March 6, IStJC. ] 



JOURNAX OP HOBTICULTURK AND COTTAGE GAEDKNEB. 



181 



My attention was directed to it more than thirtyyears afto, and on 

 the whole mj' practice wils attended with very marked success, 

 and I hope before the end of the year to he able to introduce a 

 simple and efficacious mode of grafting the Yiue, by which a 

 year or more may be saved. 



Being desirous of working some new sorts upon established 

 Vines and some young caues, I determined to try " Thomson's 

 Styptic " ri;rxiii my fifaftiug-witx. I received some cuttings or 

 grafts about the :20th of January, at which time the sap of 

 some of the Vines had risen, and the buds were swelling. For 

 graft the first I prepared the scion, the sap of which was rather 

 np, 'and out the spur in which it was to be inserted; then j 

 drop, drop, drop, away went the sap. I inserted the scion as i 

 speedily as possible, but before I could apply the wax the 

 sap was dropping out of the end of the scion. I then put on 

 the hot wax, but it soon seut the sap up in bubbles, and drop, 

 drop, ag.iin, but " Nil desperandum," so I took the scion out, 

 dried the end, dipped it into " Thomson's Styptic," and placed 

 it in the sim to dry quickly, then took a piece of strong copper 

 wire, and with a pair of pliers twisted it round the spur close 

 to the main stem until it ceased bleeding. By this time the 

 " Styptic " was dry on the end of the scion. I inserted the 

 latter again, tied it, and applied the " Styptic." As soon as 

 this was thoroughly dry I gave it another dressing, and in two 

 or three hours took off the wire, and it and No. 2, four weeks 

 atter being grafted, have shot out nearly equal to the parent 

 stem. 



Graft No. 2 was equally forward ; but I took the precautious 

 of dipping the end and putting on the wire ligature, and in 

 cutting the spur lost a drop or two of sap owing to its pressure. 

 I inserted the scion, tied it, and applied the " Styptic " twice, 

 with complete success, judging by the vigorous shoot. 



No. 3 not being so forward, I did not take the precaution of 

 dipping the end of the scion, but inserted it in the same way as 

 the others. Next morning I found it bleeding from the end; 

 but by a little perseverance with the " Styptic " the bleeding 

 stopped, and the graft is now doing well. I also found some 

 small bubbles at the junction of the grafts, burst one, and 

 a little bleeding resulted ; but by taking advantage of a dry at- 

 mosphere and the sun, I gave another coating, and all was right. 

 I should have mentioned that only one coating was given at 

 first. 



The other grafts, numbering more than thirty, for use and 

 experiment, were made when vegetation was not so forward, 

 and they have all done well so far, except in a few cases where 

 the scions were not ai)propriate in size, but I think every one 

 will grow. — YoitK. 



to be found in the pro^dnces in Ireland. His Caladiums are 

 grown to an immense size, more like Ehubarb than anything 

 else to which I can compare them, although by the skilful 

 management of Mr. Burns they retain that great beauty of 

 foliage for which they are so justly noted. Mr. Naper has a 

 plant of Sphierogj-ne latifolia upwards of feet high, .nnd fur- 

 nished to tlie pot with its immense leaves. In bedding and 

 ribbon work the place is not surpassed in Ireland, as nearly 

 forty thousand plants are bedded-out every season. I have 

 often wondered that " D.," of Deal, has never visited that 

 pretty part of Ireland. I have no doubt that if he called Mr. 

 Burns would make him very welcome, and perhaps give him 

 one or two of his secrets, that I can testify are worth knowing. 

 — B. M. 



TABLE AND VASE PLANTS. 



I NOW fulfil my promise to enumerate other plants that Mr. 

 Bums uses with good effect at Loughcrew. 



He uses at the dinner table different kinds of Centradenia, 

 for instance C. floribunda and C. grandiflora ; also Ixora java- 

 nica aurautia and I. coccinea, which, when full of fiower, look 

 really beautiful, and with cai-e Last in bloom a very long time. 

 Vinca alba and V. rosea look well ; but the flowers soon drop. 

 Pentas carnea rosea is a very useful plant for table ; Gardenia 

 citriodora, when nicely gi-own and full of flower, is most useful 

 for either table or vase ; Euphorbia jacquiniieflora, nicely trained 

 on small wires, h.as a very pretty appearance. Of fiue-foliaged 

 plants Adelaster albivenis, Pandanus javanicus variegatus, and 

 the Marautas meutioued at page 143, form tho principal ; but 

 the Paudanus is the king. 



Fine-foliaged plants for the breakfast table are Pothos ar- 

 gyroea, Sonerila margaritacea, the Eranthemura, and others 

 mentioned before; also Solaginella Martensii, S. stolonifera, 

 and S. dichrous ; but S. plumosa is, for table purposes, the 

 best used there. 



For vase plants in the rooms are used different varieties of 

 Begonia, small plants of Cyanophyllum magnificum, Kivina 

 humUis when full of berries, and Croton discolor, C. longi- 

 folia, C. picta, C. vaviegata (I may just mention, in speak- 

 ing of Crotons, that Mr. Burns has a sjiort, which, if it re- 

 main true, and it is likely to do so, wiU prove a most valuable 

 addition to the Croton family), Cyrtanthera magnifiea, iEsehy- 

 nanthus splendidus, and different varieties of Francisceas, 

 Gardenias, Alocasias, and Caladiums, besides all those men- 

 tioned for tal)le decoration. 



■Before concluding 1 may state that Mr. Naper no doubt pos- 

 sesses the best, or one of the best collections of stove plants 



KAPHANUS CAUDATUS. OR LONG -TAILED 

 RADISH. 



Will you allow me to call the attention of your numerous 

 readers to this new and valuable vegetable, the seeds of which, 

 I see, are now being sent out by Mr. Ball, of Chelsea? 



It is a native of Java, and is much used in some parts of 

 India in .salads, and being perfectly hardy here, it is likely, I 

 think, to prove very useful. It appears to bo one of the Radish 

 tribe, but unlike that esculent the seed pods, not the root, are 

 eaten ; these are very curious, attaining an immense size in 

 a wonderfully short space of time, sometimes growing 5 or 

 G inches in twenty-four hours. The pods are usually from 2 to 

 3 feet long when full grown, some being straight, others curled 

 into the most fantastic shapes ; they are of a most agreeable 

 flavour, and when half grown can be eaten in the same way 

 as a Radish, which root they greatly resemble in taste, though 

 their flavour is more delicate. It is, however, when the long 

 pods are boiled that they are most delicious, tasting then much 

 like Asparagus, with a slight green-Pea flavour. They should 

 be served on toast, and will form a most agreeable addition 

 and novelty for the table. 



Tlie pl.ant is easily cultivated. The seed should be sown in 

 sliglit heat about tho middle of May, and the young plants, 

 when fairly up, planted out in the open air in good rich soil. 

 No further attention is needed except to keep the soil well 

 watered in dry weather, and to keep the ground clear of weeds. 

 In two months from the time of sowing the plants will begin to 

 produce most freely their long pods, which must be gathered 

 young — ('. f., half grown, if required for eating raw or for salad. 

 For boiling and pickling they should be suffered to attain their 

 natural size. — J. H. 



[It is called Dlovfiri in Java, and the specific name " tailed,'' 

 refers to an appendage of the pods. — Eds.] 



RAINFALL AT TR-SVAITE, SUFFOLK, IN 1B64 

 AND ls(i.). 

 I k-ii indebted to Mr. Orlando Whistlecraft, meteorologist, 

 Thwaite, in this county, for the accurate statement of the rain- 

 fall in 18(U and 186.5, showing the remarkable disparity of the 

 two years. The mean annual rainfall in Suft'olk is 22j inches. 



iKfi4. ima. 



.Tanuarv 0.7fi 1.9H 



February 1.1)4 1.73 



March 3.02 2.07 



April O.Gl 0.5S 



Mar 2.25 



Julio 2.49 



.July 0.87 



.\uKUSt 1.1)6 



September 2.3f) 



October 1.50 



November 2.S0 



December 0.75 



Total 19.71 



. 1.85 



. 2.02 



. 5.40 



. 5.67 



. 0.00 



. 8.30 



. 2.12 



. 1.15 



82.81 



Mr. 0. Whistlecraft has watched very closely from boyhood 

 the various phenomena of the atmosphere, and is the author of 

 the " Climate of England," " Rural Gleanings," " The Weather 

 Almanack," &c. The latter has gained for him a world-wide 

 reputation, the correctness of his predictions surprises even the 

 most incredulous. Out of fifty predictions in one year, only four 

 errors occurred, and in 185',) scarcely one decided failure. If a 

 man, by close observation, can arrive at such just conclu- 

 sions, his predictions are worthy of the attention of all those 

 who are in any way interested in the weather. Both the farmer 



