416 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 2, 1892. 
drop ranges from an almost invisible point to that of at least 2 inches 
in diameter. Occasionally, large drops fall that must be more or less 
hollow, as they fail to wet the whole surface enclosed within the drop. 
Besides the ordinary raindrops, the author exhibited diagrams showing 
the drops produced by a mist floating along the ground, and also the 
manner in which snowflakes, on melting, wet the slates. 
- The Weather—Slugs and Crops.—T he long wished for rain 
has come at last, and crops have grown apace, weeds included, during the 
last two weeks. The ground is thoroughly saturated, drains are running, 
and field and garden crops are making rapid progress. Slugs are having 
a lively time of it after their long nap ; I never saw them more abundant. 
I have always observed that a wet winter and spring are more destruc¬ 
tive to all animal life which hybernates in the ground than a dry one 
however frosty. With a long continued sodden state of the soil they are 
destroyed from want of air, which cannot penetrate the sodden mass, 
whereas, when dry, the soil is permeated with it. The Turnip beetle is 
causing some trouble. Several sowings of Turnips have disappeared, and 
newly planted Cabbages and Brussels Sprouts are greatly damaged by 
its ravages. Now that we expect the frost to be past for a season, in 
looking round what do its ravages amount to 1 Gooseberries and Eed 
Currants are a good crop where the sparrows have let them alone. 
Black Currants in some gardens are thin. Strawberries are coming 
into bloom, the appearance auguring well for a good crop. An extensive 
grower about a mile from here has, I hear, lost all his early bloom. On 
the same variety (Garibaldi) here on old plants there are a few black 
eyes to be seen, but on younger and more robust plants there are scarcely 
any. I find that Noble, among its other bad qualities, has a very tender 
bloom. Blooms just opening are showing black centres, which must 
have been killed early in the month. Our last frost occurred on the 
2l8t, 29’3°; then on the 12th, 27-1°; on the 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 7th we 
had 27‘2°, 30‘3°, 27'2°, 27°, respectively. A plant of John Ruskin 
growing alongside of Noble has escaped injury, and so has President. 
—G. McDougall, Stirlinq, 
- Cutting Lilium Harrisi. — Mr. F. R. Pierson recently 
wrote to the “ American Florist ” that Bermuda Easter Lilies are 
often left too long after they are ready to be cut. The proper plan 
is to cut the flowers as soon as they are sufficiently open to allow the 
pollen to be removed, to put them in water and set them away in a 
dark cellar. The flowers will then never become transparent or papery, 
but have the desirable waxen appearance which gives them their 
highest value. Of course, this refers principally to the smaller-sized 
Lilies grown for cutting, on which there are from two to four flowers 
on a stem. It will be found that when the first Lilies begin to open 
on the stem, if they are cut and treated in this way, the remaining 
buds will open even better in the water than they will if they remain 
in the greenhouse, while the first fiowers will keep in better condition 
than if they had remained in the heat and sunshine until the other 
flowers had opened. Potted plants should also be placed in a dark¬ 
ened greenhouse, a cool shed or a cellar when their flowers are opening. 
For transportation the flowers should be packed with a little cotton as 
tightly as possible, and they should be absolutely dry, because the least 
moisture will discolour them. Lilies properly cut can be kept for a 
fortnight without injury if they are in a place where there is no con¬ 
densation of moisture. When they show any sign of flabbiness they 
should be removed from the jars and the stems freshly cut, and they 
will shortly be as good as ever. On arrival at their destination, after 
a long shipment, they should have their stems cut and be placed in 
water in a dark cellar for half a day before using, and they will be 
greatly improved. 
- Conifers at Dropmore.—T here seems to be always much 
pleasure found by gardeners in visiting that delightful Buckingham 
garden or estate of Dropmore, where, although Mr. Frost is no longer 
head, an admirable successor is found in Mr. Charles Herrin, who, as true 
gardeners invariably do, has learned to love the place and to enter into 
all its associations with exceeding interest. Very enjoyable indeed is a 
walk round the extensive grounds with Mr. Herrin for a guide. So 
extensive are the grounds that a stranger without a guide might 
easily be lost. A guide familiar with all the chief features of the estate 
leads to those chief features, of which perhaps there are none like the 
Conifers, although just now the immense breadths of Rhododendrons 
and Azaleas are very beautiful. The grand old Araucaria, so well 
watched and cared for, it is satisfactory to know, is still without a 
blemish, and is as noble an object as ever. To get right beneath this 
immense tree and look right up through its branches gives perhaps a 
better conception of its stability than is gathered from an external 
look. The old Abies Douglasi has lost much of its grandeur, but a 
young one, said to be an early seedling from it, is fast becoming a very 
fine tree. Abies Albertiana, 50 feet high, in a conspicuous spot, is a very 
noble as well as elegant object. Several specimen Hemlock Spruce 
form beautiful objects. A fine Yew is very noble. Picea Nordmanniana 
some 60 to 70 feet high and retaining its leader; Finns insignis, looking 
like a huge Scotch Fir, some 70 to 80 feet high ; Abies Smithiana fully 
50 feet high ; Abies Menziesi, 60 feet; Cedrus atlantica, 50 feet; and 
Picea grandis, a lovely glossy green, 50 feet, are but a few of the 
splendid trees seen at Dropmore, many of them planted very wide, and 
only to be met with after a long and circuitous ramble through the 
woods. Certainly Dropmore has a soil wonderfully well suited for all 
kinds of Coniferse; and, happily, with the exception of Douglassi, few 
have suffered from winds or snow storms.—A. D. 
-Leap Mould and its Substitutes.— The usual monthly 
meeting of the Sheffield, Hallamshire, and West Riding United 
Chrysanthemum Society was held at the Museum Hotel, Orchard 
Street, Sheffield, in May, when Mr. John Haigh read an interesting 
paper on the above subject. Mr. W. K. Woodcock of Leicester occupied 
the chair. Mr. Haigh in his paper pointed out the value of leaf mould 
when properly prepared as a root-producing medium, and indicated 
some of the chief chemical elements it contained. He showed how 
much superior naturally prepared leaf mould was to that which had 
been reduced to a black humus by fermentation in large heaps. 
Reference was made to the extensive use of leaf mould in Belgium by 
the Azalea growers there, who used it as a substitute for peat, which 
was difficult to procure. Their method of preparation was to place the 
leaves together in shallow ridges, similar to swathes of mown grass, 
letting them remain with a few turnings until decayed enough for use. 
Similar methods of preparation ought to be adopted here to produce 
good leaf mould, except when it could be procured in the best condition 
from natural sources—the woods. The substitutes for leaf mould 
referred to by Mr. Haigh were cocoa-nut fibre, spent hops, and peat 
moss litter, all of which should be well decayed before being mixed 
with soil. The latter also formed an excellent manure when thoroughly 
decayed for potting purposes. The Chairman, in inviting a discussion 
on the subject, referred to the fact that a too liberal use of leaf mould 
on land year after year tended to produce an excess of humus ; also too 
freely used in the cultivation of hardwooded plants it had an injurious 
effect. He mentioned how freely Rhododendrons in borders and 
shrubberies made surface roots in the layers of naturally formed leaf 
soil. The best of all the substitutes for leaf mould was, he considered, 
cocoa-nut fibre. The market gardeners near London used spent hops 
largely, which he preferred to peat moss litter. The latter required to 
be thoroughly decomposed before being used, as it was such an absorber 
and retainer of moisture when at all fresh, and plants potted in compost 
containing it in this state were liable to become waterlogged. Several 
members followed up the discussion, including Mr. Hannah, who said 
that in the cultivation of Azaleas he used one-third of leaf soil. A vote 
of thanks to the lecturer and a similar compliment to the Chairman 
terminated the meeting. 
LIVERPOOL NOTES. 
Roseleigh, Woolton. 
When visiting Roseleigh, the residence of Lieut.-Col. Gaskell, there 
were many things of interest to notice, but prominence must certainly 
be given to a splendid stage of Calceolarias, alike for the excellence of 
the strain and for the perfect way in which they are grown. The seed 
was sown the first week in May of last year, and the plants have been 
grown very cool throughout. Some of the plants in 10-inch pots measured 
4 feet across, with plenty of stout foliage entirely free from insects. 
The strain is Webbs’ of Stourbridge, and contains beautiful seifs as well 
as spotted varieties. To see them grown in such a perfect manner says 
a great deal for the care and attention bestowed upon them by Mr. 
Kneale, the gardener. 
Auriculas in pots are also grown more extensively than in many 
places, and some pretty varieties were in flower at the time of my visit. 
Colour was lacking to some extent, but by careful fertilisation Mr. 
Kneale is getting, in a promising lot of seedlings, some of the deeper 
shades of colour he at present lacks. On the north side of a high wall 
was a beautiful sloping bank of Tulips, and as I saw them they looked 
superb. The variety was Artus, and the effect produced by the fine 
strong footstalks ar d brilliant scarlet flowers left an impression on my 
mind which is not likely soon to fade. 
Two houses are devoted to the cultivation of Tea Roses. They are 
planted out in beds, and were quite free from mildew and aphides, the 
former being completely kept under by the use of carbolic soap, and 
the latter by Campbell’s fumigating insecticide, which appears to be a 
great boon to gardeners. Beautiful buds in all stages are the reward of 
keeping them in clean order.—R. P. R, 
