456 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
f June 5, 1884. 
berries to crack. Cease syringing the Vines, but maintain a genial moisture 
in the house by damping the floors and borders in the morning and again at 
closing time. Admit air early, and close early in the afternoon with sun heat, 
increasing to 85° or 90°. Avoid sharp currents through the house of cold 
airby moderating, the ventilation in cold bright weather, as it is the sudden 
cooling of the skins of the berries that causes them to rust. You will do 
well to leave the top lights'open to the extent of an inch or two all night. 
Car.pet Bed Design (Stafford ).—Certainly you have “as much right t° 
have suggestions for planting a square bed as another correspondent had t° 
a round one,” and we submit most readily any designs we have prepared " 
but wq cannot undertake to sketch a method of planting for every corre¬ 
spondent who may desire.it. The annexed design may possibly be suggestive. 
. . < .Pig. 10G. 
,t- i;....i.. .i .... .. ; ' ■ .1 .1 : y it ' 
It was very effective at Hampton Court planted as follows :—1, Echeveria' 
secunda glauca ; 2, Mesembryanthemum cordifolium variegatum ; ;3, Anten- 
naria tomentosa ; Alternanthera magnifica or A. paronychyoides major; 
5, AltetnantheiA patonychyoides ; 6, Herniaria saxatilis; 7, Alternanthera 
arnoena ; '8, PachyphytUm bracteosum ; 9, Sempervivum montanum. slightly 
raised and planted'thickly ; 10, Alternanthera amcena, The border lines 
(No. 1) are'intended to be raised 4 'Or '5 inches, and planted with two yows of 
Echeverias and a littld'Sedum glaucum interspersed. This bed can be planted 
without" EcheV’eria'S dnd look’tvoll, but it Will have a better appearance by 1 
• m'arking out all t'h'e small : bhds in the design with these useful plants. A 1 
variety of 'plaids are suitable for No. 2, but few excel for a low yet.cheerful 
groundwork Mesembryanthemum cordifolium variegatum. 
Red Spider orv.Melons {J. T. S .).—The Melon leaf that was doubled up 
.and enclosed in a,letter arriyedin such a dried and crushed state that \t was 
of no use. whatever.for the. purpose for which it was sent. The greenness of 
the leaves described is not indicative of thfe presence of red spider, nor 
ought this insect to be allowed to get established in a house where the' 
Trader " sides of the leaves - 'can be syringed. Still, as those'from the bed tp'" 
■ the wires cannot well be syringed, it might be well to sponge them carefully- 
with a mixture Of sulphur and "water if there tire signs of the .presence of the : 
pest." With Sufficient moistureinfhe soildfnd atmosphere, and Garb fifveiifi*' 
latioir, there-onght to’ be no difficulty in keeping the plarits healthy 5hd' 
elean. The bed is quite large enough, though an inch of soil might be added 
with advantage and pressed down pretty firmly as roots protrude through 
the surface. Your treatment appears to be right, but we should prefer 
the night temperature 5° higher, at least the Melons would prefer it; and 
the top lights left open to the extent of an inch or so all night, and we 
should not give front air until ventilation by the top lights proved insuffi¬ 
cient from preventing the temperature increasing above 80° to 85°. You 
cannot close too early in the afternoon with moisture, provided the 
temperature does not exceed 90° afterwards. A close atmosphere at night, 
especially if damp, with a temperature of 60° might induce an attack of 
mildew, and a more buoyant atmosphere, with a little more fire heat, would 
encourage the growth of the plants and facilitate the setting and swelling 
of the fruit. 
Creosote for Hop Poles ( S ., Sussex). —We do not know of anything 
better than good creosote for dipping them in, for all is not of equal merit. 
'Some time ago Mr. Charles Whitehead directed the attention of Hop planters 
in the South Eastern Gazette to the adulteration of creosote, of which he 
- said samples had been analysed by Dr. Yoelcker and found to be not at all 
suitable for the purpose of preserving wood, as they consist'd largely of the 
, heavier tar oils. Upon being subject to distillation they yielded only about 
. G1 per cent, of volatile oils, of which only 4 per cent, were carbolic acid ; 
while good creosote should yield quite 75 per cent, of volatile oils, containing 
10 to 15 per cent, of carbolic acid. The specific gravity of the samples was 
*1103, while the specific gravity of good creosote should not exceed 10 - G. 
A few persons have had doubts for some time past as to the quality of the 
cresote"'they have received, and have thought that it has not thoroughly 
■ and properly preserved the structure of Hop poles and timber from the 
effects of dry rot and the influences of the weather. At least one leading 
agriculturist in Kent declares that he has sustained heavy losses from the 
impurity of creosote and its inefficient operation. All who use creosote know 
in what a thick and generally unsatisfactory state much of it is delivered, and 
how short it is frequently in quantity, hut the majority of Hop planters 
have not suspected that it has also been wanting in respect to quality ; 
therefore it is desirable that attention should be specially directed to this 
very important point, in order that buyers of creosote may protect themselves 
by requiring a guarantee that it is up to the proper standard of purity and 
efficiency. 
Cytisus Adami ( A. Smith, Bedale). —The above is the name of the 
Laburnum of which you have sent specimens. It was originally produced 
upwards of sixty years ago in budding Cytisus purpureus on the common 
Laburnum. In this process it is supposed that a cell of the one species 
became divided and united to a cell of the other, and the result has been a 
plant producing not only flowers of each species separately, but others 
partaking of the characters of both. There are other instances in the 
vegetable kingdom in which a similar union of cells is believed to have 
taken place, but Cytisus Adami is the best known and best established. 
The changes produced on the Laburnum when grafted are sometimes 
wonderful and wholly unaccountable. We have rarely seen the common or 
Scotch Laburnum sport into other varieties. We recollect only one instance 
in which flowers of purpurascens appeared. But if you graft either of the 
Laburnums with Cytisus purpureus or Cytisus supinus, the vagaries which 
sometimes take place are astonishing. We know of a small standard of 
Cytisus alpinus which was grafted with Cytisus purpureus, and on the same 
branch will sometimes he found smail pieces of yellow and purple, and at 
the very point strong shoots of the Cytisus alpinus, the “blood” of the 
stock finding its way through the more weakly growth of the scion. What 
■ is remarkable is, that grafting or budding with one variety will frequently, 
as the plant grows, produce three or four varieties. As an example of the 
remarkable sportiveness of the Cytisus Adami, a Dutch correspondent sent 
us the following note a few years ago:—“Before me is a spike bearing 
" fifteen flowers. Examining them from the base, they are arranged in the 
following order :—One yellow flower, two violet, one yellow, one violet, two 
yellow, one violet, one yellow, one violet, five yellow—a total of five violet 
and ten yellow flowers, and the effect is very striking.” 
Peaches not Stoning {Gardener). —The chief cause of the fruit not 
stoning is the badly ripened state of the wood the previous season, and this 
you must remedy before there is any probability of their stoning satisfac¬ 
torily. In the current year you must keep the shoots so thin that the foliage 
will have full exposure to light aud air, as crowding induces weakly growth 
and long-jointed wood, whereas it should be stout and short-jointed, with 
sufficient space for it to be solidified as made and to insure its ripening. As 
. you have so much fruit falling we should thin out the growths now where 
they are too thick. They should be, 12 inches apart to insure a proper ex¬ 
posure to light and air. Stop any gross growths, so as to equalise the sap 
and induce an equal vigour through every part of the trees. In autumn, or 
so soon as the leaves give indications of falling, lift the trees and lay in the 
roots nearer the surface in" fresh compost. This is the best remedy for im¬ 
maturity of wood, as it checks the tendency to over-luxuriance, which is fatal 
to the trees fruiting. There is nothing we can see likely to cause the fruit 
to fall in the treatment of this year; only if the roots are inside, instead of 
watering once a month, water ought to be given not less frequently than 
once a week when the trees are stoning and swelling off their crops. With 
the borders properly drained there is no fear of overwatering Peaches and 
Nectarines during their growth. The scale can only be destroyed by the 
applying of an insecticide, than which none is more efficacious than petro¬ 
leum, a wineglassful to three gallons of water, kept stirred sharply whilst 
it is being syringed on the trees, so as to beep the oil thoroughly mixed, 
otherwise it will rise to the surface and be very indifferently applied. Repeat 
if necessary in the course of a few days, and always in the evening. 
Names of Plants {Youth). —3, Ornitbogalum nutans; 4, Ranunculus 
aconitifolius fiore-pleno; 6, Epimedium alpinum. The other specimens were 
quite withered. {H. C. M.). —1, Luzula campestris; 2, Not recognisable ; 
|3, Garex glauca ; 4, Carex remota. {S. H .).—Onoclea sensibilis. {W. IF.). 
—Pellaea hastata. {J. Wa -—The purple flower is Muscari monstrosum ; 
the Lily is Lilium pomponium ; the Iris was much withered, but resembles 
I. tuberosa, the Snake’s : head Iris. {J. V.).— 1, Ceanothus dentatus ; 2, Litho- 
spermujn prostratum ; 3, Cistus purpureus ; 4,.Trollius europseus.; 5 and 6, 
Lychnis viscaria and its variety alba 
