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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



t October 24, 1872. 



or attacks of insects, first affect the health of the plant, and 

 predispose it to succumb before the attacks of the fungus. 

 Mr. Alfred Smee, surgeon to the Bank of England, has long 

 held his ground upon the hypothesis that the Potato is first 

 attacked by an aphis, and so rendered a ready prey to the 

 Peronospora, and says from his own observations he believes 

 that an aphis invariably punctures the leaves before an attack 

 of the fungus : he holds the same views with respect to the 

 Ascomyees of the Peach ; but Berkeley and others nail their 

 colours to the fungus, the whole fungus, and nothing but the 

 fungus — and not without sufficient grounds ; for, amongst 

 other reasons, the immediate allies of the Potato fungus do not 

 prey upon decaying matter; other species of fungi do, but 

 these do not. 



'Whilst it is comparatively easy to say when and where the 

 Potato murrain was first brought prominently into notice, and 

 what the Potato disease is, it is by no means an easy matter to 

 suggest an effectual antidote to its ravages. Dr. Hooker has 

 recently published in the daily papers a plan devised by Pro- 

 fessor Henslow for preserving the nutritive portions of diseased 

 Potatoes ; but, from its tedious nature, it is never likely to be 

 carried out to any extent, or made use of by the people at large. 

 When the disease first appeared, a quarter of a century ago, it 

 was suggested that the moment it became manifest in the leaves 

 the whole crop should be mown down and burnt before the de- 

 structive virus reached the tubers. Now, after all this lapse of 

 time, no better plan can be suggested ; but such is the rapid 

 growth of the fungus, that unless the haulms be destroyed im- 

 mediately on the appearance of the parasite, it will be too 

 late : if a week or less be allowed to elapse, the mycelium will 

 be in the tubers, and all the haulms a rotten mass. 



In the case of the Vine disease, sulphur has been found very 

 efficacious ; but it is impossible to apply the fumes of sulphur 

 to the Potato crops. Mr. Smee has destroyed Oidium in his 

 Grape house with the fumes of bisulphide of carbon ; but it is 

 not easy to see how any fumes can be applied in the open 

 fields. 



It has recently been said that it is a disgrace to science and 

 to scientific men that no perfect remedy has yet been found for 

 the ravages of the Potato disease. The same may be said, I 

 presume, respecting the ravages of the rinderpest, foot-and- 

 mouth disease, and cholera itself ; but I fail to see the disgrace 

 to "scientific men." If there is any disgrace in the matter, 

 it rests with those persons who are commercially interested in 

 the success of our Potato crops ; for, although we have had 

 the fatal disease amongst the Potatoes for a quarter of a cen- 

 tury, these gentlemen have still the stupidest possible ideas of 

 what it is and how to cope with it, as is abundantly proved 

 by the melancholy balderdash recently printed in the news- 

 papers. — WoKiHrsGTOX G. Smith, F.L.S. (in Rardwicke's 

 Science-Gossip.) 



CALLS AT THE NURSERIES. 

 Messes. Yeiich's, Chelsea. — Among subjects peculiarly 

 attractive at the present time are the Lapagerias, of which 

 both the rose-coloured and the white are in great beauty. It 

 is much to be regretted that the latter is so scarce, especially 

 as it forms so charming a companion to the ordinary rose- 

 flowered form, but scarce it seems likely to remain on account 

 of the difficulty of propagating it in quantity. In a cool house, 

 along with Chorozemas and Boronias, where it has been 

 flowering all the summer, we noticed the hybrid Begonia 

 Sedeni still producing numbers of its showy crimson-scarlet 

 flowers, and promising to continue in blossom for a long time. 

 In one of the stoves the large, rich yellow-flowered Allamanda 

 nobilis and Hendersoni, trained on the roof and blooming freely, 

 are making a gay display, along with the orange scarlet Aphe- 

 landra aurantiaca Boezlii, Daleehampia Roezhi rosea, Urceo- 

 lina aurea, Hippeastrums, Ixoras, Tineas, and Dipladenias. 

 The large and beautiful violet flowers of Lasiandra macrantha 

 floribunda are here very conspicuous , and though individually 

 of but short duration, they no sooner drop than others take 

 their place. Anthuiium Scherzerianum naturally occurs to 

 one's mind when referring to suceessional flowering,' for it 

 may be said to be hardly ever without its brilliant-coloured 

 spathes in one stage or other ; and here they are both expand- 

 ing and expanded, and -give a life and colour which are now 

 more welcome than even in spring and summer. Small hanging 

 baskets of Panieum variegatuni may also be noted as having 

 a charming effect. Among Crotons several of the recently- 

 ntroduced kinds are in great beauty, as C. variegatum undu- 



latum, with undulated leaves blotched with golden yellow, 

 changing to dark red ; C. v. maximum, a fine free-growing sort 

 beautifully variegated with yellow ; and C. v. Wisemanni with 

 very narrow leaves. Dracsenas reginaa,Mooreana, and magnifica 

 are also very striking by their fine broad leaves. 



In a house devoted to fine-foliaged plants we will only pause 

 to notice, among the host of subjects with which it is filled, 

 Thrinax elegans, Dsemonorops fissus, and Coeos Weddeliana 

 as extremely handsome Palms, and of the last-named the spe- 

 j cimen is considered to be one of the finest in Europe. Of the 

 singular Madagascar Lace Plant (Onviranda f enestralis) , there 

 is also a fine specimen. In another house is a collection of 

 Pitcher-plants, large, in the most luxuriant condition, and 

 with fine pitchers. Among them are the hybrid Nepenthes 

 Sedeni and hybrida maculata, together with Hookeri, ampul- 

 lacea, and Eafflesiana, all " pitchering " freely. 



The cool fernery, as heretofore, is one of the sights of the 

 establishment, so fresh and verdant that one finds oneself at 

 once transported far from the regions of London smoke. 



Of Orchids, of which the collection is, probably, unrivalled 

 in Europe, those in flower at present are not very numerous. 

 Among them are the beautiful sky-blue Yanda cserulea ; 

 Cattleya Domlniana alba, a pretty hybrid of Mr. Dominy's 

 raising, with a lemon and purple lip ; C. Dominiana lutea, 

 yellowish white and rose ; Pleiones, which are the autumn 

 Crocuses among the Orchids ; several Cypripediums ; Sophro- 

 nites grandiflora, of which the intense scarlet never fails to 

 catch the eye at once ; the beautiful Odontoglossum Alexandras, 

 and Cymbidium Mastersii just coming out. 



In the ferneries we notice fine specimens of Davallia Moore- 

 ana and Marattia Cooperi, not to mention Adiantums, Gyni- 

 nogrammas, and others almost without number. Of Todea 

 WOkesiana, a miniature tree Filmy Fern, there is a remarkably 

 fine specimen, whilst of Todea superba, and others less novel 

 but not less beautiful, there is an abundance. These are but 

 a few of the' features at Messrs. Yeitch's at the present time, 

 and, in a rapid sketch like this, necessarily the subjects of in- 

 terest which are omitted vastly outnumber those noted. 



Mk. Bull's, Chelsea. — Mr. Bull, it need hardly be said, 

 makes new and rare plants his speciality, and of such, cer- 

 tainly, his large show house and other minor houses contain 

 no lack, and many of the specimens are of unusual size and 

 beauty. Among fine-foliaged plants (including Palms), which 

 are an especial feature, we noticed on a recent visit several 

 species of Dsmonorops, plants eminently suited for table de- 

 coration; Kentia Canterburyana or K. Fosteriana, and Livis- 

 tonia altissima, two handsome Palms for the same purpose ; 

 Pandanus ceramensis, also a fine plant for the table ; Areca lu- 

 teseens, a handsome yellow-stemmed cool-house Palm ; and 

 Welfia regia, one of the most handsome of new Palms. Pan- 

 danus deeorus, with long bright green leaves, is also an elegant 

 fine-foliaged plant. Other noticeable plants with very orna- 

 mental leaves, are Heliconia vinosa, the Bertolonias, a Hig- 

 ginsia with corded velvety foliage; Syngonium maculatum; 

 and Ficus dealbata, with the backs of the leaves silvery. 

 Among Dracamas, splendens, excelsa, reginae, and pulchella 

 are particularly fine ; and of the new Crotons, as undulatum, 

 Yeitehii, Wisemannii, and interruptum, there are excellent 

 specimens. Croton majesticum is splendid in colour, its nar- 

 row leaves dark olive, yellow, and red ; and C. spirale with the 

 foliage very narrow, and twisted in a spiral form, in colour 

 purple, green, and yellow, is a singular as well as handsome 

 novelty, which, we believe, has never yet been before the public- 

 Dieffenbachias, a new and handsome plumose Cycas, and 

 Amorphophallus campanulatus, just putting forth the leaf, 

 which is enclosed in a curiously spotted and streaked sheath, 

 are other notable features. New Cycads, Palms, and Ferns 

 are too numerous to enter upon ; and the large Cyatheas and 

 Dicksonias must not be forgotten. There is likewise a speci- 

 men of Pandanus elegantissimus, which must be quite S feet 

 high. 



Orchids in flower are represented by Mesospinidium Tulca- 

 nicum with pretty rosy-purple flowers, Sophronites grandiflora, 

 Odontoglossum graude, Barkeria spectabilis, Cattleyas, Cypri- 

 pedium Sehlimii, and Pleiones. 



In the Geranium house, which is now extremely gay, a 

 plant of Brunswigia minor has thirty of its showy pink flowers, 

 and in other houses a fine specimen of Lapageria alba had just 

 ceased producing its pretty, bell-shaped, white flowers — to the 

 charming effect of this plant we have already alluded ; we also 

 noticed a new Maranta, called Mackoyana, green, laced with 

 white, and blotehed with olive, a very handsome fine-foliaged 



