24 
THE FLOEIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ January, 
- MoNab lias lately remarked that tlie Sternhergia^ or OporantJins 
lutea^ the Yellow Autumn Crocus of some collections, used to flower very rarely in 
the Edinburgh garden, evidently from the roots not becoming sufficiently ripened 
during the summer months. “When the rock-garden was being constructed, a few of 
the higher compartments, facing the south, and surrounded on three sides with high stones, 
were left vacant, as unsuitable for the ordinary alpine plants, which are apt to get burnt up 
from exposure to the sun. In these compartments the roots of the Sternbergia were planted 
two years ago, and the plants are now vigorous and flowering freely,” no doubt from being 
better matured’ This plant, which the old writers called Great Autumn Daffodil, has been 
known in England for 300 years at least, and was introduced originally from Constantinople. 
It produces a few glossy dark green leaves, and solitai’y chalice-like flowers of a rich deep 
yellow, which cast quite a ray of cheerfulness over the dull borders of shrubberies. The 
Sternbergia (which used also to be known as Amaryllis lutea) is a native of Spain and other 
parts of Southern Europe, and is imported from Holland under the title of Yellow Colchicum ; 
the French call it Narcisse d’Automne. 
— Jbannel Has prepared an Artificial Manure for Pot Plants^ tbe 
composition of wliich is as follows :—Nitrate of ammonia, 400 grammes (a gramme 
= 15 grains); phosphate of ammonia, 200 grammes; nitrate of potash, 250 
grammes; hydrochlorate of ammonia, 50 grammes; sulphate of lime, 60 grammes; and 
sulphate of iron, 40 grammes. One gramme or 15 grains of this mixture is dissolved in a 
litre of water, and used once or twice a week. There is no reason to doubt the value of this 
manure for all plants to which ammoniacal manures are beneficial, though it is probable that 
ammonia would favour the leaf-growth at the expense of flowers, which would not always be 
desirable. 
- a late meeting of the R.H.S. Scientific Committee, the Hon. and 
Rev. J. T. Boscawen called attention to h.\s Insecticide consists of camphor 
dissolved in methylated spirits to saturation, and mixed with soft-soap to the 
consistence of cream. When diluted so as to be fit for use with a syringe, this is said to 
have been found a most eflQcacious substitute for fumigating in the case of mealy-bug, scale, 
red-spider, &c. 
- SbiE R. Oheistison, in a recent address to the Edinburgh Botanical 
Society, related some experiments he had been making with a view to test the use 
of the Coca leaf {Erytlioxylon Coca), In Peru, where it grows, Coca is reported 
to have remarkably nourishing properties, and in order to ascertain the precise nature of these, 
he chewed the leaf by way of stimulant on the occasion of two ascents of Ben Voiiiich. On 
reaching the top, he felt much fatigued, and began to chew his coca, with the result that he 
was able to make the descent, not only with firmness, but with almost juvenile elasticity. He 
further stated that by its use he had found himself able to walk sixteen miles with ease, 
although when he attempted this feat without such nourishment he felt greatly fatigued. 
— Alphonse Mas died at Bourg on November 15, aged 59 years. 
M. Mas was descended from an old Lyons family, and in bis youth devoted 
himself to the study of plants. On his marriage with Mdlle. Sirant he decided 
to remain at Bourg, and occupied himself with the cultivation of trees, and in a few years he 
had collected together an immense quantity of varieties, this collection being considered by 
competent judges to bo one of the finest in Europe. M. Mas studied and described most of 
the fruits grooving in temperate climates and the New World, the result of his investigations 
being published in the Verger^ a magnificent work, adorned with coloured plates representing 
the principal varieties of Apples and stone fruit, and of which two volumes only have 
ay)peared. M. Mas was some years since elected President of the Pomological Society of 
I ranee, and in September last, in spite of ill-health, presided at the Pomological Congress 
held at Ghent. 
