368 Notes and Gleanings. 



the marrows. It is highly recommended by Mr. Burr, in his very valuable arti- 

 cle on Peas, in " The Journal of Horticulture " for April. 



Iresine Herbstii aurea reticulata. — There is no plant of recent intro- 

 duction about which such different opinions have been entertained as the well- 

 known Iresine Herbstii^ so called in England and in this country, but known in 

 France and on the Continent as A^scyranthus Vcrschaffeltii, and which we re- 

 gret has no more pronounceable English name. It is a well-known bedding- 

 plant, and is, in some situations, unequalled for producing a fine mass of red 

 foliage. This difference of opinion has arisen from the fact (which was also 

 ascertained in regard to Coleus Verschaffeltii^ another foliaged-plant of the same 

 character) that the plants thrive well in a warm, dry soil, and in a sheltered situ- 

 ation ; while in retentive soils, and low, damp situations, they generally fail. The 

 foliage of the species is dark purplish-red, marked with midribs and veins of 

 bright red. 



The present variety differs in the marking of the leaves, which are dark green, 

 with pinkish-white blotches and red veins. As a greenhouse plant, it may do 

 well in contrast with the species ; but we much doubt its being able to stand our 

 summer suns, and its value as a bedding-plant. Figured in " Floral Magazine," 

 tab. -^^^T,. 



Australian Spinach. — The new spinach of Australia, Chenopodiurn auri- 

 cojnuin, is a tall annual plant, growing nearly six feet high ; the stem being erect, 

 branched from the base, channelled, and streaked with violet-red in the solid 

 parts ; and the leaves long-stalked, alternate, oblong-triangular, irregularly lobate- 

 dentate, and, when young, bearing a silvery pulverulence, which disappears on 

 the adult parts. The leaves, if put at first in boiling water, and afterwards treat- 

 ed as an ordinary plate of spinach, form a vegetable agreeable to the taste. Its 

 culture is quite easy. The seeds are sown in April, in a well-manured bed ; for 

 the plant is a strong feeder, and requires to be watered freely. The leaves are 

 gathered when the plants are a foot and a half high : they push on again ; and, in 

 a few days after, another gathering is ready; and so on throughout the season. — 

 Les Mondes. 



Wash for Red Spider. — To clear plants in pots of red spider, take two 

 pounds of soft soap ; place it in eight gallons of water (mix, of course) heated to 

 140° ; dip the plants infested into it for half a minute ; let them stand until dry ; 

 then dip again in the water at a temperature of 120° for one minute, and the 

 spiders' days are numbered. If the plants are infested with brown scale, rub 

 the infested parts with the hand, dipping a time or two more than for red spider. 

 By these means, we get rid of the brown scale and mealy bug also. Geraniums 

 and plants having similar foliage should not be treated as above directed, as the 

 plants would be injured. 



French Botanical Congress. — The Botanical Society of France intends 

 to organize an International Botanical Congress during the time of the Great 



