302 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[SEPTE5IBER 15, 18S8, 



strain. They are stated to be ordinary flowers from 

 seedling plants, and are certainly very pretty flowers, 

 ■well adapted for late summer use in the greenhouse. 

 The firm has been experimenting with Petunias, with 

 the object of raising good double forms, for over 

 twenty years. The selection Eent included the best 

 hitherto raised of fringed, very double flowers in 

 purple of various shades, white, and the two colours 

 various]}' blended. 



TRINIDAD. — The last Bulletin of the Botanical 

 Department of Trinidad is occupied with a treatise 

 on the cultivation of Coffee, based on a similar work 

 by Mr. Sabonadieee. formerly of Ceylon, but now of 

 Jamaica, and adapted to the requirements of Tri- 

 nidad, by Mr. Hart. A very important alteration 

 in the procedure has of late taken place, whereby, 

 after the pulp of the berry (cherry of commerce) has 

 been removed, the seeds (beans) may be transmitted 

 to England to have the parchment (endocarp) re- 

 moved — a process that can be done with. much less 

 trouble and expense here than in the colonies, while, 

 provided the " parchment" be kept perfectly dry, the 

 Coffee travels better, and retains the desired colour 

 better, than when the skin is removed on the plan- 

 tations. 



FUNGUS FORAY.— The concluding meeting of 

 the season of the Yorkshire Naturalists Union is to 

 take the form of a fungus foray, on Wednesday the 

 26th inst. The hunting ground is to be Harewood 

 Park and Woods, as well as other old woods, &c, 

 within easy distance of Leeds. In the evening the 

 specimens will be exhibited in Leeds Philosophical 

 Hall. Mr. G. Massee, P.R.M.S., of Kew, and others 

 have accepted invitations to be present. The 

 presence of mycologists will be most heartily wel- 

 comed, to whom circulars will be sent on application 

 to the Secretary, Mr. W. D. Roebuck, Sunny Bank, 

 Leeds. 



ARAUJA ALBENS. — An exhibit which arrived 

 oo late for the inspection of the Floral Com- 

 mittee at their last meeting at Westminster, deserves 

 notice. The charming group of flowers came from 

 that home of beautiful things in the plant way — 

 Pendell Court, Bletchingley. Arauja albens is, 

 according to the Genera Plantarum, synonymous with 

 Physianthus albens, and is a native of Buenos Ayres, 

 belonging to the same natural order as Hoya, viz., 

 Asclepiadaceai. It is a strong-growing and free- 

 flowering greenhouse climber of nearly hardy nature, 

 and grows well in any good rich soil. Mr. Ross' 

 course of procedure is to trim or prune it in autumn 

 after it has flowered. It is sweetly scented, and has 

 the additional desirable qualification of lasting a 

 long time in flower. It is a good plant to train 

 under glass corridors, sunny verandahs, and such- 

 like positions. 



Orange Culture in America. — The ques- 

 tion as to the cultivation of the Orange as a remu- 

 nerative crop comes before us in a report on the 

 fruit produce of Sicily, where it is stated that the 

 cultivation of Oranges and Lemons in California, 

 Louisiana, and Florida has assumed such vast pro- 

 portions that it is a matter of certainty that at no 

 distant period the import of the former of these fruits 

 into America, which is one of the chief customers 

 for this article, and the carrying business, which 

 gives so large employment to English merchant 

 vessels, will wholly cease, and, although the exporta- 

 tion, owing to a failure in the crops in Florida 

 through an unprecedented frost, was largely 

 increased in 1887, yet it was carried on at such 

 prices as not to be remunerative. In fact, encou- 

 raged by the extraordinary prices which were ob- 

 tained in the American markets for Sicilian produce 

 some years ago, the Sicilian cultivators increased 

 their Orange and Lemon plantations to such an 

 extent that the over-production has increased to a 

 ruinous degree. Indeed, the prices at which the fruit 

 was sold in America in the past year did not, in 

 some instances, even cover the freight. It must be 

 added that their bad packing and the choice of inferior 

 fruit which might have been used for the manufac- 

 ture of essences and extracts at home, have not a 

 little contributed to the depreciation of Sicilian fruit 

 in foreign markets. The export of Lemons, how- 

 ever, may be continued on account of the especial 

 aptitude of the Sicilian olimate for the growth of 

 thsss fruits owing to the absence of frost, 



PLANT PORTEAITS. 



Anthurium Desmetianum X . — A handsome cross- 

 bred form, with hastate shining-green leaves, large 

 cordate ovate-acute puckered spathes of a rich crim- 

 son-scarlet colour and short ivory spadices. It was 

 raised by M. Desmet from A. Andreanum, fertilised 

 with pollen from Anthurium Leopold II., the last- 

 named plant being itself a cross out of A. Linden i- 

 anum, fertilised by A. Andreanum. Illustration Hor- 

 iicnle, t. 52. 



Batemannia Colleyi, Liudl., Orcliid Albion, t. 

 341. 



Catasetom decvpiens, Lindcnia, t. 144. 



Cattleta Lawrexceava, Rchb. f., Orel/id Album, 

 t. 342. 



Cheyaeliera gigantea, Scviie Horficole, August 

 16. 



Ctpripeditj:.! cat-ifohxicuji, Garden and Forest. 

 August 8. 



Cypripedium Cannartianum x , figured in the Lin- 

 denia, t. 141, is a form of C. Roebelinii, in which 

 the two lower sepals are disjoined. 



Cvpripediuji siiteauanum. Lindcnia, t. 140. 



Dendrobium Bensoxi-t;, Lindcnia, t. 148. 



Masdevallia Harryana decora, Orchid Album, 

 t. 344. 



Masdevallia spectrum, Rchb. f., Lindcnia, t. 

 143. 



Nanodes Medusa, Lindcnia, t. 147. 



Narcissus triandrus and N\ crcLAMrNEUs, Garden, 

 August 25. 



Odontcglossum Harryaxum, Lindcnia, t. 142. 



Odontoglossum latimacolatum, Lindsnia,, t. 145. 

 — A variety of 0. crispum. 



Odoxtoglossum Rossi Amesianum, Orchid Album, 

 t. 343. 



Oncidium Cavendishianum, L'Orchidophile, August, 

 1888. 



Oncidium Lietzei var. aurfo-maculatum, Garten- 

 fl°ra, t. 1270. 



Rhododendron brachycarput.i, Garden and Forest, 

 August 15. 



Rose Gloire de Margottin, Illust. Monatshefte, 

 August, 18S8. 



Home Correspondence 



NOTES ON SOME KINDS OF FRUIT. — Never 

 before in my rather long gardening experience do I 

 remember to have seen Peaches and Nectarines so 

 late in ripening as they are this season, for up to the 

 present (September 6), we have not been able to 

 gather a single dish or half a dozen fruit from the 

 open walls except Early Rivers aud Alexander, and 

 such sorts as Bellegarde, Dr. Hogg, Pourpre Hative 

 Royal George, Grosse Mignonne and Noblesse are 

 yet hard, and unless we get more sun and much 

 warmer weather I doubt if many of them will be fit 

 for the table at all. Nectarines, too, are in the same 

 backward state, and the only kinds of these at all ap- 

 proaching ripeness are Lord Napier — which is a most 

 valuable variety, and Elruge; Pine-apple, Pitmaston 

 Orange and Humboldt, looking as if they would take 

 quite a month yet. Not only is the fruit in the 

 backward state referred to but the wood of the trees, 

 as may be expected, is green and soft; and unless a 

 great change takes place between this and the fall of 

 the leaf, the winter must have a very injurious effect 

 on it, and even if it escapes severe frost the blossom- 

 buds will be imperfect, and, as a natural conse- 

 quence, the flowers will not set in the spring. These 

 are gloomy prophesies, but the thing is too ap- 

 parent to any one at all acquainted with Peach and 

 Nectarine culture, as so much depends on the 

 maturity 'of the young shoots ' in obtaining a crop, 

 and this fact is now pretty well known. The fruit 

 of Apples and Pears is now showing the bad effects 

 of the season, as not only is it in both cases very 

 small for the time of year, but much of it is pinched 

 and deformed, and will be unfit for anything, and 

 especially is this so with Pears, which are so injured 

 in the skin that they are splitting and cracking, and 

 instead of being fleshy, as they should be, are hard 

 and woody, and it is useless leaving such on the 

 trees, All this is very unfortunate, and mu3t be a 

 most serious matter with growers for market, who 

 cannot, as they once could, look forward for better 



prices, owing to scarcity of crop, as the foreigner 

 comes in now and derives all the benefit. It is all 

 very well to advocate a more extended cultivation of 

 fruit, but what we really want is a better or more 

 reliable climate, as of late years the springs have 

 been disheartening, and yet there are sheltered spots, 

 if rightly picked and chosen, where success in hardy 

 fruit culture would be almost sure, and would give 

 fine returns for the planting. These matters will, no 

 doubt.be fully gone into at the Fruit Congresses, and 

 I regret my inability to attend, after having tie 

 honour of my name being entered as one of the 

 members, as I should have much liked to have taken 

 part in such useful proceedings. J. »S'. 



DISEASE-RESISTING POTATOS — Whilst it may 

 be dangerous to invite from readers returns as to 

 kinds of Potatos which this season escaped in districts 

 where otherwise the disease has been very destruc- 

 tive, yet it is obvious some reliable information on 

 that head would be most useful as well as interesting. 

 What one has to fear in relation to such returns is 

 the desire to favour some kind which, after all, has 

 resisting powers only in the writer's imagination. Stiil 

 farther, what is needed is evidence that any one 

 kind has stood the disease thoroughly over a wide 

 area. As to merely local examples, I have found 

 some kinds good on one side of the road and bad on 

 the other, so that merely individual examples are not 

 enough. If there are any early or semi-early kinds 

 which are not in one or two places but generally 

 uninjured this season, their namrs cannot be too soon 

 made known. So far as I can learn in this district, 

 not one of that class has escaped, the earlier kinds 

 especially being the worst hit of all our Potatos. In 

 the case of late sorts there is much diversity, some 

 being severely diseased whilst others are very little 

 injured. Wherever stems are now still green, even 

 if not a leaf is left upon them, it may be taken for 

 granted the tubers are pretty sound. Probably no 

 'variety will be lifted this year absolutely free from 

 disease ; but when so many are relatively bad, whilst 

 some few others are relatively good, the goodness if 

 but relative deserves the fullest recognition. As is 

 usually the case, the worst evidences of disease are 

 found in the highly manured soils. Last year, 

 because of the torrid dryness which prevailed, only 

 such soils produced decent crops. This year the 

 poorest, where also fairly well drained, have cleanest 

 crops. On the whole the best plan is to plant in 

 open ground which is deeply worked, to enable 

 moisture to pass through freely, giving ample room 

 for high earthing, and where the soil is partly rich 

 and partly poor. Thus the contingencies of wet or 

 dry seasons maybe provided for as well as can be. 

 So far as I can observe, the worst evidences of the 

 disease are found in the tubers near the stems, down 

 which and into the cavity in the soil made by them 

 the heavy rains poured [a point in favour of 

 Jensen-moulding. Ed.] However, as all varieties of 

 Potatos similarly earthed had to endure the same 

 fioodings, it is evident that resistance to the attacks 

 of the fungus must be in the tuber itself, and not in 

 the plant growth. A. D. 



A FRUITFUL TREE.— In the garden of Merton 

 Lodge, Chiswick, there is a fine tree of Blenheim 

 Orange Apple loaded with fruit. The tree is an old 

 one, having been planted about fifty years ago, and 

 has not failed to carry a good croo but once in the 

 last nine years. This year it is estimated that the 

 crop will be about 9 bushels. B. 



AN IVY COLUMN.— One of the most striking 

 objects I have seen for some time past is a tall 

 Spruce tree encircled with Ivy to a height of 50 or 

 00 feet. The tree is one of a number growing on 

 the boundary line of an old orchard in a deep valley. 

 The Ivy completely covers the bole, with the excep- 

 tion of a few feet at the extreme head of the tree. 

 At the base, commencing some 5 or feet from the 

 ground, the Ivy radiates from the stem in every 

 direction to a distance of about 4 feet. This, with 

 the thickness of the tree itself, gives a circle of about 

 10 feet diameter. This gradually tapers until at the 

 height mentioned the top of the tree emerges and 

 forms a small canopy to the column. I am not in a 

 general way in favour of Ivy being allowed to gain 

 such a hold as this, as it can only be a matter of 

 time before the tree dies ; but in an occasional 

 instance like this the tree, which is of no great value, 

 may well be sacrificed to the effect of the Ivy. The 

 use of the Lombardy Poplar as a columnar object in 

 the landsoapa has long been recognised : in the 

 case of which I am speaking the same result is gained, 

 with the additional advantage of the column being 



