JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
40G 
well as the bed and side of the frame with tepid water, a high 
temperature and a suitable humid atmosphere will be created, this 
lasting for several hours. In the evening mats or other pro¬ 
tecting material may be thrown over the glass, taking care not 
to cover the slight openings left in the back for the escape of 
excessive steam. The mats must be taken off early, and a little 
more air admitted to dry the plants before the sun is powerful, 
or the foliage may be injured by scalding. 
In about a week from planting the new Melon roots will perhaps 
push through the surface of the mounds, and in anticipation of 
this more soil should be placed in each light to warm, so as to 
have it in readiness for covering these over whenever necessary. 
In this manner the roots are encouraged to spread near the surface, 
and the bulk of soil is increased at the same time, so as to even¬ 
tually be at least 10 inches thick all over the bed. Each plant 
should push out three growths, and these require regulating and 
to be kept pegged down till near the sides of the frame, when 
they should be stopped. The laterals that follow, or are strength¬ 
ened by this stopping, seldom fail to produce abundance of fertile 
blossoms, of which a number should be impregnated in one or two 
days to form a good crop, say four to six fruits on each plant. 
While the fertile blossoms are being set by applying to them 
pollen from the others which have not a rudimentary fruit at their 
base the frames should be kept rather dry. Water of the same 
temperature as the frame should be freely given whenever the soil 
approaches dryness. Liquid manures such as are obtained from 
farmyards, or are made from sheep and horse droppings, are apt to 
encrust the surface of the bed and impede root-action. At the 
same time some kind of manure is necessary to assist in the 
maturation of a heavy crop, and for this purpose I find an occa¬ 
sional light surface-dressing of a good artificial manure highly 
beneficial. If carefully watered in through a fine-rose pot the 
effect is lasting, and instead, as in the case of the liquid manures, 
of checking surface-rooting, this is promoted. 
To avoid injuriously crowding the foliage and a dangerous 
employment of the knife, in many cases it is advisable to rub 
out some of the laterals, and those retained should have their 
points pinched at one joint beyond the fruits, under which should 
be placed pieces of slates. The fruits when young should not be 
exposed to the bright sunshine, but when fully grown may be 
elevated on inverted flower pots, and this will encourage both 
“netting” and ripening. A second crop may easily be secured, 
provided the plants are vigorous and healthy. Thin out the 
growth, cutting away any that is worn out, renew the linings, and 
in the course of a few days give the beds a soaking with tepid 
water. In this manner strong fruiting growths will soon result 
and a second crop be secured. Pits, though without hot-water 
pipes, are warmer than frames, and the bottom heat lasts longer, 
but in most cases cannot be renewed, consequently greater 
judgment w T ill be required with regard to watering. In other 
respects the treatment should be similar to the foregoing. 
I have not been very successful with Melons in cold frames, 
but have on one or two occasions had Monroe’s Little Heath 
fairly good with little or no heat. This variety, however, I 
consider inferior to the old Cantaloupe, which for many years 
was grown at the Royal Gardens, Claremont.—W. Iggulden. 
[ May 17,1883. 
in the family. Double flowers are frequent, and are of different 
kinds—(1), the corona may be filled with a mass of petals ; (2), 
the perianth and corona are broken up and many times repeated, 
so as to form an irregular mass of petals ; or (3), the petals are 
piled up in front of one another, as in a Rose. This occurs in the 
var. eystellensis. With reference to physiological properties, the 
Narcissus is more or less poisonous, the Daffodil and the Poet’s 
being especially so, and have been used in medicine as emetics. 
Other members of the family are poisonous, as Brunsvigia toxi- 
caria, which is used by the natives of South Africa to poison fish. 
It was this which accidentally poisoned Dr. Pattison, though he 
fortunately recovered. The Narcissus has been long cultivated in 
England. Gerard in his “Herball” (A.D. 1597), described seven¬ 
teen kinds; and Parkinson in his “ Faradisus ” (1629), figures 
many and describes ninety-two kinds. 
Selecting a few sorts for illustration, Mr. Henslow first alluded 
to the Hoop Petticoat (Narcissus Bulbocodium) from the West 
Mediterranean regions, remarkable for the shape of the corona 
and its declinate stamens. It is recorded that a bulb of this 
species, having been in an herbarium for twenty years, was after¬ 
wards planted and flowered ! The Daffodil, or N. pseudo-Nar- 
cissus, is probably the only native of Great Britain, and is very 
variable, especially under cultivation, the size of the flowers quite 
justifying the terms maximus, major, minor, minimus ; while the 
colour may be all yellow, or the perianth white with the corona 
yellow (e.g., bicolor), or all white {eg., cernuus), such as are the 
Spanish forms. Double forms of the larger sorts are common, 
though that of the true wild one is uncommon. 
Of the second group with shorter crowns the most important is 
incomparabilis and its many varieties. This is now considered to 
be a hybrid between the Poet’s Narcissus and the Daffodil, 
although it occurs wild in France and Spain, for Dean Herbert 
and others have raised it from such a cross ; indeed, he thought 
that by using the pollen of N. poeticus successively for two or 
three generations that the Daffodil could be converted into that 
species. It is remarkable that the purple of the cup of poeticus, 
with the golden-yellow of the Daffodil, give rise to an orange tint 
in the cross, just as purple and chrome yellow mixed on a palette 
produce a similar orange. 
Another important species is N. odorus, the Campernelle, a 
pure yellow and very scented. This is intermediate between the 
Jonquil and incomparabilis. It has been supposed to be Lily of 
the Valley in the Song of Solomon. Its native home is South 
France, Italy, to Dalmatia. 
Of the third or short-crowned form N. tazetta is perhaps the 
most variable (the Dutch in 1800 cultivated as many as 300 
forms), and has apparently the greatest range, for if not wild it is 
cultivated largely in China. It is the common Polyanthus Nar¬ 
cissus, as it bears several blossoms on one stalk. The typical 
form has a white perianth and yellow cup, but varies in colour 
like the Daffodil, and may be double as well. The true Narcissus 
of the ancient poets appears to be N. poeticus or biflorus, espe¬ 
cially the former, as it is described by Virgil as “purpureus,” in 
allusion to the purple rim of the crown, which colour is wanting 
in N. biflorus. Its double form, like a Gardenia, is much culti¬ 
vated for decorative purposes. 
£=31' LECTURE ON THE NARCISSUS, u 
The Rev. George Henslow, in his lecture on the Narcissus at 
South Kensington last week, which was illustrated by many 
specimens from Mr. Barr’s beautiful collection, gave the following 
particulars :—With reference to the origin of the name, he ex¬ 
plained how in Greek mythology the son of Cephissus and Liriope, 
slighting the nymph Echo, fell so desperately in love with his 
own shadow in the stream instead, that death alone could release 
him from the anguish of unrequited love. The Naiads mourned 
for him, and on searching for his body discovered nothing but a 
beautiful flower instead, which henceforth bore his name. Coming 
to more prosaic matters, the genus, though abounding in “forms,” 
yet, according to Mr. Baker, is a limited one. That botanist 
groups them under three heads—viz., those with long crowns or 
coronas, as the Daffodil ; those with crowns of medium length, as 
in the Imperialis group ; and those with a mere rim, as the Poet’s 
Narcissus. 
Describing the structure of the flower he pointed out the dif¬ 
ference between the family Amaryllidese, to which it belongs, and 
that of Lilies, the Narcissus being known by the perianth having 
adhered to the ovary, which thus appears below it. The corona 
he explained as a mere outgrowth from the perianth, and appears 
to correspond to the rim in the corollas of the Primrose and 
Forget-me-not, and is not characteristic of the majority of genera 
IIOYA CAMPANULATA. 
This is undoubtedly the most handsome of the Hoyas, and 
when well grown it is an exceedingly valuable roof plant for a 
stove, and being, moreover, as easily grown as most of its re¬ 
latives, it has everything to recommend it. The large open bell¬ 
shaped yellowish flowers readily distinguish H. campanulata from 
all the other species, and the blooms being produced in unusually 
large dense globular umbel-like clusters that are pendulous from 
the branches, a large plant well flowered has a fine effect. 
By different authors this has been termed both Physostelma 
and Cystidianthus, but it is now generally known as a Hoya. It 
is a native of Java, where it was found by Blume growing in 
mountainous districts, but it was introduced to England nearly 
forty years ago by Messrs. Veitch & Sons of Exeter through Mr. 
Thomas Lobb. In its native country it is said to flower all the 
year round, and even in cultivation the flowers last a considerable 
time, fresh umbels being continually produced when the plant 
is thriving. 
Whether grown in a pot or planted out a compost of light loam 
and peat is the best for it, providing good drainage and keeping 
the plant clean. 
Two other species from the same district, and introduced about 
the same time by Mr. T. Lobb, are Hoya coriacea and H. pur- 
pureo-fusca. The former has a fine compact truss of yellowish 
flowers, the staminal crown in the centre white with a few crimson 
