802 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 17, 1889. 
pelago, Tsu-sima Island, and also at Kew-Kiang, in 
China. 
L. barystachys.— The specific name here means 
strong-spiked, but the other name frequently em¬ 
ployed—namely, L. brachystachys, meaning short- 
spiked—would be more appropriate. The stems vary 
from 1 ft. to 3 ft., but are generally medium in height, 
densely leafy and hairy, with alternate lance-shaped 
leaves. The flowers are pure white, and borne in 
dense terminal spike-like racemes. The species is a 
native of the Altai Mountains, various parts of China 
around the Yellow Sea, shady glens near Peking, and 
Mandshuria. 
L. ephemerum. —Leaves opposite, linear-lanceolate, 
often attenuate, sessile, stem-clasping, and very 
glaucous beneath. The flowers are white, in long 
terminal and graceful racemes. Although a native of 
various parts of southern and central Europe—such as 
France, Spain, Germany, &c.—yet it is less frequent in 
collections than L. barystachys, which sometimes does 
service for it, and under that name, though erroneously 
so, as the two are very distinct. 
L. CANDIDA. —In habit this species would lead to the 
supposition of its being an annual. The stems vary 
from 6 ins. to 15 ins. in height, and are simple or 
branched, slender and smooth, clothed with linear- 
lanceolate, slender, often attenuate leaves. The roots 
are slender and fibrous. The white flowers are of 
medium size, white, and borne in more or less elongated 
terminal racemes. It is a native of various parts of 
China, such as Chefoo, and roadsides near Uingpo ; 
but has not been introduced. 
Flowers Coloured. 
L. Leschenaultii. —The stems of this showy species 
vary from 1 ft. to 2 ft. in height, and are densely 
clothed with small lance-shaped leaves ; they are much 
branched, robust, and terminate in densely crowded 
racemes of brilliant carmine flowers, the racemes ulti¬ 
mately lengthening from 3 ins. to 9 ins. in length. 
The plant is only half-hardy in this country, but does 
well in light soils on the rockery. It might be grown 
with great advantage in a greenhouse or hardy plant 
structure. L. Clementsoniana is a synonymous name. 
The species inhabits various parts of eastern and 
southern India and the Neilgherry Hills at an altitude 
of 6,000 ft. to 8,000 ft. 
L. atropurpurea.— Stems densely leafy, and about 
2 ft. in height. The lance-shaped leaves are alternate, 
and crisped at the margins. The flowers are dark 
purple, and borne in long drooping racemes at the end 
of the stems, and numerous axillary, short branches. 
It was introduced from south Europe in 1820, and has 
been picked up in various places, such as Mount 
Parnassus in Greece, Bythinia, in the mud of rivers 
at Brussa, in fields formerly cultivated but now 
allowed to lie waste at Smyrna, and other eastern 
localities. 
L. nutans.— The flowers of this species are dark 
purple, and borne in short, dense, terminal, spike-like 
racemes. The leaves are opposite, lance-shaped, 
glaucous beneath, and from 1£ ins. to 2J ins. long. 
The species is a native of watery places at Grahamstown, 
in water-courses at Albany and other places at the Cape 
of Good Hope. It was introduced in 1823, but un¬ 
fortunately only proves half-hardy in this country. 
The stems grow to a height of 2 ft., and might easily 
be accommodated in the hardy plant house. Lubinia 
atropurpurea is a synonym under which it was formerly 
grown in this country. 
There are several Himalayan species that grow at 
considerable elevations, and some of them might prove 
hardy in this country. L. Hildebrandi from the 
Sandwich Islands might be mentioned here on account 
of its remarkable habit for this genus. The stems are 
shrubby, and furnished with lance-shaped, leathery, 
evergreen leaves. The flowers are very large, solitary, 
and produced in the axils of the leaves towards the top 
of the stems and branches. It has not been introduced 
to this country ; but it would undoubtedly require the 
protection of a greenhouse to preserve and flower it.— 
SURFACE-CROPPING FRUIT- 
TREE BORDERS. 
This question has been the occasion of much difference 
of opinion amongst practical gardeners, and has often 
been debated by them pro and con with very forcible 
arguments either way. It is not always that gardeners 
have any choice about the matter, as many, for want 
of space and heavy requirements, have to crop very 
closely, and make use of every available piece of ground, 
in order that they may be able to keep up a plentiful 
supply of vegetables. Still, this is a plain and practical 
question to put, although it may be a more difficult one 
to answer: Does the surface-cropping of fruit-tree 
borders with vegetables detract from the superiority of 
the fruit or injure the trees in any way ? I say that it 
is a difficult question to answer, simply because it is a 
well-known fact that excellent fruit has been grown 
under both conditions. It is a universally recognised 
principle in practical gardening that in order to obtain 
either fruit, flowers, or vegetables of superior excellence, 
subject to other conditions, we must allow a sufficiency 
of space both for root action and for foliage, in order 
that the several organs of plants, whether of roots or 
leaves, may have every possible encouragement to exert 
all their powers of action, whether of absorption, tran¬ 
spiration, or assimilation, so that none of the forces 
may be unnecessarily cramped in action or encroached 
upon by overcrowding in any way whatever, which 
conditions are absolutely necessary to their proper de¬ 
velopment. 
It might possibly be said that this system of man¬ 
agement, in the case of fruit trees in rich soils, may 
induce a superabundance of gross wood, but this would 
be more a question of the composition of the soil, of 
disbudding or pruning, whether of roots or wood, and 
not of surface-cropping. It is well to have as full a 
control as possible of our fruit trees, so that we may be 
able to regulate the action of the roots, wood, or buds, 
in order to develop and sustain their fruit-bearing 
properties ; but if we act upon the above principle, 
which means keeping the border for the fruit trees 
alone, what is to become of our early crops of spring 
vegetables? "We cannot dispense with the sheltered 
border, which is so useful for early spring crops, that 
are, in a way, as important as our wall fruits. The 
earlier in the season a gardener can supply his vege¬ 
tables, such as Peas, Potatos, Beans, &c., the better his 
employer is pleased, and the growth and supply of 
early vegetables are mostly quite as much matters of 
watchful and deep interest as the wall fruit supply. 
If good crops of fruit can be obtained by cropping the 
borders, wherein lies the advantage of keeping them 
bare ? 
Besides taking it in this light, it becomes a question 
of economy ; the loss of the early spring vegetable crop 
could not in any way be compensated for by the possible 
extra superior quality or quantity of the fruit crop. Of 
course, it must be admitted that the first duty of the 
gardener is to regulate his work as much as possible 
to meet the requirements of the family, and if superior 
fruit is the first consideration, and early vegetables a 
matter of secondary importance (which is scarcely 
probable), nothing more need be said upon this point, 
because it is evident at once that under the system of 
non-cropping we should have the borders at all times 
and at all seasons under proper control for mulching, 
forking and stirring the soil as may be required. 
Surface-cropping means deep digging, and if it is heavy 
and closely successive, it means digging often and 
at different times of the year ; but we know this is also 
a common practice, and too much so for the well-being 
of the trees. 
"Wall trees may often be seen in a wretched condition, 
but although this may result from other causes than 
heavy and continuous border cropping, yet it is only a 
question of common sense that such practice cannot 
fail to be injurious to the trees, and more especially so 
in dry seasons, when there is a lack of water or want 
of means to supply it, because surface-cropping and 
frequent digging in average seasons would cause the 
borders to become too dry. I cannot say that deep 
digging alone under the general system does the trees 
much injury when it becomes a question of cutting the 
roots only, for we may go through a large extent of 
border even with a spade and not bring up so much as 
a handful of roots, unless it is those which belong to 
any suckers that may be about, and which, of course, 
are best away. If we use a fork instead of a spade we 
are not likely to cut so many roots ; yet no one would 
recommend deep digging during the summer months, 
more especially on our hot and dry borders. Of course, 
no one would be so foolish as to dig deep close up to 
the trees. 
In good practice we resort to mulching to supply a 
little liquid manure, assisted by rain and watering to 
prevent a too rapid evaporation and to keep the borders 
as cool as possible during the summer months. Mulch¬ 
ing has a tendency to draw the roots more to the 
surface of the soil, and wherever trees are periodically 
root-pruned and the roots raised near the surface of the 
ground, which operation is always followed by mulching, 
deep digging at any time of the year within the space 
to which the roots extend, would positively be very 
injurious to the trees. We often cariy out this practice 
with Peaches and Xectarines, but not so generally with 
Pears unless the latter are too gross and vigorous, or 
otherwise in bad health and condition, when it becomes 
necessary to prune and lay out the roots and supply 
the needful compost. 
Under the surface-cropping system our borders are 
usually laid up high, warm and dry to induce early 
vegetation, and as the rootlets of the trees only take up 
their food in a soluble form, this has a tendency to 
cause them to penetrate deeper into the soil in search of 
moisture, which usually places them beyond the reach 
of the spade, as every gardener knows who has had up 
his roots for cultural purposes. Looking at the question 
from its various standpoints, to what conclusion can we 
come ? We must be guided by circumstances. If the 
requirements are for fruits of superior excellence, it is 
absolutely certain that it can be best carried out under 
the non-cropping surface system, as we should then 
have the borders more under our direct control for 
stirring and renovating the soil at suitable seasons, for 
mulching and watering and keeping the roots nearer to 
the surface, and subjecting them to the full influence 
of the atmosphere at suitable seasons ; but as this 
system is not always possible or altogether advisable, 
we should at any rate endeavour to do the best we can 
for the trees, and as we must crop our borders at least 
with the earlier kinds of vegetables, we can leave a few 
feet, or perhaps yards, round each tree for their especial 
benefit. 
Our Yine borders are subjected to quite different 
conditions when extended or planted outside, and are 
in very few cases cropped, unless very lightly indeed. 
During the winter months it is usual and necessary to 
give the borders a heavy mulching with good manure, 
for the double purpose that a good supply of fresh 
feeding material may filter into and enrich the soil for 
the ensuing season to store up a good supply of food, 
and to protect the borders from the cold wintry 
influences. In the early summer months as much as 
remains of this covering would be taken off and the 
surface of the borders pricked over to allow the warm 
air to penetrate the soil. As the border is covered up 
so completely during the winter months it would be 
the greatest possible mistake to crop it in summer, as 
that is the only season when it can be exposed to full 
atmospherical influences. The Yine is a gross feeder, 
and any encroachment upon its stores would be severely 
felt, and its roots if left alone come up very near to the 
surface of the ground under good conditions, so that 
digging with the spade upon the border for vegetable 
croppings would greatly injure the crop. In this case 
it is not even a question of economy. On account of 
the mulch we cannot use the borders for early vegetables, 
and late ones can be grown elsewhere ; and Grapes of 
superior quality are of much more value and more 
highly prized than would be the few extra vegetables 
which can be grown on the Yine border.— Alfred Gant. 
-- 
THE SNAKE NUT. 
A gentleman residing at Ealing has just brought 
under my notice a specimen of the Snake Hut which 
he has in his possession. I should think a fruit of 
this is very rare. He states that the kernel of the nut 
represents a perfect serpent. I find that in a paper 
communicated to the Linnsean Society—read on June 
6th, 1837, and since printed in the Annals of XcUural 
History —the attention of naturalists was called to this 
curious fruit by Chevalier Schomburgh, which he 
regarded “as a Drupa, the kernel of which, when opened 
and the membrane which covered it being removed, 
displayed a striking resemblance to a snake coiled up.” 
“ I was not,” says the Chevalier, “ able to produce the 
blossoms of the tree which produces this strange fruit 
in such an advanced state as to permit me to describe 
it with accuracy, and considered it at that time as 
belonging to the order Terebinthaceae. Shortly after 
my departure from Guiana some perfect flowers were 
sent to me, which rendered it evident that the tree 
belonged to the natural order of Sabiacece, and with the 
assistance of Mr. Bentham I have described this curious 
fruit as Ophiocaryon paradoxum. The specific name 
refers more to the remarkable resemblance of the embryo 
to the snake than to its deviation from the general 
structure of the tribe, which in the section Dodonseaceae 
presents us already with a spiral and twisted embryo.” 
I have taken the above from the Gardeners’ Chronicle, 
October 26th, 1814, and it forms a part of a paper read 
at the meeting of the British Association for the Ad¬ 
vancement of Science, held at York, in that year. 
Can any of your readers give me any further information 
about this tree ? I presume dried specimens of it are 
to be seen in the herbarium at Kew.— R. Dean. 
