October 22, 18C8. ] 



JOUKNAL OF HOBTICULTUBB AND COTTAGE GAIIDENER. 



297 



disGgurcd by the sua, while the Silver-edged yarietiea seemed 

 not to suffer much ; that it was not until the middle of August, 

 and later, that Mrs. Pollock (which 1 name as the best known 

 of its cliisf) presented fohti;',e at all true to its character. 

 Later in the season, however, it has been all that could bo de- 

 sired. Those who admire its Cue foliage may not regard the 

 appearance of the plant at a distance as of much imporlance ; 

 but they must have Imd to lament so much of the summer 

 passing away before the leaven presented their markings in any 

 degree of perfection. The apjiearance of a Tricolor Pelargonium 

 in ill health, is, on the whole, worse than that of other kinds ; 

 for these rea8on>;, therefore, I am disposed to place this class, 

 as a whole, second in utility for flower garden purposes to the 

 Silver-edged Pelargoniums, and I hope that in putting forth 

 this view, I am not too late to enable those having bolh classes 

 in good condition to make the comparison which I ask them to 

 do between plants of each class at a tUstance as well as close 

 to the eye. 



Having said this much on the comparative merits of Tricolor 

 and Silver-edged Pelargoniums, I will ask space for a few re- 

 marks on the appearance of some other plauts at the present 

 time. Ouaphaliiim lanatum looks richer when wetted with 

 rain or dew than it does in hot sunshine, especially when it 

 has been allowed to grow, and as it were throw its arms over its 

 neighbours a little. An equally handsome plant with white 

 foliage, is Arctotis repens, which with me has been much ad- 

 mired. This also looks well in autumn, or, in fact, at all 

 times. The Golden Pyrethrum has likewise returned to its 

 proper colour, which it partly lost in July and August. The 

 reverse is the case with Chrysanthemum Sensation, which 

 seems to lose its foliage. 



Among dark-foliaged plants, the rich colour of the Coleus is 

 beginning to bleach, and Amaranthus is in places showing 

 signs of giving way, while Iresine is all that can be wished. 

 Those who have a good-foliaged Beet will probably point to it 

 as the most ornamental plant of the season, but as I have not 

 grown it for decorative purposes I must confine myself to 

 asking what it was like before tlie 1st of August. 



The autumn abo brings out the Caphea to greater advantage, 

 and I may mention, that for vases in shady places, I know of 

 no plant more suitable than Cuphea platyceutra, and its hardi- 

 ness enables it to disregard slight frosts. Nierembergia gracilis 

 was, perhaps, better covered with flowers prior to the heavy 

 rains at the end of last month, than anything we had, and it 

 would present a good appearance again if dry weather continued. 

 The new hardy Nierembergia rivularis has not done well with 

 me, and the foliage of Wigandias and Solanums has not been 

 so goad as in lS(j.3. The Castor Oil plants, however, are quite 

 as good, and some are perfecting seeds. — J. Eobson. 



PHYTOLACCA DECANDRA. 



Tour correspondent who was so surprised at seeing this 

 plant growing out of doors at Brussels might see it flourishing 

 like a weed in my garden at Guildford. A few years ago Mr. 

 Weaver gave me a plant of it, which I took up and nursed in 

 a pot for the first winter ; as, however, I found that some bits 

 of the root which I had accidentally sliced off with the spade 

 sent upvigorous plauts in the spring, and also that numbers 

 of seedlings were appearing on all sides, I determined to coddle 

 no more. My plants now remain in the open ground without 

 any protection, and increase enormously in size. They are at 

 the present time in great beauty. In the spring the spade 

 comes itfto requisition for the purpose of slicing the plants into 

 manageable size, and the Dutch hoe destroys hundreds of seed- 

 lings. — H. G. Meebuian, Royal Grammar School, Guildford. 



This plant is perfectly hardy. It has stood for many years 

 in the gardens of the Koj'al Horticultural Society, Chiswick, 

 without any protection in the open border. Every autumn it 

 is exceedingly handsome with its long spikes of dark purplish 

 fruit, which are very striking. It seeds very freely — so freely 

 that some seasons the young plants come up in spring as 

 thickly as Groundsel. A still more pretty kind, however, which 

 is also to be seen at Chiswick, is Phytolacca villosa (?), which is 

 also hardy. Its large Dahlia-like roots require but a spadeful 

 of ashes for their protection during winter. It grows very 

 Strong— to a height of about C feet, and branches much, forming 

 a perfect bush of from 4 to C feet in diameter. Throughout 

 the summer it is handsome as an ornamental-foliaged plant ; 

 and when covered, as it is from the end of July to the end of 



the season, with its long drooping racemes of bright dark pur- 

 plish fruit, it is decidedly one of the handsomest hardy plants 

 to be seen. This plant is much more seldom met with than 

 P. decandra. If I can rccallect aright it is the same plant as 

 used to be grown as a stove plant many years ago, at all events 

 it is remarkably like it. Both of these plants ought to be grown 

 in every garden. — B. 



DESTROYING RATS IN GARDENS. 



A MOST unsavoury subject, but, unfortunately, one which 

 soie against his wUi, is often uppermost in the thouglits of the 

 gardener. Most of his duties are labours of love; but the 

 keeping of these pests at bay, and layiug deep, dark plots for 

 their destruction, can only be appropriately gone about with a 

 slouched hat, a stern brow, and a great amount of deadly hatred 

 in the not-otheiwise-unkind heart. 



It is said of a great General, that when he wanted a man 

 capable of doing a daring deed, or executing a tatk where 

 strength of purpose and great sagacity were indispensable, he 

 always selected one with a long nose. Of this being an in- 

 faUible criterion I have some double, and if I— not being a 

 General, wanted a man possessed of these qualifications and 

 several more equally serviceable, I should, in preference, cer- 

 tainly pitch upon a man capable of out-witting a host of those 

 clever vermin — rats. 



Our great enemy, the common brown rat, is supposed to have 

 been imported into this country from India about a century 

 and a half ago. Previous to its introduction, a smaller and 

 less destructive race of black rats held undisputed sway, but 

 are now almost, if not totally exterminated by their brown 

 brethren. The latter have since been distributed all over the 

 civilised world mostly by British shipping, so much so, that it 

 has become a common saying among sailors, that " rats, Scotch- 

 men, aud bad weather are to be foimd everywhere." 



In attempting to wage war successfully against rats, their 

 habits must be closely observed, aud their instinctive powers 

 somewhat correctly estimated. It is well known that their 

 sense of smell is very acute, and that they depend more upon 

 it for guidance in their search for food and in avoidin;; traps 

 than they do upon either their eyes or ears, and this circum- 

 stance is accordingly taken advantage of by the rat-catcher in 

 many ways. They have also very retentive memories, so that 

 if one makes a narrow escape to-day, he is not likely to forget 

 it for some time to come. Owing, no doubt, to their eastern 

 origin, they are very fond of warmth, and they do enjoy them- 

 selves immensely in running up and down among a lot of Ver- 

 bena cuttings plunged in a hotbed, stopping now and then to 

 nibble over a pot of the last new sort, just because they feel so 

 happy. But over and above these traits, long years of conflict 

 with man, through thousands of rat generations, have battered 

 into their natures an amount of general cunning not easily 

 over-matched. 



Where rats are very numerous, and where they are at liberty 

 to come and go when they choose, owing to the garden not 

 being entirely enclosed by high, well-coped walls, the only effi- 

 cient means of sensibly diminishing their numbers is by poison ; 

 trapping, as ordinarily practised, is little better than labour 

 lost under these circumstances. From their extreme wariness, 

 even poisoning them is no easy matter; but after much experi- 

 ence in this detestable business, I have found the following 

 method veiy successful :— Select an empty quarter not far from 

 their usual runs, on which to commence operat.'ons ; on this 

 place in heaps a few barrowloads of warm stable dung, spread 

 it out in the form of shght hotbeds, and over each place a one- 

 light frame, if such are to be had, if not, a few large hand- 

 glasses. Procure some coarse suet, tallow, or any fatty matter, 

 which, when melted down aud mixed with oatmeal or bran, 

 forms a pastry of which rats are very fond. Put a little of it 

 into each frame, and shut it up, as if most anxious that no 

 rat should enter. The first night after this is done will most 

 likely be spent by the enemy in reconnoitring ; the next in 

 breaking in and discussing the savoury morsels. Freeh sup- 

 plies must be put in every day, increasing the quantity each 

 time if it is all eaten. This is what may be termed educating 

 the "varmint," and may be continued for four or five succes- 

 sive nights, after wliich, by way of change, similar food well 

 seasoned with arsenic may be substituted, and it will be eaten 

 up as greedily as the rest. Some employ strychnine instead ; 

 but it renders its victims poisonous, and being thus additionally 

 dangerous, I have never had the courage to use it. The 

 poisoned food should only be supplied for two or three nights 



