232 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ October, 
- ^MONG tlie finer Douhle-Jioioered Clematis^ wliicli are now becoming 
ratlier numerous, we have had an opportunity of seeing one called Duke of Con¬ 
naught, a seedling from lanuginosa, having the same broad foliage, but with com¬ 
pact semi-doublo flowers of a delicate mauve colour, which on the starved seedling plant 
measured about 5 in. across. The structure of the flowers in this variety is somewhat novel. 
There is first the outer whorl of six ovate sepals, and then within this, diminishing in size 
inwards so as to form a flattish bloom, ai'e four or five other whorls of sepals of the same 
colour, the centre being occupied by a tuft of whity-brown stamens on white filaments. If con¬ 
stant to this form, and there is no reason to doubt it, since several flowers have been produced 
this season, we have here a new type, of distinct character, and of great beauty, the flowers 
being spread out as in the single form, yet compactly filled with petaloid sepals in the centre, 
so as to form a stiff, firm, solid-looking flower. It bloomed last June with Mr. G. Jackman, 
of Woking. There is a manifest improvement in the new double forms of Clematis, the 
stalked sepaled sorts, -which produce loose, open flowers such as can be seen through near the 
centre, being replaced by others in which the centre is filled up compactlj^ in consequence of 
the sepals being stalkless. This character is well shown in Duchess of Edinburgh, the best 
of the whites; in Countess of Lovelace, which has been shown exceedingly fine this season ; 
and in the Duke of Connaught, above cited. 
- M Decaisne writes to the Gardeners' Chronicle that the Xanthoceras 
sorhifo/ia introduced to the Paris Museum has just produced twenty fruits, which 
have furnished more than 190 seeds for the propagation of this charming 
shrub. “ I was surprised,” he -writes, “ to see the Xanthocei'as classed in the Chinese works 
among the edible trees; but the French Minister at Pekin, M. Geofroy, to whom I applied to 
obtain some information on this subject, told me that the Chinese eat the seeds of Xanthoceras 
as nuts, of which they have somewhat the taste. M. Geofroy has iuti'oduced to us, by the 
Chinese name, a large tree similar to the Ailantxrs in the general shape and foliage, the 
Cedrela sinensis, of Avhich the Chinese eat the young shoots either raAV or cooked; prepared 
in the latter way, these shoots, it is said, resemble Asparagus. But we knoAV that the in¬ 
habitants of the Celestial empire are not very particular, inasmuch as that they make a 
delicacy of the young stalks of the Lucerne (JSledicago sativa'), which they eat as Ave do 
Spinach. Without mentioning the culinary use of Cedrela sinensis, the principal use of it to 
us is to haAm it in our plantations—a large tree, moreover, and belonging to an exotic family 
of which the Melia is at present the only representative in our southern gardens.” 
- She Journal of Chemistry publishes a recipe for tlie Destruction of 
Insects^ which, if it be one-half as efficacious as it is stated to be, Avill prove in¬ 
valuable. Hot alum-water is this recent suggestion for an insecticide. It will, it is 
said, destroy red and black ants, cockroaches, spiders, bugs, and all the craAvliug pests Avhich 
infest our houses. Take tAVO pounds of alum and dissolve it in three or four quarts of boiling 
Avater; let it stand on the fire till the alum disappears; apply it Avith a brush, while nearly 
boiling-hot, to every joint and crevice in your closets, bedsteads, pantry-shelves, and the like. 
Brush the creAUces in the floor of the skirting or mop-boards, if you suspectihat they harbour* 
vermin. If, in AA’hiteAvashing a ceiling, plenty of alum is added to the lime, it Avill also serve 
to keep insects at a distance. Cockroaches Avill flee the paint which has been Avashed in 
cool alum-AA’ater. 
-^ NEW 0«7, obtained from the seeds of the Ochro {Hibiscus esculentus), 
is being intoduced into commerce. The seeds have been used roasted as a coffee 
substitute. The plant is well known in most tropical countries as a vegetable 
much esteemed for imparting mucilaginous thickening to soups. The seeds may be boiled 
like barley, and the mucilage they contain is both emollient and demulcent. The yield of 
oil from the seeds is not stated, but the oil is stated to be of good quality, and fitted to 
compete wdth olive, nut, and other oils for comestible purposes. 
- ®HOSE who want a fine and effective hardy herbaceous plant for any 
permanent position in the shrubbery or flower borders, should not overlook the 
old but not half-known Spircea Aruncus. When grown in a rather peaty soil, on 
a cool bottom, which is Avhat suits it best, its inflorescence rivals if it does not excel that of 
