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GA RDENERS' MA GAZI NE. 



413 



. d mfy to the Forests of Central Africa. 



A JOURNfcT ^ f ba British 



MR . John Mahon, who wa^pP Qf ^ Rew y Guild the followmg mteresting 



Central Am«' to t h a t Colony :— . . 

 tcC ount of his J° urn ^ invited me to write an account of my journey to and 



^'ofthfs demote outpost of the British Empire. I left London ,n June 



impit^— — nnrhan. JNatal, wnere we were eiiauitu w>,« r - — - , * 



*<tT U &A dusty'storms.Imust say/ ' That Durban ^pleasant 



5e d ^ Tho love o seethe sun shine everyday, and flowers, not nailed to 

 pla« to me, wfco to c- < fc > Botanic Garden the parks and 



Lit. fetooned from. tree to ^ ^ impressed me much. I 



P ressl0D l°rL U nVrban; Natal, where we were enabled to spend several enjoy- 



;t 

 le 



pU fk Testooned from tree to tree." 



s n CS '>? e wT ttee 3LH2d2~(two of whom were doctors), and in process 

 left Durte "n ' red Delacoa Bay. Further on came the rising port of Beira, the 

 ^^^MaASLd, a y nd likely tr - - ~— » ^e. Then we 



- Sambane— where the copal co . 



, mnv L said the cocoanuts come from, for there are quantities ot the palm 

 whe f/w dutiful red-tiled, gaily painted river-port. We trans shipped again 

 tb0 / Id S for a day, when we reached China? the port of British Central 



S the Chinde river-one of the numerous mouths of the Zambesi, and the 

 A S Afreet watr way to the lakes. The ^^J^^tlJ^^ 



UD i Zrt ot " Mashonaland, and likely to be a great place in time. 1 nen we 

 MtU J? f InhaSne- where the copal comes from-and eventually Quilimane, 



CSulCQ • j iu 0 ^naniitt: rnmp from, for til 



s • • i, rnvernment has a small concession of wharfage on a ninety-nine years 

 1 It is a lamentable place, consisting of a sand-pit backed by the raggedest, 

 £fet bush imaginable. We spent six wretched days there before the 

 ffiS Lakes' steamer came and carried us to the famous broad Zambesi 



which at this point is very imposing and charming. The banks are lined 

 uith a dense and varied forest— trees of the mangrove type predominating. 

 Inch tropical features as orchids, climbers, birds, butterflies, and strange animals, 

 mv have been there, but none of us saw them. A day's journey disgusted us 

 with the river, for the forest thinned away into the distance and we were left with 

 nass-lined banks (and dead grass at that), and for miles one saw nothing but the 

 rfter and the glaring sun above, often through reeking smoke, pungent and 

 unpleasant, from the incessant grass fires, at this season raging all over the south 

 and central regions. The monotony, was broken by the vessel lodging every little 

 while on a sandbank, when the nigger crew had to get out and pull her off. ^ At 

 the Portuguese mission-station — Shupanga — we went.ashore to visit Mrs. Living- 

 stone's grave. After several days we struck into the Shire, which wends away 

 amongst hills in a north-easterly direction. Now the banks were clothed with 

 luxuriant verdure, with hills in the background ; the river ran swift and clear, and 

 generally it was a glorious relief after the flat, ugly Zambesi country. The Shire 

 may justly be called the River of a Thousand Islands. They are thick in it ; 

 beautilul green, flowery spots, for the soil is rich and there is abundance of mag- 

 nificent land. Cacao, spices, sugar, tobacco, and Liberian coffee should grow 

 well there. As it is, the banks are most interesting to the botanist, for there were 

 many gay flowering plants. A scandent shrub, which bore a wealth of broad, 

 flaky masses of small scarlet flowers, reached up to the highest trees, and, blended 

 with foliage and sky-effects, reminded one of a Japanese picture. Phoenix 

 reclinata was very much en evidence and also Hyphrene, of which there are 

 frequently forests, till one wearied of its straight stem and big round head like a 

 gigantic mop. Crocodiles are bigger and more numerous here than on the Zam- 

 besi. We counted eight large specimens on a bank one day. We blazed away 

 at the brutes all the time, and I cannot help doubting but that travellers since 

 must have noticed a delta of dead crocodiles at the junction of the Shire and 

 EambesL As for the hippopotami, you fire point blank at their big, soft heads, 

 which bob below momentarily, only to bob up again a few feet off and calmly 

 wink at you. There were flocks ot lovely birds, snow-white graceful egrets, fish- 

 eagles, guinea-fowl, &c, and at times a gregarious bird (Merops natalensis\ the 

 lize of a thrush, with all the colours of the rainbow (and I think one or two more) 

 in his coat, that made the high banks, where they nest like martins, a glorious 

 mass of colour. 



A smaller steamer brought us in two days to Chikwawa and to the end of our 

 water journey. From thence we were carried in a kind of hammock called a 

 wachila, slung on poles of the native bamboo (Oxytenantheraabyssinica), to Blan- 

 tyre, a distance of forty miles. The road at once begins to ascend the hill, and 

 the invigorating feeling as we mounted higher was very delightful after our long 

 lowland travelling. It stretches away to the Lakes, and has many ramifications. 

 The section to Zomba (about one hundred miles) is an excellent one for bicycling. 

 With eight or ten carriers, a day's journey landed us at Blantyre, the commercial 

 capital of the Protectorate, a straggling place amongst the hills. After a day's 

 Jtay in Blantyre we proceeded en route for Zomba, forty miles away, which we did 

 in a four-muled cart. 



Zomba is the name of a mountain-chain running east and west for a distance of 

 five miles or so. The highest peak is about six thousand feet altitude. The 

 government head quarters, dwellings, &c, occupy a south aspect at the base, on 

 the banks of a lovely, deep mountain stream, about three thousand feet above sea- 

 'v? v k°°k* n 6 southwards from Zomba, a vast plain stretches before one, dotted 

 with hills of many sizes. The mornings here are always sweet and refreshing, 

 Heralded by the Zomba thrush ( Turdus zombensis), whose short, rippling notes 

 resemble those of our own songster. Every day almost there is a bieeze, and in 

 the rains it often gets quite cool. In the dry season Zomba almost to a man goes 

 up on the hills for the " week-end " to camp and shoot buck, wild pig, and a kind 

 01 grouse. Your hardier spirits betake themselves to the plain to wage war with 

 eland kudu, zebra, leopard, and possibly lions. 



The native of these regions is a peculiar specimen of the human race. He 



If 



He 



NSWERS T 



CORRESPONDENTS 



Editorial communications should be addressed to the Editor of the Gardeners 3 

 Magazine, 148 and 149, Aldersgate Street, E.C. 



The Editor will be glad to receive photographs of gardens, plants, flowers, trees, 



fruits, &c, for reproduction in the Gardeners' Magazine. He will also be 



greatly obliged by correspondents sending early intimation of interesting local 



events relating to horticulture. In sending newspapers containing matter to 



which they wish to draw attention, correspondents are requested to distinctly 

 mark the paragraph. 



Specimens of plants, flowers, and fruits for naming or opinion should be sent to 

 the Editor of the Gardeners 5 Magazine, " Endsleigh," Priory Park, Kew, 

 Surrey, and as early in the week as possible. All parcels must be sufficiently 

 prepaid. • 



Secretaries of horticultural societies are invited to send early notification of forth 



coming exhibitions 

 change of dates 



eetings, and are requested to advise us concerning 



Address.— R. B., Great Yarmouth : The address you need is 1, Danes' Inn, 

 Strand, W.C. 



Concrete for Garden Walk.— W. B., Henley : Obtain sufficient quantities 

 of well-screened gravel and clean river sand, and use these in equal proportions ; 

 to five parts of the sand and gravel mixture add one part of Portland 

 cement, then mix with sufficient water, and apply the concrete two inches 

 thick. 



Warty Vine Leaves. — S. C. : The peculiar warty excrescences seen on 

 the vine leaf sent are due to a superabundance of sap in the vines. This results 

 from the roots being in a cold border, and to lack of heat and sufficient ventila- 

 tion in the house. Increase both the temperature and ventilation, and next 

 autumn see what can be done to improve the condition of the border. 



Variation in Pansies.— J. H., Somerset : It is by no means an un- 

 common thing to see two differently coloured flowers upon the same plant of a 

 seedling pansy, but it invariably happens that the arrangement of the markings is 

 the same in both cases, as in the two flowers sent. One flower shows a greater 

 likeness to its parent than the other, and the only real difference is that of com- 

 plexion, and that not a great one. 



To Remove Putty from Garden Lights.— R. A. II., Retford : The 



glaziers usually remove the putty from glass lights by means of a hammer and hacking- 

 knife. In unskilled or uncareful hands the use of these tools often results in the 

 breakage of a good deal of glass, besides the splintering of the wood bars. A hot 

 iron is very useful to soften hard putty, and if it is shaped somewhat like a 

 soldering-iron but with a long flat side it will be all the better. Do not touch the 

 glass with the hot iron, and if one heating is insufficient, try again, and the putty 

 will then be so soft as to be removable with the fingers. 



Mildew on Vines. — R. W., Southants. Cold draughts are the chief 

 causes of mildew, and with the fluctuating temperature produced by the heat of an 

 underground bakehouse, it is most probably that large volumes of cold air have 

 been admitted at times to reduce the heat. Sulphur dusted over the affected parts 

 is the best remedy, but it should be applied freely as soon as there are any signs cf 

 the attack. Portions of the wall that become heated considerably should be 

 painted over with a mixture of sulphur and skimmed milk. Give air carefully, 

 and especially when there are cold winds blowing. Give the vine border a dress- 

 ing of Clay's, Thomson's, or other suitable fertiliser and water it in, an alternative 

 will be a good soaking with fairly strong farmyard liquid. 



Coltsfoot and Moss.— H. B., Prescot : Fork out all the coltsfoot you 

 possibly can, but where the present crop will not allow of this being done, use 

 the Dutch hoe freely. No plant can live for long if its foliage is persistently 

 removed, consequently any weed can be kept at bay and subsequently killed by 

 persistent Dutch hoeing during hot or dry weather. With regard to the moss on 

 the walks there are several remedies ; the weed-killers advertised in our columns 

 will soon'effect a clearance and improve the appearance of the paths. Strong 

 brine applied as near the boiling point as possible, or a mixture of oil of vitriui 

 and water at the rate of one pound of the former to ten quarts of the latter, are 

 other weed-killing mixtures, but they require to be carefully used, especially where 

 Sere are Srass verges to the walks, for what will kill the moss will also kill the 

 grass. ^^cm Sks and lawns is generally considered evidence of imperfect 



dral Koses for Market.-J. E. Patricroft : It is not an easy matter to say which 

 are the best roses for market because fashions change frequently, and a rose that 

 sells readily one season may not be much in request the next, fortunately, roses 

 are ^ not so Subject to the fluctuations of fashion in this country as elsewhere and 

 so we are able to give a general answer to your question. You have omitted to 



excels m lanness and indifference to creature comforts, especially cleanliness. If s ? we ™* b £^ to position of the house and the heat at com. 



he plunges into a stream at times, it is for a cooler. He has no ambition. He g lve . us an * ] ™ a £ S e To be favourable, the following will prove to be among 



JJI go a forty-mile journey with a load of fifty pounds on his head, and for food man * * Ruining these to . _ . _ . s , C ~JSZ££Z 

 a*e only two or three cobs of maise, which he toasts on a fire ; water is close 

 y £ Hucnch his thirst, and he is quite content. 



insta C )I mat ' IS res P onsi ^ e for strange incongruities as regards plant-life; for 

 alba nce ' , e T re in the Residency grounds at Zomba, Allamanda violacea, Plumeria 

 txren? 1 Lawson ' s cypress are quite happy side by side. Mangoes flourish 



Cit ? 1 • lefuSe t0 bear- Bananas and P inea Pples are quite at home. The 

 surr^I , y in the few places they have been grown are only a very partial 



AfHca f m Nat ^ they thrive wondrousI y- The essentially tropical West- 

 ltfM n .j ore st-tree, Khaya senegalensis, reaches magnificent proportions by 



craVsS whiIst the BJ ue Gum never looks happy. Fighting with tropical 



fUndifl ° , rs .' and what no *> you see the dear old " bracken." Beaumontia 

 own m Uxuriates > whilst by a streamlet near at hand a buttercup, as near our 



just «« ^ ow , t flower M need be, is equally happy. A lot of Mauritius hemp is 

 Muech l \r ; bou S ainvilleas ar e <k rampagious" ; Clerodendron Thompsonioe, 

 and a f ^OSe, and Cissus discolor are fighting for priority on a small arch ; 



inlv it r?ii Paces awa y an a PpIe tree looks much the same as it does at home, 

 / win not flower. > ' 



7wC KaPPly of good roses : Mrs. J. Laing, La France, Catherine 

 MeiS.^^?^ I lay ward, Thi Bride^N.phetos, and Marshal 

 Nid You should try the new perpetual-flowering Enchantress, creamy yellow 

 I r^n ^nlrl succeed with Fortune's Yellow it would yield a wonderful crop of 

 ydlow ^^-^"oL. Other roses do well 'under glass, but those 

 named are among the best, and their flowers are always popular. 



Wood-lice or Sow-bugs.-H.W.R., Barnes : Wherever wood-lice have 

 become plentiful they are a great pest, especially in pits and glass-houses. If it 

 is at S Practicable boiling water should be used for the destruction of the pes s, 

 but where this cannot be used owing to the danger of injury to roots of cucumbers, 



\ c you w iii have to exercise a good deal of persistence to get rid ot the 



Toads and. tomtits will help you if you allow them, indeed a little colony 



enemy 



of toads will prove invaluable. As traps, use cold potatos, cut, and placed 

 small flower-pot ; cover the potato with dry moss, and lay the pot on its side in a 

 quiet corner. Examine these traps at night as at such a time the wood-l«-* are 

 feeding ; a pail of hot brine will serve to settle them 

 l M v« ° fresh brewers' erains, and young cabbage leaves will also 



Little heaps of lettuce 



