February is, 1883. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 135 
between, and glass the other. The glass side of the protector 
could then be lifted off when desirable, and the netting put on ; 
and if some strong wire supports about 6 inches in length were 
inserted in the bottom of the boards (about three in each side of 
each protector), they could then be lightly placed over the rows 
when the Peas are up, and so give them additional head space, 
and also air at the bottom, but not leaving sufficient room to 
admit birds. It would often be much better to remove the 
protector a few inches than all the pieces of glass, and much 
quicker too.” 
- “ An Orchidophile ” writes respecting CattleyA 
Pebciviliana as follows:—“I am greatly disappointed with 
this Orchid, as from the descriptions that have been published 
and quoted in the sale catalogues led me to expect quite a 
different plant. The only recommendation that it seems to have 
is its late-flowering character, and some think that this will not 
prove constant. It is true that at present only comparatively 
small pieces have flowered, and when some that are fully estab¬ 
lished produce blooms they will be both larger and of better 
colour. The centre of the lip is very rich crimson, and the sepals 
and petals pale purple, and though it has been described as of 
the C. labiata type it is more like C. Morsiale. There are so 
many really beautiful Orchids now that we do not want our 
houses to be crowded with forms that show no improvement on 
those we had previously grown.” 
- From Professor J. L. Budd’s record of the success attained 
in FRUIT CULTURE IN Russia it appears, says an American 
contemporary, that “the whole of the large province of Vladimir, 
which is east of Moscow, is given to the growing of Cherries. 
Hundreds of proprietors in this province have each orchards of 
ten thousand ‘ bushes.’ These fruit trees are not allowed to grow 
in tree form ; the oldest branches are pruned out, it having been 
found that the best fruit is formed on young shoots, several of 
which are left to grow from one root. South of Vladimir, near 
the 56th parallel, where the thermometer sometimes falls to 50° 
below zero, immense quantities of Plums are raised, many of the 
varieties being equal to the best German Prunes. Pears and 
Apples are also a success. The Apple trees, too, are made to grow 
low and bushy, but they bear abundant crops of excellent highly 
coloured fruit. The main points ascertained in this method seem 
to be selection of the hardiest varieties of seedlings, close planting 
to secure mutual protection, low pruning, the growing of more 
than one shoot from a root, and retaining only the young vigorous 
wood.” 
- Relative to carbolic acid as an insecticide “ C. P. P.” 
writes:—“ ‘ F. P. D.’ (page 113) somewhat mistakes my obser¬ 
vations about carbolic acid. I merely wished to say that it was 
decidedly soluble, but that the per-centage of carbolic acid 
dissolved by soft water varied according to the strength of the 
acid, many of the samples of commercial carbolic acid used for 
disinfecting purposes being very impure, and containing a great 
per-centage of coal tar. There is no need to use glycerine to make 
a stronger solution, as a saturated solution prepared in the way 
I described is far stronger than any plant can stand ; in fact, only 
last Friday I put some of the carbolic acid solution into a can of 
warm water from the boiler, about one part to eight, and used it 
without doing any harm where only applied lightly, but a plant 
of Pelargonium echinatum, which had some green fly on it, with 
young foliage, suffered very much because I used the syringe, 
a jet d’eau, which I use for this purpose, too forcibly, and I found 
the leaves had shrivelled the next day. I merely write this to 
warn those who use carbolic acid that it is better to err on the 
side of using too little and repeating the dose if necessary, rather 
than to apply it too strong. I should be afraid that, as glycerine 
is naturally of a glutinous nature, it would fill up the pores 
of young foliage too much, which is the objection I have to 
petroleum.” 
- The statistics of the wine harvest of last year, recently 
published by the French Ministry of Agriculture, show that it 
was one of the worst ever known in France ; and compared with 
the ten years immediately preceding last year, when the pro¬ 
duction had been greatly reduced by the phylloxera and bad 
seasons, there is a falling-off of last year’s harvest of a full third. 
The result to the wine-growers, and indeed to all dependant upon 
the culture of the Vine, has been very serious, for the area under 
the Vine in France amounts to 5£ million acres. The long de¬ 
pression [under which this great industry has suffered has thus 
seriously diminished the wealth of France, and accounts for the 
feeling of dissatisfaction that prevails in the country ; at the 
same time there is one favourable feature in the statistics. The 
Ministry of Agriculture is able to show that last year the acreage 
under Vines in the departments where the phylloxera prevails 
increased, suggesting that at last the disease has received a check, 
and that the wine-growers are recovering courage. The chief 
cause of the badness of last year’s wine harvest was the weather. 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
February 13th. 
The meeting on Tuesday last was well attended both by exhibitors 
and members of the Committee, the Council-room being filled with a 
choice array of Primulas, Cyclamens, Rhododendrons, Amaryllises, 
Cinerarias, and Orchids. 
Fruit Committee. —John Lee, Esq., in the chair. The following 
were present:—Messrs. P. Crowley, F. Rutland, G. Lyon, J. Willard, 
W. Denning, J. E. Lane, G. Bunyard, C. Silverlock, A. W. Sutton, 
R. D. Blackmore, G. Goldsmith, H. J. Veitch, Thomas Laxton, Sir 
Charles W. Strickland. Mr. W. Horley, Toddington, Dunstable, sent 
two seedling Apples. No. 1 was passed, but No. 2, a small yellowish 
fruit, slightly red on one side, was considered a very useful Apple, a 
good keeper, and desirable for cooking. Mr. Mann, The Gardens, 
Denton Hall, Grantham, was awarded a second-class certificate for 
an Apple named Grantonian, a solid fruit about 3 inches deep, 
somewhat conical, and greenish-yellow. Mr. Ford, The Gardens, 
Leonardslee, Horsham, was accorded a vote of thanks for good fruits 
of Josephine de Malines Pears, which he stated were nowin use from 
trees on an east wall. He also sent fruits of Seckle Pear in fair 
condition. Mr. Chester, The Gardens, Connington Castle, sent two 
seedling Apples, which were passed. 
Messrs. T. Rivers & Son, Sawbridgeworth, exhibited a collection of 
home-grown Oranges, Lemons, with about one hundred dishes of 
Apples and a few Pears, for which a bronze medal was awarded. The 
Oranges comprised the Silver, White, Maltese, Botelha, St. Michael’s, 
and Tangierine, all fine fruits of good flavour. Amongst the Apples 
the most notable were Blenheim Pippin, Tower of Glamis, Norfolk 
Bearer, Golden Ball, Manks Codlin, Melon Apple, Mere de Mdnage, 
Cox’s Orange Pippin, Gloria Mundi, Royal Russet, and Northern 
Greening. The Pears were Marie Benoist, Olivier de Serres, Duchesse 
de Bordeaux, Beurrd de Jonghe, and Glou Morqeau. 
Floral Committee. —G. F. Wilson, Esq., in the chair. The follow¬ 
ing were also present : — Rev. G. Henslow, Messrs. H. Bennett, 
J. McIntosh, J. Laing, W. Bealby, J. Fraser, H. Ballantyne, G. 
Duffield, J. Dominy, H. Ebbage, J. Wills, J. James, Shirley Hibberd, 
Henry Cannell, and Harry Turner. A group of Hybrid Rhododen¬ 
drons and Amaryllises from Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, was a 
prominent feature in the Council-room, and deservedly attracted 
much admiration. The Rhododendrons comprised a number of 
beautiful seedlings, with scarlet, orange, buff, pink, and white flowers 
of great size, and borne in large trusses. Several were named and 
certificated. The Amaryllises also comprised a number of handsome 
new varieties, the flowers generally being of great size, the petals 
broad, and rich crimson or glowing scarlet in colour. Some of the 
plants had two scapes each, and others had four or five flowers in a 
scape. In addition to the varieties certificated and described below, 
the following were very noteworthy :—Pallas, dark crimson tipped 
with white, very large; Argus, neat, bright scarlet; Hera, very dark 
crimson-scarlet, one of the darkest; and Leander, rich scarlet. A 
fine group of Cyclamens was also contributed by the same firm, the 
plants being remarkably vigorous and the flowers abundant, white, 
purple, and crimson. A silver medal was awarded to Messrs. Veitch 
for their exhibits. 
Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, contributed largely to the 
attractions of the display, several groups of Cinerarias, Primulas, 
and other plants being staged. The Cinerarias comprised two 
magnificent varieties—viz., Victory, a surprisingly handsome crimson 
form, which was certificated, and is described below. The other wa3 
