766 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[Decembee 29, 1888. 



which are very extensive, hie knowledge of land- 

 scape gardening standing him in good stead. 



Indio, the seat of Charles Aldenburg Bentinck, 

 Esq., also worthy of mention, has extensive pleasure 

 grounds, ranges of fruit and plant-houses. It is 

 under the charge of Mr. J. H. Hambly, a competent 

 gardener. W. H. A. 



to bring to maturity 600 fruits in one year, which, had 

 they been all sold, would have fetched in Newcastle- 

 on-Tyne, at the then price of 6s. per dozen — £15. 

 Ed.J 



FIGS IN THE OPEN AIR. 



A paeagbaph in your issue for September 22, 

 p. 331, referring to the climate of Rothesay, and to 

 some excellent Figs grown in the open air at that 

 place, was interesting for the reason that many 

 persons are under the impression that to attempt 

 to grow Figs in the open air north of London is 

 almost futile ; such, however, is not the case, for 

 although I am aware that many fail in the under- 

 taking, and that a good number of places are unsuit- 

 able for the growth of the Fig, I could point out 

 places a good distance north of London where, in an 

 average season, Figs thrive admirably, and good 

 crops are ripened in the open air. Some of the finest 

 Figs I ever saw were grown on a south wall at Howick 

 Hall, in Northumberland, where, possibly, one of 

 the finest and most historical Fig trees in the 

 country may be seen. It is, I believe, mentioned in 

 Thompson's Gardeners' Assistant. When last I saw it, 

 about a twelvemonth ago, it was a model of health, 

 and bearing an excellent crop of fine fruit, just on the 

 point of ripening. No protection during the winter 

 is now, I believe, given — in fact, I know that 

 during the severe winters of 1885-6 and 1886-7 no 

 protection whatever was given ; although I think I 

 am right in saying that slight protection in the shape 

 of Fir and Yew branches was given in former years, 

 but it was found of no great advantage ; in fact, 

 practically speaking, it was labour in vain, for 

 equally good crops could be grown when the tree 

 was allowed to take its chance during winter as 

 when smothered up with branches. No special 

 attention was paid to it beyond the usual training 

 and tying in of the branches, although it is only fair 

 to admit that the wall on which the tree is growing 

 was flued, which undoubtedly would have a tendency 

 to assist the ripening of the fruit. No fire-heat, 

 however, was given, unless in very dull and wet 

 seasons, and then only from the end of August 

 until the fruit was ripened. The variety is 

 the Brown Turkey, which is one of the best for 

 open-air culture, and in this case the fruit was of 

 excellent flavour and of a large size, many being 

 upwards of 4 inches in length. Usually Mr. Inglis, 

 the gardener, gathers the fruit and places them on the 

 shelf of a vinery for a day or so, which helps to bring 

 up their flavour greatly. Although liberally treated the 

 tree referred to does not by any means make gross suc- 

 culent growth, but short sturdy wood so essential in 

 open-air Fig culture. This, undoubtedly, is the 

 secret of success, and to attain that end no pains 

 should be spared. Too frequently Figs are planted 

 in rich soil, which induces them to make gross 

 growths of a succulent nature ; consequently when 

 the winter comes, even if protected, the fruit for the 

 coming year's crop is injured, and oftentimes the 

 wood itself killed. 



Again, trees growing in the open are sometimes 

 neglected as regards pinching the points of the 

 shoots and thinning the branches, and when such is 

 the case success cannot be expected. No fruiting 

 shoots should have their points pinched nor should 

 they be fastened closely to the walls, but allowed to 

 spring away slightly. Many growers make a great 

 mistake here in tying in the points closely, by which a 

 vast quantity of fruit is injured. In southern coun- 

 ties, of course, bushes and standards may, and fre- 

 quently are grown, though those contemplating out- 

 door Fig culture cannot do better than to direct their 

 attention to wall trees only. C. C. [The Fig tree 

 spoken of here owes its fruitfulness, doubtless, to 

 age, as we know that the weaker growth due to 

 age favours a constant fruiting habit. This tree 

 measured 45 feet in breadth, and 12 feet in height, 

 = 540 square feet, forty years ago, and was then an 

 excellent grower, but it was occasionally found 

 necessary to partially ring the main branches to 

 check grossness in the shoots. It has been known 



Home Correspondence. 



RHODODENDRON BALSAMIN /EFLORUM ALBUM. 

 — This beautiful garden hybrid is now beautifully in 

 flower in Messrs. Veitch's nursery. It seems to be 

 quite a winter flowering species, as I have seen it 

 for the last two or three years in flower in the 

 month of December. The flowers, produced in 

 large trusses, remind one of those of the 

 Tuberose. The flowers last much longer in 

 good condition than those of the single-flowered 

 varieties. There is also a variety with bright yellow 

 flowers, and the flesh-coloured variety is named 

 carneum. The flowers must be exceedingly valu- 

 able for cutting to make up into all sorts of bouquets, 

 large or small. They are certainly very valuable 

 for decorative purposes when grown on the plants. 

 A few of the best newer single-flowered varieties at 

 present in flower are — Ophelia, rosy-salmon ; Lord 

 Wolseley, rich orange; Princess Christian, yellow; 

 Thetis, yellow, reddish centre — very fine variety : 

 Empress, salmon-red and rose-colour. J. D. 



STACHYS TUBIFERA OR CHINESE ARTICHOKE. 



—We have been amused at the suggestions from 

 various sources of a popular name for this plant, 

 and with due deference to all that have appeared, 

 we think it will still be found that the " Chinese," 

 or perhaps more correctly speaking, the " Japanese 

 Artichoke " is the most appropriate title. It is fully 

 certain, both in the general appearance of the tuber 

 and the habit of reproduction — in fact, in all essen- 

 tial particulars in its growth — the plant has a great 

 deal of the character of the tuberous-rooted Arti- 

 choke, and we therefore are of opinion that the name 

 either Chinese or Japanese Artichoke meets every 

 requirement. James Carter Sr Co. 



ARDISIA MAMILLATA. — This distinct species, 

 figured in the Gardeners' Chronicle December 31, 

 1887, p. 809, is now to be seen in berry in Messrs. 

 Veitch's nursery at Chelsea. The foliage is ex- 

 ceeding pretty, of a beautiful grass-green, the 

 upper surface thickly studded with small teat- 

 like elevations or mamillas. Both in foliage and in 

 its dwarf habit it is superior to the old well 

 known A. crenulata, and, like it, it is well fur- 

 nished with its glossy coral-red berries. It is 

 said to be furnished with berries all through the 

 winter. It is certainly the most seasonable plant 

 recently introduced. It has been introduced by 

 Messrs. Veitch from the Botanic Gardens, Hong 

 Kong, and requires stove culture. J. D. 



ANTHRACITE COAL. — I have now for some seven 

 years made a study of the use of this kind of fuel, and 

 I have also compared its price with that of coke, and 

 the result of my experience has been such as to lead 

 large consumers, like Mr. C. Dorman and Mr. Cobb, 

 of Sydenham, to make use of the coal, and many 

 others have adopted it. Those of the consumers who 

 have large collections of Orchids, which need con- 

 siderable amount of heat, could tell exactly what 

 a saving it has been to them. I have tried many 

 different sorts of anthracite coal, but have decided 

 in favour of that of Mr. Essery, of Swansea, which 

 is supplied in large blocks. The first cost of the 

 coal is not high, but the heavy fare the 

 railway companies charge for carriage brings it 

 to about 17s. 9d. to 18s. per ton, delivered at 

 Penge Station ; Then we have to put on Is. to 

 Is. 9d., according to the distance to which 

 it has to be carted. At Sydenham coke rules 

 at from 8d. to Is. Id. per cwt., which is equal to 

 13s. id. and £1 Is. 8d. per ton, which, with 2s. per ton 

 for delivery, makes it as dear as anthracite, and, more- 

 over, the coke has lost three-fifths of its heat-giving 

 properties. In using the anthracite coal, I have 

 found it very necessary to have a furnace with a 

 good draught, and to see that the coal is fully con- 

 sumed. The way to do this is to examine the ash- 

 heap after removal from the furnace, and exposed to 

 a shower of rain, when, if the heap looks black and 

 glistens, then you know that a better draught is 

 wanted, or that your men have been raking the fire, as 

 is customary with coke fires. A fire made up in the 

 morning with this coal does not want touching till 

 night, and if the fuel is not piled on in large quanti- 

 ties it will give a bright flame. It is a mistake to 



block up the furnace, as is done, with coke. Thos. 

 Christy, F.L.S. 



INSECTS ON FRUIT TREES.— In some parts of 

 Gloucester, Hereford, and Worcester, the Apple crop 

 of the past season was much injured, and in some 

 places utterly destroyed by the caterpillars of various 

 moths, the ermine moth and the winter moth being 

 especially destructive. Witn the view to protect my 

 fruit trees from the egg-laying, wingless, female 

 moths, I put cartgrease and tar round the stems of 

 the trees, thus trapping thousands of moths ; but in 

 their efforts to get free some have evacuated their 

 eggs on the tar. Will you or some of the numerous 

 readers of your valuable paper, be good enough to 

 inform me how I can destroy the eggs ? I can scrape 

 many off, but many will be left. A solution of 

 corrosive sublinate, or sulphate of copper, would 

 destroy their fertility, but I hesitate to use so drastic 

 a remedy, lest I should injure the bark of the trees. 

 A. B., Dymock, Gloucester. [Put more tar or grease on 

 the strip of paper fixed on the trees. Ed.] 



CHRYSANTHEMUM MRS. COBAY. — I have no 

 doubt but that the explanation of the above obvious 

 error suggested itself to the mind of one so well in- 

 formed on Chrysanthemums as " E. M." I was 

 naming the varieties of incurved Chrysanthemums 

 that came under the Prince of Wales type, and what 

 I wrote was as follow: " They are the new varieties 

 described above, viz., Miss M. A. Haggas and Miss 

 Violet Tomlin; Mr. Cobay and Mrs. Heale." A 

 semicolon should appear after Tomlin, and Mrs. is 

 a misprint for Mr. Cobay. R. D. 



PLANTING HERBACEOUS PLANTS. — I have read 

 with interest the remarks of your correspondents, 

 Messrs. Horsefield and Jenkins, on herbaceous 

 plants and borders. The method of planting in lines 

 of this or that plant I can hardly approve of. To 

 my notion it is better to plant patches — that is to say, 

 a good quantity of one variety in a certain place in 

 the border, with an equal quantity of another suitable 

 plant in fairly close proximity to it. The autumn- 

 flowering Anemone may be taken a3 an instance ; of 

 these we grow three distinct colours, the white 

 variety, that called elegans, and A. japonica. Now 

 to put out these plants in straight lines would not 

 only annoy any person of good taste, but it would, 

 in my opinion, spoil the whole arrangement. I 

 rather incline to having good breadths of one thing 

 with suitable colours to harmonize ; and to disregard 

 the height provided the smaller things are not 

 crowded by them. It is now ten years since I formed 

 a border some 100 yards long and 10 feet wide, and 

 planted it with about 200 species and varieties ; and 

 since that time the soil has never been dug, but the 

 weeds have been removed by hand, and an annual 

 top-dressing afforded of good loam and burnt earth 

 mixed with a quantity of spent Mushroom dung. That 

 this kind of treatment suits the plants is proved by 

 the abundance of flowers that are cut annually. 

 In the space of this note the names of the plants 

 cannot be given ; suffice it to say that we despise 

 nothing, but if a plant is considered weedy, or too 

 rampant, it is consigned, not to the rubbish heap, 

 but to a spot in a wood which is set apart for the 

 purpose. Then we are constantly widening the 

 border, selecting new sites for certain subjects, giving 

 those that are doing well more space to grow, and 

 affording suitable soil, &c, for any that may not be 

 giving satisfaction. One of the best of recently 

 introduced border plants is Heuchera sanguinea. 

 figured at p. . The plant is easily raised from 

 seed, and will flower the first year. I think 

 there is more pleasure in getting together a col- 

 lection of these hardy plants and watching them 

 thrive than there is in the ordinary short lived 

 summer bedding plants ; nevertheless, I am not an 

 advocate for neglecting this or any other department 

 of the garden. C. Mcrritt, Hoo Gardens, Kimpton, 

 Welwyn. 



PLANT PORTRAITS. 



Ange^cum Sandeeianum, Revue Horticole, Novem- 

 ber 16.— (Gard. Chron., 1888, i„ 168.) 



Catasetom fimbeiatum vae. fissum, Rev. de 

 I'Hort. Beige, December. 



Eulophia maculata, Gartenjlora, t. 1285. — Ter- 

 restrial Orchid, with insignificant flowers, but prettily 

 mottled leaves. 



P.iony Venus, Garden, November 17. 



PlTTOSPOBtTM PHILLYREOIDES, Bull. Soc. ToSC. de 



Ortie., November, 



