1879.] 
GARDEN GOSSIP. 
Ill 
and largo and very aljiiudaut yellow flowers; and 
(2) a large shrubby Spirsca, S', millefolium, with the 
foliage of Chaniecbatia, but a larger and more striking 
plant, and perhaps the most elegant of the genus. 
— 21 SUPERIOR Cherry, comparatively little 
known, called the Ebenter Cherry, is, accord¬ 
ing to the Journal of Horticulture^ cultivated 
on the shores of the Lake of Constance, notably at 
liindau, Tettnang, &c. It is distinguished for its 
firm flesh, large size, and small stone, and is further 
noted for its superior travelling qualities. Being 
a late bloomei’, a plentiful croj) is invariably ob¬ 
tained, and as it ripens after all other table cherries 
are over, it is esteemed quite an acquisition. 
— fHR. W. B. Freeman, well known as a 
plant collector in India, writes, regarding the 
Natural Habitats of the An^ctochili, that 
ho has found them at an elevation of from 3,000 to 
1,000 ft. above the sea-level, and most frequently in 
ravines near mountain streams. Though the tem¬ 
perature must fall much below freezing in winter, 
the plants are never exposed to the direct influence 
of frost, being sheltered by trees. The maximum 
temperature probably never exceeds 70° Fahr., and 
this can only be for an hour or so in the day. They 
grow freely in a temperatiu’e of 65°, and rot off very 
quickly if any decayed vegetable matter or mildew 
is allowed to accumulate about the stem. They 
should never bo allow'ed to dry up, though free 
drainage is undoubtedly essential. The soil in which 
they arc found growing is a combination of peat and 
vegetable mould. 
— SThe following is an Economical Plan 
of Cutting Cauliflowers, which Mrs. 
Stephens sends us from Huish’s Alphabetical 
Receipt-Bool;, and which she recommends where 
there is a largo family, as she has for years proved 
its usefulness:—“ The most economical plan of 
cutting cauliflowers is, instead of cutting off the 
whole head of a cauliflower, to leave a pait on, and 
all the leaves, folding them over. By this method 
second and even third heads will be formed, and 
thus they may be eaten for two or three mouths ; 
whereas at present, by cutting the head completely 
off, the bed of cauliflowers is exhausted in two or 
three weeks.” She leaves a little branch on two 
sides, as large as a small egg, and thus has many 
times had two and even three cuttings from one 
plant. 
— ^ SAMPLE of the Japanese Oil of Peeilla 
ociMOiDES, an oil obtained from the seeds of 
the plant, was exhibited at a recent meeting of 
the Horticultural Society of Berlin. The Comte de 
Castillon (Rev. Hort., 1878, 455) states that it is 
called Yc-Goma, and is employed in various ways, 
namely, in the proportion of ten per cent., to facilitate 
the extraction of the wax of Rhus vernicifera and 
R. succedunea; also to render coats and umbrellas 
watci'-tight, and in the manufactme of the celebrated 
Jai)anese leather paper. What a])pears to be the 
same article is, according to Mr. Davenport, used 
by the Manchurians, under the name of Hemp-seed 
oil, for painting boats, ships, &e. 
— ^The Daphne japonica vaeiegata is an 
evergreen sweet-scented flowering shrub, which, 
though old, ought to be more extensively 
grown. It is harily, or very nearly so, since we 
learn that a bush of it some 3 ft. Iiigh and nearly as 
much across, stood out for many winters, until re¬ 
moved to make way for alterations, at the Great 
Berkhampsted Nurseries, where it used to scent the 
whole quarter on which it stood. It is a remarkably 
free bloomer, hundreds of young plants there in the 
cold pits being in full blossom, and not more than 
2 in. or 3 in. in height. It has, as is known, some¬ 
thing of the aspect of D. indica or D. odora, but 
appears to bo hardier than these. The flowers arc 
tinted with a flusli of ])ale purple, and deliciously 
scented, and though perhaps scarcely to bo calloil 
showy, are very pleasing in appearance. 
— SThe Salvia splendens Beuanti is a 
mucb improved varietj' of tbis brilliant sage. 
It was raised in France, and has during the 
past autumn been flowering freely in Mr. Canuell’s 
nursery at Swanley. It is of dwarfer and inore com¬ 
pact habit than the tjqie, and the leaves arc quite 
different, being deeply serrated on the edges, whilst 
the flowers, which arc produced in large and abund¬ 
ant trusses, are larger than those of the common 
kind, and equally gorgeous in colour. 
— 21ttention has been invited to a NEtv 
Weeping Willoav (Salix ri(jida pendula), by 
Dr. Carl Bolle, in the Berliner Mouatsschriff. 
Ho describes it as a noble and handsome novelty, 
and a valuable addition to the Weeping Willow's now 
grown. It was accidentally discovered amongst a 
number of cuttings of typical S. rigida, creeping 
along on the ground, instead of growing erect, and 
the happy fluder, Mr. Joseph Wrede, lost no time in 
grafting it on stems of Salix i>yramidalis. This 
happened four or five years ago, and the results have 
exceeded expectations, the new Weeping Willow 
being only of moderately strong growth, and there¬ 
fore suitable for small gardens. 
— S'he new Chionodoxa Lucili^ is one 
of the most charming of our hardy spring¬ 
flowering bulbs. It was introduced by Mr. 
Maw from Asia Minor, and surpasses any of the 
squills, being also apparently as hardy and as easy to 
increase as Scilla sibirica. The colour is a bright 
sky-blue, fading to white in the centre of the 
flowers, which are about two inches in diameter, 
five or six in number, and thrown well up to 
the sun. The foliage is very like that of Scilla 
bifolia. 
— SThe New Tea Rose, Duke of Con¬ 
naught, is one of the acquisitions of Mr. H. 
Bennett, Stapleford Nursery, Salisbury. Cut 
blooms which we have seen prove it a gem of tho 
first water, a full-sized, showy flower, of a rich crim¬ 
son, the colour almost equalling in intensity that of 
the old crimson China, and the flowers having a 
most delicious scent. Another flower, named Purple 
King, is not only very jiromising, but very fragrant. 
— ^iiE Journal of Horticulture recom¬ 
mends the following plan for Protecting Young 
C. tBBAGE-PLANTS, and allied subjects, in gardens 
where snails are plentiful. The jilan was adopted at 
Drumlanrig many years ago. Some hundreds of 
8-in. pots without bottoms were kept in stock, and 
when a fresh plantation of greens of any kind was 
made, one of these jDOts was placed over each plant. 
