44 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January 17, 188-1. 
developes into a good fruiting shoot. If we did not prune to near these 
basal buds it would be found if they break at all they would seldom pro¬ 
duce bunches. The passage, therefore, relating to this part of my subject, 
and which “ Ipswich ” selects as serving to confute my own argument, 
really does no such thing—at any rate I fail to see that it does. That 
the terminal bud will in every case break the strongest I do not dispute, 
but repeat that this is due to the concentration of tlie sap rather than to 
the superior size of the bud. Perhaps I did not write plainly, but I cannot 
help thinking the sense of my remarks might have been evident enough 
to “ Ipswich.” 
I must admit having a good laugh at the way in which “ Ipswich ” 
treated my remarks upon the clay and tar dressing. I certainly ought to 
have remembered how differently we are all constituted, and that what is 
agreeable to one is decidedly obnoxious to another. For my part I am 
so well pleased with the simplicity and effectiveness of the mixture that 
tar is almost an object of veneration with me; and this ought not to 
surprise “ Ipswich,” since it appears that he, too, has had to contend 
with the much-to-be-dreaded mealy bug on Vines. I will, however, readily 
withdraw my remarks as to the superiority of clay and tar to all other 
mixtures as far as the obnoxious character is concerned, and content 
myself with describing it as the simplest and best remedy. Perhaps 
“ Ipswich ” by way of return will give us the benefit of his experience 
with mealy bug on Vines, as, although ours are clean, there are yet 
numbers of growers who miglit be glad to know the remedy he evi¬ 
dently considers superior to that with which we are so well satisfied.— 
W. Iggulden. 
OUR ORCHARDS AND PARAFFIN. 
On page 526, under the above heading, your correspondent, “ A 
Foreman,” in detailing his method of mixing colza and paraffin oils, and 
applying the same, apparently indiscriminately, to a varied collection of 
orchard house trees, asserts “it (the oil) is not injurious to fruit or wood 
buds.” Yet in the next paragraph I read, “If any of your readers would 
like to try the experiment I would advise them to ‘ taste and try ’ before 
they buy, and not endanger their crops and trees.” Will “ A Foreman ” 
kindly inform your readers whether any Peach and Nectarine trees in the 
orchard house of which he speaks were dressed with the oil over old and 
young wood alike, and if so whether the “crop and trees” suffered during 
the following season in consequence of such dressing ? To recommend 
in the pages of your widely read Journal such drastic measures (unless 
entirely justified by results) is to incur very grave responsibility, and is, 
I fear, very apt to mislead young beginners in spite of the saving clause 
“ taste and try before you buy.”—T. W. 
SNOW’S WINTER WHITE BROCCOLI. 
_ The fact that I am now day by day cutting very beautiful heads o r 
this Broccoli reminds me that I have an act of justice to perform to the 
firm of Messrs. Nutting & Son, seedsmen, of the Barbican, London. In 
the Journal of Horticulture at the end of 1882 I called attention to 
what I considered a likeness between Veitch’s Self-protecting Broccoli 
and the variety of Snow’s Winter White Broccoli that I used to 
know about twenty-five years ago. There appeared to me a great 
similarity both in manner of growth, time of coming in, and character 
of heads, and I could not resist saying so in the Journal. During the 
week following I received from the Editor a packet of seed with the 
following explanatory note : “ Sir,—We enclose a small packet of 
Snow’s Winter White Broccoli that your correspondent ‘ P.’ will find, 
we believe, the same as be knew twenty-five years ago. We should like 
him to try it.—Yours obediently, Nutting & Sons. December 7th, 1882.” 
Well, I sowed this packet side by side with my other Broccolis, and 
especially with a sort of Snow’s that a brother gardener told me he had 
direct from Wrest Park, where Snow’s Broccoli originated. These two 
are exactly alike in manner of growth, time of coming in, and form and 
colour of heads, and are, I firmly believe, the real old form of Snow’s 
Winter White Broccoli. Anyone who has grown Snow’s Broccoli will 
have noticed that from however pure a strain of seed (1 noticed this 
peculiarity in the olden days) there are plants with slight differences of 
growth, both as to form and the wrapping-up of the flower heads. 
Some are paler in colour, grow more upright, and wrap the flower heads 
with a twist or corkscrew-like arrangement of the leaves ; others are 
more spreading in their growth, are of a deeper green colour, and the 
centre, where the flower head comes, is arranged simpler as to the 
disposition of the leaves. It is difficult to describe on paper just the 
precise differences there are between these two members of the same 
family. 
Now, Veitch’s Self-protecting Broccoli appears to me to be a well- 
selected form of the pale-coloured twisted-centred Snow’s. I desire the 
above words “ appears to me ” to be italicised, in order to protect myself 
from the least suspicion of unfairness to Messrs. Veitch as to the origin 
of their Broccoli. I am, however, satisfied that the variety of Snow’s 
Winter White Broccoli which Messrs. Nutting & Sons have sent to me is 
true; and lam confirmed in that judgment by one of the chief head 
gardeners of our neighbourhood, who walked with me through both 
plantations of Broccoli only the last week, and who was delighted to 
find that an old favourite vegetable was still to be had true as in past 
days.—P. 
Catching Moles. —More than a year ago I saw a book in a shop 
in Huntly entitled “Moles and Mole-catchiDg,” by the molc-catcher to 
His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, Chatswortb. Although only about 
the size of a child’s primer and of twenty-six far from closely printed 
pages, I at once bought it, the price being Is. It tells of the habits, food t 
and breeding of moles, &c. As it was the catching that I was most 
interested in, I saw the leaves turning over too fast for much to be given 
about the mode of catching. On coming to the last paragraph it had 
these words : “ We shall not attempt to give full instruction how to catch 
them, as no one will expect more for the price of the present book 
neither would it be fair or reasonable in the interest of men who, like 
ourselves, have given time and money to learn the business, and are 
dependent upon obtaining a livelihood from it. Therefore, we. 
shall not be considered uncharitable if we stop here.” Have you ever 
read anything like the above ? I never did. It is wide asunder as the 
poles from the mode of teachings of the Journal of Horticulture . Can 
any of your readers give us an article on how to catch moles, or tell of 
a book that gives the information ?— Jas. Shearer, Cairnie. 
EUCHARIS SANDERIANA. 
For this beautiful stove-flowering plant we are indebted to the 
enthusiasm in the woik of plant-collecting and introduction exhibited 
by Mr. F. Sander of St. Albans, whose labours are devoted almost as 
much to the discovery of useful plants generally as they are to that 
of Orchids. Mr. Sander has been instrumental in bringing within 
reach of English plant-growers many plants of first-rate quality, and 
among the best of these must be numbered the Eucharis to which his 
name is attached. The disparaging comments to which this Eucharis 
has been subjected by several writers are perhaps a little premature. We 
have not had the plant long enough to warrant us in giving a decided 
opinion of its merits as a garden plant when compared with the well- 
known E. grandiflora, better known as E. amazonica. The capabilities 
of a plant are not always fully revealed under the treatment to which it 
may be subjected when first introduced. It would ndt be difficult to 
point to many instances like this, and in the case of many plants, the 
qualities of which are now generally admitted to be first-rate. What has 
been said against E. Sanderiana, however, is quite exceptional when 
weighed against the high encomiums it has won from others, and so far 
as our experience goes this Eucharis is destined to become a great 
favourite. “ Comparisons are odious,” and the condemnation of new 
plants because they are not apparently as good as old ones is but a poor 
way of measuring the worth of the new-comers. Judged by what is at 
present known of E. Sanderiana, apart altogether from what it is when 
placed by the side of other species, its free-flowering character, the 
beauty of its blooms, and the ease with which it may be grown and 
flowered without any extraordinary or “ special ” treatment, are such as 
should recommend it to all growers. Already the same plant has 
bloomed three times in one year, and the flowers have lasted as long,, 
both on the plant and when cut and placed in water, as other Eucharis 
flowers do. For E. Sanderiana precisely the same treatment as that 
given to E. grandiflora will be found most suited ; indeed, we may say the 
whole of the known species of Eucharis require the same treatment as 
regards soil, temperature, and water. It has been Baid of this new 
species that its capabilities will not be properly known until it has been 
tested by the market growers, and without endorsing this view we may- 
say that the effect of liberal cultivation may be to reveal even better 
qualities than those our at present short acquaintance with it has 
brought out. 
We cannot do better than quote Mr. Baker’s descriptive remarks on 
the botanical characters of this plant. He says :—“ This new Eucharis' 
will no doubt be a very popular plant. It has completely the habit and 
foliage of the well-known E. grandiflora, but the corolla is almost entirely 
adnate to the dilated upper portion of the perianth tube, leaving only a 
narrow collar-like free border, upon which the distinct portion of the 
filaments is inserted. It comes from the same country as E. grandiflora 
and E. Candida—viz., New Grenada.” The flowers are pure ivory white- 
with yellow filaments, and are borne on a scape some 15 inches in length, 
strong scapes bearing about five flowers each. So far the flowers have 
been produced in the winter months. 
Before leaving this subject a few words on the cultivation of Eucharis 
grandiflora may prove useful to those whose success in its management 
is not satisfactory. The most suitable compost may be formed of strong 
rich loam two parts to one part of leaf mould and coarse sand, with a 
little decayed cow dung. The pots should be sufficiently large to allow 
the roots to ramble a little—say a 12-inch pot for half a dozen bulbs. 
The bulbs should be buried in the soil, the neck just peeping above the 
surface. Deep potting is one of the secrets of Eucharis culture. The- 
drying-off treatment has almost exploded, it having been proved that 
these plants do not require so much rest as such treatment would imply.. 
A temperature of 65° to 70°, rising to 80° in summer, will be found best 
suited to these plants. After flowering water should be withheld for a 
week or two ; at all other times a liberal supply is necessary, as these 
plants are always growing. Where grown in large quantities the bulbs 
are often planted out in beds beneath which hot-water pipes are placed, 
but as good results are obtainable if the bulbs are kept in pots and 
plunged in a tan or dung bed. If potted in good soil in the first instance 
it will not be necessary to do more than top-dress the plants annually, 
repotting only when the bulbs are overcrowded. Liquid manure may be 
given when the flowers spikes begin to appear. If placed in an inter¬ 
mediate house to develope their flowers a longer display and blooms of 
better substance will be the result. 
E. Candida, about which there are many conflicting opinions, owing 
to its having been confused with the Calliphrurias, to which it bears a 
