222 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 10, 1885. 
drainage, for it is essential to mate provision for the water 
supplied to pass away freely. If the soil is allowed to become 
sour or saturated, this variety soon presents a yellow sickly 
appearance which is unnatural to it, for when doing well the 
foliage is deep green in colour. The material used for potting 
should he peat fibre, which, if good, will be found to last in a 
healthy condition for several years. Charcoal in lumps may 
with advantage be used, and a little living sphagnum moss on 
the surface. The root3 evidently lii e the moss, and are not long 
before they take full possession of it; but it is not wise to use it 
mixed with the peat for potting, because it decays too quickly 
and cannot be removed without disturbing the roots of the 
plants too much, and therefore causing an unnecessary check 
annually. When the moss is used only on the surface the 
majority can readily be removed when repotting or top-dressing 
the plants that may be grown in the same house. Potting and 
top-dressing is best done just as signs of growth are visible. 
When the roots are active and growth luxuriant, liberal 
supplies of water should be given, but the supply must be 
gradually diminished as growth is being perfected. The supply 
in spring must also be as judiciously increased as the growth 
progresses. During the resting season very little water is 
needed, in fact only sufficient to keep the pseudo bulbs fresh 
and plump. If the soil about the roots is kept in a moist 
condition during the resting period they are very liable to 
perish, and in addition the plants do not receive a complete 
period of rest. This is essential if they are to bloom profusely 
and grow luxuriantly the following season The longer the 
season of inactivity the better the plants flower and grow 
afterwards. A fair amount of light should be given, or the 
foliage draws up rather weakly. The amount of shade fre¬ 
quently given to Odontoglossums is rather too heavy for this 
Oncidium, but this can easily be managed by placing the plants 
of this variety in the lightest position the house affords. Light 
towards the close of the summer and in early autumn is of vital 
importance to mature the pseudo-bulbs that have been made. 
This Orchid flowers freely in a young small state, but it is 
surprising how flowering retards the growth and progress of the 
plants, and therefore it is unwise to allow them to flower until 
they attain some strength. The flower spikes are a very long 
time developing, for they frequently make their appearance in 
spring, and five or six months usually elapse, under cool treat¬ 
ment, before the flowers are fully expanded.—W. D. 
CONES AND BERRIES. 
Some are of opinion that a plentiful supply of fruit on the trees is 
a sure sign of a severe winter, but this is very rarely verified. I have 
noticed some extra severe winters occur when there were no Holly berries 
and other tree fruits were scarce, and the mildest winters are often pre¬ 
ceded by extra h avy crops of fruit. No one need infer that we are 
serfain to have a severe winter because berries are wonderfully plentiful 
this season. I cannot remember a time when they weie more abundant 
anl I think the credit may be given to the fine summer of 1884, and the 
equally fine one of this year. The Mountain Ash was amongst the first 
®f our trees to ripen its fru ts. They came in huge clusters, and when ripe 
were exceedingly showy, but the birds soon demolished them. Berberis 
Darwinii was the next to mature, and the crop was wonderful. When 
this valuable bush is covered with its beautiful deep golden blossoms in 
eaily spring it is exceedingly pretty, but it is equally admirable when the 
multitude of berries gain tbeir deep glaucous^puiple hue in summer. The 
Hawthorn trees are fruiting abundantly, and Sloes and Nuts have full 
crops. The Holly trees are heavily laden with fruit in all positions, and 
Christmas berries will be most abundant this time. Some years I have 
seen our crops of these very partial, a tree in the open, or only one here 
snd there producing fruit; but this season they are fruiting in sunshine 
and shade, and the branches are already bending down with their exces¬ 
sive load. The Arbutus and the Sweet Bay are also fruiting freely, and 
every tree which bears fruit appears to be unusually prolific just now. It 
is a pretty sight to see them with their heavy rich crops, and many of 
them are equally as attractive in fruit as they were in blossom. 
The Conifers are also extra fruiiful. The Wellingtonia gigantea in 
two instances here is producing many cones, and so is the °Japanese 
Cedar, Cryptomeria japonica. Araucaria imbricata is producing cones in 
an unusually free manner, and the Abies and Pinus are very fruitful. 
The Stone Pine, C. pinea, bears cones pretty freely every year, but it is 
certainly more prolific than usual this season. I have noticed that more 
of the old cones have fallen off lately than usual, and it is very gratifying 
to observe that they are being succeeded by such quantities of fine youn° 
ones.—J. Mont, Margani Park, S. Wales, 
AMONGST THE NOVELTIES. 
I wish to add a word or two to what I have written anent the 
novelties. I omitted to mention Early Milan Turnip, which I found an 
extremely handsome variety and the quickest grower I ever tried. 
Planted same day as Snowball, they were fourteen days earlier, but when 
cooked I found them rather bitter. It has a very small neat top and is 
s rap-leaved. 
Veitch’s Perfect Gem Lettuce I also omitted. It is very good for the 
summer, for it does not readily run to seed, and is of good quality. The 
leaves are of a very deep green colour, and it is very takrng in appear¬ 
ance. 
Girtford Giant Runner Bean.—Evidently I have not this variety true. 
Mr. Gilbert has quietly and severely reproved me for thinking badly of it 
by sending me by post four splendid Bean pods 8 inches long, as straight 
as a rule, and as tender as a chicken—belter Beans I never saw. He did 
not write a line to say they were Girtford Giant, hut no doubt they are, 
and that being the case it is a Bean well worth growing. 
Sharpe’s Victor Potato cannot be surpassed fur frame work or earliness, 
combined with high quality, productiveness, and beauty. It is not a 
novelty exactly, but I am glad to recommend it. I see Mr. Laxton has a 
white Beauty of Hebron, which has done well. Sharpe’s Duke of Albany 
is a white Btauty of Hebron also. The foliage, also Bhape, appearance, and 
when cooked quality, are identical with Beauty of Hebron. The colour, 
however, is white, which is an improvement. This year, however, some 
have thrown back to their parent, and one pink and white. It is a pro¬ 
ductive and good Po'ato.— H. S. Easty. 
INSECTS AND FRUIT TREE CANKER. 
Fckthee investigation and experiments have strengthened and 
confirmed my previous experience—viz., that insect?, and insects alone, 
are the first and only cause of canker in fruit trees. In confirmation of 
my views, and as a result of my experiments, I have to-day sent a parcel 
containing specimens of both Apple and Pear trees treated as I advised, 
containing specimens of fruit and the cankered places, especially on the 
Jargonelle Pear, where you will see the bough was almost deprived of sap 
communication ; but by trimming out every bit of hark containing insects 
and dressing the place with Gishnrst compound or soft soap, the bark 
recovered sufficiently to grow and bear well. The wonder is that such a 
small bit of bark would allow sufficient sap to support the bough some 6 
or 8 feet long and the fruit. I am fully convinced that the bough would 
have died had it not been attended to, as the other specimens have, as 
shown, while otheis are lingering. 
The best Apples sent are from a tree which was about the worst case of 
canker I had, but by my treatment, without disturbing a root, or without 
a handful of fresh soil or anything else, except a top-dressing of manure, 
which all get a'ike, I have not a healthier tree on the place. The five 
Apples are from a bough about 2 feet 6 inches long, which is carrying 
nineteen more of similar size. The other sample of small Apples are from the 
next tree, of the same kind, similar situation, subsoil, drainage, top-dressing, 
&c., but the cankered places are not cut out, and the insects have full 
possession, and are gradually devouring the life out of it ; but by my 
treatment I have not the slightest doubt that I could restore it to the same 
state of health as the other without disturbing a root. 
Last winter I had specimens of cankered Apple trees from the Channel 
Islands, Ireland, and several parts of England, and in every case I found 
the same insect agency at work, and succeeded in getting one under the 
microscope on a rule measuring one-twohundredthsof an inch. They are 
so small that nobody would notice them. My reason for writing is that I 
thought the specimens would interest you, and the specimen of Jar¬ 
gonelles would pcssibly interest persons at the Pear Conference if intro¬ 
duced.—J. Hiam. 
[ Ihe cure in the case of the Pear branch appears complete, and we are 
glad to see it, and the sufficiency of the narrow sap channel, about an 
eighth of an inch in width, is remarkable. We are fully aware of the 
spread of canker when no steps are taken to prevent it, and of the pre¬ 
sence of insects. The question is, Are they the cause or the consequence 
of the canker ? We are open to receive expressions of opinion on this 
subject, and are obliged to our correspondent for his investigations.] 
THE SAGO PALM. 
SAGo is nearly pure starch, obtained from various species of Indian 
Palms. In the Indian Archipelago it is procured from Sagus Rumphii 
Sagus laevis, and Sagus genuina ; on the Coromandel coast from Phoenix 
farinifera : in Ceylon from Corypha umbraculifera ; and in Assam from 
Caryota urens. 
These trees are cut down, and from the pith filling their stems the sago 
is extracted. The pith is thoroughly washed, and from the washing, when 
allowed to rest, the fecula or starch subsides; this is the sago flour of 
commerce, of which large quantities are used in the manufacture of 
calico. When used as food it is granulated, and known as pearl sago. 
Tapioca is really sago in lumps, and was so called merely because the 
French, who introduced it from India, named it Sagou-tapioka. About 
e'ght thousand tons of sago are annually imported. 
Sagus Rumphii (fig. 38), is a small tree, comparatively speaking, not 
above 30 feet high. It is a native of the Indian Archipelago, particularly 
of Malacca, Borneo, Sumatra, Celebes, and the Moluccas. Before the tree 
has arrived at maturity the stem consists of a mere shell, about 2 inches 
thick, with a great mass of spongy pith, becoming gradually absorbed, 
and ultimately the stem remains hollow. At the time when the pith is 
