FOREIGN NOTES. 



A New Egyptian Cotton Plant. — Reporting on the 

 trade and commerce of Alexandria during the year i88g, 

 Vice-Consul Alban refers to the increased cultiva- 

 tion of a new variety of cotton plant, known as 

 Mitafife, as the chief feature of the year. This plant 

 was discovered a few years ago at Beaha. Although 

 its produce is not quite so good in quality as that of the 

 Ashmouni plant, and is of shorter staple, it produces a 

 much larger proportion of cotton to seed than any 

 other variety ; at the same time it has the advantage of 

 being earlier and less susceptible to atmospheric influ- 

 ences. — TJie Gardeners^ Chronicle. 



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Yellow Tuberous Begonias. — Amongst the four 

 dozen new double begonias I have this summer had under 

 view are three most beautiful yellow flowers, which, 

 each from a different point of view, leave little, if any- 

 thing, ta be desired. Two of these came from M. 

 Felix Crousse, of Nancy, and are named Source d' Or 

 and Toison d' Or, and the third, the largest flower of 

 all, more resembling a double hollyhocV' than a begonia, 

 comes from Messrs. Cannell, of Swanley, and is named 

 Mrs. Jenkins. — W. E. Guinhlc'ton. in The Garden. 



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New Dahlias. — Dr. Peters. — The flower heads of 

 this new cactus dahlia are of medium size and crimson, 

 shading off to yellow at the tips of the florets, but even 

 there a tint of crimson is more or less evident in some 

 cases. The florets are oval and slightly grooved, or 

 nearly flat. The heads Black Prince, another new 

 cactus variety, are of large size, and velvety blackish 

 maroon. The florets are also large, loosely arranged, 

 broad and rounded at the points. It is a bold and strik- 

 ing form. — Tlie Garderiing World. 



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New Gladiolus. — G. Lemoinei Muel Bletie gives 

 promise of a strain of blue-flowered gladioli. The 

 color is difficult to determine, and may be described as 

 violet-purple externally and much paler internally, with 

 a tint of slaty or lilac blue. The lower three segments 

 have each a large, deep violet blotch on the lower half, 

 with a short median pale yellow band. The tip of the 

 lower segments is a certain shade of blue. — Tlie Gar- 

 dening IVorid. 



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Fruit Estimate for i8go. — The average of the fruit 

 crops in western Austria, Germany, Switzerland and 

 France for the year iSgo has been estimated as follows : 

 Apples, medium to poor ; pears, good to medium ; 

 prunes and plums, medium to poor ; apricots, medium ; 

 peaches, medium ; cherries, good to medium ; nuts, 

 good; chestnuts, good; grapes, good to very good. — 

 Garifn-tmd Bluiuenzeil iing. 



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.A New Single Rose. — Mr. Barket, gardener to Lord 

 Penzance, has just presented to the Royal Society of 



fiorticulture, uf London, a new variety of single rose, 

 for which he has received a first-class certificate. The 

 new acquisition is a cross between Rosa canina and the 

 yellow rose Harison. The flowers are pale salmon, 

 yellow in the center, and are about 2 '-2 inches in diam- 

 eter. — Journal des Roses. 



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New Disease of the Potato. — A disease unknown to 

 agriculturists has made its appearance in various parts 

 of France. It is caused by a bacillus which attacks 

 the potato plant near the surface of the ground, caus- 

 ing the cells to turn brown. The plant dies almost im- 

 mediately The name Bacillus caulivorus has been pro- 

 posed for the organism causing the disease. — Le Pro- 

 gres Agricole et I'iticole . 



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Masdevallia fulvescens. — This novelty is a very 

 pretty species, apparently allied to M. infracta, Lindl., 

 but with more brightly colored flowers. The perianth 

 is of a light half shade, passing into light purple- 

 brown on the constricted sides of the throat, the upper 

 sepal deeper orange-yellow, shading into purple-brown 

 on the two lateral nerves — R. A. Rolfe, in The Gar- 

 deners' Chronicle . 



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Hypericum Moserianum. — This is a very desirable 

 new shrub, said to be intermediate between //. palulum 

 and //. calyciniuii, though I fail to see any trace of the 

 latter parentage. The habit is that of paiulnni, but 

 the branches are fewer flowered. The blooms are as 

 large as those of //. irifloriiin, and so far it appears to be 

 quite a hardy kind. — T. S., in The Garden . 



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A Green-Flowered Chrysanthemum. — The Moni- 

 leiir d' Horticulture gives a colored illustration of a 

 flower, in which the corollas are green. As a curiosity 

 it ranks with green dahlias, green roses, and numerous 

 other plants. — The Gardeners' Chronicle. 



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New Disease of Hollyhocks. — A fungous disease, 

 almost identical with one which frequently attacks the 

 potato, is destroying large numbers of hollyhocks in 

 England, seriously threatening their culture. 



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Growth of Bamboo. — It is recorded that the shoots 

 of a bamboo in the Peradenya botanic garden, Ceylon, 

 grew at the rate of thirteen inches in twenty-four hours 

 in April. — The Gardeners' Chronicle. 



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Grape Mildew. — The mildew is severely attacking 

 the grape in the eastern part of France — Le Progres 

 Agricole el Viiicole. 



