260 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. t March *>. isra. 
astonished at the end of August when I removed them to find what 
length of roots they had made. I potted them at that time and 
could see no sign of the woolly aphis. The usual advice as to 
wintering them is to remove them from their summer quarters to a 
place facing south, but I determined this year to break through 
old traditions. It occurred to me that as an alpine plant they are 
not exposed to sunlight during the winter, and that the watering 
which exposure to sunlight entailed was not good for them, and 
that a more perfect state of rest would be enjoyed if they remained 
in their summer quarters, of course placing them in frames and 
covering them with mats. In this winterless winter there has 
been but little need of this, but I am convinced from my experi¬ 
ence this year that it has many advantages over the old plan of 
wintering them in a southern aspect. Although top-dressing 
rather comes into the gardening reports of the present year, yet 
I may say that when performing that needed operation I did not 
discover a trace of the enemy. I have also now used for all my 
larger-sized plants the glazed pots such as Mr. Woodhead grows 
his magnificent collection in, and have done so with the best 
results. I know that this is contrary to long-cherished traditions 
also; and even now, despite the patent fact of Mr. Woodhead’s 
collection, and I may add Mr. Pohlman’s also, there are many 
persons who cannot believe that plants will prosper grown in this 
way, but they certainly do not require so much watering, and I 
think the contrast between the dark pots and the bright green or 
beautiful mealy foliage adds an additional charm to them. 
I have discontinued growing them in the pit I had made for them. 
The aspect I think was wrong ; and moreover, in the winter the 
water rose up into it owing to the springs being near and engen¬ 
dered so much damp that I am sure the plants suffered from it, 
and have now returned to my original method of growing them 
in frames. But as this aspect is suitable for blooming them in, 
and as one can have much more enjoyment in having the plants 
just below the level of the eye without having to stoop over the 
frames—no slight advantage for a sexagenarian—I moved them 
into this pit for blooming ; and as they are arranged now on the 
broad shelf, the beautiful foliage, if they never had a bloom, is to 
a florist a thing of beauty. 
Notwithstanding the many zealous bybridisers and growers of 
seedlings, there have been very few added lately to our recognised 
standard flowers. We hear of a good time coming, and it surely 
ought to come, when many of the older flowers will have their 
“ noses put out of joint ” by the new comers. Mr. Horner has, 
I believe, a number of grand varieties coming on, and has already 
given us a taste of his quality. Mr. Simonite’s Frank Simonite 
seems likely to take a good place amongst that scarce class white 
edges ; but we have not yet a grey that will beat George Light- 
bodv, or a green to excel Booth’s Freedom, such as I remember 
to have seen in the days when George IV. was king. And as I 
have often observed, this is one great advantage of growing the 
Auricula or other florists’ flowers. The varieties of ten years ago 
are now nowhere. Year after year has brought fresh candidates 
for favour forward, and the older ones are consigned to the rubbish 
heap. If you cannot keep pace with these novelties, and you 
mention those you grow to one who gets everything new, you are 
met with a contemptuous shrug and an expression of pity that 
you should be so far behind the age as to grow such rubbish. But 
it is not so with the Auricula ; and although some few varieties 
have been added to our list, yet as I look upon a collection of 
Auriculas and see its glories—Blackbirds, Conquerors, Ne Plus 
Ultras, Colonels, Freedoms, &c.—I am carried back to the days 
“ long, long ago,” when I saw and grew the very same sorts, and, 
like the dear familiar face we have looked upon for so many years, 
they kindle afresh in us that love for flowers which I verily 
believe the Auricula above all others keeps alive in its devotees. 
—D., Deal. 
POPULAR FALLACY ABOUT QUEEN WASPS. 
About every alternate spring we find an appeal in your pages 
to all gardeners to lose no time in destroying queen wasps now, 
in order to prevent the abundance of nest and consequent ruin of 
the fr uit crop in the autumn. Every queen destroyed now is a 
nest the less, and so on. The appeal is earlier than usual this 
year. 
It is very strange how hard it is for people to learn by experi¬ 
ence to distrust any matters which, to use their own phrase, 
“ stand to reason,” yet it has been shown over and over again 
that an abundant flight of spring wasps is no earnest of a corre¬ 
sponding summer flight, but rather the contrary. And the note 
of any half dozen consecutive years would prove this to anyone 
who kept his eyes open. Yet year after year may show an 
abundant spring flight and record abundant twopences given 
for their destruction, and no nests, and the converse, and people 
are none the wiser. 
The subject was ventilated long ago in the “Zoologist” for 
1819-50, but not then for the first time ; and for some half dozen 
years afterwards I can answer for the fact that the spring and 
autumn wasps were in an inverse ratio as to number. I then 
ceased to make any notes, though the fact has occasionally forced 
itself upon me since. 
Mr. J ames may save his money. If there are plenty of queens 
there will be no nests probably, and certainly if there were a nest 
for every queen that escaped in an abundant year there would be 
enough to leave him nothing of his fruit but stones and stalks. 
A neighbour boasted, “ I paid £5 for queen wasps in the spring, 
nd the result is that I have not seen one wasp on my fruit.” I 
rejoined, “ I paid nothing, and have not seen one either.”— 
Duckwing. 
ORCHIDS AT SUDBURY HOUSE. 
The residence of J. F. Peacock, Esq., at Hammersmith has 
long been celebrated for the extensive collection of succulent 
plants grown there, but for several years considerable attention 
has also been given to Orchids, and at the present time a large 
number is grown, including some of the finest species and varie¬ 
ties in cultivation. The collection, we are informed, has recently 
been placed under the charge of an experienced Orchid grower, 
who will doubtless maintain it in the same creditable condition 
for which it is distinguished. The following is a list of the 
Orchids now in bloom there— 
Ada aurantiaca 
Augracum citratum 
Bletia byacintbina 
C'attleya citrina 
„ Triame 
„ „ atalanta 
.. „ virginalis 
Coelogj'ne barbata 
„ cristata 
Colax jugosus 
Oymbidium eburneum 
Cypripedium argus 
„ barbauim 
„ biflorum 
„ nigrum 
„ superbum 
Boxalii 
Harrisiauum 
Hartwigii 
insigne 
niveum 
Roezlii 
Sedeni 
„ villosum 
Deudrobium aggregatum majus 
„ Cambridgeanum 
„ chrysotoxum 
„ „ superbum 
„ crassinode 
„ „ Barberianum 
„ crepidatum 
„ Dalhousianum 
„ densiflorum 
„ macropliyllum giganteum 
„ nobile 
„ „ caaruiescens 
„ „ intermedium 
„ Bierardii 
„ primulinum 
„ AVardianum 
Epidendrum cociileatum 
„ fragrans 
Ltelia auceps 
„ pedunculis 
'Leptotes bicolor 
Lycaste aromatica 
„ Skinnerii 
„ „ rosea 
Alasdevallia ignea 
„ Lindeni 
Maxillaria venusta 
Aliltonia cuneata 
Monnodes lentiginosa 
Odontoglossum Alexandras 
„ grandiflorum 
„ Andersonii 
Bictonense 
Cervantesii 
cirrliosum 
cordatum 
Edwardsii 
gloriosum 
Hallii 
Pescatorei 
Pbalaenopsis 
pulchellum 
Koezlii 
roseum 
Rossii majus 
„ coerulescens 
„ pallidum 
„ viride 
,, Ruckerianum 
„ tripudians 
,, triumphans 
„ vexillarium 
„ Wallisii 
Oncidium ampliatum majus 
„ Caveudisbii 
„ cucullatum 
clieiropkorum 
concolor 
Kramerii 
macrantkum 
sarcodes 
serratum 
spliacelatum 
trilingue 
unguiculatum 
Phajus grandifolius 
„ Wallickii 
Pkalrenopsis amabilis 
„ grandifiora 
„ Luddemanniana 
„ rosea 
„ Scliilleriana 
Pilumna fragrans 
Pleione Hookeriana 
Sobralia macrantha 
Sopbronites grandifiora 
Tricbopilia suavis 
Vanda tricolor 
Zygopetalum crinitum 
„ „ coeruleum 
INSECTICIDES. 
Those who use petroleum as an insecticide will find how diffi¬ 
cult it is to mix it with water, or even soap water. In fact oil 
and water will not mix ; and if plants are dipped in a mixture of 
it the oil will run to parts of the leaves and do mischief. Now we 
apply sulphur by fumes from tbe pipes, cannot we use petroleum 
in the same way ? Being volatile you could soon fill the house 
with fumes, which I have proved are equally distributed all over 
the place, and I really believe they would destroy insect life. The 
question is, How much without injury ? 
I should much like to hear of any experiments in this direction, 
