March 22, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



213 



Atlantic an imposBibility, yet aoeording to the evidence of 

 the Earl of Carnarvon in the House of Lords the insect is 

 now established iu Europe, and orders in Council have been 

 issued preventing its transit from Germany to England. It 

 is calculated that iu the course of the summer the insect 

 brings forth three generations, and that a couple of Colorado 

 beetles will annually produce fourteen thousand insects. The 

 following is the history of the pest. It was first perceived in 

 America in 1S23 in the BocUy Mountains. As it did not find 

 Bufiicient food in the barren soil of those parts it emigrated to 

 more fertile laud, and finding the Potato to its taste fastened 

 upon it iu preference to all other food. Thus in a short time 

 all the Potato fields were devastated. In 1859 it caused im- 

 mense mischief in the territory of Nebraska ; in 1861 it over- 

 ran the State of Missouri and was observed in Iowa. In 1865 

 it entered Minnesota, and in the following year it crossed the 

 Mississippi Kiver and invaded the States of Wisconsin, Illinois, 

 and Kentucky. In 1870 it appeared in the States of Michigan 

 and Ohio ; the lake of the former proved no obstacle to its 

 advance. In 1871 it penetrated into Canada, Pennsylvania, 

 and New York. Lastly, in 1874 ships brought it over to Ger- 

 many in boxes containing Potatoes. The insect was concealed 

 in the earth that enveloped the tubers and in the dry leaves 

 in which they were packed. 



We have received from Mr. Abbey some bunches of 



Violets taken from plants which have been flowering in frames 

 since October. Though the plants have bloomed for nearly 

 six months the flowers now produced are very superior. Espe- 

 cially fine is the true Neapolitan, of which there are several 

 varieties, the one sent having been received from Florence. 

 It is the finest, sweetest, and most floriferous of all double 

 Violets. Victoria Eegina is the best of the singles excepting 

 Prince Consort, which is lighter — nearly blue^in colour. We 

 never saw finer Violets than these, nor cleaner and better 

 foliage. 



The following are the "vivid imaginings'-' of an 



American mind who has been haimted with the tkanks of the 

 Pansies. " There is something about Tansies charmingly com- 

 panionable, social, fairy-like. They look at you in a knowing 

 way, and nod their heads, and once in a while you will see 

 one hid away in the leaves, actually 'laughing in his sleeve;' 

 and if you look pretty sharp you will be very apt to detect 

 some impudent fellow ' making faces ' at you. We have ob- 

 served that they do this the more frequently and boldly just 

 about dusk." 



"I HAVE lately," writes Mr. Darwin in "Nature," 



'■ received an interesting letter from Fritz Miiller in St. Ca- 

 therina, Brazil, on the subject of inoKoscoric seeds. He tells 

 me that in the highlands of the Uruguay he has succeeded in 

 discovering more than a dozen Grasses, as well as a species of 

 Gerankim, whose awns are capable of hygroscopic torsion. 

 The most curious among the specimens received are the seeds 

 belonging to the genus Aristida. In ona of these the awn is 

 longitudinally divided into three fine tails, 6 or 8 inches in 

 length, each of which twists on its own axis when the seed is 

 dried. These tails project in three directions, and more or 

 less at right angles to the axis of the seed, and Fritz Miiller 

 states that they serve to hold it in an upilght position with its 

 lower end resting on the ground. The seed is pointed and 

 barbed in the usual manner, and when it is made to rotate by 

 the twisting of the awns, it evidently forms a most effectual 

 boring instrument, for Fritz Miiller found many seeds which 

 had penetrated the hard soil in which the parent plant was 

 growing. In another species of Aristida, as the tails wind 

 together and form the strands, the seed is made to rotate and 

 thus bury itself in the ground." 



HYACINTHS AFTER FLOWERING. 

 A suoKT time ago a suggestive letter on the importance of 

 preserving and maturing the foliage of Lilies of the Valley 

 appeared in the .Journal from the Hon. and Kev. .J. T. Bos- 

 oawen. The force of Mr. Boscawen's observations have no 

 doubt been appreciated by many readers, for, as was remarked 

 in connection with the letter, without good foliage there can 

 be no perfect flowers. If that observation applies, as it does 

 apply, to the one prime essential in the support and matura- 

 tion of the rhizomes and crowns of Lilies, it applies with at 

 least equal force to the sustenance and ripening of the bulbs of 

 Hyacinths. Without good foliage there cannot be good bulbs, 

 and without good bulbs there cannot be good flowers. That is 



the logic of facts, and it is easy to be remembered by all who 

 have latterly been indulging in the pleasure of growing Hya- 

 cinths, and who desire to preserve the bulbs in as good a con- 

 dition as possible for producing flowers in future years. 



Hyacinths are not annuals, to be flowered once and done 

 with ; they are perennials, and with ordinary care wiU yield 

 perennial beauty. It is not suggested that the spikes produced 

 by Hyacinths iu future years will equal in size and beauty 

 those which were produced during the first season's flowering 

 in England. The bulbs on arrival from Holland were at their 

 best — the zenith of their maturity ; but that is no reason that 

 they should be destroyed immediately afterwards, any more 

 than a fruit tree or a horse should be " put out of sight" by 

 violent means when the first signs of declining vigour have 

 become apparent. Rather should the waning resources — valu- 

 able even if declining — be aided, in order that a maximum of 

 value may be derived over as long a period of time as possible. 



Than Hyacinths no flowers are more popular, none more 

 easily managed, none more extensively cultivate!. The num- 

 ber of purchasers of bulbs are increasing yearly, and would 

 increase still more could the bulbs be induced to produce 

 flowers year after year instead of making one "grand flash," 

 like the finale of a pyrotechnic display, and then " done with." 

 Hyacinths are imported by millions ; but what becomes of 

 them? Why, they are killed. There is no reason that this 

 should be so, but every r3ason why they should be preserved. 

 Until the flowering period they are treated with solicitous care, 

 and air, light, and water are provided to render them as per- 

 fect as poesible ; but as soon as flowering is over the three 

 essentials are no longer regarded as important, yet they are as 

 important as ever in producing good foliage, which is the cer- 

 tain forerunner of good flowers during the following year. 



As soon as the flowers of a Hyacinth have faded the spike 

 should be cut, or seeds will possibly form, which are more ex- 

 haustive than the flowers. The foliage should then be induced 

 to make vigorous and prolonged growth by the assistance of 

 good food — manure water, and under the influence of sun and 

 air. Early-flowering Hyacinths can only have their growth per- 

 fected by being kept in artificially heated houses ; but others 

 (and these are the great majority) which flower late — i.e., in 

 March and April, need nothing more than a cold frame, or 

 even the shelter of mats, to preserve the foliage from injury 

 after flowering has ceased. It should be remembered that the 

 foliage of Hyacinths which have been grown under glass is as 

 susceptible of injury by sudden exposure to the sun as by the 

 influence of a low temperature. There must be no flagging, 

 scorching, or discoloration that can be prevented by shade, 

 shelter, and attention. The plants should be gradually hard- 

 ened, and when green and healthy may be planted out closely 

 together in light soil. There they may remain until the foliage 

 decays, when the bulbs may be assorted and stored until Sep- 

 tember, when they may be potted or planted where they are 

 required to flower. Some of the bulbs, if the management has 

 been judicious, will produce very good spikes, while others 

 will not be worthy of being potted, but may be planted where 

 they can remain and increase. These preserved bulbs, which 

 are again potted, should only be regarded as supplementary to 

 the Dutch-grown bulbs which are potted singly for producing 

 stately spikes, the home-grown bulbs being potted three to five 

 iu each pot for producing masses of smaller spikes, which are 

 very beautiful, and are invaluable for yielding cut flowers and 

 conserving the principal spikes. 



As an instance that the preservation of forced Hyacinth 

 bulbs does not miUtate against the purchase of uuperior Dutch- 

 grown produce I can adduce very good testimony. Some years 

 ago on taking charge of a garden the owner stated that he was 

 tired of buying Hyacinths, which he could only enjoy one 

 month, the bulbs being then " exhausted and wasted." I 

 bought a dozen myself, and so managed them that they nearly 

 all flowered well the second year. When my employer saw 

 this he was encouraged to purchase, and he now does not 

 hesitate to buy a hundred bulbs annually where he once 

 refused to buy a dozen. His garden is now, to use a common 

 phrase, " full of Hyacinths," which each year produce a 

 charming effect, and afford hundreds of spikes for cutting and 

 distributing amongst friends. This is simply the result of 

 preserving in the best manner possible the forced bulbs by 

 encouraging the growth of good foliage after flowering by the 

 assistance of generous treatment, light and air. 



Hyacinths which have flowered in water should as soon as 

 possible be carefully placed in leaf soil or cocoa-nut fibre 

 refuse, and be kept moist so as to preserve the foliage as long 



