September 26, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
53 
WALLICH’S LILY. 
The ordinary form of Lilium Wallichianum bears as 
a rule a single flower, or occasionally two or three 
on a stem. The variety Superbum, when well grown, 
bears five, seven or nine, as may be seen in Messrs. 
Hugh Low & Co.'s nursery at Clapton. One strong 
bulb in a pot threw up three stems bearing in the 
aggregate seventeen flowers. The stems vary from 
3 ft. to 6 ft. high, and are closely furnished with 
linear leaves from the base close up to the flowers ; 
in fact when numerous flowers are produced, the 
greater number of them arise in the axils of the 
upper leaves in a subverticillate manner. The 
flowers themselves are similar in shape and formation 
to those of L. longiflorum, but longer, measuring 
7 in. to 9 in. long. They are white with the basal 
portion of the tube externally inclined to be green, 
while the interior from the throat downwards is a 
clear pale yellow. The long anthers are of a dark 
brownish-orange. The large specimens are grown 
in 24-size pots under glass, while a large quantity of 
much dwarfer plants are stood in the open air. A 
notable fact about the Lily is that large quantities of 
bulbils are borne in the axils of the leaves, by which 
the plant may be propagated to any extent by those 
who like to take the trouble. The species is a native 
of the sub-temperate central Himalayas, and would 
probably prove hardier than is generally suspected 
if the bulbs were planted 6 in. below the surface, and 
surrounded with a handful of silver sand. Some 
bulbs planted out in the open air at Clapton survived 
last winter without protection other than that 
afforded by the soil. 
-- 
THE POTATO DISEASE. 
In an exceptionally dry summer, such as that of 
1887 (Jubilee year), we never heard of Potato disease, 
but taking the average of seasons it is more or less 
present, and in a wet season like this we may always 
look for its appearance. A new remedy having been 
tried with success in France, we determined upon 
trying it here. 
In our Hoopern Nursery we selected a fine open 
piece of ground, of an oblong-square shape, and 
planted ten varieties of Potatos side by side, in rows 
funning the short way of the piece. We staked off 
kight feet at each end, right across the rows, leaving, 
a large piece in the centre. The eight feet at the top 
tve treated on the high-moujding method, that is" 
casting up the soil from between the ranks and 
covering the haulm with it to prevent the disease 
going from the foliage to the tubers. The eight feet 
at the lower end we treated according to the French 
method, and the middle piece we left alone. We 
have now dug all the sorts but one, which we have 
left standing for anybody interested to see for them¬ 
selves. 
The result is remarkable. The middle piece, 
which was not treated in any special way, is very 
much diseased ; the top piece, which was high-moul¬ 
ded, and had the haulm buried, was a little diseased ; 
while the bottom piece, treated on the new system, 
was, practically, not diseased at all, there being only 
a few diseased tubers, they being only two of the 
varieties (the Dean and the Village Blacksmith), 
which seem to suffer most all through the piece. 
The proportion of sound Potatos yielded by the three 
courses was, roughly speaking, for the French 
method, 6 ; for the earthing up the haulm method, 
4 ; and for the “ leave alone " course, 3 ; thus prov¬ 
ing that the chemical treatment yielded twice the 
weight of tubers that the “ leave alone " course did. 
The cost of the mixture, of which we only applied 
one dose on the 24th of J uly, was about 5s. per acre, 
the prescription being —3 lbs. of sulphate of copper 
and 1 lb. of quicklime to 20 gallons of water, the 
solution to be applied at the rate of 140 to 150 
gallons per acre. (Dissolve the sulphate in water in 
a wooden tub, slake the lime in another tub and mix 
it with the copper solution ; the stuff can be applied 
with a syringe or a spray pump.) Potatos with 
curly leaves, such as Veitch’s Ashleaf Kidney, 
should be treated with a rather weaker solution, 
because they retain on the foliage much more than 
the smooth-leaved sorts (such as Puritan) do. 
As a remedy the new treatment is a success, but it 
was something more than that. Where it was 
applied the haulm remained longer green, grew more 
vigorously, and yielded a much heavier crop, apart 
from the great advantage of the tubers being 
practically free from disease. It thus acted as a 
stimulant and fertilizer, as well as a preventive. 
—Robert Veitch 6- Son, Exeter. 
Plants Certificated in Ghent. —At the meeting 
of Society of Belgian Horticulturists at Ghent on the 
15th inst. Certificates of Merit were awarded to Mr. 
L Desmet for Caraguata Peacocki, to Mr. A. Van 
Imschoot for Cattleya velutina, and to Mr. Jules 
Hye for Odontoglossum species, 
WHAT IS A FRUIT OR A 
VEGETABLE ? 
At p. 4, “ Francis ” makes a statement that “ all 
plants in the vegetable kingdom produce fruit.” If 
such statement applies to flowering plants only, then 
it would be correct, and it would also include all the 
more highly developed of the flowerless members of 
the vegetable kingdom. There is a large section of 
lowly developed vegetable organisms, however, 
which have never been known to produce anything 
comparable to fruit, but increase by dividing into 
two equal pieces, each the counterpart of the other, 
or by the liberation of organisms which are termed 
zoospores. Probably, however, “ Francis " referred 
merely to flowering plants. 
The edible portion of the Potato plant is the 
underground tubers, which are not fruits in any 
sense of the term either botanically or popularly 
speaking, and it was probably an oversight when 
Potatos were referred to as fruits. They are really 
thickened or tuberous portions of underground 
branches, and arise in the same way as normal 
branches except that they are developed beneath the 
surface of the soil, and serve as a means of continuing 
the life of the plant after the rest dies away; but 
they are no more fruits than the runners of a Straw¬ 
berry plant are. The fruit of the Tomato corresponds 
to the fruit of the Potato, which is popularly termed 
a " plum " or a "berry” in different parts of the 
country. 
The real fruit of the Potato is of no use as 
human food, and this is the point dwelt upon in 
discussing the question as to what should be 
considered a fruit or a vegetable. Furthermore, the 
method of using them is, by a consensus of public 
opinion, held to determine as to what class any 
particular product should belong, independent of 
any botanical view of the matter. Now, " Francis ” 
considers Tomatos are vegetables, but that the 
decision should be left to the common sense of the 
judges at shows. The use of the Tomato is still a 
growing one, and it does not yet appear to what 
extent the British public will consume it in the raw 
state, so that there is still some uncertainty as to 
whether it will yet be largely employed for dessert 
purposes. This may, and does cause a little hesita¬ 
tion on the part of the judges as to whether it should 
be admitted in a collection of fruit. Many buyers 
of Tomatos prefer small or medium-sized fruits in 
order that they may use them for dessert purposes, 
and there seems no reason for discouraging a grow¬ 
ing taste in that direction. Why then should they 
be excluded from a collection of fruit at exhibitions ? 
I quite agree with “ An old Judge ” that the To¬ 
mato is not (as yet) generally accepted as a dessert 
fruit; but I should not on that account disqualify an 
exhibit containing it. On the contrary, however, I 
should not give a dish of Tomatos the same number 
of points as a Pineapple, Melon, Grapes, Peaches or 
other fruits of that high order of merit. In a large 
collection of fruit the Tomato would, however, find 
a place, and increasing popularity in its favour should 
sanction this use. A class is sometimes set apart for 
Tomatos in exhibition schedules, under the heading 
of fruit ; and when this is the case they can be judged 
upon their own merits. The arrangement is a just 
one, and greatly to be recommended. 
At p. 39, " J. Carter ” is also strongly of opinion 
that Tomatos should be classed as vegetables where 
they have considerable weight with the judges. The 
question hinges on the fact of the wide-spread use 
of them in a cooked state. But the same might be said 
of Apples, Pears, Plums, and Cherries (and even the 
Morello is now used for dessert purposes and 
relished by some), Gooseberries, and other fruits 
which are cooked and preserved in various ways, 
both in a ripe and unripe state. The Tomato stands 
almost alone amongst berried fruits in being classed 
as a vegetable. The Globe Artichoke is eaten before 
it reaches the fruiting stage. The fruiting part of 
the Mushroom is the only part eaten, yet it goes with 
vegetables. Rhubarb, which is only utilised in the 
same manner as cooked or preserved fruit and in the 
form of pastry, is classed amongst vegetables, and 
sounds rather paradoxical. 
" B. L.” objects to the taste of Tomatos, butalmost 
every one does so at first acquaintance; and the 
liking for them grows with use, and frequently be¬ 
comes strong. At the same time, there are people 
who cannot relish Melons or Figs ; and some who 
like the latter in the dried state seriously object to 
thepi when presented to them in a fresh state.— J. F, 
Vanda Hookeriana (See p. 5S.) 
