NOTES AND ABSTEACTS. 



665 



Mealy bug (Dactylopius citri), which is its worst enemy, must be kept 

 in check with tobacco juice, or strong syringing with clear water. 



It must not be allowed to become pot-bound, and requires plenty of 

 water. 



The best package for the Kumquat is the Strawberry carrier, holding 

 about a quart. Much may be done to create a demand by attractive 

 packing, such as putting up the fruits with leaves attached, when they 

 make pretty ornaments for the table. 



The fruit may be eaten raw, without removing the skin, and it also 

 makes an excellent preserve. — C. H. C. 



Laburnum caramanicum. By Sir J. D. Hooker (Bot. Mag. tab. 

 7898). — Nat. ord. Legtiminosce, tribe Genistece. Native of Greece and 

 Asia Minor. A small tree with shortly pedunculated racemes of golden - 

 yellow flowers. The pod has the upper margins narrowly winged, and 

 seeds one-fifth an inch in length.— G. H. 



LsBlio-Cattleya Wiganiae (Orch. Bev. Aug. 1903, p. 233, fig. 39).— 

 Some remarks from Captain Hurst accompany the illustration of this 

 secondary hybrid, derived from the intercrossing of Cattleya Mossice and 

 Lcelio-Cattleya Gottoiana. — H. J. C. 



Leaf-cuttings, Regenerative Root and Bud Formation from 

 Leaves, and its use in the Propagation of Plants.— By H. 



Lindemuth (Gartenflora, 15/9/03, p. 479, and 1/12/03, p. 619).— The 

 rapid propagation of plants may be carried on by means of (1) cuttings 

 from shoots of actively growing plants, (2) cuttings from resting trees and 

 shrubs, and (3) leaf-cuttings. The author describes his investigations 

 concerning the last. 



The leaves were broken off the stem and the buds in the axils were 

 cut off with a short portion of the petiole. The leaves were then stuck 

 into a pot of soil only so far as was necessary to obtain a firm hold for 

 the petiole ; the length varied with the size of the leaf, and was usually 

 between two and five cm. Sessile leaves necessarily had a small portion 

 of the leaf-blade buried. 



In the first series of experiments, 28 out of 41 species tried produced 

 roots and buds, or roots only ; 13 species failed. These failures do not 

 necessarily indicate that such plants cannot be propagated in this way, 

 as the author found later. In some cases only one leaf out of several in 

 the same pot formed roots. 



The formation of roots and buds on leaf-cuttings is influenced by 

 many things : for example, by length of the leaf -petiole ; the distance of 

 the leaf-blade from the soil ; the presence or absence of wounds ; depth of 

 the petiole and blade in the soil ; and by dampness of soil and air. The 

 author generally found that the plants obtained from leaf-cuttings were 

 stronger, more vigorous, and more lasting than those produced from 

 ordinary cuttings. 



New or rare plants which do not produce many shoots may be quickly 

 increased by leaf -cuttings. The process is of especial use for the rapid 

 propagation of new annuals, many of which are able to form roots and 

 buds on detached leaves treated in the manner indicated. 



A A 



