240 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, July 14, 1857. 
formed into cakes of about a pound weight, and these are laid 
to dry in a covered place sheltered from sun and rain. In 
about a fortnight this paste has acquired sufficient con¬ 
sistence to be formed into small roundish lumps by means 
of little wooden moulds. As fast as they are moulded they 
are laid on wicker hurdles to dry, and when they have be¬ 
come hard they are in a condition for market. The dye 
obtained from Woad makes an excellent blue, and very 
lasting; but when it is used in the present day it is always 
in union with indigo, which adds considerably to the im¬ 
provement of the colour. The leaves of Woad have a fleeting 
pungent odour, and an acrid durable taste, and have been 
used in scorbutic affections, jaundice, and other complaints. 
(To he continued.) 
WHY ARE NEW PLANTS NOT EXHIBITED? 
I have attended all the floral exhibitions in London 
this season, and I have been somewhat disappointed, as in 
former years. 
You may think me singular or difficult to please. Be that 
as it may, I will state in what I have been disappointed; 
you will then be kind enough to say plainly if my expecta¬ 
tions were reasonable or not. 
Notwithstanding the fine groups of stove and greenhouse 
plants, with the huge Erica Cavendishii, the Ixora coccinea 
of great beaut}', and many other such fine plants of the olden 
time, still I have not seen those fine plants of recent 
introduction produced in collections that I have much 
desired to look upon, such as— 
Allamanda Aubletii, 
Portlandia platanth a, 
Thunbergia laurifolia, 
Thyrsacanthus rutilans, 
Acacia Drummondii, 
„ grandis, 
„ longiflora, 
„ magnifica, 
„ cynorum, 
Bejaria aestuans, 
Boronia Drummondii, 
Burtonia pulchella, 
Chironia glutinosa, 
Cytisus filipes, 
Desfontainia spinosa, 
Dillwynia cinnabarina, 
Gompholobium venustum, 
Eriostemon pulchellum, 
„ amcenum, 
Gastrolobium Drummondii, 
„ Hendersonii, 
„ Leekianum, 
Hibbertia Reedii, 
Impatiens Jerdoniae, 
Bouvardia longiflora, 
Leptodactylon Californicum, 
Luxembergia ciliosa, 
Oxylobium Osbornii, 
Rhododendron Javanicum, 
„ jasminiflorura, 
iEschynanthus splendidus, 
&c. 
Would it not be a little more pleasing in these go-ahead 
days to see something a leetle more novel ? Now, we are 
asked after a show, What have you seen in the way of new 
things ? Nothing; no, nothing ! Yes, there was one fine 
plant. Mr. G. Dods, from Cooper’s Hill, sent a fine Lesche- 
naultia hiloha major, though nothing else but what we have 
seen before over and over again, and that, too, though not 
so fine. Now, Sir, am I reasonable ? If so, please prescribe 
a remedy, and you will very much oblige— A Devonian. 
[The remedy is obvious. Societies make no distinction 
in their prizes for collections. If they gave a T20 prize 
for a collection of plants introduced to this country not 
more than five years we should see new plants in greater 
abundance at our shows. At present gardeners can win 
with plants named in the first edition of the Hortus 
Kewensis, so there is no pecuniary inducement to buy newer 
and more expensive kinds.— Ed. C. G.] 
BEES, DAHLIAS, AND SHADING HIVES. 
We agree with Mr. Laxton that Dahlias are not noxious 
to bees, in opposition to the strong assertion of “ Senoj,” at 
page lib. We noticed this erroneous idea some years back, 
and observed that Dahlias, like most other double flowers, 
afiord but little attraction to bees; and who now-a-days grows 
single ones ? Indeed, we do not think that Dahlias contain 
any noxious qualities whatever. We need hardly mention 
that earwigs are very fond of their leaves and young shoots, 
but perhaps some are not aware that wasps are also fond of 
the juice which happens to ooze out from the cracks in their 
stems; even hornets sometimes peel these, and suck the 
juice or eat the inner rind. 
We cannot conceive how such a notion originated as that 
of “ Senoj,” except that it arose from benumbed droves of 
wild bees taking shelter in Dahlia blossoms, which did not 
sufficiently shelter them from the cold as the season drew 
to a close. But the same may be found among Thistles and 
the tops of yellow Ragwort; yet whoever heard of such being 
noxious except as bad weeds to be rooted out of the ground ? 
This correspondent’s belief is strengthened by having seen 
a paragraph in a newspaper, stating that Dahlias are in¬ 
jurious to bees; but surely he does not believe all that he 
reads in such productions. We have known both thrive 
together since our childhood, even when half-double Dahlias 
were trained against a wall, and looked upon with surprise. 
While the pen is in our hand we may observe that the 
thermometer stands at 88° in the shade, a north aspect, at 
half-past twelve o’clock, this being the hottest day we have 
had this season; consequently, hee-hives should be shaded 
to keep off the hot sun, otherwise the combs may melt or 
collapse. We have known several cases of such mishaps 
during less heat than that of the present day, 27th of June. 
—J. Wighton. 
HARDY PLANTS IN ELOWER AT SOUTH¬ 
AMPTON.— June 26th, 1857. 
Aconitum napellus, 3 feet, purple. 
Aster alpina, 4 inches, lilac and white. 
Armeria latifolia, 2 feet, pink. 
Asphodelus luteus, 3 feet, yellow. 
Agrostemma coronaria, 2 feet, white and red. 
„ flos Jovis, 2 feet, pink. 
Anchusa Italica, 2 feet, blue. 
Anemone palmata, 1 foot, yellow. 
Campanula medium, 2 feet, blue and white. 
„ persicifolia, 3 feet, blue and white. 
„ albo-pleno, 3 feet, white. 
„ cesrulea-pleno, 3 feet, blue. 
„ pumila, 4 inches, blue and white. 
„ macrantha, 2 feet, violet. 
„ nitida, 6 inches, blue. 
„ trachelium flore-pleno, 2 feet, blue and white. 
„ latifolia, 4 feet, blue and white. 
„ speciosa, 2 feet, blue. 
„ Carpatica, 6 inches, blue. 
„ Garganica, 4 inches, blue. 
Calliprora alba, 2 feet, white. 
Crucianella stylosa, 1 foot, pink. 
Czackia liliastrum, 1 foot, white. 
Catananche caerulea, 2 feet, blue. 
Delphinium Barlowii, 3 feet, blue. 
„ grandiflorum, 3 feet, purple. 
v m a pleno, 3 feet, purple. 
., pictum, 4 feet, purple and white. 
„ azureum, 4 feet, blue. 
Dianthus superbus, 2 feet, lilac. 
„ caesius, 3 inches, pink. 
„ barbatus, 1 foot, various. 
„ hybridus, 1 foot, various. 
Erodium, 1 foot, pink. 
Euphorbia cyparissias, I foot, yellow. 
Eryngium maritimum, 3 feet, light blue. 
Erigeron Philadelphicum, 3 feet, blue. * 
Fumaria formosa, 1 foot, rose. 
Geranium sanguineum, 6 inches, red. 
„ Ibericum, 2 feet, blue. 
„ macrorhizum, 1 foot, red. 
„ pratense, 2 feet, blue. 
„ phaeum, 2 feet, dark. 
striatum, 1 foot, pink and white. 
Gillenia trifoliata, 2 feet, pink and white. 
Hemerocallis flava, 3 feet, yellow. 
„ aurantia, 1 foot, orange. 
Hyacinthus monstrosus, 9 inches, blue. 
Hesperis matronalis, 2 feet, white. 
Iris Florentina, 1 foot, blue. 
