Jane 9, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
465 
Runtide Show. This variety is a seedling raised at Handsworth with the 
fine foliage and sturdy habit of Madame Thibaut, but is much more 
floriferous. The flowers are similar in shape to that variety, being very 
round and smooth, many of them semi-double, and are pure white in 
colour. As a useful and popular market variety, and for cut flowers and 
general decorative purposes, it will, I believe, take very high rank 
indeed. A bouquet com|>osed exclusively of its flowers was presented by 
the firm to H.R.H. the Duchess of Teclc on the occasion of the opening 
by her of a workmen’s exhibition at Elseear some three months back, 
and it was by her special desire that her name was given to it. The 
plants were crowded with flowers, and a small bouquet from them was 
given by Mr. Williams to each visitor, a pleasing souvenir of a very 
enjoyable afternoon. 
By request of Mr. Fisher two members of the party, Messrs. J. Udale 
and W. K. Woodcock, waited upon him at his residence, to which as 
above stated he was confined by illness, and received from him a cordial 
welcome and greeting to the Society, with a liberal subscription to its 
funds, and a strong invitation to the Society to repeat its visit at no 
distant date.—W. K. W. 
BOUVARDIAS. 
Ik a previous article on the culture of these plants I referred to the 
leading points of their management, and I now offer a few additional 
remarks chiefly on the varieties. To produce good bushy plants of 
uniform size in one season they must be started early, and at no time 
must the plants receive the slightest check. The soil may be a rich 
fibrous loam, to which add leaf soil to about one-fourth that of the soil, 
with plenty of sharp sand, and add about a 48-sized pot of Clav’s fertiliser 
to every barrowful of soil. This will make a good compost when the 
plants are shifted into 48-sized pots. In the first potting u«e sandy peat 
and loam in equal parts. Grown for market they do not come in for the 
serial shifts, a plan which in years gone by was adopted for most plants ; 
they are, on the other hand, generally placed first in 2 -inch or 2 .j-inch 
pots, and when sufficiently well rooted transferred to the marketable 
48’s. By careful treatment the death rate is very small, and much time 
is saved. The only attention afterwards is stopping them regularly till 
you have formed good plants, and finally the staking and tying, one 
stick being sufficient to each, and the shoots banked loosely to it. An 
occasional surface dressing of artificial manure when the plants are 
strong enough will greatly aid them, especially when they are forming 
the flower buds. Under no circumstance allow any insect pests to take 
possession of the plants, for they are attacked by several, such as red 
spider, mealy bug, and green fly, and where these occur the usual 
remedies should be applied. 
The following are the best varieties. Among whites, B. jasminoides 
is one of the oldest, and still one of the best ; it is fragrant and very free 
flowering, though not quite so vigorous as many. B. Humboldti corym- 
biflora has the longest tubes of any, is pure white, highly fragrant, and 
most popular for any choice work ; it is very vigorous and free, but not 
so continuous as the first named. B. candidissima, this is of compact 
growth, densely laden with bloom when planted out of doors, has a 
delicate perfume, and its flowers are pure white. Then comes the well 
know B. Vreelandi, which is invaluable as a white variety, and of which 
one cannot have too much. Among the brightest coloured varieties B. 
Dazzler and B. Hogarth are the best, to which may be added B. elegans ; 
these three are good scarlets, and are generally grown in quantity by all 
the leading growers ; all are of good habit, and are freely flowered, par¬ 
ticularly the two first named. I n these two batches we have the decided 
scarlet and pure whites, the other kinds, as Vulcan, longiflora flammea 
rosea oculata, Maiden’s Blush, Reine des Roses, Bridal Wreath, Flaves- 
cens, Priory Beauty, and others come in with their various shades of 
colour, which, for the most part, is signified in their respective names. 
Then we have in doubles Alfred Neuner, pure white ; President Garfield, 
flesh pink ; besides which are scarlets in Sang Lorraine, Vermilion 
Scarlet, and Victor Lcmoine. From these latest additions to this valu¬ 
able group we have only to turn to such species as B. triphylli, B. angusti- 
folia, B. versicolor, and B. longiflora, to find that if the rate of progress 
is not rapid, it is, to say the least, exceedingly well marked.—J. H. E. 
A CLOSE ATMOSPHERE TOE BEST FOR KEEPING 
FRUIT. 
After trying many ways of keeping fruit in a sound condition after 
it was matured, I have no hesitation in saying that it can be preserved 
best in a close atmosphere free from damp. King of the Pippins Apple 
is said to be a variety ready for use in November and December, but I 
have some fruit of it now that arc almost as plump and fresh as they 
were in November. It is just about eight months since the fruit was 
harvested, and surely any Apple that can be kept for that time, or for 
four or five months after it is ready for use, as well as the system that 
reserves it, arc worthy of attention. The fruit in question have been 
ept in a drawer, the atmosphere being very close and dry, and I am 
sure any quantity of Apples might be preserved in a place of this kind 
for months after they would be decayed in a damp or even ordinary 
fruit room. I have also noticed that so long as the American Apples 
are kept in a close barrel very few of them decay, but they are not 
long unpacked until many of them show spots and signs of decay. This 
would indicate that a close atmosphere is the best for preserving fruit. 
The other day I gathered a quantity of Strawberrries. Some of them 
were put into a shallow- box, covered closely over with paper, and in¬ 
advertently left there for nine days. When I came across them I thought 
when the paper was lifted that they would only be a decayed mass, but 
I was surprised to find them almost as fresh as when gathered, and the 
flavour as good as ever. Had they been exposed to the air I am sure 
they would all have been quite decayed. When once Pine Apples are 
quite ripe they soon decay at the bottom and upwards if left in the hot 
damp house in which they have been growing, but I have frequently 
kept them for six weeks after being quite ripe in a cool close room. • Dry 
cool conditions are undoubtedly the best for preserving fruit. Ten days 
ago I gathered a ripe Peach from a Hale’s Early tree in a pot. I placed 
it on a marble slab in a dry room, and in looking at it now I find it a 9 
fresh as on the day it was gathered.—A Kitchen Gardener. 
LEPTOSPERMUM BULLATUM. 
Amongst neglected hardw-ooded plants must be ranked the charming 
Leptospermum bullatum, a free-growing floriferous plant that ought 
to be in every greenhouse. Mr. B. S. Williams, Upper Holloway, has 
some beautiful little specimens this season in his nursery, plants in 
48 -size pots being small pyramids of pure white flowers, and the smallest 
plants seem to flower equally freely. So profusely are the blooms pro¬ 
duced that in some instances the narrow dark green leaves can scarcely 
be seen, and the branches are covered their whole length with snowy 
flowers. 
In a compost of peat, sand, and light turfy soil this Leptospermum 
grow-s quickly and flowers frequently, the only special care it needs being 
in the affording good drainage and supplying water carefully. 
TOTATO DISEASE—MULCHING. 
Since 1845 the Potato disease has, despite the researches of science 
and the efforts of cultivators, gone its course. Some years there is com- 
