April 14, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
523 
stock from a first-rate source, he may be somewhat dis¬ 
appointed with the quality, for I am quite convinced 
that stocks vary in this respect. It is an exceedingly 
heavy cropper, and very frequently it is difficult to 
obtain sufficient seed, so uniform in size are they. It 
is very handsome and of first-rate quality, although I 
must admit having been told that in wet seasons it is 
inclined to be soapy. One great advantage with this 
kind is that it ripens off in the autumn, being ready to 
lift at the same time as some of the second earlies, 
and yet keeping in good condition for table through 
the present month. Your correspondent may safely 
give both kinds a trial.— TV. Child. 
A Pretty Box of Spring Flowers. 
One of the most attractive objects in the way of spring 
flowers I have seen for a long time was a window-box 
of Snowdrops and Scilla siberica intermixed. The 
beautiful deep rich blue of the latter made a pleasing 
contrast with the white nodding flowers of the former, 
and I could not help thinking what a charming display 
a group of flower beds would present planted with the 
two subjects. True, the Snowdrops precede the Scilla 
by a few days in opening their flowers, but they are by 
no means past their best when the last-named are 
approaching the same stage. The bulbs were planted 
late in November, and we record the circumstances in 
the hope that some of your readers may be inclined to 
try the experiment for next spring.— H. J. H. 
Cyperus natalense. 
Those of your readers who have much decorative or 
furnishing work to do, would do well to make a note 
of the above. It will grow well in either stove or 
greenhouse, and is of easy culture, a mixture of loam, 
peat and silver sand, with plenty of drainage, being 
found to suit it admirably. Its long narrow and 
drooping leaves, of a beautiful deep green, give it a 
most graceful appearance, and when it becomes better 
known it will doubtless be largely grown for table 
work.— II. 
G-esnera cardinalis with regular flowers. 
There seems to be a great tendency on the part of this 
plant (which is also grown under the name of Gesnera 
macrantha) to produce regular flowers at the apex of 
the flower stem. Nor does the anomaly end here, as it 
frequently happens that two of the flowers become 
perfectly amalgamated together, forming one large 
regular flower in a common calyx, having twice the 
number of divisions as belong to the normal single 
flower. Regular flowers also sometimes occur in the 
Scrophularia family, especially at the apex of the floral 
axis, and we have also evidence how it may be done in 
the genus Sinningia by cultivation, cross breeding, 
selection, and other means by which the flower is 
improved from a horticultural point of view. The 
species under notice is a useful stove plant, with large 
woolly leaves and handsome scarlet flowers. 
Adiantum Farleyense. 
Among the numerous, beautiful and peculiar species and 
varieties of this genus, there is none more admired or 
more largely cultivated than this, excepting, of course, 
A. cuneatum, which holds the field. For gracefulness 
it is hardly surpassed, if equalled, by any, and a good 
specimen neatly tied out is always a subject of 
admiration. A. Farleyense is supposed to be a sport 
or variety from A. tenerum, which it resembles. One 
striking distinction between the two is, that while 
spores on the species are freely produced, on the variety 
they are rarely seen ; cases are known of their appear¬ 
ing, but it is the exception rather than the rule. A. 
Farleyense belongs to the stove section, but strong heat 
must not be given. For soil, a compost of peat, leaf- 
soil, silver-sand, and loam will suit them admirably. 
Over-potting should be avoided, and they must be 
watered carefully; although they like to be moist, do not 
allow the soil to become in any degree soddened, other¬ 
wise the fronds will soon present a sickly appearance. 
Shading from the hot rays of the sun should be given. 
Overhead syringing, though practised by some growers, 
can hardly be recommended, as, if persisted in, the 
fronds will become speckled, consequently losing much 
of their beauty, an end which is not the acme of 
perfection generally desired. For indoor decoration it 
is good while it retains its freshness, which is not 
usually very long, as its glory is soon departed, the 
fronds shrivelling, and the plant for the remainder of 
the season being comparatively useless, indeed, some¬ 
times incurably spoilt. Thus the labour and attention 
bestowed on the plant, may, as it were, be thrown away 
in less than twelve hours, a result not very cheering or 
encouraging to the cultivator. By far the best place 
for them is the fernery or stove, grouped or arranged 
with other subjects, and when there they never fail to 
gratify the beholder, amply repaying any trouble taken 
with them. No collection of Ferns should be called 
complete without A. Farleyense.— F. R. S. 
A Monstrous Tulip. 
A curious appearance was presented by a Tulip which 
appeared amongst a batch of others at Stile Hall, 
Chiswick. The flower-stem that should normally have 
produced three, four, or more leaves, and terminated 
with a flower, carried one leaf only, which was large 
and well developed. The internodes were suppressed, 
and in place of a normal flower a structure appeared of 
the nature of a bulb, but with the arrangements of 
parts similar to what occurs in a flower. The short 
scales, instead of being thin and coloured, were fleshy, 
like those of a true bulb ; but instead of sheathing, as 
in the bulb proper, they were slightly overlapping, with 
the exception of the outer three, which were partly 
united by their edges, and the innermost ones, which 
did not overlap at all. There were two sets of scales of 
three each, representing the perianth of the flower, 
while six others answered to the stamens. These 
represented the ovarian carpels, and six awl-shaped but 
fleshy ones occupied the centre of this curious bulb, 
and were supernumerary so far as a normal flower is 
concerned. In several other members of the Lily 
family we have a normal production of small bulbs or 
bulbils at the apex of the stem, and occupying the 
position of flowers, such as in Allium fistulosum, 
A. triquetrum, and others. 
Birds and Black Currant Buds. 
When looking round our fruit plantations recently, we 
found to our dismay that the birds were paying very 
special attention to these. This, with us, is a very 
rare occurrence, having happened only once before 
during twelve years. At that time we procured a 
quantity of white cotton, and interlaced it plentifully 
among the bushes ; this was attended with a very 
small amount of success. On this occasion we have 
drawn the bushes together loosely with tar twine, so 
that they resemble wicker cages, the coils of twine 
being some 6 ins. or so apart, and between these we 
have stretched coils of fine black thread ; this seems 
to answer admirably. Birds evidently do not like 
black thread; they have not touched the buds since 
this was done.— W. B. G. 
Protecting Peas from Birds. 
We use black thread to protect these from the birds, 
which will often pick off the tops as they appear above 
ground. Galvanised wire guards are comparatively 
cheap, but if the money interest was put against their 
first cost, they are, in comparison, expensive, as a row 
100 ft. in length can be protected at an annual cost for 
thread of Is. We use T-shaped pieces, the cross 
portions being formed out of tile lath, on the upper 
side of which we drive 1-in. wire nails three-fourths of 
their length. We place these at about 10 ft. apart, 
and the work of putting the thread along the row is 
very expeditiously accomplished, fastening it on the 
first nail, it is twisted once or twice round the inter¬ 
vening ones, and so on to the end. The bottoms of 
the T-shaped pieces, are made from ordinary garden 
stakes, the tops fastened on with wire nails. These 
will last several years, and cost little, can be easily 
stowed away, and take little time to either make or 
use.— TV. B. G. 
Lethorion. 
Allow me to express my thanks to Mr. Pragnell for 
giving us the result of his practical experience of this 
new invention. Being myself one of those who are 
rather slow to adopt new and untried methods of 
procedure generally, I shall now give the cones a fair 
trial, and will give my experience in due time. It will 
be a boon to under gardeners, and even head gardeners, 
who many a time and oft have felt ill after fumigating 
several houses in succession. Many young men, as 
well as old gardeners, cannot withstand the fumes of 
tobacco paper or rag till the house is filled, but will slip 
outside, and leave it to flare up and injure all tender 
plants or fruits. If, as Mr. Pragnell states, it will kill 
thrip it must be good, for they are very difficult to kill 
by fumigating without first injuring the plants. If 
not troubling him too much may I ask him how 
many applications are necessary to kill them ? If the 
vapour is strong enough to kill thrips, and yet so 
harmless to tender foliage, I do not see why it should 
not prove quite as destructive to that other troublesome 
pest of ours, red-spider. — Salopian. 
Cyanophyllum magnificum. 
This beautiful stove subject is not cultivated so much 
as it deserves to be, but why this is so, I cannot say ; 
it certainly cannot be on account of its unattractiveness. 
The leaves are velvety green in colour, the veins being 
white and very prominent, and grow from 1 ft. to 2 ft. 
in length and 9 ins. to 12 ins. in breadth. Their cul¬ 
ture is easy ; a compost of peat, leaf-soil and silver sand 
will suit them well. The drainage must be perfect, as 
plenty of water must be applied to the roots and also 
on the foliage ; they are apt to grow stunted if moisture 
is withheld, and many seen in this state are the result 
of insufficient moisture in the growing season. In¬ 
crease by cuttings, which, if placed in sand with good 
bottom heat, will soon root; or by seeds, when they 
can be obtained.— F. R. S. 
New Peas, British Lion, Dignity, 
Magnificent and Victor. 
These were the four Peas I wrote about, and the name 
Victoria was written in error. In answer to “ L. H.” 
I may say that as to length of pod, colour, &c., I can 
only write from memory, as the labels with descriptions 
have been destroyed. They are all good wrinkled 
Marrows, with peas between the size of those of 
Champion of England and Ne Plus Ultra ; the colour 
when ripe is either white or green, some of them 
greener than the Champion, but not so dark as Ne 
Plus Ultra. As to length of pod and number of peas, 
I may say that they are mostly of good length, and 
average from about nine to eleven peas in a pod. I 
believe British Lion to be the dwarfest grower with the 
shortest pod ; the other three are as near alike as 
possible in growth, length of pod, &c., but some of the 
peas are rather brighter in colour than others. As to 
the quality of them when cooked, I cannot say a word 
at present, as I saved all for seed last year, but I have 
some of them growing with others, and shall be able to 
give a full description of them in a future number. I 
have no doubt that anyone giving them a fair trial 
will be well repaid for their trouble, and will speak 
well of them in the future.— J. L. P. 
America as a Field for Gardeners. 
Many of my brother gardeners will admit that gar¬ 
dening in this country, from a pecuniary standpoint, is 
at a very low ebb. Owing to the large concessions 
which landlords are at present obliged to make in 
favour of their tenants, many of them are compelled to 
reduce their own establishments, and amongst the first 
to feel the effects of the reduction is the poor gardener, 
who is generally the worst-paid man on the estate. 
But why should so many submit to this, when by 
crossing the Atlantic hundreds may find employment 
and better remuneration for their labour 1 I have just 
received a letter from a friend who has recently gone 
to America—one of a party of young men who went 
out in search of employment—and he informs me that 
he was only a few days in New York before he got an 
engagement with a florist at a salary of §25 per month, 
including board. Two others of the party were 
engaged about the same time at §20, with board. The 
latter seems about the average wage going at present 
for under gardeners ; and not bad pay either, consider¬ 
ing what is to be had in this country, where first-class 
men cannot, in many cases, command so much, and 
have to board themselves. As a rule, American 
nurserymen prefer men for responsible situations who 
have been a short time in the country—a rule which, 
I am sure, anyone willing and able to push his way 
will not object to conform to. I noticed some time 
ago that a writer in your columns threw cold water on 
the prospects of kid-gloved gardeners in America, or, 
rather, greenhouse men, as he termed them. He said 
that the supply exceeded the demand; but it seems 
to me that the wages given, and the fact of my 
friends so soon obtaining employment, points to the 
reverse.— J. T. Arlary. [The writer of the remarks 
in question is an old friend of ours, and an exceptionally 
able practical gardener, whose judgment can be 
thoroughly relied upon. There is no doubt a fine 
opening in America for well-trained and energetic 
young men of good character, who can make up their 
mind to rough it for a season, until they get used to the 
climate and ways of the country ; but for other 
than first-class men there is no request whatever, the 
supply being more than equal to the demand.—E d,] 
