72 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 21, 1890. 
the late Mr. Samuel Ralfs, of Munddiford, Christchurch, and was 
born on September 13th, 1807, near Southampton, his mother being 
at the time on a visit to her parents. He was educated privately 
at Bishops Waltham and Romsey, and, leaving school at the age of 
eighteen, was articled to a surgeon at Southampton. He subsequently 
'found his way to Winchester, where he ‘ walked the hospital ’ for 
•about two years. In 1832 he passed his final examination, and was 
specially commended by the presiding examiner for the intimate know¬ 
ledge of the science of botany which his answers displayed. For a 
short time Mr. Ralfs practised as a surgeon in Shoreditch, but soon 
after his marriage with a Miss Newman he threw up his practice and 
went to reside at Torquay. After wandering from place to place for a 
few years he came to Penzance in 1837, and has resided here ever since. 
Tie has long been known as one of the most distinguished of Eng ish 
botanists, and was in constant correspondence with experts in this 
branch of science, not only in England, but in America aud the 
principal European countries. He was the author of many important 
works, including ( The British Desmidiem,’ and ‘ The Flora of West 
'Cornwall ’ (a manuscript work now in the Penzance Library). At tie 
time of his death Mr. Ralfs was a member of the Penzance Library 
“Committee, a position which he had held during the greater part of 
the time covered by his residence in Penzance. He was also a member 
of the Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society, the trans¬ 
actions of which contain not a few important papers from his pen. 
Last year he was electe 1 Honorary Fellow of the Royal Microscopic 
■Society of Great Britain. The funeral will take place on Thursday at 
the Penzance cemetery, leaving the house at three.” 
- Gardening Appointment. —Mr. Charles Slade, late gardener 
to the Marquis of Hertford, Ragley Park, Alcester, Warwickshire, has 
succeeded Mr. Gleeson as gardener to the t Duke of Newcastle, Worksop, 
Notts. 
- Drip from the Rafters in Plant Houses.—I n ordinary 
houses it is very difficult to prevent drip from the rafters falling more or 
less into pans and baskets suspended from the roof. A cross-bar, or 
even a nail used for hanging blocks or baskets upon, will convey large 
quantities of condensed moisture to the plants. Under these circum¬ 
stances such plants as Orchids are often too wet, in fact they are kept 
in a constant state of saturation, and seldom flourish satisfactorily. 
We have been troubled a good deal during several years in this way, 
but have now almost rendered our houses free from drip. We had long 
strips of zinc cut 1^ or 2 inches wide, according to the width of the 
rafters, and thoroughly painted them, and then tacked them below the 
rafters with small copper nails. Each side was slightly bent up towards 
the glass, which conveyer! all the moisture that fell from the roof down 
to the eaves. The remedy was scarcely complete until we arranged on 
the eaves a miniature spout to receive the water conveyed down from 
the rafters.—0. G. 
- Strawberry Laxton’s Noble.—I n last week’s number of 
Journal of Horticulture I was asked by “ T. C.” to give my opinion on 
Laxton’s Noble Strawberry. I have pleasure in saying that I find 
Noble far the best early forcing Strawberry I have ever tried. With us 
dhe plant is a strong, free, and robust grower, with a hardy constitution, 
an abundant bearer, and is remarkably free from mildew and green fly 
during the whole of the forcing season. We forced 300 plants last year, 
1000 this year, and are at present preparing 2000 for next season. This 
fact will show the value we set upon the “ gay deceiver.” Last season 
our first plants were started in an early Peach house about the middle 
of December. These were in flower on February 8th, and the first fruit 
was ripe on March 4th. From that date we had Noble ripe almost 
daily until the end of May. Although most of the Strawberries were 
sent to London in the usual family garden hampers, I have no complaint 
as to its flavour or bad travelling. On the other hand, my employer 
asked me the name of the “ splendid Strawberry ” I had been sending. 
Telling him, I asked him his opinion about its flavour. The reply was, 
Very good, they were much admired.” In order to further test its 
travelling capabilities I sent a dish of it to the Edinburgh spring 
"Show, requesting that I might be informed as to the condition in which 
it arrived. The reply was “ Perfect in every respect, probably the 
grandest dish of Strawberries ever seen in Scotland.” The above quota¬ 
tions will suffice to show that Noble is not always a bad traveller.— 
J. McIndoe. 
- Trillium sessile, var. californicum.—T he genus Trillium 
contains several attractive garden plants. Trillium grandiflorum, the 
"arge, white-flowered species of the Eastern and Northern States, is the 
most beautiful of them, and when once established in a suitable 
position it is not excelled in beauty by any spring flowering herb. The 
Painted Trillium, as Trillium erythrocarpum is called on account of the 
bright purple-rose coloured markings which appear on the lower part of 
the petals, is hardly less beautiful, although the flowers are considerably 
smaller and much more modest than those of the better known species 
referred to above. Another plant of this genu3, of first-rate value as a 
garden plant, has been brought into cultivation in recent years. It is 
the Pacific coast form of a widely distributed eastern species, Trillium 
sessile, found from Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to Florida and Alabama. 
The western form of this plant, known as variety californicum, is widely 
distributed through the northern part of California west of the Sierra 
Nevada, and extends into Oregon. Trillium sessile, var. californicum, 
is a stout plant, with broadly rhombic-ovate leaves, varying from 3 to 
6 inches in length, lanceolate, acute, erect sepals, and oblong or rhombic- 
obovate petals, which vary in length from 1 to 4 inches. These differ in 
colour on different plants from purple to pure white, and at first are 
nearly upright, becoming reflexed above the middle when the flower is 
fully expanded. The form with pure white petals is the haudsomest and 
most desirable as a garden plant. The Pacific coast Trillium, like the 
other species in the genus, is most satisfactory when it is planted in deep 
moist soil in the shade of deciduous trees ; that is, where it can enjoy 
early in the season or during the blooming period full exposure to the 
light, and where later it can be protected by the leaves of the over¬ 
hanging trees from the full blaze of the sun. Trilliums should be 
p'anted early in thi autumn, or not later than the 1st of October, if 
good flowers are expected from them the following spring. They do not 
show, however, what they are really capable of until they have been 
allowed to grow undisturbed in the same spot during three or four years 
and have become well established. Then, if the soil in which they are 
planted suits them, and the situation is a favourable one, they form 
broad masses of immense leaves, and produce flowers of large size and 
surprising beauty .—(American Garden and Forest .) 
ABUTILONS. 
These plants are very showy, free growing, and easily culti¬ 
vated. They are alike useful for ornament in the greenhouse and 
conservatory, for affording flowers for cutting, and for forming 
beds in the outside garden. The taller varieties are seen to great 
advantage trained to wires under roof rafters, not having the wires 
farther from the glass than a foot, whilst as pillar plants they are 
effective, their drooping bell-shaped flowers in either case being 
seen to singular advantage. Whether as roof or pillar plants they 
are best allowed to grow rather loosely, so that the side branches 
may droop down, and when they are becoming too numerous they 
may be thinned, a convenient method being to cut the flowered 
sprays back to a few joints from their origin, which serves the 
purpose of keeping the plants well home as well as affording a 
succession or continuance of bloom, the sprays loosely arranged in 
large vases having a very fine effect. Crowding, however, must be 
avoided, timely thinning and regulation of the growths being 
practised in due course and with discretion, avoiding stiffness or 
formality as prejudicial alike to freedom of bloom and effect. 
As roof or pillar plants Abutilons are perhaps best planted 
out. They succeed, however, very well in pots, which must 
be proportionate in size to the plant required. They give much 
less trouble in watering when planted out than if grown in 
pots. In the latter they require feeding with liquid manure to 
maintain them in good foliage, and even then they do not attain to 
the freedom of growth and fulness of bloom of those planted out. 
A border of 2 feet width and similar depth well drained, as abund¬ 
ance of water and food supplies is required when they are in free 
growth, with a compost of equal parts fibrous loam, leaf soil, and peat, 
with about a sixth of drift or crystal sand put in rather firmly, so as 
to induce a sturdy free-flowering habit, will grow these plants to per¬ 
fection . Continually pouring on water is not watering but drowning, 
making the soil sodden and sour, to the destruction of the soft roots 
and small fibres, the plant becoming sickly and collapsing. Over¬ 
dryness on the other hand, if not so pernicious as overwatering, 
causes a check to growth, a loss very often of bloom, and always a 
loss of foliage, more or less detracting from the appearance of the 
plants. The right time to supply water is when the soil is becoming 
dry, and before it is so dry as to cause the foliage to become limp or 
flag afford a thorough supply, there being no fear of overwatering 
a plant when it is dry. There is danger, however, of giving a check 
that may bring down all or most of the flower buds if the watering is 
delayed too long, or water is applied at a much less temperature 
than that in which the plants are growing, or if over-strong manurial 
matter be given, Avhich destroys the younger, softer, and more 
