230 General Notices. 



February, expanding into large magnolia-like flowers, have a gay and 

 imposing effect. As soon as it has done flowering, which is generally in 

 March, the shoots are cut back, and the plant being shifted is put into 

 heat and encouraged to grow, stopping the young shoots frequently, to 

 induce it to throw out laterals and to keep it dwarf. By this treatment it 

 very often forms spurs similar to a pear or apple tree, at the ends of 

 which, after allowing the roots to become matted in the pots, giving it 

 rest, and keeping it dry and cool from August till November, blossoms 

 are produced in abundance upon its being put again into heat and excited 

 into growth.— (M 1844, j>. 181.) 



Destruction of the Gooseberry Caterpillar by Salt. — To destroy the green 

 worm, as also the small orange colored aphides, which often injure the 

 bushes and destroy the fruit, we sprinkle tlie plants with salt and water 

 early in the spring, before the leaves are developed ; the mixture may ihen 

 be made so strong as to whiten the branches without affecting the future 

 crop. Should the leaves or buds be in part expanded, the brine should be 

 greatly reduced, say one quart of salt to about eight gallons of soft water, 

 applied over the bushes from the rose of a watering pot. — (A". E. Book of 

 Fruits, p. 127.) 



O'xalis Deppei'i. — Roots of this species of O'xalis were lately distributed 

 to the members of the London Horticultural Society, accompanied with 

 the following statement in relation to their cultivation : — " I have grown 

 it for several years, and I am convinced that if a little attention is paid to its 

 cultivation, it will be found very useful in the montlis of October, November 

 and December; but it would require a longer season of dry weather than our 

 climate affords to bring its tubers to perfect maturity. The bulbs should 

 be potted as early in spring as circumstances will permit, and as they veg- 

 etate in a low temperature the pots may be placed in a peach house, 

 greenhouse, or even a cold frame ; but they must not be turned out of 

 doors until all danger of frost is over. They thrive best in light sandy 

 soils, in a southern exposure ; the bulbs may be planted from nine to 

 twelve inches apart each way, and should be so arranged that they may 

 be protected from the early frosts of October and November, by a slight 

 covering of straAv mats, or spur lights. As eight or ten good tubers are 

 sufficient for a dish, there may be two or three dishes a week for three or 

 four months, which is no small acquisition to a gardener who has a family 

 at that season to supply with vegetables." Dr. Lindley remarks, that a 

 smaller, and in many respects an inferior kind, is generally cultivated for 

 it, which is no doubt one reason why this root is not more in use for culi- 

 nary purposes. In Belgium it is extensively grown, where not only the 

 tubers but the leaves are also made use of. — [Gard. Chron. 1844, p. 182.) 



Propagation of Plants by Circumpositio7i.* — The folloM'ing mode is 

 practiced by Mr. Fonlap, at Mont-Brisson. He procures a quantity of 

 small tin cases, of a conical form, like the upper part of a funnel, 2 

 3-4 inches in length, and 2 1-6 inches wide at top, narrowing towards the 

 lower part till only suflicient room is left for the introduction of the shoot 

 or branch intended to be propagated. These cones are supported on rods, 



* A term applied by early writers on gardening-, but has latterly fallen into disuse. 

 Circumpositioii is a kind of layering; the diflerence being, that in the latter the shoots 

 are brought down to the ground, while in the former " the earth is lifted up to them," 

 in consequence of their being too tall to bend down with safetj-. 



