1843.) TH 
E GARDENERS CHRONIC 
LE. 629 
some instances the backward or side flower-buds be nipped and very appropriately named. 
0 As soon as the warm weather appears, it will be 
well to look after that tiresome pest, the Aphis, or Green- 
fly. In looking round, you will see one or two tiny ones 
walking about your plants; you may think they are of no 
consequence, but rest assured then is the time to attack 
your enemy, for they are then meditating where to provide 
for millions of their race. Wash the ends of the shoots, 
or syringe them, with Tobacco-water. I have also foun 
equal parts of Scotch snuff and sulphur vivum very effectual 
in destroying them—put on with a barber’s puff, or put 
into a shallow pan and the ends of the shoots dipped in. 
One thing is important—never allow them to collect their 
Tees. 
Great attention should be paid to watering ; and, though 
plunged, the plants will require through the summer 
months a liberal supply.. When they are coming into 
loom, such varieties as are of a drooping habit will 
require the adjustment of a neat stick; we should not, 
however, be too lavish with these supports, or they render 
the plants stiff and unsightly. A light shading should now 
be formed, to protect them from the sun’s rays during the 
middle of the day; this should be constructed to draw up, | ° 
that the plants may have the advantage of the dews, 80 
beneficial to Roses at this season of the year. Here they 
may remain tillthe middle of September, when they should 
be taken up, turned out of the pots, a good portion of the 
soil shaken away, and fresh supplied ; and such as require 
it shifted into larger pots.—IW. Paul, Nurseries, 
Cheshunt, Herts. 
AMATEUR’S GARDEN.—No. XXXVI. 
Amone all the various tribes of plants that decorate 
our flower-gardens, thére is not one so beautiful, or which 
contains within itself so many dazzlingly beautiful flowers,as 
the Verbena. A very few years back our collection of these 
plants was limited indeed; but now, thanks to the spirit 
for collecting and cross-breeding, the varieties are almost 
Annumerable ; and though it is to be expected that among 
80 many there should be some indifferent varieties, yet, 
taking them altogether, there is scarcely a variety that is 
not worth cultivating in gardens where there is sufficient 
room for them. However, in conformity with the pre- 
vailing fashion for cultivating selections rather than col- 
lections, I will endeavour to enumerate those varieties 
which may be considered, par excellence, the most deserving 
of extensive culture. 
may be elicited on the subject.— James 
End, near Thaxied, Essex. [This is the plant mentioned 
last week by Prof. Henslow as the Cuscuta Trifolii, and 
the subject of some observations in a leading article of 
_ First, then, among the throng of beauties may be men- 
tioned Chandler’s atrosanguinea, and when I say that the 
brightest of the Scarlets, as ignea and Melindres latifolia 
are pale compared with it, the reader may fi some idea 
of the brilliancy of its colour. It is a magnificent variety, 
and a very free and robust grower. V. iguea is the nextin 
colour, but itis rather difficult to keep through the winter ; 
and Croucher’s maxima is nearly as dark, with a better 
habit of growth, V. Hislopiiis a bright scarlet, with some- 
thing of the breed of Teucrioides in it, and V. melindres, m. 
superba, m. latifolia, are kinds known and esteemed by 
every one. All the varieties of Tweediana are good ; but 
V. T. superba is the best. Of the rose-coloured or pink 
Kinds Barnsii is the best, as the old incisa is a very strag- 
gling grower, and fades very much under a strong sun. 
Among the purple kinds, V. Stewartii is the best, but V. 
Charlwoodiana, Hendersonii, and Triumphans are so 
much like it, that it is difficult to distinguish the flowers 
When off the plants. The two first are probably the best, 
though all four are worth cultivation, The orange-scarlet 
Varieties are a new class of colours, and of these Kyle’s 
Speciosa and Croft’s formosa elegans are most worthy of 
Notice, The first has large flowers, with a white centre, 
and formosa elegans is very appropriately named, for it 
certainly is elegantly beautiful. V. variegata is a salmon 
Scarlet, and mirabilis is in the same way, but not guite 
So bright. Of the white varieties V. Teucrioides must 
be laid aside, as it is very much surpassed by Youell’s 
Princess Royal and the Queen. Princess Royal is 
& very pure white, more sO than the Queen, and a plant 
Of excellent habit. ‘Ihe varieties of V. Teucrioides are 
very numerous, and most of them sweet scented, see, 
Tosea is a purplish rose colour, and Girling’s eximia 
is a flower of the same character, but two or three shades 
darker, Burleyana might be called variegated, as the 
Owers open of a deep rose or ruby colour and change to 
pale rose, so that there are eral colours upon a plant at 
the same time. V. Ingramii is a fine variety, with deep 
Tose.coloured flowers tinged with salmon. V. Taglioni, 
Very fine, with immense corym)s of flowers of 
Silvery palish colour, Rosy Queen, and Mortlock’s 
Superb, are of nearly the same colour, and all three 
Very good. V. Iveryana is a rosy purple, very good; 
and V, Bishopii is a purplish rose-coloured kind, which 
makes a good bed. Of the lavender-coloured varieties V. 
Niellii is very good, but of a loose habit, and we have a 
Variety raised at this place, which I have named Brook- 
landsia, which corresponds admirably with Niellii, and 
flowers very profusely. Ve Hydeana is a pale bluish 
lilac, very distinct, and V. Vangardii is of nearly the 
Same colour ; V. Laconii, the blue one that was to be, is a 
deep bluish lilac, but a very good yariety. All the pre- 
Ceding kinds are good and distinct, and worthy of a place 
M the smallest collections. 
While I am writing I have received specimens from 
Mr, Girling, of Stowmarket, of his nine seedlings, and I 
Must do him the justice of saying they are fine varie~ 
ties, with large flowers and desirable colours. Boule 
€ Fin is the most dazzling scarletimaginable, with white 
Centre. Bridesmaid is a pale, lovely bluish colour ; 
Fortune Teller and Minstrel Boy are very beautiful; 
Whi’ Renown, and longiflora, are desirable colours ; 
hite Perfection is curious, and Amethystina is a gem, 
L The whole of this collec- 
tion may be safely added to every garden.—W. P. Ayres, 
Brooklands. 
HOME CORRESPONDENCE. 
Clover Dodder.—A desire to be useful will, perhaps, 
be the best apology I can offer for the liberty I have 
taken to give an account of a most pernicious and 
destructive plant in a field of Clover, called Seven Acres, 
on this Farm, which has attracted great attention, and 
caused much alarm. Its name, if I am correctly informed, 
is Cuscuta (Dodder) or Indian Grass. It commences in 
small patches all oyer the field, and gradually extends 
itself in circles of from 5 to 7 feet in diameter, destroying 
in its progress all vegetation, Clover, Weeds, and every 
thing ; it then appears to die off, leaving the whole area 
black, as if a fire had existed on the spot. Nearly one 
fourth part of the crop of Clover is already destroyed, 
and the evil still continues. This Weed has the appear- 
ance of a large mass of yellow horse-hair, which shoots 
up through the Clover upon an average of 9 inches deep, 
and twines itself around every stalk of it. A portion of 
it throws ont a small white flower at the joints. It is 
presumed that the seed of this most destructive plant 
must have been mixed with the seed of the Clover when 
sown, which was purchased from a general Corn and 
Sced-dealer in this neighbourhood. I am anxious through 
the medium of the Chronicle to put my brother Agricul- 
turists upon their guard against so fearful an enemy, and 
I will highly esteem the favour of any information that 
M’ Adam, Tindon 
to-day. We have also received specimens from Mr. Stock, 
from the neighbourhood of Bungay.] 
Asparagus.—' Este,’’ respecting Asparagus, begs to 
say that his beds are 14 yards long and 1 yard wide. He 
treated all with salt to the amount of 18lbs. each, except- 
ing one, to which he gave 30lbs. The produce was finer 
and more abundant than ever, in spite of the cold wet 
season. The salt was applied the first week in March. 
All the small weeds were killed at first, but they grew 
afterwards so rapidly that much weeding was necessary. 
‘The salt was strewed, and suffered to melt by itself. 
Wasps.—Last year, itwill be remembered by all persons, 
that this insect was unusually abundant, and most annoy- 
ing both in doors and out ; all kinds of fruit were attacked, 
and the poor Bees were engaged in continual warfare. In 
the spring of the present year, 1843, the Queen Wasps, 
as they are called, were observed by many persons in 
Kent, as being exceedingly numerous. I never remember 
in any spring having seen so many 3 strange to say, I have 
seen but one Working Wasp this autumn. What has 
become of them? I observe, in Dr. Bevan’s most useful 
book on the “ Honey Bee,” that a similar incident occurred 
among the Wasps in 1824, 1815, and 1806. On the 
summer of 1611, Dr. Bevan quotes an author, by name 
Butler, who noticed a similar circumstance, é. e., anextraor- 
dinary number of Wasps in 1611, but none in 1612. The 
same occurrence is noticed in 1620, but no Wasps in 
1621. ‘It may not be unworthy the attention,’ says 
Dr. Bevan, “ of the Entomologist, that betwixt the years 
of scarcity here recorded, there was a lapse of exactly 
nine years, viz., 1612 to 1621, 1806 to 1815, 1824 to 
1823; in the latter case, instead of being preceded, they 
were succeeded by an abundance.” I shall feel obliged 
to any of your correspondents who have made notes on 
this subject to forward them to your Paper, pro bono 
publico—J. D.——Last year, jn summer and autumn, 35 
Wasps’ nests were destroyed on my farm, of about 200 
acres. Peaches, Nectarines, and other fruits were much 
injured by them; for the garden swarmed with these 
intrusive vermin. This year I have seen but one wasp. 
That was on the Ist of September. In the spring, 
indeed, several ‘* Queen Wasps,’’ as we call them, were 
seen. We have a notion that every queen then destroyed 
prevents a nest. Three or four Hornets have been seen 
about the garden ; but up to this time, no Wasps’ or 
Hornets’ nests have been seen by any of the haymakers 
or harvest men. What I relate is not confined to my 
premises, near Woodbridge, Suffolk. No Wasps have, I 
believe, been seen in that neighbourhood this year, while 
last year they were sad pests. How have your other 
correspondents fared in this particular ?—£. M. 
Peat-earth.—Until ‘* Moorland Willie ’’ discloses his 
secret, ‘ Q.’s” vegetable crops, in the event of dry 
weather, will derive much benefit by being top-dressed 
with well-pulverised dry peat-mould: it obstructs eva- 
poration, and being a non-conductor of heat, prevents the 
roots from being scorched during the day, and chilled at 
night by radiation. As a proof of the non-conducting 
properties of dry peat, I may state that, by its application 
and that of other non-conducting (non-fermenting) mate- 
rials, we had a daily supply of Seakale last spring, from 
the 7th of February to 25th of March, very much superior 
in flavour to Seakale forced under pots with fermenting 
horse-dung.— Thomas Cowan, Churchill Garden. 
Bees.—As friendly collision presents the best, as well 
as the pleasantest mode of eliciting truth, I have been 
sorry to observe the tone which Mr. Wighton has adopted 
towards my esteemed friend, Mr. Golding; a tone which 
is but too well calculated to deprive our apiarian brethren 
of farther communications from the same intelligent 
source. Mr. Golding’s letter of June last was written in 
a spirit of friendly disquisition, accompanied by that warm 
spirit of hospitality which he is ever prompt to evince ; 
and I had hoped that such an apparently auspicious chal- 
lenge would have led, not only to a courteous reply, but 
to a cordial shake of the hand; and have laid the founda- 
tion of a friendly intercourse betwixt two gentlemen, who 
ought to combine those powers which both so eminently 
possess in the furtherance of science and the eradication 
of error, Mr. Golding’s object in addressing Mr. 
Wighton was, to induce him to put faith in an aver- 
ment of Huber’s respecting which Mr. Wighton was 
sceptical ; and as Mr. G. had had ocular demonstration 
of certain proceedings on the part of his own Bees, 
which appeared to afford evidence of their throwing 
out intrenchments of some sort, and which might 
reasonably be supposed to have been constructed as 
defences against an apprehended intrusion ; he very fairly 
inferred that in the case mentioned by Huber, the Bees 
might have done the same, and therefore that the state- 
ment of that prince of Apiarians rested upon probable 
grounds. The fortifications alluded to by Mr. Golding, 
if Mr. Wighton will allow me to call them by that name, 
fell under my own observation when I was on a visit to 
my friend’s house, and the representation which I have 
given of them in the ‘‘ Honey Bee’’ is very correct. As 
respects Mr. G.’s referring Mr. W. to the “ Quarterly 
Review,” for the manner in which Bees collect pollen, I 
think there must be a misconception, though, as I have 
not the letters before me, being at this time on a visit at 
Tenby, I cannot speak with certainty. If my memory do 
not fail me, Mr. G. merely opposed the opinion of the 
Reviewer upon the whole of the ‘‘ Honey Bee’’ to 
Mr. W.’s criticism upon a single point. Neither Mr. G. 
nor myself would hesitate for a moment to acknowledge 
any errors which may have crept into the ‘‘ Honey Bees” 
indeed, to obtain the benefit of their correction, Mr. W. 
may see, in the first edition, (which I find he possesses, ) 
as well as in the last, that I call for ingenuous criticiem : 
to elicit such criticism from Mr. W., in the most efficient 
manner, I shall be happy to present him with a copy o 
the second edition, hoping thereby, should a third 
be called for, that it may reap the benefit of Mr. W.’s 
corrections and suggestions.—Edward Bevan. 
Conservatory Climbers.—Allow me to recommend to 
the readers of the Gardeners’ Chronicle, a beautiful plant 
of the above-named class, which Mr. Beaton has slightly 
alluded to, in his very interesting paper on the subject, —I 
mean Bignonia cherere, which is decidedly one of the 
finest in my conservatory. It was planted in one of the 
borders, about eight years since, and though it did not 
bloom for the first three years, has ever since flowered 
regularly, and been generally admired. It grows very 
rapidly, and would, if not restrained, cover the whole 
building, which is between 30 and 40 feet long. Its 
manner of blooming is, I think, peculiarly valuable, as it 
does not produce its flowers simultaneously, but continues 
to develope them from the commencement of June to the 
end of October, their large size and rich colour rendering 
them very conspicuous. The plant is decidedly not a 
Stove-climber, as in the same house the exquisite Big- 
nonia jasminoides thrives and flowers as freely ; while in 
the spring, the Kennedyas and Zichyas are equally prodigal 
of blossoms, Mr. Beaton has assuredly rendered an 
essential service to Florists, by publishing his valuable 
remarks on a method of rendering one’s conservatories far 
more attractive than they have hitherto been; but I must 
dissent from his opinion that he has run to too great a 
length, as the opinions of a practical gardener like him- 
self are the very things that, among others, tend to make 
the Gardeners’ Chronicle so useful. He would confer a 
boon on me and many others if he would now give us a 
little information respecting plants that are strictly Con- 
servatory climbers. With Bignonia venusta, planted in 
the same house, I did not succeed, nor does Ipomoea Learii, 
though growing luxuriantly, flower well. Mandevilla 
suaveolens is equally fine, but without blossoms. Canava- 
lia Bonariensis, though possessing handsome foliage and a 
tolerably free flowerer is, 1 think, an uninteresting thing 5 
and Duranta Ellisii refuses to gratify me with blossom, 
though healthy and vigorous. Jasminum heterophyllum 
must discard, in spite of its beautiful leaves, as it has 
never flowered but once in England. iphocampylus 
icolor must give way to something else, though it 
is an ever-blooming plant, from its being almost hardy in 
our climate. Bignonia jasminoides I bought from the 
strong recommendation of a nurseryman, and that too 
has never produced a single blossom. Will Mr. Beaton 
kindly aid me in my desire to cover the pillars of my Con- 
servatory with free-flowering plants ? With the hope of 
being possibly enabled to carry out his plan, by erecting a 
building at the back of my Conservatory for the growth 
of Stove Climbers, may I also venture to ask,—if, by 
increasing its size beyond the limits be suggests, it might 
f a selection of Stove 
plants, and for forcing flowers for the Conservatory ; its 
aspect will be west, but the end will receive the sun’s rays 
about 11 0’clock. 
apparatus could warm both houses. 
Beaton favour us with his list of Cape Heaths, which I 
think promise to give quite a new feature to our flower- 
gardens—does he purpose sinking the pots, or turning 
the plants out, into beds of Heath-mould? I had once a 
bed of Erica cruenta which was very beautiful ;—the 
plants survived one winter, with a slight protection, and 
the second summer were a mass of bloom ; but the next 
winter proving more than usually rigorous, they all perished. 
—A Devonian. : 
Cellar for Roots.—One of my neighbours stores his 
Potatoes every year in a cellar or pit of the following de- 
scription :—The subsoil is a loose, stony rubble on the 
upper oolite, and has been excavated to the depth of 5 feet 
and width of about 8 feet; round the interior is a dry 
stone wall, which is carried 2 or 3 feet above the level of 
the surrounding ground, A roof, with about 18 inches in 
