March 6, 1884. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
187 
any means objecting to a soil containing a considerable quan- 
P ea ^’ ? uc ^ as ma J be found ai’ound a Rhododendron 
bed; and, unlike many plants, will thrive under the shade of 
trees and amongst low-growing shrubs if not too closely planted. 
They should be divided carefully at the end of the flowering 
season—viz., about the second week in April, and replanted 
•deeply, care being taken to put the roots well down and not 
cramped in a mass, as is too often the case. A slight mulching 
of moss aro'und their crowns will be found very beneficial, as it 
checks evaporation considerably, and thereby preserves a com¬ 
paratively even temperature. These plants should never be 
moved except when absolutely necessary, for although they will 
mower freely the following year, yet the difference between 
plants which have been allowed to remain in the same position 
for several years and those which have been recently disturbed 
is very great. 
Most of the single varieties produce seed freely, which, if 
sown immediately itf is ripe, will germinate early the following 
spnng, and produce many shades of colour between white and 
deep blue or pink, the different forms shading into each other 
in such a manner as to set distinction at defiance. Unfor¬ 
tunately many of these lovely seedlings are not permanent, and 
gradually revert to the bright blue of the type. A short de¬ 
scription of the various forms which have become fixed, and 
may be purchased at most hardy plant nurseries, wall show the 
range of colour which may be obtained at this season (February 
loth) from these plants alone. 
H. acutiloba. —A stemless perennial, with numerous acutely 
heart-shaped leaves split into three lobes, which are very acute 
and not serrated. Flowers blue, solitary, on smooth stems from 
4 to 6 inches in length, produced in great profusion in March. 
A native of the United States, usually found in copses and the 
less dense portions of forests. There are two varieties—viz., 
alba, distinguished only by its colour, and fragrans, said to be 
sweet-scented but in other respects identical with the type. 
II. americana .—A reputed species, flowering at the same 
season as H. triloba, and so far as I have seen only an American 
form of that plant not sufficiently distinct for general purposes. 
II. angulosa. —By far the finest plant in the section, growing 
to fully twice the size of EL triloba in all its parts, and easily 
distinguished from all others by its leaves being five instead 
of three-lobed. The leaves are produced on stems from 6 to 
inches in length, five-lobed, the lobes being coarsely toothed. 
The flowers are of a bright sky blue, often as large as a half- 
crown, with black anthers. A native of Transylvania. This 
species prefers a soil containing considerably more sand than 
any of the others, and is decidedly the finest of all very early 
■spring-flowering plants, flowering, as I have frequently seen it 
in the north of England, from the 9th to the 16th of January, 
and often producing a succession of flowers for two months. 
II. triloba (Anemone Hepatica).—An old and favourite in¬ 
habitant of our gardens. Leaves cordate, three-lobed; the lobes 
•ovate, acute, entire, but not so decidedly acute as in the first 
species. . The flowers are blue, solitary, on hairy stems 3 to 
6 inches in length, with a three-leaved involucre, very numerous, 
usually lasting from February to April. A native of most parts 
of Central Europe in the woody districts on the flanks of 
mountains. As far as colour is concerned this is a most variable 
type, in other respects very constant. This tendency would no 
doubt be worked upon to good effect if these plants were taken 
in hand by the hybridiser. Most of the varieties being named 
according to colour, and not needing any special culture, it will 
suffice to mention their names : blue, single and double (this 
latter at present the rarest of the varieties, and an exceedingly 
good plant; lilac, single; pink, single ; red, double and single ; 
major, a fine and strong-growing light blue form; Barlowi, a 
very good single mauve variety; splendens, the largest and 
brightest red of any ; and last but not least the lovely alba and 
nivea, both single white, the former having red anthers and the 
latter white ones. By the way, why could not the nurserymen 
adopt these two last names, which are published in authoritative 
works, and not such titles as Hepatica triloba alba staminibus 
rubra, and ditto ditto alba? Such names are calculated to disturb 
the repose of ordinary mortals.— G. Guthrie. 
The Best Means of Protecting Pyrethrums from Slugs.— 
■Some time ago I had a collection of thirty varieties of those beautiful 
•and very useful flowers. Unfortunately all our beds and borders are, 
with a few exceptions, edged with Box, and most people know what a 
refuge and safe retreat this is for slugs and other garden pests. Hardly 
a particle of foliage was allowed to appear, and the result was my collec¬ 
tion dwindled, and, being unable to ripen any foliage, the roots finally 
*died with a few exceptions. “ Whatever men dare they can do,” and I 
was determined not to be foiled, so I had two dozen more last November 
of different varieties I need not now name, and have happily succeeded 
in completely baffling the depredators by means of sifted coal ashes. I 
surrounded the rising foliage with this, and gave up lime, soot, and the 
various other expedients I tried, and so far I am rewarded with the 
fullest success, which I beg to commend to any of your readers so troubled, 
—W. J. Murphy, Clonmel. 
We are informed that in addition to the fortnightly meetings 
of the Royal Horticultural Society at South Kensington, S.W., 
arrangements have been made with the Council of the International 
Health Exhibition to hold monthly exhibitions of fruit and vegetables 
in the conservatory on the following dates, when prizes amounting to 
£1000 will be offered for competition. May 27th, June 24th, July 22nd, 
August 12th (Cottagers’ Show), August 26th, September 23rd, and 
October 11th and 28th. The schedules are now being prepared, and 
may be had on application. 
- It has been recently stated on good authority that the average 
annual consumption of Potatoes in Great Britain is 4,000,000 tons, 
representing at 5 s. per cwt. £20,000,000 sterling. Of this quantity about 
200,000 tons, or a twentieth, is imported. In 1882 the British Potato 
crop covered about 541,000 acres of land. 
- In reference to the report of the Notts Horticultural 
and Botanical Society’s Meeting on page 167, Mr. Jenkins states 
that the splendid examples of Clematis indivisa lobata mentioned were 
contributed by Mr. Meadows, gardener to J. C. Cox, Esq., Basford, and 
not by Messrs. Barratt. Our correspondent further observes : “ It is one 
of the most lovely winter-flowering cool greenhouse climbers in culti¬ 
vation, its requirements being simple—namely, plant it out in a fairly 
deep and good ordinary vegetable soil, train it to the roof at first, and 
afterwards allow it to ramble at will.” 
- We have received from Messrs. Cassell & Co. the first part of 
the “ Encyclopedic Dictionary,” which they are about to issue in 
monthly parts. It will embrace all the words in the English language, 
with a full account of their origin, meaning, pronunciation, history, and 
use. It will also include all Scotch words now in use, with their several 
significations re-investigated, re-classified, arranged afresh, and illus¬ 
trated by examples. We do not know whether to admire most the 
marvellous labour which must be expended on the production of such 
a work, of which the part before us is an example, or the great accuracy, 
painstaking, and research which have combined to produce one of so 
great value. It is copiously illustrated with excellent woodcuts of 
technical subjects where these are required to illustrate the text. It is 
a great undertaking well carried out, and will be when completed a 
necessity in the home of all English-speaking people. 
- “ Fir Tree Oil : an Insecticide for Plants and 
Animals,” by Mr. E. Griffith Hughes of Manchester, is the title of 
a small pamphlet before us, the object of which is to show the efficacy 
of the oil in question, which is, perhaps, not disputed by many persons 
who have used it judiciously. 
- We cite from the above pages the following time-honoured 
paragraph relative to wireworms and linseed cake: — “Their 
hardy nature renders them impervious to the action of all known 
insecticides, but one of the best methods of destroying them is by 
scattering over the ground and raking into the soil a good supply of 
ground linseed cake, upon which they readily feed and soon burst. The 
writer has found this mode of dealing with them very effectual in 
preventing their attacks upon annuals which were threatened by the 
grub.” This is the first time we have had the direct evidence of a 
writer that he has found the above result. We have tried to destroy 
wireworms in the manner indicated, but always failed; and we could 
tell of a clergyman who mixed far more linseed cake than is usually 
recommended with soil, placing the mixture with a number of wire- 
worms in a cask, keeping them there for many weeks or perhaps months. 
The experiment we inspected, and never saw wireworms in finer con- 
