April 10, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
281 
pseudo-bulbs, which are very much better than double the quantity 
of smaller ones. The portions removed, even if not having a lead 
upon them, will generally break back, and if placed in 5-inch and 
6-inch pots become thoroughly established in a short time, making 
in the second season grand flowering plants. Pieces taken off with 
a lead and a few roots will in a season make strong plants that wi 1 
flower well the following spring. Abundance of water should be 
given when the plants are growing actively.—W. B. 
Cypripedium caudatum.— One of the finest flowers of this 
remarkable species that has come under our notice was grown by 
Mr. H. M. Pollett. The dorsal sepal is 6 inches long, and the striking 
caudal appendages or tails 254 inches in length, 'the bloom before 
us is highly effective, and a conclusive example of superior cultiva¬ 
tion. Mr. Pollett has also sent us very line flowers of the charming 
Dendrobium Dt vonianum, the labellum being good in colour, markedly 
fringed, and 1^ inch in diameter. 
PSORALEA PINNATA. 
Psoralea is a rather large genus of Leguminous plants, mostly 
from the Cape of Good Hope, and related to Indigofera and Clitoria. 
Fig. 68.—Psoralen pinnatn. 
Some are very attractive little shrubs for greenhouse cultivation, but 
are by no means generally known in gardens. P. pinnata, of which a 
flowering shoot is represented in fig. 68, is one of the best of the sixty 
or seventy species that have been described, and is also one of the 
oldest known in this country, having been cultivated in the seventeenth 
century. It is a compact shrub, attaining a maximum height of 
4 or 6 feet, but is seldom seen so large as that. The leaves are neatly 
pinnated, with three or four linear pinnas. The flowers arc produced 
freely but singly on short pedicels from the axils of the leaves near the 
upper parts of the growths, their colour being a bright blue, shaded 
lighter or nearly white in the centre. 
A compost of peat and loam, with the ordinary treatment of Cape 
plants grown in a greenhouse, suits the plant, and it can be propagated 
by cuttings. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS IN TUBS. 
Where tliere is a large conservatory to be kept gay the 
Chrysanthemum deserves the foremost position among winter- 
flowering plants. There are many ways of growing it to per¬ 
fection, and all commendable in tlieir way. Tn well-prepared soil 
in tlie open garden they will yield abundance of flowers, but for 
conservatory decoration a few made-up specimens in tubs are 
very effective. 
The great advantage possessed by tubs is that they afford a 
greater root-space than pots, and as the Chrysanthemum is a 
very gross feeder the value of this can scarcely be over-estimated. 
Then pots are very liable to be broken, especially in places whei e 
the conservatory is a distance from the houses, and the plants 
have to be carried thither. I have on many occasions seen pots 
rendered useless either from a kick or a sudden jerk against the 
ground. 
Those who have no tubs and ai’e not inclined to have new 
ones made may use old oilcasks by sawing them through the 
middle, putting two or more iron handles to them, then bore a 
few holes in the bottom for the escape of water. If a coat of 
paint be given the tubs are complete and will answer as well as 
anything, and with due care will last a long time. Of course if 
new ones are preferred they can be made of any size or shape 
that may be considered the most suitable. Bricks ai’e as good 
as anything I have used for drainage with a few crocks over 
them, and to keep the drainage well open I prefer a layer of 
moss. 
Now as to soil. I employ a compost of loam one part, burnt 
refuse one part, the remainder consisting of thoroughly decayed 
farmyard manure, brick rubbish, and road sand well mixed 
together some time before it is wanted for use. The number of 
plants to be grown in each must depend upon their state about 
the third week in June, when they should be well established, 
but not root-bound, in 24-size pots. I have placed three, four, 
and five in a tub, and the best of Elaines l ever saw were five 
plants grown together in one tub. By this means the tub can be 
better filled at the commencement, as it allows of a good plant 
being placed in the centre. It is a good plan to leave plenty of 
room for one or two top-dressings during the time the plants 
are growing, and one after they have been disbudded. For this 
purpose I have used a thin covering of fowls’ dung, over which a 
layer of fresli loam is placed. This not only avoids the unplea¬ 
sant use of liquid manure in the conservatory, hut is a great 
help to both flower and foliage when washed down to the roots 
with clear water. 
Any variety will do well in tubs, but a little forethought 
accompanied by good taste may help to bring about good results 
—that is to say, if the plants of Elaine are carried up the centre, 
with two of the pretty La Frissure neatly staked around the 
outside, and a few pots of Isolepis gracilis arranged hang over 
the tubs. - G. M. W. 
HISTORICAL JOTTINGS ON VEGETABLES. 
THE CELERY AND THE PARSNIP. 
Both the Celery and the Parsnip find their natural place in the 
extensive order of umbelliferous plants, wild examples of which meet 
us in every field and beside every hedgerow, and which offers much 
perplexity to the student of plants, owing to the great similarity 
amongst some of the species, it has not a few plants of virulently 
poisonous character, and a larger number that are useful either for 
food or medicine, while there are others with no qualities of any 
importance. The order also offers numerous illustrations of the 
statement, that by cultivation unwholesome plants may not merely 
be modified, hut almost transformed in their qualities and manner of 
growth. All parts of Europe have yielded examples of the Celery 
(Apium graveolens) growing wild, and showing a marked preference 
for marshes near the sea or the edges of streams approaching their 
termination. The Latin specific name (and it is to be regretted that 
this, as in other instances, has been given to more than one species) 
points to the powerful odour attached to the plant, which at an early 
period received the popular name of Smallage. It was also some¬ 
times called Wild Parsley, although having scarcely any of tho 
qualities of that plant, and even the cultivated form was by some old 
gardeners styled Macedonian Parsley. 
Evidently as a wild plant Celery was known to the ancients, hut 
the Romans, clever though they were as gardeners, had not discovered 
how to blanch the stalks, nor does it appear they cultivated it. The 
physicians used the root to form a decoction, and Pliny recommends 
the plant, stating that it counteracted the effects of bites or stings. 
