June 15, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
475 
the purpose, especially by senders to markets. When abundance of 
clean springy moss can be raked up from lawns or otherwise collected 
and dried, well beaten, and thoroughly cleared of rubbish, it answers 
well, and is the cheapest material that can be had. Unfortunately 
moss is by no means generally plentiful, at least not such as may 
be said to be fit for packing soft, easily tainted fruit in. Coarse, 
earthy-smelling moss will not do, and small quantities of that 
which is suitable are of little value. Moss must be used freely 
and not gingerly. First line the boxes with sheets of packing 
paper, and then place a firm layer of moss not less than 1 inch 
thick in the bottom. Wrap each fruit in a square of tissue paper, 
bringing the points of the latter well up together over the nipple 
of the fruit, and then place in the box and completely surround 
by moss, enough of the latter being used to well divide the fruit. 
The base of each fruit ought always to rest on the bed of moss in 
the bottom of the box, and only the tips of the paper protrude 
above the same material when finishing off. The lid should press 
down rather tightly on the paper and moss, the packing being 
so firmly done as to prevent any movement inside the boxes when 
these are tested by shaking rather violently. If the packing will 
not bear this test at the outset, what state will the fruit be in after 
a certain and inevitable amount of shrinkage accompanied with 
some rough handling has taken place ? 
Paper shavings are sometimes recommended as a substitute for 
moss, but according to my experience they do not answer well, it 
being a very difficult matter to prevent the fruit shifting in them, 
and bruising accordingly. Bran is even worse, while the coarser 
kind of wood wool or shavings is too harsh, too springy, and too 
strongly scented to be suitable for packing Peaches and Nectarines 
in. More recently a superior kind of wood wool has been intro¬ 
duced, this being much softer, and if well opened out and cleared 
of dust a few hours prior to using there is no smell perceptible. 
This I am now using for Peaches and Nectarines instead of cotton 
wool as formerly, and as yet there has been no complaint either of 
the fruit travelling badly or of being tainted in flavour. I have 
hitherto found Peaches and Nectarines travel better in cotton wool 
than any other material, always provided each fruit is carefully 
enclosed in soft paper, and then bound round with folded strips of 
the wool of sufficient width and in such a manner that the latter 
shall prevent the fruits touching each other or the box. Cotton 
wool ought always to be folded skin side outwards, and even then 
should never come into contact with fruit. When returned it 
should be dried prior to being used afresh, as it is apt to become 
moist, also heating slightly, and smelling strongly. 
I now use the improved wood wool. The boxes are thickly and 
firmly padded with it, and after the fruit have been enclosed in 
squares of tissue paper each has a bandage of wood wool wound 
round it, all being gradually packed closely and neatly together. 
The box lids closing down tightly on the points of paper and upper 
part of bandage, there is no shifting of the fruit afterwards. This 
plan of bandaging the fruit will be found to answer better than 
burying them in nests formed in a well-filled box of wood wool, as 
in the latter case the elasticity of material is apt to gradually reverse 
the position of the fruit. The fewer nails used in fastening down 
the better, but the boxes may well be stringed together, and very 
plainly labelled “Fruit, with care.”— Market Grower. 
SOME GOOD ALPINES. 
Morisia iiytog^a. 
This little plant, which will ere long be eagerly sought after by 
those who wish to possess the choicest and rarest of the gems of 
the alpine flora, is not, as is generally imagined, a novelty in this 
country. It is, however, like many other plants, one which had 
apparently disappeared from our British gardens, and which has 
only recently been re-introduced. It was, I understand, figured 
in the second series of Sweet's “ British Flower Garden ; ” but as I 
have not access to that work, I am not in a position to state if the 
figure there given is a faithful representation of the plant. No 
notice of it appears in Mr. George Nicholson’s invaluable 
“Dictionary of Gardening,” but a brief reference appears in “Pax¬ 
ton’s Botanical Dictionary,” and in the old edition of the “Cottage 
Gardener’s Dictionary.” From these and other sources we learn 
that it was discovered on the Sardinian mountains by Professor 
Morris, and it is to Cassini that we owe its relegation to a separate 
genus under the name of Morisia in honour of the finder. The 
specific name hypogsea is given on account of its habit of burying 
its seed pods in the soil. Its original introduction is said to have 
been due to seeds brought from a botanic garden in Turin in 1833, 
and it is understood to have been first flowered in this country in 
1834. It appears to be quite hardy, and from its disappearance 
from this country we can only conclude that it had not become 
widely distributed. For its re-introduction I understand we are 
indebted to the recommendations of Mons. H. Correvon of the 
Jardin Alpin d’Acclimatation, Geneva. The date of its re-intro- 
duction appears to be 1890, and it is to be expected that the ease 
with which it may be propagated will ere long enable it to make 
its way rapidly to the gardens of the admirers of alpine flowers. 
Morisia hypog^a forms a dense tuft only an inch or two in 
height, formed of pretty shining green leaves. These have been 
described as runcinate, and on turning up the definition of this, 
which is that “ a leaf is said to be runcinate when it is irregularly 
lobed, the lobes gradually diminishing to the base, and hooked 
back ; ” and comparing it with a leaf from one of my plants, one 
can safely say that the term fairly describes the form of the some¬ 
what thickish leaves. The flowers, produced singly on short stems, 
are clear and bright yellow, and are nearly the size of a shilling. 
It is well, however, to state that the one defect of the plant is that 
the neat and pretty blooms have a tendency to conceal themselves 
among the foliage instead of standing boldly above it. They 
appear in April and May. As already said, it seems to be hardy, 
and judging from the test of the past winter, which was the most 
severe here for the past nine years, I have little doubt that it will 
stand the winters we generally experience. 
In my garden a small plant was put in gritty sandy peat in a 
pocket on a rockery facing south-east, and as it was unprotected, 
in order to test its hardiness, it was satisfactory to see that it 
survived, although severely “ scorched.” This plant flowered in due 
course this spring, but, judging from the character of the foliage, 
I should be disposed to place a piece of glass over the plant during 
the winter in such a manner that the air should have free access. 
A rich gritty soil is a suitable one for this Morisia, and judging 
from the way in which the roots have attached themselves to frag¬ 
ments of shells which were in the soil, it will probably be found to 
prefer limestone or chalk in the compost. It is readily increased 
by division or by cuttings ; but I have not yet ascertained if it 
ripens seed in this country. 
Linaria IIEPATIC-REOLIA. 
There are several admirable plants among the alpine Linarias, 
and the Hepatica-leaved Toadflax (Linaria hepaticaefolia) has a 
neatness and beauty all its own, which render it well worthy of a 
place in a collection of rock plants. It is, however, not very 
frequently met with, and I had some difficulty in obtaining a plant 
when it was desired some years ago. A figure of L. hepaticaefolia 
appears in Wooster’s “ Alpine Plants,” 2nd series, plate iii. 
Neither the artist nor the writer of the descriptive notice can, how¬ 
ever, be congratulated, as the plate is far from being an admirable 
representation, and the letterpress is disappointingly meagre. 
The Hepatica-leaved Toadflax is a native of Corsica, and forms 
a dense carpet of creeping foliage scarcely rising above the surface 
of the soil, and prettily bedecked with its small purple-lilac and 
white flowers, smaller and less showy than many others of the 
genus, but still very attractive. The leaves are cordate-reniform, 
three to five-lobed, and of a pleasing green colour. If grown in a 
pot or placed at the front of a ledge of the rockery the plant will 
extend until it hangs gracefully over the rock or pot. L. hepaticie- 
folia is hardy here, and is grown in sandy peat with an admixture 
of grit on a rockery facing south-west. If planted in suitable soil 
and receiving an adequate supply of moisture in dry weather in 
spring it will soon fill a good space, and will give great pleasure to 
those who see it. 
Gypsophila repens. 
In walking round my garden to-day the beauty of a plant of 
the comparatively old Gypsophila repens trailing over a slab of 
fossil limestone so impressed me that I feel it impossible to refrain 
from calling attention to it. It is now understood to be 
synonymous with G. prostrata, and the variety with which I was 
BO much delighted is the white one, which is forming a cloud 
of foliage and flower presenting the appearance of beautiful 
lacework. 
The introduction of G. cerastioides has placed this species 
somewhat in the background, but it is hardly possible that it will 
long remain neglected, and I venture to think that a large plant 
well displayed would attract much admiration in an exhibit of 
alpine flowers. G. repens is a comparatively old plant in our 
gardens, having been introduced in the latter part of the last 
century from Siberia. It is, I believe, also a native of the Alps of 
Europe. The generic name given by Linnseus is derived from the 
Greek words gypsos, lime, and philein, love, and is expressive of 
the partiality of the Gypsophilas for a calcareous soil. 
The species under notice is no exception, and should be grown 
in a light soil with a supply of chalk or limestone. It is frequently 
stated to grow about 5 or 6 inches in height, but this, while literally 
correct, is rather misleading, as the branches extend to a consider¬ 
able length, one plant here having these 18 inches in length. It 
will readily be supposed that a plant of this character is seen to 
