March 29, 1883. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 257 
ordered the latter variety ; others I know have ordered the former. 
But as there is a great difference in the price should like to know 
if they are distinct or identical.” [Messrs. Carter state on p. 17 
of their “Vade Mecum” that they “this year purchased the 
entire stock of this Cucumber from Mr. Pettigrew, the raiser.’ 
The one they offer is thus acknowledged to be Pettigrew’s Cardiff 
Castle. It does not follow that others have not grown the same 
variety and saved seed from it last year.] 
- A meeting of the Royal Botanic Society was held on 
Saturday last at the Gardens, Regent’s Park, Mr. W. F. Lord in 
the chair. Upon the table were specimens of seaweeds preserved 
in glass jars from the Society’s museum. The Secretary, in the 
course of some remarks upon them, said that, having last summer 
collected some seaweeds for the museum, it struck him whether 
it might not be possible to procure them in a living state and 
grow them in the garden. Upon making inquiries he found that 
hitherto little or nothing had been done in that direction, it 
having been generally regarded as impossible. After sundry 
experiments he had succeeded, specimens ef various kinds col¬ 
lected last autumn being at present in what might be called a 
fairly flourishing condition, growing and fruiting freely in the 
greenhouse set apart for them in the Garden. 
- A correspondent, E. F. Behrens, writes :—“All may not 
know that the Turnip-rooted Celery, called by the Germans 
“ Knollen Celerie,” besides being used for flavouring soups, &c., 
makes an exquisite salad, which is of the greatest value to the 
housekeeper during the winter and early spring. The method of 
cultivation is to sow in March in well-manured ground ; in May 
transplant into rows 4 feet apart, with 2 feet between the plants, 
pinching the tips off the roots and leaves. Well water and hoe 
during summer, and when the root is the size of an Apple remove 
the earth and side shoots and cover up again. In October lift, 
clearing off the roots and outer leaves, retaining only the centre 
leaves. Bury the ball trimmed of roots in sand in a cellar or 
deep trenches to keep from all frost until required for use. For 
use well wash the balls, put unpeeled in a large pan of cold water 
and boil for two hours. Allow them to get cold with the peel on, 
to preserve their whiteness. Peeled, finely sliced, mixed with 
pepper, salt, three spoonfuls of olive oil to one and a half of 
vinegar, makes a dainty dish to set before a king ‘or an epicure.’ ” 
- “ One of the best warm greenhouse plants we have for 
flowering at this time of year is,” writes a correspondent, “ Iman- 
tophyllum miniatum. Well-established plants invariably throw 
up several strong flower scapes, and these keep fresh and attrac¬ 
tive for many weeks. Anybody can grow it, and it very seldom 
requires repotting. Ours have not been disturbed for three years, 
and they are in perfect health and extremely floriferous. They 
are never dried off in any way—in fact remain constantly on the 
end of a stage in an intermediate house ; and at no time are they 
unsightly, as the foliage if stiff and erect is yet of a rich attractive 
green, this being maintained with the help of an occasional 
supply of liquid manure. There appear to be several forms of 
the variety, some having thin and pale reddish-yellow-coloured 
blooms, others, as with us, much richer in colour, and occasionally 
a still better form is to be met with. The best we have yet seen, 
if we except Mr. B. Williams’ variety, were flowering freely in 
the houses connected with Messrs. Garraway’s Durdham Down 
Nurseries, Bristol. The scape of flowers in this case are large 
and compact, and the individual flowers shorter, more round, and 
of a rich orange-red colour. The stock is being rapidly increased 
by division, and ought gradually to replace the inferior forms 
now being generally grown.” 
- A Bedfordshire correspondent writes relative to the 
severity OF the weather IN March :—“ On the morning of 
the 24th inst. we registered 14° of frost, and at Southall Park 21° 
were registered at 4 feet from the ground. For several nights we 
have registered from 7° to 9°. The penetrating east winds had 
done much to mellow stiff and soddened soils, which made 
gardeners unusually busy sowing small seeds, &c.; but as I now 
write (Easter Monday) the outlook is a cold one, and presents a 
midwinter scene. The ground is covered with upwards of 
3 inches of snow ; this fell in the short space of rather more than 
an hour. The trees and shrubs are enveloped in snow to the 
same thickness as the ground. Luckily the wind has fallen, or 
much damage would have been done to evergreen shrubs and 
trees owing to the great weight of snow. Apricots on walls 
covered with hexagon netting have been much blackened by the 
frosts, and fears are entertained that the crop will be lost. 
Peaches and Nectarines are now in full bloom, and being a little 
later hopes are entertained that they will fare better than the 
Apricots. Currants and Gooseberries are in a backward state, 
which we hope, are still safe. On the 27th the thermometer 
registered 18° below freezing.” 
- The usual monthly meeting of the Meteorological 
Society was held on Wednesday evening, 21st inst., at the Insti¬ 
tution of Civil Engineers, Mr. J. K. Laughton, F.R.G.S., President, 
in the chair. The following gentlemen were elected Fellows of 
the Society—viz., Mr. G. T. Hawley, Dr. C. W. Siemens, F.R.S., 
Mr. C. Walford, F.S.S., and Col. H. G. Young. Dr. W. Koppen 
was elected an honorary member. The paper read was “ Notes 
on a March to the Hills of Beloochistan in North-West India, in 
the. Months of May to August, 1859, with Remarks on the Simoom 
and on Dust Storms,” by Dr. H. Cook, F.R.G.S., F.M.S. These 
months may be considered as the summer of the hill country of 
Beloochistan, though the natives expect the weather to change 
soon after the fall of rain, which takes place about the end of 
July and beginning of August. Compared with that of the plains 
the climate is delightful. The actual heat is greater than in 
England, especially the intensity of the sun’s rays, but the 
weather is less variable. Fruits and crops, as a rule, ripen earlier 
and are not exposed to the vicissitudes of the English climate. 
The atmosphere is clear and pure, the air dry and bracing. The 
simoom occurs usually during the hot months of June and July. 
It is sudden in its attack, and is sometimes preceded by a cold 
current of air. It takes place at night as well as by day, and it 
burns up or destroys the vitality of animal and vegetable exist¬ 
ence. It is attended by a well-marked sulphurous odour, and is 
described as being like the blast of a furnace. Dr. Cook believes 
it to be a very concentrated form of ozone, generated in the 
atmosphere by some intensely marked electrical condition. 
- After the reading of Dr. Cook’s paper the Fellows 
inspected the exhibition of meteorological Instruments 
for travellers, and of such new instruments as had been con¬ 
structed since the last exhibition. In addition to the ordinary 
instruments designed for travellers—viz., barometers, thermo¬ 
meters, hygrometrical apparatus, compasses, artificial horizons, 
&c., some very interesting historical instruments used by cele¬ 
brated travellers and explorers were exhibited, including those 
u*ed by Dr. Livingstone in his last journey, by Commander 
Cameron during his journey across Africa, by Sir J. C. Ross 
in his antarctic expedition, by Sir E. Sabine in his arctic 
voyage, &c. 
HOME-GROWN LILY OF THE VALLEY. 
Those who have not experimented with home-prepared Lily of 
the Valley for early forcing would do well to give the system a trial. 
I do not so much advocate the system on account of cheapness as 
for the much better results obtainable from home-grown plants. 
Not that the commercial side of the question is unworthy atten¬ 
tion, for, were only a very limited quantity flowered at one time, 
if the season be prolonged from Christmas till the end of April the 
expenditure helps to swell the yearly amount somewhat; and 
