March 12, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
219 
of Gold, is very handsome ; the flowers are of a clear golden yellow, 
prettily bronzed on the backs, and, curving over from the middle of the 
segments when old, show their own interior. The old C. stellaris is 
just coming with its yellow and brown-streaked flowers. C. chrysan- 
thus, pure yellow, self-coloured, flowers small. All the above are well 
worth growing ; they are easily naturalised, and almost carry us from 
the autumn-flowering ones until the wild Hyacinth is blooming. 
Colchicum luteum is also very handsome at present in the open 
border, its large clear yellow flowers making a good show. C. 
crociflorum is also pretty but small ; the flowers are greyish white 
with distinct purple lines from the base to tip of the segments. 
Leichtlin's Milla has been flowering unheeded for the last fortnight ; 
the flowers are pure, almost transparent white, as large as a shilling, 
with a prominent green rib in the centre of each segment. It is rather 
unfortunate they are produced on such short stalks. The Paper 
Daffodil (N. papyraceus) the first of the season, opened its beautiful 
white flowers the other day. It is really handsome and ought to be 
grown in quantity. The Squills have also begun to show themselves. 
Both Scilla bifolia and S. sibirica seem to be stronger and better 
coloured than hitherto after the warm summer. S. taurica is also 
showing flower, and last but not least Galanthus nivalis Melvillei, 
which is much more admired both for size and purity than G. Elwesii. 
—M. S. 
THE RAIN GAUGE. 
A REGISTER of the amount of rainfall is both useful and interesting 
to gardeners. When a man has a record of the amount that has fallen he 
is in a better position to judge as to the state of his fruit tree borders or 
his vegetable quarters than he who sees the passing showers but can form 
no correct estimate of what has fallen. It is interesting to note that in 
some years we have great quantities of rain in the early months of the 
year, while in others we have heavier falls in the autumn, and to watch 
the result on vegetation. It is also interesting and useful, too, after a 
number of years’ observation, to be able to arrive at the correct average 
for the district. 
Pig. 39.—Section o£[Raiu Gauge. 
r I have seat you a sketch of a simple and inexpensive mode of fixing 
a rain-gauge and thermometer stand combined. Fig. 39 is a section show¬ 
ing the bottle a, into which the rain passes from the funnel b, through 
the sma’l tube reaching to the bottom 
of the b ttle, so that but little evapora¬ 
tion can take place. The funnel should 
be fixed into the lid of the box c, so 
that the lid and funnel may be lifted 
together. In one corner of the box a 
small portion of the box should be cut 
away, as at d, to admit of the glass 
measure being kept there, and held in 
position (inverted) by a loop of wire, 
as at E. The box should be from 6 
to 7 inches square inside measure and 
made of three-quarter-inch deal. The 
double - boarded thermometer shade 
should be fastened to the side of the 
box facing north. The ends and top 
should be about 8 inches wide, so that 
the sun does not strike on the ther¬ 
mometer in early morning or evening, 
and there ought to be a clear air space 
of an inch or more between the outer 
Fig. 40 —Gauge complete. and inner cases at f. The box con¬ 
taining the gauge should be fixed on 
to the top of a square post by means of screws, and great care must be 
taken to have it quite level. A convenient height is 3 feet from the 
ground to the top of the gauge. Fig. 40 shows the gauge complete. 
The gauge should be examined every morning about nine o’clock, the 
rain carefully measured, and the quantity put down in a column in a 
note-book, along with the highest and lowest temperature registered 
during the previous day and night. To make these notes more useful 
and interesting it is a good plan to reserve the opposite page of the note¬ 
book for notes of various matters, such as when certain crops were put in, 
and when they were fit for use. It might also be noted down when 
various early spring plants and fruit trees, &c., come into bloom for 
comparison with other seasons. 
The rain gauge is a matter for the employer to supply more than for 
the gardener, but for the information of any who may wish to get one I 
may state that the copper 5-inch funnel, the bottle and graduated glass 
measure can be purchased for about 16s. or 20s., and a fair good self¬ 
registering thermometer can be had for the same amount. I ought to 
to have pointed out that the gauge must be placed in an open position, 
clear of trees, walls, or buildings. Anything in the neighbourhood must 
be a distance from the gauge equal to double the height of the object*.— 
R. INGLIS. 
Dendrobium nobile nobilius.— This superb variety is now flowering 
in several establishments, and we recently saw some flowers of unusual 
beauty. The distinguishing character of this variety is the rich crimson 
purple hue suffusing the sepals and petals, and extending nearly to the 
centre. The flower has also a very bold appearance, with an open dark 
crimson lip. 
HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 
Grafting. —This is a branch of fruit gardening of considerable 
importance at this season of the year, for by it we are enabled to render 
old trees fruitful which have long been barren and useless. Many young 
trees, too, especially among Pears, may have to be regrafted, for no fruit 
is so much affected by the influence of soil and climate as this is. The 
last edition of the “ Fruit Manual ” affords striking proof of this, sorts of 
the highest excellence in one d strict being found worthless in another. 
However careful, therefore, may be our selection of sorts some will 
certainly prove inferior, perhaps worthless. This we are unable to 
ascertain till the tree is lurnished with branches and is fast assuming 
its form of standard, bush, or pyramid. Instead of destroying it we 
shorten each branch to within a foot or two of its base, according to its 
position upon the stem, and insert a graft in each branch and one in the 
top of the stem. For example, a pyramid should have the lower branches 
reduced to about a foot and the upper ones to 6 inches; a standard should 
have its main branches reduced to about 2 feet, while the branches of a 
dwarf bush should be quite a foot shorter. Cordons should be regrafted 
by approach if possible, and it will be so if the inferior sort is planted 
next to a good one, from which a shoot left near the bottom for the 
purpose is bent across and grafted upon the other stem, but it is not 
severed from its own stem till the following autumn ; tut as soon as the 
union of stock and scion is so far effected that the bark has grown 
together the sap of its new parent is diverted into the scion by the 
removal of a part or all of the spurs above it as appears necessary. 
Grafting by approach may also be applied to young pyramids having 
bare places, one of its own branches being pulled into and fastened to the 
stem for the purpose. It is very seldom that this is necessary if a tree is 
carefully pruned and trained from the first. Misshapened trees are more 
frequently attributable to an undue eagerness for the production of fruit 
as soon alter the planting as possible than not, for it certainly requires a 
considerable amount of philosophy to enable one to unflinchingly use the 
pruning knife upon those fine nurseryman's pyramids “ well set with 
fruit buds,” when the said buds are upon a fine showy head surmounting 
2 or 3 feet of bare stem. We invariably behead such trees before plant¬ 
ing, and it is precisely for that reason that we have never had to practise 
grafting by approach upon any of our pyramids, and we have hundreds of 
them. Of old barren trees, espaliers or wall trees trained horizontally 
should have the branches shortened to a foot or even less, only enough cf 
the old branch being required for the insertion of the scion. Old standards 
require careful consideration before a branch is cut off. We do not 
require fruit in the interior of the head, and therefore we leave all that 
part of the tree intact as a framework and support for the new branches 
to be obtained by grafting. Avoid regrafting with many early sorts of 
Pears, however much they may be liked. The period of ripeness of all 
is far too brief for us to require many of them. Intermediate and 
late sorts should have preference, a surplus of such fruit always beiDg 
available for culinary purposes. 
Considerable experience has shown that many of our best Pears are 
not always invariably good or bad in the same garden. For example, we 
have had fiuit of such well-known sorts as Doyenne dn Comice, Comte 
de Lamy, Urbaniste, Duchesse d’Orleans, Marie Louise d’Uccle, aid 
Madame Treyve excell- nt in some years and quite second-rate in other 
