Pebraary 28,1895. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
193 
once, and the young plants flowered in small pots, wili, if rested for two 
or three months, also supply flowers during the autumn, but the result to 
my mind is not so satisfactory as that attained when one or two-year- 
old tubers are employed.— Geo. Pareant, Ashby Lodge, Rugby. 
RHODODENDRON TRIELORUM. 
A CORRESPONDENT desires information about this Ehododendron, 
and probably the note appended with the illustration (fig. 36) will be of 
assistance to him. 
This is a rare and very curious species, discovered by Sir J. D. Hooker 
in Sikkim, Himalaya. The colour is yellow, and the florets are not 
unlike those of Azalea pontica. The habit of the plant, however, is 
evergreen, and the backs of the leaves are profusely sprinkled with 
scales, bringing it more into aflSnity with R. ciliatum, glaucum, and 
cinnabarinum. It seldom flowers as a small plant, which is a drawback ; 
but, on the other hand, it is perfectly hardy, blooming too late in the 
season to be affected by the spring frosts, 
WORN-OUT ORCHARD TREES. 
This was the subject of a paper read before the members of the 
Brighton and Sussex Horticultural Society at their monthly meeting on 
Thursday, February 2l8t, by Mr. A. M. Kemp, gardener to C. S. S. 
Dickens, Esq., Coolhurst. 
Mr. Kemp in the first place described the state of an old orchard 
which came under his charge about seven years ago. The trees had 
been pruned to keep them from spreading outward, but the centres 
were full of dead and dying wood, the branches moss-grown. They bore 
but little fruit, and that little was so small as to be practically worthless. 
To remedy this miserable state of affairs the dead wood and cross 
branches were taken out, leaving the centres open and the main branches 
evenly disposed. The trees were then cleaned and washed with a 
mixture of lime and soot. To restore fertility a very cheap and effectual 
remedy was found in the rubbish heap. A little lime is added to this, 
and the whole turned over occasionally. Since starting operations this 
mixture has been liberally used as a top-dressing in the autumn or 
winter, and in addition sewage water has been applied. 
The result of this treatment has proved most satisfactory. The 
trees have made clean, well-ripened wood, and now bear good crops of 
clean, fully developed fruit. In proof of this Mr. Kemp showed dishes 
of fruit of the leading sorts in splendid condition, pointing out that 
he had brought duplicate dishes to show the superiority of the fruits 
gathered from the young wood over those from the old spurs. 
Some discussion followed, and in reply to a question as to how the 
fruit had been kept in such fine condition, Mr. Kemp stated that they 
had been kept on the floor of an old summer house in heaps as they were 
gathered from the trees, there being no boards, straw, or anything of a 
nature to absorb the moisture from them. The room is ventilated, and 
a fire is lit in an ordinary fireplace when there is danger of frost getting 
in. A hearty vote of thanks was given to Mr. Kemp for his paper. The 
Chairman, Mr. Balchin, in putting it to the meeting, remarked that 
Mr. Kemp’s success might lead others to consider whether they will 
not be doing better by trying similar treatment of exhausted Apple 
trees.—R. I. 
CULTURE OF DAPHNE INDICA. 
Few of our intermediate or greenhouse flowering plants possess a 
more agreeable perfume, or call for greater admiration, than healthy 
well grown plants of Daphne indica rubra or alba. A common error 
into which many people, fail is in thinking that the only way to succeed 
with the Daphne is to grow grafted plants, the stock used mostly being 
Daphne Laureola, whereas fine bushes may be produced from cuttings, 
although I admit that larger plants may sooner be obtained by grafting. 
In many places old plants will have gone out of flower, and if placed 
in a genial temperature will be pushing out new shoots in abundance. 
These when about or 3J inches long and fairly matured should be 
taken with a heel, inserting four cuttings, in a SJ-inch pot, using a light 
compost with a surfacing of silver sand. Carefully water them through a 
fine rose, and remove to a cool greenhouse. In about six weeks with careful 
attention they may be introduced into heat—a little bottom heat if 
possible—when they will soon begin to emit roots. When ready for 
potting carefully crock some small pots, as nothing suffers sooner from 
being waterlogged, using peat and leaf mould in equal proportions as 
the compost. Place in a house with a fair amount of heat and moisture, 
pinching out the points when fairly on the move, as this will induce 
them to break, and lay the foundation for a good plant. 
If strict attention has been paid to the young plants they will pro¬ 
bably be ready for a second shift about the end of July or early in 
August, using pots 1 or 2 inches larger, the compost being three parts good 
fibrous peat, with a little fibrous loam and leaf mould, and a liberal part 
of coarse silver sand. In the autumn a cooler temperature will suit 
them. In February they may be introduced into more heat, when they 
will readily break into growth. The secret in securing fine sturdy plants 
is to give the heat in the spring and the early summer. By so doing 
the growths are strong and the buds scon set. The plants enjoy a season of 
rest during the waning months of the year, and readily respond to the 
warmth, and can then be brought forward as required. We have one 
large specimen some 5 feet 6 inches high and 4 feet through, which 
stands in the conservatory during the Chrysanthemum season. It is in 
splendid condition, although it has not been potted for fourteen years, 
a top-dressing each season is all it seems to require. For two weeks in 
August and all September it is placed in the open air. 
The only insect injurious to the Daphne is the mealy bug. If not 
removed this pest will find its way into the trusses of flower, rendering 
them almost worthless. Syringing a few times with one of the many 
insecticides in the spring will in nearly every case do away with it. 
—R. P. R. 
FORTY DEGREES BELOW ZERO. 
The extraordinary severity of our recent winter may incline many 
to ask, “ If it is like this at 15° or 20° of frost, what must it be 40° or 50°, 
or even 70° below zero ? What must it be in the Arctic regions ? ’’ And 
as regards the Arctic regions, at any rate, the question is not an idle 
one. The object of Arctic exploration is mainly scientific ; its records 
are written in a scientific spirit and in scientific terms ; and such 
natural illustrations of the action of Arctic cold as do occur are so 
easily lost sight of amidst the mass of purely scientific data as to be of 
little value to the general reader. Yet without some knowledge of their 
practical bearing the figures, “ 40 below ” or “ 70 below ” convey to the 
mind next to nothing. 
Now, I was never in the Arctic regions, so can say nothing about the 
practical aspect of Arctic cold at its worst. The 70|^° below zero 
recorded by the “ Discovery ” in 1875, which stood at that time as “the 
greatest cold ever experienced by any Polar expedition,’’ is a good 
deal beyond my figure. But of 40° below zero I do know something, 
since for six successive winters I lived where that figure is invariably 
reached and sometimes passed. A few homely illustrations of a North 
Dakota winter may prove not uninteresting, and ought to give a more 
vivid impression of the action of intense cold than can be gained from 
thermometrical records alone. 
Generally speaking, winter in North Dakota sets in during the latter 
part of November, and begins to break up in April. The lakes and 
sloughs are soon fit to walk on, and the ice continues to increase in 
thickness as the winter progresses. Occasional warm, balmy days occur 
throughout the winter, but these do little to retard the steady progress 
of the frost. In this country we reckon the thickness of ice by inches ; 
in North Dakota by feet. Six inches is in Great Britain of extremely 
rare occurrence. In North Dakota I have myself cut ice on Devil’s Lake 
which was 6 feet thick. The ground freezes to a depth of 7 feet, and I 
have lifted fence-posts out of the ground late in the summer which at 
the end were covered with hard, frosty earth. Indeed, it is doubtful if 
the frost is ever fairly out of the ground. 
Wells, which in the Devil’s Lake region generally vary from 20 to 
40 feet in depth, freeze over unless covered in on the top. During keen 
weather water freezes almost as quickly as it is drawn up, and the 
buckets after a few applications have to be taken in and thawed out. 
Water poured on ice during such weather makes it crack and split like 
lime. Metal when touched seems red-hot, and the unwary one who 
