1880, ] 
GARDEN GOSSIP. 
81 
— En order to obtain Double Flowers, it 
lias been thought advisable to make use of the 
pollen from double flowers, where it is possible 
to obtain it, and to apply it to tlie stigma of single 
flowers from which it is desired to procure double- 
flowered seedlings. M. Lemoine desirous of ex¬ 
perimenting with Lilacs, found that the only double- 
flowered Lilac then known had no stamens, and 
consequently no pollen. He therefore decided to 
reverse the process, and to fertilise the stigmas of 
certain double-flowered Lilacs with the pollen from 
some of the best single varieties. The experiment 
was so far a success, that out of forty seedlings 
thirty at least yielded semi-double or double flowers, 
one of them being very remarkable for its beauty. 
— JEt is stated that plants of the Anthurium 
Scherzerianum, in the Botanical Garden at 
Florence, have yielded seedlings, some of which 
produced white spathes with yellow spadices, and 
others with rose-coloured spathes with orange 
spadices. 
— En reference to the cure of Scale on 
Fruit-trees, Mr. Tidmarsli writes that the mix¬ 
ture referred to at p. 190 of our last volume is 
strongly recommended, not for fruit-trees alone, but 
for dressing all liard-leaved plants subject to scale, 
such as the Orange tribe, Camellias, Crotons, Aucu- 
bns, Gardenias, Myrtles and their allies, Palms, also 
Conifers, some of which are much injured by scale, 
Araucaria excelsa, for instance. 
— H new preparation called Fir-tree Oil 
is strongly recommended by Mr. Harrison, of 
Ivnowsley, as an effectual remedy for scale on 
pear and plum trees, and other tree-pests, and as 
being neither unsafe in ordinary hands, nor uncer¬ 
tain in action, like spirits of turpentine, every form 
of petroleum, and oils in general. This Fir-tree oil, 
recently introduced by Mr. Griffith Hughes, of Man¬ 
chester, mixes readily with water, and though it is 
very deadly in its effect upon insect life, it seems to 
be quite harmless to all but the most tender vege¬ 
tation, when used at a strength of half-a-pint to two 
gallons of water. Like other now remedies, it 
should, however, be tried on a small scale at first. 
— She Senecio pulcher, which we have 
already mentioned as one of the finest addi¬ 
tions to the list of hardy herbaceous plants, 
seems to be equally valuable for greenhouse or con¬ 
servatory decoration at this season. Mr. Burbidge, 
of the Dublin College Botanic Garden, conceived the 
idea of potting one or two plants, which developed 
their great amaranthine-rayed flowers freely under 
glass. Mr. Burbidge states that the plant, after 
being lifted, was placed in a pot in a corridor or 
porch from which frost is barely excluded, and the 
flowers continued fresh. This fine Uruguay Groundsel 
is a little too late in its season of flowering for our 
climate, and those who wish to enjoy its beauty in 
perfection cannot do better than lift some of their 
plants next season on the approach of frost, and put 
them under glass. Thus treated, every cottager 
might have it in his window at Yuletide, since the 
plant is so readily increased by seeds and root- 
cuttings, that it ought to become obtainable by all 
who care to cultivate it. 
— ©he Yellow Paradise Stock is tho¬ 
roughly recommended by M. Carricre for graft¬ 
ing apples. It is said to be hardier than the 
common Paradise stock, and its growth is, so to 
speak, continuous, so that it may be worked at any 
season. MM. Simon Louis think so highly of it that 
they use no other for dwarfs and cordons. 
— ©he Cruciferous Chorispora Greigi is 
a charming annual or biennial, figured and de¬ 
scribed by Regel ( Gartenflora , t. 984). It is a 
tufted plant, with elegant pinnatifid leaves and 
numerous slender flower-stems, rising to a height of 
12 to 15 in., bearing numerous reddish violet-purple 
flowers, about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, 
and the seed-vessel is also a pretty object, being 
constricted between the seeds. The stock has been 
put into the hands of Messrs. Haage and Schmidt, 
of Erfurt. It is one of the discoveries of Mr. Albert 
Hegel in the Thian-Schan district. Another Chori¬ 
spora, C. iberica, has been found with double flowers. 
It is a wild specimen from Armenia, and even in 
the dried state bears evidence that it must be a very 
beautiful plant when growing. 
— ©he Sonchus japonicus, alias Erythro- 
cha:te palmatifida, is one of the most striking 
of ornamental Composites. Grown as a speci¬ 
men plant on a lawn, or in a conspicuous place in 
the mixed border, it would make a fine object. The 
handsome, palmatifid root-leaves have long petioles, 
and the stout scapes, which are about 4ft. high, 
bear lax panicles of large golden-yellow heads, 
sometimes as many as eight or tenon a single scape. 
This Japanese perennial requires a good rich soil, and 
a rather moist position for its full and vigorous 
development. 
— ©he Soiadopitys verticillata, or Um¬ 
brella Pine of Japan, according to a writer in 
the Journal of Forestry , produced two cones 
last year and three this, at Ardinglass, but the seeds 
proved to be unripe. 
— ©he now well-known Berberis steno- 
piiylla is a very free-flowering elegant-habited 
shrub, raised and sent out some years ago by 
Messrs. Fisher, Holmes, and Co., of Sheffield. It is 
a veritable hybrid between B. empetrifolia and B. 
Darwinii, both very desirable species, but surpassed 
by the hybrid offspring. From this hybrid Berberry, 
hundreds of seedlings have been raised, which show, 
one would venture to think, every possible inter¬ 
mediate condition between the grand-parents, 
some being more like empetrifolia, others more like 
Darwinii, and there are countless nuances between 
them. A better illustration of the dissociation of 
hybrid characters, as descanted on so learnedly by 
M. Xaudin, could hardly be wished. 
— Et has been well observed that too little 
use is made of the Purple Beech in ornamen¬ 
tal planting. The beech is the most adaptable 
of all trees,* and will submit to any amount of con¬ 
trol, as an illustration of which our beech-hedges 
may be cited. Why, it is asked, should not the 
beautifully coloured purple beech be used freely in 
the bush form in the front of shrubberies, or as a 
foreground plant, as single specimens or in masses P 
It could be easily kept to any height or any form, 
and numerous associations will readily suggest 
themselves where brilliant contrasts might be easily 
obtained. “ In fact,” observes the writer, “I sec no 
reason why it could not be used in the flower- 
