May 18, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
597 
CRINUM KIRKII. 
In general appearance this may be said to resemble C. 
zeylanicum, or C. Careyanum, but it differs in the form 
of the bulb. The light green leaves are very broad and 
nearly flat. The specimen exhibited by Mr. F. Koss, 
Pendell Court, Bletchingley, at the last meeting of the 
Floral Committee of the Koyal Horticultural Society at 
the Drill Hall, Westminster, had fourteen flowers in an 
umbel, either expanded or on the point of opening. 
The six segments radiate regularly and recurve at the 
tips, and are pure white with a red band down the 
middle of each. The upper parts of the filaments are 
crimson. For horticultural purposes it will be a showy 
and useful plant and not too bulky. A First Class 
Certificate was awarded it. 
-->K-- 
DEATH OF PROFESSOR 
REICHENBACH. 
Okchid lovers all over the world will learn with deep 
regret of the death, on the 6th inst., of Prof. H. G. 
Keichenbach, their recognised guide, counsellor, and 
friend in all matters pertain¬ 
ing to Orchid nomenclature. 
For many years Professor 
Keichenbach, who was born 
at Dresden in January, 1824, 
was Director of the Botanic 
Garden, Hamburgh, and 
since the death of Dr. 
Lindley, in November, 1865, 
had been universally recog¬ 
nised as the Orchid King. 
He had studied Orchids since 
1841, and wasa most devoted 
and painstaking historian of 
the order, whose descriptions 
of new species and varieties 
were always eagerly antici¬ 
pated—whose identification 
of plants sent to him for that 
purpose was always accepted 
without question. For many 
years past he took a leading 
part at most of the great 
horticultural and botanical 
congresses held in Europe, 
and was one of the vice- 
presidents of the congress 
held in London in connection 
with the memorable Inter¬ 
national Horticultural Exhi¬ 
bition held in 1866. But 
for indisposition he would 
have been present also at the 
Orchid Conference held at 
South Kensington in 1885 ; 
but the great and valuable 
services he had rendered to 
Orchid growers were not for¬ 
gotten in his absence, and he 
was awarded one of the 
Yeitch Memorial Medals, 
placed at the disposal of the 
Conference Committee by the trustees. Though 
Orchids were the special object of his affections—and 
he had amassed an extensive collection of typical speci¬ 
mens in his herbarium, which we hope will be secured 
for Kew—the Professor contributed largely to our 
knowledge of the plants of Central Europe, and truly 
may it be said of him that the Botanical world could 
well have spared a better man, for in his own special 
line he was a veritable Triton among minnows, and his 
loss will be severely felt for some time to come. 
-- >I<- - 
THE APPLE BLOSSOM. 
What a charming sight the Apple trees are presenting 
to view ! The branches are literally wreathed with 
bunches of flowers ; they are, as one of our modern poets 
has observed, “heaped up in happy plenteousness.” 
I do not know whether it is fancy or not, but it 
appears to me there is more colour in the Apple 
blossom than is usual. All the hue we get is on the 
reverse of the petals, but it is laid on so thickly in the 
case of some of the varieties, that it appears to show 
through and even suffuse the petal surface. How fine, 
bright and striking are the flowers of some of the 
varieties—large, bold and showy in the extreme ! To 
the casual observer, there may appear a uniform same¬ 
ness in the Apple blossom, but if anyone will take the 
trouble to look closely into it he will find there is much 
variety in detail. Three very showy varieties when in 
flower are the Hawthornden, Nelson’s Glory and Lord 
Suffield. These in my garden are very free of bloom, 
indeed, they are laden with it, and on my gravel sub¬ 
soil they are always good bearers. I have but six 
Apple trees—viz., the three already named, and in 
addition the Nanny, which is flowering more freely 
this year than I have ever known it before. Cox’s 
Orange Pippin merits the observation made this season 
in regard to the Nanny and Cellini Pippin. Should 
the fruit set well, and no frosts come between the 15th 
and the end of May to cut off the embryo fruits, I may 
reasonably expect the best crop of Apples from my six 
trees that I have ever taken. 
Mr. Frank Cheshire, the eminent bee-master, in his 
most useful and entertaining books on bees, tells us how 
valuable, and indeed how necessary is the agency of 
bees in the fertilisation of fruit blossoms, and so we realise 
in some measure how essential it is the weather should 
be fine while fertilisation goes on, so that the winged 
insects who assist nature may work out their part 
thoroughly. “The Apple,” states Mr. Cheshire, “is 
strictly a fusion of five fruits into one, and demands 
for its production and perfection no less than five 
independent fertilisations. If none are effected, the 
calyx, which really forms the flesh of the fruit, instead 
of swelling, dries and soon drops. An Apple often 
develops—though imperfectly—if four of the stigmas 
have been pollen-dusted, but it rarely hangs long 
enough to ripen. I examined 200 Apples that had 
dropped in a gale, and the cause of falling in every 
case but eight was traceable to imperfect fertilisation.” 
This passage sets before us the immense importance of 
experiencing soft, sunny, genial days while the process 
of dusting the stigmas with pollen dust is going on. 
Those who think the blossom of the Pear is destitute 
of the colouring which one perceives in that of the 
Apple, may be informed that there is a great deal of 
colour on the reverse of the petals. This is particularly 
noticeable in the bud state. Mr. A. F. Barron states 
that there has appeared to be more colour in the Pear 
blossom this season than usual. Is this traceable in 
any way to the wet character of the past summer ? 
In the blossoms of the Peach we get a great deal of 
colour ; not so in the Cherry or Plum, or at least, if 
there is any colour, it is of an indistinct character. 
If flowers flourish out of season, sickness and death are 
thereby indicated, and this is one of the illustrations of 
how closely associated are flowers with the dead and 
the ceremony of funeral. In Northamptonshire, and 
also in the west of England, the blooming of the Apple 
or Pear tree after the fruit is ripe is regarded as a sure 
omen of death, whence the following couplet:— 
“A bloom on the tree when the Apples are ripe 
Is a sure termination to somebody’s life.” 
SYRINGING. 
It is always interesting to read the different methods 
of treatment and practice between experienced cultiva¬ 
tors, and more especially upon such a subject as the 
Yine, which occupies such a prominent position in our 
gardens. One must naturally feel a certain amount of 
diffidence in expressing an opinion upon this question 
of syringing, for whatever view we may take in this 
matter, it must certainly be antagonistic to some of 
those of unquestionably good practice and standing. 
I am acquainted with some such who make use of the 
syringe to assist the setting of Muscats, and consider it 
to greatly assist this operation ; but I think no one will 
contradict me when I say that such a thing should only 
be attempted by thoroughly 
experienced men, or the 
results might be disastrous. 
The Grape requires no 
artificial assistance in setting 
the fruit, except in very ex¬ 
ceptional instances, such as 
those in the earliest forcing 
houses, when tapping the 
wires or branches, when the 
Vines are in full flower, 
will materially help to 
distribute the pollen; and 
although some varieties are 
not so free-setting as others, 
yet under favourable con¬ 
ditions a sufficient quantity 
of berries ought to set and 
swell off without artificial 
help, and when such is not 
the case, I should feel 
disposed to look for the 
fault elsewhere, and examine 
the position and construction 
of the borders, or consider 
whether the Vines in their 
earliest stages of growth had 
been forced too rapidly. 
It has also been thought 
that much over-feeding will 
induce shy setting. I once 
had charge of a range of 
vineries, amongst which were 
two Muscat houses of the 
same variety. In one the 
fruit set very freely, in the 
other it was quite the 
reverse. In both instances 
the Vines were planted in¬ 
side the houses. In the first 
house the borders both 
inside and outside were on a 
level with the surrounding garden soil; in the other 
they were raised about three feet, and freely drained. 
I consider in the latter instance the fruit did not set 
freely owing to the insufficiency of water in the soil 
during the growing period, on account of its raised 
position and sharp drainage, for notwithstanding the 
heavy waterings we gave it, it was impossible to 
thoroughly saturate the soil during the summer months, 
and an enfeebled constitution was the natural result. 
I am sure it is a great mistake to make raised borders 
for Vines unless in low ground or stagnant positions, 
or in very early vineries, where it is advisable to keep 
the borders a little warm. 
I look upon the syringing of plants more as an agency 
for keeping down insect pests than otherwise. Especi¬ 
ally it seems to me a most unnatural thing to syringe 
Grape Vines when they are in foliage, for one reason— 
because the water is dashed into the under-surface of 
the leaves. Although we adopt artificial means to 
assist Nature and further develop her products, it is 
not always advisable to adopt a course absolutely con¬ 
trary to her precepts. The rain falls upon the upper 
surface of the leaves, which are formed by nature to 
receive it. We do not see plants turn their leaves to 
receive it upon their under-surface. Besides, however 
clean the water may be, we cannot always avoid 
spotting the foliage or fruit, as a certain amount of 
dirt will always accumulate upon the roof or walls, and 
