October 10, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
91 
such thought, and the reason I mentioned Melons in 
my note was, only to give a case in point as to the 
appearance presented by cut fruit. I asked if it was not 
a new departure to cut Peaches and Nectarines when 
judging them, and whether exhibitors and judges 
generally thought such was necessary to the just 
awarding of the prizes. I am j’erfectly aware how 
misleading to the eye Melons are, and it is no uncommon 
thing to see ill-shaped and badly developed specimens 
come off with leading honours, but who needs regret it, 
as they were to be judged for flavour and not appearance. 
I quite agree with “Gerrard’s Cross ’’ that in the case of a 
very close contest indeed, tasting might be resorted to 
as a last move, both in the case of Peaches and Grapes, but 
to commence the tasting at the first onset, with a view 
of coming to a just decision, I think is a new departure, 
and I am pleased to see the view of the matter taken by 
“Gerrard’s Cross,” as well as his estimate of the varieties 
of Grapes exactly coincides with my own. I have no 
experience of Gros Maroc nor of Cooper’s Black, but 
should be pleased to know something of the parentage 
and history of either. — C. TV. C. 
Chou be Burghley. —Opinions vary with re¬ 
spect to this vegetable. It has been grown by nearly 
all the gardeners in this neighbourhood, and more than 
one of them has asked the cook to give it a little extra 
boil, but still we hear the same cry, “ Don’t send any 
more in, we much prefer your small Yorks.” Our late 
chef who served here for 10 years, said, “boil it as long 
as you like it is never any better than ordinary cab¬ 
bages, ” and as for there being a Brocoli in the centre, 
I have never yet seen it. Still it is used in the spring 
time when there is nothing much else to be bad, just 
before the young Cabbages come in.—- TV. J. Ireland, 
Headfort, Kells. 
Gilbert’s Universal Savoy. —Last March a 
packet of seed of the above was sown away from any 
others, so that it could not be mixed. They came up 
splendidly, and when ready were planted out in a good 
border facing east. They grew' well and have made 
splendid heads, but out of some half-dozen distinct 
kinds I should be glad” to know' which is the true uni¬ 
versal. They have not yet been tried in the house, 
but more than one appears to be more like Cabbages 
than Savoys.— TV. J. Ireland, Headfort. 
Anemone japonica.—I make a note of this 
useful late-flowering plant, to point out how well it is 
adapted for growing and flowering in the shade of and 
even under trees. Single Dahlias will not blossom where 
in places this flowers grandly, and all three of the forms 
are equal in this respect. I find that the white variety 
of A. japonica is most generally grown, and well it 
deserves to be, for the flowers arc of the purest white, 
chaste-looking in the extreme, and produced with great 
freedom. I may here remark that this is flowering 
very finely with me this season, which I attribute to 
the fact, that I kept the clumps well watered during 
the summer drought, and occasionally treated them to 
a dressing of Clay’s Fertiliser, one of the most useful 
manures a gardener can have by him. I am afraid 
some are apt to look askance at A. japonica, on account 
of the ragged outline of its blossoms. I think that 
this to some extent adds to their decorative value, but 
then, it will always deserve a place in the garden for its 
colour. Then, what a beauty A. intermedia is. Here, 
we get a deep pink or pale rose counterpart of the white 
form, and it is excellent to cut from and to mingle with 
those of the taller in vases. If cut young, the flowers 
will last a much longer time in water than is generally 
supposed ; the worst of it is, that it is a plant that 
becomes in time almost a nuisance. The creeping roots 
stretch themselves in all directions, and form new 
plants, and the smaller pieces of root appear to be so 
persistent as to make a plant. But 1 must praise 
Amemone japonica notwithstanding, and I say to all 
gardeners—grow it by all means.— R. D. 
Fuchsia tryphylla.— This is a variety but little 
known, but is singularly beautiful. I saw it in bloom 
at Maiden Erleigli, the other day, though the plant 
was but a small one. The foliage is as dark as that of 
Dominiana but smaller, and the small plant was 
carrying three clusters of lovely scarlet flowers at a 
height of 10 ins. It is really an autumn-blooming 
variety, and is said to have been introduced here in 
1842. No doubt, if taken in hand for greenhouse 
decoration in the autumn, it would prove a most 
acceptable plant. It would be an excellent idea to 
offer prizes for the best natural-blooming greenhouse 
plant, not commonly cultivated, to be shown in Sep¬ 
tember or October. By so doing, some very beautiful 
things might be resuscitated, the which, because notin 
bloom during the ordinary plant exhibition season, are 
not well known.— D. [For some historical notes on 
this charming plant, seep. 52 of our last volume.— Ed.\ 
Gelosia pyramidalis coccinea.—At Maiden 
Erleig’n, Mr. Turton has this beautiful Celosia in fine 
form, admirably grovui plants from -3 ft. to 4 ft. in 
height, and covered with tufts of bloom. Seed gives us 
annually for greenhouse decoration few plants more 
beautiful and so acceptable in the autumn. Some of 
the rich gold forms would blend well with these crimson 
wild kinds, but then the result would be to demoralise 
the strain. Mr. Herrin, at Chalfont Park, who had 
seed a year or two since from Maiden Erleigh, has this 
Celosia also in beautiful plants ; indeed, as fine a lot as 
could be desired. I should like to see a score or two of 
them employed to decorate the tables of the show' at 
South Kensington next week, or those of the Pear Con¬ 
gress at Chiswick. The chief drawbacks to this Celosia 
is that it at times seeds so sparingly here, but that may 
be due to good cultivation, as sometimes it is found that 
half-starved plants, if not so handsome, are more pro¬ 
ductive of seed. The plants come away slowly at the 
first, for sharp forcing is apt to distort them, hence they 
always bloom and come more perfect in the autumn than 
any other season.— D. 
-—- 
BOTANICAL MARE’S-NESTS— 
CHIEFLY FUNGOLOGIOAL.* 
No one likes to be set down as the discoverer of a 
mare’s-nest. Mare’s-nests are generally discovered by 
young, green, unfledged, and incautious persons. An 
old hand seldom discovers a mare’s-nest, for he is too 
wary to put trust in any appearances ; he suspects all 
he sees to be disguised mare’s-nests. “ Professors ” of 
a certain sort are adepts in discovering mare’s-nests. A 
regular genuine full-blown mare’s-nest has often been 
first brought to light (as I shall soon show') by a 
“professor,” or a “ doctor ” of a certain class. The 
discoverers of mare’s-nests often write to the daily or 
v'eekly newspapers ; they also write wondrous para¬ 
graphs for magazines. The discoverers are often 
anonymous, but sometimes a discoverer is so confident 
that his discovery is genuine, and not all “moonshine,” 
that he ventures to append his name. In the following 
notes I shall endeavour not to hurt anyone’s feelings, 
but simply give a few instances of botanical mare’s-nests 
—chiefly fungologieal. There will be no doubt as to the 
genuiuess of many of my examples of mare’s-nests; but, 
perhaps, some young men may say that all are not genu¬ 
ine, all I can say is I am very suspicious that they are. 
There is this peculiarity about the finding of mare’s- 
nests which are sometimes discovered by men of science, 
the discoverer probably soon sees the true nature of his 
discovery, and says no more about it. He looks at it 
askance, from afar off. But when the mare’s-nest has 
once been discovered, a lot of young confirmers are sure 
to speedily put in an appearance, and these confirmers 
and lecturers constantly swear that “moonshine” is 
not “moonshine,” but something very solid. They 
swarm round the “mare’s-nest ” like blue-bottles round 
carrion. After the discoverer (who is keeping at a safe 
distance) has long ceased to defend his “mare’s-nest,” 
these flies buzz about the nest, and brood over the 
addled eggs. Like ants and mosquitos they can do but 
little damage, but they cause annoyance and irritation 
to thin-skinned persons. Nearly all the greater fungo- 
logical mare’s-nests have been quietly abandoned by 
their discoverers, but they have been kept in existence, 
unfortunately, as laughing-stocks, by an ignoble army 
of small confirmers. 
“Ear-cockle.” 
I always take pleasure in thrusting at shady. 
“doctors” and “professors.” I will, therefore, take 
a “doctor” first, a German “doctor,” his name is Dr. 
Carlo Miieke, a peculiar name, in English it indicates a 
mess or a muddle. This Dr. Miieke, in 1S70, discovered 
a terrific mare’s-nest in reference to a common and very 
familiar disease of Wheat termed “ ear-cockle. ” “Ear- 
cockle,” as every beginner knows, is caused by a minute 
thread-worm, named Anguillula tritici, this little worm 
* A Paper read before the Essex Field Club, Buckhurst Hill, 
Oct. 3rd, 1SS5, by Worthington G. Smith, F.L.S., M.A.I., &c. 
which is allied to the so-called “vinegar-eel,” causes 
little offensive galls to replace grains of com in the ear. 
Friend Miieke “discovered ” that the disease was caused 
by a mare’s-nest fungus, named by him “Xenodoehius,” 
he probably meant Xenodochus. Dr. Miicke’s essay was 
published by the Board of Agriculture of Melbourne, and 
Dr. Miieke was awarded a substantial money prize by 
the Board for his wonderful mare’s-nest. The essay is a 
remarkable one, the German “doctor” does not write 
“tritici,” but in every instance where he should use that 
word, he writes the extraordinary word “ tritii ” ; he also 
tells the Mclbourneites that some persons believe ear- 
cockle to be caused by the ‘ ! chrysalis' of an aphis. ” The 
“ chrysalis of an aphis ” is a grand mare’s-nest, one of 
the first water. He illustrates what he calls the 
. » 
imagines”—possibly meaning imago—of an aphis 
without a rostrum. He also figures a very red garden 
worm, and calls it “such an eel,” and says it is not 
always red, for, says he, it is sometimes white. Dr. 
Miieke says he has examined “flour” from the roots of 
Wheat, and found the “flour ” to consist of the “eggs 
of an aphis unknown to him.” Fancy “flour” from 
the “roots of Wheat ” being not flour but the eggs of 
an aphis, and an unknown aphis ! 
“A Loud Mayor’s-Nest.” 
There is but one step from such a mare’s-nest 
discovering, prize-taking German doctor to a London 
alderman, so I will take the next instance from the 
Guildhall Museum, London, where a large number of 
very curious curiosities may always be seen. In one of 
the public rooms there is a tall and handsome glass case 
(with its back to the window), the case contains a 
peculiar species of unmitigated mare’s-nest, in fact, a 
Lord-Mayor’s-nest. At the bottom of the case is a 
lump of sponge, and springing through the sponge is a 
Horny Coralline, Polyzooh, or Alcyonarian Zoophyte, 
quite an every-day and common-place affair. The case 
bears a remarkable inscription, painted on a tablet of 
deal (neatly grained to imitate oak). The legend says 
in capitals:—“This sponge was dredged in the Ba¬ 
hamas,” then in much smaller Homan letters young 
citizens are instructed in the following terms :—“It 
shows the indissoluble union of an animal (the sponge) 
and a vegetable (the marine plant) ; the sponge has 
affixed itself to the root of the plant and both have 
grown together, the branches of the plant transfixing 
the sponge. ” The name of the discoverer of this Lord- 
Mayor’s-nest is given in the glass-case ; the discoverer 
was quite right (in a punster’s sense) in calling his 
common Zoophyte “ a marine plant, ” it is a kind of 
plant that should on April 1st be annually exhibited to 
the “marines.” 
Dodder and Rafflesia. 
We will now notice a law case. In 1S73 a trial took 
place at Bedford for “breach of warranty.” A farmer 
had bought Clover seed infested with Dodder seed, 
the result of course being, that all the farmer’s Clover 
was destroyed by the parasite. The farmer claimed 
£202 10s. damages; in defence, great doubts were 
thrown on the very existence of such dubious and 
impossible things as Dodder seeds, and it was said in 
the defence, that, “Dodder is a parasite, the propa¬ 
gation of which is wholly unaccountable to the most 
experienced agriculturalists.” Judge and jury were 
alike perplexed. Although the very existence of such 
things as Dodder seeds had been tabooed, the jury 
found the defendant guilt}', but assessed the damages 
not at £202 10s. but £50. The judge evidently believed 
in the non-existence of Dodder seeds, and the 
unaccountable mystery of Dodder, for he gave the 
defendant leave to have the damages reduced to 
£6 7s. 6d., the price paid for the seed. 
Before dismissing Dodder, I will mention a little 
mare’s-nest discovered by a writer who described the 
well-known plant named Rafflesia in the Edinburgh 
Review for October, 1883. The Rafflesia as is well- 
known has a similar parasitic habit with Dodder, 
the reviewer said “the Rafflesia is a plant or fungus,” 
observe that! “ a plant or fungus.” The mare’s-nester 
elsewhere in his description, says, “that fungi are com¬ 
monly regarded as not bearing flowers” ; the Rafflesia 
fungus was, of course, an exception to this rule. 
Scab in Potato. 
I will now turn to Potatos. Lots of mare’s-nests 
have been discovered about Potatos ; one of the worst 
was when Prof, de Bary of Strasbourg discovered for 
the Royal Agricultural Society of England, that I did 
not know what I was talking about. 
