162 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



[ Aatrnst 19, 1875. 



tteir intention of exhibiting on or before the 16th inBt. to the 

 Hon. Sec, the Kev. H. Honey wood Dombrain, WeBtwell Vicar- 

 age, Ashford, Kent. 



HINTS ON VERBENA CULTURE. 



These are few plants that deck our flower gardens during 

 the summer months which surpass in beauty the Verbena. 

 For many years past it has been a favourite with rich £ind 

 poor ; if, however, we are to believe the reports that reach ns 

 from varions quarters, its popularity must be on the wane ; 

 this is to be regretted, for the great improvement which has 

 taken place in this species of plants during the last ten or 

 twelve years justly entitles it to a place in every garden. No 

 doubt one of the chief causes of its decline in public favour is 

 the difficulty many experience in propagating it in the autumn, 

 and in keeping healthy plants through the winter. 



The usual mode of culture is to strike cuttings in store pans 

 in August or September, and place these pans on a shelf in the 

 greenhouse through the winter ; the result of this plan gene- 

 rally is, half the cuttings damp-off at the beginning, and those 

 which survive become before spring infested with all sorts of 

 insects. 



Having grown for sale large numbers of these plants, 

 perhaps a few remarks showing the treatment pursued may 

 be of service to some readers of this paper. About the third 

 week in August a quantity of 2§-inch pots (generally known as 

 72'e) are filled with light sandy soil ; no crock is placed in the 

 bottom. These pots are carried to the Verbena beds, and with a 

 trowel are sunk in the soil ; a trailing shoot 6 or 8 inches long 

 is then pegged down on each pot and slightly covered with soil, 

 taking care that a joint of the shoot is in the centre. To pre- 

 vent its growing and rooting beyond the pot the top is tied-up 

 to a email stick, and the point pinched-off. If the weather is 

 dry the bed is watered every alternate day. In about three 

 weeks the pots will be filled with roots. The young plants are 

 now severed from the old and placed in a shady frame for a 

 few days, and sprinkled with water overhead once or twice a 

 day if they flag. The next step is to shift them into 48's, 

 which must be clean and well drained. Light rich soil is used, 

 and the leading shoots pinched-off to make the plants bushy. 

 Shading for a few days may be necessary if the sun is very 

 powerful, but the plants are fully exposed both to sun and air 

 as soon as they will bear it. 



About the middle of October they are removed to an airy 

 shelf in the greenhouse. If there is the slightest sign of aphis 

 or mildew the plants are dipped into a strong solution of 

 Fowler's insecticide. A hberal supply of water at the roots is 

 now given, and through the winter the plants are never allowed 

 to become very dry. Two or three times during the winter 

 the pipes are smeared with sulphur mixed with milk ; when 

 the water boils the fume of the sulphur is diffused through the 

 house and mildew prevented. 



Early in .January the plants are again shifted into 32'8, and 

 placed in heat where the temperature ranges from 00° to 70°. 

 In a short time I have an immense quantity of cuttings, which 

 root freely when plunged in bottom heat and shaded. As soon 

 as rooted and hardened a little the cuttings are potted into small 

 pots. If allowed to remain long in the cutting pots the plants 

 become stunted in growth and comparatively useless. The old 

 plants give a crop of cuttings about every ten days. Sometimes 

 a blight appears resembling mildew, but of a dark colour ; it is 

 usually caused or greatly increased if the growth has been 

 checked by a sudden change of temperature, want of water, or, 

 as already stated, allowing the young plants to remain too 

 long in the cutting pans. 



All plants so attacked are thrown away at once, and the 

 pipes again smeared with sulphur ; as the season advances 

 more air is given, and towards the end of April the plants are 

 removed to a cool frame. Those required for stock are planted- 

 out the third week in May in rich soil, and plenty of water 

 given.— H. Duddeeidge, The Dorset Nuru-ries. 



DESTRUCTION OP ANTS IN GARDENS. 



Speaking to a gentleman of TJlverston the other day, whose 

 long experience renders him an authority on gardening matters, 

 on the above subject, he kindly consented to write me down 

 his views, which he has done as follows : — 



" I have for a long time been favoured with the perusal of 

 the Journal of Horticulture, and have frequently seen the 

 question aaked, How to destroy ants ? and have smiled at the 



advice given — namely, sugar in a sponge, oil in a saucer, Ac, 

 whilst at the same time I was fighting and trapping them in 

 my own garden, and have at last, I hope, completely succeeded 

 in clearing it of them. As probably some others may wish to 

 do the same, I give my modus operandi. I say ' some ' others, 

 because I am aware there is a difference of opinion regarding 

 their usefulness or destruetiveness in a garden or greenhouse. 

 My garden is situated on high ground, sloping to the south, 

 and is very favourable for ants. Being naturally bare of soil, 

 I have added very much, amongst which, and about the first, 

 was a cartload of ante' hills, the same being recommended to 

 me as being the finest soil. In this consisted my introduction 

 to the pests ; and although I have during forty years destroyed 

 many colonies by the aid of boiling water, I have never until 

 within the last two or three years set traps. These traps con- 

 sist of pieces of slate laid between the plants where the SOU is 

 perfectly dry, and they must not be disturbed in any way 

 until a fitting time when the ants are most likely to be at 

 home — viz., on a wet day or in the evening, when you go with 

 trowel and kettle in hand and exterminate them. By adopt- 

 ing this simple yet effective plan I have found only one colony 

 this spring, and have not seen a single ant for months, nor is 

 there one at present to be found on slug-eaten Pears or fruit of 

 any kind — a very unusual thing. 



" The ants above alluded to are the red ants ; but for two or 

 three years I was troubled with black ants in the Cucumber 

 frames. These were trapped in a different way — by lifting all 

 the ova with a trowel, and depositing it in, say, a 6-inch pot, 

 and inserting the latter in the bed ; then invert a pot, a size 

 or two larger, over it. After a week or so every ovum and ant 

 will be settled like a swarm of bees. At night take a bucket 

 of boiling water, and lift the whole colony into it. Such are 

 the effective results of my experience, and I feel assured they 

 will be equally salutary in the case of others who may give 

 them a trial." — Beta. 



NEW BOOK. 



Rambles in Search of Shells, Land and Freshwater. By J. E. 



Haeting, F.L.S.,ifec. With coloured illustrations. London: 



.7. Van Voorst. 



This is a volume of that class which we always welcome 

 heartily. It renders science readable and interesting even to 

 those who read merely for amusement, and, moreover, it opens 

 an attractive pursuit for the younger members of any home 

 circle. Well do we remember the contemptuous tone in which 

 the query, "Who cares about shells?" was uttered, and we are 

 now able to reply. Read this little volume, and then tell us 

 who is there that ought not to care about shells. 



The author has succeeded in his endeavour to avoid being 

 " too technical or systematic ; " he has enabled anyone to 

 identify a native land or freshwater shell ; and he has rendered 

 the study attractive by detailing popularly the habits and 

 anatomy of the species. One extract wUl suffice to prove 

 this : — 



" In the early days of conchology it was held sufficient to 

 study the shells only of these animals, and the possessor of an 

 extensive collection of snch shells might be ictimately ac- 

 quainted with the name, geographical distribution, and proper 

 place in a systematic arrangement of every specimen in his 

 cabinet without necesearily knowing anything of the animal 

 that formed it. Now, however, the tonchologist has given 

 place to the malacologist, who, not content with examining, 

 describing, and naming the shell independently of its inhabi- 

 tant, curiously questions the latter as to its habits and internal 

 structure, and in the case of those which possess a single shell 

 (Univalves), he literally learns the relationship of each species 

 from the animal's own mouth. 



" Snails and slugs both have the power of drawing in their 

 horns on being touched, and this is effected by a singular and 

 beautiful apparatus ; the tentacle is lengthened by gradually 

 unfolding itself, and not by being pushed out from the base. 

 Each tentacle is a hollow cylinder, to the apex of which is 

 attached a muscle, arising from the retractor muscle of the 

 foot, and by its contraction the tentacle is simply inverted and 

 retracted, like the finger of a tight glove ; its protrusion, on the 

 other hand, is effected by the alternate contraction of the 

 circular bands of muscles which compose the walls of the 

 tentacle. As a rule slugs and snails are more liberally provided 

 with teeth than any other animals in the parish, one of our 

 slugs, for instance, possessing no less than 28,000 ; they are not, 

 however, all in use at the same time. The dental apparatus 

 of our univalves may be described as a tube lined with teeth 

 set upon flattened plates, collectively called the lingual.ribbon. 



