726 
THE GARDENING- WORLD 
July 13, 1889. 
nor can we see how she would design a system of 
organism in a plant entirely useless and unfitted for 
the ends it represented, without the interference of 
insects. The thing seems quite absurd that without 
the aid of the animal world the vegetable would cease 
to exist. 
The fact of the matter is the difficulty of conceiving 
how the bee is capable of fertilising a flower at all. 
It does not look as if it were a rule of nature, that a 
bee, necessarily coated all over with a heterogenity of 
pollen, could effectually fertilise the organs of any 
plant it might by chance alight on. To myself this 
always stood out as a barrier against the freedom of 
insects to fertilise in a wholesale fashion ; and I think 
it is consistent with reason to suppose that such is not 
only impossible, but thoroughly unnatural. If such 
looseness of principle were possible in nature, we 
should soon find no end of confusion arising from bee 
impregnations, which in a few short years, in all 
probability, would obliterate the general character and 
order we find in existing species. I would sooner 
believe, if Nature does require the transposition of the 
bee from its own sphere of labour to assist in the 
working out of a principle in another, that she does so 
to retard over-abundant self or wind-fertilisation. 
We are, it would seem, at the present time passing 
through a portion of the world’s history that leaps to 
premature conclusions without going to the bother of 
ascertaining their value ; and not unlikely the value of 
insects in the regions of fertilisation has been in a 
universal degree accepted on the same footing. 
Gardeners especially, therefore, should endeavour to 
apply their powers of observation in testing how far 
the importance of the bee goes as a necessary aid to 
fertilisation, before they lay themselves open to every 
frivolous and fanciful assumption that wafts on every 
wind that blows. 
As for bee-keeping being an industry of a profitable 
nature, ninety-five per cent, of gardeners, I am afraid, 
will not confirm such a statement. I have had 
abundant experience in this matter myself, to enable 
me to form what I think is a fair opinion. Some 
seasons could be said to be profitable, but the aggregate 
brought more failures than profits, so I fail to see 
where such a precarious industry can be attended with 
much wide-spread success. Exceptional circumstances, 
however, I am perfectly satisfied renders the keeping 
of bees profitable—warm and steady temperature, and 
an exposure favourably situated, not only from north 
and east winds, but from all winds. In the vicinity of 
such a place plenty of wild flowers should exist, to 
minimise the waste of time the bee takes seeking food 
at a further distance. This and other similar con¬ 
ditions tend to make bee-keeping a profitable speculation, 
but it will be observed that such conditions are more 
scarce than common. 
The unpropitious seasons of the last decade have re¬ 
duced bee-keeping in Scotland and parts of England to 
a very low proportion compared with that of preceding 
years. Where ten at that period kept bees, it may 
safely be said hut one now bothers and fights away 
with" them. They incur very little trouble and ex¬ 
pense if they are placed in favourable circumstances 
and left alone, but if not, they are a most grievous 
source of vexation and anxiety, besides never giving 
satisfaction. That is my opinion, based on personal 
experience, and perhaps it has been as varied, geo¬ 
graphically, as few others can claim. I look upon these 
geographical conditions as important in showing pretty 
accurately the commercial value of bee-keeping. These 
are, it may be stated, a county in the north Highlands, 
a county in the south-west of England, and a county 
almost equidistant from both, which circumstances I 
think fairly represents not only the industry of bee¬ 
keeping as succeeding under three of the most im¬ 
portant climatic conditions of Great Britain, but many 
other interesting data in agriculture, forestry, and 
horticulture. 
In the cases of the two extreme counties one was 
favourable as regards the crop of honey, and the other 
was good, but as this latter case had occurred in an 
earlier decade, perhaps it is not fair to place it side by 
side with the other two. The central case was a 
complete failure, and as they died out, hive after hive, 
several attempts were made by introducing new stock, 
to persevere in bee keeping. But no use ; some died, 
some were stolen, and some took the wings of the 
morning to more congenial climes and pastures new, to 
the hearty disgust of all concerned. With the 
exception of a few solitary cases here and there, a 
person might journey a whole day in the locality, and 
not see the once familiar straw-thatched “ skep ” 
standing in the “kail yard.” This surely points to 
the fact that they do not pay. There is a story 
told of a calf who once managed to eat his head off, and 
it is quite possible the bees have done the same. Yea, 
more, their tails, for comb-honey is as rare at present 
as icicles dangling from the eaves of the houses.— 
Gamma, Edinburgh. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
-- 
Pelargoniums, Show and Fancy. 
One of the greatest difficulties with which amateurs 
have to contend in the cultivation of Pelargoniums of 
this class is in the matter of pruning. This has to be 
done systematically every year after the flowering 
period is over. When this has taken place, remove 
the plants from the greenhouse or conservatory, as the 
case may be, and stand them in the open air in a sunny 
exposed position in order to ripen the wood. Water 
must at the same time be withheld, otherwise the wood 
will remain comparatively soft. After the shoots 
become brown in the lower parts, and the leaves partly 
withered, the stems should be cut back to a bud or two 
at the base of the young wood. Soon after this 
operation fresh buds will begin to push, and when this 
has taken place the plants may be shaken out and re¬ 
potted in fresh soil. The ball of large plants especially 
should be reduced in size in order to get it into a 
smaller pot, to be afterwards placed in a larger one 
when in full growth. The soil in which they are grown 
after this must not be allowed to become too dry at any 
time. 
Propagating Phloxes. 
Both the dwarf or procumbent and early-flowering 
species, such as Phlox subulata and P. amcena, as well 
as the taller-growing later kinds, generally called 
autumn-flowering Phloxes, may now be propagated ; 
and although they are frequently rooted much later in 
the season, they make much finer plants by planting- 
out time in the following spring, if the operation be 
accomplished now. Take young shoots just getting 
moderately firm, and make a clean cut just below a 
joint ; remove one or two of the lower pair of leaves 
and insert the cuttings firmly in light, very sandy soil 
in pots. Water down with a fine-rosed watering pot 
after a sufficient number have been inserted without 
crowding them ; then stand the pots under a hand- 
light or in a frame kept close till the cuttings show 
signs of having rooted, after which they may be 
gradually hardened, and then placed in an open frame. 
Never neglect watering while roots are being formed, 
and shade from strong sunshine till that has taken 
place. 
Budding Eoses. 
Those who cultivate and have a liking for Hoses may 
try their hand at budding if they have not already 
done so. The operation is a simple one ; and all that 
is wanted is a few Briar or Manetti stocks on which to 
operate, together with some fine kinds of Eoses which 
it is desirable to propagate. The shoots on which the 
buds are to be inserted should be moderately firm, and 
the bark easily raised. Make a cross cut and a lon¬ 
gitudinal one through the bark in the form of a T- 
Then get well-formed, plump and resting buds from 
some other kind, and cut them out with about half an 
inch of bark below the bud. Eemove the woody 
portion of this with the point of a knife, taking care 
not to pick out the core or root, so to speak, of the 
bud. Then with the thin handle of a budding knife 
lift the edges of the hark where the T-shaped cut was 
made, and insert the prepared bud as quickly as possible. 
A little practice will enable the operator to do the 
work quickly, for the quicker it is done the more 
chance will there be of success. Bind up the whole 
with matting, worsted, or any kind of soft string. 
The blade of the leaf attached to the hud should be 
removed before inserting the latter, and if the stalk falls 
away of its own accord a week or so after its insertion, 
it will be a sure sign that the bud has taken. 
-- 
GARDENING MISCELLANY. 
Eryngium Oliverianum. 
In habit and general appearance, as well as height, 
this species may be compared to E. alpinum, the most 
widely disseminated species in British gardens, and 
which many years ago might have been seen in many 
a cottage garden, where it was known as the garden 
Thistle or the Blue Thistle. It was introduced in 
1597, and is, therefore, a very old inhabitant of gardens 
in this country. E. Oliverianum, on the other hand, is 
a comparatively recent introduction from the Caucasus, 
and a bold and handsome species highly deserving of 
cultivation. The stems rise to a height of 3 ft., and 
are abundantly clothed with handsome foliage. The 
leaves are deeply tripartite, the lower ones, both radical 
and eauline, being again considerably lobed, and cut 
with acute divisions, and long stalks ; the upper ones 
are more shortly petiolate and gradually less divided. 
The flower heads are oblong, and consist of densely 
packed small blue flowers, surrounded by a broad 
involucre of deeply lobed steel blue bracts, which con¬ 
stitute one of the most striking features of the species. 
It is admirably adapted for cultivation as a garden 
plant or for the back of a large rockery fully exposed 
to the sun. — 
Erodium trichomanefolium. 
Of all the species of Heron’s Bill none are more adapted 
for adorning the ledges of the rockery than that under 
notice. The flowers are not so large for instance as 
those of E. Manescavii, but the latter is an annual or 
biennial that requires frequent renewal, and from its 
habit of seeding all over the place is not so suitable for 
rockwork. E. trichomanefolium is a long-lived perennial 
with a woody rootstock, the branches of which, although 
of slow growth, will at length cover a considerable 
amount of space if left undisturbed. The leaves are 
twice divided, with narrow oblong-linear lobes, having 
in the aggregate a feathery appearance. The flowers 
are produced in fours, and are either flesh-coloured, 
rose or purple, lined with much darker veins. The 
species was introduced from Mount Lebanon, and 
proves quite hardy in this country, where its culti¬ 
vation should be much more widely extended than it is 
at present. It ripens seeds and may be propagated in 
that way, or by cuttings which root freely under a 
hand-glass or frame during the summer months. 
Spirsea palmata. 
Seeing that this, the most handsome of all the Spiraeas, 
was introduced as long ago as 1823, the wonder is that 
every collection of herbaceous plants should not contain 
it. The species is a native of Japan, and quite hardy 
some 200 miles north of the Tweed—a fact which 
should ensure it a wide distribution amongst the flower- 
loving public, or, at least, the flower-growing fraternity 
throughout the British Islands. Like most of the 
other herbaceous Spirseas, this Japanese species enjoys 
a liberal amount of moisture, and if the ground is 
naturally moist, even in summer, more satisfactory results 
will follow than where such is not the case. The banks of 
a lake, stream, or even a bog-bed, should be chosen for 
it, similar, in fact, to the positions in which we find our 
native S. Ulmaria growing under natural conditions ; 
then plant not a tuft or little bit, but a mass or bed, 
and the result will be one of the most striking features 
in the garden during July. 
A Three-ranked Antirrhinum. 
A specimen of Antirrhinum majus has been sent us by 
Mr. ¥m. Caudwell, The Ivies, Wantage, showing a 
freak of unusual occurrence. The flowers are arranged 
in three rows along the stem, instead of being scattered 
or opposite ; they are also in evident whorls of three, 
although all the three are not exactly on the same 
level. The pedicels are slightly displaced right and 
left in succeeding whorls, but not so much as to make 
the latter alternate with one another, so as to produce 
six rows of flowers. The leaves on the specimen sent 
were also arranged in exactly the same way. These 
characters we occasionally meet with in some species of 
the closely allied genus Linaria, and L. triornithophora 
might be mentioned as an instance. The leaves and 
flowers in both Antirrhinum and Linaria are liable to 
variation in the above manner ; but if a strain could he 
obtained, with the three-ranked character constant, it 
would prove a valuable one, and be much appreciated. 
Convolvulus tricolor and varieties. 
The old garden and seed-shop name of this plant is C. 
minor, while Ipomsea purpurea, a climbing subject, was 
known as Convolvulus major. Both have sported into 
numerous varieties, differing chiefly in the colour of the 
flowers, and some of them are exceedingly beautiful. 
C. tricolor likes sunshine, and may be seen at its best 
on bright days. Several very fine varieties may now be 
seen in the gardens of the Eoyal Horticultural Society, 
at Chiswick. The typical form has blue, white, and 
yellow flowers ; but in a form named C. t. monstrosus, 
the broad blue margin is very much intensified. 
The applicability of the varietal name is not, however, 
very evident. C. t. striatus has the flowers striped, 
banded, and mottled longitudinally with blue on a 
white ground, and is certainly pretty. Eosy Queen, on 
the other hand, is marked transversely with an 
irregularly defined band of violet-purple on the middle 
of the flower, which is otherwise pure white, with the 
exception of the yellow eye. C. t. albus is pure white 
with a yellow eye, and being very floriferous, resembles 
at a short distance away a white Petunia. 
