1'IIK ILU'STRATION IIORTICOLE. 



HORTICULTURAL CHRONICLE. 



— Changes m English Horticultural Journals. — 

 The opening year signalizes a new era of progress in English 

 Horticultural literature worthy of remark. The Gardeners' 

 Chronicle, the first amongst Horticultural Journals in the 

 world, is now published separately, after more than thirty 

 years association with the Agricultural Gazette. The times 

 have advanced, bearing in their wake important cultural 

 improvements, rich introductions, the spread of approved 

 methods, new works, and an ever increasing crowd of gar- 

 den amateurs. For these additional readers, more space is 

 necessary, and henceforward the Gardeners' Chronicle will 

 appear as an independent publication, printed in a better 

 type, and embellished with numerous, beautiful engravings. 

 Both Horticulture and Botany will benefit by this alteration. 

 The presence of the accomplished botanist, D r Maxwell 

 T. Masters at the head of the editorial department is our 

 surety for this, for he valiantly bears the burden of the 

 responsible inheritance descended to him from the illustrious 

 and lamented Lindley. 



Other periodicals devoted to gardening, such as the " Jour- 

 nal of Horticulture -. edited In IK Hogg, and the " Garden „ 

 conducted by M 1 ' W. Robinson, have also added to their 

 letter-press and increased their engravings. The public must 

 certainly profit greatly from this competition, and it may 

 with truth be said that English Horticultural literature is 

 at the present time largely and worthily represented. 



— Flowering oe Cocos Weddelliana. — This charming 

 Palm, which has produced flowers on several occasions in the 

 Establishments of M. Linden, has also recently flowered with 

 M r B. S. Williams, at Holloway, in London. The plant that 

 bore the spathe does not exceed two feet in height of trunk, 

 and this diminutive flowering stature seems to indicate that 

 the species will remain dwarf and prove to be one of the 

 most suitable tor t:il»l«- and window decoration. 



— Poisoning by Puffballs and by Snails. — In a former 

 article of ours we spoke of the nutritive properties of the 

 Lycoperdon giganteum, eaten in a young state, while yet 

 white and firm. It is a well-known esculent in England and 

 America; but it appears, however, that it must be used with 

 caution; for a gardener, M. Loise, nearly lost his life through 

 eating it, though in a small quantity. We should there- 

 fore recommend trying this plant, but at the same time ad- 

 vise moderation in taking it, because it is not all stomachs 

 that are capable of digesting it. 



But to be poisoned by snails seems almost incredible. 

 Though, according to a Montpellier paper, it seems to have 

 been the case with some persons who had partaken of snails I 

 that had eaten some noxious substances, as Box. Deadly 

 Nightshade, Spurge, Foxglove, etc. 



It will be a good plan to always let these - land oysters „ 

 fast a few days before assimilating them. 



— Exotic fruits in Covent Garden. — Just now one may 

 see in the stalls of Covent Garden Market a number of tropi- 



cal fruits whose presence is unusual in England. They are, the 

 Litchi, Nephelium • Euphoria) Litchi, the sugary pulp of which 

 possesses the flavour of a half-dried prune; the Custard 

 Apple (Anona reticulata) of the West Indies; the Indian or 

 Barbary Fig (Opuntia Ficus indica) ; the Cherimoyer (Anona 

 cherimolia); Pine apples, Citrons, Shaddocks and Water me- 

 lons. We should be glad to see this taste for tropical fruits 

 still more extended, as it would add to the effect of our des- 

 sert tables, and induce amateurs to undertake their culture. 



— Sale of M. Gutbert's Orchids. — The celebrated col- 

 lection of Orchids belonging to M. Guibert, of Passy-Paris, 

 has just been sold for the sum of £ l,240-». They were 

 purchased for the Vice-roy of Egypt, and suitable structures 

 have been erected for them at Cairo. Their culture will 

 still continue in good hands. 



— A new Botanical Publication. — A new Botanical 

 organ, the Botanischer Jahresbericht, is announced from 

 Germany. It will be published under the direction of D' 

 Leopold Just of Carlsruhe, and will appear annually, in the 

 autumn. The object is to provide a concise summary of all 

 the Botanical publications of the year. 



— Flowering of Hausmannia jucunda and Amaryllis 

 procera. — The former of these two plants was introduced 

 into France now several years ago by M. Ramel , the zealous 

 propagator of Eucalyptus globulus. He obtained it from 

 Melbourne, Australia, through the kindness of his friend, 

 Baron F. von Miiller, who named and described it. The only 

 plant imported was in the first place sent to the Museum 

 Garden of Paris, whence, by a series of adventures, which we 

 forbear relating here, it found its way to the Municipal Gar- 

 den at La Muette. It has recently flowered for the first time 

 inEurope.The purplish and yellow flowers are borne in short 

 axillary racemes. It is a member of the Bignoniaceae or 

 Trumpet-flower family. We shall refer to this plant again 

 in a special article. 



Anw, 'ulils peorrro was introduced from Brazil, in 1862, 

 by M. Binot. and named by M. Duchartre, its description 

 alone occupying no fewer than 13 pages and a half of the 

 Bulletin de la Societe centrale d' Horticulture de France (1863, 

 pp. 425 and following). It has. however, not fulfilled all the 

 expectations it gave rise to. The greater number of roots 

 introduced have not produced flowers a second time, and 

 the number even of those that opened their perianths once, 

 was very limited. We received several hundreds of it at 

 La Muette. which, like those obtained later by M. Loise, 

 flowered only in part; but in spite of every care, they all 

 perished. Nevertheless, according to a letter from the chief 

 gardener. M. Troupeau, there is a fine plant of it in bloom 

 now in that establishment. The plant hears a large number 

 of the beautiful lilac flowers, which won our admiration 

 the first time we saw them. We have requested M. Trou- 

 peau to inform us by what means he has succeeded in 

 flowering this magnificent plant. Ed. Andre. 



