are given in which the path of the destroying fungus is traced through the Pine woods of Russia.

"UNBEATEN TRACKS IN JAPAN."-We are pleased to announce the publication of a new and abridged edition of Miss BIRD's work on Japan (MURRAY), and which is sure to be acceptable to the public, especially at a time when Japan and its wonderful people are exciting special attention and interest. It is a novel feature to read a book upon a far distant land and then with little trouble or fatigue be able to compare the description of the inhabitants and their industries (as described in the book) with the people themselves. This may be done in the present instance, and a visit to the Japanese Village at Hyde Park will enable us to verify, in numerous cases, the

Bedford Dyson, John Edwards, Charles J. Gapp, J. T. Gideon, Hugh Roumieu Gough, F.R.I.B.A.; Richard Grice, Mrs. Hatch, Thomas Every Innous, N. Kempthorne, Benjamin Thompson Lowne, W. H. Mann, M. L. Massouee, Frederick McTier, W. D'Arcy Godolphin Osborne, W. J. Plaister, Newton Pratt, T. A. Rolls, M.P.; A. O. Saunders, Thomas Simpson, J. Surrey, Charles Todd, Frederick Tyler, and Wm. Layton Vincent.

"FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES, HOME AND FOREIGN."-This is the title of a new work by Mr. LEO H. GRINDON, with descriptions, histories, and other particulars, and will contain details respecting every kind of fruit esteemed in Britain, whether ripened in our own islands or imported from abroad. The his. tory, the particular merits, and a great variety of curious and interesting information of a miscellaneous charac ter will be introduced, so that the book will not only

stopping, formation of exhibition plants, are all treated in a practical manner; and the value is enhanced by a select list given of the best of each section.

THE WEATHER IN MIDLOTHIAN.-A correspondent writes :-"Within the last few days the weather has taken a favourable change, and with the heavy rain of the 10th and 11th, and the mild genial weather since, vegetation is pushing away vigorously, and appearances are all in favour now of heavy crops. Fruit of all kinds never looked more promising."

TREE FUNGUS IN RUSSIA.-According to the Bulletin of the Society of Naturalists of Moscow, the hitherto unaccountable destruction of Pine forests is caused by the ravages of a species of Mushroom which takes growth on the surface of the wood, and afterwards penetrates and destroys the tree. Maps

accuracy and skill with which Miss BIRD has depicted the manners and customs of the Japanese at home, and has, moreover, made solid contributions to our knowledge by giving the results of her travels in regions scarcely known to European travellersregions, moreover, of special interest to horticulturists. The book is nicely printed and bound, and will be useful for reading aloud to classes of young people, and very acceptable to them as a gift-book or school prize in its present form. It will make an agreeable change from the "Moral Tales," "Lives of Celebrated Men," and "Selections from the Poets," usually chosen for presention on such occasions.

days' show will take place in the grounds of Gunners. bury Park, the residence of the ROTHSCHILD family, on Tuesday, July 7, and Wednesday, July 8. The sum of £75 is offered in prizes, open to all England, and an additional £200 is offered for competition among subscribers. This is the first time these well known grounds have been available for such a pur pose, and as they are situated in the centre of a rapidly increasing district, numbering its population by thousands, a great success may be predicted, judg. ing from the desire so freely expressed to see what the gardens are like.

BUSINESS ANNOUNCEMENT. We are informed that Mr. J. CLARKE, who was formerly Head Gardener to Lord HASTINGS, at Melton Constable, and previously at Farnham Castle, has commenced business as a florist and seedsman at the Albion Nursery, Farnham.

WHITE CINERARIA SNOWFLAKE.-This fine pure glistening white variety has been sent to us by Messrs. J. CARTER & Co. for inspection. The flowers are 1 inch in diameter, with sufficient smooth petals to make a regular form, the eye being dark purple. The variety is a long way ahead of any other that we are acquainted with.

EPIPHYLLUM RUSSELIANUM VAR. GERTNERI. This curious plant, which was exhibited at the Royal Horticultural Society on Tuesday last, has the general habit of an Epiphyllum, but its fleshy jointed branches are less flattened than in most Epiphyllums, and more like those of Cereus except in the jointed character. The flowers are borne either singly or in groups of three from the ends of the joints as in Epiphyllum (not from the axils of the notches as in Cereus), and have the regular funnel-shaped form of Cereus with the orange-red colour of that genus, as distinguished from the irregular flattened pink flowers of Epiphyllum. In spite, however, of these intermediate characters, Dr. von REGEL in the Gartenflora, November, 1884, tab. 1173, describes it as a variety of E. Russellianum, which, he says, resembles, in the form of the branch joint, E. truncatum, but the flower is regular in outline, and with regular spreading petals. HOOKER (fig. 3717, Bot. Mag.), describes this species, which has lilac-rose flowers, from specimens collected in the Organ Mountains, near Rio Janeiro. The variety figured (E. Russellianum Gærtneri) was sent to HAAGE & SCHMIDT from Blumenau, near Rio Janeiro, by H. GARTNER, and differs in having scarlet-red flowers. There are numerous intermediate forms of these three species, the produce of a variety of crossings, the flowers of which vary according to the sort from dark violet to purple and scarlet, but mostly partaking of the characteristics of of E. Altensteini. From E. Russellianum, so far as is known, no (hybrid) varieties have been produced with the exception of this one, in the possession of HAAGE & SCHMIDT. The specimen exhibited came from Messrs. HINRICH of Altona. A list of cultivated Epiphyllums is given in our number for April 2, 1864, p. 318.

SCOTTISH HORTICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. -The first ordinary meeting of the above Association was held at 5, St. Andrew's Square, Edinburgh, on Tuesday evening, the 7th inst. Mr. JOHN METHVEN, the retiring President, occupied the chair, and in a few appropriate remarks introduced Mr. W. THOMSON, Clovenfords, the new President, who delivered his inaugural address, taking for his subject "The National Importance of Horticulture." Mr. Dunn, Dalkeith Palace Gardens, brought under the notice of the meeting the proposed formation of a Gardeners' Benevolent Society for Scotland. After some remarks from Mr. DoWNIE, Mr. METHVEN, and the President, the matter was ultimately remitted to the Council of the Association. The President intimated that Mr. GEORGE McLURE, Trinity Grove, would read a paper at next meeting on Alpine Auriculas," and Mr. A. N. MCALPINE, B.Sc., Minto House, Edinburgh, on "The Functions of the Root."

quite possible that much inconvenience is experienced during the extensive works in progress at the market which will be remedied when more space is avail. able. Without expressing an opinion as to Mr. HOWARD'S case in particular, we may say that he is not the only complainant, and that we have frequently heard complaints of a similar character, loud and deep rather than flowery.

· JAMAICA BOTANICAL APPOINTMENTS.-The following alterations have been made :-Mr. SYME has resigned the charge of the Castleton Gardens, and has returned to England. -Mr. HARRIS from King's House, succeeds Mr. SYME.-Mr. ELLIOTT succeeds Mr. HARRIS at King's House-Mr. HART, though offered the Castleton appointment, electing to remain as Superintendent of the Government Cinchona plantation. A preceding announcement was incorrect in some particulars.

THE LATE MR. JOHN SADLER.-It may interest the public to know that the Edinburgh Botanical Club is erecting a monument in Warriston Cemetery over the grave of the late lamented Mr. JOHN SADLER. The monument is in the form of a granite cross, and bears a suitable inscription.

NEW HORIZONTAL TUBULAR HOT-WATER BOILER.-Mr. JOSEPH WITHERSPOON, of the Red Rose Vineries, Chester-le-Street, well-known in the North as a successful horticulturist, has patented a boiler of his own invention, which appears to be a very powerful one, and to contain many improvements. The tubular arrangement at the back of the boiler for the thorough consumption of the heat before escaping to the chimney is an excellent idea, as is also the provision made for cleaning the inside of the tubes and boiler of fur. In case of a section breaking down, any ordinary man could remove the broken section and screw up the remainder before the pipes could cool-a very desirable thing where valuable property is dependent on a steady supply of heat. Taking it altogether it seems a boiler that will be appreciated. It is now on view at the Alexandra Palace.

TABLES FOR SELF-INSTRUCTION. Mr. PERCY INGRAM has forwarded to us specimen blank forms, to be filled in by the young gardener from books of reference and practical experience. The table, of which we give a reduced copy, shows the kind of information for which space is provided. It is obvious that the mere attempt to fill up these forms would be a valuable exercise, but if arrangements could be made for the papers to be supervised, and corrected where necessary, their value would be en

Name

Natural Order

Native Region Description

Properties and Uses

Soil.

Situation

Propagation

After-Culture and Treatment

lands could be rendered more remunerative. The proper treatment of forest lands, he said, was of the greatest importance; and the forest interests of Ind a and the colonies demanded such an institution as a School of Forestry in this country. There were many other considerations that might be urged in its favour, and it was very desirable that our young men should be able to get instruction on the subject at home, instead of being obliged to go to France and Germany to find it, as had hitherto been the practice. The Convention unanimously agreed to the Lord Provost's motion to petition Parliament on the subject.

THE HEREFORD AND WEST OF ENGLAND ROSE SOCIETY'S nineteenth annual show will be held in Hereford on July 9 next.

PRESENTATION TO MR. HENDERSON.-On Thursday, the 2d inst., the "Golden Lion," High Street, Fulham, was the scene of a very pleasant gathering of the members of the Fulham Palace Cricket Club, the occasion being the presentation of a handsome marble timepiece to Mr. ROBERT HENDERSON, who was for over thirty years the Head Gardener to the late Bishop JACKSON, and from whom the club has received for several years much assistance in endeavouring to provide a good ground in the pretty field known as the "Bishop" Warren.'

BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND SOCIETY AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES ASSOCIATION.-We are requested to state that a Cup, or money, value 10 guineas, will be given at the Brighton exhibition for the best group of Orchids; also a Cup, value 5 guineas, for the best collection of fruits; also a first prize of £2, and second prize of 1, for the best six dishes of Strawberries. The Hon. and Rev. J. TOWNSHEND BOSCAWEN, Lamorran, Probus, Corn. wall, is steward of department.

hanced. The forms may be had of Mr. CLARKE, printer, Grantham.

SCHOOL OF FORESTRY.-At a meeting of the Convention of Royal and Parliamentary Burghs of Scotland, held in Edinburgh on April 8, the Presi dent, Sir George Harrison, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, called attention to the state of forestry in this country, and moved the Convention to petition Parliament for a committee to consider whether, by the establishment of a forest school or otherwise, wood.

Suffolk.-H. E. GRIBBLE, late of Canon Hill, Maidenhead, as Head Gardener to the Marquis of LONDONDERRY, Wynyard Park, Stockton-on-Tees. -J. NICOL, late Gardener at Alderbrook, Surrey, as Head Gardener to His Grace, the Duke of LEeds, Bedale.-RICHARD ElleRKER, late Foreman to Mr. JAMES GIBSON, Chevet Park, Wakefield, as Head Gardener to A. J. CHOLMLEY, Esq., Newton Hall, Rillington, Yorkshire. — JOHN SNOW, as Head Gardener to BRUCE, Esq., Southwell Park, Wadhurst, Sussex.

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HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

Pæonia arborea in Pots. The cultivation of Tree Peonies in pots for winter gardens, conservatories, and other purposes cannot be too much recommended. If treated well, flowering specimens of this fine class of plants may be had as fine, if not finer in winter than is possible in the open ground. An important point is to have good established plants which have been in pots undisturbed for at least one year before forcing them. Forcing Tree Peonies has been a custom in Holland for a long time. My father, as long ago as 1833, obtained a Silver Medal (the highest award) at a flower show of the Society of Industry, held at Haarlem on February 23 of that year.

It was a splendid specimen of the old sort of Tree Peony, with several open flowers as large and fine as they had ever been seen. The forcing of the plant at so early a period was then considered an extraordinary fact, on account of the inferior arrangements then obtainable as compared with those of the present time. Some fine Tree Peonies in bloom were exhibited by my firm at several late shows, beginning at Amsterdam April, 1856, and lately a dozen varieties were shown at the Grand Haarlem Exhibition. E. H. Krelage, Haarlem.

Holding rather strong

Daffodils Doubling. opinions on the subject, and being eager to join the fray, I should like very much to relate what has hap. pened under my own eye in this garden. Thirteen years ago we received in a parcel of 109 species of "herbaceous" plants from Aberdeenshire two bulbs of Narcissus incomparabilis (in the list accompanying them Narcissus Pseudo-Narcissus bicolor-evidently a misnomer). There is no doubt that it is the incomparabilis of Daffodilists of the present day, although the incomparabilis, which I have myself found wild in the South of France, is long-tubed, and this has a short cup. For eight years this beautiful flower, whose roots until last year bave never been disturbed (and have increased to a good sized clump), was a joy through all the too fleeting Daffodil-tide. It was per fect in its starry singleness. Five years ago, however, "a change came o'er the spirit of its dream," and it began to double. Once begun, the doubling has progressed in double quick time, till last spring only two blooms came single, and I became seriously alarmed, fearing I should eventually lose my lovely incomparabilis in its perfect form. So the two remaining single flowers were marked, and at the proper season the bulbs belonging to them were taken up and replanted separately at a little distance from the group, though in the same border. I have been anxiously on the watch, and now, oh horror! (with just a little triumph mixed), two flowers have opened from the transplanted single-flowered bulbs, and they are both double !—that is, in the ugliest stage of half doubling. Thus in thirteen years one bulb of incomparabilis, with all its increase, has entirely changed its character and become a double Daffodil. The same thing has happened with another group of single short-cupped Daffodils, at some little distance from incomparabilis, growing, not in a border, but on a pit of poor land under some Elms. I now believe that long-tubed Daffodils will never double, and that, therefore, the wild Lent Lilies may be transplanted for ever from fields into the garden without any change occurring in the character of their flowers; but that, on the other hand, the short-cupped Daffodils are never safe. It will be a happy disappointment to me if I find half a dozen single flowers on any of our short-cupped varieties this season! I find, on the other hand, that Narcissus poeticus flore-pleno has a. tendency to undouble under certain conditions E. V. B.

86

It is curious that, having lately inquired whether cases of reversion on the part of double Daffodils to single were known, I should have found here to-day what seems to me to be a clear case of reversion. I have a quantity of the common double Daffodil which has been growing here for the past ten years, and in the same spot, having been lifted, divided, and replanted, in the same place once some three years since. I have never before seen a single flower amongst them, all being true double Daffodils. I have now found a perfect single flower-one onlyand one of a small clump which has produced no other flower this season. I find also a few flowers the tubes of which are perfect, not being at all split

or broken up, and enclosing others just as we see in the double Canterbury Bells. If desirable, I can mark and lift the bulbs. I think I shall have a green double flower open in a few days. Would that be a novelty? A. Dean.

In the Gardeners' Chronicle of last week, I un. derstand, from a letter of Mr. Wolley Dod (p. 482) on the subject of Daffodil doubling, that he tried some bulbs received from Mr. Archer Hind of a double Daffodil at Edge Hall, which became after a year or two quite single. Mr. Dod then returned the bulbs in this state to Devonshire, where they flowered the next spring with quite double flowers. Last year Mr. Archer Hind sent back again some of these redoubled flowers to Mr. Wolley Dod; these were care. fully planted (I presume last autumn), and are now in blossom, the flowers being nearly single. Surely Mr. Wolley Dod is aware that bulbs form their flower. buds the previous year, and whether planted in good or bad soil, or even in water, would blossom the subsequent year as formed in the bulbs the previous year, single or double. If Mr. Dod had cut the bulbs open last autumn he would have found the blossoms formed in the bulbs. A Member of the Daffodil Committee.

[The framework of the flower is so formed, but it is possible that a change might be effected during subsequent growth. This has to be tested. ED.]

Eucharis amazonica.-The large number of letters which have lately appeared respecting this plant sufficiently attest the lively interest which the subject commands. Every ill-conditioned bulb is filled with insects, but the real cause of the disease, in my opinion, precedes their appearance, and they have no more to do with the disease than the desert eagle has with the death of the camel he devours. [But it is well ascertained that one particular kind of mite, figured in a recent issue, murders as well as eats-others only eat. ED.] The decay may not always proceed from the same cause any more than the ill-condition of any other plant under bad artificial conditions, but I think one correspondent struck the common key-note of danger when he stated his conviction that the prevalent custom of trying to make the plant flower three or four times in the year was one of the chief causes of mischief. This practice may succeed for a time, but failure will assuredly follow such forced treatment, as it would in the case of the most enduring plant. Again, some cultivators keep it plunged in a strong bottomheat during its period of growth, and then, with the intention of resting it, place it either on the hot-water pipes or on the stage in an airy house, where it is exposed to the full sun, allowed to become perfectly dry and shrivelled for weeks together. One person I know planted a whole houseful; the borders were well prepared, and the plants made such progress and flowered so profusely for years as to be the admiration of all who saw them. Eventually the soil and drainage, from frequent deluges with liquidmanure, became clogged and sour, and before remedial measures were thought of the plants became sickly. Eighteen years ago I had a large quantity, and caused them to flower so freely that they were thought too common, and I received instructions to discard them; instead of carrying this out to the letter, a number of them were placed under the stage, where they received much water and little light, a few others were placed on the top shelf out of the way, where they received but little water and were extremely dry. Under these opposite and unfavourable conditions they remained with scarcely any attention for three years, with the result that very little foliage remained upon them, and the few leaves which they had retained, were sickly and shrivelled, while the old bulbs were in an advanced stage of decay and literally covered with the red or orange spots, and the small insects already referred to. Their real value was at this time felt by their absence from the drawing-room, and I was instructed to replace them. They were turned out of the pots, the soil was removed, and the old bulbs were thrown away, as it was thought safer to depend on the young|bulbs only; these as well as the roots were carefully washed, after which they were repotted into 7 and 8-inch pots, placing eight to twelve bulbs in a pot according to size. The drainage was abundant, and the soil was composed of sandy loam to which was added one-fourth of hard sandy peat such as would be used in the cultivation of hard-wooded plants. In this compost they were potted

firmly, after which they were placed in a moderate stove temperature, shaded from bright sunshine, and syringed lightly overhead in the after-part of the day, giving them but little water at the root. Under these conditions they made slow but very satisfactory growth; the old leaves did not regain their proper colour, but the young ones were free from defect, and in twelve months I had the satisfaction of seeing a perfectly healthy and vigorous stock, with plenty of. bloom during the winter season, and I am happy to say they still continue free from spot, and give me a profusion of bloom every winter. After flowering they receive three months' rest in an intermediate-house, during which period they are neither shrivelled by dryness, scorched by sun, nor chilled by cold: they receive regular supplies of clear water, and the foliage is kept clean. Afterwards they are transferred to a warmer and moister atmosphere, and when growth commences they receive an occasional watering with weak liquid manure made from soot and deer's dung. By altering their period of rest I find no difficulty in having them in bloom from November to March. They never have bottom-heat, nor do they require it, as their foliage and flowers are of great substance, and endure longer than when so treated. If we only consider that they do not naturally grow in an extremely hot climate, we may feel assured that the varied treatment they too often receive must result in injury. The climate of New Grenada varies considerably, but in no part is it particularly hot, and most certainly not extremely dry, even in the dry season, and in the neighbourhood of Choco, from whence Eucharis grandiflora is said to have been introduced, the climate is at all times moderate in respect to heat, nor is it, even in the dry seasons, by any means parching, as may be inferred from its great elevation, and from the reports of those travellers who have described its climate. The Eucharis is said to grow chiefly on the sandy, firm, and moist river banks, in which position it must always receive abundance of water at the root, and at such an elevation the atmospheric moisture is undoubtedly con⚫ siderable, especially in the vicinity of the rivers. Look ing at these natural conditions, and comparing them with our methods of treatment, it seems only reasonable to conclude that failures arise chiefly from the following causes - extreme temperatures, strong bottom-heat, imperfect drainage, and loose, soft, spongy soil T. S. C.

I note what Mr. McDonald says in your issue of March 21 about Eucharis disease, but I consider he is wrong, and that he is not troubled with the real thing. Evidently his plants suffered from bad drainage, and not from the mites. I send you a bulb herewith; if you examine it under a microscope you will see there are active little insects and thousands of eggs. My plants had good drainage and proper treatment in every way, but the leaves died down and would not grow. The bulbs rotted off, and I then discovered these pests. They will attack a healthy bulb on the side, bottom, or top, make a wound, when, after due time, it will rot away altogether. The smell is abominable. I turned all the bulbs out of the pots, and have washed and cleaned them in soft-soap water, removing the outside skin of the bulb, behind which there are thousands of eggs, and completely dried them off. I am told this disease is common, and that the cure is to put the bulbs in soot and lime, which will kill these pests, and nothing else will, but will not the soot and lime injure the bulbs? Could you or any of your correspondents tell me what to do, and the cause of these pests? [See the article and figure at p. 440 Gardeners' Chronicle for April 4, 1885. ED.] I bought a fresh lot of plants the other day, and I find these have the same disease. It is most disheartening. W. R. Lees.

It may not be generally known that there is a separate fund for seedlings, the subscribers to it, according to the last published balance-sheet, being six persons interested in seedling raising, the balance in hand being £7 45. It may also be well to state that it is proposed to hold a Primula Conference in 1886, and the preliminary arrangements will be made on the 21st. The luncheon will take place at 2 o'clock P. M., when John T. D. Llewellyn, Esq., will preside, the subject of discussion after luncheon being the proposed conference. The Council of the Royal Horticultural Society have appointed Colonels Clarke and Beddome, The Hon. and Rev. J. T. Boscawen, Messrs. Loder, G. F. Wilson, Llewellyn, and Godman to confer with the Society. Tickets for luncheon are 35. 6d. each, and may be obtained on application to Mr. Rolt, Hartfield Road, New Wimbledon. 7. Douglas.

Peas. If your correspondent, "G. M. W.," wants a real good Pea I would advise him to try Huntingdonian, if he has not already done so ; it is the best Pea that I am acquainted with. I have grown several sorts side by side with it at different times, and have invited people to taste them all, and one and all have given the palm to Huntingdonian for flavour. It is a good grower, and an excellent cropper. I have grown it for several years, but it is one that I think is not very much known, as I have met with a good many people who have not known it, and I seldom see it in catalogues except Wood & Ingram's, of Huntingdon, where I think it was raised some years ago. It is a main crop Pea, and when once it is fit to pick and my employer has a dish of it he wants no other. Our garden being small, I have no opportunity to try novelties-I leave that to those with more room; but if any one has found a Pea to beat it I shall feel grateful if he will give its name, as my employer knows and appreciates a real good Pea. H. L., Sherwood, Beckenham.

Melon Canker,-At p. 448, "C. H." asks me if my Melons were ever cankered previous to using the glass collar. I have had individual plants so bad as to render the functions of the plants useless before ripening started. I do not wish to mislead any one. They must understand I recommend it only in protecting the collars against the ravages of woodlice, having here and at other places seen the damages done to the necks of Melon plants by them, weakening the capacities of the plants; with the results of badly finished fruits or no finish at all. The soiling system he recommends, a gardener of my acquaintance adopts to the letter as described in "C. H.'s " note, and I can assure him I have seen canker rampant. Alexander Methven.

Gathering and Pickling Samphire.-The following information may have an interest for, even if it does not prove of use, to many of your readers. It is supplied by Mr. Sidney Ford, of Leonardslee, Horsham, to enable me to answer the question of a correspondent as to when was the best time to gather Samphire, and how to pickle it. Mr. Ford began by informing me that Samphire is not to be found on the coast below the district where he resides; "but I was staying at Worthing, and had some given to me from the coast of Ilfracombe, where it grows freely, and we have it in pickle now. For pickling purposes it may be gathered green and growing. It should be soaked for two days in brine, then placed in a stone jar with peppercorns and allspice, covered with vinegar, then placed in an oven, where it should be allowed to boil only till quite crisp, and when cold, corked up securely." R. Dean. [It is abundant on the chalk cliffs near Dover, as it was in Shakspeare's time, and occurs also on the beach at Littlehampton. ED.]

Mushroom Growing. In a late issue I am asked to give a detailed account of our system of Mushroom growing, which I think would be superfluous, seeing that your Leicester correspondent (Mr. Davies) has already promised your readers a greater treat on the subject (p. 186). His method is certainly in advance of anything practised here, when he tells us a bed (9 feet long and 4 feet wide) spawned on December 6 produced on the 25th (or in nineteen days) 12 lb. of Mushrooms, and in forty-seven days 200 lb., or something over 4 lb. daily of 36 superficial feet. This must be the system to adopt in future. For my own part I do not like these precocious beds; I often find if they are early to come they are also early to go.

Our beds have yielded a continuous supply since the middle of December, and the cry is still they come, and in quantity too, while for size, form, and colour such as are seldom seen indoors or out. I may men. tion that a gentleman staying in this town, and seeing a daily supply of the above in our own and other shop windows, made it his business to find out where they were grown, and was so pleased with the rough-andready way in which they were produced that on his return he sent his gardener all the way from Manchester (expenses paid) to see the same thing, which I consider as being the best test of interest taken in gardening matters by employers. I sincerely wish there were more gentlemen possessing an equal interest; gardening would become a still pleasanter occupation than it is at present, it would also prove a greater stimulus to good cultivation. E. Crump, Ranelagh Gardens, Leamington.

The Waddesdon Plant Truck.-Which of us in our young days does not remember how tired we were when night came after a long day at the hand-barrow in the bedding-out season, and how often my heart has ached to see perhaps an intelligent youth with perhaps not an over-robust frame staggering under a load of plants on the hand-barrow, much too heavy for him to carry. I was rejoiced to see the above truck advertised by Holliday, The Pheasantry, Beaufort Street, Chelsea, and at once sent for one, and I cannot tell what a boon it is for carrying plants. It is mounted on springs, and has two wheels, and holds about a third more than a common hand-barrow, and is so easily pushed that a mere youth can move it along quite smartly. I really cannot say what a benefit it will be, and the saving of labour in about a month's time, when bedding-out commences. Perhaps its size will be better understood when I say that it carries a hundred large 60-sized pots. The thing is well made, and the price is £5. 7. Rust, Eridge Castle.

Lilium auratum. - If you do not think the Lilium auratum question sufficiently exhausted, I would like to add a few words of my own experience about the too-well-known disease. I once grew a single bulb of this Lilium with fifty-six well developed blooms. I do not want to be laughed at for mentioning it, as I am well aware that plants have been exhibited with over 100 blooms, although I have never seen one. But when at one of the Bath summer shows I observed that everybody admired a plant with from fifteen to twenty blooms on it, it struck me that I had not half appreciated my own fifty-sixer. That plant has, however, long since gone the way of a good many more, and since then I have never had its equal. Although I have purchased many bulbs, and taken great pains to grow them to a large size, unfortunately with the same results as scores of others, they became a prey to the disease, or bruise-rot, which I call it. It is of course a diffi cult matter to determine the cause of this, as well as many other diseases, which that most responsible man-the gardener-is called upon to explain, which, considering that oftentimes the only lens he can bring to bear upon it is his own unaided sight, which he generally contrives to do to his own satisfaction, but frequently to the discredit of the firm that supplied the bulb. This by no means settles the question, as it neither restores the plant to life, nor yields any return for money spent. There are several causes from which I think this fungus or rottenness is likely to spring-one is, lifting and packing the bulbs before they are thoroughly matured, in order to be first in the market; another is, that they are so packed as to ferment more or less on their passage hitherward. I have this year started with a dozen bulbs obtained from Messrs. Cooling & Son; it was towards the end of January. After carefully removing all the decayed portion they were immediately potted in the usual way in pots, according to size of bulb, but rather small than otherwise; drainage was abundant; the compost, as usual, rough, fibry loam and peat with plenty of sand, and a small heap of sand under and surrounding the bulbs. They were gently pressed into the soil, and filled up till just hidden from view, and as the soil happened to be drier than I usually like to pot with, I gave them just sufficient water through a fine-rose watering-pot to moisten without soddening the mass; they were then taken to a frame which I had just put on a moderate hotbed, and on which I had placed soil for a few small seeds. I plunged them in a row at the back of the frame up to the rim of the pots in the soil, and covered them with about 4 inches of

leaf-mould; the temperature at no time exceeded 80°, and the bed being largely composed of leaves, did not vary much for the next month; they had plenty of top air, and the result is that every one is alive and looking well. Some have shoots 6 inches long, and only one is what we term just beginning to smile; but on examination I find that it has made, if any. thing, stronger roots than those that have made long shoots; all of them, however, have plenty of roots, and I have now removed them to the shady side of a low house, outside, where they are sheltered from heavy rain and strong sun, which they do not like at any time. They have still a covering of leaf-mould, pots and all, into which they are beginning to emit roots from the base of the shoots, and which the plunging material accelerates, and will I hope con. tribute to the building up of plants constitutionally free from disease. H. Gay, Shockerwick House, near Bath.

Sixpenny Telegrams.-The discussion upon sixpenny telegrams, and the desirability or otherwise of abbreviated addresses, brings out some curious We statistics in the history of the seed trade. find upon scrutinising that amongst our customers we can only muster 851 Smiths, against Messrs. Sutton's 1060, but when we come to the Browns we are brought to the front with a total of 503 against Messrs. Sutton's 450, and we can throw in 205 Robinsons. We must leave some wiser head than ours to account for the peculiarities of these statistics. James Carter & Co.

Abnormal Tints in Odontoglossum Alexandræ.-Regarding a very curious novelty in a plant of Odontoglossum Alexandræ, you kindly published a letter from Professor Reichenbach in your issue of June 16, 1883; the inflorescence there spoken of consisted of two white flowers and one yellow one. The plant is again in flower, and, strange to say, this extraordinary peculiarity appears to it a fixed charac. teristic, as it now bears upon a stem six flowers, three of which are yellow and three white, lightly blotched, as described by Professor Reichenbach two years since. W. 7. Cross, Salisbury.

Improvement in Vegetables ?—I think that the majority of practical gardeners will-notwithstanding the editorial notes in your issue of March 21-agree with me, that there has been very little real improvement in vegetables for the last ten or fifteen years, certainly not in proportion to the yearly flourish of trumpets made by our leading retail seed houses. Taking the kinds enumerated last week firstCabbages-is there any real advance on Enfield Market? Peas-is there any more reliable sort than the old Champion of England, which I have never known to give dissatisfaction, either in the kitchen or dining-room? I certainly cannot say the same of the large show kinds that are now so popular with a great many people, especially amateurs. Broccoli and Cauliflowers, with the exception of Veitch's Autumn Giant Cauliflower, which is, I might almost say, "a pearl above price," both to the gardening fraternity and the market growers, I think we may safely say we have made no advance on the kinds cultivated fifteen years ago. Again, Beet-root, what

a host of kinds have been sent out, and still one of the best is Whyte's Black. In Onions we still have nothing better than White Spanish and James' Keep. ing. Another important vegetable-Celery-has not a better or more distinct variety than Williams' Matchless Red, and I have known this for about eighteen years. I speak from memory. Once more, before I cease comparisons, after all the Melons that have been sent out the last fifteen years, is there anything to equal Golden Perfection or Beechwood? I think I may venture to say that if novelties were not more eagerly sought after by amateurs than they are by professional gardeners we should both see and hear less of so-called improvements, or rather selections of good old varieties, which most of them are. With regard to the advice given as to selection of specialties from different sources there are one or two grave objections, viz., a multiplication of accounts, both troublesome to the gardener and very objectionable to most employers. Again, at the present time all the large retail houses have special varieties of every kind of vegetable seeds which they extol as the very best in its class, and so keen is the competition in garden seeds that I believe that if the varieties recommended by any substantial house are purchased no better can be procured even if selected from a dozen different catalogues. John Wilkes, The Hayes, Stone, Staffordshire. [Our correspondent is evidently no believer in novelties, even when incontrovertible evidence can be adduced that some of them are really earlier, more prolific, and better flavoured than the old kinds. ED.]

CULTURE OF PLANTS IN

SMALL POTS.

IN supplying cultivated plants with the manurial food they require over and above that which the soil to which their roots have access naturally contains, two courses are usually followed-either to fill the storehouse, namely, the soil, at the commencement of operations with as much as is supposed to be required, or to put in less at the beginning, and to make additions from time to time as occasion requires afterwards. Each course has its advantages; the former plan, where all is given at once, leaves the roots to help themselves as they choose, and is the simplest, entailing no further trouble with after-applications. The latter method, whilst giving the roots as much as they need continuously, does not admit of over-gorging at any one time, as may occur where enough to suffice for a lengthened period is placed within their reach at once. The ill effects of this practice becomes most apparent where the roots are confined within a limited space, and the manure is consequently placed before them in a manner that makes over-feeding all but a matter of certainty. To this cause may be attributed the disparity between the gross leaves and the small amount of flowers sometimes noticeable in pot-grown plants, where as much manure has been mixed with the soil they were potted in as was supposed to suffice for the season. When the highest results attainable in the cultivation of plants in very small pots is aimed atthe root space often being restricted to the lowest possible point-the system of frequent manurial feeding becomes a necessity, which must be met by applications in liquid form or in a dry concentrated condition to the surface of the soil, to be washed down when water is given. By either of these means the supply can be regulated in accordance with the demand, giving least in the early stages when growth is less active, and more when the rate of progress is such as enables the plants to feed more freely.

It may be said that the fullest exemplification of what it is possible to accomplish with pot-grown plants is to be seen in the two extremes where very large or very small pots are used. Of the former there is no lack of examples at the various horticultural exhibitions that annually occur throughout the country. The latter are comparatively little seen at these gatherings, being more in the hands of those who cultivate for sale, especially the market growers, whose plants in little pots are at the present day nothing less than marvellous. At one time it would have been thought impossible to have produced them with their roots confined in so little material. The growers of this kind of stock have evidently studied the requirements of each of the different kinds of plants they cultivate, and have also got the exact gauge of the amount of feeding they will bear, for there can be little doubt that if stimu lation were carried further than this the result would be failure. With plants, as with animals, if more food is taken than can be assimilated the constitution gives way; yet there is this difference that animals usually leave off eating when they have had enough, whereas plants have not the same power of rejecting an excess of food. Water, when within reach of their roots they will take up, and if it is too strongly impregnated with even such elements as needful to support growth, plethora follows. The immense increase in the demand for plants in small pots necessitates their being grown in private gardens in numbers greatly exceeding what were once required, and some who have them to provide find a difficulty in getting them equal to such as are forthcoming from the market growers, who have made this little-pot culture their especial study, and have learnt exactly at each stage of growth, in the respective kinds of plants they take in hand, what amount of stimulants they will bear. Needless to say this is a matter that can only be got at by practice; as a rule, the freer and quicker the growth of the plant is naturally the more stimulating food it is capable of taking, giving in all cases weaker applications during the earlier stages of the plant's existence, whilst root and top-growth are alike progressing slower than later on. The old theory about not giving anything in the way of stimulants until the flowers are visible requires to be got rid of, so far as the flowering section of the class of plants under notice is concerned, for if nothing of an invigorating

character is applied until then, they will not be likely to attain more than half the size they should do. The little-pot system of culture means regular feeding from the time there is enough root and top growth present to take it. Another matter of im portance where high feeding of this kind is followed, is that the plants must from the first have all the light it is possible to give them by being stood close to the roof in light houses; and with the same object of encouraging sturdy, robust growth there must never be anything approaching crowding. If in the early stages there is the least approach to a drawn condition, nothing that can be done afterwards will remedy the evil. A point that needs to be also considered with stock of all kinds grown in little pots is that from the time the soil gets full of roots the plants will be more injured should they ever be allowed to suffer for want of water, than if their heads had not been disproportionately large to that of the rootspace. The higher the cultivation resulting from liberal feeding, the less able are the plants to bear short-commons. From the same cause there requires to be no falling off in the liberal feeding when once begun with. T. Baines.

NARCISSUS MINNIE WARREN. NARCISSUS Minnie Warren (fig. 95), which is in all probability a derivative from N. moschatus, is a very pretty novelty, flowers of which were sent us by

FIG. 95. NARCISSUS MOSCHATUS ("MINNIE WARREN"):

FLOWERS PALE CREAM COLOURED.

Mr. F. W. Burbidge. The flowers measure about I inch in length, with a funnel-shaped flower-tube, yellowish at the base, and with six lanceolate, slightly twisted, creamy-white segments, which are about the same length as the cream-coloured, trumpet-shaped corona, whose erect edge divides into shallow lobes and notches.

Reports of Societies.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL: April 14. THIS promenade show was the means of bringing together one of the prettiest of spring flower shows; and the promised Daffodils exhibited by several of the largest growers of these now much admired flowers gave in their abundance just that amount of bright colour that is required in that dingy place, the South Kensington conservatory. One side of the middle area was set apart for Daffodils, and well filled were the portions allotted to Mr. Walker, Messrs. Veitch & Sons, Messrs. P. Barr & Son, and Messrs. Collins Brothers & Gabriel; the palm for perfection of flower being given to the first-named exhibitor. Some fine Amaryllis were shown by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, and by Mr. B. S. Williams; these, and a few Orchids, Cyclamen from Mr. Clarke, hardy flowers from Messrs. Paul & Son, and Azalea indica and Laurustinus from Messrs. Cutbush & Son, gave the

requisite amount of varied colour to the display. Of new plants or new varieties there were not many, and certificates were fortunately sparingly bestowed.

Scientific Committee.

F. Pascoe, Esq., in the chair. Present: Messrs. MacLachlan, Michael, Boulger, Murray, Ridley, Smee, Loder, Beddome, Col. Clarke, Drs. Lowe and Masters.

CYPRIPEDIUM HOOKERA.

Dr. Masters reported on this flower, referred to him at a former meeting. The sepals, petals, and lip were normal, but the column was represented by five petaloid segments, which from their relative position appeared to represent the stamen oppo. site to the lip (absent in normal Cypripedium or represented only by a shield-like rudiment, A I of the recognised diagrams, the other two stamens of the outer row A 2, being unrepresented. Two of the inner stamens, a 1, a 2, were present, as is usually the case in Cypripedium, but were here petaloid, while a 3, generally absent, was here present in the form of a secondary lip. In addition, one of the styles, G I, was present as a petal, so that the flower may be described as a partially double Cypripedium in which some of the stamens and one of the styles were present in a petaloid guise.

FUNGUS ON NARCISSUS.

Mr. Murray agreed with Mr. Plowright, and suggested that the fungus affecting Narcissus and Hyacinth bulbs was Pleospora Hyacinthi, and suggested that diseased bulbs should be sent for cultivation.

WEEVILS IN LENTILS.

Mr. MacLachlan showed specimens of Lentils at. tacked by weevils (Bruchus sp.) in the manner so common in Peas and Beans. The insect perforates the cotyledons, leaving the plumule generally intact, so that Beans of this character are not affected as to their germinating power. When the beetle cannot perforate the hard rind, it perishes with the seed.

CHINESE WAX.

Mr. MacLachlan read extracts from a communi. cation of Mr. Alexander Hosie.

During the present year, in the months of May and June respectively, I had the opportunity of examining these galls (female insects of Coccus Pela) and their contents with some minuteness in the neighbourhood of Ch'ungk'ing, and within the jurisdiction of Cheating Fu, the chief wax-producing country in the province. In the former case I should state that the insect has reached Ch'ungk'ing and its neighbourhood from Chia-ting by short annual stages, being propagated on the insect tree in the country lying between these two cities. Thirty li to the east of Ch'ungk'ing I plucked the galls [the female scale-like insect from the trees [Ligustrum lucidum], and on opening them they were very brittle. I found a swarm of brown creatures like minute lice crawling about [young scale insects]. The great majority of the scales also contained either a small white bag or cocoon containing a chrysalis, whose movements again were visible through the thin covering, or a small black beetle. The beetle is called by the Chinese in Chia-ting the "Nui-êrk," or 'buffalo." If left undisturbed in the broken scale the "buffalo" will, heedless of the wax insects which begin to crawl inside and outside the scale, continue to burrow with his proboscis and pincers in the inner lining of the scale, which is apparently his food. The Chinese declare that the beetle eats his minute companions in the scale, or at least injures them by the pressure of his comparativively heavy body; and it is a fact that the scales from Chien-ch'ang in which the beetles are numerous, are sold cheaper than those in which they are absent. A careful examination, however, has forced me to the conclusion that the beetle is there for a far more useful purpose. When a gall [scale] is plucked from the insect tree an orifice is disclosed where it was attached to the bark; how can the wax insects escape from their imprisonment? I carried back with me a bough with a number of insect scale clinging to it, and watched day by day for signs of life. At last my patience was rewarded by seeing the pincers of the beetle gradually boring a hole through the scale. This scale, when completed, was circular, and of sufficient size to allow him to escape from his imprisonment. Although he did not issue when he had broken his prison wall, but continued to burrow in the inner lining, the wax insects began to crawl out and in, and I am persuaded that the beetle is a wise provision of Nature to afford an outlet for the wax insects. That the beetle devours the insects may well be doubted, for I endeavoured, but without success, to feed him with the daintiest morsels; he always turned away and recommenced burrowing. When I removed the beetles from the scales some of them made efforts of fly, but at that time their elytra were not sufficiently developed, and they had to content themselves with crawling-a movement which, owing to the long proboscis, they performed very clumsily.

The Beetle in question, said Mr. MacLachlan, who altogether doubts the explanation given by Mr. Hosie, is a parasitic beetle of the genus Brachytarsus. He observed that the subject was important in two ways; that the wax is excreted (or secreted) by the male