34 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[July 14, 1888. 



as tlie season, for in the first week of last year 

 Potatos were worth 8s. V)d. per cabot, going 

 down to less than 2s. 6d. in the three last weeks. 

 In fact, last year was the best, according to M. 

 Feret, which the Jersey Potato growers have 

 ever had, and there can be no doubt that figures 

 endorse his statement, the value of the Potatos 

 sold being just double what it was ten years ago, 

 since which date the area under cultivation has 

 increased quite 50 per cent., while there has 

 been an almost uninterrupted advance in the 

 quantity of the crop and its selling value. There 

 is an exception as to the increase of the crop last 

 year, for it was only about 8 tons an acre, or 

 4 less than in 1886 ; while in the three years, 

 1882 — 1884 there was also a heavier crop, though 

 prices did not rule so high as in 1887. M. Feret 

 then enters at some length into the cost of pro- 

 duction, which he estimates at £47 10a. per acre, 

 made up as under : — 



£ s. d. 



Rent 



Manure 



Houghing 



Planting 



Seed 



Hoeiug and earthing 



Digging 



Transport 



The acreage value of the crop was about £72 

 an acre, leaving a clear profit of £24 10s., or 

 nearly three times the profit of 1886. In 

 fact, the average profit for the last ten years has 

 not much exceeded £12 an acre. M. Feret adds, 

 that the excellence of the Potato crops last year 

 made amends for the general failure of all the 

 other crops in the island. 



After incidentally remarking that the cattle 

 and butter trade have come almost entirely to an 

 end, and that there are only 5800 acres under 

 arable cultivation, other than the 6300 acres in 

 Potatos, he winds up a very interesting report by 

 some account of the Grape growing in Jersey. 



Git APES. 

 The Grapes grown are of two kinds, the winter 

 and the summer Grapes. The summer varieties 

 include the Black Hamburgh, which is more cul- 

 tivated than any other, producing about two- 

 thirds of the whole crop, selling at 3s. a pound 

 at the end of May, and coming down to 8d. in 

 August; Lady Downe's Seedling, the Black 

 Muscat, the White Muscat of Alexandria, the 

 two latter ripening in July, August, September, 

 and October. The winter varieties comprise the 

 Gros Colmar, which yields five-sixths of the 

 winter crop, and the Cannon Hall Muscat. The 

 total Grape crop of last year is put by M. Feret at 

 112 tons, which he estimates at a total value of 

 £18,000 ; the summer Grapes yielding 70 tons, 

 value (at Id. a pound) '£4100, and the winter 

 Grapes 42 tons, value £13,900. In 1886 the 

 total weight of Grapes grown in Jersey was only 

 47 tons, and their value not quite £8000. The 

 export of the Gros Colmar Grape had at one 

 time realised large profits for the Jersey growers, 

 but there is now a great deal of competition from 

 Guernsey, which grows some 500 tons of Grapes 

 in an average year, the forcing-houses covering 

 nsarly half the area of the island, some of them 

 being 600 feet long by 22 feet wide ; whereas in 

 Jersey, with the exception of those belonging to 

 Mr. Bashford, of St. Clements, who has twenty- 

 two houses, some of which are 900 feet 

 long by 24 feet wide, there are none more 

 than 500 feet long. As a rule, the Jersey houses 

 are 66 feet by 18, each of them containing, upon 

 an average, twenty Vines, yielding 35 lb. of 

 Grapes, sold, taking one with another, at 

 eighteen pence a pound. This price seems, at 



first sight, to yield a large profit, but it does not 

 always do so, as the cost of cultivation is very 

 large. M. Feret estimates that while a house 

 66 feet long by 18 brings in £42 for its 700 lb. 

 of Grapes, the actual cost of growth is £20. To 

 this must be added the cost of constructing and 

 keeping up the houses, to say nothing of the risk 

 of a bad year. In short, M. Feret is of opinion 

 that Grape-growing in Jersey is not likely to 

 develope to the very great extent which seemed 

 at one time probable. This he thinks is in some 

 measure due to the difficulty of keeping Grapes 

 through the winter, and of so obtaining the very 

 high prices which were to be had when there was 

 less competition. It appears quite certain that 

 Grapes which have been forced do not keep 

 so well as those grown in the open. During the 

 winter the Grape-houses are heated day and 

 night, but in spring and autumn heat is only 

 applied during the night, M. Feret remarking 

 that it is only by long experience and close 

 observation that the Grape grower can ascertain 

 the proper amount of heat necessary at certain 

 seasons. 



Pears, &c. 



The Pear crop in Jersey was not a good one last 

 year, as, owing to the drought, the choice varieties, 

 such as the Doyenne, the Duchesse, and the 

 Chaumontel, did not attain half the size they 

 usually do, and at the autumn exhibition at St. 

 Heliers, twenty-five selected Pears were found to 

 weigh only 17 lb. Altogether the Pear crop 

 amounted to only 140 tons, value £2100, as 

 against more than £3000 in 1886. The Apple 

 crop, on the contrary, was a very satisfactory 

 one, as 1575 quarters (a quarter is nearly 460 lb.) 

 of table Apples brought in £1400, while 

 3150 quarters of cider Apples fetched £1600, the 

 value of the crop being about £150 in excess of 

 1886. The Tomat ) crop was also a very good 

 one, the 5 acres in the open air and under glass 

 yielding 132 tons, value £8000 ; but Cauliflowers 

 suffered from the drought, and the 7 acres under 

 cultivation yielded only 40,000 heads, value 

 £320, the production being so small that none 

 were exported to London. Other vegetables, 

 such as Radishes, Asparagus, Celery, Onions, 

 Parsley, &c, cultivated upon an area of 145 

 acres, brought about £6 per acre ; and M. Feret 

 summarises the production of Jersey during the 

 past year as follows : — 



Description of Crop. 



Acreage 

 under Cul- 

 tivation. 



Total 

 Value. 



Potatos 



Corn crops 



Forage, Roots, &c 



Fruits 



Vegetables and Salads 



6300 

 2025 

 1227 

 180 

 175 



£ 



435,337 

 20,872 

 49,475 

 22,980 

 13,265 





9907 



541,929 



New or Noteworthy Plants. 



THUNIA CANDIDISSIMA, n. sp* 

 This is stated to have the habit and appearance of 

 Thunia Marshalliana. I have at hand a nodding in- 

 florescence of six flowers. The greenish bracts 

 exceed in length the stalked ovaries. The spur is 

 inflated and biiobed, just as in Thunia Marshalliana. 

 The trifid lip has the anterior edges of the side- 

 lacinire neatly toothed. The central lacinia has fili- 

 form processes, and a very few similar processes are 

 scattered in two lines on the disc. There is no sul- 



* Thunia candidissma. n. sp. — Affinis Thuniie Marshalliana? : 

 labsllo trifido, augulis lateralibm donticulatis, lamina mediana 

 dentic-uiata medio apiculata, cristulisnliforiniibus supra carinas 

 quttuor calcari cyl.odrato crasso apice obtuse bilobo, flores 

 cindidissirm". H. C. Ikhb f. 



phur colour anywhere on the flowers. This highly 

 interesting novelty was very kindly supplied me by Sir 

 Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., P.B.H.S., from, his 

 wonderful collection. It^was found on an imported 

 Dendrobium Wardianum. Semper aliquid novi ex 

 Burford Lodge ! H. G. Schb.f. 



EpiDErTDHOit AUKICULIGEBUM, 11. Sp.* 



This is very much like Epidendrum Brassavola. 

 The long narrow sepals and petals are quite the 

 same, but smaller. The stalk of the lip has auricles 

 between its base and the isthmus The anterior 

 lacinia of the lip is triangular acuminate, much 

 longer than the upper part. There are two long 

 swollen callous lines between the auricles, and three 

 short ones in front. The mid-lacinia of the andro- 

 clinium is trifid, the side laciniaj serrate, the mid- 

 lacinia cuspidate. The colours were faded when the 

 plant came into the possession of Sir Trevor Law- 

 rence, Bart., M.P., P.R.H.S., who kindly forwarded 

 me flowers. H. G. Bohb. f. 



Angbjecum teidacttlites, Eolfe. n. sp. 

 The species of Angrajcum are becoming rather 

 numerous, but the present one appears to be quite 

 distinct from anything hitherto described, and more- 

 over it is a most remarkable one. It is very closely 

 allied to the South African A. bicaudatum, Lindl., 

 in every respect ; but the side lobes of the lip are 

 narrowly setiform and entire, not broken up into a 

 number of small teeth, as in that species. The 

 flowers are buff, or almost apricot-coloured. The 

 plant was sent to Kew by T. B. Griffith, Esq., Colo- 

 nial Secretary at Sierra Leone ; among a collection 

 of Orchids from that country, and has just flowered 

 in the Kew collection. The following is the tech- 

 nical description : — Plant erect, at present 6 inches 

 high. Pseudobalbs sub-compressed, with two sub- 

 acute angles a quarter of an inch broad. Leaves 

 distichous, numerous, narrowly linear, unequally 

 bidentate, 3J- — 5 inches long, 5—8 lines broad. 

 Kaceme lateral, nearly horizontal, slightly recurved, 

 2 inches long, with eleven flowers arranged in two 

 distichous rows ; bracts very shortly triangular, 

 broadly amplexicaul. Flowers horizontal, 4 lines in 

 diameter. Ovaries sessile, 2 lines long. Lateral 

 sepals ovate, dorsal one a little narrower. Petals 

 lanceolate-linear, like the sepals, acute. Lip trifur- 

 cate, the basal part oblong, with a pair of small mar- 

 ginal fleshy teeth at the base, the central lobe acutely 

 triangular, the lateral ones somewhat longer, sub- 

 setiform, and recurving laterally. Spur 5 lines long, 

 uniform, a shade narrower at the base. Column stout 

 and very short,with a pair of small rounded fleshy wings 

 at the apex. The name applies to the very curious 

 lip. Several other species of West African Orchids 

 have recently flowered at Kew from the same source. 

 E. A. Eolfe. 



A TOPSY-TUEVY HIPPEASTEUM. 



On a plant of Thomas Spede, I found an 

 upside-down flower. The ordinary Hippeastrums 

 have the upper petal external and the lower petal 

 internal, and the two most brilliantly marked petals 

 are the upper internal ones. In this case there was 

 only one brilliantly feathered petal, the upper in- 

 ternal ; moreover, it was larger than the other two 

 internal ones. The stamens and pistil were as usual, 

 but reposing on the lower outer petal, instead of on 

 the lower inner petal. The curious part of this 

 flower was that only the petals appeared twisted out 

 of their usual position, while the organs of repro- 

 duction were normally situated. 



What I observed on a former occasion with regard 

 to the Gladiolus, viz., that on the same spike both 

 normal and twisted flowers occur, and what may be 



* Epidendrum auriculigerum ,n.sp. — Aff.EpidendroBrassarola? : 

 labello ima-basi, columnar adnato, utrinque obtuse parvi- 

 auriculata, inter unguem et isthmum brevem, callis elongatis 

 inter auriculas, callis ternis brevioribus antepositis, lacinia 

 antica hastato-triaugula acuminata elongata ; androclinii ala 

 postica trifida, lacinia mediana subulata aristata, lacinis 

 lateralibus serratis. Exc. ill. eques Trevor Lawrence. 

 H. G. Erhb.J. 



