FOREIGN NOTICES. 



143 



'better results. My long acquaintance with flax 

 led m6 to observe the effects it had upon the waters 

 in which it was submerged, preparatory to break- 

 ing and scutching ; I found that animal life soon 

 became extinct, whether in the running brook, or 

 in the stagnant pond if flax had been steeped there. 

 Fish or insects could sooner exist in a vat of boiling 

 liquid than in the steep water of flax. The know 

 ledge of this fact, together with the recollection of 

 the good effects of steep water on grass land, in- 

 duced me to supply the roots of my dahlias with 

 small quantities of the steep water ; and my anti- 

 cipations that benefit Would be derived from it 

 were more than realized) as your readers are al- 

 ready aware. I also applied flax water for the 

 destruction of green fly, which continually infested 

 my plants, and after an ablution of this water, I 

 was glad to find they soon disappeared. In con- 

 clusion I may mention, that in order that this ma- 

 nure, which I have proved to be beneficial to Hy- 

 drangeas, Geraniums, Roses, &c., may be exten- 

 sively tried, and as I am certain to have flax steep 

 water during the summer quarter, I shall be happy 

 to accommodate any gentleman who may wish to 

 try its eflTects with a supply. J. Hill Dickson, 

 Bi'itish Flax Scutching Mills. Gard. Chron. 



Disbudding.— In the case of several of our 

 cultivated fruit trees, experience has abundantly 

 proved that th^ removal of shoots at an early stage 

 of their growth (which from the adoption of a sys- 

 tem of training, or a tendency in the tree to ex- 

 cessive luxuriance, are deemed superfluous) is both 

 advantageous to the health of the tree and favora- 

 ble to the production of handsome fruit. Pruning 

 may effect the result desired, but it is a violent 

 remedy, although necessary in some degree. Dis- 

 budding, properly speaking, is the art of preventing 

 the development of useless buds at the expense of 

 those which should be preserved, as it must be 

 more advantageous to check an unnecessary shoot 

 at an early stage than to wait until it has exhaust- 

 ed the tree of a greater or less quantity of sap ; as 

 it is probable that a proportion of roots is directly 

 connected with vigorous shoots, it follows that de- 

 rangement in the distribution of the sap ensues 

 from their removal at the period of their full de- 

 velopment. It is, then, generally advisable not to 

 wait until a badly placed shoot is developed, but to 

 suppress it early. With apples and pears peculiar 

 judgment and discrimination are necessary ; stop- 

 ping should systematically be practiced. The ex- 

 cess of shoots produced by peach trees invites the 

 practice we recommend. The same attention 

 should be directed to vines. In our flower gardens 

 much unnecessary growth may be prevented. 

 Roses, for example, if judiciously disbudded, not 

 only bloom better, but form finer and more vigor- 

 ous plants. In fine, we advise a daily inspection 

 of the sorts of trees we have alluded to. Ibid. 



Japan Lilies in the Open Ground. — At the 

 Rooms of the Hort. Soc. in Regent-street, Sept. 

 7, two plants of Lilium lancifolium rubrum, or 

 speciosum, from Mr. Groom, of Clapham Rise, 

 each a single stem, bearing upwards of forty 

 flower buds. "My object in exhibiting thera," 

 wrote Mr. Groom, " is to show how well this 

 variety of lily grows in the open ground ; and as 

 they are perhaps the finest specimens of single 

 stems ever produced, a short account of their cul- 

 ture may possibly not be uninteresting:' — 



" A bed 4 feet wide, of common garden soil, 

 was prepared about the end of November, 1845, 

 by being dug and well broken with a fork, but 

 without any manure, which I do not consider desi- 

 rable in the cultivation of the lily. After the bed 

 was raked level, the bulbs were planted on the 

 surface 15 inches asunder each way, spreading 

 the fibres regularly out. They were then covered 

 85 inches deep from the top of the bulbs with a 

 light sandy soil, composed of sand and fine mould 

 in equal proportions ; the bed was then raked 

 level and left without further care, and it was not 

 protected from frost or bad weather in any way ; 

 last autumn, after the stems were quite dead, the 

 1 top soil was removed down to the bulbs, but with- 

 out disturbing them, and fresh sandy soil was laid 

 over them to the same depth as before. In this 

 bed they flowered well last year, but were sadly 

 injured by the hail storm of the first of August — 

 so much so. that I feared I should have but a very 

 indififerent display of them this season ; they have, 

 however, recovered their strength, and are now 

 in luxuriant growth. It is from this bed I have 

 taken the two specimens now forwarded, which 

 were taken up and potted in the end of last week. 



" I have now established the fact of this variety 

 being equally hardy with the other sorts, and from 

 the vigorous growth and fine colour of the foliage, 

 it is clear it succeeds better in the open ground 

 than when kept in a close green-house, fully illus- 

 trating the advantages to be derived from a free 

 circulation of air in our glass-houses. 



" I have grown the other kinds of Japan lilies 

 in the open air with much success for some years, 

 and have now many thousand flowers just bursting 

 into beauty. 



" I cannot help calling attention to this plant 

 for ornamenting gardens and pleasure grounds, 

 flowering as it does without any trouble, in the 

 open borders at this period of the year, when good 

 flowers are so much needed. It is also a most 

 desirable plant in pots for decorating the conser- 

 vatory, being very fragrant as well as beautiful." 

 Journal London Hort. Society. 



New Fruits from Syria about to be intro- 

 duced. — A Knightian medal having been transmit- 

 ted to John Barker, Esq., of Susedia. for having in- 

 troduced the Stanwick Nectarine, named at p. 272 

 of the first volume of our Journal, and v,'hich is 

 much the finest nectarine in cultivation in this 



