ABSTRACTS. 



295 



Societe d'Acclimatation, whose speciality was the introduction of new 

 hardy esculent vegetables to Continental gardens, sent to me a dozen 

 fruits of the plant whose name heads this article, hoping that its culture 

 might be taken up at the Cape. They were distributed to several gardens 

 here, with a brief note as to the very simple culture required. But if 

 you want to have anything done which is contrary to established custom 

 and routine you have to do it yourself mostly. In only one instance was 

 the distribution followed by success. Mr. Eustace Pillans raised the 

 plant, and in its second season had it climbing in profusion over a large 

 trellis and showing a crop of ninety fruits. From this beginning a 

 basketful was sent to the cuisine of the Civil Service Club, and another 

 lot was exhibited in the window of a leading fruit dealer with an explana- 

 tory label. Certainly a message of thanks and approval came from the 

 Club, but there the matter ended. Two or three other amateur gardeners 

 now have the plant, but it is disappointing to find that it has not been 

 taken by the purveyors of our vegetable market, and is only known to a 

 few people as a curiosity. I dare say if we had on record the primeval 

 history of the Cabbage or of the Turnip we should find that the man who 

 first grew and ate the esculent novelties was similarly disappointed when 

 he pressed them upon the attention of his prehistoric neighbours. They, 

 no doubt, asked why they should venture to eat such new-fangled stuff 

 when there was such an abundance of acorns to be had — a food which 

 had stood the test of centuries, and had been eaten by their forefathers 

 from time immemorial. 



" But if we of the Cape have not as yet recognised the value of this 

 succulent dainty — a sort of Squash that is not exactly a Squash but some- 

 thing far better, and which comes in season when the ordinary Squash 

 has not begun to show a leaf above ground — other countries and colonies 

 which have a climate somewhat similar to ours have done justice to it. 

 With them the Chayote has come to stay, and puts in an appearance 

 regularly upon the market. The United States Department of Agriculture 

 has just issued a very complete monograph of all that is to be said about 

 this valuable addition to the resources of our table, and there can be no 

 doubt that the Gulf States and California will very shortly send it up to 

 the eastern centres of population in large quantities. Algeria always 

 forwards hundreds of tons of the fruit to Paris and London as a special 

 winter vegetable, and it has begun to gain popularity in Queensland." 



B.N. 



Chrysanthemums. By W. Soutter (Qu. Agr. Joum. ix. pp. 569- 

 560 ; December 1901). — General remarks on cultivation of the Chrysan- 

 themum in Queensland. This is one of the chief autumn flowers, and 

 can be grown in almost any part of Queensland. — M. C. C. 



Chrysanthemums : How to Multiply a Sport. By H. Dauthenay 

 (Ann. Soc. He. p. 188; Dec. 1901). — The following particulars are 

 probably known to Chrysanthemum growers, but are new to some readers 

 of the Journal. Cut off the flower down to the nearest leaf, then cut off 

 to its base the stalk which bore it, then all the leaves of the stalk, leaving 

 only a quarter of an inch of each petiole attached. Then lay the stalk 

 flat in fine moist soil, covering it about a quarter of an inch and putting 



