82 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, November 8, 1859. 
sary shading to those established; and of a free circulation of 
air, &c.; and the necessity of keeping the leaves as clean and as 
free from injury as possible. The leaves of plants must often 
he removed; and in some instances this is done with essential 
benefit; but the horticulturist should constantly keep in mind 
that, with every leaf that he removes, he deprives the plant of a 
primary organ of its existence. 
Light, it has just been stated, is the cause of the green colour 
of plants ; but it should be observed that its full power is only 
beneficial when directed upon their upper surface. This is 
evidenced by the position they always maintain. Trees whether 
nailed to a north or south wall, or trained as espaliers, always 
turn the upper surfaces of their leaves outwards to where there 
is most light. Plants in a hothouse uninfluenced by the direc¬ 
tion from whence proceeds the first supply of air, or the greatest 
degree of heat, turn not only their leaves but their very branches 
towards the source of brightest light, and, if not turned almost 
daily, entirely lose their symmetrical form. 
If the branches of a tree trained against a wall, or other sup¬ 
port, are so moved when their leaves are completely expanded, 
that the under side of the foliage is the most exposed to the light, 
they are always found to regain their natural position in a day 
or two. If the experiment be often repeated on the same in¬ 
dividual, the leaves to the last continue to revert, hut become 
gradually weaker in the effort, partially decay, and their epider¬ 
mis peels off. Succulent leaves are particularly sensitive of light, 
but those of pinnated, leguminous plants—as the Pea and Kidney 
Bean—are still more so.—J. 
(To he continued.) 
OXALIS BOWIEI AS A BEDDING PLANT. 
Nothing tends more to prevent our falling into habits of 
monotonous routine than a visit now and then to a neighbouring 
garden—and there are few but where something may be learned— 
while now and then we meet with a successful result from means 
the very reverse of what is generally practised. Something very 
common is elevated to a high position, or something not generally 
known is found to answer a particular purpose with better effect 
than what had hitherto been used that way; and, in fact, the 
mind becomes expanded by that interchange of ideas which a 
visit to a neighbouring, or, it may be, a distant garden produces, 
especially when assisted and enlivened, as the case I now explain 
was, by the friendly greetings of the manager. But in accordance 
with the utilitizing principles of the age, friendship must give 
place to business. I will endeavour to describe what has, I 
believe, been done before in The Cottage Gardener— the cul¬ 
tivation of that much-neglected plant the Oxalis Bowiei, as prac¬ 
tised at Yotes Court, near Tunbridge ; and as the position of a 
place exercises much influence on the well-being of things about 
it, I may remark, that the flower garden (as well as the mansion), 
lies at the base of one of the highest ranges of hills in Kent; 
and as this ridge, with a considerable extent of well-grown 
timber, is to the north of the garden, it has abundance of shelter 
from that quarter. The valley in front of it being also extensive, 
it has every chance to be warm in summer, and, consequently, 
well suited for the growing of plants too tender to succeed well 
out of doors in every place, as, in fact, the presence of many 
things not generally found out of doors indicated, while those of 
acknowledged hardihood attained a degree of luxuriance not met 
with in many places. An Evergreen Oak having an enormous 
head, could not be much less than fifteen feet in circumference of 
the bole, which, however, was short; and a Silver Fir had towered 
up to the height of 126 feet, with a stem that almost rivals the 
far-famed Wellingtonia. Other trees were also good, but a fine 
Cedar of Labanon which had stood on the lawn had been killed 
by Ivy, which occupying its sturdy limbs for some length, the 
tips being cut off, gave the tree a grotesque appearance. I 
mention this here, as another proof of the injury Ivy does to 
trees, a result on which a recent correspondent in The Cottage 
Gardener cast a doubt. 
Most gardeners have seen the Oxalis Bowiei under the usual 
culture; its deep green foliage overhanging the pot, and its 
stems bearing blossoms of that deep rich rose colour so difficult 
to obtain in anything else. The whole plant is so unmanageable 
to the fashionable exhibitor with his forest of sticks and strings, 
that it is generally neglected ; and though an occasional compli¬ 
ment be paid to its beautiful blossoms, it has never ranked with 
the Achimenes and similar plants. It was, therefore, with a view 
to make this long-neglected garden ornament available to the 
parterre, that Mr. Adderley, the intelligent gardener at Yotes 
Court, commenced increasing it with a view to plant it out 
several years ago. His practice is to take up the bulbs in 
November, and put them away like Tulips or other bulbs till 
March, when he pots them, one large, or two or three small, bulbs 
in a 32-pot, and places them in gentle heat; and after they have 
advanced some length to gradually harden them off, and to tie 
the first flower-stem to a stick to prevent the plant shaking at the 
neck. The flowers generally appear by the 20th of May; and 
about the 1st of June they are planted out on a bed, to which a 
liberal allowance of leaf mould and sand has been given. Warm 
sunny weather, so fatal to the Verbena, speedily sends this to 
flower ; and it requires no further attention till November, except 
cutting off dead flower-stalks, or removing weeds or anything 
else that may be troublesome. When I saw it in the middle of 
October there was a fair display of flowers, although very heavy 
rains had fallen the preceding days. It is, however, proper to add 
that the situation was one exceedingly favourable for its display, 
the bed lying to the north-west of the mansion; consequently 
its flowers would show themselves to great advantage in the 
mornings, and, in fact, all the early part of the day. But it 
does not close at any time so early as the Convolvulus and some 
other flowers ; and to the aspiring young gardener who wishes to 
introduce something fresh, the Oxalis Bowiei may be safely re¬ 
commended as the gayest plant of the season, for Mr. Adderley, 
who had several beds of Verbena, Geranium, and the other 
popular plants used for that purpose, as well as a long ribbon- 
border, told me that the bed of Oxalis was the most admired all 
through the season ; and as plants capable of doing duty in an 
ornamental way, from June to October, are those only now 
patronised by the flower-gardener, I cannot do better than urge 
on those who have not seen this fine plant in perfection, to com¬ 
mence its culture, and to treat it well, and give it a favourable 
position, in the first instance. Their efforts will, I feel assured, 
be rewarded.-—J. Robson. 
SALE OF HERBARIA AND BOTANICAL BOOKS. 
This took place on the 21st of October, at Mr. Stevens’ 
Auction Rooms, King Street, Covent Garden. The lots alto¬ 
gether sold for more than £600. Of the collections of plants, 
lot 65 was the most important, and was knocked down for £205. 
It is thus described in the catalogue:— 
“ A most extensive and valuable arranged Herbarium, con¬ 
taining more than 38,000 species of phsenogamous plants, i.e. 
more than one half the known number of that division of the 
vegetable kingdom. 
“ Each species is, in most cases, represented by several (some¬ 
times as many as a score or even more) well preserved specimens 
from various countries, and by various collectors. The plants 
are, generally speaking, in excellent order and preservation, they 
are arranged in their natural families, and are placed within (but 
not fastened down to) separate sheets of paper. They are strapped 
up iu convenient-sized bundles, of which the number amounts to 
upwards of 430 parcels. 
“ Each plant is accompanied by a ticket, either manuscript, 
printed, or lithographed (named on the authority of the Paris 
Museum Herbarium), with locality, source when derived, and is 
often accompanied by memoranda or annotations of the original 
collector or former possessor. 
“ It may with safety be affirmed that a collection so important, 
so extensive, so valuable, has never before been offered for public 
sale in one lot. The nearest approach to this Herbarium in im¬ 
portance being that left by the late Mr. Fielding, of Lancaster, 
and which was by that gentleman’s munificent liberality be¬ 
queathed to, and is now deposited in, the University of Oxford ; 
but the present Herbarium has, in some respects, an advantage 
over that, it is of very considerably larger extent, which a few 
details of its contents will at once show, as follows :— 
“ Embodied in the collection will be found a perfect and com¬ 
plete collection of the plants of Europe, especially rich as regards 
number of examples in the floras of Italy, Portugal, and Spain. 
“A fine collection of plants (formerly belonging to Professor 
Ledebour) from the Russian Empire, not European only, but 
from Asiatic, American, and Arctic Russia. 
“ Somerfeldt’s plants of Sweden, &c. 
“ From Africa this Herbarium includes the collections of Ver- 
reaux, Despreaux, Bourgeau, Kralik, Rove, Drege, Ecklon, and 
Zeyher, Sieber, Kotschy, Aucher-Eloy, Boissier, &c. 
t: And from other parts of the world large numbers of plants, 
