744 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 23, 1892. 
SPRAYING BY HORSE 
POWER. 
A public trial of a new machine for spraying 
Potatos with the Bordeaux mixture took place 
recently on the farm of Mr. Thomas Scott, at Ditton 
Court, Aylesford. The machine is brought out by 
Strawson’s, Limited, and Mr. G. F. Strawson was 
present to explain the principles of its construction, 
etc., on behalf of the company. 
The object of the experiments was to demonstrate 
the capability of the machine for dressing with the 
Bordeaux mixture the under surface of the Potato 
leaves effectively and at the same time rapidly, and 
all expectations with regard to the machine were 
certainly amply fulfilled. The machine itself is of 
an entirely new kind in this country. It is of light 
appearance and travels upon high wheels to carry it 
over the Potato tops, the parts most conspicuous be¬ 
ing the tank for liquid, the pump, the arrangement of 
tubes on a horizontal support, and the nozzles, 
which hang down from the horizontal bar to the 
ground. The machine is provided with starting and 
stopping gear, an automatic agitator, and arrange¬ 
ments by which the nozzles may be adjusted both to 
the width of the Potato rows, and the proper height 
from the ground. The nozzles, which are worked 
from close to the ground, can also be turned in any 
direction and so fixed. One extremely useful qualifi¬ 
cation which is not apparent at first sight is found in 
the way in which the force of the liquid is regulated 
and the manner in which the pump can be instantly 
disconnected and changed into a hand force-pump. 
This serves two very useful purposes. One is that 
by reversing the feed and delivery pipes and screwing 
a gauze nozzle on the former, the tank can be refilled 
by the hand-pump, direct from the tub or other vessel 
containing the Bordeaux mixture, which enters the 
tank perfectly strained. This is a most convenient 
and valuable device as every particle in a badly 
strained mixture is apt to block the orifice of the 
nozzles and cause delay. 
The machine works very lightly and the horizontal 
tubes spread out over 17J ft. of Potatos, thus 
dressing, as fast as a horse can walk, seven rows of 
Potatos, each 2J ft. apart. Between each row a pair 
of nozzles hang down, nearly touching the ground, 
and send up a fine spray beneath the leaves of the 
Potatos. 
On commencing operations, the long horizontal 
pipes (which are capable of being shut up) were 
extended to the full width and the tank was pumped 
full of the copper mixture. The feed was turned on, 
and the horse started at a quick walk down the field, 
and it was speedily demonstrated that the machine 
was a success, and could rapidly and' perfectly do its 
work, inasmuch as whilst the horse was travelling 
with the machine over six acres per hour were being 
covered. It was remarked that w'hilst this wheeled 
machine could be used, it could do the spraying 
more evenly as well as more rapidly than is possible 
by hand. The only question that arose was as to the 
quantity of mixture put on. This is in itself an open 
question, and one which experience alone can deter¬ 
mine, but it is very satisfactory to know that what¬ 
ever quantity is wished for the same machine can put 
it on without the cost being added to. 
On the whole the experiments were quite a success, 
and large Potato growers have now at their command 
for the first time a machine that can, on a rapid 
scale, spray the Bordeaux mixture on to their crops 
to check the fearful ravages of the disease. 
--- 
She JIpiai^y. 
Bees for Pleasure and Profit. — Under this 
title we have received from Messrs. Crosby Lock- 
wood & Son, a cheap work on “ Bees, and their 
Management,” by Mr. G. Gordon Samson. It is in¬ 
tended to meet the requirements of beginners in Bee 
culture ; but a careful perusal has not convinced us 
that it will do so—on the contrary, on a good many 
points what the author has to say is rather calculated 
to lead the tyro astray. He states that he has been 
careful to compare the highest authorities, and to 
obtain the information on which he bases his con¬ 
clusions from the best sources, etc. Unfortunately 
in so doing the author, or compiler perhaps we 
should say, has not been able to discriminate between 
that which is reliable and that which is error. For 
instance we read : “ The drones are produced at 
swarming time, their sole use being to mate with the 
young queens, as they do no work at all.” Any one 
acquainted with the ways of bees must see that 
such a statement is entirely wrong. The fact is that 
the drones being what may be termed “stay at 
homes,” and larger than the working bees, occupy 
more space and help to keep up the necessary tem¬ 
perature of the hive, thus enabling the workers to 
go out foraging. 
Again the author states that " a bee never gathers 
pollen from more than one kind of flower in a single 
journey, and it is owing to this wonderful provision 
of nature that we do not have different species 
of flowers crossed with one another.” We have seen 
bees deviating from this rule very considerably, and 
hybridisers do not want to be told that there is 
something beyond the visits of bees to different 
species of flowers to account for their not being 
universally successful as cross - fertilisers. The 
author also appears to be confident in putting for¬ 
ward the theory that anyone will in time become 
sting proof. After twenty years’ experience in bee 
management we do not share that confidence, at all 
events we are still waiting for the period of immunity 
to come. We have had as many as forty stings at 
one time, and had our hands so much swollen that 
we could not close them. When stung now the 
swelling is as bad as ever, and we should be glad to 
know how much longer it will continue. 
There are of course a good many useful hints to be 
found in Mr. Gordon Samson’s pages, but there is 
much also that a beginner should attach no impor¬ 
tance to. We specially deprecate the overmuch 
handling of the bees as recommended. Bees if they 
are to gather honey must be left alone, and the less 
they are interfered with the better they like it. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
Calopogon pulchellus. 
The original introduction of this was made in 1791. 
and one cannot help feeling surprised that it should 
be so little known or seldom seen. It is a native of 
North America, is terrestrial, and should be almost if 
not quite hardy. There is only one leaf to a stem 
and one of the latter from a tuber ; the leaf is lan¬ 
ceolate and reminds one of that of a small Gladiolus 
or an Ixia rather than an Orchid. The stems grow 
12 in. to 14 in. high bearing a raceme of rose-coloured 
flowers. The upper sepal is lanceolate, the lateral 
ones broader, and the petals similar. The lip is 
three-lobed, with three deep purple ridges on the 
claw of the middle lobe, ending in projecting plates 
in front of which is a beard of pale or deep yellow 
hairs ; the lateral lobes are small and tooth-like. It 
is said to be suitable for a shady position at the foot 
of rockwork. A pan of it was shown by Mr. T. S. 
Ware, Hale Farm Nurseries, Tottenham, at the 
Drill Hall, on the 12th inst., when a First-class 
Certificate was awarded. 
Epidendrum tampense. 
A large number of the Epidendrums have ovoid 
pseudo-bulbs, and long, leafless flower stems ; that 
under notice comes in this group. The scape varies 
from 18 in to 24 in. in length, and is more or less 
panicled. The sepals are lanceolate, the petals 
slightly more spathulate, and pale brown with a 
yellow edge. The lip on the contrary is more con¬ 
spicuous and pretty, with a white terminal lobe 
having a large, clear purple blotch in the centre ; 
the lateral lobe are white, and more or less tinted 
with yellow. Although not strikingly pretty it is cer¬ 
tainly showy. A Botanical Certificate was awarded it 
when shown by C. J. Lucas, Esq. (gardener Mr. G. 
Duncan), Warnham Court, Horsham, at the Drill 
Hall, on the 12th inst. 
Phalsenopsis Artemis. 
In this we have a hybrid between P. rosea as the 
seed parent, and P. amabilis usually known in gar¬ 
dens as P. grandiflora as the seed parent. The 
leaves are oblong-elliptic and of a light green. The 
sepals are oblong-lanceolate, and white with a pale 
purple midrib externally. The petals are rhomboid 
and white, with a pale purple midrib on both 
surfaces, but only at the base of the inner face. The 
terminal lobe of the lip is purple, with orange-buff 
angles at the base; and the latter hue extends on to 
the edges of the lateral lobes, which are also shaded 
with purple and spotted with crimson at the base ; 
the tendrils are very short and slender. An Award 
of Merit was accorded it when shown at the meeting 
of the Royal Horticultural Society, on the 12th inst., 
by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. 
Cypnpedium Stonei candidum. 
The leaves of this variety are of the usual, ligulate 
type, stiff and leathery. The upper sepal is roundish 
and white on the inner face, but heavily suflused with 
brown externally; the lower sepal is large and near¬ 
ly as pale. The absence of colour on the inner face 
is the characteristic feature of this variety. The 
petals are linear, pale yellow, spotted with brown 
along the centre, twisted and brown on the apical 
half. The lip is netted and suffused with pale brown 
on a pale yellow ground. The staminode is a striking 
feature in this species on account of its size, and is 
margined with yellow hairs. A plant of it was exhi¬ 
bited at the Drill Hall on the 12th inst., by Messrs. 
Pitcher and Manda, Hextable, Swanley, when an 
Award of Merit was accorded it. 
Dendrobium crystallinum General Berkeley's 
Var. 
A plant of this variety, shown at the Drill Hall, on 
the 12th inst., by Major-general E. S. Berkeley, 
Spetchley House, Bitterne, Southampton, had stems 
about 12 in. to 15 in. high. The sepals were white, 
thinly speckled with purple on both surfaces and 
darker at the tips. The petals were elliptic and deep, 
rich purple at the tips, otherwise similar to the 
sepals. The lip was cucullate, golden yellow at the 
base surrounded by a white zone and deep purple at 
the tip. The extra amount of colour is the charac¬ 
teristic of the variety. An Award of Merit was 
accorded it. 
Miltonia Vexillaria. 
There is a lovely display now to be seen of this fine 
New Grenadan Orchid in the collection of that 
enthusiastic orchidist, George Hardy, Esq., at 
Pickering Lodge, Timperley. There are upwards of 
500 spikes beautifully arranged in one of the houses, 
and needless to say the plants are in grand health 
and wonderfully flowered. They also include every 
shade of colour to be found in this variable species. 
Mr. Holmes, the grower, is much to be congratulated 
on his success with this as with most other Orchids, 
for every department shows evidence of his great 
care and skill — Rusticus. 
ffHAT TO DOrTTHE GARDEN. 
Poinsetfias. —Pot off the earlier struck batches 
when well rooted, and if they can be transferred to a 
heated frame, where they can have the advantage of 
artificial heat in dull or cold and wet weather, they 
will proceed apace. By being near the glass the stems 
will be kept sturdy and short jointed. Cuttings may 
be put in now, for the latest batch to be flowered in 
48-size pots. The cuttings should be inserted singly 
in thumb pots, to avoid check when put into their 
floweiing pots later on. 
Winter* Flowering Begonias —The stock of 
this class of plants should be put in their flowering 
pots without further delay. Keep them rather close for 
a time until established in the fresh soil, when they 
may be freely ventilated or put in a house where 
they can have plenty of air and light. 
Euphor*biafulgens(jacquiniEe flora). -The batch 
of this Euphorbia intended for winter flowering 
should be kept in a rather high temperature and well 
exposed to light. A pit, Pine stove or vinery at 
work may be used for this purpose, always remem¬ 
bering that the plants must be kept near the glass to 
obtain the best results. A shelf near the glass would 
answer the purpose admirably if other suitable 
accommodation cannot be had. 
Intermediate Stocks. —Late sown plants, or 
those that were pricked out in the open after tae 
others were put in the beds, would come in useful 
for pot work now that the rains have enabled them 
to make free growth. The lifting will act as a check 
and prevent them from growing too luxuriantly, while 
the start they have made would have required much 
attention to get if they had been potted off from the 
seedling boxes. 
Peaches. —If the lights of the earliest houses are 
moveable they may be taken completely off by the 
end of this month so as to give the wood a better 
chance to ripen. The absence of sunshine last 
autumn had a very bad effect upon trees grown 
under glass, for those in the open air ripened their 
wood and set blossom buds much better, and the 
fine show of buds in spring and the crop of fruit 
they are now bearing testifies to this fact. 
