January 17, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
300 
bee-fly a chance to do some crossing. Perfectly double 
flowers make very little polleD, and the stigmas are so 
hidden among the petals that they do not set seed 
without artificial aid, unless the petals are cut off 
short, and not always then. Early varieties begin to 
ripen seed about the middle of December. The seed 
can be sown as soon as ripe. It does not take long to 
germinate. 
The Chicago Exhibition, 1893.—President Harrison 
having been satisfied that adequate grounds, buildings, 
and funds have been provided at Chicago, the 
Columbian exhibition will be opened on May 1st, 1893, 
and will not be closed before the last Thursday in the 
October following. 
United Horticultural Benefit and Provident 
Society.—The quarterly meeting of this society was 
held at the Caledonian Hotel, on Monday evening last, 
Mr. Nathan Cole presiding, when nine new members 
were elected, making a total for the year of seventy. 
Mr. W. Gunner, of Croydon, and Mr. George Dixon, 
were elected as auditors of the past year’s accounts. 
Mr. James H. Veitch has kindly consented to preside 
at the annual meeting, to be held at the Caledonian 
Hotel, on Monday, April 9th, at 8 p.m. 
Destruction of the Downton 
Agricultural College. —The College 
of Agriculture, Downton, was on 
Tuesday last, destroyed by fire. 
The premises comprised an old 
building, which may be described 
as a sort of grange, and various 
additions on an extensive scale, 
and it is believed that the manu¬ 
script of a valuable German treatise 
by one of the professors, Dr. J. 
Clarke, on which he has been 
engaged for about twenty - four 
years, has been burnt. 
-- 
ON CYCLAMENS. 
Papers were read on this subject 
at the Drill Hall, on Tuesday last, 
by Mr. W. Warren and the Rev. 
W. Wilks, the honorary secretary. 
The paper read by Mr. Warren wa3 
concise and practical, dealing chiefly 
with cultural matters. After briefly 
referring to the hardy species he 
confined himself to Cyclamen per- 
sicum, the only one which he grows. 
The flowers, he said, should be 
plentiful, large, of good shape and 
colour. He sowed the seed in July 
in a temperature of 75°, and after 
they were well up he transferred 
them to a greenhouse for the est 
of the summer, and after keeping 
them growing through the winter, 
he re-potted them in the beginning 
of March. About the end of May 
they received their final shift into 
48-sized pots, using good loam. 
Towards autumn more care had to be 
exercised in watering than was the case while making 
their growth ; and in September the plants were placed 
on shelves, in order to keep the foliage and young buds 
from damping, as the atmosphere was then naturally 
damper than was suitable for their well-being. They 
come into flower, and are at their best during the two 
succeeding months. 
The Rev. W. Wilks then gave his paper on Hardy 
Cyclamens, and commenced by saying that he made no 
pretensions to add to the knowledge of those who were 
already growers. Some of the species were half-hardy, 
but even C. persicum might be grown in the more 
favoured spots of Devon, and elsewhere. He would not 
resuscitate the old name of Sow Bread used for this 
class of plants in the time of Queen Anne, as he thought 
Cyclamen was better. 
Concerning their culture he would use a compost 
of sand, peat, and loam, giving them a top-dressing 
every spring. The place where they were grown should 
be slightly raised so as to ensure perfect drainage, and 
it should be partially shaded. He had seen them wild, 
carpeting the ground in the vicinity of Swiss lakes. 
They rejoiced in a soaking of water in spring, which to 
them would correspond to the abundant moisture they 
got from the melting snow in their native homes. In 
propagating them from seed, he found the latter 
difficult to germinate, if allowed to get dry before being 
sown. The corms, however, grew readily, even if lifted 
while in bloom. These corms also lived to a grand old 
age, for some he knew must be over forty years old. 
The plant in question originally belonged to Mr. J. 
Atkins, of Painswick, who grew them for the beauty of 
their foliage as well as their flowers. 
Cyclamen Atkinsii was a garden form which he said 
showed that this beautiful class of plants was capable of 
improvement by hybridisation. There was an ample 
field of labour for some one, and amateurs should 
undertake the woik, because the nurseryman had 
neither the time, nor would the work remunerate him, 
as did the hybridisation of Orchids. From this source 
he looked for a new race of hardy Cyclamens, with 
larger flowers of good colour, that might in time rival 
the fine strains of C. persicum. 
In a wild state the plants on the Continent ranged 
to Syria in the east, and to Belgium and Holland in 
the north. The only authentic habitat of which he 
knew in this ccuntry was a wood in the Weald of 
Kent. All, however, were escapes from cultivation. 
He then referred to the ancient use of the Cyclamen 
in medicine. The corm ground and mixed in mead 
was taken inwardly, and the same put in wine and 
drunk was an antidote against injury from venomous 
beasts. Parkinson mentioned three kinds ; Miller in 
1737 mentioned seven kinds ; Jennings, F.L.S , said 
that for all practical purposes there were only six 
species ; but Mr. J. G. Baker made ten species. Great 
confusion, however, existed amongst the names from 
the earliest time to the present, and every species had 
had as many aliases as the biggest thief in London. 
He then went on to give particulars as to how the 
species could be most accurately determined. In the 
first place the shape and colour of the corms should 
be noted, and from what part of the corm the roots 
emanated ; 2, the season of flowering ; 3, the shape 
and marbling of the leaves ; 4, whether the leaves 
accompanied the flowers or not; 5, whether scented 
or not; 6, whether stoloniferous rhizomes were present 
or not as in C. europseum and perhaps C. cilicicum ; 
7, the presence or absence of auricles at the base of the 
petals ; 8, in what cases the flowers come before the 
leaves ; and 9, the absence of colour or marbling on 
the upper surface of the leaves in C. Coum. 
-- 
COWBERRIES, CRANBERRIES, 
AND WHORTLEBERRIES. 
Notwithstanding the distinctness of the three British 
plants of which the above are popular names, they are 
liable to be confused with one another, and it is often 
impossible to know what is meant sometimes when 
reference is made to one or other of them by the popular 
names in non-botanical works. For instance, on some 
Highland estates, the woods and forests are annually 
thrown open during certain days to the country peasants 
and tenants on the same to gather Cranberries. Now 
the latter name is properly applied only to Oxycoccus 
palustris ; but the country peasantry, and even pro¬ 
fessional gardeners, often apply the name to Vaccinium 
Vitis-Idiea as well. Misconception arises as to the 
real occurrence of the Cranberry in any particular 
locality, as in all probability the Cowberry is meant. 
The commonest and most widely distiibuted is the 
Whortleberry (Vaccinium Myrtillus), as it is found in 
various hilly and heathy localities from the hills above 
Ventnor in the Isle of Wight to the Orkneys in the 
north. There is some dispute as to the origin of the 
word Whortleberry ; but the most plausible is that it 
is a corruption of Myrtle-berry. The specific name, of 
course, means a small Myrtle, to which the leaves of the 
plant bear no small resemblance. 
The leaves are ovate, serrate, shorter than those of 
the Box, very thin, and deciduous, while the berries 
are about the size of peas, and dark blue. Hence the 
Scotch name, Blaeberry and Billberry, a corruption of 
the former. Blae comes from Danish blcut and Anglo- 
Saxon bles, blue. The American name is Blueberry, 
and therefore conforms to ours. 
Other American names, such as 
Huckleberry and Hurtleberry, are 
corruptions from Whortleberry. 
Some etymologists derive the latter 
from the Anglo-Saxon heort-bery, 
hart-berry, that is deer berry, as 
deer frequent the localities where it 
grows. The Gaelic names are lus 
nan dearc, berry-plant, and gearr- 
dearc, sour-berry. The generic 
name, Vaccinium, is adapted from 
the Latin, but its etymology is 
rather obscure, notwithstanding the 
fact that vacca means a cow. 
Wine of a fine flavour is made 
from the berries in the Orkneys. 
The Highlanders of Scotland eat 
the berries in milk, and also make 
tarts, jams and jellies of them, 
mixing the latter with whisky to 
give it a relish to strangers. They 
are used in France for colouring 
wine ; and in the Rocky Mountains 
of North America they constitute a 
favourite food of the Indians. The 
plant is easily cultivated in peaty 
soil, but fruits and flourishes best 
in its native woods, where it often 
monopolises the ground, sheltered 
by trees that do not intercept the 
light too severely. It also flowers 
and fruits with moderate freedom 
in the open ground amongst heather, 
but the branches are more stunted 
in proportion to the exposure of 
the locality. 
The Cowberry (Vaccinium Vitis- 
Idrea) is sometimes, though errone¬ 
ously, termed the Cranberry. The 
botanical names are all adopted from the Latin. 
The specific name means Vine of Mount Ida, probably 
from its growing there in sufficient abundance to 
attract notice. One of the Gaelic names of the plant 
is lus nan broighleag, or mountain plant, and it is truly 
an inhabitant of high altitudes, as it ascends to 
3,300 ft. in the Highlands. The Irish name corre¬ 
sponds to this. Another Gaelic name is bo-dearc, or 
Cowberry, from bo, a cow. The Greek name boos, Latin 
bos, an ox, is therefore probably of Celtic origin. The 
plant is also known as Drawlins and Flowering Box, as 
the ovate, leathery, evergreen leaves are not unlike 
those of the Box, but are darker in colour, entire or 
minutely serrate, and dotted beneath. The principal 
stems are procumbent, giving off ascending branches 
that bear red berries about the size of large peas. 
They are acid in flavour, and used for making tarts, 
hence the confusion of the plant with the Cranberry 
proper. 
There are two species of Cranberry, namely, 
Oxycoccus palustris, our native species, and 0. macro- 
carpus, the American Cranberry, with which our 
markets are constantly supplied in winter. The 
Americans add a third species, namely, Vaccinium 
erythrocarpus, but it does not belong to Oxycoccus. 
The latter i3 a Latin name, derived from the Greek 
oxus, sharp or acid, and kokkos, a berry, alluding to its 
acid character, which makes it a popular fruit in tarts. 
The berries are also an excellent antiscorbutic, and as 
such are used in long sea voyages. The specific name 
comes from paluster, marshy, in allusion to the 
localities in which the plant grows. The Gaelic and 
Cyclamen persicum. 
