October 13, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
97 
varieties as are suitable for the district in which they 
are to be grown. A lengthy discussion followed, which 
brought out much useful information, and a suggestion 
from Mr. A. Outram that a record should be kept in 
the library for the use of the members of such varieties 
as are known to do well in the district. A unanimous 
vote of thanks was tendered to Mr. Parker for his 
valuable paper, and a similar vote enthusiastically 
accorded to Sir Thomas Martineau for presiding. The 
meeting was then adjourned till October 16th, when 
Mr. G. Barnes will read a paper on “The Species of 
Odontoglossums and Miltonias, and their Cultivation.” 
-- 
THE LARCH (LARIX EUROPiEA). 
Both for and against the Larch much has been written 
and said, particularly of late years, but however much 
has been said in commendation of it, there can be no 
doubt that to overstate its value as a timber tree as 
well as its exalted place in the economy of British 
forestry would be a task of some difficulty. When we 
combine its great, almost peculiar aptitude to suit 
itself to nearly all conditions of soils, altitudes, and 
diversities ot climate, its long-established value as a 
timber tree, rapidity of growth, and ease of culture, it 
can hardly be gainsaid that no other tree, native or 
exotic, can be ranked on a par with the Larch. Un¬ 
fortunately, however, of late years the Larch has been 
in a rapidly degenerating state, an evil that may be 
greatly minimised, if not indeed entirely got rid of by 
a careful selection of seeds from sound and healthy 
trees. 
By far too little attention has been paid to this 
important matter, the result being that weakness and 
tenderness have got instilled in the constitution of the 
tree, and it is thus ill adapted for withstanding even a 
few degrees of frost on the surface of the trees. So 
weakened, blight, fungus, and ulceration find a con¬ 
genial footing, and thus is brought about the fell 
disease about which so much has been said aud written 
of late years. In my own opinion, fostered by careful 
investigation and research, induced tenderness in the 
constitution of the Larch is the primary cause of disease, 
cold winds and frost the destroying agent, and ulcera¬ 
tion the direct consequence. Were we to follow more 
closely Nature’s method of dealing with the cones and 
seed of this—as well, indeed, as many other Conifers—we 
should have less sickly and rapidly degenerating trees 
in our woodlands, and far less cause for the constant 
wail sent forward regarding the decline of this noble 
and valuable timber-producing tree. In its native 
country, the Tyrol, the seeds of the Larch are never 
scattered from the cones until March and April, after 
having been fully exposed and their contents thoroughly 
matured by a winter’s frost. A comparison of such 
seeds with those annually procured in this country, 
and from which our stock of plants is mainly raised 
from year to year, reveals marked difference, for not 
only are our home supplies of cones collected in 
November before maturity is nearly attained, and 
when only partially, if at all, wintered, but these 
are kiln-dried, a most pernicious practice, so that the 
immature cones may part with their seeds. 
With such a course of procedure, there need be 
little wonder why our once healthy Larch is fast be¬ 
coming unhealthy and gradually but surely degenerating 
as the reports from almost every part of the British 
Isles but too truly confirm. To further add to the evil, 
the large demand for Larch seed by our nurserymen 
creates a rather keen competition for such to be supplied 
in time for early spring sowing, and so it is that instead 
of the cones being allowed to winter on the trees they 
are collected in the greatest quantity in the autumn or 
early winter previous, so as to be forward in time to 
meet the demand. 
It is, likewise, well known that sickly trees, as if by 
a last effort of Nature, and so as to propagate their 
kind, bear an unusually large quantity of seed, and as 
these are in nine cases out of ten collected at so much 
per sack or bushel, can it be wondered at that the bulk 
of our home-saved Larch seed is totally unfitted for 
reproductive purposes? It is well known that a 
diseased tree cannot bring forth good fruit. 
The durability of the wood of the Larch is well 
known, and this peculiarity is even noticeable when of 
only a few years’ growth. As compared with Scotch 
and Spruce Firs, the wood of the Larch is doubly 
durable—a fence of the latter cut from twenty to 
thirty years’ growth lasting from seventeen to twenty 
years, while that of the Spruce about nine years and 
the Scotch five years. This is referring directly to. 
rails, not to posts, which decay in about half that time. 
For mining and railway purposes the durability of 
Larch wood makes it much sought after, this being 
still further enhanced by its extreme lightness, a cubic 
foot when seasoned weighing only 34 lbs. It takes a 
beautiful polish, works with great freedom, and when 
fully seasoned is not at all liable to twist or warp. 
The Larch is not less valuable as an ornamental 
tree—although it has been sadly neglected in this 
way—than it is remunerative for the quantity and 
quality of timber it produces. In very few positions 
is the Larch out of place, its graceful and airy form, as 
well as majestic proportions when perfectly developed, 
causing it to compare favourably with any other 
Conifer with which we are acquainted. The branches 
in some specimens are gracefully pendulous, in others 
stiff and horizontally inclined, while in some they are 
long and lithe, first gently curving downwards, and 
then as gradually rising upwards at the tips. When 
grown as a standard, and allowed plenty of room for 
perfect development, the stem is branched to the 
ground, and an aged specimen of such a type is, when 
suitably situated, an object of no mean appearance. 
Few trees transplant with greater freedom than the 
Larch, succeed so well on exposed ground and at high 
altitudes, or are better adapted for affording shelter to 
others of a less hardy type. 
Substitutes for the Larch have oft been recommended, 
but in the true sense of the word none can be termed 
substitutes, except, indeed, in the narrowest sense, 
although, doubtless, some of those whose claims have 
been set forth might reflect one or more of its valuable 
qualities, but this is the widest limit of comparison. — 
A. D. Webster. 
-- 
THE ORCHID FLOWER HOLDER. 
Evert intelligent Orchid grower is well aware of the 
great strain put upon their favourites when they have 
to support a large spike or panicle of flowers for weeks 
together during their blooming season. This is also 
very evident in establishments where large quan- 
I tities of cut flowers are required, so that the 
blooms get cut before they have time to exhaust 
|| the pseudo-bulbs. There are other owners and 
!| growers of Orchids, however, who like to see the 
F bloom in their hothouses, and to them the question 
| is a serious one how to maintain their plants in 
health and vigour while enjoying the presence of 
the bloom in association with the foliage of the 
plant itself. It is well known that if the flowers 
I are allowed to remain on the plant till they have 
fully expanded, completed their growth, and 
become firm as it were, they will remain as fresh 
for a great length of time, according to the variety, 
if cut and placed in water, as they would on he 
plant itself, while the latter is thus relieved of 
the strain placed upon its resources. The annexed 
illustration is of a very simple contrivance, invented 
by Captain Maxwell, of Terregles, for use in his own 
houses, and which is being introduced into commerce 
by Mr. Alfred Outram, 7, Moore Park Road, Fulham. 
It meets the requirements of the case admirably, and 
consists of a zinc tube about 3£ ins. long, to which a 
piece of stout but pliable wire is attached. The tube 
holds water, into which the spikes of Orchid flowers, 
when cut, may be placed ; and the wire can then be 
inserted in any desired position in the soil of the flower 
pot, so that the flowers may be arranged in their 
natural position in association with the foliage of the 
plant. The wires may be had of any desired length, 
and may be bent so that the flowers can assume their 
natural position as if still on the plant. 
-- 
CHRYSANTHEMUM NOTES. 
The Early Frosts. 
Jack Frost has caught a number of growers napping 
this season. No one expected such a sudden change in 
the temperature as has been experienced this month : 
the sudden change from the genial warmth of September 
to the severe frosts of October has played sad havoc 
with both buds and plants. In and near London we 
have had from three to eight degrees of frost, com¬ 
mencing on October 1st to the 9th ; and this severe 
weather also appears to have been pretty general in all 
parts of the country, and up to the time of writing 
there seems little chance of any improvement. The 
days are very bright and the sun still has a deal of 
power, but the nights have been bitter, and it is feared 
that the Chrysanthemum shows in November will 
suffer very considerably. 
Few, if any, of our leading growers had finished 
housing their plants by October 1st, and, consequently, 
many hundreds of plants have been hopelessly ruined. 
One serious result of these frosts is, that if the buds 
are not actually destroyed, the blooms are very apt to 
come deformed, and can never be relied upon to 
produce perfect flowers, for although a bud may have 
the appearance of having escaped the frost, it will be 
found after trouble and time has been spent in housing 
the plants, that the frost has killed the centre of the 
bloom. 
The Time for Housing Plants. 
The numerous authorities on “ Mum ” growing advise 
removing the plants to their blooming quarters about 
the first week in October, and those who practice what 
they preach will this season have good cause to regret 
leaving plants in the open after the night of September 
30th. It is the practice to house such plants as show 
colour only earlier than October 1st. This, of course, 
refers to those grown for use at the various November 
exhibitions, for it is pretty certain that a flower opening 
its outer petals in September will be past its best long 
before a show to be held, say, between the 6th and 
15th November. The bloom left out in the weather 
after the colour appears—say, on October 1st—cannot 
be retarded sufficiently to keep it back for the exhi¬ 
bition table, and the result of leaving it outdoors is 
that it is not only lost for exhibition purposes, but is 
absolutely useless for even indoor decoration, as the 
outer florets which have opened will turn brown and 
damp off when removed under glass. Fortunately, 
this is a most exceptional season, and few, if any, 
growers can hark back to such a disastrous one. I 
never remember such a succession of destructive frosts 
making their appearance the first few daj-s in October, 
nor do I wish ever to witness a repetition of them. 
Still, in spite of the extraordinary season of 1888, I am 
still of opinion that for general exhibition blooms the 
first week in October is the correct time to house 
Chrysanthemums. — Practical. 
Effects of the Frost. 
I have to-day seen upwards of 2,000 plants which have 
been ruined, and out of these there are not more than 
fifty that are likely even to show colour, or to repay 
for the trouble of carrying them into the house. The 
late varieties have suffered most, such plants as 
Princess Blanche, Lord Eversley, Ethel, Princess Teck 
White Ceres, and such as are seen at the January show 
of the National Chrysanthemum Society, are entirely 
lost. I notice that wherever the buds had not been 
taken and the tips of the shoots were consequently 
sappy, the frost had killed the stems about 6 ins. down, 
whilst some plants with their buds well set have to all 
outward appearances escaped ; but in this case it is 
only the hard smooth ones, for wherever a bud was to 
be found at all coarse or open in the centre the frost 
had penetrated to the middle and turned it black. 
Many others attracted my attention, and amongst them 
some fine plants of Golden Dragon and Mdlle. Elise 
Dordan, without a sign of life in them from the pot 
upwards.— A., October 8th. 
Culture of La Petite Marie. 
In reply to your correspondent (p. 83) re La Petite 
Marie, I may say that having experienced the same 
difficulty as he has, i.e., that this variety is an in¬ 
different one to keep through the winter, I take all 
the cuttings 1 can as soon as they are to be got, I mean 
from October to December, then if I have not sufficient 
stock I keep some of the old plants which have flowered 
in pots in a cold frame until the spring. In February 
I commence propagating again, and of the two, prefer 
the spring to the autumn-struck cuttings, as they grow 
right away. As soon as struck I pot off into thumbs, 
afterwards planting out in a prepared border in April 
or May, according to the season, and stop from time to 
time as the plants are required for blooming. For pot- 
work 1 lift the first batch in July, and these put into 
48’s, shading for the first two or three days, are soon 
ready for decorative purposes, and I find are very useful. 
I lift a second batch in August, and treat them the 
same way, which insures a succession for at least three 
months. The only other varieties of similar habit that 
I grow, are Little Bob (syn. Scarlet Gem), crimson- 
brown ; Anastasio, light purple, a very pleasing colour ; 
and a new yellow Pompon called Golden La Petite 
Marie.— J. H. Witty, October 9th. 
Chrysanthemum Elsie. 
Considering the late character of the season, this new 
Japanese variety seems to be notably precocious in its 
flowering. It is of moderate size, with creamy white 
reflexed florets, that are revolute at the margin and 
closely arranged. The centre of the head is pale yellow 
when young, but gradually becomes pale, almost white, 
as it expands. It was exhibited by Mr. George Stevens, 
St. John’s Nursery, Putney, at the Drill Hall, on 
Tuesday, and awarded a First Class Certificate. 
