276 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April S, 1888. 
birds from injuring the fruit and will be very useful in retarding 
Peaehes, Nectarines, and Apricots, although Plums and Pears are, of 
course, the principal fruits to place in it. These should be plunged in a 
border specially prepared for them, the pots being covered with light 
manure and watered occasionally with liquid manure. The trees would 
pay for the protection, as they will never cease to bear. 
(To be continued.) 
BULBS IN HOLLAND. 
A DECEMBER SHOW. 
Aifoxct the many varieties of bulbous plants cultivated in Holland 
during recent years so much attention has not been paid to those 
which may be forced very early as might have been desirable. The aim 
has always been to have large flowers, and those are not always found 
among the earliest. For many purposes, however, early flowers are 
wanted, and there is now a tendency among growers to give more 
attention to them than before. In January last a show of flowering 
Hyacinths and Tulips was held in Overveen, near Haarlem, which 
succeeded fairly well. At the general meeting of the General Royal 
Union for the cultivation of flower roots, held on the 2fith ult. at 
Haarlem, it was decided to hold a show of flowering bulbous and 
tuberous-rooted pl.ants on December 24th, 25th, and 26th, 1883. The 
previous programme, which was discussed and enlarged at the said 
general meeting, contains forty classf s—viz., for Hyacinths and Tulips 
in pots or glasses, for Crocus, Narcissus, Amaryllis, Orchids, Anthuriums, 
Cyclamens, and for miscellaneous bulbs and tubers for the open ground, 
as well as for glass houses, novelties included. As this exhibition is 
principally undertaken for the benefit of the trade and for study, there 
will be no medals or money prizes given, but certificates of the first, 
8'cond, and third class. By this Exhibition the varieties fit for early 
forcing, not sufficiently known at present, can be put in advance’ 
and in consequence become more appreciated bj’ growers. 
THE TRADE IN CUT FLOWERS. 
In July last year communications appeared in your Journal on this 
subject. The General Royal Union for the Cultivation of Flower Roots 
at Haarlem have resolved to do everj'thing possible to stop the sale of 
cut flow'ers, considered so very injurious to the bulb trade, and the reso¬ 
lutions for this purpose were adopted at the sixty-eighth general meeting 
of the Society, which took place on January 30th last, and were confirmed 
at the sixty-ninth general meeting, held on the 26th ult. The results 
communicated of the operations of the Society showed that 2081 bulb- 
grovvers and tradesmen had signed the declaration not to sell any cut 
flowers of Hyacinths, Tulips, Narcissus, Ranunculus, and Anemones for 
trade, and not to deal with those who sell such flowers, or who refuse to 
sign such declaration. The number of such sig natures increases daily. 
On the contrary, there were only 107 names on the list of those who 
refused to sign, and there is every probability that this number will 
yet decrease. From these facts it may be concluded that the measures 
taken have received general sympathy.-J. H. Keelage, Preudent of 
the Gemral Royal Union for the Cultivation of Floioer Roots. 
JUDGING FRUIT BY APPEARANCE. 
SuEELY Mr. Ward is mistaken in saying that you can judge of the 
quality of known varieties of Apples and Rears by sight alone. My own 
experience tells me that many well known varieties of both Apples and 
Pears may be of first rate quality or perfectly uneatable, or anything 
between the two, without there being the slightest apparent difference 
whatever between them. To name one instance, Beurre Bose grown 
here on a wall sometimes ripens and is of fine quality, and sometimes is 
fit only for stewing, is never the same two seasons together in fact; yet 
it is always equally fine and well grown to look at. The same thing 
is more or less true of all other fruits. There is no such thing 
as perfect uniformity in quality even in Grapes, although they may 
come near it. So that if the object of judging fruit at shows be to pro¬ 
mote (luality in fruit and not sham and show, I do not see how it is to 
be done without tasting fruits ; but it should be remembered that even 
then it is a most imperfect test of real merit, which can only (at least in 
the case of Apples and Pears) be found out by tasting them every two 
or three days during the whole time that they are in season.—C. W. 
Steicklaed, Ilildenly. 
NEWTON’S PATENT GLAZING. 
Ik the Journal of JforficuJture, March 1.5th, page 224, I was very 
pleased to see the lemarks by Mr G. R. Allis on Nevvtou’s | atent system 
of glazing. We have a house 32 feet by 12 feet, span-roofed, with 
partition erected by Mr. E. Newton, and I have seen none to equal it 
for lightness and strength. The heavy rains and wind of late have 
given it a very fair test, but not a drop of rain has been .seen to come 
through owing to the small gutter in the galvanised iron sashbans. 
Neither can any draught be detected, which 1 have proved when the 
wind almost blew a hurilcane. The temperature is all that can be 
desired ; for instance, on March 21st, at !).30 P.M.. the temperature out¬ 
side was 6° below freeeing, and inside without any artificial heat it was 
3° above freezing.— Hekey Shoebeidge, juk.* The Limes Gardens, 
Cor haltrn, Surrey. 
TANKS IN ORCHID HOUSE?. 
It was mentioned recently in some notes respecting Mr. R. H. 
Measures’ collection of Orchids at Streatham that numerous “zinc” 
tanks were employed for retaining the rainfall. Mr. Measures 
states that they are nearly all galvanised iron and that he has a 
decided objection to zinc tanks. Upon several occasions when the 
water from an old zinc tank had been supplied to the Orchids in one 
of the houses, the foliage soon assumed an unhealthy appearance, 
especially the more delicate, such as Phalaenopsis, but they quickly 
recovered when water from other tanks was given to them. It was. 
carefully tested, and the evidence was so conclusive against the 
zinc tank that the water it contains is never supplied direct to the 
plant.—C. 
SALE? BY AUCTION. 
Amateurs in London probably do not require a word of warning, 
respecting the auction sales of Orchids, but there may be others 
who like myself are unversed in the peculiarities of this business 
and to whom the following note may be useful. I recently visited 
an auction room with a friend who had a somewhat valuable Orchid 
for sale, and for which a substantial sum was expected. The bidding, 
appeared to be brisk, and the amount offered rapidly rose to £12, 
and by the time the auctioneer had made a few remarks respecting 
what a bargain it was at the price the bidding had reached £16. 
at which price it was knocked down. Shortly afterwards I 
turned to congratulate my friend upon the good price obtained, 
when he informed me the plant was unsold, and that there were no 
bids above £10. Query, how was the amount raised to £16 ? Did 
the auctioneer bid or did he imagine that others did ? Whatever 
the cause, the result was misleading.— Ak Orchid Am.\tecr. 
VANILLA. 
The following interesting particulars concerning the cultivation and 
fertilisation of the Vanilla are extracted from the “ Kew Bulletin ” for 
March. The iilustration (fig. 36) is also from the sanie publication, 
Mr. Thiselton Dyer having obliged us with the use of the block. 
The cultivation of Vanilla has been attempted in numerous’ 
tropical Colonies, but, with the sole exception of Mauritius and the 
Seychelles, it does not appear to have assumed an important position in 
any British Colony. This is due to a variety of circumstances. In some 
Colonies the climate may be unsuited to the successful growth of the 
plant, owing to seasons of extreme severity in droughts or heavy rains. 
In others the soil may be too retentive. In most of them, the need 
which exists for artificially fertilising the flowers of Vanilla, and the 
care necessary to properly cure the pods, have, no doubt, contributed te 
retard the cultivation. There are, however, no valid reasons why the 
cultivation of Vanilla in certain portions at least of the West Indian 
Colonies, of British Honduras, of the West African Settlements, of 
India, Ceylon, and the Straits Settlements should not be successfully 
pursued. With that view, plants of Manilla have heen forwarded from 
Kew to certain Colonies where they did not previously exist, and it is- 
proposed now to give very briefly the chief points bearing upon the 
industry. 
The Vanilla plant is an Orchid of climbing habit, of which there are 
probably several species under cultivation. The more common plant 
appears to be Vanilla planifolia, Andr. (V. claviculata, Sw.'). Other 
species under cultivation are V. aromatica. Sic. and V. grandiflora. 
Rich. The Botany of the plants yielding Vanilla requires to be 
carefully investigated. The specimens in the Kew herbarium in their 
present state throw little light on the subject. Hence, a good serie.s 
of leaves, flowers, and fruits of plants yielding Vanilla, carefully dried 
or preserved in spirit, would be a valuable addition to the collections. 
It appears that Selenipedium Chica, Rohh. f. (Xenia Orchidacea, 
vol. i., p. 3, t. 2) yields Vanilla on the Isthmus of Panama, which is- 
describe:! by Seeman (“ Botany of Herald,” p. 21.5), as follows ;—■ 
“ The fruit of this plant is highly esteemed as an aromatic by the- 
inhabit.ints of the Isthmus [Panama], and is used for all purposes for 
which real Vanilla is commonly used. It is termed ‘ Vanilla Chica,’ or 
‘ Little Vanilla,’ because its fruit is very much smaller than that of any 
of the genus Vanilla found in the Isthmus.” 
Cultivation .—As regards starting a Vanilla plantation, it is im¬ 
portant to bear in mind that the plants, being climbers, it is necessary 
to provide them with support of some kind, and generally, for this 
purpose, rough-barked trees, trellis-work, stone pillars, or stone walls are 
utilised. Living stems of rough-bark trees are probably the best 
supports of Vanilla. In M auritius, the Seychelles, and Rchrnion, the stems 
of Jatropha Curcas are largely used. In addition to support, the Vanilla 
plants require a certain amount of shade. This, however, should not 
