124 
THE GARDENING WOULD. 
October, 23, 1886. 
than ten clays without passing the scythe or mowing 
machine over it. It will then thicken and ultimately 
become as beautiful as a piece of velvet, and, if the 
bottom be good, will seldom burn. Short grass scythes 
or a mowing machine should always be employed for 
cutting lawns.— Q. 
Helianthus multiflorus flore pleno. —This 
fine yellow autumn-flowering perennial is, perhaps, 
one of the most suitable subjects we have for planting 
in shrubbery borders ; but for gardens of limited extent, 
if it has a fault, it is that of growing too high, and so 
becoming out of character with its surroundings. But 
this objection can be got over by adopting the method 
of treatment advocated in another column in connection 
with the subject of Michaelmas Daisies— i.e., by lifting 
the stools in February, planting them in a frame, and 
propagating the young shoots. Plants raised in this 
w T ay make dwarfer and more bushy specimens, and 
yield much finer flowers than do those left to take 
care of themselves after being planted. 
Tropseolum speciosum. — As considerable 
attention has been given lately to this beautiful climbing 
Tropaeolum, I should like to call the attention of your 
readers to the wonderful manner in which it is 
flourishing in Messrs. Paul & Son’s nursery, at High 
Beech. It can be seen there growing in the Yew 
hedges, that are used as protection for the small seed¬ 
ling Rhododendrons, &c., in the wildest profusion, 
without any regard either to aspect or soil ; although, 
for the most part, it is growing in light peaty loam, 
such as is generally used for Rhododendrons. It com¬ 
mences flowering early in the summer, and is only just 
finishing now. It has been a perfect blaze of red all 
the summer, and its wreaths, hanging in the dark green 
foliage of the Yew, gives it a very chaste appearance. 
It has been flourishing in this manner for several years, 
and, I believe, is not disturbed except for propagation. 
I have arrived at the same conclusion as your corre¬ 
spondent, “ F. P. L.,” that it will not do well for any 
length of time in hot dry situations.— Excelsior. 
Early-flowering Bulbs.— The Daffodil season 
may be said to have commenced already at Tottenham, 
where Mr. T. S. "Ware recently had in bloom the 
diminutive Narcissus serotinus, a very interesting 
plant, being the first of all to bloom, and having small 
pure white blossoms. Leucojum autumnale, the Ladies’ 
Snowflake, and pure white ; and Scilla lingulata, one 
of the Algerian species, with small pale blue flowers 
and dark anthers, were also in bloom in the same bed. 
To Make Young Pear Trees Bear Fruit. 
—A correspondent writes :—■“ I was-afflicted by a sight 
in my garden, for four or five years, of the most 
luxuriant and thrifty young Pear trees, which would 
not bear, but all their strength ran to wood. Vexed 
at this, I resolved to try the effect of bending down the 
branches so as to check the flow of the sap, and cause 
them to form fruit-buds instead of wood-buds. Accord¬ 
ingly, the first week in December, I filled my pockets 
with stout twine ; I drove down some small pegs into 
the ground beneath my trees, which had branched low 
so as to make dwarfish heads ; I then tied a string to 
the end of every long shoot, and gradually bringing 
down the end of the limb till it curved down so as to 
make a considerable bend or bow, I fastened it in that 
position, either by tying the other end of the string to 
the peg, or to another branch, or to a part of the trunk. 
According to my expectation, the tree next year 
changed its habit of growth, and set an abundance of 
fruit-buds. Since that I have had plentiful crops of 
fruit without trouble.” 
Asplenium marinmn. —Your illustration in 
last week’s issue of a plant of this grown in an air¬ 
tight case reminds me of a similar one which I saw on 
the counter of Mr. Elms, a perfumer, who once had a 
shop near Bond Street (Brook Street, 1 think). The 
plant had grown into quite an abnormal form, and 
assumed quite a tropical aspect. I was told that the 
glass was only removed once or twice a year for the 
purpose of cleaning it. I am inclined to think that 
fussing about with Wardian cases causes more mischief 
than anything else.— J. B. 
Journeyman Shoemaker and Member 
of the Linnean Society.— Mr. Thomas Edward, 
the journeyman shoemaker, who died in April last, 
had been for nine years an Associate of the Linnean 
Society of London. In the recently-issued Proceedings 
of the Society, October, 1886, p. 142, it is stated 
that Mr. T. Edward deservedly obtained a high repu¬ 
tation as a shrewd and accurate observer of nature, 
and as a most industrious and careful collector. Fol¬ 
lowing the poorly-paid calling of a journeyman 
shoemaker in a small Scotch town, his -whole life was a 
struggle against poverty and hardship, and the diffi¬ 
culties that beset the pursuit of knowledge without 
means and without the necessary education. With 
Edward, however, the love of all things animate was 
inborn, and his craving to rob nature of her secrets 
was insatiable. Notwithstanding his many disad¬ 
vantages, he was able to add greatly to the knowledge 
of the fauna—marine as well as terrestrial—of his 
native district, and made a great number of valuable 
collections. Many specialists have acknowledged their 
indebtedness to him for specimens sent and new species 
obtained. Edward himself has also contributed the 
description of a number of his observations to various 
scientific publications, and some have appeared in the 
journal of this society. A list of the Yertebrata and 
Crustacea, collected by Mr. Edward in Banffshire, 
occupies forty-seven pages in Dr. Samuel Smiles’ Life of 
the naturalist. At the time of his death, in his 72nd 
year, he was Curator of the Banff Museum. 
-*->Xo- 
A NEW BEETLE TRAP. 
Several times during the past season we have had 
the opportunity of observing the useful «nd effective 
character of a new beetle and cockroach trap, invented 
by the Messrs. W. & J. Birkenhead, of Sale, near Man* 
Chester, and who, finding it so useful in their own Fern 
houses, are now offering it to the public. The general 
appearance of the trap is shown in the accompanying 
illustration, but it should be stated that it consists of 
two parts : the top, with the two pieces of glass sloping 
inwards, with the means of ingress shown on one side ; 
and the double bottom, with a circular hole in the 
lower corner, to allow the captives to escape into dark¬ 
ness as daylight approaches. The hole is opened or 
closed by a zinc slide, and should always be left open 
when the trap is set. To bait the trap, the top half is 
lifted, off and such tempting bait as cooked fish, oat¬ 
meal, &c. spread over the bottom. Attracted by the 
odour of the good things within, the beetles drop in 
the box through the open space in the glass top, and 
once inside find it impossible to get out again. Seeking 
darkness, as is their custom, the zinc slide is pushed in, 
the top half is lifted off, and the victims of misplaced 
confidence are at the mercy of their captors. Besides 
black beetles, such disgusting creatures as cockroaches, 
crickets and woodlice are easily entrapped if the odour 
of the bait is sufficiently strong, and on the efficacy of 
the allurement of course much depends, as in the case 
of all kinds of bait laid for larger vermin. To capture 
these offensive pests in traps is a much less dangerous 
practice than laying down poison, hence we have all 
the more pleasure in bringing the Messrs. Birkenhead’s 
contrivance under the notice of our readers. 
-- 
MICHAELMAS DAISIES. 
True to their character in coming into flower about 
Michaelmas Day, how grandly have the perennial 
Asters this season maintained their reputation as free 
blooming and most attractive subjects ! Largely grown 
as they are by those who know their value, and can get 
the best sorts, yet how many gardens there are, and 
small gardens in particular, that know them not. It 
has been urged against them, that their tall straggling 
habit renders them unsuitable for other than herbaceous 
and shrubbery borders of large size, and this is to 
some extent true as regards the taller-growing forms, 
but there are several now of such lowly and moderate 
growth, that but little excuse on this score is left for 
their neglect. 
When at Mr. T. S. Ware’s a week or two ago, Mr. 
Amos Perry, who is a veritable epitome of “ wrinkles,” 
and who will find out the capabilities of a plant if any¬ 
body can, gave us a hint on the cultivation of these 
plants that may be of great service to many of our 
readers. Here it is. Said Mr. Perry in reply to a 
remark as to what pretty pot plants they would make 
were it not for the length of their stems—“ That is 
easily got over. Lift a stool in February, and strike 
the young shoots which will soon appear, grow them 
on in pots, and you at once reduce their height by 
more than one-third.” Well, that is a “wrinkle,” and 
we hope many of our readers will adopt the plan, 
feeling certain they will be gratified with the results ; 
for dwarf dense heads of lovely flowers, such as the 
perennial Asters yield, must be acceptable to any one. 
Amateurs who have small greenhouses which they can 
never have too gay, and who depend largely on hardy or 
nearly hardy plants, should especially adopt this plan, 
it is so easily done. 
Among the choicer sorts that were flowering at Mr. 
Ware’s, we may note A. amellus and A. amellus 
bessarabicus, both of medium height and both hand¬ 
some, but the last-named the finest of the two ; A. 
longifolius formosus, about 2 ft. high, wondrously free- 
flowering, and mauve in colour ; A. hybridus nanus, 
pale rose, very dwarf and free ; A. dumosus, height 
about 4 ft., and the flowers large, of a bluish mauve 
shade ; A. formosissimum, medium height, mauve ; 
A. Novae Anglise and A. Novae Angliae rubra, 6 ft. high, 
and both very fine ; A. laevis, of which there are about 
100 varieties, the plant at Mr. Ware’s being one of the 
best, having a strong branching habit and large flowers, 
French-grey in colour ; A. niveus, a good white, per¬ 
haps the best; and A. Townsendii, a biennial, with 
fine large flowers of a purplish lilac colour. 
--- 
NOTES ON LILIUMS.— IX. 
My ninth and concluding chapter on Liliums I 
purpose devoting to a few remarks concerning the 
latest-flowered group of the genus—viz., L. speciosum 
and its several forms. The flowering of the “ Tigers,” 
to which my last note was directed, brings the flowering 
season well up to the end of August, and some few 
remain on into the middle of September, when the 
members of the present group form the connecting link 
in the chain of their flowering. Taken collectively, 
the varieties of 
Liliuji speciosum (or, as they were erroneously 
long known in gardens, L. lancifolium) form a valuable 
and showy, as well as useful, group, and are always 
admired, either as pot plants grown for conservatory 
decoration, or for the embellishment of the flower 
borders out of doors ; in either case they require liberal 
treatment and a rich loamy soil to bring them to per¬ 
fection. When well grown, they will attain to 5 ft. 
high, and bearing from twelve to twenty of their 
handsome flowers, are very imposing subjects for general 
decorative purposes. They hold an unique position as 
autumn-flowering Lilies, and being easily managed, 
should find a place in all gardens where beauty and a 
long-continued season of flower is of the first moment. 
They are extremely hardy, inasmuch as no amount of 
winter frosts will harm them ; but they are benefited 
by a slight protection in spring time to preserve them 
from the nipping and destructive frosts which we so 
often experience at that season of the year, and of 
which their young and tender shoots are so susceptible. 
This protection, however, may be afforded them in 
such a variety of ways that it is well they should have 
it, and thus save the blooms ; and not only this, but 
save your bulbs too, for be it remembered that while 
these frosts do not kill them outright, they suffer both 
directly and indirectly at the root— i.e., the bulb—in 
consequence of the check thus received by leaf and 
stem, which form the important and chief functions 
in the full development of the bulb ; and which, being 
retarded for the season, do not reach the size that they 
otherwise would provided they had sprung from the 
earth, and had reached maturity unharmed. When 
grown in clumps, a few boughs of Spruce Fir or ever¬ 
green Laurels will be all that is needed to protect them ; 
