172 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, June 21, 1859. 
VARIETIES. 
Japanese Paper. —It was wonderful to see the thousand 
useful as well as ornamental purposes to which paper was applicable 
in the hands of these industrious and tasteful people : our papier- 
mache manufacturers, as well as the Continental ones, should go 
to Yedo to learn what can he done with paper. We saw it made 
into material so closely resembling russian and morocco leather 
and pig-shin, that it was very difficult to detect the difference. 
With the aid of lacker-varnish and skilful painting, paper made 
excellent trunks, tobacco-bags, cigar-cases, saddles, telescope-cases, 
the frames of microscopes ; and we even saw and used excellent 
waterproof coats made of simple paper, which did keep out the 
rain, and were as supple as the best Macintosh. The Japanese 
use neither silk nor cotton handkerchiefs, towels, or dusters : 
paper in their hands serves as an excellent substitute. It is soft, 
thin, tough, of a pale yellow colour, very plentiful and very cheap. 
The inner walls of many a Japanese apartment are formed of 
paper, being nothing more than painted screens. Their windows 
are covered with a fine translucent description of the same 
material; it enters largely into the manufacture of nearly every¬ 
thing in a Japanese household ; and we saw what seemed balls of 
twine, which were nothing but long shreds of tough paper rolled 
up. If a shopkeeper had a parcel to tie up, he would take a strip 
of paper, roll it quickly between Ins hands, and use it for the 
purpose; and it was quite as strong as the ordinary string used ( 
at home. In short, without paper all Japan would come to a J 
dead-lock ; and indeed, lest by the arbitrary exercise of his j 
authority a tyrannical husband should stop his wife’s paper, the 
sage Japanese raothers-in-law invariably stipulate, in the marriage 
settlement, that the bride is to have allowed her a certain quantity 
of paper'! On the 25th August Lord Elgin invited all the Com¬ 
missioners to dinner, and they came an hour before time, bringing 
a Japanese conjuror to enable his Excellency to judge of their skill 
in tricks of legerdemain. An impromptu theatre was soon formed 
of an apartment, one side of which opened out upon the temple 
garden; chairs and benches were ranged on the well-kept lawn, 
and the Ambassador, Commissioners, the suite, and a large body of 
officers, formed the audience. The conjuror was a gentlemanly- 
looking venerable man, clad in ample silk robes. He had as an 
assistant a wretch who tapped incessantly upon a small drum ; and 
by his remarks, unintelligible of course to ourselves, he served to 
amuse the Japanese who crowded behind us. The old man per¬ 
formed many tricks of legerdemain in a manner that equalled any¬ 
thing we had ever before seen ; but when he proceeded to show | 
the far-famed butterfly trick all were fairly wonder-stricken. Our I 
Japanese Merlin was seated cross-legged about ten yards from us ! 
upon the raised platform of the floor of the apartment; behind 
him was a gold-coloured screen, with a painting of the peak of 
Fusi-hama in blue and white upon its glittering ground. He 
threw up the sleeves of his dress, and showed a piece of some 
tissue paper which he held in his hand. It was about six inches 
square ; and by dexterous and delicate manipulation he formed it 
into a very good imitation of a butterfly, the wings being ex¬ 
tended, and at the most each was one inch across. Holding the 
butterfly out in the palm of his hand to show what it was, he I 
placed two candles, which were beside him, in such a position as 
to allow him to wave a fan rapidly without affecting the flame, 
and then, by a gentle motion of this fan over the paper insect, he ! 
proceeded to set it in motion. A counter-draught of air from 
some quarter interfered with his efforts, and made the butterfly 1 
truant to his will, and the screen had to be moved a little to 
remedy this. He then threw the paper butterfly up in the air, 
and gradually it seemed to acquire life from the action of his fan 
—now wheeling and dipping towards it, now tripping along its 
edge, then hovering over it, as we may see a butterfly do over a 
flower on a fine summer’s day; then in wontonness wheeling 
away, and again returning to alight, the wings quivering with 
nervous restlessness ! One could have sworn it was a live 
creature. Now it flew' off to the light, and then the conjuror 
recalled it, and presently supplied a mate in the shape of another 
butterfly; and together they rose, and played about the old man’s 
fan, varying their attentions between flirting with one another, 
and fluttering along the edge of the fan. We repeatedly saw one , 
on each side of it as he held it nearly vertically, and gave the fan [ 
a short quick motion ; then one butterfly would pass over to the ! 
other, both w'Ould wheel away as if in play, and again return. A 
plant with some flowers stood in a pot near at hand; by gentie 
movements of the fan the pretty little creatures were led up to it, 
and then their delight! how they played about the leaves, sipped 
the flowers, kissed each other, and whisked off again with all the j 
airs and graces of real butterflies ! The audience was in ecstasies, 
and young and old clapped their hands with delight. The exhi¬ 
bition ended, when the old man advanced to the front of his 
stage, within arm’s length of us all, accompanied by his magic 
butterflies, that even in the open air continued to play round the 
magician and his fail! As a feat of legerdemain, it was by far 
the most beautiful trick we had ever heard of, and one that must 
require an immense amount of practice.— (Cruise in Japanese 
Waters .) 
Veneer Grafting on the Old Bark. —The bark of a tree 
is composed of three distinct layers; first, the outer bark or 
epidermis, which in old trees bedtimes very rough. Second, an 
intermediate layer, which is more or less green, and which shows 
when the outer bark is scraped or shaved With a knife ; and third, 
an internal layer, called the liber. It is white and of a fibrous 
nature. Grafting by a scion on the preen part of the bark, from 
which the epidermis has been previously removed by a knife, is a 
process of easy demonstration; M. Oberdieok, one of the most 
skilful pomologists of Germany, having succeeded perfectly in 
uniting branches of all sorts of fruit trees on the bark simply 
stripped of its epidermis. Any one who doubts the possibility 
of the thing, has but to observe in nature that two branches which 
touch, and which remain in that position for a long time, will 
become perfectly united. This mode of grafting is very ad¬ 
vantageous in regrafting old trees.— {TJUortienlleur Practicien.) 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Variegated Geraniums in London [An Old Subscriber). —We fear that 
want of pure air anti a sooty atmosphere are the chief reasons of failure. 
We do not think there is anything chemical or otherwise in the water in 
the nursery. More than twenty years ago we found some difficulty with 
variegated plants in London, but little with variegated-leaved plants re¬ 
quiring a tropical temperature. These, from being kept closer and with 
less air, had less exposure to the sooty atmosphere.- Since then we have 
had little practice as to London growing, and would invite some of our 
metropolitan subscribers to give a more detailed answer to “ An OldSub- 
scriber.” 
Mulrerries Falling Young [II. P. D.). —As the tree produced a few 
fruit some years ago, we see no reason why it should not do so again. 
Most likely it is extra luxuriant from the roots getting down into the clay. 
Root pruning would do it good, more especially as it has actually fruited. 
Female and male flowers are produced separately, just as in the case of the 
Cucumber. The former in small, ovate, erect spikes ; the latter in a 
drooping axillary spike. Generally both flowers are produced on the same 
tree ; but sometimes the flowers are nearly all males, and, in other cases, 
nearly all females. The check by root pruning will encourage the pistil or 
fruit-producing flowers, more especially as they have previously appeared 
and arrived at maturity. 
Structures for Keeping a Garden Gay [A Manchester Subscriber).— 
We do not think the gardener has sufficient means to keep the conservatory 
always gay, though by successions there might always be something in 
bloom; but not a great blaze all over. The best place for the erection 
would he beside the frames against the eight-feet wall. The cheapest 
would he a lean-to house,—say thirty feet long, and ten feet wide,—the 
height of the wall at back, and five feet in front; part of that to be glass. 
A path down the middle, and a platform on each side, heated separately, 
or by a pipe from the boiler already existing. This house, might be sunk 
eighteen inches below the level if desired; hut the chief advantage would 
he less exposure to winds. Instead of a lean-to, the roof might be spanned, 
and then there would be morning sun obtained—a matter of Importance in 
a house facing the west. The south end should be glass. If the frames 
could be moved easily, the house had better stand near the entrance to the 
shed where the frames now are. The shed itself, if wide enough, and 
roofed with glass, being behind the conservatory jnd forcing-house, would 
make a useful place. If the south side of the conservatory is of any 
height, say three or four feet in brick-work, a pit facing the south might 
he sunk against it; but then it would be apt to rival the conservatory, and 
be more in the way. A span-roofed low house where the frames stand 
would be best. 
Nurserymen (ANovice). —Whether dwelling near, or at a distance, we 
have always found, that if we deal with well-known firms they treat us 
liberally. We have made satisfactory purchases of the very firm you name. 
Peach Leaves Blistered [C. It. S.).— The cause of this distortion is 
undetected. Frosty nights, followed by hot sunny days, have the blame at 
present. 
Young Laurel Leaves (A Subscriber).— The brown patches are oc¬ 
casioned, probably, by the violent transitions of temperature during last 
month. A sweet exudation is always found on the young stalks of Laurel 
leaves growing vigorously during hot weather at this season ; and we have 
no doubt that the bees obtain from it honey. 
Lucern [B. IF. J?.).—This must be sown early in April, upon well- 
cleaned ground. Sow in drills a foot apart, to allow the hoe keeping it 
clean. We should sow the whole thirty rods with Lucern. Keep it well 
supplied with liquid manure, and you may cut it four or five times annually. 
A dressing with chalk or limy rubbish will be advantageous. 
TTcomis punctata (G. F. Jesse). —Your plant, as near as we can make 
out, is a bulbous-looking plant, called Ucornis punctata , hut not a true 
bulb. If it is this Ucornis, it has large, handsome, spreading leaves, with 
their stalks much spotted and tinged with purple. It requires the same 
treatment, soil, and everything, all the year round, as any one of the good 
new kinds of Fuchsias, and nothing more nor less. Gardeners grow Fuchsias 
in pots far better than they would grow in the open border. But, in an 
