490 



GA RDENERS' MA GA Z1NE. 



July 



3o» ifaf 



MORE ABOUT LICHENS AND MOSSES. 



As food plants mosses and lichens are also of importance. All are 

 familiar with the fact that the reindeer live altogether on the moss of that 

 name during the long northern winters. The vast herds which depend 

 exclusively upon this humble plant for support give us an exalted idea 

 of the importance of the smallest plant in nature. Linnaeus says nothing 

 nourishes so luxuriantly as this in the pine forests of Lapland, the surface 

 of the soil being carpeted with it in places for many miles in extent. If 

 by any accident the forests are burnt to the ground, in a very short 

 time the lichens reappear with renewed vigour. The Laplanders, and 

 many of the Norwegians, make a kind of bread with the lichens, 

 upon which they subsist in the winter ; and the Icelanders beat up the 

 cetraria, or Iceland moss, sold in this country in a medicinal form, into 



bulbs, as they are naturally smaller, but it is R „^ • — - 

 of bloom such small bulbs will produce and 1 P I what a hne 

 in a seven-inch pot. For decmStS * C K£ 

 singly in live inch pots for special purposes In ^ put U P *e £Z 

 is advisable to press the soil as fii m P ° S 1 Would aft 

 which the plants make their roots is short ecwd rimn ?- as the «S? in 

 use a good loam, adding dry cow SJt^S £«" ^ £ 

 ;e sieve, and a libera) quantity of bone meal, w w a throu i!»» a 



coarse 



spent mushroom manure,jiiay be employed "to advanta^ 5 * ' Caf ^ 

 " * - depends when the flowi' 



the time of potting, so much 



and what they are like when received. 



cool shed previous to 



is not 



needed 

 week* 



active, 



a cake, and eat it with milk, thus, as they say, " making bread from the when they are showing their flowers. For September blooms 

 stones." A lichen called "Tripe de Roche" is much esteemed by the at this date, that is, as soon as the bulbs are received and nlun^ 

 Hudson's Bay hunters, and it is mentioned that the deserts of Asia coal ashes, and place quite six inches of ashes over \h? nmc . 



Hudson's Bay hunters, and it is mentioned that the deserts 

 produce lichens in large quantities, upon which the Nomadic tribes at 

 times depend wholly for support. Lichens were formerly of very great 



importance in medicine. 



Together lichens and mosses are the pioneers of vegetation. Is a 

 rugged, barren rock to be clothed ? The pulverulent lichen goes first, 

 fastens on the sterile surface, gives it its first coat, then the foliaceous 

 lichen appear, then the liverworts, and in succession the mosses. These 

 then decay, are torn, perchance, by a mountain torrent, or a shower of 

 rain, from their site, and, mixing with the other detritus borne down, 

 a nucleus of soil is formed. Now let wind-carried or water-borne seed 

 be intercepted or fall here, the second step is taken, and thence the 

 progress continues till, in due course, the place is decked with flowers 

 and adorned with trees. Time brings fresh arrivals, every tempest new 

 plants, soon zoological immigrants arrive, and eventually man — the once 

 barren rock has now become a fertile and inhabited island. "The 



lichens," says Sir J. Hooker in the " Botany of the Antarctic Voyage," 

 u form a large portion of the vegetation of Keynalen's Island to an altitude 



of i. too feet : 



s Xs regards 



We have kept bulh^L 

 in a cooi snea previous to potting ud if cr mu7 Jt or 



but i. is no. well «o retard by Le^/ C* « « 



after they are growing as it would be better to \ 5 so * 

 when in growth, as this can be done by keeping them cmjSS uS" 

 when they are showing their flowers. For ^u^^^ 1 ^ 



po tip 



coai asnes, aim pwtc muilc »ia mcnes 01 asfces over the pots ■ thi * b 



the bulbs cool till roots become active, and to avoid heavy rains wt r 

 in frames, so that the sashes may be removed in fine weather. 



The plants are ready to remove from the ashes in six weeks' time *a 

 may be grown in the frames merely protected from storms, but svrinSS 

 overhead twice daily to keep clean, and to have good colour in A 

 leaves. The culture need not be dwelt upon, it is so simple but f 

 later bulbs we pot up and plunge under a north wall giving plenty of 

 plunging material, and grown thus the flowers will be later, and by keen- 

 ing as cool as possible it is a simple matter to have flowering bulbs in 



~ _ . /or these later dates our plants are placed 



in frames, just free of frost, late in September, and given air on all 



favourable occasions. It may be that a large percentage of the bulbs 

 may turn in before the last-named date, but by careful management we 

 found no difficulty in getting late flowers, but even in October and 

 November these useful flowers are of great assistance for cutting or 

 decoration, and the bulbs are not costly. 



November and at Christmas 



of 



1,500 

 the hills 



Syon Gardcnsy 



G. Wythes. 



the rocks are apparently painted with them. At the tops 

 they assume the appearance of miniature forests, some of 

 them being like little oak trees." Scoresby, in his travels, says he found 

 lichens in abundance on the wildest rocks. St. Vincent found them 

 luxuriating on the volcanic rocks of the Isle of Bourbon, and Darwin 

 states that at Iquique, in Peru, he saw nothing else for fourteen leagues 

 but yellow lichens. The first green crust on the cinders of Ascension 

 consisted of minute mosses ; they form more than a quarter of the flora 

 of Melville Island, and the lifeless soil of New South Shetland is covered 

 with specks of mosses struggling for existence. Club mosses entered into 

 the coal strata ; Brogniart says mosses formerly reached eighty feet high 

 with proportionate trunks. They have now dwindled down to a few inches. 



man y answer is likely to prove a poser to others as well as " Lux." I claim the 



age* In the economy of man perhaps lichens and mosses may appear leasure of rep eating it, not in malice, nor for exact endorsement, but 



to play but an insignificant part, but in the economy of nature how great V " . * Wff 2 2 ♦ f i nn i matter of uJiA 



itwi v^t an *nrl ti»»ira i wm Radh * xt tto^xr because it would seem rude to flatly contradict 1 eter on a matter ot solid 



and vast an end is theirs . Wm. Norman Brown. m wbtI1 he boldly affirms that the drooping flower or fruit blossoms 



= would have stiffened up all right if the 14 blamed varmint" would have let 



them. He'd known them do it many a time. 



As to the saturating spring that "Lux" writes so vividly about, th. 



— - ' -* — l: — torrents thrnnoh th* 



The Dropping of Fruit Blossoms from 



Drought. 



" Lux " is such a genial opponent that it is almost more pleasure to 

 differ with him than to agree with less amiably moulded folk. I also owe 

 him a double debt from keeping me so far clear of Peter's sledge hammer 

 blows. But this week I feel specially tender to Peter, as his style so 

 vividly reminds me of an old faithful servant, a friend of my own. The 

 "blamed varmint," &c, is very redolent of East Anglia, but Peter's 



Lilium Harrisi in Autumn and Winter. 



This lily is so valuable to those who have much furnishing and for the 

 decoration of plant houses that I need not dwell upon its usefulnesses 

 the great numbers that are grown prove that this is appreciated. On 

 the other hand, the value of the flowers in the autumn months is not so 

 well known. I use the term autumn-flowering bulbs in a wide sense, as 

 there is no difficulty in keeping flowers for Christmas. At least, such is 

 my experience of the bulbs. The plants, when in growth, can be retarded 

 at the start, but by autumn the flowers may be had in quantity in 

 September, October, and November by growing the bulbs specially for 

 the season named. I have heard objections raised to autumn-flowering 

 plants of Lilium Harrisi on the ground of the flowers being smaller than 



through 

 that 



the 



we 



you can almost near the rain rushing in 

 flooded root runs, " Lux * will no doubt be surprised to hear 

 have had all too little rain in the North. In fact, until Sunday and Monday, 

 July 17 and 18, we have been living for months in fear of a water 



famine, and with many of our mains full only for a short time, while our 

 • - " • • Hence "Lux's "facts do not 



respect M Lux" too mucn io pui uim ™ t ^ t 'j* 



rainfalls is still lagging behind the average 

 fit here. But I respect "Lux" too much to put him 

 answer, though it is a sufficient reply to the case as he stated it. 

 however, by no means as certain that, had he had a dry summer or 

 spring, he would have admitted that the drought at the roots shed H 



blossoms. But no one knows better that 



drought at the roots may arise 

 It is equally true that even 

 More than this, the rains that 



all lead 



years 



theory about the varmints comes in. 



i 



the earlier flowers of the same variety, and I admit such is the case, but from other causes than a deficient rainfall, 

 the smallness or shortened tube of the flower, in my idea, is a gain rather heav >' rains do not always reach the roots. 



than a loss, as the flowers jf the autumn bulbs are more symmetrical and smk t0 the ro °*s do not always stay long enough to gpw «" 



quite large enough for all purposes. Indeed, for wreaths or crosses for *™« ; — m-^. ~ ~f ***** ' f ™ restricted areas , : 



church decoration I prefer the shortened flower tube, and the petals are, 

 in my opinion, shorter, so that they last longer, but this latter may be 

 owing to the different season in which the plant blooms and the difference 

 in the shape and growth of the African-grown bulbs. 



The Bermuda or early flowering variety, is recommended for Easter 

 decorations, but, as is well known, to obtain flowers in quantity 

 at that date the bulbs must be forced, and there must be no delay at 

 starting. I mean the earliest imported bulbs must be secured, and as 

 these are made a speciality of, they are readily obtained. I prefer the 

 bulbs grown with as little forcing as possible, as I find them most useful 

 lor cool house decoration. Having a good space for these flowers, they 

 are most valuable mixed with Canterbury bells in pots in June, and in 

 July with campanulas. The delicate tints of these latter flowers 

 harmonize well with those of the lily. On the other hand few flowers are 

 more useful for corridor or room decoration mixed with palms and ferns, 

 their purity being seen to great advantage. With summer flowering 



g !S drawback ; few Plants are more subject to the 



Now is a good time to «»m» \e- . . 



early winter flowering Th*!! -Uncan grown bulbs for autumn and 



not be disappointed if the K..IK ™ ser * ho bu y s for the first time must 



Fpo <ea it the bulbs are much less in size than the Bermuda 



Excessive drainage, or porousness of strata ; too restn 

 cropping; hard, unclothed, unmulched, and bare surfa " s '^ f " 

 to dryness, or its equivalent, exhaustion, at the roots. w $ atc \ e ' '*7 r u uil 

 these produces weakness of vital force and function, and waw < 

 trees and other plants to lighten- their loads through throwing on a pa 



or the whole of their current year's crop. It is her * 



These not only arrest the viw 



functions of the leaves, but suck the blossom dry of sap, and i 

 bodily devour the blooms or embryo fruits, or starve them on. n . 

 the flowers have small chance of stiffening up or righting the.nsei 

 their contest with the aphis. for oW 



sentence ^ ' m 2?™*<* ° f this S»5 35?J5 S£ COndiUOO * 

 sentence more. 



not a 

 prove 



ExtTeme dryness SS root is the ^Uon^ - 

 few places. The ground is not seldom so dry andna^ ^ ^ 

 almost impervious to ordinary rains. Dryness ai i 



the 



tions 



to keep a sharp 

 On the other hand 



normal, and a moist root run the abnormal, state, i ne ^ 

 need promptly reversing, in the interest of continuous ana i a ^ ^ 

 supplies. We cannot control rainfall in exceptional «istricw, ^ 

 gain or lose by these so much as " Lux » and others may m ^ ^ ^ 

 rain that helps the fruit blossoms to hang on or stl " enh . " H vita i co nnec- 

 fruits have often done their work of binding or !°^ ,n j; ow , j u iy 23, 



there are probably thousands of fruit trees North and I u ^ of 

 roots have hardly tasted water since the middle o 1 .{j ab | e age 

 the greatest surprises among growers of fruit trees ot cons 

 and size has been the extreme dry state of their roots. fI5H 



tions months before the flowers were shed 



