JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 381 
expenditure, the other simply sufficient to supply the requirements 
of the family he serves. The space even for this has to be a3 
limited as possible, as perhaps Melons, Tomatoes, French Beans, 
Strawberries, and a host of plants for various decorative purposes 
have to be raised in the same house ; and I ask, How would the 
non-ventilating system answer with this medley ? I daresay Mr. 
Iggulden is situated similarly to many others, and has to supply a 
variety of produce from the same house, and naturally drew his 
conclusions from practical experience. If I had a small house 
I could devote entirely to Cucumbers I should most decidedly 
adopt the non-ventilating system, as I know no other could pro¬ 
duce more satisfactory results ; but taking into consideration that 
the above have to be grown in the same house with Cucumbers, I 
can say from experience that this system would not do. 
“ J. J.” refers to a grower who commences cutting at Christmas, 
and he says, “ The same plants continue to produce heavy crops 
of fine fruit until the following autumn.” Now this embodies a 
point I have asked information upon in an article upon growing 
1 1 Cucumbers without air. Will the plants last and continue pro- 
1: ducing these heavy crops without air as long as they would under 
a judicious system of ventilating and cropping? From what 
“ J. J.” says they evidently do, and perhaps he will tell us more 
on this point. I am so interested in this part of the subject that 
I would make a pilgrimage any reasonable distance to see plants 
that commence fruiting at the time named by “ J. J.,” and will 
continue bearing heavy crops until autumn. To give me a chance 
of satisfying myself on the heavy cropping and lasting properties 
of Cucumbers grown without air, perhaps “ J. J.” will kindly 
communicate with me either directly or through the Editor—if 
the latter is preferable—the address of the grower who achieves 
such success.— Wm, Babdney. 
ERYTHRONIUM GRANDIFLORUM. 
The common “ Dog’s-tooth Violet,” Erythronium Dens-canis, is 
a favourite with all lovers of hardy plants, and the “ large- 
flowered ” species has nearly an equal popularity, but deserves to 
be still more widely known. At Mr. T. S. Ware’s nursery, Totten¬ 
ham, we recently noticed a large bed of this Erythronium, and 
the beautiful effect, especially in contrast with several other beds 
of the older species in variety, was sufficient to recommend the 
plant most strongly. It is well known that most members of this 
genus produce their flowers singly, but in E. grandiflorum we 
have a spike or raceme bearing three, four, or more creamy white 
flowers of good size. There has been some confusion between 
this and E. giganteum, but they are quite distinct and very easily 
recognised. On April 26tb, 1881, G. F. Wilson, Esq., of Wey- 
bridge, exhibited flowers of both species at South Kensington, and 
was awarded a certificate for E. giganteum. In a note appended 
to them he observed that they w T ere quite distinct, the latter- 
named “ having only one flowmr to the stem, the flower being 
also of different shape, colour, and marking.” It is, indeed, 
much larger, pure white, with a ring of red in the centre. 
A coloured figure of the plant, described by Pursh as E. grandi¬ 
florum, was given in the “Botanical Register” in 1836, but the 
flowers are smaller, bright yellow with red anthers—very different 
from Mr. Ware’s plant. Under the same plate reference is made 
to another also, found by Mr. Douglas, and described as having 
“ an irregularly branched scape.” This is named E. giganteum, 
whereas the one now grown uuder that name has only “ one 
flower on a stem,” as Mr. Wilson has stated. 
E. grandiflorum is a thoroughly useful plant, free, and easily 
grown in any moist shady border if the soil is not tco heavy. A 
variety named albiflorum, rather dwarfer and later in flowering, 
also grown in Mr. Ware’s collection, is a pretty companion for the 
above. The woodcut (fig. 89) shows a spike and leaf of nearly 
their natural size. 
t Pansies and Insecticides.— “ Can you or any of the readers of 
the Journal of Horticulture tell me if there is any way of eradicating 
green fly and red fly from Pansies ? Quassia chips and soft soap or 
Gishurst compound some persons say will answer. To that let me 
reply that if plants are syringed with the former they will not recover 
the effects of it the whole season. The latter, too, I applied to a 
Pansy in a pot about a month ago—and not a strong solution either 
—moreover, the plant was dipped in clean water afterwards, with the 
result that every bud, large and small, is injured more or less. The 
plants are very strong and healthy, and others to which I have applied 
no wash are flowering very freely and bearing large flowers, some of 
' Monarch quite 3 inches in diameter; so I have no reason to think 
that the bisects are encouraged by poor growth.—A Readeb.” [We 
print this letter in order that Pansy growers may possibly be able 
to give the information desired. We have syringed Pansies with 
quassia water without any injury resulting. Perhaps a solution of 
hellebore (see reply to a correspondent, “ W. T. W.,” on page 393 
might be safe and effectual.] 
SOUVENIR D’UN AMI ROSE. 
I AM sending you herewith a few blooms of that (to my mind) 
exquisite and little grown Tea-scented Rose Souvenir d’un Ami. 
The blooms were gathered from a large plant, which is planted 
Fig. 89.—Erythronium grandiflorum. 
out and growing vigorously against a back wall in one of the late 
vineries here. We employ no fire heat in winter except to pre¬ 
vent frost from injuring bedding and other plants which stern 
necessity compels us to store therein, yet this Rose has yielded 
an almost constant supply of its charming buds for months past. 
I have to-day cut several dozen blooms similar to those I am 
sending you, and still the plant is full of buds in various stages 
of development. 
