132 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. c February 17 , mi. 
rente Inferieure (42,000,000 gallons), the Pyrenes-Orien tales 
(39,000,000 gallons), the Gironde (37,000,000 gallons), the Gers 
(28,000,000 gallons), the Haute-Garonne (23,000,000 gallons), 
the Tarn (22,000,000 gallons), the Vienne (20,000,000 gallons), 
the Charente (19,000,000 gallons), the Cote-d’Or (16,500,000 
gallons), the Lot-et-Garonne (15,000,000 gallons), the Saone-et 
Loire (14,500,000 gallons), and the Tarn-et-Garonne (9,000,000 
gallons). The department which made the least wine was the 
Creuse (1,800), and there were ten which have no Vines at all, 
these latter being the departments in which the most cider is 
made. The total cider crop for the past year was 100,500,000 
gallons, this being little more than a third of the average yield 
for the past ten years, the Apple crop having been a failure in 
nearly every part of France. Normandy and Brittany are the 
principal cider-makiDg districts, the departments which stand at 
the head of the list being the Isle-et-Vilaine (23,0U0,000 gallons), 
the Mayenne (18,000,000 gallons), the Seine-Infdrieure (13,500,000 
gallons), the Calvados (10,500,000 gallons), the Morbihan (9,000,000 
gallons), and the Manche (8,500,000 gallons). 
HIPPEASTRUM PARDINUM. 
This fine bulbous plant was introduced by Messrs. Veitch from 
Peru through their collector Mr. Pearce, and it received a first- 
class certificate in 1867 from the Royal Horticultural Society. It 
is very distinct, differing from most Amaryllises in the flower 
having a very short tube, and in the petals spreading out flat. 
They are cream-coloured, with small and crimson-red spots. The 
flowers are about 6 inches in diameter, the scape being 12 inches 
in height and bearing two flowers. It is evergreen. Bulbs in 
6 -inch pots are now flowering, having in most instances two 
scapes each, and bulbs in 5-inch pots have also been flowering 
since December. Plants in 7-inch pots have larger bulbs and 
throw stronger scapes, but there is little gained by much pot 
room for this class of plants. I have had it flower from Septem¬ 
ber to April. 
It does w T ell in a cool stove, having a position near the glass 
with a plentiful supply of water during growth, and liquid manure 
occasionally, the soil being also kept moist even when the plant 
is at rest. Potting is best attended to between flowering and 
starting into growth, removing all the offsets, which if potted and 
grown-on will make flowering plants in two or three years. Turfy 
yellow loam is the most suitable compost, adding a little leaf soil 
and a sprinkling of sand. Good drainage is essential.—G. Abbey, 
Mr. T. Laxton writes as follows relative to the Earliest 
op all Peas :—“ In reply to the inquiry at p. 118 of the Journal, 
I may state that this Pea is not yet in commerce, but will be 
thoroughly tested again this year by competent authorities, and 
if it bears out the opinion I have formed of- it, it will probably 
be distributed next season. It is clwarfer and more constant than 
Harbinger, and has proved itself at Girtford to be really what its 
name implies—the earliest of all Peas. It was raised by crossing 
Ringleader with the pollen of Little Gem, Harbinger being the 
produce of a cross between Ringleader (or Dillistone’s) and 
Alpha.” 
- The following Rose Show Fixtures are announced—• 
Royal Horticultural Society, June 28th ; Farningham Rose Society, 
June 29th ; Canterbury Rose Society, June 30th ; National Rose 
Society, July 2nd; Reigate Rose Society, July 5th ; National 
Rose Society, Sheffield, July 14th ; Wirral Rose Society, July 16th ; 
Sutton Coldfield, July 22nd. 
■- The handsome specimen of a most distinct and stately 
Palm from the South Sea Islands, Pritchardia grandis, in the 
Anerley Nursery of the General Horticultural Company, pro¬ 
duced its flowers last week for the first time in this country, and 
we are informed that a drawing has been taken for the “ Botanical 
Magazine.” The specimen is said to be the only one in England, 
and it is certainly the 'finest, as it is one of the two plants origi¬ 
nally possessed by Mr. W. Bull, the other having died. It was ex¬ 
hibited by that nurseryman at the June Show of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society in 1873, when a first-class certificate was awarded 
for it, and a description appeared in the “Gardeners’ Year Book” 
for the following [jear. The leaves are nearly orbicular, very 
regularly jagged or cut at the margin, and they are about a yard 
in diameter, on [petioles of moderate length. The habit of the 
Palm is particularly noble, and smaller specimens would be very 
useful for the [stove, as the regular fringed edge of the leaves 
imparts a most distinct appearance to the plant. 
-In a recent number of the “ Pharmaceutical Journal ” Dr. 
John Harley relates the particulars of experiments undertaken to 
prove that Fools’ Parsley (jEthusa Cynapium) is not 
Poisonous. It appears as the result of these that this plant, 
which is commonly reputed to be very poisonous, so far from 
having an injurious effect upon human beings, may even be bene¬ 
ficially employed as a pot herb ; at least Dr. Harley recommends 
if beiDg used for that purpose, though he observes, “ the iEthusa 
Cynapium of Sussex, Kent, Surrey, Essex, and Hertfordshire is 
not absolutely free from the noxious properties attributed to it.” 
- An instance of the Extensive planting of Trees is 
recorded on the Pelham Pillar in Lincolnshire, relative to which 
we cite the following description from JYotes and Queries of the 
5th inst.—“ The following is a copy of the inscription on Pelham’s 
Pillar, situate in the parish of Cabourn near Caistor, Lincolnshire, 
said to be the highest part of the Earl of ^Yarborough’s estate on 
the Lincolnshire wolds. The pillar is built] of granite, and is 
about 150 feet in height. There is a room at the top, lighted by 
four large windows, from which may be seen the German Ocean 
and extensive views of the surrounding country, north, south, 
east, and west. The entrance door, which isjtowards the east, is 
flanked on either side by huge figures of a lion and lioness. The 
woods and plantations around add much to the sylvan beauty of 
the place. 
“ This Pillar 
was erected to commemorate the Planting 
of the Woods by 
Charles Anderson Pelham, Lord Yarborough, 
who commenced Planting in 1787, 
and between that year and 1823 planted on his Property 12,552,700 Trees. 
The foundation of this Pillar was laid in the year 1840 by his Son, and the 
building finished by his Grandson in 1849.” 
The number of trees thus planted yearly during the above 
period was 348,686. 
- At the recent annual meeting of [the Reading Horti¬ 
cultural Society, Mr. Benyon, thej President, in the chair, 
it was stated that the Society had well maintained the objects 
for which it was started in 1854—viz., the advancement of horti¬ 
culture in the town and neighbourhood, and of affording pleasure 
to a large portion of the public, as evidenced by the two exhibitions 
held during the year, the unusually large number of visitors and 
the great success of the shows, which were acknowledged to be 
the best ever held in Reading, although the prizes offered for 
competition have not been so large as the Committee could have 
wished. Only a small favourable balance was announced, owing 
to expenses incurred in repairing the erections in the abbey 
grounds. It was proposed that the President, Treasurer, and 
Committee, with the addition of Messrs. G. W. Palmer, Arthur 
Hill, E. Jesse, and J. Sydenham, do continue their services during 
the ensuing year, and that Mr. Geo. W. Webb and Mr. R. D. 
Catchpool be requested to continue to act as Secretaries, which 
was duly seconded and carried. It was also announced that 
classes for Rhododendrons and Pansies would be added to the 
schedule this year. 
- We clip the following from the Wiltshire County Mirror 
on Cultivating Railway Slopes— “ The South-Western Com- 
