22 
THE FLORIST ANT) POMOLOG1ST. 
strength, and is admirably adapted for all 
such purposes as it is intended to serve; and 
from its great tenacity and length of fibre it 
can be separated into strands not thicker than 
sewing thread. We shall have more to say 
on this subject hereafter. 
Eucharis amazonica. —There is at Syon a 
plant of Eucharis amazonica in a 13-inch 
pot, with leaves 31 inches long and 6^ wide, 
and bearing twenty-two flower-spikes. 2| to 
3 feet high. 
Cotton. —According to the lt Athenaeum ” 
80,000 bales of Cotton have this season been 
grown in Southern Italy and Sicily, and it is 
conjectured that this produce could easily be 
increased sevenfold. In our own country 
Major Trevor Clarke, of Welton Place, 
Daventry, is engaged in hybridising in order 
to obtain improved varieties for cultivation in 
India, where, from the specimens exhibited at 
the International Exhibition, it was evident 
that such were much needed. 
Keeping Pears have ripened unusually 
early this season; even the late-ripening 
kinds, Ne Plus Meuris, Beurre Ranee, and 
Easter Beurre, are now ripe. After the be¬ 
ginning of January there will be very few to 
be obtained in the market; indeed we are 
assured by the fruiterers that they will con¬ 
sider Pears as “ over ” at the new year. 
Some remarkably fine specimens of Uvedale’s 
St. Germain, Glou Morceau, and Easter 
Beurre made their appearance in the market 
last month. They came from France. 
Blue Hydrangeas. —It is stated in the 
“Journal de la Societe Imperiale et Centrale 
d’Horticulture ” of France, that M. Colin, 
gardener to Prince Troubetzkoy, has succeeded 
in producing blue Hydrangeas by the use of 
ammoniacal alum. He used it at the rate of 
four ounces to a nine-inch pot, after being 
broken into pieces the size of a nut, and these 
he pressed a little into the ball. The plants 
grew weakly at first, but at the end of two 
months they became very vigorous with 
leaves of an intense dark green, and after¬ 
wards produced pale blue flowers. Treated 
in the same way in the following year the 
flowers were dark blue. 
Cockchafer. —A reward having been 
offered in the Canton of Yaud, Switzerland, 
for the destruction of Cockchafers, 12,000,000 
of these were caught. Of this number more 
than 5,000,000 were females; and as each lays 
from eighty to ninety eggs, the production of 
many millions of the destructive larvoe must 
have been prevented. 
OBITUARY. 
The death of Mr. William Wood, of Mares- 
field, on the 3rd of last month, in his eighty- 
second year, will be felt as a loss by a large 
circle of personal friends and by the horti¬ 
cultural world with which he has been so long 
connected. He was employed on the Conti¬ 
nent under Government during Napoleon’s 
wars; and we have had more than one in¬ 
teresting chat with our late friend, and 
listened with never-ending interest to the 
relation of his adventures, which were some¬ 
times of a rather stirring character. To hear 
him tell of his missions in the Peninsula, his 
presence in Napoleon's camp at Austerlitz, 
his disguises and his escapes, and the glee 
with which he recounted them, were a treat 
that we shall always remember. When 
peace came he turned his attention to horti¬ 
culture with such success, that he rendered the 
Maresfield nurseries one of the great centres 
of Rose-growing, as well as of other branches 
of culture. He is succeeded in his business 
by his son, Mr. Charles Wood. 
CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 
STOVE. 
Plants in growth will require careful 
attention. Cut back Clerodendrons, Alla- 
mandas, Justicias, &c.; remove some of the 
old soil and carefully repot them. Bring on 
a few Achimenes, Gloxinias, and Gesneras. 
Give air daily if possible, but avoid cold 
draught near growing plants. Keep up a 
temperature of from 55° to 65° artificial heat. 
Water sparingly until the plants grow freely. 
CONSERVATORY. 
Keep up a temperature of 45° by night and 
55° by day, allowing it to rise a few degrees 
by sun heat. When the weather admits give 
a little air, but be careful of cold draughts, 
as this house ought now to be gay with 
Indian Azaleas, Camellias, Heaths, Epacrises, 
Tulips, Narcissus, Hyacinths, Amaryllis, Pri¬ 
mulas, and of such stove plants as Epiphyl- 
lums, Poinsettias, Aphelandras, Euphorbias, 
Justicias, Bletias, and such. 
GREENHOUSE. 
Hardwooded Plants .—In frosty weather a 
night temperature of 40° is quite sufficient. 
Give all the air possible in mild weather. * Be 
careful in watering, but do not let anything 
suffer for want of it. Softwooded Plants .— 
No time should be lost in pruning and repot¬ 
ting Fuchsias, if they are intended to be large 
plants. Young plants should be potted and 
put into a moist genial atmosphere of from 
45° to 55° artificial heat. Camellias and 
Azaleas .—Camellias coming into bloom will 
be benefited by a watering of liquid manure 
once or twice a-week, and when fires are 
required they ought to be occasionally 
syringed. Large Azaleas not intended to 
