254 



JOURNAL OF HORTlOULTUBE AI?1) COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ April 5, 1877. 



be dry, and yet before tbe plants show distreee, for this plant 

 will not thrive in a parched soil. Ked spider will come in due 

 time, destroy it at the onset. Lay the plant on its side, 

 syriuge on the under side of the foliage forcibly, turning round 

 80 as to dislodge the enemy from every part. It must be done 

 without deluging the soil with water, making it a quagmire. 

 Repeat tbe syringing if necessary. 



From 7-inch transfer to 11-inch pots, leaving space all 

 around juat within the rim (with the plant rather high in the 

 centre) for watering. The drainage should he thorough — a 

 fourth the depth of the pots. Pot moderately firm in compost 

 rough rather than fine. Place in a pit or house, light, mode- 

 rately airy, with plenty of room, having a temperature of 

 45° to 50' "at night, 55 to (>0' by day, or that of an intermediate 

 house, mine being Isept in a pit up to the end of September 

 and then transferred to a greenhouse with a temperature from 

 fire heat of 45 to 40' at night, 50' by day, but that temperature 

 is too low. Notwithstanding, blooming commences in April 

 and is continued until June. I have transferred plants from 

 4-inch to 9-inoh pots successfully, but those who can command 

 a poBition for planting out in a house with a winter temperature 

 of 50' would, I feel certain, be amply rewarded by increased 

 size of plant and bloom. I have sown in April and grown-on 

 in frames, but the plants being large in autumn did not winter 

 well, as flower trusses were shown in early winter, which in a 

 temperature of 45' to 40° at night and 50° by day did not 

 advance. 



The plants are very impatient of a wet sodden soil, and 

 equally so of a cold damp atmosphere, but they flourish in a 

 brisk moist heat if ventilated freely and not shaded. Sown 

 the middle of August in a hotbed in 4-inch pots, removed to a 

 house with a temperature in winter of 45° to 50°, given 7-inch 

 pots the end of September, or 11-inch in February, we have 

 plants that flower in June through the summer, which are the 

 class of plants to be advised for bedding, for unless the plants 

 are well forward by the early part of June there is little to 

 hope from plants planted out in the open ground in a majority 

 of available situations in Britain, to say nothirg of sowing in 

 a " dry, hot, sunny situation in May." 



As to training, let its shoots come out naturally, for it is ill- 

 suited for twisting round stakes ; but if stakes must be used 

 employ as few as possible, not distorting by seeking to make 

 it climb, which is contrary to its nature. The annexed figure 

 of a spray of this plant will enable those who are not yet ac- 

 quainted with it to judge of its appearance. Although very 

 old the plant has not yet been seen by everyone. — G. Aebey. 



■;Th)s plant was discovered as long ago as the year lOflO by 

 Capt. Dampier, the circumnavigaior. He found it growing in 

 the dry sandy soil of one of the islands called Dampier's Archi- 

 pelago on the coast of New Holland, and a small specimen of 

 that very plant is still preserved, without leaves, in the Sher- 

 ardian Museum at Oxford. The late Mr. Allan Cunningham, 

 so well known as the botanical explorer of Australia, bestowed 

 on this plant its commemorative name ; he says, " This species 

 observed sparingly by myself in the voyage of Capt. P. P. Kiug, 

 E.N., in 1818, I have dedicated to that very celebrated navi- 

 gator, its discoverer. In May, 1818, it was found in flower, 

 and only with fruit in a very young state." — [Hort. Soc. Trans. 

 2nd Series, i. 523.) 



Mr. Cunningham met with it afterwards in the western in- 

 terior of New South Wales on the eastern shore of Regent's 

 Lake on the river Lachlan, and by Mr. Eyre and Capt. Sturt 

 it was found on the Gowler Range and Barrier Range near the 

 Darling, about 500 feet above the river. 



It has had many synonyms, as Clianthus Oxleyi, a mere va- 

 riety; Donia tpeciosa, and Kennedya speciosa. Mr. 'Woodward , 

 in " Dampier's Voyage," called it Colutea Novae-HoUandiffi. i 



DET.4ILS Debieable. — The following is from a well-known 

 cultivator : — " The communications of your correspondents 

 are supposed to be for the good of your readers. In many 

 cases one cannot avail oneself of the experience of the writers, 

 because they do not give precise information. One man writes 

 and strongly recommends a Rose, eay, but does not say what 

 soil it has been grown in, on what stock, or whether in 

 the south of England or tbe north of Scotland. Take the 

 article on Apple culture in your last paper. Where does 

 " W. G." live ? On what soil ? What is the use of being told 

 of his having a good middle-of- July Apple :' No one can get 

 it. It is just the Apple I want, but even if I could procure it 

 withotit knowing the soil and climate where it eucceeds, whut 



use is it to me ? He speaks highly of the Baldwin Apple, and 

 what makes mo long for it is the statement that it has an 

 excellent flavour, especially when baked whole. Just what I 

 like — an Apple dumpling baked with a whole Apple." 



SEED POTATOES. 

 PoTATO-rLANTiNG will now be the order of the day in every 

 garden. Selecting seed (I do not mean varieties) is a matter 

 of considerable importance. I find that some recommend 

 large tubers to be planted, others small sets; some whole, 

 others cut. I have grown some excellent crops of Potatoes 

 under very ordinary ciroumstauces, and I consider this not 

 altogether unaffected by the seed. In lifting Potatoes I make 

 three lots of them — first, all above the size of a hen's egg ; 

 second, all above the size of a pigeon's egg; third, all under 

 this size. The first are used in the kitchen, the second are 

 put carefully away for seed, and the small tubers are given 

 to the pigs. This middle size I always plant whole, and I 

 have seen no reason to alter this practice. Some people cut 

 large Potatoes down the centre or make them into two or three, 

 and take a small piece ol'f the end of each small one bufore 

 planting. Where sets are scarce large tubers nny be cut ; but 

 I have not seen nor can I imagine any advantage attending 

 cutting a piece from small tubers. — A Kitchen Gabdekeb. 



PALMS. 



At the fortnightly meeting of the Darlington Gardeners' 

 Institute the following was read by Mr. Lazenby of Woodside : — 



In saying a few words upon Palms I will first mention the 

 well-known genus Areca, tbo popular species being A. sapida, 

 A. aurea, A. Verachaffeltii, and A. lutesoens. This genua pro- 

 duces the well-known betel nut, so famous for its narcotic 

 properties. The leaves are elegantly pinnate-plumed, and 

 gracefully pendant. They are all very suitable for house de- 

 coration in a small state, and when fully grown form a grand 

 feature in the large conservatories of most of our best garden 

 establishments, and are usually well appreciated by the judges 

 at horticultural shows. They are easily kept at a decorative size 

 for the dwelling house by using them in 6 or 8-inch pots, feed- 

 ing well during the growing season with soot water, and at all 

 times giving liberal supplies of clear water, the soot water com- 

 pensating for the loss of pot room. When grown in small pots 

 they form useful window plants, and can be used for the 

 dinner table ; in fact, they may be placed in any part of the 

 dwelling with good effect. The soil should consist of two parts 

 loam, one wood ashes, one peat, and one sand of a sharp 

 nature. 



I will now direct attention to the Daamonorops. The whole 

 plant is of dark green, leaves pinnate, pendulous, pinnje long 

 and narrow, petioles sheathed in the base, armed with long 

 black spines. D. plumosus, D. palembanicus, and I), hystrix 

 are the kinds most cultivated. By growing them in a high 

 temperature yon can secure a grand plant of any of those 

 mentioned in from twelve to eighteen months ; at the same 

 time by keeping them in small pots and feeding with manure 

 water you can keep them in good health for two or three years, 

 in which state they are highly useful for table decoration. Soil 

 the same as for the last. 



I will next mention the Geonomas, which are found growing 

 in Mexico at an elevation of 5000 feet above the sea. Three 

 beautiful Palms are G. Porteriana, G. Seemanii, and G. gracilis ; 

 the leaves of the two first are entire, plaited, deeply bifid at 

 the apex, the fronds in well-grown plants reaching 24 inches 

 in length. Cinches wide at the base.increaeing to 9 or 12 inches 

 at the apex, seen thus they are very striking. G. gracilis is 

 longer in the leaf and somewhat pendulous. At its first intro- 

 duction it was thought this Palm would take the first rank in 

 dwarf Palms ; this I think will not be the case. To those 

 who may wish to try their skill on (i. gracilis I would say, 

 Keep it from growing in the winter months, or you will most 

 surely lose its lower leaves from want of rest at that period. 

 Soil, two parts of peat, one of loam and wood ashes freely 

 mixed ; drain well, give moderate shifts and plenty of water 

 when growing freely, and shade well. 



I will next mention the Chamcerops, all of which do well in 

 a greenhouse ; they play an important part in the sub-tropioal 

 gardening of the south of England ; they are found in North 

 America, North Africa, and South Europe; humilis being the 

 European species. They are of moderate growth, excelsa being 

 the largest, at times reaching a height of 8S feet. The leaves 



