416 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 22, 1890. 
nor Grapes from anywhere, that by : ny means equal the best pro¬ 
duce of British cultivators.] 
DIMINUTIVE PLANTS. 
Saxifr.vg.is..— Foremost amongst diminutive plants at this 
season of the year are the Saxifragas of the crustaceous section, 
particularly the forms of S, Burseriana, for already these are 
bristling with buds that will soon expand into their charming 
flowers. Seldom, too, do we get the remarkable contrast of colour 
which this plant affords, the buds previous to expansion being 
a distinct brick red, while the expanded blossoms are pure white, 
these also being borne on scarlet stems ; the tuft of leaves are of 
a silvery hue and spiny. All things considered it is one of the 
best of this section, a charming plant when in flower, of extremely 
simple culture, and easily increased either by division or by cut¬ 
tings. Warm sunny spots on the rockery, in deep sandy loam and 
plenty of sharp grit, to which may be added a little manure with 
advantage ; it is an excellent plant for pot culture, and when in 
flower good potfuls are very attractive. Give abundant drainage 
and pot firmly. 
Another choice member of this genus is S. Eocheliana, also 
with white flowers and earl 3 '. This should always be found in 
good collections. Then if we take a glance at the oppositifolia 
group we find these forming dense carpets close upon the group, 
and which are covered with their masses of flowers during February 
and March. All the members of this section prefer a moister 
position than is generally given them. This and full exposure to 
the sun suit them M^ell. 
SiBTiioRi’iA EUROP^E.a v.vRiEGATA. —Though we cannot count 
this with the generality of hardy plants, the little protection it 
needs should place it within the reach of many. It chiefly' dislikes 
damp and frost in winter and sun in summer—these three are quite 
opposed to its welfare ; while on the other hand it seems to revel 
in a temperature of 45° or 50° with plenty of moisture, provided 
ventilation is perfect, and it is exposed to hot sun. During 
summer it may be grown in a partially shaded frame or in the cool 
fernery, the latter suiting it admirably. Given a suitable position j 
it is surprising how quickly it will grow and cover the surface. ' 
It is seen to the best advantage probably when suspended from the ^ 
rafters of a cool greenhouse in a pot or pan, and having become j 
established draping the sides with its silvery leaves. The soil in j 
which this little trailing beauty seems to delight in is peat, leaf 1 
soil, and yellow loam in equal parts, and to this may be added some 
broken brick rubbish and sharp grit. Some care is needed in 
potting this interesting plant, as the majority of its roots are pro¬ 
duced from the creeping stems on the surface, and it will be found 
the best plan to fill the pot or pan (the latter always preferred if 
the plants are not intended for commercial purposes) first with the 
soil, making it somewhat firm, then scatter the stems over the sur¬ 
face of the soil, and distributing them thinly use tiny wooden pegs 
to secure them in position. Should there be a majority of roots 
near the centre of the plant these, of course, may be dealt with in 
the usual way of potting ; but by distributing the stems as I have 
described a compact plant may soon be secured. When the pegging 
is complete take a handful of clean dry silver sand and scatter it 
over the plant without quite burying it, after which give a thorough 
watering with a fine-rose can, sufficient to wash the sand in all the 
remaining crevices and about the stems. This and occasional light 
sprinklings will quickly cause fresh roots to be emitted, and if 
ordinary care is bestowed upon it good plants may easily be 
obtained, 
Nertera depres.SA.— To anyone in search of interesting 
hardy plants this plant cannot be too strongly recommended. At 
one time I grew it by hundreds, and it was always admired. For 
six months of the year it presents nothing more than a singularly 
dense dwarf green carpet of its tiny leaves, while for the other six 
or nearly that period if well grown it is full of interest. Early m 
the spring it produces its inconspicuous greenish flowers in the 
axils of the leaves. In due time these tiny flow'ers, which even on 
small plants are produced in great numbers, arrive at fruiting stage, 
and these having attained maturity are of a bright orange red. It 
is at this time and for three or four months that the plant is so 
full of interest, and few plants can possibly be more attractive 
than this when thickly studded with its brilliantly coloured berries 
or fruit. It grows freely in sandy peat and loam in equal parts, 
and given the protection of a cold frame in winter is all that it 
requires. Propagation may be effected by division or by seeds, the 
former preferred. To produce the best results annual division is 
recommended, in consequence of its singularly dense habit of 
growth, and thereby liable to become weak in the centre when left 
in large masses. I wonder some nurseryman has not employed this 
effectively in fringing a group for effect at some of the summer 
shows, but apart from an occasional potful in a miscellaneous 
collection it is rarely seen. Many years ago it was employed by 
Mr. Legg of Clapham Park in the carpet bedding arrangements, 
producing quite a unique effect. For this purpose it w’as grown in 
pots which were sunk in the carpet design, the charming tufts of 
bright coloured berries creating quite a new feature ; the berries, 
too, under full exposure were more brilliant than is usually seen. 
This is the only instance I remember where this pleasing little 
plant has been so largely used for purposes of bedding. 
Omi'iialodes verxa. —One of the most delightful plants for £v 
cool shady spot that I am acquainted with, growing and ever> 
luxuriating in ordinary’ soil which is uniformly moist and shaded 
from sun. In such a place the blue of its flowers quite equals that 
of the Gentians, and of its colour we have none too many in the 
early months of the year, and none .so easily accommodated. In 
gardens adjacent to the Thames I have been delighted to see this 
plant in plots 3 feet or 4 feet across, and freely dotted with its 
intense blue flowers, which alone produce such a charming picture,, 
and no one having the spot I have described should be without this 
plant, while on light sandy soils it invariably presents a most 
miserable appearance, and in these only result in disappointment. 
Lychnis Lagasc.e.— A charming species from the sub-alpine 
regions of the north-western Pyrenees that no rockery, large or- 
small, should be without. About it there is a wealth of beauty 
and freedom of flowering peculiarly its own, such as should at once 
demand for it a place among all choice collections of hardy plants. 
Speaking of it in the “ Botanical Magazine ” some years ago. Sir 
J. D. Hooker says: —“ The tendency of the plant is to form a 
hemispherical mass in the pot, when it resembles in habit and 
colour, but on a large scale, one of those lovely pink Androsaces of 
the glacial regions of the eastern Alps, which have hitherto all but 
defied our most skilful cultivators.” But happily for us it pre¬ 
sents not a tithe of the cultural difficulties which surround so many 
of the Androsaces, and seeing the flowers individually are three or 
four times larger and of the most lovely pink, and borne in such 
profusion, it may of a surety claim to be worth a dozen at least of 
those mifEy alpines which baffle almost every attempt to grow them 
in this country. Not only is this Lychnis one of the brightest 
flowering of alpine plants, but, what is of equal importance, it is- 
one of the easiest to cultivate, and no plant of its size could 
possibly produce seeds with greater freedom. Cuttings also root 
readily, so that any exceptionally good forms among the seedlings 
may be perpetuated with ease. Truly could our rock gardens be 
made gay and bright with many a rare gem did they produce seeds 
with half the freedom of this Lychnis. In good sandy loam it 
quickly forms a compact tuft, and by saving a few seeds annually 
and inserting in nooks and crevices here and there in rockeries or 
rough alpine walls a most pleasing effect would in time result.— 
J. H. E. _ 
NOTES ON FRUIT TREES—APPLES. 
(^Continued from page SOS'). 
Storing FRurr. 
Keeping fruit is an important matter in supplying the markets. 
The essentials are a cool steady temperature and darkness. 
Warmth, air, and light accelerate ripening. Too dry an atmosphere 
induces shrivelling, too moist an atmosphere causes fruit to decay. 
In frosty weather, or at the commencement of frost, fruit, though 
not actually exposed to its influence, is dry because warmer 
than the surrounding air ; but when a thaw sets in the fruit is- 
soon covered with moisture through its being colder, therefore 
condensing the moisture of the air coming in contact with it. 
This alternate drying and wetting should be guarded against as 
much as possible, as to maintain the greatest possible uniformity 
of temperature is absolutely essential. To insure these conditions 
the means employed in gardens are diametrically opposed thereto. 
They rarely have other than solid brick walls, a single ceiling, and 
a site at the back of the glass structures. The keeping quality of 
the fruit in many cases is more dependent on the non-conducting 
straw used as a bed and cover for the fruit than anything the 
structures have to offer in the way of maintaining uniformity of 
temperature ; indeed, they fluctuate through subjection to the 
vicissitudes of the surrounding atmosphere. If the air about them 
be warm, wet, or dry they undergo the same changes, the fruit 
keeps very indifferently, ripening or maturing early and uncer¬ 
tainly. In such structures fruit that would keep sound until the 
new year is, from early maturing, obliged to be put in the markets 
in November, and that which would keep until March or later has 
for similar reasons to be put in the market, not successionally, as^ 
the American Apples, but all at once. This certainly is not a 
necessity of climate, for with properly constructed store-houses 
fruit is kept until a late period as fresh and sound as any imported. 
