1883 .] 
GARDEN GOSSIP 
143 
red; the old Borago cras ifolia from Persia.— Mas- 
devallia Carderi, Itchb. f. (p. 181, fig. 30), an 
interesting little plant, with oblong blunt leaves, 
and short peduncles, each bearing one soft fleshy be 1 - 
shaped flower, whitish out.-ide, ochre-orange at the 
base, with a blackish-mauve zone between, the lo ig 
yellow tails spotted with bla.kish-purple ; Shuttle- 
worth, Carder & Co. 
GARDEN GOSSIP. 
~|TN giving its usual returns of tlie state of 
(ll tlie Fruit Crop, the Gardeners' Chronicle , 
AT from which we quote, remarks, that 
“ were all other fruits as thin as some are, yet 
wouM the splendid Apple crop, the very best without 
doubt, because so univer-ally good, that we have had 
for ten j ears or more, suffice to mark 1883 as a red- 
letter year in the diaries of fruit-growers.” The sum¬ 
mary of the returns is as follows Apples everywhere 
most abundant—a truly grand crop. Pears equally 
thin ; in a few favou ed gardens there are fair crops, 
but generally the crop is poor. Plums universally 
thin, the best results beiug seen on walls ; on orchard 
trees the produce is very poor, even Damsons being a 
failure. Cherries of all sweet kinds are few, apparently 
better in Scotland than elsewhere; but the returns 
probably chiefly apply to Morellos, which are fairly 
good, as usual. Apricots are a universal failure. 
Peaches and Nectarines are very fair generally, that 
is to say, in some places a heavy crop and in others 
thin; in Scotland and Ireland these are not largely 
grown on open walls ; but in England ani Wales all 
localities give good and indifferent returns alike, the 
fairly good ones predominating. Bush Fruits and 
Strawberries have been as universally abundant as 
Apples are, the season having specially favoured 
them. Nuts of the smaller kinds are a very poor 
crop, but in many localities Walnuts are fairly 
abundant. 
— (©ne of the most remarkable exhibitions 
of the season has been that of Mr. Bull’s 
Orchids. For several weeks a continuous 
and varied display was kept up, such as to induce a 
great number of those who had seen it to repeat the 
visit several times. Such a profusion of beautiful 
examples of Orchids, arranged in one house, has 
never before been witnessed, and when tastefully 
mingled with rare Ferns and such graceful foliage 
as Asparagus plumosus, could not fail to prove attrac¬ 
tive. The genial temperature of the house, too, in 
which they were staged, added much to tlie com¬ 
fort and consequent gratification of visitors. This 
fact must have convinced many persons that it is a 
popular error that Orchids must always be kept in 
close houses. During the season there have been 
hundreds of grand varieties of Odontog’ossum vexil- 
larium and O. Alexandra ; grand masses of Lselia 
purpurata, gorgeous examples of Cattleya giga«, C. 
Eldorado, C. Warneri, C. Mendelii, and C. Gaskel- 
liana, with some fine pans of Disa grandiflora, besides 
many others, which kept up the interest to the very 
last. 
— {©he trade in American Canned Fruit 
and Vegetables has vastly increased during 
the past few years. In the city of San Fran¬ 
cisco and Oakland there are eight large canning estab¬ 
lishments, and in other parts of the State there are 
a few large and many small ones. About a year ago 
the city canners formed an incorporated company 
for the protection of their several interests. They 
selected one of their number as the sole purchaser of 
all the fruit and vegetables required by the canneries, 
and this was strictly adhered to all through the year, 
and worked satisfactorily. It is estimated that these 
canneries pack over three-fourths of all that is 
packed in the State, and that more than half the 
fruit grown in the State is packed in them. The 
following is given as the result of the year's packing, 
all the quantities being in pounds:—Apricots, 
3,087,740; Asparagus, il5,050; Beaus, 89,109; 
white Cherries, 543,458; dark Chen-ies, 288,689; 
Currants, 475,321; Gooseberries, 102,418 ; Grapes 
(Muscat), 923,588; Grapes (Isabella*), 24,337; 
Peaches, 2,763,181; Bartlett Pears, 2,216 484; 
Pea*, 1,006,524; Damsons, 187,816 ; Egg Plums, 
294,892 ; Golden Drop Plums, 141,014 ; Blue Plums, 
153,509; Prunes, 151.390; Gages, 518,088; Rasp- 
berries, 60,132; Strawberries, 11,943; Tomato*, 
5,844,031; Quinces, 246,613 ; Blackberries, 412,798; 
Appks, 1,448,210. 
— 5?ome samples of Galvanised Iron Stakes 
(B orner’s Patent) which have been submitted 
to us by Mr. F. Martin, of Walthamstow, and 
of which one size is repre¬ 
sented in the accompanying 
woodcut, appe *r to be worthy 
of commendation, rot only 
on accountof theirdurabilitv, 
but from their utility in pie¬ 
venting the harbouring of in¬ 
sects upon the plants. Ttmy 
are made from 3 ft. to 8 ft. in 
height, and therefore serve 
for a variety of subjects, and 
though the first cost is more 
than that of ordinary wooden 
stakes, they are in the end 
more economical on account 
of their durable character, 
being practically imperish¬ 
able. These stakes are so 
made that they may be used 
separately for the support of 
individual plants, or by means 
of ring*, which slip on into 
their places, they can be wired 
so as lo form espalier rails, 
while by means of a strong 
loop at the end an arch or 
series of arches can be constructed at any height. 
They appear to us to be elegant substitutes for perish¬ 
able wo Men sticks and stakes, and therefore deserve 
to be recommended. 
— Jn reference to the Amaryllis, now 
again becoming popular, Mr. Douglas says in 
a contemporary :—Every grower of the highest 
forms of the Amaryllis should be a raiser of seedlings. 
Not only is the pleasure of anticipating new forms 
and new colours very great, but it is found that not a 
few of the best named varieties have a certain ten¬ 
dency to decrease in vigour as they increase in 3 ears ; 
whereas seedlings flower better the first and second 
seasons of their flowering. Seedlings are very easily 
raised, and should be sown as soon as ripe. I sow 
about fifty seeds in a 6 -inch pot; they vegetate in 
hss than two weeks in a good bottom-heat aud a cool 
stove temperature. When the first leaf has grown 
about two inches high the young seedlings may be 
planted out, a dozen of them in a 6 -inch pot this 
time. They grow very rapidly during the late 
autumn month*, nor do they crass growth all through 
