710 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
July 6, 1889. 
amongst us to a considerable stature. I conceive it 
was first brought over by John Tradescant, under the 
name of the Tulip tree, from the likeness of its flower ; 
but it is not that I find taken notice of in our herbals. 
I wish wo had more of them, but they are difficult to 
elevate at first.” It was cultivated hy Bishop Compton, 
at Fulham, in 1688. According to Millar, Mr. Darley, 
of IToxton, and Mr. Fairchild were the first who raised 
any quantity from seed, and it is probable that from 
these nurseries the numerous large trees which exist all 
over the country were largely produced. 
The first Tulip tree which flowered in England was 
in the gardens of the Earl of Peterborough, at Parsons 
Green, near Fulham, and it is also stated to be the first 
one planted out of doors ; previous to this it had been 
grown in pots or tubs. This convinced gardeners of their 
error, and led to a great many trees being planted out 
in all parts of the country, those which were planted in 
moist rich soil speedily attaining large dimensions. 
There are now T many fine trees in the British Isles, they 
being valued, and deservedly so, as highly ornamental 
specimens. Not so many have been planted of late 
years, Conifers having apparently been more fancied in 
parks and pleasure grounds, yet Tulip trees in quantity 
might with advantage be introduced here and there in 
many parts, in clumps or as single specimens, as future 
ornamental additions to the landscape. I am given to 
understand that the South Eastern Railway Company 
a few years ago planted several upon their property. 
When planted out under favourable conditions as to 
soil and situation it grows very rapidly, and as we have 
Tulip trees in most parts of the country, in more or 
less quantity, it can easily be seen which localities suit 
them best. In its native country it delights in deep 
rich loamy soil, on the banks of rivers, in alluvial 
plains, or on the borders of swamps sheltered from high 
winds, but sufficiently exposed to light and air to ripen 
off the wood, without which it cannot resist the intense 
frost. 
Eminent authorities, both British and American, 
speak highly of its value as a timber tree. According 
to them it has only one inconvenience, there is no wood 
which expands or contracts so much when exposed to 
weather; when cut into large boards it is liable to shrink 
and warp with the alternations of heat and moisture, 
but in small pieces it is used for many purposes. It is 
light, close grained, strong, easily worked, and is largely 
used for indoor work, carriage panels, the fine fittings 
of cabinet work, such as drawers and fancy articles, &c. 
When perfectly dry it will take paint, and admits of a 
brilliant polish. Being easily bent, it is in demand for 
all kinds of curved work, for portions of machinery, &c. 
Where it abounds it is used in the interior of houses 
for joists and rafters, for which it is peculiarly adapted, 
on account of its strength and durability. In some 
parts shingles of it, about 15 ins. long, are used for 
covering houses, and are said to be preferred for their 
durability and non-liability to split from the effects of 
severe frost or strong sunshine. It was also used hy 
the Indians of the Western States for making canoes, 
the trunks being hollowed out for that purpose. The 
species is too valuable with us at present as an orna¬ 
mental tree to be used in manufactures, although there 
are many specimens which, if cut down, would be 
excellent for such a purpose, but I imagine the 
description of land that would be necessary for its 
cultivation would pay better in other respects. 
If it is desired to grow it for straight clean timber it 
is advisable to plant closely, one plant thus drawing 
up the other, or amongst other trees, which should be 
thinned out from time to time. Like the Magnolia, to 
which family it belongs, it is very impatient of the 
knife, and will not bear much pruning. Instances are 
recorded where seeds have been ripened and plants 
grown from them in England, but this is not frequent. 
Seeds are imported from America, where they ripen 
more freely. They may be sown in nicely-prepared beds 
in either autumn or spring, autumn being considered the 
better season, as they come up the following spring, 
whereas those sown at the latter period would probably 
not germinate until the next year. The trees should be 
shifted frequently until finally planted where they are 
intended to remain, or it would be better, if possible, 
to transplant them after a year’s growth to their 
permanent positions, as, not being fibrous-rooted, they 
will not bear transplanting so well as many forest 
trees .—Alfred Gaut. 
Canna Petit Jean.— The leaves of this plant are 
narrow, lanceolate and glaucous. The flowers are borne 
in a short terminal cyme, and are rather attractive 
in appearance, owing to the segments being scarlet and 
margined with yellow. They are only of medium size. 
A plant was exhibited by Messrs. Paul & Son, Ches- 
hunt, at the recent show of the Royal Botanic Society, 
when they received a Floricultural Certificate for it. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
——j-— 
Propagating Pansies and Pinks. 
In the southern counties it is expedient to pro¬ 
pagate Pansies and Violas during the month of July, 
because, in dry seasons especially, the plants run to 
flower, and if they do not produce young suckers from 
the base, they often perish before the advent of the 
autumn rains. At all events, then, in the south it is 
safest to take cuttings while they are yet to be had. 
Prepare them in the usual way, and prick them firmly 
into soil, with which a good quantity of sand and leaf- 
soil has been incorporated. After the operation has been 
completed give a good watering through a moderately 
fine-rosed pot, so as to settle the soil about them. 
Pinks may be treated in the same way, but in this case 
a good quantity of sand should be used so as to render 
the soil porous and open. A handlight or frame should 
be placed over them, and kept close till the cuttings 
begin to root, after which a gradually increasing 
amount of air may be given. It will be requisite to 
shade during all bright weather to prevent flagging till 
the plants begin to root, after which it had better be 
dispensed with altogether. 
Roses and Green-fly. 
At various times during the course of the season the 
young shoots of Roses are liable to get infested with 
green-fly, which seriously cripples both the young stems 
and leaves if allowed to increase without check. In the 
case of many kinds of plants, green-fly can be greatly 
checked by pinching off the tips of the young shoots 
infested ; but if Roses are treated in this way, the 
flowers will, in many cases, be removed also, and some 
other means must be devised for destroying the pest. 
Frequent syringing with clean water is wonderfully 
effective, but the fly may be more certainly destroyed 
by syringing with tobacco-water or a solution of soft- 
soap. The two combined are certainly even more 
destructive. The plants should be syringed with clean 
water an hour or two afterwards. 
Dahlias. 
Comparatively little growth will be made by these 
during the prevalence of dry weather, unless they are 
frequently watered. Liquid manure, which can easily 
be obtained by steeping some cow-manure in a tub or 
barrel, should be given to them in a liquid state—say, 
once or twice a week. This will urge them into growth 
much faster than if left to their own resources. Care¬ 
fully tie the main stem and two side ones to the stakes 
as growth proceeds. Unless more than one stake is 
used, three shoots will be plenty to train up. All the 
other side shoots should be pruned away, and this in 
itself will cause those left to grow rapidly. 
Primulas, Cinerarias and Calceolarias. 
Many amateurs try their hand at one or more of these 
showy and useful subjects. They are more difficult to 
deal with at present than at any other time, on account 
of the heat, which renders them liable to damp or die 
off suddenly. A cold frame with a northen aspect is 
very good for them, or, in the absence of that, shading 
must be given them during the brighter parts of the 
day. They must not be allowed to become dry, 
especially if grown in small pots. A light syringing 
may be given on the afternoons of bright days just 
when the frames are being closed. On dull days no 
syringing will be required. 
The Greenhouse. 
The most generally useful plants now in flower in the 
greenhouse or conservatory are tuberous Begonias, 
Fuchsias, zonal Pelargoniums, Petunias, Balsams, and 
Hydrangeas. Rhodanthe Manglesii and its white variety 
are now very extensively grown in many gardens, and 
are very effective either for the decoration of the 
greenhouse or as cut flowers, both in the fresh or dried 
state, because it is one of the so-called everlasting 
flowers that may be kept for years when dried and 
properly taken care of. Fuchsias trained pyramidal 
fashion will require tying in occasionally, so as to fill 
up any gaps that may occur. Other shoots may have 
their tips nipped off if inclined to grow in a straggling 
fashion, spoiling the symmetry of the plants. Supply 
them with liquid manure in a diluted state, two or 
three times a week, and syringe heavily on bright days 
before the house is closed. A little top air should, 
however, be left on all night. 
Caterpillars on Currants and Gooseberries. 
The larvte or caterpillars of a sawfly named Nenratus 
Ribesii often do considerable damage to the bushes of 
Gooseberries, red and white Currants, stripping them 
of their foliage, after which even if the fruits are of 
large size they either do not ripen or are perfectly 
tasteless and useless. When the insects are very 
numerous, hand-picking is a tedious operation, but 
certain in its effects. Tobacco-powder dusted over the 
plants while they are -wet either destroys the cater¬ 
pillars or causes them to drop, when they may be 
killed or picked up, carried away, and destroyed. 
White Hellebore powder dusted on the bushes in the 
same way will also most certainly destroy the enemy. 
Before dusting the bushes they may be syringed, to 
cause the powder to remain for some little time. At 
the end of a week the powder should be thoroughly 
washed off with clean water. 
-- 
COCOS NUCIFERA. 
The Cocoa Nut Palm is indigenous in the East, and is 
now largely cultivated on the coasts of India and 
Ceylon, and in the islands of the Eastern Archipelago. 
There are also as many as 20,000,000 in the south-west 
of Ceylon. The Palm frequently grows wild in distant 
and isolated islands, whither the germ has been borne 
by the sea, the thick fibrous padding around the nut 
protecting it from the action of the water. So we con¬ 
stantly see that coral reefs, as soon as they make their 
appearance above the surface of the water, are taken 
possession of by these trees. The seashore is the home 
of the Palm ; it grows quite down at the water’s edge, 
and is in many cases constantly washed by the waves. 
Thus, along the Brazilian coast for a distance of 
nearly 280 miles, from the river San Francisco to the 
bar of Mamanguape, these trees extend. We also, 
however, find them far inland, and at the height of 
several thousand feet above the level of the sea. At 
Bangalore they flourish and produce fruit in abundance 
at a height of 3,000 ft. above the sea level. From a 
dietetical and economical point of view the Cocoa Nut 
Palm is a most valuable plant ; sugar, starch, oil, wax, 
wine, resin, astringent matters, and edible fruits are its 
gifts to man. 
An alluvial or loamy soil is the most suitable for 
planting it, and no more than eighty plants an acre 
should be planted to get the maximum amount of fruit 
possible. Nuts obtainable from trees of from fifteen to 
thirty years old are the best for planting. There are 
numerous varieties of this tree, there being as many as 
thirty in Travancore alone. One dwarf variety bears 
fruit when it is only 2 ft. in height. Toddy is the sap 
of the Cocoa Nut Palm, and when the toddy-drawer 
wishes to get out the sap of the tree, he binds the 
flower spathe tightly with fibres of the tree, and beats 
it twice a day for three or four days with a short stick. 
The top is then sliced,' and as soon as the sap begins to 
flow, a vessel, either earthen or made of bamboo, is tied 
to the spathe to receive the sap. The spathe is kept 
bleeding by making a fresh wound in it each day. 
The fluid, when fresh, has a pleasant taste, and is 
slightly aperient. When kept for a few hours it 
ferments and becomes somewhat intoxicating, and it 
may be distilled into spirits or vinegar. With bakers 
it takes the place of yeast. 
The quantity of toddy taken out varies with the age 
and locality of the spathe, but the average quantity 
obtained for two or three weeks is three or four quarts 
every twenty-four hours. The liquid is also boiled 
down into a coarse kind of sugar called jaggery, which 
is either converted into molasses, or refined before fer¬ 
mentation sets in into white or brown sugar. In some 
places the occupation of toddy-drawer is an hereditary 
one. Their mode of work is very simple, but is ex¬ 
tremely dangerous. A thong made of bullock or 
buffalo hide, from 3 ins. to 6 ins. in width, and long 
enough to surround the tree and the body of the 
climber, is fastened with a peculiar kind of knot. The 
worker then stretches the thong to its utmost by 
throwing his whole weight on it, and draws up his 
legs. He has a ring of rope of Palmyra fibres around 
his insteps, which allows him to grasp the tree between 
his heels. While his left hand is pressed against the 
trunk, he shifts the thong up the tree with his right, 
and draws his body up with it. 
“Cocoa Nut Day” is celebrated in most parts of 
India during the full moon in August. On that day 
numbers of nuts are thrown into the sea as an offering 
to the Hindu gods. Occasionally one meets with 
deformed nuts, consisting of the husks with small de¬ 
formed nuts having no kernel inside. The natives 
attribute this blighting of the fruit to the tree frog, 
which, by smelling the flower, can prevent the fruit 
from coming to maturity. The kernel of the nut is 
frequently made into ornaments for the hair, or neck¬ 
laces. The plants, Dr. Short says, are subject to 
