576 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[November 17, 1888. 



ripe. Goes off altogether ; boys steal it. Also 

 plant Cabbages and Mushroooms. Gardener says, 

 " A fine opening for Mushrooms," Spend a month 

 or two buying spawn, making beds, &c. What a lot 

 of attention Mushrooms do want ! Call this " small 

 culture," indeed ! Find that the opening for Mush- 

 rooms has closed when I come to sell them. Buyers 

 offer a price which just about covers cost of carriage 

 to town. I ask why ? They explain that " public 

 fancy has changed ; Mushrooms not in vogue — 

 Tomatos are." 



Try Tomatos. Try 'em out-of-doors, and get 'em 

 nipped by frost. Try again under glass. Putting up 

 glass very expensive. Gardener suggests Grapes. 

 After buying one or two choice varieties, find gar- 

 dener doesn't understand planting them ! Buy book 

 on Grape-culture. While book coming, put Grape* 

 plants in cellar. Cellar doesn't suit them, it seems, 

 Finally, when book arrives, plants have to be thrown 

 away. Eesult of first year's fruit-growing — loss of 

 £300. Not making fortune yet. 



" Can small farms be made to answer ?," somebody 

 wants to know. Yes, if you dont mind the answer 

 being " No." 



This year try Asparagus in corner of large field. 

 Very successful. Think of making a " corner " in 

 Asparagus in London vegetable market. Gardener 

 falls in with idea, and we keep crop back for a time. 

 Consequence is, when we offer it nobody wants to 

 buy ! Have to eat most of it myself. Get perfectly 

 sick of Asparagus in a week. Sick of gardener too. 

 Dismiss him. He tells me. just as he's going, that 

 "(hem Pertaters has the disease awful bad, and 

 there ain't a Cherry on the trees because of cater- 

 pillars." Winds up by saying, " There's a bill coming 

 in for " them Sparrergrass beds." 



There is, indeed. Such a bill '. Seems that nothing 

 will grow on the " pebbly loam," but that first one 

 has to " make " the soil, and afterwards grow things. 

 Always thought farms had good soil to begin with 

 What's the good of the Creation, if the ground has 

 to be made all over again ? 



Losses increasing. As last desperate resource try 

 jam. Erect small jam factory. Have one or two 

 fields of Strawberries. Find a man who says he 

 understands all about jam-making. " Get equal 

 quantities of jam and sugar, and boil 'em up 

 together," he says. It sounds very simple. Sugar 

 bill enormous. When jam made, it really does look 

 and taste very nice indeed. Send it to London. 

 Letter in a few days from agent to say he can't sell 

 my jam at any price. Too pure. Public like it 

 with more " flavour " in it. And this comes of 

 making real home-made jam. What a fool the 

 public must be ! Sell my farm at fearful sacrifice, 

 and live in a "flat" — rather a suitable residence. 

 Turn Tory. Understand now why poor congregate 

 in large towns. Wonder if they've all been fruit- 

 farmers like me, and made as much out of it? Punch, 



Trees and Shrubs. 



YELLOW-BERRIED YEW. 

 At Clontarf Castle, near Dublin, the seat of 

 J. E. V. Vernon, Esq., D.L., there is, amongst many 

 other rare trees and shrubs, a fine specimen of 

 yellow-berried English Yew, which in this neigh- 

 bourhood is unique as to its golden berries. The 

 tree is about 50 feet high, with laterals on the grass 

 between 30 and 40 feet in length. At present the 

 whole tree is densely covered with yellow fruit. Its 

 beauty can easily be imagined, especially in contrast 

 with many other varieties near it with red berries. 

 The only difference observable in this specimen from 

 the common English Yew is a somewhat denser 

 growth and a lighter green colour. I have never 

 seen or heard of a yellow-berried Yew anywhere else 

 in Ireland, but do not know whether it is also unique 

 in England. W. Watson, Clontarf Nursery, Dublin. 

 [The yellow-berried yew originated, according to 

 Loudon, about 1817, near Dublin. The Clontarf 

 tree above mentioned is also described by Loudon, 

 Arboretum, p. 2068. Ed.] 



MAXILLARIA FUSCATA. 



Not a new, but a very rare and quaint, species, is 

 here depicted, whose likeness most orchidists will 

 here see for the first time. The flower from which 

 the illustration (fig. 81) was taken was from a plant 

 which recently flowered in the collection of Sir 

 Trevor Lawrence, Bart., which is as famous for 

 handsome and curious things not found elsewhere. 

 In habit and appearance M. fuscata resembles a 

 small-growing M. grandiflora, and its flowers are 

 numerously produced, and in the same manner. The 

 form of the sepals is peculiar, they being curled in- 

 wards, and partly concave at the base especially the 

 upper one, all three being milk-white at the base, 

 the outer portion yellow, marked with chestnut-red. 

 The petals are white outside, and yellow within, and 

 have also a few reddish spots, so also the curiously 

 formed labellum. Apart from its botanical interest, 

 it is a sufficiently showy garden plant. 



Vegetables. 



NEAL'S NE PLUS ULTRA RUNNER BEAN. 

 This is a great improvement on the old Runner — 

 in fact, upon any other variety which I have grown 

 or seen. Last year I gave it a fair trial against the 

 old variety, and for productiveness the Ne Plus 

 Ultra is far ahead of it, producing more pods, which 

 are straighter, longer, and more fleshy. The Ne 

 Plus Ultra is a strong grower, and the plants com- 

 mence to form pods much nearer to the ground than 

 other varieties, and the flavour and colour when 

 cooked are all that one could desire. 



This new variety will, no doubt, soon become a 

 great market favourite, the pods, in addition to being 

 larger and of a very fleshy nature, have not such a 

 tendency to curl round at the ends when fully grown, 

 and they are quite devoid of the ruddy tint, which is 

 a drawback with the old variety. Mr. Neal, the 

 raiser, must be congratulated upon the result of his 

 careful selection for a number of years before intro- 

 ducing it into commerce, and Mr. Deverill, seeds- 

 man, Banbury (of great Onion notoriety), is lucky 

 to have had the first opportunity of distributing such 

 an acquisition. 67. H. Bichards. 



Home Correspondence. 



I ^ff" Correspondents will greatly oblige by sending early 

 intelligence of local events likely to be of interest to 

 our readers, or of any matters which it is desirable to 

 bring under the notice of horticulturists. 



Photographs or drawings of gardens, or of remarkable 

 plants, trees, Src, are also solicited. 



THE NATIONAL CARNATION SOCIETY.— I very 

 much regret to observe that the executive of the 

 National Carnation Society even proposes to take its 

 annual shows to the Crystal Palace. No doubt the 

 hope of getting from the Palace authorities some 

 donation to the Society's small income is tempting, 

 but one fails to see what connection there is between 

 that vast place of amusement and the Carnation. I 

 had hoped having reference to my recent advocacy of 

 an outdoor trial of border Carnations at Chiswick ; 

 that the National Society, the assumed patron of 

 Carnation culture in this country, would have 

 readily supported such a proposal, and have gone a 

 little farther and asked the sanction of the Council to 

 hold its annual show of florists' flowers in a tent at 

 Chiswick. The show of the pot-grown flowers in the 

 one case and the trial of border varieties out in the 

 garden conjointly would then have proved mutually 

 helpful, and doubly attractive to lovers of a beautiful 

 hardy flower. It cannot be said that the Crystal 

 Palace is more accessible than is Chiswick. That 

 would be an absurd suggestion. The Crystal Palace 

 is created to furnish shareholders with dividends — 

 the Royal Horticultural Society to promote and 



foster horticulture. As to which should receive the 

 encouragement of allied societies in such case it is 

 not difficult to determine. A. D. 



RHYNCHOSPERMUM (TRACHELELOSPERMUM) 

 JASMINOIDES VARIEGATUM — This is one of the best 

 variegated greenhouse climbers we have, and it is very 

 suitable to cover pillars and trellises in the con- 

 servatory. It is a plant which can be easily limited 

 to a small space, or extended to cover a large one. 

 I have a plant here which was planted nine years ago 

 between two windows in the conservatory, where it 

 now has a pleasing effect with its three coloured 

 leaves and shoots, which keep the same colour the 

 whole year round. It is an easily-managed plant 

 when planted in light loam and peat ; and cuttings 

 root freely if put in sandy peat in heat. Wm. Smyth, 

 Basing Park, Alton. 



DIANTHUS SEGUIERI.— The Dianthus sent here- 

 with is one of the best autumn flowers I know. I 

 found it three years ago on the lower slopes of the hills 

 by Riva on the Lago di Garda. It appears to me to 

 be Dianthus Seguieri var. collinus, of Koch's 

 Taschenbtich der Deutshen n. Sweizer Flora = D. col- 

 linus, W. K. It is certainly well worthy of cultiva- 

 tion, being showy, hardy, and indifferent to smoke, 

 as shown by the way it flourishes on a sandstone 

 rockery in my garden here. Alfred O. Walker. [The 

 plant is correctly named as to the species. We pre- 

 fer not to give an opinion as to varieties of this kind. 

 It is an excellent border plant, Ed.] 



THE POTATO DISEASE.— Mr. Murphy's facts in 

 relation to the effects of the Potato disease in 

 Ireland shows farther, if proof were needed, that 

 there is nothing new under the sun. He thinks the 

 saviour of our Potato crops henceforth is to be found 

 in early ripening sorts. The same thing was said 

 years ago ; but then such is the erratic nature of the 

 disease visitation, that early ripeners are sometimes 

 the chief sufferers, as this year for instance, all first 

 and second early ripeners in the South of Eng- 

 land were by far the worst diseased, whilst the 

 robust late ripeners were the least injured. That 

 fine late Potato, Abundance, diseased with Mr. 

 Murphy 60 per cent., is with me absolutely free 

 from disease. Magnum Bonum, Chancellor, Governor 

 and some seedlings, also, were absolutely clean ; 

 Prime Minister, Schoolmaster, and a few other strong 

 growers, nearly so ; coloured Potatos, are in the 

 majority of cases here, the greatest sufferers, but why 

 it would be difficult to say. The inference drawn by 

 Mr. Murphy from certain results in field land, that soil 

 which has recently considerably grown Potatos, and, 

 as he advances, has become full of the fungus spores, 

 is hardly supported by facts. My worst disease this 

 year was found in ground trenched last winter, 

 which had carried flowers for three years previously, 

 and was, in my opinion, due solely to the heavy 

 dressing of raw manure applied in the spring. Crops 

 of some kinds in ground which has carried Potatos 

 two years in succession previously, were, of sorts 

 above named, quite free from disease, but these had 

 no raw manure added. The remedy for the disease 

 is more likely to be found in deep culture witli an 

 abnegation of raw manures, and the planting of sorts 

 of known robust growth. All the same, adverse 

 seasons tell us from time to time that no absolute 

 rule can be devised which shall effectually cope with 

 disease attacks. A. D. 



BEGONIA CLARKEI.— Apropos of Mr. Wynne's 

 capital Begonia book, reviewed in your last issue, 

 the history of B. Clarkei and B. cinnabarina may 

 be of interest, as it is rather a curious one. 

 Two unknown tubers were one day given to me 

 by my old ally in such things, James Carter, at 

 his shop in Holborn. They had been sent to 

 him by a friend in Bolivia. The said tubers grew 

 and prospered. The first to flower was cinna- 

 barina, which I gave in the following year to Mr. 

 Arthur Henderson, who exhibited ic wiui success. 

 The next year I presente 1 cu the Royal Horticultural 

 Society a hundred seedliiig tubers of it. These 

 were distributed, but the plant was difficult to grow, 

 and soon went out of cu'tivation. Seeds were sent 



