June 15, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Hardening 
ffflSCELLANY. 
Insects and the Crops in Perthshire. 
The insect pests which perplex the gardener are always 
more or less numerous ; indeed, are never absent from 
a garden, however small it may be. But this year 
seems to be one of the worst I remember, as they are 
present in so great numbers, that plants outside are 
very much disfigured by their ravages. Aphides 
especially are in enormous quantities, and have made 
some of the hedges quite unsightly by their work. 
This is particularly so with Beech hedges, the leaves 
being perfectly covered with vermin as well as the 
young shoots. Black and red Currants, Gooseberries 
and Plums are also suffering much from the attack of 
the fly, the leaves being curled up on the points of the 
young growths. They are in thousands, and as no 
way of destroying them is so effectual as cutting off the 
curled points of the shoots, we propose, if possible, to 
devote a little of our time to this before we syringe 
with some insecticide. The fruit of black and red 
Currants appears light ; Gooseberries are looking well, 
also Strawberries, except Elton Pine, which is not so 
good as usual. Laxton’s Noble seems as if it was 
determined to be before King of the Earlies. Grove 
End, which is still a favourite for preserving, is looking 
as well as could be ; Yicomtesse Hericart de Thury, 
and Duke of Edinburgh, which is a fine carrying berry, 
are looking splendidly. Plums are fair, also Cherries 
and Apples. Some of the latter have their leaves 
much destroyed by caterpillars. Our wall-trees are all 
young except a few, and as we have been getting our 
walls all picked and pointed, some of them have been 
struck by the masons’ picks, the consequence is that 
most of the wounds on the Cherries and Plums are 
gumming badly, and in some cases the trees have lost 
valuable branches. Apples canker at a rapid rate after 
being in the least bruised, and some of the standard 
trained trees have lost their best branches ; others have 
their stems bruised, and are now nearly dead right 
round the whole stem just at the bruise. Pears are 
very bad with the Pear mite ; it appears on the leaf in 
blisters, the whole leaf being one mass of blisters, and 
the insect is between the two skins, consequently there is 
no way of destroying this unsightly lot of leaves ; for 
so they are. I also fail to see the insect, although it is 
pronounced as the work of such. The blisters are on 
the leaves when unfolding, so we must try painting the 
trees with some strong stuff.— Perthshire. 
Verbascum olympicum. 
A specimen of this noble species was exhibited at the 
Drill Hall, on Tuesday last, by W. H. Loder, Esq., 
High Beeches, Crawley, when the Floral Committee of 
the Royal Horticultural Society awarded it a First 
Class Certificate. From the midst of a rosette of lance¬ 
shaped, woolly leaves, about a yard in diameter, rose 
the inflorescence to the height of 5 \ ft. The main stem 
was branched in a pyramidal manner nearly throughout 
its length, and both the main stem, as well as the 
lateral branches, were thickly furnished all over with 
dense clusters of flowers of a bright yellow with orange 
spots at the very base. The orange filaments were 
densely clad with white hairs, showing off the deep 
orange anthers to great advantage. Masses of flowers 
were lying amongst the leaves, knocked off during the 
carriage of the plant, yet the loss of them was not in 
any way felt. The candelabra-like inflorescence itself 
was about 4 ft. in length. 
Gerbera Jamesoni. 
Yellow is such a common colour amongst Composites 
that we readily welcome anything different from the 
prevailing hue. The flower scapes rise to a height of 
15 ins. or 18 ins., bearing a solitary head of consider¬ 
able size. The long linear rays are scarlet, or some¬ 
thing closely approaching it, while the disk florets are 
orange-scarlet with yellow styles and anthers. The 
radical leaves are runcinate, or irregularly divided in 
the same way as those of the Dandelion, but are of a 
dark green, resembling those of Cryptostemma calan- 
dulaceum, or some of the species of Arctotis, with 
which there is evidently considerable affinity. Whether 
it would live in the open air even in the south of 
England is very questionable ; but it would prove a 
showy and interesting plant for a cool greenhouse 
where plenty of ventilation is given. It is now 
flowering in the hardy plant house at Kew. 
Rodgersia podophylla. 
The fine foliage of this Japanese plant renders it 
worthy of a place in any garden where sub-tropical 
effects are desired. The flowers are produced in large 
cymose panicles, and although individually small are 
graceful and effective in the mass. In colour they 
resemble those of the male plants of Spiraea aruncus or 
S. a. astilboides, being of a creamy yellow. The plant 
is now flowering, but the handsome foliage will always 
be the most valuable feature of the plant. The leaves 
are peltately digitate, with the large segments lying in 
one plane of orbicular outline all round the apex of 
the erect petiole. In the early stages of growth they 
have a bright bronzy red hue which shows itself more 
or less all through the growing season. They die down 
in autumn. The best results are obtained by treating 
it as a bog plant, or by cultivating it on the banks of a 
stream or pond where the leaves can dip into the 
water, and so obtain a requisite supply of moisture. If 
small specimens are planted, several years are necessary 
for them to become established, and attain their full 
dimensions, after which a sub-tropical appearance is the 
result. 
The Cheddar Pink. 
The popular name given to this Dianthus refers to the 
habitat it occupies on the limestone cliffs at Cheddar, 
in Somersetshire. Amongst alpines in flower at present, 
few have a more charming appearance, either native or 
exotic, than this native wilding. The flower-stems 
grow from 3 ins. to 6 ins. in height, but are usually 
intermediate in stature, and bear, as a rule, one flower 
only, although vigorous specimens may produce two 
or three. The individual blooms are about the size of 
a shilling, of a beautiful warm rose, and toothed at the 
edges of the petals. The whole plant is very compact, 
with a close carpet of deep glaucous foliage, which sets 
off the flowers to great advantage. The latter are 
generally produced in great abundance on a good-sized 
plant. It is of easy culture, and takes care of itself 
when planted in well-drained soil or on rockeries, 
where it forms beautiful carpets on rather dry ledges. 
Propagation is effected by cuttings in the usual way. 
Aristolochia elegans. 
The more we become acquainted with this beautiful 
species, the more does its value for stove decorative 
purposes become evident. When grown in pots the 
best way to manage it is to train the long slender 
stems on a balloon-shaped trellis-work. A better effect 
is, however, obtained by training it up the rafters of a 
stove, as is done by Mr. F. Ross, gardener to Sir George 
Macleay, Pendell Court, Bletchingley. The numerous 
stems have already traversed the whole length of rafter, 
and are furnished with numerous flow’ers in all stages 
of development. The flowers are 2 ins. or 3 ins. in 
diameter, whitish externally, with purple branching 
veins. The large lip is orbicular, concave on the inner 
face, and densely covered all over with hieroglyphical, 
deep purple markings on a pale, almost white ground. 
Around the mouth of the tube is a deep black zone. A 
specially valuable character of these showy flowers is 
that they never, at any stage of their development, 
give off an offensive smell, as A. brasiliensis and other 
species do. 
Nymphsea tuberosa flavescens. 
While this beautiful variety possesses the quality of 
N. flava in having yellow flowers, it greatly exceeds 
that species in the individual blooms being larger and 
in being more profusely produced. Although N. flava 
grows freely in a tank amongst other species, it flowers 
very sparsely, whereas that under notice blooms as 
regularly as the wild white type. The numerous petals 
are of a soft canary-yellow, and form a wide cup around 
the deeper yellow stamens. The leaves are of the 
ordinary orbicular and floating type, but they fre¬ 
quently exhibit bronze-coloured blotches and markings, 
such as we see in N. flava, suggesting that the pollen 
of that species had been used in the production of the 
yellow variety under notice. It may now be seen in 
the Water Lily house at Kew. 
Cabomba aquatica. 
The species of this genus are extremely interesting 
aquatics, from the fact that they are members belong¬ 
ing to a group of the Water Lily family, to which the 
Nymphieas and the noble Victoria regia belong. Many 
or most of the leaves are submerged, and more resemble 
an aquatic Ranunculus than the other rnemb ers of the 
order with which we are more familiar. They are 
grass-green, orbicular, and divided, even to the base, 
into five lobes, which are again cut into numerous 
slender, almost thread-like segments. The floating 
leaves, which are few in number, are also orbicular, 
but peltate or shield-like and entire. The plant is also 
known as Nectris aquatica, and was originally in¬ 
troduced from Guiana, in 1823. Seeds have recently 
been introduced from Demerara to Kew, where the 
plants have been flowering for some time in the Water 
Lily house. The flowers are small and yellow, and of 
secondary importance to the foliage for decorative 
purposes. The plant is easily grown in a cistern of no 
great depth, containing a small quantity of soil, filled 
up with water and stood in a stove or warm greenhouse. 
--»$<-.- 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
Cattleya Mossi>e. 
Mr. H. Page, Grove Nursery, Teddington, who has 
this season been fortunate in flowering some grand 
forms of C. Mendelii and C. Mossiae, had a splendid 
white Mosske at Protheroe and Morris’s Rooms on the 
4th inst. The plant, which was in a 48-sized pot, had 
only one leader and one flower, but its quality was 
proved by the fact that it realised 42 guineas under the 
hammer. 
Vanda parviflora. 
While one of the smallest, if not the least of all the 
Vandas, this species is at the same time exceedingly 
pretty. The flowers are produced on erect racemes, 
and vary in number according to the strength of the 
plant carrying them. The sepals and twisted petals 
are of a clear pale, or even bright yellow, while the lip 
is whitish, and mostly occupied with a spongy or 
cushion-like disk that is suffused with blue or purple 
in different individuals. A specimen now flowering at 
Devonhurst, Chiswick, had its lip tinted with blue 
similar in hue to that seen in V. ccerulescens, for which 
the specimens have been mistaken till they come into 
flower. The lip, as to size, is also in keeping with the 
rest of the flower, and furnished with a funnel-shaped 
spur behind. It is a native of India, and known under 
several names, including V. testacea, Aerides testaceum, 
and A. Wightianum. 
Dendrobium clavatum. 
In general aspect this strong-growing species may be 
compared to D. fimbriatum oculatum, but the fringes 
are absent, and the leaves are evergreen. The latter 
are comparatively few in number compared with the 
dimensions of the stems, which grow from 18 ins. to 
3 ft. long, and are arranged near the top of the latter. 
The flowers are produced in drooping racemes, and are 
of a rich golden yellow, with a large black blotch near 
the base of the lip, which is pubescent on the upper 
surface, and merely toothed at the margin, not fringed. 
The species is a native of Assam, from whence it was 
introduced to Britain in 1851, and requires the temper¬ 
ature of the East Indian house, and to be grown in pots 
as it is treated at Pendell Court, Bletchingley. 
An Outrageous Cattleya Mossi/e. 
We are in possession of a bloom of this Cattleya, which 
bloomed in the collection of Mr. J. Prewett, of Ham¬ 
mersmith. The lip being entirely suppressed, there is 
no characteristic mark by which it can .be determined 
to what species it belongs. The two petals are united 
by their edges to the very apex of the upper sepal, 
which holds a median position between the petals which 
are much undulated at the free edge only. The lateral 
sepals are also united to their tips, and the whole 
flower is of a uniform warm rose. The column is 
somewhat smaller than usual, but nothing else is 
abnormal, yet no one could determine the relations of 
the species from such materials. 
Aganisia ccerulea. 
The species of this small genus are mostly pretty plants 
of dwarf compact habit, and are structurally allied to 
Zygopetalum. They are epiphytical in habit, and 
require to be grown on blocks or in small baskets 
suspended from the roof of the East Indian house, the 
atmosphere of which should be kept warm and moist 
during the growing season. The flowers are produced 
on axillary racemes, and although by no means 
numerous, they are of appreciable size and pretty. The 
lip is the most singular organ of the flower, and is 
furnished with two small teeth near the base, while 
the middle lobe is large, somewhat saccate, and bordered 
with long curious bristles, the colour being violet. 
The sepals and petals are white. Lindley separated 
the genus from Maxillaria, and named the plant under 
notice Warrea cyanea. The species occasionally makes 
its appearance in collections, but is by no means 
common. 
