September S, 1874. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTUEa AND COTTAGE GARDENEfi. 



211 



Mr. Fish Rrew it iu a Rreenhouse as he desoribeJ to us as 

 follows: — " Tho roots, in winter, maybe kept anywhere dry, 

 where they will be free from frost. When started in sprinp, 

 by the roots being divided into as many small pieces as they 

 have bnds, they must bo excited into growth by heat ; water 

 freely given as the shoots lengthen and flourish ; and the heat 

 of a hotbed, or a plant stove, given until towards autumn ; 

 when, as the shoots begin to change from green, less and less 

 water must be given until the shoots ripen ; and shortly after, 

 the roots will be fit for preserving, or for keeping dry over the 

 winter, where no frost will reach them." 



To preserve the roots as a confection, put some of the 

 youngest and most tender races of ginger, which should also 

 be free from knots, into a china bowl, cover them with water, 

 and let them soak twelve days, stirring them two or three 

 times a-day during that time, and then boiling them until 

 tender. Let a syrup be made of a pound of sifted loaf sugar 

 to every pint of water, to which some lemon-peel and cin- 

 namon should be added. Boil this syrup, skim, and when 

 it has boiled half an hour put in the ginger, and boil all to- 

 gether for another half an hour. Pour the ginger and syrup 

 together into a china bowl or vessel, and let it stand closely 

 covered until the next day, when it should be boiled another 

 half hour, and the same be repeated daily until tho syrup is 

 clear, and remains attached to the spoon, when it may be put 

 into a jar, and when cold be tied closely down. Some use 

 equal parts of raisin wine and vinegar, instead of water, for 

 soaking and boiling the ginger. 



EOSE-GROWING AND EOSE-SHOWING. 



Now that the season of removal is drawing near, many will, 

 no doubt, be thinking about adding to or replenishing their 

 collections of the queen of flowers. To such it is a matter 

 worth considering whether they draw their supplies from a 

 stock in the cultivation of which the chief object aimed at 

 has been the production of large flowers — calculated to carry 

 off at various Rose shows so many lirst prizes and " astonish 

 the natives " — with the usual concomitant of coarse and un- 

 ripened wood, brought about by the excessive stimulation at- 

 tendant on the system of cultivation; or, on the other hand, 

 whether they invest in good sound plants of healthy and 

 moderate growth, and well-ripened wood, likely to produce a 

 pleasing feature by their forms and flowers. Truly a collection 

 of Roses in good health and in their floral array is a "thing of 

 beauty and a joy for ever." It behoves Rose-growers to be on 

 their guard, and studiously to avoid overgrown and overdone 

 plants as may have been cultivated principally with the object 

 of producing bloom for exhibition. Such never succeed so well , 

 when removed, as plants of moderate growth. Their constitu- 

 tion has been undermined, probably, for them to make head- 

 way in a new, and in all probability, rougher sphere of life ; 

 for ninety-nine people out of a hundred have neither the in- 

 clination nor power to pet and pamper their favourites to 

 such an extreme. 



In the matter of varieties the same argument holds good. 

 In an establishment where showing for competition is the 

 ruling passion, what can be expected but that the varieties 

 suited for exhibition purposes are grown in larger quantities 

 than, and to the partial neglect of, such as will not reach that 

 standard of supposed excellence ? And it must be remembered 

 that many of the best exhibition varieties are very unUkely to 

 further the general objects in view in Rose-growing — namely, 

 abundance and continuation of beautiful Roses. Such varieties, 

 for example, as Etienne Levet, Louis Van Houtte, Marquise 

 de Mortemart, Monsieur Neman, etc., although first-class ex- 

 hibition varieties, would almost invariably give dissatisfaction 

 to the general Rose lover, producing, it is true, beautiful 

 blooms, but few in number and far between. 



However, it is not my wish to depreciate Rose-showing, and 

 industry and perseverance — qualities absolutely indispensable 

 to the Rose exhibitor — must and always will have their due 

 recognition and reward. But to suppose that a man who takes 

 more first prizes than his colleagues must necessarily be able 

 to surpass them in the quality and quantity of his plants is 

 fallacious. What are the small quantities of Roses exhibited 

 at even our largest shows ? No one can judge from them con- 

 cerning the resources of the exhibitors. One merely sees evi- 

 dence of skill in the production of a few choice blooms. Were 

 our Rose shows conducted on a different principle, largo 

 breadths and masses of flowers being substituted for the small 

 collections we are now aoeustomed to see, the inferences drawn 



from them would be different, although not entirely changed. 

 This, however, brings me to the subject of "Rose-show reform," 

 on which I have no desire to enter at present. My object is to 

 warn purchasers that, for the general purposes of Rose-growing, 

 visits to the Rose shows for selecting varieties mislead, because 

 the specimens there seen have been grown by a costly and 

 troublesome system to an unusual pitch of size, which the 

 general cultivator, without special knowledge and a large ex- 

 penditure of money, will in vain strive to emulate, and dis- 

 appointment ensues. Let him see his varieties in bloom in 

 their natural state, and in procuring plants let him be careful 

 to avoid such as have been overgrown. — Aeiuub W. Paul, 

 Paul's Nurseries, Waltliam Cross, Herts. 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 

 De. Hookee, at the meeting of the British Association, made 

 the following notice of the cabnivokods towehs of the 

 Venus's Fly-tkap (Diona^a muscipula) : — About 1769 a well- 

 known English naturalist sent to Linnaraa a drawing of a 

 plant, to which he gave the poetical name of Diona;a. He 

 said, " The plant shows that Nature may have some views 

 towards its nourishment in forming the upper joint of its 

 leaf like a machine to catch food. Upon the middle of this 

 lies the bait for the unhappy insect that becomes its prey. 

 Many minute red glands that cover the surface, and which per- 

 haps discharge sweet liquor, tempt the poor animal to taste 

 them, and the instant these tender parts are irritated by tho 

 feet the two lobes rise up, grasp it fast, lock the rows of spines 

 together, and squeeze it to death." Linnieus only saw in these 

 wonderful actions an extreme case of sensitiveness in the leaves, 

 which caused them to fold up when irritated, just as the Sensi- 

 tive Plant does, and he consequently regarded the capture of 

 the disturbing insect as something merely accidental, and of 

 no importance to the plant. He was, however, too sagacious 

 to accept Ellis's sensational account of the coup de grace which 

 the insect received from the three stiff hairs in the centre of 

 each lobe of the leaf. For another generation the history of 

 this wonderful plant stood still ; but in 1868 an American 

 botanist (Mr. Cranby), who is still happily engaged in bo- 

 tanical research, was staying in the Dion^a district, studying 

 the habits of the plant pretty carefully, especially the points 

 which Dr. Curtis had made out. His first idea was that the 

 leaf had the power of dissolving animal matter, which was 

 then allowed to flow along the somewhat trough-like petiole to 

 the root, thus furnishing the plant with highly nitrogenous 

 food. By feeding the leaves with small pieces of beef he found, 

 however, that these were completely dissolved and absorbed, 

 the leaf opening again with a dry surface, and ready for another 

 meal, though with an appetite somewhat jaded. He found 

 that cheese disagreed horribly with the leaves, turning them 

 black, and finally killing them. Finally, he details the useless 

 struggles of curculio to escape, as thoroughly establishing the 

 fact that the fluid already mentioned is actually secreted, and 

 is not the result of the decomposition of the substance which 

 the leaf has seized. 



Notwithstanding the favourable report recently made 



by M. Dumas on the efficacy of some of the means employed 

 for the destruction of The Phtlloxeea of the vineyards of 

 France, its ravages continue so alarming that the National 

 Assembly has voted the sum of £12,000 as a prize for the 

 inventor of an effectual destructive procedure. 



The New York Tribune says that few of those who 



enjoy the flavour of the Peach are aware of the labour and 

 excitement attending the work of bringing the fruit to the 

 New York market. As it is necessary that the supply for the 

 wholesale dealers should be on hand in time for the grocers 

 and other retailers to purchase them with the usual market 

 produce, a large portion of the night has to be employed ; 

 otherwise, when the fruit reaches the hands of the consignees 

 it will be left on hand, at the risk of suffering great damage 

 through the rot, and thereby becoming a total loss. The 

 Peach trucks are fitted up with rails along the sides, and 

 after one layer of baskets has been placed on the bottom of 

 the waggon moveable boards form a second floor, upon which 

 are deposited another layer ; while a third row gives flooring 

 for the upper tier. In this manner from 150 to 180 baskets 

 are loaded on a long two-horse truck without damage to the 

 fruit. 



The cars for Peaches are usually chartered for the season, 

 and are specially fitted-np for the business. Backs are made 



