214 
TI-IE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST 
r SErTKMBKR, 
they place the flowers; by attemptiag too much with the flowers themselves, the ugliness of 
the composition being frequently proportioned to the number of subjects which are crowded 
together; by interposing objects about the level of the eye, for nothing, except perhaps a 
spray of some delicate grass or other plant, should stand at fi-om 15 to 20 inches from the 
table; and by using for the larger central ornaments wide dishes, which should never be 
used except at the base. The true form is the trumpet glass, in which as wide and free an 
array of flowers may bo disposed as in one of the flat plate-like dishes. 
--^ Variegated Caragana^ a variety of tlie dwarf-liabited 0. frutex, L. is 
noted by Dr. Koch, as a plant that is by no means so extensively employed with 
us as a standard on lawns as it deserves to be. No prettier sight can be imagined 
than this dark-leaved shrub presents, when it is laden throughout the whole length of its 
branches with its golden-yellow blossoms. Linnaeus first gave this shrub the name frutex, 
but subsequently wrote, perhaps only from an oversight, frutescens, and this latter name has 
become universal; but if we insist upon priority in nomenclature, without which, indeed, we 
should lose ourselves in endless confusion, we must adopt the earlier name of frutex. 
Rosenthal has a variety of C. frutex, in which the leaves are partially or almost wholly of a 
golden-yellow; it is named by him C. frutescens foliis aureo-variegatis. 
-- ®HE following mode of Skeletonizing leaves is given in Les Mondes :— 
Dissolve four ounces of common wasbing-soda in a quart of boiling water; add 
two ounces of slacked quicklime, and boil for about fifteen minutes. Allow tbis 
solution to cool; afterwards pour off all the clear liquid into a clean saucepan. Heat the 
solution to the boiling-point, and then carefully place the leaves in the pan, and boil for an 
hour, boiling water being added occasionally, sufficient to replace that lost by evaporation. 
The epidermis and parenchyma will more readily separate in some leaves than in others. 
A good test is to try the leaves after they have been gently simmering (boiling) for about an 
hour, and if the cellular matter does not easily rub off betwixt the finger and thumb beneath 
cold water, continue the boiling for a short time. When the fleshy matter is found to be 
sufficiently softened, rub them separately, but very gently, beneath cold water until the 
skeleton is exposed. To bleach them, plunge them for 15 minutes in a weak solution of 
chloride of lime—a large tablespoonful of chloride of lime to a quart of water. After bleach¬ 
ing, dry them in white blotting-paper, beneath a slight pressure. The best months to gather 
the specimens are July to September, never collecting in damp weather, nor using any but 
perfectly matured leaves. A soft tooth-brush is a capital instrument for removing the soft 
tissues, floating them on a piece of wood during the brushing process. 
-^MONG New Heaths^ one called Erica ornata, is a remarkably delicate and 
pleasing variety; it was raised between E. ohhata and E. Fairrieana^ and while 
the plant is quite distinct in aspect from either, the blooms assume the form of 
those of the last named of the parents, being large, of a tubular form, much inflated at their 
base, smooth in outline, and of a French white, shading into a soft carmine at the base of the 
tube, with a greenish band encircling the top of the throat; the habit is robust and good. 
E. JShamoni glabra is another valuable acquisition, being a bold variety, resulting from a 
cross between E. ohhata and E. ampullacea ohhata. The great singularity of this latter con¬ 
sists in the absence of any gummy substance, which covers the flowers of this class of heaths, 
almost without exception; and yet they preserve a gloss equal to polished ivory. The great 
advantage of this will be at once apparent to all exhibitors of Heaths, who have had to stage 
beautiful plants after a journey on a dry and hot summer day, when the flowers themselves, 
both in size and development, all that can bo desired, had become covered with a hetero¬ 
geneous coat of dust, flies, &c. In this case there, is an entire absence of that adhesive 
substance which becomes cbvered in this manner. The blooms of this hybrid are intermediate 
in size and shape between those of E, ampullacea and E. Shannon!, of paper-whiteness at 
first, but with exposure to the sun they assume quite a rosy tint, and are produced in 
terminal whorls of from six to eight flowers on each. 
-this season the following plan for the Destniction of Wasps may be 
opportune, the method being said to be simple and safe:—Procure half a pound, 
or less, of cyanide of potassium ; dissolve this in just sufficient boiling water to 
cover it, and put it into a bottle, securely corked, and label it “ Dangerous poison.” When used, 
saturate a small portion of cotton wool in the poison, and with a stick deposit it at the mouth 
