bend of the upper petals. The result is, that
the stamen is released and pollen is dusted upon the
insect. Self-fertilisation is impossible on account of
marked proterandry.

Osteameles anthylliditolia -Roughly, a Crataegus or
Hawthorn, with leaves of leguminous type, interesting
farther on account of its distribution in East Asia down
to Pitcairn's Island Petaxit.es palmalus, A. Gr.— Native
of West Asia and (California, a rare, but very distinct
marsh plant. Helleboms viridis. — From a wild locality
near Huntingdon. Poterhtm spinosum. — From Syria,
interesting in comparison with other species. Kibe*
specioswn. -From California, Fuchsia-flowered Goose-
berry. Kenncdya nigricans. Priaxite.sjaponie.us giganteus.

Myrsiphyllum. — Wr. SAUNDERS showed specimens of
the foliage of this plant, in which the false leaves were
withered at the tips. The appearances were considered
as the result of defective cultivation.

Cypripedium — Mr. DOUGLAS brought a flower of a
hybrid variety in which the lip, instead of forming a
pouch, was divided into three portions, a basal portion
concave and trough-like, green, marked with small
purplish dots , an anterior portion raised and hump-
like, striped with dark browuish-purple on an olive-
coloured ground. On either side of this was a wide,
oblong, projecting wing The column was normal.

Various ftants.— Tdr. Worsley showed specimens of
Hymenocallis Moritziana, Tulipa Greigiwith the bulbs
attacked with mites, and Triteleia uniflora with two
flower-stalks fused together.

Lathyrus Seedling* Mr. IIoi.me.n brought specimens
to show the sequence of the leaves from the cotyledons
to the developed Stipules which replace the leaves.

Inlra-earpeUimi PrMitb ■niton — Mr. Holmes- showed a
specimen of this peculiarity iu a Lemon.

(Enanihe crocata — Mr. Holmes also showed roots
similar to those which had recently occasioned the
death of a boy near Hammersmith. The wildest state-
ments were made at the inquest, but Mr. Holmes
having obtained specimens f rom. the locality, there was
no doubt whatever as to the real cause of death (fig S3
p «6).

The " Sportin,/ " Pcrnliarit.ics of the Persian Cyclamen.
—Mr. Denman supplied the following note .-The
Cyclamen persicum (latifolium) is characterised by
its "sporting" tendencies, to the investigation of
which I have. given much care and attention. The
main points of interest are these :-<a). The Persian
Cyclamens raised from seeds cannot, after the third or
fourth year, be induced to retain their former cha-
racteristics, as regards the colour of the flowers, &c.
(6). Although the flowers are liable to "sport," they
cannot be regarded as specific characters, because they
will not reproduce the same sporting tendencies when
raised from their own seed. (e). The same plant fre-
quently produces two flowers of distinctly opposite
colours; or, on the other hand, a plant, say with pure
white flowers, will produce a mixture of colours after
an interval o( three or four year9. (d). Thesporting
peculiarities of the Cyclamen being such, what steps
may be taken to ensure the retaining of the distinctive
colours of the plants under consideration ?

Letusbrieflyconsiderthe first point:— The" Persian"
Cyclamen, quite apart from the other species, cannot
be induced to retain its seedling characteristic colour
after an interval oi three to four years. Now, why are
these peculiarities so marked - The plants which were
under trial were quite secure from the visits of insects
tocross fertilise the blooms-; and further, even if the
flowers were visited by insects, how comes it about for
the flowers produced on the old plants, to "sport,"

from their original colour? whereas seedlings from
the same plants, do not exhibit signs of " sporting,"
but retain the original colour of the seed-bearingplant,
unless, of course, the tlowers were hybridised. I am
convinced that the peculiarity is due to some changes
which take place in the bulb previous to its flowering
for the third year, and that it is not effected by the
intervention of foreign agencies, such as insects, &c.
It must be understood that these peculiarities are not
exceptional, as some suppose ; but rather the reverse,
it is the rule. From about fifty plants grown, I do not
notice one that has not " sported," the white flowers
have been spotted with pink, and vice versd : the red
and purple have been distinctly darkened in colour,
while the natural-spotted flowers have been changed
either into pure white or red, as may be the case
—some p'ants again, as before mentioned, bearing two
flowers of opposite distinct colours. Let us now com-
pare the Cyclamen persicum, with the hardy species :
take any of them, for instance, the C. europieum, C.
repandum, or any of the others ; have they been known
to sport? No! and yet, these are daily visited by
myriads of insects, without apparent results ; this
then, proves that the suggestion .which I have put
forward, is correct, and further that this peculiarity is
confined to the Persian Cyclamen alone. As it is not
due to the intervention of foreign agencies, or external
conditions, the sporting element must take place in the
bulbous root of the plant.

The plants of the order " Primulacete " are con-
spicuous in the vegetable kingdom for their sporting
peculiarities ; but of the whole genus none can pos-
sibly excel the Cyclamen in this respect, and in addi-
tion to this the flowers are often malformed, i.e.,
examples have been seen which instead of the usual
single flower, bore three and four blooms, and a
number of foliage leaves on the same stem.

After a cursory glance over the former points, we
come to the final one:— What steps may be taken to
retain the original and distinctive colours of the
flowers ? I can see no way out of the difficulty, with
the exception of growing none but young plants, and
discarding them after they are three or four years old.
Could we trace this deficiency to insects, etc., or if we
could have any proof that the peculiarities are due to
the flowers themselves, then we could possibly find a
remedy. But in spite of all these lusus naturae, the
point is one which appeals to the scientist more than
to the horticulturist. J. Daman, HrynveUa, Tremeireliion,
St. Asaph.

Vines.— From Mr. Yeatman came roots dying, as was
conjectured, from over saturation of the soil.

Eucalyptus cordnln. — Dri Masters showed a flower-
ing specimen of this species growing in the island of
Arran, which he had received from the Rev. Dr.
Landsborough.

LINNEAN.

April 3.— Professor S. H. Vines, F.R.S., President,
in the chair.

Mr. R. Morton Middleton, F.L.S., exhibited two
letters from Linnteus to Dr. David van Royen and Mr.
Richard Warner of Woodford, dated respectively
April 18, 1769, and September 29, 1758; as also a letter
from Sir J. E. Smith to N. Wallich, on Nepalese plants,
written in 1819.

Mr. R. A. Rolke, A.L.S., on behalf of the Director,
Royal Gardens, Kew, exhibited a series of specimens
of Pachira aquatica, Aubl., and P. irisignis.. Savigny,
from British Guiana, collected by the late G. S. Jen-
man, F.L.S., Government Botanist, to illustrate the
great variation which exists in the size and shape of
the fruits. It appeared that the two species were best
distinguished by their flowers, those of P. insignis
being very large, and having broad crimson petals of
considerable substance, while those of P. aquatica
were smaller, and the petals light yellow, narrower,
and of more slender texture. No distinguishing cha-
racter had been detected in the fruit, which, though
varying greatly in size and shape, seemed almost to
duplicate itself in the characteristic forms of the two
species. In both, the shape varies from fusiform-
oblong and considerably elongated to shortly elliptical,
with a series of intermediate forms, as seen in the
series exhibited. There was also a certain amount of
variation in the leaves and flowers, though in the
latter each species retained its own essential cha-
racter. These trees were common over the great
alluvial forest-region, extending also to Brazil, and
were commonly cultivated for ornament.

Mr. Carruthers, F.R.S., in -making so me observa
vations on the subject, prefaced his .remarks by
deploring the loss which the Society had sustained-
by the recent death of Mr. Jennian, whose labours in
the cause of botanical-science, and whose work on the
Ferns of Jamaica especially, had added much to our
knowledge of the subjects investigated by him.

On behalf of Mr. W. B. Hemslet, F.R.S., Mr. Rolfe
also exhibited some specimens illustrating the pre-
cocious germination of the seeds of a species of Dra-
ciena. Germination had taken place through the
pericarp while the berries were still hanging on the
plant.

Mr. Spencer Moore, F.L.S., read a paper entitled
" A Contribution to the Composite Flora of Africa," in
which he described a number of new species in the
Herbarium of the British Museum. He found that the
north-eastern tropics, especially British East Africa
and the neighbouring parts of Somaliland and Southern
Abyssinia, had yielded most of the novelties, the chief
collectors having been Mr. Scott Elliot, Prof. Gregory,
Mr. F. J. Jackson, Lord Delamere, Dr. S. E. Hinde,
Mrs. Lort Phillips, Dr. Donaldson Smith, Rev. W. E.
Taylor of Mombasa, and Prof. Mackinder. From the
southern tropics he described some plants collected by
the late Mr. John Buchanan, by Mr. Crawshay, and Mr.
T. G. Een. A new Gnaphaloid genus (Artemisiopsis)
was characterised, and, inter alia, species of Vernonia.
Erlangea, Helichrysum, Coreopsis, and Senecio.

Prof. F. E. Weiss, F.L.S., read a paper, illustrated by
lantern-slides, on a biseriate Halonial branch of Lepi-
dophloios fuliginosus. The branch in question, about
7 inches in length, was found in a large nodule by Mr.
George Wilde at Haugh Hill, near Stalybridge. The
second part of the paper consisted of a detailed
account of the anatomy of this well preserved speci-
men, which went to confirm Dr. Scott's previous iden-
tification of it.

MANCHESTER AND NORTH OP
ENGLAND ORCHID.

April 3.— There was a capital display of plants at the
meeting held on this date. Nine groups were staged,
and many meritorious examples were noted amongst
the plants shown.

R. Tunstill, Esq., Burnley (gr., Mr. Balmforth), had
a pleasing collection of plants, containing several good
Odontoglossums, of which O. crispum Alpha, a large
and pale brown spotted form, was the most distinct
(First-class Certificate). Other plants noted in this
group were O. triumphans var. latisepalum, Miltonia
x Bleuana, O. crispum var. Gladys, and Cypripedium
x Cowleyanum var. superbum ; the latter had been
previously before the Committee. A Silver Medal was
awarded for the group.

S. Gratrix, Esq., Whalley Range (gr., Mr. Cypher),
showed a plant of Dendrobium x Aurora, and the
award previously made was confirmed.

Mrs. S. Gratrix staged a handsome Cattleya, viz.,
C. Triana?i var. Empress of India, a beautiful flower,
with white sepals and petals, of good form, and having
a lip with a tinge of bluish-purple in it (First-class
Certificate).

G. H. Peace, Esq., Eccles, received Awards of Merit
for Dendrobium x Holmesianum and D. x Cybele var.
pulcherrima.

R. Le Doux, Esq., West Derby (gr., Mr. Davenport),
sent a good form of Odontoglossum x loochristiense
var. Mrs. Le Doux, for which an Award of Merit was
voted. It is a handsome form, with bright yellow
ground and few large blotches. O. Ruckerianum var.
Marlfieldense came from the same collection.

A. Warburton, Esq., Haslingden, exhibited a plant
of Odontoglossum x Wilckeanum var. Golden Queen,
with twelve flowers on the spike. This plant has been
previously dealt with by the Society, and in this case
the award was confirmed (First-class Certificate). O.
crispum Backhousei, from the same owner, received an
Award of Merit. It is a fine type of crispum, not
spotted. Cut flowers were sent of Dendrobium x Clio
Vine House var.

T. Statter, Esq., Whitefleld (gr., Mr. Johnson),
showed Cypripedium x Francesii, a cross between C.
Curtisii x O. callosujn.

R. Ashworth, Esq., Newchurch, staged a handsome
collection of Odontoglossums and Dendrobiums.
Cypripedium x Maudiae was among them. Dendro-
bium X Cybele var. pulcherrima was voted a Cultural
Certificate, D. x Cybele var. magnifica a First-class
Certificate, D. nobile var. Ashlandensis an Award of
Merit, and the same award was made to Odontoglossum
crispum Ashworthae var. Ashlandensis and O. c. var.
Emperor of India. A Silver Medal was awarded for the
group.

H. Shaw, Esq., Thirby, Cheshire (gr., Mr. Cliffe), sent
a plant of Lfelio-Cattleya x Highburyensis.

O. O. Wriglev, Esq., Bury (gr.. Mr. Rogers), staged a
grand lot of Dendrobiums, amongst which were D. x
Kenneth var. magnifica (First-class Certificate), D. x
Rubens, D. nobile var. hololeuca, pure white (First-class
Certificate), D. x Socius (Award of Merit), D. x Rolfem
var. rosea. Silver-gilt Medal for the group.

Messrs. Sander & Sons, St. Albans, exhibited a fine
variety of Odontoglossum crispum called Imperator.
It is a fine form of the white type, with massive
segments, and good shape (Award of Merit).

Mr. J. Cypher, Cheltenham, staged a small group of
plants, principally Dendrobiums, for which a Bronze
Medal was awarded.

Mr. A. J. Keeling, Bingley, Yorks, also was awarded
a Bronze Medal for a group of plants, Dendrobium \
Juno and D. x Luna being amongst those shown.

April 19, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

267

Mr. W. Holmes, Timperley, received Awards of Merit
for Dendrobium x Staffordi var. delieata and D. Staf-
fordi var. Distinction.

Mr. S. Allen. Sale, received an Award of Merit for a
good form of Dendrobium nobile, and a Bronze Medal
for a group. P. II'.

NURSERYMEN AND MARKET GAR-
DENERS' GENERAL HAILSTORM
INSURANCE CORPORATION.LTD.

April 11.— The seventh annual general meeting of
the Nurserymen, Market Gardeners' and General Hail-
storm Insurance Corporation, Ltd., was held at the
registered office, 41 and 42, King Street, Covent Garden,
London, W.C., on the above date, when Mr. Harry J.
Veitch, the Chairman of the Corporation, presided.
The report showed that the Corporation is still in-
creasing its business. In 1896, the end of the first year
of the Corporation, there were 235 policies in force on
10,408,161 square feet ; whereas at the end of the year
just ended 952 policies were in force on 31,797,734 square
feet. The interest on invested funds, which now
amount to £15,620 18s. 3d., is sufficient to pay
4j per cent, on the paid up capital. A dividend was
declared at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum, together
with a bonus of 2§ per cent, on the paid up capital,
whilst £1,170 was placed to reserve fund, and £569 lis. 8<Z.
was carried forward. The Chairman stated that whilst
a larger dividend might have been paid, the Directors
thought it wiser to recommend the building up of such
a reserve fund as to prevent the necessity of making
further calls upon the shareholders when heavy claims
are made on the Company.

He recalled the fact that in 1897 claims amounting to
over £1,500 was made for damage done by a hailstorm
in one afternoon, and that these claims would have
amounted to a much greater sum had the hailstorm
been as violent as that which occurred at Harpenden
in 1895, when half the glass on one nursery was
completely wrecked.

The shareholders present expressed their satisfaction
at the satisfactory report, which showed that the
Corporation is filling a useful position in the Insurance
"World, and is a great protection to glass-owners, who
may now insure their houses and contents at reasonable
rates.

AT

HIPPEASTRUMS IN BLOOM
MESSRS. J. VEITCH & SONS.

The annual display of Hippeastrums
(Amaryllis) is this year more extensive and
more varied than we remember to have seen
it previously. There is more bloom, and the
flowering bulbs fill not only the central bed,
but the side beds of the house. We noted a
new break, a really white-ground flower with
reticulated markings in varying shades of
crimson. Sylvan, certificated at the last
meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society,
was one of this break, and others were re-
marked, differing in the amount and tints of
the markings. This break was derived from a
flower called Topaz, that was awarded a
certificate by the Floral Committee in 1897.
Numerous examples of the Champion strain
were noted, well-formed selfs of various shades
of crimson. The first Champion was certi-
ficated in 1890, Grand Monarch's year, of
which latter a bulb was sold that year for £20.
This was the commencement of the fine race
of crimson selfs. There are stall to be seen
many examples of the Empress of India break,
known by the greater length of the segments
and of the tube ; as also of the Leopold break,
having the broadly expanding form of flower
now so much liked. White flowers are very
fine in many instances. They are mostly
derived from Her Majesty, a flower having a
white ground and a few crimson stripes.
Mysa, a very deep crimson, is of this break.
Lady Buller, white, with a wire edge of crim-
son and stripes of the same tint. Wo may
mention a few of the more striking flowers
open at the time of our visit :— Titan, rosy-red,
derived from Her Majesty ; Patalus, crimson,
with a rosy shade; Megara, white and green,
reticulated slightly with crimson ; Brotherus,
deep crimson self; Margaris, crimson,
having a white flame in the lower part of tho
tubo ; Juturna, white, with red reticulation;

Kineton, scarlet, with much white at the
bottom of the segments ; and Coriolanus, a
well-reflexed crimson self. The prevailing
cloudy cool weather will extend the flowering
season of this collection to several weeks —
indeed, much longer than usual.

Plants in Pots— Average Wholesale Peices.

LAW NOTES.

CLAIM FOR PACKING PLANTS.

At the Clerkenwell County Court, on the
10th inst., Henry Williams, trading as
B. Williams & Son, Victoria and Paradise
Nurseries, sued C. Armstrong, The Grove,
Cambridge, to recover the sum of £1 lis. 6d.
for packing plants, labour and material, and
cartage.

Mr. Butcher was solicitor for plaintiff, and
Mr. Cubison for defendant.

From the plaintiff's case, it appeared that
plants were entered at an auction sale, and
bought by defendant. It was his custom to
deliver goods to customers who purchased at
such auctions, and considering the trouble,
time, and material entailed in packing, he did
not think the charge was at all unreasonable.
Plants had to be packed in baskets, and re-
quired careful treatment ; a quantity of
wadding had to be used, as well as mats,
paper, and string, for whicli he always charged
his customers.

Defendant contended that the charge was
altogether unreasonable. Ten or twelve
shillings would have been quite sufficient, in
his judgment.

The Judge gave a verdict in plaintiff's favour
for £1 Is., without witnesses' costs.

MARKETS.

CUVENT GARDEN, April 17.

[We cannot accept any responsibility for the subjoined
reports. They are furnished to us regularly every
Thursday, by the kindness of several of the prin-
cipal salesmen, who revise the list, and who arc
responsible for the quotations, it must be remem-
bered that these quotations do not represent the
prices on any particular day, but only the general
averages for the week preceding the date of our
report. The prices depend upon the quality of
tho samples, the supply in the market, and the
demand, and they may fluctuate, not only trom day
to day, but often several times in one day. Ed.]
Cut Floweus, &c— Average Wholesale Prices.

Arums, per doz. .
Asparagus Fern,

per bunch
Azaleas, per doz.
Carnations, per

bunch

Cattlcyas, per

dozen

Eucharis.per doz.
Freesias, p. doz.
Gardenias, per

dozen

Iris, per dozen ...
Jonquils, per

dozen ■

Lilium Harrisii.

per dozen
Lily of the Valley,

dozen bunches
Maidenhair Fern,

dozen bunches

l.d. a.d.
16-40

16-26
4 0-60

9 0-12 0
3 0-40
2 0- 4 0

16-20
1 IV- 1 6

3 0-60
6 0-80

Roses, Marechal
Niel, per bunch

Marguerites, Yel-
low, per doz.

Mermet Roses, p.
bunch

Mignonette, per
dozen bunches

Narcissus, per
dozen

Pelargoniums,
Scarlet, per
dozen

Roses, Red, gen-
eral, per doz.
blooms

Smilax. p. bunch

Tulips, all coirs.,
per doz bnchs.

lioscs. White, per
bunch

a.d. a.d.

Fbdit.— Average Wholesale Prices
a. d. a. d.

Apples, home-

fxown, Wel-
Ingtous, per
busnel

— Califoruiau,
cases ... 12 0-16 0

— Australian —
Tasmanian A:
Victorian, per

case 10 0-16 0

— LargeCookers,
per bushel ...

Bananas, bunch

— loose, p. doz.
'Cape Fruit—
. Pears, per oai Q
Chestnuts, bag 15 u-lrt 0
Cobnuts, Kentish,

per lb. ... 1 0 —

Cranberries, ease 12 o —

per

8 0-10 0

6 0-70
8 0-12 0
10-16

5 0 —

Cranberries,
quart ...
Figs, pel do en
i , rapes, new Ham
burgh, per lb.
b., per lb.

— Almoira, per
12 1b

Lemons, per case

Oranges, henia,

per case

— Blood, p, case

— Tangienue,
per case (100).

Pines, each
Sapucaia Nuts,

per lb.
Strawberries, A.,

per lb.

— B., per lb. ...

16-20

3 0-60
16-40

3 0-60

10-16
16-30

a.d. a.d.

so-
li C-12 0

i i. BO
2 II- 2 6

a o-io o

li 6-15 0

'.i e i* 'I

6 6 —

10-50
16-26

s.d, 8.d.

Acacias, per doz.

6 0-80

Adiantums, per

dozen

5 0-70

Arbor Vitas, per

dozen

6 0-36 0

Arum Lilies, per

dozen

4 0-60

Aspidistras, per

dozen

18 0-38 0

Azaleas, per doz. 18 0-30 0
Cannas, per doz 18 0 -
Cinerarias, per

dozen 4 0-60

Clematis, per doz. 12 0 -
Crotons, per doz. 18 0-30 0
Cyclamens, per

dozen

Daffodils, double,

per dozen ...
Draerenas, var.,

per dozen ...
Ericas, per dozen
Euonymus, vars.,

per dozen ...
Vegetable*.

8 0-12 0
6 0-80

12 0-30 0
6 0-18 0

6 0-]S 0

a.d. r.i.
Evergrenns.vars.,

per dozen ... 4 0-18 #
Ferus iu variety,

per dozen ... 4 0-18 o
Genistas, pr. doz. 6 0-80
I Heliotrope, p. doz. 6 0-80
Hyacinths, white,

per dozen ... 10 0-12 0

— colours.p.doz. 8 0-10 6
Hydrangeas, per

dozen 9 0-24 ©

Marguerites, p. doz. 6 0-60
Narcissus, single,

per dozen ... 6 0-88
Palms, var., each 1 0-20 0
Pelargoniums,

scarlet ... 6 0-86

— white ... ... 6 0- 8 0

Roses, various, doz. 9 0-12 0
Spiraas, per doz. 5 0-80
Sweet Briars, per

dozen 3 0-40

Tulips, all colours,

per dozen ... 0 9-10

Avebaob Wholesale Pbicbs.

a.d. 8.d.

2 0-26
10-16

0 8 —

4 II —
6 0 —

1 2 —

0 0-30

1 0 —

2 6 —

2 6- 3 0

5 0-76

Artichokes, Globe
per dozen ...

— Jerusalem, p.
sieve

Asparagus Sprue,
bundle

— English

— Paris Green...

— Spanish

— various
Beans, dwf., bouse,

per lb

— Madeira, per
basket

Beetroots, per

bushel
Cabbage, p. tally
carrots, per doz.

bunches

— unwashed, per
bag

— New, French,
per bunch ...

Cauliflowers, per
dozen

— tally

Celery, per dozen

bundles
Chicory, per lb...
Coleworts, bushel

— bag

Cress, per dozen

punnets

Cucumbers, doz.

Endive, new
French, doz.

Garlic, per lb. ...

Horseradish, fo-
reign, bunch

Leeks, I2bunches

Lettuces, Cos, per
dozen

— Cabbage, per
dozen

Mint, new, per

bunch
Mushrooms, house,

per lb. ... o 7 n i
Onions, case ... 7 o —

s.d. t.d.
Onions, new, green,

doz. bunches 16-26

— English, per

cwt 6 0-70

— in bags ... 5 0-60

— Egyptian, bag 6 0- 6 S

— picklers, per

sieve 3 6-36

Parsley, per. doz.

bunches ... 4 0-50

— sieve 2 0-26

Parsnips, p. cwt.

bag 3 0-36

Peas in i lb. bags 0 5 —

— in flats ... 5 6-60

— Jersey, per lb. 16-20
Potatos, per ton.. 60 0-90 0

new, per lb.
Frame, lb.

— newTeneriffe,
per owt.

Radishes, p. doz.

bunches
Rhubarb, Yorks,

per dozen ...

— outdoor, per
dozen

10 0-12 0 f Salad, small, pun-

0 2 — i nets, per doz.

1 6 — Seakale, per doz.

2 0-30 puntB
i — natural, doz.

Shallots, per Id....
Spinach , English,

bushel
Stachys, per lb. ...
Tomatos, Canary,

boxes

— English, p lb.
Turnip-Tops, per

bushel

6-3 6
3 0-50

1 0

2 0-30
10 0-14 0

1 3 —

2 0-34

10-16
03 —

13-16
2 0-26

3 0-40
0 6-10

0 2 —
0 4-05

12 0-16 0

0 6-11

18-3i

13 0-15 0
10 0-12 0
0 3 —

2 6-30

03 —

3 6- 4 f
10-13

10 —

2 6-26

0 4-08

Turnips, pei doi.
bunches

— bag ...

— new, French,
buueh

Watercress, per

doz. buncoes 0 6-08

8 0 —

2 6-30

10-13

Remauks.— Grape-fruits, in cases of sixty, 15«. New
Hamburgh Grapes are now on the market. Old
Potatos arc a slow trade. Some good samples of Algie-
i-ian Kidney Potatos in boxes and barrel* at 12s. per
cwt. Home-grown Keels are scarce. Cucumbers are
Cheap, and Radishes, both long and round-rooted
varieties are good.

Potatos.

Dunbar Main Crop. Wu . Up-to IUte, »i ■■ to 8.i«. ; and
other varieties, 45,*. to 80.<. Seed in variety, at various
prices. John Bain, 32 <V 34, Wellington Street, Cowent
Garden.

FBUITS AND VEGETABLES.

Glasgow, April n— The lollowiug are the average*
of the prices during the past week :— Apples, Cali-
fornian Newtown, 9.v Ort. to 10s. per case; Nova
Scotia Baldwins, ID), to 249. per barrel ; Maine, 20s. to
24«. do. ; Canadian, 338. to 26s. do. ; Oranges, Valencia?,
ordinary, 420's, I0». to lis. per box; do, large 430's,
138. to lis. do.; extra large do., 13*. to H«. do.;
large 714's, los. to lis. do..; Grapes,! I perlb.;

Onions, Egyptian, 6». ■(. to 7». per box; Mushrooms,
is. per lb.

Liverpool: Ipril W. — WliolcsaU Vegetable Market.
—Potatos, per cwt. : Up-to- Date. :•«. <•< to 3S. »d. ; Main
Crop, 2«. id. to 3). 9(1. ; Lynn Grays, 2.x. . Bruce, 3s. 3<f.
to 3s. >rf ; Turnips, Bd to l». per dozen bunches;
Swedes, Is, 3d, to I pel owt.i Carrots. 5s. to

M. 6d. do. ; Onions, I do ; Parsley,

."»/. to lor/, per dozen imben i<>:b.6d-

per dozen; Cauliflowei I to do Cabbages, 84,
do. St. Johns: Potatos, l». per peck; do.
new. 3d. to 6d per lb ; Grapes, English, 7a. (d. do.;
do., foreign, do . Apples, 2d. to ''■<'. per lb.:

Tomatos, 4d Uparagua, 3». to s» per bundle;

Cucumbei i ti ■ '■. tluabrooma, Is id. per lh

2G8

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 19, 1902.

Birkenhead: Potatos, lod to Is per peck; do, new.
6rf. to id. per lb. ; Peas. 6rf to M. do. ; Asparagus,
is. to 68. per 100; Cucumbers, 4rf. to ad. each: Grapes.
English, 6s. per lb.; do. foreign, Sd. to is. do. ; Mush
rooms, is. to is 6rf. per lb.

SEEDS.

London: April 16.— Messrs. John Shaw & Sons, Seed
Merchants, of Great Maze Pond, Borough, London, S.E. .
write that notwithstanding a thin attendance on
to-day's market, there is still a fair seasonable sowing
demand for field seeds-generally, and stocks all round
are being rapidly reduced. Fine red Cloverseed
especially is getting scarce, and is consequently very
firm. There is no alteration this week in either Alsikc
or Trefoil, but White continues on a down grade.
Sainfoin, and more particularly Lucerne and Timothy,
owing to the exhaustion of supplies, are substantially
dearer. Meantime^, Italian and perennial Ryegrasses
move adversely to holders. Very little attention isjust
now given to either Mustard or Rapeseed, whilst the
business passing in birdseeds is small. Linseed keeps
steady, and Blue Peas and Haricot Beans are stronger
on account of the Budget. The Board of Trade Returns
give the imports into the United Kingdom for the first
three months of this year, of Clover and Grass-seeds as
120,836 cwt., value £274,127; as against 128,764 cwt,, value
£$85:143 for the corresponding period of 1901.

COHN.

Average Prices of British Corn (per imperial qr.>,
for the week ending April 12, 1002, and for the corre-
sponding period of 19 u, together with the difference
in the quotations. These figures are based on the
Official Weekly Return :—

Description.

1901.

1902.

Difference.

Wheat

Barley

Oats

s. d.
26 5

26 0

18 1

s. d.
27 5
26 7
21 0

s. d.
+ 1 0

+ 0 7

+ 2 11

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS taken in the
Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens at Chiswick,
London, for the period April 6 to April 12, 1902.
Height above sea level 24 feet.

Tempeha-

Temperature

TUREOFTHE

o

1902.

a

g

ft
o

z

o

ok the Air.

<

7.

SOILat9A.M.

H

At9A.M

<

H

6.

a.

a.
m

<

a •

t'i

<= 2

H

<

o
o

■a

a)

o

52 =

JD

si

■< i.

a

3

m

3

<u

&

Ol

*

ft

u

%

bo

fe

<

■<

< 3

Q

■£

K

»-j

1

bo | bo 1 bo

•a ho >d

•3 S

■a j -3

■3

-3

BUS. 6

N N.W.

42 7 37 8 48 1

37 5 ...

45 145 -8

45-8

31 5

Hon. 7

N.N.E.

40 9 36 8 45 '1

29 0 ...

43 8 45-7

45 8

18 4

Tubs. 8

N.N.E.

39 3 36 3,43 1

37 -01 ...

43 5 45 3

45 8

27 3

Wed. 9

N.N.E

41-7

37 8 46 9

35-4 ...

42-4 44-7

45 '8

23 6

Thc.io

N.N.E.

41'7

37 4 46 6

37-5 ...

42 7,44-4

45 8

33 0

Fri. 11

E.N.E.

45 -1

40-9 49 1

35-8 0 07

42 6 44 3

45-8

29-2

SAT. 12

E.S.E.

441

41 '9 52'4

40 2 0 0

[Tot

43 444 3

I

45 7

38 0

MEAN'S

...

42'2 38 '41 17 '3

36-1,0-08

1

43 4 44 9

45-8

28 7

Remar

fcs.— A dill

1, sunless week, with

bleak north-east

wind.

THE WEATHER IN WEST HERTS.
The past week has been rather a cold one. On two
days the temperature in the daytime was several
degrees warmer than is usual in the middle of April,
but otherwise the readings, both during the daytime
and at night, were as a rule low. On five nights the
exposed thermometer registered temperatures below
the freeiing-point, and on the coldest night it indi-
cated 8 of frost. The temperature of the ground, both
at 1 and 2 feet deep, is now about seasonable. Rain

fell on three days, but the total measurement
amounted to less than a quarter of an inch. No
measurable quantity of rain-water has come through
either percolation gau»e for more than a week.
There were good records of sunshine on the 13th and
14th, but during the previous six days the sun shone
for altogether only about twelve hours. The winds
were mostly light, and came principally from some
ea-terly point of the compass. Theamountof moisture
in the air was, as a rule, more than is seasonable.
A selected tree of Blackthorn first showed an open
blossom on the loth, which is two days later than its
average date in the previous eleven years, but six days
earlier than last year. E. M., Berkhavuted , April 15, 1902.

©bituarp.

Mungo Temple. —As these pages are
passing through the press, we regret to learn
of the death, on the 16th inst., of our old
correspondent and Scottish representative.
We most revert to the subject next week.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

*** Editor and Publisher.— Our correspon-
dents would obviate delay in obtaining
answers to their communications, and save
much trouble, if they would kindly observe
the notice printed weekly to the effect that
all communications relating to financial
matters and to advertisements should be
addressed to the Publisher ; and all commu-
nications intended for publication, or refer-
ring to the literary department, should be
directed to the Editor. The two depart-
ments, publishing and editorial, are quite
distinct, and much unnecessary confusion
arises when letters are misdirected.

Beetle : R. B. The creature sent is the larva
of one of the two species of cockchafers met
with in this country. They are injurious in
the caterpillar state, feeding on the roots of
plants. If they are numerous, and you can
dig the ground, do this, and turn in the
chickens, ducks, &c. Their underground
existence lasts for three years.

Catching Moles : F. C. We know of no sort
of poison that could be used to destroy
moles ; and indeed, unless the littlecreatures
are very numerous, we should not like to
destroy them. Of course, on the trim lawn
and in the flower beds and borders, they are
a great nuisance, but a boy or an old man
furnished with a spud or lady's spade would
catch more moles in a day than could be
trapped in a week. He must go quietly
about all day long, watching the places
where the moles run their tunnels, and
when he sees the ground being heaved up-
wards, he must make a quiet dash with the
spud, and with an upward movement of the
tool throw out the little beast and dispatch
it quickly without cruelty.

Correction : Centropogon Lucvanus. It was
stated in our Calendar for Plants under
Glass last week, that this plant " should be
treated similarly to Hibiscus,''' but that did
not apply to planting in the open air in the
summer, but to propagation and general
indoors treatment only.

Pig-root: F. B. The Fig is attacked by
Cercospora Bolleana. See Gard. Chron.,
July 7, 1900, p. 5.

Glasshouse Heating by means of Hot-water :
Pipeheat. In order to maintain a warmth of
65° when the outside temperature has sunk
to 10% i.e., 22° of frost, and nothing less will
be safe, 305 feet of 4-inch piping will be
necessary, taking into consideration the
fact that 30 feet of piping are placed beneath
a propagating pit, and not available for
heating the air of the forcing-house.

Names oi. Plants: C.K.M. 1, Bulbophyllum
species, but we cannot say which without
seeing flower. When in bloom send a bulb
with flowers ; 2, Dendrobium Pierardi, if the
stems are long and slender ; if thick and com-
paratively short, it is D. primulinum. The lip
of the flower sent is withered and the best
feature lost ; 3, Dendrobium Devonianum ;

4, Cypripcdium Boxalli : 5, Dendrobium
fimbriatum ociilatum ; 6, Selaginella Mer-
tensii.— R. M.R. All varieties of Dendrobium
Wardianum ; but two of them are imperfectly
developed. —A. L. 1, Odontoglossum macu-
latum ; 2, Odontoglossum pulchellum ; 3,
Cypripedium Mastersianum ; 4, C'ochlioda
vulcanica ; 5, Oncidium flexuosum.— H. W. C.
The plant indicated is Koehia scoparia. —
J. H., Inverurie. La-lia flava, the yellow ;
Phaius grandifolius, the other. — James,
Perth. 2, Abutilon megapotamicum ; 3,
Nerium Oleander ; 4, Bambusa Fortunei
variegata ; 5, Veronica Andersoni ; 6, Fuchsia
procumbens. — E. J. U. Epimediumpinnatum.
— J. L. I. 1, Oncidium pulvinatum ; 2, Daphne
Mezereum ; 3, Acalypha tricolor ; 4, Cocos
Weddeliana ; 6, Pilea muscosa ; 6, Poa tri-
vialis variegata. — Oncid. 1, Daphne Meze-
reum ; 2, Babiana plicata. — Amateur. Den-
drobium nobile ; the faded, yellow - tinted
flower is peculiar if the colour was the same
when fresh.— W. T. 1, Callistemon flori-
bundus ; 2, Asparagus deflexus ; 3, Ilex
microphyllus ; 4, Corydalis tuberosa ; 5,
Helleborus, garden variety. — Fern. Lomaria
spicant. — Rosa. Should send better speci-
mens, and remember that specimens such
as he sends are likely to be unrecognisable
when we receive them.— Doronicum. Abies
excelsa var. Clanbrassiliana ; Ruscus aculea-
tus, Batcher's Broom ; Ruscus hypophyllum,
the broad-leaved one.

Pelargonium Cuttings: C. & S. If you will
send us the name of the advertiser, we will
call the attention of the Publisher to the
matter.

Primrose : O. M. A leafy condition of the
calyx is by no means uncommon.

Tasmanian APPLES : Tasmania. If you will
scan an announcement on p. 261 of the
present issue, you will be enabled to form
an idea of the dates of arrival of the various
consignments of Tasmanian and Australian
fruits. Many of the sales which take place
will be effected by public auction at Covent
Garden, and some consignments go to fruit
merchants in the City.

Transit of Cuttings of Fruit-trees from
America and India to Central Africa :
L. C. B. We think that so large a quantity
of moss, earth, and cuttings would get
extremely hot by fermentation, and destroy
the life of the cuttings in their passage
through the tropics, and in any case air-
tight cases are detrimental, excepting for
very dry seeds (artificially dried). A better
mode would be to encase each cutting, or
small bundles of say four to six, in damp
clay, and pack in small packages, surround-
ing them with canvas or wood.

Worms in Soil: C. E. J. What you have sent
are the larvse of a species of Diptera or
house-fly order, such as are often found
swarming in "green " manure from pig-stys ;
they are not known to be injurious to plant-
life. A closely allied species has been
found in wasps nests, feeding on the dead
larvie at the bottom of the nest cavity.
You should keep the land well stirred and
trench deeply in the autumn. The flies will
probably hatch in summer and fly away to
some rotting material ; they are not likely to
reproduce their species on the soil so long
as it is free from foul manure. P. W.

Communications Received.— M. E. M. (we have already
received a note).— W. Miles <i Co.— J. Plummer,
Sydney— R. L. F— A. D.— S. R— W. J. Godfrey—
B. A. &Co.— F. W. B.— Max Leichtlin, Baden-Baden—
The Countess of Warwick— R. I. L— J. R. J.— G. P.—
Academy of Natural Science, Philadelphia— C. Palmer
—J. L.— W. W.— W. B. II— Dr. A. H— Peter Barr,
Cape Town-E. C— F. G.-M. C. C— W. W— E. C—
A. D. M.— Dr. Udo Danimer, Berlin— R D.— G. P.—
G. M.-E. O. G.— R. H. 8.— C. P.— B. G.. Canada—
W. T. H— W. A. Miller (with thanks)— Hyacinth—
G. Doolan— Daffodil-W. H.— W. Kemp— H. M— Wilts
(next week)— Expert— D. B.-T. D. E— W. R.— W. H. T.
—J. M. Sinclair— F. G.— The Four Oaks Nursery and
Garden Sundries Co —J. G.— W. B. H— R. D— W. H. D.

. —J. S -W. M — H. H.-H. B. W.-J. D.— W. H. C —
A. R. B— W. E. B— R. P. B.

Photographs Received with Thanks.- F. C. T., Foo-
Chow— R. I. L.

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THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

209

THE

No. 800.— SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Alnwick Castle Gar-

Orchid notes and

dens

273

gleanings—

Ash and Larch on the

Tiudenia

269

chalk

278

Orchids at Wcston-

Bamboos, hardy

i78

birt

S70

Belvoir Castle, spring

Perfume, dual, in

flowers at

27H

flowers

277

Book notice-

Phloxes, hybrid

277

In the Forests of

Primula sinensis, the

Borneo

272

wild form of

269

Buckingham Palace.

Publications received

277

the lake at

270

Societies-

Campanulas, lecture

Chester Paxton

283

on

282

Commons and Foot-

Carnation Beauts ]n-

pat hsPreriorvat ion

283

constante

278

Cornwall Daffodil &

Cassia coryrabosa at

Spring Flower ...

282

Tregye

278

National Auricula &

Chrysanthemum pic-

Primula

282

tures

277

Royal Botanic

283

Fruit and jams

*77

Royal Horticultural

279

Gloxinias

278

Temperature, the

Orape prizes at Shrews-

lowest

277

bury

278

Tomato disease

278

Hall, the

277

Tomato fruit, a heavy

278

Ziilium giganteum ...

278

Vernal flowers

269

Magnolias. spring-

Week's Work, the—

flowering

277

Apiary, the

275

Narcissus Telamonius

278

Flower Garden, the

274

Obituary—

Fruits under Glass .

274

Dickson, Dr. Archi-

Hardy Fruit Garden

274

bald

281

Kitchen Garden ...

275

Temple, Mungo
Veraier, Eugene ...

284

Orchid Houses, the.

274

277

Plants under Glass .

275

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, from the river

(Supplement;.

Brislee Tower in the park at Alnwick 273

Portrait of the late Mungo Temple 284

Primula sinensis, wild plant of, collected at Ichang

by Dr. Henry 270

Primula sinensis, wild form of, after one year's

cultivation 271

Tomato fruit, weighing 1 lb. 10 oz 279

VERNAL FLOWERS.
~]V"0 period is so beautiful to the fancy, or
-L^l so much impressed on the memory, as
that of spring, for then the " Stars of Earth "
(as the great Goethe so tenderly called the
flowers) reappear, as if to emphasise that
faith in the future, which vivified by experi-
ence, abode with us so steadfastly, amid all
atmospheric trials and tribulation, through
the weary winter hours.

Seldom have the vernal flowers been more
radiant or luxuriant than they have been
this year. The Snowdrops and theirstrongly
contrasted successors, the brilliant Crocuses,
have flowered profusely ; and as the season
was somewhat later than usual by reason of
a sudden visitation of frost and snow, thereby
delaying the advent of the first fair flowers
of January, they bloomed contemporaneously.
Hardly had they begun to show signs of de-
cadence, when the first of the Daffodils, the
Scottish Garland Lily, began to unfold
its lustrous flowers. Since that period, other
forms, if possible of greater beauty, have
dawned upon our gaze ; conspicuous among
which have been Narcissus Empress, an
absolutely perfect " bicolor " flower; N.
grandis, almost equally fine ; N. Horsfieldi ;
and the great Sir Watkin, which is I think
especially fascinating when in bud just
previous to expansion, but is at all stages
supremely attractive. It is a veritable giant
among Daffodils, just as Lilium giganteum
is among contemporaneous Lilies, and can
be easily recognised from a considerable

distance by reason of its commanding aspect.
Emperor is just preparing to reveal his
imperial beauty: N. Barri eonspicuus is at
a similar stage of floral evolution. The
Leedsii varieties, with their starry petals of
the most delicate beauty, are in exquisite
bloom. Very graceful are the miniature
flowers of the white sweet scented Violets,
which delight in moist places of the garden
with partial shade. Soon we shall have the
richly fragrant Auricula, followed by the
much-loved Lily of the Valley, nestling like
meekness, a rare human characteristic,
among its long and luminous leaves.

On April 1, Prunus Pissardi, a Persian
Plum which greatly adorns the centre of my
garden, was already disclosing its fragile
white blossoms, and thereby strongly
asserting its claim to be accounted the first
of flowering trees. Even without its floral
treasures, which this season are unusually
abundant, it is very precious in virtue of
its foliage, which is highly decorative. The
Canary Creeper, flowering through its bran-
ches amid their dark, chocolate - coloured
leaves, produces a memorably artistic effect.
The other flowering trees, such as the Early
Rivers and Black Eagle Cherries, the Czar
Plums, and Denniston's Superb Gage, are
also far advanced, and the exquisitely beau-
tiful Pyrus Malus floribunda will follow in
their train. A profusion of blossom may
be anticipated from the Apples and Pears,
which are full of floral promise ; they had
the great advantage of being thoroughly
ripened by the heat of last summer, which
was at certain periods quite tropical in its
influence.

Oriental and occidental Lilies, the former
especially, are growing with quite unusual
rapidity. This is especially true of Lilium
candidum, a native of the Levant; Lilium
Henryi, which comes to us from China ;
and the Japanese Lilium auratum var.
platyphyllum, which grows almost as
strongly, and is quite as florally effective,
as Lilium giganteum, while it is even more
reliable. My latest acquisition is Lilium
Alexandra^. David R. Williamson.

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

"LINDENIA."
Numbers 11 and 12, completing the sixteenth
volume, or the sixth volume of the second
series of this excellent work on Orchids, has
fine coloured plates of —

Catti.eya x Clvmene (C. YVarseewiczii 9 C. Rex 6).—
The liowers are large; sepals and petals white. Lip
white, marked with yellow at the base, the front being
of a rich purple, with narrow white margin.

Cattleva x Memoria Bi.eui (Aclandi;e x granulosa).
—A tine flower, with greenish sepals and petals, evenly
marked with chocolate colour. Lip white, with light
purple veining, the same colour also appearing in the
column.

Cattleva labiata peri ecta. — A large flower of
glowing rose-purple colour, with yellow disc to the lip.

Cvpripedicm x Stei'MANI.i: (Leeanum x villosum).—
Resembling a large form of C. x Leander. Flowers
yellow, with reddish and purple markings, and white-
tipped dorsal sepal.

Dendrohium Phal.vnoi'SIS Lindeni.v. — A large
white flower, with slight purple markings on the tips
of the petals, and darker ones on the front of the lip.

Oncidium varicosum Moorteheekiense. — A re-
markable and showy variety, with bright yellow flowers
having a conspicuous chestnut-red mark on the lip.

Renanthkra mati iiNA. — A flue old Javan species,
with branched spikes of red and yellow flowers.

Vanda Parishii.— Sepals and petals yellow, blotched
with brown; front of lip purple. It is singular that
this typical species is now more rare than the almost
wholly rose-purple form discovered by Uox;ill much
more recently.

THE WILD FORM OF PRIMULA
SINENSIS.

The plant which is considered to be the
parent form of the cultivated Primula sinensis,
Sabine, has only as yet been found in one
locality. It grows wild in the gorges of the
Yangtze, close to Ichang. In the Kew Her-
barium there are specimens (Nos. 1,103 and
1,292) which were gathered by me, and from
which the illustration (fig. 84, p. 270) now given
is drawn. Pere Delavay on his way to Yunnan
collected some specimens in the same place ;
and some years previously Mr. Watters, who
was Consul at Ichang at the time, sent the
plant to Hance.

The habitat and mode of growth is re-
markedly different from what we find in the
cultivated forms. The wild plant grows on
the ledges of rocky cliffs of limestone, in spots
where there is no soil, and practically no
moisture, exposed to the sun, and living
amidst the decaying remains of former gene-
rations of the plants. These ledges of Primula
are often continuous for hundreds of feet, and
in December and January, when the flowers
appear, present a scene of great beauty. The
scent of the leaves is very strong, and can be
perceived at once on entering any of the
ravines where the ledges occur. The flowers
are pinkish, with a yellow ring around the
neck of the corolla.

The wild form was introduced into cultiva-
tion by seeds sent home by Mr. Pratt, the
naturalist, who collected them at Ichang ; and
an account and figure of the home-grown wild
plant were given by Sir Joseph Hooker in the
Botanical Magazine, tab. 7559 (1897).

The wild plant differs obviously from the
cultivated one in not having the calyx so much
inflated ; but this is a variable point, as shown
in the diagrams given in this Journal in 1889,
January 26, p. 115, fig. 16. The leaves of the
wild plant are small and stalked, most of them
being roundish and lobed, whilst the others
are elongate. The margin of the leaves is
crenate, and there are never acute or
mucronate serrations, such as occur in many
of the cultivated varieties. The involucral
bracts are always entire, linear or lanceolate,
and are never incised or dentate as in some
cultivated forms. The petals of the corolla
are notched, never fimbriate. The most re-
markable peculiarity of the wild plant is the
creeping and branched root-stock.

The cultivated plant was introduced from
Canton, and there is no history of its origin to
be obtained from Chinese books. Primulas
occur especially in the western mountainous
regions of China in numerous species, but
they never have attracted Chinese gardeners ;
and it was Mr. Maries, e.g., who cleverly saw
the possibilities of Primula obconica, another
Ichang plant, which has made so much progress
under cultivation.

However, in thegreat Chinese illustrated flora,
the Chih-Wu-Ming, two species of Primula are
figured. Primula Forbesii, Franchet, is shown
in this work in vol. xxix., folio 8 ; and it is said
correctly to occur in fields in Yunnan. Tho
name given to it, Pao-ch'un, may be translated
"Herald of the Spring." In the same volume,
folio 18, there is a figure and description of
what I take to be a cultivated form of Primula
sinensis. The author calls the plant the Tibetan
Primula (Tsang Pao-ch'un) ; but, in explanation
of the term, says that Yunnan is near Tibet,
and flowers there are, on that account, apt to
be called Tibetan. In other words, the name
is of no value for defining the home of the
plant. The author says that it is cultivated
in gardens in Yunnan, and that tho leaves are
like those of the Hollyhock, having many

270

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 26, 1902.

points and clefts. The flowers come at the
beginning of spring, and are like those of
P. Forbesii, but larger. The figure shews
sharply dentate or serrate leaves, and an
inflated calyx ; while the woody root-stock is
absent. It is evidently a cultivated form like
that introduced into Eu-rope from Canton.

another article I hope to show that several
other plants cultivated by the Chinese have
the same history. August inc. Henry.

[The history of the introduction of the wild
form of the Chinese Primrose into cultivation
is given, with illustrations, in our volume for
1892, January 2, p. 13, fig. 2. Ed.]

ances and old methods have been improved on,
the Orchid - houses especially having been
literally brought up to date.

Most of the Orchid - houses are new and
excellent in every respect, as is shown by the
splendid condition of the plants grown in
them. Looking through the houses of Odonto-

r_s<rsr-l, £>_ f-**' w

Fig. 84.— wild plant of primula sinensis, collected at ichang, china.

BY Dli. AUGUSTINE HENRY. (SEE P. 269.)

All the evidence we have, then, goes to
show that probably Primula sinensis was dis-
covered by some Chinese traveller at Ichang,
and from there was introduced into gardens at
the great centres of refinement, like Soochow
and Nanking, possibly centuries ago. In

ORCHIDS AT WESTONBIRT,
TETBURY.

Wesionbirt is one of the oldest Orchid
establishments in the country, and as such
special interest attaches to it. But old appli-

glossums, every plant bears the stamp of good
health and vigour, and it is difficult to realise
the fact that only a few years ago these " cool-
house " Orchids were considered very difficult
to manage successfully, and even yet there are
amateurs who for no reason evident to the

April 26, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

271

observer fail to grow them well. The plants
were chiefly bought as freshly imported, or un-
flowered semi-established, and the progress
theyjhave made is readily ascertained by an
examination of the pseudo-bulbs, these sliow-
tng'a rapid increase in size, some of the older

have secured awards at the Royal Horticul-
tural Society ; the richly coloured (). x
loochristiense Lady Victoria Grenfoll, and a
noble form of O. x elegans, are fine examples.
Also now in flower are a fine lot of plants of
the best type of O. crispum, among which are

a very fine display of flowers, some of the
fine forms of D. nobile being still in flower;
also a very varied collection of hybrids of the
D. ' Ainsworthi and D. x splendidissimum
grandiflorum type. The most beautiful white
with purple eye is D. x Apollo album ; and

JWZ

fiC**

FIG. 85. — THK WILD FORM OF PRIMULA SINENSIS AFTER ONE YEAR'S CULTIVATION.
FLOWERS PAKE Kiisv-1 1I.AC : POLLEN MAGN. :100 MAM. (SEE P. 269.)

plants seeming to have reached the maximum,
and far exceed the imported pseudo-bulbs.

The ventures in imported plants of Odonto-
glossums, too, have been highly satisfactory
in the matter of hybrids bought as O. crispum.
Of these, two splendid forms of O. x Adrian*,
now in flower — O. X A. Countess of Morley, and
O. x A. Mrs. Robert Benson, and both of which

some very beautiful rose-tinted and spotted
forms ; good O. Hallii, O. triumphans, O.
luteo-purpureum, (). nebolosum, O. cirrosum
Pescatorei, and other species: also Ada
aurantiaca, and Sophronitis grundiflora, which
show up very effectively among the Odonto-
glossums.

Turning to the Dendrobium-houses we found

the largest and finest coloured flowers in this
class are given by D. x rubens grandiflorum,
and D. x r. magnilicum. Mr. Cookson's fine
D. x Sibyl magnificum appears with a densely
flowered pseudo-bulb, 3 feet in length — a fine
example of good cultivation ; D. x Venus,
D. x Juno. I). xanthocentrum, D. x Clytie,
1). Dominianum, D. x Cybele, D. '■• Sun-

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 2C, 1902.

ray ; varieties of D. : melanodiscus, and
many other hybrids are in bloom ; fine
plants of D. Wardianum, D. crassinode, D.
nobile album, of the largest pure white type ;
and other good forms of D. nobile. The vigour
of most of these Dendrobiums is surprising.
The very large specimens of D. Dalhousieanum
having stems six feet high and seven or eight
fine spikes of flower on each plant. The plan
adopted with them is to grow as many as
possible suspended from the roof of the houses
to afford them a liberal treatment, a warm,
moist period of growth, aad a cooler, dry
resting period while ripening their pseudo-
bulbs. The same plan is followed with a large
number of plants of Dendrobium Phalsenopsis
Schroderianum now about to make a fine display
of flowers ; but in the case of these they are
kept rather warmer during the resting season
than D. nobile, and others of similar nature.

Intermediate Houses.
In several of these, the Cypripediums
form the chief feature, there being a fine
collection of the rare and beautiful varieties
of C. insigne, including some of C. i.
Sanderse and C. i. Harefield Hall variety,
which were obtained as small specimens, and
now of large proportions ; C. bellatulum and
C. b. album, as well as the hybrids from it, are
thriving plants. In bloom there were observed
forms of C. x Lathamianum, C. villosum, C.
Boxalli, C. x nitens, C. x Calypso, C. exul,
C. Mrs. Tautz, the very finest of the hybrids,
with a family likeness to C. insigne punctatum
violaceum, wonderfully improved upon ; C.
Rothschildianum, one fine specimen bearing
two spikes of three and four flowers respec-
tively; C. x microchilum, C. callosum
Sanderae, and the fine hybrid of it ; C. x
Maudiae, C. Winnianum, besides a large

number of interesting plants in bud.

The Lobbies.

In one of these some immense plants were
observed of Sobralia macrantha, and good ones
of the large and richly-coloured S. Holfordi,
the yellow S. xantholeuca, the rare S. Lindeni,
S. macrantha alba or Kicnastiana, S. x Veitchi,
and other Sobralias. Of the more prominent
plants in the other houses we remarked the
beautiful Zygo-Colax x Wiganianus superbus,
an excellent batch of Miltonia vexillaria, and
other Miltonias ; a Cymbidium eburneum, with
six flower-spikes ; some good C. x Lowio-ebur-
neum, and C. Lowianum, one grand variety of
which has an intensely bright brownish-ruby-
red front to the lip ; Oelogyne cristata alba,
well in flower ; Odontoglossum pulchellum,
and O. Rossii majus, very pretty ; a fine lot of
Lselia anceps, consisting principally of white-
flowered varieties, sending up a fine show of
flower-spikes ; some good Cattleya Triantei,
C. Schroderae, and C. S. alba; some bright
flowers of L;elia Jongheana, and a promising
show of Laelia puuiila, L. purpurata, L. tene-
brosa, and other of the showy Cattleyas and
Laelias.

Miscellaneous Orchids.
Suspended in a c ol intermediate -house
large specimens of Vanda Kimballiana, which
were so much admired when last in flower, and
shown at the Royal Horticultural Society,
were observed. These plants are kept cooler,
and more air is admitted to them than is
usual with most cultivators, and the result is
increased vigour year by year, while in most
other gardens the plants decline in health.

An old collection of Orchids, or a modernised
old collection, is always interesting, as speci-
mens which have been on the place for many
years are to be found in it, some of them rarer
now than they were when originally purchased.

But fashion changes the aspect of an Orchid
collection as it does many other things, and
the gigantic specimens of Aerides odoratum
majus, and other Aerides ; Saccolabium gut-
tatum, and its finest variety Holfordi, the
Westonbirt specimen of which had on
several occasions from twelve to twenty spikes
averaging 3 feet in length ; the fine Yandas,
and the Renanthera coccinea, which trailed
over part of the roof of one of the houses, and
produced its large panicles of crimson flowers
freely some forty years ago, have had to give
way to the more compact and not less beau-
tiful Odontoglossums and other species which
were little known in those days. Still, there
are remnants of the earlier inmates of the
houses which are interesting. Hybrid Orchids
and hybridising also recommend themselves to
Captain Holford, and there is a good collection
of hybrid Cattleyas, Lselio-Cattleyas, &c, and
provision is made for raising them on a mode-
rate scale. Some few are in flower, one of the
prettiest being Sophro-L;elia lseta Orpetiana,
which has rosy-scarlet flowers of a good size,
on a neat, dwarf plant. The collection has
steadily improved under the care of Mr.
Alexander, who now has soli' charge of it.

BOOK NOTICE.

In the Forests of Borneo.*
This is a very important work of 607 pages,
containing many beautiful original illustra-
tions, mostly from photographs, of the flora,
fauna, scenery, and the native people of the
largest, richest, and most beautiful and inte-
resting of all the Malayan islands. The present
book is a popular account of the expedition
made by Edoardo Bcccari, and is dedicated
to his patron, friend, and fellow-traveller,
S. Giacomo Dario.

Those who look for a strict record of Bec-
cari's scientific work in Borneo will of course
consult the various volumes he published
years ago under the title of Malesia.

On April 4, 1865, Beccari embarked on the
P. & O. steamship Delhi on his voyage to
Borneo, via Ceylon, Pulo Penang, and Singa-
pore. At Ceylon he visited Point de Galle,
Colombo, Kandy, and of course the wonderful
tropical botanical gardens at Peradeniya. In
Ceylon the Cocoa-nut Palms, the Chinese Hi-
biscus and gorgeous Poinsettias, the exquisitely
white and fragrant one-flowered Pancratium
zeylanicum, and the characteristic Phoenix pu-
silla, the vivid little sunbirds, to say nothing
of other birds, the snakes and the ground or
jungle-leeches, and the butterflies, were a
few only of the things animate that claimed
his attention for the first time. Amongst the
South American plants naturalised in Ceylon,
special mention is made of Allamanda cathar-
tica, and the Lantanas, that have proved the
direst and most luxuriant of weeds in their
adopted home.

Beccari was received and welcomed by the
hospitable Thwaites, who was then Director
of the Botanical Gardens, and the ascent of
the mountain Petrotallagalla was made by our
author under his auspices and kindly assist-
ance. The Orchids of Ceylon seen on this
and other journeys were Dendrobium Macraei,
D. aureum- pallidum, i». Macarthiae, Ipsea
speciosa, Phaius Wallichi, and Calanthe
veratrifolia.

From Ceylon the voyage was continued to
Pulo Penang, or Betel-nut Island, or Prince
of Wales Island, for it is, or has been, known

n Beccari : Xellc Fnrestr tli Borneo : viaggi e ricetche
ili mi Naturalista Firenze : Tipografia de Salvadore
Landi, I-', Via San'a Caterina. 1H02. Price 12 lire.

by all these names. It is a charming place,
an epitome of the eastern tropics, with its
whitewashed houses and bungalows, situated
amongst rustling Palm-trees and other native
vegetation. There is a pretty little waterfall
near the landing-place, and on the rocks ad-
joining it, Cypripedium barbatum has been
found. Thanks to Dr. Veitch, Mr. C. Curtis,
and other residents, the flora of Penang is now-
well known to Europeans.

From Singapore, Beccari sailed for Borneo
by the Rainbow for Kutching— literally " Cat-
town," the capital of the extensive territory
governed by the present Rajab Brooke.

Chapter III. deals with the Malay population
and their supposed origin from Arab immi-
grants, who intermarried with the Dyak or
other Bornean tribes in early times, just as
the Chinese did in the north-west at a later
period. Thus it must be understood that, in
Borneo generally the Malays are the ruling
class, and occupy the coast towns and river
stations all round the island, taking toll, or
what we should term Customs dues, of all
produce brought down from the interior by
the natives. The gold mines and the timber
trade are mainly in the hands of the Chinese,
who also have depots along the coast for the
purchase (or barter) of wild or jungle produce.
This produce consists of timber, Rattan-canes
(Calamus or Korthalsia spp.), camphor (Dryo-
balanops), gutta or rubber, edible birds'-
nests, sea -slug (Holothuria), pearl-shells,
Cocoa-nuts, Betel-nuts, Tobacco, Dammar-
gum, and many other things.

Chapter IV., on the fruits, wild and do-
mesticated ; the Pinang, or Betel-nut ; the
red -nosed and other monkeys, the birds,
snakes, singing frogs, flying foxes, and other
mammals of Sarawak, is very interesting
reading indeed.

Among the fruits, the delicious Mangosteen,
the Mango, Durian, Orange, Lime, Langsat,
Jack-fruit, Banana, Tarippe (Tarap), and many
others less well known, are alluded to.

The book is well illustrated from sketches
and photographs of the scenery and vegeta-
tion ; the larger monkeys, such as the nasalis
and the orang-utan ; and the natives them-
selves, in all their war-paint and other finery.
The two photographs on pp. 240 and 241,
evidently made from pickled or preserved
specimens of the head of the great orang-utan
or mias, remind one of the illustrations of the
mummied Pharaoh discovered in Egypt a few
years ago ! Maps or charts are given, showing
the routes pursued by the author, and there
are figures showing the arts and industries of
the people.

There are valuable appendices to the book,
treating especially on the climate of Sara-
wak, the vegetation of the primitive forests,
the prevalence of plants having variegated,
brightly coloured leaves, or a foliage with a
metallic surface or sheen. There are also
paragraphs on the parasitic plants, such as
Rafflesia, Brugmansia, &c, and on the size.
colour, and fragrance (or odour, let us say) of
the forest flora ; also on the forest creepers
and climbing plants, or Lianes ; on narrow-
leaved plants of various orders (phtnte steno-
fille). Palms, Pandanads, Orchids, over 200
species having been seen and collected, in-
cluding the fly-catching Bulbophyllum Bee-
carii. There are notes on trees that produce
flowers directly from their woody trunks or
branches, as in Ficus, Artocarpus, Durio, &c.
There are interesting notes on plants hos-
pitable to ants, includiug Xepeathes, Hydno-
phytum, Myrmejodia, Balanophora, Cleroden-
dron, Korthalsia, &c. At p. 543 is an account
of the different zones or areas of Bornean
vegetation. At p. 549, notes on the camphor-

April 26, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

273

producing plants of Borneo, mostly different
species of the genus Dryobalanops, of the order
Dipterocarpacea?. On p. 554 is an interest-
ing account of the rubber and gutta-producing
plants of Sarawak, followed by a systematic
list of the economic vegetation most frequently

hairy fruits welded together for the greater
part of their length), and M. campestris.
This is followed by descriptions of some new
Bornean and Papuan species of the genus
Artocarpus, of which unfortunately no figures
are given.

Fig. 86. — brislee toweRj in the park, alnwick castle.

used in the Sarawak principality, including
the wild or forest fruit-bearing trees ; notes
on the Bamboos, the Rotang or Rattan Palms,
and on new species of LHemonorops and
Calamus, with full Latin descriptions. At

, p. Oil is a monograph of the wild or forest
species of Alusa (Banana), with illustrative

v photographs of the fruits of M. borneensis, M.

( microcarpa, M. hirta (a curious kind with

The work altogether is handsomely produced,
and is a ruostMnteresting one from a human, as
well as from a merely botanical point of view ;
and it is published under the auspices of the
Italian Geograpical Society. The value of the
work from a scientific poiut of view is much
enhanced by a copious and accurate index,
and by tables of the textual contents, and the
numerous illustrations employed. At the same

time a list of the best books and papers on
Bornean exploration might have been given,
which would have made this handsome book
still more useful and valuable to those, and
they are now many, who are interested in
" Borneo the Beauti.'ul," and in its rich
products of all kinds. F. W. Burbidye.

ALNWICK CASTLE GARDENS.
[Supplementary and other Illustration.]

Few residences are of higher historical
interest and more stately in an old-world
fashion than Alnwick Castle, the seat of the
ducal house of Percy, and though these
notes are more concerned with the gardens,
I am sure I shall be pardoned if I briefly
refer to the Castle and its surroundings, it*
situation, and the beautiful park and grounds
adjacent thereto. 1 could readily drift into
history, and note some of the stirring events
of which the Percys had a full share in for
fully 800 years, dating from the time the tirst
Percy was knighted by Edward I. at Berwick
in 1291, and though at that date I fear there
would be few notes concerning the horti-
cultural details of the domain, there are
plenty later on. The estate was splendidly
cired for, from both the forester's and gar-
dener's point of view, during the last century,
as Duke Hugh and Duke Algernon were great
planters. The splendid woods in the park testify
to this. These woods afford charming effects,
the trees being of large size and richly
diversified, and when these woods are viewed
from the Castle walls stretching away for
many miles, with the Brislee Tower in the
distance on one side (see fig. 80), and the
castles of Warkworth, Bamborough, and Dun-
stanbor ugh near the coast in the far distance,
and the long stretch of sea and rock-girt coast,
the river Aln memdering in various direc-
tions, and at one point lapping the hill on which
the castle stands, they supply a picture of
beauty bota tame and rugged rarely to be met
with. Bridges span the river and some of
the roads, and are always in keeping with
the surroundings ; the Lion of the Percys'
crowning all.

The Dairy Grounds.

Near tj the " dairy grounds," a portion of
the gardens at the extreme end of the dressed
pleasure grounds, close to the town, and on
the banks of the Aln, stand the two Abbeys of
Hulne and Alnwick, most interesting objects,
and very picturesquely situated; the former
in the low portion of the park, and the other
a pari ia! rain on a slight eminence, with miles
of hanging woods around and in the far dis-
tance on the west with a wide expanse of
moorland and plantations.

The area of the park runs into thousands ol
acres, and is mostly enclosed by a substantial
wall. Fallow deer and water fowl of many
kinds abound, the latter frequenting the shal-
low -waters of the river close to the .walls of
the castle, their only enemy being reynard,
who is a sad rascal here, and bears a very bad
character. The planting during the last fifty
years has been carried out with much good
taste, and in the vicinity of the river there
are numbers of beautiful specimens of Willow,
Dogwood, Alder, and Birch, the latter being
quite at home in the moist soil. Some very
symmetrical Silver Kirs of more than 100 feet
in height, are seen on the opposite bank ol
the river, a portion of the grounds to which
the public have access. Here are winding
walks, and some Oaks, Beech, and Scotch
Firs of noble proportions: and some very fine
Douglas Fir may bo observed in tin- parks ami

27-4

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 26, 1902.

the "dairy grounds." In the latter is a large
collection of flowering trees and shrubs, in-
cluding Rhododendrons and other peat-loving
plants, and these with common evergreen
shrubs and trees of the Douglas Fir are a
great relief to the eye in the winter months.
I saw the grounds this winter after a snow-
storm, and really few pictures could be more
beautiful. Close under the Castle walls, and
for some distance in the parks (see Supple-
ment), are masses of the double and single-
flowered Hawthorn, mostly very old trees on
single stems, and these trees early in June
<they are rarely out in May in this part of the
country) afford very pleasing effects, as they
flower grandly. Fortunately, there are no
flower-beds in the vicinity of the Castle, and
this is in keeping with the rugged character of
the old fortress; but ample breadths of turf
give a charm in a position where flowers would
toe obviously out of place. Such was, how-
ever, not always the case, for many years
ago the kitchen and fruit gardens were
close to the Castle, only being divided
from it by a moat. The latter is now
bridged over, and the ground dotted with
trees, including a few of the old fruit-trees,
left mostly for the sake of their flowering.
Near this spot, and enclosed by walls in a
portion of the grounds rarely visited, stands
one of the finest Laburnum-trees I have
ever seen; this tree is commonly visited by
arboriculturists who visit Alnwick. The
tree is of immense dimensions, covering a
great deal of ground; and its free growth,
great age, and size, may be owing to its shel-
tered position. The Laburnum, as usually
observed, has seldom so large a spread of
branches. G. Wythes.

(To be continued.)

The Week's Work.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

Epidendrum jtrismatocarpum. — This beau-
tiful Orchid, plants of which will now be
exhibiting their flower-spikes, should be af-
forded rather more water than has been
applied hitherto during the winter, and be
placed in a part of the intermediate- house
where a large amount of sunshine reaches it
during early spring and early autumn, and be
at no season densely shaded. Should a re-
potting be necessary, the most suitable time
to do this is soon after flowering, but top-
dressing may be carried out forthwith, the
roots becoming active as soon as the flower-
spikes begin to develop. A suitable mixture
consists of equal parts good turfy-peat and
sphagnum-moss, and the drainage of the pots
should be ample, nothing being more injurious
than a water-logged or over-moist compost.
"When a plant has to be potted, the base should
he kept lower than the rim of the pot, and the
materials should be placed together firmly. I
would on no account advise that this plant be
disturbed at the root, unless the compost has
got into a very bad state. Water should
always be applied with caution, especially
after repotting, and the time when most is
required is when the young growths are about
to develop their new pseudo-bulbs.

Cattleijas with long psendo-bulbs. — In this
section may be put the following species, viz.,
C. bicolor, C. granulosa, and the beautiful
variety C. granulosa Schofieldiana. The
autumn-flowering varieties of C. guttata and
C. velutina, are now about to start into growth,
and any required repotting may be performed
forthwith ; using a compost of good turfy-peat
one-half, and one-quarter each of good leaf-
mould and clean, chopped sphagnum moss, well
mixing the ingredients together and potting
firmly, keeping the base of the plant on a level

with the rim of the pot. I prefer to use for
this section at the least, the Fern rhizomes
found in the peat as drainage material in pre-
ference to crocks. Let all of the useless
pseudo-bulbs be removed as previously advised,
and after repotting let the remaining pseudo-
bulbs be neatly secured to sticks, so as to afford
steadiness — an operation that is very necessary,
otherwise the weight of the pseudo-bulbs will
cause the plant to become loose in the compost,
and deterioration will soou set in. These
Cattleyas should be placed in a group alto-
gether in the Cattleya-house, and in the
sunniest part of it. Until the growths have
made good progress, and new roots have seized
upon the new compost, water must be sparingly
applied ; and later when new pseudo-bulbs are
forming, water may be applied more freely till
flowering is over. One great point to be
especially observed in the cultivation of these
varieties of Cattleyas, is to encourage the
growth of roots in the early stages, by keeping
the potting material on the dry side and
afterwards pushing on the plants more rapidly
by applying water freely. I consider these
Cattleyas very desirable plants, especially
from the hybridist's point of view, affording
colours and combinations of colours, not
commonly found in other genera, and although
they have been imported in quantity from
time to time, good plants are still rare in
gardens ; but give a clear atmosphere and' not
allowing a useless string of pseudo-bulbs to
remain to rob the lead, but little difficulty
will be experienced in growing this section
successfully.

THE HABDT FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Mayne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Kolle,
Bicton. East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Forced Strawberries. — After these have been
hardened off in cold frames, they may be
planted in well-manured and deeply dug
ground at 2 feet apart, except Royal Sovereign,
which should be given 2-\ feet. If red-spider
infest the leaves, dip them in sulphury water
before planting, and make sure that the soil in
the pots is moist throughout. Plant firmly .tread-
ing the soil round the plants, and afford each
plant a depression for holding water. Royal
Sovereign, Vicomtesse Hericart du Thury, and
a few others will, if well cared for, ripen a
fair crop of fruit towards the end of the
summer, although such plants are weakened
by fruiting twice in a year, and are not very
productive the following year. On very light
or sandy soils the plants should be mulched ;
and unless runners are required for increase,
they should be removed. We take three crops
from our Strawberry- plants ere grubbing
them up, and plant several hundreds annually.
Established beds should be Dutch-hoed, in
order to kill small weeds before putting
on the mulch of long litter or clean oaten-
straw, two weeks previously to the plants
coming into flower.

Fru it-blossom.— At Bicton, the promise of
the fruit crops is a very good one, and given a
fairly mild time from now onwards, we shall
have abundant crops. In some districts the
severe frost registered on the 13th inst. will
have done much harm. The blossoms of the
Apple will soon be unfolding their petals, and
the larvse of the lackey-moth (Bombyx neustria)
should be causrht; The eggs are hatched
towards the end of April, and the larvse soon
spin a covering in which to shelter themselves.
The early morning hours, or damp days, afford
the best time to destroy these caterpillars,
which so soon devour the young foliage. The
webs should be squeezed between the hands,
or the insects shaken into a pail containing
fresh slaked lime or paraffin emulsion. The
trees should be examined once a week for these
depredators. The Apple-maggot, too, is often
to be found early in May, curled up in the
leaves or flowers, the latter soon turning brown
and withering. Hand-picking is the surest
remedy for both of these foes of the fruit-
grower. My remarks do not apply to orchard
trees, but to bush and espalier trees in the
garden. Where the spraying of the trees was

carried out in February, few if any of these
insects will be found now, though it is well
to make an inspection.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Doke of
Buccleuch. Dalkeith.

Earliest Fig-house. — The first crop of Figs
will now be ripening, demanding that the air
should be kept much drier, and less water
afforded at the roots — if in pots do not allow
them to get over-dry, and stay the usual
syringing. The second crop must at the same
time be considered, therefore the air must
not be permitted to get too dry, or red-spider
will attack the foliage to the detriment of the
succeeding crop of fruit.

Succession Fig-house. — If the borders are
well drained, shallow, and of very limited size,
as they should be, considerable quantities of
water should be afforded. Apply a dressing
of bone-meal or vine-manure, and mulch with
short, rich stable-dung, so as to induce sur-
face-rooting. Syringe the leaves morning and
afternoon, and maintain a moist atmosphere.
Let the shoots be thinned so that crowding
is avoided, and pinch the points of the shoots
that are retained at the fifth joint. The
degree of warmth afforded at night should be
60% and by day 70° to 75°.

Earliest Vinery. — Grapes now ripening should
be afforded more ventilation and less moisture
in the air, and the border having been afforded
water copiously before the Grapes began to
change colour, should require no more till they
are cut ; the borders being covered with spent
Mushroom-bed manure or hay. Let ventilation
at the top of the house be applied night and
day, the night temperature being kept at 60°.
Should red-spider show itself, coat the pipes
with lime-wash, having a good handful of
flowers-of-sulphur mixed with it, and make the
pipes very warm occasionally at night.

The Earliest Muscat Vinery. — The Grapes on
the "Vines that were started in the month of
January, although now of good size, wiU'con-
tinue to increase in size for a considerable
length of time, and the vinery should be kept
moist, with a temperature of 75° on mildniglits,
and on bright days one of 90% with sufficient
air to prevent scorching of the foliage. If the
borders are in good condition, water may be
freely applied with safety, and occasionally
weak manure-water.

Later Muscats. — If in flower, keep a night
temperature of 75% and one by day of 90° with
sunshine, plenty of moisture being distributed
about the vinery. These high temperatures,
together with abundant moisture in the air,
will aid in securing a good set ; still, it will be
advisable to go over the bunches and distri-
bute the pollen, and varieties that are deficient
in pollen may be pollinated with that of others.
Stop the shoots at the second bud beyond the
bunch, and retain one shoot to each spur.
Should Gros Colmar and Muscat of Alexandria
be growing together in the same vinery, the
leaves should be lightly shaded, more espe-
cially the former, by coating the glass on the
outside with a liquid shading.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Eael Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Evergreen Shrubs. — The transplanting of
Hollies, Yews, Euonymus, &c, should be
completed this month, young roots quickly
forming at this season. Before filling in the
soil entirely, dash water heavily among the
roots, then complete the filling in. Water must
be frequently applied to transplanted trees
until they are established. A mulching of
straw or rough stable-litter is also very
beneficial, and free use should be made of the
syringe or garden-engine on sunny days on
all such trees.

General operations. — The staking of the
flowers of the various bulbous plants, Hyacinths
in particular, will now require attention ; the
work should be neatly done, and the ties

April 26, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

275

consist of fine strips of raffia. If the beds or
groups can be afforded a light shade during
bright sunshine, the flowering period will be
considerably prolonged. The blooms of the
taller varieties of Tulips may also be secured
to neat sticks, and any odd varieties of Tulips
which may have got planted accidentally in
the beds, &c, should be removed, the va-
cancies thus caused being filled with plants of
similar colour;! grown in pots. This applies
more especially to geometrical beds and where
precision and formality predominate.

Clematis are plants of free growth, the tender
young shoots of which require to be fastened
up twice or more often in a week during the
growing season, in order to prevent them
getting into a tangle and being injured by wind.

Ageneral weeding of the garden paths may be
made at this season, removing every weed and
all moss. The grass-verges should be cut
anew, put straight, and made of the original
width if the deviation has become great. New
gravel may be spread, first picking up the
old and removing it if very dirty. Make
the new coating even and smooth, and apply
a heavy roller whilst the gravel is still moist,
or if it be dry apply water and roll the
next day. When no new gravel is put on
a walk, it will suffice to roll the gravel when
it is damp but not sticky, and in about six
weeks apply a weed-killer, which will have
the effect of freeing it from weeds throughout
.the season.

Nymphceas. — Most of these plants are com-
mencing to grow, and May is the best month
in which to plant them. Any pond with a depth
of from 2J to 3 feet of water suits these plants
admirably. They should at the first be planted
in shallow boxes with perforated sides, or in
wicker-baskets, in size according to that of the
plants, making use of a compost consisting of
rich loam, cow-manure, peat, and some char-
coal well mixed together. The boxes, &c,
should be sunk in the lake or pond in the
positions in which it is wished they should
become established. Those that are grown in
tubs or large pots in ornamental basins, may
by letting out the water be got at and be fresh
potted or re-tubbed when necessary, letting-
in the water immediately the operations are
finished.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By I. Turton, Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Beet. — Although early in May is quite soon
enough to sow Cheltenham Green Top, and
similar strong-growing Beets, such fine stocks
as Sutton's Blood Red and Veitch's Selected
require a longer season to grow the best-sized
roots, and seed should now be sown in drills
15 inches apart, dropping the seeds singly at
2 or 3 inches apart.

French Beans. — A sowing may now be made
on a warm border, but I prefer to sow at this
date in boxes, placing them in any warm house
or pit, with a temperature of about 55°, until
the seed has all germinated and the plants are
growing freely, when they .should be removed
toa cold pit or frame, and keptgrowing sturdily
until prospects of favourable weather after the
middle of May allow of them being planted
out. Afford water freely to succession crops
growing under glass, and in bright weather do
not spare the syringe. Another sowing should
be made in boxes, and brought on in the
forcing-house for planting in pits after Po-
tatos. These will afford a supply in June.

[Runner Beans. — A few days may bo gained
by making a sowing of these fori hwith in 0-inch
pots. Sow six Beans in a pot, and reduce
the plants to four in a pot before planting
them out, when hardened, in a trench at 1 foot
apart. The ground for Runner Beans cannot
be made too rich ; therefore, where trenched
ground is not available, take out a trench
18 inches wide and 2 feet deep, break up the
bottom with the digging-fork, and place on it
a good layer of well-rotted dung, and return
the soil. Where convenience for raising the
earliest crop in pots does not exist, select a
sheltered position and sow out-of-doors.

Vegetable-Marrows. — Sow the main crop of
these under hand-lights now, where they
are to be grown. In the south of England at
least it is unnecessary to make elaborate
preparations for growing Vegetable- Marrows.
My practice is to grow them where the frame
"Violets have been grown all the winter on
spent hot-beds, no further preparation of the
beds being necessary after the Violets are
cleared off than to level the soil. Place the
hand-lights about 0 feet apart, and sow four
seeds in each to ensure getting two plants.
Pen-y-bryd is very prolific, but I prefer good
strains of Long White and Long Green.

Celery. — Prepare well-rotted stable-dung,
the greater proportion of which should be drop-
pings, for digging into the trenches. To every
six wheelbarrow loads of the manure add
14 lb. of agricultural salt. Mix these well
together, and put the compost where it may
be kept as moist as possible until required for
use. Assuming that the ground now occupied
with Brussels Sprouts is to be the site of
the Celery crop, directly the Brussels Sprout
stems are of no further service, pull them up,
level the ridges, and clear the land of weeds,
&c. Then apply a dressing of air-slaked lime
in dry weather, just sufficient to cover the
ground evenly all over.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Muxdt, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Caladinms. — Plants started in small pots
as advised some weeks ago will now be
ready for their last re-potting. The compost
should consist of turfy loam one-third, and
the rest turfy peat, leaf-mould, and sand
in equal proportions, together with a sprink-
ling of small crocks and charcoal. In order
to induce vigorous root-action, some pulver-
ised cow-dung should be mixed with the
whole. No water should be afforded for
several days after shifting the plants. Some
light shade may be required for a short time
if the weather be sunny. A humid atmosphere
and stove temperature should be afforded,
closing early, and syringing heavily with soft
water.

Colens. — Repot these plants before they
become pot-bound, and place in a light house,
affording plenty of warmth and atmospheric
moisture. Here the plants will grow rapidly,
and acquire brightness of leaf-colouring.

Rhododendrons. — Greenhouse and warm-
house Rhododendrons may be potted if they
require it ; but as these plants can be grown
and kept in health for some years without
repotting them annually, a top-dressing, if it
can be applied, consisting of a mixture of peat,
turfy loam, and sand maybe applied, first
removing some of the inert soil.

Genistas. — The latest flowering batch of
Genistas will now be going over, and as the
conditions of the ordinary conservatory are
unsuitable for any lengthy stay therein,
remove them to a light and airy pit, slightly
reducing the amount of water afforded at the
root, and prune the shoots according to the
season when they are wanted in flower. As
Genistas are apt to get infested with rod-
spider whilst resting, the syringe should be
freely used, and on mild nights the lights
should be removed.

Cadi as a genus are neglected plants, though
they have strong claims to the attention of
gardeners. Repotting is often neglected,
because they do not readily show signs of
neglect. The present is the best season for
repotting any that made poor growth last
year, although if the plants show numerous
flower-buds it will bo better to wait till the
flowering is over. The proper kind of soil
consists of loam, broken brick, and mortar-
rubble, with a lit (lepeatfor some ol the specie^.
After repotting, very little, water will lie
required for a considerable time ; and it is
with this idea that some gardeners put them in

shady positions for a li Large shifts do

not favour flowering.

Seeds of Primula sinensis should be sown for
early flowering, but the chief- sowing should
not be made till May. The seed germinates
freely in a temperature of from 55° to 60°.

Celosia pyramidalis, Cockscombs, and Balsams.
— Seeds may be sown for succession, and early
batches of the last two may be repotted, keep-
ing the plants low in the pots, and using a rich
soil. Where Campanula pyramidalis is grown,
it will be found that seeds sown now are more
likely to flower next year than those from
seeds sown later in the year ; and this applies
especially to low-lying and cold gardens in
which the progress of the young plants is slow.

THE APIARY.

By Expert.

Bee-keepers will now find plenty of work to
do in the apiary, and everything needful should
be done without delay. Have the various
articles in good order, and in their proper
places, so that you will not have to search for
them later on. All stocks should be very care-
fully examined, and a note taken of the con-
dition of each. A careful bee-keeper will
put a number or a letter on his stocks. In
examining the hives, choose a nice warm day,
or the brood will perchance get chilled on a
cold day. I would strongly advise beginners to
go to work very carefully, with a " smoker "
handy, veil and scraping-knife, and a bird's
wing or a small brush ; the former preferably,
as it is stiff, and the bees are not so likely to
attach themselves to it; — a goose- wing answers
well. In examining the hive, draw back the
dummy-board very quietly, so as not to cause
any jarring, then withdraw each frame care-
fully from the back, and take away any frame
that is very dirty or weak in itself, as new
frames are now so very cheap, viz., one penny
each, that it is a pity to have a frame that
cannot stand the weight of the comb and
honey, which will often weigh from 6 to 7 lb. ;
the very dirty old combs should be cut out and
placed in the receiver for boiling down into
wax later on, when convenient. After the
frames are removed from the front, scrape the
bottom of the hive and the sides, withdrawing
the rubbish with the wing or scraper, and
replace the frames. In the centre of the
brood-chamber, insert a new frame, with a full
sheet or two of foundation, if the stock is
strong enough to require more space for breed-
ing ; also uncap one or two of the frames that
contain honey, to enable the bees to breed
more rapidly. Wax moths should be destroyed,
and a littlenaphthaline placed in the back of
the hive, then replace the quilt, and cover up-
warmly ; and above all, take note of its condi-
tion, for if No. 1, say, contains ten frames, the
bees strong, and the queen young, so many new
frames inserted, looked through on such and
such a date, and you may then see at a glance
how each stock has advanced when you next go
to them. Every weak stock should be fed with,
syrup, but not rapidly, or the bees will often
draw out drone comb. The state of the hive
itself should also be noted, and all necessary
repairs done to it.

Sections and Crates. — In folding sections,
care should be exercised, otherwise a great
proportion of them will get broken ; they
should be turned very carefully, and with
clean hands, as the slightest dirty mark will
show on them, and to a certain extent takeaway
from the value of the section. Old and dirty
sections should not be used in any case, and the
sections should be kept as square as possible,
or trouble will arise in packing, as the section
which is not square will often get its sides
broken, and the honey will run over the others
anil spoil them; and again, dealers will not put
up with the trouble of cleaning them, when
plenty el' clean sections can he obtained else-
where. The crates should all be scraped, and,
if possible, boiled in soda-water to remove any
possible chanco of disease, great ea re in this
respect often saving the lie. ^,-i-eal

deal of trouble and unnecessary expense.
Everything should now be got ready for
emergencies.

276

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 26, 1902.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER,

Letters for Publication, as well as specimens and plants

for naming, should be addressed to the EDITOR,

41, Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London,

Communications should be written on one side only of
the paper, sent as early in the week as possible, and duly
iigned by the writer. If desired, the signature will not be
printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF MAY.

THURSDAY. May 1— Linnean Society Meeting.

/ Royal Botanic Society's Meet.
\ Socicte Francaise d'Hort. de
SATURDAY, May 3( Londres Meeting.

J Germ;i ii Gardeners' Society,
, London, Meeting.

t Chambre Syndicale des Hort.
i Beiges, Meeting, at Ghent.

("Royal Horticultural Society's
„| Committees Meet.
| Scottish Horticultural Associa-
(. tion'd Meeting.

k Royal Caledonian Horticul-
:-' tural Society's Show (two
( days).

SUNDAY, May

TUESDAY, MAY-

WEDNESDAY. May
THURSDAY, May

SATURDAY, May 17

MONDAY, MAY

TUESDAY. May

WEDNESDAY, May

SATURDAY, May

TUESDAY. May 25

I Royal Gardeners' Orphan Fund,
8-! Annual Dinner at the Hotel
\ Cecil.

f Whitsuntide Exhibition at Old
Trafford, Manchester, opens,
continuing until 22nd inst.
German Gardeners Society,
( Meeting.
19— Whit Monday, Bank Holiday.
,,n t Royal Horticultural Society's
( Committees Meet.

WEDNESDAY. MAY 28

.Royal Botanic Society's Meet.
. ) General Exhibition of the So-
1 ciete Nationale d'Hort. de
(. France (six days).

, > Linnean Society (Anniversary
| Meeting).

/Kew Guild Annual General
\ Meeting and Dinner.
' Bath and West and Southern
J Counties Society's Show at
'. Plymouth (five days).

Royal Horticultural Society's
Show in the Temple Gardens,
Thames Embankment (three
days).

Annual Dinner of the Gar-
deners' Royal Benevolent
Institution, at the Hotel
Metropole.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

TUESDAY. April 29—

Perennial Plauts, Ferns, and General Decorative
Plants, at Pollexfen and Co.'s Rooms.

TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY, April 29&30-

Hackbridge Collection of Orchids of the late Dr.
Smee, at t>7 & 68, Cheapside, by Protheroe & Morris,
at 12.30.

WEDNESDAY, April 30—

Palms, Ferns, Liliums, &c, at 67 & 68, Cheapside, by
Protheroe and Morris, at 12.— Palms, Decorative
Plants Carnations, Perennials, at Stevens' Rooms.

THURSDAY, MAY 1—

Plants at Pollexfen and Co.'s Rooms.— Established
Orchids, by order of the Exors. of Mr. T. Rochford,
at K7 & H8, Cheapside, by Protheroe and Morris, at
1230.

FRIDAY, May 2—

Imported and established Orchids, at i)7 & H8,
Cheapside. by Protheroe and Morris, at 12.3U.
( For farther particulars see our Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
- 50 7'.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— April 23 (6 p.m.) : Max. 62°; Min. 43".

Wind, S.W. ; weather fine.
Provinces.— April 23 (6 p.m.) : Max. R6°, Ipswich ;
Min. 4*v\ Aoerdeen.

Those of our readers who are
The Chelsea . ... ... ,, . , .

Physic Garden, familiar with the interesting

history of the physic-garden
at Chelsea, and of the important educa-
tional work that was formerly carried out
in connection with its management, will
be glad to know that the renovations fore-
shadowed in these pages on August 25,
1900, p. 150, are now nearing completion.
It is most gratifying to know that the old
garden will shortly become once again ;i
centre for the diffusion of botanical know-

ledge. In the work of re-organisation, the
needs of the following classes of student shave
been studied : 1 , medical students ; "2, univer-
sity students in general botany ; -'i, secondary
school classes ; 4, polytechnic students ; .">,
elementary schools. No general rules as to
the admittance of students have yet been
framed, but it is hoped that this matter
will be dealt with at an early date.
Excepting a long house in a shady part
on the western side of the gardeD, all
the old glasshouses have been removed, and
a new range built upon a different site.
A small piece of ground on the north side
has been sold to the parish authorities for
the purpose of widening the road, and all
of the new buildings have been erected up
to the new line thus formed. These include
a fine two-storied building which provides a
large laboratory on the ground floor, and a
lecture-room over this. Each of these rooms
measures forty feet by twenty- six feet, thus
giving a superficial floor area of one thousand
and forty feet ; and allowing five feet for
each person, there is accommodation for
seating £00 persons. The laboratory is to be
used continuously for research work under
the direction of Prof. Farmer. There are
also several private laboratories, a dark room
for micro - photography, an office for the
Curator. &c. Adjoining this building is a
new dwelling-house for the Curator, Mr.
William Hales, late of the Royal Gar-
dens, Kew. and of the Birmingham Bo-
tanic Gardens. It is likely that the
dwelling-house will be ready for habita-
tion in a month's time or less. Beyond
the dwelling-house a corridor has been
built alongside the wall, and from this open
out three span-roofed houses each twenty feet
long. All of these are now filled with plants,
but some of them will be replaced by others
more instructive as time proceeds. Even-
tually the collection will comprise medicinal,
economic, and botanical species, and space
will be found only for such as will be of
service to the student, or are intended for
use in experiments. In addition there
are two span -roofed, sunken pits, with
pathways in them, and several frames. It
will be found when everything is completed
that no pains have been spared by Pro-
fessor Farmer and his committee to ob-
tain efficiency in every detail. The fittings
of the laboratories, lecture-room, dwelling-
house, and hot-houses, have received very
great consideration, and they are the best
that could be got for the various purposes.
Messrs. Foster & Pearson, who have built
the glasshouses, and provided the heating
apparatus, may be congratulated on the
manner in which they have adapted the
houses to the circumstances of the place.
The methods of affording ventilation are of
the simplest, yet most efficient and easy of
application, and the whole of the woodwork
being of teak, it may be expected to last a
considerable time.

This small, enclosed garden of rather less
than four acres looks very beautiful in the
summer-time. Its essentially urban character
renders the cultivation of evergreens well-
nigh impossible, but plants that make their
growth during the summer, and then die
away to a root - stock, a bulb, or a tuber,
succeed well enough.

The Curator has the greatest difficulty in
keeping the turf good through the winter,
and it i- found that new turves from the
country depreciate very much more than

grass which has Ir.-en upon the place some
years, from which the more tender species
perhaps have gradually died out. The old
turf appears to consist chiefly of species of
Pestuca.

The important work of re-stocking the
garden with a collection of plants has been
helped recently by Messrs. Jas.Veitch& Sons,
of the Royal Exotic Nurseries, Chelsea, who
have presented a collection of some 200
hardy flowering shrubs. The Curator would
be glad to receive any interesting botanical
plants from our readers wTho may be able to
spare specimens.

Linnean Society. — On the occasion of the
evening meeting to be held on Thursday,
May 1, 1902, at 8 r.M., the following papers
will be read: — 1. Dr. Elliot Smith, on "The
Mammalian Cerebellum," with special refer-
ence to the Lemurs ; 2. Dr. Elliot Smith, on
" The Brain of the Elephant Shrew, Macrosce-
lides proboscideus " ; 3. Dr. K. Brown, on
"The early Condition of the Shoulder Girdle
in the Polyprotodont Marsupials, Dasyurus
and Perameles."

The Surveyors' Institution : Annual
Dinner. — Notice is particularly called to the
annual Dinner of the Institution, on Wednes-
day, May 7. The Right Hon. Walter H. Long,
M.P., President of the Local Government
Board; the Right Hon. R. W. Hanbury, M.P.,
President of the Board of Agticulture; the
Right Hon. Jesse Collings, M.P., Earl Beau-
champ, the Hon. Mr. Justice Wright, and
many other distinguished guests have accepted
the Council's invitation, and it is hoped that
a large number of members 'will assemble to
meet them. Members' dinner tickets (price
£1 Is. each, including wine), and visitors'
tickets (price £1 10s. each), to be paid for on
application, may be obtained at the Institution.

Royal Society of Horticulture and
Agriculture of Antwerp. — A horticultural
exhibition will be held in the Palais des Fetes
of the Royal Zoological Society on Saturday,
April 26, from 3 to 6 p.m., and on Sunday, 27th,
and Monday, 28th, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Lake at Buckingham Palace.— The
King, attended by Viscount Esher, Permanent
Secretary of the Office of Works, and Captain
Holford, spent some time in the grounds of
Buckingham Palace the other day, and in-
spected the various improvements made there.
The ornamental lake in particular has been
extensively altered. Itwas a large basin with
a total depth of about 7 feet at the lowest
point, and had sides sloping inward at a very
sharp angle. As a much shallower depth
■would be safer, and ample for ornamental
purposes, and equally effective for boating,
about 3 feet of the banks have been razed off,
and the surrounding lawns treated in pro-
portion. The fountain in the centre has been
removed. The lake is supplied by gravitation
from the Serpentine. The grounds surrounding
the lake have also undergone changes, some
old and palpably dangerous Elms having been
removed, and young trees planted in their .
places.

Spring Flowers at Belvoir Castle
Gardens. — We hear from His Grace's gar-
dener, Mr. Divers, that the flowers in the
Duke of Rutland's gardens at Belvoir are
opening quickly, and will be at their best from
April 28 to May 12. The collection has been
much improved and extended during the last
six years. The flower-gardens are open to the
public free daily ; orders for admission are

April 26, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

277

not required. Mr. Divers is always pleased
to meet any visitors who may be interested in
spring gardening.

Spring-flowering Magnolias. — If desti-
tute of the splendid foliage and delicious
perfume of the evergreen species, the de-
ciduous kinds, by the profusion of their
beautiful flowers, make ample amends. We
have before us, from Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons,
a box containing specimens of various hardy
species on which a few words may be accept-
able. Taking the specimens as they come, the
first we notice is — ■

M. stellata, also known as Halleana.— A species
with snow-white flowers about :i inches across, witli
numerous rather thin linear or linear -oblong flat
petals, slightly recurving, and all of about equal length.
This is of Japanese origin. A variety with the petals
lightly tinged with rosy-lilac is the var. rosea. The
flowers are somewhat smaller than tho^e of the type,
tout the lovely rosy flush compensates for any loss of
size. The anthers are pale. The species is a native of
Japan.

M. conspicua, or M. Yulan. has snow-white flowers
nearly 3 inches long, with broad, oblong, obovate, or
spoon shaped, snow-white, thick petals ; the outer or
lowermost being shorter than the inner ones. The
anthers are pale red. It is a native of Japan and
China.

M. speciosa nova is one of the conspicua group, and
has turbinate flowers about 3 inches long, with thick,
broad, oblong, obtuse, erect petals, white flushed with
lilac.

M. alba sufekba is another of the conspicua group,
with top-shaped flowers 3 inches long, with broad,
obovate, white petals, slightly flushed with lilac at the
base.

M. Soulangeana is a hybrid between M. obovata aud
M. conspicua. The flowers are over 3 inches loug, top-
shaped, the lower petals shorter than the upper:
oblong, obovate, spoon - shaped, very thick ; white,
■flushed with deep lilac at the base and along the
nerves. The anthers are reddish.

M. Soulangeana nigea.— Flowers nearly 5 inches
long, deep rosy-purple ; petals oblong, obovate, con-
cave, coloured on both surfaces, paler on the inner
side ; anthers and stigmas dark coloured. A form
remarkable for its intensely dark purple or crimson
flowers. The petals are longer, rather more acutely
pointed, more tapering at the base, and of thinner
texture than in the type.

M. Alexandrina is evidently a form of Soulangeana,
but the petals are more deeply tinted with rosy-lilac.

M. rustica Ft, rdtiuo has almost globular flowers
4 inches long, with very broad, obovate, almost
orbicular, hooded petals of thick substance, and deep
aosy-lilac colour on the outer surface; white, within
the anthers are rosy.

M. Lenne has flowers nearly4 inches long, top-shaped,
with nearly equal petals broadly obovate, hooded,
deeply rosy - lilac outside, white within ; anthers
purplish. This is also a seedling from Soulangeana.

Since the above notes were written, we have
received flowers of M. Lenne, M. Alexandrina,
M. conspicua, and M. stellata; also of Spiraea
Thunbergi, from the nurseries of Messrs. Thos.
CRIPP8 & Son, Tunbridge Wells.

Fruit and Jams.— Now that food stuffs are
being attended to by the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, it is interesing to note how many
-subjects one special tax may bring within its
malevolent influence. Take as instance the
impost known as the Sugar Tax— it lays hold
of fruit, such as peel, candied and strained,
orange marmalade, fruit jams, fruit jellies,
cocoanut confectionery, aud crystallised fruit ;
canned and bottled fruits, fruit pulp, Tamarinds,
preserved ginger. &e. The same may be
noted in regard to grain and flour; flour
•enters into the composition of a long series of
.manufactured articles in daily use.

Eugene Verdier. — The death of this
famous rosarian at the age of 75, is announced.

The " Hurst and Son " Musical Society's
Smoking Concert.— We are requested to
state that this event will take place at the
London Tavern, Fenchurch Street, E.C., on
Wednesday, the 30th inst., EhW.vui) SHERWOOD,
Esq., in the Chair. A varied programme has

been arranged. Tickets Is. each, may be
obtained from the Hon. Sec. (F. Washington),
152, Houndsditch, London, E.

Thames Bank Iron Company. — This firm
entertained its staff and employes at dinner on
Saturday last, at Anderton's Hotel, Fleet
Street, to celebrate the admission of Mr.
Alfred J. Bakbr as a partner in the business.

Chrysanthemum Pictures. — We have re-
ceived from Mr. W. J. Godfrey, of the
Exmouth Nurseries, Devonshire, a sheet
30 inches long and 20 inches wide, bearing
coloured representations of four of the Ex-
mouth seedlings shown for the first time
during last season. These are Masterpiece,
Exmouth Crimson, Sensation, and Godfrey's
Pride. The smallest flower measures 8 inches
by 9 inches, and the largest, that of Godfrey's
Pride, 9| inches by 10 inches. From speci-
mens of the varieties noticed by ourselves at
the exhibitions in November last, we have
every reason to accept the pictures as repre-
senting the exact size of the flowers por-
trayed. In the colours also, the reproductions
very closely approach the natural, so that it
would be impossible to get a better idea of
what these novelties are like than is afforded.
Mr. Godfrey has experienced unusually good
fortune recently in the raising of seedlings,
and seldom indeed can a cultivator hope to
secure such a number of first class novelties
as were shown from Exmouth last season. The
very showy sheet now before us will mark this
extra good fortune, and it will also be of per-
manent value, as showing in future years some
of the best Japanese Chrysanthemums in 1902.
The illustrations are the work of Messrs.
Blake & Mackenz.e, Liverpool.

A Combined Show in Edinburgh.— There
is to be held in Edinburgh, on July 16 next,
a large exhibition of Roses, Carnations, Sweet
Peas, flowers of hardy perennial plants, fruits,
and vegetables, under the combined manage-
ment of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural
Society and the Scottish Horticultural Asso-
ciation. Since 1889, when the Royal Cale-
donian Horticultural Society discontinued its
series of summer shows, there has been no
attempt made to hold a large exhibition earlier
than September, though small ones have taken
place for several years under the auspices of
the Scottish Horticultural Association. Now
that these two powerful societies have agreed
to unite their forces to secure a larger display
in the present year, success may be confidently
predicted. The show will be held in the Music
Hall, George Street, and entries should be
made, not later than July 12, to the Secretary
of either Society.

Peach-Tomato. — This is the subject of a
coloured illustration and description by Prof.
RODIOAS in the March number of the Bulletin
&' Arboriculture, &c. The fruit is of medium
size ; the skin resembles that of a Poach ; the
form is globular, slightly furrowed, the colour
reddish : the flavour is agreeable, and the
cropping qualities satisfactory.

Hybrid Phloxes.— M. Charles Pynabrt

brings to remembrance the fact that the Duke
of BRABANT and the Count of FLANDERS raised
various hybrid Phloxes at Laeken, and one of
these, Phlox Drummondi var. Leopoldi, was
figured in Pavton's Magazine of Botany, in
1818.

Publications Received. — siMy* Quarterly,

Spring Number. An illustrated journal of country
and home life, full of Information on agricultural
topics, and abundantly Illustrated In black and
white ;md in colours. — Tht Tropical Agrteullurttt,
Mar.ii, Includes papers on : Tea-growing In Ceylon,
Camphor, 4c.; reports of the meeting* Ol various

companies, and notes aud extracts concerning Coffee,
Rubber. Oranges, Tobacco, Cacao, and similar crops.
— The Journal of Agriculture of Victoria, February.
Contents; Field Experiments for 1901, Treatment of
Vintage by Diffusion, P. Andrieu ; American Vines and
Hints for the Vintage, R. Dubois ; The Orchard, C B.
Huffman ; Vegetable Garden and Hardy Fruit Garden,
C. B. Luffman ; Arc. — Journal of the Department of Agri-
culture of Western Australia, February. Among the
contents are articles on ; Scale on Oranges and Lemons,
Lotus australis as a Poison-plant, Acetylene Gas-lamps
for Trapping Insects, &c. — The Canadian Horticulturist,
March. Contents : The Cranberry Pippin, Spraying,
Forming the Tree-top, Fertility of Orchards, Straw-
berries for Exhibition, Greenhouse and Window Gar-
dening, and Gooseberry Cultivation.— Cultures Sptfciales :
Plantes vivacee de Pleine Teire et Plantes de Serres (Cata-
logue). F. Gerbeaux, 1, Rue de Ruisseau, Nancy,
France.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

the hall. — Will you allow me through the
medium of your journal to express the great
satisfaction I feel at the successful launch of
the Vincent Square scheme ? It is a central and
easily accessible spot, and will, I am convinced,
prove a prime solution of a long - cherished
problem. As a member of the R.H.S., I believe
I only echo the opinion of most Fellows if I
add that the scheme reflects credit on all con-
cerned, and not the least on the "country
parson," whose skilful steering has so largely
contributed to the Society's success. The
Vincent Square scheme is but the result of
long years of patient effort, and not a few of
those years were, let us not forget it, years of
discouragement. I hope, therefore, that amid
the plaudits which are heard on every hand,
we shall not forget how much is due to the
"man at the wheel." But some will say —
" What about that £25,000 ? I think it ought
to be an article of faith with us all not to
touch a farthing of the reserve-fund. I believe
there will be no difficulty whatever in raising
the money. Our show at the Palace this year
ought to be a " crowning " one, if, as I ven-
ture to predict, the whole sum will be sub'
scribed by the time that comes round. May I
suggest that the names of our 0000 Fellows be
sorted out under their various localitieo, and
this geographical analysis be issued with as
little delay as possible to each centre — not
large centres, the smaller the better ; take a
town or village, and include all the Fellows
within a mile or so, that is to say, within easy
distance, and get one to act as local secretary,
and engineer the subscription list. This will
organise the Fellows, and for the objects of
the organisation, I hope they will prove
" jolly good Fellows." There are some noble-
men and gentlemen round here, and it is the
same in other places, who do not belong to
the Society, and one especially with a grand
old garden whose head gardener, an intelligent
Scotchman, laments his master not belonging
to the R.H.S., so as to procure him a look at
our excellent journal. This gardener has four
sufficient (young) reasons for not subscribing
the guinea himself. Ought not gardeners of
subscribers to be admissible at a half-guinea ?
T. IK E.

dual perfume in flowers. — Different
odours in varieties of the same species have
often been remarked by me, and occasionally
marked differences in the odour of the flowers
of the same plant, such as is remarked on in
the Gardeners' Chronicle, at p. 262 of last issue,
and also previously. But the most marked
instance about which I have not the slightest
doubt, occurred in the case- of one of tho
earliest examples of Odontoglossum hebraicum
Rchb. f., which 1 flowered, which passed into
the collection of Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart.,
and was, I believe, illustrated in the Gar-
deners' Chronicle. When its flowers expanded,
I tested it for odour, expecting to find the
strong Hawthorn scent of the section to
which it belongs. I found it to be Cinna-
mon - scented, and found tho same odour
when tested again by myself and by others.
When the plant went to sir Trevor Ijvw-
rence's, I advised the late Mr. Spyers, his
Orchid grower, "f its strange odour, aud ho

278

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 26, 1902.

promised to report on it when next it flowered.
It flowered again, and Mr. Spyers told me that
its odour was of Hawthorn. It flowered once
more, and the scent was said to be that of
Hawthorn, the same as the then better known
O. x Andersonianum, under which O. x hebrai-
cum is now included. But, on its flowering
the third time in the Burford collection, Mr.
Spyers, mindful of its supposed eccentricity,
tested it again, and found it to have a distinct
Cinnamon odour, and in order to make sure got
the opinion of others. I remember his report
well : " You were quite right about the
hebraicum this time, it smells like Cinnamon
and nothing else!" How it behaved after-
wards I do not know. James O'Brien.

LlLlUM giganteum.— At the time I was an
apprentice at Innes House gardens, about five
miles from Elgin in Morayshire, there was a
fancy bee-hive, having a southern exposure,
and in front of this a bed containing three
large clumps of Lilinm giganteum, which
flowered strongly and abundantly each of the
four years I remained at the place. The soil
was rather poor and sandy. In winter the
Lilies were covered about 0 inches deep with
spent hot-bed manure. At the beginning of
April this manure was dug into the soil around
the Lilies, and formed the only nourishment
afforded them. Since that time I have been
unsuccessful in my attempts to cultivate this
noble Lily at a place near Dundee, and in
Northumberland. W. J. Simpson, The Orange
Gardens, Sutton.

CARNATION BEAUTE INCONSTANTE.— Ill con-
nection with the discussion on winter-flower-
ing Carnations, a variety called Beaute Incon-
stante may be mentioned, which possesses so
many good qualities along with very attrac-
tive coluoring, that those gardeners who
have to provide a constant supply of bloom
might do worse than add it to their collections.
It is really a yellow-ground, but the yellow is
generally so little apparent that the effect of
the bloom is rosy-crimson, varying in tint
according to whether the flower opens in mid-
winter or later, when there is more light. The
plant is floriferous, and the blooms are of me-
dium size, perfect in form, with a good calyx.
R, P. Brotherston, Tyninghame. [A flower
kindly sent by our correspondent is of a lively
tint such as he describes : petals long, spatu-
late, and not numerous. Ed.]

ASH AND LARCH ON THE CHALK.— Would Mr.

J. Simpson specify a few places on the high-
lying chalk downs of Wiltshire where Ash and
Larch of luxuriant growth can be seen. " Not
far from Tisbury," is rather vague, as, unless
the geological survey maps are wrong, Tisbury
is two or three miles from the chalk. I have
been living on the edge of the Wiltshire
downs for the last ten years, and cannot re-
member seeing either of these trees growing
rapidly after the first ten or fifteen years on
typical down land. That they grow well on
the chalk is well known, but to produce
a luxuriant growth different conditions to
those prevailing on the high-lying, wind-
swept downs must be present. These condi-
tions may often exist in the valleys and on the
lower slopes of the hills, but although such
localities are on the chalk, they cannot be
termed "high-lying chalk downs" anymore
than the black-hearted Ash they produce can
be termed " best." .1. C. Forbes.

GLOXINIAS. — If your correspondent, G. H.
Westlake, will turn to p. 205, he will find he
has made a mistake in attributing the article
on Gloxinias to me. I had not read the article
until I saw Mr. Westlake's remarks ; but on
reference to what has been written, I must
say that I fully endorse Mr. Hopkins' opinion
with regard to growing Gloxinias under cool
treatment. I have had some experience in
growing these showy flowering plants, and I
know that they make luxuriant growth and
flower well under the treatment suggested by
Mr. Westlake. But take them out of the house
for decorations or for exhibition, and they
will be found of no use whatever ; while those
grown under cool treatment, though not
making such rapid growth, will with good

treatment flower equally well, and the flowers
and foliage will be of good substance, and will
last well even in a cool conservatory or for
house decoration. I have seen plants which
have been grown on under cool treatment
continue to flower when taken indoors
for house decoration, while those grown
in heat vanish in a few days. Glox-
inias do not like a cold, draughty position,
or an excessively dry atmosphere, but they
may be grown successfully under much cooler
conditions than are generally advocated, and
if this fact was better understood they would
be more appreciated, and many who are afraid
to attempt their culture would succeed. The
main points being careful attention to water-
ing, moist surroundings, full exposure to
light, and plenty of air, without exposure to
direct draught, a rich compost, and a liberal
supply of liquid manure as soon as the pots
are filled with roots. A. Hemsley.

CASSIA CORYMBOSA AT TREGYE, CORNWALL.

—The noble appearance and fine pictorial
effect of this flowering shrub, as shown by the
illustration in the Gardeners' Chronicle for
April 12, go to show how well this Cassia, as
a wall-plant, succeeds in Cornwall when well
cared for. At the end of August last year' I
had, through the kindness of the Hon. John
Boscawen, the opportunity of visiting Tregye,
and seeing the fine specimen figured ; and
although it may have been a little past its best
at that date, it still formed a beautiful object,
almost every branch being wreathed with its
yellow-coloured flowers, and the plant the
pink of health. I incline to the belief that
the border in which the plant is growing con-
sists chiefly of turfy loam of medium texture,
but whether there had been any preparation
of the soil previous to planting I am unable to
say. It would be interesting to learn from
Mr. Boscawen his method of treatment with
reference to pruning, and the kind of soil ; also
if any protection is afforded the plant in severe
weather, and the severest frosts that have
been registered at Tregye without injury to
the plant. On the same site, Plumbago ca-
pensis and Asparagus tenuissimus were in a
satisfactory condition. H. Markham.

tomato disease. — In a recent issue of
Gardeners' Chronicle, Mr. Miles said he grows
200 plants in the open air and keeps the soil
dryish in order to combat the disease; also
that drjness at the roots is not injurious to
the plants. But how is it possible for the
blossom to set when the plants are dry at the
roots ? My experience shows that disease
will attack the plants sooner under glass than
outside. I believe the chief causes of the
disease are as follows : (1), growing the plants
in soil which has carried Tomatos before ; (2),
over-crowding the plants ; (3), dampness in
the air and insufficient ventilation ; (4), exces-
sive use of animal manures. I have grown
hundreds of plants and have never lost one
from disease. I always use good, mellow,
turfy loam, and mix a little cow-manure with
it, and stack the whole for nearly twelve
months. I quite agree with Mr. Miles that it
is a good plan to mix burnt refuse with the
soil, and it is necessary to have the soil near
to the light. I use soot-water two or three
times a week when the fruits are set, besides
cow and stable-manure water, [and have had
splendid crops. Thos. Hicks, The Gardens, The
Beeches, Spondon, Derby.

THE SHREWSBURY GRAPE PRIZES. — In your

last two issues there have been communications
on the Shrewsbury grape prizes, one from the
champion grape-growers of the south, and one
from the champion of the north — Mr. Goodacre
and Mr. Kirk respectively. This competition
will certainly be of an international character,
creating the keenest rivalry between England
and Scotland ; and it is to be hoped that it
will be as great a success as it deserves to be.
Mr. Kirk points out or suggests to the donors
of the book given as a 2nd prize that if
the winner is already in possession of this
work, money in lieu thereof, and equal in
value, should be substituted for it. This is
but a reasonable suggestion, and one to which

the donors will doubtless give their considera-
tion. Mr. Goodacre's reference to this is a
new one to me. While I was an under gar-
dener I had much to do with grape-showing
and prize-taking for many years, but never
had the good fortune to serve a master so con-
siderate and liberal as Mr. Goodacre, who
gives the prizes he has no need of to his under
gardeners. I am surprised that such a veteran
prize-taker as Mr. Goodacre should lose heart
already, and begin to apologise for the Cup
going again to Scotland. For my part I am>
not so certain that the 1st prize will cross
the border this time ; at all events, it will be-
soon enough to make excuses after and not
before that event takes place. The com-
petitors either in England or Scotland who
will be enabled to enter for the prizes will not
be affected in the least degree by either the
London " season " or the Scottish grouse
season — twelve bunches only being required.
Seeing that this competition will be judged by
points, I think that a discussion on some
common principles which ought to govern the
judging of Grapes by points would be of
interest and practical use. D. B.

THOROUGHLY HARDY BAMBOOS. — All of the

Bamboos here have withstood the winter very
well. Phyllostachys Henonis, P. Boryana, P.
Quilloi, P. rugosa, and P. viridi-glaucescens
are quite uninjured, and some of these plants
are exposed to easterly winds. The same may
be said of Arundinaria japonica. These are
specially to be recommended for their hardiness-
and for the way in which they retain the green
colour of the foliage throughout the winter. P.
aurea is unhurt where sheltered, but the foliage
is browned where exposed to cold winds. This.
I am told, happens even in its native country.
When planting Bamboos, the provision of
shelter from north and easterly winds is of
great importance, the foliage will often with-
stand sharp frost unscathed in the absence of
wind, when it will not if both aie experienced
at the same time. J. G., Batsford Gardens.

NARCISSUS telamonius. — The double-
flowering form of this plant is common enough.
in many old-fashioned gardens, and of late
years has received some attention from the
market growers and others, having proved1
valuable for early forcing ; but the single
variety is in my opinion far superior, although
for some reason it has not found favour with
the growers and salesmen. I found a quantity
of it growing here mixed with the double form in

1894, and was told it had been brought in 1886
from an old cottage garden where it had
been much neglected. I had them lifted in

1895, and a dozen plants of the single form
were planted by themselves. For a year or two
they gave nothing but single flowers ; they
have now increased largely, and this season
bear 164 flowers, five of which have come-
double, there are therefore 164 flowering bulbs,
now, besides a quantity of small ones, which
is a good increase in six years, as they have-
only been transplanted once during that time.
The first flowers opened here this season oi>
March 22, while N. princeps growing close by-
did not open until March 29 ; it is altogether a
better plant than N. princeps, being much
more floriferous, of a better colour, and wider-
in the chalice, which is also much reflexed.
\Y. H. Divers, Belvoir Castle Gardens, Grantltam.

A HEAVY TOMATO FRUIT.
In fig. 87, p. 279, we have reproduced a
photograph kindly sent us by a correspondent
at Bristol, of a Tomato fruit weighing
1 lb. 10 oz. It was grown in Mr. Burgess'
Tomato-house at Knowle, and three other-
fruits obtained from the same plant, together
weighed 4 lb. 6 oz. Our correspondent has
omitted to furnisli us with the name of the-
variety, but it will be seen that the fruit has
a tolerably even form. Last season Mr.
Burgess' total crop was more than two tons
and a half. Such mammoth fruits as that
illustrated, would be of very little use for the
supply of the market, for the purchaser who-
requires, say li lb. of Tomatos, expects to get
at least, some whole fruits!

April 26, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

279

Societies,

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.

-April 22 —There was another crowded meeting at the
Drill Hall, Buckingham Gate, Westminster, on Tuesday
last.

The National Auricula and Primula Society's
Show necessitated the use of two of the three long
cental tables, and a large amount of space was occu-
pied by the numerous and splendid exhibits of Nar-
cissus, including those shown for the award of a Silver
•Cup offered by Messrs. Barr and Sons. This was won
well by the Hon. Mrs. Berkeley, Warley. Essex. Seldom
have Narcissus been better shown, and it will be seen
below that the Committee recommended awards to a
considerable number of novelties.

Orchids were interesting and good, and the Orchid

Horticultural Society should only be concerned with
new plants, flowers, and fruits submitted for Certifi-
cates There is not the necessary convenience for
groups on such occasions, so long as the present Drill
Hall has to be u-,ed.

Floral Committee.

Prexent : W. Marshall, Esq., Chairman ; and Messrs.
Chas. T. Druery, Geo. Nicholson, C. W. Knowles, J. F.
McLeod, E. Molyneux, Jas. Hudson, John Jennings,
W. Howe, Chas. Jeffries, J. A. Nix, C. Dixon, W. Bain,
R. C. Notcutt, R. W. Wallace, F. Page-Roberts, J. W.
Barr, Geo. Gordon, C. J. Salter, Herbert J. Cutbush,
H. J. Jones, W. Cuthbertson, J. H. Fitt, W. P. Thomson,
E. H. Jenkins, M. J. James, Chas. E. Shea, C. Blick,
Harry Turner, E T. Cook, J. Fraser, and Ed. Mawley.

A group of Anthuriums from Sir TnEvoR Lawrence,
Bart., Burford, Dorking, was a magnificent exhibit.
There were very tine plants of varieties of A. Seherzeri-

plants of Tree Pseonies, perpetual- flowering Carnations.
<fec. A red or scarlet Carnation named Winter Beauty
was blooming freely, and the same plants have yielded
flowers since the commencement of October last.
Messrs. Cutbush also exhibited some finely-grown
Ericas, includingE. persolutaalba,E.hybrida,E.erecta,
E. Cavendishi, E. candidissima, and E. ventricosa mag-
nifica ; and a plant of Boronia heterophylla, very freely
flowered.

Messrs. Wm. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross Nurseries,
Herts, had a very gay group of forced shrubs. These
included a fine new Deutzia. D. hybrida Lemoinei, very
much superior to D. gracilis : Cydonia japonica, C.
Maulei grandiflora perfecta; Lilacs, including the fine
double white variety Madame Lemoine, the purple
Charles X., and others ; Viburnums, Wistarias, Rhodo-
dendrons, &c, and a few Roses.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Royal Exotic Nurseries,
Chelsea, exhibited their pretty variety of Cineraria

Fig. 87.— tomato grown at knowi.k nut mr. s. burgess: weight 1 lb. 10 ozs. (sick p. 278.)

COMMITTEE recommended awards including one First
i-la^s Certificate and seven Awards of Merit.

The Floral Committee was concerned chiefly with
such plants as Hippeastrums, Ferns, Cordylines,
Cinerarias, Roses, forced shrubs, hardy dowering
plants, &c. Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., staged a
most interesting exhibit of seedling varieties of An-
thuriums. Altogether there were seven Awards of
Merit recommended by this Committee. Auriculas
were before two bodies, one variety gaining a First-class
Certificate from the National AURICULA and Primula
-Society, and another variety an Award of Merit from
the Floral Committee of the Royal Horticultural
Society.

The Fruit and Vegetable Committee bad verv
little to do.

In the afternoon there were fifty new Fellows elected
t" the Society, and a very interest Oil; Lecture upon
Campanulas was re;/d by Mb. Pritchard of Christ-
church.

The crush was so unpleasant on Tuesday, th.it it
would lie desirable that when a special Society is
Invited to hold its exhibition in conjunction with one
of the ordinary meetings, the Committees of t lie Royal

anuui, some of them with fifteen or more spathes upon
them. One of the very best of these is A. S. elegans.of
the Rothsehildianuiu section, having a fine spathe
equally mottled with scarlet and white: maximum,
Wardi, latifolia, triumphans, a very large flesh-
coloured spathe of unusual length ; Parisiennc, of
same colour, but of neater form and smaller size; and
Burfordiense, were some of the best shown. Bur-
fordiense is wholly red-coloured, of deeper tint than
others. There were many seedlings also, as yet un-
named, but of very great beauty. The A. Andreanum
section was illustrated by cut spathes and foliage of
several handsome varieties. Among these were san-
guineum, LawrenCSQ, pure white; Maria?, pure white,
with pale red spadices ; Dr. Lawrence, large, pink-
coloured ; Perfection, very bright scarlet, ifcc. Sonic
very choice hardy Rhododendrons in trusses in-
cluded B, Aucklandia- hybrida, with large, pale tinted
flowers; R. x Luscombe's hybrid, rose coloured: R.
campylocarpum, yellow, i&C. J Camellia Matlioliana. 01
deep red colour, measured nearly 8 inches across.

Messrs. W. CUTBU3H A: Son, llighgate Nurseries,
London, N., cxhibitod a small group containing forced

stcllata named Felt ham Beauty; also a group of forced
plants of their flue double flowered Cherry known as
Cerasus pscudo- Cerasus "James H. Voiteli." The
flowers are nearly 2 inches across, and when forced are
of a delicate pink colour.

Messrs. J. Carter &. Co., High Holborn, London,
showed a striking group of Cinerarias, arranged upon
the floor of the hall near the door, and together with
other exhibits, making ingress to the hall a ditlicult
matter, only one person being able to pass at a time.
The Cinerarias were very lino indeed, the flowers
having great size, and a variety of brilliant colours.
The strain represented is a capital one. .

Messrs. HUGH Low & CO., Buab Hill Park Nurseries.
Enfield, again exhibited a group of their pretty
Sohlsanthus Wlsetonensls,

Mr. II. 11. Mas, Dyson's Road Nursery, Upper Edmon-
ton, had a few choice Ferns, consisting of Pteris Alex-
andree, a good variegated crested variety, P. Childsii,
a vcryelcgant light coloured Plerls, with abundant flin-
briatiou. l'olypodium glaucum oristatum and P. Mayi.
the beautiful Polypodo with largo glaucous fimbriated
Irouds, tig. in a Supplement to (lard. Chron., Mayas, lSDo.

280

TEE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 26, 1902.

Messrs. Geo. Jackman & Son, Woking, exhibited a
nice lot of hardy Primulas, including varieties of P.
Sieboldi, also P. viscosa, P. venusta, P. longiflora, P.
farinosa, P. rosea, P. denticulata, &c,, also Auriculas,
Tulips, Primroses, and other hardy flowering plants.
A new clematis was shown named King Edward VII..
with flowers S inches across, of purple colour.

Messrs. Thomas S. Ware, Ltd., Hale Farm Nurseries,
Feltham, exhibited varieties of Primula Sieboldi, also
Ramondia Natalite, and other hardy flowering plants.

Messrs. R. & G. Cuthbert, of the Southgate Nur-
series, Middlesex, showed a group upon the floor, ex-
tending from the entrance door to the wall at the side,
very gay with brilliant coloured Azaleas of the indica,
Ghent, and mollis species, also hybrids of the latter
and A. sinensis. There were likewise many white
and lilac-flowered Wistarias as standards from 4J to
8 feet high, well furnished with flower racemes; and
Lilac President Grevy, of a very pale tint, trusses large
and abundantly produced. The back of the group con-
sisted of Palms, Grevilleas, and Japanese Maples. The
blaze of colour would have been the better, we thought,
for more green foliage, consisting as it did practically
of flowers only.

Messrs. Barr & Sons, King Street, Covent Garden,
showed extensively Narcissus of all classes, Darwin
(i.e., non-broken) Tulips, and a few alpines.

Mr. S. Mortimer, Rowledgc Nurseries, Farnham,
exhibited a group of freely-flowered strains of Poly-
anthus and Primroses in a variety of colours.

Messrs. HOGG & Robertson, 22, Mary Street, Dublin,
exhibited a large number of single-flowered Tulips,
grown on Irish soil, large in size and bright in colour.
Especially fine were Chrysolora, a bright yellow ; Gris
de Lin, reminding one of Magnolia purpurea in colour
and shape ; Grand Duke of Russia, flamed rose ;
Epaminondas, feathered scarlet ; Hector, a fancy, of a
shade of crimson edged with yellow ; Mars, a deep
crimson Tulip; Brunhilda, cream-coloured, with a
yellow nerve to the segments ; Eleanor, purple edged
with white. The same exhibitors staged a large collec-
tion of Narcissi, including Trumpet, Leedsii, poeticus,
bicolor, cernuus, albus plenus, incomparabilis, Bur-
bidgei, and albicans varieties in large numbers, and
shown in a very fresh condition.

Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, Kent, showed
zonal Pelargoniums as cut blooms, set up as com-
pact po;ies in glasses. These beautifully coloured
flowers have been often shown in larger quantities and
greater varieties, but seldom in finer condition. Of
striking tints and smooth regular form of pip were
Lord Roberts, purplish crimson ; Mr. T. E. Green,
scarlet ; Chaucer, cerise-pink, a very larpe pip ; Lady
E. Malet, white, slightly suffused with pink, and
having a wire edge of the same tint; Sir J. Llewellyn,
crimson ; and Princess of Wales, bright pink.

Messrs. Wallace & Co., Kilnfield Gardens, Col-
chester, exhibited a nice lot of hardy plants in flower,
among which were Anemone fulgens bicolor, Tulipa
saxatilis, Narcissus, Fritillarias, Irises, Triteilias, &c.
Mr. Amos Perry, Hardy Plant Farm, Winchmore
Hill, had a group of hardy plants, in which some very
beautiful varieties of Iris pumila were prominent ; also
Primulas rosea and denticulata, Geum Heldreichi
lutea, Saxifraga Wallachi, &c.

A magnificent specimen pot-plant of Rhododendron
Nuttalli, 8 or 9 feet high, was shown by Lady Tate,
Park Hill, Streatham (gr., Mr. W. Howe). It is an old,
well-known species, with pale yellow flowers.

Messrs. W. Balchin & SONS, Hassocks Nursery, Sussex .
exhibited a group of hard-wooded plants, in the culti-
vation of which they are so exceptionally successful.
These consisted of the new Erica propendens. Tetra-
theca ericoides, Diosma capitata, Aphelexis ma-
crantha, humilis, and Barnesii.

Mr. E. Potten, Camden Nursery, Cranbrook, Kent,
exhibited Forsythia Fortunei, an excellent double-
flowered Peach named Clara Meyer, Berberis Hookeri,
and varieties of Cupressus Lawsoniana.

Messrs. Frank Cant & Co., Braiswick Nurseries,
Colchester, exhibited a grand lot of cut Roses, which
included a large number of well known exhibition
varieties. Particular interest, however, was centred in
some capital blooms of the new Tea variety Lady
Roberts, a sport or seedling from Anna Olivier. It has
splendid form, great substance, very wide petals, and
is of a rich apricot tint.

Mr. George Mount, Canterbury, exhibited a grand
and beautiful collection of cut Roses, many of them
with long stems and luxuriant foliage. Particularly
noticeable were such varieties as Caroline Testout,
Catherine Mermet, Niplietos, Mrs. Jno. Laing, Captain
Hayward, tfce.

Messrs. Paul & Son, The Old Nurseries, Cheshunt,
exhibited Roses in pots, mostly consisting of well-
known and valued varieties of Teas and Hybrid Teas.
We observed the white T. Elise Fugier, H.T. Antoine
Rivoire, a grand flower; T. Madame de Watteville, T.
Madame Falcot, T. Innocente Pirola, T. Queen of
Sweden and Norway, a lovely flower, full and globular,
with the tints of Souvenir de la Malmaison. It
appears to make a good pot Rose: the new seedling Tea
Rambler, semi-double, of a bright pink tint, and buds
of a red tint : and a basketful of pla nts of Senecio lilacina,
a flower having rays of a bright purple tint, and a
flower-stalk 2 feet high. The foliage is deeply crenated
and dwarf.

Awards.

Border Auricula Alexandra. — A very fine alpine or
border Auricula, with large yellow flowers, in many-
flowered trusses. From the Misses Hopkins, Mere
Cottage Gardens, Knutsford, Cheshire (Award of Merit).

Cordyline Mayi.—A pretty variety, with green leaves
2 inches wide, margined with red. The young leaves
are wholly red in colour. The variety is a very suit-
able one for cultivating in small pots, even in 3-inch
pots, as it colours directly the plant has established
itself. From Mr. H. B. May (Award of Merit).

Dimorphanthux Mandsehuricus foliis aroenteiis mar-
ginatus.—A prettily variegated form of this handsome
Aralia-like plant, the variegaticn being particularly
around the margin of the leaf. The bi-pinnate leaves
of the type are sometimes more than 4 feet in length.
From Mr. Jno. Russell, Richmond Nursery, Surrey
(Award of Merit).

Hippeastrum General Jtuller.—A rather short, widely
expanded (lower, with exceedingly wide petals, some of
them 4 inches across. Colour bright orange-scarlet,
with a little green in the centre (Award of Merit).

Hippeastrum Mrs. Bilney.— One of the white and
scarlet variegated section, of good form and substance
(Award of Merit).

Hippcaatrum Queen Alexandra.— A large flower, witli
thick segments. Colour scarlet, variegated a little
with white, greenish in the centre (Award of Merit).
All from Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Royal Exotic
Nurseries, Chelsea.

Pterin Wimsettt multiceps. — This is a very decorative
variety of the well-known Wimsetti Pteris. The fronds
have fine crests, and are prettily cut. From Messrs.
J. Hill & Son, Barrowficld Nurseries, Lower Edmonton
(Award of Merit).

Medals awarded.

Gold Medal to Sir Trevor Lawrence, for Anthuriums.

Silver-gilt Flora Medal to Messrs. R. &G. Cuthbert,
for forced shrubs.

Silver-gilt Banksian Medals to Mr. <;. Mount, for
Roses ; to Mr. Frank Cant, also for Roses.

Silver Flora Medals to Messrs. J. Carter A Co., for
Cinerarias; to Mr. Mortimer, for Polyanthus; and to
Mr. A. Perry, for hardy flowers

Silver Banksian Medals to Messrs. W. Cutbush & Son.
for flowering plants; to Messrs. Wallace ii Co., for
hardy plants ; to Messrs. Balchin & Sons, for hard-
wooded Plants ; and to Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, for
zonal Pelargoniums.

Bronze Flora Medal to Messrs. Paul & Sons,
Cheshunt, for Roses.

Bronze Banksian Medals to Messrs. H.Low <fc Co., for
Schizauthus Wisetonensis ; to T. S. Ware, Ltd., for
hardy flowers; to G. Jackman & Son, for hardy
flowers.

Cultural Commendation to Messrs. Balchin & Sons,
for hard-wooded plants.

Orchid Committee.

Present: Harry J. Veitch, Esq. (in the Chair); and
Messrs. Jas. O'Brien (Hon. Sec.), J. G. Fowler, J. W.
Potter, H. M. Pollett, H. Ballantine, N. C. Cookson, E.
Ashworth, F. W. Ashton, J. Cypher, W. A. Bilney,
F. J. Thorne, W. H. Young. J. W. Odell, W. Boxall, J.
Douglas, E. Hill, and H. Little.

One of the fiuest shows of Orchids of the season
graced the meeting, and considerable difficulty was
found in making room for the plants.

H. T. Pitt, Esq., Rosslyn, Stamford Hill (gr., Mr.
Thurgood), was awarded a Silver Flora Medal for an
excellent group, embracing a fine and varied selection
of Odontoglossum crispum and hybrids, the best being
the beautifully spotted O. crispum Annie, the large
pale yellow and brown O. x Wilckeanum Rosslyn
variety, the beautiful and distinct O. X Adriame
Fairieanum, the bright chestnut and yellow O. Hunne-
wcllianum 'Rosslyn variety," and the spotted O.
crispum Stamfordiamim. We remarked in the group
plants of the singular Cirrhopetalum appendieu-

latuin, Zygopetalum Wallisii, some very fine Cattleya
Schroderie, Cypripedium Mastersianum.C.x Sir George
Llewellyn, etc.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons received a Silver Flora
Medal for a fine group consisting chiefly of hybrid
Orchids, among which was the very singular bigeneric
Lepto-Lselia x Veitchi (Leptotes bicolor x Lselia cinna-
barina). Leptotes bicolor being now;referred to Tetra-
micra, probably Tetra-Lrelia would be the better name-
The leaves retained the fleshy character of L. bicolor,
but they were more channelled ; the inflorescence was
more elongated than in L. bicolor, but the chief
characters of the flower were retained, the colour being
changed to a rosy-salmon tint. Showy features in the
group were made by a selection of ten varieties of the
orange and purple Lselia x Latona, and a similar
number of the more rose-coloured L.-C. x Highbury-
ensis, L.-C. x Ascania, L.-C. X Zephyra, L.-C. X Iberia,
Lselia x Digbyano - purpurata. Chysis > Sedeni, good
varieties of Cattleya Mendeli, and C. Schrodera>; C-
Lawrenccana, Dendrobium x Cheltenhamense, and a
very clear white Cattleya intermedia alba,

Messrs. Sander <i Sons, St. Albans, were awarded a
Silver Flora Medal for an excellent group, in which the
back row consisted of fine specimens of the showy Den-
drobium thyrsiJlorum, each with several spikes. In the
centre was the massive Cypripedium x Emperor of India
(see Awards), and noteworthy were Lycaste Skinneri,
Turc Mellstrdm, a perfectly formed variety, with broad
white sepals tinged with rose, the petals being bright
purplish rose with clear white tips, which arranged
well with the pure white lip and column ; Lycaste
Skinneri "Richard Hinde," a pretty flower, with pale
rose-pink sepals, dark carmine-rose petals, and white
lip; Cattleya Skinneri alba, of the best type; Eulophiella
Elisabetha?, with two spikes ; Cypripedium Chapmani
superba, Miltonia vexillaria " Empress Augusta," with
large rich rose-purple-coloured flowers ; a singular and
pretty Odontoglossum x loochristyense, and a re-
markable variety of O. triumphans, with whitish
flowers, heavily blotched with sepia-brown, and with
greenish-yellow tips, showing indications of hybridity ;
and other good Odontoglossums, the large white forms
of O. crispum being specially effective.

W. A. Bilney, Esq., Fir Grange, Weybridge (gr.,
Mr. Whitlock), showed an extensive collection of very
finely cultivated and profusely flowered Dendrobiums,
in which D. nobile nobilius, D. n. Amesuc, and other
good forms of D. nobile, D. Wardianum, and many and,
excellent forms of D. x Ainsworthi, were well shown,
also Cattleya Lawrenceana and Sophronitis grandittora
(Silver Flora Medal).

Mr. J. Cypher, Cheltenham, was awarded a Silver
Flora Medal for a group of well-grown showy species
including the now scarce Cattleya Lawrenceana of the
best type, and its still more beautiful hybrid, Lselio-
Cattleya x Hyeana. In the group the more remarkable
plants were the natural hybrid Vanda X Charles-
worthi, with a fine spike of purplish-rose flowers;;
Cypripedium x Vipani, white with purple markings;
C. X grande atratum, C. x Harrisianum superbum,.
Vanda teres, Odontoglossum crispum varieties and
hybrids ; Ada aurantiaca, Epiphronitis x Veitchi, a
panful of the pretty rose-coloured Pinguiculacaudata,
Dendrobium nobile virginale, a good white var. ; D. x
Cybele giganteum, &c.

Jeremiah Colman, Esq., Gatton Park (gr.,Mr. W. P.
Bound), staged a group in which were several excellent
examples of showy Orchids, including Oncidium
monachicum, Vanda tricolor planilabris, and specially
good Odontoglossum Halli, O. luteo-purpureum, and
O. X Andersonianum.

Messrs. Hugh Low it Co., Bush Hill Park, were
awarded a Silver Banksian Medal for a group con-
taining two excellent Odontoglossum x Adrians, O. X
A. Low's variety, and O. X A. aureum, the latter having
a bright yellow ground, and both finely spotted ; O
Halli, O. Pescatorei, and other Odontoglossums; Laelia
x Latona, Dendrobium x Nestor, Cypripedium Cur-
tisii, Oncidium Marshallianum, Cattleyas, &c.

Baron Sir H. Schroder, The Dell. Egham (gr.,Mr. H..
Ballantine), showed spikes of several fine Odonto-
glossums, among which were the fine O. x Adrianre-
Memoria Victoria Reginse, which received a First-class
Certificate at the last meeting.

Norman C. Cookson, Esq., Oakwood, Wylam (gr.,
Mr. H. J. Chapman), showed Odontoglossum x Adriame
"Oakwooil variety," with white flowers spotted with,
brown, and approaching O. crispum in size and shape ;
O. crispum Doris, a pretty spotted form; and the fine
O. x Rolf:c Oakwood variety (see Awards).

M. Chas. Ma RON, Brunoy, France, sentLielio-Cattleya
X Mrs. J. Leemann (L. Digbyana x C. Dowiana aurea),
a very pretty novelty with pale primrose-coloured

April 26, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

281

flowers, the backs of the sepals and petals tinged with
rose, and the margins of the petals similarly coloured.
The centre of the lip was of a greenish tint with purple
markings, the front primrose, tinged with lilac. He also
sent Cattleya x Adonis " Maron's variety " (Mossise x
W*arscewiczii), like a fine C. Mossite, with a broader lip ;
and L.-C. x Digbyano-Mendeli.

W. J. Cowper, Esq., Valebridge, Hayward's Heath
(gr., Mr. Reynolds), showed a group of well-flowered
Dendrobium atro-violaceum.

Elijah Ashworth, Esq., Harefield Hall, Wilmslow
(gr., Mr. Holbrook), showed a spike of Cypripedium
caudatum Ashworthianum, a fine C. caudatum, with
some of the characters of C. c. Wallisii, a spike of
which was also shown for comparison.

Sir R. G. Harvey, Langley Park. Slough (gr., Mr. A.
Gillies), showed a fine specimen of Cattleya Lawrence-
ana, with many flowers.

Messrs. Linden it Co., Brussels, staged a group of
fine Dendrobium nobile varieties, and Odontoglossums,
including Odontoglossum x Galbum, a singular sup-
posed natural hybrid between O. odoratum and O. Hun-
newellianum, and with showily spotted flowers ; O.
triumphans "Hyperion," a finely shaped and richly
marked form ; O. crispum gratiosum, with broad,
petalled while flowers, spotted with red-brown ; and
0. x loochristyensis " Coronation," distinct and showy.

The Honble. Walter Rothschild, Tring Park.Tring-
showed a fine variety of Eulophiella Elisabethie, with
white flowers, tinged with purple at the back, and
having a yellow crest to the lip. The plant had been
grown from a small imported plant in indifferent
condition, and now bore a very stout spike.

Awards.

First-class Certificate.

Odontoglossum crispum "Robert McVittic," from W.
Thompson, Esq., Walton Grange, Stone (gr., Mr.
Stevens).— A remarkably fine variety of the O. c. apiatnm
class, with well-formed flowers very heavily blotched
witli dark reddish-purple.

Awards of Merit.

Odontoglossum X Rolf ex " Oak wood variety," from Norman
C. Cookson, Esq., Oakwood, Wylam (gr., Mr. H. J.
Chapman).— A very fine form of the showy hybrid
between O. Pescatorei and O. Harryanum. Sepals and
petals creamy-white, marked with broad dark purple
blotches. Lip broad and flat, crest yellow surrounded
by small purple spots ; the front a pure white.

Cypripedium x Emperor of India, from Messrs. Sander
& Sons, St. Albans.— A noble variety of unrecorded
parentage, but in which C Lawrenceanum, or one of its
hybrids, has doubtless played a part. Dorsal sepal
almost circular, flat, and showing the rich colouring as
inC. x cenanthum superbum,:) inches across, white suf-
fused with rose nearly to the margin, and bearing dark
purple lines. Petals extending over :-> inches, spotted
with chocolate-purple on the inner halves, and tiDged
with rose on the outer portions ; face of lip shaded
with rose. Foliage handsome, pale green with dark
green reticulation, and transverse markings.

Cipripedium x Vipani, Ilessle variety, from W. P.
Burkinshaw, Esq., Hessle, Hull (gr., Mr. Barker).— A
large and finely formed variety of the hybrid, between
C. niveum and C. philippincnse. Petals and dorsal
sepal pure white with purple-dotted lines; lip clear
white.

Odontoglossum x Adrians Fairieanum, from H T. Pitt,
Esq., Rosslyn, Stamford Hill (gr., Mr. Thurgood).—
Totally different to any of the numerous forms pre-
viously shown, the flower being large, and well
formed, the ground-colour white, and the markings of
purplish-brown, mostly displayed in large, irregular
bars extending across the segments. The plant was
finely grown, and carried a very handsome flower-
spike.

Cypripedium x Edttlue (C. bellatulum x C- Chamber-
lainianum). -Flower of the same form as most other
C. bellatulum hybrids. Upper sepal greenish-while,
nearly covered with purple lines and colouring. Petals
greenish, heavily marked with purple. Lip cream -
white, tinged and spotted with rose, after the manner
of C. Chaiubcrlainianum.

Cattleya S'iobe (Aclandise Mendeli), from Messrs.
Jas. Veitch A Sons.— A singular dwarf hybrid, with
large wax-like flowers. Sepals and peals tinged with
rose, and sparsely spotted with purple, lower hall* of
the lip white, and front lobe dark rose.

Dendrobium x Aimworthi " Hazteboutne variety," from
W. A. ltiLNK.v, Esq., Fir Grange, Weybridgc (gr, Mr.
Whitlock).— A large pure white variety, with dark
purple disc to the lip. The plant was very profusely
flowered.

Narcissus Committee.

Present: H. B. May, Esq, in the chair; with Miss
E. WUlmott, and Messrs. C. MacMichael, Rev. S. Eugene
Bownc, J. T. Bennett-Pot', R. Sydenham. F. W. Burbidge,
Geo. Reuthe, J. W. Pope, W. Poupart, P. R. Ban-, W. H.
de Graaff, J. D. Pearson, W. F. M. Copeland, Walter T.
Ware, Jas. Walker, A. Kingsmill, and the Hon Secretary.

In respect to the Daffodil, this meeting may be
accepted as the great exhibition of the flower for the
season, and certainly the great mass of material and the
almost endless exhibits justify our observation.

Among many representative groups that from Mr.
H. J. Jones, Lewisham, in addition to a choice collection
of all the best things, contained many novelties. Of
these the Glory of Noordijyk stood bold and telling : it
is a bicolor of great size ; Golden Frill was another
with a quite novel and frilled cup of an uniform yellow
tint. Mrs. H. J. Joues is a bicolor in the way of Victoria
and Queen Wilhelmina, of the soft-tin'ed bicolor class,
and of great size.

Messrs. Veitch & Sons likewise contributed a fine
group in which all the best varieties in commerce were
displayed to advantage. Great masses of Sir Watkin,
of Empress, of the Leedsii group, the lovely poetarum,
Mrs. Walter Ware, and others of the general set; of
new varieties we noted Sunflower, a fine self ; and Sam-
son, a neat flower ; with Waveren's Giant, an enormous
flower, with a crown of great depth and breadth.

A small collection came from C. S. A. Nix, Esq., Til-
gate, Crawley (gr., Mr. G. Heal), in which were many
nice clean flowers well arranged.

Then we came to that most elaborate group from
Messrs. Barr it Sons, the one tithe of whose collection
it would be impossible to name. In the centre, how-
ever, were set some of the gems of this fine lot; and
we name Apricot, Maggie May, a charming thing;
Lucifer, with its brilliant cup of orange ; the new self
white Ajax Peter Barr, Lady Audrey, also white ; while
among choice and new bicolors are Californian, Lucin
Christina, Weardale Perfection, and Monarch, being
some of the best of the Ajax varieties ; of Poeticus
varieties Cassandra and Glory were among the better
ones, and certainly very striking.

Another representative lotcame from Messrs. Hogg it
Rohertson, Rush, Dublin, and here we noted Lady
Arnot and Flamingo of the incomparabilis, Lady
Margaret Boscawen, a bicolor Sir Watkin, Mrs. H. !►.
Betteridge, White Ajax, and Countess Mayo, also of the
same sort; Countess Cadogan, Brigadier, and White
Lady, were others of the best kinds in this group.

Mr. R. H. Bath, Ltd., Wisbech, also showed a large
group, in which all the cream of this extensive group was
seen. Here the Duke of Bedford, very bold ; Madam.
de Graaff, Michael Foster, Weardale Perfection, ami
many others were noted.

Messrs. B. S. Williams also set up a choice assort-
ment of the best varieties in large block-.

Quite a Choice lot oi varieties came from the Hon. Mrs.
Berkeley, Great Warley, Essex, who w;is also the win m r
of the 1st prize for the Cup offered by Messrs. Barr.
Some of the most notable here were White Queen.
J. B. M. Camm, Weardale Perfection, Lucifer, C, J
Backhouse, Rev. Wolley Dod, Golden Bell, a fine rich
self; andLady Margaret Boscawen, were among tliecream
of a number of very line varieties. They were set up in
a bed of moss. There is little doubt litis is the fine-!
group ever set up for the Silver Cup,
'Awards of Merit.

Narcissus tncomparabUis Primrose Bhmnix, — A fine
double flower of full primrose-yellow tone. From Mr.
J. Walker, Thame, Oxon.

.V. Queen Christiana — This is a giant bicolor of the
Victoria type, yet la ger, clearer in cup, and finer
whiter segments; in short, a noble dower of fine
proportion. From Messrs. Bum it So\s

.v. Duke .»/' Wellington. — This is nothing less than
Monarch done in gold, and a grand flower withal. ol
great stature. Shown by .1. P. Kendali . Esq., Newton
Poppleford, Oltery St. Mary.

A\ Queen Emma. — Another sterling bicolor, with
handsome crown or trumpet, and the rather thin
perianth segmentsol Horsfleldi. From Messrs. VSTtt n
it Sons, Chelsea.

.v. Cressett a finely -formed flower of the puree!
white, as though the outcome of the finest Poeticus,
mingled with a rich orange-cupped kind as Gloria
Muudiof the incomparabilis section. There are pale
and deep orange tints as seen in the crown.

.v Bettit Berkley, almost, a bicolor Queen ol Spain,
with a soft lemon cup and white perianth.

.V. Warley Uagnt.—A very pure and chaste while
Ajax, the broad cup will expanded, and prettily
frilled. A very line flower.

N. Incognita.— A flower of the Cressett, class, with a
quite self uniform clear orange crown; the segments
are long, and nearly obovate in outline. This is quite
an acquisition. The four varieties described above
were shown by Miss Wilmiott, Warley, Essex.

N. Glory of Noordijyk —A giant member of the bicolor
group, in which the crown is oi great size and width.
The perianth is also of large size, and possibly, when
seen in quite a, fresh state will give entire satisfac
tion. It is very refined in the crown, which has a
large expanding rim. Shown on behalf of Messrs.
J. de GrootA Son, Haarlem, by Mr. Robert Sydsnham,
Birmingham.

Medals Awarded.

Silver Banksian Me.la] to Mr. H. t. Jones, Lewisham;
to Messrs. B. S. Williams, Upper Holloway ; and to
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea.

Silver - gilt Flora, to Messrs. R. H. Bath, Ltd.,
Wisbech ; and to Messrs. Baku it Sons.

Silver Flora, to Messrs-. HOGG & Robertson, Dublin.

Fruit and Vegetable Committee.

Present: Geo. Bunyard, Esq.. chairman; and Messrs.
A. H. Pearson, Geo. Wytiies, James H. Veitch, G. Nor-
man, F. Q. Lane, James Smith, V. C. M. Veitch, J.
Jaques, W. Fyfe, C. G. A. Nix, H. Markham, Ed.
Beckett, Alex. Dean, S. Mortimer, W. Bates, Geo. T.
Miles, Jos. Cheal, G. Reynolds, and J. Willard.

Mr. JNO. Russell, Richmond Nurseries, Surrey,
exhibited some remarkable heads of the new Seakalc,
Solid Ivory. It is recommended as a better growing
variety than Lily White; the growths were nearly
4 inches through them, and very much larger than the
roots, from which they were forced (Cultural
Commendation).

A Vote of Thanks wa offered to Miss Edmonds,
Wiscombc Park, Devon, who showed fruits of Adams'
Pearmain Apple.

Some tine early Duke of Albany Peas came Irom
R. W. Hudson, Esq.. Danesfield, Great Marlow (gr.,
Mr. Gibson), and a Silver Banksian Modal was awarded.

Lecture on Campanulas.

At 3 p.m. a lecture on " Campanulas," was de-
livered by Mr. MAURICE PitlTl hark, of the Nurseries,
Christchurch, Hampshire, who, as the chairman (Rev.
W. Wilks) remarked, probably knows as much of
Campanulas, from the cultivator's point of view, as
anyouc.

Mr. Pritchard commenced by s.iying that most of
the species were first-rate perennial flowering plants;
very few, as C. media, were biennials; a few are
annuals, and several need the protection afforded by
a greenhouse. Tin- plants generally will succeed
pretty easily, and the particular nature of the soil has
apparently little influence upon their well-doing
Most of the species produce splendid flowers (oi use
,n ii nit state lint 1 1 . i ■ . an- very fragile, and little
suited for sending lone distances, as the blooms
quickly wither when laid upon each other in packing.
In height the specie- v uy lrom 7 Eeol to L' inches Soil
and local conditions ailc. t the height to which they
may grow, an Instance being C. latifolia macrantha,
which reaches to :i ice; only ..'. CI ristchurch, bul In
the northern counties i D < leet.

Mr. Pritchard wished particularly to emphasis,- the
hot that some of the dwarf-grot 0 : species arc good
"wall plants." They are essentially good plants for
cultivation in niches i I wall and some would suc-
ceed there that are on i edingly difficult of cultivation
elsewhere. Propagation • effected by division In
spring, or by seed-, i i by ■ ntting . winch should be
taken in .May. in u very few instances, prop
may i.e effected by root cuttings, 'flic Bmall-growing
campanulas must never be distt rbed when resting,

either for divisit ilj Eorti i pi. nun on This

,s the cause of failure .u numerous oases. Spring is
the best time, when growth is • 0 licencing, or even
slimmer, rather than whi □ U e\ . re resting.

There are few new Campan lai said Mr Pritchard;
bul latterly .i tew hybrid! have boon raised, and he
hoped that some one would setti « rk in this matter
It would be much appro ated, stance, if the pink

colour at present ob . i il ' i (Canterbury Hells
(C. medium) could bee yed to some of the perennial

peeies.

Mr, Pritchard then ei imerated iho I ol the Bpeclos

and varieties, saying lei g ol interest about c.u-h

of them, and clearing the ground .is to the correol
.ippeiii.ti.m-. oi ionio that are troquontly mlsne

Subsequently, Mr. £. Ibnrins recommended t per
-i, [folia and C. nobllls f oi damppo it loos In a retentive,
rather heavy loam.

282

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 26, 1902.

National Auricula and Primula.

A vert fine exhibition of Auriculas was the general
opinion of experts who witnessed the display in
the Drill Hall on Tuesday last. The show and
alpine varieties were numerous, and the quality was
finer on the whole than was apparent last year, though
here and there stale blossoms met the eye. That
Auricula culture is increasing in this country, there
can be no doubt ; varieties are more enquired for than
before, because the number of growers has increased
in the south and north alike, and in the midlands, and
especially round Birmingham, Auricula Societies are
springing up.

All of the competitive classes for show and alpine
Auriculas, were well tilled. It has long been the usage
at Auricula exhibitions that one truss only of a show
Auricula, shall be shown on a plant, and this results in
blooms of very fine quality. At the committee's and
judges' luncheon at the Hotel Windsor, over which
Mr. J. rope, of Birmingham, presided, Mr. J. W.
Bentley, of Manchester, urged that at the London
exhibition only one truss of bloom should be permitted
on the alpine varieties, and this was generally con-
curred in. The judges did not fail tonotiee'that in the
case of some of the alpines, some of the pips were
somewhat faded, which detracted from the quality of
the trusses. As an exhibitor, it was Mr. Douglas' day,
for he was present in strong force with show and alpine
varieties, and carried off the leading prizes. HiS newer
alpines, such as Duke of York, Firefly, Urania, Ziska,
and others, were seen to great advantage.

Show Auriculas. — There were four collections' of
twelve varieties, Mr. J. Douglas, Bookham, Surrey,
taking the 1st prize with finely grown and well-bloomed
plants of green edges, Abraham Barker, Shirley
Hibberd, and Chloe, the latter a bright-edged new
variety of B. Simonite's raising, not yet put into 'com-
merce ; grey edges, George Lightbody, Richard Headlcy,
and George Rudd ; white edges. Vesta (new), Acme, and
Mrs. Dodwell ; and selfs, Mrs. Potts, Raven, and Ruby,
both raised by the veteran Ben Simonite. Mr. w!
Smith, Bishop's Stortford, who tries hard every year
to take the 1st prize, was 2nd with green edges,
Abraham Darker, and Abbe Liszt ; grey edges, George
Lightbody, and Rachel ; white edges, Acme, Elaine (a
very chaste new variety), and Lady Randolph Churchill ;
selfs, Miss Barnett,-and Gerald. Mr. Chas. Turner'
Royal Nurseries, Slough, was 3rd.

With six varieties, Mr. J. Douglas was 1st of ten
competitors. He had of green edges, Abraham Barker
and Chloe ; grey edges, George Lightbody and Rachel ■
white edges, Venus; and sell, Ruby. Mr. J. Sargent'
Cobhain, was 2nd ; he had, differing from the foregoing!
Abbe Liszt and Rev. F. D. Horner, green edges"; and
Acme, white edge. Mr. W. Smith was 3rd.

There were seven collections of four varieties, Mr.
J. Sargent taking the 1st prize with green edge, Abb^
Liszt ; grey edge, Geo. Lightbody ; white edge, Acme •
and self, Miss Barnett. Messrs. Phillips & Taylor!
florists, Bracknell, were 2nd; they had a fine plant of
uieen edge, Mrs. Henwood ; and also F. D. Horner,
differing from the foregoing. Mr. J. W. Euston, The
Gardens, Great Gearics, was 3rd.

There were eightexhibitors of two varieties, Mr. J. W
Bentley, Stokehill, Manchester, criming in' 1st with
white edge Beauty, and self Gerald; Mr. J. Clements
Birmingham, was 2nd, staging grey edge Kach'el', and self
John Spaulding; Mr. A. S. Hamiton, Reading, was 3rd

Then came the single specimens in their several
sections, a good number of which were staged. Green
edges : Messrs. Phillips & Taylor were 1st with
Shirley Hibberd, and 3rd with Mrs. Henwood; Mr J
Sargent was 2nd wUluAbbe Liszt, and Mr. J. Bennett-
PoB 4th, with Mrs. Henwood. Grey edges : Mr. Por.
was 1st, and Mr. R. Staward 2nd, with George Light-
body; Mr. J. Sariient was 3rd, with Rachel; and
Messrs. Phillips & Taylor 4th, with George Rudd
White edges : the five leading prizes were won by the
variety, Acme; Mr. Sargent was 1st. Mr. J. Parsons
2nd. and Mr. C. Turner 3rd. In the self class, Mrs
Potts, the finest blue self, took all the leading prizes!
Mr. J. Sargent was 1st, Mr. C. Turner 2nd, and Mr
Bentley 3rd.

The class for fifty Auriculas is still maintained,
but now that the competition is so general in the
smaller classes, the money given here for what may be
regarded as plants from which the best have been
selected, might surely be better employed in creating
smaller new classes. Mr. James Douglas certainly
took the 1st prize with a collection of better quality
tha.u we arc accustomed to see in this class; the
inclusion of a few bright alpines would have increased
the effective appearance of the whole. Of green edges,

Mr. Douglas had Dr. Hardy, F. D. Horner, Greenfinch,
Abbe Liszt, and Mrs. Henwood ; grey edges, Perse-
verance, a promising new variety; George Rudd,
Colonel Champneys, and Mabel ; white edges, Elaine,
an attractive new variety ; Conservative, and Heather
Bell ; selfs, Cleopatra, Ruby, Mrs. Potts, and Butter-
cup ; Mr. Purnell.Purnell was, we believe, placed
2nd, but the recording of the 2nd award was unfor-
tunately overlooked.

There was a class for six green-edged Auriculas, not
fewer than three varieties, and not more than two of
one variety. Here Mr. Douglas was again 1st, having
Shirley Hibberd, F. D. Horner, James Hannaford, and
Abbe Liszt. Mr. W. Beale came 2nd : he had John
Garrett, an old bright edged variety ; Abraham Barker,
.lames Hannaford, and F. D. Horner; Mr. C. Turner
was 3rd.

In the maiden class for four show varieties, Mr. J.
Clements was placed 1st, with very creditable
specimens.

The Premier Show Auricula selected from the whole
exhibition was Mrs. Henwood, exhibited by Messrs.
Phillips <fc Taylor.

Seedling Show Auriculas.— Some were staged, but with
the exception of two green edges shown by Mr.
Douglas, no further prizes were awarded. These were
Lincoln Green, a highly promising flower, well pro-
portioned, and having a dense black body colour and
excellent edge ; and Triumph, a bold green edge, also
of a promising character. Of the other new edged
flowers, Wild Swan, a chaste white edge in the way of
Acme, appeared to be the most promising.

Alpine Auricula*.— These made a brilliant display,
being numerously shown, and as most of the plants
carried two or three trusses, the mass of bloom was
quite striking. There were some glorious golden
centres, of which Duke of York stands as a dis-
tinguished representative, but the chaste white centres
showed a somewhat lamentable weakness. The section
needs greater encouragement.

In the class for twelve varieties, Mr. Douglas had, of
gold centres, Ziska, Duke of York, Firefly, and Urania,
a brilliant quartette ; J. F. Kew, The Bride, soft salmon,
flushed with fire at the base of the segments— a charm-
ing variety ; Dean Hole, Hiawatha, Mrs. Markham, and
Rosy Morn ; white centres : Ivanhoe, and Thetis. Mr.
J. W. Euston, Great Gearies, who upholds the reputa-
tion for the cultivation of Auriculas made in this dis-
trict by Mr. Douglas, came 2nd ; his most striking
flowers were Duke of York, The Bride, Urania, Julia
Lodge, Rosy Morn, in the way of The Bride, but
darker— a very attractive variety; Hiawatha, and
Hilda. Mr. C. Turner was 3rd.

With six varieties, Mr. J. Douglas was again 1st ; he
had Ziska, Duke of York, Firefly, and Mrs. Markham,
gold centres ; Emperor and Thetis, white centres. Mr.
J. W. Bentley, Stokehill, Castleton, Manchester, was
and ; he had Duke of York, The Mikado, Koko, Thetis,
and two seedlings. Mr. J. W. Euston was 3rd. There
were thirteen competitors in this class.

With four varieties Mr. Bentley took the 1st prize:
he had refined blooms of J. F. Kew, Pluto, Gentle
Jackie, and Mrs. Gorton : Mr. J. T. Bennett-Poe was
a close 2nd, with Dean Hole, Ziska, Urania, and Bella
Ainstie ; Mr. R. Holding was 3rd.

Single Plant*.— Gold centres: 1st and 4th, Messrs.
Phillips & Taylor, with Mrs. Martin R. Smith ; 2nd
and 3rd, Mr. Douglas, with Ziska. White centres :
1st, Mr. J. W. Euston, with Hilda, and 4th, with
Desdemona ; 2nd, Mr. R. Dean, Ealing, with Lottie, a
delicate shaded new variety ; and 3rd, Mr. J. Douglas,
with Mrs. H. Turner.

Seedling Alpines.— White centres : 1st, Mr. J. Douglas,
with Sunshine, rich black body colour, laced with
bright lilac, fine shape, a real addition ; 2nd, Mr. J. E.
Euston, with Hebe, maroon, shading to deep lilac,
centre a little weak. Goldcentres : 1st, Mr. J. Douglas
with Golden Drop, fiery-crimson, finely shaded; and
2nd, Messrs. Phillips & Taylor, with Mrs. F. M.
Rotch, shading to purplish-salmon.

In the maiden class for four alpines, Mr. J. Clements
was 1st.

Premier Alpine.— This was Duke of York, shown by
Mr. J. Douglas, in splendid' form.

Fancy AurtauJas.— There were three collections of
these, the Outlanders of the show Auriculas. A fancy
Auricula is as indefinable quantity. The Committee
should sweep the class away from their schedule. Mr.
J. Douglas was 1st; the other two collections might
be consigned to the rubbish-heap for the quality they
displayed. Let us hope we have seen the last of them
on the exhibition table.

Species of Primulas.— In this class strongly marked
varieties of the same species are admissible. Mr. J. W.
Euston, Great Gearies, was 1st with two varieties of
P. japonica, two of P. Sieboldi, two of P. obconica, with
P. verticillata, P. Forbesii, P. farinosa, P. floribunda,
and P. Auricuhe. Mr. Purnell-Puhnell came 2nd;
he had P. mollis, P. apennina, a form of P. intermedia,
P. denticulata, with some of the foregoing.

Mr. W. Beale, Hayes Place, was the only exhibitor
of six species, he having P. cortusoides, P. rosea, P.
floribunda, P. farinosa, P. Auriculae, and a singular
variety of the latter, having very large, thick, rounded
leaves, and small deep orange-yellow blossoms.

Groups of Primulas.— These could be arranged in a
basket or box, and here Mr. Purnell-Purnell
gained the 1st prize, having showy species as a back-
ground, nnd in the foreground show and brilliant
Alpine Auriculas, with Primroses. Mr. J. Vert, gr.
to Lord Brayiirooke. Audley End, Saffron Walden,
came 2nd, with a basket of highly developed varieties
of P. obconica. Some of the tints of colour were very
showy.

Fancy Polyanthuses were as usual shown in baskets.
Mr. J. D. Williams, St. Keverne, Cornwall, was 1st,
with well-grown plants of good quality; and 2nd, Mr. S.
Mortimer, Swiss Nursery, Farnham.

Coloured Primroses fell short of what we have seen in
years past. Messrs. House & Son, Bristol, were 1st,
and Mr. R. Staward 2nd.

Double Primroses were better represented by Messrs.
House & Son, and they have evidently hit upon a
method of managing the fine old double Crimson, for
they had a pan of it in the best condition ; also Croussii,
Cloth of Gold, white, lilac and red— they were the only
exhibitors.

Polyanthus ijohl-laceil .— Alas ! this fine old form fell
much short of what we hoped to have seen. A 2nd
prize was awarded to three named seedlings of inferior
quality. The best single plant was Mrs. Brownhill,
from Messrs. House & Son; Mr. R. Dean, Ealing,
came 2nd, Miss Turner certainly having the most
refinement, but the pips only partially expanded.

Basket* of Primroses.— Mr. W. Beale was 1st with
bright, fresh flowers; and Messrs. House i Son, 2nd.

Award to a Novelty.

An Award of Merit was made to a large basket of
Yellow Gem Auricula, deep yellow flowers of good
form, fragrant, freely produced, the growth compact,
an excellent variety for pot culture, from Messrs. W.
Miles & Co., nurserymen, Brighton.

Primula viscosa Spring Beauty was also shown in
fine character.

CORNWALL DAFFODIL & SPRING
FLOWER SOCIETY.

April 15*. — The show of the above Society was opened
under the able management of the Hon. Sec, the Hon.
John Boscawen, on the above date, in the Market Hall,
Truro, to which building it had been transferred on
account of want of space in the Concert Hall, where
it had been held in former years. The entries, however,
were so numerous this year that the capabilities of the
building were still taxed to the utmost extent. The ex-
hibition was an eminently successful one, the Narcissi
shown comprising many flowers from bulbs that are
not yet in commerce ; while the Rev. G. H. Engleheart's
collection of hybrids raised by himself was worth a long
journey to inspect.

The Royal Horticultural Society was officially repre-
sented at the Show by a sub-committee, composed
of the Earl of Ilchester, Rev. G. H. Engleheart, Mr.
A. H. Pearson, and Rev. W. Wilks, Secretary.

Spring flowers, other than Narcissi, were well shown,
and provided a novel experience for those ignorant of
the earliness of hardy flowers in Cornwall, dozens of
species being staged that in colder districts will not be
in bloom for another month, while it may safely be
said that in no other county could such a splendid
collection of Rhododendron blossoms have been
brought together as that which brightened the long
tables with its masses of vivid colour.

Class 1, for the best collection of not fewer than thirty
varieties of Daffodils.— 1st prize, Rev. A. T. Boscawen,
with a fine stand of thirty-nine varieties, comprising—
Hack row : Grandee, Mrs. Camm, Queen of Spain,
Empress, Emperor, Mine, de Graaff, very good ; Capt.
Nelson, J. B. M. Camm, P. R. Barr, and Ada Barbour.
Middle row: Miriam Barton, Beauty, Sulphur Plnenix,
Flora Wilson, Dr. Fell, Duchess of Westminster, Tri-
andrus albus, Gloria Mundi, Lulworth, Mrs. Langtry,
Orange Phoenix, William Wilks, Mabel Cowan, Princess
Mary, and Autocrat. Front roiv : Maurice Vilmorin,
Odorus rugulosus, Nelsoni inajoi, Resolute, Barri con-

"

April 2(3, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

28

o-

spicuus. White Wing, Odorus plenus, Magdaline de
Graaff, Beatrice Heseltine, very pretty : Poeticus
poetarum, Ellen Barr, Little Dirk, Falstaff, and Tlie
Pet. 2nd prize, Mr. P. D. Williams, with forty varie-
ties, of which Glory of Leyden, Bullfinch, Tom-tit,
Crown Prince, Glow-worm, Chaffinch, Tangierine,
Cornish Star, all with very bright orange-red cups ;
and, Cassandra, a large and handsome poeticus, were
noteworthy. 3rd prize. Lady Margaret Boscawen, in
whose collection were fine King Alfred, Firebrand,
with glowing orange-scarlet cup ; and Lulworth, to
which latter an Award of Merit was granted. 4th prize,
Miss F. CtjRRAY. There were eight entries in this
class.

Class 11, for the finest single bloom magni-coronati.
1st prize, Mr. C. Williams, with Madame de Graaff;
2nd prize, Mrs. Nowell Usticke.

Class 14, for six distinct varieties magni-coronati.—
1st prize, Mr. J. C. Williams, with Glory of Leyden,
Emperor, No. 22i; (an enormous yellow self), Madame de
Graaff, Madame Plemp, and Weardale Perfection
(Award of Merit).

Class 15, tor six distinct varieties medii-coronati. —
1st prize, Mr. J. C. Williams, with Will Scarlet (Award
of Merit), Una. Gloria Mundi, and three fine unnamed
seedlings ; 2nd prize. Lady Margaret Boscawen, who
obtained an Award of Merit for a Narcissus of the same
name, and also showed Lucifer.

Class Its, for six distinct varieties parvi-coronati.—
1st prize, Mr. J. C. Williams, witli Aurora (Award of
Merit), white perianth, and spreading yellow cup
margined orange-scarlet ; and five unnamed seedlings
of great merit. 2nd prize, Lady Margaret Boscawen.

Class 19, for the finest single bloom magni-coronati.—
lstprize.Mr. J. C.WiLLiAMs.iwitli No. 154, alarge sulphur-
white, with slightly drooping poise; 2nd prize, Mr.
P. D. Williams, with No. 83, very large, in the way of
Emperor, with waved perianth.

Class 20, for the finest single bloom medii-coronati.—
1st prize, Mr. J. C. Williams, with White Queen ; 2nd
prize, Mr. P. D. Williams, with Lulworth.

Class 21, for the finest single bloom parvi-coronati.—
1st prize, Mr. J. C. Williams, with No. 304, a very fine
form of Poeticus ; 2nd prize, Mr. E. H. Williams, with
Blood Orange, primrose, with orange-scarlet cup.

Class 22, for the finest bloom of English-raised magni-
coronati.— 1st prize, Mr. J. C. Williams with No. 318, a
very large sulphur-white, with spreading trumpet;
2nd prize, Mr. P. D. Williams, with a clear yellow, of
the colour of Queen of Spain ; 3rd prize, Mr. C. Wil-
liams, with a fine bicolor, having a wide-spread trumpet
as large as that of M. J. Berkeley.

Class 23, for the finest bloom of English-raised medii-
coronati.— 1st prize, Mr. C. Williams, with a large
bicolor seedling ; 2nd prize, Mr. P. D. Williams, with
Fair Lady; 3rd prize, Mr. P. D. Williams, with an
unnamed flower after the style of Dr. Fell.

Class 24, for the finest bloom of English-raised parvi-
coronati.— 1st prize, Mr. P. D. Williams, with a large,
circular poeticus seedling, with spreading red eye ;
2nd prize, Mr. J. C. Williams.

One of the most interesting features of the show was
a stand of hybrid and seedling Narcissi, raised and
exhibited by Rev. G. H. Enoleheart. A Flora Medal
was awarded to this collection ; and a splendid bicolor
trumpet named Coronation Year was honoured by a
Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit. The
other varieties consisted of Chaucer, a large poeticus,
with bright red eye; Vivid, primrose perianth witli
extended orange-scarlet cup, a very striking flower;
Torch, bright yellow, with yellow cup margined bright
orange; Sparklet, sulphur-white, with glowing orange
cup; Asteroid, white, with yellow, orange-margined
cup; Corona, primrose, with spreading cup, bcrdered
with orange; Delicata, yellow, witli orange cup ; Peach,
white, with buff cup ; Sceptre, with pale yellow-pointed
petals, and bright orange cup; Altluea, a very pretty
flower, with white perianth, and cup centred with pale
green and margined orange; Citron, white, with lemon-
buff cup ; Ariel, white, witli apricot cup ; Ariadne,
white, with spreading pale sulphur cup; Spinnaker,
largo incomparabilis, with white perianth, and clear
yellow cup; Progne, Sybila, Regent, Electra, and
Hebe, varying tints of yellow; Siren, sulphur -white,
drooping, with very elongated trumpet; Lorclcy, a
graceful white incomparabilis, with wavy perianth ;
Waterwitch, another very beautiful white ; SeaNymph
and Chloris, white ; Plcnipo, a double, rather darker
in tint than Sulphur PhCBniX ; and Nos. 20 and 641, two
fine bicolors.

Spring flowers other than Narcissi wero largely
shown, and there were classes for Anemones, Poly-
anthus, Primroses, herbaceous plants, &c.

Messrs. Barr it Sons, London, lor an excellent air-
play of Narcissi, received a silver-gilt Banksian Medal.

Rhododendrons.— Class 36, for the best group of
Rhododendron blooms.- 1st prize, Mr. I). II. SHILSON,
whose flowers, always a feature of the Truro show, were
this year magnificent. About 300 trusses were staged,
amongst those being Beauty of Tremough, a hybrid
botween K. Ainklandi and K. Thompsoni, which was
awarded a Firsl class Certificate, while ;i Flora Medal
was granted to the whole collection. 2nd prize, Mr. K.
' Fox ; 3rd prize, Mrs. CORYTON, I'entillie Castle.

Class 37. six trusses oi disim.t varieties of Rhodo-

dendrons.—1st prize, Mr. D. H. Shilson ; 2nd prize,
Mrs. J. Williams.

Class 40, finest truss of greenhouse Rhododendron.—
1st prize, Mrs. J. Williams, R. Nuttalli, a truss of five
blossoms, one of the most remarkable exhibits in the
show, each pure white flower being fully 5 inches in
diameter ; 2nd prize, Mr. J. C. Daubuz, with orange R.
javanicum.

Camellias. — Class 41, finest cut bloom of outdoor
Camellia.— 1st prize, Mrs. J. Williams, C. reticulata,
6 inches across ; 2nd prize, Lady Margaret Boscawen.

Class 42, finest cut bloom of greenhouse Camellia. —
1st prize, Mr. J. C. Daubuz, Mathiotiana rubra; 2nd
prize, Mrs. J. Williams.

Flowering Shrubs.— Class 45, group of twelve va-
rieties of outdoor flowering shrubs.— 1st prize, Mr.
D. H. Shilson, with Wistaria sinensis, Azalea mollis
Brailmont, double Lilac Mme. Lemoine, single Lilac
Marie Le Gray, Embothrium coccineum, Spirsea pruni-
folia fl.-pl., Viburnum plicatum, Prunus japonica alba
plena, Erica codonodes, Spiraea Van Houttei, and
Rhododendron Thompsoni. 2nd prize, Mr. M. H.
Williams ; 3rd prize, Mr. A. Pendarves Vivian.

Nurserymen.

Of nurserymen's exhibits, Messrs. Robert Veitch it
Son, Exeter, had an interesting collection of rock
plants, among which were Saxif raga Griesebachii, Draba
olympica, Acantholimon libanoticum, A. armeniacum,
and Campanula mirabilis, all new introductions ; as
well as a selection of Magnolias, Acacias, Maples, and
plants of Myosotidium nobile and Gerbera Jamesoni in
bloom. The firm was awarded a Silver-gilt Flora Medal .

Messrs. Gauntlett & Co., Redruth (Silver-gilt Flora
Medal), staged Bamboos, flowering Cherries and Plums,
Magnolias, one of which, M. Osaka, deep maroon in
colour, received an Award of Merit ; Daphne Cneorum,
Nandina domestica, Ilicium tloridanum, and many
others.

Messrs. Curtis, Sandford & Co., Devon Rosery, Tor-
quay, showed cut blooms of, and pot Roses, and were
awarded a Bronze Banksian Medal.

Messrs. Treseder & Co., Truro, who staged a fine
collection of Tree Ferns, &c., were awarded a Silver
Flora Medal.

BOYAL BOTANIC.

AriaL 23.— The spring show- of the Royal Botanic
Society took place on Wednesday last, in the gardens
at Regent's Park, and was larger than usual. The
exhibits were displayed in the corridor, and the over-
flow in the conservatory. Though the schedule was
not composed of competitive classes, as ordinarily
understood, there were medals offered for particular
exhibits, and the schedule stated that in cases of
medals awarded to nurserymen, the Gold Medal would
be accompanied by a sum of £3, a Silver Medal by £9,
and a Bronze Medal by £1 ; whero awarded to a gar-
dener, the same medals would entitle the winners
to £2, £1, and 10& Most of the exhibits were noticed
by us on the previous day at the Drill Hall, and it is
unnecessary to refer to them in detail.

Among the Nurserymen. Messrs. B. S. WILLIAMS
&SON, Upper Ilolloway, London, N'., were awarded
a Silver Medal for a group of Narcissus flowers,
and forced Lilacs, Dciitzias, &o.; Messrs. Wm. Cn-
bush & Son, llighgate, London, N., had a Silver Medal
lor a group of Carnations. Tier PsBOOies, Ericas,
Ac; Mr. Amos Pkkhv. Hardy Plant Farm, Winchmore
Hill, a Bronze Medal for hardy flowers, in which
varieties of Iris pumila were very good; Messrs. R.
& G. CvrniBKUr a Gold Medal for a collection of
forced shrubs ; Messrs. K. II. BATH, Ltd., Wisbech, a
Bronze Medal for a collection of Narcissus, and o
few Tulips; Messrs. Hooa & Robertson, Dublin,
Bronze Medal for Narcissus and Tulips; Mr. S. Mm;
timer, Rowlcdge Nurseries, Farnham, a Silver Flora
Medal lor Primroses and Polyanthuses; Messrs. Baku
& Sons, King Street, Covent Garden, London, a Silver
Medal for Narcissus, Tulips, and a few hardy (lowering
plants; Messrs. J. C.vim'kk A Co., High Holborn,
London, a Gold Medal lor Cinerarias; Messr-. GfUOB
Low it Co., a Silver Medal for SonlzanthUS Wiseton-
ensis, forced shrubs. Carnations, *tc. ; Mr. J. Williams,
Ealing, a Bronze Medal for table decorations; Miss
Annik G BBBK, 25, < Irove End Road, St. John's Wood, a
Bronze Modal also for table decorations ; and He
John Lain'. .'. SONS, Forest Hill Nurseries, London,
S.K.. a Silver Medal for Mollis Rhododendrons, Labur-
nums, Wistarias. 4o.

From private gardens there were not many exhi-
bitors, but Miss An vmso\, South Villa Paris

(gr., Mr. Geo. Kelt), obtai I B Bronze Medal for a

group of Mollis Rhododendrons, a Gold Medal for a
group of miscellaneous stove and greenhouse plants,
and a Silver Medal lor a collection Ol llyaeinihs. Tulip-,
and Narcissus in pots. CAMI'llKI i NewinotoN, I

The Eolme, Regent's Pars (gr., Mr. Thos. Abbott).
won a Silver Medal for a group of plants of
Rhododendron Indlcum in pots; LuDWIO MONDS
Esq., Avenue Road. St. John's Wood (gr., Mr. .1. I'.
Clarke), a Bronze Medal forOrohtds; and Bir Franoi,

T. Barry, Bt., St. Leonard's Hill, Windsor (gr., Mr. R.
Brown), a Bronze Medal for Camellias cut from plants
growing in the open. These were, arranged in fifty
glasses.

CHESTER PAXTON.

The annual exhibition of sprint; flowers was held
in the large Art Gallery of the Grosvenor Museum
recently, when an excellent display wa«. made by
local growers. The largest exhibitor was Captain
McGillycuddy, Bache Hall (per Mr. E. Stubbs, gr.),
who staged some fine examples of Daffodils and hybrid
Primroses and other hardy border flowers. This also
included some beautiful plants of Cineraria stellata,
which were greatly admired.

The collection sent by Mi-s.Townsend Ince, Christlc-
ton Hall (per Mr. Thomas Weaver), consisted entirely
of cut blooms, including choice Daffodils, very fine
specimens of Celsia arcturus, and also Rhododendrons.

The exhibit sent by Dr. Mules, The Old Parsonage,
Gresford, was, as usual, unique in its kind, and con-
sisted entirely of hardy border flowers, including
several choice Daffodil", the more notable of which
was a vaseful of double - flowered Oernuus. The
Lenten Roses, French Anemones, and yellow sweets
scented Violets, came in for a considerable amount of
attention.

The arrangements, which were largely left in the
hands of the Hon. Sec, Mr. G. P. Miln, were all that could
be desired; and the attendance throughout the after-
noon and evening was most encouraging.

COMMONS AND FOOTPATHS
PRESERVATION.

April 11.— A meeting of the General Committee of the
Commons and Footpaths Preservation Society was held
at 25, Victoria Street, Westminster, on the above date.
The Rt. Hon G. J. Shaw-Lefevre presided, and amongst
others present were Mr. Edward Bond, M.P., Sir Robert
Hunter, Professor J. Westlake. K.C., Mr. Edward North
Buxton, Mr. F. D. Mocatta, Mr. J. Buckmaster, Mr. W.
Derham, Mr. A. G. Munro, Mr. J. F. Torr, Mr. Law-
rence W. Chubb (secretary), and Mr. Pereival Birkett
(solicitor).

The Chairman reported that he had received a com-
munication from the Charity Commissioners in reply
to the protest which he had formulated on behalf of
the Society against the proposed alienation of Fuel and
other Allotments, notwithstanding the clause in the
Commons Act, Is7n, which provides that no such allot-
ments shall be diverted from their original purposo
except for Recreation Grounds and Field Gardens.
The Commissioners now stated that " they have come
to the conclusion thai the restrictive provisions of
Section loot the Commons Act, Is;;', was not affected
by Section is of the Commons Act, 1899, and that ac-
cordingly the Commissioners are notat liberty to sanc-
tion the sale, or letting on building lease, of any part
of an allotment falling within the section first above
mentioned." Much satisfaction was expressed at the
favourable result of the Society's representations, as
the decision of the Commissioners w ill ensure the pre-
servation as Open Spaces of many thousands Of acres of
allotments set out under old Enclosure Acts. The soli-
citor reported that the Birmingham Corporation had
now agreed to the in sort ion in their Water Bill of clauses
drafted by the Society with the object of securing to
the public a privilege of enjoying air, exercise, and
recreation on such parts "f the common land which
they propose to acquire in Radnor, as are not required
[or the actual works. The area "i oommon land over
which the public will obtain the privilege will exceed
1,600 acres, it was stated on the consideration ol the
Richmond Hill (Preservation ol View) Hill that'
now proposed to vesi in the Ham Urban District

Council, and not the Survey C.inntv C nil. I he major

portion of the riverside land to tie given by Lord
Dysart as part compensation for a right to enclose the
open oommon fields.

The following resolution iva" Ulianili I'. ad< ilcd:

" That this committee is ol opinion that a settlement
of Lord Dysart's Interests in his land; at Bam and
EUchmond which vests the riverside lands b be
dedicated to the public (the principal concession for
the advantages bis Lordsl tain) in

authority like 0 e Ham i rban Districl ( ouncil
which has no adequate rating pi war, will not be
factory, and the commute- uid will be

vested In the - rrej in ill, whlob is w ;

e charge of I
It was also resolved to take such

aiv io ensure thai no amendmeuta pn

greets of the general public are made to the

\,.v,. | ,. .1- I. n Public I'm !

other mat i ci - con Idorcd wero the action the Si
i- taking with reference to the
alleged righ eadii to Stonehonge

■
|anj hi i he ii in re . i Wandswoi in common, in
provision of parks and open space
ol it. smoi : "'ii.

284

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[April 2G, 1902.

CROYDONMUTUALIMPROVEMENT.
Avkil 15.— u Flowei ing Plant's of the Spring Garden "
formed the Bubject of i very interesting paper read
before the members of (lie ibovo Society by Mr. M. E
Mills, The Gardens, Coombe [louse, Croydon, on the
above date. Mr. W J Simpson presided.

©bttuaq?.

Mungo Temple. — It was with much regret
that in our last issue we had to announce the
death of Mr. Temple, Carron House Gardens,
Falkirk, which took place, after a long and
painful illness, on April 16; Mr. Temple was
born in October, 1834. at Captain Cheape's
estate in Fifeshire, where his father was gar-
dener and manager. He was well known in
the horticultural world as an indefatigable and
first-rate all-round cultivator. After he began
his gardening career, he served in some of
the best gardening establishments in Scotland
and England, as well as in some of the London
market gardens. His first position as head-
gardener was at C'ampsey Ashe, in Suffolk.

- .--'■"

The Late MUN I TEMPLE.

from which place he removed toBalbirnie, in
Fifeshire, where for years he was a most
successful exhibitor of collections of fruit at
the famed Edinburgh fruit shows. From Bal-
birnie he went to' Blenheim, and afterwards to
Impney Hall to by out the grounds and gardens
there, at which pla «he manifested his abilities
in. the way of carrying out new work, and
in successful fruit growing. From Impney
he removed to Carron House, Falkirk, the late
Sir T. D. Brodie's place, and erected ranges
of glass, and made low gardens from their
foundations. It is over twenty years since
deceased took charge at Carron House. His
success in fruit culture there was very
marked, and probably from no equal area
of ground and glass, in the kingdom, has
there been obtained a greater supply of garden
products. For quality and extent, they can
hardly have been excelled.

Mr. Temple rendered valuable aid for many
years to the Gardeners' Chronicle. He was a
man of high moral principle, and untiring

devotion to his duties. From his kindly dis-
position and readiness to help in every good
work he endeared himself to all with whonj
he came in contact, and he will be much
missed in the district. He leaves a widow and
grown-up family to mourn his loss. Of Mr.
Temple's four brothers only one is now living,
Mr. William Temple, gardener at Burley-on-
the-Hill, Oakham.

Dr. Archibald Dickson.— Dr. Archibald
Dickson, of Hartree and Eilbucho, who for
some time has been in indifferent health, died
on Friday, April 18, at his residence, Hartree
House. The deceased, who was a medical
practitioner in Edinburgh up till the death of
his brother, the late Prof. Dickson, some six-
teen years ago, when he came into possession
of the Hartree estates, was a most generous
friend to his tenantry, in whose welfare he
took a great interest. Dr. Dickson was an
excellent botanist ; his interest in horticulture
was general. For many years he interested
himself in raising Violas, working principally
for decided self colours, with erect, firm
footstalks. Messrs. Dobbie & Co. have intro-
duced several of his raising, two of which —
Pencaitland, a fine white variety; and Klon-
dyke, a strong yellow sort, are most meri-
torious. A fancy variety named Hartree,
after his own estate, had some popularity ten
years ago, but its constitution was defective,
which is often the case with the most beau-
tiful of Violas.

urrn^pondmu

*** Editor and Publisher. — Our correspon-
dents would obviate delay in obtaining
answers to their communications, and save
much trouble, if they would kindly observe
the notice printed weekly to the effect that
all communications relating to financial
tnatters and to advertisements should be
addressed to the Publisher ; and all commu-
nications intended for publication, or refer-
ring to the literary department, should be
directed to the Editor. The two depart-
ments, publishing and editorial, are quite
distinct, and much unnecessary confusion
arises when letters are misdirected.

Books : X. Y. Z. In our correspondent's list of
books for young gardeners, ante p. 224, the
Amatenr Orchid Cultivator's Guide Book
(Blake & Mackenzie) was described as 3s.
per copy. The correct price is 5s. — Book on
Fruit Wine Making : T. B. We believe
that vou can buy one at the Bazaar Office
(Mr. Upcott Gill), 170, Strand, London, W.C.

Daffodils : 11'. K. Send them to some grower.
We cannot name them.— Dajffodt/. The double
one is Telamonius plenus ; the other an
ordinary double variety, doubtless a seedling
variety.— J. W. F. The Daffodil bulbs have
been under treatment now for some time,
but no trace of bacteria or fungi has been
observed. It is probably a case of being
"sick of the soil." G. M.

Names of Plants: G. D. 1, Vinca major,
variegated form : 2, Vinca minor ; 3, Muscari
azureum ; 4, Erica carnea ; 5, Festuca,
variegated form ; (i, Thuiopsis dolabrata ; 7,
Cryptomeria japonica elegans ; 8, Cupressus
Lawsoniana. — H. E. G. Psoralea pinnata. —
W. Kemp. No. 8, Ruellia speciosa (Diptera-
canthus aninis) (Acantbacea?). — J. B. M. We
cannot name varieties of Narcissus, or other
florists' flowers, as the differences are in a
great many cases only apparent to the culti-
vator.— Young Gardener. Asplenium ma-
rinum. — A. 8, 1, Anemone fulgens ; 2, An-
thurium Seherzerianum ; 3, Maranta Mas-

sangeana ; 4, M. Makoyana ; 5, Festuca
ovina glauca ; 6, Trachelospermum jas-
minoides, more often called Khyncosper-
mum in gardens. — C. H. P. 1, Omphalodes
verna ; 2, Pulmonaria saccharata. — W. McL.
Magnolia Lenne.— C. L. Dendrobium cla-
vatum. — W. H. Si., Lam aster. Cattleya
Schroderie, a very good variety. — T. M. G.
Streptosolen Jamcsoni. — ■ L. J. B. Den-
drobium thyrsiflorum. — R. W. 1, Dendrobium
pulchellum of gardens ; 2, Epidendrum
Linkianum ; 3, Pleurothallis Grobyi ; 4, Sar-
canthus erinaceus ; 5, Masdevallia ful-
vescens ; 6, Cypripedium Boxalli.

Notice to Leave Service : H. M. Under the
circumstances, and you being wit hout an
agreement, you would be entitled to one
week's notice. Were you installed in a
bothy or had quarters on the place, and
filled the post of foreman, it might be
different. — D. G. D. A head gardener, in the
absence of a written agreement, is regarded
as "a domestic," and as such entitled to a
quarter's notice, which it is customary to
reduce in practice to one month.

Pinus : Correspondent . We have examined
both your specimens microscopically, and
have compared them with our herbarium
specimens. The result is, that we think
they are both forms of P. ponderosa, but in
the absence of cones we cannot be sure.

The Height of a Tree : E. F. B. Obtain a
right angle triangle of wood with the sloping
limb about 3 feet in length, and with this
instrument held with its base parallel with
the horizon, take a sight along the sloping
limb, directing the line of sight to the apex
of the tree, and step backwards or forwards
as may be necessary till the base and apex
agree with those of the instrument. Put a
peg in the ground at this point, and a
measurement made thence to the foot of the
tree will be equal to the height of the latter
— 4 feet being added as the height of the
observer's eye. Another method is to cut a
stick 3| feet long, and insert it in the ground
6 inches so as to steady it. This must be
done on a sunny day ; measure the lengths
cast by the shadows of tree and stick, and
then ascertain the number of times the
stick-shadow goes into the tree-shadow, and
the result is the height in yards and
fractions of a yard.

Vlnes : Interested. The warts may be occa-
sioned by insects, but usually the cause is a
want of balance between moisture in the air
of the vinery and the amount of ventilation
afforded ; excess of the first causing warts
and aerial roots to form.

White Lead Paint Injurious to Plants : M.
Injury might occur in houses recently painted
throughout, because of the fumes of the
turpentine and dryers used in the paint. A
month should elapse, for safety's sake,
before plants are placed in the glasshouses,
the houses being thrown open day and
night.

Young Forest Trees : W. B. T. Gas-tar
would undoubtedly kill the trees. A good
preparation sold as Ahlbottn's Tree Protec-
tive Composition, sold at 21, St. Andrew
Square, Edinburgh, is useful. But where
many trees have to be protected against
hares and rabbits, there is nothing better
than enclosing the planted area with rabbit-
proof wire 4 feet high. The wire should be
bent at a right angle about 1 foot deep, the
flange of wire facing outwards ; rabbits
always commencing to burrow close to the
fence, and the buried portion defeats their
purpose.

Communications Received.— J. Snell— Masdeval— G.,
Oldham— J. M.— H. W. W.- J. B— R. L. C— F. W. J —
A. F.— T. II. S. M. N.— J. S.— E. H. J.— B. & Sons—
L. P.-J. C-L. L.— J. K.-A. B. S.-J. S.-C. H. C—
H. Kempshall— H. J.— Geo. Burrows— B. E. G.

(For Markets and WeaUier, see p. x.)

o

<!

M

s

55

H

<

May 3, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

28-3

THE

barters' (pwmid*

No. 801.— SATURDAY, MAY 3, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Orchids, sale of

393

288

Palms, Queensland ...

288

Peir-tree, a big

294

290

Pelargonium capita-

turn

295

293

Primroses, Wilson's

Blue

293

289

Primula Spring Beauty

293

295

298

Publications received

291

295

Rose names

Sauromatum gutta-

294

294

tum

294

288

Societies—

Dudlev Hort.

293

293

East Anglian Daffodil

198

29!)

294

Linnean

298

292

Liverpool Hort.

297

Midland Daffodil ...

298

294

National Rose

293

Royal Hort

293

299

R. H. S„ Scientific

Committee

598

294

Sweet Pea Mont Blanc
Temperature, the

294

298

lowest

294

296

Tulips of long ago ...

285

298

Week's Work, the—

Flower Garden, the

291

Fruits under Glass .

291

Hardy Fruit Garden

290

288

Kitchen Garden ...

iSH)

Orchid Houses, the.

290

283

Plants under Glass .

291

Alnwick Castle Gar-
dens

Applesand Pears from
Tasmania

Asters, diseases of
China

Botanical Magazine, a
second edition of the

Cydonias, seedling ...

Dail'ud Is and Tulips at
Long Ditton

Erythronium cocci-
neum, &c

Fairy-cups

Gardeners in Lanca-
shire

Gloxinias

Grain, flour, and meal
of British commerce

Grape prizesatSbrews-
bury

Law note—
Claes v. Linden

Narcissi, spontaneous
seedling

Obituary—
Appleby. Henry
Crawford, John
KiDg, Thomas

Orchid notes and
gleanings —
Abuse of Orchids
when in flower ...
Laslio-Cattleya va-
rieties

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Conservatory and flower-garden at Alnwick Castle 2S7

Narcissus " Peter Barr" 295

Odontoglossum crispum " Miss Lucienne Linden " 289

Primula "Spring Beauty" 297

The Dairy Grounds, Alnwick Castle (Supplement).

TULIPS OF LONG AGO.
^TIHE origin of many of our old-fashioned
-*- flowers is often so obscure that it is
a real pleasure to find one, as in the pre-
sent case, concerning the origin of which
there is no dispute. True it is, errors occur
in various authors who have not been at the
trouble to verify their statements; but the
main facts are unaffected thereby. The
first Tulips that flowered in Europe, it is
certain, were brought hither by Augerius
Busbequius, a noble and learned Fleming,
Ambassador of the Emperor Ferdinand I.,
who went in 1554 from Vienna to the Sultan,
who saw flowers of the garden Tulips for
the first time in a garden between Adria-
nople and Constantinople. [See Gardeners'
Chronicle, May 13, 1890.] He returned home
in 1555, and not without a supply of
bulbs, which flowered in due course.
Busbequius immediately went back to
Constantinople, whence he finally returned
in 1562, no doubt with a further supply
of roots, and it would appear, had more
sent him after his return. Certainly
in 1574, when he was dispatched to the
Court of France, he handed over to Clusius,
then newly arrived in Vienna, a consign-
ment of imported Tulip seeds and bulbs.
these were duly placed in the earth, and as

the Tulips flowered, their descriptions were
noted by Clusius, and afterwards published.
[But the Dutch had got hold of the Tulips,
and grew them at Mecheln in 1570. Ed.]

Along with selfs in a great variety of
colours, there were also striped, spotted, and
edged flowers. But what is of the greatest
interest to us in connection with these
Tulips is the all but certainty, which
Hakluyt goes far to confirm, that from these
the first English Tulips were derived.
Clusius and Garrett the apothecary were
constantly sending each other plants, and
the well-known date Gerarde assigns as that
when the latter commenced raising and
cultivating Tulips almost exactly coincides
with that when Clusius obtained possession
of his rich prize.

Meanwhile Tulips were being introduced
into Europe through other channels.
Physicians, for example, discovered what
they thought a specific for cancer in the
Tulip-bulb, which was imported to supply
patients suffering from that terrible disease.
Clusius, moreover, tells a story of the first
Tulip he had seen, which shortly isas_follows:
An Antwerp merchant received a consign-
ment of goods from Constantinople, and
along with it a friend sent some bulbs. The
merchant thinking these were Onions, had
a few cooked, which he ate for his supper,
and were obviously so much to his liking,
that some were planted in his Cabbage-
garden, where however they shortly perished.
Others fortunately had been bestowed on
another merchant, a careful gardener, who
had the gratification of seeing his reputed
vegetables transformed into the most
brilliant flowers.

By the beginning of the seventeenth cen-
tury, the Tulip was cultivated in all the
chief continental countries, as well as in
England, where already there were indi-
cations that flowers had been derived from
a French, or at least a Flemish source,
Gerarde noting "Flambant" as descriptive
of a class of bloom he cultivated. By
Parkinson's time, distinctive names to
sections of Tulips were fairly numerous.
Of these we still have the "Parret " among
us; and the " Fool's Coat," a " faire red and
faire yellow, parted into guards," in addition
to others of which white and crimson formed
distinctive marks, continued to be culti-
vated for at least 100 years. The early
varieties derived from Tulipa suaveolens
would appear to have been highly esteemed,
and next to, or perhaps equal to, these the
earlier flowering varieties of Tulipa Ges-
neriana. That the bulbs were considered of
much value appears from a story related of
John Barclay, author of Argents, who had
his Tulip-beds guarded by two mastiffs,
which however were not so formidable as
to protect the objects of their watchfulness
from thieves. This curious episode occurred
just previous to 1630.

The Tulip, it may be said in passing, was
one of the few flowers that Johnson, the
editor of Gerarde, seems to have cared for,
and to him we are indebted for the supposi-
tion that Tulips might be the Lilies men-
tioned in St. Matthew, vi., 28, 39.

The first great florist who treats of the
Tulip is Rea, by whom we are introduced to
an entirely novel set of varieties and to
many sections not previously mentioned.
Generally, no doubt early writers, describe
them as Preeoees, Medias, ami Serotines,

but alongside these divisions many sections
had been established, and it is at this stage
we first discover a tendency towards modern
divisions. It is possible to indicate only a
few, as, for example, " Edgers," or those
with well-defined bands of distinct colour
round the edges of the segments. " Agots "
(French Agates), which appear to have been
named after the stone of that name. These
had all dull grounds, clove - coloured, or
slaty; "Paragons" (French Parangonee), in-
dicating high-class varieties, so much so,
that Rea remarks : " It is a trick much used
by those that sell flowers about London to
add Paragon to the name of any common
flower when it comes well marked, and
then impose a treble price." "Morrilons"
apparently identical with the " Muscha-
tolles" of Clusius, possessed yellow bottoms.
"French Modes " or " Bezars " (Bizarres) are
also mentioned, and "Brabasons" (Brabant),
with purple and white flowers. At this
time, and later, the bottoms of the flowers
might be any colour, blue, greenish, white,
yellow, &c. " Semper Augustus," the variety
that brought so much money during the
Dutch mania for Tulips, is described as a
small flower, but fairly well marked. It is
indeed clear that Tulips at this period were
varied to a degree they have not been since,
and embraced all colours, from white to
black, "Chimney - sweeper" being almost
black, though not quite so dark as "The
Witch," noted by Gilbert, which was "as
near as may be to black " — " the bottom
large, of a perfect black satin colour."

Early Tulips were forced by the middle
of the century; hotbeds composed of dung
being utilised for the -purpose, and the
flowers were bloomed early in January.
With the end of this century, however, the
Tulip entered on another stage, and became
one of the most rigidly correct of all florist
flowers. Addison, who appears to have
been fond of the flower, has more than once
compared Bevies of Fair Ladies wearing
their new fashioned hoods, to beds of
glowing Tulips, and did his best, by means
of ridicule, to stop the craze, but without
effect, for from this time the Tulip, as a
garden flower that everybody might grow,
became, till lately, the monopoly of a few,
some of whom disdained to cultivate any
other than this one plant!

So lately as 1792, Maddock's classes of
Tulips were almost identical with those at
the beginning of the same century. He
names " Primo Baguets, Baguets Riguats,
Incomparable Vcrports, Bybloemens, and
Bizards." The first named were derived
from a variety called •' Bagget Primo," very
tall on the stalk, whence, the name
"Baguette," with pale purple flowers and
white bottoms. This was the parent of a
race called after its name. The " Baguets
Riguats " in the same way were derived
from one sole breeder, named " Beau-
Regard," a paler flower than the first named,
but equally fine in the eyes of the florist.
The name h.is been the occasion of not a
little discussion. ;i> its origin after a time
had become obscure. "Baguette" was
simple, but "Rigant" might have been
either the name ol 8
French "Rougeande
always t" have been derived from a variety
of breeders, which possessed yellow bottoms,

Shortly after the date indicated, the
were regulated as at presenli into

man, or. from the
The Bizarres seem

286

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 3, 1902.

Bizarres, Bybloemens, and Hoses, formerly
" Verports."

Kare Tulips appear to have always com-
manded a high price. The most expensive
when Rea wrote was £5, and prices seem
to have fluctuated considerably till about
a hundred years ago when they became very
high. Hogg states, "A moderate collection
of choice Tulips could not be puixhased for
a sum much less than £1,000," and we read
of single bulbs being actually sold for £100
and £300 each. In the ordinary price-list
of Groom, of Walworth, for 1833, the sums of
4 to 20 guineas and £50 are asked for single
bulbs of different varieties. No oppor-
tunity for a Will Wimble to carry a line
Tulip-root from one to another in these
days! Nor had we an Addison to light up
the period with gentle sarcasm, that being
left later to the French pen of Alphonse
Karr, which portrays (so delightfully) the
experiences of M. Arnold with his twelve
Tulips.

On the whole we may be glad to have
fallen on happier times. We lack no doubt
the remarkable variety and the beautiful
flowers that gardens could boast of in the
seventeenth century, but we have a very fair
supply, much better than could be had during
the whole of the eighteenth, and most part
of the nineteenth centuries. And one class
we ought to be grateful to the florists for —
the lovely " Boses " of several degrees of
intensity. B., Scotland.

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

L.ELIO-CATTLEYA "PRINCE LEOPOLD."
M. CHARLES Pyxaert in the current number
of the Revue de I' Horticulture Bclgc, figures
and describes a hybrid Orchid raised in the
Royal GardeDS at Laeken by M. De Bievre.
T.iis hybrid was obtained by crossing Lselia
cinnabarina ? with the pollen of Cattleya
chocoensis alba, a pare white variety.
The flower of the hybrid is of a fine orange-
yellow tint. It has one great merit, that
is the duration of its flowering, which is
not less than six weeks.

L.elio- Cattleya x Ophir.

An exceptionally fine variety of this showy
hybrid between L;elia xanthina and Cattleya
Dowiana aurea is in bloom in the collection of
H. T. Pitt, Esq., Rosslyn, Stamford Hill (gr.,
Mr. Thurgood). The ilowers, which are as
large as those of a Cattleya labiata, have the
sepals and petals of a bright golden-yellow ;
the lip also is yellow, with a bright orange-
coloured disc, and an attractive rose-purple
veining on the front lobe. A curious feature
in this pretty hybrid is the increased intensity
of the red streaks seen on the under-side of
the column of L:elia xanthina, which in the
hybrid entirely cover the under-side of the
column with purplish-red. In most of its
features it partakes of Cattleya aurea, but in
this seemingly minor character it is even an
improvement on L. xanthina. The original
plant was raised by Messrs. Jas. Veitch &
Sons, who obtained an Award of Merit for it,
October 29, 1901. In that case it flowered in
autumn, but Mr. Pitt's flowering in the spring
is much finer.

The Abuse of orchids when in Flower.

A few observations in reference to this
subject may not be out of place now that the
principal Orchid-flowering season is at hand.

What sad statements are often heard of de-
terioration when inspecting a collection of
Orchids. When the reason is asked, the
answer is, " Oh, as soon as I have a fine
flower-spike or a well-flowered plant, it is
taken into a cold conservatory or one of the
apartments, or the flowers are allowed to
remain on the plant till they decay."

It is a grievous thing for a cultivator to bo
obliged to take plants into unsuitable places.
Employers should remember that if Orchids
are treated in this manner they must stand
the loss. It is very hard to expect the Orchid-
grower to keep the plants in good health unless
he is allowed to use his discretion respecting
such matters.

What is more discouraging to a grower who
loves his plants than to know that when he
produces a fine spike he is as likely as not to
be bringing about the death of the plant !
To be a successful cultivator of any species of
plants, everyone will admit that there must
be a certain feeling of attachment of the
grower to his plants ; and how is it possible
that this can be maintained when an employer
insists on the plants being so barbarously
treated? A true lover of plants, above all
things, considers their manifold and special
requirements.

There are many forms of bad treatment, and
probably the worst is when several plants of
one variety arc in flower together, and they
are shaken out of the potting materials, and
placed altogether in some ornamental vase for
the room decoration. Or the plants may not
be shaken out, but allowed to go into the
rooms as grown, wheh is not quite so bad as
the first case, provided they are left in the
house only for a day or two. So far all is well,
and the employer is pleased with the fine effects
obtained. Then, take the temperature of the
rooms in which they are kept in the evening, in
many cases quite hot ; but in the early morning,
when perhaps there are several degrees of
frost, the windows are thrown open wide,
which is detrimental to the Orchids, even if
right for the human inmates. Apart from these
common liabilities, the strain upon an Orchid
when in flower is always severe when growing
in the Orchid-house, but this is much in-
creased in the dry atmosphere of a living
room.

Another very common mistake is to allow
the flowers to remain on a plant till they
begin to decay, and although this is not so
bad for the plants as to take them into the
dwelling, still the injurious effects are felt for
two or three years afterwards. The flowers of
an Orchid should be removed from the plants
after a reasonable period of time, and placed
in vessels of water in the Orchid-house, if
not required for other purposes. The length
of time the flowers may rem tin on a plant
will depend on its health and vigour.
Providing it is a strong plant with nume-
rous roots, the flowers may remain much
longer than on one that is weakly — in fact,
such plants should not be allowed to flower
at all. Indeed, that is the only method by
which an Orchid can be restored to health.
Many of the most successful cultivators of
Odontoglossums, although they may not bo
called upon to abuse the health of their plants
in any way, would not let even their strongest
plants retain their flowers every year. An
employer, when he expresses a wish to have
this or that Orchid taken into the dwelling or
the conservatory, should remember that these
plants do not resemble Codiseums which when
the bottom leaves are lost may have the top
removed and struck anew, and thus secure a
new plant in place of the one that is spoiled.
The propagation of most species of Orchids is

a very slow process, and owners of collections
must expect to have constantly to buy in
fresh plants to take the places of those lost by
exposure to unsuitable conditions. W. P.
Bound, Gatton Park Gardens.

ALNWICK CASTLE GARDENS.

(Concluded from p. 271.)

I now come to the gardens proper, though,
had space permitted, I could have noted
much interesting matter in the park and
grounds, and before leaving them I must say
that the forester's art and work is so closely
connected with that of the gardener, and both
have combined to make of the park and
grounds a charming entity.

The flower-garden at Alnwick (see fig. 89,
p. 287) is surrounded on two sides by tall,
clipped Yew hedges, is situated close to
the kitchen-garden, and at the lower end
stands a conservatory of large size, with the
vineries and forcing-houses at the sides. The
greenhouses and hot-houses for the culti-
vation of plants stand a little nearer to the
Castle, and in the vicinity of the gardener's
house, about the middle of the garden. The
ducal owner having other large gardens,
and not residing at Alnwick in the period
from early spring to early autumn, the gar-
dener has not much early forcing of any kind
to carry out, the supplies coming from the
other gardens; still, the post of gardener at
Alnwick cannot be considered a sinecure, as
he has plenty to do in, making preparations on
a large scale for an average number of over 100
persons daily in the late autumn and winter.

The upper portion of the flower garden is
much higher than that near the conservatory,
and rises from the pond in the centre. The latter
was recently planted with modern varieties
of Water Lilies. On one side of the pond a
square area is surrounded with a pergola, as
at Hatfield, of Lime-trees, which are closely
pruned when out of leaf, and the shoots tied
in, and forms a shady retreat and promenade.
The square of turfed area enclosed is used for
bowls and crojuet. The opposite side of the
pond is sunk below the level of the garden,
and is used as a melonry, &c. The flower
garden from this point rises considerably, and
occupies a wide area ; and the beds on the
upper differ from those on the lower level,
which are mostly geometric, and filled with
spring- flowering plants. The beds on the upper
ground are formed into many devices, edged
with Box, and planted with dwarf shrubs
having variegated foliage, Hollies being much
employed in them. At the sides exist larger
beds, which are festooned with Ivies and other
climbers, and plants of Periwinkle are largely
used in them. At the summit stand some
beautiful old wrought-iron gates and fencing,
with noble stone arches, giving access to a
walled-iu fruit garden.

No mention of the flower garden would be
complete without referring to the extensive
borders of herbaceous perennials, which run
along the lower end of the garden, and
have recently been remodelled, and the
ordinary plants removed and late summer
and early autumn flowering plants sub-
stituted for them. Another feature is the
planting of a portion of the flower-garden
near the entrance to the same with perennial
Asters, Phygelius capensis, Erigeron spe-
ciosus, and other plants that flower in the
autumn; these being used as " dot " plants,
with Lilies and other bulbs liberally planted
between them.

The glasshouses and the conservatory have
been extensively altered in recent years, much
of the staging in the conservatory having been

May 3, 1902.]

THE GARB ENER 8 ' CER ONI CL E.

287

removed and shallow beds substituted for it,
and a wide central path formed, together with
an artistically-arranged rockery at the back of
the house, masking a lot of hot-water pipes,
and" affording situations for climbing plants.
The roof is supported by iron columns, to
which some very fine climbers, such as Lu-
culia gratissima, a very large plant, which
flowers grandly ; fine Fuchsias, Cassia eorym-
bosa, Habrothamnus Newelli, and Jasmins
are trained. The portable plants are now
arranged in groups or beds, and, of course,
more attention is paid to the late summer,
autumn, and winter-flowering plants than to

have no stoking to do here, all the houses being
heated by steam, which demands the attention
of an engineer at all times. The boilers are
placed near the gardener's house, and un-
fortunately a large smoke-shaft likewise.

The Peach-houses are lai'ge and good, and the
trees in fine condition, owing to there being no
need to force them, and late varieties are those
mostly grown. Of Royal George, Stirling
Castle, and Noblesse, there are some grand
trees in two of the earlier houses. The walls
in these houses are covered with Roses and
Figs, which succeed capitally. Tomatos are
grown in large quantities.

could scarcely be found elsewhere, the latter
being grown instead of the Morello. A wall
with an eastern aspect has been planted with
Gooseberries as cordons ; and on a wall with
a west aspect there are splended Pear-trees,
viz., Glout Morceau, Beurre Parridans, B.
Ranee, Winter Nelis, and Doyenne du Cornice,
which crop well in most years. Plums are
grown on east and west aspects, the Victoria
being the favourite variety on account of its
abundant bearing ; and Coo's Golden Drop is
equally fruitful, and affords fruit fit for dessert
as late as the second week of November.
Apple-trees are planted as bushes, in lines

Fig. 89.— the conservatory and flower-garden at alnwick castle, (see r. 286.)

others. In this house are some fine Tree-Ferns
and Palms.

There are some excellent span-roofed plant-
houses in the kitchen garden, also Palm-
houses, large quantities of plants being needed
for the decoration of rooms, and large batches
I of plants of a few kinds are now grown in pre-
| ference to a great variety, such being found of

(greater service. Chrysanthemums that flower
late are cultivated i i large numbers. There
are six large vineries, and during the past
three years most of these have been replanted.
The large Pine-stoves here are now devoted to
other uses, the culture of Pineapples having
f been discontinued. The housos have mostly
I iron and copper ribs. The young gardeners

Now we come to the kitchen-garden, which
covers, together with the area under fruit-
trees, about 7 acres, most of which is en-
closed by high walls. Though so far north,
very fine crops of Apricots, Peaches, and Nec-
tarines are grown on the south walls ; the trees,
as well as those of the trained Cherry, Pear,
and Plum, being protected in the spring. The
trees on the walls are excellent examples of
training, and bear witness to the good work of
the late Mr. Ingram, and more recently of Mr.
Harris.

Currant cordons on north walls supply fruit
late in the season. Cherry-trees are planted
on north-eastern aspects, and liner trees than
those of the May Dake and late Duke Cherries

near the paths, and a few as cordons on warm
walls, Cox's Orange Pippin fruiting capitally
on such walls. Pears are grown entirely as
wall-trees, and the kitchen - garden being
divided by walls into three parts, wall-space
is abundant. Small fruits of all sorts do well
in the light loamy soil.

A bothy which permits of each younj gar-
dener having a separate bedroom, a common
bath-roam, sitting and dining-rooms, and
rooms for tho foreman, has been erected, and
forms a sightly and suitable entranco to tho
kitchen-garden. G. W.

[The Dairy-grounds, illustrated in our Sup-
plement fliis week, were remarked upon on
p, 27.'!, ante. Ki>.]

288

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 3, 190?.

FAIEY CUPS.

(Concluded from p. 254.)

All this looks simple enough on paper,
hut what skill and patience have been
required for the working out of the facts
and details, and what infinite wisdom is
displayed when the process is understood!
And now comes a very important question,
and one which it will take some time to
answer satisfactorily : What purpose is served
tiy the beautiful pigment, by the vermilion
enamel with which the inside of the chalice
is adorned ? This opens up a wide field of
enquiry, and involves the origin, use, distri-
bution, and development of the colour-sense
in animals and man. Whole volumes have
been written thereon, and many others may
yet be penned before the theme is ex-
hausted. I can only here refer to two or
three of the principal points. In the first
place, brilliant colours are frequently asso-
ciated in Nature with virulent poisons.
Here the colour may be regarded as a
(lunger-flag, just as the piece of red cloth is
which the watchman employs on the line.
The gaudy plant or animal says to such as
would encroach, "Beware of me. If you
seize me and devour my flesh, I may call on
you to pay a heavy penalty. Under my
ruddy coat I carry a phial filled with the
deadliest poison, and he who drinks thereof
will never want for drink again." Thus, the
purple berries of the Deadly Nightshade
and the Bitter-sweet, the brilliant epi-
derm of the fly-agaric, and the highly-
coloured integuments of many caterpillars,
are to be treated with respect, and
kept at arm's length. In such cases the
colour is admonitory, and it is interest-
ing and instructive to observe how quickly
the animal world reads the warning. I have
known sheep and cattle introduced into
pasture-lands where poisonous herbs had
abounded for generations. The former in-
habitants had always avoided the plants,
and their direful properties were almost or
entirely unknown to the farmer, till the
new cattle devoured the rank herbage, and
paid for the deed by their surrender of life.

But "once bitten, twice shy;" a moral
which man is usually much slower to learn
than any other animal, and especially in
relation to the sparkling but poisonous cup,
with its ruddy hue. In the next place, the
colour serves, in many instances, exactly the
opposite purpose. It courts the attention of
various animals, and so secures important
ends. The bright colour of the harmless
hips-and-haws, the gaudy hues of the Crocus
and Tulip-flowers, as well as the richly-dight
wings of the butterfly, are all intended as
advertisements. So is it with many of the
fungi. Their fleshy substance or mealy
germs prove very attractive to different
insects and animals, and hence, when they
are ready for the visits of their allies, they
put out a notice in the shape of a golden
goblet or crimson chalice, which speedily
allures the fly or snail, the mouse or squirrel,
to their retreat. Who does not see in all
this a wonderful adaptation of means to
ends ?

It often happens, however, that we find
beauty for its own sake in Nature. You
cannot always affirm that some useful end
is served by this or that pigment, design, or
arrangement. When He did His work, the
Creator looked upon everything He had
made, and pronounced it very good. He

who has endowed us with artistic faculties
and aesthetic tastes, would not himself be
destitute of these things ; and if He formed
us to take pleasure in the beautiful, we
cannot logically conceive that He would
himself be indifferent to its charm, or would
produce a variety of things to fill the earth,
without endowing some at least with beauty
for its own sake. We argue from analogy.
The wealthy man firings flowers and shrubs
from distant lands to adorn his park or fill
his conservatory, though he knows they can
never yield him fruit, bring him any
monetary return, or be put to any practical
use save that of ornament. But if, when the
ball or the dinner is given, these plants
adorn the hall, ornament the table, hide
ugly corners, and brighten the mansion,
their beauty is utility. It is often so in
Nature. It must be an advantage to man to
possess an eye for the beautiful— if, indeed,
the eye does not create beauty — as some
philosophers assert. Beauty contributes
largely to our happiness— how largely few
of us can conceive, unless we have been
forced at some time or other to dwell in the
midst of surroundings where its elements
were unknown. We see the effects of beauty
in the smile which plays on the face of an
invalid at the unexpected arrival of a
splendid bouquet. We observe it in the
ecstacy of a child who is permitted to wit-
ness a performance. We discover it in the
features of a lover of art as he gazes fondly
on a famous masterpiece. In these and
many other ways the beauty of Nature and
Art affect the beholder. What we see in
others we also feel in ourselves. What de-
light is afforded by the sight of a landscape,
where green fields, verdant vales, blue
mountains blend, and lead the eye upward
to the cloud-flecked sky !

One further question remains to lie consi-
dered among the many we could wish to
answer. It may be asked from what source
the Fairy-cup obtains the gorgeous erubes-
cence of its interior. Whence the carmine,
vermilion, ruby, or cinnabar colour, which
makes it so attractive ? Much light has
been thrown on this subject of recent years
by the discovery of aniline colours in the
unpromising surroundings of the gas-works.
A few years ago it would have been difficult
to lead men to believe that the ebony rock
brought from the bowels of the earth and
sold under the name of coal, would supply
us, not only with gas to illuminate our
houses and workshops, but with sugar or
saccharin fit for domestic and medicinal
purposes, and pigments of every hue for the
dyer's art. Yet so it is.

The colours of plants undoubtedly depend
in the first instance upon the sun for their
production. It is, however, evident that in
Nature's magic laboratory the most beautiful
colours, as well as the most wonderful plants,
can be produced during a period of the year
when Old Sol is chiefly conspicuous by his
absence. Diffused light, however wanting
it may appear to be in its direct effects, is
still working the factory ; and a myriad
interesting plants are laying their traps to
catch a sunbeam, even when the beam is
doing its best to evade being captured.

Why one fungus is crimson, another
orange, a third green, and a fourth yellow or
blue, is, I believe, a question which no one
has yet been able to answer satisfactorily.
Modern theories have done much to make

the problems respecting the colours of
flowers clear, but the fungi are subject to
totally different conditions, and must be
studied from an entirely different stand-
point. We can see a reason for the different
colours of insects and birds. They can I bus
be readily identified and distinguished by
their friends, or can thereby the more easily
conceal themselves from their foes; but in
the cryptogamic world this argument will
not apply. One Fairy-cup or fungus never
goes to pay court to the fair lady of the
same class who lies ensconced behind a
neighbouring log ; there is no love-making
among the fungi, and we can hardly say
that there are any foes to shun. We are
therefore driven, for the present at least, to
the conclusion that while these different
colours are to a great extent immaterial
to the vegetable itself, they serve the useful
purpose of making the dull woild more
beautiful and bright. Attraction is often
blended with admonition.

Some of the nearest allies of the Fairy-
cup are among the most dreaded of pests.
They fix themselves on fruit and timber-
trees, producing a terrible gangrene or
canker, which is as destructive in the vege-
table world as cancer is in the animal, in
such cases it is possible that we may regard
the fungus asa wicked aggressor, not satisfied
with its lawful domains, but carrying
slaughter and death into the domains of
others. There surely is something of in-
struction and warning, encouragement and
admonition, inspiration and reproof, for the
humblest man who treads the earth in such
a study as this. Dull as our surroundings
may be, and unattractive as may be the
sphere in which we live and move, we can
each of us if we will, by our inherent vi-
tality, exercise a magic influence over the
dead material around us. Life springs out
of, and supports itself upon death. We can
breathe life and beauty into that which is
decayed and diseased, and even into that
which is mouldering and ruined, if only we
are prepared anywhere and anyhow to
fulfil the great mission of life. A Howard
can transform the prison-house, and a Fairy-
cup can make a rotten stick to blossom as a
Rose. A Sussex Naturalist.

QUEENSLAND PALMS.
In the issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle last
to hand, January 11, 1902, I notice an article
on three of our Queensland Palms. As the
writer states, with regard to one of these,
the Seaforthia elegans, of R. Brown's Prod.,
certainly much confusion has taken place.
However, he, the writer, has not mended mat-
ters, for instead of throwing light upon the
subject, he has added to the confusion, for the
tree represented as Ptychosperma elegans (Sea-
forthia elegans) does not in any way resemb'e-
that Palm, but if one of our Queensland Palms
atall, it is more likelyto be our"Black Palm,"
Drymophloeus Normanbyi, F. M. This rcay at
once be seen by observing the form and position
of the pinnae, which appear to be in clusters,
and are divided into several, usually nine,
narrow lobes to the base ; the rachis being
furnished to near the base with pinnse. Th«
leaves attain a length of 8 feet. The leaves of
the first mentioned are about 3 feet long with-
out the petiole, which is from 9 to 12 inches
long, segments on each side of rachis about
18 inches, those near the centre abont 1 foot
long and 1} inch wide in the broadest part,

May 3, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

289

the base contracted, the apex very oblique and
erose, the terminal ones truncate and toothed.
■Ever since I can remember, your Journal has
been most certainly one of the highest autho-
rities upon matters appertaining to plant life,
therefore it is with some diffidence that I pre-
sume to dispute any statement in its columns,
but I feel sure that you will allow me the
privilege of correcting errors about the
Queensland plants which may be referred to.
P. Manson Bailey. [Mr. Mauson Bailey's letter
has been submitted to our Berl in correspondent,
who derived his information from the Buiten-
zorg Botanic Garden, and does not altogether
agree that an error has been made ; but the
subject is under further examination. Ed.]

purple, the blotching on the sepals and lip
being of a peculiar purple tint of yellow, and
those on the petals purple with darker lines,
and a shade of yellow showing through it.

A SECOND EDITION OP THE
" BOTANICAL MAGAZINE."

There have been second issues of various
series of the Botanical Magaxine, but probably
very few persons are aware that a genuine
second edition was ever commenced. 1 myself,
although I have investigated the history of
this publication to a considerable extent,*
was unaware of the fact until Sir Joseph
Hooker brought it to my knowledge a few days

nean system by the natural, and this probably
had something to do with the scheme of repub-
lication. In 1826 Sir William completed the
fifty-third volume of the Botanical Magaxine,
and his name appears on the title-page of the
fifty-fourth volume, in which he gave the
natural orders of the plants, as well a? Lin-
nseus's classes and orders. This was continued
to the end of the ninety sixth volume in 1870,
since which date only the natural orders have
been given.

Only one volume of the new edition was
published. This contains 119 plates, be-
longing to the orders Ranunculacese to Sarra-
ceniacese, arranged in the same sequence as
in De Candolle's Prodromus, and it was issued

Pig. 90.— odontwlossim crispum " miss lccienxe linden.

ODONTOGLOSSUM CRISPUM
"MISS LUCIENNE LINDEN."

Blotched forms of Odontoglossum crispum
may emphatically be said to be the favourite
Orchids of the day, and importations flowering
for the first time are eagerly scanned for
spotted forms, and especially those with
purple colouring on the reverse of the
segments. Experts on seeing such for the
first time can readily estimate the possibili-
ties in it of greater beauty when developed,
and few novelties lately flowered seem to offer
better possibilities in that direction than the
remarkable variety O. crispum Miss Lucienne
Linden (fig. 90), which was exhibited as a very
small plant by Messrs. Linden, of Brussels,
at the Koyal Horticultural Society's meeting on
March 25, when it gained an Award of Merit.

The flower is of the best type, the reverse
side of the segments heavily tinged with

ago. Sir Joseph had forgotten the existence
of it until he came upon it when engaged upon
some historical work. A few particulars may
interest some of the readers of the Gardeners'
Chronicle.

The addition to the old title is : '"A new edi-
tion, with amended characters of the species ;
the whole arranged according to the natural
orders, by W. J. Hooker, LL.D., F.R.S., &c.
To which is added the most approved method
of culture, by Samuel Curtis, FX.S." The
plan was to republish the plates (nearly 2,800)
of the first fifty-three volumes, with amplified
descriptions and observations, arranged under
their respective natural orders. At that date
the leading botanists of this country, Hooker
and Lindley, were keen on replacing the Lin-

" See Gardeners' Chronicle, series :s, vol. i. (1HS7), begin-
ning at p. 316; also vol. xix. (lxPH), p. :i8<>, and vol. xx.
1896), p. 661.

in 1833. It opens with a brief exposition of
the merits of the natural system, by Sir W.
Hooker, followed by definitions of the classes,
order, genera, and species of the plants
figured, with additional information on their
history and cultivation. The plates bear new
running numbers, as well as tho original
ones, and, on the whole, they are more care-
fully coloured. Had this project been suc-
cessful, the Hookers would have edited an
edition of the Botanical Magaxine from the
beginning to the present day ; as it is, it has
been in their hands for more than three-
quarters of a century — probably a " record "
in editing; and Sir Joseph is as keen as ever
in keeping it going. It is not surprising,
however, that this venture was unsuccessful,
because few persons would caro to tako what
they already possessed in a different form ;
and a period of waning interest in botany and

290

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 3, 1902.

horticulture had already set in. In its most
flourishing time, the Botanical Magazine had,
as Sir Joseph Hooker informs me, a sale of
3,200 copies ; in 1844 this had dropped to
400 copies, and the expenses exceeded the
returns.

On thing inexplicable in connection ■with
the second edition is the fact that it does not
appear to have been advertised in the con-
tinuation of the original edition, though the
proprietor and editor were the same. In the
Kew library there is a set of the original
wrappers of the magazine for the year 1833,
containing advertisements, notices, &c. ; but
there is no mention of the new edition, and
the only reference to it I have found in con-
temporary publications is in Loudon's Gar-
deners' Magazine, ix. (1833), p. 350, where the
first number is favourably noticed. W. Botting
Remsley.

animation, and when they are ripe it will, perhaps, be
possible to give an opinion on that point. The fruits
are of medium size, about 3k inches long by 2f inches
wide ; rather variable in shape, some being ovoid
tapering to the eye, while others are turbinate with
prominent ridges or knobs round the eye. The latter
form is rather suggestive of Glout Moreeau The colour
is green with some russet and dark, metallic red on
the sunny side. Most of the other varieties were re-
presented by two to four cases only, and were sent
probably for experiment. They comprised BeurMiBosc,
Beurre d'Aojou, Autumn Bergamot, Beurre Capiau-
mont, Glout Morceau, and Pitmaston Duchesse ; all
except the last-named being in capital condition.
Three cases of representative Pears were selected, and
packed for presentation to His Majesty the King.

Besides the Pears, there was a grand lot of Apples,
the majority of which had arrived in a highly satis-
factory condition. Especially fine were Cox's Orange
Pippin, Scarlet Nonpareil, Eibston Pippin, French
Crab, and New York Pippin. These were fresh, juicy,
and finely flavoured, but I did not think the Cox's were
equal in quality to the best home-grown fruits.
B. L. Castle.

TASMANIAN PEAES AND APPLES.

Large consignments of Tasmanian Pears and Apples
have been received in London this week, and some
thousands of cases have been sold by auction in Covent
•Garden Market at good prices, for there is always a
demand for these supplies. Tasmanian Apples now
take their place amongst the most valuable imported
hardy fruits, and their quality is often fully equal to
that of home-grown Apples, notwithstanding the long
journey, and the fact that they have to be gathered
foefore they are matured. Until recently, however,
•comparatively little has been done in sending Pears,
but there is a prospect that this part of the trade will
be considerably extended in the future.

A few days ago the following letter from Dr. Benja-
field, of Hobart, Tasmania, was placed in my hands in
reference to the importation of Pears from that colony :
"I have just been reading the new edition of the Oar-
tle.ners" Assistant, and having noted your remarks about
Tasmanian Apples and Pears, I thought you might
think it worth while to inspect the first large consign-
ment of Pears (700 boxes) which I am sending by the
Ss. Medic, to arrive in London about the middle of
April, and I shall send another consignment of 1,000
•cases in a month's time. If you inspect them I should
be glad if you would send me a report on their
appearance, flavour, carrying quality, &c. You will
-recognise the varieties, except " Giblin," which is
a seedling raised here from Winter Nelis, and probably
Ne Plus Meuris; it is of grand quality, the fruit larger
■than Winter Nelis, and a much better cropper. All
these Pears are gathered when far from ripe, some not
more than three-parts grown, so the flavour may be
faulty. Pears like Chaumontel and Bon Cur<§ (Vicar of
Winkfield) become in our sunny land, and warm, sandy
■ soil good dessert varieties; indeed, Chaumontel is first-
•class, as are Beurre Clairgeau and Beurrd Capiaumont.
I have about 8000 trees, and some sixty varieties, com-
prising all your long-keepers. Josephine de Malines
will ripen on the tree with us, and all Pears mature so
much before gathering that we can only get such
varieties as that just mentioned, and Olivier de Serres,
to keep about a month ; hence we gather early to ship
"to England."

By the courtesy of Messrs. O'Kelly, of Covent Garden
Market, to whom the Pears referred to by Dr. Benja-
field were consigned, I have been able to inspect the
•cases of fruits received early this week, and I was
pleased to find that the majority had arrived in satis-
factory condition, as fresh and sound as if only just
gathered ; but it was only possible to give an opinion
^respecting the appearance, as with a few exceptions
■the fruits had been gathered so early (as mentioned
above) that they were not advanced enough for eating.
Where the fruits had partly ripened in transit, like
Pitmaston Duchess, they had suffered to some extent,
which was especially unfortunate as the fruits were
■very fine examples of this variety. No doubt it is in
this respect that the chief difficulty will be found in
importing Pears from the more distant colonies, but
flavour is of such importance in these fruits that
unless they can be sufficiently matured before packing
■to ensure the development of their distinctive qualities,
'their value will be greatly reduced.

The greater part of the consignment was made up of
■Vicar of Winkfield, under the name usually adopted in
France, i.e., Bon Cure. The sample I saw was excellent
in several respects, the fruits large, even, and all that
could be wished ; but they were not sufficiently ripe to
enable me to determine if they verified Dr. Benjatield's
statement as to quality. Chaumontel and Beurr6
•Clairgeau were each represented by some thirty cases,
and both varieties were in fine condition. Of Beurre
Diel there were ten cases of excellent fruit, and there
were the same number of the seedling Giblin, which is
described as an improved Winter Nelis. This ought to
be a valuable variety, but I have some fruits for ex-

The Week's Work.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Turton, Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Carrots. — In gardens, the soil of which is
infested with wireworms, it is advisable to
sow only the Short Horn and other short-
rooted Carrots, relying on these for supplies
at all seasons, and sowing twice or thrice
between the present date and July 15. A variety
that I would recommend is "Veitch's Scarlet
Model. In order to deter the wireworm from
injuring the roots, sow the seeds in the drills
and cover them with sifted charred garden
refuse three parts, and one part fresh soot,
which should be well mixed together before
using. If the soil is free from wireworm, the
seeds of the maincrop of Carrots may now be
sown. One of the best for this sowing is
Sutton's New Eed, and a few rows of Scarlet
Model may also be sown. Sow thinly in shallow
drills drawn at 15 inches apart, and 1 inch
deep. Single out the plants of the early sow-
ings of Short Horn varieties, and keep the
ground well stirred with the Dutch-hoe in dry
weather.

Seakale. — If at planting-time growth is for-
ward enough thin the buds on each set to two,
and when growth is more general reduce to
one, the strongest, which will form the crown-
bud for next season's forcing. Seakale planted
in permanent beds should have the shoots
reduced to one or two per plant, and not more
than six crowns should exist in each clump, or
the Seakale pots will not cover them, and for
the same reason the crowns should be kept
within a small compass. After thinning the
shoots on plants in beds that have been forced,
prick up the surface with a fork if this has not
been already done; mulch with some well-
rotted rich manure, and during showery
weather a week or two hence apply liquid-
manure copiously.

Radishes. — To have these roots crisp in tex-
ture and mild of flavour grow them quickly,
applying water if the beds are much exposed
to wind and sun. A cool border, preferably
one facing the east, should be reserved for
Radishes during the summer, and small sow-
ings should be made weekly. Where frames
on spent hotbeds can be spared, Radishes may
be grown quickly without much attention,
simply shading the frames till the plants are
up, and afterwards from strong sunshine.
The Olive-shaped varieties are those most liked,
and for summer supplies, and for forcing I
prefer the Forcing Carmine to any other.

Lettuce. — Thin the plants of the Cabbage-
Lettuce sown broadcast on warm borders, as
recommended in a former Calendar, affording
a space of 0 inches from plant to plants
of Commodore Nutt or any of that type,
and 9 inches to Veitch's Perfect Gem.
The thinnings, if planted at the edge of any
well-dug plot or border, will succeed those
that are left standing in the beds. Stir the
soil with a Dutch-hoe where white and other

varieties of Cos are growing, and take care
that the plants are not spoiled by being
crowded together, but single thetn out whilst
they are small, and a few weeks later thin
the plants to about 15 inches apart,
planting the thinnings on a piece of ground
in good heart. Where the Celery-trenches
are already thrown out, each alternate ridge
may be planted with Cos Lettuces, in which
positions they seldom fail to do well. Make
another sowing forthwith of white Cos and
Cabbage varieties.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Mayne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle,
Bicton. East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Mulched Fruit-trees. — Let the mulch be
removed from around all trees planted last
autumn and the spring of this year, and the
ground broken up slightly with a digging-fork,
in order that the sunheat may penetrate it
without hindrance, and act beneficially on the
trees. When this practice is followed, the
trees soon show a marked improvement, grow-
ing freely when a start is once made. Unless
the month is very dry, no mulch need be
applied before the end. When a fresh mulch
is applied, it should be of a strawy kind ; and
before it is placed over the roots a copious
application of water should be afforded if
heavy rains have not fallen. Transplanted
trees should not be allowed to bear much
fruit, if any ; and should be afforded water
and overhead syringing in dry weather, trees
against walls being afforded the latter twice
or thrice a week.

The Gooseberry Sawfly. — An examination of
the undersides of the leaves of the Gooseberry-
bushes should now be made, and the larvse, if
any, collected and put into vessels containing
freshly-slaked lime, and some of the same should
be scattered beneath the bushes as far as the
crowns extend ; and follow up this with hand-
picking every few days. Some gardeners
employ Hellebore powder, also quassia water,
into which soft-soap at the rate of 2 to 3_oz.
per gallon is put to make it more adhesive.
These remedies must be applied several times
in succession, and are not of much use if the
weather be rainy. Hand-picking is, in my
opinion, the best means of lessening the
numbers of this serious pest, and it should
begin as soon as the caterpillars are hatched
out.

General Remarks. — Rub off the young growths
on the stocks of grafted trees, leaving only a
few for the present to aid the ascent of sap
to the scions, more particularly in the case of
backward ones. These shoots may, when the
scion is making headway, be reduced in number
and in their length, and finally be removed
with a knife close to the bark. The clay or
wax may be removed betimes from grafts that
have begun to grow freely, and the ligatures,
if they are found to be indenting the bark,
replaced with fresh ones put on less tightly.
Recently planted fruit-trees on grass-land
should be freed from the turf for a distance of
1J ft. all round the stems ; and as regards the
mulching of these trees, the directions given
above will apply.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bocnd, Gardener to J. Colbian, Esq., Gatton
Park, Eeigate.

Cattleya House.— Plants of C. gigas and C.
Dowianaaurea and the hybrid from thesespecies,
viz., C. Hardyana, having beguu to grow, will
require more water than heretofore as growth
proceeds. These plants should be grown in a
group altogether, so that more sunlight may
be admitted to them than is good for the
other inmates of the house. A fair amount of
sunshine has a very good effect on the flowering
of the plants. The time when they may be
repotted varies considerably, the most suitable
time being when new roots form at the base of
the leads. The flowers on C. Mendeli and C.
Mossite are now fast developing, and the
plants well furnished with roots should be
afforded water freely till they go out of flower.

May 3, 1902.]

THE GARD EJYER S ' CIIR ONI CL E.

291

The time for repotting or top-dressing these
Cattleyas, and it is a matter upon which
success largely depends, is as soon as the
young: roots are visible on the lead; and in
any case the plants should not be disturbed
till the necessity to do so presents itself.
Plants of C. Schroderas will soon be passing
out of flower, and water should be carefully
applied till they show signs of renewed
activity, but on no account should they be
allowed to become very dry. This charming
species requires far more water when making
its growth than any other Cattleya I know of ;
indeed, well rooted plants may be afforded
water almost daily. Repotting should be
carried out as advised for the other varieties,
the potting compost consisting of three-fifths
turfy-peat, one-fifth chopped sphagnum, one-
fifth good leaf soil, the strength of the plant
determining the quantity of drainage materials
made use of. Plants which may have deterio-
rated should have the pots half-filled with
these, whereas others which require to be
merely potted-on will require much less.
Plants of Cattleya should be so placed in the
pots that the base is about on a level with the
rim, the roots having a greater tendency to
enter the compost when potted in this manner,
than when it is raised in conical form, and the
plant stuck on the top. Another advantage of
this kind of potting is, that it does not entail
nearly so much time in the doing. I would
remind Orchid-cultivators of the necessity of
dividing old specimen Cattleyas which indi-
cate any deterioration, and cutting away the
aged back pseudo-bulbs, and thus rejuvenating
the plants before it is too late. It does not
follow that because a specimen is pulled to
pieces that it is lost, rather its life is saved,
and all that is lost are the useless pseudo-
bulbs and dead rhizomes. The leading growths
are saved in every case, and they will soon
show improvement in the production of stronger
growths and finer flowers ; but it is of im-
portance to carry out the operation at the
right time, that is as soon as the new roots
begin to form on the leads.

PLANTS UNDEB GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Milleb Mundy, Esa

Shipley Hall, Derby.

Aphelandras. — The plants which will be
the first to flower are beginning to reach the
stage when repotting should be performed.
The usual mixture for stove plants, namely,
peat, loam, in equal ratio, and sand, will suit
them. The root-mass or ball should be reduced
in size considerably, so as to afford as much
new soil as possible in the comparatively small
pots in which they should be potted. Aphelan-
dras may be raised from cuttings of shoots
taken when about 2 inches long, and with a heel
of old wood. The plants should be afforded a
cousiderable amount of heat and humidity.

Ricliardias.— The earliest plants should now
be afforded less water at the root, with the
object of maturing the tubers at an early date.
It has been found that a long rest induced by
dryness of the soil, and when growing to place
the plants always in full sunlight, are means
whereby the disease, which is becoming preva-
lent in places where Richardias are largely
grown, can best be combated.

R. Elliotlana and others of the yellow-
spathed species, which should now be growing
freely in a high temperature, may be frequently
afforded liquid manure - water during the
rather short period when the plant is making
very active growth, which will give increased
size to the tubers.

Freesias.— Where it is the practice to depend
upon home-grown bulbs, the plantsneed careful
treatment, water being afforded so long as the
leaves retain their green colour, but cutting
off the supply entirel. when the leaves change
colour, the plants meantime being placed on a
sunny greenhouse shelf or other place, where
they are exposed to full sunshine.

Kalosanlhrx. — Cuttings made from the
strongest of the undowered shoots should be
put in to the number of three to five in small

pots, and being of a fleshy nature much water
is not required before they have formed roots.
It is advisable to let the cuttings get wilted
by exposure to the air for a few hours before
putting them into the cutting-pots. The cut-
tings strike readily in a dryish house or pit.

Franeoas.— These should now be top-dressed
with a mixture of sandy loam and leaf-mould,
in order to encourage the formation of roots
on the stem, and plants growing in 60's and
small 48's may be shifted into somewhat larger
pots if necessary.

Winter Carnations. — The first and principal
stopping of these should now be carried out,
if the main stem is sufficiently tall to admit of
it. This is a matter that requires special
knowledge of the varieties grown, but as a
general rule it may be said that the best
flowering-shoots spring from the main stem
about 6 inches above the soil, and to stop
some varieties lower than this is to court
failure. Varieties of a free-branching habit
require no stopping.

Thunbercjias. — Seeds of Thunbergia auran-
tiaca and other varieties may now be sown.
The plants grow quickly, and make excellent
subjects for planting in baskets to be hung in
stoves where the air is kept so moist that red-
spider cannot exist.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Chrysanthemums. — For an autumn display,
the ordinary early-flowering varieties are ad-
mirably suited, and have an excellent effect
in groups of half-a-dozen or in large masses.
The plants may with safety be set out at any
time after this date. Let the stations be well
manured and deeply dug, and see that the soil
is made firm about the roots — a matter of im-
portance, as if planted loosely, long, attenu-
ated shoots will be the result. Unless the
soil is very dry, or the weather at the time of
planting abnormally warm, no water need be
applied to the plants for a few days. As soon
as growth recommences, pinch out the points
of the shoots at about the sixth leaf ; and if
the soil be light, afford a mulching of well-
rotted manure. During the summer months
the plants require but little attention beyond
keeping the soil free from weeds, staking and
securing the shoots against the wind, and
applying water abundantly in dry weather.

Pentstemons. — Some of the newer varieties
possess exceedingly bright colours, large
blooms, and a long season of flowering, which
make them most useful plants in garden
decoration. Any plants in stock which have
been raised from cuttings or seed may now be
planted on well dug soil in beds and borders,
and afforded sufficient water to settle the soil
around them.

Shrubby Phloxes should be planted forthwith
in well-prep ired beds or stations. The fine
trusses of flowers produced by the dwarfer
varieties have such rich colours that very
beautiful effects may be obtained from them
when planted in beds of one colour, the
beauty of the whole being greatly enhanced if
the beds are on turf. The pure white La
Fiancee, when planted in beds of moderato
size, with specimen Cockscombs brought on in
pots and planted out in July, or when the
bloom of the Phlox is beginning to develop, in
the proportion of two Phloxes to one Cocks-
comb, has a very pleasing and uncommon
effect, and the flowering period of both is of
considerable length. The shoots of Phloxes,
when very many, should be reduced in number
by taking out tho weaker ones.

Herbaceous Borders. — Let the weak shoots
of Achilleas, Delphiniums, Lupins, ami Sun-
flowers be removed in number according
to tho habits of the plants. Some of the
plants that were lifted and re-arranged las I
autumn may require this kind of attention
to a lessor extent. Extirpate all weeds, and
beep straying and rampant-growing plan! ,
within proper bounds. Ii slugs abound, place
a few fresh leaves of Cabbnge near to infested

plants, examining these baits every morning
and late in the evening, destroying all that-
are found on or beneath them. If this prac-
tice be followed up for a few weeks, the
numbers of these depredators will be greatly
lessened.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleoch. Dalkeith.

The Melon House.— The earliest Melon-plants
should bo afforded water in sufficient quantity,
but the soil round about the stems for a space
of 1 square foot should not be wetted. If the
quantity of soil in the ridge or bed is small,
and the roots have come through to the
surface, add a small quantity of heavy loam,
but no solid manure, weak manure-water
being used instead if very large fruits are
required. Light soils may be sprinkled with
fish -manure, or other phosphatic manure,
before the soil is added. Keep the air moist
by of ten damping down paths, &c, and slightly
dew over the plants at closing time. The shoot
which carries a fruit should be stopped two-
leaves beyond it, and as much bine allowed to
grow as will cover the trellis with foliage, but
no more, and be kept clean and healthy. The
night temperature should not exceed 70°, but
at closing time in bright weather the warmth,
may reach 90°. When the fruits begin to ripen,
afford much less water, but do not eause-
the leaves to flag. Put out more Melon-plants,
doing this whilst they are quite small, and
keep the soil rather dry till the plants have
gained strength. Continue to sow seed for-
planting in frames and pits that will be-
cleared of bedding plants shortly.

Early Cucumber plants usually show when in
full vigour too many fruits, and the number of
these must be reduced considerably, or they
will be of small size, and the cropping capabili-
ties of the plants reduced in a short space of
time. The plants require much water at the
root in hot weather and should be grown on
porous soil over good drainage ; weak manure-
water being used alternately with clean water,
and the plants syringed night and morning. At
the same time the air must be kept moist by
an occasional damping of the paths and walls.
The day temperature may be 80° in sunny-
weather, 70° to 75° in dull weather, and
05° at night. It is better practice to-
raise a few Cucumber plants from seed
every six weeks, and make up new beds,
than to tinker with exhausted plants, in the-
hope of prolonging their fruitfulness. Cu-
cumbers grow very well in the summer months,
in ordinary garden frames, if these be half
filled with stable-dung alone or mixed with
tree-leaves, taking care that the heat goes-
off, the soil of the bed consisting of coarsely
chopped up loamy soil and rotten dung.

Publications Received.— Annates Agronomigues,

March 25. Principal conlents : Composition des Bids
durs, M. E. Fleurent. Xodositos radicales chez les
leguniineuses, M. E. Laurent; Culture du Riz au
Japon, M. Main; Ac— Bulletin de In Sociitt Botaniqut
<i France, tome 49. Contains reports of the meetings
and of papers read by the members. — Gartenflora,
April l. — Bulletlino delta R. Societa Toscano ii <>rti
cultural, March. — Nuovo Itiornaie Botanico Italiano,
January. — BulletUno delta Soetetd Botanica Italiana,
January. — Boletin del Institute Ftsico - Seografiea de
Costa Rica, No. 18.— Harrison's Horticultural Idvertisei
of America, March i; (La M,,lt. Pa., U.S.A.). — Pro-
ceedingi <>f the American Academy of Arts "."■' Sciences
March. Contributions from the <lray Herbarium of
Harvard University, bv M. L. Fcrnald. 1. The North-
eastern Cariccs. H. The Variation of Borne Boreal
Cariecs, with five plates.— From the New v.nk ieri-
culturat Experiment station. Geneve Bulletins
No. 201. Report at Analyses oj Com tercial Fertilisers
for the Soring ana Fall oj 1901, by r.. I. Van EUyke
ami W ll. Andrews ; No.

gations\ by V. ll. lame and P. J Parrott; No. 30*.
/,'. port of Analyst • of Paris Oreen .-■ in

1901, by L l, Van slyke and W. n Andrews; No. 206.
Manure upon Sugar Beets. byW ll . Jordan and
it. W. Churchill ; ami No. 206
Onions, by \v. it Jordan and l'. A Birrlne I
Dictionary o tart-

ment of Agriculture \ |! tralia, vol. 5, part 8. —

The Agricultural <•'" etti oj V, ti So M n at . March,
— Practical Boiani El B] Bower A Gwynnt

Vaugha n i Uacmillan, London i Cyclops
By L. H. Baili

r.omi

By Prof P, 0. Sears, WoKvllli

292

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 3, 1902.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

airvnjv vr»v .(Chambre Syndicate des Hort.

SUNDAY, MAI i-f BelgeSi Meeting, at Ghent,

("Royal Horticultural Society's

Trro-anAV \r»v «J Committees Meet.

TUESDAY, MAT b-j 3coiUsh Horticultural Associa-
te tion's Meeting.
I Royal Caledonian Horticul-

WEDNESDAY, May 7- tural Society's Show (two
I ' days).
I Roval Gardeners' Orphan Fund,

TUUR3DAY, May 8-J Annual Dinner at the Hotel
{ Cecil, at 6.31' P.M. for 7 P.M.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

TUESDAY, May 6-

At the Hale Farm Nurseries, Feltham, Middlesex,
Carnations, Chrysanthemums, Phloxes, Pentste-
mons. Begonias, Dahlias, Bedding Plants, Cannas,
Irises, and other plants, by Protheroe & Morris.

WEDNESDAY, May 7—

Palms, Sweet Bays, &c. at Stevens' Kooms.— Palms,
Liliums, Ferns, &c, atti7&t8, Cheapside, E.C. by
Protheroe & Morris, at 12— Specimen and other
Palms, &c, at Granard Gardens, Putney Park Lane,
Putney, by Protheroe & Morris, at 12.30.

THURSDAY, May 8—

Specimen and other Palms &c. at Granard Gardens,
Putney Park Lane, Putney, by Protheroe & Morris,
at 12.30.

FRIDAY May 9-

Orchids in variety at 67 & 68, Cheapside, E.C, by
Protheroe & Morris, at 12.30.
(For further particulars see our Advertisement columns.)

Avbraqe Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswiek
—52' 5'.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— April 30 (6 p.m.) : Max. 583 ; Min. 48°.

Wind, West, Moderate.
Provinces. —April 30 (6 p.m ) : Max. 52', S. Shields,
Scilly, and elsewhere ; Min. 47", Peterhead.

_ . _, In an article anticipating the

Grain, Flour, „ . , . ,. K„ ,e ,

and Meal new Budget in the Gardeners
of British Chronicle for March 22 last, we
Commerce. referred to the important part
played by the vegetable kingdom in the
realisation of the revenue of the country.
This has been singularly confirmed in the
Chancellor's new proposals for meeting
the expenses of the South African War, for,
in addition to the advanced Income-tax and
the Cheque-duty, that which is comprised
under the Corn and Flour-tax deals exclu-
sively with vegetable products, though of so
varied a character as to suggest an article on
the curiosities of taxation, for one cannot
conceive that anyone except a Chancellor of
the Exchequer could possibly make the term
" grain " so elastic as to include such products
as Peas, Haricots and other Beans, Lentils,
and Locust or Carob-beans. Again, the
term " flour " or " meal," as interpreted by
the Customs authorities, is made to include
Pea or Bean-meal, starch or farina from
Potatos, arrowroot, Mandioeca, and Cassava-
flour, tapioca, and sago, so that there is a
wide scope of materials for the purposes of
taxation.

In respect to this curious classification,
several questions have been asked in the
House of Commons by those members who
apparently know that a Potato or a Locust-
bean would not be called grain by ordinary
mortals, although for the purpose of revenue
they may be so considered. However
strained the meaning may be, all such
articles are liable to the duty of threepence
per cwt. for "grain " and fivepence per cwt.
for " flour " and " meal."

The absurdity of this classification will be
made more clear by a further consideration
of the plants yielding Locust or Carob-
beans, tapioca, sago, and arrowroot.

The first is a small branching tree, about
thirty feet high, belonging to the natural
order Leguminosa, and a native of the

European, African, and Asiatic countries
bordering the Mediterranean. It is also
cultivated especially in districts which
suffer from drought, as from the long, pene-
trating roots of the tree, it has the power of
resisting extreme drought. The pods, which
vary in length from four to eight inches,
and from one to one-and-a-half inch wide,
are, when ripe and dried, of a shiny brown
colour, filled with a very sweet pulp, which
encloses numerous small brown seeds. The
saccharine pulp, which also has a muci-
laginous taste, causes the pods to be much
in demand for feeding horses, mules, pigs,
&c, and in times of scarcity they are used
for human food. Of late years these pods
have become a large and increasing article
of import into this country, chiefly for
the purpose of feeding cattle, entering as
they do largely into the patented cattle
foods which have become so generally
adopted of late. At one time the pulp of
these pods was considered an excellent
remedy for sore throats, and it was also
used by singers for the purpose of clearing
their voice. In Cyprus, a black syrupy
substance like treacle, and known as Carol)
honey, is prepared from it. The term Carob
is derived from the Arab Kharous, while
that of locust-pods, by which they are more
generally known in commerce, is from the
supposition that they formed the food under
the name of locust, upon which St. John
the Baptist fed while in the Wilderness.
A third name frequently given to these pods,
namely that of St. John's Bread, has the same
derivation. The crooked warted branches
when straightened, form excellent walking-
sticks, and are imported into this country
for the purpose.

The plants furnishing tapioca, Cassava
meal, and Mandioeca flour, are perennials
of a half shrubby or herbaceous character,
producing large cylindrical fleshy roots,
containing a quantity of milky juice. Two
species are used : the chief or most im-
portant being known as the bitter Cassava
(Manihot utilissima), an Euphorbiaceous
plant having a bitter poisonous juice, and the
other known as the sweet Cassava (M. Aipi
or M. palmata), the sweet juice of which has
no poisonous properties. Both species are
supposed to be of South American, and
specially Brazilian origin.

The poisonous species is that which is
mostly cultivated for the purposes of food,
and at the present time it is largely grown
throughout the tropics, particularly in South
America, West tropical Africa, the Straits
Settlements, and in various parts of India.
With a plant so widely cultivated, as might
be expected, a large number of varieties
have arisen. M. utilissima is much more
productive and much more largely cultivated
than M. Aipi, this latter species being
grown chiefly for the sake of the roots
which are simply boiled and eaten as a
vegetable, and though yielding Cassava
meal, Cassava starch, and tapioca, its culti-
vation in comparison with the other species
is comparatively small. The poisonous
bitter juice which M. utilissima contains is
removed by expression, and the heat used
in the preparation of Cassava meal and
tapioca dissipates the remaining bitter
principle (hydrocyanic acid).

When freed from starch and concentrated
by boiling, this juice becomes a thick black
fluid known as Cassareep, which is much

used in the West Indies in the preparation
of made dishes. It is imported into this
country, and is used as the basis of many
well-known table sauces. Cassava starch,
Mandioeca flour, and tapioca are all pre-
parations obtained from the grated and
washed roots of the Manihot, tapioca itself
being simply Cassava starch which, while
moist, has been heated on hot plates. Under
this treatment the starch granules swell and
burst, and become agglomerated in the small
irregular masses as seen in the shops.

Tapioca is a cheap but valuable article of
food so far as its dietetic properties are
concerned, as it is nutritious and easily
digested.

Arrowroot is another root product, as its
commercial name implies, and consists of
the starch obtained by a series of careful
washings of the grated root of Maranta
arundinacea, a Scitamineous plant of the
West Indies. The substance is one of the
most easily digested foods of the farinaceous
series, and is much used for invalids. It
varies considerably in price, according to
quality and place of production. Many
years ago St. Vincent was the principal
place of production, the quality being the
best in the English market. At the present
time Bermuda produces the finest quality,
which is sold in the retail market at 2s.
per lb., against 5d. for St. Vincent and 9d.
for that from Natal. At the Mincing Lane
Sale Room a week ago, Bermuda arrowroot
was bought in at la. 5rf. per lb., while fine
St. Vincent's sold at a little over 3d. per lb.
Sago is perhaps more generally used as
an article of food than either of the pre-
ceding, as the term has a wider application,
being given to similar products from several
distinct plants, as, for instance, from some
species of Cycadeae, from which fact this
group of plants was formerly known as
Sago Palms. Cycas revoluta in China and
Japan, C. Kumphii, C. circinalis, and C. pec-
tinata in India; C. media and Macrozamia
spiralis in Australia; and Zamiaintegrifolia
in the West Indies, all furnish a kind of
meal or starch from which a kind of sago
is made, as does also Phoenix farinifera, a
shrubby Indian Palm. Commercial sago
is, however, obtained from the trunks of
Metroxylon sagu and Arenga saccharifera.
The former Palm is much the more im-
portant, and is abundant in Sumatra and
the neighbouring islands, as well as in Java,
Malacca, Siam, Borneo, and Celebes. The
life of this Palm is said seldom to last
longer than from fifteen to twenty years,
when the tree flowers and dies. An enormous
number of flowers are produced, but com-
paratively few fruits are formed, and a still
less number of seeds are perfected. The
quantity of commercial sago obtainable
from one tree of this species is enormous,
averaging up to 500 or 600 lb., and it is
recorded that as much as 800 lb. have been
derived from a single tree. It has been
further estimated that these sago Palms of
average size will yield more food than an
acre of Wheat, and six trees more than an
acre of Potatos. To obtain the sago-meal
the trunk is cut down and split up into
longitudinal segments, the cellular or pith-
like centre is scraped out and carefully
washed, the water in settling deposits
the starch, which is moistened into a
pasty - like mass, and pressed through
sieves of different sized meshes, thus pro-

May 3, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

293

■ducing the granules so familiar to us as
commercial sago. These granules are, of
■course, completely dried before being packed
forexport. The importance of sago-mealasan
article of food in the Moluccas has been
exemplified by the statement that 2^ lb. of
liread made of this meal is sufficient for a
day's sustenance for a healthy man employed
on hard work.

From the foregoing remarks it will be

■seen that the terms ''grain," '-flour,'' and

' meal," as interpreted by the Chancellor

of the Exchequer, have an extremely wide

Royal Horticultural Society. — The
Royal Horticultural Society will hold their
great Annual flower show in the Inner Temple
Gardens (by the kind permission of the Trea-
surer and Benchers), on May 28, 29, and 30.
For schedule of this show, application should
be made to the Secretary, Royal Horticultural
Society, 117, Victoria Street, London, S.W.,
enclosing a stamp.

The next meeting of the Fruit and

Floral Committees will take place on Tuesday,
May 6, in the Drill Hall, Buckingham Gate,
S.W., from 1 to 5 p.m. A lecture on "The
Classification of Plants by Evolution" will
be given by the Rev. Prof. G. Henslow, M.A.,
V.M.H., at 3 o'clock.

At a general meeting of the Society,

held on Tuesday, April 22, fifty-two new
Fellows were elected, amongst them being
Lord Decies, the Earl of Mount Edgecumbe,
Viscount Peel, Sir Wm. Johnson, Bart., Sir
Arthur Lawson, Bart., Sir Chas. Wolseley, Bart.,
■and Lady Drummond of Hawthornden, making
a, total of 452 elected since the beginning of
the present year.

Sale of Orchids. —Messrs. Peotheroe
& Morris, sold lately at the Central
Auction rooms, 67 and 68, Cheapside, E.C., a
oollection of established Orchids. Some of
the lots realised very high prices, among
which may be mentioned the following : —
•Odontoglossum crispum, two old bulbs, and two
leaf bulbs, strong plant, a superb variety,
finely blotched and spotted on sepals and
petals, grand lip, 150 guineas ; ditto, two old
bulbs, and two leaf bulbs, fine plant, very dark
claret spots on sepals and petals, 00 guineas ;
O. c. roseum, very good plant, fine flower,
and densely spotted petals, with minute spots,
50 guineas.

The National Rose Society has issued
«ts schedules of prizes to be offered at the
three exhibitions that will be held under its
auspices in the approaching season. The first
of these will take place, as last year, in the
Inner Temple gardens, Thames Embankment,
London, on July 2. Notice of entry should be
made not later than June 27, to the Hon. Sec.,
National Rose Society, 2, Clifton Gardens,
Chiswick. The second will be held in con-
junction with the annual show of the Devon
and Exeter Horticultural Soc'ety, at Exeter,
on July 4. Entries must be addressed to
17, Bedford Circus, Exeter, not later than
June 30. The latest, or northern show, will
be in the Royal Botanical Gardens, Man-
chester, in conjunction with the show of the
Royal Botanical and Horticultural Society of
Manchester, on July 19. Entries are requested
to be sent to the Hon. Sec, National Rose So-
ciety, Royal Botanical Gardens, Manchester,
not later than July 15. It should be remembered
that Hybrid Teas are considered as Hybrid
Perpetuals unless specially excluded by the
schedule, and mxy not bo shown in the classes
i for Teas and Noisettes.

Cydonias. — From Mr. Anthony Waterer's
nursery at Knaphill we have received some
very beautiful seedling varieties of Cydonia,
amongst which, one named Knaphill Scarlet,
with bright scarlet flowers, 2J inches across, is
the best.

Horticultural Club.— The usual monthly
dinner will take place on Tuesday, May 0, at
G p.m., at the Hotel Windsor, Victoria Street,
when the Rev. George H. Exgleheart, V.M.H.,
has kindly promised a paper entitled " A Talk
about Daffodils."

A Gardener J. P.— May it not be regarded
as a new event in a gardener's experience to
find that an estimable colleague and gardener,
Mr. John Dean, who is head gardener to the
well-known public schools at Sherborne, Dor-
setshire, of which that liberal-minded and
able clergyman, Canon Westcott, is Head
Master, has recently been elected to the office
of Chairman of the Sherborne Urban Council,
and by virtue of that position he also for the
time being becomes a magistrate ? Mr. Dean
has for several years been Chairman of the
Sherborne Gardeners' Mutual Improvement
Association.

The Dudley Horticultural Society,
according to a schedule before us, will hold
its first exhibition and honey show on Au-
gust 13 and 14. A considerable number of
classes is reserved for the encouragement of
gardening within a radius of four miles of
Dudley, but in addition to these there are
open classes for plants and cut flowers. In
the two principal classes for a group of mis-
cellaneous plants, and for twenty stove or
greenhouse plants, first prizes of £10 each are
offered. The Secretary is Mr. H. Dickinson,
Sunnyside, Dudley. The town itself is situated
almost in the centre of a district popularly
termed the "Black Country."

A Census of Gardeners, Nurserymen,
Seedsmen, and Florists, within the Ad-
ministrative County of Lancaster. — The
number of persons enumerated at the census
of March 31, last year, within this area
reached a total of 6,609. In addition to this
total there were 34G females so enumerated.
These totals are distributed under the following
range of ages : —

Ages.

Males.

Females.

Ages. Males.

Female

10

65

3

45 1,144

31

14

89

7

55 986

26

15

634

90

65 575

16

20

630

81

."■.in,]

25

1,215

54

upwards 141

—

35

1,117

38
Totals

6,609

346

Domestic gardeners, it should be noted, are
not included in the above totals. Two blind
and one deaf-and-dumb gardeners appear in
the table of infirmities.

Wilson Blue Primroses.— A very bright
bed of these beautiful spring flowers in the
garden of Dr. A. H. Williams, Rotorna,
Harrow -on- the -Hill, which were raised by
him from seed, calls to mind the enthusiasm
of their originator, that genial amateur florist,
the late G. F. Wilson, of Heatherbank, Wey-
bridge, when speaking of his first successes in
fixing the blue colour in garden Primroses,
and his determination to continue until he
had so established the strain that it should
come true from seeds. In view of the varia-
bility of the flowers of Primulas in the matter
of colour, few persons thought Mr. Wilson's
hopes would be realised to such a degree
as we now know was accomplished, for
many persons have raised these blue Prim-
roses true from seeds. In Dr. Williams' batch
all tho set originally sent out appear true to
their original characters, and in point of bright

blue colour and size of flower, his plants seem
to be improvements. A bed of mixed alpine
Auriculas is also very pretty and fragrant, and
the Bunch Primroses, as they are often called,
very effective.

Narcissus Leedsm " Elaine."— Flowers of
this exceedingly delicately tinted variety,
raised by the Rev. G. H. Encleheart, are
sent us by Messrs. DlCESONS, Ltd., Chester,
who inform us that they will distribute it in
1903. The flowers have a sulphur - white
coloured perianth and lemon cup.

Lobelia Newport's Model. — We have
received from Mr. W. R. Newport, Hillingdon
Heath Nurseries, Uxbridge, a specimen of this
bedding Lobelia. The flowers are of bright
purple colour, with a large, conspicuous white
eye.

The Japanese Maples.— From Messrs. T.
Cripps & Son have come specimens of some of
the choicest varieties of these very effective
foliage plants. These include two forms of
Acer japonicum, namely, aureum and laci-
niatum. All the others are varieties of A.
palmatum, representing in the main colour
variations from the type, and as in dissectum
and septemlobum, variations in the form of
leaf also.

"Kew Bulletin of Miscellaneous In-
formation."—We note that Appendix IV.,
1902, of the Bulletin of Miscellaneous Informa-
tion from the Royal Gardens, Kew, is devoted
to the annually-published list of the members
of the staffs in botanical departments at
home, and in India and the Colonies. This
will be of much use for reference for intend-
ing correspondents in the various stations and
elsewhere.

"The Homeland Handbooks."— The last
addition to this series of pleasant guides deals
with Epsom and the Epsom district, and is
written and illustrated by GORDON HOME. The
introduction appended to it has been attri-
buted to Lord Rosebery, having been first
published over the initials "A. R." This
handbook is, like its forerunners, fully illus-
trated, and includes a map copied from the
ordnance survey. The chapters deal with
such subjects as the position of Epsom, and
description of the Town and District in Past
and Present Times, the Churches, Great
Houses, Local Worthies, the Origin of the
Racing on tho Downs, the Country beyond the
Town, Birds of the District, Golf, and similar
items of local interest. This Guide to Epsom
is published by the Homeland Association,
24, Bride Lane, Fleet Street, E.C.

Diseases of China Asters.— A bulletin
recently issued from the Massachusetts Agri-
cultural College on growing China Asters,
contains many helpful hints, notably con-
cerning the diseases to which these popular
and useful plants are liable. The writer, Mr.
Ralph E. Smith, says in his summary that
" The very prevalent trouble in growing China
Asters is due to a variety of causes. These
are, principally, a stem-rot disease or wilt
caused by a fungus ; a peculiar abnormal
growth, the cause of which is not definitely
known ; and lice on the roots. Other troubles
occur, but they are moro obvious or not generally
destructive. The stem-rot disease is charac-
terised by a wilting and final dying of affected
plants, accompanied by a discoloration and
rotting of the stem just at tho surface of the
ground." The remedy for this disease appears
to be tho planting of the seeds in good soil,
and caro in thinning and transplanting. " Tho
yellow disease appears as a spindling yollow
growth of tho branches and leaves, and a

2'94

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 3, 1902.

peculiar abnormal development of the flowers.
It seems to tie clue to a failure in the meta-
bolism in the leaves. Plants affected with
root -lice fail to grow, and finally wilt and die.
The roots are found to be covered with masses
of small bluish-coloured plant-lice." Hero
again the use of new and uninfested soil
appears to be the only, remedy. The stem-rot
or wilt, although just showing itself at any
time during the plant's growth, appears to be
contracted only in the seed-bed or pricking-
out flats. Both this disease and the root-lice
may be avoided by proper methods of cultiva-
tion. For the yellow disease no treatment is
known ; none of these troubles can be remedied
after they have once appeared." Asters are
also affected by a true rust of the leaves, by
grubs which eat the roots, and by insects
which eat the leaves and flowers ; and for
these pests, hand-picking is the best remedy.
Mr. Smith makes no mention of the Aster-
worm described and figured in our columns
on Aug. 19, 1897, p. 98.

"One-and-All Gardening." — The seventh
issue is before us of this "popular annual for
amateurs, allotment holders, and working
gardeners," and we recommend all persons
who come under this category to consult it
when they need advice. The present number,
for 1902, includes articles on the Rose, by
Mr. T. W. Sanders ; the .Culture of Peas, by
Mr. Horace Wright ; and the Potato, by Mr.
S. Dicks. There are many shorter notes and
papers, and plenty of illustrations. The
Annual is sent out by the One-and-All Agri-
cultural and Horticultural Association, 92, Long
Acre, W.C., whose other publications, and
whose seeds and sundries may be known to
our readers.

The Lowest Temperature. — According to
a statement cited in Nature, the lowest
temperature anywhere observed on the globe
is — 90° F. at Werkojansk, Arctic Siberia, at a
height of 460 feet, lat. 67° 34' N., long. 133° 51',
= 122° of frost!

The Highgate and District Chrysan-
themum Society's Annual Report andSchedule
of Prizes to be offered for competition in 1902,
shows that arrangements have been made for
holding a large exhibition in the Alexandra
Palace on October 29, 30, and 31. The prin-
cipal classes include those for a floral display
of Chrysanthemums, for twelve vases of
Japanese Chrysanthemum blooms, six vases
of incurved blooms ; an extraordinary number
of special prizes are offered in various classes.
The secretary is Mr. W. E. Boyce, 20, Holmes-
dale Road, Highgate.

The Handsworth (Staffs) Horticul-
tural Society's Report contains a schedule
of prizes offered for competition at the forth-
coming show to be held on July 25 and 20 in
the Victoria Park. 1 There are classes for most
plants, flowers, fruits, and vegetables in
season at the date of the exhibition ; and the
prizes offered in the open classes are of a
liberal character. The Society, however,
avows its special object to be " to encourage
the better cultivation of flowers, plants,
fruits, vegetables, and gardening generally,"
in its own district, consequently the major
number of classes is reserved for local culti-
vators. The Secretary is Mr. J.\o. Edwards,
24, Stafford Road, Handsworth.

ENQUIRY.

Alpines. — Can anyone say where good plants
of Dianthus'callezonius or Omphalcdes Lucil'je
are to be had. X. Y. 7,.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

rose names. — Rose Felicitd-Perpetue. _ It
may be of interest to cite the following
extract :— As a matter of fact, Perpetue and
Felicite are two celebrated Christian women of
antiquity, filling a glorious page in ecclesias-
tical history ; two saints, almost inseparable,
who together suffered martyrdom for the faith
at the beginning of the third century of the
Christian Era. They were bound up in the
closest friendship ; they were arrested and
imprisoned at the same time, and subsequently
(203 a.d.) were thrown to wild beasts in the
amphitheatre at Carthage, and together re-
ceived the palm of martyrdom. This is why
the Roman Catholic Church also never sepa-
rates them, but annually does honour to their
memory on the same day, and everywhere, as
in the list of martyrs, in the breviary, &c, the
two names are found united. For these
reasons and in consideration of the views above
expressed, we think we may formulate our
deliberate opinion in maintaining that it is
highly probable, not to say certain, that the
original name of the Rose in question, dating
from 1827, was Felicite-Perpetue j Perpetue
with a capital P and joined to Felicite by a
hyphen, or else Felicite et Perpetue. Then
this Rose's name is intelligible enough. The
pious intention of its raiser, M. Jacques,
gardener to Louis Philippe, who was subse-
quently King of France, undoubtedly was to
delicate his Rose to these two celebrated
saints, so closely united in life and death.
And the Rose itself, if we consider its
qualities — the evergreen bush with white
flesh-tinted flowers, was perfectly suited to
this dedication ; the white typifying the inno-
cence of these two Christian heroines ; the
flesh-tint their martyrdom, and the evergreen
leaves their immortality. Ketten Freres, Lux-
embourg (in the Journal des Roses for
October), translated in The Garden, Oct. 22,
1887. M.

Oruss an Teplitz. — This Rose was originally
sent out by M. Lambert of Treves, under the
above name. The name is often written a»s
Teplitz. It does not much matter to rosarians
whether we consider the greeting as made to,
or as coming front the town, but as a matter of
historical record it is well to be accurate.
Moreover, in this case, Gruss an Teplitz has
undoubted rights of priority. Nabonnand and
Xabonnaud are continually interchanged, which
is not wonderful considering how like the
letters "n" and" u" are both in manuscript and
in type. Neither is it very much to be wondered
at that "Marquise de Salisbury" gets per-
verted into Marquis of Salisbury. A. P.

The statement in a recent Gardeners'

Chronicle (p. 260) that the Rose name " Gruss
an Teplitz" is wrong — is itself a mistake.
The name Gruss an Teplitz is perfectly cor-
rect. The Rose was raised by Mr. Geschind,
who had previously lived in Teplitz, and
because he had a happy recollection of that
place, he named the Rose " Greeting to
Teplitz." Gruss a\is Teplitz would, of course,
havemeant "Greeting from Teplitz." Grussaus
Pallien is an example of a similar appellation.
I have obtained the opinion of Mr. P. Lambert,
of Trier, who distributed Gruss an Teplitz,
and who says " Mr. Geschind gave it the very
proper name, Gruss an Teplitz. George Paul.

sauromatum guttatum. — I was interested
on seeing the article on p. 261 concerning this
plant, and also Mr. Jones' communication, as
I have in my possession a tuber, bought last
December from a local nurseryman as a
"Monarch of the East." Since then it has
been on a table, in a temperature anywhere
from the freezing-point to 80° F. It remained
dormant for what seemed quite a long time,
until at last a shoot appeared, which grew
rapidly for a time, and at about 3 inches high
this shoot suddenly stopped, as if checked,
and it afterwards withered. However, a
second shoot was not long in developing,
which has now attained a height of 7 inches ;
the sheath is now unfolding, so I am now

looking out for the spike. The bulbs were
retailed at Is. and Is. 3d. eaeh, and instruc-
tions given with them to the effect that they
would flower successfully if placed on a table,
or anywhere out of the way ; after flowering,
plant out, when leaves will be produced.
F. W. Jeffery, Malvern, April 22.

I may add to the notices of this old

plant appearing at pp. 261, 263, of the Gard.
Chron., that it is quite hardy. I have had it
here out-of-doors for at least twenty years.
E., Bitton Vicarage, Bristol.

A big catillac pear-tree.— There stands
in the gardens at Park Lodge, Blackheath,
the residence of Mr. A. W. Ballance, a Pear-
tree of the variety Catillac, in full bloom at
the present time. The tree is growing in the
middle of the meadow fronting the house,
and it is 40 feet wide and 60 feet high. Last
year, thirty bushels of fruit were gathered
from this tree, and the promise this year is
a good one. Alexander Eraser, Park Lodge
Gardens.

SWEET pea " MONT blanc." — This white
flowered Sweet Pea is not only one of the
earliest to flower, but excellent for growing in
pots ; and sown at the same time as other
varieties, it opens its flowers several weeks
before them. The haulm is about 3ft. in height,
that is about half that of ordinary Sweet Peas,,
and it is less robust than the newer varieties,
but flowers freely, and is not injured or
made taller by gentle forcing. We want
more of these dwarf varieties. T. H. Slade.

embothrium coccineum, etc. — I observed,
when visiting Mr. C. A. "V. Conybeare's gar-
dens at Tregullow, Cornwall, that the plants-
of Embothrium coccineum threw up suckers in
the same manner as Elms, but less freely. Many-
plants have been raised at Tregullow from these
suckers. Mr. Payne, the head gardener, in-
formed me amongst the many bushes of Em-
bothrium growing there, only one has, so far,
borne seed-vessels. These bushes will be a
fine sight in about a month, with their bright
red, coral-like flowers. The bushes measure
from 12 ti 20 feet high, and are well furnished
with flowers dowTi to the ground. Will some
correspondent kindly say if it is a common
occurrence for this plant to send up suckers ?
Rhododendrons and Camellias are now in full
bloom down in Cornwall and South Devon,
many of them being crosses of R. hybridum
with R. arboreum. Flowering trees and shrubs
are numerous at Tregullow, and they grow
with great vigour. I was surprised to find a
plant of Andromeda floribunda growing in the
open air, bearing hundreds of well-ripened
seed vessels. The Conifers are largely repre-
sented, and among them many rare species.
Some of the trees are of fine proportions. Matt.
Nicholls, Redruth.

SPONTANEOUS SEEDLING NARCISSI. — Mr.
Burbidge's note on spontaneous seedling
Narcissi is of much interest, and will no doubt
lead to closer observation, and consequently
to an increase in the authentic records of
varieties of Narcissus spreading themselves
by seed, and also intercrossing. In the Wick-
low garden to which he refers, there are many
interesting seedlings, and some of them are
undoubtedly of hybrid origin. The very pretty
and graceful white variety mentioned by Mr.
Burbidge, a cross between N. nanus and N.
cernuus, is called Rosa. There is also a fine
bold flower, in shape like N. Horsfieldi, but
almost as white as a good cernuus— a spon-
taneous cross between N. cernuus and N. bi-
color — which flowers much later than most of
the others, except bicolor. This is called
Marie. One of the secrets of these seedlings
appearing in this Wicklow garden is the fact
that it has always been tended by a lady who
loves it, who weeds it herself by hand, and
who never allows a scuttle-hoe to be used
amongst her pets. F. IV". Moore.

THE SHREWSBURY GRAPE PRIZES. — I may

tell "D. B. " the only thing I have "lost
heart in is the hope of ever getting the chance

May 3, 1902.]

TEE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

295

of competing in Scotland for a similar prize to
that -which -will be offered at Shrewsbury,"
but perhaps if the competition results in
favour of a grower in Scotland, "D. B." may yet
talie courage, and start the Cup he was so keen
about some three years ago, to be competed
for in the Waverley Market, Edinburgh, under
the same impartial conditions as the Shrews-
bury prize. Respecting the London and grouse
seasons, I may add that it is common know-
ledge that the majority of gardens in the south
are limited in space, and all the structures,
including vineries, are crammed with plants,
French Beans, Strawberries, &c, to serve the
London season. One's time is fully occupied
growing and packing produce for transit up to
the middle or end of July, whereas our
northern friends are mostly at leisure until

have grown it for many years. The error
seems to have originated in some of the older
works, like Loudon's Encyclopaedia. The
typical P. capitatuui has anything but an
agreeable perfume, but there is a variety of it
which smells like Roses. I grow both plants.
The typical P. radula is devoid of scent, it is
the var. rosodora that is fragrant. I can
supply living specimens of all the plants. M.
Buysmann, Middleburg, Holland.

gloxinias.— I am able to bear out all Mr.
Westlake says regarding Gloxinias being
moisture-loving plants. I have grown them
with forty to forty-five flowers on each plant.
I employed a light soil, potted lightly, afforded
copious applications of water by means of a
coarse rose water-can in the early morning,

FfG. 91. — WHITE TRUMPET DAFFODIL " PETER BARR.'

the grouse season, and have every op-
portunity to give special attention to
a special subject. There are some Scottish
gardens in which plants are never put in a
vinery. Therefore I think it just as reasonable
for a strong man to boast of knocking a weak
man down, as for our northern friends to boast
•of their superior Grape -growing abilities.
"D. B." offers various opinions on the pointing
system, but I note that the Royal Horticultural
Society's code is to be employed at Shrewsbury,
which decides that business. Personally, I do
not (neither do I think Mr. Kirk will) thank
"D. B." for bestowiDg his shadowy titles
upon us, for they are like bubbles, easily
pricked, leaving us poor mortals still ; but
if he would give his full name, etc., people
could appreciate his comments, and verify or
otherwise his remarkable experience, &c.
J. H. Goodacre, Elvaston Gardens.

PELARGONIUM capitatum (see p. 200).— This
species does not yield the essential oil. The
plant cultivated for the purpose in the South
of France is P. radula var. rosodora, and this is
also the plant shown in your illustration. I

and again in the evening between 7 and 8
o'clock. These plants were grown in cold
frames from first to last, and were densely
shaded. Plants thus grown stand well in a
drawing-room, and open their flowers there.
J. W. Miles, Islewortli.

primula "spring beauty." — This, when it
came up for certificate lately at the Royal
Horticultural Society, was labelled P. viscosa
Spring Beauty, with the additional informa-
tion that it was a cross between this species
and Auricula C. J. Perry. As a matter of
fact, there is but little remaining of the
" clammy Primrose," and it appears to me but
one of the many cross-bred plants between the
clammy Primrose and the garden Auricula
that were plentiful enough twenty-five years
ago. All these seedlings were then known as
Primula intermedia var., and such names as
Heroine, Warbler, Gem, and others were given
to the best varieties. The plant shown as
K|iiing Beauty is very near to llci-ninc : and I
may say there is a good deal of sameness in
the plants so raised. The newcomer, however,
will direct attention again to this group, and 1

can vouch for the ease and readiness with
which the seedlings are obtained ; indeed, at
one time I had some hundreds of these seed-
lings, which were obtained from one or two
seed-capsules. Their chief value is in pre-
ceding the garden Auricula in flowering, and
from adecorati ve point rather than an individual
merit in the flower these cross-bred kinds are
very welcome. It is to be hoped that some
one will take them up and raise seedlings again
freely. By crossing the seedlings so raised,
we almost get back again to the Auricula
parent in at least a few instances. E. Jenkins.

DAFFODILS AND TULIPS AT LONG
DITTOX.

When Messrs. Barr & Sons' collection of
Narcissus was in bloom recently, thousands
of folk hurrying along the London & South
Western railway line were attracted by the
breadths of flower. But as they lavishly
bestowed their praise, few would know or
perhaps care how the great variation in
colour and form, which distinguishes present-
day collections, has been brought about by
the assiduous care and skill of a few cultivators,
who, following Dean Herbert, have been able
in a large measure to use Nature's methods as
means to fulfil their own purposes.

The modern gardener knows that the
"Golden Daffodil" is not always so golden-
coloured as it had used to be, for the reason
that efforts have been made to break that
monotony by persistent cross-fertilisation.

When we admired the display made ten days
ago, we knew also that the results of that
cross-fertilisation were only imperfectly appa-
rent in those breadths of bloom, for whilst the
work is still going on and will be continued, cer-
tain results that have been already registered
in these pages and at exhibitions, have not yet
affected the general picture. In years to come,
and it may require many, there will be large
beds of such varieties as the new white trum-
pet Peter Barr, also of the rich yellow-flowered
King Alfred, of Victoria, Queen Christina,
Weardale Perfection, Sentinel, and others that
at present are recognised to be valuable
acquisitions, but must be sought in the lath-
made, roofless houses or shelters, that protect
the rarest and newest of the varieties in
Messrs. Barr's collection. If some of these
novelties will not be obtainable for years to
come, they yet have the interest for those
who follow the development of the flower
closely.

Peter Barr is not the only white "Ajax," or
large trumpet variety, that has been raised,
but it is certainly the best, and much the
best. Our illustration has been prepared
from a sketch made by M r. WorthingtonG . Smith
of a flower shown at the last meeting of the
Royal Horticultural Society. There was still
one flower open at the nursery when, a
day or two later, we visited Ditton. The
dozen plants or so that at present constitute
the entire stock, seem to show the variety
possesses a satisfactory constitution, a point
of some importance. The flower is depicted
very clearly in the illustration (fig. 91), and
its large perianth and finely developed
trumpet with recurving ring, will beobserved.
In colour the flower is described as white,
but it must be understood that by this is not
meant the puro white that is seen in Narcissus
poeticus. No trumpet Daffodil is yet so pure,
but Peter Barr is the very palest sulphur-white,
the perianth a shado purer than the trumpet,
and the whole whiter than any existing Ajax
variety. It is said to have been raised from
Monarch and Mine, de Graaff, and will boa
fitting memorial of a man whose lifo has been
spent in developing and popularising the

296

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 3, 1902.

Daffodil. It [blooms a 'day or two later than
midseason.

Mr. William Barr next showed us a variety
named Lady Margaret Ferguson, having a
white perianth and canary-yellow coloured
trumpet with much spreading frill ; Queen
Christina, with white perianth and lemon-
coloured trumpet ; Elaine, having a white peri-
anth and citron-coloured trumpet of unusual
length; "Weardale Perfection, a large bi-
coloured trumpet, already described on pre-
vious occasions ; Sentinel, another fine bi-
coloured variety ; Bridesmaid, a white perianth
and lemon - coloured cup ; Lucifer, a cup
Daffcdil with rich orange-red coloured cup ;
Gloria Mundi, Maggie May, a most beautiful
cup Daffodil ; King Alfred, a rich deep yellow
trumpet Baffodil, of bold appearance, and
large size ; leaves very glaucous, and of extra-
ordinary length and substance ; Victoria, and
others.

There were many unnamed seedlings that
appeared to us of merit, including a rich
yellow trumpet variety, which Mr. W. Barr
said was his best seedling of the present year.
Another that was interesting was a cup Daf-
fodil, with a good white perianth, and a little
golden colour at the base of the perianth-
segments, thus |casting a sort of halo around
the trumpet.

We have not space to refer in detail to the
standard varieties in the large nursery beds,
though there were many that, like Leedsii,
Duchess of Westminster, were of surpassing
beauty.

The Early Tulips

were making a most brilliant show, and with
Mr. Barr we took the names of a few of the
most interesting. Such were La Laitiere,
white, with beautiful blue pencilling ; Chryso-
lora, dcliciously fragrant ; Yellow Prince,
Canary Bird, and Ophir d'Or, all yellow ones,
the first and last being in Mr. Barr's opinion
the two best ; Princess Ida, white, with
yellow flame ; Koh-i-Noor, deepest coloured of
any, intense crimson ; Queen of the Nether-
lands, white, with flush of flesh colour or
pink, a large, globular flower ; Brunehilde,
white, with a yellow flame and bronzy-brown
shading ; Grace Darling, bright red ; Primrose
Queen, a new yellow variety, and rather short
flower ; and Jenny, cerise, with white centre.

We were greatly interested in the groups of
T. Greigii, usually known as intensely bright
orange-red in colour, but so variable that here
were a considerable number of forms varying
from that colour, through rich bronzes and
apricot tints to clear yellow. But in these
latter there is always a flash of red of some
degree upon the three outer segments, and a
ring of red colour around the interior of the
flowers nearly at the base. A new Tulip with
flowers somewhat like those of T. Greigii, but
possessing deep purple blotches at the base,
and having plain and not marbled leaves, was
T. Micheliana.

Other interesting plants in bloom included
a collection of varieties of Iris pumila, a very
variable but pretty species, growing about
3 inches high ; Aubrietias, including two pretty
seedlings Lilac Queen and Bridesmaid ; Mus-
cari conicum " Heavenly Blue " ; and Erythro-
niums, which in the light soil at Ditton are
planted 9 to 12 inches deep.

PLANT PORTRAITS.

Gentiana angustifolia, Meehans' Monthly, April.—
An Atlantic American species, with linear leaves and
brilliant biue flowers, each about l^in. long, and rather
more in breadth.

Rose Peele von GoDESBEnri, Rosen Zcitung, March.
—A beautiful 11. T. Rose of pale lemon-yellow colour.
A sport homlKaiserin Augusta Victoria.

©bituarp.

John Crawford.— It is with much regret
that we record the death of Mr. John Crawford,
formerly head gardener at Coddington Hall,
near Newark. Deceased was born at Thorndon
Hall, where his father was head gardener.
After serving for a time with his father, the
young man was with Mr. James Douglas,
at Great Gearies gardens, Ilford, and sub-
sequently under Mr. Mclndoe, at Hutton
Hall, Guisborough, and eventually foreman
for Mr. William Allan, at Gunton Park
garJens, Norwich. After two years he be-
came gardener to Colonel Thorpe at Codding-
ton Hall, and soon proved himself to be a first-
class gardener and fruit cultivator. He was
well known as an exhibitor and as a writer to
the horticultural press, contributing to these
pages frequently for several years. Deceased
was obliged to retire from Coddington several
years ago, owing to an internal affliction. He
proceeded to Norwich to undergo an operation
which was unsuccessful, but which left him
a great sufferer. "He continued to write for
the press," writes Mr. Allan, "under exceeding
difficulties and pain, having to be propped up
in his bed for the purpose, and was so writing
when I saw him a month ago. Mr. Craw-
ford had a splendid character, and was
an example to all who came within his
influence and example: an honest man and
a good Christian. Deceased leaves a widow
in very indifferent health, with two sons
and three daughters, the youngest boy being
about eight years of age."

We hope to hear that the Royal Gardeners'
Orphan Fund will afford its valuable aid to
this deserving case.

Thomas King. — We regret to announce
the death at the Castle Gardens, Devizes, of
Mr. Thomas King. He died on Thursday, the
24th ult., after an illness of two days, at the
age of sixty-seven years. The deceased, who
was a man of very active habit?, had been
suffering from an insidious disease for some
time past, but he appeared to be of fairly
robust health, and was at Trowbridge trans-
acting business two days before he died.
Personally, Mr. King was an estimable man,
and his quiet courtesy and obliging disposi-
tion, and his honourable, upright conduct,
made him to be highly respected by all with
whom he came in contact. He lost his wife
by death two years ago, a bereavement that
was severely felt by him. He leaves three
sons and two daughters, one of the latter is in
America.

Born at Roundway, near Devizes, he com-
menced his professional career at Roundway
Park ; and at the end of 1860 he took charge of
the gardens of Devizes Castle, a position he
retained until the day of his death. He made
the Castle gardens famous for the production
of fruit and specimen plants ; he excelled in
the cultivation of the Grape-vine, his Black
Hamburghs being famed for their high quality ;
and he grew and exhibited Chasselas Musque
in fine bunches with high finish, overcoming
its tendency to crack. He excelled in Peaches
and Nectarines, and at Trowbridge and other
shows his fruits usually surpassing those from
Rood Ashton Gardens. He was also a suc-
cessful exhibitor at Bath. At one time he
grew and exhibited splendid specimens of
Fuchsias, growing them to a height of from
12 to 13 feet. After Mr. R. Valentine Leach
ceased to reside at the Castle, Mr. King took
over the fruit-gardens on his own responsi-
bility ; he then ceased to exhibit, but his
services as a judge were in frequent request
at the leading West of England shows ; at

Bath especially he always acted as a judge of
fruit, and the exhibitors had great confidence
in his awards.

For several years past he superintended the
exhibition of Chrysanthemums held in con-
nection with the Devizes Benevolent Society's
annual bazaar, and many other benevolent
objects found in him a warm supporter. He
was a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural
Society. R. D.

Henry Appleby.— The death of Mr. Henry
Appleby on Tuesday, April 22, at his residence
in London Road, Dorking, will be learnt by
his many friends with great regret. The
deceased was nearly 72 years of age. He had
for many years carried on the Boxhill Nursery,
which he had himself established, and had been
a prominent man among the local horticulturists
at the various shows, exhibiting at most of the
local shows in the non-competitive classes,
and in these and other directions manifesting
his interest in gardeners and gardening. The
business will in future be carried on by Miss
Appleby, who has rendered great assistance
in carrying on the business for many years.

PRIMULA "SPRING BEAUTY."

Under the name of P. viscosa "Spring
Beauty," the plant shown in our fig. 92 was
recommended an Award of Merit by the Floral
Committeeof the Royal Horticultural Society on
April 8, when a plant was shown by E. A.
Hambro, Esq., Hayes Place, Hayes (gr.,
Mr. Wm. Beale). The plant was described as a
cross between P. viscosa and the garden
Auricula C. J. Perry, in which case the new
plant may be a true hybrid. The leaves are
about 2 1 inches wide and 3 inches long, a little
more ovate than those of P. viscosa, but
notched just as they are. The flowers are
1J inchesacross, rich deep purple, with a cream
coloured centre. The artist has drawn a leaf
and flower of P. viscosa as shown, for com-
parison with those of the novelty. (See also
paragraph on p. 295.)

Societies.

ROYAL HOBTICULTUBAL.
Scientific Committee.

April 22.— Present: Dr. M. C. Cooke, in the Chair ;
Messrs. Bowles, Worsdell, Saunders, Nicholson, Sutton
and Worsley ; Dr. Rendle, Prof. Boulger, Rev. W. Wilks,
and Rev. G. Henslow (Hon. Sec).

Report on Plants sent to the last Meeting.— Dr. M. C. Cooke
writes as follows : " Daffodil leaves. — I failed to find
any distinct evidence of bacteria in the etiolated spots,
but still think that the theory of bacteriosis is probable.
Stem tubers of Orchids. — Externally they exhibited
rounded blackish spots, beneath which the cellular
tissue was blackened deeply into the tuber. It had all
the appearance of fungoid disease. I examined it at
once, but no trace of mycelium or spores could be found .
Kept in a damp atmosphere for fourteen days, it was
then examined again, with like result. I cannot account
for the spots, and can find not the slighest evidence
that they are of fungoid origin. Tulip bulbs.— The outer
scales were decayed, inner ones only being sound.
The decayed portion gave no indication of fungus
growth, and no trace of mycelium, but contained
numbers of nematode worms. There were also other
evidences of insect depredations. Japanese Maple.—
The peculiar, globose, pale little bodies which were
clustered in the axils of branches, proved to be
agglomerations of minute fragments of woody tissue,
apparently the exuviie of some grub. I did not remove
them to ascertain if there were any excavations
beneath, but referred them back for entomologists to
examine. Orchid leaves. — There was an amorphus,
brown, decayed matter in the cells, but no mycelium
or fungous spores. I attribute the spots to some ex-
ternalcause. Linumtiigynnm. Tlierewasnothingonthe

May 3, 1002.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

297

surface of tbe leaf, and no mycelium in He interior,
and not tlie slightest trace of fungi All I found in the
white spots was that the cells were deficient in chloro-
phyll, just as in the Daffodil. There were just the
abnormal cells, but no chlorophyll in them. I have
often seen the same thing on leaves of the Honeysuckle,
but could never comprehend it. There is doubtless
some physiological cause for the manifestation of the
disease, apparently a weakness in the plant, requiring
some stimulus. Is it more heat, or more nitrogen in
the soil? The fact of not flowering seems to indicate
weakness. I can suggest nothing, only it is certain
that there is no parasite at present.''

" Siloer-leaf."— Mr. Worsley showed s'ems of Peaches
with blackened wood, as seen in a cross-section, indi-
cating some condition which apparently injures the
whole tree, producing the "silver-leaf" affection;

Nodules on roots of Robin ia, <t'C— Mr. Rogers, Hexwort by,
Launceston, Cornwall, sent some roots of Robinia,
showing microbe-bearing tubercles which were
terminal and globular, about one-eighth of an inch in
diameter. They are also remarkably large on the roots
of Laburnum, forming coral like masses sometimes as
large as a pigeon's egg.

Peach Bloseoms — Mr. G. A. Buxyard sent some blos-
soms of small-flowered varieties of Peach and Necta-
rine, illustrating a considerable difference in the
degrees of protogeny. In some the pistil protruded
to a great distance, thechance of self-fertilisation being
very slight. In others it was much shorter. In all
cases the stameDs were inarching, so that self-fertili-
sation was easily secured. In a double-flowered kind
there was a similar difference, so that they might be
almost called "short-styled" and "long-styled," but

Fig. 92.-

PRIMUI.A VISCOSA HYBRID
LEAF (if P. VISCOSA TOR (

I'orlugal Laurel, but it

common also on Plum-trees and
has never been accounted for.

Tulipa sylveMHs.—Ue also showed t his plant, regarded
as a true native by Hooker in S. W. Yoiks, Norfolk,
Suffolk, and Somerset, being naturalised elsewhere.
Mr. Ilcnslow observed that it grows abundantly in two
v.illeys in Malta. Its distribution is from Holland
southward?, so tha', in Somersetshire it may be a
member of the British Mediterranean group. Mr.
Woesley also showed specimens of Itidcns delphini-
folia witli small yellow flowers, a Mexican annual, and
also Maricacorulea from Eastern Brazil. It hasabell-
shaped flower with no tube, and belongs to Iridete. One
species occurs in W tropical Afiica, the other eight in
Eastern Brazil, indicating a probable lormcrconncction
I etween the two continents.

Ctphalotaxus, fruiting.— Mr. Wilks showed a bough,
with fruit not usually seen in fruit, in this country.

Pmmy anil the Goat ifoth.—Vr. Hoi mi:s showed speci-
| mens of the stems Injured. It is a plant not usually
'• attacked by the caterpillar of I his moth.

SPRING BEAUTY": AND A FLOWER AND

uMI'VltlsiiN. (SEE I'. 2!)li.l

always protogenous. Mr Itunyard observes that in
the large flowered varieties the style is too long for
the flower bud, so that it is bent round. This is a
common result in many self-fertilising flowers, as in
Salvia verhenacea, Laiuium amplexieaule, Ac, so that
it. may possibly be so in this case; but it appears that
the small flowered varieties are the most prolific, hence
insect agency perhaps comes Into play. Neither tbe
bitter nor sweet Almond has ;i protruding stylo. Our
wild species of Prunus, as the Sine and Bird Cherry,
arc all protogenous, the cause prohxbly being tbe cold
temperature of early spring. He also sent flowers of
Tibbctl's Pearmain Apple, having unusually long
styles. It is protogenous, ami a scanty bearer.

Tiimiii Varieties.— Tbe following interesting com-
munication was received from Mr. Goui.d, of Bloa-
ford ; — " We have occasionally planted a single extra
good stuck root to produce seed, and almost in every
case the produce is mixed. When then' arc fifteen or
twenty of the same type pul in together, the produce is
always satisfactory, Foi instance, one perfect Enfield

Market Cabbage as a result gave us almost every variety
of Borecole, garden and cattle Cabbage, Savoy, and
Sprouts. One Altrincham Carrot gave a number of
white roots. One root of Mangold, in four instances in
four different seasons, produced a mixed crop of bulbs.
And wehave a very curious instance thisyear : In a 20-acre
field of Giant Bronzetop Swede we found one root of Red
Tankard Turnip, the finest we ever saw. It was planted
in a private garden miles from any Turnip or Swede- seed,
was covered with muslin to prevent any chance of inno-
culation, and the produce is wonderful. There areafew
Short Red Tankard Turnip, Greentop and Greystone
Turnip, Purpletop and Greentop Swedes, as well as some
intermediate forms. Can you suggest any cause for
this state of things? In this case the Red Tankard
must have been a sport from the Swedes; but in those
we first indicate, the Cabbage and the roots were from
old stocks that had been well selected for years. We
enclose particulars of the Red Tankard produce; the
others we did not note at the time. Report of the pro-
duce of one handsome Red Tankard Turnip, picked up
in a 20-acre field of Giant Bronzetop Swede. Seeded in
a private garden far away from any other Turnip or
Swede seed. Covered with muslin to prevent inuocul; -
tion. Forty-nine Purpletop Swede, seven Bronzetop
Swede, 150 Bronzetop White Turnips, ten Greentop
ditto, one Whitetop ditto, six Reddishtop ditto, eight
Shorttop Red Tankard, and a score or two of small nor-
descript." The opinion of the Committee was that in a
large mass of any one kind of plant the genersl
intercrossing which takes place tends to equalise the
produce to a general average, the would-be varieties
being swamped ; but when a single plant is isolated it
can give rise to variations intact.

LeucojHin eernum forming bulbs. — Mr Bradt.'Y sent
illustrations of this plant forming fresh bulbs above
the one planted ; he wri'cs as follows : " The border in
which these bulbs grew had from time to time hei n
topped up by the addition of soil, the effect being thai
thelbaseof the bulbs, which had originally been plant id
much shallower, had gradually been covered wi h
earlb to a depth of 6 or 8 inches. Nerine samietuis
showed a similar production of new bulbs. They hail
been planted about live years ago. When planting, a
trench was thrown out to a depth of some 18 inches,
and about .1 inches of manure put in, then the trench
was filled up with soil and the bulbs planted at a deplh
of about :t inches to the base below the surface oi
the'soil. The trench was subsequently refilled as the
soil sank, so that the bulbs were ultimately abort
n inches below the surface. Under these condition*
they developed tie upper bulbs." Toe interpretation.
appears to be that bulbs normally require to be at
certain depths, sonic deeper than others. If they be
too near the surface fiey form eontracti'e roots, which
pull them down, but in the present case the bulb being
too deep, the difficulty is surmounted by the formation
of auothcr at the proper depth (see M. T. Masters
Vegetable Teratology, p. 84).

LIVERPOOL HORTICULTURAL.

Amu. l(i.— St. Georges Hall, where the sixteenth
spring show was held, is a very suitable place in which 'o
hold a show, but unfortunately, owing to there being
few vacant dates, the show was delayed fully three
weeks, consequently many of the earlier spring flower
ing bulbs were past. Notwithstandingthts,the dtsplay
was of high quality, and the superb collection of Hip
peastrums staged by Messrs. Kkr & Sons. Aigburlh
Nursery, showed much improved form and colour
Mention must also be made of an interesting display i f
Anthuriums in variety. Equally charming was tin-
group of Orchids from Messrs. Jso. Cowan & Co. < f
Gateacre.

Messrs. T. Davies A Co, Wavertrcc, and Messrs.
Rowlands, West Derby, each had tables of beautiful
miscellaneous (lowering plants and bulbs, the former
having extra tine Mushrooms also.

A bold arrangement of Daffodils was sent by Messrs
Dicksons, Ltd.. Chester. All the exhibits named above
received Certificates.

In the Hyacinth classes, the most imposing was that
for six pots in trebles, the varieties La Grandesse and
King and Queen of nines being admirable. J. W.
HUOHE8, Esq. (gr., J. McColl), Aigburlh. bad the best.

For twelve Hyacinths, distinct, A. Eari.k. ]ffq. q r .
T. Ilitcliinan), scored easily, Electra, Mount. tin o
Snow, King of the Yellows, La Hclle. and City of Haa.
loin, being immense.

Rarely bavo Tulips been seen more perfect. Mrs,
Dunian (gr , V. 11. Kcightlyi. Grasscndnlc. and Ifrt
BlNi i viii Igr , J . W. Thompson*, Sefton Park, showing
capitally.

Azalea mollis and Rhododendrons, from Mr. J.
Burnt, wore superior; Alderman W. 11 BOWSING (gr..

298

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 3, 1902.

T. Ankers) having greenhouse Azaleas in 8-inch pots
abundantly flowered.

Mr. Arthur Earle had the best Azaleas in two
classes ; and Mr. A. Mackenzie Smith (gr., W. Lyon)
choice strains of Primulas and Cinerarias.

The Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) class gave considerable
trouble to the judges. It was a grand competition,
A. A. Paton, Esq. (gr., Robert Ogston), Grassendale,
being awarded the 1st prize, with Mrs. Gilbert W.
Moss (gr., T. Johnston)'2nd.

Borne extra well-grown Hydrangeas figured among the
six forced hardy plants, and an exceptionally good
Clematis, Duchess of Edinburgh, was the best of two
forced hardy plants, all from Mr. J. Smith.

The 1st prize for a collection of three Orchids was
won by F. Cross, Esq., Grassendale (gr., Mr. C. Duke),
and consisted of Ltelia cinuabariua x Cattleya Law-
renceaua, Dendrobium Ainsworthi, and Oncidium
Cavendishianum.

M. Lenne, being a prominent feature. Messrs. Perkins
& Sons, nurserymen, Coventry, had a large table of
elaborate floral decorations, which formed a powerful
attraction; and Mr. R. C. Notcutt, nurseryman, Ips-
wich and Woodbridge, had pots of early Tulips in
considerable variety, cut Daffodils, and a group of
plants. The Gold Medal of the Society was awarded to
each of these exhibitors.

The Silver-gilt Medal was awarded to Messrs.
Wallace <fc Co., nurserymen, Colchester, for a unique
collection of hardy plants; and to Messrs. Prank Cant
& Co , Rose Nurseries, for a remarkable collection of
cut Roses.

Silver Medals were awarded to Messrs. R. H. Bath &
Co., Ltd., Wisbech ; to Mr. W. J. Cross, of the same
town ; and to Messrs. Barr & Sons, King Street,
Covent Garden, for collections of cut Daffodils. The
last-named received Certificates of Merit for Magni
Coronati Peter Barr and for Incomparabilis Lucifer,
both very fine ; and to Messrs. Hogg & Robertson,
nurserymen, Dublin, for cut Daffodils and Tulips.

EAST ANGLIAN DAFFODIL SHO"W .

April 16. — This, 'the second Annual show, was held in
the Public Hall and Saloon on the above date, and
proved highly successful in every respect, though the
entries in some of the classes were limited, owing to
the inability of growers to have fully-expanded blooms
at the time. Still, there was an encouraging competi-
tion. Trade exhibits were very numerous, and made a
great demand on the space at disposal, with the result
that at times it was extremely difficult, owing to the
large company, to make one's way from one side of the
hall to the other. The Ipswich folk appear to be
keenly interested in the Daffodil.

The principal competitive class was for twelve
bunches of true trumpet Daffodils. The 1st prize was
awarded to Mr. J. W. Cross, Wisbech, who had in fine
character Glory of Leiden, Victoria, Empress, Emperor,
Maximus, &c. Mr. Cross also came in 1st with six
bunches of trumpet varieties; Mr. T. G. Heatley,
Woodbridge, was 2nd.

With six bunches, Mr. John Andrews, Woodbridge,
was placed 1st. With six bunches of Horsfieldi, this
fine bicolor being shown in good character, Mr. T. G.
Heatley was again 1st; and Mr. J. B. Marshall,
Woodbridge, 2nd.

The Woodbridge district appears to suit Daffodils,
for the six bunches which gained the 1st prize for Mr.'
Andrews were very fine; Mr. R. Cowles, Stutton, was
2nd. Mr. Heatley came in 1st with twelve Nar-
cissi, one bloom only of each being shown ; Mr. J
Andrews taking the 2nd prize.

In addition, there were several classes for plants in
pots, Daffodils included. The best collection of any
types came from Mr. Leonard Brown, florist, Brent-
wood, who had some of the leading varieties, very fine,
Sir Watkin especially. In another class, for a collection
from which the trade were excluded, Mr. W. P. Burton,
Ipswich, was 1st.

With three good spreading bushes of Indian Azaleas
the Venerable Archdeacon Lawrence, Little Bealings,
was 1st; and Mr. Southgate, florist, Ipswich, 2nd.

Richardias were shown in threes ; also Astilbe
japonica, Cyclamens (very good for the late period of
the spring), Dielytras, Primulas (Chinese), Cinerarias,
&c, and there were one or two small classes for Hya-
cinths in pots; also Lily of the Valley, Tulips, bowls of
Narcissi, &e.

Groups of plants were also shown in the open class.
Mr. A. A. Bennett, Ipswich, obtained the 1st prize with
a good assortment. In the gardeners' division, the
Ven. Archdeacon Lawrence was 1st, and Mr. L
Holden, 2nd.

Mr. Southgate was 1st with a group of tall Palms,
mainly Kentias, and the gr. to Sir Cecil Domville
gained a 1st prize for some very good Royal Sovereign
Strawberries in pots.

One interesting feature was the baskets or boxes of
cut blooms contributed by market salesmen ; not fewer
than twenty-four bunches, and not more than thirty-
six, and not fewer than six varieties. The 1st prize went
to Mr. White, a well-known market-grower at Spalding;
his contribution did not show the slightest sign of
injury or disturbance on the journey. Mr. W. B. Hart-
land came 2nd, with a very fine selection, but which
had undergone a little crushing ; Mr. W. Sharp was 3rd.
The best single bloom of Daffodil selected from the
open classes, a somewhat difficult task, was Glory of
Leiden, shown by Mr. J. W. Cross in Class 1. The best
bunch in the market salesmen's class was Madame de
Graaf, shown by Mr. W. B. Hartland.

The floral decorations filled a spacious apartment
known a9 the Saloon ; the competition was good, and
the leading arrangements decidedly artistic. Miss M.
Stewart had the best arranged table of Daffodils ; Miss
M. Snell was a good 2nd. The latter was 1st with a
table composed of any spring flowers, a very pretty
arrangement indeed. There were bouquets of spring
flowers, stands of Daffodils, also baskets and bowls, and
other features of an interesting character.

Trade contributions occupied a considerable space,
and were of a particularly interesting character.
Messr9. W. Cutbush & Sons, Highgate Nurseries, had a
large ground group of forced hardy shrubs of a varied
character, Magnolias, including the purple - flowered

LINNEAN.

April 17.— Professor S. H. Vines, F.R.S., President.
in the Chair.

Mr. A. C. Seward, F.R.S., F.L.S., read a paper by
Miss S. O. Ford and himself, " On the Anatomy oi
Todea, with Notes on the Affinity and Geological
History of the Osmundacese." The main points were :—
(1) the investigation of the anatomical structure of
Todea as represented by T. barbara. and two of the filmy
species, T. superba and T. hymenophylloides, with a
view to a comparison with that of Osmunda; (2) a
summary of the geological history of the Osmundacete
and Osmundaceous characters ; and (3) the question of
the interpretation of the stellar structures of Osmunda
and Todea. Todea barbara agrees in most respects
with Osmunda regalis in anatomical features; in T.
superba and T. hymenophylloides the protoxylem is
mesarch, and occasionally almost exarch. In T. hy-
menophylloides the authors found an inner endc-
dermis in the stem, characterised by its sporadic
manner of occurrence; in the seedling stem no trace
of an inner endodermis was detected. The authors
expressed themselves in favour of regarding the stele
of the Osmuudace:c as a medullated monostele, and
were unable to agree with the interpretation recently
put forward by Dr. Jeffrey and Mr. Faull.

SHERBORNE GARDENERS' ASSO-
CIATION.

April 24.— A very largely attended gathering of this
body was held in St. John's Rooms on the above date,
to hear a paper by Mr. E. J. Davis, oi Yeovil, on the
interesting subject of " Flower Structure."

The topic was treated in a very clear and lucid way,
without introducing difficult technicalities. The
development of the tuberous Begonia naturally formed
a good illustration, the structures of the earlier forms
of flowers being compared with those so common to-day,
and especially with the huge doubles. The change
from stamen to petal was referred to— a process that
had been brought about both by closely watching
changes of a minor character, and inter-breeding and
selecting to obtain more highly-developed results. To
the ordinary mind, petals were the real flowers. To
the botanist, the real inflorescence was found in the
organs of fertility, ovary, style, pistil, stamen, and
pollen-grains, although these might be comparatively
inconspicuous.

The lecture was listened to with keen interest, and
discussion followed, shared by Messrs. J. Crook, Forde
Abbey; T. Turton, Sherborne Castle; A. Copp, Hol-
nest Gardens ; A. Dean, Kingston ; J. Dean, chairman,
and others.

THE MIDLAND DAFFODIL.

April 24, 25.— A wonderful show of Daffodils
rewarded the efforts of Mr. R. Sydenham and his col-
leagues on the committee of the Midland Daffodil
Society, on the occasion of the fourth annual exhibi-
tion in the Show House of the Botanical Gardens,
Edgbaston, on the above date. The competition was so
good in nearly all the classes, and the miscellaneous
exhibits so numerous, that the capacities of the
place were severely tested. Many of tke leading
experts were present, several of them bringing
novelties. The weather was fine and cool, and the
attendance large. In addition to Daffodils and their
near relatives, the Polyanthus-Narcissus, Lilies, Lily
of the Valley, Spanish Iris, Tulips, and floral decora-
tions with Daffodils were also invited.

A large party sat down to luncheon in the grounds
early in the afternoon, and Mr. R. Sydenham and
Mr. John Pope jointly entertained a party of about
seventy persons in the Old Royal Hotel on the
evening of the first day, Mr. John Pope in the
chair, when a very pleasant evening was spent, and
some matters relating to the Daffodil were discussed,
such as "Its future," "The Narcissus-fly," and "The
Daffodil for House and Table Decoration ; " the last

subject, brought before the meeting by Mr. J. D. I
Pearson, Chilwell Nurseries, received the most atten- I
tion. The Chairman, Mr. F. W. Burbidge, Mr. P. R.
Barr, the Rev. G. Engleheart, and the Rev. S. E. Bourne ]
with others, took part in the various discussions.

Cut Flowers.

The leading item in the competition was for a eollec- '

tion of Daffodils in fifty varieties, fairly representative I

of the three main groups, and so close was the com- 1

petition represented by six competitors, that the I

judges— Miss Willmott, Rev. S. E. Bourne, and Mr. J. [

T. Bennett-Poe — occupied a considerable time in |

coming to a decision, having to point several of the ]

collections. In the end Mrs. Berkeley, Great Warley, I

Essex, was placed 1st with a superb collection, which I

included Emperor, Mine. Plemp, King Alfred, Glory of I

Leiden, Mme. de Graaff, Grande, Brigadier, Mrs. Camm, j

Peach, Nelsoni major, J. B. M. Camm, Dorothy Yorke, il

Amadis, Mrs. Walter Ware, Acis, Miriam Barker, j

Katherine Spurrell, Crown Prince, Will Scarlet, ]

Poetarum, Flora Wilson, Sequin, Sensation, Laura I
Lulworth, &c. ; 2nd, Mr. A. S. L. Melville, Lincoln.

With twelve varieties of true trumpet Daffodils, Mr. li
J. Douglas, Great Bookham, Surrey, came in 1st with

some very fine blooms, having Emperor, Empress, |

King Alfred, Mme. Plemp, Shakespeare, Horsfieldi, |

Madame de Graaf, Mrs. Walter Ware, Mrs. Camm, I

Capt. Nelson, Glory of Leiden, and Weardale Per- I

lection, a very well balanced collection. Mr. II. B. jl

Young, Metheringham, Lincoln, was a good 2nd ; 3rd, A
Mr. J. H. Hahtell, Olton, Birmingham.

With six distinct varieties of trumpet Daffodils. 9

Messrs. J. H. White & Son, Spalding, were placed 1st, [|

having Emperor, Victoria, Mme. Plemp, Maximus, Mme. I

de Graaff, and Weardale Perfection. Messrs. Pope tt 1

Son, King's Norton were 2nd. We could only wonder |

why this fine collection was not placed 1st. Mr. W. B. I
Latham, Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston, was 3rd.

The best twelve varieties of medio-coronati Daffodils

came from Messrs. Pope & Son, who had Beauty, White j

Queen, a great beauty aptly named ; White Lady, Lady I

Margaret Boscawen, Blood Orange, Marius, Ida Pope, j

Duchess of Wellington, Southern Star, C. J. Backhouse, ]

Lucifer and Rosalind. Mr. J. Douglas was 2nd, and I
Mr. H. B. Young 3rd.

With six varieties of medio-coronati, Messrs. J. H.
White & Son were first, having Stella superba, Gloria

Mundi, Nelsoni major, Duchess of Westminster, Barri |

conspicuus, and Minnie Hume, a good lot of flowers ; I
Mr. C. L. Branson, Coleshill, was 2nd.

With six distinct varieties of parvi-coronati, Mr. H. B. I
Young was the only exhibitor, and he was awarded
the 2nd prize.

The 1st prize for six distinct varieties of H. poetieus I
fell to Messrs. Pope & Son, the only exhibitors.

Class 9 was for twelve distinct varieties of Daffodils, I

and here Mr. R. C. Cartwright, Middleton Dene, King's H

Norton, was 1st with well known varieties in common J

cultivation, such as Golden Spur, Sir Watkin, Hors- I

fieldi, Emperor, Queen of Spain, &c. ; Mr. Cryer, gr. to i
Mr. J. A. Kenrick, Edgbaston, was 2nd.

A class for eighteen distinct varieties of Daffodils, I

six each of the three sections open only to amateurs, I

brought two entries, and Mr. Isaac Cooke, Shrewsbury, I
was placed 1st.

A class for six vases of Spanish Iris, six stems in a I

bunch, brought two admirable collections. Mr. R. C. Jj
Cartwright was 1st, and Mr. R. Sydenham 2nd.

Plants in Pots.— With twelve pots of Daffodils, Mr. I
R. C Cartwright was a good 1st, and Mr. Isaac Cooke j|
was 2nd. With six pots, Mr. W. B. Latham was 1st, and I
Mr. J. SEANEY2nd. There was an excellent display of Ij
pots of Polyanthus Narcissi shown in sixes, Mr. R. C. I
Cartwright again taking the 1st prize, and Mr. W. B. !|
Latham was 2nd.

Early single Tulips made a very fine feature. Six I
bulbs were shown in pots not exceeding 7 inches in I
diameter, and there was a very fine development of jl
bloom. Mr. R. C Cartwright again took the 1st prize, »
having Keizer's Kroon, White Van Vondel, Unique 1
(very fine), Grace Darling, Fabiola, and Queen of the i
Netherlands ; Mr. R. Sydenham came a close 2nd.
There were five collections, and they made a striking
feature.

Mr. J. A. Kenrick was placed 1st with six pots of
Lily of the Valley, and also with six pots '.ot Lilium I
Harrisii, having both in excellent character; Mr. I.
Cooke was 2nd in both classes.

Floral Decorations included a collection of Daffodils
arranged in vases on a small round table. Mr. J. A.
Kenrick was 1st, and Mr. J. Seaney 2nd.

Mr. J. A. Hartell. Olton, was 1st, with a charming
bouquet of Daffodils ; and Messrs. Pope & Son, 2nd,
also with a delightful bouquet.

The best three jars or bowls of Polyanthus Narcissi i
competing for special prizes given by Mr. R. Sydenham, •
came from Mr. I. Cooke ; and Mr. J. A. Kenrick was ' ■
2nd. With three bowls of Daffodils, Polyanthus Nar-
cissi excluded, Mr. Kenrick was 1st, and Mr. Cooke
2nd. The best box or basket of cut blooms packed for • '
delivery by rail, came from the Rev. J. Jacob, White- I :
well, Whitchurch.

The premier flowers selected from varieties in culti-
vation were as follows: Trumpet section, King Alfred,
shown by Mr. J. Douglas; medio-coronati White

May 3, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

299

Queen, shown by Messrs. Pope & Son ; parvi-coronati
Blood Orange, shown by Mr. A. S. L. Melville.

Seedling Varieties.

A large number of seedlings were submitted for
inspection by a Committee, and the following were
selected for Awards : Lady Audrey and Queen Christina,
two fine trumpet varieties, from Messrs. Baer & Sons.
Miss Willmott gained nine Awards : for one Ajax
type, Warley Magna, the remainder were mainly of the
parvi-coronati type. Cresset, Charles Wolley Dod,
medio-corouati Southern Star, Moonstone, Betty Berke-
ley, Lilian, Incognita, and Oriflamme.

Mr. A. S. L. Melville gained an Award for Barrii,
Branston, and Mr. Kendall for Sir Francis Drake, a
large trumpet variety. The Rev. G. Engleheart had
awards for Noble (medio), Imogene, Astrardeute,
Ariadne, Rhymester, and Egret, all Parvi or Poeticus
types ; Messrs. War. Waveeen & Sons, for Waveren's
Giant; Messrs. Groot, for Glory of Noordwijk ; and
Messrs. Pearson & Son, for Mrs. Hillhouse, all fine
trumpet varieties.

Medals Awarded.

Special medals were awarded seedlings as follows :—
Magni, Queen Christina (Barr & Son), Medio, Charles
Wolley Dod (Miss Willmott), and to Parvi Astrar-
dente (Rev. G. H. Engleheart). A special Silver Cup,
offered by Mr. R. Sydenham for the best group of
seedlings (not in commerce), was awarded to Miss
Willmott.

Miscellaneous collections received the following
awards :— Large Silver-gilt Medals : Messrs. Barr &
Sons, for Daffodils ; Messrs. Pearson & Sons, for
Daffodils ; the Rev. G. H. Engleheart, for Daffodils ;
Messrs. Dickson & Co., Ltd., Chester, for Daffodils;
and to Messrs. Reahsrottom, Alderborough Nur-
sery, Geashill, King's County, Ireland, for a
magnificent collection of double and semi -
double Anemones of large size, and singularly
rich .colours, the result of careful selection. Large
Silver Medals were awarded to Mr. H. J. Jones,
Lewisham, for Daffodils; Messrs. Hogg & Robertson,'
Dublin, for Daffodils and Tulips ; Messrs. Hewitt & Co.,
Solihull, for floral decorations ; Mr. R. Sydenham, for
Daffodils and Tulips ; Messrs. R. H. Bath, Ltd., Wisbech,
for Daffodils; Miss Cdrrey, Lismore, Ireland, for
Daffodils; Mr. F. A. Walton, for Daffodils; and to
Messrs. Pope & Sons, for a collection of plants, in-
cluding some excellent herbaceous Calceolarias. Small
Silver Medals were awarded to Mr. J. H. White,
Spalding ; to Mr. W. J. Cross, Wisbech, for Daffodils ;
and to Mr. R. C. Cartwright, for Tulips.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS taken in the
Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens at Chiswick,
London, for the period April 20 to April 26, 1902.
Height above sea-level 24 feet.

Tempera-

Temperature

TUREOFTHE

0

1902.

g

of the Air.

SOILat9A.M.

N
M
O

ft)
O

At9A.M.

x'

n

2

a

ft

<

«D

<D

£3

§ 8

O
0
8

Q

'A

3

«

■a

0
0

<0

a

J3

to

«

3

Ifi

-*3
CO

4a

-*3

■"#

1!

£■

0

bo

Es

^

■<

■<

hi

P

!>

a

a

Sun. 20
Mon.21
Tdes.22
Wed.23

TlIU.24
I FRI. 25

Sat. 26

Means

S.S.W.
S.S.W.
S.S.E.
S.W.
S.S.W.
S.S.W.
E.S.E.

to

0)

■a

56 2j517J62'3
53 9,50-8 61 '0
537 51-6 56'7
48-060 7

52 2
55 9
57 7
479

49-6 63-2
50 2 64 7

44-7[57-0

68 "9 19 "5 60 '8

m

50 0 48-0
61-0 4

48 7

45'4 001

I
46 '5 0- 02

63-2 0- 05 51

43 -7
39 7

13 2

J50-549-3
51 2 49-6
'51-6 50-2
'518 50-3

Tot

44-UO'lH

51-1

49-3

Remarks.— Fair
past week, with ]

weather lias prevailed dur
ittle rain and strong winds.

S
t)

46 7

46 9

47 2

47 2
47 6
47'9
48-0

47 4

ing

bo

v

•a

35 2
35 6
46-0
33 3
31 8
27 8
40 0

35-7
the

THE WEATHER IN WEST HERTS.

The recent spoil of warm weather, which had lasted

nearly a fortnight, came to an end on April 28, since

which time lower temperatures have prevailed. In

the early part of the week the temperature in the ther-

mometer-screen on two days rose in the middle of the
day as high as 64°. On the other hand, during the last
two nights, the [exposed thermometer has registered
respectively 3° and 4° of frost. The ground is now at
about an average temperature at 1 foot deep, but is
still nearly 2° warmer than is seasonable at 2 feet deep.
No rain fell during the week, and only a few drops of
rain-water have come each day through the bare soil
percolation-gauge. The record of clear sunshine has
been exceptionally good, the average duration for the
last six days amounting to 10J hours a day, and on
April 28 the record reached 13| hours, making this the
sunniest April day I have yet recorded here. The
wind has been for the most part high, and for 90 hours
during the week, or nearly five days, came from some
point of the compass between north and east. During
the greater part of April 27, the average velocity of
this north-easterly wind amounted to 13 miles an hour.
During nearly the whole of the week the atmosphere
has continued unusually dry. Garlic Hedge-mustard
came first into [flower on April 29, which is rather
behind its average date in the previous eleven years,
but one day earlier than last year. E. .¥., Berkhamsted,
April 29, 1902.

MARKETS.

COVENT GARDEN, Maij 1.

[We cannot accept any responsibility for the subjoined
reports. They are furnished to us regularly every
Thursday, by the kindness of several of the prin-
cipal salesmen, who revise the list, and who are
responsible for the quotations. It must be remem-
bered that these quotations do not represent the
prices on any particular day, but only the general
averages for the week preceding the date of our
report. The prices depend upon the quality of
the samples, the supply in the market, and the
demand, and they may fluctuate, not only from day
to day, but often several times in one day. ED.]

Cut Flowers, &c

Arums, per doz. .

Asparagus Fern,
per bunch

Azaleas, per doz.

Carnations, per
bunch

Cattleyas.perdoz.

Eucharia, per doz.

Forget-Me-Nots,
p. dz. bunches

Gardenias, p. doz.

Iris, per dozen ...

Jonquils, per doz.

Lilium Harrisii,
per dozen

Lily of the Valley,
dozen bunches

Maidenhair Fern,
dozen bunches

Marguerites, Yel-
low, per doz.

Average Wholesale Prices.
d. s.d. s.d. s.d.

6-4 0 Mermet Rosea, p.

bunch

Mignonette, per

dozen bunches

Narcissus, per

dozen

Pelargoniums,
Scarlet, per

dozen

Pinks, per dozen
Roses, Marechal

Niel, per bunch 2 6-30
Roses, Red, gen-
eral, per doz.

blooms

Smilax, p. bunch

0-12 0 Tulips, all coirs.,

per doz. bnch.

0-6 0 — Parrot.bnch.

Roses, White, per

6-2 0 bunch

6-2 6
0-6 0

0-2 6
0-12 0
0-4 0

0-2 6
0-16
6-10
0- 1 6

3 0-60

2 0-50

3 0-60

10-16

4 0-60
3 0-40

10-16
16-30

4 0-80
0 6-08

16-30

Plants in Pots, iSic— Average Wholesale Prices.

s.d. s.d.

5 0-70

6 0-36 0

4 0-60

18 0-36 0
18 0-30 0
18 0 —

Adiantums, per

dozen

Arbor Vitte, per

dozen

Arum Lilies, per

dozen

Aspidistras, per

dozen

Azaleas, per doz.
Cannas, per doz.
Cinerarias, per

dozen

Clematis, per doz.
Crotons, per doz.
Doronicums, per

dozen

Dracienas, var.,

per dozen ...
Euonymus, vars.,

per dozen ...
Evergreens.vars.,

per dozen ...
Ferns in variety,

per dozen ...

Fuchsias, per doz.

Genistas, per

dozen

Fruit.— Average
s.d. s.d.
Apples, Califor-

nian, cases 10 0 —

— Australian —
Tasmanian &
Victorian, per

case 9 0-13 0

BananaB, bunch 7 0-10 0

— Loose, p. doz. 10-16
Cherries, per box 1 3 —
Figs, per dozen... 6 c-12 0
(.; rapes, new Ham-
burgh, per lb. .') 0- 8 0

11., per ll>. a 8- a 0

— Muscats, lb. . 8 0-12 0

— Almcira, 12 lb. s 0-12 0

s.d. s.d.
6 0-80

4 0-60
12 0 —
18 0-30 0

4 0-18 0

4 0-18 0
4 0-80

6 0-80

Heliotrope, p. doz.

Herbaceous and

perennial plants

in var., per box 10-16

Hydrangeas, per

dozen 9 0-24 0

Ivy Pelargoniums,

per dozen ... 6 0-80
Lobelias, per box 10-16
Marguerites, p. doz. 6 0-30 0
Mignonette, per

dozen 4 0-60

Musk, per dozen 3 0-40
Palms, var., each 1 0-20 0
Pansies, per box . 16-20
Pelargoniums,

scarlet ... 6 0-80

— pink 6 0-80

Khodauthc, per

dozen 4 0- 0 u

Roses, various, doz. 9 0-24 0
Spiraeas, per doz. 5 0-80
Stocks, per dozen 4 0-60
Sweet Briars, per

dozon 3 0-40

Tulips, all colours,

per dozen ... 0 9-10

Wholesale Prices.

s.d. s.d.
Lemons, per case 6 0 —
Mangos, per doz. 10 0-12 0
Melon- Pears, per

dozen 30-40

tfelons, eacb ... 2 0- :t u
Nectarines, doz. , 21 0 88 0
1 iranges.per case ; a 18 0

— Blood, p. case 7 6 —

— Californ ia u.

per case ... S3 6 —
Peaches, per doz. Hn.i 0
Pine each ... 30-40
Strawberries, A.,

per lb. ... 3 0-40

— U., per lb. ... 1 n- a ,1

Vegetables.— Averaoe Wholesale Prices.

Artichokes, Globe,
per dozen ...

— Jerusalem, p.
sieve

Asparagus Sprue,
bundle

— English

— Paris Green...

— Spanish

— various
Beans.dwf., house,

per lb

— Madeira, per
basket

Beetroots, per

bushel
Cabbage, p. tally
Carrots, per doz.

bunches

— washed, per
bag

— New, French,
per bunch ...

Cauliflowers, per
dozen

— tally

Celery, per dozen

bundles
Coleworts, bushel

— bag

Cress, per dozen

punnets

Cucumbers, doz.

Endive, new
French, doz.

Garlic, per lb. ...

Horseradish, fo-
reign, bunoh

Leeks, 12 bunches

Lettuces, Cos, per
dozen

— Cabbage, per
dozen

Marrows, Vege-
table, dozen .

Mint, new, per
bunch

s.d. s.d.

10-16

0 6 — !
13-50!
36 -
10 -
0 6-20

05-!

3 0-36

4 0-50

2 6-36

4 0-46

0 4- 0 6 j

2 0-26]

5 0-12 0

10 0-12 0

10 — :

2 0 — i
I

1 3 —

2 0-33

0 9-16
0 3 —

s.d. s.d.
Mushrooms, house,

per lb. ... 0 10 —
Onions, new, green,

doz. bunches 16-20

— English, per
cwt

— Egyptian, per
bag ...

— picklers, per
sieve

Parsley, per doz.
bunches

— sieve

Parsnips, p. cwt.

bag

Peas in 1 lb. bags

— in flats

— Jersey, per lb.
Potatos, per ton.. 40 0-85 0

11 0 —
0 4-05

5 6- 6 0

7 6 —

4 0 —

4 0-60
2 0-26

SO -
0 5 —
i 0 —
0 8-09

1 3-

2 0

1 a

new, per cwt,
Frame, lb.

— newTeneriffe
per owt.

Radishes, p. doz.

bunches
Rhubarb, Yorks,

per dozen ...

— outdoor, per
dozen

Salad, small, pun-
nets, per doz.

Seakale, natural,
per dozen ...

Shallots, per lb....

Spinach, English,
bushel

Stachys, per lb....

Tomatos, Canary,
boxes

— English, p. lb.
Turnips, per doz.

bunches

— bag

— new, French,
bunch

: Watercress, per

0 4 — t doz. bunches 04-06

Remarks.— The Mangoes in the market come from

Jamaica, and the Melon-Pears from Teneriffe ; Cali-

fornian Plums, Kelseys, fetcli 6s. ; Tasmanian Pears,

8s. 6d. per ease ; English Asparagus from Is. 3d., that

from Worcestershire and Cambridgeshire fetches 2s. to

2s. ed., and the home districts, 5s. per bundle. Plenty

of small Broccoli can be had at very low prices, and

trade is slow ; Vegetable-Marrows have begun to arrive,

Potatos.

Dunbar Main Crop, 85s. ; Up-to-Date, 80s. ; and other

varieties, 40s. to 75s. Seed in variety, at various prices.

John Bath, 32 & 34, Wellington Street, Covent Garden.

2 6- 3 6 I
06-10

8 O-lo 0

10 0-14 0
0 3-06

0 8-10
10-26

1 3 —

s 0-10 0
0 2 —

2 0-26

03 —

3 0-40
0 10-1 2

2 0 —
2 6 —

0 8-0 10

CORN.

Average Prices of British Corn (per imperial qr.),
for the week ending April 26, 1902, and for the corre-
sponding period of 1901, together with the difference
in the quotations. These figures are based on the
Official Weekly Return :—

Description.

1901.

1902.

Difference.

Wheat

Barley

Oata

s. d.
26 8

26 8

18 8

s. d.
28 9

26 6

21 6

t. d.

+ 2 1

+ 0 9
+ 2 10

LAW NOTES.

Five years ago M. Claes, formerly a collec-
tor in the employ of MM. Linden, of Brussels,
made public some statements relating to
the importation of a particular typo of Orchid,
which were promptly repudiated by MM.
Linden. In consequence of this, M. Claes
brought an action for £4,000 damages against
MVI. Linden. Tho Tribunal of Commerce of
Brussels dismissed M. Claes' action, and
mulcted him in tho costs. M. Claes appealed
against (his judgment. We are now informed
that the Court of Appeal at Brussels has just
confirmed the judgment of the Tribunal of
Commerce, and condemned M. Claes in costs.

TRADE NOT ICE,

HORSMANS NURSERIES, Ltd.
The above-named company has been regis-
tered by Jordan & Sons, Ltd.. 120, Chancery
Lane, W.C., witli a capital of £21,000 in SI
shares. Tho objects of the company are to
adopt an agreement made March -ii, 1902,
between T. Hprsmari, of IlkU-y, Yorkshire, of
tho one part, and J. II. Haley, ol Bradford, of
the other part, and to carry on bufline
nurserymen, florists, seedsmen, ma infactnrers

300

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 3, 1902.

of garden and agricultural tools and imple-
ments, dealers in and manufacturers of arti-
ficial manures, builders of greenhouses, con-
servatories, forcing and other frames, forcing-
houses and other horticultural buildings,
l)oiler, and other sheds, landscape gardeners,
builders, commission - agents, valuers, and
auctioneers. The directors are W. Horsham,
W. Barker, A. Wisworth, W. Forrest, and G.
Ilorsman. Qualification £250. Remuneration
C50 per annum each ; Thomas Horsman, as
managing director, £300 per annum. Regis-
tered office, 102, Godwin Street, Bradford.

Mr
(jOTnjptrryUnU

*** Editor and Publisher.— Our correspon-
dents would obviate delay in obtaining
answers to their communications, and save
much trouble, if they -would kindly observe
the notice printed weekly to the effect that
all communications relating to financial
matters and to advertisements should be
addressed to the Publisher ; and all commu-
nications intended for publication, or refer-
ring to the literary department, should be
directed to the Editor. The two depart-
ments, publishing and editorial, are quite
distinct, and much unnecessary confusion
arises when letters are misdirected.

Anemone coronaria attacked by a Fungus :
Windfloiver. Is attacked by the Cluster-
cup fungus, iEcidium coronaria. All in-
fected plants should be removed and burned,
as the mycelium is perennial in the tissues.
Hence the disease appears year by year
when once infected, and the spores produced
also infect neighbouring plants. G. A/.

Begonia diseased : H. O. E. A minute species
of parasitic Botrytis is present in the
tissues. Unless the plant is of exceptional
value, it would be safest for the remaining
plants to destroy this one at once. G. M.

Blue Primroses : Primrose. Blue flowered
varieties are not common ; at the same time
they are procurable from the nurserymen.
Those you send show only a tendency in
that direction, the flowers being mostly of
red and purple tints.

Cucumbers going off when just set: C. U. C.
Caused probably by eel worms on the roots
introduced with the pasture loam. Clear
them out, obtain soil from a fresh source,
which sterilise by heat (bake it), or use only
that which has been kept in a stack clear of
all growing herbage for a year. You should
have sent roots and shoots, &c.

Ficus : E. R. The leaves are very much infested
with thrips.

Figs Diseased: Brown Turkey and J. R. The
fruits and foliage are badlyattacked by Cerco-
spora Bolliana, a disease that usually attacks
only the foliage. Burn all diseased fruits
and foliage, and syringe the plants with
Bordeaux Mixture or sulphide of potassium,
J oz. in a gallon of water.

Grubs in Strawberry-Bed : J. S. The larvre
of Daddy-Longlegs, and very injurious to the
roots of plants.

Insects : Sideup. The insect is one of the
wild bees (Andrena fulva), a very common
species, which, although it lives in colonies,
each parent bee occupies a separate tunnel
or burrow. Each bee forms a few cells at
the end of the burrow, and stores each with
a single ball of pollen. A single egg is laid
on each ball, and the latter is sufficient food
to bring the insect through its larval stage.

Insect in rolled-up Leaves of the ArRioOT :
IV. A. Lyda nemoralis ; you cannot do more
now than squeeze the tips of the shoots, and
thus kill the caterpillars within them, and
apply the garden-engine with considerable

force to the trees. Another year, in January
have the trees dressed with an insecticide —
say Gishurst's Compound Soap — using about
3 oz. in a gallon of water ; also syringe the
trees with water in hard frosty weather. If
the wall is full of holes and the pointing in
bid order, let it be repointed, and all holes
filled up with cement.

Names of Fruits : J. C. We do not recognise
the Apple from the one fruit sent. It is
probably a local one.

Names of Plants : B. E. G. 1, Ophiopogon
Jaburan ; 2, Corchorus japonica ; 3, Centro-
pogon Lucyanus ; 4, Oplismenus Burmanni
variegatus ; 5, a Bomaria, no flowers sent ;
C, Coronilla glauca probably — no flowers; 7,
Begonia, material insufficient ; 8, Sedum
album variegatum, an old-fashioned bed-
ding plant, and inmate of the greenhouse.
— H. J. Cupressus thyoides and Ribes
sanguineum. — Lyminster House. 1, Phila-
delphus mexicanus ; 2, Berberis Darwini.
— A. J. L. 1, Angrsecum sesquipedale ;
2, Miltonia spectabilis radians. — Masde-
vallia. 1, Dendrobium Pierardi ; 2, Vanda
cterulescens ; 3, Sarcanthus appendicu-
latus. — W. B. 1, Ornithidium Sophro-
nitis; 2, Dendrobium Devonianum ; 3, Eria
obesa. — F. T. 0. Brassia Lanceana, native
of Surinam. Brassias are suitable for
growing in either pots or baskets, using
turfy peat in small nodules, and plenty of
drainage. The warmer part of a t'attleya-
house is a proper place for them, and in
winter they should be placed in moderate
warmth and as much moisture afforded as
will prevent shrivelling of the pseudo-bulbs.
In summer the plants require plenty of water.
— A.B. Steele. Festuca, of theovime section,
perhaps rubra, but cannot venture a name
in such a critical group with such poor
material. — O. Best. 1, Dodecatheon Media
var. ; 2, Narcissus pseudo-Narcissus var. —
8. O. S. 1, Pellionea pulchra ; 2, Rhcea (Tra-
descantia) discolor ; 3, Oncidium sphacela-
tum ; 4, Aorides odoratum ; your numbers
were not attached, but you will be able to
identify the specimens, if not as you placed
them. — C S. Erythronium giganteum. —
II. K. 1, Forsythia suspensa ; 2, Veronica
Traversii ; 3, Magnol;a stellata alba; 4,
Hippopho/a rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn). —
Veritas. Lselia harpophylla and Russell ia
juncea. — F. S. G. Dendrobium aggregatum
and Forsythia suspensa. — E. T. Epidendrum
bigibberosum. — G. T. R. 1, Berberis dulcis ;
2, Cotoneaster micropholla ; 3, Berberis Dar-
wini ; 4, Olearia Haastii ; 5, Megasea crassi-
folia ; 6, Heuchera sanguinea. — G. P. For-
sythia suspensa. — R. J., Lewisham. Poly-
podium lycopodoides. — Amateur, 1, Choisya
ternata ; 2, Diplacus glutinosus ; 5, Sedum
Sieboldi. Send Nos. 3, 6, and 7 when in
flower. We do not undertake to name va-
rieties of Pelargoniums, but No. 10 appears
to be Marshal McMahon ; 11, Bijou; 12,
Crystal Palace Gem. — V. Griffiths. Appears
to be a Prunus of some kind ; send when in
flower. — C. J. Porter. We are unable to
name seedling varieties of Rhododendrons. —
Very Anxious. Thuya occidentalis. The
American Arbor- vitse ; the other, Juniperus
sinensis, so far as we can tell from such a
scrap.- — Vine Leaves. Anemone stellata alba.

Palm Leaf : W. J. S. G. There is nothing to
indicate the cause of the disfigurement.
Had it been due to the effect of the creosote,
the injury would probably have been more
serious.

Palms in Ill-health : C. W. H. The results of
indifferent cultivation. Remove them from
the tubs forthwith, extract most or all of
the ten-year-old soil from the roots, and
repot firmly in sound loam three-quarters,
and peat one-quarter, leaving ample space
for water at the top. Make a mild hotbed
in a sheltered but not much shaded spot, and
sink the tubs to the rim therein. In hot
weather frequently syringe the trees.

Pansy: C. & »S'. We do not think the flower
has any particular merit.

Prevention of Mildew : TV. B. Let the hot-
water-pipes be coated with lime-wash con-
taining a pint of flowers-of-sulphur per
pailful, and keep saucers filled with water
containing sulphur in solution, placing
these in numbers where evaporation by sun-
heat will rapidly take place, and be careful
not to admit cool air by the lower sashes.
As a further precaution remove all plants
and weeds which are apt to be attacked by
mildew from the vicinity of the vinery.
Should the fungus still appear on the Vines,
use sulphide of potassium at the rate of
i oz. in a gallon of water, applying it with
a syringe ; or use a sulphurator and flowers-
of-sulphur.

Tennis Court: Flora. You will obtain the
information you require from the following
diagram.

A

B

C

78

feet

c

n

42

feet

« 1

c

78

feet

c

A

B

A B, B A, double court for three or four
players ; s s, s S, single court for two players.
A A and B B are the base lines ; A B, A B, and
s S, S S, side lines ; c C, and o c, service
lines ; H H, half court lines ; n n, net. A
court for the single game is 27 feet wide,
and 78 feet long; and for the double game,
78 feet long, and 36 feet wide. The posts
for supporting the net should be placed
3 feet beyond the sides. The service lines
run parallel to the inet, and are 21 feet
distant from the same.

To make Grape - vines Break near the
Ground-level : W. H. If it is not desirable
to cut back the Vines to a point near the
ground, you might layer the canes in the
soil along the front of the vinery, or bend
the Vines so that the ends of the rods come
almost to the soil, and keep them in that
position till the breaks grow strong at the
base. The strongest on each Vine must be
selected, and afforded space to develop good
foliage, and be trained-in parallel to the old
canes for two years, when, if the new canes
are strong, they may be cut back to half or
one-third of their length.

Tulipa : Max Leiehtlin. Tulipa Dammanni
(Regel's Garten Flora, t. 1300, fig. 2). J. G. B.

Valotta Bulbs : J. G. W. If you look carefully
upon the decaying portions of the bulbs you
will be able to see a large number of white,
glistening mites. These are known as the
bulb or Eucharis-mite, and are exceedingly
difficult to exterminate. We think your
best course will be to burn the bulbs and
get a fresh stock.

Vink Leaves injured : Vine Leaves. Insuf-
ficient or no ventilation at the time of aj
sudden burst of sunshine, and the leaves
moist at the time. You must pay closer
attention to affording air at such moments.

Weed in Lake: L. L. Get some feathered
scavengers, as swans, ornamental ducks, &c.

Communications RECEIVED.— L. P.— E. Ballard— 1
E. W. Day.— F. B.— J. R— F. W.— Rev. C. W. D.—
Oncid— G. D— A W.. Keele— G. N.— Crystal Palace
Company.— Sec. Nat. Dahlia Society.— E. V. B— G. M.
—J. H. G— W. A — G. B.— J. G. W— .1. F. Mel. —J. 8.
— G. W.— J. OB.— J. J. W.— J. B.— V. Clipstone-H.W. W.
— M. Nicliolls— D. Houston-C. T. D.— H. M.

Photographs Received and under consideration.—
Eight subject3 from Irish gardens, from Arthur
Jones & Son, Dublin.— L. E. w.

DIED.— Mrs. John Wills, of the firm of
Wills & Segar, South Kensington, died on
April 17, aged eighty-three years.

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May 10, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

301

THE

(Barters' dptwnkk

No. 802.— SATURDAY, 31 AY 10, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Ash and Larch on the

Plants, new or note-

chalk

311

worthy—

Berberis congestiflora

Pinus (Laricio) pin-

var. hakeoides

310

dica

302

Book notice-

Kothamsted and its

Cyclopaedia of Ame-

present owner

i>07

rican Horticulture

308

Scotland

315

Florilegiura Haar-

Societies—

lemense

310

Bristol Gardeners'...

314

In my Vicarage Gar-

Chester Paxton

315

den, &c

310

Manchester and N. of

Botanical wall-draw-

England Orchid ...

314

ings

310

Midland Auricula...

314

Bulb farm, an Irish ...

301

National Dahlia

310

Cassia corymbosa at

Royal Caledonian

Tregye

311

Horticultural

315

Chrysanthemum, the

Royal Horticultural

312

wild forms of the ...

301

Surveyors' Institu-

Coronation gala in

tion

310

Edinburgh

310

Temple show, the

Coronation tree-plant-

coming

308

ing

311

Trochodendron ara-

Daffodil Peter Barr ...

311

lioides

310

Gooseberries, early ...

310

Tulips, sporting

311

Horticultural Hall,

Vegetables, and the

the

311

R.H.S

308

Interesting strangers

311

View in the Japanese

Martagon Lilies

301

Garden, Gunners-

Millardet, Professor...

311

bury House

308

Nursery note —

Weather forecast

310

Cinerarias at Farn-

1

Week's Work, the—

ham Royal

305

Apiary, the

Flower Garden, the

307

Obituary —

306

Mansel - Pleydell,

Fruits under Glass .

306

J. C

315

Hardy Fruit Garden

306

Whale, A. W.

315

Kitchen Garden ...

307

Paris, notes from

304

Orchid Houses, the.

306

Publications received

311

Plants under Glass .

307

ILLU8TR

ATlONf.

Chrysanthemum indicum .

303

Chrysanthemum morifoliun

i=sinense, collected by

Dr. Henry

302

Cineraria flowers

a.5

Japanese garden at G

mint

jrsbury House, Acton,

another view in the

309

Pinus Laricio var. Heldreic]

li, cone of

304

Pinus (Laricio) var. pin

diea

304

MARTAGON LILIES.

T I iHE great Martagon group of Lilies is so
■*- widely distributed, that it might
almost be said of it that, like the Element
of Happiness as described by the poet, it
" has no localities " ; for, though I am not
aware that it exists in Africa, it is found in
Europe, Asia, and America. Some of its
noblest forms, such for example as the
uniquely coloured Lilium pardalinum, the
famous "Panther Lily," and Lilium Hum-
boldti, which bears the name of a most
heroic naturalist, come to us from California,
a region whose flowers rival those of Japan,
while its gigantic trees are the wonder of
the world. Both of these Lilies are great
acquisitions to our British gardens; where,
however, as 1 know from experience, Lilium
pardalinum does not always attain (how-
ever assiduous the attention of its culti-
vator) to Californian dimensions. In my
own garden the beautiful Lily of Humboldt
has been found more reliable, having grown
and flowered there with commendable per-
sistence (though not increasing its bulbs
to any extent) for many years. The
Panther Lily has taken much longer to
establish, and is at last beginning to grow
stronger, though its tendency here is to
degenerate by the superfluous generation
of a large number of exceedingly small

bulbs. This, however, is a peat - loving
Lily, and it does not find in my garden-
borders this essential kind of soil. The new
hybrid entitled Lilium Burbanki x , named
after a celebrated Californian cultivator,
who has also distinguished himself as a
raiser, flowers moderately well ; but it does
not grow with the vigour or strength I
anticipated, after reading in the catalogues
such glowing characterisations of its re-
liability and marvellous floriferousness. Of
a widely different character are Lilium
chalcedonicum, the brightly beautiful Scar-
let Martagon, a native of Eastern Europe,
and Lilium monodelphum var. Szovitzianum.
These are among the most proudly trea-
sured of my floral possessions ; their colours
are artistic and richly effective, and they
seem to grow stronger and more command-
ing in their impressiveness year by year.
Lilium Szovitzianum is a supreme favourite
of the venerable President of the National
Rose Society, who cultivates it assiduously
and lovingly in the Deanery Gardens at
Rochester, which I had the privilege of
visiting some years ago. Sir Edwin Arnold,
in his beautiful poem — almost epical in its
interest — entitled " The Light of the World,"
sings of the exquisite Scarlet Martagon as
the Lily so memorably immortalised by
Jesus Christ; but this must be a (pardon-
able) mistake, for Mr. J. G. Baker, of Kew,
once told me that Lilium chalcedonicum,
though it may have been introduced into
Palestine, is not a native of that country,
only one Lily, viz., Lilium candidum, being
found, growing sparsely, among the lower
slopes of the Lebanon Range.

Another member of the widely-distributed
Martagon family, Lilium dalmaticum, grows
vigorously here, but I have always regarded
this special variety as more interesting than
beautiful. It is, however, valuable for the
sake of contrast and artistic variety, and
for this special purpose should be planted
not far from the Scarlet Martagon. I am
not an enthusiastic admirer of Martagon
album, nor have I found it reliable. I have,
on the other hand, a great regard for that
refinedly beautiful buff-coloured Lily, en-
titled Lilium excelsum x , a most fascinating
hybrid between Lilium candidum and Lilium
chalcedonicum. A few more variations of
equal attractiveness would be acquisitions
to our gardens, but such, unfortunately, are
extremely rare. David 1'. Williamson.

THE WILD FORMS OF THE
CHRYSANTHEMUM.

With regard to the wild forms from which
the cultivated Chrysanthemums have been
derived, Mr. Hemsley some years ago went
into the question and published his views in
this Journal.* He showed that Chrysanthe-
mum indicum, which is a widely spread plant
in Japan and China, could easily be recognised
in the wild state. He considered that a plant
found by me in the mountains of Hupeh was
probably the parent form, from which was
obtained C. sinense, Sabine, a name which
must give way to the prior one of C. mori-
folium, Ramatuelle. It is this plant which is
now illustrated (fig. 93, p. 'Mi), and concerning
which I shall say more afterwards.

There remains a series of plants, of a different
aspect, occurring wild in North China and
Japan ; these were formerly considered by
Maximowicz and others to be true C. sinense.

* Gardenen' Chronic'e, 1SJ{>, vol. 11., pp. 536, 652.

They are, however, easily separated as a dis-
tinct variety, to which Mr. Hemsley gave the
name C. morifolium, Ram., var. gracile.

All the cultivated plants introduced into
Europe were at first considered to belong to
one species (C. indicum). Ramatuelle was
the first to separate C. morifolium,* the name
which he attached to varieties in whiuh the
ray differed in colour from the disc ; while he
restricted C. indicum to those varieties in
which the ray and disc were both yellow. This
distinction holds good in the wild plants ; and
Ramatuelle's name should be taken up,
although C. sinense, Sabine, is much more
generally known. The synonymy of the two
species is fully given by Mr. Hemsley in the
article cited (p. 586), and is complete, but for
the following names, which were given by
Des Moulins t/ to the two species, namely,
Dendranthema indica and D. sinensis.

The differences laid down by Sabine \ between
the two species do not all hold good in the
wild forms. He ascribes to C. indicum pale
green foliage, and says that the uppermost
leaves are entire, while the leaves in general
are smaller than in the other species. In
wild forms of indicum the foliage is not always
pale green — at least, on both surfaces ; the
uppermost leaves are not entire, and the
leaves of the plant are often larger than those
of sinense.

Mr. Cosmo Melvill § has lately laid down the
following distinctions : —

" C. indicum. — Leaves flaccid, somewhat
pinnatifld, finely denticulate. Ray mostly
yellow, short.

C. sinense. — Leaves more coriaceous, often
glaucous beneath, sinuato-pinnatifid, dentate.
Ray long, pink or white."

I have lately examined "the specimens in the
Kew Herbarium, and the following diagnosis
is an attempt to distinguish more distinctly
the actual differences that are visible in the
wild plants.

1. C. indicum, L. (fig. 94, p. 303). — Leaves
thin, flaccid, pinnatipartite, with acnte or
mncronate serrations ; outer involucral bracts
broad and scarious, except the herbaceous
nerve. Ligules yellow, shorter than the dia-
meter of the disc. China and Japan, widely
distributed.

2. C. morifolium, Ramat. ; genu in urn, Hemsley.
— Leaves thick, coriaceous, entire or slightly
iucised ; outer involucral bracts thick, linear,
acute, densely albo-tomentose. Ligules white,
equal to or larger than the diameter of the
disc. China: Hupeh and Loochoo.

3. C. morifolium, Ramat.; mr. gracile, Hems-
ley. — Leaves thin or only moderately thick,
palmatilobed or pinnatilobed, dentate, the
teeth being often mucronate. Outer involucral
bracts herbaceous, varying in thickness and
pubescence, linear, acute. Ligules white,
pink, or lilac ; equal to or larger than the
diameter of the disc. N. China, Szechwan,
Mongolia and Japan.

As I understand that Sir Joseph Hooker is
about to publish a figure of the wild ('. indicum, I
shall not say much concerning it. It is always
readily distinguishable from the other species.
A specimen from Yunnan (my No. 0041) has
leaves approximating in form to certain varie-
ties of morifolium, but it is the true indicum
from the character of the flower.

With regard to genuine C. morifolium, the
Loochoo specimen collected by Wright differs
from the Hupeh wild plant in the leaves, which
have a few broad, short, rounded lobes; but
the flowers seem to be the same. This plant

» journ. d'Hitto&e SatureUr, ii. (17H2). p. 240.

t Actes Soc. Linn , Bordeaux, xx., p. 561

; Tranf. Linn. Soc, xiv., 18*5, p. 145.

I Proe ttanchmtfrl.il. nn'l Phil. SoC , 1901, I.ui. 7., p. xxl.

302

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 10, 1902.

of Wright's may, however, be a cultivated
specimen.

The other specimens of genuine C. morifolium
in the Kew Herbarium were collected by me
(Nos. 1115 and 3102) in Hupeh. I found the
plant growing on the Dome Mountain, near
Ichang, and adjacent mountains to the south
of that place, over a very limited area, where
the rock formation was conglomerate. Most
of the other mountains near Ichang are com-
posed of limestone, and I failed to observe the
plant on this formation. It flowers in October
and November, and may be thus described : —

A shrubby plant, erect, rigid, 2 to 3 feet
high, branching, and bearing few leaves. The
leaves are coriaceous and thick, about 2 ins.
long, and having a dense white tomentum on
the under surface ; they are variable in shape,
from ovate to lanceolate, but always cuneate
at the base ; the margin is entire or coarsely
toothed. The flowers have a yellow disc and
a white ray, somewhat larger than the dia-
meter of the disc. The outer involucral bracts
are thick, linear, acute, and covered with a
dense white tomentum. An illustration of this
plant is now given (fig. 93).

An examination of the numerous specimens
of Mr. Hemsley's variety, gracile, show that
these may be easily divided into two sub-
varieties, as follows : —

C. morifolium, R. ; var. gracilis, Hemsley, A.,
China. — -This is a small plant, about a foot
high, which was described by Maximowicz as
var. o of his Pyrethrum sinense ; it occurs in
North China. The leaves are variable in
shape, but the larger ones are palmatilobed
and cordate, the lobes having a few mucro-
nate, small teeth ; they are thin in texture,
and glabrous, except a few hairs on the nerves.
The outer involucral bracts arc thin and
herbaceous, linear and acute. The ray is
white, pink, or lilac. There are three speci-
mens from Kansu, Szechwan, and Mongolia,
with the leaves somewhat different in shape,
tending to be cuneate at the base ; and in
these the outer involucral bracts are more
pubescent.

C. morifolium, R. ; var. gracilis, Hemsley, B.,
Japan. — This is a larger plant, reaching 2 feet
in height, which corresponds to Maximowicz's
variety H japonicum of his Pyrethrum sinense.
The leaves are densely pubescent underneath ;
they arc variable in shape, but the larger ones
are always palmatilobed and rarely cordate,
and they are not so small as in the Chinese
form. The teeth of the leaves are scarcely
mucronate ; the flowers are similar to those of
the preceding sub-variety, but the outer
involucral bracts are thicker in substance,
and decidedly tomentose ; the ray is white.

There occurs a wild form in the province of
Satsuma, in Japan, which was described and
figured in the Tokyo Botanical Magazine
(No. 47, 1891, p. 2), as C. sinense, Sabine, var.
Satsmnensis, Yatabe, but there is no specimen
of this at Kew. According to the description,
it is a stronger plaut than the preceding, with
coriaceous leaves, which are densely albo-
tomentose on the under surface, and pinnatifid
into three or five lobes, the lobes having
coarse, obtuse teeth. The ray is white, and
the outer involucral bracts are linear and
densely tomentose. This variety in some
respects seems to approach genuine mori-
folium.

Considering the great variety exhibited in
the wild plants, and the fact that the interior
of China is really little explored, we may
expect other forms to occur which will con-
nect more closely the two varieties gracilis
and genuina, and it is perhaps prudent not at
present to invent new specific names. If, then,

all these wild forms belong to one species, the
extreme variation which they show, as regards
pubescence and thickness of the leaves, and
of the involucral bracts, the different colours
of the ray, and the varying shape of the
leaves, are all in keeping with the extreme
variation which is observable in the cultivated
plants.

The Chrysanthemum has been known in
China from the earliest times, but we cannot

has always been accessible to Chinees
travellers, situated as it is on the great river
and on the route to Szechwan, was, the district
from which the gardens in centres of refine-
ment like Loochoo and Nanking obtained the
parent forms of many cultivated plants. At
any rate, we find at Ichang wild forms of the
Chrysanthemum, Primula sinensis, Anemone
japonica, &c, which have not been met with
near the coast. Augustine Henry.

hofj-y^Hx, JLM

Fig. 93.-

-CHRYSANTHEMUM MORIFOLIUM = SINENSE: ONE OF THfl ORIGINALS
OF THE CHRYSANTHEMUM.

From Dr. Henry's wild specimens. (See p. 301)

obtain any accurate evidence as to how the
cultivated forms arose. A Chinese writer in
the eleventh century, however, observes : —
"The Chrysanthemum is a common plant.
There are many varieties with large and small
flowers. Some have flowers with a yellow
disc, and a white ray ; others are entirely
yellow." At this period there were evidently
two strains in cultivation in China, one derived
from C. indicum, and the other from C.
morifolium.
I am inclined to believe that Ichang, which

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

PINUS [LARICIO] PINDICA.*
We owe to the kindness of Mr. Oscar Bier-
bach, the inspector of the Botanical Gardens,
Jevremovac, Belgrade, Servia, the opportunity'
of laying before our readers an illustration of
one of the Laricio group of Pines, of one which,

* Pinus pindica, Formanek, in Verfiandl. d. Natutf. *■
Verein., in Briinn, xxxiv., Bel. (1896), pp. lm — 22, teste
Bierbach.

May 10, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

303

indeed, was considered as a distinct species by
M. IFormanek, but which we should rather
consider as a marked variety of P. Laricio, a
notoriously variable species. To cultivators
it isTnot material whether the form be con-
sideredjas varietal or specific, suffice it to
say'that for cultural purposes it is distinct.
As M. Formanek's paper is not readily

Formanek, the crown broadens out as in P.
nigra, Arnold. By this it is easily recognised
even from a distance. Also, the young cones
of P. pindica are pale yellow, the fringes of
the leaf-sheaths being much shorter than is
the case with those of P. leucodermis. The
apophyses of P. pindica are convex and arched,
and the umbo is unprotected. These peeu-

FlC. 04.— CHRYSANTHEMUM INDICIUM: WILD CHINESE PLANT COLLECTED II V
DR. HENRY IN IOHANG. (SEE P. 301.)

accessible, we append, by Mr. Bierbach's
kindness, a copy of the original Latin de-
scription, which in some points seems obscure.*
On stony and rocky ground, says M.

* Pinuspindica, Formanek.— Arbor 19-20m. alta, cum
comae basi lata ovatavel obtuse conica; eortiee toroso,
pallide eano vel cinereo ; ramis crecto vel horizon tali ter
patulis, interdum rcflexis. Folia bina ex eadem
vagina, pallide viridia, nitida, brevitcr acuminata,
polynervia, rigida, scabrida, intus profunda et anguste
caualiculata, extus eonvexa, marginc cartilaginco-
subdenticulata, 10— 20cm. longa, %-agina foliorum
juniorum angulato rugosa ex squamis margine breve
fhnbriato-ciliatis composita, basi duobus squamis
spathaceis gibbosis instructa, in parte inferioro
rufescens, in parte superioro argentca. Amenta
tnascula rufula, in spicam capituliformem foliis
junioribus pertusam congesta, ovato oblonga ; bractcis
ovato-lanccolatis vel lanccolatis, longe acuminatis,
fusco-nigris, margine scariosls et brevitor flmbriato
laceratis obdita; strobilis junioribus sessilibus, ovato-
conicis vel oblonge ovato-conicis, Ilavidis ; strobilorum
I juniorum squamis oblongo ovatis, apico rotundatis,
intus flavidis, extus fuscis, papilloso - scabridis,
apophysi flavida, eonvexa inseaualiter rhomboidca,
umbone cinereo, ex basi rhomboidca conica, incrmi,
rarissime erecto armato; strobilis adultis oblongo-
ovatis vel late ovatis, strobilorum adultorum apophysis
Pars exterior rotundata, pars interior o basi truncata
vel rotundata triangularis, 1—2 sulcis bilatcralibus
tmprossis, eorum umbo Inermls, prominulus; strobilis

liarities are not met with in the Austrian and
Bosnian specimens of P. leucodermis. Owing
to these above-described characteristics, P.

vctustis e basi lata, plana vel subrotundata obtuse
conicis, apophysi valde nitida umbone prominulo vel
interdum plano-truncato; bracteis iu basi strobilorum
lineari-lanceolatis, fuscis, anguste albo marginatis.
attenuato - acuminatis, margine sparsim ciliatis,
squamis ovato lanceolatis, apicc finibrialis, flmbriis
liberis. Ala seminis ex basi obliqua oblougo-scmi-
orbicularis, semen ala sua :i — 1 plo brevior.

Habitat supra Malakasi I.ygos et Dakimi in Pindo
valde sparse et parco ad Nezeros in Olympo Thessalo.
A. P. leucodermi (Antoine Oest. Botan. Zeitschr. 1864,
p. 30(5). G. Beck emend, in Fl. Siidbom. et angr, Herzog.,
p. 87, diflert cortico toroso, ramis (in arenosis et
pctrosis) interdum horizontaliter patcntibus vel
rcflexis (fere pendulis); foliis anguste canaliculatis,
longioribus, vaginis longioribus basi duobus squamis
gibbosis instructis; strobilis ilavidis, nitidis, apophysis
forma marginatis [_'■]. attenuato acuminatis, marginc
ciliatis, squamarum forma et aliis notis.

A. 1'. T.aricinno, Poirei Diet. Bncycl., v. p, 339=P.
l'allasiana, Lam., Pin. od. 2, p. 11 (1888) dill'crt foliis
pallide viridibus, facie profundc canaliculatis, brevitor
acuminatis; anient is masculis nvato-oblongis, inedio-
crlbus; strolillorum apophysi Inmquallter rhomboidca,
ejus pars exterior rotundata, pars interior o basi
truncata vel rotundata triangularis, 1—2 sulcis
bilatcralibus imprcsa, umbone incrmi, prominulo; ala
Semitic. '<— I plo brevior et aliis DOtls."

pindica takes an intermediate position between
P. leucodermis (G. Beck), a-nd P. Laricio
(Poiret) ; but the latter comes much nearer to
it, and P. pindica might be understood as a
separate race.

In order the better to distinguish it from
P. Heldreichi, we append Dr. Christ's original
description of the latter species.* Having seen
Dr. Christ's specimens, we can say that they
have but little resemblance to the present
species (see Gardeners' Chronicle, June 7, 1884,
flg. 140, p. 740, and fig. 97, p. 304 of the present
issue).

The bark of the ripe shoot of P. pindica, as
sent by Mr. Bierbach, is fawn-coloured, rough-
ened by the projecting remains of the leaf-
bases. Bud imperfect (one only seen), ovoid-
acute scales, loose, chestnut with whitish
margins. The leaf sheaths are about 1 cent,
long, the lower scales convolute coriaceous,
the upper hyaline membranous. The leaves are
in pairs, each about 12 cent, long, pale-green,
semiterete, channelled on the upper surface,
faintly serrulate towards the tip.

On transverse section, fig. 96, p. 304, there
is seen to be a double layer of very thick
hypoderm,with additional masses in the corners
and with wedge-like masses here and there
protruding into the tissue of the leaf. There
are numerous resin-canals in the cellular sub-
stance of the leaf, each surrounded by a sheath
of stereome-cells. The meristele is elliptic
enclosing a branched fibro-vascular bundle, the
two divisions of the strand being separated
by a parenchyma of thin walled cells.

This is the same structure that occurs in P.
Laricio and all the forms of it which wo have
examined.

The cones sent by Mr. Bierbach, one of
which is represented in fig. 95, p. 304, measure
about 8 cm. long by 5 cm. in greatest breadth
just above the base. They are subsessile,
deflexed, ovoid elongate, conic, of a pale
yellowish - brown colour. The apophyses
measure about 1 cent, across at the broadest
part ; they are shining, somewhat convex,
with a transverse keel and four or five
radiating raisod lines. The umbo is muticous,
or with very small, irregular, blunt projec-
t ions, rhomboidal, light brown, shining, placed
in a slight depression. The elongate ovoid
seed measures (with the wing) 25 mill. The
wing is apical, obliquely oblong obovate,
membranous, with a few vertical coloured
wavy stripes.

There is no doubt that this, whether it be
looked on as a species or merely as a variety,
is a very distinct form, amply worth culti-
vating. Its leaf-structure would load one to
infer that it was well suited to resist wind,
and therefore a suitable tree for growing in
mountainous countries of temperate regions.
Wo have no information as to the quality of
the timber.

" Pima llcldrcichi. Christ, in Transactions 0/ the Xat.
Hist. Soc. of Basel (1863), Part III., vol. iv., p. 11. Leaves
- 0, io fully 30. long. narrower than 1 m. The branches
very thickly clothed downwards (persistent for live
years [:-]). Cones S] in. long, 1 in. wide, long and
conical, much narrowed from above, double (in pairs),
in Herb. Boissicr, set horizontally, sessile. Apophysis
Immature, finely llutcd, pleated crosswise, imbo
of a totally different nature from that of Pinus
Pinaster, set in a hollow, the cdt;e of which is raised
like a pull'; from above downwards is a small, smooth
and sharp muoro, bent like a hook, or recurved. This,
as well as the habit and habitat, cause the species to
approach, in all essential points, to P. montana, Mill.
From this it differs m dimensions and tho shape of
Hi. .onos. The colour ol the latter is purplish-brown.
It is a very Interesting species, which fully justifies
itself as an Intermediate form between P, Plnasterand
P. molilalia , Synops. 189, placed these last two

Immediately together. It is a true alpine plant, found
by Hcidrcicb, July 81, 1881, on Olympus (Thessaly) with
Pinus Laricio, Abies Apollinls, and Fagus sylvatiea

and described by Herr lioissier as Pinus Pinaster

Alton, vtllg , i<>i<0ay*: AO,

304

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 10, 1902.

Mr. Bierbach, who makes a specialty of col-
lecting seeds, &c, of plants of the Balkans
and neighbouring territories, can, we believe,
supply seeds of this novel form. Maxwell T.
Masters.

NOTES PKOM PARIS.

The General Agricultural Congress.— The
second part of the General Agricultural Con-
gress, dealing with the live-stock of the farm,
was held on April 10 in the Galerie des
Machines in the Champ de Mars. The horti-
cultural exhibition occupied the large Salle
des Fetes arranged in 1900 in the centre of the
said Gallery.

The horticultural exhibitors were not very
numerous, nor did they show great novelties.
There were Azaleas, Rhododendrons, and
flowering shrubs, from MM. Croux, Lellieux,
&c. ; seasonable flowers from MM. Vilmorin-
Andrieux, Cayeux, Le Clerc, Perard, &c. There
were two large collections of Orchids, one
from M. Magne, of Boulogne-sur-Seine, was
composed of various known species and
hybrids ; the other, from M. Maron of Brunoy,
was formed of two fine hybrids raised by him ;
of Lselio-Cattleyas Henry Greenwood, High-
buryensis, Louis Chaton, callistoglossa, Im-
peratrice de Russie, Captain Percy Scott, &c. ;
of Sophro-Cattleyas, Cattleyas, &c. There
was some fine fruit.

Spring Show at Paris.
The spring exhibition will be opened on
May 21, in the houses of Cours la Reine, where
the Horticultural Congresses were held in
1900. The two houses will be connected by a
largo awning, which will form the principal
entrance to the exhibition. To the right and
left of this awning, two large tents will form
vestibules, and be filled with Roses. Each of
the houses ends in a dome. One of these will
be reserved for colonial plants from tho
gardens at Nogent, under the directorship of
M. Dybowski ; and the other will be hung
with paintings of flowers.

M. de la Devansaye's Library.
M. de la Devansaye, the well-known plant
grower, who died last year, bequeathed to
the Horticultural Society of Marne-et- Loire, of
which he was president, his valuable horti-
cultural library. This is now installed, thanks
to the Municipal Council of Angers, in the
Musee de Paleontologie. The library includes a
set of the Botanical Magazine from 1793 to
1899, Paxton's Magazine of Botany, sets of
Lindenia, Rumphia, Reichenbachia, and other
well-known books. G. T. Qrignan.

AN IRISH BULB-FARM.

Some fourteen miles north of the city of
Dnblin, is the now decayed, but once famous
fishing village of Rush, built on a wind-swept
promontory of about COO acres. The surface
of the land is undulating and the soil ex-
tremely light, varying apparently from light
loam to the purest of sand. Along the coast
the country is bare-looking in the extreme,
with scarcely a tree, and no appearance of
water, save the salt sea beyond. Yet here,
all but hidden by sheltering sod-dykes and
brushwood fences, may be found, at this
particular season of the year, one of the most
delightful spots imaginable, a resplendent
oasis, amid the April fields still bare and
brown since the labours of early spring. For
here is tho rapidly developing bulb-farm that
is giving this out-of-the-way coast village its
second chance of becoming famous.

The "farm" is about two miles from the
railway station, and the walk there is very

Fl(i. 95.— PINUS LABICIO VAR. PIND1CA.

Showing tuft of leaves of real size ; tip of the leaf mag-
nified 4 diam. ; cone real size; seed magnified twice.

(See p. 303.)

Fie. 96.-

■ PINUS [LAHICIO] PINDICA: SECTION OF LEAF.

(See p. 303.)

.—CONE OF PINl'S LARICIO
YAH. HEI.DHEICHI.

(Seep. 101.)

pleasing. Approaching the village from the
south-west, we come within sight of the sea,
and what a magnificent view ! Between the
highway and the sea, its breaking waters
forming a white fringe along the whole shore,
lie miniature fields, sand-hills, and white-
washed cottages, while eastward, three miles
away, rises the peaked island of Lambay, and
to the south, "Ireland's Eve," lying low in
the water, with the granite hills of Howth
rising high and clear at the northern rim of
Dublin Bay.

The Daffodils.
Turning to the left on our reaching the
village, we soon find ourselves within the
simple inclosures of the farm. At first we
confess to a feeling of disappointment, as
there seems very little to see ; a big garden
divided into plots separated from one another
by hedges of Privet or Laurel, but no Daffodils !
At the bottom of this wilderness of hedges
is a high sod-bank, running east to west,
and over the top of this one could see the
head-gear of men and women, evidently
pilgrims like myself to the shrine of pale
Narcissus. Instead of searching for a gate-
way, we impatiently climbed the wall of earth,
and there stand transfixed with interest and
delight at the scene spread out immediately
in front of us — what a feast of colour ! un-
dulating lakes of yellow with bars and squares
of white, and every intermediate shade
between. Quite close to where we stand,
and lying between us and the unclouded sun,
is a field of "Sir Watkin," made glorious by
the light shining through its vast sheet of
translucent petals, while fairly below and in
front of us is a charming bed of cernuus,
white, Colleen Bawn, and other Narcissi of
the moschatus type. From where we stand, a
good general view may be had of this part of
the farm. There seems to be here about ten
acres devoted to the culture of Narcissus ;
the farm is divided up into about one-acre
plots with separating fences of hurdles and
brushwood, the object, of course, being to
provide shelter from the wind. In the north
and north-east is a narrow plantation of trees,
that must also act as a wind-break on that
side of the farm. It is the west wind, however,
that is most dreadei here, and special precau-
tions are taken to moderate its influence. The
plots run north and south, and each plot is cut
in two by a path running in the same direction.
The bulbs are planted in rows, and every
square foot of soil is occupied.

The system of Cultivation.

In conversation later on in the day with Mr.
James Robertson, I learned some interesting
facts concerning the methods of bulb-farming
here adopted. The plan of cropping follows,
as a rule, a four course system of rotation.
For Narcissi, a light or sandy loam is selected,
and this is very heavily manured with cow-
dung once in every four years. During the
fertilising year the soil is cropped with
Potatos or Peas, the second year with trumpet
Daffodils, the third with those of the medium-
cupped section, and the fourth with the small-
cupped or true Narcissus type.

It is said that no place in Ireland has less
rainfall than this district of Rush, while
abundance of water rises through the soil by
capillarly attraction, its amount indeed being
regulated by the actual requirements of the
growing crops.

Concerning the immense variety of Narcissi '
we find here in full bloom, it will be im-
possible to speak other than in very general
terms. Every bed is filled with healthy
thrifty plants, and not a weed may be seen
throughout the entire cultivated farm ; but

May 10, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

305

the thought uppermost in one's mind, as one
passes from plot to plot, and from one variety
of flower to another, is why this perfection of
growth, this richness of beauty in these
Irish-grown plants. Take for example, this
broad rood of "Sir Watkin," what are the
special conditions existing here that seem to
give intense greenness to the foliage, ap-
parent largeness of the blooms, increased
substance to the perianth, and brightness
and extreme purity of coloration to the
whole flower ? Some subtle reason surely ; for
although outside the enclosures of the farm
there is no apparent evidence of unusual
generosity on the part of Nature, yet this
promontory of Rush for years has been remark-
able for theearliness of Ircland'sown vegetable,
the useful Potato, and perhaps indeed thj

namsd, because of the brilliant use they make
of flaming orange-red.

Among the wide stretches of trumpet Daffo-
dils in flojeer, very fine masses of Glory of
Leiden, Horsfieldi, Mrs. Walter Ware, Mrs.
J. B. M. Camm, Henry Irving, Golden Spur,
and many more, conspicuous in the bril-
liancy of their display. The medium-cupped
group is exceedingly well represented : In-
comparabilis, Barrii, Leedsii, Humei, Back-
housei, odorus, and others — a truly educa-
tional collection of types. The small-cupped
section seems also to be complete in types,
although all are not now showing flower ;
Poeticus grandiflorus is nearly over, while
others are yet in the bud stage ; but varieties
of Barbidgei, biflorus, and Tazetta, are now in
all the fulness of beauty.

Fig. 98.— cineraria.

Tlie small flower is that of C. omenta, of the natural size, to compare with
the flower of a florists' variety, also of the real size. (See p. 306.)

chief industry of its inhabitants is the growing
of these early tubers for the Dublin market.
So mild and equable is the climate, that Potatos
may be planted here as soon after Christmas
as the weather permits without any fear of
after injury from frosts. At all events, the
place seems extremely well adapted to the
requirements of bulb-growing, as every bed
testifies by its freshness, fulness of sap, and
brilliant colouring.

In walking through we noticed on different
parts of the farm several of Mr. Engleheart's
new seedlings in bloom. The Lady Margaret
Boscawen with its broad white perianth leaves,
and intense golden - yellow cups widening
towards the rim, the whole flower bearing
itself with dainty dignity ; the Brigadier with
strikingly handsome bicolor blooms ; the Lady
Arnott with its yellow, star-shaped perianth,
and narrow cup of brightest orange -red,
passing into yellow at the base, and forming
delightful masses of flower, were evidently in
their prime. The Mrs. George P. Brooke
looked extremely pretty with its widening
yellow cup, displaying a vivid orange border ;
while the Flamingo and Flambeau are well

Tumps.

Another small farm of about 3 or 4 acres lying
nearer the sea is used for the propagation of
Tulips. Its soil is pure sand. The bright
masses of colour, white, yellow, red, and varie-
gated, fairly dazzles the eye in the bright
sunshine. Here wo see Irish-bred bulbs grow-
ing side by side with Dutch bulbs of the same
age and variety. It is claimed for the home-
grown bulbs that the flowers are earlier, bigger,
and better coloured than the Dutch, and what
we see here apparently establishes the claim.
Some interesting facts concerning the grading
of bulbs were learned. It seems that the
bulbs are classified according to size and
vigour into seven classes: — (1), Spawn; (2),
large offsets ; (3), small round No. 2 ; (4), small
round No. 1 ; (5), large round No. 2; (6), large
round No. 1 ; (7), breeders, every variety of
Tulip grown here (a hundred or so varieties are
handled) are so divided and kept separate in
the beds, a detail in the culture requiring
extreme care, good judgment, and orderly
habits.

For Tulips, a pure sand is selected. As in
the case of Narcissus, the ground is heavily

manured and cropped with a vegetable every
fourth year ; the second year in rotation the
soil is used for early Tulips, the third for late
varieties, and the fourth for white or tender
sorts, or perhaps for certain kinds of Narcissi.

In addition to Daffodils and Tulips grown
here on a large scale, Iris (Spanish and Eng-
lish), Gladioli, Ixias, and Anemones, are
propagated and raised on the farm.

It is interesting to learn that the farm has
been in existence for only eight years, and
that at first the trial ground was a sandy
patch of soil covering an area of about
50 square feet. It now covers over twenty
acres. It is an extremely suggestive object-
lesson that ought not to be forgotten by those
who are interested in problems relating to the
utilisation of "waste" land in the United
Kingdom. David Houston.

NURSERY NOTES.

CINERAMAS AT FARNHAM ROYAL.

I CAN hardly conceive of there being any-
where in the kingdom a finer display of that
favourite greenhouse plant, the Cineraria,
than may just now be seen at Woodhill, Farn-
ham Royal, Bucks. It would seem as if,
almost from time immemorial, the name of
James had been associated with the Cine-
raria, so long have the two been intimately
connected, and certainly nowhere can the
Cineraria be seen under finer conditions. The
season's batch of plants runs to some 3,200,
and as all are very sturdy ones, in 7-inch
pots, and now in full bloom, it is not difficult
to understand what a remarkable floral show
they make.

In one respect, the usual rule in relation to
sowing seed differs here", as Mr. James does
not sow his seed until July, and last year
it was late in the month ere it was got
in. Generally gardeners sow much earlier, as
they like to have plants in bloom early in and
during the winter. A very common occur-
rence, also, is growing on in highly enriched,
loose soil, and in rather large pots ; then
very strong, even coarse leafage results, but
flower-heads are relatively smaller, and rarely
of the best quality. At Woodhill, not only is
late sowing practised, but the soil in which
the plants are finally got, when in their 7-inch
pots, is rather loamy than rich, and it is
pressed about the plants fairly firmly. That
practice checks the production of strong
leafage, makes growth moderately slow but
very sturdy, and the flowers come of the finest
form and excellence. As the primary object
is the saving of seed, early winter-blooming
would be detrimental to that end.

Most of the houses at Woodhill are low,
light spans, and are during the winter
kept rather cool than otherwise, ample air
being admitted. That tends to the formation
of pollen, without which there could be no
seed, and also enables the bees (of which useful
fertilisers several stocks are kept) to get to
the flowers, and freely disperse pollen. The
putting of the diverse colours into huge blocks
enables the stock to be seen to singular
advantage. Thus there is one house of fully
500 pure whites, then comes a big bati-h in
another hous° of self blues in glorious shades,
following whi^h is a great block of purple
selfs. Then como s>mo 000 crimson selfs in
most brilliant hues, and a group of lesser
dimensions of magenta tint. Turning into
another house, come the beautiful edged
flowers, crimson coming first, some 800 in
number, making a glorious show; then the
purple edges, then rose edges, and finally

306

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 10, 1902.

the most beautiful blue edged forms. No
description can convey an adequate con-
ception of the floral show seen, or of the
splendid quality of the flowers. Whilst the
whites have what now may be regarded
medium size, in all the others the flowers
generally run very large, yet have fine form
and good substance. Many flowers range
from 3J to 4 inches in diameter (see fig. 98,
p. 300). Really they are large enough for
anything, although there are some people
who seem desirous of getting even greater
size. Out of the great number of plants
few exceed 12 inches in height. What re-
markable contrasts do they present to the
stellata cruenta strain, grown in a remote
house, pretty enough in their way ; and the
blue-tinted Lady Thiselton-Dyer is perhaps
the best of all. But still how poor relatively
are they as decorative flowers ! If there, be
effort to engraft the fine florists' forms on to
these branching types, both are spoiled. Let
tastes in Cinerarias be what they may, few
could walk through the respective houses at
Woodside without being impressed with the
brilliance and beauty of the florists' Cine-
raria. A. D.

that appear until the end of June must be
pinched off. A good crop may then be looked
for towards the middle of September. Keep
the plants free of runners, and afford them
plenty of water at the root during spells of dry
weather. Mulch with half-decayed manure.

The Week's Work.

THE HABDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Matne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle,
Bicton, East Budleigli, Devonshire.

The Peach. — Recent cold winds have pre-
vented these trees making satisfactory growth,
and where sufficient protection was not afforded,
blister or curl of the leaf may have set in.
Curled leaves should be picked or cut off as
soon as detected. Unless the weather be again
unseasonably cold, the protective material
may now be removed, leaving wooden copings
for another ten days, so that no great check
be given the trees. The fruit being set, should
green or black fly prove troublesome, an in-
secticide may be used on the trees ; tobacco-
juice, quassia extract, or " Abol," are all good
for the purpose, if used of the proper strength.
Apply such insecticide at about 5 p.m., and
syringe the trees with clean water on the
following morning before 9 a.m. In warm,
fair weather, the trees may be syringed with
water from the garden-engine two or three
times a week at about 4 o'clock in the
afternoon ; but if the nights are cold, carry
out the operation in the early morning, and
rather gently, as the foliage being young, it is
very soon damaged if care is not exercised
in this matter.

Plums have set well in this locality.
Although disbudding is seldom practised, it
will repay the gardener to remove superfluous
growths from last year's wood. Many of the
spurs are often too much crowded to admit the
necessary amount of light and air required,
and need thinning. Keep a sharp look-out
for the maggot which infests the points of the
shoots, as in the case of the Apricot, squeezing
any that are found between the finger and
thumb. Young trained trees require similar
treatment in respect to disbudding and train-
ing as that recommended for Peaches in a
previous calendar. Extra - vigorous shoots,
whether on young or old trees, should be
pinched when G or 8 inches in length. Remove
with a knife any sucker growths from the base
of the trees.

The Pea r-Midge.— This insect is supposed
to attack early- flowering more than later
varieties, but for the past two seasons I
have noticed that Easter B>nirre and Winter
Nelis have fallen a prey to this insect. The
blossoms upon which they have been at work
may be easily detected by their dark colour,
and failing to set perfectly. These should be
picked off and burned, for spraying has little
or no effect on this insect.

Strawberry St. Joseph.— To have this fruit
at its best late in the autumn, all flower-spikes

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By E. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Hints on work in general. — A commencement
should be made forthwith in the preparation
of the beds and borders for receiving the sum-
mer bedding-plants. Early flowering bulbs as
they pass out of flower may be removed care-
fully, and laid-in on a north border, a position
where they will not become matured prema-
turely, first taking the precaution to label
each variety anew in order that each kind and
variety may be recognised when lifted for
storing. Having cleared the beds, let them
be afforded a good dressing of thoroughly
decayed vegetable matter, including a small
quantity of leaf-mould. If the soil is very dry,
apply water heavily before and after being
dug, and thoroughly pulverise it as the
work of digging proceeds. All bedding-plants
standing in pots, viz., Marguerites, Pelargo-
niums, Brompton and Intermediate Stocks,
should be afforded a sprinkling of guano or"
Standen's manure or manure-water twice or
thrice weekly until they are planted in beds
and borders. Should aphides appear on climb-
ing Roses, as they will do in warm positions,
syringe the foliage immediately with an in-
secticide of sufficient strength to kill the
insects without causing injury to the tender
foliage. Thin out the weak shoots of Chimon-
anthus fragrans grandiflora, and stop strong
shoots just beyond the second joint, from
which point shoots of a suitable size will
result, which when well ripened will be pro-
ductive of quantities of flowers.

Pinks. — The flower-buds are now becoming
prominent, and in the absence of abundant
rains, water must be applied pretty copiously,
more especially if the soil is light and it dries
quickly ; and if no mulch has as yet been
applied, let no time be lost in applying one of
half-decayed manure, and when the flowers
begin to expand, afford a top dressing of a
suitable plant-fertiliser at the rate of 3 to
4 oz. per square yard, and afford water soon
afterwards. The flowers of the Pink are
always appreciated for their delicious balsamic
fragrance whether cut or left on the plants,
and in order to prolong their season the beds
should be shaded from bright sunshine with
scrim or tiffany.

The Double-flowered Narcissus pocticus. — In
these gardens the plants show well for flower,
and in order to obtain fine results we apply
water in abundance, and a sprinkling of chemi-
cal manure. The tips of the flower-sheaths may
be clipped off with a pair of scissors, which
will enable the blooms to develop satisfactorily.
Shade may be applied as in the case of the
Pink, so as to prolong their season.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

Cypripediums nivevm, concolor, and bellatu-
lum. — These are among the species most diffi-
cult to cultivate, the usual mistake made
being in keeping the plants much too dry,
whereas my experience teaches me that there
are few species that require more moisture
than they. Pot them in a compost consisting
of good loam two-thirds, good peat one-third,
afford ample drainage, and insert some pieces
of soft brick among the compost, up to within
half an inch of the surface. Hang the plants
in a healthy, moist hothouse, and apply water
freely for the greater part of the year. At
Gatton the plants are immersed in a vessel of
water, and they seem to benefit by the treat-
ment, and by being sprayed on bright days
overhead. Do not repot unless the com-
post has got into a bad state, or the plant is
unhealthy, but pick out as much of the old

compost as is possible without injury to the
roots, and top-dress with the compost named
above.

Oncidinms Forbesii, varieosum, Rogersii, and
crispum. — The plants are starting into growth,
and may be top-dressed or repotted as may
appear necessary. A suitable compost consists
of equal parts of Orchid-peat and chopped
sphagnum-moss. These species of Oncidium
can be very successfully grown when sus-
pended in the cooler part of an intermediate-
house, and much benefit accrues to them from
frequent overhead syringing whilst growing,
a season at which the plants must not lack
water at the root.

Oncidium Marshallianum and 0. curtum. —
These species should receive water freely, the
flower-spikes being now pushed up. The chief
points of cultivation are identical with those
pursued with other species.

Oncidium Kramerianum and 0. papilio. —
The plants will have now begun to make
growth, and the repotting of any that need it
should be carried out. These plants may be
sprayed overhead whilst growing with good
effect, and be suspended in the stove Orchid-
house. Weakly plants of these species should
not be allowed to flower, and on those plants
of which the spikes are not strong, the flower
should not remain for any great length of time.

Woodlice. — These insects commit much
havoc in Orchid-houses, and are not readily
caught, the hiding-places being so numerous.
I would advise cultivators to immerse the pots
gradually in a vessel containing tepid water,
by which means the insects are driven to the
surface of the compost, when they can be
captured. It is a good practice to keep baits of
hollowed-out halves of Potatos about among
the Orchid-pots and on the compost, examining
these every morning and evening.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch. Dalkeith.

Early-forced permanent Vines. — The vinery,
if the Grapes are ripening, should be afforded
air night and day, a small amount of ventila-
tion being allowed during the night. On cold
nights keep a temperature of 60° by means of
artificial heat, and by day with sunshine 80°,
increasing the amount of air as the warmth
rises, but affording not any at the front of the
house. Vine borders consisting of retentive
soil will need no more water, in the case of
Black Hamburgh, until denuded of fruit.
Foster's Seedling is a Grape that will keep in
good condition for a long time on the Vine if
the border is kept moist. Borders made of
light or very porous soil may require clear
water now that the Grapes are coloured, but
fire-heat must then be used to dry the air.
Although the vinery paths are frequently
damped, red-spider may show itself, and it
will be prudent to put a coating of flowers-of-
sulphur on the hot-water pipes.

Earliest Muscat oj Alexandria Graftes will
be one month later than Black Hamburghs in.
ripening, when started at the same date. The
border may be afforded manure - water. On
cold nights keep the warmth at 70°, and on
mild ones at 75°, letting the warmth rise to
90° by day with sunshine, and keeping a
genial temperature in the vinery. Shorten
all lateral shoots to one bud, so as to allow
the light to reach the fruit and to impart to it
colour and sweetness.

Succession Fineries.. — The Vines are now in
full growth and the bunches set ; and varieties
such as Alicante and Gros Colman will require
severely thinningf orthwith to enable the berries
to swell to a large size, and keep in good
condition for a length of time. Where there
is much thinning, a great deal of perseverance
is needed to keep up with the work. In the
case of Muscat of Alexandria, do not begin to
thin the berries until it is seen which berries
are going to swell. Young vigorous Vines
throw large bunches, but they must be
cropped lightly, or they will be ruined past
recovery ; better therefore allow three small
bunches per Vine, and finish them well, than

May 10, 1902.]

THE GARD ENER 81 CHR ONICL E.

307

three large ones which are not fit to be placed
on the table. Stop laterals carrying fruit at
the second bud beyond the bunch, shorten
sub - lateral shoots to one bud, and encou-
rage the formation of large foliage of a
leathery texture. The border being in the
right state, and the roots on or near the surface,
sprinkle Thomson's Vine Manure at the rate of
2 oz. per square yard, and apply water with a
rose-can, and a few days afterwards apply weak
manure-water from a cowshed. On cold nights
keep the temperature at 60" for Black Ham-
burgh Vines, and at 70° for Muscat of Alex-
andria— a little more on mild nights — and by
day from 80° to 90°.

The Planting of Vines. — From the present
time till the beginning of June is the best time
of the whole year in which to plant a vinery.
A border 6 feet wide, half of it being inside
the vinery, will be wide enough at the first.
If the district is a cold one, or the subsoil is
poor or not favourable, make the bottom of the
border on a level with the general surrounding
surface, putting in abundance of drainage
materials, and whether made above or under
the surface, making it 2§ feet in depth. Turfy-
loam from, if possible, an old pasture, putting
it in freshly cut lumpy pieces, mixing some
lime rubbish, a spadeful of bone-meal, and a
spadeful of Vine -manure, to each large wheel-
barrowful. When making the border, lay the
soil on in thin layers, and ram it firmly ; and use
finer soil in which to plant. The Vines being
prepared as formerly advised on turves from
one-year-old " cut backs," or from Vine-eyes of
this year's striking, will need merely to be laid
on the surface of the border, and covered with
finely-chopped turf well mixed with Vine-
manure, finishing with a mulch of fresh horse-
droppings, and a good application of tepid
water. Let a fairly high and moist tempera-
ture be maintained in the vinery.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Taixack, Gardener to E. Millee Mundy, Es q.
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Camellias. — Plants the new growth of which
has reached its full length are then just in
the right condition for repotting, and will
scarcely feel the check if the operation be
carefully carried out, and the plants shaded
for a week or two afterwards. If the soil is in
any degree sour or in bad condition, and the
roots decayed at the points, remove some of it
with a pointed stick, and cut back the tips of
decayed roots. Camellias should be potted
firmly in turfy-loam of good quality, but as
the leaves made by plants potted solely in
loam are usually of a pale tint, it is advisable
to mix some hard peat with it. Syringe the
plants freely two or three times a day after
repotting until established, and afterwards in
the evening following dry warm days.

Azaleas. — Plants of A. indica which have
gone out of flower and are making growth may
be repotted if they require it. In preparing
to repot these, when there is no wish to in-
crease the size of the pots, I do not approve of
the method of reducing the size of the balls
by picking out the soil with a pointed stick,
but would rather out away with a sharp knife
the outside of the ball, clean-cut roots soon
putting forth new roots. After repotting,
grow the plants for a while in a warm house,
syringing the tops freely. Plants which are
of ungainly shape, and those of which the
growth is weak, may bo pruned severely, and
placed in an intermediate-house, and be well
syringed frequently. The plants will form
numerous shoots, requiring that the worst
placed and very weak ones be rubbed off
whilst in the succulent stage. Azaleas that
are cut back severely seldom produce flowers
the next year.

Ulricas. — As soon as the plants have passed

their best, let them be pruned back nioro or

less according to the species ; but, speaking

i generally, those which are soft-wooded may

be cut back the harder. Each shoot should bo

; taken separately and cut back to the desired

| length, but not into hard, leafless wood. Soon

• afterwards the plants rray bo repotted firmly

in a mixture of hard turfy- peat and sand
carefully mixed together, making use of clean
pots, which must be most carefully crocked.

Euphorbia (Poinsettias). — Those plants of E.
pulcherrima from which shoots for cuttings
will be taken should now be pruned back to
the firmer wood, and placed in an interme-
diate-house to break, being afforded for the
present scarcely any water at the root, but
freely syringed instead. To apply much heat
and moisture is not the right kind of treat-
ment, and results in flabby cuttings, that take
a longer time in forming roots.

Eippeastrums. — Plants which have flowered
should be afforded genial conditions, so that
growth may be fully developed, and full light
may be afforded, all shading being withheld,
and be afforded water at the root in modera-
tion, any excess of water invariably leading to
an attack of bulb-mite [?]. If the bulbs are
plunged in a tan bed, no harm will accrue if
the roots get through the hole at the bottom
or over the rim into the tan, and to plunge
them reduces the labour of applying water.

Trox>a*olnms. — As wall coverings in a sunny
situation under glass some of the Tropreolums
are very excellent plants, and the variety
known as Vesuvius cannot be excelled for an
autumn display. Cuttings of young shoots
may now be taken and struck on a hotbed,
and when well rooted they may be planted
either in a raised border consisting of sandy
loam and leaf-soil, or in pots. The effect, if
the light in the house is sufficient, is as bril-
liant as that afforded by good plants of Nastur-
tium Flame, T. speciosum, &c, out-doors in the
summer season.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Turton, Gr. to J. K. D. Winofield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.

Tomatos. — Plants intended for fruiting on
warm walls, warm borders, or in the open
quarters in southern gardens, being esta-
blished in 48's and still standing in warm
houses, should forthwith be removed to cold
pits or garden frames, these being closed
early in the afternoons for the first few days,
and afterwards afforded more and more air till
sufficiently inured as to be capable of fall
exposure by day. After being fully exposed
for a few days, the plants which are
to be placed against walls, unless the
weather is very unfavourable, should be
planted, for the reason that the soil is
warmer than the air, and although they may
not make quick growth for some time, the roots
will be growing, and top growth will be has-
tened when the weather becomes warmer. Tho
soil will need no manure, the plants not requir-
ing any before the fruit commences to develop,
at which stage a mulch of short stable-dung
may be afforded. In the south the Tomato does
well in ground that has carried spring Cab-
bages, a course that I would strongly advise.
The Cabbages, stumps, and rubbish being
cleared off tho ground, let it be dug, and set
out the Tomato plants in rows at 3 feet
apart, and 18 inches in tho row. The
plants should be confined to a single stem.
Against walls, tho plants may stand at 18 in.
apart, and tho base of the stem 9 in. from the
wall — a distance that admits of a stake being
placed between tho plant and wall without
disturbing the ball, the stakes being secured
at the top with a 2-inch holdfast. These
holdfasts arc a comparatively new invention,
and are usually sold under the name of "vine-
eyes." If the wails are wired, stakes are not
wanted, and the plants may bo set closer to
the wall. Tho plants should have stakes 2 ft.
long placed to them whilst they arc standing
in the cold pits, which dors away with the
necessity of immediate staking.

Spring- sown Onions. — Keep these quite clear
of weeds by hand-weeding, and on retentive
soils it is best to choose dry weather for tho
job, the trampling then doing no harm if tho
gardener is careful. After hand-weeding tho
rows, pass a Dutch-hoe between them, and
continue this very necessary operation when-

ever required whilst the plants are small and
not so easily injured.

Cabbages and Cauliflowers. — Plants of these
raised on a warm border from seeds sown in
the month of March being now fit for setting
out, the work should be carried out in showery
weather, before the plants become drawn.
Plant white Cabbage at 21 ins. from row to
row and 15 ins. in the row, and red Cab-
bage at 2 feet apart each way. Pearl or
other intermediate Cauliflower should be
planted at 2 feet from row to row and 18 inches
in the rows. But Autumn Giant and others of
large growth need a space of 30 inches from
row to row and 21 inches in the row. For
private families it is a mistake to have the
soil very rich for Autumn Giant, heads of
middle size being better liked. In warm soils
a northern aspect answers better than warmer
ones. This planting will form a succession
to those that were wintered in frames or under
hand-glasses. Afford water from a rose-can to
settle the soil about the plants, and prevent
much check to growth being given. As the
autumn and early spring-sown Cauliflowers
turn-in, as a rule, before we get high winds to
disturb them, it is unnecessary to earth-up
the plants. Make another sowing of Autumn
Giant for planting on sheltered borders for
late autumn supply.

THE APIARY.

By Expert.
Useful Hints. — The cold weather has been
most unfavourable for the bee-keeper, the
bees having been kept in the hives, and as a
consequence, stores will be decreasing, and
the stocks not nearly so strong as they were
a week ago. A few extra wraps may be neces-
sary, and feeding will still be called for, in
order to keep the bees breeding. "Do not
let the bees starve," should be the bee-
keeper's motto, and keep the bees strong.
The bees should be fed on very thick syrup
made from the best sugar,. with a little honey
added, to induce the bees to take to it regu-
larly. Care too must be exercised in making
the syrup that it does not burn to the saucepan,
this being at all times injurious. The various
operations should be carried out when the
weather is fine, cold harsh winds causing injury
to tho brood. Let the hives face the south-
west, but do not move any hives now that
contain bees, unless it be at the rate of one
foot per day. Hives not furnished with legs
should be kept at about eighteen inches to two
feet from the ground and firmly planted down
to prevent the wind blowing them over.

ROTHAMSTED AND ITS PRESENT OWNER. —

The manse of Rothamsted is situated in the
county of Hertford, and adjoins and is mainly
included in the parish of Harpenden. It has
been in the possession of the Lawes family
since 1023 ; in that year it was purchased from
the owner, Edmund Bardolf, for John 'Witte-
wrougk, a minor, whose ancestor, JACQUES
Wittkwrolge, had about 1504, on account of
religious persecutions, left Flanders and
settled in Stantonbury, in Buckinghamshire.
John WlTTEWBOUGH was first created a knight
and afterwards a baronet by Charles II. In
the absence of male heirs, tho baronetcy
lapsed, and the Lawes family succeeded to the
estate by marriage with Mary ISknnet, a
great-granddaughter of John Wittewrouge.
JOHN Bennet LAWES, tho first of the name,
died iii 1822, and was succeeded by his only
son, John BEnnet Lawks (afterwards Sir JOHN),
tho founder of the world-renowned Rotham-
sted Experiment Station, who died in 1900.
and was succeeded by his only son, Sir
Ciiari.es BENNBT Lawes, Bart., the present
owner, to whom his Majesty the King has now
granted licence and auth irity to tako and uso
tho surname pf WITTEWROUGE in addition to
and after that of Lawes, and also to quarter
the anus of tho Wittiavroi i;is with his own.

308

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 10, 1902.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

»CVCRTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER.
Letters for Publication, as well as specimens and plants

for naming, should be addressed to the EDITOR;

41, Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London.

Communications should be written on one side only of
thk paper, sent as early in the week as possible, and duly
signed by the writer. If desired, the signature will not be
printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.
Special Notice to Correspondents.— The Editor does not
undertake to pay Jor any contributions or Uluitratiins, or
to return the unused communications or illustrations,
unless by special arrangement.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

SATURDAY, May 17

Whitsuntide Exhibition at Old
Traflord, Manchester, opens,
continuing until 22nd inst.

German Gardeners Society,
Meeting.

8ALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, May 12—

Span-roof Greenhouse, Piping, &c, at the Bexley
Nursery, Bexley, by order oJ the S.E. Rly. Co., by
Protheroe & Morris, at 12.

WEDNESDAY, May H—

Palms, Begonias, Plants, &c, at 67 & 68, Cheapside,
by Protheroe and Morris, at 12.30.— Clearance Sale
of Stove, Greenhouse, and Bedding Plants, at Thrift"
Wood.Silverdale Sydenham, by order of A. Domeier,
by Protheroe and Morris, at 1.

THURSDAY and FRIDAY, May 15, 16.

Clearance Sale of Greenhouse and Bedding Plants,
at St. John's Nursery, Ravenna Road, Putney, by
order of Executrix of G. Stevens, deceased, by
Protheroe & Morris, at 11.30.

FRIDAY May 16—

Imported and Established Orchids, by order of
F. Sander & Sons, also Phalaenopsis, at 67 & 68,
Cheapside, E.C., by Protheroe & Morris, at 12.30.
(For further particulars see our Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
— 54 3*.
Actdaj. Temperatures :—

London.— May 7 (6 p.m.)": Max. 52°; Min. 36°.

Wind, N.N.E.. light.
Provinces.— May -, (6 p.m.): Max. 51°, Isle of
Wight ; Min. 44°, Hebrides.

The fourth and concluding

ofrmerfcau volume of this immense un-
Horticuiture." dertaking carried out by Prof.
L. H. Bailey, of Cornell Uni-
versity, and published by Messrs. Mac-
millan & Co., has lately been issued. We
have frequently had occasion to mention
the peculiarities and the excellence of this
publication. Though chiefly intended for
American use, and moulded by American
conditions, it is nevertheless so valuable
that wherever «Rie English language is
spoken there this book will be prized. It
looks at things from a much more commer-
cial standpoint than most similar produc-
tions—indeed, the main aim of the volumes
seems to have been to assist not only the
botanist and plant-lover, but specially the
cultivator who makes a business of horti-
culture. With publications of this chaiacter
and experimental stations scattered through-
out the whole of the vast area of the States,
much more is done by the authorities for
the furtherance of practical agriculture and
commercial horticulture than is the case
with us.

The present volume contains some intro-
ductory matter showing how the work
originated, how it took shape, and how the
work has been done. The Cyclopxdia was
suggested by the publication of successive
volumes of the Annals of Horticulture, a
work akin to our garden "Annuals" and
similar productions, but on a larger and
more thorough scale.

Then a garden herbarium was formed,
which now numbers more than twelve

thousand specimens. All the matter used
was to be new, in the sense of being worked
over specially for this particular purpose, not
by mere compilers, but by experts. There
was to be no mere copying, honest or other-
wise. The writer of each article was
expected to know of his own knowledge the
subject about which he was to write. A
card index, comprising some thirty -five
thousand entries, was got together, in-
cluding references to descriptions and illus-
trations of garden plants. Trade lists of
about a hundred nurserymen from all the
States north of Mexico were treated in a
similar manner, and the names of culti-
vators and botanists accumulated. As a
standard of nomenclature was obviously
imperative, this was furnished by the Index
Kewemix, each contributor, however, being
allowed to express his own opinion on
doubtful points.

The editor cites the principal works of
reference which were in daily use, the library
and other resources of Cornell University
having been freely used. Among illustrated
periodicals that were requisitioned, the
editor gives " first rank to the peerless
Curtis' Botanical Magazine, in one hundred
and twenty-five volumes, containing over
seven thousand six hundred coloured
plates;" the Botanical Register, the Botanical
Cabinet, the Revue Horticole, the Flore des
Serres, the Garden, and other publications,
are also mentioned. " Of horticultural
periodicals not containing coloured plates,
the Gardeners' Chronicle (issued continuously
since 1841) is a great store of botanical
knowledge. It is full of botanical mono-
graphs of garden genera, and is a rich reposi-
tory of descriptions of new species." We
are grateful for this appreciation of the
permanent value of the many monographs
given by leading experts in our columns, as
much labour, patience, and skill seem some-
times lost amid the flood of matter of more
ephemeral interest. The purely botanical
books made use of are also enumerated ;
they are, of course, those with which we are
most familiar, and the value of the colonial
floras and other Kew publications is forcibly
shown.

The " office force " consisted of an editor
and associate editor, who gave continuously
four years of their time to the work, with
numerous other incidental assistants and
contributors — four hundred and fifty in all!
Among these we are pleased to find the name
of our old associate Mr. Leonakd Barron,
together with many other of our American
friends and correspondents. The total
number of articles is four thousand three
hundred and fifty-seven, the number of
species described eight thousand seven
hundred and ninety-three, with three
thousand six hundred and thirty-five
varieties, and seven thousand four hundred
and eighty-two synonyms. The total number
of names dealt with in some way or another
is over twenty-four thousand. The illustra-
tions, all (or mostly) original, have been
furnished by nine or ten artists.

Interesting details are also given as to the
arrangement and classification of the spe-
cies. All the species, so far as possible,
were examined and contrasted before the
description of any one was drawn up.

After this retrospect of which we have
only glanced at certain salient features, the
Editor goes on to hope that no new edition

will be prepared, but that the book may be
left as an authentic record of American
hoiticulture in the beginning of the
twentieth century. Supplementary volumes
are contemplated, nay, some are already
prepared to comprise the new additions and
modifications which the progress of science
may render necessary.

Altogether Prof. Bailey and his associates
have conferred an enormous benefit on their
country, and one of scarcely less degree on
horticulture in general.

View in the Japanese Garden, Gunners-
bury House, Acton.— Quite recently we pub-
lished another view from a different point in
this garden, and that which we give to-day (see
fig. 99, p. 309) shows the unique bridge con-
structed in Japanese style of Bamboo, strong,
light, and in keeping with the other features
of the garden, the handrail being intended to
be overgrown with Wistaria sinensis.

The Temple Show of the Royal Horti-
cultural Society, May 28, 29, and 30.—
For the fifteenth year in succession, the
Royal Horticultural Society will hold their
great annual flower show in the Inner Temple
Gardens (by the kind permission of the trea-
surer and benchers) on May 28, 29, and 30.
Every year the desire of growers to exhibit
increases, and the officials of the Society have
a very anxious task in endeavouring to do
justice to those growers who regularly support
the fortnightly shows of the Society held at
the Drill Hall, Buckingham Gate, and yet at
the same time to encourage others to come
forward. The space is absolutely limited by
order of the Temple authorities ; no more or
larger tents may be erected, hence every new
exhibitor whose entry is accepted means cur-
tailment of the space allotted to previous
supporters. The Society will issue an official
catalogue, comprising a history of the Royal
Horticultural Society, particulars of the
meetings and exhibitions held at the Drill
Hall, of the Coronation Rose show at Holland
House, Kensington, on June 24 and 25, and of
the fruit show to be held at the Crystal Palace
on September 18, 19, and 20 ; also a schedule
of plants, with the names and addresses of
all the Temple exhibitors entered up to
May 20. There will also be the programme of
the music to be performed each day by the
band of H.M. 1st Life Guards. The judges will
meet at the Secretary's tent at 10.30 a.m. on
May 28, at which hour punctually the tents will
be cleared of all exhibitors and their assistants.
The Fruit, Floral, and Orchid Committees will
assemble at the secretary's tent at 11 A.M.
sharp, and the show will be opened at 12.30.
All plants for certificate must be entered on
or before Friday, May 23. Address Secretary,
R.H.S., 117, Victoria Street, London, S.W. A
notice on a postcard will be sent to each
exhibitor on 'Wednesday, May 21, stating the
number of square feet allotted to bim, and the
number of the tent (or tents) in which the
exhibits are to be placed. No plants can
under any circumstances be entered on the
day of the show.

Vegetables and the Royal Horticul-
tural Society. — We have been requested to
publish the following letter, which we print
as we received it: "Believing that high-
class garden vegetables have fully as much
value in garden economy as have plants, flowers,
fruits and Orchids, while the Royal Horticul-
tural Society, that shows and meetings specially
favours, and realising that to every gardener
vegetables are of the highest importance, it is
our desire to secure from the Council of the
Society some complete recognition, and the

May 10, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

509

FIG. 99.— VIEW IX THE JAPANESE GARDEN, Gl'NNERSBl'RY HOUSE, ACTON. (SEE P. D08.)

(Photographed by J. Gregory.)

value of vegetables is now evidenced. To
that end we wish to see one meeting of the
year at the Drill Hall, say the first one in July
Mid October alternately, annually devoted to
a great exhibition ff vegetables; and we
beg yon to insert this communication in
your columns, that we may, through much

publicity, bo enabled to learn from your many
readers interested in vegetable culture their
views on this subjest. If they favour our
suggestion, we shall be greatly obliged if each
one will kindly intimate such, and send to one
or the other of us on a post-card at once, that
their names may be appended to a memorial

to the Council asking for such vegetable exhi-
bition as is desired. (Signed) Edwin Beckett,
The Gardens, Aldenliam House, Elstree ; Alex.
Dean, 02, Richmond Road, Efnoston-on-Thamei."
[Without pledging ourselves to details, wo may
say that wo heaitily concur in tho principles
laid down by Mr. BECKETT and Mr. DEAN.]

310

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 10, 1902.

Coronation Floral Gala in Edinburgh.
— In addition to the] combined show of the
Royal Caledonian and Scottish Horticultural
Societies which, as we announced a fortnight
ago, will be held on July 16, Edinburgh is to
have a large horticultural exhibition in the
Artillery Park, Murray-fleld, on June 23, 24, 25,
26, 27, and 28. A schedule just to hand
contains the prizes to be Coffered at this
"Edinburgh and Midlothian Grand Coronation
Pete and Floral Gala," the Managing Secretary
of which is Mr. A. T. Hutchinson, 7, North
St. Andrew Street, Edinburgh. There are
as many as 141 classes, but a large number of
these are restricted to amateurs, and even to
cultivators of window plants only, for the
encouragement of gardening amongst working
men in the city. There are some open classes,
however, and others in which gardeners may
compete. In addition to the horticultural
show, there will be a band contest, a choir
singing competition, exhibitions of horses,
poultry, pigeons, rabbits, butter and eggs;
sports, &c. Altogether the [event is intended
to be a sort of Coronation Carnival.

Weather Forecasts. — We learn from a
recent number of the'Joio'iial of the Board of
Agriculture that the Meteorological Council,
having in view the importance of the weather to
harvesters, has arranged a special service of
forecasts to be issued for their benefit from
June to December inclusive. " The forecasts
are based upon special ^telegraphic reports of
observations taken at 2 P.M. at a selected
number of reporting stations, and refer to the
twenty-four hours from midnight of the day of
issue. The forecasts are sent by telegraph to
those who express a wish to receive them
regularly, and who defray the cost of the tele-
grams. The number of recipients of these
forecasts for various periods in the summer of
1900 was 129. It showed a remarkable in-
crease over the number of applications in
1899, which only reached twenty."

"Harrison's Horticultural Advertiser
of America." — This is a new weekly paper,
"strictly for the trade only," and sent "only
to members of the strictly legitimate wholesale
trade." Prom this we gather that it is not
intended to compete with the other trade
papers, which appeal to the retailer as well as
the wholesale trader. It is likely to be very
useful to the class for whom it caters.

Parkinson's "Paradisus." — A copy of
Parkinson's Paradisus was recently sold for
£27. An account of former prices may be
interesting. I have a good copy of 1656, in
which a former owner has written "Bought
the 12th of Octob : 1662, at Bath by Noll, 18s."
I have also, and value, Pamilin's Catalogue,
which he published when leaving London in
1862. In it are three copies priced 8s.,
10s., and 10s. 6ti. respectively. Henry H.
Mllacombe, Bitton.

Soldier Gardeners.— The British soldier
as a rule knows little about gardening, but
the extraordinary circumstances under which
he finds himself in South Africa is making him
a tiller of the soil surrounding his blockhouse.
In addition to the quantities of seeds sent out
by Messrs. Carter & Co., His Majesty's
Secretary of State for War has approved of
the shipment of some thousands of copies of
their book of Gardening Instructions for the
Colonics, so that Mr. Thomas Atkins may learn
the art of growing the vegetables and flowers
of his northern home by simple but correct
methods on the veldt.

The National Dahlia Society's schedule
of prizes to be offered at its forthcoming exhi-

bition on September 2 and 3, has been issued.
The show will.fbe jheld at the Drill Hall, in
conjunction with a meeting of the Committee s
of the Royal Horticultural Society. The Hon.
Sec. is Mr. J. P. Hudson, M.A., Gunnersbury
House Gardens, Acton, W.

Claes v. Linden. — M. Claes writes to say
that the note published by us is " inexaete,"
but as the case^has been dealt with by the
Brussels Court of^Appeal, we must decline to
insert any further notes on the subject.

A New Alpine [ Flora.— Alpen-Flora fur
Touristen und Pflanxenfreunde, is the title of
a new publication, useful to amateurs, by
Dr. Jul. Hoffmann. It is to be issued in parts,
with many coloured plates from water-colour
sketches by Hermann Friese. The first
"lieferung" is very attractive, especially to
those for whom it is specially intended. The
publication is issued from Stuttgart, Verlag
fiir Naturkunde (Dr. Jul. Hoffmann).

" In my Vicarage Garden, and else-
where."— Canon Ellacombe is a delightful
companion and a trustworthy instructor. The
papers now reprinted are mostly familiar, but
they are amply worth reading again. The
Vicar walks and talks with us in his garden
from spring to winter. He shows how much
of interest there is in the meanest weed that
blows, as well as in those that are " so lovely
fair." He "button-holes" us in the rock
garden, gossips at the railway station, ac-
companies us to the alpine pasture, talks of
drugs, of plant-names, of perfumes, and to
show his versatility, treats us to a " Part " on
Switzerland and Shakespeare. In the latter
connection, it is interesting to learn how
little the great dramatist has to say about
either dogs, tobacco, or architecture. This last
chapter might be thought by some to be rather
suggestive of the padding, to use no harsher
term, which fills lip so many of the popular
garden books of the day ; but the works of the
author of My Vicarage Garden are not to be
mentioned in the same breath with these
productions.

Botanical Wall-Diagrams. — We have re-
ceived from the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge a set of drawings of common plants
suitable for hanging on the walls of school
rooms. They are rather too small to be seen
at a distance, but in the teacher's hands, to-
gether with the actual specimens whenever
possible, a good deal of useful information can
pleasantly be given.

A Special Coronation Rose Show has
been arranged to take place at Sidcup, on the
3rd of July, in honour of the King and Queen.
The show will be incorporated with a grand
gymkhana. The schedule of prizes now before
us bears miniature photographs of the King
and Queen upon the cover. Particulars of the
interesting event may be obtained of the Hon.
Sec, Tyson Crawford Esq., Arundel Lodge,
Sidcup.

The North Peckham Amateur Chrys-
anthemum Society will hold its next exhibi-
tion at the Cam'oerwell Baths on November 5,
6, and 7. Printers, publishers, and writers,
are the principal patrons of this strictly urban
Society, that manages to obtain an interesting
exhibition of plants and flowers cultivated
within a radius of about 2 miles.

" Florilegium Haarlemense."— We have
received parts 18 and 19 of this useful publi-
cation, issued by De Erven Loosjes at Haar-
lem. It consists, as we have before stated, of
a series of coloured illustrations of forms of
bulbous plants selected as typical by the

General Society of Bulb Culture. A short
history of each form is given in Dutch, French,
and German. When the work is completed
(though, to say the truth, so long as the pro-
pagation and improvement of bulbous plants
goes on it need never be finished), we shall
have a series of illustrations and' descriptions
which will be very valuable to the florist and
to the historian of plants. Already we have
an excellent instalment. The present parts
are dated April, 1901, and July, 1901, respec-
tively, but it is only lately that we have
received them. The plants figured are :—

Hijacinths. — L'Innocence, tab. 52, single
white ; Captain Boyton, single dark blue,
compact spike, tab. 55.

Tulips.— Four forms of Parrot Tulip, tab. 53 ;
three of Tournesol varieties, tab. 56.

Crocus vermis. — Various forms of lilac-
coloured Crocuses, tab. 54. The Crocus
vernus of Linnaeus is C. aureus, from which
the ordinary yellow forms have been derived.

Narcissus.— On tab. 57 are shown repre-
sentations of Grandee, Golden Spur, and
Poeticus ornatus.

Early Gooseberries.— On Thursday May 1,
the first consignment of the season was re-
corded in town from Penzance. Gooseberry
picking from bushes grown in the open around
Penzance commenced this week.

The Surveyors' Institution.— The annual
general meeting of the Institution, to receive
the report of the Council and the announce-
ment of the result of the election of officers
for the ensuing year, will be held in the
lecture-hall on Monday, May 26, 1902, at
3 o'clock. The prizes awarded to successful
candidates, in connection with the recent
preliminary and professional examinations,
will be presented by the President at the
annual general meeting. Notice is given that
the special certificate examinations will, for
the future, be held once in three years. The
next examination will therefore be held in
1904. The new forestry catalogue is now in
print, and copies can be obtained by applying
to the secretary of the Institution.

Trochodendron aralioides, of which
flowering specimens are sent to us by Messrs.
Veitch, is one of the handsomest of hardy
evergreen shrubs. Its many flowered panicles
of green apetalous flowers are very attractive,
but were not so in the eyes of the Floral Com-
mittee in 1894, when they passed this remark-
able plant over without notice of any kind ; and
this in spite of its undoubted beauty, and its
extremely interesting structure and history.
It is the occasional passing of such extraordi-
nary plants as this one, and the conferring of
certificates by the score on Chrysanthemums and
florists' flowers which are sure to be superseded
in a year or two, which grieves plant-lovers, and
shakes their confidence in the judgment of the
Committees. We gave a full description and
figure of the plant in our number for June 9,
1894, p. 716. Some botanists have referred it
to the Magnolias, others to the Hamamolids,
others consider it near to the Araliads, which
it certainly is, so far as superficial appearance
goes ; and the late Dr. Prantl in Engler and
Pranll Die Natiirlichen Pflanzen Familien, iii.
Teil, 2 Abtheilung, p. 21 (1891), cut the knot
by referring it to an order of its own, viz.,
Trochodendracere, including with it Cercido-
phyllum and Euptelea.

Berberis congestiflora var. hakeoides.
— Messrs. Veitch of Chelsea send us flowering
specimens of this handsome evergreen Chilian
Berberis. It is remarkable for its nearly
orbicular spine-margined leaves, and its dense

May 10, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

ill

clusters of yellow globose flowers, ■which
bedeck the whole length of the slender, wiry
branches. The plant was figured in the
Gardeners' Chronicle, May 11, 1901, p. 295,
fig. 111.

- Prof. Millardet.— It is difficult to over
■estimate the services to his country of this
•eminent botanist. Bordeaux Mixture is now
known throughout the world as the most
generally satisfactory fungicide. Professor
Millardet is now retiring from his Professor-
ship at Bordeaux — all honour be to him.

Publications Received— Proceedings and

Journal of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of
India, for October— December, 1901. This includes an
illustration and description of the Waterfall Bridge,
made in the Gardens last season, and transform-
ing a spot " very jungly and ever an eyesore" into a
picturesque gorge spanned by an ornamental bridge.
— The Year Book of New South Wales, 1902. This gives
accounts of the Governors and Ministries, and the
Government Departments, with astronomical and me-
teorological notes, legal, medical, military, naval and
commercial information, together with a brief history
of the Colony; its progress, and present condition. An
interesting and valuable volume.— Bulletin of the
Botanical Department, Jamiaca, March. Edited by Wm.
Fawcett. Contents : Report to the Board of Agriculture
by the Chemist, Importation of Seeds and Plants,
Jamaica Oranges in English Markets, Packing Fruit in
Florida, and Black Rot Disease of Ginger.— Annual
Report of the Secretary for Agriculture for Nora Scotia, for
1901: "The development and increased interest by
farmers during the past few years is more marked and
manifestly greater in 1901, than in any previous year."
The season opened early andfavourably, but drought set
in about the 1st of July. The falling off in quantity
of crops was, however, fully compensated by the high
prices obtained for them. Owing to a scare concerniug
the appearance of San Jose scale, an inspection of
orchards was made but, most happily, none of the pest
could be discovered throughout Nova Scotia.— The
Halifax Naturalist, April. This reports the doings of an
energetic local scientific society, and includes a paper
by Messrs. W. B. Crump and W. G. Smith, on the afores-
tation of Waterworks Gathering Grounds, or, in other
words, the intelligent planting and careful up-keeping
of certain large areas, at present neglected. We are
glad to learn that the Halifax Corporation are inclined
to look favourably on a wise scheme, to which we wish
all success.— From the Department of Agriculture,
Victoria, Australia : Information concerning Product*
exported by the State of Victoria to Great Britain. By J. M.
Sinclair. " A large export trade is being developed
with the United Kingdom in Victorian butter, cheese,
grain, flower, frozen meat, rabbits, hares, poultry ; also
wines, fruit, fruit-pulp, honey, tobacco, &c. In view of
a still wider expansion of this export business, it is
desirable that the British trader and consumer should
be furnished with some information concerning these
productions." Some interesting notes on this subject
are contained in the pamphlet before us, and for full
information concerning agriculture, horticulture,
viticulture and stock-raising in Victoria, application
should be made to Mr. Sinclair, 153, Leadenhall Street,
E.C.— From the Michigan State Agricultural College
Experiment Station, Horticultural Department, Bulletin
No. 194, December, 1901 : Report of the South Haven Sub-
Station for 1901, by S. H. Fulton ; and Bulletins Nos.
195 196, Januai-y, 1902 : Strawberry Notes for 1901, and
Noteson Vegetables, by L. R. Taft and M.'L. Dean.— Dul
wich Chrysanthemum Society's Eighth Annual Report
and Schedule of Prizes.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

CASSIA CORYMBOSA AT TREGYE, CORNWALL.

—I am sorry to say I have only j ust been able to
read the Gardeners' Chronicle of April 26, in
which I find a question put by Mr. H. Mark-
ham as to the above tree. The plant was a
cutting from the beautiful shrub on the wall
at Bosahan in South Cornwall. The border in
which it grows is a good turfy loam of medium
texture, as Mr. Markham states. I always
plant sweet-scented leaf Pelargoniums in the
border under the Cassia every year, and it is well
manured with spent hotbed manure. The Cassia
was originally planted in good turfy loam
mixed with granite-sand. The south wall on
which it grows is sheltered from the east by
the house, which only allows the sun to get at
the plant after 1 p.m. As to pruning, 1 find
that the plant will throw out laterals of about
5 to 7 feet long each year, which I have 1 aid-in
or pruned-in to one bud just as the plant is
beginning to shoot. This year has been tlio

most severe winter that we have had for
years, and the most frost registered at Tregye
was 14°. As I think I have said before, Cassia
corymbosa is a deciduous plant out-of-doors ;
but the leaf takes a very long time to come off.
The foliage blackens after a frost of say 9°,
but the leaf does not fall till January at the
earliest. The outside shoots of Plumbago
capensis have also been cut this winter — the
leaves next to the wall never come off. The
plant flowered very well last year, and was
looking well when I saw it a week ago.
Perhaps it may interest your readers to know
what also grows close to the Cassia on the walls
of my house: — 1, Sweet-scented Verbena;
2, Clianthus puniceus ; 3, Cassia corymbosa ; 4,
Lapageria alba, a small plant only planted last
autumn ; 5, Lapageria rosea, a fine plant with
very large leaves, flowered beautifully last
season, 400 to 500 blossoms being out at the
same time on it ; 6, Asparagus plumosus ; 7,
Rhododendrons Countess of Sefton, and Nut-
talli, which last has five flower-buds on it this
season ; 8, Mandevilla suaveolens, a good
plant 25 feet high ; and 9, Camellia reticulata,
flowering profusely this spring. None of these
plants has ever had a mat or any kind of
protection against frost. John Boscaiven.

interesting strangers !— I think it may
be of interest to mention that I have now
coming into flower, for, I believe, the first
time in Europe, a most beautiful South Austra-
lian Hsemodoraceous plant, Anigosanthus
pulcherrimus. It is figured on plate 4180 of
the 71st volume of the Botanical Magazine;
but the plate was prepared from dried her-
barium specimens, which had quite retained
their colour, as everlastings do ; it must be a
most beautiful plant if like the plate. I received
theseed of itfromSouthAustralia, and sowed it.
On writing to Mr. Max Leichtlin to tell him I
had got seedlings of it up, he wrote in answer,
" You will be a very old man if you live to see
it bloom, as the late Wilson Saunders grew it
for many years and never saw it bloom." As
my plants are not yet two and a half years
old, and are showing three spikes of flower, I
do not quite understand this, and only hope it
may be true to name. I sent two of my seed-
lings to Kew. I have just got a fine strong
flowering tuber of Ipomcea leptophylla, the
bush Morning Glory, the only one that does
not climb ; also a fine plant of Scolytnus his-
panicus, figured red in Sibthorp's Flora Gra-ca.
W. E. Gumbleton, Queenstown, Co. Cork.

CORONATION tree- planting. — As there
seems to be a probability that a large number
of trees will be planted as mementos of the
coronation of King Edward VII., I might sug-
gest that to avoid the danger of trees dying
by being planted at such an unsuitable time
of the year, that all those who intend to adopt
this mode of commemoration should, before it
is too late, secure trees that have been trans-
planted, and have them properly prepared and
put into suitable boxes, baskets, or tubs, in a
compost that would ensure a largo number of
fibrous roots being made before June, and by
this means, and by careful planting, obviate
the disappointment that would be occasioned
by the death of a tree. The selected trees
should bo symmetrical, and well grown of
their kind. Standard trees, with stems 0 to
10 feet high, and having good crowns ; coni-
fers and evergreen shrubs, 3 to 5 feet high,
not too old, would be easy to handle, and
would probably get over removal and trans-
planting better than larger ones. A suitable
kind of box or tub would bo one of which the
sides are removable, which could bo easily
made by running an iron rod made with a head
at one end and a screw at the other, witli a
nut to fit it on two opposito sides, and thus
keep the box together. When planting, re-
move the nut and the sides, and push off tho
tree from the bottom. II. Ilaveloclc, Meric Moor
Nurseries, Downjicld, near Dundee.

THE HORTICULTURAL HALL. — The idea of
your correspondent " T. D. E. " (p. 277), for
raising money to build a hall, seoms to mo
deserving attention, as by his scheme of local

collectors every district might be thoroughly
worked. His question, " Ought not gardeners
of subscribers to be admissible at a half-
guinea ? " is also one that I should like to see
the Society take up. For some years at least,
the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland
have admitted professional gardeners as mem-
bers at a yearly subscription of a half-guinea,
and if the Royal Horticultural Society could
see its way to do the same, doubtless many
gardeners would become members who cannot
pay one guinea annually. J. G. TV., Bessborough,
Co. Kilkenny. [Our correspondent overlooks
the fact that any gardener can become an
associate on payment of half-a-guinea. Ed.]

sporting tulips.— I am sending you a
few specimens of what were single early
Tulips. I first planted them in my garden in
1898, and up to last year they bloomed as
single Tulips, but this season every one of
them has become double ; in many the number
of pistils has been increased as well as the
stamens and petals. I am sorry that the
treatment they have received has not been
carefully noted. The bed in which they are
growing this season was formerly planted with
Carnations, and before that the Tulips were
grown in the ordinary fashion and taken up
every ceasonexcept one, during which they were
left in the ground. Some eight or ten varieties
(over 100 bulbs), have behaved in this manner.
It would appear that the effect is due to some
treatment received a season or two ago, and
is not due to excess of manure in the soil in
which they are now growing, for similar
varieties purchased two seasons ago and
planted in the same bed are single as usual.
The varieties which have become double are
Keizer's Kroon, Pottebakker, white ; Artis,
Spaendonck, Vermilion brilliant ; Wafen van
Leiden, La Grandeur, Maes, and some others.
Have you met with any similar case of
doubling which has affected Tulips of one
particular season's growth ? John Percival,
Wye College, Kent. [This sudden wholesale
change is what Prof. De Vries would call
"mutation," provided the results prove
constant, which has to be proved. Peyritsch
and others have considered that the doubling
is due to the irritation set up by mites or by
parasitic fungi, but we do not believe in the
presence of either in the flowers before us. Ed.]

daffodil peter barr. — In reference to
your illustration on p. 295, I may say that a
Daffodil-flower exactly similar to that figured,
but slightly larger (I took the dimensions of
both), was exhibited at the Birmingham show
on April 2.7 by Messrs. Pearson, of Lowdham.
My impression is that Mr. Barr's specimen of
this year was rather less than the one which I
saw exhibited by him at the same show last
year. Both Mr. Pearson's and Mr. Barr's
were the grandest flowers I have yet seen
amongst white trumpets, and it would be
interesting to know where they were raised.
O. Wolleij Dod, Edge Hall, Malpas.

"THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICUL-
TURAL society." — The President of the Royal
Horticultural Society said, with reference to
tho cutting of the edges of the Journal, that
anyone who loved books would regard tho
cutting of the edges as barbarous. Now as a
business man I would most decidedly prefer
tho edges of my Journal cut, as would, I am
sure, hundreds more. William Cuthbertson,
Rothesay.

ASH AND LARCH ON THE CHALK.— In reply

to Mr. Forbes 1 have to say that Tisbury is on
the edge of the chalk, and tho place where I
saw the fine Larch and Ash is several miles
from that place, lies high on tho chalk, and
neither the Ash nor tin- Larch answered to
Mr. Forbes' description as regards bad quality.
Particulars about age and prices were given
mo by the owner of the estate and his agent,
tho former taking the troublo to introduce me
to an old woodman who remembered the dates.
I am usually particular about such matters. I
am not at liberty to publish private estate
transactions, but 1 givo tho Editor the name
of this and other estates privately. Mr.

312

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE

[May 10, 1902.

Forbes need not, however, confine his en-
quiries to one spot. The chalk formation I mean
extends from Dorset to the northern extremity
of Norfolk, and a journey on the London &
South Western and Great Eastern Railwajs
willshowhim tracts of land where the surface-
soil hardly exceeds G inches, with pure deep
chalk below, and fine trees of -various species
growing all over the formation. Hatfield may
be named as a notabie example. Fordham, in
Cambridgeshire, is another ; and places are
numerous in Norfolk, in which county from
off the chalk, was sold lately a whole Ash
•wood to a purchaser who came 100 miles for
it and gave a good price. The finest Ash I
ever saw was on the chalk near Soham, in
Cambridgeshire, where I was shown a section
of a disused chalk-pit, where the roots of the
trees could be seen going down deep into the
pure chalk, the only rooting medium, and the
pit had been planted up again with the same
species. The Ash here was of the largest
size, and was sold, cut up into planks at 4,s.
per cubic foot. In Norfolk there is plenty of
Larch of all ages, miles of splendid matuie
Scotch Fir, the Larch's companion in habits
and wants ; and hardwoods on the chalk
and flint, where the pure chalk is just below
the surface, and is reached by the roots. The
two species that are said not to thrive there
are the common Spruce and Wellingtonia,
■which dwindle when they get down to the
chalk ; but I did not feel sure that the
local opinion is correct. Some Silver Firs
growing at Lynford, beside equally big Oaks,
are amongst the largest 1 ever saw ; and these
were in Argyleshire, where trees from 200 ft.
(cubic) are common, and some are more than
double that size — "Adam and Eve," for
example, at Roseneath. J. Simpson, Sheffield.

Societies.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL

May 6. — The usual fortnightly meeting of the
Committees was held on Tuesday last in the Drill Hal],
James Street, Westminster. Although the hail was well
filled with exhibits, there was not the unpleasant
crowding experienced at the previous meeting, as the
visitors were fewer than on that occasion.

The Floral Commute!.: had a large number of groups
before it, and recommended as many as seventeen
medals, the principal exhibits including very unusual
displays of Auriculas and Primroses from Messrs.
Storrie & Storrie, Dundee, and of flowers of St.
Brigid's Anemones, from Messrs. Reamsbottom, Kings
County, Ireland, also cut Roses, and Roses in pots ;
Japanese Maples, Primula japonica, Ferns, and
collections of hardy flowers, <Sc. This Committee
recommended only three Awards of Merit to novelties.
These were to faxifraga, Guildford Seedling, Pelar-
gonium Colonel Baden-Powell, and the St. Brigid
Anemones.

The Orchid Committee awarded six Medals including
one Gold one, also one First-class Certificate, nine
Awards of Merit, and one Botanical Certificate.

The Narcissus Committee, naturally, was less
busy than at the previous meeting, hut there were
several displays of the later flowering varieties. Two
First-class Certificates were recommended, one to a
Tulipa, and the other to Narcissus " Ada," also three
Awards of Merit to varieties of Narcissus, and two
Medals to Tulips and Narcissus.

The Fruit and Vegetable Committee had before it
only a few Strawberries, Lemons, Cucumbers, and
Radishes.

In the afternoon there was again a large accession of
new Fellows to the Society, the exact number proposed
for election being sixty-seven.

The Rev. Prof. Henslow, who has just returned from
a tour in South Africa, delivered a lecture upon " The
Classification of Plants by Evolution," and explained
some of the grounds upon which the present system of
botany is based, and pointed to the gradual develop-
ment towards a perfect flower observed in the different
families of plants.

Floral Committee.

Present: W. Marshall, Esq., Chairman; and Messrs.
II. Turner, C. T. Druery, Geo. Nicholson, R. Dean, J. F.
McLeod, J. Jennings, Jas. Hudson, W. Howe, J. A. Nix,
C. R. Fielder, Chas. Dixon, R. W. Wallace, H. J. Cutbush,
Chas. Jeffries, Chas. E. Pearson, Chas. E. Shea, H. J.

Jones, W. P. Thomson, E. H. Jenkins, W. J. James, Geo.
Paul, R. C. Notcutt, J. Fraser, Ed. Mawley, and E. T.
Cook.

Messrs. Wm. Cutbush & Son, Highgate, London, N.,
had a group of plants made up of batches of "Ghent
Azaleas," as Raphael de Smet, pink and white ; Nar-
eissiflora, yellow, and others; Souvenir de la Mal-
maison Carnations, including Lady Rose, of a very rich
rose colour; tree or Moutan Pteonies, including Reine
Elizabeth, Louis Monchelet, George Paul (rich purple),
Stuart Low (deep rose colour), &c. A few Carnations,
other than the " Malmaison " type, included large, clear,
yellow-llowered Cecilia, also Boadicea, very bright red
colour, «fcc. (Silver Banksian Medal).

Auriculas and Polyanthuses were very finely shown
by Messrs. Storrie & Storrie, Dundee. All of the
plants had been 1 fted from the open ground, and the
bills mossed round previous to travelling. The
Polyanthuses and Auriculas also were grandly de
veloped in foliage and bloom. Amongst varieties of
Polyanthus that were most attractive, either from
their good habit or brilliant colours, were Crimson
Queen, Scarlet Gem, Harbinger (white, with yellow
centre), White Queen, Tribute (yellow), purple King, and
Bohemian, described as a new hybrid Cowslip Polyan-
t'ms. It is of very tall h»bit, has large flower-trusses
with pale red and yellow flowers. Of Auriculas, mention
may be made of The Wasp, yellow, with deep purple
blotch on each petal ; Acquisition ; Polaris, very large
yellow (lowers, much crimped, with white ring; Juno,
yellow, with white ring ; Venus, similar to the last, but
flatter blossoms, and quite different foliage ; Atlas,
very beautiful, of primrose lint ; Aurora; Melpomene;
and Miss Jekyll, a very fine variety, with large
brown flowers, white paste. From the same firm
came a number of plants of the " Albino " Borecole,
shown a year ago. These latter plants belong to the so-
called laccd-leaved type; the margins of the leaves are
much divided and fringed (Silver gilt Flora Medal).

Messrs. John Laing & Sons, Forest Hill Nurseries,
London, S.E., exhibited a few hardy Rhododendrons
in pots, also Pieris (Andromeda) speciosa, with much
larger flowers than P. floribunda, several Clematis, Ac.
Among the Rhododendrons were Rosamond, bright
rose coloured, and Catawbiense, lilac-coloured.

Messrs. J. Carter & Co., High Holborn, London,
exhibited a very pretty ground group of Cinerariasftf
the stellata flowering section. The plants differed
very little from each other in habit of growth and
flowering, each being profusely covered with small but
elegant flowers upon branching racemes. The colours
were varied. A few plants of double-flowered varieties
showed good cultivation (Silver Banksian Medal).

From Lady Susan Byng, Bayman Manor, Chesham,
Bucks, came some nice plants of Mignonette and
Schizanthus in pots. They were very well cultivated
(Vote of Thanks).

Primula obconica was shown in a group of plants
from Frank Lloyd, Esq., Coombe House, Croydon,
who had two distinct strains, one with white flowers,
and the other lilac-coloured flowers (Vote of Thanks).

Messrs. Paul it Son, The Old Nurseries, Cheshunt,
showed three blooms of a Tea Rose, Madame Berkeley ;
it is remarkable for extraordinary size, the petals
being very deep and wide; colour white, or palely-
tinted cream.

Messrs. Frank Cant & Co., Braiswiek Nurseries,
Colchester, had a magnificent display of cut Roses,
contained in five large boxes, there being fourteen
dozen blooms of high quality. In addition to a number
of standard varieties, there were well-coloured flowers
of the new Tea Rose, Lady Roberts, very fine flowers of
the new H.P., Mrs. Frank Cant (light pink colour), and
of Muriel, very deep rose colour (Silver-gilt Flora Medal).

Messrs. B. R. Cant & Sons, Colchester, exhibited
some nice standard and bush Roses in pots ; also two
dozen very fine cut blooms. Amongst varieties were
H.T. Antoine Rivoire, Suzanne - Marie Kodocanachi,
Mrs. W. J. Grant, Bridesmaid, <fcc. (Silver Banksian
Medal).

Mr. J. Walker, of Thame, Oxon, showed four dozen
blooms of Rose Marechal Niel (Silver Banksian Medal).

Mr. H. B. May, Dyson's Road Nurseries, Upper Ed-
monton, showed choice varieties of Athyriums, Scolo-
pendrium vulgare, Polypodiums, and other British
Ferns, including altogether about ninety varieties;
also a group of zonal Pelargoniums in pots ; amongst
these varieties were Mark Twain, clear rose, shaded
with silvery-white; Rev. F. H. Brett, scarlet; Hall
Caine, scarlet; M. Alfred Erckencr, double, salmon-
rose, &c. (Silver Banksian Medal).

Messrs. .1. Cheal & Sons, Lowfield Nurseries, near
Crawley, exhibited a collection of sprays of flowering

and ornamental leaved trees and shrubs. Among
these were the following effective species and varieties :
Cerasus sylvestris fl.-pl., Pyrus baccata, Exochorda
grandiflora, Berberis stenophylla, Pyrus japonica,
Spiraea arguta, Amelanchier canadensis, Rhododendron
Ascot Brilliant, Akebia quinata, &o. (Silver Flora
Medal).

Mr. L. J. Ching, Crescent Nurseries, Goat Road,
Forty Hill, Enfield, showed a group of plants of zonal
Pelargonium Coronation, with very bright scarlet
flowers, described as a sport from F. V. Raspail
Improved.

A. F. Fitter, Esq., Miramar, Streatham Hill, sho \ed
a plant of Clianthus Dampieri, with several blooms
upon it. The singular flowers of this rather difficult
plant to cultivate attracted attention from many of the
visitors.

A spray of blooms of the bold flowered Rhododendron
Nuttalli was shown by H. E. Gordon, Esq., Aukenhead
House, Cathcart, N.B. (gr., Mr. John Boucher) (Vote of
Thanks).

Mr Chas. Turner, Royal Nurseries, Slough, exhi-
bited a fine display of twenty-one baskets containing
plants of varieties of Primula Sieboldi, and several
baskets containing choice Auriculas (Silver Banksian
Medal).

Mr. M. Pritcbard, of the Christchurch Nurseries,
Hants, exhibited a group of hardy plants and flowers,
in which were noticed Geum roiniatum, Parrot and
other Tulips, Scilla campanulala praecox, Berberis
dulcis nana, Iberis superba, very beautiful ; Phlox
canadensis, Trollius asiaticus, &c.

Mr. Amos Perry, Hardy Plant Farm, Winchmore
Hill, included amongst his hardy plants Fritillaria
recurva, Lithospermum canescens, growiDg very vigo-
rously; Iris pumila hybrida Blue Beard, and Meco-
nopsis cambrica fl.-pl. (Silver Flora Medal).

Varieties of the brilliant Anemone fulgens were
shown by Messrs. Gilbert & Son, Dyke Nurseries,
Bourne, Lincolnshire. Among these were Grreca,
oculata and " The Queen," a stellate flowered variety of
light red colour.

Messrs. R. Wallace & Co., Kilnfield Gardens, Col-
chester, had some choice hardy plants, among which
we noticed Tulipa Ostrowskyana, T. cornuta, T. gala-
tica, a new yellow - flowered species ; Cypripedium
pubescens, the pretty little red flowered Fritillaria
recurva, Phlox setacea Nelsoni, &c. (Bronze Flora
Medal).

Mr. W. J. Caparne, Guernsey, showed about thirty
varieties of his intermediate Irises, crosses from
several species. They are recommended for flowering
in April and May, between the natural blooming seasons
of I. pumila and I. germanica. By these varieties it is
possible to get a good display of Irises of the germanica
type in May (Bronze Flora Medal).

Mr. T. S. Ware, Ltd., Hale Farm Nurseries, Fel-
tham, exhibited among hardy plants a number of
varieties of Primula Sieboldi; Sarracenia purpurea was
noticed, and a fine bloom of Iris Susiana (Silver Bank-
sian Medal).

Messrs. Geo. Jackman Si Son, Woking, in their col-
lection of hardy plants, had some very good specimens
of Cypripedium spectabile ; also Ramondia pyrenaica,
Primula japonica, Tulipa Greigii, Delphinium nudi-
cauie, &c. (Silver-gilt Banksian Medal).

Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Bush Hill Park Nurseries,
Enfield, showed Schizanthus Wisetonensis, Metro-
sideros floribunda, Souvenir de la Malmaison, and
other Carnations, Erica propendens, Ac.

Messrs. Wood & Son, Ltd , Wood-Green, London,
exhibited some very bright-looking wire baskets, which,
if filled with fertilising moss, would make very effec-
tive receptacles for plants for use in decoration. This
new design is named the "Crown," and is made in
bronze-copper wire, with aluminium suspension chains
and ornaments.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Royal Exotic Nurseries,.
Chelsea, had a group of plants of Primula japonica in
pots. There were about sixty plants, all seedlings;
they bore strong flower-spikes, 9 inches high, with tile
first few flowers opened; these were of rich colour,
and similar to each other. The same firm exhibited
Berberis congestillora hakeoides, and Trochodendron
aralioides, two valuable shrubs, referred to on p. 3111.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons also showed Rhododen-
dron Col. Thornycroft, across from R campylocarpum
and a garden variety. The plant shown was hardlya
foot high, but bore two trusses of flowers cream-
coloured inside, with deep crimson spot at base and
red outside. Messrs. Veitch also showed a telling ,
group, because the plants of which it was formed
were placed in compact masses, and arranged

May 10, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

01 o
O 1 6

below the level of the eye. Very striking was a mass of
Erysimum, Dwarf Compact, Aubrietia Souvenir de
W. Ingram, flower of the size of a shilling, and of a bright
purple lint; Arabis alpina fl pi., an excellent white-
flowered plant, 6 to 8 inches high, with double pure
white flowers set on short spikes ; Phlox amcena,
puVplish-lilac; Gentiana verna, the brightest of blue
flowers ; Euphorbia pilosa major, some beautiful
Cowslips, large-flowered, and varied in colour; Myo-
sotis in variety, including the pink-flowered M. alpes-
tris rosea ; Iberis, Wallflowers, and Cheiranthus Cheiri
var. Harpur Crewe, beautifully bloomed. This firm
showed a semi-circular group, 12 feet in the long
diameter, of double-flowered Wallflowers, consisting
of yellow, brown, and purple varieties, with large
spikes topping stout stems, H to 2 feet in height. The
group was backed with bushes of double-flowered
Prunus, Pyrus, &c., loaded with flowers (Silver Flora
Medal).

Mr. J. Russell, Richmond Nurseries, Richmond,
Surrey, exhibited in a group arranged on the floor a
number of bushes and standards of Japanese Maples,
green, purple, and bronze leaves of much variety of leaf
form in all the various sections (Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. Barr & Sons, King Street, Covent Garden,
exhibited Tulips extensively; these consisting chiefly
of breeders or selfs in variety. Others having fixed
colours were Yellow Queen, Picotee, Lion d'Orange,
Fransoniana, Coquette de Belleville, Striped Beauty,
York and Lancaster, Buonventura, Goldflake and
others. A few alpine plants were included in the
exhibit, namely, Saxifragas, Phloxes of low growth,
Gentiana verna, Iris albicans grandiflora, I. a alba,
Allysum, Arabis, Iris lutescens, Fritillaria pyrenaica,
Cytisus Ardoinei, Auricula Mrs. Meicklejohn, of a rich
crimson with golden-yellow paste ; Aubrietia Brides-
maid, of a light tint of lilac ; andTrilliumgrandiflorum.

John Waterer & Son, Ltd., American Nurseries.
Bagshot, Surrey, showed a prettily arranged group of
Japanese Maples, as bushes and low standards, set oft
with Ghent Azaleas, hardy Rhododendrons; the plants
being thrifty and well-grown (Silver Flora Medal).

Awards.

Pelargonium Colonel Baden- Powell.— An ivy-leaved
variety with very large double pink flowers having a
little bright red colour on the upper petals. From Mr.
C. Turner, Royal Nurseries, Slough (Award of Merit).

Saxi/raga Guildford S'edling — This is described as a
seedling from 8. Rhei which it greatly resembles,
except in the colour of the flowers, being quilccrimson
instead of pink. It has dwarf '•mossy" foliage and
the plants are from 3 to 7 inches high, with generally
about four flowers upon each stem. Shown by the
Guildford Hardy Plant Co., Millmead, Guildford! Award
of Merit).

.S'«. Brigid Anemones.— Messrs. Rea.msiiottom & Co ,
Alderborough Nursery, Geashill, Kings County, Ireland!
exhibited a very large number of flowers of this well
known strain of Anemone. The blossoms were bold
and of large size, mostly semi-double, but including
single-flowered varieties, and represented a great va-
riety of colours. An Award of Merit was recommended
to the strain, and a Silver-gilt Flora Medal to the
magnificent display made by the collection of (lowers,
which were shown in bunches.

Narcissus Committee.

Present : Mr. H. B. May (Chairman), with Miss E.
Willmott, and Messrs. S. Eugene Bourne, A. Kingsmill,
J. T. Bennett-Poe, W. F. M. Copeland, J. D. Pearson,
P. R. Barr, W. W. de Graaff, W. T. Ware, W. Poupart,
Jas. Walker, C. Scrase Dickens, G. H. Engleheart,
and Richard Dean.

In a group of flowers from Messrs. Barr & Sons,
King Street, Covent Garden, London, we remarked a
rather striking flower in Red Star, an Incomparabilis
variety, with widely winged segments and brilliant
cylindrical red-orange cup, and an unusually long
scape to the flower. The N. poeticus kinds were seen
in the well-formed Tripodalis, a medium-sized flower;
in N. p. Almira, a handsome and pure kind ; and in
N. p. Glory, a flower quite firm in substance, and very
large. Pure, good flowers were seen, too, of N. Snow-
flake, a white Ajax kind; Catherine Spurrell, and N.
Alida, a trumpet kind, of a full golden lint. Prince
Calibri is a stout form of N. Grandee, and N. intcr-
| medius Sunset is very beautiful and free. N. Leedsii
| Gem is a beautiful llower, prim and pleasing, and
late withal (Silver Flora Medal).

In a group from Messrs. VBITCB & Sons, Chelsea, we

noted some three or four kinds that only the word

« prodigious will describe. These were all a trifle coarse

. in texture, having been grown in Holland, and would

probably be different in British soil. These are Mrs.
H. J. Veitch, a monster Golden Ajax, with broad ovate
segments to the perianth; N. Laura, with "pointed seg-
ments, and a deeply-cut crown, with a strong up-raised
inclination; and N. Euterpe, another golden self.
Other good kinds were the widely winged Red Star,
already noted ; N. poeticus, glossy, very white; N. p.
grandiflorus, N. p. Almira, Captain Nelson, a good late
yellow ; Madame Plemp, a pleasin* flower called Per-
fecla, in the way of Princess May ; Amsterdam, a
pale incomparabilis, with pale cinnamon crown .
and Theodore, with its curiously spreading crown,
freely fringed internally. These, with N. bicolor
Grandee, and N. Lydia, a Nelsoni kind, and rather
pleasing, were the more striking of this group. Messrs.
Veitch it Sons also showed a collection of early and
May-flowering Tulips.

Mr. H. J. Jones, Ryecroft Nurseries, Lewisham, ex-
hibited cut flowers of varieties of Tulips, including a
few early flowering and May flowering sorts; also
varieties of Tulipa, as T. elegans, T. e. variegata, T. e.
alba, &c. Of most interest to some visitors was La
Tulipe Noire, a Darwin variety 2 feet high, with flowers
of intense brown purple colour, almost black (Silver
Banksian Medal).

Seedling Narcissus came also from G. H. Cammell
Esq., Brookfield Manor, SheSeld, and some of these
the Committee desired to see again.

Awards.

Tulipa Gemeriana lutea pallida —Miss F. Curret. of
Lismore. Ireland, showed TuMpa Gesneriana lutea
pallida, a yellow-coloured flower of good shape and
large size, and having the scent of Violets. The stems
were almost 2 feet high, and very stout (First-class
Certificate).

Narcissus Ada. — A pure waxy white variety, generally
with three flowers in a scape, obviously through the
influence of N. triandrus, which is one of its parents.
It is an exquisite flower, and the rounded character of
the upper portion of the trumpet characterises it
greatly (First-class Certificate).

A". Moon Pay.— This is a whiter kind, generally with a
two-flowered scape, and still of a parentage akin to the
first; generally it is the larger flower, but with rather
less substance and character (Award of Merit).

.V. Cecil Rhodes —A giant pale-flowered Queen of
Spain, the possible result of crossing N. triandrus and
N. Emperor (Award of Merit).

N. Watch-Fire.— A striking and distinct flower; the
segments of the perianth of a creamy-buff tone, and
the crown of deep einmmon, margined lightly with
deep orange (Award of Merit).

All of these were shown by Miss E. Wili.mott, Warley
Place, Essex.

Orchid Committee.

Present: Harry J. Veitch, Esq., in the Chair; and
Messrs. Jas. O'Brien (Hon. Sec ), J. Coliiian.de B. raw-
shay, II. M. Pollett, F. A. Rehder, W. Cobb, H. Little,
J. Douglas, W. A. Bilney, H. T. Pitt, T. W. Bond, J. W.
Odell, F. J. Thome, G. F. Moore, W. Boxall, W. H.
White, W. H. Young, H. A. Tracy, J. W. Potter, F.
Sander, and H. Ballantine.

There was a tine show of Orchids, especially Odonto-
glossuins.

The exhibit of the day was a very remarkable group
of excellently well-grown and rinely-tlowered Orchids
from the gardens of H. T. Pitt, Esq , Rosslyn, Slam-
ford Hill (gr., Mr. Thurgood), who was accorded the
rare distinction of a Gold Medal. The group was com-
posed principallyof Odontoglossuins.alargc proportion
of them being hybrids and finely blotched O. crispums,
of which such a display has seldom been seen in one
group. The finest of the blotched O. crispums was
O. c. PlttitB, which secured a First-class Certificate
(see avards), and other gooi ones were O. crispum
Bonnyanum, O. c. Chathamense, the now well-known
O. c. Annie, which received a First-class Certificate at
the last Temple Show; O. c. Fascination, and other
remarkable forms, both white and spotted. Other
fine Odoutoglossums in the group were, O. Hallii,
O. H. leucoglossum, the new and richly-coloured
Queen Alexandra, O. X Wilkcanum, Rosslyn variety ;
good O. triuinphans, and O. luteo-purpureum, O. x
Andersonianum varieties, O. x Ruckeriamini
"Nellie," which is very pretty; many large and richly
spotted O. x Adrian:c. and other varieties and
species. Among the Cattlcyas the delicately tinted C.
Schrodcia' Hcatonensis. and the fine C. Mendcli
"Alfred Smec," were prominent; C. Lawrcnccana,
and C. X Lawre -Mosshc, excellently flowered; C.
Schilleriana Pitt's variety, a very fine flower, with
glowing purple lip ; and other Cattlcyas and Lielias of

unusual merit. Other showy plants in the group which
Mr. Thurgood so excellently arranged were a good set of
Miltonia vexillaria, of which M. v. KaiYserin Augusta
was the finest in colour ; three good M. Roezlii, Brassia
longissima, Cypripedium Mastersianum, and other
Cypripediums, including the favourite C. Lawrence-
anum Hyeanum ; Phalcenopsis amabilis. Vanda teres,
Dendrobium rhodopterygium, Oncidium ampliatum,
and Chondrorhyncha Chestertoni.

Bjron Sir H. Schroder, T.ie Dell, Egham gr., Mr.
Ballantine), showei an interesting selection of re-
markable Odontogtossums, among which were the
original O. x excellens, certificated at the Orchi J Con-
ference in 18S5, and now a very large and stout plant in
perfect health, bearing a strong spike of eleveu large
lemon -yellow and white flowers, handsomely blotched
with red-brown. Other superb varieties were O. tri-
uinphans latisepalum and O. t. Dellense, two splendid
flowers ; O. x Harryano-crispum " Duchess of York,"

0. x Andersonianum Dellense, and O. x Wilckeanum
giganteum (Silver Banksian Medal).

Sir Frederick Wigan, Bart., Clare Lawn, East Sheen
(gr., Mr. W. H. Young), was awarded a Silver Flora
Medal for an effective group, in the centre of which
was a fine specimen of Cymbidium x eburneo Lowi-
anum, with six spikes ; and beside it the remarkable
C. x I'Ansoni, a distinct natural hybrid of C. gigan-
teum and C. eburneum, and in front a grand specimen
of Cymbidium Devonianum with six fine racemes of
flowers. In the group, also, the forms of Miltonia vex-
illaria were well represented by fine examples of M. v.
chelsicnse, M. v. Empress Victoria Augusta, the nearly
white M. v. albens, &a. ; M. x Bleuana, Ae'rides Fielc'-
ingi, with two fine spikes ; A. crispum Warneri, well
flowered ; a good selection of Odontoglossums, Masde-
vallia caudata xanthocorys, M. Peristeria, M. Roezlii,
and other Masdevallias ; Lpelio-Cattleya x Hebe, L.-C.
x Eclipse, and other hybrids.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Ltd., Chelsci, were
awarded a Silver Flora Medal for a very bright group,
in which the rich colours of the hybrid Laalio "attleyas
gave a fine effect. There were, among others observed,
L.-C. x Cybele. several good L.-C. x Hyeana, L.-C. x
Aphrodite alba, L.-C. x Wellsiana, L -C. x Ascanid
L -C. x Zephyra, L.-C. x G. S. Ball, and others ; also

1 . ' li.'i x Digbyano - purpurata, L. x Latona, hybrid
Disas, Masdevallia x Ajax superba, M. Parlatorjanp,
Cypripedium >. Vipani, C. x Gowerianum niagnificum,
a good selection of forms of Phaius x Norman, Cat-
tleya Schrodeise, C. Mendcli, and C. Mossi:e.

Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., liurford Lodge (gr.,
Mr. W. H. White), staged an interesting selection of
rare Orchids, among which the very remarkable Maxil-
laria fractiflexa, with its singular flower « itb. long and
singularly-arranged segments, was the most remark-
able (see Awards); with it were a fine spike of the
pretty spotted Odontoglossum x A. de Laircssc, an
ally of O. x Adrianie; the delicately-Muted blusl -
white Dendrobium x Ethel, and the dark-coloured
Liclia x Pacavia (purpurata X tenebrosa).

Messrs. llram Low & Co., Bush Hill Park, were
awarded a Silver Banksian Medal for a pretty group, in
which the forms of Cattleya Schrodenr were well
represented; also Cymbidium Lowianuin cor color,
Odontoglossums, and other showy Orchids, of wlich a
finely flowered specimen of Cattleya Skinneri formed
an effective centre.

Messrs. B. S. Williams ,t Son, Holloway, received a
Silver Banksian Medal for a group, in which were good
Ltelia purpurata, Vanda tricolor "The Glen variety,"
Dendrobium Dalhousianum luteum, D. thyrsillorum,
Cattleya Mcndeli, C. Mostia\ Calanthe x bella, Cypri-
pedium x Lebaudyanum, Trlchopilia crispa. Odonto-
glossum crispum, O. nievium majus, O. Uro-Skinneri,
O. pulchellum, O. Pescatorei, Ac.

The Hon. Walter Rothschild, Tring Park, showed
Lielia a cinnabrosa, "Tring Park varieiy," a very
handsome form, with orange-red sepals and petals and
rose lip, with claret coloured vciuing.

J. E. Vanneh, Esq, Chislchurst (gr.. Mr. W. II.
Robbins), showed Liclio-Cattleya x General Baden-
Powell (L. tenebrosa x C. Lawrenccana).

Jeremiah Oilman, Esq., Gatton Park (gr , Mr. W. P.
Bound), showed Cattleya x Louryana, a supposed
hybrid between C. intermedia alba and, H is thought
C. bicolor. It is near in form to C. intermedia alba,
aud has white flowers, with an uncommon tint of
violet-purple on the front of the lip.

II. L. Dim hoi -t-'shkim, Esq., The Warren House,
Staninoro ( r.. Mr. M. Gleeson), showed Cattleya
Mossiic "The Warren House variety," a very large
(lower, with light rose sepals and petals, and an clViv
live marbling of criinson-piirple on the lip.

314

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 10, 1902.

Norman C. Cookson, Esq., Oakwood, Wylam (gr.,
Mr. H. J. Chapman), showed a spike of a very fine form
of Cattleya x Jupiter (Warscewiezii x Lawreneeana).
The flowers were quite intermediate between those of
the two parents; sepals and petals light rose; lip dark
ruby-crimson, with white throat and two light patches
on each side of the central portion of the lip, as in C.
Warscewiczii.

Mr. Otto Beyrodt, Manenfelde, Berlin, sent flowers
of two fine spotted Odontoglossums, the larger, a
natural hybrid, of great merit.

Awards.
First-class Certificate.
Odontoglossum crispum Ptttiss, from H. T. Pitt, Esq.,
Rosslyn, Stamford Hill (gr., Mr. Thurgood). — A fine
addition to the front-rank varieties of blotched Odon-
toglossum crispum. Flower of perfect shape, and all
.the segments broad. Sepals and petals white, with a
tinge of purple showing through from the reverse side.
Both sepals and petals heavily and symmetrically
blotched with dark chocolate - purple, the blotches
being arranged with the larger ones in the outer half
of each segment and the smaller ones outside.

Award 6f Merit.
Odontog'ossum Halli "Queen Alexandra," from H. T.
Pitt, Esq. (gr., Mr. Thurgood), a very darkly coloured
form of O. H. xanlhoglossuin type. Sepals chocolate-
brown, tipped with yellow. Petals and lip pale yellow,
heavily blotched with red-brown. Avery fitting com-
panion to Mr. Pitt's phenomenonal O. H. Edward VII.,
which is by far the best of the O. H. leucoglossum class.
Odontoglossum erispum "Fairy Footsteps," from H. T.
Pitt, Esq. (gr., Mr. Thurgood), a large and finely-
formed white flower tinged with pink, and bearing some
purple spots on the petals.

Odontoglossum hyst.rix secundum nidli, from H. T. Pitt,
Esq.— A grand form of O. luteo-purpureum, with erect
spike of pale yellow flowers, heavily marked with
brown, and white lip with yellow crest and some
reddish blotches.

Odontoglossum. triumphal!* '.latisepnlum, from Baron Sir
H. Schroder (gr., Mr. H. Ballantine).— A fine flower of
wax-like substance, and with the sepals as broad as
the petals. The large blotching in this variety is of a
peculiar nut-brown hue ; lip white with large light-
brown blotches.

Odontoglossum Harryano crispum " Duchess of York"
from Baron Sir H. Schroder (gr., Mr. H. Ballantine).—
Flowers cream-white, evenly marked with light purple,
and tinged rose.

Dendrobium X Ethel (japonioum X Rolfea.'), from Sir
Trevor Lawrence, Bart, (gr., Mr. W. H. White).— An
elegant little hybrid with neatly-formed white flowers
tipped with piuk.

Cattleya Mossix Arnoldiana " Westfield variety" from
Francis Wellesley, Esq., Westfield, near Woking
<gr., Mr. Gilbert).— One of the finest of white Cattleyas
of the C. M. Reineckiana class, the flower closely re-
sembling a large and finely-formed C. M. Reineckiana,
with a very slight blush of pink oh the tips of the
petals. The plant bore three very fine flowers, white
with an almost imperceptible flush of pink on the tips
of the petals; the front of the lip being marbled with
bright purple, disc tinged with yellow.

Disa x Luna (racemosa ?, Veitchi i), from Messrs.
Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea.— Flowers larger than
those of D. racemosa, and of a bright rose-purple tint,
the interior of the galea being whitish, with a tinge of
rose and a network of purple.

Odontoglossum citrosmum pnnctatum, from Sir Frede-
rick Wigan, Bart, (gr., Mr. W. H. Young).— A pretty
form, with flowers spotted with purple, and rose-purple
lip.

Botanical Certificate.
Maxillaria fractijlexa, from Sir Trevor Lawrence,
Bart, (gr., Mr. W. H. White).— A very extraordinary and
singular-looking species, with narrow segments. The
erected dorsal sepal, 3 inches high, is yellowish ; lower
sepals of similar length, curiously hipped, the blades
being turned over and continued downward, yellow,
tinged brown. Petals extended and twisted, white,
with wart-like formations on the surface. Lip short,
white with purple spots. A very quaint -looking
flower.

Fruit and Vegetable Committee.

Present : Geo. Bunyard, Esq., Chairman ; and Messrs.
H. Balderson, Jos. Cheal, M. G. Gleeson, S. Mortimer,
A. Dean, Ed. Beckett, W. Pope, George Keif, g'.
Reynolds, C. G. A. Nix, Geo. Norman, H. Somers-
Rivers, Jas. H. Yeileh, H. Esliugs, F. Q. Lane, W.
Bates, O. Thomas, J. Jaques.

A collection of ripe Strawberry fruits from the
Swanley Horticultural College was awarded a
Silver Banksian Medal.

Some very fine Lemons from the gardens of Lady
Plowden were culturally commended.

MANCHESTER AND NORTH OP
ENGLAND ORCHID.

April 17— M. Wells, Esq., Sale (gr., Mr. Lamb),
exhibited a group of Orchids, and received Awards of
Merit for the following plants : Odontoglossum cris-
pum "Mrs. Wells," O. triumphaus latisepalum, O. tri-
umphans var., Cypripedium x Colossus. Silver-gilt
Medal for group.

S. Gratrix, Esq., Whalley Range (gr., Mr. Cypher),
received an Award of Merit for Cypripedium x Dow-
lingianum, the parents of which are C. insigne var.
Chantini x C. Godefroyte var. leucochilum.

R. Ashworth, Esq., Newchurch (gr., Mr. Pidsley),
received Awards of Merit for Odontoglossum crispum
var. " Dora," O. c. var. " Pearl," Cattleya Schrodera? var.
Mrs. Harry Ratcliffe, Dendrobium Cybele var. Evansi-
anum, and Cattleya Mossire var. " Emperor." A Silver
Medal was awarded for the group.

A. Wariiurton, Esq., Haslingden, received a First-
class Certificate for a grand form of Odontoglossum
x Adrians called "Mrs. B. Walker."

Mr. J. Cypher staged a fine group of plants contain-
ing some fine forms of Cattleya Lawreneeana, Lrelia x
Latona, Cypripedium villosum var. gigantea, and
cut flowers of Yanda teres alba ; Dendrobium x Nestor
was also shown.

R. Briggs-Bury, Esq , Accrington (gr., Mr. Wilkin-
son), received an Award of Merit for Odontoglossum x
Adriamc var. Tsaritza.

T. Baxter, Esq., Morecambe, staged a group of
Odontoglossums for which a Bronze Medal was awarded.

Mr. W. Holmes, Timperley, exhibited a plant of
Lycaste Skinneri var. Hardyana, and Odontoglossum
crispum var. bclla, both of which received Awards of
Merit.

ANNUAL MEETING.

May 1.— There was a grand muster of the Committee
on this occasion, the first meeting of the session 1902—
1903. The report stated ttat 319 awards of various
descriptions had been made during the past year, the
winners of points being O. O. Wrigley, Esq., 1st;
S. Gratrix, Esq., 2nd ; Mr. A. J. Keeling, 3rd ; to whom
were awarded respectively Gold, Silver-gilt, and Silver
Medals. The finances of the Society are in a flourish-
ing condition, there being a substantial balance at the
bank. S. Gratrix, Esq., was voted Chairman for the
session, Mr. J. Cypher Vice Chairman. The opening
meeting of the year was most encouraging, the Hall,
although small, being crowded with plants, there being
eleven groups in addition to numerous smaller displays.

J. Leemann, Esq., Ileaton Mersey (gr., Mr. Edge),
staged a number of very good plants, amongst which
were some beautiful spotted forms of Odontoglossum
crispum. A charming little hybrid in this group was
Brasso-Cattleya x nivalis, the parents of which are
Brassavola fragrans and Cattleya intermedia; the
flower is snow-white, and partakes more of the
character of the Brassavola (Award of Merit).
A good form of Odontoglossum x Adriana?, called
Sappho, also received an Award of Merit, the same
Award going to Odontoglossum crispum var. Mars,
O, o. var. Rosette, O. c. var. Emilia, and O. c. var.
Volodyooski; an Award of Merit was also voted to
Cattleya X Grand Duchess, a hybrid between C. Law-
renceanaxC. Mossia?. A Silver gilt Medal was awarded
for the group.

S. Ghathix, Esq., Whalley Range (gr., Mr. Cypher),
received a First-class Certificate for Cypripedium x
Emperor of India (noted elsewhere), and an Award of
Merit for a handsome form of Odontoglossum crispum
var. guttatum.

M. Wells, Esq., Sale (gr., Mr. Lamb), staged a fine
group of Orchids, there being many choice plants in
it. Lselio-Cattleya Haroldiana, a hybrid between L.
tenebrosa and Cattleya aurea, was possibly the best,
being a fine well-balanced flower, rich brown in the
segments, with dark maroon shading in the lip (First-
class Certificate). A very striking form of Cattleya
Lawreneeana received a similar award. Other good
plants in this group were Cattleya Schrodene var.
alba, Cypripedium Shillianum, Miltonia x Bleuana
var. grandiflora, Odontoglossum luteo-purpureum var.
Edward VII. A Silver-gilt Medal was given for the
group.

Messrs. Stanley, Ashton & Co. staged several good
forms of Cattleya Mendeli, and a beautiful form of
Cattleya x Miss Harris, the latter receiving a First-
class Certificate. A Bronze Medal was given for the
group.

Messrs. Hugh Low & Co. staged a few good things,
amongst which were noted Cattleya intermedia var.
alba, and Odontoglossum Andersonianum var.
maxima.

R. Tunstill, Esq., Burnley (gr., Mr. Balmforth), was

awarded a Silver-gil t Medal f or a number of good plants,
Cypripedium x Edithre being given an Award of Merit.
Cypripedium Lawrenceanum var. Hyeana and C.
callosuin var. Sandercc were included in this group.

R. Ashworth, Esq., Newchurch (gr., Mr. Pidsley),
staged a very good group of Orchids, inclusive of good
forms of Odontoglossum erispum, O. c. var. Polycletus
and O. c. var. Dorothy received Awards of Merit,
several fine forms of Cattleya Mendeli were also shown ;
Odontoglossum Pescatorei var. Kitty received an
Award of Merit. A Silver-gilt Medal was awarded for
the group.

E. Rogerson, Esq., Didsbury (gr., Mr. Towe), ex-
hibited a well flowered plant of Oncidium Marshalli-
anum bearing 211 blooms, and received a Cultural
Certificate. Cypripedium Sanderiauum, with two
flowers, came from the same collection, and received a
First-class Certificate. A Bronze Medal was awarded
for the group.

E. O. Schneider, Esq., Whalley Range (gr., Mr.
Hunt), exhibited Dendrobium thyrsiflorum with
fifteen flower spikes. Mr. J. Cypher stayed a good
group of plants principally Cattleyas, Dendrobiums,
andCypripediums, Lrelio-Cattleya x Major-Gen. Baden-
Powell received an Award of Merit; a fine form of
Dendrobium x Cybele var. gigantea was also shown.
A Silver-gilt Medal was awarded for the group.

Mr. J. Robson, Altrineham, received a Bronze Medal
for a group of plants, two nice plants of Cymbidium
Lowianum var. concolor being prominent.

Mr. A. J. Keeling exhibited a pretty form of Odonto-
glossum x elegans.

T. Baxter, Esq., Morecambe (gr., Mr. Roberts), staged
a few plants of Odontoglossums. P. W.

BRISTOL & DISTRICT GARDENERS'
MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT.

April 24.— The fourth annual meeting of this Associa-
tion was held at St. John's Parish Rooms, Redland, on
the above date, Mr. E. Biniteld occupying the Chair.

Lieut-Col. H. Cary Batten was re-elected as Presi-
dent. Mr. E. Binfield was elected as Chairman ; and
Messrs. E. Poole, F.R.H.S., and Garnish as Vice-Chair-
men for the ensuing year. Mr. W. Ellis Groves was re-
elected as Hon. Secretary and Treasurer. Fifteen
members were elected to serve on the committee, and
five members were asked to act as a sub-committee to
consider the advisability of forming a library for the
use of the members.

NATIONAL AURICULA.

(Midland Section.)

April 30.— The third exhibition of the Midland Auri-
cula Society took place in the Botanical Gardens, Edg-
bastou, Birmingham, and was the means of bringing
together a display very much superior to that of last year,
both in numbers and quality. The occasion furnished a
happy battle ground between north and south, for
growers in the northern district were represented by
the Rev. F. D. Horner, with Messrs. B. Simonitf,
Sheffield; J. W. Bentley, Manchester; and T. Lord,
Todmorden. Southern growers were represented by
Mr. J. Douglas, Bookham ; and Messrs. Phillips &
Taylor, Bracknell, Berks ; and a considerable number
of growers in the Birmingham district competed. The
Birmingham Botanical Society offered two of their
Medals to be awarded according to a tally of points ;
the Silver Medal became the property of Mr. James
Douglas, and the Bronze Medal of the Rev. F. D.
Horner. The quality of the Auriculas, both show and
alpine, was very good ; better on the whole than was
seen in London. The arrangements made by Mr. W. B.
Latham were as usual admirable.

Show Auriculas.

The leading class was for six varieties, and there,
were eight exhibitors, Mr. James Douglas taking the
1st prize with excellent plants of green edges: Chloe
and Mrs. Henwood : grey edges : George Lightbody
and Olympus ; white edge ; Mrs. Dodwell ; and self :
Ruby. Mr. T. Lord, Todmorden, was 2nd ; and Mr. J.
Stokes, Harborne, was a good 3rd.

There were eleven competitors with four plants,
Mr. T. Lord taking the 1st prize with green edges :
Abraham Barker and Mrs. Henwood ; grey edge : George
Lightbody ; and white edge : Acme, all finely de-
veloped. 2nd, the Rev. F. D. Horner.

There were nine exhibitors of two plants, the Rev. F.
D. Horner taking the 1st prize with another of his
fine new green edges Undaunted, and Eurydice, a dark
self; 2nd, Mr. W. H. Midgley.

Single specimens.— Green edges : 1st, Mr. T. Lord,
with Abraham Barker ; and 2nd with Shirley Hibberd.
Grey edges ; 1st, Mr. W. B. Latham, and 2nd, Mr. J.
DOUGLAS, both with George Lightbody. White edges :
1st, the Rev. F. D. Horner, with Modesty; 2nd, Mr. J.
Douglas, with Morna, both promising new varieties.
Sells : 1st, the Rev. F. D. Horner, with Challenger, a
rich ruby-red self, and 3rd with Artemis, a violet self ;
Mr. T. Lord was 2nd with Gerald.

The premier stage Auricula was the Rev. F. D.
Horner's fine self Favourite.

May 10, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

315

Alpine Auriculas.

These were numerous, bright, and effective. There
were eight competitors with six plants. Mr. J. W.
Bentley was placed 1st with Aglaia, Mrs. Lord, Attrac-
tion, Mary Bentley, Coronet, and Olivia, mainly of his
own raising, and all having refined blooms. Mr. J.
Douglas was 2nd, and Mr. A. R. Brown was 3rd.

There were ten collections of four plants, and Mr.
Douglas came 1st with Firefly, Dean Hole, Duke of
York, and Ziska, all very bright and striking. Mr.
J. W. Bentley was 2nd, and Mr. A. R. Brown was 3rd.

With two plants Mr. J. Clements was 1st, he had
Winifred, with acharming white centre ; and Mrs. M. R.
Smith. Mr. J. Godwin came 2nd with Mrs. Harry
Turner and Dean Hole.

Single Plants.— Gold centres : 1st, Mr. R. Holding,
with Mrs. Gorton ; 2nd, Mr. A. R. Brown. White
centres: 1st, Mr. Bentley, with Modesty; 2nd, Mr.
Burbidge, with Mrs. H. Turner.

The premier alpine Auricula was Mr. Bentley's
Aglaia.

Seedling Stage Auriculas.

Two prizes were offered, and they both fell to the lot
of the Rev. F. D. Horner, with Nigella and Erebus,
two fine selfs of his own raising. Alpines, gold cen-
tres: 1st, Mr. Cahtwright, with John Henry Lloyd, a
bright and promising flower ; 2nd, Mr. R. Holding,
with an unnamed seedling. Light centres : 1st, Mr.
Bentley, with Blue Peter, and 2nd with Clio.

Certificates of Merit were awarded to the following
novelties— Green edge : Chloe, Mr. J. Douglas ; white
edge: Letitia, Mr. W. H. Midgley, Selfs : Favourite
Nigella, and Erebus, the Rev. F. D. Horner. Alpines :
Aglaia, Attraction, and Mrs. Lord, from Mr. J. W.
Bentley.

Gold-laced Polyanthus showed a great improvement
upon those seen in London. The best four plants
came from Messrs. Pope & Son, who had two of Cheshire
Favourite, and one each of George IV. and Exile. Mr.
J. Stokes, Harborne, was 2nd, with Miss Turner,
Cheshire Favourite, Middleton Favourite, George IV.
The best single plant was George IV., from Messrs.
Pope & Son; Mr. J. Stokes was 2nd, with the same
variety.

Baskets of Primulas made a very pleasing feature,
especially that from Messrs . Pope & Son to which the
1st prize was awarded.

BRADFORD PAXTON.

May 3.— At the fortnightly meeting held on the above
date, the President, Mr. A. E. Benny, was presented
with a Certificate of the Royal Horticultural Society
framed in carved old Oak, in appreciation of the good
work he has done.

A chief work of the Society at the present time is to
provide allotment gardens in various parts of Brad-
ford. The society numbers over one hundred members,
the meetings are well attended, and a very good feeling
prevails among them. On the occasion noted above,
Mr. J. Snell, gr. at Farnley, Otley, read a short paper
on the " Cultivation of the Strawberry."

ROYAL CALEDONIAN HORTI-
CULTURAL.

May 7, 8.— The weather in Scotland has been so
wintry that the prospects of a good show may be said
to have been fully discounted. The weather indeed
made vegetables an almost impossible item, Cucumbers
and Mushrooms, however, being good. In the plant
classes the chief exhibits were the groups of plants
arranged on the floor. Here, Mr. McIntyre, gr., The
Glen, was 1st with an admirable arrangement ; Mr.
Wood, gr., Oswald House, 2nd. Mr. McIntyre was 1st
also fora table of Orchids, and for Azaleas, winning in
four classes. Mr. Wood also contributing well-bloomed
specimens.

For four Orchids, Mr. Sharp, gr. to C. Q. Wood, Esq.,
Freeland, Forgadenny, staged for 1st prize an excel-
lent Odontoglossum vexillnrium, O. Alexandra with
five spikes, Vanda tricolor, audCymbidium Lowianum.
Mr. McIntyre was 2nd.

The stove and greenhouse flowering plants were not
represented largely, and the plants generally were
small. Of some lovely alpine plants that were staged,
the six from Mr. A. Patekson, Polton House, Lasswadc,
were real gems, in perfect condition, v^z., Gentiana
verna, Dianthus alpiuus, Ramondia pyrenaica, Genista
pilosa, Primula formosa, and Arctotis nivca.

Auriculas were staged in moderate numbers, the six
from Mr. Allan, Stobhill, Gorebridge, to which the 1st
prize was awarded, being quite the best. Quantities of
Primroses, garden Polyanthus, and Primula obconica
were also staged.

Herbaceous Calceolarias formed an effective display,
Mr. D. Mackay, Lasswade, securing the 1st place ins
keen oompetil ion.

Of Ferns, mention must lie made of the three exotic
Ferns, grand plants, and the three Adiantume from
Mr. Stewart, gr. to 1>. Nbil Fuasi-.k, Esq., liockvillc as
being specially fresh and good.

A few noteworthy Amarylis were staged, Mr.
McDonald, Cardronna, Innerleithen, being 1st here,
with excellently cultivated plants, carrying large and
fine flowers.

Of bulbous plants Tulips were undoubtedly the finest
show. Mr. Bry'don, Innerleithen, secured the 1st
prize for six potfuls, with extra fine examples.

In the cut flower classes, a pretty table was furnished
with Daffodils. The class for twenty five varieties,
Messrs. Barr & Co., London, providing the prize, and
the flowers arranged for effect, brought out two com-
petitors. That from Mr. J. H. Cumming, gr. to Lady
Stewart, Grantully Castle, being in all respects the
best. For twelve bunches, Mr. Brydon was awarded
1st prize with fresh clean blooms. Some fine lots were
passed apparently because too many trumpet varieties
were employed.

Of Roses there was a most charming display ; twenty-
four varieties all Teas from Mr. W. Young, gr. to Mrs.
Fleming-Hamilton, Craigland, being exceptionally
fine. Mr. Kidd, Carberry Tower, and Mr. Manson,
Wallhouse, also showed conspicuously fine blooms.

Nurserymen's Exhibits.

Nurserymen contributed very largely to the success
of the exhibition. No group was more effective than
that of Mr. J. Downie, Beachwood, a bold circular
mass of forced shrubs, the dwarf plants as a groundwork,
with standards dotted not too closely over the whole.

Messrs. R. B. Laird & Son, had a very extensive
group, arranged with great taste, massing the various
subjects to a very large extent, one group of Ghent
Azalias in particular being very effective.

Messrs. Methven <fc Sons, Warriston, had a most
brilliant table of early Dutch Tulips ; and Messrs.
Hogg & Robertson, Dublin, an attractive display of
Tulips, mostly Darwins.

Messrs. Cunninghame it Fhaser, Comely Bank, pro-
vided a natural rockwork, with divisions of cork,
furnished with the best alpines of the season. Two
spikes of Eremurus robustus attracted not a little
attention.

Mr. Forbes, Buccleuch, Hawick, provided a neat
table, mostly of spray flowers, with Pteonies in beautiful
variety.

Not the least interesting exhibit was that of Messrs.
Storrie & Storrie, Dundee, whose variegated Scotch
Kale, yellow and other Auriculas, attracted much
attention.

The central position of the show was worthily filled
by a grand mass of flowering and foliage plants from
Mr. Cowan, Penicuik House, and brought the newer
Daffodils to the notice of the Edinburgh public.

The point of honour in the centre of the Waverley
Market was occupied by a large and attractive group
of plants from Messrs. Dickson & Co., Waterloo Place ;
nor must one forget a special exhibit of McEwan's
Cabbage, from Messrs. T. Methuen & Sons.

Floral Committee.

First-class Certificates were awarded to Rhododen-
dron James Whitton, from Mr. Macmillan, Trinity ;
Primula decora alba, a pure white sport ; and P. d.
Adonis, a blush seedling, both from Mr. Lindsay,
Karnes Lodge, Murrayfield ; Messrs. Dickson & Co.,
Waterloo, also received a First-class Certificate for
Rhododendron James Welsh, and for zonal Pelar-
gonium Coronation.

Plan Competition.

Sir John Gilmour, last autumn, offered a series of
prizes to young gardeners, for the best design of apiece
of ground attached to a house, the designs to be
returned on April 1, to Mr. Murray Thomson, S.S.C,
the Secretary of the Royal Caledonian Society. No less
than 23 plans were forwarded, and these were exhibited
at the Flower Show on May 7, the prize winners being
at the same time notified.

The judges were Messrs. Whitton and McHattie,
superintendents respectively of the Glasgow and
Edinburgh Public Gardens. The design selected for
the 1st prize (£.3), was that of Mr. Alexander
Trotter, Coollaton Gardens. Whillelagh, Ireland.
The plan was characterised by not a little originality
in altering the natural condition of the ground
to make it suit the ideas of the landscapist, the
old quarry, for instance, in the sketch plan having
been altered into a hike by diverting into it the stream
that flows through the ground. An aquatic garden was
also formed by means of the same stream. The kitchen-
garden, forcing-houses, and ollices were disposed at
the north-west corner, and walks and roads were
arranged in nicely flowery carves and in well placed
positions. The 2nd prize was awarded to the plan
of Mr. Thomas Smith, Cambusdoon Gardens, Ayr.
Three designs were commended, that of Mr. .Ions
Stewart, AUon House, Allon, being in many respects
very superior, showing 'perhaps in a greater degree
than any other the complete grasp the designer had
of his subject. Mr. R. BROWN, Colly Gardens, Gato
House, and Mr. Frank PHILIP, Philiphaugh, Selkirk,
were the others commended. The competition can
truly be said to have been a success, and we understand
the prizes arc to be offered again next year.

CHESTER PAXTON.

The Hon. Secretary desires us to inform our readers
that the following exhibits were inadvertently omitted
from the report of the annual spring show which
appeared in our issue for April 26, but it must always
be remembered that we do not in any case desire to
print a complete catalogue of exhibits.

From Miss Humberston, Newton Hall (per R. Wake-
field, gr.), there was a large and beautiful collection of
eutblooms.consistingof Richardias, Azaleas, Camellias,
Cinerarias, &o. Mr. Wakefield also showed Gentiana
acaulis in fine form, which was greatly admired. Mr.
J. Wynne-Fpoulkes was represented by a collection of
Narcissus, all of which were particularly fine, especially
for a town garden ; and Mrs. Ambrose Dixon by some
beautiful examples of the popular Star Cineraria,
Richardias, and Grape Hyacinths. Mrs. Willis Taylor,
Curzon Park, and Mr. Edwd. Dixon, Littleton (per Mr.
John Dutton, gr.), were both new exhibitors. The
former sent some fine examples of Daffodils, and the
latter a pretty collection, consisting of Deutzias,
Mignonette, and Daffodils. A nice collection of Daffo-
dils and Hyacinths was sent by Mr. John Wynne, of
Waverton.

Both Messrs. Dicksons, Ltd., and Messrs. McHattie
sent excellent collections, conspicuous in Messrs.
Dicksons' being the well-known Sir Watkin Daffodil,
staged in fine form, also other choice varieties, in-
cluding Queen of Spain, Mary Anderson, and Glory of
Leiden. The exhibit of Messrs. McHattie consisted of
named Daffodils, Hyacinths, Polyanthus, and a
beautiful collection of single Anemones.

SCOTLAND.

— ♦ —

FORESTRY AT TORPHINS.
Colonel Bailey, Lecturer on Forestry in
Edinburgh University, and late President of
the Scottish Arboricultural Society, has just
concluded, under the auspices of the Technical
Instruction Branch of the Aberdeen County
Education Committee, a moat instructive and
interesting course of lectures on Forestry at
Torphins, Aberdeenshire. The course is the
first of the kind given, not only in the county
of Aberdeen, but in Scotland, and reflects
credit on those who have initiated the lectures.
The lectures were given under the following
heads : — (1) General Principles ; (2) Sowing and
Planting ; (3) Tending ; (4) Protection. Colonel
Bailey is a forestry expert, and the lectures
were lucidly and gracefully delivered. He
covered a wide range of the subject in the
four lectures, and gave very many hints that
could not fail to be of immense value to those
who grow timber on a largo scale, as regards
laying out, the kinds of trees to plant, mode
of planting, and the after care of them. A
large number of diagrams were brought into
requisition to illustrate various points, and
each night's lecture was further illustrated
by a number of lantern-slides, which were
thrown on the screen, and described by tho
lecturer. That there is a wide field for such
lectures in Scotland goes without saying,
because, as Colonel Bailey pointed out, tho
industry of timber-growiug in tho far North is
mainly pursued in a spasmodic and discon-
nected manner by private individuals, with
the result that no full and steady supply of
good timber is forthcoming. The development
of forestry would not only provide employment
for a large number of persons, and arrest the
migration of the people from the country to
the towns, but prove a source of revenue to
owners of land, and help more largely to
furnish tho necessary timber supply required
by this country, and for which we pay to our
neighbours over £20,000,000 per annum.

©bituani.

Albert Walter Whale. — Wo have to re-
cord the death of Mr. Albert Walter Whale, a
partner in tho well-known linn of Messrs.
Dickson & Robinson, Manchester, which took
place at his residence on April 28, after a long
illness and much suffering.

J. C. Mansel-Pleydell.— Tho death on
Saturday, May :!, in his eighty-fourth year, of
this gentleman is announced. .Mr. M
PleydeU was a country gentleman .of -Dorset-
shire, a keen naturalist, and tin accomplished
archaeologist. Ho was the author of a book on
tho Flora of Dorsetshire.

31 G

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 10, 1902.

Wruwton

Mr

*** Editoe and Publisher.— Our correspon-
dents would obviate delay in obtaining
answers to their communications, and save
much trouble, if they would kindly observe
the notice printed weekly to the effect that
all communications relating to financial
matters and to advertisements should be
addressed to the Publisher ; and that all
communications intended for publication, or
referring to the literary department, should
be directed to the Editor. The two depart-
ments, publishing and editorial, are quite dis-
tinct, and much unnecessary delay and con-
fusion arises when letters are misdirected.

BOOKS: R. C. Manual of Conifero}ts Plants.
A second edition has been published, and
it is a very good one. Apply to Messrs. J.
Veitch & Sons, Royal Exotic Nurseries,
King's Road, Chelsea, S.W.

Cattleya intermedia : E. W. D. Why some
Orchids are more subject to deformity than
others, we do not know. In our experience,
C. intermedia is very subject to this and
similar changes. In your flower the two
side petals have become united to the
column and the lip is quite absent.

Coronation Trees, and How to Prepare
them : Ignoramus. Unless trees of deci-
duous species have been growing in tubs,
baskets, or pots since April, at the latest,
it will be useless to plant them late in June.
Conifers, if they have been transplanted, as
is usual in nurseries every second or third
year, if removed from the soil carefully with
a good compact ball, will succeed if syringed
night and morning in dry weather, and the
soil kept moist. Of course, if Conifers were
'potted or tubbed, or even put into baskets,
the planting would be absolutely safe. We
should not hesitate to plant any of the
Holly family, if the root-mass could be lifted
intact from out of the soil, and without fall-
ing to pieces then or afterwards. Prom the
present till the end of June the time is too
short for preparation.

Correction, Scientific Committee, p. 297, last
issue, col. B, Peach-blossoms ; for pro to -
genous and protogeny, read ' ' protogynous
and protogyny."

Cucumbers having Black Spots on Them :
Apollo. The black spots are caused by
insect punctures. The use of an insecticide
should check the evil.

Cucumber-plant Diseased : F. B. andE. A. C. :
The yellow spots are caused by the mildew
called Sphferotheca Castagnei. Spraying
with rose-coloured permanganate of potash
would be beneficial ; but the most important
thing to attend to is to give a little more
ventilation and harden the leaves, which are
«t present so soft and waterlogged as to be
unable to resist the attack of any fungus.

Fungus : W. P. Bound. What you send is the
common Morel, Morchella esculenta. It is
good to eat, and as it is unlike every thing
else, there will be no danger in eating it.

Material for Fumigating Muscat ok Alex-
andria Vines Infested with Thuips : Bath.
We have not heard any complaints con-
cerning the use of the XL-All compound in
vineries, and if employed some months
before the Grapes are ripe, and in moderate
doses, it would cause no damage to the
leaves or fruit. If you may not use it, you
must diligently syringe the bunches if these
are what the thrips infest. The insects
have been introduced to the vinery by
plants in pots brought into it without first
thoroughly cleansing them.

Landscape Gardening : D. B. You might
enquire of Mr. Thos. H. Mawson, of Winder-
mere, or Messrs. Barron & Sons, Elvaston,
Borrowash, Derby, who may take pupils.
They are resident not far distant from your
town.

Lilium candidum Diseased : W. J. The plants
are attacked by the Botrytis form of Sclero-
tinia, which forms orange-brown and buff
specks on the stem, leaves, and buds of the
plant. See Marshall Ward in Annals oj
Botany, vol. ii., p. 319, pi. xx.-xxiv., 1889.
Let leaves, stems, &c, be removed from the
bulb and burned forthwith. The bulbs
might be taken up and buried for some time
in a paper bag or jar containing flowers-of-
sulphur.

Mildew in a Rose-house : Enquirer. Slightly
moisten the leaves of the plants, then forth-
with apply flowers-of-sulphur by means of a
sulphurator or dredger ; and omit to syringe
the plants for a week.

Mould on Narcissus : C. W. D. The fungus
is a Botrytis that passes the winter in the
soil, and attacks the tender growth in the
spring. The most practical remedy is to
remove the old surface soil and replace it by
fresh, mixed with kainit, before the bulbs
begin to move.

Names of Plants : E. B. 1, Cedar of Le-
banon (Cedrus Libani) ; 2, Tsuga canadensis
(Hemlock Spruce); S, Cupressus Goweniana ;
4, Berberis Darwini ; 5, Libocedrus chi-
lensis ; 6, one of the many forms of Cu-
pressus Lawsoniana. — L. P. 1, a variety of
the common Yew ; 2, Taxus adpressa ; 3,
Cephalotaxus, probably C. pedunculata ; 4,
Taxodium sempervirens ; 5, Juniperus vir-
giniana, probably ; 6, Arum italicum. —
Bassett. Rhododendron Falconeri. — E. V. B.
Potentilla fragariastrum. — G. D. Lithosper-
mum purpureo-coeruleum (probably, but
specimen very poor) ; Teucrium fruticans.
— W. P. L. S. 1, Ribes aureum; 2, Cornus
mas. — Oncid. 1, Leucojum vernum ; 2, Orni-
thogalum nutans ; 3, seedling variety of
Ribes sanguineum ; 4, Pieris floribunda. —
B. 1, a Cedar, apparently the Deodar ; 3,
Cupressus Goweniana. — J. R. Pearson &
Son. Oxalis Ortgiesii, L. — Ed. Mawley.
Trillium sessile ; Fritillaria latifolia. —
Amateur. 1, Jacobinia coccinea, more gene-
rally known in gardens as Justicia carnea ;

2, Celsia cretica ; 3, Streptosolen Jamesoni ;
4, Aubrietia doltoidea purpurea ; 5, Iberis
sempervirens ; 6, Saxifraga granulata flore
pleno ; 7, Saxifraga moschata. — Bucks. Bil-
bergia nutans. — T. A. Cyperus longus. —
E. S. Convolvulus Cneorum. — A. C. T. Ery-
thrinacrista-galli. — G. B. 1, Scolopendrium
vulgare ; 2, Lomaria spicant ; 3, Asplenium
trichomanes ; 4, Lastrea rigida ; 5, Polypo-
dium vulgare ; 6, Asplenium Adiantum ni-
grum ; 7, Lastrea filix-mas. — R. H. O. 1, Epi-
medium rubrum ; 2, Epimedium pinnatum ;

3, Prunus chinensis flore-pleno ; 4, Mer-
tensia alpina ; 5, Omphalodes verna. — A. B.
1, Ribes aureum ; 2, Polypodiuni vulgare
cambricum ; 3, Epimedium alpinnni ; 4, San-
tolina incana ; 5, Lavandula dentata. —
G. W. C. Dendrobium cariniferum, and
Ccelogyne Parish i.

Notice to Leave Situation: Wanstead Flat.
You are entitled to receive and give one
month's notice. Yes, to your second
question, if the under gardener was kept on
after the week's trial for some months ; this
length of service showing that he was
considered a suitable person for the post.

P.-EONY: Jas. Robertson. There is nothing to
show what has caused the base of stem to
rot. Have you examined the roots ?

Tomatos : T. B. We can find no evidence of
fuagus, or disease of any kind. If you have
badly affected specimens, you may send
again.

"Tropical Agriculturist": Scotsman. The
offices are at Colombo, Ceylon.

Twin-flowered Calla : J. W. F. and E. J. B.
By no means an uncommon condition. It is
probably due to an excess of stimulating
manures.

Woodlice in Vineries : Johnstone. There are
various methods of trapping these trouble-
some insects. One of the best is to afford
hiding places into which they can retreat

during the day ; bunches of damp hay put
loosely into 6-inch flower-pots, and roofing-
slates raised above the ground about \ inch
serving the purpose. The insects found in
or under these retreats should be collected
every morning. Potatos cut in half, and the
cut surface scooped out, form good baits.
Clear out all matter likely to harbour the
insects, pour boiling water into all crevices
at the foot of walls, doing this at night, the
insects bolting to such places when a light
is brought into the house.

Yew, &c. : Omega. What you send are the
male flowers of the Yew ; the female flowers
are generally, but not invariably, produced
on another tree. A similar state of things
occurs in Hollies. Loudon's Arboretum was
first published in 1837.

Communications Received.— A. H.— J. H., Trinidad,
enquiries are in progress— T. F. T.— D.— Prof. Kriinz-
lin, Berlin— Watkins & Simpson— P. L. II— G. D —
Subscriber— J. E. J.— 3. G. S.—Reseder— Felix Woods
—Very anxious-P. J. P.— G. E. M.— H. S. T — C H —
J. F. McL.— Z. Zimmerman— A. D.— Peter Barr— Rev.
C W. Dod - Hurst & Son— J. Cowle— Mrs. G.— J. W.
Ffoulkes— A. K— H. Gandy-G. N.— J. Jeffrey—
W. C. W.-J. Bunyon.

Photographs Received and Under Consideration.
— C. O. Ii. P., Funchal, Madeira.

GARDENING APPOINTMENTS.

Mb Thos. Brown, for the past six years general
Foreman at Wickham Hail Gardens, West Wickham,
Kent, a3 Head Gardener to Samuel P. Page, Esq.,
Mottingham Hall, near Eltham, Kent, entering ou
his dunes on May 3.

Mr. J. Keir, for over three years Gardener at Veulaw,
Peebles, as Head Gardener to Captain W. H. Fife,
Langton Hall, Northallerton, Yorkshire.

Mr. C. Ford, for the past two years Gardener at Heath-
field, W. Croydon, as Head Gardener to Mrs. Thur-
burn, Hales Hall, Market Drayton, Shropshire"

Mr. Arthur J. Ryder, recently Head Gardener at
Bramcote Hall, Nottingham, as Head Gardener to
Arthur J. Norris, Esq , Longshaw, Chipstead,
Surrey.

Mr. Wm. Arthur, for the past three years Gardener to

F. B. Atkinson, Esq., at Cresswell Hall, Morpeth,
as Gardener lo the same Gentleman at Gallowhill
Hall, Morpeth.

Mr. F. Beardall, late Foreman in the Gardens, Mote
Park, Maidstone, as Gardener to Col. Pitt, Hayle
Place, Maidstone.

Mr. William Hunt, late head gardener at Charleville
Park, Charleville, Co. Cork, as head gardener to
Captain W. Murray Thriepland, Fmgask Castle,
Errol, Perthshire.

Mr. T. P. Davies, until recently Head Gardener at The
Rock, Bewdley, as Head Gardener to S. II. Cowper-
Coles, Esq., Pennyarth, Criekhowell ; he com-
menced his duties on April 24.

Mr. A. W. Southard, for eleven years Gardener at
Langly Park, Sutton, Surrey, as Head Gardener to

G. K. Wright, Esq., Stambourne, Sutton, Surrey.
Mr. George Mann, for the past two years Foreman in

the Nursery of Mr. W. Reed, Portslade, as Head
Gardener to G. Dudeney, Esq., East Hill House,
Portslade, Brighton.

Mr. Frank Briggs, for three years Foreman in the
Gardens, Wallington Hall, Cambo, Northumberland,
as Gardener to F. H. BURN, Esq., Bolam Hall,
Belsay, Northumberland.

Mr. F. Whicker, for the last eight years gardener to
the late H. C. Jobson, Esq., Summer Hill House,
Kidderminster, as head gardener to B. J. H.
Forder, Esq., Everton Grange, Lymington, Hants.

CATALOGUES RECEIVED.

FOREIGN.

Chantrier Freres, Mortefontaine, Plailly, France.—

Plants.

HORTICULTURAL BUILDINGS.
Messenger & Co., Ltd., Loughborough, London Office,

122, Victoria Street, Westminster.

plants.

DicKSONs,L7rD.,The Royal Nurseries, Chester— Bedding
and Bo/der Plants, Dahlias, &c.

E. P. Dixon & Sons, Hull— Carnations, Chrysanthe-
mums, Dahlias, Roses, &c.

Clark Brothers & Co.. 65, Scotch Sheet. Carlisle-
Summer Flowering Plants and Florists' Flowers.

Continued Increase in the Circulation of the
"GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

IMPORTANT TO ADVERTISERS. — The Publisher hat
the satisfaction of announcing that the circulation oj thfi
"gardeners' Chronicle" has, since the reduction in the
price of the paper, more than

«- TREBLED. -**

Advertisers are reminded that the " Chronicle" circulates
among Country Gentlemen, and all Classes of
Gardeners and Garden-lovers at home, that it has
a specially large Foreign and Colonial Circula-
tion, and that it is preserved for reference in all the
principal Libraries.

(For Markets and Weather, »ee p. x.)

May 17, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

317

THE

(Sartors' (prmttclt

No. SO.'!.— SATURDAY, MAY 17, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Alpine garden, the—
Alpines at the Edin-
burgh show
Auricula Celtic
King

Aristolochia flowers,
insects in

Ash and Larch on the
chalk

Black Currant gall-
mite, the

Books, notices of—
Botanical Magazine.
Dictionnaire Icono-
graphique des Or-

cliidees

Journal of the Royal
Horticultural So-
ciety

Various 325, 326, 327

Books, sale of garden-
ing

Brachionidium Sher-
ringi

Calceolarias, herba-
ceous

Campanula pyramid-
alis

Colonial notes

Coronation weather
prospects

Cypripedium x Em-
peror of India

DeeastelmaBroadwayi 319

Dendrobium Wardia-
num flower de-
formed 328

Diospyros texana ... 319

Flora of Southern
Berks

Flowers in season ...

Forestry, committee
on 326

Frost in Berlin ... £26

Frost in Keut 329

Grape prizes at Shrews-

. Miry 328

Heteropteris purpurea

H ippeastrums at Liver-
pool

Horse-Chestnut roots.

Ilex Golden Queen ...

Lawn-mower : its con-
struction and ma-
nagement

New inventions—
A creeper clip
An undentable sy-
ringe

Nursery note

Obituary-
Brown, J. G

Davies, Thomas

Orchid flowers, reten-
tion of, on plants ...

Orchids at Chardwar .

Orphan Fund, Royal
Gardeners' (annual
dinner)

Parkinson, John

Pitcairnia ramosa ...

Richardia Elliotiana .

Societies-
Cheltenham Hort....
Croydon Gardeners'

Linnean

Royal Caledonian ...
Royal Horticultural
(Scientific Com-
mittee)

Solanumcapsicastrum

i Stocktaking

328 Tulips

319 ' University of St.

Andrews

328 I Week's work, the—
326 Flower garden, the .
Fruits under glass...
Hardy fruit garden .
Kitchen garden, the
Orchid houses, the .
Plants under glass .
West Indian Bulletin .

319
319

329
328

321

:_'l

327
319

318

319
319

336
322

319

327

328
329

320
329

329
i29

329
329

329
322

330
317
319
318

331
330
330
331
324

318
326
325

325

323
323
323
323
323
322
319

ILLUSTRATIONS.

A Creeper Clip 329

Holly-leaf fly (Phytomyza ilieis 331

Horse-Chestnut, denuded roots of 328

Lawn-Mowers, various types of 320, 321

Parkinson's statue at Sefton Park, Liverpool ... 318
View of Hippeastrums in Palm - house, Sefton
Park, Liverpool (Supplemeut)

JOHN PAKKINSON.

TTAS the debt which horticulture and
ft-*- botany owe to the apothecaries of
London been ever duly recognised '? True,
it is to physicians, men of university train-
ing, that we are indebted for the early
commentaries on Theophrastus and Dios-
c-orides, and the first attempts to identify
the medicinal plants of the ancients ; but in
England it was mainly to three London
apothecaries, John Gerard, Thomas Johnson,
and John Parkinson, that the seventeenth
century owed its first comprehensive know-
ledge of the vegetable kingdom. Several
Englishmen had written on gardening in
the sixteenth century, such as Thomas Hill,
whose Profitable Art of Gardening was
printed in 1574; William Lawson, who in
fl>97 published The New On-hard anil Garden :
and Sir Hugh Piatt, whose Garden of Eden.
first appeared in 1000; but Parkinson was
the first English writer who, as Pulteney
says, "separately described and figured the
subjects of the flower garden." As he
Uimself says of his predecessors, "None of
them have particularly severed those that are
i beautiful flower plants, fit to store a garden
I «f delight and pleasure, from the wilde and
unfit." It was, no doubt, this comprehen-
siveness that made Gerard's Herball, as
revised by Johnson, survive as the best
jwork of its kind for so long a period, for
; Parkinson's two books supplement each

other ; but it is as a horticultural writer
that Parkinson is chiefly remembered, and
to his Paradisus that he owes his modern
fame.

Born in 1507, probably in Nottingham-
shire, Parkinson was settled in London as
an apothecary before 1616, and had, then,
or not many years later, a garden " well
stored with rarities " in Long Acre. That
he had risen to a position of repute in his
profession is clear from mention of him by
Lobel and by Johnson, from his being
appointed apothecary to James I. and
"King's Herbarist," or "Botanicus Regius
Primarius" to his successor; but though he
mentions that he had long had his work
in hand, it was not until 1629, when he had
already reached his sixty-third year, that
the Paradisus appeared. Its quaint full title
runs " Paradisi in sole paradisus terrestris, or
A Garden of all sorts of Pleasant Flowers,
which our English ayre will permitt to be
noursed up, with A Kitchen Garden of all
manner of herbes, rootes, and fruites, for
meate or sause, used with us, and An
Orchard of all sorte of fruit-bearing Trees
and shrubbes fit for our Land; together With
the right orderinge, planting, and preserving
of them, and their uses and vertues." This
title, which, it may not be superfluous to
explain, is a pun upon the author's name,
meaning "Park-in-sun's terrestrial paradise,"
occurs on a remarkable engraved frontispiece
of Adam and Eve in Eden, surrounded by a
great variety of trees and flowering plants,
prominent among which is that interesting
myth the " Vegetable Lamb." The frontis-
piece is signed "A. Switzer," and is followed
by a printed title differently phrased, a
dedication to Queen Henrietta Maria, a
Latin prefatory letter from Sir Theo-
dore Mayerne, the author's Epistle
" To the courteous reader," several compli-
mentary Latin poems, one of which is
by Johnson, the editor of Gerard's Herball,
and a portrait of the author. The body of
the work consists of nine chapters (pp. 1 —
25) devoted to " The Ordering of the Garden
of Pleasure," a hundred and thirtv-three
(pp. 27—459) to "The Garden of Pleasant
Flowers," i.e., to the description of flower-
ing plants, followed by the second part
which contains seven chapters (pp. 461 —
472) on " The Ordering of the Kitchen-
Garden,'' and sixty - three (pp. 473 — 533)
entitled "The Kitchen-Garden," similarly
descriptive; and this again by the third
part, containing eleven chapters (pp. 535 —
555) on "The Ordering of the Orchard,"
twenty-four (pp. 557— 598) on "The Orchard,"
and "A Corollarie" of "trees that beare no
fruit fit to bee eaten " (pp. 598—612). In all.
nearly a thousand plants are described, and
there are 109 whole page plates including
woodcuts of 780 plants. These are in many
cases copied from Clusius or Lobel, and
though often excellent examples of engraving
are but poor as drawings, being on the
whole much inferior to the cuts in Gerard.
They appear to have been specially
engraved in England for Parkinson's
work, while those of his predecessor were
obtained from abroad. " The Paradisus is,'1
says Pulteney, "a valuable curiosity, as ex-
hibiting the most compleat view of the
extent of the English garden at the be-
ginning of the seventeenth] century. Inter-
tropical productions had been but sparingly
imported. The real stove plants are very
rare throughout the book. There are some

American species, and particularly from
Virginia, as being a part of that continent
with which England had fcfej most frequent
intercourse. But the principal productions
of the English gardens were exotic Euro-
pean and Grecian plants, some Asiatic, and
a few from the northern coasts of Africa."
For the Virginian and some other species
Parkinson was indebted to his " very good
friend" . . . "that painfull industrious
searcher and lover of all Nature's varieties,
John Tradescant," and for those from Africa
and southern Europe to Dr. Guillaume
Boel, a native of the Low Countries, who
travelled in Spain "almost wholly," says
Parkinson, " on my charge," in Bar-
bary, and in Germany. Only seven
exotic species, however, are directly accre-
dited to Parkinson as of his introduction ;
Lut it may surprise a modern gardener to
learn that he could enumerate sixteen
species and 120 varieties of Tulips, sixty
Anemones, over ninety Narcissi, fifty Hya-
cinths, fifty Carnations, twenty Pinks, thirty
Crocuses, over forty Irises, over twenty
Peaches, thirty Cherries, and over sixty
varieties each of the Apple, the Pear, and
the Plum.

After his death a so-called " second im-
pression" of the Paradisus, " much corrected
and enlarged," was issued in 1656. It was
published by a different printer, the colo-
phon of the first edition being "Printed by
Homfrey Lownes and Robert Young at the
signe of the Starre on Bread-street-hill,"
whilst the second is stated to be " Printed
by R. N., and are to be sold by Richard
Thrale at his shop at the signe of the Cross-
Keys at S. Pauls-gate, going into Cheap-side " ;
but except the ornamental headings to the
parts, and the initial letters, there is little
to indicate that the type was ever reset.
The Paradisus, like many of the other
early books on botany and gardening, now
fetches steadily increasing prices in the
auction-room; but, as in the case of Gilbert
White's Natural History of Selborne, this
popularity is certainly not due to the value
of the information to be obtained from the
work ; neither is it, I think, due to mere
caprice of fashion, nor, quaint and crisp as
is its diction, is it, I venture to add, due to
purely literary style. There is, in both
cases, the charm of a self-revealing per-
sonality— in both eases that of an elderly
man — so that, unconsciously perhaps, it is
the dapper curate of Selborne, or that
"honest root-gatherer," the apothecaiy of
Long Acre, and not the author of the
Paradisus, or of the Natural History, that
attracts us.

Separated as they were in date of publi-
cation by no fewer than eleven years, and
differing so widely as they do in method, it
is not surprising that many historians and
bibliographers of botany have failed to
notice that Parkinson's Paradisus and his
Theatrum Botanicum are in origin but parts
of one work. The Epistle to the Reader,
prefixed to ihe former volume, concludes,
■• Which, if well accepted, I . . . may the
sooner hasten the fourth part, A Garden of
Simples, which will be quiet no longer at
home than that it can bring his master news
of fair weather for the journey." This
fourth part was the "Theatrum Botani-
cum. The Theater of Plantes ; or, An Uni-
versal! and Complcate Herball," published
in ltUO, when its author had reached the
advanced age of sevent v-three. After Lobel's

318

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 17, 1902.

death, in 1616, Parkinson had purchased his
unpublished manuscripts, and, as the passage
just quoted shows, his own work had long
"been in active preparation ; but, in the
meanwhile, Johnson, the friend who had
contributed complimentary verses in 1629,
had, in 1633, brought out his edition of
Gerard, in which, according to Parkinson's
bitter complaint, lie anticipated some de-
scriptions which could only have been
made from the Long Acre garden. Pos-
sibly it was the cutting of the 2,600 wood-
blocks, mainly copied from those in
Gerard, that delayed Parkinson's work for
seven years more ; but when it did
appear, it contained nearly 3,800 species,
as against Johnson's 2,800 including the
Egyptian plants recorded by Alpinus in
1592, and the Canadian ones published by
Cornutus in 1635, besides many Ea^t and
West Indian drugs from the works of
D'Acosta, Monardes, and Garcias ab Hoito.
In synonymy he had incorporated almost
the whole of Bauhin's " Pinax," whilst many
of the descriptions were undoubtedly
original. Even in his Paradisus, Parkinson
had shown himself to be an apothecary first
and a gardener afterwards, carefully speci-
fying the "vertues," of the plants, while, as
Pulteney complains, " Less is spoken of the
culture than seems to be requisite."' It may,
therefore, be readily understood that in the
moredistinctively pharmacological portion of
his task these " vertues'' occupy a large space.

His work is both more extensive and more
original than that of Johnson, the" Theatrum"
alone containing upwards of 1,700 pages,
nearly 100 more than Johnson's Gerard ; but
it is to be regretted that neither botanist
made any advance in classification. Parkin-
son, in fact, in this respect abandoned the
improvements made by Lobel in 1605, in
favour of a scheme based upon that of
Dodoe'ns, founded upon medicinal qualities,
habitjindfplaee of growth.

Parkinson died in London in August, 1650,
and was buried on the 6th of that month at
St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, so that he may
well be called a Londoner; and though
Pulteney says apologetically that his pro-
fession prevented " distant herborizings,"
thirteen species stand to his credit in Messrs.
Trimen & Dyer's Flora as first records for
Middlesex.

Our interest in the man is not hampered
in Parkinson's case as it is in that of Gilbert
White, by the absence of a portrait, for in
addition to the one already mentioned
in the Paradisus there is another in W.
Marshall's engraved frontispiece to the
Theatrum representing him no doubt, at
the age he was at the date of its publication.
The pleasing and younger-looking present-
ment in Mrs. Ewing's Mary's Meadow is
it must be admitted, purely imaginary, as
is also to a very great extent the beautiful
statue recently erected by Mr. Thompson in
the Palm-house, Sefton Park, Liverpool, for
the opportunity of representing which
we are indebted to Mr. Ker. But if, for
botanists, Johnson and Parkinson have
gained a subordinate immortality by the
systematic quotation of their works by Ray,
for the general reader undoubtedly Parkin-
son was discovered by Mrs. Ewing's fasci-
nating little story. We can now say with
confidence, in the words prefixed by one
John Harmar, of Oxford, to the Theatrum,
"No night of Age shall cloude bright Parke-
in-sunne." G. S. Boulger.

CULTURAL MEMORANDA.

RICHARDIA ELLIOTIANA.

By the seemingly easy manner in which
this now well-known subject is produced, one
would suppose that its cultivation was a
matter requiring but little skill; yet it is a
plant which some gardeners fail to grow well,
and during the past season I have known of
several cases of failure. My method of

JOHN PARKIXSOX.

The Statue in the Palm-house, Sefton Park, Liverpool.

{Fro a a photograph bi/ Mr. Krr.)

cultivation may afford useful hints to those
who may not have had success with this
species. The plants that are intended to pro-
duce their spathes in April and May are
started about January 15, and the tubers
placed in pots of such a size as will permit of
a shift being afforded when necessary. The
soil should consist of turfy-loam, to which a
small quantity of dissolved bones and soot are
added, and enough sand and bog-earth as will
keep the whole sweet and porous. The pots
are stood on a bed of coal-ashes in a stove,

and no water is applied till growth shows
above the soil, and then but sparingly ; the
young foliage being, however, frequently
syringed. When the soil is penetrated with
roots, repot the plants and stand them near
the glass ; and when the soil again becomes
filled with roots, liquid - manure should be
applied. Unless the spathes are wanted at an
earlier date than that mentioned, place the
plants in an intermediate-house in a position
where cold draughts cannot reach them, or
the leaves will soon be disfigured. Keep the
plants quite free from insects by fumigation.
Should the spadices be left on the plants for
the production of seeds, liquid-manure may be
afforded occasionally, otherwise the treatment
accorded Richardias generally is suitable ;
but not till the last leaf has dropped should
they suffer lack of water at the root.

Here, the stock of tubers is stored in sand
in the same temperature as Gloxinias, Ges-
neras, &c., are kept ; and it is rarely that a
tuber perishes. I am always raising plants
from seed saved from some of our strongest
plants, but in no ease has any seedling been
better than the parent. J. F. McLeod, Dover
House Gardens, Roeluimpton.

SOLANUM CArSICASTRtJM.

Assuming the gardener cut back his plants
of this species early last month, leaving about
an inch of last season's growth, and placed
them in a cold pit or frame, and syringed
them twice a day, the plants will now be
pushing new growth, and may be shaken out
of the soil, and repotted in pots of the same
size, well crocking them, as the plant requires
much water when in active growth and out-
of-doors. Sound loam two-thirds, and leaf-
soil one-third, with a small quantity of bone-
meal and coar3e sand, makes a good potting
mixture. Pot firmly, and place the plants in
the frame ; shade during the strong sunshine,
and keep close for four or five days. When
the plants commence to grow, place them out-
of-doors in a sunny position on a hard bottom,
and fill up around the pots with spent Mush-
room-bed manure, or that from an exhausted
hot-bed, covering the pots completely. Gene-
rally, it is necessary to rub off some of the
shoots that come away, but retain the stronger,
and pinch out the points when 2 inches long.
As soon as the flowers begin to expand, and
right up to the time the berries begin to colour,
weak soot-water may alternate with clean
water. In some gardens the plants must be
enclosed in netting, to keep the birds from
eating the berries when they begin to ripen.
Let the plants be housed towards the end of
October, placing them in a light position, and
if required early, affordslight warmth, in order
to ripen the fruits. Cuttings should be struck
annually in January or February on mild
bottom-heat. When rooted, pot singly in large
60's, and stop the shoots thrice, otherwise
treat like the old plants. Some gardeners
raise their plants from seed, sowing in January,
but the habit of the plants is too straggly for
most gardeners, although others admire the
lack of primness, and the greater freedom and
nt'-qligc appearance of such plants. J. Mayne,
Bicton.

Herbaceous Calceolarias.

The plants should receive great attention
with regard to affording water and keeping I
the foliage free from aphides, which soon dis- I
figure the foliage and ruin the plants, if not
kept in check. Keep the house or pit rather Ij
dry for a day or two, then fumigate lightly at
intervals of a day or two with XL or tobacco.
The plants should never be allowed to suffer
lack of water at the root, moisture in the air,

May 17, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

319

or proper ventilation. The plants really do
best on a cool moist bed of coal-ashes in a
brick-pit or -wooden frame at this date.

Cockscombs.
These plants are useful for a variety of deco-
rative purposes. They delight in warmth and
moisture, and should be placed near the glass so
as to induce sturdiness, and large, even combs.
The best kind of soil is peat and leaf-mould,
svith some sand to give it porosity, and the
plants must not suffer want of water at the
foot when roots become numerous, or red-spider
will be sure to infest them. When repotting the
plants, keep them low down in' the pots, even
if the tap-root must be shortened to do it.

Campanula pyramidalis.
Gardeners may not generally know that this
plant may be potted up from the border
with success when the spikes are several
inches in height; this I have repeatedly
practised with good results. If the soil is
dry, apply water a day before they are dug
up ; pot them quickly, and stand in a shady
spot, or a cold pit or frame. Afford water, and
twice or thrice daily syringe them lightly in
dry weather ; in time of strong sunshine apply
shading. H. Markham, Wvotham Park, Barnet.

COLONIAL NOTES.

HBTEROPTERIS PURPUREA.
One of the chief sources of food in Grenada
is fish obtained from the sea. Among other
methods these are caught in wicker-made pots
formed of split Roseau (Gyneriumsaccharoides).
Attached to each pot is a float, which may
consist of a piece of' Bamboo, or something
similar, and is placed there for the purpose of
marking where the fish-pot lies at the bottom
of the water. The float is connected by ordi-
nary rope bought from the shops, or, more
frequently, Nature's rope, made from climbing
or twining plants. Heteropteris purpurea, the
"Lianne noire" (= Black Vine), that grows
along our seaboard, is the plant from which
the lianne (rope) is oftentimes cut. There are
also two others known to me in this island,
namely, Bignonia unguis-keti and Hirsea (Mas-
cagnia) Simsiana. W. E. Broadivay, Grenada.

"West Indian Bulletin.
The last issued part of this publication,
which is the official Journal of the Imperial
Agricultural Department for the West Indies,
contains a record of the doings and sayings
of the Annual Conference held at Barbados
in January last. At this Conference repre-
sentative agriculturists and men of science
from all the West India Islands met under
the presidency of Dr. Morris, the Imperial
Commissioner. Matters relating to agri-
culture, principally to Sugar-cane growing,
were discussed, and ideas interchanged, to the
great benefit of all concerned. The organi-
sation set on foot with so much zeal and
hopefulness by Dr. Morris is clearly showing
great promise of utility, both directly and
indirectly. Continuous work, patience, and
liopefulness, are the great weapons wherewith
to fight apathy, ignorance, and occasional
discouragement, and there is every reason to
tope that substantial results will follow
the methods adopted. One of the main ad-
vantages of the organisation is that it is
now possible to employ specialists confining
their attention to definite points with a wide
range of knowledge and experience of the
West Indies. These officers are regularly on
tour collecting material, and carrying on
investigations. They have, in addition, well
equipped laboratories and works of reference
at hand.

Records of the Sydney Botanic Garden.

The Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales
for February contains some interesting records
of the Sydney Botanic Garden, brought toge-
ther by Mr. J. H. Maiden:— "The Sydney
Botanic Garden is classic ground. Its area
includes the site of the first farm where corn
was grown for the infant colony, where fruit-
trees of all kinds, Apples, Oranges, Olives,
Vines, and Bananas were first acclimatised,
where it was shown that the Cotton and
innumerable economic plants could grow in
New South Wales, while by means of Wardian
cases and glasshouses it was the nursery for
establishing and propagating valuable tropical
economic plants from what is now Queensland
and Northern Australia."

Mr. Maiden gives interesting lists of vege-
table and other lists sent to the colony seventy
years ago, when the voyage from England
occupied many months, and was likely to prove
fatal to perishable seeds.

The story of the introduction of the Cabbage-
tree of the tropics, and of the Busby Vines, is
interesting to modern planters, who may, in
fact, be recommended to peruse the whole of
the paper, from which we here quote, that
they may see and acknowledge how much they
owe to pioneers in New South Wales.

ALPINE GARDEN.

AURICULA CELTIC KING.
This handsome, single, yellow variety makes
an excellent subject for pot culture. It lacks
two properties to which the Auricula-specialist
attaches value, viz., a thrum eye, for the
pistil protrudes somewhat above the tube ; and
a rounded edge to the flower, for it is notched
and not properly circular, and there is a
slight zone of thin white paste round the tube.
But it is of vigorous free growth, has handsome
mealed foliage, it throws bold trusses on long
flower-stalks, and is very fragrant . It deserves
to take high rank as a spring-flowering plant
for growing in pots. It is as hardy as the
common border alpine Auricula, for it has
stood out-of-doors all the winter, and is now
flowering freely in the open ground. It was
raised by the Rev. J. Jacob, Whitewell
Rectory, Whitchurch, Salop. R. D.

ALriNES at the Edinburgh Show.

There was a little exhibit of alpine plants
that few people would chance to see, sent by
Mr. Lindsay, Murrayfield, to the late flower
show in Edinburgh. There was, for instance,
a very fine form of Primula arctotis (ciliata), a
seedling of the late Dr. Stuart's, deep clove-
crimson in colour ; and the true Primula nivalis
of Pallas, with foliage somewhat lanceolate,
shining green on the upper side, and thickly
farinose underneath, with flowers of a light
purple, a most distinct and pretty species.
But the gem of the unassuming collection was
a hybrid Saxifraga, said to be the result of
a cross between Saxifraga Reidii and S.
muscoides, with flowers much larger than the
latter, in colour a clear deep rose : its name is
S. Pergusoni, and the growth is identical with
that of the mossy Saxifrages. A little plant
of the rare Scilla italica alba was also exhi-
bited, not however in very good form.

What Mr. Lindsay considers a small-growing
form of Narcissus triandrus pulchellus, with a
shortened perianth, is a wonderfully attrac-
tive little thing. Did I wear petticoats, I
must have called it a " little lovo." It in-
creased at a rapid rate at Kames Lodge, and
always flowers profusely.

Mr. Lindsay has many other good plants,
some of which have not yet got beyond the

garden of their nativity. A seedling of
Primulaarctotis, named "Adonis," was asample
of what was left behind ; this was certificated
by the Floral Committee. The blooms are
double the size of the type, and trusses are
produced in so abundant a manner that the
foliage is quite hidden. The centre of the
flower is of a faint blush tint, which darkens
towards the circumference, and it is not impos-
sible that this may prove on further trial a
first-class border plant, as well as a fine variety
of the above-named species. B., Scotland.

PLANT NOTES.

DIOSPYROS TEXANA, Scheele.
The flowers of this tree are greenish in
colour, and are borne in large numbers during
the month of June. At that time the honey-
bees may be seen busily working on the flower
in great quantities, showing it to be worthy of
cultivation in the neighbourhood of apiaries.
Two trees are growing in the Botanic Station
of Grenada.

Brachionldium Sherringi, Rolfe.
The mountains of Grenada are not of a great
height, the highest being only 2,749 feet, and
known by the name of Mount St. Catherine,
yet thereon the temperature is quite cold and
damp, favouring all forms of vegetation that
thrive under such conditions. This Orchid
was unknown until Mr. Sherring found it in
Grenada not many years since. It has subse-
quently been collected on Mount St. Catherine
and Fedor's Camp. At the latter place it was
found flowering and fruiting on June 23, 1896,
by me, upon small trees. The flowers are
greenish-coloured.

Decastelma Bboadwayi.

In the Grand Etang locality of Grenada the
writer found for the first time, on April 16,
1895, the above plant twining up among shrubs
and trees in the cool, damp woods, and which
has eventually turned out to be a new genus
of Asclepiadese. It is a slender grower, which
flowers among the branches of small trees. A
milky juice runs out from any cut or ruptured
part. The flowers are small, white, and clus-
tered together. So far, the fruit has not been
seen.

Philibertia clausa (Asclepias clausa,
Jacquin).

This is rather a striking plant when flower-
ing. It is one of our wild Grenada swamp-
loving plants, and was first collected for our
herbarium by Louis De Suze, an employe of tho
Botanic Station, on Belmont Estate, near Lake
Antoine, in the parish of St. Patrick, Oct. 12,
1*9,3. Wo are trying it here under cultivation.

Pitcairnia ramosa, Mez.
For planting out on lawns to form a " clump ' '
this is an admirable plant. The red flowers
grow upon tall stems, and require staking to
keep them from falling upon the ground. But
probably the real beauty, with some people,
would bo the leaves ; they are about 1J in.
wide, some 6 feet or more long, and two-
coloured above. Down tho middle runs a
lovely broad band of yellow, contrasted on
either side by dark, shining green margins.
The edges have tiny prickles. Occasionally
one or more very narrow yellow bands arc
formed beside tho central one. Underneath
tho surface there is elothod with a whitish,
mealy substance, which is readily removed by
rubbing. In the Grenada Botanic Station we
find it does better under partial shade, and
screened from high winds. W. K. Broadway,
Grenada.

320

TEE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 17, 1902.

Erica propkndens.
When, nearly two years ago, Messrs. James
Veitch & Sons exhibited this variety before
he Floral Committee, its existence was
almost unknown, and by many it was thought
to be a newly introduced novelty. But
it is an old plant, having been originally
introduced a century ago. When its age
became known, it was assumed that the spe-

FlG. 10].— THE FIIiST LAWN-MOWING MACHINE, AS

PATENTED BY MR. BUDDISG AND MANUFACTURED BY

MESSRS. UANSOMES, SIMS AND CO., 1832.

(Fio.ii the "Mechanic's Magazine," August 2.% U33,
vol. n,p. Mb.)

cies had fallen out of cultivation through some
difficulty in cultivating it. It makes such a
charming plant, it is so free floweriDg and so
distinct in character, that there must be some
reason for the neglect into which it had fallen.
When at the Hassocks Nursery of Messrs. W.
Balchin & Sons, I was surprised to see a huge
batch of it in large CO-sized pots, as healthy

FIG. 102.— RANSOMES' DOUBLE ANGLE CUTTING BARREL

and vigorous as an Erica could be imagined to
be, some in charming bloom, and others fast
coming on into flower. The plants averaged
from G inches in height, they had most of them
freely branched, they were well furnished with
spikes of attractive soft pink bell-shaped
blossoms. Seeing that Mr. W. Richardson,
•who is an adept in the cultivation of hard-

FIG. 103.— RANSOMES' RIBBED OR FLUTED ROLLER.

wooded plants, had but one or two plants from
Messrs. Veitch & Sons stock, it would seem to
strike freely and grow vigorously when rooted.
Judging from what could be seen at Hassocks,
I think it will make a very valuable market
plant, for to a handsome habit of growth is
added a most attractive tint of colour in the
flowers, ft. D.

DORONICUM rLANTAKINEUM EXCELSVM.

This is a very showy and useful spring-
flowering hardy herbaceous plant : it is a free

grower and profuse fiowercr ; it is erect in
habit and branching, attaining to a height ot
from 2 to 3 feet, according to the depth and
fertility of the land in which the plants are
growing. The bright yellow flowers with
which the individual spikes are crowned are
from 2 to 3 inches in diameter, these beiDg
thrown well above the fairly large, pale
green, broadly lanceolate, serrated leaves.
It is very useful— in fact, the best of the
species for yielding supplies of flowers for
cutting purposes. The plant is easily increased
by division of the roots, and although it will
do fairly well in any description of soil
between clay and peat, the plant, l'.ke many
other similar plants, will do better in loamy
soil of average fertility, and will repay
generous treatment. In planting the divisions ,
make the soil moderately firm about them,
and in the absence of rain, water to settle it
about the roots. U. W. 11'.

THE LAWN-MOWER:
its construction and management.

The lawn-mower was the capital invention
of Mr. Budding, in 1832, and, as will be seen
by fig. 101, its construction then differed very
slightly from its modern representative. The
general arrangement consists of a roller, which
supports the machine, and furnishes the
driving power, and an arrangement of cog-
wheels, a chain, or occasionally smooth
wheels, which drive a revolving knife or
cutter, which acting against a fixed blade,
operate on the grass like a pair of shears.
The machine is completed by a small roller in
front of the cutters, which regulates the
height of the cut, and a box to receive the
cut grass, the whole being mounted between
two iron frames, which are provided with
handles at their extremities for the operator.
This is a general description of the ordinary
English-built machine, and notwithstanding
many novelties, some of which will be de-
scribed hereafter, it holds its own as a strong
and reliable implement for hard work. With
the object of explaining many individual pecu-
liarities, I propose to describe briefly various
machines, with special reference to those now
on the market, although the older forms will
not be overlooked, as many of these are still
in actual use.

Ransomes' Machines.
The machines made by the well-known house
of Messrs. Ransomes, Sims, & Jefferies, ol
Ipswich, merit the place of honour, as these
engineers made the first machine for Mr. Bud-
ding in 1832. As a rule, nearly all the mowers,
and certainly the older ones built by them,
are driven by cog-wheels, although latterly
they have introduced a chain-driven machine,
which, like all their productions, is carefully
designed, and runs very smoothly. The
relative merits of the chain and cog-wheel
gearing I will explain presently. One of the
best known of Messrs. Ransomes' machines is
the " Automaton," which will be easily recog-
nised as being one of the earliest to have the
gear-wheels enclosed in a case, and conse-
quently protected from dirt and dust. In
their more modern machines several rather
remarkable features have been introduced,
making it very easy to distinguish these
mowers from others. One of the most con-
spicuous of these is the flute roller, which
greatly assists the driving power of the
machine, and prevents slipping when working
on a slope or a bank (see fig. 103). Another is
the introduction of springs to the bearings of
the cutter (see fig. 104), while a third is an ex-
tremely neat form of adjusting the height of the

cut by simply turning two small hand-wheels,
without having to use a wrench (see also
fig. 101). These peculiarities are certainly
worthy of much commendation. One other im-
portant improvement, is their patent " double-
angle " cutting barrel (see fig. 102), which
delivers the cut grass into the centre of the
grass-box.

Fig. 104.-

R AN SOMES METHOD OF FRONT ROLLER

ADJUSTMENT.

Shanks' Machines.
Next in order of date, the machines of
Messrs. Shanks & Son merit attention. This
old firm is a Ssotch one, established at
Arbroath, and commenced making lawn-mowers
about 1840. A machine built by them in 1842
is illustrated on p. 05 of vol. xxxvii. of tho
Mechanic's Magazine, and only differs from

Fig. 103.— showing Messrs. shanks's
axle springs.

their modern productions in a slightly different
design of framing, the employment of two sets
of rollers, and in one or two other small
details. Like Messrs. Ransomes, Messrs.
Shanks have been strenuous upholders of the
cog-wheel system of driving, and like them
also the cutters in their machines so driven
revolve at a very high speed. A chain-driven

6-r-

. 106. — MESSRS BARNARD, BISHOP AND
BARNARD'S SYSTEM OF DRIVING
BY SMOOTH WHEELS.

machine, however, has been placed by them
on the market, and is well liked. Like Messrs.
Ransomes, this firm has been quick to recognise
the great advantage of a fluted roller, but in
this instance the flutes do not run circularly
but lengthwise. Another important patented
improvement is the application of springs to
the roller axle, which gives an exceedingly
easy action to the machine, particularly on
uneven ground. This, as pointed out by the
makers, is a great assistance to large machines
used for golf courses (see fig. 105).

May 17, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

321

Messrs. Green's Machines.

This firm, although not so old as the
two already mentioned, has an extensive
experience and a well-earned reputation for
their machines. While Messrs. Ransomes and
Shanks may be said to have been the parents
of the cog-wheel driven machine, Messrs.
Green originated the chain-geariDg system.
Briefly, this may be described as the applica-
tion of a bicycle chain to the purpose — in fact,
the lawn-mower chain was the precursor of
the pitched chain for cycle driving.*

These are the three oldest firms in the
trade, and although there are many other
makers deservedly well known, it would be
impossible to fully do justice to them in the
limits of this article ; furthermore, it would
be scarcely of interest to do so, as the chief
points of English practice are well repre-
sented by the before-mentioned firms. One or
two very remarkable machines, however, must
be mentioned. First the mower made by
Messrs. Barnard, Bishop & Barnard, and
wherein the driving medium consists of smooth
wheels. Pig. 106, p. 320, represents this simple
and ingenious device, and it may be mentioned
that when used for a machine above 16 inches in
width, two sets of wheels were employed — one
on either side of the cutting barrel or knife.
By reference to the figure it will be seen
that a has a large wheel fixed to the roller-
axle, and b a small one on the spindle of the
cutter. Between these an intermediate wheel,
or more properly a ring, c was placed, and
this wheel had a slight projecting edge, be-
tween which was stretched a thick elastic
band or tyre. The wheels <i and b were at
such a distance apart that when the machine
was pushed forward in the act of cutting, the
wheel c jammed tightly between them and
communicated the motion of the wheel a to
the cutter spindle. When the machine was
drawn back the upward movement of the
wheel a caused the wheel c to move slightly
upwards, and consequently the cutter did not
revolve. The whole was very simple, and dis-
pensed with the arrangement (to be described
later) for permitting the machine to be drawn
backward without driving the cutter. These
machines are much liked for their silence and
smoothness of action.

The second machine, which from its uncommon
appearance merits special mention, is one
termed the " Archimedian." This was a mower
very like Ransomes' "Automaton," as regards
driving, but the cutter had only three or four
blades, which were very much twisted, even
more than the present fashionable "side-wheel"
mowers. Another peculiarity was thatthecutter
was quite open in the centre,giving the machine
a curious appearance, but a good feature other-
wise, as no place was afforded for grass to
lodge or choke, and in this machine this was a
necessity, as the cutter was driven at an
exceptionally high speed. The writer is not
sure if this curious machine is now made.

A few words must be given to the American

types, with which recent years have made

us familiar, and one of the early forms of

these was a machine called the "Easy," in

which the place of the usual roller was taken

by a kind of skeleton one, or circular cage of

light rods or stout wire. This was a good

j machine, but not so steady in working as

the English roller pattern. Mr. Coldwell is

j credited with the introduction of the lawn-

j mower into America, and to his ingenuity many

I of the very neat adjustments and devices on

the American machines owe their existence.

* See a very interesting little book published by the
» Abingdon WmksCompany, of Birmingham — Chain, and

! how to 'tie il

At the present time oDe of the most popular
machines imported into England is that made
by the firm of Chadburn & Coldwell, and
known as the " Excelsior." It is significant,

Fig. 107.— "side- wheel" mowing-machine,
mads in england about 1870.

and highly complimentary to our English
engineers, that this machine closely follows
their practice, and greatly reminds a casual
observer of the lighter- built machines of

Fig.

103.— METHOD OK DRIVING EMPLOYED ON
SIDK-WHEEL LAWN-MOWERS.

((, Side-wheel, shown in dotted lines.

b, Axle cast on frames.

c, Cog-wheel cast with wheel a.

d, Pinion on cutter-spindle.

e, Cutter-spindle.

Messrs. Shanks and Messr3. Ransomes. The
" Excelsior," however, although outwardly
resembling the English machines, differs in
many important points, oneof the principal ones

FlG. 109.— RATCHET ARRANGEMENT EMPLOYED

ON SIDE -WHEEL MOWERS.

(SHOWING BACK VIEW OF PINION.)

<i, Cutter-spindle.

b, Slot through spindle, shown in dotted lines,

through which the pawl, C, fits loosely.
d, Pinion on cutter-spindle.

being the method of adjusting the cutter, which
will be described later ; the case over the gear-
wheels, too, completely covers them, and is
really a part of the frame of the machine. In

the smaller sizes there is no axle at all to the
roller, which revolves on two pins cast solid
with the ends. Another peculiarity is that
the device for permitting the machine to be
drawn backwards without turning the cutter
is not combined in the roller, but on the end
of the cutter spindle, or shaft driving it. This
device has the drawback that the whole of the
wheels connecting the roller with the cutte?
revolve when the machine is drawn back-
wards, whereas with the English machines
they remain at rest ; this, however, is not of
so much importance as it appears, owing to>
the fact of the cog-wheels being so completely
enclosed.

Before passing on to describe the various
parts of the lawn-mower, reference must be
made to an entirely different class of machine
which has become very popular of late years,
especially for small lawns and grass-plots.
This is what is known as the " side-wheel "
mower, and differs greatly from the older type
in not being provided with a roller properly sc«-
calied, but is made with two wheels, one afj
each side within which the gearing to drive
the cutter is arranged very compactly. These
machines are very light running and easy to
handle, but are not suitable for very narrow
strips and edgings. Although this machine is
of American origin, it having been brought to
perfection by Mr. Coldwell of the well-knowrc.
firm of Chadburn & Coldwell before mentioned,
yet it should be stated that a light machine of
this description was made in England in the
early " seventies," — the only difference being
that the framing was like the ordinary pattern
with the grass box disposed between the
frames instead of in front as is usual. This
machine never met with the success it deserved!,
as it was very compact and light in operation.
Fig. 107 is a sketch representing the genera?
arrangement.

As regards th 3 "side-wli3el" types, it may
truly be said thsir name is legion. In this
article the writsr can but enumerate the
name3 of those made by the principal firing.
These are —

Ransomes. — The " Auglo-ParU ' ' and ' ' Lion ' ' :
high class and cheap machines respectively.

Shinies. — The "Talisman." This is a special
pattern, being a very high class machine of the
side-wheel type. The axle of these wheels
extends, the whole width of the machine, and
the gear wheels are separate from them. Ir>
the cheap machine the cog wheel is in one
piece with the side-wheel. They also make
the " Britannia " and the " Britisher."

Greens'. — The "New Monarch" anl the
" New Century," two very neat machines witb
several special features.

Crawleij & Co. (Saoffijld.)— Tae " Victe."

Birford A Perkins (Peterborough). — T.ie
" Beatrice."

It will, of coarse, be understood that these
are only a selection from a great numbor of
English machines, many having peculiarities
of their own in small matters, but not differing
greatly in general arrangement.

As to American patterns, it will perhaps hi
sufficient to mention Chadburn & Coldwell's
particular types, as really this firm is the
most important one exporting machines to Eng-
land. There are "Our Best," a very cheap
pattern, but discontinued some time since, and'
its place taken by " The Swift " and " The New
Model Excelsior," which is their best pattern
side-wheel machine.

There are several other American makers
who follow the last mentioned firm's practice
very closely, and also at least one Canadian
maker that is well known on this side of the
Atlantic, but the difference is so slight

322

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 17, 1902.

between them that the older house may be
taken as a very fair representative of them.

As regards driving arrangements, nothing
can be simpler, owing to the very few parts in
the machine. Each side-wheel has cast solid
with it a cog-wheel or rather a ring of teeth, and
the rim of the wheel overlaps these, and as it
runs close to the frame of the machine the gear-
ing is very neatly boxed in. Each of these
wheels drives a small wheel or pinion loose on
the cutter-spindle, and these pinions have a
device, which will be later described and
explained, which while permitting the cutter
to run when the machine is pushed forward,
revolve without driving it when pulled back-
ward. Pigs. 108 and 100 show the principle of
the " side-wheel ' ' machine, and it will be noted
that it does not permit of the cutters being
•driven at a very high speed ; therefore, as
i-egards this point, these machines are about
on a level as to results with chain-driven
machines. The arrangement usually adopted
with the "side-wheel" mowers is to provide
them with a long T-shaped wooden handle, and
when grass-boxes are used they generally are
made to hook or catch on to projections cast
on the inside of the frame. Sydney Russell.
(To be continued.)

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

ORCHIDS AT CHARDWAR.

The Orchids come in for much attention in
the gardens of G. P. Moore, Esq., at Bourton-
on-tbe-Water, Gloucestershire, most of the
glass structures being filled with good selec-
tions of the favourite flowers of the day.
Rare Cypripediums have special attractions
for him, his gardener (Mr. Morris) growing
them well, the plants becoming very vigorous.
Of hybrids and crosses there are numbers
of interesting ,and promising seedlings ap-
proaching the flowering age.

Most of the plants considered to be of diffi-
cult growth thrive, and notably the section
including Cypripedium bellatulum, C. bella-
tulum album, C. niveum, C. Godefroyre leuco-
cheilum, &c, all of which have fine foliage,
and freely produce flowers. The yellow-
flowered forms of C. insigne, viz., C. i. San-
ders, citrinum, &c, are well represented ;
and the finer-coloured forms, of which the
large and handsomely blotched C. insigne,
Harefield Hall variety, used to be considered
the best, have now a still finer one of the same
class in the Chardwar collection. Other good
Cypripediums noted, some of which were in
flower, were the massive and fine form of C. x
Beekmanni, and the equally fine C. x Moore-
anum, somewhat resembling C. x Beekmanni,
but with the addition of rose-purple colouring
and spots in the dorsal sepal ; C. x Nandi, C.
x Mrs. E. V. Low, C. x Olivia, C. x Evenor,
C. callosum Sanderre, some excellent large-
flowered C. exul, C. x Lathamianum, C. x
Winnianum, C. x Pitcherianum, and good
specimens of many of the favourite species
and varieties. A good argument in favour of
Cypripedium culture is, that in these days,
when the roofs of the houses are so much made
use of for suspending epiphytal species of
Orchids, the Cypripediums succeed on the
stages in positions far from the roof, which
are not as a consequence well adapted for
epiphytes.

In one of the Cattleya-houses there were
noted in flower good forms of the larger-
flowered species ; also some fine Lycaste Skin-
Jieri, Lselia purpurata, L. Digbyana, Cat-
tleya Mossira Wagneri, C. aurea, C. x Hardyana,
Lrelio-Cattleya x callistoglossa, and pother

Lfelio-Cittleyas in rude health. In this lather
cool houss the plants of Oncidium Kramer!
bears its fine butterfly-like flowers, and keep3
in perfect health in a much cooler temperature
than is generally afforded.

In an intermediate-house is to be noted a
proof of the excellence of the advice recently
given in the Gardeners' Chronicle about the
propagation of Odontoglosmms from the back
pseudo-bulbs by suspending them near the
glass of the roof. Formerly Mr. Morris had
bad results in propagating Odontoglossums,
but since suspending them, even the pseudo-
bulbs having no visible buds have thrust out
strong growths.

In one of the houses is a plant of Cymbidium
giganteum, the surface of the potting-material
of which is carrying a dense crop of young
plants obtained, it is said, by crossing C.
giganteum and Phaius grandifolius. One of
the strongest, growing in a pot, is bearing a
stout spike of many large yellow flowers,
having reddish markings on the sepals and
petals, and showy claret-purple tint on the
lip. The flowers resemble those of Phaius x
maculato-grandifolius, for which Messrs. Jas.
Veitch & Sons obtained a : First-class Certifi-
cate, November 10, 1891. Mr. Moore is as con-
fident as he can be that the seedlings were
obtained in the manner indicated, and the
seeds sown in the pot in which grows one of
the parents.

Among the plants observed in flower or bud
were numbers of the white varieties of Lselia
anceps, and other Mexican Laelias, some Cat-
tleya Triansei, including white C. T. alba, a good
form ; C. Schroder*, C. Lawrenceana, specimens
of Yanda teres, thriving on wooden rafts ; a
selection of the showy Dendrobiums, including
a number of very satisfactory D. Phahenopsis ;
some Lrelio - Cattleya x elegans ; the pretty
yellow and red Sophro-Laelia x Marriottiana,
some Pinguicula caudata, a batch of profusely
flowered plants of Dendrobium atro-violaceum,
one of the specimens having seven strong
spikes ; a fine basket of the scarlet-flowered
Epiphronitis :■'. Veitchi, and several Lfelia
Digbyana in sheath.

Lfelia Digbyana is being much used as a
parent in the hybridising experiments, and
seedlings between it and Cattleya citrina, C.
Trianfei Backbouseiana, and other promising
combinations, have been carried out. Among
other strange crosses is that of Zygopetalum
Mackaii X Cymbidium giganteum, the deve-
lopment of which will be of great interest.

Cypripedium x Emperor of India.

This fine Cypripedium, which was exhibited
in London recently by Messrs. Sander & Sons,
has now passed into the collection of S. Gratrix,
Esq., a famous north-country Cypripedium
amateur. There seems to be some little doubt
as to its exact parentage, but that suggested
is probably correct, viz., C. Lawrenceanum
magnificum x C. x Harrisianum superbum.
In point of size the flower is one of the largest,
and the build of the flower is pleasing, the
dorsal sepal being erect and flat. The mea-
surements of the flower are — dorsal sepal,
3 inches across, 3 inches deep ; petals 1 inch in
width ; pouch about 2 inches in length, and
ly inch in diameter. The flower is interme-
diate between the parents, and has the deep
claret markings found in good varieties of
C. Lawrenceanum ; the petals are heavily
spotted with dark brown. The plant has
broad, fleshy, brightly tesselated leaves,
nearly 1 foot in length ; the flower scape is
strong, and about 15 inches in height. Mr.
Gratrix has secured the entire stock of this
plant. P. W.

The Week's Work.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

Shading the Plants. — Houses which contain
shade-loving species which are at the present
time protected from sunshine by slats of deal
or bamboo, should have still further protection
by means of a special shading preparation
applied to the glass. The amount of sunlight
admitted by the slat-blinds is too powerful
for Odontoglossums, Phahenopsis, Aerides,
Vandas, most Cypripediums, Phaius, and young
seedling Orchids of all species. Orchids
should not be grown "soft," but I like to keep
them "hard" by admitting air abundantly,
and I do not consider that sunlight is excluded
to an injurious extent during the brightest
summer months by the use of both methods of
shading ; and when double shading is not
required, as is the case in cloudy weather, the
portable blinds need not be lowered.

Lwlia Jongheana. — When young roots are
visible at the base of the new pseudo-bulbs,
repot the plants if necessary, but merely
afford new surfacing materials if this be not
requisite. The kind of compost to use should
consist of fibre of peat three-fifths, chopped up
sphagnum-moss one-fifth, good leaf soil one-
fifth, the whole being well mixed together
before use. So long as the plants are actively
growing, water may be applied freely, the
quantity being reduced as root activity de-
clines. Let the plants be hung up in an
intermediate-house, or the coolest part of the
Cattleya-house. An important point in the
cultivation of this plant is a sweet buoyant
state of the air in the house, a large amount of
sunlight at all seasons, and a fair amount of
direct sunshine during the summer months.

Cattleya superba. — This summer-flowering
species is starting into growth, and any
repotting that may be needed should be carried
out forthwith ; the sort of compost being that
recommended in my Calendar for May 3 for
Cattleyas. C. superba is more at home in the
stove than in the Cattleya - house, and a
suitable position is to -suspend it with the
Dendrobiums. It should be afforded much
light and some amount of sunshine, in order
that it may make the rapid and strong growth
so necessary to flower it well. Water should
be freely applied, and the aerial roots fre-
quently syringed till the flowering season is
past.

Cattleya Eldorado and its Varieties should
be treated in the same manner as that recom-
mended for C. superba, with the exception
that water should be carefully applied till the
growth gets further advanced.

Peristeria elata. — This noble-looking Orchid
now starting to grow should be potted if
necessary, making use of a compost consisting
of good fibre loam two parts, and good Oak-
leaf soil and peat fibre one part each, mixed
well together with a fair quantity of soft brick
or small crocks. The drainage materials should
occupy quite one-third of the depth of the pot,
and over these pieces of turfy loam should be
placed. The compost should be kept just a
little below the rim of the pot, and the base
of the leading growth on a level with the
compost, and the potting should be carried
out rather firmly. Place the plants in the
stove Orchid-house, not shading them much,
and apply water very carefully till the growth
has advanced somewhat; and during active
growth apply water copiously till growth is
complete, when it must be gradually reduced,
and only sufficient afforded whilst resting as
will keep the pseudo-bulbs in a plump state.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mundy, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Roses. — Climbing Roses growing under glass '
which have flowered early should be pruned
without delay, as next year's results depend
on the earliness and strength of the growth

May 17, 1002.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

made this year. In the case of Marcchal Mel
and others of free growth, the whole of the
shoots which have flowered this year may be
pruned quite close to the old wood, as the
new-shoots will quickly replace them. Slower
growers than these, such as Fortune's Yellow
(Beauty of Glazenwood), must be carefully
thinned of superabundant shoots, and have
some of the stronger young wood laid-in, very
hard pruning not being productive of strong,
rambling shoots ; and the gardener must be
satisfied with a larger number of less vigorous
shoots. Lamarque is an example of a type of
Rose which is improved by hard pruning ; and
that most beautiful of all climbing Roses,
Climbing Devoniensis, affords an example of
Rose which should be moderately pruned.
Roses differ so greatly in habit that each must
be pruned according to its special require-
ments, habit, &c. Hybrid Perpetuals growing
in pots which have already flowered should be
hardened off gradually, and be put out-of-doors
in order to ripen the wood, but no pruning
should be performed beyond removing weak
shoots in the interior of the crown. Tea
Roses may be pruned severely into shape, as
being precocious growers, they will have
enough time to make strong shoots and mature
them. The plants may be plunged in coal-ashes
in some sheltered spot, but not in the shade.

Cyclamens.— Young plants may be shifted
into 5-inch pots, affording good drainage, and
a soil consisting of decayed turfy-loam, leaf-
mould, and a considerable quantity of sand,
and a small quantity of bone-meal. For the
present keep the plants in a warm pit lightly
shaded from bright sunshine, and freely syringe
them daily. A watch must be kept for aphides
and thrips, which cause serious damage if not
destroyed as soon as detected.

Bouvardias. — The young stock should be
grown for a time in a warm-house or pit, which
should be closed early in the afternoon, and
the plants, walls, &c., well syringed. Repot
all plants that require it, and as growth
advances nip out the points of the shoots.

General Remarks. — Bedding and other plants
will soon be removed from the houses, relieving
the crowded state that has existed in many
gardens for the past few months. This will
permit of the remaining plants being placed
at wider distances apart. Advantage should
be taken of the opportunity afforded by the
removal of many of the occupants to thoroughly
cleanse the houses, limewash the walls, and
rid the houses of insect pests. Climbers
should have the shoots regulated and made
secure in a suitable fashion.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch. Dalkeith.

■ Peaches and Nectarines.— The fruits of such
varieties as Amsden June, Alexander, and
Waterloo Peaches, Prticoce de Croncels and
Cardinal Nectarines, started at the beginning
of the year, are ripe or ripening, and the
forcing-house should be kept dry and airy,
and the fruits well exposed to the sun. Trees
when cleared entirely of fruit should be
heavily syringed, using an insecticide if red-
spider be present on the foliage, and syringe
them at frequent intervals in order to main-
tain the foliage in a healthy state for as long a
time as possible, and keep the soil moist.

Succession Houses.— The temperature at the
stoning period should by night not exceed 60°,
air being afforded in quantity by day, and the
temperature kept at about 70 ". tlio fruits
sometimes drop during this period, but when
dropping ceases, thin the fruits so as to have
one to each square foot of surface. Remove
entirely very gross shoots, reduce the number
of the others, make all shoots secure to the
trellises, and try to make both sides of a tree
of uniform size. Previous instructions should
be duly carried out in regard to syringing,
affording water, ventilation, &c.
The Latest Peach and Nectarine House. — The
. fruits may have sot thickly, and may need a
: good deal of thinning, but enough should be
left to allow for losses by dropping during

stoning. Disbud early, leaving one shoot
near the base of the old shoot, one in the
middle, and the leading point. Foreright
shoots having fruits at their base should be
pinched back to the three basal leaves. No
fire-heat will now be required in this house, and
so arrange the ventilation as to accord with
the time when the crop of fruit should be ripe.
Beware in giving air not to admit cold cutting
winds. In bright weather syringe the tree in
the morning with quassia-water if aphides are
observed ; and if thrips, use diluted XL-All.
Apply water to the borders when required,
and if the soil is light, or the subsoil gravelly,
pay particular attention to them or they
may become injuriously dry. Apply artificial
manure or manure-water from cowsheds. A
heavy soil is best for the Peach, but it is very
necessary to examine such soils with a soil-
tester, ascertaining their condition as regards
moisture, as any excess of water in the soil
would be sure to cause injury to the roots.
No manure should be afforded to young trees
growing in good soil, but only to weak or
aged trees carrying much fruit.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Tubton, Gr. to J. K. D. Winqfield Digbt, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorset.
Spinach and Turnips.— Seeds may still be
sown in the open quarters, and better still on
plots where they will eventually receive some
amount of shade from rows of Runner Beans or
Peas of tall growth. I always reserve a border
on the north side of a high wall for sowings to
be made in June or July, sowing the Spinach
and Turnips in alternate rows at 15 inches
apart, the Spinach, as a rule, being over by
the time the Turnips require additional space.
Perpetual Spinach (or Green-leaved Beet) is
invaluable during hot weather when summer
Spinach runs quickly to seed, and throughout
the winter when ordinary Spinach is some-
times scanty; and where Spinach is often
asked for, a moderate quantity of it should
certainly be grown. Sow the seeds in drills
at 18 inches apart, and when thinned finally
the plants should stand at 1 foot apart.

flints on operations. — Advantage should be
taken of the dry state of the ground to ply the
Dutch-hoe among the crops as soon as the
lines can be distinctly observed ; the aera-
tion of the soil encourages growth, and the
weeds are killed. Watch the plots of early
sorts of Potatos, and draw the soil over the
tops as soon as these push through the sur-
face ; and cover early Potatos on warm borders
to protect them from night frosts, a3 directed
in a former Calendar, whenever these seem
imminent. Remove flower-stems of Rhubarb,
which if allowed to develop rob the plants of
the energy which ought to be concentrated
in the production of stalks. Clear off the
stumps of Broccoli as soon as the crop is cut ;
indeed, it is a better practice to pull a plant
when the head is taken. The ground may be
planted with Potatos, manuring it if this be
necessary, and simply digging it.

Runner Beans. — Sow the main crop forth-
with, according to the directions given in a
recent Calendar. Should the plants of the
early sowing get crippled by cold, destroy
them, and sow more extensively at this date.
Those gardeners who sowed Beans in pots a
month ago, and have the convenience to keep
them in an unheated orchard-house or cold pit
until genial weather arrives, will be gainers in
a season like the present, if meanwhile they
bring along the plants as hardily as they may
with safety, by removing lights and affording
plenty of air in favourable weather.

stoning period is finished. As regards the
distance between the fruits, much depends,
upon the variety and the health of the tree ;
but as a rule of general application, one fruit
per square foot suffices for the largest Peaches,
3 or 4 inches less for those of middle size, as
well as for most varieties of Nectarines.
Unless the crop is a thin one, one fruit only
should be left on a shoot. During the stoning-
period apply water plentifully at the root, also
farmyard or stable drainings at that time, or
an approved artificial manure may be sprinkled
on the border in moderation, and lightly
pointed-in before clear water is applied. To
young trees, or those making strong growth,
or which have but few or no fruits, clear
water only should be afforded. Apricots,
when finally thinned, may be left at 5 to 7 ins.
asunder for dessert fruit, and for preserving;
purposes a little less. The point of every
shoot which is not required should be nipped
out at the third or fourth leaf, leaving short,
stubby shoots of an inch or two in length tc>
form natural spurs without any more pinching.
Examine all curled leaves for the maggot.
These trees should be occasionally washed
with the garden-engine or water-hose, applying-
the water gently so as not to lacerate the leaves.
Sweet Cherries.— As these are very liable to
attacks of black aphis, which cripple the
shoots, a frequent examination should be
made, and if any are observed, an insecticide
applied two evenings in succession, syringing-
with clean water early the next morning,
will generally effect a clearance of the pests.

Strawberry-beds. — Owing to the light rain-
fall in this part of the country during the last
two months, I have found it necessary to apply
water copiously before putting down the
straw, flat-hoeing the ground a few days
previously in order to kill weeds — a method
that keeps the soil moist for a considerable
space of time, even should warm, dry weather
set in, though at the time of writing the
weather is as cold as that experienced in the
middle of March. The plants look well, in
spite of the unseasonableness of the weather,
and promise well for a crop if hard frosts do
not occur to spoil our hopes.

THE HAHDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Mavne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rollb,
Bicton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Thinning Stone Fruits. — If Peaches and Nec-
tarines are thickly set with fruits, remove all
ill-placed ones, that is, those that are likely
to be damaged by coming in contact with the
branches, wire, or nails, reserving those fruits
that are the more prominent and taking the
lead, but deferring the final thinning until the

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadoqan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Sub-tropical Plants. — These in most gardens
will be making satisfactory progress, but in
order to obtain extra large specimens of Gre-
villeas, Melianthus major, Wigandias, &c,
they should be kept growing in a brisk heat,
and all the use possible made of solar heat up
to 90° in the afternoon of fine days, and thus-
counteract any lowering of the temperature
that might occur between night and morning.
If any of these plants are found to bo well
rooted in their pots, weak liquid manure-
water, Clay's Fertiliser, or weak soot-water
may be often afforded alternately with rain-
water, and they should be copiously syringed
with tepid water twice or thrice a day itt
bright weather.

Dahlias. — The tubers in the root -store wil)
have commenced to grow, and may safely be
planted out forthwith in the dry state, putting;
them deeply and firmly in the soil with the-
crowns 3 or 4 inches below the ground-level.
It is a good practice to plant a number of the
different varieties in the kitchen-garden, as is
done here, the plants producing abundance
of flowers in the rich soil which come in
extensively for decorations of all kinds.

General Remarhs. — The taller-growing varie-
ties of herbaceous Pieonies, Delphiniums,
Pyrethrums, Darwin and late-flowering Tulips,
will require fastening to neatly-trimmed sticks,
of suitable sizes, with strong strips of raffia,
tarred, or soft machine-made string. Sweet
Peas and the perennial species should be
supported early with well dressed and sprayed
Pea-sticks when standing in lines, and for small
circular groups employ the tops of young
Larch trees. Remove all protecting materials
from Lilies, and prick up the soil with cure SO
as to give it a fresh and clean appearance.

324

THE GARDENERS' CHROXICLE.

[May 17, 1902.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER.

Latter* for Publication, as mil at specimens and plans
for usiu, should "« addrestni to Ou EDITOR
*l. Wellington Street. Covent Garden, London.
C>— m'nifiomf should be wbjttex os oxk side oklt or
eaa paper, sent aj mrijr t* the week as Bocsi&Ze, and duly
signed r> u* irriifr. If desired, wV sitfuasurc trtfl not Of
pri*fed, cut «}••< as a guarantee of food faith.

Special Notice to Correspondents.— TV Editor does nci
undertake to pay for any contributions or ulustrc-
to raters in* ■■mrd communications or illustration*.
unless iy sfeciai mrrmmnemtnt.

Local News. — Cornsjondeuts inZZ greatly oblige by send

the. Editor early intelligence of local events likely to be <■/
interest to our readers, or of any matters v\ich it is desirablf
to bring under the notice of horticulturists.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK

■ Whitsuntide Exhibition at
SATURDAY Mat 17- Manchester: remains open
' tiU Mav 22.

MONDAY".

Mat IS -Whit Monday. Bank Holiday.

TTrpsniT u.vi.'Ko"1 Horticultural Societv s

yulsday. mat30-( committees Meet.

.Royal Botanic Society's Meet
' General Exhibition oi the So-
\ eiete Rationale d'Hort. de
(. France (Six days).

SATURDAY' Mat M -' I^nnean Socie,5' lAnniversary

•7EDXESDAY. Mat 21

SALES FOR THE WEEK,
WEDNESDAY. Mat 21—

Orchids. Palms, Bay Trees, and Flowerioe Plants.

at 12.S. at Stevens' Rooms.— Palms. Plalits. and

BuJbs.at 67 and 6S.Cbeapside.by Protheroe <fc Morris.

at 12.— Sale oi Exhibition Plants. <fcc . at Sidford

Lodge. Shirley, near Southampton. bv order of the

Misses Todd, bv Protheroe i Morris, a't 1.
THURSDAY-. May 22-

Clearance Sale of Collection of Orchids. Plan?

a: the Grove. Twickenham Road. Teddintton, bv

Protheroe & Morris, at 12.30.
FRIDAY Mat 23-
Orcliids in large variety at 67 and •>?. Cheapside. EC .

by Protheroe & Morris, at 12 30.
< For further particular? tee our Adm liftmen! columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick

ss-r.

A crc ax Temperatures :—

Losnos.— May H (6 P.M.) : Max. 53°; Min. 3?°.

Rainy, cold,
Provtsces— Mav 14 (6 p.m.) : Max. iV, W. Ireland :
Mic. <?, Hebrides.

This pest plays such serious
.kTc1!rralu havoc in market-gardens and

Gall-mite. m private plantations, that any
information concerning effec-
tual means of destroying it will prove
acceptable.

Reference to past volumes of the Gar-
deners' Chronicle will show our readers that
we have long recognised the importance of
this Currant disease, which was. indeed,
originally described in these columns by the
late Professor Westwood, and we have advo-
■-ated that stringent measures should always
l>e taken against it. Hitherto no certain
preventative or cure has been discovered,
though some applications have proved of
local and temporary benefit.

It is in such case- as this that agricul-
tural experiment stations should be of ser-
vice, as they have the requisite staff and
materials always at hand. There is every
reason to hope that sooner, rather than
later, a means of completely exterminating
the mite will be discovered. Now that th^
attention of the agricultural colleges and
other public bodies is attracted to the sub-
ject, experiments in connection with it will
be continued, and the thinkers and workers
who have found means of checking the
phylloxera, or the Potato fungus, and other
serious diseases of plants, are not likely to
be baffled for long by a mite, concerning
which mu:h information has alreadv been
gained by them.

Currant growers therefore will all be
interested iu the reports sent out by Mr.
E. J. Lewis, on experiments in fumigating
with hydrocyanic acid gas as a remedy
for the Blwrk Currant gall-mite, Eriophyes
ribis (Xapela). or Phytoptus ribis iWest-
woodi. The reports are issued under the
auspices of the County Councils of Kent and
Surrey, and relate to work done in connection
with the South Eastern Agricultural College,
Wye. The pamphlet before us deals with the
life history and habits of the pest ; its spread.
its effects, the remedies adopted, and the re-
sults of these experiments. The following is
thesummary.asgivenby Mr. Lewis: "In none
of the experiments was the disease extermi-
nated. Even in those giving the best results,
such as at Pembury and at Wye, there were
still a few big buds left. In the majority of
cases the attack has been lessened, but unless
the infestation is entirely got rid of, the result
is of little practical value to the fruit-grower.
In the case of the plants fumigated at Pembury,
and fifteen bushes fumigated at Wye, it
is quite possible that some of the buds still
contain mites (although I have not found any
in the cuttings taken), but not in sufficient
numbers to cause the buds to swell. If this is
S3, the result will be similar to that expe-
rienced with the bushes fumigated when the
presence of the mites was not apparent until
the latter part of the year following that in
which the fumigation took place. There is no
indication that any one variety of Currant is
less likely to be attacked than another, given
equal opportunities of becoming infested.
With regard to eggs : these, though much less
numerous in January than at any other time in
the year, are nevertheless usually present in
some of the buds, and upon them the gas appa-
rently has no effect. In order to overcome this
difficulty, two or even three fumigations would
be necessary. The interval between each
would depend upon temperaturat, but it is
difficult to ascertain the proper length of such
an interval, so as to allow all the eggs to hatch
in the meantime. We do not at present know
exactly how long an egg takes to hatch in the
winter, or how soon after hatching a mite will
start laying eggs on its own account. Two
fumigations only might not have the desired
effect, if mites hatched shortly after one treat-
ment commenced to lay eggs before the next
fumigation took place. This would necessitate
a third fumigation. To sum up the results of
these experiments, they show that fumigation
will in most cases diminish the attack by de-
stroying a great many of the mites, but that
apparently it has no effect upon the eggs, and
will not entirely get rid of the disease. The
results of the Rodmersham experiments further
indicate that a stronger treatment may be
resorted to without injury to the plants.
Nevertheless, it is doubtful whether any
alteration in the amounts of the chemicals
used, or in the length of time during which the
bushes are under treatment, would be able to
effect a permanent cure."

T _»__-, -A. bulky part is before us
of"the R.bTs. (April, 1902), but one which
well sustains its character for
utility. The Journal alone furnishes much
more than an equivalent for the guinea sub-
scription to those who are really interested
in horticulture, whilst those who are only
indirectly concerned in its progress set
ample equivalents in other ways. The
present number contains an appalling list
of fungous parasites living on Caryophyl-
lacea? (Pinks and their allies), by Dr. Cooke :
and useful papers on fruit-growing in Scot-

land. Captain Hirsts paper on Mendel's
'■ law " as applied to Orchid hybrids, is a
most valuable contribution to the subject,
and it alone would add lustre to any publi-
cation. Mr. Massek*s lectures on plant
diseases are most serviceable. It is most
satisfactory to know that such lectures are
given to the students at Chiswick. Some
more of a similar character would greatly
add to the advantages of a sojourn in those
gardens.

At the time when the Drill Hall was
turned into a vast '• store "for the exhibition
of bottles of preserved fruit, we expressed
the opinion that half-a-dozen bottles as a
sample would have been ample, especially
as no details of the process were given : nor
are they vouchsafed in the paper as printed,
which is therefore rather of the nature of
an advertisement than of an original com-
munication. Be this as it may. we are
bound to say that Mr. Austin's process,
whatever it may be, is highly successful, for
several bottles which since that time have
been subjected to trial have proved
excellent.

The abstracts are very useful, and as the
abstractors gain practice, and use their
judgment in selecting what is really good
and original, and pass over what has been
better said before or what ismere"paste-and-
seissors work." the more valuable will the
record be. We congratulate the Society and
its Editor on the increasing value of the
Journal.

Royal Horticultural Society. — The
next meeting of the Floral and Fruit Com-
mittees of the Royal Horticultural Society
will be held on Tuesday. May 20, in the Drill
Hall, Buckingham Gate. Westminster, at 1 to
5 P.M. A special exhibition of Tulips will also
be held, under the auspices of the National
Tulip Society, at the same time and place.
A lecture on the " Origin and Properties of
the English Tulip ' ' will be given by Mr. A. D.
Hall, F.R.H.S.. at 3 o'clock.

At a general meeting of the Royal Hor-
ticultural Society held on Tuesday, May 6,
sixty-eight new Fellows were elected, amongst
them being the Countess of Bective, Baroness
Deichmann, Lord Ludlow, Lady Birkbeck, Lady
Glyn. Hon. Mrs. Bevan, Hon. Mrs. McLean,
W.'H. Upjohu, K.C., and Major C. A. Gordon
Clark, makiDg a total of -520 elected since the
beginning of the present year.

The Crystal Palace Fruit Show. —

The Royal Horticultural Society's ninth annual
show of British-grown fruit will be held at the
Crystal Palace on September 18, 19, and 20.
The prize schedule is now ready, and contains,
in addition to the list of prizes, an authori-
tative list of dessert and culinary Apple?, /
Pears, and Plums. Special prizes are offered
for preserved and bottled fruits. Cjpiescan
be obtained on application to the Secretary,
K. H. S., 117, Victoria Street, London, S.W.
Applicants should enclose a penny stamp.

Temile Show. — Intending exhibitors

are requested to note that entries for this
show, which takes place on May 28 and two
following days, close on Tuesday. May 20, and
that all entry forms bearing a later post-mark
will be liable to refusal. No plants can under
any circumstances be entered on the day of
the show, but single plants for Certificate may
be entered as late as Friday, May 23.

The Sherwood Cup competition : Intending
exhibitors for the Sherwood Silver Cup are
requested to note that all groups of hardy
ornamental trees and shrubs competing for the

May 17, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS* CHRONICLE.

325

Cap will be staged in the open air, and must
not occupy more than 500 square feet ; but the
actual space to be allotted to these groups
cannot be decided until the number of com-
petitors is known, as the spaee at command is
limited, and it must be divided equally. Tues-
day, May 20, is the last day for entering.

The Coronation Rose Show, Holland

House, June 24 and 25 : The attention of
exhibitors is called to the following regu-
lations— 1. The only entrance and exit for
carts and vans is in Melbury Road. 2. Ex-
hibits will be admitted from noon to 8 P.M. on
Monday, June 23, and from i a.m. to 9 a.m. on
the 24th. 3. Exhibitors are particularly
requested to warn their drivers to be
careful to keep off the cricket pitch.
4. All classes of plants, flowers, and fruits
may be exhibited at this show, but no
Roses may be included in any miscellaneous
or mixed groups. Roses (excepi for Cer-
tificate) may only be shown under the
schedule. 5. Application for space must
be made not later than Tuesday, June 17.
6- The Roses will be judged by special Rose
judges, whose awards will be final. 7. The
judging of other groups will be on the same
system as that which obtains at the Temple.
8. The rules and regulations applying to the
Temple, and to be found on pages 66, 67, and
68 of the Society's " Arrangements, 1902," and
numbered 1 to 16 inclusive, will be in force at
the Holland House .show. By order of the
Council, W. Wilks, Secretary.

DlCTIONNAIRE ICONOGRAPHIQUE DES OR-

CHiDtES.— In the February issue of his ex-
cellent coloured plates and descriptions of
Orchids, M. Alfred Cogxlaux gives —

ANT.B.ECfM Scottiaxum, Rchb. t— A terete-leafed
species, from the Comoro Isles, with white flowers
furnished with long, brownish spurs.

-Eranthcs RAMOsrs, Cogn.— This is .Eranthes ra-
mosa, Rolfe: but M. Cogniaux adopts .tranthus as
the generic name finally selected by Lindley in IBM.
It has large greenish flowers, with stout, obtuse spur,
the whole bearing a striking resemblance to J£
denticus, Rchb. f. Native of Madagascar.

Cattleya x Chambeblain-iaxa. Rchb. f — Raised by
Messi-3. Jas. Veitch & Sons, and flowered by them in
1:81. Obtained from C. Leopoldi x C. Dowiana. Sepals
and petals greenish-white, tinged and spotted with
ro?e; front of lip and side lobe tips purplish-crimscn.

Cattleya x Wavhiklasa, Cogn. (C. Warscewiczii x
C. granulosa Schofieldiana). — Sepals and petals
yellowish, tinged with rose ; front of lip purple.

Lvlia Lindletasa vab. prspuBEA, Cogn.— This is
a highly coloured form of the old natural hybrid
generally supposed to be between Cattleya intermedia
and a Brassavola, and which has proved a botanical
puzzle to several authorities. Mr. Rolfe named it
Rrasso-Cattleya, which seems to be the most reasonable
name. Reichenbach originally called it Cattleya
Lindleyana, though the poUinia would have shown a
ueaier approach to the Lxelia which M. Cogniaux
adopts, although he finds that tour of the eieht pollen
masses are imperfect. as in Lilio-Cattleya. Sepals and
petals greenish, with red spots : lip rose-purple with
white base.

ODONTOo.LossrM.iBAXDE PiTriAxrM.— Flowers yellow,
in two tints, the darker occupyins the place of the
brown colour in the normal form.

Platyclisis filiformis. Benth.— Flowers small, ind
arranged in two rows on drooping racemes. Dendro-
cliilum filiforme, Lindl.

Platyclisis oh-macea. Benth— Flowers in decse
racemes, white tinged with rose.

Prumenva staielioides. Ldl —Sepals and petals
greenish, spotted with purple: lip purple. Promena-a
lias been incorporated in the rather unwieldy genus
/frgopetaluin, but M. Cogniaux prefer? to maintain its
gsnerit- rank.

Pummema xanthina. Ldl.— Flowers yellow, with
red markings on the column and side lobes of the lip.
Al-o railed Zygopetalum citrinum.

Soiiualia vircinalis yar. lilacina, Cogn — Flowers
white, with yellow disc and pink front to the lip.
Colombia.

Btasropfa Reichenbachiasa, Roezl. — Flowers
arge. wlutc. with rose spots on the petals and lip.

S. Lowii, illustrated in the Gardener* Chronicle, 13*3,
p. 689. seems to be this species, and S. Amesiana a
white form of it. Colombia.

Trichopilia crispa marginata. Warner. — M.
Cogniaux makes T. marginala, Henfrey, a syconym of
T. crispa, and Index Kever^U also refers T. coccinea to
T. marginala, and the long, slender pseudo-bulbs of
the plants known under the last two names in gardens,
and their general resemblance, seem to favour that
reference ; but it is certain that although the flowers
of both have some resemblance, there is no resem-
blance between the plaDts known in gardens as Trichc-
pilia crispa and T. crispa marginata, sometimes also
appearing as T. lepida. and which have comparatively
short pseudo-bulbs, of much the same texture as those
of T. suavis, and the long, slender, glossy green
pseudo-bulbs and leaves of T. marginata, Henfrey;
indeed, the T. crispa and varieties of gardens seem to
be well intermediate between T. suavis and T. mar-
ginata (coccinea). The flowers of the plant illustrated
are dark rose coloured, with irregular white margins
to the sepals and petals.

The " Chronique Orchideenne," which accom-
panies the plates, has a note on Cattleya
quadricolor (choeoensis). some particulars of
Messrs. Duval's culture of Orchids in leaf-
soil, and an enumeration of some hybrid
Orchids.

Tulips. — We lately received from Mr.
Hartlaxd, of Cork, a fine selection of Tulips,
which show to what perfection of colouring
these gay flowers can be grown in South-west
Ireland. The species and varieties of Tulips
were monographed in our columns by Mr.
Baker in 1S83 : and Count Solms v. Lacbach
published a most important paper, "Weizen
und Tulpe." in 1899. The botanical distinc-
tions depend in the first place on the presence
or absence of hairs on the inner surface of the
bulb-scales, and when present, on the nature
and distribution of those hairs. Wild speci-
mens brought into cultivation vary so exces-
sively after only a year or two's cultivation,
that it is almost impossible to draw up cha-
racters that suffice to distinguish them one
from another. It is supposed that the late
Tulips are derivatives from T. Gesneriana.
whilst the Van Thol Tulips come from T. sua-
veolens : but we have no means of knowing
whit the Talips were when originally intro-
duced. We do know that the subsequent
developments have been beyond power of accu-
rate classification. Among those sent by Mr.
Hartland are T. Billiettiana, a Savoyard
species, with yellow flowers flushed with pink.
But. Mag.. 7253 ; Didieri var. alba, with
medium-sized flowers of a pale sulphur-yellow
colour. In both these species the outer seg-
ments are acute, while the inner ones are
rounded. Vitellina, with primrose - yellow
flowers streaked with green ; maculata striata,
with elongate flowers, crimson-flushed and
streaked with yellow ; fulgens. flowers elongate,
segments po in ted canary-yellow . I n addition we
may note Shandon Bells, rose-pink flushed with
white: Sunset, yellow flushed with red; York
and Lancaster, creamy white margined with
rose: Bronze yueen, lilac- rose; Othello, crim-
son, with darker centre; John Ruskin, rosy,
edged with yellow; Gold Flake, yellow, heavily
striped with red : Aurantiaca maculata, orange-
scarlet : Picotee. cream coloured, flushed with
crimson ; Leghorn Bonnet, yellow, flaked with
red : and others, as the catalogues say. too
numerous to mention.

The Rothamsteo Experiments. — The
Lawes Agricultural Trust Committee at a
recent meeting appointed Mr. A. D. Hall. M. A.,
principal of the Agricultural C liege, Wye, to
succeed the late Sir Henry Gilbert, K.R.S.,
as Director of the Rothamsted Experimental
Station. Principal Hall, who received his
training at Oxford, and has since distinguished
himself by his successful development of Wye
Cjllege as a ci-ntre of agricultural education,
will thus c.iiry on the historic experiments

that were jointly conducted by Sir J. B. Lawes
and Sir Henry Gilbert for over half a century
at Rothamsted, and it is anticipated that not
only wUl the continuity of the work of the
past be maintained, but that the progress of
science will be advanced in new directions at
this national centre of agricultural research.
Times.

Linnean Society. — The next meeting of
this Saciety will be the anniversary meeting,
which will be held on Saturday. May 24, at
3 o'clock precisely.

"The Botanical Magazine." —The May
number contains coloured drawings and
descriptions of the following plants : —

Kniphofia multiflora. Wood, tab. 7832. — The,
flowers are greenish - yeUow and erect, a
peculiarity which it shares with K. pallidi-
flora only. It is a native of Xatal, whence it
was introduced to Kew by M. Max Leichtll>'.

Berberis dictyoplujlla. Franchet, tab. 7S33. —
A native of Yunnan, with strongly netted
oblong leaves : flowers shortly-stalked, yellow,
globose in pairs ; berries, oblong, red.

Aloe oligospila, Baker, tab. 7834. — A new
species raised from Abyssinian seed by Mr.
Lynch, of the Cambridge Botanic Garden.
The leaves are spiny, white-spotted, and the
flowers pendulous, pink at the base, yellowish
at the tips.

Eucalyptus cordata. Libillardiere, tab. 7835.
— A native of Tasmania. It is one of the
hardiest species, and we have recently
received flowering specimens of it from the
Isle of Arran in the Clyde ; see Gardeners'
Chronicle, April 12, p. 247.

Honckenija ncifolla. Willdenow. tab. 7836. — A
West African shrub with palmately lobed
leaves and large flowers, with violet-coloured
petals and very numerous yellow stamens.

'* Field and Woodland Flowers." — A
recent publication by Professor Gastojc
Bonnier, is entitled Les Blantes des Champs et
des Bois. and with our knowledge of the work
of this author we are confident that his new
book is as reliable as it is pleasant reading.
The plants are mentioned in the sequence in
which they usually bloom or fruit, or are
otherwise most conspicuous : those of the
spring, the summer, the autumn, and the
winter, being dealt with in turn. Familiar
names are given, but the scientific ones also :
in fact the book is a botanical treatise written
pleasantly, not formally. There are nearly
nine hundred small illustrations, and thirty
plates, eight of which are coloured. Les
Plantes des Champs tt des Bois, is published
in Paris, Librairie J. B. Balliere et Fils.

University of St. Andrews. — The insti-
tution of a Lectureship in Agriculture and
Rural Economy in St. Andrews University has
opened the way there for systematic research
into problems affecting the practical interests
of the farmer. Although a great number of
experiments have been carried out, and obser-
vations published, on farm crops, there is
occasion for more detailed investigation and a
fuller statement of results regarding the dis-
eases and cultural peculiarities of many of
them, notably the Potato. With this view, a
series of enquiries have been made concerning
the disease of the Potato known as "sprain."
The peculiarity of this ailment is the develop-
ment of internal tissue of a kind which refuses
to become soft when cooked. The areas and
spots affected are varied in extent, and irregu-
larly distributed. Streaks and patches of
discoloured flesh indicative of the "sprain"
are visible when the fresh tubers are cut up.

326

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 17, 1902.

The exterior of the diseased tubers presents a
normal appearance, and consequently there is
no means of distinguishing them outwardly
from such of the crop as may be unaffected.
The disease is generally believed to be most
apt to appear in a certain class of light soils.
It is not to be confounded with the blight too
■well known as the Potato Disease, which is
due to the attack of an easily recognisable
parasitic fungus. The lecturer on Agriculture
in the University is Dr. J. H. Wilson.

Frost in Berlin.— On the night of April
27-28, the thermometer sunk in the neighbour-
hood of Berlin to 2° C. ( — 5° Fahr.), and as a
consequence the flowers and young shoots of
Magnolias were completely destroyed in Spath's
nursery. In other places the night frosts have
caused great injury to plants, and the flowers
of Narcissus, Hyacinths, Spirreas, Dielytras,
Pseonies, and young shoots of .Esculus, Prunus,
Gymnocladus, were frozen, and blossoms of
fruit-rtrees have suffered.

Committee on Forestry.— The depart-
mental committee appointed by the President
of the Board of Agriculture to inquire into and
report as to the present position and future
prospects of forestry in Great Britain, and to
consider whether any measures might be
taken, either by the provision of further
educational facilities or otherwise, for its
promotion and encouragement, has held fur-
ther sittings at St. Stephen's House, West-
minster, this week. Mr. R. C. Munro-
Ferguson, M.P., was in the Chair, and the
other members of the committee were' also
present— viz., Sir John Rolleston, M.P., Mr.
E. Stafford Howard, C.B., Dr. W. Schlich,
C.I.E., P.R.S., Lieutenant-Colonel F. Bailey,
Professor J. R. Campbell, Mr. J. Herbert
Lewis, M.P., Mr. George Marshall, and Dr.
W. Somerville. The following witnesses gave
evidence : — Lieutenant - Colonel F. Bailey,
Lecturer in Forestry at Edinburgh Univer-
sity ; Mr. J. T. Maxwell, of the Local Govern-
ment Board for S-'cotland ; Mr. P. G. Craigie,
Assistant Secretary to the Board of Agricul-
ture ; Dr. W. Somerville, Assistant Secretary
to the Board of Agriculture ; Mr. C. O. Min-
chin, of the Board of Inland Revenue ; and
Mr. A. D. Webster, representing the Royal
Horticultural Society; Mr. James Michie,
representing the Highland and Agricultural
Society of Scotland; Dr. H. Marshall Ward,
F.R.S., Professor of Botany in the University
of Cambridge; Mr. Joseph Parry, M.I.C.E.,
water engineer to the Liverpool Corporation ;
and Mr. M. F. Roberts, assistant engineer to
the General Post Office. Times, May 10.

"Agricultural News. "—We have be fore us
the first number of a fortnightly periodical,
published at one penny at Barbados. It is
one of the many evidences of the activity of
Dr. Morris in all that concerns the develop-
ment of the agricultural resources of the
West Indies, and lays no claim to public
recognition beyond an earnest desire on the
part of the Imperial Department of Agricul-
ture to instruct and assist all classes of Ihe
community, and to promote the agricultural
interests of these colonies. The contents,
though naturally devoted almost exclusively
to colonial affairs, are varied and interesting.

Stock-taking: April.— The Trade and
Navigation Returns for the past month show a
small decrease in the value of imports a3 com-
pared with the same period of last year, but the
exports show an increase of over \\ millions.
The imports are valued at £46,199,928 for last
month; for April, 1901, £40,205,017— decrease,
£65,089. The Easter holidays interfered with
trade, and the efforts to make ends meet at

the Exchequer had a confusing effect. The
tax on sugar continues to be a disturbing
element ; what the corn tax may prove to be
cannot at present be estimated. Whilst wheat
has increased in volume and value, flour has
fallen — possibly with a view to gaining the
help of the miller in lightening the wheat
impost. Breeders and users of all kinds of
stock, from the horse to the pig, are inte-
rested in this corn tax, and are busily be-
wailing their plight. The following brief
extracts from the "summary" table are of
interest : —

Imports.

1901.

1902.

Difference.

£

£

£

Total value

46,265,61 7

46,199,928

—65,689

(A.) Articles of food
and drink— duty
free

14,087,297

13,895,681

—191,616

(B.) Articles of food
& drink— dutiable

5,119,761

3,079,102

—2,070,659

Raw materials for
textile manufac-
tures

8,202,376

7,868,941

-333,436

Raw materials for
sundry industries
and manufactures

4,313,051

4,523,721

+210,667

(A.) Miscellaneous
articles

1,214,112

1,976,805

+ 762,663

(B.) Parcel Post ...

89,097

79,631

—9,166

By the way, it is worth noting that " motors"
are being largely imported, and in the use of
these the farmer and market gardener may
find a way to reduce his food bill and some
other expenses. The value of imported timber
of all classes has gone down by £17,524, as
compared with the figures for the same period
last year ; and it is interesting to note that
contracts for some naval necessaries now find
their way from the Admiralty to the United
States, it being insisted that American Ash is
that best suited for the purpose. The always-
interesting table connected with fruit, roots,
and vegetables indicates the oncoming of the
small-fruit season ; also the great drop in the
import of Potatos. In connection with this,
the various market prices are of interest. The
following is our usual table : —

Imports.

1901.

1902.

Difference.

Fruits, raw :—

Cwt.

Cwt.

Cwt.

Apples

103,461

124,343

+20,882

Apricots and Peaches

17

18

+ 1

Bananas... bunches

180,587

216,208

+35,621

Cherries

25

+25

Gooseberries ...

1

1

+ 1

Grapes

1,129

1,547

+ 418

Lemons

99,991

101,968

+ 1,977

Nuts— Almonds

4,317

8,340

+4,023

Others, used as food

49,588

53,783

+4,195

Oranges

574,398

806,087

+231,689

Pears

1,293

812

—481

Plums

7

22

+ 15

Strawberries ..

17

13

—4

Unenumerated

raw...

4,802

4,971

+169

Fruits, dried-

Currants, for
consumption

home

45,372

63,423

+18,051

Raisins ,, ..

16,802

19,489

+2,687

Vegetables, raw :-

Onions

bush.

791,900

733,131

—58,769

Potatos

cwt.

1,144,550

233,816

—910,734

Tomatos...

,,

53,007

56,577

—430

Vegetables, ran
enumerated .

, un-

. value

£51,741

£80,506

+£28,765

For the first four months of the year the im-
ports amount to £178,811,736, as against
£178,373,053 for the same period of last year —
showing an increase of £468,083 — a small
mercy, perhaps, but still it is one. Turning
now to —

Exports.
We find an increase of £1,505,490 over the-
total for April, 1901, the figures being:
£21,987,033 for April in last year, against
£23,492,529 for last month. Very noticeable
in the "increase" section are the items con-
nected with textiles and metals ; in the former,
the East, America, and Europe are the prin-
cipal customers, and linen has been largely
taken by the United States buyers. The
figures for the four months just ended are
£91,291,217, against £92,799,312 for the same
period in 1901, a decrease of £1,508,095.

Flowers in Season. — We have received a.
quantity of blooms of the hybrid Irises, raised
by Mr. W. J. Caparne, Guernsey, similar to-
those mentioned in our report of the last
meeting of the R.H.S. Mr. Caparne states,
that several species share in the parentage of
the new "intermediate" race recommended
as valuable for supplying flowers of the
Germanica type, in April and May, thus
bridging over the period between the I. pumila
varieties and varieties of the common Germanica.
species. We have received a handful of Lily
of the Valley flowers and foliage from the heacJ
gardeneratSt. Mary'slsle, Kirkcudbrightshire,
a part of the country more than 300 miles north
of London, but which in point of mildness,
almost equals the south-western counties of
England. The flowers are fairly well developed,
although cold northerly winds prevail, and 4°'
of frost have been quite recently experienced ia
some places, and 2a in others not far from St.
Mary's Isle. In 1901 Lily of the Valley was.
eight days earlier than this year.

An Appendix to Royal Caledonian.
Society's Report. — There was inadvertently
omitted by our reporter any mention of the
six pots of Strawberries and three dishes of
very fine fruits, shown by Mr. McIntyre, gr.,
at The Glen, Innerleithen, which took the 1st.
prizes in both instances. The following
special awards were made too late to be in-
cluded in the report, viz., Gold Medals to-
Messrs. Dickson & Co., group of plants ;
R. B. Laird & Son, Ltd., for group of plants ;
and Hogg & Robertson, Dublin, for Tulips.
Silver-gilt Medals to Messrs. Cunningham,
Fraser & Co., for rockery with alpines, &c. -T
and to Mr. Downie, for group of plants-
Silver Medals to Messrs. J. Dickson & Sons ;
Storrie & Storrie, Dundee; A. & J. Glass,
Newington, Daffodils ; and Mr. John Forbes,
Hawick. B.

Coronation Weather Prospects.— From
the records of the rainfall at Chiswick from.
1820 to 1869 inclusive, we find that in thirty
of the forty-four years, no rain fell on May 28.
On June 21, thirty out of the forty-four days-
were without rain, and on June 20 out of the
forty-four days twenty-five were rainless. On
July 1, no rain fell on twenty-five out of the
forty-four years. Now May 28 is the day
fixed for the Temple Show ; June 24 is allotted.
to the Holland House Show ; June 26 is to be
the Coronation Day ; and the Temple Rose
Show will be held on July 1. The following
estimates are taken from Mr. Ed. Mawley's.
article in the last number of The Rosarian's-
Year-Book, and are from his own records
during twenty- three years. " For the benefit
of those who are not accustomed to rainfall
measurements, I may state that No. 1, or half
an inch, is equivalent to a watering on each
square yard of surface in the show ground of
about 2 1 gallons; No. 2 to 1} gallon on each
square yard ; No. 3 to about half a gallon ;
No. 4 to rather less than half a gallon ; No. 5 to
about a quarter of a gallon ; and No. 0 to about
a quarter of a pint. The probabilities of any

May 17, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

327

day in June or July proving wet to the extent
mentioned are, I find, as follows: No. 1, if
the minimum amount be reckoned as half an
inch, the chances against rain falling during
the day-time to that amount are about 80 to 1.
No. 2, if the minimum amount be reckoned as
a quarter of an inch, the chances against rain
falling during the day-time to that amount are
about 25 to 1. No. 3, if the minimum amount
be reckoned as one-tenth of an inch, the
chances are increased to 8 to 1. No. 4, if the
minimum amount be reckoned as eight hun-
dredths of an inch, the chances are rather
more, viz., 7 to 1. No. 5, if the minimum
amount be reckoned as five-hundredths of an
inch, the chances are 5 to 1. No. 6, if the
minimum amount be reckoned as one-hundredth
of an inch, the chances rise to 2 to 1. It
should be stated that, if anything, the chances
of rain are greater in July than in June. No. 1
may be regarded as representing an excep-
tionally wet day in summer ; No. 2 aa a
decidedly wet day; No. 3 as a few heavy
showers or continued light rain for several
hours ; No. 4 as not very different to No. 3 ;
No. 5 as a few passing showers ; and No. 6 as
not sufficient to lay the dust."

Tasmanian Fruit.— The Orient Company's
steamship Oroya is expected here about June 9
with 16,000 boxes of fruit ; the P. & O. Com-
pany's steamer Rome is due about a week
later with 10,000 boxes.

The Kew Guild. — The annual general
meeting will be held on the 27th inst. in the
Phcenix Saloon, Holborn Restaurant, at 6.30p.m.
The annual dinner of the Guild will take place
on the same evening in the Royal Venetian
Chamber, Holborn Restaurant, at 7 o'clock,
J. G. Baker, Esq., F.R.S., in the chair.
Tickets, price 5s., may be had from the
Secretary, Mr. W. Watson, Royal Gardens,
Kew, if applied for not later than the 21st inst.

Dutch Horticultural- and Botanical
Society.— On the occasion of the meeting held
on March 5, 1902, the Floral Committee
awarded a First-class Certificate to Messrs.
Older Brothers, of Leyden, for Richardia
africana var. Childsiana ; and on the occasion
of the meeting held on April 2, 1902, the Floral
Committee awarded a First-class Certificate to
Mr. C. \V. R. Scholten, Jr., Amsterdam (gr.,
Mr. Drost), for Cyrtopodium punctatum.
Certificates of Merit were granted to Mr.
H. C. Hacke, Baarn (gr., Mr. H. Hendriksen),
for Cypripedium Stanislaus Cardon ; and to
Messrs. J. C. Trets & Sons, Boskoop, for Rhodo-
dendron Lady Clermont x Caractacus.

Yorkshire Naturalists' Union.— The
101th meeting will be held at Coxwold, for the
investigation of Roulston Scar, Oldstead Bank,
and the adjacent southern escarpment of the
Hambleton Hills, on Whit-Monday, May 19.
Railway arrangements : Through return tickets
at pleasure party rates will be issued at all
stations on the G.C., G.N., H. & B., L. & Y.,
L. & N.W., Midland, and N.E. Railways, which
liave booking arrangements for Coxwold, to
Members and Associates showing their signed
card of membership at North-Eastern stations,
or (at other companies' stations) surrendering
■the Certificate noted below. Tickets taken on
May 17 or 19 will be available for return any
day up to Tuesday May 20. Where through
bookings are not in operation, members may
book to the most convenient .junction, and re-
took to destination; the reduced fares being
available for each stage of the journey. The
N.E.Ry. Co. issue week-end tickets at single
fare from certain stations to Coxwold. Botany
will bo officially represented by Mr. T. W.
WOQWiaCAn, K.L.S., one of its Secretaries.

The Entomology section will be officially
represented by its President Mr. M. L.
Thompson, F.E.S. Information as to lodging
accommodation, programme of meetings, &c,
can be obtained on application to the Hon.
Sees., Mr. W. D. Roebuck, 259, Hyde Park
Road, Leeds, and Mr. E. Hawkesworth,
Goodman Street, Hunslet, Leeds.

"The Country Gentlemen's Estate
Book." — This, better known perhaps by its
short title of The Estate Book, appears this
year as a "Coronation edition," edited and
compiled by Mr. Wm. Broomball. It contains
original articles on many phases of estate
management, and useful notes for landowners
and farmers of all types. Among the contents
we note that such subjects are dealt with as :
Parochial Assessment of Woodlands, National
Food Supplies, Country Estate Accounts,
Entrance Lodges, &c. (illustrated), Lightning
Conductors, Charcoal Burning, Notes on Build-
ing, Forest Entomology (green-fly), Trans-
planting large Trees, Forestry, Sport, Agri-
cultural Geology, Stock, Dairy, Poultry, and
Arboricultural Societies. All these and many
kindred subjects that we have no space even
to name. Tlte Estate Book is invaluable to
those to whom it is specially addressed, and
is published from the Country Gentlemen's
Association, 16, Cockspur Street, Pall Mall,
S.W.

"The Book of the Rose," by Rev. A.
Foster Melliar (London : Macsiillan & Co.,
Ltd.). — This is the second edition of a most
valuable book, that on its first appearance
proved a great success, and has been accepted
as a classic. We note that the present edition
has been thoroughly revised by the light of
seven years' additional experience. The
chapters deal with such matters as History
and Classification, Situation and soil, Planting
and Protection, Manures, Pruning, Stocks,
Propagation, Pests, Roses under Glass, Ex-
hibiting, Manners and Customs, Selections,
and a Calendar of Operations. The Book oi
tlie Rose is prettily illustrated, and no rosarian
can afford to be without it.

" Pictorial Greenhouse Management."—
This is a " practical manual, giving directions
for the general management of greenhouses,
conservatories, and other glass structures,
and describing the culture and principal
varieties of all the most important greenhouse
and stove plants." There are nearly 100 illus-
trations in the book ; some are the size of the
page, others are rather rough, but plain and
useful sketches illustrative of details of
cultural work. The manual is issued by
Cassell & Co., London, Paris, New York, and
Melbourne.

Sale of Old Gardening Books.— Messrs.
SOTHEBY, Wilkinson, & Hodge held a sale at
their rooms in Wellington Street, Strand, on
May 12, 13, and 14, of the library of Mr. J. W.
Ford, of Winchmore Hill. The following works
were included in the auction: " Pomona Bri-
tannica," by G. Bruokshaw, 93 coloured
plates, 1812, £2 15s.; "Catalogue of Trees.
Shrubs, Plants, and Flowers, both Exotic and
Domestic, which are Propagated for Sale in
the Gardens near London by a Society of Gar-
deners," printed in 1730, £4 10s.; " Mono-
graph of the Genus Lilium,' by II. J. Elves,
with 48 coloured plates, by W. H. Fncll,
1880, £6 ; "Architecture des Jardius," si\ty-
eight plates, Paris, no date, £5 5s. :
" Dessins pour Parterres, Bouquets, Orange-
ries, and other Designs for Laying-out Gar-
dens, Flower-beds, &C," sixty-eight plates,
folio, 17—, £4 Is.; "A Treatise of Fruit

Trees," by Thomas Hitt, 1757-, lis. ; "Theory
and Practice of Gardening," by John James,
of Greenwich, 1712, £2 6s.; "The Complete
Gard'ner," by M. de LA Qdintiney, abridged
by G. Loudon and H. Wise, with an address by
J. Evelyn, 1719, 4s.; "Flora, Ceres, and
Pomona : or a Complete Florilege, Furnished
with all Requisites belonging to a Florist," by
John Rea, folio, 1665, 12s.; " Sylva Britan-
nica," by J. G. Strutt, 1822, £1; " The Gar-
deners' and Planters' Calendar," by R. Weston,
1782, 2s.

HIPPEASTKUMS AT LIVERPOOL.
[See Supplementary Illustration.]

The cultivation of these beautiful plants was
commenced at Sefton Park three years ago for
the purpose of giving to the public a display
of flowers in the large Palm-house during the
spring months. A start was made in April,
1899, with some undowered seedlings, many of
which, when they flowered, were discarded as
seed-producing plants, being of inferior type.
Only the best were selected, and various
crosses effected between them. The seed was
sown the following June (that is, as soon as it
was ripe) in boxes containing a compost of one
part loam, one part peat, 2 parts leaf-mould,
with a liberal addition of coarse silver-sand.
The boxes were plunged in slight bottom-heat,
covered with sheets of glass, and kept slightly
shaded. The seeds soon germinated, and pro-
duced a most uniform crop of healthy plants,
which were gradually accustomed to the full
rays of the sun. When large enough to handle
comfortably, they were potted into " thumbs,"
using a compost of two parts Kentish loam,
one part peat, one part leaf-mould, with
enough sand to make the-whole porous. They
were then plunged in a bed of fine coal-ashes,
with slight bottom-heat, in a span-roof house,
and not far from the glass. The minimum
temperature of the house was 68° F., rising
with sun-heat sometimes as high as 95° F. ;
but although air was admitted freely during
the day, the atmosphere of the house was
never allowed to become dry, the floors and
walls being kept constantly moist, the plants
also receiving a good syringing morning and
evening. Absolutely no shading was given the
plants from the first potting.

By October the seedlings, some 2000 in
number, had nindo splendid progress, and
were shifted into 3-inch pots, and again sub-
jected to the same treatment as above. Of
course, less air was given as the days became
colder, but ventilation was given upon every
favourable occasion.

In these pots the plants continued growing
all the winter, and by February they had formed
bulbs, some of which were 1 inch in diameter.
They were now potted into 5-inch pots, adding
this time to the compost a 6-iuch potful of
Clay's Fertiliser to the barrowload of soil.

The house was kept close for a week or two
after potting, but when the roots had seized
upon the new material, air was admitted freely
on suuny days, and throughout the summer ;
although thoy received no shade, and an
abundance of air, the atmosphere was kept
constantly moist. The result of this was that
they produced tough, leathery leaves, and
firm bulbs.

In June, the whole beds were top-dressed
with a good rough compost of equal parts of
Kentish loam and loaf-mould, adding a 7-inch
potful of Clay's Fertiliser to tho barrowful of
soil. Into this the roots ran freely, forming
by September a complete mat over the beds.
At this time air was given night and day,
syringing and watering were gradually with-

328

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 17, 1902.

held, and by the beginning of November the
plants had come to rest. They -were now re-
moved, and stored on a dry stage in a cool
house, where they remained till the following
February, when the whole of the soil was
shaken from the roots, the bulbs washed, and
potted into the same sized pots again. No
water was given at the roots until root-action
had begun ; the plunging material being kept
well damped, and the house close and moist.
Many of the bulbs were now 6 inches in cir-
cumference, and we had the gratification of
seeing over eighty of them flower at this time
when the bulbs were only twenty-two months
old from the time of sowing the seed ; the
•flowers were large and well formed. All these
bulbs have again flowered this spring, the
most notable being one which produced two
spikes last spring, and three this.

The same treatment was given as in the
previous year, with the result that the bulbs
are now of exceptional size, hnndreds of them
being 11 and 12 and some 13 inches in circum-
ference, and every one producing flower ;
they are now brought on in batches of 300 at
a time. The first group was staged in the
Palm- house on January 17, and they will be con-
tinued until the end of May, thus giving an
uninterrupted show of nearly five months. The
photograph from which the illustration was
prepared was taken by E. Edwards, Menzies
Street, Liverpool. W. U. W.

HORSE-CHESTNUT ROOTS.

For the accompanying illustration (fig. 110),
which tells its own tale, we are indebted to
Mr. W. G. Holman, who also communicates
the following measurements of the denuded
roots. The tree is growing in Petersham Park,
near Richmond. What can have caused this
extensive denudation of the roots is not easy
to guess : —

Width of arch on ground, Richmond Park
side, 7 feet 4 inches.

Ditto on Petersham side, 10 feet.

Greatest height, 4 feet 6 inches.

Length of arch, 10 feet.

Circumference of biggest roots forming
arch No. 1, nearest Richmond Park, 2 feet
2 inches ; No. 2, centre, 2 feet 3 inches ; No. 3,
nearest Petersham, 2 feet 2 inches.

Circumference of trunk of tree at 5 feet
from ground, 7 feet 6 inches. Jan. 12, 1902.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

DEFORMED FLOWER OF DENDROBIUM WARDI-

anum. — I think the enclosed flower (of which
I enclose sketches) may interest jou. It
appeared on an old growth of a newly-imported
plant of the present year. 1 first noticed a
peculiarity when it was on the point of burst-
ing through the flower-sheath. It appeared
to be unable to make up its mind as to whether
it should become a flower or a growth for some
time ; eventually, as will be noticed, it did
both. I have on previous occasions noticed
very strange freaks in newly-imported plants.
I think, however, this is a record one. Tfios.
Arnold, Cirencester House. [The above de-
scription conveys an accurate idea of what
has taken place. There is an old pseudo-bulb
■with a few roots, a new pseudo-bulb from
which latter proceeds a flower-stalk bearing
one large coloured segment infolded at the
margins, and resembling one of the sepals on
a large scale. No other part of the flower
was formed. Ed.]

SHREWSBURY GRAPE PRIZES. — I think that

every dish of fruit, and especially every
collection of Grapes, or a single bunch, should
be judged by the point system, and a list of
the points ^awarded appended to them after

judging. This would be interesting to many,
and it would prevent much adverse criticism,
which too often follows the judging of Grapes.
" D. B.," is perhaps not aware of the faet that
the leading horticultural societies in Scotland
will not introduce a code on the point system of
judging, and they still practice the old system,
and simply place the prize cards on the
exhibits. This is what I term the " Please-
the-eye-system " of judging. Mr. Goodacre
informs us that the Royal Horticultural
Society's code is to be employed for the point
judging at Shrewsbury, but I do not consider
this code to be perfect. I submit to " D. B.,"
and your many readers the following simple
and correct system. The first point that
should be considered is that of colour.
(1), colour of bunch, possible points 2; (2),
finish and bloom, possible points 2 ; (3), first-
class quality (Muscats), possible points 2| ;
(4), size and symmetry of bunch, possible

the postal address of the " Old Woodman""
would be sufficient for my purpose. A. G.

Forbes.

DISQUALIFIED FOR NOT NAMING.— At the

Spring Show of the Royal Caledonian Horti-
cultural Society in Edinburgh, on 7th iast.,
the judges disqualified six or seven lots of cut
spring flowers because they were not named.
I was extremely glad, in a way, that they did
so because exhibitions only serve half the
purpose they should serve when flowers, &c,
are not named. Mr. McHattie might do worse
than take a hint, his magnificent display of
Tulips in Princes Street Gardens, of which
the Edinburgh press and the Edinburgh people
are so proud, would be both more interesting,
more educative, and more likely to foster a
taste for growing such things if each bed haS
a neat little label in front with the name ot
the variety in plain lettering. W. Cuthbertson.

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FlG. 110. — DENUDED ROOTS OF HORSE-CHESTNUT IX PETERSHAM PARK.

points 1J ; (5), perfectly thinned bunch with
large sized berries, possible points 1J ;
perfect bunch, 9J points. In all cases I would
give second quality 2 points, third quality
1 point. A. Kirk, Norwood Gardens, Alloa, N.B.

ASH AND LARCH ON THE CHALK. — Mr.

Simpson's reply to my query on the above
subject confirms the impression I had when
making it, viz., that the large timber he
referred to was either off the chalk altogether,
or was simply on the chalk formation, and not
on "high lying chalk down." My reason for
clearing up this point was simply to ascertain
if there were any noteworthy exceptions to
what I have always found to be the rule ; that
is, that the growth of these species on pure
chalk down is very slow after the first few
years. Where gravel, loam, or marl overlie
the chalk, growth may often be fairly good and
well sustained, and it is very easy for anyone
with a limited experience of the Wiltshire
Downs to assume that these examples are
growing upon typical chalk down. This was
doubtless what misled Mr. Simpson when in
their neighbourhood. I quite appreciate his
reason for not giving names of estates or
plantations, but these I do not want. My
request wjs for a little more exact definition
of locality, than " not far from Tisbury," in
order that I might convince myself that I was
wrong, or that Mr. Simpson was right. Even

LIVERPOOL improvements.— The Liverpool
Parks and Gardens Committee are to be con-
gratulated on their efforts to beautify their
city. Numerous churchyards have been taken
over, the latest being St. James', Park Lane.
Handsome new walls have been erected, and
the grounds, which are agreeably undulating,
have been laid out in flower-beds and borders,
and a fine expanse of turf afforded. St. John's"
is to follow, the design being most elaborate.
It will include a magnificent terrace-garden
adorned with statues of distinguished citizens.
When completed, the view from the old Hay-
market, with the classical St. George's Hall in
the background, will be one of the finest ia
the kingdom. It is intended to lay out a
spacious garden in front of the new Dock
Board Offices. X.

the flora OF southern berks. — Southern
Berks, with its picturesque scenery, affords a
good hunting ground for the student of botany.
There he may find treasures of almost every
variety of colour and form, from the humble
Celandine and Daisy to the green Hellebore
(Helleborus viridis) and the rare-spiked Speed-
well (Veronica spicata). In the shady woods-,
where —

" Full many a flower is born to blush unseen.
And waste its sweetness on the desert air,"
may be found the sweetly pretty Lent Lily

May 17, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

329

(Narcissus pseudo-Narcissus), the snow-white
Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis), the
Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum multiflorum), the
stately Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), the two
Daphnes (Daphe Laureola and D. Mezereum),
ana many others of equal beauty and fragrance
too numerous for present description. In the
meadows and fields are found the Primrose
Peerless (Narcissus biflorus), Fritillaria Me-
leagris, Meadow Cranesbill (Geranium pra-
tense), and some fifteen species of Orchis,
including the fragrant Butterfly Orchis (Ha-
benaria bifolia), the green T way blade (Listera
ovata), the Lady's Tresses (Spiranthes autuinn-
alis), with its curiously twisted flower-spike ;
and broad Epipactis (Epipactis latifolia). The
Dmbelliferfe, too, are largely represented,
while Labiates and Scrophularias abound. By
the roadsides are found the tall Campanulas,
and Thistles and other Composites in abund-
ance. Among the Campanulas which grow
here may be mentioned the rare C. lapun-
culoides (Creeping Campanula), and of the
Composites the woolly - headed Dwarf and
Scotch Thistles. In marshes and by the river-
sides are dotted the tall Purple Loosestrife
(Lythrum Salicaria), the Hemp Agrimony
(Eupatorium cannabinum), and the two Skull-
caps (Scutellarias major and minor). The
rivers themselves teem with plant- life, and
numerous Pondweeds (Potamogeton), Water
Milfoils (not to be confused with the common
Milfoil, a plant of the Composite tribe), Arrow-
heads, and the beautiful Water-Lilies, which
sink under the water at sunset, flourish
luxuriously. Thus it will be seen that many a
pleasant hour may be profitably spent by a
lover of wild flowers. Frank Gammon, Ham-
stead Park Gardens, Newbury.

ilex golden queen.— In The Field, some
years ago, the origin of this, the best of all
variegated Hollies, was widely discussed ; and
the fact that it is a sport from the common
Holly was brought to my remembrance a few
days ago by observing several branches of
this form on a large specimen of the common
Holly, in a private garden at Altrincham. It
is from this very specimen that Messrs.
Clibran have, as I understand, worked up a
large proportion of their stock of Golden
Queen, which is perfectly true to name. J. C.
Tallaek.

insects in the flowers of aristolochia.
— With reference to the concluding portion of
the article on Aristolochia arborea, under
" New or Noteworthy Plants," in your issue of
March 22, 1902, I may inform you that I have
often found carrion flies inside the Aristolochia
flowers, especially in those of A. gigas Sturte-
vanti, some time after the flowers have
opened, and have often shown them im-
prisoned inside to others. The account given
at p. 224, vol. ii., of Kerner and Oliver's
Natural History of Plants, about the imprison-
ment of the midges for the purpose of fer-
tilisation and their subsequent liberation
appears to me to be correct as far as my
observations go, and the probable reason why
you have not found any insects [a few only] in
i dried flowers may be that the flowers were
collected before being fully opened, or when
they had become somewhat old, and after the
flies had left. There is at any rate no doubt
about the flies being inside living flowers a
little time after they have fully opened.
C. I). Maliahixmicala, Superintendent of the
Municipal Gardens, Bombay.

the retention of the flowers of

orchids on theplant8.— IwasgladtosceMr.

Bound's remarks in reference in a recent

i issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle, for there is

I no doubt that the practice of retaining the

J flowers for long periods of time is a cause of

j exhaustion in the plants. The development of

I a large number of flowers must tax the energies

J of a plant greatly, and the strain is maintained

1 for as long a time as the flowers remain ; and

perhaps it is after the flowers are of full size

, that the greatest strain is fcl t, and the greatest

j demand made on the reserves of matter in the

' pseudo-bulbs sustaining them. I have never

seen an explanation of this phenomenon. There
will be a certain loss by transpiration from the
perianth to be made good by the pseud o- bulb,
but I am inclined to think the true cause of
the exhaustion is to be found in the essential
organs of the flower. A petal or sepal can be
removed with impunity, the remaining ones
being in no way impaired ; but remove the
pollen-masses or pollinate the stigma, and
witness how suddenly there is a collapse.
Reproduction being the purpose of the flower,
and fertilisation being secured, the flow of
elaborated nutriment would be towards the
ovary, acting detrimentally on the sepals and
petals of the flowers and plant alike. But what-
ever the precise cause, there is no doubt that
the flowers by remaining for any length of time
act prejudicially, reducing the pseudo-bulbs in
weight, and enfeebling the plant generally ;
and that these ill-effects are accentuated after
the flowers are matured there is much evidence
to show. This loss of strength in a plant can
be avoided by following Mr. Bound's advice,
that is to remove the flower-spikes early. I
believe that the flowers will preserve their
lustre longer if cut early and properly looked
after, than if left on the plant. J. M. Black,
(jr. to R. G. Tliwaites, Esq., Streatham.

frost in rent. — The minimum thermo-
meter at 1 foot from the ground registered S°
of frost on the night of May 15. Potatos are
all cut down ; Ampelop9is Veitchi on a south
wall quite blackened, also Ivy on a wall. It is
the sharpest frost that I can remember in this
part of the country so late in the present
month. Apple blossom is very much damaged.
The weather for the last fortnight has been
anjtbing but spring-like. David Fairweather,
Bifrons Park Gardens, Canterbury.

NURSERY I0TES.

NEW INVENTIONS.

A CREEPER CLIP.
We have recently received from the Patent
Creeper Clip Co., at Redditch, a little metal
contrivance for securing the shoots of creepers
and climbing plants to walls and board fences.
It is simply a narrow strip of metal, perforated
with three holes, by which it may be nailed, or
rather tacked to the wall, the tacks used
being of such a temper as to easily penetrate

Fig. 111.— a creeper clip.

ordinary bricks. The loose half of the strip is
bent so as to form a kind of shepherd's crook,
into which the shoot is pushed easily, and
safely retained without exerting any injurious
pressure on the most tender shoots. Where a
neat appearance is desired, as is often the
case in boudoir window recesses, where plants
are grown at the sides, in verandahs, glass-
houses, and on ornamental garden walls, these
clips supply a " long-felt want," and the
amateur who admires neatness should not lose
sight of this useful invention.

An Unrentable Syringe.
The sort of implement gardeners have been
looking ;tf(er for a hundred years has been
invented at last. Everyone knows how easily
the ordinary smooth brass or tin cylinder is
rendered unworkable by a dent, and how di Hi-
cult it is to obliterate the defect. Now, by
simply furnishing the barrel or cylinder with
an outside corrugated covering, we have a
syringe which, under ordinary fair usage,
cannot be rendered unserviceable by a dent.
It is sold under the name of the Four Oaks
Undontable Syringe.

UNCOMMON PLANTS AT EXETER.

Looking through Messrs. R. Veitch & Sons?
nursery at Exeter recently, 1 could but notice,
loosely trained to the front of a greenhouse wall,
a pretty tcarlet - flowered Gooseberry, rarely
seen nowadays, Ribes speciosa. The wood is
hard and very spiny, the foliage small and
rather rounded, and the projecting branches
carry in quantity pendent, Fuchsia-like reddish
flowers. Mr. Veitch mentioned that it was
well suited for a warm wall.

In one of the houses I noted numerous well-
grown and flowered plants of the Transvaad
Marguerite, or blue Daisy, Dimorphotheca
Ecklonis. The flowers are of a bluish tint
externally, and when fully expanded quits
quite ; they are about the size of those of
ordinary Marguerites, and of the same single
form, but are borne on quite long stems,
singly. This is evidently a charming green-
house plant. A. D.

©bttuar^.

Thomas Davies.— We regret to anr.or.ncV)
the death of Mr. Thomas Davies, of the Waver-
tree Nursery, Liverpool, which occurred oh
Tuesday, May 6, at Chestnut Grove, Waver-
tree. Davies' nursery, Wavertree, was ol
very long standing, and T. Davies was born
there on July 22, 1829. He began to work in
the nursery at the age of thirteen years, and
four years later he came to London, anft
entered the Pinea pple nurseries of Messrs. J. A.
Henderson; thence he went to Luton Hoo,
Beds, at that time the residence of the late
J. Shaw Leigh, Esq. Returning to Wavertree,
he took up a prominent position. He was for
many years on the committee of the old Liver-
pool Horticultural Society, and was for fourteen
years chairman of the Woolton Horticultural So-
ciety. Differences between master and men at
the nursory were of rare occ urrence, and seldom
serious, as may be inferred from the fact that
one nursery hand has been employed nearly
sixty, several fifty, and one forty-five years.
The funeral took place on Saturday last at
Childwall, and was numerously attended.

J. G. Brown. — We sincerely regret
to announce the death, on the 3rd inst., ctf
Mr. J. G. Brown, of the Manchester firm of
Brown & Wilson, seedsmen, at the early age
of thirty-nine years, after a brief illness. Mr.
Brown was the only son of the lato Mr.
Matthew Brown, who was largely instrumental
in building up the great seed business of
Dickson, Brown, & Tait, Manchester, and wh<»
was as widely esteemed throughout the North
of England as he was widely known. After
receiving a liberal education, Mr. J. G. Brown
spent some time with the late Mr. H. S.
WilIiams,of London, andwith Mr. Ernest Benary,
of Erfurt, learning the nursery and seed busi-
ness. Fourteen years ago ho entered into
partnership with Mr. James Wilson, and the
two have during that period carried on >.
flourishing business in Manchester in thest-ei
trade. Mr. Brown's excellent |>ersonal quali-
ties had endeared him to hundreds of people
of every station in life, and his premature
decease will bo widely lamented. He ha*
never married, and two si6ters survive him.

ENQUIRY.

The Editor would be glad to know from <oiv-
tributors to the Gardeners' Chronicle if, as ft
correspondent states, there is a fungus which
attacks Begonia Gloire de Lorraine, denuding
entire batches of the plants of their leaves.

530

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 17, 190?;

Societies.

BOYAL HORTICULTURAL.
Soientiflo Committee.

Mat 6.— Present : Dr. M. C. Cooke (in the chair) ;
Messrs. Sutton, Druery, Veitch, Saunders, Bowles,
Douglas, and Holmes, Dr. Miiller, Kevs. W. Wilks,
Engleheart, and G. Henslow, Hon. Sec.

Turnip seedlings. — With reference to Mr. Gould's
account of the great variation in the seedlings of a
"Red Tankard" Turnip, Mr. Sutton thought Ihere
must be some mistake, as it was contrary to all experi-
ence at Reading; but Mr. Wilks confirmed it in the
case of Cabbages. Having an excellent variety, very
useful late in the season, he saved two plants for seed,
covering them with a net. In the following year they
produced all sorts of the most mixed form of Cabbages,
Coleworts, &c., but not one single plant like the
parents. The committee would be glad to hear of any
similar cases. The physiological interpretation would
seem to be that, from constant indiscriminate crosses.
Cabbages and Turnips, &c, have a very mixed constitu-
tion. As long as any kind is grown in masses, the
crossing keeps up an average form. When isolated,
reversion to the various races takes place, the "blood"
of which is in the individual. Mr. Sutton suggested
experiments to be carried out at Kew or Chiswick to
test these remarkable results.

Gooseberry Trees Dying off. — Mr. Wilks showed
branches withering and dying. Mr. Veitch observed
that it was not uncommon after an excessively dry
season like the last, and that some varieties are more
liable to perish than others, the more vigorous kinds
withstanding it.

Primroses Maljormed.— Mr, Sutton brought specimens
of umbellate, or, more strictly speaking, "capitate '
forms, the flowers being sessile on the top of a
peduncle. There were four flowers with linear bracts.
The central flower was multifold, with seven or eight
petals, &c. ; the other flowers were either normal or
with a sub-petaloid calyx. The petal lobes in some
forms were unequal. They were from a wood near
Reading. He also brought from the same wood double-
dowered wild Anemones. The late Rev. Prof. J. S.
Henslow collected them in tlitcham Wood, Suffolk,
in 1845.

Tacca cristala. — Mr. Odri.l sent flowers of this
momalous plant, having one of the numerous filiform
bracts, broadening at the base, thus reverting towards
the form of the larger outer series. The question as to
the function of the filiform appendages was raised, for
they are suggestive of some similar use to those in
certain Cypripedise.

Gloxinia Flowerswith Excrescences from the Outer Surface
—He also sent blossoms with this well-known pecu-
liarity, the special feature being the fact that then-
abnormal character was now very constant for four
years on the same plant.

Palm diseased.— Mr. Saunders reports as follows upon
the Palm submitted to him at the last meeting: "I
have carefully examined the small Palm (Kentia)
which I took away on Tuesday for that purpose. I
forget the name of the grower, but we had some before
us at a recent meeting of the Scientific Committee,
which were reported on by Mr. Odell. At the roots of
the Palm I found several specimens of snake milli-
pedes (J ulusgutlatus and .1. Londinensis); of the latter
I only found one specimen. These are well known and
most destructive pests. The only way of getting rid of
them, short of repotting the plants and picking out the
pests, is to bury small slices of Turnips, Carrots, or
Potatos in the soil just below the surface. The millipedes
are very fond of these roots, and will probably be
attracted to them. The traps should be examined every
morning. If a small skewer of wood be stuck into
each slice it will show where the latter has been buried,
and render it easier to handle."

Lastrea(Nephrodium) Thdyptcris, Marsh Buckler Fern.—
Mr. Druery exhibited frouds of a very fine and tho-
roughly polydactylous variety of this species, found
by Mrs. Puffer in Massachusetts, U.S.A.-a clump of
S feet by 2 feet or 3 feet wide— a very old plant. It is
the more interesting as, although this species is indi-
genous to Great Britain, and is locally abundant in
many marshy districts, it has never even afforded a
subvariety in this country, despite its having been
certainly assiduously hunted for half a century. In
this case the pinna; are foliosely multifid throughout.

Tulipa sylveslris.— Mr. Chapman sent the following
communication : "I noticed from the report of the
Koyal Horticultural Society's Scientific Committee
iApril 22) that Mr. Worsley showed the above Tulip.

1 laving several of the species in flower in the borders here,
I mentioned the matter to Mr. Cookson (of Oakwood,
Wylam-on-Tyne), and have ascertained the following par-
ticulars from him, which I thought might perhaps be of
interest. The plants we have here were collected and
brought by Mr. Cookson from a friend's wood, about
eleven miles north of Newcastleon-Tyne. Although
they must have been growing in this particular spot
for ages, Mr. Cookson was the first to notice the
Tulip characteristic about the apparent " weed."
I use the word weed, for, from what Mr. Cookson tells
me, they grow in hundreds of thousands, scarcely ever
exceeding 3 inches in height, and never flowering
where growing in the wild state. After gathering the
plants, they were planted in the borders. It took three
years before they produced flowers, when their identity
was established. Since then, where the plants have
not been moved, it is interesting to note that, in almost
every instance, twin flower scapes are produced, as in
the enclosed specimen. It may also be of interest to
note that it has a peculiar character of forming a lony
rhizome between each bulb, giving it such a roving
nature in cultivated ground that although planted in a
lied or patch, it will be found at a very different posi-
tion from where it was planted the following year. I
notice S.W. Yorks, being the farthest north given in
the report ; it might be interesting to know that it can
be still found as a wild plant in Northumberland."

LINNEAN.

May 1.— Professor S. H. Vines, F.R.S., President, in
the Chair.

Messrs. John Parkin, Charles Gilbert Rogers, and
Otto Stapf were elected Fellows ; and Messrs. Alfred
Giard, Hans Jacob Hansen, Charles Sprague Sargent,
Frauz EilhardSchulze, and Julius Wiesner were elected
foreign members of the society.

The President announced that H.R.H. the Prince of
Wales had consented to become a honorary member of
the society.

The President further announced that the Council
had decided to award the Gold Medal of the society
this year to Prof. Rudolf Albert von Kolliker, of Wiirz-
burg, in recognition of his important contributions to
zoological science.

Mr. J. E. Harting, F.L.S., exhibited photographs of
a living specimen of the African Shoe-bill (Balseuiceps
rex), forwarded from Cairo by Sir William Garstin,
K.C.M.G., and gave some account of the bird, and of
t lie different views which had been expressed by
zoologists regarding its affinities and systematic
position.

In the absence of the authors, who were abroad, the
following papers were communicated by the Zoological
Secretary, Prof. Howes, F.R.S. :-(l) Dr. Elliot Smith,
"On the Cerebellum of the Lemurs"; (2) Dr. Elliot
Smith, "On the Brain of the Elephant Shrew (Macros-
celides elephantopus, Shaw) " ; (3) Dr. R. Broom " On
the Early Condition of the Shoulder-girdle of the
Polyprotodont Marsupials Dasyurus and Perameles."

ROYAL GARDENERS' ORPHAN
FUND.

ANNUAL DINNER.

May 8.— The fourteenth annual dinner in aid of this
excellent charity took place on the 8th inst. at the
Hotel Cecil, Strand. Covers were laid for 145 persons,
and Leopold de Rothschild, Esq., presided. Amongst
those present were Messrs. Harry J. Veitch, C. E.
Keyser, Herbert Hicks, Leonard Sutton, B. F. Smith,
J. Gould Veitch, H. B. May, F. Kedge (Hon. Solicitor),
Dr. Bott, George Monro, R. Piper, Joseph Rochford,
W. Sherwood, W. Y. Iiaker, S. M. Segar, H. J. Cutbush,
W. J. Nutting, George Paul, Rudolph Barr, George Barr,
J. A. Laing, G. H. Cuthbert, J. McKerchar, J. Douglas,
S. T. Wright, J. F. McLeod, J. Hudson, G. Reynolds,
W. Roupell, T. W. Sanders, J. Assbee, H. G. Cove,
R. P. Gleudinning, Brian Wynne (Secretary), &c.

The room and tables were beautifully decorated witli
plants and dowers supplied from various nurseries
and private gardens. The musical arrangements,
under the management of Mr. Herbert Schartau, gave
much satisfaction.

Iu proposing the toast of the King, the Chairman
remarked upon the interest his Majesty takes in the
development of the gardens at Sandringham and
Windsor. Both this toast and that of her Majesty the
Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Ac, were
received with musical honours.

Mr. Leopold de Rothschild next proposed the toast
of the evening, "The Royal Gardeners' Orphan Fund,"
and said that no men in the world required a greater
number of qualities than were necessary to make a first-
class gardener. He neededculture, robust health, a know-
ledge of botany, chemist ry.meteorology, architecture, an
appreciation for harmony in colours, &c— a rare com-
bination of physical and mental qualities. The emolu-

ments received by gardeners generally were not equal
to what is asked from them, and it was a praiseworthy
object to seek to help the children of those gardeners
who fell a victim to early decease, in many cases,
through the trying nature of their work. Since the
Fund was established nearly 160 orphans had received
its benefits ; a sum of nearly £10,000 had been disbursed
in weekly allowances, and a small sum had been
spent in the provision of clothing, &c. There were
eighty-seven children chargeable to the Fund at the
present time, at a cost of £1,100 per annum. Mr.
Rothschild recalled the time when he knew but three
florist's shops in Loudon, one in Maddock Street, and
two in Covent Garden. "Better Roses could now be
bought in the streets for a penny, than eould be pur-
chased then for a guinea." After expressing pleasure
that the new Hall scheme of the Royal Horticultural
Society was meeting with success, the Chairman con-
cluded with an appeal to those present to help the
Orphan Fund to the best of their power.

Mr. C. E. Keyser (Vice-President), in responding,
read a letter from Mr. N. N. Sherwood (Hon. Treasurer),
regretting that his doctor did not think him well
enough to attend, and sending a donation of £25. Mr.
Keyser expressed the sorrow everyone felt at Mr.
Sherwood's absence. They were very grateful, however,
to Mr. de Rothschild for coming amongst them. The
Chairman belonged to a family who had done probably
more than any other to encourage gardening. Their
own gardens were examples. Mr. Keyser appealed for
increased support for the Orphan Fund, and said that
at Reading they had an auxiliary of the Gardeners'
Royal Benevolent Institution. He thought they might
do something in the same way for the Orphan Fund.

"Gardeners and Gardening" was proposed by Mr.
Leonard Sutton (Reading), who spoke very apprecia-
tively of gardeners, asking that employers would give
them some consideration and encouragement, and
allow them time and opportunities to improve them-
selves by attending horticultural exhibitions, and in
other ways. Those who obtained pleasure from their
gardens ought to help those who had contributed to
that pleasure.

Alderman Piper responded to this toast, and at some
length rejoiced that gardeners were not ground down
by a tra les union.

Mr. J. Assbee proposed "The Visitors," in an in-
teresting speech. He said that gardeners had three
kinds of visitors to their gardens— (1), the mischievous
visitor; (2), the agreeable gardener; (3), the business
man ; and humorously described each of these types,
concluding by welcoming every visitor present that
evening. The Vicar of Edmonton (Rev. E. A. B. San-
ders), replied in a happy vein.

Mr. H. B. May (Chairman of the Fund Committee) gave
the toast of " The Chairman," and Mr. de Rothschild
having replied, the Secretary said that the Chairman's
list of subscriptions, and Covent Garden Market list,
Ac, amounted to £711 2s. 6rf., a larger sum than for six
years past. Amongst the contributors were the follow-
ing .—Leopold de Rothschild, Esq., 20 gs. ; Messrs.
N. N. Rothschild & Sons, 50 gs. ; A. de Rothschild, Esq.,
10 gs. ; Leonard Sutton, £50 ; N. N. Sherwood, £25 ; W.
Sherwood, £5; E. Sherwood, £5; J. F. McLeod, £21;
Geo. Reynolds, £36 3s. ; Jas. Hudson, £30 ; W. 9.
Deacon. 10 gs. ; Sir T. Lawrence, 10 gs. ; Messrs. James
Veitch & Sons, 10 gs. ; H. J. Veitch, 10 gs. ; W. Nutting,
10 gs. ; Geo. Cuthbert, 10 gs. ; G. H. Richards, 10 gs. ;
C. E. Keyser, £10 ; Thames Bank Iron Company, 7 gs. ;
T. W. Sanders, £7 10s. ; Barr & Sons, £6 15s. 6d. ; Dr. H.
Bond, £5 ; Anthony Waterer, 5 gs. ; G. E. Raphael, £5 ;
Dicksons, Ltd., Chester, £5 ; F. A, Bevan, 5 gs. ; Asher
Wertheimer, 5 gs. ; A. Beit, 5 gs. ; J. H. Houldsworth,
£5 ; Charles Cotes, £5 ; H. B. May, 5 gs. ; C. A. Smith-
Ryland, £5 ; Robert Fox, £5 ; Mrs. W. G. Head, £5 ; The
Gardeners' Chronicle, Ltd., £5 ; A. Levita, £5; H. Oppen-
heim, 5 gs. ; S. M. Segar, £5 ; W. Cutbush & Son, 5 gs. ;
Thos. Jeffreys, 5 gs. ; J. T. Anderson & Sons, Ltd., 5gs. ;
Herbert Hicks, 5 gs. Mr. Assbee's list from the Covent
Garden tables amounted to £12i> 12s., a capital sum from
the market growers and salesmen. Incidentally the
Secretary announced that the Fund would benefit to
the extent of £100 by the recent death of Mrs. Wills, of
Messrs. Wills & Segar.

Mr. Herbert J. Cutbush proposed " The Press," in
response to which Mr. R. Hooper Pearson {Gardeners'
Chronicle) pointed out that the first treasurer to the
Fund was a representative of the Press; two of the
three joint secretaries appointed by the meeting at
South Kensington were pressmen, five members of the
original committee were pressmen, and the first
meeting of that committee was held in a newspaper
oflice, at 41, Wellington Street, on March 25, 1887.

The proceedings closed with a hearty appreciation of
the services of the secretary, Mr. Brian Wynne.

CROYDON AND DISTRICT HORTI-
CULTURAL IMPROVEMENT.

May 7.— This young and vigorous society, which is
more generally concerned in holding meetings for the
discussion of horticultural subjects, held an exhibition
on the above date of exceeding interest. The display
was made in the Art Galleries, and there were no
entrance fees or prizes. The Secretary, Mr. J. Gregory.

May 17, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

331

worked hard, and deserved success. The following
were some of the exhibits :—

Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons, Crawley, a collection of
specimen flowering trees and shrubs ; Mr. Cornish, gr.
at "The Joldwynds," Dorking, hardy flowers; Mr. W.
Bentley, gr. to Geo. Curling, Esq., Addiscombe, Ferns
ana six well-grown and flowered plants of Alonsoa
incisifolia; Mr. M. E. Mills, gr. to Frank Lloyd, Esq.,
Coombe House, Croydon, spring flowers, covering a
space of 20 ft. by 4 ft.; Mr. Vander Meerch, London
Road and Selhurst Nurseries, foliage plants, Ac. ;
Dupre et Cie., basket of Iris and Lilac ; Mr. Jefleries,
gr. to Mrs. Lascelles, Roses ; Mr. F. Oxtoby, gr. to J. J.
Reid, Esq., Coombe Lodge, Pelargoniums and double-
flowered white Stocks; Mr. J. Dingwall, gr. to W. F.
Stanley, Esq., Cumberlow, South Norwood, Cineraria
stellata; Mr. J. A. May, gr. to Wickham Noakes, Esq.,
Selsdon Park, Auriculas and Cinerarias ; Mr. Tennant,
florist, High Street, Rhododendrons, Spiraea japonic*,
and Crotons ; Mr. E. Kromer, Roraima Nursery, Ban-
don Hill, Croydon, Orchids ; Mr. J. R. Box, West Wick-
ham and Croydon, Azalea mollis, Gloxinias, Calceola-
rias and Tulips, <6c; Mr. Thomas Butcher, florist, Ac,
Croydon and South Norwood, Palms, foliage plants,
and bouquets ; Mr. P. F. Bunyard, eggs of insectivorous
birds.

UNITED HORTICULTURAL BENEFIT
AND PROVIDENT.

May 12.— Nine new members were elected, making
fifty-three in the five months this year. Three members
were reported on the. sick fund. The death certificate
of the late Mr. John Crawford was produced, and
£18 Is. lid., being the amount standing to the late
member's credit, was voted to the widow, also a cheque
for £5 from the Benevolent Fund, this being con-
sidered a very urgent and deserving case for assistance.

HORTICULTURAL SHOW AT
CHELTENHAM.

May 14.— The seventy-seventh annual show of the
County of Gloucester and Cheltenham Royal Horti-
cultural Society was opened at the Montpelier Gardens,
Cheltenham, on Wednesday last. There was an excep-
tionally line lot of exhibits, and these were tastefully
arranged in two large marquees on either side of the
principal walk.

The ornamental groups of flowering and foliage
plants were, as usual, a great attraction ; while Mr.
J. H. White, Worcester, had a splendid show of her-
baceous and flowering plants (not for competition), and
Mr. G. W. Maesh. Cheltenham, for a grand group, was
awarded a Certificate of Merit. Mr. J. Jackson also
contributed a good display of fruit, Mr. J. Horlick
(High Sheriff) one of Calceolarias and other flowering
plants, and Mr. J. Cvphee a collection of pot and other
plants (all not for competition).

Coming to the prize list, in the class for an orna-
mental group of flowering and foliage plants, arranged
for effect, to cover 200 square feet (open to all England),
Mr. James Cypher, of Queen's Road Nurseries, Chel-
tenham, was awarded premier honours ; Mr. W. Vause,
Leamington, running a close 2nd.

In a similar group for loo square feet (amateurs
only), Mr. H. O. Lord, Lilleybrooke (gr., Mr. F. May),
was given 1st prize ; while Mr. Cypher beat Mr. Vause
in the Open to all England class for stove or green-
house plants in flower.

Mr. Cypher also gained 1st position for six plants
(three in flower and three ornamental foliage), being 1st
for a group of Pelargoniuins.for six zonal Pelargoniums,
1st for the best collection of herbaceous and other
hardy cut flowers (open), and 1st for a group of Orchids
to cover 100 square feet, in whicli foliage plants were
used ; Mr. Vause being placed 2nd in the latter class,
and Mr. F. Smith, Prestbury, 3rd.

Mr. J. Horlick, of Cowley Manor (gr„ M. J. Mad-
dicks), carried off the 1st prize for herbaceous Calceo-
larias, for Caladiums (open), and for twelve plants in
flower (amateurs only). Mr. G. W. Marsh took premier
honours for Cinerarias, and for three pots of Lilium
Harrisii.

For fruit, Mr. John Jackson, Cheltenham, carried
off the premier honours for collections of fruit, six
dishes, Pines excluded, for Peaches, and for a dish of
Nectarines.

ROYAL CALEDONIAN.

UNDER GARDENERS' COMPETITION.
Last summer you, in a most encouraging way, re-
ferred to the competition which we had started for
under gardeners. The general feeling was that we
should be satisfied if we got eight or ten competitive
plans; but twenty-one were sent ill. I enclose a copy
of the report on these by the judges, which speaks for
itself.

The result of the competition lias been so gratifying
that Sir John Gilmour, Bart., has kindly renewed his
donation to enable the Society to renew the competition
on similar lines, and another sketch-plan for compel!
tion is being prepared. Our spring show was held on

Wednesday and Thursday of last week when the com-
petitive plans were all exhibited, and not the least
gratifying feature of the show was that along the line
of plans there was almost continuously a crowd of
interested spectators, a great many of whom were
young men. I hope shortly to be able to send you par-
ticulars of the new competition and -may I put it thus
—perhaps you will again do the young gardeners I he
service which you did them last year in encouraging
them to go in for the competition ? [CerUinly. Ed.]
One criticism was made that the prizes offered were
small for the amount of work required, but it lias been
most gratifying to receive letters from the competitors
expressing their pleasure at having the opportunity to
go in for such a competition, and their desire to know
wherein they had failed. The judges' report as regards
the prize-winning plans is very critical, and I intend,
in returning the plans to the unsuccessful competitors,
to give them the same advantage, by pointing out
wherein they have made mistakes.

To-day I have had an inquiry from a young fellow in
a nursery as to whether1 young gardeners in nurseries
are eligible to compete. My answer to that is, most
certainly they are, and we should be glad to receive
plans from them, as well as from any other young gar-
deners. This is a competition in which I have taken a
very great personal interest, and I desire to express to
you and the other horticultural papers my sincere
thanks for what you have done towards making the
competition successful; P. Murray Thomson, Secretary.

[The judges, wo may add, were Mr. John MclTattic,
Superintendent of the Public Parks, Edinburgh ; and
Mr. J. Whitton, who occupies the like position in
Glasgow. Ed.].

READING & DISTRICT GARDENERS'
MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT.

The last meeting of the winter session was well
attended, when Mr. E. H. Jenkins, of Hampton Hill,
gave a most interesting paper on "The Rock Garden."
The discussion which followed was taken part in by
Messrs. Stanton, Neve* Bassel, Townsend, Cretchley,
Hinton, Lever, and Fry. The display of flowers was
interesting, and consisted of honorary exhibits and
other exhibits, and included a pretty lot of Polyanthus
from Mr. W. Townsend, gr., Sandhurst Lodge; and
from Mr. G. Stanton, gr., Park Place, sprays of
Bougainvillea speciosa and Browallia Jamesoni. Mr.
H. House, gr., Oakfield, showed twenty-four beautiful
bunches of zonals (twelve seedlings and twelve named
varieties); Mr. F. Lever, gr.. Hillside, a group of
Cineraria stellata; and Mr. F. Alexander, gr., St.
Mary's Hill, a large plant of Dendrobium nobile.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Agricultural Salt as a Dressing for an
Orchard Infested with Couch - grass :
Pan-Adam. The amount of salt that -would
be required to kill the Couch-grass would
likewise kill the fruit-trees. The best way
of proceeding is to open a trench on one
side of the piece of Jaud, and with steel
five or six-tined forks dig the land 2 spits
deep — of course, much less deep where there
are tree roots, breaking up the soil, and
extracting every bit of Couch-grass roots,
depositing it in good -sized heaps; then
harrow the land and collect every bit brought
to the surface. The roots and herbage may
be dried a little, then burnt, and the ashes
spread over the land ; or it may be formed into
long, Hat-topped heaps, together with quick-
lime, and left to decay, which would soon
take place, owing to the heat generated
in the heaps. These heaps require turning
once or twice, in order to bring about the
decay of the whole. The remains form a
first-rate substance for drilling with Turnip-
seed, or as a top-dressing to garden plots.

Alpine Garden : K. H. M. An alpine garden
is one in or on which plants found on
mountains are cultivated. Usually it con-
sists of a sort of rockery, the materials of
which are so arranged that a variety of
aspects are afforded for the various species
of plants, some liking full sunshine, others
shade, and so on. Means are usually taken
to afford the plants the sort of soil or rooting
material they demand, some succeeding best
in granitic detritus, others in limestone,
sandstone, tufa, peat-loam, vegetable mould,
&c.

Black on White Grape-vine : An Old .Sub-
scriber. The inarching of Apploy Towers pn
the Syrian would not be so likely to in-

fluence colour in the former as the flavour.
We are curious to know the result of the
union. Usually, but there are exceptions,
the stock does not influence either colour or
flavour, vide hardy fruits grafted on wilding
Pears, Crabs, Prunus, &c. Size of fruit, on
the other hand, is affected adversely by tho
stock, as we see it in Plums on the Damson,
Pears on Crataegus, and some varieties of
Pears on the Quince stock.
Books : E. H. M. You should obtain a small
manual entitled Alpine Plants, by W. A.
Clark, published by Upcott Gill, 170, Strand,
London, W.C. ; The Making of Flowers, by
the Rev. Prof. G. Henslow, M.A., published
by the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge, Northumberland Avenue, London,
W.C. ; Plant Breeding, by L. H. Bailey,
published by Messrs. Macmillan & Co., St.
Martin Street, London, W.C. See "A. 0."
next week.

Correction: Tulips of Long Ago. The refer-
ence made on p. 285, col. a, in our issue for
May 3 last should have been Gardeners'
Chronicle April 29, 1809, not May 13, 1890.

Dendrobium thyrsiflorum : W. J; 8. Thank
you for a good photograph of a,' fine plant;
but it has been repeatedly figured.

Evergreen Oak: Reseder. Apparently'the
work of Lithcolletis messaniella, one of the
small leaf-mining moths. The branch yon
sent has been kept under observation, in the
hopes of rearing the perfect insect ; but
none have yet appeared, although this is
about the time they emerge from the
chrysalis now lying in the leaf-blisters.

Fruit and Vegetable: 11. G. A fruit in a
botanical sense is that which bears and
encloses the seed. A "vegetable" in a
botanical sense, is a plant; in a culinary
sense it is any part of a plant used for
culinary purposes. Whether you will [con-
sider this a "defensible difference"' we
cannot tell.

Fairy Rings in Grass: Wakefield. . Dig np *.
foot in depth the soil where the last; ring
grew, and about C inches beyond this where
the ring will grow this year, and replace it
with fresh soil and cover with new turf. If
you do not care for so much labour, strew
salt rather heavily where the next; ring will
come (and the rings are ever wider and
wider from the centre with the years), and
manure the central portiop, dig it and
returf from a clean source.

Grapes Rusted: J. R. Tho fruits sent are
badly rusted, from somo cause of which we
are not cognisant ; it may be cold air blow-
ing on them when moist and warm, or from
excessive use of sulphur on the heating
apparatus, or from throwing water on |the
same when this is excessively hot, and
causing thereby much steam to arise in the
vinery.

Holly-leaves Disficured: J.T.8. The work
of a fly — Phytomyza ilicis; figured and de-
scribed in the Gardeners' Chronicle for 184C,

Fit! 112.— THE IIOLI V LEAF FLY (PHVTOMVZA u n . ..

p. 414 (see fig. 112). Tho fly is of a greyisb-

brown colour, clothed with small black

, hairs, and larger bristles scattered over,

£32

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 17, 1902.

especially tho baad and thorax. Sprinkle
soot and lime over ta? leaves wUen wet
with dew or rain, to deter the flies from
depositing their eggs on them.

lEAF: G. B. M. Shrivelled beyond recogni-
tion. If you expect us to take trouble for
you, the least you can do is to take some
pains to send good specimens in good con-
dition.

Manure for Vines: 0. F. The"vitriolised"
bones are simply superphosphate of lime,
which may be applied safely 6 oz. to the
square yard. Mineral phosphates differ
greatly, and the higher quality is the best
to use in this case, and is nearly as cheap as
the lower, as a less quantity is required.
The bone superphosphate is the best, and it
should be crumbly and soft. Kainite, that
you enquire about, would supply potash,
»nd if you use thre3 parts superphosphate,
one-half part kainite may be used in con-
function with it, and 4 to 5 oz. per square
yard would suffice for one application, and
not more than two may be given in a year.
For quick action we should recommend
either the best guano, fish manure, and
muriate or nitrate of potash in preference to
superphosphate, &c.

H'KNDHL's Formula : X. Put simply, this
means that when a cross is made between
©ne parent a, and another parent a, the
lesulting progeny will show, out of every
Sour individuals, one like a, one like a, and
the other two will be intermediate between
A and a. This applies to one particular
character selected for the purpose, e.g..
wrinkled seeds or round seeds in the case of
a Pea, so that in a cross between a wrinkled
Pea and a round Pea, we may expect in the
progeny out of every four, one wrinkled, one
smooth, and two more or less intermediate
for jib. One of the original forms, let us say
A, is dominant in one generation and asserts
itself, while the other a is recessive,
remains latent till the next generation, and
may then in its turn become dominant.

Muscat Graphs and XL-All : Will "A. Stote "
kindly furnish his full name and address, not
necessarily for publication, but as establish-
ing his bona /ides.

jjlusiiR0OM8 in an Orchard under Grass:
Pan-Adam. The growth of Mushrooms might
be safely carried out if in moderate extent,
and mostly in the central spaces between
the lines of trees. If much of the land be-
eime occupied by Mushrooms, it would be
robbed of its nitrogen to a large extent.
You might bury the spawn of the common
Mushroom, Agaricus campestris, not to be
confused with the much less delicate Horse-
Mushroom, A. arvensis, which is larger, and
the gills at first are of a dirty white tint, not
pink, as are those of A. campestris. Other
species of edible fungi worth attempt-
ing are the common Morel. Morchella
esculenta ; the Lanky Morel, M. semi-
libera ; Truffle, Tuber sestivum ; White
Helvetia (Helvella crispa), and Shaggy
Caps (Coprinus comatus), and many more.
As a very useful manual, furnished with
coloured plates, describing our edible and
poisonous Mushrooms, we would advise to
get that of Dr. M. 0. Cooke, published by
tho Society for Promoting Christian Know-
ledge, Northumberland Avenue, London,
W.O.

Sames of Plants : S. G. 8. 1, Corydalis
nobilis; 2, Prunus? 3, Orobus vernus ; 4,
JSerbsris Darwini ; 5, Centaurea moutana ;
6, Lamium maculatmn. — G. D. 1, Saxifraga
granulata, double fl. var. ; 2, Geum urbanum ;
3, Spiraea prunifolia ; 4, Scilla nutans, white
v»r. ; 5, Stellaria If olostea ; C, Cardamine
p.'atensis ; 7, Veronica Chamredrys.— /. E. I,
1, Ercilla spicata; 2, Tecoma jasminoides ;
3, Azara mierophylla ; 4, Akebia quinata. —
Very Anxious. Thuja occidentalis, Ttibes
sanguineum. — Newbury House. Akebia
quinata. — F. Woods. Pitt03porum bicolor.
— Q.A. Chorizemavarium. — W. S., Col Chester.
X, Veronica Traversii ; 2, Berberis dulcis ; 3,

Anthericura lineare variegatum; 4, Farfu-
ginni grande ; 5, Fuchsia procumbens ; 6,
Cyrtomiuui caryotideun: ,• 7, Pteris adian-
toides ; 8, P^iysticbum angularc ; 0, Pteris
serrulata major ; 10, Davallia canadensis. —
A. D. 1, Menyanthes trifoliata (Buck-Bean) ;
2, Agathsea ccelestis ; 3, Spirrea media (con-
f usa) ; 4, a garden Tulip ; 5, Rose L'Ideale. —
Amateur. 1, Cryptomeria japonica var. ele-
gans ; 2, Berberis (Mahonia) aquifolia ; 3,
Kerria japonica, double-flowered ; 4, Kerria
japonica; 5, Veronica salicifolia ; C, Doroni-
cum caucasicura ; 7, Berberis Darwini ; 8,
Euonymus radicans variegatus. — B. W.
Tiarella cordifolia. — P. <fc Sous, Gotham.
Mackaya bella.— J. F. J. 1, Sempervivum
tortuosum ; 2, Carex pendula ; 3, Cyrtomium
falcatum ; 4, Anemia (Anemidictyon) Phyl-
litidis. — H. W. Bilbergia nutans. — H. D.
1, Dendrobium aggregatom ; 2, Adiantum
formosum ; 3, A. concinnum latum ; 4, Sem-
pervivum tortuosum variegatum. — A. S,
Wolverhampton. 1, Aristolochia elegans ; 2,
Dendrobium Parishi ; 3, D. moschatum ; 4,
Cattleya Forbesii ; 5, Reineckia carnea va-
riegata. — Hpade. All good varieties of Den-
drobium nobile; 2, with pink edge to the
petals, a distinct form. — fScoticus. 1, Medi-
cagoscutellata ; 2, Primula acaulis variety. —
J. P. Acer campestre. — G.T.R. 1, Veronica
gentianoides var. ; 2, Anchusa italica ; 3,
Lychnis dioica ; 4, Euonymus europseus ; 5,
Heuchera sanguinea ; 6, Anthurium crystal-
linum. — R. B. H. 1, Sedtun acre; 2, Saxi-
fraga hypnoides ; 3, Saxifraga muscoides ; 4,
Antennaria tomentosa ; 5, Spergula pilifera
aurea ; 6, Moehringia muscosa ; 7, Semper-
vivum tortuosum variegatum ; 8, Centaurea
ragusiua. — .V. F. P. 1, Ranunculus aqua-
tilis; 2, Phlox setacea ; 3, Luzula cam-
pestris ; 4, Nepeta Glechoma. — E. Morland.
1, Euonymus radicans variegata ; 2, Phil-
lyrea latifolia. — H. K. Prunus pseudo-cera-
sus, Waterer's variety. — R. A. F., Bickley.
Urnithogalum nutans, common enough in
gardens and nurseries, and as a naturalised
wild plant in some districts ; the bulbs are
of little value. — Land. 1, Anemone coro-
naria var. ; 2, Ophrys insectifera ; 3, Acacia
falcata ; 4, Euphorbia Insula ; 5, we do not
know the Lichen.— W. H. R. & S. We are
unable to name the Rhododendron from the
specimens sent.

New Variety of Cucumber: A. G. A very
excellent fruit, possessing every desirable
point ; worthy of introduction to gardens,
a good market variety.

Patent Tile : J. W. T. We fail to trace the
receipt of any such sketch as you mention.

Peach and Nectarine Leaves Deformed:
Enquirer. The leaves are affected by a
fungus,. Ascimyces deformans. Remove
every affected leaf, and burn it forthwith.
The trees will then outgrow the attack as
the weather improves. There is a figure of
the fungus in the second volume of the Gar-
deners' Chronicle for 1887, p. 53.

Peach Shoots Dead and Dying : W. H. The
shoots are quite immature, and have not
been pruned. One has lost every bud, in-
cluding that at the point, and the other
shoot has frost-canker, and is badly attacked
by Ascomyces deformans, the fungus which
causes " curl " of the leaf. Yoa should cut
off and burn every affected leaf, and then
the tree may recover ; bnt you must encou-
rage growth, and train-in the young shoots
thinly, so as to get them well ripened. Loss
of buds, both floral and leaf, comes from
the crowding of the shoots, as owing to
the shade produced by the leaves they can-
not develop fully or mature thoroughly.
Another cause is lack of water at the roots,
and trees on a south wall, as are yours, are
very apt to suffer from this cause. You
should afford the border, at the least, three
copious applications of water in the period
May to August, and one or two from January
to March. When pruning, never leave a
shoot of full length if it be not ripened up
to the tip, but cut it back to triple buds
situated on the well-matured portion.

Pear Leaves: Mrs. A. The leaves are affected
with the Pear-mite, Phytoptus pyri. Pick
the leaves off and burn as far as possible ;
spray the tree with Bordeaux Mixture if it
is really worth the trouble in your case.

Punctured Leaf : Af . T. D. The leaf sent is
punctured by an aphis. Wash the plant
with Quassia water, which you can make by
boiling 4 to 6 oz. of chips of Quassia in
1 gallon of water ; or use soapsuds made
with soft-soap, or diluted tobacco water.

Rotting Potatos : P. J. P. The two Potatos
sent are suffering from the same disease,
although the manifestations are somewhat
different. In one of these the exterior was
covered on one side with convex, flesh-
coloured tubercles, from the size of a large
pin's head to that of a split Hemp-seed,
sometimes arranged in a broken ring, mixed
with tufts of a white mould. Internally the
substance of the tuber was soft and decayed,
nearly black beneath the pustules, mottled
and brownish elsewhere. Examined under
the microscope, the decayed parts exhibited
a total destruction of the cells, except the
starch, and the presence of a profuse un-
coloured mycelium, mixed with spindle-
shaped conidia. The external pustules are
but a continuation of the internal mycelium,
forming dense cushions of branched threads,
producing at their tips a most profuse crop
of fusiform, curved, triseptate conidia, the
joints ultimately separating when matured.
The other Potato exhibited no external pus-
tules, but a soft, rotten blotch, which ex-
tended far into the interior, as a pulpy black
mass of decayed tissue, mixed with a profuse
mycelium, and developing the same curved,
triseptate, spindle-shaped conidia. In both
cases the fungus is the same, and is known
as Fusarium solani, often alluded to in this
journal under the old name of Fusisporium
solani. The only doubt which has been ex-
pressed concerning this mould has been
whether it is a parasite, or only a sapro-
phyte, but this doubt must now be set at
rest, and the contention of Worthington G.
Smith, that it is a destructive parasite, at
once accepted (see Dis. Field Crops, p. 31),
when he says, "The fungi found under Fusi-
sporium are not generally considered to be
capable of producing putrescence of tissues,
but F. solani is an exceptional species."
Sometimes all four joints of the conidia will
germinate while still attached to the sup-
porting threads, but at maturity the conidia
fall into four pieces, and each segment will
germinate at once. At first, the fallen
segments are angular, but they speedily
besome rounded, and are capable of hiber-
nating for weeks or months, and becoming
what are virtually "resting spores," some
of them possibly resting through the winter,
and germinating in the spring. Manifestly,
the only safe course is to burn all affected
Potatos at once, so as to prevent the spread
of the disease. The disease has been figured
in the Gardeners' Chronicle under the name
of Fusisporium solani (see figs. p. 650, vol. v.,
1876, N.S. ; and p. 56, vol. vi., 1876, N.S.).
M. C. C.

Soil Analysis: E. H. Our duties connected
with the editing of this Journal do not
permit of us undertaking soil analysis. If
yon are a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural
Society, however, you may obtain an analysis
from the Society's chemist at a nominal
charge. Address the Secretary, 117, Victoria
Street, Westminster.

Communications Received.— J. G. B— G. M.— Kelway
& Sons— J. W. M.— J. P., King's Norton— J. H. Maiden,
Sydney— T.Jannocli.—R. Hedger Wallace— D. S. Fish.
— Barr & Sons.— E. Mawley. — F. Roemer— V. N. G &
Co.— Jas. Whitton— J. R.-W. M.— A. O- W.— T. P.—
Rev. C. W. D.-H. C— E. J.-J. D. Pearson.— J. O'B.—
R. D.— H. G.— H. M.— W. P. B.— H. W. W.— J. B.— J. S.
— S. A.— J. Hoog— A. D.—J J.— J, J.— W. G. W.— DR.
E. B — A. H.— J. M. Black.— P. Barr, Cape Town.—
C. D. M, Bombay— J. Clayton. -J. V. & Sons.-W. H.—
Warwick.

(For Markets and Weather, see p. x.)

May 24, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

333

THE

No. 804.— SATURDAY, MAY 24, 1902.

CONTENTS,

Aberdeen University
prizes for botaDy
and zoology at ... 342

Apiary, the 314

Benevolent Institu-
tion, the Gardener©'
Royal 310

Bjoks, notices of—

Natal Plants 343

Various ... 311,312

Campanula rapuncu-
loides 315

Cinerarias, "Cactus''
flowered 312

Cucumbersmalformed 311

Cyclamen persicum,
Mr. Murrell's ... 315

Daffodil Peter Barr ... 344

Fish poison 311

Flowers, wi'd, in the
garden 333

Fruit trade in Cape
Colony f44

Herbaceous border :
Hardy Geraniums... 334

ttelio Cattleya" Queen
Alexandra 310

lawn-mower, the ... 336

Monmouth Technical
Instruction Com-
mittee ... 311

Narcissus, spontaneous
seedlings of 341

Obituary-
John Wilder 315

Parkinson's Parad/ite,
and the "New Or-
chard and Garden " 315

Plant breeding ... 3)0

Primula Sieboldi ... 337

Plants, new or note-
worthy—

Aristolochiapontica 3.'3

Publications received 312

Shoriiauniflora ... 337

Societies —

Ealing Horticultural 34S

Horticultural Club 3il
ManchesterBotanical

and Horticultural P4S

National Tulip ... 3-)7

Knyal Horticultural 315

Wargrave Gardeners 318

Spinach

Temple Show, the

coming

Tobacco cultivation

under tents

Trade notice

Tulip, the English ...
Vegetables —

Broccoli, notes on...

French Beans for

lorcing

Weather, the

Week's work, the —

Flower garden, the .

Fruits under glass...

Hardy fruit garden .

Kitchen garden, the

Orchid houses, the .

Plants uoder glass .
West Indies—

The Island of St.

Vincent

Winter lingering, &i5.
Woods used for rail-
way sleepers in Aus-

tra.'ia

311

310

342
31 S
347

335
315

339
338

339
33S
31S
339

313
314

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Aristolochiapontica 335

Lawn-mowers, tarts ot 33ti

Lrclio-Cattleya x Queen Alexandra (Supplement).

S'. Catherine's Court, Somersetshire 313

Shortia uniflora 337

WILD FLOWERS IN THE GARDEN.

" "EUOWERS worthy of Paradise, -which not

J- nice art

Jn beds and curious knots, but Xature born,

Poured forth profuse "

was Milton's ideal garden. The lines rose
to my mind as I read in this week's Nature
a lament from an Italian writer over the
servile monotony of gardens at the present
day. An Englishman goes, he says, to an
Italian garden, an Italian visits an English
garden, hoping to see some representation
of native Italian or English plants. In both
he sees, at one season, nothiDg but Daffodils
or Tulips; at another nothing but Roses cr
Pelargoniums, the fashionable flower of
the period elbowing out the local flora. The
criticism, true or untrue, sent me into my
own little CEbalian(P) pleasaunce to examine
how far a visitor from Italy, walking round
it with me. would pronounce that here at
any rate his countryman's indictment may
be surrendered or maintained.

.We should halt on entering before a luxu-
riant mass of lesser Periwinkle and large-
flowered Tutsan, the former in perfection of
foliage and bloom ; amongst it spring Arum,

Grape Hyacinth, and the '; Primrose Peer-
less" of our old writers, Narcissus biflorus.
Beyond this is a patch of Fritillaries from
the Isis meadows, edged with Wood For-
get-me-Not. The large border is backed
with tuberous Comfrey, just now in full
white flower; in front of it are Lung-
wort. Alkanet, Pteonia corallina from the
Bristol Channel, Globeflower.- Bitter Vetch,
Gum-Cistus, showy Lamium maculatum.
Round a tub filled with Acorus calamus and
Bjg-bean are Meadowrue. Water Avens,
creeping Moneywort, and a cluster of mois-
ture-loving Oxlips. A shady corner beneath
a Weeping Elm lends itself on one side to
the larger Ferns, interspersed with Prim-
roses and lesser Celandine; on another to a
tangled sylvan growth of Herb Robert, Cam-
pion. Mercury, annual and perennial Dog
Violet. In a wet spot where nothing else
succeeds are clumps of Marsh - Marigold
(Caltha palustris), the " Horse Blobs" of our
northern rustics. Lilies of the Valley show
the flower-buds which will be hidden as the
leaves expand, and amongst them is the
rare pink variety, sent to me by a benevolent
stranger two years ago, who had seen my men-
tion of it in these columns and happened to
possess it. The native Geraniums have a bed
to themselves : G. Phteum is in full bloom,
G. lucidum showing amidst glossy foliage
its specks of tiny pink, G. pratense and G.
sylvaticum barely yet in bud. Kept also by
themselves for show are a dozen plants of
Tulipa sylvestris with tip-tilted petals, from
an old Surrey garden where under trees it has
long established itself. In a rockbed are Asa-
rum europium, hiding its liver-coloured bells
under green kidney-shaped leaves ; Cheddar
Pink, sprung from seed long ago gathered
on its native rocks; Epimedium alpinum,
established, if not native in the north of
England ; with Wallflowers from the ruins
of Valle Crucis and Abergavenny Castle.
Next to these is a thick bed of Claytonia per-
foliata, and amongst it peeping up blue moun-
tain Pansy from Langdale. The pergola is a
mass of opened Blue-bells, alternating with
Foxglove ready to take up the colouring
when these are gone. A few Anemones still
remain, A. nemorosa mingled charmingly
with its foreign cousin, apennina ; a cluster
of Snow-flake hangs its white, green-edged
bells: tall Onopordum, Myrrh, Smyrnium.
Woolly-Thistle, Elecampane, Woad, Dane-
wort, stand up side by side, and the ground
between Currant-bushes is carpeted with
Welsh Poppy, spreading self-sown year by
year.

Of course there is much beside not native:
Tulips, "feathered" and "flamed,'' Ges-
nerian and Parrot : the Gillyflowers, which
Perdita despised, of every hue from pale
yellow to blood-red; Honesty and Brompton
Stocks. Doronicums of two kinds, Staves-
aker. much mangled this year by the bitter
February fortnight: the dazzling white of
Iberis eorritefolia. Aubrietia and yellow
Alvssum, unnumbered Pansics, Violas,
Polyanthus, and Auriculas: the graceful
Flame-flower. Tiarella, conspicuous weedy
Zizzia aurea. sturdy bronze-leaved Megasea,
and a host besides not yet in bloom, pro-
mising later on to bring up the bright
procession of the year.

My Italian leaves me satisfied: on the
moral of our talk I build a pica for the in-
clusion in every garden of not a few among
our neglected English native plants. I find

that strangers visiting my small demesne
pause curious and arrested, not over con-
ventional exotics, however gay and flourish-
ing, but over the purple-veined blooms of
Henbane, the brilliant blue of Chicory, the
stately stems, woolly leaves, bright yellow
panicles of Verbascum pulverulentum ; over
leafless Vicia aphaca, quaint Herb Paris,
seed - scattering Touch-me-Not, legendary
Virgin Mary's Thistle; over the two old
cottage favourites now rarely seen— Devil-
in-a-Bush and crimson Pheasant's Eye.
Tenfold more nourishing than the visitor's
pleasure in surveying, is the gardener's
delight in acquiring them. They tell of
many a ramble in meadow, forest, mountain,
and moor; of a vasculum, which goes every-
where with its master, and, like the sword
of Saul, returns not empty ; of the cherished
colonists multiplying year by year, assuming
when wisely planted and tenderly nursed a
size and beauty denied to them in their
wild condition, consummating that final
triumph of the Nature-lover by which
homage to the floral realm is refined into
friendship for the individual flower. To
wild flowers again, not to exotics, belongs
the allusive wealth of literature. The poets,
in proportion to their mastery over our
hearts, have sung of the simplest flowers ;
Homer and Sophocles of the Crocus, Chaucer
of the Daisy, Milton of Rathe Primrose and
the tufted Crowtoe, Wordsworth of the
lesser Celandine, Shakespeare of Pansies
and Violets, rank Kecksies, Fumiters, and
Furrow- Weeds. Walk round a wild garden,
and every plant you see is embroidered
with poetical association; and lastly, crede
senescenti, as the years pass over our heads
it is to the wild flowers of unlearned child-
hood, not to the floral triumphs of critical
maturity, that we turn for renovating
refreshing memories. It was they who first
breathed on us the magic of Nature, they
who now appeal to us with revival of that
early spell —
Earth's cultureless buds, to my heart ye were

dear,
Ere the fever of passion or ague of fear
Had scathed my existence's bloom ;
Once I welcome you more, in life's passionless

stage,
With your vision of youth to revisit my age,
And to rear your loved heads on my tomb.
Cori/cius senex.

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

ARISTOLOCHIA PONTICA.*

Tins is a very fine perennial species received
some years ago from the Caucasus; to speak more
precisely, from the neighbourhood of Batoum,
where it grows very vigorously in shady woods
or grassy slopes and mountains. Boissier says
that it occurs also near Rliizc, Ponti Lazici.
The root-stock is globose, irregular, somewhat
bulbous, and branched ; stem erect or ineb-
riate, and simple. Leaves very large after the
lloweringtime, pubescent on the surface, ovate,
and obtuse. The very large flowers (see fig. 113,
p. 333) appear in my garden at Naples in the
first half of April, and remain till the end of
the month. The flowers are much curved, as
large as a small Xaplcs tipple, greenish-purple
or olive coloured, very variable, and somewhat
bizarre; sometimes they are also yellowish, or
pure purple coloured ; their odour is powerful.

* ARISTOLOCHIA PbNTrCA, Lam. Diet, i, 265, ex
Boissier, Flora Orientalii, vol iv. (1879), p. 1081.

334

THE GARD ENER 8 ' C HR ONI CL E.

[May 21, 190?.

The plant is in full vegetation from March to
October, and in a dormant state during the rest
of the year. It is a very fine perennial plant,
worth cultivating not only in botanical gar-
dens, but elsewhere, as it covers the ground
so well under bushes and woods in our gardens
or parks. It likes complete shade, and never
does well elsewhere. I cultivate it in the
open ground near a wall in the deepest shade,
and have never disturbed it. The more it is
let alone, the more it will propagate itself, and
the flowers become better iind larger. It likes
the strongest loam covered with a deep layer
of leaf-mould and peat mixed together. In
pots it has not done well with ine, but is
quite a free flowering plant, which likes the
shelter of a wood more than any other posi-
tion. The flowers on my specimens have
become larger from year to year. It appears
that this fine species was never before im-
ported alive into our gardens, bnt I believe
that it will now become a favourite with ama-
teurs. The root-stocks must be planted as
soon as they come in, as they do not thrive
if left dry a long time out of the soil. I have
not yet seen the fruit or the seeds, but hope
to gather some this present season, as my
plant looks now very strong and healthy.
C. Sprenger, Naples.

HERBACEOUS BORDER.

HARDY GERANIUMS.

It does not appear likely that the name of
"Geranium," as erroneously applied to the
zonal Pelargonium, will ever die out in our
time; but I do not desire to speak of these
popular flowers, except to say at the out-
set that my subject has nothing whatever to
do with these Cape shrubs, but only with a
few of the hardiest and best of the true
European or Asiatic Geraniums or Cranes-
bills, at present in cultivation in our gar-
dens. That it is not unnecessary to bring
these before the notice of readers may be
gathered from a study of the plants in common
use for hardy flower borders in the average
garden of to-day, even if better supplied than
is usually the case with a varied collection of
plants. Not that the Geranium is absolutely
unrepresented, bnt it is seldom that one meets
with more than one or two species in even
large gardens, where these useful and effective
flowers might be more often found. While one
would not claim for the greater number of
those most easily grown that they are among
our choicest border flowers, we may assert
with some degree of confidence that they are
among the most floriferous of our garden
plants, and are worth a place in a good border
even at midsummer, when there is almost a
plethora of good and effective plants in bloom.
Some of those whose cultivation is more diffi-
cult are exceedingly beautiful, and give not
only beauty, but interest to the garden in
which they are grown. Who cannot, for in-
stance, but admire a good plant of Geranium
argenteum, with its satiny, silvery leaves, and
its beautifully veined flowers?

Some of these Geraniums are among the
most easily cultivated garden plants, their
thick root-stocks making them almost indif-
ferent to the droughts of summer, even if, as
some of them are, naturally shade-loving plants.
Indeed, with some one finds a difficulty in
eradicating them when a strong seedling has
once got a hold among other flowers where its
presence is unwelcome. A great offender in
this respect is our native G. pratense, a weed
in some places, yet so pretty when in bloom as
to be appreciated in quarters where it is un-
known as a wilding.

Geraniums as Border Plants.

Of what may be called the border Gera-
niums, it may be said that their cultivation is
of the easiest. In any soil, if properly planted
at first, they may be left alone for years, and
will never fail to recompense the grower by
masses of flower in the height of summer.

For the most of these the border is the most
suitable place, but some are capital "wild-
garden" plants, and a few may be planted on
large rockwork, where they cannot smother
smaller and choicer plants. The double form
of G. pratense, for example, is not to be
despised when grown so as to overhang the
brow of a rock or to cover a low slope in the
rock-garden.

Among the very best of these border species
is G. armenum, which will grow from one to
three feet high, according to the character of
the soil, although it is a more manageable and
prettier plant when it does not grow more
than a foot or a foot-and-a-half in height,
seeing that then it can do without support. It
has great numbers of blood-red flowers some-
times quite an inch-and-a-half in diameter. It
is a native of the Orient. Next to it for ease
of cultivation and effect when in bloom one
might almost put G. ibericum, a showy plant,
growing a little over a foot high, and having
showy blue flowers. This has been much
longer in cultivation than the preceding, but
is quite distinct in every way. G. Endresii
is a distinct plant from these two, but is a
pretty species with its light rose flowers
marked with darker veins, and its palmate
three or flve-lobed leaves ; it grows from
a foot to a foot - and - a - half high. A
pretty Geranium, but one not easily ob-
tainable, is that named gymnocaulon, now
considered only a Caucasian form of ibericum,
which has a more slender habit than the
preceding. G. pratense, a pretty native plant,
is a species more to be valued, perhaps, in our
gardens because of its forms. Of these, one
may name the white one, which I do not so
much care for ; the double white, a rather
scarce plant; and the double blue, whose
buttou-like flowers are very pretty when looked
into, because of their dove's-neck lustre.
There are also a single form with pale lavender
blooms, and one with soft rose flowers. Nothing
can bo more easily grown than these, though
they grow to 3 feet or so high if held up by a
stick, or they can be made to trail over a stone
or bank if left unsupported. The Madeiran G.
anemonfefolium is a pretty species which I
have never ventured to try, inasmuch as it is
rather tender, though classed by some with
hardy flowers, and appearing in the Keiv
Hand-list. It will be safer for those who wish
to try this scarce plant to protect it in winter.
It grows about 1 foot high — sometimes, how-
ever, as much as 2 feet — and has handsome,
finely cut leaves, and small purplish -red
flowers. There is in cultivation under the
name of Lamberti a hardy Geranium, growing
about 2| feet high, and having large lilac-
blue flowers. The Index Keivensis refers
this to Grevilleanum, with however a query
attached; and while Grevilleanum appears in
the hand-list, Lamberti does not. Another
border species is G. eriostemon, which is
about 1^ ft. high, and has blue flowers; G.
macrorhizon grows about 1 foot high, and has
red or rose - purple flowers ; it is a good
border flower. The native G. sylvaticum is
not so often met with in gardens as its name,
as one occasionally sees one or more of the
forms of pratense grown under the name of
sylvaticum. The pleasing tuberosum, which
has purple flowers, and its form Charlesii,
rose-coloured ones, has not proved hardy with

me where I have tried it, though it might do
in a district with a lower rainfall. There are
several other good border species, such as
atlantieum (a little tender with me) and
Lowii, which may be grown as well ; but one
wants to meution a few of those most suitable
for the rock-garden, and I have already occu-
pied too much space with the border species.

Geraniums in the Rock Garden.

Although they may be grown in the border
as well, yet I think the forms of our native
G. sanguineum, the Bloody Cranesbill, are
seen at their best on the rockery. The type
is a beautiful plant, which grows in thousands
on some of our shores, and a lovely sight it
presents in June and July a mile or two from
where the writer lives. Its deep crimson-
purple flowers are very beautiful. An inter-
esting plant, generally considered a form of
this, though I still think it is a hybrid between
G. sanguineum and G. pratense, is called G.
s. album. It was found by Mr. W. D. Robin-
son-Douglas on the Kirkcudbrightshire coast
a few years ago. There was only one plant to
be seen. It has a much lighter and looser
habit than the typical G. sanguineum as found
on the same coast ; the flowers are also of
different form, and the leaves more deeply cut.
Whatever its true parentage, it is a charming
rockery plant, with its fragile-looking white
flowers and elegant habit. It is even freer-
growing than the type here, and increases
more rapidly at the root ; it reproduces itself
true from seed. G. s. lancastriense, from
Walney Island, is another charming plant,
with a close habit and pretty flowers of a soft
pink veined with rose. It also reproduces
itself true from seed, and is a beautiful rockery-
flower.

A charming little hardy Geranium is G. cine-
reum, a Pyrenean species, much of whose
beauty consists in the glaucous colour of the
pubescence which covers its foliage, which is
finely divided, although its small, pale red
flowers, with dark stripes, are not to despised :,
it likes a rather drier soil than some of the
others — although they do not object to drought
much ■ — but should have its roots between
stones.

Perhaps, however, the greatest gem of the
genus is given by G. argenteum, a lovely
plant, either in leaf or in flower. It has
prettily-formed, almost radical leaves, beauti-
fully silky in their appearance, and so white
as to be sufficient warrant for giving the plant.
its specific name. The flowers are large, and
of a pale red, with darker veins. For either
its leaves or its flowers this species is to be
prized. Its only drawback is that it is liable
to suffer in winter from excess of rain or sleet,
and that it thus ought to have a little shelter
from these, either in the shape of a sheet oj
glass or an overhanging rock or stone. It is
otherwise quite hardy, and likes to be in the
crevices of rockwork.

The last I shall mention at present is G.
Wallicbianum, of which there are some three
forms in cultivation, although I think the
tallest has no claim to the name. It is about
a foot in height, and has blue flowers ; it
seems to correspond with one I once grow as
G. nepalense. There are, however, two dwarf
plants, which grow only about six inches high,
and which seem both to be entitled to be
called Wallichianum. That commonly met
with has pretty blue flowers with a tinge of
purple about them, and is not so much admired
as the other, which is known as Mr. Buxton's
variety. It is, however, an easier plant toj
grow, and seems to be more easily increased
by division or by cuttings than Mr. Buxton's
plant. The latter is an exquisite thing;

May 24, 1902.]

THE GARB ENER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

335

varies in colour from its first appearing in
bloom, and with me comes bluer early in the
season than later. It flowers for a consider-
able length of time, and the later flowers have
mor.e of a rosy hue than the earlier. Although
it grows only about six inches high, it forms
a spreading mass, in some gardens two or
three feet across. It is best increased from
seed, and the seedlings appear to come true
from all I can learn from the few who have
raised them.

in June or July, and I did not desire to over-
burden these remarks with too much detail.
One would, however, plead for a more general
recognition of the claims of these useful,
easily grown plants, whose usefulness might
even be increased were some one with leisure
to take up their improvement, either by
hybridising the most promising species, or
simply by seedling raising. They might well
repay some pains in these directions. 8. Arnott,
Cat'sethorn, by Dumfries, N.B.

were sown on March 12, and. the pods were
ready for picking about April 20, and the crop
is an excellent one. The bine would have
exceeded 6 ft. in height had it been allowed to
do so, but I was obliged to limit it to 4f feet.
The bine is short- jointed , and at each joint there
are four, five, and in some cases six pods.
Two, and in some cases three side shoots have
been made, which grew as high as the main
stem, and were quite as fruitful. Runner
French Beans take up but little space, and the

Flti. 113.— ARISTOLOC'HIA PONTICA.: FLOWERS OREBNISH-PDRPLE, FceTID. (SBH I". 830.)

Generally speaking, these Geraniums may
be increased freely by means of division,
seeds, or cuttings, but a few, such as G.
argenteum, arc not easily divided, so thai cut-
tings or seeds form the best means of propa-
gation. Seedlings of the various species are
generally very satisfactory, and it seems a
noteworthy thing in the genus that there is so
little variation among the seedlings from the
colour point of view. Possibly the hardy
Geranium would be more popular were there
more variety.

It will bo remarked that I have said little
about the flowering period of the respective
plants. This is because they are almost all
summer bloomers, generally coming into flower

VEGETABLES.

FRENCH BEANS FOR FORCING.

I THINK I may say that, in my opinion, the
best French Bean is Sutton's Forcing. This
year I sowed the seed on February 12, and six
weeks from that date I picked the first dish
of pods. It is the first time that I have grown
this variety, and in consideration of the short
space of time required to produce pods, and
the abundance of the crop, as well as tho
general excellence, it is the best variety 1 have
hitherto grown.

This season I also tried Tender-and-True,
a runner variety of French Bean, with re-
sults exceeding my expectations. The seeds

plants come into bearing as soon as the dwarf
varieties.

Where glass-house accommodation is limited,
a house 18 feet long and 12 feet wide, with
beds about ;l feet 0 inches on either side of the
path, and the heating arrangements sufficient,
a succession of crops could bo obtained by
growing Dwarf and Runner French Beans
alternately, and still find space to grow Lily
of the Valley and other plants which require
or are not spoiled by a little shade. Last No-
vember I sowed Runner French Beans in boxes,
so that the plants should bo ready as soon as
tho Cucumber plants were cleared out, and
I had some well-rotted stable-manure mixed
with the soil of tho Cucumber-bed, and the

336

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 24, 1902.

Beans planted at 4 inches apart, and later the
bine was trained up the wires. A fortnight
later seeds of Dwarf French Beans were sown
and placed on the shelves in the house. In
this manner I aave been enabled to keep up a
supply of Beans since the first week in De-
cember. As a mmure I use tie native guano.
J. >S' , Sussex.

Notes ox Broccoli.
The Broccoli texson nowending has nctbecn
a favourable one in this district. In most
years the crop is an uncertain one here, which
may be due in a measure to the river Avon,
which runs close by the lower part of the
kitchen garde n at Stoneleigh. We experience
very severe frosts throughout the winter, and
worse than this they occur early in autumn
and very late in spring. We cannot succeed
at all with Snow's Winter White, unless we lift
and store the plants in pits or frames, or afford
them some other kind of protection some time
before they show the curd. In most years
Self Protecting and Leamington have afforded
some really good heads, but they have come
into use in a very erratic mwner this year,
and are much under-sized. The old Cattell's
Eclipse is still difficult to beat for hardiness,
but they too have turned in before they should
have done. Model appears to be hardy, and
the heads are well protected, but they are not
large, in spite of the plants appearing healthy
and strong. There is little doubt that the
best Broccoli are produced by plants growing
in a loamy, retentive soil ; whereas ours is an
old garden, and the soil contains a large
quantity of humus. Our best Broccolis this
year have been those late ones last mentioned,
and they were planted with an iron bar on a
worn-out and very hard Strawberry-bed, the
plants of which were destroyed after fruiting
last summer, and the Broccoli plants inseited
without any preparation whatever, mere ly
puddling them in with water. B. T. Martin,
Stoneleigh Abliey Gardens, Kenilworth.

THE LAWN - MOWER.

(Continued from p. 322.)

Its Construction and Management.— Re-
turning now to the roller patterns, and speak-
ing collectively, it is necessary to explain the
parts with their uses, noting the peculiarities
of different builders as far as possible. This
will perhaps be somewhat tedious, but it is
important to have a thorough understanding
of the manner in which a mowing machine is
put together.

The Roller.

In nearly all, if not quite all, English-made
mowers for any machine under about 12 inches
wide, the roller is in one piece. Over this size,
however, the roller is divided, the object of
course being to prevent tearing up the grass
in making short turns. In a few of the older
machines of small size the roller is fixed to the
axle, and consequently the cutters revolve
whether the machine is drawn backwards or
pushed forwards. This however is a bad
practice, and cause3 unnecessary wear of
parts ; by far the best plan is the device
generally adopted, and shown in fig. 114.

Here it will be seen that the roller or rollers
revolve loosely on the shaft or axle, and to the
axle itself two small wheels, with teeth shaped
like the teeth of a saw, and technically termed
ratchet-wheels, are firmly secured. Now it
will be noticed inside each roller there is a
projection, o, with a slit or notch in it, and
fitting into this is a curved piece of iron, b,
which rests on the tee'h of the ratchet-wheel.
This piece is technically termed a "pawl,"
and to this a second piece, c, is hinged. This
piece, c, is flat, and has a hole, or rather is

made with a ting, through which the axle
passes, and consequently swings loosely on it.
One end presses against the back of the pawl,
b, and the other end is weighted to keep it in
its place.

FIG. 114.— ARRANGEMENT EMPLOYED ON ROLLER.- TYPE
MACHINES, TO PERMIT THE MACHINE TO TURN
CORNERS, AND TO BE DRAWN BACKWARDS.

(The roller is shown partly dotted for clearness.)

Now, when the machine is pushed forward,
the rollers carry botli these pieces with them
by means of the notches a, and consequently
the pawl b j»ms in the teeth of the rachet-
wheel, and carries round the axle with the
cog-wheels fixed thereon. When the machine,
however, is drawn backward, the motion of
the roller lifts the pawl b out of the teeth of
the ratchet-wheel, and by this means, and also
by the shape of the teeth, it slips over them
without moving the axle.

The action of this device when the machine is
at work is as follows :— Supposing the operator
ta be in the act of making a sharp turn,
the outer roller must necessarily travel faster
than the inner one having more ground to
cover, consequently the outer roller drives
the axle, and of course with it the ratchet-
wheel belonging to the inner roller. This
roller as it is moving slower than the other,
therefore allows the teeth of its ratchet-wheel
to slip over the pawl b. This device will be
found on all of Messrs. Green's mowers of
medium and large size ; on Ransomes'; and on
those of many other makers. Messrs. Green,

Fig. lis.— principle of adjustment employed on

CHAIN-DRIVEN LAWN-MOWERS.

a, Roller axle-bearing.

b b. Bolts (shown partly dotted).

c c, Slots in machine-frame (doited).

however, prefer on their larger machines to
operate this device by hand, and therefore
on these mowers a handle placed just below
the usual handles is provided, fitting into two
notches in an ircn support just in front of

them. The ratchet wheels are similar, but
their teeth are on the side, and they are in
two halves which fit together. One half of
the wheel is fixed to the roller, the other half
is placed on tie axle, but in such a way that it
is free to slide endwise. These sliding halves
are worked by the handles before spoken of,
and thus when the person using the machine
mikes a sharp turn, he throws the handle on
the inner side of the machine into the inner
noteh, which allows the inner roller therefore
to run loose on the axle. When going straight
forward both h indies should be in the outer
notches, and therefore both rollers are fixed
to the axle.

Tae arrangement first spoken of should be
kept clean, and afforded oil from time to time.
The sacond device should also be kept clean,
and the sliding parts and joints of the handles
oiled, but in this case it does not matter [
about oiling the ratchet wheels, as sufficient
oil will find its way on to them from the I
rollers, and their teeth are not really called i
on to bear any strain, but only to lock the i
axle and rollers together. Properly, these I
wheels are term d clutches, and the arrange-
meat is spoken of as a " ratchet-clutch."

The arrangement of this part in the "side-
wheel" machines is very different, for natu- '
rally the cogwheels being all in one piece with ,
the rollers, the ratchet must be placed some- j
where else, and therefore in these machines
it is combined with the pinion d (see fig. 107, ;
p. 321 j ante). These piiiocs are each fitted
with the device shown in fig. 108. p. 321, ante, I
by referring t:> which it will be seen that ■
inside each a ratch't is formed, being, so to
speak, like an ordinary ratchet - whet 1 as |i
shown in fig. 108, p. 321, ante, with the roller
machines, turned inwards. There is a hole or
slot through the end of the cutter rpindle,
thro gh which the catch or " pawl," c, passes |
loosely ; and it will be noticed this " pawl " is I
not long enough to reach fron one side of the
ratchet to the other — consequently, when the i
machine is pushed forward, the "pawl"
catches the edge of the ratchet and drives
the cutter, but when the wheels turn the
other way, the c itch faKs back and slips over
the teeth without moving them.

This arrangement is fitted by Messrs. Ch .d-
buin & Coldwcll to al1 t'uir machines, in- j
eluding he " E:ccrlsior," before mentiunec1.
The smooth-wheel driving machines, as has
been before explained, do not require a device
of this nature, as by the movement of the
intermediate wheel c, in slipping upwards
when the machine is drawn backwards, it is
not necessary (see fig. 103, p. 320, ante).

The Uses of Wheels.

We now come to a very important portion of .
the lawn-mower, viz., the arrangement of
wheels, whatever they may be, which carry
the power from the roller to the cutter. Here
there is much to call for attentive study, and
too much care cannot be bestowed on this
question, for the satisfactory making of the
mower depends entirely on the correct design
and proper maintenance of this very important
part of the machine.

To commence with the oldest arrangement,
cog-wheels, it will b9 noticed that except in
the " side- wheel " machines there are four
wheels, two large ones and two small, these
list technically termed "pinions." The de«-
scription of a cog-wheel is according to what
part of the wheel the teeth are placed, and,'
as in a mower, only one class of wheel is used,
that kind where the teeth are placed on the
edge; it will perhaps be as well if they are
called by their technical title, viz., "spur"
wheels. One of the largest of these is fixed
to the roller axle ; this drives a small cne (or

May ill, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

337

pinioD) fixed to a shaft which runs sometimes
entirely across the machine, and has fixed to its
outer end the second large wheel which in turn
drives the second pinion fixed on the end of
the cutter spindle. In some small and medium
sized machine?, the first pinion and the second
large wheel are cast together, and run loose on
a short axle or stud instead of being fixed to a
long axle or shaft as first described. This is
not quite so strong, as the strain comes entirely
on one side of the rrachine, but it is m:ch
more compact, and dispenses with one extra
bearing and oiling place. This kind of gearing
is very strong, and if properly ma;le and kept
in order it is second to none, but is not quite so
easy in working as the next typo of gearing to
be described.

With regard to the next class of gearing,
that in which a chain is used : this is perhaps

and to be sure of tightening the bolts holding
them afterwards.

In the larger mowers a chain on each side of
the machine, with of course another pair of
wheel-, is employed. This gives a strong
diive, and the strain on the machine is more
equal, but it is ;onetimes a little troublesome
through cne chain stretching more than
another. This, however, owing to the great
improvements in the manufacture of driving-
chains, seldom if ever occurs with modern
machines, though sometimes the older ones
give trouble in this respect.

Considering the many advantages of the
chain on the score of lightness and easy
running, it is a pity that it has one rather
serious drawback. This is, that as the size of
the large chain-wheel is limited by the size of
the roller, the cutter cannot be driven so fast

Fig. 116. — suortia uniflora: flowers of a pale blush tint,
and of waxy appearance.

the simplest of all. If the reader will imagine
he is looking at a bicycle chain and wheels, and
that the large wheel is fixed to the roller axle
with the small one on the cutter spindle, he will
have a perfect idea of the arrangement.

Notwithstanding all modern devices both of
English and American origin at present on the
market, this simple and very practical device
as first introduced by Messrs. Green, still
retains its place as one of the best means of
driving, and almost every Koglish maker using
spur wheels finds it pays to make a chain
driven machine in addition to their own
pattern.

A chain-driven mower should be carefully
used, as when the chain becomes loose it will
fly off and is dillicult to replace. The general
method of tightening the chain is shown by
fig. 115, where it will be seen that the roller
axle bearings are provided with long holes or
slots, and by loosening the bolts tb.3 axle can
be drawn bick, thu? tightening the chain.
Care should betaken to move both sides equally,

as in the spur-geared machines, where another
set of wheels as described is used to get up
the speed. On the other hand, the advocates
<f the chain-mower urge that the wheels and
oiling places are dispensed with, and the
cutters can have more blades to compensate
for their lower speed. Both plans have their
advantages and supporters. "When doctors
differ, who shall decide ? " It is really a point
for individual circumstances, and must be
dealt with under the hints to purchasers at
the close of this article.

With regard to the next class of driving
arrangements, that where smooth wheels are
employed, the writer is ODly aware of one
maker using this, viz., Messrs. Barnard. The
device is illustrated in fig. 100, p. 321, onfe,
and the only part requiring attention is the
rabber band on the wheel, c, which requires
renewing from time to time ; but with fair
usage these binds will last several years.

According to the makers, to put on a fresh
band, the wheel, or rather the ling, c, must be

placed on the top of a round piece of wood heM
in a vice or driven into the ground, the top of
this piece must be just large enough for the
ring c to fit nicely without turning round, and
when it is held in this way the band must be
put on the ring c, and with a screw-driver, or
simiUr tool, must be gently stretched over
its edge until it falls into its place. Great
cai\3 should be Uken that no oil or grease
come into contact with the band, as this
rapidly eats it away.

Thess machines are even more silent than
the chain-driven mowers, but are not quite so
easy in running. Sydney Russell.
(To bz continued.)

SHORTIA UNIFLORA.

We are indeb'ted to the courtesy of Mr. W. T.
Hindmarsh, of Alnbank, Alnwick, for the oppor-
tunity of figuring this pretty rock plant,
and for the following remarks concerning it : —

"The accompanying illustration (fig. 116) is
from a photo taktn on my rockery on April 3-
in this year of a plant of Shortia uniflora, the
Japanese variety of Shortia, and excellent a&
is the photograph, I question if any can ade-
quately reproduce the beauty of the plant.
There were twenty-four blooms (all expanded >
of a lovely waxy white, or rather pale blush
colour, slightly flushed on the back of the
petals with rose, which faded as the flower
increased in age. The photographer has man-
aged to include about seventeen flowers, the
others being on the opposite side of the plant
towards the rock behind, which it does not
touch, though this is rather suggested in the
photograph, which I may say is about one-third
natural size, the blooms being about 1J inch in
diameter, and the foliage very robust; and not
so much tinged with red as I have often
noticed in Shortias.

" S. uniflora is, in my opinion, very superior
to the North Carolina form, S. galacifolia (see
Bot. Mag., t. 7082), and indeed is one of the
most beautiful rock plants it has been my good
fortune to succeed with. I have another
plant of S. uniflora which has not thriven so
well, only having eight blooms, and it differs
much in colour, being of a charming bright rose
tint. Both plants I procured as very small
specimens a little over four years ago, since
when they have been on my rockery without
protection, and the results ef varied treatment
is very marked.

"The subject of the illustration has grown
in peat in a pocket on the rockery, facing due
south ; whilst the other plant was on the opposite
side, i.e. with a north aspect, and was planted in
a mixture of loam and peat, which does not
appear to suit its tastes nearly so well. I can-
not find that 8. uniflora has hitherto been
figured in the horticultural press; indeed, it
seems to have been scarcely alluded to, and
to be at present a very rare plant in this
country."

PRIMULA SIEBOLDI.

A COLLECTION of charming varieties of this
species may be found at the Iloyal Nursery,
Slough. The collection, which comprises about
twenty-five varieties, occupies a cold frame of
some three lights. A few appear to be shy in
producing flowers, but that is probably owing
to some condition of plant and soil, for having
grown a collection several years ago, it is
difficult to say aught else but that all the
varieties when well attended to bloom freely.
One reason for the neglect of P. Sieboldi is,
that its period of flower is like that of the
Auricula and the Polyanthus, somewhat re-
stricted in point of time. P. obconica, P. si-

338

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 24, 190?.

nensis, P. floribunda, not to mention others,
are successional bloomers. Not so the form
under notice : it yields up its floral beauty at
one supreme effort, but there is a great win-
someness about it while it lasts, and there is
also a good range of colours, from pure -white
to crimson and purple through several shades;
and then the form of the flowers varies — the
corollas of some varieties lie out quite flat and
erect, in other cases the petals curve in-
wards, and they droop. Some have smooth,
rounded petal edges, others are much laci-
niated ; and so different tastes are appealed
to. There is certainly a peculiar fascination
about a mass of P. Sieboldi when in the height
of its floral beauty.

Sometimes P. Sieboldi fails from improper
cultivation. It is probable that when the
plants are out of flower they are put aside and
neglected. The plants mature their growth
after flowering, and that is the critical time.
It suffices to place them in a frame in a cool,
.shady spot, and to attend to their needs regu-
larly in the matter of applying water and
frequently sprinkling the foliage, so as to
prevent red-spider from infesting it. There is
reason to suppose that many are lost by the
creeping, rhizomatous stems being allowed to
become quite dry during the winter. Though
the roots are at rest, the soil about them
should be kept just sufficiently moist to
preserve their vitality. It is a perfectly hardy
plant, and yet it is well to protect the roots
which are in pots from hard frost.

In February signs of growth become notice-
able, and then is the time the roots should be
re-potted, and though they root freely, itis well
not to over-pot them. Some loam, leaf-soil,
well decomposed manure, and road-grit, form a
suitable potting compost. After repotting,
place them in a frame and keep close for a
few days.

The leading varieties in the Slough
collection are : —

Alba magnified.— White, the petals much
fringed and somewhat pendent.

Arthur.— Deep rosy-pink, a smooth edged
variety of excellent form.

Beaut ii oj Safe.— White, shaded with rose,
of good form, and very pleasing.

Fairy Queen.— Free blooming, white, with
fringed petals.

Gem.— Deep reddish-lilac, excellent in form,
and one of the best.

Harry. — A very free - flowering variety,
crimson, with white streaks.

Harry Leigh.— Lilac-purple shaded, one of
the best formed of the batch, and excellent
for pot-culture.

Leo H. Grindon. — Deep rose, white centre.

Miss Kelly.— Pale rose— an attractive colour.

'Mrs. Cross/and.— Highly floriferous, pale
pinkish- rose.

Miss Nellie Sandback. — Deep rose, the petals
much fringed.

Mrs. Ryder.— One of the best. Greyish-
white, the reverse of the petals rose.

Polly.— Pale rose, large flowers, produced in
bold trusses.

Queen of Whites.— A finely-formed white,
the flowers of good substance.

Ruby Gem. — Bright rosy-pink ; very fine and
distinct.

Victor. — The deepest coloured of the set,
being of a bright rosy-crimson tint, is of- good
form and substance, and very free. R. D.

that the soil is getting dry. A rim of zinc
3 inches broad may be put within the rim of
the pot, which will afford space for a top-
dressing of fresh turfy loam, mixed with bone-
meal. Diluted cowshed drainage may be
frequently applied, as the roots being re-
stricted to heavily cropped trees, pots require
much feeding if fine fruits are desired.
The pots may be plunged in materials from
which the water will escape freely. The best
varieties of Pears which cannot be grown out-
doors in parts of the country which do not
enjoy much warmth, can be grown in cool
orchard-houses with thorough success, if
planted out as trained cordons, and be afforded
surface dressings of artificial manure, as well
as manure-water. An orchard-house should
stand fully exposed to the sun all day long,
and should be well ventilated night and day.
Pears and Plums should have the young shoots
pinched so as to form spurs, but Peaches and
Nectarines not fruiting generally on spurs
should have the best shoots retained at full
length, and gross shoots cut back to the first,
and sometimes to the last or lowest sublateral ;
never cutting them to a dormant bud, as that
would be running the risk of causing every
bud to become a shoot, thus spoiling the shoot
as a fruit-bearer next year.

Forced Strawberries. — If there are sufficient
pot plants to keep up the supply of fruit till
the outdoor plants come into bearing, those
not yet started should be stood at the foot of
a wall facing north, or in some place where
the sun will not reach them, in order to pre-
vent the flowers expanding. Let sufficient
water be applied to all plants in pots, and
before taking any of them into the forcing-
houses clean the pots, slightly prick up the
surface of the soil and afford each a top-dress-
ing of plant-food. The plants are usually stood
on shelves, and the soil dries quickly in such
places ; put under each, therefore, a saucer or
a strip of turf sprinkled with artificial manure.
Attend to the plants twice daily. Syringe the
plants night and morning, and afford manure-
water often until the first fruits colour ; then
keep a dry, buoyant air in the house so as to
impart high flavour to the fruits. Scarlet
Queen, Leader, and President are good varie-
ties to grow at this season in light soil,
whereas Royal Sovereign after this date will
only do well in a good, heavy kind of loam.
Plant out after due hardening those plants
which have been forced, they will afford a good
crop next year, after which destroy them.

Earliest planted Fig-house. — The air of the
house where fruits are ripening should be kept
drier than hitherto, but as the second crop
is showing abundantly, and is of equal import-
ance, do not let the air become so dry as to
incur the danger of a spread of red-spider.
The roots being in borders of very limited
size, and the soil porous, with plenty of roots
on the surface, they must be well supplied
with plant-food and abundance of water.

some coarse sand, as well as small crocks, the
whole being mixed together. A fair amount
of drainage should be afforded, and the com-
post kept rather below the rim of the pot, and
put together firmly. Place the plants in the
coolest part of an intermediate-house, and
where plenty of light will reach them, but
shade from strong sunshine. Apply water
in moderation till the growths get somewhat
advanced, but when growing afford it freely
at the roots and overhead.

Bifrenaria Harrisonia; (syn. Lycastc Harri-
sonioz). — This beautiful species having passed
out of flower and begun to grow, repotting
may be carried out with such plants as stand
in need of it, making use of a compost con-
sisting of one-half good turfy peat arid one-
quarter each of chopped sphagnum and good
leaf-mould. This plant succeeds better if the
Fern rhizomes taken out of the peat are em-
ployed as the drainage materials. Afford the
plants a light position in the intermediate-
house, and shade them from strong sunshine
during the mid-day hours in the summer
months. During growth, water may be freely
applied at the root, and overhead sprayings in
sunny weather.

Seasonable Hints. — Most Dendrobiums should
be making growth and roots, and the plants
will require more water than heretofore ; but
the cultivator must be discriminating between
plants that are growing vigorously and those
which are weak. Overhead syringing on
bright days has a beneficial effect at this stage,
and the admission of the early morning and
late afternoon sun to the quarters occupied by
these plants will tend to give firmness to the
new growth, enabling it the better to with-
stand unfavourable weather. The natural
heat obtained in this manner favours strong
and healthy growth.

Dendrobium Cuttings. — Manyof the cuttings
that were prepared in the early part of the
month of March will now be making growth,
and they should be potted forthwith in the
mixture advised in the Calendar for March 15,
and placed in a hot, moist, and well-shaded
house, or in a propagating-case, so as to cause
quick growth, and to obtain from the earlier
cuttings a second pseudo-bulb in the present

The Week's Work.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch. Dalkeith, Scotland.

Orchard House.— Trees of the Pear, Plum,
Peach, and Nectarine, growing in pots, should
be examined as to the state of the soil twice
daily, affording water as soon as it is seen

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

Epidendrum vitellinum. — The autumn-flower-
ing variety of this species now fast developing
its growth, should be afforded a position in
the intermediate-house, where strong light
will reach the plants. Repot them should this
be necessary, using equal parts of turfy
peat and chopped sphagnum. The plant is a
desirable addition to the intermediate-house
collection in the autumn months, and few
Orchids will better stand fog. The blossoms
are suitable for button-holes. Whilst growth
is being made, water should be applied to the
roots as often as necessary, and the house well
ventilated. Failure is often caused by keeping
a stuffy atmosphere.

Lycastes. — L. Skinneri and its varieties, L.
Deppei and L. aromatica, are now beginning
to grow, and repotting may bo carried out if
necessary. The best kind of compost for this
species is one that consists of good turfy
loam two-thirds, leaf-mould one-third, aud

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Tubton. Gr. to J. K. D. Winqfield Diobi, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorsetshire.

Carrots. — As soon after rain as the ground
dries, sow the main crop of Carrots in drills
drawn at 15 inches apart. To ensure a proper
braird of the plants, the seed should be
mixed with damp sand and rubbed between
the palms of the hands to separate the seeds,
these being apt to adhere together. If the
soil should get dry before germination has
taken place, apply water to the drills late in
the afternoon, continuing the practice if ren-
dered necessary by dry weather till the
plants are large enough to admit of tl.e Dutch-
hoe being used between the lines. This
aeration of the soil will aid the growth, and
plants will soon be large enough to shade the
ground. As mentioned in a former Calendar,
where wireworm abounds, the drills should ba
filled in with charred garden-refuse three
parts, and soot one part. Although the
earliest crop of Horn Carrots do not require
to be thinned much, because they are usually
consumed whilst of a small size, in the case
of the crops sown now thinning is called
for, more especially if the seed was good,
and it was sown rather thickly.

Broad Beans. — Make the last sowing, and if
possible, on a wide border facing north. If
the soil is of a heavy nature, the rows may
stand 4 feet apart, as in such land the plants
will grow to a large size ; bu,t in less retentive
or poorer soil 3 feet apart will be sullicient.
Sow in broad drills, say of from 7 to 9 inches
wide, two rows of Beans at 1 foot apart.
Broad Windsor and Green Windsor are the best
varieties for sowing at this part of the season,
the pods filling better than the Longpods.

May 24, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

o r»pv

Peas. — A plentiful sowing should be made of
varieties that are known to succeed in the
district, and the last sowing of the season,
consisting of the same varieties, should be
done in the middle of June. These will
afford Peas for the table from August till
the end of October. For such sowings I select
a piece of ground which is not likely to be rc-
quiredforauyothercrop before the spring. Any
of the following Peas may be sown : — Veitch's
Autocrat, Sutton's Late Queen, Sutton's
Latestof-All, and Walker's Perpetual Bearer,
varieties of moderate height convenient for
netting over, and some sort of protection
against sparrows and crossbills is necessary in
most gardens. If the surface of the soil is apt
to cake under sunshine, a mulching of spent
Mushroom-bed dung passed through a three-
quarter- inch sieve, or some decayed leaf-
mould spread over the lines, will serve to
keep the soil moist, and be better for the
Peas when they come through the soil. If
rows of early Peas have not as yet been
mulched, see that it is carried out forthwith,
and so economise labour in affording water.
Fresh stable-dung may be prepared for mulch-
ing purposes by being thrown into heaps to
ferment, and be turned twice or thrice until
all the grain that may be in the straw has
germinated or been destroyed, otherwise much
expenditure of labour is caused by having to
pull up the Oat-plants.

Savoys — Makea sowing of Early Dwarf Ulm,
to follow early Peas, and as a succession sow
at the same time Sutton's Perfection, which is
a compact-growing, useful variety.

Parsley. — Make the main sowing, and plant
the thinnings to stand the winter, which they
do better than the untranspl anted plants, owing
to the check given by removal. A border
facing east suits summer and early spring
sowings. When making the sowing arrange
the rows, which may be about 15 inches apart
to suit the width of garden-frames that may
be used to protect the plants in the winter.
Skeleton frames may be made use of if garden-
frames are not available, the former being
constructed of 1-inch boards.

Witloof. — Sowthis forthwith and in quantity,
according to the demand. Where the space
can be spared, the ground set apait for the
general root crops will suit it well. Not,
however, being particular as to soil, it may be
grown in any part of the garden. Sow in
drills at 15 inches apart.

Earthing-up Potatos. — This operation should
be diligently carried out as fast as the tops are
sufficiently tall, and then there is little risk of
damaging the runners. When the tops are C ins.
high, this height may be taken as a standard
for all varieties, although the roots of some of
the early Potatos are active before the haulm
is even of this height. In all kinds of soils,
except those which are very light, I prefer to
do the work with a flat tined digging-fork, as
the fork breaks up the ground and leaves it in
a better condition for the growth of the tubers.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Miller Mundy, Esq ,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Chrysanthemums. — Up to the time of writing
it has been unsafe to put anything of a tender
nature outdoors, no matter how well hardened,
but given warmer weather, the Chrysanthe-
mums must be stood out in a sunny and open
spot without delay. There will still be a few
varieties to "stop," so as to time their
flowers properly, but published tables will
give the key to this matter better than sr ace
. would rermit of my doing in this article. A
few weeks will bring us to the time when tho
plants must be transferred to their flowering-
pots, and in order to further this operation,
the compost should he got in readiness forth-
with, more especially where artificial or con-
centrated manures are In be mixed with the soil,
as the time which intervenes will help to tone
down the crudeness of some of these manures.
The main thing needed is a good supply of
tnrfy loam which has become mellow from
storage ; sand, too, is a requisite, and for tho

rest it is safe to apply a small quantity of
horse-droppings rubbed through a fine sieve,
and broken oyster-shells or bone-meal. The
one thing to avoid is an over supply of manure
in any form, as it can be readily afforded by
means of the watering-pot later od.

Begonias. — Young stock of tuberous and
other Begonias may be potted in a compost
enriched with decayed cow-manure, and kept
open by the free use of sand. Nearly all
kinds of Begonias enjoy warmth, atmospheric
moisture, and shade at this season, and it is
advisable, if convenient, to devote a house or
pit entirely to them. Such a house, if kept at
a minimum temperature of 55% may well be
used for the popular B. Gloire de Lorraine,
and to grow them at their best, the house
should be closed early in the afternoon, and
the plants well syringed. It is more than likely
that the "fungus" alluded to in last week's
issue (p. 329) is the result of the attack of a
mite [Undoubtedly. Ed.] which secretes itself
by boring into the buds, soft shoots, and leaves,
the result of such attacks being brown fungoid-
like patches on the stems, and the dropping of
leaves. This has to be fought persistently by
vaporisation of nicotine preparations two or
three times at intervals of a few days.

Foliage Plant s.— Many of the ornamental foli-
age plants of the hot-house which were raised
from cuttings will now be ready for potting.
For a few days after potting them it will be
necessary to afford shade till root action takes
place, but the mistake should not be made of
leaving such sun-loving plants as Crotons,
Dracfcnas, Coleus, &c, mixed among others
which like shade, as the consequent result
would be to partially spoil both.

Gloxinias, Ac. — The latest batch of old coims
of Gloxinias and Achimenes, together with some
more Gesneras, should be started, and at this
late part of the season they may all be put into
their flowering pots, pans, or baskets direct ;
and if water be carefully applied, there need
be no fear of the soil becoming stagnant.

Justicias. — The plants in the warm houses
may now be removed to cooler quarters, and
treated during the summer similarly to green-
house subjects. Any plants which have become
leggy, or in any way deformed, should be
denuded of their shoots, many of which can be
utilised as cuttings, or thrown away.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadooan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Removing Spring-flowering Plants from the
Beds. — When the flowers of the different kinds
of plants are over for the season, a beginning
should be made with the clearance of the beds.
Aubrietias may be lifted and split up into small
pieces, planted in nurse beds in the reserve
garden, and well attended to for about three
weeks, particularly as regards shading them
from strong sun, and if well attended to they
will then become fit for planting in tho beds
and borders in the autumn. Similarly Arabis
albida, Alyssum saxatile, which last I consider
is one of the hardiest and most effective spring
bedders, may be taken up and divided, the
two-years-old plants being discarded, and the
one-year-old plants reserved for planting in the
autumn, making a sowing now for succession,
which is the best method of raising stock of
Alyssum saxatile. Double Primroses should be
increased by division of the rcot-stock, the
divided pieces being planted in beds in a cool
aspect, and where there is partial shade.
The single- llowercd Bunch Primroses, ono and
two years old plants, should be reserved and
treated like the double-flowered varieties.
Seeds of this type of Primrose should be sown
for succession us soon as the new seed is ripe.
Tho spring-flowering species of Phlox, so
exceedingly bright and frec-flowerirg, should
also bo removed to the reserve garden, planting
them in beds which are exposed to the sun.
A little later shake a small quantity of light
Scil amongst the larger tufts, into which the
trailing shoots will mako roots in a short
space of time, and become of good size by
tho autumn. Cuttings of these Phloxes may

be insei'ted in sandy soil in a cold frame,
and kept close and shaded from bright sun-
shine until the roots form-, and when well
rooted be removed to an open position in the
reserve or the kitchen-garden, and grown on
till the autumn of the following year, when
they will have formed clumps of a size fit for
planting in the flower beds.

Roses should be given an extra amount of
attention from now till the end of the flower-
ing season. Generally there is a good show
of flower-buds, and if the weather be hot and
dry, the plants should be afforded water
copiously, preferably rair.- rater. The Rose-
grub is doing much harm to some of the bushes,
and must be picked out of the curled up leaves
in which they are ensconced, and destroyed.
Aphides must be destroyed by syringing the
foliage with a mixture of soft-soap and rain-
water. Dwarf bushes and standards should*
not be allowed to carry every shoot thatgrows,
but the weaker should be thinned out, and
such as grow in the middle of the bush or
head removed altogether, as they will never-
produce a bloom, and they impede the circula-
tion of air and rob the energies of the plants.
The flowering shoots of plants grown for
cutting only should also be thinned a little,
say three or four to a branch, and it may be
necessary to remove all the buds but the
central one from each shoot. This may seem
like wasting the energy of the trees, but in
order to obtain good blooms, it is a practice
that must be followed.

THE HARDY FRUIT' GARDEN.

By J. Mayne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle,
Bicton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Raspberries. — Established plants usually
throw up many more shoots from the base than
are required for next year's fruiting. Thin
these out, leaving only the strongest to take
the place of those that will carry fruit this-
summer. If the soil be of a light character,
afford the plantation root-waterings each week
during dry weather. This will benefit the
fruit and the young canes, especially if drain-
ings from the cow- yard or stable can be used
for the purpose, diluting the same if required.
Cut up with the Dutch-hoe all suckers that are
a foot away from tho stools, and place a good
mulch of strawy manure a yard in width on
each side of the row. The autumn-fruiting
varieties should also be thinned out if the
ea nes arc crowded.

The Fig. — Trees against walls or trellises-
will need to be freely disbudded as soon as the
shootscan be handled with thefinger and thumb.
If the trees become in the least crowded the wood
made this season will not ripen perfectly, and
therefore will fail to crop next season, even if
the immature shoots escape destruction by frost.
A How sufficient space between each young shoot,
that all the leaves may be exposed to direct
sunlight. Pinch the point from young shoots,
at the fifth or sixth leaf, and encourage the
secondary growths, as these shoots will pro-
duce next year's crop. The earliest growths
will form fruits that will fail to ripen this-
year, and should be rubbed off. Trees-
growing as standards or bushes in the
open, require similar treatment in the way of
thinning out the shoots, but very -little
pruning with the knifo -will be required in
autumn or the following spring.

General Remarks. — In districts where there
has been no rain, heavy land will be showing
some inclination to crack, especially where
the ground has not been kept well stirred.
Where such is the case it should be lifted with
tho fork 2 or 3 inches deep, so that when the
rain does come it shall penetrate evenly to the
roots, and not all be wasted in one direction.
Keep the flat-hoe working between fruit-trees
and bushes as often as labour will allow, and
still persevere with measures for tho eradica-
tion of all insect pests. If spraying with
Paris Green [Poison. En.] for the Codliii-moth
grab is thought advisable, it should be carried
out as soon as the fruits are formed, at the rate
of 1 ounce to 20 or 25 gallons of water. Repeat
tho operation if found to be necessary.

340

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 24, 1902.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER.

betters for Publication, as well as specimens and plant
for naming, should be adtrased to the EDITOR.
41, Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London.

Comnrinications should be written on one side only or
tbe paplr, sent as early in the week as possible, and dvly
signed by the writer. If desired, tie signature will not It
printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.
Newspa- err. — Correspondents sending nevspapers should 6;
careful to mark the paragraphs they wish the Editor to see.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

TUESDAY,

MAY 27 '

WEDNESDAY, MAY 28

Kew Guild Annual General

Meeting and Dinner.
Bath and West and Southern

Counties Society's Show at

Plymouth (five days).

Royal Horticultural Society's
Show in the Temple Gardens,
Thames Embankment (three
days).

Annual Dinner of the Gar-
deners' Royal Benevolent
Institution, at the HO. el
Me'.ropole.

8ALES FOR THE WEEK.

TUESDAY, May 27—

Special Sale of rare Established Orchids, by Pro-
theroe & Morris, at 67, Cheapside, at 12.31 —Annual
Sale of Bedding and other Plants, at Park Nursery,
Stanmore, by order of Mr, .1. Lion, by Protheroe tfc
Morris, at 12.— Palms, Bays. Plants, &c , at Pollex-
fen & Co.'s Rooms.

WEDNESDAY, May 28-

Palms, Plants, Bulbs, &c, at 67 and68, Cheapside, by
Protheroe & Morris, at 12.

THURSDAY, May2!i-

Bays. Palms, Davallias, &o. , at Pollexfen's Rooms.

FRIDAY, MAY 30—

Orchids in large variety, at 67 and 68, Cheapside,
by Protheroe & Morris, at 12 30.
(For further particulars see our Advertisement columns.)

Avebaqb Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
—57 2'.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— May 21 (6 p.m.) : Max. 50"; Min. 43°.

Weather cloudy, dull, wind N.W.
Provinces.— May 21 (6 p.m.) : Max. S3', Cape Clear :
Min. 45\ Peterhead.

Plant

We learn from the March
number of the Journal of the
Board of Agriculture that the
United States Department of Agriculture
have recently issued a Bulletin, by Professor
W. M. Hays, on plant-breeding, which con-
tains a good account of the technique oi the
subject, and some stimulating suggestions.
" Many look to the production of improved
varieties of cultivated plants as a sure way
of increasing the yield and quality, and
already results have been achieved suffi-
ciently remarkable to encourage much hope
for the future. One of the most striking
instances is furnished by the Sugar-Beet,
which in Germany, in 1836, contained only
five per cent, of sugar, and now furnishes
not much less than fifteen per cent. During
the same time the gross yield of roots per
acre has increased by about fifty per cent.,
so that the output of sugar per acre is now
over four times as great as seventy years
ago, a result for which careful breeding is
chiefly accountable.

In this and other countries much has been
accomplished in the matter of plant im-
provement, but much undoubtedly remains
to be done. It is work that makes no ex-
ceptional demands on capital or skill, as is
proved by the fact that many of our best
varieties of plants, especially vegetables,
flowers, and fruits, have been raised by
amateurs, in not a few cases by cottagers.
It is, however, work that requires much
perseverance, and at certain seasons much
.attention; though the demands that it

makes on time necessarily depends upon
the extent to which it is carried on. For its
successful performance it requires intelligent
observation, a knowledge of the gardener's
or farmer's requirements, delicate manipu-
lation, and accurate recording, rather than
strenuous exertions.

Two main lines are usually pursued to
produce a new and improved variety of
crop-plant. One method of procedure, which
has been successfully adopted by some of
the best known workers, is to make a careful
examination of the individual plants in
crops cultivated in the ordinary way, and
from these to make a selection of those that
are distinguished by superior merits. Such
superiority may take the form of yield,
capacity to tiller, a high percentage of
starch (as in Barley and Potatos), or of
sugar (as in the case of Turnips, Swedes,
and Mangolds), capacity to ripen early, to
resist disease, &c. But whatever may be
the object selected, it must be kept steadily
in view, and all individuals in the progeny
that fall short of the character that may
have been set up must be carefully elimi-
nated. By intelligently pursuing such a
system of selection during a series of years,
a distinct type or variety will be produced.

The other method commonly pursued
begins by artificially crossing two indi-
viduals whose supeiior qualities it maybe
desirable to unite in a single variety. The
seeds that result from such a cross are sown,
and it is generally found that the resultant
plants are extremely mixed in character.
Many are inferior to either of the parents,
others occupy an intermediate position,
while a few may be superior to both. It is
the latter only that are reserved for subse-
quent cultivation, and from their progeny
also many individuals must be eliminated.
In the course of time, however, the per-
centage of inferior individuals becomes
smaller and smaller, until, at last, the variety
comes true to type.

In the main, these two systems of improve-
ment are the same. The plants selected in
the first case may be natural crosses, while
in the second they are artificial crosses, but
the improvement is, in both cases, completed
by selection. The larger the number of
plants selected or of crosses effected, the
greater are the chances of a really valuable
new variety being found, and for this
reason it is desirable to work with large
numbers, though, of course, one may be
fortunate in producing a valuable variety
even when the work is being carried on but
on a very small scale.

In sowing pedigree seeds, the soil should
as a rule be of good quality, so that the
resulting plants may have the opportunity
to produce the maximum yield. But it is of
even greater importance to arrange matters
so that each individual plant is placed in
possession of precisely the same conditions
of growth. Only in this way can we be sure
lhat the appearance of superior qualities in
the progeny is due to something inherent in
the plant itself, and not to the specially
favourable character of the situation where it
has been grown.

Farmers have generally given more atten-
tion to the breeding of animals than of
plants, but just because less has been done
in the latter field, more probably remains
to be accomplished. It is surprising how
quickly a single plant multiplies, if the con-

ditions be made as favourable as possible.
The late Mr. Shirreff gives an instance
from his own experience. In the spring of
1819 he found a specially vigorous Wheat
plant in a field on his farm in East Lothian,
and he resolved to propagate it. He there-
fore removed the plants in its neighbour-
hood, and gave it a dressing of manure, the
result being that, notwithstanding some
damage by hares, he harvested from this
single plant 63 ears, containing 2,473 grains.
In the following autumn these grains were
dibbled in wide rows in a suitable piece
of ground, and in the two succeeding sea-
sons the produce was sown broadcast. The
result was that the fourth harvest from the
original plant yielded 42 quarters of seed,
which was subsequently placed on the
market under the name of Mungoswells
Wheat."

L/euo-Cattleya x Queen Alexandra
(Supplementary Illustration). — At the meet-
ing of the Royal Horticultural Society Feb. 11,
Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Ltd., Royal
Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, exhibited and re-
ceived a First-class Certificate for one of the
most beautiful cf their many hybrid Laelias
and Cattleyas, which they named in honour of
our Queen. It was the result of intercrossing
their fine Lselio-Cattleya x bella (which they
obtained between Lselia purpurata and Catt-
leya labiata) with Cattleya labiata Triansei,
and thus the beautiful subject of our illustra-
tion has two sections of C. labiata in its com-
position, which has resulted in widening the
petals, and altogether making it the most
perfect flower of its class. The sepals and
petals are of a light rosy-lilac, the lip an intense
ruby-purple with orange-coloured disc, the
basal portion being reddish with pile yellow
lines.

Royal Horticultural Society's Temple
Flower Show, May 28, 29, 30.— The 15th
great flower show of this Society, held annually
in the Inner Temple Gardens, Thames Embank-
ment, will open on Wednesday, May 28, at
12.30. Judging from the large number of
entries received, the Temple Show promises to
be quite up to its usual standard of excellence.
The following well known amateurs are among
the names of intending exhibitors : — Lord
Aldenham, vegetables ; Sir Frederick Wigan,
Bart., Orchids ; Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart.,
Orchids ; Hon. A. H. T. Montmorency, Tulips ;
Capt. G. L. Holford, CLE., Amaryllis; Leo-
pold de Rothschild, Carnations ; Pantia Ralli,
Caladiums and fruit; Alex. Henderson, M.P.,
fruit ; Reginald Farrer, Alpines ; John Ruther-
ford, M.P., Orchids; J. C'olman, Orchids; and
A. Meyers, Calceolarias.

At a general meeting of the Royal Hor-
ticultural Society, held on Tuesday, May 20,
seventy new Fellows were elected, among them
being: — Sir John Stirling Maxwell, Bart., Sir
Albert Rollit, M.P., Lady Trevor, Lady Stir-
ling Maxwell, Lady Settrington, and Lady
Ryder, making a total of 590 elected since the
beginning of the present year.

The Gardeners' Royal Benevolent In-
stitution.— We would remind our readers that
the sixty-third Anniversary Festival Dinner of
this Institution will take place on Wednesday
next, May 2N, at the Hotel Metropole, when, as
has been already announced, the Duke of MARL-
BOROUGH will preside. His Grace will be sup-
ported by influential gentlemen, amongst whom
it is hoped will be Mr. Winston Churchill, M.P.
Contributions to be placed on the Chairman's
list and announced at the Dinner are earnestly
solicited, and should be sent to the Secretary,

May 24, 1902.

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

341

at 175, Victoria Street, London, S.W., who will
gladly answer any coirmunieations made to
him.

The Hurst & Son's Musical Society. —
intending visitors to the forthcoming show of
the Royal Horticultural Society in the Temple
"Gardens, and others, should note that the
above-named society will give a special ladies'
evening concert (the last of the season) in the
Crown Room?, Holb)rn Restaurant, on Tues-
day next, May 27, at 8 p.m. Tickets can be
obtiined from ths Hon. £e;retarjr or any of
the m?mbers, 152, Houndsditch, E. Reserved
feats 2s., unreserved Is. and 6d. each.

Malformed Cucumbers.— Last year we
published illustrations of a remarkable series
of malformations of male and female flowers
of Cucumbers. This year Mr. Easter, of
jNbstell Priory Gardens, Wakefield, sends
us a similar instance. It will be remem-
bered that the carpels or true fruits are
■embedded in a fleshy covering derived from the
flower-stalk or axis of the plant. In the case
before us this axial sheath does not entirely
■envelop the carpels, but leaves the upper
portion of them protruding and uncovered, as
happens in the Turks' Cap Gourds. But the
singular thing in Mr. Easter's specimen is the
production from the rim of the axis of a who'e
aeries of imperfect leaves, some of which are
petaloid. These encircle the protruding
carpels, as in a hypogynous flower.

"The Wessex of Romance."— This book,
•written by Mr. W. Sherrex, deals with the
Wessex of Mr. Hardy's romances. The author
ts clearly a great sympathiser with Mr. Hardy
and his novels, and this book expresses his
appreciation of the man and his works.
"Wessex," says the introduction, "is the
central theme, and every available fact which
would tend to illuminate Mr. Hardy's treat-
ment of it has been incorporated. Aiming at
the completest exposition of the subject
possible, the well known novels have been
approached through a character-study of the
people, thus providing a rough sketch of the
author's material." Readers interested in
ifolk-lore and dialect, will enjoy the examples
here given, and all must admire the illustra-
tions of scenery included in this book, which
appeal even, to those who do not particularly
care for the details of the much-praised novels.
The publishers are Chapman & Hall, Ltd.,
London.

Spinach. — A question was recently put to
<us as to a certain Spinach, said to have been
once popular. We were not able to trace the
particular plant in any book or catalogue at
•our disposal, but the specimen sent to us
was none other than the common Water Dock
(Rumex Hydrolapathum), a plant we should
•certainly not recommend for any culinary
purpose.

Fish Poison.— Dr. Kyle, of St. Andrew's,
(has studied the effects of Euphorbia hiberna,
used as a fish poison by the natives of some
parts of Ireland. Tannic acid appears to be
•the active ingredient. It produces its fatal
■effects by causing inflammation of the gills,
and consequent suffocation.

Journal d'Agriculture Tropicale. — We
4iote that the number of this publication, dated
-10 April, c >ntains articles on : — How to extract
Rubber (illustrated), Banana Plantations,
Machines, Preparation of Libeiian Coffee,
American I'lansfor Increase in the Consumption
of Rice, Negro Technical Mission for the
Propagation of Cotton at Togo, Agricultural
<letails concerning Henna, Assam Tea, Date*?,
.Pleetranthus, Rubber, Papyru=, Rice, Agave

fibre, Cacao, Vanilla, Essential Oils, Indigo,
&c. There are also commercial jottings on
Rubber, Orsil, Tea, Coffee, Cacao, Cotton,
Pimento, Rice, Sugar, &c. This useful French
publication is issued by M. J. Vilbouchevitch,
10, Rue Delambre, Paris.

"Formal Gardens in England and Scot-
land. ..." By H. Inigo Triggs, A.R.I.B.A.
— The first and second parts of this beautiful
work has been issued by Mr. B. T. Batsford,
94, High Holborn. Its nature will be indi-
cated by the following condensed extracts
from the prospectus : —

The work will comprise 120 plates (size 17 inches by
13 inches), from measured drawings and sketches, and
from photographs specially taken for the work by Mr.
Charles Latham. The illustrations will consist of
entire plans, and photographic and perspective views
of existing gardens, together with sketches, measured
drawings, and photographs of gate entrances, terraces,
balustrades, steps, garden-rooms and summer-houses,
bridges, columbaries, sundials, figures and vases in
lead and stone, fountains and ponds, topiary work, &c.
There will also be given a series of reproductions from
old engravings, showing the complete schemes of some
of the finest gardens now no longer existing. The con-
siderable amount of attention which, during the last
few years, has been devoted to the architecture of the
Renaissance period in England, has naturally led to a
study of the gardens which formed so important a part
of the English home in those days. These gardens are
generally known as "formal," a name which was first
applied to them by the early landscape gardeners, who
used it in an invidious sense as signifying " unnatural,"
and it maybe admitted that in some instances they
were not without justification. The name, however, is
in itself quite unobjectionable, and has been accepted
by most recent writers on the subject as applied to
that class of gardens which were conceived as part of
the entire plan or scheme with the building, and are
in the nature of a setting or frame to it. Itwould,
perhaps, be more appropriate to describe such gardens
as " architectural," since they partake to some extent
of the architectural character of the house, to which
they form a complement. The author, having visited
many of the finest gardens in the Kingdom, and made
studies of their plans, and of the most interesting
features to be found in them, has prepared a careful
and comprehensive selection for publication in its
pages. As comparatively few examples now show the
complete scheme as originally designed, owing to
works of alteration and the changes wrought by long
periods of neglect, it has been thought desirable to
include a series of plans and perspective views,
showing some of the most complete and satisfactory,
as they surrounded notable country houses in the
sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries.
These plates have been prepared from fine old en-
gravings and documents, often contemporary with the
subject they depict, and it is believed they will form a
valuable feature of the book. A series of more than
fifty fine photographs, taken by Mr. Chakles Latham,
show general views and parts of gardens, and such
features as it has been considered could not be
adequately illustrated by drawings.

The illustrations are excellent, and will be
invaluable to architects and to gardeners who
may be called on to adapt their gardens to the
architecture of the mansion, so as to make one
harmonious whole. We may hope that as the
work proceeds there may be some indication
given of the most suitable plants to be used in
such gardens. To make a " wild garden " on
an architectural terrace, or a herbaceous
border in the courtyard of the mansion, would
be as unsuitable in its way as to copy the
topiary work of the seventeenth century at
the beginning of the twentieth.

" Jahresbericht ueber die Neuerungen
uno leistungen auf dem gebiete des
Pflanzenshulzes" : Von Professor Dr. M.
Hollrung ; third volume, for the year 1900.
(Berlin: Paul Parey.)— The above annual
repoit on the subject of plant-diseases, and
the methods of combating them, contains a
large amount of valuable information for gar-
deners, foresters, and agriculturists in
general, or at least to such of them who are
familiar with the German language. The
volume is divided into two sections, the first
of which relates to the classification and
propagation of the diseases themselves, with

a chapter on the laws and regulations dealing
with them. The second section considers the
causes of diseases, and gives full descriptions
of such maladies, insect and animal pests, as
more especially affect corn and fodder-plants
and grasses, roots of all kinds, stone fruits
and others, berries, nuts, Vines, and orna-
mental plants. The various methods of treat-
ing the diseases of plants are discussed
according to whether they are based on a
natural, or a mechanical and chemical
principle. The book contains a list of the
phytopathological works that were published
in the year 1900. These are, for conve-
nience of reference, classified according to
the plan followed in dealing with the subject
in other parts of the report. The value of the
volume is further increased by a good index,
in addition to a full table of contents. AH
authors of works on phytopathological sub-
jects, who may wish to have notices of them
included in future volumes of this report on
plant-diseases, are requested to send a copy
of their publications to Dr. M. Hollrung,
Halle-a-S., Germany.

County of Monmouth.— The report of the
organising secretary, Mr. W. J. Grant, to the
technical instruction committee, contains de-
tails upon the work carried out since January 1
last : —

Horticulture, Reformatory, Little Mill. —
Instruction at this farm-school will, during the
spring and summer months, be almost entirely
confined to out-door lessons, equally divided
between agricultural and horticultural sub-
jects. The course of lectures at Usk, and at
Llanddewi Skirrid, have been well attended.

Hedging Classes. — These classes are being
held at Caerwent, Llanddewi, Rhyddercb, and
Raglan, and are attended almost entirely by
farmers' sons.

Orchards and Fruit Culture. — The following
districts have been visited for the purpose of
giving demonstrations and lectures upon the
planting and pruning of fruit-trees, both in
orchards and gardens, including gardens or
holdings occupied by cottagers or small
holders: — Usk, Raglan, Dingestow, Mitchel-
troy, Pontypool.Bedwas, and Llanddewi Skirrid.
In every instance the attendance and interest
taken by those present was most encouraging,
and through the kind influence of Mr. Legard,
H.M. Inspector, the elder lads from the schools
in the district visited, not only attended,
but also took a most intelligent interest
in the object - lessons placed before them.
Fruit and other trees have been planted at the
Cross Ash Police Station, the property of the
Monmouth County Council. In addition the
report mentions Pasture Experiments, Sheep-
shearing Instruction, Poultry Breeding, Bee
Keeping, Working Dairy School, and Cheese
School.

Rainfall. — The number of days upon which
rain fell was thirty -four, compared with
thirty-two of last year, during the period of
ninety days, with a total rainfall of 8'75 com-
pared with 5"G3 recorded last year, and 14*26
recorded for the same period of 1900, showing
the rainfall to be 3-12 above that of last year's
total for the same period.

Horticultural Club — Probably the vast
majority of Fellows of the R.H.S. are unaware
of the existence of the Horticultural Club, and
yet it is a very pleasant little club, and does a
vast amount of good work for horticulture.
Sir John T. LLEWELYN, Bart., is the kind and
genial president ; HARRY J. Vincii, Esq., is
the treasurer ; and E. T. Cook, Esq., lias quite
recently been elected secretary, in the place
of that veteran octogenarian gardener, the

342

TEE GARDENERS" CHRONICLE,

[May 24, 1902.

Rev. H. H. d'Ombraix, who has acted as
secretary since 1805, and is now obliged to
retire on account of increasing infirmities, but
■who carriss with him the love and good wishes
of every member of the club, indeed of all who
have ever met him. The subscription to the
club is only £1 Is. a year, and the pleasant
house dinners which are held once a month on
one of the K.H.8. Tuesdays form delightful
little reunions of a small band of ardent garden
lovers, whose one wish is that others would
come in and enjoy these evenings as much as
they themselves do. At most of the house
dinners a short paper is read on some horti-
cultural subject, and a general discussion
ensues, as gentlemen sit over their nuts and
port, or coffee and cigars, as best they like.
All is very informal, very homely, but as .Sir
John said recently, "1 have spent some of my
pleasantest evenings in London at this club."
So we think many others would And it if they
would but join. " But how can we join?"
Well, write to E. T. Cook, Esq., care of R.H.S.,
117, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., and
you will learn how. The club, too, serves as
a most useful adjunct to the R.H.S. For the
society has no convenient means at its disposal
for offering the compliment of hospitality to
any foreigner of horticultural tendencies who
visits our not too hospitable shores, and this
defect the club supplies, for if any foreigner
of any distinction in the gardening world visits
the R.H.S. at any time, the club is always
ready and willing to offer hospitality and give
a hearty welcome. At present the club barely
numbers 100 members, all told ; we should
indeed be pleased if 100 more, who read this
very commonplace note, would at once enrol
themselves.— From Journal of the Royal Eorti-
cultural Society, April, 1902.

The Devon and Exeter Gardeners' Asso-
ciation will have their annual summer outing
on Wednesday, July 16, when Greenway, the
seat of T. B. Bolitho, Esq., and Brookhill, the
seat of R. P. Wilkins, Esq., will be visited.
The journey will be partly by rail and partly
by steamer, and the two gardens selected for
inspection arc known to contain a large
number of interesting plants. Mr. A. HorE is
the honorary secretary.

Flowers in Season. — Messrs. V. N.
Gaunti.ett & Co., of Redruth, send us sprays
of the pretty purple-flowered Solanum crispum,
figuied as a Supplement in the Gardeners'
Chronicle, December 7, 1901 ; a lovely tree
Pfeony " Oceana," a very large, pure white
flower ; Rhododendron Aucklandi, white, with
reddish stripes on the outside ; a seedling
Berberis named Knighti, and sprays of the
laciniated form of the Golden Elder.

Borough of Royal Leamington Spa.—
We have received a schedule cf prizes to be
offered at a horticultural show, to be held in
conjunction with illuminated concerts, in the
Jephson Gardens, on July 23 and 21. The
prizes in the open classes are of a liberal
character. The Secret try is Mr. A. J. Nichols,
Portland Street, Leamington.

"Holidays in Eastern Counties."— We
have received a little handbook bearing this
title, and edited by Mr. Percy Lixdley. It
is a charmingly illustrated guide to an inte-
resting district of England, and published at
30, Fleet Street, E.C. The Great Eastern
Railway Company also have issued a list of
farmhouse and country lodgings in Essex,
Hertfordshire, Cambridge, Suffolk, and Nor-
folk. This guide has several illustrations and
a map, so will prove useful to intending
visitors to the districts mentioned. The
G.E.R. publish also a list of producers of

farm and dairy produce in Cambridge, Esses,
Hertford, Norfolk, and Suffolk, and under-
take the quick despatch of the wares by pas-
senger train. For detailed information apply
to the Superintendent of the line, Liverpool
Street Station, E.C.

Die Schweizer Flora im Kunstgewerbe.
Yerlag InstitutOrellFiissli, Zurich. — This is a
series of coloured quarto plates showing how
the forms and floral arrangements of common
wild flowers may be adapted to conventional
designs for decorative purposes, whether on
the flat or in relief. The designs are inge-
nious and excellent for their purpose, because
in spite of the conventional way in which the
flowers are treated, there is little or no
violation of truth.

Cultivation of Tobacco under Tents. —
We are informed that the cultivation of tobacco
under tents is now being experimented with
in Connecticut. The experiments were made
originally at the State Agricultural Station, as
well as by private individuals, in the effort to
raise wrapper-leaf tobacco of the Sumatran
type in fields completely covered and closed in
all round with thin cheesecloth. The result
is declared to be perfectly satisfactory. If
memory serves us aright, the experiment was
tried some thirty-five years since, at a place
called Broxbourne, on the G.E.R. , but only on
a small scale, and was attended with a fair
amount of success ; netting of small mesh was
used as a covering to the " pens."

The Cambridgeshire Horticultural
Society, sends us a pamphlet containing
schedules of prizes to be offered at exhibitions
to be held on June 10 and November o and 6.
The June show will be in the Fellows' Gardens,
Trinity College, and will consist of plants in
pots, cut flowers, fruits, and vegetables.
That in November will be in the Corn
Exchange, Cambridge, the exhibits being of
Chrysanthemums, fruits, and vegetables. The
Hon. Sec. is Mr. Arthur Matthew, 20, Trinity
Street, Cambridge.

"Cactus" flowered Cinerarias.— We
have received from Mr. Frederick Roemer,
seedsman, Quedlinburg, some flowers of a
strain, of Cinerarias in which the strap-
like petals are rolled back, giving them a
very stellate appearance. Mr. Roemer calls
his strain C. hybrida grandiflora stella. The
flowers sent are rather larger, but less rolled
than those of the same type illustrated from
Messrs. H. Cannell & Son's collection in our
issue for May 11, 1901, p. 297. Mr. ROBMJBR'9
flowers include some with white centres as well
ss self colours, varying indeed in colour
equally with the older florists' varieties.

The " Journal of the Scottish Meteor-
ological Society." — The full records of
weather phenomena for the year 1899 are now
published, and are of the usual valuable
character. An interesting detail in this num-
ber is the record of the occurrence of fogs
during the twelve years from 1889 to 1900. Of
equal interest is the report on storms on the
coasts of Scotland from 1881 to 1000. The
greatest number occur during December, the
smallest in June and July. Notes on the con-
dition of the crops are incidentally given.

Prizes for Botany and Zoology in
Aberdeen University. — At a meeting of the
Aberdeen University Court on the 13th inst.,
the following communication was read from
Dr. James W. H. Trail, Professor of Botany
in the University: — "I offer to the Uni-
versity of Aberdeen two sums of £100 each,
to be called respectively the Dickie Fund

and the Nicol Fund, to be invested, and)
the income derived therefrom to be employed!
yearly to provide prizes in the departments of
botany and zoology respectively. I wish by
doing so to encourage students to acquire
skill to fit them for research in these sciences,,
to promote a fuller knowledge of the flora and
fauna of Scotland by research in either, to
induce students to aid in the equipment of the
university for teaching and research in these
sciences, and in the work of societies and
institutions (especially in Aberdeenshire and
the North of Scotland) organised to promote a.
fuller recognition of the interest and value 00
the biological sciences in education and other-
wise, to connect these objects with the names.
of my teachers (Dickie and Nicol) in botany
and zoology, and to express in a slight measure
my sense of what I owe- to their instruction,
and example." And then follow the various-
conditions attached to the gift. In accepting
the prizes, Principal Marshall Lang said he
was sure the Court were all of one mind in their
feeling of high appreciation of the munificent
offer of Prof. Trail. They sympathised with Dr,
Trail in the desire that the prizes should be
associated with the names of Professor Dickie
and Professor Nicol, the two honoured teachers-
to whom he says he owes so much. In the
name of the university he begged to offer Dr.
Trail their gratitude for the wisdom, thought-
fulness, and liberality which prompted his.
offer. The Court heartily indorsed these
sentiments.

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED— C. J. Walker's Adver-
tisers'Beady Reckoner and Year-Book for 1902 (London ::
24, Coleman Street, E.C). A useful publication to those
tor whom it is specially intended, giving, among much
other information, the prices charged by all the prin-
cipal journals for advertisements in different parts of
their columns.— Nature Sotes, May.— The Agricultural
Journal of the Cape of Good Hope, March 27. Among the
many items are articles and notes on : Practical Orchard.
Work at the Cape; Right Method of Trenching; Notes
on the Fruit Crop; Fruit Exported; and Cyanide
Gas Remedy for BcaJe.— Agricultural Bulletin of the
Straits and Federated Malay States, March. Contents :
Timbers of the Peninsular (continued), Gutta Percha
Trees, White Ants and Rubber, Cocoa-nuts, &c— Annual
Report of the Straits Settlements Botanic Garde.nfor 1901, by
W. Fox. We learn that the year was considered to be
very dry, as " only " 78'3tj in. of rain fell in the gardens.
The London average, it may be remembered, is about
25 in. The constant inspection of Cocoa-nut estates was-
rewarded by the rarity of the Palm-beetle, now that
due attention has been directed to the pest. Experi-
ments with Gutta Perclia yield satisfactory results-
Para Rubber growing is also progressing.

BOOK NOTICE.

Natal Plants. Vol. III., Part 3.
In spite of war and war's alarms, and in the-
imperturbable manner characteristic of men
of science, Mr. J. Medley Wood, Curator of
the Natal Botanic Gardens, and of the Natal
Government Herbarium, plods steadily on
with his excellently illustrated work, Natal
Plants, the third part of the third volume;
the first issue for 1902 being just to hand, the
present issue bringing the number of species
well illustrated and described up to 275. The
number contains many interesting species, a
few of which are in cultivation, and others
would well adorn our gardens. Of these are
Cycnium adoneuse, E. Mey., plate 273, of the
Natural Order Scrophularinese, with large,
white flowers, and of which the author says;
" The species are thought to be parasitical on
the roots of other plants, and so far as we are
aware, have never been cultivated, though
the above described species and C. racemosum
(plate 211) are quite worthy of cultivation.
C. adonense is usually found in open grassy
ground, and its pure white flowers are very
conspicuous, but rapidly blacken on being;

MAY 24, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

343

handled ; the whole plant becomes black in
drying, as do other species of the genus. It is
often known as the " Mushroom - flower,"
partly because it appears in the Mushroom
season, and also, perhaps, it is often in the
distance mistaken for a group of Mushrooms."
In the note accompanying the plate of
Phytolacca abyssinica, Hoffm., an instance is
given of the insidious manner in which alien
plants not always desirable creep into a
country. Mr. J. Medley Wood says: "This
genus includes more than twenty species, two
only of which are indigenous in Natal ; but a
third one, P. octandra, a native of Japan, has
made its appearance in the Colony, and has
spread considerably, especially along the
railway lines ; and it is said to be injurious
*o cattle."

admire the formal style, and the clipped trees
shown in the photograph are necessarily a part
of the general scheme. Some Japanese Maples
on the other side of the house were very in-
teresting to us, being of considerable height,
and the stems several inches through them.
There is a good specimen of Araucaria im-
bricata about 35 or 40 feet high, and several
Cupressus, including C. maerocarpa. In the
kitchen garden are some curious old ground
cordon Pear-trees, the spurs upon which are
1J ft. long. The Court was once the property
of John Harrington of Kelston Park, but it is
said that the expenses he incurred in enter-
taining Queen Elizabeth, who honoured him
with a visit, were so great he was subsequently
obliged to sell his estates in order to pay
them. The place is now the residence of

Fir,. 117. — ST. CATHERINE'S Col RT, SOMERSETSHIRE.

ST. CATHERINE'S COURT.

The residence illustrated in fig. 117 is one of
the oldest of such buildings in the neighbour-
hood of Bath, a district remarkable for a large
number of very ancient houses of most pic-
turesque appearance and historical interest.

St. Catherine's Court is said to have been
built by Prior Cantlow about 1499, and its ter-
raced garden carries one's memory back to a
time when the Priors used to cultivate Vines
above the upper terrace for vintage purposes.
This upper terrace is approached by steps lead-
ing from the point from whence our photo-
graph was taken, and is surrounded by stone
palisades. Every feature of the garden is in
strict accordance with the views of those who

the Hon. Mrs. Paley, only daughter of
the late Lord Rayleigh of Tarling Place,
Essex, and who was left the residence by her
aunt, the Hon. Lady Drummond. Mr. John
Shellard has the charge of the gardens.
St. Catherine's is a parish to itself, in Somer-
setshire, and has a population of about 100
inhabitants. It is 4 miles from liath, and
about 3 miles from Bathampton Railway
Station.

The church is a very old and very small
building, adjoining the Court gardens; it was
partly built or restored by Prior Cantlow.
Among its possessions are a Norman font, a
very curious but finely carved pulpit, and an
altar-tomb with effigies to the Blanchard
family, 1031.

WOODS USED FOR RAILWAY
SLEEPERS IN AUSTRALIA.

In reply to your letter of January 19 last, re
timbers used for railway sleepers, I do not
know of any publication on the subject, and
have jotted down the following notes in regard
to the timbers which are used to my knowledge
in the various States of the Commonwealth.
So far as I know, all sleeper-timbers are those
of Eucalyptus. The various States are unequally
endowed as regards their timber wealth, and
hence timbers are used in some of the States
which would never be employed in New South
"Wales and Western Australia, the two States
which produce the best timber.

Queensland. — In this State E. siderophloia
(Red Ironbark) is used as far as possible, but
it is getting scarce, and hence Blackbutt (E.
pilularis),Grey Box (E. hemiphloia), and other
timbers are employed as well.

New South Wales. — Formerly Ironbark was
alone used for sleepers (see my pamphlet on
the Commercial Timbers of New South Wales,
herewith for further particulars). But owing
to the comparative scarcity of tha Ironbarks,
other timbers have been employed in addition,
viz,, Grey Gum (E. punctata and E. propinqua),
Blackbutt (E. pilularis), Box of various kinds
(E. hemiphloia, E. Bosistoana, E. quadrangu-
lata), Mountain Gum (E. goniocalyx), and
others.

Victoria uses E. hemiphloia (Grey Box), with
some Bairnsdale Box (E. Bosistoana) ; also
Blue Gum or Victorian Ironbark (E.leucoxylon),
and Blue Gum (E. Globulus).

In South Australia the timbers used are Red
Gum (E. rostrata), Blue Gum (E. leucoxylon),
and Grey Box (E. hemiphloia). Sugar Gum
(E. corynocalyx) was formerly used, but it is
not now included when calling for tenders,
owing to the immature timber of that species
which was formerly supplied.

Tasmania uses Blue Gum (E. Globulus), Pep-
permint (E. amygdalina), and Stringybark
(E. obliqua).

In Western Australia, Jarrah (E. marginata)
is the timber chiefly used ; but Karri (E. diver-
sicolor) and other timbers are used on occa-
sion. J. II. Maiden, Director, Botanic Gardens,
Sydney.

WEST INDIES.

THE ISLAND OF ST. VINCENT
Is at present the scene of a terrible tragedy,
the equal of which is not in the memory of
man. But this far-off island is not unaccus-
tomed to the "terrible," for in 1898 there
happened a hurricane which committed such
great havoc, that recovery was not completed
on the occurrence of the present disaster.
But it was recovering rapidly, and it would
bo interesting to know what the St. Vincent
of April was like. The revenue was most
encouraging, though it might have been larger
had cultivators not done so much of packing
most of their produce into one basket. The
botanic station had provedagreatsuccessinthe
distribution of seeds, &c, to small proprietors,
a race rapidly rising into importance by reason
of their purchase of drown lands — cash ill per
acre, and £2 on credit — a race which would,
and which may yet, exert an immense influ-
ence on the fortunes of the island. The
exports have gradually increased in value,
food being no longer imported in such great
quantities as immediately alter the hurri-
cano noted above; the principal exports have
been sugar, rum, molasses, arrowroot, cas-
sava, starch, cocoa, fruit, and vegetables,
ground nuts, cotton, and seed — this in tlio

344

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 24, 1902.

vegetable kingdom ; and there are many
other commodities which are not in our
ken. Bat there was ni great "central"
industry on which dependence could be
placed for a wages basis, and which showed
itself to the general condition of the labourers.
Besides the botanic station, there had sprung
up a school of agriculture with some twenty-
five pupils, and an experimental ground of
some extent. It may incidentally be noted
that the production of sugar and rum was
gradually giving way to cocoa, &c, as pro-
mising better results, justified by the demands
or requirements of the English market. And
this is about how things were when the great
horror broke upon the world. In a few hours
many of the best estates were ruined, and
many hundreds of lives sacrificed, the earth
blasted by heavy showers of ashes and dust,
in some places to the depth of 2 feet.
But this is history now, and the continuation
is to be found in the work of rehabilitation,
which we trust may be set on foot so soon as
the existing great suffering has been conquered,
for surely it would be a crime to cast adrift
the fair land of St. Vincent.

The last report concerning the island can
be had from Messrs. Eyre & Spottiswoode,
H.M. Printers, West Harding Street, Fleet
Street, E.C., price 2d. E. C.

THE APIARY.

ASPECT OF HIVES.

All hives exposed to the north and north-
east should be defended against the cold wind
by temporary fences of corrugated iron or
thatched hurdles. This plan, if carried out,
will afford a very considerable saving to the
bee-keeper at the end of the season, for besides
having good returns in honey, he will have the
satisfaction of knowing that he has done all in
his power to entice the bees to store honey.

Bee-pests. — Ants seem to have already com-
menced to invade the hives in some places,
and where they are found to be inside a hive a
little powdered naphthaline should be used on
alternate days until they are got rid of. If
the hives stand on stools, stand the legs in
flower-saucers or saucepan-lids filled with
water, which will keep out the ants and afford
water for the bees. If the hives do not stand
on legs, rub the bottoms and sides of the hives
with a little carbolic acid and water, one part
of acid to five or six parts of water. Wax-
moths too will belaying their eggs very plenti-
fully, and these should be destroyed at once, or
they will soon overrun the entire hive, weaving
webs from comb to comb. Let the bes-keeper
destroy all queen wasps, and thus avert nest-
buildiog later on.

Artificial Pollen.— This should be placed near
the bees in the shape of Pea-flour, mixed with
small pieces of shaving and wood to enable
the bees to crawl about with comfort, and
obtain the pollen more easily.

FRUIT REGISTER.

FRUIT TRADE IN CAPE COLONY.
We are in receipt of an array of figures
respecting the imports and exports of the
Cape Colony, from which we extract the
following relating to the exports of fresh and
dried fruit. The figures for 1899 give a total
of £8,604, dried fruit amounting to £571 ; the
total for 1900 was £9,130, dried fruit amounting
to £820; £9,124 represents the total for the
year 1901, when the value of dried fruit
amounted to £1,353.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

daffodil peter barr.— I notice in your
issue of May 10 that Rev. C. Wolley Dod,
after speaking highly of the above Daffodil,
and one shown by our firm at Birmingham this
year, goes on to say that it would be interest-
ing to know where they were raised. My
seedling is the result of a cross between
Emperor and Madame de Graaff, Emperor
being the seed-bearer. The cross was effected
atChilwell in 1895, and resulted in just twelve
seedlings, which, on our removal to Lowdham,
were taken there in their babyhood. Of the
twelve seedlings oniy three have flowered as
yet: the one above alluded to, a second with
a long, narrow trumpet, the whole flower
being rather a pale dull yellow ; the third is a
well formed and clearly defined bicolor. I
have christened the large white one Florence
Pearson. The habit of the plant is extremely
vigorous, the leaves being as long and broad
as those of very well grown Horsfieldi. It
will be some time before Florence Pearson
comes into commerce, as at present there is
only one bulb with perhaps one offset large
enough to detach when the bulb is lifted.
This flower opens with a pale sulphur trumpet
very like Madame de Graaff, but becomes
much whiter than its beautiful parent when
fully expanded. It will be very interesting
to see the first flowers of the remaining nine
youngsters. I fancy the trumpet of magni-
coronati section of Daffodils has been rather
neglected by hybridists of the present genera-
tion. Why is this? Perhaps we have been
lured on by the dream of scarlet " tea-cups "
on pure white segments of the Sir Watkin type.
Be the cause what it may, good trumpet Daffo-
dils are now in the minority, and there is
plenty of room for good, distinct varieties of
vigorous constitution. We are especially
short of good, healthy yellows; of course.
King Alfred is a king indeed, and will not be
surpassed for many a year, but we can do with
an early variety as good, and a late one to
follow Emperor, or, if possible, bicolor Grandee.
Rev. Engleheart alone has given us enough
beautiful things in the short-cupped section to
lalt for fifty years, but I repeat there is plenty
of room for good trumpet Daffodils of free,
vigorous habit. J. Duncan Pearson, Chilwell
Nurseries, Lowdham, Notts.

SPONTANEOUS SEEDLINGS OF NARCISSUS.—

In reply to Mr. Burbidge's question, 1 may say
that in the last twenty years many thousands
of chance seedlings of Narcissus have appeared
and disappeared in my garden. The course
which the more vigorous of them run is this.
They produce one flower and two leaves when
presumably four or five years old from seed ;
next year they have increased to three or
four flowers ; the third year to ten or a dozen,
with a crowded mass of leaves ; and the
fourth or fifth year, if not transplanted, they
disappear. I have hardly ever attempted
artificial crossing, and have seldom gathered
any seed except to give to friends. I do
sometimes pull off a few hundred seed-heads
before they are ripe, as the crowds of seedlings
which come are a nuisance. I seldom notice
anything amongst them worth perpetuating,
so most of them are left to die out where they
come up. Amongst obvious hybrids which
have appeared spontaneously, perhaps the
most noteworthy are N. cyclamineus x N. Ajax,
the former being a profuse seed-bearer. Some
of these hybrids are quite as large and robust
as say pallidus prsecox. I have seen one or
two with a pale perianth ; some, probably
crossed with N. minimus, bear the perianth at
right angles to the crown, and are very
elegant in form. A few crosses come between
t riandrus albus and Ajax, but these are delicate,
and seldom increase. In fact, no triandrus is
hardy in Edge garden, triandrus albus being
persistent only by sporadic seedling, coming
under south walls, which flower only for
one or two years. Now and then an ugly
giant of the Horsfieldi class appears, and
I have separated and named three or four of
these, but they have not met with the approval

of the Narcissus Committee. The most abun-
dant, and perhaps the most pleasing, of the
spontaneous seedlings are early flowerers,
and seem to me to te crosses amongst nanus,
Tenby, pallidus pnecox, in every gradation
of colour, and are sometimes very neat in
form. I have selected a few of these, and
made a stock, but in these days of giant forms
little Daffodils attract no notice.: At different
times a good many double fcrms have come
spontaneously from seed, but though I entirely
dissent from tte views lately expressed by
Mr. Peter Barr that Parkinson knew more
forms of double Daffodils than we do, these
spontaneous doubles have seldom anything
characteristic, and vary in size and degree of
doubling more than in colour. I formerly col-
lected and sowed seed from the Tenby Daffo-
dil, which produced several doubles. Amongst
wild hybrids which I have cultivated, the Py-
renean Barnardi alone produces spontaneous
seedlings abundantly. These often revert
absolutely to the wild parents, amongst which
they grow, viz., N. muticus (Gay), N. vari-
formis, and N. poeticus ; but they often
assume such forms as those called by Mr. Bair-
Nelsoni ard Backhousei, but I never got any-
thing really good from them, though the varie-
ties of shape are endless. There are three-
well-known Daffodils supposed to be of hybrid
origin which I have cultivated for many years
without ever finding a seed on them. One is;
N. Jolmstoni, which increases fast, either iia
the grass or border, by offsets ; another is.
triandrus pulchellus, which has been in culti-
vation, and has remained perfectly uniform
for more than a century. It is barely hardy
at Edge, but increases fast with frame culti-
vation, producing neither seed nor pollen ;.
and its origin is unknown. The third is by
far the most interesting wild hybrid amongst
Narcissus, and is between N. juncifolius;
(Loiseleur) and N. muticus (Gay), being found
sparingly amongst its parents on the Pyrenees
near Gedre. About fifteen years ago I got.
sixty bulbs collected for me, half of which I
distributed to botanic gardens, but I am afraid!
it is mostly lost. I keep it under a south*
wall on a raised border composed chiefly of
finely-broken granite. It is absolutely barren,
and increases very slowly by offsets. C. Wolley
Dod, Edge Hall, Malpas.

"WINTER LINGERING CHILLS THE LAP OF

may." — The above quotation from Goldsmith
could never be more truly applied than to the
present month of May. Since I wrote youi
last week the cold winds which blew for some-
time from the north, north-east, and east have-
veered round to the south and south-west,
bringing with them a somewhat milder atmos-
phere ; but still the weather is ungenial. We
are daily visited by cold, driving rains, mixed
with showers of hail, snow, and with but
little sunshine, and sometimes accompanied'
by lightning and a good deal of thunder.
Much of the Pear blossom is killed ; but that of
the Apple not being so generally forward has a.
chance of escaping — provided the weather-
should become a little less erratic. A farmer,
for whom I opened a few of the killed Peai-
blooms, expressed his sorrow, but he evidently
had his mind already made up as to the
safety of the Apple, and stated that he hail!
his experience from years of observation,
namely, that when there was a shortage of
spring grass, or rather, I should say, grass in
the spring, a good Apple year was sure to>
follow. I have never heard the observation
before, and it may be just about as true as
much other similar rustic folk-lore. Potatos
as soon as they show through the soil are
blackened, unless they are carefully covered
in some manner. In the mornings it is not
unusual to find ice on water of the thickness
of a penny piece. Nettles and other rank
weeds lie flat on the ground. Birds never-
theless, especially thrushes and blackbirds, .
appear to be breeding. These birds are pro-
tected here, though we confess to throwing a
few stones at them during Strawberry-time,
but with the hope that none of them will be
hit. — Since writing the above, Whit Monday
has come and gone, during which the wind

May 24, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

345

again veered rotmd to the north, and blew a
piercingly cold gale, accompanied with driving
showers of rain. We have now had near upon
eight months of winter, but we are not certain
whether we are to have four months of decent
summer. It is truly said "Winter lingering
. Chits the lap of May." W. Miller.

"TH= NEW 033HA5D AND GXRDZN."— In the

artie'e on -John Parkinson (p. 317), it is
remarked that William Lawson published
The New Orchard and Garden in 1597. 1 would
feel grateful to Mr. Bjulger for any data
proving the above d ite to be correct. London
mentions the same date and also Dr. Ho^g,
but hitherto I hive nit hippened on any
proof that the work in question was published
so early. B., Scotland.

PRICES Or PARKINSON'S " PARADISE."— A

remark was lately male on the current prices
of the above work. For a book that is not un-
common, and copies of which are almost
always in the market, the increase in its value
is really wonderful. I hive heard of a copy
being bought in a lot of books for which balf-
a crown was paid ; and a bookseller with whom
I hive dealings tells me he hos catalogued it
as low as 13s. As late as twenty years ago a
copy could have been had for about £o, yet a
lady lately told me she had b^en asked over
£40 for one she priced. I daresav a complete
copy, with the " Table of Vertues'" at the end
of the book, would not to dear at £20 ; whether
it is worth that sum is another question. In
miny respects it is unique, much of its teach-
ings being thoroughly practical, and of a
nature unaffected by the lapse of time. It
appeals to many classes, too, and the love of
books of the kind of the Paradise seems to be
on the increase, with no hope at the present
of a facsimile edition supplanting the original.
Holders of copies, in the interest of posterity,
should be very careful of this masterpiece.
B., Scotland.

MR. MURRELL'S CYCLAMEN PERSICUM.— The
specimens of Cyclamen persieutn exhibited at
the meeting of the Royal Horticultural
Society, March 11, by Mr". C. Murrell, gr. to
Col. Rogers, Burgess Hill, cjlled forth general
admiration. Mr. Murrell is in the habit of
exhibiting Cyclamens at the Spring Show of
the Brighton Horticultural Society, early in
April, and the plants seen in London on
March 11 was an indication of what Mr.
Murrell is in the habit of exhibiting in his
own district. Not only were the specimens
admirably grown, the fjliage bold, ample, and
yet compact ; not only did they carry won-
derful heads of bloom, bat the latter were of
an astonishingly large size, and especially the
varieties with deep colouring ; and having
regard to the limited convenience Mr. Murrell
has for cultivating such fine specimens, his
success is all the more remarkable. The corms
producing these specimens were mainly three
years old. Mr. Murrell asserts that with
proper management a corm will bloom for
ten or twelve years, and even longer,
but that for exhibition specimens they
may be two, and not more than three years
old. The compost used by Mr. Murrell
consists of two-fifths of coarse leaf-mould, a
similar quantity of light yellow loam, one-fifth
of dry cow-dung rubbed to a coarse powder,
and enough white sand as will keep the com-
post open. Mr. Murrell takes the precaution
of scalding or baking the cow-dung to destroy
the Iarvse of insects. The cow-dung is col-
lected during dry weather and stored for use,
and the leaf-mould is well moistened before
being added to the compost. The loam is
rubbed fine rather than sifted. Mr. Murrell
favours the potting of the corms in the pots in
which they are to flower— of course, alter the
necessary period of rest, and as soon as they
commence to make fresh growth. Mr. Murrell
puts the leading points in the successful culti-
vation of the Cyclamen as follows: As far ,"s
possible a constant and unvarying temperature,
a moist atmosphere, abundant supplies of
water, while avoiding any approach to stagna-

tion of moisture at the roots ; free circulation of
air, but avoiding cold draughts ; light in winter,
shade in summer, and keeping the plants free
from insect pests. Mr. Murrell is a raiser as
well as a cultivator. His present fine strain,
with their deep colours and gigantic blossoms,
has been obtained by careful cross-fertilisa-
tion done in March and April, the former
month preferred. He assists* Nature in deve-
loping size of blossom by fertilising not more
tian four flowers, so as to secure large,
plump seeds. The seeds he thus saved are
sown as soon as ripe, and fine plants are
quickly obtained from them. Mr. Murrell
holds that corms are not worth the trouble of
cultivating after they are three and four years
old. R. D.

CAMPANULA RAPUNCULOIDES AND OTHER

species.— I fully agree with Mr. S. Arnotfs
recent statements in regard to this and other
Campanulas, and especially in respect to the
habits of certain stoloniferous species to travel
wide and become a nuisance, overpowering
other strong, free-growiog plants. Once the
stolons get among the tufted class of plants, it
is almcst an impossibility to eradicate them,
being even worse than Couch-grass, the roots
being very biittle, and some bits are sure to
be left in the soil. The small growing species,
C. pusilla, is another bad example of a plant
that at times becomes a nuisance. E. II. Jenkins,
Hampton Hill.

recent frost.— The frost on the morning
of May 14 was most disastrous to the Straw-
berry and Cherry crop in this neighbourhood,
Cherries (with the exception of those on walls)
beiog ruined, and all early flowers on Straw-
berry Riyal Sovereign are blackened, but
later flowering varieties have not suffered so
much. I hear of Peas in the Thames Valley
being cut to the ground. So far Apples and
Pears have not been much injured, but I fear
unless better weather ensue the crops will be
poor. C. Page, Dropmore Gardens, Taplow.

effects OF the weather.— This morning
(May 14) we had 11° of frost. Liriodendrons
had every bud killed, Eremurus, Incarvilleas,
Rheums, Heucheras, and other kindred plants
in flower and bud are black ; even the flowers
of many alpine plants have been destroyed.
There is hardly a bud which was at all ex-
posed that will open. I never remember such
destruction at this date. Anms Perry, Hardy
Plant Farm, lYinehmore Hill, London, N.

©bituan?.

John Wilder. — Mr. John Wilder, who
for between fifty and sixty years had been
employed in the Royal Nursery, Slough, died
there on the 10th inst. after a long and painful
illness, the commencement of which caused
his enforced retirement a few years ago. He
was one of the candidates elected on the pension
list of the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent In-
stitution at the last election, being at that
time totally blind and a great sufferer. On
the occasion of his funeral he was followed to
the grave by several of his fellow-workmen ;
and among the wreaths sent was an elaborate
one bearing the inscription " With sincere
regret from H. & A. Turner and relations;"
and another " With sincere sympathy from the
employe's at the Royal Nurseries, Slough."
He leaves a widow and grown-up family.

TRADE N OT IC E.

— ♦ —
THOMAS ROCHFORD & SONS, LTD.
WB learn that the above-named Company has
been registered with a capital of L'7.">,000 in
L'5 shares. The objects of the Company are to
carry on the business of nursery and seeds-
men, fruit-growers and sellers, and market-
gardeners, farmers, fruit and pickle preservers,

and cognate branches. The signatories are: T.
Rochford, Willowdene, Cheshunt, Herts ; G. M.
Rochford, Turnford Hall, near Broxbourne,
Herts ; J. Rochford, Turkey Street, Waltham
Cross ; E. Roehford, Crossbrook Street, Wal-
tham Cross ; J. Rochford, Turnford, near
Broxbourne ; G. Rochford (Mrs.), Willowdene,
Cheshunt, Herts ; M. A. A. Rochford (Mrs.),
Turnford Hall, near Broxbourne, Herts ; one
share each. No initial public issue. The
directors are : Thomas Samuel Rochford, John
Rochford, Joseph Rochford, Edmund Rochford,
and George Michael Rochford. Registered
office : Turnford Hall Nurseries, Turnford, near
Broxbourne, Herts.

Societies.

HOYAL HOBTICULTUKAL.

May 20.— The meeting of the Committees on Tuesday
last in tlie Drill Hall, Westminster, following imme-
diately upon Bank Holiday, was very much less in
extent than recent meetings have been. There was a
better show, however, than might have been ex-
pected, especially as the large firms were already
preparing for the great exhibition of the Society, which
will be opened in the Gardens of the Inner Temple on
Wednesday next.

Orchids were shown in considerable numbers, and
the Orchid Committee recommended one First-class
Certificate, one Botanical Certificate, and six Awards
of Merit, to novelties.

The Floral Committee recommended Awards of
Merit to a new variety of Carnation, a new Ro=e of the
Wichuriana type, and to a new species of Iris.

There were not many exhibits before (he Fruit and
Veuetable Committee, the few there were consisted
of Nectarines, Peaches, and Strawberries. An Award
of Merit was recommended to a new early Peach, shown
by Messrs. T. Rivees & SON.

The Narcissus Committkb had not a great d:al of
business to transact. Three Awards of Merit were
recommended, two to varieties of Tulip, and one to a
pare white cup Daffodil. Several Medals were awarded
to exhibits of cut Tulips.

In the afternoon there were elected to the privileges
of the Society seventy new Fellows ; and Mr A. D. Hall,
of Wye College, gave a discourse upon " The English
Tulip."

The exhibition of the Royal National Tulip Society,
held in the Drill Hall upon the same day, is reported
below.

Floral Committee.

Present : W. Marsha'l, Esq , in the Chair; and Messrs.
C T. Druery, G. Nicholson, J. Hudson, C R. Fielder,
R. Wallace, C. Jeffries, F. Page-Roberts (Rev.), H. J. Out-
bush, N. F. Barnes, C. E. Pearson, C. E. Shea, W. P.
Thomson, E 11 Jenkins, W. J. James, C. Blick, W. Howe,
C. Dixon, G. Gordon, and J. Jennings.

Messrs. W. CUTBUSH & SON, Highgate, London, N.,
bad a fine group of plants of the yellow Richardia
Eiliottiana in Uower, including upwards of fifty plants;
also groups of the double flowered Ghent Azaleas,
Louis Van Houtte and Romain de Smet (Silver Bank
sian Medal). Messrs. W. CDTBUSH A sons also showed
a new bedding Pelargonium, Caroline Schmidt, wilU
green and white variegated foliage and double (lowers,
colour bright scarlet; the habit of growth is appa-
rently compact, and suitable for filling small beds.

Messrs. B. R. Cant & Sons, Colchester, exhibited a
group of Roses in pots ; there were numerous varieties
in flee condition, the colours of the. flowers being
particularly good (Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. W. Paul <!t Son. Waltham Cross Nurseries,
Herts, exhibited a group of pot Roses, including a tew
climbing China variety with large crimson Holers,
named Field Marshal; a'.so other climbing varieties,
and standard and bush plants of several good exhibi-
tion varieties (l)rouze Bankslan Medal).

Messrs. R. & G. Cutuiiert, Southgatc Nurseries,

Middlesex, exhibited a variety of Carnation ni i

ljuccn Alexandra; in colour the flowers were pit:
yellow and white, and only slightly fragrant; tlio
bloom and calyx were similarto the Souvenir de la Mal-
maison type, and of large size, but the foliage was tot.

Messrs. J. Ciikal & SONS, Lowtlcld Nui
(rawlcy, exhibited a large collection of sprays of some

346

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 24, 1902.

of the choicer species of flowering trees and shrubs.
Varieties of Pyrus were conspicuous, and of the Malus
section the varieties atro-sanguinea and Scheideckeri ;
Berberis stenophylla, Exocliorda grandiflora, Ledum
latifolium, Kalmia glauca, and other species were
noticed (Bronze Flora Medal).

Messrs. T. S. Wake, Ltd., Hale Farm Nurseries,
Feltham, London, exhibited a group of hardy flowers
and plants, in which were noticed Incarvillea Delavayi,
Irises, Sarracenia purpurea Primula Sieboldi in
variety, Cypripedium calceolus, Gentiana verna, &c.
(Bronze lianksian Medal).

Mr. E. Potter, Camden Nursery, Craubrook, Kent,
exhibited some plants of a very fine form of Trollius
europaeus. with large, bold flowers ; also Spiraa
chamn?drifolia.

Herbaceous Calceolarias were grandly shown by
Messrs. J. James & Son, Woodside, Farnbam Royal
Some of the plants were in 10-inch pots, others in 7-inch
pots ; all were examples of the Ugliest cultivation, and
the flowers in colour and size were excellent (Silver-
gilt Banksian Medal).

A fine new yellow Viola was shown by Messrs. O.
Stark & Sox, Great Ryburgh, Norfolk, who had plants
growing in a pan, in addition to a quantity of cut
blooms. The variety is called Royal Sovereign, and is
wholly yellow, the eye included. It would make an
effective plant for beds, and will be tried at Chiswick.

Mr. M. Pritchard, Christchurch Nurseries, Hants,
had a very gay exhibit of hardy flowers, including a
considerable number of Tulips, Lis florentina, I. atro-
violacca, Saxifraga granulata plena, Scilla nutans,
with blue, white, and rose-coloured flowers, <feo. (Silver
Flora Medal).

Mr. J, Russell, of the Richmond Nurseries, Rich-
mond, Surrey, showed a floor group of stove plants of
varying height, from 1 foot to 7 feet. This group con-
sisted of Codiseuins, fairly well coloured for so sunless
a spring; nice plants of Pandanus Veilchi, of Aralia
elegantissima, Dracama Sanderiana, D. Russelliana, a
plant having bronze-coloured foliage, valuable for the
sake of contrast with the green-leaved varieties; D.
Lindeni, D. Doucetti, Livistona rotundifolia, a pretty,
squat young example, although when of full dimen-
sions it is a plant about 40 feet high, and (he leaf petioles
are 7 feet long ; Phyllanthus uivosus, Phrynium varie-
gatum, various Caladiums, and Alocasias, including A.
Thibautiana, a plant having leaves with broad white
ribs on a dark green ground ; Euryalatifolia variegata,
numerous ornamental-leaved Begonias, and a border
to the group of plants of Caladium argyrites (Bronze
Banksian Medal).

Mr. R. Dean-, Ealing, showed an exceedingly fine
white centred alpine Auricula.

Mr. A. K. Bclley, Neston, Cheshire, exhibited a
flowering plant of the hardy perennial Rebmannia
glutiuosi, figured in Gardeners' Chronicle, August 9,
1890, p. 157.

Awards.

Carnation Duchess of Westminster.— A very pretty full-
flowered variety of the Souvenir de la Malmaison type.
Colour bright salmon-rose, varying in its shade. From
the Duke of Westminster, Eaton Hall, Chester (gr.,
Mr. N. F. Barnes) (Award of Merit).

Iris Barnumx.— This is a new species of Oncocyclus
Iris from Persia, shown by Mr. T.S.Ware, Ltd., Feltham.
The flower was about 11 inches high, and the rounded
standards very bright (royal) purple in colour, with
deep violet veining. The falls were blackish-purple,
and the base green, with numerous short hairs, the tips
of which were also purple ; the leaves were short and
very narrow (Award of Merit).

■ Rose Dorothy Perkins.— A Wichuriana hybrid with very
bright pink flowers 2 inches across, with pure white
centre. The leaves are small, bright green, and glossy ;
and the flowers are produced in large bunches. Avery
• beauliful variety. From Mr. E. Potten, Craubrook
(Award of Merit).

Narcissus Committee.

Present : H. B. May, Esq. (Chairman) ; and Messrs. A.
Kingsmill, J. D. Pearson, J. T. Bennett-Poo, G. Reuthe,
R. Dean, J. Walker, W. Poupart, W. T. Ware, C. Scrase
Dickens, A. D. Hall, and J. Boscawen.

Tulips were adjudged by this sub-committee, and of
these flowers Messrs. Barr & Sons, King Street,
Covent Garden, showed extensively cut blooms in
glasses. The exhibit was especially rich in un-
broken (Darwin) varieties in crimson of various
shades, rose, blush, sea! let, orange-scarlet, and bronze,
every varieiy being under name. The flowers were
furnished with very stout long stalks, and seemed to
have felt the unseasonable weather but little. They
were grown in the nursery at Ditton. Surrey. These

unbroken Tulips, often of dull shades of colour, ap-
peared to find many admirers among the visitors to the
Hall. Another part of Messrs. Barr tfe Sons' exhibit
consisted of a large number of broken florists'
Tulips under name. Very handsome in colour were Dr.
Hardy, Lord Stanley, Colbert, Mabel, James Wild,
Stockbart, Large Yellow, and Crimson Beauty, Parrot
varieties ; T. viridiflora, yellow self Mrs. Moon, Vitel-
lina, of a pale primrose tint and fine, large form ;
Cygnet, white. Some varieties, whether raised on the
Continent or in this country we could not learn, were
shown for certificates. We noted among this batch
Tulipa Gesneriana pallida lutea, yellow; Queen Alex-
andra, of a rich yellow tint, and globular shape; Gold-
linder, of the same shape as the last-named, and colour
of deep crimson tint ; Aurantiaca, an orange-scarlet-
bloom ; and Cyclops, of a true scarlet tint. Messrs.
Barr & Sons secured for their entire exhibit a Silver-
gilt Flora Medal.

Messrs. Hogg & Robertson, 22, Mary Street, Dublin,
showed a very large exhibit of Tulips, including "Dar-
win," "Cottage Garden," or May-flowering Tulips,
Parrot Tulips, and varieties of species. Altogether
there were 130 varieties. The flowers were good, bold
specimens, but bore evidence of the extremely bad
weather prevalent recently (Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Royal Exotic Nurseries,
Chelsea, exhibited a collection of Tulip flowers, with
Adiautum Ferns interspersed with them to foil the
brilliant colours. Like most of the other collections,
the varieties represented the Parrot section, late-
flowering Tulips, and varieties of species of Tulipa.
The collection was very bright, and the flowers good
(Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. R. H. Bath, Ltd., the Floral Farms, Wisbech,
had a very pretty collection of Tulips, in which were
many choice varieties of late-flowering and other
sections (Silver Banksian Medal).

Awards.

Xarciisus Agnes Harvey.— A pure white cup Daffodil,
of pleasing outline. From Miss SpuRRELL.Bessingham
Hauworth, Middlesex (Award of Merit).

Tulip Inglecombe Scarlet. — A very brilliant scarlet
Tulip, of large size, and having a purple blotch at the
base. From Messrs. W. T. Ware, Ltd., Bath (Award of
Merit).

Tulip Scarlet Emperor.— A fine robust flower, of ex
cellent shape, and pure tint. From Messrs. Barr &
Sons (Award of Merit).

Orchid Committee.

Present: Harry J. Veitch, Esq., in the Chair; and
Messrs. Jas. O'Brien (Hou. Sec), de B. Crawshay, H. M.
Pollett, H. Ballantine, W. Cobb, J. Douglas, W. A.
Bilney, G. F. Moore, E. Hill, H. J. Chapman, W. Boxall,
W. H. Young, W. H. White, H. Little, and H. A.
Tracy.

Again there was a fine display of Orchids, the chief
award, the coveted Gold Medal, justly going to Sir
Trevor Lawrence, Bart., Burford (gr., Mr. W. H.
White), for a splendid group some 30 feet in length,
and replete with rare hybrids, species, and varieties,
all finely grown, the many forms of the favourite
Odoutoglossum crispum especially showing the
effects of high cultivation over a number of years,
some of the large masses each bearing from
two to four fine spikes of flowers. Of hybrid Odonto-
glossums there were several forms of O. x excellens,
O.xMulus and others. The Masdevallias made a
brilliant show, the scarlet-tinted plants of M. ignea,
bearing each from eighteen to twenty flowers. M.x
Gairiaua, orange-scarlet, seven; M. Ellisiana thirteer,
and some of the forms of M. coccinea about twenty
flowers. A noble form of Cattleya Mossiae had eighteen
flowers ; a dark coloured Lauio-Cattleya x callistoglossa,
a fine spike of four blooms. Miltonia vexillaria six
spikes, and some grand specimens of Cypripediums,
beautiful in flower, as in foliage, were heavily bloomed.
Other subjects noted were a large specimen of Aerides
afline with four spikes; a still larger Aerides Houllet-
ianum ; the beautiful white and violet Epidendrum
Endresii, one of the parents used in the large number
of pretty hybrids of its section, some of which were
represented; the pretty E. Ellisii, and the singular
looking lilac-rose tinted Epi-Cattleya x radiato-
Bowringiana, LreUo-Cattleya x Highburyense, L.-C. >:
Lady Miller, L.-C. x Sunrise, a clear yellow hybrid
probably of Liclia flava x C. Gaskelliana ; some pretty
Dendrobiums, and good Lrelia purpurata, Brassia
brachiata, &c.

H. T. Pitt, Esq., Rosslyn, Stamford Hill (gr., Mr.
Tburgood), was awarded a Silver-gilt Flora Medal, for
a very fine group in which his favourite forms of

Odontoglossum crispum were, as usual, well repre-
sented, the best of them being very finely blotched,
and included O. c. "Painted Beauty," O. c. " Lath-
Bird, " O. c. "Guy Paxton," and some good unnamed
forms. Among others the clear white Odontoglossum
citrosmum album, the fine O. x Adriante sceptre, O.
crispum Purity, and some good O. Pescatorei were
noted ; also Cypripedium callosum Sanderoa, C. x
Euryale, several fine Miltonia vexillaria, of which the
very large M. v. gigantea was the best ; M. Roezlii, and
its pure white variety; the bearded-lipped Chondro-
rhyncha Chestertoni, Batemania Wallisii, Bulbophyl-
lum Lobbii, with a dozen flowers ; Anguloa Clowesii
Dendrobium Dearei, and other Dendrobiums ; a number
of good Cattleya Mossioeand C. Mendeli, two remakable
forms of the latter being Rosslyn variety, with a large
flower having a rich crimson-purple lip; and Blue
Beard, a fine white form with a delicate bluish-pink
front to the lip. Other good plants were Oneidiura
ampliatum, O. macranthum, O. maculatum, and the
white Cattleya intermedia Rosslyn variety.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch &. Sons, Chelsea, were awarded
a Silver Flora Medal for an attractive group, in the
centre of which were numbers of their orange-scarlet
coloured hybrid Laelia x Latona. With them were
L.-C. x Cybele, L.-C. x Hyeana, L.-C. x Aphrodite
Eudora, L -C. x Ascania, L.-C. x Zephyra; two speci-
mens of their new rosy lilac Disa x Luna, a group of
teu forms of the pretty Epidendrum x elegantulum,
and a novelty iu Cypripediums in C. x Menas (Cham-
berlaiuianum x Lathamianum), with shining yellow,
bronze-tinted flowers. Of better known varieties were
Cypripedium X Goweri magnificum, C. x Vipani su-
perbum, a fine selection of Cattleya Schroderse, C.
Mossiae, C. Mendeli, Laelia purpurata, Oncidium sar-
codes, O. Marshalliauum, &c.

Norman C. Cookson, Esq., Oakwood, Wylam (gr.,
Mr. H. J. Chapman), was adjudged a Silver Flora
Medal for a very interesting group in which his hybrid
Phaius were conspicuous. Among them were P. x
Norman, P. x Cooksoniie, P. x Phcebe, P. x Oakwood
iensis, P. x Ruby, and P. x Phrebe superbus, the two
last getting Awards of Merit. Among the Odontoglos-
sums were O. x Andersonianum Cooksoni, which
received a First-class Certificate two years ago; some
good O. crispum, one of which was profusely spotted
with purple ; a fine white O. crispum Lehmanni, whose
flowers have a certain resemblance to O. Pescatorei ;
also a pretty spotted form of it. A large clear white O.
Pescatorei, the singular hybrid O. X dicranophorum,
Cattleyax Harold, Cypripedium x Youngianum super-
bum, C. x W. R. Lee, &c.

The Hon. Walter Rothschild, Tring Park, was
awarded a Silver Flora Medal for a very remarkable
group of Masdevallias, in which the showy and the
singular insect-like species, and the hybrids were
represented. Of the showier species were the brilliant
crimson-scarlet tinted M. x Fraseri, M. Lindeni, M.
Veitcliiaua, and M. coccinea varieties. Of remarkable
species there were M. Bonplandi, with thirty flowers;
M. Ephippium, with curiously inflated claret and yellow
blooms ; M. Chimrcra, the nearly-black M. Roezlii, the
downy M. severa, M. bella, M. Houtteana, M. radiosa,
M. x Courtauldiana, M. x Henrietta1, M. Schlimii, M.
x Cassiope, &c. Of the singular-looking miniature
species were the mossy-stemmed M. muscosa, with a
curiously hinged lip; the pretty M. O'Brieuiana, and
others of low growth. Together with these were Plcuro-
thallis inacroblepharis, having sprays of flowers like
large gnats ; the curiously-fringed P. ornata, the pretty
P. Grobyi, and a finely-coloured Ltelio-Cattleya x
Hyeana.

R. I. Measures, Esq , Cainberwell (gr., Mr. .7. Smith),
staged a group of very fine forms of Cattleya Scnroderse
and Lrelia purpurata, including L. p. Kromeri, white,
with a few purple lines on the lip.

W. P. Burkinshaw, Esq, Hessle, Hull (gr., Mr.
Barker), showed the pretty blush-white Cattleya Men-
deli leucoglossa, " Hessle variety."

Francis Welleslev, Esq , Westficld, Woking (gr.,
Mr. Gilbert), showed a very fine form of La?lia cinna-
brosa, with reddish orange-scarlet flowers and purple,
lip.

Mrs. Blackwell, The Highlands, Mincliinhampton
(gr., Mr. J. F. Wilkinson), showed good specimens of
La?lia purpurata, and crosses between Cypripedium
Chambcrlainianum and villosum.

D. M. Grimsdai.e, Esq., Kent Lodge, Uxbridge (gr.,
Mr. Hooker), showed a good selection of Odonto-
glossum crispum, a plant of a very large form of O.
Pescatorei, O. citrosmum, O. cordatum, and good
plan's of Cattleya Schilleriana.

G. W. BIRD, Esq., West Wickham (gr,, Mr. Redden),
showed some good Odontoglossum crispum, &c.

May 24, 1902.]

THE HARDENERS1 CHRONICLE,

347

Drewett O. Drewett, Esq., Riding-Mill-on-Tyne,
sent a flower of a hybrid Cypripedium, probably
between Parislii and Lowi.

f De B. Crawmiay, Esq., Rosefield (gr., Mr. Stables),
showed the beautifully blotched Odoutoglossum
crispum Crawshnyanum, and the still more handsome
O. e. Raymond Crawshay, both previously certificated.

Awards.

First-class Certificate.
Odoutoglossum X Adrians: Sibyl, from Captain G. X,.
Holford, C.I.E., Westonbirt (gr., Mr. Alexander).— A
noble hybrid, but very puzzling to classify. The large
flowers hare the segments of firm, wax like substance,
and flatly arranged, very different from the well
known incurved form of O. x Adrlance. Viewed with-
out regard to the lip, the flower has the appearance of
a fine O. X Loochristiense, and the central blotch of
brown on the lip bears out the similarity, though the
crimping and firabriation of its margin is that of O. x
Adriana?. The broad sepals are of a canary-yellow tint,
with very heavy transverse markings of brown ; petals
broad and fringed, yellow.with a number of red-brown
blotches, all the segments having whitish bases; lip
crimped and fringed, white, with one large and some
smaller brown blotches.

Awards of Merit.

Cypripedium Lawrenceanum Hackbridgense, from Sir
Trevor Lawrence, Bart., and H. T. Pitt, Esq.— One of
the finest in colour, and of good size and shape. Upper
sepal of a bright magenta - rose colour with a little
white on the upper margin, and a number of dark
chocolate-purple lines from the base; the rest of the
flower tinged with reddish - purple, even to the
staminode.

Odontoglossum x Adrians: Cooksoni, from Norman C.
Cookson, Esq., Oakwood.— A remarkably fine form of
the true type, with broad, cream-white sepals, and petals
evenly blotched over their entire surface with brown ;
lip finely fringed and crimped, white with fine brown
spotting and yellow crest.

Phaius X Ruby (Cooksonice x Humbloti). from
Norman C. Cookson, Esq. — Rich in colour and
distinct in form. Sepals and petals purplish-rose ;
lip, claret-purple, with yellow crest and veining.

Phaius x Phorbe superbus (Sanderianus X Humbloti),
from Norman C. Cookson, Esq.-Sepals and petals
light rose, with a yellowish hue ; lip purple and rose,
with yellow crest.

Odontoglossum crispum "Lady of the Lake," from H. T.
Pitt, Esq.-Flowers large, white, tinged with purple!
and bearing showily arranged dark purple markings.

Odontoglossum crispum " Marjorie," from Richard
Ashworth, Esq., Ashlands, Newchurch, near Man-
chester (gr., Mr. Pidsley).-A very remarkable form
very near to O. c. Lowii, and in the same section as
O. c. "Oakfield Sunrise" and "Lady Jane," though
with much broader, slightly concave, oval- blade d
petals. Flower white, spotted with purple, the mark-
ing on the petals following the line of the margin.

Botanical Certificate.
Bpidcndrum Schomburgki, from Sir Trevor Lawrence,
Bart. A rare and handsome species from Guiana.
The plant has fine, orange-scarlet flowers, with the
labellum of a lighter tint and deeply divided. The
general aspect of the heads of bloom is that of the well-
known E. radicans, but the stems are erect and self-
supporting, and not slender, as in that species.

Fruit and Vegetable Committee.

Present : Joseph Cheal, Esq., in the chair ; and Messrs.
Geo. Woodward, W. Bates, S. Mortimer, A. Dean. Ed.
Beckett, Geo. Keif, H. Esliugs, H. J. Wright, G. Norman.
J. Willard, G. T. Miles, and G. Reynolds.

Strawberry Royal Sovereign was well shown by Miss
Adamson, South Villa, Regent's Park (gr., Mr. Geo.
Keif), who had a boxof good-sized, well-coloured fruits,
and was awarded a Cultural Commendation.

Messr3. T. Rivf.rs & Son, Sawbridgeworth, Herts,
exhibited fruits of two new Peaches, Prince Edward',
and Duchess of Cornwall, in addition to the variety
mentioned under "Awards." Prince Edward as shown
was of moderate size and colour, and Duohess of
Cornwall much p;iler. Duohess of Cornwall was given
an Award of Merit in June last year. Messrs. Rivers
& Son also showed fifteen fine fruits of their first-
class Nectarine Cardinal (Cultural Commendation).

A dozen highly coloured, moderate sized fruits of
Cardinal Nectarine was shown also by LEOPOLD DE
rotii^. mii ... Esq., Gunnersbury Bouse, Acton (gr.,Mr.
J. Hudson. These were Culturally Commended.

Award of Merit.
Peach Duke of York— A pretty, well coloured Peach of
moderate size, of excellent flavour, and said to ripen as
early as Alexander. 1 1 was obtained from Early Rivers
Nectarine crossed with Alexander Peach, and does not
cast its buds like the latter American variety. From
Messrs. T. Rivers & Son, Sawbridgeworth, Herts.

The Lecture.

THE ENGLISH TULIP.
In the afternoon a lecture was given by Mr. A. D.
Hall, Principal of Wye College, Kent, and Secretary of
the Royal National Tulip Society, upon "The Origin
and Properties of the English Tulip." Mr. Hall briefly
referred to the discovery of the Tulip in Turkey in the
sixteenth century, where it was very commonly culti-
vated at that time, and to its subsequent introduction
to Western Europe. After mentioning that the present
race of florists' Tulips had been said to have been
derived from Tulipa Gesneriana, and saying that there
are various characteristics in English Tulips, in colour,
scent, <iic., that are uot possessed by T. Gesneriana, the
lecturer declared the question of the actual source of
the florists' strain to be insoluble. Very brief refer-
ence was made to the gambling connected with the
bulbs during the early history of the Tulip in England
and Holland, but the work of the old London florists
who founded the race and standard of the English
Tulip, particularly during the years from 1820 to 1850,
was the subject of appreciative remark.

Then was explained something of the properties of
these Tulips, and the fact that a seedling or unbroken
Tulip is always a self coloured flower ; that after ten,
fifteen, or even twenty years, it will "break," and the
colour upon the flowers become condensed into the
margins of the segments, or the margins and centre.

A Tulip must have a white or yellow base before a
florist will recognise it. Those with purple bases are
discarded. Then of those with white or yellow bases,
only those that have the bases very pure in colour, and
the segments wide with rounded tips are selected, so
that the top of the flower resembles the top of a round
cup. Mr. Hall briefly described the classification of
"rectified" Tulips into bizarrcs, roses, and byblce-
mens. Bizarres have a yellow base, roses a white base
and rose markings, and byblcomens white base with
purple or violet markings. These are all again divided
into "leathered" and "flamed" flowers. Afeathered
flower has the markings confined to the margins of the
segments, and a flamed flower in addition has a
" beam " of colour in the centre of the segments.

In respect to cultivation, Mr. Hall advised that the
bulbs should be planted 3 to 4 inches deep in poor but
well-mixed and well-drained soil. Stir the surface of
the soil during the time the plants are growing, and if
the month of April be very dry, afford the plants water
occasionally. Just before the flowers commence to
open, they need to be protected from hailstorms and
severe weather by placing a few lights over the beds,
leaving the side3 more or less open.

The lecturer concluded with an appeal to amateurs
to cultivate English Tulips. He defended the florists'
arbitrary laws as to what a proper Tulip flower should
be, and said that their cultivation would afford
amateurs more pleasure, more interest, and more
excitement than any other flower that cau be grown
with limited conveniences.

ROYAL NATIONAL TULIP.

May 20.— That the late cold, retarding season, with its
succession of frosts, cutting winds, hailstorms, and the
absence of warm sunshine greatly affected the blooms
of the florists' Tulips which were staged in competition
for the prizes offered by the National Tulip Society,
there can be no doubt. The flowers were small, and
difficulty had no doubt been experienced in getting
some of them sufficiently into bloom ; as it is, the main
of the blooms staged were of southern growth. The
northern exhibitors depend upon ■ flowers grown at
Llandudno, which answers to our southern climate.
Still, there is sufficient of the old floral enthusiasm to
get a very creditable show together, and the flowers
were much more numerous than we had expected to
see them. Staged in the formal way the blooms arc.
they were then at a decided disadvantage compared
witli the huge displays of the various sections made by-
Messrs, vfiiiii & son, Hogg & Robertson, barra
Sons, and others. But these refined florists' varieties
bear inspection, as they have rich markings, while the
seli-colourod breeder forms are in most cases single,
early, rich and striking. In all the many forms cl late
Tulips now being exhibited, it would be difficult to find
one that can compare witli tho beautiful bizarre
breeder Goldfindcr as it was seen on this occasion.

Rectified or Broken Tulipa.— There were four stands of
twelve dissimilar rectified Tulips, two feathered and
two flamed in each class; and Mr. A. D, Hall, The

College, Wye, Kent, was placed 1st, haviug of bizarres ,
Masterpiece and Garibaldi, feathered; and Sir J.
Paxton and Dr. Hardy, flamed; of byblosmens: Trip
to Stockport and Bessie, feathered; Chancellor aud
Duchess of Sutherland, flamed ; of roses : Mabel and
Comte de Vergennes, feathered; Mabel and Annie
McGregor, flamed. Mr. C. W. Needham, Hate, Cheshire,
was 2nd; he had of bizarres : Sulphur and Masterpiece,
feathered; Samuel Barlow and Sir J. Paxton, flamed;
of byblcomens: Bessie and Adonis, feathered; Car-
buncle and Talisman, flamed; of roses: Andromeda
and one other, feathered; Mabel and Annie McGregor,
flamed. Mr. J. W. Bentlet, Stoke Hill, Manchester,
was 3rd.

With six dissimilar Tulips, one feathered and one
flamed of each class, Mr. C. W. Needham, was 1st, .
with bizarre, feathered Magnum Bonum, and flamed
Sir J. Paxton ; byblreuien, feathered Bessie, ana.
flamed, Carbuncle; rose, feathered Comte de Ver-
gennes, and flamed Annie McGregor. Mr. A. D. Hall
came 2nd : he had of bizarre, feathered Sir J. Paxton,
and flamed, Lord Stanley; bybkemen, feathered Wm.
Parkinson, and flamed, Carbuncle ; rose, feathered
Modesty, and flamed Annie McGregor. Mr. J. W„
Bentley was 3rd.

Mr. G. Edom, Headley, Surrey, was placed is! with
three feathered Tulips. He had bizarre, Lord Frederick
Cavendish, byblromen unknown, and rose, Comte de
Vergennes. Mr. A. D. Hall came 2nd ; he had bizarre,
George Hayward, byblcemen, Guido, heavily feathered,
or what is technically known as a plated edge; and
rose, Modesty ; Mr. C. W. Needham was 3rd.

With three dissimilar flamed, one of each class, Mr.
A. D. llALLcame 1st with' bizarre, Samuel Barlow, by-
blicmeu, King of the Universe, and rose Aglaia; 2nd,
Mr. J. W. Bentley, with bizarre, Sir J. Paxton, by-
blcemen, Chancellor, and rose, Annie McGregor ; 3rd,
Mr. C. \V. Needham.

The awards ran as follows : —

Single Blooms.— Feathered bizarre, 1st, Lord F. Caven-
dish, from Mr. G. Edom ; 2nd, Duke of Edinburgh ; 3rd,
Sir J. Paxton, both from Mr.. A. D. Hall. Flamed bizarre,
1st, Sir J. Paxton, from Mr. A. D. Hall ; 2nd, Excelsior,
Mr. C. W. Needham; 3rd,. San Jo, Mr. J. W. Bentley.
Feathered bybkemen, 1st, Trip to Stockport, Mr. C. W;
Needham ; 2nd, the same, Mr. G. Edom ; 3rd, Bienfait,
Mr. C. W. Needham. Flamed byblcemen, 1st, George
Edward, Mr. A. D. Hall ; 2nd, David Jackson, Mr. C. W..
Needham ; 3rd, Trip to Stockport, Mr. J. W. Bknti ST.

Certain classes were set apart for the growers of
small collections, the limit being not fewer than 100
blooming bulbs with six 'dissimilar rectified Tulips,
two of each class. Mr. W. Peters, Cambridge, was 1st.
He had of bizarres, feathered, Masterpiece, and flamed,
William Wilson/ byblcemen feathered Bessie, and
flamed, Mrs. Jackson ; roses, feathered, Sarah Heidly. •
and flamed, Aglaia. Mr. ..Percival was 2nd. The ■
latter took the 1st prize with three feathered blooms,
they were unnamed; and Mr. Peters was 2nd. Mr.
Percival was also 1st with three unnamed flamed
flowers, and Mr. W. C. Bull was 2nd. The same exhi-
bitors were 1st and 2nd with three dissimilar breeder
Tulips, and the Silver Medal for two rectified Tulips
went to Mr. Percival, who had bizarres Lord Stanley
aud Masterpiece.

The premier flamed rectified Tulip was byblcemen,
Duchess of Sutherland, shown by Mr. A. D. Hall, in
his stand of twelve varieties. The premier feathered
byblcemen, Trip to Stockport, shown by Mr. C. W. Need-
ham. The premier was bizarre Goldfiuder, a brilliant
crimson, shown by Mr. A. D. HALL,

Breeder Tulips.— Some very bright blooms of these
were staged, though, like the broken flowers, generally
they were undersized. With six dissimilar blooms, two
of each class, Mr. A. D. Hall was 1st with bizarres Sir J.
Paxton and Qoldfinder ; bybloemens, Seedlingand Eliza-
beth l'cgg; roses, Mabel and Annie MoGrlgor. Mr.
J. W. BENTl kv was 2nd; he had, of bizarres, Goldfindcr
and Alfred Lloyd; bybloemens, Eliza Pegg and a
purple seedling; roses, Queen of England and a seed-
ling. Mr. c. w. Needham was 3rd.

With three blooms, one oi each class, Mr. A. D. Hail
was 1st. lie had bizarre Qoldfinder, byblcemen, Agli li
and rose Loveliness; Mr. C. W. Nkiiuiam came 2nd.
lie had bizarre Storm's Seedling, roso Lady C.
Grosvenor, and byblcemen, Ashinoles 1213.

Single blooms of breeders : bizarre, 1st, Sulphur, from
Mr. A. 1>. Hall; 2nd, Qoldfinder, Mi. i El id,

Sir J. Paxton, Mr. A, t>. It.u i.. Byblcemen : Jst, Brides-
maid, Mr. c, w. Needham ; 2nd, RHiabeth Pejg, Mr. A.
D. Hall; 3rd, Adonis, from the sain.' 1st'

Annie McGregor, Mr. A. D. HALL ; and ho was 2nd with
Loveliness, and 3rd with Storer's S30.

348

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 24, 1902.

MANCHESTER ROYAL BOTANICAL
AND HORTICULTURAL.

Mav 17— 22.— It was fortunate that Mr. P. Weathers,
the energetic Curator of the Koyal Botanical Gardeos,
included in the Whitsuntide exhibition the exhibits of
members of the North of England Orchid Society,
otherwise the show would have been rather less than
on previous occasions. Several former exhibitors
were absent this year, but that did not prevent a flne
display taking place, Orchids of course being in the
ascendant, so much so that the large exhibition-house
was ablaze with gorgeous colouring

Ohchid groups

The class for a group (Nurserymen), was won by
Mr. J. Cvj'HER, of Cheltenham. The forefront looked
cool, with its covering of green moss and dwarf Ferns,
out of which arose quite a forest of spikes of Odonto-
glossums of every conceivable hue and variety,
the background being completely filled with Onci-
diums Marshallianum, varicosum, Rogersii, and per-
fectly flowered La?lias. Mr. J. Roiison. Altrincham,
gained the 2nd prize. In the amateurs section Mr. E.
Ashworth (gi\, Mr. H. Holbrook), Harefield Hall,
Wilmslow, quite excelled himself in every respect.
His exhibit included the chief species in cultivation,
and such novelties as Cypripedium Mrs. A. W. Sutton,
Chamberlainianum x niveum, F.C.C., carrying a fine
branching spike. The blue-flowered Dendrobe Victoria
Regina was represented by two fine pans; Cattleyas
Schrodene, Mossia?, and Mendeli, and Laelia purpurata
were beautiful to a degree. Mr. W. Duckworth,
Flixton, was a moderate 2nd; and Mr. W. E. Watson,
Stretford, 3rd.

For ten Lselias and Cattleyas, Mr. Cypher again led
the way, L;elia purpurata magnifica, Cattleyas Mendeli,
supcrba, and dolosa, looking the best. Mr. Cypher
also secured the class for ten specimen Orchids with
Dendrobium nobile nobilius, Cattleya Mendeli superba,
Cypripedium grande (atratum), and Cattleya Skinner
as the most conspicuous.

Mr. J. Robson was the only exhibitor of ten Odonto-
giossums, aclass that was formerly the pride of the show.

Groups ok Plants for Effect.

In the nurserymen's section, for a group occupying
300 square feet, the place of honourwas justly occupied
by Messrs. R. p. Keh & Sons, Aigburth Nursery,
Liverpool, for an arrangement which left nothing to
be desired. It formed a series of glades, in which
foliige and flowering plants were interspersed with a
singularly pleasing effect.

The corresponding group in the amateurs' class was
taken by Mr. Watson Baxter, admirable in arrange-
ment, the elegance of the Bamboos calling for much
comment. The Earl of Ellesmehk, Worsley Hall (gr.,
Mr. W. Upjohn), was a capital 2nd ; and Mr. T. Harkkr
(gr., Mr. T. Mullay), Didsbury, 3rd.

In the class for a group upon a space of lot feet, it
was most refreshing to see how Crimson Rambler Rose
and I>eutzia gracilis, in conjunction with Ferns and
several Crotons in skilful hands could he made so
effective. Mr. J. Brown (gr., J. Suith), Iteaton Mersey,
w.ls the winner.

Plants in Pots.

Mr. J. Cypher was again the winner of the 1st prize
for ten stove and greenhouse plauts in flower. Ericas
vertieillata, magnifica, and Caveudijhi. finely grown
Anthuriums, Pimelia epectabilis, and Hcderoma tulipi-
fera, were superbly cultivated. The prizes for a group
of six foliage and six exotic Ferns went to Messrs. J.
Lamb and T. Harker. Hardy Ferns were small but
very choice. Messrs. Derbyshire and Lamb were 1st
in two classes. Herbaceous plants showed great im-
provement. Mr. J. Lamii was 1st for thirty and twelve.
Twelve Gloxinias, 1st, Mr. T. Harker; twelve Calceo-
larias, 1st, Mr. J. Brown ; twelve Cinerarias, 1st, Rev.
F. Cromiileholme, whose choice C. cruenta hybrids
beat the ordinary forms. Coleus : 1st. Mr. J. Brown ;
who also deserves high commendation for the supe-
rior collection of Roses, which gained 1st prize.

Trade Exhibits.

Messrs. High Low & Co., Bush Hill Park, Enfield,
staged a group which deserved much praise, and the
Metrosidcros, Ericas, Pimelias, Tremandras, delighted
the older cultivators. A fine batch of the Schizanlhus
Wisetoniensis created a surprise ; Orchids too were
superior (Award Gold Medal and First-class Certificate).

Messrs. Charlesworth & Co., secured a Gold Medal
for a splendid table of Orchids, and two First-class
Certificates, viz., for Odontoglossum erispum "Gladys, '
a small plant carrying large flowers having pure white
ground and heavy rich chocolate blotches; and for
Odontoglossum Pescatorei " Charlesworthi," which
with Mr. Ashworth's Cypripedium was most admired
of all. It is a superb white ground flower, with deep
violet-coloured spots. Four Awards of Merit were
also given.

Messrs. Jno. Cowan & Co., Gateacre, Liverpool, put
up some fine novelties in Orchids, which proved inviting
to connoisseurs, gaining, besides the Gold Medal, an

Award of Merit for Odontoglossu.n erispum " King of
Spain," with rich primrose markings and large maroon
spots. A plant of Ccelogyne paudurata was unusually
fine.

The Hippeastrums from Messrs. R. P. Ker&Sons,
A;gburth, Liverpool, looked imposing in their bed of
green moss. How brilliantly coloured they appeared
on th s shady bank ! A Gold Medal was awarded for
the display, and a First-class Certificate to " Goliath,"
an enormous red and white striped variety ; "Magni-
ficent," crimson, white tipped; and "Lady Rose
Molyneux," soft rosy-pink.

Messrs. F. Sander & Co. had a much smaller collec-
tion than usual, but there was no falling off in
quality. Odontoglossums were the mainstay, and for
the hybrid Anthuriums two First-class Certificates
were awarded, a very dark one, Mr. T. M. Crook, was
the best.

Messrs. Jno. Waterer & Sons, Ltd., of Bagshot,
gained the Silver Medal for Rhododendrons.

Messis. W. & J. Birkenhead, of Sale, exhibited a
collection of British Ferns.

Messrs. Alex. Dickson & Sons, Newtownards ;
Messrs. Barr & Sons. London ; and Messrs. Dickson *fc
Robinson, Manchester, were each awarded a Silver
Medal for a fine display of Tulips.

Out-of-doors there was a great display of garden
sundries, but the weather on the opening day was
inclement.

EALING HORTICULTURAL.

The annual report and schedules of prizes for the
two exhibitions held during the year has just been
issued. The summer exhibition is fixed for July 9, and
will take place in the grounds of Gunnersbury Park,
Acton, the President being Mr. Leopold de Roths-
child. Roses are a leading feature, for there are three
classes open to all comers, viz., forty-eight blooms, but
not more ttan two of one variety; twenty-four blooms
in not fewer than eighteen varieties ; and twelve blooms
of Teas and Noisettes, distinct. The Chrysanthemum
exhibition is fixed for November 5, and will take place
as usi al in the Town Ha'l. The Secretary is Mr. George
Cannon, St. John's Nursery, Ealing.

WARGRAVE GARDENERS'

" Young Gardeners " was the 'itle of a paper read at
the last meeting of the above association, by Mr. J.
Botley, gr. to the Rev. H. M. Wells, of Scarlets Park,
Twyford, Berks. He traced the career of a young
fellow in his "teens," entering a fair-sized garden, and
showed how he might rise, step by step, to the top
round of the gardening ladder and appear as a Head
GardeDer. To do this required ambition and strict
attention to duty. He did not advocate too long a
stay in one situation, as to gain experience the young
gardener should move about, and above all things
spend several years in the kitchen garden. On at-
taining the dignity of a foreman, he should set a good
example to the men under him, and on reaching the
last round of the ladder as a " Head," he would be able
to show what he was worth, as the gardener not his
employer has to " make" the garden. Several members
related their experiences which showed the change
for the better that has taken place in the last thirty
years. Mr. Priest, gr. to P. Tarbutt, Esq., was awarded
a Cultural Certificate for a splendid group of
Calceolarias. H. Coleby, Hon. Sec.

(jyrmipoTvUnk

*** Editor and Publisher.— Our correspon-
dents would obviate delay in obtaining
answers to their communications, and save
much time and trouble, if they would kindly
observe the notice printed weekly to the
effect that all communications relating to
financial matters and to ad vertisementsshould
be addressed to the Publisher; and that all
communications intended for publication, or
referring to the literary department, should
be directed to the Editor. The two depart-
ments, publishing and editorial, are quite dis-
tinct, and much unnecessary delay and con-
fusion arises when letters are misdirected.

Ants in Glasshouses : E. H. P. The b3st
remedy is the Billikinrain Ant Destroyer,
sold by A. Cross & Sons, Ltd., 19, Hope
Street, Glasgow.

BOOKS: Noi'ice. Tin English Flower Garden,
by W. Itobinson. The publisher is J. Murray,
Albemarle Street, Piccadilly, London, W.
A recent edition has been published.

Bi;lb3 0nNepiirolepi.s titberosa: Rtts-in-Urbe.
N. tuberosa is a synonym of N. cordifolia.
It is a native of tropical America, and should
rightly be afforded stove treatment. It is
not uuusual for it to bear tubers, but such
large ones as those yo;i describe are rarely
found, and it is evidently quite at home in
your greenhouss. We a^ree with Baines, in
his Greenhouse and Stove Plants, in his
division of what are stove and what green-
house species.

Correction.— The writer of the article on
Mowing Machines, appearing in our last
issue, wishes us to correct two mistakes
made in the spelling, viz , Crawley & Sjns
should read Crowley, &_\,and their machine
Victor, not Victa.

Hybrid Cactus: H. J. C, Grinuton. A fine
bloom of exceptional richness of crimson
colouring, raised, as you tell us, from an
angular spiny-stemmed Cereus and a white-
flowered, flat - stemmed Phyllocactus,
which latter in form of flower it much
resembles. We are not able to compare it
with others, and hence cannot definitely say
if it is an improvement, it must suffice to say
that we think very highly of it.

Names of Plants: .1. Hobbs. Justicia carnea.
— H. if., Darmstadt. We fail to recognise
the small Oncidium sent. — A. W. Phyllo-
cactus Emperor. — C. R. Ornithogalnm
nutans. — G. B. 1, Polystichum angulare; 2,
Pteris serrulata cristata; 3, Pteris cretica
albo-Iineata ; 4, Asparagus deenmbons ; 5,
Selaginella ctesia. — li. W. R. Ribes auieam.

Non-flowering OF Tulifs : J. C. The bulbs
are attached by Botrytis vulgaris in a very
virulent form. The mycelium is abundant in
fragments of the soil adhering to the bulbs.
Remove and sterilise the soil in the bed,
as the fungus attacks almost every kind of
plant. G. M.

Notice to Quit Employment : Constant Reader.
Yes, in the abs.nce of any agreement to the
contrary, a month's notice must be accepted
and given.

Rosebuds: Warwick, The direct cause ot
the buds falling is that the tree has suffered
a check, but the buds sent afford no indica-
tion whether the check has been due to in-
sufficient or too liberal root-waterings, cold
winds, severe fumigation, &c.

Palm Unhealthy: G. Burrows. The winter
temperature should not be lower by night
than 581 to 60% and by day 70° or less ; and at
that season the supply of water at the root
should be moderate, not withheld till the
soil gets in a very dry state. The paleness
of the leaf tint may be due to a temperature
lower than this, to too much water at the
root, or some other condition of which you
must be the best judge. If the soil and
drainage are in good order you might try an
occasional dose of clear soot-water or a
pinch or two of nitrate of soda.

The Temple Gardens: B. H. These gardens
are situated on the Victoria Embankment,
about midway between Somerset House and
Blackfriars Bridge. If you reach town via
Victoria Station, you should take a ticket
for the Temple Station, en the District
Riilway.

Young Gardener aged 13 Years: E. U. M.
We leally consider that a strong lad with
some slight knowledge of gardening is worth
more than Id. an hour and 2d. overtime. A
fairer wage would be 2s. per day, out of
which you might, as you reside with your
parents, buy occasionally an elementary
book on subjects bearing on your business.

Communications Received.— Knight, Frank JiRutley.
— O. T -liavlor HartJand.— \V. M.— R. D.— J. C.-F. B.
— T C— Baii-ii Sons —Jno Peutland— T. H. Cook —
F. T.-H. L J —A. W— J. McD — A. Waterer— T. L —
Kill. -Puzzled— Peunick A Co.— F. W. B.— O Thomas.
— F G. B— W. P. Roberts— F. J. C— J. S.-H. W.—
R P B — C. R. F— W. B. H— R. D— W. W.-A. S.—
E. C.-F. G.-A. W.-T. P.-J. O'B.-R. H W.-G. W.—
T. C. (we had already published a repori) — L. S.

(For Markets and Weather, see p. x.)

Supplement to the "Gardeners- Chronicle," May 24 1902.

LiELIO-CATTLEYA OUEEX ALEXANDRA.

May 31, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

349

THE

No. 805.— SATURDAY, MAY 31, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Benevolentlnstitution,

Gardeners' Royal ... 363
Books, notices of —
Elementary Plant

Pliysiology 357

Paying Poultry ... 357
ytotanical laboratory,

Liverpool 356

JBulb garden-
Spontaneous seed-
lings of Narcissus 352
Corn trade, the ... 357
DendrobiumFalconeri,

an abnormal 357

Flowers in season ... 357
Fruit crops in France 354
Fruit-growers' federa-
tion, the National ... 356

Oarden design 349

Geraniums, hardy ... 360
Hippcastrum with

Clivea. crossing the 351
Japanese dwarfed

trees, sale of 357

Kcw Guild, the ... 363

Kochia scoparia ... 359
labels, development

in 357

lawn mower, the con-
struction and man-
agement of the ... 358
I.awson'3 " New Or-
chard and Garden " 359
Manor House Gar-
dens, Lee 357

Maxillaria fraclitlexa 359
Nursery Notes —
Showy flowering
plants at Heading 353

Obituary—
Batley, James
Marriott, Tlios.
Orchids at Westfleld.

Woking

Paddocklmrst, notes

from

Pseonia moutan "albo-

lilacina"

Phosphoric acid and

potash in soils
Plant, an old, rehabi-
litated

Plants, New or Note-
worthy—
Cypripedi u m

" Brunhild "

Richardia Sprengeri

Tulips, some new ...

Rainfall at Isleworth

Richardia Elliotiana

Societies—

Linncan

Royal Horticultural,

356-361 and Supplem

Temperatures, low ...

Thiselton Dyer,

K.C.M.G., &c , Sir

W. T

Thomas, Mr. Owen ...
Weather, the, and the

fruit crops

Week's work, the —
Flower Garden, the .
Fruits under glass ..
Hardy fruit garden .
Kitchen garden, the
Orchid houses, the .
Plants under glass .

360
360

357

354

aw

352
359

350
349
350
360
360

ent

■WO

35 <

35"

360

355

3J4
355
354
354
355

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Cypripedium "Brunhild"

Lawn-mowers, pans of

Mizillaria fractiflexa

Tree Picony in Captain Holford's garden. Weston-
birt (Supplement).

TulipaMicheiiana

Tuiipa nitida Gesneriana var

S50
358
359

353
351

GARDEN DESIGN.*

»! AS I am a landscape gardener and not an
«£*- architect, I am afraid I may be looked
upon as an outsider among the members of
this Architectural Society. But, after all,
our respective professions are at least closely
related to each other, and I hail with delight
this opportunity of comparing notes with
y,.u by moans of friendly discussion.

Unfortunately, it is a fact that architects
and landscape gardeners do not always work
in harmony together. The architect who
■designs a handsome building and the land-
scape gardener or garden -architect who
designs a garden, are generally both actuated
by the very laudable desire of making the
most of their profession. This is as it
should be, and by working hand in hand, as
ii were, the work of one may be greatly
facilitated and even enhanced by the work of
the other. Sometimes, however, it happens
that the architect who designed, say, a
mansion, and superintended its erection, is
not content with that, but also lays out not
only the immediate surroundings of that
mansion, but the whole of the grounds as

A lecture given on Thursday, April 34, 1901, at the

Athemciiui, Exeter, before the nicinbors of the Devon
and Exeter Architectural Society (in alliance with
the Royal Institution of British Architects), by F. W.
Beyer, landscape gardener to the firm of Robert Veitch
and Son, of the Royal Nurseries, Exeter.

well. In ninety-nine cases out of a hun-
dred such procedure must prove disastrous,
unless the architect is also a specialist in
horticulture. Designing a garden does not
depend merely on the rules of architectural
symmetry, or hard and fast rules of design.
Though in a large garden adjoining a
mansion the immediate surroundings'should,
if at all possible, be in harmony with the
style and character of the building; the
principal, and the most pleasing effects of
every garden can never be attained by
stones, bricks and mortar, or any other dead
material ; but must in all eases depend on
the living and ever changing materials of
grass, shrubs, trees, flowers, <fec, combined
in such a way as to form a pleasing picture
not only in themselves, but also as a whole,
and should, if possible, amalgamate and
blend harmoniously even with the landscape
beyond the garden.

Without an intimate knowledge of trees,
shrubs, and plants generally, no architect
can design a good garden. His garden
might look all right immediately after com-
pletion, but what will it be like say five or
ten years hence, when the trees and shrubs
have assumed larger proportions ? The
material of which a mansion is built changes
neither in size or in shape, but the material
of which a garden is composed changes
both, and thus makes it necessary for the
designer to look many years ahead.

I would most emphatically maintain that
no good garden can be designed unless its
designer possesses a thorough knowledge of
the plants to be used, and the effect which
they will produce not only immediately,
but, say, ten years or more after the work is
complete. Some few years ago I read a
book on the subject of ' the Formal Garden,'
written by an architect, and I was amazed
to find in it a sentence to the following
effect : — ' For the designer of a garden it is
no more necessary to know anything about
plants than it is necessary for a bricklayer
to know how his bricks were manufactured.'
There is nothing to be said against a
formal garden in the right place, but a
formal garden, or any other other garden,
arranged on such lines as those <juoted
above, that is to say without a knowledge of
plants, can in my humble opinion be never
anything else but an absurdity.

I would not have you suppose for one
moment that I condemn formal gardening
altogether. On the contrary, I am strongly
in favour of giving small gardens a more or
less regular shape ; and also in large gardens
I consider that the immediate surroundings
of the house should be in keeping with the
regular style of the house, and that the tran-
sition from the regular to the irregular stylo
should be a gradual one.

Since the architect and the landscape-
gardener necessarily look upon their respec-
tive work from entirely different standpoints.
I think that it is only right and just that
when a now garden is to lie designed in
conjunction with a new house, the architect
and the landscape-gardener should compare
notes and then work hand in hand. Rut for
an architect alone to lay out a garden is, 1
think, as grave a mistake as it would be to
employ a landscape gardener to design a
cathedral.

To lay down hard-and-fast rules whether
a garden should be in the geomctrieal
regular style, or in the natural style, is im

possible. It is not merely a matter of taste,
but must largely depend on "existing circum-
stances, and especially on the surroundings.
In most cases it will, of course, also be neces-
sary to be guided to some extent by the taste
and particular wishes of the owner, who has
to pay for the work ; but broadly speaking,
I think, of modern gardens, the most
pleasing ones are those which do not too
rigidly adhere to either the geometrical or
the natural style, but are a pleasing com-
bination of both, and are above all in
thorough harmony with their surroundings.
The golden rule of the middle course ap-
plies to most things, and to gardens in
particular. When a sudden change is intro-
duced there should be a visible motive,
forming, as it were, a connecting link be-
tween the different styles, which would
otherwise give the garden the appearance
of being the property not of one man but of
different owners. Not contraction within
narrow limits but expansion must be our
aim, and if by skilful treatment we can
introduce an artificial perspective, a com-
paratively small garden may not only be
made to appear much larger than it really
is, but may be actually amalgamated with
the distant landscape beyond, a result which
in most cases will be found most satisfactory
from every point of view."

The lecture was illustrated with a large
number of lantern-slides, illustrative of
various styles of gardens.

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

RICHARDIA SPRENGERI, Conns.
The seeds of this very fine Richardia were
sent me in the winter of 1898, together with
seeds of Richardia macrocarpa (Engler), and
another species not yet flowering with me ; it
distinguished itself by growing very rapidly
and strongly, whilst the other two or more
species did not do so well. I planted the
small, pot-grown tubers in February, 1899, in
the open ground, at a good distance from each
other, and they grew rapidly, so that I was
surprised to see fifty or more seedlings in full
bloom in the summer of 1900. The tubers
still remain in their first place, and are never
moved. In the summer of 1901 each tuber
showed two or three largo flowers, much
finer than those of Richardia Pentlandi or
R. Elliotiana. The crown you have re-
ceived [?] was taken up the first year, when
the blooms were yet small, and not as large
as they are now. They are also very vari-
able, so that I have varieties with nearly
white flowers, others arc golden-yellow, and
others sulphur or pale yellow ; sometimes also
they are spotted. The foliage is larger than
that described by Professor Comes. This
Richardia is quite hardy with me. It comes
up in April, flowers in June and July, and in
September ripens many seeds; this, though
the fruits are rather small, whilst the fruits
of It. macrocarpa arc the Iargost ever seen.
The seed ripens on the surface of the ground,
and it seems to me that the plant seeks to get
them underground, as do Violas or Cyelamens,
to protect them in the dry weather in hot
summers. These seeds grow very easily, and
I hope to obtain other varieties. I planted
them in a mixture of volcanic la pi 11 i , sand,
peat, and manure from my Melon-garden, and
gave them every week during the full vege-
tation gypsum, superphosphates, and Chili-
saltpetre, as 1 do with all my Riohardias,
This very splendid Richardia, when better

850

THE GARD ENER S ' CHR ONI CL E<

[May 31, 1902.

kmwn, will certainly become a favourite with
amiteurs as well as with gardeners, especially
for cut flowers, &c. The surface of the ground
where they grow must be protected by cover-
ing it with old foliage, or preferably with
stones. C. Sprenger, Naples.

Cypripedium "Brunhild."
This is stated to be the result of a cross
between Cypripedium Victoria Maria and C.
Lathamianum. It was purchased from Messrs.
Sander last year, and was lately in flower in
the Orchid houses of Prince Lichtenstein, at
Eisgrub, in Moravia. Professor Zimmermann
sends us the accompanying sketch (fig. 118) and
description —

" Leaves green, spotted with a darker shade
along the veins above, and with purple beneath ;
length 6 to 8 inches, width 1 to 1J inch.
Flower-spike about 20 inches long, green,
spotted with purple, and having violet-purple
hairs. Ovary green, three-lobed, and having
violet-purple hairs. Upper sepal ovate, heart-
shaped and pointed, the sides reflexed and
much undulate at the edge, reflexed at the
back, and hairy over the whole surface. The
colour is a clear emerald-green, here and there
spotted with pale purplish-brown, and having
a broad bluish rose-coloured stripe lengthwise
down the centre. Lower sepal inclined to-
wards the ovary, smaller, green, veined with
apple-green, slightly hairy at the edge and
back. Petals tongue-shaped, wavy and twisted,
and with wavy curves at the edge ; colour
green, with brown spots, which are larger on
the midrib than elsewhere. Lip slipper-
shaped, green, in front and at the tip flushed
with purple, the inner side less so, and finely
spotted with purplish - brown. Staminode
rhomboidal, purple, the centre stripe and the
lower edge clear green. In the middle is an
apple-green and oblong wart. Stalk of the
staminode closely set with purple hairs.
H. Zimmermann, Eisgrub, Moravia."

SOME NEW SPECIES OF TULIPS FROM
BOKHARA AND TRANS- CASPIA.

The Messrs. Van Tubergen, of Haarlem,
Holland, last year sent out a botanical col-
lector to Bokhara, Central Asia, with the view
of obtaining, if possible, a supply of bulbs and
tubers from that far-off and as yet botanically
but little-explored country. Considering the
great number of beautiful new bulbs intro-
duced into cultivation by the late Dr. Ed.
Regel, of St. Petersburg, whose son Albert,
about twenty-five years ago, was one of the
first to send home tubers, seeds, and bulbs
from that district, thero was every reason to
believe that a great stock of novelties still
remained to be harvested, if one struck out a
different route from that followed by Herr
Albert Regel. Late in the autumn of last
year the results of this expedition, consisting
of maDy thousands of bulbs and tubers of
every description, arrived in an excellent
condition at Haarlem ; and these are now
coming into bloom in Messrs. Van Tubergen's
nurseries. Moreover, there have been flower-
ing this spring in these nurseries a great
number of new and rare bulbs sent home by
their collector from the steppes of Trans-
Cispia (Turan) and the mountain range which
divides that vast country from North Persia.

Sir M. Forter has kindly undertaken to name
and describe the new species of Iris found,
one of which, I. Ewbankiana, has already been
figured in this paper (June 22, 1901). Two
others, I. Wdi-leyensis and I. bucharica, await
their scientific description, but have already
received First-class Certificates from the Koyal
Horticultural Society ; these were exhibited
by Miss Willmott, and will be shortly described
and figured in these columns.

Having personally paid a special attention
to the genus Tulipa for many years, besides
having been enabled to study in a living state
most of the Tulip species known in Messrs.
Van Tubergen's nursery, where an unusually
large number of species have been brought
together, I believe I am justified in naming
and describing hereunder as new species those
of the Bokhara and Trans- Caspian Tulips
which, after a careful investigation, have
proved to be unknown ones.

Contrary to the conclusions arrived at by
Mr. Elwes, I find that Tulip species perfectly
retain their botanical characters in cultiva-
tion. Of course, there is the size of the bulbs,
as well as of the foliage and of the flowers,
that increase if cultivated in gardens, but
changes in form, as that illustrated in this
paper (May 22, 1880), cannot but be looked

somewhat in number and size. The remainder
of botanical characters on which Tulip species
are founded all remain perfectly intact under
cultivation.

Tulipa nitida, spec, nova (fig. 119, p. 351).

Bulb small, ovoid, terminating into a long
neck lh to 2 cm. in diameter. Bulb-coats brown,
perfectly glabrous inside, save: a few short
adpressed hairs at base and at the top of the
bulbs. Peduncle slender, very short, 5 to 7
cm. only in length, glabrous ; leaves three,
linear lanceolate, more or less falcate and
channelled down the face, the lowest leaf
13 by U cm., the upper 9 x J cm., glaucous,
and not ciliated. Flower 4 cm. in length,
campanulate, inner segments obovate, outer
segments oval, | cm. shorter than the inner
ones, colour of the flowers an intense and very

FlG. 118. — CYPRIPEDIUM "BRUNHILD": THE RESULT 01' A CROSS BETWEEN

C. VICTORIA MARIA AND C. LATHAMIANUM ; EMERALD GREEN,

SPECKLED WITH TURPLISH SPOTS.

upen with very sceptical eyes by anyone who
has ever grown imported Tulip species for a
consecutive number of years. In Messrs. Van
Tubergen's establishment there are numerous
specimens of Tulipa Kolpakowskyana, Ostrows-
kyana, and others, cultivated over a period
of about twenty years, that were obtained as
soon as Dr. Regel sent them out, and they
prove to be identical in every respect, save of
course size, with specimens grown from imported
bulbs obtained by Messrs. Van Tubergen from
Eastern Turkestan two or three years ago.
The only change that cultivation will produce
in Tulip species that I have been able to find
out is in the thickness of the layer of hairs
with which the innerside of the outer bulb
coats of some Tulipas is clothed. No doubt
these hairs serve as a protection of the bulb
itself, provided by Nature against extremes of
heat and cold, and as our sea climate is so
different from and so much softer than that of
the steppes and mountains of Central Asia,
these hairs in cultivated bulbs will diminish

brilliant vermilion - scarlet, with a small,
sharply-defined black blotch at the inner base>
of the segments ; the outer flower segments-
are yellowish-red at the outside. Filaments,
short, black at base, red towards the top,
1 cm. in length, only half as long as the linear
lanceolate bright yellow anthers. Ovary tri-
gonous, red, yellowish towards the tip; stig-
mas small, yellowish- red. Time of flowering
middle of April. This Tulip is a particularly
bright and exceedingly pretty flower, and its
especially brilliant colour suggested the appel-
lation of nitida, which I cannot find has ever
been used before in the g( nm Tulipa. Native
country, high mountains of Bokhara.

Tulipa Micheliana, spec. ?!o«i(fig. 120, p. 353).
Bulb ovoid, 3 to 4 cm. in diameter ; outer
bulb-coats thin, brown, completely clothed at
the inside with long buff-coloured hairs, and
especially so at the base. Peduncle upright,
in full-grown plants 30 to 35 em. long, pubes-
cent. Leaves usually four in number, very

May 81, 3C02.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

351

glaucous, with longitud'n 1 ; nd unbroken
stripes of brown. On the leaves growing
mature these brown stripes gradually disap-
pear. The lower leaf is nearly horizontal, the
upper ones more or less ascending ; dimen-
sions of lowest leaf, 15 by 4 cm., lanceolate,
and slightly undulated towards the margin.
The upper leaves are narrow, linear lanceolate,
and very much undulated. The leaves have a
narrow white membranaceous edge, slightly

others there is only a faint trace of yellow
border. Stamens 2^ to 3 cm. long, overtopping
the pistil ; fllameats glabrous, black, subulate,
w ite-tipped, equalling in length the oblong
black anthers ; pollen yellow. Ovarium trigo-
nous, stout, green ; stigmas large, exceeding
the ovarium in diameter. Native country,
steppes of Trans-Caspia. Time of flowering,
first week in May.
The brown stripes on the foliage suggest a

Flc. 110.— TULIP-A NITn>A(?), GESNERIANA VAU.

ciliated in the uppermost leaves. Peduncle
one-headed, flower large, campanulate, 6 to
8 cm. long, of a brilliant vermilion-scarlet at
the inside, the three outer segments tinged
with lilac at the outside. Outer segments
oblong-ovate, cuspidate, the inner ones obo-
vate, mucronate. The base of the segments
is furnished with very prominent black lan-
ceolate blotches, those on the inner flower-
segments being much the largest, and often
ascending half way up the jetal ; in son e
instances broadly edged with yellow, in

relationship to the now well-known T. Greigi,
which hitherto was the only Tulipa species
known which shows a colour variegation in
the leaves ; but T. Mieheliana is perfectly
distinct in the following points : In T. Mieheli-
ana, the inner side of the bulb-coats are much
more densely clothed with hairs ; the peduncle
is taller, the leaves much longer, more glau-
cous, less undulated, and much thinner than
in T. Greigi. The leaves of T. Micht liana
possess longitudinal and unbroken narrow
stripes of brown ; in T. Greigi, the brown is

laid in the foliage in long and broad brown
dots and spots. The flower is much more cam-
panulate in form, the outer segments oblong,
ovate, cuspidate (always obovate in T. Gre igi),
of a different shade of red altogether, basal
blotches are larger and less marked with
yellow, anthers always black (yellow in T.
Greigi) ; pistol, which in T. Greigi is yellow,
in this new species always green.

I have pleasure in dedicating this beautiful
new Tulip to M. Marc Micheli, of Geneva,
Switzerland ; a distinguished botanist whose
collections of plants, so successfully cultivated
in his gardens at the Chateau du Crest, are now
among the most important on the continent.

There are about six or eight more Bokhara,
Turkestan, and Persian Tulips in Messrs. Van
Tubergen's nurseries, which probably will
also prove to be new and unknown ones ; but
as the genus Tulipa is admittedly a difficult
one to deal with, and its literature confused,
I have for the present only enumerated those
which most easily have been proved to be
undescribed species. John Hooy, Haarlem,

Holland.

(To be continued.)

CROSSING THE HIPPEASTRUM
WITH CLIVEA.

I WAS much interested in the cross said to
have been made between the Hippeastrum and
the Clivea miniata, by Mr. Chapman, Captain
Holford's head gardener, mentioned in the
Gardeners' Chronicle for April 5, p. 230, for
last year I succeeded in effecting three crosses
between two similar Amaryllids.

I had some Dutch, some French, and some
English Hippeastrums in flower at the same
time as the Clivea miniata. I tried many ex-
periments with the pollen of the Clivea on the
pistils of the Hippeastrums, but it took effect on
only three, viz., two Dutch and one French.

I was astonished to see the ovary swell
under the influence of this pollen of a different
genus. I was more astonished, when the cap-
sules matured and burst, to find that the two
Dutch Hippeastrums had respectively sixty
and nine fine, plump seeds, and that the
French one (Vittata a fond rouge) had twenty-
nine similarly developed seeds; but I was
most astonished to find that all the seeds
germinated within a month or so.

I have now about ninety plants of these
crosses, which I recently potted singly, and
which are in a healthy condition.

It remains to be seen what will result out of
these bi-generic crosses. They say that "the
proof of the pudding is in the eating of it,"
and the proof of real crosses is in the flowering
of them.

My plants are only a year old, and in one
case— the cross that gave only nine seeds— I
can see no difference in the foliage from
Hippeastrums crossed with Hippeastrums of
the same age ; but in the other two cases the
first year's foliage is very much narrower.

One of Mr. Chapman's plants of this bi-
generic cross is about to flower, and we shall
await with special interest the birth of this
novelty, and to see whether it be a true
hybrid, or a case of a sort of Partheno-
genesis, evolved by the stimulation of foreign

pollen. . Tin

For the result of my experiments 1 shall
have to wait some three years or so.

This year I have repeated the same experi-
ments, and some of the ovaries acted on give
promise of results; but curiously enough, the
Hippeastrum which gave sixty good seeds last
year entirely failed this year.

If these crosses result in producing tnio
hybrids, the name of " Uippo-Clivea x " would
not bo inappropriate. E. Bonavia, iU./>.

'-rJf.X'£J£/iC

i a/t •.»_» Jiix,.

[Mat SI, 1MB.

BULB GARDEN.

were less stationary than when derived fro*
artificial HMts: considerable qualities
- vTaxboTSSEEDL:: - SSBS *« *»^ » k»w j««tMtrf kto tk« gik-

. „ V/lT *»leven »s low as 27 indbes from the- surface.
T^" *Tf!l!ri5-^r TteistaMksstototk.mtfe.**!

"Jt"*".^ t^ pswms texture of the soO unmer the ianuence

•The. a «M«n«l"«JJtotio« of ap*-
- . -:- .: --i :■::_>■ .: L :::-:: _. ^r-A.
- s made, a d istinct infiueBce is exerted
'f^ "■ *** ««■**■» by the soU of phosphoric acid
"""^. * i tam * . re"*r* •? »» a less axed and. therefore, [in — ihli

- iii^ll'lS — lT?*- --? ■M* *T»a*hte eomtitum ; while if. for waa\

*5.. «* ■taagea. ia the sofl. the crowing planes

V - ^T;_ . * ■stu unlaw, am been unable to ntilise aU the phncphmiL

"*^ SlaaaaV ->. ■K3MaT. CMS TmVImCtT aWVCB SB a^'J .L^. ■» m ., j, _

r.'ll _s " dcjwjnuU to the nhraoil. as a result of the

- ■* scCahie action of these alkali satis. The
tyvmety impmTimt. has i\* but years bees fully
*** « "T recognised by the inaelBgint horticulturist of

-" " " "■ ~ 7 - - - > —- ---:-::.-::-

oeed by its wiik fan pbii~i and the reason far this

T»iMC^*' ??* ^TT *"? «* *" **^ ■raeoeeissho»ninthefinn,iiinJJ laii.mi.ut.

In some of the vineyards of France it was

e »■ fonnd that there was a U

'■» wood, a ialmng-af of

■« yield of Grapes, nfriiid leaves and roots.

- ™ with a 1 » retrogress** of frait
^~J^ *«*>Ky- ^rtFnniiL were made to renaedy this

«*S.e. defect by the application of abnadaiit dress-
r***!]"^* ._.'l' * i*Ss «* «»w ii—ii. a material which has
^V^P "T^ "i- ■ J**.*. . _***" «*«heen reeqgnised to be ok of the best of
tJ^^ "5 e*nies» -^- *»«— mae ban any fertilisers anihhle tor the purpose of vip-

acme ; nevertheless, this treatmen t proved

«eriy incipiMc of arresting the gradaal

-■'—: exhaustion of the soil. Old vineyards exhibit

i iai I«7Ti i^"^r - - ~ * ' «»""iw.I." progressive falling-of ia fer-

j^^a^j -r^nniin fw m^»"^w»"*r « -^ ^-JL**"* ie*"™'e «*Sg""6 « intervals, which

A»«»«s— «_^_.»_«. , TT? T?Ir* , /V* became more frequent, or even, after a

as to the naientnee of - SsT- ttlZ w S""*t J8** they frequently have to be re-

V ore mrr nMam-L J_l--""- -^T ' ■*■■«**- It is readfly conceivable that sofl

^ "-:i-i : t- -:

ons are always bronght ia
--.:-• i .' is:
oae namehof its
: :^ - -:- ~ 7

- ----- -

ity: tie

-

»ad over agiia that no plaai is aide to grow
satisfactorily unless potash be present ~ia a
atore or less available conditioa within
soU.

A theory was at oce time held that soda,
which is not an indispensable pfatat iagred
was capable of replacing potash in the plant ;
bat this has now been shown to be false. N
other sabstince can replace potash, which is
*- >■:.:-:- :" i .;.-... :?.

According to iavestigatioBs at Rothaaasted,
it is fonnd that the
potash in a soil is an

the foravatioa in plants of earbo-bvdrates
SeneraUv. It is always to be fonnd in the
actively growing parts of vegetation, as
: - :' -- ■ - : < a - : - _ : . : : - : - .

relatively large proportion in the seed. In
the eoltare of Potatos, potash is a ntost neces-
sary ingredient in the production of the carbo-
hydrate starch : andin the eoltare of Turnips .
Carrots. Beets, and all descriptions of fraits.
the carbo-hydrate sngar is greatly dependent
on a liberal available sarppty of potash— and
the richer the soil may be' in the element
nitrogen, which necessarily increases the
:.!_-- .-. -: - : .Alv;;; :: ~; -1" - :.: :-
tbe more potash will be required, "in fact.
the great fnnctian of potash is, that it acts as
a earner of the ingredient nitric acid to grow-
iag parts of vegetation, and assists in the
--"-'-"- ::--_:..: .:; r!:,;.:: :' ;r -
■ w. there are some Apples which are fit I
table in early aatamn, while there are others
^hieh vmly hrraw. ripe when kept over the
winter. Experiments have shown that suc-
culent fruits, such as Apples and Pears, are
• ---• 7 ----- ■■:-:!; ..^:--::-_:-
of manure, not only with regard to their size,
hat also with regard to composition and
mataxity of the fruit juices : thus, the sub-
stances, potiwh ami phosphoric acid, favour
early maturity, while nitrogenous manures
retard ripeness. Consequently- Apples and
Pears that are required for earlv- market or

iimupirmi, nvayhestaaulat
:.- -— -^ : - -;i -. i-- .:

while fruits that are grown
for winter use may be re-
he ingredient nitrogen of
in the manurial mixture
either potash, phnrphmie add, or lime.
Further, the later crops having the whole
season far their growth, greater nepc.ndcncr
can be plirril upon the natural resources of
the soil. J. J. WOUs, fiarpeadeu.

NURSERY I0TES.

:: 5PH0RIC ACIT* ANI» POTASH
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SHOWY FLOWER1X3 PLASTS AT READING.

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time. These include Gloxinias, herbaceous.
r. r a: -,- ;:1 Z.zi:i:.^s ~ -. iA.i :a-
pleasure of seeing them on Monday, the
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tta:-:a:-Aa„:a .:rr~:_.
i is one which develops i
d leaves (generally 1

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a -: - a-: - z~- — -y.~.

when derived

:; ; :a: : ■; : .: ?:

Mat 81, 1SM-]

J5T GAEDEXERS' CHRONICLE.

V

FK. 110.— TITIFA MXBIUKl.

p. xo..

7 : .1 : -. 7

The best known types are the self-eoloared being: a briskt rosy-eriason ; Sastoas Pu^. cm kirdly 1

towers, aad those wit* white edges and bases, and Her hi* jesty. We inflade Her Ifj jearr strawberry <

with a ring ofeoloaT next the white anugia. Of aawagst the sett ecloars, ihnagh correctly vaspnieajrw

the self-colomed Sowers certain special *ario- speaking :a? towers are aaaalaterr a>Tiwd of rase eaaaara

ties are kept to name, as Readiag Scarlet, of any eolomr whatever. Its white is of the xery that is eace

Tery brilliant coloar and large sine, the colonr porest, and ao Glaxiaia is awjre -rained than atodaeca its 1

3o4

THE UARUtiJXtiKS' VMMUJSlULiJS.

[May 31, 1902.

level, opens them at nearly the same time,
has few small ones, the blooms being of equal
size, and if the colours be good and brilliant,
the larger their size the better they are
appreciated.

The Cinerarias consisted of a collection of
the stellate-flowered varieties ; and it was
noticeable that n this strain are almost all
the colours obtainable in the florists' varieties.
The flowers are exceedingly numerous, and
the habit of the plants branching and graceful.
One characteristic observed in some of the
best of these we had not previously seen,
except in the florists' varieties. We refer
to the rolling of the florets underneath, a
peculiarity illustrated in fig. 112, Gardeners'
Chronicle, May 11, 1901, in the case of a florists'
variety. The same peculiarity, when present
in the stellate varieties, as noticed at Reading,
has the effect of making the flowers appear more
stellate, and increases their attractiveness.

NOTES FROM PADDOCKHURST,

SUSSEX.

In Sir Weetman Pearson's garden the
(following plants deserve notice, viz. —

Dracwna Mayii. — -The brilliant pink tint
which suffuses tho young growths of this
attractive form, and its excellent habit of
growth, fully justify the award made to it by
the Floral Committee. It is in good character.

Berberis stenophijlla:: . — A group of this fine
hybrid is now a most attractive feature ; a
free growth is followed by numberless rich
apricot-tinted festoons of blossom. It scarcely
seems possible to imagine a subject more
perfectly at home than this fine Berberis, and
it is keeping up its blossoms in wonderful
profusion.

Allamandas in Baskets. — In one of the stoves
there are to be seen baskets planted with
Allamanda Hendersoni suspended from the
roof; they are making a luxuriant growth,
and though not yet in flower, there is the
prospect of a glorious bloom shortly. The
roots of the plants being in a confined space,
a good deal of generous feeding is requisite,
and they get full attention from Mr. Wadds.
It is certainly not usual to see this fine stove
evergreen climber employed in this fashion.

The Pyrus Mains arches. — These are just now
a very fine feature. Since an illustration of
this peculiar feature appeared in the Gar-
deners' Chronicle, the plants have increased
in size, and they are now blooming very
freely, the pink and crimson forms alter-
nating on the arches, which extend for a con-
siderable distance along on both sides of a
roadway leading to one of the entrances to the
grounds. The alternating of tints has a good
•effect, but the Pyrus flowers only for a short
time, and then for a considerable part of the
year there is only foliage to be seen. If each
third arch had been covered with climbing
summer and autumn- flowering Roses, the
floral effects would be continued through-
out the season. Paddockhurst is a charming
place at this season, with its wealth of beau-
tiful tints of leaf and flower, and it is admir-
ably managed by the head gardener, Mr. A. B.
"Wadds. U.D.

Fruit Crops in France.— There appears
to be little doubt that the recent spell of
severe weather in France has had a most
injurious effect on crops of all sorts. A cold
rain-storm was followed here and there by
snow, hail, and frost. In many districts
orchard fruits have suffered severely, and the
Vines have been sadly smitten.

The Week's Work.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Tubton, Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorsetshire.

Celery. — The planting of the earliest sown
Celery in the trenches may now be carried
out, and if the plants have been prepared in
boxes, as advised in an earlier Calendar, very
little check will be indicted if lifted and
planted. If this be done carefully, the plants
will need no shading in sunny weather. The
plants may stand 10 to 11 inches apart, and
the trenches dug out 5| feet apart, a
distance alike suitable for the Celery and
for sowing rows of Peas next year. The
trenches should be 15 inches wide, one
good spit in depth, and have the bottom
soil loosened, then apply rotten dung at
the rate of 1 wheelbarrow-load to 15 lineal
yards, digging this in with a fork, and make
level. The plants should be set out with a
trowel, and unless the weather is showery,
apply water that has been exposed to the sun
forthwith. Successional sowings should be
planted direct from the seed-boxes as they
become ready up to the middle of June. This
system, as I explained when giving directions
concerning the sowing of the seed, saves much
labour and many garden frames, whilst the
results recommend the practice.

Leeks. — "Where these were sown under the
protection of a skeleton frame on a warm
border at the end of the month of February,
the plants will be of considerable strength ;
and if extra long, well blanched stems, they
should be planted forthwith in trenches
prepared exactly as for Celery, excepting that
the trenches should be dug out 4| feet apart,
and the Leeks planted at 9 inches apart. Good
Leeks may be grown by simply planting deeply
with a dibber, and except trickling down some
finer particles of soil to cover the roots, and
leaving the holes to be filled gradually when
hoeing or applying water, the rows may be
18 inches, and the plants 9 inches apart.

Brussels Sprouts. — The planting out of the
earliest-sown plants may soon take place. I
am not an advocate for interlining Bras-
sicas among Potatos, but I arrange all
vegetables to follow those that are past
their best about the right time for plant-
ing. Before these notes appear in print,
the early crop of Cabbages will be cleared off,
and the ground needs simply digging with
forks, and left untouched till a showery day
occurs, which must be utilised for planting
the Brussels Sprouts. Let the plants stand
3 feet apart from row to row, and the plants
2 feet apart in the rows. Successional planting
can be made as fast as the ground gets cleared
of Cabbages, the latest planting being made
about the end of the month of June. In order
to obtain firm Sprouts of a moderate size, the
soil should not be made rich ; and by planting
directly another crop is finished, and before
the plants get spoiled in the seed-bed, they
grow away steadily. Brussels Sprouts grown
in this manner are better in flavour than those
from plants grown in rich soil, and they are
better enabled to withstand frosts.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. p. Bodnd, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Eeigate.

PJiafreiiopsis. — The old sphagnum in most
cases will require to be picked out care-
fully, and as many as the crocks a3 possible
without unduly disturbing the roots. Then
well wash the roots to remove any decayed
portions of moss or other filth that may have
accumulated. Cut away all dead roots, and
fill the pan or basket with clean crocks or
pieces of soft brick, carefully working them
in amongst the roots. Surface with good clean
heads of sphagnum. Should any plant require
a new receptacle, I strongly arlvise the use of
pans in preference to baskets. The plants
will require considerably more water now,
and it is most important that no water contain-

ing lime be used for the purpose — rain-water
preferably. Frequently damp the interior of
the house to cause extreme humidity.

Oalanthes. — Plants of the deciduous section
are now fast developing their growths, and the
roots will have taken a good hold of the
compost. They will require more water than
they have been afforded, but never uutil they
are well dry. Let them have the advantage
of sunshine, but not sufficient to cause dis-
coloration of the foliage, gradually reducing
the amount of direct sunshine as the growths
develop. A little sunshine during the early
period of the growth hardens the foliage, and
enables it to hold on better in the autumn.

Oncidiitm serratum, 0. monachicitm, and 0.
macranthum. — Plants not flowering this season
will be well started into growth. Directly
the new growths have attained the height of
about 6 inches, any repotting or resurfacing
that is necessary should be carried out. The
thick fleshy roots peculiar to these plants
require a very light compost, and the potting
should be done so that the compost when the
operation is completed remains very porous.
A very suitable mixture consists of equal parts
of good fibrous peat from which must of the
fine soil has been taken, and clean chopped
sphagnum. The rhizomes from tho peat
should be used for draiuage material. Fill
the pots to the extent of one-third full
with tho rhizomes, and do not mound up
the compost beyond the rim of the pots.
In cases where the leading pseudo-bulb is
too high to allow the young growth to take
immediate advantage of the compost when its
new roots are produced, the back portion of
the plant should be cut away sufficient to
allow the base of the new growth to be on a
level with the compost. In all cases I advise
the removal of back pseudo-bulbs, retaining
not more than two behind the leading one.
The operation of potting should be completed
by inserting a sufficient quantity of good
sphagnum heads to eventually cover the sur-
face. The plants will require very little water
till the new roots have entered the compost,
just sufficient to induce the sphagnum to grow,
and gradually increase the supply. Spray
the plants overhead in bright weather, and
frequently damp the shelves between the
pots. At all seasons of the year afford the
plants plenty of fresh air. No better house
can be found for them than the Odontoglossum-
house. The growth on plants flowering this
season will be much less forward, and potting
should be deferred till the flowering season is
over, and the new growths get well advanced.
No plant should be allowed to flower unless in
robust health. The spikes that will produce
flowers next season will soon be showing
themselves, and it should then be decided if
the plant is strong enough to successfully
develop its flowers without unduly weakening
itself. The plants that are now carrying
flower-spikes should be freely watered and
sprayed overhead, and any plant, even at this
season, should have its spike removed if the
bulb producing the spike is becoming
shrivelled to an appreciable extent.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whttock, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch. Dalkeith. Scotland.

Melons. — With ripening fruits the plants
require more care than at any other period,
for the foliage should remain clean and healthy
till the fruits are ripe ; but less water is re-
quired at the roots, and drier air than hitherto,
so long as the foliage does not flag. If there
are two lots of plants in the Melon-house,
the fruits on the earlier plants should have
supports soon, and the shoots be shortened to
the leaf beyond the fruit, and crowding of
the foliage avoided. The quality of the soil
will determine the number of fruits which
may be left on a plant ; and fruits of middle
size are preferred to large ones. Cover the
roots with loam mixed with fish-guano, or
some other readily soluble manure, and afford
water often at this stage ; and keep a night
temperature of 70°, and one from 80° to 90° by

May 31, 1902.]

THE GARD ENER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

355

day, closing in the afternoon at 90°, at which
time syringe the plants. The next succession
of Melon-plants should now be planted, but it
will not be Decessary to fill up the pits with
tree -leaves and stable-litter for affording
bottom-heat, as a shelf 18 inches wide covered
with 0 inches of soil in a house having sufficient
piping to maintain a mean temperature of 70°
will suflice. Let the plants be set out at 2 to
2J feet apart, and train each to a single stem
up nearly to the glass.

The trees in the earliest Peach-house. — The
fruit being gathered, remove the shoots which
have borne fruit, and any other not required
for nest year's fruiting. This will allow sun-
light to reach the remaining shoots, and when
there is no longer any danger of frost, remove
the lights or as many of them as possible.
Keep the roots moist, and do what is needed
to retain the foliage clean and healthy for as
long a time as possible ; frequently syringe it,
and if red-spider, thrips, or scale are present,
apply XL-All insecticide; or instead, mix 1 lb.
of soft-soap in a gallon of boiling water, with
-i-pint of paraffin oil. Syringe the trees with
|-pint of the mixture added to a 3-gallon pot of
hot water.

Succession houses. — Keep the trees clean,
but where the fruit is ripening syringing
must be stopped ; put aside the leaves so as
to expose the fruit to the sun, and afford air
constantly, with a little heat in the hot-water
pipes. Trees having fruits stoning should not be
forced much, but maintain with plenty of air
admitted a temperature at night of 55° to 60°.
On bright days sjriuge the trees twice daily.
Always examine the border before applying
water, as a state of over-dryness or over-
wetness should alike be avoided.

Mid-season Vineries.- — Muscat of Alexandria
and other Grapes, which will be consumed in
the autumn and early winter, should be
thinned early, so that the berries may grow to
a large size ; and let them stand wide apart,
so that they may keep for a long period of
time without decaying. If the Vines are
young, and bunches large, leave only a light
crop, and leave the shoots sufficient space
in which to grow, or good Grapes will not be
produced. The weather here is unusually
cold, and much fire-heat has to be em-
ployed on cold nights, even when the most
is made of the sun-heat by day. If the soil
of which the borders consist is light, or
not deep or properly drained, afford water
copiously once or twice, sprinkling each time
some Vine - manure on the surface. The
borders, if heavy, being afforded water
liberally at the beginning, will require no
more till an examination has taken place. Let
a moist atmosphere be maintained as a
corrective of the dryness caused by fire-heat.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Eahl Cadoqan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Bedding-out. — Now that the weather has
become warm, and much rain has softened and
ameliorated the soil, the work of planting out
bedding plants may be begun without delay,
and the beds should be deeply dug and manured
where necessary. Before planting, thebedsmay
need to be trodden lightly all over, and made
even on the surface with the rake. Some kinds
of plants may need fresh loam instead of manure,
usually such are those cultivated for their leaf
colouring, and any which make much growth
of leaf and shoots to the detriment of tho
floral dis-play. Plants of weak or slender
growth will have their needs supplied by a
moderate dressing of leaf-mould. No hard-and-
fast rule can bo devised for all kinds of soil,
and tho gardener must use his own discretion
in such matters. Let a beginning be made
with those plants that have been perfectly
hardened off. Assuming that most gar-
deners will have already decided upon the
general arrangement of the beds and their
planting, planting becomes an easy matter.
One or two items of importance must be borne
in mind, viz., tho uniform grouping of the
different kinds, allowing each plant sufficient

space for its proper development, placing them
so that the colours blend harmoniously, and
not to have small young plants among large
ones. After planting, which should be per-
formed firmly, afford water to thoroughly settle
the soil about the roots, and afford no mure at
the roots till growth has begun, but in sunny
weather the plants will be benefited by being
syringed morning and evening. As soon as a
bed is planted let all debris be cleared away, and
the turf and gravel swept clean, especially the
former, or the mowing-machine may get in-
jured. Clear away all flower-pots, and make
the beds tidy with a rake or one-handled fork.
Flowering Deciduous Shrubs. — Forsythia sus-
pensa (a shrub much later in flowering here
this spring) should have a portion of the wood
which has flowered removed, and the best of
tho one and two-year-old branches, from which
the flowering shoots of next season will come,
regulated a little. Primus triloba, whether
grown as a wall plant, or as standard or
bush, having gone out of flower, may have
the shoots cut to one, that is, the stronger
bud ; or if an extension of the tree is desired,
let a number of the stouter branches remain,
and disbud these in due course, retaining
only the young growths necessary to form an
evenly balanced crown. Prunus sinensis flore-
pleno and rosea plena may be thinned some-
what similarly, although the knife should be
used less freely, the plants being weaker
growers, and sometimes suffering the loss of
branches in an unaccountable manner. The
shoots of Magnolia stellata should be thinned
where crowded, the weaker shoots being cut
to a basal bud. By regulating the tops of
those that remain, the shoots of the current
year will have space to develop and mature
properly, without which good flowering cannot
be expected. The shoots of M. Soulangeana
and M. conspicua may also be thinned, re-
moving some of the shoots that have flowered
this year, although to a less extent in the case
of M. conspicua. Corchorus (Kerria) japonica
and Deutzia gracilis should have a consider-
able proportion of the shoots that have
flowered removed, especially from the centre
of the head, the object of the pruner being
the development of long shoots and sup-
pression of the weaker sprays. In some cases
it may be possible to remove entirely much of
the old wood.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Mayne, Gardener to the Hon. Mare Rolls,
Bicton. East Budleigh. Devonshire.

The Morello Cherry. — Tho black aphis has
probably increased in numbers during the
flowering period, when no measures could bo
taken against it; and tho cold nights and
chilling winds have prevented growth in a
great degree. But now that the fruit is set,
the trees may be dressed with the kind of
insecticide advocated for use on the sweet
Cherry and the Peach, unless the points of
the shoots are badly infested, when dipping
may be required. Superfluous shoots may be
pinched at the fifth leaf or entirely removed,
and suitable shoots laid-in for fruiting another
year. It is customary to defer the pinching
or stopping of shoots to form spurs until the
fruit has stoned, but I think it maters littlo
when carried out, there being always enough
shoots left for extension of the tree. In
lean-to, unheated Peach-houses in which sweet
Cherries are planted on the back wall, I
pinched all the shoots just as the petals of tho
flowers began to fall ; a good set was secured,
and the fruit now being gathered is equal if
not better than that on trees in an adjoining
house, where no stopping was done until tho
fruit had stoned.

Pears. — In spite of tho severe weather most
varieties of Pears have set well here. The
thinning of the shoots and also tlio fruits
should receive early attention where called for.
Shoots not required for the extension of tho
trees may be stopped at the fifth or sixth leaf,
thus averting the starting of tho dormant buds
which will form fruit-buds later on.

Miscellaneous Hints.— The removal of the
mulch around trees which was advised in a

recent Calendar may in some cases have !cd
to the cracking of the soil, in which case the
surface should be lightly pricked over with a
fork, and water applied in the absence of
heavy rains, a mulch of strawy litter being thou
put over the roots. These remarks apply only
to trees planted within the last six mon hs ;
established trees need Dot be mulched before
the end of June, unless very warm weather
set in, excepting the soil is very light, when
a mu!ch of some sort is always beneficial to
the trees. The stronger shoots on all stone
fruit trees should bo secured to the wall in
the general direction which they arc intended
to take, uiing loose shreds, ties, or thin dry
twigs of Privet, Fern-stems, &c. Pinch out
the points of strong run-away shoots, acd the
weaker shoots will make more rapid progress,
especially if they are allowed their freedom
for a few weeks longer. Remove any nails
and shreds that are likely to press against the
fruits.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Xallack, Gardener to E. Milleh Mundy, Esq.,
Shipley Hal), Derby.

Forced Shrubs. — All plants of a shrubby
nature, viz., Azalea mollis, A. rustica, and the
Ghent varieties, Laburnums, Lilac, Gueldres
Rose, Staphylea, and Deutzia, which have
been hardened off with a view to cultivating
them for future flowering, should now be
placed outside. I prefer to leave them in
their pots, and plunge them in the open
garden, some few inches below ground-level,
so as to allow of a top-dressing of leaf-soil and
manure being applied, and into which the new
roots will soon run, helping to build up good
flower buds. Those plants which were not
hard forcod will be available for next year's
forcing ; but the early-forced ones must remain
for twelve months loDger, by which time they
will have made fine specimens, if properly
treated in the meantime. The plants named
above, with the exception of the Azaleas,
should be plunged where they will get the
fullest amount of sunshine ; the Azaleas, on
the contrary, enjoy partial shade. Some of
these plants will require cutting into shape.
In addition to these shrubs, it is advisable to
plant out select types of Iloteia japonica, and
some fine forms of this plant come to hand
with the ordinary stock, and are worth plant-
ing out for future employment, provided tho
garden is not liable to spring frosts.

Liliums. — L. longiflorum will now be found in
many gardens in various stages of growth,
according to the sort of treatment afforded ;
but a word in favour of keeping as late a
batch as possible may not be out of place,
these retarded plants flowering at a time
when out-of-door flowers are not numerous
— that is, from the end of the spring to
the arrival of full summer. This last suc-
cession of Lilies should be placed in a
sheltered and partially-shady corner out-of-
doors. They should be top-dressed, as advised
for earlier batches, and encouraged generally.
As the value of the flowers of L. speciosum
(lancifolium) and L. auratum lies largely in
their coming late in the summer, the means
recommended for rotardiDg L. longiflorum
should be employed for these, plunging the
pots in coal-ashes.

Caladiunis. — It may be necessary to shift
some of the bigger plants, with the view of
keeping them in a growing state for as long a
period of time as possible. This repottiDg
needs a great deal of care in the execution,
and for several days afterwards the house in
which the plants are placed should bo shaded
and kept very moist, in order to prevent th©
flagging of the leaves.

Furnishing Plants.— The propagation of most
species of plants employed for table decora-
tion, and in furnishing vase-, h.iskcrs, iX:e., in
rooms, should now be taken in hand, viz.,
Codiseums, Pandanus, Draceenas, and Ueedias;
while useful littlo potsful of Cyperus alterni-
folius may bo obtained by BOwiog seeds forth-
with, and reducing the number per pot to-
three. Useful sizes ol pots are largo 00's and
51's.

356

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 81, 1902.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER.

Letters for Publication, as well as specimens and plant
for naming, should be addressed to the EDITOR,
41, Wellington Slrest, Covent Garden, London.
Communications should be written on one side only op
the paper, sent as early in the week as possible, and duly
signed by the writer. If desired, the signature will not be
printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.

Illustrations.— The Editor will thankfully receivz and select
photographs or drawings, suitable for reproduction of
" trdens, or of remarkable plants, flowers, trees, &c. ; but he
cannot be responsible for loss or injury.

Newspapers.— Correspondents sending newspapers should be
careful to mark the paragraphs they wish the Editor to see.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE.

SUNDAY,

TUESDAY,
WEDNESDAY

Tttsit i i Cliambre Syndicate des Hort.
•,UJ<*' l} Beiges, Ghent, Meet.

JtTNE

, I Scottish Horticultural Associa-

} tion's Meeting.
June 4— Derby Day.

THURSDAY, JUNE
SATURDAY, JUNE

TUESDAY,

WEDNESDAY

SATURDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY,

— Linnean Society Meeting.

/Royal Botanic Society's Meet.
I Soci<;t(§ Franchise d'Hort. de
{ Londres Meeting.
I German Gardeners' Society,
, London, Meeting.

Ittvu in < Royal Horticultural Society's
juneiu^ committees Meet.

June 11— Yorkshire Floral Fete (3 days).

jUNB I. ( German Gardeners' Society,
( London. Meeting.

ItJNE 18— Royal Botanic Society's Meet.

f Linnean Society Meeting.
June 19- Jersey Agricultural and Horti-

TUE3DAY,

THURSDAY,
FRIDAY,

SATURDAY.

MONDAY,

cultural Society Rose Show.

/Rose Show and Conference by
the Royal Horticultural So-

| ciety at Holland House,
June 2K Kensington (2 days).

I Royal Oxfordshire Horticul-
tural Society Commemoration

I Show.

June 26-Coronation of the King.
June £7— General Holiday.

( Windsor, Eton and District
June 28-^ Rose Show.

( Maidstone Rose Club Show.
June 30 -Canterbury Rose Show.

8ALE8 FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, June 2-

Bedding and Greenhouse Plants at Blandford

Nurseries, Hampton Road, Teddington bv

Protheroe & Morris, at 12.
TUESDAY, June 8—

Nursery Stock at the Mile Ash Nurseries, Duffleld

Roid, Derby, by order of Mr. F. Lewis, by Protheroe

& Morns, at 12
THURSDAY, June 5-

Plants, Bulbs. &c. at 67 and 68, Cheapside, bv

Protheroe and Morris, at 12.
FRIDAY. June 6-

Orchids in great variety, by order of Messrs.

Stanley, Ashton & Co., by Protheroe & Morris, at

(For further particulars see our Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
-59 2°.

The

The first of the " celebrations"

TemphTshow. °f th'S buSV Seas0n took Placo

on Wednesday last in the his-
toric Temple Gardens. The morning was
gloriously fine, hut afterwards slight showers
somewhat interfered with the comfort of the
visitors, who nevertheless poured in, in their
hundreds — we think we may say their
thousands. The most distinguished guests
were, of course, H.M. the King and H.M.
the Queen, who, attended by Captain
Holford. made the circuit of ' the tents
before the public was admitted. As for
the Show, well— it was a " Temple Show ! "
The conditions of space and time being
immutable, there is obviously no oppor-
tunity for innovations, and if such plants
as Amorphophallus titanum or Aristolochia
gigas do not choose to flower at the right

moment, why. of course, there is no help
for it. Perhaps it is as well, for the plants
named are something more than fragrant.
As it was, their MM.'s nostrils must have
been assailed by the smell of Onions, which
not even Mr. Mortimer's Cucumbers could
assuage. To the botanist the most delightful
portion of the Exhibition was at one end of
the great tent, where Sir Trevor Lawrence's
collection of botanical Orchids was staged.
It would be more appropriate if these little
gems were exhibited before the Orchid
Committee on some occasion when they were
not brought into competition with their
more showy congeners.

The Orchids, generally, were very fine and
very interesting, as our detailed report will
show. Clematis Nellie Moser was very con-
spicuous, the flower segments striped with
rosy lilac. Messrs. Cannell's Cannas were
veritable '• blazers." Of the Koses of Messrs.
W. Paul, Paul & Son, Turner, Cant, and
Mount the less said the better, simply
because words fail to do them justice, but
we cannot pass over Lady Roberts, Lady
Battersea, or the brilliant crimson Liberty.
Messrs. Cuthhert's hardy Azaleas were
beyond praise, and Pink Pearl Rhododendron,
shown by Messrs. John Waterer & Co.,
more than bears out its reputation.

The fruit trees shown by Mr. Leopold
de Rothschild and Messrs. Rivers were
triumphs of cultural skill, whilst the
numerous groups of tortured trees, Japanese
and others, appeal to many who, obviously,
do not object to vivisection! Sweet Peas
seemed a little out of season, but so, for the
matter of that, did the culinary Peas with
their profusion of pendent pods. Taken as
a whole, the show was less crowded than
usual with exhibits, to the great advantage
of thos3 which were shown. And it is a
great advantage to be rid of the long benches
tilled with ordinary '• stuff," which has little
charm for anybody but the exhibitor. We
fear the Society may have displeased sundry
would-be exhibitors; but we are quite sure
that the visitors arc proportionately
thankful !

The promoters of this organi-
National sation are making an anneal to

Fruit-growers . o K r

Federation, all who are interested in fruit
and fruit-tree culture in this
country, to give a support to the objects
sought to be secured by the promoters.
An influential provisional committee was
formed some time ago to frame a constitu-
tion and draw up rules; and at a recent
meeting at the Westminster Palace Hotel,
at which Colonel Long, M.P. for the Eves-
ham district presided, the following objects
were set forth : — The obtaining from rail-
way companies of fair rates for the convey-
ance and quicker transit for fruit; the
abolition of preferential rates, and the
giving of facilities for the introduction of
foreign produce over the home producer; to
urge the distinct labelling of jams manu-
factured from home-grown fruit; and the
collection anddiffusion of information useful
to fruit-growers.

The question of railway test cases in-
volving points of law was postponed pending
the obtaining of a legal opinion. One
matter felt to be a great grievance by those
who manufacture jams from home-grown
fruit appears to be that foreign fruit partly
prepared for jam is sent over to this country

in large quantities in the form of pulp,
converted into jam, and sold as home
manufactured.

The headquarters of the Federation are
in London. Col. Long, M.P., who rendered
so much help by championing in Parlia-
ment the Market Gardeners' Compensation
Act, is the first President ; and Mr. A. T.
Matthews, Eaton Rise, Ealing,, is the Secre-
tary. Already a large measure of support
has been promised to the Federation.

P/eonia Moutan " albo-lilacin A " (Sup-
plementary Illustration). — In the magnificent
gardens of Capt. G. L. Holford, CLE., at
Westonbirt, Tetbury (gr., Mr. Chapman), the
formation of a wonderful collection of trees
and shrubs of all descriptions was commenced
by his father, the late Robert Stayner Hol-
ford, Esq., and added to with much discrimi-
nation during his lifetime ; and this work has
been most enthusiastically continued by Capt.
G. L. Holford. Gardens such as those of
Westonbirt are continually affording examples
of exceptional beauty and luxuriance in some or
other of the subjects, which in gardens generally
are deemedunsatisfactory. Our illustration of a
fine specimen of Pseonia Moutan albo-lilacina,
of which the subject of our present Supplement
is a remarkable instance. The plant grows
in a sheltered nook, and recently carried a
profusion of its large white lilac-tinted flowers.
Captain Holford gives much attention to
the cultivation of plants from Chira and
Japan, but he does not claim to have ever
thoroughly mastered the cultivation of the
Moutan Pseony, for even in the Westonbirt
gardens the plants occasionally decline in
vigour, the fine existing collection of
Japanese Maples, and some other shrubs,
have been grown there with unvarying suc-
cess, mainly, he alleges, by applying water
copiously during May and June especially.
This method he finds ensures a strong early
growth, which ripens in time to be in a fit
state to withstand early frosts and protracted
winters.

Sir William Turner Thiselton - Dyer-
K.C.M.G., C.I.E., F.R.S.— The London Gazette
has announced the appointment of Sir William
Dyer, Director of the Royal Gardens, Kew, to
be Botanical Adviser to the Secretary of State
for the Colonies, an office of which he has long
fulfilled the duties with conspicuous success.

Liverpool Botanical Laboratory. — At
last the great wish of Professor Harvey Gib-
son, the eminent and popular Professor of
Botany at University College, Liverpool, has
been gratified by the erection of a fine and
imposing block of botanical laboratories.erected
at a cost of some £19,000 by Mr. W. P. Hart-
ley, of Aintree, a jam manufacturer, and wide-
noted philanthropist. The new buildings occupy
a good position in Brownlow Street, and when
thoroughly fitted up, will bo amongst the best
in the kingdom. Sir W. Thiselton-Dyer,
P.R.S., Director of the Royal Gardens, Kew,
recently performed the opening ceremony,
speaking particularly on the need of so
valuable a gift, and of the generosity of Mr.
W. P. Hartley.

Linnean Society.— On the occasion of the
evening meeting to be held on Thursday,
June 5, 1902, at 8 p.m., the following papers
will be read : — 1. On Certain Species of
Dischidia, and their Double Pitchers, by Mr.
H. H. W. Pearson, F.L.S. 2. On "Silver-
lea " Disease of Plums, by Prof. John Per-
cival, M.A., F.L.S. 3. Observations on the
occurrence of Crystals of Calcium oxalate in
Seedlings of Alsike (Trifolium hybridnm,

May 31, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

357

Linn.), by Prof. John Pbrcival, M.A., F.L.S.
1. On the Morphology of the Cerebral Com-
missures in the Vertebrate, by Dr. Elliot
Smith, M.A., F.L.S.

Labels.— The latest development of the
penny-in-the-slot industry is represented by
an automatic machine. By the action of this
machine, the penny having been previously
deposited, and sundry manipulations accom-
plished like those carried out in a typewriter,
the ultimate result is the production of a thin
strip of metal with the name of the operator
legibly embossed thereon. The result is so
good that we foresee a great future in store
for those who will utilise these machines for
producing metal labels, very legible and suited
for Roses, fruit-trees, or other garden pur-
poses. Put in the penny and spell out say
"Felieite-Perpetue," taking care to spell it
correctly ! and you will get a very serviceable,
indelible label. Of course, on the large scale
•there might be a reduction of cost.

Sale of Japanese Dwarf Trees.— At the
Conduit Street Auction Galleries, on the
23rd inst., Messrs. Knight, Frank & Rdtley
sold without reserve a collection of forty-
seven specimens formed by an enthusiastic
amateur in Japan, and well representing the
art of " nanizing." The plants were sold
just as received after importation, without
"nursing." The highest price realised was
£5, paid for a Taxus Sieboldi and two varieties
of Maple. A Juniperus chinensis procumbens,
aged about 120 years, 21 inches high, 26 inches
wide, in a terra-cotta pot, fetched &i 5s.

Manor House Gardens, Lee.— On Whit
Monday at noon, the Chairman of the Parks
Committee of the London County Council,
dedicated Manor House Gardens, Lee, "To
the use and enjoyment of the people of London
for ever." This Manor was held by the
Crown from the reign of Henry VIII. until
that of Charles I., who sold it to Ralph
Freeman, at one time Lord Mayor of London.
At about the close of the eighteenth century,
it became the property of Sir Francis Baring,
Bart., with whose family it had since remained.
The palace of St. James's at one time was
supplied with fruit from the then celebrated
gardens at the old Manor House.

Mr. Owen Thomas.— We learn that Mr.
Thomas, who was gardener to Queen Victoria
at Frogmore for several years, and who was
previously at Chatsworth and Drayton Manor,
is prepared to act as horticultural adviser in
all matters relating to horticulture, landscape
gardening, the decoration of mansions, &c.
Mr. Thomas has kindly consented to furnish us
with articles on Table Decoration and the
Adornment of Halls, Corridors, &c, articles
which will be of interest in relation to the
forthcoming Coronation. Mr. Thomas' expe-
rience at Windsor, Buckingham and St. James'
Palaces, was exceptionally large.

Corn Trade.— The fifth issue of the Corn
Trade Year Book is just announced. This
encyclopaedia of statistics will be found to be
of considerable value to members of the
grain, seed, and flour trades. The compiler of
the Year Book is Mr. G. J. S.Broomhall.F.S.S.,
editor of Corn Trade News. The article upon
I The World's Grain Trade " in the new edition
of the Encyclopa-tUa Britannica is by Mr.
Broomiiall.

" Paying Poultry."— We note that a little
book with this title has been published recently
by William A. May, "Farm, Field, and Fire-
side" Ollice, Essex Street, Strand. It deals
| with the breeds, housing and feeding, hatching
' and rearing of poultry, and also of their
; management for market and for the pro-

duction of eggs. Foreign competition is
lamented by the writer because its success
is in a measure due to the carelessness and in-
difference of the small British keepers, who
fail in method, punctuality, and other business
essentials, whereas, for instance, the French
poultry-raiser can be trusted in all these
points. New-laid eggs would be cheap and
matters-of-course, save for the indifference
shown in the matter by those small farmers
whose complaints are now loudest.

An Abnormal Dendrobium Falconerl—
We have received from Mr. Eedford, the gar-
dener at Straffan House, co. Kildare, flowers
of Dendrobium Falconeri, produced, as he
tells us, " In pairs, which is very unusual, I
think, as I have not met with an instance
before, although I have had long experience
among English collections. This plant has
150 flowers, but the pairs are only on the thin,
badly-finished growths ; all the thick nodes
have only one flower, as is the case with one
of those sent. Last year the same plant had
170 flowers, but there was no doubling at the
nodes. The plant is not so strong this year as
last." An interesting case, and probably an
expiring effort of the plant.

Flowers in Season.— Prunus Padus is a
handsome flowering half-tree that is well
known and appreciated in English gardens for
its pendulous racemes of small white flowers.
A much more attractive variety is C. p. Sie-
boldi, which possesses a flower raceme of
double the size of the type, the white purer,
and the flowers opening right to the extremity
of the raceme before they begin to drop. We
are indebted to Mr. Ant. Waterer for bunches
of each. He also very kindly sent flowering
shoots of Pyrus Malus Scheideekeri, a showy
variety.

PLANT PORTRAITS.

Deyeuxia elegans yariegata.— Decorative grass,
with linear greea leaves, bordered with yellow. C.
Pynaert in Berur de V Horticulture Beige, May 1.

Odontoolossum «rande, Lindley, var. Pittiana
Hoi-t. ; Kranzlin, in Garten Flora, t. 149S, May.— A variety
much less spotted than usual, and with a relatively
small, transversely oblong, white lip, flecked with
yellow.

BOOK NOTICE.

Elementary Plant Physiology. By Daniel
Trembly Macdougal (Longmans, Green &
Co.).

This is a valuable little treatise, intended
for use in schools. The old plan of being
lectured to is gradually disappearing, and in
its place is coming, not only demonstration by
the teacher, but the actual working out by the
pupil himself of the details of vegetable physi-
ology, so far as that is possible. Thus, in the
book before us, the pupil has to see for himself
and record the mode of elongation of dicotyledo-
nous stems and of leaves, the germination of
pollen-cells and of seeds, the processes of
osmosis, bleeding, transpiration, movement of
fluids, exhalation of oxygen, and the inter-
action of green plants and the atmosphere.

This constitutes one course, other longer
and more varied ones follow. The book gives
directions as to how the mode of growth of
the leaf, or whatever it may be, may bo seen.
The apparatus is of a simple, inexpensive
character, such as may readily be obtained in
schools.

A training of this character would be most
valuable to young men or elder boys pro-
posing to take up gardening. Much of it
might be done in winter evenings when out-
side work is not practicable. At a small cost
provision might bo made, say at Chiswick, to
carry out such a scheme as here laid down.

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

ORCHIDS AT WESTFIELD, WOKING.
In the gardens of Francis Wellesley, Esq.
(gr., Mr. Gilbert), the glass structures used
to be mainly devoted to the culture of Carna-
tions, and still several of the houses are filled
with fine batches of the best of the different
sections, all in splendid condition. But lately
two houses have been specially constructed
for cultivating Orchids, and their owner has
them already furnished with a fine selection
of some of the best to be obtained, hybrid
Cypripediums largely predominating. These
are arranged in sections, and disposed in
either the warm or the cool-house, according
to their requirements.

Cypripedium bellatulum, C. bellatulum
album, C. Godefroyte, C. G. leucocheilum, and
C. niveum and their hybrids are special
favourites, and these are very successfully
grown by suspending them from the roof, or
by elevating them well above the staging, the
pots on which they stand having saucers filled
with water for the double purpose of giving
moisture and keeping back insects. Among
the suspended plants were several fine C.
niveum, each sending up several flowers, and
which it is intended to hybridise; a noble
variety of C. bellatulum giganteum with a
profusion of large maroon-purple blotches on
its flowers ; and a very interesting plant of
the typical C. Godefroyse of the original im-
portation of M. Godefroy Leboeuf, and which
seems distinct from the plants more recently
imported.

Without doubt the best Cypripedium in the
collection, and the best of its class, is the
beautiful C. x Mrs. Wm. Mostyn, for which
Mr. Wellesley secured a First-class Certifi-
cate at the Royal Horticultural Society on
January 14, and which was illustrated in the
Gardeners' Chronicle, February 1, p. 75. Of
C. Fairieannm crosses there is a good collec-
tion, among them being several forms of C. x
Niobe, C. x H. Ballantine, C. x vexillarium
C. x Baron Schroder, C. x Juno, and others
of varieties of C. x Leeanum there is a selec.
collection ; of C. x Euryades, a good number
of fine forms, each differing widely from the.
others in point of colour ; and a very select
lot of varieties of C. insigne, including C. i.
Harefield Hall variety, and all the best of the
yellow forms of the C. i. Sanderse class.

Among the good Cypripediums noted in
flower, bud, or extra fine health, were the
beautiful C. x Salus var. Mrs. F. Wellesley,
C. x Ceres Fascinator, C. Lawrenceanum Hye-
anum, C. callosum Sandertc, C. rubescens
Ranjitsinghi, C. x Memoria Moensii, C. x
gigas, C. x eximium, C. x Poilettianum,
" Burford Beauty ; " C. Stonei Hackbridgense,
C. Allertonense, several of the now rare
C. glanduliferum, fine specimens of C. super-
biens, and the " Demidoff " variety of it; a
very fine set of C. Lawrenceanum, C. Kelpie
(Lawrenceanum x selligerum), some fine hy-
brids of C. Rothschildianum, of which C. x
W. E. Dickson is one of the handsomest, and
finest in colour, its short spikes, and large,
dark reddish-roso tinted flowers seeming to
indicate the ('. bellatulum hybrid had been
used in its production. Other Cypripediums
in flower were C. villosum aureum, C.
Hooker:©, C. Argus, C. Druryi, and other
species.

Besides the known and described varieties,
a number of improved seedlings of interesting
parentage were observed ; and Mr. Wellesley,
who makes Orchid-culture his chief pastime,
is already busy preparing for batches of new
hybrids, or of kno vn ones improved by better

858

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 31, 1902.

parents being used in obtaining them. In
such a collection, -where the best forms only
are grown, the prospects of seedling Orchids
are of the best.

Of other fine plants noted were the beautiful
white Cattleya Mossiae Arnoldiana, Westfield
variety, recently certificated; the pure white
C. Mossite alba, and C. Triantei alba, and some
finely eoloured C. Triamei, of which one
flowering for the first time from an imported
plant was the best ; a richly coloured C.
Warneri, a good Cattleya Skinneri alba, Laelio-
Cattleya x [Pallas, L.-C. x callistoglossa
ignescens, L.-C. x Gottoiana, the richly
coloured L.-C. Warnhamensis " Hypatia," and
other Lfelio-Cattleyas ; Lrelia x Latcna, a fine
form of Cattleya x Hardyana, and a very
select collection of varieties of Lselia anceps,
including the fine L. a. Chamberlainianum, L.
a. alba, L. a. Schroderse, L. a. Schroderiana,
and many of [the best of the other varieties,
both white and coloured.

Mr. Wellesley has carefully executed paint-
ings of many of his best things, and the draw-
ings are very useful for reference and for
comparison, to show the progress made by the
plants represented from year to year.

" set screw adjustment." In this, thebearings
in which the cutter spindle i evolves (techni-
cally termed "brassss") are free to move
slightly upwards or downwards in the frame of

THE LAWN - MOWEE :
ITS CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT.

(Continued from p. 337.)

The Cutters. — These are also important
parts of a machine, far more depends on the
adaptation of these to their work than is
generally supposed. The cutter or " cutting-
barrel " is, of course, the rotary knife which
by acting on the fixed blade on the machine
cuts the grass. So far as regards the cutters,
they may be roughly divided into the English
and American types, the latter however in-
cluding all those machines which although
English made yet are fitted with cutters of the
American pattern.

Firstly, therefore, the English pattern is that
with which everyone is familiar, viz., a spindle
or axle on which more wheels are

mounted. These' wheels are notched to receive
the cutter blades which are secured in the
notches, and are twisted to assist the cutting
action. In this type, however, the amount of
twist is not very great.

The American cutter, on the other hand, is
modelled on far different lines. The cutter
here is much larger in proportion, and has
fewer blades ; for whereas the English barrel
has seldom fewer than five, three is not
uncommon for American machines. Naturally,
to get good results, the blades of the cutter
are very much twisted. Both types, it should
be understood, do equally good work, but
each is adapted for different circumstances.
A standard pattern English mower for ordinary
use should not be put to work on rough or
long grass. The American types, however,
will work either with short or long grass,
but there is no gain in this, as where much
long or coarse grass is to be dealt with, it is
far better to have one of the special machines
made for this purpose by the leading makers,
as the work is far more efficiently clone by
these.

Reference has already been made to Messrs.
Ransomes' "double angle" cutting barrel.
This is a patented device by which each blade
is divided into two parts, each being set at a
different angle, and by this means a better
delivery of the cut grass is secured.

Adjustment of the cutters to the bottom
blade is variously carried out ; but by far the
oldest and most generally used by English
makers is what may be termed for distinction

c

d

\

FlCi. 181.— MESSRS. COLDWELI.'S FORM OF BOTTOM
BLADE ADJUSTMENT OF CUTTERS.

Flfi. 122.— FORMS OF ADJUSTMENT EMPLOYED BY
MESSRS. GREEN ON THEIR OLDER MACHINES.

A,

123.— FORM OF ADJUSTMENT OF CUTTERS
EMPLOYED BY MESSRS. GREEN ON
THEIR OLDER MACHINES.

Fig

124.— ADJUSTMENT USED BY MESSRS. RANSOMES
AND CO. ON THE "LION" MOWER.

the machine, and this movement is controlled
in most cases by two small screws (termed
" set screws "), one beneath and one above
the "brasses" mentioned. By slackening
the bottom screw and tightening the top, it

will be observed the cutter is lowered ; this-
only requires doing at long intervals if the
machine is kept in good order. There are
several varieties of this adjustment, some
having one screw and some two. In a few
of the older machines of Messrs. Green,
there is only one screw beneath the cutter-
spindle, and the adjustment is made by slacken-
ing this and tightening the two screws that
hold the brasses in their place, consequently
depressing them in their socket. This adjust-
ment is shown by a and b, fig. 122, in its various-
forms, and is used by Messrs. Ransomes
in a very good form, with only one screw
at the top, and a spring below the cutter-
bearings. This is of great advantage should
any object such as a stone or stick become
caught by the cutter, as it prevents injury to
a great extent by slightly giving way. Messrs-
Green and Messrs. Shauks both employ this
well-tried arrangement, which is very simple
and strong ; but great care should be taken to-
tighten each side equally, or the cutter wili
run stiffly, besides injuring itself and the
bottom knife.

The second class of adjustment is peculiar
to the side-wheel class, although in several
machines, notably the higher-class machines
of Messrs. Ransomes, Messrs. Shanks, and
Messrs. Green, the set screw form is adopted
in preference. Here the bottom knife moves,
instead of the cutter, this adjustment being
peculiar to American and American - type
machines, and one of the neatest forms is that
of Messrs. Chadburn & Cold well, which is
employed on all their machines of both classes.
This is shown by fig. 121, c, and is as follows -,
—The bottom blade or knife, a, is hinged to
the frame by pivots, !>, at each end, and has
attached to it two arms or levers, c, which are
pierced by two holes at their ends, in which a
screw-thread is cut. Into these holes two
screws, d, are fitted, which are just long
enough to fill the space between the two pro-
jections, e, c, cast on the frame of the machine.
Now it will be seen that as the screws, d,
cannot move from their positions, when they
are turned they move the arms, c, and with-
them the bottom blade in the direction of the
arrow, which is therefore brought closer to
the cutter.

Messrs. Ransomes, in "The Lion," adopt an
even simpler form shown by d, fig. 124. Here
the bottom knife is furnished with pivots or
hinges of the form shown, and it will be seen
that by tightening one bolt and loosening the
other the knife can be set closer to the cutter.

Grass Boxes.
Little need be said as to grass boxes, as.
these are not greatly varied as to fixing.
Generally they fasten simply by catching
against a projection on the frame on each side.
As regards the larger machines, where a pony,
donkey, or horse is used, as a rule it is more
convenient to empty the box while the machine
is at work ; and one of the best plans is that
used by Messrs. Shanks and others, wherein,
a kind of shovel is used, worked from the
handles— by moving this either to the right or
left the bos is emptied, being open at both,
ends. Another method is that used by Messrs.
Green, called " over-hand delivery," in which
the grass box is hinged, and by moving the
lever which is fitted to it (also worked from,
the handles) the box is turned completely over
and emptied.

TO REGULATE THE HEIGHT OF THE CUT.

As regards the small roller, or the two small
wheels in front of the cutter, that press the
grass down, and also serve to regulate the
height of the cut, there is little variety, as ia

May 31, 1902.

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

359

most cases they are adjusted by screws each
side of the machine. Two very notable ex-
ceptions to this are, first, Messrs. Ran-
fiomes' adjustment, 'wherein a small hand-
wheel is fitted each side of the machine, the
front roller being mounted very like the
manner in which the bottom knife is fitted on

MAXILLAEIA FEACTLFLEXA. r~~]

Our illustration (fig. 125) represents one of
those remarkable Orchids usually denominated
"botanical," a love for which, notwithstand-
ing his high success in the cultivation of tho
more showy species, has been consistently

over near the base ; cream-coloured, curved
petals, with wart-like protuberances on the
margins ; and a white labellum marked with
purple. It is a native of Ecuador.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

FlO. 125.— MAXILLARIA FRAOTTFLBXA.

Chadburn & Coldwcll's machines, previously
alluded to.

The other machino is the " Godiva," made
by Messrs. Barford & Perkins, which is very
similar, but the regulator is worked from the
handles — a very great convenience where the
height has to be altered when the machine is
in motion. Sydney Russell.

(To be continued.)

maintained by Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart.,
tho President of the Royal Horticultural So-
ciety. His remarkable group of Orchids of
singular structure at tho end of tho great
tent attracted much attention at tho Temple
Show.

Maxillaria fraetiflexa has yellow sepals,
slightly tinged with a bronzy hue, a singular
feature in the lateral one being their folding

RE "THE NEW ORCHARD AND GARDEN."— In

reply to your correspondent signing himself
" B.," there is an account of this book having
been published by William Lawson in 1597 in
Tracts on Practical Agriculture and Gardening,
by R. Weston, Esq., dated 1773 ; and he also
states that another edition was published in
1G23. C. Sandford,

Replying to the enquiry for the date of

publicatiou of the New Orchard and Garden, by
William Lawson, in your recent issue, p. 345, I
have not the slightest doubt but what the date
mentioned, 1597, is correct. The copy I have
is dated 1623, but the author states on the
title page " That this is the experience of
forty-eight years' labour, and now, the second
time, corrected and much enlarged by William
Lawson, whereunto, is newly added the art of
propagating plants with the true ordering of
all manner of fruits in their gathering, carry-
ing home, andpreservation." This should prove
beyond any doubt, that the first edition must
have been printed some years before. The
copy I have in my possession, I paid £8 10s.
for. I have been very much interested in
reading this old book, and the quaint way in
which the author describes the best way to
form a new orchard. I have several other
very old books iu my possession, one of which
is the Jewel House of Art and Nature, by Hugh
Piatt, dated 1594. J. Basham, Bassaleg,
Monmouth.

AN OLD PLANT REHABILITATED. — At the

meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on
September 7, 1901, a Certificate was awarded
to a handsome pot-plant bearing a name unpro-
nounceable save by Scot or Teuton, of Kochia
scoparia. The plant is figured iu the last
volume of the Gardeners' Chronicle, p. 359,
and as it is likely to be popular for some time
to come, a short resume of its history may not
be unacceptable. I may here interpolate the
remark that I had seeds of Kochia scoparia
sent me from the Continent about ten years
ago, and as none of them germinated, I thought
tho seeds must have been too old ; but it
would appear they sometimes lie a considerable
time in the soil before germinating. The fact
that tho plant up to about a hundred years
ago was known as Chenopoclium scoparia
would, however, indicate its cultivation to be
of the simplest. Italy would appear to have
first discovered the adaptability of tho plants
to garden purposes, and there it must have
been cultivated for a considerable period pre-
vious to its introduction to Northern Europe
and to England, and it is curious to find it
confounded with Campanula rotundifolia and
with French Marigolds, while Dos Sorres
writes of it as a shrub. Parkinson, who
figures and describes the plant as tho
" Brooiuo Tode Flax," has been credited with
its introduction to English gardens ; but that
is more than he himself claims, for he expli-
citly states, after mentioning that it was cul-
tivated in Italy, in pots, "even with us also
(it) hath growue to bo so dainty a greene
bush," &c. So wo may safely conclude it
was grown in tho best gardens near London
and elsewhere years previous to 1029. Indeed,
as early as 1578, Lyte figures and describes it;
and old Uerarde, becoming quite gossipy in
his remarks, gives one the impression ho must
havo been in some degree acquainted with it —
the only thing thai raises a doubt in one's
mind being his expressed belief that the leaves
kept "greene all the winter." i'.ut it may be
noted that Parkinson m ikes an equally strange
mistake in asserting the Bowers to be red.
Gtararde, as usual, is Uvish in names, telling
us it is called in Italian " Bel- videre, or Fair
in Sight," and "The Kushio, or Besomo Todo

360

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 31, 1302.

Flax." The reason he enunciates for the latter
names carries with it a glimpse of a social
custom of the period, for he says it received
these names because it is a " fit thing to make
broomes of, wherewith schollers and students
may sweepe their own studies and closets."
On this account it was also called " The
Student's Herb." Why the plant should have
been admitted among the Linarias is not clear,
unless it was owing to the resemblance the
foliage bore to Flax-leaves, just as Aster Lino-
syris was called " Golden Toad Flax" for a like
reason. Gerarde remarked the general likeness
of the plant to a. young Cypress-tree, and in
course of time it became known as Summer
Cypress, and sometimes Mock Cypress. But all
through the seventeenth century it was better
known as Belvidere, Evelyn and Rea being
writers who use the latter name. In the next
century, when it would appear to have been
largely cultivated in pots for placing in court-
yards and other prominent positions about the
house and garden, the former designation was
commonly used. It laid aside its generic name
about the same time, and appears in Hortua
Cliffordiensis as Chenopodium scoparium — sco-
paria, a very old designation, referring to its
qualities as a "besom," that has stuck to it
all along. It has borne its present name for
nearly a century, and it is not reassuring that
the plant has gone largely out of cultivation
in that time. However, there is a fair supply
of names to choose from, of which the above
forms a selection. Personally, I should like
that which has been longest known, viz.,
Belvidere. B., Tyninghatne.

richardia elliotiana. — In answer to your
correspondent, Mr. McLeod, Dover House,
Roehampton, concerning Richardia Elliotiana,
I should like to say that I have, like him,
been successful in flowering this species from
seed under similar treatment to that he
adopted ; but in the case of a tuber of C.
Pentlandi received from a nurseryman at
Capetown more than four years ago, I have
been unable to flower it, although it got
stronger each year. Another plant, Gerbera
Jamesoni, received at the same time as the
Richardia, I have failed to flower. For the
first two years it received greenhouse treat-
ment, then I was advised to plant it outside on
a warm border ; but still I cannot flower it.
I should be pleased to hear if any of your
numerous readers have been successful in
flowering the plants I have mentioned above.
J. Adams, Lynchmere Gardens, Haslemere.

RAINFALL AT ISLEWORTH. — We have con-
cluded, May 12 to 17, a period of six successive
•wet days — a very unusual sequence in this
part of England. Throughout this period the
rainfall was intermittent, and generally very
light, so that the total fall only measured
0-83 inch. Early in the morning of May 14
we experienced 1° of "air" frost, which
temperature continued for some hours, and
injured the foliag? of all Japanese Acers, and
some varieties of Platanus. It is difficult to
say exactly what amount of damage the in-
clement weather has done to the fruit crop.
Apples and Walnuts may have suffered con-
siderably, but on the other hand Plums give
exceptional promise. Crops generally are a
few days late, but by no means unpromising.
The Meteorological Office gave us four hours
warning before dark on May 13 to expect
frost, and this enabled many delicate plants
to be saved from destruction. A. Worsley,
Isleworth.

THE WEATHER AND THE FRUIT CROPS. —

We have experienced in this part of Kent very
unseasonable weather. At 11 o'clock p.m. on
May 13 the thermometer hanging in a rather
sheltered position, recorded 5° of frost ; and
the following morning it was 10°. The damage
to the fruit is phenomenal : the whole of the
Strawberry - blooms being destroyed, and a
close examination of the small buds showed
these also to be frozen. The majority of the
Gooseberries are frozen, only those sheltered
under the leaves escaping. Plums and Cherries
generally are destroyed, and the Currants are

turning black. Apricots on walls are gone.
The Apple- blossom appears to have been
badly smitten, although the damage will be
apparent later. All of the early Potatos are
destroyed. The loss to the fruit-growers in
this immediate neighbourhood will be very
great, and I already hear of one on this estate
who roughly estimates his damage at from
£500 to £1,000. Truly, fruit - growing on a
large scale is a hazardous undertaking in this
country. E. Walters, Eastwell Park Gardens,
Ashford, Kent.

■ — — I know not how people further south are
faring as regards frost, but in this neighbour-
hood— North Warwickshire — we are having
far too much of it. Most mornings all this
month the ice on ponds has been the thickness
of a good old-fashioned penny-piece. A great
deal of the Pear, Plum, and Cherry-blossom
has been killed ; some of the earlier blooms of
Apples, such as Cellini, are also killed. The
stems of Nettles, Fool's Parsley, and such
rank weeds, are in the mornings laid flat with
the ground. Nothing seems to grow kindly,
there being cold north-east winds, with very
little sunshine, and the sky often obscured
with a dark pall of what country people
generally call blight— oftener "bloight," not-
withstanding all our improved teachings in
colleges and schools ! Potatos, too, are coming
through, and unless some earth is immediately
drawn over them, they are blackened. If the
weather did but become mild, all this might
soon be forgotten ; but unless we get warm,
growing weather, we fear there will be a
shortage of fruit, notwithstanding the very
liberal and promising show of blossom. Let
us hope for the best ; things are seldom so
bad as they might have been. W. Miller.
[Since the above was penned, pleasanter
weather conditions have prevailed in England.
Ed.]

One of the greatest promises of a

bountiful crop of fruit in this neighbourhood
was destroyed by 12° of frost on the morning
of the 14th inst. Strawberries and Apples
were only in bud, very few fully expanded
blooms were to be seen. These, however,
shared the same fate as the Pears, which
were just passing out of bloom ; needless
to say these buds were frozen through,
and as they open reveal a sad spectacle, the
stigmas on the Apple are blackened, while
the Strawberries are nearly all blackened too,
notwithstanding a heavy crop of healthy
foliage. It is eight years since we have
experienced such a frost so late in the season,
but then we had 15° of frost on the 19th of
present month, which was an unusually early
season. So far as I am at present enabled to
judge, we shall have a very poor crop of fruit
of any kind, except Peaches, Nectarines,
and Apricots, which set a good crop some
weeks since, and which have been well pro-
tected by heavy blinds, &c. Chestnuts are yet
in bud only, and it will be some days before
they are in bloom. T. Arnold, Cirencester
House Gardens, May 22.

hardy geraniums.— Mr. Arnott has done
well to bring forward the claim of the Cranes-
bills to a place in our gardens. I have grown
mostof them for years, and am accustomed to the
surprise of visitors, first, at their beauty ; and
secondly, at hearing them called Geraniums. I
would supplement Mr. Arnott's list by phseum,
and far the finest of all, platypetalum. He may
confer a favour on those whom his paper in-
terests by telling them where to obtain seed,
I think not through nurserymen's catalogues.
Corycius senex, May 24, 1902.

low temperatures. — Referring to the
note on "Lowest Temperatures" (p. 294), I
beg to say I received on February 14, 1900, a
letter dated October 30, 1899, from the mete-
orological station at Werchojansk (Vherk-
ho'iansk), with meteorological notes over 1896,
and some other very interesting data. The
minimum temperature occurred in February,
1892, with — 70° C. = — 94° F. = 126° F. of
frost (not 122° as stated in Nature) ; maximum
in summer 31° C. - 88° F. Velocity of wind

for the whole year 1*3 metre per second ! this
differs very little from a continual absence o£
wind. Winter minimum, — 55° F. ; spring,
1° F. ; autumn, — 1° F. ; summer, 52° F. ; only
June is free of frost ; July has 31° F. as the
minimum. Clear days 78, clouded 67, snow-
days 54, rainy days 24 ; the wettest month is
June, the driest April. Further particulars I
can supply. M. Buysman, Middleburg, Holland.

spinach.— The "certain Spinach," once
popular, a correspondent is making enquiry
about, on p. 341, is, I have no doubt, Cheno-
podium bonus Henricus, perennial Goosefoot,
and more commonly known as Good King
Henry. [No !J It is employed in Lincolnshire as I
a pot-herb, and I knew a Lincolnshire family j
who brought plants of it into Warwickshire,
cultivated a good bed of it, and made frequent [
use of it as Spinach. The plant is described
in Bentham's British Flora, and in Hooker's !
Flora of the British Isles. It is also described
in Thornton's Family Herbal, 1810, the author ,
describing it as Striking Goosefoot or Orach, !
Chenopodium footidum. In Thornton's time
the leaves were used as an antidote in hysteria !
and spasmodic complaints ; leaves applied ex-
ternally hasten suppuration. " Folia emol-
liunt, dolores sopiunt, et suppurationcm ma- |
turescent." W. Miller.

©bftuan?.

James Batley.— The death of the above-
named gardener, at the ripe old age of
eighty -two, took place on May 11 at the
Gardens, Wentworth Castle, near Barnsley.
The whole of his working life was spent in the
services of the Vernon - Wentworth family,
owners of the Wentworth Castle estates. For
over forty years he was head gardener, having
succeeded his father in that position. Some
years ago Mr. James Batley had to resign his
position from failing health, the family very
kindly giving him a pension. At that time his-
son, Mr. George Batley, the present gardener,
was his father's successor. It is an event
worth noting that three generations of gar-
deners served the same family for a largo
portion of the past century. The writer of
this note well remembers being sent by the-
late Mr. Law, gardener at Wortley Hall, in
Yorks, with a note to Mr. Batley asking him
to accompany him to Trentham to get the
dimensions of some upright ridge and furrow
Peach-cases, then much thought of by Mr. Flem-
ing, gardener at Trentham— this was in 1857.
If I remember rightly, it took two days to do
this, though probably not more than 70 miles
distant. As a sound, practical gardener of the
old school, Mr. Batley was one of the very
best. Very fine crops of fine fruit, both of
Grapes, Pines, and Peaches, were annually
produced at Wentworth Castle, or Stain-
borough Hall, as it is more familiarly known
in Yorkshire. Like many more men with real
horticultural grit, Mr. Batley was content to-
remain in what may be termed the background
of gardening. All the same, he was a most
intelligent, well-read, and well-informed man
on all subjects connected therewith. The oakeni
casket that contained his mortal remains was
made from timber grown on the estate where
his life had been spent. I ought to mention
that Mr. Batley had artistic tastes of ni>
mean character, as some of his oil paintings
will testify, fl. J. C.

Thos. Marriott. — We regret to announce
the death at Southport on May 20 of Thos.
Marriott, nurseryman and florist (the oldest in
Southport), where he had resided ever since
he came to Southport twenty-seven years ago.
The deceased was a native of Derbyshire. He
was a member of the committee of the South-
port Horticultural Society, and gained many
prizes at its shows. Every year he won 1st
prizes for British Ferns, Cucumbers, Tomatos,
and table plants, and before coining to South-
port he took the leading prizes in the Notting- ,
hamshire shows. He leaves a widow, four
sons, and three daughters. The funeral was
largely attended by relatives of the deceased.

May 31, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

361

Societies.

Temple Show continued from p. iv. of supplement.

CUT FLOWERS— continued.

TULIPS.

Messrs. W Cutbush & Son, Higligate Nurseries, had
a good collection, and it included also some florists'
varieties, forms of Gesneriana and Darwin types. A
few of the most striking were Beaut y of America, pale
primrose; Picotee, macrospila, &o., the flowers fiesh
and line.

Mr. R. C. Kotcutt, nurserjman, Woodbridge and
Ipswich, also had a representative collection, fresh
and bright examples prevailed; a few of the most
attractive were Clara Butt, flava, Gesneriana, English
rectified varieties, Parrots, &c.

Messrs, li. S. Williams & Son, Victoria Nurseries,
Holloway, also had a large collection, which included
Bouton d'Or, Maiden's Blush, Gold Cup, Parisian
Yellow, Billiettiana, crested crown, gold flamed with
crimson, Mrs. Moon. This collection also included
Spanish Iris, early Gladioli, <£c.

Mr. H. J. Jones, Lewisham, also included Tulips in a
large collection of cut flowers lie staged, and included
were fine examples of Bidiettiana, Zeno, La Tulipe
Noire, quite black; Flava, Gala Beauty, and several
Parrot varieties, also Anemones of the Alderborough
type, Iris, Iceland Poppies, &c.

Sweet Peas.— Collections of these were staged by
Messrs. Jones & Son, nurserymen, Shrewsbury, who
had good bunches of Prince Edward of York, Mrs.
Eckford, Venus, Hon. Mrs. E. Kenyon, Salopian,
Baden-Powell, Lady Mary Currie, Countess of Powis,
Lord Kenyon, Countess Cadogan, Triumph, Navy Blue,
New Countess, Gorgeous, &c, in all about thirty
bunches.

Mr. Robert Sydenham, Tenby Street, Birmingham,
had a selection of well-developed varieties, it included
such sorts as Coccinea, Gaiety, Salopean, Miss
Willmott, Lady Mary Currie, Black Knight, Lord
Kenyon, Prima Donna, Lady G. Hamilton, Blanche
Burpee, Hon. Mrs. E. Kenyon, &c.

Mr. C. A. Watts, 30, Mark Lane, E.C., had some
bunches of fairly developed varieties, which included
Miss Willmott, Countess of Lathom, Princess Beatrice,
Mars, Navy Blue, Salopian, Lady Mary Currie, &c.

MISCELLANEOUS CUT FLOWERS.

Messrs. Dobbie <fc Co., nurserymen, Rothesay, l.ad
a large collection of very finely developed Fancy
Pansies, including several new varieties; and also a
large collection of sprays of Violas; this formed a
highly-attractive feature, and attention shall be called
to the Fancy Pansies later on.

Messrs. W. H. Rogers & Son, nurserymen, Southamp-
ton, had a collection of sprays of flowering shrubs,
such as the newer forms of Lilacs; various Cytisus,
Ceanothus japillosus, Andromeda formosa, Magnolia
purpurea, Choysia teruata, Genista pra?cox, <ic.

Messrs. Blackmoee & Lanodon, Madeley, had
Carnation Nellie Eskris, a yellow ground Picotee ;
Novelty, a large striped Fancy, and a few blooms of
double and single Begonias.

Mr. Caparn, Guernsey, had various Iris, and some
varieties of Sparaxis of a bright character.

Messrs. Reamsbottom <St Co., Gledhill, King's County,
had a really superb collection of their tine strain (if
Alderborough St. Brigid Anemones, fresh, bright and
very striking.

Messrs. Geo. Boves & Co., Aylestone Nurseries,
Leicester, had neat bunches of CarnatiOEs set up in
vases with thtir own foliage; small Dowers generally
with gcod calyce3.

Messrs. Bark, 4: Son, in addition to their Tulips, l.ad
a 'charming collection of Spanish Iris, of which the
following were very pretty; Sunset, California, Donna
Maria, Blue Beauty; Early Gladioli, <&c., also Cytisus,
Trollius nudicaulc Poppies, and a great assortment
of liauly plants.

Messrs. R. Smith & Co., nurserymen, Worcester, had
Iris in variety, Trollius, Lupinus, Pyiellirums,
Heuchcra, Anemones, a few Tulips, &c.

Messrs. Kelwav & Son, nurserymen, Langport, had
Peonies, among them a very line single white named
Queen Alexandra, and a crimson named King
Edward VII., Iris florentina, Pyrethruui roscum
nanum, very pretty pink; .Erigcron Roylci, a dwarf
blue-dowered Composite and very fine ; E. aurantiacus,
rich yellow ; Canadian Columbines in beautiful variety
were also in telling masses. In the smaller things

Rosa altaica is very pretty with white flowers; and so,
too, the Achillea mongolica, very free and about one
foot high. The orange of Papaver pilosum is very rich,
and of other good things Aquilegia Sluarti, Saxifraga
pyramidalis, S. Maenabiana, Cheiranthus alpinus,
and Iberis Little Gem are worthy of note in a very
fine lot. ManyTulips, Irises, and such things as Pyre-
thrums were also set up.

Messrs. Wallace & Co., Colchester, had a display of
hardy things that may be described as well nigh
unique. Indeed the Lilies, the hardy Cypripediums,
the Calochortus alone were a feature, and attracted a
good deal of notice. It is not possible to enumei ate
anything approaching a full list of the plants shown,
but among the more telling we noted Brodisea coccinea,
Tulipa persica, Sparaxis Fire King with flame scarlet
and black petals and gold centre. Among the hardy
Orchids were Cypripcdium spectabile, C. pubes-
cens, C. occidentale, C. acaulc, ic , and associated
with the native American Fern, Adiantum pedatum
were very beautiful; the Calochortus, too, were very
fine, beautiful in blossom, and in their great variety,
free, graceful in bearing, the large open cups of ala-
baster and mahogany naturally caught the eye. Lilies,
too, were also good, such as L. excelsum, L. Dalhousie,
L. Martagon, L. Hansoni, L. rsbellum ; and a great
wealth of flowers of the Thunbergiauum and
davuricum groups. Cushion Irises were also good and
numerous, such as I. lupiua robusta, I. Barmusa;, I.
atro-purpurca, I. Sofrana, and I. s. magnifica, the
latter like a glorified I. atrofusca; Tulips, Spanish
Irises, Ixias and Sparaxis were also in great force, and
made a rich display of colour in one of the most
interesting groups in the exhibition.

Mr. Amos Perrt, Winchmore Hill, also set up a splen-
did lot of things, filling some 160 feet of tabling. A
feature in this group was the Ercmurus, E. himalaicus,
strongly represented by a dozen fine spikes. And in
less quantity, the pink flowered E. robustus. In this
lot many things were shown en masse, as e g., Ramondia
pyrenaiea, Lewisia rcdiviva, Thalietrum orientale, a
good white; Anchusa augustifolia, rich gentian blue;
Incarvillea Delavayi and others. Of interesting things
in smaller compass we noted Lithospermumcanescens,
Codonopsis viridiliora, Lathyrus azureus, Oenothera
speciosa rosea, Oxalis euueifolia, a rare species with
white flowers; Townsendia graudiflora, a white,
gazania-like flower, which should make a capi al rock
plant. Dracocephalium nutans alpinum is a fine piece
of blue not more than one foot high, and most telling.
Alpine Phloxes and many other showy things were also
in this lot.

SOME EXHIBITS OUT OF-DOORS.

The pretty little hardy Daphne Cneorum was well
shown by Mr. A. Knowi.es, Horsell Birch Nursery,
Surrey.

Two very fine plants of Cocos Yatay were exhibited
by Messrs. Sander & Sons, St. Albans.

Mr. Jno. Russell, Richmond Nurseries, Surrey, had
a large group of hardy trees, shrubs, and other plants,
including many choice species and varieties, as
Dimorphanthus mandschuricus foliis variegatis, iSc.

Mr. S. Bide, Alma Nursery, Farnham, had a group of
plants composed of Yucca aloefolia variegata, and
Dimorphanthus mandschuricus fol. argenteus mar-
ginata.

Japanese Maples, observable in many exhibits, were
the subject of a group of plants from Messrs. T.
CBIPPS & Sons, Tunbridge Wells, in which a great
number of varieties were represented.

Messrs. R. Smith St Co., Worcester, had small plants
of choice varieties of Conifers lifted from the open
their roots contained in mats.

A very imposing group of plants out-of-doors, but
placed in somewhat an out-of-the-way spot, was one
from Leopold de Rothschild, Esq., Gunnersbury
House, Acton (gr , Mr. J. Hudson). This consisted of
mammoth plants of scented- leaved Pelargoniums,
trained in the shape of fans, balloons, Ac, as shown
in our Supplementary Illustration, April 19, 1903.
They attracted much attention, as did the very large
specimens of white-flowering Marguerites. Several
new Nyinphieas were exhibited in conjunction with
these, as Mrs. Ward, rose colour; W. Stone, blue; and
the N. stellata Berlin var. One of the former varieties
was awarded a First-class Certificate.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons had a group of Bunboos,
and a bed was planted with Primula iniperialis
(yellow), and P. japonica (purple).

The exhibitors of clipped trees had this year to com-
pete against others showing specimens of the Japanese
dwarfed trees, and between them they were very

curiously inspected by a large proportion of the
visitors. The largest collection of clipped trees, repre-
senting animals, birds, and objects, was again shown
by Messrs. W. Cutbcsh & Son, Higligate Nurseries,
London, and a very representative lot they were. Of
the Japanese type, which are merely dwarfed or
"nanized," the largest collection came from Messrs.
Barr & Sons, King Street, Covent Garden, London,
who built a neat tent in which to display the plants.

Messrs. Jas. Carter & Co., High Holborn, London,
had also a moderate-sized collection in a kind of
annexe to ®ne of the tents. Another exhibit of the
same type was from Mr. S. Eida, 5, Conduit Street,
Regent Street, W.

Messrs. Fbomow & Sons, Nurseries, Sutton Court
Road, Chiswick, showed out of door picture jlantsin
pots in considerable numbers. Wo remarkel speci-
mens of most of the varieties of Japanese Acers, both
green and other coloured. Acer sanguineum varie-
gatum is a distinct variety, as are likewise A.roseum
marginatum and A. palmatum coraliuum, one of the
small-leaved varieties. The group was edged with
Aralia pentaphylla, a hardy species, with while and
green variegated foliage. The plants were in almost
all cases of free, vigorous growth.

MISCELLANEOUS EXHIBITS.

Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Royal Exotic Nur-
series, King's Road, Chelsea, exhibited a group of mis-
cellaneous plants in the Orchid tent. The plants weie
all, or most of them, out-of-door species. T. e al iping
surface of the group was broken by spikes of Eremurus
himalaicus, and the small but pretty yellow species,
E. Bungei. The group was composed of such a quan-
tity of choice plants every one of which would bear
close inspection, it is possible that many of tfceni were
overlooked by visitors. There were very large plants
of Weigelas, Madame Couturier, and Eva Rathkr.
Rhododendrons ProTietheus, W. E. Gladstone, a
charming variety, in which the colour is very
beautifully shaded, and other varieties; WisJ
taria multijuga, W. sinensis, and W. s. alb .
Veronica Hulkeana, 2." ft. high, witli long racemes of
small, very pale-coloured flowers; AIstr<e:neria auran-
tiaca, A. pclcgrina rosea, Hydrangea Mariesii, II.
japODica variegata, leaves variegated witli white; H.
Hortcnsia rosea, Andromeda speciosa oassinefolic,
Ceanothus Veitchianus, Magnolia Watsoui, M. Lennie,
Tree Pieonies Madame Stuart Low and Reino Eliza-
beth, bo h pretty and richly coloured varieties;
Japanese Acers, Viburnum plieatum, Azalea rose?,
fl -pi ; Kalmia latifolia, Ghent Azalea Fama, an
extremely large plant of a very beautiful rose coloured
variety; Philadelphia ercctus, Hibiscus granditiorus
superba, and other species.

Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons also showed a nice group
of plants of the bright flowered Kalanchce flanmea,
and a group of plants of Schizanthus Wisctonensis.

Messrs. W. Balchin & Sons, Hassocks Nurseries,
Sussex, again showed some of the choicer greenhouse
plants, in the vultivation of which they succeed so
well. These included the new Erica piopendeus, with
mauve coloured flowers; Richardia Elliotiana, Bo-
ronia hetcropnylla, Lcsehenaultia biloba major,
Boronia elatior, Gcnetyllis tulipifera, Erica Spenceri,
Aphelexis humilis, and the Posoqucria Ion lflora, with
white, tubular flowers.

Mr. K. Drost, Richmond, Surrey, exhibited a large
group of Lilium longiflorum in full flower, very well-
grown specimens.

Mr. W. R. Newport, Hillingdon Heath, Uxbridge,
exhibited the violet-purple flowered Lobelia Newport's
Model.

Messrs. Watkins & Simpson, 12, Tavistock Street,
Covent Garden, London, W.C., exhibited a group uf
plants of Lantanas, and recommended them as bedding
plants. These were in 3-inch pots, and represented
the colours orange, pink, white, yellow, mauve, &C.

Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans, Herts, exhibited
a group of Orange-trees (Citrus sinensis) in pots,
bearing abundant fruits, also some Lice plants of
Dimorphanthus mandschuricus foliis variegatis, and a
few pretty varieties of Caladium.

Lilies of the VUley were exhibited by Mr. William
Iceton, of Granard Nurseries, Putney Palk Lane,
London, S.W., who showed some very strong pl.in.ts
from retarded crowns forced in boxes. Mr. W.
PocparT, Twickenham, who had flowers from the open
ground; and Mr. T. Jannoch, Dec- ingli.i.ii, Norfolk,
who, in addition to Lilies of the Valley, showed
dowering sprays of single and double Lilacs.
Messrs. Jas Vbitch 4 Sons, In addition to cxhll il

362

THE GA RDENER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

[May 31, 1902.

remarked upou elsewhere, had a very fine display of
their strains of Streptocarpus in several colours.

Messrs. Jas. Carter &Co., showed pretty groups of
stellate flowered Cinerarias, aud a very fine show of
single and double flowered Petunias, another of Schiz-
anthus, Ac.

Messrs. W. & J. Brown, Peterborough, hadagroupof
well-grown plants, including Carnations, Heliotropes,
bedding Pelargoniums, to.

Fruit and Vegetable Committee.

Present : Geo. Bunyard, Esq., Chairman ; and Messrs.
G. T. Miles, George Woodward, W. Bates, A. H. Pearson,
Jos. Cheal, W. Poupart, A. L\Vare, John Basham, W.
Fyfe, F. Q. Lane, J. Willard, S. Mortimer, Geo. Bunyard,
Geo. Wythes, Thos Coomber, Geo. Reynolds, H. Mark-
ham, W. H. Divers, Geo. Keif, J. Jaques, H. Balderson,
W. Iggulden, W. Pope, H. Eslings, and Alex. Dean.

FRUITS.

Placed in the great tent amidst masses of brilliantly
coloured flowering plants, and there, to some extent,
in apparently incongruous surroundings, were two fine
collections of fruit-trees in pots. First, and standing
at one end of the central stage, otherwise filled with
Orchids, was a collection of some thirty Cherries in
pots, the trees averaging 6 feet in height, and abun-
dantly fruited, from Gunnersbury House Gardens,
Acton, the residence of Leopold Rothschild, Esq.,
Mr. Hudson, the gardener, showed by these trees how
admirably Cherries can be grown under glass, and
presented to table in a delightfully attractive way.
The varieties were Governor Wood, Early Bigarreau,
Frogmore Early, Empress Eugenie, Belle d'Orleans,
Guigne d'Aimonay, and the fine black Bigarreau de
Schreken ; also fruits of Early Rivers' Nectarine in
baskets. Fronting the trees and set in a margin of foliage
plants were in one basket, fine Cardinal Nectarine, Trans-
parent Gage Plum, and Royal Sovereign Strawberry; and
in the other, fine fruits of Cherries Govern or Wood and
Early Bigarreau, white ; and May Duke and Bigarreau
de Schreken. dark. Also good bunches of Black Ham-
burgh and Early Auvergne Frontignan Grapes. There
was also a good bunch of home-grown Bananas.

Messrs. T. Rivees & Sons, Sawbridgeworth, also had
on one side of the great tent a collection of chiefly
their superb Nectarines, Cardinal and Early Rivers;
also Peaches Duke of York, Hale's Early, Early Rivers,
and Duchess of Cornwall, and Cherry May Duke.
There were some thirty of these trees, all heavily
fruited, in the group. There were also large baskets
of Cardinal and Early Rivers Nectarines, and Prince
Edward and Early Rivers Peaches, all very fine. Natu-
rally, this group suffered somewhat from being
bordered by brilliant-flowering plants. One other
collection in pots was of Oranges, staged by Messrs.
Sandee & Sons, St.' Albans. There were twenty-five of
these, some 2J feet In height, all heavily fruited, and
presenting a very ornamental appearance. The variety
was the small-fruited Citrus sinensis.

Dish Collections. — Of dessert fruits there were two very
fine and admirably staged collections, coming respec-
tively from Ashstead Park, Surrey, and Buscot Park,
Berks. The first-named setup by Mr. G. Hunt, gr. to
Pantia Ralli, Esq., included three tall branched
stands, the central one being 3 feet in height, the end
ones being rather lower. These were dressed with
Hamburgh Grapes, Melons, Royal Sovereign Straw-
berries, Cherries, Peaches, and Nectarines. Also on
wicker stands were Melons, Sutton's Ringleader, Best-
Of-All, The Countess, Royal Favourite, and Ashstead
Park. Peaches, in plates, were Early Grosse Mig-
nonne. Brown Turkey Figs, very fine; Royal Sovereign
Strawberries, several unnamed Apples, to,, the whole
comprising thirteen disl es in addition to the stands.

The collection from Buscot Park, Faringdon, Berks,
the residence of Alex. Henderson, Esq., M. P., whose
gardener, Mr. W. L. Bastin, made an excellent show.
The central figure was a board covered with a white paper
and some 3 feet wide, on which were fixed eight bunches
of Foster's Seedling Grape, dressed with sprays of Aspa-
ragus plumosus. On either hand were four branched
wicker stands. Of these two were dressed with nice
fruits of Melons Hero of Lockinge and Earl's Fa-
vourite, the other pair containing Cardinal Nectarines,
very fine ; Brown Turkey Figs, aud Alexander Peaches;
also on small stanis and in dishes were Queen
Pines, Buscot Park Hero Melons, Mayduke and early
Rivers Cherries, Royal Sovereign Strawberries, and
several diverse Apples, generally good samples.

Mr. W. Allan, gr. to Lord Suffield, Gunton Park,
Norwich, had a group of eighteen plants of his new
Strawberry, Gunton Park. Each plant carried ten

fruits in various stages of development. The fruits are
medium-sized, narrow, aud pointed, of a very dark
colour, and were of excellent flavour.

APPLES.

There were two large collections of these, all of
course, late kept fruits, some of them, however, being
much past their best. A fine one of niuety-five dishes
came from Messrs. G. Bunvard & ons, Maidstone.
A central feature was a wicker stand, on which were
fine dishes of Winter Peach, Baldwin, and Wagener,
and immediately fronting it was a basket, for the time
of year, of exceptiona ly fine Bismarck. A dressing of
Asparagus Sprengeri and variegated Vine added
much charm to this arrangement of dishes.

Of dessert varieties there were capital Norman's
Pippin, Swedish Reinette, Baxter's Pearmain,
Lord Burgh'ey, Allen's Everlastiug, Lansberger
Reinette, Blenheim Orange Pippin, Hubbard's Pear-
main, Christmas Pearmain, Calville Blanche, Claygate
Pearmain, Rambour Papelen, Foster's Seedling, aud
Washington. Of cooking Apples, Annie Elizabeth,
Calville des Femmes, Lane's Prince Albert, Tibbet's
Pearmain, Gloria Mundi, Wadhurst Pippin, Alfriston,
Belle Pontoise, Lord Derby, and Sandringham, were all
good.

The other collection, one of ninety-eight dishes and
baskets, came from Mr. J. Watkins, Withington, Here-
ford. The fruits generally showed rich colour. In flat
baskets were Wagener, Bess Pool, Belle de Pontoise,
' Beauty of Kent, Graham, Loid Beaconsfield, Striped
Beefiug, and Murfitt's Seedling. In dishes were very
good Ribston Pippin, Prince Imperial, Randolph, like a
red cider Apple; Wadhurst Pippin, Bramley's Seedling,
Browlees' Russet, Baxter's Pearmain, Brabant Belle-
fleur, Barnack Beauty, Winter Peach, Stunner Pippin,
Mannington, Court Pendu Plat, Rosemary Russet, and
others.

VEGETABLES.

Tomatos and Cucumbers were finely shown from
Farnham, Surrey, by Mr. G. Mortimer. The Tomatos,
st own in dishes, included Sutton's Al, Abundance,
Winter Beauty, Prince of Wales, Eclipse, Best-of-AU,
Perfection, Futurity, small cluster variety ; Large Red,
Up-to-Date, Supreme, and Hipper I.(?), a very handsome
but smallish red-fruited varieiy. The Cucumbers, all
very handsome fruits, were shown in half dozens in
boxes, and comprised Sensation, Express, Epicurean,
Improved Telegraph, Mortimer Approved, Tendcr-and-
True, Verdant Green, Prizewinner, Lockie's Perfection,
and British King (new) from Sensation crossed with
Famous, of which twelve fruits were staged, and a
single stem showing eight fruits as evidence of pro-
ductiveness.

G. W. Searle, Esq., Harrow (gr., Mr. A. Hornsby),
showed three over-large fruits of Cucumber Sutton's Al,
and very good Perfection Tomatos.

A very handsome Cucumber, in quantity very like
Lockie's Perfection, but longer, named Commonwealth,
came from Mr. J. Upton, Irlam, Manchester.

Asparagus of remarkably fine growth were the
bundles of Asparagus from Colchester. Mr. W. God-
frey, of Magdalen Street, having six ; and Mr. Hae-
wood, of St, Peter's Street having five. The stems were
some 12 inches long and very stout, Possibly much of
the base was hard and ineatable, but the sample was of
the finest market order.

COLLECTIONS OF VEGETABLES.
Rarely has anything in vegetables been seen at a
Temple Show superior to the splendid collection of
seventy-two dishes of first-class produce, staged
from Aldenham House, Elstree, Herts, the residence
of Lord Aldenham, by his lordship's gardener, Mr. E.
Beckett. Good features at the back of the collection
were mounds of Cauliflowers, Extra Early Forcing and
Defiance Forcing. Broccolis, Carter's Summer Model
and Late Queen, and cones of Mustard and Cress in
growth. There were good fruits of Cucumbers, Hero
of Mafeking, Marquis of Lome, Premier, and Ideal,
all very handsome , also Peas, Early Morn, Early
Forcing, aud superb pods of the new Edmund Beckett.
Tomatos, Earliest of All, Peachblow, Al., Eclipse,
Dwarf Gem. Perfection, very fine ; Prince of Wales,
Winter Beauty, Best of All, Golden Cluster, and
Blenheim Orange. Of Beans, Early Mazagan, Green
Longpod, and Leviathan ; and of Kidney Beans,
Canadian Wonder, Ne Plus Ultra, Osborne's Early
Forcing, and the golden-podded Centenary. Of Potatos,
First Crop, Snowdrop, Sharpe's Victor, and May
Queen ; Marrows, Moore's Cream, Custard Marrow,
Prince Albert, Muir's Hybrid, and Perfection ; Green
Round and Ellam's Early Cabbages, Early Gem and
Holborn Forcing Carrots; red and white, long, and

round Turnips, rooted Beets; Radishes, Lettuces,
Onions, Leeks, Asparagus— all made up a beautiful
collection, not only pleasingly arranged, but also well
furnished with colour.

Messrs. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, Kent, showed
boxes of Peas in fine pod. The boxes were 3 feet long,
1 foot wide, and H inches deep; each carried a single
row of Peas, that had been trained up to sticks and
string, 3 feet in height. The varieties .were King
Edward VII., Duke of Norfolk, aud The Duchess, the
latter having the finest pods. The method of growing
was very profitable evidently, for the crops were ex-
cellent in each case. The firm also showed their
excellent Defiance Cabbage in good form, huge Cham-
pion and Mainmoth Leeks, Model Broccoli, several
varieties of Potatos, Teuderand-True Cucumbers, and
Carrots.

Messrs. Jas. Caetee ct Co., High Holborn, had
several flat baskets filled with good market samples of
Tomato Duke of York, Peas Telephone and The Daisy ;
Beans Canadian Wonder and Masterpiece, the latter
much like the old Caseknife ; Cucumber Telegraph,
and Blenheim Orange Melon ; also a few broad pans of
their Dwarf Forcing Pea.

Award of Meeit.
Cucumber British King, from Sensation x Famous.—
Fruits long, very green, handsome, black short spine,
very prolific. Should make a first-class market
variety. Mr. S. Mortimer, Rowledge, Farnham.

Awards by the Council.

(The names are arranged indiscriminatel!/.)
Gold Medal.
Messrs. J. Veitch, for Caladiums, Cacti, &c.
Messrs. Barr, for Alpines, Herbaceous Plants, to.
Messrs. Fisher, Son ct Sibray, Hardy Trees and
Shrubs.
Messrs. Paul & Son, for Roses, to.
Messrs. Sander & Sons, for Orchids and Caladiums.
Messrs. Rivers, for Fruit.
Leopold de Rothschild, Esq., for Fruit Trees, to.

Sheewood Ccp.
Fisher, Son & Sibray.

Silvee Cop.
Lord Aldenham, for Vegetables.
Sir Fred. Wigan, Bart., for Orchids.
Pantia Ralli, Esq., for Fruit, etc.
Capt. G. L. Holford, CLE., M.V.O., for Amaryllis.
J. Colman, Esq., for Orchids.

T. S. Ware, Ltd., for Herbaceous Plants and Alpines.
H. Cannell & Sons, for Cannas, Begonias, &c.
W. Balchin & Sons, for Ericas, to.
W. Cutbushct Sons, for Clipped Trees, to.
R. ct G. Cuthbert, for Azaleas, to.
R. Wallace ctCo., for Lilies, Irises, &a.
A. J. A. Bruce, for Sarracenias.
J. Charlesworth & Co., for Orchid i.
W. Paul it Son, for Roses.
C. Turner, for Roses, to.
Amos Perry, for Hardy Plants.
M. Pritchard, for Hardy Plants.
G. Bunyard & Co., for Apples.
T. Cripps ct Son, for Maples.
J. Cheal & Sons, for Alpines and Shrubs.

Silveb-gilt Flora Medals.
Messrs. Carter & Co., for Calceolarias, Vegetables, &c
Messrs. J. Hill it Son, for Ferns.
Messrs. G. Jackman, for Clematis, to.
Messrs. H. J. Jones (Lewisham), for Begonias, to.
Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., for Orchids, to.
Messrs. Dobbie & Co., for Pansies, to.
Messrs. R. Smith & Co., for Clematis, to.
Messrs. J. Peed & Son, for Caladiums, to.
Messrs. W. Fromow & Sons, for Maples.
G. Mount, for Roses.
J. Waterer ct Son, for Rhododendrons.
Messrs. Stanley, Ashton & Co., for Orchids.
J. Cypher, for Orchids.

Leopold de Rothschild (Ascot), for Carnations.
J. Backhouse ct Son, for Ferns.

Silver-gilt Knightian Medals.
John Watkins, for Apples.
S. Mortimer, for Cucumbers.

Silver-gilt Banksian Medals.
B. S. Williams ct Son, for Orchids, etc.
John Russell, for Trees and Shrubs.
B. R. Davis ct Sons, for Begonias.
Kelway ct Son, for Pajouies.
W. Iceton, for Lilies of the Valley.
Reamsbottom ct Co., for Anemones.
W. J. Burkenshaw, for Orchids.

May 31, 1902.]

TEE GARDENERS" CHRONICLE.

363

Silver Flora Medals.
W. H. Rogers & Son, for Rhododendrons.
J. R. Box, for Begonias.
Benj. Cant & Sons, for Roses.
P. Eida, for Dwarf Trees.
J. Laiug & Sons, for Streptocarpus.
Ch. Vuylsteke, for Orchids.
Frank Cant & Co., for Roses.
J. Cowan & Co., for Orchids.
L. Linden, for Orchids.
J. Rutherford, M.P., for Orchids.
R. J. Farrer, for Alpine Plants.
J. J. Upton, for Gloxinias.

Silver Knightian Medal.
A. Henderson, M.P., for Fruit.
W. Godfrey, for Asparagus.
Lord Suffleld, for Strawberries, &c.

Silver Banksian Medals.
Jones & Sons (Shrewsbury), for Sweet Peas.
W. J. Godfrey, for Poppies.
A. J. Harwood. for Asparagus.
T. Jannoch, for Lilies of the Valley.
Misses Hopkins, for Rock Plants.
Blackmore & Langdon, for Begonias.
Storrie & Storrie, for Azaleas, &c.
L. J. Ching, for Ferns.
Hon. A. H. P. Montmorency, for Tulips.
R. C. Notcutt, for Cut Flowers.
W. J. Caparne, for Irises, &c.
K. Drost, for Lilies.
A. Meyers, for Calceolarias.
W. & J. Brown, for Heliotropes, &c.
R. H. Bath, for Carnations, &c.
R. Sydenham, for Sweet Peas.

THE GARDENERS' ROYAL BENE-
VOLENT INSTITUTION.

The sixty-third Anniversary Festival of this chari-
table Institution, for the benefit of gardeners when in
necessitous circumstances, was held on Wednesday
evening last at the Whitehall Rooms, Hotel Metropole,
London, his Grace the Duke of Marlborough, P.C.,
in the chair. The guests numbered onehundred and fifty-
eight, amongst whom we remarked Lt.-Col. Pilkington,
Rev. J. H. Pemberton, the Archdeacon of London, Ven.
W. M. Sinclair; L Schabe, Esq., and Messrs. A. Brassy,
H. J. Veitch, W. Nutting, G. Monro, H. B. May, J. Sweet,
G. Rochford, W. Atkinson, G. A. Dickson, A. H. Rivers,
P. R. Barr, O. Thomas, J. Douglas, &c. Dinner over,
the usual loyal toasts were proposed by the Chair-
man, who alluded to the well-known devotion of
His Majesty the King to good work, and he also
found time to interest himself in horticulture,
especially the cultivation of flowers. The Chairman
incidentally alluded to the probable t: rmination of the
war in South Africa on the occasion of His Majesty's
Coronation.

The toast was drank enthusiastically by all present
and with musical honours. Then followed the toast of
"Her Majesty the Queen, the Prince and Princess of
Wales, and other members of the Royal Family." The
toast of the evening, that of "The Gardeners' Royal
Benevolent Institution," was then proposed by the
Chairman, who said that it was for the continued suc-
cess and usefulness of the Institution that he consented
to take the chair on that occasion, and advocate the
claims of the Institution on the Ibenevolcuce and
charity of those assembled around him, in affording
relief to gardeners and gardeners' widows in neces-
sitous circumstances, without reference to creed,
be they natives of England, Scotland, Ireland, or
Wales. Without gardeners there could be no Temple
Show. He speculated as to what kinds of flowers
attracted his audience most; for himself he liked
them all. The fashion at present was in favour
of exotics — meaning tender species ; but he
thought that hardy plants were more satisfying,
and especially the fine old species grown years ago in
ourgardens. The Institution had expended in monetary
relief in the sixty years of its existence more than
£100,000, and he alluded to the benefits of the Institu-
tion to gardeners, and in this, connection mentioned
the object of the Samaritan Fund. The Institution
spends more than its annual income, and must there-
fore depend in a measure on the generosity of its
friends, and hcdweltonthe benefits that gardeners and
gardening conferred on the country. The Chairman
coupled with the toast the name of Mr. H. J. Veitch,

Mr. Veitch, in the course of his remarks, alluded to
the recovery of Mr. <!. Monro from the illness which
last year prevented his being present at the annual
festival, and deplored the absence of Mr. N. N. Sher-
wood, another generous patron of the Institution, who
had been very ill, hut whose health was improving.
There were now, he said, 1U0 male and 87 female pen-
sioners on the funds, and he gave some striking
instances of longevity in these persons, one having

enjoyed a pension for twenty-four years, although at the
time he was elected he was in very feeble health. Mr.
Veitch described the motives that led to the establish-
ment of the Samaritan Fund, and gave instances of assist-
ance being most opportunely afforded. The toast of
" Horticulture " was spoken to by Lt.-Col. Pilkington
at some length.

The Secretary then read out a list of amounts sub-
scribed on the occasion, mentioning £25 from the
Chairman ; L. Rothschild, Esq., 100 gs. ; Baron
Schroder, £50; M. J. Sutton, E=q., £50; N. N. Sher-
wood, Esq., 25 gs. ; H. J. Veitch, Esq., 25 gs ; and
Lt.-Col. Pilkington, £25, the total amounting to the
sum of £1800.

pleasantly. Mr. W. Watson, -who as Secretary
had to do most of the -work in connection -with
the promotion of the! dinner, was doubtless
gratified at the resul|, but it was regretted
that several gentlemei who had been invited
to share the hospitality o£ tae Guild were
unable to be present. ';

The Kew Guild. — The annual meeting of
the members of the Kew Guild was held on
Tuesday evening last at the Holborn Restaurant.
Mr. GEORGE Nichoison, President, was in the
Chair. The Committee's report, read by the
Secretary, Mr. "W. Watson, showed the
finances of the Guild to be very satisfactory.
Several changes in the executive have taken
place, owing to the retirement of Mr.
Nicholson from the presidency. Mr. W.
Watson, Curator, was elected President ; Mr.
W. J. Bean will edit the Guild Journal, and
Mr. Winn is Secretary. A very hearty vote
of thanks was passed to Mr. Nicholson for the
help and kindness he has always extended to
Kew men whilst he filled the position of
Curator, and for the interest he had shown in
the Guild itself. There was a suggestion by
the Committee that a benevolent fund should
be formed, and after some little discussion, it
was left to the Committee to consider the
matter during tlie coming year, and if
thought expedient present a scheme for the
consideration of the next general meeting.
The subsequent Dinner was very much better
attended than the meeting. The chairman
was Mr. J. G. Baker, F.R.S., and he was sup-
ported by the Director, Sir W. T. Thiselton-
Dyer, K.C.M.G., and about 120 members,
including the present staff at Kew, and a
number of "past" ladies and men. There
were few toasts. That of " The King " having
been heartily celebrated, the Chairman made a
very interesting speech in proposing " The Kew
Guild." He referred to certain events that had
taken place since the last dinner, and said
that after the directors of Kew had acted as
advisers to the Colonial Government for half a
century, the fact was only properly recognised
a few days ago by the formal appointment of
Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer to the position.
Reference to Mr. Nicholson's retirement af-
forded the Chairman an opportunity to express
the unanimous feeling of respect and grateful-
ness the members feel for their late Curator,
and sympathetic reference was also made to
Mr. J. R. Jackson, who has retired from the
Curatorship of the Museums after completing
his years of office. The Chairman said some
interesting things of the colonies of South
Africa and St. Vincent, which at the present
time are so vividly before the attention of the
Empire, and incidentally mentioned the fact
that Mr. Medley Wood had continued his
work upon the important book, Natal Plants,
during the whole time that Natal and ad-
joining colonies have been menaced by war.
We can only give one more word of Mr.
Baker's, and this was one of advice
to young members of the Guild. "In
all your work," said ho in fervid tones,
" practise conscientiousness and method."
Mr. W.Goldring made an interesting spot ch in
response to the toast. Sir W. T Thiselton-
Dyer, K.C.M.G., proposed " Too Chairman,"
and in the course of his remarks spoke very
highly of Mr. BAKER'S services to Kew and to
botany during so many years. Mr. Herbert
Schartau was responsible for tho musical
arrangements, and the evening was spent very

THE WEATHER.

♦ —

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS taken in the
Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens at Chiswick,
London, for the period May is to May 24, 1902
Height above sea-level ki feet.

Tempera-

«

TEMPEpAtURE

OF the! Aie.

ture ofthe

O

1902.

55

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Sun. is

N.W.

48 '3

42-8 55 1

42 2 0-03 50 0 49 3

48 6

38 2

MON.19

N.W.

47 '9

42 752 4

41 0 0 0750 -0J49-8

48-6

36 3

TUES.20

N.

46'2 40'5|50 0

39-9| ...

497.49-5

48 8

24 '7

Wed. 21

N.

49 9

43 155 1

42 3 ...

49 6 49-5

48 9

35-7

THU. 22

S.W.

53 6

46-6 56 7

39-2 0 26 50 0'49 6 49 0

32-3

FBI. 23

N.W.

56-4

54-5 62 4

49 5 0 0251-2 50 0 49 0

48'6

SAT. 24

W.N.W.

61'3

56 -0 69 5

46 2 ]'... |52-2(50-3[49-139'2

Tot

MEANS

...

51-9 46'6J57 3

42 9 038 50 -4 49 -7 48 9 36 '4

1 ill

Remarks.— The first part of the week was dull and
cold ; the latter part has become brighter, warmer, and
more seasonable.

THE WEATHER IN WEST HERTS.
The temperature continued very low until after the
22nd, when a change to warmer weather took place-
On the warmest day the temperature in the screen rose
to 70°, and on one night the lowest reading indicated
by the exposed thermometer was 50°. On the other
hand, on another night since the. change to warmer
weather, the same thermometer fell to within 3° of the
freezing point. Since the beginning of the week tho
temperature of the ground at 2 feet deep i as risen 4%
and at 1 foot deep as much as !••, and at the present
time is at about a seasonable temperature at the
former depth, and about 3° higher than the average at
1 foot deep. Rain was deposited to the depth of nearly
half an inch on the 22nd, but since then no rain at all
has fallen. On tho 22nd tte rain be^an to fall soon
after 2 p.m., and continued Without intermission until
nine o'clock the next morjning, but at times the fall
amounted to little more tluin a drizzle. On two con-
secutive days no sunshine it all was recorded, but on
the remaining five days the sun shone on an average
for nearly nine hours a day. The wind was mostly
very light. On two days the air was humid for the
time of year, but during the rest of tie week continued
unusually dry. The first Rose to flower in the open
ground in my garden was Ro>a alpiua, which first
showed an open blossom on the 2-iih, or four days
earlier than last year. £. M., Berklutnwted, May 27, 1902.

IARKETS.

COYEST GARDEN, May 20.
Fbuit.— Averagb Wuuiksalb Phices.

s. a. s. ti.

Grapes, Muscats,
A., per lb. ...

B., per lb.

Lemons per case
M;t. gos, per doz.
Melon-Pears, doz.
MeJons, each
Nectai ii'*'vA.,pcr
dozeu

— li.. per dozen .

Oranges, c i i

-. A . per

.1!

— B., ier dozen
Pines each

Strawberries, A.,
I>ei I"

— B., per lb. ...

Apples, Australi

an, Tasmanian,

and Victorian,

per case 9 0-12 0

Apricots, per box 0 9- 1 0
Bananas, bunch 6 0-10 h

— loose, p. doz. 10-16
Cherries, per box

— pecks

— sieve

Figs, per dozen...
Gooscoerries, per

peck ...

— sieve or half

bushel
Grapes, new Ham-
burgh, per lb.
B., per lb.

1 0- i

4 6-70
7 0-10 0

2 0-50

2 6- 3 0

5 C- 6 0

3 0-40

16-20

e.d. e.d.

0-5 0
0-3 0
6-20 0
t-6 0
0-3 0
0-2 0

0-12 0

I
O-20 0

0-15 0
0-5 0
0-4 0

(',- 3 0
0- I «

364

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[May 31, 1902.

Cot Flowers, &c— Average Wholesale Pbices.

d. s.d. | s.d. s. d.

0-6 01 Marguerites, Yel-
low, per doz. 16-20

6-2 6 Mermet Hoses, p.

0-6 0 bunch 2 0-50

0-2 6 Mignonette, per

dozen bunches 3 0-60

0-4 0 Narcissus, p doz. 10-20

0-12 0 Narcissus, Double,

dozen bunches 3 0-40

0-3 0 Pieonies. per doz.

0-4 0 bunches ... 4 0-60

Pelargoniums,

2 0-26 Scarlet, p. doz. 60-90
10-16 Pinks, per dozen 30-40

Roses, Marechal
Niel, per bunch 2 6-30
8 0-10 0 Roses, Red, gen-
eral, per doz.

0 4-06 blooms 10-16

0 6-10 Roses, White, per

bunch 16-30

3 0-40 Smilax, p. bunch 16-30
Tulips, all coirs.,

6 0-12 0 per doz bnch. 4 0-80

— Parrot.bnch. 0 6-08

4 0-60 Tuberoses, p. doz. 08-09

Arums, per doz. . 4
Asparagus Fern,

per bunch ... 1
Azaleas, per doz. 4
Carnatious.bnch. 1

— Malmaisou,
per dozen ... 3
Cattievas.peidoz. 9
CornFlower.blue,

dozen bunches 2
Eucharis.perdoz. 3
Forget-Me-Nots,

p. dz. bunches 2
Gardeuias, p. doz. 1
Glad i olus. The
Bride, p. doz.
bunches
Gypsophylla, per

bunch

Iris, per dozen ...
I. ilium Harrisii,

per dozen
Lily of the Valley,

dozen bunches
Maidenhair Fern,

dozen bunches

Vegetables.— Aveeaoh Wholesale Prices.
s.d. s.d

Artichokes, Globe
per dozen ...

Aspiragus Sprue,
bundle

— English

— Foreign

— various
Uaans.dwf., house

per lb

— — Channel
Islands

Beetroots, per

bushel
Cabbage, p. tally
Carrots, per dot.

bunches

— New, French,
per bunch ...

Broccoli. per
dozen

— tally

Celery, per dozen

bundles

Coleworts, bushel

Cress, per dozen
punnets

Cucumbers, doz.

Endive, Dew
French, doz.

I- arlio, per lb. ...

Horseradish, fo-
reign, bunch

f.ecfcs, 12 bunches

Lettuces, Cos, per
dozen

— Cabbage, per
dozen

Marrows, Vege-
table, dozen .

Mint, new, per
bunch

Plants in Pots,

A ti;ir:hl!i]s, per

dozen

Arbor Vitse, per

dozen

Aspidistras, per

dozen

Azaleas, per doz.
Calceolarias, per

dozen

Cannas, per doz.
Cinerarias, per

dozen

Clematis, per doz.
Crotons, per doz.
Dracaenas, var.,

per dozen ...
Ericas, var., per

dozen

Euonymus, vars.,

per dozen ...
Evergreens.vars.,

per dozen ...
Ferns in variety,

per dozen ...

Fuchsias, per doz.

Gladiolus Brench-

lyensis, p. doz.

Heliotrope, per

dozen

2 6-30

0 6 —
10-40
10-20
0 6-10

0 10

3 0-36
2 0-40

4 6-

10-26
6 0-80

10 0-12 0

0 6-10

1 3

2 0-

3 0

s.d. t.a.

Mushrooms, house.

per lb. ... 0 8-09
Onions, new, green,

doz. bunches 2 0-26

— Egyptian, per
bag ...

— picfclers, per
sieve

Parsley, per doz.
bunches

— sieve

Peas in flats

— Jersey, per lb.
Potatos, per ton..

— new, per cwt.
Frame, lb.

— new Teneriffe,
per cwt. ... 8 0-90

— Jersey Kid-
neys, per cwt. 10 0 —

Radishes, p. doz.

bunches
Rhubarb, Yorks,

per dozen ...

— outdoor, per
dozen

Salad, small, pun-
nets, per doz.

Shallots, per lb....

Spinach, English,
bushel ...

Tomatos, Canary,
boxes

— English, per
lb

— Channel lids.
Turnips, new,

French, per

doz

Watercress, per

doz. bundles 0 4 6 3

0 9-16
03 —

13-16

2 0-26

2 6-36
0 6-10
8 0 -
0 2-03

&c— Aveeage Wholesale
s.d. s.d.

Herbaceous and

perennial plants

in var., per box

Hydrangeas, per

dozen

Ivy Pelargoniums,

per dozen
Lilium Harrisi

per dozen
Lobelias, per box
Marguerites, p. doz
Mignonette, per

dozen

Musk, per dozen
Palms, var., each
Pansies, per box .
Pelargoniums,
scarlet ...

— pink

— white

Rhodanthe, per

dozen

Roses, various, doz
Spiraeas, per doz.
Stocks, per dozen
Sweet Briars, per

, dozen ...
Tomato plants, p.

dozen

10 0 10 6
4 0 6 0

4 0-60

2 0-26
4 0-50
0 8-09
60 0-90 0
8 0-90
0 2-0 2$

0 3-10

16-20

1 3 —
0 2 —

10-16
2 0-30

0 6-0 6S
0 5-06

2 0-40

5 0-70

6 0-36 0

18 0-38 0
18 O-30 0

4 0-60
18 0 —

4 0-60
12 0 —
18 0-30 0

12 0-30 0

12 0-30 0

6 0-18 0

4 0-18 0

4 0-18 0
4 0-80

12 0 —

Pbices.
s.d. s.d.

10-16
9 0-24 0

6 0-801

10 0-12 0
10-16
6 0-30 0

4 0-60

3 0-40
1 0-20 0
16-20

4 0-80
4 0-80
4 0-80

4 0-60
9 0-24 0

5 0-60
4 0-60

3 0-40

10-16

Remarks. Mangoes per dozen, 45. to Gs. ; Tasmanian
P ars, per case, fl.i to Ms ; Spring Spinach is now
coming; some foreign Peas, in bags 'of vO lbs. at 6s ;
Lei t uce, Cabbage, and other vegetables coming on fast.

Potatos.
Dunbar Main Crop, 85s. to 90s. ; TJp-to-Date, 80s. to
B5« ; and other varieties, 6)8. to 65s. John Bath, 32
* 34, Wellington Street, Covent Garden.

SEEDS.

London : May 27.— Messrs. John Shaw & Sons, Seed
Merchants, of Great Maze Pond, Borough, London, S.E.,
describe to-day's Seed Market as ill-attended and
uninteresting. Just at present there are neither con-

unptive wants nor speculative inquiries to be

satisfied. Meantime a few transactions are reported
in Chilian Red Clover-seed. More money is asked for
French Trifoliuin for delivery in July. As regards
Mustard and Rape-seed, no quotable variation is shown.
Canary-seed, on the strength of small and diminishing
stocks, and unfavourable crop prospects, is quietly
hardening in value. Peas and Haricots are held for
full prices.

COHN.

Average Prices of British Corn (per imperial qr.),
for the week ending May 24, 1902, and for the corre-
sponding period of 19 1, together with the difference
in the quotations. These figures are based on the
Official Weekly Return :—

Description.

1901.

1902.

Difference.

Wheat

Barley

Oats

». d.

27 7

24 1
19 8

8. d.
31 6

25 4

22 6 -

s. d.
+ 3 11

+ l a

+ 2 10

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

*** Editor and Publisher. — Our correspon-
dents would obviate delay in obtaining
answers to their communications, and save
much time and trouble, if tbey would kindly
observe the notice printed weekly to the
effect that all communications relating to
financial matters and to advertisements should
be addressed to the Publisher; and that all
communications intended for publication, or
referring to the literary department, and
all plants to be named, should be directed
to the Editor. The two departments, pub-
lishing and editorial, are quite distinct, and
much unnecessary delay and confusion
arise when letters are misdirected.

Correction. May I as a fastidious Millonian
correct a slip in the opening quotation of
my last week's paper. For " Nature born,
poured forth" read "Nature boon, poured
forth." Corycius sene.r.

Cucumber : W. E. B. Due to the sudden
cooling of the hot-bed, to eelworm, or to a
sodden state of the soil, and which it is of
these you should be the better judge.

Drac.ena Leaf Disfigured : R. 1). The leaf-
bleaching is caused by a fungus called
Sphseropsis Dracienarum. Remove and burn
all leaves that are attacked, and spray with
dilute permanganate of potash solution to
save remainder of foliage.

Holly-trees : Omega. Holly-trees lose their
leaves from attacks of the Holly-fly ; some-
times from exposure to hot sun in the south
in some summers experienced in this country,
but this is of rare occurrence. On the Con-
tinent, Hollies in the warmer south and cen-
tral countries must be planted in the shade,
otherwise the leaves drop in the summer
season. A Holly flowers well if the wood is
well matured, and fruits, too, if the flowers
are not injured by frosts, which must be
severe to do that.

How to become Fellow of the Royal Horti-
cultural Society : T.L. A letter addressed
to the Secretary, 117, Victoria Street, West-
minster, would elicit the desired informa-
tion.

Insects Destroying Shoots of Grape-vine :
J. H. M. Athoushsemorrhoidalis is the name
of the insect sent. It is a fairly common
species, often found in decayed wood, and
belongs to the wireworm family of beetles.
Hitherto, so far as we are aware, it has not
been known to injure Vines. The better
course would be to shake the Vines over a
sheet, and destroy any beetles that may be
taken. If they do not readily fall in the
daytime, try the method at night after dark.

Names of Plants : W. E. B. Prunus Padus/
and Dendrobium suavissimum. — H. F. 1,
Cyperus longus ; 2, Gesnera elongata ; 3,
Anthericum lineare variegatum ; 4, Aubrietia
deltoidea ; 5, Phlox frondosa ; 6, Steno-
taphrum americanum variegatum. — Veritas.
Odon'oglossum cordatum. — Bob. Piptanthus

nepalensis, called evergreen Laburnum. —
W.T. 1, Geranium phcruoi, hybrid Geum ;
2, G. pratense. — Land. 6, Ruthia tinctotum ;
7, Cerinthe major ; 8, not recognised ; 9,
Ceterach offlcinarum; 10, Cneorum tricoc-
ciim. — C. L. Prunus I'adus. — W. O. 1,
Retinospora ; 2, Juniperus sinensis ; 3.
Euonymus europseus ; 4, Cratsgus coccinea ;
5, Tropceolum pentaphyllum ; 0, Abies Pin-
sapo ; 7, Thuyopsis dolabrata.

Narcissus : F. T. The Narcissus buds going
blind is a common occurrence this year.
The cold winds and frosts after the spikes
were up may account for it.

Peach Fruits Diseased: J. McDonald. The
fruits are attacked by mildew, and you must
remove all the affected fruits and burn them
forthwith, afterwards dusting flowers-of-
sulphur over the entire surface of the tree
whilst the foliage and fruits are damp.

Pruning Young Oaks : Omega. Merely thin
out the weak growth, and cut off the tips of
the longer shoots at planting time or in the
spring, reserving hard cutting back (once)
till the following winter. Other trees in
like manner.

The XL-All, and Muscat of Alexandria
and Lady Downes Grapes: E. W. W. If
the maker states on the label sent with the
compound that it should not be used on
these varieties, why endeavour to obtain
any opinion from us 1 No complaints about
the ill effects that have followed its use on
any kind of Vine has reached us, for the
reason probably, that the users have paid
due heed to the advice of the maker not to
nse it on these two varieties of the Vine.

Vine Leaves Discoloured : F. G. B. The ap-
pearance of the leaves sent point either to
drip of water at a very low temperature, or
to scalding from bursts of sunshine striking
the leaves when covered with globules of
water.

Vine Leaves, French Beans, Strawberries, &c.
Kill. The vinery is kept too moist, or what
is the same thing, you do not ventilate
sufficiently. The Bean leaves are covered
with the remains of the white fly, that often
attacktheseplants ; you should fumigatewith
tobacco, or some of its preparations occasion-
ally, or employ weak tobacco or Quassia water.
The Strawberries have been, in the case of
the green ones, gnawed by weevils or slugs.
Catching them is the obvious remedy. The
ripe fruits were covered with a mould
(Monilia), which may be a cause or a eon-
sequence of decay. The Hippeastrum leaves
indicate the presence of the bulb mite.
The better means of getting over an attack
is to afford high cultivation. The zonal
Pelargonium leaves have arrived at ma-
turity, and may have fallen naturally : or
being beneath other leaves, have fallen
prematurely from lack of light and of nutri-
ment. The spots on them are due to the
punctures of aphis or other insects, and
some kind of fungus has seized upon the
dead tissue surrounding the punctures ;
that is all. Leaves in which decay is ob-
served should not be left on a plant till
quite decayed.

Why Grass does not Grow Strongly under
Bush Trees. Omega. From lack of light
when it is most wanted, which weakens the
grasses, if it do not actually kill. Drip is
another cause of most kinds of plants,
grasses included, not succeeding.

*** In consequence of the great pressure on
our space, many answers to enquiries are
held over.

Communications Received— J. R.— A. P., with many
thanks.— .1. Burtt Davy, California.— R. H. P.-J.R J.
Rev. E. H. Thompson, Tasmania— T. W. F., not,
possible this week, best thanks.— Leonard Barron,
New York.— J. R. J.— L. F., Glasneviu, many thanks. .
— S. A.— W. W — J. A— Pennick & Co.— W. G. G.— '
Sir M. F— h. Rogers-W. H. B. B.-H. H. A. C.— -
K. N.— N. E. B.— Bob— Mrs. Gertrude— W. ^A. R.—
C. B. P.— R. W.— R. H.— PaHifinder— T. L— F. W. B —
P. T.— Walton E— Clibran & Co.— G . D.— Foreman— -
J. G— F. U. & Co.— C. S— A. R.— A. R- Winton— W. G —
G. B— J. P.— C. B.— R. N. D.— A. R. B — E. H. J.—
Miss Edge-D. B.—J. R. J.— O. T.-C. T. D.-S. J. N —
T. Cripps & Son*— S. A.-J. A.-A. II. -G. W— R. D —
F. G.— B , Ty = inghame.

Supplement to the " Gardeners' Chronicle,1' May "31, 1902.

f !

Tree P.eony in the Garden of Captain Holford, Westonbirt, Gloucestershire

nioToiiKAi-iiKi) r.v I'., r. Lamb, Tetbury.

! . ■ , . ,Hj TaMtrHtgr,

JUNE 7, 1902.]

THE GARD ENER 8 ' CHR ONI CL E.

365

THE

darters' djformtkfe

No. 806.— SATURDAY, JUNE 7, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Apples with synonyms

377

Nursery notes—

Beans. Climbing

Veitch, Robert it

French

379

Sons, Exeter

370

Begonia-mite, the ...

376

Pansies, fancy, at the

Benevolent Institution

Temple Show

380

Garderers' Royal ...

'383

Paris

380

Cape Town Municipal

Plants, new or note-

Gardens

367

worthy —

Chamaerops excelsaat

Platyclinis barbi-

Ryde

377

frons

366

Cortaderia j ubata . . .

378

Plectranthus as a

Couch grass

379

vegetable

375

Dielytra spectabilis ...

368

Primula oreodoxa ...

372

Floral Committee, the.

Rhododendron Nut-

and its work

378

talli

379

Fruit-trees by road-

Rhododendrons,hybrid 368

sides

379

Rhododendrons from

Garden-rollers, a brush

Messrs. Veitch & Sons

376

attachment for

376

Scientific Committee

Gerbera Jamesoni ...

377

ofR.HS

382

Grape-judging

378

Scotland —

Grapes, keeping

377

Theweather in Aber-

Hooker, Sir Joseph ...

374

deenshire

380

Horticultural Hall, the

374

Separation of mixed

Lawn - mower, con-

characters

371

struction and man-

Societies... 374, 375. :wj

383

agement of the

369

Sun, the constitution

Lilium candidum

379

of the

375

Lilium gigauteum ...

379

Table decoration, the

Lobelia, a new

376

art of

365

Obituary-
Bull, William 380
Downie, Chas.

381
381

Temple Show, views

from the recent
Tomato-house, utilis-

371

Grahame, C. J.
Hunnewell, H. H. ...
Miller, John W. ...

382
3*2
381

ing a

Tulips, wild

Vanda Kimballiana...
Vegetables-

378

379
37 i

Orchid notes and

Potato May Queen...

369

gleanings-

Turnips

369

Orchids at the War-

Veitch Memorial

ren House, Stan-

Medals

374

more

367

Victorian Apples

376

Dendrobium Boxalli

367

Yorkshire gardeners,

Miltonia vexillaria

a census of

375

"Freeland var."...

367

Weeks work, the 372

,373

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Cape Town Municipal Gardens, views in the 367, 369

Portrait of Mr. H. J. Chalwin 368

Portrait of the late William Bull 3*1

Roller and broom, Messrs. Ransomes* combined ... 376
Temple Show, views from the recent ... 366.371,377
Vanda Kimballiana as grown in Captain llnlford's
garden (Supplement).'

THE AET OF TABLE DECORATION.

By Owen Thomas, Head Gardener to the late
Queen Victoria.

' I VHIS is one of the most interesting of
■*- the many aspects which gardening
presents for the enjoyment of its many
votaries. It is a subject which may be em-
joyed by all lovers of the garden, and it is
a pleasure not denied to those who are un-
fortunate enough not to possess a garden
at all. I am sorry to say that it must
be admitted that these latter are very
much in the majority, counting the teem-
ing millions of our great cities and towns.
Well is it for our people so situated, that
the fairest flowers of the South of France,
the Canary and the Channel Islands, and
our home supply, are daily brought to their
doors in immense quantities, and at a
moderate price

Of late years a change has come over the
methods of decorating tables. In former
days it used to be the custom to decorate
the i able mora with handsome plate or
ornaments of some description, and with
abundance of fruit in rich variety, with only
a sparing show of plants.

The fashion obtains now of arranging the
greater portion of the gold and silver plate

and the fruit on the side tables, and of using
those ornaments only on the table itself
which lend themselves to the effective dis-
play of flowers, thus flowers being made the
chief attraction. For my part, I must say
that I favour the inclusion of fruit and of a
considerable show of beautiful plate on the
table, as a few flowers and these combined
help very much the one to enhance the beautjr
of the other. There are very few articles
of " vertu " in the way of gold and silver
plate which may not be made to serve the
purpose of holding a few choice flowers
or sprays, and be thereby made the more
beautiful. The great danger lies in using
too many flowers, thus marring the elegant
design, or hiding the beautiful tracery
and workmanship of the vase or figure
so decorated. Large and heavy flowers
must not be used for this purpose, but a
light tracery of Smilax, Asparagus, Ficus
repens, or any such delicate trailing plants
may be used with most pleasing effect in
combination with such flowers as Odonto-
glossum crispum, O. Pescatorei, and O. vexil-
larium ; and also the smaller Cattleyas,
Tea Roses, Lily of the Valley, and any other
choice flowers available, according to the
season ; but no ordinary, common, or heavy
dumpy flowers should be used in association
with those beautiful works of art.

I propose to divide the subject under the
following heads : — Plants in flower best
adapted for the work ; foliage plants ; varie-
ties of cut flowers which are most effective ;
varieties of foliage plants best adapted for
tracing, giving some examples of how best
to arrange various sized tables.

Plants in Flower.
Among these there is a wide choice. The
Gloxinia, when well bloomed, is one of
the most effective, especially the pink and
red ones with erect flowers. The Cyclamen
in various shades of colour is another.
The Chinese Primula, when bold, well-
flowered plants are available, especially the
pink and deep scarlet varieties, are effec-
tive, as are also the stellata forms. Well-
bloomed plants of Hybrid Perpetual Roses,
in 5-inch pots, are delightful subjects for
this purpose, and so are good pots of
Lily of the Valley, and the pink and scarlet
Carnations, especially the variety named
Princess May. The Ghent, the mollis, and
the Indian varieties of Azalea are charming
for this purpose, and can be had in bloom
from November to June. The Bouvardias,
both the pink and scarlet varieties, and the
white also, help to make a pretty and
pleasing table. The Amaryllis, when well
bloomed, is a bold, striking, and effective
plant for. this work, especially when the
table is a large one ; as also are well-
flowered plants of Anthurium Scherzer-
ianum. The Fuchsia, when well grown and
flowered, lends itself well to this work ; and
the fancy and zonal Pelargoniums may
occasionally be used, giving a bright and
cheerful effect. Dielytra spectabilis, when
forced, is one of the most charming of all
plants for table decoration. Amongst Lilies,
all the faintly perfumed varieties are avail-
able for this work, including all the lan-
cifolium type; but the strongly scented
varieties, such as those of the aur.ituin and
the longiflorum types, can only be used on
rare occasions, where the rooms are large
and the ventilation good — and even then
it is safer not to use them, as some ladies

are ready to faint at the sight of them in
a room. The same remark applies to all
pungent and strong smeiling flowers, as
Gardenias, Tuberoses, Tabernamiontanas,
and many others. Even the Stephanotis
is objected to by many as being too highly
perfumed for a room; the artist runs a
risk of giving offence, and of incurring
adverse criticism, even though his table in
every other respect may be really beautiful.
Therefore I would advise that extreme
caution be used in introducing strong-
smelling plants to the dining-table.

Among bulbs at different seasons of the
year are to be found many of the most
effective and beautiful subjects for this work,
commencing with the Snowdrop, grown in
shallow pans mossed over, transferred
from these when in bloom, and placed on
small gold or silver or glass plates, and dis-
posed artistically on the table. The Crocus
are treated in the same way, rendering
an agreeable and pleasant service. The
Hyacinth also, both the ordinary kinds and
the Roman, may be used in pots, and when
well grown and flowered make an effective
arrangement ; but too many of these must
not be placed on the table, or the per-
fume in many cases will be objected
to. Tulips in pots, especially the Darwin
self-coloured ones, the old English types
including the Parrot, are par excellence
the most effective subjects to use for this
work. Indeed, some of the most effective
tables I have ever had the pleasure of orna-
menting have been decorated by Tulips,
especially the self - coloured ones. The
flaked ones also are very beautiful for a
change. Let me advise those who have
much of this work to do, to put up a good
stock and force them into flower as wanted,
until they can be had in abundance out-of-
doors in May; and in passing, may I say
that these Tulips can be had in greater
perfection as regards quality of bulbs in
Ireland than in Holland, and at as little
cost. Therefore, when ordering bulbs of
Tulips, let English growers give a thought
to our friends in Ireland, as without a doubt,
the climate and soil of many parts of
Ireland are as well suited to the propagation
and growth of most of our hardy bulbs, as
are those of Holland; and all that is needed
to make a great commercial success of this
aspect of horticulture in Ireland is the
encouragement of the many in England
who use these in such vast quantities, the
supply of which in the past has been vested
almost solely in the hands of the Dutch.

The Narcissus in endless variety furnish
one of the best subjects possible for this
work, and may be had in Mower in pots from
Christmas to April, and afterwards out-of-
doors for a long time. The Ericas also
provide useful material in the way of change,
especially the varieties ventricosa and
Cavendishi.

There are no flowering plants so effective
in the art of table decoration as are some
of our popular and easily-grown Orchids ;
and amongst these the most popular are
the various sections of Oattleya and Ladia.
These always give a rich and pleasing
effect, and never fail to give pleasure.
The same with Odontoglossums crispum
(Alexandra), and Pescatorei. What exqui-
sitely lovely tables can be produced by well-
grown and well-flowered plants of these!
as can also be produced by the use of that
popular and usually easily grown Orchid

300

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 7, 1902.

Odontoglossum vexillarium (or, as it is now
called, Milton in vexillaria). At Chatsworth
thisused to grow as freely asn weed, and some
of the loveliest tables I have ever seen were
furnished with this flower — a perfect dream
in rose and pink.

The Pleiones again, what delicious plants
for table work when' well flowered, the
species of lagenaria and maculata espe-
cially ! These are gems of the first water
for table work. They are best grown
in shallow pans in wood moss and a
little peat, and when in bloom are easily
transferred into plates of gold, silver, or
glass, and so laid on the table in any posi-

rator can call to his aid. Indeed, the Den-
drobium genus is highly distinguished
among the Orchid family for its brilliancy
and beauty ; but amongst them all none can
excel the two popular and easily -grown
species mentioned above.

In the genus Oncidium are many spe.des
of great value to the deccrator. The tall,
spreading, golden butterfly - like flower-
scapes of the following produce such a
light and graceful effect as is difficult to
excel by any other flower: — O. ampliatum,
Rogersii, Cavendishianum, Marshallianum,
and the finest of all the Oncidiums, macran-
thum, with a flower-scape often from 6 to

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

PLATYCLINIS BARBIFRONS.*

The plant bears a close resemblance to the
well-known Gold-chain Orchid Platyclinis flli-
formis, from which it differs in the whitish-
green colour of the flower, and the peculiar
character of the lip. It is, if not a beautiful,
surely a graceful plant, and gives a good effect
by contrast, if cultivated together with its
lovely sister plant. Further, the plant is.
highly interesting in other respects. The lip
is bordered in its anterior parts from the
middle to the top by a dense mass of filiform
warts, a character not described, and as [I

FIG. 120. —A GROUP OP SARRACENIAS SHOWN BY ME. A. J. A. BRUCE, NURSERYMAN, CHORLTON-CUM-HARDY, MANCHESTER.
(See Report of Temple Show in the issue of the Qardentrs Chronicle, May 31 ; and p. 371, present issue.)

tion desired — for rarity and loveliness of
effect these are unsurpassed.

The Masdevallia is another Orchid which
gives a rich and striking effect, especially
those of the Harryana types, with their
wonderfully rich and brilliant colourings;
and even the white variety, tovarensis,
grown on the same system as recom-
mended for the Pleione, and placed in
shallow vessels on the table, is exceedingly
pretty and effective. Of Epidendrum
vitellinum it may be said that for vivid
and pretty colouring, few subjects are
capable of producing a brighter or more
pleasing effect than this. Dendrobium
Wardianum in its many beautiful forms
need only be mentioned in association
with this subject to conjure up visions
of rare loveliness. D. nobile, also, in
its many varieties and forms, is one of
the most effective suhjects the table deco-

10 feet in length, studded its whole length
with flowers of the colour of old-gold, and
the richest shade of brown, when festooned
over gold or silver centre-pieces or can-
delabras, never fails to produce an enchant-
ing and beautiful effect. Amongst the
Vandas few species flower freely enough on
small plants to be of help in this way ; but
Vanda teres is an exception, and when four
or five well - flowered stems are grouped
together and placed in low gold or silver
bowls, I think I am safe in saying that no
flower grown can give a richer or a more
glorious effect. Many other genera and
species of Orchids might be mentioned,
amongst them the Cypripedes, as being the
most effective flowers it is possible to use
for table decoration ; but in those mentioned
above are included the best, most beautiful,
and easiest to grow. Owen 'Ihomas.
(To be continued.)

believe, not observed in other species; tho
side-lobes are completely absent. By this
characteristic a good observer will with the
naked eye distinguish this plant from any
other Platyclinis. The habitat is Sumatra,
and it is the first member of this genus known
from such a western position as this island, all
the other species bein? natives of the Philip-

* Platyclinis barbifrons, Kran/.l. — Caulibus ascenden_
tibus radicantibus ; bulbis 1-5 cm. inter se distantibus ^
elongato-ovoideis teretibus 1-5 cm. longis, basi lea.
crassis : foliis brevi-petiolatis JanceolaHs acutis lietfc
viridibus 12-18 cm. longis 2-2 5 cm, latis; racemo,
lenuissimo pendulo multifloro ; scapo et rliachi filifor-
mibus ; bracteis ovatis ovana bene excedentibus ;
sepalis petalisque conformib^is ovaio-lanceolatis acu-
minatis, labello integro obovato apiculato, lameln la
biloba transversa in ipsa basi. callis brevibus minims
fere semicircularibus in tevtia parte superiore di-ici-
toto disco et iuargine antice dense papulosis (inde
nomen),androclinii margine postico < pic; tridentato.
brachiis gynostemii subuiatis in tertia parte superiore
gynostemii.

Flores albo-virides 4 mm. diametro. lahellui) antice
2 mm. latum.— Suma'.iv, Floret, in £a: pa, ApriE.

Jiw-e 7, 19., '2.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE,

(lines or the eastern parts of the Indian Archi-
pelago. The plant flowered for the first time
in April of this year in the collection of Baron
Maximilian von Fuerstenberg, at Hugeupoet
near Diisseldorf, who purchased this plant,
with many others, from a gentleman who had
some years ago rather frequent communica-
tion with Sumatra. From this latter gentle-
man I received at that time flowers to name,
and by correspondence with him I learned that
he had his plants onl3T from Sumatra and from
no other part of India. Some months later he
gave up Orchids and sold his collection, the
greater and the better part of which became
the property cf Baron von Fuerstenberg.
F- Krcinzlin, Berlin.

the best type of O. crispum; and other showy
Odontoglossuins give equally good results of
the leaf-soil culture, every plant being in a
superb condition, and many of them furnished
with fine flower - spikes. As Mr. Gleeson
succeeds so well in cultivating Orchids in
leaf-soil, there is no reason why others should
not do likewise. Care in applying water seems
to be the most important factor.

Dendrobium Boxalli.

This very pretty and distinct Dendrobium,
which was discovered by Boxall in Burmah,
aud sent to Messrs. Hugh Low & Co. in 1873,
has never been plentiful in gardens, a plant
or two only appearing from time to time among

FIG. 127. — VIEW IN THE MUNICIPAL GARDENS, CAPE TOWN.

ORCHID NOTES AND 6LEANINGS.

ORCHIDS AT TBE WARREN HOUSE,
STANMORE.
In the season of the autumn - blooming
Cattleya labiata we inspected and made some
remarks on the fine condition of some Orchids
which Mr. M. Gleeson cultivates in leaf-soil,
the extraordinary vigour of the plants, and
profusion and excellence of the flowers, and
the promise of an equally fine display in the
summer- flowering varieties. The Cattleya
Mossise, C. Mendeli, Lselia purpurata, and
other early summer-flowering kinds are now in
bloom, and have well carried out the promise
of a magnificent display. An excellent strain
of C. Mosshe and C. Mendeli was obtained,
and the flowers, fine in every case, show
interesting variation, the larger plants bear-
ing from six to twelve blooms each ; and in
the case of one charming specimen of C.
Mossiie, twenty-seven flowers. The plants of
Lselia purpurata are equally good, the varia-
tion in colour ranging from the nearly white
L. p. Schroderi to the dark purple-tinted L. p.
Brysiana. The new Odoutoglossum - house
which H. L.Bischoffsheim, Esq., has had built, is
filled at the present time with very fine plants of

other Dendrobiums from B.irmah. Its scarcity
has been attributed to its being of hybrid
origin, and not plentiful in its own country.
The pseudo-bulbs are comparatively short and
thick, especially at the nodes. The flowers
are borne as is usual in the " fasciculata "
section of Dendrobium ; they have somewhat the
general appearance of those of D. crassinode,
being white, finely tipped with purplish-rose,
the lip having a dark jellow disc. It is
flowering in the garden of Mrs. Brightwen,
The Grove, Stanmore (gr., Mr. J. W. Odell).

MlLTONIA YEXILLARTA " FREKLAND VARIETY."

At the show of the Royal Caledonian Horti-
cultural Society at Edinburgh, May 7 *nd 8,
Orchids were rot a strong point ; but in the
cla"s for four in which Mr. Sharp, gr. to C. L.
Wood, Esq., Freeland, Forgandenny, secured
the 1st prize, and in his collection was a noble
j.lant ol' this fine variety of Miltonia vcxillaria,
with five spikes of extraordinary large and
richly-coloured flowers. The variety is the best
of that class represented by M. v. " Empress
Victoria Augusta," shown in 1895 at the
Temple Show, but this one has flowers fully
one-third larger, and of an almost uniform
dark magenta- rose tint. A correspondent
kindly sends one of tte flower-spikes, and Mr.

Sharp conveys the information that the plant
was one of three very small pieces purchased
from the Liverpool Horticultural Company for
a few shillings seven or eight ye^.rs ago. It
is very much to his credit that he has
succeeded in growing them into such magni-
ficent plants.

THE MUNICIPAL GARDENS,
CAPE TOWN.

These excellent gardens originated at the
suggestion of several persons as "botanic
gardens" in 1818 ; a sum of £850 was privately
subscribed, and the Government of the day
added £300. They were designed to advance
botany and horticulture. A local nurseryman,
Mr. Draper, was the first superintendent, and
planted many of the existing trees ; he was
obliged to sell seeds, bulbs, &c., to meet the
necessary expenses (just as is done to-day to
support other colonial gardens).

Some of the oldest trees were planted by
the Dutch, others were purchased from the
executors of Baron von Ludwig. Karl Zeyher,
a well-known botanist, labelled the plants,
and added collections obtained by himself
from the veldt.

Jas. MeGibbon, from the gai'dens of the
Duke of Sutherland, Elgin, was a subsequent
superintendent ; he retired in 1881, after a
very successful management. It was in his
time that numerous Australian trees and
shrubs were added.

The two largest Gum-trees— the first to be
planted in S. Africa — are there, being upwards
of 20 feet in circumference. Prof. MacOwan,
the present Government botanist, was the
last superintendent as long as they were
" botanic" gardens ; but 4n 1891 they became
municipal gardens, free to all visitors.

The garden comprises 14 acres, and is of an
oblong form, bounded on one side by iron
railing, separating it from the famous Oak
Avenue. Altogether there are some 8,000
different kinds of trees, shrubs, and herbs,
while a considerable number of Orchids,
Ferns, and tropical plants are under glass.
In front of the Public Library, at one end of
the garden, is a statue of Sir G. Grey,
Governor from 1854 to 1861.

The trees and shrubs have been collected
from the warmer temperate regions of both
hemispheres. There is a straight walk down
the middle, and serpentine ones at the sides,
with transverse connections. A good deal is
laid down in grass of a native species ; it has
long, creeping shoots, producing a sort of felt
by interlacing, giving a peculiar elastic nature
to it as it yields to the pressure of the foot.

The following are a few of the more con-
spicuous trees and shrubs, which will give
some idea of their variety and profusion.
First of all, handsome and tall Norfolk Pines
and Araucaria excelsa abound, as well as
Araucaria brasiliensis ; several kinds of Palms
and two or three species of Cvcads occur.
An enormous plant of Strelitzia regiua,
about 15 feet in height and diameter, with a
profusion of flowers, forms a conspicuous
object. The native Yellow-wood (Podocarpus),
Magnolia grandiflora, a large round tree, some
10 feet high and through, covered with
flowers ; Grevillca robusta, at least 20 feet in
height; and several kinds of Figs, as Ficus
rcligiosa and K. elastica, each 30 feet, are
conspicuous objects. Oleanders, as in all
gardens, abound, with white, pink, single and
double flowers. Large clumps of Bamboos and
Pampas-Crass, &C, are situated at intervals
on the lawns.

Rockeries have a good selection of South
African bulbous and succulent plants, as

368

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE,

[Junk 7, 1902.

Hfernanthus, Iridaceous genera, &c, Aloes,
Mesembryanthemums, Euphorbias, Cotyledons,
and Crassulas ; as well as Mexican Cactaceous
plants-(see fig. 127).

The native slirub, Lobelia myrtifolia, forms
handsome bushes ; a Colletia spinosa is about
20 feet in height, as also a Salisburia adianti-
folia, or "Ginkgo" tree. Several species of
Pine, as P. longifolia, P. pinea, and P. Pinaster,
occur ; the last two form large woods on the
slopes of Table Mountain and elsewhere — they
seed profusely.

A Gardenia, with small, lemon-shaped fruit,
is a handsome tree, about 20 feet in height.
Juniperus virginiana, 40 by 20 feet. Proteacepe
are not largely represented, but many Aus-
tralian Myrtacere, as Callistemon (" bottle-
brushes "), and others abound.

Carissa grandiflora, a native of the eastern
parts of South Africa aud Natal, is a large
bush or tree, with sweet, Jessamine- like
flowers, with five to eight lobes to the corolla,
more than an inch across. The fruit is Plum-
like, and said to be delicious, though it
belongs to the "suspicious" order Apocy-
nacese ; it bears forked spines.

The above are only a few of the more promi-
nent shrubs and trees. The herbaceous bor-
ders are not in season, but such as stand the
drought are bright with the same kind of
flowers as we grow in England. A Rose garden
is at the end, but one must wait for the wet
winter of June and July to see these in per-
fection. Well clipped hedges of European
Myrtle form boundaries, closely resembling
Privet hedges, but betraying their nature by
their flowers. Hedges are elsewhere formed
of Plumbago, trimmed or growing freely; others
are formed by a species of Australian Hakea,
a spiny shrub, with pectinate leaves, called
Aberia or Dovyalis (Bixacea?), and the Pome-
granate, often having the common Passion-
flower covering many yards ; while Bougain-
villeas cover the walls of houses, &c.

Of herbaceous plants, among the most suc-
cessful are Cannas, which grow and flower to
perfection ; of course the native Agapanthus
umbellatus, blue and white, are everywhere ;
large bushes of Hydrangeas of the deepest
blue, some 15 feet through, may be seen.
Justieias, Tecomas, Cordylines, Daturas, Ca-
mellias, now in fruit with broad leaves, Dory-
anthes, and Morseas, but most of the Cape
Monocotyledons are not now in season.

In the two illustrations, one (fig. 127) shows
a fine Cerelis peruvianus, and a tall Thuya
orientalis behind it, in the distance ; Ence-
phalartos Altensteini in front, and a tree
with a seat under it, labelled Angophora
lanceolata, as well as a branching tree of Aloe
Bainii on the right.

In the other illustration (fig. 120) Table
Mountain is seen in the distance. There are
two Norfolk Pines (Araucaria excelsa), and a
collection of succulents by the side of the
path. The little edging is made of a prickly
Juniper. George Hensloie.

[Mr. H. J. Chalwin, whose portrait we give,
succeeded Prof. MacOwan when the gardens
were taken over by the Municipality of Cape
Town, and he is still the superintendent of
the garden. Ed.].

CULTURAL MEMORANDA.

PLANT PORTRAITS.

Hidau;oa Wercklei.— The so-called climbing Dahlia.
See Gardeners' Chronicle. August 4, 1900, p. 83, fig. 22.

Kose Souvenir de Pierre Notting— A lovely sul-
phur-yellow Tea Rose, previously mentioned in the
Gardeners' Chronicle, October 13, 1900, p. 271. Bevuedi
I'Horticultan Beige, May 1.

Ruellia Lorentziana.— A greenhouse Acanthad
from Uruguay. Flowers trumpet-shaped, lilac; tube-
about 1 inch long, equalling the spreading limb,
Cleistogamous, self-fertilising flowers are produced
along with the ordinary flowers.

DIELYTRA SPECTABILIS.
This is not only a charming border plant,
but it is also an equally effective and valuable
greenhouse subject when treated as a pot-
plant, the gracefully drooping spikes of heart-
shaped pink flowers contrasting most effec-
tively with the delicate, Fern-like foliage.
The plant may be propagated by division of
the roots, and these should be planted in a
situation sheltered from north and east winds,
the process of transplanting being effected as
soon after the plants have gone out of flower
as possible, making the soil fairly firm about
the roots in planting, afterwards applying
water to settle the mould about them. Ordinary
garden soil, light ratherthan heavy in texture,

MR. CHALWIN,

superintendent of the municipal gardens,
cape town.

and restiDg on a gravelly sub-soil, will suit the
root requirements of this beautifnl and well-
known plant, which attains to a height of
2 feet. H. W. Ward.

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS.

The race of "arboreum" Rhododendrons as
distinguished from the other three sections of
the genus, namely Indian Azaleas, Ghent and
Mollis Azaleas, and the Malayan and Javanese
species, originated in the earlier half of the
last century, and was the outcome of inter-
crossing R. arboreum, R. catawbiense, R.
caucasicum,R.ponticum,andR.campanulatum.
Their progeny have been crossed and recrossed
to such good purpose that we now possess
hundreds of named sorts comprising many
very magnificent hardy flowering shrubs.
R. arboreum was introduced in 1818, when Dr.
Wallieh sent seeds of it from Nepal to the
Botanic Gardens of Kew and Edinburgh. The
first recorded hybrid from it was R. alta-
clerense, raised in the garden of Lord Carnar-
von at Highclere, and figured in the Botanical
Magazine, t. 3123 (1835). Its other parent was
a form of R. ponticum. Similar crosses were
made about the same time in other gardens,
R. Smithii, R. Russellianum, R. venustum
(arboreum caucasicum), and others being
among the results.

Grand however as R. arboreum is in itself,
and valuable as it has proved in the breeders'
hands, there are also many other species
among the Sikkim-llimalayan Rhododendrons
that possess these good qualities, although as
yet comparatively little has been done with

them. The late Mr. J. H. Mangles frequently
called the attention of hybridists to them, and
he himself in his garden at Haslemere made
numerous crosses with Himalayan species of
Rhododendron, the rich results of which are
only now becoming known to us.

A species which by its exceptionally good
qualities and well marked characteristics has
been productive of numerous beautiful hybrids
is the one known in gardens as R. Auek-
landi, or as it should now be called R.
Griffith ianum. Introduced by Dr. Hooker
from the Sikkim Himalaya, in 18 IS, it first
flowered in a nursery at Wandsworth in May,
1858. What may be called a Chinese form of
it, differing mainly in having usually six or
seven flower-segments instead of five, was
introduced in 1859 by Fortune, and named in
compliment to him. These two plants, thanks
to the efforts of Mangles, Luscombe, George
Paul, Anderson Henry, and a few others,
have been the means of adding to our gardens a
race of Rhododendrons possessed of all the
attributes of first-rate hardy flowering shrubs.

The first Aucklandi hybrid of which there is
any record was raised in the gardens of the
Lawson Company at Edinburgh, in or about
the year 18G9, when Mr. Scott crossed R. Grif-
fithianum and a red-flowered garden variety
known as John Waterer, supposed to be from
arboreum x catawbiense. In 1879, these Grif-
iithianum crosses were seen by Mr. Mangles,
and described in the Gardeners' Chronicle in
July of that year. They are still in cultivation
in Scottish gardens, and I am told that they
so closely resemble the hybrid R. Kewense
(Griffithianum :< Hookeri) that they might
easily pass for that plant. In April, 1882, Mr.
Mangles exhibited his hybrid Alice Mangles,
which he had raised from R. ponticum crossed
with R. Griffithii, and which had flowers
4 inches across, whitish-lilac in colour and very
fragrant.

The next of which we have any record is
R. Manglesii , raised by Messrs. Veitch from
R. Griffithii and a white-flowered garden
variety known as album elegans. This is a
beautiful hybrid of excellent habit, very
iloriferous, the flowers in erect racemes, their
colour blush-pink in bud, 2Jure ivory-white
when expanded, with crimson spots on the top
petal. A figure of it was published in the
Gardeners' Chronicle, Jan. 11, 1885, p. 49.

R. kewense was raised at Kew from R. Grif-
fithianum and R. Hookeri, and first flowered
in May, 1888. It forms a wide-spreading, flat-
topped bush, and bears large erect racemes of
flowers, each 4 inches across and varying in
colour in different plants, from white to deep
rosy-pink. It is quite hardy at Kew, where it
makes a grand display in May in the Rhodo-
dendron dell.

Two years ago I had the pleasure of visiting
the garden of Mr. H. A. Mangles at Little-
worth, Tongharn, Surrey, where there is an
exceptionally rich collection of Rhododen-
drons, among them being many of the hybrids
raised by his brother, the late Mr. H. J.
Mangles, of Haslemere. There are many
beautiful Griffithii crosses among them, and
it is to be hoped that they may be multiplied
and distributed. The finest of these hybrids,
however, is still in the garden of Mrs. H. J.
Mangles, at Valewood, Haslemere, where it is
represented by an enormous, well-furnished !
bush about 12 feet high, which, when I saw it
in May two years ago, was truly magnificent,
almost every branch bearing a large, well set- j
up head, racemose, as all the Griffithii hy-
brids are, the flowers well-formed, and their
colour a beautiful soft pink. It is named
Isabella Mangles. Another of the Mangles
hybrids with flowers almost crimson, is called; I

JUNE 7, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

369

Liza Stillman. All these hybrids are perfectly
hardy in the south and -west of England.

But by far the most beautiful of all the
Griffithii hybrids yet raised has lately
flowered in the Tremough (Mr. H. Shilson's)
garden, near Falmouth, whose gardener,
Mr. R. Gill, raised, by crossing some ten
years ago R. Griffithii with R. Thomson!. I
had previously seen crosses between these
two, and have lately received one from Mr.
Whitton, Superintendent of the Parks and
Gardens of Glasgow. There are several forms
of both R. Griffithii and R. Thomsoni in culti-
vation, some much better than others, conse-
quently crosses from them may show consider-
able variety, especially in colour. I have
specimens of one with uniformly crimson
flowers. But the Tremough seedling is a
wonder of beauty. It was staged at the last

sorts. These plants are now in flower, and
are well worth inspection.

There are many earnest workers busy breed-
ing new Orchids, new Roses, new Primulas,
&c. ; but, so far as I know, only a few have as
yet turned their attention to the really rich
Rhododendron-material that is only waiting to
be intelligently operated upon to yield results
at least as valuable as any that have yet been
obtained by the plant-breeder. W. TTatson,
Kew.

VEGETABLES.

POTATO "MAY QUEEN."
I first grew this recent introduction of
Messrs. Sutton & Sons in 1001, but was not
much impressed with its value in the open,

Pig. 129.— a collection of succulents in the municipal gardens,

CAI'E TOWN, (see p. 307.)

Truro show, and was awarded a First-class
Certificate by the delegates of the Royal
Horticultural Society, who named it Beauty
of Tremough. The flowers of this are longer
than these of R. kewense ; otherwise they are
not unlike them, except in the beautiful blend-
ing of crimson, pink, and white, of the pedicels
and corolla. I have never seen a more
beautiful flower. I also have a specimen of a
hybrid between R. Griffithii and R. arbo-
reum, received from Mr. Carlyon of Tregrchan
in April, 1N97. In this the flower-buds are
deep crimson, and when fully expanded they
are rosy-red, witli blotches of deep crimson at
the base of the tube. I know nothing of the
history of this plant.

Mention has already been made of the
Poi'tunei hybrids, some of the best of which
wero raised by Mr. Luscombe, and which aro
represented by largo bushes in the Rhododen-
dron dell at Kew, where also may bo seen a
good number of the hybrids more recently
raised by Mr. George Paul from R. Fortunei,
and some of the best of the popular garden

and probably should not have given it further
trial had I not subsequently noticed in Messrs.
Sutton's seed catalogue that they recommended
it for frame culture. 1 therefore gave the
variety a trial in frames, and early last
month (May) lifted the tubers. I was agree-
ably surprised at the crop, and also by
the quality when cooked, which was excel-
lent. The tubers were clean, large in size,
with scarcely any small ones. It is a kidney
Potato, with a dwarf top. I have generally
relied on Itingleadcr, Ashlcaf Improved, and
Early Laxton for frame work, and also for first
crop outside; but this variety will probably
take the place of some of these. 7'. H. Blade,
Poltimore Ptu-k Gardens, E.veter.

Ti RNIPS.
It is my usual practice to make two large
sowings in (he month of July, for storing,
choosing an open position, and making the
soil moderately firm, or choosing that which
has not been dug lately. If the weather is
dry, the drills, which should be 3 inches deep

and 11 inches apart, are copiously afforded
water the day before the seed is sown.

There are several good varieties fit for
winter, viz., Red Globe, a capital variety, and
White Stone ; and the plants, when large
enough, are thinned to 4 inches apart, and the
soil is frequently stirred with the Dutch-hoe.
When the bulbs are of the size of a cricket-
ball they are pulled, a few of the outer leaves
removed, and buried 3 inches underground.
It is necessary to go over the beds repeatedly,
and as fast as the Turnips become large
enough, to take them up, and thus afford the
smaller ones more space in which to grow.

Should severe frosts set in, spread some
litter over the ground. Any out-of-the-way
spot may be utilised for wintering Turnips,
Beet, Carrots, &c, in the above-mentioned
manner. H. Markham, Wrotham Park.

THE LAWN - MOWEE :
ITS CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT.

(Concluded from J5. 359.)

Maintaining Machines in Order. — It is often
the case that a lawn-mower is much neglected
as to cleaning and oiling, but there is no
machine in existence that so well repays the
trouble taken to keep it in good condition as
does a lawn-mower.

In the first place, the machine should be kept
perfectly clean, and no dirt or grit should be
allowed to accumulate on the cog-wheels or
other driving-gear. A short brush, like a
small spoke-brush, is the best thing to use for
this purpose, taking care not to brush any
grit into the bearings. The machine should
on no account be used with the bearings loose
or worn. If prompt attention be paid to the
tightening of them at the first sign of loose-
ness, a great deal of unnecessary wear and
much noise will be prevented. Particularly is
this the case with the bearings of the cutter-
spindle, which require careful watching, as
here the greater part of the wear takes place.
If it is a cog-wheel-driven mower, the gear
should be examined to see that the wheels are
not getting out of line with each other, and if
they are, it should be promptly corrected by
moving the bearings as required. They are
usually fitted with a slight freedom of move-
ment (in the same way as the chain-driven
mowers — see ante, fig. 115) for this purpose. In
a chain-driven mower the chain should not be
kept too tight, nor should it be used with the
chain so loose as to fly off. A little care spent
on this will make a wonderful difference to the
running of the machine. All nuts and screws
should be looked to, both on the score of
safety and noise, for anything shaky or loose
will be aggravated tenfold by neglect, and a
noisy lawn-mower is an intolerable nuisance.
Every oil hole should receive attention ; the
machine should never be used without oiling,
and here, as in all machinery, the rule of a
little and often is better than a great deal
only now and them. With a few drops fre-
quently given, the machine docs not get into
the disgusting mess from which it has been
the writer's experience to disinter a great
many mowers.

As to sharpening, it may be at once stated
that where an engineering establishment is
situated at a convenient distance it does not
pay the gardener to undertake this operation,
which is dirty, tedious, and requires care.
In those cases, however, where the gardener
electa to do it himsolf, the mode of proce-
dure should bo this: the machine should
be placed on a bench, with the cutter
toward the operator, and securely fixed
to the wall, so that the cutter is free to
revolve. On examining the machine there

370

THE GARDENERS" CHRONICLE.

[June 7, 1902.

will be noticed a hole in one of the wheels
into which an iron handle fits, usually supplied
with the machine. Where this is not the
case, as in some old machines, a hole should be
drilled in one of the large wheels, the one
outside the frame, and a piece of iron screwed
in to form a handle. The machine should
then be turned steadily the opposite way from
which it runs when at work, and the cutter
lightly sprinkled with oil and fine emery —
"super-grinding" quality will usually be the
most suitable, as coarse emery will cut the
blades of the cutter too much. This should be
continued until the blades will cut a piece of
note-paper cleanly and without tearing, when
the cutter and bearings should be carefully
wiped clean with a rag moistened with paraffin,
and a fewdrops applied to the bearings to work
out any emery that may have lodged therein.
If the machine is one of Messrs. Barnard &
Co.'s make, i.e., with smooth wheels, the in-
tsrmediate wheel, c (fig. 10(i, p. 320, ante),
should be removed temporarily, and a leathir
strap passed round the wheel 6 on the cutter-
spindle and the large wheel a, into one of the
spokes of which a handle must be fitted,
similar to the former arrangement. As to
the "side-wheel" arrangement, one of the
side-wheels will generally be found to have a
hole fitting a handle supplied with the machine
(if not, it must be so fitted). This wheel must
first be removed, and also the pinion d on that
side (see figs. 108 and 109, p. 321, ante). When
d is taken off, the "pawl " c must be slipped
out and replaced with a larger one, sent with
the machine, and </ then replaced. The result
being that d is locked to the cutter-spindle.

If this piece has been lost, or not received
with the machine, it is easy to make one out of
a small piece of flat iron or steel, taking care
that it extends entirely aeross the ratchet at
the back of d, so as to fix it immoveably on the
cutter spindle. The grinding is t hen proceeded
with as before described. If the bottom blade
is much gapped it must be removed and ground
on a grindstone, observing to keep the edge
perfectly straight on the stone.

Hints to Purchasers.

In concluding this article, a few hints may
be of service to intending purchasers and
users.

Where the machine is required for excep-
tionally heavy work, such for instance as golf
links, the question of weight should not be,
and is not a consideration. A strong machine
by one of the leading makers with plenty of
bearing surface and as wide a cutter as
possible, should be eho=en. If the grass is not
too coarse, a chain ir.achine will make the best
work, but anything very rough or full of stems
is best dealt with by a spur-geared machine
with the cutters driven at a high velocity.

For medium machines there is little tochoose,
except that it is the best policy where a large
area has to be mown, to select as large a
machine as possible for the work. The nature
of the grass is an important point, though not
so much as in the lirst case.

Where small plots are to be dealt with, the
question becomes more difficult, as here the
"side-wheel" machines become more keen
opponents of the old machines on the score of
cheapness. Here, however, again cheapness
should not be allowed to stand in the way, and
certainly in working among beds the older
pattern has the advangtage,as when the machine
is fitted with a roller it may be used with far
better results when overlapping a path or
flower-bed. Therefore unless the lawn is a
simple square patch or plot, where the " side-
wheel " mower is seen at its best, the older
type should be chosen. Where there are a

great many narrow strips, edgings, and borders,
it is good policy to keep a smalt machine spe-
cially for this purpose. For sloping terraces
the bide- wheel machine with a long handle
makes very good work, but for strips the writer
prefers a small machine of the older type.
Where there is a great deal of rough, coarse or
long grass and herbage, one of the special
machines built by the leading makers should
be kept exclusively lor this purpose.

Where, however, expense is a consideration,
and a single machine is required to fill the
post of a "servant of all work," a machine
should be chosen not wider than the narrowest
border, and not a cheap article, but the best
tbat can be bought for the money. Either
"side wheel" or roller pattern will answer
(though the writer confesses to a leaning to
the latter), but if the first be chosen it should
be a high-class machine, as where miscellaneous
work is undertaken the strain and wear-and-
tear are much more severe. Sydney Russell.

NURSERY NOTES.

MESSRS. ROBERT VEITCH & SON'S
NFRSERIES, EXETER.

In all things connected with the introduction
and cultivation of plants, the name of Yeitch
stands pre-eminent. Both botanists and horti-
culturists owe much to the Veitch family for
their numerous introductions o[ new and rare
plants. Throughout the three or four genera-
tions that have been so closely associated with
horticulture, many of these introductions have
been plants of much beauty or of great inte-
rest, and have become inseparably associated
with this historic firm, and with the ancient
city of Exeter, where l.orticulture still re-
ceives much attention at the hands of Mr.
P. C. M. Veitch, the courteous head of the
Exeter firm.

To those of our readers who are familiar
with many of the plants that have gone forth
from the Exeter nurseries, it may be inte-
resting to know that their original founder
was John Veitch, who was born so long ago
as 1752, and who started a nursery at Bud-
lake, near Killerton, about 1810. About 1830
the business was removed to Topsham Road,
about a mile from Exeter, where it was con-
tinued till 1883, and where the celebrated
hybridiser Dotniny was associated with the
firm. After this the site now occupied in the
New North Road, known as the Royal Nur-
sery, together with the almost contiguous
Hoopern Nurseries in the Howell Road, were
taken. These grounds cover an area of
about 12 acres. In the first we find all
kinds of stove and greenhouse plants, as
Orchids, Palms, Tree-Ferns, Azaleas, Camel-
lias, Heaths, hardy perennials, and alpine
plants. The other part of the ground is
devoted to Roses, shrubs, ornamental trees
and fruit-trees.

At Exuiinster is also a nursery of about
9 acres, chiefly for forest trees ; while the
Trial-grounds at Exwick cover another 8 or
9 acres, so that about 30 acres altogether are
occupied with a collection of attractive plants
and many novelties, and a goodly stock of
most things into the bargain. A peculiar
effect indeed in the grounds at Exwick is
constituted by the rows of bushes of the
spiny Citrus tril'oliata or .Egle sepiaria, or
the golden, drop-like flowers of Edwardsia
grandiHora, as well as of the Stiawberrj-
tree, Benthamia (Cornus) fragifera, any num-
ber of plants of wbich are standing in the
open — a sufficient proof of their hardy cha-
racter in this locality. Here are also quan-
litijs of Nanthoceras sorbifolia and any

number of Christmas Roses, including the
fine form grown in this county, Helleborus
major, a sturdy- growing plant with pure
white flowers. A well - known and mucli-
admired plant also, of which we see quantities,
is the Fire-bush (Embothrium cocaineum),
which, it is known, grows well in the open air
in Cornwall.

Time, however, will not allow us to stay
longer in this pleasantly-situaited spot, from
which one gets the prettiest possible view of
Exeter, with the towers of the Cathedral in
the centre of the picture, and a distant view
of Woodbury Common stretching away to the
right; but in leaving, one cannot help being
struck by the beautiful carpet of pale blue,
covering a space of about 00 square yards, and
made up entirely of Mysotis dissitiflora. ia
our inspection of the nursery in the New
North Road, we were shown a large number
of plants of much interest, and many novelties
of which we can only refer to a small selection.
A splendid plant for conservatory or green-
houseis the beautiful jellovv-spathed Richardia
(R. Elliotiana). It is a rich, pure yellow with
a broad trumpe'-'ike tube, the deeper yellow
spadix being almost concealed within the tube.
The leaves, which are thicker and of a brighter"
green than those of the well known white-
spathed species, are evenly spotted and
marked with white. Amongst other plants
suitable alike for greenhouse and outdoor-
cultivation, several of which have proved
hardy in Devon and Cornwall, may be
mentioned the Chatham Island Forget-rae-Not
(Myosotidium nobile). It is notable for its
very large racemes of blue and white flowers,
and large glossy deep green leaves. This
plant which forms a bush 2 to 3 feet through,
has proved hardy in warm positions.

A plant of a very different habit is the new
Japanese Banana (Musa Basjoo), a plant
strongly recommended for warm sheltered
gardens, having stood out of doors in Corn-
wall for four years or more, and passed through
last winter, severe and lengthened as it was,
in safety atExminster. Amongst Palms suitable
for greenhouse or room, or even for garden
culture in warm sitmtions, we were shown
Phienix canadensis, and informed that it has
proved hardy at Torquay. The beautifu)
Cocos australis was also shown to us as a
hardy Palm in sheltered situations in Cornwall.

At a time when so much attention continues
to be centred in South Africa, the so-called
Transvaal Daisy (Gerbera Jamesoni) naturally
attracts notice, as well as the Transvaal Mar-
guerite (Dimorphotheca Eckloni). The habit
of the plant, and the beauty of the flowers of
the former, are strong recommendations for a
place in the greenhouse ; besides which, it,
does well out-of-doors, and has proved hardy
in sheltered positions in many parts of Eng-
land. The delicate appearance of the Trans-
vaal Marguerite has been so recently referred
to in the columns of the (lardenevs' Chronicle,
that we can only conlirmall that has been said,
in its favour.

The well-known Camellia Sasanqua, with
single red and double white flowers, was
shown to us as being peculiarly adapted for
training against walls, and being introduced
from Japan, is hardier than those from China.
A handsome hardy shrub is Hydrangea Bret-
schneideri, and the beautiful Poinciana Gil-
liesii as a wall plant suggests that it ought
to more grown than it is. The same may be
said of Ribes speciosum, the bright red flowers
of which are admirably set off by the wealth
of small deep green leaves. This plant
flourishes well against a warm wall at Exeter.

Rhododendrons and Azaleas, as might be
expected, are much in evidence at the Exeter

June 7, 1002.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

Ol

nursery; grand flowering specimens were to
be seen on the occasion of our visit, of many
of the best known varieties, including the
lovely sweet-scented pale pink blooms of Rho-
dodendron Mrs. Butler, and the pale lemon
variety raised by James Veiteh the elder,
tfamed ochroleucum. Japanese Maples are
grown here with very satisfactory results, for
though they attain their best growths and
finest tints in good soil and sheltered positions,
all the varieties in the open ground, and in
some exposed situations, seem erjnally to
flourish, the graceful foliage, together with
the delicate greens and rich red tints being
fully shown off in the bright sunlight that
prevailed at the time of our visit.

Amongst indoor plants that are perhaps
not sufficiently known, we may mention Lotus
peliorhynchus, known as the Pigeon's Beak,
in reference to its singular flowers, which
are of a brilliant scarlet colour, and have

the firm of R. Veiteh & Son has given special
attention, namely, herbaceous and alpine
plants, including bog plants, and perhaps more
particularly hardy Cacti. In this connection
the following were particularly attractive : —
AndrosaeeChumbyi, with its rosettesof bright
pink flowers ; a new introduction from the
Himalayas, Lithospermum canescens, with
golden- yellow flowers; Erigeron compositus,
blue, from Colorado. Of Sarracenias we
noticed a large stock, especially of S. pur-
purea, which may have been grown to meet a
prospective demand, such as arose some*
twenty years ago, when the plant was boomed
in America as a remedy for smallpox ! Mr.
"Veiteh, however, assured us that it was not as
a medicinal plant that he grew it, but for use
in bog gardens and rockeries, for which he
had a great demand. Such, indeed, would
seem to be the case with the Venus Flytrap,
(Dionea Muscipula), for a very large stock of

Fig. 130. — dwarf Japanese garden, exhibit! d at the temple show.

a long, narrow, recurved standard, not unlike
the beak of a bird, that are borno in bunches
amongst the crowded leaflets; these features,
together with the drooping habit of the plant,
often hanging down 2 feet or more from the
pot, make it, especially when seen in quantity,
one of the most singular plants in cultivation,
and very unlike a leguminous plant. It is a
native of Teneriffe.

Another plant equally singular and beautiful
is Ochna multiflora. The plants of this species
were in their fruiting stage, and in this state
are perhaps more showy than when in flower.
The peculiarity of this plant is that the actual
fruits, which are shining, black, seed like
bodies, aro seated on a globular receptacle
of the shape and size of that of a Strawberry,
and of a bright crimson colour.

In pa-sing through the Orchid-house we
noticed a fine mass of Cattleya Mrndeli, in a
7-inch pot, with sixteen or seventeen flower-
spikes ; and in the fernery wo were reminded,
while admiring some well-grown plants of
Adiantum Farloyense, that a saleable stock of
this beautiful Fern was first raised here.

We cannot close this notice without a refe-
rence to a branch of plant-Culture to which

young, healthy plants were flourishing in one
house.

In one part of the rockery was a group of hardy
Cacti, which were by no means in a sheltered
position, but all of which had been established
there for some years without any protection
through the winter. Amongst them we noted
the following: — Opuntia KaBnesiuei, I >.
xanthostema, «). humilis, O. spirocentra, O.
rhodantha, < >. fragilis, < ». arborescens, O.
missouriensis, (). Camanchica, Cereus phce-
niceus. Some of these have flowered in their
present position.

With regard to the pretty Cncurbitaceous
climbing plant, Thladiantha dubia, which we
remember first seeing in fruit on the garden-
wall of the late Daniel llanbury, on Clapham
Common, wo learnt from Mr. Veiteh that a
plant which had been placed on the end of a
greenhouse wall I": i c i 1 1 l; south, had tailed to
appear tho following year in the position
where it was planted, but came up round the
west sido of the house where the root was
found, thouzli it was i|iiite impossible that it
could have been moved to the new position
it had taken, thus showing the hardiness of
the plant. Jolni R. Jackson.

VIEWS FROM THE RECENT
TEMPLE SHOW.

In our present issue are three illustrations
from photographs taken by Mr. A. E. Smith
tit the show of the Roya' Horticultural Society
in the gardens of the Inner Temple, a full
report of which was published in the Gar-
deners' Chronicle for last week. Tho first of
these, on p. 300, will give a good idea of the
group of Sarracenias, Darlingtonias, &c, shown
by Mr. A. J. A. Bruce, Edge Lane Nurseries,
Chorley-cum-Hardy, Manchester. As was
stated in our report, some of the species were
shown in very fine condition, as S. Sanderiana,
S. Mooreana, S. Wrigleyana, S. Tolliana, S.
tlava maxima, S. Patersoni, S. melanorhoda, S.
Chelsoni, S. \Villiamsiana, S. Flambeau, the
dwarf S. psittaeina, &c UarlingtoDia cali-
fornica var. rubra, in which the hood is of a
reddish-brown tint, was awarded a First-class
Certificate. The figure on p. 377 illustrates
some Peas shown in broad pans by Messrs. J.
Carter & Co., High Holborn, London; the va-
riety is their Dwarf Forcing Pea. The mode)
of a Japanese garden (fig. 130) was one of the
many exhibits of Japanese dwarfed trees
present on the occasion.

SEPARATION OF MIXED
CHARACTERS.

In the offspring of hybrid plants, the pheno-
menon of dissociation of charaters which were
combined in their parents is common enough,
and is due to reversion, the reproductive
gemmules sorting themselves out as it were-
in the pollen grains and ovaries according to
certain laws, which seem to determine the
results on definite lines to judge by, at any
rate, Mendel's experiments. There are, how-
ever, dimorphic plants "which cannot be im-
puted to hybridisation, or even varietal cross-
ing, and which nevertheless must, adopting
the pangenetic hypothesis of Darwin, be
pervaded with gemmules of two classes, as
distinct from each other in their constructive
faculties, as those of two quite different
species. A marked example of this kind exists
in a varietal form of Scolopendrium vulgare,
found many years ago near Falmouth by Miss
Drummond, and hence named S. v. crispum
Drummondise. Tho non-hybrid character of
this Fern is established at once by the solitary
character of tho species in Great Britain, and
that it is not a natural cross between two
varieties we must assume from the fact that
varieties are numerically excessively rare-,
aud that the marked peculiarities of this
particular type aro not known to exist as
separate types at all.

This Fern is practically unique as an
example of complex variation, tho normal
flat strap-shaped frond of the species being
dimorphically transformed into two types,
one with smooth- edged fronds, extra long
and narrow, and having a very broad. Hat
ramo-digitate crest at the top, sometimes
!) inches across; tho fronds, moreover, are
undulate in the piano of the lamina, the rachis
curving repeatedly switchback-fashion. The
fronds aro fertile, bearing short BOri at
intervals. The second type of frond is similar
as regards the features described! but has all
the edges deeply fimbriate, and cut into long
slender segments, tin' points of which are
aposporous, producing prothalli freely when

severed aud layered, and such prothalli
yielding plants in the normal sexual manner.

Prior to the discovery by the writer' of the
aposporous character of the fimbriate fronds,
which are mixed with the smooth-edged ones

372

TLTE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 7, 1902.

quite indiscriminately, a number of plants
were raised from the spores, and among these
offspring the faculty of dissociation of the two
characters asserted itself, since a number of
these proved entirely and constantly fimbriate,
the smooth-edged fronds being apparently
quite eliminated. A very fine specimen of this
class, bearing dense corymbose fringed tassels,
instead of flat, digitate ones, and with the
fimbriation greatly enhanced, was brought to
<the writer's notice two years ago by the raiser,
Mr. H. Bolton, of Warton, near Carnforth, who
very kindly gave me a portion of a fringed
•crest, and also with a view to obtaining a per-
fectly true specimen, a base of one of the old
fronds, i.e., the fleshy permanent portion im-
mediately attached to the caudex. The fringed
crest being layered, produced in due course a
mass of prothalli and young plants, more of
which promise to be fair reproductions of the
fringed type ; but one has thrown up several
fronds all smooth-edged, though otherwise
typical of the variety. The most unexpected
development, however, arose from the frond-
base. These bases, as is now well known, if
severed, and even if cut through into two,
and inserted in soil, or dropped into a tumbler
with a little wet sand at the bottom, and kept
■close, develop in the course of a few months
small excrescences apparently from any point,
including the cut surfaces themselves. These
excrescences are buds, and frequently a single
base in this way may yield a cluster of
youngsters, usually typical. In this case,
however, only two such buds were formed,
one on each side of the basal piece ; and to
my great surprise, as these two developed,
'they presented another example of disso-
ciation, one being quite devoid of fimbriation,
though frilled and crested, while the other
•was an extreme type of the aposporous char-
acter, the fronds so far being attenuate, with
deeper cut basal lobes, and stiff, radiating,
fimbriate crests, altogether different indeed
•from its immediate neighbour developed from
the same base, fashioned from the same sap,
and originating under identical circumstances
from the outset. Here, it will be seen, the
parent had thrown off the plain-edged char-
acter entirely, though derived from a spore
of a dimorphic form, and yet retains within it
the dimorphic faculty to a sufficient extent,
mot only to yield two kinds of plants through
its aposporous fringes, but independently of
sexual action, to do the same thing by asexual
buds abnormally induced from the severed
frond bases. The two types of frond do not
appear to be indeterminate at all : they are
never half and half or intermediate in any
way, hence we have the curious phenomenon
that the primary cells which initiate the
formation of a frond, have, as it were, at the
outset two different architectural plans to
select from ; but what law determines their
selection is part of that great puzzle which
variation still constitutes for all investigators.
Chas. T. Vruery, F.L.S., Y.M.H.

ALPINE GARDEN.

PRIMULA OREODOXA.
Tnis Primula, received from Mr. Charles
Sprenger in 1901, has been in bloom in a cold
frame for some time, and appears as if it would
become a good addition to our hardy Prim-
roses. It is of strictly herbaceous habit here,
and although it was wintered in a pot in the
cold frame, the conditions were such as would
test its hardiness well enough. The pot was
unplunged, and the frame had no covering in
the most severe weather of the winter. Then

the plant was a weakly one to begin with.
It is now growing freely enough, although
it looks as if it would be a slight grower
at the best. According to the monograph
of Dr. Ferdinand Pax, P. oreodoxa is a
native of Eastern Tibet, and the same autho-
rity classes it with his section sinensis, and
in the division of poculiformia. This is evi-
dent from the form of the flowers, and the
plant I have here appears to correspond to
Dr. Pax's characters. As grown in the frame,
it is about 6 inches high, and has a good num-
ber of small flowers of a deep, warm purplish-
rose. The leaves are of a pretty form, and
from a garden point of view this Primrose
should be a welcome gain, if quite hardy, as I
anticipate. I have grown it in sandy peat,
and it came into bloom towards the end of
April. S. Amott, Carsethorn-by-Dump-ics, N.B.

The Week's Work.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Mayne, Gardener to the Hon. Mare Rolls,
Bicton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

The Grape-Vine. — The side - shoots of the
rods should not be less than 12 inches apart,
and two shoots only should be left on a spur,
for it is usually by the crowding of the young
growths that so few bunches show. Shoots on
which bunches of Grapes are apparent should
be stopped two joints beyond the bunch, and
one bunch per shoot retained, for any over-
cropping will be sure to weaken the Vine for
one year or longer ; moreover, the berries
will be small and flavour indifferent. Thin
the berries early, and secure the shoots to
the wall betimes, these being easily broken off
by the wind. In light soils, and even in those
that are heavy, if the border is well drained
artificially or naturally, bi-weekly applications
of water will be necessary in hot, dry weather,
while the fruit is developing. In lieu of
liquid manure, a sprinkling of Thompson's
Vine -manure after the soil has been mois-
tened, may be applied. After flowering, keep
the foliage free of red -spider by syringing ;
and after the thinning is finished, apply a
mulch of partly decayed stable-dung.

Bush Fru its. — Liquid-manure from the stables
or cow-sheds may be applied to the bush-fruit
quarter, Black Currants especially benefiting
thereby. Let the land be frequently hoed, in
order to kill the weeds whilst of a small size,
and prevent it from cracking. Tho bushes
should be examined once a week, and if the
caterpillars of the sawfly, or traces of red-spider
be observed, syringe the bushes, also the plants
against walls and fences, three or four nights
in succession with water having a small
quantity of soft-soap mixed in it ; or lime-
water made with 1 lb. of lime to 4 gallons of
water, used after it has got clear, will generally
rid them of this last pest. The berries are now
of about the right size for bottling, and those
fruits that are nearest to the ground should be
the first gathered. This fruit, also Currants
trained against walls, should be afforded a
mulch, as they have usually to bo kept for a
considerable length of time.

Ovafted Trees. — These are now growing
freely, and the clay or wax should be removed,
the ties loosened, and the scions made se-
cure against the wind by having pieces of
lath tied on to the stock, to which they should
be fastened. Remove all growths from the
stock. Trees infested with American-blight
should have the infested place touched with
a small brush dipped in petroleum.

wort should be sown forthwith ; but if the
hardy Green Colewort is preferred, the second
week in the month will be soon enough to sow,
this variety hearting earlier than the Rosette.
In hot, dry soils, the germination of seeds at
this season should be hastened, by applying
water to the seed-beds in dry weather. My
practice is to sow thinly broadcast in any dis-
used forcing-beds, the soil being moistened,
and sheep-hurdles being placed on the frames
instead of the glass-lights, these shading the
beds till the plants come up, when they are
at once removed.

Autumn Giant Cauliflower and Veitch's fielf-
protectiwj Broccoli. — A sowing of each of
these, if made in the manner advised for Cole-
worts, soon make strong plants. The plants
should be placed on sheltered borders for the
late autumn and early winter supply. These
crops are of more value than the earlier crops,
and turn in after frost has destroyed the
Runner Beans, and they afford heads till the
winter Mammoth Broccoli, &c, come into use.

French Beans. — If the earlier sowings are
not yet come through the soil, let the seed be
examined here and there, and if many of them
are found to be rotting, destroy the entire
sowing, making another forthwith. Gardeners
who have sown Beans successionally, as ad-
vised in earlier Calendars, will have an advan-
tage this season over others who have not done
so. If French Beans are not required after
the Runner Beans have become fit for use,
and the earlier sowings of the latter have
rotted, it will be necessary to make sowings
of French Beans later in order to have pods
for use till such time as the Runner Beans are
ready for consumption.

Parsnips. — It is of importance that the
plants be thinned at an early date, and in most
gardens the operation will have been carried
out. The thinning is best done after rain, and
the distance at which the plants should be left
apart is about 9 inches for ordinary roots, and
15 inches when extra fine roots are desired,
and the land is in very good heart. After
thinning, or as soon as the ground is dry
enough, let it be Dutch-hoed.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Tdbton. Gr. to J. K. D. Winofield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorsetshire.

Ooleworts.- — For obtaining plants to set out

on land from which crops of early Potatos,

Horn Carrots, &c, have been taken, a suffi-

ieut quantity of seeds of the Rosette Cole-

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By B. Davidson, Gardener to Eahl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Plants with Fine Foliage. — If from lack of
cold frames and other shelters the more tender
bedding plants have not hitherto been removed
from the pits and houses, some of the frames
will now have had their occupants planted
out, and space may now be found for
Alternantheras, Coleus, Iresine, Mesembryan-
themum, &c, which should be inured to
outside conditions gradually, previous to
planting them in the beds. These foliage
plants should be placed close to the glass, so
as not to become drawn, especially Coleus Ver-
schaffelti and Iresine Lindeni, short-jointed,
sturdy growth being an essential with these
plants, also foliage of a high colour. In order
to preserve tints of the foliage of these plants
during the first few days after removal from
the houses, it may be necessary to slightly
shade them from bright sunshine, the frame-
lights being tilted during the daytime a few
inches either at the top or sides. Sub-
tropical foliage plants may be removed forth-
with to a cool, airy structure, where they may
obtain full sunshine. Amongst varieties of
these which are of value for their flowers are
Cannas, the growing of which in pots until
about the second week in July is advisable,
when in an ordinary season tho flower-spikes
would be about three parts expanded ; if then
they are planted firmly in the ground in a
situation sheltered from the stronger winds,
and when necessary afforded copious supplies
of water, and occasionally manure-water,
the season of flowering will be consider-
ably lengthened, and larger flower-spikes
and finer blooms obtained — moreover, the
foliage will be less gross than is the case when
they are planted at any earlier date than that
given.

June 7, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE,

0(0

Seeds. — The common Wallflower is one of
the most useful spring bedders, and the
varieties introduced of recent years are of
very beautiful shades of colour, and the
gardener is enabled thereby to make very
.pleasing arrangements ■with the plants in
the spring garden, even if these plants only
be employed. Seeds may be sown broadcast
at the present date in small beds of light soil
made smooth, the seeds being covered less than
a quarter of an inch with finely-sifted soil.
The seedlings when large enough should be
pricked off in nurse-beds in a well exposed
position, preferably in the kitchen-garden, in
a soil not too rich. Beyond weeding, stirring
the soil occasionally, and affording water in
dry weather, the plants will need but little
attention. Canterbury Bells, syn. Campanula
Medium, cali/canthema, both single and double-
flowered blue and white varieties, are worthy of
cultivation in everyone's garden. The seeds
should be sown at this date on the surface in
well prepared soil on a border having a west
aspect, and the seedlings when large enough
transplanted to beds at about 9 inches apart,
the ground having been well enriched with
rotten manure. The plants may be set out in
the autumn or early spring where it is in-
tended they should flower. Seed of quite a
number of plants for spring and early summer
flowering, such as double-flowered Daisies,
hardy Primulas, Sweet William, and Sweet
Rocket, should be sown early this month, as
well as those of many herbaceous perennials, as
Lupinus polyphyllus, Delphiniums, Aquilegias,
and perennial species of Campanula, Antir-
rhinums, &c. ; and given liberal treatment
plants of a suitable size for planting out in
the autumn may be obtained.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Milleb Mundt, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Pentas carnea cuttings strike readily in sandy
soil in a propagating pit, at this season.
When of fair size, and growing freely, they
may be removed to an intermediate-house, or
garden frame set in a sunny spot, and treated
as plants of the intermediate-house.

Vallota purpurea. — Mistakes are made with
this useful plant through overlooking the fact
that it makes its growth in the winter and
rests in the summer. The growth should now
be complete, and much less water should be
afforded. Bulbs which receive water at
seasons when it is not required, usually get
infested by the bulb-mite.

Poiiisettias. — Prom now onwards as fast as
young shoots of about 3 inches in length can
be obtained, they should be removed from the
plants with a slight heel, or rather cut as
close to the old stems as possible, the bases
covered with silver-sand for half an hour in
order to arrest the flow of sap, and be inserted
singly in small pots filled with sandy peat and
loam, watered in, and plunged in a hot- bed with
a bottom-heat of from 75J to 80°. In this the
cuttings will strike readily, providing they
have not been forced into growth too quickly
by artificial heat. The plunged cuttings should
be covered with a close fitting hand-light,
cloche, or, in the case of a large number of
cuttings, an ordinary garden - light made
as air-tight as possible, so that rapid evapora-
tion of moisture be avoided. When as
many plants have been obtained as are re-
quired, a few of last year's plants from the
latest striking should be cut back to a dormant
bud and grown on, such plants furnishing the
best kind of cuttings another year ; and they
are useful also for the heads of bracts they
produce, though these are inferior in size to
those from the earliest-struck cuttings, if the
latter are well cultivated.

Winter- flitwerinij Carnations. — If the plants
are now well established, as they should be,
in large 60's and 48's, shift them without delay
into the pots in which they are to bloom,
which should hoof a size just large enough,
say 7 inches diameter, or largo .'12's, and this
! only in the case of very strong plants, the

rest going into small 32's, or 6|-inch pots.
Treated in this manner, the plants flower well,
and they may be fed with manure when the
pots fill with roots. The best kind of loam
should be employed at this repotting, and it
should have been in stack for some months ;
and a small quantity of leaf -mould, or even
peat, may be used for lightening a rather
unctuous heavy loam, together with a liberal
quantity of sharp sand, some bone- meal, or finely
broken oyster-shells, and a very light sprink-
ling of soot. Put a fair amount of drainage
materials into the pots, and in potting press the
soil firmly, return the plants to the green-
house or cold pit, and keep them therein till
the roots have permeated the new soil.

Fuchsias. — Pot on young Fuchsia plants
when well rooted, arrange them thinly in a
glasshouse, and syringe them freely night and
morning. If not required to flower early,
pinch out the points of every newly-made
shoot, but stop the pinching seven or eight
weeks before the plants are required to be in
flower.

Riehardias. — The plants of R. sethiopica now
going over should be placed out of doors
against a warm wall to mature their foliage,
and the amount of water afforded reduced by
degrees. Good crowns and large spathes may
be obtained from divided plants set out in
trenches like Celery, but the plants are less
useful and less prolific of spathes than potted
plants that are afforded a decided period of
rest, and then placed forthwith in the pots in
which the spathes will be produced.

Seed-soiuiny. — More seeds of Primula sinensis,
and those of the main batch of Cinerarias,
should now be sown, the latter in a cold frame,
placed on the north side of a wall.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

Cymbidium Lowianum, C. Loicii-eburneum,
and C. grandiflorum. — Plants of this speciec
now growing may be repotted, and if necessary
without delay. These plants should not be
disturbed at the roots oftener than is
necessary, but any of the plants which may be
growing in small pots will be benefited if the
pots are well filled with roots if they receive
a shift. The division of specimen plants
entails much care in the operation and the
after-treatment. Even with great care exer-
cised, some considerable period of time elapses
before a plant quite recovers from root-disturb-
ance. If there are many specimens in a col-
lection, one or two only should be divided in
any one year, so that the annual display may
not suffer seriously, and yet the whole of
them kept in a healthy condition. The
compost should consist of good turfy-loam
two-thirds, and one-third good Oak-leaf soil,
and some finely broken crocks mixed together.
Well-rooted plants simply requiring to be
repotted do not need a large amount of
drainage, a few crocks of large size sufficing ;
and over these put some lumps of turfy-loam,
and pot firmly, keeping the base of the leading
pseudo-bulbs and the top of the compost on a
level with the rim of pot. Some of the outside
roots should be liberated so as to enable them
the more readily to enter the new compost.
Divisions of large plants, and of any which may
have got into a bad condi t ion, should be afforded
drainage to half the depth of the pots ; and the
division of large plants whose roots envelop
the entire mass of compost must be patiently
carried out, as the future well-being of the
plant depends upon the care which is taken.
The roots should be released tenderly, so as
to enable the whole of the old compost to bo
taken away before any attempt is made to
divide the plant ; and when the entire' mass is
cleared of compost, cut away all of the dead
and broken roots, and separate the roots
coming from the various divisions of the plant .
Having done this, the plant is ready for di-
vision. Tho back or hindormost pseudo-bulbs
should then bo removed, and if tho variety is
worthy of propagation, these will soon

"break," if laid on the shingle on a stage.
In making up a specimen, place two or three
good leads together in 8 or 10-inch pots, ac-
cording to the strength of the leads, and the
plants next season will be ready to repot, and
eventually they will take the places of the
older specimens when these in their turn need
rejuvenating. Divided plants must be afforded
water very judiciously till the roots have pushed
into the new compost ; but to others which are
well rooted and vigorous, water may be freely
applied till growth is finished for the year. The
syringing of the plants in bright weather is
an important point in the management of Cym-
bidiums, checkiug, as it will, the increase of
red-spider. Divided plants should be very
lightly syringed, or too much moisture will be
conducted to the compost, and it is very
essential to syringe often till the roots start
anew ; moreover, the plants should have ordi-
nary shading, and the glass painted as well,
Cymbidiums do not require so much heat as
gardeners usually afford them. A temperature
that does not fall below 50°, rising with sun-
heat to 60°, is ample in winter ; and during
the summer a night temperature of 55° to 60°
with a free circulation of air, rising during
bright weather to 75° with abundance of air
and no artificial heat, suits the plants.

Cymbidium eburneum. — This species being a
weaker grower than the others noticed, should
be afforded more drainage than they, and be
grown in proportionately smaller pots, other-
wise the treatment is identical.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James WHrrocK, Gardener to the Duke of
Buccleuch. Dalkeith, Scotland.

The Latest Vines now in flower, or with
berries already set, should be afforded a night,
temperature of not higher than 70° nor less than
65°, and by day with sun heat, 85° to 90°, the
air being kept moist. Varieties that are shy
setters should be helped with pollen conveyed
with a camel's-hair brush from varieties which,
have abundance. Grapes that set fruit thickly,
should be thinned early and without loss of
time. Thin the late varieties severely, espe-
cially those that grow to a large size and have
to be kept during the winter. Reduce the
number of bunches so as to reserve rather a>
light crop than a heavy one, so as to ensure a
good finish, for only such will keep well till the
spring. Pay frequent attention to the thinning
of the shoots, and allow two leaves or more, if
space permits beyond the bunch ; and stop all
sub-laterals at the first leaf. At the finish of
the thinning of the berries, afford the border a
sprinkling of vine-manure, apply water forth-
with, and mulch the border if the soil be light
with a 2-inch layer of well decayed manure.
Thrips are apt to infest Vines, if pot plants
are grown in the vineries, and if these pests
are discovered, let the vineries be fumigated
with XL-All, unless the Vines are Muscat of
Alexandria, the leaves of which must be sponged
with a safe insecticide, it being more tender
and susceptible to injury than that of other
varieties.

The Late Peach-house. — Delay the first
thinning of the fruit until it can be seen which
fruits are going to swell, and then leave more
than should remain to ripen, as seme are sure
to fall during stoning, and the final thinning
may take place when that process is at an end.
Leave as many suitably placed shoots as will
furnish the trees with fruiting-wood next
year. If aphides attack tho leaves, syringe
the trees occasionally with weak quassia
water or soapsuds; the latter is also a
good preventive of the mildew, from which
some varieties of the Peach are liable to suffer.
I'nless on nights that aro very cold, venti-
late the house freely. In nnheatcd orchard-
houses, some trees of Peaches and Plums may
have failed to set a crop because tho shoots
are gross or unripened, or tho roots too deep
in the border. Such trees may bo lifted when
in full leaf and replanted in tho same place
with their roots nearer the surface, shading
them for a time and syringing them. The
medium-sized shoots produced will then ripen
readily and bear fruit next year.

374

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 7, 1002.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER.

Letters for Publication, as well as specimens and plant
fur naming, should be addressed to the EDITOR,
41, Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London.

Communications should be written on one side only op
the paper, sent as early in the week as possible, and duly
signed by the writer. If desired, the signature will not be
printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.
illustrations.— The Editor will thankfully receive and select
photographs or drawings, suitable for reproduction, of
gardens, or of remarkable plants, Jlowers, trees, dc. ; but f<>
cannot be responsible for loss or injury.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

SATURDAY, June 7

Royal Botanic Society's Meet.
Societe Franeaise d'TIort. de

Londres Meeting.
German Gardeners' Society,

Loudon, Meeting.

i„„ ln I Royal Horticultural Society's
J ran 10 -j committees Meet.

TUESDAY,

WEDNESDAY, June 11- Yorkshire Floral Fete (3 days)

SATURDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY,

Tnwi' i i I German Gardeners' Society,
juneii-( London, Meeting.

,June 18-Royal Botanic. Society's Meet.

fLinnean Society Meeting.
June 19- Jersey Agricultural and Horti-
l cultural Society Rose Show.

SALES FOR THE WEEK.

TUESDAY, June in—

Stove and Greenhouse Plants. Orchids. Tools, ifcc .

at Great Gearies, Barking Side, by Protheroe &

Morris, at 12 30.
•WEDNESDAY. JUNE 11-

Unreserved Clearance Sale of Stove and Greenhou? e

Plants. Orchids, Live Stock, &e., at "Fairfield,"

£00. Denmark HiO, S.E.. by order of C. E. Gunther.

Fsq., by Protheroe and Morris, at 12 30.— Palms,

Plants. Bulbs. &c, by Protheroe & Morris, at 12.
FRIDAY. June 13-

Orchids in variety, by order of Messrs. Sander &

Sons, by Protheroe & Morris, at 12.30.

( For further particulars see our Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
-602'.

Actual Temperatures :—

London. — Tnnr 4 (6 p.m.) : Max. 64°; Min. 56°.

Jane 5— Fine.
Provinces.— June 4(6 p.m.): Max. 68', Scilly: Min.
49', East Coast.

The The Temple Show has come

Horticultural and gone. It was neither ma-
Hal1- terially better nor appreciably

inferior to its predecessors. Bearing in
mind the very unpropitious nature of the
season, and the exacting limitations of the
site, the show may be pronounced to have
'been a great success. That success was
well earned, for the administrative officers
had spared no pains ; and the Tress, whose
labours on such occasions are by no means
light, have to thank the Secretary, the
Superintendent, and the officials generally
for the facilities offered them, without
which their efforts would have been difficult
indeed.

The next great function will lie the Rose
Conference at Holland House, and as this
is fixed for the two days preceding the
Coronation, whilst the Coronation-day itself
and the days following it will be " shut up ''
days, it may be imagined what the diffi-
culties in the way of the Press will be. All
these, however, are temporary matters, and
the Press may be trusted to deal with the
emergency in the most satisfactory way
possible.

Of more lasting importance is the ques-
tion of the Horticultural Hall. For some
time past we have heard little or nothing of
this scheme, but on casually turning over
the pages of the Catalogue of the Temple
Show, we find, sandwiched in between ad-
vertisements, band - programmes, and the

like, an announcement which will give
great gratification to those interested in
the scheme, and will, we hope, prove a
stimulus to energetic effort. It has been
a source of interest not unmixed with
amusement to us, to read what has been
said against the scheme. The self-same
arguments, enforced in similar language
to that we ourselves employed, when dis-
cussing the preposterous garden schemes in
the more or less inaccessible wilds of Kent
and Surrey, were brought forward against the
Hall — excellent and cogent arguments, we
admit, but for the fact that, in this case,
they were based on false premises. The
circumstances are so totally different, that
the pleadings are wholly irrelevant. But,
as our view has been upheld by very large
majorities at two successive meetings, it is
needless to slay the slain. Rather may we
most earnestly appeal for support to those
who wish to see the Royal Horticultural
Society housed in a manner befitting its
dignity and importance, and the general
convenience of horticulturists. Already,
without any special effort having been
made, some thirteen thousand pounds has
been promised, and we cannot doubt that
now the project has been fairly launched,
the required sum will quickly lie forth-
coming. We by no means advocate expen-
diture in superfluous decoration, but it is
evident that the building must be hand-
some and substantial of its kind, and
specially that it must be convenient. It
must be suitable not only for the primary
requirements of the Royal Horticultural
Society, but also for the benefit of horticul-
turists generally. It must lie the common
centre for all legitimate horticultural pur-
poses, and the common meeting-place for
all the horticulturists of the Empire. With
this as the leading principle we shall do well;
the further we recede from it. the less satis-
factory will lie the result. To carry out the
scheme, with the extra expenses which
are sure to arise in the course of the
work, at least three times the amount at
present promised will be required. We
cannot doubt that the sum needed will
speedily be forthcoming. The Society is
now so strong, the need so great and so
obvious, that we have ample justification for
our forecast. The nurserymen who benefit
so largely by the exhibitions might surely
be relied on for a very large contribution;
the general body of Fellows, and even the
casual visitors to the Drill Hall may all be
expected, in their degree, to contribute of
their abundance or of their modest store, to
the completion of this most desirable con-
summation. We append the notice that
has been issued by the Society: —

"At a special general meeting of the Society,
held on March 21, 1002, and largely attended,
it was resolved to adopt a proposal to build,
on a site facing Vincent Square, Westminster,
a Horticultural Hall and Offices, in commemora-
tion of the Centenary of the Society in 1904."

" The Society has as yet no home of its own
—a want of such national importance that, as
long ago as 1890, His Majesty the King
addressed to the Fellows the following words :
' I sincerely hope that your labours to obtain
a Hall may be successful, for I feel sure that
it would be of the greatest use and advantage."
Since 1890 the necessity for increased and
better accommodation has become more and
more obvious. The Drill Hall is badly lighted,
and it is frequently impossible to find room for

tho plants sent ; while the valuable work of
the Committees is carried on under great diffi-
culties and constant interruption. During the
afternoon the Hall is often so crowded that
circulation becomes impossible, and so noisy
that tho lecture is inaudible. The limited office
accommodation, which cannot be increased in
Victoria Street, is a serious impediment to the
proper discbarge of secretarial and other
work.

"The present position of the Society fully
justifies the adoption ot the proposal to build.
It has now 0,000 Fellows on its roll, and large
numbers are continually joining it. The
financial position is satisfactory. But even
more important is the high credit enjoyed by
the Society among horticulturists of every
class. At home and abroad it is the recog-
nised head of British horticulture, and many
of the most distinguished scientific and prac-
tical horticulturists in the kingdom serve on
its committees and contribute to its Journal.

" The proposed buildings will involve, it is
believed, an expenditure of at least £25,000 or
£30,000, towards which the following promises
have been made before the issue of any public
appeal : — Colvile Browne, £1 Is. ; Geo. Bun-
yard & Son, Ltd., £52 10s. ; James Douglas,
Y.M.H., £21; H. J. Elwes, F.R.S., £1,000;
J. Gurney Fowler, £500 ; Capt. Holford, C.I.E.,
M.V.O.,£500; James Hudson, V.M.H., £10 10s. ;
The Earl of Ilchester, £300 ; Sir Trevor Law-
rence, Bart., V.M.H., £500 ; F. G. Lloyd, High
Sheriff of Bucks, £105; Sir Edmund Loder,
Bart., £100 ; H. B. May, £52 10s. ; George
Monro, V.M.H., £52 10s. ; J. Pierpont Morgan,
£1,000; Paul & Son, £50; Lord Rothschild,
£1,000; Baron Schroder, £5,000; N. N. Sher-
wood, V.M.H., £1,000; A. W. Sutton, F.L.S.,
V.M.H., £1,000 ; "William Thompson, £10 10s. ;
Harry J. Veitch, F.L.S., £105; Mrs. H. J.
Veitch, £52 10s. ; James Veitch & Sons, Ltd.,
£250 ; Walter C. Walker, £25 ; Arthur L.
Wigan, £21 ; Rev. W. Wilks, M.A., £25.

"It will thus be seen that nearly £13,000
out of the £30,000 required has been promised,
but, as is so well known, it is ten times more
difficult to collect the last half of a subscrip-
tion list than the first. It is hoped, therefore,
that all visitors to the Temple Show will hand
in a promise of subscription to the Secretary,
117, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W.

"It is proposed to make half of each sub-
scription payable at Michaelmas, 1902, and
half at midsummer, 1903, but the whole can be
paid in at once if preferred. W. lVi/fcs, Secre-
tary, 117, Victoria Street."

Royal Horticultural Society.— At the
next meeting of the Floral and Fruit Com-
mittees of the Royal Horticultural Society, on
Tuesday, June 10, in the Drill Hall, Bucking-
ham Gate, Westminster, 1 to 5 P.M., a lecture
on "Weeds of the Garden" will be given by
the Hon. Mrs. Boyle, at 3 o'clock.

Honour for Sir Joseph D. Hooker. — An
official announcement in Berlin states that Sir
Joseph Dalton Hooker, formerly Director of
the Royal Gardens, Kew, has been appointed
a Foreign Knight of the Order pour le Merite
for Science and Arts.

Veitch Memorial Medals. — Amateur
growers of Roses, and private gardeners, are
reminded that in addition to the Silver Cup
offered as a First Prize by the Royal Horti-
cultural Society in Class 9, and also in Class 15
of the Schedule of Prizes to be competed for
at the Conference on Hoses, to be held in
Holland Park, Kensington, on June 24, the
trustees of the Veitch Memorial Fund will
award a large Silver Medal, suitably engraved,
to the winner of each of these Cups.

Jcxe 7, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

375

National Rose Society.— A meeting of
<he General Purposes Committee will be held
at the rooms of the Horticultural Club, Hotel
Windsor, Victoria Street, Westminster, on
Tuesday, June 10, at 1.30 p.m., for giving con-
sideration to the appointment of judges for the
two provincial shows, the list of new Roses
and of hybrid Teas, the arrangement of staging
at the Temple Show, and other business. A
meeting of the Committee will be held at
.:'. p.m. to hear the reading of the report of
the General Purposes Committee as to the
question of insurance, judging -books, prize
selection committee, and other business.
Edivard Mawley.

Dutch Horticultural and Botanical
Society.— At the meeting of May 14, 1902,
The Floral Committee awarded First-class
Certificates to Odontoglossum Hunnewelli-
anum var. nigrum (as a rare plant), from Mr.
W. C. Baron van Boetzelaer, Maartensdijk;
to Odontoglossum cirrosum, from Mr. H. C.
Hacke, Baarn. Awards of Merit were granted
to Oncidium Marshallianum and Cattleya
Mendeli, from Mr. H. Horxsveld, Baarn ; to
Primula elatior Zwijndrecht's Gloire (as a new
plant), from Van Namex Brothers, Zwijn-
drecht. An Honourable Mention was made of
•Odontoglossum Rossii aspersum, from Mr.
H. C. Hacke, Baarn; and of O. crispum
(importation), from Mr. C. J. Kikkeht,
Haarlem. A Silver-gilt Medal was awarded
to a very fine collection of Odontoglossum?,
from Mr. J. H. Van Vlotkn, Haarlem ; and a
Silver Medal to a collection of Orchids, from
Mr. C. J. KlKKERT, Haarlem; and a Bronze
Medal to the collections of Orchids grown in
various materials, from Mr. J. H. Van Vloten,
Haarlem; Mr. W. C. Barox Van Boetzelaer,
at Maartensdijk ; H. Horxsveld, Baarn ; J. G.
Ballego and C. J. KlKKERT. The Commission
could not decide which material was the best,
as each was a success. P. W. Yoet, Adj. Secre-
tary, Ouerveen, near Haarlem, May 20, 1902.

Martinique.— The following extract from
a private letter to one of our correspondents
'bears witness to the beauty of the stricken Is-
land : — " The scenery of Jamaica and Cuba can-
mot be compared with that of Martinique and
Dominica ; my pen cannot adequately describe
the beauties of Martinique, rising smartly out
of the sea, and its mountains towering away np
into the skies! Dominica, too, is sublimely
beautiful, with its deep gorges and primeval
forests. Tremors have been felt in Dominica,
and a lake on the top of a mountain is said to
have gone dry, so that they are evidently
within the seismic sphere of disturbance."

Horticultural Club.— The next House
Dinner of the Club will be held on Tuesday,
June 10, when Mr. Hexrv Stevens will, during
*he evening, speak on the subject of "Flower
Photographs," which he has for so many years
made a special study. Mr. E. T. Cook, Hotel
Windsor, Victoria Street, is the Hon. Sec.

"Wisley."— Many of our readers will feel
•concerned to learn that the late Mr. G. F.
Wilson's famous garden, comprising nearly
11 acres, in addition to farm land, is shortly
to be sold.

A Rose Show will be held on July 21 & 2-"i
at Belfast, in conjunction with the Horse and
Sheep Show of the North-East Agricultural
Association. The competitions will be open
<to exhibitors from any part of the United
Kingdom, and the schedule includes a class
for seventy-two distinct varieties. Copies
<mii be obtained from Kenneth MacRae,
Secretary, 37, Donegal! Place, Belfast.

Plectranthus as a Vegetable. — In a
recent issue of the Journal de VAgriculture
Tropicale, attention is called to a paper of M.
Lemarie on the tubers of Plectranthus as a
vegetable. These plants are Labiates, closely
allied to the already known Stachys affiais ;
they produce tubers that can be used similarly.
MM. Paillieux and Bois, who introduced this
plant (and also the Stachys), have failed to
acclimatise it in France, owing to insufficient
heat ; but M. Maxime Cornu introduced it
successfully into Madagascar, the Congo,
Gaboon, the Soudan, and Indo-China, whence
excellent reports of it have been obtained,
testifying to its value in countries where
Potatos do not thrive. The tubers of Plec-
tranthus even exceed in amount of starch and
farinaceous properties those usually cultivated
in the colonies, and those of Stachys tuberifera
(affinis). There are several species of PlecT
tranthus, and they are not easily identified ;
most of them are natives of tropical Africa,
India, and Malaya. At Hanoi in 1898 four
small tubers the size of a nut were planted
in the botanic garden, and from these M.
Lemarie raised gradually increasing crops
of tubers, that in January, 1900, were as large
each as a hen's egg, and in their entire weight
attained to 208 kilos., or about twice that
number of English pounds. At the same time,
very similar tubers were distributed which,
when cultivated, showed such differences that
they were determined to be distinct species. In
the llowers the tint of blue and the position of
the stamens with regard to the pistil varied. M.
Cornu gave the first plant here mentioned the
name of Plectranthus Coppini. Dr. Heckel
prefers the name Coleus Coppini. MM. Pail-
i.ecx and Bois received from Reunion tubers
of yet another species, known in the Trans-
vaal ; these on trial proved to be those of P.
tuberosus (Coleus tuberosus). Now it is
identified with P. ternatus. In 1887 the late
M. Pierre, Director of the Libreville Botanical
Garden, introduced the new vegetable into
the Congo, where it was highly valued. The
Potager d'un Citrieux mentions yet a fourth
species, Coleus tuberosus, cultivated in
Ethiopia; this has since been identified with
C. edulis. Various other species have also
been reported from tropical districts, but some
of these are doubtless identical with those
already mentioned, and when the vegetable
receives further attention, the list of distinct
species will be diminished. The properties of
the varieties are practically alike. In parts
of Tonkin the Plectranthus tubers will fill an
otherwise unfertile period between May and
October, leaving the ground free for other crops
the rest of the year. This remark [applies to
other countries also. M. Lemarie judiciously
remarks that before drawing hasty conclusions
or planting the new tubers on too large a
scale, attention should be paid to developing
those that are largest of size, and in hastening
on also the period of growth as much as
possible. The species mentioned as producing
edible tubers are Coleus tuberosus (Malaya),
Coleus barbatus (East tropical Africa, India),
Plectranthus esculentus (Natal), Plectranthus
lloribundus (tropical Africa).

The German Pomologists and Fruit-
growers.— A meeting of the above, in connec-
tion with a fruit exhibition, will take place
at Stettin, from October 2 to 4. Some of the
more important subjects, as stated in a pro-
visional order of the day, are fruit culture in
the eastern maritime provinces; fruit-culture
in Wiirtemberg, in Austria, and its economical
significance; problems of fruit exhibitions
and prize-giving in accordance with the spirit
of tho age; the progress that has been made
in recent years in the production of fruit-

wines ; the lessons that haye been taught
when a fruit-plantation has consisted of one
variety and of many varieties ; fruit markets
and their consequences, also those of the asso-
ciations of fruit-sellers ; the, grower of fruit
as a business man ; valuing fruit-trees, and the
profitableness or the contrary of fruit-culture.
A tolerably comprehensive list of subjects for
one meeting.

Doryanthes as a Food for Pigs. — Accord-
ing to the Agricultural Gazettr of New South
Wales, the Giant " Lily " (Doryanthes excelsa)
has been suggested as a useful food for pigs.
Analyses have been made of the bulbs of the
plant (here so prized, but in the Upper
Mangrove district growing wild), to see if it
would be valuable for fodder when other foods
are scarce. It is considered that the bulbs
compare very favourably as to feeding values
with ordinary root crops, and that, provided
they are found palatable, they should prove
fairly nourishing ; superior, indeed, in this
respect to Parsnips, Beets, and Turnips. But
New South Wales swine do not consider the
Lily-bulbs eatable when raw, but prefer them
boiled and mixed with a few handfuls of
ground Maize. So served " the pigs con-
sumed the mixture greedily."

Earth-nuts in Uganda, &c. — It appears
that these Nuts can with ease and profit be
grown in East Africa — so says the East Africa
ami Uganda Mail of a recent date. In British
India 46,000 acres are under cultivation with
this Nut. In the native states of India over
16,000 acres are under the same culture, and
this area will yield nearly 11,000 tons ; and
the journal noted is of opinion that, after
satisfying the home demand, sufficient would
be left to pay for exportation to England and
elsewhere.

A Census of Yorkshire Gardeners. —
The results of the census of last year in
respect of tho Administrative County of
York are now available, and show that 8,827
male persons were enumerated as following
the occupation of gardener (not private),
nurseryman, seedsman, florist, &c. Classed
under the four usual headings the totals are
as follows :— employers, 541 ; working for em-
ployers, 6,071 ; working on own account,
2,119; others or no statement, 96. Grouped
under age headings the figures are :—
In 11 IS 20 25 &'> 15 55 65 75 and upwards,
88 17.'! Vol 767 1561 l:!71 ll^ 1 3tj._. 876 201 = 8,827.

It may be noted that 239 persons in addition
to the above total are described as female
gardeners, &c. As indicating the localities
in which tho Yorkshire gardeners, &c, were
enumerated, we give the totals for the eight
county boroughs and other areas which con-
stitute tho County of York, viz. :—
Kinaston-upon-Hull . 2is East Riding Rural

Middlesbrough ■■■ n-1 District 736

Bi tdford <M North Hiding Urban

Halifax 168 District 455

Hudderslield 1M North Riding Rural

Leeds ... 8U Diatriol 805

Sheffield 87* West Riding Urban

York -'-T District 8885

East Riding Urban Weal Hiding Rural

District

1 188

The Constitution of the Sun.— " From
the window [at Heidelberg] one may look out
over the Rhine plain towards busy Mannheim,
is Bl NHENand KlROHHOFF did one night when a
fire was raging there, and they were able, by
spectroscopic examination of the flames, to as-
certain that b irin nt and strontium were present
in the burning mass. . . . One day the thought
occurred, ' If wo could determine the nature
of the substances burning at Mannheim, why
should WO not do the same with regard to tho
sun ? Hut people would say wo must have
-one mad to dream of such a thing.' All the

376

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 7, 190-2.

world knows now what the result was, but it
must have been a great moment when Kirch-
HOFF could say, ' Bunsen, I have gone mad,'
and Bunsen, grasping what it all meant,
replied, 'So have I, Kirchhoff.' " Nature,
April 24, 1902, p. 587.

A Sequoia " Combine."— All lovers of the
grandly beautiful in Nature — numbering among
them the readers of this Journal — will be glad
to learn that an effort is being made to induce
the Government of the United States to pur-
chase and preserve the giant trees of Cali-
fornia, now threatened by the lumberer — only
the Mariposa Grove being the property of the
State, the remainder being in the hands of
private individuals, which spells lumberer.
It would be an eternal disgrace to all con-
cerned if these magnificent specimens of an
old time variety were to be cut down and con-
verted into furniture, &c. It is affirmed that
they adorned the present landscape thou-
sands of years since, and one of tho-e now in-
terested in their preservation affirms that,
as far as may be, the giants of the Gold
State may be considered as immortal ! for
they are growing now, some of them. But in
these days of "combines," — of "trusts" — ■
why appeal to Government when a few of the
so-called "millionaires" could between them
sign a cheque which would save all bother or
explosion of sentiment, and render the donors
famous for ever — even at the expense of con-
ferring upon the rescued giants the names of
all the members of their respective families.
A State so rich as is California — rich in the pro-
ducts of the soil and the metals — could, we
imagine, easily settle the whole business in a
very few days.

The Begonia Mite.— We publish the fol-
lowing interesting- note from the greatest
authority on this subject. Although we have
called it the Begonia-mite, it is by no means
confined to Begonias. Steeping the leaves in
tobacco-water has been found useful, as was
recommended in our columns on November 9,
1895, by Mr. W. Watson, of Kew :—

"The acaries on the Begonia Gloire de Lorraine is
a Tarsonemus ; it is quite possible and even probable
that your correspondent is right, that it is the cause of
all the damage. I cannot say for certain, as this
Begonia may be subject to the attacks both of fungus
and Tarsonemus. I did not, however, notice any
fungus on the specimen sent. Tarsonemus, in spite of
its minuteness, is quite capable of almost any amount
of damage to living plants which are attacked by it. It
is, in my opinion, one of the most destructive of all
Acari which live upon growing plants, although, in
consequence of their small size, their not making
galls, and their habits, they entirely escaped notice
until some few years ago ; and even now the damage
done by them is usually attributed to other causes, and
they escape notice. Those which keep on the outside
of the leaves may be destroyed by the usual applications
to the under-side of the leaves, e.g., paraffin emulsion,
soap, sulphur, &c, applied at intervals; but many of
the species, if not all, are apt to burrow in between
the two surfaces of the leaf, eating out the parenchyma
as they go. They are then almost impossible to destroy
without killing the plant. The damage they do often
extends over large areas, and is very considerable. I
think the species is T. floricolus, but I am not quite
certain of this ; tlieyare difficult to identify, and the
species are not well settled, and I have not either my
library or my collections down here. Albert D. Michael
Studland.

See also Mr. Michael's note on the same
subject in Gardeners' Chronicle, November 1G,
1895, p. 586.

Rhododendrons from Messrs. Jas.
Veitch & Sons.— Examples of some of the
excellent Rhododendrons now flowering in
their nurseries are kindly sent by Messrs. Jas.
Veitch & Sons, Ltd., of Chelsea, Coombe Wood,
and Slough. All are of excellent quality, and
represent a wide range of colouring. The
white and blush varieties are beautifully
marked in the upper segments, Mrs. John

Clutton having a few greenish spots ; Duchess
of Connaught, a distinct marking with reddish-
yellow ; Samuel Simpson, purplish spots ; and
Baroness Schroder and Sappho, claret-purple
markings, the last-named being the darker ;
Minnie and The Queen are white tinged with
rose, and spotted in the upper part with
brownish-yellow ; Amphion and Mrs. Wm.
Agnew have fine white centres edged with
rose and purple ; Lady Grey Egerton is pale
lilac with greenish spots ; and Charles Bagley,
Duchess of Edinburgh, Pelopidas, Mrs. R. S.
Holford, Kate Waterer, Mrs. A. Hunnewell,
Sir Humphrey de Trafford, Sylph, and others,
are of various shades of bright rose and rose-
crimson with different shades of yellow, green,
and purple spotting in the upper segments.
Of the others most distinct are Meteor, bright
reddish - crimson with purple spots ; Mar-
chioness of Lansdowne, a charming rose-pink
flower with nearly black markings ; Old Port,
purple; and Fred Waterer, purplish-rose.
A fine flowering spray of the hardy shrub,
Viburnum tomentosum Mariesii, is also sent,
showing it to be a useful garden plant.

A New Lobelia. — Messrs. W. Clibran &
Son, Altrincham Nurseries, Cheshire, have sent
us a plant of their new bedding Lobelia named
Mrs. Clibran. It has a very compact habit of
growth, and its flowers are of an unusually
deep tone of blue colour. It is stated that the
variety when growing in a bed never gets far
away from the roots, but remains tuft-like.

Flu. 131.— MESSRS. BANSOMES', SIMS, AND

JEFFEK1ES, LTD., IPSWICH, COMBINED

GARDEN-HOLLER AND MiOOM.

Victorian Apples.— Mr. J. M. Sinclair,
Superintendent of Exports for the Victorian
Government and Representative of the De-
partment of Agriculture, Victoria, states that
the Victorian Department of Agriculture has
forwarded per SS. Oroya 100 cases of selected
Victorian Apples, which will be exhibited at
the Floral Hall, Covent Garden, on Wednes-
day, Thursday, and Friday next, and sold on
the following day. The consignment consists
of the following varieties : — Rome Beauty,
Scarlet Nonpareil, Stone Pippin, Yates, Rymer,
French Crab, Hoover, Statesman, and Jonathan.
They will be of a finer class tlian any previous
consignment this season, having been specially
selected with a view of showing the ex-
cellent quality of fruit produced in Victoria,
Australia.

The Royal Horticultural Society of
Southampton will hold its summer show on
July 1 and 2 on the Royal Pier. One of the
principal features of the exhibition will be the
display of Roses. Orchestral concerts will
take place each day. The Secretary is Mr.
C. S. Fuidge.

Flowers at ^Earl's Court, London.—
In aid of the French charities in England, the
authorities of the " Paris in London " Exhibi-

tion, Earl's Court, London, have decided to
hold, on June 12, 13, and 14, a grand battle of
flowers, with dramatic fete, carnivals, and
illuminated pageant, after the manner of those
held in the South of France. One hundred and
fifty banners will be awarded to the successful
competitors. All particulars may be had from
Mr. Imre Kiralfy, Chairman, Fetes Committee,
Tower House, Cromwell Road, S.W.

A BRUSH ATTACHMENT FOR
GARDEN-ROLLERS.

With the view of combining this sweeping
operation with the equally necessary one of
rolling, Messrs. Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies,
Ltd., of Ipswich, have introduced a simple and
time-saving brush attachment (fig. 131), which
can be used with all rollers up to 24 inches in.
width. It breaks and distributes all worm-
casts, and the roller crushes the loose sub-
stances into the ground at the same time. The
brush is put out of work simply by turning;
over the handle of the roller.

This brush attachment, which is the inven-
tion of a practical " green-keeper," should cer-
tainly claim the attention of gardeners, and,
in fact, all who value the appearance of a.
nicely-kept lawn.

VANDA KIMBALLIANA.

[Supplementary Illustration.]
Received as a chance plant from Mr,
Boxall by Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., in an
importation of Orchids, this pretty species-
was for some years an object of interest at
the Clapton Nursery, and its introduction in
quantity was a subject much wished for by
the late Stuart Low, who, in the eager pur-
suit of that object, was at last rewarded by
his persevering collector, Boxall, discovering
it in company with the allied V. Amesiana,.
growing on some hills in the southern Shan
States, at an altitude of from 4000 to 5000 feet,
and few happier men than Stuart Low could
be found among horticulturists when a large
consignment of both species arrived — a con-
signment we were privileged to inspect under
Mr. Low's guidance, who, however, kept the
door of the house in which were the plants-
locked, and the key in his own possession.

The plant was described by Reichenbach in,
the Gardeners' Chronicle, February 23, 1889,
p. 232, and some time afterwards some of the-
specimens flowered and soon became favourites.
But, as with many other species, the culti-
vation of the plant was attended with varying
degrees of success, some cultivators finding it
very unsatisfactory, while others had the re-
verse experience, though few succeeded in, ob-
taining specimens so fine as those which Sower
every year in Captain G. L. Holford's gar-
den, Westonbirt, under the care of Mr. H.
Alexander, his Orchid-grower. Mr. Alexander-
has kindly communicated the secret of his-
success which, as it has been acquired by
meeting the same difficulties which others have*
experienced and not been overcome by them,
a description of his methods may be of use to
cultivators of Orchids in general. He writes ;
" The plants which formed the specimens
illustrated came to Westonbirt as rather poor
specimens, growing on rafts, in 1899. When
the roots began to move in the following
spring, I took them off the rafts and put them
in baskets of sphagnum-moss, together with>
plenty of drainage material. They were
suspended close to the roof in a part where-
they would get abundance of light, but no
direct sunshine. The house averaged during
the growing season 60g to 65° Fahr. at night,
and 5° to 10° higher by day, air being admitted1
on all suitable occasions, and the plants,
lightly syringed two or three time daily.

Jl*E 7, 190-2.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

377

They gave some fine spikes the following
autumn, but failed to open the flowers all
up the spikes at the same time. So
last year I decided to try another plan of
opening the flowers. As soon as the first
flower opened, I removed the plants to a dry,
warm house where the temperature was 10°
higher than the one they had been in. Here I
kept them rather drier, and I found they
opened their flowers splendidly, and all at
one time, and they lasted much longer in
perfection than was the case when the plants
were grown in the cooler and moister house.
After the flowering period is over, I keep
them in a cooler house in quite a dry condi-
tion all the winter, and where the temperature
canges from 50° to 55° at night and a little
higher by day. Free ventilation they like,
and plenty of water when growing, but not to
be kept too cool at that season. "When pre-
paring them for the resting period, I do not
out off the supply of water all at once after
the flowering season is past, but gradually
reduce it."

KEEPING GRAPES TO A LATE DATE.— On

May 20 this year I sent into the house for the
dessert the last bunches of Lady Downes'Grapes,
which had been kept in bottles of water in the
usual manner since last October, and not a
stalk was in the least degree shrivelled. For
more than twenty-five years I have been accus-
tomed to keep late Grapes, and my experience
of the present season leads me to the conclusion
that we leave the Grapes hanging to too late a
date on the Tines, my usual time hitherto
having been the third week in December. 1
am disposed to agree with the suggestion of a
friend who saw the Grapes hanging in the
Grape- room a short time before they were con-
sumed, that it is very probable that some of
the juice out of the berries returns to the
Vines after the leaves are shed. The reason
the Grapes were cut in the month of October
was that the sashes had to be removed from
the roof for the purpose of painting them
whilst the weather was favourable for that
sort of work. The leaves on the Vines were
quite green at that time, and for that
reason I postponed the cutting of the
Grapes till the last moment, viz., until
the painting of the remainder of the range

FlG. 132. — AN EXHIBIT OF CULINARY PEAS, BY MESSRS. J. CARTER AND CO.,
AT THE TEMPLE SHOW. (SEE Y. 371.)

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

CHAM>CROPS EXCELSA IN THE GROUNDS AT

appley towers, ryde.— There are several fine
specimens of this Chinese Palm luxuriating in
•the grounds at Appley, which is situated nigh
■up among the trees on the banks of the
Solent, and overlooking the picturesque town
of Ryde. Mr. David Smith raised and planted
these Palms. He sowed the seed at the foot
of a wall, covering them with the ordinary
garden soil to the thickness of about 1 inch ;
and although the seed thus sown takes a long
time to come, Mr. Smith says it comes up
best so sown with him. The plants which add
so much to the tropical appearance of Appley
grounds were 4 inches high when Mr. Smith
planted them in 1872, now they are 10 feet
bigh. I may here remark that the many
horticulturists who have visited the Isle of
Wight from time to time during the past, (ifty
years, have always been courteously received
by Mr. Smith, and by him directed to, or
personally conducted, over many of the in-
teresting gardens to be met with in the Island,
in which there is no better known or more
highly respected gardener than Mr. David
Smith, who is an old Driimlanrig man. II. W. II'.

was finished. I have resolved that for the
future I will bottle the Grapes in November,
instead of December as formerly. This sub-
ject of keeping Grapes till a late date has
brought to my memory an experience at
Heckfield Place towards the end of the
seventies, when I was foreman there under
the late Mr. Wildsmith, when, not having
enough bottles at liberty in the Grape-room,
the bunches of Lady Downes were not cut for
bottling till the month of February — a time
when the sap had begun to ascend, and
the Grapes kept very badly indeed ; and
having no doubt about the cause, it taught
both of us the lesson that Grapes, to keep
them well, must bo removed from the Vines
not later than the end of December. In order
to have success in keeping Grapes after being
cut, the following rules must be observed :
Select bunches far enough from the main stem
to allow of enough wood to be cut as will
reach well down into the water, and thus ensure
against the end of the stalk coming above the
water level. Another point is not to leave
tho berries thickly clustered together in the
middle of the bunch; and in tho case of thin-
skinned Grapes, (iros Colmar in particular, be
sure that no stalk-snags aro loft at thinning
time, as they are so apt to puncture the skins.

No more artificial heat than is absolutely
necessary to ensure a temperature of from 40°
to 45° should be used. T. Tiirton.

the Holland park show. — Whatever may
be the nature of the criticisms applied to the
recent Temple Show in relation to formality of
arrangement and the stereotyped character
of the exhibits, certainly such defects, if they
are such, are necessarily contingent upon the
restricted area of the Temple Gardens, and the
holding of the show annually on the same date.
But there will be ample room at Holland Park,
and the show will take place a month later.
Those two things should be fully utilised. In
the first place, the Society should have much
wider tents, so as to give both exhibitors and
visitors far more elbow-room ; and second,
the manager should endeavour to introduce
greater diversity, both in material and in
arrangement. But it is specially needful if
visitors are to see anything, and to move in
any degree of comfort, to have very wide
tents, and plenty of them, to enable exhibits
to be far less crowded, and to much more
widely diffuse the great crowd of visitors that
will inevitably be present. D.

GERbera jamesoni. — This plant may be
successf idly grown and flowered in a minimum
summer temperature of 60° Fahr. One grower
of the plant uses peaty soil mixed with cockle-
shells. H. J. K., Bangor.

With reference to the enquiry by your

correspondent, Mr. J. Adams, Haslemere, in a
recent issue of the Oardeners' Chronicle, as to
the flowering of Gerbera Jamesoni, we have at
the present moment plants in flower to the
extent of two to three olooins on each crown. I
will further add that with us there is little
difficulty in flowering the plant when it has
reached the age of four years. When this age
is attained (or thereabouts), I do not think Mr.
Adams will have any difficulty in getting his
plants to flower under ordinary greenhouse
treatment. We pot our plants in a compost
consisting of loam and leaf-mould, and a moderate
sprinkling of sharp silver-sand. During the
winter months it is advantageous to slightly
dry oil the plants. Heaton Nichols, Bush Hill
Park Nursery.

apples with synonyms.— Your correspon-
dent A. W. Godwin, Derbyshire, writing in
the Gardeners' Chronicle for March 29, 1902,
on the culture of hardy fruits, gives a list
of Apples, several of which are unknown to the
generality of its readers ; but on referring to
notes previously made, I find Lowther Castle
is synonymous with Gravenstein, John Peel
with Golden Noble, Brayton Hall with King
of tho Pippins. It would be most interesting
to know what Apple your correspondent has
which he calls King of the Pippins, considering
he has another variety he calls Brayton Hall,
which are, 1 take it, one and the same thing,
for surely he ought to know the old King
of tho Pippins ; lint when he says it is un-
equalled as a dessert variety, I fear ho has
a much better Apple than that one, under
the wrong name. Would it be asking too
much of your correspondent to kindly for-
ward a few fruits of Lowther Castle, John Peel,
Brayton Hall, and King of the Pippins, in the
autumn to the Editor for his opinion? as the
matter is very important, and his advice would
bo very misleading to planters unless my ver-
sion can be disproved. King of tho Pippins is
even now sometimes met with under the name
of Seek-no-Further. James Mayne, Bicton,
Devon.

do young gardeners read papers or
books. — During the course of a discussion in
a gardeners' association meeting, which
followed upon a lecture on gardening litera-
ture recently, I was pained to hear from
several head gardeners statements thai young
men in gardens did nol read the gardening
papers placed ai their disposal. It thai !"■
true il is a most humiliating statement, but i1
certainly cannot lie true of all young gar-
deners, as ii is impossible to assume thai such
utter " don't-oaredness " towards the getting

378

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 7, 1902.

of wider knowledge in their vocation exists.
It is very doubtful whether young men in gar-
dens to-day are not, in some respects, much
worse off in the matter of literary information
than they were some 40 or 50 years ago. Then
there was none of that tempting, competing
literature existing which does so largely
attract young men, and acts upon them so
adversely. In earlier days the primary
resource in moments of leisure was found in
such gardening papers and books as were
obtainable, though those were necessarily
few and, owing to price, not readily obtain-
able. But now that we have literally a flood
of cheap gardening literature, and papers
that have, greatly reduced their prices, have
vastly increased in interest and attractiveness,
others have sprung into existence also, and
books are wonderfully plentiful. We find
these great advantages discounted by the
much greater abundance of competing litera-
ture devoted to sport and pastimes, to fiction,
and to many other worthless things, all dis-
tracting attention from the literary aspects of
gardening, and destroying interest in them.
Even in connection with gardeners' mutual
improvement associations it is said that the
membership is largely made up of the older
rather than of the younger men. These
societies cannot possibly displace literature,
but they can do much to increase gardening
knowledge, if young men would utilise them.
But they are too often as rigidly cut, as one
gardener said of a paper sent from the house
to the bothy, that its pages remained uncut.
Happily, now, few need the cutting. A.

CORTADERIA jubata. — In his latest list of
plants, Mr. Luther Burbank, of Santa Rosa,
California, announces as a new discovery Gy-
nerium jubatum, and offers plants of the same.
His offer of this species of Pampas-grass natu-
rally struck with surprise those who know that
Qynerium jubatum or Cortaderia jubata, as it
is now called by the Kew authorities, is a
plant that is fairly well known to culti-
vators on this side of the Atlantic. It is
one of the most ornamental of the Pampas-
grasses, but is, unfortunately, rather tender,
and succumbs to moderate frosts. Mr. Burbank
says that his plant blooms two months earlier
than other Pampas-grasses, and " may be
expected to be much hardier than any of them."
This was a little surprising to those who know
C. jubata, and a correspondent communicated
with Mr. Burbank on the subject. From the
reply it appears that the plant offered by the
" Wizard of Horticulture " is not the same as
the one at present grown here by that name.
From what Mr. Burbank, says, it must be
rather hardier, as it has withstood frosts
which would have killed it here. By what
name it should be called when it is introduced
here is doubtful, but it will assuredly be a
mistake to call two distinct Cortaderias by
the same name. By the way, Mr. Burbank
refuses to recognise the name of Cortaderia,
and holds by that commonly used in gardens
for many years, and approved of by several
authors — viz., Gynerium. Considerations of
euphony count for little in such matters, but
if Cortaderia has the claim of priority, it has
also that of possessing a more agreeable sound
than Gynerium. ,S'. Arnott.

utilising A tomato-house.— When a couple
of years since, in the gardens of Castle Hill,
Bletchingley, Surrey, the singlarly beautiful
residence of H. Partridge, Esq., a border for
Yines fronting a vinery was done away with,
the wall arches built up, and the roots re-
stricted to the inside border, a low lean-to
range of houses was erected where the border
had previously been, and divided into three
divisions, have been used since largely for
Cucumbers, Melons, and Tomatos. The gar-
dener, Mr. J. Barks, keeps the Tomato-house
constantly occupied, and gathers fruit from it
from early in April continuously almost to the
end of January. There finished recently
the crop on numerous plants growing
close to each other in 11-inch pots, and trained
up under the roof. The varieties were Winter
Beauty, which was the earliest to ripen fruit,

being ready on April 1 ; and Frogmore Selected ,
and both have given heavy crops. The
plants were rather leggy, and each was
carried along horizontally to the nearest
wire, then trained upwards. That reduced
the length of each stem some 14 inches. A
second lot of plants already 20 inches in height,
was being got ready to succeed the present ones,
and that was Best-of-x\ll, that seems to be spe-
cially a good summer variety. These come
out in October, and are at once followed by
other plants, also large, of Frogmore Selected,
and then the process of renewal is repeated in
February. The capital turfy loam found in
the locality seems to be peculiarly adapted to
the needs of the Tomato. It would be particu-
larly interesting were an exact record kept of
the weight of fruit taken from a small house of
this description, as in that way with the ex-
penses account balanced, it might be possible
to learn how far Tomato-culture, practically all
the year round, paid the cultivator. Certainly
the culture given at Castle Hill reflects on the
gardener the highest credit. D.

THE FLORAL COMMITTEE AND ITS WORK. —

I am grateful to you for your reference to the
alpine Auricula Tillie I exhibited before the
Floral Committee on the 20th ult. That the
Floral Committee should have passed it was,
I should think, owing to lack of knowledge of
the properties of a really good alpine Auricula.
The two members of the Committee who could
best appreciate the flower— Messrs. Douglas
and Turner — were unfortunately absent, or
the result might have been different. Both
Mr. James Douglas, who is the leading raiser
of alpine Auriculas in the south, and Mr. J.W.
Bentley, who is now the most successful
raiser in the noith (who was at the Drill Hall
with his Tulips), expressed great surprise that
such a very fine variety did not receive an
award. The variety had all the good qualities
of an alpine Auricula — the pip large, stout,
symmetrical, smooth on the edge, and without
serrature ; but above all, it possessed what is
so ditlicult to get in a white centred alpine, a
centre which opens white and remains un-
stained and vital to the last. Two or three of
the pips had been expanded fully four weeks ;
indeed, its lasting properties are remarkable.
There were seven fine expanded pips on a
handsome truss, surmounting a stout, stiff
flower-stem. My case is an illustration of the
difficulty experienced by florists in getting
their favourite flowers recognised by a hybrid
committee on which the devotees of floricul-
ture are only very sparsely represented.
Given a lack of knowledge and experience,
there can be no due appreciation, and injus-
tice is done through neglect. What is wanted
is, I think, in the case of popular florists'
flowers, some devolution of sectional work.
Experts in Auriculas, Carnations, Dahlias, and
especially the Cactus varieties, Chrysanthe-
mums, &c, should be told off as a sub-com-
mittee of selection to go round the hall, where
there is ample material for comparison, and
select what they think to be the very best,
and recommend them to the full committee for
awards. Take the cases of Cactus Dahlias and
Japanese Chrysanthemums in particular ; they
are brought on to the table one after the other,
the committee have no opportunity of com-
paring them with older varieties or with flowers
of the same character from other raisers, and
the selecting of varieties for awards becomes
a haphazard business. I know that the Chair-
man of the Floral Committee, and some of the
influential members of that body, are in favour
of such a course ; it was tried for two or three
seasons with the best results, until one of the
members got the method changed to the;
present confusing process. Further, the
Council, in conjunction with the Chairman of
the Floral Committee, might see to it that
when certain flowers are in season, there is
present a competent jury of experts, in order
that every claimant to floricultural honours
should have full justice done it. R. Dean.

GRAPE-JUDGING. — From your issue of May 17,
p. 328, I observe Mr. Kirk, of Norwood, la-
bouring to bring into unison the views of

others with his own on the subject of Grape-
judging. In my opinion, he errs by confusing
the mind with a multiple of properties for
special valuation, which is also the principal de-
fect in the Uoyal Horticultural Society's rules,
for which Mr. Kirk finds no commendation. In
judging a bunch of Grapes, Mr. Kirk begins
with colour, for which he gives a possible
2 points ; next, 2 points for finish and bloom ;
first-rate quality, 2| points; size and sym-
metry, li points ; perfectly thinned bunch,
with large-sized berries, 1\ points. What
could be more detrimental to the object in
view than a proposal for the separate con-
sideration of all these points ? Most of them
could be lumped under the one word " finish,"
which includes all the good points of a perfect
bunch, viz., colour, bloom, symmetry, thinning,
ripeness, &c; and a bunch is not perfect
unless it is large of its kind, both in bunch
and berry. No doubt, in judging, all these-
points have to be noticed, in away; but to
isolate and deal with each separately would
go beyond the limits of time and endurance to-
effect its accomplishment, and that judge is
not capable who cannot at a glance recognise
the cultural merits of a bunch of Grapes, and
at once record value for them. Let us see
how Mr. Kirk's method would work out in
practice : Take two bunches, one small —
weighing, say, a pound, and another of the
same variety, weighing 3 pounds; the first
is possessed of all the essential good pro-
perties mentioned, except size of bunch,,
which however is coupled with symmetry, in
which it is also perfect, thereby entitling it
to 1 point from the maximum of 1| ; the
small bunch thus receiving full value, and
omittiog the points for size, would total
9 points. But to equalise the value of the
properties, size, and symmetry, would reduce
the total by J = 8J. Then the large bunch
being perfect in all points, except symmetry
and size of berry, in which it is slightly
deficient, suffers a loss of h a point for-
each, total 8J points. I fear this result
would not prove satisfactory. To make it
feasible, Mr. Kirk must make his table more-
elastic, in order to provide for extra merit
or demerit being estimated and recorded
even for one bunch of Grapes. Why are so-
many dissatisfied with the rules laid down
and the standards provided by the Royal
Horticultural Society ? I presume one of the-
obstacles opposed to the practical utility of
the code is the multiplicity or complexity of
attributes named in each kind of exhibit for
separate adjudication. It is evident one
would require the memory of a Milton to
remember all the different standards, or he
would require to proceed with a copy in one
hand and a schedule in the other, for the-
proper administration of the rules — a proceed-
ing which would not add to the dignity of the
office of adjudicator. What is needed is a
simple uniform method, easily remembered,
and applied to all kinds and conditions of
exhibits. The cultural merits of any subject
are not difficult to gauge and value, but
opinions are not easily reconciled in regard to
natural merits, which Mr. Kirk just referred
to by the mention of Muscat of Alexandria
Grapes, and which might form a subject of
interest for future discussion. I agree with
Mr. Kirk that all important class contests
should be settled by pointing, and the results
of adjudication shown. I do not mean, how-
ever, that every exhibit should be dealt with)
in this way, but simply the collections, and
when the exhibits are found to be of almost
equal value. W. IV"., N. B.

BRICKS IN THE NEW HORTICULTURAL HALL.

— It has recently been announced that a sum
of about £13,000 has been promised towards,
the erection of the new Horticultural Hall.
Probably fully three times that amount will be
needed ; but this large suin has been promised
so far by twenty-six firms or persons only-
Putting the cost of each brick in the build-
ing at 10s., here are 26,000 bricks paid for;
but some 70,000 to 80,000 will be needed.
There ought yet to be tapped, out of the
several thousands of Fellows of the Royal

June 7, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

379

Horticultural Society, a very large number
willing to pay for from one brick up to ten
bricks. In that way, aided by a few others
giving up to 100 bricks, it should not be diffi-
cult to raise the needful sum to enable the
Hall to be well and substantially built. It
should be the desire of thousands to own one
or more bricks in the Hall ; and if the horti-
cultural world in general, and the Fellows of
the Royal Horticultural Society in particular,
be appealed to in that way, the result might
be remarkable. With so munificent a start,
there should be no difficulty in securing an
early successful issue. A. D.

rhododendron nuttalli.— I herewith send
you one truss with six blooms of this rare
Rhododendron, which we have here growing
in a large three-quarter-span Camellia-house.
There are five trusses on the plant this season,
some having four and some five blooms. The
bloom measures 5 inches in diameter, and
4 inches deep, and has a rich perfume. The
colour when opening is pale primrose, changing
when a day old to pure white. One ot the
trusses measured 12 ins. across. The leaves
are dark gre?n, 10 inches long by A\ inches
across. John Wilson, DupplinGdns., Perth,N.B.

A good crop OF roses. — I have in a span-
roofed glass house, measuring 9 feet by 7 feet,
and 6 feet long rafters, and on each side there
are two climbing Niphetos Rose-trees, from
which I have cut twenty dozen of blooms, in
every instance fit for sale. H. Wickham, Wilton
Cottage, Reitjate.

CLIMBING FRENCH BEANS.— I WOllld like to

corroborate what "J. S." has said as to the
usefulness of the climbing French Beans for
forcing, and I consider them superior in
quality even to the best of the dwarf varieties,
first-rate though they be. Having a portion
of the vinery roof not yet covered by young
Vines I am taking up, I planted a row of the
climbing Tender-and-True in the back of the
vinery border, from where we are now gather-
ing quantities of delicious pods, and I send
you herewith a few of them for your opinion,
with also a few of the Ne-Plus-Ultra, a dwarf
Bean of no mean merit, but venture to say
you will think the Tender-and-True the better.
Of course I am aware one has not always the
space necessary to force the climbing variety,
but I do not think it is generally known that
they force so well. F. W. C, Poles Gardens,
Ware, Herts, May 27. [Both samples were of
good quality ; but whilst the pods of Tender-
and-True were remarkably tender, we con-
sidered those of Ne-Plus-Ultra possessed most
flavour. Ed]

couch grass. — You have given your corre-
spondent Pan-Adam (see Gardeners' Chronicle,
p. 331), a laborious ta9k in advising him to
trench his land 2 feet deep or more to get rid
of Couch grass. About 1 acre of orchard
ground here was overrun with this weed, also
Mare's Tail, Docks, Nettles, and Woodbine,
the latter running up the stems of the Apple
and Pear-trees, besides half smothering some
old Currant bushes. Instead of trenching and
picking them out, I planted Rhubarb in the
worst places, sufficiently close to surround
the steins of the trees, but the Currant trees
were destroyed as soan as others were raised
to take their place, and Rhubarb was planted.
The Rhubarb was lifted the third year for
forcing, and fresh plantations made each
spring, so we have always two or three
batches going. The crops that follow the
Rhubarb arc Jerusalem Artichokes, Scotch ■
Kale, Winter Greens, and Potatos, whefe open
spaces admit of it. I have destroyed the weeds
profitably, and in a way that no other known
method would have done so effectually, and 1
would strongly advise Pan-Adam to give my
plan a trial. I think the Mare's Tail a mo9t
determined grower, and when once it pots a
hold on the land or of gravel wa'ks. it defies
every means for its destruction. When pre-
sent in gravel walks, 1 assume that the roots
were present in the soil when these were
made; at any late, weed-killers have been

applied which destroys the tops, but after a
year or two it comes up as vigorously as ever.
W. P. Roberts, Cuerdcn Hall Gardetis, Preston.
[Not every gardener wants large quantities of
Rhubarb, or to crop his orchard with Kale,
&3. ED.].

LIlium giganteum.— I would like to make a
few remarks as to this plant in the garden
herd. The natural soil in which they thrive
so well consists of light sandy peat of a depth
of 1 foot, with pure sand of great depth below
it. They grow under trees, and get the benefit
of the sun's rays until about 11 o'clock a.m.,
and scarcely any direct sunshine in the after-
noon. It may be of interest to a great many
of your readers to know that the bulbs of this
species, after flowering, are completely ex-
hausted, that they disappear in course of time,
and never flower again, leaving two or three
offsets, which flower from four to six years
afterwards. We have at present here some
thousands of bulbs, which make a grand dis-
play at the end of the month of June and in
July. The flower-shafts are from 10 to 14 feet
in height, stout, and needing no staking.
These carry about twenty flowers each. These
flower-shafts are the produce of bulbs whicli
are so crowded as to force themselves out of
the soil, and receive no protection whatever
in winter beyond the fallen leaves, which are
insufficient to cover any of the large clumps ;
aud yet frosts of several degrees below 0J have
never caused the slightest injury to one of
them, which fact proves their hardiness.
Rabbits, hares, pheasants, or pea-fowl will
not interfere with the bulbs. The seed is
gathered about the end of October, and sown
the following March, and it takes a period of
twelve months to germinate the bulbs, and from
eight to ten years to flower. H. Gandy, (jr.,
Merton Hall, Walton, Norfolk.

fruit-trees by roadsides. — In reading
the Gardeners' Chronicle of March 1, p. 140,
there is an article by Mr. Burbidge, stating
that 500,000 fruit-trees have been planted
along the roadsides in France, and annually
additions to this number are being made. How
nice it would have been had Mr. Burbidge
stated the localities in France where this
planting has been carried out ; so many people
of the English-speaking race now travel much
about France, and I dare say some might like
to visit the parts, and see for themselves the
success of this planting, and judge how
such an undertaking could be carried out
in England and elsewhere. An eminent writer
on horticulture, touring Germany on foot,
coming upon some roadside fruit-trees covered
with ripe fruit, was tempted to pull a few.
Presently a tall, gaunt peasant approached
him, and insisted he should accompany him to
the police-station, and he only escaped being
locked up by paying a handsome ransom. 1
need not add, my friend picked no more road-
side fruit in Germany. When in the Basses
Pyrenees, I have seen fruit-trees planted on
the embankments of the railways, and was told
they were under the protection of the station-
masters of >'ie different stations. I have often
wondered that many of our railway embank-
ments have not been used for fruit-growing.
Mr. T. G. Rooper, on p. 137, makes reference
to gardens connected with schools on the Con-
tinent. Not having seen any such gardens,
it would have been convenient on Mr.
Rooper's part had he mentioned the town-
ships where such gardens could be seen.
In Massachusetts, C.S.A., occasionally gardens
connected with schools are to be met with, but
they are so primitive, that I was always re-
minded of my boyish days in Glasgow, making
ray first attempt in landscape gardening in a
llower-box 30. by 0 ins. in my bedroom window.
I have no doubt school gardens in England will
take a form and development worthy of the
nation. About the time the School Board was
instituted to give an all-round training, the
late Mr. Shirley Hibberd and I, by way of a
change from making a study of Daffodils, had a
long conversation on the probable outcome of
the new departure in education, and came to
the conclusion that unless hampered by those

opposed to the education of themasses, though
late, in making an effort to educate our people,
we should develop, and stand in time an ex-
ample to other nations worthy of imitation.
Some fifty years back there was a move-
ment for an educational system in England,
but it was so violently opposed from the
pulpit that the movement dropped. I heard
one eminent preacher in the midland counties
devote a whole evening to denouncing a State-
paid system of education, pointing out from
ancient history that the end would be the
suborning of the people to the State. Had he
lived now he would have found the reverse.
Peter Barr, V.M.H., Cape Town.

wi ld tu lips. — With reference to the remarks
in the Gardeners1 Chronicle, p. 300, regarding
Tulipa sylvestris being wild so far north as
Northumberland, I may be allowed to say it
has for a very long period been recognised as
a wild plant in East Lothian. In the grounds
of Belton House, near Dunbar, I saw it
flowering more than twenty years ago, and
at Tyninghame it has been a weed in the
"wilderness" as loDg as the memory of
the oldest inhabitant can go. It is there
growing in somewhat poor soil, among
large timber, and the plant never gains
strength to flower, though by means of its
stolons it annually encroaches on fresh
ground. I have little doubt if fed by means of
surface dressings that flowering bulbs would
be produced. There is another colony in a
small plantation by the side of a river, in soil
rather inclined to clay, where in some years
flowers are produced profusely. The present
year they are all but a failure, no doubt largely
on account of what the Dutch growers term
" firing," the result of early and keen frosts.
Several years ago, I procured a lot of the
continental form (T. Ilorentina), but it proved
in every particular identical with our own,
with the regretable exception that instead of
increasing, it has almost entirely died out.
1 should not be surprised that this Tulip may bo
in other habitats and not recognised as such.
Its appearance in the wilderness is by no means
suggestive of a Tulip, -and a Dutch grower to
whom I showed it some years ago was doubtful
of its identity ; but the bulb and its stolons
afford fairly good means of identification,
though the diminutive " blade " that forms the
leaf lends but little aid in that respect. It is
noteworthy that this species is cever eaten by
pheasants or rats, while we lose thousands of
garden Tulips in some years by their depre-
dations. Some years the latter are not touched
by either ; in others they afford food to both
during many months. R. P. Brotherston. [The
wild Tulip used to grow in Christchurch
meadows, Oxford; but, so far as we know, it
never produced Bowers. Ed.]

the temple Show. — I could not help re-
marking at the Temple Show the ovei-
crowding of many of tte exhibits with a large
number of plants of the samo kind, and those
usually plants in which the visitors, at least
those who know much about plants, take very
little interest. It is quite possible that in the
dense crowd of visitors, as well as plants, I
overlooked some really interesting novelties,
but I saw very few, except in Sir Trevor
Lawrence's charming group. Last year I
brought up four plants, three of which were
old plants, but which I thought among the
most beautiful I had in flower, and they were
the only ones of their species in the exhibition.
To-day I have looked round my garden and
houses, and find at least twenty in flower of
what I should consider, on account of their
beauty and interest, most worthy of being
exhibited, and not one of them was, as far as
1 saw, represented at the Temple Show. I
would suggest that the Council reserve a
sufficient space next year for rare, curious,
and interesting plants, and invite the loveis
of such to exhibit small choice groups of plants
not generally grown. H. J. EUves Colesbome.

lilium candidum — I am trying the value ot
a ttiisk dressing of pure sand about these
plants, to see if it will afford any protection

380

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 7, 1902.

against the disease to which the plant is
prone. The mulch will be rather more than an
inch deep, and extend, in the case of large
clumps, to a distance of 2 feet from the steins.
As a further precaution, some sand will be
thrown into the clumps so as to cover the
soil. My object in doing this so early is to
note any modification of the attack that may
present itself, and to ascertain if the disease
is communicated by the air wholly or in part.
Any spores of fungus in the soil awaiting the
activity that warm showers will induce, would
have little chance when covered up by the more
or less inert sand. Still, such disease-germs may
exist on the radical leaves, now a mass of
shining green at the base. In these circum-
stances some patches of autumn-planted bulbs
that are destitute the radical growth, may
afford the best opportunity for the sand test.
If a few gardeners would try the sand on some
clumps, and leave others undressed, some
useful hints might be gleaned ; and anything
that can be done to save this Lily to our
gardens should be undertaken. E. Jenkins,
Hampton Hill.

THE LATE MR. WILLIAM BULL.— The death of

Mr. William Bull, on Sunday last, has removed
another of the few remaining survivors of the
executive committee of the International Hor-
ticultural Exhibition held at South Kensington
in 1866. Mr. Vernon Heath's photograph of
the executive committee (including myself as
assistant secretary) contains twenty-one indi-
viduals ; the two absentees were Mr. John
Jackson Blandy, the vice-chairman; and Mr.
John Fleming, of Cliveden, both long since
dead. Mr. Blandy died in the September fol-
lowing the holding of the exhibition in May ;
Mr. Fleming in December, 1883. Only six
remain — Sir Daniel Cooper, Bart., treasurer ;
Mr. William Paul, Dr. Masters, Mr. H. J.
Veitch, Mr. Edward Easton (who is, I think,
still an active member of the London Council),
and myself. The exhibition was so thoroughly
unique in its way, so extensive, and so com-
prehensively international, so remarkable for
its Conference meetings and its social ameni-
ties ; it was so certainly the one great repre-
sentative horticultural exhibition of the latter
half of the nineteenth century, that it is
fitting, as the men who carried it out have
the cords of their life loosened, and are drawn
away from us through the gates of death,
should have a record of association with this
great undertaking. R. Dean, V.M.H.

acquired by the Corporation of Aberdeen, has
been closed, for a month to permit of the grass
growing undisturbed, but although it is now
looking very well, the cold wintry weather
lately experienced has considerably retarded
vegetation.

PARIS.

FLORISTS' FLOWERS.

SCOTLAND.

THE WEATHER IN ABERDEENSHIRE.
The month of May just closed at time of
writing, says an Aberdeenshire correspon-
dent, has been, from a meteorological point of
view, one of the worst experienced during the
last quarter of a century. A change for the
better did take place upon Thursday, the
22nd of the month, but even yet the wind
during some nights has been cold and search-
ing. The dryness of the surface of the land is
evidenced by the great clouds of dust that
are being blown about by the drying winds.
The result is that seedling plants have been
greatly injured, and in many instances killed ;
while in some districts the haulm of the young
Potatos has been blackened. The effects of
the bleak weather, however, are perhaps more
apparent on the Hawthorn-hedges. There is
little or no blossom, and this fact is all the
more instructive when it is remembered that
the Hawthorn is not easily affected by cold
weather. Much havoc has been wrought in
our gardens, particularly among the fruit-
bushes, the ones that have fared worst being
the Currant and Gooseberry. It is devoutly
hoped by all concerned that better weather
will be vouchsafed us during the next two
months, otherwise we shall not be assured of
even fair crops. The Westburn Park, recently

The spring exhibition of the National Horti-
cultural Society of France opened on the 21st
ult., in the Coups la Reine, Champs Elysees.
The weather was cold and rainy. The exhi-
bition was well filled, but there were few
novelties. We may specially mention the fine
collections of Orchids from MM. Lesueur,
Dallemagne, Duval, Megne, Regnier, Beranek,
Maron, Balme, and Maillet. The stove plants
of Messrs. Truffaut, Chantrier, Chantin, Maillet,
Count de Portalis and the Luxemburg garden
(gr., M. Opaix), were worthy of notice. M.
Truffaut of Versailles showed Palms and other
ornamental plants very well cultivated, as
well as some interesting novelties. Asparagus
Duchesnei, Ha?manthus Diadema, and H. fasci-
nator introduced by M. Linden from the
Congo, together with some line Orchids, in-
cluding a fine Odontoglossum near to O.
triumphans and O. Adrians?.

Among the Orchid novelties were La?lia
Hebe, shown by M. Maron of Brunoy. It is
stated to be a cross between L. tenebrosa, and
L. Digbyana. It has the sepals and petals of
the first parent and the lip of the second, with
very numerous rose-coloured lines radiating
from the disc [A similar plant was shown at
the Temple.— Ed.]

Lselio-Cattleya Mossi«e :■: grandis was exhi-
bited by M. Dallemagne, of Rambouillet. It
has pale nankeen-yellow sepals and petals,
and a clear rose-coloured lip.

Cypripedium Jeannette, shown by M.
Beranek, and a cross between C. Youngianum
and C. bellatulum ; Cattleya Jussieu, from M.
Maron, a cross between C. Schroderfe and C.
Lawrenceana ; Cattleya Milton, from M.
Maron, a cross between C. Mossia?. and C.
Lawrenceiana, were all worthy of notice.

The fine specimens of Begonia cristata, B.
Vallerandi, B. crispa, B. picta marmorata, and
the single Begonias with enormous flowers,
shown by M. Arthur Billard, of Le Vesinet ;
the varied Begonias of M. Vallerand, among
which B. marmorata var. Le Papillon ; the
Gloxinias, the Anthurium Scherzerianum with
enormous spathes, from M. Duval of Ver-
sailles ; the magnificent specimens of Pelar-
goniums of M. Nonin, the group of perennial
plants of MM. Vilmorin, the Phyllocactus of
M. Simon, the Roses of M. LevOque, M. Roth-
berg, and M. Chantin ; of M. Honore Defresne,
of M. Georges Boucher, of M. Jupeau ; the
Maples and dwarf Thuyas from Messrs.
Yamanaka & Co., of Yokohama; the superb
collection of Adiantum from M. Ramelet, the
pretty Begonia Rex x decora, &c, were all
remarkable in their way.

M. Sallier, of Neuilly, exhibited a fine group
of Eremurus, Anthurium, Aglaonema, Pothos,
and other ornamental plants, with Orchids,
among which were Vanilla planifolia, with
several pods ; Phyllocactus, Stenogastra con-
cinna, &e.

The colonial section attracted much atten-
tion. The Jardin Coloniale de Nogent (Director,
M. Dybowski) exhibited plants of Arenga sac-
charifera, and Coffee in fruit ; MM. Vilmorin,
Andrieux and Co. showed a collection of
economic plants, small, but well arranged with
oleaginous, textile, alimentary, and other
groups, according to their use. G. T. G.

FANCY PANSIES AT THE TEMPLE SHOW.
A collection of cut blooms of Pansies
showing singularly fine quality, was staged
by Messrs. Dobbie & Co., Rothesay, who cul-
tivate on a large scale both show and fancy
Pansies, and also Violas. No show Pansies
were included in the collection. The fancy
Pansy has now been in general cultivation for
some forty years. It was about 1860 that the
late M. Miellez, of Lille, sent over to Messrs.
E. G. Henderson & Son, then of the Welling-
ton Road Nursery, St. John's Wood, the fine
and distinct fancy Pansies he had raised ;
and the St. John's Wood firm, regarding,
them as subjects too precious to hazard their
cultivation among London smoke and fogs,
sent them to my brother William, then in
business at Shipley, Yorkshire, to grow for
them, and in that moist, cool district they
flourished, they were seeded, and in this way
the improvement of the modern form of the
flower commenced. But long before this,
when the late Mr. John Salter was residing
at Shepherd's Bush, and cultivating and
exhibiting as an amateur, striped and
blotched Pansies, as distinct from the
yellow grounds, white grounds and selfs
of the florist, were his hobby ; he took
them to Versailles with him when he went
there in 1843 to set up in business, and while
there he raised, named, and distributed named
varieties, and it is possible some of Mr.
Salter's productions fell into the hands of
M. Miellez, and became the progenitors of
those he sent to London some years later. The
late Mr. John Downie also took the section in
hand, and one of the most famous of his pro-
ductions was a variety named Dandie Dinmont.
In size, in substance, and in beauty of mark-
ing, the Rothesay Fancy Pansies seem to have
almost reached the limits of perfection, only
that we cannot set bounds to the possibilities
of development in flowers. Chief among them
were : —

Jeanic R. Kerr. — Yellow, edged with white,
with blotches of brown-violet, extra fine.

Jeanie B. Smith. — A very fine pure white
self, with large dark blotches.

John Myles. — Belted with crimson, and
edged with rosy-white, the stout upper petals
crimson ; a bold and striking flower.

Mary Trans.— Creamy - white, the upper
petals purple and white, with bright crimson
centre blotches.

Mavourneen. — Lemon, magenta, and purple;
a very striking combination, large and bold.

Miss Albinia Bromi Douglas.— A very large
and perfectly - formed flower, dense black,
reddish-crimson, white and magenta ; one of
the finest.

Mr. Charles Stirling. — A fine deep yellow
self, with clear cut, circular, black blotches.

Mr. B. Wellbourne. — Primrose, laced with
dark, large, brown-black blotches.

Robert C. Allan. — A combination of crimson
and white, very handsomely blotched, large
and stout.

Robert Wliite. — Bright yellow, with glossy
black blotches ; a very fine and striking
flower, regarded as the best yellow in culti-
vation.

Tom Waiters. — This very fine variety has a
combination of brilliant tints difficult to
describe ; a high class flower of great beauty.
Wm. H. Clarke.— Black, laced with yellow,
and tinted with heliotrope.

William Maxwell. — White, rose, and black-
blue ; a very fine flower.

W. P. A. Smyth. — Bluish-purple, yellow,
pink, and bright purple ; extra fine.

The foregoing fourteen varieties constitute
a first-class collection. It. D.

June 7, 1902.]

THE GARD ENER S> CHR ONICL R

381

©bituanp.

William Bull. — We greatly regret to have
to announce the death of Mr. Wm. Bull, the
■well-known nurseryman, and new and rare
plant merchant, of King's Road, Chelsea, which
took place at his residence on Sunday, June 1,
after three days' illness, his age being seventy-
four years. Few men in the world of horti-
culture have been better known or more
widely respected than "William Bull, to whose
enterprise and perseverance our gardens

to the number of about seventy-five, being at
the same time announced. The list is one
of which any nurseryman might well be proud,
and most of the things are still garden
favourites, and some yet rare after more than
forty years. The first plant enumerated,
Aerides affine niveum, a pure white form,
is not now in cultivation. If it could
be found it would command a very high price.
Lycaste Skinneri alba, Trichopilia crispa, and
other still rare plants were enumerated, and
also a fine representative list of novelties

The Late WILLIAM BULL, V.M.H., F.L.S., &c.

are indebted for the introduction of many
interesting plants, especially warm - house
plants of decorative character. Settling
down to the horticultural trade early in life,
he became traveller for the then important
firms of Rollisson & Sons, and Messrs. E. G.
Henderson, and "on the road" he had the
reputation of being the smartest traveller in
the trade.

On turning to the Gardeners' Chronicle for
March 10, 1801, we find,the announcement that
Mr. William Bull, P.R.B.S.,&c, had taken over
the premises and nursery stock of Messrs.
John Weeks* Co., in the King's Road, Chelsea,
and that he had there started his establish-
ment for new and rare plants, a list of which,

generally, many of which secured Awards at
the Royal Horticultural Society, for even in the
first month of his new venture, Mr. Bull was a
successful exhibitor, and our reports of the
shows from that time supply distinct evidence
of his success in obtaining desirable plants.

Ornamental plants and warm-house flower-
ing plants and Orchids were the main objects
of his business, but no matter what the sub-
jects were that were in fashion ho went
zealously into their introduction, as Mo did
about 1864-65, with tin; many forms of Aucuba.

Orchids were his favourites always, and of
them ho had a good knowledge, both com-
mercial and cultural. Thinking over some of
the best of his introductions, it is pleasant to

see that a really fine and distinct plant is in
no danger of getting into disrepute by age or
by being 'superseded by later introductions,
as witness Lalia anceps alba, of his early im-
portation, which is still prized as the best of
its class ; Lselia prrestans alba, and other of
his introductions.

In pursuit of novelty in Orchids and new
plants, Mr. Bull about 18S0 sent out Messrs.
Shuttleworth and Carder to Colombia, and
their efforts were satisfactory ; and con-
tinually, when any new venture suggested
itself to him, he acted on it, and for some time
past he had been turning his attention to
Orchid-hybridising.

Mr. Bull was always a hard worker ; early
and late he was to be found at his business,
and no detail in it escaped his personal
supervision. But despite his precision in all
matters relating to business, and the con-
sequent strictness ho had to exercise with his
employes, he was a just and good master ; and
once a man proved himself worthy of a post
of trust, he could remain in it as long as he
wished.

Mr. Bull's energy and his interest in new
plants were unbounded. Many of them were
described and figured for the first time in
these columns. Many a time also in former-
years has the Editor been summoned by
telegraph at an early hour in the morning
to come and see some novelty " on your way
to town," and never was he disappointed. On
another occasion we remember Mr. Bull
bringing to this office some Aroid whose
perfume was as vile as its interest was great.
So careful was he of the plant, that he carried
it in his brougham till the stench became so
great that he was obliged to get out and sit
with the driver in the open air, and thus
brought the treasure to the editorial sanctum.

His business relations earned him a world-
wide reputation. He was a P.L.S., F.R.G.S.,
F.Z.S., M.A.I.,F.R.B.S.,and of other societies,
both British and foreign ; but among all his
honours, the one which ho most prized was the
Victoria Medal of Honour, presented to him by
the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society.
He was altogether a most remarkable man,
and his death will cause deep regret among a
large circle of friends and correspondents.

John W. Miller.— We have to record with
much regret the death of a very old corre-
spondent to this journal. Mr. John Miller,
who retired from the charge of Lord Foley's
garden at Ruxley Lodge, Esher, only a year
ago, was eighty years of age, and had been
head gardener to different noblemen and gen-
tlemen for a period of fifty- two years. His
first charge was at Earditon. Sir William
Smith's garden, in Worcestershire, in 1849,
and subsequently he exhibited varieties of
Oranges, Lemons, and Shaddocks, at meetings
of the Royal Horticultural Society in Regent
Street, and Peaches and Nectarines at the
Koyal Botanic Society's exhibitions in Uegent's
Park, winning his first Silver Medal in
1858.

After remaining at Earditon for fifteen years,
Mr. Miller was gardener at Astle Hall, in
Cheshire, for two years, then spent another
year in the nurseries of Messrs. Jas. Veitch &
Sons, Chelsea, and. Messrs. Dickson, Chester,
lie then entered the service of Lord Foley at
Worksop .Manor, Xotts, in 1801. from this
garden Mr. Miller exhibited very frequently,
and with much success. I'pon the death of
the late Lord Foley several changes took placo
at Worksop Manor, and for some time Mr.
Miller had charge of Clumber Gardens as well
as those at Worksop Manor, both places bo-
longing to the trustees of the late Duke of

382

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE,

[Junk 7, 1C02.

Newcastle. He effected many alterations in
the pleasure-grounds, under the direction of
tne late Mr. Hope, of The Ueepdene, near
D irking, and blew up many large tree-roots
with dynamite. This was witnessed by the
late Mr. W. E. Gladstone and other
trustees, also the lifting and planting of
large old Yews to form shelters, upon the
system adopted by Barron & Son, Elvaston.
Large trees were planted as late as the middle
of July, and not one specimen died. Whilst at
Clumber, Mr. Miller raised a new Melon,
which he named after William Tillery, then
gardener at Welbeck. It remained one of the
most popular Melons for many years, and has
been used as a parent in the raising of some of
the green-fleshed varieties of the present day.

Mr. Miller left the Duke of Newcastle's
employ in 1882, and carried away with him a
flattering testimonial from Mr. Gladstone,
written at 10, Downing Street, on March 24 of
that year.

After spending a year with Mr. Hargreaves
in Hampshire, Mr. Miller was asked to again
serve the Foley family at Ruxley Lodge,
which Lady Foley had bought after Lord
Foley's death at Worksop. Whilst at Ruxley,
Mr. Miller was awarded twenty-four Medals
by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Deceased's brother, Mr. William Miller, of
Berkswell, near Coventry, is well known to
readers of these pages. Mr. Miller leaves a
widow seventy-six years of age, also five sons
and one daughter. The eldest son is gardener
to Lord Bentinck, at Underley Hall, West-
moreland, and two others are head gardeners
in New Zealand ; a fourth son is with Messrs.
Carter, Page & Co., seedsmen ; and another is
goods agent at Leicester under the Great
Central Railway Company. The only daughter
is the wife of Mr. Jubn Pentland, gardener
and bailiff at Aslrwieke Hall, Glos.

Deceased did not retire from active work
until the remarkable health he enjoyed so long
was impaired. During the greater part of
the last year, at Erst Moulsey, Surrey, he has
been confined to his room.

Belonging to the old school of gardeners,
and possessing remarkable energy, enthusiasm,
and industry himself, he could excuse any-
thing in others more easily than indifference
to duty. P.

Charles Downie. — Mr. Chas. Downie,
for some few years in the grass-seed depart-
ment of Henderson & Co., of New York City,
died on May 20, 1902, aged thirty-seven years,
after a brief illuess.

Mr. Downie was born, as we learn from the
Florists' Exchange, in Nova Scotia, of Scotch-
parents, his father being a Presbyterian
clergyman. While very young, his parents
removed to Jamaica, West Indies, and there
his early boyhood years were passed. They
returned to Scotland, and when about eighteen
years old, young Do vnie entered the employ-
ment of Downie & Laird at the Edinburgh
nurseries, John Downie being his uncle. After
the usual course in nursery and shop, he was
sent out "on the road " to represent the firm,
and travelled over Great Britain for several
years in that capacity.

In 1889 he cime to the United States and
found employment with Peter Henderson & Co.
as a general seed clerk. Shortly afterwards
there was a vacancy in the department of
agricultural seeds, and he was selecte 1 to fill
it. His aptness, coupled with unusuil phy-
sical and mental energy, madehim an excellent
pupil, and he very soon mastsred the details
of that department.

He was a fine spesimen of physical minlnod.
stmding 6 feet 2 inche?, well built, and

apparently looked good for a long and useful
li e. His temperament was enthusiastic ; he
was very social and engaging in his manners.
His was a very even disposition ; a voluble
and interesting talker, he made friends
rapidly ; he kept the n as well. He was
sunny and kind ; his environment was always
pleasant, and he will bo sadly missed and
long remembered by those who associated
with him daily, as well as by a large number
of friends throughout the country. He leaves
a widow and one son, a boy about fourteen
years of age.

Charles J. Graham e.— We greatly regret
to have to record the death of this gentleman
at Surbiton on the 2Gth ult. He was a member
of the Stock Exchange, but took great interest
in horticultural matters, especially in Roses,
of which he was an enthusiastic admirer.
For a time he acted as assistant secretary
of the Royal Horticultural Society, where
great things were hoped for from his energy
and the freshness and originality of his
ideas. He remained in office, however, too
short a time to influence the fortunes of the
society. In the National Rose Society, of
which he was a Vice-President, he instituted
reforms which have proved very benelicial,
though they were greatly objected to by some
at the time. His great aim was to popularise
the society by affording greater inducements
to the amateurs aad smaller growers, and by
removing the disabilities which weighed so
heavily against them in competing with large
growers. Mr. Grahame himself began as an
amateur on a small scale at Croydon, but on
removal to Leatherhead, where he had more
space at disposal, he threw himself into ex-
hibiting with his usual energy, and was as or
more successful on a large scale than he bad
been when his opportunities were more limited.

H. H. Hunnewell.— Our correspondent
Prof. Sargent writes: — "Our good old friend
Mr. Hunnewell died on the 20th ult., in his
ninety-third year. So many Englishmen have
seen his garden, that the fact that he is dead will
interest and grieve many of your readers. He
has been the most liberal and intelligent
patron of horticulture wo have had in this
country, and in various ways has done a great
deal to facilitate the study of botany."

British horticulturists have been made
familiar with the magnificent garden which
this gentleman had laid out at Wellesley,
Mass., by means of illustrations which from
time to time have appeared in the Gardeners'
Chronicle (see issues for March 30, 1889, and
November 25, 1893).

Mr. Hunnewell was born in Massachusetts,
of British family, coming from the neighbour-
hood of Croydon. His estate at Wellesley was
famous, as he had the finest and most magnifi-
cent collections of Conifers and Rhododendrons
to be seen anywhere in America. He lived
among his trees as though they were a part
of his very being. Mr. H. H. Hunnewell and
his old gardener, Mr. Harris, who retired very
recently because the harden of years was too
heavy upon him, were companions rather than
master and servant.

He had been a member of the Massachusetts
Horticultural Society for fifty years, and his
many public services, as well as his scholarly
proclivities, were recognised by Harvard
University, which conferred on him the hono-
rary degree of ~S\.A. His father and his two
sons were also members of the University. A
photograph of Mr. Hunnewell was given in
the issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle for
July 13, 1901, p. 23.

Societies.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.
Scientific Committee.

May 20.— Present: Dr. M. C. Cooke (in the chair);
Messrs. Hooper, Worsdell, Saunders. Shea, Bowles,
Douglas, Woralcy, Gordon, Ehves, Chapman, Holmes;
Prof Boulger, Rev. W. Wilks, and Rev. G. Henslow
(Uon. sec.) Visitor, Prof. Perceval, S.E. Agric. College,
Wye.

Beech and Ease diseased.— Mr. Saunders reported as
follows upon the specimens sent to the last meeting ;
"As to the scale insects from Mr. Gregory. They are
Cryptocoecus fagi. The scale on the Rose is pi obably
Aspidiotus ostreseformis— I say probably, because there
is another species so closely resemDling it that without
boiling the little insect from under the scale in liquor
potassae, staining, and otherwise preparing it for
examination under the microscope, so that certain
parts of its anatomy can be clearly seen, it is impos-
sible to be quite certain. The Aspidiotus and Cryto-
coccus, though both belonging to the same family,
the Coccidie, are very different insects, the former
being a true scale insect, the other being nearly allied
to the mealy bugs. I should recommend that all the
shoots of the Rose that are attacked should be cut off
and burnt, and the rest dressed or sprayed with
paraffin emulsion. The Beech bark should be scrubbed
with the same preparation, or with 2 lb. of soft soap
dissolved in a gallon of water. It is better to boil thn
s 3ft soap in a quart of water before adding it to rest of
t le water."

Melon I.eaees. decayed— Mr. PrnNEi.i. PuRNELLbrought
Melon leaves, and wished to know what the disease
was they were suffering from, and whether he should
pull the plants up and burn them. He also said it was
spreading rapidly, and he was afraid it might extend
to other plants in the same house, as well as to his
Cucumbers. Dr. Cooke reported upon them as fol-
lows:—"I have examined carefully the Melon leaves
S3nt me. They are certainly not affected with the new
Melon disease, nor can I find any trace of mycelium in
the tissues, or the least evidence of fungus attack. I
am of opinion that the mishap is due to some external
cause, like a sudden chill, and that there is nothing to
bi found which is capable of infecting other plants.
In so far as the leaves sent to me are concerned, I rind
n - evidence of internal disease, and cannot recommend
the destruction of the plants : only their complete
i iolation may be prudent, so as to prevent communica-
tion with other Melon or Cucumber frames. Close
attention may reveal the cause, but I cannot see why
It should spread so rapidly. As a precaution I should
pick off and burn diseased leaves ; but, if it is really a
disease of internal origin, although it does not at all
resemble the bacteriosis of Cucurbits, the microscope
fails to detect any mycelium or spores in the tissues,
which confirms me that it is not an organic disease.
I shall be interested to know if any discovery is made
from external surroundings, but as these are unknown
to me, I cannot oiler any suggestions."

Potato tuber disease (Fusarium solani, Mait )—T)r.
Cooke also contributed the following: "A circum-
stance has occurred within the past few days which
convinces me that we have a disease to contend with
in stored Potatos which lias not hitherto been
estimated at its true importance. Notlong since, some
tubers were sent to the Committee, which, when cut,
showed black blotches, and at the time I was inclined
to think they might be caused by the ordinary Potato
mildew running down the stems into the tubers ; but
the microscope failed to give satisfaction, and the
inference remained in doubt. Since that time tubers
have been sent, which, when cut, exhibited the same
blackened blotches. In one instance this was supple-
mented by a great number of convex pinkish pustules
on the outside of the tubers, mixed with tufts of white
mould. These pustules were the external manifesta-
tions of a compact pink mould, which has long
been known to develop itself upon Potato tubers, but
the general impression has been that it was only a
saprophyte, which flourished upon spots already
decayed. Mr. Wohthinoton Smith intimated in 1«81
that Fusisporium solaui, as it was then called, was
' not peculiar to decaying Potatos,' but was a veritable
disease of stored Potatos, and of this there can be no
longer any doubt. The black internal blotches at
length become permeated by mycelium, which produce
the characteristic conidia wherever they reach the
external air. The pustules are about the size cf a
split hemp seed, and sometimes larger, with a

June 7, 190"2.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

383

tendency to form rings, or at least to grow in company,
of a rather compact substance, of a pale pinkish
colour, often mixed with tufts of white liuceose mould.
The conidia are profuse, of a spindle shape, curved,
aud narrowed towards each end, divided transversely
by three septa into four cells (40—60 by 7— 8ft). When
mature they are apt to separate at the septa, and then
the angular cells become rounded, and either germinate
at once, or they may undergo a period of rest. It must
be remembered that a very large number of conidia
are produced on each pustule, and that each conidium
germinates from each of the four cells, so that it
possesses great powers of disseminating and repro-
ducing the disease. Every such diseased tuber should
be removed and destroyed at once, and if the disease
appears amongst stored Potatos, the application of
some fungicide would be advisable so as to kill any
scattered conidia. Probably some slight wound or
bruise may be necessary for the mould to obtain
entrance into sound Potatos, but to be forewarned is to
be forearmed.*'

Prof. Perceval observed that the disease was
infectious amongst stored Potatos, so that care should
be taken to remove any that were affected.

Lily disease.— Dr. Cooke reported as follows upon
some diseased bulbs : " Bulbs and young shoots were
sent to the last Committee for report of Lilium can-
didum. The two bulbs did not exhibit, either exter-
nally or internally, any trace of disease. The young
shoot, about 6 inches long, at first appeared to be
vigorous, but very soon all the young leaves began to
turn brown and die at the tips, gradually passing
downwards, until only the basal portion of the leaves
remained green. No mycelium could be found within
the tissues, and although the shoot has been kept in a
moist atmosphere for a week, there has been no
further development. I am inclined to suspect that,
if any form of fungus disease is present, it is due to the
parasite described by Marshall Ward (' Diseases of
Plants,' p. 117); but there is no direct evidence to be
found in the specimens sent for examination, and it is
possible that the failure may be due to external cir-
cumstances and surroundings."

Turnip varieties.— Mr. Gould, of Sleaford, wrote to
say that there was no possibility of a mistake in the
case of the "Red Tankard" Turnip described at the
last meeting. He adds : "lam leaving all the plants
to seed again, to see what the next generation will pro-
duce. We are also planting one Cabhage, one Carrot,
and one Mangold, and will let you know the result in
due course."

Raspberry canes and Pear leaves diseased.— "Mr. Gadt, of
the Yorkshire college. Leeds, sent some example
from various places in Yorkshire. They were referred
to Dr. Cooke and Mr. Saunbkhs for examination and
report.

Antkuriam Sclierzerianum.— Mr. Chapman showed two
spikes, one having two spathes, from a plant which
ha3 borne thirty-six spikes, all of which were double-
spathed. The other specimen was a seedling from this
plant, but single-spathed, with a pale, rose-coloured
stripe along the midrib.

Stipa viridula, injurious to cattle.— The seeds of a
species of Stipa, probably S. viridula, Trinius, were
shown by Mr. E. M. Holmes, and were stated to have
caused considerable losses amongst cattle on the
Canadian ranches. This particular species appears to
possess some poisonous principle, which lias not yet
received a careful chemical examination. An account
of its properties is given in the British Medical Journal,
1898, p. 1039. Haeckel states that S. inebriarjs. Hancc,
and S. sibiriea. possess similar tox'c properties.
Other species, likewise fatal to cattle, owe their danger
to the seeds. Those of S. aristiglumis. F. von Mueller,
being said by Maiden to cause ihedealh of numbers of
cattle and sheep by becoming attached to the wool and
working through the skin, ciusing in ense fever, and
often penc'rutlng into the vitals, The chief danjerof
this kind arises in the autumn, when the grass is in
[fruit. Many of the species form excellent fodder for
cattle at other times, such as S. Bpartica (Trinius),
whirh constituted the winter food of the buffalo, and is
now the delight of horses in the winter season. This
species grows 01] the dry prairie ; but S. viridula grows
around badger holes and throughout the prairie
region westwards to the Pacific. In New Mexico,
8. viridula is known as •• Sleepy Grass."

Plants Exhibited.— Mr. II. J. Hi. » is, colcsborne, Chel-
tenham, brought the following: (1) Kremurus. •'The
leaves of this plant arc damaged, as 1 believe, by long-
continued cold, wet, frost, and hail ; but Mr. lloou (Van
Tubergen) thought, it was a fungus which caused the
decay, and advised the cutting effthc leaves to prevent

its spreading; but I cannot 'find after ten days that
there is any confirmation of this." Dr. Cooke thought
that Mr. Elwes' view was correct, and that if any
fungus was present, it had followed on the previous
dec»y, so that the plants should not be sacrificed.
(3) Eucharis grandifiora. This is attacked by a snail,
especially where they are above the soil. Mr. Chapman
suggested plunging the whole pot in warm water for
twenty-four hours, at intervals of ten days, as this,
without injuring the plant, was effective against mites.
(3) Hymenocallis sp. These proved to be nearly allied
to H. littoralis and H. caribcea. (5) Zizania aquatica
seedings. Mr. Elwes observed that though supposed
to be an annual it had become a perennial. Mr. Bowles
added that he had had it for four years, but it had
never flowered with him.

Darwin Tulips— Mr. Shea exhibited a plant bearing
four blossoms on one stem. Prof. Perceval observed
that such had occurred in Kent, especially on Darwin's
and old English sorts. Also that many Tulips had
seven or more perianth leaves, while the bracts were
coloured. Lastly "singles" had become "doubles"
this year. Mr. Elwes attributed these abnormal con-
ditions to the perfect season of 1901 for ripening the
bulbs.

MANCHESTER AND NORTH OF
ENGLAND ORCHID.

May 15.— The fact of the Manchester Whitsuntide
Show opening on the day following this meeting had
a detrimental effect, there being very few plants
brought together.

R. Ashworth, Esq., Newchurch (gr., Mr. Pidsley\
staged a few good plants, and received Awards of Merit
for Odontoglossum crispum var. '• Yarro," a handsome
spotted form; and O. triumphans var. "Jupiter"
Some good forms of Cattleya Mendeli and C. Schroder.-e
alba were also in the group.

M. Wells, Esq., Sale (gr., Mr. Lamb), received an
Award of Merit for Odontoglossum x Adriame var.
" Charlemagne," a handsome pale form.

John Cowan & Co.. Ltd., Gateacre, exhibited an
interesting lot of hybrid Masdevalias, Awaids of Merit
being made to Masdevallia x Fraseri, M. x " Leda,"
and M. Harryana var. miniata. P. W.

BRISTOL & DISTRICT GARDENERS'
MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT.

May 22.— In connection with this Society, the summer
session was opened on the above date by Mr. F. Nash,
Fellow of the Bath District Horticultural Association,
who delivered a lecture on " The Future Culture of the
Rose." Mr. E. Binfield occupied the chair, and there
was a good attendance of members, which shows that
the Society is in a thriving condition. Mr. Nash, who
was accorded a good reception, remarked on this (lower
of flowers as being in existence since the world began, as
we read that Eve, when leaving Paradise, craved for one
souvenir, and the angel thereupon gave her a Rose I
This queen of flowers has been vastly improved, and
now stands second to none among our floral adorn-
ments of the garden, reflecting great credit on our
raisers and cultivators alike. To grow the Rose to per-
fection the gardener must throw all his energy and
skill into his task, and plant them in places most suit-
able for displaying their own loveliness. The uses
which the Rose can be utilised for are numerous, and
simply to form beds, such as we usually see, does by no
means constitute a Rose garden. There should be
banks, hedges, bowers, beds, screens, pillars, and such
like, covered with Roses; river banks also would form
a picture in itself, if judiciously planted.

The lecturer gave a selection of the best Roses to
grow, as also useful hints for their successful cultiva-
tion. An excellent discussion followed his practical
and highly interesting lecture, and he was awarded
the heartiest thanks of the meeting for his visit, to
which he suitably replied. II A'.

THE BATH & WEST OF ENGLAND.

Plymouth, May 27 to :tl.— Among the divers attractions
provided lor the public at the above show, horticulture
was not neglected, a large tent being devoted to floral
display. The Rev. A. T. Bos. ah en, who has for some
years carried oil' the premier prize at thcTruro Daffodil
Show, had the entire management of the horticulti ra!
section, and was successful in bringing togclher a
very charming and interesting collection of flowers.
Messrs. Roiibrt VB1TCH & Sos of Exeter, tilled the
whole end of the tent, which was over 20 feet in height
with a most artistically fashioned erection of virgin
cork. Which, with its rough ledges, some projecting
many feet, gave to the eye the appearance of a rugged
cliff-face. In the fore front was an informal pool of
water containing the best and newest of Marliac's
Nymphieas, the pool being fed by a constant splashing
of trickling drops, [ailing from the apparently

rocky seams in the background. The effect of
the whole was greatly heightened by an arch of
virgin cork, closely resembling rock, which sprung
from the main structure, and half spanned the
pool. Over the whole erection flowering and foliage
plants were thoughtfully dispersed, Roses Thalia,
Aglaia, and Crimson Rambler showering drooping
wreaths of bloom from a projecting ledge; a large
group of Richardia Elliotiana on one side of the water,
around the verge of which were Flag Irises, Sai r. -
cenias. Lilies of the Valley, MimulUB, Lotus peln-
rhyncus, and Rodgersia podophylla; while other
flowering plants comprised Watsonia Ardernei, Ze-
nobia speciosa pulverulenta, Edwardsia grandifloia,
towering spikes of Eremurus, Callistemon speciosus
Gerbera Jamesoni, Daphne Cneorum, &c. The same
firm also had a stand of rock plants, among which
were Aster canescens, A. Fremonti, and others ; Litho-
spermum multiftorum, Morisia hypogrea, Alyssum
spinosum, Phyteuma orbiculare and P. comosum, and
Edrianthus serpyllifolius.

Messrs. Curtis & Sanford, Devon Rosery, Torquay,
exhibited a fine bank of flowering Roses in pots, whn h
proved a centre of attraction to visitors. Amongst the
most noteworthy were the single, silvery-pink Irish
Glory, Billiard et Birre, a climber, with full yellow
flowers; Sunset, Sunrise, L'Ideal. White Peail, M.Ada
Carmody, Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, Carmine Pillar,
and Madame de Watteville. In front of the pot Roses
baskets of Niphetos, Marcchal Niel, W. A. Richardson,
General Jacqueminot, Dupuy Jamain, and Mrs. W. J.
Grant, were arranged. A group of Carnations was
shown, including Malmaisotis, flesh, pink, aud red,
Mrs. Torrens, Margot, Mrs. H. Cannell, and General
Hunter, glowing red, and a quantity of cut Tulips were
shown.

Mr. W. J. Godfrey, Exmouth, showed numerous
Pelargoniums of the zonal. Ivy-leaved, and fancy sec-
lions; Mimulus, Hidalgoa Wereklei. and cut flowers of
Spanish Irises, Lupins, Oriental Poppies, Anemone
corouaria, Pyrethrum, Aquilegias, Plumbago capensi ~,
Lilacs in the best varieties, &c, the whole edged n.lh
Asparagus Sprengeri.

Messrs. John Wateher & Sons staged a fine selec-
tion of Rhododendrons, amougst which six pots of the
peerless Pink Pearl were the cynosure of all eyes.
Other handsome varieties wee Mrs. W. Agnew, white*
edged with pink; John Walker, deep rose; Sappi o,
white, with purple spotted bio eh on upper petal; and
luciferum, flesh-white.

Mr. F. Hooper, Bath, showed a good collection of cut
blooms of Pansies.

Mr. H. Hodoe. St. Austell, staged some excellent
tuberous Begoui. s, doubleand siugie, as well as trusses
of Rhododendrons and Azalea indica.

Messrs. Georiie COOLING ,v. SONS, Bath, sh.>\,ed
plants of the new Rose Soleil d'Or, Irish Beau'y. single
white; Ards Rover Marquise de Salisbury, Harrison!
&c. ; also cut flowers of Liberty, new, deep crimson ; K.
polyantha Schneewittchen, very small white flower?,
with a suspicion of pink; K. sin ica Anemone, Miss Low's
China, small, single, bright crimson Rose. Tne saeie
firm also exhibited a good collection of large-flowered
Clematis in pots, amongst which wore Gloire de St.
Julien, Otto Fitehel, lanuginosa Candida, delieata.
Aurora, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Fairy Queen;
early Gladioli in several varieties, and a spravof the
Sweet-scented Crab, Pyrus augustifolius, double var.,
llesh-pink in colour.

liesides the foregoing nurserymen's exhibits, Mr.
J. C. Williams sent from Werriugton Fark. an excel-
lent collection of plants, including, amongst other
things. Gloxinias, Clerodendron Balfouriana, Spiraas,
Caladlums. Orchids, Tropteolum Irieoloruni, herba-
ceous Calceolarias, Fuchsias and H;emanthus, with
Ferns, Begonias, Palms. andCycas revoluta.

Mr. J. Martin, of Plympton, showed some especially
fine Streptocarpi of his own raising; and Lord AUCK-
LAND contributed plants from the Ivitley gardens. The
great Palms that added BO much to the appearance of
the tent were kindlv lent by Mr. J. C. Williams and
Mr. A. F. Basset, of Trehidy.

Messrs. T. ciiai.i ICE A Son, Plympton, were respon-
sible for the decoration of I he Council pavilion, which
was prettily carried out with hanging-baskets and »
variety of (lowering and foliage plants.

THE GARDENERS' ROYAL

BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION.

May 28, 1902.— Among the subscriptions annonreefl
on the occasion of the annual festival on the above
dite were the following —The Duke of Marlborough,
c ."■: Messrs. Rothschild A Sons, eh.'.; The Duke of
Bedford, £50; Tne Baron Schroder, 650; M. J. Sutton,
E..| . f.'.'j; Arthur J. Sutton, Esq ,£30; n. .1 Velteh.Esq.
£(« ."•«. ; N. Sherwood. Esq., £.'* W. : Lieut -Col. Richard
1'ilkington, £:S; C. A. Smith 1'.) lands, Esq,, £85; Sir
Chas. Dyke Aekland. £30: W Ro. n.son. Esq., £-■" .
R. Milligan Hogg. Esq. f.e, \Y. Mack ay. Esq., £31;
J. Vcitch & Son. Lid I'.-l : Thames Fank Iron Co.
£15 is.. ; I'. R. Barr. Esq., £''• l&>.; Clias. E. Kcysir,
Esq.. £io tc. : f. Uoyd, Etq., £10 10». : H. Jones, Esq*
£10 ix; Fisher, Eon, A Slbray, L'd ., £10 IC« , li.

384

TEE GARDENERS' CERONICLE.

[June

1902.

Sydenham, Esq., £10 10s. ; W. H. Massey, Esq., £10 10s. ;
J. A. Laing, Esq., £10 108. ; Proprietors of The Harden,
£5 .r)s. ; Proprietors of Country JAfe, £5 58. : J. T. Ander-
son & Sons, Ltd., £". r.s. : J. Douglas, Esq., £5 58.;
W. Sherwood, Esq., £5 5s. ; Edward Sherwood, Esq.,
£5 58.; R. McVitie, Esq., £5; Geo. Bunyard, Esq.,
£6 5s. i N. L. Cohen. Esq., £n 5s.; .1. Mclndoc, Esq.,
£5; E. T. Cook, Esq., £5 5s.; J. Sweet, Esq.,
£5 5s.; R. Dean, Esq., £5 5s.; W. .1. Nutting, Esq.,
£o 5s. ; R. & J. Cuthbert, Esq., £5 5s. ; Anthony
Waterer, Esq., £5 5s. ; Lady Durning Lawrence, £5 ;
ditto. Annual Subscription, £2 as. ; VV. J. Jefferies.Esq.,
£5 ; George Monro, Esq., and his friends at Covent
Garden and elsewhere, including : Geo. Monro, Esq.,
£ln 10s. ; Joseph Rochford, Esq., £10 10s.; E. G. Monro,
Esq., £5 5s.; Geo. Monro, Esq., Jan., £5 58.; W. Poupart,
Esq., £5 5s.; Alfred Watkins, Esq., £33 15s.; ditto,
Annual Subscriptions, £7 7s.; James O'Brien, Esq.,
including Hon. W. Rothschild. £10 10s. ; Capt. Holford,
£10 los. ; Jeremiah Colman, £10 10s. ; Norman C. Cookson,
£5; and Geo. C. Raphael, £>. A. MaiKellar, Esq., £32;
James Hudson, Esq. ,.£17 17s. : Geo. Norman, Esq., £20:
Baily Wadds, Esq.. £15 15s.; W. Thompson, Esq.,
£12 2s. : H. G. Cove, Esq., £10 Us. ; A. B. Wadds, £10 Is.;
Alderman R. Piper, £8 88.; Geo. Woodgate, Esq.,
£7 7s.; W. Fyfe, Esq., £« 17s.; N. F. Barnes, Esq.,
£6 0s. : David W. Thomson, Esq., £8 2s. ; R. Jones,
£14 15s. ; A. Porteous,£13 9s. ; Charles Stocking, £11 118. ;
P. O. Knowles, £11 8s.; J. Simmons, £13; H.
Parr, £10 10s. ; E. F. Hazelton, £5 10s. ; Herbert
Dowding, £5 2s. ; and A. Bishop, £12 5s.

ENQUIRY.

Salt to Kill Weeds. — A correspondent,
" D. & W. B.," would be greatly obliged if a
reader of the Gardeners' Chronicle -would
kindly inform him -what quantity of salt to
put on a piece of foul land to kill all bad
weeds and roots, and how much time must
elapse before the land could be planted or
sown. Also if any correspondents have had
experience in using any of the liquid weed-
killers for this purpose, and the length of
time it must lie fallow afterwards ?

Jxr , V

A Locality for Rose-growing : A. E. Choose
one from which the best exhibition blooms
come, viz., Aberdeen, ISedale, Colchester,
Thame, Canterbury, Great Berkhamsted,
Belfast, Bath, Taunton, Cheshunt, and
WalthamC ross. The subject which " Wild
Hose " discussed in the Gardeners' Chronicle,
February 11, 1899, viz., Climate versus Soil,
was not followed by any important corres-
pondence.

BEETLE: H. J. J. Certainly not the Colorado
Beetle, but the very common Water-Beetle,
Dytiscus marginalis ; it is practically harm-
less.

Beetles on Grape- Vine : P. T. Yes, the
Nine-weevil. Trap them at night with
slices of Potato, or tap the canes smartly at
night, having spread a white cloth beneath
them. They will drop on to this, and must
be gathered up quickly.

Books : W. R., Hull. Parkinson's Paradisns in
almost perfect condition, with portrait of
the author, 1029 edition. You might be able
to obtain 30s. for it. Your best course will
be to advertise it for sale.

Carnation : C. B. We do not find any fungus,
but the stems have been buried too deeply,
and the stems have died accordingly.

Carnations, and " a white worm in the
soil : " J. 8. T. Can you not send a sample
of the soil, and of the worm, and roots of
the plants ?

Certificate in Botany: G. M'O. We do not
understand your requirements. Write to
the Director, Royal Botanic Garden, Edin-
burgh ; or to the School of Science, South
Kensington, London, S.W. ; or to the Secre-
tary, Royal Horticultural Society, 117, Vic-
toria Street, Westminster, and you will
probably get what you want.

Correction : Temple Show. H. A'. — We regret
that our reporter should have overlooked the
fine lot of Souvenir de la Malmaison Carna-
tions, shown by Messrs. Low, and numbering
some hundreds of plants, covering a space
of 150 square feet, and comprising all of
the leading varieties in cultivation. Such
omissions are not to be avoided in the
hurried collecting of materials on this and
similar occasions, though, of course, we do
not attempt to refer to all exhibits.

Cucumber-leaves : R. IV. D. See report of
Scientific Committee in this number.

Cucumbers: R. J. D., Chigiuell. We think
you are right ; the plant has had a check
iroui too low a temperature or other cause.

Four Carnations for Growing for Cutting :
W. J. L. If tree varieties are required,
choose Uriah Pike, dark crimson ; Winter
Cheer, bright scarlet ; Lizzie McGowan, a
very free-flowering, white -flowered variety ;
and Reginald Godfrey, pink, and nicely
fringed petals. If for the border, choose
Ketton Rose Pink or Minerva ; Mrs. Sidney
Diver, reddish-crimson ; Sir Henry Irving,
scarlet ; and Miss Florence, white, with
sometimes a rose-red flake on the petals.

FRUIT: Foreman. Probably a fungus; spray
with Bordeaux-Mixture before the fruits
ripen.

German Seed - firms : 8. J. N. Haage &
Schmidt, and Heinemann & Son, all of
Erfurt ; L. Spath, Kopincher str. 154, Berlin.

Grape: Pathfinder, and L., Doncaster. Your
Grapes are spotted with the fungus Glseo-
sporium. Try spraying with bisulphide of
potassium (liver of sulphur), | oz. to 1
gallon of water. Burn the affected Grapes.

Lawn Infested by Ants : F. Try the effect
of pouring carbolic acid diluted with water
into their nests, doing this with a small-
spouted can, and after first making a hole
with a dibber. Be careful not to spill the
liquid on the grass. There is a remedy
called the Ballinkinrain Ant-destroyer, and
the address of the seller was given in a
recent issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle.

Lily Disease : N. Devon. Too common — due
to a Botrytis. Burn the leaves, dig up the
bulbs, and keep them for a time in flowers-
of-sulphur.

Lobelia Mrs. Clibran : Olibran & Co. Avery
good variety, with indigo-blue flowers and
a white centre. If the habit is good it will
be an acquisition.

Melon Leaves : W. F. See report of Scientific
Committee in this number.

Names of Plants: F.T. 1, Richardia hastata;

2, R. melanoleuca, var. tropicalis. — G. D. 1,
Geranium Robertianum ; 2, Ranunculus
repens ; 3, Anthriscus vulgaris ; 4, Lamium
purpureum ; 5, Vicia sepium ; 6, Brassica
nigra.— T. L. Amelanchier vulgaris. — T. L.,
Ireland. 1, Lpelia purpurata ; 2, Dendrobium
suavissimum ; 3, Gardenia intermedia ; 4,
Cyperus longus ; 5, Oxalis Acetosella ; 0, O.
corniculata ; 7, Cupressus Lawsoniana. —
F. W. B. Berberis dulcis. — A. R., Winton.
Leiophylluin thymifolium. — W. G. 1, Saxi-
fraga hypnoides ; 2, Potemonium ceeruleum ;

3, send when in flower ; 4, Stachys lanata ;
5, Pulmonaria officinalis ; 0, Phalaris arun-
dinacea variegata ; 7 and 8, send when in
flower. Another time send better specimens
and better labelled ; 9, send when in flower.
— C. S. 1, Veronica sp. ; 2, Saxifraga longi-
folia ; 3, Veronica sp. ; 4, Iberis corifol.a;

5, Valeriana officinalis ; 6, Aubrietia
deltoidea. — Walton, E. We have no time to
name so many specimens, our limit is six.
1, a cut-leaved Beech ; 2, Viburnum Opulus ;

6, Cupressus Lawsoniana ; 7, Phillyrea
media. 9, Cedrus Libani ; 12, Primus Padus ;
16, Cercis siliquastrum. Another time send
better specimens, and remember that we
are very busy with our editorial work. —

S. Dielytra formosa. — .7. P. Cattleya Mos
sise Arnoldiana ; tinless more colour comes
into the sepals and petals than now appears,
it is inferior to the one which recently got
an Award of Merit. — R. R. Odontoglossum
x Andersonianum. — W. R. 1, Rhipsalis
salicornioides ; 2, Mesospinidium sangui-
neum ; 3, Aerides Houlletianum ; 4, not
found ; 5, Maxillaria tenuifolia ; 6, San-
sieveria zeylanica. — A. M. Sempervivum
arboreum. — Oonsta nt Reader. 1, Dendrobium
crystallinum ; 2, Dendrobium suavissimum.
— J. H. Broomend. 1, Masdevallia ignea;

2, Masdevallia Harryana splendens ; 3,
Cypripedium, if a seedling it is too near to
C. exul to be of much value ; 4, Masdevallia
Harryana variety ; 5, flower withered ; 6,
Masdevallia Harryana purpurea. Authorities
refer M. Harryana varieties to M. coccinea.
—A. W. S. Next week. — G. N. Bourne.
Primus Padus (Bird Cherry).— J. C. 1, Saxi-
fraga tridactylites ; 2, Saxifraga hypnoides ;

3, Saxifraga hypnoides var. ; 4, Magnolia
Soulangeana; 5, Mespilus germanica. — A.
Prunus sinensis, double flowered. — Tommy.
Prunus Padus.

Oncidium: F. Hcnkle. Hopelessly ruined in
passing through the post.

Peach Leaves : R. B. The Peach-blister, due
to the presence of a fungus, Exoascus de-
formans. Burn the affected leaves, and
spray with Bordeaux Mixture next spring. —
J. F., Ireland. We think your leaves are
attacked by the shot-hole fungus, but will
examine and report more at length on
another occasion.

Peach Fruits : R. G. The fruits are affected
with mildew badly. All such affected fruits
should be gathered forthwith, and burnt, and
the entire foliage, fruits, &c, be dusted over
whilst damp with flowers-of-sulphur. The
crop was perhaps a heavy one, and the tree
has cast many in consequence; or they may
have fallen because of the dryness of the
border, which can only be ascertained by
some one on the spot.

Phlox Stems Splitting : G. B. Probably the
effect of frost on rapidly-growing stems.

Removal of Plants on Termination of
Tenancy : T. W. Unless an agreement to
the contrary is in existence, the tenant may
not remove anything if he be not a nursery-
man or florist. In the case of nurseryman
and florist way-going, saleable plants of all
descriptions can be removed.

Rhododendrons : R. TV. No doubt the cause
was drought ; the subsoil was doubtless dry,
even if the surface was wet.

Rose : J. G. Impossible to name this.

Saxifragas: F. U. it Co. We are quite unable
to name the specimens. Send when in
flower.

Shrivelling of Vine Flowers : A. R. We
are unable, without knowing more par-
ticulars, to assign a reason for the shrivel-
ling of the flowers.

The Award of a Cup for an Exhibit of
Cut FLOWERS : Amos Perry. The fact was
published in our report of the show.

Vine Insect: .7. P. Tortrix angustiorana.
Pick them off and burn them.

Vine-leaves: Correspondent. Warts on the
leaves are caused by too high, and specially
too moist an atmosphere, without sufficient
ventilation.

Communications Reckived.— W.— W. S. R— F. W. M.
__F G — A. C. Torquay— A. & B.— F. N. W.— C.van den
Bossehe, Tirlemout— L. B.. NewYork-C. S. S., Boston
— W B.— G.McO— J. R, Florence— G.W. E.—G. J.J. —
J. Fraser— H. F. G.— H. W. W— \V. B— F. Ralph -
W W —A. & B.— D. B — R. P.— W. K.— W. H— A. C. K.
— T H. S.— J. W.— E. J— W. R. F., Cooper's Hill.—
E. C.— A. H.-.I. P.— W. M— Mrs. E. J.— N. E. B.-
S. W. F.— Constant Reader.

(For Markets and Weather, see p. viii.)

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June 14, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE,

385

THE

No. 807.— SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Antlmrium seedlings...

Apple-trees, cordon, at
Sherborne Castle ...

Berlin Botanical Gar-
den

Bouquet, a beautiful
Royal

Charitable bequests ...

Coronation items

Coronation Number of
Gardener*' Chronicle...

Coronation hose Stow,
the

Deodar, the

Downside, Leather-
head

I)rain-pipe or conduit
for garden paths ...

Fitzroyapatayonicaat
Pencarrow

Foreign Correspond-
ence—
The wild Tulips of
Italy

Forestry-
Treatment of planta-
tions without re-
gular thinning ...
Forest plants in Sur-
rey, effects of cold
weather upon

Fritillaria libanotica

Grape prizes at Shrews-
bury

HelintropiumVolterra

Hon icultural Hall.the

Liverpool, new public
park for

395

387

393

394
3*1
395

392

392

396

389
S94
392

388

Indian garden, in an

N ursery Notes-
Lilies of the Valley
at Dersingham ...

Obituary-
Cooper, Sir Daniel...

Odonto. x Adrian;?
Cooksonse

Plant-breeding Confer-
ence, International.

Plants for House deco-
ration

Plants, new or note-
worthy—
Iris Bucharica
Iris Warleyensis ...
Kalanchoe Keweu-
sis x

Poplar, an aged, the
restoration of

Potatos,a new disease
of

Sequoia gigantea pen-
dula at Dalkeith ...

Silver-leaf disease, the

Societies —
Horticultural Club .
Royal Horticultural
Yorkshire Gala

Sunflower seed crush-
ing industry

Week's work, the —
Flower Garden, the .
Fruits under glass ..
Hardy fruit garden .
Kitchen garden, the
Orchid houses, the .
Plants under glass .

ILLUSTRATIONS.
Drain-pipe or conduit for use on garden paths ...
Fitzroya patagonica in the gardens at Pencarrow,
Cornwall (Supplement).

Iris Hucharica

Iris Warleyensis

Odontoglossum x Adrians Cooksomc

Raspberry-moth, the

tspathes of seedling Authuriums

Weeping tree of Sequoia gigantea in Dalkeith
Palace Gardens

390
392
389
392
394

385
38li

387

393

394

388
393

397
399

391
390
391
390
391
391

387
38ti
3t9
399
i95

388

IN AN INDIAN GARDEN.

1%/fY garden surrounds a low white bun-
wr-~ galow. In front an avenue of trees
and a wire railing cvered with Convolvuli
divide it from a road along which occasional
elckas jangle citywards; but at the back
there is only a wide ditch, and then a stretch
of brown fields dotted with clumps of silvery
Pampas - grass, growing small against a
distant line of village Palms.

Lacking attention, this little kingdom
would run to seed in one season, and resolve
itself into a melancholy waste of coarse
grass and dust, with all the tender delicate
tones flown as from a picture long exposed
to the sunshine; though, since the shrubs
of long growth die slowly, there would be
some remaining patches of bright colour
marking past care, and constituting that
eternal contrast between the fulness of life
and an ever encroaching decay, which is one
of the features of this land. It is with in-
finite trouble indeed, and by means of end-
less watering, that as it is I manage to keep
the place fresh and green, and uphold my
predecessor's " make - believe " of English
lawns. These spread away smoothly from
the house, divided from it only by a broad
strip of sharp red gravel, laid down as a
protection against snakes, and from which
fee verandah-steps rise in tiers covered with
Crotons and pots of Chrysanthemums, or
other flowers according to the season.

I am writing this on my knee, sitting
under the Mango-trees. It is difficult to
believe that Christmas is not long over, and
that in England people are probably skating,
or plodding through the snow. The garden
before me is a little world, not only of
beauty with the feathery Palms curving and
drooping against the sky, the clouds of
Tamarind foliage, and the wild bursts of
Eastern red and crimson, but of human
interest also. Natives do not intrude them-
selves if you wish to ignore them, they are
shadows merely passing silently, and scarcely
recognised before your eyes. Apparently un-
observant themselves, they squat upon their
heels digging holes for the spring plants,
or snip off dead leaves and buds as they
pass from plot to plot with that slow grace
of movement which in the Oriental marks
an utter disregard of the value and limit of
time. They could disturb no one. Never-
theless when I choosj to think of it, I know
that each coolie woman passing with her
pitcher to and fro from the well has her own
story filled with the joys and tragedies of
life ; and beyond the hedge which separates
the vegetable-garden, the saice's babies are
already tracing their first human efforts
beneath the Castor-oil bushes, where they
are spending their time raising mimic cities
in the dust.

When I first wake in the morning and
thrust back the shutters, the lawn lies
before me bathed in a wide sheet of glisten-
ing dew. Gradually the rising sun dis-
perses mysterious surrounding shadows,
striking the whitened pillars of the old
bungalow, a nodding blossom there, a
cluster of wet leaves beyond, warming the
scene into life. The blue mists give promise
of the long heat and glare of the day, recede,
now banding beneath the trees, then wreath-
ing away into the more distant vistas,
drawing back quite slowly like the finest of
gauze veils, leaving the giant Azaleas, and
one Rose-tree after another, standing in a
brilliant foreground. Oh ! there is joy in
the first break of these glorious Indian morn-
ings— the suspicion of frost in the air, the
warmth of the sunshine, the certainty that
another cloudless day has arisen, and will
beat on in quiet peacefulness to its close.
All the colouring is vivid, sharp, and fresh;
the ijheesti spraying water from his goat-
skin seems to scatter diamonds broadcast.
Parroquets flash in an emerald stream
overhead; little hoopoes busy themselves
at the edge of the path, cocking their fan-
like crest in the sunshine; on the grass
mainas and starlings settle their early
disputes.

At the end of the further lawn there is a
disused well. Bamboos have grown high
around it, but on the south side they are
cut away, and sitting on the rough parapet
crowning the summit of the old sloping
bullock-track, one can rest in absolute
seclusion, looking away over the plain to the
Ganges, winding in a long line between the
crops. Or, by turning a little, we may watch
the coolies at work amongst the vegetables,
flooding the low beds by means of tin-piping,
or diminutive canals which they dam with
a handful of r.iud. Behind them the broad
Banana leaves sway like a background of
green flags. Sunshine is everywhere; now
it strikes on the form of a girl at the well,
flashing on silver amulets as she raises her
arm ; now on the brass pans of the old man

who sits scouring at the door of his hut ; or
it glances down through the heavy foliage of
the Orange-trees on to the golden fruit. The
head gardener moves amongst the workers ;
he lives entirely to superintend. He cuts
the Boses, it is true, and fills my silver bowls
with them, and every morning brings the
first-fruits of the garden carefully laid out
on a flat basket for my inspection ; but with
the exception of these duties, he remains
day after day only to watch others work,
not omitting to demand a holiday at inter-
vals that he may depart and " bury a grand-
mother," after the manner of his kind. He
is a thief, perhaps, and a liar most certainly ;
but he knows at least how to direct those
under him to bring flowers to perfection.

Advancing hours drive one within doors,
or at least to the verandah. The minutes
creep on slowly towards noon, the sky is no
longer bearable, and all below lies wrapped
in a stupor born of intense light. Then
the calm stillness of a long Sunday rests
upon the garden, heavy shadows sleep upon
the ground, the world is hushed. Only the
natives move ever silently about their work,
the water from the overturned pitchers of
the coolies falling in monotonous plash upon
the grass. To the heat of the day belongs
all the wealth of Indian colouring, the glare
of Poinsettias, the purple masses of Bou-
gainvilleas, and the scent from the long cup-
like yellow blossoms on the larger trees.

It is in the evening that I visit all my
Eoglish flowers, the Violets first, grown in
wide pots ; then the Sweet Peas, and Mig-
nonette and Velvet Pansies, it is their hour.
Just as the early morning brought its own
enchantments, and noon -was heavy with the
still completeness of full life, so now as the
sun sinks in the west, thoughts turn towards
home, and memory dwells amongst these
fair fragrant flowers of another land.

And in my garden, the quiet night is as
perfect as the day. Sitting out every even-
ing beneath the brilliant canopy of stars, I
watch the moon rise slowly, like a giant
silver shield, with the Palm fronds lined
across it, until clear at last of the topmost
little pointed leaf of the Bamboos, it sheds
a calm, most glorious flood of light upon the
sleeping world. A'. .1/. Edge, Allahabad, N. W.P.

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

NEW I R I S E S.

In the course of last year Messrs. Van
Tubergen received from their collector in
Bokhara a consignment of bulbs obviously
belonging to the Juno group of Irises, col-
lected in that country. They arrived in
several numbered collections, presumably ga-
thered from different spots ; but on flowering
proved to belong to two forms only, to which,
for reasons given below, I have ventured to
apply the above names.

Iris Hucharica, Foster, sp. n.

(See li:;. 185, p. 387.)
Bulb similar to that of 1. orchioides, but in
the specimens received more globose. Stem,
about 1 foot or 1J foot high, bearing six or
seven leaves, each of which sheathes the stem
at its base, and three, four, or more flowers.
So far the plant in its general features resem-
bles I. orchioides, but the leaves are somewhat
shorter and less gradually pointed, and more
distinctly striated on the under surface. More-
over, while in I. orchioides each flower is set
on a distinct peduncle, in this plant the

386

THE GARDENERS" CHRONICLE

[June 14, 1902.

peduncle is quite short, or the flower is actually
sessile. The horny margin of the leaf bears,
as in I. orchioides, a number of inconspicuous
setse. The plants are smaller, shorter, and
more slender than those of I. orchioides, but
this difference may disappear on further culti-
vation. Spathe valves, as in I. orchioides,
longer than the tube, narrow, not inflated,
slightly scarions at the tip.

The outer petal, fall, consists of a strap-
shaped claw, -which, after an inconspicuous
constriction, expands into a much broader,
obovate, emarginate blade, which bears on its
hinder two-thirds a large plicate crest, con-
tinued along the claw as an inconspicuous
median ridge.

The claw is pare white in colour, the blade
■with the crest a rich golden yellow, which
suddenly ceases where the blade joins the
claw. By the side of the crest over the blade
are a few diverging dark purple, almost black
veins, varying in intensity in different flowers.
Messrs. Van Tubergen inform me that some of
the plants show variations in the markings.

The inner petal, standard, small, pure white,
extended horizontally, consists of a caniculate
claw expanding into a broader, flat, distinctly
mucronate blade.

Styles large, pure white, with large white,
quadrate, or in some plants deltoid crests.
Anthers as long as, or slightly longer than the
filament.

Tube about three times as long as the
rounded, trigonal, thin-walled ovary.

Seeds not as yet seen. Ripening capsule,
like that of I. orchioides, long, rounded
trigonal.

Habitat, Eastern Bokhara, on mountain
slopes, alt. 5000 to 6000 feet, on sides of river
Sureh-ab, a tributary of the Amu Darya.

The points of specific difference between
this plant and I. orchioides lie in the flower.
In I. orchioides the outer petal is simply
strap-shaped, with no obvious distinction be-
tween claw and blade ; and the crest is less
conspicuous. In I. orchioides the inner petal
is lanceolate, and never, so far as I have seen,
distinctly mucronate, as in the plant now
described. In I. orchioides the crests of the
style are smaller, and the anthers are appa-
rently always shorter than the filaments.

Iris Warleyensis, Foster, sp. n. (fig. 134).

In bulb, habit, stem leaves, and inflo-
rescence, this plant closely resembles I.
orchioide3 var. ccerulea. The resemblance is
carried so far that it agrees with I. orchioides
ccerulea, and differs from both the typical
orchioides, and from I. bucharica, in that the
horny margin of the leaf is more conspicuous,
and is entirely free from setas. It differs from
I. orchioides ccerulea wholly in colour, and in
two or three features of form. These latter
are as follows :— - In this plant the strap-shaped
claw with a wavy edge expands somewhat
suddenly into a short oval, almost orbicular
blade. In I. orchioides ccerulea the strap-like
claw with an even edge expands gradually into
a long, narrow, oval blade. In this plant the
blade is deflexed abruptly both from before
backwards, and from side to side ; this does
not occur in I. orchioides ccerulea. In this
plant the crest on the blade is less plicate,
and does not extend so far as the claw. In
this plant the horizontally -extended small
inner petal is conspicuously mucronate. In I.
orchioides ccerulea the inner petal is simply
lanceolate, not mucronate at all, or very
obscurely so.

In colour, the plant in question differs
widely from I. orchioides ccerulea. In the
latter the blade of the outer petal varies a
good deal in tint, but the colour is never

deeper than lavender, while a pale yellow
zone which surrounds the yellow crest extends
some distance over the blade in front of the
crest.

In I. Warleyensis the claw of the outer petal
is pale violet in colour, with two or three
parallel veins much deeper in colour, and a
low white median ridge which, as the claw
passes into the blade, becomes a crenatf*
crest, deep violet or purple behind, bright

deal in the depth, or even in exact hue of the
violet or purple ; but in all the colour is a
deep rich one, not a pale one as in I. orchioides
ccerulea. The small, horizontal, mucronate
standard is violet in colour. The style is
violet on its outer upper surface, paler
within ; its tall quadrate crests with gently
wavy margin are violet in colour. Seeds not
yet seen; ripening capsule like that of 1.
bucharica. Habitat, same as I. bucharica.

Pig. 134.— ikis warleyensis.

orange in front. Around the crest, that is at
its sides, is a conspicuous zone of bright
orange, outside this the blade is of a rich deep
violet hue, save for the extreme margin
which stands out as a conspicuous white
border. The several plants, however, vary a
good deal in colour. In some the white
margin is much less conspicuous, in some
wholly absent. In some plants the orange
zone or " signal " round the crest is broad, in
others narrow, and in yet others wholly
absent. And individual plants vary a good

Both these plants, I. bucharica and I. Warley-
ensis, are very beautiful, and a real addition
to the treasures of the garden.

I dare say I shall be blamed for unnecessarily
creating two new species. For the four
plants, I. orchioides, I. orchioides ccerulea, I.
bucharica, and I. Warleyensis, form together
a group, the features of which as a whole
sharply and clearly distinguish it from all
other forms of Irises, just as I. caucasica, I.
Tubergeniana, I. Willmottiana, form just such
another group; I.sindjarensis and I. asiatica

June 14, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

387

another, and I. persica with I. Heldreichi,
I. Tauri, &c, another ; * and it might be, from
a purely botanical point of view, desirable to
consider each group as one species. But the
four plants in question are, in the gardener's
eye, four absolutely distinct and separate
plants, and he must have a separate and dis-
tinctive name for each of them. Such a
distinctive name is what the gardener under-
stands by the term species ; and it is no use
trying to tell him that the differences are not
of specific value. He will regard them as

orchioides coerulea and the typical I. or-
chioides, are as great and as clearly definable
as the differences which, in the case of many
other plants, are accepted as a specific value.

Lastly, I will remind the reader as an in-
stance of how difficult it is to stop when you
refuse to admit small differences as justifying
specific names, that I. orchioides ccerulea was
first described by Regel as I. eaucasica
ccerulea; and yet the differences between I.
eaucasica and I. orchioides are most marked.
M. Foster, Shelf ord, May 20, 1902.

VRptKKopJ

Fig. 135.— iris bucharica. (see p. 385.)

"species," however much the botanist may
attempt to use a varietal nomenclature. I
accept the situation, and venture to speak of
I. bucharica, I. Warleyensis, instead of I.
orchioides var. bucharica and var. Warley-
ensis. At the same time, it must be remem-
bered that the differences such as I have
described above between these several four
plants, between I. bucharica, I. Warleycnsis,
and I. orchioides, and indeed, between I.

* In my Bulbous Irises, I referred to several varieties
of I. persica, (lowers of which had been sent to me
from Asia Minor, and some of which I had cultivated
for a short lime only: though, alas! these are now
appearing as I. Heldreichi, &c.

Kalanchoe KEWENSIS X .

This is a new hybrid raised at Kew in 1901
from seeds of K. flammea fertilised by the pollen
of K. Bentii. In every way it is a very
remarkable and beautiful plant, very striking
in appearance, perfectly distinct from every
other Kalanchoe in cultivation, and in its
large inflorescence of deep pink flowors may
fairly claim to be the most beautiful of them
all. In habit and foliage, except in the forking
of tho leaves, it resembles the male parent,
there being very little trace of K. flammea
in' its composition: indeed, if tho fomalo
parentage were unknown, no one would sus-

pect that the lovely K. kewensis owed any
part of its origin to K. flammea. In the
form and colour of its flowers, K. kewensis
much resembles Erythrsea Centaurium on a
grand scale, the soft deep pink colour being
very similar to that of this charming little
British Gentianaceous plant. For horticul-
tural purposes this hybrid ought to be a
valuable acquisition, as it keeps in blossom
for a considerable time, each flower lasting for
about two weeks ; when out of flower it
is of a very striking and somewhat quaint
appearance.

The following is a detailed description of
the plant as it at present exists at Kew, where
it is now in flower : —

Stem 3 to 4 ft. high, J in. thick at the base,
simple, but it will probably branch with age ;
glabrous, dull purplish. Leaves opposite,
4 to 9 ins. long, fleshy, glabrous, olive-green,
tinted with purplish on the basal part, the
lowermost and some of the uppermost are
subterete and channelled down the face, or
flattened and varying from lanceolate to
elliptic, entire, slightly toothed, the rest
divided below the middle into three sub-
terete, acute prongs, channelled down the face,
about 5 lin. broad and 3} to 5 lin. thick, the
two lateral ones being 1J to 2 ins. long, the
middle one 4 to 5J ins. long, and often fur-
nished with one to four teeth or small lateral
prongs ; the upper leaves are gradually re-
duced, and more distant. Cymes grouped in
a subcorymbose panicle, about 8 ins. in dia-
meter, moderately compact, trichotomous,
perfectly glabrous in all parts. Bracts 3 to
10 lin. long, linear-lanceolate, acute, fleshy.
Peduncles 2 to 3 ins. long. Bracteoles 1 to
3 lin. long, subulate. Pedicels 3 to 5 lin. long.
Sepals 4 to 4J lin. long, lanceolate, acute.
Corolla-tube | in. long, £ in. square near the
base, tapering upwards, pale greenish ; lobes
■> to 5| lin. long, 2 J to 3 lin. broad, spread-
ing or slightly recurved, of a brilliant
soft rose-pink. Stamens, eight, in two series,
inserted in the throat of the tube, with the
anthers of the uppermost series at the mouth,
or very slightly exserted; filaments, -J lin.
long. Hypogynous glands, 2 to 2J lin. long,
linear-filiform, whitish ; carpels, 7 lin. long,
tapering into slender styles, green below,
yellowish above ; stigma small, subcapitate.
N. E. Brown.

HOKIZONTAL CORDON APPLE
TREES AT SHERBORNE CASTLE.
Whilst there may be some doubt as to the
correctness of the dictum that he who
"breeds fat cattle should himself be fat,"
most certainly it is essential that one who
undertakes to write garden Calendars for
the instruction of others should himself bo
a good practitioner. For the present year,
Mr. T. Turton, the able gardener at Sher-
borne Castle, Dorset, is writing for the Gar-
deners' Chronicle the weekly kitchen-garden
Calendar. A look over the Castle kitchen-
gardens at any time will show that the
writer is a capital vegetable grower. Equally
so is it evident that he is a capable fruit
grower. A very interesting feature in one
of the walled-in gardens is tho large number
of horizontal cordon Apple-trees planted by
the late Mr. Pragnal, Mr. Turton's prede-
cessor, from fifteen to twenty years ;iico,
that in treble rows run round three sides
of the four quarters into which the area
is divided. Of these cordons there are no
Fewer than tho large number of 225. The
first row is about 16 inches from the Boi
edging that margins the walks, and tho

388

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 14, 1002.

others are each 2 feet apart. Then the
front wire and trees are some 12 inches
from the ground ; the second row 16 inches,
and the third one 20 inches. The trees are
planted in some cases 10 feet, and in others
12 feet apart, and are all kept well spurred.
Fine fruit and good crops are usually obtained,
and generally the fruits ripen rather early,
the warmth which arises from the soil doubt-
less helping to that end. Cox's Orange Pippin
is largely represented, and of other varieties
there are included Bismarck, Jas. Grieve, Lord
Derby, King of the Pippins, Kerry Pippin,
Prince Albert, Lord Sufiield, and others.
Espalier Apple and Pear-trees are being
largely planted also, as these forms of training
seem to give such excellent results. There
are many bush-trees also in other gardens, for
their nature as fruit-producers is so well
appreciated. Evidence of the quality of the
Sherborne fruit has occasionally been seen at
the Crystal Palace Fruit show. A. D.

FORESTRY.

A WEEPING SEQUOIA GIGANTEA
AT DALKEITH.
Interesting trees in plenty adorn the gar-
dens and grounds of the historic Dalkeith
Palace. Of course, the most prominent are
woodland trees, of which there are many good
examples. The choicer Conifers are for the
most part scattered pleasantly over the green
turf by the side of an elaborate scroll border,
and a long pergola well covered with Roses.
Among a choice array, this peculiar form of
Sequoia gigantea at once attracts attention.
It is well-formed (fig. 130), in good health,
although growing in a somewhat exposed S.E.
position. The contrast between the pendulous
and the normal form of Sequoia is great indeed,
although one does sometimes see trees of the
type that through lack of shelter develop into
gaunt-looking forms, sparsely furnished over
with stunted branches. At the time of the
Conifer Conference in 1891, this fine tree mea-
sured 13} feet in height. Mr. Whytock, the
gardener at Dalkeith, tells me it now measures
191 ft. Its age is twenty-six years. Perhaps
other good examples of the Weeping Sequoia
(Wellingtonia) exist in gardens, and it would
be interesting to learn particulars of such
remarkable trees. All pendulous Conifers
should be planted as isolated specimens on a
sheltered site, where this peculiarity can be
clearly seen and admired. D. S. Fish,
Edinburgh.

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.

THE WILD TULIPS OF ITALY.

I see many references to Tulips lately in the
Gardeners' Chronicle. Can anyone throw any
light on the wild Tulips of Italy? There are
said to be twenty or more varieties in Tuscany
alone, and I have grown prsecox, silvestris,
Clusiana (which has the pretty local name of
Bandiera di Toscana), neglecta, oculis solis,
etrusca, saxatilis, lurida, strangulata. the rare
and magnificent strangulata Buonarottiana,
which grows 1| ft. high, and looks like a flame
in the distance ; and the very rare and
beautiful Sommieri, for nine years, and they
have always come true.

I believe the theory is that Tulips were im-
ported into Europe in the 17th century ; but
if so, where did the old Italian painters see
them? In the background of several pictures
of the 15th and 16th centuries Tulips are
visible. Janet ltoss, Poggio Qherardo, tiettig-
nano, near Florence, Italy.

TREATMENT OF PLANTATIONS WITHOUT
REGULAR THINNING.
Having returned from my May cutting, I
send you a few particulars. The under-plant-
ing with Silver Fir was completed from 1898
to 1901, at a cost of £9 6s. id. for trees and
labour, and it includes three rows of trees
that were planted in the 20 feet cuts made in
the month of May, 1895, and 1310 Beech and
800 Silver Fir were used. Under-planting

Fig. 136.— weeping tree of sequoia gigantea,
in the grounds of dalkeith palace.

was carried out at a distance of 6 feet from
any tree, and the trees at 6 feet apart. The
Larch have grown fast since the last openings
were made in May, 1895. This year there is
not one Larch-tree dead in the field part,
which shows that the opening made in the
field part has done good. Nine dead Larch
were cut in the field part in 1901. The plan-
tation has more than fulfilled my expectations,
and is fit to be seen by anyone who takes an
interest in the management of plantations.

It is difficult to find a branch as big as my
thumb on any Larch within 40 feet of the
ground, and many of the trees are stripped of
their dead branches by my plan of throwing

those that are cut between two trees thai
are left standing, thus preventing the dead
branches being included in the living wood.
There is a good deal of Larch-canker in some
plantations in East Cornwall ; none in mine,
which I attribute to the openings that have
been made from time to time as the early
ones closed up. As the Larch only were cut
in the 20-feot cuts, and they were planted
with three rows of Beech and Silver Fir in
November, 1895, the ground is nearly covered,
and the beauty of the views enhanced by
being able to see much further than you can in
a regularly thinned plantation.

In the paper yon luridly published in 1894, I
stated that the first cuts were commenced in
1877, twenty years after planting ; these were
mailo 12 feet wide. When these had nearly
closed up in 1881, cuts were made 10 feet wide,
parallel to the roads, and nearly at right
angles to the first cuts. These had nearly
closed up in 1895, when it seemed to me that
the growth of the trees had nearly come to a
standstill. Suppressed trees and dead ones
that were saleable were always removed. 1
contend that the difference of temperature of
open and close wood promotes circulation of:
air whether there is wind or not, and therefore
healthy growth, and gives variety ai.d beauty
to the scene ; whereas the branches are as
effectually killed as in close plantations with-
out any openings. Henry aogers, Hartley,
Plymouth.

Some Effects of the Past Cold Weatiiek on
Forest Plants in Surrey.

The effects! of^the]cold weather during the
past winter and in May on our forest plants in
Surrey appear to be of sufficient interest for a
notice in the^Gardeners' Chronicle. There was
persistent frost during the first three weeks
of February, Virginia Water being frozen over
and frequented by skaters. The only plants in
my nursery at Englefield Green that were
injured by these winter frosts are those of the
Pacific variety of Douglas Fir ; many of these
lost their leaders, or were killed outright.
This variety apparently shoots out later than
the Colorado variety, for during the recent
frosts in May, all my three years' Colorado
transplants have been greatly injured, chiefly
in their sprouting side-shoots. No further
injury to the ;Pacific Douglas plants has oc-
curred, however, their buds having been
dormant till May 25, when the weather became
warm. The [coldest night was on Tuesday,
May 20, when the morning temperature on the
grass registered 28° F. This frost has also
injured my Silver Fir four - year - old trans-
plants, killing their sprouting side-shoots,
but generally sparing the leading buds, which
had not commenced growing.

The leading shoots of 10,000 Silver Fir j ear-
lings, which 1 lined out during the last week
of February, are also seriously injured by the
May frosts. Colorado Douglas Fir, two-year-
old plants, and Spruce yearlings, which were
lined out during the winter, have practically
escaped injury from the May frosts, and so
have Scotch, Corsican, and Weymouth Pine,
three-year-old transplants. The Weymouth
Pine, however, had not sprouted before the
frost, though all the other plants mentioned
had done so. Some Spruce three-year-old
transplants have their side-shoots slightly
injured.

1 sowed several beds of Silver Fir last
December, and they germinated freely in
April, but I effectually protected them against
the May frosts by sticking some leafy
Elm branches round the beds. Of my other
seed-beds, Corsican Pine, Larch, and Spruce
yearlings escaped injury, and although the

June 14, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

389

Colorado Douglas Fir yearlings have been
slightly touched by frost, the damage done to
them is not of a serious nature. My sowing
of coniferous seeds was done early in May,
and the plants only began to germinate after
May 25, so that they have completely escaped
injury from frost.

This nursery of about an aero is on the
Bjgshot sand, and the ground is quite flat ; it
is protected by an Elm hedge to the north, and
by a Whitethorn hedge to the east, but is other-
wise exposed to the weather. In Messrs.
Fromow and Co.'s nursery, Windlesham, which
I have just visited, Spruce transplants, which
sprouted early, have suffered much more than
Silver Fir, which sprouted late, especially
Abies nobilis, which escaped all injury from
the May frost. Spruce planted in spring

Oxshott, on the Bagshot sand, on sloping
ground facing north, although in full foli-
age, escaped injury from the frost, except
a few plants in the lowest part of the nursery,
and even there the injury done was not serious.
Many of the Oak standards in the Princes
Coverts were still leafless on May 22, and
barking the felled trees was a difficult busi-
ness. A few years ago I found all the Oaks in
these coverts with their foliage completely
blackened by frost on May 20, but there had
been a warm spring, and the buds had opened
early.

It would be very useful if some other of
your correspondents would give similar infor-
mation regarding their experience of the
effects of fro9t on forest trees. W. B. Fisher,
Cooper's Hill College, Staines.

FIG. 137.— ODONTOGLOSSUM X ADRIAN.E COOKSON.E, GROWN AT OAKLANDS, WYLAM-ON-TYNE.

sprouted later than that planted in autumn,
and so escaped injury, while autumn-planted
Spruce suffered severely from the May frosts.

In our Cooper's Hill plantations, eleven
years old, no injury has been done by frost,
either to Conifers or to broad-leaved plants.
These plantations are on London clay, capped
in the upper part of the plantation by Bagshot
sand, and are on a northern aspect ; they are
in fine condition, several Larch poles being
over 30 feet long and 2 feet in girth at the
base. The Oaks in these plantations had not
opened their buds by May 25, though some
crowded Oaks of the same age on the Bagshot
sand, in a flat place above the plantation, are
in full foliage, the same being true of all the
older Oak-trees around the plantation on the
London clay.

Much damage has been done by the frost to
about 20 acres of Ash, planted out last autumn
under Oak standards on the London clay,
in Princes Coverts, Oxshott, Surrey, these
plants being in full foliage when the May
frosts occurred. They were all black from
frost when I saw them on May 22.
Similar Ash - plants in a nursery at

PLANT NOTES.

FRITILLARIA LIBAXOTICA.
This Syrian Eritillary has recently been
introduced into commerce, and is now in bloom
in my garden, where its appearance is more
singular and interesting than attractive. Its
colouring is of the quietest kind, and it has
little of the pretty marking which makes the
interior at least of so many of its congeners
worthy of admiration. My plant came to me
from Naples last autumn. It has attained a
height of about 18 inches, and has produced
an arching raceme of small greenish flowers,
produced in succession, a few together. There
are thirteen on the raceme, which arches over
rather prettily. The stem, to a height of
about a half of its length, is clothed with
rather long, broadish, acutely-pointed leaves,
generally in threes, and of a pale green.
Fritillaria libanotica is what a well-known
amateur would rightly call a "pooh" plant,
so far as merely decorative purposes are con-
cerned, and this note is penned rather with
the object of warning than inducing anyone

with no botanical interest to grow it. I must,
however, in justice to the vendors, say that
they held out no delusive inducements to pur-
chase this curious Fritillaria. I observe that
it was described by Mr. Baker in the Journal
of the Linnean Society, xiv., 270. S. Arnott.

Heliotropium Volterra.
This is recorded as the first of the numerous
dark-flowered varieties raised from the original
H. peruvianum. As a pot plant for the con-
servatory it is very pretty ; its neat, dark
blue flowers, with a white throat and rich
vanilla-like perfume, are always attractive and
gratifying to admirers of the old favourite
Cherry Pie. The French call it l'Hcliotrope-
de Volterre (H. Volaterrje), and MM. Decaisne
and Naudin state that there is an error in a
great many gardening books, in which it is
written " Heliotrope de "Voltaire," although
it is in reality named from the town Volterra
in Italy. J. Murison.

ODONTOGLOSSUM x ADRIAN.E
COOKSON.E.

The remarkable hybrid, the subject of our
illustration (fig. 137) was exhibited by Nor-
man Cookson, Esq., Oakwood, Wy lam-on- Tyne
(gr., Mr. H. J. Chapman), at the meeting of
the Royal Horticultural Society at the Drill
Hall on Tuesday, May 20, among a group of
very interesting Orchids, for the names of
which see our report of the meeting in the
issue for May 24 last. The flower possesses
creamy - white sepals and petals, evenly
blotched with brown ; the lip is prettily
fringed and crimped, and is white, with brown
spots, the crest being yellow.

DOWNSIDE, LEATHERHEAD.

The extensive Rose garden at Downside,
so well planned, and which has some finish-
ing touch added to it year by year, is just
now full of glorious promise, and a month
or less hence there will be a harvest of
bloom that will be almost dazzling when at
the height of its beauty; and, as Mr. Alfred
Tate observed to me as we stood on the out-
skirts of the gardens, it will be some three or
four years hence before it may be regarded as
mature. Some new feature is added yearly ;
new Rose arches push the outworks of the
Rose garden further afield — there is yet ample
space for expansion. Roses in pots under
glass are just over; overhead Marechal Niel
and Niphetos have yielded an abundance.
There is a house in which Teas are planted
out for early bloom, that are certain to pro-
duce magnificent flowers ; at present the roof-
lights are removed, and are practically in the
open air, and then comes the outdoor gardens.

Caladiums and Coleus are in fine character ;
the former for house, the latter for conserva-
tory decorations. Bright Azaleas, Rhododen-
drons, Calceolarias, Orange-trees, producing
large sprays of blossom ; these, with Calceo-
larias, stellate Cinerarias, &c, now occupy
the conservatory, to be succeeded by Fuchsias,
of which a largo variety is grown ; Strepto-
solon Jamesoni, which Mr. Mease cultivates
largely, and in very line specimens, &o.

The fernery, at the end of the conservatory,
is delightful. Mr. Mease remarked that. Be-
gonias of the Rex type pass through the winter
unharmed, though the temporature sometimes
falls so perilously near to freezing-point.

Cliveas have been very fine, and there aro
several remarkable specimens, but they are
now getting past their best. Malmaisou Car-
nations are very fine; they are blooming

390

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 14, 1902.

freely. Mr. Mease speaks very highly of
Princess May, a rich, deep rose-coloured
variety, which, he says, commences to bloom
unusually early for a Malmaison, and continues
to do so all through the winter. Well Gwynne,
which is regarded as the only white Malmaison
yet raised, has compact, ball-like blossoms,
■on long stems, and is admirable for cutting.
There is quite a general collection of plants,
including some choice Orchids, all in the
best condition ; the houses are a picture of
neatness.

Peach-houses show luxuriant, well-managed
trees, carrying highly - promising crops of
fruit. It is the same with the vineries ; they
-are well ordered.

On the terrace garden some circular beds
■of a violet-tinted Aubrietia are very fine, and
just at their best. Beds of Wallflowers edged
with a yellow Viola are still very gay, and
dispense a delightful fragrance. In the
pleasure-grounds a large bed of Berberis
stenophyllax is over, being fully exposed ; but
it must have been a fine sight when in full
■flower.

The foregoing are only a few of the inte-
resting details to be observed at Downside at
all seasons of the year. Mr. Mease's capable
management is apparent on every hand. R, D.

NURSERY NOTES.

LILIES OP THE VALLEY AT DERSINGHAM.

Mr. Theodore Jannoch is very well known
for his successful cultivation of the Lily of the
Valley, a plant that he has studied very
•closely for many years. A visitor to his
nursery in Norfolk at the present time would
find, as we did on a recent occasion, great
breadths of Lilies planted out in single rows
Jike Onions, with sufficient room in the lines
and between the rows for each crown to
■develop strongly. The object is to obtain
strong "flowering crowns," that is, crowns
that may be depended upon to produce a
flower-spike when required. At the end of
the season, it matters not whether the crowns
ibe allowed to remain in the nursery, or whether
they are lifted and sold for forcing for Christ-
mas, or retarded in cold rooms for blooming at
the Coronation, or in September, the result
will be approximately the samo ; if the crown
has stored the necessary strength for bloom-
ing, it will flower under any of the conditions
described above.

Mr. Jannoch has found that in ninety-nine
cases out of one hundred, the crowns will not
produce flowers until they are three years
•old, and only every alternate year afterwards.
But the cultivator with experience, and if
•his plants are in such suitable soil as Mr.
Jannoch has, may induce his crowns to flower
two years in succession, providing he pulls
the flower-spike away before the little bells
have fully opened. It will not do to cut them
off, for unless the spikes be pulled away from
the ,very base, it will have no effect.

Another plant to which Mr. Jannoch gives
•considerable attention is the Lilac. We saw
large numbers of these planted out in brakes
to form plants for forcing next season, and
•excellent growth they make. A large quantity
of named varieties are kept true, and are pro-
pagated by budding on to the common Syringa
vulgaris in June or July, or by cuttings. A
few varieties are said to succeed better from
cuttings. Mr. Jannoch informed us a fort-
night ago that he had still 6,000 Lilac-plants
retarded in cold rooms ; probably many of
these are now producing their flowers for use
during the coming festivities.

We were surprised to see so many species of
Asparagus in one of the glasshouses, including
A. plumosus, A. p. nanus, A. Sprengeri, A.
sarmentosus, A. deflexus, A. decumbens, &c.
There is a variety of A. plumosus here that
may more fittingly be termed nanus than most
plants grown under that name. ; it is a weaker
grower, has very thin, wire-like shoots, and
never " runs away," as the grower would say.
Chrysanthemums, Roses, Perns, and many
other plants are cultivated that are of use in
supplying material for the making of all kinds
of florist's specialties.

The visitor to Dersingham for the first time
will not fail to notice its scattered character.
The village consists of a narrow belt of houses
in the form of a circle, three miles or more in
circumference, the green centre of which
consists of meadows and other agricultural
land. The church is more than a mile from
the station, and the best hotel more distant
than the church.

The Week's Work.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whttock, Gardener to the Duke op
Buccleuch, Dalkeitb, Scotland.

Pineapples. — The fruiting Queens, started in
January, and now furnished with swelling fruit,
may be afforded twice a week diluted manure-
water from the cowshed, and a genial moistness
in the air, the mean temperature being main-
tained at 70°, and closing the house on sunny
days with the heat at 90" to 100°. When a fruit
begins to show the least degree of yellow
tinge, afford no more manure-water and much
less clear water at the root, and admit more
air and keep the house drier.

Succession Queen Pine plants for fruiting
next year, should be examined as to the state
of the soil as regards moisture twice a week,
and the house kept close and moist, or they
will get drawn ; afford air early in the day,
and increase its volume as the day advances.
At closing time in bright weather afford the
plant a light dewing over. The temperature
at night may range from 05° to 70°.

Smooth Cayennes, to supply fruit during
next winter and spring, should now be in their
fruiting-pots, or as soon as the rooted suckers
are ready, and should be placed in the division
in which they are to fruit. The woodwork
and glass of the house should be cleansed with
hot-water, white- washing the walls and paint-
ing the woodwork if necessary. Freshen up
the bark-bed with fresh bark, mixing it well
together with that which is retained. Plunge
the pots to the rim, and at 2 feet apart.
Fruiting-pots for Cayennes should be 11 inches
in diameter, and be clean or new, and efficiently
drained. The best sort of soil is light turfy-
loam, to which a 7-inch potful of bone-meal per
wheelbarrow-load should be added. Before
potting, set free the outer roots on the ball,
and in filling the pot ram the soil firmly. The
warmth afforded at night may range from 70° to
75° ; afford air early in the day, and increase
the amount as the temperature rises, closing
on bright afternoons with a temperature of 90°,
moistening the plants overhead, and damping
all walls, paths, &c.

T7ie Latest Vineries. — The berries being set,
no time should be lost in thinning those varieties
that set thickly, thinning them sufficiently to
allow for their swelling to a large size with-
out crowding, otherwise the object of thinning
would be defeated. Do not retain more bunches
than the strength of the Vine warrants, or the
produce will be lacking in finish. The young
leaves of Gros Colman, Appley Towers, and Lady
Hutt are apt to be scorched by strong sun-
shine, and it will be advisable to mix together
some flour-and-water and sprinkle the roof of
the vinery. Some growers of Grapes for market
in the south sprinkle roofs of all their vineries.
Let the stopping of shoots receive regular

attention, so as to obtain large leaves of a
leathery texture on the main shoots ; and in
order to do this the borders, if not very deep,
should be top-dressed with Vine-manure, and
clear water afforded afterwards, if it be
necessary. Borders, when made of light
soil, require much clear water, and occasion-
ally manure-water ; whereas borders consist-
ing of retentive soil having once received
water copiously, may require no more for the
season. In order to make sure of the condition
of the border, test it with the testing-instru-
ment. Maintain a temperature at night of 65°
to 70° ; apply air early in the day at the top of
the vinery, and obviate aridity in the vinery
by frequently damping down.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Turton. Gr. to J. K. D. Wingfield Digby, Esq.,
Sherborne Castle, Dorsetshire.

Kales. — In cloudy or showery weather plant
Cottagers' Asparagus, tall, dwarf, and curly,
varieties of Scotch and Drumhead Kales, on
land that will not be required for other pur-
poses till late in the spring of 1903. If a north
border is available, plant some of it with
Asparagus, Cottagers, and Scotch Kales for a
late use, these usually affording heads or young
sprouts after the removal of the head till the
spring Cabbage is fit for use. This arrangement
admits of the principal crops being cleared off
in time for planting the land with Potatos.
Por the Cottagers and the tall Scotch Kales,
afford 3 feet from row to row and 2 feet from
plant to plant. It is good practice to plant
these tall growing varieties in deep drills
drawn out with a draw hoe which admits of
the stems being deeply earthed up, and steadies
them.

Bro<-colis. — If the land prepared for this
crop is vacant, plant these also, and thus
afford them a chance of becoming established
at an early date ; and assuming that the land
has not been much enriched, a long season of
steady growth will tend to give firmness to the
stems, and thus enables the plants the better
to withstand frost. Late planting means late
growth made in the autumn, and greater
tenderness and liability to get cut by frost.
The earlier varieties of Broccoli may be
planted on the ground where the late Celery
was grown, without any further preparation
beyond a thorough hoeing, providing the land
is in good heart ; or liquid-manure may be
applied before planting. Broccolis should not
be planted closer than 3 feet from row to row,
nor 2 feet in the row. Where it is necessary
to defer planting till old plantations of Straw-
berries or other crops are cleared away, let
the plants be pricked out on an open piece of
ground, in rows at 1 foot apart and 6 inches to
9 inches apart in the rows. Keep the plants
in the seed-beds quite free from weeds, and if
sown in rows, hoe the intervening spaces.

Thinning Crops. — This important work should
be kept well in hand whilst there is a chance
of rain falling, to enable the plants to recover
from the unavoidable disturbance of the roots.
Besides the subjects mentioned in former
Calendars, those now requiring attention in
this respect are Salsafy, Scorzonera, the main
crops of Beetroot, and Carrots.

Pot Herbs. — Keep the lines of seedlings free
from weeds, hoeing between the lines, and
thinning the plants as soon as they are large
enough to handle.

Tomatos. — Planting out should forthwith be
completed, and in accordance with the direc-
tions given in a former Calendar. If grown in
one patch let the lines stand at 3 feet apart,
and the plants in the lines at 18 inches apart.
Plants set out a fortnight ago against warm
walls and fences, which may have begun to
grow, should be regularly afforded water until
the fruits are of full size, at which time a lesser
quantity should be applied. The plants should
grow to the desired height before stopping
them by nipping off the point at one joint
beyond a cluster of bloom. Pinch off every
lateral shoot on the stems as soon as it forms,
but preserve the chief foliage intact until the

June 14, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS" CHRONICLE.

391

fruits are fully grown, when any leaves which
may be shading the fruits unduly may be
reduced to half their length.

Chilis and Capsicums. — If these have been
"prepared as advised in former Calendars,
they will now be good bushy plants fit for
setting out. If spent hot-beds can be made
use of, the plants will feel no check whatever,
and having the benefit of a sunny aspect the
fruits will ripen off quickly.

THE HABDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Mayne-, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Kolle,
Bicton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Su miner Pru ning. — Many gardeners still deny
that surplus growth on fruit-trees should be
shortened before the middle of the month of
July, and some even defer its removal until
August, believing that if the pruning be done so
early as the middle of June, the basal buds would
start into growth instead of making fruit-buds.
Experience has proved that this is not so, if
the work bo done properly ; but some gar-
deners cut the shoots too hard back, conse-
quently the few buds left do start into growth.
By allowing 4 or 5 inches of growth upon each
shoot, such will not take place. In going over
the trees, let the upper part be done first,
leaving the lower half of the trees for another
week, and thus prevent them from receiving
too great a check all at once. These remarks
apply to trees in the open as well as to those
against walls, and include Apples, Pears,
Plums, and Cherries. The maggot is very
prevalent this season on all fruit-trees, but
this pruning, or "stopping," will remove a
very great number of them. All curled leaves
should be examined while going over the
trees, and squeezing them between the thumb
and finger. If you open the leaves, the insect
will be likely to let itself to the ground, unless
you are very quick in securing it.

Strawberry Beds. — It is feared that this
crop will be a light one in many localities,
owing to the frosts during May, though
it is probable that flowers that were shel-
tered a little by the foliage have escaped.
There is promise of a heavy crop here, and
the late rains having come at an opportune
time. The nets should be put over the beds
in good time, as sometimes the birds attack
the fruits before they commence to colour.
If a framework be erected over the beds to
carry the net, gathering will be done much
more readily, though here we place them on
the plants. Such strong growers as Royal
Sovereign keep the net well above the fruits.
Secure the edges of the net with crooks, or the
birds may get under. Half-inch square mesh
netting I find the best for protecting all kinds
of fruit. If mice abound, traps should be set.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tatt.ack, Gardener to E. Miller Mundy, Esq.,
Suipley Hall, Derby.

Chrysanthemums.— These plants should now
be in a suitable condition to be transferred to
the pots in which they will flower, the exact
date of repotting being not, however, of so
much importance as the condition and quantity
of the roots made since the previous potting,
which should have formed a thin network over
the side of the ball of soil ; and until this is
so I would defer potting, but getting the
potting finished by the end of the month.
Chrysanthemum specialists will have their
own special mixtures of soil and manure, but
thoroughly good plants, with flowers suffi-
ciently large for all purposes, may be grown
in any fairly good turfy loam, and a moderate
quantity of finely rubbed horse-droppings,
some lime-rubble, and sand in proportion
to the nature of the loam. As Chrysanthe-
mums will require later on a large
supply of water, it is necessary that the
drainage should bo ample, and rightly
placed so as to prevent water-logging ; the
size of tho pots should be governed by the
nature and habit of tho variety grown, and
for ordinary purposes anything from 8-inch
to 11-inch in diameter will suffice. Late-struck
plants of large-flowering varieties to be grown

for single-crown buds may be put into 7-inch
pots. The condition of the soil in regard to
moisture is an important point at this potting.
The ball should be moist enough to obviate
the necessity of affording water for several
days after potting, and be in a condition to
bind together without becoming pasty when
rammed with the potting-stick. Alter potting,
stand the plants close together in blocks in a
sheltered spot outdoors, and compensate for
rapid evaporation, if any, by frequent syring-
ings. If aphis be present on any plant, dip
the tips in tobacco-water, Abol (an excellent
article), or quassia-water.

Zonal Pelargoniums. — The plants for winter-
flowering may now be put into the pots in
which they will flower, and if well-grown
these need not be of large sizes, young stock,
the only stock worth growing for this purpose,
being accommodated in 6|-inch pots. Use a
compost similar to that recommended above
for Chrysanthemums. Pot firmly, and stand
for the present in a frame, so that shelter may
be given from heavy rains. At other times
full exposure should be afforded.

Cape Pelargoniums. — As these plants go out
of flower, they should be stood outside in the
full sunshine to ripen their growth. If, how-
ever, it is wished to increase the stock, some
of the best shoots should be made into cut-
tings, put in sandy soil, and stood in a frame
till they make roots and are ready for potting.

Cannas.- — The latest batch of Cannas may be
potted, placed in a cold frame, and no water
applied to them until the roots become active.
By affording cool treatment during the summer,
Cannas may be obtained in flower quite late in
the season, a time at which they form a useful
foil to Chrysanthemums.

General Remarks. — Artificial heat may be
dispensed with in most houses, excepting where
bottom-heat is required, and if carefully ma-
naged as to ventilation and early closing to
confine the sunheat, many stove plants seem
to benefit from a few weeks treatment without
it. Of course, the advice is not intended for
universal application, but serves to indicate
the propriety of reducing artificial heat to a
minimum.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson, Gardener to Earl Cadoqan, Cullord
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Humea elegans. — A sowing of the seeds of this
fragrant ornamental plant may now be made,
and another in about fourteen days. Sow the
seeds in shallow, well-drained pans filled with a
mixture of leaf-soil, and asmall quantity of finely
sifted loam and sand ; cover them sliehtly
with fine soil, and place in a cool frame. When
the seedlings are large enough prick them off
into small pots, and grow on in a cold frame
or house in full light and with plenty of air
admitted.

The Herbaceous Borders. — Neatness and
cleanliness should always prevai 1 in the borders
of hardy herbaceous perennial plants, spent
flowers, faded leaves, and weeds being removed
once a week, and the surface stirred often
with a small Dutch-hoe or a hand fork. Continue
to stake and neatly tie-in all plants requiring
support, doing this before the stems fall about.
Large clumps of Iberis may be divested of the
spent flowers with a pair of sheep -shears,
cutting away also any irregular portion of
the- plant, and making the clumps symmetrical.
The vacant spaces in these borders may be
planted with Dahlias, Salvias, &e. ; the former
requiring stakes, which should be placed in
the soil as the work of planting proceeds, and
the shoots fastened thereto, so that they may
not get broken or injured by the wind.
(- Carnations. — Border Carnations and l'icotees
should be supported either with the newer
patent wire supports, or wooden stakes of a
suitable size, placing these at regular distances
apart, and in the most suitable position, so as
to make an effective display of the flowers
when these appear. Where large quantities
of Carnations are grown for cutting, the
weaker flower-stalks should be removed and
the strong ones disbudded, and[supported with

short, well-sprayed twigs, such as the trim-
mings from pea-sticks, &c. The flowering of
the earlier varieties of Pinks will soon be over,
and layering may be commenced, a limited
number of well-developed shoots at each plant
being layered in a mixture of leaf-soil, finely
sifted loam and sand. A number of pipings
may also be dibbled-in closely together in a
similar mixture under a handlight, placed on
a spent hot-bed, first covering the soil with
-} inch layer of silver-sand. Afford water to
settle the sand round the cuttings, and shade.,
and keep close till roots form.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park. Reigate.

Oncidium ampliatum. — This fine decorative-
Orchid having passed out of flower, the re-
potting or re-surfacing of the plants will require-
attention. The best kind of compost for this
species consists of turfy -peat two -parts,
chopped sphagnum one-part, which should be-
mixed together ; and for drainage the Fern-
rhizomes found in the peat may be em-
ployed. These materials should be pressed
rather firmly together, and the surface brought,
up to a level with the rim of the pot. Specimens
which have numerous pseudo - bulbs and
growths, if the compost is worn out, or the-
plants extended over the sides of the pots,
should be pulled to pieces before the plants
have declined in vigour, the hindermost pseudo-
bulbs removed, and the various divisions placed
together in such a manner as to build up
specimens of a serviceable size. Although this-
species succeeds in the Cattleya-house, the
cooler part of the warmest Orchid-house suits,
it better. Until the growths are advanced
more than is the ease at the present date, and
new pseudo-bulbs are formed, water must be-
carefully applied ; afterwards it may be
afforded abundantly, and as autumn approaches-
the quantity should be reduced, and the plants
during the winter and till the flower-spikes,
appear, be kept comparatively dry.

Cool Odontoglossums. — A very important
matter that must receive attention during:
this next three months, when the outside
temperature is hot and dry, is to maintain as.
cool a temperature as possible in the Odonto-
glossum-house, and the air extremely humid.
These conditions will be the more readily ob-
tained by heavily shading the roof during the
brighter hours of the day and opening the ven-
tilators wide, also tho door or doors, and exclud-
ing the sun's rays by tacking a piece of shading-
material over the doorway. Heavy overhead;
syringings will bo likewise helpful in enabling;
the plants the better to withstand heat.
The top, side, and bottom ventilators should
bo left open during the night, regulating the
size of the openings in accordance with the
outside temperature. The flower - spikes*
should not remain on the plants for long
periods of time at this season, the strain on
the plants being increased by a temperature
of 70° or higher.

Cattleya-house. — Cattleya Skinneri and C.
Lawrenceana having passed out of flower,
should be kept somewhat drier till the new-
growth indicates renewed activity. Cattleya
Gaskelliana in many cases is showing flower-
sheaths, and should be afforded a light posi-
tion and sufficient water till it ceases to
flower. C. labiata should be making root and
top-growth, and be afforded water freely, with
frequent damping of the pots and slight over-
head syringing on bright days. The flowering
of 0. Mosshe and C. Mcndeli being past, the
plants should be afforded water when the
compost has got dry until growth begins,
damping the stage between the plants so as-
to stimulate growth at an early date.

Inmates of the Intermediate-House.— Lselia
pumila. L. Dayana, and varieties, should now
be making growth, and water may be freely
applied till flowering is past. Hang the-
plants in a well-ventilated part, syringe them
freely in sunny weather, and afford them suii-
shino in tho early morning and late in tho
afternoon, but protect from tho sun*s rays in
ho midday hours.

392

THE GARDENERS1 CHRONICLE.

[June 14, 190"

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

ADVERTISEMENTS should be sent to the PUBLISHER.

Letters for Publication, as well as specimens and plant
for naming, should be addressed to the EDITOR,
41, Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London.

Communications should be written on one side only of
the paper, sent as early in the week as possible, and duty
signed by the writer. If desired, the signature will not be

printed, but kept as a guarantee of good faith.
illustrations.— The Editor will thankfully receive and select

photograph $ or drawings, suitable for reproduction, rf

gardens, or of remarkable plants, flowers, trees, &c. ; but hv

cannot be responsible for loss or injury.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUIN6 WEEK.

SATURDAY, June 1 I-! German Gardeners- Society,
I London, Meeting.

WEDNE3DAY.JUNE 18-Royal Botanic Society's Meet.

("Linnean Society Meeting.
THURSDAY, June 19 [ Jersey Agricultural and Horti-
I cultural Society Rose Show.

8ALES FOR THE WEEK.

WEDNESDAY, June 18—

Palms, Aspidistras. Bay Trees. Lilies, Japanese
Dwarf Trees, &c, at Stevens' Rooms. — Valuable
Freehold Land, Uatlands. St. Peter's Port, Guern-
sey, by Douglas Young & Co.

THURSDAY, June 19-

Palms, Decorative Plan's, Retarded Bulbs, Ac , at
67 and 68, Cheapside, E.C., by Protneroe it Morris,
at 12.

FRIDAY, June 20-

Orchids In large variety. Retarded Bulbs, &c, at
67 and 68, Cheapside. E.C., by Protneroe & Morris,
at 12.30.— Collection of Orchids, by Mr. John Cowan,
Coal Exchange, Liverpool.

(For further particulars see our Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
— 61'2°.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— June 11 (6 p.m.) : Max. 63"; Min. 41°.

June 12-Wind, S.S.W. : Dull; Rainfall
none.
Provinces. — June 11 (6 P.M.): Max. 66s, Ipswich;
Min. 47% Dundee.

International

The following is the pro-
gramme issued by the Horti-
Conference. cultural Society of New York
for the Conference to he held
on September 30 and October 1 & 2, 1902 :—
"The Council of the Horticultural Society
of New York announces that it has com-
pleted arrangements for the holding of an
International Conference on Plant Breeding
and Hybridisation in the fall of the present
year. Acting under the instruction of the
Society at its annual meeting in May, 1901,
the Chairman of the Council addressed
letters of enquiry to prominent scientific
societies and individuals interested in pro-
gressive horticulture, both at home and
abroad, to all the Agricultural Experiment
Stations in America, the United States
Department of Agriculture, and the Minister
of Agriculture for the Dominion of Canada,
in order to enlist a wide-spread support,
and to ascertain views as to the most con-
venient date for the attendance of the
majority of those interested. The responses
were unanimously in favour of holding such
a conference, and the dates announced were
finally selected by the Conference Com-
mitt'e, consisting of Dr. N. L. Britton
Chairman; Dr. F. M. Hexamer, J. de Wouj
H. A. Siedrecht, and Leonard Barron,
Secretary.

By the co-operation of the American
Institute of the City of New York, it is
arranged to hold the sessions of the con-
ference in the Lecture Hall of the Berkeley
Lyceum Building, 10—21, West 44th Street,
New York City.

This conference will provide for the read-
ing and discussion of papers, and the

discussion of special topics pertaining to
the subject of plant-breeding and hybridising.
Arrangements are being made for the publi-
cation of a complete report of the papers
and discussions in book form under the
auspices of the Society.

In connection with the conference there
■will be an exhibition of hybrid plants and
their products, and of the related literature,
to which everyone is invited to contribute.
Awards of the Society in the form of Medals,
Diplomas, and Certificates, may be made to
exhibits of plants and plant products of
hybrid origin illustrating some particular
plant or plant industry.

It is further proposed to add to the
interest of the gathering by making arrange-
ments to visit points of interest in the
neighbourhood; and for the convenience of
visiting delegates, suitable hotel head-
quarters will be arranged near the Con-
ference Hall.

The active support of the following in-
stitutions has been promised, and delegates
appointed to attend the conference : Bureau
of Plant Industry, United States Department
of Agriculture; Department of Agriculture,
Dominion of Canada; Royal Horticultural
Society of England, American Pomological
Society, Massachusetts Horticultural So-
ciety, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society,
Society of American Florists, American
Institute of the City of New York, New-
York Botanical Garden, School of Practical
Agriculture and Horticulture, American
Pharmacological Society, Torrey Botanical
Club, New York Florists' Club, Colleges and
Experiment Stations of the United States.
N. L. Britton, Chairman ; Leonard Barron,
Secretary, 136, Liberty Street, New York.

Preliminary announcement of papers pro-
mised:— 1. Results of Hybridisation and Plant
Breeding in Canada. (Illustrated by speci-
mens.) William Saunders, Director of the
Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Canada.
— 2. Notes on Plant Breeding in California.
E. J. Wickson, Horticulturist, Agricultural
Experiment Station, University of California.
■ — 3. Plant Breeding in New Jersey. (Illus-
trated by specimens.) B. D. Halsted, Pro-
fessor of Botany in Rutgers College, New
Brunswick, N..I.— 4. The Wild Hybrids of the.
North American Flora-. (Illustrated by speci-
mens of the parents and progeny.) David
George, Museum Aid, New York Botanical
Garden. — 5. An Address. L. H. Bailey, Horti-
culturist, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. —
C. Plant Breeding work in Germany. J. C.
Whitten, Horticulturist, Columbia University.
— 7. Cereal Breeding in Ka>isas. H. P.
Roberts, Botanist, State College, Manhat-
tan, Kansas. — 8. Recent Experiments in Hy-
bridisation. By C. C. Hurst, Hinckley, Eng-
land. — 9. Selection versus Hybridism. P. W.
Burbidge, Dublin, Ireland. — 10. Individual
Prepotency. Will W. Tracy, Detroit, Mich. —
11. Cytological Aspects of Hybrids. W. A.
Cannon, Columbia University, New York-
City. — 12. Correlation Between Different Parts
of the Plant in Form, Colour, and other Charac-
teristics. (Illustrated by specimens.) S. A.
Beach, Horticulturist, New York State Ex-
periment Station, Geneva. N.Y. — 13. Varia-
tions in Hybrids not Appearing in the First
General ion, hitl Later. E. S. Golf, Horticul-
turist, Agricultural Experiment Station, Uni-
versity of Wisconsin. — 14. Some Possibilities.
C. L. Allen, New York. — 15. Crossing Spe-
cies of Salix: S. W. Fletcher, Washington. —
10. Hybridising Gladiolus Species. (Illustrated.)
W. van Fleet, Little Silver, N.J.— 17. Notes on

Breeding Hardy Apples. J. Craig, Ithaca, N.Y.
— 18. The Everbearing Strawberry. H. de Vil-
morin [the late], Paris.— 19. Breeding of Satire
North-western Fruits. N. E. Hansen, Brook-
ings, S. D.— 20. The Musk-Melon. F. W. Rane,
Durham, N.H.— 21. Seedlings of the Native
Plums. E. S. Goff, Horticulturiat, Madison,
Wis. — 22. Results in the Breeding of Species
of Ricinus. E. Mead Milcox, Botanist, Okla-
homa Agricultural Experiment Station. — 23.
On Orchid Hybrids. (Illustrated by specimens
of the parents and progeny.) Oakes Ames,
Ames Botanical Laboratory, North Easton,
Mass.— 24. Hybrid Beans. R. A. Emerson,
Horticulturist, Agricultural Experiment Sta-
tion, University of Nebraska.— 25. Hybrid
Plums. F. A. Waugh, Horticulturist, Vermont
Agricultural Experiment Station. — 20. Cross
Breeding of Cinchonas. H. H. Rusby, Botanist,
College of Pharmacy, New York. — 27. Breeding
Florists' Flowers, (a) E. G. Hill, Richmond,
lnd. ; (b) C. W. Ward, Queens, L.I., N.Y. ; (<•)
A. Wintzer, West Grove, Pa.— 28. Study of
the Variations in the Second Generation of
Berberis Hybrids. C. E. Saunders, Ottawa,
Canada."

Our Coronation Number and its Suc-
cessors.—We desire to call the attention of
our readers to the next three numbers of the
Gardeners' Chronicle. The Coronation Number
must be published several days earlier than
usual, and will comprise many features of pe-
culiar interest at no additional cost. The fol-
lowing number, which must also be published
some days in advance, will be devoted speci-
ally to Holland House and the Rose Show. It
will contain illustrations and articles of par-
ticular interest to rosarians. The number for
July 5 will be issued in the ordinary course,
and will contain a full report of the show of
the National Rose Show at the Temple Gardens.
The publication of the half-yearly Index, and
of various other matters, must necessarily be
deferred. Never inthehistory of the Gardeners'
Chronicle has such aderangementfrom ordinary
routine been necessitated as in the year of the
Coronation of King Edward VII. Readers de-
sirous of securing these numbers should make
early application to the Publisher.

Fitzroya patagonica (Supplementary
Illustration). — Our supplementary illustration
shows a tine specimen of this Chilian Conifer,
growing in the gardens at Pencarrow, where
it was planted by the late Sir William Moles-
worth, a keen lover of plants. It is the
" Alerce " of the natives, and in Chili some-
times forms a tree 100 feet high, yielding
timber much used for constructional purposes.
It grows on swampy moors, and would be
suitable for forestry purposes where the
climate was suitable. The leaves are in
threes, linear-oblong, white on the under sur-
face. The cones are produced in great abund-
ance, are about the size of a Pea, and bear
numerous deeply-winged seeds. Mr. A. C.
Bartlett, the head gardener at Pencarrow,
kindly furnishes the following particulars: — ■
The tree is rather more than 21 feet high, and
has a spread of 40 feet, and at 2 feet from
the ground the trunk measures 3! feet. It
was planted in 18-32 by Sir WM. MOLESWORTH,
and as the photograph shows, it is a very-
beautiful and symmetrical specimen.

Coronation Rose Show, Holland House,
Kensington, June 24, 25.— At tnis show all
assistants and attendants at groups shown
by trade firms must wear a badge with their
lirm's name. There can be no exceptions
made to this rule. The badge used must be
the one approved by the Council, and no

June 14, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

393

other. The bridge can be obtained from Mr.
Pinches, 27, Oxendon Street, London, S.W.,
price Is. each.

Linnean Society.— On the occasion of the
evening meeting to be held on Thursday,
June 19, 1902, at 8 P.M., the following papers
will be read : — I. Dr. W. G. RlDEWOOD, P.L.S.,
■on "Obesiella, a New Genus of Copepoda ; "
II. Mr. G. Massee, P.L.S., on " Modern
Methods in Mycology;" III. Mr. W. P.
Pycraft, M.A., A.L.S., "Further Observa-
tions on the Owls, especially their Skeleton."

Sir Daniel Cooper, Bart. — Everyone
who was concerned with the great Interna-
tional Horticultural Exhibition of 1860 must
liave vivid recollectiou of the quiet persistent
energy and ssge counsels of Sir Daniel Cooper,
who acted as Treasurer. Of late years he had
not been seen much among horticulturists,
but he still retained his interest in his old
associates. Sir Daniel was born in Lancashire,
and educated at University College, London.
He proceeded to New South Wales in 1843,
■entered political life, and became the first
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the
Colony. Subsequently he took a prominent
part in various philanthropic efforts, in recog-
nition of which he was made a baronet. On
(returning to England, he acted as Agent-
General for the Colony, and took part in
various exhibitions and public functions. Sir
Daniel, who was in his eighty-tirst year, died
on the 5th inst. By his death the survivors
•of the Executive Committee of the Inter-
national Exhibition are reduced to five or six.

Exhibition at Dusseldorf.— A horticul-
tural exhibition in conjunction with a con-
gress will be held on June 27, and two
following days, in the " Dome Saloon " of the
Chief Hall of Industry in Dusseldorf.

The Wholesale Fruit and Potato
Trades' Benevolent Society. — A special
general meeting of the subscribers of this
society, whose president is his Grace the Duke
of Bedford, and patrons Sir H. D. Davies, M.P.,
Sir Samuel Montagie, Bart., and the Hon.
W. P. D. Smith, will be held at the Tavistock
Hotel, Covent Garden, on Tuesday, June 17,
1902, at 6 o'clock p.m., for the purpose of
electing two pensioners to pensions of 10s.
per week each.

New Public Park for Liverpool.— At
the monthly meeting of the City Council on
Wednesday iast a recommendation was adopted
by 03 to 16, that the. Calderstone estate in
Allerton Road be purchased at a price of
£43,000 from Mr. C. Maciver, for the purpose
of a public park. As the city is almost
encroaching on to the suburbs, this decision
will give great satisfaction to all ratepayers,
and from the handsomely situated position of
the garden, with its fine specimen Hollies,
Yews, &c, should lend itself admirably for
the purpose suggested, and prove a really
good bargain. It is at Calderstone that Mr.
W. Tinninotox, the pioneer of Chrysanthemum
growing, has had charge of the estate for a
i'arge number of years, with what success
visitors readily know.

The Restoration of an Aged Poplar.— a
Danish paper reports an interesting restoration
of an old tree, I'opulus nigra. The tree in
question was planted in the year 1570 and has
thus reached an age of more than 300 years.
In 1822 it had attained its greatest height, 130
feet,* but in the year 1000 it was no more than
9l)feet from ground to top. Thostem on the con-
trary has increased constantly, and its circum-
ference is 2:1 ft. at ."! ft. from the ground. As

* Oue metre =3.38] Swedish feet.

the tree had been hurt especially through
broken branches being allowed to remain, thus
causing rot, a thorough restoration was under-
taken. A stage, 80 feet high, was erected
around the tree, all dead branches were re-
moved, and the wounds painted with tar.
Every hole was cleansed and filled with clay and
cement and covered with plates of lead 1mm.
thick. The main stem being about to burst in
two parts, two strong iron bands, one of which
weighed 470 kilogrammes, were fastened around
the lower part of the two main branches. The
cavity of the stem was so large as to accomo-
date 0 or 8 men. The interior of the stem was
cleansed and the ground in it dug to a depth of
3 feet. Then 5 channels radiating from the
stem were dug, every channel being 3 feet
deep, 3 feet long, and 2 feet wide, was filled
with beton (concrete). Then 5 channels formed
a strong basis for the stem cylinder that was
to be cast in the interior of the hollow stem.
A strong iron beam, 12 feet long, was fastened
in the interior, and then beton was filled in.
Now there stands a compact mass of stone
through the main stem and somewhat up into
the tree, and into the two large branches.
Finally the earth around the tree was dug and
well manured. The subsoil being very bad,
eighteen drainage pipes at the same time were
put in the earth around the tree to admit air
and rainwater to the roots, and to allow water
being applied to the roots when wanted.

Sunflower Seed-crushing Industry. — In
an official communication to the British Foreign
Office, Mr. Sterne, His Majesty's Vice-Consul
at Novorossisk, Russia, writes : — " Within the
past three to four years the cultivation of the
Sunflower plant for the manufacture of oil-cake
has been extensively adopted by the peasantry
and farmers of the district. The industry,
which it would appear is very remunerative,
is rapidly increasing in proportions, and
promises to still further develop before very
long. It is claimed that the sale of the oil-
cake produced in itself more than covers all
the working expenditure of the mills. The
stalks of the Sunflower plant are used as fuel
for driving the machinery, and the ash that
remains gives from 25 to 30 per cent, of
potash. Briefly speaking, it would appear
that the Sunflower - seed, when properly
crushed, gives the following results : — Oil, 23
per cent. ; oil-cake, 40 per cent. ; stalk, 37
per cent."

The Horticultural Hall.— We learn that
the council of the Royal Horticultural Society
was largely occupied on Tuesday last, with
the consideration of the plans for the new Hall.
The apportionment of the interior space was,
we believe, considered to be satisfactory, but
the elevation of the facade is to be modified.
In the meantime the efforts of the Fellows
must be exerted to provide the necessary
funds. It is more than time that a general
appeal was made.

The Horticultural Club.— This pleasant
little Club, the social centre practically of
the Royal Horticultural Society, held its bi-
monthly house dinner at the Windsor Hotel on
Tuesday, the 10th inst., Mr. Harry Veitch
occupying the Chair, and some thirty odd
members and friends participating. It has
long been the custom of the Club to supplement
its social meetings by a paper or an address
on some subject of horticultural interest by a
specialist, and on this occasion Mr. II. Stevens
of King Street, Covent Garden, favoured the
members with an informal address on the suli-
ject of floral photography, which ho illustrated
by the exhibition of a considerable number of
magnificent photographs taken by himself. It
was really impossible to imagine greater per-

fection in the reproduction of flowers in
monotints. As Mr. Stevens remarked, colour
photography, i.e., the production of natural
colours in a direct way in a positive was a
dream of the future, which so far seemed
utterly impracticable ; but short of this, the
pictures shown left absolutely nothing to be
desired. The secrets, or rather one of them,
appeared to be a peculiarly strict attention to
sharpness in the shadows ; it was in these
that Mr. Stevens always aimed at fine defini-
tion. The high lights he left to be dealt with
tenderly in the process of development. It
was, however, obvious, when comparing his
productions with ordinary floral photographs,
that many other points were in question,
such as skilful posing and grouping, and
judicious arrangement of background and
foreground to set off the main features.
One point of interest transpired, and
that was that none of these fine effects
were attributable to up-to-date, expensive
lenses, or newly invented and highly vaunted
chemicals, Mr. Stevens adhering entirely to
old-fashioned lenses and the old, well-known
formulae. The main and essential ingredient,
which many amateurs forget to infuse into
their work, is " brains ; " and there is a vast
amount of truth in Mr. Stevens' assertion,
that the best work could only be arrived at by
the individual who makes an absolute hobby
of the particular pursuit, and in this way in-
fuses the one cerebral essential into the
results. Mr. Shea, himself an ardent amateur
photographer, and several others, took part in
the discussion, and endorsed the moral just
enunciated. A very hearty vote of thanks
was accorded to Mr. Stevens, who kindly
promised to give a lantern exhibition of a
larger number of his productions at one of the
winter meetings of the Club.

The Royal Horticultural Society of
Southampton will hold their Rose and horti-
cultural show on July 1 and 2 ; a date so soon
following that of the Coronation review, that
it is expected there will be an unusual number
of visitors.

Messrs. Sutton's Gift to the Troops
in S. Africa. — An illustration before us
showing the packing for despatch of useful
seeds, shows the magnitude of the offering
made by Messrs. Sutton to the soldiers in South
Africa. The conclusion of Peace does but
make the gift more acceptable, and Messrs.
SUTTON are aiding most markedly in the process
of civilisation and confraternity.

The New Berlin Botanical Garden. —
The buildings of the new garden at Dahlem,
with the exception of the large Palm-house,
are partly finished, and the rest in course of
construction. The lodgings for the botanical
garden staff and the workpeople are com-
pleted, and in part inhabited. The buildings
on the Dahlem chaussee, intended for the
lecture-rooms and museum, will be quite
finished shortly. The construction of the
Palm-house, the last of the buildings to be
erected, will be commenced in the course of
the summer. GavtenJIora for May 15.

The Silver-leaf Disease.— The solution of
this puzzle seems to be approaching. At the
Linnean Society on Thursday, the 5th inst., Pro-
fessor Perceval, of Wye College, showed speci-
mens wherein he had succeeded by inoculating
in producing the disease artificially in I'inus.
The silvery appearance is produced, as has
long been known, by the separation of the
epidermis from the underlying tissue, and the
consequent accumulation of air between the
skin and the substance of the leaf. The
presence of fungous threads around the roots

394

THE GARDENERS' GHR ONI CL E.

[June 11, 1902.

has also long been recognised, but till now no
one, so far as we know, has associated the
presence (if the fungous threads with the
appearance in the leaf— particularly as no
fungus is visible in the leaf or branches.
Prof. Perceval has ascertained, by cultivat ion.
that the fungus is Stereura purpureum, and by
inoculating the branches with the fungus from
the roots, has succeeded in the course of a few
weeks in producing the silver-leaf disease. As
no fungous threads are visible in the leaves,
the suggestion is that the effects are pro-
duced by some "enzyme" or liquid poison
secreted by the fungus, which circulates and
produces the effects in question.

A New Disease of Potatos : Bacillus
Solanicola.— Dr. G. Delacroix, Director of
the Station for Plant Pathology in Paris, pub-
lishes in the Bulletin </». Minister e del' Agri-
culture (Direction de l'Agriculture, xx. year,
No. 5, Paris, 1801), (1,013), his discovery of a
new disease of the Potato, caused by a bacte-
rium. This disease of the Potato, which after
the month of July almost partakes of an epi-
demic character, attacks the haulm of the
plant. At first, Delacroix supposed it to be
Bacillus caulivorus, discovered by himself and
Prillieux, but a thorough investigation proved
that not to bo the case. The symptoms of an
attack are the arrest of development in the
haulm, the yellowing of the leaves, followed
by a change to pale grey, and drying up. The
base of the stems often show superficial leaden-
grey spots, and internally light brown-coloured
patches, and these are observed at various
heights. The subterranean parts of the haulm
show at times healed scars, and it is at these
points that the bacillus may obtain an entry.
The mother tuber has been already infected,
and the tubers are attacked similarly to the
haulm. They appear when cut of a pale yel-
low tint, and later brown patches are noticed.
Tomatos are also attacked, but not often. The
disease is caused by a bacterium, which moves
chiefly in the cells and sap canals, which sets
up the development of much brown gum and
the so-called "thyllen," or cellular outgrowths.
The remedies recommended are : — 1, to plant
the sets late, and to select perfectly healthy
ones ; 2, to destroy all bacteria in the soil by
planting at intervals of four years ; S, and to
immerse the sets for one and a half hour in a
mixture of Commercial Pormol 1 part, water
120 parts, before planting.

A Beautiful Royal Bouquet.— Many of
the bouquets worn at the recent Court were
extremely beautiful, but that of the Princess
of Wales surpassed them all. It was
simply a shower of shaded Sweet Peas, in
red, mauve, and pink, and long narrow
streamers of satin ribbon in three different
colours hung down and mingled with the
flowers. The combination of colours was very
curious — the ribbons were red, mauve, and
palest green— but the result was most suc-
cessful, for the red and mauve were like the
flowers, and the green was the colour of the
stalks.

Charitable Bequests.— Mr. George Fer-
GUSSON Wilson, F.R.S., of Heatherbank, Wey-
bridge, and of Oakwood, Wisley, for many
years managing director of Price's Patent
Candle Company, and the discoverer of the
means of obtaining pure glycerine, who died
on March 28 last, aged eighty years, has left
an estate valued at £58,748 gross, including
personalty of the net value of £50,017. He
has bequeathed £1,000 to King's College Hos-
pital, because he attended Professor Daniel's
chemical lectures at King's College; and
£1,000 to the Royal Free Hospital in Gray's
Inn Road, because, as he states in his -will,
when he once saw a boy run over by a cart or
cab, he observed how well he was attended to
at that hospital.

DRAIN-PIPE OR CONDUIT, FOR
USE ON GARDEN PATHS.

The invention figured, appears to be well
adapted for the purpose it is intended to
serve, namely, to carry off surface water
from gravel paths rapidly, and thus prevent
the washing out of the gravel during heavy
showers. The description of the conduit is
taken from the Building World, and was
furnished by the inventor of the patent, Mr.
John W. Thompson, Coniston, Lancashire.

This invention relates to an improved drain-
pipe or conduit particularly adapted for use at
the sides of garden walks or drives, stables,
washhouses, &c, and provides an efficient
means of carrying off surface water.

In the accompanying illustrations, Figs. 1, 2,
and 3 represent views in side elevation, and
elevation and plan respectively, of a pipe or
conduit constructed according to this invention .
The pipe or conduit A is made of clay, iron, or
wood, square in section, and furnished with a
bottom flange b, and is provided with a circular
hole c running longitudinally through it. Its
ends are adapted to engage and interlock in the

J^^ls^

\y — ■ — s/ \s~"

Fio I

Fig. 3

Fig. 138.— dpain-pipe or conduit foe use
on gabden paths.

manner shown, wherein a reduced part d is
formed on one end, and a recess e on the other
end, so that when the pipes or conduits are laid
in line the part i> of one pipe enters the recess
E of the contiguous pipe. The upper face of
the pipe or conduit A is shaped to form a
shallow channel v, and it is pierced with holes
G giving access to its interior. As an alter-
native construction, the upper face of the
pipe or conduit, or any convenient portion of
the length thereof may be made as a loose
detachable piece, so as to more easily provide
for the removal of obstructions in the pipe or
conduit. The edges a of the upper face of the
pipe or conduit are provided with a series of
transverse grooves I, which are adapted to
guide the surface water into the outside
channel of the pipe, and thus prevent the soil
being washed away from the sides of the pipe
or conduit.

PLANTS FOR HOUSE
DECORATION.
In the present day, a great demand is made
upon the resources of the garden, be it large
or be it small, for plants for this specific
purpose. That a largo number of plants so
used are spoiled goes without saying. Some of
this loss is unavoidable, whilst in other cases
also it is preventable. It has been proved
over and over again that many plants may be
grown in rooms for months at a time as well
as being taken in and out for changes, either
weekly or bi-weekly as the case may be. The
success or otherwise depends to a large extent

upon ths preparation and previous treat-
ment, as well as upon a judicious choice*
of suitable subjects. On this latter point,
it is worthy of note that all plants with
foliage of a smooth or lustrous surface will
resist the somewhat unfavourable conditions
better than those of a rough or pilose ex-
terior. The Aspidistra is a case in point of
the former, and the Coleus in that of the
latter. Again, plants with thin or flaccid
leaves, such as the Caladium, will not resist
the dry atmosphere of rooms nearly so well as
the Ficus elastica. Plants again that are-
brought direct from a humid atmosphere into
a room where humidity does not exist must, as-
a natural consequence, feel the change ; this
change, too, being often aggravated by sharp-
currents of air, necessary beyond any question
to render the atmosphere more congenial for
human life, but not so for plant life (the two
gases needful or most essential in either case?
not being the same).

Some plants will withstand a somewhat
dark position better than others. Palms,
as a rule, will last well in a dark situa-
tion, but on the whole Ferns will not.
Overcrowding is a fertile source of injury,
and in order to pack the plants together in
masses, it is not an unfrequent occurrence to>
knock the plants out of their pots, or to lay
them upon their sides, so that they soon»
become dry, and suffer in consequence. In
this the professional decorator is the greatest
sinner. He decorates for one night only,,
or at the most for special occasions ; but
even where his work is continuous, he often
uses too many plants, and adopts methods that
could not be continuously carried out, or be
justified, where the supply has to be prepared
and used from a private source alone. In.
order to compare town decorations, as carried
out by "decorators," and the decorations as-
done in the country-house from the garden,
every allowance must be made for the altered
condition of circumstances and by the sources-
of supply.

Plants as grown by the large market nur-
serymen, and sent to wholesale centres for
sale, are not always the most durable. Ferns-
may possibly be so, but Palms frequently
are not, because oftentimes they are grown
too much crowded together, in order to*
lengthen the petioles or leaf-stalks, as in the
case of Kentias and Latanias, and of course to
produce more material from a given space..
The opposite is the case with Ferns ; on the-
whole, the exposure to which they are sub-
jected in order to produce an attractive plant
just adapts them for rough-and-ready use
afterwards. There is certainly one point in-
favour of what are termed market plants —
they are as a rule well rooted; but on the
other hand, they are not always well hardened
off before being offered for sale. In order to-
produce a rapid growth, manorial stimulants
are freely given, but when this is withdrawn
the plants feel the loss of it, and soon com-
mence to decline in vigour.

Hints on Arrangement.

It is somewhat difficult to lay down any set
line or method to be followed in grouping.
One object should, however, be kept in view
at all times, and as far as possible — that is,.
what one would term characteristic grouping.
By this is meant, as a case in point, such as a.
plant or plants of Cordyline australis, with
long drooping foliage, do not associate
with such as these anything that is of
a stiff, erect growth, but rather choose
such plants as Isolepis gracilis. Do not
mix together in the same arrangement, botk>
broad-leaved and narrow pendulous forms o£'

JONE 14, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

395

Crotons, nor broad and Darrow-leaved varie-
ties of Dracrenas. In using such as Cocos
plumosus, or the hardier variety (sp. ?) Cocos
Romanzoffianus (now known under the name of
<jOcos flexuosa), do not attempt to crowd the
plant or plants with other foliage subjects
totally different in their character. These tall,
.graceful Palms are good subjects for standing
upon the floor line, and in this way their light,
elegant growth is seen to advantage. They

Phoenix, the best is P. rupicola ; this is better
as a largo plant in an elevated position than
in any other form. Small plants of Coco3
Weddeliana when pot-bound will stand well,
and prove very effective as dot plants ; but
plants of Kentias, Latanias, and the like, when
small, are not nearly so effective. Aralias,
although somewhat stiff, are useful subjects,
but they look best when kept below the line
of vision, or when they can be looked down

Pig. 139.— spathes of seedling axthuriums from the gardens op
sir trevor lawrence, bart.

make good subjects for the corners of large
rooms, for vestibules and staircases, either in
small groups with appropriate undergrowth,
say Grevillea robusta elegantissima, or the
long, narrow-leaved forms of Pteris serrulata ;
or as specimen plants in entrance halls and
corridors, where the ground space is more
limited. As single specimens, the Kentias,
amongst Palms, hold the pre-eminence; no
other Palms will compare with them in con-
tour or outline, whilst they are at the same
time as enduring as any, and will thrive better
in relatively small pots or tubs than any
jPalms grown for this purpose. Of the genus

upon. Aspidistras make excellent material as
a groundwork to groups of Lilies, say, Lilium
Iongiflorum for an example. Humeaolegans in
its season is a valuable plant when used in
moderation ; it will associate well with
Bamboos and plants of Cocos plumosus. Spirjea
japonica is better as a groundwork than in
any other form ; and spikes (long) of Iris, if so
arranged as to tower above tho Spiraeas, will
produce a good effect. A good stock of Solagi-
nella denticulata is always useful, and will be
the means of saving other and 'more valuable
plants (successional stocks can easily be main-
tained). In all cases aim, as far as practic-

able, to copy Nature. For instance, keep
Primulas as low as possible, Tulips and Hya-
cinths the same, and endeavour to make tall
plants in flower serve their specific purpose.

As regards colour effect, avoid excess of
mixtures ; one colour alone will more often
than not be the most pleasing — at the most,
two that will blend together rather than pro-
duce a violent contrast. For instance, scarlet
and white, although showy, are not such
effective mixtures as pink and white or pink
and yellow ; crimson and gold or purple and
gold combine well ; mauve unless by itself is
next to useless. When two colours are used,
let, as far as possible, the lighter one pre-
dominate over the darker one. Various shades
of yellow blend together well, and so do
those of pink. The bronzy foliage of the
Japanese Maples is most effective in combina-
tion with varied tints of yellow or with white,
but not so much so with pink or scarlet or
blue ; pale green foliage is better with yellow
tints than dark green. J. Hudson, Gunner sbury.

ANTHURIUM SEEDLINGS.

Slr Trevor Lawrence and his gardener, Mr,
Bain, have raised a large number of seedlings
from several species of Anthurium, in-
cluding A. Scherzerianum and A. Andreanum ;
and from time to time we have remarked
upon the beauty and attractiveness of many of
these, when they have been Exhibited at the
Royal Horticultural Society's shows in the
Drill Hall. A very fine collection was exhibited
at a meeting on April 22 last. Our illustra-
tion (fig. 139) shows half-a-dozen spathes of
A. Scherzerianum type, most of them having
in more or less degree the characteristics of
the variety known as Kothschildianum, which
has mottled spathes instead of the self-coloured
ones of the species. Our illustration is from a
photograph by Mr. Gregory.

CORONATION ITEMS.

We expect to send 100,000 blooms each of
Pseonies, Gaillardias, and Pyrethrums for the
< 'oronation festivities. Kclwaij * Son, Lang-
port, Somerset.

We all hope to do a good trade in Roses.
The highest number I sent in Jubilee year,
1897, upon one day, was about 14,000 or 15,000,
on the occasion when the Opera House was
decorated with Roses ; but I hoard some time
ago that it is to be done this year with arti-
ficial Roses, the perfume having been too
overpowering in 1897. 1 do not know if this
is true. At such times distinct colours are
required, such as pink, crimson, yellow, but
not mixed colours. Geo. Mount, Rose Grower,
Canterbury.

Speaking generally, the demand for flowers
will be enormous, and in particular, Lilies of
the Valley and Roses. Although the Rose will
be "the" Coronation tlower, Lilies of the
Valley will be in great demand, judging by
tho numerous extra orders for retarded crowns
I have recently executed. T. Jannoch, Lily
Nursery, Dersingham.

In an ordinary season we should have cut
Roses in all shades, but owing to the cold
weather in May, Roses are very backward, and
it is doubtful, unless we get warm dry weather
at once, if the Roses will be out in time.
Benjamin it. Cunt A- Sons.

1 have been asked to mako contracts to
supply very many thousands of Rose blooms,
more than 1 shall have at that timo. It is

396

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 14, 1902.

nothing short of a calamity to Rose growers
that the season is so very late, in fact, until
the rains came with the warm weather, Roses
had shown no tendency to start into growth.
It is very much colder here to-day, with a
strong N.W. wind blowing, and not a " rosy
wind." Frank Cant, Colchester, June 6.

We can scarcely tell what quantity of
flowers will be required for the Coronation,
but certainly think that Roses, Lilies of the
Valley, and Carnations, will be in greatest
demand. Of course the street decorations
will not require natural flowers, but flags and
banners and artificial flowers will be princi-
pally used. We are having enquiries from all
parts of the country and from abroad from
growers anxious to send flowers to London in
anticipation of a very great demand, but
personally I think there will be more flowers
here than will warrant any high or fancy prices
being made. Frederick End, Covent Garden.

We are supplying the Rhododendrons in
Hyde Park with twelve extra ones near Stan-
hope Gate this year. Anthony Waterer, Knap
Hill Nursery, Woking, Surrey.

Up to the present I have no special orders,
and after my experience of the Jubilee and the
Diamond Jubilee weeks, from which growers
expected to reap so much benefit, I rather
dread Coronation week with two public holidays
in it. Up to the present, prices are below the
average, but it is quite possible the demand
may be better through the remainder of this
month, owing to the number of people in
London ; but I am advising all growers to avoid
the week itself as much as possible, as there is
sure to be an ample supply of everything,
unless it happens to be Strawberries. Outdoor
Strawberries aro late at present and reported
to be frosted, but from what I can learn they
are not so bad as was thought to be the case a
week ago, and if the weather continues suitable
there may be an abundance by the 2 1th. Some
people are driving growers to disappointment,
and advising them to send on a quantity of
everything for Coronation week, but I leave
the responsibility for that advice where it is
due. G. Monro, Covent Garden Market.

At the Coronation time we shall be sending
to the markets forced fruits of the late varie-
ties of Peaches and Nectarines, such as Thomas
Rivers, Princess of Wales, and Sea Eagle
Peaches, and Victoria Nectarine; also from
the cold-houses, Early Rivers Cherry. It is
difficult to give any amounts ; we shall send
all we can, and hope for good prices. Thos.
Rivers & Son, Saivbridyeu-ortli.

Canada is now decorating a triumphal arch
in Whitehall that promises to be one of the
most effective displays that will be seen in the
streets at the time of the Coronation. It is
said that 20 tons of cereals and fruits have
been specially brought from Canada for the
purpose. The framework will be festooned
with Laurel, and at the foot of each column
will be a shrubbery of ^evergreens. Four
thousand electric lights will be used to
illuminate the arch at night.

Royal Gardens, Kew. — We are informed
that the gardens will be closed to the public
on the 26th and 27th inst., so that the members
of the staff may have an opportunity of
witnessing some of the Coronation ceremonies.
The resources of Kew will not on this occasion,
as they were at the Coronation of Queen
Victoria, be turned to account in the decora-
tion of the Royal Palaces.

(To be continued.)

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

SHREWSBURY GRAPE PRIZES.— In the Gard.
Chron. of May 17, p. 328, Mr. Kirk tackles the
subject of judging Grapes by points, and sets
forth a new code which he considers simple
and correct. I am sorry to differ from so
experienced a cultivator and judge, but if Mr.
Kirk's system were adopted I fear that the
result would be confusion worse confounded.
The first subject that he would consider in a
bunch of (irapes is colour, for which he allows
two points ; the second one is finish and bloom,
for this he would allow another two points.
Now I always thought that it was the finish
and bloom of the berries that gave the bunch
its colour. If the finish is perfect, the colour
will be all right, so there is no need to give
extra two points for colour. I agree, how-
ever, with Mr. Kirk in thinking that there
ought to be three grades of quality instead of
two, as at present, but would not make the
difference in value so much as he does. Say
ten points the maximum for Muscat of Alex-
andria, nine for Black Hamburgh, Muscat
Hamburgh, Madresfield Court, and Mrs. Pince,
and 8i ior all other varieties ; and until this is
done no judge is entitled to place a higher
value on any one variety over another, except
in the case of Muscat of Alexandria. This is
an important point, and one that is too often
overlooked by judges in " pointing " Grapes,
the tendency being to favour certain varieties.
I do not see anything amiss with the Royal
Horticultural Society's code, but I think the
addition of another grade on the lines in-
dicated would be an improvement, and would
simplify the work of the judges. It is im-
material, however, whether the Royal Horti-
cultural Society's code or any other is the
standard to go by; the difliculty, and what is
most needed, is a simple and methodical system
of arriving at the correct value of each
individual bunch of Grapes, something that
will supersede the present haphazard way,
which, though it goes under the name of point
judging, is, in reality judging by comparison.
This is more a matter for judges than societies.
The usual plan of judging Grapes by points
and that associated by Mr. Kirk, is to begin
at the bottom and go up, to add points for
each quality possessed by the bunch. The
system I would suggest is the opposite of this,
viz., to begin at the top and come downwards,
instead of adding for each quality, deduct so
many points for each point that is lacking.
The qualities of a bunch of Grapes might
be divided into five heads, and these five
heads might again be subdivided into degrees
according to their importance. Making quarter
point the value of each degree, suppose
the first head is "Size of bunch." Well
there are degrees of sizes, viz., small,
medium, large, and extra large. Second head,
"Shape of bunch," two degrees might be
sufficient under this head. Third head, " Size
of berries," here we could have four degrees,
small, medium, large, and extra large. Fourth
head, "Thinning," two degrees would be
suflicient for this : such as berries squeezed
out of shape, or too loose, and footstalks seen
and not well feathered over the top shoulders,
a common fault in many otherwise fine bunches.
Fifth head, "Finish," as this is the most
important, six quarters, equal to one-and-a-
half points, might be the full value here. To
give an example of how this system would
work, you come to a bunch, and instead of
saying "How much is this worth ? Shall we

say seven :

no matter how miserable the

specimen may be, credit it with the maximum
number of points allowed. Then begin with
all your might to tear it to pieces — so to speak,
picking out all its faults. For instance, begin
with the first head, if a small bunch put down
three-quarters against it, if medium one-half,
if large one-quarter, if extra large it loses
nothing under this head. The same with the
next head, "Shape of bunch," if only a fair
shaped specimen, put down one-quarter, if
badly shaped one-half against it. The next
head, " Size of berry," if extra large, no marks;

large, one-quarter ; medium, two-quarters %,
small, three-quarters against — and so on with
the other heads, adding all the quarters-
against it, and deducting this from the
maximum gives you the correct value of the
bunch. The bunch that can come best through
this methodical fault-finding will receive most
points, and if faultless it gets the greatesi
possiblev but this is, or ought to be, a very
rare occurrence. By some system such as
this, the very common mistake of beginning to
point too high is avoided. 1). B.

the deodar.— In the Report of the Conifer
Conference, issued by the Royal Horticultural
Society in 1892, I find that the "Cedrus Deo -
dara ranges from Afghanistan to Nepal. Some
trees are 30 to 40 feet in girth, and up to-
200 feet in height. They fringe the eternal
snows, and there grow out of rocks." The-
natural habitat of this interesting Conifer
would then appear to be the region of the
eternal snows, 20,000 feet or so above sea--
level. Yet, strange to say, this same Conifer
flourishes at Worthing, almost at the level of"
the sea ! I once heard an old and noted gar-
dener say that he did not believe in acclima-
tisation of plants. What is rhis but acclima-
tisation, through the seed of a tree growing
naturally at a very high altitude, and eventu-
ally establishing itself at so low a level close
to the sea ? In front of my house there is a.
Deodar in the middle of three roads, but it is
stuck against an evergreen Oak. There are
several others in my vicinity in private
gardens. The other day I passed a house in
the front garden of which there was a fine
Deodar ; it was perhaps not more than 30 feet
above high tide. I have two young Deodars,
in my garden about 10 feet high, and they are
in a very flourishing condition. This Conifer
requires shelter from the south-west gales,
otherwise the sea air and low level are no-
obstacles to its perfect growth. I have never
met with the history of its introduction to-
the British Isles, and from what altitude the
seeds were originally obtained. It would be
interesting to obtain seeds or cones from a
tree growing on the fringe of the eternal,
snows, and sow them directly in various
parts of the British Isles, to ascertain whether
the resulting trees would live and flourish'
after such a sudden transition. It is possible
that the original seeds were obtained from a
much lower level in the Himalayas, for it
flourishes at Mussooree, which is situated on.
the lower ranges. I often tried to grow it in
Lucknow, but never succeeded in getting it to-
live ; probably the seed was obtained from too
high an altitude. Had I tried seed of the-
acclimatised plants of England, I might have
succeeded ; although the hot winds of May and
June might even then have been inimical to it.
The Deodar must have been known, somehow,
to the Assyrians, as it is quaintly delineated'
on their monuments as an object of vene-
ration. I do not know any Conifer so-
picturesque as the Cedrus Deodara in its
young stages, such as those in the Royal
Gardens of Kew. The Lebanon and Atlantic
Cedars, with their rigid branches, are, I think,
not half so beautiful. E. Bonavia, M.D.

A HOLLAND PARK MEMENTO. — I have

ventured to suggest to some fellow members
of the Royal Horticultural Society's Fruit Com-
mittee, that it would be a very pleasing form
of memento of the Holland Park Rose show
and Coronation horticultural gathering, were
all the members of that body present on the
24th inst., to assemble and be photographed .
Perhaps other committees might like to do
the same. I do know that a well-known
habitue" of the Drill Hall, Mr. Gregory of
Croydon, would be pleased to take the pic-
tures. I can but think that many members
of each committee would like to have for
preservation such a memorial of their mem-
bership of the meeting for the first time
in historical Holland Park, and not least of
the Coronation year. I have no doubt but
that special efforts will be made by every
member to be present on so- auspicious an
occasion. A. D.

June 14, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

397

Societies.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.

* June 10.— The Drill Hall, Buckingham Gate, West-
minster, was well filled with exhibits on Tuesday last,
when an ordinary fortnightly meeting of the Com-
mittees was held.

There were numerous Orchids, and the Orchid
Committee recommended two Awards of Merit to
novelties.

The exhibits before the Floral Committee included
a number of groups of hardy (lowers, excellent displays
of Gloxinias, Begonias, Carnations, and other plants.
The Floral Committee recommended one First-class
Certificate, and eight Awards of Merit.

The Fruit and Vegetable Commiti-ee had but few
exhibits before them, but an Award of Merit was
recommended to a new Melon.

In the afternoon there were 170 new Fellows elected
to the privileges of the Society. The names were read
over by the Rev. W. Wilks, MA. (Secretary), and his
assistant, alternately ; the enumeration of so large
a number caused a little amusement. It is believed
that in no period of the Society's existence have so
many new Fellows been elected in one day.

The Lecture was one by the Hon. Mrs. Botle. upon
" Weeds of the Garden," and the paper was read by the
lady herself.

Floral Committee.

Present: W. Marshall, Esq., Chairman ; and Messrs.
C. T. Druery, Geo. Nicholson, R. Dean, J. F. McLeod,
G. Reuthe, R. W. Wallace, Chas. Dixon, Jno. Jennings,
Jas. Hudson, J. W. Barr, R. C. Notcutt, W. Howe, Chas.
Jeffries, Geo. Gordon, C. J. Salter, F. Page Roberts,
H. J. Jones, Chas. E. Shea, E. H. Jenkins, W. J. James,
Chas. Blick, Geo. Paul, Ed. Mawley, and J. Fraser.

Mr. H. J. Jones, Ryecrnft Nursery, Hither Green,
Lewisham, showed a half-dozen fine plants of a very
good variety of Astilbe japonica named Lord Salisbury.
A group of plants of herbaceous Calceolarias from
Percy R. Dunn, Esq., Brockley Park, Forest Hill, was
awarded a Bronze Flora Medal. The plants were of
moderate size and the flowers exhibited very bright
colours.

Messrs. Jno. Laino & Sons, Forest Hill Nurseries,
London, S.E., exhibited a group of plants containing
Caladiums, Codiicums, and Streptocarpus. The Cala-
diums exhibited capital colour, especially such
varierics as Flammant Rose, IJotafogo, F. D. Moore,
Baron A. de Rothschild, &c. Some of the prettiest
varieties amongst the Codkeums were Prince of Wales,
Reedii, and Aigburthensis. The Streptocarpus had
very large, fine flowers.

Erica translucens, as shown by Messrs. W. Cutbush
& Son, is a very distinct and pretty Erica, with rather
slender, silvery-purple or rose-coloured flowers.

Mr. Robert Greenfield, Jun., Ranelagh Nurseries,
Royal Leamington Spa, exhibited plants of an Aspara-
gus named A. Greenfieldi. The plants resembled those
of A. retrofractus, but the growths were rather stronger
and of less length.

Messrs. J. Carter & Co., High Holborn, London,
exhibited a group of very choice plants of Gloxinia
seedlings, in which self-coloured, hicoloured, and
shotted varieties were well represented, the colours
being very brilliant.

Messrs. Paul & Son, The Old Nurseries, Cheshunt,
had sprays of such ornamental-leaved and flowering
shrubs as Quercus Concordia (golden-leaved), Weigelas
alba, President Duchartre, Van Houttei, and Candida;
several very pretty Lilacs, including the fine double
white Madame Leiuoine ; JEsculus carnea and Briottii,
Pyrus Aria aurea, Viburnum Opulus aurea variegata,
V. oxycoccus, Fagus purpurea bicolor, <tc.

A pretty variety of Pyrethrum roseum named Pink
Pearl was shown by Messrs. Laxton Brothers,
Bedford.

A striped Petunia named Silver Star was shown by
Messrs. Cooper, Taiier it Co., no, Southwaik Street,
LondoD, E.C.

From the Garden of Leopold DE Rothschild, Esq.,
Gunnersbury House, Acton, Mr. Hudson exhibited fine
branches of flowers of the new Rose, Conrad F. Meyer,
(R. rugosa hybrid). These were from the open ground,
where the plants had been afforded no protection.
This Rose was given an Award of Merit last year on
June 4.

H. F. Pitt, Esq., Rosslyn, Stamford Hill, N. (gr., Mr.
W. Noble), exhibited a very fine lot of Gloxinias,
excellent in strain, and exhibiting good cultivation.
Messrs. W. Curnusii *t Sox, llighgatc Nurseries,

London, N., had a group of plants on the floor near the
doors, in which were very fine Carnations, including
some of the choicest varieties of the Souvenir de la
Malmaison type, as Monk, rich red colour; Nell
Gwynne, white; Churchwarden, rosy-crimson; Lady
Rose, rich pink colour; Maggie Hodgson, deep
crimson ; Lord Welby, bright red, brightest of all ;
King Arthur ; and several tree varieties were shown in
good condition, including a Germania. Thirty spikes of
Ercmurus himalaica were grouped over a groundwork
of cut flowers of Pyrethrum roseum (Silver-gilt Flora
Medal).

Mr. C. Turner, Royal Nurseries, Slough, exhibited a
plant of a border Carnation named MaDxman, a
glorious flower 3j inches across, colour cherry-scarlet.

Mr. Martin R. Smith, The Warren, Hayes, exhibited
six plants of a yellow seedling Carnation of the
Souvenir dela Malmaison type, and named Sunray.

Messrs. John Peed & Sons, Roupell Park Nurseries,
Norwood, exhibited a group of cut flowers of hardy
species, a very miscellaneous collection. A pan con-
tained plants of Gypsophila cerastioides in bloom, a
species growing about 3 inches high, having numerous
white flowers J-inch across, with three forked stripes
of red on each petal.

Messrs. Dobbie & Co., Rothesay and Orpington, ex-
hibited a group of cut flowers of the fragrant hybrid
Aquilegias. also blooms of choice varieties of fancy
Pansies from planls grown at Orpington, where they
were put out in the open border in March. These
fancy Pansies were remarked upon in our last issue.

Mr. T. S. Ware, Ltd., Hale Farm Nurseries, Feltharo,
exhibited a group of hardy flowers, in which varieties
of Pyrethrum roseum were conspicuous, also flowers of
the very large Campanula-like Ostrowskia magnifies,
Incarvillea Delavayi, &c. The various Iris paradoxa
was shown as a plant in flower (Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. R. Wallace & Co., Kilufield Gardens, Co?-
chester, had a group of choice plants and cut flowers.
Several species of Broditea were shown, including
B. laxa, B. Candida, B. capitata, and B. Douglasii. A
fine mass of Incarvillea Delavayi, many Lilies, as L. ex-
celsum, L. longiflorum giganteum, L. Krameri, L. odo-
rum, the pretty yellow-flowered L. monadelphum, &c.
Varieties of Iris sibirica were very pretty, as I. s. George
Wallace, of large size and deep in colour; I. s. alba
maxima, a considerable improvement upon the variely
alba; also numerous and choice varieties of Iris Ger-
manica and Calochortus (Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. Kelkay & Son, Langport Nurseries, Somer-
set, had a large and gay exhibit of varieties of
Pyrethrum roseum and tree Pieonies. The colours of
the single ami double flowered Pyrethrums were ex-
tremely varied. Among the double we noticed the
following prominent varieties, Mdllc. Van Houtte,
white, tinted with mauve; Chamois, bronzy -pink;
Ernest, crimson: Rembrandt, dull crimson ; Meteor,
rosy-crimson ; Wega, and Princess Beatrice. Among
the large number of single flowers, were Ladysmith,
crimson; Princess Irene, white; Princess Marie, white;
Comet, crimson, &c. (Silver Flora Medal).

Messrs. Geo. Jackman & Son, Woking Nursery,
Surrey, showed a pretty exhibit of hardy plants in
flower, such as Aster alpinus, Epilobinm obcordatum,
a North American species with bright mauve coloured
flowers; Edraianthus dalinaticus, Incarvillea Delavayi,
Cypripedlum spectabile, occidental e, &c.. Orchis foliosa,
Hcucherasanguinea, Dianthus Atkinsoni.with brilliant
crimson flowers, &C.

Mr. M. Pritchard, Christchurch, Hants, exhibited a
grand lot of hardy flowers, in which varieties of I.
sibirica and other species were prominent; also mauy
showy Papavers, Pyrethrums, &c. (Silver Flora Medal).

Mr. Amos Perry, Hardy Plant Nursery, Winchmore
Hill, London, N„ was another exhibitor of hardy
flowers, showing finely cultivated specimens. A strongly
grown plant in a pot was noticed of Ostrowskia. There
were fine masses of the blue flowered Ixolirion tar-
taricum, and gorgeously coloured varieties of Papavers,
&c. (Silver Flora Medal).

Mr. E. Potten had a collection of hardy flowers,
including Lilacs, Weigelas. Pyrethrums, &c.

Messrs. Barh & Sons, King Street, Covent Garden,
London, in the midst of a collection of hardy flowers
included a lew Japanese dwarfed trees. Amongst the
hardy flowers was Iris paracina-., a hybrid between I.
paradoxa and I. sambucina. The flowers have purple
standards, and the falls are reticulated while over
purple ground ; they arc very pretty. Ereinurus hima-
laicus, double Pyrethrums, TroUiua japonlous tl.-pl..
Pieonies, Papavers, &e.,wcrc included (Silver Banksiau
Medal).

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Royal Exotic Nurseries,
King's Road, Chelsea, made a grand display of flower
spikes of Eremurus, there being about 100 specimens,
some of the best of the E. robustus varieties having
3J feet length of flowers, all of the spikes were of unusual
strength. Five species and varieties were represented,
consisting of E. himalaicus, E. robustus, E. robustus
Elwesianus, E. Olgie, and the yellow - flowered E.
Bungei. The two last-mentioned weaker-growing spe-
cies were shown as plants in pots. The whole group
had a grourd-work of flowers of herbaceous Pieonies.
A further exhibit from Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons included
140 plants of Gloxinia in extraordinary good condition
and fine flower. Most of the plants were in 5-inch
pots, and many of them had sixteen beautiful flowers
upon them. The self-coloured flowers and the bi-
coloured, or edged flowers, were mixed with a quantity
of spotted and netted varieties, all of them of very tine
merit. A quantity of plants in pots of the lovely blue-
flowered Solanum Wendlandi were very attractive, also
a number of plants of the yellow- flowered Primula
imperialis (Gold Medal).

Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, Kent, ex-
hibited a group of fine tuberous-rooted Begonias, with
double flowers. Some of the best were, Calypso, pink ;
Lady Wolverton, pink, with white centre^ A. G.
Hubbuck, orange-scarlet; Lord Chelsea, crimson;
Countess of Lytton, white; and Lady Grillitiis (Silver
Flora Medal).

Mr. Chas. Turner, Royal Nurseries, Slough, had a
group of Carnations in pots, composed of choice varie-
ties of the Souvenir de la Malmaison type, and of the
Tree type (Silver-gilt Flora Medal).

Messrs. Paul & Son, the Old Nurseries, Cheshunt.
exhibited some fine plants in pots of hybrid Rhododen-
drons, of R. Fortunei. Duke of York, Duchess of York,
both of them shades in rose-pink, have received Awardu
of Merit ; and there were several unnamed seedlings
of merit.

Messrs. Hihih Low & Co., Clapton, and Bush Hili
Park Nurseries, Enfield, exhibited a group of Carna-
tions in pots, the quality and size of the flowers being
very marked. Such " Malmaison " varieties as Lord
Roberts, Churchwarden, Trumpeter, &c., were eapital;
and of other sections, Cecilia was shown well. There
were also blue-flowered Hydrangeas Hortensia, and
pretty specimens of Tremandra vertieillata, Ac.

Messrs. J. Cheal& Sons, Lowfield Nurseries, Crawley,
had a collection of sprays of hardy trees and shrubs,
such as (Juercus purpurea, a good purple-leaved Oak ;
Pavia flava, Cytisus Andreanus, Weigelas, Lilacs, Cra-
ta?gus Oxyacantha punica, Rhododendrons, it3.

Mr. W. Miller, landscape gardener, Berkewel1,
Coventry, exhibited three plans, one showing in
colours the gardens at Coombe Abbey, Earl Craven's
fine seat near- Coventry ; another which he seat iu
competition to the Paris Exhibition of 1900. The
central portion or parterre in this plau was the
subject of a much more ambitious treatment than
was indicated in the competitive plan, and which
was one of those shown on Tuesday at the Drill
Hall. The component details were greatly elabo-
rated, whilst preserving its boundary lines. The
chief and prettiest features were six panels, each
filled with graceful scroll-work, intended to be
planted with bedding-plants, either floral or foliage;
and four other panels were otherwise dealt with.
Hie whole being very ornate in design, and would
be pleasing in aspect when finished. One pecu-
liar feature was the narrow turf paths, which ran
down the centre of the paths formed of gravel, so that
the pedestrian had the choice of turf or gravel upon
which to walk. The plan of Coombe Abbey shows the
gardens and grounds of 50 acres in extent, as they
exist at the present day, with the exception of a few
minor features, and well indicate the wealth «< trees
and shrubs to be found there, and their varied and
effective arrangement. If the landscape gardener has
erred, it is in the excessively ornate character of his
work, In his planting of trees of large size bj the side
of every path and road-a mistake in onr rainy climate,,
when every gleam of sunshine should be enjoyed.
Moreover, he will not let us hare a glimpse of Nature
in the rough as a foil to the all-pervading ornament*
tron. Mr. Miller was for a period of aboul forty years
,n charge of the gardens at Coombe abbej long
enough, therefore, to see the gradual and ) I
carrying out of all his plans.

Awards.
Beech, P<int'< Gold Matytncit.-A. very efftctivc vine-
gated variety, in which the couuo of tie- leave! '.»
green, and the margins rich yellow. It appeared

398

TEE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 14, 1902.

amongst seedlings of the common Beech at Cheshunt.
From Messrs. Paul & Son (Award of Merit).
b Begonia Exquisite. — A very beautiful double-flowered
tuberous-rooted variety. Flowers salmon-rose colour,
with nearly white centre, each petal very prettily fim-
briated at margin. From Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons
(Award of Merit).

Carnation Lady Hermione. — This is a magnificent
variety, shown by Martin R. Smith, Esq., The Warren,
Hayes, Kent (gr., Mr. C. Blick). The flowers were
3j inches across, of excellent form, very full, and of a
charming shade of salmon-rose colour. The "grass"
was very strong, and the growth vigorous (Award of
Merit).

Fuchsia triphylla hybrirta.— This is a very brilliant
hybrid Fuchsia, from a cross between F. triphylla and

F. fulgens. The flowers are very slender, and con-
siderably longer than those of the orange-scarlet
coloured F. triphylla, being at least 2} inches long ;
they are crimson in colour. The leaves are very deep
green colour, with reddish stems and petioles,
and are occasionally, but not often, produced in
threes, as those of F. triphylla, shown by Leo-
pold de Rothschild, Esq., Gunnersbury House,
Acton (gr., Mr. J. Hudson), and by J. T. Bennett-
Pot, Esq., Holmewood, Cheshunt (gr„ Mr. Downes),
who had a very fine plant, and in addition a spray of
flowers of F. triphylla (First-class Certificate).

Heuehera brizoides var. gracittima.—A variety with
flower spikes about 18 inches high, colour rose. From
Messrs. Wallace & Co. (Award of Merit).

Iris Sarpednn.—A very fine Iris of the Germanica
type, with azure-blue coloured standards, and rich
purple falls, with yellow hairs ; a magnificent and bold
flower. From Mr. G. Yeld, Clifton Cottage, York
(Award of Merit).

Corydalis thalictrifolia.—A few plants of this new
species from China were shown by Messrs. Jas. Veitch
A Sons. They had been grown in a cool-house, under
which conditions the plant is described as being a
" perpetual bloomer." The plants were of very slender
growth, and as drawn up to stakes were about 1 foot
high with the flowers. The leaves have some resem-
blance to those of a Thalictrum, and have five deeply cut
segments, being light green iu.colour. The flowers are
yellow, and borne upon racemes several inches long.
The plant would make a very pretty species for the
rockery (First-class Certificate).

Marguerite " Coronation."— A fine group of plants was
shown by Messrs. Ward, Bkos., Oak House. Enfield
Road, Southgate, of a variety of Chrysanthemum
frutescens, in which a portion of the disc florets have
become tubular, justas in the case of Anemone-flowered
Chrysanthemums. The blooms were 2J inches across,
and the variety, which originated in the nursery as a
sport in 1900, is a distinct novelty (Award of Merit).

Orchid Committee.

Present: Henry Little, Esq. (in the Chair); and
Messrs. Jas. O'Brien (Hon. Sec), De B. Crawshay, F. W.
Ashton, H. Ballantine, W. A. Bilney, J. Charlesworth,
J. Colman, W. Cobb, J. Douglas, E. Hill, A. Hislop,

G. F. Moore, H. T. Pitt, H. M. Pollett, F. Rehder, H. A.'
Tracy, W. H. White, and W. H. Young.

H. T. Pitt, Esq., Rosslyn, Stamford Hill (gr., Mr.
Thurgood), again arranged one of his very fine groups
of Orchids, in which the excellence of the blotched
forms of Odontoglossum crispum was, as usual, a
telling feature, and for which a Silver-gilt Flora Medal
was awarded. The centre of attraction was the superbly
blotched and finely formed Odontoglossum crispum Pit-
tianum ; and other tine forms were O.c.Lady of the Lake,
O. u. Curiosity, a pretty flower approaching O. c. Lowii,
and with some purple spots inside the slightly in-
curved margin of the petals ; O. c. Purity, O. c. corona,
O. c. Perfection, O. c. Alexandra Regina, all good and
distinct. Other plants noted were O. nebulosuni
excellens, O. Rossii majus, O. Hallii varieties, O.
Hunnewellianumsceptrum, and other Odontoglossums.
The pretty and singular species comprised the feather-
lipped Bulbophyllum barbigerum, a fine B. Lobbii.
Platyclinis filiformis, with many elegant little racemes
of yellow flowers ; Epidendrum (Nanodes) Medusa;,
Cymbidiuin tigriuum, Chondrorhyncha Ohester-
toni, Zygopetalum Klabochorum, Promenrea ci-
ti'ina, Dendrodium revolutum, and other species;
also effectively and well shown in the group were
plants of Anguloa Clowesii, Lrelia tenebrosa, L. pur-
purata, C. Mossire, and C. Mendeli, all in good
variety ; Lrelio-Cattleya x Hippolyta, L.-C. x Canham-
iana, Cypripedium x Swanianum, C. Chamberlainianum
C. callosum Sandera>, C. x Wiertzianum ; Dendrobium
Falconeri giganteum. D. Deari, varieties of Miltonia

vexillaria, M. Phah'enopsis, and M. Roezli ; Odonto-
glossum citrosmum, Cattleya intermedia Parthenia
Rosslyn variety, and Thuuia Marshalliana and T.
Bensonire.

Sir Frederick Wigan, Bart., Clare Lawn, East Sheen
(gr., Mr. W. H. Young), was awarded a Silver Flora
Medal for an excellent group, at one end of which was a
choice collection of forms of Cypripedium bellatulum
including two of the pure white variety, parts
of the original plant; six plants of the white-
lipped C. Godefroyre leucocheilum, a good plant
of C. callosum Sandera1, and other Cypripe-
diums. At the back of the group the Thunias
were effectively arranged with Lrelia purpurata, varie-
ties of Cattleyas, of which one of the prettiest was C.
Mossiie Mrs. Egerton^Grey, and Lrelias. In the centre
was a fine specimen of Epidendrum prismatocarpum,
with many spikes ; Lrelia majalis were well flowered ;
Odontoglossum crispum were well represented, the two
most distinct being O. c. Albion, a fine pure white, and
O. c. marmoratum, with the segments tinged and
blotched with claret colour ; several O. x Adrianse,
and other Odontoglossums, Masdevallia Carderi,
Cochlioda Noezliana, a line Oncidium JForbesii, Eria
acervata, Maxillaria vitellina, Cymbidium tigrinum,
&e.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, were awarded
a Silver Banksian Medal for a compact group of their
showy hybrids, principally of Lrelia and Cattleya,
among them being three examples of the fine Lrelio-
Cattleya x Aphrodite alba, and one of the dark variety ;
two of the equally showy L.-C. x Canhamiana, and
good specimens of L.-C. x Wellsiana, L.-C. x Hippo-
lyta, L.-C. x Lycias, Cypripedium x Euryale, Epi-
LaMia x Charlesworthi, Epi-Cattleya ;■: matutina, some
good Odontoglossum crispum, and a plant of the small
and pretty O. Wallisii.

Messrs. Stanley, Ashton & Co., Southgate, were
awarded a Silver Banksian Medal for a good group, in
which the two best plants were Odontoglossum x loo-
christyensc nobilius, a large pale yellow flower, heavily
blotched with red-brown, and Cypripedium x A. de
Lairesse, a fine hybrid of Rothschildianum and Cur-
tisii. The group was composed principally of good
Odontoglossum crispum, O. x Adrianre, good examples
of their fine strain of Cattleya Mossire, C. Mendeli,
Lrelia Digbyana, L. purpurata, and other showy Orchids.

Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, Holloway, staged a
group in which were sowie good Lselia purpurata and
Cattleya Mossire ; also Lrelio-Cattleya x cinnabrosa,
Lrelia tenebrosa, Zygopetalum Dayanum, Thunia alba,
Miltonia vexillaria, Coslogyne Massangeana, and
various Cypripediums.

Francis Wellesley, Esq., Westfield, Woking (gr.,
Mr. Gilbert), showed a strong plant with two flowers of
the richly coloured Cypripedium Lawrenceanum Hack-
bridgense, the dorsal sepal of which is suffused with
purplish-rose over almost the whole surface, the rest
of the flower being richly coloured ; and C. Lawrence-
anum Colossus, a large variety with white dorsal sepal
bearing purplish lines.

J. T. Bennett-Poe, Esq., Holmewood, Cheshunt (gr.,
Mr. Downes), showed a fine specimen of a beautiful
variety of Cattleya Warscewiczii, with two spikes of
three and four flowers respectively.

J. Gurney Fowler, Esq., Glcbelands, South Wood-
ford (gr.. Mr. Davis), showed a fine specimen of Cypri-
pedium callosum Sanderre with four flowers.

Mr. H. A. Tracy, Twickenham, showed a small col-
lection of beautiful varieties of Cattleya Mossire, in-
cluding the true pure white C. M. Wageneri, with four
flowers; C. M. Arnoldiana, white, with purplish blotch
on the lip ; C. M. Reineckiana ; C. M. delicata, a pretty
blush-white with no dark colour on the lip ; and C. M.
Tracy's variety a fine flower, white with a decided
bluish tint over the whole, the colour on the lip being
slatey-blue. It is a delicately tinted and distinct
variety.

A. Warrurton, Esq., Vine House, Haslingden, sent
an inflorescence of the noble Odontoglossum crispum
Lnciaui which always causes admiration whenever it is
seen, the present form of the flower presenting it at its
best. The large flowers are heavily tinged with purple
at the back and blotched with claret-purple on the
front. We have several times referred to this magni-
ficent variety in the Gardeners' Chronicle. It was given
a First-class Certificate when shown by Messrs. Linden,
March, 1897, and was illustrated in company with its
beautiful companion O. c. Lindeni, in the Gardener*'
Chronicle, April 21 of that year.

Messrs. HUGH, Son & Co., showed a very large and
beautiful form of Cattleya Mendeli, and other Orchids.

The Rev. Frank Mason, The Firs, bWarwick, showed

two distinct forms of Cattleya Mossia>, the one with
petals variegated with purple on rose colour.

Mrs. Haytvood, Woodhatch Lodge, Reigate (gr., Mr.
C. J. Salter), showed Odontoglossum crispum Distinc-
tion, a good white flower.

Jeremiah Colman, Esq., Gatton Park (gr., Mr. W. P.
Bound), showed a good plant of Lycaste brevispatha,
more often called L. Lawrenceana; and Odontoglossum
crispum Gatton Park variety, a fine purple-tinted flower.

Awards.

Award of Merit.

Lselio-Cattleya X Mabel (C. Triana-i X L. tenebrosa),
from H. S. Leon, Esq., Bletehley Park (gr., Mr. A.
Hislop).— A fine flower with sepals and petals equal to
those of C. Trianrei, and of a rose tint suffused with a
bronzy hue. Lip rose coloured with dark purple veining
in front.

Cattleya labiata Warneri, Little's variety, from Henry
Little, Esq., Baronshalt, Twickenham (gr., Mr.
Howard).— A very fine form of the handsome, summer-
flowering Cattleya generally called C. Warneri. Sepals
and petals dark rose ; front of the well-expanded lip
intense crimson-purple.

Cultural Commendation.
To Mr. W. H. White, gr. to Sir Trevor Lawrence,
Bart., for a grand specimen of Cattleya labiata Mossire,
with about forty-eight beautiful flowers, so densely
arranged that the leaves were only here and there
visible. The whole plant was of the same mass and
variety, and formed a fine example of cultural skill.

Fruit and Vegetable Committee.

Present : Geo. Bunyard, Esq., Chairman ; and Messrs.
Henry Eslings, W. Bates, S. Mortimer, H. J. Wright,
Geo. Keif, W. Fyfe, H. Markham, Geo. Reynolds, F. Q.
Lane, James Smith, A. H. Pearson, and H. Balderson.

Some baskets of excellent Grapes as packed for
market were shown by Mr. J. Hodges, Rusper Vineries,
Faygate. The varieties were Gros Maroc and Black
Hamburgh, and all were very finely finished. About
40 lb. were shown (Silver Knightian Medal).

A green - fleshed Melon named Golden Wedding,
shown by Mr. J. Vert, Audley End Gardens, Saffron
Walden, was not given an award. The fruit had very
deep flesh, but was not of particularly good flavour.

LeoroLD de Rothschild, Esq., exhibited thirty fine
fruits of Lord Napier Nectarine, obtained from a
trained tree which has borne a crop of 100 fruits. Also
dishes of ripe fruits of the following Plums:— Count
Althann's Gage, Early Transparent Gage, and Jefferson
(Silver Banksian Medal).

Awards.

Melon President. (Royal Favourite >; Westley Hall).—
This is a very deeply netted, scarlet-fleshed fruit, with
moderately deep flesh, and exquisite flavour. Shown
by Mr. W. Ingram, gr. to R. Burrell, Esq., Westley
House, Bury St. Edmunds (Award of Merit).

Scientific Committee.

June 10. —Present : Dr. M. C. Cooke (in the Chair); and
Messrs. Odell, Saunders, Douglas, Veitch ; Drs. Miiller
Masters, and Rev. W. Wilks.

Pear leaves.— Mr. Saunders reported that the leaves
submitted to him were attacked by the Pear-mite,
Eriophyes pyri. •

Fuxarium Solani.—A letter was read from Professor
Perceval in which he stated that he had provedex-
perimentally that healthy Potatos could be affected by
this fungus.

The Narcissus-fly.— 'Rev. W. Wilks showed specimens
of the perfect insect, Merodon, which he had reared.

Diseased Fig. — A specimen was exhibited, and referred
to Dr. Cooke for report. No fungus was visible, and the
appearance was consistent with some check to growth.

Iris, overgrowth of. — Miss E. Cocker sent specimens of
Iris squalens which had apparently grown too fast and
too vigorously, and in which in consequence the stems
had snapped across as from some injury.

Moth on Pear.— Mr. Berry sent specimen, which was
referred to Mr. Saunders for report.

Tomatos.—lhe same gentleman also sent specimens of
diseased Tomato-stems in which no fungus was visible.

Apple-leaves crippled.— Mr. Getting, of Ross, showed
Apple-leaves puckered, and of a deep green colour. No
aphis or fungus was visible. The specimens were
submitted to Dr. Cooke for future examination and
report.

Toniatos. — Mr. Lumsden sent specimens of some
grubs found in the stem of a Tomato, and which will
be reported on later.

June 14, 1902

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

399

Cauliflowers.— My. C. Hooper sought information as
to the reason why certain Cauliflowers on his farm
were all good, whilst others in another situation failed
to form a " curd." Without further particulars, it was
not possible to give a satisfactory explanation.

Insert Injurious to Apple Graft.— In reply to a question
from Mr. Duni.op, of Armagh, the following letter was
read from Mr. Saunders : " The beetle you sent to me
the other day, said to be the cause of injury to Apple
grafts at Loughall, Co. Armagh, belongs to the weevil
family, and is known as the " Brown leaf weevil ; " its
scientific name ■ is Phyllobius oblongus. It is a well-
known pest, feeding on the leaves and buds of various
fruit-trees; but I can find no record of its feeding on
the bark. It is said to be particularly fond of attack-
ing grafts, and if it will feed on the buds, I can see no
reason why it should not also feed on the bark, par-
ticularly when it is young and tender. It is recom-
mended that the grafts should be smeared with graft-
ing wax or clay, to keep the insects away; but I feel
uncertain whether this would not be prejudicial to the
graft. These beetles can fly very well, but on a dull
morning they might be shaken from the trees on to a
white sheet. The eggs are laid below the surface of
the ground, and the grubs feed on the roots of various
plants, and undergo their transformation in the soil.
The beetles emerge in the spring. It might be useful
early in the spring to give a good dressing of kainit,
nitrate of soda, or soot, which would be injurious to
the beetle when it emerges in a tender state from its
chrysalis, and tries to make its way to the surface."
George S. Saunders."

The Raspberry Moth, Lampronia rubiella (fig. 140).— The
life history of this insect is rather unusual ; the moth
emerges from the chrysalis in the spring, and the
females lay their eggs in the open flower, the egg being
laid just below the surface of the receptacle (the core
of the fruit) ; here it feeds until the fruit is ripe, it then
leaves its quarters, and spins a small white cocoon in
some place at the foot of the bush, frequently selecting
the stool. It remains in this cocoon all the winter,
and in the spring makes its way to the buds, piercing
them and feeding within them in the manner which is
so well known. The most effective remedy is to pick
off the infested buds or shoots and burn them, taking
care that the caterpillars do not escape during the
operation. It has been suggested that it would be
useful to throw dressings of ashes, or sand mixed with
paraffin oil (1 quart of oil to 1 bushel of sandi, among
the stools in the winter, but I should think it was very
questionable if this was of any practical use. Kaking
away the earth and rubbish from round the stocks and
then earthing them up again, has been recommended.
G. S. Saunders.

Virescent Tulip.— Mr. Saunders showed a specimen in
which the perianth-segments were partially virescent,
and in one instance from irregular growth the seg-
ment had been torn. The coloured portion uplifted
with the growing stem, whilst the green portion
remained beneath.

Cytisus Ada mi.— Dr. Masters exhibited fine specimens
of this curious hybrid, from the Bournemouth Gar-
deners' Mutual Improvement Association, showing
both parental forms, and various intermediates pro-
ceeding from the same branch.

Roses Dying.— Specimens were also exhibited wherein
the upper shoots and the stock were dead or dying.
The appearances were considered to be due to an
over-dose of strong manure.

Melon Disease.— Further specimens were shown and
submitted to Dr. Cooke for examination. Dr. Cooke
remarked that as the fungus lived within the tissues of
the plant, remedial measures were of no use as pre-
ventatives. The plants should be burnt, the soil
sterilised, and the house white-washed and disinfected.

Supposed Wild Form of Lilium canditlnm.— Dr. Masters
showed from Mr. Sprenger, of Naples, specimens from
the mountains of Calabria. The segments were smaller,
narrower, and less recurved than in the ordinary
cultivated form.

Fruit of the. Ten-plant . — "Dr. Masters exhibited from
Mr. Guttridgc, the Botanic Garden, Liverpool, a speci-
men of Thea Bohea bearing a ripe capsule. Similar
but larger fruits are not uncommon in Camellias, but
are not so often met with. Mr. Odell remarked that
he had frequently seen specimens.

Insrnsed Larch.— Hi. Elwes sent specimens for
examination and report.

Diseased Vines.— Mr. Close sent specimens in which
the roots were dying or dead. On examination, it was
considered that the mischief was due to an over-rich
soil, or to having been kept too long in a pot.

GRAND YORKSHIRE GALA.

June 11, 12, 13.— This was the forty-fourth exhibition,
and it took place as usual jn the Bootham Field, York.
As usual, the spacious tents formed a whole by reason of
their joining each other at certain points, and they
were filled with varied collections of plants, cut flowers.
&c., but in respect of some of the leading features it
was said there was a perceptible falling off owing to
the exceptional weather. Orchids, though bright in
appearance, and forming attractive masses of bloom,
were not quite up to the usual average ; Pelargoniums,
though seen in the form of well-grown and flowered
plants, wanted longer time to fully develop their blos-
sons, yet they were, as is usual, aremarkable feature,
and they formed a brilliant foreground to the fine
examples of specimen foliage plants.

At the luncheon to the visitors and judges, the Lord
Mayor stated that during the time the Gala had been
held, the Committee had disbursed the sum of over
£27,000 in prizes, over £6,000 had been spent on bauds to
provide the best music, and over £2,000 had been
devoted to charitable institutions ; and yet they had a
good reserve balance. Unfortunately, just before the
time for opening the show to the public, a heavy storm
passed over the ground, which was followed by supple-
mentary showers. The arrangements made by Mr.
C. \V. Simmonds, the Secretary, and his staff were good.

Groups of plants arranged for effect on a space not
exceeding 300 feet, filled the side of a large tent ; they
were all arranged according to one pattern— that with
which Mr. James Cypher and others made us familiar

Fill. 140.— THE EASPHERRYMOTH (LAMPORNIA RUBIELLA).

at the large exhibitions held about the country. Palms
with an inner line of handsome foliage plants formed
the background, and then came dot plants of various
kinds, with a few flowering subjects; but in every case
richness of tone was derived from tho use of gav-
colourcd foliage plants. Mr. J. Sharp, Valley Nursery,
Hudderstield, was distinctly 1st ; Mr. Curtis, gr. to
J. Blacker, Esq., Sclby, was 2nd; Mr. Toivnsend, gr.
to E. R. Faiier, Esq., Harrogate, 3rd.

The class for twelve stove and greenhouse plants
brought Mr. James Cypher, Cheltenham, to the foro
with medium sized, fresh, well-grown and bloomed
plants, chief among them Pimelea Hendcrsoni, Erica
ventricosa magnifica, Bougainvillea glabra, Hedcromia
tulipifera, Bougainvilleas, &c, ; Mr. \V. Vause was 2nd.

With six plants, Mr. J. Cypher was 1st. They included
a well-bloomed plant of Frauelscea eximea, some
Ericas, Dracophyllum gracilis. Sea. ; Mr. Vause was
again 2nd.

There was a class also for six specimens open only to
amateurs, and an open class for six from which
Orchids were excluded, Mr. James Cypher again being
1st; and Mr. Lawton, gr. to Colonel IIahrison-Bhoad
ley, 2nd.

The best specimen stove plant was a tine piece of
Bougainvillea Cyphcri from Mr. CIPHER; Mr. Vause
coming 2nd with Anthurium Scherzeriauum.

Mr. Cypher had the host greenhouse plant, a neat
piece of I'racophyllum gracile; Mr. VAUSE coming 2nd
with an excellent piece of Azalea Mrs. Carter.

The class for six tine foliage plants brought some
superb examples of Palms and Crotons in particular,
but being placed behind the broad margin of Pelar-
goniums, it became extremely difficult to distinguish
the names ol the exhibitors as well as the subjects
Mr. CyFHBB, was 1st with huge specimens of Latania
borbouiea, Kcntia Belmorcana and K. Fosteriana,
Seaforthia clegans, and Croton Queen Victoria, and
another, with three plants Mr. Cl PHBB was again 1st.
There were some fairly good specimens oi Crotons, tho
best Cape Heath was a tine piece ot Erica ventricosa

magnifica from Mr. Cypher. Coleus were also shown
in sixes, the 1st prize going to plants well grown and
coloured, but trained quite flat, taking up a great deal
of room without being of much decorative value.

There was a class for twenty alpine and herbaceous
plants, which brought but one collection, that from
Mr. S. Habdcastle, Bishop Wilton, York, the best
feature was some good pans of Succulents.

The best six Exotic Ferns came from Mrs. Tetley,
Westwood, Leeds (Mr. J. Eastwood, gr.). The principal
subjects were Cibotium Scheidei, Davallia fijiensis, and
Leucostegia immersa. The Rev. G. Yeats, Heworth
Vicarage, York (Mr. J. Snowden, gr.) was 2nd; a fine
example of Microlepia hirta cristata was included.
The Rev. G. Yeats was also 1st with three specimens,
and Mr. Tetley 2nd.

Hardy Ferns were shown in tens and sixes. Messrs.
Simpson & Sons were 1st with the larger number, and*
Mr. T. Nicholson 2nd with six ; the latter came in 1st,
and Messrs. Simpson & Sons were 2nd.

Groups of Carnations were a leading feature, the best
a bold and striking group of Malmaisons came from A.
Wilson, Esq., Tranby Croft (Mr. Leadbetter, gr.) The
Duke of Portland, Welbeck (gr., Mr. J. Roberts), came
2nd, with fine plants of Malmaison, wanting a few
more days to get the blooms well expanded. Messrs.
Walshaw & Son, nurserymen, Scarborough, were
3rd with border varieties of good quality, the plants
disfigured by the prominence given to the sticks sup-
porting them.

Some very pretty table plants were staged, but the
gorgeous-hued pot covers used in one case killed the
effect of the plants. Gloxinias, shown in groups,
arranged with foliage, were fairly good ; they were
also shown in collections of eight, the 1st prize going
to plants of a superior character. Groups of Roses in
pots were rather poor.

Orchids
were, of course, a leading feature, though experts said
they, showy as they were, did not come up to York
form. The manner in which they were staged made it
very difficult to distinguish the subjects in the various
classes. The best table of Orchids came from Mr.
Cypher, good forms of Cattleya, Odontoglossum, &c,
predominating. Mr. John Rouson, Bowdon Nurseries,
Altriucham, was 2nd.

With ten plants, Mr. Cypher came 1st— a good even
collection, which included Cattleyas Warneri, Mossiae,
&0. ; Epidendrum vitellinum majus, Oncidium cris-
pum giganteum, a fine form of Masdcvallia Veitchi,
Cypripedium Lawrenceanum, <&c.

With six specimens, Mr. Cypher was again 1st, and
Mr. Kohson 2nd.

Pelargoniums formed a bold bank, but all sections
wanted more time to get into full flower; the speci-
mens throughout were well grown. Mrs. Tetley was
the only exhibitor ot fifteen, the veteran J. Eastwood
having it all his own way. He was, of course, awarded
the 1st prize. Two purple-tinted varieties, Madame
Hiliare and Lady Isabel, were excellent; so were*
Madame Thibaut, Magpie, and Sultana. Mrs. Tetley
appeared to be the only exhibitor of six varieties, and
she was 1st with three plants.

Fancy Pelargoniums were few and small. Mrs.
Tetley was 1st; and Mr. 11. Pyhus was 2nd.

With six double-flowered Ivy-leaved varieties, and
also with three, Mrs. Tetley took the 1st prize ; and
Mr. PXBUSthe 2nd.

Begonias were shown in two classes, but they were
only of moderate quality.

Mr. Geo. Lee had the best six Fuchsias, and Mrs.
Tetley the best three. The specimens in this class
were decidedly good.

Calceolarias of fair quality were also shown in three
classes.

Floral designs were a good feature ; they were of a
miscellaneous character, each covering 60 feet of
tabling. Messrs. W. Artindale & Sox were 1st,
Orchids predominating. Mr. C. E. Simpson was 2nd.

The best group of flowers in vase or cpergne for
dinner table came from Mr. G. Con ham, who had a
combination of red, white, and blue-red Anthurium,
blue Cornflower, and white Spiraea; Mr. GEO. WEBSTER
was 2nd.

Messrs. Perkins & Sons, Coventry, and Messrs.
Artindale & Son won several prizes for bouquets.

Roses.
Koses were shown in several classes, the Teas and
Noisettes largely preponderating. Messrs. R. Hark-
NESSandCo., Hitchin, were 1st with 72 blooms in not
[ewer than 38 varieties; and Mr. Georoe Prince was
2nd. The only exhibitors of IS blooms were Messrs.
HABKNESS and Co., who were 1st. With 38 varieties
Messrs. Habkness and Co. ondMr. Gborob Prince
were 1st and 2nd. with 21 blooms, Messrs. Baseness
and Co. were the only exhibitors. With is varieties,
Mr. GbOBGB PRINCE was 1st, and Messrs. HABENBS8
and Son 2nd. Mr. G. PRINCE came in 1st with 12 White
and Yellow Hoses, consisting of Mareohal Nicl and

Mphetos; Messrs. Habknbss ,v sons, Bedale,

were 2nd.

j. p, Laxcoce, Esq.. Bawtry (gr.. Mr. (i. Lamb), had
the best twelve bunches ol stove and greenhouse cul
Bowers; and Sir J. W. Pease, Bt., M.P., Button Hall

(gr., Mr. J. Mclndoc), was 2nd.

400

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 14, 1902.

In a class for twelve bunches, Orchids excluded, Mr.
MelNDOE was 1st; aud W. H. B. Wriuhtson, Es |.,
Dbncaster (gr., Mr. G. A. Key wood), and.

Messrs. Habkness & Sons, were 1st with a collection
nl Uavdy cut flowers, and Messrs. G. Gibson & Sons,
2nd, they were a very good feature. Fair collections
wei*e shown in the class for twenty-four bunches and
in that for twelve.

Feu it.

In the class for six kinds of fruit, Mr. J. H. Goodacr'e,
Elvaston Castle Gardens, was 1st, and Mr. McIndoe
2nd.

In the class for a collection of four kinds. Mr. J.
McPherson, the gardens. Londesborough Park, Market
Weighton, was 1st, and Mr. John Easter, the gardens,
Nostel Priory, Wakefield, 2nd.

Ib the class for three Black Hamburgh Grapes, Mr.
McIndoe was 1st, and Mr. W. Nichols, the gardens,
Carlton Towers, 2nd, both having well-finished fruit.

The best three bunches of White Grapes were Buck-
)a.nd Sweetwater, from Mr. Nichols ; F. B. Grotman
Esq., was 2nd with the same.

Peaches were fair ; Nectarines very good ; Melons
were shown in three classes, and there were fair Figs.
Cherries were very fine, especially Early Kivers ; there
were very fine Strawberries also, Royal Sovereign
predominating.

Vegetables were very finely shown by Lord Aldkn-
sa.m, Elstree, Herts (gr., Mr. E. Beckett), who was
>laccd 1st in two classes, showing very t\ne produce.

Non-competincs Trade Exhibits.

Four Gold Medals were awarded, one to Mr. J.
Cowan, Garston, Liverpool, for a choice collection of
Orchids. Another to Mr. John Russell, nurseryman,
Richmond, for a bold and striking group of stove and
greenhouse plants ; also to Messrs. R. Smith & Son, St.
John's Nursery, Worcester, for a very fine group of
specimen Clematis and a table of cut flowers and other
plants; and a special Gold Medal to Messrs. Back-
house & Son, nurserymen, York, for an extensive and
picturesque group of hardy Rhododendrons, Azaleas,
Ac.

First-class Certificates of Merit were awarded to
Messrs Bi.ackmore & Langdon, for their splendid
strain of double nnd single Begonias; and to Messrs.
Ramsbottom & Co., Gledhill, King's County, Ireland,
for their Alderborough strain of St. Brigid Anemones,
which they had in very fine character.

Certificates of Merit were awarded to Messrs. R. H.
Bath, Ltd., Wisbech, for an excellent collection of cut
lowers and Carnations in pots; to Messrs. Kent &
Bruoon, Darlington, for a group of plants; and to
Messrs. W. & J. Brown, of Stamford, for a table of
plants. The Floral Committee awarded a Certificate of
Merit to Heliotrope Lord Roberts, a line shaded
Ja.Tender variety from the same firm.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

— + —

Apple-leaves : H. Z. G. Several similar cases
have been submitted to us, where the leaves
have been crippled and puckered, and the
green colour intensified. The appearances
are evidently due to some check to growth,
perhaps frost. We find neither insects nor
fungi, but. further examination will be made
of the specimens also ssnt by you to the
Scientific Committee.

Bramble Shoot: Miss E. J. The swollen, gall-
like condition of the stem is due to the
attacks of an insect known as Diastroplius
rnbi.

Carnations: H. T. Dixon. The older named
varieties were charming flowers of moderate
size ; we cannot, however, bring ourselves
to like the " Duchess of Devonshire," albeit
of the approved crushed-Strawberry colour.
It has a dull, muddy appearance.

Corrections: "Hybrid Rhododendrons," in
last issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle, p. 368,
4tli par., instead of Aucklandi, read (iriffithi-
anum ; and read Gritlithianum for Griffith!
wherever that name appears in the article.
W. W.

Correction. On p. 377Jof our last issue, for
Appley Towers, Hyde, read Appley House,
Ryde.

Electricity and Plant Growth : V. M. An
exposition of the use of electricity in field
culture will shortly appear in these pages.

Fumigation and Lady Downes' and Muscat
oi' Alexandria Grapes : F. M. It is con-
sidered advisable by the most experienced
Grape growers not to use any vaporiser or
fumigator on these varieties.

Grapes: Penrose. Yes, the berries are affected
with spot — Glseosporium. Destroy the af-

fected berries, and try the effect of spray-
ing with i oz. of bisulphide of potassium to
1 gallon oi water.

Fuchsia-flower Malformed : Fnchsia. Your
flower has four sepals free at the base of the
calyx - tube, which bears four sepals and
four petals, together with some imperfect
stamens and styles. The plant is not likely
to continue to produce such blooms.

Jargonelle and Beurre d'Amanlis dropping
their Fruits : W. H. Due probably to dry-
ness at the root, the soil being light and
shallow and the subsoil gravelly. The
malady may be got over by incorporating a
large quantity of heavy loam with the staple,
and by making a platform of coal, chalk, or
concrete, 4 to 5 feet square, and replanting
the tree thereon, with, of course, a depth of
soil of about 15 ins. under the roots. What-
ever the kind of material used for the plat-
form, it should be at the least 6 inches in
depth, and be well rammed or beaten, so
that the roots cannot penetrate it ; and it
should be made about 2 feet below the
ground-level. A mulch should be employed
from April to October, and water applied,
more especially in the spring, when the
trees are in bloom, and several times during
the summer. Your friend's Pear-trees,
although growing in a clayey soil, may like-
wise be suffering from dryness of the soil.
Let him make an examination of the soil.

Lily : G. S. J. The too well-known Lily-
disease, due to a Botrytis. Take up the
bulbs, and dust them thoroughly with
flowers-of-sulphur, or preferably keep them
in the sulphur for some weeks before
replanting.

Names of Fruits: G. T., Lijndhnrst. The
Apple resembles Hanibledon Deux Ans, but
is not quite identical with the type in
ordinary cultivation. It is undoubtedly a
useful variety.

Names of Plants: W. T. l,NepetaGlechoma
hederacea var. variegata (Ground Ivy) ; 2,
Basella sps. ; send when in flower. — A. U. 8.
1, Sedum rupestre; 2, Filago germanica ;
3, Melaleuca genistifolia. — A. Crataegus
coccinea. — A. S. P. Crinum asiaticum and
Coelogyne Parishi.- — Constant Reader, Fal-
kirk. Laelia purpurata Schroderi. — /. E.
Cercis Siliquastrum (Judas Tree). — Enquirer.
1, Polygonum Bistorta ; 2, Saxifraga Geum ;

3. Spirsea callosa ; 4, Symphytum patens ;
5, "Viburnum Lantana?; 6, Allium ursinum.
— Constant Reader. 1, Cassinia fulvida ; 2,
Hippophae rhamuoides ; 3,Weigela hortensis ;

4, Berberis vulgaris ; 5, Exochorda grandi-
flora; 6, Polygala Dalmaisiana. — Rough. 1,
Euphorbia Lathyris, Caper Spurge ; 2, Agros-
temma coronaria. — W. H. Hesperis matron-
alis, Sweet Rocket. — A. Munro. Calycan-
thus floridus. — H. D. W. 1, Adiantum
Pacottii ; 2, Diplacus glutinosus ; 3,Maxillaria
tenuifolia; 4, Echeveria metallica; 5,
Echeveria secunda glauca. — 11'. M. 1,
Dracaena ornata ; 2, Dracaena ferrea ; 3,
Dracaena concinna. The Orchid is Odonto-
glossum luteo-purpureum, a very good
variety. — 8. S. 1, Erinus alpinus ; 2, Cory-
dalis lutea ; 3, Phillyrea media. — A Botanist.
Nasturtium silvestre, bad specimen ; Cas-
sinia fulvida ; some Podocarpus. — J. C. R.
Cypripedium Swanianum (barbatum x
superbiens). The Dendrobium appears to
be a badly developed flower of D. aureum,
which is common in the |locality you name,
though your description of the growth
scarcely agrees. We will compare the flower
and again refer to it ; its odour is the same
as that of D. aureum. — Land 11, Helichry-
sum stoechas ; 12, Globularia Alypum ; 13,
Smilax aspera ; 13, Claytonia perfoliata ; 15,
Teucrium fruticans.

Narcissus Bulbs : J. T. The bulbs are affected
with " basal rot," caused probably by a
fungus. Destroy the diseased bulbs, and
try dusting the bulbs with powdered sulphur
before re-planting.

Peach-leaves having Circular Bisown Spots
upon them : J. Fraser. The leaves are

attacked by the shot-hole fungus. It is too
late to do anything this season. Turn over
the soil under the trees in the autumn, and
sprinkle with quick-lime. Spray with
potassium permanganate next spring, just
when the leaves are expanding. G. M.

Proliferous Roses : T. H. U. Very common,
but the reason why is not easy to explain.
The plant starts to form a single rose bur,
ends by producing a truss in the centre of
each flower in the place of the stamens and
petals. Numerous illustrations have been
given in the Chronicle of this peculiarity.

Roses: M. A. B. We suppose you have been
too liberal in the use of fish-manure, and
have planted too deepiy. Perhaps frost has
had something to do with the death of the
shoots.

Smoke Stains on a Glass Roof : J. T. E.
Hot soda-water and soft soap should remove
them if a scrubbing-brush be used.

Tomatos : Constant Reader. You may be a
constant reader, but not a very attentive
one, as the Tomato disease you enclose has
been very often described and figured. Pull
off the affected fruitc, and burn them. Spray
the plants with Bordeaux Mixture or with
potassium bisulphide (liver of sulphur), i oz.
to a gallon of water. (See also under Names
of Plants).

Tulips : S. W. F. We suppose some accidental
admixture has taken place ; but Tulips are
notoriously unstable, and this may be a case
of variation. We do not think that the soil
has anything to do with the change.

Vines and Grapes : J. A. P. The Vines seem
to be recovering their health under the
treatment afforded, and in a year longer
they will be in a satisfactory condition.
Do not over-crop the Vines, or afford a great
degree of humidity in the house, which as
may be observed in the warty foliage has
hitherto been the case; and give more air,
even if you have to use a little fire-
heat during cool days. The black Grapes
are shanked, but as the Vines improve, and
there is no over-cropping of them, this
malady may disappear in a year or two.
Vines with perfect healthy roots seldom
have shanked berries.

Weeping Trees of Beech, Birch, and
Russian Mulberry : G. R. W. By them
selves the Birch and Beech would do very
well, provided they were planted whilst
quite young, say four or five years old trans-
planted seedlings ; but in the windy position
near Dover indicated, there should be some
kind of protection afforded from the quarters
whence come the strongest and most in-
jurious winds ; say from Austrian orCorsican
Pines, Sycamore, Elder, Blackthorn, common
Crab, Furze, and Tamarisk, planting the
lowly-growing plants more thickly on the
windward side and in the front of the trees,
as well as amongst them. The Mulberry
named is a good hedge -plant, and proof
against the wind. Inside of shelter thus
formed, almost any species of tree to which
a chalky soil is not inimical would succeed.
Weeping varieties of trees should not be
planted in exposed places, because of the
injury inflicted by wind nipping the
branches.

Communications Received.— Prof. Waugh, Vermont—
C B., Paris— L. B., New York-W. P.— G. M.— F. W. B.
-Constant Reader-W. W.— H. F. S.— T. S— F. W. M..
Glasnevin— F. B.— E. M. H.— J. G., Liverpool-C. H. H.
— E. D. T.— S. H. L.— J. W. I).— A. W.— W. F.— H. J. E.
W. E. C— Sutton & Sons— W. T. Copeland— W. S ,
Bourneinoutli-W. W.— G. V. R— W. M.-E. H. J.—
W. H— W. W. P.— E.C.— J. K. K. & Sons— F. A. W.
— J. M.-O. T.-R. Mclntosh-G. W.-H. W. W— J. J.
—J. B— C. T. D— J. Allsop-J. J W — R D.— M. C. C—
W. M. W.— A. Baccrae. Madrid— J. F. S.— Jas. H.—
R. Billiard, Paris— W. P.— T. Rochford & Sons— G. M.
— T. W. B.— M A. B.— W. S.-E. B.— A. G— C. A. B.—
Strix— Jamaica.

DIED.— WRIGLEY : On theCth inst., Annie,
the wife of Oswald Osmond Wrigley, of
Bridge Hall, Bury, Lancashire, aged sixty-
four years.

(For Markets and Weather, see p. x.)

Supplement to the Gardenfrs1 Chronicle,'1 June 14, 1902.

FlTZROYA PATAGONICA IN THE GARDENS AT Pi- X< ARROW, CORNWALL.

June 21, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

401

OUR CORONATION NUMBER.

THE

(iforifatm' (prorarle

No. 808.— SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Begonia, fungus on ... 421
Book notice—

The Book of Orchids 413
Clivca and Hippe-

astrum crossing ... 421

Colonial notes —
Cecil Rhodes as a
horticulturist ... 418
Coronation items ... 420
coronation wreaths... 414
Flower - crowns in

Amiens Cathedral... 411
Flowers in season ... 412
Forestry—

Burnham Beeches... 417
Fruit and vegetable
supplies in the Coro-
nation year 411

Fungus on Begonia ... 421
Geraniums, hardy ... 421
Gerbera Jamesoni ... 431
Holiday, general ... 412

Labels 420

Lilium candidum dis-
ease 422

Mummy garlands

Orange, the Navel, in
California

Plants for house de-
coration

Plants, new or note-
worthy-
Primula Wilsoni ...

Regal crowns

Roadside fruit trees .

Royal Orchids

Sandringham : Their
Majesties' country
home

Society—
Koyal Horticultural

State ball in 1838

Stock-taking

Weather and the fruit
crops

Week's work, the—
Fruits under glass...
Hardy fruit garden .
Orchid houses, the .
Plants under glass .

York Gala

413
120
416

413
401
122
413

412
412
422

423
123
423
423
?22

ILLU8TRATION8.

Codlin Moth, the 424

Coloured drawings of L;elia x Edward VII. and
La-lio-Cattleya x Queen Alexandra(Supplement).

Cook, T. H., Mr., portrait of 410

Cypripedium Emperor of India 415

Odontoglossum Edwardus Rex ... ... 414

Ten views in Their Majesties' Gardens at Sandring-
ham, Norfolk ... 4112—411

View in the Gardens of Buckingham Palace ... 419

Windsor Castle and Park, views of ... 417, 418, 421, 424

REGAL CROWNS.
rriHE word " crown " means curved or
-*- circular, a decoration shaped to the
head it is to surmount; what Macbeth calls
the round and top of sovereignty. For its
genesis we must go to the oriental turban :
worn plain by common men, on royal heads
it was composed of rich material and
adorned with gold and gems —

And the tent shook, for mighty Saul shuddered,
and sparkles 'gan dart

From the jewels, that woke in his turban at
once with a start,

All its lordly male sapphires and rubies coura-
geous of heart.

Transported to colder Western Europe,
the turban dropped away, but its ornaments
remained. In great simplicity at first.
Ecgberht, called commonly the first Eng-
lish king, wears on his coins a plain band of
gold. On the her.d of the Conqueror a
century or two later, the gold fillet carries
three Flcurs-de-Lys, and so it long remained.

Its later developments into our present
royal crown with, as we are told, 3600
precious stones, may lie traced upon the
Great Seals of successive English sovereigns.
It would seem that Greek and Roman
taste, more exalted perhaps than Frank and
Saxon rudeness, disdained this headgear of
barbaric pearl and gold. The Greek eye
looked for decorative beauty to the foliate
and floral upgrowth of earth's surface rather
than to the treasures hidden, and perhaps
better hidden, in her bowels. The Ionian,
aristocracy of earliest Hellas, proudly sym-
bolised their primacy by a crown of Violets:
the highest prize at the Great Olympic Festival
was a garland of Olive leaves. The Roman
general, who had relieved a beleagured city,
was presented by its townsmen with a coronet
wreathed gracefully from the grass which
had grown within its blockaded walls ; the
civic crown, most honourable of all, tin'
representative of the Victoria Cross among
the legionaries, was made of Oak leaves.
Of Roman monarchs, only the hateful
Tarquins vaunted golden crowns; the
coins of mighty Julius and his succes-
sors down to Constantine exhibit lau-
reated brows. Laurel on the head and Palm
leaves on the tunic were the insignia of a
triumphing general ; even to-day, with a
curious fidelity to old ideals, the royal head
upon our newest postage stamp is flanked
with Laurel and with Oak. And so, by these
memories from an older age, these survivals
from a newer world, the coronary topic of the
moment claims our interest, not only as
citizens, but as gardeners. As the turban
shrank away, but left its ornaments behind,
so, surrendering to the herald and the
antiquary rose diamonds and gold arch
and Balas rubies, we fasten on the floral
Lilies still conspicuous in our English
crown, which, like the Strawberry-leaves of
duke and marquis, connect the cumbrous
ceremonial head-dress of to-day with the
simpler earlier wreaths of Nature's fashion-
ing; recall the princes and princesses in the
pageantry of the " Flower and the Leaf,"
wherein knights bore crowns upon their
scutcheons only; on their heads-

Chapelets newe made of Laurel grene,
And every lady had a chapelet
Upon her head of branches fresh and grene ;
Some of Laurel, and some full pleasantly
Had chapelets of Woodbine, and sadly
Some of Agnus CaBtus. . . .

And, in fact, these graceful wreaths are not
extinct among us even now. " Last May we
made a crown of flowers," says the dying
girl of Tennyson's pathetic poem ; and in
the May (Queens of Atherton and Keswick,
above all of Whitelands, endowed and
blessed by Ruskin. Chaucer, were he here
to-day, would recognise the faire,freshe May

of his own joyous time, would further learn
that in a thousand English villages school-
children still, like gentle Emelie, wake
before their hour "to don honour to May
and for to rise."

It is natural to ask how far the crown -
wearers, like the crowns, can be claimed
from history as manifesting horticultural
associations ; what kings and queens have,
as says old Gerarde in his Herbal, " loved to
live in gardens." Had not monarchs been
gardeners in Homer's time, he would not
so lovingly have painted King Aleinous
garden, its 4 acres of well-walled grouDd, its
Figs and Apples, Pears and Olives, Vines
and Pomegranates, flower-beds and foun-
tains. Solomon " planted vineyards, gar-
dens, orchards, trees of all kinds of fruit,"
with reservoirs to water them. Josephus
tells us how at early dawn he would drive
out to them from Jerusalem, clad all in
white, his chariot drawn by priceless horses
his archer-guard behind in purple vests,
their long black hair powdered with gold
dust, which glittered in the sun. A king of
Babylon raised the hanging gardens for the
Median girl who, in the level Euphrates
plain, pined after her native mountains.
Ahab coveted a garden, with tragic issues to
himself and his descendants. Herod en-
closed a paradise of Palm and Balsam in the
rich Jericho oasis. The King of Pontus won
for himself a name by the " sovereign
Mithridate" which his botanical skill com-
pounded. Julius Caesar bequeathed to the
citizens of Rome his "private arbours and
new-planted orchards." The Royal Poet of
Scotland has left in his "King's l,)uhair"a
delicious picture of a May garden. Our
Queen Elizabeth loved " knotted gardens;'"
her successor, whose herbalist was the
famous L'Obel. " pleach-work" and intricate
flower-beds.

Charles II., keeping Court during the
Plague year at Oxford, loved to wander
questioning between the high Yew-hedges
of the Physic Garden, with its eccentric
Curator Bobart. Lorenzo de Medici created
the lovely Camaldoli Gardens as a retreat
from the autumnal heats of Florence.
Louis XIV. handed over to Le Notre for the
Versailles garden 200 acres, and 200,0O0,(H>(>
francs. In the Jardin Anglais of the Petit
Trianon, Rose-trees still survive which were
planted by poor Marie Antoinette. Napoleon,
anticipating our Crystal Palace, wished to
cover in with glass the Tuileries grounds.
Restored Louis XVIII. laid out at Versailles-
an exact facsimile of the garden which
had amused his exile in his Hartwell
home. The "Flower of Brunswick," Princess
Charlotte, shaped the borders at Claremont.
and superintended the cottage gardens of
the villagers. The consummate skill and
prescient taste in planting of the late
l'rince Consort is stamped on Osborne and
Balmoral; and the gardens of the Neue

402

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 21, 1902.

Palais at Potsdam were fashioned by his
slaughter when Crown Princess.

" These are imperial works, and worthy
kings." said Pope, himself an enthusiastic
gardener; hardly could the unmeasured
personal influence of an English sovereign
be better spent than in promoting gardening.
Not at his own end, but at the end farthest
removed from him, of the long social
-chain. It might be well no doubt if the
owners of our private seats and homes,
palatial or simple, could be all, like the
■enlightened Duke who discovered and
fostered Paxton, their own head gardeners;
well, too, if the retired tradesman in his
Tillatic home could be emancipated from
the inartistic tyranny of nurseryman and
builder; better still, if the suburban clerk
■could be cultivated to transform and beau-
tify the dull street in which his lot is cast
by judicious colouring and verdure in his
frontal, twelve yards square. But we recall
the dictum of a great modern prophet : —
JiLead the fashions for the poor first; make
their lives look well, and your own will look
all the better." It is amongst the very poor,

warreners in our monstrous city slums, that
a horticultural evangel might find widest
scope, and exercise most nutrient reform.
Of cleanliness, of art, even of religion, flowers
are the most eloquent, albeit the least self-
conscious preachers. Familiar many years
ago with the worst streets of one amongst
our largest towns, I early learned that a
flower-box without, or a " tree," as they
called it, within a well-cleaned window, was
the unfailing sign of comparative moral
and domestic order. I sometimes see in my
dreams a universal Kyrle Society; its sub-
scribers, committees, officers, visitors, bound
into a vast organisation which should cover
every town, and whose president, not nomi-
nal and ornamental, but active and inspiring,
should be a flower-loving and philanthropic
king. I see deep, strong, well-drained
window-boxes outside every squalid home,
alight with successive blooms, from the
Hellebore, Aconite, Snowdrop of January,
to the lingering Chrysanthemum of late
November; their pavement-angles fringed
with Virginia Stock and Candytuft and
Mignonette, their frowsy walls masked with
small grey hardy Ivy and with Ampelopsis

Veitchi. I imagine penny flower - shows
opened once a month in every chapel and
ward hall, with competition for prizes among
the poor, with loans from the gardens of the
rich, with lively stimulating lectures to
explain, and illustrate.and fructify. I behold
the rough denizens of these ruralised wilds
turning out with syringes, and water-pots,
and shears, when their hard day's work is
done, to irrigate, and beautify, and trim.

The splendid accessories of next week's
processions, services, festivities, are above
all things stamped with transitoriness : of a
commemorative enterprise such as this,
remedial, far - reaching, missionary, the
durationwouldbeas incalculable as the bene-
ficence. It would elevate Voltaire's sneering
sarcasm, Cultivons notre Jardia, into a
genuine motto, not only of stately mansions
and of cultured houses, but of Bethnal
Green and Whitechapel, of the Jago and of
Tom-all-alone's; would practicalise the aspi-
ration with which Ruskin ends his sanguine
rhapsody: "That the name of all great
kings set over Christian nations, must at
last be, in fulfilment, the hereditary one of
those German Friedrichs, 'Rich in Peace';
and their Coronation shall be with wild
olive, not with gold." Cort/cius senex.

SANDRINGHAM: THEIR MAJESTIES' COUNTRY HOME.

(As Visited by our Representative by Express Permission.)

Fig. 141. — the "Norwich" gates, sandringham.

(.Tliis and the following illustrations are from photograplus taken, by express Permission, for the " Gardeners Chronicle

' &;/ Mr. Ralph.)

June 21, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

403

AFTER a visit to the lovely estate of
Sandringham, the fondness our King
and Queen are^known to have for the place
appears 'most natural. The estate of some
Il,000*!aeresJ!was (purchased for our present
King in 1863, and Sandringham House was
prepared [tfor his ^residence. In this house,
.as'' Prince and Princess of Wales, their
Majesties spent much of their time, and the
Royal Princes and Princesses were brought
up here. As Prince of Wales, King Edward
"had only two houses to maintain, and each
was aTiome in every sense of the word. For
"various reasons Marlborough House is asso-
ciated with some of the most memorable
■events in their experience ; and perhaps in a
greater degree even than Sandringham has
been their Majesties' home since their mar-
iriage on March 10, 1863. But Marlborough

merit of all of these, and the King's stables
and cattle farm at Wolferton are exceedingly
well appointed and skilfully managed, as his
repeated successes at exhibitions and upon
the Turf have testified. The estate is
abundantly stocked with game, and the
pheasants are so numerous and tame that
they cross and re-cross the drives fearlessly
as one passes along them.

But it is from the point of view of the
gardens that Sandringham has most interest
to us, and it may be said at once that they
are of such a character as to illustrate the
very great interest their Majesties are
known to take in the practice of horti-
culture ; indeed, it is entirely due to
their Majestys' initiative and encourage-
ment that the gardens are in such good
order.

fine plants of EuonymuS radicans variegata.
At the end of the house, on the new library
building facing south-east, a sundial affixed
to the wall bears the following familiar
inscription : —

" My Time is in Tby Hands."
" Let others tell of storms and showers,
I'll only count your sunny hours."

The flower garden, immediately in view of
the principal windows, is a carefully worked
out design with variously shaped beds. A
short time since these were bright with wall-
flowers and other spring blooming plants,
but they now contain a selection of the
choicest bedding-plants, the effect of which
is relieved by numerous "dot" specimens of
Palms, and other species of an ornamental
character. On the terrace, close to the

FlG. 111'. — THE GARDEN 1KOXT, SANDBINGHAM.

House, being in London, could not afford
the pleasures and interests that have made
the country seat of Sandringham so appre-
ciated by its royal owners.

Situate on the north-west border of the
fertile county of Norfolk, only a mile or
tsofrom the waters of the Wash, the estate
is quite far enough from the turmoil of town
to afford a quiet and secluded retreat, yet
near enough to be fairly accessible. It is
approached from Wolferton station, where
there is a Royal entrance and waiting-rooms,
or from the curious little circular village of
Dersingham, over moorland, and through
avenues of line trees.

The King takes a, lively interest in farming,
cattle breeding, and in most kinds of sport.

Sandringham offers facilities fm- the enjoy-

The dwelling-house is not a grand mansion,

but its modest character, made of red brick,
appears as an instance of the homeliness
that i> .-in essential feature of Sandringham.
Tin.' entrance-hall is upon the east side, ami
is approached by a spacious, but short, drive
from the Norwich gates.

The aspect of me house is not exactly
east and west, however, and the opposite
side witli tin' terrace and flower - garden,
is south-west by west. A view of the build-
ing from this aspect is shown in lig. Ill',
tin' older portion on tin' left, and the
newei- library with rooms above, at the
other end. The walls are screened with
many climbing plants, Including Ivies,
Ampelopsis Veitchi, Roses, Lonicera Erag-
rantissima, Crataegus pyracantha, and some

house, room has also been found for a
few flower-beds, and in these are planted
species that will afford fragrance as well as
beauty, the former virtue being esteemed

equally with the latter.

of the older features of Sandringham,
there are several that give much charm to
the place, and which represent the growth of
very many years. Such are the old Scotch
Firs that line the path known as the Church
Walk, and the avenue of Lime trees that one

enters immediately after passing through the
handsome Norwich Gateway. The beau

til'ul church at Sandringham. Vhich theil
Majesties attend, is situate in a pleasant
part, of the park, and only a very short
distance from the pleasure grounds. The
prettier vicw_of the " ( IhurchjWalk ' jsj'rom

404

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 21, 1902.

the gate dividing the pleasure-grounds from
the park.

The "Norwich" Gates.
Having already mentioned the Lime
Avenue and the Norwich Presentation Gates,
on the north-west of Sandringham House,
which are shown in fig. 141. it may be re-
marked here that the gates wore presented
to the King by the loyal -people of Norwich

Memorial Trees.
Near to the great Limes is another avenue
of considerable interest, if not of great
beauty. It is composed of memorial trees
only, and having been planted at different
times and of different species, the irregu-
larity of growth could hardly be greater.
These memorial trees, and others in
almost every portion of the grounds, which

by the Duke^off-Sutherland in 1865, is also
vigorous. Other memorial rees noticed as
isolated specimens on the grass, included the
Queen's Oak, planted by the late Queen in
1*89, a shapely, vigorous specimen, now
about 27 feet high; an Oak planted by
the King of the Belgians in 1887; a
Turkey Oak. planted by H.R.H. the
Duchess of Albany in 1887; Picea pungens

Fig. 143. — the queen's pansy garden, sandringham.

on the occasion of his marriage. They are
of wrought iron and very handsome. If the
illustration bo looked at with a magnify-
ing glass, an idea will be obtained of the
design of the gates. At the base it repre-
sents vine leaves and fruits, with oak foliage
and acorns above, whilst towards the top
are holly leaves, roses, &c. The gates are
surmounted by the Crown, Royal arms, and
four lions, etc., in gold, and there are the
words '• Honi soil </iii mal y psnie."

here as at Osborne, Windsor and other Royal
residences, serve to keep in remembrance
the visits of distinguished personages, and
to mark domestic events in the lives of
their Majesties' immediate circle. The
species that are thriving best in the
avenue are Allies Pinsapo and Pseudo-tsuga
Douglasii. The Fir was planted by the
Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz on
April4, 1874, and the Douglas was planted by
a Bishop of London. Cedrus Deodara, planted

glauca, planted by H.M. the King of the
Hellenes, July lb-,' 1887, now about 18 feel
high and a nice specimen ; Cryptomeria
elegans, planted by H.R.H. Princess Charles
of Denmark on October 28, 1896 ; Fagus
purpurea, planted by H.R.H. Prince Walde-
niar of Denmark on July 25, 1898; Abies
Pinsapo, planted by H.I.M. the Czarevitch
on November 9, 1874 ; and A. Pinsapo, planted
by our present Queen on April 4, 1874, now
about 40 feet high, growing well (see fig. 146).

June 21, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

405

The most recently planted memorial tree at
Sandringham is a plant several years old
ofjQuercus sessilifloca, which, as its label
states, was "planted by King Edward VII.,
George Prince of Wales, and Prince Edward
of Wales, on His Majesty's 60th Birthday,
9th November, 1901." This will be the last
memorial tree planted at Sandringham
previous to His Majesty's Coronation.

Well, and the Queen is reputed to have a
fondness for it and the beds around it. In
fig. 143 the Queen's Pansy beds are shown
around the well. To all these beds there is
a double edging of Box, and white shell or
gravel covers the little paths. In the well-
head a Bose is planted, and there exists a
photograph showing the Queen in the act of
affording water to the plant.

FlG. 144. — THE HOLY WEI, I, SANDRINGHAM.

The Holy Well and Yohk Cottage.
A little below the terrace to the south of
the mansion is a sunken flower garden in
the shape of a half moon, and in the centre
is an old white well-head, probably brought
from Italy at some time, on reference
to fig. 144. it will ho seen that an iron
vessel is suspended over the well, as if to he
lowered for the purpose of obtaining water.
It is known in the gardens as the "Holy"

same direction, towards
appear in view.

( lontinuing in the
York Cottage, the lakes
where Weeping Willows, white Silvery

Birches, and other suitable trees and shrubs
adorn the banks and east their shadows in

the water. One of the best views of the

lake nearest to the mansion is from a point
near to the l'ark Gates, affording an excel-
lent picture of its outlines, and beyond,
through a kind of vista, to some Rhododen-

dron beds, which a short time since were,
and probably are now, brilliant with colour.
The library end of the mansion itself can
be seen through the trees. Following this
chain of lakes, a view is presently ob-
tained of York Cottage, standing on
rising ground. The lake widens out at
this point very considerably, and there is
a pretty island which may be reached from
York Cottage by a rustic bridge. Three
weeks ago the white and yrellow Brooms and
Corses were in full bloom, and the island
was very gay. There were also Berberis, old
Thorn trees. Rhododendrons, Roses, Lilacs,
&c, planted, that make the scene at all seasons
of the year one of exceptional beauty.

The view of York Cottage in fig. 14.5
shows the splendid site the pretty house
stands upon, also part of the island with
the rustic bridge leading thereto, and, on
the sloping greensward to the right, a
dozen or so large beds of selected varie-
ties of Rhododendrons, which were com-
mencing to expand their brilliant blos-
soms when the photograph was obtained.
It will be seen from that figure what a
charming residence the King has pro-
vided at Sandringham for the Prince and
Princess of Wales. An old Oak on the
island and immediately near the bridge,
is an interesting and noble feature. It
has a bole that measures more than
twenty feet in circumference at three feet
from the ground level. Another very
similar specimen is near to the upper lake
and park-gates; this one, which is encircled
by a seat, is about equal in its dimensions
to the one in front of York Cottage. The
stepping stones shown in fig. 14."> are upon
an addition to the. watercourse which car-
ries tin' water off in the direction of his
Majesty's kennels. Throughout this por-
tion of the grounds there can always be
heard the pleasant sound of water dropping
from miniature falls devised for the purpose.

Several specimen trees of Sequoia gigantea
and a few species of Pines including
CedrUS Libani are noticeable, but the Coni-
fers generally do not attain to great size,
the soil at Sandringham apparently being
of too light and poor a nature to support
them after attaining to a height of forty
or fifty feet.

Tin; New ROSARY.
Xot far distant from York Cottage is a
Ma/e constructed of Thuia gigantea, Box

&C, and in the same portion of the grounds
is tin1 enclosure that once contained the
asphalted tennis court. A few years ago
the tennis court was abolished, and

the enclosed area formed into a rather
singular looking rosary; it is enclosed
with very high fences of ornamental

wire painted green. Inside is a kind
of wire pergola 25 feet high, in the same
colour. This is covered with climbing Koses.
Half-way up, on the summit of each pillar, is
an inconspicuous box which contains soil for
a second tier of plants to grow on the upper
portion, [nside the wire fences and on the
border around are planted Tea Koses. the
Hybrid Perpetuals being grouped in beds.

Two of these beds have wire tops represent-
ing the Prince of Wales's Feathers. There

are wire fences to all of the beds, inside

margins as well as outside, these being a
foot high. Two beils of the variety Papa
Gontier, close to the old-fashioned pavilion
through which tin' rosary is approached,

Mit ed unusually well, and llower alum-

40fi

THE GARDENERS" CHRONICLE.

[June 21, 1902.

o

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—
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PS

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June 21, 1902.

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE,

407

dantly. In the centre of this garden is
a marble columnar fountain, and there
are grass and gravel walks around the
beds.

The Dell and Queen's Wild Garden.

The Dell is a charming little scene in
which a winding stream flows through
rapidly rising hanks on either side. Several
tall Birches, Bamboos, Rhododendrons,
Ferns, &c, adorn the banks, and the view is
not only a grateful retreat from brilliant
sunshine, but it is a most delightful foil to
the more formal features of the garden. The
view from one end, showing the winding
course of the water, is exceedingly pretty.

children occasionally enjoyed a cup of tea
in the pavilion there, hut for years past
the dairy has supplanted the pavilion.
The ground in front of this model build-
ing is laid out as a Dutch garden, and
the photograph shows some clipped trees
growing in the sunken gardens on each
side of the walk. The beds were bright with
Tulips and Pansies when the photograph
was taken. The tree with a seat around
it, is an Elm, and the large tree to
the left is Ahies Pinsapo planted by the
Czarevitch in ls74. There are two sundials,
one in each garden. One of these was made
from a fragment of old Kew Bridge, and
placed at Sandringham in 1901.

Pig. 14R. — abies pinsapo, planted by h.m. queen Alexandra in 1874.

The Queen's Wild Garden is a little spot
screened in a plantation ; a grassy path
leads through this, and on either side
wild flowers are growing. The gardeners are
unable to make this spot appear more wild
than Her Majesty would like it to be. It is
the extreme opposite of the formal garden in
front of the mansion.

The Dairy Grounds.
The grounds that have been remarked
upon so far are divided from the kitchen
garden, glasshouses, dairy grounds, etc., by a
roadway which is kept in repair by the King,
hut which docs nut belong to the" Sandring-
ham estate. The pretty dairy and its grounds
are at one end of the kitchen garden, just
outside the walls. The scene is shown in
fig. 147, where only part of the dairy building
is included. The corner that does appear,
however, is interesting as being the Queen's
Tea-room. Before the tennis court was
abolished their present Majesties and their

The Kitchen Garden
consists nf about 14 acres contained within
the walls and l' acres outside. A view nf
the main walk through this immense garden
is shown in fig. 148. It will he seen that on
either side are borders nf bright flowering-
plants, and then 0 feet high trellises with
cordon Apple and Tear trees. The Substitu-
tion of these some years ago for the Arbor-
vita' hedge was a very great improvement.
The walk shown in the photograph is 810
yards long, and the photograph was taken
from one end. In the centre, which is
scarcely discernible, is an ornamental foun-
tain. The broad paths are all edged with
Staffordshire edging bricks, there being
about 40,000 of these in use here. Reference

in detail cannot he made to the crops,
which were just beginning to show them-
selves. It will he underst I that in

such an area a very great quantity of
vegetables and fruits is produced, fruits
from the espalier trees and wall trees, and

also from bush specimens that divide the
principal brakes of land.

A few explanatory words may be said here
in respect to fig. 151, which gives a good
idea of the gardener's house and its pretty
surroundings. This view is immediately
outside the kitchen-garden walls at the west
end. Until eight or ten years ago, the old
glass-houses stood in a direct view from the
cottage, but when under Mr. Mackellar's
supervision a new range was built on the
north side of the kitchen garden, this
ground, which is still termed "the new
grounds," was laid out as a perfectly level
flower garden. A few beds of climbing
Roses and other modifications would make
this garden more effective. At either end is
an oak summer-house, one of which is shown
in the photograph. It would be a matter
for congratulation if gardeners in all first-
class establishments were provided with a
house that in some measure at least would
compare with the one afforded by the
King.

The Plant-Houses.

The range of plant houses built by Messrs.
MeKenzie and Moncur, for the King, five
years ago, consists of a corridor 200 feet
long, with six span-roofed houses, 100 ft.
long, running from it. These are built en-
tirely of teak wood, and fitted with teak
wood lath blinds ; some of the floors also are
of teak wood, with iron gratings on either,
side. The ends of several of the houses will
be seen in fig. 149. The corridor is kept gay
with a variety of flowering plants, and lately
contained stellate Cinerarias, Hippeastrums,
Schizanthus, Fuchsias. Pelargoniums, and
many other species of flowering plants,
Palms. &c, whilst tin: walls and rafters arc
clothed also with flowering climbers. Two
of the six span-roofed houses are furnished in
the same way as the corridor, leaving four
others. A very large quantity of plants is
necessary to keep such a corridor, 400 ft. long,
continually furnished with plants in flower,
especially with the amount of space there
exists for growing the plants. Entering one
of the four remaining houses, it was found to
.-out a in orchids, and the Cypripediums, Den-
drobiums, Odontoglossums, Miltonia vexil-
laria. &c, were looking well and making
good growth.

In another house was a collection of
Codiamms (Crotonsl, including plants from
8for 9 ft. high, to small ones in 5-in. pots.
These and other ornamental-leaved plants
are frequently required in numbers for the
decoration of the rooms in the dwelling,
house. In the third house are collections
of Caladiums, Coleus, Gardenias, and a fine
batch of Ccelogyne cristata in pans; ('alia
Elliotiana was in bloom. In winter this
house is furnished with the fine Begonia
Gloire de Lorraine, many of the plants being
cultivated in cork baskets. One thousand
to twelve hundred plants are Cultivated each
year.

The remaining house contained Carnations

exclusively, on the central and side stages.
Fifty feet, or one-half the house, is filled
with varieties of the Souvenir- de la Mal-
maison type, and the other half with varie-
ties of the tree section. All looked well-
and the Malmaison plaids will produce a
very large quantity of blooms. There are

hundreds of other Carnations in frames, as

it is certainly a favourite (lower- of their

Majesties. Close to this range a lean-to Fig

408

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 21, 190-2.

W»h

fa

JUNE 21, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

400

house, 120 ft. long, with 'plants in borders
and in pots, contained an abundance of
ripening fruit. In other houses were noticed
a fine batch of Calanthes, good crops of
Melons, of such varieties as Countess and
Hero of Lockinge, also of Cucumbers, in-
cluding the varieties Improved Telegraph
and Cardiff Castle; show Pelargoniums,
Pancratium s, Fuchsias, Tomatos, &c.

Two lean-to, rather narrow, Odontoglossum-
houses held a fine display of bloom of 0.

Stirling Castle Peach being prominent ; the
next division was the second early vinery,
the Grapes in which were fast colouring,
among them Black Hambro and Madresfield
Court ; next was a porch with a Rose growing
under its shelter; beyond a young Muscat of
Alexandria vinery, the canes four years old,
and having borne one bunch of fruit each
last season are now carrying several. The
next division has only been planted with
Vines this season, the varieties are mixed

ripening on pot trees ; next to this were
Plums, and beyond a vinery of mixed Grapes
bearing a very heavy crop of fruit. Muscats
filled the next house, and the adjoining
porch contains their Majesties' collection of
Japanese dwarfed trees, including a remark-
ably fine specimen of Cupressus in a pro-
digious blue vase. The following house
contains Peaches and Nectarines, a fine crop
of fruits just colouring at the time of our
visit, and in many of the houses was a shelf

Fig. 148.— the central walk of the kitchen-garden-, sandringham, .".In sards long.

erispum, and O. Pescatorei varieties, also
Masdevallia Harryana, &c.

Fruit Houses.
The principal fruit range consists of a
number of lean-to houses on the south wall of
tin' kitchen garden, and extends for a length
of 200 yards. Part of this range is older
than the rest, the newer portion having been
built about the same time as the plant range.
Entering the range at one end the first
division contained (on May MO) ripe Peaches
and Nectarines, Lord Napier Nectarine and

ones, and Tomatos will yield a good crop of
fruits at the hack of the house ; then is
another Fig-house, and a second porch with
Rose. Beyond was a good house of Muscai
Grapes, followed by a Peach and Nectarine-
house, in which are three large standard
trees, the fruits from which had been
gathered; another porch divides this from
a Peach-house in which the front trellis
is bent over to permit of sunlight
reaching the trees on the wall; the ad-
joining house also contained Peaches and

Nectarines, including Cardinal Nectarines

or accommodating a very large number of
Strawberry plants in the forcing period.

A short distance from this range is a

smaller one that must not 1 verlooked,

because the crops were of remarkable weight

and quality. In the first division young

canes of Lady Downes' Grape were un-
usually strong and vigorous; the s ml

division contained also Lady Downes; the

third division Black Alicante; and the

fourth Black Hambro, with an e\c linglj

heavy crop, then affording ripe < Irapes for the
table.

411

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 21, 190:!.

Fig. 149.— the "bothy walk," sandringham.

The Garden Buildings.

In the view of the " Bothy Walk," shown
in fig. 149, is a feature of Sandringham that.
from the gardener's point of view, is one of
very great importance, as it shows with
what completeness means have been pro-
vided for conveniently discharging the work
of the garden, for the proper storage of fruit,
and for the housing of the young gardeners.
To the right of the photograph it will be
seen that much of the 310 yards' length is
o -eupied with garden buildings, each of
which is entered by a separate door from the
broad path. The whole of this work has been
done since 1890. The opposite wall, where
Pear trees are growing on the wall, and a
very long mound or raised border contains
a remarkably good collection of Roses,
which succeed well in the position, makes a
very nice view, especially in spring-time,
when the Aubrietias and other alpine plants
that adorn the deep edging of rockery are,
in bloom.

One boiler-house contains four powerful
saddle boilers, each with water-wav bars.

MR. T. H. COOK.

His Majesty's Gardener at Sandringham.

that may be worked together or separately,
and that heats most of the glass-houses,
offices, sheds, &c. The Fig-house, back pits
and frames, also the old portion of the long
fruit range and rarjge of old vineries, are
heated by three additional boilers, each con-
tained in a separate stoke. The potting-shed
and packing-shed each affords ample room
for working therein, and a painter's workshop
divides this from the most convenient and
elegant Grape-room, with its stands, fittings
and inner walls all of polished pitch-pine.
Next is a good seed-store and office, also a
Mushroom-house 70 feet long. Then come
the bothies, with a housekeeper's apartment
at the end, and which may be seen standing
a little way out, some distance up the walk.
The bothies have twelve men in them, and
each is afforded a separate bedroom. All the
woodwork is of polished pine, and the fittings
generally are convenient and good. The
sitting-room, reading-room, excellently fitted
bath-room and lavatories up-stairs, are all
what they should be, and it would be gratify-
ing if the thought and consideration shown

June 21, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS" CHRONICLE.

411

to young gardeners at Sandringh'aru were
given them in all gardens.

Concluding Itejis.

The pleasure-grounds altogether are about
100 acres in extent, and with the 16 acres of
kitchen-garden, and the numerous glass-
houses, the forty or so gardeners and

of beautiful blooms, and flowers very late in
the season.

Most of the improvements their Majesties
have made at Sandringham were carried out
by Mr. Maekellar, who is now at Windsor.

His successor at Sandringham, Mr. T. H.
Cook, whose portrait is given on p. 410 was
for seven years head - gardener to Lord

Fig. 151. — the gardener's residence, sandringham.

men have
up to the
maintained.

Reference I
beds and boi
1" t hcsr ther

sand plants

in different
Majest ies arc

of this (inc.

ufhVient tn dii tn keep all Wemyss, at Gosford House, in East Lothian,

degr E smartness that is and was previously in man} good gardens,

including that at Cardiff ( 'astir. I n carrj ing

ias been made several times tn into effecl their Majesties' wishes, he may

dors nf Uoses, hut in addition be trusted to maintain the high state of

e aiv something like ten thou- efficiency the gardens at present exhibit.

"f the China Rose Hermosa We have to thank Mr. Cook for his

Parts of the garden. Their courtesy in enabling us to take these notes

fond of Roses, and particularly of a truly Royal Establishment.
as it affords a greal quantity

FRUIT and VEGETABLE SUPPLIES
IN THE CORONATION YEAR.

The year of the Coronation of His Majesty
Edward VII. will be noted for a great increase
in the importation of fruit from Victoria and
Tasmania, large quantities of fine produce
having arrived this season at Covent Garden.
The chief of these fruits are Apples, which
have come to hand in greatly improved con-
dition, owing- to the manner of storage in the
cold chambers on board the steamers ; these
Apples consisted of well-known varieties, such
as Cox's Orange, Ribston , Sturmer, and Blenheim
Pippins, Emperor Alexander, and other good
varieties. The fruits were wrapped separately
in paper, and carefully packed in boxes of an
uniform size and shape. There were also some
Pears and Grapes, and there is the probability
that in the near future quantities of other
fruits, of which the public know little, will be
sent over.

From the Cape of Good Hope, in which
colony the fruit industry is yet in its in-
fancy, we have received this season since
the middle of the month of January, 1902,
regular supplies of Apricots, Peaches, Necta-
rines, Plums, Pears, and Grapes, in variety —
some of the Plums, Kelsey's, were of immense
size ; the Grapes came to hand in better con-
dition this season than heretofore, and the
flavour in some instances was very fine — their
season is now over.

From Jamaica, where the fruit-growing in-
dustry is being fostered by the Government,
we are obtaining Bananas in large quantities,
and it would appear that almost unlimited
quantities can be exported from that and other
islands. From the West Indies we also get
Oranges, Pineapples, Grape-fruits, Shaddocks,
Mangos, &c, and in the near future we may
expect many other kinds of fruits of which the
public knows but little. The Mangos from
Jamaica are not considered to be the equal o
those from Bombay, neither are the Bananas
equal to those from Teneriffe, and whether the
Grape-fruits (Citrus) will ever become popular
here time only will show.

From the Canary Islands and Teneriffe,
whose productions are good, we receive large
quantities of Tomatos of tine quality ; Bananas,
Melons - Pears [Solanum guatemalense], the
fruit of which is but little known ; I'otatos,
Myatt's Kidney being the chief variety ;
Onions for pickliDg of a very mild flavour,
all of which invariably come to hand in good
condition, owing to the suitable methods in
which they are severally packed.

From St. Michael, Azores, we get the finest
Pineapples, chiefly the smooth Cayenne variety,
whose fruits often exceed 6 lb. in weight,
which come to us nearly all the year round.
This season the prices realised for fruits have
not been high, but of all fruits, excepting
only Oranges, Bananas, and a few others,
there is none that equal in point of flavour
and general good quality those Old England
can produce. Such Peaches and (! rapes as are
grown a short distance from London surpass
all those of foreign production, and the writer
has seen many in his long experience as a
market salesman. T. P.

Flower-crowns in Amiens Cathedral.—
Over the side-doors of St. Firmin's Chapel wo
may see two medallions representing St. Clair
with a vase, and St. Agnos with a Lily. It
was in this Chapel that in old times crowns
of flowers were given to those chosen to
carry tho relics of St. Kirmin in procession
on Ascension Day, and on tho day of tho Fete
Dicu. "The Cathedral Church oj Amiens.'
p. 65, l>y Hee. ./. Perkins (G.Bell <B Sons, 11102).

412

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 21, 1002.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

»{'

(■Rose Show and Conference at
TUESDAY, JUNE24-J Holland House, Kenbington

(2 days).

THURSDAY, June 26-Coronation of the King.
FRIDAY, June 27— General Holiday.

i Windsor, Eton and District
SATURDAY, Jcne 28-' Rose Show.

/ Maidstone Rose Club Show.

8ALES FOR THE WEEK.

MONDAY, June 23-

Palms, Decorative Plants, Retarded Bulbs. <vc, at

67 and 68, Cheapside, E.C., by Protheroe & Morris,

at 12
MONDAY, June 23-

At Thorpe, near Clacton-on-Sea, Freehold Building

Land, by Protheroe & Morris, at 2.
TUESDAY, June 24—

Special sale of Valuable Orchids, at 67 and 68,

Cheapside, E.C., by Protheroe & Morris, at 12.30.
( For further particulars see our Advertisement columns.)

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced
from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswick
—621°.
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— June 16 (6 p.m.) : Max. 58°; Min. 50'.

June 17— Finer.
Provinces. — June 16 (6 p.m): Max. 56°, S.-W.
Ireland; Min. 40', Shetlands.

0ul. Our contemporaries of the lay

Coronation press are laying before their
Number. readers descriptions of the
gorgeous ceremonials attendant on the Coro-
nation of their Majesties, and are tilling
their columns with accounts of the palaces
and fanes where history is being made in
such brilliant fashion. It is more within
our province to allude to those domestic
retreats wherein our Sovereigns may gain
some repose from the strain of stately Court
functions and the cares and anxieties of Im-
perial business. The parks and gardens of
Windsor, Frogmore, Osborne, Buckingham
Palace, Balmoral, Sandringham, Claremont,
and Cumberland Lodge have all in their
turn, in some cases repeatedly, been de-
scribed and illustrated in these columns.
Each has necessarily some features in com-
mon with all the others, but each has some
marked characteristic by which it differs
from the rest.

Windsor has its glorious park and forest.
Frogmore is full 'of associations, and pos-
sesses one of the largest, if not the largest
kitchen garden and forcing establishment in
the country. These are now under the
charge of Mr. Mackellar, and are soon, we
believe, to be modernised and transformed
to suit existing requirements, so that a full
description at the present time would be in-
appropriate, the more so as they have been
repeatedly described and illustrated in our
columns. Osborne, the marine residence of
Queen Victoria, enjoys a climate which per-
mits of the growth of specimen trees to a
degree of perfection not attainable in inland
localities. Thegardensof Buckingham Palace
astonish those who visit them, who can
hardly believe that such scenes could be
possible hemmed-in amid the smoky streets
of the Metropolis; the illustrations which
we were specially permitted to obtain and
to publish at the time of the last Jubilee
called forth many expressions of surprise.
Balmoral is suggestive of the heather and
the native forests of Scotch Pine. Clare-
mont is famous for its old-world garden, its
noble tree-, ami lovely pleasure-grounds.
Cumberland Lodge, like Hampton Court, is
known to every gardener for its famous
Vine. For many of the establishments
we have mentioned, Frogmore furnishes

supplies of fruit and vegetables on a large
scale.

Sandringham, the private residenccof their
Majesties in Norfolk, is complete in itself,
and to its description we, by express per-
mission, devote a large portion of this, our
Coronation Number. The illustrations have
all been specially prepared for lis from
photographs taken during the present month
by Mr. Ralph; and to Mr. Cook, the King's
gardener, we are specially indebted for faci-
lities in executing our task.

Tin1 "Royal" Orchids which we figure,
have been represented from specimens
recently exhibited. One of them is a
variety of the most popular of all Orchids,
that originally named after our Queen when
she claimed the homage of Britons as Prin-
cess Alexandra. Although the botanists
have decreed that this, by the rule of
priority, should be called Odontoglossum
crispum, yet for many people it will always
bear the name of Odontoglossum Alexandra1.

As for the other contents of this number,
we must leave them to speak for themselves ;
but we may be excused for calling attention
also to the number which follows this, and
which will be devoted to the historic man-
sion and grounds of Holland House, and to
such details relating to the Rose Conference
to be held there as time will permit. That
saving clause is essential owing to the com-
plete derangement of ordinary routine, both
in the editorial ami in the printing office,
urea sinned by the Coronation, and especially
to the very serious curtailment of the time
available for the preparation and publica-
tion of our weekly issues.

Royal Horticultural Society. — At a
general meeting of the Royal Horticultural
Society held on Tuesday, June 10, one hun-
dred and sixty-four new Fellows were elected,
among them being the Countess Roberts, the
Countess of Selborne, the Dowager Countess
of Donoughmore, the Countess Lowenhaupt,
Viscountess Galway, Lady Ardilaun, Lady
Jane Trefusis, Lady Gwendoline Cecil, Lady
Fitzroy, Lady Jekyll, Lady Lecbmere, Sir
Theophilus Peel, Bart., Sir G. L. Molesworth,
and the Dowager Lady Southampton, making
a total of seven hundred and fifty-two elected
since the beginning of the present year.

General Flower Show, Rose Show,

and Conference. — The Royal Horticultural
Society's great exhibition of Roses and other
flowers will be held at Holland House, Ken-
sington (by kind permission of the Earl of
Ilchester), on June 24 and 25. This meeting
will take the place of one of the ordinary
fortnightly shows at the Drill Hall, but will
in all essentials be conducted on the same
lines as the annual shows at the Temple.
All classes of plants, flowers, and fruits may
be exhibited, but no Roses may be included in
any miscellaneous or mixed group. Roses can
only be shown under the schedule. Single
plants for certificate may be entered at the
Secretary's tent on the morning of the 24th
before 10.30 a.m. An official catalogue of this
show will be issued and distributed gratis
among the visitors. It will comprise a short
historical sketch of tha Royal Horticultural
Society, particulars as to the proposed new
Horticultural Hall, schedule of Rose prizes,
the names and addresses of all the exhibitors
of other plants, &c, with the nature of their
exhibits, together with a programme of the
music to be performed each day by the band
of His Majesty's Royal Horse Guards (Blues).
The judges will meet at the Secretary's tent

at 10.30 A.M. on June 24, at which hour
punctually the tents will be cleared of all the
exhibitors and their assistants. The Fruit,
Floral, and Orchid Committees will assemble
at the Secretary's tent at 11 o'clock punctually.
The Conference on " Roses and their Cultiva-
tion" will be held at 2.30 p.m., and will
be open to all Fellows and visitors. The
exhibition will be open to Fellows (showing
their tickets), and to others showing Fellows'
transferable tickets at 12.30 p.m. on Tuesday,
closing at 8 p.m. ; and at 9.30 a.m. on Wed-
nesday, closing at 6 p.m. The public will
be admitted by payment at 2 P.M on the 24th,
and at 9.30 a.m. on the 25th. The only
entrance to the show will be by the great
iron gates in Kensington High Street, and the
only exit will be by a gate leading into Mel-
bury Road, where carriages may be ordered
to wait.

Dr. E. Goeze, our old correspondent, the
Botanist-Gardener and Royal Garden Inspector
at the University of Griefswald, has been super-
annuated. The post is at present vacant.

Royal Botanic Garden. — The employes
of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Regent's Park,
have been granted holidays on both June 26
and 27, in honour of the Coronation.

Flowering of the Victoria Regia at the
Botanic. — Notwithstanding the late season
and absence of bright sunlight, writes the
head gardener, Mr. Ha WES, the Victoria Regia
growing here opened its first flower on the
14th inst., Saturday last, and nearly a month
ahead of last year. The leaves are already
5 feet 0 inches in diameter, and another flower
will open in a few days.

The General Holiday. — It is hoped that
on the occasion of the Coronation, nurserymen
and employers generally will, so far as possible,
not only give their employes a holiday, but
will see to it that their pay is not stopped.
or the men will not have pleasant recollections
of the great event.

The Coronation Rose Show.— By the
kindness of the Right Hon. the Earl of Ilches-
ter, and to benefit the National Horticultural
charities, viz., the Gardeners' Royal Benevo-
lent Institution (founded 1838), and the Royal
Gardeners' Orphan Fund (founded 1887),
visitors to the Coronation Rose Show on
June 24 will be enabled to inspect the beau-
tiful gardens and pleasure-grounds at Holland
House between 1 and 7 p.m., on payment of
not less than one shilling.

Flowers in Season. — Some flowers and
foliage of the Cercis Siliquastrum have
been sent us by Mr. Cook, gardener at
Erlestoke Park, Westbury. He tells us that
there is a specimen in the pleasure grounds at
that place between 20 and 30 feet high, that
is at the present date covered entirely with its
rich purple flowers. It is rare to find as good a
tree of such a large size, growing even on the
greensand formation.

A State Ball in 1838.—" The Queen gave
aState ball, the second this season, on Thursday
evening at the New Palace. The same State
rooms were opened as on the occasion of the
former ball, viz., the ball-room, the saloon, the
Yellow Drawing-room, the Picture Gallery, the
Throne-room, and the Green Drawing-room.
The grand staircase and the marble hall con-
tained in all the niches and recesses rare
flowers and choice exotics, supplied princi-
pally from the Royal Gardens at Kew. Within
the upper or Corinthian portico of the grand
entrance a magnificent Eastern tent had been
erected, 47 feet in length, 32 feet wide, and

June 21, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE,

413

22 feet high, composed of crimson cloth, very
richly embroidered in gold and silver, and
supported by ten pillars of silver. It was
illuminated by two large Chinese lanterns,
surrounded by sis smaller ones, painted and
ornamented in the Oriental style. The em-
broidery on the sides of the tent formed a
"succession of arches, with a border at the top
and bottom, and Indian ornaments in the
middle, all massively executed in gold and
silver. The drapery forming the roof was
equally rich and splendid, and was finished
with a handsome border of gold fringe. Large
circular ottomans, covered with yellow satin,
were placed in the middle of the room, and
sofas and chairs at the sides ; the latter were
handsomely carved and gilt. A very rich
carpet covered the floor, and the whole pre-
sented a very charming appearance " (Globe,
May 26, 1838).

Mummy Garlands. — " Several of the royal
mummies discovered last year, 1881, at Dayr-el-
Baharee were, it will be remembered, found
garlanded with flowers, those flowers being,
for the most part, in as perfect preservation
as the specimen plants in a ' Kortus Siccus.'
M. Arthur Rhone, in a letter to he Temps,
has described the extremely curious way in
which these garlands are woven. They con-
sist of the petals and sepals of various flowers
detached from their stems, and enclosed each
in a folded leaf of either the Egyptian Willow
(Salix Safsaf), or Mimusops Kummel, Bruce.
The floral ornaments thus devised were then
arranged in rows (the points being all set one
way), and connected by means of a thread of
Date-leaf fibre woven in a kind of chain-stitch.
The whole resembles a coarse ' edging ' of
vegetable lace-work. Among the flowers thus
preserved are Delphinium orientalo, Nymphaea
ccerulea or N. Lotus, Sesbania regyptica, and
Carthamus tinctorius, so largely employed as
a dye by the ancient inhabitants of the Nile
valley. The dried fruit, as well as the dried
yellow blossom of the Acacia nilotica, is
likewise present; and mention is also made
of the blossom of a species of Water-
Melon, now extinct. The foregoing are all
interwoven in the garlands in which the
mummy of Amen-hotep I. was elaborately
swathed. With others of the royal mummies
were found fine detached specimens of both
kinds of Lotus, the blue and the white, with
stems, blossoms, and seed -pods complete.
Still more interesting is it to learn that upon
the mummy of the priest Nebsooni, maternal
grandfather of King Pinotem II. (XX 1st
Dynasty), there was found a specimen of the
lichen known to botanists as the Parmelia
furfuracea. This plant is indigenous to the
islands of the Greek Archipelago, whence it
must have been brought to Egypt at, or before,
the period of the Her-Hor Dynasty (B.C. 1100,
or B.C. 1200). Under the Arabic name of
' Kheba,' it is sold by the native druggists in
Cairo to this day. These frail relics of many
a vanished spring, have been arranged for the
Boolak Museum with exquisite skill by that
eminent traveller and botanist, Dr. SCHWEIX-
FURTH. Classified, mounted, and, so to say,
illustrated by modern examples of the same
flowers and plants, they fill eleven cases — a
collection absolutely unique, and likely ever
to remain so. The hues of these Old World
flowers are said to be as brilliant as those
of their modern prototypes ; and, but for
the labels which show them to be 3,000 years
apart.no ordinary observer could distinguish
between those which were buried with the
Pharoahs, and those which were gathered
and dried only a few months ago." Academy,
September 23, 1881 ; Trimen's Journal of
Botany, New Series, vol. xi.t 1882, p. 317.

ROYAL ORCHIDS.

(See pp. 414, 415, and Supplement.)

The sun that in its course never sets upon
the British Empire shines not on a more
loyal people than the inhabitants of the
favoured isles which form its centre. In
"Society," in commerce, in the humble cot-
tage of the workman, and in every conceivable
place and way, opportunity is sought to
honour the names of any of our Royal family.
Horticulturists and plant -lovers especially
delight in naming their newest and best
flowers after them, and display considerable
ingenuity in attaching their names to suitable
new productions.

Her Majesty the Queen has been a special
favourite with horticulturists, by reason of
her love of flowers and gardening, and the
choicest and most beautiful flowers of all
kinds have borne one or other of her titles.
Scarcely had she settled among us when the
charming Odontoglossum Alexandra, still the
most popular and favourite Orchid, received
her name ; and it is a significant proof of
our enduring loyalty, that at the last Temple
Show Her Majesty could see an exceedingly
beautiful form of that same species named
Odontoglossum crispum " British Queen."
Thus the same floral emblem extended to
her as Princess of Wales greeted her as
our Queen. Such simple tributes to Royalty
have more significance than at first appears.
They are evidence of wide-spread popularity,
for people do not take the names of those
they do not revere to attach to the charming
flowers they think so much of.

His Majesty the King, ever since the new
reign began, has had a great many new Orchids
named in his honour, and as in the case of the
Queen, the delicately tinted and beautiful bear
her name, so the noble and stately looking
are dedicated to His Majesty, for the horti-
culturist does not do these things by hap
hazard.

Our supplementary sheet gives coloured
illustrations of two of the finest of the many
novelties we may call Royal Orchids, the one
the very remarkable Lrelia x Edward VII.,
obtained by intercrossing L. Digbyana and
L. purpurata, and with regard to which the
interesting circumstance is the extraordinary
departure from the rest of the batch, this one
being a king indeed compared with the others
which have flowered. As will be seen, the
labellum is extraordinarily developed and
fringed, and the charming white, rose, and
purple of its flower offer a fine combination.
The other is LjelioCattleya x Queen Alexandra,
derived from L.-C. x Sella and C. Trianrei,
the tints of its flower, and especially the fine
ruby-crimson of the labellum and its rich
yellow disc being very beautiful. Both these
were the productions of Messrs. Jas. Veitch
& Sons.

Cypripedium x Emperor of India (fig. 153)
is one of the stateliest of Cypripediums. The
dorsal sepal is white flushed with rose, and
bearing rich purple lines, the remainder of
the flower tinged with rose and spotted with
dark purple.

Odontoglossum ■ Edwardus Rex (fig. 152)
was one of the Temple Show " stars " of this
year, and like the others enumerated, received
the highest honours. The colour is lemon-
yellow with chestnut-red spotting ; the lip
being white with a large reddish blotch. Both
these were produced by Messrs. Sander &
Sons.

These are good examples of the many fine
new Orchids named to do honour to our King
and our Queen, and in no previous age have
such Coronation flowers been seen, for until
now, by the discoveries of scientific research
in horticulture, followed up by the horti-
culturist, such combinations of the beautiful
would have been impossible.

May horticulture long enjoy the patronage
of our beloved King and Queen, and may their
reign be long and peaceful.

NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS.

PRIMULA WILSONI, Dunn (sp. n.)*
A New Chinese Primrose.

There is now in flower in the rockery of the
Rnyal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a remarkably
fine Primula from Yunnan, South China, re-
cently presented by Messrs. Veitch. It
proves to be a new member of the section
Proliferse, Pax, to which P. japonica belongs,
and it is intermediate in habit between that
species and the Javan P. imperialis. Its stem,
2 to 4 feet high, rises from a rosette of stiff
glabrous leaves, and bears five or six whorls
of sweet-scented flowers. These are about
1 inch in diameter in cultivated specimens,
and of a deep reddish-purple when first ex-
panding, changing later to a pale mauve.
Dried specimens had previously been received
at Kew from Paris under the name of P. j.t-
ponica (Delavay, No. 314 bis), and later under
the name of P. Poissoni (a very different plant
Irom the true P. Poissoni, Franch. in Bull. Soc.
Bot. Fr., xxxiii., 67 ; Bot. Mag., t. 7216), and
from Henry, No. 12121 and 12121a. It was in
Dr. Henry's locality that Mr. Wilson, with
whose name I have pleasure in associating
this fine species, rediscovered the plant, and
enabled Messrs. Veitch to introduce it into
cultivation. S. T. Dunn.

BOOK NOTICE.

The Book of Orchids. By W. H. White,
P.R.H.S.j

In spite of all the books which have been
published concerning Orchids, there is still
among those interested in that popular and
interesting class of plants a longing for a
handy " pocket " guide to the successful
culture of all classes of Orchids. That desire
has now been met by the thoroughly practical
and comprehensive little volume, The Book of
Orchids, forming the eighth of the useful
series of " Handbooks of Practical Gardening,"
issued under the general editorship of Mr.
Harry Roberts.

This is from the pen of that clever and emi-
nently successful Orchid grower, Mr. W. H.
White, for some years the writer of our Orchid
Calendar, and who has for the last thirteen
years had charge of the fine collection of
Orchids belonging to Sir Trevor Lawrence,
Bart., and previously for seven years that of
the late Mr. Dorman of Sydenham.

The book extends to 118 pages, and from
the first to the last scarcely a line is wasted
on irrelevant matter. On the other hand,
great pains are taken to make clear, even to
the most inexperienced, the cultural details,
the exposition of which is the chief object of

* Primula Wilsoni, Dunn (sp. n.).— A P. japonica,
A. Gray, ealyce interne Don farinosa, corolla? ore
ditTerenter ealloso, habituque distincta.— Herba glabra
efarinosa, rhizomate brevi. Folia oblanceolata, obtusa,
basi longe angustata, 4—12 poll, longa, regulariter den-
ticulata, subcoriacea, inira eonspieue venulosa. Scapus
erectus, 2—4 pedalis, basi J— h poll. diam. verticillos,
5—6 multifloros involueratos gerens. Involucri bractese
linearcs. Flores suaveolentes ; pedicelli j — 2 poll,
longi, ereeti vel apice sub anthesi divergente9.
Calyx campanulatus, 3 — 6 lin. longus, dentibus
5 tertiam partem tubi aquantibus, ovatis, acunri-
natis, carinatis. corolla? tubi dimidium superantibus.
Corolla sub antliesi purpurea, ante decessum pallide
lilacina, tubo inl'undibuliformi, limbo J— 1 poll, diam.,
lobis aacendentibus ovatis truncatia, apice crenu-
latis; oris oalll 5, triangulares, lobis oppositi. mucro-
nibus 6 separati. Capsula ovalis, oalycem cequllongum,
tandem lindens. Ilab. in palustribus montium alto-
rum, Yunnan, China, in hort. Anglicanis a el. Wilson
introducla.

t The r...<>k t>f Orchids. By w. li. Wliite, F.R U.S.
(John Lane : Loudon and New York.)

414

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 21, 1902.

the work. In fact, it is a worker's book, and
one which no worker among Orchids should be
without.

After some pleasantly written introductory
remarks, the author gives valuable articles on
" Imported Plants," setting forth the dangers
to be expected in dealing with them, and the
manner of combating them. " Materials for
Potting" comes next, and in it Mr. White
advocates the use of Belgian leaf-soil, though
he enjoins caution.

Orchid-houses, ventilation, affording water,
uncleanliness and disease, and botanical
Orchids, are the subjects of careful treatment in
succeeding chapters ; and the remainder of the

CORONATION WREATHS.

We are all thinking of coronations and
crowns, and much has been written on both
by many writers. In this paper I propose
to confine myself to one small part of the
subject — not the Eoyal Coronation, but to
the part that flowers have played in crowns.
In royal crowns flowers have had little part;
they are and always have been made of the
richest material, and adorned with the
most precious gems ; even the so-called
iron crown of Lombardy had in it far more
gold and jewels than iron. But in the
daily life of many people crowns have

epithet of Aphrodite, the Muses, and the
City of Athens ; and Aristotle speaks of a
crown of thorns or Acantha, but it is in his
description of a thorny-backed fish, like our
perch or stickleback; and Bacchus is always
represented as crowned with Ivy. Nor is
there any mention of any such in the Bible,
with one or perhaps two curious exceptions,
which I will mention presently.

It is when we come to the Romans that
we find the more frequent use of flower
crowns, and Pliny tells us a good deal about
them. He tell us that while "In plaiting
and broiding of hearbs and flowers the

Fig. 152. — odontoglossum " edwaedtjs rex." (see p. 413.)

book is devoted to the enumeration of the
genera in alphabetical order, brief and simple
•cultural instruction being given under each
genus, and where the genus contains several
sections requiring different treatment, the
leading species in each section are enume-
rated, and their special requirements set
forth.

The work is well printed, and the botanical
names are very free from errors, if we except
the editor's short preamble on the plant names,
in which the compositor seems to have had his
own way. Those who peruse the book will
marvel how so much useful information could
be got into such a small compass. It will be
useful to all Orchid growers, experienced and
inexperienced ; and we need make no further
remarks than to advise the investment of the
half-a-crown which is the low price charged
for it. There are eleven illustrations.

formed a very important part, and the
crowns of which I now wish to write have
been made of flowers, or if not of flowers,
of branches and leaves and grasses ; and
I shall confine myself strictly to these,
omitting all mention of the many crowns
used as civil or military honours, but made
of gold, silver, or any other mat- rial.

When we think hosv natural it is to weave
crowns from flowers, and when we remember
how universally flowers are used for such
purposes among savage or half - civilised
nations, such as the Sandwich and South
Sea Islanders, and the inhabitants of other
countries where flowers are abundant, it is
rather startling to find that there is no
mention of such by the early Greek poets,
either for public or festive orother purposes.
We do meet with " Violet-crowned " as an

ancient Greekes tooke no pleasure ; " " No
nation under Heaven, nay, put them all
together, can show so many sortes of chaplets
and coronets, as this one state and people of
Rome"' (Holland's Translation); and he
starts with an example of a crown of leaves
given by Romulus. These crowns, though
called coronge, were not what we should now
call crowns, they did not cover the whole
head, and were rather chaplets or fillets
than crowns. And though Pliny cites
Romulus, it seems almost certain that the
familiar use of "corona- " did not come in till
late in Roman history, when much attention
was paid to all the accessories of luxury and
conviviality. The fashion probably came to
Rome from the East or from Egypt, where we
know such corona' were in constant use ; and
Pliny has a story of Anthony and Cleopatra

June 21, 190-2.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

415

crowned at supper with crowns of flowers,
the one for Anthony being purposely
poisoned by Cleopatra, not to kill Anthony,
but to show him how easily she could do so
if she wished. It was at feasts they were
most used by the Komans, and they were
used with the set purpose of enabling the
wearers to keep their heads cool under
hard drinking. For this reason they were

As to the flowers which composed these
coronas, they were chiefly Roses and Lilies,
but many other things were used* Parsley
was a very favourite plant, probably for the
same reason that we use it as a garnish for
cold meat, i.e., as a cooling plant, either
really or in appearance. Willows were used
probably for the ease in weaving them;
grasses and Ivy were selected for the

nitentes Malobathro Syrio capillos," but
whether the crown was made of the leaves
of the Malabathrum, or merely scented with
an ointment made from the leaves and
flowers, is uncertain.

We may dismiss the use of flower-crowns
in England very shortly, though we meet
here and there with some slight notices
which show that the thing was not quite

FlG. lo.'l — CYPRIPEDIUM "EMPEROR of INDIA." (SEE P. 118.)

certainly not of universal use; looked on as
signs of revelry, they were disliked by many.
Horace disliked them, and has left as his
record '• displicent nexse phiJyra coronse."
But those who used them spent much money
on them: the weaving of them was an ait
that required skilful hands and liberal pay-
ment— it was necessary that they should be
thin and pliable, and very securely woven :
and in many cases the guests wore two. one
round the head, and the second round the
neck.

same reason, and probably nothing was
rejected that was easily woven and looked
pretty.

Foreign (lowers and leaves were very
fashionable, brought chiefly from Syria and
India; and special mention is made of
Malabathrum, which is supposed to be
some species of Cassia; and Horace recalls
evenings in which he drank "Coronatus

* " We Romanes are acquainted with very lew garden
flowers for Ciuirlands, and know in manner only
Violets and Roses." l'liny. Holland's Translation.

unknown. Titania is made to crown her
Indian hoy with Mowers, and to have
" rounded the hairy temples of Bottom with
a coronet of fresh and fragrant Mowers ; "
and poor Ophelia's '•coronet weeds" were
the cause of her death. But when we come
to the actual daily life of our forefathers, we
hear little of such coronets. It has never
been in accordance with an Englishman's
ideas so to crown himself— he has always
considered it effeminate, and lias left it to
his ladies to crown their head- « itli flowers .

416

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 21, 1902.

and if, perchance, he has wished to cool his
head heated with wine or reading, he has
not taken refuge in a crown of flowers, but
in a wet towel or a slice of Cucumber peel
as the better substitute.

But the use of flower-crowns may perhaps
be said to have left its mark on our language ;
corolla is almost an English word ; it is a
diminutive of corona,.and it simply means
the beautiful chaplet that surrounds the
main body of the flower ; and one step fur-
ther brings us to the English word " corol-
lary," which is the diminutive of corolla, as
corolla is of corona.

I said there is only one, or perhaps two,
notices of crowns made from flowers or
plants in the Bible. The one is found in the
crown that fadeth not away, noticed by St.
Paul and St. Peter. The more literal trans-
lation is an "amaranthine crown," and so
some have translated it ; and it refers to the
funeral crowns so commonly used by the
Romans, and made of Amaranth, i.e., not
any particular flower, and least of all, the
flower now called Amaranth, but any plant
or flower that would keep long, like our
Everlastings, and it is very possible that
the two Apostles may have seen many
such during their residence in Rome.
The other crown mentioned is the Crown
of Thorns of the Crucifixion — what that
was made of we cannot say for certain, it
has long been a subject of discussion, and
if it was composed of one plant only, the
Paliurus seems to me the most likely ;
but it seems more likely that the soldiers in
their scorn plucked a bunch of any common
weed or weeds that they could lay their
hands on, and as so many of the native
plants of Palestine are more or less thorny
a,nd prickly, the result might well be called
a, Crown of Thorns. But I must not go fur-
ther into this part of my subject, it would
carry me too far, but I could not pass it by,
and may well conclude my paper with it —
Finis coronat opus. H. X. E.

PLANTS FOR HOUSE

DECORATION.

(Continued from p. 395.)

When in the House, and Where ? —
Plants that remain in the house so as to form
continuous supplies by changes from time to
time, require close and careful attention to
watering. The receptacles in every case
should be such that will allow of watering
being done. For marble or china vases, for
ornamental baskets of rustic work, or of any
other material, there should be inner cases of
zinc, from which any excess of water can be
drawn off by means of a syringe if needs be, or
by emptying each one completely when a
general change is being made. The inner
casing of zinc will protect both marble vases
and those of china ; the former from staining,
the latter from scaling upon the outer surface.
To change frequently is good advice to follow,
especially with plants that are at all tender.
Such stock as is raised from seed may remain
as long as they are presentable, and then be
thrown away. Green moss is indispensable ;
it saves excessive crowding, and is better
for the plants, preventing ihem from drying
up so rapidly. The positions that the plants
- occupy must be considered. If gas be the
lighticg medium, do not if possible allow
.any plant to be above or near to the gaslights.
.Most fortunately, however, we now rely

greatly upon the electric light, thus the at-
mosphere of rooms is much purer, and more
congenial to the plants, in that there is less
heat to dry them. Where plants stand in
windows, one has to contend with the sharp
currents of air that are admitted. Say for
instance, early in the morning when the early
morning work is being done, then frequently
the windows are thrown up, and when the out-
side temperature is low, say at freezing point,
it must not, or ought not, to create any wonder
if the plants sutler thereby. Later on, of
course, the room is comfortable for the rest of
the day.

After-tiseatment.

When plants have done duty in the house
they will oftentimes present a sorry appear-
ance upon removal once more to their growing
quarters. For a time, such as are still of
presentable appearance, should be partially
shaded and syringed, but not afforded water at
the root so freely, if when brought out it is
seen that they are at all sodden. But if, on
the other hand, the soil is dry, they should be
stood in a vessel of water until the balls are
moistened thoroughly, and then, for a time at
least, they will not require so much water
as previously, for growth being partially
arrested there is a smaller demand.

Soft-wooded plants, such as Pelargoniums,
will be spoiled for a cons'derable length of
time if the stay in the house has been a long
one, and the plants will be all the better if
kept quite on the dry side. Plants of Coleus
should be thrown away if at all damaged, it
being simply a waste of time to attempt to
rehabilitate them.

At times in gardens one is shown a batch of
plants that have been used much to their dis-
advantage, with the accompanying remark that
use in the house is the cause of their bad ap-
pearance. True, but let some effort be made to
remedy this state of things, either by having a
larger stock, so that more frequent changes can
be made, or by growing plants better adapted
to withstand a prolonged stay in apartments.
It is far better to strike afresh, such
plants as Crotons, than to try to rejuvenate
them. Crotons will, however, when properly
prepared for this specific work, withstand a
lot of rough usage, and that to a surprising
extent. The pots must be literally packed
with roots to accomplish this. Take for
instance a plant upon a single stem, with
foliage well towards the base, and approaching
3 feet in height. Such a plant will probably
be in a 32-sized pot. That is too large, not
for luxuriant growth perhaps, but decidedly
so for the uses for which it is prepared. Let
it be, however, in a 48-pot, and it will come
out of the ordeal far better, the foliage being
firmer, and the growth more woody. Whilst
Crotons are before us, it may be noted that
those varieties stand best that have tough
leathery foliage, such as C. Baronne James de
Rothschild, C. Andreanus, and like similar
varieties with broad foliage ; those with
narrow leafage not standing the work so well.
Dracaenas, when used, are selected for their
brilliant colouring oftentimes, tut this is a
mistake from the utilitarian point of view.
With a lesser amount of so-called colouring,
the greater will be the endurance. In almost
every instance the absence of chlorophyll in
the leaves means a weakened constitution,
which it is of pj,r<-niount importance to avoid.

Treatment of Cut Flowers.

Anything that can be done to bridge over
the gulf that exists between the period of
cutting flowers and their arrangement in the
house should be carefully carried out. It may

be accepted as an invariably good practice to
cut all flowers early in the day for at least
nine months in the year ; whilst at all times
outdoor flowers should be cut as early as
possible, and that whilst the dew is still upon
them. Rosarians who exhibit are known to
practice this early cutting, and thereby secure
a brighter tint upon their blooms. In cutting
thus early, supposing the flowers are not
arranged until the afternoon for the evening
ensuing, they should at once be put into water
until required for use. If they have to be
dispatched by rail still adopt this plan, even
if not for more than an hour. Market growers
do this — they cut the day previous to the
market morning, bunch up and put into water
at once, keeping the flowers moist overhead,
also the ground upon which they stand until
packing time, and this system may be safely
followed. When flowers are arranged for the
dinner-table, a very light spraying overhead
after arrangement will be decidedly beneficial.
After the flowers have done duty for the first
evening, nearly everything can again be used
the next day and for days afterwards when of
good lasting properties. Yet oftentimes after
the one evening's use they are not so used ;
this is a well-known fact, but it engenders
waste. The overcrowding of cut flowers has
received a very decided check of late years,
thanks to the display of good taste upon the
part of those now doing the work, and the
examples that are to be seen in our best known
exhibitions.

Hints on Culture.

In order that plants may, as far as pos-
sible, resist the exposure and climatic
changes with some amount of impunity, it
is necessary to consider well their special
preparation. In this respect a great deal de-
pends upon the potting. It should be an invari-
able rule not to employ any plant that has been
recently potted, or one that is only partially
re-established after potting. The reason for
this lies in the fact that the roots that are being
made in the fresh soil are more susceptible to
injury; they are young roots, tender and
immature, hence are more iikely to receive
a check from either extremes of drought or
excess of moisture around them, as well as
from the chilling effects that will invariably
arise from the latter cause. The fresh soil
when wet is colder, from the fact that the
roots cannot quickly absorb the moisture.
Again, freshly potted plants when moved about
for such purposes, are liable to become loosened ,
and this is a serious drawback to them after-
wards. Tall Palms may be cited as a ease in
point, these will receive a serious check from
this cause alone. As regards the potting
itself, it sho.ld be made obligatory to pot
firmly ; too much attention can scarcely
be given to this work. Plants that have
recently been potted will, in all probability,
have been given a more generous treatment,
both as regards the temperature and atmos-
pheric moisture. This quite unfits them for use
for the time being. Such plants as Ferns should
never be used when they are pushing up a crop
of young fronds. Take for instance an Adian-
tum cuneatum in this condition ; its appearance
afterwards will tell its own tale. The growth
upon this Fern should be hard and wiry
when employed in house decoration, just
as the cut fronds of the same Fern
are that the florists obtain from the
market growers. It is frequently said that
failures occur with this Maidenhair when
grown in rooms, and such failures are a
fact. Take, however, an example that is not
over-potted, but that has the pot full of roots,
and which has been grown in full sunshine.

[June 21, 190"2.

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

417

Such a plant will have developed stiff fronds
with small pinnae, pale in colour perhaps, but
all the better calculated to withstand the dry
atmosphere and other not congenial conditions
with which it is surrounded. If grown in
heat, and moisture, and shade, the pinnte will
be larger, finer in appearance, it is true, but
not so durable when exposed to less favourable
surroundings. From these cultural hints it
will be gleaned that an enduring growth, if
not so luxuriant, is an essential factor in the
successful cultivation of what are termed
"decorative" plants.

It may be accepted as an invariable rule
that all plants in proportionately small pots

FORESTRY.

FORESTRY IN BURNHAM BEECHES.
During the last few weeks a great deal of
attention has been drawn by letters to the
leading daily and other papers to what has
been termed "Tree Felling in Burnham
Beeches." From the alarmist note which has
pervaded the correspondence generally, the
majority of those interested in this wonderful
old woodland, but unacquainted with the real
facts of the case, might naturally have
imagined that serious injury was being in-
flicted upon it by ignorant and reckless hands.
After perusing a few of the epistles written

property, for the fact that it became a civic
possession within comparatively recent times
has much to do with it. The acquisition of
the property by the Corporation in 1883 will
be an event still fresh in the minds of most,
for considerable consternation was felt for a
time when it became known that the land upon
which the forest stood was in the market, and
that a possibility existed of its falling into
irreverent and unappreciative hands. Happily
such a contingency was averted by an arrange-
ment between the Corporation and Sir Henry
Peek, by means of which the former were able
to acquire the open space known as Burnham
Beeches for the use of the public.

Fig. 154. — the teru.uk garden, Windsor castle.

will in every instance be (he most satisfactory.
The only additional care that they need is that
of close attention to watering. Take forced
plants as a case in point, Hyacinths, Tulips,
and Narcissi, these in 48-sized pots will do
far more service than if in 32's. Go further
even, and take the Chinese Primula, the Cine-
raria, and other soft-wooded plants ; these,
when grown in smaller pots, have less vigorous
foliage — not so healthy to look at, perhaps,
but far more enduring. The finest plants that
are to be eoen in the plant-houses are not in
every ease the most useful for decoration, any
more than the finest cattle in the homestead,
or the finest horses in the stable are best
calculated for the hardest work. To come
even closer still, is it not a fact that the wiry,
closely knitted man is best adapted to exposure
and hard work? Jax, Hudson, Gttnncrsburij.

by the more pessimistic of the correspondents,
a true lover of sylvan scenery had little
difliculty in drawing a vivid mental picture of
a scene similar to those with which descrip-
tions of forest clearings in the United States
and Canada have made us familiar. "De-
vastated areas," " Birches cut down by
hundreds," " Beauty and mystery of the place
absolutely destroyed," &c., are terms sulli-
ciently strong to lead one to the conclusion
that serious damage was being inflicted upon
this noble old relic of a past age ; and it was
with a feeling not unmixed with anxiety that
a visit was recently paid to the Beeches, in
order to ascertain what had actually been
done in the matter.

To properly understand what has actually
taken place, it is necessary to go back a few
years in the history of this London Corporation

This change of ownership marked two im-
portant events in the history of the Beeches.
One of these was the guarantee that the
existence of the Beeches should continue in
its natural condition for all future time; the
other was, that it became public instead of
private property. The former of these events
indirectly led to a system of management
being adopted which would, if allowed to con-
tinue, have frustrated the very object it was
intended to attain. This system was one
which left everything absolutely to Nature, and
which prohibited interference in any shape or
form with the natural growth of tho woodland.
At first sight, this might seem to be all that was
necessary to carry out the views of tho authori-
ties. But a circumstance had to bo reckoned
with which few anticipated at tho time. This
was the abundant growth of seedling trees

418

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[Junk 21, 1902.

which sprung up (as they had been in the
habit of doing for hundreds of years), and
threatened to ruin, if they did not actually
destroy, the old monarchs of the wood. When
the Beeches were in private hands, attention
was always paid to this seedling growth, and
it was cut away or thinned from time to time,
as the necessity for it arose. But when the
change of ownership from the private indi-
vidual to the public authority came about,
this necessary work was at once prohibited
under a mistaken idea that it was destroying
the natural character of the wood.

No doubt this periodical thinning did, to
some extent, interfere with the character of
the p'.isj as a nitur.il forest. But a choice

obliterated by a mass of spindly seedlings and
a tangle of Brambles and Thorns. To consider
such a state of things " natural beauty ',' was
surely a gross misinterpretation of all that is
worth admiring in Nature, and fortunately for
Burnham Beeches and the general public who
admire them, the committee wisely decided
to take action before irreparable damage was
done.

Fortunately, it so happened that they were
able to carry out their plans with the assist-
ance of a very able authority on landscape
gardening. Within a stone's-throw of the
Beeches lives Mr. Harry Veitch, and with
characteristic generosity he acceded to a
request of the committee that he should super-

as naturally as possible. In fact, if an error
has been committed at all, it has been on
the side of excessive caution rather than in
reckless disregard of correct taste and
picturesque beauty.

As a matter of fact, the whole of the work
done during the past winter was so obviously
necessary, that none without an ulterior object
in view, could possibly have objected to it.
The only cause for regret is, that those who
have the real interests of this unique old forest
at heart, and do all in their power to preserve
it for the enjoyment of both present and future
generations, should be exposed to the attacks
of ill-informed persons posing in the garb of
genuine lovers of Nature. Fagus.

Fig. 155. — view ix windsok forest.

had to be made between two evils : the one of
allowing the wood to become a facsimile of
hundreds of ordinary woodlands in the country
by the extermination of the old trees, and the
blocking up of all open spaces ; or the other, of
saving the old pollards at the expense of a
young generation, which experience proves
can always be replaced when wanted.

Guided or influenced by the representations
of a small, but not altogether disinterested
sestion of the public, the committee of manage-
ment chose the former of these evils, and for
a number of years nothing was done in the
way of thinning or clearing. The result was
exactly what those experienced in such
matters had anticipated. The picturesque
grouping of the old trees, the alternation of
thicket and open space, and the " splendid
isolation " of many a noted specimen, became,
or were in danger of becoming, entirely

vise the work as it went on, although this
f n tailed a certain amount of inconvenience to
himself. The result has been that Burnham
Beeches, or at least a portion of them, have
been cleared of a good deal of superfluous
rubbish, with the best results. The most
convincing proof of this lies in the fact
that it is almost impossible to detect where
the axe and bill-hook have been used, except
by comparison with parts most in need of
similar treatment. In fact, the time of the
keeper is greatly taken'up in answeringanxious
inquiries as to where the reputed "vandalism"
has been penetrated, for it is impossible to
discover it unaided. No trees have been re-
moved, simply saplings which threatened to
destroy the open character of the wood, or the
venerable beauty of the'old pollards, and where
bona fide thinning of young groups has been
done the remaining trees have been distributed

COLONIAL NOTES.

CECIL RHODES AS A HORTICULTURIST.
At the present time, when the name of Mr.
Rhodes is still in the thoughts and on the lips
of millions of our fellow countrymen, a few
words on some of his horticultural work in
South Africa, published in the leading horticul-
tural journal, will, I venture to think, prove
of interest. The great majority of English
people interested in horticulture and arbori-
culture little dream that the deceased gentle-
man was able to spare much time from his
other great works in the pursuit of a hobby of
this kind. The fact remains that he did spare
a great deal of time for it, and lived to see a
vast amount of horticultural work carried out
in the country of his adoption.

I will take as the subject of this artie'e,
Kenilworth, the property of the great De

June 21, 1902.]

THE GARD ENER 8 ' OH R ONI CL E.

419

fe

120

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE

[June 21, 1002.

Beers Diamond Mining Company. It is situate
a couple of miles from Kimberley, where Mr.
Rhodes laid the foundation of his enormous
fortune, and formulated those schemes for the
great British advance northward which ended
in placing thousands of miles of territory
under the British Hag, and gained for its
originator the proud and well-earned title of
Empire Builder. Kenilworth is situated on a
deep red soil, very much like what we meet
with over a great part of Devonshire, but more
sandy. Fourteen or fifteen years ago the
land now under cultivation was a part of
the open veldt. Now, a pretty village of
some six or seven hundred inhabitants nestles
snugly under great avenues of Eucalyptus and
Casuarinas, aud hundreds of acres have been
laid out as garden, farm, or forest. It is
divided into several blocks, orchard, nursery,
farm, and kitchen garden. All this work
would be practically impossible but for the
plentiful supply of water obtained from the
Premier Mine, Wesselton, one of the De Beers
Consolidated Mines.

Perhaps the most interesting spot to English
gardeners is the part set aside for orchard
work. Some thirteen years ago the manager,
Mr. F. Fenner, commenced operations here
by planting some thousands of frui- ttrees,
the kinds being Apples, Pears, Plums,
Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots, Figs, Oranges,
Naartjes, Lemons, Almonds, Cherries, Quinces,
and Pomegranates. The orchard is about
600 yards square, and planted on every side
with Eucalyptus, Casuarina, or Cupressus
macrocarpa. The "hedges" have attained
magnificent proportions, some of the Euca-
lyptus towering away 00 and 70 feet in height.
The Casuarina is a beautiful tree, and forms a
fine shelter, but it has one bad fault, it is a great
robber, impoverishing the soil for a long dis-
tance away. The appearance of everything is
most marked when compared with others of
the same kind planted near Eucalyptus or
Cupressus. The Cupressus is too well known
at home to need any description here, except
to note that it does remarkably well and grows
at a pace that would astonish English gar-
deners. Only a small portion of the fruit trees
planted have come out from Europe, the
greater part coming from Australia, the sea-
sons suiting thorn so much better. Only here
and there has a downright failure to be re-
ported. A notable instance being Cherries.
They will not do at all. Peaches, Necta-
rines, Apricots, and Almonds do remarkably
well, the Peaches alone being worth a lon^
journey to see. The past season has not been
one of the best, but the crop of 1900-01, De-
cember and January, which was the first I had
the privilege of witnessing, was a grand show.
Apricots start the season, and these were
picked by the hundred thousand, 200,000 of
Apricots alone being sent away in that season
to the mine compounds, while as many as
60,000 Peaches have been dispatched in a
single day.

Apples, Pears, and Plums do very well, the
Japanese Plum especially ; while among Pears,
our old friends at home, Williams' Bon
Chretien, Marie Louise, and Louise Bonne of
Jersey, do grandly, seeming to delight in the
tropical heat. Pomegranates and Quinces
must be grown by the ton, and both fruits
reach a very large size. At the present time
(first week in May) enormous crops of Oranges,
Naartjes (Citrus), and Lemons are fast ripening
off, and bending the branches to the ground
under their weight.

Several vineries of 400 and 600 yards long
each have bjrne heavy crops of Crapes in
many variet'es. Tons of Grapes go every
season into the mine compounds, being eagerly

bought up by the natives. Grapes and every
other kind of surplus fruit are sold at a very
low price.

Two great enemies the fruit crop has to con-
tend with here are locusts and the hailstorms.
I place the locusts first, as they simply clear
everything before them, leaving nothing but
the stones of Peaches or Apricots hanging to
the trees. It is really wonderful how quickly
the trees recover from their attacks ; they
break out again, and grow away strongly im-
mediately after the first good rain. Hail-
storms do great damage, cutting the trees to
pieces. A hailstorm here is a far different
thing to what we are used to in England ;
often the "stones" are pieces of ice an inch
or more square.

On the plot of ground set apart for the
cultivation of vegetables some splendid crops
are to be seen, many kinds being grown with
great success. This department requires a
deal of attention, as any neglect in the regular
watering of the crops would be fatal, the great
heat we experience here about Christmas
burning everything up. The veldt all around
gets as bare and as hard as an English road.

In the nursery Mr. Fenner has a great
quantity of all kinds of trees suitable to the
district; hundreds of thousands of such kinds
as Eucalyptus, Casuarina, Grevillea, &c.

Any reference to Kenilworth, and the work
carried out there by the late Mr. Rhodes,
would be incomplete now without a descrip-
tion of the Siege Avenue. This, like almost
all the other works of Mr. Rhodes, is a big
affair. The avenue is 1 \ mile long, and will
consist, when properly finished, of fourteen
rows of trees, Eucalyptus, Casuarina, Orange,
and Pepper. In the centre of the avenue an
enormous vinery has been built, running the
whole length. It is span-roofed, and forms an
admirable carriage drive, the leaves of the
"Vines forming a welcome shade in the hot days
of summer. Some thousands of Tines have
already been planted, and made a very good
start, the growth of the past season being all
that could be desired.

This avenue and its vinery will be a great
sight in a couple of years' time, when the
Vines come into full bearing, and will be worth
a long journey to see. It is called Siege
Avenue from the fact that it was commenced
and a great amount of work done on it during
the historic siege of Kimberley, the men and
"boys" engaged being often under the
enemy's shell fire. Gardening work is rarely
performed under such difficulties. Work was
provided there ior about 1500 natives, when
work on the mines had to cease for want of
mining material.

The great interest which the late Mr. Rhodes
took in horticultural work can be gauged by
the fact that he was often to be seen at the
garden as early as 5 o'clock in the morning,
having had a journey of 3 or 4 miles to accom-
plish before reaching there. T. Foote, P.O.
Box 170, Kimberley, 8. Africa.

CORONATION ITEMS.

Turnford Hall Nurseries, near Brox-
bournk, Herts. — The most important crop with
us, of course, will be the Lily of the Valley ;
of these we propose to place a quantity on the
market for Coronation week. These blooms
will, of course, all be produced from frozen
crowns which have been stored in our own
refrigerators since last January ; they take us
about twenty days to produce, from the time
of their leaving the refrigerator.

Another feature will be the numbers of
Lilium longiflornm blooms, which are not
retarded and are in their natural season, but

the blooms of the varieties L. I. album and L. 1.
rubrum will be produced from bulbs which
were placed in the refrigerator in February,
1901, or about sixteen months ago. Azalea
mollis is another very effective plant, which
will be much in evidence, its delicate shades
enabling it to be used almost anywhere.
Azalea mollis we have had in bloom con-
tinuously since August last — thanks to the
refrigerator. Spiraeas will also be much in
evidence, and these plants have also been
retarded.

Turning now to the Orchids, we shall place
two or three thousand blooms of Odonto-
glossum crispum on the market, and no doubt
there will be a great demand for this beautiful
and effective Orchid. Cattleyas will not be so
plentiful, but there should be a good sprinkling
of Cattleya Mossise, C. Mendeli, and C.
Gaskelliana.

Palms we expect a very large demand for,
ranging in prices from 2s. 6<J. to £30 each ;
other plants are Hydrangeas, Dr. Hogg and
Hortensia ; Ferns in variety, Davallia bullata
in many different shapes, such as Monkeys,
Frogs, Pagodas, Storks, Pigeons, Chinese
Junks, and other designs ; Asparagus Sprengeri
and A. plumosus, Dracjenas, Crotons, P»n-
danus Veitchi, Aralias, &c, the brilliant
Kalanchoe flammea, Stephanotis floribunda,
Eucharis grandiflora, Araucaria excelsa, and
Aspidistras. Thomas Rochford and tions.

Perhaps the most striking feature has been
the increase in demand for large Palms. The
call for sizes from 5 to 8 ft. is quite exceptional.
This appears to come principally from the
theatres, restaurants, hotels, and the houses
mostly occupied in the furnishing trade. The
demand also for Orchid flowers and other high
class blooms, such as Malmaison Carnations,
has also been of quite an unprecedented
nature, and the prices of these choicer pro-
ducts have gone-up very considerably in con-
sequence. Amongst the more generally em-
ployed plants, Marguerites, Hydrangeas, and
hangiDg plants for window-box decoration, we
have found it impossible to keep pace with the
demand. Hugh Loio & Co.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

labels. — Referring to your paragraph on
p. 357, I may say that I have been for the
past year perfecting my metal label gene-
rally known as the "Chandler Plant Label,"
so as to include the printing or embossing
very plainly of the name of the Rose, fruit-
tree, or plant, cheaply on a permanent label
to be attached to a plant when sent out from
the nursery, and that I hope to introduce this
improvement before the autumn. The price
will be very much lower than that stated by
you, and the name of the nurseryman sending
out the Roses, fruit-trees, or plants, will
be also imprinted on the label. I will send
you samples of the labels so soon as they are
ready. Alfred Cliandler, Devon Rosery, Torquay.

THE NAVEL ORANGE IN CALIFORNIA. — Re-
ferring to Mr. Tidmarsh's note on p. 225 of
your issue of April 5, I write to say that the
Bahia, or as it is here called the Washington
Navel, is the principal shipping Orange of
California, furnishing over three-fourths of
the 20,000 train-car loads of Oranges exported
from California in the season of 1899-1900.
With us it is a good bearer, but in Florida it
is said to produce but shyly. It is by no
means an infrequent occurrence to find a
second Orange at the apex of the first, and all
stages of development between the ordinary
"navel" and the well -developed second
Orange are often found. Writing in Medians'
Monthly, some time ag > (the reference is not
accessible to me), Prof. W. W. Bailey, of

[June 21, 190:2.

THE GARD ENER S ' CUR ONI CL E.

421

Brown University, says : — " We take it that in
the Navel Orange the branch or shoot con-
tinues to grow, producing another tier of
carpels above or within the first set. The
lower set is more vigorous, presses upon and
crowds the inner, forming, at last, the charac-
teristic dimple or navel which gives the fruit
its name. Such proliflcation of a flower-branch
is seen any day in the two or more storied in-

' ' Orange, " pp. 1 152 to 1100, together with other
information of interest and value to Orange-
growers. A more extended and thoroughly
reliable account of the Orange industry in
California is contained in Wickson's Californium
Fruits and How to Grow Them, ed. 3, San
Francisco, Pacific Rural Press. Joseph Burtt
Davy, Assistant Botanist, Agricultural Experi-
ment Station, Berkeley, California.

VIEW IN THE GREA1

roughly, I should imagine that care inapplying
water and not too large pots are very necessary
conditions. That it will be more sought after
there can be no question, for already it has
been greatly admired by those who have been
to the front. Classed as a herbaceous plant,
it would from appearance want a most favoured
and warm situation outdoors. Orchid.

FUNGUS ON BEGONIA GLOIRE DE LORRAINE. —
In reply to enquiry (Gardeners' Chronicle,
p. 329), the fungus referred to is probably
the same as that which causes what is gene-
rally termed "damping," and which often
proves so destructive in thepropagatiDg-house.
It is a very fine thread-like fungus which
spreads rapidly, and destroys all tender
subjects it may come in contact with. It is
only a moist stagnant atmosphere that is
favourable to its development, but in any place
where the germs once get established it is most
difficult to eradicate it. Most propagators
have had some experience of this deadly pest.
If taken in time it may be checked. I have
known it spread on an open stage, but it is in
the close Irame that it proves the most de-
structive. The only way to check its progress
is to remove any pot of cuttings that may be
affected, and stir in some hot ashes in the
plunging material, and some dry sand mar'e as
hot as it is safe to use it, shaken through the
affected pot may save any cuttings, &c, that it
has not touched ; but unless it is something very
choice it will be better to destroy them. I have
known it very troublesome among seedling
tuberous Begonias ; where the leaves come
close on to the surface of the soil it spreads
most, and great care is required to check its
progress. A. Hemsley.

hardy geraniums.— I have to thank your
valued contributor, " Corycius senex," and
some other readers of the Oard. Chron.,
who have written me supplementing what I
said about the "hardy Geraniums " in a recent
issue. I have not at present the pleasure of
possessing G. platypetalum, a species which
appears to be but little grown, even in nur-
series, and I am indebted to your corre-
spondent for reminding me of it. Our Dusky
Cranesbill is so plentiful in a wild state in
this locality that I have not this quaintly
pretty plant among my garden flowers, all
one's space being needed for flowers which
cannot be seen wild within a mile or so ; it is,
however, worthy of all said of it by " Corycius
senex " in his note and in his recent enjoyable
article. Another species omitted has been
kindly recalled to me by a lady r< ader ; this
is G. striatum, a pretty Cranesbill, which I
had at one time, but which appears to have
been lost in the course of some garden altera-
tions, which has once more found its way into
my garden through the courtesy of this lady.
It has been accompanied by the rather tender
G. canariense, a bright Geranium, welcomed
among the occupants of my greenhouse.
S. Arnott, Carsethurn by Dumfries, N.B.

CROSSING THE HIPPEASTRUM WITH CLIVIA.
— If Mr. Chapman and Dr. Bonavia have really
effected a cross between these two plants,
they are to be congratulated. My own efforts
in that direction have not been successful.
It will be interesting to hear what Mr. Chap-
man's plants are like v>hen they flower. His
exhibit of Hippeastrums at the Temple Show
were noteworthy for the broad segments of
their massive blooms. T. II. Slade.

florescence of Chinese Primroses; or in the
still more striking eases where a Cherry, Hose,
or Apple- blossom continues a leafy shoot
through its middle." The figures referred to
by Mr. Tidmarsh are to be found on p. 56 of a
publication of the California State Board of
Horticulture, entitled Culture of the Citrus
in California, by the late B. M. Lelong,
Secretary, "assisted by experienced horticul-
turists"; it was published in 1900. Another
illustration will be found in Dr. H. J. Webber's
article on " Citrus " in Bailey's Oydopcedia of
American Horticulture, p. 322. Another account
of the Bahia occurs in the same work under

GERBERA jamesoni. — May I supplement
the remarks of your correspondents, " H. J. R.,
Bangor," and Mr. Heaton Nichols, on the
above plant in a recent issue of the Gar-
deners' Chronicle. Knowing that the plant
was flowering in the Wavertree Botanical
Gardens, Liverpool, for the first time, I called
on Mr. Guttridge, who kindly pointed it out to
me. It had been growing in an ordinary
greenhouse, and potted in Kent loam, a little
leaf - mould and coarse sand. The plant,
although small, had a straight spike some
2 feet long, the flowers being of a vermilion
colour. Until plants are established tho-

THE WEATHER AND THE FRUIT CROP8. —

Several correspondents of the Gardeners'
Chronicle have given distressing accounts of
the prospects of the fruit crop this year. In
my part of Devonshire, the fruit has not quite
escaped injury, as 6° and more of frost was
experienced ; but fortunately at Poltimcre,
the air v>as unusually dry during April and
May, albeit very cold. Red Currants, also
Gooseberries, have suffered slightly from the
frost. 1 have seidom seen Strawberries look-
ing better, the rairs during the past week
having greatly benefited them. Fruit on Plum
trees is very thin. Pears will he a light eror>,

422

THE G ARE EWER S ' CUR 0 ATI CL E.

[Juke 21, 1902.

and I fear Apples will not be plentiful.
Peaches and Nectarines are a heavy crop, bat
the trees have suffered much from blister.
Oar Potatos have escaped the frost, and have
a thrifty appearance ; the first tubers were
lifted in the open border on June 3. T. H.
Slade, Poltimore.

ROAD-SIDE FRUIT TREES.— Our old friend,
Mr. Peter Barr, pokes a little fun over the
proposal to plant fruit trees by the road-
sides and in hedgerows. Perhaps ridicule
is the best possible check to administer to
what is a poor fad at the best, and is as
far removed as any suggestion well can
be from solving the great problem how best
to grow such fruit at home as shall enable
us to compete in our own markets with colo-
nial products. We have been for many vears
growing far too much ruboish, and a survey
-of markets and shops in the hardy fruit season
^ret tells too forcibly of how much rubbish
-we grow still. Whac benefit to British fruit
•culture as an industry could result had we
hundreds of miles of roadsides planted with
Apple, Pe r, and Plum trees, except that it
would help to flood our markets with worthless
produce [?], at which no genuine market sales-
maa would look for a moment, but would
rather turn from with disgust. If we have no
better panacea for our home shortcomings in
relation to hardy fruit production than is
presented in the roadside planting proposal,
then the sooner we fling up our hands and
cry peeeavimus the better. What we want
to enable us to compete in our markets
with high class imported fruit is high-
class culture and first-class varieties. What
of culture can be given to roadside trees ? and
in this country what of roadside fiuit would
be safe from depredation ? Some fruit-growers
here and there are doing their best to meet
this competition. Such an one is Mr. Barn-
field, of Bedfont, who put down a few years
ago some 90 acres of fruit trees, and has now
one of the prettiest breadths to be seen in the
kingdom, just below the Feltham Industrial
Schools. Such practical growers as be would
laugh to scorn the roadside proposal. A. D.

DISEASE OF lilium candidum.— Mr. Jenkins'
note on p. 379 will be interesting to all culti-
vators of Lilies, and the experiment will be
valuable if it leads to success in combating
this tiresome disease. Perhaps more might
be done in this direction if gardeners would
compare notes freely as to their success, or
lack of it, in cultivating this beautiful Lily.
Owing to the disease, and possibly other
causes too, the plant had almost died out in
these gardens ; the few that remained eight
years ago were too weak to flower. With
better cultivation they have increased in
strength, and are this .year showing several
fairly strong flower-stems ; they have not been
so much diseased as in former years, neither
have others which have been brought from
other gardens, and 1 cannot assign any reason
for this, unless it is increased strength due to
the application of farmyard-manure near to
the roots without disturbing them. The
disease generally appears here early in April,
and gradually gets worse until at flowering
time scarcely a leaf is green ; this season it
commenced as usuil, but did not increase. If
this is owing to climatal reasons, I cannot
understand why it is so, as both April and May
hive been much cooler and wetter than usual,
though we have had very little actual frost.
Some of the finest 1 have seen in these parts are
growing close to a house on the south side,
where the soil is naturally a light sandy loam.
A few years since I imitated these conditions as
clo-ely as possible, and purchased a fresh stock
of bulbs to plant for trial : these grew fairly
well the first season, but have gradually
dwindled away until they are now weaker
than the original stock that was h^re before.
Another lot I obtained from Kent, where I saw
them growing upwards of 4 feet high, aDd
flowering beautifully ; these stood close on
the south side of a house, and when du* up
the bulbs proved to bd quite 6 inches under
the surface. But deep planting is not the

secret of success, because the best clump I
have here has the bulbs almost on the surface ;
this has increased from one root five years
ago until it has twelve flo*er-stems this
season, some of tbem 3| feet high, and very
strong. This clump had to be removed when
in full growth in April, 1901, owing to altera-
tions that were being made ; it continued to
grow, however, much to my surprise, and is
now the strongest and best I have, nothing
special having been afforded it in the matter
of soil or anything else — yet most gardeners
would hesitate before moving Lilies at that
season. When I was a boy, in Kent, this
plaut seemed to grow and flower freely under
ordinary kind of treatment, and I do not re-
member having observed the Lily-disease in
Kent either then or since. I well remember
finding a large Lily bulb rolling about on the
surface of the ground, and in a very shrivelled
condition. I cannot say at what part of the
year, but it was hot, dry weather ; this I
soaked with water, and replanted in my own
little garden, which was in a dry, shady spot
near some trees, and it afterwards developed
intoa fine strong plant, although it grew weakly
for the first year or two. 1 have written the
above account of failures and successes, hoping
other growers may do likewise, and that some
method of Lily- cultivation may be evolved
which will secure strength in the plants, and
thus better enable them to resist the disease.
W. H. Dicers, Belvoir Castle Gardens,
Grantham.

YORK gala. — Your correspondent in his
notes on this show made a pardonable error in
the fruit classes. Others were misled on the
same point through the prize cards getting
misplaced. The first prize for three bunches
of Black Grapes was won by Mr. John Hick-
sen, nurseryman and fruit-grower, Clifford,
Boston Spa, Yorks. This gentleman has several
times been first in this class at York. He is
probably one of, if not the oldest fruit-
grower in this county. His vineries are
simply constructed, he having been not
only his own designer, but to a large
extent, his own builder. I have often seen
his Grape crops during the past twenty- five
years, and must say they have always been
very good in every sjuse, Hambros in par-
ticular. It may be worth mentioning that his
early life was spent in private gardens, he
having filled several responsible positions as
head gardener, the last one being at Townley
Paik, near Burnley, in Lancashire. He
began his gardening career in 1839; yet he
is now as erect and active as a man in
his prime. During his working life he
has met most of the gardening celebrities
of the latter half of the nineteenth century,
and his memory being clear and his imagi-
nation not too vivid, it is a treat to lovers of
garden folklore to hear bis comments upon
them and their work. In 1850 and 1851 he was
foreman at Duncombe Park, near Helmsley, in
Yorks, to the late Mr. M. Rochford, father of
the well-known family of fruit-growers and
nurserymen of Turnford and other places.
H. J. C, Grimston Gardens, Tadcaster.

on dutiable articles of food. The "summary "
table presents us with the following entries: —

Imports.

Difference.

£

£

£

Total value

42.426,759

43,353,705

+926,946

(A.) Articles of food
and drink — duty
free

7,916,023

8,643,882

+ 727,859

(B.) Articles of food
& drink— dutiable

8,10>-,491

8.945,707

+836,216

Raw materials for
textile manufac-
tures

6,793,664

5.973,170

—820,494

Raw materials for
sundry industries
and manufactures

5,023,837

4,319,410

—701,427

(A.) Miscellaneous
articles

1,235,340

1,556,912

+321,572

(B.) Parcel Post ...

124,518

138,551

+14,006

Tne figures relating to the imports of fruits,
roots, and vegetables, continue to be of the
now usually astonishing character: —

STOCK-TAKING FOE MAY.
As this is being written, our swords
are sheathed, our flag droops idly, our
brows are laurel-wreathed — there is Peace
with Honour, and the war is ended. Men
are now engaged in pushing commerce to
the uttermost ends of civilised South Africa,
and this to improve the coming monthly
returns to be issued by the Board of Trade.
The returns issued on Saturday last show an
increase in imports to the amount of nearly a
million sterling — the exports a decline of
half a million. The value of last month's
imports was £13,303,705, against £42, 120,759
for May, 1901— an increase of £926,946 ; of this
sum £836,216 represents the increase of value

Imports.

1901.

1902.

Difference.

Fruits, raw :—

Cwt.

Cwt.

Cwt.

Apples

75,842

70,395

—5,447

Apricots and Peaches

155

1 02-5

+871

Bananas... bunches

223,939

242,758

+18.819

Cherries

5,237

16,516

+11,309

Gooseberries

328

525

+ 197

Grapes

936

1,347

+ 411

Lemons

149,715

88,044

—61,671

Nuts— Almonds

5,498

6,035

+537

Others, used as food

46,270

69,791

+23,521

Oranges

523.889

752,814

+228,925

Pears

165

417

+252

Plums

Strawberries

3,255

1,834

—1.361

Unenumerated,raw...

4,548

5,848

+1,300

Fruits, dried-

Currants, for home
consumption

43.C05

61.633

+18,628

Raisins ,,

18,393

21,589

+3,190

Vegetables, raw :—

Onions bush.

602,219

491,656

—107,563

Potatos cwt.

1,0.37,217

586,022

—151,195

Tomatos ,,

33,590

58,152

+21,562

Vegetables, raw, un-
enumerated ...value

£61,596

£61,587

—£309

Everything points to an increase at the Cape
of the area devoted to fruit culture, and that
too of all descriptions; and this may meet
with encouragement by the lowering of freight
charges, which it is insisted tend at present to
curtail shipments. The imports for the past
five months are given at £222,135,337, against
£220,721,300 for the same period in the pre-
ceding year — showing an increase of £ 1,4 10,977.
Passing now to —

Exports,
these for last month are placed at £22,831,974,
against £23,336,602 for the same period last
year, thus showing a decrease of £504,088.

TRADE NOTICE,

— ♦ —

The Heating of the New Portion ok the
Victoria and Albert Museum. — Messrs. J.
Weeks & Co. inform us that they have been
favoured with the order to warm the East
Galleries of the nsw portion of the Victoria
and Albert Museum at Sjuth Kensington, j

Rose Hill Nurseries, Yarm.— We beg to
give you formal notice that in conformity
with the terms of her late husband's will,
Mrs. Hedley has taken over the nursery
and seedsm in's business, so long ani success-

[June 21, 1902.

THE GA R D ENER ,S" CHR OX I CL E.

423

fully 'carried on by the late Mr. William
Hedley, Rose Hill Nurseries, Yarm. Mrs.
Hedley will in future conduct the business
under the same name as heretofore, Mr.
Robert Hedley acting as manager, combined
with that of auctioneer and valuer.

■William Bull & Sons. — We are requested
to state that the business conducted by the
late William Bull, of King's Road, Chelsea,
will in future be carried on by Mr. Bull's two
sons, William and Edward, under the style of
William Bull & Sons.

should be top-dressed with a nice mixture of
sweet soil, sand, and manure, for the en-
couragement of these roots means much in
development of flowers.

The Week's Work.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tallack, Gardener to E. Milleb Mundy, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Humeas. — Where these handsome plants are
grown, seeds should now be sown in gentle
heat, using a light and sandy mixture of soil,
and shading the seedpot or pan heavily until the
plants appear. It is important that new seeds
shall be sown, and seedsmen appear to have
realised this fact more fully during recent
years, although for many years it seemed to
be impossible to buy seeds of good germinating
power. It should not be forgotten that there
are two varieties, H. elegans and H. e. pur-
purea, each handsome in its own particu-
lar shade of plume, and equally worthy of
cultivation.

Trachelium cceruleum. — A very pretty and
useful plant for the conservatory, its light and
elegant appearance lighting up other arrange-
ments of plants, and providing, from its colour,
a sense of repose and coolness. Autumn raised
seedlings will now be ready for being trans-
ferred to the flowering pots, and will need
rather careful handling, for any rough treat-
ment of the roots or excess of water after
being potted may lead to the collapse of the
plants, which otherwise are very easily grown.
They will grow in almost any kind of garden
soil, which should have some sand and a small
quantity of decayed cow-manure mixed with it.

Bouvardias. — If these are to be grown on the
planting-out method, it will now be time to
prepare for the job. A spot on a sunny border
should have been specially prepared by dig-
ging-in some well decayed manure and leaf-
soil, which will ensure them being lifted
with good balls of soil attached at potting
time. Pot-grown plants w-ill soon be ready to
transfer to their flowering- pots, and if well
managed afterwards, they will get no check at
the roots during the rest of the season. Which-
ever method is adopted, the syringe should be
freely used on the afternoons of bright sunny
days in order to keep red-spider in check and
to encourage growth, for both of which pur-
poses clean soot-water is better than clean
water.

■f Primulas. — Plants of the double- flowered
type which have been earthed or mossed up
so as to produce pieces for propagating, should
now be ready for division, and may be cut
into pieces with oue crown each, potted in
leaf-soil, and stood in a pit with gentle bottom-
heat, in which they will soon become re-estab-
lished. Seedlings of all the Chinese sections
which are forward enough, should be pricked
off into pans of sandy soil, and given a distance
that will allow of good development before
being potted. I do not care to transfer small
seedlings singly into tiny pots, as they do not
go away nearly so freely as those which are
pricked off in a larger body of soil.

Gardenias. — The early-struck cuttings may
now have their second shift, but should not be
advanced more than a couple of sizes as
regards pot-room, my experience being that
big shifts are apt to be injurious, and I prefer
to give one extra shift during tne season.
The main batch of cuttings will now, too, be
ready ior potting off.

Liliums. — Pot plants of L. auratum and
L. lancifolium will probably be showing roots
above the soil. When these appear, the plants

THE HABDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Mayne, Gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle,
Bicton. East Budleigh, Devonshire.

Apples and Pears. — If extra-fine fruits are
required, and there are good crops already
set, thinning should be freely carried out,
keeping in view the size of the fruits in each
case, and reducing the fruits on each spur to
one or two, the best shaped ones being
retained. At Bicton many varieties of Apples
are cropped heavily, notably King, Ribston,
and Sturmer Pippins, Lane's Prince Albert,
Golden Spire, Duchess of Oldenburg, Warner's
King, and several others, all of which will
require one-half of the fruit to be removed.
Speaking generally, the finest fruit is obtained
from bushes, pyramids, and espaliers, on which
thinning is easily performed. Pears are not
a heavy crop. Where labour will allow,
frequent applications of manure-water or a
mulch of some sort over the roots will do

gOOd. V9ia _— ,£ig UL6K ...," Jsna

Plums locally are a good crop even on orchard
standards, but principally consists of Denyer's
Victoria, a variety which seldom fails to crop.
Plums should be thinned before they become
a great strain on the energy of the tree, i.e.,
before stoning. Aphides are troublesome this
season on Plums and Damsons, and trees re-
quire frequent syringings with Quassia water
or Abol, which should be afforded towards
5 P.M., and the trees have a thorough washing
with clean water applied by the syringe or
garden-engine the next morning.

Sweet Cherries. — Trees on walls facing S., W.
or S.W., will soon be ripening their fruit, and
if aphides are noticed on the young shoots
apply Quassia or Abol. In the case of the black
variety the shoots should be dipped in the
solution. Xail-in the shoots left for the exten-
sion of the tree, and protect the trait with
nets from the birds. The trees should not be
allowed to suffer for the want of water at the
root before or after the fruits are cleared,
neither should the washing of the trees be
neglected during the summer, as the Cherry
soon falls a prey to red spider, but up to the
present the trees here are keeping clear of
this pest.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colmax, Esq., Gatton
Park. Reicate.

Diacrium bicornutum. — The flowering season
of this beautiful species, sometimes named
Epidendrum bicornucum, being now at an end,
growth h""S become active; and aaj plant
requiring a new pau, pot, or basket, should
receive attention. A mixture consisting of
equal parts of turfv-peat and chopped sphag-
num, with Fera-rhizomes for drainage, will
suit the plant, which is a moisture-loving
subject. Old plants possessing many pseudo-
bulbs and growths should have some of the
leads removed with one or two pseudo-bulbs
attached, which will help to increase the
stock of the plant. This removal will allow of
stronger development, and the flowers will be
improved in size. When the leads are re-
moved, the old plant not being further
disturbed, will push forth new growths from
the back portion, which may be treated in the
same manner another season if thought de-
sirable. The most suitable place for the
plants is the warmest and shadiest part of the
stove Orchid house. During the season of
active growth, apply water copiously at the
root, and often syringe the plants overhead in
sunny weather. When the growth is com-
pleted, water should be applied less freely,
but at no season should the materials become
very dry, providing the temperature of the
stove is maintained. Although the species is
considered a difficult one to cultivate for any
great length of time, still if its requirements
are understood, and propagation is carried out
when the plant is in good health. difficulties
will usually disappear.

Bulbophyllum barbigerum. — Plants of this
species are starting into growth, and if no
repotting be required it will simply be enough
to pick away some of the material to allow of
the insertion of some fresh compost for the
new roots to run amongst ; a compost consist-
ing of peat-fibre two-thirds, and chopped
sphagnum one-third, is a very suitable one.
Should repotting be necessary, let very shallow
pans be employed, the greater number of the
roots being found on the surface. Let the
plants hang in a shady corner in the stove
Orchid-house whilst growing, and apply water
freely, also overhead spraying in bright
weather. The plant may be increased in
number by severing the rhizomes behind the
second pseudo-bulb and potting them, not
disturbing the hindermost portion of the
plant, which will soon make a strong leading
growth.

Dendrobium Phalwnopsis Schroderianum. —
This autumn-fiowering species is, at Gatton
Park, more backward in growth than is usual
at this date owing to abnormally cool weather,
and repotting will have to be deferred to a
much later part of the season. The best time for
this operation will be when the new growth has
reached a height of about 4 ins., a time when
root ac ti vity will have begun. A suitable compost
will consist of equal parts of turfy peat and
chopped sphagnum, and a fair amount of drain-
age should be afforded, especially to plants in
pots. The plant when making growth, re-
quires abundant heat and moisture, and it is
benefited by being placed in the Codiseum
(Croton) house, and shaded from direct strong

sunshine,

PEUTTS UNDER GLASS.

By James Whytock, Gardener to the Duke of
BnccLEUCH. Dalkeith, Scotland.

The Earliest Forced Tines. — The backward
season has required the use of much more fire-
heat than usual in the early vinery, and as a
result red-spider manifested its presence as
soon as the Grapes were ripe. The leaves
when the fruit is consumed should be washed
with the garden - engine, some nicotine in-
secticide being mixed with the water, and
afterwards afforded repeated syringing with
clear water. If the border on examination is
found to be even moderately dry, apply water
freely, also diluted manure-water from the
cowshed ; or sprinkle the border with some
special Vine manure, and afford water directly
afterwards. Keep air on constantly in dull
weather, and in the cold parts of the country
it will be advisable to use the heating
apparatus rill the wood is thoroughly matured.

Vineries in which the Grapes are changing
colour and ripening, should have air in small
amount constantly, and chiefly at the top of the
vinery, artificial heat being afforded in order
to maintain the temperature at night at 60°
and 10 to 15" higher by day for Hamburghs.
The atmosphere should be much drier than
heretofore, bat the paths may be damped once
or twice on bright days. If the inside border
should require water, apply it in ;i clear state.
Keep the lateral growths well shortened-in,
and thus give the main foliage space in which
to develop to its fullest size.

Muscat Vines. — Those started at the begin-
ning of the year will now have Grapes in a
nearly ripe state, and the temperature at
night should be kept at 65° to 70 with some
amount of air admitted constantly. Keep the
house dry, afford no water to the border, as
sufficient should have been applied before the
ripening began. If the foliage be infested
with insects sponge it with a mild insecticide,
as tint of the Muscat of Alexandria is easily in-
jured ; and as soon as the Grapes are removed,
thoroughly wash the foliage with soapy water
applied by the garden-engine, repeating this
frequently ; and at the same time if the border
needs moisture, afford manure-water copiously.

Early-forced Planted-owl Pigs.— The first

crop of fruit beiug consumed, the second will
be following fast, and the trees may be
syringed twice a day in bright weather. If
tne roots are as thev should be, thai is

424

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 21, 1902.

restricted to a small border, surface dressings
of artificial manure and plenty of water and
weak manure- water may be applied. The shoots
should be stopped at the fifth leaf, and all
barren shoots removed. Maintain a moisture-
laden atmosphere, and a temperature at night
of 00% and by day of 10° higher. RipeniDg Figs
should be afforded a drier atmosphere and
more ventilation ; but the foliage of the Fig
being so susceptible to attack by red- spider,
aridity of the air must be avoided. Figs in
pots want continuous attention as regards the
application of water and manure.

Um^pordenU

Alpine Plants : J. W. M. There are so many
books, and you give no indication of the
price you wish to pay. A book published
by Mr. W. A. Clark will perhaps suit you;
it is published by L. Upcott Gill, 170,
Strand ; the cost we do not know, but it is
not likely to be great. We do not know the
cost of the other book you mention. Prices
should be advertised.

Blighted Larch : H. J. E. I can iind no trace of
fungi in the Larch-twigs or leaves, nor can
I suggest any cause for the blighting. M.C.C.

Carnation: C. A. B. The plant is probably
affected by a fungus, Helminthosporium echi-
nulatum, which is in its early stage. The
disease was fully described in the Gardeners'
Chronicle for August 21, 1886. All diseased
plants must be removed and burnt. There
is no known remedy.

Carnation, Janie Pipei; -. H. E. A very
attractive flower, of clear rose colour. It
has evidently a non-bursting calyx and long
flower stems. A good tree variety.

Diseased Melons : X. The fruits sent are
badly diseased, but upon them I have
hitherto found no trace of the Black Mould
(Cercospora melonis). There is externally
a profuse crop of " Anthracnose " (Gheo-
sporium lagenarium) mixed with the fusi-
form, triseptate conidia of Fusarium reticu-
latum, which is usually the companion of
the "anthracnose." Neither in this in-
stance, nor in others which have come under
our notice of British growth, do the dimen-
sions of the conidia in either direction attain
those quoted by Saccardo. The spots on
the leaves, although they somewhat resemble
those of the Cercospora, belong also to the
Gkeosporium, the conidia of which are pro-
fuse everywhere ; but we could find no trace
of the Cercospora. On some of the leaves,
portions of which appear to have been long-
dead, saprophytes had begun to establish
themselves, as, for instance, a Macro-
sporium resembling M. sarcinula, and a
small Cladosporium ; but neither of these
have any connection with the disease. We
can give no hope of saving plants when once
attacked. M. C. C.

Diseased Palms : Stri.v. A great deal in the
appearance of the specimen of Kentia sent
for examination reminds one of the examples
which have been sent two or three times to

theScientific Committee forexamination, and
which passed through several hands of
experts in entomology and mycology without
eliciting satisfactory results. The roots in
the present case do not present any features
which are abnormal, and no evidence of
disease. The lower parts of the petioles
which form the sheath are dying, or dead ; at
the margins and upon this portion, as well as
the contiguous green petiole, are sprinkled
numerous small brown specks, which become
darker on the dead margins. Externally they
certainly resemble certain forms of fungi,
but under the microscope, they are found to
be quite different, and to consist of tufts of
brown, twisted, distorted, and elongated

FIG. 1S8 — THE CODLIN MOTH (CAHPOC'APSA POMONELLA),
It, SHOWN IN VARIOUS STAGES OF ITS EXISTENCE:
U'-' e AND AN APPLE WITH A CATERPILLAR EMERGING.

cells, very much like those which in former
times were known by t he name of Erineum and
Fhyllerium, but which are now recognised as
the gall-like formations of species of Phytopti.
1 have seen no insects, but am not competent
to decide whether these are the formations
produced by some species of Phytoptus or
not. The tips of the dead fronds are occu-
pied by a minute Phoma, possibly unde-
scribetf, with sporules 810x4-5m, mostly

nucleate. This, however, is not a parasite,
and cannot have anything to do with the
mischief, except as a saprophyte developed
upon the already dead tissues. M. C. C.

Grapes : TT. M. Your Grapes are affected
with spot (Gloeosporium). Cut the berries
away and burn them. Next year spray with
liver of sulphur, ^oz. to a gallon of water.

HlPPEASTRIU.M OR AMARYLLIS SEEDLING : S. K.

A pretty flower, but possessing no particular-
commercial value.

LosiNCi Time : G. G. The gardener may think
that he is empowered to stop the man's
money and send him back for a quarter or
half-a-day, but it is a strong proceeding on
his part, and one that few private employers
would countenance. A journeyman living
in a bothy is scarcely on the same footing
as regards conditions of service with an out-
side labourer.

Names of Plants : A. G. 1, Carex pendula ;
2, Allium ursinum ; 3, Dactylis glomerata
variegata ; 4, a grass not recognised ; 5,
Lathrsea squamaria ; (i, Dentaria bulbifera.
— F. B. The smaller plant is Carex p.-ndula.
The larger one you must send when in
flower. — W. E. Astiantia major. — E. B. B.
We cannot undertake to name florist's
flowers of any kind.

Pear Leaves : W. H. Your leaves are at-
tacked with the Pear mite (Eriophyes pyri).
We are afraid you can do nothing but burn
the affected leaves as far as you can.

Peacii-lkaves Diseased: Subscriber. Nr. R.
Toe leaves are suffering from the infestation
of a fungus, Exoascus deformans. Remove
all affected leaves, and consign them to the
garden furnace forthwith. Apply flowers-
of- sulphur when the leaves are wet with dew.

Pear-grub : Dublin. The Pears are attacked
by the grub of the Codlin-moth, Carpocapsa
pomonella (lig. 158), so common in Apples.
Spray with Paris-green Poison, 1 lb. to 150
gallons of water, applied just after the fruit
has set.

Peas: E.M.W. Syringe the plants with liver-
of-sulphur, one half ounce to a gallon of
water. If this be applied and there is a
change of weather shortly, the young plants
may get the better of the mould.

Ruskin : J. W. M. In numerous works
Buskin alludes incidentally to the botany
and geology of the Alps, but his notices on
these subjects are more rhapsodical than
practical.

The York Gala. — We are informed that the
1st prizes in the classes for six dishes of
fruit, and four dishes of fruit, were awarded
to Mr. J. C. McPherson, gr. to the Earl of
Londes borough, Londesborough Park, Market
Weighton.

Communications Received — O. B.— L. L. Oi ie, Renues.
—J. f .— A. H —J. Carter & Co.— L. G.. Waudsbeok.—
F. d. -E. C. M. V.— A. W-L B., New York-J. W. M.
— S. W. F.— A. B., Madrid— M. C. C— C. van den B„
TirJemout— G. M.— C.G. van T., Haarlem — J. Porcher,
Algiers— E. B.— A. G.— C. A. B— Strix, JaTiaica.—
R. Maher-H. J. C— R. G. J.— B— J. D. G.— J.G.—
T. H. Cook.— E. C —Peter Barr, Cape Town.— E. M.
—J. H. M., Sydney.-W. A. C— T. T.- J. W.-E. H. J.
— F. C. Lehmann.

(For Markets and Weather, see p. xvi.)

"W|

•V V.; vv ^

— 33j -<v «s_ **-'^S£u£h- pea, ,xi

«^^>r""

Fig. 159— THE OLD fruit-range and head gardener's HOUSE, FROGMORE. WINDSOR.

SUPPLEMENT TO THE "GARDENERS- CHRONICLE," JUNE 21st, L902.

I QUEEM AL1XAMMRA

KHMG E DWAiRID VI

luced b> John Swain a Sow i j d
58, Farringdon Stn

London, i I

June 28, 1902.]

THE CARD ENER S ' CHR ONI CL E.

425

THE

(Sarters' d^hnmkk

No. 809.— SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 1902.

CONTENTS.

Alpine Garden—
Achillea rupestris ...
Arenaria purpuras-

cens

Bletia hyacinthina...
Gentiana verna
Onosma pyramidalis
Ramondiapyrenaica

alba

Thalictrum orien-
tals

Apiary, the

Arbor day for the West
Indies

Books, notices of—
Botanical Magazine

ElJardin

Hortus Thenensis ...

Coronation items

Cuba, landscape gar-
dening in

Cypripedium callosum,
var. Sanderce

Holland House

Laburnum sports

Looper caterpillars ...

Naming of Plants in
Kew Gardens

Nation, progress of
the

and

Orchid Notes
Gleanings —
CattleyasandLcelias
at Baronshalt ... 428

Paris International
Exhibition

Prumnopitys elegans

Reading College, re-
port of

Rose Niphetos out-of-
doors

Rose, wild Chinese ...

Roses of British origin,
and their originators 423

435
436

436

440
438

Spinach

Table Decoration, the
art of

United States of
America-
Memorial Day

Volcanic Ash in Bar-
bados

Week's Work, the—
Flower Garden, the
Fruits under glass .
Hardy fruit garden .
Kitchen garden, the
Orchid houses, the .
Plants under glass .

430
436

43o

433
433
432
433
433
433

ILLUBTRATION8,

Cypripedium callosum, var. Sandera? (Supple-
mentary Illustration).

Hole, Very Reverend S. K.. Dean ... : 434

Holland House, Views in Gardens of 427,429,431,436,437

Lord Ilchester, Portrait of 425

Rosa BaDksia?, wild form, gathered by Dr. Henry.. 439

Rosa Banksife, and leaf and stipules 439

Rosa indica, gathered at Ienang by Dr. Henry ... 438

HOLLAND HOUSE.
'VX/'HEN w<3 dig a little below the surface

* * and examine those records of parishes,
families, and houses which are, after all, the
roots from which the fully-developed flowers
of history spring, we find such a wealth of
interest and even of romance that it is need-
less to call in the aid of fiction. Except
that they were probably a small English
clan, we know no more of the Kensings, who
gave their name to the settlement of Ken-
sington, and perhaps to that of Kensal, than
we do of Queen Kenna, daughter of Oberon
and beloved of Albion. This lady's imaginary

father was not he who knew "a bankwher t

the wild thyme blows," and she herself is
probably as mythical as King Cole of Col-
chester or Belin of Billingsgate. King Lear
of Leicester, et hoc genus orrme.

Coming to a solid basis of fact, we find
that at the time of the Doomsday survey the
Manor of Earl's Court was held by Aubrey
de Vere, one of the companions of the Con-
queror, under the Bishop of Coutances,
William's Justiciar; and, in the time of
Henry I., one Godfrey de Vere, bequeathed
the church and part of the Manor of Ken-
sington to the Abbey of Abingdon, in which
way the parish church acquired its modern
name of St. Mary Abbott's. At the close of
the Wars of the Roses, John de Vere,
thirteenth Earl of Oxford, whom Henry VII.
fined heavily for too lavish a display of

liveried retainers on the occasion of a
royal visit, finding himself obliged to
retrench, sold the north part of Ken-
sington, known as Knotting Barns, to Mar-
garet, Countess of Richmond, the King's
mother, and she bequeathed it to the
Abbey of Westminster. Thus, at the dis-
solution of the monasteries, the whole
manor fell into the hands of Henry VIII. ,

of what we now know as Holland House,
which was then named Cope's .Castle. Only
the centre and turrets were built in 1607, the
original plan by the architect, John Thorpe,
being among the treasures of the Soane
Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields.

When the Royal Horticultural Society
obtained Lord Ilehester's permission to hold
the Coronation Rose Show in the grounds of

LORD ILCHESTER.

who in 154.") threw it into the great hunting
ground which he was making to the west and
north of the metropolis. Queen Elizabeth
granted it to William Cecil, Lord Burleigh,
and, after his death in 1598, his trustees sold
it to Sir Walter Cope, who also acquired the
manor of West Town, the manor-house of
which stood a little to the west of the present
Holland House. In 1610 Cope also pur-
chased the manor of Earl's Court; but, three
years before that, he had begun the erection

Holland House, neither of the high contract-
ing parties probably thought of the associa-
tion of the house from its earliest foundation
with the Rose, an association well-nigh as
intimate as that of the Rose with the < irown
of England ; yet such there is. Sir Walter
Cope, in memory of services rendered to the
Crown, was granted as armorial bearings a
silver shield bearing three golden fleur-de-lis
on a blue chevron between three red Rosea
with green stalks and leaves (fig. 1C3, p. 428),

426

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 28, 1902.

a coat which still remains at Kensington
Parish Church.

Cope died in 1614, leaving a daughter
Isabel, who married Sir Henry Rich, the
younger son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of
Warwick, by his wife Penelope, sister of the
ill-fated Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex.
Henry Rich seems to have been a brave
soldier though a most untrustworthy sub-
ject. On his marriage James I. made him
Baron Kensington, and, in 1624, Earl of
Holland in Lincolnshire, whence the house
acquired its present name. He added to
his father-in-law's structure the wings and
arcades, the latter ornamented with fleur-
de-lis of Caen stone, in reference to the Cope
arms, from the design, it is said, of Inigo
Jones. The Earl made an impression on
the heart of Henrietta Maria, " the Rose
and Lily Queen," to whom the two Trades-
cants acted as gardeners, and he seems to
have done his best to turn this impression
to his own advancement, and to have been
much chagrined when he failed to secure
all he wished. After commanding the
cavalry in 1639, he, perhaps out of dislike to
Strafford, joined the Parliamentary party in
1641, rejoined the king in 1643, and fought
in the first battle of Newbury, again changed
sides and held meetings of the chiefs of the
army at his house, and finally appeared in
arms for the king at Kingstone in 1648, was
taken prisoner, tried by the same court that
condemned Charles, and beheaded in Palace
Yard in March, 1649. The portrait of him
by Vandyck, now belonging to the .Duke of
Buccleuch, is said to have been painted at
Holland House about 1635.

Fairfax occupied the house for a time, and
is said to have been visited there by Crom-
well, who is said, for secrecy's sake, to have
conferred with Ireton on the open lawn.

Robert, the son and successor of the first
earl, became, by the death of a cousin in
1673, fifth Earl of Warwick, and was in turn
succeeded by his son Edward as third Earl
of Holland and sixth Earl of Warwick.

At this period Holland House was fre-
quently let, and William Penn records how,
when he occupied it, the steps were crowded
with suitors anxious to enlist his interest at
the court of James II. William III. in-
spected the house with a view to making it
a royal residence; but preferred Nottingham
House, and it is from his time that Kensing-
ton has deserved Leigh Hunt's name for it,
"The Old Court Suburb.",

For some years before 1716 there had
resided at Sandy's End, Little Chelsea, now
Stanley Bridge, in a house once the home of
Nell Gwynne, one Mr. Joseph Addison, then
a member of the Board of Trade, and till
recently editor of the Spectator. He had
ventured to aspire to the hand of Charlotte,
the widow of the third Earl of Holland,
sixth of Warwick. As Macaulay says,
"Chelsea is now a district of London, and
Holland House may be called a town resi-
dence. But in the days of Anne and
George the First, milkmaids and sportsmen
wandered between green hedges and over
fields bright with daisies, from Kensington
almost to the shore of the Thames. Addison
and Lady Warwick were country neigh-
bours." In 1716 they were married, and
thus Holland House, "a house which can
boast of a greater number of inmates dis-
tinguished in political and literary history
than any other private dwelling in England,"

gained its°most[illustrious inhabitant; and
hfere, three years later, to the room on the
first floor, facing north, now the dining-
room, the genial: satirist summoned his step-
son, the seventh Earl of Warwick, to " see in
what peace a Christian can die."

On the death of that seventh earl his titles
passed to a cousin, another Edward Rich,
the last earl, who died in 1759, when the pro-
perty passed to a cousin, William Edwardes,
who in 1776 became Baron Kensington.
Morice, who married Bishop Atterbury's
daughter, and that yet stauncher Jacobite,
William Shippen, "downright Shippen," the
frank opponent of Walpole, were tenants of
Holland House for a time ; but in 1746 a
lease of it was taken by Henry Fox, and
about 1760 he bought it.

Henry Fox was the younger son of Sir
Stephen Fox, a man of no exalted birth,
who had faithfully served the children of
Charles I. when in exile ; and who somewhat
curiously, received in 1658 a grant of arms, a
golden fleur-de-lis in a blue canton, which
recalls those of the house of Cope. Much
excitement had been caused in society in
1744 by the elopement of Henry Fox with
Lady Caroline Lennox, a daughter of the
Duke of Richmond ; and, when this " needy
political adventurer," as Macaulay terms
him, the willing tool of Newcastle and of
Bute, occupied the lucrative post of Pay-
master of the Forces, and found it conve-
nient to remain in the Lower House, his
wife was in 1762 created Baroness Holland.
Fox, however, became Lord Holland in the
following year, and it was for him the
grounds were laid out, about 1769, by
Charles Hamilton, of Pain's Hill, many of
the Cedars and American Oaks being planted
at that time. Then it was that the avenue
known as Nightingale Lane, crossing the
estate from south to north to the west of
the house, perhaps the scene of the strange
ghost story related by Aubrey, and after-
wards the favourite haunt of Charles James
Fox, was turfed to please his mother, the
first Lady Holland of the new line. Lord
Holland was a friend and correspondent of
Peter Collinson's, to which cause, no doubt,
the gardens were indebted for some Virginian
novelties, and travelling in Spain in 1803 he
met the botanist, Anthony Joseph Cavanilles,
and from him obtained seeds of Dahlia
variabilis, which, when previously intro-
duced by Lord Bute in 1789, had failed.
This garden would seem, therefore, to be
the centre whence all the original stock of
this species in England has been derived.

The death of the first Lord Holland in
1774, was followed within the year by that
of his elder son Stephen, who left a son,
only a year old, to the care of his brother,
the great whig statesman, then rising to the
head of the Opposition. Charles James Fox
himself was neither born at Holland House,
nor did he die there, though much of his life
was spent there; and, as Macaulay says,
before he was borne in 1806 to Westminster
Abbey, "a third Fox had already become
one of the most conspicuous politicians in
the kingdom," so that "during more than a
century there " was " never a time at which
a Fox has not stood in a prominent station
among public men."

It was during the life of the third Lord
Holland that Holland House became the
most famous of English salons. From
Thurlow and Eldon to Lyndhurst and

Brougham,^!from Sir ., Philip Francis and
Sheridan to Curran and Romilly, Talley-
rand and Metternich, Madame de Stael
and Washington Irving, Byron, Tom
Moore, " Monk " Lewis and Hookham
Frere, Jeffrey, Sydney Smith, Julius Hare
and Macaulay, Davy and Rumford, Wollas-
ton and Humboldt, all that was illustrious
in letters, in science, in public life, assembled
here. A few yards from the tents of the Rose
Show the seated bronze figure of the third
Lord Holland, designed by Mr. Watts, faces
Kensington High Street, where, in 1760, the
young George III. cast sheep's eyes at the
coquettish Lady Sarah Lennox, as, dressed as
a shepherdess, she happened to be making
hay when the king rode by. It is unfortu-
nate when a blunder is perpetuated in solid
iron, and undoubtedly a "d" has replaced
an " m " in the second line of the verse on the
railing of the park, in which Lord Holland
describes himself as —

"Nephew of Fox and friend of Grey,
Be this my [d]meei of fame :
That those who knew me best may say
He tarnished neither name."

The third Lord Holland died in 1840, and
his son, the last of the direct line, in 1859;
but subsequently the estate passed into
the hands of the representative of the elder
branch, the elder son of Sir Stephen Fox
having become Earl of I lchester. Here again
there are interesting horticultural associa-
tions, for William Fox-Strangeways, fourth
Earl of Ilchoster, a distinguished diplo-
matist, the uncle of the present Earl of 11-
chester, was recognised as a careful botanist,
by Lindley, who named after him the mono-
typic Pomaceous tree of the Eastern Hima-
layas Stranva;sia ; by Bertolini, who proposed
to make Hyacinthus spicata into a genus
Strangeweya ; and by Parlatore, who named
it Foxia. Foreign botanists not unfrequently
apply to us for an explanation of these
names.

Serving on the British Legation at Vienna
in 1834, and acting as Minister at Berlin
from 1840 to 1849, the Earl made good use of
his opportunities for the study of the flora
of Europe.

That the gardening traditions of the
place are worthily maintained anyone can
see for themselves to-day. Whilst all]
around streets and houses are swallow-
ing up garden-ground, within the Holland
House estate a converse process is going
on: the utilitarian is yielding year by
year to the beautiful. Whilst it was the
last Lord Holland who converted Stables
into a ball-room and a stable-yard into a
garden, within the last three or four years,
Mr. Dixon, who links the old regime to the |
present, has had the construction of a
charming Japanese garden, where a stream
trickles from Cactus-covered rocks down to
basins of bog-bean, crossed by stepping-
stones or rustic Rose-covered bridges, and
Lilies bloom in the turf protected by a
hedge of Bamboos. Old Apple trees still
terminate the box formalities of the' Dutch"
garden where once all was orchard, and new
bog-gardens and Rhododendron beds en-
croach annually on the wild shrubbery or
meadow. The garden was fully described
in our columns on April 29, 18)9. Nor let it
be forgotten that Holland Ho is not the
only field in which the Earl and Countess of
1 lchester indulge their horticultural teste, i

JCNE 28, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

427

FlC. 161.— HOLLAND HCTSE. (SEE P. 425.)

Fig. 1G2.— a corner of Holland hobbe.

428

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[Junb 28, 1902.

Their seat at Abbotsbury, in Dorsetshire, is
famous for its collections of rare and inter-
esting plants, of which the mildness of the
elimate renders the cultivation possible.

Long may the time he in coming, when,
as Macaulay prophesied, " perhaps, a few
old men, the last survivors of our genera-
tion, will in vain seek, amidst new streets,
and squares, and railway-stations, for the
site of that dwelling which was in their
youth the favourite resort of wits and
beauties, of painters and poets, of scholars,
philosophers, and statesmen." (!. S. Boulgt r.
[The illustrations of the garden are from
photographs obligingly put at our disposil ion
by Mr. Dixon. Ed.]

Fit:. Itj3. — COAT OF ARMS OF
S1K WALTER COPK.

Argent on a chevron azure, between

three roses gules slipped and vert,

as many fleurs-de-lys or.

ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

CATTLEYAS AND L.ELIAS AT
BARONS HALT.

All the Cattleyas and Lrelias have flowered
very finely with Henry Little, Esq., at Twick-
enham (gr., Mr. Howard) this year, and still
there is a fine show, including several of the
grand varieties which are seldom met with in
any but such old collections as Mr. Little's.
Among all the forms of Cattle;, a Mosshe now
in flower, one purchased by him in 1886 stands
out as the most beautiful in colour ; so also
his original plant of C. Warneri, which re-
ceived an Award of Merit at the last Royal
Horticultural Society's meeting, excels all the
others more recently purchased, and which
are now flowering. Lselia purpurata are good,
one of the most distinct being L. p. Littleana ;
Cattleya aurea and C. Hardyana are in fine
vigour; the fine collection of forms of Lselio-
Cattleya elegans have still a few in bloom ;
and among the many Cypripediums are two or
three new crosses, one between C. Curtisii and
C. barbatum Warneri being a good and distinct
flower.

The Blue Cattleya.

On several occasions the Orchid world has
been startled by tbe announcement of a blue
Cattleya, and a few years ago the story of its
discovery and importation was circumstantially
told, and the plants sold, but with disastrous
results both to the vendor and purchasers,
for the only blue discoverable was on the
visages of the purchasers -when the plants
flowered common Cattleya Moasi.-e. But that
there was a shade of excuse for the story
appears by two or three of the importation
flowering with Mr. H. A. Tracy, of Twicken-
ham, having a slate-blue colour on the lip, and
a delicate lavender colour on the sepals and
petals. The plants, although they might not

be called "blue Cattleyas," have a distinct
and pretty tint. A very fine lot of typical
Cattleya Mossife, with richly coloured flowers ;
a tine white C. M. Wageneri, a pretty white,
with | urple blotch on the lip like C. M.
(iilmouri ; a good C. M. Reiueckiana, and
other tine varieties and hybrids are also in
flower with Mr. Tracy.

ODONTOr.LOSSUM POLYXANTHUM GRANDII-LORUM.
Of all the showy Odontoglossums, perhaps
the fine O. polyxanthum is the one we see the
least of in flower, and to see such a noble
spike of such a large and handsomely-marked
variety as that sent by Thomas Roy, Esq.,
Craigclown, Perth, is therefore all the more
pleasing. The spike has thirteen flowers, each
just over 4 inches across thy sepals. The
sepals are nearly covered with purplish-brown
blotches, the yellow ground colour only show-
ing through in the centre, base, and apex.
The petals are pale yellow, with alfew purplish-
brown markings at the base ; the large,
fringed, apiculate lip claret colour, with white
callus and base. The plant must have been
splendidly grown to produce such a spike. A
fine Oocidium macrauthum, two beautiful and
very dark-coloured Lselia purpurata, and other
excellent varieties also accompany it.

KOSES OF BRITISH ORIGIN, AND
THEIR ORIGINATORS.

At the period when the oldest of our great
British rosarians began their career as
raisers, almost all the new Roses of any im-
portance came to us from France, especially
from those renowned centres of cultivation,
viz., Paris and Lyons. Such names as
Verdier, Laffay, Guillot, Margottin, and
Ducher have long been associated in the
minds of earnest British cultivators with
some of the grandest varieties of the Rose
that have ever appeared.

But with the advent of such men as Mr.
Wm. Pail, the late Mr. Henry Bennet, Mr.
George Paul of Cheshunt, and Mr. Alex-
ander Dickson, Jun., of Newtownards, in
Ireland, a new era of Rose-cultivation in
Britain began. Such splendid creations as
Duke of Edinburgh, Clio, Spenser, Medea,
Mrs. Paul, Charles Gater, Duke of Teck,
Clara Watson, Mrs. John Laing, Viscountess
Folkestone, Margaret Dickson, Mrs. Shar-
man Crawford, Marchioness of London-
derry, and Lady Clanmorris, which have
been raised by those great rosarians. rival
the finest productions of France. It is true
that they have given us no dark crimson
variety transcending Charles Lefebvre or
Horace Yernet, though in colour Duke of
Edinburgh rivals either of these; they have,
perhaps, eclipsed us in the peculiar bril-
liancy of their Hybrid Teas, though in size
and substance and perfect formation they
are for the most part inferior to our own ;
they have given us the most delicately
beautiful and fascinating of all Roses for
the conservatory, viz., the incomparable
Mareebal Niel ; but Medea is a more valu-
able variety (while hardly less impressive
when seen at its best) for garden cultivation.
On the other hand, Mine. Gabrielle Luizet
is hardly on a level with Mrs. Sharman
Crawford or Mrs. John Laing: their only
French rival being the fragrant La France.

I am strongly disposed to think that
Medea, a comparatively recent introduction,
is likely to remain the grandest creation of
Mr. Wm. Paul. This is undoubtedly the
mo.st commanding of all lemon -coloured

Teas, and as such, an acquisition of the
greatest importance. Under favourable
conditions of soil and climate, this is a
superbly beautiful Rose. Other varieties of
great attractiveness which we owe to Mr.
Paul are the graceful Enchantress, an ex-
quisite hybrid between the Chinas and the
Teas, and therefore the beginning of a very
distinctive class; Empress Alexandra of
Russia, unique in its colouring ; Corinna,
Oueen Mab, and Duke of York, interesting
additions to the China Roses: and Alexan-
dra, a Tea Rose of somewhat dwarf habit (at
least in my own garden), which had the
honour of being named by his Majesty the
King. Mr. Paul has given us several Moss
Roses of charming aspect, including Zenobia
and the Little Oem ; though these have
hardly achieved the popularity of his more
ambitious introductions, Mr. Paul has been
a frequent contributor to the highly impor-
tant class of Hybrid Perpetuals. One of
his earliest creations was Beauty of Wal-
tham, which still retains its olden popu-
larity, and was raised as far back as 1862.
Magna Charta, to which as a serviceable
free - flowering Rose for the garden, its
raiser attaches considerable importance
appeared in 1K76. I do not admire it sc>
much as Crown Prince, which, on its first
appearance on the Continent, was greatly
valued by the French rosarians. It is a
very beautiful and most fragrant dark
crimson Rose, and I have found it very
enduring. Another extremely sweet hybrid
perpetual is Marchioness of Lome, which is
so hardy that it can be grown in the most
exacting situations. Pride of Waltham,
which makes permanent the characteristics
of Countess of Oxford, still remains a
precious exhibition Rose. Spenser is an
improvement, in form and fulness, on
Baroness Rothschild ; but Duchess of Al-
bany, which is essentially a hybrid Tea,.
does not, unless, perhaps in vigour and
floriferousness, eclipse La France.

The latest Tea Roses raised at Waltham
Cross are Corallina and Boadieea, the latter
of which has highly effective hues.

The grandly -endowed Roses raised by
the Messrs. Dickson, of Newtownards, in
Ireland, have achieved great distinction.
Supreme among these are Margaret Dick-
son, one of the most valuable of garden
Roses, while it is also distinguished by its
capability of immense growth and mar-
vellous floriferousness ; Marchioness of
Londonderry, by no means so productive,
but remarkable for the size and command-
ing aspect of its individual flowers; and
Mrs. Sharman Crawford, one of the finest of
pink hybrid perpetuals. Other notable
Newtownards Roses are Lady Clanmorris,
of recent production, a very beautiful
creamy-white hybrid Tea; Ulster, Helen
Keller, rosy-cerise in colour, with flowers of
exquisite form and great substance; Earl
and Marchioness of Dufferin, Lady Helen
Stewart, and Mrs. W. J. Grant, known in
America as Belle Siebricht, which I wish
would grow more vigorously here ; Meta and
Beryl are decorative Roses of a fascinating-
description.

To Mr. George Paul, of Cheshunt, we are
indebted for many varieties of lustrous
beauty, conspicuous among which are
Charles Gater, whose colour is crimson,
deeply shaded with maroon ; Duke of Teck,
a very bright derivative from Duke of Edin-

June 28, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE,

429

Fig. 164. — Japanese garden, Holland house.

Fig. l(i."i. BRIDGE IN JAPANESE GARDEN, HOLLAND HOUSE,

430

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 28, 1902.

burgh; Mrs. Paul, one of the most imposing
and attractively fragrant of the Bourbon
Roses, derived from Madame Isaac Pereire ;
Rev. Alan Cheales, which has been expres-
sively described as a "Pa'ony-like Rose," of
most distinctive hue. Nor should we fail
to mention Cheshunt Hybrid, perhaps the
first, and still one of the most precious of
the Climbing Hybrid Teas, very rich in
fragrance, and florally effusive. Among
single Roses, Mr. George Paul's Carmine
Pillar and Royal Scarlet, and his Rugosa,
entitled atropurpurea, will always be re-
garded as very charming acquisitions.

The famous "Pedigree Roses" of the late
Mr. Henry Bennet will long keep fresh and
green his honoured name ; and especially
such fine varieties as Viscountess Folke-
stone, an invaluable Rose, whether as re-
gards its beauty or fragrance, for garden cul-
tivation ; Grace Darling, and Mrs. John
Laing, which need no description ; and those
exquisite Tea Roses, arduous of adequate
culture, yet worthy of all trouble— Princess
Beatrice and Princess of Wales. Another dead
rosarian of great eminence, Lord Penzance,
merits the warm gratitude of all Rose culti-
vators, if only for the creation of those
charming varieties, Amy Robsart, Lady Pen-
zance, and Jeannie Deans ; of which the
hybrid Sweet Briar last mentioned should
be grown side by side with Rosa Harrisoni,
the loveliest of all Roses, if only for the sake
of artistic effect.

From the late Mr. George Prince, of
Oxford, whose memory as a rosarian we
greatly revere, came "that beautiful and
free -flowering pure white variation from
Souvenir d'un Ami, entitled Souvenir de
S. A. Prince.

The most notable productions of Mr. John
Cranston of Hereford, who was a formidable
exhibitor in his earlier days, have been the
Crimson Bedder, a bright Rose, of rich fra-
grance ; and SirGarnet Wolseley. Mrs. Charles
Turner, which perpetuates the name of the
wife of a great cultivator (whose gifts were
by no means confined to the region of horti-
culture, seeing that he was also, like his
son Mr. Harry Turner, a highly endowed
musician), originated at the Royal Nurseries,
Slough.

Messrs. Benjamin R. Cant & Sons, of
Colchester, have given us Prince Arthur, a
velvety crimson Rose, derived from the
venerable General Jacqueminot; also Mr.
and Mrs. Ben Cant, which have been greatly
admired, and have received high awards at
the London exhibitions. From Messrs.
Frank Cant & Co., also of Colchester, have
come Mrs. F. Cant, which reminds me
instinctively of Madame Gabrielle Luizet;
also what promises to prove a much finer
introduction, viz., Lady Roberts, geneially
supposed to be a derivation from Anna
Olivier.

Lawrence Allen and Purity are the leading
productions of those rising rosarians, Messrs.
Cooling, of Bath. Fair Helen, an almost
white sport from Mrs. John Laing, was pro-
duced at the Stranraer nurseries of Messrs.
Thomas Smith & Sons ; while some valuable
Roses, previously described by myself in
this Journal, have been raised by the Messrs.
Cocker, of Aberdeen. Chief among these
are Mrs. James Cocker, the result of a cross
between Mabel Morrison and Mrs. John
Laing ; they have also given us Duke and
Duchess of Fife.

The Messrs. Veitch of Chelsea, who have
a great reputation as Orchid-originators,
have recently distinguished themselves by
the introduction of a new climbing Rose,
entitled Queen Alexandra, which, having
the characteristics of Turner's Crimson
Rambler, but of considerably lighter colour,
promises to prove an abiding acquisition.

British Rose-production seems almost to
have reached its culmination in this
Coronation year. Divid II. Williamson, Manse
nf Kirkmaiden, Wigtonshire, Scotland.

ALPINE GARDEN.

SOME HARDY PLANTS AT THE TEMPLE
SHOW.

It is not improbable that in the almost
overwhelming mass of material at the recent
Temple Show, some rare plants would fall
to get a notice in the report. Take for
example Ourisia coccinea, a good plant, rarely
observed in fine flower. The plant does not
always flower till the rhizomes reach the side
of the pot in which it is grown. If planted on
the rockery, some care should be taken to
bring the rhizomes into proximity with the
rocky substances, where it will enjoy the
moisture deposited thereon. The roots are
freely formed on rhizomes, growing in such
positions ; and in the case of a large established
plant in a pot, with the growth spreading over
the side of the pot, roots freely form, and
when shaded only by the leaves, they cling
close to the pot if conditions are favourable,
and the plant grows and flowers freely. The
plant is of so telling a colour that it is worthy
of extra care in its cultivation.

OXOSMA PYRAMIIULIS.

Novel, and as yet very rare, it is doubtful, even
should the plant prove hardy, whether it is
destined to become a first-rate rock plant. The
species is described as the scarlet Onosma, and
with a huso amount of truth, for the flowers are
scarletor crimson-scarlet, and the inflorescence
is of a pyramidal form. The flowers are small,
but as the available stock is limited and the
plant small, one can hardly expect it to be at
its best. Certainly any alpine plant with the
habit of O. taurica having scarlet flowers
would be a great gaiD, and O. pyramidalis
accomplishes this much, the species will not
lack admirers. It may be treated as other
kinds.

RAMONDIA PYRENAICA ALBA

was a striking plant among alpines in the
exhibit of Messrs. Jackman and Son, Woking.
It has all the freedom to flower of the type,
and is a welcome addition to the list of good
rock plants, suitable for filling a cool shady
nook on the rockery. When grown in a pot, a
peat-and-leaf soil form the best mixture for it.

Bletia hyacinthina.
A beautiful Chinese terrestrial Orchid, known
to British gardeners for a century, but which
still remains a rare plant. The deep purple
colouring as seen in Bletia, is not too abun-
dant among plants. There is proof of its being
hardy in this country, hut to make quite sure,
the crowns should he protected in the winter.
A finely flowered example, with two or three
racemes of flowers, was noted in Messrs. Jack-
man's group. In the open the plant should be
associated withDentaria, Corydalisnobitis,&c.

Qentlana verna.

The brilliant mass of flowers of this choice
alpino as seen bordering the front of Messrs.
Barr's fine group, made quite a feature. I

have rarely seen a finer lot of such blue flowers
at any exhibition. There must have been
several hundred of expanded flowers.

Arena i:ia purpurascens
Is almost fully described by its name. It is
certainly a neat and pretty plant, with its
numerous purplish blossoms in a genus where
nearly all are white-flowered. -.The blossoms
are placed a n'd dense tufts of leaves, and only
rise about an inch.

Achillea rupbstris.
Much objection is taken to the Aehilleas,
so largely having silver leafage and white
flowers, but here is a species having pure
white flowers, and unlike many others, quite
entire spatulate leaves. It is an ideal rock
plant of easy culture, and was repeatedly seen
in collections on this occasion.

Thalictuum oribntale, &c.

The gracefulness of this plant, with its pure
plume-like inflorescence and elegant foliage,
is admitted by all plant lovers ; and perhaps
just as good some may consider the ever-
admired Aotilegia Stuarii, which is dwarf in
habit, and has finely-coloured flowers, that
may be described as bold, if not handsome — it
is certainly a charming variety of Columbine.

A good word should be said for Towxsendia
grandiflora, a white Gazania-like plant ; the
beautiful (Exothera speciosa rosea, choice in
regard to colour and gracefulness.

In Dracdcephali'.m nutans alpixum we have
a desirable hardy plantof about 1 foot in height,
densely furnished with spikes of flowers of a
deep blue colour. The plant is distinct from
the other members of this group, and is one of
the best of its class. This was noted in Mr.
Perry's fine exhibit, as was Achillea buglossis,
Codonopsis VIRIDIFLORA, and Axchusa angusti-
folia, with deep Gentian-blue flowers — an
invaluable plant at this season.

The hardy Cvpripediums alone formed a
pleasing feature of the exhibition, and,
arranged in mossy beds in colonies, gave just
that touch of Nature that one always admires
— a sort of free sprinkling of plants nicely
arranged, and in which the Messrs. Wallace's
collection, for example, exhibited the beauty
of the plants without that unseemly mass and
density of colour that confuses the eye and
the mind. We are grateful for the lesson
conveyed in this modest group of Orchids.
Nearly all the catalogued species of these
plants were noted, some being extremely fine.
E. Jenkins.

VEGETABLES.

SPINACH.

Notwithstanding your bracketed editorial
" No," I think you will have to accept Cheno-
podium Bonus Henricus (Good King Henry) as
being the certain once-popular Spinach a corre-
spondent is making an enquiry about. [Again,
No ; the plant was Rumex Hydrolapathum.
We are quite familiar with good King Henry !
Ed.] Yesterday 1 met with a Lincolnshire man
who lives near here, and has a large bed of this
plant, and he has promised to send me a dish,
and also roots enough to plant a bed in my
garden. My friend describes it as a most
wholesome vegetable — not "windy," like
Cabbage. Lincolnshire people know it as
Merjury. Although in Lincoln "Good King
Henry " may probably be in cultivation more
as a pot-herb than in any other county, but the
plant is by no means confined to Lincolnshire ;
we have it wild in this neighbourhood, where
it is known as wild Spinach and Allgood.
Hooker and Bentham give Good King Henry
a very wide geographical distribution from

June 28, 1902.]

THE GARDENER S1 CHR OXI CL E.

431

Caithness southward, also throughout Europe
and Central Russia.

C. foetidum, or Stinking Goosefoot of Thorn-
ton, is an annual, and a different plant
altogether, and is evidently the same as
C: vulvaria of modern botanists. There is
also a plant named Mercurialis annua, 'which
has also a wide geographical distribution, the
leaves of which are boiled and eaten as a pot-
herb ; probably this also may be a member of
the lost family of Spinacia oleracea. TV. Miller.
[The ripe seeds of this plant, which resemble
fine pearl barley, are largely employed in
soups in Austria, where they are known col-
loquially as "gries" (groats, Anglice). Ed.]

living plants, roots and all, for it endures all
the summer, and does its large share in
beautifying the God's Acre where the heroes
rest. Cut flowers become ragged in a day,
and unless removed almost as soon as they are
placed, the well intentioned effort at decoration
is in reality a desolation.

Early on Thursday morning, the 20th, the
Memorial Day plant trade began in the city.
The men who raise plants in pots, such as
Pansies, Pelargoniums, Nasturtiums, have their
homes chiefly across the north river in New
Jersey. All along the stretch of high land
that runs through Hudson County, from Wee-
hawken, through West Hoboken, and Hoboken

closed. In the two or three hours that pass
after the arrival of the first, waggons, all is
bustle, typical of a market anywhere. And
such a jumble of tongues, dialects, and voices —
not all men's voices either, for the women-
folk are frequently active in growing and
selling of these plants. One old woman over
in Weehawken, indeed, is a most famous Pansy
grower, and she knows, too, how to get the
value for her plants. Until recently this trade
was done in Union Square ; the place afforded
the necessary space, and out of the exigencies
of the trade this regular market (through the
growing season only, of course), sprang into-
existence. It is a very new thing, but out-

FlG. 166.— VIEW IN THE GARDENS, HOLLAND HOUSE. (SEE P. 425.)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

THE PLANT TRADE ON MEMORIAL DAY
IN NEW YORK.

May 30 in the United States is a day sacred
to the solemn remembrance of those who have
fallen on the battlefield in their country's
cause. It is a national holiday, it should be a
"holy-day," but it is not ; generally the day
is one of festivity. The spring has returned,
and the occasion is fit for the work of planting
out in the garden.

Year by year the quantity of plants and
flowers consumed by New York in doing honour
to the memory of its noble dead gro ws i a volume .
This is more especially noticeable in regard to
living plants in pots. The custom of planting
growing Pelargoniums and other popular flowers
upon the graves is to a certain extent over-
powering the mere use of cut blooms. There
is considerably more satisfaction in using the

to Jersey City, and half way through that,
too, there are small florists' establishments
innumerable, where plants for the Decoration
Day trade are literally manufactured. The
owners of these places, mostly of foreign
birth, German, Swiss, and French, with here
and there a Scot, have worked day and night
almost, propagating the plants till now, when
comes the real harvest of the season. To these
men a fine market morning the day before
May 30 means a great deal. All night they
were at work sorting and packing, and
belated travellers by the ferries in the small
hours of Thursday morning could have seen
the string of waggons laden with flowers " all
a-blowing and a-growing," wending their
way to the neighbourhood of Clinton Market
and Canal Street to offer their wares to the
retail seller. From a few other near-by points
on Long Island a few other growers also come,
but the heart of the industry is in New Jersey.
Before daylight the market has practically

grew the square almost at once, and arrange-
ments wero made to use a part of Clintorj
Market.

New York is behindhand in its recognition
of this trade, and as yet has not its plant and
flower market, like London, Paris, or Wash-
ington even. So much for the plant trade.

Cut flowers are all marketed in the neigh-
bourhood of Twenty-sixth to Thirtieth Streets
and Sixth Avenue. Being more perishable,
the hour is later, but 6 o'clock in the morning
sees the Cut Flower Exchange in the Coogan
Building, on the north-west corner of Twenty-
sixth Street and Sixth Avenue, running in
full swing. Hither come men and women from
far and wide also, but the larger share of the
supply has its origin on Long Island, and a
motley aggregation it is. Lilies in great
bunches of a hundred or so— the real Easter
Lily, a bit behind the date; fluffy white Snow-
balls, Tulips of all sorts, the long, feathery
petals of the Parrot Tulips, with their fan-

432

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 28, 1902.

tastic fringe of green, gold, and red, mixing
with the more ordinary-looking Tulips of pure
colour, red or yellow ; and smaller Carnations,
in bunches of twenty-five or fifty ; the starry
Deutzia, the rich blue Cornflower, Sweet
Sultans in several colours, white, pink,
yellow ; some early Gladiolus, Spiraeas, strings
of Smilax, indeed, anything and everything
that is in flower is caught up and offered to
the storekeepers who attend this market.

The Cut Flower Exchange is a market of
small growers, many of whom do a local retail
trade of their own, and they both buy and sell
here, unloading the surplus of their special
lines, and carrying home the produce of
another. These men bring their little all in
a bundle in their arms, or packed in a basket,
and sell at a table. Very few of the flowers
from here find their way to the large fashion-
able florists' stores on Broadway and Fifth
Avenue. It is the outlying stores of the upper
end of the city and Brooklyn, and the basement
stands of the Greeks that use up this grade of
goods.

By 7 o'clock there is a sudden lull in the
trade done ; a general exodus begins, and by
an hour later the Exchange is deserted. Fully
30,000 dols. worth of cut flowers, such as have
been named, was handled on. the floor of the
Exchange yesterday morning in the short
space of about two hours. The Decoration
Day market of 1902 had been favoured with
good wreaths, and a record-breaking trade
was the result.

But hardly does the busy hum of the Ex-
change begin to wane ere the New York Cut
Flower Company, on the floor below in the
same building, opens up for the disposal of
what is the cream of New York's cut flower
trade. This company is an association of the
largest growers of high grade Rose and Carna-
tions, and their shipments arrive by express.
About eight o'clock the same hustle and bustle
of the other market, just over, is repeated here,
but with a different class of buyers. Here
come the representatives of the big stores, and
in a short time another 30,000 dols. worth of cut
flowers is sold. The sale is continued in a
more or less desultory fashion all through the
day, but the bulk is done within a couple of
hours after opening.

Some of the best and largest growers do not
send their produce to the Cut Flower Co.,
however, and a walk of two or three blocks up
into Twenty - eighth and the neighbouring
streets will show a nest of wholesale com-
mission florists who sell for out-of-town
growers. What their trade may be cannot
even be guessed, but it would not be less than
that done on the floor of the Company, and it
is conservative figuring to place the total
value of the plant and flower trade in New
York for to-day's event at 100,000 dols. At
retail the money value would be doubled, and
add to it the money expended for fine
ornamental plants, Bay-trees, Palms, Ferns,
&c, New Yorkers may be said to spend nearly
one-third of a million dollars in honour of the
nation's dead. V. V. V.

The Botanic Garden, Martinique. — In a
recent number of the Revue Horticole ii a
description by M. Andre, and an illustration
of this beautiful garden, now overwhelmed by
the volcanic catastrophe which has horrified the
world. M. Nollet, the director, and all his
family, have perished. M. Andre, from per-
sonal observation, speaks of the garden as
superior in richness and beauty to any other
tropical garden, not even excepting Buiten-
zorg, Calcutta, or Peradeniya. Little was
known of it in this country, but its loss is
clearly a serious injury to civilisation.

The Week's Work.

THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.

By J. Mavne, Gardener to the Hon. M ah k Rolls,
Bioton, East Budleigh, Devonshire.

The Peach. — Notwithstanding the recent
cold weather, the trees have made satisfac-
tory growth here, and require frequent atten-
tion in the matter of securing the growing
shoots to the wall, and in the stopping or
entire removal of extra vigorous ones, ac-
cording as the shoots are crowded or not, and
in removing some of last season's shoots that
have no fruit upon them. This will allow the
new shoots a better chance of getting matured
by the end of the summer. The fruits
should now be finally thinned ; and as rain
has fallen in most localities during the
past few weeks, and summer weather ap-
pears likely to come at last, a mulch of litter
should be placed over the roots. The trees
are keeping very free of aphis ; mildew
never troubles us here, but should it appear
upon the trees apply flowers-of-sulphur after
lightly syringing the tree, so that the sulphur
may adhere for twenty-four hours, after which
the trees should be given a good washing
with water from the garden-engine. Examine
the trees again in a few days, and repeat the
dose if it be found that some of the spores are
still alive. Mildew may result from two widely
different sources : imperfect drainage or cold,
sunless weather on the one hand, or dryness
at the roots on the other.

The Strawberry. — In many gardens it is
customary to propagate Strawberry plants
annually, and plant them out on enriched
ground, preferably a south border, where ripe
fruits can be gathered several days in advance
of the general crop. Though the crop be not
so heavy, the individual fruits are generally
very fine. For this purpose runners should be
secured early in July, so that the plants can
be set out early in the following month. Some
prefer layering on square pieces of turf, but
we always use 3 or 4-inch pots, filled with
turfy loam. We fasten the rui>ner in the centre
with a small wooden peg, choosing the runner
which is produced nearest to the parent plant,
and removing the top close to the plantlet.
Plants that were forced early, and were put
out in the middle of May, will be nicely fur-
nished with runners, though I should not
permit each plant to furnish many, two or
three being sufficient. A better practice is
to use young plants put out in September, and
grown especially for providing runners. All
flower-spikes may be removed from these as soon
as they can be handled. Keep the young
plants well supplied with water during dry
weather, and sever them from the mother-
plant before they strike root into the soil.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

By T. Turton, Gr. to J. K. D. Winc;field Digby, Esq.
Sherborne Castle, Dorsetshire.

Asparagus. — Assuming that seed was sown for
forming plantations or beds as recommended in
a former Calendar, advantage should be taken of
showery weather to thin the plants to not less
than 15 inches apart in the rows, performing
the operation with a single-handed fork. If
there are blank spaces in the rows, make
them good with some of the stronger thinnings,
which will root readily at this season. The
plants raised from seed produce useable
heads the second year after sowing. The sow-
ing made for furnishing plants for trans-
planting next spring — a method of which I do
not approve — should also be thinned to 6 in.
apart. At this date discontinue to cut any
more heads from plants that will be forced
next winter, and to cut at all after the
middle of the month. Remove all weeds from
the beds whilst they are small and easily
drawn out by hand ; and in showery weather,
after the cutting has ceased, apply liquid-
manure copiously, preferably that from the
stables, or the drainings from hot-beds: and
the next best thing is a dressing of nitrate of
soda at about 2 oz. per square yard.

Onions. — Since warmer weather set in,
spring-sown Onions have grown apace. Where
bulbs of an even size are valued, a timely
thinning of the crop should take place ; and
if the seed was sown thinly, as advised in
a previous Calendar, great advantages in
regard to the reduction of labour, and the
growth of the plants, will be apparent,
especially when thinning has to wait owing to
lack of rain to soften the soil. A row or two
on one side of the Onion-plot should be left
unthinned, in order to afford plants for present
use in salads, and sowings should be made
throughout the season for this and other
purposes. As soon as growth recommences
after the thinning, and before the tops begin
to get together, afford a light dressing of fresh
soot, as a deterrent to the Onion-fly, and as an
ammoniacal manure beneficial to Onions.

Turnips. — A large sowing may now be made
of Snowball Turnip on a north border, or
other cool spot, for furnishing roots late in the
month of July and throughout August, a critical
time for this vegetable. Thin succession crops,
and if the Turnip-flea is troublesome, dust the
plants regularly with air-slaked lime and soot
when damp with dew.

Celery in the trenches is growing fast ; also
weeds, which should be hand-pulled before the
plants become of a large size, and then with a
4-inch Dutch-hoe break up the surface and
kill the small weeds. Keep the sides and tops
of the ridges clear of weeds by hoeing.

Runner Beans. — A sowing made forthwith in
a warm, sheltered part of the garden, will
afford a gathering in the month of October.
The pods from these late-sown Runner Beans
will be of better quality than those from
earlier sowings. I have sown as late as the
first week in July, at the foot of a high south
wall, which being outside the garden it was
not expedient to plant with fruit-trees. Look
over the earlier sowings, and tie up with
raffia any leading growths that are not twining
round the sticks naturally.

Ridge Cucumbers. — Ridges may still be
formed by digging out a trench 4 feet wide
and 15 inches deep, and filling it with warm
stable-litter or weeds, lawn-mowings, tree-
leaves, and spent hot-bed litter mixed together.
Return most or all of the soil dug out of the
trench over the heating materials, and put
out the plants. If there are hand-lights
available, place them over the plants till they
begin to grow. When more space is wanted
by the plants, elevate the hand-lihgts on pots
or brickbats, or remove them altogether.
Seeds of Vegetable-Marrows sown each end of
the ridge may take the place of Cucumbers.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

By R. Davidson. Gardener to Earl Cadogan, Culford
Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.

Shrubs.— Strong, free-growing plants, such
as the common Beech, Hornbeam, Privet,
Whitethorn, &c, used as hedges, screens, and
shelters in the garden, if kept in a formal
style, should now be clipped, whilst the young
growth is unripe, and easily cut with the
shears.

Bulbs. — Daffodils which have been three or
four years in the ground should be dug up as
soon as the foliage has ripened, and the bulbs
placed in their sizes in shallow boxes or on
shelves in the sun, and later in the root-store,
re-labelling the different varieties anew to
prevent confusion at a future time. Some
gardeners lift and replant immediately on
fresh, well - prepared sites, planting the
larger-sized bulbs by themselves for flower-
ing next spring, in lines or clumps at
regular distances apart, and at an even
depth of about 4 inches, and the second and
smaller-sized bulbs in patches in the reserve
garden, or in the woodland for naturalisation ;
or the planting may be deferred till the
autumn. Darwin and other late-flowering
Tulips should be lifted as they ripen, and
stored in the root-store till the autumn. Of
course, the more satisfactory plan is to
plant annually quantities of newly-imported

June 28, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

43;

thoroughly matured bulbs, which can be pur-
chased from any bulb-grower or nurseryman ;
but here we usually retain the best bulbs of
those that are lifted, and plant them again in
the autumn in the shrubbery borders, &c,
where they produce fairly good flowers,
although disease is much more prevalent
amongst them than is the case with the newer
bulbs.

General Remarks. — At the time of writing
much rain has fallen, and is still falling abun-
dantly, thus saving us the use of the water-
pot on recently-planted bedding plants, but in
many gardens planting operations will doubt-
less be impeded, if not altogether suspended,
on account of the rain. Annuals sown in lines
and patches will require thinning now, and
it is important that this should be in accord-
ance with the habit of each species, ample
space being allowed in every case for full
development. Keep a strict watch for slugs
visiting the seed beds and patches, late and
early, in search of these depredators. The
young shoots of climbing and wall plants will
require to be carefully tied neatly in posi-
tion, and the flower - buds should be re-
moved from such plants as Stachys lanata,
Centaurea ragusina, &c, chiefly used for
forming edgings. Look to the water-channels,
traps, catch-pits, gratings, &c, of the walks in
the flower-garden, putting everything in
proper order for the conveyance of water from
off the paths, otherwise much work will be
entailed, especially in hilly gardens, in re-
pairing washed-out gravel walks and clearing
the turf of debris.

FRUITS UNDER GLASS.

By Jambs Whttock, Gardener to the Duke of
Bucclbuch. Dalkeith, Scotland.

The Melonry. — The first crop of Melons
being consumed, replace the old with fresh
soil, the heaviest obtainable, mixing with it
some quicklime and lime-rubble ; and if it is
light, add some bone-meal and an artificial
fertiliser. A bed having a breadth of 18 ins.
and a depth of 6 ins. will be of sufficient size.
Plant out the Melon-plants at 2 feet apart ;
afford a small quantity of water, but let no
water go within 6 inches of the stem. Train
up each plant to a single stem, which stop
when it reaches the trellis, and on the laterals
produced thereby leave the fruit, e.g., four to
a plant. When the fruits are developing
freely, place an inch layer of soil and artificial
or other manure on the bed ; apply water
carefully at the root, and lightly syringe the
foliage on bright afternoons, closing the house
or pit when the thermometer indicates 90°.
Plants having ripening fruits should only be
afforded as much water as will keep the leaves
from flagging, and be afforded air constantly,
but maintaining a mean temperature of 70°.
The plants with growing fruits should have a
moist, genial atmosphere, and the lateral
growths should be shortened and thinned, and
the plants trimmed regularly at short inter-
vals of time. Seeds should now be sown — the
last sowing for the season.

Peach-house. — The trees on which are ripen-
ing fruits should be afforded air night and day,
and be kept cool, no fire-heat being needed,
excepting on cold or rainy nights. The
inside border should be covered with dry
straw or bracken, in order to prevent evapora-
tion of moisture; and scrim or hexagon netting
should be fastened under the trees to catch
falling fruits. When fruit is to be sent to a
distance it should be picked before it is quite
ripe. Trees with fruits stoning or swelling
fast should be afforded a moist, but not stuffy
atmosphere ; a night temperature of 60° to 65°
on bright days, and be syringed morning and
afternoon, using occasionally an insecticide,
largely diluted. Close the house with the
thermometer at 80° to 90°, and at about 4 o'clock
affording air in small quantities from 0 P.M.,
in order to reduce the warmth for the night
to the mean. Thin out the shoots, leaving
enough to provide next year's crop and no
more. All gross shoots should be removed.
. Aged trees, in which the growth is weak

should be afforded Thomson's Vine Manure,
or some other, followed by an application of
water ; or apply drainings from the cowshed
well diluted. No manure should be applied to
young vigorous trees.

The Latest Peach-house. — The fruits being
thinned, excepting as regards a few left for
the last thinning, all gross shoots, and any
not required, should be removed, the rest
being fastened to the trellis. If the fruits are
not required till late in the autumn, let the
house be well ventilated night and day, and
the trees syringed at least once a day, and
in hot weather twice, using occasionally a
weak mixture of water and an insecticide, it
being of importance that the foliage be kept
clean. If the trees are established, and not
growing too strongly, sprinkle the border with
a fertiliser, and apply water afterwards — that
is, if on examination it appears to require
water ; then let it be thorough, remembering
that retentive soils require less water than
those that are porous.

Seedlings. — Many young seedling plants,
such as Celosias, Vincas, Asclepias curas-
savica, a very ornamental plant seldom seen,
nowadays, will require repotting ; and during
the next week or two, the potting-bench wild
be pretty constantly in requisition.

PLANTS UNDER GLASS.

By J. C. Tali.ack, Gardener to E. Millkb Mundy, Esq.,
Shipley Hall, Derby.

Calceolarias. — In order to obtain good plants
of herbaceous Calceolarias for next year's
flowering, sow the seeds forthwith in specially
well-prepared seed-pans. The drainage should
be good, and covered with an inch layer of
sittings of the soil, and this again covered to
within threequarters of an inch of the rim
with a rather finely sifted mixture of loam,
sand, and leaf-mould, finishing it off level,
gently pressing it, and affording water with a
fine rose-can before sowing the seeds. Having
sown the seeds evenly, sprinkle a very thin
layer of sand over all, or omit it according to
fancy. Place the seed-pan in a hand-light on
the north side of a wall, or in other cool posi-
tion, taking care to elevate it on something
that will prevent the depredations of slugs.

Streptocarpus. — Seedlings of the spring
sowing should be potted, and grown on
quickly, some of the largest being put into
5-inch, but the majority will do best in 3J-inch
pots, in which they may be induced to throw
up autumn spikes of flowers, which will show
whether they they are or are not worth keep-
ing for a longer time. Loam one-half, and a
quarter each of finely powdered cow-dung and
leaf-mould, with plenty of sand, form a good
compost for these plants, on no account
omitting the cow-dung if it be possible to
obtain it, as it acts like a charm on the plants,
and lengthens their season of flowering. A
well-shaded pit having an intermediate tempe-
rature, with permanent shading, affords the
best conditions.

Hippeastrums. — When growth is complete,
afford no more manure-water, and lessen the
quantity of water afforded the plants until
complete rest is attained, without which the
bulb-mite is apt to infest the bulbs.

Camellias and Heaths. — The former may be
stood out-doors in a partially shaded spot for
the summer months ; and syringe the tops
copiously on the evenings of days that haVe
been bright. In smoky places the plants are
the better for being under glass the entire
year if the structure is a suitable one. Cape
and New Holland plants may be plunged in
fine coal ashes in a sunny spot, where they
may finish up their growth ; plunging being
necessary as a protection of the hair-like roots
against injury by hot sunshine. Afford the
plants plenty of room, and apply the syringe
frequently.

Ailamandas. — These and many other strong
growing climbers should be afforded liquid-
manure, so as to impart size and substance to
the flowers. Of course, only plants in well
drained pots and borders can be afforded this
high sort of culture. Plants which show signs
of the soil being in a stagnant state should
be afforded clear water only, and this very
carefully.

THE ORCHID HOUSES.

By W. P. Bound, Gardener to J. Colman, Esq., Gatton
Park, Reigate.

TJiunias. — The flowers having passed, remove
the plants from the house in which they have
been grown to one where they will obtain,
more sunlight and air, and later they may be
removed again to a Peach-house, or similar
structure, where there will be full sunshine
and abundance of air to harden and mature
the newly-made pseudo-bulbs. Continue to-
afford the plants water until the foliage shows-
signs of ripening, then reduce the supply
gradually. At the end of September remove
the plants to a dry, airy house, where the
temperature in winter does not fall below 45°,
where they remain till the season arrives for
restarting them into growth.

Coalogyne Dayana now starting into growth
may be repotted or resurfaced at once, if this,
be necessary. Use a compost of equal parts
of fibrous peat, fibrous loam, leaf-soil, and
chopped sphagnum- moss. The plants should
bo grown in pans and suspended, thus will the
flower-spikes be shown to the best advantage.
Efficient drainage is needed, for the plants
require copious supplies of water when making
vigorous growth. In the process of repotting
some of the old back pseudo-bulbs should
be removed from plants that have many
bulbs and few leads. Pot firmly, and keep
the compost on a level with the rim of
the pan. On the surface of the compost insert
a few heads of living sphagnum-moss ; these
will help to retain the needful moisture.
Plants that do not require new receptacles
should have some of the old surface material
removed, and be resurfaced with the compost-
recommended for use in potting. They should
be suspended at the warmest end of the stove
Orchid-house, and be carefully afforded water
until the new roots have taken a firm hold of
the compost. The plants delight in an abund-
ance of atmospherical moisture, and should be
sprayed overhead on bright days.

A'erides and Fondas. — Most of these are now
making many roots. Afford them water freely,
and frequently damp the spaces between the
pots. Maintain the atmosphere of the house
sweet by judicious ventilation.

Miltonia vexillarium should now be afforded
a slight rest by withholding the copious
supplies of water that have been afforded
during the time the plants have been de-
veloping their growths and flowers. I do not
advise keeping them so dry as to cause loss of
foliage, or the shrivelling of the newly made
pseudo-bulbs. If they were potted in the
compost advised in a previous Calendar, very
little water will suffice to keep them in a firm,
state until the new growth is sufficiently
advanced for the plants to be repotted.

Publications Received— The natural History

0/ Plants, Kerner and Oliver. Part II.— From the
County of Essex Technical Instruction Committee,
Biology Section. Holiday Courses tor Teachers. Fielil
Studies in Natural History.— Programme q/ Summer
Rambles, 1902, by E. C. Horrell, F.L.S., and F. J.
Chittenden. Details the proposed series of Saturday
afternoon demonstrations on licld-botany and other
branches of Nature-study to be taken during the season.
—Clouds ajul Weather Signs, by Commander D. Wilson
Barker, K.N.R., illustrated with a series of cloud
photographs by the author (reprinted from Knowledge.
:J26, High Holhorn, W.C.). Attractive and suggestive.
"Whoever wishes to be weather- wise and who has
time to study the weather charts published daily, may
easily acquire such knowledge of local characteristics
as will enable him to forecast fairly accurately ; cirrus
clouds as a rule— at any rati' in England— are reliable
guides." Space forbids quotations of the details to be
observed, for which reference should bo made to the
pamphlet. — From the Department of Agriculture.
Tasmania, bulletin No. >:. Trued and Funaat Petto "(the
Field farm, ami Garden, by Edward 11. Thompson,
edited by F w. J Moore. With muob Information
and many illustrations this should prove a usefut
publication.

434

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 28, 1902.

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

i Royal Horticultural Society of
TUESDAY, July 1-' Southampton, Exhibition (2

( days).

..National Rose Society's Exhi-
bition in Temple Gardens,
Thames Embankment.
WEDNESDAY, July 2- Hanley (Staff's) Horticultural
Fete (2 days).

I Richmond (Surrey) Horticul-

*■ tural Show.

( Colchester Rose and Horticul-
tural Society, Exhioition.

THURSDAY, July 3-

Sidcup Rose Show
Rose Show.

Norwich

8ALE FOR THE WEEK.

FRIDAY, July 4—

Orchids iu variety, by order of Messrs. Stanley,
Ashton. and others, by Protheroe & Morris, at 12. 30,

(For further particulars see our Advertisement columns. )

their Majesties the King and Queen, who
he told his audience were Patrons of the
Royal Horticultural Society. The toast was
most cordially drunk with musical honours.
The Chairman incidentally mentioned the
fact that H.R.H. the Duchess of Connaught
as having paid a visit to the show.

Allusion was made to the great interest
the King and Queen took in gardens and
gardening.

The Chairman then gave the toast of the
Committees and the Judges, coupling it with
the name Of Mr. George Paul. This gentle-
man in replying to the toast, said, that it was

The Hall and Garden were considered
merely as adjuncts to the work of the
Society, and the cost of providing them
should be borne by the Fellows.

Dean Hole opened the Rose Conference
in his usual felicitous style. He likened the
rose — the queen of flowers — to our Queen
Alexandra — the Rose of Denmark, for they
are alike beautiful and alike 'beloved. He
claimed for the flower under consideration
that it had no rival for colour, form, and
fragrance, and dwelt upon the manifold uses
to which it could be put. Dean Hole
specially emphasized the opportunities of

Average Temperature for the ensuing week, deduced

from Observations of Forty-three Years at Chiswiefc

—62 8 .
Actual Temperatures :—

London.— June 23 (6 p.m.) : Max. 74°; Min. 58°.
Provinces. — June i3 (6 p.m.) : 73s, S. Counties ; Min.

59", N.-E. Scotland.

V1 As these lines are passing through the
(Press, the alarming news reaches us that
His Majesty's condition is such that an
operation has been performed, and that the
Coronation ceremonial must accordingly
be postponed. It is impossible to realise
the concern of his loyal subjects, or to
•estimate the amount of derangement that
must ensue, now that the preparations have
(been all but completed. We can only wish
(for the best, and trust that a happy issue
may result.

The show at Holland House, which is
itaking place as we write these lines, is a
•very successful one. It is a Temple Show
(improved. The locality is admirably suited
rfor the purpose ; the weather is fine, the
show in most departments excellent. Looked
at from a rosarian's point of view, it is as
might have been expected from the late
sjason, somewhat of a failure, for the exhi-
bition Roses are few and far between, and
not of first-rate quality. But even from the
rosarian's point of view, there is much to
attract. The so-called garden Roses are
shown in some abundance, and they partly
-compensate for the comparative absence
•of the exhibition varieties. Mr. Turner's
group of hybrids of Wichuriana is novel
and most interesting— decidedly one of the
most important features of the show.
Messrs. Paul & Son's group, containing
some remarkable varieties of Rosa rugosa,
ds scarcely less remarkable ; Rosa sinica
"Anemone" in this group is noteworthy.
Mr. Sander's splendid collection of Orchids,
Mr. Martin Smith's Carnations, Messrs.
Davis & Sons' Begonias, Messrs. Buttons'
Gloxinias, shown in a large Wardian case;
Messrs. Wallace's Lilies, Messrs. Reams-
isottom's Anemones— these are a few of the
imore remarkable exhibits, for a more de-
tailed account of which, so far as time and
space will permit, we must refer to another
•column. Suffice it to say that the show is
•one of the prettiest and most interesting
that we have seen for a long while.

The large marquee set apart for the
luncheon, and subsequentlyfor the Rose Con-
ference, was well tilled with horticulturists.
Committeemen and judges. After the colla-
tion was partaken of, Mr. Gurney Fowler.
the Treasurer of the Society, who had taken
the chair in the unavoidable absence of the
President, proposed the usual loyal toast to

THE VERY' REVEREND S. R. HOLE, DEAN OF ROCHESTER.
President of the Rose Conference at Holland House.

to him a great honour to reply to the toast;
the duties of the Committees were very
arduous and those of the judges not less so;
but he had no fear of the judges not doing
their duty as they were chosen from among
men who have won their spurs in some
special field of gardening.

The speaker made mention of the readi-
ness of the Council to listen to suggestions
made by the Committees on all occasions, and
spoke approvingly of the luncheon as being
an appropriate function on this occasion.

The Chairman then proposed the toast —
" Prosperity to the Society."

" Very few words would suffice. They
were bent," he said, "on forwarding the in-
terests of Gardening and Gardeners. This
could be done by building a Hall and form-
ing an experimental garden ; and on the carry-
ing out these projects they were dependent
on the support afforded by the Fellows and
their friends."

The Hall would be completed, he believed
in time for the Centenary of the Society.

beautifying gardens with Roses, and alluded
to his inaugurating forty-five years ago the
first show dedicated to these blossoms alone.
He then read the programme of the Con-
ference, and called on Mr. Baker, F.R.S., to
give an account of two new Roses from the,
South-West United States. These, of which
figures were exhibited, are Rosa, stellata, from
an altitude of five or six thousand feet in New
Mexico, and has the characteristics of Scotch
Roses, with unequal thorns, but has, unlike
any other species, the three terminal leaflets
arranged in the fashion of those of Potent illrt.

The second species, from California, also
has features really of the Scotch forms, but
gains its name (Rosa minutifolia) from its
very small leaves.

The Rev. J. H. Pemberton, taking as his
subject hybrid Teas, traced the history of
these varieties and showed how they have
increased in number and popularity. At this
point the president announced that the
rumour as to the illness of the King had
unfortunately been confirmed, and proposed

June 28, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

435

a vote of condolence to the Queen, which
was seconded by Dean Hole and carried.

Hybrid Teas were again treated by Mr.
Alexander Dickson, who, dividing them into
five classes, dwelt upon the chief varieties,
their special features, and their introducers.
-Mr. Edward Mawley read n. paper on
the " Sensitiveness of Cultivated Roses to
■Changes of Weather," saying that we are
just as liable to lose our Roses through cold
owing to the plants still being "half hardy."
He also gave some hints as to their care in
winter. "The Cultivation of Roses under
■Glass " was treated of by Mr. George Mount,
who pointed out how his methods differed
'from those of other growers. For instance,
3ie never syringes the plants after the leaves
'have appeared, nor does he stake them, and
■when they have done flowering he takes the
greatest care of them.

Cypripedium callosum var. SANDER/E
Supplementary Illustration). — This is a
Siamese species, and one of the finest, if
aiot the finest, of the pale-flowered or albino
forms. The dorsal sepal is described by
Messrs. Sander as white, with apple-green
radiating veins, pale green petals, white
on the upper edges, and pale green lip. It
•was exhibited by Messrs. Sander in May,
11894, and is first alluded to in our number for
May 20 of that year, p. 663. Our illustration
was prepared from material supplied by Capt.
(Law-Schofield, of New Hall Hey, Rawtenstall,
Manchester, in whose collection of Orchids it
was grown.

National Rose Society.— The Dean of
Rochester, will open the National Rose
Society's Show at the Temple Gardens, at
aoon on July 2.

Paris International Horticultural
Exhibition.— The Societe Nationale d'Horti-
eulture de France proposes to organise an
International Exhibition in Paris in the spring
•of the year 1905.

Drymophlceus Normanbyi. — Some time
since Mr. F. M. Bailey, the colonial botanist
of Queensland, obligingly called our attention
to an illustration from a photograph to which
the name of Ptychosperma elegans was at-
tached. The photograph came from the Buiten-
vzorg Botanic Garden, but there seems to be no
•doubt that the Palm represented was really
Drymophlceus Normanbyi, described in Mr.
BAILEY'S Queensland Flora, part 5, p. 1678, just
(received.

" El Jardin." — This, the newest contribu-
tion to the horticultural press, was first issued
from Madrid early in June. The preliminary
(number contains some original articles, and
•notes culled from various sources. The journal
is published by Senor Bacqu6, Paseo del
•Obelisco, 15, Madrid. We are pleased to
welcome a new comer from a country that
(hitherto has been somewhat behind others in
the number of its papers devoted to gardening
and science generally.

Volcanic Ash in Barbados. — A. descrip-
tion of the volcanic eruptions at Martinique
and St. Vincent has already been given in the
newspapers. It may be worthy of note that
the volcanic ash that fell at Barbados from
5 p.m. on the 7th to 4.30 a.m. on the 8th varied
from j| to I inch in depth. It covered houses,
trees, and all vegetation with a grey mantle of
impalpable powder, and gave the landscape a
singular appearance. By actual measurement
it has been ascertained that the weight of ash
was at the rate of 17"58 tons per acre, or
1 1,251 tons per square mile. Taking the area
of Barbados at 166 square miles, it is probable

that nearly 2,000,000 tons of ash weredeposited
over this island alone. An immense quantity
must have also fallen into the sea. The com-
position of the ash has not yet been ascer-
tained. It is probable, as in the case of the
"May dust" of 1812, that it contains silica,
alumina, oxide of iron, and oxide of manganese,
with some trace of sulphur. It should be
regarded in its ultimate results, at least, as
beneficial to the soil. "Agricultural News,"
Barbados.

Sequoia qigantea pendula.— In the fine
collection of Conifers possessed by Charles
"Walker, Esq., of Brettargh Holt, Kendal,
writes Mr. W. J. Ireland, is a specimen of
this variety of Sequoia which is exactly
22 feet in height. Last year's growth was
very good, and measured from 18 to 20 inches.
It is said that this variety is rare in gardens,
and it may be hoped that Mr. D. S. Fish's
remarks in a recent issue of the Oardeners'
Chronicle, will elicit some further information
in regard to other fine specimens.

Arbor Day for the West Indies.— It is
suggested that Coronation Day, June 26, would
be an appropriate one to adopt in the West
Indies as an Arbor Day. It would commemo-
rate a striking event in the history of the
Empire, and besides, it would fall exactly at
the right season for planting purposes. In
many localities the planting of ornamental
shade trees would be of great public benefit,
and at the same time add to the comfort and
amenities of life in the tropics. Suitable trees
and Palms are always obtainable for the
purpose at the Botanic Gardens, and it only
requires the movement to be started, under
favourable auspices, to be taken up with
every hope of success. A few preliminary
hints might be useful. The holes for the
trees, about 3 feet square and about 2| feet
deep, should be prepared some days before-
hand, and filled with good soil. The actual
planting requires care, but it is an operation
that affords pleasure to many ; preferably it
should be undertaken in the afternoon, and
the plant immediately watered. If the trees
are planted in open spaces or along road-sides,
where they are liable to be injured, they
should be protected by tree -guards. If
desired, permanent metal labels for Corona-
tion-trees would be imported, and supplied at
cost price by the Imperial Department of
Agriculture. " Agricultural News," Barbados.

" Botanical Magazine."— The plints figured
in the June number are : —

Aloe pendent, Forskahl, t. 7837. — A native of
S. Arabia, which flowered in the gardens of
Sir T. Hanbury, at La Mortola. It has tufts
of recurved, channelled, narrow, lanceolate
leaves, 17 to 18 inches long, spiny at the
margins, and erect panicles of numerous cylin-
drical pinkish flowers, each about 1 inch long.

Ennjops socoirauus, Balfour fib, t. 7838.— A
yellow-flowered Composite, with pinnatipartite
bright green leaves, the segments linear. It
is a native of Socotra, and flowered in the
Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh.

Eranlheinum atropnrpiireum, llort. Bull.
(t. 7839). — Native of the Solomon Islands.

Echinocactus microspermus, Weber, t. 7840.
— A native of Argentina. A species with sub-
globose stem, studded with tubercles, each
bearing a tuft of 10 to 14 spines of unequal size,
one much longer than the others, and hooked
at the extremity ; flowers yellow, about 2
inches in diameter.

Plectranthus sacral us, Bentham, t. 7841.— A
native of Natal, with blue flowers, nearly
1! inch long.

Generous Offer by a Belfast Nursery-
man.—Mr. Hugh Dickson, of the Royal
Nurseries, Belfast, who has recently been
appointed nurseryman to the King, has, with
loyalty and generosity that are alike praise-
worthy, announced that in commemoration of
the Coronation he proposes to give a choice
ornamental tree gratis, on application, for
planting in the grounds of every charitable
institution in Ulster, delivered free. This
generous offer holds good until Wednesday of
next week, and is, as we learn, being largely
taken advantage of.

A Practical Method of Commemorating
the Coronation.— We do not know of a more
practical way of commemorating the Coronation
of the King and Queen, nor one more in touch
with the well-known sentiments so often
expressed by their Majesties, than that
adopted by the Committee of the Gardeners'
Royal Benevolent Institution. We understand
that the committee of this old established
charity, of which their Majesties the King and
Queen are Patrons, have decided to commemo-
rate the Coronation by placing on the pension
list for June 26, the eleven unsuccessful candi-
dates who had previously been subscribers to
the Institution. The committee have also
voted the sum of £5 to each of the unsuccessful
candidates, thirteen in number, who had not
previously been subscribers. We feel s,nre
that the supporters of this most admirable
charity will heartily endorse the committee's
action, and not allow the Institution to suffer
for lack of funds.

Those Dreadful Names!— Mr. Cremer,
at a recent sitting of the House of Commons,
asked the " First Commissioner of Works
whether, in order to increase the interest
taken in horticulture, foreign shrubs, and
trees, by the visitors to Kew Gardens and the
public parks, he will issue instructions that
the practice of labelling flowers, shrubs, and
trees in Latin shall be discontinued, and
English substituted ; or if the present method
is continued, that side by side with the Latin
description the name shall appear in English ;
and whether he will see that the same rule is
applied in our national museums [Monday,
June 23]." The First Commissioner may issue
instructions, but neither he nor his questioner
can fully realise the impossibility of carrying
them out. The genuine English names in
common use number a few hundreds at the
most ; the Latin names may be counted by the
hundred thousand. We do not think Adam or
Solomon would be equal to the task of coining
English names for all this host, and we know
from long experience that to those who really
want to know something about the plants they
see or cultivate, the nomenclature presents
no serious difficulty ; such as there is, is soon
overcome by the student.

Landscape Gardening in Cuba. — We
learn from the Revue Horticole that M. ED.
Andre and his son, M. Rene Andre, have
been commissioned to carry out some im-
portant works in Cuba, and that M. Rene
Andre has recently visited not only that island,
but also many of the principal cities of the
United States, in order to study the vegetation
and the arrangements of the parks and public
gardens.

" Hortus Thenensis."— The second edition
of the second part of the catalogue of the
plants cultivated in the gardens ol M. Van
den Bossche, of Tirlemont, Belgium, has
lately been issued. It contains all the Gamo-
petalsB, Monochlamyde:v, Monocotyledons,
and Ferns. The total number of species cata-

436

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 28, 1902.

logued amounts to 4073. Great care has been
taken with the synonymy, and frequent refer-
ences have been made to illustrations. The
book is handsomely got up, and ■will be very
serviceable to those who are interested in
the botany of the plants they cultivate.

Prumnopitys elegans (syn. Podocarpus
ANDINA). — Mr. P. W. Moore, of Glasnevin,
kindly sends us male flowers of this species
from county Wicklow." Up to this time the
occurrence of male flowers has been rarely
noted, though they are figured by Mr. Kent
in the last edition of Veitch's Manual of
Conifers. They are borne in close racemes on
the ends of the branches ; each is rather less
than a centimetre in length and about 3 mill,
in breadth, linear-oblong, obtuse, greenish-
yellow. The overlapping anther- scales are
convex, ovate-deltoid, acute, membranous,
and slightly laciniate at the edges. The
pollen-grains are winged, as in Podocarpus.
On February 15 of the present year we pub-
lished an illustration of a tree at Penjerrick as
Podocarpus andina — the name written on the
photograph. Now, Podocarpus andina is a sy-
nonym of Prumnopitys elegans; wewereaccord-
ingly misled, so that whilst the article in the
text at p. 113 refers to Prumnopitys, the plant
whose male flowers furnish the subject of the
present note, the supplementary illustration
really represents Podocarpus chilina as shown
by specimens subsequently received from Mr.
Pox, and as pointed out by Sir W. T. Thisel-
ton-Dver. Moral — Never trust the names
attached to photographs without seeing a
specimen of the plant they represent.

The Progress of the Nation. — It is
refreshing to see the Times writing in the
following strain. The sooner other leaders of
opinion follow the same course the better. We
have the experts, but the so-called practical
man is sadly slow to avail himself of the re-
sources put at his disposal. We must, indeed,
obey the advice of the Prince of Wales, and
" wake up.

"This nation really has no chance in modern coc-
ditions unless official persons generally consent to
recognise that there are a great many important sub-
jects about which they know nothing, and which are in
a state of such rapid change and development that no
student, of the calibre which an official salary will
attract, can possibly be and remain in a position to
legislate about them. What we want is that the real
practical and scientific intellect of the country should
be called to the aid of the politicians and their official
' experts.' It is not by Boards of Trade, with their self-
sufficiency, their timidity, and their necessary ignor-
ance of the later phases of development, that other
nations have adapted their legislation to the progress
of science. It is by giving intellect that advisory place
in the framing of legislation which it will never seek
by the politician's method of appealing to the ballot-
box. The electrical, chemical, physical, and biological
questions, upon the solution of which so much modern
progress and prosperity depend, deserve and demand
the habitual consultation of the best men engaged in
their study."

Bulletin of the French Horticultural
Society of London.— We have before us the
Bullet in of the SocieteFranoaised'Horticulture
de Londres for 1901, and are pleased to note
every indication of continued prosperity. There
is an obituary notice, with portrait, of Thomas
Rochford ; and notes on the culture of Eucha-
ris, by Mr. Uluich Gdilloud; of Cyclamen, by
M. Leopold Moreau ; of Clianthus, by M. H.
Navel ; of Nymphasa, by M. Gabriel Lalairie ;
and of other plants by other writers. An ac-
count is given of the conditions of admission
(as a member of the gardening staff) to Kew
by M. H. Navel ; and notices (illustrated) of
Herr J. C. Schmidt's garden at Erfurt. Satis-
factory reports of the various meetings of the
Society complete the 'bulletin, which is pro-
curable from 00, Long Acre, London, W.C., and
84, bis, Rue de Grenelle, Paris.

Report from Reading College. — The
eighth annual report on field and other trials
conducted under the auspices of the Reading
College Agricultural Department, and the
County Councils of Berks, Bucks, Dorset,
Hampshire, and Oxfordshire, is now ready.
During the past year (1901), the scope of the
trials has been considerably extended. The
effects of manures on hay and pasture in
different districts and on different classes of
soils have been fully dealt with in this and
other reports, as well as the effects of manures
throughout a rotation of crops. Trials have
been made of seed mixtures for from one to
three years' ley, and some striking results
have been given by the inclusion of Lucerne
and other plants in a mixture for a three
years' ley. Trials on varieties of Barley for
malting purposes should lead to results of
great practical value to growers. Appended
are sections giving precise information on the
more important manures, and suggestions as
to the manuring of various crops.

when forming a collection of stove or green-
house plants include a considerable number
of those plants which he knows will stand
him in good stead in this kind of work, always
bearing in mind that the plants that are the
most useful and adaptable are those possessing
elegance, gracefulness, and lightness. It goes
without saying that plants used for this pur-
pose, whether flowering or foliaged plants, as
they are to be placed in conspicuous positions,
should be handsome specimens, free from
disease, deformity, or blemish.

Serviceable Plants.
Before enumerating a few of the many
suitable foliage - plants available for this
work, I will make good an omission from my
list of flowering plants in a recent issue,
namely, Begonia Gloire de Lorraine, Epi--
phyllum Gaertneri, and E. truncatum in va-
riety, these when well flowered as dwarfs
or standards being most effective. Another
valuable addition to this class of plant is the

Flci. 168.— PERGOLA IN THE KITCHEN-GARDEN, HOLLAND HOUSE. (SEE P. 425.)

THE AKT OF TABLE DECORATION.

(.Continued fromp. 366.)

Plants that may not be Employed. — In
considering the subject of the most suitable
species of plants for the decoration of the
dinner-table, a matter closely associated with
the subject will force itself on the considera-
tion of the gardener or decorator, namely the
undesirability of choosing any plant of a dense
or bushy habit. Some in their laudable desire
to produce a telling display, are apt to forget
that the function they are helping to make
bright and pleasant is a festive one, and that
therefore plants of bushy or dense growth
likely to block the line of sight, or in any way
to prevent the guests from freely seeing and
conversing with one another, should on no
account be made use of. I do not mean by
this that dwarf bushy plants, both flowering
and foliaged, may not be effectively used, for
certainly they may if they are dwarf enough,
but not otherwise.

The decoration of the table having become
such an important part of almost every gar-
dener's duty, it is imperative that he should

recently introduced Kalanchoe flammea, a
plant which, when better known, will be
greatly sought after as a table plant. Acalypha.
hispida (Sanderiana), remarkable for its long
pendulous spikes of carmine-coloured flowers,
more noted for its curiosity than for its
beauty, is frequently made use of. Young
plants of this may be brought into flower at
all seasons by propagating it from cuttings
successionally. The white and yellow Mar-
guerites should also not be forgotten.

Plants with Pine Foliage.
Amongst these the genus Dracaena offers-
some very useful plants. The best of the red,
broad-leaved varieties is Lord Wolseley, which
is of a brilliant colour, a fine grower, and of
handsome aspect ; reminiscent in a slight
degree of the well known D. terminalis, but a
marked improvement on that variety. Prince
Manouk Bey is another of the broad-leaved
red varieties ; a first-class subject, and rather
richer in colour than D. Lord Wolseley, but
not so vigorous in growth ; Frederici, another-
excellent variety, belongs to the same section ;
pendula, with pendent leaves, is a great im-

June 28, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

437

provement on the -variety D. Cooperi. Amongst
the indispensable narrow-leaved red Dracaenas
the best are angustifolia, Jamesii, The Queen,
and Miss Glendinning. The green and white
varieties are not of much value as table plants,
the best is Doucetti, which may occasionally
be made use of. The green-leaved varieties
on the other hand, when they are young and
well-grown, can be employed with good effect.
The best of the narrow-leaved Dracaenas is
Eeckhautei, a variety which grows freely, and
possesses a graceful and pendulous habit.
Of the broad green-leaved varieties the best
is, I think, D. cannaefolia, not unlike a Canna
5n growth, it is good for room decoration, or
for large dinner tables where bold effect is
desired, then it is indispensable.

plumosa and flexuosa, Eentia Belmoreana,
Phoenix rupicola, Rhaphis humilis, Thrinax
elegans, Geonoma gracilis.

The Aralia is another plant entitled to a
prominent position as a decorative plant in
this connection. The following are among the
best, A. elegantissima, leptophylla, Veitchi,
and gracillima. Owen Thomas.
(To be continued.)

THE APIARY.

Swarms. — The month of June, so far, will be
remembered amongst bee-keepers as a very
bad one, cold and wet, and with very little
work going on in the apiary. All swarms,

are firm before ascending to hive the swarm.
Turn them over gently, and leave them till
nightfall, when they should. be placed in posi-
tion and put into a bar frame as you wish.
Should the weather be unfavourable, afford
the bees a little syrup — it will pay you, con-
sidering the price of sugar.

Bar Frames. — These should be constantly ex-
amined, andall sections that are readyshould be
taken out, and empty ones put in their places ;
or raise up the crate after giving the bees a
little tobacco smoke, and place another one
underneath. As a means to prevent killing the
bees, draw a carbolic cloth along under the full
one, and as soon as you have your top storey
fall of well finished sections, take it away and

Fig. 169.— the dutch parteeke at Holland house, (see r. 425.)

Crotons,

qow called Codifeums, are of equal importance
to the floral decorator as Dracaenas, and the
following varieties are amongst the best. Of
the broad-leaved varieties in shades of red,
there are Flamingo, Emperor Alexander III.,
Evansianum, Reedi, Mortefontainense, and
Williamsii. Generally speaking, the narrow-
leaved Coditeums are the most serviceable.
The best broad -leaved varieties of heavy
shades of red, are Flambeau, Aigburth Gem,
Lady Zetland, Prince of Wales, Warreni, and
Lucy. Amongst the narrow-leaved golden
coloured varieties, mention may be made of
the following, Countess, Aigburthense, and
Golden Ring, the last named one of the very
best.

Palms, &o.

These plants are quite indispensable, and
amongst the best and most serviceable for the
purpose are the following, Cocos Weddeliana,

where honey is required, should be returned
to the parent stock. In hiving a swarm, see
that no bees are left hanging, as you may
perhaps have the queen bee left behind. The
skep, which must be always ready in the
apiary for immediate use, should be washed
out with a little sugar and beer or sweet
syrup, but not made too wet ; and it should
be placed as far under the hanging mass of
bees as possible, without touching them or
the boughs, holding it securely with the left
hand, pulling the skep close in to your chest
so as the better to support it, and thus one
hand will be at liberty to give the bough a
good quick jerk and cause all of the bees to
fall into the skep. In doing this, the coat-
sleeves should be tied round at the wrist, to
prevent bees getting inside them. If the skep is
not placed well under the swarm, half of them
may drop on to the ground, and some over the
back of the skep. If the swarm is at some
height from the ground, be sure that the steps

store it in a cool place, where mice, bees,
wasps, or dust cannot reach them. Let the
sections be divided into three classes of first,
second, and third qualities. Care should be
taken in handling the sections not to make
them dirty, and always to keep the same side
up as that which was uppermost when they
were taken out of the hive. Honey in shallow
frames may be extracted ; let the hives and
the sections bo replaced forthwith, and the
honey, being warm, will How out of them
readily.

General Hints.— Let the quilts be carefully
examined for the wax-moth ; and take mea-
sures against ants, which often get into the
hives and eat the honey. Mark stocks from
which no returns are obtained for future
treatment in the autumn. Hives that are
leaky should bo marked for repair at a conve-
nient time. Any stocks that are short of food
may be afforded a small quantity of thin
syrup. Expert.

438

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 28, 1902.

WILD CHINESE EOSES.

The Wild Foem of Eosa indica, L., was
established by Linnreus as a species, and
the specimen in his herbarium belongs to
this species. The plant is not admitted by
Hooker as a native of India, and it is ex-
cluded from the flora of Japan by Mat-
sumura. It was introduced into cultivation
in England by Sir Joseph Banks in 1789.

The only wild specimens known are those
collected by me in the glens near Iehang, in
Central China ; and I have no reason to
doubt that they are truly wild. The illustra-

flowering specimens, which have both three
and five leaflets ; otherwise the leaves are
identical.

The wild form may be described as a large
climbing shrub, armed with brown, scattered,
hooked prickles. The leaves have either
three or five leaflets, which are ovate or
elliptic, acuminate, serrate ; they are dark
green above, and glaucous underneath.
The stipules are narrow, adnate almost to
the top, finely-toothed on the edge, r.nd
ending in a subulate point. The flowers are
solitary, thus differing from many cultivated

The Wild Forms of Eosa Banksi.e.

Lady Banks' Rose was first introduced'
into England in 1807, by Kerr, and this
was the double white-flowered^variety. The
yellow double-flowered kind was brought in
later by Parks, in 1824. Under cultivation
a single state of the last has been obtained,
which is described and figured in But. Magi,
t. 7171. In the wild state, yellow flowers do
not seem ever to occur.

This Eose is recorded as occurring wild ia
Japan by Franchet and Savatier (En. PL i.,
137), as it was supposed to have been col-

Fig. 170. — wild foem of rosa indica (the original of our tea roses),
gathered at ichang by dr. henry.

tionf(fig. 170) now given is taken from my
No. 11.51, which shows the plant in flower.
The fruit shown is from No. 4131. No. 1151
was collected in the San-yu-tung glen, off
the Iehang gorge, in two places, where the
Eose occurred as a large shrub climbing over
rocks, with single flowers, generally deep
red, but occasionally pink in colour ; these
specimens were collected in April. No. 4131
in fruit was collected on July 31 in a wild
glen also on the Iehang gorge, but on the
opposite side of the river, many miles distant
to the south-west. My note taken at the
time says that it resembled the Banksia
Eose in habit, i.e., it was a large, straggling
climber on the side of the ravine. This
specimen shows only trifoliolate leaves,
and these are smaller than those of the

forms. There is a specimen, No. 96, in the
Kew Herbarium, collected by Oldham
in Formosa, which has single flowers ;
but I doubt this being a wild plant.
The leaves are very different in aspect
from the Iehang plant; they are not
glaucous underneath.

Rose giganiea, Collett, which was dis-
covered in the Burmese Shan States, was
also found by me in Yunnan. It is close to
Eosa indica in technical characters ; but it
may be readily distinguished by the much
larger flowers, which are always white.
The sepals have not the curious appendages
that occur in Eosa indica. In Rosa gigantea
the leaves are often seven-foliolate, and the
fruit is much larger than in the other
species.

lected there by Siebold. It is, however,
excluded from the flora of Japan by Mat-
sumura, and it is now known to be a native
of the western mountainous half of China.
It has been gathered wild by David in
Shensi, by Potanin in Kansu, by myself in
Hupeh and Szechwan, and by Delavay in
Yunnan. Through this wide range of lati-
tude, the plant exhibits considerable varia-
tion. In the Kansu specimens the leaves
are small, often trifoliolate, and hairy. In my
Central China specimens the leaflets are
glabrous, variable in size, and generally five
in number. Delavay's Yunnan specimens-
are nearly glabrous, and the leaflets are
more often seven in number. In cultivated!
forms the leaflets are nearly always five, as
the third pair of leaflets is seldom deve-

June 28, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE,

43.9

loped. In cultivated plants prickles rarely
occur, whereas in the wild form they are
nearly always present.

The illustration now given (fig-. 171) is taken
from my No. 5552, which was collected in
South Wushan, in Szechwan, in ravines and
hedges, at 2000 to 3000 feet altitude. This
Rose is also common in the province of
Hupeh, in the Yangtse gorges near Ichang,
where it is a large climber, hanging down
from cliffs (my Nos. 1153, 2922, 3198). In
my specimens the plant is glabrous, always
armed with hooked prickles, somewhat
dilated at the base. The leaflets are gene-
rally five in number, though three and seven
occur; they are more or less ovate-lanceo-

introduced into Japan and Europe. It is
known to the Chinese as Mu-hsiang, i.e.,
"wood-fragrance." It is figured and de-
scribed in the Chih-wu-ming, xxi., 47, as a
cultivated double-flowering Rose, with five-
foliolate leaves. The author mentions se-
veral kinds : " That with small white flowers
which have a purple centre, is most deli-
ciously fragrant. The non-fragrant variety
has yellow flowers, with a green centre."
He also speaks of a third kind, with large,
white flowers, not remarkable for their fra-
grance. His remarks on the two first kinds
agree with the figures of the forms originally
introduced into England. The cultivated
yellow double-flowered variety is less f ra-

tions the Banksia Rose as having small fra-
grant flowers, and this work was written in
1578.

Rosa microcarpa, Ldl., bears a consider-
able resemblance to Rosa Banksire in the
shape of the leaflets and of the stipules, and
in the smallness of the flowers and fruit;
but in it the styles are coherent. The most
obvious distinction lies in the outer sepals
of Rosa microcarpa, which have spinules or
the back, and denticulate or spinuliforni
appendages on the margins. These spinules,
&c, are totally wanting in Rosa Banksia;.

Rosa Colletti, Crepin, discovered in the Shaa
States of Burma, is very close to R. miero-
cirpa, agreeing with it in styles, appendaged

Fig. 171.— rosa banksi.e, wild form, gathered by dr. henry.

late and serrulate. The stipules are very
characteristic, being long bristles ; they drop
off early, and are only to be seen on some of
the flowering specimens. The flowers are
small, white, and fragrant; they are borne
in false umbels, which are generally many-
flowered, but in some cases are much
reduced, so that only two flowers occur.

Delavay's Yunnan specimens at Kew are
only in fruit ; they show seven leaflets, and
are glabrous and prickly. Franchet, how-
ever, in describing the flowering specimens
sent by Delavay, says that they are unarmed
sometimes, and that three and five leaflets
occur, which are pubescent on the median
nerve, and occasionally also on the petioles
and petiolules. Potanio's specimens are
very pubescent on the petioles and
petiolules.

There are specimens at Kew, No. 10,508,
which were obtained by my native collector
in Yunnan. They are semi-double, and evi-
dently cultivated ; they have long, narrow,
small leaflets, seven in number.

The Banksia Rose has long been cultivated
in China, and from that country it has been

Fill. 172— LEAF AND STIPULES OF UOSA I1AXKSI.K

grant than the white-flowering kind in this
country; and the stigmas, Arc, in the centre
of the double flowers show the difference in
colour in the two kinds that is noted by the
Chinese author. The Chinese Herbal men-

sepals, Ac. It is apparently a tomentcse
geographical form of that species, and is
interesting, because we find in certain plants
(such as Albizzia Julibrissin), tomentose
forms as we leave China and get into the
warmer regions of Burma and India. Awju#-
tine Henry.

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

A VISITATION OF LOOPER CATERPILLARS.

— I have enclosed for your inspection
some shoots of the Apple, Oak, Haze), Ash, and
Willow, to show the ravages the looper cater-
pillars are committing in our usually luxuriant
woods. Many of the Oaks are as black and bare
as at mid-winter. This part of Berkshire suit*
the Oak admirably, and when Oak was largely
used in the Royal dockyards, a timber mer-
chant assured me that some of the best qualify
was grown in this district; hut to see fine
trees denuded of their foliage in leafy Juno is
a sad sight. Many of our neighbours aro iu
like plight ; bird-life is very abundant, flocks
of rooks, starlings, and small birds, sc ■i-m
revelling in an abundance of food, with-
out seeming to lessen the plaguo. The

440

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[JUNB 28, 1902.

cold spring we have passed through seems
to have been favourable to insect life, and I
have previously noticed that such insect
visitations are worse in cold ungenial springs.
The larva of the winter-moth in the autumn
and winter months were unusually fine, and in
consequence a larger number of eggs were
deposited on suitable trees ; and in spite of
repeated syringings with insecticides, I fear
our Apple crop will be a very poor one. I
observe the Californian growers of fruit have
succeeded in some cases in introducing insect
foes to clear off the insects which destroy the
fruit crops. Such a visitation as this present
one seem too numerous for birds and insecti-
cides to cope with. R. M., Nctcbury, June 16,
1902.

NIPHETOS ROSE outdoors.— The flower of
Niphetos Kose which 1 send for your inspection
is a very large one and past its best ; but our
vicar, the Rev. A. S. Travers, has just sent it
to me to ask if it was not a really fine one.
He has a very large tree trained on the S.W.
side of his house. I should think a space of
wall 11 feet by 15 feet is covered with this
tree ; in fact, I never before saw such a fine
tree of this variety growing outside. He has
caused sewage to be put to the roots, other-
wise nothing else has been done. W. A. Cook,
gr., Erlestoke Park. [We have also never seen
a bigger bloom of this variety. Ed.]

richardia pentlandi.— In answer to Mr.
Adams on the flowering of this beautiful
Richardia, I may say that my employer sent
here a small plant which he purchased in Cape
Town in the year 1896. It did not flower the
following season, but has done so every season
since, and besides having increased in size,
it has produced a number of young side-
tubers, the stronger of which have already
flowered. I may also mention that some of
R. Elliotiana here are showing flower, but I
observe the spathe is not of so rich a colour,
and lacks the black spot at the base, which
adds, as I think, so much to the beauty of
R. Pentlandi. The plants grow in an inter-
mediate-house, in fairly rich soil. D. Buchanan,
Bargany Gardens, Dailly, Ayrshire.

laburnum sports.— The shoot which I for-
ward for your inspection was taken from an
old Laburnum tree on the estate of Mrs.
Murray, Mytchett Place, Primley. There are
to be seen three distinct varieties of colour,
viz., yellow, and the two enclosed. The purple
piece has quite a different habit from the
others, it comes out of the stems in the shape
of a bird's nest, or those with shoots seen
sometimes on the Birch. What is also singular
are shoots, 4 or 5 feet long, furnished with
brick-red coloured flowers, and at the end of
these shoots, 3 or 4 feet of yellow, which
makes the tree a very interesting object. I
might here notice the small-flowered pieces
enclosed grows upright, and does not attain
more than a foot or so in length ; there are
three of these sports in the tree. Reheard
Bennett, Farnborongh. Hampshire. [Cytisus
Adami , the result of budding Cytisus pur-
pureus on to C. Laburnum. Ed.]

CORONATION ITEMS.
We are receiving numerous enquiries and
telegrams daily, asking for quotations for
distinct colours of Eoses, particularly crimson,
one enquiry being for 5,000. Owing to the
late season and cold nights, we are unable to
guarantee delivery for a large number for
Coronation week. Certainly the outlook at
present is not at all encouraging to Rose-
growers. Last season, at this time, we were
cutting a fair quantity of blooms from plants
in the open. Jubilee year, 1897, we supplied
from 12,000 to 13,000. D. Prior & Sons, Col-
chester.

I fear the outdoor Roses will not be in
bloom till after the Coronation, so that I have
not at present heard of any very large orders
for Roses, probably because they are not to
be had in quantity. There will probably be
more demand next week, as the Coronation
itself seems to dwarf everything else. We
have had splendid rains, and the Roses will, I
think, be extra good when they do come ; but
they will be quite a fortnight behind their
usual time. Geo. Mount, Canterbury.

©bftuan?.

Edward Evans. — We regret to record
the death of this gentleman, which occurred
suddenly on Saturday, the 14th, at Rosedale,
Bowness, Westmoreland. Death was due to
heart failure. He was the only son of Mr.
George Evans, farm bailiff to "the late Earl
of Stamford, Enville Hall, Staffordshire.
Before coming into Westmoreland, he was
in the gardens of the Duke of Devon-
shire, Chatsworth. At the age of twenty-
seven he was appointed head gardener to
the late Rev. Thomas Sfaniforth, Stores,
Windermere. Of late years he had been with
Captain Armitage, Waterside. He was well
known in the district, and for many years was
judge at the principal flower shows in the
North. The funeral took place at the Bow-
ness Cemetery. Mr. Evans leaves a widow
and three sons and four daughters.

Societies.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.

June 24, 25.— The Holland House Coronation Rose
Show has been held, but an event that has been looked
forward to with an unusual amount of interest has
suffered from several untoward circumstances, that
somewhat marred its success. Essentially regarded for
many months as a Rose Show, it has proved to bean
exhibition of a very miscellaneous character, in which
Roses were perhaps the weakest feature. This was the
result of the exceptionally bad weather, and everyone
expected it. Of quite different and more serious nature
was the announcement at noon on Tuesday that, owing
to the serious illness of H.M. The Kino, the Coronation
would necessarily be postponed, with all its attendant
festivities. At Holland House the Royal Horse Guard's
Band was to have played during the afternoon, but an
order from the War Office peremptorily demanding
that all soldiers should be confined to barracks,
prevented any music whatever.

Under all the circumstances, it is not surprising that
considerable gloom was observable at a time when the
event should have been at its best. Everyone deplores
the circumstances, and above all the cause of them.

The show itself was a very pretty one, exhibiting
considerable deviation from the excessively hard and
fast rules that are necessary in the grounds of the
Inner Temple. There were five tents, besides the
special exhibit of Messrs. Sutton & Sons, and on the
whole they provided a covered area of about 12,000
square feet.

Throughout the afternoon, there was a large and
fashionable attendance, and as the lovely gardens
attached to the house were thrown open on Tuesday in
the interests of the two horticultural charities, by the
kindness of Lord Ilchestee, we believe these deserving
institutions will benefit to a considerable extent.

Floral Committee.

Present : J. F. McLeod, John Jennings, Jas. Hudson,
W. Howe, E. Molyneux, C. R. Fielder, R. Dean, G.
Reuthe, Rev. F. Page Roberts, Charles Blick, W. P.
Thomson, W. J. James, R. W. Wallace, E. H. Jenkins, W.
Bain, Herbert J. Cutbush, Chas. Jeffries, W. Cuthbert-
son, R. Wilson Ker, N. F. Barnes, J. H. Fitt, C. W.
Kuowlcs, and Chas. T. Druery.

GROUPS OF STOVE PLANTS.
Mr. H. B. May, Dyson's Road Nursery, Upper Ed-
monton, had a very fine group of plants in the tent
containing the Orchids. Ferns were, as usual, in Mr.
May's exhibits, a feature; and the small groups of
Adiantum tenerum A. Farleyense, single plants of Poly-
podium Mayi, very choice^varieties of Gymnogramma,
Cheilanthes tomentosa, Davallia fijiensis gracillima,
<fcc, were exceedingly pretty. Then, too, we noticed
excellent plants of Aralia elegantissima, A. Veitchi,
Dieffenbachia Jenmani, Asparagus Sprengeri compacta,
Phrynium variegatum, of capital colour, 4c, A col-

lection of very highly coloured Codi;rum9 included the
varieties Thomsoni, Prince of Wales, Comte de Ger-
miny, superba, Golden Gem, Flambeau, &c. There
were also select varieties of Cordylines (Dracaenas).

In addition to the Ferns and foliage plants shown by
Mr. H. B. May', that exhibitor had a very extensive
group of Pelargoniums (zonal), double and single
flowered, also Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums, <fcc. All of
them were very bright in colour, and were strongly
grown.

A well grown miscellaneous group was shown by
Jeremiah Colman, Esq., Gatton Park, Reigate (gr.,
Mr. W. P. Bound), Coditcums forming the backbone of
the display, fully coloured in the majority of the
plants ; Queen Victoria, Weisemani, Lady Zetland,
Smithiana, having the highest coloured foliage.

Messrs. Sander's Pandanus Sanderi was a fine plant
with the white variegation well brought out ; Dracaena
Sanderi, two examples of which were admirable ; the
creamy-white variegated Dracaena Alexandra? well
exhibited its worth as a decorative subject ; Ficus pan-
durata was shown with foliage 9 inches long and 6 inches
broad ; Alocasia Alexandra Regina, a fine decorative
plant with whitish ribs and dark green ground (new
plant) ; Dracaena Broomfieldi, a species with pure
white variegation, and close compact habit; Heliconia
Edwardus Rex, a splendid plant with Canna-like foliage
of crimson colour, and the same coloured petioles (new
plant); Tillandsia vera, Vriezias, including V. Ger-
minyana with tessellated leaves, and of a dwarf habit.
We noted on a side table a small group containing
Acalypha Sanderi; alba, with tails of creamy-white ;
Helicoma Sanderi, &c, Asparagus Sprengeri varie-
gatus, with cladodes of a whitish tint, a big example
with branches 6 feet long. Several Nepenthes were
shown in this exhibit.

Messrs. Wood & Sons, Wood Green, London, N., ex-
hibited a group of plants in pots and in baskets, illus-
trating their handsome wire baskets, specially designed
for use in decorative arrangements connected with the
Coronation.

Aquilegias, or the old Columbines, were shown
extensively and well by Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons,
Swanley, Kent, who put up in the Orchid-tent a very
large number of bunches of these fragrant flowers,
which nowadays exhibit so many tints of colour. This
was a very fine exhibit.

The best exhibit of tuberous-rooted Begonias we
have seen this season was put up by Messrs. B. R.
Davis & Sons, Yeovil Nurseries, Somerset. It
stretched upwards of 200 feet along the side stage
in the Orchid tent, and every plant was ex-
ceedingly well grown. New varieties were plen-
tiful, aud in the single and double - flowered
sections alike, they were of the largest size, and most
brilliant colours. Some of the more prominent of the
double varieties included Hawk, double crimson ; The
Sirdar, double orange-scarlet; Fire Queen, 6 inches
across, bright scarlet; Prince George, Ben Davis,
apricot colour; The King, rose colour, exceedingly
large ; Coronation, wonderfully bright orange colour,
very distinct ; De Wet, pink, &c. There were crested
and fimbriated varieties also, and a single-flowered one
named Leopard, curiously mottled, scarlet and white.

fiegmiias.— Messrs. J. Peed & Sons, nurserymen, West
Norwood, staged a good collection of Begonias which included
of double varieties, Lord Kitchener, scarlet; Princess of
Wales, white; John Peed, salmon; Lord Roberts, crimson;
Cherub, orange, very fine ; Maid of Honour, pale orange ;
Florian, bright rose ; The Queen, salmon ; Roupell, cream ;
Trince of Wales, deep crimson ; and, in addition, some very
fine single varieties, and also four boxes of fine blooms of
double and single varieties.

In a general collection of plants, Mr. H. J. Joxes, Rye-
croft Nursery, Lewisham, had some fine single Begonias :
Sylvia, white ; Jealousy, yellow ; Mrs. L. Lunt, fine salmon ;
and of double, S. T. reters, fine crimson, the flowers fringed ;
Ai-thur Wain, bright scarlet ; Ellen Terry, pink, arranged
with Pelargoniums and foliaged plants, Astilbe Silver
Sheath, Acalypha hispida, &c.

fffoxtm'aff.— A showy group of these was shown by Messrs.
James Carter & Co., High Holborn, W.C. ; a very good
strain. At the hack of the plants was a large cone of Lily of
the Valley, the whole frind with foliage plants.

Messrs. Sctton &- S<>xs, Reading, exhibited a group of their
excellent Gloxinias, in a huge " Wardian-case-like " structure,
10 ft. square each way, and very lofty. The style of arrange-
ment permitted the plants to be seen perfectly, and tastefully
interspersed with Adiantums, and this novel system of dis-
play was much admired. The principal varieties were Scarlet
Queen, Duke of York, Reading Scarlet, Her Majesty (white),
Violet Queen. Spotted hybrids. Sutton's Purple Empress, &c.

June 28, 1902.J

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

441

&c, and every one of the plants was an illustration of high
class cultivation.

Rhododendrons.— A very fine bank of these was staged by
Messrs. John Wateber & Sons, nurserymen, Bagshot. It
included several very fine varieties, such as Viscount Powcrs-
irtmrt, bright rose heavily spotted ; Marchioness of Twee-
dale, very bright rose, yellow centre, fine pip and truss
Lady Clementine Walsh, blush edging on a white ground,
with very large petals and free-blooming ; and Lady Hilling,
don, pearly- white with yellow centre, and very fine truss, a
very hardy variety; others were Marquis of Waterford,
bright rose, light centre ; Duchess of Connaught, white, with
yellow centre ; Kate "Waterer, very fine ; Sappho, white, with
heavy chocolate blotches ; Princess of "Wales, white, the
flower edged pink ; Helen "Waterer, white, scarlet edge ; R. "W.
Elliott, bright pink, well spotted and very fine, one.of the
latest flowering varieties ; Profusion, blush white, yellow
centre, very free ; and Mum, clear white, one of the best.
This collection was edged with plants of Kalmia latifolia.

Miscellaneous Plants. — A very fine and imposing collection
of plants was staged by Messrs. James Veitch & Sons,
Kings Road, Chelsea. This included Palms, such fine C'rotons
as Prince of "Wales, "Warreni, Reidi, &c. ; Lilium Henryi,
Medinilla magnifica, fine pieces of Nepenthes sanguinea,
distillatoria, Curtisii superba, Mastersii, mixta and
Amesiana, Kalanchoe flammea, very handsome Streptocarpus,
Dracsena Goldicana, Elseocarpus reticulatus, a white-flowered
evergreen cold greenhouse shrub ; Alocasia "Watsoniana,
Solanum "Wendlandi ; Dracaena Godsefliana, cut branches of
which will stand in water for three or four weeks, and some
very attractive Orchids.

A group of mixed plants was exhibited also by Messrs.
H. Low & Co., Bush Hill Nursery, Enfield, who had Palms,
Fuchsias, Hydrangeas, blue and pink flowered Crotons,
Dacaenas, Liliums, Anthurium Scherzerianum, Pimelia
mirabilis, Pandanus, Tremandra verticillata, Draeophyllum
gracile, &c.

Mr. "William Iceton, nurseryman, Putney, had a group
of Lily of the Valley, backed by fine foliage and flowering
plants, all neatly edged with small foliaged plants.

Messrs. Geo. Buntakd & Co., nurserymen, Maidstone,
in addition to Fruit, had a very interesting collection of hardy
and Alpine plants, which included Iris, Gaillardias, Lupinus,
Hedysarum multijugum, Geum miniatum, Pteonies, Sedum
Kamschaticum, Heuchera maerantha, H. brizoides graeil-
lima, Saxifraga longifolia, Pentstemon digitata, Iris spuria,
blue, and I. Madame Patti, yellow, with dark falls, &c.

Messrs. J. Cypher & Sons, Queen's Nursery, Cheltenham,
set up in the large tent a group of plants, in which Orchids
figured very largely, and brilliant foliage plants, which made
the hues of flowers more particularly striking and effective.
It was generally admitted that this was one of the best
things of the kind that Messrs. Cypheh had ever accom-
plished. It was the admiration of all who saw it. To describe
its details would fail to give any approximate idea of its
exquisite beauty.

Messrs. J. Hill & Son, nurserymen, Lower Edmonton,
also had a very fine feature in the large tent, in the form of a
collection of Ferns of very high excellence. The system of
naming adopted made it very difficult to gather up a list of
the leading sorts shown ; but Pteris tricolor could be seen
very richly marked. Other fine ferns were Adiantum macro-
phyllum, A. rodophyllum, A. scutum roseuni, Chcilanthes
elegans, Adiantum tinctum, "Woodwardia orientalis, Pteris
Smithiana, &c, and there were charming panels of Saxifraga
sarmentosa variegata very richly coloured.

Messrs. Fisher, Son & Sibrav, Handsworth Nur-
series, Sheffield, had a superb group. Among the
novelties in plants were Aralia crassifolia, with its
peculiar pendent growth, and two fine examples of
A. pulchra, both very handsome. Anthurium sanguineum
of very fine colour. Nepenthes cylindrica, Phormium tenax
nana purpurea, a very distinct form, quite new, fte. The whole
was surmounted by noble pilms and rich-leaved Codiieums :
C. Her Majasty and C. Reidi were particularly noticeable.

Messrs. Blackhore & Lanqdox, Bath, showed a very fine
lot of tuberous Begonias, flowers of remarkable size and good
form, as may he gathered from the fact that seveial
obtained the Award of Merit, The certificated kinds will be
found under awards.

CARNATIONS.

A really magnificent collection was staged by MARTIN
R. Smith, Esq., Hayes Common (gr., Mr. C. Blick),
which Included some magnificent Malmaison varieties,
such as Calypso, fine blush; Mrs. Marlin R. Smith, a
very pleasing pink; King Oscar, brigl it scarlet; Mrs
Trclawny, orange red; Miss Maud Sullivan (new),
orange scarlet; Mrs. George Dcvas (new), pale orange
scarlet ; Lawford (new), crimson ; Yaller Gal mew), soft
yellow; Sarah Bernhardt (new), soft pink with slight
blotches of rose; and such border varieties as the
Yellow Leaf Cecilia, shown in splendid character;

Orient.creainy ground edged with purple, Lily Duchess,
fancy yellow ground, edged with rose ; Araphion,
fancy yellow edged with bright rose ; Paladin, cream
ground edged with crimson; Horsal, a fine picotee
edged with deep rose ; Othello, creamy ground, edged
with cerise ; Childe Harold ; Countess of Verulam,
yellow ground, edged with bright rose, etc. This fine
collection was admirably arranged by Mr. C. Blick.

Messes. W. Cutisush & Son, The Nurseries, Highgate,
N., had a large and very imposing group of Carnations
backed with Palms, Bamboos, &c, and included such
flowering plants as Lantanas in variety, Ericas hybrida
Cavendishiana, Ventricosa in varieties, &c, in the
foreground being a fine cone of Carnation Cecilia and
another of popular border varieties. The group con-
tained several new forms of Malmaison, such as
Maggie Hodgson, deep crimson and clove-scented,
Albion Scarlet, Florizel bright Scarlet, Baldwin,
pink ; Monk, cerise crimson ; Juliette, crimson ;
Lady Rose, rose ; Mrs. M. R. Smith, flesh colour .
and such fine border varieties as Cecilia, in very fine
character ; Isinglass Vashti, a yellow ground splashed
with red; Mrs. Trcmayne ; The Procter, yellow ground
edged with salmon ; Monarch ; Mrs. Nicholson, self-
pink ; Lady Mimi, salmon ; &c. ; with Verbena Miss
Willmott, a very attractive pink variety.

Mr. Chas. Turner, Royal Nurseries, Slough, showed
some cut flowers of varieties of Carnations, most of
them new border varieties, but including a few of the
Souvenir de la Malmaison section.

HARDY FLOWERS.

As may naturally be expected, the hardy flowers con-
stituted not merely a gay portion of this remarkable
exhibition, but also a formidable item in their great
array and variety Indeed it is doubtful whether
these flowers have ever been so well seen before, the
plants and flowers, by the greater admissible space,
telling to great advantage. We take them, therefore,
as we find them in the tents for convenience sake.

The Messrs. Paul & Son, Old Nurseries, Clieshunt,
set up a nice lot of things, of which we noted Heuchera
hybrida, with rosy flowers; Lychnis tlos cuculi
tl.-pl., Lupinus arboreus Snow Queen ; some noble
towering spikes, five feet long, of Verbascum olym_
picum, Linum arborcum, Campanula mirabilis,
large blue bells, Orchis foliosa, Tropieolum poly-
phyllums, P;eonia Whitleyi, snow white petals, with a
tuft of gold anthers ; Gunnera scabra, Onosina, Double
Rockets, Columbines, and many others. All were set
up in good fashion, the value of the items being well
seen.

Mr. M. Prichard, Christchurch, Hants, followed
with a splendid arrangement of the better things in
tine masses; some of the best were Coronilla iberica,
Orchis maculata, Tropseolum Lcichtlini, Diantlius
annulatus and Papaver pilosum. These were supple-
mented by large groups of Pyrcthrums, of Spanish
Irises, of Oriental Poppies, Lupines, Senecio, Doroni-
cum, &c. Salvia Denori is also a notable thing in blue-
ilowered plants.

Mr. A. W. Wade, Colchester, showed Poppies, Ixias,
Spanish Irises, Hieracium villosum, and other showy
subjects in some variety.

Messrs. Geo. Jackman & Sons, Woking, again put up
one of their characteristic displays, embodying Alpines
with the best of herbaceous things. Among the fore-
most things were Ramondias, single and double I'inks,
Aubrietias, Lilium Henryi, Delphinuin cashinerianus,
Orchis foliosa, hardy Cypripediums, Diantlius Napo-
leon III., D. caesium. Edelweiss, Campanula muralis,
the pretty pink Lychnis Lagaca\ the cobweb Semper-
vivura, masses of Incarvillea, Dictamnus fraxinella,
hosts of Irises in several sections, and many more.
All beautiful and gay and fresh.

Sweet Peas were a chief exhibit of Messrs. Jones k
Sons, ^Shrewsbury, who had a fine display of these
indispensable (lowers. A few of the best were Duchess
of Westminster, buff; Princess of Wales, rose, lovely
pink; lion. Mrs. G. Kcnyon, nearly yellow, and very
lino Salopian crimson; Lady Grisel Hamilton, pale
mauve; Queen Victoria, buff; Black Knight, gorgeous
&G , &0. In all there were lifty-live varieties shown,
and with Spanish Iris and other flowers made a tine
display.

Mr. R. C. NOTCuTT, Ipswich, set up a line gTOUp of

Arototee grandis in full bloom, the Bower beads huge,

and in capital condition.

Mr. T. S.Wahe, Feltham, Ltd., had an excellent group
of tlic holder things, » itli a nicely set up lot of Alpines
in the centre. The plants were very numerous, and but
a fragment only can be given. Ox these the finest things
were Verbaicum olympicum, Pseonia albiflora, a grand

lot. Diantlius neglectus, Heueheras in grand masses;
Ostrowskia magnifica, Paeouia Whiteleyi, Watsonia
O'Brieni, Lilium excclsum, L. rubellum, Thalictrums,
Edelweiss, etc. Delphiniums, early Phloxes, Pyrcth-
rums, and others were well shown.

A new Heleuium is H. grandicephalum atropurpu.
reum, a nearly crimson self, that should prove of
service.

Mr. Amos Perry, Winohmore Hill, upon this occasion
surpassed himself in a really stupendous exhibit of the
best things in commerce. The hosts of the hardy things
we can hardly allude to, but we cannot omit what was
indeed a bright idea as well as a novel feature of the
exhibit. This is the water garden study at one end of
the group. Here were seen small glass aquaria in
variety, filled with a great variety of plants, and sur-
rounded with suitable growing marsh oraquatic plants.
Words can hardly do justice to the cooling as well as
pleasing effect of this novel departure, aud Mr. Perry
is certainly to be congratulated upon the innovation.
The arrangement extended over the central table, and
in the front were shallow tanks of the newer Marliac
Water Lilies. In these we noted the somewhat tender
kinds, such as stellata var. zanzibarensis rubra, quite
a new shade in these beautiful semi-hardy kinds. Of
other sorts William Doogue, a grand white, Marliacea
carnea, Laydeckcri prolifera, and many others. Indeed,
some twenty-two kinds in all were shown. In addition,
such things as Nupliar primula, Osmundas, Chryso-
bactron Hookeri, Gunneras, Alismas, Myriophyllum,
Proserpinoides, all assisted in the make up of a
realistic water-garden in miniature. The hosts of
hardy flowers, Irises, Calochorti, Diantlius alpinus (a
charming lot), and many others in large, telling blocks
were all beautiful and interesting, but space forbids
the enumeration of a class of plants for which Mr.
Perry has long been noted.

The Messrs. Wallace & Co., Colchester, departed
from their usual method by arranging their groups of
well-grown plants on the grass. In this way every-
thing was seen to advantage. Indeed, one looked down
upon a border of flowers which, if garish by the
restricted space of the tents, at least gave a natural
view to the things as a whole. In this way Peeonies,
Spanish Irises, the lovely Calochorti, Inula glandulosa,
Heueheras, such as H. sanguinea. II. brizoides gracil-
lima and others were very tine. In addition many
Irises of the I. spuria group, I. sibirica, in variety,
Lilium Henryi very flue. Gerbcra Jamesoni, Inula
grandulosa, Achillea mongolica, pure white, with many
Liliums, Lupines, Dictamnus, Pa-onios and other showy
flowers made up a really line display. Sparaxis Fire
King was indeed brilliant, and attracted much atten-
tion.

.Vcssrs. W. Cutbush it Sons, Highgate, showed the
new Anemone flowered Marguerite, Chrysanthemum
Erutescens Coronation, a pure white sport from the
type, There must have been some 300 or more plants
shown.

Messrs. DoisBiE it Co., Rothesay, showed hybrid
Columbines, Violas and Sweet Teas in all their charm-
ing and well-known varioU .

The Messrs. Baku it Sons, Covent Garden, filled the
entire side of one tent with their famous hardy flower.
There were Pansics, Flag Irises, Oriental Popples,
Pyrethrums, Delphiniums, Poppies of the nudicaule
section, Pinks, double and single flowered, early
Phloxes, Lyclmis llaageaua. Iris orientalis, and others,
in such masses as to defy description. The masse-
were well disposed on this occasion, and with greater-
space displayed their kind to advantage. In addition,
a great number of smaller yet rarer tilings were shown,
and of thesewe notice Phlox ovata, Dictamnus, Lychnis,
llaageana, very line; the pure while Extern Iris, 1.
orientalis, Snow Queen, a pure white llowcr of some
worth. Apart from these the firm bad a large group of
the Japanese Pigmy Trees, not a few Of the example-,
ranging from thirty to forty years old. Some, indeed,
as Larix leptolcpis, was stated to bo fifty years. A
large number of rhuia obtusa was shown.

Lobelia, Chapman's King Edward, a deep purplo
blue, with white eye, was shown byMr.W, I. CHAPMAN.
Grangemouth, and Viola Maggie Molt, soft mauve, was
from Mr. F. Buhdett, Sunuingdale, Berks.

Messrs. Kei.way ,t Sons, Langport, Somerset, had
a liuo lotof Pa-anies and Delphiniums, the great variety
far too numerous to mention. Portia in the former
was a Bnejwhite. Sir Aga Khan pink with gold anthers.
Miss Ada Chamber's Satin pink were among the finer.

Mr. u. Bysxnhah, Birmingham, showed sweet I'cas
in variety, and Mr. W. J. Godi uv\ some line Popples,

Messrs. J. Lainu it Sons showed Thyn'las i I c [hnea,
with Irises, Diantlius and other hardy flowers. Uuior-

442

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[Junk 28, 100?.

Innately stove and greenhouse thiDgs were mingling
•with hardy things in this lot, and it was not possible
to make separate lists.

Mr. B. S. Williams, Holloway, showed Spanish Iris
in the usual market massed bunches together with
Verbena Miss Willmott, a line pink ; Spiraea astil-
boides, lxias and other flowers.

Messrs. Carter A Sons, Holborn, showed a collection
of Pigmy trees in which Juniperus chineosis procum-
\>eus was noticeable. In another direction Irises,
Lupins, Pyrethruins. Alpines, were arranged in a
miniature vockery and in vases.

Sweet Peas were shown by Mr. Percy Waterer,
Xawkham, Kent, in great variety, and in nicely
arranged groups— in vases

The Misses Hopkins, Kuutsford, Cheshire, had a
small bank of Alpines, and other dwarf plants in a
bank of moss.

GROUP OF HARDY .PLANTS ARRANGED ON THE
TURF OUT-OF-DOORS.

These groups in every case abutted on the various
marquees and faced inwards to the area set apart for
promenading.

Thos. Ceifps & Son, Tunbridge Wells Nurseries,
Kent, exhibited a large group of tall and dwarf plants
of Japanese Maples, comprising most known varieties.
There were some handsome specimens, and showing
food cultivation. The plants were well established in
pots, good for planting in the open ground, or for
(conservatory decoration. Many were fairly regular
standards, and the remainder spreading bushss.

Messrs. j. Cheal & Sons, Crawley, Sussex, showed a
group of about 80 square yards in area, consisting of a
miscellaneous assortment of flowering and foliage
plants of a hardy nature. Notable species and varie-
ties were tree Ivy, 11. marmorata variegata, Spiraea
Frobelli variegata, Robiuia pseudo-acacia aurea, a sofl
jellow tint of foliage; Abies pungens glauca, capital
examples; many RetiDosporas, Cupressus, Taxus,
including T. baccata erecta semper aurea, Thuia,
with yellow variegation more or less constant the
entire year, Cupressus Lawsoniana Wesslii, has an
intensely dark green foliage, which is very compact
and close to the shoots, making a neat pyramid or
column; Juniperus virginiana Schotti, Cupressus
thyoides variegata, Picea nobilis glauca, a golden form
of Juniperus communis, Abies excelsa Maxwelli, appa-
rently a dwarf form; Abies Hookeriana, Arthrotaxus
imbricata, a golden variety of the Deodar Cedar; a nice
vigorous tree of Salisburia adiantifolia, Andromeda
japonica, Kalmias, Cornus mas elegantissima, Cedrus
Terticillata glauca, with blue-green needles; Quercus
purpurea, and other species.

Mr. Henry Dreer, 71, Chestnut Street, Philadelphia,
exhibited flower-bud i of Nymphaea James lirydon,
N. Wm. Daogue, N. alba var. Gladstonei, and N.
tuberosa var. Richardsoni.

Messrs. W. COTBUSH & Son, Highgate, N, and Barnet,
Herts, exhibited an immense number of plants cut
into the shapes of birds in variety, serpents, ships,
baskets, wheelbarrows, crowns, and an arm-chair. Box
»jid common Yew were exclusively employed.

Messrs. John Laing & Sons, Forest Hill and Cat-
i'ord, exhibited a miscellaneous group of hardy sub-
jects, such as Rhododendron hybridum in variety, of
which Doncaster, a vivid crimson, was very noticeable
for its tint; Kalmia latifolia, Acers, including A. eora-
tensis.withgrcen, palmate foliage; Abies pungens glauca,
Cupressus macrocarpa lutea, Nandida do.nestica, Mai-
lotus japonicus, variegated and tree Hederas.

Messrs. W. Fromow & Sons, Sutton Court Nurseries,
Chiswick, set up a large-sized group of Japanese Maples
in great variety, the edging to the group being formed
of pot plants of Aralia pentaphylla variegata. Among
the Maples and in the front of the group well bloomed
examples of Lilium auratum were arranged.

Messrs. J. Veitch &. Sons, King's Road, Chelsea, ex-
hibited a circular group 20 ft. in diameter of their choice
hybrid Aquilegias, showing lovely shades of colour,
and blossoms of greatly improved size. Dotted about
in the group were very strong shafts of Eremurus
lobustus in various stages of development ; and sur-
rounding this group stood Bamboos, Arundinarias,
tall and dwarf, in tubs and pots.

Mr. John Russell, Richmond Nurseries, Richmond,
showed a well arranged group of hardy subjects in con-
siderable variety. Amongst the plants were Tree Ivies,
Japanese Maples, Dimorphanthus mandshuricus foliis
argenteus marginatus in several examples; Desfon-
tanea spin osa variegata, Ela'agnus macrophylla, Ptelia
trifoliata aurea, Sweet Bays, Robinia hispida, &c.
Messrs. Wm. Cutuush & Son, Highgate, London, N.,

and Barnet, Herts, showed plants of a new polyantha
Rose, obtained from Rosa Wichuriana crossed with
Madame Gabrielle Luizet. The flowers are rich pink
colour, passing to white, very attractive, and recom-
mended as a good variety for forcing.

Messrs. J. Peed & Sons, Roupell Park Nurseries,
West Norwood, exhibited a group of attractive
Gloxinias.

Awards.
First-class Certificate.

Asparagus myriocladus. — A dcnsely-clothed species of
a dark green colour. From Mr. R. Greenfield, Jun.,
17, Bath Street, Leamington Spa.

Awards of Merit.

Iris Sunshine.— A flag Iris, having the lower petals
yellowy-white, and the standards yellow. From Mr.
G. Yeld, York.

Rhododendron Lady Clementine Walsh, — A. white flowei't
shaded pink. From Messrs. John Watereb & Sons,
Bagshot.

Iris orientalis, Snow Queen.— A good white form of the
well-known Iris orientalis. and a good plant withal.

Sparaxis Fire King.— A most showy kind with crimson
and black flowers of large size with golden centre-
From Messrs. Wallace & Co.. Colchester.

Begonia Masterpiece. — A fine crimson self, certainly
the masterpiece of self Begonias.

Begonia Miss Dorothy Hardwiek — Soft pink, a large
flower of greit size, orange or salmon shade, very
remarkable in its great proportions. These were shown
by Messrs. Blackmore & Lanodon, Bath.

Orchid Committee.

Present: Harry J. Veitch, Esq., in the Chair; and
Messrs. Jas. O'Brien (Hon. Sec), J. Douglas, H. J.
Chapman, J. W. Odell. H. Little, F. A. Rehder, H. A.
Tracy, W. Boxall, W. H. White, W. H. Young, N. C.
Cookson. .1. Charlesworth. J. Cohnan, H. M. Pollett, F.
Sander, F. W. Ashton, H. T. Pitt, W. A. Bilney, and
J. Cypher.

As at the Temple shows, so also at Holland House,
the Orchids formed the leading feature. The fresh
greensward on which the tents were erected helped
in the effective arrangement of the plants, and was
otherwise good for the many valuable specimens
staged, and both the plants and the exhibitors of them
were more comfortably accommodated than is usual at
large shows.

The magnificent group of about J00 beautiful speci-
mens, occupying about 350 square feet, stiged by
Messrs. Sander & Sons, of St. Albans, will long be
remembered by Orchid experts, those present gene-
rally conceding that it was, viewed from all points, the
finest group of Orchids ever staged, and in which not
a siugle plant unworthy of the show stand could be
found. The method of exhibiting here adopted by
Messrs. Sander & Sons might well be adopted by
exhibitors generally, many of whom utterly spoil
the effect of their best plants by filling in with
them almost every plant obtainable in flower. In
Messis. Sander's group every plant stood out by itself,
the more prominent being raised on little hillocks of
short green moss, a material which formed the setting
of the whole group. Forms of Odontoglo.-sum crispum
were there in bewildering profusion. Connoisseurs
hovered round the fine blotched and spotted varieties,
but there were not wanting many lovers of plants, and
especially ladies, who admired the pure white forms
most. Of these, O. c. Mrs. 11. G. Moon was a charming
example, its large white flower being of perfect shape,
the lip only bearing a horse-shoe belt of brown in
front of the yellow crest. Of the finely blotched forms,
many of which secured honours before the Orchid
Committee, and will be found in the list of Awards,
were O. c. Princess Alexandra, ;a beautifully-fringed
and blotched flower ; O. c. Duke of Connaught, a
fine white, tinged with purple, and blotched with
orange-brown ; O. c. Imperatrix, O. c. Her Majesty,
and O. c. Princess Helen, all of which three secured
awards; O. c. Princess Marie, milk-white, blotched
with purple, and a number of other fine spotted
fjrms. At the back were fine hybrid LsBlio
Cattleyas profusely flowered ; forms of Miltonia
vexillaria, remarkable for their large flowers and
varied tints, though none were comparable with
the large pure whitest, v. Princess Alexandra. At one
end of the group was a splendid plant of Epidendrum
prismato carpum, with eighteen spikes ; and selecting
the most prominent in the body of the group we noted
Loelio-Cattleya Memoria Baroness Schroder, a very

richly coloured llower; fine forms of L.-C. x Can-
hamiana, L.-C. x Aphrodite, L.-C. x Henry Greenwood,
L.-C. x Martinetii, and other La>lio-Cattleyas, one of
the prettiest being the fine white and ruby-purple
L. C. x Our Queen ; Cattleya x H. G. Selfridge (superba
x Aclandise), a pretty rose-purple novelty; the new
C. x Prince Edward ; a pretty specimen of the orange-
scarlet Cochlioda Noezliana with many spikes; the
yellow hybrid Phaius Ashworthianus ; some good
examples of Cypripedium Lawrenceanum and other
Cypripediums, and notable representatives of many
other fine things.

Sir Frederick Wigan, Bart., Clare Lawn, East
Sheen (gr., Mr. W. H. Young), staged a very effective
group, in which the varieties of Cattleya Mossiss and
other Cattleyas and L;elio-Cattleyas were well repre-
sented. Of C. Mossiae were C. M. E. Ashworth, and
C. M. eoelestis, both with a lavender tint; C. M. Rei-
neckiana, C. M. Wageneri. with three fine white
flowers ; C. M. Pride of Ladysmith, of the Arnoldiana
class, and C. M. fulgens, fine in colour and shape. Of
Cattleya Mendeli were CM. Nellie Wigan, a very pretty
variety ; Loelio-Cattleya x Canhamiana bore eleven
flowers; L.-C. x C. marginata and L.-C. xC. Lady Wigan,
were both distinct; L.-C. x Wigania? bore four fine
flowers with bronzy sepals and petals, and claret and
rose lip; L.-C. x eximia, L -C. x Hippolyta Langley-
ensis, and L.-C. x Arnoldiana, were also fine. Two
fine plants of Sobralia macrantha alba bore between
them twenty-eight flowers and buds; Loelia Digbyana
three flowers. Odontoglossum x crispo-IIarryanum
spectabile, a fine spike; and some fine Phaloenopsis
and other things were represented by cut spikes.

Mr. A. A. Peeters, Brussels, showed cut flowers of
Lielio-Cattleya x Martinetii, and a plant which was said
to be a fine variety of it named " Coronation." A grand
llower of fine form and shape.

Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Bush Hill Park, staged a
good group of L;elias, Cattleyas, &0., together with
Vanda Hookeriana, V. x Miss Joaquim, Cypripedium
Lawrenceana Hyeanum "Vanner's" variety, Lselio-
Cattleya x Canhamiana, L.-C. x Pallas, Masdevallia
muscosa, <£e.

Messrs. Stanley, Ashton & Co., Southgate had an
effective group of Odontoglossum crispum, La?lia tene-
brosa, L. Digbyana, L -C. X Massangeana, and other
La'lio - Cattleyas. Cattleya Mendeli Liptoui was a
charming blush-white, with purple blotch on the lip ;
and other things noted were Taunia Bensonise, and
some good Cypripediums.

Messrs. Charlesworth & Co., Heaton, Bradford,
arranged a good group, in which their hybrid Orchids
and good Odontoglossumswere well represented. Good
novelties were Odontoglossum x Harryano-triumphans,
O. x Alexandra Regina, between O. Schlieperianum
and O. grande; O. crispum punctatissimum Princess
Maude, La?lio-Cattleya x Lady Miller in variety, L.-C.
x Canhamiana alba, L.-C. x G. S. Bull ; and in the
group were many pretty and rare species.

Messrs. John Cowan & Co., Gateacre, Liverpool,
showed a good group of Odontoglossums, Cypri-
pediums, Cattleyas, Lfelias, &c.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, had a collection
of forms of Loelio-Cattleya x Canhamiana, and other
hybrids, and a very pretty large white Cattleya Mossiae.

Messrs. Fisher, Son & Sibray, Handsworth, in their
group had a large number of good Orchids, the gem
being the finely-blotched Odontoglossum crispum Sir
Alfred Milner, which will develop intoa very handsome
variety.

Mr. Jas. Cypher's artistically arranged group de-
pended largely on the Orchids for the floral part,
and many good things were included, the most
effective use being made of all.

Jeremiah Colman, Esq. (gr., Mr. W. P. Bound),
staged a most interesting group all of fine quality, and
containing a large number of tine species and varie-
ties, Oncidium macranthum, Masdevallias and Odonto-
glossoms being specially good.

Awards.

First class Certificate.

Miltonia vexillaria Queen Alexandra, from Messrs.

Sander tfc Sons.— A charming flower of immense size,

pure white, with a slight tinge of yellow, and three

small purple lines in the centre.

Award of Merit.
Cattleya x Prince Edward (Schilljriana x Warscew-
iczii), from Sir Frederick Wigan, Bart., and Messrs.
Sander & Sons. —Sepals and petals purplish-rose, lip
veined and tinged with crimson-purple.

Jcne 28, 1902.]

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

44$

Miltonia vexUlaria gigantea, from Sir Frederick
Wioan. Bart, (gr , Mr. W. H. Young).— A fine flower, of
uniform carmine-crimson tint.

Sobralia x Wigunias, nat. hyb , from Sir Frederick
Wigan, Bart.— Sepals and petals yellowish, tinged with
lilac ; front of lip light rosy- purple.

Cgpripedium Godefroyse leucochi'un, " Hestle variety"
from W. P. Burkinshaw, Esq , Hessle. Hull (gr., Mr.
Barker).-A very fine yellowish flower, with the sepals
and petals bearing a broad network of purple.

Cattleya X Miss Harri*"suprrha "(Schillerianax Mossise),

from Stanley, Ashton & Co., Southgate.— Sepals and

petals purplish-rose ; lip formed like C. Schilleriana,

and of a glowing rosy-carmine colour, with darker

veining.

Awards of Merit.

Zygonisia X Rolfeana (Aganisia lepida X Zygopetalum
maxillare Gauticri), from Messrs. Sander & Sons.— A
pretty novelty of the general appearance of Zygo-Colax.
Flowers whitish, mottled with violet.

Odtmtoglossum crispum Imperatrix Reginse, from Messrs.
Sander & Sons. Flowers fine, tinged with purplish-
rose, with reddish-purple in the middle of eich seg-
ment, the colour being shown up by a central white
star round the column.

Odontoglossum crispum "Her Majesty."— Flower large
white and of fine shape, from Messrs. Sander & Sons.

Odontoglossum cri'pum " Princess Helen" from Messrs.
Sander & Sons. Apretty variety finely spotted.

Lsslio-Cattleya X Martinetti "Prince Arthur" from
Messrs. Sander & Sons. Sepals and petals greenish-
yellow, tinged with rose ; lip dark rose, veined purple.

Odontoglossum x Hartwegense, "Princess Margaret,"
from Messrs. Sander & Sons. A fine form of the plant
known as O. x loochristyense, with milk-white flowers
of fine substance, heavily blotched with red-brown.

Odontoglossum crispum "Princess Victoria," from
Messrs. Sander & Sons.

Odontoglossum crispum punctatissimum "Princess Maud,"
from Messrs. Charlesworth & Co.— A noble flower of
fine form, profusely spotted with purple, and tinged
with lilac.

Cultural Commendation.

To Mr. W. H. White, gr. to Sir Trevor Lawrence,
Bart., for a very fine plant of the remarkable Maxillaria
scurrilis, with many flowers.

Habenaria rhodocheila, with many spikes of orange-
scarlet flowers.

Fruit and Vegetable Committee.

Present : W. Bates, James Smith, W. Crump, A. Ward,
G. Norman, S. Mortimer, Ed. Beckett, Geo. NichoIsoD,
W. Fyfe, A. Dean, H. Eslings, Geo. Wythes, Chas.
Dixon, W. Pope, \V. Iggulden, G. Woodward, H. Bal-
dcrson, F. Q. Lane, J. Willard, A. Markham, Geo. Keif,
G. Reynolds, A. J. Wright, and Jno. Batcman.

From Captain Carstairs, Welford Park, Newbury
(gr., Mr. C. Ross), came a couple of seedling Melons,
both from crossing Hero of Lockinge with Banquet.
These were named Coronation and Baden Powell.
Neither, however, was worthy of an award.

Mr. S. Mortimer, Rowledge, Farnham, Surrey,
had three seedling Melons— The Queen, from Royal
Sovereign x Hero of Lockinge, very handsome, and
Progress from the same cross, and Advancer. No
award was made to either.

This exhibitor had a very fine collection of Tomato9
and Cucumbers, as well as some named Melons. The
Tomatos in boxes and dishes included Red Hipper 1st,
Peachblooin, Holmc9' Supreme, Red Dessert, Al.
Peerless, Winter Beauty, Tonder-and-Truc, Duke of
York, Abundance. Eclipse. Best-of-All, Perfection, Mag.
iiuin Honum, Futurity, and Wonder of Italy, th.- tun
latter having huge clusters of smallish fruits. Of yel-
lows there were Yellow Perfection, Golden Nugget,
Sunbeam, Golden Queen, and Dwarf Gem, very pale
colour.

The Cucumbers were in boxes, and included British
King, that received an Award of Merit at the recent
Temple Show. Express, lone and very handsome, and
Tender- and-True.

Mr. Meadows Brock of Charsticld, sent a rather
thick green Cucumber of no merit.

Messrs. T. Rivers it Sons, Sawbridgeworth, had in
one of the big plant tents a very line group of twenty-
six Cherries, Plums, Peaches, and Nectarines in pots
The Cherries hacking the group, gene ally tine trees]
and heavily fruited, were Empress Eugenie, Guigne
Annonay, Elton, May Inike, Belle Magnlflque, Lewis de
Burr, a huge tree with a splendid crop of fine white
fruit, Frogniorc Bigarreau, Early Rivers, and Governor

Wood. The Plums were Blue Black, Golden Trans-
parcnt,"and C'urle.v. Tiie Peaches were, Princess of
Wales, of huge size; Prince Ed ward, fruits good medium
size, richly coloured; Duke of York aud Early York ;
and of Nectarines, Cardinal, very fine and brilliant In
colour, and Victoria, just showing colour.

Messrs. G. Bunyard & Sons. Maidstone, had in the
same tent a very attractive exhibit of Cherries and
Apples. Of the former there were eighteen small but
well-fruited trees in pots, and in the front small
baskets containing picked samples of the varieties.
Of whiles. East Kent, Amber, Governor Wood, Elton
Heart, Kirkland, and Frogmore Bigarreau were tine. Of
reds, Mayduke, Archduke, Noir de Schmidt, and Belle
d'Orleans ; and of blacks, Early Lyons, Knight's
Early, Purple Guigne, Roundells, Bigarreau de
Schrecken, Ramon Oliva, and Guigne Annonay. Apples
in dishes were Tibbetfs Pearmain, Prince Albert,
Wadhurst Pippin, Hormead's Pearmain, Calville rouge,
High Canons, Calville Malingre, Wagoner, and Winter
Peach.

THE COMPETITIVE ROSE CLASSES.

At one time it seemed as if there would be no Roses
at all at the Holland House Show. The weather during
May and June has been worse than any Rose grower has
previously known it to be, and those who had cultivated
their plants with a regard to the weather that might
ordinarily be expected, and entered their exhibits
under the same circumstances, have been grievously
disappointed. At the same time, there is some satis-
faction to be obtained from the fact that the weather
for several days prior to the show was better than in
the preceding days, and after all it was possible to
have a show of Roses that included specimens in almost
every class scheduled, though fewer and of less good
quality than could have been wished.

Amateurs.

Twenty-four Single Blooms, distinct.— A. Hill Gray,
Esq., Beaulieu, Newbridge, Bath, was awarded 1st prize
in this class ; but there was no other competitor equal
to putting up a similar collection. His best flowers
were Mrs. E. Mawley, Auguste Compte, Maman Cochet,
The Bride, Anna Ollivier, Golden Gate, Catherine
Mermet, White Maman Cochet, &c.

Twelve Single Blooms, distinct. — There was only one
exhibit of twelve single blooms, distinct, and it was
from the Rev. F. R. Burnside, Great Stambridge
Rectory, Rochford, Essex. His varieties were Vis-
countess Folkestone, Marquise Litta, Antoine Riv.ore,
Niphetos, Catherine Mermet, Souvenir d'Elise Vardon,
La France, White Lady, Cleopatra, Marie Van Houtte,
Mme. Cadeau Ramey. and Countess Caledon.

Six single blooms, distinct. — There were six collections
of six blooms, distinct, the best coming from T. B.
Gabriel, Esq., Elmstcad, Woking. General Jacqueminot
was very bright in this stand, and Mrs. Ed. Mawley,
Marquise Litta, and Rubens were pretty. The 2nd
prize was won by R. W. Bowyer, Esq., Hertford Heath,
Hertford.

The new rich apricot-coloured Lady Roberts was
shown by Messrs. Frank Cant & Co., their stand con-
taining nine blooms.

Open Classes.
Forty-eight singU blooms, distinct.— The only two collec-
tions of forty-eight blooms, distinct, came from Col-
chester, the 1st prize being won by Messrs. Frank Cant
& Co., Braiswick Nurseries ; and the 2nd by Messrs. D.
Prior & Son. In Messrs. Cant's stand the varieties
were Mrs. W. J. Grant, Rainbow, Marquise Litta, M.
Noinan, Gustavo Plganeau, Ulster, Rev. Alan Cheales,
and Clara Watson, i 'enlre row : Crown Prince. Caroline
Testout, Lady Mary Fiizwilliam. Marie Baumann,
Maroehal Niel, Dr. Sewell, Souvenir de President
Carnot, and the new Lidy Roberts. Front row : Mme
Gabrielle Luj/.et, W. .1 Bennett, Bessie Brown, Mine.
Montel, Grace Darling, Marie Van Houtte, Camoens,
and Souvenir de M. Eugene Verdier. Messrs. Prior's
Roses were rattier smaller, but there was an exception-
ally large bloom of Mareelial Niel.

The 1st prize for twtniy-four sifigU blooms was won by
Mr GEO. Prince, LoDgworth, Berks, and there were
some very commendable blooms in this stand, especi-
ally of Tea varieties. The whole of the varieties were
Medea, Souvenir d'Un Petite Ami, Souvenir do S. A.
Prince, R.M. Hcuriettc. Viscountess Folkestone, Rubens,
Caroline Testout, and another. c> :<(>■< run Exposition
deBric, Clara Watson, Grace Darling, Maroehal Niel,
Captain llayward, Hon. Edilh Giffbrd, Comtcssc de
Nadaillac, aud another. Front row: Mrs. W. J. Grant,
The Bride, Maman Cochet, Catherine Mermet, La
France, Marie Van Houtte, Duke of Tcck, and Madame

de Watteville. Messrs. R. Darkness & Co., lUtahin,
Herts, and Bedale, Yorkshire, were 2nd.

Teas and Noisettes.

A. Hill Gray, Esq., Beaulieu, Newbridge, B-ath,was
awarded 1st prize for eighteen single blossoms, s.a&
he had no competitors.

The best half dozen blooms of Tea varieties was shown
by T. B. Gauriel, Esq., Elmstead, Woking, his varieties
being Rubens, Souvenir de S. A. Prince, Madame Lam-
bard, and Niphetos. R. W. Bowyer, Esq., Hertford
Heath, Hertford, was 2nd.

The best collection of six flowers of one variety was
shown by A. Hill Gray, Esq., showing Marie Vam
Houtte in moderately good condition.

In class 13, for eighteen single trusses, distinct (ama-
teur;,), Mr. Geo. Prince, Longworth, Berks, had a, very
tine lot of blooms. Judged by the majority of those
staged on Tuesday, this stand contained superior speci-
mens ; and such were Maman Cochet, Medea, Madame
Cusin, Souvenir d'Elise Vardon, White Maman Cochet,
Princess of Wales, Anna Ollivier, Mareehal Niel, The
Bride, Comtesse de Nadaillac, &e. Messrs. Prior <fc
Sons were 2nd in this class.

Messrs. W. Cutbush & Sons, Highgate. showed t
small group of the new Rose Dorothy Perkins, opening
pink and changing to paler tints. It flowers in bunches
and flowers endure for two months.

COMPETITIVE GARDEN ROSES.

Class 18.— Geo. Cooling & Sons, a nice lot of Rost
rugosa varieties, plenty of flowers, and cut at the right
moment, 1st prize. Messrs. Paul & Son, The Old
Nurseries, Cheshunt, showed cut blooms in posies, and.
was chiefly notable for varieties of R. rugosa, several
of which were very charming flowers ; 2nd prize.

Class 18.— Ben Cant & Sons, The Old Rose Gardens,
Colchester, showed Penzance Briar, Jeannie Deans,
Flora Maclvor, Annieof Geirstein, Meg Meri-ilies,_Lady
Penzance, &c. : 1st prize.

Class 19.— This ditfered from previous classes in that
greater variety was permitted. Messrs. B. R. Cant»
Colchester, showed a very uoriferous lot of bouquets,
including Polyantha, rugosa, rubra, Wilsoni, some
Penzance Briars, Austrian, yellow. Alpina, rose pink;
pomifera, rugosa alba, simplex, aud Crimson Pillar
(1st prize).

Messrs. Coolino & Sons, North Street, Bath, showed
Paul's Crimson Pillar, Austrian Copper, Austrian Briar,
yellow Minna and Acecularls (2nd Prize).

Class 20— In this clas6 of nine China Roses, Messrs.
F. Cant & Co. showed a pretty lot of Roses, some o£
them for many years favourites in gardens (1st Prize).
Among them we noticed Queen Mab, Irene Watts.
Favier, Fellenbcrg, Cramoise Superieure, LaureUe
Messimy and Common China (1st Prize).

Cltms 22.— In this collection of species of Rosa, Messrs
Paul & Son, Cheshunt, were the only exhibitors. The
heat so soon spoilt the flowers that we arc unable t»
report on them.

i tout 23.— New Tea Rose Souvenir de Pierre Notting=
Maman Cochet x Maroehal Niel, a Niphetos-like bud,
pinkish-cream, shown by Mr. G. Prince, Longworth.
Berks. The parent Roses were shown alongside.

Class 24. —Miss Beatrice LANQTON, Raymead.
Hcudon, showed a bowlful of crimson-coloured i j.nety
very pretty and showy, taking 2nd prize, the 1st prize
beingtaken in the same class byO. G. Ori'KN, Esc| , Hill-
side. West Bergholt, Colchester, with Fortune's Yellow,
and Lord Penzance.

Mr. G. Prince, Longworth, Berks, showed Briars i*

variety.

Groups ov Rosks.

Messrs. Paul & Son, Old Nurseries, Cheshunt, were

awarded the 2nd prize for a very interesting collection

of the newer garden Roses. Mr. Geo. Paul had t»

admit with something akin to pathos that it had

proved very difficult indeed to get any Roses into

bloom for this show. Among the novelties in this group

were R. sinica "Anemone,'' a large and very pleasing

single variety of a bright rosy-carmine tint; the now

Weeping Rugosa alba, of a remarkablo pendent growtlL

which it was said was this day awarded the Gold Modal

of the Royal Horticultural Society ; the new perpetual

Rambler Purple East; l.cuchtstcrn. a new single

rambler, tipped with rose; Lady Battersca, Tea, iti fine

character, which Mr Paul said was the earliest double

Rose to bloom at Cheshunt; the new Tea It.uuuler

salmon-pink, with large (lowers, the result of a crose

between a seedling Tea aud the Crimson Rambler, but

with single flowers; Una, a semi-double white, the

result of Rosa canina crossed with a Dijon Tea, a vcrf

chaste aud beautiful garden Rose ; in addition, seven/

other attractive garden varieties.

444

THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

[June 28, 1902.

The group shown by Mr. Charles Turner, Royal
Nursery, Slough, was awarded the 1st prize in Class 25,
the special feature in this group being the beautiful
standard plants of R. Wichuriana, such as Remy
Andre, creamy-white tiuted with pink, double ; Auguste
Barbier, soft pink, double; Alberic Barbier, white
double ; Paul Transon, creamy-white, double ; Francois
Foucard, delicate yellow. Of Polyautha types, Car-
mine Pillar, Leonie Lamesch, coppery-yellow ; Eugenie
Lamesch, Perle d'Or, very pretty ; The Dawson, a cross
between Rosa multiflora and a H.P. ; the new pink
Rambler, Queen Alexandra, pomifera, large pale rose ;
white Mamau Cochet, the old De Meaux moss, Caroline
Testout, Rugosa Lady White, Rugosa Crimson Damask,
Mrs. W. J. Grant, &6.

Messrs. Prince & Son, nurserymen, Oxford, received
the 1st prize in Class 25. At the back was a series of
sprays of Reine Marie Henriette, and there were illus-
trations of Polyautha Aglaia, yellow and white; Bellc-
fleur, a hybrid Tea, single, crimson ; Bardon Job,
Amazone, Polyantha Claire Jacquier, white, with
orange centre ; Polyantha Thalia, Souvenir d'un Ami,
Marie Van Houtte, Polyantha Euphrosyne, a pink
sport from Thalia; Marquis of Salisbury, single crim-
son ; Carmine Pillar, H. T. Billiard de Bairn, new
yellow; the collection edged with Austrian Briar.

Awards by the Council.
Gold Medal.

Messrs. Sander & Sons, for Orchids, new and rare
Plants.

Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, for Greenhouse Plants,
Bamboos, and Aquilegias.

Mr. Jas. Cypher, for Decorative Plants.

Messrs. B. R. Davis & Sons, for Begonias.

Messrs. T. Rivers & Son, for Fruit Trees in Pots.

Messrs. Wallace & Co., for Lilies, Peonies, Calochorti
and Irises.

Messrs. Cutbush & Son, for Flowering Plants and
Clipped Trees.

Martin R. Smith, Esq., for Carnations.
Silver Cup.

Messrs. Cannell & Sons, for Cannas and Aquilegias.

Messrs. Barr & Sons, for Hardy Flowers and Pigmy
Trees.

Messi-3. Carter & Co., for Gloxinias and Vegetables.

Messrs. Fisher, Son & Sibray, for Stove and Green-
house Plants.

Messrs. J. Hill & Son, for Ferns.

Messrs. G. Bunyard it Co., for Pot Fruit Trees and
Cut Flowers.

Messrs. Charlesworth & Co., for Orchids.

Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons, for Flowering Shrubs.

Mr. Amos Perry, for Hardy Flowers and Aquatics.

Messrs. J. Waterer & Sons, for Rhododendrons and
Kalmias.

Sir F. Wigan. Bart., for Orchids.

Messrs. Blackmore & Langdon, for Begonias.

Messrs. Dobbie & Co , for Pansies and Aquilegias.

Messrs. Cripps & Sons, for Japanese Maples.

Silver-gilt Flora Medal.
J. Laing & Sons, for miscellaneous plants and shrubs.
H. B. May, for Ferns and flowering plants.
John Russell, for hardy trees and shrubs.
H. Low & Co., for Orchids and miscellaneousplnnts
W. Fromow & Son, for Japanese Maples and Liliums.
M. Prichard, for hardy (lowers.
J. Colman, for Orchids and stove plants.
J. Cowan & Co . for Orchids.
Stanley, Ashton & Co., for Orchids.
Sutton & Sons, for Gloxinias.

Silver-gilt Knightian Medal.

Mr. S. Mortimer, Farnham, for Tomatos, Melons, and
Cucumbers.

Silver Flora Medal.

Messrs. Peed & Son, for Gloxinias and Begonias.

Messrs. Kelway & Sons, for Pajonies and Delphiniums

Messrs. Jones & Son, for Irises and Sweet Peas.

Messrs. G. Jackman & Son, for Herbaceous and
Alpine Plants.

Messrs. T. S. Ware, Ltd., for Herbaceous and Alpine
Plants.

Mr. Reamsbottem, for Anemones.

Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, for Hardy Flowers.

Silver Banksian Medal.
Messrs. Paul & Son, for Cut Flowers.
Mr. H. J. Jones, for Begonias, Pelargoniums, &c
Mr. R. C. Notcutt, for Arctotis grandis.
Mr. A. W. Wade, for Hardy Flowers.
Mr. W. Iceton, for Lilies of the Valley and Flowering
Plants.
Mr. A. Watts, for Sweet Peas and Lilies.
Mr. Percy Waterer, for Sweet Peas.
Mr. W. J. Godfrey, for Oriental Poppies.
Mr. R. Sydenham, for Sweet Peas.

CHELTENHAM MARKET GAR-
DENERS' ASSOCIATION.

At the Lamb Hotel, Cheltenham, a largely attended
meeting of market gardeners was held recently under
the presidency of Mr Thomas Smith. Mr. G. W. Restall
said that a week previously it had been decided to form
a market gardeners' association, to be called "The
Cheltenham and District Market Gardeners' and Fruit
Growers' Association," for the purpose cf protecting
its members in conducting their business legitimately ;
and to take cognisance of all matters affecting the
prosperity of the trade and the well-being of its members,
as well as establishing combination for the purchase of
packages and other trade requisites. That meeting
had been called to consider the proposed rules, elect
officers, &c.

Mr. Charles Castle (Hon. Sec, pro tern.), read the
draft rules, which were passed after considerable
discussion.

The election of officers was then proceeded with.
Mr. J. T. Agg-Gardner, M.P., was appointed President ;
Col. R. Rogers, V.D., Mayor of Cheltenham, Vice-presi-
dent; Mr. Thomas Smith, Chairman for the year ; Mr.
G. W. Restall, Vice-chairman ; Mr. Westcott, Treasurer ;
Mr. Charles Castle, Hon. Sec. ; and Messrs. F. Parker
(Prestbury), H. Shurmer (Leckhampton), Oakey
(Bishop's Cleeve), John T. Smith (Elmstone, Hardwic ke
Swindon, and Tewkesbury Road), Albert Sindrey,
James Cook, George Prude (Alstone, Arle, and Land-
fields), F. Sindrey (Rowanfield and St. Marks), and
Taudevin (Reddings), the Committee.

UNITED HORTICULTURAL DENEPIT
AND PROVIDENT.

At the monthly meeting on June 9, fovir new members
were elected, making a total of fifty-seven this year.
The death certificate of the late Mr. J. N. Forbes was
produced, and the amount standing to his credit in the
ledger (£4 Is. hd.) was directed to be paid to his nominee.
Three members were reported on the sick fund. The
amount of sick pay for the month was £9 12s.

Wrwfwz

Mr
<mknu

*** Editor and Publisher.— Our correspon-
dents would obviate delay in obtaining
answers to their communications, and save
much time and trouble, if tbey would kindly
observe the notice printed weekly to the
effect that all communications relating to
financial matters and to advertisements should
be addressed to the Publisher; and that all
communications intended for publication, or
referring to the literary department, and
all plants to be named, should be directed
to the Editor. The two departments, pub-
lishing and editorial, are quite distinct, and
much unnecessary delay and confusidn
arise when letters are misdirected.

Apple-shoots from an Aged Tree: A. B.
Clavel. The shoots were crippled by cold
weather, then a fungus attacked them,
curling up the leaves, and lastly aphis came
and multiplied exceedingly ; such is the
entire series of occurrences. The worst
leaves should be cut off and burned, not
thrown on the ground. Afterwards syringe
the foliage with soap - suds, to which a
pint of strong tobacco - water is added
to three gallons, and well stirred together.
Water at a temperature of 150°, or soap-
suds with about a wineglassful of petro-
leum mixed in it, could be used against
the aphis. If there are American woolly
aphis, apply whale-oil soap after scraping
down to the living bark all infested places,
and bare the roots, and saturate the soil
with soapsuds.

Budding Fruit Stocks : F. H. A shilling per
hundred would be a fair price, if you must
do the tying-in. The number inserted per
day might be between 600 and 700, if you
are very expert and industrious.

Carnations : T. W. The plants are free from
fungi and insects. The disease is due to
some error of treatment ; or probably exces-
sive wet is the cause.

Cucumber Leaves : A. B. The disease from
which your plants appear to be suffering is
extremely prevalent this year, and to

which the attention of our readers has been
frequently directed by ourselves of late.
"We would advise you to peruse the section
of the Royal Horticultural Society's Scien-
tific Committee Report in Gord. Chron.,
June 7, p. 382, headed " Melon leaves
diseased."

Damaged Leaves: Jamaica. A species of
"red-spider." Apply fiowers-of-sulphur dis-
solved as a thick paste in water, which
afterwards thin by adding more water, and'
apply with a syringe to those parts, and
the lower sides of the leaves, so as to com-
pletely coat them with sulphur. This should
not be removed for some days. Afterwards
frequent syringing of the plants in the
evening will keep them clean. If the pests
are not very numerous, copious syringing
will usually clear the plants of them.

Onions: Smith, Wolverhampton. Eel-worm in
the bulb is the cause of the Onions going
wrong. Plenty of gas-lime must be worked
into the soil, and allowed to remain for two
months before being used for planting in.
Soot. and lime are of no use against eel-
worms. G. M.

Malmaison Carnation : Doctrim. The colour
of the flower sent is a very deep crimson,
darker at the tips of the petals than lower
down. No such deep - tinted flower has
previously come under our notice, although
there are several that approach it in colour.
It is worth preserving.

Names of Plants : W. RhUlell. 1, Anomatheca
cruenta ; 2, Lychnis diurna. W. S. S. Eutoea
viscida.— W. G. W. 1, CodiajumLaingii, badly
coloured ; 2, Williamsii ; 3, Bergmanni ; 4,
Prince of Orange.— W. H. 1, Saxifraga
hypnoides ; 2, Polemonium cceruleum ; 3,
Centranthus ruber ; 4, Anchusa italica ; 5,
Cytisus albus.— Shrub. Abies Nordman-
niana, so far as we can tell without seeing
the tree or the cones.— No name (plants in
cardboard box). 1, Genista hispanica ; 2,
Crucianella stylosa; 3, Cerinthe major; 4,
Pernettya mucronata. — W. B. Hyoscyamus
niger, Henbane. — W. Dann. Romneya
Coulteri, for fig. see Gardeners' Chronicle,
February 27, 1875, p. 280.— A'. Y. Z. Lep-
totes bicolor. — Y. M. 1, Adiantum decorum;
2, Adiantum capillus-veneris ; 3, Adiantum
cuneatum ; 4, Adiantum concinnum ; 5. Pteris
hastata ; 6, Nephrolepis exaltata ; 7, Nephro-
lepis tuberosa.— F. G. G. Cotoneasterafflnis.
— J. W. Henbane, Hyoscyamus niger, cer-
tainly not a shrub ! — No name. Prunus
Padus, Saxifraga hypnoides. The Orchid is
Lissochilus streptopetalus.

Palms : W. B. T. It is a wonder the Palms
have live so long as five months in a draw-
ing-room. Is gas used ?

Pears : J. E. The larvse of the Codlin-moth.
See last week's number.

Rose Blighted : H. W. The plant made rapid
growth, and subsequently was checked by
cold weather ; then aphis, as they always
will in such cases, began to infest the injured
shoots and the leaves, puncturing the latter
on the undersides and causing the edges
to curl inwards.

"Window Boxes : H. M. Oak is one of the
best woods for garden tubs and window
boxes, and Deal about the worst. Slightly
char the interior of the boxes, smearing
them with petroleum, as you suggest, and
then fill them with dry shavings, which
set alight. The charring should not
go deeper than one - eighth of an
inch. Keep the bottoms of the boxes
or tubs off the ground or cills, and before
putting any soil in the boxes, afford the out-
side a priming of red-lead paint, and over
that two coats of green or other desired
colour. They will last for a dozen years at
the least.

*** Owing to the derangement caused by the
Coronation arrangements, many articles and
replies are necessarily held over.

(For Markets and Weather, see p. viii.)

Supplement to the "Gardeners' Chronicle,- June 28, 1902.

Cypripediiwi callosum var. Sanders, in the Garden at New Hall Hey, Rawtenstall.