298 



JOUI.NAL OF EOETICOLTUEE AND COTTAGK GAEDENEB. 



[ October 22, 1888. 



at most, for by that time the survivors ■will have begnn to sus- 

 pect foul play, and will not eat, so that further education and 

 stronger inducements will be necessary. For this purpose 

 obtain from a chemist some oil of rhodium, aniseed, or musk ; 

 impregnate the food with one or other of these strong scents, 

 also some cotton rags with which trails should be made from 

 those parts of the garden most infested, towards the frames. 

 The infatuation with which they follow these trails indicates a 

 weak part in their crafty natures, and is often made use of to 

 lure them into traps. Feed for two or three nights as before, 

 then treat to another dose of poison, and by persevering in 

 this course for ten days or a fortnight at a time, great numbers 

 may be destroyed. 



The great fault of most traps is, that in them is made no 

 provision for biding the fate of those caught, their inventors 

 evidently greatly undervaluing the reasoning powers of the rat. 

 Owing very much to this defect, no trap has yet been con- 

 strneted the use of which will remain successful for any great 

 length of time in one place, although a great amount of inge- 

 nuity has been expended in that direction. What is wanted is 

 some engine that will admit all comers, and so effectually hide 

 and imprison them, that they cannot communicate to outsiders 

 the startling fact that they are in durance vile. I was recently 

 told by a farmer how he used to capture a good many of them, 

 and the plan is very simple. A sort of labyrinth was made — 

 something, I suppose, in the style of the maze at Hampton 

 Court, by setting boards upon their edges. In the middle, 

 crusts of bread steeped in double-strong whisky were placed, 

 and the whole covered over with a tarpaulin. Trails were then 

 made to the door of this dram shop by dragging a roasted her- 

 ring slowly ever the ground. To those that entered and par- 

 took, intoxication, bewilderment, and capture would, no doubt, 

 be the consequences ; but I am afraid they would not be 

 numerous. Grains of Cocculus indicus have also been recom- 

 mended for that purpose. 



Some affirm that rats may be banished from a place alto- 

 gether by taking as many of them alive as possible in box 

 traps, smearing them over with coal tar, and setting them at 

 liberty; but such treatment seems almost too cruel, even for a 

 rat. 



To some it may be of service to know that rats may be pre- 

 vented from burrowing under the front walls of vineries, which 

 are generally built on arches, by laying common rabbit wire- 

 netting flat upon the border close to the wall, and covering it 

 with 2 or 3 inches of soil. Although the meshes should be so 

 targe that rats might easily pass through them if clear on both 

 sides, as in a fence, yet they cannot remove the soil from 

 underneath. 



There is no evil so bad, however, but that it might possibly 

 be worse. In some parts of India they have a rat, the Mus 

 giganteus of naturalists, and a most gigantic nuisance it must 

 be. It is said to weigh 3i lbs., to measure 28 inches in length, 

 and to earn a living by burrowing through solid brick walls 

 and carrying off full-grown poultry. What a delightful com- 

 panion he would be to our friends at the end of the Jonmal.— 

 Ayrshire Gardener. 



MARECHAL KIEL AND ALFRED COLOMB 

 ROSES. 



That must have been a dazzling sight which your correspon- 

 dent, " An Ardent Lov-er of the Rose," describes in the 

 Journal for October 1st. I can well imagine the golden glory 

 ■which 114 blooms of the loveliest of Eoses would produce, and 

 I can only express my regret that I was not one of the favoured 

 few who participated in a sight which has such a fascination 

 forrosarians. Such an exhibition tends to remove the doubts 

 which have been freely expressed as to the good qualities of 

 Marfichal Niel. 



_ I am inclined to think that Marcjchal Niel will prove of very 

 vigorous growth, for during a visit which I have recently made 

 to Yorkshire, I have seen it growing to perfection, "in the 

 garden of Mr. .lohn Milne, of Hull, " an ardent lover of Roses " 

 of many years' standing, may be seen a plant of Marochal Niel 

 on its own roots, which has this season thrown up a shoot now 

 9 feet high, and as thick at the base as one's thumb. It was 

 Still growing when I saw it on the 4th instant. 



The suggestion made by your correspondent, that boxes of 

 select varieties, such as Maiuchal Niel, Gloire de Dijon, Charles 

 Lefebvre, etc., should he exhibited, I cordially endorse. One 

 of the most beautif al sights at our last Birmingham Show was 



boxes of Alfred Colomb. The lovely form, full and graceful, 

 the depth of petal and glorious colouring which this Rose uni- 

 formly presented, impressed me so favourably, that in my 

 humble opinion Alfred Colomb must be allowed to take the 

 foremost place in the list of Hybrid Perpetuals. It is un- 

 rivalled.— C. W. M., Wylde Green. 



BATTERSEA PARK. 



{Conclude J. from page 167.) 

 A SUBSEQUENT visit to the Park about three weeks ago, was 

 chiefly devoted to what is known as the Peninsula garden, 

 which lies to the left of the northern entrance to the subtropical 

 department, and is for a considerable portion of its length 

 skirted by the lake. Passing into this garden, the first feature 

 that attracted attention was a cosy nook planted with tree 

 Ferns, consisting of Dicksonia antarctiea, Alsophila anstraUs 

 and excelsa, and a handsome specimen of Cyathea dealbata. 

 Accompanying these were Carludovica latifolia, a dwarf Pandanad 

 with plaited pale green leaves ; Philodendron crassinervium, 

 with pointed lanceolate leaves, of which the midribs form a 

 very thick band, flat on the upper side ; P. macrophyllum, with 

 broad Caladiumlike leaves ; and Pothos aoaulis, 4.J feet in 

 height, and very luxuriant. The Stag's-horn Fern, Platyce- 

 rium aloicorne, was also looking very healthy. In a corre- 

 sponding shady nook on the lake side of the walk, there was a 

 beautiful group of the Bird's-nest Fern, of which the lively 

 green fronds indicated that the plants were profiting by the 

 free air and liberty which they thus enjoyed. Associated with 

 these we noticed Philodendron Simsii, Cordyline indivisa, 

 which stands the weather well out of doors in summer and 

 autumn ; the Loquat ; an Alsophila excelaa, spreading its fronds 

 over a space 9 or 10 feet in diameter ; Latania borbonica, and 

 that graceful Palm Seaforthia elegans, which has been making 

 fresh fronds throughout the season. 



Facing the lake, but on the opposite side of the waKc, an 

 extremely effective oblong bed was planted as follows : — Along 

 the centre were five circles, the two end ones filled with Alter- 

 nanthera amcena ; the centre circle with Lady Galium, varie- 

 gated Pelargonium, and the other two respectively with Pelar- 

 gonium Aureum, and Crystal Palace Gem. These circles were 

 surrounded with Veronica incana ; a mass of Alternanthera pa- 

 ronychioides filling up the space between the circles and the 

 edging of Mrs. Pollock Pelargonium, margined with Semper- 

 vivum californicum. In a trial bed of Cannas at the back of 

 the oblong bed just mentioned, Canna grandiflora floribunda 

 was remarkable for its dwarf habit and fine flame orange- 

 coloured flowers, paler in colour at the base of the petals. 

 Another variety called Imperator, in the same bed, was of ex- 

 tremely vigorous growth, having foliage not unlike that of a 

 Banana. 



The next beds were circles planted with Caladium cucullatnm, 

 and the handsome Rice-paper plant, Aralia papyrifera ; the 

 ground under the latter was carpeted with the well-known 

 Cyanotis vittata, or Tradescantia zebrina, the whole being 

 edged with Vinca elegantissima, surrounded with Alternan- 

 theras. Passing onwards we reached a panel bed similar in 

 design to that already described, only the circles at each end, 

 and that in the centre, were filled with Gold and Bronze Pelar- 

 goniums, Arab, Zebra, and Egyptian Queen, the other two 

 circles being planted with Snowdrop and Queen of Queens, 

 white-edged varieties. As before the circles were edged with 

 Veronica incana, the panel was filled up with Alternanthera 

 amcena, and the whole edged with the pretty Sempervivnm 

 californicum. This bed, like the other, had been very effective, 

 but the Pelargoniums had lost much of their beauty. 



A lunette bed next claimed attention. This was planted with 

 Polymnia gvandis formiEg a mass in the centre, with little 

 blocks of the variegated Japanese Maize and Amaranthus 

 melancholicus ruber in front, Echeveria seounda glauca making 

 a beautiful edging. A similar lunette was filled with Solanum 

 laciniatum elegans, with beautifully cut leaves, and large 

 flowers, backed with Eucalyptus globulus, and having Wigandia 

 urens in front, the edging to the whole being Veronica incana. 



We now come to a new feature — namely, a series of mounds 

 on the shores of the lake, chiefly covered with alpine plants, 

 plants for the most part of small and even minute growth, 

 offering a marked contrast to the bold luxuriance of the tro- 

 pical vegetation around. One of these mounds was carpeted 

 with Antennaria tomentosa, and the silvery groundwork which 

 it forms was studded with Bempervivum phioloides and atro- 



