54 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
October 25. 
red, blue, and yellow ; next to them place the colour 
which each neighbouring two make together, and you 
will have the complementary colours opposite to each 
other. The plan may be carried out through every 
variety of colour and shade, and a complete chart 
formed by a rainbow l ing carefully constructed on 
the principle. 
Thus, blue and orange are opposite or comple 
mentary colours; scarlet and sea-green, and so on. 
Elobanica. 
EXTRACTS EROM CORRESPONDENCE. 
Sisyrinchium anceps. —I sec one of your correspond¬ 
ents has found Sisyrinchium anceps or Bermudianum 
in a wild or naturalized state in this country (Corfe 
Castle). It was probably the former species, a specimen 
of which, found in Ireland in a thick wood, I sent to 
the Botanic Society of London in the year 1845. 
The discovery excited a good deal of interest at the 
time. I have not seen any works on English botany 
published since that date, I know not, therefore, 
whether the best authorities consider the plant a 
native of the British Isles or not. In connexion 
with the above, I may mention that Spiranthes au- 
tumnalis grows in abundance on a grass plot in front 
of Antony House, the residence of W. H. Pole Carew, 
Esq., in my own parish. The account I sent you of 
the potatoes in this locality was falsified, I regret to 
say, before you printed it. The murrain has made 
sad ravages, though, far less than in former years. 
Aline were planted in March without manure. The 
produce has been small, but very free from disease. 
The sort is locally called “ Snowdropit is lite¬ 
rally a ball of flour. Will you allow me to correct 
a decided ecclesiological error at p. 305. The rood- 
loft is a gallery over the Rood-screen, in the centre of 
which was erected the great rood or cross, usually, 
in later times, a crucifix, which was a fixed, and not, 
as you imply, a moveable, piece of furniture. Rood- 
lofts are very rare in England, having been mostly 
pulled down by the Puritans.— Rev. Henry L. Jen- 
ner, Mcrrificld , Torpoint. 
Scarlet Runners, Dahlias, Fumigating. — I 
should like to press upon your cottage readers, at 
this season of the year, the necessity of preserving 
the roots of their scarlet runner herns; the advan¬ 
tage I have reaped from this practice is astonishing. 
The plan I pursue is merely to cut them level with 
the earth, when the frost has stopped their progress, 
and cover the roots with three inches of finely sifted 
coal-ashes; tho consequence is, that they shoot forth 
early in spring, and we gather a full fortnight before 
those grown in the ordinary manner from seed are 
in the market, and our produce is, at the least, four¬ 
fold. I would also strongly recommend the same 
plan in reference to dahlias, to all those who may 
not have time or convenience for storing the tubers. 
I have tried it myself, and found it to answer admi¬ 
rably ; indeed, my dahlias of last year which under¬ 
went this treatment were infinitely superior to those 
I stored in the usual manner last winter; ’tis true I 
don’t know what may be the effect on the dahlias if 
allowed to occupy the same spot for many consecu¬ 
tive seasons; but our friend, Air. Beaton, will, per 
hops, give us a lino some day on that head, as stor¬ 
ing the tubers, unless one lias a very dry cellar, and 
time to attend to drying and packing them, is really 
a very troublesome and hazardous affair, especially 
to amateurs, who can catch an hour only now and 
then. By-the-by, whilst on the subject of economy 
of time by amateurs, I will, if you will kindly accord 
me a little more of your valuable space, just tell you 
my method of “ smoking ” my greenhouse: for, mul¬ 
tifarious as my occupations are, and great as is the 
demand on my time, I am constantly studying how 
to perform the various little horticultural operations 
in the most efficacious and effective manner. Mr. 
Fish, a short time since, kindly gave us very clear 
and specific directions for this operation, which I 
have tried again and again, but unsuccessfully; 
therefore I conclude it is more suited to a large than 
small house ; as, at this season of the year, one fears 
to shut up much heat which would be emitted from 
his large pot of burning embers in a bouse so small 
as 8 feet by 10 feet, and 14 feet high; and embers suf¬ 
ficient to half fill an 8-inch pot, I find are cold before 
one has time to place it and strew the tobacco over; 
at least I found it so, notwithstanding I made every 
preparation for draft, and in addition inserted a small 
gas pipe in the hole at the bottom of the pot, with 
its nether end out at the doorway, laying flat on the 
ground, and blowing through it till I was black in 
the face and almost exhausted, with all the zeal of an 
enthusiastic amateur, quite in despair at the ravages 
made on his favourites by the invidious “ fly.” Now, 
then, for the “ operation.” I procure, say half a 
pound of common tobacco, a sheet of brown paper, 
and 1 oz. of saltpetre ; the saltpetre I put into a pint 
of hot water, and soak the paper in the solution, 
sprinkling the tobacco well with it at the same time; 
when paper and tobacco are thoroughly dry, I cut the 
paper into slips of two or three inches wide and about 
fourteen or sixteen inches long; along each piece 
of which I strew about half an ounce of the to¬ 
bacco, rolling it up diagonally, as a cigar is rolled, 
making it about eight inches long. 1 thus make 
about sixteen “ cigars” with half a pound of tobacco, 
and when I find the enemy increase I take two of 
my “ cigars,” stick one into the earth on each side of 
my “ house," light their tips, and away I go, certain 
that all will end well without watching, puffing, or 
dirt of any kind; and the beauty of it is that it is 
done in a minute ; it requires no raking the kitchen 
fire out, no burning fingers and thumbs with the red 
hot flower-pot, nor indeed any nuisance whatever. 
A pot of earth is a capital thing to stick the “ cigar” 
in when there is no border in the house. I find it 
sufficient for my house, but of course a larger space 
requires more. It is necessary to keep the “ cigars ” 
perfectly dry. In conclusion, allow mo to say that j 
think an admirable thing might be made of it, if som e 
