i88i.] NOTES FROM THE PAPERS. 19 



consideration," — a sentiment to which we are sure any intelligent reader who 

 reads his address will cordially subscribe. 



Mr Luckhurst has been writing on the Potato disease in the ' Journal of 

 Horticulture,' and although his arguments on that head are not very much to 

 the point, he has one fact to record which is worth more than all the rest. 

 He says he only secures his Potato crop when he lifts the tubers before they 

 have finished their growth, and before the disease attacks them. His theory 

 seems to be, that the disease does not manifest itself before maturation sets in, 

 and if the Potatoes are lifted and stored before that period they will be saved ; 

 and he could, for years back, and does now, point to "store-sheds full of 

 sound Potatoes " in proof of his statements. It is not the first time that early 

 lifting has been suggested, if not practised ; but whether the experiment has 

 been fully tried or not, we cannot say. Mr Luckhurst will have done good 

 service, however, if he can prove what he says in a perfectly satisfactory 

 manner. If he has saved his crops on all occasions by the means he states, 

 there is no reason why others should not do the same ; and it is to be hoped 

 the subject will receive further attention. "We attach great value to state- 

 ments like Mr Luckhurst's, but it is essential that they should be verified in 

 the most satisfactory manner. It appears that Mr Luckhurst lets his crops 

 grow as long as he thinks safe ; and as soon as the tubers have reached a fair 

 size, and before a speck of disease appears on the foliage, he lifts and stores at 

 once. What about the keeping qualities of the tubers stored at this stage ? 



It has been stated by several correspondents of the ' Garden ' that the Blue 

 African Lily is hardy, or nearly so, in some parts of England, and succeeds 

 well out-of-doors. For whatever purpose it is used it is a beautiful plant, and 

 is well worth cultivating as a conservatory specimen, or for indoor decoration. 

 Its tall spikes of delicate blue flowers render it a conspicuous and pleasing 

 object anywhere. Its near neighbour, the Imantophyllum, is also tolerably 

 hardy, and has been planted out and flowered well in the open beds in York- 

 shire during the summer months. There are several varieties of this plant, 

 the best producing very large trusses of deep orange-coloured flowers. We 

 saw an immense plant of this in the front hall of a gentleman's house sometime 

 since, and thought it one of the finest decorative specimens we had ever seen. 



If it could be proved that the climate of Derbyshire and Yorkshire was 

 superior to the climate of "Worcester, Hereford, and Kent," it may be 

 readily comprehended that that interesting "under-ground" theory promul- 

 gated under the auspices of the Scottish Horticultural Association need not be 

 quite abandoned. If Apples and Pears, &c., succeed better in a bad climate 

 than in a good one, it is manifest that there must be something in the " strat- 

 um of soil" that does it. If, however, this question of climate cannot be 

 sustained, we do not see what course is open to the able author of the * Fruit 

 and Flower Producing Agencies of Fibry Roots ' but to capitulate as grace- 

 fully as he can ; and the closing paragraph of a late communication of his to 

 this paper shows how well he understands the amenities of polite discussion, 

 and that this is not too much to expect from him. With regard to the ques- 

 tion at issue — climate — here is what any one may read in any authentic 

 topographical and statistical history of Worcester from which our author hails, 

 — and the other two counties are much the same : "The soil of Worcester con- 

 sists of almost every variety suitable for vegetation ; its timber is magnificent, 

 especially the Elm, which is called "the weed of Worcester. It produces 



