50 



JOUKNAL OP HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



[ July 2D, 1871. 



Class VII. — For Chiklrcn's Sjieamens. 



The best nosegay of wild-flowers only ; bunch of nsefnl wild pot- 

 herbs ; plate of Brambles, Nuts, or other nsefnl wild frnit ; plate of 

 Mushrooms ; plate of Watercresses. These must have been gathered 

 in the parish, by the children's own hands, and put together by them- 

 selves. N.B. — No prize will be given to grown-up members for any 

 such specimens, except for Mushrooms. 



The best single blossom of an open-air flower ; mixed garden nose- 

 gay, without any wild flowers ; nosegay of different sorts of one flower ; 

 tender or house flower in a flower-pot; plate of small fruit. [All 

 these, and the trees or plants on which they grew, must be really the 

 children's own property, reared by their own hands, or grown three 

 months in theii own possession, or on their own spot of garden- 

 ground. "What is grown in the family garden, or should properly 

 belong to a family garden, cannot be shown as children's specimens.] 



Any member may offer for sale at the show any specimen which is 

 really his own. by mariing on it the words " for sale," and the lowest 

 price intended to be taken. If it is not shown also for a prize, he shall 

 mark on it his name. Specimens sold shall have the purchaser's 

 name marked on them, but must not be removed, without leave of the 

 managers, until after the show. Specimens not belonging to members 

 cannot be shown for any purpose whatever. 



White ticket members, who return their prizes, may choose at the 

 Society's cost, from among the flower plants shown for sale, a plant, 

 in testimony of their prizes, and of the obligation they confer on the 

 Society by relieving its funds. 



Cottagers and children — that is, red ticket and green ticket mem- 

 bers, who shall gain at any one show, six or more first prizes, shall, if 

 the funds allow, receive a small order, according to the value of their 

 prizes, to buy at the Society's cost, a plant from any other member. 



Plants or flowers, granted as above, may be shown for prizes at the 

 next show, provided they have not already gained their former owner 

 a prize in the same year. 



Cottage members, who leave their prizes towards purchasing bees, 

 shall receive 2s. beyond their prizes, when they amount to within that 

 sum of the price of a stock. 



PORTRAITS OF PLANTS, FLOWERS, axd FRUITS. 



Eeia extincioeia (Extinguieher-spnrred Eria). Nat. ord., 

 Orchidacefe. Linn., Gynandria Monendria. — A pigmy, leafless 

 Orchid. Native of Burmah. Flowers white with pink blotch. 

 —(Bot. Mag., t. 5910.) 



Passifloka cinnabaeina (Scarlet Passion-PIower). Nat. ord., 

 PassifloreiB. Linn., Monadelphia Pentandria. — Native of Aus- 

 tralia. Greenhouse scarlet-flowered climber. — (Ihid., t. 5911.) 



MiLLA capitata (Capitate Milla). Nat. ord., Liliacea? Linn., 

 Hexandria Monogvnia. — Native of California. Flowers purplish 

 hhw.— {Ibid., t. 5912 ) 



Ehthchosia CHEYSOciAS (Goldcn-flowered Bhynchosia). Nat. 

 ord.. LeguminosiE. Linn., DIadelphia Deeandria. — Native of 

 the Cape of Good Hope. A beautiful yellow-flowered climber. 

 (Ibid., t. 5913). 



Aeis^ma C0NCINKU3I (Handsome AriFfsma). Nat. ord., Aroi- 

 iex. Linn., Moncecift Polyandria. — Native of the Sikkim 

 Himalaya. Female spathe green; male white and purple 

 streaked.— (Z6irf., t. 5914.) 



Gbevillea maceostylis (Long-styled Grevillea). Nat. ord., 

 ProteaceiE. Linn., Tetrandria Monogynia. — A valuable com- 

 pact addition to our hardwooded Australian plants. Flowers 

 crimson. — {Ibid., t. 5915.) 



Dendkobium chktsotis. — " This beautiful plant was flowered 

 by Messrs. Brooke & Co., of Manchester, for the first time in 

 this country in September last. It is a beautiful stove epi- 

 phyte, somewhat resembling Dendrobium fimbriatum oculatam 

 (the so-called D. Paxtoni of gardens), but differing in the much 

 more deeply-cnt fringe of the lip, in having on the disc of the 

 lip two dark blotches instead of one, and more particularly in 

 bearing its flowers on the yet leafy stems, the flowers of D. fim- 

 briatum appearing on stems which have become ripened and 

 leafless. It was imported from Assam. The stems are slender, 

 rod-like, 3 feet to i feet long, bearing thin, oblong-acute, sessile 

 leaves, while the large showy flowers form drooping spikes 

 6 inches to 9 inches long, and are of a bright orange-yellow 

 colour, with two dark spots on the disc of the lip. The sepals 

 and petals are ligulate, narrower than in D. fimbriatum, while 

 the lip is more rhomboid, edged with a beautiful deep moss- 

 like fringe. When exhibited in September last, at South 

 Kensington, it obtained the award of a first-class certificate." — 

 {Florist and Nomologist, 8 s., iv., 145.) 



Large Mushkoom. — The growth of Mushrooms has been 

 remarkable here (Bromsgrove), and doubtless elsewhere too. 

 The first large one I gathered I had the curiosity to measure ; 

 it was lOi inches in diameter, Si inches high, and weighed 



1 lb. 2 ozs. I have since gathered many as large and larger. — 

 Aethdk Byland. 



NEW EDIBLE ROOTS. 



Bota^-ically speaking, the term root, as applied to many of 

 our esculents, is incorrect. That most common and indis- 

 pensable of our so-called root crops, the Potato, is really a 

 tuber, or fleshy underground stem, the " eyes " being the buds 

 from whence spring the branches or young plants. We have, 

 however, elected to include under the above head of roots all 

 those underground productions botanically known as tubers,. 

 and of these there are many that would appear worthy of per- 

 severing efforts at cultivation in this country as articles of food. 

 When we consider what the Potato is like in its native country 

 of Chili — a waxy tuber not larger than a Walnut, and when we see- 

 what a system of culture has done, and that in comparatively 

 modern times, to bring this little tuber to its present perfec- 

 tion, we are led to think that a similar agency, if properly and 

 patiently conducted, might result in giving us some new escu- 

 lents, not absolutely to displace onr old and well-tried friend 

 the Potato, but to supply the deficiencies, when such arise in 

 the Potato crops, as well as to act in honourable rivalry with it. 



Knowing, then, how much we are indebted to Chili for giving 

 us the Potato, we will direct onr attention to some other pro- 

 ducts of the South American continent; and first may be 

 mentioned the XJUucns tuberosa, a little twining or prostrate 

 plant, belonging to the natural order Basellacefe, and known to 

 the natives as oca-quina. These plants are largely cultivated in 

 Bolivia and the Andes of Peru for the sake of the tubers, which 

 are scarcely so large as a Walnut, are of a yellowish colour, 

 and are in appearance not unlike small Potatoes ; they are 

 produced underground at the ends of long thread-like branches. 

 Like the native Chilian Potatoes, they are waxy, and if not 

 sufficiently cooked, stick to the teeth like gum or glue. The 

 natives cook them in a precisely similar manner to the true 

 Potato, by exposing them for three or four nights to the atmo- 

 sphere in an elevated situation, occasionally throwing water 

 upon them, so that they become frozen, after which they are 

 placed in the sun to dry ; the fii a', result is a starchy and palat- 

 able tuber, instead of a waxy one with an earthy flavour. These 

 tubers have been grown in England, but have never, to our 

 knowledge, been subjected to a system of cultural experiments- 



Oxalis crenata, native of Peru, and 0. tuberosa, native of 

 Bolivia, are both cultivated in their native countries for the 

 sake of their tubers, which in 0. crenata are small, the average 

 weight of each being about 2 ozs. ; and a single plant is said to 

 produce about J lb. weight of them. In 0. tuberosa they are 

 about the size of a large marble, and have much the appear- 

 ance of little immature Potatoes. The tubers of both species, 

 indeed the entire plants, have an acid flavour, owing to the 

 presence of oxalic acid ; this objectionable flavour, however, 

 disappears in the process of cooking, the acid principle being 

 converted into saccharine matter, and the tubers becoming, 

 floury. 0. crenata has been grown in this country, and was, 

 at one time, recommended as a substitute for the Potato. How 

 far cultivation might increase the size of the tubers, and im- 

 prove their quality, has not been proved ; but it is beyond 

 doubt that some good result might be attained. A Mexican 

 species (0. Deppei) produces fleshy fusiform roots of moderate 

 size, which are edible. Arracacha escnlenta is another South' 

 American tuberous plant. In habit it is similar to the Hem- 

 lock, to which it is botanically allied. The roots are large, 

 and divided into fleshy lobes, about the size of an ordinary 

 Carrot. It is cultivated in the cooler mountain regions of- 

 Northern South America, where the roots form a regular 

 article of food ; and when boiled, they are said to have a com- 

 bined flavour of a Chestnut and a Parsnip. The plants thrive 

 in their native country, where the mean temperature of the 

 warmest month is 62°, and of the coldest month 57°. It was, 

 therefore, at one time thought that they might be cultivated 

 advantageously in the South of England and in some parts of 

 Ireland. They might, perhaps, be satisfactorily grown in some 

 of our colonies. 



Amongst tuberous plants of North America used for food, 

 the Apios tuberosa is worthy of notice. It is a twining plant, 

 belonging to the Pea family, and grows in hedges and bushes on 

 the mountains from Pennsylvania to Carolina. The tubers are 

 small, biit are produced in large quantities, and are very mealy ; 

 the plants grow well in England in ordinary garden soil, and 

 can be increased almost indefinitely by separating the tubers. 



The Prairie Turnip (Psoralea esculenta), also a leguminous 

 plant, is a native of N.W. America, where the large tuberons 



