June 8, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
C47 
by Carters’ and other firms, as the “perpetual-flowering 
strain.” As a rule about eighty per cent, come double, 
and to distinguish them in the seed pans, the strongest 
are frequently single, and I transplant them at this 
time into prepared beds. The smaller ones I put 
around large pots and remove to the greenhouse—all 
yellow grounds, Carnations and Picotees, are so treated 
—and there they will remain until fully established. 
By-and-bye they will be put outside to harden and 
mature before taking inside for the winter, but in those 
pots they will remain until I find what they will he 
like—single or double, fringed or even edged, white, 
crimson, red, purple, bizarres, flakes, &e., always an 
interesting speculation. There is another sort of 
transplanting that two of my Carnation-loving ac¬ 
quaintances always engage in about this time. They 
send to Mr. Cannell and Mr. Dodwell for certain named 
varieties of the best kinds, and plant them out where 
beds of Hyacinths and Tulips have been. The plants 
arrive rooted, strong and vigorous, and give a few 
blooms the first year, increasing much the second.— JV. 
J. Murphy, Clonmel. 
Syringing Vines. 
Regarding the correspondence which has recently 
appeared in your pages on the above subject, it may be 
well for beginners in Grape-growing to know that the 
practice of syringing, when continued after the berries 
are well set, is inimical to securing a good bloom on 
the bunches, which is, of course, indispensable when 
they are intended for exhibition. Some of the leading 
cultivators do not approve of the syringe being used 
after the Vines have burst their buds, but abundant 
moisture is provided during the period it is required, by 
damping all surfaces once or twice daily. I have kept 
the vineries moist during the whole of the setting period, 
and all the bunches set well—Muscats included. When 
the foliage requires cleansing from insect pests, the 
means taken should be sponging with warm water 
with a judicious mixture of soft soap in it, which, 
although requiring more time and patience, is pre¬ 
ferable to spoiling the bunches by syringing them with 
the force necessary to dislodge the enemy. At a large 
county show a few years ago, the premier Grape 
exhibiter of the district, with whom I was having a 
look round and examining a stand of black Grapes 
apparently well washed, jocularly remarked that the 
grower must have syringed them just before starting 
for the show.— D. M. 
Utricularia Endresii. 
Few of the species of this large genus are in cultivation, 
notwithstanding the beauty of the flowers and their 
quaintness, as well as that of the whole plant. A 
number of them are grown merely out of curiosity on 
account of the insect-bladders with which they are 
furnished, and for which they are popularly known as 
Bladder-worts. U. montana and the species under 
notice are handsome garden plants on account of their 
large flowers and the certainty with which they can be 
made to bloom. The large inflated lower lip of the 
corolla is furnished with an elevated process closing the 
mouth of the flower much in the same way as that of 
an Antirrhinum, and as is generally the case there, the 
palate is yellow. The tubers in both the above- 
mentioned species are generally subterranean, and 
therefore hidden from the eye ; while the linear, flat 
and entire, or lance-shaped leaves are entirely different 
from those of our native species. The flowers of U. 
Endresii are pale lilac, and borne three or five on a 
scape. 
New Cucumbers. 
As a Cucumber grower, I am inclined to reiterate the 
question of “ S. H. C., ” which appeared in your last, 
though probably it is the craze for something new that 
causes the great multiplication of so-called new varieties, 
many of which are inferior to the older ones. I have 
tried several, but have found none to equal in all 
points that sterling variety, Telegraph, which I have 
had the pleasure of knowing for twenty years. Many 
varieties are so similar that it is difficult to tell “t’other 
from which,” the same as it was with tricolor Pelar¬ 
goniums some years ago, when they were all the rage. 
The question was lately asked in one of your contempo¬ 
raries, “Who ever heard of a hybrid between a bull 
and a cow ?” and so it is with Cucumbers : a variety 
may be improved by high cultivation and judicious 
selection, but it is difficult to determine what con¬ 
stitutes a new variety ; a few more spines or a darker 
shade seems to create such, the same as a few more 
screws or a different crank forms somebody’s patent in 
machinery. I have no interest beyond that which I 
take in anything good in again recommending Sutton’s 
Improved Telegraph to your numerous readers. It 
possesses a first-rate flavour, is of good appearance, and 
an abundant bearer, showing several fruits at a joint. 
Some young vigorous plants that I have, showed fruit 
at the cotyledons or seed leaves.— Geo. Pots, Junr. 
Northiam. 
Thinning and Transplanting Potato3. 
When uncut Potatos are used for seed many surplus 
stems, as a rule, make their appearance now, and these 
should be removed in time, otherwise there will bo 
much sacrifice of the plant’s vigour and a large per¬ 
centage of small tubers. This practice of thinning is 
not unknown among noted growers, and the result is 
exceptionally fine samples. Their plan, it is needless 
to say, might be more extensively adopted with much 
benefit to the crops. It may not be known by all 
growers that the rooted stems of Potatos about 2 ins. 
or 3 ins. long are capable of being successfully trans¬ 
planted. Last season I had a specially-prepared plot 
on which plantations of Creole or The Cobbler and 
Village Blacksmith were, and when I was engaged in 
thinning out the superfluous stems a farmer, who was 
present at the time, got some of these and had them 
immediately planted. On inquiring at the end of the 
season he informed me that they had produced a good 
crop of tubers, but unfortunately had become badly 
diseased before being lifted. Dull moist weather should 
if possible be chosen for the work of transplanting, and 
I ought to add, for the guidance of the inexperienced, 
that from three to four stems at the most is sufficient 
to leave on each plant.— Ayrshire. 
The Lily of the Valley Tree. 
Seeing the interesting note on the specimens of this 
beautiful tree at Syon House, it occurred to me that 
you would be interested to know that I have a tree 
here which is growing out in the open, and is 15 ft. 
high. The tree is one of a row of Camellias and Rho¬ 
dodendrons, all about the same height, and when in 
full bloom it is a perfect picture.— R. G. Hayman, 
The Uplands, Guernsey. [We are obliged to our corre¬ 
spondent for his note, which enables us to record an 
interesting fact.— Ed.] 
Hardy Azaleas. 
A box containing many varieties of these old-fashioned 
hardy subjects has been sent us by Mr. James Friend, 
Rook’s Nest, Godstone, Surrey, where the American 
grounds every year are a sight worth seeing. This 
style of gardening has been comparatively neglected in 
recent years ; but a great amount of pleasurable en¬ 
joyment can be derived from it, by leading the owners 
and others into the open air. The kinds sent are 
mostly of the deciduous American kinds, with a piece 
of Rhododendron (Azalea) indicum album taken from 
a large bush now finely in flower in the open air. The 
other Azaleas are mostly R. (A.) flavum or the old 
Pontic Azalea, R. (A.) nudiflorum and R. (A.) viscosum, 
and hybrids of them, but especially of the former. The 
rich golden yellow of R. (A.) flavum was fine, and the 
variety R. (A.) f. glaucum was chiefly notable for the 
glaucous hue of its foliage. R. (A.) nudiflorum bears 
a remarkable resemblance to the common Honeysuckle 
when in flower, and we therefore find that one botanist 
named it Azalea periclymenoides. The scarlet variety 
of this species—namely, coccinea—had richly-coloured 
flowers, and is a native of Georgia. Very interesting 
also from a botanical point of view was R. (A.) n. 
partitum, the flowers of which were more or less parted 
to the very base, quite anomalous not only for the 
order, but for the division of plants to which it belongs. 
The flowers were also pale red, and pretty. A double 
white variety likewise belonging here would be useful 
for cut-flower purposes. The clammy and glandular 
flowers of some kinds showed the influence of either 
R. flavum or R. viscosum. 
What can it be? 
A translation from La Lux, a Mexican paper, 
informs us that the Deputy of Oaxaca, M. Perfect 
Carrera, has taken to the city of Mexico a plant that 
grows in Mexico, which the natives call the Herb of 
Prophecy. It is one that hypnotises—that is, it 
possesses the quality of producing sleep. It is taken in 
various doses, and it is said, in a few moments a sleep 
is produced similar in all respects to, and it may be 
said identical with the hypnotic state, for the patient 
answers with closed eyes questions that are put to him, 
and is completely insensible. The pathologic state 
produced on whomsoever partakes of the herbs, brings 
with it a kind of prophetic gift, and double sight. 
Furthermore, the person in this hypnotic state loses his 
will, and is completely under the control of another, to 
such a degree that the sleeping person would leap from 
a balcony, shoot, or stab himself with a dagger at any 
moment, if ordered to do so. On returning to his 
senses, the person affected remembers nothing that he 
has done. But we are left quite in the dark as to the 
botanical name of this wonderful plant, and its native 
habitat. Perhaps it is well, else 100 enterprising 
collectors would instantly be sent out by as many 
energetic nurserymen to secure it, despite the deadly 
uses to which it can be put. But I close with the 
question with which 1 commenced—What can it be ? — 
E. IV. [Probably Datura Stramonium—probably only 
a seasonable Gooseberry.—E d.] 
The Wild Stock. 
As we have said on a previous occasion, it is very 
questionable whether the Stock was aboriginally a 
native of this country. That it is truly wild on the 
chalk cliffs of several parts along the south coast there 
can be no doubt ; but they have, from the positions 
in which they are now found, evidently escaped from 
cultivation in gardens not very far off, and finding a 
suitable home on the cliffs beneath, have thoroughly 
established themselves in places inaccessible to the 
ordinary plant collectors. They are now in full 
bloom on the Sussex coast, and although growing 
in the pure chalk, seem as happy as in the best 
cultivated soil. There are several varieties which adds 
further evidence to their garden origin. One variety 
is pure white and deliciously fragrant, while another 
is of a deep rich purple, and a third is striped, such as 
we see occurring even amongst double garden forms in 
some seasons. The purple and striped kinds are not so 
strongly scented as the white, but they grow together 
on cliffs widely separated from those on which the 
white variety grows. The flowers m°asure close upon 
1 J ins. in diameter. 
Rhododendron campanulatum. 
Like many other of the Himalayan Rhododendrons, 
this Sikkim species is liable to a considerable amount 
of variation. The typical form has large pale lilac 
flowers, with a few purple spots at the base of the 
upper segments. Regarding the foliage, the most 
noticeable feature is the rusty orange under-surface of 
the mature leaves. When the latter first expand, the 
under-side is grey and powdery, but as they get old 
they change in the manner indicated. Other forms are 
characterised by a conspicuous development of the 
purple blotches on the upper segments of the flower. The 
whole of the corolla may also be of a deep rose, with a 
blood-coloured blotch instead of spots. In the early stage, 
at least, the foliage of R. c. leruginosum, which was 
formerly reckoned a species, is of a verdigris colour, 
while the corolla is smaller than that of the typical 
R. campanulatum, and deep rose or lilac, with the 
usual spotting. Although stated to be half-hardy, 
there are large plants of two different forms at The 
Rook’s Nest, Godstone, Surrey. 
The Mountain Laurel or Calico Bush. 
The natural habitat of this plant is in stony and poor 
soil in the vicinity of water ; and under these conditions 
it thrives better than anywhere else. In this country, 
however, it does not seem to disdain a fertile soil, if 
sufficiently moist. An exposed position—that is, to 
the sun—-seems to favour the ripening of the wood, 
the development of flower-buds, and ensures a good 
display of bloom. The delicate pink flowers with 
deeper-coloured markings are produced in terminal 
umbels or trusses during the month of June and July. 
If potted up and placed in heat, however, the plant 
can be forced into bloom much earlier. The colour is, 
indeed, much better when flowered in the natural 
way out of doors. Large plants are very uncommon in 
gardens, but we noticed a bush about 8 ft. high, and 
several feet in breadth in the American grounds at The 
Rook’s Nest, Godstone. Botanically it is Kalmia lati- 
folia, and associates well with other American subjects, 
such as Rhododendrons and Azaleas. 
Enameling Pots. 
Referring to your reply to “ Omega,” at p. 633, we 
should say that flower-pots being very porous, they 
should be previously painted with ordinary paint or 
priming ; the enamel will then lay on with a gloss.— 
Aspinall, Aspinall <£• Co., New Cross, S.E. 
