Angust 6, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
109 
-A Welsh gardener writes : —“Gros Colman Grape ripens 
earlier with us on its own roots than when grafted on Foster’s Seedling. 
I think it is rather singular that this should be so, as one would think the 
early stock of Foster’s would produce ripe fruit first, hut such is not the 
case. The two are growing side by side and show the diflerence very 
markedly. The berries on the Foster’s, however, are much the finer and 
promise to be much larger than any we have ever had on the Colman 
root. I consider Foster’s Seedling a good stock on which to work almost 
any kind of Grape.” 
- Pittosporuh Tobira. — Mr. A. Young writes :—“ In Mr. 
Balchin’s nursery at Cliftonville, Brighton, the above old, beautiful, and 
highly scented Japanese shrub has lately been flowering most freely in 
the open air. It has been planted out for several years. Any greenhouse 
shrub which will succeed in the open air in this country is always regarded 
with additional interest, and probably the above instance may induce 
others to give this plant a ;rial if they have a sheltered position in which 
to plant it.” 
-“ Lancastrian ” writes :—“ Phlox Mrs. Downie, white with a 
crimson eye, is decidedly one of the most beautiful light-flowered early- 
flowering Phloxes in cultivation. It does not exceed 18 inches in height, 
and produces large branching heads of bloom for fully half that length 
and nearly as wide through. This is more especially the case from young 
plants propagated from cuttings last September. Old plants do not pro¬ 
duce quite such large heads of bloom, but a dozen or more flowering 
shoots from a stool are most striking when in flower either for the her¬ 
baceous border or for dotting at the front of shrubs.” 
-The same correspondent observes that Pentstemon Mrs. Hey- 
wood, a variety sent out by Mr. Downie of Edinburgh in 1883, is a 
remarkably fine light variety. The flowers are white, tipped at the back 
with rose, which gives them a striking and very pleasing shade of colour- 
It is a remarkably dwarf-growing variety, not more than 14 inches high, 
free, and a good grower, and one of the most profuse flowerers amongst 
these plants known. It grows quickly, comes into flower before the 
majority of varieties, while the flowers individually are large and closely 
placed upon the spike. It makes a beautiful bed planted by itself, or is 
very suitable for edging a border or large bed of taller and darker 
varieties. 
- A practical gardener writes :—“ Mr. W. Bardney, at page 225 
and “ A Working Gardener,” at page 250, called attention to the inade¬ 
quate arrangements generally provided for Cleansing Boilers. Some 
time since I had an opportunity of inspecting an arrangement of pipes by 
an eminent firm of hot-water engineers, and they had provided excellently 
for getting rid of the dirt that is apt to accumulate in the pipes, and that 
was by the means of a sledge box about 2 feet 6 inches in length and 
4 inches square. A cap was fitted in the bottom so as to provide means 
for cleaning it out. This box was cast on the last length of the return 
pipe. By this arrangement the dirt fell into the receptacle provided for 
it without entering the boiler.” 
-It is stated that the Jerusalem Artichoke is being extensively 
cultivated in Belgium, as by a new process of distillation some 8 per cent, 
of alcohol can be obtained from its tubers. More than 3500 acres of poor, 
almost waste land, around Antwerp will this year be cropped with the 
plant. The residue after distillation is nutritious. France is thus also 
in the way of cultivating large stretches of her poor thin, chalky, and 
schistose soils with this new crop. Artichokes are now being cultivated 
alike in Iowa and Arisona as a material for fattening pork. In field 
culture they are replanted once in two years. An Iowa farmer finds one 
or two acres sufficient for quite a large herd of hogs. 
- A Chester correspondent informs us of a rich display of flowers 
on the premises of Messrs. F. and A. Dickson & Sons on the occasion of 
the musical festival in the old city, goes on to say, “ I found amidst the 
floral beauties and novelties on show a splendid specimen of Vanda 
SanderianA grown by Arthur Potts, Esq., of Hoole Hall. It is so 
seldom that one sees this beautiful Orchid that a sight of its glory was 
as welcome to me as a patch of Ophrys aranifera would be to a British 
Orchis hunter when in search of something out of the common. The 
Roses at the Upton Nurseries are still fine at present, and I was informed 
that Messrs. F. and A. Dickson & Sons allow visitors the privilege of 
walking through their beautiful grounds on application.” 
-We are informed that 11 Phormium tenax variegatum is now 
flowering in the gardens of J. F. Eltringham, Esq., Westoe, South Shields 
It has a spike 10 feet high, with twelve racemes ; the colour is attractive, 
between coral and brown. It is in a 16-inch pot, and has not been potted 
for four years. It contains an exudation of a sweet and agreeable flavour. 
Outside some beds have been recently planted with Roses, which were 
doing very well, considering that they are within a mile of two large 
chemical factories. The glass structures contained excellent plants, 
reflecting credit on the gardener, Mr. Chas. Wood.” 
- A Gravesend correspondent writes “ A remarkable migra¬ 
tion of aphides has been taking place in this and other parts of Kent 
during the last ten days, which may have come under your notice. In 
fact, on a visit to London last Thursday I found the insects were passing 
through several metropolitan districts, indicating that this migration has 
extended over a broad area of country. So abundant have the insects 
been on some days that they proved a nuisance to by-passers, entering 
the eyes, ears, and mouth. This is not one of the two great periods of 
aphis migration (May and September usually), and I apprehend these 
swarms have been started by the absence of sap in their food, due to the 
dry weather.” 
- Lord Napier Nectarine.— In looking through a friend’s garden 
a few days ago we noticed a tree of this fine Nectarine in grand condition 
growing against the back wall of a lean-to vinery. The crop was nearly 
taken at the time of our visit, but a sufficient number of large highly 
coloured fruits remained on the tree to demonstrate what an excellent 
variety it is in every respect even when grown under somewhat adverse 
conditions as regards light. In the same garden we noticed a tree of the 
same variety growing in a lean-to cool Peach house, and trained to a 
trellis within as many inches of the glass as the one mentioned above is 
feet, carrying an immense crop of large and, as might be expected, finely 
coloured fruit, to swell which the tree, in common with all the trees in 
the same house, is given a liberal and frequent surface-dressing of 
Beeson’s manure, in addition to copious supplies of liquid manure being 
applied to the roots at short intervals. Thus by liberal feeding at the 
roots heavy crop3 of large fruits are annually secured without in any way 
enfeebling the trees, as the fine condition of the latter fully testifies. 
- Fuchsia Rose of Castile as a Wall Plant. —Mr. H. W. Ward 
writes :—“ We have a plant of this old favourite free-flowering Fuchsia, 
which covers a trellis on one of the division walls in our conservatory with 
a profusion of large flowers, the tube and sepals of which are white, shaded 
with pink, and the corolla puce. Just now, and indeed for nine months out 
of the twelve, this plant attracts the attention of all visitors. Early in 
spring every year—for the plant is an old one—the shoots are thinned out 
and shortened back a little, the soil at the roots reduced, and the plant 
repotted in three parts of light sandy loam, and one of horse droppings 
and leaf mould, with a dash of sharp sand to render the whole somewhat 
porous. Water is given to the roots after the plant is potted, and the 
shoots syringed every morning and afternoon during bright weather until 
the flowers begin to open, when it is discontinued and copious supplies of 
liquid manure is given to the roots, and all seed-pods are kept persistently 
picked off so as not to unnecessarily waste the energies of the plant in 
that direction. A couple of years ago we saw some arches and pillars 
which were rendered interesting objects in one of the houses (since 
remodelled) in the gardens of Bagshot Park, the seat of His Royal 
Highness the Duke of Connaught, by being draped with grandly flowered 
plants of another old favourite variety of the Rose of Castile type, Venus 
de Medici.” 
- Forestry.—T he Select Committee of the House of Commons 
appointed on the motion of Sir John Lubbock to inquire into the desirability 
of establishing a Forest School in England, recently took the 
evidence of Mr. W. G. Pedder, Revenue Secretary of the India Office, 
and well acquainted with the forestal system of India. Mr. Pedder stated 
that a forestal department was authorised in Bombay in 1846. About 
that time the revenue from the Indian forests was £40,000. Since then 
it had risen to a gross revenue of nearly £1,000,000, and a net revenue of 
over £400,000, and that he considered was undoubtedly due to the in¬ 
creased education of forest officials. Instructors were obtained from 
France and Germany, but latterly chiefly from France, because it was 
found that the woodlands of England and Scotland were not so well 
managed as to enable the managers to give instruction. Instruction was 
now given at the Royal Engineering College at West Hill, where the 
students, in addition to the engineering course, received training in forestry, 
botany, forest law, and jurisprudence. The fees were £180 a year, and 
the course was intended entirely for the upper grades of forest manage- 
