May 3,1394. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
343 
- Embothrium coccineum.—M r. S. Clarke, Trengwainton 
hardens, Penzance, writes :—“ I enclose you a few pieces of Embothrium 
coccineum to show how well this plant flowers in the open in West 
Cornwall.” [We received blooms of this beautiful plant from Cornwall 
last summer, and an engraving of them appeared in the Journal of 
Horticulture for June 22nd, 1893 ] 
- Polygonum sachaliense as a Fodder Plant.—A daily 
contemporary states that Lord Moreton is growing the Giant Knotweed 
(Polygonum sachaliense) with a view to test its utility as a fodder 
plant. As it grows vigorously on comparatively poor soils, and is not 
materially affected by drought, it is also being planted extensively in 
many parts of Ifrance, where it is stated the succulent shoots are much 
appreciated by cattle. 
- Fruit Prospects in the South. — With the recurring 
showers vegetation of all descriptions has assumed its most luxurious 
aspect. It is averred by old cultivators in the district round and about 
Swanwick in the south of .Hampshire that there will be a heavy crop of 
Plums ; the trees are free from blight owing to the washing they have 
had. Pears and Apples, too, have set well, and the all-important 
Strawberry beds are looking grand, many flowers being fully expanded. 
- The Wakefield Paxton Society.—A t the meeting of the 
Wakefield Paxton Society, held last Saturday evening, the Rev. F. D. 
Horner of Kirkby Lonsdale lectured on “The Florist Tulip : its Prospects 
and Diseases.” It is almost needless to say that it was treated in a 
masterly style. The chair was occupied by Alderman Milnes, and Mr. 
Herbert Chapman was in the vice-chair. After the lecture a long 
■discussion ensued, in which Messrs. George Gill, W. Mellor, Jesse 
Hardwick, W. Hudson, and others took part. The large audience 
accorded a very hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Horner. 
- Irish Correspondence.— Would you kindly allow me as a 
constant reader and occasional correspondent of the Journal of Ilorti- 
■culture ioT many years, to ask your intelligent correspondent “ E. K., 
Dublin,'’ who usually writes with much accuracy, grace, and felicity, 
to avoid in his Irish notes such expressions as “ Paddy,” “ praties,” and 
alleged colloquial phrases as “ niver,” calculated to bring Irishmen into 
contempt, and which do not adorn gardening literature, and that 1 have 
never heard in Dublin, though a resident for years there. I am 
sure “ E. K.’’ would not willingly hurt any of our countrymen.— 
W. J. Murphy', Clonmel. 
- The Vanity op Sparrows. — “Suburban” writes: —“Some 
months ago you recorded in the Journal of Horticulture an amusing 
so-called incident of the ’cuteness of sparrows in America. As a parallel 
to that story the following which has been going the rounds of the 
press may be printed for what it is worth.” “ A correspondent says his 
daughter w'rites to him from Bangalore that she is ‘obliged to cover up 
her looking-glass with a towel, for the sparrows come in, sit on the 
frame, and tap at themselves, making both glass and dressing-table in a 
horrid mess. At first, the towel kept them away ; but they were always 
on the watch, and if anyone removed the towel they would be there in a 
minute. But now they hold back the towel with one claw, hold 
themselves on with the other, and peck away at their images.’ ” Oh ! 
those sparrows I 
- Toads and Woodlice. —Mr. J. S. Upex, Wigganthorpe, York, 
writes :—“ I do not know if there are many gardeners who make use 
of toads, but they might do so to their advantage, for they are very 
useful in helping to reduce the number of woodlice, ants, beetles, and 
even worma in glass houses and frames. I have found them most useful 
where w' 0 ( d I ice are numerous, as a great deal of harm is done to the 
young stems of Cucumber and Melon plants, also to the fruit where the 
plants are gniwn in frames, by their eating holes in the stems and on 
the under sides of the fruit. The woodlice are more numerous where 
the plants are grown on beds of manure, as this forms a good harbour 
for them, and some means must be used to get rid of them. There are 
fleveral modes of trapping them, such as small flower pots containing a 
little moss, flat pieces of partly decayed wood, hollow stems, or pieces of 
hayband* laid about the beds or where they congregate, all of which 
causes more or less trouble, but a toad introduced will soon reduce them, 
and is a very simple remedy. Toads may not altogether free a house 
or frame of woodlice, but I know from experience that they are a good 
help, for in one of my situations where Cucumbers and Melons were 
largely grown in frames, toads found about the garden were brought 
and put in itie frames. Those who may not have tried this remedy are 
advised to give it a trial. They are also very useful in stoves, Orchid, 
or other plant houses where ants are troublesome.” 
- The Pine Apple Abroad.—A ci rding to the statistics of the 
last year the Pine Apple ranks far above the Banana or the Fig, and not 
much below the Lemon in value as a domestic crop. More than 2000 
acres are devoted to its cultivation in Florida, says an American con¬ 
temporary, and the estimates of the new crop from that State are fixed 
at something like 50,000 crates. The value of the crop last year was 
something like £180,000, and almost an equal amount was imported from 
Cuba and the Bahamas. The supply is now continuous throughout the 
year, while a few years ago it was only known as a fresh fruit in a few 
seaboard cities during a few months. 
- The Linden Tree. —According to an American contemporary, 
the bark of the Linden tree plays a singularly important part in the 
domestic economy of the Russian peasant. It is made into a sort of 
matting, which is used for bags of all kinds, the best and heaviest being 
reserved to contain flour; and also into sandals, which are so universally 
worn that some 10,000,000 pairs are required each year. For sandal¬ 
making strips of the bark of saplings are employed, and, as it takes 
the bark of about four saplings to form a single pair, the destruction 
wrought by this one industry can easily be imagined. The young trees 
are stripped in the spring or early summer, when they are full of sap. 
- Daffodils. — Out of several thousand bulbs of Daffodils, 
with two exceptions, I have had only a dozen flowers. The exceptions 
were on one clump in a shaded position, and another clump, the 
bulbs of which were lifted in July last for presentation. A number of 
them were exposed to the weather until September, and these flowered 
well—two blooms to each bulb. How is it that these bulbs flowered 
so freely after being exposed as they were to the sun so long ? I am 
inclined to think that the wet season we experienced in the north early 
in the year had something to do with the majority of Daffodils not 
flowering. The excessive rains prevented other plants flowering.—W. T. 
- Artificial Edelweiss. — It appears from an article in a 
recent issue of “ Nature Notes ” that the tourist in Switzerland who is 
anxious to take a piece of Edelweiss home with him is often imposed 
upon by a sham plant, for which he pays a good price, and is, therefore, 
saved the trouble of collecting or cultivating the real thing. The 
artificial blossom is made of the white woollen felt material of which 
the coats of the Austrian soldiers are made. When cut into strips this 
resembles the characteristic upper leaves of the plant, particularly 
when the colour is somewhat mellowed by exposure. These strips of 
cloth are carefully cut out and skilfully attached to a stock of any 
weed that comes handy and which has a superficial resemblance to the 
Edelweiss in habit. The specimen is then pressed and dried, and the 
pious fraud is complete. 
- Wallflowers.—I was much interested in seeing a very 
attractive show of common single Wallflowers growing in the Canbury 
Gardens at Kingston recently, because so quaintly intermixed. 
Possibly the whole were the product of a special mixture, or the plants 
may have been raised from small packets of diverse sorts or colours, 
but the effect was interesting and pleasing. There were, of course, 
numerous representatives of the popular market blood-red variety, the 
earliest and richest breed of all Wallflowers. Then there were some 
that had petals of the ancient bizarre, or mixed hues of red and yellow, 
in all sorts of markings. There were also the tall Golden Gem, a very 
attractive yellow ; the dwarfer, stouter, and much deeper hued Bedfont 
Yellow, also some of the still dwarfer bright yellow Belvoir Yellow, a 
strain that needs hard selection to keep it true to character ; and last 
there were plants, though fewer, of the new cream or pallid sulphur 
form called Primrose Dame. This is the most unsatisfactory one of all, 
because at present the hue is what may well be called sickly or washy. 
If it should eventually lead to the production of a good white variety, 
then all lovers of Wallflowers, and they are legion, will hail its appear¬ 
ance with satisfaction. I do not think we need despair of getting such 
a floral rarity, as I observe that on some plants the flowers are very 
pale and come near to what we call a French white. To save seed 
from such a mixture of sorts would be folly, indeed I have found few 
hardy flowers, the which, to preserve them true to form, need greater 
isolation from each other. A bed of yellows will demoralise the blood- 
reds, and the latter will do the same for the yellows. That very much 
more might be done to ensure perfect depth of colouration in the red 
strain there can be no doubt. Those who noticed the large market 
breadths this spring, all of which went off to bloom so early, may have 
seen perhaps a plant in every hundred of perfect self tints. These 
isolated from the rest would, of course, give a much truer blood-red 
stock.—A. D. 
