672 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 20, 1891. 
thinned, so as to admit abundance of both light and 
air — the two principal requisites for the successful 
growth of either natural or artificial covert—native 
wild plants usually spring up in abundance, and so 
to a great extent do away with the necessity of planting 
such shrubs as are now commonly used for the purpose 
of game shelter. Occasionally, though, we have found 
it beneficial to assist nature in quickly filling up bare 
patches of the woodland by sowing seeds of the Gorse, 
Broom, Elder, &c., all of which quickly form excellent 
cover, but more particularly where the ground has been 
previously prepared by picking and turning over. This 
preparation of the ground where the seeds are to be 
sown is amply repaid by the increased growth of the 
young plants as compared with others from seeds not so 
treated. 
Where seeds are intended to be sown, the soil should 
first of all be thoroughly prepared by being dug or 
trenched deeply over, and the surface afterwards made 
smooth and fine with a rake. Spring is the best time 
for sowing the seeds, these being thinly scattered over 
the surface, and covered over with hardwood branches 
as a preservative against the depredations of small birds 
and game generally. Bramble, Gorse, Heath, Black¬ 
berry, Blackthorn, Hazel, Elder, Bracken, and any of 
the stronger-growing grasses may be mentioned as 
amongst the best plants for using as natural game 
coverts, each possessing some peculiar feature specially 
recommending it for planting in certain soils, altitudes, 
or situations.— A. D. IF. 
Hardening 
* 
ISCELLANY. 
The Orphan Fund Cricket Match. 
Seedsmen v. The Gardeners of England. 
Owing to the ready publication in your columns of all 
matters connected with charitable institutions, I ven¬ 
ture to ask your kind insertion of this note in connec¬ 
tion with the fete to be held at the Crystal Palace, on 
July 15th, on behalf of the Gardeners’ Orphan Fund. 
As already announced in the horticultural press, one of 
the items in the programme is a cricket match, the 
Seedsmen v. the Gardeners of the United Kingdom. 
Having the honour to be chosen captain of the latter 
team, with a view to creating a wide-spread interest in the 
project, which we hope will assist in swelling the receipts 
for so good an object, I should be glad if players 
desirous of taking part in this match, would send in 
their nominations as early as pfcsible respectively to 
Mr. C. H. Sharman, 69, Houston Road, Forest Hill, 
London, captain of the Seedsmen’s team, and to myself 
for the Gardeners’ team, so that we can make the 
necessary arrangements as to the number of players on 
each side. We hope to receive nominations from as 
wide an area as possible, and thus add considerably to 
the interest in the game, and benefit the fund.— E. 
Molyneux, Swanmore Park Gardens, Bishop's Waltham, 
Hants. 
Primula Poissoni. 
As China continues to be explored, discoveries of new 
species of Primula are made. One of the most 
recent is P. Poissoni, which was discovered in China by 
l’Abbe Delavay, who sent it to Paris, from whence it 
found its way to Ivew, and may now be seen flowering 
in the hardy plant house in the herbaceous ground. 
The leaves are oblong-spathulate, doubly toothed, of a 
deep glaucous green, with silvery veins, and from 3 ins. 
to 6 ins. long. They are even more glaucous beneath, 
and are remarkable for the great number produced in a 
dense rosette, giving the plant quite a characteristic 
aspect. The stout flower stem bears a number of whorls 
one above the other, of large deep purple flowers having 
a golden yellow eye. There are generally, if not 
always, six bifid and crenate segments to a flower, 
which is quite unusual if not unique in our experience 
for species newly introduced to cultivation from its 
wild habitats. It is of the same type as P. japonica, 
P. imperialis, and P. prolifera, and is certainly a grand 
species which should soon become popular. 
Hydrangea hortensis tricolor. 
There is a variegated form of the common Hydrangea 
in which the leaves have a broad white margin, or are 
sometimes wholly white, especially when grown under 
the influence of a high temperature and moist atmos¬ 
phere. The form under notice differs in having an 
additional yellow margin to the white. What is more 
curious, where the yellow is present, the leaf is broader, 
and generally coarsely and deeply toothed where the 
yellow occurs. The yellow margin seldom extends 
from the apex to the base of the leaf, so that the varie¬ 
gation is irregular, and the edge of the leaf is almost 
entire when the white portion of the variegation 
terminates there. On the whole, then, the variety may 
be considered both ornamental and singularly curious. 
A good-sized bush was exhibited by Messrs. J. Yeitch 
k Sons, Chelsea, at a recent meeting of the Royal 
Horticultural Society. 
Alpine Rose. 
Such is the name applied to Rhododendronferrugineum, 
one of the dwarf species, native of the European Alps, 
and which was introduced to Britain in 1752. It 
usually grows about 1 It. in height, but there is a bush 
at Devonhurst, Chiswick, about 3 ft. high, with paler 
flowers than the type, and which must therefore be of 
some age. Plants of this class labour under great 
difficulties in the neighbourhood of London, owing to 
the deposit of soot upon the foliage during winter. 
Even now they are far from clear, notwithstanding 
what amount of rain we have had since then. The 
Alpine species especially require a locality with a clear 
atmosphere and a peaty soil, in order to get the best 
results. A bed of it has a fine appearance when planted 
all of the same size. 
Syringa villosa. 
At first sight one would not recognise this as a Lilac, 
so different is it from S. vulgaris and S. persica, the 
two species with which we are most familiar. The 
leaves are broadly ovate, of a dull or opaque green, and 
in the young state at least remind one of a small leaf 
of the Apricot. The flowers are small and white, with 
a pale lilac tube, and are produced in small panicles. 
The whole plant, however, is dwarf, varying from 3 ft. 
to 6 ft. in height, and in that respect may be compared 
to S. persica, from which, however, its broad and 
relatively short leaves readily separate it. The flowers 
are also smaller than in that species, but deliciously 
fragrant, and in this respect it claims superiority over 
either of the common species. It is a native of 
Northern China, from whence it was introduced about 
eleven years ago, and is perfectly hardy in this country, 
judging from its behaviour during the past winter. 
Allamanda neriifolia. 
The amount of bloom produced by a large healthy 
plant of this would astonish those who have only grown 
or seen large plants. The flowers are certainly not so 
large as those of A. Schottii, but they are of a different 
form, funnel-shaped, and yellow, beautifully striated 
with brownish orange in the throat. The stems are 
stiffish and erect, not climbing as in the more popular 
species, and if room can be spared it, no training or 
rather tying down is required. Small plants can, of 
course, be grown and flowered as well as large ones, so 
that it is only necessary to renew the stock from 
cuttings when the others outgrow the space at command. 
Three or four feet would be the limit of height, but 
plants 1 ft. high will flower, and freely at 2 ft. high. 
There is a large plant at Devonhurst, Chiswick, trained 
on a balloon-shaped trellis. The tips of the shoots are 
all bristling with bloom buds, some of which are open, 
and will continue to be produced successionally through¬ 
out a great part of the summer. 
-- 
A CALIFORNIAN ORCHARD. 
What is probably the largest orchard in the world— 
the famous Bidwell orchard in California—is described 
by an American exchange as “lying in the open valley 
of the Sacramento, in Butte county, and covers two 
and a half sections, or 1,500 acres of land. Its owner, 
General John Bidwell, is one of the early pioneers, 
having crossed the plains in 1S41. He was an associate 
of Sutter and Fremont, and his life in those early times 
was replete with adventures among savage Indians and 
wild beasts. 
“He has more than a quarter section of land—in 
fact, nearly 200 acres—planted to Peaches alone. He 
has over 100 acres set to Plums and Prunes. The 
latter, when dried, are superior to the finest of the 
imported French Prunes, while the Plums are truly 
magnificent, including the Yellow Egg, Washington, 
Columbia, Pond’s Seedling, Coe’s Golden Drop, Duane’s 
Purple, Peach Plum, and still other varieties. Several 
thousand Pear trees form a grand orchard in themselves. 
While many varieties are grown, yet Bartlett leads all 
others. The Seckel, Flemish Beauty and the Kieffer 
are among the most profitable varieties. There are 
some 5,000 Apple trees, which include most of the 
standard varieties. It is noticeable in this warm 
climate that what are known as fall Apples in the 
Atlantic States are summer Apples here, while those 
known as winter Apples there ripen early in the fall 
here. The Apricot orchard includes between sixty and 
seventy acres, and the best varieties only are sent out. 
“There are 2,357 Cherry trees, and these make a 
wonderful growth and bear prodigiously. One magni¬ 
ficent tree, a Napoleon, measures 60 ft. high, 74 ft. 
around its trunk, and bore in one season 1,750 pounds 
of fine fruit. The Cherries were picked and weighed 
under the most careful supervision, so that no errors 
could occur. At the prevailing price that this tree 
returned to its owner there was a greater profit than in 
ten acres of land planted to Wheat. 
“There are great numbers of Almond, which 
reaches a state of high perfection in this warm climate, 
many Fig, Nectarine, Orange, Olive, Quince, Walnut, 
Chestnut, Pecan, and other kinds of trees, but it 
would be useless to here specify the number of each. 
“The vineyard covers 200 acres, and the varieties 
mostly grown are White Muscat, which number 57,213 
Vines ; Black Hamburg, Flame and Blue Tokays, 
Emperor, Rose of Peru, and Black Morocco. 
“ There are three large packing houses for handling 
the fruit. Dryers are not used, as, owing to the dry 
climate, the fruit and raisins are all cured in the sun. 
Immense quantities of the fruit are canned, and for 
this purpose a mammoth building was constructed, 
where 200 persons are given employment. During the 
rush of the Peach and Apricot season, a much larger 
number is added. To pick, box and dry the fruits in 
the orchard, 300 men are employed, so that this 
mammoth orchard alone gives labour to 500 persons.” 
-»£«>- 
Edinburgh Botanical.—At a meeting of this society 
held on the 11th inst., Mr. Lindsay, the president, in 
the chair, Mr. J. Graham Kerr reid a paper on “The 
. Botany of the Pilcomayo Expedition.” The object of 
the expedition, he said, was to determine the much- 
disputed point as to whether the Pilcomayo was 
navigable and of use as a waterway. This point was of 
great economic importance both to the Argentine 
Government as a means of opening up the Gran Chaco, 
and to Bolivia as a means of outlet to her commerce. 
The expedition made its final start from Resistencia, 
the military capital for the territory of the “Chaco,” 
in the end of February, and after a short run up the 
Rio Bermejo, entered the Pilcomayo upon March 12th 
of last year. On entering the Pilcomayo civilisation 
was left completely behind, there being no settlements 
whatever on the river. The river was picturesque in 
its lower reaches, the tall banks on either side being 
covered with luxuriant forest and innumerable 
animals. After about a fortnight’s navigation the 
river became much narrower, and its banks low-lying 
and liable to inundation. The aspect of the vegetation 
changed altogether. The country, much more open, 
was covered almost entirely with far-stretching Palm 
forests, the Palm trees being dotted over a plain 
covered with tall grass. After getting into this country 
progress was much obstructed. The water of the river 
continued to diminish in quantity so as at length to 
entirely prevent further progress. The expedient was 
tried of building dams across the river, and by this 
means they succeeded in penetrating some miles 
further. 
Provisions began to run low, and the Bolivia mean¬ 
while and for several months following remained 
stationary and aground most of the time. The party 
were put to considerable hardships from want of proper 
food and fresh water, until on the 4th of October they 
were succoured by a relief expedition seut to look for 
them by the Argentine Government. This expedition 
brought provisions and reinforcements of men. Mr. 
Kerr remained with the Bolivia until February of the 
present year, exploring, collecting, and studying the 
ways of the Toba Indians, who, he remarked, proved 
very interesting. Proceeding, he gave a sketch of the 
vegetation of the Gran Chaco, the most characteristic 
being the enormous forests of Fan Palms. Dicotyledo¬ 
nous forest also occurred, but in the region where the 
Bolivia lay this was confined to small isolated patches. 
The trees were also small, and growing very closely 
together, the great number of lianas and the numbers 
of spiny bromeliaceous plants, together made these bits 
of forest practically impenetrable. Amongst these 
last-mentioned bromeliaceous plants were two of much 
interest. The first, one of the commonest plants there, 
was called in Gaaroni “Caraguata ii,” or “water 
