THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, November 10, 1807. 
88 
of things is more difficult to find out than it is to 
assign a cause for the premature decay. The only 
remedy that I can suggest is to remove the fruit to as 
cool a place as possible, for warmth, however beneficial 
it may be in other respects, is certainly at variance with 
| the keeping qualities of hardy home-grown fruits. 
The cause of Apples and Pears keeping so badly this 
season may be attributed to various points, one of which 
is the early ripening of the fruit, which entailed the 
necessity of its being gathered sooner than usual, and 
the unusual warmth of the autumn months September 
and October, accompanied with moisture. Added to 
| these causes, I think the fineness of the summer enabled 
i the fruits to store up a larger amount of saccharine 
matter than they often do; and this, being acted on by 
the heat of the season, caused that decay complained of. 
At the same time it must be acknowledged these fruits 
have been of better quality than for some years, and 
the trees look, on the whole, more healthy than they 
were ever expected to do by those who witnessed their 
appearance in June, 1856 ; I mean the generality of 
orchards in this neighbourhood. 
Although Apples keep badly now I am in hopes that 
if we had cold weather and extra room to lay the fruit 
in, which, of course, increases as the se'ason advances, 
they will keep better; in fact, some old hands predict 
their preserving well. Be that as it may, it is always a 
source of regret to see them decay so soon, and no 
doubt but that is the cause of their being so cheap in 
the markets, so many people hurrying them in. The 
crop in this neighbourhood has been much below an 
average one, though, as I have before said, the size and 
quality of the fruit have been good, and no doubt the 
cider of 1857 will be better than usual. Whether any 
portion of it will be sufficiently good to be deemed worthy 
of a voyage to the south of Europe and back after re¬ 
ceiving another name, as has been broadly asserted by 
some, is a question not necessary here; but, as a good 
fruit season invariably produces a good wine in the 
countries famous for that beverage, the more homely 
cider of 1857 will be not the less relished by the small¬ 
ness of old stock in hand; and the premature decay of 
Apples expected to keep some time has certainly helped 
to fill up the cider casks without impairing its quality. 
J. Robson. 
■ NOTES ON NEW OR RARE PLANTS. • 
Mucuna prurita. Nat. ord., Leguminosa. —A native 
of the East Indies; and, although it has long been in 
cultivation, it flowered for the first time last year in 
this country. Stem twining, woody, much branched. 
Branches round ; younger parts rather hairy. Leaves 
trifoliate, on very long petioles, which are swollen at the 
base, round, and hairy; middle leaflet elliptical, obtuse; 
lateral ones one-sided, on short, stout petiolules; upper 
side glabrous ; under one greyish, with the veins boldly 
developed. Stipules narrow and subulate. Racemes 
produced from the axils of the leaves, on long pendulous 
peduncles. Pedicels in threes, and based by a thick 
tubercle. Calyx two-lipped; upper lip entire, obtuse; 
lower one divided into three acute lobes. Corolla large, 
dark purple, with the parts adhering together. 
This remarkable stove climber is very worthy of 
cultivation. It is very scarce in this country; but its 
striking appearance when in flower ought to bring it 
into more extended use as a climber. When loaded 
with flowers it bears such a resemblance to a Black 
Hamburgh Vine in fruit that is ripe as to be mistaken 
lor it at some distance; but, of course, the deception 
vanishes with a closer inspection of the object. Judging 
from the comparatively healthy state of the plant under 
the circumstances 1 have seen it, its culture must be 
simple. It will do well planted out in a rich, strong 
compost of loam and peat, with a portion of well- 
decomposed cowdung. It roots with difficulty from 
cuttings, and seeds appear to be rarely produced. 
Perhaps it may increase more freely by layers. 
Leptodactylon Californicum. Nat. ord., Polemoni- 
acece. —Native, as its name implies, of California. Mr. 
Douglas was the first to introduce it to notice. Stem 
dwarf, and numerously branched. Branches covered 
densely with small, beautiful foliage. Leaves cut nearly 
to the base into seven awl-shaped, hairy segments, 
mucronate. Calyx hairy, tubular, cylindrical, divided 
rather deeply into five subulate teeth. Corolla hypo- 
crateriform; tube very slender; limb large and spreading, 
divided into five wedge-shaped, sometimes irregularly 
toothed lobes. 
This is quite a gem of its kind, producing a rich profu* 
sion of brightly-tinted flowers in spring and early summer. 
Indeed, the number of blooms is so great as to quite 
eclipse the diminutive foliage, and hide it from view. 
Its habit is dwarf and very handsome if well grown, 
and its culture is moderately simple. The compost 
it seems to thrive in best is a good sandy peat, with a 
little light fibrous loam added to it. It is very apt to 
go off from too much moisture at the roots, therefore 
a plentiful and well-secured drainage is particularly 
necessary, and" plenty of care must be given to the 
watering. When kept too close it is very liable to damp 
at the points of the young shoots, which, if not checked 
on its first appearance by a freer admission of air, will 
ultimately and quickly destroy the plant. The Heath 
house is the best place for it, and the general treatment of 
Heaths is what it requires. It is readily propagated by 
cuttings in slight heat under a bellglass in sandy peat. 
The glass should be taken off every night, and put on in | 
the morning till they are rooted, when it may be entirely j 
removed ; but the plants should not be potted off till 
they have quite filled the pot with roots. 
Dipladenia Harrisit. Nat. ord., Apocynacea. —Native j 
of Trinidad. Stem woody, twining, branching, round, 
and smooth. Leaves opposite, between oblong and 
ovate, somewhat acuminate, slightly membranaceous; 
petioles short and stout. Racemes axillary and terminal; 
pedicels short, and furnished with bracts. Calyx tube j 
short, green, divided into five obtusely ovate segments. 1 
Corolla large ; tube funnel-shaped; base rather inflated; 
lobes of thp limb broad, round, spreading, beautiful 1 
yellow; tube finely marked with red both inside and j 
outside. 
A splendid, but shy-flowering stove twiner. It is a 
handsome plant of its kind, and thrives best trained to 
the rafters of a stove or to a trellis. The compost it 
likes is good fibrous peat and loam, in the proportion of 
two parts of the latter to one of the former, and a free 
drainage forms a necessary and important part of the 
preparation. Although the individual flowers are so 
very fine I am afraid, from the spareness of its blooms 
and their short duration, that the plant can never be¬ 
come a favourite with cultivators.—S. G. W. 
THE STEWARTON HIVE. 
Allow me a small space to notice the remarks on the 
Stewarton hive by “B. B.,” which appeared in The Cottage 
Gardener of the 6th of October. Briefly, then, I may 
state that my object, when I advertised the Stewarton boxes, 
was to make public our system of management in connection 
with this hive, which I considered highly meritorious, and 
which only required to be brought under the notice of the 
intelligent bee-keeper to receive bis approbation and support. 
Unfortunately the directions for management were drawn 
up in ignorance of the small size of southern hives. This 
was a grave affair, and the result has been that the Stewarton 
hive has not received a fair trial. I should have stated in 
