FOREIGN NOTICES. 



143 



Instrument of execution; it is the shirt of Nessus; 

 it is the robe of Atropos. It is to enable the 

 gardener to dispatch his mortal enemies. It is to 

 relieve his rose bushes from that foe which he 

 assails in vain with snuff, g^as water and smelling 

 salts. It is to kill green-lly, {Aphis.) 



The instrument is used thus. In the first place 

 the petticoat is drawn up till it rests upon the 

 outside of the parasol. The staff of the latter is 

 then introduced perpendicularly into the centre 

 of a rose bush, and secured in its place by being 

 pushed into the ground. The petticoat being then 

 drawn down, the bush is completely covered in 

 by the garment. 



ricret liorrida ter^n 



Palla — ^ -. 



The gardener then blows his tobacco smoke be- 

 neath it: in a few minutes the rose bush is enve- 

 loped in a cloud which has no outlet ; the green 

 fly seeks in vain to escape from the fatal atmos- 

 phere which enters every fold and lurking-place ; 

 he clings in vain to his beloved rose-buds; his 

 grasp relaxes; he falls; he dies; and with him 

 Unmimljered corses stre^v the fatal plain. 



Five minutes suffice for the execution. The 

 veil may then be raised, the instrument removed, 

 and the operation repeated upon a new horde of 

 delinquents. 



Beware, however, of leaving the poison which 

 killed Aphis, upon the leaves of the rose tree. 

 Let them be immediately syringed abundantly 

 with lukewarm water, so as to remove the odor, 

 or it may be found that in destroying our enemies 

 we have also ruined our friends. 



M. Andre Leroy of Angers, France, has succeed 

 ed in grafting that superb plant, Clianfhus puni- 

 ceus upon Colutea arborcscens, the common Blad- 

 der Senna. 



Beautiful effects also were produced by him by 

 grafting the Lilac on the common Ash (Fj-axinus) 

 standard high. The Lilac forms a handsome bushy 

 liead, and flowers finely. — Revue Horticolc. 



Effect of Sulphate of Iron on Vegeta- 

 tion. — The Journal d-Horticulture Pratique as- 

 serts that a tree of which the wood is tender, 

 poor, and sickly, to which a strong solution of 

 sulphate of iron should be applied, revives and 

 puts forth an extraordinary vegetation. This dis- 

 solution of suljihate, of which M. Paquet has made 

 many successful applications this summer, should 

 be given in and with the water, when the plants 

 or trees are watered, so that the roots may more 

 readily absorb the chemical agencies which reani- 

 mate the vital forces of the tree. 



Rhododendron arboreum. — There is no flower 

 in the conservatory during the dull months of Ja- 

 nuary and February, that can jn any way vie, in 

 elegance of habit, or brilliancy of color, witli tlie 

 Rhoiioilcndron arboreum, and yet in how few 

 instances do we meet with it in perfection; in 

 how many do we find complaints made of the 

 difficulty there is in inducing it to bloom at all; 

 in fact, I have known many persons to have this 

 plant in their care for years, and never to succeed 

 with it; so that eventually one of the richest 

 ornaments of our conservatories is discarded as 



worthless. I have a very handsome bush about 

 six feet in height in the conservatory here, which 

 during the months of January and February last 

 was truly splendid; it had forty-six fine large 

 heads of bloom fully expanded at one time, be- 

 sides many more, both before and after, all of the 

 richest bright crimson. This plant is now again 

 set for bloom, and I expect will have about sixty- 

 five or seventy heads; a smaller plant about three 

 feet in height is also beautifully set with blossom 

 buds, and will flower any time during the next 

 winter, according to its treatment. My attention 

 was first drawn to this plant by seeing the very 

 large specimens at ]\Ir. Knight's in the King's- 

 road, and I thought if smaller plants of the species 

 could be made to flower as well, how very desi- 

 rable they would be. I have been generally suc- 

 cessful in my treatment, which mainly consists in 

 a careful attention to the supply of water. During 

 January, and the four succeeding months, they 

 require a very plentiful supply; the four follow- 

 ing, viz., June, July, August, and September, 

 only half the quantity; and during October, No- 

 vember, and December, I give scarcely any, 

 gradually drying the ball completely, even to 

 punishing the plant. Perhaps these hints may 

 have some effect in making the R. arboreum more 

 universally cultivated and better bloomed. — J. £. 

 Snow, in Gard. Chroiu 



Trichosanthes Colubrina. The Serpent Cu- 

 cumber, or Hairblossora. Stove Perennial. Spa- 

 nish Main. — We believe that the sole possessor of 

 this curious plant is Sir John Hay Williams, Bart., 

 of Bodelwyddan, near St. Asaph. The seeds had 

 been received from Puerto Caballo, and imder 

 the care of Mr. Sparrow, the gardener at Bodel- 

 wyddan, soon produced young plants. In growth, 

 the species resembles a Cucumber, with leaves ten 

 or twelve inches across, and varying in form from 

 heart-shaped to thiee or five lobed. The flowers 

 are white, and beautifully cut into delicate threads, 

 whence the botanical name Trichosanthes, which 

 Sir James Smith translated Hairblossom. The 

 fruits, which hang down from the rafter to which 

 the vines of the ])lant arc traineil, resemble ser- 

 pents, are six feet long, and when unripe, are 

 singularly striped with green and white, which 

 changes to brilliant orange. We already possess 

 in our gardens an allied species from the East 

 Indies, called the Snake Cucumber, which ditlcrs 

 in having smaller flowers, hispid coarsely toothed 

 leaves and fruit, which is scarcely half the length 

 of this, and is, therefore, much less remarkable in 

 appearance. From Mr. Sparrow we have received 

 the following .account of his mode of cultivating 

 this plant: "I sowed the seeds last June in a 

 small pot, and jilacod them in the Pinestove, 

 where tlicy vegetated in about a week; anil after 

 the plant had attained the heiglit of eighteen 

 inches, 1 planted one in the pit of the i)lant-stove, 

 in a compost consisting of two-tliirds bog and 

 loam in equal portions, to one-third leaf-mould 

 and sand, where it grew finely, anil ripened the 

 first fruit about tlic middle of November. I may 

 mention, that tlie idt in which I planted it is 

 heated underneath with hot water pipes." — Bota- 

 nical Register. 



