180 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
November 20, 1886. 
dry soil is an evil also, because it prevents 
lifting with ease and kindness to the roots, and, 
after planting, the roots are left subject to the 
danger of want of proper moistening. Con¬ 
tingencies like these planters naturally wish to 
avoid, as not only productive of excessive 
labour, but of loss; and the death of good 
trees and shrubs means, sometimes, more than 
the mere loss of the things, it means loss of 
time, for the planting season has invariably 
passed away for the year ere the losses are 
discovered. 
A planting season of promise naturally con¬ 
duces to planting ; as at present, with some 
months or more of weather before us pro- 
pectively specially suitable, confidence is now 
abundant in its safety, and those, who under 
other conditions would have hesitated to incur 
expense and possible loss, will now feel that 
planting, even on the largest scale, may be 
performed with safety and with satisfaction. 
It is worthy of note that whilst there are in 
relation to ordinary groimd crops much diver¬ 
gence of opinion as to the most desirable or 
profitable, there does not seem to be any with 
regard to tree planting. In all directions there 
is a consensus of opinion that myriads of acres 
of land in the kingdom may be planted suitably, 
with prospective, % if not with absolute cer¬ 
tainty of profit. There can be little doubt but 
that ample breadths of woods and forests in 
any country is conducive to salubrity, health 
and warmth, as shelter is thus more largely 
provided for tender crops and the inhabitants. 
We are, in this kingdom, beginning to realise 
that whilst fast exhausting the timber stores 
of other countries, we have vast areas lying at 
our own doors absolutely non-productive, but 
which, if properly drained and broken up, 
would, in due time, yield good timber. It is 
true that profits from any such expenditure are 
remote, but they are, doubtless, certain; and 
it seems but fair that owners of estates, which 
have portions of these non-producing areas, 
should have power to charge upon posterity, 
which will reap the benefits of present planting, 
some of the original cost incurred. 
In regard to ordinary garden planting, it is 
as well to remind those who purpose doing so 
that whilst tlierr soil may be by labour and 
weather thoroughly prepared for the work, yet 
success depends finally upon the fitness of the 
trees and shrubs to be removed—still farther, 
upon the way in which they are removed. It 
is not possible to give too much care in this 
respect, whether by one’s own labour or by 
that of a nurseryman, and where really valuable 
trees or shrubs are concerned, special super¬ 
vision in the lifting is desirable. We have 
seen sad disasters to fine specimens from lack 
of due care in that direction, and feel that the 
very foundation of success in planting lies in 
the care bestowed in lifting the subjects to be 
planted. 
-- 
"We have the pleasure to announce that Baron 
Ferdinand de Rothschild, of Waddesden Manor, 
Member of Parliament for the Aylesbury Division of 
Buckinghamshire, has most kindly consented to preside 
at the Forty-fourth Anniversary Festival of the Gar¬ 
deners’ Royal Benevolent Institution, to be held 
at “The Albion,” Aldersgate Street, on Friday, July 
1st, 188". 
We understand that Mr. J. Tranter, of Upper 
Assenden, Henley-on-Thames, has become proprietor 
of the nursery, at Henley-on-Thames, which belonged 
to the late Mr. Jones. 
The dates selected for holding the meetings 
of the Fruit and Floral Committees of the Royal 
Horticultural Society, in 1887, are as follows:— 
January 11th, February 8th, March 8th and 22nd, 
April 12th and 26th, May 10th and 24th, June 14th 
and -28th, July 12th and 26th, August 0th and 23rd, 
September 13th and 27th, October 11th and 25th, 
November 8th, and December 13th. 
On Thursda 3 T , November 11th, Sir Philip Cunliffe 
Owen, on behalf of the gate-keepers at the Colonial 
Exhibition, and in their presence, presented Mr. J. 
Douglas Dick with a handsome drawing-room clock, 
bearing the following inscription: — “Presented to 
J. Douglas Dick, Superintendent of Entrances, by his 
staff', as a mark of respect for his kindness and courtesy 
during the series of exhibitions held at South Ken¬ 
sington from 1883 to 1886. 11th Nov., 1886.” 
The Committee of Management of the Liverpool 
Horticultural Association have arranged for the fol¬ 
lowing series of papers to be read at the meetings of 
the Association on the dates named :—December 18th, 
paper on “ Rose culture under glass,” by Mr. J. Clarke, 
Calderstones. January 22nd, paper on the “Cultiva¬ 
tion of the Ixora,” by Mr. A. R. Cox, Wavertree ; 
paper on the “Cultivation of the Clematis,” by Mr. 
H. Ranger, Aigburth. February 19th, paper on the 
“Cultivation of the Pelargonium,” by Mr. John 
Tunnington, Haigh Hall Gardens; paper on the 
“Cultivation of the Tomato under glass,’’ by Mr. 
B. Cromwell, Allerton. March 26th, paper on the 
“ Rhododendron,” by Mr. R. W. Ker, Liverpool. The 
annual general meeting will be held in the Lecture- 
room of the Free Library, William Brown Street, on 
SaturdajL January 29th, at 7 p.m. 
The Chairman of the Window Garden branch of 
the Birmingham Kyrle Society appeals to the readers 
of a local paper for a few thousand Horse Chestnuts 
and Acorns for distribution amongst the children of 
the Board and denominational schools in that town, 
who plant them in pots and in bottles, &c., and watch 
their growth with great interest. In London, the 
cultivation of Acorns in water, placed in small glasses 
specially made for the purpose, is becoming popular 
with ladies, and ought to become equally as popular 
with the million. As trees will doubtless be planted 
in most of our public parks and gardens next year, in 
commemoration of Her Majesty’s Jubilee, why should 
not every child have its own memorial Oak ? Some 
enterprising nurseryman should see to this. 
We understand that the Chrysanthemum Show to 
be held in Edinburgh on December 7th and 8th, under 
the auspices of the Scottish Horticultural Association, 
is meeting with a gratifying amount of support, con¬ 
sidering the short time the council have had to organise 
it. Although the competition is confined to Scotland, 
it is hoped that some southern growers will be found 
among the exhibitors. Any information may be had 
from Mr. Robertson Munro, Piersliill, Edinburgh. 
We understand that Mr. Edward George has left 
Ockenden, Cuckfield, in consequence of his employer, 
T. W. Boord, Esq., having given up the place, and is 
seeking another situation. Mr. George was formerly 
gardener to the Earl of Cloncarty, at Garbally, succeed¬ 
ing his father who had been gardener there for thirty 
years. He went to Ockenden in 1879, and there 
proved himself a first-rate all-round practitioner, and 
especially able as a fruit cultivator under glass. The 
services of such a man should not be long in the 
market. --i>*<•- 
WINTER-FLOWERING EPACRIS. 
The season being at hand when these excellent 
greenhouse plants commence to bloom, perhaps a few 
notes on some of the best varieties and their culture 
may not be out of place. These plants require good 
cultivation to bring them to perfection, and it is only 
by this that good spikes of flowers can be obtained. 
There are a good many varieties in cultivation at 
present, but I will only name a few of what I consider 
to be the best both for colour in the flower, and free- 
blooming qualities. White, pink and red are the pre¬ 
dominant colours, and these colours blend well with 
any other flowers with which they may be used. It is 
surprising the quantity of flowers that can be cut from 
a dozen well-grown plants, and if the following notes 
can be followed out, the amateur may grow them as 
easily as the professional. 
After the plants have finished flowering, they should 
be kept somewhat drier for a few days, at the end of 
which time the shoots should be shortened about three 
parts of the way back. The plants should then be 
taken into an intermediate temperature, where they 
will soon commence to make new shoots. They must 
be potted as soon as they have nicely started into 
growth, using good peat and silver sand, and be sure 
to pot very firm. The plants may be grown in this 
temperature—syringing the plants occasionally—until 
the growth is considered to be made up, when they 
can be shifted into a frame or cool house, and ulti¬ 
mately out of doors to thoroughly ripen their growth. 
If this be followed out, the plants will be set with 
bud in almost every axil of its leaves. The plants 
will require to be taken inside before any frost appears, 
and ordinary cool greenhouse treatment will then suit 
them. The following eighteen sorts I can with con¬ 
fidence recommend to intending growers :— 
Alba odoratissima 
Ardentissima 
^Delicata 
Densiflora 
Fireball 
Hyacinthiflora candidis- 
,, fulgens [sima 
Impressa coccinea 
Lady Panmure 
Lucifer 
Model 
Mont Blanc 
Mrs. Pym 
Racemosa 
Rosea elegans 
The Bride 
Yesta 
Viscountess Hill. 
For summer-flowering or exhibition sorts the follow¬ 
ing are very useful:—Rubra grandiflora, Princess Royal, 
Eclipse, and miniata splendens. The two varieties of 
Epacris onosmseflora plena—nivalis and alba—promise 
to be very good things, and have every appearance of 
being as free as the single varieties. Under no pretence 
shade the plants, as a great deal of the vigour of the 
plants depends upon having plenty of light. — TV. G. 
-x£<- 
“ BELLICIDE ” OR THE DAISY 
ERADICATOR. 
At last we have what promises to be a valuable help 
to the gardener, in the way of destroying objectionable 
weeds on lawns. One rarely sees a lawn free from 
weeds, and in some cases they have gained such an 
ascendancy, that they spoil the effect of the grass plat, 
which, to be perfect as can be desired, should be entirely 
free from weeds. At great cost of time and labour, 
women and children have been set to work to clear the 
lawn of them, but it is done, in most cases, iu a per¬ 
functory manner, only to be followed in course of time 
by an equally profuse growth. "What has been required, 
is a rapid and efficacious exterminater, easily applied 
and inexpensive in the matter of price. This is found 
in a preparation made by Messrs. Hurst & Son, whole¬ 
sale seedsmen, of 152, Houndsditch, E.C. and designated 
“ Bellicide.” In these respects it has a great advantage 
over "Watson’s lawn sand. 
When visiting Mr. Sherwood, at Dunedin, Streatham 
Hill, during the summer, I saw where the “ Bellicide ” 
had been extensively applied, and the entire destruction 
of Daisies, Plantains, etc., had resulted, and instead of 
the grass, round where the weeds had been growing, 
looking impoverished, there was a most luxuriant 
growth. I was informed by Mr. Sherwood that the 
preparation, in addition to destroying the weeds, 
fertilised and stimulated the growth of the grass. 
During July and August it was largely applied by my 
neighbour, Mr. John Roberts, to the lawns at Gunners- 
bury Park, Acton, with the most satisfactory results ; 
I saw where it had been widely employed, both in 
shady and open sunny positions, and with the best 
results, completely destroying leaves and stalks of the 
Daisies and other weeds. In the process of destruction 
the grass about the weeds became a little discoloured, 
but owing to the presence in the preparation of 
fertilising properties, a luxuriant growth almost im¬ 
mediately followed, and the freshened appearance of 
the lawn -was, as Mr. Roberts described it, “truly 
astonishing.” 
I advised Mr. Robert Greenfield, the head gardener 
at The Priory, Warwick, to try it, knowing that he 
was troubled with a growth of weeds on his lawns, and 
he reports that he experimented at different times, and 
each time with the same successful results. It com¬ 
pletely kills Daisies, Plantains, Dandelions, &e., while, 
at the same time, it acts as a renovator to the grass, as 
the latter grows vigorously after the application of the 
“ Bellicide.” I find it most effectual when applied in 
moist weather. From Mr. G. Bloxham, The Gardens, 
Brickhill Manor, Bletchley, comes an equally satis¬ 
factory statement, especially in relation to the destruc¬ 
tion of moss on paths that are sunless and damp. It 
has been tried at various other places, in all cases with 
the most satisfactory results, and 1 am certain that it 
is a real “ gardener’s friend.” 
The preparation is in the form of a fine powder, and 
it is applied by means of a dredger, which is sent with 
each parcel ; it is necessary to distribute it evenly over 
the plant. In the case of large and vigorous-leaved 
weeds—like Plantains, &c. —it is best to cut away the 
