July 28, 1892. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
79 
- Ardisia crenulata. —This is a good plant for winter use ; 
shapely and well berried plants are sold in very large quantities, 
especially around the holidays. It has the advantage, too, of staying in 
'condition for a long time ; it is no uncommon thing for a second crop of 
berries to be maturing before the first is off the plant. Well-clothed 
plants in 4 to 6-inch pots are the favourite size .—(American Florist.') 
- Bank Holiday and the Gardeners’ Orphan Fund.— 
The Committee of the Beddington, Carshalton, and Wallington 
Horticultural Society have made arrangements to have a Flower 
■Stall for the sale of cut flowers, fruit, &c., in connection with the 
annual Flower Show and Fete, to be held in Carshalton Park on 
August Bank Holiday. The proceeds will be devoted to the above 
Fund. If the day is fine a great gathering is expected, and ample 
provisions are made for amusement and instruction. In the horti¬ 
cultural section a conference will be held under the auspices of the 
Surrey County Council, and addresses delivered by Mr. Alexander 
Dean and Mr. Edward Luckhurst, also by Mr. G. Gordon and Mr- 
J. Wright, the Judges. Carshalton is in the centre of a populous 
district, and can be reached in half an hour from London. Mr. 
G. W. Cummins, The Grange Gardens, Wallington, is the Honorary 
Secretary of the Society. 
- Aster diplostephioides.— Without fear of contradiction 
this may be said to be the finest herbaceous Aster at present known. 
Although somewhat scarce it is by no means a new plant, being 
described in De Candolle’s “ Prodromus ” for 1836 as Heterochasta 
•diplostephioides, and figured later in the“Bot. Mag.,” 109, t. 6718. 
The flowers are about 3 inches in diameter, borne singly on simple stems 
15 to 18 inches high. There are usually two series of ray florets. The 
ligules, over an inch long, are a pretty bluish purple ; the unexpanded 
•disk florets are deep purple, and the outer expanded ones showing their 
anthers, form a deep yellowish ring, making it altogether a lovely 
flower. Plants have been raised at Kew from seed sent from Sikkim, 
and a plant now flowering in the Royal Horticultural Society’s Garden 
at Chiswick was received from the Royal Gardens. The light soil at 
Kew and Chiswick seems to suit this Aster very well. The Floral 
Committee when visiting Chiswick lately awarded A. diplostephioides a 
first-class certificate.— Qrios. 
- “ PARAGUAYAN Tea.”—As the authorities of Kew have 
established a very popular Tea house, near the Chinese pagoda, in 
their beautiful gardens, there seems no reason why they should not 
introduce “ Paraguayan Tea ” to the notice of the British Tea drinker. 
In the new number of the “ Kew Bulletin ” there are some interesting 
particulars of this important shrub, which is extensively used by the 
entire population of South America. Strictly speaking it is not a Tea 
plant, but a species of the Paraguayan Ilex ; but the active principle 
in its leaves is eaffein, identical with that which is found in Tea and 
Coffee. Though closely allied with Coffee, it is stated to be slower in 
yielding up its principles to boiling water. In preparing it the leaves 
are scorched and dried while still attached to the branches brought in 
by the collectors. They are then beaten, separated, coarsely ground by 
rude mills, and packed in skins and leather bags. The leaves are 
infused in small teapots, and the Tea is sucked with a bombilla or tube 
with wire network or perforations at the bottom. Specimens of the 
shrub have long been in cultivation at Kew. 
-Technical Education in Horticulture.—D uring the 
afternoon of the 20th inst., at the Caterham Flower Show, a very 
interesting function was discharged by Mr. Halsey, J.P., Chairman of 
the Technical Education Committee of the Surrey County Council. 
Mr. Halsey having been invited to address a meeting of exhibitors 
and others in the Show tent. The particular duty which gave him 
real pleasure was the presentation of the medals awarded by the 
Royal Horticultural Society in connection with a recent examina¬ 
tion on the subjects of the horticultural lectures delivered under 
the management of Mr. J. Wright, of the Journal of Horticulture, 
in the county, and which examination was conducted by the Royal 
Horticultural Society. These medals were awarded to Mr. Morrell, 
of Carshalton, who received the largest number of marks in one 
grade, and Mr. Walter Smith, of Henley, who occupied the highest 
position in the other grade. Both these gentlemen are elementary 
school teachers, and exhibited in their papers very advanced knowledge 
in horticulture. Some disappointment was shown that the medals were 
only of bronze, as certainly very much more valuable ones were looked 
for. However, the honours remain to these gentlemen, even though the 
rewards were so comparatively inefficient.—A. D. 
- ARISTOLOCHIA GIGAS, Lind. — W. B. Latham, Curator, 
Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston, Birmingham, writes :—“ This, one of 
the most marvellous flowers of the vegetable world, is now flowering 
here. I have just taken the measurement of a flower which may be 
interesting to the readers of the Journal of Horticulture. It is as 
follows :—Flowers 14 inches across (in position), 19 inches long, tail to 
flower 37|- inches, entire length of flower from perfoliated bract at the 
end of the germen to the end of tail 60 inches. The flower is drooping, 
bent back l.ke a syphon, and has been likened to a pelican, the 
resemblance being seen to advantage in a bud state. The centre of the 
flower is a black purple with prominent veins radiating to the margin, 
mottled throughout with purple on a white ground. We are indebted 
to the authorities of the Royal Gardens, Kew, for the reintroduction of 
this remarkable plant after being lo3t to cultivation many years, and 
also for presenting a specimen to this Society, and by so doing giving the 
people of the Midlands an opportunity of seeing this wonderful West 
Indian plant.” 
- Lobelia Maid of Moray.—O n page 30 of your issue for 
July 14th your correspondent, Mr. Molyneux, draws attention to the 
beautiful dwarf bedding Lobelia above named, which he calls a striking 
novelty. Striking it undoubtedly is, but a novelty it can hardly be 
correctly called. It was sent out last year under this name by a leading 
firm of Edinburgh nurserymen, and being a great admirer of this family 
I sent for a dozen plants, but when they bloomed I at once said that 
it was identical with what was sent out many years previously by the 
well known German firm of Pfitzer of Stuttgart, under the name of 
Svvabishe Madchen or Suabian Maiden. Its habit is all that your 
correspondent says, and if it were but a little more free blooming it 
would be quite an acquisition. Messrs. Cannell, of Swanley, sent me 
last year under the name of Picotee another Lobelia of exactly similar 
habit of growth and with flowers of a rather lighter hue, which forms 
a very pretty companion to the Maid of Moray or Suabian Maiden. 
I am also much pleased with another beautifully compact and dwarf 
growing Lobelia named Little Dot sent out this year by Mr. W. B. 
Hartland of Cork, which is a much freer bloomer than either of the 
above named varieties, and promises to be a great acquisition. Its 
flowers are a rich deep shade of blue.— Boscobel. 
- Bamboos at Kew. —We gather from the “ Kew Bulletin ” 
that owing to the collection of hardy Bamboos and allied plants having 
outgrown the space allotted them in the beds near the temperate house, 
a new garden has been made for them in the wood near the Rhodo¬ 
dendron dell. This garden is in the form of a shallow depression with 
sloping banks 12 feet wide and a central pear-shaped bed 125 feet by 
75 feet. To make it, the surface soil had to be removed and the gravel 
taken out to a depth of about 3 feet. A large quantity of new soil and 
manure was added, so that the Bamboos have now a good depth of rich 
soil. Two new paths leading to the Bamboo garden have been made, 
one from the Syon vista and the other from the Stafford walk. The 
Bamboos planted in the gardens are :—Arundinaria Fortunei (Bambusa 
Fortunei), A. japonica (Bambusa Metake), Bambusa albo-striata, 
B. gracilis, B. nana (Hort), B. palmata, B. plicata, B. pumila, B. tessellata, 
B. Veitchi, Pbyllostachys bambusoides, P. nigra, P. Quilloi (Bambusa 
Quilloi), P. violescens (Bambusa violescens), P. viridi - glaucescens 
(Bambusa viridi - glaucescens), Thamnocalamus Falconeri (Bambusa 
Falconeri), and several others unnamed. Besides Bamboos it contains 
such plants as Arundo, Eulalia, Crinum, Funkia, Yucca, &c. It is also 
intended to bring together in this garden a number of the coarser 
growing monocotyledonous plants which can be grown in the open air 
at Kew. 
- Ellam’s Early Cabbage.—T hrough the announcement of 
the death of Mr. J. Ellam, formerly head gardener at Cliveden, which 
took place at Oxford on the 17th inst., we are reminded that, far more 
fortunate than many other horticulturists, Mr. Ellam has left behind a 
memorial the which will presumably long endure, in the small early 
Cabbage which bears his name. It is unusual good fortune for the 
raiser of any good thing thus to have his name so closely identified 
with it as is the name of Ellam with this Cabbage. How many 
distinguished horticulturists have raised fine products of which the 
reputation of the product only lives, whilst that of the originator has 
been lo9t absolutely ? How many a good gardener has had his name 
associa'ed with some florist’s flower, but which, being popular 
for a year or two, has soon been buried in oblivion ? Such is fame 
when allied to floriculture. Mr. Ellam was more fortunate. His name 
will long be borne in pleasant remembrance because it is associated 
with such an excellent vegetable as is this early Cabbage, and which 
