30 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[February, 
AngaiUula, which includes the “ vinegar eel,” and except that it is only half the size, it is 
very similar in all stages of growth to the A* tritici [jnow called 2 yl&nchus tritici ~\, found 
infesting blighted wheat.” 
Mr. J. Wilson, writing in the same publication, states that the soil is the chief 
point requiring attention in these cases :— u The less complicated it is the better. 
I have found that mixtures generally encourage the ambury [or root excrescences], 
especially when some kinds of leaf-mould are added [the decaying leaves pro¬ 
bably favouring the development of the Tylenchus]. What I find to answer best 
is two parts of turfy loam chopped roughly, one part of short litter fresh from 
the stables, with a sprinkling of half-inch bones.” 
VRIESIA SPLENDENS. 
HIS is one of the old favourites which is too seldom seen in cultivation, 
although but few things in its way surpass it in beauty and usefulness. 
As a table-plant, it is when in bloom invaluable, having all the good 
qualities desirable for table decoration, not being too large, nor obstruct¬ 
ing the view ; while its showy spikes of bright scarlet bracts insist on claiming 
the admiration of the beholder, and as it flowers in November and December, it 
is useful when other things are scarce. 
The Vriesia , like most other genera of the order, is a stove plant of easy 
cultivation ; and as its close relationship to the pine-apple would naturally sug¬ 
gest, the same treatment as to soil and temperature will admirably suit it ; 
moreover, it thrives either with or without bottom-heat. It is a slow grower, 
but once in a flowering state, it will continue from year to year without getting 
too large for the table. From its shyness in throwing up suckers, its propagation 
is a very slow process, as a single plant will generally throw but one sucker each 
year; it may, however, be propagated by seed, but I find the seed takes some 
months to germinate, and the young plants take years to come to maturity.— 
J. W. Laurence, Farnham Castle , Surrey. 
HIGH-PRICED MEAT—FRUIT TO THE RESCUE. 
OW ? Let us see what makes meat so dear. The cattle plague, says one ; 
the drought of the past summer, cries another; the eating of veal and 
lamb, answers a third, who doesn’t care for baby beef and mutton, but 
likes to slice into a mature joint. Well, all may have helped, but neither 
of these is the chief reason. That is, growing, ever-growing consumption. 
More is consumed to-day than yesterday; more will be eaten to-morrow than to- 
day, and so on and on with each day. Hence the home meadow and root crops, 
the pastures and fodder-grounds of Europe, the maiden grass-land and rich fodder- 
plants of the world are strained to the utmost to keep up the meat supply of 
Britain. Through our enormous European and foreign trades, and our improved 
systems of preserving meat, the whole world has been laid under contribution, and 
still the cry is for more and yet more. While that continues, prices will keep up 
