Pobraary 6, 1873. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



119 



ing the fosteriug tree ou whoso juices they live and batten, 

 with dazzlingly brilliant flowers, and a beauty noi their own. 



TuE success achieved by Dr. Moore in propagating and es- 

 tablishing Loranthus europitus at Glasuevin will, no doubt, 

 attract considerable attention among horticulturists and phy- 

 siologists. The occasion, therefore, should not be let slip with- 

 out availing of it to ui'ge on those interested or engaged in the 

 introduction of new and beautiful plants, the desirability of 

 directing their attention to the Loranths of India and other 

 lauds. Mr. Jloore's success with the European species augurs 

 favourably for similar successes, where, as in his case, failure 

 had been confidently pronounced. As Dr. Moore related the 

 other evening, when in January, 1870, Dr. Fenzl, Professor of 

 Botany to the University of Vienna, sent him the fine berry- 

 laden specimen of Loranthus, from the seeds of which the 

 young jilants now on the Oaks at Glasuevin originated, the 

 professor was by no means encouraging. In fact, he stated 

 candidly that he thought the attempt to get the berries to 

 grow would be a failure, as he had never known any instance 

 of the plant having been propagated artificially save once. 

 But surely what could be done once may be done again and 

 again. Well, as regards extra-European Loranthi, there have 

 been pronouncements equally discouraging, and, as we hope 

 ere long, to be proved equally fallacious. The late Dr. Lind- 

 ley, writing some twenty years ago encouragingly with regard 

 to the introduction of a pseudo-parasitic Loranth Nuytsia 

 floribunda, the Fire Tree of the Swan River colonists, said 

 among other discouraging words, " There is no hope of our 

 ever beholding in Europe the magnificent Loranthus bioolor 

 of Bengal, or any of that singular tribe, which to the habits 

 of Viscum add the flowers and coloirrs of our finest Honey- 

 suckles;" and again, "True parasites are beyond our attain- 

 ment, and wo shall no more see Loranths in hothouses than 

 humming bh'ds in aviaries." 



We do not know on what ground Dr. Fenzl augured want of 

 success ; but in the case of Dr. Lindley it was chiefly because 

 there was no means of having in our plant-houses trees or 

 shrubs of sufficieut magnitude to support and nourish these 

 flowering parasites. Now, we rather wonder that Dr. Lindley 

 should have regarded this as the obstacle, inasmuch as, from 

 the statements of scientific travellers and otheis familiar with 

 them, these Loranths by no means affect trees of large growth, 

 or with dense or heavy foUage. On the contrary, some of the 

 most gorgeous-flowering species are found on very low-grow- 

 ing, slender, twiggy shi-ubs. So that this dilfioulty is purely 

 imaginary. 



The real difiiculty, if any, is, as we apprehend, in getting 

 over the berries in good and vegetative condition. Perhaps, 

 when he penned these words, Dr. Lindley also had this in 

 view; but Mount Cenis was not then tunnelled, nor the isth- 

 mus divided by a highway for ships. In onr day intercourse 

 with India is so facilitated that there ought to be no great 

 difficulty in getting berries fresh and in condition by post, or, 

 with better chance of success still by the ordinary quick route, 

 berry-laden specimens, such as and packed iu the same way as 

 that forwarded from Vienna to Glasuevin ; nay, with present 

 facilities, is it even beyond the range of possibility to bring 

 safely to Europe hving foster plants with the parasite growing 

 on them ? These foster ;ilants are not necessarily large. The 

 late Dr. Welwitsch in his interesting paper on the Loranthaceie 

 of Angola, which will be found iu the " Journal of the Horti- 

 cultural Society, South Kensington," just issued, says that on 

 one occasion he found a small bush of Gossypium microcar- 

 pum, only between 2 and 3 feet high, bearing on its slender 

 branches several stems of a pink-flowered Loranthus, nearly a 

 foot long ; and that ou another occasion he met several low 

 shrubs of Tamarix articulata, of which nearly every main 

 branch was adorned by dense patches of a pretty Loranthus 

 with splendid yellow flowers. 



The same Dr. Welwitsch, so familiar with these Loranthi in 

 their native haunts, and equally and practically familiar with 

 the introduction of rare plants to Europe, did not, with Dr. 

 Lindley, regard the former as beyond our attainment in cultiva- 

 tion. On the contrary, he tells us that it was with a view " to 

 encourage and perhaps to facilitate their future introduction 

 to Europe " that he wrote the paper from which we quote, and 

 in which he says the introduction and culture of these inter- 

 esting parasites form worthy objects of attainment by skilful 

 and persevering horticulturists. Mr. M'Pherson, a gentleman 

 also conversant with these parasites in Southern India, where 

 he tells us they grow only too luxuriantly from the sea level 



to 7500 feet and upwards, is no less sanguine as to the pro- 

 spects of their being successfully introduced and cultivated iu 

 Europe. Writing to the GariZcHi'rs' Chrunicle towards the 

 close of 1S71, he offers the foUowiug hints with regard to their 

 introduction : — " I would advise anyone attempting to intro- 

 duce Loranths to gather the seedUng branches and pluck off 



I the leaves (as they might ferment and get mouldy), retaining 

 the berries iu as perfect and unbroken state as possible, so 

 that the glutinous matter may be preserved, and pack the 

 branches iu a rough box with sand, pounded bricks, or char- 

 coal. Li>oking to the fact that a parcel may be received 

 through the post or otherwise in a month or less from the 



j date of packing, there ought to be Uttle difiiculty in at once 

 getting to work at the experimental cultivation of Loranths." 

 Mr. M'Pherson further suggests that the packing case should 

 have air-holes in it. Here, then, is a field for gardening enter- 

 prize and skill. Who, among our wealthy and spirited ama- 

 teurs, scientific aud energetic directors of botanic gardens, or 

 the caterers of new plants for the public, the Veitches, the Bulls, 

 the WUliams, Dicksons, &a., will be the first to enter on it and 

 work it successfully ? We have long wondered it has not been 



I attempted ere now, aud never had misgivings as to ultimato 

 success. With regard to the trees and shrubs which they will 



\ grow upon, tropical Loranths are, we beUeve, as accommodat- 

 ing as is then European counterpart, the Mistletoe. So when 

 anyone is fortunate enough to get the berries, he need scarcely 

 fear not having subjects at hand that will accommodate and 

 foster the pretty parasite. The berries may be attached just 

 in the same way as are those of the Mistletoe. — [Irisli Farmers' 

 Gazette.) 



PROMOTING "WOOD-KIPENING. 



As long as wood is gi-owing, it is very evident it cannot ripen. 

 To arrest growth, water must be withdrawn. A wet wann 

 autumn encourages growth and non-ripening. We have little 

 control over trees pl.anted in the open giound. In some 

 measure we can control growth aud cause ripening of the wood 

 — /.('., by cutting the roots ; and we have some very good 

 instances of this system of cultivation at the present time, 

 where the roots were cut in September last, and the fruit trees 

 are now a mass of bloom-buds. The object of this communi- 

 cation is to show the effects of throwing off the deluge of rain 

 during the last three months of the past year from forty-six 

 large tubs containing Peaches, Nectarines, and Apricots, and 

 also to explain an easy mode of doing this. 



I will explain the mode first. Most of these trees were 

 allowed to remain in the orchard houses to ripen their fruit ; 

 but some were taken out in June and ripened their fruit out of 

 doors, and the flavour of the latter exceeded that of the trees 

 in the houses. All these trees were placed outside the houses 

 at the end of August. As soon as the wood was well formed, 

 two pieces of creosoted boards were placed in a slanting position 

 on each tub so as to throw off the rain ; the eflect of this was 

 to cause all the wood to become of a black-red colour, that of 

 the trees in pots in the house being stUl green and unripe, 

 though they are fast coming into bloom. Fifteen of the above 

 plants are now in full bloom and forming fruit. They are in 

 the double-glazed house, where a temperature of from 45" to 

 o5 has been sustained during the winter by the combustion of 

 roots and other rubbish. — Obseeveb. 



Eamie Grass. — Considerable attention is now beiug given by 

 the planters in some parts of the Southern States of North 

 .America to the cultivation of Kamie Grass, which grows well in 

 Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and, in fact, almost any- 

 where from latitude 33' southward to the Gulf of Mexico. Iu 

 Louisiana some of the planters are replacing the Sugai'-cane 

 with Piamie, which does not require replanting, demands com- 

 paratively little labour in cultivation, and entails no great ex- 

 pense for machinery to prepare it for market. So far as 

 known, it has no insect enemies, its fibre is less bulky and 

 more easily transported than cotton, aud it is sui-e of a ready 

 sale at remunerative prices. At present the fibre sells in Eng- 

 land for 2-10 dols. per ton of 2000 lbs., or 83 cents, per pound, 

 llamie, or Chinese Grass (Urtica tenacissima) is a plant of 

 the Nettle family, which grows spontaneously in British India, 

 China, Java, and other eastern countries. The fibre, which 

 forms its commercial product, is the inner bark of the stem, 

 and when exposed to view by separation from the husk, pre- 

 sents a brilliant pearl-white lustre. The fibre is longer and 

 more uniform than any other, except silk ; it is stronger aud 



