1882 .] 
GARDEN GOSSIP. 
143 
house. Freesia refracta alba , and F. Leichtlinii 
major [pi. 347], two pretty Irids, the former with 
white, the latter with pale yellow flowers blotched 
with orange; the flowers are long funnel-shaped, and 
grow erect from one side of the refracted tip of the 
flower scape.—C. Smith. Fhalcenopsis Stuartiana 
nobilis, and P. Schilleriana [pi. 348], two of the 
finest of Eastern Orchids.—Low & Co. Clematis 
Sieboldii and C. JacJcmanni [pi. 349], both well- 
known beautiful hardy climbers, the former too 
bright in the centre, tho latter too pointed in the 
sepals, in this respect more like the variety named 
Thomas Moore. Oncidium cucullatum giganteum 
[pi. 350], a very pretty Andean Orchid, with the 
flowers in racemes, having short olive brown sepals 
and petals, and a large transversely reniform emar- 
ginate rosy-tinted lip spotted with crimson. 
GARDEN GOSSIP, 
state of the Fruit Crops in the 
Inited Kingdom and Ireland has been, 
s usual, tabulated by the Gardeners’ 
'hronicle (N. S., xviii., 200), but the record 
is by no means encouraging. The nett results of the 
returns thus brought together are as follows:— 
Apricots.— Under average generally; best crops 
in Eastern, Midland, and Western Counties. 
Plums.— Much under average ; quality inferior. 
Cherries.— Much under average, except Mo- 
rellos; best returns from Bedfordshire and Oxford¬ 
shire. 
Peaches and Nectarines.— Under average, 
except in Southern and Western Counties. 
Apples.— Very much under average. 
Pears.— Very much under an average; quality 
generally reported as likely to be inferior. 
Small Fruits.— Good average generally; over 
average in Eastern, Southern, and Western Counties. 
Strawberries.— Good average generally. 
Nuts.— Under average except in Eastern, Midland, 
Southern, and Western Counties. 
Walnuts.— A thin crop generally. 
The records of the last ten or a dozen years are not 
at all encouraging. In 1870 fruit crops of all kinds 
were generally abundant; in 1871 scanty and late; 
in 1872 universal failure; in 1873 under average; in 
1874 and 1875 over average; in 1876, 1877, 1878, 
1879, 1880—five years in succession — general 
failure ; in 1881 a fair average; and in 1882 deficient 
generally. 
— ®he published reports as to the.condi¬ 
tion of the Potato Crop are not so unfavour¬ 
able as might have been anticipated. There 
seems to be, at present, a prospect of a fair crop, in 
spite of the disease having made its appearance in a 
severe form, especially in the South and "West. The' 
early sorts appear to be most affected with the 
disease, while Magnum Bonum and Champion hold 
their own as hardy varieties relatively unhurt by the 
fungus. The changes which, in the course of a few 
days, are seen to occur in patches of sound potatos 
growing near diseased ones, seem to suggest that it 
would be wise to destroy—burn—the shaws imme¬ 
diately the fungus is discovered to have taken hold of 
them. 
— It appears that Gilbert’s Cabbage 
Broccoli now boasts the alias of Chou de 
Burghley. Mr. H. Knight speaks very highly 
of it, as it deserves, in the Gardeners’ Chronicle. 
He says that this esculent, now becoming widely 
known to the horticultural world, is destined to lift 
its head high enough to be crowned king of the 
brassica tribe. I have grown it, he adds, during the 
pa9t twelve months from plants obtained from Mr. 
Gilbert, and found it superior to anything of either 
the cabbage or broccoli kind. In fact, I consider if 
the nearest approach yet attained to animal marrow 
in the vegetable kingdom. It will be a boon to the 
cottager when he becomes possessed of a vegetable 
that will defy the rigours of winter. I have now 
(July) beautiful specimens of it, becoming hard and 
white, of a conical shape. 
—• 5The pretty little Nertera depressa is 
not so generally grown as it deserves to be. 
The Irish Farmer's Gazette tells us that it 
does best grown in a cool frame in a rather shady 
aspect. It may be grown in shallow seed-pans, but 
better in small pots, the thorough drainage of which 
is most important, and should be secured by plenty 
of small potsherds, and a thin layer of moss over 
them. The best soil is heath mould, with a con¬ 
siderable mixture of grit or coarse sand. In potting, 
the plant should be kept somewhat up. The pots 
should be plunged in coal-ashes or sand, and thus 
being in a cool medium, the plants are not so likely 
to suffer from want of moisture at the roots, as 
they otherwise would be; they should never be 
allowed to get dry or want moisture at the roots. 
They are benefited by an occasional dewing overhead 
with soft, tepid water. In the autumn, when ber¬ 
ried, they 7 may be brought to the house, greenhouse, 
or wherever it is desirable to keep them for orna¬ 
ment. In the spring they may be returned to the 
frame, and treated as above. As to temperature, 
that of a cool frame kept somewhat close is all that 
is required. When berried it will accommodate 
itself to more lightsome and drier quarters. 
— JThe varieties of Wallflower are most 
useful for furnishing the greenhouse during 
the winter months; not so much for the 
beauty of their flowers, which is not to be despised, 
as for the gratefulness of the odour they emit. To 
have the plants large enough to flower in the winter 
the seed should be sown out of doors in March, and 
the seedlings transplanted into beds about ten inches 
apart. They can be lifted and potted in the autumn, 
and then placed in the greenhouse; or if more 
convenient a portion only need be taken into the 
greenhouse, those remaining being plunged in coal- 
ashes until required for a succession. 
— f$R. T. Meehan, in discussing the laws 
which govern the Production of Seed in 
Wistaria sinensis, states that the Wistaria 
when supported grows amazingly, but is seedless; 
on the contrary, the self-supporting so-called “ tree 
Wistarias ” produce seeds abundantly. 
— <©ne of the curiosities of the garden, 
none too often met with, is the Green Rose, 
R. indica viridifiora , which, according to Mr. 
W. Paul, was first seen in France in the possession 
of M. Verdier, of Paris, in 1855, he having received 
it from an American nurseryman of Augusta, 
Georgia. The late Mr. Miellez of Lille, distributed 
it as a new rose in 1857. Mr. Ellwanger in his 
recent book, The Rose, states that it is “ probably a 
sport from the old Blush or one of its immediate 
descendants ; its peculiarity consists in green flowers, 
which are freely produced; though curious, they 
are not attractive, and there is no value in it save 
as a curiosity.” 
